Story: InuYasha: InuYasha x Kagome - Feudal Romance
Author: Nocturne & Aoi
Written: February 21, 2020
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
Disclaimer: We do not own InuYasha, but we do own the circumstance of two lovers.

Chapter 1

Smoke filled the air, choking me. I had to get to her. I had to save her. She was going to burn if I didn't. I ran towards the source of the smoke, a burning temple. I knew she was still inside. She hadn't been in any condition to move on her own. Just as I went to throw myself into the flames to save her, a sharp pain went across my back. My enemies were still behind me, trying to slow me down. I needed to ignore them. She was the only one that mattered. Yet with this new pain in my back, it hindered my progression into the burning temple. I struggled against the smoke and falling timber to reach her. I found her in a room, fire rampaging on the walls. It was sucking all the oxygen out of the room. I couldn't breathe. I knelt next to her and looked down at her. Her beautiful face, usually so rosy and full of laughter was lifeless and pale. I pulled her up and put my hand to her face. She wasn't breathing.

"Kagome?!" I coughed, shaking her slightly.

"Kagome! Hey wake up for me!" Laughter sounded next to me.

"She is dead Inuyasha! You were too late!"

I looked over and saw Naraku standing there, his face full of delight.

"She is dead and it is all your fault!"

I looked back down at Kagome's face and felt an anger so intense rise up in me.

"NO KAGOME!" I screamed. I pulled her closer to me and felt the tears start to stream down my face.

"No I can't have lost you! I need you don't you remember that?! Please don't leave me!"

"Inuyasha!"

I woke up with a start. Kagome's face was staring down at me, concern in her eyes with a slight twinge of annoyance.

"What?" I demanded. She sighed, relief replacing the concern.

"I think you were having a nightmare," she said.

I snorted and sat up.

"Pfft, I don't have nightmares. What do I have to be scared of?" I picked up Tetsusaiga and stood.

"Naraku is dead and the Shikon Jewel is destroyed. I have nothing to be afraid of."

Kagome sighed again and stood up. "It's ok to have nightmares you know. They remind you of what you have."

"I didn't have a nightmare OK?!" I growled, turning to her. Her face was saddened by the tone in my voice I could tell but there was no way I was going to let her know that the idea that I had almost lost her so many times plagued me occasionally. I knew that I had hurt her though because she dropped the subject and started putting on her priestess robes.

"Hey," I said, my voice gentle. "I am sorry. I just don't want to talk about it OK?" She nodded and reached down and picked up her bows and arrows.

"I will drop it," she said, walking over to me. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her in, kissing her.

"Where are you off to today?" I asked her. She smiled and said, "You already forgot didn't you?"

"Forgot what?" I asked as she pulled away and pulled open the straw mat across the door. Light poured in from the morning sunrise, illuminating her face. Her cheeks were rosy now. Not like that time I had just dreamed about. Panic shot through me as I was forced to remember how close I had been to losing her.

"I am going to get some more supplies from Jinenji. I used the last of my herbs on helping Sango and Miroku out with the cold that the girls had." She smiled at me. "What are you doing today?" I quelled the fear that was building up inside me and placed Tetsusaiga in my belt.

"Miroku needs help exorcising a demon. I say exorcising but it is more like conning someone else out of something," I grumbled.

"Ah but you are going with him in case this is a real demon huh?" she said brightly.

"Bingo. I have heard rumors that a demon has been causing panic at nearby villages lately." I followed her outside into the morning air. "Somebody has to keep that monk out of trouble."

"Alright well I should be back in time for dinner."

"Hey isn't someone going to go with you?" I asked.

"Everyone is busy. Sango has her hands full with the twins and the new baby. Kaede and Rin are in a neighboring village trying to help with some sickness over there. Don't worry Inuyasha. I have my bow and arrows with me. I know the path pretty well. And I am going to go over to Sango's and grab Kirara. That way I will not be until tomorrow and I have some added protection." She smiled again and reached up and kissed me on the cheek. "I will see you tonight Inuyasha."

