Disclaimer: This story was written by Heather Weber, not Inuyasha Adventures. This story is an entry for theFall '05 Fanfiction contest. If you would like to vote on this story to win the contest or any other entry, please use the link on the profile page. Thank you, InuGirlTeen.

Love and Dreams, InuYasha Style

by Heather Weber

Disclaimer: InuYasha and the rest of the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Please do not sue, as this story was written in love of the characters.

"Do you think I hit him too hard?"

For a moment the words seem to echo a little. Waking up with a headache was one thing. But banging his head into the wooden object didn't help either.

"Ow. Ow. Ouch!"

That, and having a very loud beeping noise, and two people yelling to shut off the "alarm" really didn't help. Light shined into his face. He moved his hand around above his head, because that was where the beeping was coming from. Finally, he found the device. He pushed down on the button. The beeping stopped.

"What is this? Where am I?"

Well, other than the headache that throbbed at his temples, he realized that he was still in bed. InuYasha stepped onto the floor. For some reason, he knew that this felt normal.

And really strange at the same time.

"Hey! We've been calling you! The bathroom is open!" a kid's voice yelped at him. That definitely sounded like Shippo. Morning routine? InuYasha shrugged. He felt like he was still in a dream, and that he hadn't quite woken up yet. Dreaming...

With a sigh, he picked up the plastic dish that contained some bathroom essentials. Morning. What was today, anyway? School day?

Toothbrush in hand, he started to get ready.

"Ohayo, Kaede-sama, Shippo-chan. Is InuYasha ready?" Kagome smiled, holding her book bag in front of her. She had a cheerful grin. Kaede looked up from the paper, and smiled. Old Myoga smiled up from his tea.

"Where did this pretty young woman come from? So when are you going to sweep that foster boy of ours off his feet?" he started to laugh as she blushed. He yelped though as Kaede reached under the table with a kick to his shin.

Shippo waved bye.

"Don't count on it!" he replied back.

"I know this is gonna sound weee-erd, but I swear this dream was real..." InuYasha muttered around the piece of toast he had hurriedly ate at. Running, having breakfast, and still trying to talk was being difficult. Bookbag, boiled egg, jacket arm... And they were late. Not a great way to start the day.

"There's no way we're gonna make it, not unless we can get a little faster," Kagome groaned.

"And this will be the third time since the school year started!"

Suddenly, InuYasha got an idea. Something he remembered slightly from the dream. "Piggy back me," he started to slow down, then swung her up by the waist.

" What are you talk... What in the world ARE YOU DOING!" she yelped, then settled onto his back. He started to pick up speed. He handed off quickly the remains of the half-eaten breakfast and his school bag. Then he really flat out started to run.

He almost ran into another couple hurrying to school. The other couple jumped straight upward. The girl landed in the nearby alley; on her feet and unharmed. The boy tried to land on the nearby fence, only to have the section pop out. He landed in the nearby reservoir. But when the head came back up to the surface, it belong to a red-headed girl.

"Jeez, what was their hurry?" the girl snapped to no one in particular.

Still, Kagome and InuYasha didn't see the change happen behind them. Intent on the target, the school gates, InuYasha was running at a speed Kagome never remember him running at. They soon were clearing an alleyway. They jumped over fences. Wow, since when did he ever decide to be so fast. Kagome thought for a minute. Then she realized that they were looking at the school gates...

And they were closing!

The students in charge of tardiness were halfway through, InuYasha made a huge leap. It cleared the gate. Everyone stared stunned. InuYasha suddenly felt the weight shift, as Kagome had let her grip slide slightly He grabbed her waist, and planned to land on his feet. Then with the catch, with her arms around his neck, he raced into the building. At the entrance, he finally stopped.

"Wow, someone ate a power bar today!" a familiar voice spoke up.

Kagome looked up with an embarrassed grin. "Ohayo, Hojo-sempai." She let go, and put her feet on the floor.

"Yo," InuYasha bent over slightly. He finally caught a breath. Whoo, maybe some dreams should just stay dreams, but that at least kept them from getting in trouble again. They had to hurry to class.

Class was boring... and InuYasha was trying really hard to stay awake. History was being really tedious today. His mind kept drifting toward the dream. His gaze slid towards Kagome's seat. She was paying deep attention, with her friend handing carefully some notes. Her friend had a loose ponytail, and a very shy smile. The school uniform was conservate in comparison to Kagome. In fact, for some reason his mind kept drawing a blank on the girl's last name. Sango...Sango what?

Again the dream nagged at him.

Until the eraser hit him in the head. "Ow!" He yipped. He whipped his head around to the front. The teacher had a stern expression. "Hanyou-san, what is the answer to the question I just asked?"

