A Story of Fate, an inuyasha fanfic

Who is he? The second time solely this week that I woke up with that thought in my forefront. His face flashed before my eyes, the pale white hair, long and luscious. No one like him existed here; sure the Japanese culture was different, but certainly not that different.

Continuing my contemplation, I got up and looked out the window as the sun began to rise. The shrine was absolutely beautiful, especially at this time of day. I counted my blessings that I was lucky enough to come across the Higorashi family. I looked around the slowly-familiar room which used to belong to their daughter. She apparently married off right after high school, and they don't see her much. I was baffled to hear that, as I was seeking my master's and yet had had little to no experience with men up until this point. But I digress.

I got ready for the day despite the early time, deciding to go for a run. The stairs at the entrance to the shrine provided a fantastic workout.

I headed out quietly, as the rest of the house was still asleep, and started my trek across the shrine. The various buildings beginning to glimmer in the morning sun, casting the walkways into shadow, the early morning chill sending a small shiver down my spine. I appreciated the beautiful tree "The tree of ages..." The grandfather had begun to explain with an exclamation upon my first week here. I nodded my head to it in passing as a respect, and immediately I seemed to brighten in my core. I couldn't explain it. Every time I was around this tree, this seemed to happen. A strange draw, almost longing would always come over me – for what? I still hadn't figured it out. Next on my path was the old well house. Apparently there was an old dry well on the property, another landmark that the grandfather gleefully explained the first week I got here. Apparently the well had…powers. I wasn't one to deny him, but I was doubtful. A natural skeptic; I always had been. Yet curious, which is probably how I ended up studying Biology in my years of schooling.

My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp tap on my mind; enough that I stumbled a step. I whipped towards the well house, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. I stood silently for a few moments, allowing my mind to blank. As it did, the first thought to return was that feeling of longing, of draw that was inspired by the tree of ages. I started to connect the dots – maybe the well house held something for me. All those mornings I simply walked by it, ignoring it completely. I shrugged and went in. Dark still, despite the increased morning light, the room was simple. I walked onto a raised platform that bordered the room, all surrounding the ground with which the well sat into. I gently descended the stairs to the well and simply stood in front of it.

The wood was a bit rough under my stroke, enough that splinters were a concern. Except for a few spots along the wood that seemed to be warn from ware, softened under the constant application of pressure. These areas confused me a bit. Why would this well be getting used for any purpose? I looked down into it, the darkness making it challenging to see. I shined my phone's flashlight down into it, a bit creeped out at the aura coming out of it.

Once again his face flashed before me in the depths of the well. I furrowed my brows as I tried to understand. What did all of this mean?

A scent caught my nose. It was him. I didn't know how I knew, but I was certain it was. I didn't understand how his scent had gotten into the well; which encouraged me to descend into it and find out if there were any clues…I chuckled and suddenly I felt like I was in a scene out of a movie. His scent got stronger the further I descended down the ladder, and suddenly he was all I could sense, my entire being blanketed in his essence once I finally placed a foot on the bottom of the well. My movements were slow as I processed this feeling, this entity of him. Whoever he was. Other memories of previous dreams began to flash through my mind as I closed my eyes. The small green goblin-like creature, his staff with two heads, one male, one female. His voice which made my eyebrow twitch just slightly in annoyance. The small girl with black hair, a beautiful kimono around her small body, smiling at the man from my dreams. The man who's essence somehow STILL got stronger the more I allowed myself to focus on him. I breathed deeply, taking it all in, and suddenly felt a rush of warm air around me. My eyes flew open, shocked. What was going on?! I wasn't on the ground anymore – in fact, I wasn't anywhere. I was floating. I scoffed. This wasn't possible. And yet, my senses told me that this was, in fact, very real. The blues and purples around me swirled as I seemed to float through, the wind directing my path.

Finally solid ground returned underneath my feet. But his essence was gone. Replaced instead by fresh air and the scent of recent rain. I felt different all the sudden…something within me woke up and started crawling along my veins. Looking up, this feeling of strength and power that was waking up surged to a pinnacle and I felt my mind responding. What was going on?

