Hey everyone! This is a rewrite (sort of, more like trimming it up a bit) of the first chapter, and I think it's much better than before, so please read and review!


The Dream

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Not a bird scavenged the tranquil dark skies. Not the slightest of breezes danced in the scentless air. The entire earth appeared dead, lifeless. It was one of those nights where every living creature under the skies seemed to be soundly asleep, leaving nothing - save for the secretive whisper of the trees and woodlands, that which is kept so carefully hidden from human ears - to ruffle the perfect calm washing across the land.

The night itself radiated with a darkness reminiscent of coal, transforming the pure white snow carpeting the ground to a ghostly blue hue.

It might have been for this unnaturally flawless, almost invulnerable silence surrounding the world that made the sudden outburst seem all the more unlikely. When an abrupt shaft of blue light shot across the night, ripping apart the dark, endless skies into two plains, seemingly never to join again, there was not one spectator to witness it.

It was hard to identify the strange, almost illusory presence roaming the night, but when one looked close enough, the unmistakable shape of a large bird could be detected.

And it was undeniably no ordinary bird.

With feathers that seemed to ripple with the very essence and tranquility of water, the bird piloted its immense figure across the plains with ease and grace that seemed impossible for a creature of its massive bulk. Its focused emerald orbs observed the scene before it with the mildest of interest, and its pointed, regal beak seemed to be sharp enough to cut through the very air before it.

Dangling from the bird's silvery talons was a small golden-brimmed lantern, embroidered with foreign carvings. Strangely enough – if it was not already considered unusual for a bird to be carrying such a peculiar load – the lantern was lit not with fire from a candle, as was common in those days, but with the light projecting from a round purple gem trapped within its crystal walls.

Clasping firmly onto its jeweled treasure, the majestic bird appeared to be gliding on a never-ending journey of uninterrupted flight. Its presence seemed to preserve the night, the very moment, to last an eternity.

The creature eventually descended gracefully down to the banks of a small clearwater lake. Dipping its golden beak with dignity into the refreshing cool water, it took its time in quenching its large appetite.

The next thing that happened seemed too bizarre to be true.

Very abruptly, just as the tip of the bird's beak barely grazed the surface of the lake for a second time, a fire that seemed to come from inside of the creature itself erupted and devoured the animal until it was but a pile of ashes.

All that was left of the once majestic presence was its treasured purple lantern, embedded in the soft white snow.

It cast a soft pastel lavender light upon its surroundings, revealing the presence of a brick well. The textured maroon bricks looked relatively new, and it alone seemed to be devoid of the paralyzing imprisonment of the winter snow.

Then, amid the placid whistle of a newly borne breeze, a female voice filled the air, teeming with emotion and sorrow. "I'll be waiting for you... Remember our promise, my love... My Inuyasha..."


Kagome Higurashi awoke with an unpleasant jolt and a painful headache. Rubbing the sleep from her tired violet-blue eyes, she frowned in apprehension. She pondered her strange, recurring dream with a troubled mind, attempting uselessly to comprehend it. It seemed to hold a deeper meaning than what had been shown, but she just could not put her finger on it.

'The well...' she suddenly remembered. It was the last scene of the dream; the ancient brick well. Only it had not been quite so ancient... Kagome felt her heart pounding in her chest. It was the only something in the dream that she recognized. She even knew where the old well was. Kagome felt her pulse quicken. It was definitely something that she had there. For the past month, the unsettling reverie was the only thing that haunted her sleep. She could not help but feel excited that she might be beginning to understand it. Kagome felt that once she fully understood the dream, she would be rid of it... or at least it would not trouble her quite so much anymore.

Silently resolving to make a trip to the well after school, Kagome glanced subconsciously at the plastic alarm clock perched atop her dresser. It's green lettering read 6:17 a.m.

"School starts at seven-thirty," she reminded herself listlessly. "Better get up!"

Reluctantly pulling herself out from the warmth of her bed, Kagome shivered as she made her way into the bathroom for a morning shower.


"Kagome!" her mother yelled loudly from downstairs. "Hojo's here to walk with you to school!"

Kagome hastily slipped on a sweater over her uniform, slung her bookbag carelessly over her shoulder, and scurried down the stairs.

Grabbing a piece of buttery toast from the kitchen, Kagome swung open the front door and rushed headlong into the bitter winter cold. The warm buttered toast turned soggy and cold immediately.

"Hey, Hojo," she mumbled breathlessly, shuddering slightly from the biting wind.

"Good morning, Higurashi," the green-eyed boy replied politely, the breeze ruffling his sand-brown hair.

"Let's go, then, shall we?" Kagome chattered, wrapping her scarf more securely around her. She began to walk ahead slowly, until she noticed the lack of Hojo's presence beside her. Almost impatiently, she turned around and beckoned to the boy, who seemed to be frozen in his steps. "Come on, or we're going to be late!" she called urgently. Her breath came out in puffs of white frost.

Hojo shook himself momentarily, seemingly to have finally snapped out of his trance. Blushing heavily, he hastily caught up with Kagome.

Kagome gave him a strange look.

Lowering his head slightly, his bottle-green eyes focused intently on his shoes, Hojo stammered, "H-higurashi, w-would you l-like to h-have dinner with m-me t-tomorrow?"

Kagome stared at the pink-faced boy before her. She had always suspected that Hojo had a little crush on her, but it seemed unlike his shy personality to be so forthright.

Hojo had lifted his head uncertainly, and was presently studying Kagome's expression with eager, bright eyes. He looked very much like a small child, pleading for candy. It would be cruel to turn him down.

And Kagome just did not have the heart to refuse.

