InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Oh, No! Not Another AU?! ❯ Green & Dumb ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

~*A/N: "But baby, baby, I could call you baby, If I weren't empty in the head and tied up in the tongue" Ah, gotta love Roger... *sighs* Oh! *jumps* Didn't see you there! By the way, I went back and edited all existing chapters... Not too important, mainly just clean-up, but you might want to reread 9. 10 didn't alter too much. Here's chapter 11!*~

DISCLAIMER: "I need your government warning like I need a hole in my head." -Roger Clyne. Don't own him either. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Chapter 11: Green & Dumb

"Wake up, Kagome!" Rin cried, bouncing happily on the bed next to her.

"Mmph... go 'way," a muffled reply came from under the covers.

"Sango, she won't get up again!" Rin pouted like a child tattling on a sibling.

Sango smiled evilly, tugging her ponytail tighter as she neared the bed. "Kagome," she spoke softly, "guess who just dropped by?"

"Don't know, don't care," accompanied a grunt from the pile of blankets.

"Oh, I think you do, kissy-face," Rin said, catching on. Sango smiled and winked at her.

"Inu-Yasha?!" Kagome shot up, throwing the covers off. She looked around the room eagerly before realizing the room was empty of any male presence. "Hey, you guys tricked me," she pouted.

"Well, it got you up at least!" Rin replied, giggling.

"Besides, I don't think you'd want him seeing you like this anyway," Sango replied, hiding a laugh under a cough. "Better shower before breakfast, bedhead."

"Hey, what's with all the name-calling this morning?" she grumbled, trudging to the bathroom.

~Next door~

"Just five more minutes," Miroku mumbled, rolling over and pulling his pillow over his head, attempting to block the filtering rays of the morning sun and sounds of accoustic guitar. 'Wait, accoustic guitar? Shippo can't play guitar, which leaves...' "Inu-Yasha?" Miroku finished his thought aloud, removing the pillow from over his head to look at the source of the sound. The hanyou hadn't heard him, too intent on getting the chords right. He sat on a chair near the window, mouthing lyrics to a song that Miroku began to recognize. Suddenly he realized Shippo was sitting on the bed across from Inu-Yasha, drumming beats on his thighs to match his strumming. "Yash?" Miroku called out, slightly louder than before.

Claws stilled on guitar strings. "Ohayo, Miroku."

Miroku forgot what he was going to say for a minute, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. 'Here's Yash, dressed, ready, and in a good mood, awake before me! Never, in all the time I've known him...' "You're awake?"

Inu-Yasha laughed, "Yeah, kinda twilight zone, ne?"

"He was even up before me!" Shippo piped up.

"Better get up and shower if we don't want to be late," Inu-Yasha smirked at Miroku, returning to the guitar.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Miroku said, eyes still wide, stumbling out of bed. He watched the two as he closed the bathroom door, Shippo continuing to drum while Inu-Yasha's fingers expertly picked out cords. As the hot water hit him over the head, he sang softly, "If I weren't so green and dumb."

~Breakfast~

"Yash," Miroku said between bites of his bagel, "why'd you have your accoustic out this morning?"

"Cuz I woke up early, thought of a song I thought we should do today, and decided to start practicing," he spoke with food in his mouth, crumbs falling onto his black t-shirt which read "FUCK YOU I have enough friends" and the lap of his olive drab cargo pants. Today he had chosen to wear a black cowboy hat to cover his ears, although it's original color was hard to discern with the stains and signatures in silver ink covering it.

Miroku eyed it as he chewed, trying to remember the last time he had seen his friend wear the beat-up head covering. "What's with the hat?" he questioned, leaning forward so as to keep crumbs off his own shirt and lap. Today he had opted for a black muscle shirt over baggy black shorts.

Inu-Yasha cocked an eyebrow, "Goes with the song," he replied simply.

"But who's going to play electric guitar then? We don't have..." he was cut off as three girls took seats across the table.

"We'll talk about it later," Inu-Yasha said, lowering his sunglasses and giving him a meaningful glance over Shippo's head. Miroku nodded.

"Ohayo!" Rin said happily, arranging her plate into a smiley face, eggs for eyes, bacon for the mouth, and bushy hashbrown eyebrows.

"Ohayo," Sango stated, sipping her tea.

Kagome poured herself a cup of coffee, chosing to remain silent. The group remained silent, each lost in their own world. The change in musical selection was completely wiped from Miroku's mind as he watched Sango, particularly the glossy pink lips he had kissed the night before. Inu-Yasha and Kagome stole glances at each other while no one was looking, then quickly studied their plates with great interest. Shippo and Rin bounced and hummed as they ate respectively. Sango seemed deeply absorbed in her cup of tea. The stillness was broken by a soft male voice, "Inu-Yasha."

The six all turned to look at the source of the voice. Standing next to Inu-Yasha was a tall, proud-looking boy who appeared to be perhaps twenty. He had long silvery hair to his waist, a proud expression on his feminine face. His clothing contrasted sharply with his expression - black cargo pants, plain white t-shirt, and combat boots. "Heya, Fluffy. I was beginning to wonder if you would make it."

