Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Sorry if there was any confusion... pfft...

[Author's Note] hehehe... oh my goodness, sorry you guys. I didn't realize the last chapter was so short! All your reviews made me realize that I could have done so many other things with the storyline... I just hope you are all satisfied with where I am taking it.. I got like, a billion reviews for the first chapter and none for the second, so I'm a little bit worried. Anyway, please let me know what you think!

Well, here is where the story finally begins. And okay, now, there may be some OOC-ness, but its only because we're dealing with dreams, which is where everyone acts a bit more openly, because they don't feel like they need to hide behind façades. Anyway, that's my excuse. Well, this is a little bit longer than my last two, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

Previous chapter:

All are asleep, and Kagome and Sango are ready to investigate the "dreamscape" idea.

Chapter 3

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Kagome looked around, hopeful that her idea would work. She called it "dream-wandering," where a person can go in and out of other people's dreams. She remembered reading a short story about it, and hoped that there would be some truth to it. She was pleasantly surprised. She found herself in a corridor lined on both sides with Japanese sliding doors. As she passed each one, she saw that there were names corresponding to each entrance. She read each name carefully, lest she pass Inu Yasha's entrance. After about five minutes of walking down the seemingly endless hall, she found his door. She took a deep breath, and slowly slid the door to reveal the dreamscape.

Sure enough, it looked like a dreamscape Inu Yasha would have. She found herself in Kaede's village, and could see the shrine and the Goshinboku tree from where she stood. She was behind some bushes, and instinctively ducked down a bit when she heard someone coming.

"Finally, a way for me to become all demon at last," came a familiar voice. It was Inu Yasha. Kagome watched as he flew through the air away from the shrine. Just as he landed in front of the Goshinboku tree, Kagome heard someone else.

"Inu Yasha!" she heard the whiz of an arrow cut through the air, and thud into Inu Yasha's chest. He slammed into the tree, dumbfounded.

"Ka-Kagome? No, it's- it's Kikyou!" Inu Yasha said to himself. Kagome stared in horror at the scene laid before her. Inu Yasha dreamt of his betrayal?

'Even though he looks so peaceful on the outside when he sleeps, it seems as though he can never be fully at peace. Not even in his dreams,' Kagome thought. She snapped back to reality- err, dream reality when she realized that nothing else was going to happen in the dream, and that Inu Yasha was due to wake up. 'Not now, you don't! I haven't found out what I want to yet!' and with that, Kagome jumped out of the bushes and ran toward Inu Yasha in an attempt to free him from Kikyou's sealing arrow. "Inu Yasha! Hold on! I'm coming!!"

"Kagome? What are you doing here?" Inu Yasha sounded as though he had this dream many times before, and in none of them had Kagome ever come to his rescue.

"I'm here to help you," she told him hurriedly as she made an effort to remove the arrow. He simply stared at her, dumbfounded. She smiled, but watched his eyes quickly move to something behind her. Kagome knew what was about to happen, and braced herself for the impact. She felt smooth, cool wood swing around her neck and pull her back. It was Kikyou's bow.

"Girl! Keep out of this! You don't know what is taking place here!"

"I know enough," Kagome choked. "Kikyou, Inu Yasha isn't your enemy!" But Kikyou wouldn't listen. She jumped on Kagome's back in an effort to pull her away from Inu Yasha. "Kikyou-?" was all she could manage to eke out before she toppled over backwards on top of her. Inu Yasha, unable to move because of Kikyou's sealing spell, watched silently, mouth agape. He wasn't quite sure whom he should root for. Kikyou released her choke-hold, and pushed Kagome off of her. In a matter of seconds, they were both on their feet, resuming the battle. Inu Yasha watched as they fought; Kikyou swinging her bow at Kagome, and Kagome trying to avoid her attacks while at the same time leading her away from Inu Yasha.

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Sango was in complete darkness.

"Wha- where am I? Kagome?" As if to answer her first question, a dim light began to grow to reveal her location. A long corridor appeared before her, with doors on either side. She slowly began to advance down the hallway, taking note of painted names beside each entrance. Sango looked for "Miroku." She finally came upon one door whose paper slats emanated more light than the others. She looked at the name. It was Miroku's dreamscape. Sango stopped before the door, and slid it open.

The door opened to reveal a beautiful garden belonging to a small cottage. She stepped through, and turned around to close the door. She gasped as the door, now closed, began to fade away, replaced by a wall of the cottage. She gathered her wits, and turned back around to face the garden. She began to walk along a pathway that lead through the elaborate vegetation, and realized that she was no longer wearing her usual pink and green kimono. Instead, she wore a white silk kimono with lavender trim. Her hair was also hanging freely around her face and shoulders. Sango shrugged, glad that it wasn't anything more revealing, considering whose dreamscape it was.

