Summary: By nature, Kagome was anything but cruel. She was kind, compassionate, and friendly, so how in the world did she ever achieve the title of strongest girl in Japan? It was something she certainly didn't boast about. Instead, Takemichi couldn't help but notice how she seemed to regard such a thing as a burden, but why…?

Pairing: Undecided

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter Sixteen

The energy in the building had changed. Her senses were unable to rest as she found herself automatically looking over each and every unfamiliar face as she gauged them for the potential threat they posed. On their own they weren't that big of a challenge, but all together… That was something different. After all, grouping up in fights often leads to underhanded tactics, and this bunch certainly didn't appear to be above resorting to those tactics.

She set a hand on her hip, the other tightening into a fist in the pocket of her sweatpants.

"Huh? What's the hold up?" Osanai asked, shifting his focus back to Mikey. The blonde-haired teen hadn't so much as moved an inch from where he was seated. "We came all this way to see you, Mikey."

She glanced at him, evaluating his aura just as closely as she had everyone else's. When he pushed himself up, trekking over the short gap between him and Osanai, Kagome finally let her attention go back to the older man dressed in red.

When he moved, she noticed that the group Osanai had brought with him moved to fully encircle the small group they made. Even with her back to them, she was accurately aware of their proximity to them. From all sides, she knew if any of them were a step too close.

"You had to bring all these guys just to fight a bunch of middle schoolers?" Mikey remarked once he'd gotten closer to Osanai. "Pretty pathetic if you ask me," he added. "I see you're exactly the piece of shit I imagined you to be, Osanai."

"Huh? What's that?" Osanai taunted. "I can't hear you, ya runt!"

000

Takemichi was dumbfounded. This… This was the same person that he'd spoken to twelve years in the future? He couldn't even see a single thing in common between them!

When Osanai turned to look at him, Takemichi was still lost in his own thoughts of trying to compare the two, and he didn't notice it at first. It wasn't until Osanai said something that he finally realized, and he flinched some.

"Hey. Who the hell do you think you're gawkin' at?" Osanai asked, taking a step towards Takemichi.

"Er… I was just-" He didn't have the chance to offer a full explanation before Osanai leveled a punch to his face.

"You just tried lookin' down on me, didn't you?" Osanai growled in a low tone, striking him a second and then third time, each one with more and more force behind it. "Those are the eyes I hate the most!"

Kagome's eyes narrowed, her body moving the following second before she even knew what she was doing. She closed the gap between her and Osanai. Once she'd gotten within reach, she aimed a kick right for his stomach. It knocked him back more than a few paces, nearly causing him to stumble to the ground.

Hadn't she been the one who said she wouldn't fight? Yet, here she was, going back on the very thing she'd set in place for herself. She couldn't find any trace of regret for what she'd done on impulse alone. She offered Osanai very little, if any, attention as she shifted her gaze to Takemichi.

"Are you okay, Takemichi?" she asked, a faint smile lingering on her face. She could feel the rage practically boiling over in Osanai, just as she could feel the surprise lingering in the auras Mikey and the others at her swift intervention. "Sorry, I know you're so against fighting with Moebius, but I can't really just stand by and watch you get pulverized like that."

The surprise of it stole his thunder for a brief second as he paused to process what had just happened. When he locked his eyes on her, she saw red-hot ire burning in them. Unfortunately for him, she's faced worse than his anger in the past few years of her life.

"Hah? Who the hell are you?" Osanai growled, standing back up to his full height. He easily towered over her, but she showed no signs of crumbling as she stood tall, her hand resting on her hip as she looked at him with an icy glare that betrayed her true warmth. "Some little girl thinkin' she's all tough because she's part of some baby's gang?"

Kagome arched a brow, a faint trace of amusement dancing in her eyes at his mocking tone. "Oh, you see that's your first mistake," she stated. "I'm not a part of any gang," she corrected, a haughty smile peppering her face. "I see the height of stupidity is rather high for you, hm?"

She knew to the likes of him that it didn't matter whether she was a part of Toman or not. He would do what he wanted. Or try to, at least. Compared to others that she'd been pitted against in the past, he wasn't anything special. Far from it, actually.

