Introduction: I've recently had a bit of writer's block with another story I've been working on for the past couple of months, so I decided to take a shot at this little project. This is a story I've been mulling over a bit off and on ever since watching the first season of the Yashahime anime. Watching that series did make me nostalgic for the original InuYasha series, and I quickly became a huge fan of Moroha, but the writing for the Yashahime anime is almost as bad as some of the movies run on Mystery Science Theater 3000!

The fan fiction writer in me really wanted to make an attempt at a better version of the series, so after doing some long overdue research into Japanese folklore I came up with the idea for what is likely to be an epic trilogy. So submitted for your approval is a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi served with a dash of romance and a small dollop of horror, and a side of comedy.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, or by extension Yashahime.

Chapter 1: The Well

She was flying through a tunnel of red light, her hand holding tightly to the hand of her younger sister, Setsuna. Setsuna's other hand meanwhile was grasping the hand of a dark-haired girl who's name she could not remember for whatever reason. Where the tunnel was pulling them she did not know, but her grip was starting to loosen. Setsuna's hand was starting to slip. She tried to pull Setsuna and the other girl closer, but in doing so Setsuna and the other girl flew from her grasp. In a matter of seconds Setsuna and the other girl were flying away from her down the tunnel at an incredible speed. All she could do was call out to them as they vanished from sight.

Towa Higurashi awoke with a gasp to find the bedroom ceiling above her. The sixteen-year-old groaned as she sat up and replayed the last few moments of the dream in her head, not that she needed to review it. Towa couldn't count how many times she had experienced the dream. It was a recurring dream she had as far back as she could remember. When she was younger Towa would have the dream every night, but as time went by and she got older the occurrences of the dream lessened.

Every now and then though the dream would come again. Towa never knew what the trigger for it was. It seemed as though the dream happened at random. The only thing Towa was certain about was that the dream was a memory, though her certainty of this had waned over the years. After all, the setting of the dream was so unreal. The fact was Towa could remember very little of her early childhood before being found on the streets of Tokyo by her adoptive father, Sota Higurashi.

Towa decided to push the dream from her mind and got out of bed to start another day. She knew dwelling on what may or may not be a false memory would do her no good. Towa went over to the open suitcase next to the closet door to grab a fresh shirt. For the time being Towa and her younger foster sister, Mei were staying at the home of her adoptive grandmother and great-grandfather while her parents went on a trip overseas. Meanwhile Towa had only just started attending yet another new school, so until her family came back at the end of the month she was staying in the bedroom that once belonged to her Aunt Kagome.

Towa had never met her aunt. The family story was Kagome had gotten married right out of high school and went to live with her husband, though whenever Towa asked where Kagome and her husband lived the family would always give her a vague answer. All they would ever say was the couple lived out in the country. Eventually Towa gave up asking altogether, but she always wanted to meet her Aunt Kagome because of some of the stories the family told about her. She seemed like an amazing woman.

After almost half an hour, Towa was at her current high school, St. Gabriel's High School for Girls. She had transferred here less than a month ago after having forced to leave her previous high school. Of course this sort of thing was nothing new for Towa. She had been having to transfer from school to school for her entire academic life. Most times the transfers were triggered due to getting into fights, though all of those fights had been to defend herself or another student from bullies and hooligans. Other transfers happened because the faculty objected to the way Towa looked, like her naturally silver hair. Once a principal had kindly asked Towa's foster father to have her dye her hair black, which resulted in Sota nearly punching the man in the face.

Towa found she was an outsider wherever she went for some reason or another, and this high school looked like it would be no exception. Already some of the faculty objected to Towa's insistence on wearing a white boys' uniform in place of the standard black girls' uniform of the school. Thankfully much of the student body seemed to view Towa in a more positive light. As Towa walked into the building, she was greeted by the now usual sight of girls squealing and whispering to one another about her as she passed. In the short time she had been attending St. Gabriel's Towa had amassed a large group of female admirers.

