Disclaimer: Look at Chapter One's disclaimer. We would've had this chapter up sooner if I hadn't have been writing chapters for two different stories at once. I surely hope that Umagi can forgive me.

Tojot

Pairings: Inu/kag and Hojo/OC

Chapter 2: Guess Who I Am?

NO what, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha looked up to see Kagome holding a dead squirrel, no lemme rephrase, a rotting dead squirrel. Inuyasha looked at her curiously, eyeing her up and down. She was fine, now, no holes, no cuts, no blood, except for the squirrel. All of the sudden Kagome's hand was on his forehead "are you okay?" she asked a little worriedly. Inuyasha nodded, and looked at the squirrel in Kagome's hand

"What is that, and why is it in your hand?" inquired Inuyasha. Kagome looked down "oh this? Well Shippou wanted to play a joke on you so he left this in your lap while you were sleeping" Inuyasha blinked so that's where that smell came from, but it still doesn't explain... he was interrupted by Shippou darting into the room.

Shippou was anxious to see the look on Inuyasha's face when he woke up with the dead rotting squirrel corpse. But his hopes were dashed when Inuyasha hit him over the head just after he had zipped into the room.

"What was that for?" Shippou yelled as his hands covered the red throbbing bump that was developing on Shippou's head.

"That was for the squirrel..." The argument went on for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Kagome went to go dispose of the decomposing squirrel and wash her soiled hands. When she returned she saw Inuyasha and Shippou sitting on opposite sides of the room. Both were facing away from each other, staring at the walls and each with a sour look on his face.

"You both are pathetic. Shippou just apologize." Kagome said trying to end the small tiff that was going on.

"Oh okay." Shippou moaned as he got up. "I'm sorry about the squirrel." He apologized in an un-genuine way.

"About time you apologized, runt." Inuyasha was going to get it for the cocky comment.

"SIT BOY!!!" Before he knew what hit him Inuyasha was face down with a mouthful of sand.

"Why I oughtta..." Inuyasha seethed through his clenched teeth.

"Inuyasha, I have to be getting back to my own era." Kagome quickly changed the subject to avoid a new argument as she checked her yellow backpack.

"Why?" Inuyasha pulled himself from the ground.

"With the way you go through first aid supplies after several battles is insatiable." Kagome commented.

"Oh." He said sheepishly.

"That's not only reason, I have an important test tomorrow that I still have to study for." She finished.

"Will you be back soon, Kagome?" Shippou asked.

"I'll be back tomorrow evening, 'kay Shippou." She answered as she shouldered her pack.

"I'll walk with you to the well? It's a whole lot better than staying here with Mr. No-Sense-of-Humor." Shippou said as he pointed at Inuyasha and quickly left the room.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Inuyasha. Try not to kill anyone while I am gone okay." Kagome chuckled and smiled as she left the hut.

(break)

The test was now over and Hojo ate his lunch in the silence of the rooftop. He couldn't help but think of the strange dream that kept reoccurring night after night. His social life seemed to be slipping more and more because of it. Taking a bite out of his rice cake, Hojo noticed that he wasn't alone. He hadn't noticed that she had come to school until now. Unlike what her grandfather had told him she looked as healthy as a horse except little depressed.

"How would they understand how I am feeling about Inuyasha. They'll never understand. They just don't know." Kagome muttered her breath, but Hojo was close enough to hear the whole sentence. Who is Inuyasha? Hojo thought to himself. She had just escaped being told to dump Inuyasha by the very same people who called her friend. Unfortunately Kagome hadn't noticed Hojo there.

"Hey Kagome, are you okay, you look a little depressed." Hojo said behind her. Kagome froze.

"H...Hojo...oh...Hi." She stuttered, feigning a smile to get him to not worry. Hojo couldn't be fooled anymore. He knew something was up and the only way to find out was to get her to confess. But it had to be off of school grounds. He cared enough for Kagome to not want to embarrass her in front of every one that she knew. Hojo kept the conversation going by bringing up one of the so-called illnesses that Kagome was said to have.

