Oh. Wow...yeah...This chapter STILL isn't very good. My god.

I promise, it gets better. Trust me...I'm very disappointed in this thing.

At least the beginning of it. BEAR WITH ME!

Chapter 3

"Kagome! Kagome!" Hojou cried, trying to get Kagome's attention as he waved his arms in the air and pushed passed the huge crowd of people to get to Kagome who was dressed in the same yellow tank top and short purple skirt as yesterday.

"Hey! Sorry! I didn't see you over all these people. Who knew this place was so popular!" Kagome said, running up to Hojou.

"Yeah, I had no idea!" Hojou replied, smiling gleefully. "We…could go somewhere else?" He offered.

"Oh no, no! It's okay! This place is nice, I've never had breakfast here before…it should be cool!" Kagome said, motioning with her arms thrashing in an X over her chest as she shook her head from side to side, wildly.

Hojou nodded and led Kagome over to an empty table outside the pancake house. The white, plastic table was shielded by a red and white striped umbrella.

"I'm so glad that you were actually able to come this time!" Hojou exclaimed, pulling out a chair for Kagome.

"Yeah!" Kagome said, sitting down. She didn't know what else to say.

Hojou walked over and pulled out his own chair and sat himself down. He pulled up his menu and began to search through it, his eyes moving rapidly from side to side. Kagome sat, staring at the back of the menu and then realized that she needed to look at one too if she expected to get any food.

'I always forget to look at the menu! I don't know why! It's like I'm just expecting to sit and stare into space!' She thought, picking up her menu and opening it. She found nothing to her liking.

"Is there anything on here that you can eat?" Hojou asked, suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"I thought mumbalidous made you have a high allergic reaction to some foods…That's what your grandfather told me over the phone, when I asked you to come eat dinner with me last Friday." Hojou explained.

Kagome's irritation for her grandpa grew with each of Hojou's words.

'Grandpa…' She thought, annoyed. 'He's got to stop making up these weirdo, freak sicknesses!' She thought.

"Oh…yeah…I'm sure there's something on here that I can choke down!" Kagome said in an enthusiastic but cautious voice.

Hojou laughed behind his menu.

"Hey! Are you two ready to order?" A preppy looking girl said in a peppy voice.

"Could we have a few more minutes, please?" Hojou said politely and looked back at Kagome. "Unless Kagome is ready to order." He added.

Kagome shook her head 'no' and the waitress walked away.

"Excuse me, Kagome. I'll be right back." Hojou said, quickly getting up and jogging towards the men's room. Kagome chuckled lightly and set her chin in her hand.

'He's not so bad…he's actually pretty sweet…unlike Inuyasha.' She thought and then shook her head disapprovingly. 'I'm thinking about Inuyasha again! Why can't I just be completely in my era for awhile?'

"Kagome!" Yelled a high voice.

'Wha? Why is everyone calling my name lately! Am I going crazy or am I really that popular?' Kagome thought, looking around.

"Ayumi! Yuka! Eri!" Kagome called back as she spotted her three friends running towards her.

"Kagome!" All three of them shouted at once as they crowded around the round, white, plastic, table.

"We saw you with Hojou! Are you going out with him now! What about that over-possessive, two-timing, violent boy-friend of yours!" Eri asked in a rushed tone.

"Oh…he's…he said we should see other people…" Kagome said, quickly thinking up with a reply. "And why do you call him that? He's really not that bad! You make him sound so horrible!"

"Kagome! You're telling us that you think he's all good and dandy? Listen to all the stories you've told us about him!" Yuka said, bumping in.

"I don't know what you see in that guy! Hojou is totally perfect for you!" Eri said, lightly pushing Yuka out of the way. Ayumi stood back a little, listening to the conversation but not wanting to butt in like her two other friends. Ayumi was always kind of shy and maybe even a little slow.

"You guys…" Kagome protested, finding nothing to say.

"How is your mumbalidous coming, Kagome?" Ayumi asked as there was an awkward silence. Kagome's cheeks flushed.

"Yeah! Your grandpa told us about that! What does mumbalidous do to people anyways? I've never heard of it…come to think of it, I've never heard of a bunch of the sicknesses you end up with!" Eri cried. Eri was always the assertive, quick talking, rushed, hyper one. Yuka was almost a copy.

