I do not own either anime... which really sucks...

A Pure Heart

Chapter 3: So Close

"HYAH!" Kagome yelled, taking a swipe at her opponent with Inuyasha in hand. After much searching, she had finally managed to track down her target. The man in question had been terrorizing the poor town, murdering countless innocent humans, and eating their souls in order to increase his own strength.

Kagome was disgusted with the enemy. Not only because of his actions, but because of his appearance as well. The man, whose name she had not learned, had two large antennae atop of his head. His body was covered with light brown plates, which seemed to be his armor, and his hands and feet were long, thin and hairy. Basically, the man looked like a giant human-bug. She hated bugs, which only gave her another reason to kill the creep.

The opponents stood on the roof of a clock tower, face to face and swords drawn; the sun slowly rising behind them. The man was the first to strike, running at her with great speed, swinging his sword at her legs. But Kagome was too quick for him. By the time he had gotten to her, Kagome had already leapt high into the air out of harm's way.

"Inuyasha, Bow!" She commanded. Still airborne, Inuyasha changed into his bow form with a slim pale-pink arrow appearing in Kagome's hand.

"GO!" She shouted, firing the arrow at her target, as a strong wave of energy erupted from the arrow. The arrow sliced through the air and pierced the man with a great force, disintegrating his body. Only a soul remained when the light had died down.

"HA! That was too easy!" Inuyasha exclaimed, landing in his human form beside his meister. "And now for my sweet prize."

Inuyasha stepped up to the soul, putting it in his mouth and swallowing it whole.

"Ugh, I still don't know how you do that. It's disgusting!" Kagome shivered.

"Don't hate until you try it." Inuyasha laughed. "We should head back to the academy. This place is starting to give me the creeps."

Kagome nodded in agreement. "Join the club."

The pair ran through the gates of the DWMA, trying to make it to their class without being too late. But before they could enter the academy, they were stopped by Maka and Soul who had just appeared in the doorway.

"Maka! Soul! What are the two of you up to?" Kagome asked, panting, trying to catch her breath.

"Hey guys! We have some remedial assignments to attend to in London. Stein will fail us otherwise," Maka replied, sighing.

"We just got back from an assignment ourselves."

"Yeah! Fifty souls, baby! We're half way there!" Inuyasha cheered.

"Congratulations!" Maka exclaimed.

"Whatever..." Soul commented. "Maka, we have to go now if we want to finish before tomorrow morning. And I don't feel like pulling an all-nighter."

"Right. See you guys later!" Maka said, being pulled through the gates by an impatient Soul.

"Be careful!" Kagome called back, heading into the school with her own partner.

"Welcome back," Stein greeted as Inuyasha and Kagome walked into the classroom. "I hope your mission was a success."

They nodded. "Good, then I can forgive you for being late. Now take your seats."

Kagome took her (new) usual spot beside Liz. Inuyasha sat beside Patty, with Death the Kid in the middle of the five.

"How did you do?" Kid whispered.

Inuyasha gave him a thumb's up and winked.

Kid smiled in return. "I figured as much..." He said as he began writing on a piece of scrap paper.

"Psst... Kagome," Liz said quietly, a little while later. She slid a note along the desk, keeping her eyes on Stein so she wouldn't get caught.

Kagome took the note, quickly glancing around the room to ensure nobody was watching. Opening it, she could immediately tell it was from Kid.

Kagome,

Meet Liz, Patty and I in the park at 8 o'clock tonight.

Bring Inuyasha with you.

Kid

Kagome sighed, now questioning his motives. Why did he want them there at eight? Well, she knew why he chose 8. It's a perfect number in his eyes. But why the park? What was he planning?

Eight o'clock was approaching very quickly. Kagome decided to dress up slightly nicer than usual, wearing a short, strapless summer dress that was light blue in color. Inuyasha stuck to his usual red tee and denim jeans, not caring as much.

The two soon headed out, making their way to the park next to the academy. When they arrived, the spotted Kid, Liz and Patty leaning against the stone wall. Liz and Patty were wearing their usual red tank top and shorts (jeans in Liz's case). Kid was also wearing his usual, though he had his plain, black collar-jacket on over top.

"You're just in time," Kid said softly as he approached them.

"Err… Yeah. So what this about?" Kagome asked.

"I want everyone to look up..." Kid replied, looking at his pocket watch. "Now."

And so they did. Through the large clearing in the trees, hundreds of bright shooting stars began to race across the night sky. It was the most wonderful thing any of them had ever seen. Even Inuyasha seemed amazed at the stars' beauty.

"Would you like a better view?" Kid asked Kagome, offering his hand and conjuring up his board.

"Okay..." Kagome blushed, taking his hand and stepping onto the board with him.

"Hang on tight!" He said, wrapping her arms around his waist as they lifted off into the air, flying further and further away from the ground, above the tops of the trees.

Stars continued to soar overhead, growing more and more beautiful the higher up the pair went. Kagome was in complete awe, making a content smile appear on Kid's face.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful!" She exclaimed, staring off into the distance as the stars began to disappear from their sight.

I have... He thought.