She continued along the path until she came to a clearing. There she saw a large field of wildflowers in the distance, and on the outskirts of the garden, several flowerbeds. She stepped forward, and stopped. There he was. Miroku. His back was to her, and he was kneeling down, tending some flowers. Sango smiled as she heard him hum a pleasant tune. She watched him as he dealt tenderly with the plant, and noticed that something was a little off. The rosary around his right hand was missing. His air rip was gone. She shifted her weight slightly, and as she did so, her kimono brushed the long tresses of a nearby fern. Miroku heard the sound, and turned to face her.

It was almost as if he was in slow motion for Sango. Her eyes moved from his right hand, which she had been staring at intently, up his toned arm, over his muscular shoulder, to his dazzling smile. Sango had never seen him smile that way before. It wasn't his usual hentai smile. He seemed to have lost all of his cares and worries, and was genuinely happy. She realized she was staring, and tried to speak.

"H-houshi-sama?" she asked.

"Sango!" he exclaimed happily. Miroku was up from the ground in a second, and standing before her. "Wow, you look exceptionally beautiful!" Sango looked at him quizzically and then at herself. She began to blush. This was the first time Miroku had ever complimented her in a non-hentai way.

"Uh-"

"Oh, here, these are for you," Miroku handed her some flowers that he had gathered from the beds he was just tending.

"Thank… you…" she said, unsure of what else she could respond with. She decided to simply remain silent.

"I'm so happy you have decided to stay here with me," he began. "After Naraku was defeated, I was worried I'd never have a chance to see you again."

"Miroku," she stammered, "what's going on?"

"What do you mean, Sango?" he asked, concern showing in his dark eyes.

"I mean, why aren't you being…" she remembered that it was only a dream, and continued, "…your normal hentai self?" Miroku laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. Sango glared at him, waiting for a response. He realized he wasn't going to get out of this situation without an answer, and his hand dropped to his side. Looking toward the field, Miroku hastily grasped Sango's right hand in his left, and began to drag her quickly in that direction.

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Kagome had managed to lead Kikyou away from Inu Yasha, and they were now headed towards the village river. Soon, they were almost out of Inu Yasha's pained gaze. Kagome was relieved, but Kikyou hadn't noticed the distance she and Kagome had made between themselves and Inu Yasha.

"Stay out of things you don't understand!" Kikyou raised her voice, still cold and collected, but reprimanding and calculating nonetheless.

"You just *duck* don't get *duck* it, do you?" Kagome was getting tired of dodging Kikyou's attacks. "Stop it!" she finally yelled, and lunged forward at Kikyou before she could ready herself to make another strike. Kagome jumped onto Kikyou, wrapping her arms around Kikyou's shoulders, in order to prevent her from using her arms. Kikyou dropped her bow, and staggering backwards from the force of Kagome's lunge, toppled (along with Kagome) down the embankment into the river, out of Inu Yasha's sight.

Kagome surfaced, looking for Kikyou, but she was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, her head jerked back violently. Someone was pulling her hair. Kagome just knew it was Kikyou.

"Oh, you did NOT just pull my hair!" that was the last straw. Kagome whipped around in the water to confront her, but was faced with a rather strange situation. Kikyou was fading. Literally.

"Listen, girl-" she noticed the look of bewilderment in Kagome's eyes, and looked down at herself. "Wh- what's happening to me?" Kagome just stared at Kikyou as she disappeared into nothing. As Kagome swam to shore, she thought about what just happened.

'Maybe because we are in Inu Yasha's dream, and because Kikyou was just a figment of his dream, she ceased to exist when she left Inu Yasha's sight.' She laughed to herself, proud of the out-of-sight-out-of-mind explanation at which she arrived. She reached shore, and ran as fast as she could toward Inu Yasha and the Goshinboku tree.

"Here!" she grunted as she pulled the arrow from Inu Yasha's chest. Now that was done, it was time to put her plan into play. "Inu Yasha- I'm sorry. Ki-Kikyou-- didn't make it." Kagome winced, not wanting to see his reaction to her news. She waited for the raised voice that never came. Instead, she felt herself be wrapped in warmth, and her cheek was pressed against the soft cloth of Inu Yasha's haori. She opened her eyes and found herself in his arms.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently, as if he didn't hear what she just said.

"Um, yeah," she replied, awe-stricken. "But Inu Yasha," she pulled back from his embrace enough to move her head to look up at him. "What about Kikyou?"

"You're the most important thing right now," he stated softly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you from her. This isn't the first time she's attacked you." Kagome gazed into his warm amber eyes.

"I-Inu Yasha," she said softly. Then she remembered. This wasn't real. Dreamscape. Then she got an idea. After all, he wouldn't know she wasn't a dream…

"Inu Yasha," she continued, "there's something I need to tell you…"

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[Author's note] Mean? Yeah, I know. Sorry. I had it a little differently at first, but *sigh* it's so much better with a good cliffie. Don't worry, though… in the next chapter I'll give you all some resolution!