Disclaimer: Yes, this is a Disclaimer.

[Author's Note] *sigh* well, here is the chapter! I hope that it meets with your standards... hmm...
Lunatic Pandora- Cinderella? You mean the whole new dress thing? (sorry if I sound a little dense...)Or maybe, Sleeping Beauty, with the whole "once upon a dream" thing?
Nandelin- I hope this meets with your expectations!
Cat Silver- Hmm, Sesshomaru, huh? That would be interesting, wouldn't it? Regrettably, I don't think I can fit that into the story just now.. bummer.
mvdiva- my faithful reviewer! I hope you like this chapter!
Please Enjoy!

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*DING DONG* Inu Yasha rang the doorbell nervously. It was almost like he was preparing himself for Kagome seeing him for the first time. Would she recognize him? In his human form? What if Hojou was already there? What if… His thoughts were stopped when the door to the Higurashi residence opened to reveal Mrs. Higurashi herself.

"Ah, Hoj-" She got a better look at the visitor. "Who are you?"

"Hob-" he stopped himself, "-Jou is feeling a little under the weather, and asked that I come make sure that Kagome is taken care of."

"Oh-" Kagome's mother processed the information. "Well, in that case, come in, please,"

"Thank you." He stepped inside. "Please, may I see Kagome?" Her mother nodded.

"Just a minute." She turned and walked to the foot of the steps. "Kagome! Someone is here to see you!" she called in a sing-song voice.

"I'm not ready yet! Tell him to wait a minute!"

"If it's not too much trouble, Mrs. Higurashi, could you please give her this? It's my gift to her. I think she'll look really lovely in it…" Inu Yasha was making himself sick with all these manners. But hey, he'd better not screw this up now. Besides, after living as *gulp* a dog for awhile, he had been finding it easier and easier to express his feelings.

"Oh!" Kagome's mother approached Inu Yasha, and took the kimono from his arms. "This is exquisite. Kagome will absolutely love it! She was worried about finding the right kind of kimono, you know. I'll take this to her right away." Before he could mutter a 'thank you,' She ran up the steps. "Make yourself at home!" she called back to him. He sighed, and looked around. Things were exactly as he remembered them from the last time he was at the house. He was just about to sit down on the couch, when Souta entered from the kitchen.

"W-who are you?" he asked. "You're not Hojou…" Just then, the doorbell rang. Inu Yasha figured that was probably him. Souta moved to answer the door.

"Don't worry kid, I've got it. Besides, people your age shouldn't be answering the door at this time of night." He wasn't really sure what that meant, since kids in his time always welcomed calling guests. But he remembered hearing Kagome say it once or twice to her little brother, so he figured it was the best way for cleanly disposing of Hobo. He walked to the door, turned the knob, and opened it.

"Hi, is Kag- huh?" Hojou was totally taken aback at seeing some other guy in Kagome's house.

"Oh, hi," Inu Yasha played it off, thinking of something quick and easy. "Kagome said to tell you she's sorry, but she's going with me to the dance." Hojou looked so rejected. "So, Sorry," he said bitterly to the boy.

"Um, okay. Are you like, her-- cousin, or something?"

"Yeah, something. I'm just visiting." The poor boy's face lit up.

"Okay, well, then, I guess I'll see you both at the dance!"

"Yeah. Sure."

"By-" Inu Yasha slammed the door, rather rudely, in poor Hojou's face. He smiled to himself for cleanly disposing of the matter without landing any punches, and thought of how proud Kagome would be of him for holding back. He turned around, still smiling, to see a stunned Souta staring at him, mouth open.

"Y-you just… that was…"

"Yeah? What of it?" Inu Yasha was relieved he could act his normal way around Souta.

"that was… sO COOL! I hate that guy! He's so annoying, always coming around, bothering sis like that. What's your name?"

"Inu Yasha." Souta ran up to him and grabbed his hand, shaking it, and bowing at the same time. Inu Yasha was so taken up with Souta's reaction to his disposing of Hojou that he failed to notice when Kagome entered the room.

"D-did you say 'Inu Yasha'?" she asked. Inu Yasha dropped Souta's hand, and turned, awestruck, at Kagome, who was now standing before him. He had never seen her so beautiful. He could only stare at her, his eyes taking in every feature of her perfect form. Although the kimono was nothing extravagant, it was nice, and it suited her well. She stood there, just as awestruck as he was, in a beautiful blue and white kimono, the sleeves of which fell nearly to the floor. Her golden obi was tied in a flower knot, and her hair was pinned up above her head in the traditional style. "I- did you say 'Inu Yasha'?" she repeated, taking a dainty step forward.

"I'm Inu Yasha, yes. And I have come to take you to the dance in HoJou's stead," he said, bowing to her. She returned the bow, and stepped closer, getting a better look at the visitor.

"It.. it really is you, isn't it?" Inu Yasha shook his head.

"Can we go now?"

"uh-huh."

"Now wait just a minute!" Kagome's mom said sternly from behind them. They turned simultaneously to face her, to see what the problem was. "SMILE!" *FLASH*

"MOM!!" Inu Yasha remembered this "cam-ra" from when Kagome brought one back. Rotten little thing, almost made him blind. But his eyes lost their hypersensitivity when became human, so he didn't mind too much this time.

"Have fun, dears! And Inu Yasha, bring her back by 12, okay?"

"Sure," he managed to say before Kagome dragged him completely out of the house.

*****

"Inu Yasha? Are you the Inu Yasha of my dreams?"

"Er.. Yeah. Look, Kagome, there's a lot of stuff I have to tell you before the night is over."

"Okay. But why is your hair… black?"

"Because it's a moonless night."

"o-oh," she responded. "I remember," she said, recalling several of her 'dream episodes.' They walked toward the school.