Now I'm gonna get it, he sighed inwardly. The answer came to him like the dream itself had.

"The Muromachi Period, Sempai-san."

The teacher looked surprised, "Yes, that's correct. Glad to see you were paying attention."

Kagome sighed inward. That had been close. But then she had to give him credit for helping her study last night. So some of that had to rubbed off; she hoped.

At the lunch break, at least someone had remembered lunch. Kagome handed off a red handkerchiefed bento box. "Geez, I almost to forgot to give this to you. I'd bet you'd starve if it wasn't for me." They stayed at their desks, expect for those who wanted something from the lunch stores downstairs. Kagome sat with her friends. They had congregated nearby at desks by InuYasha.

"Uhhh, thanks," he responded distractedly.

"Sounds like you're not with us today," Sango picked up a octopus wiener out of her lunch. "Little brothers, heh. Must have helped this morning."

Yuri smiled with a bit of mischievousness. "So how come boyfriend didn't make lunch for you today or you wish he had?"

Sango blushed. "I don't have to answer that. But...he had college classes this morning after all, so he just stopped over to say hi."

"What do you see in that lech anyway? He's at least two years older than you." Kagome asked.

Sango swallowed her food quickly. "What about you and your two-timer over there?"

Kagome got real red in the face. "Hey, h-he's right in front of us..." she then turned, expecting him to snarl back, usually saying that the old relationship was over. Kikyo had broken it off. It had not been an easy break-up either. Kagome, as an old friend, came to be the one he relied on. Others treated them like a couple. They had just kept it as friends.

However, this time, he was eating through the lunch, and seemed oblivious. Thinking about something else entirely. "InuYasha, you are distracted today...Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Yo! Spaceboy, Earth to InuYasha..." Sango finally got his attention, by snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"What?" he asked, setting his chopsticks down.

Now, that they had his attention; they weren't sure as to how to include him in the conversation. "You've been quiet. Does your head still hurt from the concussion yesterday?" Sango asked, trying to sound like she was not as concerned as she felt. "You did end up in the underside of a baseball play sandwich."

Baseball? Concussion? Could that have explained the headache this morning? "Yeah, but the funniest part about yesterday...is I don't remember...and this really strange dream."

Kagome sighed. "Maybe."

Yuri stared with a confused expression. "A dream after a concussion? Your subconscious must have been playing overtime."

"Don't surprise me any," a boy's voice interjected. "My elbow landed in the back of your head, Yasha, and I think Hiro's knees got both of us in the ribs in that pile-up. Face plant central."

Yuri's tone changed to annoyance. "Oh, hello, Koga."

Koga was a dark looking teen. He had put his hair into a bandanna. He wore his uniform loose, being athletic.

"Nice to see you too, Yuri." He retorted, "So when are you gonna drop the Snow Princess routine, and let me take you out sometime?"

"Never."

Kagome giggled. Those two were always fighting. She smiled to InuYasha as he shrugged. Of course, as friends, they had argued too. He had gotten into doozy of a fight with her when Hojo-sempai had asked her out. Then there was that boy , Koga. That one was a friendship as well. Though for a while Koga hadn't taken it that way. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, a jealous girl had finally got his attention. Too bad that he had moved on to Yuri. She wasn't interested.

Kagome sighed. School has kept her really busy, and it was good to have her friends around. She felt an odd sensation that something wasn't quite right.

Lunch ended quickly, and classes seemed to drone on. InuYasha leaned from one arm to the other. Can't they get on with it? Math could only go so far...

A quick glance at the clock made a slight groan stick in his throat Kagome was writing notes. Math wasn't her best subject, either. It would still be at least twenty minutes before they could go extra curricular activities. This made no sense, as he turned his attention back to the front. Can't this hurry up?

Sharpened pencil started to tap on the desk as he began to get antsy. Still, it was quiet enough that no one else hushed him. His foot began to twitch very rapidly. Waiting wasn't really his best suit. Having math class this late in the day...

Tap, tap, tap, InuYasha looked again to the clock, and only a few minutes have passed. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, look to the clock again, tap, tap, tap. Back to the front, and for a moment, he wondered if the teacher was just as bored as he was. Tap, tap, tap.

Kagome wrote down what the teacher was saying. She knew that she'd have to share her notes later. But then, she had to remind...somebody...that they needed to do some shopping . She gave a sigh with almost an amused air. Kagome turned her gaze over to her friend. Who appeared to be bored. It made her want to laugh, the way that he had his knee bouncing up and down. Twitching seemed to be a genetic thing...

