Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and his very cute ears… although I really want…

Chapter 7: The night at the lantern festival

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Kagome stared at Inuyasha. Why was he here? Had he followed her? A dozen of questions flooded her mid as she continued to stare into his amber eyes.

"Inuyasha? Why… are you here?" Kagome finally managed to say.

"I… uh… was wandering around and uh… saw this place." Inuyasha mumbled as he felt his cheeks redden.

Kagome stared at him for a while, before breaking into a huge grin. "This place huh? It's very peaceful isn't it?" She spun around and stared at the huge god tree towering above her.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome unbelievingly. Had she just trusted what he said? Even if it was clearly a lie, she just took it as the truth.

"My mother used to tell me stories under this tree. There was once, I tried to climb the tree. I ended up falling and getting a big cut." Kagome said, breathing in the fresh air.

"Keh, that was stupid." Inuyasha said, without thinking much. He immediately regretted what he said. Kagome just smiled and said," Yup, that was stupid of me. But if I could go up there, I don't mind falling another few times."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, a little shocked. She didn't get angry or upset.

"I can climb before you can even say anything." Inuyasha boasted.

"Really? That's good." Kagome said. She was feeling extremely down today and didn't have the mood to argue with him. Or maybe… it was the magic of the Goshinboku? It was just peaceful being here, all her troubles seemed to have disappeared in an instant. She sensed the awkwardness between both of them.

"You just came to this town did you?" Kagome asked Inuyasha.

"Huh? Uh…. Yeah…" Inuyasha replied.

"Then I guess you didn't see much of here. Come on, I'll bring you around!" Kagome smiled and walked towards Inuyasha.

"Uh…There's no need for th-"Before he could even finish his sentence, Kagome had grabbed his hand and led him out of the forest. Inuyasha noticed the odd way she was limping and looked at her feet. They were red and looked very worn out.

"Hey, you're still hurt aren't you? Why are you bare footed?" Inuyasha asked pointing to her feet.

Kagome glanced down at her feet. She had totally forgotten about the pain already. Her feet were starting to hurt. She winced at the pain. She had even forgotten to wear slippers before she came out!

Before she could do anything, Inuyasha bent down before her. "Get on. If you walk some more, you'll become crippled." Kagome looked at him.

"What!" Inuyasha asked her irritatingly. Kagome shook her head and climbed onto his back. Why was he being so kind to her anyway? Inuyasha leapt off the ground and speeded thru the shrine grounds. Kagome felt the cold wind blowing against her cheeks and hair. Was this the feeling that she always wished for? To be able to feel the wind caress her long hair, to feel free?

Inuyasha finally stopped at a pavilion somewhere near. He let Kagome down and squatted beside her. Inuyasha snatched her leg up, making Kagome almost trip and fall.

"Hey! What was that for!" Kagome exclaimed trying to regain her balance. She had finally regained her feisty attitude. Inuyasha smirked a little and examined her foot. Suddenly, he twisted it. A crack was heard, and Kagome shouted out in pain. "Ow! What are you doing!"

"I was helping you, wench!" Inuyasha hissed as he let go of her foot. Kagome rubbed her foot in pain, before pausing. She sat down on a bench and examined her injured foot. "Hey! It's alright now!" She exclaimed happily, getting up and hopping around.

"Keh! I expect a Thank you at least." Inuyasha sniggered and turned away. Kagome narrowed her eyes. He was such an irritating guy. Yet, there was something about him that she couldn't explain. She marched up to him and faced him.

Inuyasha stared at her. Their faces were so close that their noses almost touched. Kagome giggled at Inuyasha's shocked expression, "I've got a name alright? It's Kagome, not wench or stupid. And, Thanks."

Kagome turned and faced the field of flowers that were surrounding the pavilion. "Hey, Inuyasha!" Kagome called out to him. Inuyasha looked up.

