Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Zelda.

AN: I accidentally posted the wrong chapter the first time. Oops! This is the correct one! Sorry for the long wait. School sucks. Hope you enjoy!

Simple Dreams

Chapter 9

firefox369

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kagome whispered, fiddling with the pole in her hands. Confident gold eyes gazed into her own.

"It's fine. Even if they're not supposed to, all the guards are sleeping now anyway."

Kagome worried her bottom lip, and then nodded. She brought the pole back, then swung it forward with all her might, watching nervously as the small hunk of Twilit Vermin meat plopped into the black, murky water. Her accomplice tugged on the strong line and nodded with satisfaction when the ball of straw they'd weaved earlier that day bobbed back and forth in the darkness.

"But isn't this, you know, where that thing is?" she whimpered. Just what had he convinced her into doing?

"Oh, don't worry about it. That thing doesn't even like twilit vermin. Besides, this is where all the big fish are!"

Seemingly comforted for the time being, Kagome went back to watching the straw ball in the water. Suddenly, it went under and the string went taught, nearly bring Kagome along with it into the lake. Hearing Kagome's shocked cry, the boy raced to her side and grabbed onto the pole with her. They were both giggling as they yanked on the fishing pole with as much force as they could. Still, they were slipping and were getting closer to the edge.

The boy closed his eyes, looking for the dark energy buried deep within his soul. He found it and drew it out of its hiding place before opening his eyes and yanking on the pole again. With the added strength, the aquatic creature went flying out of the water and soared over their heads.

Both children watched, terrified, as a humongous skeletal thing arched over them, its head a giant, teethed hole surrounded by translucent, blue, squirming tentacles.

A furious screech erupted from the water and they dropped the fishing pole. The King of Twilit Aquatics, the Morpheel, leapt out of the water again, this time to exact revenge on the little two-legged brats. With an ear-splitting scream, both children dodged the beast and began to sprint back to the castle.

"I hate you, Nial!" Kagome panted once they were away from the water and decided to take a short break. Nial giggled.

"How was I supposed to know that this was going to happen?"

Another angry roar from the Morpheel sent the two of them squealing and laughing back to the castle.

"If you've gone fishing then you shouldn't be having any problems with this" Link stated, looking over their borrowed fishing poles one last time. "Besides, we need to catch something to eat. We're out of food."

Kagome did not look convinced, but she dipped the bait into the water anyway. Link did the same soon after.

"I haven't gone fishing in years" she said glumly. She decided that Link didn't need to know that her first, and last, catch was the large creature he'd slain in the Lakebed Temple. Sure, she'd gone fishing for Souta's basket and blankets even before then when the mischievous five year old Link had tossed them into the stream and they had been swept down to the small pond in Ordon, but she didn't consider those actual catches.

Really, all of her fishing experiences had been extremely ungratifying.

Though honestly, seeing Link without his tunic on could easily make up for her dislike of fishing. His slim, but steely muscles were very well defined and were very much eye candy. Of course, she wasn't about to tell him that either.

Nial would have her head for just thinking about it.

After Epona had thrown the two of them into Lake Hylia, Link decided it would be best to take off as much clothing as they dared and let their clothes dry in whatever sun was left in the day. Kagome had agreed, not wanting to catch a cold, so they had divested themselves of their outer garments, propped them up on a makeshift clothesline, assembled a rough campsite, and had left Epona behind to go to the nearby fishing post to get some food. The way the female owner looked the blonde hero over from head to toe had not escaped Kagome's careful watch. Apparently Link was more popular than he let on. What a playboy.

Kagome would need to remember to confront him about it later.

She felt a tug on her fishing line and, surprised, yelped. Calmly, Link reached over and grabbed her fishing pole with one of his hands, his other hand propping his own against the boat.

"Come on Kagome, you have to tug back" he teased. She could feel his breath brush against the lobe of her ear and she fought back a blush. Did Link even know what he was doing? One glance at in his direction told her that no, he had no idea what he was doing to her. So, Kagome pulled with all of her might while Link steadied both her and the small rowboat.

Much to her delight, the fish that flew out of the water was small, cute, scaly, and lacking tentacles. It was also missing that wormhole of a mouth. Perhaps actual normal world fishing wouldn't be too bad after all.

