Author's Note: I won't take up a lot of space here thanking each person
separately, but to all my great reviewers—THANKS! A special thanks to the
reviewer who suggested showing where the characters are thinking with a
single quote mark (') rather than double ("). I was rather peeved that all
my thought sequences in italics didn't transfer over from MS Word during
the uploads and was worried about it being confusing. It's an excellent
suggestion, and I'll make this change from here on.
PS: For the Michael haters (I love it that he works well enough to hate!) two things to keep in mind if you decide to keep reading: 1. This sucker's long. I have only posted about ½ the written chapters so far, and I've only written half of what I've planned to date. In other words, "He'll Be Back!"—dun dun dun! 2. Nothing worth having ever comes easy!
Chapter 14 A Bad Dream
There was still morning left when Inuyasha returned to the feudal area. Getting out of the well with Kagome was tricky. He couldn't jump out with her packs across his back in the narrow well. Although he could make the jump if he wanted to, he could not jump "straight" up, and the duffle bag and guitar left no maneuvering room. He dropped the bags and brought Kagome to the top first, gently laying her down in the grass. Then he easily dropped back in and jumped out carrying the bags. The sun was warming the late-morning air. Birds spoke to each other, noisily from nearby trees, and the first small flowers were budding in the meadow.
'Kagome's right, it is a beautiful day,' he thought, 'Especially here, in my time.'
He looked at Kagome and frowned slightly, a little disappointed that she was still sleeping so soundly, even with the sunlight streaming down on her face and over her closed eyes. She was oblivious, sleeping through her return. A flash of red light on her hand caught his eye, he peered down at her, looking for the source of the strange light. It was her engagement ring, the pear-shaped ruby glittered in the sun, sending out tiny little prisms of fire. He snorted 'Kagome's not really going to marry that man, is she?' Talking about him, she was sedate, lukewarm, not showing any happiness. 'Not laughing and smiling the way Michael makes her smile. . . .' He frowned. Michael was the one who told him about her promise to marry Paul. He even goaded her about the ring, saying that she wasn't serious about her commitment if she wasn't wearing this ring. Now she was wearing it. It glittered in his eyes. Yesterday she had told him she had fallen in love with him. He would never forget hearing those words from her, how she made his heart stop. 'But that was two years ago, wasn't it? What about now? What does she feel for me now?'
He sighed, placed her bags on his back, and picked her up from her grassy bed. It was a short walk to Kaede's, and he walked quickly, excited to be back and for everyone to see Kagome.
When he arrived at her hut, he was surprised not to see a sign of anyone. "Where the hell is everyone?" he asked to no none. "Ah well, at least it'll be quiet for awhile and Kagome can rest." He brought her into Kaede's hut and laid her down on a bedding of quilts in the corner. He covered her peaceful form with a light blanket. He looked down at her and said "You're not his Kay, You're my Kagome. Now I have you back." He turned and walked out to look for the others. 'I wonder. . . will you be able to say this to her when she's awake?' He asked himself. He swallowed and answered himself: 'Yes.'
About an hour later Sango and Miroku returned. They had heard the rumor of a plant demon that was killing villagers nearby, and had gone to investigate. They were surprised to see Inuyasha back so soon, and after greeting him, began asking questions.
"Does your quick return mean you failed to convince Kagome to come back?" Miroku asked, looking worried.
"Of course not! She's here, in Kaede's hut, sleeping. Why would you think she wouldn't come back, Monk?"
"I meant no offense, Inuyasha. But we were all worried. She left so, umm, abruptly without the shards and then the well. . . ."
"The dumb girl was happy to see me. She had got herself stuck and didn't think she could get back here, so once again I had to rescue her after yet another one of her stupid mistakes," Inuyasha answered quickly. A little voice in his head was going off, and he was hearing a lecture:
'Wait! Why are you doing this? You're speaking so coldly of her, as if your feelings weren't known to you still. Why are you acting like nothing has changed? Are you afraid of what Sango and Miroku will think, or are you afraid of what you think?'
He felt guilty for what he just said, and couldn't explain to himself why he did.
"Did she ever tell you why she left?" Sango asked, frowning.
"No." He definitely knew he wasn't going into THAT story with them.
"Well, I'll go check on her," she added.
"NO! I told you she's sleeping. She needs her rest, so leave her alone, wench!" Inuyasha barked.
Sango shot him an angry look. "Why?" she demanded. "Why should she need sleep now. It's getting late."
