Disclaimer: I would be rich if I owned Inuyasha

Chapter 6

Kagome groaned when she woke up. She felt disorientated and her muddied thoughts did nothing to help her clear her mind. The white ceiling was unfamiliar, and certainly not the wooden ceiling she had expected to see in her room.

"Oh you are awake! Thank goodness!" Kagome turned towards the source of the voice and saw the concerned face of her mother peering down at her.

"Dear, are you okay? We found you collapsed outside of the well house last night, what happened?" Her mother asked. Kagome shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.

"I don't know Mama. I can't remember." Last night felt empty in her mind. Kagome felt a sense of loss, as if she just lost something important but she can't even remember what it was. It was a blank. She could remember what she did in the day, but memories of everything after she returned home was gone. There was something nagging her at the back of her mind, but no matter how hard she tried Kagome couldn't grasp it. Kagome tried to sit up but a stinging pain pierced her mind when she tried to move.

"Oww" Kagome winced when she shifted her position.

"Shhh, It's okay. Take it easy dear." Her mom soothed her. "You don't have to force yourself to remember."

Kagome nodded numbly at her mother's words.

– 5 years later –

Kagome woke up to the cacophonous sound of her alarm blaring. She quickly slammed her hand down onto the infernal machine as she sighed and snuggled back under the covers, her good luck bracelet jingling as her hand moved. She was getting especially warm and comfy when her mother yelled from downstairs for her to get up. Giving a long drawn out groan, Kagome pushed herself, with great difficulty, from her bed. She shuffled around her room, changing into her uniform and giving a quick brush to her hair before heading downstairs for breakfast.

"Kagome! Happy Birthday!" Mama Higurashi greeted from the kitchen as she saw her daughter come down.

"Nee-chan's getting old." Souta snickered from the dining table. A small vein popped on her head as Kagome used her notebook to lightly whack Souta on the head. Souta gave a small grunt at the impact.

"And you are still short and immature." She retorted with a fake bright smile on her face. Sweat dropping, Souta wisely chose to remain silent and began eating his breakfast.

"So, are you planning to do anything fun today to celebrate?" Her mother asked.

"No, not really. I may hang out with the girls a bit after school, then I will be coming back." And I will go see Meiko too. Kagome added silently to herself. Despite her memory loss five years ago, Kagome still clearly remembered most of her childhood. However, there was just an occasional blank in many parts of her memory. Not wanting to worry her mother, Kagome had only told her that she couldn't remember the night that she was brought to the hospital, but in reality, there were many parts of her childhood that was a mass of obscurity to Kagome. She recalled asking Meiko their initial reason for meeting and training. Meiko only took one second to think before she curtly replied, "So you could get stronger." The subject was never brought up again. During this time, Kagome continued to train since she saw no disadvantages. She had told her mother of her self-defense lessons a few months after she was released from the hospital. Mama Higurashi was surprised, but given the circumstances, she wanted Kagome to have the ability to protect herself and be safe, thus she supported her daughter in her endeavors.

As she put on her shoes Kagome looked around, not finding the creature she was looking for.

"Mom! Where's Buyo?" She yelled across the hall.

"Ah, I think I saw him wandering near the well house earlier." Her mom replied.

Kagome frowned. It was customary for her to hug her cat or pet it before leaving for school. Buyo was lazy, so it was even more out of the norm for him to be wandering around. Gathering a deep breath, Kagome slung her backpack over her shoulders and headed across the shrine grounds towards the well house. As she passed by the Goshinboku, Kagome made a small prayer for a prosperous year. She hoped that she would do well in school, that the shrine would be well, and that her family would be healthy. As she finalized her prayer, a small wind twirled around her form before swirling upwards, rustling the tree's leaves. Kagome smiled. She liked to think of it as the tree giving her a personal blessing. Then, turning towards the direction of the well house, Kagome cautiously walked towards it until she was standing in front of the small building.

Although much time has passed since the incident, Kagome still felt a sense of discomfort whenever she approached the well house. The place seemed to reject her, but yet as she felt the sense of being pushed away, an unfamiliar feeling of longing would always appear in her heart. Confused and a bit scared of these feelings, Kagome avoided the well house whenever it was possible. Kagome gripped at the door, and with much effort, pried it open.

