Inuyasha - The New Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but I do own the TV that I watch the series on and the computer that I read and write the fanfics on!

Summary: The next few chapters in the Inuyasha series after episode 167! There are new enemies, new attacks and new allies and new twists.

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Kagura thought for a moment. 'He said to bring everyone there together, so I'll come back later.'

Kagura sighed as she picked off a feather from her hair and rode into the night with it, leaving without saying another word.

"She came for Naraku. He apparently wanted to meet with all of us." Miroku said as he turned and walked to a different hut near the edge of the village.

"I'm glad," Kagome whispered before she closed the distance, embracing him. 'I wish I could stay like this forever,' she thought as she felt him hesitantly hug her back, not knowing that he wished for the same thing.

All too soon for their liking they broke apart, a smile gracing Kagome's lips. "We should head back now," she said, taking Inuyasha's hand and heading home. Inuyasha looked over to Kagome and smiled while holding her hand. 'I am glad to have her by my side, even if she is only my friend,' He thought as they slowly walked home, neither one in a rush.

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Episode 168

The New Beginning (Part Two)

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Kagome woke up feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep. She slowly opened her eyes to find two white dog ears peeking up from a mound of silvery white hair at the edge of her bed. Kagome reached a hand out and gently touched the tip of his ear. 'He must be asleep if I can touch his ears. He hates it when anyone touches his ears...' She thought sadly as she began to gently stroke the fuzzy ear with one finger. 'I love his ears, they are so soft and fuzzy. They feel really nice and look really cute, I wish I could do this every morning...' Kagome smiled.

Inuyasha unconsciously leaned his head into the ear rub as he slept. Kagome thought this meant he liked it and so massaged and gently started to scratch them. She stopped suddenly and jerked her hand back as she began to hear him growl. 'Maybe he doesn't really like it after all,' she thought sadly, but right after she finished that thought, Inuyasha tilted his head more towards her and whimpered slightly. 'Or...'

She reached out again and scratched one fuzzy ear gently. Inuyasha released another low growl and mumbled softly, "Good."

'So he was lying to everyone? Why would he do that?' Kagome wondered. She filed the thought away to ponder later as she took the opportunity to continue her ministrations on her furry playthings. She was having a lot of fun tweaking his ears lightly and watching them twitch in response, causing her to giggle quietly. She switched off between tweaking and scratching his ears, listening to his growls as they intensified and abated. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and she accidentally tweaked an ear a bit too hard, causing Inuyasha to wake and jump up.

"What the hell Kagome?"

"Good morning, Inuyasha," she responded after giving a fake yawn. She pulled off her covers and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. She did not want to have to listen to him yell at her this early in the day, so instead pretended to only just have woken up.

Just as Inuyasha was about to speak again, Mrs. Higurashi walked in. "Good morning you two, come down, it's time for breakfast,"

Inuyasha grumbled a bit but followed Mrs. Higurashi out of the room and to the kitchen. Kagome quickly pulled on a new outfit, a yellow dress with a blue shirt covering the top. She quickly brushed her hair and went downstairs just as Mrs. Higurashi set out two plates of bacon, eggs and waffles. Kagome sat down next to Inuyasha and slowly ate her meal. It was early in the morning and they were going to the fair around 7 at night. As she ate her waffle, she tried to think of something to do until nighttime.

'We already went to the movies and the park, and we are going to the fair later... What should we do..?' she wondered. She was just about to ask Inuyasha what he would like to do when her mother spoke.

"Kagome, Souta has a soccer match this morning. Remember you promised him you'd go to his next match?"

"Oh yeah," Kagome sighed, "Inuyasha, would you mind if we watched Souta's game?"

"I guess... What is this 'sooker' thing again?" asked Inuyasha.

"It's soccer, and it is a sport where you kick around a ball and try to get it into a goal. You'll understand it better once you see it," explained Kagome.

Inuyasha nodded before returning his attention to his food. A few minutes later, Souta walked down the stairs in his soccer uniform.

"Hey sis, are you coming to my game today?" he asked, exuding excited energy.

