She knew that she had sensed something - and she knew that Goku had, too. From what he'd told her about his friends, she would have expected him to have wanted to warn them about the possible danger, but it was up to him in the end. She would just keep an eye out, just in case.

"Hey, the stairs are moving, guys!" the boy announced excitedly, bouncing up the steps of the escalator with a bright laugh. "Wow. Look at all those buildings! This is great!"

He played around a little more, jumping in place as they escalator kept going... right up until he collided with the pair of shape-shifters and they all went tumbling down. Kagome gave a quiet laugh of her own and helped him back to his feet, even as the two griped at him.

She could still feel the malicious intent directed at them, but she couldn't help but relax with Goku around. He just made everything seem... lighter - and for the girl who had spent the last five years stumbling around in the dark, that was something that she could truly appreciate. If anyone in this world would work their way under her skin, it was probably him.

They all gaped when the tunnel changed, the flashing lights and glowing shapes rushing past them in a swirl of colors. It was a bit dizzying, but everyone else's enjoyment of it made the priestess like it a bit better as well.

The ramp spat them out at the end, shooting them up into the air. Kagome just almost panicked for a moment, but reminded herself to calm down. They weren't under attack.

... Yet.

"Look at that lady," her pint-sized guardian pointed. "She's beautiful!"

"That's a statue, Goku," Bulma laughed.

"Y-yeah," the boy chuckled awkwardly. "I knew that."

The priestess shook her head. "She is pretty, isn't she?" she murmured conspiratorially to him. "Statue or not."

He grinned up at her gratefully and nodded.

"Welcome, everyone," the girl at the gate greeted them with a pleasant smile... and a voice scarily similar to Chichi's. Kagome fought a shudder and reminded herself, again, that this wasn't a fight... Yet. "Please have your tickets ready."

"Where are they?" Oolong questioned, all of them watching Bulma expectantly.

"Hold on, wouldja?" the girl huffed, shuffling around in her pockets. "Uh... they were here before!"

Goku scurried up to the girl at the gate.

"Welcome to Dreamland!" she chirped brightly. "Tickets, please!"

He walked right on by as if he hadn't even heard her, causing her to jolt a bit.

"Hey, there!" she called demandingly after him. "Tickets!"

The boy walked back up to the girl, smiling in a way that said very clearly that he didn't understand. "I'm not Tickets," he told her, reaching out and shaking her hand. "My name's Goku! It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. Bye!"

Uh-oh. That blush would seem to suggest that her voice wasn't the only thing that was like Chichi.

Kagome sighed and quickly went after her little friend, flanked immediately by the others. "Sorry!" she apologized as she hurried after the boy, glad to hear that Bulma had managed to find their tickets before they all ran into the park.

The moment they were inside, Goku was unstoppable. It was expected, of course, but he somehow seemed even more energetic than always as he started dragging them from one ride to the next. The one that had them (well, all of them but the two teens) balancing on giant balls was interesting, but the priestess was almost grateful as she sat on hers effortlessly. After some of the things that Sesshoumaru had put her through, this could only be counted as taking a break from walking.

Suddenly, the boy turned around and caught something, causing her to jump a bit.

He glanced down at the object. "A walnut?" he murmured, glancing up and sniffing about for where it might have come from.

"Hey," Oolong called as they all rolled over to him. "What's wrong, Goku?"

"Well..." the boy sighed. "I feel like someone's watching me."

"Are you kidding?" the pig grumbled.

"No," he sighed. "I guess there are a lot of people in here, huh?"

"Thousands," the swine confirmed.

"But," Kagome interrupted before it could be dismissed, "I've been feeling the same thing as Goku. Like someone's watching us."

The boy blinked at her. "You can sense that kind of thing, too?"

"No way," Oolong snorted challengingly. "Sorry, toots, but you're just imagining it. Only guys with lots of training are able to pick up on that sort of thing."

She nearly blurted out that she was one of those 'guys', but bit her tongue. Currently useless, she reminded herself. She wouldn't be able to prove it even if they'd asked her to. For now, it was a better idea just to watch and wait.

But damn, did it rankle.

"Let's just keep going," she sighed.

