Somniloquy by Nefret

Prologue: The Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own, Inuyasha. The characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and I am making no money from this story. 

A/N: I don’t know how wise it is to be starting a big project while I’m still the in the middle of another one (“Divergence”), but this bunny absolutely would not leave me alone. It’s not a terribly new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it could be pretty interesting to play with. Anyway, I’m very fond of this — I expect it will be quite long, so I’ve enlisted help for this.

Eternal Gratitude goes out to the ever-lovely Incomprehensible, who kindly helped me whip this into something legible and comprehensible.

I plan to update this weekly at this point, so expect to hear again from me next Tuesday. I hope you enjoy. As always, feedback is appreciated. I actually like people who sit there and nitpick; they make me a better writer. :P

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Prologue: The Dream

—

“Dreams are like stars… you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.”

Unknown.

—

“Keh,” Inuyasha muttered mulishly, his white doggy ears flicking back to lay flat against his head in a gesture of irritation. “I hope this means you’re back for good now.”

Kagome tossed her over-stuffed yellow bag over the rim of the well, and huffed. “For now,” she gritted out, clenching her teeth and preparing to pull herself up and over the edge. I really hate this thing, she thought bitterly, digging her feet into the rudimentary foot-holds she’d carved ages ago.

They were starting to get very worn, she noted in concern. They really needed to be fixed. Next time, she promised herself, like always.

There probably wouldn't be a “next time”. It was just one of those things she’d always mean to do, but never get around to. Despite her remarkable ability to complete her homework 500 years before it was assigned, she never seemed to have enough time.

Kagome looked up in surprise when Inuyasha’s callused hand wrapped itself firmly around her wrist and helped her out of the well. “Thanks,” she murmured softly, blushing as his hand remained on her arm longer than strictly necessary after she had gained her feet.

“Keh,” he said again, releasing her arm abruptly, almost as if it had burned him, and looking away, a red blush dusting over his cheeks. “Maybe we’ll finally get some shard hunting done now!” He declared, louder than was crucial in Kagome’s opinion.

“I have to go back in a month for finals,” she reminded him quietly, but he ignored her. Kagome sighed.

It was clearly a fight he was determined to have later, which really wasn’t something she minded. Right now all she really wanted to do was see her friends, and hunt down Naraku.

“Are you coming or what?” Inuyasha shouted over his shoulder, standing on the other side of the glade, his amber eyes impatient as he stared at her.

“Coming!” She called back, gathering her bag and jogging after him, wincing as the heavy pack settled on her sore shoulders.

I wonder what it’s like to have muscles that don’t ache. She wondered, her eyes trained on Inuyasha’s hair as it swung from side to side down his back as he walked.

Shippou, overjoyed to see her, launched himself into her arms as soon as she entered the outskirts of Edo, bouncing with joy.

“Did you bring me anything?” He asked enthusiastically, pawing at her pack; sticking his head right inside, leaving only his tail poking out the top.

“I think you might be getting spoiled,” she remarked drily as they reached Kaede's hut. Setting the pack down and reaching into its depths, Kagome pulled a cherry-flavoured lollipop out, handing it to the eager kitsune.

“Yes!” Shippou shouted enthusiastically, pumping his small fist into the air. “Thanks, Kagome!”

She watched as Shippou scampered off, the lollipop clutched firmly in his hand, taken off to be devoured somewhere else. A tender smile graced her lips and she turned away.

“Welcome back,” Sango greeted, smiling happily as she stepped forward to hug her friend.

“I hope your family is well?” Miroku asked in lieu of welcome, always the courteous man.

“They’re fine, thanks!” Kagome enthused, dropping to her knees to root around in her backpack. “Actually, momma sent me with some rice balls and sushi, so we can probably have that for lunch!”

Everyone, with the exception of Inuyasha, perked up at the mention of food. While Kagome was a good cook, it could be argued that her mother was even better, and it had been a while since they'd had a hot meal that didn't consist of canned or packaged food.

“Oy!” Inuyasha yelled, moving away from the wall he'd been leaning against. “We're leaving!” The hanyou declared brashly. “We’ve been sitting around for too long anyway. Naraku’s probably found somewhere new to hide! The cowardly bastard...” he muttered.

“Sorry,” Kagome mumbled hesitantly, feeling guilty for holding the group back. Inuyasha’s right. We probably could be halfway across Japan by now, if I hadn’t needed to go home.

“It’s hardly your fault, Kagome,” Sango said, brushing her concerns aside gently upon seeing her hesitation, and apparently palpable guilt. “It’s important to see your family regularly.”

