For the next few days, Kagome worked hard from early in the morning until late at night. She took up jobs that she normally wouldn't do, and always tried to be available to help anyone. With her mind and body busy, she was able to stay focused and work steady. She sewed sequins on costumes, hung banners, painted flats, set up lights, wired sound systems, etc. She smiled more and laughed often, even Sango noticed that she seemed to be doing better. Kagome avoided confrontations with her father, Koga, and even Inuyasha if she could help it. There was enough work to do, and Kagome used the busy time to build up her confidence in her promises.

Trucks and trailers arrived daily, bringing people back to the carnival. Kagome kept up with her animals and even got to take them out for their exercise periods. But as more of the trainers and performers began to return from summer vacation, Kagome's time with the animals diminished. She was forced to look for other things to do, without getting in the way.

During the day, she could hear the sounds of Koga's whip whirl in the air then crack like the sound of a gunshot. He was working around the clock, preparing and drilling the animals for their routines and performances. Most of the animals complied willingly and remembered quickly the new acts and dances. Kagome dreaded the sounds of wailing and pain which were ensued following Koga's harsh training. Probably the most difficult sound to bear was the cry or roar from Inuyasha. He was at Koga's bare mercy. Kagome winced every time she thought of what Koga was doing to him. She avoided Inuyasha because she was afraid she'd lose her control if she saw him. She hoped that her words had had an effect on him. She prayed nightly that he would continue to be her strength.

One particular day, without meaning to, Kagome had a slight return to power. Before the death of Souta, she had dazzled hundreds with her trapeze skills and high wire stunts. She had been the greatest of the great. And Souta had shared in the glory for only a short time before his death. Kagome continued to blame herself for his death. Her daily reminder was the rope she used to tie back her hair, the rope that had failed Souta, the rope she had tied around him.

How the situation had occurred was quite peculiar because Kagome had been in the wrong place at the "right" time. Perhaps what contributed to her sudden remembrance were Miroku's continued kind words about her extraordinary talents. He spoke often of the therapy behind returning to show business and putting the past behind her. Kagome hadn't thought much on the idea. She could never forget Souta. But she knew Miroku was only trying to help. Sango had also even asked Kagome become a part of her act. Kagome had declined both invitations graciously, saying that particular part of her had disappeared long ago. The fact was, Kagome had forgotten about her own abilities. She had forced herself to believe that that part of her was long dead.

The day was hot with very little breeze or any sign of rain that might cool off the workers. The grand red and white striped tent had been set up and most people worked within its shade. The ring had been filled with fresh sand, and the trainers were working with the animals within it. Koga's shouts could be heard from everywhere inside the tent, as he stood in the center with his long whip.

Kagome was high above him and stared down at the poor beasts with pain in her eyes. She eyed Koga with pure hatred. She could never love a man who was as unkind as he was.

Kagome was with a team of electricians at the top of the tent. The heat was thick and heavy as they hung lights, adjusted them accordingly, and slipped in the colored paper filaments. The sweat poured off Kagome as she held a spotlight while one of the electricians screwed it in. Kagome's arms were burning from strain as she held the light steady.

"Last one..." said the man, over the roar of his power screwdriver, "Okay, great, all done." Kagome dropped her arms and let out a breath she had been holding. She moved out of the way as the electrician began to connect more wires. Kagome leaned against the railing of the high rise basket she was in, looking around at the top of the tent. It was weird being up this high. Just to her left was the platform for the trapeze acrobats to push off from…

"Shit." The electrician said. Kagome looked back at him, "What's wrong? Is it not working again?" she asked. "Yeah," he said, "Damn things. The old ones work great, but they just don't take to these modern day circuits. I'm going to have to run another wire across from the main breaker."

"Where is the breaker?" Kagome asked.

"Right over there," he said, pointing to a metal box just a short distance out of reach from where they were up in the basket. "It's not a big deal. It's just a pain to have to go all the way back down, move the machine over, then go back up again, run the wire, go back down, move the machine again to come back to where we are now just to connect it." He said, sighing heavily. Just as he finished the walky-talky on his hip buzzed and the voice was unmistakable.