The sky was clear, a few white puffy clouds in the square snapshot I was presented from the bottom of the well. I started to climb out, though there was no ladder present in the well now, so I relied on my rock climbing skills to get me out along the stone walls. Finally reaching the top, I heaved myself up and over and took in my surroundings. I had no idea where I was, where the well had placed me. I was surrounded by fauna and flora that I didn't recognize, though its beauty was not lost on me. I breathed deeply once again, wondering how my experience in the well played into this. I began to walk away from the well, noting my path as I went. I hoped there were others around, maybe someone could explain what was going on. There was no sense of him anymore. I kept my senses keen on searching for it with no success.

Despite my frustration and confusion of his lost scent, I continued into the forest surrounding the well, blindly searching for any signs of life.

INUYASHA'S POV

There's an unusual scent coming from the forest. What is this? My thoughts were interrupted from helping Kagome as I caught it.

"Inuyasha? What is it?" She asked from beside me as I turned towards the scent.

"There's a new scent coming from the forest. I can't identify if it's human, or demon, or something…else." I admitted. This alone unsettled me.

"Why don't we go check it out?" She offered. I nodded and heaved her up onto my back as I headed towards the scent.

MATTIE'S POV

I heard a sound coming from beside me as I froze and analyzed the forest. I had no idea what was coming for me, but I knew something was coming. I stood still and allowed it to come.

Red burst through the trees and stopped meters in front of me, and an image imprinted before me. A woman on the back of a man who resembled him – the silver hair, the golden eyes. But the scent wasn't right; only a few notes were similar to his from the well.

"It's a woman." The woman from the man's back said. He sniffed at me.

"What are you?" He asked as I caught his stare and held it. I struggled to understand at first. My Japanese was decent, but his old-Japanese caught me off guard. There were subtle differences; just enough to make it challenging to understand.

"While I don't know, if I did, I wouldn't be inclined to tell you seeing as I have no idea who you are or what your intentions are towards me." I said strongly. I took him in, and realized that alongside his scent, his aura was different. He wasn't just a human. That's when I noticed the fangs, the claws as he let the woman down for her to stand next to him. His ear flicked on top of his head and I immediately caught the action. The woman however, was human. Utterly human. Like I was.

"I apologize for Inuyasha. He tends to attack first, ask questions later…" He scoffed at this and crossed his arms, though his hand didn't travel too far from the sword hilt along his waist.

"I'm Kagome, and we live in the village very near here. Are you traveling?" She asked kindly. Her voice sounded familiar, and I allowed myself to take in her details.

"You're Mrs. Higorashi's daughter, Sota's sister." I said quietly in awe. I had no idea…

The man in red growled.

"How do you know that?" I looked back to him.

"I came through the well. I'm from your time." I offered. Kagome took in my blonde hair, my clothes, and her jaw dropped. She looked to Inuyasha.

"I'm not the only one who can travel through the well?" She asked and Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders.

"Please, come back to the village with us…" She waited for me to introduce myself.

"Mattie. My name is Mattie." I offered with reserve as the man – Inuyasha – furrowed his brows.

"Strange name." I shrugged.

"Even though I'm from Kagome's time, I wasn't born and raised in Japan." I offered. Kagome was shocked.

"That explains your hair. Are you from America?" I nodded as Kagome made sense of everything. Inuyasha just looked at her confused.

"What is this…Am-er-i-ca, you speak of? You've never mentioned it before. Is it some clan from your time?" Before Kagome looked back to explain, she waved her hand towards herself beckoning me to join them as she started back. I decided to follow, trusting Mrs. Higorashi's daughter.

"America is not a clan, but a whole other continent, Inuyasha. I never mentioned it because it was never applicable to anything, and I knew you were already processing so much from my time already. It seemed like unnecessary information." She offered. He looked back at me.