Link grabbed the flopping animal and removed the hook from its mouth before plopping the fish into a basket attached to the side of the boat. Kagome grabbed another worm and stabbed it onto the hook before swinging the bait into the water again.

"Link?" she suddenly called and the hero grunted to show that he heard. "Where are we going after this?"

"We'll head to my home in Ordon Village. I need to grab my other items in case Nial decides to send some Twilit monstrosities at us" he decided. "We'll probably have to spend a night in Hyrule field just outside of Faron Woods."

Upon hearing Ordon Village, Kagome smiled. "Tell me about Ordon" she asked wantonly. There was a tug on Link's fishing line, then another.

"Well..." Link paused in order yank the fishing rod back and grab the fish at the end of the line. "It's really quiet, I guess." He removed the hook from the fish's mouth before plopping the catch into the basket beside Kagome's. "The kids are still kids though, always getting into trouble. The only exciting thing that happened was when one of the kids got lost in the woods, and that was the start of my whole saving the world gig. Nothing particularly fun has happened since."

Kagome thought of her late night voyages to the castle outskirts with Nial when she was a child and her smile softened. "Kids do tend to get in trouble, huh?"

"Trouble is an understatement" Link scoffed. He grabbed a worm and slid it onto the hook, then plopped it into the water beside the boat. He could see a school of fish swimming back and forth beneath them, and he wasn't about to let them just float there when he was hungry and craving fish. "Though I guess they make village life a bit more exciting. Especially Souta."

The young woman's eyes went wide. "Souta?" she repeated under her breath and Link nodded. Souta? Souta? Her Souta? As in her baby brother Souta?

"That little brat just doesn't know when to stop" he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm surprised he hasn't gone off and gotten himself killed yet. I've got my hands full with that one."

"How old is he?" she breathed, heart fluttering with hope.

"He'll be turning fourteen in a few days. Speaking of which, I need to figure out what I'm going to get him..." Link trailed off and scowled, deep in thought.

Fourteen! Fourteen! Little Souta was a teenager! By the goddesses, her brother was alive. Kagome was so happy she nearly cried.

At that moment she pulled up another small, cute, non-terrifying fish. The joy of everything, and the relief that she wasn't going to die a gruesome death trying to get some dinner, sent her over the edge. Fishing rod forgotten, she dropped her head in her hands and muffled her tears of laughter.

oOoOoOoOo

"Why have you called this meeting?" a feminine voice questioned. Sapphire eyes narrowed at the being across the large, oaken table. Molten gold met their gaze.

"All of our lands have been plagued by these Twilit monstrosities as of late." The voice that responded was deep and bestial, but despite the growling undertones was surprisingly rich and smooth.

The figure beside him snorted. "'Plagued' is a major understatement."

"Although our dear counterpart from across the sea is a little crass, I'd have to agree. The monsters from the Twilight Realm are getting out of hand. We have always been equipped to deal with them, but their sheer numbers are getting annoying."

All eyes suddenly turned back to the owner of the sapphire hued eyes. The young woman sighed, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose to and massaging her temples to help fend off the oncoming migraine she was positive she would have within the next hour. She had hoped that they wouldn't catch onto everything so soon. Though each land was special in their own right (heck, the person sitting beside her was supposed to have come from the sky of all things), the princess was positive that the triforce bestowed upon Hylian humanity was the only thing that kept the Twilight Realm at bay.

"What do you want from me?" she finally asked. She had an idea of what they wanted to know, but she would try to tell them as little as possible about Hyrule's situation. As difficult as it was for her to admit, she was sure that her country could not afford to fight another war. The boblins had wreaked more havoc while she was held captive in the Twilight Realm than she realized.

"What we want to know, Princess Zelda," that deep voice began and Zelda stifled a groan. If he was the one asking then she really did have her work cut out for her this time around. "Is why Hyrule has been Twilit free for the past two years."

He stopped there, but the blonde princess knew the rest of his unspoken accusation. Zelda regretted accepting the invitation to this meeting, but this was necessary if she wanted to be rid of the bad eggs in the Twilight World. Things were looking up, but at the same time they have never looked so down in her entire life. If she couldn't convince her fellow rulers that she had, in fact, not betrayed them but had simply and inadvertently driven off the Twilit creatures to other lands, then she would find her self in a war with the three countries that had surrounded her, literally and figuratively, on all sides.

