Author's Notes: Welcome back to the world of Inuyasha. However, the world is not quite as you would remember it. I have taken some liberties with the timing of some events in the story and moved them around a tad bit to help make my storytelling process more coherent. So, if you come across something that may or may not have happened yet in the story, that's why. Of course, I will be adding in some of my own unique elements which I hope will only add to my story. I sincerely hope you enjoy!

Delusions

Chapter One

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

It was time to get up. At least that's what the alarm clock was telling her with its incessant buzzing. Groggily, she reached over and slapped the snooze button. Time to get another morning underway...in five more minutes. Rather, what seemed more like five seconds passed and the alarm began it's shrill morning anthem again, urging her to rise for another day. Kagome glanced over at the alarm clock, shut it off, and let out a long sigh...7:00 am.

She stretched out slowly, enjoying the last few seconds in her warm sheets before she had to get up and begin another week at the office. She rather enjoyed her job. Granted, it wasn't what she had pictured as a career when she was younger, but it paid the bills and it was tolerable with pleasant people and tolerable tasks.

Mentally bracing herself, she threw off the comforter and welcomed the morning chill as if it were trying to encourage her to get moving. Kicking her legs over the side of the bed, she worked out the kinks that sleep had put in her muscles and joints.

7:05…'Damn'...She thought to herself after she had glanced at the clock. 'I've lingered long enough. Time to get a move on'.

As an afterthought, she looked over to the unoccupied side of the bed. The sheets were rumpled from use, but cold from the lack of a warm body. Kagome tried to remember what time her husband had gotten up to go to work...at least an hour ago if she remembered correctly. It wasn't unusual for him to leave early and come home late. Oh well, it was time for her to do that same thing.

Kagome left the room and stopped at a door down the hall. She knocked twice and listened for a response. From inside she heard a groan. She knocked again and opened the door. She felt along the wall and flipped the switch, drenching the room in artificial light. The bed, in the middle of the room, began to wriggle. A muffled voice could be heard from under the covers.

"I'm up," the bed said.

Kagome smiled and shook her head at the sight. She left and went back to the bathroom to catch a quick shower and get dressed.

After her shower, she toweled her hair dry and set out to find an outfit for the day. Her closet only boasted simple attire, which suited her appearance. This did not mean that she was simple, by any means, but that she did not need much to accentuate her natural beauty. She ended up choosing a dark blue cable knit sweater over top of a white button-up blouse and a pair of black slacks. She checked her reflection in the mirror before walking out of the room.

'Well, it's official. I'm not a young adult anymore. Wait...Is that a wrinkle?!' she thought to herself as she frantically leaned in for a closer inspection. She quickly brought her hand to her face but the supposed wrinkle turned out to be just a stray hair. 'Phew'. She looked into the mirror again. The only age she showed was that she had gained a more mature look. At least she hoped that she looked more mature rather than aged.

Takashi, her husband, told her on a daily basis how beautiful and young she looked, but his compliments were lost on her. Just last night he gushed about how lucky he was to have such a beautiful girl, but the flattery only made Kagome uncomfortable. She never told him that, though. It seemed to make him happy so she let him continue to think it pleased her.

7:40 am...Almost time to leave for work. Kagome walked out of her room and down the hallway. She briefly paused at the door and listened. The water was running. That was a good sign. Hopefully, she wouldn't be late to school again since Kagome could not stay and henpeck punctuality into her daughter.

Her daughter seemed to have a knack for sleeping in. She wasn't quite sure where that trait came from but that coupled with her teenage attitude wasn't very becoming of a girl of fifteen. It wasn't as if she spent her mornings in front of the mirror, which was something that she had in common with her mother. Her daughter's style was also quite simple, though she was a little obsessed with styling her hair in different twists and braids; usually leaving the majority of her locks loose to spill down her back.

Kagome glanced at one of the family portraits on the wall on her way to the kitchen. The scene was typical for a family portrait with herself, her husband, and their daughter posed in front of a cherry blossom tree layout. The three members smiled and looked obliviously happy. Takashi and Kagome embracing their daughter, Amaya.