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, another glance at the clock, tap, tap, tap. Why did this feel like forever? Who's bright idea was to have this scheduled so late in the d...

BRING!

Oh, thank the gods!

The fastest runners in the same class, and on the same team. Koga was crouched ready into the starter block. They had to do timed track practice. They were running on the 50-yard dash. The coach blew the whistle for the group to get ready. One more shrill toot and they were off.

"Say, weren't you and Kagome supposed to be doing something after school?" one of the other guys waiting to go on the track asked.

InuYasha gave a snort, "What am I, a secretary? She's the one who..."

Tweet! "Listen up, you guys!" the coach yelled. "Next four, get in starter position. Hold it, Yasha..."

"Yeah?"

"I heard about the game yesterday. Don't push yourself, unless you think you can be fine for today."

"I'm fine. Let's go."

"'Kay, guys, get into position..."

Tweet!

Running felt good...

It was when he stopped that he noticed that the others were staring He caught his breath.

"What's the matter?"

Koga had a startled look. "When did you get so fast? Usually, I outrun you!"

Did I just...? "You're kidding, right?"

The coach spoke up. "Wish he was...You finally gained some super speed or something?"

At that, InuYasha shrugged.

On the other side of the campus, Kagome was aiming at a target for her archery club. She had never really been good at it. Grandpa had suggested it as a credit for college. It wasn't tedious, if not for the fact that she was in the same club as the ex-girlfriend of InuYasha. That and Kikyo was far better a shot than her. Heck, she was even better than even the second highest archer in the club. The girl had hit a full set of bulls eyes before the others shot for the day.

" Your arm is turning inward, Higurashi. I thought that problem was corrected."

"Sorry, I'm just a little distracted."

Yuri smiled. "Well, I'm not surprised. You have been thinking about a certain someone lately?"

Kagome turned red. "It's not like that."

It then brought Kikyo in the fray. " Yuri!"

However Yuri wasn't done yet. "Well, I hear that you have been getting really close to certain ex... but then you two do look alike."

"We do not look alike!" Kagome yelped at the same time as Kikyo did.

"YURI!" Kikyo finally commanded, "Drop it!"

Kagome hurried to the front door of the school where Sango and InuYasha were waiting. He leaned up against a pillar. He straightened up as she approached.

"Ready?" Sango asked.

A voice suddenly spoke up. "Not without me."

"Miroku!" Sango spoke up with a very large smile. The college student carried a kid on his shoulder. He was dressed in a windbreaker and jeans, ready for the beach. Shippo chirped a hello to his friends. Sango ran up for a hug.

"Kaede asked me to pick the kid up, as your brother had a very late class again."

InuYasha gave a snort. " Don't you get tired being a babysitter?"

Miroku smiled. "Well, you always seem to need one, for all the stunts you do."

At that, InuYasha grumbled.

At the shopping center, the group started looking at the different shops. Shippo wanted to head to one of the toy stores. The girl wanted check out the clothing stores, and of course, the two lovebirds wanted to stick together.

InuYasha volunteered to head over to the toy shop with Shippo. He felt bored, but it did feel good to be out in the city. Normally, he'd just be hanging out either at the apartment complex or the Sunset shrine. Kagome's grandfather might ask him to help out. Not without much of a grumble, InuYasha knew that Kagome did appreciate it. The old guy just gave charms or fortunes in return for the work. At that thought, he fished out the latest reward from the old man from a pocket: a key chain with a plastic crystal ball on the end. The Shikon Jewel, and a legend on it's own. The whole shrine was full of old stories. Kagome and he had heard them since they were kids.

He paused as a kid in a yellow bandanna almost bumped into him. He was very intent on a map and about rammed the umbrella on the pack he was carrying right into InuYasha.

"Feh, watch where you're going, baka." he grumbled.

"Wow! That's cool!" Shippo spoke up from the display case that had caught his attention. The toy robots and models would get the kid's attention. InuYasha smiled slightly. It was cute, in a way, to watch the kid enjoy himself. As he scanned the shelves, InuYasha had his attention diverted by a model. It looked like a very simple model. Mainly red and looked like a figure with a long, large sword. As his interest increased, InuYasha picked up the figure. Was this..?

"Hello, how much is it for this figure?" He came back up to the counter. The clerk responded, and it was at a price that seemed really low, but within what he could afford. So he bought it. Just as Miroku came up with the girls.

"You guys hungry?" Miroku asked. "I'll buy."

InuYasha muttered under his breath, "Lost an argument, huh?"

"Of course...I never argue with a woman."

