Disclaimer: This goes for the whole first part 'cause I ain't writing this for every chapter, I don't own any InuYasha characters, nor do I claim to. You should have known this anyway. I hate disclaimers...

Life in Vein

Part One: A Past Best Forgotten

Chapter One

Dances With Wolves

Naomi couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned for hours before actually admitting it to herself, though. At one in the morning, she sat up in bed, dreary-eyed, and whispered to herself, "I can't sleep." She shoved off the covers and walked out of her room, making her way down to the kitchen down the dark hallway. As quietly as she could, she found a flashlight and went out of the house for a walk, thinking it might help her sleep.

Down the driveway and into the street, she walked for a total of five minutes before she got too cold and had to head back. As she was walking up the driveway, however, she heard a faint sound. It intrigued her, and she instantly forgot she was so cold.

It sounded like it was coming from the field on the back of the property. She headed for it, the sound steadily getting louder as she progressed. Half way there, she could tell it was a cry for help. It sounded almost like a wolf cub. Yes, that's what it was. A baby wolf. It had to be. But what was the cause for its cry for help, and where did it come from? There were no wolves in the state. She increased her pace, worried for the wolf. In her hurry however, she failed to see a root and tripped, dropping the flashlight. She cursed herself for her clumsiness, and picked up the flashlight.

Now, she realized, hitting the ground, the bulb in the flashlight broke. She could hear the little shards rattling around. She cursed herself again and got up, determined to help the wolf cub, whatever its problem was. She could see the field, and the well in the middle where she always had to get water for her mother. Fear ran through her as she realized the wolf probably fell down the well and she took of at a run towards the well.

"Little wolf?!" Naomi called, concerned. Of course, the only answer she got was another little whiney yip. She reached the well and tried to peer down to see him, but it was too dark. Even in the daylight it was hard to see the bottom. Instead of trying to spot it, she called to it again. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Again, its now quite repetitive yip, came to Naomi's ears. He was definitely in the well, but its poor whining troubled her. What happened? How did it get down there?

She tried once more, "Are you okay?" Suddenly, the yipping stopped and her heart just about skipped a beat.

That's it, she thought. I'm going down there.

Naomi threw a leg over the edge of the well and called to the wolf, "I'm coming down." However, before she could even get her other leg over the edge, she could see something fly up, even in the darkness, and wrap around her waist. Before she could even call help, herself, it pulled her down, so scared she passed out.

The sun was shining brightly upon Naomi's face when she woke up. Still disoriented from sleep, she recalled the wolf cub's call for help and her fall. It must have been a bad dream, she thought to herself, sitting up, but as she realized she was waking up on the cold ground, she knew it hadn't been a dream.

At first, she was afraid of the thing that had wrapped around her and pulled her down, and then for the wolf, but then she was more afraid that she would end up like the wolf, unable to get out of the well. She looked up to the sky at the opening of the well. It was a crystal clear day, she noticed, but she also noticed something else. The well wasn't as deep as she thought it to be. In fact, it was quite shallow. And there were roots all over the edges of the well. She hadn't noticed them before, but was glad they were there. She would be able to get out of the well after all.

Naomi stood up, her head spinning from the fall. She lost her balance for only a second when she caught a hold of the wall for support. Taking a few deep breaths, she searched for a thick root, one that looked like it would support her weight. She found one and grabbed it, now happy she had taken those rock climbing classes. She began climbing out, slowly but surely. However, once she had gotten a little over half way out, she heard the root beginning to tear. As a last attempt not to fall, she tried to scramble up the root faster, but only succeeded in snapping the root. She fell down to the bottom once more, landing on her feet, but loosing her balance and falling to her knees. She cursed the luck she was having, swallowed her pride and resorted to calling for help.

Kouga ran out to the cliff facing the Bird of Paradise's nest. He was looking for the one that possessed a Jewel Shard. Suddenly, the wind picked up from the west. He picked up a scent. It was that of a female's with a hint of flowers and fruit. The scent aroused him and he was instantly intrigued. He had to find this girl. He set off to the west.

Ten minutes went by with her constantly calling 'help' before anyone came. "Hello? Is someone down there?" the voice beckoned. He peered down the well and Naomi could make out a shadow of his upper body. He had long hair, tied back in a ponytail, broad, strong shoulders, and a deep voice, but that was all she could tell about him.

"I'm here," she called. "I tried to climb out, but the root broke." She hesitated. "I...need some help."