The Merry-Go-Round was next, though Kagome did sit that one out in order to wander around a bit. She found a stand selling ice cream and stopped, staring at it for a second before smiling and walking over to purchase two cones with some of the money that Bulma had given her at the park entrance.

By the time she came back, Goku and Pu'ar were both scrabbling to steal some of the pig's ice cream - and she couldn't help but laugh as she walked up and dangled one of the cones in the boy's face.

He skidded to an abrupt halt and gaped at the offering for a moment before giving her a bright grin and accepting it, "Gosh, Kagome, thanks!"

Again, Oolong grumbled about some guys having all the luck; because apparently the fact that Goku was twelve was never taken into consideration. The priestess rolled her eyes and ignored him, but a scream for help grabbed all of their attention.

"Who's that?" the boy wondered.

Yamcha stood, a determined look on his face. "Let's find out!"

Before Kagome could point out the obvious 'could be a trap!', they were already running. With a sigh, she hurried to keep up with them - and was relieved to find that she had apparently come far enough along in her recovery, even despite having fallen sick (though they had rested a whole extra week in that Northern village) to be able to do so without too much strain.

Though, well, she did admire that they were so eager to rush to someone's rescue. She had always had to argue with Inuyasha in the past in order to help anyone, but Goku and his friends didn't even stop to think before jumping into the thick of it.

That dream-Sesshoumaru had been right. She really had found herself surrounded by likeminded people.

Two men quickly tossed the woman away and ran for it, Goku rushing to catch them and the other three making sure that the woman was alright. The priestess barely glanced at the blonde, but felt something inside her freeze before she could follow after the boy.

That was not the aura of a victim. That was the aura of someone who made victims.

"Miss?" Yamcha questioned worriedly. "Uh-oh. She's out..." he announced.

"Is she hurt?" Goku worried as he joined them.

"I don't think so," the older boy sighed. "She fainted."

"Good," Kagome stated stiffly, watching the dark shadows swirl around the 'unconscious' woman. "Let's leave her and go."

They gaped up at her.

"Kagome..." her little protector spoke slowly. "What's wrong? Why don't you wanna help this person?"

"She doesn't need it," she tried to convince him quietly. "Come on, please. Let's go."

"Okay lady, that is it," Oolong growled, getting between her and the blonde. "I don't know what your problem is, but you need to cut it out!"

The priestess's face paled slightly. "She is not trustworthy! I can feel it!"

"Oh, like you could 'sense' someone watching us earlier?" the pig snorted.

Her hands curled into fists. "Look, I mean it! I-"

"And where did you even come from, anyway?" he continued. "You just show up out of nowhere with Goku here, and we all know he trusts way too easily! Where did you even come from, huh? Who's to say we can trust you?"

She stiffened, feeling her fingers begin to tremble. "I-I..."

"He is right," Pu'ar agreed softly.

"Guys," Goku protested, his voice weak.

Yamcha just sighed. "Now's not the time. We need to take care of this lady first, and we can talk everything out with Kagome later."

The priestess took an unsteady step back, her jaw clenching as they once more went about trying to rouse the woman. This... shouldn't have hurt so much. She had barely even met them, and they really didn't know anything about her - but... those expressions reminded her of that look Inuyasha had given her, right before grabbing her and making that second wish.

Goku should have known her by now. If no one else, he should have been able to tell them that she wouldn't screw around with this kind of thing.

Her eyes pricked with tears.

"Miss?" her little friend called. "Wake up!"

The blonde roused and glanced around. "Oh, you saved me!" she gasped, really laying on the charm. "Thank you..."

"Wow," Oolong gaped. "What a dish - she's gorgeous!"

Blondie just kept playing it up. "They... those bad men, they tried to... kill..."

Yamcha was completely red in the face. "O-oh, well..."

Goku stared at her intently for a long moment, giving the priestess some hope that maybe someone else was going to notice that it was all fake. "Hold it!" the boy requested. "Don't move." He leaned in closer, his expression serious. "Hey!" he finally pointed, letting out a laugh. "She's got a booger on her forehead!"

The others started scolding him, telling him that it was a mole and that he was being rude. He actually went and apologized to the bitch!

Kagome couldn't take it anymore. "Screw this," she whispered, turning and darting off in a random direction.

