InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dream a Little Dream of Me ❯ Of What May Be ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: Yes, sorry I'm lame and this is taking forever to come out, and thank you all for your patience! I shall try to be a better author from now on!

 

Aikihana: yeah, that last chapter certainly was a bit longer than my others, no? It was about 17 pages typed out in Word, while this one is only 10! Yeah, quite the differences.

 

Zirra Nova: I love the way you put it - the first time hurts for a girl so why not for the guy too? Haha, it's hilarious. Hadn't thought of that angle at all, so it's fun to see what you're getting out of it.

 

Black Betty: Your evil sense of humor is great…muahahaha. I love what you say, thanx for being a great reviewer!

 

Edit: ArtemisMoon informed me that the jump in this chapter is a bit abrupt. This is the same story I assure you, and I promise it'll make sense by the end of the chapter. I'll work later on making the transition a bit smoother, but for now I'm only working on updating. So til then - enjoy!

 

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Disclaimer: What, you still need one of these?

 

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Chapter 12: Of What May Be

 

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Kagome felt like she was swimming, but not in water or anything so clear or light, but through something murky and almost thick. She wasn't gasping for air or anything so urgent, but she still felt the need to get to the surface as quickly as she could. She got closer, closer. Suddenly she started feeling her body again, even though it wasn't responding to her impulses. Straining against the tide she was making herself dizzy with effort, but there was no giving up. She had to get back to Inuyasha, she had to see that he was okay, she had to know what was going on…

 

Suddenly, with a jolt, she woke up. With a wakeup like that she'd expected to have the energy to barrel out of bed, but she found it was difficult to even open her eyes. She let out a moan, feeling disoriented, sick, wasn't even sure where she was at the moment. Man, this is getting so old! She griped to herself as she continued to work on getting her muscles to do what she told them. Finally she was able to turn slightly on her side and open her eyes.

 

What she saw confused her as much as made her comfortable. A fire was crackling behind her so that she saw her own shadow playing against the walls of the hut they were in, or at least she would have seen that had her eyes gone up that far. They still weren't focusing well so she was taking in the things closer to her. The floors were hardwood and had dirt in the cracks instead of air, more like a land dwelling than their tree-house dwelling. Where am I? Where is Inuyasha?

 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that she was covered in something red and she somehow immediately had the energy to sit up and start scanning the hut for him. Taking in her surroundings she was stunned. This most definitely was not only a ground dwelling, but a human one at that; the style found in human villages and not those that the humans used in the youkai village. In that village the humans and some youkai had lived in one large conglomerate castle that was more shoji screens than anything else. Even the human village she had lived in prior to being captured wasn't quite like what she was seeing herself in right now. Still, there was something familiar about it that she couldn't quite place, something that seemed like home…and that unknown made her uncomfortable.

 

Then she saw him. Him, Inuyasha, sitting in the far corner of the hut looking at her warily as if he were unsure about something.

 

“Inuyasha…” she gasped out, ignoring the pain in her chest.

 

That single word was all he needed. He was by her side instantly, gazing into her eyes for only a split second before placing the most gentle of kisses on her lips. Kagome almost wanted to cry. Not only were her emotions being played against her by the wounds on her body, but she hadn't realized until just now that she'd been haunted by the nagging feeling that he wouldn't want her anymore, that he'd just as soon give up on the whole thing than try to deal with what had happened to them. Her lips twisted upward in a small smile against him. It appeared she was wrong.

 

Her arms came up to wrap around his neck, brushing against a strange necklace. Suddenly she gasped in recognition…the rosary beads!

 

Inuyasha heard her surprise and immediately backed up, scurrying away like a beaten puppy to his previous post by the wall. “I'm sorry Kagome, I didn't mean to do that. We were just so worried about you…”

 

He moved toward the door; she searched his face, looking for any clue as to what had just happened or what he was talking about. “Good to see you're okay Kagome,” he threw over his shoulder as he walked out, his eyes never meeting hers.

 

Outside he found Shippo first. “Hey runt, Kagome's awake.”

