Kagome sighed as she curled up in her bed, she knew that Sesshomaru would be sitting on the roof, keeping watch over her. But there was really no need; humans and demons lived peacefully in the modern day now. No bad demons could come through the well, or anybody else for that matter, because the well had been somehow closed off and there was vines all through it, thanks to the Shikon No Tama that had been restored not too long ago, closing the well completely.
But there was no way the well would hold out forever, because no one expected me to come through it, with a long kept secret.....
"Grab her! Don't let her escape!"
I growled as another arrow pierced my skin, digging into the back of my shoulder. I looked behind me as I ran through the forest, the demons were still following me. They had been after me for too long, because I had what they wanted, and they weren't going to get it.
As I tore through the forest, moving beyond human speed, the sound of my pursuers was fading, and not long after, I pricked my ears to listen for them. They were gone.
I breathed and ran for another short length of time before stopping and leaning against some sort of old well that was covered in vines.
I felt the blood running down my arm from the most recent arrow that had pierced my body. I pulled out all the arrows that were embedded in my back and I felt no more energy in my body. I had run for too long and I was completely wiped out. My legs were shaky, my vision was blurry. If the demons came for me now, I was done for.
I leaned back to look up at the full moon with the stars shining all around it, but I fell back, down into the well, hitting every vine on the way. In a flash of pink light, I hit the ground and lied there, flat on the bottom of the well. I got up slowly, my head hurt. I heard the sound of rain up above. I must have blacked out, there was no clouds before I fell in. And no rain came down into the well. Why was that?
I shrugged and forced my body to move. I jumped up, clawing every vine out of my way. When I reached the top and climbed out, I saw why no rain came into the well; it was in a small shrine-like room. Surely the well had been out in the open?
I walked up the stairs slowly and opened the door at the top. There was dirt everywhere, and getting muddy from the heavy rain. Ahead of me, I saw a house, but it didn't look like one of the houses in any village I knew of, it was much different. And why was there no other houses around? I thought village houses were close together?
The place seemed safe; I couldn't smell any danger, half because the rain would have washed it away by now. In any case, I stumbled forward, my bare feet stepping into the mud. I had to drag myself forward, I had no more strength left in me. My whole body was drained. It had been a while since I ate, that was some of the problem.
I felt my whole body collapse and I fell forward, face-first into the mud. I sighed, I couldn't move. I'd just have to sleep there until I had enough strength to move again. It wouldn't be too hard.
"Easy, Sesshomaru! She's hurt!"
"Don't trust her! She came out of that well!"
"But that's impossible! It was closed up ages ago! No one can pass through it now!"
"Well you saw the light! She came from the well!"
"Let's just see who she is!" I heard footsteps and the scent of demon filled my nose, despite the drenching rain. Then I smelt human, but both scents were separate, no half-demon.
"Who are you?" the demon growled, but I couldn't even move my head to look up at him. He wasn't one of the demons that were chasing me before, which was good. "State your business!"
"She's hurt! She has blood all over her!" the human exclaimed, her voice strained. "We have to get her inside. Sesshomaru, can you carry her?"
"If I must," I felt arms wrap around me and I was able to look up at the demon as he picked me up. I couldn't see him properly, the rain was getting in my eyes and I had to blink it away. Soon enough, my eyes closed and I blacked out.
"No, Sesshomaru! Don't wake her yet! Let her sleep!"
"Kagome, she's a half-breed! She could be a threat!"
"I'm sure she's not!"
"How do you know!?"
"I don't. But I have a good feeling."
"Guys, I think she's coming too."
I slowly opened my eyes, my body felt numb, but I felt stronger. My vision was blurry as the beginning, but then it evened up and I saw a human boy with black hair leaning over me, excitement shining in his eyes. "Hi!"
I shot right up, making him jump back. I breathed deeply to calm my shock and I heard a low growl.
"Sota, you scared her!" I looked up at a teenage human girl with long black hair.
"I think she scared me more!" the boy muttered.
Then the scent of demon filled my nose and I looked beside the girl to the tall, silver-haired demon with markings on his face and wrists. He had armor on one shoulder, and covering his chest. He also had a big fluffy thing covering his other shoulder.
The girl crouched down in front of me. "Hi, sorry about Sota, he does that. My name's Kagome. Who are you?"
I blinked at her before looking around the room. There was a bed that was high off the ground, a desk, there was a window behind me and a door on the other side of the bed. Where was I? Was I in that house I saw before when I came out of the well?
"She asked you a question, half-breed!" the demon growled at me, reaching for one of his swords.
I jumped to my feet at the sight of him about to draw a sword. I stepped back, my claws flashing in self-defense. If this demon advanced, I would have to fight him.
"Sesshomaru!" the girl, Kagome, growled at the demon. "It's not helping! You're just scaring her!"
I looked around me, spotting the window again, it was open. I turned and jumped out of it, landing on the muddy ground. It was no longer raining as I last remembered it, though the scent of rain still hung heavy in the air, but it smelt like morning. The early sun was shining brightly in the horizon.