Many of the other students had even nicknamed Towa the Prince of St. Gabriel's. This sort of thing was nothing new to Towa either though. Towa had amassed a large number of groupies at a couple of the other schools she had been to as well. The only thing was these girls had always been afraid to approach Towa due partly to her looks and partly to her reputation of getting into brawls and having to transfer repeatedly. Towa had a lot of fans, but she hardly had any friends.

Upon reaching her shoe locker, Towa found a pink envelope with her name on the back stuffed inside it. The envelope was sealed with a red heart sticker. She blushed as she examined the envelope because she knew it could only contain one thing, it was a love letter. Towa had experienced this only twice before and it always weirded her out, so she did what she did during those two previous times and stuffed it in her bag without opening it. She would dispose of the letter at a later time after school, and there was no way she was going to read it.

A little later Towa spent those few brief minutes before home room gazing out the window by her desk and pondering her life while her fellow students talked amongst themselves in their little groups. As soon as the teacher entered the room, all of the students got to their seats and turned their eyes front. Immediately Towa noticed there was someone standing next to the teacher; a girl with skin like porcelain and a stunningly beautiful face. She had long shimmering dark hair and eyes like opals. Towa was stunned by this girl's sheer beauty, and at the same time she found something familiar about her.

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Suzumi Yoshina," the teacher spoke. "She's transferring to our class starting today."

Suzumi bowed to the other students. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Okay, Ms. Yoshina if you'll take a seat, we can get into the morning announcements," the teacher continued. "I believe there's a desk open behind Ms. Higurashi."

Towa's eyes followed Suzumi as she headed for the desk in question. A few seconds later the teacher began his announcements, but Towa didn't hear a single word he said. Her mind was trying to figure out why Suzumi captivated her so, and why she seemed so familiar to her.

The afternoon sun was shining through the window by Towa's desk as classes came to an end for the day. She was about to get up to leave when she saw Suzumi standing next to her desk.

"Excuse me, you're Towa Higurashi, right?" Suzumi asked.

"Yeah?" Towa responded. "Do you want my autograph or something?"

Suzumi chuckled. "No. I have noticed that you seem to have a lot of fans around here though."

"Yeah." Towa then gasped and stood up from her chair. "Wait, you aren't the one who put that love letter in my locker, are you?"

"What? No!" Suzumi responded, blushing.

Towa let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry. So…what exactly do you want then?"

Suzumi quickly composed herself. "I was curious to know if you were related in any way to the family that runs the Higurashi Shrine."

"Oh! Yeah, my great-grandfather runs the place. Why are you so interested in my family's shrine?"

"Well I'm very curious about it because I've heard a lot of legends about the place from friends."

Towa rubbed the back of her head. "I'm guessing you've probably heard a lot of the stories my great-grandfather put out. I hate to tell ya this, but pretty much all of those stories are a load of junk."

"I'd still like to check out the place. Perhaps you could take me there? Maybe even give me a tour?"

"I'd be happy to show you around. As it happens, I'm staying at the shrine while my parents are away on a trip."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

Towa and Suzumi left school together, which caused all of the Towa groupies they passed to whisper wild gossip about them in their wake. Later after a somewhat lengthy bus ride through the city, the two were walking down the sidewalk towards the Higurashi Shrine.

"I couldn't help but notice how we stirred up some real talk as we left school," Suzumi remarked.

Towa nodded. "I'm used to it."

"Does it flatter you to have so many fans?"

"A little, but at the same time it reminds me I'm kind of a freak."

"You are a little out of the ordinary but I'd hardly call you a freak."

Towa smiled at her. "Thanks. You're one of the few people who thinks so. But the truth is I'm just not normal, and because I'm not normal I'm an outcast pretty much wherever I go." She sighed and looked up at the sky. "Sometimes I think I just don't belong in this world."

