"You were right, Yosho, this is nice. I needed to get away from home for a while," Ryoko said wistfully, her hair streaming out the open window as Tenchi's grandfather drove the car.

The gray-haired man smiled. "I thought you might. I know how hard it has been on you, lately. But you shouldn't call me 'Yosho'; I am Katsuhito Masaki in this world."

He was traveling to a small shrine where there had been complaints about fraudulent relics and magical artifacts being sold. He was coming to investigate, as people were doubting his own shrine's validity due to this one's priest's failure to produce promised results.

The situation at home had become uncomfortable in the last year. Ryoko and Ayeka had become even worse in their bickering over Tenchi two years ago, so much so that at the beginning of last year, Tenchi had gone off to high school in Tokyo to get away from them. It had been conveniently timed, as Sasami was old enough that she needed to go off to Middle School-- her education under private tutors on Jurai had been interrupted when she had accompanied her older sister on their search for their half-brother-- and she had secretly taken entrance exams to various schools, not wanting to tell the family about it. She had scored so high on them that every school in Japan had flooded the shrine with letters begging her to attend; the best by far was in Tokyo. Tenchi had agreed to take care of her while they were in the city.

Unfortunately for the girls left behind, Sasami had begun developing into the beauty promised by Tsunami's appearance, and her mental and emotional maturity were developing as well. By the time they returned to the Shrine for Summer Break, Tenchi's attitude towards Sasami had shifted from that of a big brother to that of a boyfriend, and she returned the feelings. Ayeka and Ryoko got even worse once they realized this, driving the young couple to escape back to Tokyo as soon as the school year re- started.

Both then took it into their heads to go to school in Tokyo with Tenchi, but they did so abominably on their entrance exams that they had begged Washu to find a way to get them in anyway. Washu had, of course, refused. After a while, those two had stopped fighting--with the object of their squabbles now claimed, it had become pointless--and had instead become friends of a sort, commiserating together in the hot spring floating over the pond, sharing gallons of sake.

Eventually, Washu, Mihoshi, and Katsuhito had managed to talk Ayeka out of her funk, and she had even entertained some hopes of winning Tenchi anyway. They had expected this to spark Ryoko back into her old habit of fighting Ayeka over the Juraian prince, but the gold-eyed demon had instead just sunk deeper into her depression.

It was in a last, desperate effort to pull her out of this that Katsuhito had asked her to come along on this trip. So far, it seemed to be working. She seemed more like a young woman now than she had in months. She was still unnaturally peaceful for Ryoko, but at least she wasn't moping anymore.

Ryoko, meanwhile, was just enjoying the new experience of riding in a car--funny that, in the five years she had been on Earth, she'd never ridden in one; then again, she has her own means of getting around--and trying to forget about Tenchi for a little while.

They were just ten minutes away from their destination when she heard it. She had pulled her head back in the car and closed the window when her sharp ears heard a rustling in the back seat. "Did you hear that?" she asked the old man behind the wheel.

Katsuhito was about to shake his head no when he did hear it. "Wait, yes, I heard it. I can't stop the car here, why don't you phase back there and find out what it is?" Ryoko did just that, and, after rummaging around in the packing that they had for luggage on this trip, she heard another sound: a crunching, followed by a contented mew. Following the sound, she discovered a small gray ball of fur eating a carrot.

"Ryo-ohki! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, slightly angry. She hadn't given her starship permission to come along. The cabbit looked up at her, and offered her the remains of the carrot, as if apologizing. "Well, we're almost to the shrine, so there's no point in taking you back. I guess you'll just have to come along, after all. Just try to stay out of trouble."

"We have a stowaway, do we?" asked Katsuhito.

Ryoko laughed as she teleported back into her seat and re-buckled, holding the cabbit in her lap. "Yep, I suppose she just wanted to come along with us."

"I think she was worried about you. She seems much happier now than she has in months; it must be that you're finally relaxing a bit."

Ryoko just gave a small chortle, and petted Ryo-ohki.

* * *

"Grampa! Grampa! There's another priest here to see you!" Sota shouted as he ran into the temple house. Ryo-ohki followed close behind him, still in cabbit form.

Five minutes later, everyone was in the living room; Sota's mother had put out a tray of carrots, which Ryo-ohki was happily munching. Sota was oohing and ahhing over the strange looking rabbit, but the family was showing remarkably little interest in the oddness of Ryoko and Ryo-ohki; Sota's interest was just in the fact that Ryo-ohki was a cute animal. They hadn't even looked twice at Ryoko's golden eyes. She was nonplussed by this, but nevertheless relieved.

"So, what brings you to our shrine?" the old priest asked.

"I have just heard so much about you and your artifacts that I had to come see everything for myself," Katsuhito replied smoothly. "Perhaps we could benefit from an exchange of knowledge."