She knew that the taijiya was thinking of her brother, Kohaku, and she smiled encouragingly. “Thanks, Sango,” she replied, feeling a little despair for her friend and her familial predicament.

“Are we going or what?” Inuyasha bellowed from outside.

Catching Sango’s eye and grinning, Kagome shouted, “Coming, Inuyasha!” And together the party set off down the familiar track out into Japan's wilderness, all of them ignoring Inuyasha's muttering about cowardly spiders and getting his hands on them.

—

“Ohh, my feet,” Kagome moaned, pulling her shoes off and massaging her abused extremities. She brought her arms up above her head, stretching out her strained muscles, and rolled her shoulders to try and rid herself of some of the tension.

“The first day back is always the hardest,” she groaned, slouching over to touch her toes and then springing back up, happy to hear her spine cracking, signalling that it had successfully realigned itself.

“If you’re sore, I would be more than happy to—”

“No,” both girls replied firmly, cutting Miroku off with a glare. “That will not be necessary, houshi,” Sango asserted icily, reaching over to grasp Hiraikotsu's leather straps.

“I was merely offering to assist—”

Sango snorted loudly in derision, and Kagome couldn’t help but smile. They were eclectic, sure, but the strange little group had become as close as family to her, and it was comforting to be back with them again, even if she had only been gone for a week.

She watched Sango and Miroku argue with an almost absurd fondness as Shippou climbed into her lap and curled up sleepily. “Geez,” he remarked, following her gaze over to where Miroku was sitting calmly, his hand twitching and a goofy sort of smile on his face. “Will he ever learn?”

“Probably not.” Kagome chirped cheerfully.

Shippou grinned, and she looked down at him fondly. “Should we get ready for bed?”

Shippou, still grinning, nodded and proceeded to go through the rituals of unrolling Kagome’s sleeping bag and preparing for sleep.

Kagome grimaced as she brushed her teeth, the muscles in her arm protesting fiercely after carrying her huge pack around all day.

Her eyes flickered to where Inuyasha sat, somewhat outside the circle, perched in the lowest branch of a nearby tree, his gazed trained on the forest around them and his ears swivelling madly to keep track of the night time noises all around.

Unconsciously her gaze softened, watching him sit all alone. She’d given up on trying to get him to join the group at night. It had been an argument that hadn’t ended well when she had asked him why he didn't sit closer and he had snappily said that she snored too loudly for him to hear anything else that was going on unless he sat up a tree. She’d stomped off furiously after that, and spent the rest of that evening and following day pointedly ignoring him.

Kagome sincerely doubted that he’d taken the hint (or, if he had, not known what to do with it), but the act of giving him the cold shoulder was therapeutic in itself.

Still, she had little doubt that it was out of a need to protect the rest of them that he sat in the tree all alone. She didn’t doubt that he considered himself the official leader of their little haphazard group of champions, and, all things considered, he was. Though he’d never admit it, it was a duty that he took very seriously.

Her gaze drifted down to the sword that he clutched protectively to his breast, and her heart swelled with pride.

He had deserved that sword, even if he'd had to hack his half-brother’s arm off to get it (something that he remained horribly proud of, and she remained horribly conflicted over). Despite everything, he had protected her faithfully from everything that had been thrown their way (and in all fairness, it was quite a bit).

She just wished he was able to do with words what he did so easily with his sword.

Kagome sighed. Why does every train of thought that starts with Inuyasha end up somewhere depressing? She asked herself, and then shook her head. She was just tired, she assured herself.

Shippou, with surprising perceptiveness, placed a small hand on top of her own, his wide green eyes looking up at her inquisitively.

She rinsed her mouth of the toothpaste, and dumped the small basin of water she’d used out onto the ground, outside the circle of their camp, flicking her toothbrush dry with her thumb.

“It’s nothing,” she told him as she returned to her sleeping bag, putting the toothbrush away and brushing Shippou’s bangs from his forehead. He frowned, scrutinizing her intently for a moment, and she got the distinct impression that he wasn’t fooled in the least. However, he chose to drop the subject, crawling into her sleeping bag and curling up next to her as she crawled in after him.

“G’night, Kagome,” he murmured, already half asleep.

“Goodnight, Shippou,” she replied softly and then raised her voice slightly to the other people in the camp. “Goodnight Sango, Miroku. Goodnight, Inuyasha.”

A chorus of ‘goodnight’ and a single ‘keh’ met her ears as she succumbed gratefully to slumber.

—

She was standing next to the Bone Eater's Well, the forest just beyond eerily silent and foreboding. Kagome glanced around nervously, her stomach churning with dread. She knew exactly what was coming.

