Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Harry Potter belong to Rumiko Takahashi and JK Rowling. I am merely borrowing them for my creative and imaginative cravings. ^_^
Title: Persevere
Chapter Two
She waited in silence. Her fingernails dug into her skin as she scanned the surrounding area. There was only a light breeze, so she would be able to hear any movements relatively well. But then again, that was more of an advantage to HIM.
Again her eyes flicked in each direction. If she moved too quickly, it would be too late. It was all a matter of choosing the right moment. She heard a snap and nearly jumped. She almost laughed out loud when she saw what had made the sound. A mouse. Just a mouse. She breathed out and shook her head at how uptight she had become. Well, it was now or never. Adjusting her pack, Kagome Higurashi counted to three before making a mad dash towards the well some feet away.
She smiled triumphantly as she entered the clearing and no one tried to stop her. It seemed her little ruse had worked. Just a few more strides and she'd be in the well!
She should have known not to be too confident.
She was mere seconds from reaching the path to her home when a red blur leapt into her way. She made a small squeak in surprise and attempted to stop. Unfortunately, the 'red blur' was too close to her and she ran right smack into it -- or rather into him. She winced as her forehead connected with his chest and she would have fallen had he not grabbed her elbows and steadied her.
Rubbing her forehead, she glared at the perpetrator. "Inuyasha…"
Inuyasha returned her glare with a look of his own. "You thought you'd get away, huh?" He held up a blue tee-shirt and looked pointedly at it.
Kagome just put on an innocent face and took the article out of his hands. Inside she was cursing her luck. She'd left the shirt in Kaede's hut in the hope that Inuyasha wouldn't notice she was gone. Glancing at his face she cursed his nose as well. His sense of smell was not fair! "I almost forgot that. Good thing you found it."
Inuyasha just looked at her doubtfully and scoffed. "Feh. Whatever. Now, come on. Sango's heard rumors of a strong youkai that appeared in the Northern Mountains. It might be a shard so let's get going!"
He grabbed her wrist gently to lead her back to the village but Kagome planted her feet firmly. "Not now, Inuyasha. I need to go home for a day or two."
Inuyasha turned around and frowned. "Hell no! That jerk Naraku's going to get ahead of us if we don't move quickly."
Kagome sighed. "I need to go home Inuyasha. I'm just not in the mood to fight and I really don't want to have to say 'it.'" She REALLY didn't want this now. She was just so tired, especially after last night's dreams. It always happened at this time of the year. The shrine…his body…dead…She shut her eyes for a moment and shuddered slightly as she recalled it.
She didn't realize that the hanyou, who had become wary at the prospect of her saying 'it', narrowed two golden eyes the moment she trembled. Besides, she was too surprised to notice anything else when Inuyasha actually let go of her wrist. "You better be back in two days or I swear I'll be dragging your ass back here!"
Kagome felt her eyes widen. She hadn't really expected him to relent. Normally it took three 'sits' at a minimum before she could get out of the Feudal Era. She blurted out what she was thinking too quickly. "What's wrong with you?"
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "What the hell do you mean what's wrong with me? Didn't you just say you had to go home?"
Kagome felt her temper rising. He didn't have to snap at her for a simple question! "It's was just a question! Geez! It's just weird that you're being so nice."
Inuyasha looked a little angry and Kagome mentally hit herself. That had sounded a bit mean. She knew Inuyasha cared for her in his own way. It was just sometimes he got her so mad! Her thoughts were interrupted as Inuyasha answered her sounding irritated. "I'm not trying to be nice, stupid! You're just too distracted to locate any shard, so hurry up and get this over with."
Kagome bit her tongue to stop herself from yelling a retort at him. She just wanted to go home now. "Fine. I'll be back in two days." Kagome turned around and quickly leapt into the well, leaving the hanyou behind her.