The old priest was obviously flattered. "Yes, our techniques have been handed down for generations. They are guaranteed to work. I'd be happy to show you around, if you like."

"Yes, I think that would be good," said Katsuhito, smiling, his glasses reflecting white glare.

The two old men walked out, the old priest chatting amiably about his shrine. Sota looked up at Ryoko. "Can I play with your rabbit outside? Huh? Please?" he asked.

"Sure. If it's alright with your mother," responded Ryoko with a smile, looking at his mother.

"Can I, Mom?"

His mother nodded. Ryo-ohki finished the last of the carrots and followed Sota out of the room.

When they were alone, the mother spoke to Ryoko. "I'm sorry my daughter Kagome isn't here to meet you. You might get along quite well with her."

"That's okay, ma'am," said Ryoko, surprising herself with the polite tone of her voice, "I'm just here with Katsuhito on sort of a vacation. I needed to get away."

The two women chatted amiably for about half an hour, until they were interrupted by Sota running into the room, yelling, "Momma! The rabbit fell into the Bone-Eater's well! And it's not coming out!"

Ryoko looked at them, and in a deathly calm voice, asked, "What is the Bone-Eater's well?"

Mother and son exchanged looks. "Legend says that the bones of defeated monsters were thrown into the well, and, a few days later, they would be gone," explained the mother. "I'll just go out there and look for your rabbit. It's not going anywhere." Her face indicated that she wasn't sure of her own words.

"I'll go with you," said Ryoko.

"That's not necessary; Sota can keep you company."

"Listen, Lady," snapped Ryoko, in a tone that Ayeka would have been very familiar with, "I'm not sure what you're trying to pull here, but Ryo- ohki is mine, and if something's happened to her, I want to know what!"

"Very well... Come with us." Sota and his mother left the room. Ryoko followed. They went over to the old temple shrine building. Inside was a square shaft with a three-foot high barrier surrounding it. Sota's mother held a flashlight over the edge, illuminating the well to the floor. It was completely empty. Ryoko tried to sense the presence of her servant, but couldn't. She couldn't summon her either. "Ryo-ohki! Where are you?" she tried calling her.

Sota looked down at the bottom of the well. He turned to his mother and asked in a puzzled, and slightly awed, tone, "Do you think she could have gone through?"

Ryoko didn't like the sound of that. Turning her most threatening look on the pair, she said, "What do you mean, 'gone through'?"

* * *

Ryo-ohki fell into the hole, and was briefly disoriented, so couldn't tell which way was up to start flying. She was so dizzy that the darkness of the hole seemed streaked with blue. She struck bottom rather hard, sat up, shook her little fuzzy head, and looked around. The hole was a square with wooden walls and floor. Having determined that it was empty except for her, she levitated up and out of it. What she saw so shocked her that she almost fell out of the air.

"Meow?" she queried of the world around her, which had inexplicably changed. The hole she had fallen into had been inside a building. The three foot high wall surrounding the hole was now in the middle of a forest, with vines climbing the wall. She hovered above the level of the ground-covering foliage for a while, looking around and trying to figure out what had happened.

Hearing a sound in the distance, she remembered that there were predators that would think a small furry animal was just a tasty snack. She descended to the ground and assumed her humanoid child form, which she had been slowly aging as she gained maturity and knowledge. She now looked to be about ten, though still very fuzzy, with long, spiky hair with white streaks, and had a vocabulary to match.

Wandering away from the well, Ryo-ohki began looking around for some sign of where she might be. Nothing looked particularly familiar. Worse still, there were no carrots in sight. She was so busy lamenting this last fact that she almost missed one feature that she recognized: there was a tree that looked familiar. In fact, now that she thought about it, it looked like the sacred tree that the boy Sota had shown her. This was the only thing familiar besides the well out of which she'd flown. Hoping to use those two things as references to find her way back, she wandered around a bit further. Unfortunately, it wasn't much help, as everything else seemed to have changed.

Beginning to be worried and afraid that she might not find her way back home, she did what most small children would: she sat down and cried. Her own sobbing almost made her sharp ears miss the sound: something was moving around in the foliage. "Meow?" she queried, before realizing that her crying may have attracted a predator.

She heard the rustling again, and isolated it to be coming from a specific bush. Standing up, she walked over to examine it. She fell backwards and turned back into cabbit form when a large, glowing blue ball with large googley eyes and a huge fanged maw exploded from the bush and roared! She cowered for a moment before realizing two things: first, that she could shift to her adult humanoid form, which has energy blast attacks (or, if really hard-pressed, to battleship form); second, that the glowing ball wasn't doing anything except roaring and hovering.

