Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha, even though I'd like to. I hug'em and love'em and lock'em away some place no one else could have'em. Hehehe. Just kidding, he's too great to hide from the world.

Twisting time

"You always have to go home for some sort of test or something." Inu Yasha moped as he escorted Kagome to the well.

"I promise I won't be long, just through tomorrow. Please, Inu Yasha. It's a big important test. I have to be there." Kagome tried her best to calm down the hanyou.

As they approached the well, they both froze at the sight of a young man sitting on its rim. He looked up at them and grinned. "I wondered how long I'd have to wait for you to show up." He was an older teenager with dark hair and deep brown eyes. His clothes indicated that he came from Kagome's time.

"What's that supposed to mean? Do we know you or something?" Inu Yasha stepped protectively in front of Kagome.

"Well, in a since. That is I know you."

"What kind of madness are you babbling? And who you are anyways?"

Kagome watched the young man closely he seemed familiar. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

"Before, no, but we will." Inu Yasha nearly smacked the boy, but the young put up his hands and tried to calm him. "Please, calm down. If you'll give me just a moment, I'll explain."

Kagome put a hand on Inu Yasha's arm. "Let's hear what he has to say."

"Feh." Inu Yasha grouched but complied none the less.

"My name is Linu. I come from the year 2019. I've come through the well to search for you because my mother is in serious danger and my father was captured by a powerful demon when we tried to rescue her. I need your help to save them both."

"And why should we help you? Does Kagome know your family or something?"

"She is my family." That brought confused looks from both of them. "My parents' names are Kagome and Inu Yasha."

Kagome stepped up beside Inu Yasha to examine the young man more closely. "If this is some sort of trick..." Inu Yasha warned.

Kagome put a hand on his arm. "I don't think it is."

"If I'm your father, how come you don't look like me?"

Kagome smiled. "I think he does."

"My father is human. Look I'd love to fill you in, but we don't have the time. I have to get to my mother before the demon steals her soul."

"How did some demon capture her in the first place? I'd never let anything like that happen to Kagome." Inu Yasha was still doubtful of this young man's story.

"He wasn't there. I…" Linu lowered his eyes shamefully. "It was my fault. I wasn't strong enough."

Kagome took a step forward and spoke warmly to him. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Linu."

He shook his head vigorously. "It was! I was supposed to take of her! Father left the responsibility to me, while he was away! It was my fault she was captured by Daikumaru!" He raised his eyes to meet Inu Yasha's gaze. "I'm sorry, I failed you." Inu Yasha was taken back by the powerful emotion in the boy's eyes.

Kagome moved forward and took his hand. "It's all right. I'm sure you did your best and that's all anyone could ask." Kagome turned back to Inu Yasha. "We need to help."

"Kagome, what's to say we can even get to his time? We've only ever traveled back and forth between our times. How did you get here, anyway, Linu? I thought only me and Kagome could travel through the well."

Linu grinned as he pulled prayer beads from his pocket. "I used these. They're your old prayer beads. I found them in your secret hiding place. The one where you hide mom's anniversary presents and our Christmas presents. I figured they'd take me to a point in time when they were still being used."

"You mean she stops using after a while." Inu Yasha felt relieved at just the thought of some future time when 'sit' wouldn't squash his face into the ground.

"Well, I've never seen her use them on you, um I mean, on my father. I pretty sure they haven't been used for nearly twenty years. I'm seventeen after all."

"Hum, do you think you're strong enough to pull us through to your time or do you think we'll come out in my time?" Kagome looked inquisitively.

"I think it'll work, but you'd better both hold on to me, so that you don't get separated." Kagome nodded and sat the edge of the well. Linu smiled and offered her his hand. She took it. He watched her for a long moment. Kagome became frustrated. "What is it?"

"You haven't changed much. A few more smile lines around the eyes. But otherwise you're still the same." He looked down at the small hand in his. "I hope she's all right."

Inu Yasha put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Kagome's too stubborn to have anything happen to her."

"I hope your right. Let's go." Together they jumped into the well. The trip felt the same to Kagome and Inu Yasha and when they emerged from the well, everything seemed the same too. "Let's go see outside." Linu slid the door of the shrine aside and stepped into the yard. He looked around.

"I can't tell. The shrine and the house look the same." Kagome stuck close to Inu Yasha as they crossed the yard. Suddenly the door of the house opened and a child about seven sprinted out.

