Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha is currently "owned" by a wild tribe of Warui Musubi! And he's about to get eaten! Oh, noooooo! (Um…any suggestions on what I should do? I've never exactly fought against ravenous food before.)

Chapter 6 – Video Arcade Outing Gone Bad

Kagome couldn't believe she wasn't dreaming. She had even pinched herself to make sure she truly wasn't. There she was, walking alongside the hottest guy in school! She almost fainted when she realized the true extent of what she was doing.

The video game arcade, Kraters, came into view. It was a big, popular, and crowded building littered with empty candy wrappers and such. Kagome was used to going to this place. In fact, she loved it. That only made her happier, realizing that she was going in with Inu-Yasha by her side.

"So, do you like playing video games?" Inu-Yasha asked.

Kagome answered honestly, "Yes!"

She couldn't believe she had dared to speak with Inu-Yasha without stuttering. She was beginning to feel a little less nervous around him. She wasn't as tense, and she was glad for that.

Inu-Yasha smiled at her response. "That's good. Kikyo said she didn't like playing video games, but I think they're rather fun. It's good to know I have a friend who likes doing it as much as me."

Kagome's heart sank a little. His word, friend, repeated over and over in her head. So he was just inviting her along as a friend, nothing more. Kagome also felt a bit silly. Of course he was only inviting me as a friend! she told herself. No one takes his or her lover to a video game arcade anyway. I knew it all along… But she still didn't feel that good. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"When we go inside, I'll buy some tokens to play the games while you find a table for us to sit in later. Okay?" Inu-Yasha said kindly.

Kagome said weakly, "All right, bargain stuck."

Instantaneously, they walked through Kraters's doors. Inside, it was loud and busy. The smell of fresh popcorn filled Kagome's nose. There were many children laughing and people betting tokens in certain parts of the building, and a small crowd had gathered and were admiring a new game of some sort. Kagome went to search for a table as Inu-Yasha had instructed. It didn't take long, even though the place was packed with a lot of people. No one ever sat at the table by the window, believing it to be bad luck. Kagome was the only one who ever dared to sit at it. It had never brought her any luck as far as she was concerned, bad or otherwise.

Inu-Yasha walked to the table a few moments later carrying two tiny bags of tokens. "Twenty tokens for each of us."

Kagome smiled, though she was faking. The word friend was still lingering in her mind no matter how hard she tried to push it away. Trying to ignore this, she stood up and went with Inu-Yasha to find a game to play.

As she was beating a bunch of younger boys at a strange battle game, Kikyo walked through the door. Her teeth were bared and her hands were held into tight, angry fists. Obviously, she wasn't very happy.

A man at the token booth said, "Would you like to purchase some tokens, miss? Ten for only three dol—"

"No."

Kikyo marched on past him and sighted Kagome. Her rage gripped on tightly. She was going to beat Kagome to a bloody pulp, she promised herself. Inu-Yasha was hers! She noticed Inu-Yasha standing next to Kagome, playing some weird game, but she didn't care. She didn't care whether or not Inu-Yasha saw her beat up Kagome. It had to be done.

"Kagome," she hissed sharply, "turn around."

She saw Kagome's face turn pale as she faced Kikyo. This satisfied her immensely. She loved seeing Kagome's fear for her.

Kikyo licked her lips and said, "I'm going to enjoy this, Kagome."

Inu-Yasha watched with confusion. He saw Kikyo's anger, as Kikyo could tell, but she still didn't care. Her pure rage didn't allow her to care. Her fist still balled up, she punched Kagome on the cheek. Hard.

"Take that, you bitch!" Kikyo screeched. "You should have never disobeyed me!"

Kagome bit her lip in pain. Kikyo smirked as she saw her resisting tears. She was about to land another punch when—

"Kikyo! What are you doing!" Inu-Yasha yelled in disbelief.

Kikyo faced Inu-Yasha and smiled politely. "Kagome is a very bad person. She…steals. She was planning on stealing money from you, and I had to stop her. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you sooner, but she shames me so much that I…"

Kikyo's voice trailed off. She knew she had convinced Inu-Yasha. He was peering at Kagome, who was sprawled out of the floor still resisting tears from the stinging pain.

Satisfied, she pulled Kagome up by the hair and yanked her out of Kraters. She didn't notice that everyone was staring at her, nor would she have cared otherwise.

Kagome didn't say a word as she got beaten that night.

Author's Note: Okay, Kikyo is sooo not getting Inu-Yasha! Not a chance! Kagome is gonna get her revenge!

Also, I decided to respond to my reviews for all of the chapter up until now. I may not do it again, but who knows? I'm bored now and I'd like to respond. So…here you go:

Kei-Ookami.kara.mori- lol. Did u know that every time u wrote me a review, u also said, "Update soon"? hee hee. Just thought that was kinda funni…Anywho, thanx 4 keeping along with my story every step of the way! (P.S. I read your Down through the TV story. It's a riot! It kept me entertained!)

pixiestixx- I luv ur pen name! It rox! And thanx, I hope it'll be a "big hit" 2.

hikaru rayearth- glad 2 kno that I'm doing good 4 a "first timer." Ha. Thanx 4 the encouragement.

Nikk98- short review, but hey—it's quality, not quantity, right:-D

loverandfighter- lol. Trust me, Kikyo will suffer. Muahahaha! Kagome in this story isn't one to believe in violence, but she will still have her revenge!

inuyashaloverforever1in a genie-like voice- You now have ur wish—another chapter!

cyberdemon- I luv ur pen name! And I hope u liked OPERATION: GET-INU-YASHA AWAY-FROM-KIKYO.

Nabikirules- Thank u 4 the review:-P

madsciencetistvand- Oooo! Thank u so much! I am honored! –lol-

TwistedBlackandRedRose- U have 1 of the coolest pen names eva! Honest! And thanx 4 the reviews! I'm glad u liked chapter 5! (I personally like that chapter the most.) Also, I liked reading some of one of your fan fic stories, Serenity.

Maia-Toisho- Short and down 2 the point review. I like it. lol. Thanx a bunch!

Next chapter: Science Project Catastrophe