"So Kagome how is your back doing? Your grandpa said that it was acting up again." Hojo inquired. To Hojo's dismay, Kagome quickly changed the subject to the test that they had taken that day.

"It's okay for know. I think I bombed the test." She told him.

"I think I did to, but I don't have an excuse like you do." He confessed with a chuckle. "Kagome, would it be okay if we went on a date tonight since it is the weekend?"

"Um... I'm sorry, I have plans tonight." Kagome apologized.

"Are you sure?" He had to confirm that he was hearing things right.

"Yes Hojo." Kagome said a little annoyed as they both heard the school continuation bell.

"Ahh... Okay. I'll see you later Kagome." Hojo knew Kagome was hiding something and he had to find out what it was. Who is Inuyasha?

(Break)

Kagome thought it odd that Hojo would come over to her house even though she had turned him down for the date. Hojo thought it was weird that Kagome rarely came to school and whenever he saw Kagome she always seemed distracted by something else. Now Kagome had started coming more often to school, but she still had more days when she was gone. He was confused, but he never bothered to ask her what was really going on. He had come over just to see if he could find out the truth.

"I'm sorry Hojo, you just missed her." Kagome's mom told him. He knew better that she was still there especially when he caught Kagome peeking from behind the wall.

Something's definitely up. He thought to himself. He hid in the trees near her house. He saw her come out half an hour later, looking heavy laden with the large pack on her back. Was she going on a trip? She said goodbye to her family and walked over to a building. Hojo recognized the building that housed the dry well inside. Kagome had told him about it but not much more. He silently crept from his hiding place and followed her. She slid open the door to the building and stepped inside sliding it closed behind her. What was Kagome up to? He hesitated a little out of giving her privacy but curiosity overtook him as he cracked the door open to peek through. He saw no one in there, not even Kagome. Where had she gone? He stepped inside closing the door behind him and walked down the steps to the well. Even though he saw a stepladder that scaled down the well, he saw no one. Where had Kagome gone? He found himself climbing into the well using the stepladder to descend into the darkness. He felt the urge to let go of the ladder, as if something was compelling him to fall. He hesitated again out of common sense but the urge overcame him too much and he let go. He saw a bright light and found himself at the bottom of the well. Strangely enough he remained unhurt. That was a waste of time. He looked up and saw a blue sky. !Why do I get the feeling that I am not in Tokyo anymore. He thought to himself, he started climbing the vines that scaled the walls of the well.

Miroku heard quiet grunts coming from the well that Kagome had just come through, and looked into the depths of it. He saw that a boy was climbing the vines.

"Kagome, did you bring someone with you?" He asked still looking down the well.

"No."

"Well I think someone followed you." Miroku replied pointing down the well as someone popped his head out of the well, Kagome recognized him.

"Hojo!" Kagome gasped. Inuyasha looked at the boy and did nothing.

"Kagome, is this really what was happening?" he interrogated.

"Hojo, how h-how did you get here?" Kagome stuttered as he stepped out of the well and looked around and at the people Kagome was with. Two of them didn't look normal.

"Though the well, like you did." Hojo said as he continued to look around. He saw Shippou standing on the edge of the well and picked the kitsune up by the back of the shirt. "Are you for real?" Shippou struggled a little. With a puff of smoke, Hojo was looking at a mirror image of himself instead of the little fox child.

"Are you for real?" Shippou imitated the now surprised Hojo. Then with another puff of smoke Shippou returned his normal shape with a laugh. Hojo was convinced that he wasn't dreaming.

"Hojo, how did you get here? Not just anyone can go through the well to get here." Kagome interrogated.

"I seriously don't know how I did it, Kagome, I seriously don't know." He told her.

"So Kagome, were are we?" Hojo ask her trying to actually find where exactly he was.

"The Feudal Era."

"What! How do you get back to future?"

"The same way you got here."

"Oh."

