AN: Okay team, here we go.

I think I finally figured out where to go with this.

I think only writers will understand this, but re-reading this story two years later…ugh it's like cringe-worthy to me now XDD

But that's the point of my stories. They're all works in progress over the course of a few years. And it's so fun getting to deal with all the plot points I throw in without thinking about them. This story went a completely different way than I thought it was going to…

*sigh*

Anyway, trying to be more consistent-ish! I promise!

Music was radio via my mother's computer. She says hi.

DISCLAIMER: These characters are uber awesome. Which means I don't own them. :P

CHAPTER 10:

(I noticed that the chapter numbering got all off and messy because that's how organized I am…this is really and truly CHAPTER 10. Hopefully I remember that later…)

"Miroku! Kouga! Where the hell are you guys?" Sango called through the circus. She sighed, Ayame's arm looped in hers. She had made the mistake earlier of not holding on to Ayame consistently and had lost her to food tents multiple times. Now, she was devouring what appeared to be a giant chocolate-covered pretzel.

The main show was set to start in half an hour, and she had lost the majority of their party. She just prayed that Inuyasha and Kouga hadn't gotten themselves kicked out yet.

"C'mon Ayame, eat and walk, please." She begged the wolf youkai.

Ayame nodded through chocolate doughy goodness. "Right!"

"And keep a lookout for any of our friends."

"Roger that!" Ayame said seriously before chomping down on the pretzel again.

Sango sighed and kept walking. She had been wary of this circus trip from the beginning, and now that she was separated from everyone, it only made everything worse. Plus, all the staff and performers kept giving her weird looks when they caught her eye. Maybe it was just her overactive imagination, but she couldn't help but shudder at it. Something was definitely going on.

At that moment, someone jumped into the taijiya from behind and Sango screamed, nearly jumping out of her skin. Her fear evaporated in a second, though, when she felt a familiar hand stroking her butt and heard a lecherous sigh come from behind her.

"BASTARD!" Sango screamed, slapping the monk so hard he fell backwards.

Ayame burst out laughing at Miroku's innocently confused expression. "But Sango, I was so happy that I found you again that I just-"

"Save it." Sango hissed and promptly turned around and continued on her way, leaving both Ayame and Miroku behind her.

"Sango! Wait!" Miroku called, scrambling to his feet and tearing after her.

Ayame tried the best she could to stifle her giggles before continuing after her friends.

:o0o:

A horrible black cloud seemed to swarm Inuyasha and Kouga as they stomped their way through the circus, both on the lookout for a familiar girl with raven-black hair.

"Stop following me, ya damn wolf." Inuyasha growled.

"You're the one following me, mutt-face." Kouga snapped.

It had been like that for the past few hours since the pair had been separated from everyone else. They had scared more children and parents alike than the clowns had the entire evening.

Still, it seemed that their energy was dwindling, if only a little bit. Their insults were less biting and sounded more tired than anything else. It had been a long evening already, and the main show hadn't even started yet.

"Inuyasha?" said a voice from behind the pair.

The two whipped around to see none other than…"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, looking at the girl. "What's with the outfit?"

She was wearing what appeared to be a priestess outfit from the fuedel era of Japan. Around her neck looked to be some sort of scarf, but it also looked vaguely like a dragon.

"Are you kiddin' me, mutt-face?" Kouga muttered, glaring at the hanyou.

Inuyasha shot Kouga a glare. "What?" Did they know something he didn't? Had Kagome actually joined the circus, and that was why she wanted to go? And why did Kouga know that when he didn't? "What do ya mean, wolf-"

"That's not Kagome, idiot." Kouga snapped, pointing at the girl.

"What are you talking about, of course it's-" Inuyasha stopped, actually really looking at the girl. No matter how he looked at her, it was Kagome. But…there was something missing. These girl's eyes glittered dully, whereas Kagome's brown depths always sparkled with life, like a soothing mug of hot chocolate.

"Obviously, Inuyasha. Jeez." Kouga hissed, making a face at the hanyou.

The girl's face lit up. "So it is you, Inuyasha!"

Now that he knew it wasn't actually Kagome, Inuyasha backed up a step. "Uh…how do you know my name?"

