Well, like most fanfics, this is just and itch that i decided to scratch. If you have and Constructive Criticism or thoughts on this chapter I'd love to hear them.

Daedal

A/N: I have to thank Finchette for the very helpful recommendations (To tell you the truth i wasn't completely happy with this chapter till he/she gave me those ideas). Also, it might take a bit of time for me to update (but i plan to) because of certain personal problems reeking havoc on my normally peaceful life. /sigh (4.28.08)

-1-

Sayuri sat idly in her small desk listening patiently as her teacher went over the complex equations. His chalk slid smoothly across the board as he underlined the answer trying to convey to the class how simple it all was. Sayuri drifted from the sound of her professor's voice to the droning buzz of side conversation around her. In her free time she had already gone over the entire chapter twice, however she highly doubted her classmates had done the same. "I guess it's different for them, they all seem be preoccupied with puberty and social strife." She let her gaze stop on the normally empty seat of Kagome. Today a small, pale girl sat there hectically scribbling down their professor's lecture. Kagome's brows furrowed in concentration as a small droplet of sweat slid down the side of her face. "She has been gone quite some time, I wouldn't be surprised if she is feeling a little overwhelmed right now."

Sayuri glanced back to her spiral of notes; each mark was crisp and neatly drawn on the page. She turned her eyes back to the board but her attention still flittered off in her mind. "Should I lend her my notes? Would it be too nice of me to offer?" Sayuri glanced back down at her neat calligraphy before coming to a decision. "I have looked over the material for this test more times than I care to admit and Kagome has always offered to let me tag along when everyone else has just ignored or insulted me. Plus, it isn't like I do anything after school except to stop by the school to buy some hair dye," she let a black tendril slip from behind her ear and obsereved the subtly faiding black leaving her odd silver hair to shimmer faintly in the dim light from the window. "I don't see why I can't offer to let her use my notes until the test and why not offer to tutor her as well?" She smiled slightly to herself, more out of relief that she would get some social interaction with someone other than her foster parents, than the fact that she was about to be a good Samaritan.

As the clock's minute hand ticked closer to 12, the sound of papers shuffling and the slow zip of a classmate's failure to silently close their backpack flooded the room. With a half sigh she collected her own papers and placed them in her messenger bag next to a novel she had been secretly pouring through during the more boring segments of her classes. After her class had finished their noisy declaration of "it's time to go", the entire room grew stale with anticipation.

The professor made a few more pointed marks on the chalkboard to reiterate what he had gone over in class. Sayuri glanced around to locate the confused, regretful faces of a couple classmates who had not been paying attention for the later part of class.

To all of their excitement, the professor leaned onto his desk, chalk still in hand, and looked over his students with a tired gaze. Letting out a breath of air, knowing his students most likely hadn't retained anything from the last hour of class, he dismissed them, "You may go, have a good weekend. And don't forget the test is Monday!"

Sayuri glanced over her shoulder to see that Kagome had just begun to pack, not wanting to miss writing down a single equation the professor went over. "I'll just wait for her by the shrine, that way I won't disrupt her time with her friends. Plus I don't think her friends really like me anyways. I really don't see why they think I'm so different, I'm a human and I was born here in Japan just like them…" She let out an exasperated sigh of pent up emotion as her fingers gingerly went up to play with the main source of all the jokes. Her black hair bent obediently against the pressure of her fingers before she tucked it back behind her ear. To day she had decided to pin the sides of her hair up, letting everything else hang neatly down her back and picking out the longer strands in the front to frame her rounded face. As she walked down the side of the busy street leading to the temple, it suddenly occurred to Sayuri that Kagome might have gone out with her friends. After all she had been sick for quite some time. "Oh well, Its not like I'm unused to amusing my self. I'm sure she won't be long." The shadow from the temple's serene tree protected her pale skin from the sun as she drew nearer to the bench beside it. Sayuri brought her bag up on her lap to withdraw her book before setting it down carefully below the bench. This one she had picked up from the library the other day was turning out no different from the last one she read, and the one before that. However, even though they were the same idea, she enjoyed exploring the different styles in which different authors depicted war. Ever since she was a child she had always enjoyed "playing war". Of course she always did it by herself, because none of the other kids wanted to play with her, she was "different". Even her foster parents acted odd around her. Of course they were nice, they took care of her, and bought her what she wanted (which wasn't much), but they still lacked that loving affection that she had seen other parents adorn their children with. After a minute she realized that she had stopped reading her book and was simply staring at its worn pages as she revisited her past.