Peering inside, she could only see darkness.

"Buyo? Buyo? Come here you fat cat." She called inside. There was no reply and Kagome sighed. She had hoped to find Buyo before she left for school, but time was running short and she would be late if she didn't hurry up. Giving one last glance into the dark abyss, Kagome turned around and began to walk away. She was just stepping down the steps of the well house when a panicked meow reached her ears and she saw the fat form of her cat blur past her.

"Buyo?" Kagome was confused.

Before she could take another step to go after her cat, Kagome suddenly felt herself to be entrapped by a black wiry substance holding her back. Belatedly, and with much fear in her heart, Kagome realized that it was hair. Struggling, Kagome tilted her head around and to her horror, she saw the hair extending from inside the well.

"Help! Help! Hel -mmph."

The hair was slowly binding her around her form and dragging her towards the well. When she was completely inside the well house, the door was slammed shut with an ominous thud.

"Give me the Jewel! Where is it? WHERE IS IT!?" A voice yelled at her. Kagome found herself being shifted until she was face to face with what she could only describe as a monster. The woman had a gaunt, pale face. Her chest was bare and bony, and she had many arms attached haphazardly to her sides. Instead of two human legs, she had the body of a centipede. Her mouth was filled with rows of yellow, but sharp looking teeth, and she had a crazed look in her eyes. Her hair wrapped itself around Kagome tighter.

"Where is it? Give it to me!" She repeated.

Kagome shook her head, partly because she didn't know and partly because she was struggling to get out of the hair cocoon. Angered, the creature hissed.

"You will NOT escape me!" She screeched as she dragged Kagome towards the well before jumping down, pulling Kagome with her.

A soft purple light surrounded them, and Kagome found herself in some sort of tunnel only described in science fiction novels. Meanwhile, the creature was still examining her with a mad look in its eyes. It was whispering to itself as its arms gripped Kagome and turned her around as the thing looked at her.

"Aha! Here it is!" The monster shouted gleefully. Her nails turned sharp, and she stabbed her hand into Kagome's side. Kagome cried out in pain at the contact and screamed when the monster pulled her hand out. On her palm, was a glowing pink jewel. The monster began laughing maniacally.

"Hahahahaha. I have the Jewel in my possession. Now I will have the most power and rule all of the lands." She screeched. In her glee, her hold loosened on Kagome. Gritting her teeth, Kagome recalled all the lessons Meiko gave to her in the past several years and used them to free herself out of her bonds. Kicking the monster's hand in the process. Unbeknownst to her, as she struggled the fang on her bracelet glowed, giving her strength. In the struggle, the half human centipede lost its grip on the jewel as it fell through its grip into the purple space.

"NOOOOOO!" The creature screamed.

Paying it no heed, Kagome also allowed herself to freely fall, figuring that anywhere would be better than staying with the monster that trapped her. Inwardly, she wondered how far she would fall and if she would die. Her question was soon answered as she felt herself being slammed onto a dirt ground, air knocked out of her lungs. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and saw the jewel a few feet away. Absentmindedly pocketing it, Kagome began examining her surroundings.

Taking a few seconds to breath, Kagome looked at the wooden boards that surrounded her, and at the opening on the top. Gathering her strength, Kagome started climbing up, gripping at the vines that grew on the wooden walls.

The teenage girl was amazed at what she saw when she climbed out of the well. The whole place was so … green. Kagome didn't think she ever saw any place where there was as much nature and trees as this place. Even the air felt good. Landing softly at the edge of the well, Kagome tried to figure out where she was. There was no visible landmark, and not person in sight. However, there was a small trail of smoke rising from between the trees, and Kagome could make out the faint outline of a small village. Figuring that was the safest way to go and get info, Kagome began walking in the direction of the smoke.

She didn't get to far when she felt a tugging sensation. Turning back, she saw the well glowing the same purplish pink color as the tunnel. Alarms rang in her head, and she began sprinting towards the village. As she neared the forest between the well and the village, she saw the silhouette of a familiar yet unfamiliar tree. Pausing in her steps, Kagome stared at the tree, feeling like she had seen it somewhere before. With a start, she realized that it was the Goshinboku, but the sacred tree looked smaller in stature. As she walked to the other side of the tree, she gasped.

