AN: AN: Special shout out to Kagome3112 because of all the nice things she said and defending me against Niki ^_^. Actually, I don't feel too angry about negative reviews because that's the whole purpose of the review board—praises and criticism. I mean, it stings *sob* but it's her opinion too. So thanks Kagome3112!! Uhm, as for the questions about the story, Final Spirit's comment about silver…there are also some rumors that silver affects vampires, but it's not as widely known as the werewolf one. About what he is…you'll have to read on, won't you? ^_^ Thanks for all your comments, and enjoy the next chapter.

A Night Visit

            The next day in school Kagome checked the bulletin board and saw that tryouts for the regional competition were going to start that day. Cheering silently to herself, she turned around and almost bumped into Inu-Yasha and Miroku.

            "Tryouts today! I can't wait to be on the team!" She flashed a wide grin at Miroku. "Do you know what this means? Yura will die! Yura will die!" She burst into wicked peals of laughter.

            Inu-Yasha let out a yawn and scratched his head. "How can she be so hyper? Myouga beat us both into pancakes last night." He frowned at Kagome's happy dancing. "And who's this Yura person anyway?"

            "Last year, in the cross country race, Yura finished a second before Kagome. She was furious about it. In fact, she swore that Yura was a vampire with supernatural powers and that she would sneak over to Yura's school and kill her. Does it sound familiar?" Miroku asked dully. He was exhausted because the math teacher had assigned him extra homework, since Kagome had mutilated his yesterday.

            His friend snorted. "Sounds like her. But I thought track was her thing."

            "It is. She's better at track than cross country. That's why Yura beat her last year. I'd show you the Yura dartboard she made, but I think during a blind rage she ate it. That's how mad she was."

            Inu-Yasha stared after Kagome, who was now chanting her 'death to Yura' poem. "She's a monster," he murmured. "You think maybe the black haired vampire did this to her?" Since now they were training together, Myouga had told Inu-Yasha of how Kaede had found Kagome.

            Miroku shrugged. "Who knows? But in my opinion I think Kagome was this insane from the beginning."

            Kagome walked over and slapped a piece of paper against Inu-Yasha's chest. "Soccer's one of the sports this season. You'd better try out, too, because our soccer team's horrible." Then she grinned. "I promise I won't switch the locker signs again."

            Inu-Yasha grimaced at the memory, but Miroku piped in, "Kagome, could you do that for my birthday? You don't even have to buy me anything, just sit in detention for me."

            "Hah hah. I'll think about it," Kagome said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, Miroku, do you think you can charm the cheerleaders to make 'Die, Yura, Die!' posters for me? I'll provide the picture that I digitally altered on the computer." An evil glint shone in her eyes. Inu-Yasha took a step back.

            "I think Inu-Yasha can do that," Miroku said. "They've all gone for the rebel type. Besides, I think I'm a one-woman man. I caught the landlady's daughter winking at me as she headed up to her room. I didn't follow her, since I didn't want to spend another night kissing their nasty floor."

            "Miroku, a one-woman man?" Inu-Yasha shook his head. "That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one."

            "Hey, don't call me a moron!" Miroku said defensively. "Do you know how hard it was to make my feet move to my own room?"

            Kagome shrugged. "He's right, Inu-Yasha. Don't call him a moron." She put an arm around Miroku's shoulders. "He's a brilliant ignoramus."

            "Thank you!" Miroku said, giving Inu-Yasha a superior look. Inu-Yasha lifted his hands in defeat and fought to keep from laughing. Kagome grinned and gave Miroku a huge bear hug. "This is the best day! I've got another chance to kick Yura's ass, my best friend is so wonderfully stupid, and I slaughtered Inu-Yasha yesterday during training!"

            "That's not true!" Inu-Yasha protested. "Hey, my Tetsusaiga is way better than your flimsy arrows."

            She crossed her arms. "Kikyo was the best out there and she used arrows."

            "But you're not Kikyo," he countered. He knew now that he could tease Kagome about it, since she wouldn't take it so seriously. There were times when he could use that phrase to hurt her, but since he had no need to…he wouldn't do anything unless he absolutely had to.

*          *          *

            Myouga smacked his hand against his forehead as he saw Inu-Yasha swing Tetsusaiga so slowly it looked like slow motion. Kagome was moving as equally slowly to block his attack, raising her bow like she was underwater. "What's wrong with you two? This isn't a movie, you're supposed to fight each other!"

            "So tired," Kagome moaned. "Tryouts were three hours long. Three hours! My legs feel like lead."

            "The soccer players seem to forget I'm part of their team," Inu-Yasha added, setting his sword down. "And they're all big. Abnormally big. I think they feast on blood. Maybe they're vampires, Kagome."

