Full Summary: Seven year old Kagome must Have visited the old shrine on her family grounds a thousand times, so why did the monster within choose to drag her five hundred years into the past today? Faced with terrors that make men much older than her quake, Kagome finds herself an unlikely friend, a half demon who she finds sleeping under the Sacred Tree. Follow their misadventures as they grow up, laughing and learning together, meeting new, unusual people and fighting demons.
A/N- So I still don't have a computer, but I hijacked Mom's, so hopefully this turned out better!? If anything weird is up like the story is on here twice (it happened yesterday) tell me! I have since fixed the problem with "Lunches" and would love to know if anything is Wrong with this so I can fix it! Keep a lookout for the next chapters, which will be coming as my submissions for the rest of Inuvember 2015 AU Week!
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"Kagome, be careful! You're not supposed to play in the well house!" Her mother called.
"I will, Mom," she replied. "I just have to get Buyou!"
She walked down the stairs, glancing around the old well house. It was broken down and worn. Most of the kids in her class thought the place would creepy, but it had never bothered her. It was just an old building. It's not like there were monsters living under the stairs (she had already checked.) The only thing she had as of yet been to afraid to check was the well itself, she didn't want to remove the old seals that had been placed, just in case.
"Buyou!" She called, her high voice breaking the ancient silence of the well house. She checked everywhere, under the stairs, in the rafters, until the only place left to look was in the well.
"Come on, Kagome," she told herself as she approached the well, "you're seven years old now, you can handle this." She heard rattling in the well as she approached it, and she jumped a foot in the air, but then she realized that that was a good thing. "How did you get down in the well?" She wondered aloud.
"Kagome!" Her Grandpa called. She turned when she heard his footsteps in the dirt behind her. "Kagome come out of there!"
"But Buyou is in the well!" She whined, "we have to save him or he'll be stuck forever!"
"What are you talking about, Kagome?" Her Grandfather said, "Buyou is right here!" Kagome blinked as Buyou came into sight and began rubbing against her grandfather's legs.
"Then what's in the well?" She said, turning back to face it. Just as she did, the wooden cover exploded, Kagome screamed and threw up her hands to cover her face, and shrieked when she felt something wrap around her waist and pull her into the well.
"KAGOME!" Her grandfather screamed.
"Give it to me," a woman's voice said, "give me the sacred jewel!" Kagome opened her eyes, then squeaked in horror when she saw the half human, half centipede woman who had a hold of her. A look down furthered her horror. The woman was partially decomposed, and she was reforming, right before Kagome's eyes!
"The Sacred what?" She asked it.
A long tongue unfurled from the centipede woman's mouth, and it reached out and licked her face. Kagome squeaked in horror.
"Ew!" She cried. "stop it!" She threw out her hand, and to her surprise, a bright pink light shone from her hand, and pushed the centipede woman away. She didn't want to let go, however, her hand still held tightly to Kagome's shirt. It tore off at the shoulder.
The air around Kagome was glowing, but as her feet touched the ground, everything faded to it's normal colors, and the hand finally let go of her. It lay on the ground next to her.
"Grandpa!" She cried, "Grandpa help me!" She looked up at the opening of the well, and didn't see her grandfather. "He probably went to call the firemen to get me out of the well. I'll just have to climb out by myself." So she did, and it was really hard.
She was scared that the vines she was using to climb were gonna break and she would fall, but she made it all the way to the top. When she climbed to the top and looked around, her jaw dropped. She wasn't in her family's shrine, in fact, she wasn't even in the well house. There was no well house, and there were bushes and trees where there was supposed to be sidewalks and buildings.
"Where am I?" She said aloud. She looked around, looking for things that she knew to help her get home, just like her mom had told her too. She was scared, she had only ever gotten lost from her family once before, and it had been scary then too. She nearly cried in relief when she glanced up and saw the Sacred Tree towering above the other trees. That means I'm practically home! She thought excitedly. She ran towards it, brushing low hanging tree limbs out of her face until she reached the Sacred Tree, but there was someone there already.
