Your Worst Nightmare by BelleDayNight
Thanks Hasso for motivating me to update.

Chapter 7: Please don't grow up…

Everything had gone black for Inuyasha. The last words Hayate said to him rang hollowly through his mind, Mine now. Inuyasha opened his eyes and found himself back at Kaede and Kikyo's village. Everything looked normal so far. A deep feeling of dread ran through his blood like ice. The miniscule amount of hope he possessed that everything might have just been a figment of his imagination vanished.

The door to Kaede's hut opened and she stepped out, old, haggard, and one-eyed, just like he remembered her. "Ah, Inuyasha, ye hath returned," she acknowledged in her old-woman speech. She hobbled towards him, an adventurous glint in her one eye. "What news have ye on Naraku?" She spit out the demon's name like something she couldn't digest.

"Eh, I didn't hear anything new," Inuyasha ventured, not wanting to get too involved in this particular nightmare.

"I see," Kaede drawled. A faintly familiar scent began to invade Inuyasha's olfactory senses. He turned around in time to see the two companions of Kouga catch up to him. What were their names? Ginta and Hakkaku maybe?

"Inu…"Ginta started, bending with his hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath.

"Yasha," Hakkaku finished in a similar pose. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Inuyasha's brow rose in surprise. What was this? Kouga's two worthless companions were now trailing after him? Where were his friends? Where was Kouga? Kami-no, don't let him be allied with Kouga or something….worse. "Where's Kouga?" Inuyasha asked, tentatively.

His question earned him identical looks of confusion from the two lower wolf demons. "Who?" Hakkaku asked. He looked at over at Ginta who merely shrugged in response. "We found evidence of Naraku and the dark miko," Hakkaku explained.

"Good," Kaede interjected. "Where did ye see these vile creatures?"

"A few days journey from here," Ginta answered. He shifted uncomfortably, "Through the forbidden lands of Lord Shippo."

Inuyasha burst out laughing. "What?" He barked out, unable to stop laughing. His companions gazed at him quizzically surely thinking he had gone insane. If they only knew the half of it! Without a doubt he was way past insane by now!

Hakkaku swallowed thickly, looking around nervously. "Surely you remember the great Lord Shippo. You remember what happened to your brother."

Inuyasha stopped laughing. In this reality was Shippo some sort of evil, all powerful creature? Just great! As if the little fur ball didn't cause enough havoc as a little childish twerp he went around defeating invincible beings like Sesshoumaru now. "Actually I don't."

"Are ye ill?" Kaede asked, after an uncomfortable silence had followed his declaration. "Lord Shippo challenged Lord Sesshoumaru in an infamous duel for possession of the Western Lands. Needless to say, Shippo is the Lord of the Western Lands."

Things simply didn't compute. How could a little runt like Shippo possibly defeat someone like Sesshoumaru? "Right, well I guess we don't have a choice but to risk it."

Kaede, Ginta, and Hakkaku all nodded solemnly in agreement. Inuyasha was tempted to ask the identity of the evil miko working with Naraku. But he was pretty confident that it would be Kikyo. There was no reason for him to bother worrying about that. He thought about asking what happened to Sesshoumaru, but he thought his temporary companions might think him completely mad. Miroku and Sango probably didn't even exist in this tale.

"Let us be off then," Kaede announced. She looked at Inuyasha expectantly. He ignored her and started to walk in the direction that Ginta and Hakkaku had indicated. "What do you think you're doing?" Kaede cried out in anger as she pulled hard on a lock of Inuyasha's long hair. He glared down at her while rubbing his abused scalp.

"What do you want old hag?"

Kaede reared back her hand and slapped Inuyasha on the cheek with her palm. "How dare you call me such horrible names!" A tear began to streak down her face. Fear consumed Inuyasha's heart. Not again! Surely Hayate didn't have him married off to another old hag! "You'd leave your sister-in-law behind after all I've done for you?"

Talk about relief!

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Inuyasha excused himself. He was grateful for small miracles.

"But, Inuyasha, without Kaede you won't be able to find the jewel shards," Ginta pointed out.

The jewel shards! Even in this stupid reality he had to search for those cursed things! "Fine," Inuyasha answered annoyed. "What do you want hag?"

"A ride perhaps, like you usually give." Kaede answered in a hurt voice, her old lady chin quivered.

It was a horrible sight, truly. Inuyasha growled low in his throat before crouching for the old hag to climb his back. He grunted at the unexpected heaviness of the old woman. He had only carried her a time or two, and that had been after he was freshly unleased from the Kikyo's sacred arrow by Kagome. And that had been to save Kagome.

Wait.

If Kaede was his sister-in-law. That meant Kikyo was his wife. And if Kikyo was the dark miko working with Naraku then that meant his own wife had betrayed him to work for the enemy!

"Inuyasha wait up!" Hakkaku and Ginta called out behind him, unable to catch up with him as he ran at top speed through the forest towards the Western Lands.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Hayate had gone for a walk by himself, leaving Inuyasha's traveling companions back at the camp they made for the night. He wanted to enjoy the turmoil he felt Inuyasha going through. The hanyou would certainly be surprised when he discovered the identity of the dark miko. He was also looking forward to the encounter with Shippo. Hayate burst out laughing at the images that danced through his head, he didn't notice until it was too late when a pair of flying soul catchers had wrapped around his body.