I looked around, the house was behind a whole heap of other houses that I must not have seen when it was raining last night. I saw some stairs further on, past the other houses and I ran towards them. I jumped down them, ten at a time.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, new scents came to my nose. The ground was hard, and there was a big black path where different colored metal boxes on wheels moved past, going two different ways.
I ran down the path, scenting humans and demons mixed together. But how could that be? Demon attacked all humans. It was very rare for them to live together in peace.
Everyone looked at me as I raced past, but no one jeered. That was even rarer. Where I came from, every demon or human I crossed jeered at me for being a half-demon.
I started walking after a while, my long black hair swaying gently in the wind. Where had the forest gone? Where was the villages? Why weren't any demons attacking me, or the humans? Where the hell was I!?
I walked for a little while, turning corners and looking up at the tall buildings. I craned my neck up to see the top of the building I was walking beside, it was huge! It looked like it was going to fall over, and that creeped me out.
Suddenly, a close demon scent washed over me and I crashed into someone. I fell to the ground without even a tiny yelp and I looked up to see a group of people, demons and humans. The one I ran into sat up and I saw his long silver hair and white ears. He wore red clothing and he had no shoes. On the left side of his waist there was a sword and sheath tied to his clothing. By the smell of him, he was a half-demon, though his demon scent nearly washed his human scent away completely. And he reeked of dog.
"What was that for!?" he growled at me. I jumped to my feet and took a step back. The guy got up to, seeing me flash my claws; another act of self-defense.
"So you want a fight now, do you!?" he snarled and reached for his sword.
"Ease up, Inuyasha," one of his friends said. "I don't think she's from around here."
"She reeks of cat!" the silver-haired guy growled.
So, he hasn't noticed that I'm a half-demon, I thought. Stupid dogs, once they smell cat, everything else can't be noticed. They hate cats, and I hate the smell of this guy!
He took a step towards me, pulling out his sword. It grew larger and it looked like it was a fang. I took another step back.
"Inuyasha! Stop!" I heard a voice and two people stood in front of me. It was the Kagome girl and the demon she hung out with. The demon, and the half-dog-demon looked a lot alike.
"Sheath your sword, little brother," the demon said calmly, confirming my assumption.
"Why should I!?" the Inuyasha guy growled. "She started it!"
"It wasn't her fault!" Kagome insisted. "She did the same thing to Sesshomaru!"
"Who is she?" Inuyasha asked, putting his sword away, it became smaller again and looked the same size as a normal sword again.
"We don't know," Kagome looked over her shoulder at me and back to Inuyasha. "She won't talk. But she came from the well."
Everyone looked shocked. What was so special about the well I fell into? Did it take me to a new world altogether? One where demons and humans really did live together peacefully, and even half-demons were accepted?
"That's impossible!" one of the demon girls from Inuyasha's group exclaimed. "No one has been able to pass through the well for years!"
"I know, Ayame," Kagome sighed. "But it happened last night. She was badly hurt."
"Then let's ask her and find out how she came through the well," said one of the male demons. I took a sniff and recoiled. He reeked! Wolf scent all over him! "What was that you just did!?" he growled, noticing my rude gesture.
They all looked at me and I snorted, wiping my nose with my arm to try and erase the stink. The one thing I hated more than dog-scent was wolf-scent, it was 100 times worse!
The wolf demon stepped towards me, his claws flashing. I sniffed again rudely. These guys were no danger, they weren't going to attack while Kagome was there. Why was she even defending me? She was a mere human. What could she do to stop a demon?
I turned my back on them and started walking away, not caring anymore.
"Hey!" Inuyasha growled and ran after me. He grabbed my wrist and, due to my instant reflexes, I twirled back, my claws from my other hand coming up and raking across his cheek. Everyone was stunned when he let me go and blood trickled down his cheek from the four scars on his face.
"Don't, touch me, again!" my hiss was nothing but a mere whisper, but it had a deep snarl to go with it.
"I thought you didn't talk," he whispered back but growled. He was about to attack me, but when Kagome yelled, "SIT!", he landed face-first into the ground.
I didn't stop to ask questions. I turned around and ran off, jumping from one shiny metal box with wheels to the next, reaching the other side of the strange black path that they traveled on. I started running again and I took off down the path, running past all kinds of humans and demons.
Kagome sighed. "Come on, Sesshomaru."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because she could get hurt!" Kagome growled and started running after me.
Sesshomaru shook his head and followed her, scooping her up in his arms so they could run quicker.
"Are you okay, Inuyasha?" Ayame asked, looking down at him.
"I'm going to kill her!" Inuyasha growled slowly, lifting his face from the ground.
"Who?"
"The cat-demon!"
"Oh..."
"Yeah, 'Oh...'. Now help me up!"
I growled when I looked up at the flight of stairs. I jumped up them until I reached the top. I looked around and saw the small shrine that had the well hidden in it. I ran over to it and opened the door, looking down at the well.
I slowly walked down the stairs leading to it and looked into the well, its dry wood-scent reached my nose almost instantly, but it almost smelled like the trees back home, just older.