"Never mind why, you can talk to her when she wakes up."
At that moment, Shippo and Kaede came through the clearing. Kaede was carrying her herb basket and Shippo was hopping along beside her.
When he saw Inuyasha back, the little Kitsune raced back to the hut screaming "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Your back! Did you bring Kagome?" he asked excitedly.
"Mm," he nodded affirmative, but before he could speak, Shippo dashed past him and through the hut, calling "Kagome! Kagome!"
Quickly Inuyasha was behind him, pulling him up by the scruff of his neck. "Hey, stupid fox! She's sleeping, let her be." He dropped the boy roughly, and said, "Let's go out here and give her some–"
Shippo maneuvered between his legs and was under the blankets with Kagome before he could stop him.
"Damn it, Shippo!" he yelled.
"AARGH!" Shippo screamed. "What's happened to Kagome? She's changed! She's–"
"SSH! Do you want to wake her up, idiot?"
"Yes! He yelled. Kagome! Wake up! Wake up, wake up!" He jumped up and down on top of her, but she didn't stir.
"AARGH!" He yelled again. "She won't wake! Inuyasha, why won't Kagome wake up?!"
Before he could answer a worried looking Kaede came through the hut, followed by Sango and Miroku, looking equally concerned.
"Inuyasha, Is something wrong with Kagome?" Kaede asked plainly.
"No," he sighed, defeated. "Nothing's wrong with her, all right? She was put under some kind of sleeping spell and should come out of it on her own in a few hours. She'll be fine."
"A spell?" Miroku asked. "Who put a spell on Kagome to make her sleep and why?"
"Yes, who would do such a thing?" Kaede added.
"Oh, let's go outside and I'll explain it to you," he said, grumbling. He really wasn't happy about this, but could see he had no other choice. He was going to have to tell them at least some of what happened, but he would try to be brief and say as little as possible.
At that moment, Kagome rolled over in her sleep. "Michael," she murmured, then lay still again.
Four sets of puzzled eyes looked at Inuyasha.
"What's Michael?" Shippo asked.
'Shit!' he thought. "Michael's not what, he's who," he said. "He's who put her under the spell, and he's a real pain in the ass."
Kaede looked at him and narrowed her eyes.
"Inuyasha! Where is your rosary?"
*********
After almost two hours of talking and answering their questions, there wasn't much of the story that he hadn't told. He tried to stick to just the important points:
Two years had passed in Kagome's time, she was training at school to become a doctor, she no longer lived at home, she worked as a singer in a band (although no one understood what this meant), she had two roommates, Chloe, and Michael, the arrogant angel who now claimed to be her protector, and put the binding spell on her, and that she was promised to mate to a human male named Paul. He also ended up explaining that she had developed her miko power and was now much stronger (although he did not explain how he saw her use those powers last night), and that now she also trained with Michael and did something called "spirit fighting" involving battling evil spirits.
The group was stunned by Inuyasha's tale, and after almost every new detail was revealed, he had to answer a profusion of new questions. Much of the story troubled Kagome's friends, especially the part about her now fighting evil spirits in her time, and Inuyasha admitted he didn't like this either. No one could fathom how the time difference between the eras occurred. How could the well distort time to make two years pass on Kagome's side and only one month on Inuyasha's? Even Miroku had no theories to advance, but they all pondered it.
The only details of importance he had left out is what Kagome revealed to him the day before, that she had fallen in love with him two years ago and left because she was hurt when she heard him make his promise to Kikyo, and that he now realized that he loved her, too. That was private information, Inuyasha thought, not meant to be shared.
'But. . . .' the little, nagging voice in his head asked, 'If you really plan to make her yours, won't they all find out anyway? What is it you're so afraid of ? Is it that they'll tease you, or is it something else?. . .'
Shaking her head at the amazing tale, Kaede left the group to go back inside and check on Kagome.
Finally, Shippo asked an obvious question that had not yet been answered: "Why did her protector put her under a sleeping spell?"
"Because he told her some things he wanted her to forget, so the spell makes her not remember when she wakes up," he answered curtly.
"What did he tell her that he wanted her to forget," Shippo persisted. Sango looked particularly interested in having this answered, too.
"It's private, okay? Just private stuff you don't need to need to know."
"Private about whom," Miroku now asked, "You or Michael?"
"None of your business, monk!" Inuyasha barked and slapped him on the head.
"Ooh," he said, grinning, "THAT kind of private!"
