Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha. "The Real Folk Blues" is the ending song for Cowboy Bebop, so obviously I don't own that either.

Nightmare

Ch. One

"I…love…you…Kagome."

"I love you too, Inuyasha," Kagome said through her tears. As she watched, Inuyasha silently went limp in her arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Flashback, the day before~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I love you," Inuyasha said to a shocked Kagome. "I love you too," she answered. I never thought you cared, she thought. Kagome quickly embraced him. He looked slightly nervous, but then he remembered what they had each just said, and accepted her into his arms.

While they weren't looking, a small glowing creature flew from behind a tree to where its mistress was hiding a few miles away. "What have you brought me, my friend? Show me through the crystal your news." The soul-stealing creature held out a glowing ball. Although she called it a crystal, it was actually the soul of a young girl who had recently died. She had been phycic, so her soul had the ability to show images of the present.

Out of the light emerged shapes, misty at first and then clear images. It was the scene that had just happened with Kagome and Inuyasha. Upon hearing what was spoken and seeing the embrace, the woman screamed. It wasn't a scream of terror or pain, but a scream of pure hatred. "Why that little bitch! I'll teach her to steal my Inuyasha!"

That night she crept quietly into Inuyasha's camp. Although the hanyo usually slept up in a tree, tonight he was lying by Kagome. This just made her angrier. She also noted that that small kitsune that traveled with them was in the sleeping bag with Kagome. The monk and the demon exterminator were on the other side of the campfire. She knew from her spying the last few months that they were married, so she wasn't surprised to see they were sharing a blanket.

Out of her pouch she took the mushrooms. She smiled. A bite of one of these would kill a man. Imagine eating a whole bowl full. That could kill almost anything, including a hanyo. She knew from the crystal that Kagome planned to make Ramen with mushrooms as a special treat for Inuyasha. She took the safe, normal mushrooms out of the basket where Kagome had left them and replaced them with the new ones. Whispering to herself as she left, she said, "If I can't have you, Inuyasha, no one will."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"He's dead," Kagome whispered. "Dear God, it can't be." She stared at nothing, never blinking. She looked dead herself except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest. "Kagome?" Sango said, about to cry herself but trying not to for her friend's sake. "Kagome? Will you be alright?" From a few feet away Miroku laughed bitterly. Then through tears he said, "Of course she won't. How would you feel if I died?" With that Sango began to cry also. Even Shippo was crying. Inuyasha might be mean to him and hit him a lot, but Shippo would never want him to die.

"It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I gave him the mushrooms, I'm the one who killed him." Kagome repeated this over and over. Finally Sango stopped her. "It isn't your fault. You didn't know they were poisonous." Kagome nodded until it looked like her head might come unattached. Then she said, "Yes, it is my fault." She wouldn't listen to anyone else. She just started laughing. It was so ridiculous to think that Inuyasha had survived all those times against impossible odds, only to be killed by a bowl of mushroom Ramen.

This must be a nightmare. It can't be real. It can't, Kagome thought. She tried pinching herself to wake up, but that just made her pain physical as well as mental. She stopped laughing. Sango and Miroku were talking. She could hear their voices, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. It didn't seem to matter. As they picked her up and carried her to the Bone Eater's Well, she began to sing absentmindedly to herself. This is what she sang:

Aishiteta to nageku niwa/ Amarinimo toki wa sugite shimatta/

Too much time has passed by to/ Lament that we were deeply in love./

Mada kokoro no hokorobi wo/ Lyesenu mama kaze ga fuiteru/

The wind keeps blowing while my heart/ Cannot heal all the tears in it./

Kawaita hitome de dareka naite kure/ The real folk blues/

Someone, cry for me with parched eyes/ The real folk blues/

Honto no kanashimi ga shiraite dake/ Doro no kawani tsukatta/

I only want to know what true sadness is./ Sitting in muddy water/

Jinsei mo waruku wa nai/ Ichido kiri de owara nara

Isn't such a bad life/ If it ends after the first time.

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Kagome's voice was so beautiful, and the song so sad considering what had just happened, that Sango began to cry again. She couldn't help it. When they finally reached the well all four of them went through it. They told Kagome's mother and grandfather what had happened. Mrs. Higurashi actually started crying. Inuyasha had been, after all, like a son-in-law to her. Sota would probably ask about Inuyasha. She couldn't bear to tell him what had happened, so she decided to say that he went away for a while. She could reveal the truth when he was older.

Mrs. Higurashi was especially distressed by her daughter's condition. She would alternate between babbling about it being her fault, singing sad songs, laughing hysterically, and staring into emptiness. "How long has she been like this?" she asked Sango. "Since it happened. We don't know what's going on. Please get help for her." So Mrs. Higurashi took her to a psychiatrist. The first few sessions she just stared or hummed. However, while they were in the waiting room for the fourth session, Kagome suddenly became normal again. "What are we doing here?" she asked in a puzzled voice. She continued to act like her old self when they went in for the appointment.

Reading from a clipboard, the psychiatrist said, "Now Kagome. What can you tell me about this," he looked up from the clipboard and his eyebrows lifted, "this Inuyasha that you were so close to?" Kagome looked confused. "Inu-who? What are you talking about? I don't like dogs. They chase my cat Buyo." The psychiatrist's eyebrows went even higher. He jotted something down, then said "Mrs. Higurashi, may I see you outside for a moment please?"

"This is odd. I've never seen a patient forget completely about such a traumatic experience just like that," said the doctor when they were out in the hall with the door shut. "What do you suggest we do, doctor?" asked Mrs. Higurashi. "I suggest you just take her home and forget about all about it." She looked at him incredulously. She might not have a degree in psychology, but that didn't sound like the best thing to do considering what had happened.

Who's the doctor here? She reminded herself. Her plan had been to become a psychiatrist, but she had gotten married young instead. Although she loved her children, she was still mad at herself for passing up her scholarship to college. So she decided to trust the man. "Never talk about what happened and get rid of everything that might remind her." I guess that means Sango, Shippo, and Miroku will have to go back, she thought. They had been staying at the house ever since they had brought Kagome back.

So they went home. Kagome's friends from the past went back without Kagome seeing them, and things got back to how they had been before Kagome had gone through the well. All was normal. At least, until the girl moved in next door.

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A/N- Do you like my new story? There will be more of the horror element in later chapters. Any guesses on who our real female murderer is? Yeah, I know, it's pretty obvious. By the way, the title doesn't imply that this is a nightmare. She's not dreaming, it's real. Any questions? Review, and read my other two stories: Kagome's Strange Era and Friends Forever.