How did falling in the well make me end up here? And how was I going to get back home to the forest I already missed so much?
But then again, I thought. Those demons might not be able to pass through this well. If they can't get through like I managed to, then that must mean I'm safe. For now. My right hand brushed up my left arm, going under my shirt sleeves, tracing my fingers over the scar I had there. Then I noticed that I had bandages on me, where I had all the wounds. Kagome must have put them on me last night when I fell unconscious. It seemed like it was safer to be here than back home, but I couldn't help feeling homesick. Was I ever going to be able to get back home?
"Evil demon, be gone!"
I spun around to see an elderly looking man, human, holding a Sutra in his hand.
Uh-oh, I thought. Not more Sutras!
He threw the Sutra and it hit me in the forehead, sticking there. I waited for the pain that a Sutra normally inflicted on a demon, but there was none. I blinked up at the paper with black symbols on it, I guessed that this old man wasn't really a proper priest, otherwise I probably would have been killed. I blew up at the paper and it fell from my head, gently drifting to the ground.
"Grandpa! When are you going to learn that those things don't work?" I heard Kagome's voice and saw her with the demon at the door. "And leave her alone, she's not a bad demon."
I expected the crazy old man to throw a Sutra at the demon with Kagome, but he didn't.
"Who is this demon?" the old man asked Kagome.
"I don't know," Kagome sighed. "She won't speak to us. But she's a friend."
The old man looked at me suspiciously. "If you say so, Kagome. Just be careful." This old guy really creeped me out.
"Come on," Kagome looked at me. "You look like you're pretty hungry."
I shook my head, but my stomach growled at the mention of food. It had been three whole days since I had anything to eat, in those three days I had been running from those demons.
Kagome smiled. "It's alright. We won't hurt you, we're your friends. Come on."
I wasn't sure, but I slowly walked up the stairs, cautiousness showing on my face. I slowly walked past the old man, trying to ignore the untrusting glare he was giving me, making me even more cautious. He sent shivers down my spine.
Kagome stood in front of me and slowly reached her hand out, gently taking my wrist in her hand. Obviously there would be no sudden reaction with the fear of danger, because she had moved so slowly that she gave me time to think, she didn't fear me.
She gently led me over to the strange-looking village house. She led me through it and I saw another set of stairs.
Stairs, stairs and more stairs, I thought. People obviously like stairs in this weird world...
Kagome sat me down in a room with a big table that had weird looking seats. "Mum!" Kagome called before sitting in front of me at the table, on the other side of it.
Another human walked into the room and looked at me, her eyes widening and perhaps even sparkling. "Oh, what lovely ears!" she walked over to me and she started touching my black cat ears that were on top of my head, instead of human ears. And what I hated so much more than wolf-scent, was people touching my ears! I started growling, lightly, but viciously. The woman took no notice, she just kept rubbing her fingers over my ears, pulling at them lightly and pushing them back. It annoyed me beyond reason!
"Uh... Mum, it might be a good idea to stop that," Kagome cautioned. "She's new here and she's not so used to close-contact!"
The woman stepped away from me and my growling stopped, I put my arms up and scratched my ears, they were itchy now! "Sorry," the woman murmured.
"If you want to do that, go find my little brother," the demon said to Kagome's mother.
"But now, she's pretty hungry," Kagome smiled. "Mum, do you think you could cook something for her?"
"Why, of course dear," the woman smiled back. "I'll cook the finest meals."
Kagome's mother cooked a lot of food, most of which I had never seen or heard of before. I would have been fine with a small fish and some rice, but the food was good nonetheless, and it was gone almost too quickly.
Only when I finished did Kagome speak again, she must have been waiting for me, not wanting to be rude while I ate. "So why not try again. My name is Kagome, and this is Sesshomaru"- she nodded to the demon, he carried the strong scent of dog, just like his brother, Inuyasha, but his guy was a full demon, nothing human about him except his appearance -"Who are you?"
I knew these people weren't bad, they had helped me a lot, despite the fact that I was still a stranger to them. Kagome was really kind-hearted, I could tell. Not all humans were like her. Back where I came from, humans hated me because of my half-heritage, and they drove me away, attacking me and throwing things at me. No one here had done that, but Kagome had helped me the most; putting bandages over my injuries, stopping Inuyasha from attacking me, and getting that crazy old man to stop throwing any more useless Sutras at me. I supposed that I had to at least tell them my name after all that Kagome, and of course Sesshomaru, had done for me. I opened my mouth to speak.
"Inuyasha! It's so good to see you again! How- Inuyasha?"
I growled and shut my mouth. Inuyasha stormed into the room. "I thought I'd find you here, you feral cat-demon!" he started walking towards me and I stood up, getting ready to run.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome jumped in his way, making him stop. "Cut it out and give her a break already!"
"That wretched cat is gonna wish she never turned her back on me, or attacked me!" he growled.
I let a loud snarl ripple through the air. Another thing I hated so much; getting insulted. I already had enough of that back home, I didn't need it from this half-breed mutt! I glared at Inuyasha, silently daring him to advance. I flashed my claws to back up my sudden challenge.
