Kagome padded down the carpeted aisle of the steadily moving train, listening to the light chatter floating in and out of the numerous rooms. Outside, the world was blanketed in a quiet blackness. She soon found herself grateful for the warm lights placed out in the halls, lighting a path for her bare feet to follow.

On her small quest to the dinning cart to acquire a beverage, she saw only two other passengers out and about. Everyone else seemed quite content to stay in their designated areas. A small blessing, Kagome thought, for she knew she looked a tad odd flouncing around in her night garments.

Once Kagome arrived to her destination she was delighted to find a hot chocolate dispenser. Poring herself a large cup, supplied by the stack of conveniently placed foam cups, she eyed the rather bare room. She had thought for sure she would have found Inuyasha lurking around, perhaps trying to get his clawed hands on a bowl of ramen, but the hanyou was no where to be seen.

Unwilling to return to bed just yet, and very pleased with the steaming liquid warming her hands, she decided to travel on a bit further. She was bound to stumble upon the highly annoying, anti- social dog demon sooner or later.

As she tottered down the train further she wondered idly if Inuyasha was still sporting her shoes in his back pockets.

Kagome came to the end of the train, mildly surprised at the lack of silver haired men with puppy dog ears.

"Where could he have gotten too..." She wondered out loud. Maybe he jumped off the train, taking her shoes with him, just to drive her closer to the edge of insanity.

As much as she didn't doubt he would stoop to such levels she had a feeling he was still around somewhere... Perhaps he had climbed into the air vents, wishing to play spy. Amusing thought, but more likely not.

A door at the very end of the train caught her attention, the door looked very heavy, but it was slightly ajar, letting in a cool drift. Hmm...a little visit outdoors may be just what she needed.

She was not surprised in the least to see Inuyasha leaning over the iron wrought railing starring down with a reserved look upon his face.

His only greeting was a quick turn of his ears.

"Enjoying the serene outdoors?" Kagome asked, copying his position over the iron railing. Indeed the night was serene. The moon shone brightly, making the snow that refused to melt glisten like tiny diamonds as they moved by. It was quiet, the only sound being the rhythmic beat of the locomotive as it chugged along merrily.

He made a low grunt that Kagome took for "Yes, thanks for asking."

A happy mellow feeling filled Kagome as she sipped quietly on her drink. Here she was, on her way to find a family she had lost so young. Things had turned out so much better then she had suspected. The day she left the orphanage with Shippo in tow, she had been scared.

She was careful not to let Shippo know, but she had been truly frightened. The odds of her finding a job, able to support both her and Shippo...were very, very slim. She hadn't even completed her high-school education.

Kagome was sure once she had made her way home(My, It was nice to use that word) she and Shippo would be able to resume their education...bleh.

This line of thought spun another question. Would the orphanage staff have noticed she was gone? Most likely. It didn't take days to collect eggs from chickens... even if those particular chickens had been vicious.

Did anyone even care two children were missing? Probably not. Knowing this jabbed at Kagome but she pushed the delinquent emotion away with the cover of it was better that way. It would only complicate things.

But insecurity had seeded itself. If she really wasn't what her new found friends thought she was, would she have to go back? It would be horrible if she really wasn't...

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked softly.

"What?" He answered blandly, not at all delighted about her presence.

"What if I'm not Kagome Higarashi?"

He gave a short, rude snort. "Don't start this again. I thought we already made it clear you're her...you."

"Yes, it does seem likely, but what if it's just all in our minds? We could just be seeing what we want to see." Kagome brought her gaze up so she could look at him, but he seemed nearly determined not to look her in the eye.

"If your not her then the empress will know right away and we can carry are asses back to Tokyo and we can resume our normal lives." Inuyasha said hurriedly with annoyance written all over his face in neon letters.

"I don't want to resume my normal life." She said in a neutral tone before putting the cup to her lips. Winter was still making itself known with frosty temperatures, but it was tolerable, a bit bracing even. The cool temperature was just what she needed, the cramped stuffy feeling had vanished, and the hot chocolate was not only delicious, but it shielded her from any wicked bursts of cold.

"Then shut up and accept that you're her."

"What makes you so sure?"

Words fumbled around in his throat but he couldn't decide how to answer the question. Of all the people in the world, it had to be the one person that wouldn't leave him the hell alone, to play the role of the Higarashi girl. But who else could have possibly fit the role so well? This girl was quite gullible enough to believe everything he told her.

Even if she did have a past that made it a little easier, she still shouldn't have been so... trusting! Why couldn't she have been a stupid, morally corrupt twat? Then lying to her wouldn't have felt so... wrong.

