Moi-Moi: It's definitely been a while huh? I want to write. It's just that I've been really busy lately. But don't worry. Things will slow down soon and I'll be ready to write more.

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The first step: admitting that you can't control this.

Kagome liked Danny. Danny Fenton- the first person she had made friends with in Amity Park and probably the closest friend she had that she hadn't known from childhood. She wasn't sure when these feelings had started developing or for how long she'd felt this way, but she did know that she liked him. Granted, while she didn't feel as strongly for him as she knew Sam did, she still felt. She'd come to the conclusion last night and in an attempt to clear her head, she was currently taking Aki for a walk.

She had just been laying in bed unable to fall asleep when the idea to go stargazing had crossed her mind. Naturally, if she was going to go stargazing, she had to invite Danny. No one knew more about stars and space than he did.

Hey. I can't sleep. Want to go stargazing?

But it was a quarter after midnight. She hadn't expected him to be up when she texted. She was about to put her phone away when it had buzzed to life in her hand.

Danny: ur roof or mine?

She had immediately broken out in a grin. Climbing out of bed, she replied and grabbed one of her thicker blankets from her closet.

Urs I think. I'll bring a blanket.

Danny had popped into her room a few minutes later with an eager smile on his face. She wasn't sure whether he was happy to stargaze or happy to stargaze with her. It didn't matter so much when she had recognized that she had a similar smile on her face.

Kagome hadn't realized her feelings until about ten minutes into their stargazing. Danny was in the middle of explaining what constellations were currently shining brightly above them and she had been listening avidly. But after a while, it became less about listening to his words and more about listening to his voice. When Danny had caught her staring at him (without even paying attention to what he was saying no less), he hadn't batted an eye. Usually, she had been the one to quietly disregard his interest. But this time, the tables had been turned. She'd hoped that he would have just pretended that he hadn't caught her staring at his eyes, mouth and unruly hair as it blew in the breeze. Danny had surprised her when he'd smiled softly at her and taken her hand in his. And so, they had spent several more minutes like this- laying side by side with their hands clasped and eyes staring up at the skies (while still stealing glances at each other). She must have fallen asleep on him, because she woke up the next morning tucked under her own covers and the blanket folded and laying on the edge of her bed.

So, here she was- walking her dog while trying to decide what was the best way to transition from "just friends" to something more (or if she should want to transition). Maybe she could ask him out? There was nothing wrong with the girl asking the boy. She was almost positive that Danny would say yes if she asked. It was such a simple idea, but it held serious repercussions. She had already promised Sam (several times) that she wasn't interested in Danny. And even though she and Sam weren't close, Kagome didn't feel right essentially stealing Danny away. It felt like such a slimy move. Would Sam hesitate to go out with Danny for her sake? Probably not. But Kagome wasn't Sam. For her conscience's sake, she would at least talk to Sam first. Yes. That sounded like a good plan.

Suddenly, the sound of her ringtone interrupted her train of thought. Taking her phone from her pocket, Kagome glanced at the Caller iD. Upon seeing Danny's name on her screen, she felt a mix of anxious worry and happy excitement. Suppressing a grin, she quickly accepted the call. "Danny? What's up?"

"Not much. I was just wondering if you're doing anything right now or later?"

"I'm walking Aki now. But, I'm free afterwards. Why?"

"I was wondering if you would want to see a movie or something? You know? Like a date?"

Kagome immediately stopped on the spot with her eyes widening slowly. She wasn't moving in the slightest, but her heart rate was quickly speeding up. "A date?"

"Uh, yeah. Like two people...getting together to...do an activity?" Danny clarified. He sounded unsure now. It was kind of cute.

She could almost picture him scratching the back of his head as he nervously paced. Somehow, knowing that he was just as nervous as she was was helping to calm her nerves. "Sure, Danny."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. I mean not today. That's a bit too short notice but what about this weekend?" Kagome asked. Danny immediately started assuring her that anytime that she was ready was good with him. She giggled a bit at his excitement. Just as she was about to say something else, Kagome felt a chill go down her spine. Was that Danny? No, it didn't feel like his ghostly energy. She couldn't recognize this ghost. "Danny, did you sense any ghosts in town?"