"Oh, so now you do want a fight!?" Inuyasha side-stepped Kagome and ran at me I got ready for a fight, but Sesshomaru punched Inuyasha in the back of the head, making him fall face-first into the floor.
Kagome shrugged. "Saves me some of the work at least. Inuyasha, SIT BOY!" Inuyasha went deeper into the ground, making the wooden floor crack.
I turned and ran out of the house, even if I really was going to take on that mutt, I wouldn't want Kagome getting mad at me by destroying her home. And Inuyasha seemed too hard to fight, not when he had a sword, one that could turn into a huge fang-like thing!
"WIND SCAR!"
I heard a rumbling sound and felt it through the ground from my feet. I jumped to the side quickly, sensing something approaching me and I saw a yellow light score across the ground. It looked like three scars as they raced onward, at least they didn't hit me. I watched them hit another small shrine-like room and I heard a lot of smashing.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome ran out of the house. "You destroyed the store room! And you nearly killed her!"
"That's the plan!" Inuyasha growled, not really caring about the store house obviously. "That feral cat-demon is gonna pay!"
My head whirled back to face him. That did it! I had had enough of the insults! If he wanted a fight, that mangy mutt was going to get it!
I ran at him, my feet barely making a sound on the dirt ground, moving faster than any human would ever be able to manage, my claws ready to strike. Just as I was a nose-length away and about to attack, someone grabbed me with one arm. As I turned to retaliate the sudden threat, letting out a screech of surprise, like any cat would do if someone stepped on its tail. Sesshomaru grabbed my arm quickly so I wouldn't claw his face like I had to Inuyasha earlier.
"Mangy Furball!" Inuyasha growled. I turned my head, my nose an inch from his, and I hissed in his face. He lifted an arm.
"SIT BOY!" Kagome yelled and he went into the ground again. How did that always happen? Did Kagome have some sort of power over him? Either way, it wasn't like it bugged me.
Kagome stormed over. "Why do cats and dogs constantly try to fight each other!?" she gently grabbed my arm, leading me away from Sesshomaru and he go of me. "Come with me. Sesshomaru, you sort out your brother!"
Kagome dragged me into the house again, leading me up the stairs. She pulled me into a room, it was the same one that I woke up in when that boy was leaning over me, his eyes shining with excitement.
I sat cross-legged on the floor and Kagome sat on the weird looking bed. "Do you know how frustrating it is to try and hear what your name is when you and Inuyasha are at each other's throats!?" she growled and I shrank away from her sudden rage. I wasn't sure I liked it when she was mad, she was scary. She sighed and seemed to calm down. "I'm sorry. But please, I want to know what your name is, before Inuyasha comes up looking for you again."
I opened my mouth, taking a deep breath. "My name, is Kaysha."
Kagome smiled. "That's a really nice name. And you have a really sweet voice. Let's see if we can answer other questions... How did you get to the Modern Day through the well?"
I shrugged, I really didn't know how I passed through that strange well to this place.
"Okay. What happened to you yesterday?" she tried another question. "You were covered in blood when Sesshomaru and I found you..."
I had to answer. "Demons were after me," I said quietly, she seemed to have a sparkle in her eyes when I spoke.
"Why?"
I shrugged. She might be trustworthy, but giving out too much information just didn't feel right. "Everyone comes after me if I cross their paths. Can I ask a question, though?"
Kagome nodded. "Of course you can."
"Where, exactly, am I?"
"You're in the Modern Day of Japan," Kagome smiled. "From where you're from, in the Warring States era, we are 500 years forward in time to the present day."
That sounded too weird, how could I travel 500 years forward in time? "How did I get here from the well?"
"Well, before the Shikon No Tama was restored, I used to travel 500 years back in time to your era," Kagome smiled, really happy to hear me speak. "Both wells, the same well really, were connected. Somehow you've been able to come to my time."
I nodded, only half understanding what she had said. But just thinking of home made me sigh, I really wanted to go home. I didn't care that those demons were after me because I had the thing they wanted. I wanted to see the forest again, I wanted to be able to run from one village to another in one day without anything to slow me down. I wanted to fight and slay demons and sleep under the stars on the cool night-grass. I wanted to hear the rustling of the trees as I walked among them, listening to the music they seemed to be playing in my ears. I just wanted to go home...
"You must miss your parents," Kagome sighed. "They must be worried about you..."
I shook my head. "They're both dead."
"What happened to them?" Kagome asked, her eyes showing her shock.
"My human father died in war," I murmured. "My demon mother was killed by another demon in a fierce battle. I've grown up alone for ten years..."
"I'm sorry," her eyes were so sad, full of sympathy. "Wasn't there a village that you could go to?"
I shook my head. "A half-breed isn't accepted by either human, nor demon," Kagome cringed at the bitterness in my voice, it was no longer sweet. "Half-demons like me are nothing but outcasts that don't have a place in the world, everyone sees half-breeds as threats, or weaklings, or creatures with dirty blood. Nobody trusts you, you're always the first to get blamed, and it's always, always your fault!!!"