"Will she ever remember what he said?" Sango asked.
"Hhmph! How should I know?" Inuyasha said as an answer. "I sure as hell hope not," he whispered under his breath.
Sango heard him and raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.
"Sango, dear–"Miroku began.
"Hmm?" She looked up at him skeptically for calling her "dear."
He leaned over and whispered something in her ear, causing her to cheeks to flare bright red, and earn him a quick, hard punch on the chin. He was knocked out cold.
"What did he say this time?" Inuyasha asked.
"He asked to be knocked out, well, he kind-of asked for it," she replied.
"Huh?" Inuyasha said, confused.
"He asked me to do something and said that if I agreed to it, it was okay afterwards to make him forget, he would know happiness for at least that moment when I said yes."
"And you said yes?" Shippo asked?
"I let my fist do the talking."
*******
Four hours had passed since he had returned with her, and still Kagome did not awaken.
Inuyasha was beginning to worry: 'That asshole said she should wake up in a few hours. It's been a few hours. How much longer is it going to take for the spell to wear-off?'
By Twilight, Kagome was still sleeping soundly, and Inuyasha worry was steadily growing. 'She needs to wake up, NOW.' he thought. He was thinking about getting a jug of water and pouring it over her when she began to show signs of movement.
She started tossing and turning rapidly, her arms flailing in her sleep. Kagome was having a nightmare.:
She was in a dark place, a place so dark that blackness completely absorbed all light. It was cold, her hands ached with cold and she shivered. She strained her eyes in the dark, scanning for any sign of light, any opening to a way out. Slowly she moved, her arms and hands out in front of her. She was afraid of falling, afraid of moving at all, but she knew she had to press on. Her fingers touched something hard, icy. Tentatively, she reached forward and pressed her hand against it. It was solid, like stone. Not a way out. She turned to the side and began again, again hitting a cold wall of stone. She turned again and again, and realized she was trapped, surrounded by stone walls. There was no way out. 'Oooh,' she thought. 'I have to stay calm. What was it Michael told me? What do I need to do?. . . .' She moved back to the wall in front of her, reached out to touch it again, feeling for a break when it hit her–
A surge, a white-hot pain shot through her chest, into her head, her eyes.
She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, clutching her head and breathing ragged. OH GOD! It hurt! She hurt so bad. She stood up, tried to steady herself and fell against the stone wall again.
As soon as her hand touched the wall, it shot through her, the pain so intense she couldn't scream, couldn't breathe.
'SO much pain!" she was crying. "These walls, this rock, it's ALIVE! It's ALIVE and it's in pain! I feel the rocks' pain!. . . I can't fight this. . . .I can't . . . .'
Her mind went numb, a fade to nothing, not even the dark.
Kagome screamed and sat up, wide-eyed as Inuyasha watched her. She called out "MICHAEL! MICHAEL!"
"Kagome, calm down!" Inuyasha said, rushing toward her. He bent to try to comfort her and she stared at him with terrified eyes. "Kagome! Snap out of it! It's me, INUYASHA!"
He reached out to touch her and felt his chest forcibly pushed back so hard the air was expelled from his body. He took in a deep breath and recovering, tried to move forward again. This time he was kicked in the chest with a thrust so strong and sudden, it knocked him through the wall and onto the ground several feet in front of Kaede's hut.
Sango, who had been preparing supper, turned when he hit the ground and came rushing over, Miroku and Kaede quickly behind her.
"Inuyasha! What's happened!" She yelled.
Inuyasha sat up, gingerly.
'What the fuck did he do to her?! Damn him, he fucked with her head! Kagome, please be all right!'
He knew a rib was cracked, and it hurt to breath in. "It's Kagome. She's awake, but she's not herself. I don't think she knows where she is. She knocked me back. It's that damned charm he put on her, she frightened and I can't comfort her."
Shippo and Miroku stood behind Sango. While the adults were taking in what just occurred, Shippo focused only on the words "Kagome's awake." Taking advantage of their distracted talk, the kitsune ran past them, through the hole in Kaede's damaged wall.
"Kagome! It's me, Shippo!" he yelled.. He ran toward the young woman he missed so much and loved like a mother.
Kagome couldn't hear him. She was trapped inside walls of stone, and they were screaming, screaming in pain inside her head. She held out her hand to make it stop, just make it stop!
Shippo went flying out the wall with a force harder than had hit Inuyasha. Inuyasha was getting himself up when Shippo crashed into him, knocking him back to the ground with Shippo sprawled on top.