A little boy in red clothes with white hair was curled up underneath the tree, sound asleep. Kagome furrowed her brow. It may have looked different, but that was the Sacred Tree alright, she would recognize it anywhere, and that boy was just sleeping there! Kagome knew that you weren't supposed to play near the tree, and she thought that rule applied to sleep to!o.
"Hey!" She said, marching right up to the boy with her hands on her hips, "you're not supposed to be sleeping there!" The boy didn't react, he didn't even stir, which is when Kagome saw the white fuzzy ears top of his head. "Is he in a costume?" She wondered. She reached out to touch his ears, then stopped. Her mom had always told her that you shouldn't touch other people without their permission.
"Hey," she said, leaning down close to his face, "hey, wake up! Mom say's we can't sleep here!" The little boy opened his eyes, then jumped, shouting in alarm. Kagome jumped back as well, yelping at his sudden movement.
"Hey!" She cried, "that was mean, you scared me!" She glared up at him. He had leapt to his feet, crouching down like he was going to run away, and had his fist held out like he wanted to hit her.
"I'm mean?" He asked indignantly. His voice cracked, like he didn't talk very much. "I'm not the one who scared a sleeping kid!"
"Well you're not supposed to sleep there, so you deserved it!"
"Oh yeah?" the boy snapped, "who says I'm not supposed to sleep here?"
"Mom does, and she's the boss!"
"She's not the boss of me!" The boy said.
"Yeah she is, because she's a grown up, and you're just a kid!"
"I don't have a mom, so I can do what I want!" Kagome got quiet. Her mom had told her to always be nice to kids who didn't have moms, because their lives were hard.
"Why don't you have a mom?" Kagome asked quietly. The boy looked sad suddenly.
"She died, and so did my dad."
"I'm sorry, do you have a brother?" Kagome asked, thinking of her baby brother Sota. "I have a little brother, his name is Sota, but he's really little."
"I have a brother, but I hate him! He's mean, he made my mom cry and he wouldn't help us when the others said they were gonna kill me!"
"That's so mean!" Kagome said, "I'm glad they didn't kill you, though!" The silver haired boy blinked at her with a funny expression on his face. "What?" Kagome asked.
"Why?" He asked, sounding shocked.
"Why what?"
"Why are you glad they didn't kill me? Everyone I've ever known, except for Mother, has hated me and wanted me dead, so why don't you?"
"Why would I?" Kagome replied, puzzled. "You've never done anything to me, and wanting someone to die is bad!"
"Yeah, but that has never stopped them," the boy said, crouching down like a dog in front of her and peering at her face. "They all chase me around and try to kill me!"
"Who is they?" Kagome asked, leaning forward and giving him a determined look, "I'll tell Mom and she'll make them stop! Everyone listens to Mom!" The silver haired boy blinked again.
"Why would she make them stop? She doesn't even know me!"
"Because Mom is nice!" Kagome declared, "she likes everyone!"
"She wouldn't like me," the boy said sullenly. "No one likes me because I'm a half demon."
"What's a half demon?"
"Um, it's someone who's half demon and half human, stupid."
"Don't call me stupid, that's mean!"
"Well it's true!"
"No it's not! What's stupid is pretending that you're a demon!"
"I ain't pretending, I really am! Half, anyway!"
"There's no such thing!"
"Is so! If there wasn't then what would that make me?"
"A lier!"
"AM NOT!"
"ARE SO!" Kagome shouted. She got to her feet, glaring at the little boy who had been rude enough to call her stupid.
"AM NOT! MY DAD WAS A DOG DEMON AND SO IS MY BROTHER AND I'M HALF! SEE MY EARS?" He pointed at his fluffy white ears, looking triumphant.
"Those are just costume ears!" Kagome said, "they're not real!"
"Are so!" the boy said.
"I don't believe you!"
"I'll prove it!" The boy looked nervous, tugging at his ears self-consciously. "You can touch them, but you have to promise not to yank them! The noblemen always liked to yank them really hard and I didn't like it."
Kagome crossed her arms, thinking hard. "Alright," she agreed, "I promise." The boy lowered his head just enough so Kagome could reach up and touch his ears. They felt like the ears of the stray dogs that she would pet sometimes when they came up to the shrine. She couldn't feel any hair clips he might have used to attach them to his head, either, which left her with only one rational conclusion. This boy was part dog.
