~* And here is another chapter after such a long wait. I hope it was worth it. - I'm horrible ,

"Let's just stop

Drop everything

Forget each other's names

And just walk away."

"Baby You Wouldn't Last a Minute on the Creek" by Chiodos

Chapter 14: A Dream

Kagome and Kikyo stood looking at each other. Kagome didn't know what she was supposed to feel then. Her emotions were so mixed and it made her want to vomit. The questions were still running in her head. For the time she had been playing with Sango and Miroku, she thought she was free. She thought she left all of the pain behind and finally let go of her past. She thought this was a chance to move on, so why was Kikyo there?

"Kagome…" Inuyasha placed an arm on her shoulder but Kagome did something not even she thought she'd do. She shoved him away, and hard. Turning icy eyes on him, they held only one word. Why?

"Kagome!" Kikyo yelled, walking over towards her sister. She looked almost relieved to see her alright, but Kagome just gave a blank stare. "You're alright…" Kagome inched away from her sister, her two hands bawling in to fists. She wanted to yell for her sister to stay away, but she couldn't. Why couldn't she? She could easily run back to Sango's arms and complain, she wouldn't judge her, right? Then Sango would scold Inuyasha for her and he'd realize his mistake. Yes, that sounded like the perfect idea.

She turned around and sprinted forward, running down the hall towards where she thought Sango was. Inuyasha yelled for her to come back and she could hear someone run after her, and that only made her feet move faster. She ran until her lungs burn, probably passing where Sango's location was. It didn't matter. She had to get away, away from the past. That was best for her.

She passed Shippo on her way, and came to a halt before she could crush the little boy. She let her knees give in and landed on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She turned her head behind her and relief flushed over her as she saw no one there.

"Kagome…?" Shippo called out, a lollipop stick hung from his mouth. She turned her head again to meet his worried stare. "Are you alright? Would you like some candy?" He asked, sticking his hand out to show small pieces of different colored candy. Some were hard, others looked soft and chewy. She couldn't help but smile at the adorable kid and picked a gummy candy from his hand. She popped it in her mouth and chewed on it, making Shippo grin. "It tastes good right? You feel better now, right?" He asked, eager to hear her answer. She simply nodded her head.

Kagome thought, long and hard as she stared at Shippo. Her head fell back and she burst out laughing. Her laugh was long and it held no real humor. "A dream!" She yelled. "This, everything, all a dream!" She yelled to the ceiling, a frown finding its way on Shippo's face as he became worried again. Kagome looked back at Shippo and pointed a finger at him. "You're not real! Who am I kidding, how can demons be real? Demons? Are you serious?" She laughed again and stood up from her spot, walking past Shippo. "How could I not see it before? I'm asleep. I've been asleep for a long time, that's it. None of this is real and I'll soon wake up. Maybe I'm in a coma. I'll wake up, I will! I'll wake up before I entered this ridiculous high school. Maybe I'll even wake up in dad's arms!" She grinned to herself, but her eyes showed no emotion. She skipped down the hall, her sanity finally breaking.

"Kagome," Miroku greeted when she turned the corner. "Inuyasha's looking for you… he said you ran off." Shippo jumped up on Kagome's shoulder and shook his head.

"Miroku, I don't think Kagome's feeling well…" Shippo told him, his lip pouting out. "She's screaming weird things." Miroku eyed Kagome, lifting a brow.

"Get off, get off." Kagome told Shippo, swiping him away. Shippo jumped off and landed next to Miroku, his eyes looking hurt. "You're not real." She told Miroku, shaking her head. "Nope, nope…" She mumbled to herself, swiftly passing him. Miroku seemed confused, and grew worried for Kagome's health. He walked beside her, Shippo atop his shoulder now.

"Kagome… Are you sure you're alright?"

~(^o^)~

"Did you find her?" Inuyasha asked, his voice rough. For once, he cursed living in such a huge house. There he stood at the end of the dining hall as he had sent out others to look for Kagome. He didn't mean to scare her, hell, he didn't even know she'd react that way.

