Full Moon

Problems and Promises

I stared at Kagome a moment before I finally reached out to shake her hand, smiling back at her as she smiled at me. She looked different than I'd thought she would, not your typical Japanese schoolgirl - and she certainly didn't look sick. I'd been expecting her to be more like her mom, like her brother, but though she was smiling, she looked anything but carefree.

There was a weight in her eyes though she smiled, like she was bearing a great burden. I could only assume that it came from her being sick, though it honestly looked more serious than that.

Maybe sickness wasn't the only thing plaguing Kagome…

"It's nice to meet you, Kagome-san," I said as she let go of my hand, sitting next to me on the sofa. "I'm sorry you've been sick. All your friends at school have been asking about you. How are you feeling?" the faces of Kagome's friends, all worried for her health, floated through my mind.

Kagome sighed heavily, brushing her bangs from her face. "I'm doing alright now, thanks. This last...er...sickness was really hard, but I pulled through it," her eyes were bright when she looked at me, hopeful. "And now that I'm better, if it wouldn't be too much trouble...you wouldn't happen to be willing to help me catch up on my schoolwork, would you?" she looked almost sheepish when she asked, and I felt myself blink.

Schoolwork? Kagome was finally out of bed, finally moving about, and she wanted to do schoolwork?

It was amazing how different this world, this country was from my own. No one I knew would have wanted to do schoolwork after recovering from a grave illness, and they were all good students who cared about their education. Americans tended to be a bit lazy when it came to school…which seemed to stem from the fact that they (we) took it for granted.

Though, if it had been me, I would have wanted to do my work, too, get it out of the way.

I nodded to Kagome, still feeling a bit woozy from my earlier fainting spell. "Of course I'll help you," I said, and Kagome smiled so wide I thought her face might crack, her hands coming together in a prayer-esque formation. "I managed to get through all of the classes today but one…"

"Oh!" Kagome jumped, as if she'd forgotten something. "Yes, you fainted in class! Okaa-san was so worried when she got the call from school," her brown eyes were large, still heavy, and they bored into me. "What happened, Luna-san?"

I looked away at that point, my eyes focusing on the wall across from us, debating on what I should say.

What could I say? Souta had said that the school explained my fainting spell as a bad case of jet-lag, but I knew that wasn't the case. I wasn't sure what exactly was happening to me, where these strange visions (I wasn't so sure they were dreams anymore; they seemed much too real to me) were coming from, but I knew that they were connected with my fainting.

Since I'd come to Japan, I'd been having weird dreams, the dream I'd had every night since I was seven fading into the background suddenly. And though I knew I'd like to say that they were only dreams, my mind busy with what was going on in my waking life, I knew I couldn't brush them off as such.

There was something going on, though I didn't know what, and all the strange happenings seemed to be connected: the dreams, Rin, the name she'd given me, my fainting, and…

My eyes drifted along the wall until they found the window, and when I looked out the window, they found the building out back that housed the well. The moment I saw the building, I began to shiver convulsively, my body moving in spasms, my eyes wanting to look away, but not moving.

"Luna-san?" it was the feel of Kagome's hand on my arm, the sound of her voice, that broke the strange spell, as if purifying the air around me. I blinked and looked away from the window and the building that hid the well to see her worried face. She looked at me, eyebrows furrowing, and then turned to Souta. "Souta-kun, get Luna-san some tea, would you?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Souta nod. "Alright, Kagome-onee-san," he said as he got up, dashing off to the kitchen.

Kagome found a blanket nearby and draped it over me, looking worried again. I'd stopped shivering now, though I still felt cold, as if I were wrapped in icy hands. Kagome looked troubled as she straightened the blanket, her eyes trailing from my face over to the window, where I'd been looking.

I didn't see her reaction to what I'd been looking at, because I didn't dare look up, not wanting to see the old building that housed the well again. I imagine she looked confused, though, considering what my reaction had been.

Why had I shivered so violently? The last time I'd looked at the well's old building, I'd felt an awful eversion to it, felt like it was watching me, but I hadn't shivered at the sight of it. Why had I reacted so strangely this time?

I was suddenly reminded of my last dream as Souta returned with a cup of tea, which I took gratefully, hoping it wasn't a blend of his grandfather's (since the last time I'd drank his tea, it had made me sick). In the dream, Rin had given me a name, and I'd felt the same aversion to it that I'd felt when I'd seen the well's building the first time.

Was my reaction to seeing the well's building worse now because I'd heard Rin say that name?

"Sesshoumaru-sama."

No, that couldn't have been. That was crazy.