Inuyasha stared at the well for a few moments after Kagome left and then glanced at the hand that had encircled her wrist. His hand closed in a fist. Damn it! Something was wrong with her, and she wasn't telling anyone. It had started two nights ago when she'd woken up periodically sweating and panting as though she'd been running. Then last night the same thing had happened and she'd screamed -- loud enough that it had woken up everyone. But that wasn't what struck him most.
It was the fear. There had been a wild and scared look in her eyes every time she'd woken up. Inuyasha bared his teeth a bit, unconsciously. It had to be something bad to shake Kagome up that much. And he didn't like seeing her like that.
He glanced at the well before heading slowly back to the village. Whatever the hell it was, he'd find out.
* * *
Kagome landed at the bottom of the well and felt the familiar pull as she was swept into the stream of time. She sighed and looked at her wrist. What was up with Inuyasha? It was just weird how he had acted so…nice. Of course he had gone and ruined it by calling her stupid but…
Did he know about the dreams she'd been having? Now that she'd thought about it, everyone had been staring at her strangely that morning. Sango had even asked her if everything was alright…but they couldn't know, could they?
She bit her lip and just prayed that she hadn't been talking in her sleep or something. This was a matter she didn't want them to be involved in. It was too personal. Besides, she didn't want them to look at her with pity. Sighing again she glanced down by her feet and frowned.
Why hadn't she appeared in her time yet? She looked around her and her frown deepened. She'd been in the passage for way too long. Was something wrong? She felt a small seed of panic beginning to bud and immediately repressed it.
It would do her no good if she panicked. Again she looked around her, this time slower, and tried to find anything that could be the cause of the problem. It all seemed the same…
She froze suddenly as she heard a crack that seemed to echo all around her. She looked around to try to find the source when a light flashed -- practically blinding her. Dazedly, she blinked rapidly as she tried to get her sight back on track when something heavy hit her dead on.
She nearly screamed as she realized that it was a body. In fact, she WOULD have screamed had the passage not chosen that moment to reactivate. Kagome and the 'body' collided rather forcibly with the bottom of the well in her time.
Rubbing her head in pain for the second time in less than ten minutes, Kagome sat up and warily looked at the person lying next to her. He was a middle aged man with long dark hair. Looking closer, Kagome realized that he wasn't moving. Wariness turned into worry and she reached for his wrist to check his pulse.
None. She looked sorrowfully at him and at the same time wondered how on earth this poor man had ended up in the time passage with her. Were there other places connected with time travel other than the well? She'd never really considered it…she hadn't ever really thought about WHY she could travel in the first place.
She shook herself and mentally reprimanded her thoughts. A deceased man was at the bottom of her well in her shrine and all she was doing was daydreaming. Shaking her head, she moved to rise and call for help…that is until the man, the presumably DEAD man, began to move next to her. She turned her head slowly and felt her eyes widen.
The man had started to sit up and rubbed his forehead methodically. "Damn…thanks a lot Kei…"
He was speaking in English and Kagome understood most of what he'd said. Her father had spoken English frequently. For some reason, he had deemed it mandatory that his children should know it as well. However, Kagome hadn't used the language outside of school for several years.
She was taken out of her musings as the man turned toward her and froze for a moment before some sort of comprehension seemed to don on him. He moved as though he meant to stand up and Kagome backed against the edge of the well nervously. The man stopped whatever he was about to do and raised a hand as though to calm her.
"I'm not here to hurt you. Please don't be afraid." Kagome blinked in surprise as he spoke in her native language, although it had an obvious accent. "I need your help. Please…Kagome-san."
Kagome felt shocked. How had a complete stranger known her name? She narrowed her eyes as she tried to assess whether or not he was a threat. She could usually tell whether someone's intent was truly good or bad. It was something that she had just begun to pick up on -- Kaede had said it was most likely a side affect of her miko powers. She could 'feel' a person more, almost as if she had a small window into the person's soul.
She closed her eyes and focused her energy on that single purpose. She found that he was emitting a unique aura. There was some kind of strange feeling coming from him -- something unknown, yet powerful. It was also familiar somehow. But it wasn't something she was afraid of. And she also felt a feeling of being lost…who was this man?
