Chapter Two: Halloween Trouble

*Halloween Day*

Kagome was helping Yuka putting on red face paint for her devil's costume. "Yuka, you look like you could scare the 'real' devil."

Yuka smiled as she shut her eyes so that Kagome could put the make-up on her eyelids. "You should go and put your costume on Kagome," she said while she was adding her devil horns.

"In a minute," Kagome replied as she looked over her shoulder at her friends who were also getting ready.

"I'll finish your make-up Yuka," said Ayumi who had finished putting on a tie-dye shirt and bellbottom jeans. "I'm almost ready, and you haven't even got yours on Kagome."

"Thanks," she said as she handed Ayumi the brush and headed towards the bathroom with her costume and accessories. But as soon as she reached the bathroom door down the hall, her brother had jumped out and started hissing… only to have his glow-in-the-dark fangs fall out of his mouth.

"Hey, Dracula," she said sarcastically. "Lost your dentures?"

"Laugh it up, sis," he said as he picked up his fangs, looking embarrassed. "But when I have an entire pillow sack of candy, we'll see whose laughing."

Kagome grinned as she walked pass him and turned to shut the door. "If you get any Reese's let me know." Once he left she quickly changed out of her blouse and skirt before putting on the red and white priestess attire. When she looked in the full-length mirror, she had to admit that she looked great. It looked as if she was born to wear it. She grinned again as she brushed out her raven hair and tied it up in a white hair band.

She then picked up a quiver with fake arrows and a toy bow before walking back to her room to show her friends. When she stepped inside, she saw that they were all almost ready and just finishing the final touches to make their outfits perfect.

When they looked up at her, they all let out small shrieks of surprise and excitement.

"Oh, Kagome," said Yuka all dressed in red and picking up a plastic pitchfork.

"You look great!" said Eri who was in blue with a pair of handcuffs and a cops badge gleaming on her chest.

"Really! You look like something right out of feudal Japan!" cried out Ayumi.

"Yeah?" said Kagome, "You look like you just jumped over from the 70's!"

After awhile of squealing and complementing each other, they finally heading downstairs to show off to Kagome's mom. Her mom gave them all a sigh of 'awww' before the four of them waited on the porch and started to hand out candy to early trick-or-treaters. Sota had already left with a large group of friends, and at a quarter to 8, her mom took over the job of handing out candy while the girls all left.

While watching the road for any stray trick-or-treaters, they all talked and joked about having a good time tonight. That is, until Ayumi told Kagome something about the reason Hojo was throwing the party.

"I overheard this in the hallways at school," she said a little breathlessly. "The reason Hojo's throwing the party is because he wants to ask you to be his girlfriend Kagome!"

"WHAT?" Kagome shrieked in shock. She wasn't expecting that. She always knew that Hojo had a crush on her ever since they were kids, and she always liked Hojo… but would she actually go out with him? She liked him as a friend… but as a boyfriend? No way.

"You should date him," said Eri who was driving. "Hojo's liked you forever. And he's sweet, treats you with respect, he's cute… sure he's a bit dense… but come on, no one's perfect."

"Yeah…" said Kagome a little absentmindedly, "But I don't know if Hojo's my type. Sure he's nice but…"

"But what?" asked Ayumi.

"I don't know if I want to date him," Kagome said truthfully. "I've always thought of Hojo as a friend, not my boyfriend."

"Wait a minute," said Yuka suddenly, "Do you like someone else?"

Kagome was startled by the question and said a little too quickly, "NO!"

"Why you getting all defensive Kagome?" asked Eri smirking, "Is he cute?"

Kagome let out an irritated sigh before glaring at them, "No, I'm not seeing anyone. I'm just saying that I'm not sure I would like to date a health-nut like Hojo that's all."

Eri shrugged, "Well you're gonna have to give him an answer tonight. Because, he's going to ask you before the party's over."

Kagome leaned back in her seat with her hand over her eyes, and hissed, "Great."

*The Party*

Disco lights flashed red, green, blue and yellow, revealing the silhouettes of dancers sweeping across the wooden floor and the sound of music was blaring in everyone's ears. People were laughing, eating, and talking to each other while enjoying themselves and showing off their costumes.

Kagome mingled with the girls for a short time before she went over to where a bunch of chairs and to talk with some other friends that had just shown up. She had been hoping that she could avoid Hojo all night, but as luck would have it… just when it was nearing midnight, and she thought that she would be able to get away… he appeared behind her.