In fact, just as she was about to upshift to adult humanoid form, the ball stopped roaring, looked around, and focused its eyes on the little cabbit. Suddenly, it vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a small boy in blue pantaloons with pointy shoes, fox ears and a fuzzy tail hovering where it had been. The boy descended to the ground and walked over to the cabbit.

* * *

Shippo was feeling a little embarrassed. He'd used his illusions to frighten a little animal, not some dangerous youkai. Then again, he'd never seen such a strange looking animal before; maybe it was a youkai after all. Oh, well, something that small wasn't likely to be dangerous. Suddenly, it popped much like the effect when one of his illusions ended, and the little kitsune youkai was so startled that he fell on his backside. He found himself looking up at a fuzzy, strange looking girl about his own age. She must be a youkai, after all! He scrambled to his feet quickly and assumed a defensive posture.

The girl tilted her head curiously, and said, "Hello?" Somehow, the way she said it made Shippo think of the sound a cat makes. Then, looking as if she was remembering something she had forgotten, she first gave a polite bow, then held out her hand in a strange gesture--one that Shippo remembered Kagome using when introducing herself to new people.

Relaxing slightly, Shippo decided that this youkai was probably as harmless as himself. Still not trusting her much, though, he didn't take her outstretched hand as he thought Kagome had indicated was proper. Instead, he questioned her with as much authority as he could muster (not much, but he thought it was impressive), "Who are you?"

The girl looked a bit confused, and retracted her hand. Then she smiled--a rather endearing effect in her furry face--and answered haltingly, "My name is Ryo-ohki. Who are you?"

Rather than answering just yet, Shippo asked another question, "What are you?"

"I am Ryo-ohki," responded the girl, looking puzzled at the question.

"What kind of youkai are you?" clarified the kitsune boy.

Ryo-ohki looked completely baffled. Looking pleadingly at him, she questioned, "Meow?"

"I know you're a youkai; I saw you shapeshift. What kind are you? I'm a kitsune."

"What is a ... 'youkai'?"

That question set him back; everyone knew what youkai were, didn't they? Well, if he wanted an answer, he'd better try to explain. Sitting back on his tail, he began, "Well, um... Youkai are demons, sort of... or spirits... Well, we are creatures that have greater power than mere mortals. You don't look human, and you changed shape. What are you?"

After a moment of intense concentration, she smiled, seeming proud that she had come up with an answer. "I'm a cabbit!"

Shippo sweatdropped. "A cabbit?" he asked, slightly skeptical.

"Mm-hm!" she nodded. Then, she illustrated her point by popping into the form of a small, gray rabbit with cat-like fur that looked up at the kitsune and commenting, "Meow." She then transformed back into the girl- child form.

"I've never heard of a 'cabbit'. Where did you come from?" The girl's response took Shippo by surprise. Her eyes welled up with tears and she began to cry. "What's wrong? Did some other youkai kill your family?" He remembered his own condition after his father was killed.

Ryo-ohki managed to choke out between sniffles, "N-no..sniff I sob 'm ... l-lost. wipe nose, sniffle I c-can't f-find my w-way sniff home!"

Feeling sorry for the youkai girl, who suddenly seemed even younger than he was, Shippo decided to try to help her. Standing up, he offered her his hand to stand herself. "C'mon. I bet Kaede-bachan will be able to help you. I'll take you to the village."

Her tears having finally stopped, Ryo-ohki managed a small smile. "Do you really think so?"

"Sure. She's very smart." The fox-boy began walking.

"Thank you very much for helping me." The cabbit-girl followed.

* * *

The small green figure leaned into the staff of heads, and smiled happily. "Lord Sesshoumaru will be so pleased with Jaken!" Jumping silently from tree to tree, he followed the kitsune youkai that had made friends with Lord Sesshoumaru's hanyou brother. The brat seemed to have made a friend, as well. Oh, well, a human hostage should be useful as well; maybe it could be used to convince the village to cooperate...

But first, he would have to catch them. Speeding up, he got to the edge of the forest five minutes ahead of the two children. By the time they got there, he was ready. Their startled screams as they fell into his pit trap were music to his ears. He was so thrilled with the impending success of his plan that, as he stood at the edge of the pit, he couldn't help but laugh maniacally.

"Kitsune-bi!" shouted the fox-youkai, sending a jet of foxfire streaking towards the green youkai. Jaken easily blocked it with his staff. Still laughing, he pulled a strip of blue paper out of his sleeve and threw it at the boy. It struck him on the forehead and stuck.

Looking confused, the little youkai looked cross-eyed at the paper, and tried to reach up and remove it; he found that it stuck fast. Looking angry, he shouted "Kitsune-bi!" again. Nothing happened.