"Are you feeling any better now, Luna-san?" when Kagome spoke next, I looked up from my cup of tea, having just taken a drink. I met her eyes and noticed that they'd changed - they looked thoughtful now that she'd followed where I'd been looking. I wondered if she were going to ask me about it, and was glad when she didn't, instead saying: "Would you like to study? Souta-kun told me there's a math test tomorrow. He's been keeping up with my work while I've been sick."

A math test? I'd completely forgotten about it, considering everything else that was going on. But, studying would be nice, since I needed to keep up my school work, and I could also help Kagome while I was at it.

"Sure," I said as I finished my tea and handed the cup to Souta to put away. I withdrew the blanket from around me, and was amazed to find that I felt better now. "We probably should study. That test is sure to be gruesome," I laughed a little at that, remembering how much I hated math.

And Kagome laughed too, the laugh reaching her eyes and lighting them up, taking away some of the heaviness that lay hidden in them. I got a good look at her face then, and decided that we could become good friends. Kagome seemed like a practical sort of girl, more grown-up, unlike her friends.

"Can we study in your room?" Kagome asked then, a bit sheepishly. "Mine is kind of...um...dirty?" she turned a bit red when she said it, and I got her meaning immediately.

Of course her room was dirty. She'd just been sick, coughing, throwing her sheets off when she got hot, not caring if she kept anything clean.

I nodded as I stood, glad that I didn't waver, glad that I felt better now that I'd drank some tea and talked with Kagome. "Of course," I said as I started off towards my room, Kagome getting up to follow me, grabbing my bag from the floor next to the couch where I'd been lying.

Studying in my room was fine…

We'd just have to close the curtains so I didn't see the well's shrine again.

Once we started studying, everything went fine.

"Do you know the answer to this problem, Luna-san?" Kagome asked more than once, shifting her math book so that I could look at it, waiting patiently for me to translate when there were kanji to read. "I can't seem to figure it out," she groaned more than once, too. "I can't believe I'm so behind this time!"

I blinked when she said this, looking up from the particularly ugly math problem she'd handed me to try and explain. "This time?" I echoed as I raised an eyebrow at her, adjusting the sleeve of my hoodie.

As Kagome had been getting her books, I'd changed into something more comfortable than the (ugly) short school uniform that I hated wearing. As we sat on the floor of my bedroom now, I was dressed in jeans and a red, long-sleeved V-neck and white hoodie, feeling much more comfortable and at home.

Kagome went stiff and blushed, as if she'd said something wrong. "This time?" she laughed a bit nervously as she buried her face in her book. "Did I really say that? We must be studying too hard…" she trailed off as she looked up at me, eyes almost looking worried.

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I didn't. She seemed to have enough going on in her own head.

"Your family says you're sick a lot," I mused as I looked back down at the problem she'd asked me to help with. "So, you must miss a lot of school because of it. I assume this time you've been sick longer than normal?" I looked up then, hoping to see her smile. I was trying to make her feel better since she'd seemed so flustered, just like she'd tried to stop me from shivering.

Kagome smiled at me as she nodded, the embarrassment washing from her face. Again I noticed how heavy her eyes seemed - though since I'd first seen her face, they seemed to have lightened a bit.

It couldn't have been easy, being sick all of the time. It was amazing that Kagome was still working on her education with all she had to handle - though it was also obvious that her sicknesses caused her more than just physical grief. Or maybe there really was something other than the sickness that plagued her (like her two-timing boyfriend, maybe?).

I had a feeling that the reason why Kagome seemed more grown-up, older, was because she'd been through so much, things that the kids at her school never had to deal with.

"I think I've figured this problem out," I said as I held up the book for her to see, moving the conversation on.

I spent the next few minutes explaining it to her, and was both surprised and delighted to see her eyes lighten again when she finally understood the formulae. The next few minutes after that, we spent working on more problems. And as those minutes turned to hours, we became quick friends, just as I'd suspected we would.

So, after a few hours of studying, I felt like I'd known Kagome all my life, like she was an old friend that I'd come to visit, instead of someone I'd just met. If I had been thinking about it, I might have thought the idea creepy, but it didn't occur to me at the time, because I was enjoying Kagome's company too much - enjoying having a real friend in Japan.

But the enjoyment ended quickly.

"It's kind of stuffy in here. Do you mind if I open the window for a minute?" Kagome asked me after our few hours of studying. Looking down at another problem, I nodded without thinking.

It wasn't until what she'd said clicked in my mind that I stood, opening my mouth, reaching out for her as she drew back the curtains.

"Kagome-san, wai-"

My cry came to late, because by then, Kagome had already pulled the curtains back, exposing the well's house to my vision.

