To Trip and Stumble by Musa

Prologue

Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz Media. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.  

To Trip And Stumble  

Prologue  

 The first thing Kagome noticed was the grass surrounding her. She watched it sway with the breeze. She wasn't sure how long she watched it but her own black hair blowing across her vision brought her gaze up. She saw a line of trees in the distance. They were unlike any trees she had ever seen before. They seemed to come in all kinds of varieties. It reminded her of the grass. Even the grass had been diffrent to her. A vibrant green when she first looked at it then slowly changing to a soft yellow and from that to a mellow violet and from there to yet another color. Changing back and forth from one to another in no set pattern. The trees however, no matter how long she watched them, seemed to remain their own unique colors.  

 Once again her own hair caught her gaze and brought it up to the sky. It was blue, a very clear blue, at least until it seemed to become a dusky rose color. As she panned her view to the left it became a deep dark star filled night. Every stage of the day seemed to fill the sky all around her at the same time. Slowly changing. She noticed the tree line again and this time it wasnt a tree line. It was a line of snow tipped mountains. It seemed as if all the season were ever present as well just beyond the meadow.  

 It was a truly beautiful place. And yet she only felt a mild sense of fascination. It was bewildering. And even that bewilderment was hardly felt. Where was she? Why did she not seem to care? It was as though she was feeling these emotions through a fog. Feeling no sense of urgency she simply stood there and watched.  

 She heard a rustle in the distance. Strange. Till that moment she hadn't been aware of any sound at all, not the grass, not her clothes as she had turned to view her surroundings, not even her own breathing. But the sound had been there. Distant and short but there nonetheless. So she waited. Staring at the spot she thought the noise had come from. She didn't have to wait long. Something emerged from a desert with a sky that was just starting to fill with light, though there was no sun present in any direction.  

 What stepped out from the desert could only be describe as a tall piece of red fur. She watched as it aproached. The closer it got she started to discern some features. It had big floppy rabbit like ears with clear bulging blue eyes that looked as though someone had glued marbles to its flat pink face. There was no nose that she could see and a thin mouth that was hardly even noticable. It was tall. Its giant bear paw hands hangin at its sides would be a few feet out of her reach had she been stepping on her toes. Its feet, hidden by the grass, made small little thumps as they hit the ground. As it came closer to her it met her eyes. Nothing was said. It simply stared at her as it passed and she stared right back. A few steps past her it finally faced foward again and simply walked out of the meadow into what was unmistakenly a rain forest with a somber cloud filled sky.

   As it vanished into the trees she turned to look foward once more. Time passed. She was unsure of how she knew this with the ever changing sky but she knew it as truth. Time was passing and she was only standing and watching. Every now and then another creature would emerge from another land or place outside of the meadow. Some watched her as they passed. Others ignored her. One was even bold enough to tap her on the shoulder. She didn't feel the tap let alone respond to it, and the thing watched her a little more before moving on.  

 Suddenly she could feel the feather soft touch of the grass on her finger tips. She moved her fingers to play with it a little bit till she heard another rustle. This time the thing that emerged was a human. A child. She was wearing a night gown. Something that could have come from her time or any other for how simple it was. The child looked to be of english descent with bright blonde hair that curled around her ears, and big baby green eyes. Getting spotted, she adjusted her current path and made straight for Kagome. When she was in front of her she stopped and stood there. They looked at eachother for a while till the child seemed to hear somthing that kagome could not. She walked passed, drawn by watever she had heard, and walked off into the distance as all the others had.

   Time continued to passed. She never tired of standing. She continued to watch as creatures, and now more people, came and went. At some point she noticed that she could smell again. A light flowery sent filled the air around her. With all her senses in full function she decided to roam around a little bit. She never left the meadow. She would come close to the edge of it and she could feel the heat of an active valcano, or the cool breeze of an ocean that went as far as the eye could see. Still people came and went and as usual time continued on.  

 All at once she became aware of a growning grayness. Sublte at first yet unmistakable. The skies, the scenery beyond the meadow, even the grass that surrounded her seemed to take on a dull tinge. It grew swiftly and steadily, taking over the beauty and turning everything into an endless void. It surrounded her and closed in. And just like that there was nothing. Darkness. Slowly, just as her senses had been retuned to her in the meadow, she became aware of things around her. What had come last came first this time. Smell. The cold dank air burned her nostrils, but there was something else there. Something familair. It was dirt. Then she could feel it. Cold and grity beneath her hands. After that came the sound of the wind. Loud and sharp as it whistled through the air. Finally as the darkness left her eyes she was aware of a rocky ceileing above her.  

 For a long time she didn't move. She lay there and take in her surroundings. Finally the cold was too much and she stiffly proped herself up onto her elbows. She was in a cave. And directly across from her sitting indian style against the cave wall was Sesshoumaru.