Summary

After her permanent return from the Feudal Era, Kagome encounters someone that she seems to forge a connection with... All for a silly little hat.

A/N: Okay! This is just a stand-alone, so enjoy!

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She sighed quietly to herself as she watched her friends have a blast without her. It wasn't that she didn't want to join in on the fun, but that she felt... left out. Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka all had boyfriends they were completely enarmored with. And she... She was still trying to get over Inuyasha. Kicking at the sand beneath her flip flops, Kagome Higurashi smiled wistfully at the thought of her silver-haired hanyou. Yeah, she loved him, but he'd made his promise to Kikyo. It took some time, but the younger priestess realized she couldn't get in the way of a love that strong. So, she'd let him go. But not before her heart had become devoted to him.

"Kagome! Are you coming into the ocean?" Ayumi giggled, squealing when her boyfriend tossed water at her. She whipped around to admonish him and he just grinned at her wickedly.

"No. I think I'm going to take a walk down that way," the priestess replied, smiling smally and pointing down the beach. Ayumi furrowed her brows in concern at the melancholy attitude that surrounded her friend. "Don't worry! I won't be gone long!"

"If you're sure..." the other girl trailed off, laughing suddenly when Eri dunked her respective other in the cool blue water. "Just don't go too far, Kagome."

"I'll be fine, Ayumi! Go have fun!" Kagome laughed, forcing a huge smile that she knew would look fake. She'd stopped trying to hide it a long time ago. And despite the fact that her friends had wanted to help, no one could seem to break her out of her self-made prison of sadness. They'd given up after a while, and hoped that she would find someone that would make her happy again.

"All right! Don't forget your hat!" The priestess spun around and snatched the straw hat from it's spot on her towel, and she set it gently on her head. Despite traipsing around the Feudal Era in all the different types of weather, for some reason, her cheeks still burned easily when she went to the beach... Or the pool. It was so weird.

She meandered down the beach, watching families and friends laugh and splash around. The summer was beautiful this year, and with it being her last one before she started college, she'd hoped that it would be a fun one.

Sadly, though, the peaceful atmosphere and the natural landscape surrounding it only made her think of a time long since passed. The Feudal Era would have been even more breathtaking. Kagome shook her head and reaffirmed her promise to not think about the dimension on the other side of the well today. She was supposed to be having fun!

'What constitutes as fun for me now? Everything here is the same boring thing. There's nothing new. There's no one interesting to meet,' the priestess thought, sighing quietly and looking out at the bright blue ocean. In the distance, she could see a sailboat lazily meandering over the horizon.

"And there are no demons."

The wind from the ocean whipped harshly, swinging her white sundress around and stealing her hat away. Gaping in shock at the floating straw, Kagome watched it head farther down the beach morosely.

"I have to get it back! That's my only hat!" the priestess cried, taking off in pursuit of her flyaway hat. She paid no attention to her surroundings, didn't see the older couple on the beach watch her in amusement as she chased down her hat, screaming angrily at it the whole way. She'd abandoned her flip flops a while back, and now she was grateful that she'd remembered to carry them with her.

"COME BACK HERE YOU STUPID HAT!" the dark haired girl growled, reaching out and barely touching the brim. A gust of wind blew it out of her reach again, flipping the straw end over end and tumbling it around an outcropping of rocks. Shrieking in indignation, Kagome whipped around the corner, eyes intent on her prize. Therefore, she failed to notice the person standing so close to the water and she collided right into them with a loud squeal.

They went down in a tangle of limbs in the shallow water.

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He hadn't really realized he'd been bulldozed over until the girl on top of him groaned in pain and sat up. And then he had to wonder how she'd managed to catch him off guard. Kurama opened his eyes and stared up at the girl that was muttering above him.

"Gods, what did I hit?" she asked, shaking her head to rid herself of dizzyness and glancing down. Eyes the color of the ocean connected with bright green and she gasped suddenly, scrambling off him in horror.

"I am so sorry! Are you okay? I wasn't watching where I was going and I-!"

"It's all right. I'm perfectly fine," the former Spirit Detective replied quickly, sitting up and brushing wet sand from his hands. His clothes were soaked, but it wasn't that big a deal. That's what you did when you went to the beach. You got wet. "Are you hurt anywhere?" The avatar sighed inwardly when she gave him a wide-eyed stare before flushing and holding out her hand.

