Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha. Dang.

CHAPTER THREE:

Inuyasha's Dream and Sorting it All Out

It was the same night under the same gibbous moon. Kagome wasn't the only restless dreamer in that clearing. Inuyasha was in this tree, comfortably settled on a branch. He was dreaming of things that scared him, worried him, made his heart almost break.

****He was in the tree, eyes closed but fully awake. For some reason, sleep refused to come. Inuyasha could smell all of his friends; Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kagome--who also lay awake. There was a peculiarity about her scent, an emotion tainting it's perfume, but he couldn't quite identify it. It smelled like...now he knew, it was sadness, or remorse. He was debating with himself whether or not to go see what was wrong. Then he heard something that finalized his decision.

"Why, Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice sounded choked with anguish.

He froze. "Why what, Kagome? What's wrong?" He leapt down from the tree, surprising her. As he'd guessed from her scent, she looking like she was in a state of absolute dispair. 'And I don't know why.'

"I thought you hated me. That deep down, you always did." She looked away, salty tears very nearly bursting from her eyes.

Inuyasha was so stunned he couldn't move. All he could think to do was comfort her. And try to correct her. "I don't hate you Kagome, I can't hate you, it's just...," he looked away too. They sat for a few moments in an uncomfortable silence. Then, unexpectedly, Inuyasha felt Kagome put her arms around him. It felt nice, peaceful, even...right? But apprehension was present in her scent and touch, and he couldn't stand it. He returned her embrace, pulling the human girl closer, leaning against his chest.

They just sat like that in silence for an indistinguishable amount of time. Inuyasha inhaled the spicy nighttime perfumes. Trees, Kagome, moonlight and silence. And just when the peace of that night was utterly complete, it was broken, gone in a second.

Naraku, Sesshomaru, Koga, Kikyo...anyone and everyone was present, ready and eager to spill his and Kagome's blood. That witch Yura had returned, and whe was controlling Miroku, Sango and Shippo. Urasue, the demon who brought Kikyo back from the dead had returned as well. The villainous people and creatures arranged themselves in a semicircle around Inuyasha and Kagome. They were clamoring for battle.

All at once, they rushed forward in an attack that could only result in death and destruction. Inuyasha was fighting them off, and so was Kagome. But there were just too many of them. They were separated, and killer upon killer gathered around them, ready to spill their lifeblood.****

"Inuyasha!"

"Kagome!"

Both dreamers awoke at the same instant, each yelling for the other. And the others woke as well. For a moment, the hanyou and the miko stared at tehm fearfully. Then reality caught up to them, and they addressed the matter at hand.

"Why were you screaming my name?!" Two surprised voices asking the same question of the other, echoed around the forest clearing in unison.

"I was dreaming and I couldn't sleep and--," they blushed, recalling the contents of their dream.

The kitsune and the two other humans looked from one friend to another, uncomprehendingly. Since no one seemed to be explaining anything, or about to do so, Shippo decided to take matters into his own hands.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!!!"he yelled, raising his fists and looking around at everyone else.

It was Miroku who decided to reply. "Apparently, Inuyasha and Kagome had rather similar dreams. And it seems that neither is in a hurry to divulge the contents."

"You bet we don't!" replied Kagome hotly. "We don't even know if we DID have the same dream, and--"

She was cut off by Inuyasha grabbing her arm and beginning to drag her away. "C'mon. I think we need to talk about this." And they kept walking further into the woods, not looking back at Shippo and Sango and the monk who shouted after them,

"So we'll just wait here then? Until you finish your 'talk'?"

The last sound Kagome could hear from the camp was a shout of "HENTAI!" and a loud thwack.

***/|\***

They stopped somewhere about half a mile away and sat, facing eachother, about five feet apart. "So...," the word stretched between them, stretching for several moments before falling slowly down into the abyss of time.

"What was your dream about?" They began their conversation in unison, and continued it in the same manner.

"We were in the forest and you thought I hated you."

"YOUthought I hated YOU!"

"Nevermind."

"They all came at once and attacked us."

"Yah."

"Why'd you shout my name?!" this was what had really been bothering the both of them.

"Because you're s'posed to protect me!/Because I'm s'posed to protect you!" With that final, resounding not, they fell into silence. They looked away from eachother, choosing instead to take interest in the dewy grass, or the leaves in the canopy above them, or the dawning sky even further above that.

