A huge thank-you to Incomprehensible, who is the most long-suffering of betas, and who is directly responsible for this chapter being written.

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Chapter X: The Breath Before the Plunge

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"When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality."— Dom Helder Camara

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Inuyasha stood, body tense and back turned to the small entourage, looking out onto the horizon as his ears swivelled madly from side to side, taking in the sounds of the approaching night.

Every fibre of his being wanted to chase after Sesshoumaru and force him to fix things, but a good part of him knew that Sesshoumaru was utterly unwilling to help, and that his place was by Kagome's side. He had made a promise to protect her....

They'd had many, many close calls over the years, and he had almost lost her many times. Kagome reminded him of his own mortality.

When he was on his own, his life was immaterial, but when her survival depended on his, he would stand in front of an avalanche if the need arose, and he'd make damn well sure that she would survive, even if he didn't.

In any case, Inuyasha pondered on how he could protect Kagome from her own mind. The questions whirled in front of his eyes as he stared at the horizon, and he briefly wondered what Sesshoumaru had to do with the situation.

Inuyasha wasn't fully convinced that his half-brother hadn't done anything; it just seemed so unlike Sesshoumaru - what did he have to gain by weakening himself in front of him? Sesshoumaru had been entirely at Inuyasha's mercy while he was unconscious, and that didn't seem like a situation the Taiyoukai would willingly place himself in. What, then, was he playing at? And if it wasn't him, then who? Or what?

Each question that flitted through his mind seemed only to prompt more questions, but never any answers.

"Miroku should survive." Sango stated sourly, approaching from behind and startling him out of his thoughts.

"Keh!" Inuyasha grunted noncommittally. He had warned the monk....

It was beginning to look like everything could be written off as a consequence of his failings.

As if she could read his thoughts, Sango spoke, "It's not your fault." Her face hardened and her lips thinned angrily. "The monk is an idiot. For all his 'worldly aura', he's as impulsive as Kagome is. He's utterly unable to resist anything once it catches his attention; it was only a matter of time. You could hardly have stopped him."

"Keh," Inuyasha grunted again, wanting nothing more than to curl up into a small ball and pretend that none of this was happening. How could he go on now, with Kagome in this state? "How long will Miroku take to heal?"

"It'll be at least a week before he'll be up and moving," Sango said softly, swiping a hand over her eyes before turning to face him. She looked tired. "Two before he can leave the village. Or so says Kaede, anyway."

Inuyasha nodded solemnly, uncharacteristically accepting of the delay in the hunt for Naraku. "And Kaede...?" he asked hesitantly.

"Fine," Sango answered quickly, and Inuyasha could see her eyes harden with steely determination. "Do you know what Sesshoumaru wanted with her?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I should probably talk to her. Whatever that bastard wanted, it can't be good."

—

She could feel the warmth of tears running down her cheeks, stark against the cold rain that pricked her skin like needles. She'd curled up next to well, sheltering herself from the wind and rain as best she could and simply given up.

Sesshoumaru, it seemed, had deserted her, and Inuyasha wasn't coming. For once, Kagome was entirely alone, and so far, her career as an independent fighter was off to auspicious beginnings.

Soaked, crying and miserable, the rain seemed to echo her mood, increasing her despair, and then becoming darker and grimmer in response to her thoughts.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" She chanted, but to no avail. "Why is this happening to me?"

Thunder cracked loudly overhead, and, as if carried by the wind itself, a voice echoed in smooth, velvet tones across the dreamscape: "Perhaps the miko is not nearly as hapless as she seems."

She knew that voice.

On shaky legs she stood up and peered through the howling storm, hope blossoming in her chest. "Sesshoumaru?"

She'd never thought she'd see a day when she would be pleased to see the prickly taiyoukai, but there was no denying that he had a tempering effect on her dreams, and that was exactly what she needed right now.

"Sesshoumaru?" She called again, her voice louder, though no less stable than her legs as they shook and trembled in the cold, damp wind. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He was nowhere to be seen, but already the rain was lessening to a slow, easy drizzle, and the sun began to peek out behind the thinning clouds, lighting the drops caught on the leaves and painting a rainbow across the sky.

She smiled, relief flooding through her veins as the clouds split and a ray of sunlight kissed her upturned face. "Thank-you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" She said softly, closing her eyes and basking in the warm light.

—

"The bastard wanted to know about the well?" Inuyasha demanded harshly, his amber eyes flashing in the firelight as he leapt to his feet in a fit of pique.

Kaede, with the well-practised patience of the elderly, ignored him and continued pouring out tea. "Sesshoumaru-sama seemed particularly interested in its purpose and its connection with Kagome."

"But he can't know..." Sango began, and trailed off worriedly.

"He wouldn't be asking if he did!" Inuyasha growled out.

"But why now?" Sango asked, voicing the question that everyone was thinking. "Why is he suddenly interested?"

"Ye say that Kagome has only dreamed of Sesshoumaru once before?" Kaede asked, and her voice tinged slightly with scepticism.

