Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
"So, you see, my family owns a shrine." Kagome started.
"No one owns a shrine." Kikyou butted in. "There are priests and priestess' that belong to the shrine but the shrine belongs to the gods."
"In my time, shrines aren't used like they are now and priests and priestess' aren't as common." Already Kikyou was starting to tick Kagome off. Not only because of the way she acted but because of the way Inuyasha acted around her. He groveled at her feet the minute she said a word.
"As I was saying, the shrine is what we make money off of because it's a tourist attraction."
"That's unholy." Kikyou growled.
"That's the way it is. You just have to understand where I come from." Kagome demanded before continuing. "My grandfather has many stories that he tells the tourist's about the shrine and the area we're in, basically. Many of them are myths; they're nice to think about but myths after all; things like demons, and demon lords that come to our world at three in the morning on a full moon, and the shikon jewel or whatever." Kagome kept naming things off on her fingers and rambled on. The others looked at each other, wondering when to break the news to her.
"You must have been hit on the head no matter how much you declare you're completely sane. All those things are true." Kikyou said. She talked to Kagome as if she was the stupidest thing in a skirt.
"Well, unless I'm dreaming or delusional, the demon lord part has to be true. That's how I got here." Kagome said.
The group stiffened around her. "What was that?" Sango asked.
"What was what?" Kagome asked, looking behind her and on the floor around her. "Did you see something?"
"No, what you just said. A demon lord brought you here?" Sango asked, warily.
"Yeah, my friends and I waited until three in the frickin' morning to see if he would come and guess what, he did. I wonder what happened to them…" Kagome pondered, now worried about her friends. If they weren't with her then were they dead? That couldn't be possible.
She looked up to see everyone backed up against the wall; all except Inuyasha who appeared bored.
"What?"
"Did anyone touch her?" Kikyou asked.
"Yes. No. Maybe. I can't remember." Sango replied. "Hide Shippo." Miroku picked up the sleeping kit and took him outside, making sure to give Kagome a wide bearth.
"What is the deal?" Kagome demanded, growing annoyed.
"Sesshoumaru was the demon lord who brought you here." Kikyou said more than questioned.
"I think so…yeah, that's what that green toad and the little girl called him." Kagome said, still wondering what their problem was. "Look, I don't have cooties or a disease or whatever. I've had my shots which is probably more than you can say." She stood up and placed her hands on her hips.
"We don't mean to be rude," Sango said, "but if you really are Sesshoumaru's then we could be in very big trouble for associating with you; as in a matter of death."
"Why is that?" Kagome was confused. If the whole being in a different time thing was confusing now, apparently, she was someone's property.
"Don't you know anything?" Kikyou asked, exhausted from Kagome's ignorance.
"Not about this! I'm actually kind of smart where I'm from. I bet you can't do calculus!" Kagome accused.
"Sounds like some sort of witch craft to me." Kikyou countered.
"You don't want to know what I think you sound like." Both Kagome and Kikyou were in each other's faces, hands on hips, bent at the waist.
"We're keeping her." Inuyasha interrupted.
"What?" Kikyou and Kagome asked at the same time, temporarily sidetracked from their bickering.
"She's staying with us." Inuyasha reiterated.
"Why?" Kikyou asked simply. She seemed a little hurt that Inuyasha wasn't on her side.
"If she belongs to Sesshoumaru then he will eventually come for her and when he does I will kill him."
"So you're using me for bait?" Kagome asked, bewildered at the idea. "In that case I'll leave on my own. I am not a lure." She turned to leave, not exactly knowing where to go. She didn't have to worry about that for long, though. Inuyasha jumped in front of her way, his tall, menacing form blocking out the mere light coming from around the flap used for the door.
"Step outside and you'll be eaten within the hour, I guarantee it." He said, gruffly. "If you stick with us you'll live for as long as it takes for Sesshoumaru to come get you."
"Then you'll let me die? Who is this Sesshoumaru to you anyway?" Kagome asked, no longer scared of the dog-eared male.
"You don't need to know." He said as he turned and walked out of the hut. Kikyou followed close behind him. Kagome was left in the dim hut with the other woman.
"Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's older half-brother. Inuyasha hates him for a lot of different reasons. Their father is dead and so is Inuyasha's mother, but Sesshoumaru is still alive and rules over the Western lands. The both want to kill each other." Sango said quietly. "Sesshoumaru is a demon, you know that according to your legend. Inuyasha is only half demon, though. That's one of the reasons Sesshoumaru wants to kill him, because he's an impure half-breed in their lineage of pure-bred demons."
