Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any part or characters of Inuyasha with the exception of this fanfiction.

Firefly Wishes

By DBZ Vegeta

~~*~~*~~
Chapter 9 - Continuance of a Dream
~~*~~*~~

A hysterical laughter floated down the hallways, causing a shiver of fear to spike down Kagura's spine. 'Whatever Naraku's planning isn't going to be pretty." she thought turning away and rapidly walking as far as she could to get away from that insane laughter.

"Ka. . .gu. . .ra. . . ." a voice echoed out, drawing out each syllable of her name and causing more than chills to run up her spine again. It froze her in her tracks, shivering violently.

Turning she slowly returned to the room that she was running from. Naraku sat on a mat next to the open door staring off into the distance. His dark black hair ruffled lightly by the soft breeze blowing in through the door. One could almost call him handsome, until you looked into his eyes.

Those eyes. . .that could chill you to the bone, that could bore directly into your soul and steal away every dream. It was those very eyes that now locked onto her as she stepped into the room and knelt submissively before him, her head bowed to break eye contact. But yet she could still feel them searing into her skin.

"You called, my lord." she whispered, trying to control the fear that rippled endlessly through her nerves.

"Ahh, my faithful servant." he hissed. "Where are they?"

"Almost to the lake, about a half a days journey." she replied quickly.

"Good, is everything as I requested it?" he said, a maniacal gleam lighting his eyes.

"Yes, my lord. All is ready for their arrival." she answered, an involuntary shudder racking her frame as she looked up and caught the gleam in his eyes.

"You disapprove." he cackled, the insane light gleaming brighter every second.

"No, my lord. It's not my place to make judgments about your motives. All has been prepared as you specified and everything will be carried out as you directed." she murmured, looking back down praying that he would accept her answer.

"Just remember that. I can take your life back whenever I wish it. Don't disappoint me." he said, watching her closely. "Leave."

"Yes, my lord." Kagura said as she slowly inched out of the room, closing the screen behind her. She walked quickly down the hall and once out of earshot, burst into a run. She ran until she reached her room and its dubious safety. Leaning back against the closed door, she shut her eyes and took deep breaths to restore her calm.

"What did you do now to upset our lord, sister." came a small voice from nearby. Jumping at the sound she opened her eyes and look into milky white eyes.

"I did nothing wrong, Kanna." she said irritably.

Kanna said nothing and turned away, slipping silently through the door clutching her mirror tightly to her chest. Kagura sighed as she watched her leave, Kanna was always faithful to Lord Naraku no matter what he asked of her. Kagura though had other ideas in mind.

~*~

"Inuyasha, wait we need to rest for a moment." Kagome said as she tugged on his sleeve. I irritably turned and looked down at her. What I found caused me to stop instantly and turn to catch her in my arms.

"Kagome, are you all right?" I asked, panic coloring my tones.

"I fine, just tired. Please could we rest for just a little while?" she asked, her tired eyes turned up to him.

"Yes." I said as I lead her over to a large tree and shrugged the pack I was carrying off my shoulder. Quickly taking the blanket I unfolded it and pushed her down gently. Kneeling next to her I looked up into her haggard face, taking in the dark circles beneath her eyes and her cracked lips. She looked exhausted.

"Kagome." I started.

"Inuyasha, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a little while and then we can continue on." Kagome said as she looked tiredly up at me. She brought her hand up touched my cheek gently. I leaned into her fingers, my eyes closing as I savored her soft touch. When her hand fell away from my face, I looked down to find that she had fallen asleep leaning against the tree. Gently I slid her down until she lay with her head cradled in my lap as I leaned back against the tree.

My thoughts rolled as I realized that I had been pushing us steadily since I had awoken this morning and if Kagome had been true to form, she would have been up all night watching over me during my changed state.

Shaking my head softly, I looked down at the sleeping beauty laying on my lap. My memory still had not completely returned yet I knew that I had a connection with this woman, one that ran deeper than any memory. Closing my eyes, I tried to remember more of my lost memories. What had happened to Miroku and myself after we had left for the shrine?