"Well, I'm gonna leave you two lovebirds alone so I can go find my Kagome." Kouga patted Inuyasha on the shoulder before sauntering off.

"She ain't yours, wolf!" Inuyasha called after him, and would have even gone after him, had the girl not placed a cool hand on his arm. He glanced down at her. The more he was around her, the more he realized how unlike Kagome she was. How had he initially mistaken her for Kagome? They were entirely different.

Still, there was something about the gentle hand that still held his arm that did something to him.

"Uh…hi?" He muttered.

"Oh! Sorry." The girl exclaimed, backing away from him. The place where her hand had been felt like ice.

"So uh…how do you know who I am?" he asked again.

The girl blinked. "You…don't remember?"

He was pretty sure he would have remembered someone like her. "Um…nope, can't recall."

The girl bit her lip and looked away. Inuyasha tried to ignore the way his heart seemed to skip a beat.

"It's nothing, really. Nevermind." She tried to leave, but this time it was Inuyasha who grabbed her.

"Wait, uh…" he stopped, suddenly embarrassed. What the hell was he doing?

"Yes?" The girl turned to face him.

"Um…well, let's start over, seeing as you remember me and I…don't. My name is Inuyasha." He stuck his hand out to her.

She looked down at his clawed hand a moment before smiling, reaching out with hers to shake it. "My name is Kikyou."

Inuyasha smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kikyou."

Something flickered in her eyes. "Yes. Nice to meet you, Inuyasha."

Time seemed to stop as the two stood there, hand in hand, simply looking into each other's eyes and smiling. Then, just as quickly, the moment was gone when Kikyou pulled her hand away. "I'm sorry, I have to go now. But it was nice to meet you."

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah."

And just like that, she was gone.

Inuyasha stood there, looking after her, remembering the way her hand felt in his.

:o0o:

Kagome wandered around, every now and then half-heartedly glancing down at the card Izayoi had given her. "'Destined to be together forever,' huh?" she murmured, rubbing the edge of the swirly card with her fingers. She smiled despite herself.

Maybe it was time to move on from Hojo. Maybe it was time to finally forget him and the pain and open her heart again to someone new. If it was Inuyasha, she didn't think she'd mind. After all, the dreams had to mean something, right?

With a genuine smile still on her face, she pocketed the card and took a deep breath. She recognized this feeling. It was the way her heart had fluttered back when Hojo had first asked what her name was. Except even this felt different, it felt like the warmth of a fire spreading from her heart to the tips of her fingers.

:o0o:

How the group had eventually actually reunited just in time for the show was a miracle. They all sat together now, in a neat row near the back of the huge silver tent, chatting absent-mindedly in anticipation.

Kagome couldn't decide if she was grateful or angry at Sango for getting her to sit next to the very hanyou that had been occupying her thoughts for the past…she didn't know exactly how long. She hated the way how suddenly self-conscious she was around him now. It was a miracle he hadn't said something yet.

"Kagome, are you okay?" she was pulled out of her reverie by the question. Kagome turned her head to see none other than Kouga looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"She's fine, wolf." Inuyasha hissed from her other side.

"I wasn't asking you, mutt-face." Kouga growled, still looking at Kagome.

Kagome sighed and looked down at her lap. Of course, there was a downside to everything, wasn't there?

"Kouga, do you want some peanuts?" Ayame asked her fellow youkai, offering him the bag.

Kouga, without looking at her, reached an angry hand in and took some. "Thanks." He muttered.

Ayame blushed and looked away.

Sango rolled her eyes. Miroku reached to put an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't even think about it." She snapped.

"But my lady, what if you get cold? I'm only looking out for your well-being." Miroku said gently.

Sango rolled her eyes. "My well-being, huh? Yeah, I'm sure that's what it is."

"What else could it be?" Miroku asked, looking genuinely concerned.

Sango just shot him a glare before turning to face the stage area.

At that second, the lights went out and the tent was completely black.

Though Sango would never admit it, being suddenly swarmed by darkness and surrounded by the fear she'd tried to swallow all evening, she was grateful for the arm that had found its way around her shoulders anyway.

:o0o:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, next on our agenda is the main course you've all been waiting for…please welcome to the stage, the one, the only, Lady Kikyou and her Soul-Gatherers!"