 

“Hurray!” the kitsune yelled as he tried to streak past Inuyasha. His attempt was failed when Inuyasha grabbed him by the tail and held him so that they were face to face, Shippo shrieking all the while. “You big bully! Put me down! I want to go see Kagome!”

 

“Fine, but be careful. She's probably still hurt. And don't tell her anything about what happened.”

 

Shippo whined in protest but stopped when Inuyasha squeezed harder on his tail and flashed one of his deadly fangs. “I will tell her myself. Understand?!” he growled.

 

Shippo nodded his head, glad when Inuyasha finally dropped him and he was free to scamper to the hut. Of course, on his way he did pause to turn around and stick out his tongue at Inuyasha and retort the obligatory “You meanie!” before he continued on.

 

Inuyasha just growled at him in return. He knew Kagome would be happy to see the young kit; in fact that's why Inuyasha sent him in first. He just hoped Shippo didn't spill the beans on anything; he wasn't exactly known for being good at keeping a secret. With a slight huff Inuyasha continued on to find the slayer, the old woman, and the houshi.

 

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Kagome sat in silence inside the hut. That strange, vague sense of familiarity she had felt when she first saw the place after waking, it was…well…intensifying! It kept pushing at the edges of her mind. Those rosary beads had made it even worse. Why would any demon, let alone Inuysha be wearing those? Speaking of Inuyasha…he'd been wearing his entire fire rat outfit, hadn't he? So then what was that red thing I saw on me?

 

Her throat convulsed in a large gulp, unsure of what she would find and whether she wanted to know what was going on or not. She still hadn't taken her eyes off the spot on the door where he'd last stood and now she was astounded by what she saw when she looked down at her lap. It certainly is…red. And um…silky?

 

She ran her hands over the bedding, prodding and exploring. Her fingers came to rest on something hard and cold, and when she pulled on it it made this particular sound she somehow recognized…A zipper! This is my sleeping bag! But…sleeping bag? How did this get here? How did I get here? The last thing I remember… well the last thing she remembered turned her a brilliant shade of red.

 

A shrieking wail from outside drew her attention. “Kaggoooommmeeeeee!” it yeled as a blur of orange headed straight toward her. Before she could react something warm and fuzzy had lodged itself in her arms. Looking down she saw a young kitsune snuggling against her. “Kagome, you're okay,” he sniffed.

 

“Shhh…don't cry…” …'uh little guy?' she cooed. Soothed by her voice he raised his head up to her and ran his arm across his runny nose. “Shippo?!” Kagome cried.

 

“Well who else would it be Kagome? Oh, we've all missed you so much!” He clung to her again with renewed force.

 

“We all?” she asked, somehow hesitant to know the answer.

 

“Yes. Me and Sango and Miroku and Kaede and even Inuyasha.” He looked up at her worried before jumping to her shoulder and placing a small paw to her face. “Are you sure you're feeling alright Kagome?”

 

Dazedly she nodded, not really paying attention. But Kaede was supposed to be back in the human village and had never even met Shippo or Inuyasha. Did Inuyasha bring her here while I was asleep just like he did with Miroku? But wait…if Sango and Miroku are here then where's Kohaku?

 

“Shippo, what about Sango and Miroku's son?”

 

“Son?!” He looked at her like she'd just lost her mind, and she was beginning to think he was right.

 

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Inuyasha kept walking along, grousing until he finally found who he was looking for: the houshi. He was the last and hardest one to tackle. He'd already run into Sango and Kaede down by the river and told them Kagome was awake. He'd sent them away to take care of her, but only after first swearing them to secrecy. The two women didn't know that much for sure though, so Inuyasha had more confidence in their keeping quiet. They had their hunches, of course, but nothing solid. The houshi, on the other hand, was another issue…one he was going to deal with right now.

 

“Hey, buozo!” Inuyasha stomped over to the meditating man. “Wake up, I gotta talk to ya!”

 

Miroku cracked an eye at his friend. “By your presence I assume this means that Kagome-sama has awake. Is she alright then?”