"Let's go! I'll bring you around the town since my foot's alright!" Kagome said happily skipping down the pavilion steps. She turned around to see Inuyasha looking weirdly at her. She walked back up and grabbed his hand.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. His mind immediately told his to pull away yet, like before his hand suddenly became weak. Kagome tugged him and hopped across the meadow. Her bare feet against the soft mud. Kagome smiled to herself. This was the kind of life she wanted. Maybe people would have called her foolish or stupid to have such thoughts, but living a life of a commoner was really what she wished for.

"Hey, don't you want to put something on your feet before they become all blistered and red?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome looked at him. Was he concerned about her?

"Hmmm. There's no need for that! You're not wearing anything on your feet either." Kagome said, pointing to Inuyasha's feet.

"Keh! I'm stronger than you weak humans." Inuyasha said before walking away, his hand hidden inside the sleeves of his haori. Kagome stopped for a while and stared at him. She smiled and fastened her steps to catch up with him.

"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat anything? Or maybe you want to walk down the market street? Ah! There's a lantern festival tonight! Let's go and see it!" Kagome continued. Inuyasha glanced at the talkative figure beside him.

"You sure talk a lot, you know." Inuyasha said. Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Are you telling me to shut up?" Inuyasha looked at her. "Keh!" And he walked away.

Kagome smiled and went after him. "Hey! I was just kidding! So where do you want to go…" Her voice muffled slowly as the wind of the late afternoon rustled the leaves around them.

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The sun was going down and the streets of the town were starting to light up. Inuyasha looked at the sky, very worried. Tonight was the night of the new moon. This meant, he would turn into a human. He looked at Kagome walking beside him. She was holding onto a snack, talking away. Nobody knew about Inuyasha's secret except Sesshoumaru, Miroku and Shippo. Was Kagome trustworthy enough? He couldn't bear to just abandon her here in the middle of the streets. Although she didn't say anything, he knew something must have happened between her and her family.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Kagome asked looking into his eyes with concern.

"Keh! Nothing!" He looked away, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his haori. They were earning quite a few stares from the townspeople. Housewives gather and whispered to their groups. Inuyasha stared irritatingly at them. Kagome, on the other hand just continued to munch away on her snack and talk about the lantern festival. Inuyasha looked at her surprisingly, doesn't she feel uncomfortable? Walking with him only invited more unfriendly stares from the townspeople.

"Hey. Don't you feel uncomfortable… walking with me?" Inuyasha finally asked.

Kagome looked at him, puzzled. "Why would I?" She asked innocently.

"Because, I'm inviting all those irritating stares!" Inuyasha snapped back, looking a little shocked.

"Stares?" Kagome looked around. She realized that the townspeople her giving her funny stares and people were whispering about her and the 'funny looking guy'. She brushed the stares off. She had always been used to this kind of stares. Being the daughter of the 'powerful and rich' nobleman Higurashi, everywhere she went, people would stare at her and talk about it. She really didn't like it but it just couldn't be helped.

"Why bother? It's my problem who I choose to walk with. Besides, I'm used to all these people staring at me." Kagome replied dryly. Inuyasha stared at her puzzled. "Staring at you? I thought they were saying stuff about me." Inuyasha asked.

"Well, Most likely the both of us. I can already hear what they are talking about. Look! It's the nobleman Higurashi's daughter and her friend! Blah blah. Why bother? No matter how much you try to stop them, they will just return." Kagome said, making a turn towards the river.

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. This was the first time he ever heard someone say such things. She was really special. Kagome turned around, "Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts and walked towards Kagome, following her down the river. The sun had almost set and Kagome and found a place to sit. It was quiet and far away from nosy villagers. Kagome sat down near the river bed. Inuyasha followed sat beside her.

Kagome started to talk again. Inuyasha looked at the river reflection. The sun had disappeared from the horizon. Slowly, his sliver hair turned black, and his amber eyes changed to violet. Kagome stopped talking as she stared at Inuyasha. His dog ears were now gone, human ears appeared.

"What?" Inuyasha asked a little irritated. "You're human!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Yeah. I know." Inuyasha answered dryly. Kagome sensed the hurt in his voice.