"No…" Sango sighed, tying her hair up in to a high pony tail. She stared at Inuyasha for a couple of seconds before smacking his arm.

"The hell was that for?!" Inuyasha asked, rubbing the side of his arm in annoyance.

"How could you go and bring Kikyo here? Especially after what happened!" Sango scolded, placing both hands on her sides. Inuyasha looked ashamed, his head hung down in shame.

"It's just… Kikyo… She told me she wanted to make up with her sister, see? She told me… about everything that happened with Kagome when they were younger. It wasn't really her fault." Inuyasha sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Sango still didn't understand, but it looked like she didn't care. Her number one concern right then was Kagome.

"Doesn't matter." She told him, "It's too soon to bring her here, don't you realize that?!"

"Kikyo is my goddamn girlfriend! She didn't want to stay with her mother, do you hear me?!" Inuyasha yelled back trying to defend himself.

"Yeah, well Kagome is your best friend and she needs us right now. If you're not going to be there for her, then stick by Kikyo. But don't lead Kagome on in to thinking you care." She grumbled, stomping away from him. Inuyasha wanted to yell, he wanted to scream that yes, he did care, but what she had said was true. Although he cared, he was sticking by Kikyo right then, yet Kagome was the one seriously hurt. What an asshole he had been.

"Inuyasha! I found Kagome!" Miroku yelled, his hand gripping Kagome's arm and tugging her towards Inuyasha. She had the silliest grin on her face, and Inuyasha furrowed his brows, running up to her.

"Kagome, are you alright?" He asked, making Miroku let her go. He held her by her shoulders, looking in to her expressionless eyes.

"Dog ears…" She murmured, staring up at his ears. "White hair… Gold eyes…" She continued.

"Kagome?" His ears twitched, and he cocked his head in confusion. He looked over at Miroku for some type of explanation.

"She's sick, is my guessing." Miroku told him with a small shrug.

"She's been acting real strange when she came running towards me…" Shippo told Inuyasha, in to which he directed his attention back to Kagome.

"FOX FEET! DOG EARS!" Kagome yelled, shaking her head. "Definitely a dream!" She laughed again, but it was flat and fake.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shook her and for a moment, just by hearing his voice, Kagome seemed to regain her sanity. She stared up at him with scared eyes, biting on her lower lip.

"A dream…" She tried whispering to herself.

"Could you leave us alone?" Inuyasha asked Miroku and Shippo, mentally promising to take Kagome to the infirmary afterwards. The two left Inuyasha and Kagome to speak alone in private. "Kagome, I'm sorry. I'm so damn sorry." He told her, his arms wrapping around her fragile body and pulling her in to a hug.

"How is a half demon even possible? That's how I know this isn't reality." Was her simple response.

"Oi! Stop mumbling nonsense, alright?!" He scolded, pulling back from her with a scowl. She almost flinched at the sound of his voice, her attitude being turned on at his reply.

"Nonsense? Oh, I'm mumbling nonsense?" Now this was the Kagome with spark. This probably would've been how she normally reacted to his ignorance if she had a normal life. "Demons! Tell me! Does that even sound realistic? All of this! It's ridiculous!" She told him, clenching her jaw. "None of this," She pointed a finger at him, "You, aren't real!" Inuyasha's eyes grew wide. What had happened to Kagome? Couldn't she see this was very much reality? Sure, to any other outsider, demons may have seemed unreal—actually, there were only a few left in the world. But in their civilization, demons existed.

"Oh yes, I do suppose it sounds ridiculous." A voice jumped in behind Kagome. Inuyasha looked to see his older brother taking off his tie. "But how can you not believe what you see, human." He snarled, slightly offended at the fact that she didn't believe in demons. She thought the sound of them were ridiculous.

Kagome turned her head to see Sesshomaru there, and gave him a blank stare. "I'm dreaming, of course." She said, voice soft and light.