I fell to the ground with fear, not wanting to dream again.

This time, I woke up feeling like I was in the mountains, surrounded by snow. It was so cold that my body shook in spasms, though when I opened my eyes, there were no mountains or snow to be seen - only darkness, ugly and thick as a black lagoon.

The darkness shifted around me as I tried to stand, though my legs shook beneath me violently. I couldn't see the ground, but I felt something hard underneath my feet. As I breathed in and out, my breath creating mist in the cold atmosphere, I got a better look at the darkness.

And it was then I noticed that the darkness was moving. Around me drifted a hundred shapes of a hundred things, twisting the space I was in as if they were worms eating through the dirt. I didn't look at any of them longer than I had to, but it didn't take much looking to see what they were -

Monsters.

I was surrounded by monsters again, just like I had been in the dream I'd had the night before, when I'd once again been falling down a hole, screaming though my voice hadn't made any sound.

I tried to keep myself calm as the creatures moved, not seeming to be paying any attention to my presence. I could hear them speaking, though their voices weren't loud enough for me to understand. I tried to think happy thoughts, hoping the thoughts might change my dream, as I stared at my shoes instead of the creatures, praying they would keep ignoring me.

Where had my strange dreams taken me to now? And where was Rin?

I was reminded of the dream I'd had last, when I'd fainted in class, as I thought of Rin. The horrible noise we'd heard had been a monster as well, and she'd said it was after me. But, when I'd woken up and disappeared from the dream world, had it disappeared too, or had it come after her instead?

I shook my head as I thought this, willing myself to focus. As much as I didn't want to see Rin hurt, I had to remind myself that she might or might not have been real.

Something strange was happening to me, and some parts of my dreams (or visions) seemed to be real instead of fantasy, but I had no way of knowing which parts were real. Rin seemed like she was real, with her concern for me and her bright, sunshine smile, but I had no way of knowing for sure.

After all, maybe I was simply going crazy. Maybe the plane ride over to Japan had messed with my brain, and now I was developing some sort of psychological disease…though I sincerely hoped not. As insane as my dreams had been, the idea that there was some monster after me and that I talked to cute little girl in my sleep seemed much nicer than being stuffed into a loony bin.

The creatures surrounding me shifted then, waking me from my reverie, and I looked up to suddenly see their faces looking at me, their long teeth flashing.

"It's her, the human," one said in a hissing voice, its red eyes boring into me and making me feel sick - not to mention terrified. "She does not possess it yet, but I can tell."

The other creatures nodded when the first, ugly one spoke.

"You are right," another creature said, looking something like a cross between a bird and spider. "And if we possess the human, then we shall have power," the spider/bird had barely stopped speaking when suddenly it moved again, rushing towards me.

I tried to move out of the way as it raced for me, barely having time to blink. But I only managed to move back a step, tripping over my feet. The ugly creature laughed at this as the other creatures joined it, all of them coming at me as if I were a fish, and they were hungry sharks that wanted to feed.

I would have screamed bloody murder, my voice loud and shrill, had not a brilliant light flashed across my vision then, blotting out all of the monsters. I heard loud cries from the creatures as they were destroyed, and then everything went silent.

When I managed to open my eyes, blinking rapidly because of how bright the light had been, I found myself wrapped in darkness again - only this time, the creatures were gone.

And in their place floated a sword.

I stared at the sword as I got shakily to my feet, glancing around a few times to make sure that all of the monsters were gone, that none of them would sneak up on me. It was a huge sword, bigger than any I'd ever seen, and was a strange shape, the edge of the hilt where the sword connected almost…furry?

"Tetsusaiga."

I shocked myself by speaking, the strange word coming out of my mouth automatically. And as soon as I said the word, the air next to the first sword rippled, and another sword appeared. It was a lot plainer than the first sword, looking more like a traditional weapon, but something about it registered with me.

"Tenseiga."

I said the second word - which I was beginning to think was a name - and blinked, confused. The two swords stayed put as I stared at them in confusion, floating in the darkness, outlined by light as if they were beacons.

What was going on here? Why did it feel like I'd seen these swords before, and how did I know their names? Did swords even have names?

I stared at the swords for another moment before they both suddenly vanished, replaced by another bright, golden light.

"Ah, so it is you," a voice erupted from the glowing light, strong and steady and definitely masculine. I squinted into the light and could see a figure, though I couldn't really tell what they looked like. "Such a long time it has been, Irazumi."

I took a step back, though I didn't feel afraid. I was reminded of the first time I'd met Rin, what seemed like a million years ago though it had only been two days, when I heard the name.