Kagome took the silence as a opportunity to ask another question.

"Did you know me, back then I mean? You must of, right?"

"Uhh, well, not pers - I mean yeah! Yeah, I did."

Kagome's eyes lit up in a way that rivaled the moon above them.

"Your most definitely her. Not another person in the word could be as highly annoying and klutzy as you." He said matter-of- factly. Oh, gods he was going straight to hell for lying like this...Well, whatever was nessecary for the Shikon. That was becoming a rather subliminal motto for him.

Kagome shot him a half-hearted glare. "Settles that then." She said coldly.

It was rather fun getting her riled up, Inuyasha thought. When she was mad she was rather... amusing. Not to mention he still had a lot to pay back anyways...but maybe lying to her and using her could make up for that... or...not. Doing things such as that in the past never bothered him. Why grow a conscience now?

Kagome had half a mind to bring Kikyo up, but decided against it. Another time. Perhaps when she had gotten to know Inuyasha a little better. She had a strong feeling that if she brought Kikyo up Inuyasha would chop her up into little pieces and serve her in Shippo's next meal.

"So what were you doing out here?" She tried her hand at polite conversation.

"Do you ever shut up?" He snapped.

Kagome bit her tongue and kept her comments to herself. Inuyasha eyed her. Was she going to leave? No. No such luck. She resumed her original position and continued to sip on her drink with a cloudy look in her eyes.

Well! She could get huffy all she wanted...

They fell into a comfortable silence and watched the train spit out tracks as they rolled forward.

"I was just thinking." Inuyasha mumbled randomly, surprising Kagome.

"Oh." She said from behind her cup.

He gave something similar to a laugh. "Your not going to ask me about what?"

Kagome smiled meekly. "I was afraid you would throw my shoes and I off the train."

A ghost of a smile graced his lips. The small upturn of his mouth happened so fast she wondered for a moment if she had imagined it.

"Nah..." He assured. "I would have come up with something more creative then that."

"Why don't I doubt that?" She asked rhetorically.

Kagome brightened. Maybe Inuyasha wasn't such a huge jerk after all. He wasn't so bad...

Inuyasha frowned inwardly. This girl was too easy to talk to. He was actually having a conversation with her that didn't involve shouting or swear words. That was bad.

He prickled and his defenses doubled. "Aren't you cold, princess? Or are you to stupid to realize your out here in your pajamas?"

"No. I am not cold. If I were, I assure you, I would go back inside and leave you to your petty thoughts." She told him stiffly. What had happened? He had been tolerable just a moment ago! Almost nice.

Inuyasha felt like he had won a small victory. That was much better...even though he kinda wished her eyes would loose that coldness and soften back up...er...maybe he should throw her off the train.

"Maybe I would be warmer if I had shoes to cover my feet." She hinted darkly.

Inuyasha couldn't resist teasing. "You mean these?" He asked nonchalantly, pulling her shoes out of his pockets and placing them above her head.

"Yes, those!" She jumped for them, only to have Inuyasha move them just out of reach.

"Oh come on, now! This is ridiculous." She shouted jumping for her shoes once more.

"Yeah, but if it wasn't ridiculous, it wouldn't be half as amusing." He stated, thoroughly enjoying this. She was very amusing...

"You're a creep you know that?"

"Oh, I've been told."

"A horrid, horrid creep."

The train made a sudden turn, sending an off balanced Kagome tumbling into Inuyasha's arms.

Her whole body froze. Her mind ceased working properly and her limbs were not responding to her orders. Her blood felt hot, as did her cheeks, while her heart rate doubled in speed.

This was one of those moments where time had been following it's regular schedule, but then sped up abruptly, confusing those caught up in it's wake.

For Kagome had no recollection of how she had ended up here.

The platform was big enough for someone of Inuyasha's height to lay down. This was proven when Inuyasha found himself lying flat on his back with Kagome sprawled out on top of him.

It seemed Inuyasha suffered from the same ailments as Kagome, as he found himself unable to move or even think straight. Kagome's scent filled his nose, making his brain feel foggy and stupid. His nose was filled with nothing but her sweet, lingering scent that screamed female, and the smell of the fragrant conditioner she had used last.

He honestly didn't know why her soft, fragile frame was covering his much bigger one... Out of the corner of his eye he saw that her raven locks blended perfectly with his own silver, making it impossible to see where black and white met and ended. Why did that make him feel so... gods, he didn't even know what to call this.