"N-No. I'm okay. I was chasing my ha-! Oh! My hat!" the dark-haired girl started, whirling around and completely forgetting about him in hopes of being able to locate the missing head gear. Sadly, the straw hat was no where to be found. "Damn it! That was my only one!"

For his part, Kurama wasn't used to being so thoroughly ignored by anything remotely female. It not only chafed his pride, but ruffled the kitsune tendencies he exhibited on occasion. Of course, the Yoko was miffed. The rather pretty human girl wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to them. Rising to his feet and pulling his damp shirt away from his skin, the red head glanced around in search of the obviously important hat. Perhaps, if he found it, the young lady would grace him with her name.

A flash of tan caught the corner of his eye and he looked up. There, on top of the outcropping of rocks, was the aformentioned hat. Turning his attention back to the girl, he cleared his throat and pointed up.

"Miss, is that what you're looking for?" She whipped her gaze back to him, those abnormally blue eyes pinning him down for a breathless moment before they slid up to where he was pointing. A delighted smile curled onto her lips and she nodded happily.

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"Yes! That's my hat!" Kagome started towards the facing, but froze when a gentle hand at her elbow stopped her from starting her ascent.

"If you'll give me but a moment, I will be happy to recapture it for you," the red head explained, stepping around her and starting up the facing.

"Oh! Umm... You don't really have to do that! I can get it my..." she trailed off; he was obviously not listening to her as the handsome boy scaled the rocks and effortlessly swung himself to the top. There was something about him... She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but he felt... different.

'Almost like-! But that's-!' the priestess thought, eyes wide and her breath catching in her throat. She'd thought they were all gone; that demons no longer existed in her world. 'Maybe, they just got more clever?' It was the most heartening piece of news she'd received in a while. There were others that were different out there besides her!

A moment later, the boy was back on the ground and presenting her hat to her with a slight flourish and a small smile. "For you, milady." Kagome blinked and took the offered gift shyly.

"Thank you... I really appreciate it. My face gets burned easily, so I have to make sure I keep it with me," the former time traveler explained sheepishly, feeling her cheeks heat up as she settled it back on her head. A soft breeze tugged at their hair, and she lifted a hand to keep her reacquired headgear in place.

"I think it's good for a young lady to have some color. It just means you're healthy," he replied smoothly, making her bite her lip to quell the urge to suddenly giggle. He was a smooth one, she'd give him that. But she'd traveled with Miroku, and he was downright suave when he wanted to be.

"Still, a sunburn isn't exactly good for one's skin," Kagome countered, surprised at the playful tone that came out. Was she... flirting with this guy? A guy that may or may not be a demon? Inwardly she goggled at herself for being so silly. The red head quirked his lips in a crooked grin that sent her heart racing a little faster. This guy was definitely a charmer, and he knew it too. But he played subtly, and she wasn't about to ruin the game.

'Not when it's been so long since I've actually enjoyed talking to someone.' For once, it wasn't about life and death. It wasn't about making someone jealous and trying to one-up someone. It wasn't even about getting the guy's number. It was simply some harmless flirtation.

"I suppose you're still planning to walk down the beach?" And he was playing. Oh he was playing, all right.

"Yes. I was... I'm here with some friends and I just wanted to get some real air. They're kinda... stifling, if you know what I mean," the priestess answered, grinning at the curious glint in his eyes, so she elaborated, "They all brought their boyfriends and I feel distinctly like the third wheel."

Kurama blinked, his curiosity full-blown and a muted surprise darkening the color of his eyes. How was this girl not dating some lucky bastard? She was more than pretty enough, even by human standards. And for him to find something pretty was a fairly deep compliment. "Now that I can't believe. How are you-! I apologize. That's a bit of a forward question." The avatar bit his tongue to stop the rest of the words from tumbling out.

She laughed and shook her head. "Don't be silly! I'm nothing special!" Her eyes, so very expressive, drooped and darkened in sadness suddenly, "Besides, I'm not really interested in any kind of relationship right now. I don't... think my heart could take another beating like that for a long while." It was obvious that someone had hurt the dark-haired girl; and deeply too.

"... Would you like some company then?" When her gaze rose back up to meet his in curiosity, he had to supress the strange urge to flush. "Just to have someone to talk to, of course!"

Kagome bit the inside of her cheek to stifle the urge to laugh. It was rather cute that he was trying so hard to put her at ease, and she couldn't help but be surprised by the curious glint shining in his bright eyes. Eyes that reminded her a little of...

