Author's Notes:  I am going to refrain from interjecting Japanese phrases and words because this is English, and not everyone who reads these will know Japanese.  The only thing Japanese that I'm putting in here are the titles of each of the characters, or what each character calls each other (ex: Kaede= Kaede-baabaa [by Inu-Yasha], Kaede-obaasan [by Kagome], etc.).  I'm doing this because there really isn't any good way to translate these into English (or at least not any way that won't get criticized).  They are not that hard to figure out if you don't know them, so hopefully I won't alienate anyone by doing this.  Comments or questions can be sent to lena_iy@hotmail.com.

Mild language, violence, graphic descriptions.

Warm Rain

Chapter 1:  Confusion

He could hear her frantic screaming.

"Inu-Yasha!  Look at me!  Inu-Yasha!"

He responded to her voice and turned his head toward the sound.  A warm feeling rushed through him, intermingled with a strange chill.  He opened his eyes.

"Inu-Yasha!"  Sobs cracked into her voice, and he could hear her gasping in between breaths. 
He looked at her figure, which he could barely make out because of the rain falling in his eyes.  Warm rain…he thought.  He squinted, trying to squeeze all of the water out.  He opened his eyes again.  Everything was enveloped in a strange haze.  He tried to clear his thoughts, but it seemed as if the fog had clouded his mind, also.  What's going on? he thought.  I can't…

Suddenly a violent, choking sensation welled up in his throat.  He tried to gag, but felt a warm, liquid in the back of his throat and on his tongue.  He couldn't breathe, and started to choke. 

"Inu-Yasha!"  Her voice became distant, fading into the blur of scenery and darkness.  His rasping was the only sound he could hear now, and one of the two senses that seemed to take over everything, the other being taste.  And he could only taste one thing now.

Blood.

What's happening? his mind raced.  What happened?  He tried to recount what he could, but everything was just bits and pieces of incoherent flashes and thoughts that seemed to jumble around in his head, until finally everything stopped in one bright moment of clarity.

I'm dying.

It was a shocking revelation, and he struggled to fight against the sinking feeling he felt in his chest.  He frantically tried to swallow the bitter fluid that had welled up in his mouth, but it only forced its way back up.  He closed his eyes tighter against the ferocious rain pelting his face like razors, and forced a cry with all of his breath against the blood that came running back down his throat.

"Kagome!" he choked out, although it was barely audible in the thundering wind and rain raging around them.

A wave of pain paralyzed him for a moment, flooding his face with crushing feeling that blacked everything out for a few moments.  He gasped for air, but only continued to drown himself by sucking fluid back into his lungs.  Why?!! his thoughts screamed out desperately to be heard.

Suddenly everything slowed down- images, feelings, sensations that had all been racing just a few moments before crept down do a crawl, and the haze settled over everything once again.  The pain subsided to warm rush that enveloped his body.  Sounds became muffled and faint, and then almost non-existent.  He looked around to his side, everything moving in a slow, frame-like sequence.  Dark silhouettes glided back and forth like ghosts against a darkening sky.  One of the apparitions flew up in front of his eyes, her figure sharpening a moment before losing focus again, her face dark against her even darker hair that flew around with a sort of calm, quintessential grace that had a calming effect on him. 

Kagome. 

Tears crept down her cheeks, leaving tiny, translucent trails on her dark face.  Several tears pooled up on the bottom of her chin, collecting together until their weight pulled them down.  The drop of water landed on Inu-Yasha's face, it's warmth comforting to his dulling senses.

He watched her form sway softly as everything faded out, consumed by the shadows that were rapidly closing in.  A heavy, serene feeling blanketed him, engulfing him in the darkness.  Kagome, he thought again.  I…

His thoughts trailed off and he sunk deep within himself.

Inu-Yasha waited impatiently by the well.

"How long does it take to get some books?" he mumbled under his breath.

He looked around.  It was a clear day, with only a few white clouds speckling the sky.  A warm breeze blew threw the tops of the trees and rolled through the tall grass like waves.  The sweet smells of spring intermingled in the wind and played together to create an relaxing atmosphere that eased Inu-Yasha's irritation.  He took a deep breath, inhaling some of the perfumed air that danced around him.  As he did so, he felt a strange chill run down his spine.  The feeling of tranquility quickly left him, and he felt strangely cold.

Sounds of gravel and dirt moving from the bottom of the well attracted his attention back to find Kagome grabbing onto the vine that led up the well wall.  She looked up.

"I'm back."  Her smiling face was lit up even at the bottom of the dark well.  "Sorry it took so long."