            "Why're you asking me?"

            "Well to you, half the school is vampiric, right?"

            "What?! If I weren't exhausted to the point of collapsing I would tear you into pieces and those pieces into little pieces and those little pieces into littler pieces--!"

            The old master shook his head as he hopped around them. He'd recovered from his seizures and given both Kagome and Kaede a big scolding about the tea. "Weaklings, both of you. This just tells me I have to train you for fitness. A high class vampire will keep you jumping."

            "Well, we're not there yet, are we?" Inu-Yasha snapped. "Because no one can find the stupid castle!" He looked extremely angry—and tired.

            Myouga stared at the two for a moment. They didn't look like they were ready to function at any moment. "Fine, both of you go home. But tomorrow, no matter how hard try outs are, I expect you to work extremely hard during training."

            "Ugh, you know, that's what makes people turn to drugs…all the pressure." Kagome gathered the few arrows she'd managed to shoot with her little strength. Inu-Yasha's sword glowed as he slid it into a sheath half its size. The sword still managed to fit, turning into a rusted long blade. Kagome made a mental note to ask how it did that.

            They started the walk home silently. Kagome didn't know where Inu-Yasha lived, since the shrine was closer. Kagome couldn't even remember how they'd tolerated each other last night, since Inu-Yasha was still angry after the whole hill incident.

            "So did your mom say anything?" Inu-Yasha's voice made Kagome lift her head. They were a couple of blocks from her house, but since they were exhausted they were walking very slowly.

            "About what?"

            Inu-Yasha made an impatient noise. "About you training to be a vampire killer, of course."

            Kagome fought back a scathing remark, which came automatically whenever it concerned Inu-Yasha. "She doesn't know yet. I didn't tell her. And I won't tell her, until I found out what happened to Souta."

            "Why? Don't you want her to know?"

            She fidgeted. Usually she could talk to Miroku about things like these. But she'd barely known Inu-Yasha for less than a week and already he was asking these questions. "Because if I tell her, it'll make her hope. And if I let her down, it'll be too much for her. She's already upset over Souta. No need to hurt her a second time. Not to mention the fact that she won't believe me."

            He hmphed and stuck his nose in the air. Kagome saw in his expression that either he didn't care about the entire thing, or that he didn't understand the part about hurting people for the second time. "What's done is done, and people can't get more hurt than from the first time," he muttered.

            "Well, she's not your mother, and you're not me," Kagome said.

"Thank god."

 She saw that they were nearing her house. "Right. That was a nice little life lesson we had, it's prompted me to do some serious soul-probing." Kagome tried to put as much sarcasm in it as possible. "Thanks for walking me home."

            "Who says I was walking you home? This is just the way to my house. Like I'd ever walk someone like you home." Inu-Yasha sniffed and walked at a quick pace, going ahead of her and passing her gate.

            "Uhm, bye," she called out after him as he turned the next corner. Kagome slipped in through the gate then locked it.

Kagome entered the house to be greeted with dark silence. Grandpa was sleeping, her mother was in her room. She contemplated telling her mother, but what if she really couldn't find Souta? Or the hidden castle?

It had never occurred to her before to tell her mother. She couldn't exactly say, "Mom, I'm a vampire hunter and it was a vampire that took Souta." And she didn't get what Inu-Yasha was saying. Of course people would be hurt the first time, but when hope was given to them and they were hurt a second time, that would be a crushing blow. She shrugged and put it aside. She was a girl and Inu-Yasha was a guy, and it was common fact that guys just didn't get it.

*          *          *

            After a week of exhausting running and kicking, Inu-Yasha and Kagome made their teams. Kagome was now fantasizing about her winning speech, generously devoting three paragraphs to Yura and how this defeat was only the beginning, that there were many more opportunities to bite the dust (insert evil laughter here). A sort of initiation for new soccer members was to streak through the cafeteria wearing jock straps during lunch, since the oldest soccer members were part of a fraternity and were obsessed with initiations. Inu-Yasha would have rather hung himself than to lose his rebel image, so he refused to do it. When the team threatened him, he calmly told them that if they kept pushing him, he would make them do it.

            A day and five hours later, the soccer team—sans Inu-Yasha—ran through the cafeteria wearing nothing but jock straps. Chaos ensued.

            All the teams wanted to have a party, to celebrate getting in and to burn the other schools' mascots. They got together after school to decide where to have the party. Sodas were passed around, along with cookies.

            "I think we should have it at Takahara's," a member of the basketball team spoke up. "He's the richest, and he's got the biggest house, and the largest stock of beer."

            Kagome rolled her eyes. As usual, people thought a party meant wild dancing and getting drunk. "If that's the case, count me out," she said. "I'd rather stay home and watch the ants crawl across my floor."

