A/N: This chapter has been updated slightly. Also, I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. Only the poem, any OC characters and the storyline are my own. Thank you and enjoy.

Yabun no Uta

Chapter 2: Demons of Another Sort

Kagome gasped and startled awake. She was at the bottom of the dark, damp well, and something extremely heavy was on her, impairing her breathing. Something slick and warm slid down her front and over her legs. "Blood," she thought. It was then that the previous events unfolded in her mind. She gasped with fear this time as she realized what, or rather who, was on top of her. "How did he pass through the well, though?" she asked herself, before coming to the conclusion that he had been in contact with her; she must have pulled him through.

Shaking pointless thoughts from her mind, she shoved him off her and stood. The well house was above her, but it seemed old and rotted. "Mom?" she called tentatively, receiving no answer. "Souta? Gramps?" she called louder; still no answer came. Cautiously, she raised herself up out of the well and opened the well house door, which slid brokenly open. She couldn't believe the sight that assaulted her eyes. They were most definitely not in her own time. The ground was cracked and barren, dust swirled in the harsh wind, scouring everything in its path. All that remained of her house was a rotting wall and a crumbling foundation. Timidly, she walked to the edge of the now broken steps leading to the shrine and looked out at the city. Tokyo was in ruins. Cars lay idle and rusted in the streets, all models she'd never seen. Rubble and dust covered everything, obstructing roads and obscuring buildings, few of which were still standing. Everything was a sickly red-brown, even the sky.

Kagome nearly fainted at the sight. This was Tokyo, far in the future, farther than she'd ever wanted to go. Regaining her composure with some difficulty, she returned to the well house to contemplate what was to be done about Sesshomaru. As she looked down at the unconscious, bloody Daiyoukai, part of her wanted to leave him to die, the part that feared him agreed. Stronger than both, however, was the part of her that needed to help and refused to abandon him. This was the part of her that made her stay with Inuyasha despite past transgressions, the part that cared for all things and couldn't stand their pain. It was this part she cursed as she arduously dragged the youkai's body to the stump of what was once the Goshinboku and leaned him against it. It was this part she cursed as she stripped him of his armor, kimono, and juban so she could survey his wounds. It was this part she cursed as she cleaned and dressed these wounds with strips of her blouse and skirt. And it was this part she cursed as she sanded off the blood on her body with dirt because there was no water in this god forsaken time except in her pack, and there was precious little of that, which she needed to use for Sesshomaru.

Her curses were cut short by the sound of someone heading their way. Kagome stood and notched an arrow, bow at the ready, scanning the area for hostile creatures. Her eyes spotted a small, blackened figure slowly approaching, head down, limping heavily. "Hello? Who are you?" she demanded of the creature, sounding convincingly fiercer than she felt. At this the thing looked up and gazed upon her. Its eyes were red and massive, taking up most of its face, with only slits for nostrils and a wide, gaping mouth. It was small and impish, black and crispy-looking. Unconsciously, Kagome edged backwards slightly at the sight. Chills ran down her spine. The thing was ghastly. Spurring into action, Kagome gasped as she shot a purification arrow at it, turning it to ash. She sighed in relief, but the feeling didn't last long, unfortunately. More of the creatures appeared, drawn towards her by some unseen force. She killed three, then two, then three more, but more kept coming. "What are they drawn to?" she asked herself, panicking. "Is it our life force, what?" Her hand went to the faintly glowing orb on her neck. "The Jewel," she realized, eyes wide. It was futile to keep shooting at them, she would only waste arrows. She concentrated instead on creating a barrier around herself and Sesshomaru, effectively keeping the awful things out. It wouldn't hold forever, though; she was already worn out from moving and tending Sesshomaru, and the shield only sapped more of her strength.

It was then that she noticed the state her clothes were in. They were torn and bloody, the sleeves of her blouse missing and her skirt practically nonexistent. She blushed furiously, her eyes flicking to the unconscious demon as if to make sure he was still asleep and hadn't seen her. Sighing in relief once more, she rummaged through her pack and pulled out a set of priestess garb; white haori and red hakama. Circling to the other side of the stump and turning her back on Sesshomaru (and trying to ignore the creatures surrounding the barrier), she stripped and pulled on the miko garb, feeling instantly cleaner and relaxed now that she was fully clothed. With that, she sat beside Sesshomaru and continued her gentle ministrations to the wounded youkai.

"Why? Why did this have to happen to me? I just had to get stuck with Sesshomaru, human hating, killing machine, didn't I?" she asked herself vehemently. He would probably kill her when he awoke for laying her filthy ningen hands on his person. It didn't matter that he was on the verge of death, no, he'd kill her anyway. She sighed. That didn't mean she'd stop helping him, she mused; she would never be able to live with herself knowing she had let him die, even if he had tried to kill her on several occasions.

Kagome just wanted to go home, back to her loving family, warm bed, and modern appliances. But no, she was flung far into the future with her enemy. This was so not what she needed after the emotional strain of dealing with Inuyasha.