A guy wearing a bright red hakama with an equally red haori was nailed to the tree by an arrow. His silver hair drifted in the wind, and two triangular ears peaked out from his head. Kagome wondered if he was cosplaying, but the arrow looked painful, and the person seemed to be sleeping or unconscious, so being the inquisitive person she is, Kagome walked up and tried to wake him, temporarily forgetting the monster she was running from in her curiosity.

"Hey! Hey! Are you okay?" She asked.

The person remained still, his eyes closed. Kagome frowned and she tried to pull on his ears, and slapped his face. If he was sleeping, he should wake up.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" She asked again.

No response. Growing a bit frustrated and worried, Kagome looked at the arrow piercing his chest and gave it a jerk. The arrow came out surprisingly with ease. Kagome blinked at the projectile in her hand before looking at the guy again. To her relief, he was stirring. As he opened his eyes, she noticed that they were an amazing shade of gold. It was certainly a nice contact color. As the guy focused on her, a look of shock crossed his face before it morphed into a snarl.

"Kikyo!" He screamed as he ran at her, claws stretching out in a motion to attack. Kagome jumped back in surprise. One, because the guy was attacking unprovoked, and two, those claws looked damn realistic. He must be a great cosplayer, Meiko would probably love to question him in his designs. Meiko, despite her fierce attitude and fighting skills, was a closet otaku. As such, she had dragged her young charge multiple times around town in what she dubbed as "otaku related activities" where Kagome was involuntarily taught the many skills and knowledge that came with otaku culture.

Dodging his swipe, Kagome easily grabbed a hold of his arm and twisted it behind his back, rendering him immobile. It took her considerable effort to keep him in that position as her wound was still bleeding from where she was stabbed by the monster earlier.

"Aack, let go of me! Kikyo you bitch! How dare you betray me and seal me on top of that!" He yelled.

Kagome frowned as she got increasingly irritated. Here she was trying to help someone off a tree, and they repay her kindness by trying to kill her? That is so not cool.

"I don't know who this Kikyo chick is, but you may want to get your eyes checked before you try to kill people." She hissed. The guy growled, not listening to her words.

"Gimme the jewel Kikyo. Once I become a demon I will give you a quick death." He struggled in her grasp, and with surprising strength, freed himself. Kagome huffed. She couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with the jewel. In fact, now that she had a second to think, she wasn't even sure how it was biologically possible to get it out of her body.

Wincing again at the pain from her wound, she scowled at her opponent.

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm not this Kikyo you are screaming about!" She yelled.

"Kikyo?" A new voice whispered.

It was an old lady wearing a miko's robe similar to the ones Mama Higurashi made Kagome wear during the formal festivals. She had heard the commotion and had come to see what happened. Kagome wanted to give a retort at the lady's misconception but didn't want to be rude to a stranger. Her opportunity to talk was cut short when the guy brashly screamed at the newly arrived miko.

"Granny, out stay out of this!" The loud-mouthed cosplayer yelled.

The miko gasped, "Inuyasha? How are you unsealed? What happened?"

Kagome watched in fascination as the triangular ears flattened atop the guy's head.

"Ain't none of your business." His eyes bled red. "I got a wench to kill." He turned towards Kagome and began attacking her again. Kagome resumed defending against him, gritting her teeth as each impact magnified the pain in her side.

Quickly noticing that the girl was not her sister, but someone with remarkable similarity, Kaede was very worried about the girl fighting the hanyou. Sister look-a-like or not, hanyous, being half youkai, was still inherently stronger than humans. She drew a subjugation necklace from her sleeves and threw it to the girl, hoping it will help her. Although only mikos and priests could use them, if the girl had any potential reiki at all, it would work.

"Here! Put these around his neck!"

Kagome caught the necklace in her hands, wondering how this string of beads was going to help her stop a psycho cosplayer. However, seeing that there wasn't anything she could think of that may be more effective, Kagome listened to the miko and tossed the necklace around the guy's head when she evaded his lunge. As the necklace settled around him, the guy didn't pause in his continued attacks. Kagome's heart sank. It didn't work.

