Golden Fire
Chapter 2: Through the Well

We all stared at Yuki. "When you said you had been following me, I didn't think you meant constantly," I blurted out.

The assassin shrugged. "It was the only way to keep you safe. But now is not the time, Kagome. Pack and be ready in thirty minutes. I'll be back before then."

"Hey, wench! You think you can drop this all on Kagome and then leave?" Inuyasha's eyes glittered with anger.

"I told you I was going to return. If I'm going to be exiled to the past, I should bring along some necessities." With that said, she left us.

We packed in relative silence. I could hear my mother fretting about what kind of clothes and how much she could bring. I sent Inuyasha down the hall to assure her that he could carry whatever she packed. He went out grumbling and returned a few moments later with a red face. "What's wrong with you?" I asked, as I shoved extra socks into my bag. After years of going back and forth, I could pack in five minutes flat.

"She was packing her. under-things," mumbled Inuyasha, flushing a brighter red.

I laughed a little. "Well, as long as she wasn't just wearing them, that's okay." I brushed the hair out of my face and realized that I would be without a hot shower for a long time. Thank the gods for hot springs. A thought struck me and I frowned. "Oh, Inuyasha, what am I going to do about school?"

"Feh."

"A lot of help you are." I sat on my bed and mentally checked off all my belongings. Well, at least I wouldn't be needing my schoolbooks this time.

"Kagome?" called a voice. A few seconds later, Yuki was at my door. "Good. You are ready. As am I." She patted the small duffel bag hanging on her shoulder. "We should start moving our belongings to the well. I fear the attack will be tonight and I do not wish to make more than one trip."

"But there's only one jewel, and my whole family has to use it to get through."

"I see. Inuyasha? Will you take some of our bags to the other side of the well? I know you do not require the assistance of the jewel." She held her bag out.

A few minutes and many more complaints from Inuyasha later, my family stood next to well. Buyo sat in Souta's arms while my mother gazed at the house where she and my father had spent their married lives. We all wondered if we would see the shrine again.

Inuyasha and Yuki both looked up suddenly. "They're coming. I can hear them," he said.

Yuki looked annoyed. "Can't they just give up for once?" she muttered. She pulled out her guns and walked to the entrance of the building. "Go. Quick as you can."

I grabbed Souta and my mother and jumped into the well with them. Behind me came Inuyasha, carrying my grandfather. "Where's Yuki?" I asked as we landed.

"Feh. Said she would watch out. Said she'd guard the well 'til we got back." He jumped out of the well and placed Grandpa on solid ground.

"Mom, wait here until I get back. See if you can climb up."

"I'm not that old Kagome. I know how to climb. Glad I wore pants though." She grabbed the vines and helped Souta with Buyo.

Back in my time, Inuyasha and I listened carefully. "I can hear her breathing, Kagome," he whispered. "But men are in your house and a few are outside the building." He grabbed my waist and jumped up and out silently. We grabbed our things and motioned to Yuki to join us.

She gave me a wide-eyed, silent refusal, and I shrank into the shadows when I saw why. The silhouette of a man fell across the doorway. Inuyasha pushed me behind him and crouched to attack. Before he could, there was a harsh wisp of noise and the man crashed into the doorway. His gun skid across the ground.

"Matsu!" A harsh voice rang out. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Matsu?"

"Go! Now!" she hissed. Yuki wildly pointed at the well. She stood and shot through the doorway again. I barely saw her move; her grace was a shock in comparison to her rigid attitude. I realized in a moment that the wisp I had heard was the silenced gun. I almost turned to Inuyasha and explained my foolish thought that it was the sound of his soul leaving his body. Outside, the man with the harsh voice groaned loudly in pain. Shouts could be heard from my house.

Inuyasha grabbed me and jumped into the well, pulling Yuki in at the last moment.

///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///*///* ///*///

"Well, child, ye have had an exciting day." Kaede poured out some tea for all of us. My mother and grandfather stared around them in wonder. I knew what they felt like, because I had gone through the same thing years ago. They felt as if they were in a storybook. It was all so ancient and forgotten that even my grandfather didn't have words to describe it.

While Souta was supervising the introduction of Buyo and Kirara, I introduced everyone to Yuki. Miroku beamed at Yuki until Sango hit him on his head.

"What was that for, my lady Sango?"

"I could see that disgusting question forming in your head, so I decided to stop it before it came out."

"I'm sure I don't know what my lady is talking about."

"Be quiet, monk."

"As my lady wishes."

I told my friends what Yuki had told me only an hour before. They took it surprisingly well, considering that the stranger in front of them was a killer. Hadn't I just seen that with my own two eyes a few moments ago? I almost retched, but then remembered that she had killed those men to buy us time. Whoever heard of an assassin with a conscience? Or at the very least, a heart? I shook my head. She was saving herself too. I had to learn to not trust that everyone had a purely good soul.

Souta was beginning to yawn and Kaede was laying out extra blankets for my family. I turned to Yuki. "Come on, if you're going to help us, you should know what's going on."

She nodded and followed me outside. We sat on a log on the outskirts of town and I began the story. I began with Naraku's evil plans and how they unfolded. I told her of Kouga and his dead clan brothers. I told her of Sesshoumaru trying to steal Tetsusaiga. I told her of Miroku's wandering hands and Sango's pain over her lost family. Finally, after the story up until our meeting had been explained, I told her of Inuyasha and the confusing feelings that even saying his name brought up in my heart. By this time, I was leaning on her shoulder and crying silently.

Somehow, I knew I could trust her. This strange, cold woman with a heart of rock would never betray my confidence. She patted my shoulder but nothing more. When I recovered and sat up, I found her to be looking at the stars. Then she spoke. "It is amazing how a single star can become a part of something as beautiful as this." She spread her arms. Her voice held no emotion but I knew that what she was saying was important. "Our own sun is part of this to another world, and although those other worlds would not care if it was extinguished, it would kill us. It is amazing. To watch a star die is possibly the most crushing experience I could think of."

I wondered what she could mean by her speech. She herself extinguished life regularly. I might have been young, but I knew what power the Yakuza had, and if she was their most powerful assassin, she must have had many opportunities to show her talents.

"Did you kill both those men at the shrine?" I asked her.

She kept her eyes forward. "No. I only killed the first one. The second I shot in his arm, so he wouldn't be able to shoot you."

"It took you a half second to do that. That's amazing aim. And as an archer who still frequently misses my mark, I know good aim." I was in awe of her deadly skill.

"I had much time to practice. My father insisted upon it, as did the Yakuza men after him." She smiled wistfully.

"Yuki, how old are you?" It seemed like an innocent question at the time.

She looked at me. "Kagome, forgive me. I ---"

"Kagome!" my mother called from Kaede's door. "Get inside. You'll die of cold out here."

I smiled sympathetically at my new friend. "Sorry. What mom says, daughter does. You can tell me tomorrow, okay?"

Yuki nodded, keeping her indifferent gaze in place.

A/N: I haven't gotten ANY reviews (cept 2 from a dear friend of mine - thanks chica)! *Cries* Please, please, please, if you read this, review too. I need motivation and feedback to continue, eh?