"Fluffy?" Rin questioned, head cocked to the side.

"That's Sesshomaru," Shippo stage-whispered across the table. "He's Inu-Yasha's older half-brother. He's in the band, too, but couldn't make it before now."

Sesshomaru cleared his throat indignantly, "Good to see you, too. Shippo. Miroku."

Both nodded in reply. Sango quickly lost interest, returning to her thoughts, picking at the frayed edges of her knee-length jean skirt. The strap of her magenta tank top slipped off a shoulder unnoticed. Rin was still eyeing Sesshomaru curiously, crumbs littering her bright green halter top and the lap of her hip-hugger jeans. Kagome opted for studying the brothers in intervals, finding that their hair and eyes were the only attributes they shared, other than skintone. Sesshomaru was taller and leaner, while what Inu-Yasha lacked in height he made up for in muscle tone. Shippo stood, appearing even smaller, if possible, in his oversized jeans and black hook-ups t-shirt as he approached Sesshomaru.

"Good thing you showed up! Yash decided he wanted to do a different song today, but since he's playing accoustic, we need you to play electric and..."

Sesshomaru raised a hand, cutting him off. "If you continue rambling, you'll let the competition know exactly what we have planned, and that would give them an advantage."

Shippo nodded obediently. 'Nothing alike,' Kagome thought, studying the hands clasped in her lap. She had opted for baggy khaki cargo cut-offs with soccer socks and sneakers, topped with a fitted navy blue t-shirt reading "Bad Boy Training School" across the chest. 'It goes with the song, after all,' she thought.

"Besides," Sesshomaru continued, speaking to Shippo but studying Inu-Yasha, "I could guess that by my brother's choice of headwear for the day." He smirked, flicking the top of the cowboy hat.

"We did well enough without your advice so far," Inu-Yasha grunted, finally irritated into replying.

"Ah, but the first round holds such little challenge. I could trust even a tone-deaf clod like you to have achieved that."

"I'll give you tone-deaf," Inu-Yasha shot up, his seat clattering to the floor as he glared death into his brother's eyes.

"Now, now, we're all friends here," Miroku stood, attempting to seperate the two.

"You would be wise to listen to him, little brother," Sesshomaru sneered on the last two words.

Inu-Yasha righted his chair and slumped into it, crossing his arms and sulking, "If we didn't need a fourth..."

"Are you a hanyou like Inu-Yasha, or are you youkai like Shippo?" Rin's innocent question cut through the tension.

The table was silent, chatter and laughter from the full room filling the emptiness. Rin shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. "I see you three once again have failed to keep your true selves hidden," Sesshomaru stated, turning on his heel and walking away in one fluid motion.

"Hey, he didn't answer my question," Rin spoke softly.

"Youkai," Inu-Yasha answered before getting up and stalking away in the opposite direction of his brother.

"Oh, arigatou!" she called after him.

"So much for a peaceful breakfast. Well, we'll see you ladies later, backstage," Miroku said, pointing Shippo after Inu-Yasha while he followed Sesshomaru.

"What was that all about?" Rin puzzled. Sango shrugged.

"Well, better go prepare," Kagome said, pushing her chair back from the table. The girls nodded and followed her back upstairs.

~Showtime~

Inu-Yasha stood in the wings, looking around the curtain as the ska band plowed through their set. "Nervous?" Miroku placed a hand on his shoulder from behind.

He jumped, gripping the neck of his accoustic guitar tightly, "Dammit, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Gomen," Miroku chuckled. "Well, are you?"

"Ano," Inu-Yasha studied his shoes with great interest. "Maybe a little."

"Thought so. Listen, don't worry, we've played this one a million times! It'll go great!"

"If you say so."

"I do."

"Give it up for 'Hosey's Meal', minna! Next up, 'H.Y.N.'!" the announcer beamed at the crowd, to be greeted with enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

"Here goes nothing," Inu-Yasha muttered, walking out of the wings. They quickly set up, Miroku on his right and Sesshomaru on his left. After a few test chords, they nodded to one another. Inu-Yasha started alone, his few chords ringing through the silent auditorium. After completing the bar four times, he paused slightly, and on the offbeat all three joined in. Inu-Yasha's gentle pace was joined by Sesshomaru picking out the notes to fill the melody, Miroku striking deep chords to offset his, with Shippo lightly tapping the drums to fuel the tempo. The melody was slow and gentle, and he approached the microphone, closing his eyes as he began to sing.

"Daisies stand up on their tiptoes,
Clouds tumble over themselves in the sky,
And all the pretty horses come running to her,
Even the dust devils pray;
That they'll catch her eye."

Inu-Yasha pulled back slightly from the mic, the same simple yet sweet melody repeated from before. In the crowd, Kagome gasped. The three girls exchanged surprised looks. "Roger?" Rin squeaked. With earplugs in place, even the hanyou and youkai's super-sensitive hearing didn't pick this up. The crowd was entranced by the slow yet steady rhythm, swaying softly. Inu-Yasha leaned in again, eyes still shut behind his sunglasses.

