InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ This Mess We're In ❯ I Dream. . . ( Chapter 1 )

This Mess We're In

1: I Dream. . .

Disclaimers: I own nothing but this shiny nickel. And, oh! I found a penny.

Rating: PG 13 for now, but will probably be changed to R or NC17 later on

Summary: Kagome has gone back where she belongs, but so has someone else. What exactly happened? They don't know yet either. K/Sess.

*****

A young man of nineteen sat up in bed with a start. His eyes narrowed with fatigue and confusion as he ran a shaking hand through his pale, mussed hair. It had been a little more than a week since these dreams had begun to disrupt his nightly rest.

"What the hell is going on?" Sesshou asked himself slowly.

At first, it had been a fun oddity. He had enjoyed the disjointed and fantastic images. He'd had dreams of flying over a land untouched by industry, dreams in which he had run impossibly quickly through fields and forests that were a deeper green than he had ever seen.

Ever since he had been a child, he remembered entering another world when he left consciousness.

Lately, however, things were getting out of hand. The pictures were becoming more vivid and more brutal. Rather than wandering a world populated with wonderful creatures, his dreams were tainted with blood and pain. Even now, in his mind's eye he could see a group of terrified humans - he shook his head. Humans? People. He saw a clawed hand flashing through strange monsters, cutting them cleanly in half, and heard their dying cries. . .

As he calmly wiped black blood off his striped wrist.

He raised his hand before his face and examined his forearm. The grey light of the coming morning was extending its arms into his room, falling in streaks across his skin as he examined it. No stripes. No claws.

No sanity.

"I'm losing it," he murmured. He heard an echo of his dream, the carefree, unselfconscious sound of a girl laughing, and couldn't restrain his own soft chuckle.

When had a girl appeared in his dreams? He couldn't remember.

"Even fictional dream people mock me," he sighed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He shut his eyes once more and lay back on his futon.

The air of breaking day was cool on his bare chest. He must have lost his covers at some time in the night.

Sesshou had a strange feeling that it was not the only thing he'd lost.

Before he thought any more about it, the harsh beeping of his alarm clock broke the sleepy silence of his room, and the world came to life.

**********

Day intruded on Kagome slowly. She gradually became aware of a muffled sound assaulting her eardrums.

"Gnna. . .o. . . me. Ooga. . .tup."

She lifted her eyelids one millimeter. What on earth? Thankfully, no light greeted her squinted eyes. There was still time to sleep. Now if only that moaning troll would get out of her room and leave her alone. . .

"O. . . me! Ate. . . ool!"

It seemed that he was becoming increasingly angered. Kagome burrowed her way deeper into the warm haven of her bed.

Suddenly, she was blinded as the pillow she'd wrapped around her head was wrenched free. . . by a small troll named Souta.

"Kagome! You gotta get up! You'll be late for school!"

"Blearrrgh," she replied in a reasonable tone. "Tell mom I'll be right up." She stretched, yawning, and shooed Souta out of her room. As soon as he was gone, she flopped bonelessly back onto her pillow.

"Kagome," Souta said suspiciously from her door. "Mama's making breakfast."

She sighed regretfully, picked herself up, and walked towards the bathroom under Souta's watchful eye.

**********

Sesshou emerged from the shower, toweling his wet hair as he moved towards the sink. He wrapped the towel around his waist, and squinted briefly at his reflection in the fogged mirror. Turning the faucet on, he watched the water swirl down the drain for a moment before he reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste.

He was still so tired. The dreams he'd been having were intense and draining. Were they normal? They seemed a bit too consistent to be mere mental noise. Each, night, he found himself in the same environment, and in similar situations. He thought speculatively about the attire he had been wearing. The clothing was strange to him, but always the same.

It was fruitless to think about it, anyway. Sesshou shook his head and yawned. What good would it do? Tonight, he'd try to work out until he was exhausted. Maybe that would ensure a good night's rest.

Forcibly clearing his thoughts, Sesshou rinsed his toothbrush and opened the mirrored medicine cabinet to get his comb. He absently wiped the condensation from the mirror, combing his hair neatly. For now, it was obedient, but he knew from experience that when it dried it would pop right back up into messy spikes.

He went into his bedroom to get dressed.