"No. Why? Did you see one?"

"I can sense one," Kagome said just as Aki started barking loudly at an alleyway.

"Where are you?" Danny asked with an urgent tone.

"Near the intersection of 6th and 7th," Kagome replied and watched the shadows warily.

"I'm on my way," Danny said before promptly hanging up.

"What do you want?" Kagome called out to the ghosts. Unfortunately, these were the silent type of specter. Slowly, three neon green skeletons dressed in raggedy war attire from different eras in time stepped out from the shadows. Aki barked threateningly at them, but their gaze on her never wavered. When a medieval-looking skeleton notched an arrow, Kagome quickly ducked to the side. In her evading, she had let go of Ali's leash and he had immediately pounced on the skeletons. Before she could blink, the three skeletons were nothing but piles of dust. "They must have been really weak to be beaten so easily," she muttered. At the risk of sounding conceited, she couldn't help but expect more. Weak ghosts didn't normally threaten witches. Surely this wasn't the best that they could-

A low growling was coming from behind her. Standing quickly, Kagome spotted nearly twenty of the same skeletons making a half-circle around her. "Oh boy. Aki, run!" Kagome urged and turned tail to run down the alleyway.

This was not good. While she was confident in her ability to defend herself from these ghosts, she wasn't about to do it in the middle of the street! Danny was lucky to have an alter ego like a real superhero. But she didn't wear a mask! If anyone saw her doing magic, she and her family would become the next big thing for scientists to study.

Quickly turning a corner, Kagome froze when she spotted more of those skeleton ghosts blocking the path to the street. She glared harshly at them before saying, "I don't want to hurt ghosts. So, I'm giving you a chance to leave unharmed. But just know that I don't need magic to kick butt." The skeleton closest to her drew its sword.

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Once he'd gotten close to town, his ghost sense had immediately gone off. Not only had it gone off, it was still going crazy! Nearly every other exhale was a breath of cold mist from his lips. He'd moved so quickly that he hadn't gotten a chance to text Sam and Tucker, but he was a little grateful for that slip-up. It was one thing to help him capture Skulker. It was another to help him fight a... skeleton army? Stopping to hover over the streets, Danny could see people screaming in terror as they ran the opposite way that the ghosts were marching. There were so many of them! "Where are they going?" Danny asked before the realization set in. 'Kagome!'

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She was doing a decent job on her own. Well, she wasn't completely alone. Aki was totally kicking butt like the wonderful familiar that he was. But despite how many skeletons they wasted, there were still more of these things coming! She couldn't keep fighting each of them hand-to-hand, she'd tire out long before putting a dent in their numbers. She would have to try something else. Maybe she could call an army of her own?

"Kagome! Get down!"

Recognizing Danny's voice, Kagome quickly dropped to the ground and covered her head. She felt the whoosh of air over her head seconds before she heard the bones of the skeletons go clattering onto the floor. Cracking an eye open, she was relieved to see that most of the ghosts had been taken care of. "Are you okay?" Danny asked as soon as he landed before her.

"I'm fine. Thanks for the save."

"You need to get out of here. This isn't safe-" Danny started.

"Look out!" Kagome shouted while pushing Danny to the side. Quickly grabbing one of the skeleton's discarded swords, she used it to block an incoming sword. "To be perfectly honest, I've never used a sword before," Kagome said through gritted teeth. She didn't have to struggle with the ghost for long, thankfully. Aki was quick to lock his teeth onto the skeleton's arm before vigorously shaking the bones apart.

"Thanks. I really don't think you should stay. This is way too dangerous for you," Danny explained.

Kagome raised a brow. "I think this would be too dangerous for anyone. But I'm not exactly helpless, Danny. Besides, I don't think running away from them will get them off my trail."

"Anything is better than you staying here!" Danny argued as the ghosts started closing in on them.

"Well, I'm not leaving you to fight a small army on your own," Kagome fought back with a stern glare.