Kid allowed them to hover in the air a little while longer before making his descent to the top of the stone wall. Inuyasha, Patty and Liz only watched them from the bottom.

"Kid... That was amazing!" Kagome said, taking a seat on the wall`s edge.

Another smile made its way across his face. Now`s your chance! He thought.

"That cluster of stars only comes around once every one hundred years. I thought of you when I heard it was coming. I knew you`d like it.´´

"I loved it." She sighed, feeling as if she were in complete bliss, unaware of the snickers and giggles coming from the audience below.

Kagome looked at Kid, her eyes meeting with his. She had never really noticed their glimmering, golden shade. She felt captivated by them, as if she was being pulled in by an outside force. They both slowly leaned in closer to each other, slightly tilting their heads to the side.

Kid drew closer still, his eyes closing along with hers. He could feel Kagome`s lips lightly brush against his own. Nothing could ruin this moment with her.

"KID! KAGOME!" Inuyasha yelled from the bottom of the wall, his cell phone in hand.

Damn it. He thought, as they both turned their heads away from each other to face Inuyasha.

"What!" Kagome snapped, her face blood red.

"Maka called. Soul`s in trouble!"

Death the Kid and Kagome looked at each other once more but shifted their eyes away went they met, blushing. Kagome hopped down from the wall to stand beside Inuyasha. Kid jumped down as well, but headed towards Liz and Patty with his head down and his hands in his jacket pocket.

"You couldn`t have waited a few more seconds?" Kagome whispered, poorly hiding the fact that she was furious with him.

"Nope..." Inuyasha smirked. Ha... I didn`t even plan for it happen this way. I`m just lucky I guess.

The group scurried down the halls to the dispensary to find Maka, who was sitting alone against the wall with her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Maka, are you alright?" Kagome asked. "We came as soon as we heard." She continued, putting emphasis on the 'as soon' and nudging Inuyasha in the side with her elbow.

"Ouch!"

"I'm fine. But Soul..." Tears began to flow down her cheek.

"What happened? Is my buddy alright?" Black Star yelled, coming in from the other end with Tsubaki.

"I was an idiot..." Maka began telling her tale.

She had completed her assignment in full, but she sensed another soul that was on the verge of becoming a Kishin egg, as well as a group of dead human souls. Soul had told her to move on, but she went to check out the scene anyways. She had arrived at a church where, inside, she had encountered a meister with a demon sword.

Maka and Soul had fought hard, but every attack seriously injured Soul. Because of this, Maka was afraid to guard and was therefore cornered. Before the demon sword could strike her, Soul changed into his human form, taking the hit instead of her.

"Blood was everywhere," She continued. "And now Soul could die, and it`s all my fault!" She shouted, bursting into tears.

Just then, a tall female figure stepped out of the dispensary. She wore a white lab coat with a small black dress underneath. She also had long blonde hair that intertwined down her front.

"Dr. Medusa, how`s Soul?" Maka asked desperately, now standing. "Can I see him?"

"No, not yet. Professor Stein is fixing him up right now. But don`t worry. Your friend will be just fine." Medusa assured her. "Though he will have a rather large scar, I`m afraid."

Maka lowered her head. I'm sorry Soul. I have to get stronger, so you never get hurt again!

Kid, Black Star, Kagome, and their weapons stayed a bit longer, until Maka convinced them to head home, considering how late it was. Black Star and Tsubaki were the first to leave; Kid and Kagome soon followed, though silently, with Inuyasha, Liz and Patty lagging behind slightly.

"Hey Liz," Maka called. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, anything," Liz replied, walking back up to her.

"Erm... I`m just curious. What's going on with Kid and Kagome? Kid has barely said a word all night and Kagome... she seemed really irritated about something."

Liz let out a slight giggle. "I shouldn't be laughing about it but something happened earlier this evening. But I guess I should say first that Kid and Kagome are totally in love."

"Really? Those two?" Maka asked with a shocked expression.

"Yeah... Anyways... We went to the park earlier to see the shooting star thing I told you about earlier. Those two were inseparable the whole night and Kid was acting like a total romantic. They almost managed to kiss by the end of it."

"Almost?"

"Inuyasha interrupted them right after you called... the impatient bastard," Liz explained.

"Huh, I always thought Inuyasha would end up with Kagome, not Kid."

"So did everyone else... even Kid at one point."

Liz! Let's go!

"Ugh.. I should go before I'm forced to walk home," Liz said as she started to walk away. "Tell Soul we all said 'hi!'"

"I will." Sigh.

Soul... Don`t die on me.

"I hope Soul will be okay," Patty said, walking through the doors of Death Manor with the others.

"He`ll be fine!" Inuyasha yawned. "Soul`s a tough guy. He won`t go down so easily. I'm heading to bed. It's late. G'night," He said, heading to his room.

"I guess I should go too..." Kagome said, hiding her face as she made her way up the stairs with Liz and Patty doing the same. "I'll see you in the morning, Kid." She choked out, trying to hide her tears.

Death the Kid remained silent until he was sure everyone was in their rooms with their doors closed.

"DAMMIT!" He yelled, punching the wall beside him. Kid leaned himself against the wall, sliding until he hit the floor, lowering his head.

I was so close...