Author's Note: The inspiration is flowing nicely. Enjoy the chapter everyone.

Disclaimer: I wrote my first Inuyasha fanfiction thirteen years ago. And still, I own none of the Inuyasha series or its characters. So sad.

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Chapter 6: Revival

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Kagome

Kagome rubbed her hands together to ward off the cold. The seasons were changing, and while it hadn't quite reached full-blown-fall yet, the mornings and afternoons were getting colder. She blew a warm breath of air into her cupped fingers, and then rubbed them together again, as if her breath would seep into the appendages.

Sango was late.

Of course, technically, it was Kagome's fault. She'd had all week to research and put together her extra-credit assignment that Itou-sensei had given her. But had she been a studious little girl and gone to the museum ahead of time to do her research? No. She'd spent her week hanging out with Sango, doing her regular homework, and dating Hojou. She'd had a normal, fun week. And now she was paying the price.

She didn't know what had gotten into her. Normally Kagome would have easily scheduled in a few research trips to the museum. She knew better than to put off homework for manicures with Sango, or a movie with Hojou, but for some reason, every time she'd even thought about going to the museum she'd felt panic so intense it sought to overwhelm her. It was like that time she'd had to stand up in front of her entire school body and give a speech for a scholarship competition, where her nerves seemed to get the better of her. But she couldn't figure out why the museum made her so uneasy.

That's why Kagome was now standing out in the chilly weather, waiting for Sango. She'd had to beg her best friend to join her on her trip to the museum. She just couldn't go alone, and no, she couldn't tell her why, and yes, she knew it was ridiculous. Kagome had begged with Sango until she'd finally given in. And now it was Wednesday evening and it was thirty minutes to closing and if Kagome had any chance of ever getting her assignment done, this was it.

"Kagome!"

She turned her head and scanned the street. Sango was running up the block, her hand waving over her head. She bent over, hands on her knees as she came to stand next to Kagome, breathing heavily.

"Sango, you're late!" Kagome snapped, the nerves in her stomach felt like they were hurling themselves around her insides.

"Sorry, sorry," Sango breathed, finally straightening up and smiling. "Mom wouldn't let me out until I helped Kohaku with the rest of his homework. I tried to get here as fast as possible."

"Doesn't matter, let's go," Kagome said, hooking her arm through Sango's and pulling her towards the museum. She'd decided while she'd been waiting that she was going to just march right into the museum without stopping. If she stopped she feared she'd turn right on her heel and run in the opposite direction until her legs gave out, even if she had no idea why.

"Kagome, you've been acting strange all week. Why are you so uptight about this museum trip? It wasn't that bad inside."

She sighed. "I don't know. Maybe I'm nervous because of what Hiromi did…?" She paused, shaking her head. "That doesn't feel quite right though. I'm not sure why this makes me so uncomfortable."

"Well, let's change the subject. How was the date?"

Kagome swallowed a grimace and forced a smile onto her face. "It was fun. You know, movie, dinner, typical date stuff."

"And the kissing, of course."

Of course. Of course there had been kissing. Hojou had snuck her up to his bedroom and they'd kissed on his bed, then on his floor, and then on his bed again. Every time he'd kissed her, Kagome had tried to feel something like she'd felt before. She vividly remembered enjoying his kisses so much on their first date – it was such a strange experience to suddenly feel nothing, like a door had slammed shut with no warning. In a near-panic about it, she'd even turned to the internet, hoping Google could give her insight on what was happening to her.

Nope. She was the only person on the entire internet having this problem.

Still, she'd kept kissing him anyway, hoping that the next kiss would be the one to move her somehow. Then the next one…. Then the next…."

"Yeah, there was kissing," she finally agreed.

"Well, don't go into details or anything," Sango rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"I don't know, Sango," Kagome said as they made their way up the museum steps, focusing on the conversation to avoid focusing on where she was headed. "It was nice."

Being her best friend, Sango knew when to drop it, although the set of her jaw told Kagome she wasn't going to get away with skipping on the details forever.

They reached the entrance to the museum and paid their way in, where the ticketing attendant informed them they only had twenty minutes. Quickly, they booked it towards the cave section of the museum.

The panic in her chest tried to suffocate her. She gripped onto Sango's hand, terrified for some reason she'd couldn't understand. Her brain screamed at her to run – Run! – even though common sense told her there was nothing down there to be afraid of.

"Kagome, my hand," Sango muttered, forcing Kagome to ease up a little on her grip.