"Ha ha ha!" laughed Jaken, "You can't get that off! It's a youkai- sealing ward. Your powers are useless until I remove it!"

Suddenly, the girl who was with the fox-boy levitated up out of the pit. Jaken jumped backwards in startlement. Not willing to allow this unexpected development ruin his plan, he regained his composure quickly. Pulling out another of the sealing wards, he said, "So, you're a youkai, too? Here's one for you then..." The blue ward struck Ryo-ohki on the forehead, causing her to fall to the bottom of the pit, her powers sealed.

"Meow!?" came the plaintive and worried cry. Jaken laughed in victory.

* * *

Sota's mother looked nervous. Ryoko was about to ask again, a bit more forcefully, when she spoke. "This well... it is a portal. It sends those with power through to the past. My daughter spends much time back there, seeking the pieces of the Shikon no Tama with a hanyou named Inu Yasha. She gets back and forth because she carries the shards of the Tama with her. I don't see how your pet could have gotten through."

Unfortunately, Ryoko could see all too clearly. Her pet quite probably had more power than she did at that point. She only had one of her gems, so was at only one third of her potential power. Looking down the well, then back at the woman, Ryoko asked, "How does it work?"

"Um, you just sort of go down, and then you are on the other side." Surprisingly, it was Sota that answered.

That was all that Ryoko needed to hear. She didn't even bother to fly, but instead vaulted over the wall surrounding the well, falling all the way to the bottom. Once she landed, she looked around, not sure what to expect. After a few seconds, she flew straight up and out. She found Sota and his mother waiting for her. "Funny, this doesn't look like the past."

"Obviously, you don't have enough power to activate the well," said a familiar voice. Ryoko turned towards the door to see Katsuhito standing there, the local priest standing in front of him, staring wide-eyed at the woman hovering over the well.

"Lord Katsuhito," Ryoko began in her most polite, yet desperate voice, "Ryo-ohki fell down the well, and hasn't come back. I can't sense her anywhere! Help me, please!"

"You're going to need your other two gems. That's the only way you're going to be able to get through."

Ryoko nodded, her expression serious. She flickered out, teleporting away, leaving Katsuhito to explain their conversation to the old Priest and his less-than-stunned-family.

* * *

It took her the better part of an hour to fly to Tokyo, and another fifteen minutes to find Tenchi's apartment there. When she did, she actually remembered to do the polite thing, and knock on the front door. Unfortunately, it seemed that no one was home. Then she remembered: Tenchi and Sasami were probably both still in school. Well, it was unlikely that she would be able to find them, and even less likely that they would be pleased to see her if she interrupted their school. Since she needed Tenchi's help, she would wait; no matter that Ryo-ohki could be in danger every second she was alone in the past. She phased through the door after checking to be sure no one was looking; going to their living room, she sat down to wait.

It was almost a half hour later that the couple came home. Sasami came bouncing in, as excited as ever, and Tenchi was smiling behind her at her exuberance. She froze when she saw Ryoko, who stood up from the couch to greet them.

"Oh! Hello, Ryoko!" said Sasami, sounding a bit concerned that she was here. "Is something wrong?"

"Ryoko's here?!?" exclaimed Tenchi.

Ryoko walked into the entry hall, where she could see both of them. "Hello, Sasami, Tenchi," she said, softly, with a slightly sad smile. "Tenchi, I need something from you."

"Wh- what is it, Ryoko?" asked the boy, nervously.

"Ryo-ohki's in trouble. I need the rest of my gems to rescue her. Please, Tenchi, give them to me. I promise not to trouble you further," pleaded the blue-gray haired woman.

Tenchi still looked rather nervous about her being here--who could blame him, given her usual behavior around him? However, it seemed to be sinking in to him that she wasn't trying to hit on him or attack him. She was simply begging. Wait--Ryoko, begging?

Sasami, meanwhile, had focused on a different point of Ryoko's speech. "Ryo-ohki's in trouble? Oh, dear! Tenchi, you have to help her!"

The poor confused boy did the only logical thing: he nodded agreement. Pulling the Master Key out of his uniform, he held it out towards Ryoko. Ryoko stepped up and placed her hands on it. Tenchi concentrated, and the two gems remaining in the Key were transferred to the gold-eyed demon.

Red energy crackled along her body as she regained her full power. "Thank you, Tenchi," she said, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his cheek, a single tear running down her face. Turning to Sasami, she said, "Take care of him, little Sasami."

Sasami smiled. "I will, Ryoko. Thanks. Go save Ryo-ohki, okay?"

Ryoko nodded, and then vanished.





Author's Note: I was rereading my story and noticed that the end of this chapter had been cut off. Here it is in its entirety. Then, today, I noticed that the formatting on this and the 5th chapter as I had uploaded them were also off, so I fixed that as well.