Chapter 7: The Fifth Hour- The Dream Bubbles

Inuyasha was sulking again. He sat on his throne, glaring into the mirror for the hundredth time. When Kagome had fallen victim to the Forest of Sorrow's illusions, he had used his powers to into her nightmare and helped her escape.

'Damn it! Why did I bother helping her?' he thought to himself bitterly.

'Maybe it's because you want her to make it to the castle…' said an annoying voice from inside him that sounded more like Sesshomaru than himself.

'Yes,' Inuyasha thought. He wanted for her to reach the castle… he wanted to see her face to face again… to breathe in her wonderful scent again. Her scent wasn't just pleasant to him, it was intoxicating. He wanted her to reach him… even if she wasn't coming for him…

He was jealous of the brat. He admitted it. Inuyasha was jealous that Kagome was coming here for her brother and not for him…

He was so busy brooding that he didn't notice the door to his chamber open, or that familiar smell invade his senses, until a fist bopped him in the back of the head.

"Hey ya mangy mutt, what's up?"

Snarling, Inuyasha jumped up, temporarily forgetting the magic mirror he held in his hand in favor of baring his fangs to the demon that he hated. The wolf demon Koga.

He was about Inuyasha's height, although he seemed a couple years older. His long black hair was tied up into a ponytail, and a furry headband kept extra wisps away from his pointy ears. Bright blue eyes flickered in amusement, and a tail poked out from behind the rather short fur that he wore.

"What the hell do you want, scrawny wolf?" snapped Inuyasha.

Inuyasha and Koga were never really friends. In fact, they'd almost always have tried to kill each other whenever they were left alone. The rivalry was furthered when Sesshomaru offered Koga a position in his court as a warrior, and Koga accepted. Since then, the only times the two ever saw each other was when Sesshomaru wanted to make Inuyasha even angrier at him than necessary.

Koga scratched his chin thoughtfully, suddenly taking an keen interest in the mirror Inuyasha was still holding. "Now what's this?"

He snatched it away from the still seething Demon King, and before Inuyasha could protest or grab it back, Koga was watching the images in fascination. Or rather, one of the images. A young girl, with raven black hair and sparkling chocolate brown eyes with a heart shaped face.

"Well, what do we have here?" he asked staring at the images of the woman. "Whoever she is… she's cute…" Inuyasha had snatched the mirror back, and shoved it safely inside his fire-rat clothing.

"What's it to you?" he growled dangerously, sitting back down onto his throne. "Right now she's attempting to find her way here in just around 8 hours and take her brother back. She's done a pretty good job so far, but I've got a couple more surprises for her." He smirked.

Koga snorted, and then gazed out the tall window to his left, a thoughtful expression on his face. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence (in which Inuyasha fidgeted and Koga continued to stare out the window), the Demon King finally blurted out, "Well? Aren't you going to tell me why my brother sent you here for? Or does he just enjoy tormenting me so?"

Koga, looking like he'd been snapped out of a trance, sat bolt upright. "Oh right, I have a message for you mutt." Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but the wolf-demon's face became deadly serious. "It's about Naraku."

Looking like he'd tasted something particularly disgusting, Inuyasha stood up. "What about Naraku?" he spat.

"Lately, there have been sightings… of a demon clad in the pelt of a white baboon."

Inuyasha felt like someone dumped icy cold water all over him. "A white baboon?"

"Yes," said Koga, his face and voice still dead serious. "I hate to say it, but it sounds like Naraku is finally back… and he wants to finish what he started."

Kagome groaned, not having any ideas on what to expect with this woman. Shippo, however, squealed in joy and Miroku gave a huge grin as if he was seeing the light for the first time in years.

The young woman, who's long brown hair was pulled back high onto her head, glared at all three, until her friend (a small, cream colored kitten with black stripes on two tails and huge red eyes) jumped onto her shoulder and mewled into her ear.

The girl then put down the large weapon as she seemed to recognize them, or recognize Shippo and Miroku at least.

"Shippo!" she cried, opening her arms. Shippo raced towards her and jumped into them to give her a big hug. He then scampered onto her the shoulder that was still unoccupied.