Deep in the darkness of Sesshomaru's mind, a soft melody soothed his subconscious, the words floating down to him as if through water. He could barely make them out if he relaxed enough to listen:

Darkness creeps upon the world

In streets and alleys it lies curled

The stars, they twinkle in the sky

Listen to them sing and sigh

O crescent moon, how pale your face

You stand so stoic, full of grace

The breeze, it whispers to the trees

Rustling their thick and vibrant leaves

How cool this night, the cricket chirps

In darkness silent creatures lurk

Pretty night, too soon you go

Dawn will come with its soft glow

But tomorrow you will fall again

Just as it has always been

The song was strangely familiar and comforting, and he drifted back into the black abyss of sleep, lulled there by the beautiful simplicity of the song.

Sesshomaru awoke to the sound of soft humming and the feeling of gentle hands soothing his feverish brow with a slightly damp piece of cloth. For a minute he relaxed and inhaled the scent of lilac and rain before full consciousness reached him. He whined and sat up violently, panting with the pain in his chest, and growled, his eyes red. Kagome should have been afraid, she should have feared for her life. She should have. However, all she was at the moment was angry. She had dragged his ass out of that rotting well, ruined a perfectly good blouse and skirt, used up her energy to protect him, and was practically dying of dehydration in order to tend his wounds, and how does he repay her? By sitting up and reopening his wounds, growling at her, and glaring at her murderously. For a moment, she forgot that he was Sesshomaru, Daiyoukai of the Western Lands; he was simply a pain in her ass. "Sesshomaru! Lay back down this instant! You will reopen your wounds, you baka!" she yelled before she realized who she was talking to and exactly what that meant. Her eyes widened, but she held her ground. She would not back down now; it was too late for that. In a flash, he had her pinned by her neck to the ground, and was squeezing harshly on her jugular, ignoring his own pain.

"Wench, you forget to whom you are speaking. This Sesshomaru does not take orders, especially from a pathetic female ningen like you," he said coldly, with a steel edge of malice to his voice. The miko felt fear rising in her throat, but forced it down. She would not let her hours of hard work be wasted because the egotistical bastard was too proud to be injured. A look of determination crossed her features as she decided to try a different approach. "Sesshomaru-sama," she gasped, trying to inhale enough to speak, which was proving difficult. "I didn't mean to offend, but you need to lie back down. You'll reopen your wounds or cause an infection." His eyes narrowed at her, but he let go of her throat.

"Why are you helping this Sesshomaru?" he asked suspiciously. Kagome shrugged.

"Nobody deserves to die if they can be saved," she replied. He did not understand her thinking, but did not question her. "Will you lie back, please? I don't want you to reopen your wounds," she reiterated. Reluctantly, he laid back against the stump. The miko was right; besides, though he would never admit it to anyone, he was feeling slightly dizzy and his chest pained him. Relief and happiness filled the miko's eyes when he complied, only to be replaced by concern. He scoffed at how her blue eyes showed her emotions so clearly; she was so unguarded, even in his presence. He thought it a weakness. "Why give your enemies such an advantage?" he wondered to himself. He was thoroughly puzzled as to why she would be concerned about him, but did not dwell on it long. It was probably just some strange, weak, human trait.

It was then, as the miko began to see to his reopened wound, that he surveyed his surroundings. Dozens of questions arose from his observations, but he only bothered with the most important ones. "Where have you taken this Sesshomaru?" he asked coldly, irritated at finding himself somewhere unknown. When his words did not illicit fear from the girl, but anger, he was at once perplexed and even more annoyed.

"I did not take you anywhere! I'm stuck here too, you know! Anyway, we're near the well, up against the Goshinboku. However, it is far in the future, farther than my own time even," she answered. Sesshomaru contemplated her words for a moment. "Farther than my own time even" she had said. That implied that she was from the future… which explained her odd clothing and lack of manners. Speaking of which, she was wearing something she hadn't been wearing before… which meant the bandages on him were… Wonderful.

Moving on with another question, he asked: "What happened?"

"Well, you were knocked unconscious by the Backlash Wave and thrown into me, causing both of us to fall down the well. The Backlash Wave crushed a side of the well, which is why, I think, we were sent so far into the future," she relayed nervously. Sesshomaru nodded in acknowledgement and readied himself for another question. He did not like having to ask so many questions, they were tedious. He despised needless conversation. Glancing at the grotesque creatures, he began to ask his next question, but Kagome beat him to it. "I suppose you're wondering what those are. I think they're imps, or something. They're after the Shikon no Tama," she got out before she collapsed from exhaustion, stress, and dehydration. The five hours of medical treatment, maintenance of the barrier, and attack by an angry Daiyoukai had finally taken its toll. As she lost consciousness, her control on the barrier slipped and fell, resulting in the dissolution of said barrier. Slowly, the creatures advanced, staring their soulless red-eyed stare.

"Stupid wench," Sesshomaru muttered, very much aware that he was wounded and the only thing keeping them both from death had flickered and died. Mulling over the idea of leaving the wench there, he quickly dismissed it; she knew the mysteries of the well better than he, and he grudgingly admitted, if only to himself, that he was in her debt for her generous care. Cursing in his head, he grabbed the girl around her waist and snatched her bag, thinking it wise to save what supplies they had, and headed toward where he assumed the well was. He jumped lightly over the mass of unnerving imps, who were clumsily grasping for the jewel in the miko's possession, and landed softly outside the well house door. Kicking the rotting thing down, he glanced down into the murky depths before leaping down into the foreboding maw. Before he reached the bottom, they were consumed by the blue tendrils of time's flow, drawn into who knows when.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Wearily yours,

The Masked Fox