Inu-Yasha only grunted in response and watched as she made her way up the vine and over the lid of the well.  They started walking back to the village.

"I had to get my books because I have a test the day after tomorrow," Kagome remarked apologetically.

"Whatever," Inu-Yasha replied, "Kaede-baabaa's the one who wanted you, anyway."

They continued the rest of the way without much else to say, Kagome commenting every now and then on her test or the weather, and Inu-Yasha replying succinctly to each remark.

They reached Kaede's hut a short time later.  Kagome was greeted with a hug around the neck by Shippou, who acted as if he hadn't seen her only a few hours earlier.  Kagome walked inside the hut, Shippou still clinging to her shoulder.  Inu-Yasha followed.

"Kaede-obaasan?" She looked around for a moment, her eyes adjusting to the dim light.

"Back already?" The old priestess walked over to her from the other side of the room, her form becoming clearer to Kagome as she came closer.

"I brought the herbs you asked for." Kagome slung her backpack off of her shoulders and unzipped the pouch, producing a handful of leafy shrubs.

"Ah, good," Kaede remarked as she inspected them, "I can't find these since they are out of season now."

 "I'm glad all I have to do is walk down to the store when I need something," Kagome grinned.  She looked over at Inu-Yasha who was now seated on the floor, his gaze focused outside.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked him, breaking his concentration.

"Huh?  No, nothing."

"Well, you've just been acting kind of distracted since I got back, and I was wondering if maybe something had happened while I was gone or if I did something…" her voice trailed off.

He shifted for a moment, clearing his head to take in what she had just said.  Something just doesn't feel right, he thought to himself, something's…off…

He looked back at her, suddenly realizing that she was expecting some sort of answer.

"Nothing's happened, and you didn't do anything.  I'm just…thinking."  His voice was quiet and tired, and she decided it best to not entreat the subject any further.

The day wore on, Kagome helping Kaede prepare some medicines with the herbs she had brought her, and Shippou watching them.  Inu-Yasha stayed quietly off to one side of the room, glancing every now and then at the commotion at the other side, but mainly kept his stare fixed outside. 

What's this nagging feeling for? he thought.  What's bothering me?

The light from the outside was eclipsed for a moment as the figures of Miroku and Sango came through the door.  Inu-Yasha's attention was diverted to the two as they walked past.

"You're back already, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked when he spotted her over next to Kaede.  "It doesn't take you long to get anything in your world, does it?"

Kagome grinned.  "How did the extermination go?"

"Pretty routine," Sango said as she propped her Hirakotsu up against the wall.  "I think Houshii-sama swindled the poor people, though I can't prove it."  She glared at him.

Miroku took notice of her stare and glanced away quickly.  "I did no such thing," he stated defensively, "you just weren't there for the price negotiations, so you just suspect the worst."

"Well, I won't not be there again," Sango said, moving towards the door.  "I'm going to go change."  She walked out.

Miroku sighed and took a seat next to Inu-Yasha on the floor.  "I don't understand why no one trusts me."  He looked at Inu-Yasha, who looked as if he hadn't even taken notice that Miroku was next to him.

"Inu-Yasha?" Miroku asked

Inu-Yasha stirred at the sound of Miroku's voice as if he had just been awakened from a trance.

"What?" he responded.

"Nothing," Miroku answered back, "just- well, you look distracted."

Inu-Yasha shifted uneasily.  "Like I told Kagome earlier, I'm fine.  Nothing's wrong." He said it in a tone that hinted to drop the subject.  Miroku looked at him with a confused look for a second, but then shrugged it off and decided that his time would be better spent watching the ladies across the room.

Is something wrong? Inu-Yasha thought to himself.

While Miroku had conceded to letting the matter lie, Inu-Yasha found himself becoming more and more aware of the strange feeling that something wasn't right.  It wasn't anything that he could see, smell, or touch; it was more that he could just sense something out of the ordinary.  But the frustrating thing was that no matter how hard he tried to put his finger on it, he couldn't for the life of him find out what it was.

This is stupid, he decreed to himself, there's nothing wrong.  No one but me has acted as if they sensed something strange.  He decided that he would try to focus his attention to what was going on around him, that maybe it was just his imagination and nothing more. 

He looked over at Kagome who was sitting on the floor across the room helping Kaede crush herbs.  The beams of light that filtered in through the cracks of the walls shone in front of her, creating an ethereal effect that looked as if a haze had settled in the room.  Her features were masked in the shadows that had settled in between the light.

As he watched her, a strange sensation gripped him.

I've seen this before, he thought.

He studied her more intensely, trying to figure out what it was that he had triggered this feeling of de jà veux.  After a moment the feeling subsided, but the uneasiness did not.