"Um…there must be a mistake," I felt my voice waver and swallowed, willing it to calm down. "My name isn't Irazumi, it's Luna. And just who are you, anyway?"

The figure in the glowing light chuckled, as if my words amused them. "Time is short, my dear child, so there is no use explaining," they said, and I began to notice the darkness around me dissipate, the light and the figure in it growing steadily hazy. "But before you must leave, I have one thing to tell you, and one thing to show," the golden light and its figure extended their hand (at least I assumed it was their hand) to the darkness in front of me, and the two swords appeared again.

The larger, thicker sword named Tetsusaiga moved first, swinging in an arc, like it would if someone were moving it. And then I realized - someone was in fact moving it. As the sword swung again, I saw a faint outline of the person wielding it, their expression fierce, their outfit a bright, almost painful red. But I only got a glimpse of the figure, because as soon as Tetsusaiga moved the second time, the sword and its bearer vanished…

Which left the second sword, the Tenseiga, all on its own. As I watched, my mouth hanging open, the Tenseiga moved as well, just as the Tetsusaiga had, and a different figure appeared before suddenly vanishing along with the sword. The thing I noticed most about the second figure was their expression, which was nearly blank, nearly unfeeling -

And ruthless. Completely ruthless.

But that wasn't the only thing that stuck out about the figure who had bore the Tenseiga. As their image echoed in my mind, I felt my heart thump loudly in recognition.

I had no idea who either of the swordsmen had been, but the second one had looked eerily familiar, though I was positive I'd never seen either of them before.

I swallowed thickly, feeling almost sick, as I turned my attention back to the figure shrouded in the golden light. "Who...was…?" I tried to ask, but my mouth didn't want to work just yet.

It may have been my imagination, but I was sure the figure clothed in light smiled at this as the darkness around us grew fainter, and I started to feel heavy, like I might wake up soon. "There is little time for explanations, as I have explained," he repeated, and though I didn't really like his answer, I nodded. "Now, for what I have left to tell you…" their eyes locked onto my gaze and grew serious, and I could see that they were golden - golden and slitted, almost like an animal's.

"You have a power far greater than you realize, though it does not give you strength in the traditional sense. It will not protect you from harm, and it will not cause you to defeat your enemies, but it will aide you all the same," the figure paused as my heaviness grew to where I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand up. "I cannot tell you the nature of this power at present. You must discover it on your own, Irazumi," the darkness around me began to turn white as I began to fall.

I knew I was headed towards the waking world, that I was falling out of my dream into reality, but that didn't stop me from reaching out towards the strange, glowing figure. It didn't stop me from saying:

"Wait! What do you mean? I don't understand any of this!"

And just before my eyes opened, admitting me into the real world again, I was sure I heard the glowing figure's voice responding:

"Do not worry. You will understand in time."

When I opened my eyes, it was once again Souta's face that greeted me, giving me a large, wide and open smile.

"You're awake again, Luna-san," he said as I blinked, taking a look around, unable to believe that I was back in my room. My head hurt as I tried to transition my mind to think about Souta and the fact that I was awake, pushing my weird dream aside for now. "You had another fainting spell. Okaa-san was really worried. We almost took you to the hospital, but ojii-san said that you would be fine," Souta frowned at that, as if he didn't believe it. "Ojii-san says you haven't eaten enough, and probably have low blood-sugar or something."

I felt myself groan as I sat up, rubbing the back of my head. Thoughts and images from my dream echoed in my mind as I looked around, my eyes feeling heavy.

At least Souta's grandfather had thought up a viable excuse for my fainting spell. It made perfect sense when I thought about it. I hadn't eaten much that day, so naturally, my body would have been feeling as though it were lacking in energy, which might have caused me to pass out from low blood-sugar just as Souta's grandfather had said…

At least, that was the front I would put on, what Souta and his family would believe. I knew the truth, however - and that was that there was something very, very strange going on, and that the moment I'd seen the building that housed the well out back, I'd fainted from the sight of it.

But the question was: why? Why did my body seem to react so badly to the well? Why did I keep having these strange dreams? And -

I literally stopped breathing as a thought hit me.

Souta and his mother and his grandfather believed that I was overtired, that I wasn't eating enough, that those things had caused me to faint - but what about Kagome? She'd been in my room with me, studying, when I'd passed out. Had she seen that I'd fainted when I'd set eyes on the building housing the well? Was she feeling suspicious?

It wasn't the first time she'd noticed my aversion to the well. Earlier that day, when I'd started to shiver at the sight of it, she'd seen what I'd been looking at.

Had Kagome figured out my secret?