"Yeah, Inuyasha's coming along as well," Kagome said, smiling at her brother. She heard from her mom that he was one of the best players on the team and was actually excited herself to get to see him play.

"Alright!" Souta cheered. 'I can't wait to show Inuyasha how good I am! I'll even get to show off to Hitomi!'

"Now introducing the team captain, Higurashi Souta!" the announcer yelled as the home crowd cheered. One section in the stadium was louder than the others, one group in particular, where there was a strange looking teenaged boy, a girl and a middle aged woman.

Kagome cheered as she saw her younger brother run out into the field. Mrs. Higurashi just sat and clapped while Inuyasha looked out onto the field, smiling slightly. Kagome sat down and smiled at Inuyasha. He actually seemed to understand the concept of the game, even though he thought that is was odd that you can't use your hands.

"Uh, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked as he looked over towards the girl, "What are they doing now?"

"Well, right now they are introducing the players," Kagome started, pointing at the kids running onto the field. Inuyasha nodded as she continued, "After that, the captains will shake hands and have a coin toss. Then they'll start to play."

"Coin toss? Why would they toss coins?" Inuyasha asked, still confused.

"It's not like that. They throw a coin in the air and the side that it lands on decides who will go first," Kagome explained, giggling slightly.

Inuyasha nodded in understanding, "Okay, I guess I get it..."

Kagome smiled at him and looked back down at the field. They had just started playing, Souta had the ball and was kicking it up the field towards the goal, easily dodging the other players.

Inuyasha watched as Souta passed the ball back and forth to his teammates, all the while running towards an oddly shaped net. Once Souta kicked the ball into the net, everyone around him went wild. Inuyasha flattened his ears to his skull and was for once thankful for the hat that helped muffle some of the noise. 'This actually looks like fun,' thought Inuyasha.

As the game went on, Kagome became more impressed with her brother. She remembered watching a few of Souta's games before she first went to the feudal era, and he improved a lot. Kagome cheered as he scored again, he was defiantly one of the better players out there now. Not only did he manage to outmaneuver almost everyone on the other team, he also scored almost half of the team's points so far.

The game continued along with both teams running back and forth, trying to outdo one another. Midway through the second quarter, Inuyasha noticed that Souta was sitting on the side with some of the others on the team. "Kagome, what's Souta doing?" he wondered.

"He was subbed out so he could rest for a bit. Running around like that takes a lot of energy," Kagome said without looking away from the game. The other team was in possession of the ball and there was ten seconds left in the game. Inuyasha glanced at the scoreboard for the first time since the game started. 'So this is the scoreboard thing... Kagome said that we were 'Home' and the other team was 'Visitor'. The score's 9-8, the other team must've scored a lot since Souta wasn't on the field...'

Kagome watched as the timer counted down the final seconds. At four, the other team was almost right in front of the net, by three they kicked the ball and by one, they had scored. Half of the crowd was cheering while the other half groaned. The score was now tied, 9-9.

Kagome sighed as she stood up. "I'm going to the concession stand, I'll be back before third quarter starts," Kagome said. Mrs. Higurashi nodded as she explained the bench, quarters, halftime and then concession stands to Inuyasha.

"Concession stands are just places where you can buy food, snacks and drinks," explained Mrs. Higurashi as she glanced at the scoreboard timer. "Kagome should've been back by now... Inuyasha, would you go check up on her? We still have five minutes before the game starts again,"

"Uh, sure," Inuyasha said as he stood up and went in the direction that Mrs. Higurashi pointed him in. He wandered around until he found his way out of the metal stands and out into the sea of people below. He looked and sniffed around, trying to find Kagome and the concession stand.

Inuyasha rounded a corner and was blasted with the smell of grease. 'Must be the stand...' He looked around, finally spotting Kagome talking to a strangely familiar guy... 'Wait, what's his name again? Hobo? Homo? No, I remember now... Hojo... What a dumb name... Why is Kagome even talking to him?' Inuyasha wondered as he watched them. Hojo was inching closer to Kagome while she just as slowly backed up. Suddenly, a buzzer went off and Hojo quickly leaned in, kissing Kagome's check since she turned to face the scoreboard.