One half of his brain told him to wrap his arms around the slim waist of this girl and never let go, never. It tried desperately to talk him into reveling in her warm weight and the feel of her body that was so different then his...but the other half of his brain beat back the neglected emotions.

It took some self control but he managed to get control of himself easily enough.

"Bloody hell! Your even more of a klutz then I first thought." He pushed her off of him roughly, sending her rolling.

Kagome had never been that close to a boy. At least not a boy near her age. She had never experienced the safe, comforting feel of being embraced by a boy before. She had never before experienced the rabid mass of butterflies protesting in her stomach, or the light headed feeling she had now.

His chest was firm and strong to the touch, and he smelled of sandalwood wood and a vague musky male scent.

She was very caught off guard by these new emotions. Then suddenly.. the weird time warp ended and Inuyasha threw her off of him with harsh words ringing in her ears.

A bright blush coloring her pretty face she shot back, "Sorry, alright! It's not like I meant to...Oh, man! I dropped my hot chocolate..." Her sentence that had began in fury ended in disappointment.

"What a waste..." Kagome said getting to her feet, the previous moment all but forgotten.

Inuyasha was feeling ready to fight, his blood was boiling with anger. He didn't really know why he was so furious but he was undeniably miffed. How could he have let his defenses drop like that?

No one other then innocent, unsuspecting Kagome was around for him to take his anger out on, so he proceeded to act recklessly.

"Your really starting to grind my nerves, princess, go back inside before you screw something else up." He snarled with a light growl rumbling in the back of his throat.

Kagome looked up at him with surprise. Why all the sudden anger? His golden eyes were absolutely flaming. So what if she fallen on him. Did she really disgust him that much?

Inuyasha watched as she jerked her head back, startled at the roughness of his voice. Her midnight black hair followed her movements, shining in the dim light with every slight movement of her head. Her soft brown eyes, filled with naive innocence drove him to the braking point.

"Damn! Will you just go away, leave me be!" He commanded turning his back to her.

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she felt a slight sting. "Gladly!" She retorted bending down to fetch the shoes Inuyasha had dropped. Well, at least one good thing had come of this.

Shooting a quick glare at Inuyasha's back she turned to leave and pushed into the heavy metal door... in vain. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh? What do you mean, Uh-oh?" Inuyasha asked spinning to face her. Nothing good ever came of Uh-oh's.

"Umm... I think it's locked." She informed him meekly.

"What!" Inuyasha exclaimed pushing past her, leaning into the door himself. "Why did you shut it all the way? Didn't you notice I left it cracked? This door locks by itself!" He shouted exasperated.

Kagome winced... she hadn't known that.

"You are hopeless!" He scolded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"Sorry won't get us back inside, princess!"

"Look, don't get snappish with me!"

"What? You find out your royalty and now you can command me to do what ever you wish? Is that it? Have you suddenly discovered your above me?" Inuyasha inquired, pointed teeth flashing.

"No! That's not it..." Kagome commended slightly shocked at his behavior.

"Then what is it?"

"All I meant was that I hadn't known that the door locked by itself. That's a really dumb system, if you ask me." She mumbled the last bit under her breath, " So there is no need for you to yell or blame me for it."

"Even if it is your fault." he scoffed.

"Whatever, it's partly your fault too. You could have told me, you know? But, no, you were to busy sulking over there..."

"I was not sulking."

"Then I guess you just having male PMS."

"That does it!" He hissed reaching forward and grabbing Kagome's shoes out of her firm grip.

"Hey, not again!" Kagome cried making desperate grab for her footwear.

Inuyasha tossed them up over his head. They bounced happily onto the roof of the train.

"Get them back! Right now!" Kagome seethed.

"I'd rather not."

"Augh! You are infuriating." She glared daggers, swords, knifes, sporks, and every other sharp object she could think of at him, wishing she had a few of those weapons at hand.

Determined to actually keep her shoes for more then five minutes at a time, she scanned the wall for a way to get to the roof. If he wouldn't get them, she would!... one way or another.

She spotted a black ladder attached to the side, giving one last scathing glare at Inuyasha she started climbing her way up, carefully.

"Don't fall." Inuyasha warned in a tone that suggested he didn't care either way.

Gritting her teeth she tested the surface of the roof with the unsure shyness of a deer. The wind whipped at her hair and clothes, making her skin prickle. Freezing!

However cold she was, she was not about to lose face to Inuyasha. She reached forward and grabbed hold onto her shoes, more tightly then she had the last time they had been in her possession.

Inuyasha watched from below, making sure she didn't fall to her death. He'd heard of women going to great lengths to get shoes, but this was crazy.