"Hojo, why did you follow me?" Kagome asked looking a little miffed.

"After hearing that you had multiple illnesses from your grandfather, I stopped believing him because you looked incredibly healthy and realized something was up, it was today that I decided to confront you about it..." Hojo trailed off after he heard something.

"Acktooo...... Acktoooo." Hojo heard the quiet pleading whispered on the wind. Looking around he saw that no one seemed to notice the voice. He felt the urging feeling again. Compelling him to lose himself within the shaded forest. Then it started to pull him. Kagome saw Hojo's eyes glaze over. Without warning, he ran. He had lost control of his actions and thoughts. At one point he had tripped over a protruding root and impaled his right hand on a sharp rock. No tears of pain came from his eyes as he stood up and kept running as removed the rock from his hand and threw it to the side.

"Stop him, before he does something he might regret!" Kaede shouted as she ran by. Kagome started to run, "What do you mean, what is in that direction!?" she yelled almost out of breath.

"Something that has taken the lives of many men!" Kaede replied over her shoulder. Kagome started to worry about the guy. What was controlling him?

"I smell fresh blood." Inuyasha informed the group as they ran. They came upon the tiny patch of blood-soaked ground but kept running. Inuyasha was the only one to notice the sharp rock that was soaked in blood. They came to a cave. Miroku looked at the cave, it looked similar to the one that Onigumo was in on the outside, but inside it led to an underground spring. Hojo was spotted making his way through the water to the far wall of the large cave were there was a great crystal formation that held still pool of water, something was within it's icy looking depths, and a sword struck through. Inuyasha proceeded to run into the water only to end up getting shocked; he quickly got out of the water after realizing how dangerous it was. Hojo seemed unaffected by the ensorcelled water.

"We were too late," Kaede said grimly, "there is no way to save him now." Kagome could see something swimming through the clear waters and rise up out of them; two great white serpents. "Don't watch!!!" Kaede suggested as she shut her eyes. Kagome couldn't as she watched Hojo just standing there, not moving. They attacked, but something drove them back against the walls of the cave, crumbling them into dust. Hojo continued toward the crystal formation. Kagome tapped Kaede's shoulder, "Look!" She said pointing to Hojo who had made it to the formation safely. He climbed it and looked into the still pool that seemed to be a flawless surface only marred by the beautiful sword that jutted out for all to see. From what Hojo could see, there was someone locked into the pool by the sword that rose from her middle. It looked as if she had been there for a long while. Hojo reached into the cold water and brushed her bluish-silver hair aside from her face. He had seen her before in a dream. She had catlike features, as well as ears similar to Inuyasha's... No they weren't dog-ears, they were cat ears. She slept there, emotionless and serene. Hojo's glazed eyes disappeared, returning him into control of himself. He wanted to touch her to wake the demon from her slumber. He stretched forth his bloody right hand into the water of the still pool. But a sharp and searing pain triggered his reflexes to pull it back. He looked at hand out of habit and saw that new flesh had filled in the wound and he stared in wonder at what had just happened.

"What's he doing?" Inuyasha questioned, keeping his yellow eyes on the boy. Kaede was rendered speechless. Hojo shook his head to regain his senses and climbed into the frigid waters for better balance and wrapped his hands around the hilt of the katana that kept him from bringing his dreams to life. It surged in his hands with a familiar power that he could not quite remember. It was warm to the touch. Hojo wondered if he was the one who might have put this demoness here. The sword came loose from the rock that it was imbedded into underneath the girl and slowly slid out of her, bloodless. He stared at the blade, it seemed so familiar but he couldn't remember why. Looking down at the girl that still lay dormant within the pool. He realized that he was a little tired. He dropped the sword.

"Kagome what is the boy's name?" Kaede asked.

"Hojo." Inuyasha interrupted with a scowl.

"Thank ye Inuyasha." The old woman replied as she waded into the waters knowing that they were safe now. Inuyasha took off as well at a greater speed.