Inuyasha growled and ran up to the couple. Kissing Kagome was going too far, he didn't even want that Hobo to talk to her, let alone touch or kiss her. Just as he was about to reach them, he saw Kagome raise a hand and slap Hojo, hard. He grimaced slightly as the slap resounded almost as loud as Sango's, and laughed quietly in his head when Hobo spun and fell on his butt, looking dazed. He grinned as he came up to Kagome's side, "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes, Hojo was just leaving," she said, glowering. Hojo quickly picked himself up and scurried off as she turned back, glaring at him. Inuyasha smiled and took her hand, leading her back to the stands.

"Come on, the game's about to start, I think."

Kagome took a big mouthful of her favorite ice cream, something called a 'Black Forest Dream.' The group decided to go to an ice cream parlor to celebrate Souta's victory. In the end, the score was 21-23, with Souta scoring 10 of the team's points. Kagome moaned as she slowly are her ice cream, it was chocolate ice cream with hot fudge syrup, fudge brownies mixed in and cherries on top. She had already forgotten about the whole Hojo incident and concentrated on eating and having fun with her family and Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled to herself. Today was fun, but tonight she actually had Inuyasha all to herself. Before she met Hojo, she talked to her friends and told them to run interference for them when they could. Hojo then came up and talked to her after they left, he wanted to meet with her at the fair and go on a few rides together. She was about to say no when the buzzer went off and he kissed her. Sufficed to say, the slap was her way of saying no.

"Kagome, why don't you head home, it's getting late and you need to get ready to go to the fair," said Mrs. Higurashi.

"Okay mom!" Kagome smiled as she ate the last of her ice cream. 'Tonight will be perfect.'

Miroku and Sango had been working all day along with the occasional assistance of Kirara and Shippo. They managed to rebuild two huts and repair three of the larger buildings, two of them being 'factories' where they made slayer weapons. Miroku wiped his brow and looked up at the sun, which was now almost touching the summit of the tallest mountain. The sky was still a clear blue though, and only had a hint of yellow.

"Come on Miroku, let's get some supper and turn in. We've accomplished a lot today and there is always tomorrow to finish," Sango said. Miroku looked at her and nodded.

'We did accomplish a lot. There is still a lot left to do, but now the village actually looks like a village,' Miroku thought as he finished patching the roof before going down and heading in the hut to sleep.

"Tonight is Inuyasha's human night. I wonder if he will be okay in Kagome's world," wondered Shippo out loud.

"Things are a lot safer in Kagome's era, I'm sure that he will be fine," said Miroku as Sango began preparing supper.

"Ready Inuyasha?" asked Kagome as she straightened out her normal school uniform. Her school was helping with the fair and if you had the uniform, you could go on some rides with a friend for free, even the entrance was discounted!

"Yeah!" he said as he walked up besides her.

"Okay, let's go then!" Kagome cheered as she grabbed her purse and led Inuyasha outside and down the shrine steps, heading towards the fair. 'Tonight's going to be perfect, it's going to be just me and Inuyasha...' was all Kagome could think about. He never experienced any of the rides before and she was sure he would love them.

They reached the gate of the fairgrounds just as the sun set behind the buildings. Inuyasha felt his body pulse and then a slight pain shoot through him as he felt his senses dull. 'That's right... tonight is my human night,' the now human Inuyasha thought. He looked over at Kagome who also noticed his transformation. She smiled slightly and took off his hat.

'I forgot that tonight was his human night. Since it is though, he should at least be a bit more comfortable. He never liked these hats anyway,' she thought as she placed the hat into her small purse.

Kagome lead them to the gates and gave the man their reduced fee, allowing them inside.

Lights were flashing everywhere as weird music played softly from hidden and not so hidden speakers. It was not the most well run and clean fair, but it had good rides as well as food and entertainment booths, so no one really complained. Kagome lead Inuyasha through the crowd towards their first destination: the rollercoaster. They weaved through the crowds until Kagome felt Inuyasha stop.