"You really are half dog!" She exclaimed, stepping back and grinning into his face.
"I'm not half dog!" The boy protested, "I'm half dog demon."
"But I thought demons were bad!"
"Most of them are, especially my brother!" He told her knowledgeably, "but I'm not! I never hurt a human who wasn't trying to hurt me!"
"Do humans try to hurt you often?" Kagome asked. The boy nodded.
"Yeah, they try to kill me and they don't even know me! It upset me at first, but now I'm used to it," he said, puffing his chest out importantly. At this exact moment Kagome realized she didn't even know this boy's name!
"I almost forgot!" She said, "I'm Kagome, what's your name?" She bowed politely like her mom had taught her too, and waited patiently for Inuyasha to do the same.
"I'm Inuyasha," he said, hesitantly returning her bow. He knew he was supposed too, his mother had taught him manners, but it had been years since he'd had the occasion to use them.
"Let's be friends Inuyasha!" Kagome said brightly, grinning at him. Inuyasha blinked at her again, she was beginning to get used to that face he made sometimes. "What's the matter?"
"I-I've never had a friend before," he said quietly, looking at the ground. "I don't know how." Kagome blinked at him.
"It's easy, I'll teach you!" She held her hand out to him and he looked at it, puzzled. "You're supposed to hold my hand back!" Kagome informed him.
"Oh, okay," Inuyasha replied. He took her hand and let her pull him along. They walked for a few minutes before Inuyasha asked where they were going.
"I don't know," Kagome admitted, "I was lost when I found you. My house is supposed to be around here. I live on a shrine with the Sacred Tree and the Bone-Eaters Well, but my house isn't here anymore!"
"How can a house disappear? Are you a priestess since you live on a shrine?" Inuyasha felt a little bit of fear trickle into his gut. Priestesses killed demons like him. But to his relief, Kagome shook her head.
"No, I'm just a kid silly!"
"Hey!" Inuyasha said, suddenly getting an idea, "there's a priestess that lives in a nearby town, I'll bet she knows where your shrine is!" Kagome gave him an admiring look.
"You're a genius!" She said, "Will you take me there?"
"Um, I can take you to the edge of town, but I can't go in."
"Why not?"
"Because it's a human town, and they'll try to kill me if they see me! And they might try and hurt you too if you're with me."
"Oh," Kagome said, "You can hide outside the town and I'll come and get you when they tell me how to get home! You can come with me and meet my mom!"
Inuyasha nodded, he had nowhere else to go anyway, he might as well follow this girl to a place where he might be safe. He led her to the village, following the scent of humans to it's source, and hid himself in the bushes while she walked to the priestesses house and asked her how to get home. While he was in the bushes he started smelling something he didn't like, a demon. It smelled like a centipede, but also not. Inuyasha became uneasy as the scent became closer and closer, so he decided to go warn Kagome. He could take the roofs to avoid being seen, and then take Kagome away from here so she would be safe. She was his friend after all.
"Kagome, you have to run, there's a demon coming!" He shouted as he barged into the home of the priestess.
"Inuyasha, I thought you weren't coming into town!" Kagome said, surprised.
"I wasn't but I came to get you because I can smell a demon, we have to go or it will kill us!"
"I assure you, child," said an old woman, "there aren't any demons coming. If there were I would sense it."
"I can smell it!" Inuyasha protested.
"Nonsense, it would take a powerful nose to detect a demon by its scent, and only dog demons have noses like that."
"I am a dog demon!" For the first time the old woman seemed to notice Inuyasha's dog ears, and she leapt to her feet with surprising agility for someone her age.
"Demon!" She cried, "begone!"
Inuyasha threw up his arms to protect his face as the woman threw sutras in his direction. He'd known this would probably happen, but it didn't make enduring it any more pleasant. He screamed when the woman began saying her prayers, and the sutras burned him through his clothes. He'd expected that pain, but no matter how many times people had tried to purify him, he couldn't get used to pain like this, it was like he was burning up from the inside out.