"Sure," she replied finally. "Tomorrow evening, then?"

"Really?" Hojo confirmed happily, his entire face lighting up. "I'll pick you up at six, Higurashi!"

"Sure," Kagome answered politely. "Now, let's go. We don't want to be any later for class than we already are."

Hojo agreed, nodding his very-pink face with a hard-to-attain exuberance.


Kagome watched her friend's expression with amusement. It was priceless. Sango's dark brown eyes had definitely widened to their limit. She scribbled something onto a slip of paper, and, crumpling it up, tossed it back to Kagome. Monotonous Professor Edakawa did not notice a thing.

Kagome unfolded the note expertly and scanned the contents.

'HOJO FINALLY ASKED YOU OUT? Wow. And I always thought he didn't have the guts to. Guess the guy deserves some credit, eh?'

Kagome smiled and shook her head. Sango always overreacted to everything. It wasn't like Hojo asking her out was such a big deal. Everyone in the school knew about Hojo's crush on Kagome.

'It's no big deal. Anyway, remember that strange dream I told you about before? The one with the bird?'

Kagome hesitated a moment before throwing the note to Sango. The first time she had discussed the dream with Sango, she had received a very strange reaction. There was little in the world that could unnerve Sango. But it had been obvious that the dream was one of those things.

But then, Kagome really could not blame her. Recurring dreams of such a strange stature appeared in novels and movies, but not in reality. It was haunting. The dream drew her into a strange world where she was helpless. Where she was desperate just trying to figure out what everything meant. And being one of the smartest girls in her class, Kagome was not used to not understanding.

Edging out of her seat slightly, she caught the note Sango had thrown.

'Yeah, I remember. You said you kept on having that dream over and over. Why?'

Kagome hastily wrote:

'I had the dream again. But this time there was something different. It was longer, I guess, so I saw something I hadn't before. I recognized something. You know the old well by the abandoned shrine?'

Kagome passed the note to Sango, and watched her expression carefully. Sango seemed to hesitate before replying. She shot Kagome an unreadable look, one that seemed to say 'You're insane.' But Sango never told anyone they were insane. Some of the stories she had told Kagome had been pretty unbelievable and out of the ordinary. In fact, the circumstances in which Kagome had met Sango were less than common.

Kagome recalled a day a few months earlier. She had been walking home from babysitting a kid of the Etsakes, when she had noticed a strangely dressed girl wounded by the old shrine. She had been clad in a black uniform of some sort. It had pink shoulder pads and some other designs Kagome could not remember.

Kagome had called an ambulance immediately, but the girl only remained conscious long enough to mutter thanks. Kagome had expected that to be her last encounter with the girl, so she was much surprised when she met her again a few days later at school.

The girl was a new student from Osaka, and her name was Sango Nakito. So was her brief introduction to the class, conducted with the monotonous but at the same time, shrill voice of Professor Edakawa.

What was it that she had written that got Sango so tensed up? Kagome felt herself descend even deeper into confusion. She unraveled the note hurriedly.

'You're overreacting. I mean, it's just a dream, right? That old well by the shrine never has and never will be of any interest to anyone. Just forget about it.'

Kagome frowned.

Suddenly, Professor Edakawa's sharp voice came back into her hearing. She was saying, "...be all for today. You may wait for the bell to ring for dismissal."

Kagome glanced at the round clock hanging on the wall. There were a good five seconds before the bell rang.

And when it finally came, the quiet room was suddenly noisy with the shuffle of students filing out the door.

Kagome caught up with Sango, who seemed to be walking very stiffly.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked with concern.

"No," Sango snapped. Then her voice softened, suddenly realizing her suspicious tone. "It's just, don't get too stressed out over a dream, okay? A dream's a dream, you know? They're not to be dealt seriously with. Why, just ask Miroku. He probably dreams about..." her voice trailed off. She threw up her hands in defeat. "I don't even want to know what Miroku dreams about."

The said boy appeared behind Sango. "Talking about me, Sango dear?" he said with a smirk. "Nothing bad, I hope."

Sango snorted. "What is there about you that's good?"

Miroku feigned a look of hurt. "Sango, your words cut me deep."

"I'll hurt you physically if your hand doesn't leave my butt," Sango muttered darkly. She stormed off hastily before the boy could do anything, if he was going to do anything.

"She says that, but in truth, deep down she loves me," Miroku told Kagome confidingly.

Sango snorted at a short distance away. "Then that'll be VERY deep down!" she said loudly.

Kagome couldn't help but smile.


Kagome had rushed off as soon as the final bell had rung, desperate to clear her mind of the naggings prodding her to inspect the ancient well.

Kagome walked up to the steps of the abandoned shrine uncertainly. The monument seemed almost foreboding. Just beyond the shrine was the clearing in which the old well was. Or at least where it used to be.

Kagome remembered playing by the shrine when she was a young girl. She had always been afraid of falling into the well, and therefore had never gotten too close to it for that reason.

Walking through the back door of the shrine, Kagome surveyed her surroundings. It was much the same as it had always been. Even under layers of snow, the clearing seemed alive.

It took hardly any effort for Kagome to find the well she was searching for, as her childhood memories reminded her only too well of its location. She brushed away the thick layer of snow covering the well's brim.

Kagome peered instinctively into the well. It was not very deep, and there was no water. Of course, it was winter, and the water would have frozen into ice, but there was no sign even of that. It seemed the well had been out of use long ago.

Kagome squinted. She almost thought she had seen something at the bottom of the well. It was the outline of... something...

Kagome gasped.

It was the outline of someone.


After all these changes, I actually think it's much better than before! Please leave me a comment! Suggestions would be appreciated! But no flames, please!