Golden Eyes
By Lady of the Ink
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but you knew that . . .I hope. But I do own this plot and all the twists that it takes.

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Flash Three
Strong Arms

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Kagome stared at the object with a mix of uncertainty, excitement, and fear. She knew that reaching out to it would signal the start of something that she wasn't sure she could handle. It might me one of the best things to happen to her but it also held the potential to be something . . .else. She couldn't say horrible exactly, but a little scary. A little confusing. A little dangerous.

A small thrill shot through her, causing her to jump up from her chair and begin to pace. She was giving this whole thing too much thought. It was a small matter and obsessing over it was juts blowing it out of proportion. One word; that's all it would take when the moment came. If the moment came at all.

She stopped walking and growled at herself in disgust. The lack of sleep and the excess of troubling dreams were starting to get to her. They were obviously knocking her off balance. There could be no other reason why she was acting like such a wuss over such a simple situation. With a deep breath to bolster her courage, she reached out and grabbed the object.

Fifteen minutes later, she gently replaced the telephone receiver back into its cradle. Her shoulders slumped in relief at having gotten her task over and done with relatively quickly. Good thing or bad, she now had another date with Hojo.

Kagome sighed as she headed to her room. She looked at the bed, considered taking a nap, remembered what had happened during her last nap and took a seat at her desk instead. Resting her elbows on it and then laying her head in her palms, she sighed again. Even with the course of action that she had settled on firm in her mind, she felt a little unsure about seeing Hojo again. Each of the odd visions had come while she was with him and had been followed by the distressing dreams. She wasn't sure she could handle another episode when she was still reeling from the first two.

Of course, that same argument was also the biggest reason for the date with Hojo. Hiding from the problem wouldn't make it go away and so she would much rather deal with it and put it behind her if she could. She was hoping that facing the issue head on would help her to gain some control over it.

Mentally checking off scheduling the date with Hojo, Kagome moved on to item number two on her "Get A Grip" list. There was nothing that she could do about finding the cause of the hallucinations on her own, but that didn't mean that she couldn't examine the scenes themselves. It was possible that looking more closely at them could cause them to lose their power and fall apart in the same way that the light of day helps to dissolve nightmares.

Digging through her drawers, she pulled out an empty spiral notebook. She flipped it open and grabbed a pencil, rapidly filling the first two pages with a basic outline of both incidents. The third page was the beginning of a much more in depth account with every detail that she could remember. In order to be as accurate as possible, she pulled up a mental image of the scenes, running through them in slow motion in order to study them.

Remembering the first dream went smoothly, much to Kagome's relief. It was as though the handful of days that had passed acted like a buffer, dimming the confusion and fear that she had felt without detracting from the fine points. It was almost like remembering a movie.

She wasn't as lucky with the second incident. Describing the flashing feelings that had flooded her on the street was simple enough, but the same wasn't true for the dream that followed. Since the whole thing had happened in almost complete darkness, she had to concentrate hard to bring details to life. The best method that she could think of was to visualize it as though she were reliving it.

Taking a deep breath, she called on her memory of the exact moment the dream had begun. She filled her lungs with the heavy air of the closed in space and felt the dampness of it settle on her skin. Once more she knew the feel of uneven ground beneath her feet and rough fabric clutched between her fingers. It unfolded in her mind with a clarity that was so intense that she was back in the cavern, bracing herself for the fight that she knew was coming.

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"Hiraikotsu!"

The harried cry was accompanied by a low thwacking noise that vibrated the very air. It was closely followed by a loud thud that echoed through the vast room. Kagome cringed at the sound, vaguely disoriented by her inability to place it in the darkness.

She knew she couldn't allow herself to remain off balance for long and so she struggled to gain control of herself. A deep breath was the only thing she had time to indulge in before taking action. With the sleeve still clutched in her hand she gave a slight nod that she knew would be seen, signaling that she was ready.

Barely a second passed before she felt an arm loop around her shoulders while another swept beneath her knees to lift her into the air. The action seemed completely natural and she remained at ease, even when her companion began to move. He raced forward for a few steps before she felt his muscles bunch. An instant later he lunged upward, sending the darkened world whipping past her face.

The feeling of weightlessness passed as quickly as it had come as they came to rest on solid ground. The arms that had been holding her so securely loosened until her feet touched earth. There was a moment of hesitation that Kagome knew they both felt. As much as she wanted to assure and be assured that everything would be all right, she knew that there wasn't time to make or receive such a false guarantee. She settled for the biggest smile that she could manage and a whispered "Good luck."

She barely got the words out before she was pulled into a tight hug. It lasted only a second before he was gone, leaving her feeling both warmed by the gesture and bereft by its sudden absence. It was all that she could do to put it and its air of finality from her mind and focus on the task at hand.

The next moments merged into one hazy chunk of time as she struggled to see through the gloom. Dark shapes on the larger shadow of the room slowly became recognizable figures and she was able to pick friends from foe. It was harder to tell which way the tide of battle was going but she told herself that it didn't matter. Whoever was winning, she still had one job to do and she would see it through till the end.

Raising her bow, she carefully notched an arrow into place. Her entire focus narrowed to the cavern floor beneath her as she waited for the sign that she needed.

The more time that she spent staring at the scene, the sharper her vision became. She was soon able to make out the separate figures rushing around clearly enough to discern that there were several small battles going on simultaneously rather than just one big fight. Two silhouettes fought side-by-side, ponytail and loose robes whipping with their quick movements. Another fought alone across the space, his silvery hair, massive attacks, and loud taunting making his identity clear.

