InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Impurity of Selfishness ❯ The Morning After and Other Eerily Ironic Occurrences ( Chapter 2 )

"I close my eyes, drew back the curtain, to see for certain what I thought I knew. Far, far away someone was weeping and the world was sleeping, any dream will do. I wore my coat with golden lining, bright colors shining, wonderful and new. And in the east, the dawn was breaking and the world was waking, any dream will do. A crash of drums, a flash of light, my golden coat flew out of sight. The colors faded into darkness, I was left alone. May I return to the beginning, the light is dimming and the dream is too. The world and I, we are still waiting, still hesitating, any dream will do." -Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

 

Pt. 3- The morning after and other eerily ironic occurrences

 

Morning breaks with golden and rosy clouds on the horizon and the sweet vocalizations of birds in the cherry trees. The early morning light caresses my face as I sleep peacefully. In my negligence, I left my window open after watching the stars from my window and thinking. A cherry blossom glides in through the open window and lands on the pillow next to my head. I smile gently in the warm, golden light. Partially awakened, I open one eye to inspect the flower that landed on my pillow. I half-smile at the beautiful pillow-mate before closing my eye again to get a little more sleep. Sighing in contentment, I flip over to sleep on my other side.

 

Before I could fall asleep again, a blood-curdling scream and line of unintelligible language shatter the peaceful morning air. Resigned and disappointed, I sit up in bed and take the cherry blossom in my hand for a moment before walking to the dresser to put the flower in my drawer. Slowly, I roll my eyes and peek out into the hall to see Souta running back and forth across the landing. He is flailing his arms about while Buyo holds on to his face for dear life. If a cat could scream bloody murder, Buyo would be doing so right then. Realizing that Souta must have had another nightmare, I smile ironically and sigh in relief that I don't run around screaming when I have bad dreams, like the horrendous experience last night. Putting that painful thought from my mind, I peel the frightened feline off my little brother's face.

 

His eyes are still closed, but I call his name softly and take him in my arms. Bursting into tears, he awakens to sob even deeper than before. Finally he realizes that I am right there with him and continues to express his fear without the use of actual words. Slowly, he regains his speech. “Nee-chan? Waaa it's horrible.”

 

“Souta, it was only a dream. You're completely safe; it wasn't real. Don't be afraid; I'm here. I'll protect you. So will Mom and Grandpa-jii-chan- we are always here for you.” I ruffle his brown hair gently with a smile.

 

Souta responds with a shake of his head. Tears continue to run unbidden down his small face. The helpless look in his eyes tears my heart in two. He runs at me again and holds me tightly in his arms. “Nee-chan- that's my point. You weren't there anymore. Everything disappeared.” A little frightened by the similarity of my dream to his, I feel I must press him for more details. Gently, gently- he's had quite a scare. I take a deep breath to prepare myself.

 

“Souta, what do you mean everything disappeared? Please tell me everything you remember before you forget. It may be important.” He sighs and I get him a box of tissues from the bathroom while leading him into my room. We sit down on my bed and he seems entranced by the pattern of my bedspread. Putting a hopefully comforting hand on his shoulder, I catch his eyes in an attempt to encourage him to continue his story. Slowly he nods and I sit back to let him purge himself of his terror.

 

“Well, it was about you and Inu no nii-chan. What was weird is that there were two of you, Kagome. Both of you kept fighting over Inu no nii-chan, too. There was this shiny rock in the dream and it turned from purple to red as you touched it at the end and then everything grew dark and cold. Everyone was gone; everything was gone except me- and I was afraid, nee-chan!” Souta crawls into my lap and cries into my pajamas. Shocked, I put my arms around him and ponder the meaning of these dreams. Still, I know I can't tell Souta about my dream; he's scared enough as it is. I must reassure him. Maybe I'll end up reassuring him as well as myself in the process.

 

I try to smile as I wipe his tears away. “Souta, shhh now. It's alright. Dreams are not real, no matter how they may seem at the time. Nothing is going to happen; nothing will disappear. I find it strange that you dreamt about me and the other time, but remember that dreams are only the result of our minds playing with ideas- mixing them around until it's sometimes hard to figure out where the thoughts came from in the first place. You can't take dreams too literally.” I smile at him but in my heart, I don't feel very convinced. I'm not so eloquent after all; I hope he buys it, but I can give many reasons why that was not a very reassuring response.

 

With characteristic child-like innocence, his eyes widen as he considers my not-so-great explanation. “Grandfather-jii-chan says that dreams can sometimes tell the future or at least give us clues about what may happen.” He looks at me expectantly and inside I mentally bash Jii-chan for telling Souta things like that when he's still young enough to believe so much in nightmares. Then again, Jii-chan also believes that his seals have some power, but although I live in the shrine and even after traveling back in time, I still don't buy into all his legends, myths and supernatural ideas.