Danny wanted to argue further, but when he saw Kagome use her magic to effectively defend herself against two skeletons at the same time, he stopped. He'd never actually seen her use her magic to fight ghosts before. Dash was right. Kagome was the definition of a ninja, ghost hunter. With just a few spells (and Aki's quick reflexes), she was able to turn over ten ghosts into nothing more than a pile of bones and dust. Luckily, none of their skeleton "friends" had decided to attack him while he gawked at Kagome kicking some serious butt. His good luck had to run out eventually though...

"I've got you now, ghost!"

Glancing above him, Danny could see Valerie glaring down at him from within her huntress suit. She had a rather large bazooka pointed at him for good measure, but lowered it slightly when her eyes landed on Kagome. "What are you doing here?" Valerie asked in a pointed tone.

Kagome shot Valerie an exasperated look before giving Danny a questioning one. What did it look like she was doing? Knitting tea cozies!? Then again, she was probably the last person Valerie expected to be in the middle of a ghost fight. (Yes. Danny had told her all about his history with Valerie. Personally, she didn't approve of dating your enemy, but to each his own).

Regaining her wits, Valerie quickly raised her bazooka and shouted, "Get away from her, ghost! Or else!"

Danny raised his hands in surrender and took two steps away from Kagome. "I'm not trying to hurt her. I swear," Danny reasoned despite knowing that this approach never worked with Valerie.

"Like I believe you," Valerie snarled. Typical.

'She really knows how to hold a grudge,' Kagome couldn't help but think. Danny was holding his hands up with his palms forward, but Valerie was still charging her bazooka. Danny would never use his powers on Valerie, but Kagome didn't quite share his feelings. With a quick and subtle wave of her hand, Valerie's jet-sled suddenly lurched before blasting off in another direction. Danny and Kagome watched as Valerie shouted indiscriminately and haphazardly flew away from the scene. "She'll be back soon so I suggest leaving the scene," Kagome offered.

Danny quickly reverted back to his human form with a smile. "After you," he said. Rolling her eyes good naturedly, Kagome led them out of the back alley and back onto the sidewalk. After reattaching Aki's leash to his collar, the two teens made their way towards their homes. "I can't believe that more ghosts were after you."

"It doesn't make sense. I thought that it was weird that they weren't even that powerful," Kagome mused.

"You think that they were like Walker's goons? That someone sent them?" Danny suggested.

"It's possible. But how many ghosts do you know who have an army at their disposal?"

"There's a few- especially the older and more powerful ghosts," Danny said with a frown.

"I still don't get what they'd want with me. No ghost wants anything to do with a witch, except for those weird half-ghosts who don't know any better," Kagome hinted with a smirk.

"I prefer to think of them as accepting and open-minded," Danny corrected. When he heard Kagome's light laughter, Danny couldn't help but give himself a small pat on the back. Would now be a good time to transition into what he really wanted to talk about? "So... Were you serious about what you said earlier?" Danny started. He was staring ahead with his hands shoved deeply into his pockets. He looked almost casual if it weren't for the quick glances he was giving her out of the corner of his eyes and his slightly tensed posture.

"About what? The date?" Kagome asked. Honestly, she seemed much more at ease with the current topic of discussion than he was. Danny was on the verge of asking back his words from before at any instant while Kagome acted as if they were discussing the latest summer blockbuster. "I was completely serious. Why? Are you having second doubts?"

"Who? Me? No! No way. I-I was just making sure that you were okay with everything," Danny explained.

Kagome barely reigned in a wide grin. "Relax, Danny. I'm okay with it. Just text me the details."

"Okay. Cool," Danny replied. So, he'd come up with something they could do together for their date. In the meantime, he needed answers and fast. If there was some powerful ghost after Kagome, he needed to put a stop to it before it got out of hand. He didn't have many allies left, but there had to be someone willing to help.

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Moi-Moi: Don't forget to favorite and review! Things are about to take off in the next chapter. And not just with the Danny/Kagome ship that's been stuck at the dock for a million chapters now... ;)