Posted: 11-15-04

Chapter 4: The Dream

AN: Hey, guess what it's finally time for? And I'm not insinuating the fact that I have had absolutely no time to write my fics with this whole college thing! The beginning of the real plot!!! As well as the introduction of my last planned (which I am saying due to the surprise I gave myself last time) original character! You know who it is, you just don't know his name. Or his personality. I do not own Inuyasha. Heh, that's funny. It doesn't even seem like an Inuyasha genred fic yet, does it? It'll get there, just give me some time! ...And hopefully you gave me time between these updates XD. I'm so sorry, I've just been so freaking busy. I still really want to get this ficcie going, okay? Heh, if I had been writing this the way I used to write things, these first four may have been all one chapter! Anyway, time to answer to my beautiful reviewer!

Seed-of-Flame: w00t!!! I thought I wasn't gonna get any reviews this time through! Yay! Thanks a ton!

I have been noticing that Author Alerts and Sending Reviews wasn't been working that well in August(at least for me), so if you didn't know I had updated or your review didn't send, I understand. If not... (eyes welling up with tears) And now, on with the show!

Later that day, Tai was sitting in her bed, letting her mind wander. "I wonder who that boy I saw yesterday was? It could very easily be Izumi-chan's brother. I wonder how old I am in comparison to him? Probably about the same, I hope..."

She stopped herself and blushed slightly. Why was she thinking things like this? She had more important things to worry about, like remembering her entire life!

Just then, Tatsuya walked into the room, holding a bundle of some kind. "Hello, Tatsuya-jiisan," she said, as he jumped a little from surprise.

"Oh! Hello there, Tai! I thought you might be sleeping."

"No," she answered a little sadly. "I've been just been doing some thinking..."

"Have you been able to remember anything?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"Not yet," she replied. "Why didn't you ever tell me the name of this village?"

"Well, I didn't think you were interested," he answered, setting down his pack and walking over toward her. "We call this place Shoshinsha, because..."

"Yes, Izumi-chan told me what it's named. Oh, yes! She said that you should bring her bowl back to her when you get the chance."

"That Izumi is a nice girl," Tatsuya commented, seeing the dish and picking it up. "She's always been very helpful."

"What were you doing this morning, anyway, Tatsuya-jiisan?" Tai asked, resting her face on her hand.

"Oh, just... looking around is all," he answered, making her blink in suspicion. "Come, now. If you've been up since this morning, you probably need to get some rest now."

"I supposed you're right," she said, lying back down.

"All right," he said, heading toward the door and grabbing the bundle he had brought in with him. "Well, I'm going to give this back, and I'll come in and check on you a little later."

"Thanks," she murmured, still wondering why he hadn't seemed too eager to answer her question about that morning. She closed her eyes, and yet sleep would not come to her.

Two days later, Tai felt that she had gained enough strength to get up and walk around. She slid herself out from the blankets she had been lying under and slowly raised one of her knees. She very carefully put her weight onto and hoisted herself upright.

She wobbled for a moment. She hadn't stood by herself in... well, she wasn't sure how long ago it was, really, since she couldn't remember. Her legs still had a slight weakness in them, but she began taking small, slow steps away from where she had been lying.

It was a strange feeling. The muscles seemed to enjoy finally getting the exercise they had been missing. She really couldn't understand how she could remember how to do something like this, but had no idea of her past or anything like that. "The mind is a strange thing," she thought as she neared the wall and threw all of her weight on it to rest a little. "I guess it's one of those things that people really don't appreciate until it's gone... Not that I'd know if I did or not."

Just then, someone knocked on the door frame. Tai pulled her robe close to her and dropped to her knees, trying to make her way back to her bed in case it was Tatsuya, who probably didn't want her up without supervision. Then she thought, "Wait a second, why would he knock on his own door?"

"C-come in," she finally said, pulling the sheet back over her and lying down.

"Sorry, miss, but both Tatsuya-san and Onee-san are busy, so I came by to..."