"So you're a half-demon too," I heard Inuyasha's voice and I looked up to see him sitting on the window sill. I turned my head away from him, almost rudely.
"I'm surprised you never noticed!" I grumbled, my voice thick with venom and he growled.
Kagome ignored him. "I'll show you around the city, if you'd like, Kaysha. I'm sure you'll like this place, it's a wonderful place to live." She looked hopeful, trying to calm me down.
I looked at the ground, tears threatening to fall. I pulled my knees up to my chest and I hugged my legs. "I just want to go home..." I tried to control my shaking voice, feeling the tears on the rims of my eyes and I tried to hide my face by resting my forehead on my knees.
Inuyasha looked at me, his aggressiveness gone. Kagome looked up at him as he left the windowsill and sat in front of me.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome murmured.
"Let me speak to her," Inuyasha looked up at Kagome, his voice calm. It shocked me a little.
Kagome hesitated, but nodded and got up, leaving the room, probably off to find where Sesshomaru went.
"So, it's Kaysha, right?" Inuyasha murmured. I nodded. "Look, chill out. You'll be home eventually. I miss the Feudal era, too."
"What would you know about the Feudal era?" I tried to growl, but it only came out as a sob. "You've never been there."
"Actually, I was born there," he smiled lightly and I looked up into his golden eyes. "But both my parents are dead as well. All I have is my friends, and my brother, Sesshomaru." He reached up a hand and gently brushed away a tear rolling down my cheek. "I know what it's like to feel lonely, to be picked on for being only half-demon. Everyone hated me too, and growing up in a village was really hard, everybody hated me, everybody treated me differently, calling me a half-breed with dirty blood. I hated humans for a very long time after my human mother died and I was forced to leave the village to live on my own. I couldn't trust anybody, and then I met Kagome..." I blinked at him, his eyes shining with understanding. "She didn't treat me like an outcast, like an outsider, or I was different, she saw me as her friend... And that's all I could ever ask for. Now that the Shikon No Tama is complete, demons chose to live among humans, me and my friends among the first." Before I could speak again, he cut in. "Leaving behind the Feudal era was hard, because I loved my home so much. I love sleeping under the stars, and doing whatever I liked day in and day out. But there was nobody there that really cared for me back there. There was nothing I had there that would give me reason to return. There was nothing to go back to..."
I thought about that. There was nothing to go back to, no one who cared for me, I had no friends there. Inuyasha was right, there was no point in living where you didn't belong, or where everyone would do nothing but despise you. But even though that were true, I still missed home, it was the only place I knew where to live, and it was the place I loved so much.
I looked up at his face again, seeing the four scars I left after he surprised me. I reached my hand up and he froze in place for a moment as I brushed my fingers over the scars. "I'm sorry for hurting you..."
"I'm sorry for attacking you..."
"So you won't try and kill me anymore?"
"I won't if you won't."
"Deal," he held out a hand, too quickly. I jumped up and stepped back, my ears pricked up and I crouched down, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.
"What's the matter?" he asked, confused.
"Sorry," I muttered. "Sudden movement, it scares me."
"Oh... Sorry."
"No problem," I sat back in front of him and shook his hand.
"And I thought you didn't talk," he added with a smirk.
"Not much," I shrugged. "I never really had anyone to talk to back in the Feudal era."
"Well there's plenty of people to talk to here," he smiled. "Oh, and just a warning, be careful of Koga."
"Koga?"
"The wolf demon you rudely sniffed at."
"Oh... Him... Why?"
"Because you insulted him."
"I insult everybody that stinks!" I retorted.
"I must not stink then," he had an amused gleam in his eyes. "I thought cats didn't like dogs."
"And I thought dogs didn't like cats," I shot back. "What made you change your mind about me?"
He blinked. "Well... I heard what you were saying to Kagome... That's exactly how I felt when I first met her... I guess I understood your pain so well that it hit a little too close to home..."
I smiled. "Thanks."
"So why don't you not like dogs?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I just don't really hate dogs. It's very rare that I come across one in the Feudal era."
"Well, I never came across a cat demon back there either," he smiled. "At least I'm pretty sure. None like you."
Kagome and Sesshomaru suddenly walked in, the demon walking in first, his movements were fluid, but the aggressiveness in his eyes gave away his calm state. "We're going to show you the city. Come on, cat!"
"You can't say that!" Kagome scolded the dog demon. "That's how you talk to a dog! Don't you know how to treat a cat!?"
"I've never come across a cat demon," he growled. "Or a half cat demon, in her case."
I was getting real fed up with him emphasizing my half-demon traits! I growled at him, but as soon as I saw him reach for his sword, I jumped to my feet and shot out the window, landing on the ground on my hands and feet, starting to run off.
"Sesshomaru!" Kagome growled. "Not again!"
"I'll go get her," Inuyasha sighed and jumped out the window, running after me. He reached me and he jumped into the air, turning and landing in front of me, making me skid to a stop. "Take it easy!" he soothed when my eyes flared up with alarm. "He won't hurt you..."