Her bow and arrows were absent, as always, and her backpack gone. She bit her lip, looking for an escape, anything to stop it from happening again.

It wasn’t a nightmare in the traditional sense — although she had her fair share of those, too. No monsters coming from under the bed, or unexpected nakedness, but it had been the same dream for weeks, and this time it was no different. Over and over, every time Kagome closed her eyes, she was transported there.

The clouds above her head began to gather, growing darker and darker, churning ominously and rumbling with thunder where they came together.

She flinched, dashing for the trees, hoping in vain that they would provide comfort or protection. They never did.

The wind around her began to pick up, raging furiously, whipping ebony locks and strands of her hair around, slapping the side of her face with surprising force, and covering her eyes.

Kagome screamed, but the sound was lost to the din of the raging wind and booming thunder. The rain began to pelt down, the sky cracking open with lightning as it fell, pricking her skin and stinging where it made contact.

Kagome ran blindly, seeking relief from the storm as the forest around her burst into flames. The wind blew her down and she collapsed, curling up into a ball as the tempest around her strove to beat her down.

She heard shrieking, but she couldn’t tell if it was just the wind whistling through the trees or her own. Slowly, she began to struggle to her feet, half crawling, and searching for a refuge from the storm.

Squinting her eyes against the rain and wind, Kagome moved forwards, stumbling drunkenly through the storm, but stopped suddenly when she ran into a pair of black boots.

Unthinkingly, she grabbed hold of the legs in front of her, clinging to them desperately, weeping with relief.

Slowly, the wind and rain began to abate, and the storm calmed. Still, Kagome clung desperately to her saviour, her body racked with fatigued sobs.

The world stilled around her and the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds again, and slowly Kagome began to stop crying, dissolving into exhausted hiccups. Kagome leaned against the legs of her saviour, wiping her eyes with shaking hands.

“Miko,” a very familiar and entirely terrifying voice asserted from somewhere above her head.

Kagome shot back as if she had been electrocuted, scuttling crab-like on her hands and legs and collapsing inelegantly on her butt as she looked up in horror at the face of her rescuer.

“S-Sesshoumaru?” she asked in mixed disbelief and mortification. Of all the people for my subconscious to come up with! Her mind thought giddily, and she suppressed the desire to giggle.

Sesshoumaru frowned, looking down at her bemusedly, as if he were unsure what exactly was going on, or what he should do with her. Some small portion of her mind (the rational part, that was) registered that as a very good thing, as it meant he hadn’t decided to kill her. Yet.

“I’m really, really sorry,” she apologized, the words tumbling from her lips before she could stop them. If anything, he looked even more puzzled. “For grabbing on to you like that,” she clarified. I’m apologising to someone who isn’t even here, she thought hysterically. Why can’t I ever have normal dreams? Is a simple dream about showing up at school naked really too much to ask?

“What is this place?” Sesshoumaru asked, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the now peaceful wilderness.

“Umm,” she said intelligently, wondering what exactly her subconscious was trying to tell her. “It’s Inuyasha’s forest?” She asked, unsure if that was the right answer he had been looking for. Or wanted, for that matter.

Sesshoumaru's frown intensified at the mention of the hanyou, and she bit her lip nervously, rising shakily to her feet.

He glanced briefly at her, before returning his honeyed gaze to the surrounding forest.

Kagome stared at him, twisting her hands in the hem of her shirt nervously, waiting for him to do something. Or say something. Waiting for him to do anything,really.

Finally, after what seemed like an agonising eternity of silence, Kagome spoke, unable to take the silence anymore. “Sesshoumaru?”

He ignored her, pointedly looking off into the distance. She bit her lip and then tried again. “Sesshoumaru-sama?” She asked as differentially as she could.

He turned to look at her, his gaze vaguely curious as he waited for her to speak. “Thank you,” she said earnestly. He blinked, his brows drawing together slightly, but said nothing. “For calming the storm,” she stated after a moment, shyly gesturing to the forest around them, no longer showing signs of the chaos they had been through only moments before.

“This Sesshoumaru did nothing.” He deadpanned.

“Um, right,” she replied, and then grinned in a self-depreciating way. “Thanks anyway.”

He gave a small huff of annoyance and turned away, but she felt her grin widen as she left the glade in peace, fading silently from sight.

Sesshoumaru glanced back at her briefly, his eyes widening as he saw her, and she smiled at him just as she disappeared.

Kagome woke with a start, her heart thudding erratically in her chest, the image of Sesshoumaru's golden eyes still resonating in her mind.

Miles away, Sesshoumaru snapped back into wakefulness, thoughts of his half-brother’s miko spinning wildly through his head.

—