What he hadn't expected was a high pitched shriek that came from someone else. Kagome, he thought vaguely. He opened his eyes to see her leap onto the old woman, grabbing at her arms, trying to pull her hands out of their prayerful position.
"STOP IT!" She cried, "He's not bad, he's my friend! Leave him alone!" The woman looked down at Kagome in shock, then released the spell she had on Inuyasha.
He sighed in relief and relaxed. He was just sitting up, having collapsed on the floor when the spell activated, when Kagome ran to his side and tore the sutra off his clothes and threw it with a disgusted look into the fire. She stood and offered him her hand, helping him to his feet.
"Are you okay?" She asked him, peering at his face worriedly. He nudded dumbly, still surprised by how kindly this girl treated him, after only knowing him for such a short time. It had only been a matter of hours, yet she had attacked a grown up to protect him. He made a vow to himself then, as she was fussing over the various small scrapes that he'd gotten when he'd fallen, the he would always do everything in his power to protect her.
"I'm sorry," the old woman said gently, crouching down next to the pair of children. Kagome stepped in between Inuyasha and the woman, not ready to trust her just yet. "I didn't realize that ye were a good demon. I thought you were here to harm this little girl."
"Didn't your mom ever tell you to look before you leap?" Kagome said, surprising both other people.
"Aye, she did child, and I simply forgot," she now turned her attention to Kagome, probably sensing that she would be the hardest to convince to trust her again. "Forgive my oversight, I promise that I won't do it again." Inuyasha peered over Kagome's shoulder at her stubborn face, still set in anger and mistrust.
"Perhaps the two of you would like some dinner?" She asked, gesturing to a pan sitting in the fire. Inuyasha's stomach twisted painfully, he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten. His stomach growled loudly, and Kagome cast a glance over her shoulder at him.
"Alright," she agreed.
"Wonderful, and the two of you can tell me your stories while we eat." Inuyasha looked at Kagome, who was walking over to sit by the fire, and eagerly made to join her, but then a breeze rattled the door flap, and he remembered why he had barged in in the first place.
"Wait, there's a demon!" He exclaimed. "I can smell it, it's a centipede I think, and it's getting closer!"
"A centipede you say?" The old woman questioned, and he nodded. "We'll ride out to slay it before it can destroy the town."
"But- but what if it's good, like Inuyasha?" Those words rattled around in his brain. He wasn't used to being called 'good' either.
"I don't think it is, Kagome," the priestess said. As if right on cue, they heard a crash, and the sound of a horse screaming. The three of them ran outside, and Kagome screamed.
Inuyasha had only been half right, there was, in fact, a centipede demon, but it was only half centipede. It's top half was a lady. It was the same demon from earlier. Kagome tugged on the priestesses shoulder, "That's the demon that dragged me down the well, and I ended up here!"
"You came out of the Bone Eater's Well?" The priestess asked. Kagome nodded.
"That demon kidnapped me and dragged me down the well!" Inuyasha glared up at the demon. It had hurt Kagome, so now it was time for him to start keeping that vow he had made to himself, and start protecting her.
"Give it to me, give me the Sacred Jewel!" The demon said. The old woman rounded on Kagome.
"Bear ye it still?"
"What?" Kagome asked, confused.
"Nevermind, just run. Get somewhere safe and hide. I'll come and find you when we're done here!" Kagome blinked at the old woman, and then nodded. She grabbed Inuyasha's hand and began running in the opposite direction.
"Hey, let me go!" He cried, "I was gonna kill that demon! The old priestess is just a human, they might need my help!"
"They're grown ups, they can handle it!" Kagome said, "that old lady can do that thing she did to you to it!" They made it to the edge of town, where they stopped briefly to catch their breath.
A crash behind them let them know that had been a mistake, and the centipede woman flew out of the town right at Kagome. She bit Kagome in the stomach and threw her up into the air. Inuyasha cried out as the scent of her blood filled his nose and Kagome flew through the air. She didn't cry out, but she was probably in shock. That had happened to him a few times, when he hadn't felt the blows he'd been dealt until later.
