Inner Needs

CHAPTER SIX: THROUGH THE WELL

            Hiei ran, branches whipping blindly at his face. He ignored the sharp sting as a thorn bush whipped soundly against the side of his face, slicing through the thin skin of his cheek. He couldn't stop for anything, Kurama's trail was still fresh. That meant the fox demon wasn't to far ahead. He had to stop the kitsune before he caught up with that stupid ningen or half breed. Neither of them would stand a chance against the powered up Youko.

            "Baka fox." Hiei hissed, picking up his pace. "Why couldn't you just let them keep the gem?"

            He was panting, his body now only fueled by adrenaline. The blood pumped in his ears, thrumming so loud that all other sounds were blocked out. Only one thing made it through to humming. He had to save the girl and the dog demon. There was no way that the fox would be able to live with himself if he shed innocent blood. He'd spend the thousand year sentence Koenma would give him thinking of ways to kill himself once he was free.

            Hiei felt a final burst of speed when he noticed that the forest was thinning out. He passed one final, large tree and came to a stop in someone's yard. Kurama's scent and spirit were strongest here. Hiei's gaze was pulled to a tiny building on the far side of the yard. The kitsune was in there.

            Without a second thought, the fire demon ran over to building and threw open the doors. They bounced on their runs with a loud bang. Hiei found himself at the top of a small flight of wooden stairs. At the bottom was an old stone well. From just inside he saw a flash of silver and felt a drastic drop in both Kurama's energy and scent. He had gone in the well?

            Hiei's eyes suddenly widened. That wasn't just a well but the well. The one Koenma had told him about. This was the well that the girl and demon used to jump time. And Kurama had just leapt into the feudal era. There was no way that could be good.

            He peered into the well and was clearly able to see the bottom. There were no swirling lights, no heavy sense of foreboding that usually that came before one hurled themselves head long into an unknown portal. Maybe Koenma was insane or this stupid well was just some kind of decoy, a diversion of the real portal. Well there was only one way for him to find out. Taking a deep breath, Hiei jumped into the open mouth of the well.

~*~

            He fell slowly, feeling as though water was pushing against him. With each slight movement bubbles flowed around him. But he didn't feel wet leading him to believe it was water at all. Finally the ground came up at him. He braced himself for what should have been a hard impact. Instead he landed softly, as though gentle hands had placed him down.

            Hiei quickly looked back up, hoping to see the gel like substance he had just floated down through. But it was gone. He didn't see the roof of the small building either. Instead there was the bright blue of open sky. The fire demon grabbed the vines that lined the inside of the well and began to climb.

            When his head popped out of the well he gasped at what he saw. In front of him laid a huge forest, untouched by what ningen's called 'sky scrapers'. The scent and energy of demons overwhelmed him. This place must be crawling with them, half breeds and full breeds alike. He defiantly wasn't in the normal ningen world.

            Hiei pulled himself fully out of the well and stepped cautiously onto the ground. He needed to find that stupid kitsune before he hurt somebody or himself. Raising his head and closing his eyes he sniffed at the air and opened himself to the energy that followed around him, reaching out for the distinct scent and smell of a kitsune.

            He gasped as thousands of scents and energies slammed into him. Hiei dropped to one knee, trying desperately to sort one from another. All he needed was a vague familiarity to go on.

            Finally something familiar brushed against his scenes, a scent he faintly knew. Blocking off all the extra energies, he took off, running towards the scent he knew. Deep in the back of his mind he continued to chant the unfamiliar words.

            'Be all right you damn fox, be all right.'

~*~

            Kagome held the jewel shard up, turning it both ways. Kurama had spilt no blood while he had it. But there was something off about things. Specifically the way the fox demon had reacted when she took it out of the drawer. He had seemed like he was in pain, serious pain.

            "Inu Yasha," She called lightly to the dog demon who was lounged in the branches above her, "What do you think happened back there?"

            Inu Yasha snorted, shifting his weight. He stretched his arms up before crossing them behind his head.

            "I think it was a couple of demons trying to keep the jewel for themselves." He answered.

            "But Kurama sounded like he was in pain." Kagome slipped the gem back in the jar and shoved it in her book bag.

            "You're an idiot." Inu Yasha growled, slipping from the tree. "It was an act. Those two demons wanted to keep the jewel for themselves so they tried to make it seem as though it were attached to his spirit."

            Kagome sighed and leaned back. She just didn't want to believe that. The short demon had seemed genuinely worried about the kitsune. His blood red eyes had been opened wide and he hadn't even tried to hurt Inu Yasha when he held him back. She sighed lightly and rose to her feet.

            "Let's go." She turned, throwing her backpack on and heading down the familiar path. The faster they back to Kaede's hut the faster she could talk to Sango, who's thoughts went farther then saving jewel shards for power. She needed another opinion on the pain Kurama had been in.

~*~

            Kurama gasped, dropping to his hands and knees. Cold sweat streaked down his body and caused his clothes to stick to his body. All he knew was he was in a forest but he didn't know where. Everything was a blur, flashing by him in like a movie without sounds. The last thing he could consciously remember was Hiei fighting against Inu Yasha while begging Kagome to leave something alone. But what?

            Another pain rippled through him, tearing at his chest like the claws of a trapped animal. He cried out grabbing at the front of his shirt as the pain convulsed. His large ears flattened against his head and he panted, trying desperately to pull in air. What was going on?

            The pain continued to rampage through him, ripping him apart. He screamed, collapsing. He curled up in a ball and whimpered.

            "H-help me…" He whispered miserably. "Some one…please…help."

            Kurama was vaguely aware of a shadow looming over him before he allowed the painless darkness to wash over him.

Alrighty, next chapter done. Who found Kurama? Is it Hiei? Or someone else…

You'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out.

Oh and about the "gel like substance" that Hiei floated through is from the very first episode of Inu Yasha when Kagome gets pulled into the well by the centipede. It looks almost like they're floating through water but when Kagome touches ground, she isn't wet. WHAT?! So I decided that it had to be gel…but then they'd be gooey.

Oh well!! Please review!!