            "No, we can't have it at Takahara's. His dad's still under house arrest," one of Inu-Yasha's teammates said. "I think for corruption and accepting bribes. I forgot." Everyone looked down at the floor.

            "Oh! I know!" A cross-country girl spoke up. "Let's have it at Kagome's. She lives in a shrine, so it's pretty big." Everyone nodded their heads and turned to Kagome.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head fervently. "You can't have it at my place! I insist, there's no way!"

            "But it is pretty big, Kagome," Inu-Yasha said casually. He turned away from Kagome's warning glare and faced the others. "There's a lot of outdoor space for us to hang around in, the whole shrine stretches around the block."

            Already people were making approving sounds. Kagome saw that she was way outnumbered and groaned in defeat. "I think you want to die," she muttered towards Inu-Yasha as she clambered onto a table, waving her hands over her head to be noticed.

            "Okay. If you want to have the party at my place, fine. But I have some rules." Kagome held up a finger. "One. No beer, nor any kind of alcohol. I'm not Takahara, and thank god for that. Two. No drugs. If I catch you high, I'll kick you out and tell your coach. Three. Outdoors only. No entering the shrine, no entering the house. Four. No one bugs my mother. Got it?" She looked hard at the sea of faces, waiting for affirmation. "If anyone breaks any of the rules…" Kagome crushed her empty can of soda with one hand, "You won't live to be in the regionals." She smiled prettily. "Oh, and five. Bring your own food. I'm not shelling out any cash just to feed you. If you agree, then that's fine. See you tonight."

            As she hopped off the table, she saw Inu-Yasha shaking his head. "And I wondered why you were single," he said.

            "Shut up," she said, tossing her crushed soda can into the bin. "And bring some nachos tonight. I never get to eat nachos. Something always happens."

*          *          *

            Just to make sure that her mother wouldn't be frazzled by the noise, Kagome bought her and her grandfather tickets to a movie and dinner afterwards. She'd already assured her mother that everything was taken care of and that there would be no drunk people—or toilet paper— hanging off their roof.

            Someone had brought a stereo with amazingly large speakers, and loud music pulsed out throughout the night. Even before the party officially started, people were filling in. A pile of rival school mascots was growing in the back yard to be burned.

            Though Kagome had said no alcohol, someone had spiked the punch once the party was in full swing. Since she was busy running around, she'd drunk quite a lot of punch before realizing that her vision was starting to get blurry and her breath was starting to smell like vodka.

            Not wanting anyone to see her half stoned, she stumbled into the house and into her room. She entered the darkness and fumbled for the light switch.

            She nearly had a heart attack when, instead of the light switch, she felt someone leaning against the wall.

            Before she could scream, a cold hand covered her mouth and another arm encircled her waist. Kagome was pulled towards the man (it sure didn't feel like a woman) against his chest. Even in the darkness his hands were white. They were cold as death. There was no doubt that this was a vampire.

            "Kagome, so nice to see you again…" a cool voice whispered in her ear. "It's been six years…"

            Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth and bit the man's hand, then clawed her way out of his grasp. Fumbling around her bed for a silver arrow, which she knew she had somewhere, Kagome finally found one and held it up.

            His laughter made her freeze.

            A cold afternoon. Kagome and Souta were walking home from a trip to the candy store. It had started to rain.

            "There's a shortcut," Kagome said, pointing at an alleyway. Little Souta was holding onto her hand. "If we go there we can make it home a lot quicker."

            "Don't like wet," Souta said. "Go home fast!" The two children entered the alleyway.

            A drop of sweat rolled down her face. Why was she so scared? She would never freeze up in front of a vampire. Kikyo had certainly remained calm Why was she scared? Was it the punch?

            "You have a strong bite," the black-haired vampire said. In the glow of the silver arrows she could make out only shadows of his features. "You'll make a great vampire."

            She swallowed hard. How was she going to get out of this?

            They were stopped by a tall man. Kagome tried to move around him, but he didn't move. "Uhm, excuse us, please," she said politely, still trying to pass.

            "What a pretty girl," he said, a hand reaching down and lifting Kagome's chin. She found herself staring into the face of a man with alabaster white skin and soulless eyes. She was growing frightened. He smiled, and showed fangs like a dog's.

            She closed her eyes, then opened them. He was still there. Her hand was growing clammy with fear. She fought it down. "Where is my brother?" she asked, trying to keep her voice icy, like Myouga said Kikyo's had been. Flat and cold, never to reveal her emotions. "Did you kill him?"

            He laughed again. "And make my beautiful bride cry? No. He's alive, he's waiting for you in my home. You can come see him, if you like."

            The news made her knees weak. But she had to stay strong. "Bring him to me," she said. "I won't go with you."

