Author's Notes: What? You thought it would be over just like that? Nope. No where near done. At least, that's my intention. O_o;; Sorry I took forever to get this one out. X_x Holidays got my way. OoO. It's my birthday next Friday! :D:D The fourth. Happy birthday to me..-drags Fluffy and Kouga off by their tails, Miroku panting and drooling and nosebleeding happily at her side- =n___n=

I still don't own Inuyasha. And I still own my imagination.

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Next up we have the alphebetized Japanese list of words I've used, so if you don't know a particular word, here's the place to look. n_n It will change from chapter to chapter, though. A word repeated in another chapter will still be included. -noddles-

Demo - But
Hiraikotsu - " Come Flying-skill", the name of Sango's giant boomerang
Inukkoro - Dog-turd (Or something along those lines)
Iya - No
Ke - Feh
Mou - Word of exasperation, something like "Ugh"
Naze - Why?
Oneesama - Older Sister

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Shattered Eternity
Chapter Three
Haunted Dreams

She screamed. A rough and calloused hand smacked her hard across the face. "Be quiet, bitch!" The same hands gripped her shoulders and threw her to the ground. She screamed again, desperate to get the men away from her. In response, she was kicked, hard. Winded, she fell silent, gasping for breath. The men took this oppurtunity to rip off her clothing, reaching, touching, and penetrating her.

~~

Kagome shook from the memory. She clutched the blanket desperatly. They're dead, they're dead, Kagome told herself forcefully. Inuyasha killed them. They can't get you anymore. But..why doesn't the fear go away...?

Kagome breathed heavily, heartbeat increasing when she remember what Inuyasha had said, what he had done.

"I found them," was the simple response. Kagome's eyes were wide with fear, remembering her rape, and desperatly wishing the thought would disappear from her mind. "I killed them."

"Naze?" she demanded, not the reply he was expecting. "Why did you do that?"

For the first time, he looked her in the eye. His brilliant amber eyes were full of concern, the desire to protect her, and as Kagome looked further into the endless amber pools, she found love below the surface of his gaze. "Because they hurt you! They get what they deserved!"

She turned away as the tears fell from her eyes. "I don't deserve your kindness." Suddenly, Kagome found herself being held gently from behind. His cheek rested on her damp hair, arms encircling her gently from firmly.

"Why don't you let me protect you?" he whispered in her ear. One gently hand rose to her face and wiped the tears away. She turned to face him, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "That smile suits you better..." He moved his face face closer to hers and were nearly touching...

Inuyasha wasn't usually so forward. He had only hugged her once*, and that was when he had told her to leave and never come back. But this was different. In that embrace, Inuyasha had been trying to convey the emotion that because of their quest, and the dangers that came with it, she shouldn't be exposed to it. But that was ages ago, it felt like eons. This hug was different. His desire to protect her, his concern for her condition, his undying love, yes love, were expressed with hesitation.

Kagome sobbed until exhaustion took such a complete hold over her, she fell into a deep sleep, and dreamed.

~~

"Inuyasha..naze.." Kagome's lip quivered. "Why do you care about me so much?"

"Why?" Inuyasha blinked. "Because you're you. Because I..because I love you..."

"Demo...what about Kikyou..?"

Inuyasha looked her in the face. "It's true I love her," he said quietly. A sharp jolt of pain hit Kagome's heart. "But I still love you. With Kikyou it's different."

"But aren't we the same?"

"Iya..it's impossible to put into words. You smell different..you're gentler. You are you, no one else." He drew her in for a tender, lingering kiss. Kagome was floating. Inuyasha loves me. He loves me!

And suddenly, everything shattered. Inuyasha pinned her to the ground, sneering at her lecherously. His face melted into that of one of the men. Kagome screamed. Not again..not again! He shook her, his face above hers..

~~

Kagome awoke in a cold sweat. Inuyasha was shaking her shoulders, standing over her. "Kagome?" Sango, Shippou, Miroku, and Kaede was by either side of her. When she saw his face, Kagome pulled herself away, shaking. Inuyasha backed away, wondering if he'd somehow hurt her. "Kagome.." he repeated.

Kagome widened her eyes. "Dream.." she whispered. "It was just a dream.."

Kagome sighed. "Mou, I wish it would go away..."

"Hn? Nani?" Miroku asked.

"I keep having this dream," Kagome answered. "I can't remember the details..all I know is that someone close to me is hurting me." Her voice softened to a quiet whisper through the second half of her recollection.

"Inuyasha," Shippou whispered, nudging him. "Are you ever going to move?"

Inuyasha sweatdropped, realizing he was still standing over her. He jumped to the side, sitting with a defiant, yet embarrassed, look on his face. "Ke!"

"Kagome needs her rest," Kaede said after a long, awkward silence. Once she ushered the others out, she turned to Kagome. "Kagome, are you ready to talk about it?"

Kagome looked down, her eyes hidden behind a curtain of black hair. After a long silence, Kaede turned to leave. "Wait..!" Kagome choked out. "It hurts my heart..I want it's pain gone..Maybe talking will..."

Kaede sat across from Kagome. "Tell be whatever you feel needs to be said. If you don't want to tell something, don't say it."

"I don't remember it..very clearly.." Kagome whispered. "It was dark. Inuyasha was a human. I guess it was nearly dawn. Two men came and kidnapped me. I guess I looked helpless. Sango had her hiraikotsu and Kirara to protect her..and all I had near me was a baby kitsune. I didn't know what they were going to do at first. Maybe they were youkai after the Shikon no Tama, or new detachments of Naraku sent to kidnap me and lure Inuyasha into a trap or something...Then they said I had a strange appearance, and that foreign women tasted good, and they were going to see for themselves...I remember trying to get away from them, but they were strong. Big muscles. And they smelled terrible. They'd been drinking, I guess. They absolutely reeked of alcohol. And they tore my uniform off, not unbuttoning it or anything..just ripped it off like it was paper..and..and.." Kagome buried her face in her hands. "I remember it hurt. And then Inuyasha came. I guess he heard me scream. I could hear him yelling some battle cry, and I guess they heard it too and took off.