"Are you alright?" Her eyes snapped open and she gazed into his dark concerned ones. Should she trust him? For some reason she felt that she HAD to…that it was very important.
She took a shaky breath before she answered him speaking slowly. "I-I'm fine and I'm willing to hear what it is you have to say. But first," She pointed upwards. "let's get out of here."
The man nodded his agreement and once again began to stand up. Kagome watched him as she moved slowly towards the ladder her Grandpa had placed in the well for her. She was willing to listen to him, but that didn't mean she was ready to give him her full trust.
Perhaps it was a good thing that she was watching him so closely because he seemed to be having some sort of trouble. She watched with a mixture of curiosity and concern as he stood up successfully and then a strained look appeared on his face. It looked almost as though he was in pain. She was about to ask what was wrong when he let out a short cry and crumpled to the ground.
Kagome ran to him quickly, but wasn't sure of what she could do for him. He didn't have a pulse for goodness sake! She looked at the ladder and then back at the man and groaned. Where was Inuyasha when she needed him?
She dragged him towards the ladder and was debating how she could accomplish the seemingly impossible task of getting out the well, when a voice echoed through the silence.
"Buyo! Geez, why are you always wandering into here? It's too creepy." Kagome recognized Sota's voice and her deduction proved correct when his face emerged at the top of the well. His face lit up as he saw her. "--Ah! Kagome, you're back!"
Kagome felt herself smile involuntarily. Sometimes she forgot how much she missed her family. A groan from beside her snapped her attention back to the problem at hand and she yelled up to her brother. "Sota! There's someone else with me, but he's unconscious. I need your help to get him out of here."
Sota looked at the man beside her curiously, but climbed over the edge of the well and down the ladder never the less. Kagome wasn't sure how they did it, but the two siblings somehow managed to get the man out of the well. They had a few bumps and bruises but the end result was satisfying enough.
Sota collapsed beside her out of breath and glanced at the stranger. "So…who is he any way?"
Kagome sighed in frustration. "I have no clue. He just appeared in the well and asked for my help. Then he goes and faints on me!"
"Is he alright?" Sota edged closer to the man and touched his wrist. He seemed perplexed at something and moved his fingers around the man's wrist for awhile. His eyes widened in shock. "K-Kagome, he's dead!!"
Kagome waved her hands in an attempt to calm him. "No! No! He's not! I thought the same thing at first too, but he talked to me."
Sota looked at her worriedly and placed a hand on her forehead. "Are you feeling alright, sis?"
Kagome batted his hand away with annoyance. "I'm not sick Sota! I'm telling you he's dead, but he's not!"
Sota looked at her doubtfully and Kagome couldn't really blame him. Her previous sentence HAD sounded incredibly ridiculous. But that didn't mean that she wasn't telling the truth. She'd have to wake the man up somehow in order to prove her point. But how to do it?
Maybe she could douse him with some water. That was the 'traditional' way of waking someone up. But perhaps if she had some fish she could place it on the man and then release Buyo upon him. She looked down at her cat that had fallen asleep in a lump of fur next to her and rolled her eyes. Buyo would probably be too lazy to get off his butt for that to work anyway.
Her plans for a rude awakening were cut short as her mother's voice called from outside. Kagome felt a part of her brighten up at her mother's voice. She really missed her when she and the others were traipsing around ancient Japan. "Sota! Have you found Buyo yet? Supper is almost ready!"
Sota glanced at Kagome and the man and answered in a shaky voice, "M-Mom, Kagome's back but there's someone else here and I think he's d-dead!
Kagome glared at her brother for his lack of confidence in what she was saying (although a somewhat annoying part of herself reminded her that the man didn't have pulse). She prayed that her mother wouldn't start panicking, but the sound of feet running dashed away that hope.
The shrine door slid open and her mother stood panting for breath. "What's happening? Kagome?"