"You're too weak to do anything on your own, huh?" she murmured in a soft, taunting tone, a knowing light shining in her eyes. "That's why you need to bring all your men as backup." She lifted her arms, locking her fingers together as she stretched. "Mikey's right. Talk about pathetic…" she murmured under her breath. "Ah… I don't get it, really," she sighed. "Then again, I don't have to rely on others to make me strong," she stated with a sigh. She cut her eyes back to him, a haughty glare lingering on her face. "I can do that all on my own."

She didn't miss the crack in his expression, the anger bleeding through in his stare at her condescending tone and words. Still, no matter how much bled through, she showed no sign of backing down. It didn't show on her face, but she was prepared for him to switch his aggression to her. Her smile grew a bit wider as he stepped closer to her, but right when she anticipated him to try and hit her, someone else caught his arm before it could get within reach. Surprised, Kagome glanced towards the person who'd gotten on Osanai's side when he was so preoccupied with her.

"Watch it." Pah-chin had caught his arm with his own, using his own strength to push Osanai back a few paces. "The one you're gonna deal with is me, jackass," he said.

"Don't… Pah-chin…" Takemichi stumbled up onto his feet, blood dripping from his nose. "You can't fight Moebius." Kagome glanced at him as he tried to reach for Pah-chin's other arm, only for him to get pushed back by the other boy.

"Stay out of this," Pah-chin stated.

Those words… Kagome could tell they were directed at both of them. She leveled her gaze on his face, blue eyes gleaming with an emotion unreadable to everyone around her. After all, what cause did she have to listen to him? This confrontation, wouldn't it lead to something worse in the near future? So, why should she sit back and let it happen?

There was something more… Something that she could feel churning in the air. Emotions were running high. Desperation and determination clung to Pah-chin stronger than anything else, almost as if this was something that he needed to do.

It didn't matter what anyone tried to say to diffuse the fight. It was set to happen, destined to happen any second. It was too late to try and stop it. There was no reason to put forth the effort when it would have none of the intended results.

She glanced at Takemichi. He'd lost his balance and fallen into a seated position. Her eyes met his, the desperation palpable coming from him. Fate was fickle, and sometimes it was too late to do anything. It was a hard thing to learn, but he was set to learn it at some point.

She held her tongue at first as she turned, conceding and giving up. She lifted a hand and waved it as she made her way over to Takemichi.

"Fine, fine," she stated. Kagome paused beside Takemichi, soon crouching so she could get a good look at his face.

"We can't just let this fight happen…-" he started to say, but she shook her head. She tugged a cloth from her pocket and held it up to his bleeding nose to try and slow the flow some.

Behind him, Peh-yan crouched down. He had his attention fixed on the pair standing behind her back. She couldn't fault him, because she was doing the same.

"Don't underestimate Pah-chin, Hanagaki," Peh-yan stated. "He's one of the best brawlers in Toman. It doesn't matter who he's up against. He'll go at'em, fists ablaze and take down a whole crew on his own. He'd never lose to someone like Osanai."

Kagome leveled her gaze on Peh-yan. She could feel just how much confidence he had in his friend, but she could note the distinct differences between the Osanai and Pah-chin.

"That's not the issue here…-" Takemichi tried to say. He'd yet to give up on something that was already set in stone. At this point, he was wasting his energy on something that no longer could be changed.

"Takemitchy… Just sit back and watch," Mikey said, his attention not straying from the fight about to begin. "This is Pah's fight."

When it looked as if Takemichi was going to say something else, Kagome sighed softly and shook her head. "There's no point in fighting a losing battle," she stated. "This was going to happen, no matter what you tried to do," she murmured in a softer tone that only he could hear. A hard lesson to learn, but one he needed to learn all the same. She conveyed that message with her eyes, all words he was trying to say dying on his tongue. She was quiet for a moment, holding his stare as she listened to the heckling from the rest of Moebius surrounding them. "Though… it seems there's a discrepancy between the dates," she murmured. "If this is the Moebius conflict, then there's something else that will happen on the third? Is that right?"

Takemichi nodded, but she didn't give him a chance to elaborate. After all, this wasn't the time nor place. "I see… Now all we can do is keep Draken alive," she sighed, pushing herself back up onto her feet. "You stay seated for now or else you'll pass out on us. Keep applying pressure," she commented a bit louder, glancing down at him from over her shoulder. "It's bleeding a lot more than it should." She'd used a bit of her energy to stunt the blood flow, but that didn't mean much when he'd lost quite a bit already.