 

“Well, that's all well and good, but you can't take every dream so seriously. You'll go crazy if you do. Some dreams may do that but with time and training I guess you'll learn which ones have clues about potential future events and stuff. Don't obsess about it, k?” Don't obsess about it- that's good advice. It's too bad I can't take my own good advice.

 

He looks up. “So it's grown-up to realize sometimes dreams mean nothing?” I nod and he smiles back at me. “Alright, I'll live and figure it out. I feel somewhat better now, nee-chan. Are you going back there today?”

 

Slowly, I affirm his statement. “Yeah I promised I'd go back this morning, but I need to take a shower and pack and all that stuff.” I sigh and yawn. Souta jumps up and down and yanks me into his room.

 

“Good- I'm glad you're going back, because I got the medicines and the food together for you last night. I have a letter for Inu no nii-chan- will you give it to him for me? I hope he'll come visit us more often; he's fun!” My eyes almost tear up as I survey the great care in which he had anticipated what I would need. My little brother is amazing; I hope he doesn't feel as if I take him for granted since I am always hopping back and forth between worlds. When I get back, I need to do something special for him. Still, it is remarkable how much he looks up to Inuyasha… and it's not as if he has seen that much of Inuyasha's good side.

 

In response to his remarks I lightly answer, “Fun? That obnoxious, self-absorbed, condescending baka? Whatever you say… But thank you for helping me out. It was very smart of you to plan ahead for me; I am very proud and thankful. I'll give Inuyasha your letter, so don't you worry about that. As to getting him to come and visit, I don't think I can control that.” I can't control Inuyasha at all; I can't even get him to choose either Kikyo or me once and for all, but then again I'm afraid of the answer… but no, I can't think about that now.

 

Souta simply giggles at me before turning to get ready for school. He shakes his head in a knowing gesture as he dashes away. “Bye, nee-chan, come back soon!” I nod and return to my room with all the stuff Souta gathered for me. Putting the collection on the floor, I lay back down on my bed to consider my thoughts from last night. Maybe I was just stressed. Part of my mind reminds me that even apart of stress, there is probably a degree of truth in dreams. A degree of truth- how large of a degree am I talking about anyway? I shake my head in frustration. I need to know more before I can make a decision about him and now I have a job to do. That's something I can do to actually help my friends!

 

Smiling at the positive thought and the renewal of purpose, I clap my hands together, stand up proudly and prepare to leave. My resolve keeps my mind in a trance-like state in which I go through the motions and think on one level without being distracted by other levels of thought. The focus creates a feeling of peace and comfort, which holds until I am brushing my hair for the last time before I grab my bag and run out the door.

 

A feeling of dread and danger creeps coldly into my heart, but I cannot understand what it could mean. Should I put off going back? Is there a reason to stay here a little longer? No, I am just paranoid. I gave my word that I would be back this morning and it is almost afternoon. I don't want to break my word, nor do I want to make them worry about me. I must go back. After all, I am ready. Nodding to accentuate my decision, I lift the yellow bag only to again struggle with its weight. I can do this and I will. I think I can; I know I can…

 

I successfully make it to the well. Looking down into it, I am almost knocked over by the strength of that same persistent dread. Uncertainly peering down into the well, I lose my balance and fall headfirst into the well and into the depths of time. Falling and falling through the time-space portal, I hit bottom softly. Looking upwards warily, I see nothing but the familiar vines and bright blue expanse of sky. I sigh in relief and scowl at the weight of the bag. Where are guys when I could really use a hand?

 

A hand reaches down and grabs the bag from my grasp. Gratefully, I pull myself halfway out of the well and turn to thank the kind person who helped me when I freeze in fear and surprise. Life is just not fair- I wish I had stayed home just a little bit longer. I keep thinking there's no place like home and try to jump down, but the hand grabs mine and pulls me out of the well. Next my hands and legs are tied so I can't escape. Then I am knocked on the head only to think…. I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore. My consciousness fades out and my body goes limp.

 

 

Another chapter written and posted- wow, I am excited. For those of you that prefer longer chapters, this one was certainly longer. Ok, I wanted to try a cliffhanger, but hey I am not always eloquent. <sigh> We'll find out who greets Kagome in the next chapter, so please come back and catch the next part. It should be interesting- at least I hope so.

 

I'd also like to do a shout out and arrigatou to the people who reviewed… yea! Happy, happy, joy, joy! <throws confetti and dances about momentarily> I get so encouraged. Normally I don't share my writing with people so this is slightly unusual for me. Ok sometimes my closest friends might hear about it or read it, but not always.

lilcherryblossom- Yeah I know what you mean about the chapters not coming up immediately. I added all three at once and it took some time for it to recognize the other two. <shrug> Go figure… computer systems are weird sometimes.

Cold Fire Phoenix- Thank you for your words of encouragement- they mean a lot to me, really. Ok that sounds cheesy. <sweatdrops> Yeah I know what you mean about love and pain. I am discovering that the capacity for love is connected the capacity for pain- it seems like a direct relationship and positive feedback loop to me. Anyway, I digress so… thank you again!