"Well...uh…" Kagome started, not able to find an excuse.

"Ah! Hojou's coming!" Ayumi cut in to warn her friends.

"Oh! We'll see you later, Kagome! Bye!" Eri said as she waved and took off with the others.

'Nice timing, Hojou.' She thought with a smile as she watched the three jog off down the street, towards their houses. Kagome's attention turned back to Hojou as he sat down in front of her.

"Hey! Sorry. Did the waitress come back yet?" Hojou asked as he scooted himself closer to the table and looked deeply into Kagome's eyes.

"No…but I think that's her right there!" Kagome said, motioning with her eyes towards the preppy waitress coming their way with two glasses of water.

"Are you ready to order yet?" The waitress asked, setting down the waters in front of Hojou and Kagome. Hojou turned around in his seat to look at the waitress.

"I'll have some eggs and bacon, please…and…Kagome?" Hojou asked, turning to look at her.

"I'll just have some pancakes." Kagome replied, not really finding anything to her liking. "Is that alright?" She added.

"It is called the pancake house, isn't it." The waitress said good naturedly as she scribbled the order down on a pad. She quickly walked away and Hojou returned his complete attention to her.

'Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I should be studying…and Inuyasha needs me in the feudal realm…' Kagome thought.

After a few minutes of waiting and small talk, the waitress returned with the food and set it in front of them.

"So…Kagome…I've been wondering." Hojou said, turning his face up to look into Kagome's eyes. He was always so polite.

"Yeah?" Kagome asked, hardly listening. Her thoughts were on Inuyasha. She had used the sit command on him so many times before she left. Oddly, she wondered if he was okay.

"The prom is coming up…would you do me the honor of going with me?" Hojou asked in his same, light, calm, polite voice.

Kagome lifted her face to look at Hojou. Her eyes sparkled. She had been waiting for someone to ask her all year. Somehow, she knew that she would end up with Hojou.

"Yeah! Sure! I'd love to, Hojou!" Kagome replied in the most enthusiastic voice that she had used all night.

After that, there was a few minutes of silence. Not much to say between them.

"Is there something wrong with your food?" Hojou asked suddenly, seeing that Kagome was only poking her fork into the pancake.

"I'm just not that hungry, that's all." She replied, looking up at him. "Listen…Hojou, I'm really sorry and I've had a great time but I just don't feel very good…I think I should be getting home…" Kagome said in a low voice. She always seemed to blow Hojou off some way or another.

"I understand, Kagome! You need your rest to overcome your mumbalidous! I'll walk you home." Hojou said, understandingly. He always forgave her for ditching him at the last minute.

"Thanks, Hojou…" Kagome said, standing up and walking over to where Hojou sat, finishing up a few bites before he stood and began to walk Kagome back to her house.

"Here we are, Kagome…I hope you feel better!" Hojou said as he led Kagome up to the arching gate over the Higurashi's property.

"Thanks…sorry about leaving so soon…" Kagome said, avoiding Hojou's gaze.

"No need. I just wish I could do more for you." The polite, handsome boy replied.

A warm summer breeze rustled the green leaves on the huge, blossoming tree that stood beside the Higurashi house. Kagome's eyes settled on it and she was filled with thoughts, thoughts of Inuyasha. After all, that had been the tree that he was pinned to for fifty years and if it hadn't been for Kagome, he'd still be there now. He'd still be pinned to that tree, his silky white hair thrashing in the wind, the thick vines wrapped around his pale and limp body.

Without realizing it, she had taken hold of Hojou's hands. She held them so tightly that her hands ached.

"Oh…sorry…" She whispered, dropping them quickly and turning her face away as her cheeks flushed.

Kagome's eyes traveled around her backyard, avoiding Hojou's but somehow they wandered back and connected with his. They stared at each other for so long that it seemed like hours.

Hojou started to lean forward. Kagome stared at him, not yet catching on to the deep look in Hojou's eyes as he inched his way closer to Kagome.

"Ho…jou?" She asked as Hojou slipped a warm hand onto the back of her neck and brought her lips to his.

She could hear her own heartbeat as she allowed Hojou to come so close. Close enough to kiss. Close enough to kill.

Their eyes closed in pure bliss as their lips touched. Kagome didn't pull away. All thoughts of Inuyasha had long disappeared as she moved her lips over Hojou's.