 

“Yeah,” he huffed, “she's fine.”

 

“Why Inuyasha, I do believe you are blushing,” Miroku said smirking. Despite the circumstances, it was still fun to tease the hanyou a bit, just enough to lighten the mood mind you.

 

“Be careful buozo…” Inuyasha almost snarled, sending his friend a murderous look.

 

“Inuyasha, you have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about my friend…and nothing to worry about I might add…”

 

“What do you mean I ain't got nothing to worry about! Iwaht if something like this were to happen again!”

 

“Ah, I see. So that is why you came to talk to me. Well, I helped coax you into this mess with Kagome-sama, which I guess you could use to say it's partly my fault, so I'll help out in whatever way I can.”

 

“Good. Then you'll keep quiet and not tell Kagome what put her in a coma.”

 

Miroku glared. “But Inuyasha…”

 

“No,” he replied deliberately. “You will not tell her. That way you'll be right and I won't have anything to worry about - because this won't happen to her again!”

 

“Inuyasha no baka! Kagome loves you. She will pursue this with you and you know that. She's as stubborn as you are and she desperately wanted to be your mate. You think this will take away her resolution to see it through? This flare up of her miko powers will not stop her. Only you backing out on your word, taking back your offer of mates, and telling her you don't want her anymore would prevent her from going further and that would absolutely break her heart. Both of us know you wouldn't do that to her.”

 

“You're wrong Miroku, I won't have to stop her like that.” He sighed heavily and suddenly Miroku noticed how broken and deflated he looked.

 

“You didn't see her before. Something's different…something changed.” He ran his claws frustratedly through his hair. “I kissed her when she woke up. I know for her sake I shouldn't have, but I was so relieved to see her awake again, to know she was alright.”

 

Inuyasha glanced up at Miroku, pain evident in his eyes. “At first she responded, but then she panicked and…I could smell her fear and confusion, even if I couldn't have read it on her face…” That damn face is so transparent - the girl can't hide anything! “At first I thought it was her reaction to remembering what happened the last time we were…physical…and her miko powers knocked us both out, but that wasn't it. When I was far enough away from her to see into her eyes, even though for just a split second, I saw a loss there. She seemed so tiny, so lost and confused.” His hands fidgeted in his lap as he struggled to go on. “She doesn't remember what happened Miroku.”

 

The monk let out a small gasp. Was Kagome-sama really that hurt by this lash out of her powers - against the guy she loves no less? Is she just repressing the memory or does she have short term memory loss? Or what if it's more than short term… He quickly looked up in alarm. “When you say fear and confusion…did she recognize you?”

 

“I know where you're going with this and don't worry, she did recognize me at least. I don't know how much she forgot, but not enough to forget all of us. I already sent Shippo in to keep her company and Sango and Kaede should be getting there soon to take care of her.

 

“No, she didn't panic until I kissed her. At first she seemed so happy to see me, and damn it! I took her as my mate, so of course I kissed her!”

 

Inuyasha stopped. With one heart wrenching, deafening yell he drove both of his fists into the hard earth in front of him, leaving a veritable crater at his feet and heaving up a dust cloud that caused Miroku to convulse in a coughing fit. It wasn't until the dust settled that Miroku saw that Inuyasha hadn't moved a muscle since his outburst, but that he still seemed to be fighting something.

 

Gingerly he called out to his friend and was startled that, when his head rose to reveal his face beneath the mantle of silver that had been hiding his features, he could see tears swimming in the hanyou's eyes.

 

“Don't you get it Miroku?” Inuyasha started, his voice deep and dark. “Fear, panic, and confusion when I kiss her? When I kiss the girl I tried to make my own fucking mate?!” he bit out. “She didn't just forget what happened: about how we agreed to be mates and that her miko powers revolted against me and put her into a coma. Kuso, it's more than that man. She forgot that she loved me.”