"Hey, wait!" the boy called after her. "Kagome, what's wrong!"

"Oh, just leave her," Oolong snorted. "Maybe when she comes back, she'll be willing to talk. You really shouldn't just trust everyone you see, Goku."

Ironic, the priestess sneered to herself as she swung around a corner at a run.

Wasn't that what the idiots were all doing right then?

xxxx

Goku was worried. Everyone seemed to think that Kagome would just come back when she was ready, but he wasn't so sure about that - he'd never seen her that upset before. Why did it even matter where she came from? She was his friend, couldn't that just be enough?

He should apologize to her when he saw her again. He couldn't help but feel like he had done something wrong, no matter what Oolong said.

"Wow," Yamcha gasped. "You really can tell a person's fortune?"

The lady that they'd saved just nodded from her place sitting at a table with a crystal ball. "Yes, so could my great-grandmother; I guess I got the talent from her."

Goku gaped. "You mean... You see the future?"

"The past, as well," the woman agreed. "Yes, everything."

"Wow," Pu'ar exclaimed.

"Do you see stuff... about me?" the boy questioned.

She nodded again, turning down to her crystal. "Well, yes."

"Why don't you let her tell your fortune, Goku?" Yamcha suggested.

"Okay," he agreed, thinking to himself that maybe the lady could explain what he'd done wrong with Kagome earlier. Or maybe tell him whether or not she would forgive him. What if he brought her a snack as an apology?

"Please," the woman requested, "let go of all thoughts, all worries."

Goku just blinked. "Hm?" If only Kagome were here, she could have told him what this person was talking about...

"You've been to the North lately," the blonde spoke after a moment of staring at the ball. "To a very cold place... On an expedition! A mission of some kind... Oh, my. You were in great danger... I also see a tower. A very large tower."

"Muscle Tower!" the boy grinned. "You're right! That's incredible."

"You mean it's all true?" Oolong questioned.

"Every word," he assured.

The others all gasped in awe.

"Do you see anything else?" Goku requested.

"Of course," the woman murmured. "Just a moment... You have something. Concealed."

"Con... what?" he repeated, wishing yet again that his translator were there.

"Hidden," she rephrased a bit impatiently. "Oh, yes! I see!" she exclaimed, dropping her hands and opening her eyes. "You have two balls. They're very important, and they're hidden in your clothes."

"Oh, wow," the boy laughed. "She's right again, guys!"

"Young man," the woman continued. "May I see them, please? I believe that they hold the key to your future..."

"Well," he thought it over. "I guess so. Why not?"

Kagome really hadn't liked this lady, and now she was asking about what could only be the dragon balls. Something was wrong.

Luckily, playing dumb was his specialty.

He dropped his pants. "There!" he grinned.

The lady fell over.

"Well, thanks," he said a bit later as he fixed his clothes. "You knew all about me!"

"Not all about you," Oolong argued. "Just the private parts!"

They all laughed, even if the woman didn't seem to get the joke.

"Goku," Yamcha spoke up after they'd had a good chuckle. "I was just thinking. The two balls? Maybe she meant the dragon balls?"

The boy blinked. "Oh, yeah!" He pulled the bag out of his shirt and showed them, a part of him wondering if she would actually do something now that they were out in the open. "I'd forgotten all about the dragon balls." He held them up to the lady. "Are these them?"

There was a crash behind the curtain, drawing his attention.

"What's that?" he wondered, quickly moving to investigate. He frowned darkly when he saw the two men from earlier trying to escape out a window. "So, it's you again!" he growled. "Well, you're not getting away this time!"

He ran after them, only to realize that he was still holding the dragon balls. It would be harder to catch them without his hands.

"I'll hold them, Goku," Yamcha offered, taking them from him.

"Oh, thanks!" he said quickly, right before jumping up and leaping out the window after the two. He caught up easily. These guys were actually pretty slow, and really bad at running away - even Oolong and Pu'ar were there right after he was.

"Busted!" the pig announced, crossing his arms threateningly. "Big time!"

xxxx

Kagome wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to clear her head. Finally, she decided that she was going to pull an Inuyasha and go for the highest point that she could find to brood - which would actually probably be the statue. The only problem? She had no idea how to get up there. Maybe if she could call the Nimbus, like Goku...