"... Shippo?"

"What?" Kurama asked, wondering what in the world she was talking about.

"No... I'm sorry. You remind me of someone I knew," she apologized, shaking her head hard and letting her eyes drop back to the beach. Not before he caught the shine of sadness in them, though.

'I wonder who...' the red head thought, before brushing the question away and holding out a hand in her line of vision. It got the reaction he wanted; she raised her head and sent him a questioning look.

"My name is Shuuichi. It's nice to meet you." She stared at his hand for a second, at a loss for words, before she remembered her manners.

"Oh! I-I'm Kagome! It's... nice to meet you too," she stuttered, putting her hand in his and thinking they would shake; like the American tradition, she supposed. With that red hair of his, he had to be only half Japanese. Right?

She got a shock when, instead, he raised her captured hand to his mouth and smirked the just tiniest bit.

"Charming. It suits you, Miss Kagome," the smooth talker murmured, laying a tiny kiss across her fingers that had the girl almost as red as his hair in less than a heartbeat. She snatched her hand back, biting her lip to keep from saying something stupid. Or giggling like an idiot. Gesturing down the beach, he waited for her to start walking, which she did at a fast clip. She could have sworn he laughed, but when she glanced back at him, he was merely smiling innocently as he caught up to her.

'That sneaky-! Oh! It was almost kitsune-like!' the priestess thought, fuming silently for a moment as the heat finally started abating from her cheeks. In a way, she had to considered the possibility, 'And kitsune are known for being mischievous... Maybe it's not too far-fetched? He could even be one of Shippo's kids, with that hair and all...'

In the end, she decided to just let it go. The time they'd spent together so far was too interesting to get all flustered about something so small.

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They chatted amiably as they walked, Kagome occasionally splashing in the shallows of the water and Kurama chuckling quietly under his breath at her almost child-like antics. They got into a water fight that ended up with them both dripping wet and unable to tell who the winner was, and the kitsune continued to become more enchanted with the small woman with an aura that seemed far too melancholy for her.

"So... I told you why I'm here. How about yourself?" Kagome asked, deciding to change the topic of their conversation after a while.

"It's summer. I'm getting ready to go away to college, and I wanted to spend the last few months doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying my time here," the redhead replied, shrugging slightly and letting a carefree grin slip across his features as he looked out at the ocean. They'd been walking a while and the sun was starting to lower towards the horizon. "I won't be able to do this very often once I get back to classes. I simply won't have the leisure."

"What are you planning on studying?" the former time traveler couldn't help but ask, wondering exactly what he would enjoy. For a pretty boy like him, she wouldn't be surprised if he said-

"I want to work on a double major in Botany and Microbiology with a minor in Biochemistry."

-definitely not that! Blinking rapidly, the dark-haired girl pinned him with a gobsmacked stare. He slid a sly glance in her direction.

"Not what you were expecting?"

"I'll be honest, no. You must be pretty ambitious to load yourself down with that much," she replied, shaking her head before smiling gently, "I guess that just means I shouldn't judge someone by how they look. With everything I've done, I would think that I wouldn't do that anymore."

"I'll manage. What about yourself?" Kurama ventured, steering the conversation away from himself. He wasn't really sure what to think of the dark-haired human, so he had no idea what she would want to do with her life.

"Well... I'm kinda being pulled in a few directions," Kagome thought out loud, staring up at the sky as she shuffled the sand through her feet, "History, but with a focus on the older eras. Religion because I'm curious and I grew up on a shrine." She seemed to glance at him for a second, and he had to have been imagining the little smirk that flickered across her features as she continued, "Mythology, for various reasons."

"Mythology?"

"Hmmm, I've always wondered if all the stories had some kind of basis to them."

"Which stories?"

"Oh, you know, the ones everyone grew up believing were just fairytales. Like how the gods used to roam the earth, spirits that could steal away a maiden's soul in her sleep, spiritually aware people that could do amazing things... demons." That hit a note. He barely stopped the automatic reaction to suck in a breath in shock.

Kagome grinned inwardly at the way the boy's aura spiked alarmingly, but kept an innocent expression on her face, "But none of that stuff is real, right?"

