(bows humbly, hiding face from fans)

I curse schoolwork. It demands so much of my attention and time and throws off my fanfic vibes! Anyway, I don't mean to update this fic twice a year, it just happened against my will. But if it makes you all feel better, go ahead and beat the crap outta me to ease your frustration.

(BAM! WHAP! "OW!" CRUNCH! SLAP! BIFF! "HEY, THAT DON'T BEND THAT WAY!" PUNCH! BAP!)

(author gets up on crutches)

Okay, note to self, try to update at least bimonthly.

That out the way, here's chapter 5 for y'all...medic.


InuYasha's Nightmare
Chapter 5

The Inu-tachi resumed their journey late the following morning. Inuyasha led the group in silence, wearing his usual gruff face. Though he managed to get a decent night's sleep, Inuyasha still felt a little weary, doing his best to suppress it. As he led the way, he looked up at the cloudy sky, unable to think about anything save his recent nightmare.

For some reason, the one Inuyasha had the previous night was a thousand times more frightening than the ones before, specifically when he transformed and killed Kagome. He brought his troubled eyes back to eye level and tried not to think about it. Gathering the Shikon shards was more important than his petty nightmare.

Though the journey would be a lot easier to focus on if it weren't for the nagging stench of wolf in the air.

Ginta and Hakkaku trailed along with the Inu-tachi; keeping quiet and feeling uneasy knowing Inuyasha wasn't too fond of them. Miroku tried to ease the tension between the groups by striking up a lighthearted conversation. It started to take effect, until Ginta pointed out the monk's hand making its way to Sango's backside. Hakkaku tried to follow up by warning Miroku about her hiraikotsu but was a second too late.

"I swear you've got serious brain damage, Miroku!" Sango snarled, making Kirara cower and jump onto Kagome's head for safety.

"Makes me wonder how he got that way." Hakkaku muttered, teardropping at the sight of the weapon slamming onto Miroku head.

"As much as he's done that, he oughta be brain dead by now." Shippo grumbled as the two wolves tried to help the monk to his feet.

Miroku only smiled, mentally hollering at Ginta for ruining his moment.

Koga paid virtually no attention to the scene as he walked alongside Kagome, his hard blue eyes fixed on Inuyasha. The hanyou's behavior had freaked him out last night to begin with, but seeing his petrified expression and the way he reacted to Kagome filled him with caution. Koga didn't like the way Inuyasha looked at her. He saw for himself for that moment the hanyou was terrified of Kagome, but for a split second, the wolf saw a hint of malice behind that facade.

Koga's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stared at the back of Inuyasha's head. That look only lasted less than a second, but still...I sensed something. I sensed something but I don't know what. Much as I hate to say it, that mutt loves Kagome just as much as I do, so I know he wouldn't hurt her. Rrr...but that look in his eyes, it keeps bothering me. It's like I thought I saw Inuyasha's eyes turn blue.

His mind was rattled as he tried to make sense of his suspicion. Predominately, his thoughts said that strange look in Inuyasha's eyes was only due to him still thinking he was still in his nightmare, however, his instincts said otherwise, that Kagome was in danger.

Koga scorned himself for thinking good of Inuyasha. The hanyou wouldn't go out of his way to harm Kagome, but that didn't mean he did a good job protecting from harm. It wasn't enough to make a decision based on that little thing, but Koga's instincts kept nagging at him.

Hmm...I'll tag along with Kagome and her group for the time being. Finding Naraku is important to me, but Kagome is far more important. I got a strong feeling that she's in danger; she needs me to protect her.

Inuyasha frowned. For a long while, he felt someone's glare on him, getting a good haunch who it was. He turned around to give Koga a price of his mind when a huge demon appeared out of the ground ahead of him and immediately charged forward. Immediately, a battle pursued, but the group took a beating while trying to subdue it. Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga and took a fighting stance, preparing to deliver the Wind Scar.

Then he stopped and stood in place.

Inuyasha held his stance and stared at the demon. How do I know I'm not dreaming? Almost all my nightmares started with a demon showing up and a battle following.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the demon's tentacles slammed into him and knocked him headfirst into a tree. The others wondered what was wrong with Inuyasha; when an enemy appeared he couldn't attack it fast enough but he just stood and stared like he didn't understand. Koga got pissed off as he had to save Kagome from getting hit.

