Chapter Seven: Moonless Dreams

The dark figure outside waited until he was 100% sure that the figure inside was sound asleep. He quietly opened the window and stepped into the room without making a sound as he always did. He waited a few more moments as if waiting to see if Kagome would move again…

When she didn't, he felt that it would be safe to approach her bed. Once again, he was standing over the girl and was about to take more of her blood.

Inuyasha hated this… he wanted to leave the girl alone… but…

But he knew that there was no chance that he could stay away from her blood. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up though.

He couldn't come back EVERY night for the rest of her life. He knew that he had to find some way to get out of this… but until then…

He bent over her and bit into her neck once again.

Oh it was as sweet and delicious as it always was. He shut his eyes in bliss… but remembering his vow…

He would only take one taste. He didn't want to end up hurting her or making her sick again. So with a great amount of effort, he licked the wound close and pulled away from Kagome's neck. Licking his lips he turned and was about to leave when he heard a slight groan from behind him.

Freezing he turned to see Kagome beginning to stir. Thinking fast he reached into his pocket and pulled out the lighter and a leaf from last night and lit it. As the fumes began to fill the room, Kagome opened her eyes and her gaze landed on Inuyasha.

Inuyasha didn't know why he didn't just leave… he just found himself transfixed by her eyes as gold stared into brown for a long time. Kagome's eyes widened for a moment as she opened her mouth to scream… but she then closed it as the plant began to do its job. He stared long and hard at her as the fumes quickly made her drift back to sleep.

When her eyes drooped, he turned and ran from the room, but in his hurry, he didn't notice that he dropped some more of the leaves.

*Kagome*

Kagome suddenly came out of her deep sleep, wondering what had awoken her until she had felt a slight pain in her neck. She didn't think too much of it because the pain had gone almost as quickly as it had come. But as she stirred slightly, she thought that she could hear the rustle of clothes, and the 'click' of lighter.

Her eyes then opened as a sweet scent rushed into her nose. She looked around her dark room, trying to detect where the scent was coming from… and then she saw him.

There was a young man with hair shining like moonlight and eyes like miniature golden suns glowing in the darkness. He was dressed in a bright red t-shirt and ripped jeans, a necklace that looked like it was made of beads hung around his neck, and what appeared to have been an old sword hanging at his hip.

But what amazed her most wasn't the sword, hair, or the plants that he was burning in his hand… it were the dog ears that were twitching around. She took a long look at him and opened her mouth to start screaming. (I mean, if someone was in your room in the middle of the night, wouldn't you?)

But as she took a deep breath, the sweet smell filled her and she found that she couldn't utter a single word. She felt as if someone had stuck a gallon of Novocain into her and she felt herself dozing.

She blinked… and he was gone… was he a dream? Or not? She didn't know anymore as she blacked out.

*Morning*

Kagome woke up feeling as great as she did yesterday. She looked around at her bright room, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary and was about to get ready for school when she noticed something on her floor.

She got out of bed and bent down to pick them up. The edges of the leaf were burnt and crumpling…

She gasped as she immediately stood up to stare at her window. Someone was in her room last night… maybe even more than once… and she was going to find out who.

*School*

Kagome decided to skip lunch and to spend her time in the library. She was looking up the leaf she found this morning on the computer, trying to find out what kind of plant it was and why that guy would've been burning it. After a while of hopeless searching she felt a slight tap on her shoulder.

She turned to see the one person that she had been dreading to see since the party.

"Hello Hojo," she whispered in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Kagome," Hojo said with a goofy smile that annoyed her even more. "Hey, I've been trying to talk to you for the last few days…"

"Yeah," Kagome whispered quickly, "I've been sick all weekend… and I've been doing some research so I'm really busy."

Hojo pulled up a seat right next to her and said, "You've been sick? I wish I'd known… you know you could've told me so I could've come over and…"

"NO!" Kagome practically shouted and earning a deathly glare from the librarian and the few other students in the room.

Kagome looked around the room sheepishly and mouthed, 'Sorry.'

"Kagome," said Hojo as he noticed the leaf in her hand and the website she was on. ".com?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah," Kagome said as she went back to work looking at the computer screen. Hoping that he would go away, she said, "I'm trying to find out what kind of plant this leaf came from… for… ah… report on exotic plants."

'Boy what a lame excuse,' she thought. But luckily Hojo seemed to buy it.

"Oh, well in that case… you want some help? I've done a report on plants before and I know some of the best sights to go to."

Kagome didn't know how to get rid of him politely. She finally sighed and said, "Ok."

Surprisingly, it turns out that Hojo did know some pretty good sites on plants, and in no time they found out what they were looking for.

"Valerian root?" Kagome read interestedly.

"Valerian root," Hojo read out for her. "This is one of the oldest and most widely used herbal sleep remedies. Unlike many other herbs, valerian root has been the subject of several clinical trials where it was found to help people fall asleep faster and get a more restful night's sleep. It is said that when the leaves of Valerian root is burned the fume that is created can put a person into a deep sleep and have them waking up well-rested and full of energy the next day."

Kagome thought it over. She looked down at the little leaf and realized that her suspicions were correct. Someone had to have been in her room last night… she couldn't think of another explanation to what was going on…

But if someone was in her room… what was he doing? He hadn't done anything to her… If he had wanted to hurt her, then he would have done so. What was going on?

"Kagome?" Hojo's voice said suddenly and knocking her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asked as she came back to reality. "Did you say something?"

"I was just wondering if you thought it over?" he said turning to face her.

"Thought what over?" asked Kagome.

"Well," said Hojo as he took both of her hands in his, causing Kagome to feel really uncomfortable. Doesn't this guy get the hint? She likes him as a friend but she doesn't have any romantic feelings for him at all.

"I was just wondering if you thought about being my girlfriend?" Hojo asked a little too confidently.

"Ahhh," began Kagome trying to think of an excuse. Thankfully, the bell rang at that moment, saving her from answering. She got up quickly and said, "Sorry, Hojo! I have to head to my next class. I'll get back to you on that."

She then turned and practically ran from the library.

Hojo stared after with a mixture of surprise and happiness. 'Wow,' he thought gleefully. 'She's so shy around me, she can hardly talk! She likes me more than I first thought!'

(Yeah… keep dreaming Hojo.)

Kagome went home that day thinking, 'Honestly Hojo… what's it gonna take to get through to you?'

She spent the rest of the evening doing her homework… but after she left school, she stopped by the store to buy all the caffeine drinks that she could carry and most sugary candy. If she was going to be getting any answers then she had to stay awake tonight.

And if that guy tries to use that plant again, she needed the sugar rush.

She went to bed that night at her usual time, but before she climbed under the covers, she drank as much sugar and caffeine that she could take.

She then laid in bed… pretending to sleep. She kept her eyes shut, and tried her best not to move.

She couldn't help but look at her clock every 5 minutes though. This waiting was torture. She wanted answers and she decided to stay up the whole night if she had to. But it wasn't until after midnight did something finally happen.

Kagome lay still, just beginning to think that maybe nothing was going to happen after all, when she heard her window open. She took a slight intake of breath but didn't do anything.

She just waited as she heard the sound of a pair of feet hit her floor and slowly walk over to where she was. She continued to pretend to be asleep, wanting to know what this guy was going to do… and if he was dangerous

Even if he was, she had decided to keep Sota's baseball bat under her blankets… just in case.

She could practically feel this guy watching her as she felt him standing right next to her bed. Curious, she began to think about what he was going to do… that is until she could feel his breath on her neck.

That was when her eyes snapped open and her hand shot up to grab the intruder by the hair.