Sesshomaru sat at the window of his small kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand. He was mulling over the feelings that his dream had brought up in him again. It had been a while since he'd had any nightmares like that, but he had indeed had them before. Inu Yasha must have planted the seed in his brain by talking about that woman's dreams the previous day.

"Could they be related?" Sess thought. He shook his head violently. "I've been through this before. None of it is real, no matter how real it seems."

But he told you there would be another. Stop it! It isn't real, he wasn't real!

Then why did he tell you this would happen?

"It was just a dream, damnit!" Sess growled. He got up and poured the remainder of his rapidly cooling coffee into the sink.

You have to ask her.

"I'll do nothing of the sort." Sess told himself. "I have no reason to speak to that—woman."

Kagome.

Sesshomaru remembered his first dreams of her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. How good she had smelled when he held her. But the smell of blood always followed. Sess stifled a moan and fought the rest of the visions that threatened to fill his head.

"Sesshomaru, you must finish what we started, no matter what. Promise me!" He heard her voice over the screaming wind. He saw her face lit softly for a moment before the clouds obscured the moon and he was terrified. Even though he knew how it ended because he suffered through it endless times, the look on her face was always calm as her hair whipped around them like a black tornado. She looked at him with trust in her eyes and lifted her lips to give him that first kiss. The kiss that forever hung in the air, achingly incomplete. He couldn't help it, he slowly closed his eyes, praying that this would be the time his lips finally reached hers before the agonizing scream.

Sesshomaru groaned in pain. His hands found the sides of his face then dug into his hair, pulling viciously, trying to awaken from this daydream. He refused to be pulled back into the vision. He fought so long to free himself from this insanity. "I will not begin any of this again. It is OVER!" he practically begged aloud.

It is not over. It is finally just beginning.

"I'll have a cheeseburger with fries." Miroku said, closing his menu.

"Yeah, me too. But make mine a double. And put bacon on it. Large fries, too. And a milkshake, chocolate." Inu Yasha added.

Sango looked at them like misbehaving children. "I'll have the chicken salad, dressing on the side please. And an iced tea."

Miroku and Inu Yasha looked at each other, feigning horror at her selection. "Sango, why don't you loosen up and have a burger?"

"Because I am still trying to remove this baby fat from my body. And even if I wasn't, I'd like to live past my fifties, you know? You'll end up with clogged arteries and a stroke if you keep eating like that."

Inu Yasha shrugged. "But I'll die a happy man."

Miroku laughed. "Okay, now on to business."

Sango took out a small spiral notebook. "I think we should have the party in my backyard. That way we have the big pool and the hot tub. We've got the covered veranda in case the weather doesn't cooperate." She took a few notes and then squealed, "Oh, and I know a great caterer!"

Inu Yasha looked bored. "I wish Kikyo didn't have to go away without me this time. She should really be here instead. I'm no good at planning parties! That's girl stuff."

Sango smacked him lightly with her notebook. "You have been Kagome's friend longer than any of us, Inu Yasha! I can't believe you wouldn't be excited to help plan a surprise party for her!"

Inu Yasha looked guilty for a moment. But it passed, as usual. "Feh. I'll do whatever."

Sango directed her attention back to Miroku. "I really think the backyard is better than renting a hall or something. Do you agree?"

"Yeah, that sounds great, Sango. Thank you so much for being so generous!"

Sango waved her hands, "It's nothing. I love Kagome like a sister so there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her! Besides, it's an excuse to get the house and yard all decked out, cater delicious food, drink ridiculous amounts of liquor, and party!"

At that Inu Yasha raised his hand and gave a whoop as though he was at a basketball game instead of at a family restaurant. "Whoo Hoo! Ridiculous amounts of liquor! I'm in!!!"

Several older couples stopped talking and turned to observe their table. Miroku chuckled softly, and Sango blushed scarlet, hitting Inu Yasha squarely in the nose with her notebook, like a bad puppy.

"My God, Inu Yasha, were you raised by wolves? Don't you know how to act in public?" Sango hissed at him.

Inu Yasha snatched her notebook from her and threw it on the table, looking at her as though she were the crazy one. "Stop hitting me, for Christ's sake! I thought you wanted me to be excited and get involved?"

Miroku looked at Sango reassuringly. "Beggars can't be choosers, Sango. He's right, be happy you have his involvement."

"Fine," Sango relented. "Why don't you put together a guest list then." She picked up the notebook and extended it to Inu Yasha who tried to jump behind Miroku in mock fright before taking the book and the pen from her. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he was already scribbling down names.

"How many people were you guys thinking? We can get quite a few people in your pool, but not as many in the hot tub." Inu Yasha snickered with a sneaky look on his face. Miroku assumed he was doing the math to figure out how many scantily clad girls he could get in the hot tub with him.

"Hmm." Miroku thought for a moment. "More important is the cost of the caterer. We may not be able to afford to feed too many people."

Sango beamed. "The caterer will be cheap! Kouga is an old friend of mine. He'll charge us next to nothing!" Sango looked up to see confused faces. "Kouga owns a catering company!"

"I never liked that guy." Inu Yasha added without looking up from his list. "He's a fruitcake."

"Inu Yasha! That is so un-PC!" Miroku chided. "He is of an alternative lifestyle."

Sango tried to stifle a giggle. "Knock it off, he is my friend, and he may save us a lot of money for this party, so let's be civil, okay?"

"Fine by me. But if that fairy even thinks about touching me, I'll break his neck."

"Inu Yasha. Not every gay man is going to find you attractive, you know? You may not even be his type."

"Keh. I don't care, just keep him away from me!"

"Fine!" Sango ended it.

"I'm going to invite my brother. He needs to get out of the house." Inu Yasha said as he continued to write.

"How's he doing? I haven't spoken to him in months. What's he up to?" Miroku inquired.

Inu Yasha bit the tip of the pen. "Hell if I know. Last time I talked to him he was studying nightmares."

Miroku looked interested. "Really? Studying them how?"

"I have no idea. He only told me because I mentioned that Kagome was having nightmares. He seemed interested."

"Yeah, definitely invite him. I'd be interested in talking to him about it. Maybe Kagome would be, too."

"Okay, he's on the list." Inu Yasha said, as their food arrived.