Before Suzumi could respond the two of them heard a cry from further down the sidewalk. The two looked and saw two hooligans in black leather jackets standing over a scrawny young man about Towa and Suzumi's age. The young man had neatly cut dark hair and wore glasses with oval-shaped frames. His outfit consisted of a green sweater vest over a long-sleeved white shirt with a red bowtie, a pair of tan slacks and polished black shoes. On the ground next to the young man were two large black bags.

"Damn! Kazuki!" Towa called as she ran to the scrawny young man's rescue.

As the two goons advanced on the young man known as Kazuki, Towa got in front of him. The two hooligans were both larger than Towa, but she was unafraid.

"What the hell do you want?" One of the two hooligans asked.

"Leave him alone!" Towa ordered.

"Not until he apologizes," the second hooligan responded.

"All I did was bump into one of you accidentally!" Kazuki responded.

"Yeah! And you scuffed my brand new jacket because of it!" The second hooligan responded. "Now ya gotta pay for it!"

"Hey, I bet if we sell off this nerd's computer we could get a ton of money," the first hooligan pointed out.

The second hooligan smiled. "Not a bad idea. Hand over the computer twerp and we'll forget this whole thing."

"No way am I handing over my baby to a pair of neanderthals like you!" Kazuki responded.

"What'd you call us?" The first hooligan asked.

"Back off!" Towa ordered.

"Or what?" The first hooligan asked. "You wanna make somethin' of it? Huh?"

Towa responded by punching the hooligan hard in the gut, causing him to double over. Before he could recover she hit him with a punch to the face, knocking him to the ground. The second hooligan charged at her, but she effortlessly avoided his fist and grabbed his arm. With one fluid motion Towa flipped the hooligan over her head and onto his back. He hit the pavement hard. After a moment both hooligans recovered and were about to mount a counter attack but froze.

Towa was glaring down at them with eyes like those of a savage beast. On an instinctual level the goons knew that Towa could tear them to shreds easily. Knowing they didn't stand a chance, the hooligans ran away screaming. Once the goons were gone, Towa let out a heavy sigh.

"My hero," Kazuki spoke as he got to his feet and picked up his bags.

"You okay Kazuki?" Towa asked.

"Yeah. Though I'm not sure I would've been if you hadn't shown up when you did. Thanks."

"Um," Suzumi spoke, getting the other two's attention.

"Oh! Yoshina-chan. Sorry you had to see that."

"It's fine. And please call me Suzumi."

"I'm Kazuki Tachibana," the spectacled young man spoke, bowing to Suzumi. "Towa's an old friend of mine."

"Kazuki's family lives just down the street from my great grandfather's shrine. We used to go to the same school too. In fact he's the first person I ever protected from a bully."

"I see," Suzumi responded. "It's a shame you couldn't keep going to the same school."

"Well, even if things had worked out differently we still wouldn't be going to the same school," Kazuki revealed. "I'm actually a university student."

"What? But aren't you about the same age as us?" Suzumi asked, stunned.

"He is, but Kazuki's a super genius," Towa revealed. "He's crazy good at math."

"Math, computer science, engineering," Kazuki interjected. "I also like to dabble a little bit in chemistry and physics."

"Anyway, he was so smart they let him take collage entrance exams at the end of junior high," Towa continued. "He and I have stayed in touch though after I had to change schools for the first time. He's probably the only real friend I have."

"So Towa, are you going to introduce me to your lovely companion?" Kazuki asked.

"Oh! Right, Kazuki, this is Suzumi Yoshina. She just transferred into my class today. Apparently she heard some of the stories about my family's shrine and wanted to check them out."

Kazuki adjusted his glasses. "I see. I hate to disappoint you Ms., but the Higurashi Shrine is more of a tourist trap. No offense Towa."

"None taken."

"Well I'd like to make that judgment for myself," Suzumi responded, smiling.