Kagura sat regally on her larger-then-life feather, patiently waiting for the train her prey occupied to come near. Kouga could actually finish the job. But if she didn't at least give a little trouble Naraku would become suspicious and give her hell. Even though she was tempted to screw up on purpose so that Naraku would have to suffer longer, she didn't want to experience the kind of pain he brought her ever again. It was like he controlled her by her own fear.

She glared into the night and glanced below her, a quiet grave yard resided there. Perfect for her plans. Kanna had revealed to her that the hanyou accompanying the one of Higarashi blood was outside of the train. That meant she could attack without alerting anyone, human and demon alike, inside.

Below she had a particularly good specimen. The corpse was very well preserved, all limbs still very well intact. All the rest were to flimsy to be of any use.. Rather sad she would only be able to make one dance tonight, but at least he had been buried with a sword.

Her keen hearing picked up the distant sound of a train moving. "At last..." She whispered, letting the brilliantly designed fan she kept at her side fold open.

Feeling triumphant, if not a tad cold, for having retrieved her missing foot wear, she went to put her quickly numbing feet on the first foot hold of the ladder.

She gave vent to a short, but loud scream as she felt a heavy weight slam into her back. Her scream resurrected and rose in volume as she felt hands wrap around her waist, holding her tight against a firm figure as she rolled across the top of the train.

Locks of long silver hair were draped around her, alerting her that Inuyasha was the cause of this. With barely suppressed rage she pushed her upper body off the cold metal-like material of the train. "What. Are. You. Doing?" She hissed, putting emphasis on each word.

"Stay down!" The dog demon commanded pushing her head down against the cold, hard surface.

Against her will Kagome complied. What had overcome Inuyasha? A loud screeching noise, similar to the sound of someone raking their nails along a chalkboard, came from ahead, making Kagome wish that her arms weren't pinned to her side by a certain hot headed hanyou so that she could clamp her hands over her ears.

She gave vent to a loud shriek of disgust.

"That guy needs medical attention!" She cried out, "He doesn't look alive."

"That's because he isn't." Inuyasha pointed out helpfully.

"What do you mean? He's standing..." Kagome trailed off eyeing the dark horribly disfigured figure standing clumsily, swaying in the wind that was attacking all of them. "Well, he's kinda standing..."

"Standing there smelling of decayed flesh and grave yard soil." Inuyasha snarled as he eyed the ancient looking sword the "dead" man held. He pushed himself off of Kagome, claws extended, anticipating a fight.

"I don't understand... how can he be dead?" Kagome asked as she sat up, her words laced with horror. The person standing before her, may have looked like he was already embalmed... not to mention a tad intoxicated, but not dead. Dead people don't climb out of their graves and onto moving trains. Only in the movies or weird ass stories!

"I don't know how the dead can walk, but he's sure not alive. He doesn't smell alive... no blood." Inuyasha told her, his mane of silver hair whipping around his head fiercely.

"Oh gross." Kagome squeaked.

The man who, apparently, was no longer among the living, reached out in Kagome's direction

Inuyasha spared her an annoyed look. "Yeah, you're a trouble magnet." He then raked the air with his claws, sending a blazing light that resembled lightening hurling into the zombie, cutting off the arm that was extended to the frightened teenaged girl.

Kagome's eyed widened, she knew demons had certain powers... but that was just cool. She would have to ask him how he did that later.

The zombie seemed not to feel Inuyasha's attack and went on to take drunken steps towards Kagome. Inuyasha did the same attack again, but missed because the train chose to make a sharp hairpin turn at the exact moment. Sending everyone to fall ungracefully on their behinds.

Kagome nearly rolled off the edge of the train, but Inuyasha was their to stop her fall.

"Kagura sat watching the fight a ways off, well, not really watching. She didn't really care what happened to her performer. She was just putting this act on so Naraku wouldn't get suspicions.

Out of the black night came a vibrant yellow, radiating power. The unsuspecting Kagura dodged it by a mere hair, she fumbled with her fan, and lost grip. The multi colored fan fell through the sky, snapping shut when it made contact with the frozen ground.

With Kagome firmly tucked under his arm, he couldn't have her rolling off, he watched as his already dead opponent suddenly frothed with a white foam, then fell to pieces, sliding off the train. Kagome shut her eyes and made a sick moan.

"If you vomit on me..." Inuyasha warned.

"Oh, shut up." She snapped pushing away from him. She fetched her shoes that had, miraculously, stayed on the train during that small spectacle, then proceeded to climb her way down the ladder, shaking.