Shippo was hurt, his arm was twisted in the fall, causing him severe pain, and he had a deep cut across his forehead from the splintered wood beam he came crashing through. Inuyasha felt his hurt rib break further, and clenched his teeth in pain.
"Uumph! Shippo! GET THE HELL OFF ME!" He yelled, pushing the child away.
The terrified kitsune realized Kagome had done this. He knew about the charm she wore, that it was supposed to keep demons away. Kagome wanted him to stay away from her? Thinking about what just happened, he knew that if he had hit the ground instead of Inuyasha with that much force, he might be dead now, killed from the impact. He began to cry in shock, feeling lost, utterly destroyed. Kagome had done this, she hurt him, she didn't love him.
Inuyasha stood up. He was in a little pain, but he had been in much worse. He knew that in a day or so, his rib would heal. "I need to find out why she's doing this," Inuyasha said, moving to go back inside.
"Inuyasha wait," Kaede called. "If she's upset the protection spell you spoke of could be causing this to happen."
"I KNOW that hag! That's why I need to get her to calm the fuck down, before she really hurts someone!" he barked back.
"Inuyasha, it's safer to let a human check on her. You said the spell repels only demons. You should wait outside with Shippo until we know it's safe."
"I'm not waiting anywhere!" He was not in a mood to be reasoned with.
"You take care of the runt, hag, I'm going go make her talk to me and find out what the hell wrong." "I'll come with you, "Miroku said. "If she's doing this because she's frightened of you for some reason, it's safer for me to go in first. You can stand behind me."
"I'll come too," Sango volunteered, instinctively going back to get her boomerang. She didn't know why she was getting it; she'd never use it against Kagome, but it was a habit, her security against the threatening unknown.
"No," Miroku said with uncharacteristic male force. "You stay here with Kaede and Shippo. Inuyasha and I will go in."
Sango normally she would not have tolerated being told what to do. The thought of being treated like a fragile woman in need of protection from big, strong, men made her bristle, even now. Still, her reasoning told her, she needed to consider what was best for Kagome
'Inuyasha's tale was incredible. If she is frightened by being back after so long,' Sango thought 'it may be better for her if she doesn't have to face all of us at once. It could frighten her more.'
Sango nodded her agreement to Miroku, looking unhappy, and Miroku was visibly relieved she actually was going to listen to him.
Miroku and Inuyasha approached the hut together, Miroku in front.
Inuyasha didn't like the idea of being protected by a human, being protected against Kagome, and following instead of leading, but he knew under the circumstances, Kaede's advice might be right.
The two men walked back to the hut and cautiously peered through the door of the hut. Miroku stepped in and called her name:
"Lady Kagome? Lady Kagome are you awake? "She was sitting up on the bedding, breathing hard, sweating, and staring ahead with vacant eyes. Then he saw it flash past her overhead, just for an instant. "How is this possible?" he said in a whisper, watching Kagome with alarm.
"What?" Inuyasha demanded.
"Inuyasha. . . ." he whispered back, still watching her. "Kagome's not awake. She's still asleep and she's dreaming. It's not a normal dream either. Something evil is here, something that came through the dream.
"You mean to tell me something from her dream is HERE?"
"Yes. A powerful, dark presence. It shouldn't be possible for a nightmare to have form in the waking world, but this--this THING does. I think that's why she repelled you and Shippo. She doesn't know what she's doing. She can't see you, only what she sees in the dream. This presence is surrounding her."
"Can we wake her?"
"I'm not sure how. I don't think I can exorcise it. If this is a dream it should not be real, yet it is. Somehow, this presence is not just a creation of lady Kagome's mind, but something that used her dream as a way to come here."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha whispered back, confused.
"Someone with strong magic is causing this dream to happen and giving this thing form. I don't know if I can help unless I know or what's causing this." Tentatively, Miroku held his staff forward, and began to chant the most powerful prayer against evil he knew.
After a moment, Kagome stood up, then fell. "My head!" she screamed, "Oh God! It hurts!" She held her hands over her eyes and face as she tried to get back up. Kagome passed out, and dropped to ground again.
Inuyasha pushed Miroku aside and was down beside her, cradling her in his arms.
She groaned softly, opened her eyes, and focused. Inuyasha's face, his large, yellow eyes intense with worry.
"Inuyasha?" She asked weakly. She tried to sit up but he held her gently in place.