As Kagome started to fall he acted, leaping into the air and catching her. He set her gently on the ground when he landed, then turned to stand in between Kagome and the demon. He raised up his hand and flexed his fingers. A half grin played across his lips. Now he could defeat that demon, right here in front of Kagome, and impress her.
"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" He cried, slashing out with his claws. The demon screamed in pain and rounded on him. His attack had caused some damage, but not enough. The demon still lunged at him, but he dodged. It kept coming at him, and he kept dodging every time, until he got distracted by Kagome. She wasn't even watching! She was staring at some pink glowing jewel that he had never seen before. While he watched her indignantly, the centipede woman attacked him from behind.
Her long fangs sank into his shoulder and he screamed in pain. Kagome's head snapped up, and she tucked the pink jewel in her pocket, running at the demon. She ran right up to the demon and began pounding on the demon's body with her tiny little fists.
"Leave him alone!" She cried. The centipede opened its jaws, and Inuyasha fell to the ground. The centipede woman reached for Kagome, this time using her arms, but Kagome threw out her hands to try and shield herself. "Stop it!" Her hands glowed pink and shot an aura of purity at the centipede, and she cried out in pain, her arms all falling off.
Kagome stared down at her hands and mumbled something that Inuyasha couldn't hear. He got to his feet, reaching up and gripping his shoulder. He winced slightly as his claws dug into the wounds, but he ignored that. He ripped his hand free of his wound and slashed at the demon.
"Blades of Blood!" His attack did real damage this time, and he didn't wait for her to recover before attacking again. "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" He slashed and slashed until the demon couldn't fight anymore, and she collapsed to the ground, dead. He was standing, facing away from the forest, when something small and fast streaked into his vision and slammed into his chest.
"Inuyasha that was so cool! She beat the bad guy all by yourself!" Inuyasha felt himself blushing. He tried to reach up and scratch the back of his head, but winced. He had forgotten his shoulder was hurt. He turned when he heard muttering behind him, and saw the entire village standing there, ogling him. At a loss for anything else to say, he snapped at them.
"How long have you been standing there? You couldn't have been bothered to help?"
"It seemed to us like you had the situation under control," the old woman stepped forward.
"Lady Kaede?" One of the villagers said. "It's alright, this child will not harm us, he's a friend of the village."
Friend, Inuyasha thought. He'd never had a friend in his life, and now all of the sudden he'd made two in one day. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"You're both hurt," she said, "please, accompany me to my home and I'll dress your wounds." Inuyasha and Kagome exchanged a look, Kagome nodded, pressing a hand to her bleeding side. The scent of her blood in the air made him nauseous.
They followed her through the town, Inuyasha Lending a supporting arm to Kagome when she stumbled. She's lost a lot of blood for a human, he thought. I'm fine, but she could be in serious trouble. Once they got to Kaede's hut, he insisted that Kaede see to Kagome's wounds first. While she was being tended too, Kagome pulled the pink jewel out of her pocket and held it out to Inuyasha.
"Look," she said, "it came out of my body when that centipede bit me."
"Really?" He asked, reaching out and taking it from her, he held it up and inspected it. He could feel the power radiating from it, he knew it was an object of immense power he could tell, but what was it doing inside her body?
"May I see that?" Kaede asked. Kagome nodded, so Inuyasha handed the old woman the jewel. "I knew it," she said.
"Knew what?" Kagome asked.
"I knew that you were my sister Kikyo reincarnated."
"What's reincarnated mean?" Inuyasha asked.
"It's when the soul of someone dead is born again in the body of a baby. They usually don't have memories of their former life, so Kagome wouldn't know it."
"So you mean I was your big sister in another life?" Kagome asked innocently, peering up at Kaede. "Does that mean my baby brother is you reincarnated?"
"No, stupid, because she's not dead!" Inuyasha said. Kagome turned and glared at him.
"I am not stupid!" She said, "and I came from the future down the well!"
"What do you mean, the future?" Inuyasha asked.
"I mean, I come from a time that has more technology and buildings and cars and stuff! This has to be the past because you don't have any of that stuff!"