Once she was away from the wind, it warmed a bit, but the chill was still with her. Inuyasha didn't even bother to use the ladder and jumped down, landing with a light thud beside Kagome.

He noted her shivering form and gave a "I told you so" look.

"Clench it." She warned, firmly gripping her shoes.

Inuyasha stepped over to the locked metal door and slid his claws into the side, he ran his fingers up until he was rewarded with a loud crunch. He pushed it and it swung open, allowing the hanyou and his cold, shell shocked companion in.

"Inuyasha, what..." Kagome started to say.

"We'll talk about it in the morning." Inuyasha told her firmly.

"But, why?"

"Morning."

"I can't wait that long! We just got attacked by a dead guy!"

"You'll live."

"Not funny!"

"Come on, princess, you need to go to sleep." Inuyasha sighed making a beeline for the door that would lead them back to their room.

"I'll tell you what I need. I need answers, sleep, and a cup of hot chocolate. Care to join me?" Said Kagome as she went in the opposite direction that held the drink machines.

Inuyasha sighed inwardly. "I don't have any answers, maybe Miroku does. That's why I said wait until morning. Why don't you listen to yourself and go to sleep?"

"Miroku has answers? Alright...maybe we should bring him a drink too..."

A/N:

I first want to say I am so sorry for just running around in circles with this story. Next chapter I will actually get some things done, that is if you think this is worth continuing. People have been hinting they want more fluff so I tried to add a bit...(sweatdrop)

I'm still having a tiny bit of writers block but it's fading... slowly fading. I hope to be able to get the next chapter out by Friday but I don't know if I will be able too. Seeing as I'm going on vacation on the 14th of this month and will not have access to the computer... at all. TT So, if there is a gap in between up dates, you'll know why. But don't think I'm giving up! 'Cuz I'm not...

Thank you all so much for your encouraging reviews, I hope to live up to them If you want to review, they are highly appreciated, cherished, and doted upon! I promise the next chapter will be extra long and not suckie to make up for the suckiness of the last two chapters.

Aeris:

Thank you so much for your reviews, I'm very flattered that you reviewed all the chapters, thank you for that. I'm so pleased you liked the fighting scene, I wasn't sure how readers would feel about it... I didn't like the one in this chapter, and as you suggested I'm trying not to do to many hard-core fighting scenes I tend to add more secondary characters as the story develops, I hope to hear more from you, as I loved hearing from you. I sincerely hope this chapter didn't discourage you!

Pua lahi lahi:

Thank you so much! I was worried about the whole emotional, thoughts, of everyone...And you have reviewed this fic before (My memory sucks too ) and I've come to appreciate your reviews more and more each time you do. I'm absolutely flattered! Thanks so much.

Miara Migawa:

lol, I'm was so happy when I read your many inspiring reviews I try really hard to keep the characters...well, in character, so thank you so much for pointing that out! I intend to keep my chapters long... although this one was unnaturally short, and.. Sucky... I hope I haven't lost you as a reviewer because I loved hearing from you

Silver Slytherin Serpent:

I do the small shout outs, as you called them Because if people such as yourself can take the time to review I can take the time to reply I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you, and as for your question... I'm not fond of Kouga falling for Kagome... but I might have to spark some feeling their for him; Thanks for reviewing!

Lady Persephone:

Thank you so very much for the encouragement. I'm very happy you didn't dislike the past chapters. And many pointed out they loved the "Go Fish" Scene ; I'm glad you liked it too. Hopefully I'll get over this stupid WB and continue in my usual fashion! Thanks for reviewing.

Inuhehi27:

Thanks for reviewing again, I hope you actually liked the last chapter and aren't just saying so to be nice; I really do appreciate your reviews.. As for your question, If I answered it would kind of ruin the story. You'll have to see what happened to Inu-kun and Kikyo when it's revealed in the fic... which should be... rather soon

inu&kag4eva: Yes, this was inspired by Anastasia I'm very pleased you like the story so far, I hope this one didn't disappoint you so... there was your update ; I tried to add some fluff..heh, hope it will tide you over! Thank you for reviewing.

Livvy: Thank you! I'm glad you think so. Don't worry, Kagome will get a few more points in that book of Sango's alright.

JazzyMonkey:

I was so happy to hear from you again! I do try to add twists and quirks so that it doesn't feel as though I'm ripping off Anastasia (By the way I'm glad you like the movie so much!lol) I hope to hear a lot more you, because I just love your reviews. They always make my day And yes! Shippo is adorable, isn't he? Thank you so much for reviewing!

SilverSqueakyInuEars