9

A/N: I know I haven't updated in a while but there is this little thing called 'school' that has taken up much of my precious writing time. How dare they think that I should waste my writing time to do something as unimportant as studying! Who do they think they are? Anyway, here is another chapter finally completed. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I have to say it? Are you sure? I can't just get away with everyone assuming it? No? Damn...Fine, here it is then.

I don't own Inuyasha.

Happy now? whips tear from eyes

What Is A Half Breed?

Panting, Inuyasha quickly sat up as straight as a board. Cold sweat was running down his forehead and neck. Looking around quickly, remembered the earlier events and sighed heavily. Damn dreams. They had been coming more and more frequently lately. They were never exactly the same, but always very similar. There was a young boy with white hair and dog ears in a red haori (just like himself) and a beautiful and kind woman who took care of him. What was all this about? Were they memories from his childhood? He couldn't remember anything of his life before he was 6 years old and he woke up one day in an orphanage.

They also seemed to be more vivid when he slept on the ground, rather then in a tree. Something about being in a tree; the freedom, the height, the security, just made him feel comfortable; made him feel safe. Being on the ground made him feel vulnerable and he hated the feeling. Turning his gaze upward, he noticed the rafters that supported the roof. From the looks of them, they were old, but seemed strong enough. Without a second's hesitation, he leapt up and sat down cautiously on the beam. It held strong.

Settling back contently, he glanced back down at Kagome and scoffed. She was still asleep and still leaning against the railing of the steps. 'Her back is going to hurt when she wakes up', Inuyasha thought to himself, shaking his head at the girl. Still, there was something about her; this strange feeling in the pit of his stomach when ever he looked at her. Even from where he was, he could sense her. The smell of cherry blossoms surrounded her and gently floated up through the rafters. Then, he felt something else, something strangely familiar, yet, he couldn't recognize it.

All the deep thought he was putting into this was beginning to hurt his head. Letting out a long, tired yawn, Inuyasha decided to try to get some more sleep. He knew it was still late out and thought that, while he had the opportunity to sleep inside and out of the cold, he was going to take advantage of it. Yawning again, he folded his arms across his chest and brought one leg in towards his body, allowing the other leg to dangle off the beam. The warmth of being safely inside, which he hadn't felt since he didn't know when, quickly helped his tired body fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

:-:

Kagome slowly began to wake up. Her back and neck felt stiff, the same stiff feeling she feels when she falls asleep at her desk while studying. Slowly opening her eyes, she found that she was not staring up at her bedroom ceiling or even the wall, if she was at her desk, like usual.

'Am I still dreaming?' She thought to herself. She could remember parts of her dream; there was a boy with white hair and dog ears, it was raining outside and she was in the park. Then they were in the well house. What a strange dream. Cautiously, she reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes and a blanket fell from her shoulder. What? This isn't her usual quilt from her bed. Finally being able to focus on her surroundings, Kagome realized she WAS in the well house.

"What the...?" She started, quickly looking around her. How had she gotten there? Was she sleepwalking? Wait! Her dream! Maybe it wasn't a dream at all. Had all that really happened? If it did, where was the boy? Pulling the blanket back over her shoulders (she was still a bit damp and a chill ran down her spine) Kagome stood up. The first place she looked was down the steps at the well. It would be very easy for someone to be hiding down there. This thought didn't comfort her very much as the descended the stairs. Nothing there except a bunch of spiders webs.

As she ascended the stairs, she thought she caught a glimpse of someone sitting near the door. It was only a shadow and she couldn't tell who it was, so she was very cautious about approaching. Getting down on all fours, Kagome quietly climbed the steps. Staying crouched down, so whoever it was could not see her, she slowly peered over the top step. Nothing. Whoever was there before was gone now.

Standing up, she looked around again. Maybe everything was just a dream. It had to have been. Who ever heard of a dog-eared boy that lives in a tree? Kagome laughed inside. What a stupid idea. How could she even begin to think it had really happened? But then again, if it was all a dream, how did she end up in the well house?

Suddenly, Kagome had the strange feeling that she wasn't alone. Looking around again, she kept telling herself that the only thing that was with her, were the spiders. That sent another chill up her spine. The less time she had to be in the well house, the better. What she didn't know was, there were more then just spiders watching her every move.

:-:

Up in the raptors, Inuyasha, who had re-awoken just before Kagome, sat perched on one of the wooden beams, watching the girl as she went down to inspect the well, began to climb the stairs, stopped and crouched down like an animal to finish the climb.

'What is she doing,' he wondered to himself. Was this a girl thing or something? A thought then popped into his head. Maybe she was looking for him. But why? His mind was always on high suspicion mode and this girl, even though she had helped him, wasn't going to be any different. Not wanting to give away his position, he decided to wait until her back was turned, then come make his presence known.

