Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Dreams and Wishes

March 24th

Images of Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha floated in her head. The were calling to her to join them, hands outstretched. They were smiling and laughing. One by one they disappeared into the fog.

"Hello?" she called. "Inuyasha? Sango? Hello?"

No answer.

"Miroku? Shippo? Is anyone there? INUYASHA!"

"Kagome?" A soft voice broke the deafening silence.

Quickly Kagome turned to see who had called her name. She could just barely make out a silhouette in the distance.

"Kikyo?"

"Yes. We must be dreaming again. Strange… after all this time."

Kagome smiled at the girl walking towards her and ran to meet her. It was such a relief to find someone in the fog. Someone who wasn't a demon or a murderer or an evil possessed doll like she would sometimes see in some of her stranger nightmares.

"Yeah, been awhile since we met in dreams."

Kikyo smiled warmly.

"We found the mirror," Kagome told her.

Kikyo's smile disappeared.

"Oh? You did?"

"But it's kinda… broken…."

"Broken…."

The girls stared at each other silently. The fog swirled around them as they stood. Slowly the fog cleared. They stood in a wooded area, much like the places where Kagome and her friends camped out. But her pink covered bed and her big daisy carpet were in the middle of the clearing. It was a mixture of the worlds.

Kikyo carefully sat on the foot of the bed, preparing herself for a fall, just in case it was an illusion. When Kikyo didn't fall through, Kagome took a chance and sat down at the head of the bed, tucking her feet under and facing the girl who could be her twin.

"Now what do we do?" She didn't necessarily ask Kikyo the question, and she didn't really expect an answer.

"I think…. I think that even if it wasn't broken… we still wouldn't be able to use it…"

Kagome looked at Kikyo in shock. The girl wasn't looking at her, she was staring very hard at the carpet in front of her.

"What makes you say that?" Kagome asked.

Kikyo raised her eyes to meet Kagome's. "I think that the Shikon jewel was granting my wish. I had wished so hard to have another life. A life where I was not the guardian of the jewel. A life where I could be a normal girl. I am so sorry Kagome." She sniffled and laid her head on her up-drawn knees. "It's all my fault. I think I wished for your life, and that wish was granted."

Kagome scooted closer to Kikyo and put an arm around her shoulder. She sighed. "It's my fault too, then." She rested her head on Kikyo's. "I was wishing for a different life too. I think I might have been wishing for yours, as well."

Together they sat there. Not crying. Not moving. Just sitting there, thinking about their friends, their lives, and their futures. Finding comfort in each other.

"So… now what do we do?" Kagome asked quietly.

Kikyo opened her mouth to voice her confusion, but it wasn't her voice that echoed through the woods.

"I have the answers you seek."

Kagome and Kikyo jump up from the pink bed to face the stranger in their dream. They were a little nervous (ok… scared) of the intruder.

"Who are you?" Kikyo asked, stepping forward.

A figure appeared from behind the shadows of the trees. She was a woman with long dark hair and dark grey eyes.

Kagome was shocked. The woman looked like an older version of her… and Kikyo. She wondered briefly if cloning was involved, then shook that thought off. Kikyo's world was entirely different from her own, so cloning was impossible. She began wondering if they were simply the same person, but in different dimensions, or maybe in different time periods and they were reincarnations. Her head began to hurt. There were too many possibilities, and none of them made any logical sense.

Maybe it was simply just magic.

"I am Midoriko," The woman introduced herself. "I am the priestess who created the Shikon jewel."

The two young women looked at the priestess. "You created it?" they asked in unison.

"Yes. Only one with a pure heart may use and protect the jewel. It will grant the protector a wish. The jewel was meant to be protected by the priestess Kikyo. I do not know how it found you, miko Kagome. But it did. And it chose you."

"It granted the wishes hidden in both of your hearts. The wish can not be undone, unless both hearts truly desire it."

Kagome and Kikyo looked at each other.

Kikyo realized it would be unfair for her to continue to live the life Kagome was meant for. She closed her eyes and thought of her new family and friends. And Hojo. She thought about the joy of freedom. No demons to fight, no spells to learn, no lives that depended on her actions. Although she dreaded going back to being the protector of the jewel, she knew that she had no right to make Kagome suffer. With a heavy heart she decided that she would go back.

Kagome thought about her family. She missed her mother and her grandfather, and yes, even her little brother. She missed her friends from school. She missed movies and bubblebaths. She missed chocolate bars and ice cream. She missed videogames and her computer. She even missed school. But could she really say good-bye to her new friends? Good-bye to Inuyasha? They have been through so much together!

"Are you ready?" asked Midoriko.

"What?" Both girls screamed.

"You mean now?" Kikyo cried out.

"Can't we say good-bye first?" Kagome asked sadly.

Midoriko shook her head sadly. "We must do this now, while the two of you are together and I am able to find the strength. You must wish on the jewel. You must wish for your lives back. Face each other and hold hands."

Cautiously they did as they were told. Both eyes reflected sorrow and fear.

"Now, make the wish."

Kagome and Kikyo closed their eyes, and made their wish.

Pink light swirled around their feet, winding it's way up their bodies, until they were completely engulfed.