"And I keep dreaming about it," she cried. "And when I'm not..." Kagome looked down at her hands clenching her blanket until her knuckles were white. "I have this other repetative dream."

"The one you had before?"

Kagome nodded. "Except..I lied. I do remember it. Every detail. Inuyasha..he's telling me he loves me. He kisses me and then..he.." Tears running freely down Kagome's cheeks, her eyes squeezed shut, as if trying to blot out the memory of the dream. "He pins me down and his face turns into one of the men. But it's still him at the same time and he..he..." Kagome started sobbing quietly, and couldn't continue. "I love him but.."

"Inuyasha is still in love with Kikyou-Oneesama," Kaede finished for her. Once Kagome's sobs ceased, Kaede spoke again. "Inuyasha loves you too." Kagome head snapped up, eyes red from crying. "But he's torn by choosing. He loves both of you dearly, but he's stuck because of a promise he made to Kikyou-Oneesama. Don't worry about it. Inuyasha isn't as stupid as he seems. He knows how you feel, and someday his heart will choose its path." Kagome let that sink in while Kaede got up. "You must rest."

Kagome was left alone with her thoughts. She'd never felt this way about a boy before. Not about Houjou-kun, and certainly not about Kouga-kun. Inuyasha...what am I supposed to do?

~~

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called to him, smiling. She was sitting in a field, surrounded by waving grass and beautiful wildflowers. He tried to walk over to her, but his legs were frozen. "Inuyasha?" Kagome smile turned into a puzzled frown. "Why are you just standing there? Inuyasha? Inuya-" a hand clamped over her mouth. A nasty sneer appeared behind her, and it formed into a familiar face, Naraku.

"Kagome! Run!" Inuyasha tried to shout, but his mouth made no sounds. He watched as Naraku stabbed shoulder with his dagger-tip claws. Kagome sobbed for him to help her, but Inuyasha couldn't move.

"Are you just going to watch!?!" she screamed at him. "Watch me die!?!"

Inuyahsa tried with all his might to move, but he couldonly watch as the woman he loved was beaten and battered by Naraku. When he left, she was breathing with much difficulty. Her eyes bore into his, pleading for him to move an help her. Finally her eyes slid shut, and she stopped breathing.

"KAGOMEE~~~!" Whatever was holding him paralyzed let him go, and Inuyasha fell to his knees. He suddenly found himself in a dark room, with the spotlight on him. The vague figures of Sesshoumaru, Naraku, Kikyou, Kaede, Shippou, Miroku, Sango, and Kouga stood around him.

"You finally let that bitch die."

"Such a fool...you actually let me do it again."

"She's finally out of the way..."

"Inuyasha, you are a fool. How could you have let it happen again?"

"YOU JUST SAT AND WATCHED HER DIE!"

"I cannot believe you'd let something like this happen..."

"I thought I was terrible for letting Kohaku die..but you're the worst."

"I'll never forgive you for letting my woman die, inukkoro!"

Inuyasha's hands were at his face, golden ears peering out between his clawed fingers. Their voices taunted him, a myriad of harsh, accusing words all around him. How could I let this happen...again...Ka..go..me...

~~

Inuyasha woke with a start. He was in his tree, of all places. He would much rather be guarding Kagome at her door, but something told him he should let Kagome be alone with Kaede, without him listening. From his lack of sleep in the past few days, Inuyasha fell instantly asleep once he settled into a comfortable position in the familiar tree.

Now awake, Inuyasha knew it was senseless to try and get back to sleep. Besides, the dream was unsettling. What could it be telling him? Was Kagome in danger? Inuyasha jerked up at the thought. He leapt silently from his tree, creeping into Kaede's home. Very quietly, he slid open the door to her room. Her bed was empty. Fear gripped Inuyasha's heart as he raced, much less quietly, out the door, trying to catch wind of Kagome's scent. He followed it to the pond where he'd found her days before. His eyes widened at the sight of her, but not at her nakedness.

She was running a small switchblade in little lines across her shoulders and upper arms, thin bloody tracks hounding after the touch of the blade.

"Kagome...?"

She spun around, eyes wide in shock and horror. "Inu...yasha?"

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*=I know the manga varies greatly from the anime, and what I've heard, the anime takes away much Kagome+Inuyasha fluff. And since I haven't read much of the manga, I don't know if he actually has hugged after chapter 64/episode 19. So don't drill me on that one. :P

Wahh..I like cliffies, don't you? n___n You may think Kagome's a little OOC, particularly in the end (and in more chapters to come) and I feel the need to explain it.

Rape can be extremely tramautic on the one whom it happened to, even if it was someone as strong-hearted as Kagome. I myself have never been raped, but we studied it (and it's effects) in my Health class very in depth, and I have a couple close friends who have been raped and was there to help them get over it. It can cause the victim to cut themselves, commit suicide, etc.etc. Though I won't be having Kagome try to kill herself, she's a bit stronger than that. :/ If you've seen Fushigi Yuugi, you remember when Miaka thought she was raped and went through trying to scrub herself clean to no end and end up running away from her love? And do you remember how strong she is? Yeah. Took a lot to get her over that. (No, I won't mention Yui. She's mentally unstable and incomparable to Kagome. /)

Hope you enjoyed your health lesson. :P