Takemichi winced but did as she stated, unable to disobey what felt like a blatant command. The pain in his nose was turning numb, but blood was still trickling from it.

Kagome swapped her focus to the ongoing fight just in time to witness Osanai deliver a punch to the middle of Pah-chin's face, and she grimaced, her arms tightening across her chest some.

"Shit! That hit him dead center…" Peh-yan stated, stumbling back some out of shock.

"That's a broken nose," Kagome murmured. She'd heard the crack all the way over where she was standing.

The fight between Osanai and Pah-chin felt heavily one-sided. She'd been observing even with her back facing the confrontation, and the results were far from pleasant. Looking at it, she could see that Pah-chin was barely even conscious, while Osanai didn't even have so much as a single scratch on him. Despite that, he was still giving his all.

He had the drive and willpower. That much she could note when it came to Pah-chin.

"Pah-chin!" The sound of Peh-yan's voice pulled her from her own thoughts. Just as he ran to try and intervene in the fight somehow, Mikey calling out to him caused him to freeze.

"Peh!" Mikey shouted, the sound of his voice akin to a warning. Once Peh-yan had come to a halt, glancing over his shoulder, Mikey continued. "Didn't I tell you all to just sit back and watch?"

"Sorry Mikey…" Peh-yan said, halting all attempts of intervening in the fight.

Kagome glanced at Mikey from the corner of her eyes. There was something more to his tone that she could pick up on, something that the others might've missed if not paying close enough attention. For her, it was natural for her to take note of it.

"Just sit back and watch?" Takemichi said, disbelief seeping into his voice as he finally managed to stagger back up on his feet. Kagome sent him a disapproving glare at seeing him back up. He caught it and flinched, brushing it off a second later. "That's just cruel, Mikey! Pah-chin's nose is obviously broken and he's barely even conscious!" Takemichi argued. "If it keeps going like this, then Pah-chin's gonna die…-!" He stumbled forward in a desperate plea. "We should stop him!"

"Why?" Mikey asked, glancing back at Takemichi with a smile on his face. "Does it look like he's given up to you yet?"

True to his word, even if Pah-chin seemed to be on the brink of passing out, he was still giving it his best try. Despite that, it only seemed like a matter of time before he was down for the count.

One hard hit in particular from Osanai knocked Pah-chin back, his entire body eventually stumbling to a halt on his feet. His arms hung limply at his side, and Kagome could tell from where she stood that he'd reached his point. Even if he wanted to, he no longer had the strength to continue the fight.

"Haha! Looks like this dumbass passed out standing up!" Osanai hollered, a grin breaking across his face as the rest of Moebius around them started to laugh and heckle from the crowd they were in.

Pah-chin stumbled on his feet for a few short seconds before he finally fell. He didn't hit the ground. Instead, Mikey had gotten close enough to where he was to catch him mid-fall. A heavy silence befell the building as Pah-chin fell to slump against Mikey's shoulder. The frown on Kagome's face deepened, and she moved to close the gap between her and Mikey.

"Sorry… Mikey…" Pah-chin mumbled, the words somewhat slurring together as he struggled to maintain consciousness. "I'm so… worthless…"

"What are you talking about, Pah-chin?" Mikey questioned, his voice matching the quietness Pah-chin had spoken with. "You haven't lost."

The comment caused another boisterous uproar to be stirred up. Booming laughs and taunts began to be fired from the crowd of Moebius members. The heckling from all of them fell on deaf ears as she reached a hand out to take hold of Pah-chin by his arm. Her grip was gentle, yet strong all at the same time.

"Give him here," she murmured softly, easily ignoring the uproarious clamor around them. The cries of the insignificant hardly had any impact on her anymore, after all. Mikey glanced at her before carefully lowering Pah-chin to the ground at her feet. There were no other words exchanged before she knelt down onto her knees. She reached a hand out, resting it gently across Pah-chin's forehead.

