Chapter 1: Nightmares

The fire burned all around her. The air was hot and suffocating from the smoldering logs and shrapnel littered about the castle courtyard. Vague screams rang out in the distance intermingled with the lingering sounds of the dying battle. The orange hues of the setting sun set the sky ablaze like the fires that ravaged the citadel. Kagome wandered forward, coughing sporadically from the smoke that clogged the air. Her eyes watered, making it difficult to see.

"Okasan! " She cried out as she staggered forward, her voice sounding small. It piped out from her lungs like a frightened mouse. She was only a child.

"Otosan!"

She coughed once more and continued her search only to trip over a stone that had been uprooted during the siege. She fell forward on her hands and knees, letting out a small yelp of pain upon impact. Her eyes squeezed shut as she clutched her skinned knee, fear seeping in along with the pain of her injury. She sat there for a moment, alone and scared. When she opened her eyes again, her bleary vision made out a pair of black boots standing before her. Startled, she slowly looked up and saw the silhouetted form of a boy. She could not see his features only his long hair, the shape of his clothing, and the slight reflection of the fires glimmering in his eyes. It captivated her. For a moment she was distracted from the horror around her.

He said nothing, only looked down on her impassively as she stared up at him with wide eyes. Another scream cried out in the distance breaking her from her enchantment. Remembering her surroundings, she came back to herself with a renewed feeling of distress.

"Please…please have you seen my Okasan? My Otosan?" She sat forward on her knees, leaning towards him in urgency. "…Please…"

Tears built behind her eyes and stung her nose as she looked up to him in desperation. The fires burned brighter around her and the sounds of people's alarm escalated in the background. He looked down on her, his still form not betraying any inclination of either helping her or abandoning her. As moments passed, Kagome began to give up any hope of him aiding her. She looked down at the ground in dismay not knowing what to do. As she slipped back into despair, her thoughts were interrupted by a calm, young voice.

"Come." It said.

Kagome looked up in surprise and saw a hand extended out to her. The boy stood there with his arm out, waiting. He looked so austere for a boy who could be no more than ten. His regal form never faltered. Kagome found it rather imposing.

"Come." He repeated in a stronger tone, moving his hand a little closer as if to emphasize his command.

She sniffled and hesitantly began to reach out to him. She took his hand and it felt warm against her cold, trembling one. When he lifted her to her feet it was as if the world came into action again. The chaos around her grew to new heights as the sound of people running and horses galloping echoed in her ears. She looked around frantically at the now collapsing stones of the castle and watched in fear as the fire swallowed everything around them.

The boy drew her to his side and looked down at her. The flames surrounded them, growing more and more sweltering with each passing second. They danced a mirrored reflection in his eyes. The castle walls were falling away to rubble and she realized with alarm that they were directly in its path. The boy made ready to leap into the air when their path was blocked by a blazing inferno. The world around them tumbled into ruination. Kagome grasped on to the boy in desperation, but it was no good. A flaming wall fell right on top of them and she felt the heat engulf her like the mouth of hell itself.

A scream tore itself from her throat as her world disappeared and all she could see was fire and fire and fire…

Kagome gasped and sat up straight in her sleeping bag. Her stormy blue eyes were wide and searching, as one's eyes usually are upon waking from a nightmare. Clutching her chest and panting, she struggled to regain control of her breathing. She still felt hot from the fire in her dream and hurriedly kicked off the top layer of her blankets to cool down. As her breathing calmed and the cool night air hit her brow, she began to gain her composure. She took one last deep, steadying breath and looked around the camp to see if she'd disturbed any of her companions.

Still asleep. Good. They were curled up around the campfire in various positions of repose. Sango was perched against Kirara as usual, while Miroku slept propped up against a log near the campfire. Shippo, who usually slept with her, was instead nestled in Kirara's soft mane at the nape of her neck. They had been playing before bedtime and after the rough-housing was over, he had fallen asleep on top of the big cat. Kagome hadn't had the heart to move him, especially with how disruptive her dreams had been lately. In the wake of her most recent nightmare she was glad she had left him where he was.

Ending her quick survey, she closed her eyes once more. There was one person she knew would be awake. She knew he had seen the whole thing.

Inuyasha leaned against a tree to the left of the campfire. The yellow light flickered and cast a warm glow onto his face.

"Again?" He asked.

She looked over and saw him with his head tilted down giving her a sideways glance. His eyes glinted in the firelight. Beneath his gruff and stern expression, she could see concern in his golden orbs. He already knew the answer.

"Yeah." She said, looking away with a sigh. "They keep getting more vivid. The boy spoke to me this time."

Inuyasha rose from his spot by the fire and sat down next to Kagome. Although she had calmed outwardly, his sensitive ears could still pick up the sounds of her galloping heartbeat. He placed a hand over hers in comfort.

"What did he say?"

She looked down at the large, rough hand that covered her smaller one and relaxed enough to answer.

"Come. All he said was come. " She fiddled with the hem of his haori with her free hand. "I still can't see his face, but he seems so familiar to me. What do you think it means? "

Her furrowed brow turned towards him with a questioning gaze. A crooked smirk upturned the corner of his mouth as he gave her a roguish look. "It means that you're even more of a nutcase than we originally thought."

Kagome scoffed in mock indignation and bumped his shoulder playfully with her own. "Ooo! Can't you just be serious for once?"

He laughed lightly and bumped her shoulder in return. Kagome smiled and looked down at their hands, relieved that the somber atmosphere had been broken. She had been having these dreams for months now. With the approach of her 18th birthday, only 6 months away, they had only gotten worse. With each passing day the nightmares seemed to reveal more of a story that felt oddly familiar to her. However the increasing vividness only created more questions.

What did it all mean? Who were these people? Why is this happening over and over again? No matter how hard she thought about it, the answers always seemed to elude her. She would wrack her brain trying to sort it out, but eventually give up and accept that there wasn't a lot she could do about it. However, she should never fully shake the nagging feeling that she should be remembering something. Something important.

She sighed to herself. It had to mean something, but she had no idea what. Maybe she had mysteriously developed psychic miko powers and someone was trying to tell her something. Maybe Inuyasha was right and she really was going crazy. Until she figured it out, she'd just have to cope with it. Being ever the optimist, she was sure it would work itself out with time.

Inuyasha coughed and sheepishly released her hand, breaking her from her introspection. She smiled at his sudden bashfulness and watched him walk back to his spot by the fire.

"You should get some sleep, Kagome. We have a long day tomorrow."

Kagome snuggled back into her sleeping bag and sent a fond look over to her hanyou friend.

"You're right. Goodnight Inuyasha. Sweet dreams."

They fell back to their original resting spots and Kagome soon succumbed to a now dreamless sleep. Inuyasha returned to his post next to the tree and sent a long look to his friend. After the moment had passed, he closed his eyes and relaxed into a more comfortable position. His ears swiveled back and forth, ever alert to the possible dangers around them even in rest. Before he dozed off into a light sleep, he whispered one last sentiment into the ether.

"Goodnight Kagome. Sleep well."