"So you're saying she comes from a whole other world, like even besides the world on the other side of the well?" I nodded to Inuyasha even though his question was directed at Kagome. I offered more information.

"Have you been to our modern era then?" Kagome nodded to me from in front of me.

"Then you know that things are very, very different then here. I'm from a place with a whole other culture, language, and type of peoples and habits. Not to mention different foods that we eat." Inuyasha stared. I could tell he was having a hard time understanding.

"Then how did you get to Japan? And more importantly, why were you there? And why were you at Kagome's house?" I caught up to them as they stopped at the edge of a village. I temporarily ignored his question as I took in my surroundings. The small cottages made with slat roofing, the straw doors, the attire and the demeanors of the villagers that were within my line of sight. It was amazing!

"Ahem…" Inuyasha cleared his throat. I turned around.

"Sorry. It's so fascinating. Kagome, what era are we in?" She smiled.

"We're in the Warring States Era, I always assumed around 1510."

"Interesting." Inuyasha just watched and took me in.

"Let's go tell Kaede." Inuyasha offered as he started off into the village. Kagome waited for me to start after Inuyasha.

I continued to look around as we walked, Kagome filled me in as we walked through the village, and I returned the conversation with information about America and what I was doing at her residence back in the modern era. We soon came upon two people, a woman and a young girl in a field collecting herbs and food for the village. Once close enough to speak without yelling, Kagome introduced us with a broad smile. Rin ran up with a big smile and hugged her. She looked familiar somehow.

"Mattie, this is Kaede, the head priestess of our village, and her young apprentice, Rin." I smiled slightly and waved to the older woman who was bent over a basket of herbs, who regarded my appearance and returned my smile.

"How very nice to meet ye, though your hair strikes me as very unusual. Are you from Kagome's time?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes I am. My name is Mattie, and I'm from a country from Kagome's time. I was in Japan for school purposes, which is how I ended up here." Inuyasha finally seemed satisfied to know my answer to his earlier questions, even if only a little.

I turned to the younger girl now beside us and smiled warmly. The wind picked up a little and I caught her scent, and froze in a stare.

She smells…HIS scent is part of her. A small part, so faint I almost missed it, but I…I can pick it up. I thought back through my dreams I'd had. I remembered the small black haired girl and realized this must be her. The facial structure was right, though she was a bit older than in my dreams.

"Rin, may I ask you something?" I asked kindly as I got down on one knee to be closer to her height, though she was taller than me in this position. She shied away and hid herself partially behind Kagome.

"Of course Miss." I smiled.

"Please. Call me Mattie. Rin I must ask…how long have you been in this village with Kaede and the others?" Rin thought, looking to Kaede.

"About a year and a half." She said innocently. I smiled and nodded, encouraging her. Inuyasha furrowed his brows.

"And before that, did you travel?" Instantly, Rin beamed, gaining confidence as she brought herself into full view in front of Kagome.

"Yes! I traveled with Lord Sesshomaru!" I instantly tucked the name into the back of my mind. Inuyasha growled a bit at the name.

"Mattie, what's with the interrogation? Rin was told never to bring Sesshomaru up." Rin flinched a small bit at Inuyasha's tone, and instantly Kagome snapped at him.

"Inuyasha! Just because he's your half-brother and you don't get along doesn't mean that you have to be mean to Rin for it! She regards him differently than you!" I stared at Kagome, then looked to Inuyasha, quiet and focused, and refused to answer his question. But that's why he smelled similar. Just similar enough to be related. I finally had a name to put to the face in my mind. I thanked Rin genuinely and she beamed under my graciousness.

"Please, let me show you what we've been working on, Mattie!" I smiled and offered my hand, feeling Inuyasha's gaze intently on me. Pointedly ignoring him, I responded "Of course! Lead the way!"

She grabbed my hand and led me over to Kaede to introduce me to the herbs and foods they were collecting. I was excited to be taken so well by Rin, and hoped to ask her more about her lord Sesshomaru. In the meantime I needed to figure out why he was so important to me.