Waving a tiny hand in Kagome's direction, Shippo said, "This is Kagome. I'm accompanying her to the Castle. And here's Miroku, same as ever."

Miroku put on his most charming smile as he walked over, grasping her hand in his own. "Sango, my dear you look even lovelier than the last time we met… I kept seeing your face every day that we've been apart. I must say that I couldn't seem to get you out of my mind."

Kagome, Shippo, and even the little cat flinched as a resounding slap echoed through the Forest of Sorrow. "Thank you for your concern, lecher."

After carefully placing a few feet between her and the monk, the girl named Sango turned to Kagome, and held out her hand. "I'm Sango, the guardian of this bridge. And this is my firecat, Kirara."

Kagome grinned, accepting Sango's outstretched hand, she liked this Sango instantly. "Do you think we could get across? I really need to find my brother…"

Sango seemed to be smiling behind her mask (it was really hard to tell) as she nodded. "Of course you can. In fact, I'll even help you get there."

This brightened up Kagome's day. "Will you really?" she asked thrilled.

Sango nodded. "To tell you the truth, I'm tired of guarding this bridge and I'm sick of this forest. You guys are the perfect excuse for leaving. All we have to do is make it over the river and we'll be out of the Forest of Sorrow."

Kagome looked behind her at the decaying bridge and asked, "Is it safe to cross this bridge?"

Sango laughed which had Kagome confused. "We won't take the bridge. We'll ride on Kirara." As soon as she said Kirara's name, the kitten jumped from Sango's shoulder to the grown before being engulfed by flames. Kagome shrieked and leapt back, "What the…?"

Sango put her hands on Kagome's shoulders, "Calm down… watch…"

The fire disappeared and instead of a tiny kitten with two tails… there was a massive saber-toothed cat as big as a car. This cat had the same cream color with black stripes around the lower legs and tail, and solid black paws and tail tips. It also had the same thin black diamond mark on the forehead, and large red eyes that the little Kirara had.

"Ki…Kirara?" croaked out Kagome.

The large cat looked at her with its red eyes and she knew that this really was the same little kitten that she a met only a few moments ago…

The cat came over and put her giant head underneath Kagome's hand, wanting her to pet her. Kagome calmed down and smiled as she petted Kirara's head.

"Let me explain," said Sango. "Kirara is a nekomata demon with two tails. She has two forms… a little kitten, and this giant cat. When she's in this form she helps fight in battle and even flies through the air. Most of the time though, she's just a lovable little cat. She very good-natured and she's very protective of her friends."

Sango then turned to Miroku and Shippo and told them others to get on.

After the four of them had landed safely on the other side of the river, the Forest of Sorrow had disappeared and they were all in a deep and much more peaceful looking forest. It was a forest of giant bamboo trees that seemed to stretch for miles in all directions. It was silent except for the occasional sounds of birds singing.

When Kirara had shrunk down to a kitten form again and Sango had removed her mask, Kagome could hear her stomach beginning to beg for food. Ignoring it for the time being, she turned to her new best friend and struck up conversation. It turned out that Sango was a pretty talkative person once rid of the mask she wore.

"So you're a demon slayer then?" Kagome asked as they all walked down a dirt road.

"I was…" she said, a sad look crossing her face. "I was born into a village of demon slayers that live here in the Spirit World. Years ago, an evil demon named Naraku spread death across the Spirit World and when my grandfather fought alongside of the former Demon King was able to defeat him. But before Naraku fled, he cursed my family as well as Miroku's."

"Wait," said Kagome in a stunned voice. "You mean that your family is the one that Miroku mentioned when he told me about his wind tunnel?" she looked back at Miroku who answered, "Yes Kagome. Sango was the person whom I was referring to."

"It better have been in a non-lecherous way," muttered Sango as she shook her head. "Anyway, my family's curse is for every first-born child is to suffer terrible misfortune." She sighed. "I am my father's first born. And my whole life I've had to struggle just to survive. I've seen my father and brother both killed right before my eyes. My entire village had been wiped out by demons… and I am now the soul survivor of my people. I've sworn to avenge my village and family as I hunt down Naraku. I have to fight every single day just to live."

