Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any other anime - I just like making up stories…oh, and this is my third official fan fic and my first InuYasha fan fic so I'll just apologize now if it sucks. Sorry!
Chapter One: Kagome's Nightmare
The campfire cast eerie shadows on the cave's walls. But, the six friends hadn't much choice in sleeping location, as the road they had been on was quite muddy and the night was fast approaching, the cave was better than nothing. At first the men insisted on scouting the cave, ensuring that it was safe to sleep in. When the group had finally settled down for the evening, the setting sun made the cave assume a cozy atmosphere, but under the darkness of night it seemed frightening.
The two women were huddled near each other for added warmth towards the back of the cave; they were separated by the full demons of the group, the nekomata yokai and the kitsune. The two men were nearer the front of the cave, the monk seated with his legs folded in front of him, back against the wall and the han'yo had yet to cease his pacing. The talking and arguing had died down and it was agreed among the group that sleep was the best thing at this hour.
The woman smiled sleepily at her fellow companions. She glanced down at the sleeping kitsune who was curled up beside his fellow demon. Aw, he looks comfy. She smiled. Then, looking up at the han'yo who was still pacing the cave's door, she sighed with contentment. I'll never know why he can't just relax once in a while. She blinked heavily and closed her eye and began to sleep…
The only word to describe it would be void. It was black, cold, empty and quiet. She was floating in it, not really going to a specific destination, but certainly moving. The cold moved across her legs like an icy blanket and she wished like everything she wasn't in her school uniform at this moment. But yet, she felt as though the void meant more than it appeared, it was as if, there was something else in there with her. Something was there, watching her, needing her. She felt her long, soft black hair pull away from its resting place on her neck and back, and a cold, damp air, like a breath replaced it. In the distance she began to hear a voice. At first it seemed small and helpless, crying for help, for a rescuer. Her heart was moved at this sound and she began to call back to it. "Where are you?" The voice continued to call. "I need your help!" She began to panic. "I can't move! I can't find you! I'll help you if I can find you! Where are you?" There was no acknowledgement of her answers, instead the voice cried louder. Then the voice stopped calling for help and said one last thing. "Only Kagome can help." At those words, she attempted to pull away from the cold air that was breathing down her neck, to find the source of the voice. Suddenly a piercing feeling filled her heart and her stomach. At this moment, Kagome woke up with a cry.
"What? What is it?" A male voice harshly questioned her; she could feel his movement towards her. For a moment, panic flooded over her until the voice continued. "Kagome?"
She blinked hard, attempting to adjust herself to the night's darkness. She made out the figure of the han'yo crouched beside her. The other members of her party were sitting up and watching curiously. A wave of comfort swept over her as she regained her composure.
"Are you okay Kagome?" The small voice of the kitsune sounded worried.
"It was a – a nightmare, I think." She shook her head, slightly confused. "I'm alright Shippo."
"A bad dream?" the older voice scoffed and continued with a grunt. "Geez, the way you screamed like that I thought someone was stabbing you."
"It felt like someone was, Inuyasha!" She retorted.
"What are you talking about?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"In my dream, it felt like someone was stabbing me or something – something painful hurt me."
The han'yo continued to look skeptical and grunted again. "Kagome, you're talkin' crazy. Either you explain yourself or go back to sleep."
Kagome crossed her arms angrily. "Well I'm trying to explain!"
The monk leaned in towards Kagome with a concerned face. "Kagome, maybe we should check to make sure you're not injured. Here, let me see –"
"Don't even think about it Miroku." Inuyasha turned angrily towards the monk with his sharp claws raised.
Kagome dropped her head into her hands with an exasperated yelp. "Ugh. Would you listen to me?" The two men paused and blinked at her. "I had this dream, where I was floating in this, this – emptiness, and there was a voice calling to me, he was asking me to help him, and when I tried to find him, I felt this terrible pain in my heart and in my stomach – " She stopped and blushed at the shocked expressions on her friends faces.
The monk reached out for her hand. "Tell me Kagome. What did this voice sound like?"
"Well, at first it seemed like he was talking to me over the phone -" Kagome shook her head at her error of using a modern term. When she fell through the time porthole at her families well, not only her life in the modern millennium changed, but she began a new life in the feudal era, and in ancient Japan, she couldn't use modern technology in descriptions or her friends wouldn't understand. She sighed. Her friends blinked confused at her and she thought of a description they might be more familiar with. "I mean, like he was talking to me from a great distance, he was very far away sounding, at least, at first he was. But then, he sounded like he was closer and then – the pain came."
Her friends continued to look at her with concern for a moment before the other woman spoke up.
"Alright, that sounds like a nightmare to me. I think maybe you should try to get some more sleep tonight Kagome. We all should. We've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, so, everyone back to bed." She gathered up the young kitsune into her arms and moved in closer to Kagome. Miroku and Inuyasha returned to their positions at the mouth of the cave, and Kagome lay back down.
"Kagome, are you still hurting now?" The woman softly spoke.
"No." Kagome blinked her eyes and turned towards her friend. "Sango?"
"Yes?"
"I have a weird feeling like that dream wasn't just a dream. There was something, I don't know, real about it."
Sango laid her hand on Kagome's hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry Kagome. If anyone or anything out there is trying to hurt you, Inuyasha will stop them."
Kagome nodded, closed her eye and prayed for dreamless sleep.
Across the cave Inuyasha watched Kagome fall back to sleep. His mind racing, attempting to arrive at a logical explanation to her dream, Inuyasha felt irritated. Well, maybe women have more frightening dreams then men do? Or, maybe she is just being dramatic. Or – he grunted. Oh, who knows?
"Women!" he snorted.
"You're absolutely right!" Miroku's voice agreed with him. Inuyasha looked over at his friend with a questioned look. Stupid monk, talkin' in his sleep...
I haven't actually finished the whole series, so I'm going to try not to give this fic a timeline or anything until I know more. But, so far, so good – right? lisa