Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Hidden Memories

AN: I like to thank you again to those who reviewed. I really like them. Heehee. I'm glad you guys are liking my story and reviewing. Well anyways go and read the new chapter!

Chapter Four: Kagome…

Kagome looked up at Houjo, who was just staring at her. He hasn't spoken a word at all, after he said her name. She wondered if there was something wrong with him.

There probably was.

" Houjo?" Kagome asked, worried when she didn't see or hear him breathing. She poked his arm. " Houjo are you okay?"

Houjo snapped out of his reverie and looked, at first, like he didn't know where he was until his eyes landed on her. He gave her a smile. Kagome looked at him weird, her thoughts of him being strange was becoming much more easier to believe.

" Umm… Kagome," Kagome looked up at him lamely, she really did like him, just not now and not ever like the way he wanted her to like him. " Do.. Do you…" Houjo was fidgeting, " Do you think you… think you would…"

" What?" Kagome asked -not to nicely. It wasn't her fault, he was taking too long to say what he wants to say. And besides, she was having a bad day and his lack of vocabulary was wearing thing her patience. He scratched his head a little and looked at her nervously. She was getting nervous as well.

" Doyouwanttogooutsometime?" Houjo asked in one breath.

Kagome raised a brow, not having a clue to what he just said, well maybe a little clue. But she wanted to play dumb, besides she can't always assume he would ask her out right? She looked at her other friends were in the same page as her too. All clueless and a little amazed at how fast he spoke the question.

" I'm sorry," Kagome shifted on her foot, " I didn't catch what you said."

" Go out with me?" Houjo asked, " Tonight?"

Kagome was about to say her answer when he cut her in.

" Or like tomorrow."

" Or some other time,"

" Like for dinner or something,"

" Or movies,"

" Or both."

" Whichever you want to do really."

Kagome looked at him, and felt guilty. He was shifting from one foot to the other as he waited for her answer. Houjo looked like he was defeated, as if knowing that her answer would be 'no'. Which was not really false. She had always told him 'no', but seeing him right now, so desperate, she was felt like she was some… bad person, for always turning him down. But she didn't have to turn him down so many times if he just got the message.

Kagome looked at Houjo, actually looked at him. She was thinking of the reasons why she always turned him down. He was a nice guy -there are not many of those around-, smart and funny -when he wants to be. He was also caring, giving her all those 'good for your health' things, and he was a gentleman. Those are the kind of traits you want a guy to have right? So why did she always say no?

" Kagome?" Houjo asked. Kagome snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him. " Umm will you?"

He was really nervous, she could see his smile twitching at the corners. Kagome felt some sympathetic towards him. It can't be that bad to go out with Houjo, and there really was no reason to turn him down, he was a great guy. Anyways it is just one date, so it should be alright. " Yes," Kagome finally answered, nodding at him.

Houjo and her friends looked shocked. Wondering if they did hear the words coming out of her mouth.

" What?" Houjo asked.

" I'll go out with you," Kagome forced the words out. She hoped she wouldn't regret this later.

" Okay," Houjo said slowly, but she could see the happiness in his eyes and face. Seeing that, she was feeling a little better. " Umm… Friday?" Kagome nodded her head. " Alright! Umm.. I'll call you then. Bye!"

With that Kagome watched Houjo leave. Well there it was, she had sat a date with Houjo on Friday, which was two days from now. It should give her sometime to adjust to that fact. She turned around and groaned at the sight of her friends faces. There was a bad thing with agreeing to go out with Houjo. Her friends reaction.

*~*

Inuyasha walked down the busy street. He had been searching for hours already but he couldn't hear or smell Kagome. He couldn't depend on her looks. There were too many women that looked close to Kagome, and there was also the reason that her looks would have changed. So he must depend on his ears and nose.

He was getting a little mad and annoyed. There were a lot of people, and from them, came many different strong smells. Not to mention the places around them too. All he could smell were flowers, mint, food, perfume, cologne and unfortunately he could smell bad body odor. Inuyasha glared at the people he knew that smelt bad. He was amazed at how many people didn't even bother smelling good, don't they have any shame? Inuyasha blocked their smell and just moved on. He had better things to do than get mad at people who smelt bad.

After walking down 4 blocks, Inuyasha was starting to become hopeless. He had searched for many decades for her, and he had not seen hide nor hair of her, or smelt her scent in any of those years. What if she was dead? That could be the only reason he couldn't find her. Fear gripped his heart and Inuyasha shook that thought away. He would not allow himself to think such a thing. But then why couldn't he find her?

Inuyasha went in an alley way. He was giving up. What had made him think, that after centuries of searching for her and coming empty handed, he would find her now? He leaned his head back. ' Kagome.' Inuyasha thought as he closed his eyes. He sniffed the air and smelt something good. The scent of food uplifted his down spirit a little, seeing that it distracted him from those awful thoughts.

It had been hours since he last ate. He took in the scent of food and paused when he smelt something familiar lingering in it. He knew that smell. Inuyasha exited the alley and followed the scent of spring. He looked around and spotted her. It just got to be her, Kagome was the only one that could smell like that. He struggled against the crowd to reach the girl who was emitting that great smell. It had to be Kagome! Inuyasha wished as he fought through the crowd that he could just see the girls face, to prove to himself that it was Kagome.