"I haunt her house from the outside,
I watch her bake cornbread and talk on the phone,
And the wireless on the inside plays a sad, sweet song,
A mute moonlit statue am I;
She waltzes alone."

Inu-Yasha pulled back again, focusing all his attention on the chords. Shippo drummed slightly louder in a cascading beat into the chorus.

"But Baby, Baby, I could call you 'Baby,'
If I weren't so empty in the head
And tied up in the tongue.
But Baby, Baby, I could call you 'Baby,'
If I weren't so green and dumb."

Kagome caught herself singing along, as she always did to this song. Inu-Yasha finally stopped clenching his eyes shut, and looked over the top of his sunglasses to look for Kagome. He spotted her right away, singing along. They locked eyes as he began the next verse.

"Wind aint' stopped blowing since morning,
It's got me froze up on the inside,
And I could get warm in the bunkhouse,
Thaw out on coffee and bread.
But Baby, Baby, I could call you 'Baby,'
If I weren't so empty in the head
And tied up in the tongue.
But Baby, Baby, I could call you 'Baby,'
If I weren't so green and dumb."

Kagome felt her face flush, realizing he hadn't stopped looking at her since she met his gaze. He stepped back from the mic while Sesshomaru took the audience's attention, expertly playing the chords of the guitar solo. A group of fangirls sighed and dramatically put hands to foreheads. Kagome's subconscious noted that he was good, very good, to be able to mimic Steve's playing so that it was exact. Again it gave way to Inu-Yasha's strumming, the others barely making sound with their instruments, and he stepped back up to the mic.

"But i need your government warning,
Like I need a hole in my head.
Well I won't shoot your coyotes,
And I wont burn yourweeds,
Your paycheck won't fill up this hollow
It won't dull all the edges."

On the word "edges", the volume of the other instruments increased with Inu-Yasha's voice, which soared up into a perfect falsetto, hanging there until his breath gave out.

"But Baby, Baby, I could call you 'Baby,'
If I weren't so empty in the head
And tied up in the tongue.
But Baby, Baby, I could call you 'Baby,'
If I weren't so green and dumb.
If I weren't so green and dumb.
If I weren't so green and dumb.
If I weren't so green and dumb."

Inu-Yasha's voice warbled the last word into oblivion, giving away to some intense strumming from Sesshomaru. The music faded away, punctuated one last time by Shippo's drums before silence filled the room. A few seconds later, applause erupted, as well as much screaming. "Woo-oo hoo!" Sango gave the trademark cowboy catcall. Inu-Yasha finally broke eye contact, touched the front of his hat in salute, and helped pack everything up.

"Well, that certainly was diverse! What'dya say, huh?" said the announcer, grinning idiotically. "And now..."

"Kagome!" Sango grabbed her arm. Rin squealed, bouncing excitedly.

"Nani?" Kagome looked confused.

"He sang that one for you!" Rin squealed again, hugging her.

"You think so?" Kagome replied.

Sango gave her a disbelieving look, "Baka! He was only staring at you the whole damn time!"

"Ah!" squealed Rin. "We're up soon! We better get back there!" she yelled bolting for backstage.

"Yeah, and maybe you can catch your boyfriend, too," Sango said, grinning wolfishly as she dragged Kagome behind her, following Rin.

"He's not my go-gosh darn boyfriend!" she denied, redfaced.

"Sure, Kagome, whatever you say," Sango rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to getting through the crowd.

"He's not, really, I swear!" Kagome picked up the pace.

"Then why'd you choose this particular song?" Sango shot back.

"This song has absolutely nothing to do with HIM! I just- I just like it, ok?"

"Yeah, right," Sango said, releasing her arm and shoving her up the stairs.

"I swear... why won't you ever believe me?" Kagome whined.

"Because I saw the look on your face."

"What look?" both girls turned to see Inu-Yasha standing farther into the room.

"That one right there," Sango replied, pointing at Kagome and walking away.

Kagome blushed, realizing she had been staring. Again. Inu-Yasha gave her a smug grin, the tip of one fang exposed between his lips. 'His soft, sweet, yummy lips,' Kagome found herself fixating on them. "How'd you like the song?" he asked. The movement of her object of fascination caused her to snap out of it, her face darkening.

"I-I... we-well, we-we all love Roger," she said sheepishly.

"Kagome! No time for that now! We're on next!" Sango called.

"Gotta go!" she flashed him a smile and ran off.

"Yeah, gotta love Roger," he mumbled to himself. 'But what about me?' he thought, then shook the thought from his head. 'I hardly even know her!' he snorted, turning to join his bandmates in the audience. He wouldn't miss her performance for all the jewels in Sengoku Jidai.

Reviews revisited:

I know someone reviewed, but mediaminer is being difficult and won't let me read it! *pouts* So, arigatou to whoever it was!

~*A/N: Just had to throw that last part in. Whew! Finally done. I didn't want to break this one up, seeing as their performance wouldn't take too much, and I don't want to put more than one performance per chapter. And I hope you all enjoyed your first taste of Roger. But now I REALLY need to get some sleep, seeing as how I have to get up for work in 6 hours! Ack! Ja ne, minna! "In my dreams, I will sleep like a baby..."*~