Falling into Time
-Chapter One-
Akemi Takahashi climbed up the steep, flight of steps to the Higurashi shrine. Once she reached the top she found Mrs. Higurashi in the yard sweeping dirt from the porch. "Mrs. Higurashi, what on earth are you doing? You should be inside, resting!" Akemi scolded as took the broom from her hands.
Mrs. Higurashi sighed, "I know, but I feel so useless and helpless being cooped up in the house all day. I just wanted to do something to help."
"I know", Akemi sighed. "But the best way to help is to rest. I'll be here for three days, so I'll help around the house. Here I brought you some herbs, I'll tell you what, you go inside and make some tea with these herbs and I'll sweep."
"That's a deal; oh please go into the well house and get Buyo, that old cat has gone in there again."
"Sure thing."
"And be careful, Akemi, I'd hate for you to fall in and go to the feudal era!"
Akemi laughed at Mrs. Higurashi's comment. The old woman used to tell Akemi an old wives tale about how the well was a time portal to the feudal era. Akemi walked into the well house and called Buyo's name
"Buyo, please come here, you damn cat!" Akemi placed her hands on the well and sighed. That darn cat was always giving her problems. Akemi felt as if someone was behind her. Before she could turn around she was shoved into the well. She screamed as a bright blue light engulfed her.
"Mrs. Higurashi!" Akemi yelled. "Mrs. Higurashi, I fell into the well!" Akemi looked up and instead of seeing the darkened roof of the well house; she saw a bright, blue sky, and white fluffy clouds. She had a hard time climbing out of the well, but finally made it. She flung her backpack over the edge before jumping over herself. She looked around in amazement.
"The old bat, wasn't lying, it really is a time portal." Akemi walked around looking at everything around her. She felt something dripping down her face and touched her fingertips to it. She looked down at bloodied fingers and gasped. "Damn." She walked on, as the blood spilled down her face, hoping she'd find a town, or village. She came across a small village and looked for help. People stared at her oddly, she looked down at herself and realized she was dressed a lot differently then her ancestors.
She came upon a small hut with an elderly woman sitting outside it separating herbs in baskets.
"Priestess, please help me", Akemi cried. Her head hurt very badly and she was beginning to get dizzy.
The old woman helped Akemi into her hut and bandaged her head and gave her some herbal tea to drink. "I am the village priestess, Lady Kaede. Who are you strange one?"
"My name is Akemi. I fell down the well-
"The bone eaters well! Oh my!" Lady Kaede had a feeling Akemi was not from this time, but she couldn't be sure, the bone eaters well has not worked for eighteen years. Lady Kaede studied the girl before her. She had long black hair with colored streaks of purple in it; she was tall, about five-foot-six, and thin. She wore red pants that were very tight and fit to her legs, and a shirt that showed her arms and midriff.
She looked up when she felt familiar presences. "Ah, Kagome, InuYasha, InuTaiga, Sitka, it is nice to see you. It always warmed Kaede's heart to see Kagome and InuYasha together. Their children, eighteen year old InuTaiga, a spitting image of InuYasha, and thirteen year old Sitka, a mixture of Kagome and InuYasha, were wonderful children.
They all looked at Akemi and InuYasha and his son, InuTaiga growled at her. "Who are you", InuYasha hissed.
"This is Akemi, she fell down the well."
"The well", said Kagome, "at the shrine?"
"You must be Kagome; Mrs. Higurashi always talks about you- Oh God, no!"
Akemi stood up suddenly and ran out of the hut. She ran as fast as she could towards the well with everyone following behind her. She jumped into the well, but nothing happened. No bright blue light, nothing! Akemi cried as she pounded her fists into the dirt.
InuTaiga jumped down into the well and picked Akemi up, before jumping up out of the well.
"I have to get back to Mrs. Higurashi! She's sick, I' supposed to be there!"
"It's okay, it's probably just a cold, please calm down, we'll figure something out", Kagome said trying to soothe the stressed out Akemi.
"You don't understand! She is very sick, she could die and I'm not there! She needs me!"
"How sick is she?"
Akemi stopped her struggling to get out of InuTaiga's arms and looked Kagome in the eyes. "She has cancer, and doesn't have very long to live. That's why I need to be there, she doesn't want to die alone. You're not there, and Sota is away at college! This is al my fault! She's going to die, because I'm not there, I'm a murderer!"
Kagome fell to her knees. My mother is dying and I wasn't there. Yes I miss her all the time, but I hardly think of her, and now this little girl shows up with news of my sick mother. What kind of daughter am I?
Akemi cried as she stared at the well. Mrs. Higurashi has been there for her since she was born. She lived with her mother, and fifteen year old brother, Haruto, in a small house a block away from the shrine. They were always at the shrine taking care of it and Mrs. Higurashi. She was even teaching Akemi the ways of a priestess. It killed her when Kagome left, so when Mrs. Takahashi moved in with her little girl and newborn son, it was like a light had been shined into a dark room. She helped raise her, told her stories, and became her best friend. And now she is gone too.
What's going to happen now that I'm gone? I made her so happy, she was so brokenhearted when Kagome left, and now here I am in the feudal era. I just had to go chasing after that stupid cat.
Akemi jumped from InuTaiga's arms and ran as fast as she could away from everyone. She ran the woods and tripped a few times, scraping her arms and knees. She got right back up and kept running. It began to rain and the ground became slippery. She stopped on the ledge of an outcropping of rocks and looked down. It was a river, and a waterfall. She carefully made her way down the rocks, but slipped and tumbled down the side. She screamed as she hit the rocks on the way down. She fell with a thud. Her side hurt, her head hurt, and she was getting dizzy. She slowly pushed herself up and crawled to the river's edge. She noticed a cave behind the waterfall. She got into the water and screamed as the rushing water got into her cuts and fought against her battered and bruised body. She made it past the waterfall and into the cave. She was cold and shivering. She pressed her back against the farthest wall of the cave and hugged her knees to her chest.
I don't deserve to live, I killed Mrs. Higurashi. Akemi buried her head in sore and torn arms and sobbed. To Akemi, Mrs. Higurashi was her grandma, O bāchan.
InuTaiga entered the cave, soaking wet and shivering. His eyes scanned the dark until he saw Akemi sobbing at the back of the cave. He had volunteered to go find her while his dad consoled his mom and sister back at the hut. He picked Akemi up, careful of her bloody wounds, and carried her back to his home. He stepped inside and placed her on his futon. She was shivering and couldn't open her eyes.
Kagome stopped her crying and looked up. "She needs help; she's lost so much blood already."
"Is she going to live?"
"I don't know, quick go get Kaede."
InuTaiga ran to Kaede's hut as fast as he could, for some strange reason, he didn't want this girl to die.