"What does this have to do with me?" Kagome asked. She plopped down on the hard wooden floor, tired from the conflict and tension.
" Sesshoumaru chose you for some reason; maybe it's to be a slave, or to be an offering, or possibly to be his mate, however seeing how he despises Inuyasha so much I would bet on becoming a slave or an offering." Sango said solemnly.
"Offering to whom?" Kagome was growing scared. She didn't want to be eaten or sacrificed.
"There are demons who do take human concubines. He might trade you to another demon lord if he needed to travel through their land or if they were threatening to wage war. It doesn't necessarily mean he will kill you. But then there is the possibility that that's what he wants you for…" Sango trailed off. Her explanation definitely wasn't helping the younger girl.
Kagome sat there rigid, staring wide-eyed at the floor. Finally she looked up. "Sango…?" Kagome said weakly. Sango was taken back that the girl actually remembered her name.
"Yes?"
"Is there any way I can get out of here?" Kagome's eyes were watering from the oncoming tears.
Sango thought for a few minutes, searching desperately through her brain for something that could help this poor girl. At first she thought of Kaede, Kikyou's younger/older sister (a complicated situation in and of itself). Maybe the knowledgeable priestess would know of something. Then, the idea struck her.
"There may be one way." She said determinedly.
….
Kagome stared at the old beat up well. "This will take me back home?" she asked, skeptical of the idea."
"It's been rumored that it has transportation powers, but no one knows where it takes you or how it works. There was a big conflict about it about ten years ago. The human lords wanted to send someone to go through the well. Everyone was wary of what it might do but if it was actually true it would be a great advantage. That concept died after a while, though, and the well was forgotten."
"There's a well by the shrine," Kagome said slowly, "that my ancestors built a small shed around. My grandfather won't allow us near it, none of us know why. Just like he wouldn't let us out of the house after dark…" She said, making a connection.
"You think it might be the same well?" Sango asked. Kagome hadn't taken her eyes off the well. Sango looked at her, thinking maybe she did have some kind of mental problem. Or maybe she was just dazed; in culture shock. Kagome didn't respond. "You should probably go before Inuyasha figures out that you've run off. He's serious about using you to draw Sesshoumaru to him."
"Yeah…" Kagome said simply as she walked towards the well and threw a leg over the edge. She stopped when an itch tormented her leg. She bent down to scratch her calf.
"What's wrong?" Sango asked.
"My leg is itching." Kagome responded.
"You can't worry about that now." Sango prodded.
Kagome ignored her as the itch grew worse. She pulled her leg up to rest on the side of the well and furiously scratched at her leg. Then, her other leg started to itch. "What the hell?" Kagome wondered. The itching in her calves was becoming unbearable. She scratched harder and harder, leaving large red marks on her legs. It felt like the itch went all the way into her calf muscle where she couldn't get to it.
"Really, Kagome, you have to go. I'm scared Inuyasha will find us."
Right at that moment, Inuyasha busted through the trees. "Don't go through that well, girl! I'll come after you and you won't like it when I do." He yelled.
"Kagome, go!" Sango yelled, running towards the well, intending to push Kagome in. Inuyasha caught up to her and threw her to the ground. A few strides brought him to Kagome, who he wrapped his arms around roughly and dragged her away from the well. Kagome thought about her torturous calves and began to scratch at Inuyasha's arms and kick frantically.
"Let go of me!" she yelled before Inuyasha muffled her mouth with his hand. She tried to bite at his hand but the half-demon was impervious to the annoying pain. Kagome felt hopeless, her only getaway destroyed. She would have to travel with the motley gang and then be given up the Sesshoumaru as a slave or be killed. Tears raced down her face as she was grudgingly forced to accept her fate.
Suddenly, a torrent of wind whipped around her and Inuyasha, whipping their hair and clothes. Inuyasha's red sleeve blocked her field of vision. When the wind stopped, Inuyasha's sleeve fell and there standing beside the well was a man in pelts.
"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha demanded.
"There was a different smell in the air and I decided to come see what it was." The man said with a smirk. "Don't get defensive Inuyasha. You don't own this land. Unless it's your woman that you think I'm after. Although," he said, sniffing the air, "if might be her scent that is so enticing."
"Paws off, Kouga," Inuyasha growled, "she's mine."