"Ssh! Don't try to get up yet." She could see the concern in his face, but didn't understand what was wrong.
"What–what happened?"
"You had a dream Kagome, a very bad dream."
PS: For the Michael haters (I love it that he works well enough to hate!) two things to keep in mind if you decide to keep reading: 1. This sucker's long. I have only posted about ½ the written chapters so far, and I've only written half of what I've planned to date. In other words, "He'll Be Back!"—dun dun dun! 2. Nothing worth having ever comes easy!
Chapter 14 A Bad Dream
There was still morning left when Inuyasha returned to the feudal area. Getting out of the well with Kagome was tricky. He couldn't jump out with her packs across his back in the narrow well. Although he could make the jump if he wanted to, he could not jump "straight" up, and the duffle bag and guitar left no maneuvering room. He dropped the bags and brought Kagome to the top first, gently laying her down in the grass. Then he easily dropped back in and jumped out carrying the bags. The sun was warming the late-morning air. Birds spoke to each other, noisily from nearby trees, and the first small flowers were budding in the meadow.
'Kagome's right, it is a beautiful day,' he thought, 'Especially here, in my time.'
He looked at Kagome and frowned slightly, a little disappointed that she was still sleeping so soundly, even with the sunlight streaming down on her face and over her closed eyes. She was oblivious, sleeping through her return. A flash of red light on her hand caught his eye, he peered down at her, looking for the source of the strange light. It was her engagement ring, the pear-shaped ruby glittered in the sun, sending out tiny little prisms of fire. He snorted 'Kagome's not really going to marry that man, is she?' Talking about him, she was sedate, lukewarm, not showing any happiness. 'Not laughing and smiling the way Michael makes her smile. . . .' He frowned. Michael was the one who told him about her promise to marry Paul. He even goaded her about the ring, saying that she wasn't serious about her commitment if she wasn't wearing this ring. Now she was wearing it. It glittered in his eyes. Yesterday she had told him she had fallen in love with him. He would never forget hearing those words from her, how she made his heart stop. 'But that was two years ago, wasn't it? What about now? What does she feel for me now?'
He sighed, placed her bags on his back, and picked her up from her grassy bed. It was a short walk to Kaede's, and he walked quickly, excited to be back and for everyone to see Kagome.
When he arrived at her hut, he was surprised not to see a sign of anyone. "Where the hell is everyone?" he asked to no none. "Ah well, at least it'll be quiet for awhile and Kagome can rest." He brought her into Kaede's hut and laid her down on a bedding of quilts in the corner. He covered her peaceful form with a light blanket. He looked down at her and said "You're not his Kay, You're my Kagome. Now I have you back." He turned and walked out to look for the others. 'I wonder. . . will you be able to say this to her when she's awake?' He asked himself. He swallowed and answered himself: 'Yes.'
About an hour later Sango and Miroku returned. They had heard the rumor of a plant demon that was killing villagers nearby, and had gone to investigate. They were surprised to see Inuyasha back so soon, and after greeting him, began asking questions.
"Does your quick return mean you failed to convince Kagome to come back?" Miroku asked, looking worried.
"Of course not! She's here, in Kaede's hut, sleeping. Why would you think she wouldn't come back, Monk?"
"I meant no offense, Inuyasha. But we were all worried. She left so, umm, abruptly without the shards and then the well. . . ."
"The dumb girl was happy to see me. She had got herself stuck and didn't think she could get back here, so once again I had to rescue her after yet another one of her stupid mistakes," Inuyasha answered quickly. A little voice in his head was going off, and he was hearing a lecture:
'Wait! Why are you doing this? You're speaking so coldly of her, as if your feelings weren't known to you still. Why are you acting like nothing has changed? Are you afraid of what Sango and Miroku will think, or are you afraid of what you think?'
He felt guilty for what he just said, and couldn't explain to himself why he did.
"Did she ever tell you why she left?" Sango asked, frowning.
"No." He definitely knew he wasn't going into THAT story with them.
"Well, I'll go check on her," she added.
"NO! I told you she's sleeping. She needs her rest, so leave her alone, wench!" Inuyasha barked.
Sango shot him an angry look. "Why?" she demanded. "Why should she need sleep now. It's getting late."
"Never mind why, you can talk to her when she wakes up."
At that moment, Shippo and Kaede came through the clearing. Kaede was carrying her herb basket and Shippo was hopping along beside her.
