Soooo I know you all have missed me so much!! I'm so sorry I haven't written in months but my laptop crashed and it took a while to get it fixed. I will be working diligently to get new chapters up!! I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter!! - Anelle

"blah" Japanese

"blah" English

Blah Thoughts

Of Shopping and Moonlight Dips

The next morning Alice and Rosalie picked Kagome up in Rosalie's convertible. Kagome said goodbye to her family and rushed out in the outfit Edward had suggested.

"Hey guys!" She said as she hopped into the back. It was relatively warm so they decided to drive with the top down. Even if it was freezing cold they could still drive with the top down but that might stir up a little suspicion.

"Hey! Ready for some shopping?!" Alice said enthusiastically and sped off.

"So what has you all smiley?" Rosalie asked suspiciously and Alice just smiled.

"Oh she had a visit from a certain grumpy vampire we know." She said with a laugh and if Kagome could have blushed she would have. Rosalie raised an eyebrow at her.

"We just talked. And he helped me decide on an outfit." Kagome said defensively but Rosalie and Alice just "mmmed."

They arrived in Seattle shortly after and set off for the most fashionable boutiques. Kagome felt she was in serious need of upgrading her wardrobe. Kagome ran right to the True Religion jeans, them being her favorite, and started picking out numerous pairs in her size. Alice laughed and skipped over to join her. Rosalie sighed and made her way over as well. After picking out the ones they liked they went to the dressing rooms to try them on.

"Oh these make my butt look gooood." Kagome said looking at herself in the mirror.

"That's what you said about the last four pairs." Alice said laughing.

"Well it's true about all of them! I don't know which ones to get!"

"Why not get all of them and save us from your complaining." Rosalie suggested with a smile. Kagome stuck her tongue out at her but had to admit she was right.

They left the store with purchases in hand and immediately went into a handbag boutique. There were handbags from many designers and they each chose one. Kagome bought a white Jimmy Choo handbag, Alice bought a black Chanel bag, and Rosalie bought a pink Prada purse.

"Ok I need some new tops. What place has nice shirts?" Kagome asked and Alice looked thoughtful.

"Hmm I like the shirts at the Macy's they have here." Alice said and Rosalie nodded in agreement. So they got in Rosalie's car again and drove to Macy's because they wouldn't get there before dark if they walked at a normal human pace. "I love the Macy's in New York City. It's the biggest department store in the world! We'll have to go there on a real shopping trip sometime." Alice suggested and the two girls agreed.

Once they arrived at Macy's they headed for the shirts and began picking out ones they liked. They also received many stares and heard many whispers about them. Men were admiring them and women were trying to find flaws with them. They just rolled their eyes at each other and continued their shopping. Once they were finished they paid for their purchases and headed home. They dropped Kagome off a little after ten bid their farewells until later.

"Mama I'm home!" Kagome said when she walked in the door.

"Oh hello, dear. How was shopping?" Her mom asked coming out of the kitchen.

"It was great! Alice and Rosalie are really great people. I'm glad I met them. Hey where's Sota?" She asked.

"Oh he got bored so he went out into the forest to do a little small game hunting." Kun-loon said and Kagome was out the door in less than a second. Kun-loon just laughed at her children's antics.

Kagome loved the feel of the wind against her face as she rushed through the forest. She followed the trail of scent that Sota left and discovered that he had traveled farther than she thought. She was up into the mountains in a matter of moments. She finally found him crouched behind a bush watching a heard of elk. She smiled wryly and launched herself at him.

Sota turned around in the last second only to see his sisters face as she plummeted into him, making a loud booming sound that scared away any potential dinner. He sighed from underneath his sister.

"Ha ha very funny. You got me." He said tiredly.

"As long as you admit defeat." Kagome laughed and leaped up while lending a hand down to her brother who begrudgingly took it. "Lets go find some dinner now. I haven't drank anything in like a week, counting the plane ride over here." She said and Sota nodded in agreement.

They followed the scent of the elk and found them in a clearing near a stream. They stayed hidden in the trees. Observing the heard.

"Dibs on the biggest one." Kagome said and Sota scowled. "You snooze you lose." Kagome laughed and launched herself into the heard. She moved silently and swiftly. She noticed Sota followed her lead and attacked as well. She took hold of the largest elk and swiftly broke its neck so it would die quickly and would not suffer. She then proceeded to drain the elk dry. Sota finished about the same time she did. Being holy people, they said a prayer over the dead elks bodies and sent their spirits up to the Kamis.

"Lets get back. I want to shower." Kagome said.

"You know…I don't think we really need to shower that much anymore. I've stayed really clean lately." Sota said.

"I know but I just like to shower. It calms me."

They were home in a matters of minutes. It was still only about eleven so they joined their mother in the living room where she was reading on the couch. Sota plopped onto the couch next to her and Kagome took a seat at the piano and began playing.

