Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the main characters. I do, however, own Katsuo and his lovely blue eyes ;) If I did own Inuyasha, Kikyo would have never been resurrected like the damn zombie she is! AND Inuyasha and Kagome would be happily married and in love.

~ Chapter One ~

Sunlight filtered in through the window's blinds. The students waited in their seats, set and waiting while the seconds ticked by. In the very back of the rows of seats a girl had her head lying on her folded arms.

"Kagome! Kagome, wake up!"

The young girl jolted up suddenly. Right then the school's bell rang in a clear monotone, causing chaos to break out in the classroom.

"Summer is here! Finally!"

"We can sleep in now!"

"I'll race you out the door!"

"I'm heading to the game store!"

Kagome watched with wide eyes as students flooded out of the room. Everyone was pumped with energy and excited at the free time that lay in front of them.

"I can't believe you fell asleep on the last day of school," Ayumi sighed, "You should really learn some manners."

Kagome blushed faintly. She had been exhausted from fighting demons all week, so she couldn't help but fall asleep in class.

As she walked down the halls, Eri and Yuka joined them. They immediately went right into chattering excitedly about their plans for summer vacation.

"Hey, Yuka, what are you guys talking about?"

Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi stopped and turned to look at their friend. She looked clueless, so was it possible that she, indeed, didn't know yet?

Didn't her mom talk to her this morning? Eri wondered.

"Kagome, do you remember the band called Black Blossoms?" Yuka began.

"Yeah! I have quite a few of their CDs!"

The four walked past the school-grounds and turned onto a street. People walked briskly all over the Tokyo streets, stopping at red lights and stop signs and chattering into their cell phones. Kagome smiled; this was what she had grown up with. It felt nice to return to a different sort of busyness every once in a while.

"Well, they're going on tour around Japan, you see." Eri explained animatedly.

Yuka nodded in agreement, "We got permission from our parents to follow them around this summer. We'll probably spend just a few weeks on the road."

They stopped outside of a restaurant, one that they had gone to many times after school. Kagome's eyes widened at her friends' news. That sounded like so much fun! She felt her excitement bubble up.

Oh, I would love to go with them! I can only imagine all of the concerts and the memories we would make.

Suddenly her eagerness drained away. The Feudal Era…she would have to go there during the summer. Kagome tried to ignore the disappointment that made her heart sink.

"Well," She tried to smile, "Get a souvenir for me."

Ayumi put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"Kagome, what are you talking about? You are coming with us; we already talked to your mom about it. She said she would inform you this morning before school."

Come to think of it, her mom had tried to talk to her this morning. But her alarm hadn't gone off, so she ended up getting up late and almost being tardy for school. She had literally sprinted out the door with only a 'hello' and 'goodbye' to her mother.

"I'm sorry, guys, but I can't go. I have plans for the summer."

Yuka shook her head, "If your plans are with your boyfriend, then bring him along, too. My dad is letting us take the family camping bus."

"A bus!" Kagome blinked in shock, "How many people are going?"

"Six people including you and your boyfriend; my brother is coming."

Kagome sighed. A little girl smiled at her and waved from inside the restaurant. She waved back and reluctantly returned her attention back to her friends. They were making this harder for her to say no.

A certain half-demon would probably say no and demand that she stay behind, but she really wanted to go this time. She never got to do fun things in her own time and this had 'fun' written all over it.

Wait, maybe if I snuck over to Ayumi's house tonight and slept there, I could go! Inuyasha wouldn't be able to come get me in the morning because I wouldn't be there. I can tell mom to not tell him till later on, and by then he won't know where I went! Ugh, that would be mean, though. But…he'll be mad…

Kagome mentally argued with herself for a good two minutes. Her friends watched her patiently, hoping that she would say yes. Kagome really needed some free time out of her house, and this would be perfect.

Besides, she thought, Inuyasha always complains that I waste his time, so maybe this will be a good thing.

After a pause to make sure that she wouldn't feel guilty, Kagome met her friends' eyes.

"Alright, I'm in."