"Hojo, ye must finish the task that ye started." Kaede told the boy. Hojo just looked at her with a bemused look on his face as Inuyasha joined him on the crystal formation.

"What is the task?" Hojo yelled back, he didn't know what to do or who this woman with the eye-patch was. But since she was with Kagome she had to be okay.

"Ye must awaken her now! Ye are the only one that can do it!" She yelled across the spring. Inuyasha's eyes went wide when he looked into the still pool, he knew who she was. His legs crumbled beneath him, and he just sat there looking at her, in unbelief.

"How?" Hojo asked. Kaede plastered a look on her wrinkled face that screamed 'you idiot, you know better than to ask such a stupid question.' Hojo realized what he had to do, but Kagome was there. He looked at the old woman, then Kagome, and then back down to the dormant girl that lay within the pool. He had to let his inhibition go and finish the task. He climbed back into the frigid pool, took a deep breath and quickly slid under the surface. He swept the floating hair and brushed it back over her forehead. He shut his eyes and brushed his lips against hers and kissed her. He breathed air into her.

It seemed like he was under for a long time, he needed air, but he also wanted to bring her back to life more than air. He parted from the kiss and rose for air. He pulled himself from the ice water. He looked downtrodden, all the effort that he had given she still wasn't awake. Suddenly her eyes opened and she came up for air.

"Katsube..." Inuyasha whispered under his breath. Somehow Inuyasha had turned worried once he laid eyes on the girl. Since her sight was a little fuzzy, she couldn't see very well for a few minutes.

"What.... Is... going on?" the girl lingered in her speech.

"Ye were just awakened, Katsube." Kaede said after she had sent Sango for a blanket. When Hojo heard the demon girl's name, he thought it familiar; but he had never heard her name before in his dreams. Katsube looked questionably at her surroundings and the people surrounding her.

"Am I dead?" She asked.

"Why would ye ask a question like that, you're very much alive?" Kaede told her. Katsube continued to survey the cave spotting Inuyasha there as well.

"No I must be dead, because Inuyasha's here." She then saw Kagome, "And Kikyo." She hissed. The hiss was rather unexpected. Miroku figured that this demoness had something against Kikyo.

"No Katsube, you are alive." Kaede told the girl.

"Excuse me, I am not Kikyo!" Kagome told Katsube.

"If you're not Kikyo then why do you look like her?" Katsube questioned.

"I am Kikyo's reincarnation." Kagome explained.

"Not much difference, even if you are the reincarnation or not." Katsube hissed again as she pulled herself completely from the pool and picked up the sword that lay on the cave floor. Everyone thought that Katsube was going to use the sword on Kagome so they all made their way to try to protect her. Katsube just reached into another pool and pulled out a sheath and quickly sheathed the sword. She turned around to face the surprised group.

"What is your problem?" She looked at them blankly

She looks similar to Inuyasha. Yet catlike and female. Kagome thought to herself. Sango returned with the blanket for Hojo since he was soaking wet. Katsube really didn't need anything after shaking all the water out of her hair and clothes. And they all made their way back to the village so Hojo could get out of his wet clothes.

"Katsube.... The dream..." Inuyasha muttered to himself.

"Problem, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"It's nothing."

[Author's Note]

Who is Katsube, in what way does she know Inuyasha and what is her problem with Kikyo. The next chapter will be awhile since Umagi is still in school and going though finals at this time. Plus this stuff is kind of hard to write when we tend to get into long discussions on what is going on in this story and it may turn out a little deep in some places. In the meantime, please review. Some can be just wonderful to read. I tried my hardest to not have characters out of character.

This quick edit feature has officially driven me nuts!!!

Caiyoko: when we read you review at first we thought it as an insult. I am not sure in the first place. But when I reread your review it occurred to me that you were asking a question about the wench thing. I still don't know if was meant to be a good thing or a bad thing.

Now excuse me so I can continue to write another chapter to my own story. Umagi's writing the next chapter.

Tojot