Sango nodded. "But she's been having strange nightmares, about a storm. She said the rain was so powerful that it hurt, and that Sesshoumaru..." she paused, noting the murderous look on Inuyasha's face.

"Yes?" Kaede prompted.

"Sesshoumaru stopped the storm." Sango finished quietly.

Kaede hummed contemplatively, looking at the sleeping figure of Kagome.

Inuyasha waited a full minute, his foot tapping out impatient rhythms before giving in. "Well?" He snapped, more harshly than he would have liked, and he winced.

"I don't know what to make of it," Kaede said, sounding as puzzled as the rest of them felt. "I have heard of spirits visiting dreams to send messages, but never have I heard of two beings sharing one dream."

"You think that they were actually sharing a dream, then?" Sango asked softly.

"Sesshoumaru and Kagome dropped like bag of rocks the moment they set eyes on each other," Inuyasha ground out, sounding as if the words were actually painful for him to say. "I think it's fair to say they're connected somehow. And now," he snarled, "that bastard has gone off and left her like this. Now we have no way of reaching her!"

"Perhaps-" Kaede began, and then stopped.

"Well?" Inuyasha said again, snarling with frustration.

"It seems that there is a way to reach her." Kaede said softly.

Inuyasha stood up, looking attentive, his ears perking forward, and Sango straightened. "It seems to me," said Kaede slowly, voicing her thoughts aloud, "that the only person who can reach Kagome now, is Sesshoumaru."

Inuyasha exploded with fury. "There is no way that bastard will do so much as raise a finger to help her! Don't you get it, you old hag?!" He shouted, growling at a wall of the hut as much as the old woman. "He left! He's gone and he ain't comin' back! We won't be getting any help from him, so you can stop that line of thought right there!"

"If he could be convinced...." Sango said, sounding hopeful.

"You can't convince Sesshoumaru of anything!" Inuyasha yelled, throwing his arms up into the air. "He's a thick-skulled bastard, and he won't do anything he doesn't want to, and he most certainly does not want to do anything for me, or Kagome! He's probably out there laughing at us right now."

"But-" Sango began.

"No!" Inuyasha protested furiously, eyes narrowing on the woman. "You don't know him like I do - he'd rather watch her die! Hell, he'll probably enjoy it." The hanyou's ears flattened against his head in a gesture of dejection, and he turned around, bounding out the door of the hut and over to the base of a nearby tree and leaping up into its branches, effectively ending the conversation.

Sango stared silently after him.

Once again, Inuyasha found himself in need of his half-brother's help. Inuyasha turned to his half-brother after his mother had died, and, while he'd known that Sesshoumaru had never held him in very high regard, he had hoped that the shared blood between them would be enough to make Sesshoumaru feel obligated to keep him alive. Instead, the taiyoukai had turned on him, attacking him mercilessly until he'd run off, tail between his legs to lick his wounds.

He had no doubt that any favours he asked for now would be met with the same reception. As far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, Inuyasha was scum. And, as far as Inuyasha was concerned, the feeling was entirely mutual.

In a burst of anger, Inuyasha grabbed a branch and snapped it off with a satisfyingly loud crack. He contented himself with pretending that it was Sesshoumaru's neck, and he flung it as far into the forest as he could.

—

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken wailed from his perch on Ah-Un, behind Rin. "What did that filthy hanyou mean about you being unconscious? What filthy lies are he-"

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru interrupted in a voice that could freeze fire. "Silence."

Jaken quailed and hid behind Rin. Pleased with the resounding silence, Sesshoumaru found his thoughts drifting back to his half-brother's miko. He smirked to himself as he thought of her, trapped in the dreamscape, forced to walk in circles until she managed to find a way out. If she managed to find a way out.

Now there was a pleasing thought.

It did little to dissolve the very real problem that had presented itself, however. The miko had rendered him unconscious with a mere glance. He was tempted to believe her claim that she knew nothing about what was happening to them, however he was at a loss to explain what outside influence could produce such an effect. It had, at first, been annoying, but relatively harmless. This new development was most certainly not harmless.

Perhaps it would be best to simply kill the miko to prevent any re-occurrences.

It certainly seemed like an appealing idea, however, there was no denying the feeling of trepidation he felt. The miko had not woken when the monk had pulled him from sleep — would the same happen to him if she were to be killed? Would it continue to affect him, even without her? What then, was the trigger? And the source?

His thoughts turned back to his half-brother's loud-mouthed wench. Perhaps the miko is not nearly as hapless as she seems, he thought. Perhaps she has orchestrated the whole thing.

To what end, though? She had been made just as vulnerable as he, more so, in fact.

Snarling, Sesshoumaru lifted himself higher into the air, breaking through the clouds. This was a problem that could not continue. It was time, perhaps, for some advice.

—

A/N: Well, it's been rather a long time. Needles to say, RL has kept me busy in the last little while. Unfortunately I will continue to have stuff on my plate in the next couple months, so I can't guarantee regular updates, but I do plan to continue this. Thanks very much to everyone who's been reading, and to anyone who's stuck around. You guys are awesome, and hopefully you'll continue to enjoy this.