"Pete, can I get a test on the spot lights?" Naraku's voice came over the small speaker. The electrician, Pete, clicked the button and told Naraku exactly what he just told Kagome. There was silence on the other end for a short time but then Naraku said, "Kagome's up there, isn't she? Tell her to climb over and connect the wire."

Pete's face frowned as he heard Naraku say that, he glared at Kagome as he said back to Naraku, "Sir, she can't do that. There is no way to get over there…"

"She can climb the metal skeleton frame of the tent, just get her higher so she can reach it." Naraku said.

Pete shook his head, "Sir, that is too dangerous. You can't expect her to…"

"I don't pay you to argue, Pete." Naraku said. "Kagome, do what I said." Then the walky-talky went dead.

Pete put the walky-talky back on his belt and looked at Kagome. "He's crazy. The man honestly couldn't give a damn. I swear if I could have my…"

"It's okay." Kagome said. "I can do it."

Pete shook his head. "No Kagome. You will kill yourself. It's suicide. Don't listen to him. Let's just…"

"I can do it, Pete." Kagome said, "I have to do it. Give me wires I need."

"Kagome, I can't let…"

"Please," Kagome begged, "You don't understand. If I don't do this…he'll…he'll…look I just have to do it, please."

Pete sighed and handed her a roll of white wire. Kagome moved forward, took the end and began to unravel it. Pete held the roll of wire and said, "One day, Kagome, I hope you get smart and just say no to him."

"One day." Kagome echoed, as she began to climb over the railing of the basket. With a deep breath, she jumped off the basket and landed on the trapeze platform. Pete called to her, "I could have gotten you higher." Kagome didn't answer. She hugged the pole and forced herself not to look down.

Holding the rubber coated copper wire between her teeth, Kagome wrapped her arms around the wooden pole and using her upper body strength pulled herself up the pole. Her legs wrapped around the pole as soon as they left the safety of the platform. Inch by inch she pulled her way up the pole to the top of the tent.

Far below, several other people stopped what they were doing when they saw her begin to climb. Soon a crowd of people gathered, all talking and holding their breath as the girl braved the death defying climb. Naraku stood among them, watching Kagome with a smile upon his face.

Kagome's arms muscles strained under her efforts to reach the top. Her grip was like death on the pole and every inch of her body was coated with sweat. Still she continued at a steady pace, almost reaching the top of the tent.

Sango rushed through the tent flap, with Miroku trailing behind her, her eyes shot up to Kagome high above her and without a harness or any kind of protection if she were to fall. Her heart thudded in her throat and her face was pale.

"Oh my god, Kagome!" she called, rushing forward towards her. Before she could get anywhere near the base of the high pole, Naraku stepped in front of her.

"Sango, do not shout you will break her concentration." Naraku hissed. Sango balled her hands into fists, she could instantly tell that Naraku had asked his own daughter to perform this feat. Before her actions could turn violent, Miroku lay a graceful hand on her shoulder.

"Do you think this wise, Naraku?" Miroku asked, his voice surprisingly neutral, even those his eyes were filled with sheer hatred.

Naraku smiled evilly. "Of course, Miroku. I would never give Kagome a job I wasn't one hundred percent sure that she couldn't accomplish?"

"But without a harness or bungee cord?" Sango cried out. "Are you crazy? What if she falls? She'll die!"

Naraku laughed, "Oh, Kagome is perfectly capable of completing this task." He turned away from them, waving them away. "She'll be fine. Do not interfere."

Sango ignored him and charged forward, Miroku didn't stand a chance of holding her back. "KAGOME!" she called up to her friend. "Kagome, don't move! I'm coming to get you!"

High above Sango and the others Kagome barely heard her friend. She was nearly to the top, if she stopped now, it would have all been pointless.

"LET ME DO IT!" she screamed. Sango heard her, but she didn't want to listen.