"Ok. Just be careful," I said, rubbing her head. She nodded and walked off toward Sango's and Miroku's. I didn't like the idea of her going off by herself but it was daytime and she was going to have Kirara with her. Besides after the destruction of Naraku and the Shikon Jewel, demons weren't seen as much in the surrounding area.

"They probably know of Kagome's spiritual power and don't really want to mess with her," I thought as I made my way to the outskirts of town. Miroku would be another hour or so. Mornings didn't suit him very well. Especially with the sleepless nights he was getting from the kids. I jumped up in a tree and settled myself into a comfortable position. Might as well get a nap in while waiting. That dream had given me a restless spirit...

I felt something hard hit my foot. Startled, I sat up and forgot I was on a tree branch. I tried to regain my balance but fell out of the tree and landed on my stomach.

"Ouch," I groaned.

"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings Inuyasha," a voice said from above me.

"Normally I do monk but today I decided I needed a nap," I growled jumping up and brushing the dirt off of my robe. I turned to see Miroku leaning against his staff, sleeping standing up. I sighed and said, "Did the baby keep you up last night?" He snored in response. "Hey listen when I am talking to you Miroku!" I slapped him on the back and watched as he fell flat on his face.

"Inuyasha! Why would you push me?" he demanded sitting up and glaring at me.

"Hey you knocked me out of the tree. I was only trying to talk to you and here you are standing up sleeping like you didn't get any sleep last night."

Miroku yawned and said, "I didn't. The twins had nightmares and the baby kept crying and crying. Sango is still asleep right now. We have a neighbor watching the kids."

"Well let's get going and try to finish this exorcising business," I said, offering Miroku my hand. He nodded and grabbed my hand, standing up and brushing dirt off his clothes. "Where is this house anyway?" I asked as we started heading out of the village.

"It is just a little ways away. They live outside the village and sometimes they come into the village to trade vegetables for supplies and such. They came to Kaede for help with this demon problem they have been having lately but when the sickness came up and she had to leave with Rin, she asked that I help out."

"Uh huh for a price I am sure," I muttered.

"Well naturally," Miroku said, a smile on his face. "I have a growing family to feed. I need compensation for exorcisms."

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. "Did you see Kagome this morning?" I asked.

"Yes she did stop by early this morning and took Kiarra with her. She said something about seeing Jinenji and needed to borrow Kiarra for the journey," Miroku said, yawning. "I remember mumbling something about certainly and then she left with Kiarra." I saw him turn to me. "She also mentioned something about you having nightmares last night?"

I scowled. "She doesn't need to be telling everyone my business!"

"She is just worried about you Inuyasha. She mentioned you haven't been yourself lately. She said all you do is sleep whenever you get the chance and that every time you do, you seem to be moaning and tossing and turning. What is plaguing you?"

"None of your damn business monk!" I shouted.

"Inuyasha stop this foolishness. We have all been through so much together. I know when you are lying and Kagome certainly knows when you are hurting." Miroku's face was full of concern. "Kagome looked so sad this morning as she talked about you. What are you hiding from her?"

I sighed and looked up into the sky. It was the brightest blue, not a cloud in the sky. "It has been almost four years since we defeated Naraku. And not once in those four years had I ever had a nightmare. Kagome being back with me cured me of any nightmares that I may have had in the past." I looked over at Miroku. "But recently I keep dreaming about different times in the past. That time I almost lost you all to the fire and poison and then when we were trapped in the Shikon Jewel. Each time I dream about her death or her being lost to me forever."

Miroku nodded as if he understood. "I too have nightmares sometimes Inuyasha. I look at Sango and our wonderful children and think what if she had died that time?" He looked down at his hand where the wind tunnel use to be. "Or what if I had died due to the wind tunnel that was I cursed with?" He looked back up at me. "It is okay to think back to those times. Those times that we almost lost the one we love remind us to cherish what we have now and value it more."