"You have to say a command!" The old miko yelled from the edge of the forest. Kagome looked desperately at the guy attacking her. Her stamina was greatly depleted, and he was about to swing his claw down at her.

"SIIIITT!"

With a thud, the hanyou dropped to the ground.

"Wench! What did you do to me!?" He asked angrily. "What is this thing?" He attempted to pull the necklace off himself, but the beads remain firmly glued around his neck.

"SIT!"

Crash.

"Bitch, will you please –"

"SIT!"

Thud.

"Fuck this, you –"

"SIT!"

By now, the hanyou shaped crater was quite deep, and Kagome was catching her breath from the adrenaline rush earlier.

A crash resounded from the distance and Kagome raised her head at the sound. It was the same centipede lady from earlier. She looked even more ravenous, her mouth was wide open, showing her teeth, and her hair flew around wildly, as if they were alive searching for prey. Kaede gasped at the abomination. She would never be able to fully purify this; the youkai was simply too strong for her. A rustle behind her notified her of the villagers who had come due to the commotion. Kaede quickly motioned them back before they got hurt. Kagome on the other hand, had an idea.

"Hey? You alive?" she yelled down the human shaped hole.

"Nice of you to ask that when you are the one who put me here." Came a raspy retort.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Are you strong?"

"Ha, wench, who do you think I am? I'm invincible." The voice was stronger this time. Kagome smirked.

"Then prove it. If you are as strong as you say, beat the monster over there. If you think the challenge is too much however …" Kagome let her sentence hang in the air.

The effect was immediate. A red blur shot out from the hole.

"Who do you think you are talking to wench?" The hanyou remarked as he jumped out. Giving a quick look at the centipede, he growled menacingly and extended his claws.

"I'll show you who's strong." He muttered as he ran towards the oncoming attacker.

He flew towards the oncoming attacker with great ferocity. The centipede attempted to defend itself, but it's huge body was much slower than the hanyou's nimble form. After trading several blows, the centipede fell apart, its severed body parts falling across the ground. Blood flew on the impact, and Kagome winced as she was sprayed with a shower of blood when a stray piece fell near her.

"Kikyo." A voice growled.

Kagome turned to the now bloodied as she dubbed him, cosplayer guy behind her, a menacing glint in his eyes.

"Gimme the Jewel." He growled

Not at all perturbed by his appearance nor his tone, Kagome crossed her arms and stood stiffly facing the hanyou. "You know, when you ask for something, the first thing you do is to ask nicely, and the second thing is to GET THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU ARE ASKING RIGHT!" she shouted.

"You wench!" Inuyasha lunged at her.

Surprised at the sudden attack, Kagome was unable to move away in time due to her wound, and instead braced herself for impact.

Ching!

A sharp metallic sound rang in the air, and it seemed like the land itself was holding its breath. Kagome opened her eyes only to see a curtain of white hair in front of her.

Wasn't that the color of the cosplayer's hair? She was confused until the figure in front of her spoke with a decidedly deeper and softer baritone voice.

"So you have finally managed to free yourself Inuyasha. It has taken you quite a long time." The voice remarked snidely. "I was wondering what the racket my scout reported was, I am unsurprised to see you attack an unarmed, wounded, human wench. Can you go any lower? Or do you want to bring even more dishonor to the Taishou name other than your dirty blood?" The voice was sarcastic, cruel, and frigid as ice. Even Kagome was kind of feeling bad for the rude guy.

"Hey! You shouldn't talk to people like that." She nudged at the back in front of her. The figure whirled around, and Kagome found herself staring into two golden orbs, remarkably similar to the ones belonging to the cosplayer in red, but fundamentally different. To Kagome, they felt familiar, yet she could not recall anytime where she had seen eyes so beautiful yet so cruel and unfeeling.

"And who do you think you are to make this demand? You are just a lowly ningen." He whispered the words softly, but his words carried across clearly.

Kagome could feel her temper rise at the ningen comment. "Wow these people need to be taught manners." She muttered under her breath, unaware that the being in front of her could hear her every word.

"Manners? Know your station." The guy in front of her seemed to disappear and instead a glowing green whip swung at her location.

"Hey wench! Avoid it!" Inuyasha called, very familiar with the move.