Amaya was a beautiful girl who had obviously inherited her mother's looks. She kept her raven hair long and it ran past her hips when she wore it down. However, she did not gain her mother's blue eyes. Rather they were a deeper blue - almost violet - and they shone with the girl's delicate smile. Though in the portrait Amaya was shorter than her parents, she was now only an inch or so shorter than her mother. With a smile, Kagome gazed warmly at the photo and touched it gingerly...a picture that reminded her of brighter days...before carrying on with her morning routine.

She made it to the kitchen where she poured steaming coffee into her travel mug. The coffee machine with an automatic timer was a wise purchase. Grasping the handle, she brought the mug to her nose and inhaled the soothing aroma, anticipating when the brew would be cool enough to drink so that she might revel in the caffeine that fueled her commute. The last step in her routine was to don a light jacket and grab her purse before slipping on her shoes and heading out the door.

It was chilly outside. A nice, crisp autumn morning. The leaves rustled on the ground as a light breeze picked up and strew the leaves this way and that. Kagome savored the feel of the breeze and watched as the multi-colored leaves swirled around her feet. She felt a familiar tug towards the shrine behind the house that belonged to her family. It was early enough and she had a moment to spare before she needed to be at work so she headed over to the old shrine.

Her mother had taken over maintaining the shrine grounds after Jii-chan's passing a couple of years ago. Mama Higurashi felt it was her duty to take care of the family shrine until either Kagome or her brother Souta could take over for her. However, Mama was not here. She was out visiting Souta today while he was on holiday. Souta had left the family home in pursuit of a distinguishing career and he seemed to be thriving but he rarely came home to visit, so their mother took it upon herself to visit him from time to time; much to his chagrin. It was the least he could do, entertain her for a few days after she helped send him to school.

Kagome entered the shrine and approached the well. It was no longer open as it had been many years ago and now sported a lid that was nailed shut. She knelt down in front of it, sitting her handheld items to her side, and bowed her head.

'It's been sixteen years...since…' she began to recall the painful memories.

She couldn't recall how long she had knelt in front of the well but she was positive that she needed to carry on before she, herself, was late. Hopefully, she had only lost herself in her thoughts for a couple of moments.

Slowly she rose to her feet and walked out of the shrine, only pausing once to look back again.

"Are you ever going to tell me why you come out here and look all forlorn and resentful? What did the well do to you?" asked a figure.

Kagome jumped, startled. She wasn't expecting any company out here! "What? No!" Kagome snapped, blushing a bit. She quickly turned away so that her daughter couldn't see the color blossoming in her cheeks. "Shouldn't you be on your way to school, Amaya?" Kagome asked.

Amaya wore a typical blazer uniform for a last year middle school student. It was quite different from the uniforms that Kagome wore when she was in middle school, but Amaya did attend a more prestigious school. An attempt made by Takashi to enhance their daughter's chances to get into a better high school, college, etc. Schooling her features into calm and collected, Kagome narrowed her eyes at the girl. 'Gah...meddlesome teenager!'

Amaya raised a quizzical eyebrow and smirked, "You didn't answer my question, Mama."

"What question?" Kagome asked nonchalantly. This was not a conversation she wanted to have with her daughter. Not now or ever.

Today, Amaya had braided a strand of hair to create the illusion of a headband and she was careful not to disturb the style while she threaded a strand of hair behind her ear. She crossed her arms and raised a hand to her face, "I always see you out here whenever Papa isn't home. I know you don't think anyone notices, but you've been doing it a lot more lately."

Kagome felt the color start to rise again but she fought it down, though her emotions spilled out into her excuse."Oh, I was...uh...just thinking about Jii-chan. He was training me to take over the shrine when I was your age but my life went in….another direction." She paused for a second and glanced at the shrine again to try and emphasize her lamenting, "I was just feeling a little guilty is all." 'I hope that appeases her...' she thought.

