The Sickness, Chapter 2.

InuYasha glared up at the sky, and appeared to some to be a bit peaceful, but inside he was picking apart his strange dream to find out what he could about it. So far he knew only a few things...One, he kept transforming into a full blooded demon every time he had a nightmare about Kagome dying, apparently a reaction by his body to these thoughts. Two, the changes were taking a toll on his body, and he was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything the day following a transformation. Three, as far as he knew, he would keep transforming until he stopped having these dreams...Thats it!

InuYasha sat up, and looked down through the branches of the tree he was in to Kagome below, and realized that while everyone was trying to keep him from changing, they had neglected to think about why he was changing. Because of the dreams, he knew. So, he thought, if I can stop myself from dreaming, then I won't transform! He smirked. Not bad for a half-demon, he thought. He jumped down from the tree, and walked towards Kagome, telling her what he had figured out. Kagome patted him on the head, and said good dog, making him growl at her.

"Hey, I'm not a dog, ya know!" He yelled at her, watching her walk toward the village. "Hey, are you listening to me?" He yelled, dumbfounded as she continued walking toward the village. He gave up, and followed her, jogging a bit to catch up with her. As he pulled even with her, he forced himself to look straight ahead. He folded his arms in his Haori, and kept pace with her gentle strides. They walked in silence for a minute, before Kagome said softly, " InuYasha...we already knew that, ya know. Thats what we were working on."

"What...?" InuYasha said, having already forgotten what he had thought of.

"You know, that whole thing about if you somehow stop dreaming, then you won't change." She said, looking over at him. InuYasha narrowed his eyes. "Well, why the hell didn't you tell me sooner!" He yelled, his right eye twitching, his hands clenched into fists.

Kagome laughed nervously. "Uh..hehe...'cause we thought it was OBVIOUS!." She said, not believing he could be that stupid. Then she remembered how she had almost got injured by a demon, and the Tetsusiaguia was too heavy for InuYasha to wield properly, but he had somehow 'forgotten' how heavy it was, and had managed to slay the demon...then had promptly complained about his blade being too damn heavy. InuYasha was silent at that one, mystified as to how he could argue that one. When they got back to Kaede's cabin, Sango was waiting there for them, with a new development.

"I think I may have something for you, InuYasha." She said tossing a small pouch up into the air, and catching it. She was doing this repeatedly, and InuYasha followed the bag with his eyes.

"What...?" He said warily, hoping it wasn't some spell or sleeping potion.

"It's a slee-" She was cut off as InuYasha's hand shot out and snagged the bag out of the air, opening it and bringing it to his face to sniff it.

"Is it food?" He asked, grimacing at the smell that emanated from the bag, which contained a black grainy powder. Sango grabbed the bag back form him, her long black pony-tail whipping around her shoulders with the momentum of her speedy movements.

"No, InuYasha, as I was trying to say before, it's a sleeping potion that induces a dreamless state of unconsciousness, and the length of the state of sleep is determined by how much of it you take." She said, once again bouncing the bag in her hand, knowing that the dog in InuYasha was itching to grab it.

"Augh! A damn sleeping potion! C'mon, you gotta have something better than that, Sango!" InuYasha said, hoping he didn't have to take the disgusting smelling powder. Sango shook her head, and dumped a bit of the black powder into a bowl of water, and handed it to InuYasha.

"Drink it." She ordered, forcing him to take it. InuYasha grimaced, and turned away from the black coloured water, curling his nose up at it. "No." he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"InuYasha..." Kagome warned, arching her eyebrow at him. "Si..." InuYasha grabbed the bowl and tipped the foul smelling liquid into his mouth, swallowing hastily. Immediately, he began to feel drowsy, and as he began to sway on his feet, Sango feared that she may have over-estimated the proportions. InuYasha's eyelids slid closed, and his knees buckled as the powder took over his body, shutting him down. As he fell, Kagome and Sango rushed in from either side, and grabbed his arms, lowering him gently to the ground. Kagome smiled softly at his peaceful, now sleeping face. She was actually surprised at how fast that had knocked him out. She sat down next to him, and watched him sleep, as the mid-afternoon sun rose high into the sky. Sango and Miroku left to search the immediate area for traces of demons, mainly, Naraku. About an hour later, InuYasha awoke, groaning softly.Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder, immediately concerned about him.

