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Light. All she can see is pure, white, dancing, burning, stabbing, bright, light. She flings her hands up. Pain and fear scream for her attention.

Black. The light is gone now. Desolate, cold, freezing, ice. Shadows press against her from all sides. She tears at her hair.

Hot. Cold. Light. Dark. White. Black. Again and again.

Suddenly, color twists into view. It oozes into her field of vision, exuding from the flashing background. It bubbles and spreads. It seeps into her shoes. It crawls up her trembling body. It sinks into her flesh, cold and wet. Bile rises in her throat, and she tries not to puke.

She blinks, and when her eyes open, the world is still, normal. She is looking at a park. Trees stand behind a wooden bench. Birds sing in the background. Green grass shifts in a slight breeze.

In a flash, the world changes. The sky is green, the grass blue, the sun black, the tree trunks pink.

Another flash, and the grass is red, the sky yellow, the sun purple, and the trees blue.

Again and again the colors change. She feels fear once more, for she can feel the core of the world shifting beneath her feet. The breeze changes texture, the birds move to a new, unfamiliar tune.

For a moment, everything is normal again. She almost sighs with relief, but she is too late. This time the changes are slow and subtle. The sky is just a little bluer, the sun, a little brighter. The wind seems colder, sharper, more alive. The dew on the lush green grass seems to have shifted. The sounds of nature seem just a little off key. The shadows, a little too dark…

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"Kagome!"

She jumped up, blankets falling off of her trembling frame. Swallowing hard, Kagome turned to face InuYasha. He sat beside her, his golden eyes wide with concern. When her saw her face, he pulled her into his arms.

"It was just a dream Kagome. It's gonna be okay. It'll be alright."

He rocked her back and forth. She flung her thin arms around him and buried her face in his warm neck. She closed her eyes and was surprised to feel hot tears slide down her pink cheeks. Her pale fingers clutched at him desperately.

"Did you have the dream again?" he asked her, his voice still soft. In response, she whimpered.

"Try and think about something else for now," he suggested. She could tell he was, metaphorically, grasping for straws. He had no idea what kind of advice he should offer her. Nevertheless, she did as she was told.

She concentrated on the sweet, foresty smell of her husband and love, on the softness of his silky silver hair. She focused on the strong, warm arms holding her, and slowly, she relaxed.

Slowly, she fell in to a more peaceful sleep, forgetting the most terrifying part of her dreams.

… The part where when she got up in the morning, the final result of her dream had become reality. The part where when she looked around her, everything was brighter, more intense, and different. She temporarily forgot the part where she was awake, trapped in a world that was no longer hers. Trapped with InuYasha, the only other one who was still kept apart from the strange changes that had taken hold of the world. The changes that she had seen since the moment she woke up after wishing the jewel was destroyed…

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