"That is what Kagome said this morning," I whispered.

"Then she is a wise one indeed," Miroku said. "Oh we are here."

I looked up ahead and saw a small hut with a garden off to the side. The hut was shaded in trees and a small drift of smoke rose up from the opening in the hut.

"Monk! You have arrived!" a male's voice came from the doorway to the hut.

"Yes we have my good man. May I presume that you are the one who called for an exorcism?" Miroku asked as we stopped in front of the hut.

The man nodded. "Yes. But we were surprised when Lady Kaede sent word that she would be sending a monk in her place. We had been expecting Lady Kaede and that other young priestess Lady Kagome."

Miroku nodded his head. "I understand. However both Lady Kaede and Lady Kagome were unfortunately busy. I can assure you though, my services are just as exceptional as theirs."

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Sure it is."

Miroku jabbed me in side with his elbow and continued to smile at the man. "So what seems to be the issue?"

"Well my wife and I have both been having strange dreams lately. See we lost our son in the war a few years back and those we both still miss him greatly, we have learned to move on." The man started wringing his hands together. "However lately our nightmares have been full of his grisly death. Though we did not see him die, our minds imagine the worst death possible and present it to us nightly."

Miroku nodded. "Do you believe that your son is possible trying to talk to you somehow?" he asked.

The man shook his head. "No we were told by our son's friends that he died an honorable death and he went with no regrets. We feel we are at peace with our son's spirit."

"Well have no worries. We are going to look around and see if we can sense a demon's presence. May we be excused?"

The man's face seemed relieved. "By all means go right on ahead and see if you can find the demon responsible for this. My wife is in the hut now preparing a meal for you. I will be inside helping her if you need anything." Miroku bowed to the man and we watched as the man walked back inside to the hut.

"Do you sense anything Inuyasha?" Miroku asked as we started walking toward the garden.

"No. And I don't smell any demons nearby either. Do you think it is a spirit?"

Miroku sighed, "I am not sure. And I fear that we won't be able to find out until tonight. That is when these nice people seem to be so troubled."

"So that means we are staying the night?" I asked.

"Yes I believe so. Hmmm..." Miroku walked over to the tree that was at the outskirts of the garden.

"What is it Miroku?" I asked as I followed after him.

"I am not sure but it seems that I can almost sense something...an evil presence but..."

A cold wind blew across the garden and just for a second my nose twitched and I could smell demon. "Miroku there is..." I started to say but images flooded my brain. Shippo being torn apart. Miroku vanishing into a black abyss. Sango being eaten alive by a demon. And Kagome. Screaming in agony as Sesshomaru ripped into her flesh with his claws. I heard a scream and felt myself fall to my knees .

"Inuyasha?!" Miroku was at my side and he touched my shoulder. In an instant, the images stopped and the cold wind went away. A pain shot through my head and for a minute my vision blurred. "Inuyasha?! What happened?" Miroku asked, his voice full of concern.

"I don't know..."I mumbled. "I smelled demon and then..."

"What?" Miroku asked.

"It's nothing," I said, standing up. "Let's just catch this demon."

"So it is a demon we are facing," Miroku asked.

"Yes I could smell it but just for an instant. I think this demon can mask its scent somehow," I growled.

"Do you smell it now?" I searched the air for a scent but could only find the smell of trees and vegetables.

"No. It has apparently gone back into hiding. Damn!"

Miroku looked over at me. "Inuyasha what exactly happened? You went stiff for a few seconds, then screamed. Were you possessed?"

I scowled. "No. Just..." I looked over at the hut. "What the old man said about seeing your fears relived. This demon shows you your nightmares."

Miroku was quiet for a moment. "Well let us eat and then I will hurry back to let Sango know we are staying the night. It is such a short distance that I should be back in time to help you with the demon."

"When you go, will you check on Kagome for me?" I asked him as we walked up to the hut. "Just let her know I will be home early in the morning?"

Miroku nodded. "Absolutely."

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