When he saw Inuyasha back, the little Kitsune raced back to the hut screaming "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Your back! Did you bring Kagome?" he asked excitedly.
"Mm," he nodded affirmative, but before he could speak, Shippo dashed past him and through the hut, calling "Kagome! Kagome!"
Quickly Inuyasha was behind him, pulling him up by the scruff of his neck. "Hey, stupid fox! She's sleeping, let her be." He dropped the boy roughly, and said, "Let's go out here and give her some–"
Shippo maneuvered between his legs and was under the blankets with Kagome before he could stop him.
"Damn it, Shippo!" he yelled.
"AARGH!" Shippo screamed. "What's happened to Kagome? She's changed! She's–"
"SSH! Do you want to wake her up, idiot?"
"Yes! He yelled. Kagome! Wake up! Wake up, wake up!" He jumped up and down on top of her, but she didn't stir.
"AARGH!" He yelled again. "She won't wake! Inuyasha, why won't Kagome wake up?!"
Before he could answer a worried looking Kaede came through the hut, followed by Sango and Miroku, looking equally concerned.
"Inuyasha, Is something wrong with Kagome?" Kaede asked plainly.
"No," he sighed, defeated. "Nothing's wrong with her, all right? She was put under some kind of sleeping spell and should come out of it on her own in a few hours. She'll be fine."
"A spell?" Miroku asked. "Who put a spell on Kagome to make her sleep and why?"
"Yes, who would do such a thing?" Kaede added.
"Oh, let's go outside and I'll explain it to you," he said, grumbling. He really wasn't happy about this, but could see he had no other choice. He was going to have to tell them at least some of what happened, but he would try to be brief and say as little as possible.
At that moment, Kagome rolled over in her sleep. "Michael," she murmured, then lay still again.
Four sets of puzzled eyes looked at Inuyasha.
"What's Michael?" Shippo asked.
'Shit!' he thought. "Michael's not what, he's who," he said. "He's who put her under the spell, and he's a real pain in the ass."
Kaede looked at him and narrowed her eyes.
"Inuyasha! Where is your rosary?"
*********
After almost two hours of talking and answering their questions, there wasn't much of the story that he hadn't told. He tried to stick to just the important points:
Two years had passed in Kagome's time, she was training at school to become a doctor, she no longer lived at home, she worked as a singer in a band (although no one understood what this meant), she had two roommates, Chloe, and Michael, the arrogant angel who now claimed to be her protector, and put the binding spell on her, and that she was promised to mate to a human male named Paul. He also ended up explaining that she had developed her miko power and was now much stronger (although he did not explain how he saw her use those powers last night), and that now she also trained with Michael and did something called "spirit fighting" involving battling evil spirits.
The group was stunned by Inuyasha's tale, and after almost every new detail was revealed, he had to answer a profusion of new questions. Much of the story troubled Kagome's friends, especially the part about her now fighting evil spirits in her time, and Inuyasha admitted he didn't like this either. No one could fathom how the time difference between the eras occurred. How could the well distort time to make two years pass on Kagome's side and only one month on Inuyasha's? Even Miroku had no theories to advance, but they all pondered it.
The only details of importance he had left out is what Kagome revealed to him the day before, that she had fallen in love with him two years ago and left because she was hurt when she heard him make his promise to Kikyo, and that he now realized that he loved her, too. That was private information, Inuyasha thought, not meant to be shared.
'But. . . .' the little, nagging voice in his head asked, 'If you really plan to make her yours, won't they all find out anyway? What is it you're so afraid of ? Is it that they'll tease you, or is it something else?. . .'
Shaking her head at the amazing tale, Kaede left the group to go back inside and check on Kagome.
Finally, Shippo asked an obvious question that had not yet been answered: "Why did her protector put her under a sleeping spell?"
"Because he told her some things he wanted her to forget, so the spell makes her not remember when she wakes up," he answered curtly.
"What did he tell her that he wanted her to forget," Shippo persisted. Sango looked particularly interested in having this answered, too.
"It's private, okay? Just private stuff you don't need to need to know."
"Private about whom," Miroku now asked, "You or Michael?"
"None of your business, monk!" Inuyasha barked and slapped him on the head.
"Ooh," he said, grinning, "THAT kind of private!"
"Will she ever remember what he said?" Sango asked.
"Hhmph! How should I know?" Inuyasha said as an answer. "I sure as hell hope not," he whispered under his breath.