A sudden flash out of the corner of her eye pulled Kagome's attention back to the task at hand. There was a murky pink glow beginning to shine through the gloom.

Every muscle in her body seemed to snap taunt as her target made himself known to her eyes. Her hands tightened fiercely on her weapon as she took careful aim. She would only get one chance and she knew she had to make it count.

Waiting was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. She saw her friends suffer blows that were sure to have caused injuries but she could do nothing. To move would give herself away and make their suffering for nothing. As difficult as it was, she needed to wait and win the war rather than intervene in the battles. She forced herself to see nothing but the pink glow, to hear nothing but her own heart as she waited for him to leave an opening.

By the time her moment finally came, sweat was pouring down her face and stinging her eyes. Even so, it was as though time was giving her a moment of perfect clarity. She saw the massive tendril cutting through the air, heading directly for her. She also saw the area where a vulnerability had been created by a momentarily lapsed defense.

The choice before her was clear: dodge the attack and risk missing what could well be her only chance or remain in place to take the shot, accepting that whatever would happen to her would happen.

Her decision was made instantly and without the need for thought as she held her ground and let the arrow fly. Her eyes followed its path until the moment everything seemed to erupt in a brilliant light. She got a look at everyone below her bathed in the glow before her world narrowed down into nothingness.

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Kagome came back to herself with a gasp, giving an involuntary start so strong that she almost slid out of her chair. She quickly grabbed the desk, her knuckles going white with the force of her grip. Her entire body seemed to rebel from the queasiness in her stomach to the light headiness and the almost painful pounding of her heart. Every response was worse than it had been before; even the event itself had held a vividness that far surpassed its predecessors.

Kagome pressed a hand against her chest as she worked to calm herself. It was an effort made more difficult by the realization running through her mind. The strange visions had never come to her when she was awake before. Neither had one come without one of the slightly less troubling flashes coming first. It was clear that the episodes were getting worse.

Kagome let her forehead come to rest on her desk as a single thought repeated over and over in her head.

'What's wrong with me?'

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Time seemed to crawl by and race past at the same time. Kagome's emotions were just as conflicted as she waked towards her date with Hojo. There was a part of her that was consumed with apprehension over what might happen while another part was simply impatient to get it over with. The determination that came to back up the second part was the only reason she kept walking forward instead of giving into her fears and running home.

The area that she had arranged to meet Hojo at was reasonable close to the shrine. It was also somewhere that she was sure would be almost deserted. The small park was a frequent destination only to very young children, most of whom would have long since gone home with their mothers. Since it was just an hour before most people would be sitting down to dinner, she knew they would most likely be the only ones there.

As she turned the final corner and entered the park, she saw that Hojo was already there and waiting for her. He had taken a seat on one of the benches, a perch that he immediately abandoned when he caught sight of her. A smile jumped to his lips and Kagome worked to return it.

"Higurashi," he said with a smile as she drew near. "You look nice."

Kagome glanced down at the shirt and skirt she had just thrown on before leaving her house. She hadn't bothered to pick out anything special; she's been too distracted by her nerves. It was pure luck that the clothes even matched.

Absently thanking him for the compliment, she motioned towards the bench. "Let's sit down." She sat down and Hojo immediately took a seat at her side, so close that their legs were touching. Kagome shifted away under the guise of turning to face him. There were things that she needed to ask him and she didn't want to get knocked off course by another flood of images.

"Hojo," she began before pausing, unsure of exactly how she wanted to phrase what she needed to say. Taking a deep breath, she decided that honesty would be the best route to take. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been a little off lately. That's because there's something there's something really strange that has been happening to me and I really don't know how to deal with it."

Hojo's face instantly telegraphed concern as he reached out to take one of her hands between both of his own. "You haven't had a relapse, have you? I thought you were finally doing so well." He closed his eyes briefly and gave a self-directed sigh of disgust. "And here I am, dragging you around when you're not feeling well."

He moved as though to get to his feet and Kagome hurried to stop him. "Hojo! No, it's okay. I'm not sick, really. I don't even remember being sick. It's not that kind of problem." Seeing that she had his full attention, she took a deep breath and launched into the speech she'd practiced in her mind all the way to the park. "The thing that's wrong with me, the problem that I've been having, I mean; I'm almost positive that it's connected to what I forgot. It's like there's something my mind needs me to remember and because I don't, weird things are happening. I keep getting these headaches and weird dreams that seem like memories but don't make a lot of sense."

She struggled to put her thoughts into words but knew she was failing miserably. How could she explain to Hojo what she was having a hard time understanding herself? All she knew was that the images that kept coming to her seemed connected to each other and to him. Every time being with him brought on a new one, it started up where the last had left off. They were too real and familiar feeling to be just dreams and so she could only guess there was a deeper meaning to them. Her hope was that if she could make it to the end of whatever they were trying to tell her, they would stop. In order to do that, she had to deliberately provoke another incident.

"Higurashi, if there's anything that I can do to help, all you have to do is ask." Hojo's voice was so earnestly sincere that Kagome had to drop her gaze to her hands where they lay twisted in her lap. What she was about to ask of him was a big deal and she knew it. It was quite possible that he would refuse or even be offended by her request but she couldn't let herself dwell on that. In this case, her need for answers was greater than the risk to her pride.

"The reason that I asked you here is because I think there's some kind of connection between you and all these pseudo-memories that I've been having." She raised determined eyes to his face before her courage could desert her. "There's a way to test my theory. The thing is that I don't want you to think any less of me for it. I really hope that you can understand why I have to do this." Not giving him a chance to reply or react, she leaned forward and kissed him square on the mouth.