Author's Note: I had originally posted this on Tumblr as a three part for Inuvember, but I have made so many plans for this while writing that I decided to turn it into a full story. Hopefully I can balance this with my other stories.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 1: Waking Nightmare.

She felt… heavy.

Not as if she had gained weight or anything, but as if she was being smothered under a mountain of heavy quilts. Yet as the light breeze continued to caress her skin, she knew that not to be the case.

With great effort, her eyes slowly opened, her vision hazy as she tried to get her bearings. Her skin tingled as her fingers twitched, attempting to lightly grasp the sheet under her. Finally, her vision cleared, though not to show any spectacular sight. The dull white ceiling tiles greeted her, along with a fluorescent light fixture, which looked like it had seen better days. The bulbs were missing, and the fixture had many exposed wires, as if someone had gutted it.

Straining her neck, she rolled it to one side, only to see pale light streaming in through dirt streaked windows. One had been swung open, and the curtains flowed gently in the breeze. She carefully began to move her arms, pushing up from what she realized was a hospital bed.

"Wha…" Her voice tapered off, as violent coughs racked her body. With her throat burning, hoarse as if from disuse, a cold dread filled her core. What is happening? Where am I?

The coughing began to subside as she rolled onto her side, propped by her elbow. Okay, just take it easy… With extreme caution, she shifted her legs around the railing along the edge of the bed, her body shaking from exertion. You can do this…

"Ahh!" Crashing to the ground, her legs had given out with only the slightest weight pressed on them. She groaned in pain, feeling a sharp, tearing pain from the crook of her elbow. Glancing at the spot, she felt like smacking herself in the head. Blood seeped from hole, likely caused by the IV needle hanging off the edge of the bed.

"Way to go, Kagome…" she gritted out in her hoarse voice. Her coughing returned, but not nearly as violent as it once had been. "Okay… you can do this."

With shaky legs and a firm grasp on the bed railing, she eventually managed to hoist herself up, straining to keep herself from falling again, knees knocking together has her legs quivered from exertion. Slowly letting go of her grip, she made her way closer to the window. "You can… do this," she muttered through gritted teeth. "Just… one… step… at a…time."

Her feet stumbled, but fortunately, she had reached her intended destination. Falling forward against the window frame, she gasped a bit, trying to catch her breath, before her eyes focused on the view outside.

And then her eyes widened in horror.

What had once been the impressive city of Tokyo had become a devastated wasteland. A few fires dotted some of the buildings, with broken windows and tall, billowing smoke stacks, and the buildings that weren't currently burning looked as if they had been set aflame at some point. The streets were empty save for debris, and even with her decent view from an upper level of this hospital, she could not see a soul for miles.

"What… what is this?" she asked herself, the silence suddenly feeling suffocating. "What… oh god…"

Ignoring her protesting muscles, she shoved away from the mirror, rushing towards the door to the room on stumbling feet. Yanking the door open, she hurried out before her feet slipping out from under her on the slick hallway floor. Landing harshly on her knees and catching herself on her elbow to keep from smashing her face on the ground. Resting a hand on the ground, her brows scrunched together as she felt the slick, sticky residue she had fallen in.

"Oh yuck…" she muttered, pushing up into a kneeling position. "What is this stuff?..." Barely any light filtered in from outside, and as she held her hand up to her face, all she could tell was that whatever it was, it was dark against her pale skin. "Way to go, Kagome…"

Moving to stand, she clutched her aching elbow, squinting into the darkness. A covered window at the end of the hall was just a few feet of the way. Deciding more light was needed, she quickly made the decision to pull back the curtains. As light filtered in, she felt pleased at the small accomplishment. "Much better!" she declared, clapping her hands together. "Now, to find someone to explain what is—"

Her hands. Slowly unclasping her palms, she stared at her hands, dread gripping her core. The dark residue shone easily in the pale window light. Dark red in color, almost like paint, it covered her palms, her arms, her legs: anything that had touched the ground during her fall. She felt queasy as she finally noted the metallic smell of the residue, and with heavy, panicked breaths, she slowly turned around to look down the hall.

And then she screamed.

Blood. Blood lined the hall floor, smeared on the once pristine tile and splattered on the white walls. Bile rose up her throat as she noticed piles of flesh and bone sporadically left along the hall, what once was a person now looked unidentifiable.

Knees giving out, she dry heaved from her empty stomach, body trembling from shock. This could not be happening. This had to be some sick, twisted nightmare. Yet, no matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, no matter how much she cried and whimpered on the cold tile floor, she did not wake up. The fatigue and nausea would not lessen. The blood drying and caking on her arms and hands did not go away.

And she finally admitted to herself that this nightmare wasn't going away anytime soon.