Chapter 1: Mistakes

He waited impatiently by the well, claws clicking with annoyance against the ancient stone. 'Where was she?' It had been almost a week since the young dark-haired woman had looked at him with anger and disappointment in her eyes. They had stood like that for a matter of moments in uncomfortable silence, and deep down he knew that something between them had shattered, though at the time he couldn't say what. Then, with a finality that pained both of them, she whispered, "Don't follow me," before whirling with a violent swish of her skirt and diving into the well which connected his time with hers.

By the time he had reached the well, she was already gone.

He still was unsure why she was angry. Almost a week and the reasons were no clearer. The only thing he was completely sure of was that the cause was somehow connected with himself. He growled angrily, not ready to admit that he was afraid that possibly, this time, she might not return. . . . .willingly. 'Come on wench, come back already.'

In truth, he could have leapt through the well into her time and dragged her back, but somehow he knew that would only make matters more difficult. And in all honesty, he would rather not be on the receiving end of one of her 'sits.'

Not long ago, he had awoken from fifty year slumber and attempted to steal the 'shikon no tama,' an ancient jewel with the power to grant any wish. It was an evil jewel and amazingly was concealed within the young miko's body. It was strange, considering the jewel supposedly had been burned with its original protector Kikyo, his lover and 'murderer.' The girl was her reincarnation and had been the one to pull the arrow from his shoulder which had pinned him to the great tree, in turn freeing him from his imprisonment and slumber.

Keiko, that old hag, had granted the wench the power to control him with an enchanted necklace made of prayer beads and fangs. The fucking thing was like a collar that smashed his face into the earth whenever the bitch said 'Osiwaru.'

All he had wanted was the 'shikon no tama.' He wouldn't have actually killed her, even if he had threatened to do so. Yeah, he had chopped a few strands of her lovely dark hair, and sure, if she hadn't tripped that first time, he might have slashed a little bit more then her locks. . . . .but he wouldn't have killed her. He wanted to frighten her into submission, scare her into giving up the 'shikon.' He wanted to hurt her because she looked like his dead lover who he couldn't hurt. And that was exactly it, she still looked like Kikyo and deep down he couldn't kill her if he wanted to. And, there were times when he really really wanted to.

Then, of course, the stupid bitch had shattered the 'shikon' into a million itsy-bitsy pieces, and of course, he 'needed' her to find them.

Now, she had once again stormed back to her time in a huff and she was annoyingly taking her sweet old time coming back. "Stupid bitch," he grumbled as he stared into the wells depths, willing her to return.

The annoying chatter of the kitsune beside him, disturbed his thoughts, rattling his nerves. The young fox-demon was laughing and yelling in a sing-song voice, "Kagome. Kagome. Whence will return, Kagome." He growled warningly at the young youkai to shut up, but the boy stuck his tongue out at him and whined, "I want Kagome. When is she coming back, dog-breath?"

Temper at its end, the silver-hanyou leapt at the boy, pinning him to the ground. "Shut up, brat!" The boy looked at him with big startled blue-eyes, causing him to feel a little bit guilty for scaring him. Shaking his head, annoyed with himself, he snapped, "Just be quiet. You're getting on my nerves."

Wriggling out from beneath him, the young red-head shot to the other side of the well. "You'll be sorry if you hit me. Kagome will 'sit' you!" The kid stared at him confidently and tauntingly cried "You'll be sorry. You'll be sorry!"

"Shut up, brat!" I could tear you into little pieces and no one would be the wiser," he hissed angrily. Growling to himself, he crouched by the well and sulked.

It was true. The wench would 'sit' him, an it frustrated him no end that the kid knew it. The brat should be afraid of him, but he wasn't. As long as Kagome was here. . . .His eyes lightened with excitement as a thought occurred to him, then in a low sneer he said, "You know, kid. . . . .I can always get you after she leaves for home."

The boy's eyes widened when his sensitive hearing picked up on the quiet threat. "You wouldn't.," he said as he shifted nervously.

He smirked at the kid, "Oh. I would."

"You'll what, Inu Yasha?"

He whipped around, startled by the sudden appearance of a young woman dressed in a short green skirt and white top, and found himself staring into dark annoyed eyes. Backing away nervously, he wondered how he had missed her arrival. How had he not noticed that she was listening. Determined to not show his surprise, he sneered, "It's none of your business," and with extra emphasis added, "Wench."

Rage filled her eyes and pulled violently at the lines of her face. Inu Yasha looked worriedly at the dark-haired girl and growled warningly, "Don't even think about it." Amazingly, she showed a vast amount of control, and did not 'sit' him.

However, Shippou, the brat, at that moment chose to whine out, "Kagomeee. . . . .Dog-breath says he's going to get me when you go home. . . . ." The hanyou hissed under his breath, then leapt at the boy.

"You little bastard! When I get my hands on you, you'll. . . . ."

"Osuwari!"

He slammed violently into the ground. Stunned and pissed, he growled "Bitch" as he slowly peeled himself from the ground.

"Osuwari!" He crashed into the ground with a loud thud.

"What the hell, you bitch! I wasn't doing anything," he hissed out between clenched teeth as he struggled to breathe, ignoring the sharp pain in his ribs and stomach.

She smirked evilly at him, before sneering, "stay down. boy, or mama will have to punish you again."

He could feel the blood rushing to his head as he ground out angrily, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

The maniacal look in her eyes died, leaving an emptiness which gave him an uncomfortable chill. His woman almost seemed broken. In a bland voice she responded sarcastically, "I don't know Inu Yasha. What's wrong with me?" and then promptly turned on her heel towards the village. "Come on, Shippou. Let's go see the others." She glanced back at him as he started to feel the release of the beads magick and hissed, "Osuwari" sending him once again face down in the dirt. Then she turned her back on him and turned to Shippou, "Let's leave Inu Yasha here to contemplate what exactly is wrong with me."

The young kitsune glanced nervously between the two of them, sensing something deeper was amiss. Making a decision, he grabbed the girls hand and followed her from the clearing as Inu Yasha angrily watched.

Something was wrong with the woman and he planned to find out what, even if it meant forcing her to tell him. He grumbled, "Bitch" to himself. Soon, very soon he planned to know exactly what was bothering her. Growling, the hanyou patiently waited for the miko's spell to wear off. 'Soon.'

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Okey...how was it? Okay I hope. Tell me if you catch any errors or problems that need fixing. I didn't really get a chance to proof this. ) Anyway, I'll try to get the next part up soon, though I am a little caught up in a werewolf story I'm writing at the moment. Heh. I hope I didn't confuse anyone. First part was the prologue, though it actually happens toward the end of the story...does that make sense. I'm sure you know exactly what I'm saying, and it is only lack of sleep which is making me think a little irrationally. Dunno. I originally had the first part as G, but Inu Yasha has a potty mouth and I really want to put a lemon or some limeyness somewhere in the story later on. Sigh I have the whole scene already pictured. Shrugs But who knows how this will end up. Well I do. And now I'm rambling. Don't worry, this is not an Inu/Kikyo fic. . . . .it's Inu/Kag all the way. Even if they haven't realised it yet. Anyway, would appreciate reviews. Think it's time to pass out. Later then.