Disclaimer: Sadly to say, I don't own Inuyasha. All I own is a couple of movies, way too much time, and the new Nightside novel. Honestly, has anyone actually read that series besides me? Or am I the only one with that twisted of a sense of humor? (evil grin)

Yeah, I know, this is probably gonna suck big time. For one thing, I'm not that fond of this particular pairing, but unfortunately the inspiration faerie doesn't care about my preferences. Just bear with me and understand that this will probably be rewritten about a hundred times over if I ever find the time. Also, any useful advice is welcome. Flames I could live without, but I honestly don't care. I'll just ignore them anyway.

Night Terrors, Chapter One

Kagome woke in a cold sweat, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest, shivering despite the warm night air. She fought back the tears, knowing Inuyasha would be able to smell them when he got back, but she couldn't fight the fear. Hard to fight something that had been a part of you for three months.

Three months since that day. That was hard to believe. The nightmares kept the memories fresh in her mind, and they wouldn't go away. They came every night, without fail, waking her in sheer terror and leaving her unable to go back to sleep. Her health was seriously lacking, and had it been any other thing, she would have gone back to her time and took a small vacation, just enough to get better. But this was not any other time, and she couldn't go back. Not ever.

Inuyasha, of course, was completely oblivious. How he could manage to not notice the fear scent rolling off of her like waves when he chose to show up in the middle of the night was beyond her. He had gotten good at ignoring what he didn't want to face, and most of the time that meant ignoring her. It didn't hurt her like it should have. It had been going on far too long for it to hurt anymore.

"What are you ding awake, wench?"

"Bad dream." Kagome said softly. "I'll be fine."

Inuyasha snorted, his attitude showing he didn't really care. He probably only asked to be polite. If he had bothered to check, he would have known she was lying. "Kikyou will be joining us tomorrow." he said. "With Naraku out for her blood, it's not safe for her to be on her own. You don't mind, do you?"

Kagome shrugged. "Not really." she muttered. She had given up hope long ago of Inuyasha ever returning her affections. How could he, when the undead priestess he loved so much still walked the world? Somehow, Kagome got the distinct impression her time with the group was limited, but she really didn't care. She was strong enough to defend herself now, and she wouldn't have to rely on him much longer. Once Naraku was destroyed, she would probably be kicked out in favor of Kikyou. Where she would go once she was she didn't know, but she'd figure it out when she got there.

"Good." Inuyasha sighed. "You should get back to sleep. I ain't carrying you like I did today."

Kagome smirked but didn't say anything. As if what he had done could be considered carrying. He had let her on his back for maybe thirty minutes before setting her down again, claiming it as sufficient rest. She hadn't said anything, hadn't even sat him for his lack of manners. Sango and Miroku suspected something was wrong with the miko, but none of them could get the answer from her. For three months it had been like this. Kagome just found it hard to care anymore.

There was no way she was getting back to sleep now, and she wasn't desperate enough to ask Inuyasha to stay with her. She stopped seeking comfort from him when she stopped loving him. "I'll be fine, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha scowled at her. "Wench, I said go to sleep."

"Oh, just sit."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Needless to say, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou were not pleased to have Kikyou join their group.

"Are you insane, Inuyasha?" Sango hissed.

"What?" the hanyou protested. "Kagome doesn't care, why do you?"

"Oh, let's see." Miroku said dryly. "She tried to purify you, drag you into hell, and most importantly, kill Kagome on several occasions. Have we left anything out?"

"Oh, shut up." Inuyasha growled. "Kikyou's coming and that's final!" He turned and stalked away to find the undead miko. The others turned to Kagome, worry plain on their faces.

"Kagome, are you sure about this?" Shippou asked fearfully. "What if Kikyou tries to kill you again?"

"Then I'll kill her." Kagome said simply. Her completely indifferent manner threw off the others. They didn't understand what had happened; they didn't know that she would rather die than live with the memories. "Kikyou is not my problem, unless she makes herself my problem."

At that moment, Inuyasha and Kikyou showed up. "I'm surprised you're still with us." Kikyou said blandly. "I thought you would have gone home when Inuyasha told you that you've been replaced."

"Since when have I ever given a rat's hide what Inuyasha says?" Kagome asked blandly. She turned her back to the couple, shouldering her bow and quiver. She didn't have her pack with her. She had left it on the other side of the well. She offered a small smile to the others, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Let's go, guys."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

There was no sign of her. That was the first thing that crossed the taiyoukai's mind as he paused to get his bearings. He had been traveling for half a day now, and there was still no sign of the girl. He growled in growing frustration. Just how long ago did Jaken lose the girl anyway? She was Sesshoumaru's pup, in every way that mattered; how could the ugly toad be so careless as to lose her?!

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, sorting through the myriad of scents in search of Rin. Finally, he caught it, and it was uncomfortably close to the scent of his worthless half-brother. She must've sought out his miko when she realized she was lost.

He took off again, praying to the gods that he wasn't too late.

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AN: not much of a first chapter, but like I said, bear with me. The next one will be longer, and maybe be a fight scene. Or at least a verbal fight scene. Well, you know the drill, drop me a line in the review box and let me know what you think so far.