Kagome gritted her teeth and narrowly dodged the first blow as it came down at her. Eyeing the scorched ground where the whip made impact, Kagome looked around to see where the new attacker was attacking from. As she looked franticly around, Inuyasha landed besides her. Kagome shifted into a defensive stance, eyes wary.

"Feh. I'm not going to attack you … for now. We've got bigger problems to work with." He muttered. Kagome frowned slightly, but relaxed minutely.

"You can just stay out of my way, and I'll handle it and deal with you when I'm done. He's up in the air, so try to avoid his attacks when you see them."

Kagome was irked at the first part of Inuyasha's comment, but surprised at the later. How can someone be up in the air? She scanned the sky, and to her amazement, Inuyasha was correct. The familiar yet unfamiliar stranger was floating on what seemed like clouds.

"You have got to be kidding me." She whispered to herself.

Inuyasha, not minding her, had already engaged in a battle overhead. Kagome watched in awe as the two battle. Although they both had great flexibility, Inuyasha's stance was rough, and relied on brute strength while the other one's stance was like a dance. There was no wasted movement, everything done cleanly and precisely. Too entranced in the battle, and not paying attention to her surroundings, Kagome did not see the whip come at her until it was too late. The battle had moved closer to her position. The whip had meant to be for Inuyasha, but he dodged it, unaware Kagome was behind him.

A blinding light flashed in the clearing and both fighters were temporarily blinded. When they had regained their senses, Inuyasha stared in bewilderment. Where he was expecting scorched ground, he saw Kagome's huddled form glowing a soft pink. She was unconscious. There seemed to have been a barrier around her because the girl was alive, and unscathed while besides her a few feet away, the ground was scorched from the blast of the attack.

His opponent landed near the girl, and made the motion to grab her, only to be repelled by a strong force. Looking at his burnt hand, the figure stared down at the girl with something akin to mild interest.

"Hnn."

Without a word, he summoned his clouds and left for the sky, leaving Inuyasha to wonder why he was even here in the first place. Not bothering to dwell on the thought, he stalked towards the fallen form of the girl.

"Halt Hanyou!" Kaede, who had been watching the exchange from the trees stepped between him and the girl. She had wanted to help badly. But her powers were weak, and her age didn't allow her the luxury of being able to help. During the battle, she could only sit by silently and watch, praying for the best. Now, that the girl was unconscious, the least she could do was to protect her from the mislead anger of her sister's former lover.

"Get out of my way grandma!" Inuyasha called harshly.

"Inuyasha, think about it. She is not going to be of any use to you dead or unconscious. Let me tend to her wounds, and you can ask your question later." Kaede tried to reason.

"Keh. I don't need any questions. I just need the jewel." He retorted.

"And how are you so sure she has it?" Kaede countered.

"She's Kikyo dammit!" Inuyasha roared, stalking towards the old miko.

"She is not Kikyo." Kaede called out. "My sister has been dead for 50 years."

Inuyasha faltered in his steps. Kikyo, dead? Impossible! Ignoring the old miko's protest, He pushed her aside to look at the fallen girl. His eyes widened when he realized that it really wasn't Kikyo, but someone who looked a lot like her. He had forgotten. Kikyo was mortal, and mortal aged. It wouldn't make sense for Kikyo to look like this after all this time. He silently stood up and walked away.

Kaede watched his retreating back with a heavy heart. She had been a young girl when her sister passed, and only knew the general gist of the situation. But with her current years of experience, she could tell that the figure walking away had not been able to let go. Giving a sigh, Kaede began tending to the girl's unconscious form and prepared to move her to the village. She subtly motioned to the villagers who were hiding earlier. Inuyasha would be back she knew, if not for answers from the girl, it would be answers from her.

A/N: *avoids thrown daggers* Hey guys, finally an update… though I have to admit it is late. I had this chapter written, or at least partially done since January but I wasn't satisfied to the point where I wanted to post it. Because for obvious reasons, some very important events happened in this chapter and I wanted to portray each character correctly. Like seriously, if you were a modern girl thrown back into the feudal times (but didn't know it yet) you will think everyone is crazy, or if you are an otaku like me, a cosplayer. It was an amusing thought, so I incorporated it in. Anyways, hope you enjoy and please R&R.