When Inuyasha walked into Kagome's family home, he found her mother scrubbing dishes and her grandfather sitting at the table reading.
"Inuyasha!" Mrs. Higurashi smiled pleasantly at him. "What are you doing here? Is Kagome with you?"
Inuyasha looked at the floor and tucked his hands into his sleeves. "No she isn't. Something happened to her… I was hoping you would be able to help me."
He went on to explain the situation. He couldn't meet their gaze until after he had finished.
"I see…" said Grandpa Higurashi. "So Kagome has been placed under a spell it would seem."
"A spell?" Kagome's mother took a seat at the table and beckoned Inuyasha to as well.
"Wait…" Inuyasha interrupted. "You aren't angry with me?"
Inuyasha thought they would have attacked him for letting this happen to Kagome. They seemed oddly calm as if they were simply talking about what to make for dinner.
"Of course not," said Mrs. Higurashi matter-of-factly. "We know how much Kagome means to you. You're going to do everything it takes to help her."
"It must have happened when Kagome was heading home," Grandpa went on. "Now that I think about it… last time she was home she did seem sort of dazed."
"Hm," thought Mrs Higurashi. "She couldn't remember the cat's name."
Buyo rubbed his body against Inuyasha's legs. He reached his hand down and scratched the cat with his claws. "When she came back to me, she said she had been gone for two weeks when it had only been three days."
Grandpa nodded. "Something is going on inside of Kagome's head. The time in her mind has no relativity to real time. It could be a day, two weeks, a month and only a minute here."
Inuyasha felt even worse about the situation. It could've already been a month in her mind since she last woke up?
"Inuyasha…" Kagome's grandfather gave him a stern look. "I believe I can help you reach Kagome. It will be dangerous."
Inuyasha stood. "I'll do whatever it takes to save Kagome!"
Kagome's mother smiled brightly at him. "What do we need to do father?"
Grandpa led the way to one of the storage rooms outside on the shrine. He searched through several boxes before finally finding what it was he was looking for. He pulled out what looked like a stick that was curled on both ends. He wrapped it in paper and handed it to Inuyasha. "Be careful with this Inuyasha. There is a tool one can use. It creates a way for you to go inside her mind. It will be dangerous. It is called Kokoro ga Tokeatta. You will be connected through your mind and heart. Once you are inside you will not be able to escape. It will be up to Kagome to get you both out. If you fail to get through to her, you both may end up lost in her dream world. It is not something to take lightly. This will be a difficult task. Despite being Kagome's mind, you should consider it a hostile environment."
"What do I have to do?"
When Inuyasha climbed out of the well, he was surprised to find Shippo asleep on the ledge. Inuyasha bonked him on the head.
"You're back!" The little fox demon rubbed his head but didn't retaliate. "Kagome hasn't woken up at all. The others are at the hut with her."
"Come on, I may have found a way to help her." He put Shippo on his back. He filled the little demon in on what he was planning to do as he sprinted towards the village.
"But I thought Kagome said all of the spiritual things her grandfather owns were just trinkets and junk," Shippo said.
"This will work." Inuyasha put as much confidence as he could in the statement.
Shippo was silent for a while as they approached the village. "By the way Inuyasha," he said. "Koga tried to follow you down the well."
"Keh! What an idiot." The thought did make the half demon smile.
Miroku and Sango were waiting outside the hut. "Inuyasha, Koga said you had returned."
They held the door open for Inuyasha and then followed him inside. Kagome looked the same as she had when he had left. She had a peaceful look, as though she was simply sleeping.
"Something strange happened while you were gone, Dog-face."
Inuyasha glanced over at Koga. He was sitting against the far wall with his two companions. "Her face scrunched up as if she had just eaten something unpleasant and her heart rate escalated. She's calmed down now. I held her hand while it happened. She must have sensed my presence and knew she was safe."
"He couldn't just tell him about what happened to her…" Sango muttered to Miroku.