At that moment, a young man entered the room, holding a bowl very similar to the one Izumi had given her a few days before. He was fairly tall, nothing too spectacular, though. He had short brown hair and piercing eyes to match. He wore the usual clothes of a village man, although he wore a strange green vest over that. The moment they saw each other, they both gasped.

"It... It's him," she thought, looking at the uncomfortable villager standing before her. "I-I was right. He is Izumi-chan's brother."

He seemed to be having a hard time finding his words. "I'm sorry," he finally stammered. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I saw you the other day, but, um, well, you went inside right after that, so I didn't get a chance to say anything. I wasn't intending to be rude or anything..."

"Oh, n-no!" she suddenly replied, her heart racing. What was the big deal? He was just a villager, wasn't he? "It... It's fine."

"O-okay," he answered, staring at the soup. "Well, uh, I don't know if Onee-san said anything about me..."

"She mentioned she had a brother..." Tai answered softly, still feeling very uncomfortable.

"W-well, my name's Nobuhiro," he muttered.

"Uh, Tatsuya-jiisan calls me Tai," she replied, obviously seeing something very interesting in the empty corner. "I... don't really remember anything about myself or why I was injured, though."

"W-well," he said, finally hobbling toward her, "you probably want something to eat. I'm sorry if it's not that good; Onee-san had to leave before she could make anything so I did it myself..."

She very hesitantly picked up her chopsticks and froze for a moment. Why was she faltering like this? It was just stew! She finally pulled out a piece of a carrot and put it in her mouth.

"It... It really isn't bad," she answered once she had swallowed it, something in her lost memory telling her that she had eaten much better food than this.

"O-okay," he stammered. "Well, I suppose I should just... let you rest. S-somebody will be back to check on you later, I think." He started to leave.

"T-thank you, Nobuhiro-kun..." she whispered, feeling her cheeks redden.

His face seemed to turn a similar shade as he stopped dead in his tracks. "N... no problem!" he answered with a strange smile. There was an awkward moment of silence, and then he finally made his way out the door.

Tai stared after him for a while and looked back down at her food. Why had she acted like that? What was the big deal?

That night, she still lay there thinking about the events of that afternoon. "What is it about him that makes me feel so strange?" she though, and she rolled over onto her side. "Did I maybe know him before my accident?"

Sleep came to her eventually, and she sank into her dreams. However, this one had a strange feeling to it. She was running through a field, and something told her that she felt very happy. Next to her were two shadowy figures, one seeming very tall and aged, and the other very young. Just then, they both fell over, and a horrible sense of dread over came her as darkness surrounded her. Suddenly, there was a faint light in one direction, and in front of that stood several more shadowy figures. Two were very tiny, and the other three were around her height. One of these three stood in the middle of the group, and something about this person seemed to draw her in. She kept walking toward the figure, now feeling an odd sensation of peace, and slowly lifted her hand to touch the person. Suddenly, another shadow swept over the group, and she sat up with a muffled cry.

She looked around the dark cabin, and could feel the persperation on her body.

"What's the matter!" Tatsuya cried, having apparently been on his way to look in on her.

"I..." she began, not sure how to explain this strange phenomenon, "I had an odd dream. There were all of these people around me, but I couldn't see them and they kept being swallowed up by shadows..."

The old man looked very concerned. "Do you think this may have something to do with your past?"

"I-I don't know," she answered, putting a hand to her forehead and looking at the floor. "Maybe."

Tatsuya smiled slightly. "Well, go back to sleep, my dear. But if you have any other dreams like that, be sure to tell me."

"O-okay," she replied, lying back down and closing her eyes, still feeling strangely uncomfortable.

AN: Okay, there you go! Please raise your hands if you haven't figured out what's going on! (looks around and sees no hands) (Sigh), that's what I thought... Hey, it's one of those stories where things are painfully obvious, okay?! And I just like the name Nobuhiro, although I admit I first heard it through Rurouni Kenshin, but he isn't named after anybody, okay? I'll update... whenever I can. Hopefully soon! Don't give up on busy lil me, okay? I'm still out here, trying to get my brain to work! But, if I don't get any reviews again, I won't, so click that "Go!" button! ...please... (insert sad puppy eyes)