"Okay. I'm coming down," he called. For a second he disappeared from view before he flew down. He had jumped. Naomi moved against the wall so she wouldn't get hit. He landed close to her, but was careful not to hit her. "Get on my back," he told her. She did as asked and he leaped to the top of the well and over, letting her off at the top. "Are you okay? What happened?" he asked, looking her over. She was about five-foot-one--about half a foot shorter than he was--and was lean and fit. She had lively green and brown eyes that seemed to make her look more alive. Her long, dark brown hair brought out her face, along with a small scratch on her cheek. Then he focused on the rest of her body, looking for any more injuries. She seemed to be standing on her own just fine, and recalling her grip she had on him when he brought her out of the well, he concluded nothing was broken.

Naomi looked at her rescuer. He was dressed in armor and brown fur. He had pointy ears and...who was this? She looked towards the well, looking for an answer, as if it would tell her what exactly happened, for she was not entirely sure. It was then she noticed her surroundings. Yes, she was still in a field, but there was no clearing after it where her yard began. They were surrounded by a forest. "I--I don't know... Where am I?"

Instead of answering her question, he asked her one of his own. "Did you hit your head when you fell? You're in InuYasha's Forest. Although, why you would want to be here is beyond me."

"InuYasha's Forest?" she pondered. She had never heard of it before.

"You're coming with me. I think you've got amnesia," he said, taking her in his arms, honeymoon-style. He took off towards his den, excited just wondering what it would be like to take care of her.

"Do you remember your name?" he asked on the way there.

"I don't have amnesia. My name is Naomi, and as stupid as this sounds, I don't think I'm from around here."

He paused, thinking. "Actually, I think I know exactly what you're talking about. A girl came here not too long ago from five-hundred years in the future from that very well, or so I've heard."

"So what made you think I had amnesia?"

"She and the hanyou are supposedly the only ones who can pass through it," he explained. "I figured you had fallen in the well and hit your head because you shouldn't be able to pass between times."

The more he spoke, the more confused she got, and the bigger her headache grew. Maybe she did hit her head...Then she realized she didn't know his name. "Okay, I told you my name, so what's yours?"

"I'm Kouga of the Wolf Youkai tribe," he said, reaching a waterfall.

"Why are we here?" Naomi asked.

"This is my den, where I live." He started off toward the waterfall.

"Behind the waterfall?" she asked confused

"Yeah. I guess you can stay here as long as you like. I'll take you when you want to go back to the well, so you don't get killed by some youkai."

"There are youkai here?" she asked in alarm, but then realized it was a stupid question to ask Kouga, a wolf youkai. "Don't answer that," Naomi said, hitting herself on the forehead and immediately regretting it, searing pain rattling her head.

"And you say you didn't hit you're head?" he asked in disbelief

"I never said I didn't hit my head. I simply said I don't have amnesia. Come to think of it, I probably did hit my head. I have a major migraine. Do you have an Aspirin?"

"Aspirin?"

"Never mind."

A bunch of wolves and guys dressed like Kouga were sitting around a waterfall. A man who was dressed something like Kouga was sitting on a ledge by it. He spotted them and called out, "Hey! Kouga's back!"

"Hey, Ginta," Kouga said in return before he leapt into the air a few feet and landed on a ledge. He walked behind the waterfall and into a cave about the size of a fairly small house and a ceiling about fifteen feet high. He walked her over to a bed of grass and let her sit down. A pack of wolf youkai, lead by the one Kouga had called Ginta, followed up behind him.

"Nice looking woman, Kouga," one of them said. "Yeah," said another, "I got dibs on the heart."

"She's off limits. I'll kill anyone who even tries to eat her." The youkai took a step back when Kouga said that. Naomi's heart sped up a bit. "Stay here until I find something for that headache of yours," Kouga said, turning from her. It was then that she noticed he had a tail. She was shocked that she hadn't noticed when she jumped on his back before, but then was more shocked it was even there. What a strange man, Naomi thought to herself. "My god," she muttered under her breath, just low enough so no one would hear her. However the moment it escaped her lips, Kouga turned.

"What did you say?" he asked, not having heard exactly what she said, but knowing she did say something.

"Uh...you have a, uh...tail," she managed to make herself say, afraid he might take offence.

"Yeah?" he said as if he got a lot of attention from it.

"Never mind. Sorry."