"You don't seem happy. What's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing. I turn human every once a month, when there's no moon in the sky. It's a dangerous time because I can get killed easily. " Inuyasha explained. Kagome giggled, "Don't worry! I won't tell anyone."

"Keh! Whatever." Inuyasha responded and stared at the river. "You still look the same to me. Except…" Kagome stopped. Inuyasha glanced at her. "Except what? That I am a weak human right?" Kagome shook her head. "Nope! Except I like your dog ears better. They're really cute you know! I wish I could have a pair on top of my head." She said, patting the top of her head. Inuyasha stared at her with surprise.

She was saying… His dog ears were cute! The ears that gave of his Hanyou identity, were cute to her? He didn't believe what she just said. Kagome sighed and looked up into the sky. Suddenly, small paper lanterns floated down the river, they were folded into different shapes, with a small flame in the middle. Kagome stared at them, suddenly an idea struck her.

"Inuyasha? Wait here!" She called as she got up and ran over a small hill. After a few minutes, she returned with a stack of papers and a bunch of candles in her hand. Inuyasha looked curiously at what she was doing.

Kagome started to work on the paper, folding it in different shapes. Finally she showed her work to Inuyasha. "Here! Take it!" She gave the paper work to Inuyasha. He examined it. It was in a shape of a cherry blossom. Kagome lit one of the candles and set it by her side. She lit another and carefully stuck it in the middle of the flower.

"Here, release the flower into the river, but don't forget to make a wish before you release it!" Kagome reminded as she started to fold another paper flower. She finished it quickly and stuck a candle in the middle. She held the flower over the river, getting ready to release it. She closed her eyes.

I wish, one day I can travel with the one I love to the ends of the earth.

She opened her eyes and let the paper flower into the water. She watched the flower float down the river and joined hundreds more of other paper lanterns. She looked at Inuyasha, his paper flower still in his hands. He was staring at it.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha didn't reply. He just stared at the paper flower. Kagome sighed and reached for his hands. "Like this." She directed his hands over to the river surface. "Make a wish." Inuyasha watched her dumbfounded. He didn't know what to wish for. Somehow, in the back of his mind, a small voice surfaced.

I wish, I could feel the warmth of her hands forever.

He felt the paper lantern fall from his hands as he looked at it float downstream. Kagome let go of his hands and squatted next to him.

"I hope our wishes come true." Kagome said and sat down next to him. The rest of the night was quiet as both of them watched paper lanterns float in the river.

A small voice behind their minds wished silently.

I wish, this night would last forever.

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Kagome walked back to the Higurashi mansion. It was almost sunrise now. If she went thru the front door, she would be forced to explain what happened. She couldn't possibly tell her father she had spent the whole afternoon and night with Inuyasha, her future brother in law. Imagine the scolding she would get! She could picture Kikyou smirking victoriously as her father ranted on morality and manners. She decided to climb back thru the wall near her room.

"Inuyasha?" she called. Inuyasha looked back at her. "What?" She smiled at him, making him look weirdly at her. "Thanks for keeping me company. You even had to reveal that you would become a human tonight to me. I'm sorry." She said, looking down.

"Keh! It's nothing. Do you feet still hurt?" Inuyasha asked looking at her feet.

"Nope! Not anymore! Maybe I just got used to walking bare footed! Haha!" She laughed. Inuyasha softened, she was acting all strong again.

Kagome stopped at a street. "You don't have to see me to my house. You're tired you should go back too."

"Keh! I don't get tired like-"

"Weak humans right? Alright, alright. I know." Kagome smiled. She turned to leave.

"Hey, Kagome. Thank you."

Kagome turned around, only to see Inuyasha, his head facing the ground. Kagome felt her cheeks redden as she smiled.

"You know, this is the first time you ever said my name." Kagome said. Inuyasha looked up, a tint of blush was across his face.

Kagome giggled, she waved goodbye and sped down the alleyway.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha muttered, as the sun rose up into the morning sky, a blur of red and sliver leapt across the rooftops of the quiet town.

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