"She's going to kill herself!" Sango cried to anyone who would listen. But no one around her even moved. Miroku softly spoke to her, "Maybe she needs to do this."

"Are you crazy?" Sango echoed. "She could lose her grip at any moment!"

"This is something that Kagome wants to do." Miroku said. "Although I agree it is not at all safe, I don't think any amount of convincing will get her to stop or come down…"

"She's only doing this because she was told to do it!" Sango said.

"Possibly," Miroku stated. "But another force is driving her right now. Something that we cannot touch or begin to understand."

Sango was silent.

"All we can do is pray." Miroku finished. They both strained their necks to see Kagome, who had now reached the top of the tent.

Kagome had indeed reached the cloth top of the tent. The metal framework that held the tent together was now her new obstacle course. Reaching a tentative hand out she grasped a long metal bar that extended all the way over, across the empty air, to the breaker. With a deep breath through her nose, she reached her other hand out and grasped the metal bar above her head. Releasing the pole that her legs so tightly held onto, she was suddenly dangling by her hands some fifty feet up.

The crowd below, which now had just about every person who worked at the carnival, gasped as she hung like a puppet high above them.

"OH! She's gonna fall!"

"No, no she's alright."

"Wow, amazing."

"Truly amazing."

To one particular person in the audience, the girl's feat was completely reckless and stupid. Yet his palms itched and sweated with worry.

Before Kagome had begun her stunt, Koga had brought Inuyasha out into the ring and proceeded to continue his "training." A heavy collar, muzzle, wrist and ankle shackles all at the ends of long thick chains, adorned his body. Additional trainers each held a chain that connected to a section of Inuyasha. Koga himself, held the chain that connected to his collar. With the chain in one hand and his infamous whip in the other, Koga attempted to rid Inuyasha of his wildness and teach him several tricks. Koga had barely gotten him out into the ring, when the crowd had begun to form to watch Kagome. Koga had instantly taken interest in Kagome's feat and pegged Inuyasha's chains into the ground so he could go and watch.

Gazing through the metal muzzle, Inuyasha watched the human girl dangle from the ceiling of the tent. He pulled at his chains, trying to get himself free, but it was hopeless. If she fell, he couldn't catch her. He would watch her die.

Kagome felt the effects of gravity on her body as she hung in mid-air. For a moment, she thought to herself, 'If I let go, I could see Souta in heaven.' Looking down at the ground far below her and the standing crowd she contemplated the thought. At the last moment before her grip was sure to fail, she swung her legs up so that they wrapped around the bar, so that her back and floor were now parallel. Now supporting most of her body weight with her legs, her arms could take a break.

The heat at the top of the tent was unbearable. But everything was much quieter up here, and everyone below her had seemed so far away and unimportant. It was almost…peaceful. Kagome stayed hung on the bar for several minutes, catching her breath. She hadn't realized how long she had stayed until she heard a roar from below:

"HURRY UP, KAGOME. WE HAVN'T GOT ALL DAY!" the voice was unmistakably her father's. Kagome's head snapped back into reality. She was tired and she longed to be on the ground, but she had a job to do.

Slowly, she tilted her head back and glancing upside-down took notes of the distance she needed to go. Then, extending her hands she crawled her way across the bar. Snaking her body along the bar slowly. Every short distance her hands went, her body followed after then her feet came last. With even strides, she made her way across the bar towards the breaker, the white wire still in her teeth and trailing behind her like a long hair.

Sweat dripped from her body and plunged droplets fifty feet down; she had to blink a lot to keep it out of her eyes.

The suddenness of reaching the end of the bar and the breaker made her jump and she wavered for the first time. She clung to the bar tightly with her arms and legs, and for the first time was scared. She wanted down; she was tired, hot, and sick with fear. Tears now began to form at the corners of her eyes, chasing away the sweat, but stinging her eyes none the less. She hugged the bar and wept, wishing she could just finally let go.