Amaya seemed to believe that and nodded, so Kagome took control of and redirected the situation. "OK, time for us to go or we will both be late! I really don't want to have another meeting with your teacher for your tardiness and I certainly don't want to risk getting caught coming in late by Suzuki Kacho."

Kagome began to usher Amaya along before stopping. "Shoot, of course, I forget my things! Go on, Amaya I'll see you this evening. Have a good day at school."

Amaya waved and headed off down the pathway and finally around the corner. Once she was sure that her daughter was gone, Kagome ran back towards the shrine.

She ran inside and bent down to pick up her travel mug and purse...but she stopped when she noticed that the mug seemed to be shaking. In fact, she could feel the ground vibrating. Cold waves washed over her and she could feel her skin turn into gooseflesh. "What the..." She started but was cut off as the well began to pulse. The pulsing seemed to reverberate throughout the entire shrine.

Kagome shakily walked down the steps to the well where the pulsing was emanating from and as she neared the cover on the well exploded into fragments sending her flying to the ground with a loud thump.

"Owww," She complained as she got up rubbing her sore rear. She quickly forgot about her small pain and scanned the room. Something had come out of the well!

Or had it? Kagome knew she should sense anything that did not belong but it had been so long since she had used her power that she did not trust herself to be sure.

The shrine was eerily quiet, though. She could not hear the wind outside nor the birds or insects that would normally be heard. It was as if they had fled the area. 'Smart of them, actually', Kagome thought. 'I should be doing the same. Why am I walking towards it?'

She stepped closer to the edge of the well and hesitantly peered in. All she could see was darkness. It smelled musty and dank, probably due to being closed off for years.

"I must be going crazy," She said aloud to herself. "There is no way I am going back there."

Part of herself longed to jump in and the other part screamed at her not to. She wasn't sure if the connection was even still there. It had been sixteen years after all.

"No, I am going to go to work and forget that this happened….." she said in a desperate attempt to convince herself.

"Then why are you sitting on the edge of the well getting ready to jump?" Kagome rolled her eyes at herself. She let out a long sigh when she realized that she was, in fact, sitting on the edge of the Bone-Eater's Well.

"Well, I guess I am not doing any good trying to talk myself out of this," she said poised to jump down. "Nope. Changed my mind. Going to work now". She got up and stood on the edge of the well. The feeling she had earlier still tugged, urging her to go.

"Mew." Kagome jerked her head up to see where the meow had come from. A small tabby cat stepped into the shrine. It must be a stray she figured, seeing as how their beloved Buyo had run away never to return - as cats nearing their end often do - and the Higurashi family hadn't the heart to replace him.

"Kitty?" Kagome called.

The small cat made its way down the steps and leaped up at Kagome.

Unprepared for this, Kagome grabbed for the feline but at the same time lost her balance which sent her toppling into the well.

"Owwwwww" She groaned as she had fallen on her hind end for the second time this morning. The cat culprit was nowhere to be found and Kagome's heart instantly sank as she began to realize the implication of said missing kitty.

"No...no...no…" She began to whisper. She stood up and looked above her and saw a bright light. She also heard the sounds of wildlife above her. "This cannot be happening," She tried to reassure herself.

She climbed out of the well and let the realization sink in. She could feel her heartbreak over and over again as she looked around at the familiar scene: 500 years in the past.

Next time on Delusions….

...Kagome could not believe that she was back in the feudal era. She knew that she just needed to turn around and go home. She had no business here and there was nothing left for her here either. Everything that she had loved was gone from this beautiful, chaotic place. A tear glistened down her cheek as memories washed over her. Her surroundings clearly evoking even more buried thoughts of long ago.

She turned to re-enter the well. Swinging her legs over the side of the well, she mentally chose her family over whatever was left here; a whispered prayer for her past comrades. She closed her eyes and leaped down...but rather than feeling the slip through time, she felt nothing. Opening her eyes she realized she had stopped midair. 'What the…' she thought. Kagome tried to struggle and look around but she was frozen in the air. She heard a dark laugh from behind and then, suddenly, she was pulled back toward the forest...