Sango heard him and raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.
"Sango, dear–"Miroku began.
"Hmm?" She looked up at him skeptically for calling her "dear."
He leaned over and whispered something in her ear, causing her to cheeks to flare bright red, and earn him a quick, hard punch on the chin. He was knocked out cold.
"What did he say this time?" Inuyasha asked.
"He asked to be knocked out, well, he kind-of asked for it," she replied.
"Huh?" Inuyasha said, confused.
"He asked me to do something and said that if I agreed to it, it was okay afterwards to make him forget, he would know happiness for at least that moment when I said yes."
"And you said yes?" Shippo asked?
"I let my fist do the talking."
*******
Four hours had passed since he had returned with her, and still Kagome did not awaken.
Inuyasha was beginning to worry: 'That asshole said she should wake up in a few hours. It's been a few hours. How much longer is it going to take for the spell to wear-off?'
By Twilight, Kagome was still sleeping soundly, and Inuyasha worry was steadily growing. 'She needs to wake up, NOW.' he thought. He was thinking about getting a jug of water and pouring it over her when she began to show signs of movement.
She started tossing and turning rapidly, her arms flailing in her sleep. Kagome was having a nightmare.:
She was in a dark place, a place so dark that blackness completely absorbed all light. It was cold, her hands ached with cold and she shivered. She strained her eyes in the dark, scanning for any sign of light, any opening to a way out. Slowly she moved, her arms and hands out in front of her. She was afraid of falling, afraid of moving at all, but she knew she had to press on. Her fingers touched something hard, icy. Tentatively, she reached forward and pressed her hand against it. It was solid, like stone. Not a way out. She turned to the side and began again, again hitting a cold wall of stone. She turned again and again, and realized she was trapped, surrounded by stone walls. There was no way out. 'Oooh,' she thought. 'I have to stay calm. What was it Michael told me? What do I need to do?. . . .' She moved back to the wall in front of her, reached out to touch it again, feeling for a break when it hit her–
A surge, a white-hot pain shot through her chest, into her head, her eyes.
She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, clutching her head and breathing ragged. OH GOD! It hurt! She hurt so bad. She stood up, tried to steady herself and fell against the stone wall again.
As soon as her hand touched the wall, it shot through her, the pain so intense she couldn't scream, couldn't breathe.
'SO much pain!" she was crying. "These walls, this rock, it's ALIVE! It's ALIVE and it's in pain! I feel the rocks' pain!. . . I can't fight this. . . .I can't . . . .'
Her mind went numb, a fade to nothing, not even the dark.
Kagome screamed and sat up, wide-eyed as Inuyasha watched her. She called out "MICHAEL! MICHAEL!"
"Kagome, calm down!" Inuyasha said, rushing toward her. He bent to try to comfort her and she stared at him with terrified eyes. "Kagome! Snap out of it! It's me, INUYASHA!"
He reached out to touch her and felt his chest forcibly pushed back so hard the air was expelled from his body. He took in a deep breath and recovering, tried to move forward again. This time he was kicked in the chest with a thrust so strong and sudden, it knocked him through the wall and onto the ground several feet in front of Kaede's hut.
Sango, who had been preparing supper, turned when he hit the ground and came rushing over, Miroku and Kaede quickly behind her.
"Inuyasha! What's happened!" She yelled.
Inuyasha sat up, gingerly.
'What the fuck did he do to her?! Damn him, he fucked with her head! Kagome, please be all right!'
He knew a rib was cracked, and it hurt to breath in. "It's Kagome. She's awake, but she's not herself. I don't think she knows where she is. She knocked me back. It's that damned charm he put on her, she frightened and I can't comfort her."
Shippo and Miroku stood behind Sango. While the adults were taking in what just occurred, Shippo focused only on the words "Kagome's awake." Taking advantage of their distracted talk, the kitsune ran past them, through the hole in Kaede's damaged wall.
"Kagome! It's me, Shippo!" he yelled.. He ran toward the young woman he missed so much and loved like a mother.
Kagome couldn't hear him. She was trapped inside walls of stone, and they were screaming, screaming in pain inside her head. She held out her hand to make it stop, just make it stop!
Shippo went flying out the wall with a force harder than had hit Inuyasha. Inuyasha was getting himself up when Shippo crashed into him, knocking him back to the ground with Shippo sprawled on top.
