"Is something bothering you?" Sango asked Kagome, who was far away in thought, having gone silent several minutes ago as they lounged side by side on the grassy bank.
"What's that? Oh, no! I was just thinking about something stupid!" Kagome feigned cheer, only to block further interrogation.
"Really, Kagome, you can tell me," Sango reassured gently.
Kagome hesitantly began. "I was just thinking about the things I'm missing back home while I'm here. The last time I went back, I saw a poster for a dance coming up. I've never been to a high school dance before," she lamented wistfully.
"A school dance? What's that?" Sango pondered. Her only education was in demon-slaying.
"It's when all the kids at school get together in a big open room. The lights are dim, there's music playing and everyone dances with each other," Kagome explained, her hands gesticulating to illustrate. "Sometimes the music is fast so you can jump around with your friends, and sometimes the music is slow and... a boy can ask you to dance."
"And this is fun in your time?" asked Sango, neck craning in interest.
"Sure! But... I think it's better if I stay here. With all of Naraku's incarnations running around, I can't just leave you guys for a stupid dance. Forget it." Kagome sighed in resignation. She glanced across the open field to InuYasha who was weilding Tetsusaiga against the open air. She caught Miroku in her periphery, napping beneath a shady tree. Shippo and Kirara were bounding about, collecting nearby wildflowers.
"Kagome, it's not stupid to want to have fun, but you're welcome to stay," Sango offered before taking her leave to act as Miroku's alarm clock.
Kagome stared into the fire. InuYasha, sitting across from her, couldn't help but notice how absent she seemed.
"What's wrong with you?" he groaned. Although it was born of genuine concern, InuYasha was never one for simpering.
Kagome lifted her chin from the hand that was supporting it. "Nothing's wrong, InuYasha. Hey... where's Sango and Miroku?" She was so deep in thought she hadn't noticed the rest of the group was completely out of sight.
"Shippo and Kirara are gone, too," InuYasha said, his eyes darting, his knuckles cracking against Tetsusaiga's hilt.
They both were on their feet now, turning left and right in search of their friends. The night was clear. The light of the full moon blanketed the field and the vast ocean of stars lent their shine to the search.
"Is that... music?" InuYasha's ears twitched. He could have sworn to hearing the faint notes of a flute.
"I hear it, too," said Kagome, hushed, her human ears straining.
"It's coming from over there!" he shouted and in a blink he took off running to the far end of the field.
"InuYasha, wait! It could be a trap!" Kagome yelled, and followed after him anyway.
One hundred yards away stood InuYasha, an expression of perplexity across his face, nose scrunched, brows furrowed. Once Kagome had caught up to him, she understood his bewilderment.
A round expanse of grass was blanketed with the petals of flowers. The soprano tone of the flute was clearer here; it played a sweet, soft melody. Twinkling fireflies glided lazily through the air.
Kagome's confusion quickly subsided and she was at once awestruck. She smiled at the beautiful presentation. "InuYasha, it's okay. It's... a dance," she reassured, placing a palm against her heart.
"A what?" InuYasha growled, his ignorance of future-era fun utterly transparent.
Kagome extended her hand to him. "I'll show you." She was smiling, happy tears tickling her lashes.
InuYasha took an eternity to accept her hand, but he did, and they moved together to the center of the circle of flowers.
"It's a dance. Sango must have put everyone up to this. I told her I wanted to go to a dance at my school." She couldn't stop smiling. "You listen to the music and... you move to it." She felt her cheeks flush at having to feign expert knowledge about a topic on which she was a novice at best.
"HA!" he guffawed. "You ain't catching me doin' that!"
"Come on, InuYasha. It's fun," her voice lowered, dejected, and when he saw the sad look on her face, he decided it was in his best interest to comply, lest her mantra plant him facefirst in the dirt. So he groaned, but closed the gap between them.
Kagome stood unmoving longer than she meant to. This was a dance prepared exclusively for her, her first real dance, and suddenly all she could think of was making a fool of herself in front of InuYasha. She took a big gulp to swallow the doubt, grabbed both his hands, and began to sway.
Hidden in the shadows, their friends observed. Shippo could barely contain his joy, for he was InuYasha and Kagome's most ardent cheerleader, and he stifled his giggles against Kirara's fur after plucking a stray flower petal from it.
Miroku proved himself more than capable on the flute, one of the many talents he acquired in which to entertain the maidens of the land. Sango, the architect of the occasion, scooted to lean against him, her heart moved by the romantic ambience. "Have fun, Kagome," she whispered.
The flute's tempo quickened. Kagome, as ungraceful as she could be, responded to the beat; she twirled, dipped, raised her hands to the moon.
"Kagome, you look like you're being attacked by invisible bug demons," InuYasha scoffed.
She just laughed. "It's dancing, InuYasha! Don't think, just move!"
But in a beat, the tempo waned. Kagome paused and looked to InuYasha, who still had a baffled look on his face. She blushed furiously, but took a few steps toward him and embraced him. His cheeks grew even redder than hers, if it were possible.
"K-Kagome... what are you doing?" he stuttered.
"Dance with me, InuYasha," she whispered, for if she spoke any louder, she feared her voice would crackle from her quivering nerves.
He carefully wrapped his arms around her, fingers lightly brushing against her back. She pressed her cheek to his chest and felt his heart beat. It pumped so much faster than the languid melody. Though elated with the sensation of floating, Kagome was still cautious of the placement of her feet. She took dainty sidelong steps, leading InuYasha. Their waltz lasted many measures, and soon they were both able to relax.
As one slow melody fluidly shifted into the next, Kagome lifted her head to look upon InuYasha's face, which now looked serene, if not a bit lost in thought. She was completely overcome. Her heart was fit to bursting, the ecstacy flowing through her body with each note of the music. Captured by emotion, she found her face getting closer to InuYasha's. He responded in kind, mirroring her subtle movement and suddenly, their lips met.
He embraced her a bit tighter then, his golden eyes closed. She melted into his touch, her hands tracing the fabric of his sleeves to then press against his chest. When their lips after a long moment parted, no one could tell the difference between the blush of their skin and the Camellia petals beneath them.
"Thank you, InuYasha," she breathed.
"For what?" he asked.
"My first dance."