I breathed quickly, trying to calm myself down.
"You obviously don't like a challenge," he stated.
I shook my head. "I'll take on anybody!
"Then why get scared and take off on Sesshomaru?"
"I don't like swords, that's all..."
"Why?"
I was quiet and I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about it.
"Kaysha?" he pressed.
Mutts and their stupid curiosity! I thought. That's supposed to be my job... I sighed and pulled up my short sleeve, showing him a scar that ran from my shoulder to my elbow.
He blinked. "How did that happen?" he was shocked, that was for sure.
"Humans," I whispered. "After my father died in war, my village kicked me out, giving me something to remember them by."
He heard the bitterness in my voice when I spoke of my former village.
"I was a kid..." I hissed under my breath. "And they gathered every sword and spear they had..." he looked into my eyes, and saw the pain. "They chased me out, spitting insults and trying to severely injure me so that I may die out in the forest, unable to care for myself. They were hoping I would die, so that I would no longer be a problem anymore..."
"I'm sorry..." he murmured. "But then... why don't you hate all humans?"
"I still have caution, but it was only my former village that did it," I tried to smile. "There's no need to hold grudges against everybody but that village," I clenched my fists, accidentally piercing the skin and making blood run down my hands. "I'll get back at them one day, I swear..."
"So that's why you're scared of swords?"
"Yeah," I looked at his sword.
"Sorry for pulling it on you," he said, looking at his sword and back at me.
I shook my head. "All is forgiven."
"Hey, Inuyasha," we looked around and saw the kid I startled earlier.
"Hey, Sota," Inuyasha smiled. "Have you met Kaysha?"
"Yeah," he looked at me. "Sorry about earlier."
"No worries, kid," I sighed. "I guess it was my fault."
Inuyasha didn't stop to question it, he looked up when he saw a carrion crow, it reeked of demon.
"Look, a demon! Kaysha, go get it!" Sota called, I blinked at him. It started flying away. "Aren't you going after it?"
"In case you haven't noticed, the world is full of demons," I muttered. "You want I should go after them all?"
"But-"
"No but's!" I said. "If you want to start doing all the fighting, be my guest!"
Sota looked up. "AH! It's coming back!" he hid behind Inuyasha. I looked up, the crow was coming back, and aiming for the human boy.
"I'll teach it a lesson!" Inuyasha reached for his sword, but I intercepted.
"I'll handle it," I cast an uneasy glance at his sword. He sighed and nodded, suddenly curious.
I walked forward, looking up at the bird. I flexed my claws and they glinted in the sunlight. Then, when it was 50 meters away, I jumped into the air to meet it half-way. I threw my claws forward. "Nasty buzzard!" I snarled and raked my claws over it.
I landed on my feet as I reached the ground again and the demon's body, now in pieces, rained down and hit the ground, blood spattering everywhere. Sota jumped back in disgust.
"You wanted me to kill it," I growled at him.
"Inuyasha, now look what you've done!" I turned around and saw Kagome. "I don't want to have to clean that up!"
"It wasn't me though," Inuyasha blinked. "She did it," he childishly pointed at me.
Kagome looked at me and saw the blood on my claws. She sighed.
"I'll clean it up, I promise," I said solemnly. Sesshomaru seemed surprised by my voice. Kagome's eyes sparkled again at the sound of it.
"Don't worry about it," Kagome smiled. "I'll get Grandpa to do it." I shivered at the thought of the crazy old man and the Sutras. "Let's go see the city."
Sota went back inside and Kagome, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru led me back down the many stairs to the path below it and back into the strange city where I met Inuyasha.
"What are those things?" I asked, pointing to the metal boxes on wheels.
"That's a car," Kagome smiled, amused by my ignorance and my sudden curiosity. "Humans, and now demons, use them to travel to far away places."
I snorted. "That's lazy! Back home, we walked everywhere that we wanted to go."
"Well in this era, we have lots of lazy people," Kagome sighed. "It saves a lot of time."
I snorted once more. "What's the path that they move on?"
"It's a road," Inuyasha answered. "Made only for the cars."
"They can't be that special," I muttered and the three of them led me through the rest of the city, telling me about everything I didn't know about.
"Would you like to start school tomorrow?" Kagome asked me after she explained about it.
I shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
"Hey guys!" I heard someone call and we turned to see Inuyasha's group of friends.
"Hey, it's the cat-demon too," the wolf-boy, Koga, growled and looked ready to attack me.
I growled at the insult but Inuyasha stood in my way. "Hold up, Koga. Don't hurt her."
Koga was confused. "I thought you wanted to kill her..."
"I did," Inuyasha sighed. "But she was only confused about everything. She didn't mean anything. She just wanted to go home..."
Koga blinked at me and I looked at the ground, the thought of home stabbing me in the gut. "I'm sorry, Koga," my voice cracked with emotion.
His eyes softened. "You really did come from the well..."
I nodded. "I fell in and ended up here."
"How did you manage to fall in?" the wolf-girl asked.
"I..." I hesitated. "I was really tired and I leaned against the well, and then I slipped and fell in."
