I sat up in my bed with my hands on my chest hyperventilating as if I really was about to get ran over by a train. It is dark outside and I can't see anything. I put my hand on my dresser blindly searching for the lamp. Finding it, I turned on the light. It took awhile for my eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness but when they did I looked up at the clock. 4:00 AM.

"Are you serious?" I said to the clock. It probably wasn't a good thing that I was talking to inanimate objects but I didn't care I was tired.

I turned off the lights and began to fall back to uneasy sleep already with a feeling that something is terribly wrong.

Next thing I know there is my little brother on my bed. I roll over onto my side and pull the covers over my head.

"Go away," I say drowsily.

"Kagome! Mom says to get up. It's already 10:45! GET UP! GET UP!" He yells while jumping on my bed.

I sit up and look up at him. There was something creepily déjà vu about this. The seriousness of my gaze makes the smile on his face falter.

"What's wrong Kagome?" he asks.

"Why are you getting up at 10:45 it's Wednesday; I should be at school," I say my voice wavering as Souta looks at me as if I'm insane.

"Um… no. I'm pretty sure it's Saturday, remember three day weekend?" Souta says backing away from as if I'm some psycho killer.

Somehow that little action is all I need to see. It all finally gets through to me. This is just a game, a trap that I'm stuck in. Everyone is puppets.

Then things get weird.

The stings that were controlling me fall which takes away the hazy that was blocking my view. There's Souta all strings attached his body sickly limp. His eyes glowing red

Horrified, I run over at him pulling and tugging on his strings trying to save him but the strings won't break no matter what I use.

"Souta," I scream tears of fear flood down my cheeks, "snap out of it!"

"Kagome what are you talking about?" Souta asks. Except it's not his voice well maybe it is his but it's not right. It's all disorientated as if he's possessed.

I run out of the room slamming the door on the way out; the image of Souta possessed already etching itself into my brain.

I go down to the kitchen hoping with all my heart that my mom isn't in the same situation but when I see her I know that my hopes are wasted. She looks just the same.

I start to run away but she's in front of me in a fraction of a second eyes glowing. I scream.

"Kagome, honey, what's wrong?" She asks arms closing around me. Her embrace is so solid so loving for a fraction of a second I believe I'm not in this hell of a situation. But I quickly snap out of it for I realize that my strings had slowly started getting control of me again.

I run. Run out of the house and look out at the neighborhood. Everyone's puppets, everyone. Every second gets harder and harder to stay in control of me. The hazy creeps in on the corner of my vision threatening to take over

"What the hell is going on?" I scream. I run to a forest away from everything and everyone. I'm so scared so lost; I just want to disappear.

"Kaede come quick she's getting a fever!" The female voice comes from nowhere.

"She is starting to fight it. She may wake up soon. I bet she can even hear us now." Another voice says.

"Hang in there Kagome!"

"Who are you?" I scream up into the sky feeling a little ridiculous. I mean I'm screaming to a voice in the sky although I guess I am in a ridiculous situation.

The voice in the sky doesn't seem to hear me it just keeps on talking to the other voice in the sky making me feel like an idiot for trying to talk back.

Something is tugging at the edges of my memory trying to come back to me. But I don't want to face it not now. So I just sit and listen to the voices talk about me while I fight the urge to be controlled.

"So do you think she really is going to wake up this time? This is probably the fifth time we thought she was going to wake up," the younger voice says.

"I think it may be. This time I do believe she is realizing that this place isn't reality. Once she finally accepts that I think that she will be free," the older one says.

"But what if he comes back?"

"Then she may be lost completely."

"You mean she'll never-"

"Kagome," Inuyasha calls. I turn around to see Inuyasha walking over to me. To my surprise he has strings on him but his eyes aren't read and his voice isn't unclear.

But the way that he's not completely possessed scares me. I back away.

"Don't come near me," my voice betraying me by cracking at the end.

"So you see them too. You see the strings, the possessed people. I've been fighting it. Kagome you can trust me. I'm not like them," he says opening his arms out to me. But I don't move I don't trust him.

"Kagome, I've been so worried about you. I've been watching you from afar and I've seen that you've been possessed I wanted to do something but there was nothing I could do. You couldn't even see me. Kagome, I love you so much," Inuyasha says.

"In- Inuyasha is that really you," I whisper tears begin flood my eyes.

"Of course it is," he says in a matter of tone voice.

I run to him and tackle him kissing his shoulder, his forehead, and his lips. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you to but now we can live together," he says. I snuggle up against him. The haze is coming back but if Inuyasha isn't worried about it then why should I. The strings start to control my movements and they slowly disappear.

In the background I hear a voice.

"We're losing her. She's going to be gone."

And then another voice comes a voice I've missed for so long. A voice I had to imagine up to keep me from going completely insane.

"Damn it, Kagome. Wake up he's not me I'm me. Wake up Kagome… wake up for me."

Everything fades.

Finally, for the first time in months my eyes open.