"Right... It's all just stories," Kurama replied faintly, almost disappointed to say that. He hated keeping that part of himself a secret from everyone; his mother, any friends aside from Kuwabara and Yusuke, even a girlfriend, if he ever got around to finding one that wasn't insane or otherwise attached. He would never be able to truly be himself and he despised his other half for that. Admittance would send him straight to a padded cell somewhere.

Kagome stopped walking and peered up at him in question, "Hey, are you okay?"

He jerked for a second and came back to the present. "Yes. Just thinking."

"Deep thoughts like 'Woah!'?" she grinned, elicting the urge to flush again. How was she single? He couldn't understand why any man in their right mind wouldn't want to be around her!

"More along the lines of I'm confounded." When she tilted her head in question, the avatar elaborated against his better judgement, "You're a nice girl. Sweet, even. Intelligent, amusing, pretty, and rather clever." With each compliment, her cheeks grew darker with a flush and she stepped away from him.

"Please, you're just saying that," the human girl snorted, waving him off and turning away. Now she seemed agitated, and took a few steps away. Something in him screamed that he shouldn't let her leave, and he snagged her arm on instinct, pulling her back to him with a firm grip. She smothered a gasp as her body came into contact with his again, and stared up at him with confusion and a growing wariness.

"W-What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to hurt you," he responded immediately, trying to put her at ease. His words seemed to have the opposite effect on her because she tried to pull away.

"Please let go," Kagome pleaded, blue eyes actually looking scared. He hadn't meant to do that.

"I'm not the type of person to just hand out a few sweet words because I think it will get me somewhere, Kagome-san," the redhead explained in a soothing tone, "There's just... something about you that's different. I simply want to know what that is."

"I don't like curious people, Shuuichi-san," the girl answered, taking a couple of deep breaths before her next words seemed to tumble from her mouth, "and I really don't like curious youkai either." Kurama couldn't have dropped her arm fast enough. How the hell did she-!

"W-What?"

Kagome's eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth far too late. Then, she was turning and sprinting down the beach much faster than most normal humans could manage. The redhead gawked at her for a few seconds before shaking himself out of it and giving chase. If she knew about demons, he needed to be sure she wouldn't just go telling anyone!

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He caught up to her easily enough, and snatched her hand as she started to crest one of the sand dunes leading to the street. He didn't budge when she tugged on her arm, but his eyes did widen in surprise when the movement caused her to slip down the slope into him. As he steadied her, he kept her arms pinned, not enough to hurt her, but more than enough to make her realize that she wouldn't be able to escape.

"Tell me how you knew."

"It's not that hard to figure out!" Kagome challenged, blue eyes sparking up at him in anger, "If you've got the right training, anyone can see it!"

"Most are not trained to sense such things though," Kurama countered, letting his eyes narrow as he surveyed her violently spiking aura again. There was somethings familiar about its' consistency, though he couldn't pinpoint why. It was a feeling that he was sure his alternate half had recognized before. He reared back suddenly, instincts screaming at him to let the girl go and distance himself from her. Just in time too, because she suddenly let loose on her aura, visible pink sparks dancing around her in her distress.

Kagome gaped at him in shock, horror reflected in her luminous eyes. "I... I'm so-! I didn't mean it-!"

"You... you're a priestess!" For a few moments, they stared eachother down before the girl finally hung her head in defeat.

"Yes... I am."

"The training required for that has been... nonexistent for nearly five hundred years!" Kurama stated in disbelief, reaching out and grabbing her wrist again when she tried to take a few steps away from him. Kagome's gaze snapped back up to him, wariness creeping into her blue eyes again as he worked to wrap his mind around the idea.

"I didn't receive formal training," she whispered, biting her lip and averting her gaze to the ocean. It had been set aflame with reds,oranges, and pinks from the setting sun, and on any other occasion, she would have said it was beautiful. "I found out I had these powers comepletely by accident."

Kurama put two and two together rapidly and a sympathetic twinge unfurled in his chest. "You were attacked by a youkai, weren't you." It hadn't been a question. Kagome nodded and he resisted the urge to wince. The poor girl...

"I barely survived."

"Then you're one of the lucky few."

"I know. I haven't had contact with any youkai since I started high school three years ago," she confessed, finally raising her gaze to his. The earnest glint in her blue eyes and the flush across her cheeks proved that she was being honest. "I won't tell, I promise. So, please don't hurt me, or erase my memories, or whatever it is that you would do to make me forget."