Shippo was hurt, his arm was twisted in the fall, causing him severe pain, and he had a deep cut across his forehead from the splintered wood beam he came crashing through. Inuyasha felt his hurt rib break further, and clenched his teeth in pain.
"Uumph! Shippo! GET THE HELL OFF ME!" He yelled, pushing the child away.
The terrified kitsune realized Kagome had done this. He knew about the charm she wore, that it was supposed to keep demons away. Kagome wanted him to stay away from her? Thinking about what just happened, he knew that if he had hit the ground instead of Inuyasha with that much force, he might be dead now, killed from the impact. He began to cry in shock, feeling lost, utterly destroyed. Kagome had done this, she hurt him, she didn't love him.
Inuyasha stood up. He was in a little pain, but he had been in much worse. He knew that in a day or so, his rib would heal. "I need to find out why she's doing this," Inuyasha said, moving to go back inside.
"Inuyasha wait," Kaede called. "If she's upset the protection spell you spoke of could be causing this to happen."
"I KNOW that hag! That's why I need to get her to calm the fuck down, before she really hurts someone!" he barked back.
"Inuyasha, it's safer to let a human check on her. You said the spell repels only demons. You should wait outside with Shippo until we know it's safe."
"I'm not waiting anywhere!" He was not in a mood to be reasoned with.
"You take care of the runt, hag, I'm going go make her talk to me and find out what the hell wrong." "I'll come with you, "Miroku said. "If she's doing this because she's frightened of you for some reason, it's safer for me to go in first. You can stand behind me."
"I'll come too," Sango volunteered, instinctively going back to get her boomerang. She didn't know why she was getting it; she'd never use it against Kagome, but it was a habit, her security against the threatening unknown.
"No," Miroku said with uncharacteristic male force. "You stay here with Kaede and Shippo. Inuyasha and I will go in."
Sango normally she would not have tolerated being told what to do. The thought of being treated like a fragile woman in need of protection from big, strong, men made her bristle, even now. Still, her reasoning told her, she needed to consider what was best for Kagome
'Inuyasha's tale was incredible. If she is frightened by being back after so long,' Sango thought 'it may be better for her if she doesn't have to face all of us at once. It could frighten her more.'
Sango nodded her agreement to Miroku, looking unhappy, and Miroku was visibly relieved she actually was going to listen to him.
Miroku and Inuyasha approached the hut together, Miroku in front.
Inuyasha didn't like the idea of being protected by a human, being protected against Kagome, and following instead of leading, but he knew under the circumstances, Kaede's advice might be right.
The two men walked back to the hut and cautiously peered through the door of the hut. Miroku stepped in and called her name:
"Lady Kagome? Lady Kagome are you awake? "She was sitting up on the bedding, breathing hard, sweating, and staring ahead with vacant eyes. Then he saw it flash past her overhead, just for an instant. "How is this possible?" he said in a whisper, watching Kagome with alarm.
"What?" Inuyasha demanded.
"Inuyasha. . . ." he whispered back, still watching her. "Kagome's not awake. She's still asleep and she's dreaming. It's not a normal dream either. Something evil is here, something that came through the dream.
"You mean to tell me something from her dream is HERE?"
"Yes. A powerful, dark presence. It shouldn't be possible for a nightmare to have form in the waking world, but this--this THING does. I think that's why she repelled you and Shippo. She doesn't know what she's doing. She can't see you, only what she sees in the dream. This presence is surrounding her."
"Can we wake her?"
"I'm not sure how. I don't think I can exorcise it. If this is a dream it should not be real, yet it is. Somehow, this presence is not just a creation of lady Kagome's mind, but something that used her dream as a way to come here."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha whispered back, confused.
"Someone with strong magic is causing this dream to happen and giving this thing form. I don't know if I can help unless I know or what's causing this." Tentatively, Miroku held his staff forward, and began to chant the most powerful prayer against evil he knew.
After a moment, Kagome stood up, then fell. "My head!" she screamed, "Oh God! It hurts!" She held her hands over her eyes and face as she tried to get back up. Kagome passed out, and dropped to ground again.
Inuyasha pushed Miroku aside and was down beside her, cradling her in his arms.
She groaned softly, opened her eyes, and focused. Inuyasha's face, his large, yellow eyes intense with worry.
"Inuyasha?" She asked weakly. She tried to sit up but he held her gently in place.
"Ssh! Don't try to get up yet." She could see the concern in his face, but didn't understand what was wrong.
"What–what happened?"
"You had a dream Kagome, a very bad dream."