"That's the strange thing," one of the human girls murmured. "The Sacred Jewel closed it up for good. Wouldn't you have just hit the bottom?"
I shrugged. How was I supposed to know that? The Sacred Jewel.... I thought.
The wolf-girl smiled. "Well, anyway, I'm Ayame."
"This is Kaysha," Inuyasha introduced me.
The human girl was Sango, a demon slayer, and she had a little cat demon companion, Kirara. The other human, a guy, was Miroku, a monk with a Wind Tunnel in his right hand. The young demon fox was Shippo.
"I can't believe you wanted to kill her," Shippo sighed to Inuyasha.
"I would have if she didn't dodge my Wind Scar," Inuyasha looked guilty. "Sorry, Kaysha."
"No worries-"
"Master Inuyasha!" came a small voice and I saw a flea on his shoulder. "You tried to kill Lady Kaysha!?"
"Lady?!" everyone echoed. I growled.
"Myoga!" I hissed. "I haven't seen you in years. Stop calling me Lady Kaysha!"
"But out of respect for your mother, it's important!" the flea jumped up and down on Inuyasha's shoulder.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kagome put her hands up. "Myoga, who was her mother?"
"Her mother was a great demon, a cat demon as you might have guessed," Myoga stood proudly. "She went by the name of Kokoro."
"Kokoro!?" I heard the disbelief in Sesshomaru's voice. "She was a friend of mine and Inuyasha's father."
"Really?" Inuyasha looked at me. I shrugged.
Myoga looked up at Inuyasha. "That is why I cannot believe you tried to kill her!"
"I didn't know," Inuyasha looked even more guilty.
"It doesn't matter," I mumbled. "Forget it."
"Anyway," Myoga cleared his throat. "Lady Kaysha, how have you been? How did you pass through the well that was sealed up years ago?"
"How the heck am I supposed to know, you rotten little pest!?" I snapped and Myoga flinched. "Keep calling me Lady Kaysha and you're dead!"
"Calm down," Kagome murmured. "You're obviously still recovering from the blood loss last night."
"So you're still getting attacked?" Myoga sighed.
"Yep," I nodded. "I was attacked by a group of demons right before I fell through the well."
Myoga looked up at me. "Why?"
"Because I'm a half-breed, why else!?" I snapped again.
"Come on, Kaysha," Kagome said. "We should get back home. You look like you could use a good rest."
"Fine," I growled and everyone split up, going separate ways towards their homes. Kagome took me back to her house.
"You can take the bed," she offered when we got upstairs to her room.
"No, it's yours," I shook my head. "I'll sleep on the floor."
"I can grab a blanket for you..."
"Not necessary."
"Okay," she climbed into her bed. "Don't forget; you start school tomorrow."
"Yeah," I sat down and leaned my back against the wall, watching Kagome fall asleep. Eventually, I fell asleep too.
#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#
"Yo, Kaysha. Wake up!"
I jolted awake, looking up at Kagome. "Huh?"
"Time to start school," Kagome smiled. "Come on."
I slowly stood up. "Okay," I yawned and stretched.
We went downstairs and I ate more of the wonderful food that Kagome's mother cooked. When we were done, Kagome led me out of the house and out onto the street. We walked all the way to school, it was huge.
We found Inuyasha and the others soon enough and I payed attention to everything. Kagome showed me around the school and took me to my first class, Maths, with Inuyasha.
I sat beside him. "So, what's Maths?" I asked.
"It's all about numbers," he replied. "Adding them, removing them, doubling them and splitting them up."
"Oh..." I nodded. It didn't seem very interesting. I noticed a lot of people looking at me, and a group of human girls walked over and stood in front of me. One of the girls smelt like earth and clay, which was gross.
"Leave her alone, Kikyo," Inuyasha sighed.
"I didn't say anything," the black-haired human girl murmured, she had a weird aura around her, like she was a priestess or some other magic human.
"She has such cute ears!" one of the girl's friends did exactly what Kagome's mother did messing with my ears. I let out a low growl and she jumped back.
"Don't growl at her!" the Kikyo girl hissed at me. "Stupid mutt!"
I snarled. "I am not a dog!" I stood up and grabbed her by the shirt. "If you ever call me a dog again, I'll rip your living heart out!"
"Easy, Kaysha," Inuyasha cautioned.
"Oh, so you're a cat," Kikyo moved my hands, giving them back to me. "Keep your filthy hands off of me you mangy cat!"
I threw my hand up, ready to strike her, but she pulled out a Sutra. For a second I assumed it wouldn't work, just like the old man's Sutras. But then I felt her aura again, she was dangerous.
I jumped back and she threw the Sutra at me. Before it hit me, a sword came down on it and cut it in half. I blinked and looked at Inuyasha, holding up his massive fang-like sword. I watched the Sutra fall to the ground in two different pieces.
"What was that for, Inuyasha!?" Kikyo exclaimed.
"Don't even try to hurt her!" Inuyasha growled.
"You're protecting a feral cat?!" Kikyo growled back.