"Linu! Linu! I can't believe you went into that scary old well. If daddy catches you, you'll be in big trouble." The little girl's eyes went wide. "Who are you? You look like my mommy."

"Eri, you need to stay here with grandmother. I have something important to do. Be a good girl and I'll be back soon."

The little girl put her hands on her hips in a very Kagome-style pose. "Who made you boss of me? I can take care of myself."

"Eri, that's enough. I don't have time to deal with you, you little runt. Now come here." Linu tossed the little girl onto his shoulder and carted her back into the house.

Inu Yasha began to chuckle. "Kagome, I think she takes after you."

That earned him a slap on the arm as Linu exited the house. "Come on, we'll take my car." As they left the shrine, Linu began to fill them in on what had happened. "My father and I found Daikumaru's strong hold and fought his men. But we were outnumbered. The last thing I remember is my father charging the demon with his sword and then there was a terrible explosion. I was thrown from the dock and into the sea. When I came to, I'd washed up on shore. I returned to the strong hold but there was no one there, not even my father. There was no sign of my mother either. "

Inu Yasha had been rubbing at his nose since they'd gotten in the car. "What is that smell?"

Linu groaned. "Not you too. I hoped you'd be cooler at a younger age."

"Hey, what do you mean?"

Kagome sniffed the air. "Linu! Have you been smoking?"

Linu groaned again and avoid Kagome's gaze. "It wasn't me. It was my friend Lex. He's got a bad habit of smoking in here but I don't do it, okay." Linu pulled the car to a stop between two large warehouses. "This is where we fought Daikumaru." He glanced at Inu Yasha. "Maybe you can find something I didn't."

Inu Yasha nodded. "I understand." They made there way quietly into one of the warehouses, following close behind Linu. There was no one and nothing to be found there except for some trash and some broken furniture.

Kagome watched as Inu Yasha sniffed the ground near a wooden chair with a broken leg. "Kagome was here."

"I knew it, she's alive." Linu looked positively delighted in the news. "Can you tell where they took her?"

Inu Yasha was already moving along the floor towards a side door. He stopped suddenly and stared down at what looked like a drop of blood. "He's bleeding, or was."

"He?"

"You mean my father?"

"Yeah," Inu Yasha squinted at the drop. "Feels strange tracking my own scent." 'But it's not really my scent, it's very human. There's no demon in it at all. That's right Linu said his father was human. Does that mean I'll chose to become human once we complete the jewel? Or maybe his father wasn't me at all…' Inu Yasha didn't realize it, but he was he growling. The mere thought of another male laying a hand on Kagome made his blood boil.

"Inu Yasha, what's wrong?" Kagome was kneeling beside him, a hand on his back. And just as quickly as the idea of Kagome being with another man entered his mind, it flew away when he looked into her eyes.

He shook his head. "It's nothing." He got back to the task of following the other Kagome's scent. He led them out into the alley on the far side of the warehouse and stopped. "Her scent ends here." He sat back on his haunches and groaned. "Shoot, it's a dead end."

"They must have taken her away in truck or something." Linu sighed. "Well, that blew that theory."

Inu Yasha stood and walked down the alley a ways. Kagome went with him. "What is it?"

He knelt and pointed at another dark spot on the cement. "Another drop of blood."

"You mean my father tried to chase them down on foot?" Linu seemed surprised.

"I would've." That was enough to convince them. "We'll follow the trail. It should lead us to the demon." With that he sprinted off down the street. Kagome followed in hot pursuit. Linu on the other hand opted to follow in his car. After a while of chasing Inu Yasha, Kagome joined Linu in the car. Inu Yasha continued on foot several yards ahead of them.

"Man, he's fast."

Kagome panted, fanning herself with her hand. "You have no idea."

A half hour later they were stopped in front of an abandon store. Linu parked the car and Inu Yasha motioned them to him. As they came to his side, he pointed through an alley way at what looked like a metal barred gate. "He's in there."

Kagome frowned. "Wow, what a mansion. Linu, you didn't say anything about this demon being rich too."

"Well, I suppose he has to be in this age to have so many guns for hire in his payroll." Linu frowned as well. "Now, what do we do? It's not like we can walk up and knock on the door."

"We'll have to sneak in." Inu Yasha scanned the perimeter. He found a place in the stone fence that seemed to have brush and trees on the far side. "That spot there seems secluded enough. Linu, you stay here this'll be dangerous. Kagome and I can handle it."