He gave an annoyed sigh when he was unable to break free of their imprisonment. He looked up in time to see a lovely woman approach him. She looked solemn and sad in the pale moon light. She also reminded him quite a bit of Inuyasha little girlfriend back at the camp. "What do you want?" He asked gruffly, trying to imitate the annoyance the hanyou would have shown.

The woman eyed him oddly before waving her hand in dismissal. The two snake-like demons flew away from him. Hayate, in Inuyasha's body, rolled back his shoulders stiffly as he continued to look back at the woman coldly. "Why did you not come?" She asked softly, her voice calm and serene.

"Come where?" He demanded annoyed. Perhaps he should kill this nuisance of a woman now. She'd probably only cause him trouble. He sniffed the air suspiciously. What was that smell? "Ack, it smells like death," he muttered.

Kikyo's dark eyes narrowed at his comment. "I had news on the where about of Naraku," she told him stiffly.

"I can find him on my own, thanks," Hayate answered her just as stiffly. A long silence fell between the two.

"You are not Inuyasha," Kikyo finally stated.

"Just now figured that out did you?" Hayate told her quietly, his voice deadly. A flash of fear could be seen in Kikyo's dark eyes. Hayate couldn't allow her to ruin his fun and games. Who was this woman anyway? This looked like a young version of the old hag he had married the hanyou to in his first nightmare. Perhaps this was the one whom Inuyasha's friends had alluded to before. She certainly seemed to cause his traveling companions a great deal of pain.

He saw only one choice really.

It was the least he could do.

He lashed out.

The claws on his right hand shred through Kikyo's shoulder and torso, splitting her fragile body nearly in half. Kikyo looked at him sadly a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "How fitting, to be killed by someone else with your image twice."

Hayate narrowed his eyes at her and then turned to leave. She'd die quickly enough. He needed to return to his camp now.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Inuyasha couldn't believe his eyes. Tied to the great thousand year tree marking the entrance into the largest section of forest in the Western Lands was a leash. Attached to the end of that least was a giant beast that was frighteningly familiar. It also happened to possess all of his appendages in this reality.

Sesshoumaru was in his full demon form, foaming at the mouth, and staring at Inuyasha with a frightening hunger. He was like a giant, starved, guard dog. The former demon lord snapped his sharp fangs towards Inuyasha, barely missing him. The hanyou was quite happy that he had deposited Kaede's fat butt a few minutes ago. That last move would have found half of her in the belly of his crazed half-brother.

He quickly looked behind him and spotted Ginta and Hakkaku cowering behind some rocks. At that moment Inuyasha felt a little sympathy for Kouga not being able to rely on his friends to fight alongside him. Of course he couldn't blame the two. They'd have been ripped to pieces without much ado.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Inuyasha shouted, leaping out of the way to avoid another vicious mouth full of sharp fangs.

Sesshoumaru merely growled in response, causing the ground of the forest to shake visibly with the magnitude of his growl. His blood red eyes were probably the scariest part of it all. Without a doubt, the demon was completely insane. How in the world was Shippo responsible for this?

"Enough," a calm voice called from high in the boughs of the trees. Inuyasha looked up, unable to see anyone. It was one of those disembodied voices. He shivered in spite of himself. That was creepy.

Sesshoumaru's nasty looking mouth shut abruptly and he sat obediently at the base of the thousand year tree. "What brings you trespassing?" The voice called again.

Inuyasha had never heard that voice before. It was a bit musical and hypnotic. He searched the treetops in an effort to identify the owner of the voice. He stumbled back when he realized to whom the voice belonged.

A grown up version of Shippo stood before him. At least he assumed it was him through process of elimination. The demon had long auburn hair and emerald eyes. However, that's where the similarities ended. This kitsune was tall, probably the same height as Sesshoumaru in humanoid form. He no longer had the fox-like legs he had as a child but apparently had learned to master the art of illusion. Inuyasha might have been proud to see the kitsune he enjoyed torturing and teasing all grown up. Except, instead of mischief and mirth in those emerald eyes all he could detect was malice and hatred.

"I came seeking Naraku," Inuyasha answered.

Shippo grinned cruelly. "I can save you the trouble," he offered.

"Oh?" Inuyasha asked. He was slightly worried. This Shippo didn't seem like he was much for charity.

"I could just kill you now."

Oh hell no, he was not about to be killed by Shippo!

"HAYATE!" Inuyasha roared.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Hayate groaned, waking up from a blissful slumber of the various things he would do with Kagome and Sango once he figured out a way to get rid of the kit and the pervert. Couldn't that cursed half-demon give him a break? Didn't he know he had someone else's life to live?

He allowed his mind to venture into the reality he had so graciously deposited Inuyasha at last. He had thought he was being rather generous allowing him to keep all his body parts and all this time around. He wasn't even married to an old ugly woman. Plus, he gave him traveling companions. Honestly, the half-demon was simply ungrateful.

Hayate grinned as he watched the scene silently. This was even better than he thought. It seemed that Inuyasha's half-brother, the one whom he couldn't remember his name, the Lord of the Western Lands had been defeated by the little brat kit. He noted with amusement that Inuyasha was having quite a difficult time avoiding the attacks by the grown up version of his youngest friend. Honestly, Hayate's subconscious mind was forever impressing him coming up with more elaborate nightmares than the previous.

He had a cold shiver of dread course through his spine when he felt another presence watching the scenes alongside him. He tried to expand the powers of his mind to identify the intruder but they were gone before he could find them. That was disturbing.

Little did he know that miles away from his warm camp that a sinister demon was sharing a laugh at the expense of his victim using a mirror to see it all.