"Sorry."

"You've been so weird lately, I hope it's just a hormonal thing."

Was that it? Was she on some kind of elongated PMS trip? She didn't think so, her rollercoaster of emotions were extreme – even for PMS.

They made their way through the cave, stopping in front of the mirror. It loomed over them, dark and beautiful. Kagome stood in front of it, the panic basically choking her. It reached a crescendo as she stepped forward – and then was abruptly gone.

One second she felt she might suffocate and die, and the next, she was suddenly.

"Huh," Kagome said, suddenly feeling like herself.

"What now?" Sango said, not bothering to look her way. She was bent over, leaning in to get a better look at the intricate frame.

"Nothing, I just…" She felt like she was going crazy. She'd never had severe mood swings before. She sighed, took a step back to look the mirror up and down. That familiar pull blossomed inside of her, the one she'd felt while she and Sango had been here on their class trip. She itched to touch the mirror, itched to feel the cool glass beneath her fingertips. She glanced around the room. The last of the visitors were just now shuffling towards the exit.

"Sango, do me a favor and keep a lookout?"

Sango raised her eyebrow, turning to face her. "What are you going to do now?" She asked.

"I just… I just need to touch it."

"Kagome, we're in a museum, you're not supposed to touch anything."

"When has that ever stopped you before?"

The slow grin that spread across her best friend's face was contagious. "You know me too well," Sango said, moving towards the steps. "Hurry up though," she called over her shoulder, "they're closing in a few minutes."

Finding the coast clear, Kagome turned her attention back to the mirror. She stepped over the ropes and slowly, gently touched her fingertips against the glass. The mirror was cool and hard under her hand, tinted darker than other mirrors. Kagome gazed at her reflection, trying to see past it somehow, as if there were a whole other world on the other side, like Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass.

Her eyes shot down to her hand, her palm now pressed firmly against the mirror. She could have sworn she'd seen movement. Another hand, specifically, out of the corner of her eye. It was only for an instant, a flash, like someone had reached out quickly and then withdrew, but there was nothing there.

Suddenly, without warning, her memories slammed back into her. They hit her like a train, exploding inside her mind. She cried out and reared back, tripping over the velvet rope and falling to the floor, her head throbbing with the abrupt presence of true awareness.

Sango was on her in an instant, hands cupping her face. "Kagome, what is it? Are you okay? Kagome! I'm getting help." She moved to leave, but Kagome's hand shot out to wrap around her wrist.

"No," she panted, trying desperately to process the sudden mass of new information. "No, I'm okay, I…" she struggled to sit up, and Sango knelt down again to assist her.

"What happened? I've never heard anyone make a noise like that."

Kagome remembered, that's what happened. Kikyou, the mirror, Inuyasha, the kiss. And suddenly she knew why she'd felt nothing when Hojou kissed her now. Because his kisses had been absolutely nothing like the way Inuyasha had kissed her. She stared, open-mouthed at the mirror. The hanyou hadn't shown himself, but she knew he was in there, watching her from the other side of the glass.

"I remember," Kagome breathed. She stood up. "Sango, I remember what happened after Hiromi attacked me."

"Yeah, the guards found you and threw you outside."

She shook her head. "No they didn't. Do you trust me?" she asked, locking her gaze onto her friend.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Sango. Do you trust me?" Kagome repeated.

Sango narrowed her eyes, as if trying to figure Kagome out. Finally, she relented. "You know I trust you," she said.

"Good. Cause you're going to really need that trust right now. Come with me." With one last, knowing glance back at the mirror, Kagome pulled Sango along behind her. They walked quickly towards the back of the room, to where the long, narrow, empty hallway stood. She didn't stop until they reached the janitor's closet.

"Is this it?" Sango asked. "This is where they left you?"

Kagome nodded, buzzing with adrenaline. "It's a good thing you love me so much, Sango. Cause it's going to be a tight fit."

Confusion flittered across her face, then dawning realization. "You're not serious."

Kagome grinned. "Trust me, Sango, you're going to want to see this." And with that, she yanked the closet door open and pushed her friend inside, stepping in behind her and slamming the door shut, engulfing them in darkness.

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Sorry for the shorter chapter this time around, but it would have been too long otherwise. I hope you enjoyed!

Please remember to review, I'm serious about my writing and my stories, and if you have anything to comment about or anything to mention or anything to say, I would love to hear it.

~SugarRos