I don't Own InuYasha. And I don't want to, as I'd probably ruin the story.

Chapter Seven: Dreams and Nightmares

InuYasha shifted restlessly in his poison induced sleep. His dreams where terrifying, more like nightmares. He called out, in hopeless terror.

Blackness surrounded him. From it, voices of the past rang out, in accusations, in horror at him. He was acutely aware of every scream of a child, every whimper ever uttered as he passed by the humans of various villages, back before Kikyou. His ears flattened. He whimpered slightly in the back of his throat.

The scene began to clear. He was running through a village…No. Not just any village. It was Kikyou's village…where Kaede and the group were currently. Smoke was rising from several houses, as he ran past them. He glanced down at a weight that he suddenly felt in his right hand. "No…!"

It was the Shikon no Tama. His eyes widened as he looked around, recognizing where he was. It was…

"Oh SHIT!" He tried desperately to turn in midair. A shout rang out, a bowstring twanged and an arrow whirred through the air, landing with a thunk in his chest, pinning him to the tree behind him. His eyes turned towards the person who pinned him. "Kikyou…Why…"

But he knew why. This was just a reenactment, wasn't it? It was a dream, right? His vision faded to black as doubts crept into his mind.

Kagome was having similar dreams just a few feet away.

Blackness was around her, and evil laughter, that sounded so much like Naraku's, rang out. She cried out for InuYasha, but all she heard was more laughter. Red eyes glowed in the dark, each pierced by turquoise pupil. A laugh rang out from there, as InuYasha, in full demon form, stepped out.

"Ha, wench. No one can save you now. Your precious hanyou is gone!" Naraku's voice said. "Now, be torn to pieces by the demon terror that is the new InuYasha!"

She whimpered. "Inu…InuYasha! Snap out of it!" She screamed as he reached forward and slashed her across the shoulder. "Bitch. You think I actually cared for you!" He laughed out, thinking his own statement hilarious. "Ha! As if. You're just my shard detector. Thanks, by the way, for without you, this…" he paused to hold up and clench a fist, his new claws showing, and the longer fangs showing in his smile, "wouldn't be possible."

He took his glance from admiring his claws, and leaped forward, and used his claws to leave long, ragged cuts down her back. She screamed, and dropped to her knees.

"Keh. Pathetic human. You're lucky I let you live this long."

She fell forward, curled into a little ball, as InuYasha leaned over her body and left long, thin slices down her back and sides. She whimpered. And tried to curl up tighter. Her vision started to fade to black and InuYasha's cruel laughs were the last she heard.

She gasped awake, terrified. She forced herself to look at the hanyou lying on the futon just in front of her.

"InuYasha…" she whispered "You wouldn't hurt me like that, would you?" She watched the hanyou's face, noticing the features were creased in worry and terror. She grabbed a clean cloth and wiped some of the sweat off of his face, before unwrapping and checking his wound. It was worse, she could tell…From his upper shoulder to elbow, it was black, and his forearm was going gray. She grabbed the first aid kit and fumbled through for the poison antidote. She found it, and poured a couple more drops in before rewrapping it in clean bandages. She leaned over him, and began to talk to him, as if he were awake.

"Oh…InuYasha…please fight this off. You gotta get better. OK?" She sighed slightly, eyes tearing. "You gotta get better, gotta finish this quest, right? And although you probably don't love me back, I need you to get better for me, too. Please." A few tears fell onto InuYasha's face. She reached for the cloth, to wipe them away. When she turned back, she saw his eyes were open.

"InuYasha. Are you feeling any better?" He shook his head. His voice, raspy from lack of water, came through the darkness.

"Kagome…" He pushed up with his good arm, sliding back until he was leaning against the wall. "Kagome…even if I don't make it through this… I want you to know, I love you too. I would have told you before now, but…well, I always thought you wouldn't love me back." His ears flattened, as a blush crept across his face. "You also know how hard it is for me to talk about how I feel. And I thought that you would think I only loved you as a Kikyou look-a-like." He glanced at her. "I don't, you know. You are Kagome. You are…yourself. There is no way that I would choose Kikyou over you now…but I used to think I might have." His ears flattened further, as his blush deepened. "I…Kagome…" His eyes rolled back and he slumped against the wall.

She watched him throughout this, then watched, worriedly, as he fainted before finishing his last sentence. She was afraid for him.