"Hey Kagome!" he said cheerfully, causing her to jump so hard that she almost fell out of her chair. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said rather childlike as he took her arm and tried to help her up. Kagome gently pulled her arm out of his grasp and said in what she hoped was a kind tone, "No problem Hojo. But I can get up by myself. Thanks anyway."

'Honestly,' she thought to herself, 'Sometimes he's a little TOO polite. It can be a little annoying.' Nevertheless, she forced a mechanical smiled for him.

"I'm so sorry Kagome," Hojo kept apologizing, "I should've let you know that I was there you might've gotten hurt!"

Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Hurt? The only thing I could hurt by falling on the floor is my pride."

"But still," Hojo went on sounding guilty, "I should never have snuck up on you."

"That's ok Hojo," Kagome said as she was starting to get annoyed. "What do you want?" She could've kicked herself. She knew what he wanted, and if she had used her brain, then maybe she could've gotten away without hurting his feelings.

Hojo seemed to be a little confused at first, before he remembered why he came over. "Well I… uhh," Hojo stumbled over his words like a nervous wreck; "I… ah… I wanted to ask you something?"

Kagome tried hard not to sigh as she waited, but Hojo looked at her friends, who were watching them with curious expressions. "Can we go outside for a minute?" he asked.

Why did she have to be born with a sense of ethics? She couldn't find it in her to tell him no. She sighed as she nodded and followed him out of the house. "By the way," Kagome said, trying to distract him, "I like your parent's house."

It really was a nice house; made of brick with two floors and wood that was polished so much that it looked brand new. Hojo led her outside onto a deck, overlooking a pool… to Kagome's dismay, no one else was outside.

"Thank you," Hojo said as he offered her his coat. "You know its kinda cold out here. Don't want you getting sick or anything."

Kagome waved off the coat, "No thank you Hojo," she said. "I'm fine."

As he put his coat over her shoulders anyway, she bit her lip, trying not to tell him off. Instead she asked, "What are you dressed as anyway?"

He was dressed in red tights, with a large shirt with poufy sleeves, with an even larger hat that had a long feather sticking out of it. "Oh?" Hojo said in surprise, "You couldn't tell? I'm Romeo."

Kagome nodded, but she couldn't hide the dread in her eyes. "Why did you go as that?" she asked quickly. "Is someone here dressed as Juliet?"

'Please say yes, please say yes,' she kept thinking over and over. Hojo laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "No. But I wanted to dress the part."

Kagome really didn't like where this was going and asked, "What part? The school play?"

He laughed again as he suddenly handed her something, "No I just wanted to give you these," he said quickly before pulling out a few yellow roses tied together with a green ribbon. Kagome stared at the flowers in surprise. But she was so relieved that they were yellow roses… "Oh Hojo…" she said happily. "I didn't know you wanted to stay friends."

"Come again?" Hojo asked in confusion. Kagome stroked the petals of one of the yellow roses before saying, "Yellow roses are an expression of cheerfulness. Yellow roses evoke sunny feelings of joy, warmth and welcome. They are symbols of friendship and caring. The yellow rose, unlike the other roses, isn't a symbol of romance. It indicates purely platonic emotions."

Hojo stared at her as if she spoke in another language, "N-no…" he stuttered. "I just remember you saying one day that yellow was your favorite color and I just thought…"

'Is it so hard for a guy to ask a girl what her favorite color is?' Kagome thought in bitter disappointment. For girls, favorite colors change from day to day, they never stay the same. Kagome's favorite colors were blue and red… not yellow…

'Why does he like me?' Kagome thought. 'I like him as a friend… but not as a boyfriend. How can someone so nice be so dense?' Kagome snapped out of her thoughts before she focused her attention back to Hojo.

"Thank you," she said indifferently before taking the flowers.

*Hojo's POV*

Hojo grinned widely as Kagome took the flowers from him. 'I knew that yellow was Kagome's favorite color! Her friends kept saying that it blue or something; but I knew better! I mean… look how happy and speechless she is right now? I can't believe that I was so worried. Man, she must like me.'

Hojo's chest swelled with confidence. The girl he liked for so long liked him too… now all he had to do was ask her to be his girlfriend.