"I said I wouldn't hurt you, Kagome-san," the redhead repeated softly, letting go of her wrist finally, "I meant that. I was merely worried. Most normal humans don't know of youkai, and it's better that they don't."

"I know," Kagome replied, "No one would believe me even if I said they were." She snorted dersively. "That's like a one-way ticket for a straight-jacket."

"Yes, it is." Glancing out at the ocean, he breathed a sigh of relief and the little ball of anxiety that had been building in his gut loosened, "I... suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you keep your memories."

"I would have fought like hell to keep you from taking them," the priestess countered, leveling a calm look at him. It was the kitsune's turn to smirk. "Seriously! I would have!"

"I don't doubt that. You seem like a fighter, Kagome-san." They stared eachother down for a moment, then both started laughing. A beep of a horn suddenly made Kagome whirl around towards the road, her long black hair almost smacking him in the face.

"Kagome! There you are! We gotta get going!" Yuka shouted from the window, waving spastically as she gestured for the priestess to come along. Kagome turned back to meet his curious green eyes and bit her lip in a way that suddenly made his heartbeat kick up a few notches.

"Well... I better get going before they all pile out of the car and decide to ask about you," she murmured, tucking some of her hair behind her ear and giving a little bow.

"Yes, I need to be heading home as well," Kurama answered somewhat painfully, not wanting to part company with the odd little priestess. He hadn't gotten to learn as much about her as he'd wanted, but still...

Kagome nodded and turned away to start up the sand dune before she whipped around again and babbled out, "Despite almost shocking you, I am very glad I met you today, Shuuichi-san."

"Same to you." She turned away, and he was seized by an irrationally genius idea. Reaching out, he snagged her wrist to stop her again. When she gazed back at him with that curiosity found so commonly in his own species, he blurted out, "May I see you again?"

The human girl blinked a few times, her brain stuttering for a moment before she processed what he'd asked. "Are you serious?"

"Well, yes." Her eyes watered and she nodded.

"I'd like that," she whispered, "I'd like that very much." The horn beeped again and she jerked herself out of her daze. "Let me grab a pen real quick." She was off like a shot then, bounding up the hill with a surprising amount of grace. Kurama watched her debate with the girl in the window for a moment before rushing back to him with a pen and a small slip of paper that turned out to be a receipt. She shoved the paper at him after scribbling down something, blushing dark red before mumbling under her breath, "This is my contact information, but don't get freaked out if you get asked a bunch of weird questions over the phone. My family is... a little protective of me after some certain events."

"I assume those events involved youkai in some way or another," the redhead surmised, taking the slip and stowing it safely in his pocket. She snorted and rolled her blue eyes.

"You don't know the half of it." Those eyes locked on him again and there was a glimmer of happiness in them, "Thank you. I'm really glad I ran into you. Literally. I think... if I hadn't, I would have started believing that everything that happened was all some magical dream, and that there really were no such thing as youkai."

"Well then, you're very welcome," Kurama replied, smiling softly and shaking his head when the horn beeped a third time, "I think they're becoming impatient. You should probably go." He took an obsenely gleeful amount of pride in the way her pretty face darkened red again.

"Right. Um, bye!" With that, Kagome whipped back up the hill and almost dove into the car. Kurama watched the vehicle drive off and let out a long sigh. He was sad to see the bright girl go, but he had a way of getting a hold of her again. Now, he would just have to wait until the right time.

"My very own puzzle in this day and age," he murmured, gazing out at the fiery colored ocean with bright golden eyes, "I do hope this is worth the investment of my time." He was sure it would be. There was just something about Kagome.

Something that stirred him on a deep level.

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"Soooo, Kagome. Who was tall, tan, and red?" Yuka asked slyly, giggling when Kagome spluttered and blushed for a second.

"Just a friend, Yuka! I'm not looking for a date or a boyfriend!"

"All right. Suit yourself," she shrugged, glancing in the mirror to see Ayumi and Eri's reactions. Both girls were grinning identically. "You'll tell us eventually."

Kagome grumbled the rest of the ride home.

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A/N: Whew! FINALLY done with this one! It's been sitting on my computer unfinished for AGES! I knew there was only just a smidge left, but I just couldn't seem to get it to flow. And now, after excruiating brain exercise, I finished! Hoorah for me! -brain is mush now-

Umm, stand-alone only. I don't really forsee a sequel for this... unless inspiration hits me like a ton of bricks.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think by leaving a lovely review! Until next time!