 

Miroku was shocked to silence. He didn't know what to say, nor could he stand to see his friend so heartbroken, it was more than even he could bear. He knew that Kagome couldn't have forgotten that. If she remembered the colorful hanyou she'd have to remember she loved him - she had almost as long as she'd known him. This feeling was not a recent development on her part, but maybe Inuyasha didn't know that.

 

He opened his mouth to argue all this but was cut off by a blood-curdling scream - Kagome's scream. Before another word could be said both Inuyasha and mirkou were on their feet running as fast as they possibly could toward the village and Kaede's hut.

 

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“Son?” Shippo blinked at Kagome. Maybe she'd been injured worse than they all thought. “Sango and Miroku don't have a son Kagome, they're not even married yet.”

 

“Not yet?”

 

Shippo winced slightly and dug his hand into Kagome's hair. It wasn't like her to forget such important things, even after an injury. Then again, she had never been injured like this before.

 

“Hai, they're waiting until Kohaku is better and can walk on his own again and leave the hut so that he can be in the ceremony.” Upon seeing her blank stare he explained a bit more. “Kohaku was injured real bad in the last battle with Naraku and, even though he was revived, he still hasn't gotten all better yet.”

 

Wait a minute! Kagome's eyes flickered back and forth as her thoughs spun in her head. Kohaku - is alive? That's right! He was revived the first time by the Shikon embedded in his back by Naraku. A shudder ran through her body at the mere thought of his name and suddenly everything clicked.

 

This place, this time, this hut, this Shippo, this Kohku, this Kaede and Sango and Miroku…this Inuyasha. This was the real version. Everything else she remembered, everything she had just lived through and felt and experienced…

 

Her pain and realization surfaced together as she let out a horrified scream.

 

Her Inuyasha had just been a dream.

 

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Inuyasha burst through the bamboo screen on the door of Kaede's hut to see Kagome, still screaming and sobbing, clutching onto Shippo as for dear life itself. She kept mumbling something to herself over and over. “I'm so stupid. It was a dream. It was all just a dream”

 

Sango stood by her, trying to calm the frantic girl. “What was? Did you have a nightmare Kagome-chan?”

 

When Kagome finally stopped crying, and her voice was only littered here and there with small hiccups, she still sat in a state of distanced shock, like she was standing outside of herself while explaining these things. “No. Well, parts of it were like a nightmare, but other parts were amazing. It's not like I've never had dreams like this before…but this was somehow so completely different. It was so in-depth, so detailed, so real. Even now,” she glanced around the room, “sitting here with you all, I'm having trouble convincing myself it was just a dream. I can still remember every scent and sight, still feel every touch.” She blushed and brought a hand up to her face, her eyes quickly flicking to Inuyasha before being plastered to her lap. “There's no way to describe it…I still can't believe it. I'm sorry about screaming, I've just been so confused and now I feel like something's been ripped away from me.” A single tear slid down her cheek and she wiped at it furiously as she turned to Kaede. “How could it have been so real? So detailed?”

 

“Well, you had been living in it for a week straight, child. The mind can do strange things given such time,” replied the wizened old woman.

 

“A week?!” screeched Kagome.

 

“Hai, you have been unconscious or seven days Kagome.” Inuyasha growled low in his throat, but Kaede just shot him back a look as if to say `I didn't tell her what happened - what more do you want? I can't keep everything from her.'

 

“7 days?” Inuyasha's attention turned back to Kagome. “What happened to me?”

 

Everyone in the room mumbled inarticulate responses, their eyes darting around the room until they landed on Inuyasha.

 

Kagome followed the path of their vision to the glowering hanyou standing by the door. “Inuyasha?” she questioned him, her eyes pleading.

 

He looked at her for what felt like an eternity before he couldn't take it anymore. With a `feh' he turned and walked out the door.

 

Kagome looked at each of the others in confusion. “Does anyone want to tell me what's going on here?”

 

They all remained silent until Miroku stepped forward and laid a hand on Kagome's shoulder. “I'm sorry. Inuyasha swore us all to secrecy, and as much as I hate it, I do see his reasons. This is something you will have to work out with him.”