Kaede couldn't help but chuckle at Kagome's childlike reasoning, but she knew her to be right. She would have to be from far into the future to be Kikyo's reincarnation, and the fact that the Sacred Jewel burst from her body proved it.
"No my child," Kaede said, "it doesn't mean your younger brother is my reincarnation. But I do think ye came from the future." Kagome stuck her tongue out at Inuyasha, who humphed. Kaede threaded the jewel on a string and handed it back to Kagome. "Here, it belongs with you, but be sure to always have it with you. Never let anyone take it from you, ever. It's dangerous in the hands of bad men." Kagome nodded.
"I will!"
"Now, Inuyasha, let me dress your wounds, then we can eat supper, and get to bed. You two must be exhausted." At this Kagome yawned and nodded. "In the morning I will take you back to the Bone Eater's Well and see if there are any clues about how to get you back home. I'm sure your mother is very worried." Kagome nodded.
"Grandpa saw me being kidnapped, so he's probably been praying at the well for my return all day! He's silly like that." Kaede smiled.
"Aye, I'm sure your family will be glad to have a girl as sweet as you back." Kagome blushed at the compliment.
"Inuyasha is gonna come with me to meet my mom!" Kagome exclaimed as Kaede started to clean Inuyasha's wounds.
"Is that so?" She asked idly, smearing an ointment on the torn skin.
"Yeah! He said he doesn't have a mom, so we can share mine! I'm sure she'll like him, she likes everyone!"
Inuyasha's eyes widened. He wasn't sure he wanted to try and replace his mother, but he also didn't want to be alone anymore. Maybe Mother will be alright if I just stayed with Kagome. She would want me to be happy, right? He couldn't deny he wanted to be able to let a grown up take care of him again. He was tired of fending for himself.
"That's very generous of you, Kagome," Kaede said, "your mother sounds like a wonderful person, but it's best not to get your hopes up. It's possible that the well will not allow Inuyasha to pass through to your time."
Kagome sat back on her heels, looking concerned. She honestly hadn't considered that Inuyasha might be unable to go to her time. Judging by the look on Inuyasha's face, he hadn't either.
"I'm sure it will! It let me come here, so it will have to let him go there! And I'll hold his hand to make extra sure he comes with me!" Inuyasha felt himself blushing. There she went again, acting so dedicated to him. She had decided that she wanted him to go to her time, and that's all there was too it for her. Inuyasha wondered how she stayed so upbeat all the time.
They ate dinner, and then went to sleep, Inuyasha and Kagome sharing a futon because they were small and Kaede only had one extra. Kagome fell asleep quickly, while he lay awake for a while thinking. Turns out, Kagome snuggled in her sleep, but Inuyasha didn't mind, Kagome was warm.
x x x
Kaede was the first to wake the next morning, and she smiled at the children in her spare cot, snuggling adorably. She relit the fire, then started on breakfast for them, letting them wake up on their own. Inuyasha woke up first, then he woke up Kagome when he saw there was food to be had. They ate cheerfully, talking about their adventures in that exaggerated, precious way children had.
"Let's go and investigate the well then," Kaede said, once both children had eaten their fill (Inuyasha had four helpings.)
Kaede got to her feet and left her hut, followed by the two children.
"So if you're really from the future," Inuyasha asked, crossing his arms like he still doubted it, "what's it like?"
"There aren't as many trees," Kagome said thoughtfully. "There's a big city with huge metal buildings!" Kagome threw her arms up in the air for emphasis. "There are lot's of cars, and it's usually noisy, but I live away from all that in the shrine so it's pretty quiet there."
"What are cars?" Inuyasha asked.
"They're like big metal carriages that don't need horses to pull them!"
"Yeah, right!" Inuyasha said, "how are carriages supposed to move without horses?" Inuyasha asked.
"I don't know," Kagome said, "they just do!"
"I'll believe it when I see it!"
Kaede chuckled, she loved children, and these too were extra energetic.
"And there are no demons in my time!" Kagome exclaimed suddenly, "it's just people!"
"No way!" Inuyasha said incredulously, "where did they all go?"