"You know of Hyrule's history. We were all very close to each other a long time ago. The Goddess Hylia-"

"Feh. Fairytales."

"Silence Inuyasha."

But the interruption had done its work. Zelda stopped speaking, closed her mouth, and carefully looked over all of her companions. Even though the light was a little dim, she could the seriousness in all of their stares. There would be no jokes or games today. No one spoke as she scanned them all, slowly looking from one to the next until there was no one left to observe. The overbearing silence was stifling and, after a few minutes, Inuyasha began to squirm a little in his seat.

"The Chosen Hero was reincarnated" she stated simply. Her response was concise, perhaps a little too straight to the point, but the understanding that dawned on her colleagues' faces told her that she had given them part of what they wanted to hear. "He defeated Zant and Ganon. The Twilit creatures have left Hyrule alone since then."

Golden eyes narrowed in thought and Zelda immediately knew that she had also given the answer that she needed, that they all needed, in order to get rid of the new evil ringleader.

"Then I guess what it all comes down to-" another feminine voice began.

"-is how to get rid of the new bad guy" finished another shadowed figure with violet eyes.

Zelda nodded, and then looked at the silver haired man across from her. He met her gaze before inclining his head. For a split second she thought she saw him smirk.

"This is where the real talks begin."

oOoOoOoOoO

When was the last time she had felt like this? Link had just begun to tend to the fire and cook their day's catch above the warm flames. Though the flame was small, it was getting larger and she could feel the burning heat against her face despite sitting a good distance away. Her entire body felt like it was made of ice, yet she also burned.

What was wrong with her?

She gazed at the roasting fish, concentrating hard on keeping herself sitting up without swaying back and forth. Link noticed and mistook her struggling gaze for hunger.

"Dinner will be ready in a little bit. Promise. Don't go falling over with hunger now" he joked, turning back to the fire and prodding the burning logs with a stick. Kagome managed a tiny smile before placing her warm hand on her even warmer forehead. She could vaguely recall days she spent in bed when she was a child, a towel on her forehead and a worried mother fussing over her. But she had no bed, no towel, and no mother. She hadn't had them for years, and though she had come to terms with it long ago the thought suddenly brought tears to her already watery eyes.

And though she hadn't wanted it since she was first taken captive, she began to crave the feel of a caress of her cheek, a gentle hug, and a tender kiss against her forehead.

She fought back the tears and sniffled, because of her urge to cry or her stuffy nose she had no idea. Link worriedly glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before stabbing the skewered fish into the ground and shuffling towards her. The young woman gazed into his clear, cerulean eyes and sniffled again. Slowly, she lifted her trembling arms and pulled the leather glove off his hand, and then dropped the glove to the ground. She turned his hand so it faced palm up, ran her finger down the soft creases in his skin, ghosted her touch along his fingers to his fingertips, and then rested her hot cheek against his cool hand.

Link watched her the entire time and let her do as she wished, but the moment he felt the hot of her cheek against his palm he knew somethingw as wrong. He knelt in front of her, not moving his hand from her face, and silently pressed his forehead against hers.

"You're sick" he whispered. Kagome slumped against him and sighed even as she shivered in his arms. The Hero of Time coaxed Epona and slid off the blanket folded in one of the side packs before lifting Kagome into his lap and pulling the blankets around them. The sick girl snuggled closer to him and dozed off. Worried over her illness, Link found that he lost his appetite, but forced himself to eat anyway. Someone had to stay healthy, afterall.

That night he barery slept. Epona comfortingly pressed against his back, as if to relieve him of his worries, while Kagome trembled in his hold. He convinced himself that the reason why he didn't let go was becaust the sickness would be around for a while, and Link wanted Kagome to get healthy fast. Their time together was short and he didn't want to waste a minute of it.

But as the sun rose over the horizon and the first rays of light began to shine upon the smoking remains of their campfire, Link knew that things had become much worse than he anticipated.

Kagome wasn't waking up.

To Be Continued...