"What the hell's wrong with you, damn mutt! Use that frickin' sword already!" He screamed.

Kagome noticed the slight uncertainty on Inuyasha's face and then brought her eyes to the large demon, sensing a strong aura coming from it.

"No wonder we're having a hard time. Inuyasha! The demon has five shards in its body!"

The demon struck Inuyasha just as Kagome filled him in. The pain and blood coming from his wound erased his uncertainty and told him he wasn't dreaming. He stood to his feet and readied Tetsusaiga, wearing his trademark cocky smile.

"Five jewel shards comin' up! WIND SCAR!"

The wave of demonic energy blasted from the sword and obliterated the demon. Shippo collected the jewel shards as the fell to the ground. The headman of a wealthy nearby village saw the group fight the demon and offered them stay at their onsen resort to recuperate from their battle.

After enjoying a soak in the hot springs, Koga slipped into his white yukata and looked for Kagome, wondering if she'd like some company. He found Ginta and Hakkaku in the inn, enjoying sake with Miroku and several of the beautiful servant women there.

"Some people think the way I get into a five star inn is underhanded, but the place could have an evil spirit in it somewhere for all I know. Thus, it never hurts to take precautions in the event one should approach the building." Miroku stated lightheartedly, sipping his sake.

The wolves nodded, thinking that remark made sense.

"Well, I'm not at all for lying my way inside a place." Hakkaku stated.

"But if it gets us free room and board, what they don't know won't hurt 'em!" Ginta declared, lifting his cup as the others agreed.

The women laughed at Miroku's craftiness and showered him with attention, which he gladly indulged in. He looked up and saw Koga staring at them all and invited him to join them. The wolf said nothing and left. The monk shrugged it off and gave hi attention back to his lady company, doing his fortune-telling routine and flirting with them.

"My, my, you have such a lovely palm, my dear." Miroku purred, making the woman blush and Ginta and Hakkaku shake their heads.

"This is what that kid Shippo was talking about, huh, Hakkaku?" Ginta whispered in his ear.

Hakkaku nodded, "Yep, but what did he mean when he said, 'death will come on boomerang bone'?"

Miroku took the giggling woman's hands in his, "I hope I don't seem too bold, but might I ask if you would bare my child?"

Ginta and Hakkaku quieted in time to hear Miroku's catch-phrase question, then overhear Koga telling someone down the hall, "right in that room down there".

Next thing they all know the shoji door flew open, revealing to startled Miroku an infuriated demon slayer.

"Sango!" Miroku squeaked, releasing the woman's hand.

"Oh, that's what Shippo meant." Hakkaku said.

Miroku tried to explain himself but Sango wasn't hearing it. She moved toward him and the monk ran out of the room like a bat out of hell, then ran even faster when she shouted chased after with her hiraikotsu. Koga stood at the door leading outside and watched as Miroku ran from Sango, dodging her oversized weapon with amazing agility. Shippo was just stepping out off the kiddy hot spring when he saw the two running his way. He turned to run away but Miroku was too fast and ending up kicking the kitsune. Fearing he'd get trampled, Shippo latched onto the monk and joined him in screaming for help after catching a glance of Sango's ferocious glare.

Koga teardropped as he watched the three run all along the property.

"These are the people I left Kagome with? What the hell's wrong with me?"

On the other side of the inn, on the porch facing the Zen garden, sat Inuyasha. He just sat there staring at the scenery, deep in his thoughts.

"My nightmare where I transformed and killed Kagome was awful enough, but this recent one...damn, I swore it was real. I'm pretty sure I had woken up, but I could still see fire everywhere. I could feel it too. What's stranger, I felt like I was still dreaming up until that demon wounded me. In all my nightmares, the demons never got near me. Keh, one little difference like that was enough to wake me up."

Inuyasha paused, his thoughts centering more on the nightmare he had recently. All day it had been on his mind and something about its contents had been nagging at him.