"Whats wrong, InuYasha?" She asked, as InuYasha placed his hand on his forehead. InuYasha opened one eye and looked at her. "My head is killing me, I got a huge-ass headache..." Jus then, Sango and Miroku walked in, and InuYasha jumped up, wincing at the pain it caused.

"What the hell did you do to me, Sango!" He yelled, pointing at his head. "My head is killing! Arrg! I'm gonna..." He drew back his fist, and put his weight behind it, driving it as hard as he could toward his target. BAM! Miroku dropped to the ground, screaming and holding his face. Sango jsut smirked as Miroku wailed loudly, further increasing the pain in InuYasha's head. InuYasha kicked Miroku, and that shut him up.

"The pain will dissipate in a matter of seconds...it's as easy as getting a drink of water, for your're dehydrated, InuYasha." Sango said, giggling. InuYasha grabbed a bowlful of water and gulped it down, feeling the pain dissappear... He squeezed his eyes closed again as fresh pain tore through him, and Sango chuckled.

"What!" InuYasha demanded, holding his head.

"Your're only supposed to take small sips InuYasha, not gulp it down." She said, laughingly. InuYasha grumbled to himself, and proceeded to take small sips from the remainder of the water in the bowl, feeling the pain dissappear once again. InuYasha sat down, and crossed his arms over his chest and wondered if he could stand to take that stuff tonight. But at the same time, he knew he had to if he wanted to keep from transforming. Suddenly, Sango came bursting into the cabin, breathing heavily and grabbing her demon slaying outfit.

"Whats going on, Sango?" Kagome asked, jumping up.

"Quick, InuYasha, Kagome, get ready to fight, we've found the trail of Naraku!" She said, turning around and taking her clothes off. InuYasha blushed and adverted his gaze, as he caught sight of her beautiful body. Sango, oblivious to InuYashas embarrassment, quickly put on her demon slayer outfit, and grabbed her Hiraikotsu as she ran out the door. Kagome grabbed her bow, and ran out the door, with InuYasha on her tail as he affixed Tetsususaiguia to his side. He let Kagome climb onto his back, then leapt into the sky, following Kirara. As InuYasha was sailing over the forest, courtesy of a powerful jump, he caught a glimpse of red in the trees below. He glanced down, as the red flashed away into the underbrush. He dismissed it, and kept on going, the only thing on his mind was the slaying of Naraku. He jumped over Kirara, looking down to see Sango looking up at him, grinning widely at him. He felt Kagomes hands around his neck clutch him a little closer, as he dropped toward the ground. Again, he thought he seen a glimpse of blood red through the foilage, but as he tried to focus on it, it eluded him, dissappearing on him again. He was starting to lose focus on the task of finding Naraku, and it was starting to annoy him. He sniffed the air, and thought he smelled the faint scent of Naraku. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara tore by him as they rushed toward the source of Narakus scent. InuYasha froze as they came up to a large hill, exactly like the one in his dreams.

Maybe his dreams weren't nightmares, he thought, maybe they were prophecies. InuYasha felt his stomach tighten as he crested the hill. When he reached the top, he swore viciously as, just like in his dream, Narakus castle was sitting at the bottom of the hill.

"InuYasha...Its just like your dream..." Kagome said, brushing her arm against his as she came to stand next to him. InuYasha gasped as he felt her arm touch him. He recalled that when he had told the story to the group, he had left out the little details like that. Not even Kagome knew she was following a script, a script in which she was about to follow...to her death. InuYasha took a single step over a line he knew existed in his dream, and right on queue, a horde of demons rose up from behind the castle. He would not let anything happen to Kagome, he knew.

"Sango, Miroku, you cover the sky! Don't let any demon pass!" He yelled, starting down the hill, intent on putting a wide berth between Kagome and any demons, using himself as the barrier. He swung his sword ferociously, and he could not know that he himself was fullfilling the scripts that were written out for him. InuYasha unleashed the Windscar multiple times, and again he had that strange feeling of dèja vu, as Kagome's arrow tore by him, exactly as foretold. He knew that if everything happened exactly as planned, then Kagome had about thirty seconds to live. He cut down another demon, and looked behind him, feeling the fear build up in his stomach. Kagome was putting another arrow to her bow, and still not a demon within a couple hundred feet of her. He looked forward again, and sliced another couple demons asunder, not bothering to look behind him, as thats where their carcasses had landed. InuYasha forged on, while the pieces of the dead demons started to fuse back together, and slink through the grass, drawn toward Kagome by the shikon shards. InuYasha tried to sniff out any discernable threat to Kagome, but was unable to, surrounded by demons as he was. He had just finished slaying another demon, and had gained more ground toward Narakus castle, when he heard it. Kagome screaming his name.