The only one who had ears sensitive enough to hear her sobs was Inuyasha. He growled and pulled at his chains hard enough that Koga and the other's left Kagome and dealt with him. Koga's whip cracked above his head, but the noises of Kagome's cries were louder than even the sharp whip.

"Shut up, mutt-face!" Koga yelled. Inuyasha growled and slashed at the air. His chains rattled as the trainers held him tight and Koga continued to whip him.

'Dammit.' Inuyasha thought, 'She was scared. She shouldn't have to do this.' His roars were violent and filled the big top.

Still fearful and wishing to die, Kagome was startled by the roars that came from below. She looked out and down, seeing Inuyasha there for the first time. Although he was but a dot to her vision, his hair set him apart from all others. Why was he making such a fuss? Was it over her, or was Koga just training him again? Whatever the reason, she suddenly had a reason to go on.

Taking the wire from her mouth and into her hand, Kagome took a few seconds to breathe and lick her dry lips. Then, she released her hands and fell for a half-second until her legs, still secure around the bar, caught her. She hung upside-down with her face in front of the breaker box. The crowds bellow her cheered and she could hear their cheers. She smiled to herself, but her task wasn't over quite yet.

From the ground, a voice sounded over a mega-phone. "Great job Kagome. That was amazing!"

Kagome felt the blood beginning to rush to her head so she opened the breaker box and stared at all the wires with confusion.

"The power is off, Kagome. Just connect your wire to the main power plug by wrapping the copper part around the bolt that is sticking out near the upper right corner. Erm…your left." The mega-phone continued.

Kagome was confused for only a few seconds but then she saw what the electrician on the mega-phone had described. Using her teeth, she peeled off some of the rubber covering on the wire and leaned forward enough to twist the copper around the bolt a few good times.

"OKAY!" she shouted.

"Great, now when you shut the box there should be a hole at the top for the wire to stick out of, make sure the excess white wire is through that hole so the current can flow."

Kagome understood and completed the task. Slamming the box shut and checking to make sure no wires were caught she pulled herself back up the length of her body to grasp the bar again with her arms and legs.

"DONE!" she shouted. The crowd cheered again. On the ground Sango breathed a little easier. But she knew Kagome was exhausted, she had to be. But Sango had never felt so proud of her friend. To her surprise, a group of people began moving underneath Kagome, extending the catcher's net for the trapeze act. Sango's heart relaxed. She looked around for Naraku to at least say something about the net, but found him gone. She thought upon his absence for only a few seconds before happy shouts rang out up to Kagome to let go and fall into the safety net.

As soon as Kagome had shouted that she was done, Inuyasha stopped fighting to get away. He relaxed and stared up at the girl still high above him. He had to give her credit, it was an amazing feat. And she being just a mere human. A smile grazed across his lips and his golden eyes flashed.

Koga took notice of Inuyasha's reaction and cracked him again on the back with his whip. He didn't like that look. Not at all.

Kagome was all smiles. Even as she untwined herself off the bar and felt the rush of air as she fell smoothly into the awaiting net. She rolled off the net and was caught by Miroku who twirled her around in his arms. Sango was with him and beamed at Kagome, hugging her friend happily. Kagome's face was flushed with excitement when Miroku put her down. A few people congratulated her, but many simply returned to work without a care. Kagome's feet touched the solid ground and she felt like falling down and kissing it. But, the fact that she had completed something so impossible was even more rewarding. It reminded her of the days of her stardom. And for that glorious moment, she missed it. She missed the applause, the shouts, the awes, the confidence.

Kagome beamed and smiled until her face hurt. When she finally got over the excitement and the adrenaline rush was gone, Kagome collapsed on the couch in Miroku's tent.

She dreamt of flashing lights, the hot spotlight, the glitter, the audience. In the dream, she saw herself dressed like a high-wire acrobat, with elaborate make-up, hair and costume. She performed her stunts in front of an audience of wide-eyed children who cheered and gasped at her beauty and grace. It was all so…so…familiar.