Kagome heaved the stranger into a sitting position facing her mother. "He's not dead, Mom. He was talking to me before he fainted and I think he's in some sort of…Mom?"
Kagome stared at her mother worriedly. Her mother's eyes had widened dramatically at the sight of the man's face. She slowly raised one hand to her mouth and looked between him and Kagome in disbelief.
"I-It can't be! Sirius!?"
* * *
Inuyasha watched as the village was smothered in an amber red. His place atop Kaede's hut gave him virtually an unobstructed view of the entire village. He was able to watch over the humans within it and scope for signs of any sort of threat. He could see and watch over everything.
And yet he couldn't watch over the one person he most wanted to. For the countless time that night he pounded his hand on the roof of the hut in frustration. He couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with Kagome! He was sure he hadn't done something because his face would have been splattered on the ground if that were the case.
Hell, he preferred Kagome's 'sit's to the look of…defeat she'd worn before she'd left. She'd seemed almost depressed for the last few days and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. And, frankly, it pissed him off.
"Damn it!" His fist connected once again with the roof and the building actually shook a bit.
He heard an exasperated cry before Kaede's voice reached his ears. "Inuyasha! If you hit my roof once more, I shall not hesitate to place a spell on you far more powerful than the beads you wear now expel!"
"Feh!" Inuyasha didn't deign the old woman any other response, but planned to stop releasing his frustrations on the old building nevertheless. He'd never hear the end of it if he actually did cause the hut to collapse.
He returned once again to his musings as the blanket of night surrounded the world. The smell of food wafted up to his nose, a sign of the dinner that was being prepared. He was just down to enjoying the sound of crickets when a loud SMACK resounded through the air. His eyebrow twitched and he didn't need to look in the hut to know what had probably occurred.
Miroku emerged from within the building, testimony that Inuyasha's suspicions were correct. The perverted monk had been at it yet again. Miroku turned to look up at Inuyasha and leaned on his staff. "I thought I would join you outside for some fresh air."
Inuyash scoffed. "Feh! You were kicked out, weren't you, ya delinquent monk!"
Miroku shook his head in feigned sadness. "I didn't expect such cold accusations out here as well."
Inuyasha merely rolled his eyes and resumed a comfortable position. He expected Miroku to take the hint and go off on his own and was slightly surprised when the monk called up to him again. "You weren't able to find out what's wrong with her, were you?"
Inuyash sat up quickly. "What?"
"Kagome-sama. Something's bothering her. We've all noticed it." Miroku sounded genuinely concerned and it didn't surprise Inuyasha.
They had all become an odd little group. When something wasn't right with one of them, someone usually noticed. And if it was bad enough that they all noticed it, even Shippo, it was most likely something serious. "She said she had to go home. But I don't know what the hell is wrong. She didn't tell me anything."
Miroku looked somewhat amused at his frustration. "Well, you can't force someone to talk."
"Feh! It would be a hell of a lot easier." Inuyasha grumbled, mostly to himself.
Miroku looked up at the emerging stars for a few moments. His next words were somewhat quiet. "You're going to go to her tomorrow, aren't you?"
Inuyasha locked eyes with him for a few seconds and then looked up at the sky. His silence was answer enough.
Author's Notes: Well, I hope you've all enjoyed the second chapter. Not much to say this time. But Happy Holidays! I'm not sure if there'll be an update next week. It gets busy around my house this time of year. But we shall see…^_^
And a huge thank you to all who reviewed:
Eden's Echo, Moon Maiden (This chapter already answered your question, but anyway, she's going through the well), The Hidden One (I love Sirius as well ^_^), small fry, Hotaru Tomoe (Thanks for the cookie), SerinityRules (I hope you'll like it), Kasumi21 (I was upset when he died as well. I'm way too emotional. ^_^ Also this is going to be Inuyasha/Kagome.), Sango9 (I threw the book also, but I still loved the story. You don't like Kikyo very much, do you? ^_^), and PaigeGirl-nee.
Feedback is most welcome and appreciated. The little review button is calling to you…
^_^