"INUYASHA!"
InuYasha whirled around, and just like before, he saw Kagome lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, surrounded by demons. InuYasha screamed her name, but strangely heard nothing, as his brain wasn't recieving anything that his ears were telling him. He tried to run, but couldn't move. Suddenly there was a searing pain in his abdomen, and he looked down at his stomach to see that he had been run through by a demon.

'T-this isn't the way it's supposed to end...not like this...how Kagome must have hated me, in the end, not being able to protect her...IM SORRY, KAGOME!' He thought, feeling the tears run down his face, as his vision blurred, darkening at the edges. InuYasha slumped forward, as all feeling in his body dissappeared, and his vision went black. The last thing he saw was his own arm reaching out toward Kagomes prone body, reaching but never quite getting there.

InuYasha opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground. He sat up, and groaned as his stomach started to burn. He lifted his haori, and gasped as he saw a large bloody hole in his abdomen, and as he recognised it, he instantly remembered everything, and perhaps that was the only thing that saved him. And her. He looked up into the sky just in time to see something fly over his head, a big white flaming animal, and a flash of red. He looked closer, and recognised the figures as himself, and his friends. He didn't know what the hell happened, but he knew that he had been given a second chance...a second chance to save himself, and Kagome. He got up, and began running in the direction that he saw himself dissappear to, keeping his eyes on the sky, searching for his self, in the past. Thats what he was doing, he knew, he was watching himself in the past, and was being given a chance to correct any mistakes he had made. It was all clear to him, yet he didn't have a clue as to how to do it. InuYasha glimpsed himself through the foilage, and wondered what would happen if he let himself be seen by himself. He decided not to, feeling like he had already been seen, or at least glimpsed by himself. He hurried on, and came to the base of the hill, bursting out of the forest. He skidded to a stop, and moved back the the outskirts of the fores, hiding there. A few seconds later, the group landed on the crest of the hill, and he watched the drama for the third time. The part where he got touched by Kagome, then Sango flipping out over his little arousal, and then Sango and Miroku taking off, while the past me ran down the hill, and Kagome stood at the top of the hill, firing off arrow after arrow. I crept up behind her, and vowed, for the last time, to protect her with my life. I waited until the right time, and then scanned the area, looking for the demon that had killed Kagome. Suddenly, I saw the demon rear up, and get ready to attack Kagome. I jumped into action, slashing the demon into pieces, noting the look of surprise on Kagomes face. I stared at her flushed face, she stared at me, and then I looked behind me to see the past InuYasha stare at me in disbelief. I raised my sword, and InuYasha nodded, taking off to find Naraku. I guarded Kagome a while longer, unable to answer the questions she threw at me. Suddenly, after about ten minutes of fighting, all the demons suddenly stopped, and faded away to nothing, and I knew it was over. Sango and Miroku came out, carrying InuYashas body, and I wondered what would happen if my body died in the past, would I cease to exist?

We sat around the fire, and I stared at my past prone body, willing him to wake up. Kagome wouldn't stop staring at me, and it was getting annoying. Suddenly, I felt faint, and indeed, I was beginning to fade, as I looked at myself. The past me started to stir, and I knew that both of our consciousnesses couldn't exist in the same timeline. Kagome rushed over to me, and grabbed my fading hand.
"Thank you, InuYasha." She said, as I faded away.

InuYasha woke up, and Kagome threw her arms around his neck.
"Oh, my God, I'm so glad your okay, InuYasha." She said, seeming to have no memory of what had just happened with the past and present Inuyasha. InuYasha sat up fast.

"Where is he? I gotta find him." He said, getting up.

Kagome stared at him, with an odd look on her face. "What're you talking about, InuYasha?" She asked.

InuYasha stopped, and sat down.

'What the hell happened...' He thought, seeming the only one to remember the incident. 'Did Kagome know that she had died, and he had been given another chance to go back in time, and correct his mistakes?' He wondered, sitting back down.

AN well, dont flame me too too hard for the likeness of Price Of Persia: Warrior Within, its pretty kewl so far, I think. Okay, it might not seem too clear right now, but I made it that way, and the next few chapters will clear that up...and BTW, it wasnt Naraku that InuYasha killed...or was it?
Please review, and this story will get a lot clearer, in time.