Author Note:
For everyone's sake, I summarized Kagome's dream in this chapter. It's actually a premonition of what will happen much later in the story. To be honest… there was no reason for this chapter to exist anyway, but I wrote this many years ago… xD Please forgive any inaccuracies.
Kagome's Promonition:
The dream seemed real. Kagome thought she was on her way to Zora's Cavern with her friends, but the sky darkened noticeably with every step. Strangely enough, her friends didn't notice. Kagome tried to catch their attention by yelling their names, but no answer came. Before long, she had fallen behind the group, watching her friends talking amongst themselves. What was happening?
She heard a noise behind her and she was immediately shrouded in darkness, but her eyes played tricks on her. She thought she saw someone, something, move behind her. Somehow, she knew she wasn't alone. A faint whisper spoke in her ear, and a vision flashed before her eyes. Unexpectedly, she stood in an unfamiliar gorge, surrounded by canyons. Shadows danced around the area by a raging river, laughing. It was a chilling sight. Eventually, she fell into a trancelike state, and try as she could, she couldn't find her voice. Kagome was paralyzed.
What were the voices saying? What was the meaning of this dream? Nothing made sense. The words spoken by the shadows spoke in an unfamiliar tongue. Suddenly, there was fire. A thick haze of smoke filled the surrounding air of the desolate valley. A village went up in flames, followed by a massive city carved out of stone. There was even a palace. People were screaming, running in fear as hooded figures attacked them.
But those figures turned when they noticed her and chased after her. Kagome panicked and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. What was happening? Who were those people? Where was this place? An ocean of blood rose from the ground and suddenly swallowed her. It happened in an instant, and suddenly she was back in the gorge, and her legs carried her toward the river. Bending down, she lowered her hand into the water, only to retract just as quickly. Blood stained her entire hand. Not only that, but there were bones floating above the surface.
And then the river vanished. Returned to the surrounding darkness, she saw a huge hourglass before her. The transparent container was golden, and grains of black sand fell through the narrow opening with a small heap piling up at its base. There were skulls inside it. Human remains. Time was running out.
'Termina is doomed to end, unless one with a pure heart can rise and quell the evil. After that, only one with a pure heart can make a wish. Depending on the wish itself, the land will either survive or be doomed again until another can step forth. The cycle just keeps going.'
Mystified by the sight, she touched the hourglass, and a burst of light shined within. But the moment her fingers touched it, the glass cracked. Fearful, she called out to her friends, hoping someone would wake her from this dreadful dream. How long would this remain? Could it be… this was a premonition?
A laugh reached her ears. An unfamiliar one at that. She looked up and noticed a dark figure sitting on top of the hourglass, his crimson eyes watching her. Who was that? What did they want? "Who are you?" But he said nothing and swung a silver chain in his possession. A chain which held the Sacred Jewel. He swung it like a pendulum. Back and forth.
Visions of her friends appeared inside the container, and flashes from earlier conversations and encounters filled her eyes. It was like a flashback, and that person was showing her. But why? Tears trickled down her cheeks. She missed her family and friends. The images also showed her flashes of Inuyasha betraying her for Kikyou, and how his disappearances had hurt her. "No more… Stop!"
"Time is running out, priestess." The male voice said suddenly.
Before she could question what he meant, the hourglass shattered, its shards slicing through the darkness. Kagome shrieked and covered her face, and as the sand followed it, spraying in all directions, Kagome suddenly found herself drenched in a sticky and wet substance. Blood.
"Don't get carried away," He said. "This won't be the last you see of me. Kagome…"
Kagome awoke with beads of sweat falling from her brow. The dream that had plagued her was over, and she took the time to catch her breath. From what she could perceive, she was not covered with blood, but she could not help but erase the horrid images from her mind. The dream had felt so real, and she could still recall the words spoken to her by that strange and mysterious person who hid in the shadows.
While calming her racing heart, Kagome glanced around the dark room. The room she and her friends dwelled in for the night was the Spider House, which was next door to the Fisherman's hut. They'd taken lodge there for the night, and the place was not as cozy as she had thought. There were still the sounds of screeching on the walls and ceiling coming from somewhere in the room Since there was no furniture or any kind of decoration inside, they had to make do with what they had and what the kind man next door had offered them.
At the moment, Kagome was tucked inside her sleeping bag, with Shippo snuggled up against her in deep sleep. As she looked about the darkness, she found she had woken no one from their sleep, and for that, she was thankful. Inuyasha was on his side with his arms tucked away in his sleeves as always, just snoozing away, his silver hair scattered around the cold floor. Sango and Miroku were leaning against one another with a thick blanket around them. Sango rested her head against the young man's shoulder and as for the monk, his rested on her head; their weapons lied beside them. The sight was cute and worthy of a Kodak moment.
Looking at the last member of the group, Kagome couldn't help but look upon the boy and his fairy. Link sat underneath the open stone window, where the light of the moon seemed to cast a faint glow around his form. Link's blond hair, which fell over his face partially, was illuminated by the moonlight, which gave off a golden glow. His mouth was parted slightly, and his left hand rested on the hilt of his blade. Even in sleep, he prepared for the unexpected, and for a moment, Kagome wondered if he ever had a good night's rest.
Sighing, she lay back in her blanket and thought about her friends' back home. They must have missed her terribly, probably thinking she was in the hospital or she was suffering from another one of her grandpa's fake illnesses. Grandpa…
"Hey Kagome! Guess what?" A picture of her younger brother smiling flashed through her mind. "I got an A on my test!"
'Souta… What are you up to these days?'
"Oh Kagome, you're back?" Her mother smiled as she rushed to embrace her daughter. "You're back early. Come inside, I've already made dinner."
Tears sprung from her eyes, and she turned over as she wiped them from her cheeks with the blankets pulled over her neck. 'Mom… I miss you.' As she lay there, she wept until finally the tears subsided and she fell into a dreamless sleep.