The time had come for me to make a decision, did I want to fight to remember what had happened and the return of all of my memories or did I want to live on without them. Something told me that most of my lost memories where not happy ones, and that I would be better off not remembering them.

'I'll think more about this later.' the thought crossed my mind, weariness beginning to seep into my bones. Since I was letting Kagome rest I should as well. Extending my senses, I drifted into a light slumber knowing that our journey to save our friends must resume soon.

~* Dreamscape *~

"Feh, I don't know why I have to carry you every day. You should be able to travel on your own by now." Inuyasha grunted as he lifted Miroku onto his back.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, but we should be there today and you won't have to carry me again." Miroku groaned softly as his injured hand was squeezed between his body and Inuyasha's back. Carefully extracting his hand from between them, he leaned forward and held on as tight as he could as Inuyasha began bounding forward again.

Several hours passed before Inuyasha slowed down and came to a sudden halt. Miroku, who had been dozing slightly, came abruptly awake at the sudden lack of movement. Looking up from where he had rested his head on Inuyasha's shoulder, he saw that they had reached the edge of a large clearing. In the center of the clearing was a small temple with several smaller out-buildings surrounding it on three sides.

"Is this it?" Inuyasha asked gruffly.

"Yes." Miroku replied tiredly as he slid down off of Inuyasha's back. Swing his staff around he leaned heavily on it as he picked his way slowly across the clearing towards the buildings, vaguely aware that Inuyasha was following behind him.

"Greetings traveler, how may I assist you today?" came a quiet voice. Miroku turned to find a young apprentice monk standing in the shadows of one of the out-buildings.

"Ah, yes. I have come to see Tohru. Is he still here?" he asked politely.

"He is here, but he rarely sees anyone." answered the young monk.

"He will see me."

"Come with me and we shall ask." the young man said as he turned towards the shrine. As they started forward the man turned again and glared fiercely at Inuyasha, "However the demon is not welcome."

Miroku turned and stared hard at the young monk. "When has the hospitality of any shrine dictated who may partake in it?" he said his voice cold and hard.

The young monk paled beneath the cold censure, but almost fainted when a reply was heard from behind him.

"Yes, when has the hospitality of this shrine been denied to an person who sought it?"

"Master, I'm. . .I'm sorry." stuttered the young monk, turning and falling to his knees before a very old monk standing behind them.

"Yes, I know you are, but remember that any person that comes to our shrine is always welcome, no matter their heritage." The old monk turned from his chastising of the younger man toward Miroku and Inuyasha.

"Miroku my son, it has been a long time since we have seen one another."

"Yes Master Tohru, too long." Miroku said as he went to take a step forward to greet the man. But unfortunately his legs could no longer hold him and he alarmingly tilted forward towards the ground. Inuyasha quickly darted forward and caught him before he reached the ground.

"Well, its seems that you are not here strictly for a visit. Bring him this way my child." Tohru said gesturing for Inuyasha to bring Miroku inside the large building behind him. Inuyasha slung one of Miroku's arms over his shoulder and pulled him into the building. He laid Miroku down on the mat that Tohru indicated and stepped back as the old man knelt next to him.

"What has happened to cause this?" he asked looking pointedly at Inuyasha. Inuyasha grunted and looked away. "Well answer me boy?"

"I am not a boy." Inuyasha growled, turning back to glare heatedly at the old man.

"Fine you are not a boy, but answer my question."

"Feh, he got careless and let Naraku's wasps poison him, along with tearing his wind tunnel." Inuyasha spat as he crossed his arms and looked away again.

"Ahh, so that is the reason. Fine, you wait outside while I take care of this." Tohru commanded as he turned back to the unconscious Miroku.

~* End Dreamscape *~

I opened my eyes slowly, looking out over the slowly darkening landscape. More memories but yet still no closer to the answer I was seeking.

~~*~*~~

A/N: More memories and yet still no answers as to what Naraku wants from our group. Stay tuned for more. Thanks for reading. ~DBZ Vegeta