"Kagome, what's that?" asked Inuyasha, pointing towards some fluffy pink stuff on sticks.

"That's cotton candy, we'll try some later when we get something to eat," explained Kagome as they once again began walking through the crowds.

Once they reached the line to go in, they met with the first flaw in Kagome's plan for a perfect night out with Inuyasha, "Hey, Higurashi!" called a voice from behind them.

'No!!! Why can't I have even a minute alone with Inuyasha? And why is it always Hojo?' thought Kagome as she slowly turned around.

Miroku and Sango had just finished supper and were sitting around the fire. Shippo and Kirara were snuggled together in one of the many beds in this particular hut. Sango had said that this was a hut to house refugees from villages that were destroyed from demon attacks. They would either house the villagers until new huts were built or they found a new village to stay in. It was one of the first buildings that they rebuilt because they figured the whole group could stay in it while they visited.

Sango sighed as she looked into the flames. She kept having flashbacks throughout the day as she witnessed her village being slowly rebuilt. Most of them involved her father and brother, but this building in particular reminded her of her mother. She was a kind lady who Sango didn't have many memories of.

When she was young, Sango remembered playing outside with the other kids when she heard the village alarm go off. She ran to where se saw smoke rising and saw the refugee building ablaze. She didn't remember much afterwards, but she remembered running to her house after a villager told her to. Her father returning a while later, crying. She remembered this the most because she never saw her father cry before.

Sango shook her head violently; she did not want to remember that, especially her father. Even though she accepted her parent's death already, it did not make it any less painful to think about. Miroku's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Sango? What's wrong?" questioned the monk softly.

"It's nothing, just some memories."

'She still doesn't want to open up to me,' Miroku sighed. 'I'll give her more time, being here must be painful for her.'

The monk nodded before standing up and looking at Sango. "We should go to bed, we still have work to do tomorrow. It will be harder and slower now since we can't just repair the buildings,"

Sango nodded as Miroku turned away and picked a bed to rest in. She followed shortly after, thinking of only one thing, 'Mother...'

"Hey, Kagome! I thought you were coming with your friend, did he abandon you or something?" asked Hojo as he walked up to Kagome.

"Keh! I would never abandon her!" said the now human Inuyasha, walking up to Hojo.

"Hojo, why are you here anyway? I thought with the slap you would've gotten the hint,"

"I-I came here to ride the rollercoaster! That's all!" covered Hojo. 'I thought she was alone and I wanted to talk to her... I have to find a way to separate the two so we can speak... privately. Also, what happened to his hair?'

"Come on, Inuyasha, Let's come back here a bit later," suggested Kagome as she began to pull the half demon away.

Once they rounded a corner, Kagome turned to Inuyasha, "Well, I guess we can't go to that rollercoaster for a while,"

"Well, aren't there other things to do?"

"Yes, but that one was one of the better ones, and I really wanted you to try out that one first. I guess we'll just have to come back later, even though the line will be longer," Kagome sighed. "Well, let's try out some of the booths!"

With that, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand again and led him to a different section of the park. Along the way, they passed many booths that had things that looked and smelled good. After a while of walking, they finally reached their destination: the game booths. Kagome went to the archery booth while Inuyasha headed to one with objects stacked up. Inuyasha walked up to the front of the boot where the operator handed him three balls and told him to throw them at the three stacks of cans to win a prize. Inuyasha easily hit all three piles of cans and was led to the side of the tent to pick a prize.

Kagome placed the bow and arrow on the counter in front of her, beaming. She had shot enough arrows in the center of the target to win the grand prize. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was bound to be good. The booth attendant came back with two tickets and explained what they were for.

"Since you managed to get all of your arrows in the center target, you win two of our late passes," he explained. "The rides section and the haunted section of our park close earlier than the others to the rest of the public; these will let you and a friend stay up to two hours later in both sections. They normally close to the public at 10:00 so you can come in any time after that. There will still be some others with these passes though."