She knew couldn't heal him completely right then and there, lest she get a bunch of unwanted questions, but she could make the process swifter and easier on him. So, she focused on doing just that. She shrugged off her sweatshirt, leaving her in her undershirt, and she used the sleeve of it to dab some of the blood away. It was better than nothing, after all.

She picked her head up a few seconds later, observing from where she sat as Mikey made his way over to where Osanai stood. Upon noticing him, Osanai cracked a grin.

"Huh? Want a piece of me, Mikey?" he taunted, turning to fully face him. "You'll be dead in ten sec-!"

Osanai never had the chance to finish that statement. He was cut off by Mikey's foot hitting him in the side of the head, the rest of his body falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

The swiftness of it all left her surprised, and Kagome pressed a hand over her mouth. Had she not been looking, then she would have missed it. That was for certain.

"Any of you who thought Pah-chin lost better get out of here," Mikey said. "I'll kill all of you."

She had the insight to know that Mikey was strong, but this was the first time she'd actually seen him act in any conflict. It didn't matter how strong she could feel that he was. It paled in comparison to seeing him finally act.

Just like that, the fight was forced to an end in a matter of seconds. The rest of Moebius had fallen into a silent stupor at seeing their leader taken down so quickly, and by a single hit at that.

"Toman belongs to me," Mikey said. "As long as I have its back, none of us are gonna lose." The silence that hung in the air was heavy. No one in Moebius dared to speak, seeming to hold their breath out of their own survival instincts. A second later, Mikey turned to glance at Draken. "Sorry, Ken-chin," he commented. "I couldn't hold back."

Draken sighed before cracking a smile. "What am I gonna do with you?"

Kagome folded her sweatshirt up and set it beneath Pah-chin's head before she got up on her feet. She brushed her hands off on her pants before folding her arms over her chest. She glanced over her shoulder at Takemichi, noting the sheer surprise in his aura.

He seemed to have been anticipating the worst to happen. Not that she could blame him. He'd been trying to prevent the fight between Moebius and Toman since he showed up there, and it'd ended so swiftly.

She walked over to where Mikey was, and he sent her a smile. "Why did you just do that to start with?" she asked in a flat tone. "Would've saved a lot of trouble, don't you think?"

Mikey grinned. "It was Pah's fight," he stated. "Anyway, what about you?" he remarked. "If you wanted it to end, why didn't you just step in?" he challenged. "I thought following orders wasn't your style, but...-"

Kagome gritted her teeth and turned away from him, a huff falling from her lips as she sighed. "It's not," she defended. "Didn't I also say I wasn't getting involved?"

"Yeah, but you're the one who landed the first hit on Osanai," Mikey reminded her. "What do you call that?" he remarked in a teasing tone.

"I call it you overlooking things, idiot," she scoffed. The weak insult made Mikey laugh.

"Is that so?" he asked, egging her on.

The sound of glass clinking against the floor caught her attention. She turned, doing so just in time to spot Osanai clambering back up on his feet with a broken bottle held in his hand. He'd moved quick, despite his delirious state.

Just as she moved to react, Draken had done the same. He pushed her back out of the way and caught Osanai's arm with his own, holding it high above his head as he brought a knee up to slam it into his chest.

All remaining fight was knocked from Osanai as he coughed and sputtered up blood, his body going limp as the wind was knocked from him. The bottle held in his hand fell from his grasp, hitting the ground and fully shattering.

"Osanai, I'll tell you why you lost," Draken muttered. "You lost because you left the true delinquent path. Raping women, assaulting someone's parents… You're nothing but a piece of shit." Draken lifted his head, glancing around at the rest of Moebius scattered about. "Listen up! Do anything else that's messed up, and we'll come kill you ourselves."

The surrounding lot stumbled back a few paces, surprised at how swiftly their leader had gotten taken care of. Any gusto they might've had before seemed to have been annihilated. Left in their wake was a bunch of guys trembling in their boots.

"Mikey just pulverized your commander! Any of you got a problem with that!?" Draken yelled. "If not, then Moebius is gonna be under the Tokyo Manji gang!"

In the following silence, the distant sound of police sirens could be heard approaching the warehouses. That meant that their time there was done and over with.

"Great…-" Kagome sighed, hearing the sirens getting closer.

"Heh, maybe they're coming to congratulate us on the victory," Peh-yan remarked. Mikey laughed in response.