 

She heard the truth and sincerity in his words and struggled to get up but a sharp pain shooting down her leg kept her seated where she was. “Augh!” she cried out in frustration. “How am I supposed to get answers from him when the baka runs away!”

 

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Inuyasha was running. Kagome's face kept flashing before his eyes - Kagome's blushing face. She forgets all about him and what the two of them had done together, and yet she gets all girly about a dream. Damn it - I'm the only one who should be able to make her blush like that!

 

A clearing finally came into view. Good. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, flexing his claws. This clearing was just about to get bigger.

 

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Miroku found Inuyasha hours later still hacking away at the logs strewn all about. “Hey Inuyasha,” he called out, the hanyou not even pausing from his rampage, “are you trying to make firewood or toothpicks?”

 

The statement caught him off guard and Inuyasha raised his head to glare at his grinning friend. Taking in the scene of the demolition derby he'd just had with the trees, those words rang true. Maybe I did get a little carried away…

 

He shrugged slightly to himself and started gathering the few large wood chunks together, waiting in silence for Miroku to speak his piece.

 

“I understand where you're coming from, Inuyasha, I really do.” That earned an over-the-shoulder death glare causing Miroku to cough a bit. “I don't know what I'd do if Sango forgot agreeing to marry me. I wouldn't know what to do about my soul mate's aura somehow conflicting with my own - especially in such an intimate, vulnerable moment.” Vulnerable, Inuyasha winced at the word.

 

“I don't know what to tell you to do about Kagome-sama, because I don't rightly know what I myself would do. But I do know what you shouldn't do: you shouldn't be out here brooding all by yourself for hours on end when your mate is lying wounded in a hut confused beyond anything she's ever known before.”

 

Inuyasha's eyes snapped forward at the word mate, and he was so surprised he nearly dropped all the wood piled up in his arms. “Mate?” he whispered incredulously. Miroku finally had his full attention.

 

“Yes, Inuyasha, mate. That is still what she is even if she doesn't currently remember it. You went through the bonding ritual and you smell of each other still, a week later. In what realm would that not term you mates? Though you didn't fully finish the act, even you must know mating is more than just a physical thing.”

 

Inuyasha was stunned, so he did what he does best: he tried to hide that he was dumb-struck and slack jawed by keeping quiet.

 

“So what I tell you is that your mate needs you right now. She may not remember you being her mate, but she remembers a best friend. She was hurt when you left Inuyasha. Since she doesn't know what really happened she's afraid she's done something to hurt you, to offend you. I'm not saying you need to tell her everything tonite, but at least assuage her fears.”

 

It seemed his words were getting through that thick skull. Inuyasha dropped the logs and turned to stalk off toward the village.

 

“Uh, Inuyasha? One more thing. You know that dream that Kagome-sama was talking about? It's come up a lot. She keeps referring back to it repeatedly. Apparently we were all in it too, although we've only been able to get very little information out of her about it even though it's obvious how much she wants to let it out. Mostly her reticence seems to concern you; whenever she mentions your name she immediately goes quiet and her face turns sullen. This is not like her at all; something big happened in her dream, Inuyasha. Kagome needs help coping with it, and since it has to do with you, you're the only one who can do that.”

 

Inuyasha brooded for a moment, his ears twitching back and forth every now and then, as if expressing the turmoil of thoughts swirling in his mind. He just turned to head back toward the village, still unsure of what he could say to Kagome, when he felt a chill breeze sweep across the clearing carrying a familiar scent. Oh kami, no…not right now of all times!

 

Turning around he saw a dark figure under the trees on the other side of the open space, but even with the poor light he could tell immediately who it was: the last person on earth he wanted to see at that exact moment.

 

“Kikyou…”

 

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Yes, I know, I'm evil. Those two just can't get a break, can they?

 

No, this is not the traditional `amnesia' or `dream' bit or anything like that. It will be clearly evident in the next chapter or two why it was necessary that Kagome have both these alternate memories, and she cannot remember everything currently because that just makes sense and because it forces things to be put on the table. So hopefully everything will be coming together and pulling full circle in just a bit.