Kagome smiled and thanked the attendant before turning to meet an equally happy Inuyasha. "Hey Inuyasha, guess what I won us?" Kagome questioned.

"What?"

"You know how Hojo interrupted us before? I got these special passes that will let us in the rollercoaster and haunted areas later on tonight when no one else is allowed in. Did you win anything from the booth?"

"Well," Inuyasha blushed lightly, "I got you something," he said while pulling out a small white stuffed dog from behind his back.

Kagome was surprised but happy that Inuyasha got her a gift, "Thank you," she almost whispered while taking the dog.

"Yeah, well, it was too girly for me anyway," Inuyasha said, turning away and crossing his arms, his blush deepening.

Kagome smiled as she led him yet again to a different section of the park, 'He's always trying to look like a tough guy in public.'

Hojo watched as the two headed off, away from the 'haunted' section of the amusement park. It was around Halloween and the fair had set up a special haunted portion to the park. It had a haunted house and a few scary rides and game booths as well. The haunted house had the occasional staff member dressed in costume, but after 10, the only staff members in the sections were those running the rides. 'That will be the perfect time to get the two alone, if they go into the haunted house...'

It was dark outside with only the lights of the fair to illuminate the rides and stands. Kagome and Inuyasha went to almost all of the different areas around the park except for the always crowded haunted and rollercoaster areas. The two decided to save those two for later when they could be alone. Right now it was almost 9:30 and the two decided to go to the one place that they skipped over, the food section.

"Kagome, I'm hungry!" Inuyasha complained again.

"Inuyasha, I already told you, we are almost... There!" Kagome cried in triumph as they reached the food court. "Just sit down and I'll get us some food."

Inuyasha nodded and headed off into the crowd to find an empty table to wait for Kagome. She arrived about 10 minutes later with a sour expression on her face. 'I can't believe it! Ayumi said that Hojo wasn't even going to go to the fair until Eri invited him! Traitor!'

Kagome sighed as she laid down the food in front of them and passed it out. She bought a little bit of everything that the fair had, corndogs, funnel cakes, popcorn, cotton candy… she wanted Inuyasha to be able to try a bit of everything.

Inuyasha's mouth watered as Kagome laid down all of the new foods in front of him. He immediately went for the first piece of food, a weird blob on a stick. When he bit into it, he was surprised to find meat in the middle.

"Hey, Kagome, what do you call this one?" he asked in between bites.

"That one's a corndog, here, try it with some ketchup," she said, hading over the bottle.

Before long Inuyasha devoured all of his treats as well as some of Kagome's that she couldn't finish. They decided to go to the ride portion of the amusement park first, since Inuyasha had yet to go on a rollercoaster.

"That cotton stuff was tasty," Inuyasha said idly as they approached the now closed gate to the amusement rides.

"Yes it is, but you ate mine!" Kagome said, sticking out her tongue playfully.

Inuyasha grinned as they finally reached the gate and showed the attendant their late passes. The attendant nodded and opened the gates for them before closing them again.

"Okay, let's go to the Viper first," said Kagome, walking off towards a wooden pathway that led into a semi forested area.

The pair said nothing as they walked quickly down the path. 'I'm glad we don't have to wait in line, normally this walkway would be full of people,' thought Kagome as they continued onward. The path abruptly veered to the left, leading to stairs and the station beyond. The only person in the station was the ride operator as they entered. Kagome lead them to the front of the ride and sat down to one side, allowing Inuyasha to take the other seat. The operator quickly made sure that they were strapped in before sending them off into the darkness.

Once they made the initial turn away from the station, Kagome couldn't see the track anymore. She shivered as they were slowly carted up an incline, 'I should've brought my jacket...' she thought as they reached the apex of the climb. 'Here goe-'

Kagome was cut off as the ride lurched downward into a steep incline. She couldn't hold in a shriek of excitement and fear as the cart rushed around the track, turning hard at times, causing her to crash into Inuyasha, not that she minded.