Kagome rubbed the back of her neck. "Let's go before the cops get here," she said, casting a quick glance at Takemichi, who was still standing in a frozen stupor. It served to knock it from it.

"E-Eh, cops?!" Takemichi explained. Kagome rubbed the back of her neck.

"Time to scram, Takemitchy!" Mikey called, heading for the door.

"R-Right!" Takemichi said, soon following the same path they'd gone. "How come you guys are so calm about all this?"

"Oi, Moebius!" Draken shouted. It caused a few of the men dressed in white to freeze. "Don't you dare try to run off by yourselves. Someone come lend Osanai a hand." Without help, there was no chance of Osanai getting away- he was out cold.

There was no warning as Pah-chin, who was being helped up by Peh-yan, made a run for Osanai's slumped form. He'd pulled a switchblade from his pocket and flipped it open. Upon reaching Osanai, Pah-chin thrust the blade into his side with all the strength he could muster.

When he caught sight of the knife buried in Osanai's side, Draken gritted his teeth and reached to shove Pah-chin back.

"What the hell did you do, Pah!?"

The sound was enough to halt their escape attempt. Mikey turned first, panic setting onto his face. "Pah, you…-"

"Where'd you get that knife, Pah-chin?!" Peh-yan shouted.

The sirens in the distance were getting louder and closer. They only had another minute or two before they got there, surely. Kagome could tell that Pah-chin hadn't hit any spot that would be fatal, but that didn't really mean anything. He'd still stabbed Osanai.

"We're getting out of here, Pah!" Mikey shouted, intending for him to run, as well, but Pah-chin didn't move from where he stood.

"Sorry, Mikey…" Pah-chin muttered, turning to look at him with tears in his eyes. "Peh-yan… look after the Third Division. I'm… I'm turning myself in."

"Screw that!" Mikey shouted, taking a step closer as he started to head towards Pah-chin. He didn't get far before Draken snatched him up with an arm, grabbing hold of Peh-yan's arm as he dragged the both of them out of there.

"We need to go, Mikey!" Draken exclaimed as he lugged him with him. "We'll all get caught if we stay here!"

"Pah, come with us!" Mikey didn't relent in trying to get Pah-chin to follow, but the other boy didn't move, merely standing and waiting to face the consequences. "Pah!"

Kagome sent him on last look before she turned. She didn't get far before she took Takemichi by his wrist, dragging him along with her.

"There's not anything we can do," she said, running after the other three. Upon making it outside, she let go of Takemichi's wrist, letting him run after her.

As they ran down back streets behind houses, Takemichi was starting to struggle with keeping up. His head was spinning, and he felt as if he was about to pass out. He only made it a few more minutes before he finally fell, landing slumped on the ground as he blacked out.

Kagome paused when she noticed he'd gone down, crouching to knees beside him.

"Takemitchy!" Mikey called for him when he spotted him on the ground, and Kagome looked up at him. She shook her head and motioned for them to go.

"I'll take care of it from here," she said.

With enough reluctance on their part, they eventually did as she said and went ahead. With a sigh, Kagome maneuvered Takemichi so she could lift him up on her shoulders.

"All right, let's go…" she murmured.

It'd been a few days since the entire fight with Moebius had gone down. She'd refrained from pestering Takemichi in the meantime, letting him get some much needed rest. When Emma called and asked to hang out, Kagome readily agreed.

They'd gone to the same cafe they went to the last time they hung out. Upon spotting her, Kagome noticed something was bothering Emma. After taking a moment to listen to her worries, Kagome nodded.

"So they're fighting?" Kagome asked, setting her cheek on her palm as she glanced at Emma seated across from her at the table. The blonde girl nodded, the worried expression on her face seeming to grow.

"It's been days already. It's worse than ever…" she said, her voice wavering some. "I'm scared that they won't make up this time…"

Kagome sighed, closing her eyes as she seemed to think it over some. "Well, if it's that bad, then it might be a good idea for them both to take some time to cool off separately. That way they can talk with a more level-headed mind."

Despite those words, Kagome found herself worrying for another reason altogether. If some internal conflict is the cause of Draken's death, then it really wouldn't be good for this to go on for long. There was still some time, but not much.