Towa nodded and the three continued onward to the shrine. The first place they went after climbing up the steep steps to the gate was the house. As soon as she got into the house Towa found a new left by her grandmother. Apparently her grandmother had some errands to run while her great grandfather had to go out and perform an exorcism, and Mei had been invited to spend the night over at a friend's. Towa realized it would probably be a few hours before her grandmother and great grandfather returned.

After offering Suzumi and Kazuki something to drink, Towa went up to her temporary room to get something. A few moments later she came back down the stairs with a katana strapped to her back.

"What's with the sword?" Suzumi asked.

Towa smiled. "Believe it or not, but this is the famous Kikujumonji. It once belonged to a shogun long ago. According to my great-grandfather, the shogun gave it to one of my ancestors in gratitude for exorcizing a terrible demon from his castle."

"And you're wearing it because…?"

"Oh, I just like to mess with it sometimes when I'm here. Anyway, what do you want me to show you first?"

"Well what I want to see most is the Bone Eater's Well."

Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "The well in the dusty old shrine out in the yard? Really?"

Suzumi nodded. "I've heard the most remarkable things about it.""

Towa shrugged her shoulders. "Well, okay. But I should tell you it's really not much to look at."

"I'll make my own judgments when I see it," Suzumi replied, smiling.

The three ventured out into the yard and headed towards the old wooden shrine Kazuki had been talking about. They had just gotten to the door when three red lights flashed into existence a few feet away. The lights soon faded and standing in the yard were five people dressed in what appeared to be black and red suits of futuristic samurai armor. Each of the warriors wore a mask resembling the face of a fox. All five pulled out what looked like ray guns of some sort from the holsters hanging at their hips and began to advance on the trio.

"Damn!" Suzumi cursed. "They found me!"

"What's going on?" Towa asked.

Kazuki picked up a large rock he found on the ground and threw it at the soldiers. The rock knocked off the mask of the soldier taking up the lead, revealing the face underneath. The face belonged to a snarling oni with purple skin, large teeth and one yellow eye. The other eye was some sort of red cybernetic implant.

"Oh shit!" Kazuki screamed.

"Quickly! Into the shrine!" Suzumi told the others as she tore open the doors of the structure.

With only a few seconds to think, Towa and Kazuki followed Suzumi inside. Once Kazuki shut and latched the doors, Suzumi placed some sort of spell scroll on the doors. The moment she did the doors flashed with a blue light. Soon after Towa and Kazuki heard what sounded like explosions coming from the other side.

"That'll hold them off for a minute or two," Suzumi told the other as she opened her bag. "Hopefully just enough time for us to escape."

"Suzumi, would you mind explaining what's happening here?" Towa asked.

"No time!" Suzumi responded as she pulled out a thin silver wand with a purple gem at the end.

Suzumi pointed the wand at the old wooden well and chanted some sort of spell. A beam of purple light shot from the gem at the end of the wand and struck the well's base. Suddenly the well's lid burst off its hinges and a ray of blue light shot from the well. Suzumi quickly tucked her wand away as she ran for the well. She then dove into the light before Towa and Kazuki could stop her.

Out of fear for Suzumi's safety, Towa ran to the well and dove into the light after her. Kazuki took one last look at the door to the shrine before running to the well and diving into the light after them. He decided whatever was at the bottom of the glowing well had to be safer than what was after them. As soon as Kazuki jumped into the well the light coming from it was cut off like someone turning off a faucet. The five soldiers from outside finally broke into the shrine only to find it empty.

Meanwhile Towa and the others were falling downward through a seemingly endless tunnel of purple-blue light. The sight reminded Towa of her recurring dream. It was almost identical to what she had experienced. She began to wonder again if her dream really was a childhood memory, though she didn't wonder for long. A few seconds later she had passed out.

Author's Note: I went ahead and posted the second chapter of this story as well since I thought this chapter alone wasn't enough of a proper pilot, so if you like what little you've seen so far go ahead and continue on.