"Why do I think that one was worse than the other? The one when I transformed, that was the worst one. I mean, I actually enjoyed hearing Kagome's pain and seeing it on her face was horrible enough. The nightmare I had last night, I didn't even..."

Inuyasha stopped the moment the answer to his question came to him.

"Kagome betrayed me".

Inuyasha whispered almost inaudibly, scared to even utter it.

"The nightmare before, Kagome regained her senses but I killed her anyway. This one, she betrayed me and sent me to hell..." Inuyasha quieted more, "That's why it scared me more; something I thought inconceivable had happened."

His golden eyes stared before him, trembling at the thought of Kagome betraying him. His mind began to tread upon forbidden territory

"Have I been naive all this time? I never once let it enter my mind, but I never once entertained the thought of Kagome betraying me.

"It's always possible she might..."

POW!

Those five words escaped his lips in the quietest tone and hung heavily in the air around. The second they entered his ears and registered inside his brain, Inuyasha sent his own fist rocketing into his jaw! The pain brought him out of his trance-like state. Inuyasha's bruised face remained turned to the side, his eyes opening when he was certain that concept had been knocked out of his head. They widened incredulously as he turned back to the garden and placed his hand over his throbbing jaw.

Inuyasha realized not only did he think something completely insane, that Kagome would betray him, but he had been talking to himself.

Also, he had almost knocked himself out! It was like he got pissed off at himself for even allowing that crazy thought to escape his mouth, let alone enter his mind.

"What the hell did I just to myself?" Inuyasha muttered incredulously to himself, his jaw starting to hurt.

He suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder, startling him to his feet.

The person who tapped him took a step back, also startled. "Inuyasha?"

"Ka-Kagome?" Inuyasha uttered, surprised to see her.

Kagome stood before him in her white yukata, looking deep into Inuyasha's golden eyes with great concern. She looked closer at his face and found the left side of his jaw was swollen and a thin trail of blood was beginning to trickle from the corner of his mouth.

"Inuyasha, what happened to you?" Kagome inquired, worried. She had heard the sound of punching, but hadn't seen what else happened.

Inuyasha broke eye contact with her, looking down. "A bug kept annyoin' me and I got a bit carried away when it got on my face."

He saw Kagome move forward and brought his eyes up. She started to reach out to him but stopped when she looked into Inuyasha's eyes and saw them trembling slightly. Confusion hid behind her worry. The look on the hanyou's face was completely foreign to her. Inuyasha's expression suggested that he was scared of her.

Kagome slowly extended her hand towards his face and rested her palm gently upon his swollen jaw. Inuyasha blinked when her skin touched his, and almost instantly, his tense body relaxed as a warm calm filled his body. His eyes stilled and became half-lidded, placing his hand over hers and holding it close to his face. The softness of Kagome's hand and her very presence soothed him and his troubled mind. Inuyasha opened his eyes to see her smiling face.

"Inuyasha," Kagome spoke softly, "I didn't mean to bother you, but you hadn't spoken to me all day and I got worried about you."

His ears drooped. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I got preoccupied with my thoughts. I don't know why, but those nightmares I had were on my mind."

"Are you okay, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou's ear perked back up. He smiled warmly at Kagome, happy to hear her concern. "Yeah, I'm alright now, Kagome. Thanks."

Kagome closed in the small space between them and kissed Inuyasha deeply, pulling him closer as she lovingly caressed his face. He returned her tender kiss, wrapping his strong arms around Kagome and holding her close to him.

She broke the kiss and gazed into Inuyasha's golden eyes.

"I love you."

He stared into her brown eyes as if spellbound. Those three words erased all of the doubt and turmoil in Inuyasha's mind. With a relieved smile, he rested his forehead atop Kagome's.

"And I love you, Kagome." Inuyasha answered affectionately.

He tenderly muzzled her nose, emitting a giggle from her. They stood there inside each other's embrace for a few minutes until Kagome tried to break away. She had meant to tell him she had made lunch for everyone. The hanyou held onto her, feeling very playful all of a sudden. Kagome laughed, catching onto him and half-heartedly tried to break free. Eventually, Inuyasha let her go, so he could chase her around the porch and listen to Kagome laugh.