**********

Kagome finished off her miso soup and rice before checking her watch. Damn it, she had to leave now or her lab report would be late. She thanked her mother, grabbed her bag and headed towards the door, checking her reflection in the mirror. She frowned to see the shadows under her eyes that bore witness to her lack of rest. She stepped into her shoes.

"Mama! Souta! Grandpa! I'm heading off!"

Mrs. Higurashi smiled and watched her daughter run out of the shrine gate. "Have a good day, Kagome!"

Kagome's grandfather entered the kitchen. "Did she sleep last night?" he asked.

Mrs. Higurashi's smile faded. "She did. Not that it seems to have done much good. She still seems so drawn."

The old man sat down at the table. "She still hasn't mentioned what happened to her before she came back?" His tone was serious, and filled with curiosity.

Kagome's mother bowed her head. "No. I don't think that she can recall. And remember, when you asked after we found her? She just seemed so upset and confused, and it didn't even seem like she knew why. . ."

Mrs. Higurashi's eyes darkened with worry.

Grandpa looked at the table thoughtfully for a moment, before beginning his breakfast. Maybe, he thought, we should ask her again. Granddaughter, what happened to you?

**********

Sesshou crossed the street quickly, hurrying towards the college campus. The heat of the morning sun was starting to settle over the concrete and stone of the city, but he rarely noticed such things. He wore a dark sweater and pants, oblivious to the temperature.

He looked up at the trees along this stretch of the sidewalk. He always enjoyed walking by this shrine complex. It seemed very old, and very peaceful. He slowed his pace slightly, and looked up at the blue sky.

And then someone tiny rushed into him, bounced off, and landed ignominiously on the pavement.

"Ow!"

**********

Kagome looked up from her undignified position, her face turning red.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! It's just that I was late and then I was rushing, and then I had to check in my bag to make sure my paper is in there, because I have to turn it in today, and it would be so like me to just leave it on my desk-"

The guy she'd run into smiled faintly at her babbling, and reached a hand down to help her up. She took it gratefully and rose to her feet.

"Thanks. And, I'm really sorry. I should really watch where I'm going."

"No need to apologize. After all, you're the one who ended up knocked over. Maybe I should say sorry for being in your way."

Hearing his voice, she stopped checking her clothes for dirt and turned to see his face, and her eyes widened.

His hair, almost white, rose around his face like flames, but also looked impossibly soft. She noted that his eyes were very unusual in color, a whiskey brown that was almost amber. He had a strong jawline and a nice mouth, which was at the moment quirked up slightly in a wry grin.

"Apology accepted," Kagome replied, distracted. It was then that she noticed how exhausted he looked. Perhaps he was as exhausted as she was.

He picked her bag up off the sidewalk, and handed it to her. She saw his eyes narrow slightly as his gaze settled on her face. Then they flared. . . yellow?

"Kagome?"

It was almost inaudible, and the cool tone of voice changed into something approaching confusion.

"Yeah," she replied absently. Checking her watch again, Kagome's eyes widened. That hour hand was getting dangerously close to eight. "Oh, damn it. I have to run. Um, thanks."

"Wait just a second-" Sesshou stared after the girl in shock, his arm outstretched. He knew her name. How did he know her name?!

He caught sight of his wrist. The sleeve of his sweater had risen over his forearm when he had reached out to stop her, and now he stood frozen again, for a completely different reason.

Twined around his forearm were two magenta stripes, fading with each passing second.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked himself, for the second time that morning.

***********

Kagome sat in the lecture hall, dutifully taking notes as fast as she could. The professor's voice was starting to sound like a low hum.

Snap out of it, she thought to herself. She was lucky that the community college had accepted her, with her patchy attendance record from high school and her patchier transcript. She had apparently been sick a lot.

Her mind started to wander.

"Blah blah protein chains. . . blah, blah, amino acids,"

Golden eyes, a low, calm voice saying her name. . .

Kagome suddenly sat bolt upright, startling the students next to her.

"How on earth did that guy know my name?" Kagome whispered in shock.

**********

Author's Note: This is my first fic. Now that I'm writing it, I kind of wish I'd chosen a simple idea to start with, since this is going to drive me mad! Anyway, I have to figure out a way to have two plots in two timelines without being too hard to follow.

Anyway, thanks to the people who have left encouraging comments for me. It's really appreciated.