Kagome grinned at Inu-yasha, as he watched in awe at the screaming crowd. It was almost more than his sensitive ears could take, but being there with Kagome made everything bearable. It had taken a lot of convincing on Kagome's part to get her stubborn hanyou to give up two days of shard hunting to join her in her time and fly to New York to watch the ball drop.
Once he'd gotten there though, despite the bad air and the loud people Inu-Yasha loved it. He didn't have to cover up his ears or change his clothes - he'd see a lot of other people dressed up just as weird as he was, including a group of girls dressed up like cats and screaming things in Japanese - though he could tell easily that they weren't Japanese themselves.
Everyone was so happy, and the cheering overwhelmed him. Kagome told him of the hardships in the world - but everyone put that aside and celebrated another year. He would too, he decided, as he joined in on the screaming.
He looked over at Kagome, who was sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eye as she jumped and cheered with everyone else. He remembered her telling him that 'the way you spend the beginning of the year is the way you'll spend the rest of it.'
As the ball began to drop, he wondered if this was how he wanted to spend his year - sneaking glances at each other and not doing anything about it.
He listened as the people around him started singing, and everyone seemed to know the lyrics...
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?
He looked to Kagome and she translated the words over the din of the crowd.
As the song singers paused to count down the final ten seconds of the year, he wondered...
Should auld acquaintance be forgot?
He looked over at Kagome, who screamed out "FIVE!"
Yes.
He pulled her over to him.
*FOUR!*
He looked into her eyes and grinned.
*THREE!*
And as the *TWO!* went by, he kissed her by
*ONE!*
As shouts of "Happy new year!" went around, Inu-Yasha and Kagome kissed amongst the others in the crowd who had chosen to celebrate with a kiss. All around the world, people saw Kagome and Inu-Yasha share their first real kiss, and stared in awe. Very few people knew who they were, but everyone recognized the emotion behind their kiss.
And in Japan, where Kagome's mother and her friends sat around the television as New York's new year was broadcast, jaws had dropped. Kagome's mother merely smiled.
Well, now I have my hands full. The way you spend the beginning of the new year is how you spend the rest of it.
A/N: I guess that means I'm going to spend the rest of the year writing pointless and crappy fanfiction, huh? XD Happy New Year everyone! And let's not forget the auld lang syne.