"We think she might have been forced to take something against her will," Miroku stated quickly before Inuyasha could retaliate against Koga. "Perhaps this medicine she had talked about."
Inuyasha didn't seem bothered by the wolf demon. He unwrapped the Kokoro ga Takeatta. "I'm going to save her."
"Be aware Inuyasha," said Sango. "She might not remember you."
Inuyasha lay down next to Kagome. He took in a deep breath, breathing in the smell of her. Her scent always soothed his soul. He wasn't going to waste any more time. He needed to get her back. She was depending on him. He wrapped the stick around his wrist and did the same with the other side on Kagome's wrist. He grasped Kagome's hand in his. Immediately, he felt the object tighten. He focused on her face as a feeling of extreme tiredness settled over him. He felt his eyes grow heavy.
He blinked once and found he was no longer in the hut. He was seated beside the sacred tree on Kagome's family shrine. It must have worked! He was in Kagome's mind. He looked around. The sun was beginning to set on the shrine. Everything looked the same as Kagome's home in the real world. Everything except… the well house was in pieces on the ground. When Inuyasha took in the smell, his nose stung from the lingering scent of the smoke.
He looked up at the house. Kagome's window was open but it was dark inside. He leapt up from the ground on to her windowsill. There was nothing different about her bedroom either. Kagome was not there. His ears twitched as he tried to listen for Kagome's voice inside the house. Instead, he heard two other voices from down the hall. He crept out of the bedroom and stood in the dark hallway. Two people stood in another room conversing. One of them was Kagome's mother and the other… must be Kagome's father.
He could see the resemblance right away. His hair was the same dark shade as Kagome's although it was speckled with grey hairs. He had the same eyes as Kagome as well. Inuyasha felt a bit nervous about seeing Kagome's father. Illusion or not, this man had been an important part of Kagome's past.
"I'm so glad Kagome is doing better," Mrs. Higurashi said to her husband.
Mr. Higurashi nodded. "We will need to keep a better eye on her. We can't let a slip up happen. If it happens again, there might be no turning back."
"Yes dear. She's taken her pills. She's beginning to fall right back into place again. She's even agreed to go see a movie with Hojo tonight. If that's not a good sign, I don't know what – did you hear that?"
Inuyasha was already back out Kagome's window and down on the grounds when Kagome's parents looked outside their bedroom door. He sprinted down the steps. Movies… Kagome had mentioned something about them before. Something like the magic box in Kagome's home but bigger. He made it to the main city in no time. It was alive with the hustle and bustle of the modern era. Inuyasha tried to sniff out Kagome's scent. He caught a faint trace but it was masked by the many other smells around him. He was beginning to get frustrated. He had to find her.
Then suddenly!
"That was a really funny movie! Thanks again for this Hojo!"
Her voice! Inuyasha ran forwards, his ears tuned to the direction of her voice. There she was. Inuyasha hid down a nearby alleyway and watched her. Kagome was standing outside a large building with a boy. She was dressed in a pastel yellow dress with a blue cardigan. The wind blew pieces of her hair in front of her face. She tucked it behind her ear. Inuyasha was caught up in beauty. She was wondrous. Then his eyes settled on the boy she was speaking to. A tall boy with short brown hair and an easy smile. He was holding her hands in his.
"You sure I can't walk you home?" The boy was staring at Kagome affectionately. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.
Kagome shook her head as she looked away from him and took her hands out of his. "No. I'll be fine. I'll see you at school okay?"
With a wave, Kagome began walking away from the boy. What a relief. Kagome didn't share the boy's feelings. Inuyasha followed Kagome from a distance until they were safely out of the city. He didn't want to approach her until they were away from prying eyes. Kagome's grandfather had told him that if Kagome has fallen to the trap in her mind, the people around them might react.
There were almost no people around as they walked the path towards the shrine. Kagome still hadn't noticed that he was following her. Inuyasha leapt closer so that he was only a few feet away.
"Kagome?"
She stopped abruptly and turned around.