"Bah, what am I doing?" Sayuri whispered to herself, now that she wasn't within hearing distance of anyone she allowed herself to voice her thoughts aloud. She could feel the waves of hatred washed with pain begin to engulf her again. "What am I missing? Something isn't right with me, something has never been right with me," she muttered quietly as she lay down on the bench. A faint breeze wisped past her ear as she lay mournfully beneath the tree. If she closed her eyes it felt as if the wind were a mother's hand caressing her. The slight rustle of leaves were the mother's voice gently comforting her, "Ssshhh."

"I miss you," was the three words that escaped her lips before she drifted off to sleep.

The sound of footsteps breaking twigs and side walk debris caused Sayuri's heavy lids to flutter open. When she looked out, it was beginning to be dusk as the shadow of the tree melded with the small amount of light given off from the setting sun. She looked in the direction of the noise to see Kagome already headed to her house. Quickly she grabbed her bag and jumped forward, stumbling over the book she had dropped when she fell asleep. She caught a last glimpse of Kagome headed into a small building to the side of her house before she dipped down to collect her book.

Setting off at a good run, she lost sight of Kagome for and instant as she turned to run up the steps. Sayuri was about to yell for Kagome, but felt uncomfortable with the thought, so instead she opted to find her into the small shed. As she turned towards the shed she noticed that the sliding door was open a crack and she could just make out the edge of Kagome's pack sitting inside the doorway. Hesitantly she slide the door open just enough so that she could fit her shoulders through.

"Kagome?" whispered Sayuri, her eyes widened as in attempt to catch some light within the darkness. She took another hesitant step as her eyes began to focus, but it was too late. Sayuri stepped off the side of the well house and into the pit where the well was, her shrill scream cutting off as she hit the ground. Her body ached as she lay there motionless, considering if it was okay to move or not. Her tongue moved across her dry lips before she gagged and began to spit up the dirt that had settled in her mouth.

"Ugh, gross," she muttered as she stiffly pushed herself up with her hands while continuing to spit out the particles of dirt. "Kagome? Where are you?" Only now that her eyes had adjusted did Sayuri realize that Kagome was not in this small room with her. As she began to brush the dirt from her uniform her eyes fell upon the well. There was something intriguing about it that drew Sayuri closer. "Is it calling my name?" She inched closer as the faint voice grew slightly audible. "Saayuurii…" Her breath momentarily caught in her through as the voice beckoned to her. A soft light danced around the inside walls of the well, drawing on her curiosity. Just before she leaned over to pear into the well, an urgent voice came from the entrance behind her.

"What are you doing? Who are you?" Kagome stuttered, not knowing if it was a demon from the Futal Era or a stranger from her era.

Startled, Sayuri, turned around too fast and caught herself off balance. Throwing her foot behind her she stepped on her bag, where it had fallen earlier, and slipped as it moved away from the force she applied to it. Kagome, eyes adjusting to the darkness, got a glimpse of black hair with faint silver strands showing through and a white and green uniform before Sayuri slipped into the well and disappeared behind a shower of light.

Kagome grabbed her pack and jumped into the well after her friend. As she entered the light she witnessed Sayuri, not two yards in front of her. Sayuri's eyes were closed in a peaceful unconcious sleep and her back arched as streams of light ripped through two gashes on each forearm and on each cheek, before faiding and leaving burned marks similar to that of a tiger's stripes. Sayuri squinched her facial features in a wave of pain, barely opening her mouth to release a small gasp, revealing two pearly fangs. Then as the vortex seemed to dim in warning to their landing her hair gave a shuddering ripple, followed by a wave of soft wind that washed her silver hair free of dye.

How was this happening? Kagome was completely baffled at the change that had occurred just before her eyes. Now, sitting at the bottom of the well was herself and an unconscious Youkai, formerly her friend Sayuri. But what confused her more was how Sayuri's new form seemed vaguely familiar. A long pale arm, half hidden under Sayuri's silver hair, was now adorned with a few violete stripes.

Hope you enjoyed. I havent started writing the next chapter yet, but i have a good idea of where its going to go. If you have any thoughts of what you would like to see happen I'll gladly entertain them.

Daedal