The show had been going on for about 45 minutes now, and despite the eerie beginning, nothing had gone horrible wrong, and the show actually proved to be enjoyable. Everyone had visibly relaxed.

However, when the final act was announced, both Kagome and Inuyasha beside her tensed. There in the center of the stage, was Kikyou, decked out in a priestess outfit and surrounded by long, slithering, minty-green creatures that floated through the air without wings.

Kagome's jaw dropped. This Kikyou looked exactly as she had in Kagome's dream. She glanced over at Inuyasha, wondering if he recognized her as well.

He was staring at her all right, and he appeared to recognize her, but…there was something in the way he was looking at her that told Kagome that something was up. Her heart faltered.

Something wasn't right.

Just then, as Kagome turned back to the stage, she came face to face wth one of the creatures from Kikyou's performance. It was maybe an inch or two from her and appeared to be glowing. It was just floating there, looking at her.

Kagome gulped. Time seemed to completely slow down and then, out of nowhere, her name.

"Kagome." Never before had the sound of her own name sent chills down her spine, but the way it was spoken, filled with such hatred, made her shudder.

She ripped her gaze away from the creature before her to turn to Inuyasha. He was still staring at the stage. She whipped around to face Kouga. He, too, was looking at the stage. What, neither of them noticed the giant dragon thing glaring menacingly at her?

She turned back to Inuyasha, begging him in her mind to look at her, to notice her, to save her.

Still, Inuyasha continued to look at the stage. He was raptured by the performance and the girl.

"Say my name."

Kagome's eyes widened. What? Who said that? What was going on?

She tried desperately to move her hands to shove the creature away from her, but she couldn't move any part of her body anymore. She could only stare helplessly into its eyes, which were glowing now, a deep, rich, red.

From beside her, Kagome heard Inuyasha speak, and it made her stomach drop.

"Kikyou." He murmured.

And everything went black.

:o0o:

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Kagome screamed, throwing the covers off of her and sitting bolt upright in…her…bed?

"Wha…" She murmured, breathing heavily and glancing furiously about her…room?

Yup, this was her room all right. But she could have sworn she was at the circus…with all of her friends…and Inuyasha, and that creepy priestess girl…

"Mrrrrow." She squeaked in surprise at the sound of Buyo, who looked up at her quizzically.

She reached out a shaking hand to pet the cat. "Buyo…" she murmured, and the cat yawned in response.

As she continued to pet the cat, she tried to piece together what had just happened. If she was in her room, it was the middle of the night, then…

It had been a dream.

The Cirque d'Argente, Kikyou, the weird dragon creature, all of it…it had been a dream.

She breathed a sigh of relief despite herself. She was alive, and the weird dream circus was just that! A dream!

She smiled as she continued stroking Buyo's head. "That was weird, Buyo." The cat rolled over so she could rub his stomach. She sat there for a while, simply petting the cat and trying to slow her racing heart. "It was just a dream. All of it. Everything's okay." She was speaking to Buyo, but she was trying to reassure herself.

She didn't sleep the rest of that night. Instead, as the sun finally began to rise and its warmth began to fill her room, the cruel realization still dawned on her.

The circus and everything that had happened may have been a dream, but one thing was absolutely certain: she liked Inuyasha. The feelings from her dream poured over into her reality, and she couldn't hide it. What she had decided in the dream had been real.

She liked the hanyou, despite herself.

Kagome wondered if he'd had the dream as well, and what had happened on his end during the portion of the evening where she hadn't been with him.

:o0o:

OH SNAP. HOW MANY OF YOU SAW THAT COMING.

Not me.

No seriously. I'd like to be all impressive and say that I had this all planned from the start, but the idea of the circus being a dream came to me as I was writing this. Yaaaaaaaaaaaay, WRITING.

But that still raises some questions, doesn't it?

Is Kikyou real? What happened to Inuyasha when he "met" her?

AND WHAT IS GOING ON ANYWAY?

Hahahahahahahah writer's block gone. Now y'all just have to wait and see.

And on the romance side, Kagome finally realizes her feelings! Whoot!

Other stories:

TOHG: Updated recently! But I'll try and updated it again soon. I'm on a roll with that one.

TGG: Still have to find the notebook

Ta ta for now everyone! Send me your thoughts!

~August