But none of these natural wonders were interesting enough to captivate them for long. Their eyes kept flicking over to check the face of the other. As time wore slowly on, the looks were more and more frequent. Eventually, accidently, they looked up at the same time and their eyes met and held. So they sat and stared into eachother's practically emotionless eyes. Amber and sparkling brown waging a silent war. They were waiting to see what came next.

Kagome reached out tentatively, her hand stretching slightly toward his face, she didn't know why. She let it drop, and sighed sadly. 'He doesn't want anything to do with me...he only cares about Kikyo. Get ahold of yourself, Kagome! Why do you care? Afterall, it was just a dream.' "Huh?"

To her surprise, something, someone was touching her hand. It was Inuyasha. She looked into his face, her eyes burning with tears that threatened to show themselves. This was so much like that dream, yet so different. It wasn't night; it wasn't peaceful. And she didn't hate him, nor he her...or think so. The dream was wrong. And that was all. It was a dream.

***/|\***

'So I've grabbed her hand, now what?' He was just a little annoyed at how damned difficult this was turning out to be. Here he was, compromising his dignity while that stupid ningen--no, not anymore. It had been a long while since she'd been that to him.

Inuyasha was indignant, annoyed, and also very confused, which made him all the more annoyed. Not to mention stuck. If he was more forward, he was sure that she'd think he was mistaking her for Kikyo. But he couldn't stay like that forever. Talking seemed like the safest path for now.

"Kagome, what's wro--what's the matter?" Best to keep this as different from his dream as possible.

"I...I want to go home. To my time. I need to...sort things out there. Yah. H-here's the jewel...just bring me back in, in a month. I'll be fine by then." She removed her hand from his and stood, dropping her shard neclace into his still-open palm. As a reflex, he caught it. She was ready to leave, but she couldn't move. Finally, she could move, every step and excrutciating emotional pain.

"HEY! What the heck do you think you're doing, you stupid girl?!" It was the wrong way to act in this situation, and he realized it as soon as the words left his mouth. Too late to turn back now. "How d'you think we can work against Naraku for an entire month without a shard detector?!"

She turned, her distressed soul masked with a fiery glare. She was so sure he'd be better to her. But she was wrong, and that was all. "Why don't you just get Kikyo to help? I'm sure she'd be just THRILLED!" the sadness was really gone now, replaced by outright fury. "You've got your Shikon Jewel shards, so why don't you just, just, SIT!!!" She glared at him as he crashed to the ground. "GoodBYE, Inuyasha!"

Kagome stomped across the clearing, heading back towards camp. "Wait, Kagome!" He was struggling to get up.

"Why should I?!" She kept walking.

"Because...I want you to listen to me!" His words stopped her. She was surprised and fearful, her heart frozen. He wanted to talk to her?

"I'm...sorry about Kikyo," he began.

'He's SORRY?'

"And calling you a shard detector. For being a jerk and a jamakusai. Just for being...being me." The words hurt, but they had to be said. She couldn't walk out on him now. She just couldn't.

Though on his feet and at full height, he looked smaller and more dejected than he ever had before. Inuyasha stared at the ground. Not able to face Kagome, not now.

"Inuyasha," she was close. She'd walked up, no longer barricading herself from him with a cold shoulder. "Look at me."

"Why?" 'I can't.'

"Just do it. I need to see your face." She was hoping, just hoping, that he'd look...refreshed...and...different. She couldn't quite explain it.

His face rose, until fully displayed to her, a normal cocky or arrogant smirk nowhere in sight, replaced by an emotional, gentle expression, a stranger to his familiar face. Inuyasha's eyes changed even as she watched. He looked...loving. And that was just too much. She was wrong. Nothing had changed.

"I'm Kagome. Not Kikyo," she choked out, a whisper full of tears. And she tried to run. But he grabbed her arm and wouldn't let go, no matter how much she struggled.

"I know who you are!"

*************************************************************************************************

A/N: That's all, and I hope it's okay. I also hope that more people are reading this...reveiw responses and the glossary coming right up!

GLOSSARY:

hentai: pervert or lech

ningen: human (demon insult)

jamakusai: pain in the ass

Itachi: *hands her a cyber cookie* I'll wait out a couple more chapters...their about 2000 words apiece anyway.

That's all for now! See ya! And Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa or Happy whatever you celebrate!

--*Elyndewen Startree*