"I don't know why you don't play more, Kagome. You're very talented." Kun-loon said, looking up from her book.

"Well it was kind of hard when I was running back and forth from the past." Kagome laughed. She changed the tune of her song and began to sing as well. Her voice was pure and the sound was like a bell. Sota closed his eyes in peace and Kun-loon turned back to her book. After a while they went off to do their own things. Sota to probably play video games and Kun-loon to go paint.

Kagome decided to take a dip in the pool to relax and think about things. She ran up to her room and put on her light blue sequined bikini, grabbed a towel, and jumped down from her balcony.

She turned on the pool light, stood on the diving board, and did a perfect dive into the water. While underwater she had a thought. If she didn't technically need air anymore could she stay down here forever? She sat at the bottom for a moment and felt no need to go back to the surface. So she took a seat at the bottom of the deep end and started to think. She thought of how lucky she was to have such an unfortunate thing happen to her. But she felt sorry for her family. Her brother had his whole life ahead of him and he was stuck at the age of thirteen forever. And her mother, she would never be reunited with her true love. But they both seemed to be handling it well.

Her mind then wandered to the past. Her friends and life in the feudal era. This saddened her even more. Her best friend and sister Sango was long gone alone with Miroku. It made her depressed to think that if Inuyasha hadn't chosen to go to hell with Kikyo he would probably still be here today, if he didn't do something stupid to get himself killed along the way. Thinking about Inuyasha brought up another man into her mind. Edward. She'd known him for what…three days? And she was wondering if she was starting to get feelings for him. He was impossibly handsome and seemed like a good person, if not a little cranky. She shook her head roughly. I can't be thinking like this. I will not fall for another man who's heart already belong to another. She decided she had spent enough time underwater and pushed herself up.

"You've been under there for a while." A voice from behind her said as soon as she broke surface. She gasped and turned around to see the man she was just thinking about sitting at the edge of the pool.

"Oh…well. Sorry to keep you waiting then." She said and pulled herself out the pool. He handed her the towel she brought and she noticed he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. This made her smile a bit. "So what are you doing here anyway?" She asked him.

"Just thought you might like some company."

"That's the only reason?" She asked incredulously.

"Ok and maybe I wanted your company too." He smiled sheepishly. "I can go if you want…"

"No it's ok. I'd like some company. I get lonely at night sometimes now. With not being able to sleep and everything."

"Yeah I can understand that. So did you girls have fun shopping today?" He asked.

"Oh yeah. My wardrobe needed an upgrade." She laughed. "Come on lets go to my room, I want to change."

They jumped up to her room and Edward plopped onto her bed, picked up her ipod and began scrolling through it. Kagome grabbed some clothes and went into her bathroom to change. When she came out she found Edward sprawled out on her bed on his stomach playing with her ipod. She laid down on the bed next to him. He turned his head to look her directly in the eye.

"So what were you thinking about underwater for all that time?" He asked and she wanted to blush.

"Umm. Just things…about how I feel bad that my family got stuck in this lifestyle. I mean for me its ok. I've never been one partial to normality but my brothers just starting his life and now he's trapped at thirteen. He'll never be able to legally drive a car. Even if he's 100 years old. My mother will never be able to be with my father again. I know how much she misses him." Kagome said sighing.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened, Kagome." He told her.

"I know, but I can't help it sometimes. I'm used to things being my fault. I was also thinking about the past." Kagome said, reaching under her bed and bring out a photo album. "I miss them all so much." She opened the photo album and started flipping through the pages. Indicating to each person.

"I actually ran into these two before in the airport right before we came here." She said, pointing to Sesshoumaru and Shippo. "Sesshoumaru has to be at least 700 years old now and that's still considered young. Shippo's just a little over 500."

"Wow. And I thought Carlisle was old." Edward laughed.

"It makes me wonder who else is still alive. I had a number of demonic friends." Kagome said sighing. "They were like family to me."

Edward just looked at her for a moment before getting up and walking over to her desk. He picked something up and laid back down on the bed next to her. She saw that in his hands was her digital camera.

"Smile." He said and leaned in close to her and snapped a picture. "There. The first picture in you next photo album. Of your newest family." He said smiling. This made Kagome break out in a huge smile and tackle Edward in a hug.

"Hey what are you doing tomorrow?" She asked him.

"Nothing why?"

"Wellll it's supposed to be sunny and I'm not really into the whole having to stay inside by myself thing. And I wanted to do some redecorating in my basement for days such as these and I was wondering if you wanted to come over and help?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah I'd like that." He said smiling and Kagome cursed the butterflies in her stomach. She was glad her heart could no longer beat or else it would have been very audible.

"Ok I want you here bright and early. Now go! I want to get in the shower!" She said pushing him lightly.

"Ok ok. Until the morrow, fair lady." He said with an extravagant bow and fled out the window.

Kagome shook her head and went into the bathroom. All the while, thinking about the next day would bring.