"I don't know!" Kagome said, running ahead of Kaede and turning around backwards, "but you're the first demon I've ever met!"
"Lucky you," Inuyasha said, running up to her side, "because all of the demons I know are evil!"
"All of them?" Kagome asked, "do you think you're not evil because you're half human?" Inuyasha quirked his head in thought.
"I'd never thought about it like that, but most of the humans I know are evil too." Inuyasha said.
"Well now you know me, and I'm not evil!" Kagome said brightly, beaming at Inuyasha.
"Alright," Kaede said, "we're almost there now."
"How am I gonna get back home?" Kagome asked, now looking anxious. "I miss my momma."
"I'm not sure, child," Kaede admitted, "that's the purpose for visiting the well, to look for clues."
"You said you just fell in, right?" Inuyasha asked.
"No, that centipede lady dragged me in!" Kagome told him.
"Well maybe to get back all you have to do is jump back in!" He said.
"You think so?" Kagome asked, looking up at Kaede to see what she thought of this idea. The old woman shrugged.
"It's possible," she said, "but I would hesitate to start out by trying that."
They reached the clearing where the well was, and Kagome ran out ahead of them.
"Be careful, Kagome!" Kaede cried.
"I will!" She said. Kagome came to a stop against the side of the well, peering into the depths.
"So you came out of here?" Inuyasha asked, coming up beside her. Kagome nodded. "It looks perfectly ordinary to me."
"Nay child," Kaede said, "this well is anything but ordinary." Both the children looked up at her. "It's carved from wood taken from the Sacred Tree," she began, "and it's used to contain the demonic energy of the demons that we slay in the village. It's incredibly old, and it had power."
"Woah," the children said together, gazing down with wonder into the depths of the well.
"What's that down in the bottom?" Inuyasha asked, leaning further over the edge and squinting. Kagome copied him, but she couldn't see anything.
"I don't see anything!" She declared.
"Well duh," Inuyasha said, sounding superior, "I only can because demons have better sight than humans!"
"Well why don't ye tell us what ye see, Inuyasha?" Kaede suggested.
"It looks likeā¦" Inuyasha's voice trailed away as he leaned even further over the edge of the well. Kagome, afraid he would fall in, grabbed his waist. Inuyasha ignored her, squinting into the depths. "Bones."
"Aye," the old woman said, "it's the bones of the demon that ye slayed yesterday. The village men brought it up late last night."
"If you knew, then why'd you ask?" Inuyasha asked indignantly, standing up.
"Sometimes it's best for us to find things out for ourselves," Kaede said wisely. Kagome nodded and let go of Inuyasha.
"So what are we supposed to be looking for?" Kagome asked, crouching down and poking a knot in the wood like she expected it to do a trick.
"Anything out of the ordinary." Kaede answered. Kagome nodded and set to work, diligently inspecting everything around the well, from the clumps of weeds to the dandelions.
Inuyasha, however, stood and watched the old priestess. She knelt at the edge of the well and placed her hand on the wood, making a prayerful hand gesture with the other hand. She began mumbling something, and a soft pink aura glowed around her. At this point, Kagome's attention had wandered from her search and she moseyed back up to them to stand next to Inuyasha. Both of them watched as Kaede finished whatever ritual she had started, then opened her eye.
"Interesting," she said.
"What?" Kagome asked.
"The aura here is different, it feels similar to the aura surrounding the Sacred Tree."
"Maybe because it's made from the tree," Inuyasha suggested, sounding bored.
"Nay, I think it has to do with Kagome's appearance in our world."
"So how do I get home?" Kagome asked.
"I think Inuyasha was right, child, I think you should try going back down the well."
"Alright!" Kagome said, grabbing Inuyasha's hand. "Let's try it!"
She dragged him to the edge of the well and climbed up and stood on the rim. Inuyasha did the same, and she grinned at him.
"Be careful!" Kaede said. "Inuyasha, don't let Kagome be injured!"
"I won't!" He said, suddenly fierce. Kaede nodded.
"Alright. I wish you luck!"
Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged a hopeful and slightly anxious look, then leapt down the well. A strange light shone, and then the children were gone.