The human Inuyasha didn't know what to expect from this ride. When he questioned Kagome, all she said was that "It is fun" or something similar. When they coasted to the cart lift and when they were being lifted, he thought it was boring. He wasn't expecting the sudden plunge that they experienced, however. So much so that he cried out in terror and excitement at the same time, all the while, a weird but great feeling winding its way in his gut as they went over numerous mounds and turns.

As the ride slowed down and they approached the station, Inuyasha was happy. That was more fun than anything he had ever done in a long while. He immediately asked to go on again, and since there was no one to argue, they rode it again. After the third time, Kagome insisted that they go to other places instead of just riding just this one. Inuyasha sighed before slowly climbing out and following Kagome out and onto a separate path leading away.

"Come on, cheer up Inuyasha, there are other rides and we can always come back," said Kagome.

Inuyasha perked up upon hearing this and smiled slightly. "Okay, so where do you think we should go next?"

"Well, there is this one ride..."

Hojo looked around to make sure he was alone before he entered the haunted house. He already toured the place quickly when there were other people inside during the day. While he was checking it out he found the perfect place to split them up, all he had to do was find the place again and wait for them to come...

Inuyasha and Kagome were having a blast, having just gotten off another ride called V2. They had fun being thrown forward then backwards high into the air, and since no one was there, the ride operator let them stay on for a while.

"That... was awesome," panted Kagome. She had been screaming with excitement and fear the entire time while gripping onto the handles for dear life. Sure, she had been on rollercoasters before, but never one that shot her backwards... especially that fast!

"Yeah," agreed Inuyasha. He was having a ton of fun with these rides. Sure, he could jump just as high and run just as fast as some, but being pulled around and thrown in different directions suddenly was a different experience altogether.

"We should go to this new rollercoaster that they have, it's supposed to be the tallest one in the world!" Kagome exclaimed after she calmed down a bit. 'Finally we are alone with no one to bother us and we are both having a blast!'

'This is great, being alone with Kagome,' Inuyasha thought as he followed Kagome to the next ride, not knowing she was thinking the same thing. 'I should enjoy what time we have together because once we're back with everyone else... I wished we could travel alone again sometime and collect the jewel shards together. Yes, I am glad that we have some friends now, but I'd rather be alone with just her sometimes... Then I don't have to be strong all the time...'

Inuyasha's mind continued to wander until they reached the ride. "We're here," Kagome pointed out, snapping Inuyasha from his thoughts.

Inuyasha quickly gave her a smile before looking up to the name of the rollercoaster. "The Raging Bull," he said to himself.

"Come on, let's go! You'll defiantly want to ride on it more than once, so let's not waste time!"

Inuyasha smiled again as she grabbed his hand with her smaller one 'They are so soft,' he mused as she pulled him along. Pretty soon, the two were sitting side by side, waiting for the operator to push down the other safety bars on the empty seats.

"Here we go," whispered Kagome as the operator returned to his booth and gave them a thumbs up.

Hojo frowned as he wandered around the haunted house. 'I don't remember any of these hallways!' he thought as he continued walking around. He screamed as a motion activated monster jumped out and "roared" at him.

"Dammit!" he cursed to himself, "This was supposed to be easy! I thought I memorized the route before..."

Hojo continued walking around the unfamiliar areas, searching for his spot. 'This place is a lot bigger than I first thought... Great, I'm lost! I knew I should have checked this place out one more time when it was still light outside!'

Another scream was heard as yet another motion activated switch was set off, this time causing a door to open and a mutilated something to pop out at him with a knife.

"I thought that first ride would never end!" Kagome exclaimed as they walked away from the rollercoaster.

"Yeah, and that first small drop is annoying! You think that you're going to go down, but it tricks you!" Inuyasha complained. They both really liked the ride even though it had some less than desirable parts, like it being the busiest ride.

"So, where to next?" asked Inuyasha.

"Well, it's 11:00. We still have time to go to other rides and maybe even the haunted section! But... I don't really want to go in there though," Kagome thought out loud.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to," Inuyasha said. "We can just go where you want to, I don't mind."