"Now, you really do sound like my father." He folded his arms and Inu Yasha-style and huffed. "I'm old enough and strong enough to take care of myself."

"Why you…." Inu Yasha growled and balled a fist.

Kagome chuckled. "Calm down, Inu Yasha. He's just a stubborn as you. It seems he takes after you. Besides we might need his help." She stepped closer to him and put a hand on his arm, her eyes sparkling. Inu Yasha literally melted before Linu's eyes. 'Even when they were that young, she still had that affect on him.'

He sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just I'm not a kid, I'm a grown man. But everyone still treats me like I'm a child."

Inu Yasha nodded. He understood the desire of the young man to prove himself. "Fine then let's go. Get on Kagome." Kagome climbed on his back. "Try to keep up, Linu." Linu nodded as Inu Yasha sprinted across the paved road and to the stone wall. "We're going over here. You better hold on too, Linu."

Linu marveled. "Are you sure you can carry both of us over that fence?"

"Stop arguing and grab on. I'm a hanyou; I could carry three of you over this wall. You and Kagome are nothing." Linu nodded and took hold. He was a bit skeptical until Inu Yasha pushed off from the ground with incredible strength and his pinpoint accuracy as they dropped just behind the cluster of trees.

"Wow, you mean my father gave that kind of power up to be with my mother? " Inu Yasha and Kagome both blushed. "What you mean you two haven't discussed it yet?"

Inu Yasha looked away. "Yeah, we've discussed, but I haven't made up my mind." Kagome averted her eyes from Linu's gaze. What could she say that hadn't already been said? 'At least I have a chance; after all, I am standing beside our son.' Inu Yasha broke into her thoughts. "Let's discuss this later, when everyone's safe."

They began their sneak across the large yard. It was still broad daylight. The mansion was of the old style, which meant rather than being tall was wide with paper doors. Inu Yasha sniffed the air. There was no scent of guards in the immediate area, but he could smell both humans and demons within. They slunk along until they reached the main house. Inu Yasha prepared to open one of the sliding doors, but Linu caught his hand and shook his head. "What is it?" Inu Yasha whispered.

Linu knelt and pointed a metal plate at the base of the door. "Alarm."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means that if you open that door and it looses contact with the plate then everyone in this place will know we're here."

"Fine, I won't open it then. I'll go right through it!" Inu Yasha punched the paper door, just as Linu cried stop. Inu Yasha stumbled backwards, clutching his fist. "Shit. What the…"

"I can see behind the door. The walls fake, there's a metal wall on the inside."

Kagome had moved up to Inu Yasha's side and was examining his hand. "You mean it's a fake door."

"Yes, it's probably used to trick people like us, who might try to break in. We'll have to find one of the doors with out an alarm." Linu turned and began quickly walking down the porch that encircled the house. Inu Yasha and Kagome followed on his heels. At last they came to a stop and Linu knelt to examine the metal plate. This one was different there was no contact plate on the adjoining frame. The alarm was not set with this door. It was obviously used as well, judging by the dusty footprints on the porch. Linu stood and slid the door aside. Kagome braced herself for the screech of an alarm, but none came.

Behind the paper door was a metal door. Linu shuffled through his pockets. "What are you looking for?"

"I need something reflective." He looked at Kagome. "Mom…I mean, uh, do you have anything shinny?"

Kagome patted her pockets. "Sorry, I don't carry things like that to feudal era. I don't need them."

Linu's eyes lit up as his hand made contact with something flat in his pocket. "I've got it." He pulled out the stick of gum. It was a bit mashed but otherwise all right. He opened the wrapper and put the gum in his mouth.

Inu Yasha snorted. "How's that gonna help us?"

Linu grinned and chewed the gum into a sticky mass. "I saw this once in a movie. Hope it works." He pulled the gum out and stretched it a little. He slid the metallic side of the wrapper down over the sensor on the door frame and stretched the gum over it.

"That's gross." Kagome muttered.

"Yeah, maybe, but I think it'll work. Good job." Inu Yasha put his hand on the door handle. He looked at Kagome. "Stay close." Slowly he opened the door. The each held their breath for an interminable moment waiting for the screech of the alarm once again, but nothing came. Inu Yasha grinned. "Let's go."

With that they made their way into the fortress, for that is what it truly was. Inside was nothing like the outside. They stepped into a long dark hall. Inu Yasha's golden eyes glowed in the darkness as he led the way. They crept along until the heard someone cursing from inside a room near the end.