At a local fast food restaurant, they sat at a set of booths. With hamburgers, fries, and shakes around, they sat and talked. Other patrons talked around them. One woman in the corner with a sketch book drew in it as other milled in line.

Shippo pulled out a toy out of the meal that had been bought for him. That made InuYasha think for a minute on the figure. He pulled it out for a closer look. It had a very long sleeved kimono. The sword was as long as a pointer finger for this model.

"What's that?" Sango asked, sitting her hamburger down for minute. She waved at a couple of classmates when they came in.

" It's a model, but other than that, I don't know. I forgot ask."

Sango picked it up gently. "Looks like one of those samurai models, or one of those anime ones."

"You know, I've kind of wondered..." Kagome rested her chin on her palm as she took a sip of her shake. "How would our lives work as an animation?"

Sango paused, " What do you mean by that?"

"Well, as a little kid, I admit, that I thought it would be cool to be in those adventures. The old tales, the robot adventures..."

"The romances?" Miroku smirked. Sango flipped her wrapper at him.

"Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the kid here?" Shippo sighed.

While they were talking, the woman with the sketchbook finished with her pencil. She closed the book and left the restaurant.

That evening, after they had let their friends go home for the night, InuYasha and Kagome walked up the stairs to the shrine. They held hands a little close. Shippo played with the toy from the meal.

"Hey, Sota might be done with his homework. Why don't you go ahead and see if he's wanting to play video games?" Kagome suggested. That got the boy to hurry.

"What was that about?" InuYasha asked.

Kagome sighed. "I just wanted to talk. Let's go up to the tree." She meant the sacred tree on the shrine's property. It was a nice place to see a sunset. InuYasha remembered it. From the day he first met Kagome. Then his memory got really fuzzy.

"Kagome, how did we met again?" he asked quietly. This tree made him feel like whispering.She smiled slightly. "Well, it had been the week after you moved in. Your mother had died only a month before. Your dad had been gone since you were born. My dad had died in that car accident a few days before and I was getting tired of all the upheaval. I think you were too. So... we met here by accident" By then they were by the tree. They stepped under the branches. " I was upset, but I think you were already here, and you were crying..."

He wrinkled his nose, " You sure it wasn't the other way around?"

She laughed. "Maybe, but either way, you were sitting next to the sacred tree, and I sat down on the other side. It was then I think we heard each other, and bumped heads. It hurt, but then I think we got talking about what was going on. You were really angry, like everyone was out to get you."

"It felt like it." He sat down on the grass under the spreading branches. " This tree always seems so big, like it could take up the whole world if it wanted to. I think that's why I liked coming here."

"Me too."

Kagome sat down next to him, and leaned into him. He jumped slightly But he liked it. Maybe that's why he felt Kikyo had to let him go.

She tilted her head toward his. And he smiled slightly back. For a moment, they stared, and a familiar thump was felt between them.

"Hey, SIS!" Sota yelled, making them jump. "Mom wants you two to come in for dinner, soon!"

They quickly got up, dusted themselves off, and sheepishly smiled to one another. They raced for the house. Both paused at the back door.

"Kagome," he asked.

"Hmm?" she responded. She turned her head, as the same time he turned towards her. They for a moment touched noses, then a slight kiss.

Startled, Kagome paused, and so did InuYasha. He blushed red. She held it there.

"What's keeping you..." Grandpa began, then paused in surprise. They jerked back, now very red.

"Heads up!" the two boys yelped.

He got a face full of a planted pot from the balcony.

"InuYasha, are you okay?" Shippo leaned over as InuYasha sat up. He rubbed his head, and felt his kimono sleeve brush his wrist. What happened?

"Sorry 'bout that?" Miroku sheepishly lifted his hand in the forgiving gesture.

Sango smiled, " I think you'd be used to him hitting your head with that staff."

"What in the seven hells did you do that for, anyway?" InuYasha yelped.

Kagome smiled with relief, "You're at least okay, aren't you?"

"I should be, now will you guys just..." he trailed off. He began to remember slightly. "Nevermind." He got to his feet.

They soon began to walk onto a new path along the meadow. A slight feeling made him think on the dream a bit. He turned to Kagome and smiled.

And he put his hand into hers.

A black haired woman with glasses sat up at a sketching table with a pencil resting with her hand. She had an idea for new manga, by looking back at an old sketchbook. She had thought of a character when she had heard a group of kids talking about a figure in a very old robe. She had tried to draw the idea out, with the boy as a character. Somehow, it just felt right. Her assistant slipped up behind her.

"New manga idea, Ma'am?" she asked .

Rumiko turned to her, pushed on her glasses. Shesmiled. "Yes, I believe so."

"Where? This works so well"

"Oh, just from around..."