Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Normal

Worry

Gohan had never felt so humiliated in his life. And if all dates were like the one he had just been on, he vowed to never go on another. That girl was just plain crazy. She had even accused him of liking Videl. He honestly didn't care if she told the whole school about his teddy bear boxers as long as he was rid of her.

Sighing, he made his way to Kagome's apartment. He didn't think he had the strength to handle his mother's interrogation about how his date went at the moment. He also figured Kagome would get a good laugh out of his miserable day, and would hopefully cheer her up.

As he was buzzed into Kagome's building, he bumped into another boy a couple of years older. He looked familiar, with auburn hair and teal eyes. And then it dawned on him where he had seen him, there was a photo of him on Kagome's phone. He was an old friend of hers.

"Hey, you're Kagome's friend, Shippo. Right" Gohan said, greeting the older boy with a smile. "I'm a classmate of her's, Gohan."

"Oh," Shippo said, shaking his hand. "You're that kid she's always talking about."

Blushing, Gohan stammered, "She-she talks about me."

Any other time, Shippo would have teased the kid. It was obvious he had a thing for her, but now wasn't the time. Kagome had agreed to meet him over an hour ago, and it wasn't like her to be late. He had a bad feeling about all this.

"Have you seen her at all today," Shippo asked.

Gohan shook his head and said, "No. She wasn't at school today. But she was feeling sick these last few days. I figured she was home."

At the other boy's troubled look, Gohan started to feel uneasy. What kind of trouble could she seriously get into? She was probably resting in her room. Taking a calming breath, he knocked on the door.

Puar answered. "Hey, Gohan."

"Hi Puar. Is Kagome home," he asked, while Shippo stood anxiously besides him.

"No, I thought she was with you," he replied. Gohan's uneasiness rose, and he felt his stomach drop at the small cat's next words. "I haven't seen her since she left for school this morning."