"Are you sure? Normally guys like it."

"I don't care, if you're not comfortable going..." Inuyasha trailed off.

"Thank you," Kagome said softly. "Well, in that case, I want to go to the Ferris Wheel!"

"What's that?" Inuyasha questioned as Kagome began to lead him to a new portion of the park.

"It's that giant wheel," Kagome pointed out in the distance. "It doesn't go that fast, but it's fun! Well, at least I think so..."

'The last time I went on one of these, it was snowing... I was by myself because I wanted to get away for a while...' Kagome thought sadly before she shook her head. 'No. I don't need to think of that. Ever since I met Inuyasha, everything has changed. I don't think of it as much, the pain has even dulled slightly.' Kagome looked to her side to see the half demon turned human eyeing her and smiled. 'You've helped me so much, just by being there. You may never know it, but I am grateful.'

Kagome continued to walk towards the wheel, occasionally glancing at Inuyasha.

Hojo glanced around frantically, screaming very loudly as he turned a corner and came face to face with a vampire, blood dripping from its mouth. 'I have to get out of here! Where the hack is the exit?' was the only thing on his mind as he raced around another corner. As he threw open a random door, he screamed again as he spotted a bloodied clown. After running around a few more minutes, Hojo collapsed in a room filled with blood spatters and body parts and began crying. After a while he fell asleep, thrashing around in his nightmares as random monsters and demons haunted him, even in sleep.

The two were lucky when they reached the Ferris Wheel, they were the only two there and so were able to get on instantly. The operator chuckled to himself as he saw the couple enter the cabin and sit down near the window. 'Since nobody's around, I have an idea...'

As the ride started, Inuyasha and Kagome found themselves talking about random things, from the feudal era to their wishes.

"I wish I had a lot of money and had lived in a giant house, probably by a forest... It would have a large yard for the kids to play in and it will have a hot tub inside so I can always relax..." Kagome trailed off as she looked at Inuyasha. "That's enough about me, what do you wish for?"

'To be with you,' Inuyasha thought as he leaned back and closed his eyes, pretending to think. 'Kagome, is that really what you wish for? To be with some guy and get a house with him? Would you break your promise to stay with me?' the last question brought a pained look to Inuyasha's face. 'Damned human emotions,' he thought before quickly returning his face to its pensive look.

Kagome watched as he closed his eyes and thought. 'I wish you would be with me, Inuyasha. The wish I have has you in it, but I can't tell you that.' She glanced up as Inuyasha's face contorted, but by the time her eyes readjusted, his face was back to normal.

"I have just about everything I need, I don't really think about wishes. What I want I can't really have, so it's pointless to dream," Inuyasha said slowly.

'He means Kikyo, of course... Since she's dead, he can't be with her,' Kagome thought right as the ride reached its highest point. She gazed out at the cityscape, taking in its beauty. Lights were on in most of the buildings, showing other people still at work. Other people, different families, sometimes she wondered about all of the other people in the world. What do they do for a living? Are they happy with their lives? She used to wonder if there was someone out there waiting to meet her before she met Inuyasha. 'Now I know the answer. No. My someone is 500 years in the past, hung up over a dead priestess.'

Suddenly, the lights cut out and the ride stopped, leaving the two on top of the ride with no way to get off. "Is this part of the ride?" asked Inuyasha as he opened his eyes and stood up.

Kagome shook her head as she responded, "No, I think that the ride bro-"

She was cut off as the intercom cracked to life, "Hey, sorry guys! The ride broke down. It might take some time to get it back up. I'll try to get it working as soon as possible," came the voice that the two assumed was the operator.

Kagome sighed as she stood up and paced around a bit before sitting back to back with Inuyasha, facing the other side. She didn't know what to do. Here she was, alone, stuck with the man she loved, and suspended above everyone else, with a beautiful view. And did she mention completely alone? She glanced out the window again and gasped lightly at the sight before her. The stars shone brightly in the night sky as the trees in the nearby forest swayed majestically in the light breeze.