"Sesshomaru, stay out of it." Inuyasha growled at his brother, pulling Kagome protectively closer towards him.

"I couldn't help but overhear and comment, little brother. That woman herself is simply ridiculous." Sesshomaru stated, walking away from the two. Kagome stared at his retreating figure and then turned her eyes back on Inuyasha.

"Kagome, listen to me, please. I want to explain everything to you, alright?" He told her, his hands sliding down her arms to lock fingers with her. It was meant as a friendly gesture, but it made Kagome's heart race.

'Dream, dream, dream.' She kept telling herself, but it was harder to do so with Inuyasha staring right at her. Her face was heating up, and her eyes nervously fidgeted around, only locking on his for a couple of seconds before staring at something else again.

"Inuyasha." Kikyo's voice sounded from behind him. Damn, so many interruptions. Kagome tensed up, remembering the reason why she had run away.

'Dream, dream, dream, dream…' She repeated in her head over and over. It was hard to believe this wasn't her reality. When Inuyasha stepped aside for Kikyo to come in to view, Kagome took her hands away from Inuyasha and clutched them to her chest. Kikyo walked up to Kagome and wrapped her arms around her younger sister's neck.

"Kagome, I'm so happy you're alright!" Kikyo smiled, and suddenly an odd feeling came over Kagome. Kikyo was worried about her? She was positive Kikyo would be the first to be happy Kagome might've died. "I was so afraid…" Kikyo murmured shakily, and Kagome could feel warm drops of water on her shoulder. Kikyo was crying?

'No… This is definitely a dream…' Kagome knitted her brows together, trying to get the warm feeling she had to go away. It made her want to cuddle her big sister, because these had been one of the things she's always wanted. Two sides were fighting inside her. One was against Kikyo, the other, for her. 'Kikyo left you, she lied, she bullied you, she tried taking everyone away from you…' one side screamed while the other softly spoke 'It wasn't her fault, it was the way she was raised. You're still her sister.'

But it seemed the dark side was winning just then.

"Bitch, bitch, bitch!" Kagome yelled, pushing Kikyo to the floor. Inuyasha had caught her just in time and gave Kagome shocked eyes. She didn't look like the type to curse, nor did she look like one who'd succumb to physical violence. Kikyo looked hurt, the tears falling faster down her cheeks. "Leave me alone!" She screamed, her hand covering her ears. "All of you!"

With those last words, she sprinted away, looking for the nearest way out.

(;_;)

Kagome made it outside, rain had started now. It dripped down and made her hair damp. Her eyes were sore from crying. She was so confused on everything happening at the moment, and she hated it. She had nowhere to go. Her feet lead her any possible location she could find.

She made it to a park, and she could've sworn it was the same park she was injured in. She sat on a bench, her clothes soaked now. She shivered at the wind passing by, her body cold yet her soul feeling numb. What could she do now?

"Shouldn't you be home? You'll catch a cold there." A deep voice greeted, an umbrella suddenly covering her head. She looked up and the bad feeling she always caught came to her. It was Hotaru. She shriveled away, her body pressing against the bench. Hotaru laughed, a hand extending out to her.

"Come with me, I won't do anything to you." He told her, his voice a mystery to her. Why? Why did it have to be him out of all people? She would've been fine with Bankotsu or Koga, but it was Hotaru, the creepy kid. He gave off the same feeling she had around Naraku, and for some reason she could tell he wasn't good. She should've run away right then… But she didn't. Maybe it was her insanity- her sanity- her mind just not thinking.

Instead of running, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

~* Kagome, wait, STAHP! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of more drama and Kagome going insane with thinking this is all a dream (who knows, maybe it could be?) Sorry for the late update, eeeek , I don't know how many times I say that. Thank you for all of your reviews! ~ Also, I added songs to Chapter 11 and 12 and edited some mistakes but couldn't really edit the whole thing. Hopefully I'll get to it! Review! ~ (Sorry the chapter is short)