Kagome said nothing. She couldn't imagine what kind of pain Sango was feeling right now; she felt so bad for Sango and she wanted to do something to help her. Sango on the other hand, didn't seem like she wanted to talk anymore and Kagome let the subject drop.

The rumble in her stomach grew louder, and Kagome found herself rummaging through her pockets, trying to find something anything to quench her hunger. Suddenly, her fingers had touched something small, hard, and round in her jeans pocket.

Wondering what it was, she pulled out the jewel that Inuyasha had given her. She fingered the jewel in her pocket for a moment before absentmindedly pulling it out. It looked exactly the same as it did when she first saw it. About the size of a large marble, bright pink, and it seemed to shine with a pure light. As she stared into it, she was reminded of the words that Inuyasha had said to her before disappearing again… 'Don't you know my face?'

What did he mean by that?

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that she had stopped walking and was now far behind all the others. As Kagome stared into the small jewel… she had become completely enchanted by its pure light…

The more she stared into it… the more the world around began to spin and fade away…

All of a sudden, everything around her was dancing. Voices were mixing with each other, and she could no longer tell which was which. She couldn't tell where she was, where she was going, what was happening around her, what she was doing, or even who she was anymore.

She heard voices calling out to her as she collapsed onto the ground. She could just make out Sango's worried face blending with Miroku's, who had blended with Shippo's. Then everything went dark.

(Back at the castle)

Inuyasha sat on the window sill of his chambers, and was watching bubbles blow into the wind. But these were no ordinary bubbles. These were what were called 'Dream Bubbles' and they have the ability to put people into their dreams.

There were a few flying out onto the wind, and each one contained a different image. But at the moment, Inuyasha's golden eyes were focused on one that held a young woman, lying unconscious on the ground, her black hair fanning out behind her and a pink jewel in her hand.

'Looks like the jewel's magic had finally taken effect,' he thought with a smile. It was finally time to put his plan into action. All that he would have to do now is wait for a bubble to pop. Once it did, then he and Kagome will be together again.

(Back with Kagome)

She was floating. It was like the laws of gravity didn't matter anymore. Like when you're swimming, and then you stop to let yourself just float in suspension. You relish the way you don't quite touch the bottom, and you are beneath the surface. You feel weightless and your hair is swirling around you.

It felt wonderful.

Kagome raised one of her arms, only to see that the dress that she had been wearing had disappeared as well as her clothes. Instead she was bare up to the shoulder, which was where a long white ballroom gown began. The gown that she was in fitted her body perfectly' it was slim at the top but widened at the bottom. The bottom of the dress was long and full, and the bodice sparkled with simple yet graceful trimming. The entire gown sparkled when she moved slightly, when it caught the light, it seem to reflect it in a multitude of pastel colors. It was made of some kind of soft silk and she knew that if she twirled around the dress would move so lightly, that it would feel as if she were flying.

She blinked so slowly, that she was able to feel her long lashes connect with her cheek before her eyelids opened again. She recognized the dress she wore. It was the same one the doll in her music box back in her room; the one that looked like a gown out of a fantasy scene.

She noticed that she was wearing a jewel on a sliver chain around her neck and a beautiful headpiece that was decorated with tiny silver leaves and flowers rested in her hair. Her hair felt clean and long as it cascaded over her shoulders in midnight waves.

Vaguely, Kagome wondered where she was and what she was doing. But for some reason, she couldn't seem to bring herself out of this dream-like state. In this state she had no worries; she didn't worry about the fact that her friends must be worried. She didn't worry about her family back home. She didn't even worry about needing to rescue Sota.

No… it wasn't that she didn't worry… she had forgotten… she forgot everything except what was happening right now…

All she could remember was an eagerness that something was going to happen. As her vision started to blur, images of the Demon King came to her out of nowhere and floated before her.

At that moment, Kagome realized that this was Inuyasha doing… but as soon as she figured out that… as soon as Kagome realized what was happening… she heard something…

It was the sound of a bubble popping.