Kagome couldn't think of a more romantic place at the moment as she was mesmerized by the beauty before her. Kagome sighed to herself, 'But Inuyasha doesn't have a romantic bone in his bod-' any further thoughts were cut off as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her close. She blushed at the contact and closeness between them, still not having found her voice, she settled for looking at the half demon turned human questioningly.

Inuyasha was also blushing slightly "Wh-what? You looked cold, okay?" he said a bit gruffly. Kagome sighed to herself, but leaned on his shoulder with a smile, closing her eyes. 'Again with the though guy act,' she thought as she snuggled a bit closer to him.

'I guess her leaning against me is a good sign,' Inuyasha thought lazily as he tightened his grip on her. He felt her snuggle closer to him and blushed a bit deeper. 'I wish that guy will forget about us for a while,' Inuyasha thought lazily as he turned his head and leaned down, discreetly taking in her scent. Even though he was human, he could still smell her alluring scent of lavender and vanilla.

The ride operator glanced at his watch, 11:45. "Well, I suppose it's about time to 'fix' the ride," he said to himself while grinning. He stood up from the food court and made his way back to the ride, walking slowly to give them a bit more time.

Inuyasha and Kagome had been leaning against each other for the past ten minutes before Inuyasha broke the silence. "Kagome?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you... Do you really wish to live here in that big house you were talking about earlier?"

"It's been a dream since before I've meet you... I always thought it would've been cool. I even had the perfect place picked out."

"Oh, I guess. But I always figured you'd live over in the feudal era, with us," Inuyasha said, 'With me,' he finished silently.

"Well, I kinda wanted to, I mean, I would like to come back to my time every once in a while, but I like your era more. It is a lot cleaner and you guys are like my second family," Kagome mused out loud.

"Yo-you do?" asked Inuyasha, turning and looking at Kagome who was already facing him. "You think of me and the others as a second family?"

Kagome only nodded as she became lost in his violet eyes, now filled with some unreadable emotion. The space between their faces slowly closed without them noticing, both lost in the other's eyes. Kagome could feel Inuyasha's breath against her lips before she realized what was happening. 'Oh my Kami! Inuyasha's going to kiss me!' was all she thought as their lips became a hair's width apart. Right before they made contact, the lights flashed back on and the ride began moving again.

Their moment successfully destroyed, Inuyasha quickly pulled back and scooted away from Kagome, blushing a deep red. Kagome followed suit as she wrapped her arms around herself loosely. 'He was going to kiss me. Not Kikyo... me. We were talking and then I looked into his eyes and...' Kagome thought as they finally reached the ground and disembarked.

"Sorry for the wait, guys," said the operator as he waved them off. "This thing was a bit harder to fix than I first thought it'd be.

The two nodded slightly as they walked away, looking at the ground. "I-Inuyasha, it's almost 12:00, we should head home," Kagome suggested.

"Sure, that sounds good."

The two walked home in silence, both thinking of the interrupted kiss and what it could have lead to and meant. Inuyasha cursed the operator for his timing, 'He couldn't have waited just one or two more minutes!'

Kagome was almost numb as she walked besides Inuyasha towards the shrine. 'What was that emotion in his eyes? What was he thinking when he was about to kiss me?'

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A/N: So, I need a bad-guy in the modern era and since I hate OC's in non-AU fics, Hojo was it. That is all the info you will get plot-wise, so be happy! Since this is based off of the anime, each 'episode' written is going to be about a two parter, unless I opt for a very long chapter... If/when I throw in a movie, it will be a reeeeeeealy long chapter OR a new story. If it is a new story, it will be a 'one shot' and I'll tell you guys here at the end of the chapter. I currently have an idea for one movie. Ideas, comments? Review!

A/N: Kagome's first experience with the Ferris Wheel will be explained in a later chapter, so stick around! Also, I am so mean to Hojo, but I couldn't help it…it was too perfect to pass up! Besides, it was only a few plastic figures with fake blood on them... Anyway, tell me what you think! The next chapter will be about them returning to the feudal era!

Words:

Kami - God