Kawaii Kit: LALALALALALA!!!!! I liiiiiiive!!!! Hello, everyone!!!!!! *does a random dance* How long has it been? Years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds??? Well…not really. Maybe months… *cough* Well, I am here now and ready to continue my fic!!!! WOOHOO!!!! So, with no further ado, the next chapter! Enjoy!!!!

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Chapter 8: New Moon Jitters

LAST TIME:

"Hi, guys! Are you alright? What happened to Yuki?" Kagome questioned, getting a little nervous at the sound of the evil demon's name. Inuyasha and the boys looked down, ashamed. Kurama was the one to speak up. "Well, we found out that his name is really Yukito, but he uses Yuki for short. He also…um…got away." Kagome looked absolutely terrified. Inuyasha looked up at her. "He said he'd be back, " he explained, "We'll get him then." Kagome nodded but didn't feel any better, or safer. She was surprised to find a strong arm go around her shoulder, as was everyone else. She looked up to see Hiei looking down at her worriedly. She smiled faintly up at him and leaned into his touch. Everyone else was just speechless.

THIS TIME:

"Well, let's set up camp here!" Kagome exclaimed, gesturing to the immaculate garden with a petite grin. Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke nodded while Inuyasha just scowled and jumped into a random tree.

"What crawled up his ass and died?" Yusuke questioned with a puzzled expression on his face. Kagome shrugged while Kurama chuckled and Hiei smirked. They set up camp, enjoying the daylight for once. Usually, they would have to set up camp in the darkness of the night because Inuyasha forced them to search for shards in the daytime. Kagome sighed in remembrance as she laid out her sleeping bag for later use.

When they finished their preparations, Inuyasha leapt down from his former perch on the tall tree, landed next to a startled Kagome. "Hey, Inuyasha!" Kagome greeted, happy to see him not in sulk-mode for once.

Inuyasha scoffed at her obvious excitement to his 'current mood' and sat down, waiting for her to prepare him some ramen. Kagome sighed in irritation and began to cook his favorite food, glancing at him in curiosity every once and a while.

Finally, after about ten minutes of silence, Kagome couldn't take it anymore. "What's wrong?!" she exclaimed, flicking his ear in annoyance. Inuyasha's ear twitched in response and he glared at her, refusing to say a thing.

Kagome sighed and flicked his ear again, this time harder, with a scowl, waiting for him to answer her. "Fine…" Inuyasha murmured, standing up and swiping imaginary dust from his kimono. "Come with me, Kagome…"

Kagome nodded in confusion and followed the hanyou into the woods, leaving three puzzled young men in her wake. The two stopped when they were out of hearing distance and Inuyasha turned around, facing her with a grim expression on his face.

Kagome tilted her head to the side and became worried. "What's the matter, Inuyasha?" she asked, a frown marring her features. Inuyasha let out a heavy sigh and cleared his throat nervously.

"Well…" he began, blushing in slight embarrassment. "Tonight…is the night of the…new moon…" Kagome gasped in realization and looked up at the troubled hanyou, pitying him slightly. ((AN-Pretend Kagome knows about Inuyasha's human night, ok??? Let's play pretend!))

Inuyasha saw the pity in her eyes and scowled, turning away. "I don't need your pity…" he muttered darkly, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. Kagome sighed and nodded grimly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Just stay with us…" she murmured, "You'll be safe in that garden. It seems holy somehow…" Inuyasha looked down, feeling slightly ashamed. "I don't…want them to find out about me…" he whispered, gazing back up at her. Kagome put an arm around his shoulders in a friendly way and Inuyasha gave her a weary smile.

"We're your friends, Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly at him in reassurance. "I know they'll accept you anyway! I'll even talk to them first so they'll understand, okay?"

Inuyasha nodded after a few moments of silence, hesitant to give her an answer. Kagome grinned and took his hand, dragging him back to the already-made campsite.

Hiei saw Kagome holding Inuyasha's hand when they returned and scowled slightly in jealousy. Kurama smiled secretly, noticing the koorime's inner struggle. Yusuke just slurped on the ramen that Kagome made, unable to wait until the two returned from their discussion.

"Sorry about that!" Kagome exclaimed, sitting down next to Hiei and taking a cup of ramen. "Inuyasha just had…something to tell me." Inuyasha squirmed as everyone's eyes turned to him and looked away with a 'feh.'

After they finished their lunch, Kagome decided to tell the boys about Inuyasha's…handicap. "You guys, listen!" she exclaimed, immediately receiving everyone's attention. "Thanks…well Inuyasha has…a problem that you should all know about." Inuyasha cringed and waited for her to explain and the insult-fest to begin.

"Tonight is the night of the new moon, the one night that Inuyasha becomes…a full human. Please be nice! He really didn't want everyone to know about this…"

Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke were silent, nodding in understanding. Kagome sighed in relief and Inuyasha leapt down from the tree in confusion. "Aren't you gonna…make fun of me???" he asked in puzzlement, making Kagome sweat drop and sigh.

The three boys just shrugged, not really caring. "Don't worry about it!" Yusuke exclaimed in reassurance, waving it off with a shrug. Kurama smiled at Inuyasha and nodded. "It happens to all half demons, you shouldn't be ashamed." Hiei just remained silent, feeling like he understood the half demon.

'I may not be a hanyou…' the fire/ice apparition thought, 'but I know what it's like to be shunned all your life for being different.' Inuyasha sighed in relief and looked at them gratefully. "Uh…thanks…" he replied, jumping back into the tree he once perched on.

"No problem…" Yusuke replied with another shrug. "Hey…who wants to play cards???" Kagome giggled and decided to take a walk. "I'm going to go take a walk, ok?" she called, receiving a bunch of nods from the four boys playing cards. ((AN-Inuyasha played too…lol ^_^*))

Kagome packed her bathing supplies, remembering the hot springs she saw as Hiei brought her to the garden. She walked into the woods, heading into the direction she smelled the hot water from. (AN-She is a demon! ^^))

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Kawaii Kit: I know, I know…it was a stupid, short chapter. I just wrote it to show you guys that I'm still here and just have writer's block… I'll write more soon, I promise!!!! Bye!!!! ^_^