Wait. Why not?

She glanced up, looking from side to side to make sure that no one was watching her, and then turned her eyes skyward with a shy smile. "Nimbus!" she called, hoping that the little jerk had been right all those times about the cloud liking her so much.

It skidded to a stop before her a couple of seconds later and she let out a happy squeal, jumping face-first into the yellow fluff.

"Thank you," she murmured, feeling it lift up into the air. "I really needed someone on my side right now, even if it was someone small. I don't think that Goku's friends like me all that much, Nimbus - they definitely don't trust me. I'm not so sure if even Goku will after everything is said and done..."

And here she was again. Talking to a cloud.

Wow, she was pathetic.

The priestess heaved a sigh. "Do you think you could take me up to the top of that statue?" she requested, rolling over so that she was laying on her back. "I need a good place to just think for a little while."

It started towards the statue, only to stop and give a little shiver in the air.

"Nimbus?" she called worriedly. This wasn't going to be like the time with the missile all over again, was it? Because that would suck.

Suddenly, it swung back towards the ground, causing her to let out a short yelp.

And then they swerved down to pick up Goku, who stared at her dumbly for a moment before asking the cloud to follow a ship that had just zoomed past.

Kagome gritted her teeth in the awkward silence. "So, I was right?"

The boy cringed. "Yeah," he admitted subduedly.

"She stole the dragon balls, didn't she?" she prodded none too gently.

He groaned. "Yeah... And she wants to blow up the park."

She gave another sigh. "Will you actually listen to me next time, you little brat?"

"I'll try," he confessed. "But for right now, we really gotta catch her! Faster, Nimbus!"

Blondie jolted as they got closer and swerved around in her seat. "What-? Shoot!" she growled, pulling out a gun before shooting them a smirk. "Ciao."

Luckily, their cloud was not only fast, but brilliant. The priestess was starting to develop a very serious appreciation for Nimbus, and she couldn't help but think to herself that she needed to find out what would make a good gift for a cloud as they swerved out of the way of every blast the woman sent their way.

They followed her out into the city, chasing her down determinedly.

"You're in big trouble!" Goku shouted as they finally drew up side-by-side with the ship.

"Who, me?" the woman scoffed. "Your friends are the ones in trouble! They're going to blow up in ten seconds!"

The boy gaped. "But why?" he demanded.

She just laughed. "That's the way the ball bounces!"

Okay. That was it.

"Nimbus, get us closer!" Kagome snarled, crouching on the cloud as her eyes narrowed. "I'm just about sick of this bitch!"

"What was that, little girl?!" the blonde roared back irritably.

"I said!" she screamed, leaping onto the vehicle and punching the woman square in the nose, "That I am sick of you!"

"Oh, you twisted-! You'll pay for that!" the other woman shrieked, scratching her face.

"I'd love to see you try, you Barbie wannabe!" she barked back, giving the blonde's hair a good yank and tearing a clump right out.

Blondie screamed in horror.

"Hey, look out!" Goku yelped, interrupting the devolving catfight.

They both looked up at once, eyes going wide simultaneously as they took in the wall that they were about to crash into. Both very quickly jumped ship.

The boy (and Nimbus) swooped to catch Kagome before she could plummet, and Goku threw his Power Pole to hook onto the other woman's belt and pin her to the wall instead of leaving her to fall. A little black box dropped from her belt, and they immediately dove to grab it.

Somehow, someway, the boy managed to deactivate the bomb. She had no idea how, since it just looked to her like he was biting the thing, but there was no 'boom'.

Finally, they lifted back up to face Blondie. Who was clinging to the dragon balls.

"I think you'd better hand those over," Goku demanded.

"Forget it, kid!" she growled. "Buzz off!"

"Well," he drew out with a grin, "okay! If that's the way you want it..."

He reached out and started tickling the woman, catching the priestess completely off guard. It somehow worked, though, and she reached out and grabbed the balls quickly as soon as they started to fall.

"Whew!" Goku sighed as they flew back off to check on everyone at the amusement park before heading home. "That was scary."

Kagome just sighed, not really looking forward to seeing the others again.

"Okay, Nimbus," the boy prompted as they circled the hole in the dome for the third time. "We can go in now."