"Oh…! Kagome!" A familiar voice caught her attention, and she glanced over her shoulder. "And Emma, too!"

Kagome tilted her head to the side upon spotting a girl she could recall with ease. "Oh, hey," she said with a smile. "You're Hina- Takemichi's girlfriend."

He hadn't outwardly said it to her in that way, but she was merely putting two and two together. Hina's face went red, but she didn't disagree with her assessment. "What're you two doing out?" she asked.

"Just having some girl time," Kagome responded with a smile. "Wanna join?"

"Oh…! Sure," Hina responded, her smile brightening some at the offer. "Have you two heard about the festival that's going on on August third?" she asked as she settled down in an empty chair.

Emma nodded, and Kagome craned her head to the side.

"There's a festival on the third?" Kagome asked.

"The summer festival," Hina said, looking at Kagome.

"Oh, right," Kagome responded, sitting up a bit. "It's been a few years since I last went to one of them." The last one she recalled going to had been when she was thirteen or fourteen with her family. "Something about it?" she asked after a pause.

"Well…" Hina trailed off, idly pressing the tips of her index fingers together in thought. "I was just wondering… if you thought that I should ask Takemichi…" she finally said.

Kagome blinked owlishly at the question, tilting her head to the side. "Huh? Why're you asking for my input?" Weren't they already together?

Hina grew flustered as she glanced down. "W-Well, you're one of his friends, aren't you?" she asked. "I-I was just wondering if you knew if he'd want to go, I guess…?"

"If it's with you, then I'm sure he'd be happy to do anything," Kagome remarked in a deadpan tone.

"You think so?" Hina asked. Kagome nodded.

Emma nodded in agreement. "Dude's your boyfriend," she stated.

000

Hina ended up sticking with them after their initial run in. As it got later in the afternoon, they were walking past a park when a familiar figure caught her attention. Kagome paused and nodded in the direction when the other two girls looked at her curiously for stopping so abruptly.

"Hey, didn't you want to ask him out?" Kagome asked in an off-handed tone. Hina's face lit up when she caught onto the implication, and she sent the raven-haired girl a wide-eyed look.

"H-Huh? You mean right now?" Hina asked, covering her mouth with one of her hands.

Kagome shrugged. "Well, there's not a lot of time left before the festival," she stated. "And, anyway," she sighed. "No time like the present, right?"

The flush on her face deepened as she nodded, tightening her hands into fists at her side in determination. "Right! You're totally right," Hina exclaimed, standing up a bit straighter. "But… you'll come with me, right?" she asked after a minute, a nervous laugh spilling from her lips.

Kagome and Emma shared a look before the latter shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Emma stated.

Kagome didn't disagree, and the three of them made their way over to where Takemichi was sitting under a patio. When Hina called out his name, he sat up a bit straighter before standing up. He looked at the three of them in surprise upon noticing they were all together.

"Huh? Hina? What're you doing here?" he asked once he'd closed the gap some.

"We're here, too," Emma stated in a flat tone, motioning to Kagome, who merely held a hand up and sent him a smile.

"W-Well.. Um…-" Hina trailed off, losing all sense of bravado she'd had seconds before. Wordlessly, Emma and Kagome exchanged a look before the blonde walked behind Hina and set both hands on her shoulders.

"Hina here wanted to ask you to the festival on August third," Emma stated.

"You'll go, right?" Kagome asked.

Hina's face turned bright pink as she looked at the ground. A faint hint of pink rose to stain Takemichi's cheeks as he nodded.

"Huh?" He seemed surprised at first, but it wasn't long before he gave her a genuine answer. "Yeah, let's go together," he said.

Hina's expression lit up with a bright smile when he agreed. "Really?"

"Why're you so surprised?" Emma asked, setting her hands on her hips. "He's your boyfriend," she repeated her same sentiment from before. Kagome smiled and shook her head.

A second later, Kagome glanced over to the rest of the group out in the park, playing a game of soccer. "Oh, hey, didn't you say they were fighting?" she asked in a mild tone as she pointed a finger at the pair of Mikey and Draken. Whatever the fight was about, it looked as if they'd moved on.

"Huh?!" Emma exclaimed as she looked at the sight. A second later she made her way over to them. "What gives? Weren't you two just fighting?" she asked

"We were?" Draken asked as he looked at her. Emma's brows furrowed as she scowled.

