Disclaimer: Nope. Not now, not ever.

[Authors note] Aack!! I'm all freaked out now... so many reviews!! Well, I hope you um, enjoy this chappie. This is going to be a kinda short story, so those of you who wanted it to be to the point will get your wish.

...but not this chapter...

Previous chapter:

They reached the house and entered it, ready to put their newfound powers to use.

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Chapter 2

Sometimes when people are around each other for a long time, they just don't have anything to say. That seemed to be the situation as Kagome prepared the ramen for the group. They all sat in silence, until the food was ready. Shippou wanted to squeal out of happiness that the food was finally ready, but wasn't sure he should, because everyone was being so quiet. Sango and Kagome shared glances, and decided to begin to try their hands at mind reading.

Kagome looked at Inu Yasha. He was not slurping the ramen down as quickly as usual. In fact, after each slurp of noodles, he would stare off pensively into the void.

'What is he thinking, I wonder?' she thought, and began to probe his mind. What she found were not cohesive thoughts, as she expected. No, in fact, it was a vivid picture of a battle scene. It was almost like watching a movie. Everyone was fighting: Sango was attacking Naraku's poisonous insects while Miroku was fending off bloodthirsty wolves. Shippou was on Kagome's shoulder and she had an arrow pointed at Naraku. The eyes through which the scene was portrayed moved downwards to a pair of clawed hands, and Kagome realized that she was seeing the battle through Inu Yasha's eyes. There was the Tetsusaiga, and as she looked up, there was the wind scar. Inu Yasha's glance went back to Kagome, to make sure she was alright. As Kagome watched, she felt Inu Yasha's enormous emotion and concern for her safety.

Sango watched as Kagome fell into what seemed like a trance, and decided that she would see what this mind-probing thing was like. She looked over at Miroku, who was calmly sipping his tea. She stared hard at him, wondering what she needed to do to be able to read his mind. Suddenly, all was black around her. She could see nothing, and hear nothing. But she felt an overwhelming anxiety over Naraku and an urgency to find and vanquish him.

Inu Yasha was the one to break the silence. As he broke away from his thoughts, Kagome broke away as well. Inu Yasha's gaze volleyed between the girls. "Why are you two so quiet? Usually you're the ones who won't shut up," Kagome and Sango instantly looked at each other.

"Um, we don't… have… anything to say?" Kagome offered.

"Feh, I find that hard to believe,"

"I agree." Miroku chimed in, resting his teacup and saucer on his leg. "You two are usually the talkative ones. Did something happen to you in the forest?"

"N-no, of course not. We just got firewood. Just firewood, and came right back." Sango replied. 'Kagome, we've got to get out of here,'

'Right!' "Uh, well, you know, um, I've got to go… use… the restroom. Be right back!" Kagome said, and abruptly jumped up and speed walked out the door.

"I'll uh, go make sure you don't get attacked!" Sango said, and followed quickly after her. Miroku and Inu Yasha stared open mouthed. Shippou continued to chow down on his bowl of ramen.

"Well, that was…" Inu Yasha began.

"Abrupt?" Miroku finished Inu Yasha's sentence.

"Yeah," he said, still a little confused at what exactly just happened.

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"Phew, that was close," Sango panted. The girls had run all the way to the opposite side of the village. They hadn't meant to run so far, but they were pumped so full of adrenaline that they didn't realize how far exactly they were running.

"Yeah, seriously," Kagome huffed. "So," she began with a smile, "did you try mind reading on Miroku?"

"Yeah. Did you try it on Inu Yasha?"

"Yeah. What did you find out?"

"It was strange. I didn't hear thoughts, like I expected. Instead, I felt intense emotions. But it wasn't what I was looking for. I want to find out more."

"I know what you mean," Kagome agreed. They remained silent for awhile longer, catching their breath. "I've got it!" Kagome seemed to shout at the top of her lungs. Sango just about had a heart attack.

"Ai! Don't scare me like that, Kagome!" Sango patted her chest, hoping to calm her heart down from the surprising outburst.

"Sorry," Kagome waved at Sango. "But I just had an awesome idea! If it actually works, we can probably find out whatever we want."

"What are you talking about? How?" Sango was all ears.

"I once read about something called a 'dreamscape.' It was fiction, of course, but I wonder if there may be some truth to it."

"Dreamscape?" Kagome nodded, and began to explain.

***

"It sounds like fun, if it works," Sango told Kagome when she was finished explaining her idea.

"Yeah. I just hope it does. I'm not exactly sure how it all works, but I think that we'll be able to fly it by the seat of our pants."

"Hm." Sango nodded in agreement. "We should probably get back to camp. Miroku and Inu Yasha are bound to come looking for us if we don't come in soon. It's already dark." Sango was right. The sun had fully set, and all they had to see by was the light from the stars and moon.

It wasn't long after their return that the gang proceeded to fall asleep. It was no surprise; they were all tired from their long journey that day.