"Yeah, because she's my friend. And she's not feral!" Inuyasha added. "Now leave her alone."
Kikyo glared at me but my eyes were carefully watching Inuyasha's sword as he dislodged it from the ground and held it up over his shoulder.
"Kaysha, come sit back down," Inuyasha told me. I shook my head, looking at his sword. He knew what I meant. "Sorry," he sheathed his sword again.
I hesitated before walking back over to him, Kikyo stepped back out of my way and I sat down next to him again.
"Don't attack me again," Kikyo growled at me.
"Likewise," I hissed at her. "Stay away from me if you know what's good for you!"
Kikyo turned and her friends followed her back to their seats.
"Damn you're scary when you're mad!" Inuyasha mumbled.
"Sorry," I looked at him. "But I don't like her. She stinks! And I don't like her friends!"
"Kikyo used to like me back in the Feudal Era," Inuyasha sighed.
"She reminds me of Kagome," I suddenly realized. "How?"
"Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo. She looks a lot like Kikyo but she's nothing like her. Kikyo was conjured up from earth and bones by an old witch."
"So that's why she stinks," I scrunched up my nose.
"Yeah," Inuyasha chuckled. "She tried dragging me to hell with her once."
"Are you serious!?"
"Yeah. Kagome saved me though," he sighed. "Making me 'sit' a thousand times after it."
"How can she do that just by saying 'sit'?" I asked.
He held his necklace in his hand. "Subjugation beads," he explained. "They were made by a priestess. So every time Kagome says 'sit', I am forced to land on my face."
I laughed quietly. "Sorry, but that's funny."
He shrugged and then an adult human walked in. Inuyasha sighed. "I hate school."
"Then why come?"
"Because Kagome asked me to look after you," he smiled. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here."
"What if I don't like it?" I asked. "Do I have to come here again?"
"No."
"Okay, good."
Lunchtime came and I was already sick of school, by this point I really missed my home.
"Hey, Kaysha!" I looked up to see Kagome and Sango. "How are you liking school?"
"I hate it," I muttered. "Your human subjects are far too complicated."
Kagome sighed. "Well you don't have to attend school if it's too much for you."
"Okay, I'm not coming."
"Hey, Kagome, who's your new friend?" I saw three more human girls.
"Oh, Eri, Yuki, Ayumi," Kagome smiled. "This is Kaysha. She came from the Feudal Era."
"Is she a dog, like Inuyasha?" Eri asked, looking at my ears.
"She's a half-demon," Kagome shrugged. "But she's a cat, not a dog."
"Well then, don't they fight?" Ayumi murmured.
"They did at first," Kagome looked at both of us. "But Inuyasha caved."
"I did not!" Inuyasha growled.
"Did too," I nudged him.
"Did not!"
"Did-" a scent reached my nose, one that made my skin crawl.
Inuyasha saw me tense. "Kaysha? Are you alright?"
My head whipped around, searching for the source of the scent. I saw them, three of them, demons, holding up paper with a picture of me, showing it to students of the school. People nodded and pointed across to me. They saw me and they had smiles on their faces. They started walking over to us.
I spun around and bolted, ignoring Inuyasha's call.
They're here! I thought. They know I'm here!
I ran out onto the street, hoping that the reek of the road would disguise some of my scent. I ran in and out of streets, turning every corner I could.
"Kaysha!" I looked to the side and saw Inuyasha running beside me. "What's going on? Why did you take off like that?"
"I can't let them catch me!" I looked at him. "If they catch me..."
"What?" Inuyasha asked.
"Inuyasha, I need you to keep them busy," I murmured. "If they came here, it's obvious that they came through the well. I have to go back to my home."
Inuyasha looked at me and I looked back at him. "It'll be more dangerous back there," he warned.
"They'll find me if I stay here! I have to go back," I took a deep breath. "Please, Inuyasha, don't let them catch up to me."
I heard people shouting and I looked over my shoulder to see the three demons after me.
"I'll catch up with you back through the well," Inuyasha told me and unsheathed his sword, it grew larger again with the strange power it must have had. It was definitely a demon sword.
Inuyasha stopped and spun around, ready to fight off the demons to keep them busy for a little while.
I continued running back to Kagome's house.
I wish I didn't have what they were after, I thought. But because I do, I have to protect it.
I reached the shrine where Kagome lived and I tore up the stairs, heading straight for the well.
I opened the doors and looked down at the well. What if it doesn't work? I thought. What if I can't get through?
There was only one way to find out. I took a deep breath and jumped from the doorway and down into the well. Everything went blue and I thought I was in a strange type of water, but it disappeared quickly. I looked up, I was still in the well, but I saw sunlight up above. In Kagome's time, the well was in a shrine-room, you couldn't see the sky. But as I looked up, I saw a blue sky, with a few white clouds.
For a few moments, my heart fluttered with joy and I forgot all about the demons chasing me. I was home at last!
I jumped up and reached the top of the well. My bare feet touched the cool green grass and I looked around, the forest was back and I could hear the chirping of birds in the trees.
I smiled and spun around. I was home!