"I was worried, damn it!" Emma huffed.

Kagome came up to join her, resting a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring touch. "These things just have ways of sorting themselves out," she stated after a second. Emma sighed.

"All that worrying for nothing…" she muttered. She sounded annoyed, but a relieved smile seemed to linger on her face.

"The Summer Festival?" Shippo perked up upon hearing Kagome mention it. He turned some to look at her, resting his head in his arms as he leaned over a bit in his chair at the kitchen table. "You wanna go to that?"

Kagome shrugged, not taking her attention off what she was doing. "I mean, yeah, a bit," she admitted. "I think it'd be fun. I haven't been to one in a few years," she added.

Shippo could pick up on the shift in her scent, the shift in her aura, and he perked up some. "Then I'll go with you!" he stated. Kagome paused what she was doing for a moment, sending him a curious look

"Eh? Weren't you going to be leaving with Sesshomaru for a few days before then…?" she asked, casting a glance at the silver haired demon who seemed to be tuning the pair of them out. At her reminder, Shippo pouted and glanced at Sesshomaru.

"Do I have-"

"Yes," Sesshomaru cut him off before he could get the full question out, and Shippo's pout deepened. Kagome laughed at the sight.

"I'll be fine on my own," she stated. Despite her reassurance, it did bum her out a bit to be on her own when she went. "It'll still be fun," she added.

She felt the weight of Sesshomaru's gaze lingering on her back, but she made no move to call him out on it.

Her phone went off and she pulled it from her pocket. She flipped it open and read the message. It was from Mikey, which didn't take her by surprise as much as it used to.

"Are you home?"

She sent a short confirmation and waved to the two in the room as she moved to walk out of the kitchen. She hadn't made it to the living room before her phone went off again.

"Come outside."

She pushed her phone back into her pocket and walked outside. She made her way to the large staircase, heading down it to where she could see Mikey waiting. He hadn't even gotten off his bike. He held a spare helmet out for her, but she hesitated before she took it.

"Where are we going?" she asked. Mikey sent her a grin and nodded, as if to tell her to put it on.

"Emma wanted your help in picking out a kimono to wear for the festival," he stated.

"Why didn't she just ask me herself?" Kagome asked, tilting her head to the side before she eventually took the helmet he held out to her. "She has my number…"

"I offered to pick you up," he said, but that only left her with another unanswered question.

"But… Why would you…-?" she trailed off, settling herself behind him on his motorcycle after she'd put the helmet on. She didn't have to look at his face to tell that his grin had widened.

"Are you going to the festival?" Mikey asked, turning to look at her. Kagome blinked owlishly before she shrugged.

"I was thinking about it," she stated. "Sesshomaru and Shippo are gonna be out of town during it, so I'd be going alone."

"That so?" Mikey asked.

"Why're you asking?" Kagome asked after a moment.

"Well, instead of going alone, why not go with me?" he asked with a grin. It took Kagome by surprise. For the first time in a while, that surprise freely showed on her face. "Draken agreed to go with Emma, and I don't wanna deal with that," he added with a laugh.

Kagome felt a faint smile rise to her lips. A second later, she laughed. Her hand gripped a bit tighter to the back of his jacket as they started to move.

"Well, when you put it like that, why not?" she mused softly. "Yeah, we should go together!"

Her prior woes of going alone were forgotten for a moment. She thought for a moment what she'd wear. She really didn't need to get a new kimono when she had plenty to sort through, but she figured it wouldn't hurt looking at some with Emma.

Auroua-chan: Gonna wrap this chapter up here.

I'm so excited to progress with this story.

So, as of right now, Kagome and Mikey were planning on going to the festival together, but something might come up that keeps him from going. Either way, Kagome will adapt just fine. Either way, it's much closer to the point when Hanma shows up again (either next chapter for the following one. Haven't decided quite yet.) and she'll more than recognize him.

I don't foresee her ever starting to genuinely like him. Well… maybe some point later, but as of right now, it's on sight. Hanma knows a bit about Kagome form Kisaki- but there's no telling what all that might be.

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry. My spell check quite literally refuses to work so I have to make do.

Please remember to Review, Favorite, and Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~