Inuyasha was frozen in his steps when he saw her turn around. It was her. He had finally found her. After all the years of just seeing her face in a picture, he was finally seeing the real thing. She looked the same, nothing had changed, she was just as he remembered. The spell he was under was broken when she disappeared from his sight. He started to panic and quickly sniffed the air to pick up her scent. He wasn't going to let her go now. He just found her.

*~*

Kagome was awoken from reverie -not so gently- as her friends pulled her through the open doors of the mall. Ever since she laid her eyes on her friends after agreeing with Houjo about the date, they had been yapping on and on about them being right on thinking that she -Kagome!- secretly liked him, and was just playing hard to get. And their mission, in the mall, was to prepare Kagome for her date, two days from now.

She looked at her new surrounding. It seems that their first stop was the perfume section of the mall. She took a sniff of the bottle in front of her and crinkled her nose. The smell was so strong! She placed the bottle back down. She never liked perfume much, they make her feel queasy more times than not. She preferred living her day without them, the smell from her soap and shampoo were enough for her.

She let her friends go around and try the smelly things. She turned to look out at the door and wondered if what she saw out there was for real. Before she was dragged into the mall she caught a glimpse of long white hair, and as crazy as it seems, -seeing that she was far away from the person who had that hair- she noticed golden eyes. She couldn't remember when or where, but she knew that person. But how?

" Oo! This smells good!" Ayumi sprayed the perfume on Kagome. " Smell it!"

Kagome was shaken out of her thoughts. She took a sniff in the air and waved her hands in front of her, her nose crinkled. That was too much! " Stop it!" Kagome protested. " I don't like it!"

" It smells good! You should buy it!" Yuka said as she dumped the bottle in Kagome's hands.

" You can use that for your date with Houjo!" Eri tipped, as she smiled. Yuka and Ayumi brightened at that idea and nodded their heads in agreement.

Kagome returned the bottle to where it belonged and gave the girls a 'get real' look. " Oh please! I only agreed with him because I felt sorry for him!" Kagome straightened out. " And that would be the only date we are going to have!" Kagome took a sniff around her and she placed a hand on her head. She was getting nauseous, she really didn't like that perfume they sprayed on her. It was too damn strong.

" And thanks to you guys," Kagome eyed her friends. " I am getting a headache due to all these perfumes." With that said she walked out of the store, her friends rushing out with her.

*~*

Inuyasha stopped. He couldn't smell her anymore, her scent vanished. He looked desperately around, if he can't smell her then he is bound to see her. His eyes skimmed on every female in the crowd. He aggressively walked through the throng of people, glancing here and there, searching for her face.

He was getting tired with the crowd pushing him backwards. He stepped out and walked into an alley. It was hopeless to look for her in that kind of swarm of humans, they were constantly in his way. Inuyasha leaned on the wall and looked up. Hope flashed in his eyes, he may see her from above, or at least be able to concentrate more on her scent. Up there, he would be able to pinpoint her scent better, for he would be distant enough from the other overwhelming smell on the grounds.

Inuyasha ran deeper into the alley and jumped up to the roof of the building. He ran quickly to the side of the building and looked down at the people on the ground. He was able to skim the crowds much quicker for Kagome. But he couldn't find her at all. Inuyasha jumped to the next building, thinking she might have gone farther than he thought. Inuyasha skimmed the crowd once more, he was going to find her.

" Kagome…"

*~*

Kagome leaned back on her chair, she had just finished all her history homework. Amazingly, she went through it pretty quickly, and she was a little surprised at the fact that she knew most of the answers. She yawned and looked at the clock. It was 8 o'clock. She had been working on only one set of homework and it took her 2 hours! She looked at the other pile of homework she had to do, and groaned. Those are a lot of hours wasted on homework.

She set aside her finished work and stood up, stretching and working out the kinks that were in her neck. She sniffed the air and a displeased look graced her face as she fingered her shirt. She smelt like that perfume Ayumi sprayed on her and it was overwhelming her. She was surprised that she didn't notice it before, but she guessed it was due to her concentration on her work.

She grabbed her towel and picked out her pajama's and a new pair of underwear. She was going to take a shower and wash away all the days work off her body. She smelt the air and quickly walked to the bathroom. She needed to wash away the horrible perfume Ayumi had sprayed on her too.

*~*

It had taken all day, and most of the night, but he had made it. He had picked up only a smudge of her scent in the air, but it was enough for him to be able to track her down. Inuyasha stood in the middle of the sidewalk, and stared at the shrine right across the street. It was just as he remembered. Nothing had changed at all.

He looked up at the window, which he knew was the one that led to Kagome's room, and watched the shadow on the closed curtain dance around. After all those years that has passed, after all those wishes he made on those countless shooting stars he saw, and loosing hope on ever finding her on the way. He had finally found her. Just beyond those closed window curtains, he would meet her face to face after such a long time.

He made his way towards the shrine, never taking his eyes off the window. He was going to see her, after a very long time, he was finally going to see her. " Kagome…" He whispered in the night. This time, he would make their meeting more friendly than the previous encounters they had.

*~*

AN: Okay! This is the end of the chapter! What do you guys think? Enjoyed it? Tell me by doing the thing you do best -REVIEWING! ^-^