            The man reached down, his mouth hovering over Kagome's small neck. She was scared to death—the hand that held Souta's was white and shaking. Finally she felt an intense pain on her neck, and she screamed and fell into darkness. Her last thoughts were of Souta screaming her name and a whirl of black.

            When she opened her eyes they were both gone.

            "A pity," he said. "I'll have to wait until you've gained some sense." He crossed the room and picked up her hand. "Meanwhile, I'll have a little taste…" His lips found her wrist and his fangs sank deep into her veins.

            She didn't cry out this time, but the pain made her grit her teeth. Almost automatically she thrust the arrow into the vampire's shoulder.

            He jerked up, his face contorted in pain, alight with the glow of the arrow. "This power…" he looked at her in disbelief. "Kikyo?!"

            "Kagome!" Someone had entered the house. Kagome could hear Inu-Yasha's footsteps in the hallway as he called her name. "Kagome!"

            The black haired vampire whirled around. "Inu-Yasha? What's he doing here?"

            "How do you know Inu-Yasha?" Kagome demanded.

            "Hmph. There's a lot you don't know. You have too many questions. When you change your mind, I'll come and answer them. But I'll tell you one thing—" Through the glow of the arrow she could see his sneer. "—Inu-Yasha's not what he might appear to be." He staggered, his hand on his bleeding shoulder. Without another word his cape swirled around him and shrank until there was nothing.

            Only now did Kagome allow herself to sink to the floor. She saw the silhouette of someone against her door, and a second later light filled the room. She looked down at her hand, where blood was dripping down her fingertips and onto the carpet.

            Inu-Yasha cursed and ran over to her. "Shit, Kagome, what the hell happened? Who was in here?" He picked up her wounded hand in his own. "One of your teammates said she saw you coming in here looking all dazed. What happened?"

            Her hands were trembling. Kagome looked up at Inu-Yasha and was surprised to find his gaze worried. "There's a first aid kit in my bathroom," she said, her voice shaky. "Please bring it over here."

            A few minutes later, Kagome was sitting cross legged on the floor, bandaging her wrist. Inu-Yasha sat across her. "It was the black-haired vampire," she said, her voice soft. "Souta's alive. He has him."

            "I'll call Myouga," Inu-Yasha said, getting up. Kagome grabbed him with her unharmed hand.

            "No! Myouga searches for the hidden castle at night. Besides, I promised myself I'd get Souta on my own. Kikyo's revenge is one thing, but getting my brother back is another. I'm responsible for his loss. So I'm gonna get him back." Her face was full of determination.

            Inu-Yasha didn't look so convinced. "That would sound so heroic, if it wasn't so stupid."

            "Well, it's not like it'll fail or anything. I've got my backup." Kagome let the barb sting him.

            He scowled. "Like you said, Kikyo's one thing, your brother's another."

            Kagome fiddled with the bandage for a few seconds, then blurted out, "He knows you. He knew it was you when you called my name. Know any crazy black haired vampires obsessed with making me his bride?"

            "My old sensei knew tons," he said after a short beat. "What did he say about me?"

            "He said…that you weren't what you appeared to be."

            Inu-Yasha snorted. "An old vampire trick to scare the nuts out of amateurs. Makes them all untrusting of other vampire killers." But it was either the alcohol fiddling with her brain or something, but Kagome swore he didn't meet her eyes.

            He noticed that Kagome's eyes looked bleary. "You don't look too good." Then he wrinkled his nose. "You don't smell too good either. I thought you said no alcohol."

            "Someone spiked the punch." Kagome yawned loudly. "Actually, I think I'll turn in early. Thanks for coming to my rescue." She smiled wanly. "Uhm, by any chance you wanna help me reach my bed? I'm still so scared I'm surprised I didn't pee my pants. My legs are pretty much paralyzed in place."

            Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. He picked her up, walked over to the bed, and unceremoniously dumped her on it. She buried herself under her covers. "Sweet dreams," he said as he was leaving, though it didn't sound like he meant it. "I guess you won't be there to eat the nachos."

            A groan from under the covers. "I knew it. It's a conspiracy against me."

            "You want me to turn off the light?"

            Kagome snickered, as if he were asking an incredibly stupid question. She was sixteen after all… "No, wait, actually, don't. I'm really scared. You be the host tonight, and don't let them make the music too loud. Please?"

            He shrugged. "Whatever. I'll be outside if you need me."

            I guess he's not too bad, she mused, already half asleep. With her eyes closed, she wasn't aware of how he was looking at her for a few minutes, his golden eyes resting lightly on her curled figure. She didn't see the sadness that was way within the hard look in his eyes. She was already in deep sleep when his footsteps faded down the hallway, but his face still remained in her mind during her sleep, the face of another friend.