I tried to keep myself from panicking as I suddenly sat up, surprising Souta, and looked around my room. The books Kagome and I had been studying earlier were stacked over in the corner neatly, and there was no sign of the black-haired girl. I bit my lip as I took another look around, wondering if she were hiding.

"Where is Kagome, Souta-san?" I asked just as the door to my bedroom slid open, and in entered Souta's mother, Mrs. Higurashi.

She looked a bit worried as she came over to my bed, where I was lying, and handed me a cup of tea. "Kagome-chan wasn't feeling well, so she's back in bed," she said, and I felt my heart sink - both out of sadness for Kagome, and out of worry for my secret. "It seems she has the stomach flu this time, which won't last long, so she should hopefully be better in a few days," I saw her sigh at that, and noticed that she had the same heaviness in her eyes that Kagome did.

"She sure left quickly this time," Souta added as a bonus, his eyes dark as well. I don't even think he noticed how strange it sounded - almost as if Kagome was gone, and not just sick.

There was something plaguing this whole family, and though they said it was Kagome's sicknesses, I had a sneaking feeling that they were lying.

"How are you feeling now, Luna-san?" Mrs. Higurashi moved away from the Kagome topic quickly, smiling at me as I sipped my tea - which tasted awful and was probably one of Souta's grandfather's blends, though I certainly wasn't about to say anything about it. "If you'd like, I'll make you something to eat."

I nodded quickly as food was offered, hearing my stomach rumble as I tried to play-drink the tea. "That would be lovely, please," I said, and Mrs. Higurashi smiled again, starting towards my door to go and prepare the food.

"I'll have it ready in a few moments, and bring it to you," she said as she was about to exit the room, and then stopped, looking at Souta, who was still sitting next to my bed. "Give Luna-san some time to rest, Souta-kun," she said, and the little boy nodded.

"Hope you feel better, Luna-san," he said as he too stood, grinned, and exited my room, sliding shut the door behind him.

I sat on the bed for a moment, all that had happened to me swirling like a whirlwind in my brain, before I suddenly stood up, setting the tea I'd been fakely drinking aside. I felt my legs shake for a moment before they regained their power, and I slowly strode over to the window.

The curtains had been closed sometime after I'd fainted, so I couldn't see the well's building anymore. I walked all the way up to the window before I stopped, my hand resting just above the drawstring for the curtains, my emotions conflicting inside of me.

I didn't want to faint again and cause the Higurashi's worry, but I wanted to know what was going on, what was happening to me. And if I didn't see the well again, I would have to wait until the next time my body decided it wanted to sleep, and I just couldn't do that.

I had to know what was going on. I needed some answers.

I took in a deep breath as I braced myself, and then yanked open the curtains, admitting the well's house into my view. The moment I saw it I felt an instant aversion, just as I had the other times I'd laid eyes on it, but I didn't feel sick or faint, which surprised me. My teeth ground together in nervousness as I stared at the somehow terrifying building, before I noticed something else outside - something that shouldn't have been there.

Kagome, dressed in her school uniform with a jacket and a scarf, headed towards the well's shrine, carrying a bright yellow backpack on her shoulders. She stopped once before she entered the building, looking around, and closed the sliding doors behind her once she was satisfied.

She didn't look sick. She didn't look like she was in pain. If anything, she looked like she was ready for a long camping trip, lively enough to go fishing and hiking and sight-seeing.

She didn't look sick. And she was in the well's shrine.

I felt my lips purse as I closed the curtains, blocking the sight from my eyes. I barely registered what I was doing as I went over to my door and slid it open, checking to make sure that no one was looking. When I realized that the coast was clear, I walked quickly and quietly to the back door and stepped out, putting on my shoes first.

I walked towards the well with purpose in my steps. I planned what I would say to Kagome when I got inside the building. I decided that I wouldn't leave without answers.

Because Kagome knew what was going on - and I wanted to know, too.

Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed chapter three of Full Moon! I've been working really hard on this story, so hopefully it shows.

This chapter is dedicated to my reviewers from last chapter: KuramaEnzanBlues, lulu, Chrystal_Wolf_Guardian_967. Thank you for your comments. Please keep reviewing and letting me know what you think!

A NOTE: as some of you may have noticed, I've given the Prologue its own little space (thus giving me four "chapters" now). I've also changed a few little (very little) things in the last few chapters - mostly inconsistencies I found. They don't effect the story any, so you won't have to go back and look for them, but I wanted to explain why there are now four "chapters".

Thank you for reading chapter three of Full Moon. Please keep an eye on this story and come back for chapter four, which will hopefully be out soon. I'm working hard on it!

~Ray