*Normal POV*

The geeky smile on Hojo's face was really starting to worry her. Didn't she express it enough in the past that she liked him as just a friend? Did he really think that she wanted to go out with him?

"Thanks again, Hojo," said Kagome trying to sound cheerful, "You know? You really are such a good FRIEND. I'm lucky that I have so many good FRIENDS like you." Kagome said the word friend really slow and loudly hoping that he would understand the message. "I gotta go now." Kagome turned around and practically ran to the door.

"B-but Kagome!" he called after her, "I wanted to ask you something else!"

"Ah…" Kagome said trying to think of a good excuse, and not hurt his feelings, "Sorry Hojo! It's almost midnight and I promised my mom I'd be home by then!" Breathing in relief, she went back inside. Of course, she knew that Hojo wasn't going to let that go… she better find the girls and go home as soon as possible.

Kagome stayed away from the moving crowd, taking refuge in a corner of the lively room, trying to find Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. She ducked down, hoping desperately to remain inconspicuous. Staying low had succeeded so far in keeping anyone from recognizing her, but quickly changed. She felt someone grab her by the wrist and squeezed it so hard that she gasped in pain, before the owner dragged her roughly outside.

Confused, Kagome tried to pull her hand out of the person's grasp and go back inside. But he was too strong for her. Once they were out by the side of the house and stepped into the pale moonlight; Kagome was finally able to get a look at his face.

She recognized who pulling her… it was Bankotsu.

Bankotsu was one of the most popular boys in school, but Kagome heard her share of rumors on how brutal Bankotsu could be with his girlfriends and she wanted no part of it. Getting hit by a boy did NOT sound like a fun time to her. Which is why she always flipped him off whenever he tried to flirt with her; she didn't know why he did it… maybe because she was the only girl in school who wasn't acting like a crazed fan girl?

"What do you want Bankotsu?" she demanded, sounding braver than she really was.

In response, he threw her against the side of the house, knocking the air from her lungs and sent waves of pain up her spine. She sank to the ground, desperately trying to get her breath back. She glanced up to see the bully walking towards her, an evil and lust-filled smirk twisting his face. She felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her feeling dizzy and scared.

"I've been waiting for a long time Kagome," he said as he came near her. "You can't refuse me now…"

She glanced around, hoping to find some sort of escape route. Finding none, she turned sideways and readied herself for a fight… and getting ready to scream. That is until…

"Hold it," a harsh voice murmured dangerously that seemed to come from the darkness. "I would leave her alone if I were you."

Kagome turned her head to the left and glanced where she thought she saw a flash of silver in the dark. Bankotsu growled as he looked around him, "Who's there?" he yelled. "So yourself."

"If you insist," said the harsh, yet deep voice. Kagome squinted her eyes, trying to see who was there… she didn't recognize the voice… but something about it seemed… safe? Maybe even… familiar? Like she heard it from a dream she had a long time ago?

And then she saw him.

Someone was standing in the dark, glaring daggers at the bully now standing over Kagome. Kagome's eyes widened as the appearance of a young man, looking a little older than she did stepped into the weak moonlight.

As she got a good look at him, she noted that he was handsome. He had a completely flawless face, with long, flowing silver hair that was longer than any girl's hair that she'd ever seen. He was tall too, about a good half a foot taller than her. He was dressed in a crimson-red kimono that looked to be made of some strange material, and pants with a sword hanging but his side.

But what really amazed her wasn't the outfit, the silver hair, or the way that he seemed to become one with the darkness…

No it was his eyes and ears. Eyes that looked as if they were made of pure, liquid gold, and two silver dog ears resting on top of his head that twitched around at the tiniest sound.

Kagome took in the appearance of the teenager walking, barefooted, towards them. Kagome could feel her heart beating against her chest in an almost violent manner… as if it was trying to break free. She just stared at him as he came to stand just a few feet away from them and looking at Bankotsu with a look of disgust.

He then turned his head slightly to look down at Kagome with a strange stare in his eyes that Kagome didn't recognize…

… the way that he was looking at her…

…the only thing that she could think of to describe the stare was…

…like she was something he wanted to eat.

I decided to do a voting for chapter names in this story as well!

Possible chapter names for Chapter 3:

"My Name is…"

"In The Arms of an Angel or Devil?"

"Blood Lust"

(Please let me know if you like the idea of voting for chapter names yourselves or if I should do it on my own.)