"Okay. Listen, Kagome. I have to tell you before something happens and I can't. Your dreams- they aren't really dreams. They're memories. I've come from the Sengoku Jidai to watch over you."

"What happened, if they're actually reality? Why do I think that it's all a dream?" She felt like she was beginning to lose her ability to distinguish dream from reality.

"It's.. complicated. But it'll all make sense if you just do one thing."

"What is it?" Kagome's head seemed like it was spinning.

"When you see me- err, the um, dog?" Kagome nodded blankly. "You need to say 'I love you, Inu Yasha,' and the spell will be broken."

"Uh huh," she said blankly, caught up in her own thoughts.

"Are you getting this? Kagome!" He looked at Kagome's eyes. She was in a daze. He was beginning to get angry. This was so important, and she was zoning out on him! He threw his manners out the window. "Listen, wench…" Her eyes snapped alive again, and her head snapped to alertness.

"Wench, huh?! OSUWARI!"

*CRASH*

"oh.." Kagome looked down at her feet where Inu Yasha lay. "I'm- I'm so sorry. So it really is real." She bent down and patted his back. "I'm sorry, it just came out. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Maybe now you'll know I'm real." He sat up when the spell wore off. "I forgot about these," he said, as he fingered the rosary around his neck. "I guess I don't have them when I'm in dog form."

"Dog form?"

"Yes. It's some kind of a spell. I won't tell you about it now, though. Just do what I told you, and then you will understand everything."

"So, you really are Inu Yasha the dog?"

"Yes," he sighed, practically hearing Sango and Miroku's laughter ringing in his ears.

"Now, all I have to say is.. what?"

"I love you, Inu Yasha," he told her

"Would it work if I said it now?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think so, though, since the spell doesn't seem to work during the new moon, anyway. May as well try it, though." Kagome blushed.

"I um, have to mean it when I say it, right?"

"Probably," Inu Yasha answered nervously. Her asking that question was NOT a good sign.

"Well, then, I love you, Inu Yasha."

Nothing. Inu Yasha shrugged.

"I guess you'll have to do it tomorrow, if I come to your doorstep as a white dog."

"Mmhm. But now that I know what I need to do, let's spend some time together." Kagome reached for Inu Yasha's hand and intertwined her fingers with his. The two continued hand in hand toward the school gym. Inu Yasha relished every moment he spent by her side. He took in a deep breath.

"I've missed you."

Kagome smiled. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if she missed Inu Yasha back. In fact, she had been thinking he was a dream for the past month. And how could she miss a dream? In fact, how could she love someone she wasn't completely without a doubt sure was real? What if this whole sequence of events was all just in her head? They reached the school and entered the gym, ready to have some fun.

*****

As soon as they were inside, they were practically ambushed by Kagome's friends.

"Hey, Kagome, who's your friend?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah, he's cute," Erri commented.

"The man of my dreams," Kagome stated truthfully, and glanced up at Inu Yasha.

"That's so romantic," Erri remarked as she watched Kagome and Inu Yasha gaze deeply into each other's eyes.

"I thought you were coming with Hojou," Ayumi said.

"She was." Inu Yasha told her flatly. The three girls all looked at each other in confusion, curious as to what could have happened to make Hojou not come with Kagome.

"Anyway, your outfits are so kawaii! They look really authentic, too!" Yuka exclaimed.

"I think so, too," Kagome agreed somewhat absently.

"Hey, Kagome," came Hojou's voice from behind. He was carrying two cups full of punch. "I thought you might be a little thirsty," he said, handing her a cup.

"Uh, thanks, Hojou." She noticed he and Inu Yasha giving each other less than friendly stares. "Um, this is Inu Yasha," she said, gesturing at her date.

"Right. Your--cousin." Hojou said through clenched teeth. You could tell he knew that wasn't really true. He must have thought about his meeting with Inu Yasha during his solo walk to the school to have finally come to this revelation.

"My…?"

"Right," Inu Yasha said before Kagome could eke out another word. He looked at Kagome, who quickly downed the glass of punch as though it was a shot of sake.

What she didn't know, was that it really was part sake. Someone had heavily spiked the punch. Of course, this punch was pretty strong anyway, so not many people could taste the liquor. Four glasses later, Kagome could hardly stand up straight. Inu Yasha decided to take her outside for some fresh air before returning her home.

"So, Inu Yasha," she said, her speech slurred. "You're sure you're really real?" She began to chuckle at her question. Inu Yasha rolled his eyes. Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as he had hoped.

'Kagome may very well wake up tomorrow, and think this is all a dream.. And what then?' Inu Yasha thought desperately to himself.

After she had sobered up as much as possible before midnight, Inu Yasha escorted Kagome home. Her family was asleep, but Inu Yasha knew his way around the house. He carried Kagome up the stairs and into her room. She was near unconsciousness, so Inu Yasha carefully removed her obi, undid her hair, and took off her shoes before laying her down gently in her bed. She fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.

"Kagome, even if you never realize the truth, I'll be right here, watching over you," he said in a whisper. Leaning down, he gently kissed her forehead, and went outside where he sat underneath her window, waiting for dawn to arrive so that he could return to the Sengoku Jidai.

*****

"So, how did it go, Inu Yasha?" Miroku asked as soon as Inu Yasha hopped out of the well. Apparently, he had been waiting to see how the night panned out.

"Well." Far be it from Inu Yasha to reveal that he actually thought his chances were slim to none.

"I see," Miroku said, knowing exactly what Inu Yasha's curt reply implied.

"Well, I can't be sittin' around here, I've got better things to do," he said in an annoyed tone of voice, and jumped off into the forest.

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[Author's Note] How did you like it? There may be a few things that I might not have made very clear, so if you have any questions, I will try to address them in my next posting. Please Review!! All feedback is good feedback!