The cloud paused for a moment before shuddering and taking off in another direction.

"Hey!" he yelped. "Nimbus! Where are we going!"

"Oh, great," Kagome groaned tiredly. "I was right about it having a mind of its own..."

It kept them up in the air for another ten minutes, the silence awkward and ever-growing. Finally, Goku let out a sigh. "I'm sorry!" he blurted out. "I should have told Oolong not to talk to you like that. I know I can trust you, and it doesn't matter where you come from. You're my friend and that's what's important."

She blinked at him, surprised by the outburst. "He was right," she protested slowly. "I really haven't told you anything about myself. For all you know, I could be an enemy."

He shook his head determinedly. "Nope," he rejected. "You're not."

The priestess was quiet for a moment, warring with herself. "I'm useless," she pointed out. "I just get in your way. You told Bulma that she couldn't come with us because she would get in the way, but I'm the same... and at least you know you can trust her."

The boy frowned at her. "You're not in the way!" he argued. "You help out a lot, and I can trust you. I know I can! Even Nimbus likes you, so that means you're pure of heart."

She shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "No," she murmured. "I'm really not."

His frown deepened. "You can't fool me," he huffed. "I know you're a good person."

She pulled her haori tight around her. "I've killed before," she deadpanned.

He went still for a long moment. "... So what?" he demanded eventually.

The priestess finally glanced over at him. "You don't even know me!" she argued.

"Sure I do," he grinned. "You're Kagome!"

She groaned and buried her face in her hands. "You don't understand!" she insisted. "I might be the reason someone comes after you in the future!"

"And?" he huffed. "I can take care of myself."

"I come from a different world!" she finally growled. "A different dimension, Goku!"

He gaped at her. "Cool!"

"Gah!" she roared frustratedly. This was getting absolutely nowhere.

"Hey," he called out, tugging on her sleeve.

She sighed and looked down at him. "What?" she snapped.

He pulled her down and kissed her.

Kissed. Her!

"There!" he beamed when he pulled away. "You said that was a way to tell someone that you really like them, right? Well, I really like you! So will you stay with me?"

She gawked down at him, face aflame and having no idea what to say.

Finally, she gritted her teeth and punched him upside the head. "Wrong kind of like, you brat!" she shrieked.

"Owwwwwwwwww!"

xxxx

Goku still didn't get what he'd done wrong. Kagome had told him that kissing on the lips was only reserved for the people that you had the really big 'like' for, but things like on the cheek or the back of the hands was okay otherwise - so he'd tried again by kissing her on the cheek, like she'd just said, and she got mad at him all over again! Now she kept grumbling to herself about someone giving him 'The Talk', whatever that was supposed to mean. He thought that it might have had something to do with how his grandpa had explained mates to him, but he wasn't going to ask when she was acting this scary.

Still. She was going to stay with him, and that had been what he'd been after. Maybe she would eventually feel comfortable telling him more about her past, but for now he was happy just knowing that she was Kagome and that she was still going to be around. He didn't know if that meant he liked her in that big way, but he did know that he liked her a whole lot and that he would be really sad if she went away.

After they'd finished talking and everything was okay with them again, Nimbus finally landed. Goku actually got the feeling that that might have been the point all along, but again: Kagome was being scary right now, so he wasn't going to draw any unnecessary attention to himself before she'd calmed down some more. She might have said that they were back to normal, but she was still grumbling to herself about 'dense males' and 'idiots' and why she always ended up with them around her and stuff.

Bulma was being pretty scary, too, and demanded to go with them the moment she saw them. The boy wasn't sure if he could handle even one of the girls like this, much less both of them, but - dumb as he might seem sometimes - he was smart enough to realize when he wasn't really being given much of a choice.

Heaving a sigh, he nodded and let the blue-haired girl catch another ride in his shirt.

... This was going to take some getting used to.

xxxx

A/N: End part one! Next we'll be heading into the General Blue saga. Goku and Kagome will just keep getting closer from here, but again - slow burn. They're both kind of dense when they want to be, and the age gap is sure to put a bit of a damper on anything overtly romantic for a while. At least on Kagome's end, of course. Who really knows with the extremely instinct-driven Goku? As always, thanks for reading!

Edit: 7/01/16