"Father, when will you come home? You were back for such a short time…"

"I will be back eventually, my son."

"Eventually passed a long time ago…"

"I know it did. I'm sorry."

"It's so dark… Did I die?"

"No, you're alive. For now."

"Mother? Why are you here? What do you want?"

"What do I want? What I've always wanted. To make you suffer. What else?"

"…"

"Remember this: where there is love, there is pain. Where there happiness, there is tragedy. Every pleasant thing in this world has something evil to accompany it. There is no escaping that."

"Darkness brings with it many memories, doesn't it?"

"Why does it matter, father?"

"Because though the darkness still haunts you, you must remember that there will always be a light in the world, and that light will never fade. As long as there is darkness, there is light."

"But there is some darkness too deep for even heaven's light to penetrate."

"What is the source of your light?"

"My light?"

"Yes. Think long and hard my son. Discovering your light is the first step."

"It should be easy to move on when life never stands still, but it's not. Why does everyone expect me move on so easily?"

"Because if you don't, the darkness will consume you. You will end up just like your mother."

"Like mother? Father, what do you mean? What happened to her?"

"Very much the same thing that's happened to you. But do you know why it's better for you?"

"Better? I've been tortured and beaten for almost as long as I can remember, I've been locked up in a dungeon, nearly killed on a daily basis, hunted down, and you think that's better?"

"I do. And do you know why?"

"…"

"Because you've been saved."

"Words are just that: words. They're empty and meaningless. They mean nothing. No matter how hard we try to make them mean something, they're still just words."

"But words can make all the difference."

"Kagome?"

"Do you remember all the songs you wrote? You expressed so much sadness and pain… But there was also so much hope in your words. So much strength. If words were empty, I don't think they could ever be that deep."

"…"

"It's not the words themselves that are empty. Often it's the meaning behind them that's empty. But if we use our words the right way, they can mean everything in the world."

"Hope has always been out of my reach. Like a light at the end of the darkest tunnel that I could never reach no matter how far I ran. In the end, I gave it up because I wanted it to much. Hope was something I could never posses."

"But even if it's far away, you need to keep running. Even if you get tired, don't stop. You need to stay hopeful. Things will get better in time. We just need to take it one step at a time."

"But Kagome, every time something good finally happens, something worse always happens and ruins it. How can I stay hopeful when that always happens?"

"Hope is always something you can count on. It's as certain as the fact that sun will rise up in the sky tomorrow, and everyday afterward. Just keep a hold of it, and never let go."

Suddenly, he found himself waking up from his strange dreams. He blinked slowly, not quite sure where he was. He immediately realized how awful he felt, but he did his best to ignore that for now. Instead, he slowly turned his head to the left and looked over. When his vision finally cleared, he saw someone sitting there at a desk.

"Kagome…?" he said in a softer than usual voice.

Her eyes widened, and she slowly turned around.

"Oh my god…" she said. "You're awake!"

She quickly ran over to him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. He didn't really hug back, but he made no move to make her stop. He actually kind of liked how cool she felt… Suddenly she looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" she said, frowning at him.

As soon as he saw her frown, his heart sank, and he grew upset. Why was she mad at him? Much to his relief, the frown didn't stay though, and her face slowly softened into a smile. The tears were still running down her face, and he silently questioned why. He was pulled from his wondering however, when he heard her voice.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" she asked.

"My head hurts…" he said quietly.

And it was true. His head was pounding, and every little noise he heard or movement he made it hurt even worse.

"That's to be expected with a fever like yours."

"Fever…?"

"Yeah. You're very sick right now. You collapsed in the park, remember?"

"Sort of…"

She smiled softly at him, causing his heart to skip.

"Wait here, and I'll go get you something for your headache. Do not try to get up." she said firmly. "I mean it." she added more gently.

He gave a slow nod and closed his eyes lightly. A moment later, she came back up with a couple pills and a glass of water. He heard her coming and opened his eyes again. When he saw the water, he looked at it thoughtfully. Not giving him time to really wonder about it, she handed him the pills and he hesitantly put them in his mouth. She gently lifted his head and brought the glass up to his lips, allowing him to drink slowly. He broke off coughing after a couple sips, but she made him drink a little more. After that, she let him lay back down and he slowly drifted back off to sleep.