"Eh, I didn't put it there, I take no offence," he said, as if he could read her thoughts

Kouga turned back around when he noticed his pack all staring at Naomi. "If you try anything, You'll be regretting it. I'll be back in a little bit." Kouga left the den and Naomi was left with a bunch of wolves and wolf youkai. Most of the youkai had stopped staring, but some were still watching her intently. All of the wolves were looking at her, some hungrily. A shudder ran through her spine. "N--Nice...puppies..." Naomi stuttered as three of the wolves crept close to her. They did look friendlier than the others, but she had never gotten close to a wolf before and it was a bit unnerving. Besides, how did she know these weren't the meanest of the pack? "Don't come any closer..."

One of them defied her words more than the other three and came at a run towards her. Naomi screamed, but it soon turned to laughter as the wolf started licking her face playfully. Now she had everyone's attention, however she was unaware she was being stared at once more. She scratched behind the wolf's ears and the rest of them got jealous of the attention. They all came over and looked at her with sad puppy eyes and nudged at her, begging to be pet. She did her best to pay attention to them all, but there must have been twenty some-odd wolves all around her.

Suddenly, Naomi became aware she was being watched when she heard a few of the wolf youkai laughing. She looked up at them, only realizing what she had figured. "What are you laughing at?" Naomi asked, still trying to pet the wolves. One of them answered between laughing, "You and the wolves!" She realized the whole scene must look pretty funny and started laughing again. The three wolves who had first made an attempt to near her started licking her face and she couldn't take it. "Alright, alright, now. That's enough." Naomi said, standing up so they could no longer reach her face. "You have a bone or something?" she asked one of the youkai staring at her. One of them tossed a bone from some dinner long past and she caught it. "Thanks."

Naomi waved the bone so all the wolves could see it. "See the bone? See the bone?" she asked playfully. She ran from the pack surrounding her, waving the bone behind her, taunting the wolves. "Come get it!" she called and they all started to follow her. She went out of the den but had forgotten how high up she was. Stopping at the ledge, realizing she couldn't just jump without hurting herself, she saw the deep pool the waterfall was creating and swan-dived into it. She surfaced and swam ashore. Once out and soaking wet, she turned to the ledge to see the wolves staring down at her bewildered. "Well," she called to them. "Are you coming or not?" she asked, using a hand to motion them down. One by one, they jumped into the water, swam ashore, and shook themselves off. Once they were all there, she started the game again.

"Come on, now. See the bone?" she shook it in their faces one last time before throwing it as far as she could. "Now, go get it!" She said, pointing to the still flying bone. They all took off after it and Naomi followed, running as fast as she could. The wolves could run pretty fast, but she didn't let that stop her. One of the wolves reached the bone and picked it up in his teeth. Then another one came and grabbed the other half of it and started a tug of war over the bone. Just to add to the fun, Naomi stopped and called to them, "Now bring it back." They started running towards her, neither one of them letting go of the bone. They stopped before her and resumed their fight, trying to be the one to present her with the bone. She took the middle of it and said "drop it," and they both let go at the same time.

She turned back towards the waterfall and threw it again, remembering the fact that there were some unsavory youkai around, and figured it would be best to stay near the den. "Go get it!" she called once more, and they took off for it. She once again followed. This play went on for about a half an hour, until Naomi started to get tired. She started to head back for the den, but then realized, she could probably climb up, but what about the wolves? Who would have a den that high up, anyway?

"Anybody know how to get back up?" she asked the wolves, but then realized it was pointless to ask them. How would they know what she was saying? Then, she got an idea. She moved to an angle where she could see the inside of the den from behind the waterfall. She threw the bone up into the den and called for the last time, "Go get it!" The wolves immediately took off to the right and Naomi followed. She noticed they seemed to be heading for a ledge. Just as she had figured, they all, one by one got on the ledge and headed for the den.

Naomi was the last one to get into the den, as she was much slower than the wolves. The same two who had first got the bone had gotten it and were once again fighting over it. Too tired to care who got it, she headed for the bed of grass, all but the two wolves followed. When she laid down, she realized they were following her. "Oh, come on, guys. I'm tired. No more playing," she said to the ever nearing wolves. However, they simply came and laid near her, and she smiled. One of the two wolves fighting over the bone noticed the rest had left and dropped the bone and started to head over to Naomi. The wolf with the bone in his mouth raised his head high to signify that he was the winner, but when he noticed Naomi wasn't around to see, he dropped the bone and also made his way over to the bed.

Running with the wolves made her tired, and despite the fact that she woke up probably less that two hours ago, Naomi fell asleep, curled up on the bed of grass with the wolves. Some of the youkai still stared at her, wondering how the wolves had taken to her so fast, and the other half just stared at her sleeping form, wishing Kouga had not gotten to her first.