Dammit, what's going on?!  he thought, and frustrated he got up and hurriedly walked out the door.

Inu-Yasha had walked only for a minute until he heard the sound of someone coming up behind him.

"Inu-Yasha?"

He turned to the sound of Kagome's voice and found her jogging to catch up to him.  She stopped when she reached him, a look of concern on her face.

"I know you said that nothing's wrong, but you left so quickly without letting anyone know where, well, I thought…" she trailed off.

Inu-Yasha looked at her for a moment, thinking.  He really couldn't think of any reasons or of any way to explain to her how he was feeling.

"I wish I knew what was wrong."  He searched for words. "But really, there isn't anything wrong.  I guess, I just don't feel like…myself."

She looked confused for a moment, but then shook her head and said, "Well, if there's anything I can help you with, let me know."  She smiled.  "Can I walk with you?"

His tension eased a bit.  "Sure."

They continued in the direction that he had been heading before- no destination, just trying to clear his thoughts.  The gentle breeze from earlier had pick up into a mild wind.  The two walked silently, Kagome to his side but slightly behind, her head down.  He looked at her for a moment.  She seemed troubled by whatever was troubling him, and he could tell that she was trying to figure out an answer by the way she concentrated on her feet. 

He looked up at the sky again, which had since turned gray and clouded.  The wind was growing stronger and had picked up a mild scent of rain and the grass lashed against their legs.  He looked back over at Kagome.  She seemed to have noticed his eyes and looked back up at him, her raven hair flying in front of her face.

Her…hair…

Suddenly an image flashed in his mind of a dark figure- her dark figure, staring back at him.

She loomed from up above him, her features shadowed and her outline foggy; her hair blew in front of her face with a slow, wraithlike quality.  He looked into the apparition's eyes, clear and translucent, tears puddled in each and streaming down her face.  A tear ran down her cheek and clung to the bottom of her chin for a moment before falling and landing on his face.  Inu-Yasha closed his eyes.

A warm tear…he thought.

He reached up to wipe it off his face-

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the field with Kagome, the wind howling around them.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome was yelling at him above the increasing roar of the wind. "We need to get back to village!"

He nodded, still disoriented from the visions he had just seen a few seconds before.  They started running back , racing against the debris and the occasional rain drop to make their way back to the village before the storm finished rolling in.

They reached the village a few minutes later, heading for Kaede's hut.  Right as they made it to the door, a loud crashing sound resonated from the hills behind them.  Inu-Yasha turned around to see what had happened, and watched as a strange blue light flashed from deep within the forests surrounding the village.  It looked like ordinary lightening at first, but then the light faded leaving an ominous red glow over the area.

Miroku, Kaede, and Sango with Shippou clinging to her shoulder ran out of the hut moments later, all of them with their eyes fixed on the wicked glow the pertruded the failing light of dusk like a blood stain seeping into the forest.

"Is it a fire?" Shippou asked, his voice small in the raging wind.

"It isn't a fire," Kaede answered back, "See?  There aren't any flames or smoke."

"Then what could it be?" Sango asked.

"Well, whatever it is, it's growing," Miroku said, "look how fast it's spreading."

"It won't reach the village, will it?"  Shippou's voice quivered.

"What are we going to do if it does?"  Kagome added.

Her question snapped Inu-Yasha out of his stupor.  He recollected his senses and answered, "That's why we're going to go see what happened and stop it before it reaches here." For some reason he couldn't explain, Inu-Yasha felt drawn to the expanding wave of crimson light.

"But the storm is getting more powerful by the minute," Miroku interjected, "there's no way we'd make it tonight."

"Then I'll go by myself!"

By the look on his face, Miroku could tell that Inu-Yasha was serious about going.

"Fine, I'll go with you," he conceded, "but everyone else should stay here."

"Fine," Inu-Yasha said, "let's go!"

"Hold on a minute," Kagome said, "whoever gave you permission to decide for us?"

"Right," Sango agreed, "I'm not going to stay here while that thing is out there."

Inu-Yasha became frustrated with the sense of urgency he felt.  "Well, whatever!  Stop the chit chat and let's go!"  He turned around and took off.

I'm going to find out what's going on!!!  he thought as he raced towards to light.

What's going on?  Why are all of these strange things happening?  Well, you'll just have to wait until the next installment comes out *evil laughter*  I hope everyone's enjoyed it this far, and I hope you're interested enough to keep reading.  Hopefully I'll be able to wrap this up in 2 or 3 chapters- I don't know yet.  Any comments or questions, feel free to email me at lena_iy@hotmail.com.