As she stood on the top step, looking around, Inuyasha prepared himself to jump. He suddenly had a strange feeling, like he had been in this position before, but couldn't remember when. Shaking his head clear, he decided to ignore the deja-vu thought. He lived in trees and jumped from them all the time. That's probably what he was remembering. Still, it was a strange feeling.

'Forget it,' He told himself and focused is attention back on the girl. When she had moved a few steps forward towards the door, Inuyasha decided to take the opening. Letting himself free-fall, he landed perfectly on the wood-planked floor, causing the entire well house to creak and groan.

Jumping out of her skin, Kagome whirled around to find that the boy from her 'dream' was crouching down on the floor behind her. His bare feet were planted firmly on the floor and one of his clawed hands was flat in front of him, to steady himself.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Kagome shouted, backing up against the wall of the well house. Her right hand was over her quickly beating heart while her left was extended out to her side, attempting to find something to latch onto, in case her legs decided to give out on her.

"Wondering the same thing about you." Inuyasha answered smugly, standing up straight.

"What? Where did you come from?" She inquired, beginning to wonder why he was still here. Inuyasha didn't answer her question. He simply stared at her with his wide, amber eyes. Kagome was momentarily captivated by those eyes. They were strange, so unique. Just like the boy himself. Before Kagome could say anything else, she began to get a strange feeling.

Inuyasha felt the same thing. Turning around, he stared down at the well again. This time, instead of finding nothing as he did before, Inuyasha and Kagome were shocked to find there was a strange blue light emitting from INSIDE the well. What made this even stranger, other then the fact that the well hasn't been used in years, was that the cover hasn't been removed in just as long!

"What in all the hells is that?" Inuyasha spat as he slowly inched his way away from the strange light. What he didn't realize he was also doing, was putting himself directly between the well and Kagome, using himself as a shield of protection. He may not have notice he was doing it, but Kagome sure did. She was still backed up against the wall when she first noticed the strange light. Not daring to move, Kagome was frozen in her place. That is, until, Inuyasha moved over and positioned himself in front of her. Leaning to her left so that she could see around him, Kagome watched as the light in the well grew brighter and brighter.

"Wh...what's going on?" She stuttered out.

"Hell if I know." Inuyasha snapped. "This is your well isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's never done this before!" Kagome shouted back at him. Inuyasha looked back over his shoulder to tell her to stop shouting because it was hurting his ears, but he never got the chance. Suddenly, the well cover as blown off with such a force, that it sent shrapnel of wood everywhere. On instinct, Inuyasha spun around and threw himself over Kagome, pressing her against the wall again; his chest only inches away from hers. He allowed his back to take the full force of the explosion while bracing himself against the wall, digging his claws into the old wood. Kagome screamed as the bright light engulfed them and splinters of wood came from all angles.

"Will you shut the hell up?!" Inuyasha demanded, staring down at Kagome with his harsh, amber eyes. His ears were flattened to his head now, almost completely hidden among his hair. Suddenly, the entire well house was filled with a blinding, blue light. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, both out of intense fear of what was happening and the fact that she didn't want to go blind from the light. Above her, she could hear Inuyasha breathing heavily, panting.

That's when she really realized what he was doing for her. He was protecting her, but not only that, he used his body as a shield. When the cover blew off the lid and sent wood flying everywhere, anything that would have hit her, hit him instead. Who knows what sort of pain he was in at the moment? His back was probably full of cuts and splinters.

Forgetting about everything else, Kagome opened her eyes and stared up at the strange boy. 'Why was he doing this?' she thought. His face was set in, what seemed to be, a permanent scowl, his eyes narrowed with an expression of frustration and pain was spread across his face. She continued to stare at him with eyes of amazement.

Inuyasha suddenly sensed something different about the girl. A moment ago, she was body was rigid and the smell of fear covered her entire body. Now, though, he could feel her body against his relax a bit and the scent of fright slowly fading. Glancing downward, he realized that Kagome was now looking up at him with a strange expression on her face.

"What's wrong with you?" He demanded, beginning to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach from the way she was staring at him. Kagome's throat decided to take this opportunity to freeze up. Though she moved her lips in an attempt to speak, no sound came forth. "Well?" He shouted. Kagome's eyes suddenly darted to her right, attempting to see what was happening behind Inuyasha's body shield. Inuyasha noticed this and suddenly looked up.

Something was wrong. Or right, for that matter. The strange blue light that had filled the well house was gone. Slowly, after prying his claws from the wooden walls, he turned around to asses the situation. Unconsciously making sure Kagome stayed behind him, he began to wander around the well house, looking for any hint or clue that might explain what in all the hells had just happened.

"Stay right here." He ordered Kagome, who was edging her way away from the wall and towards the steps that lead down to the well.

"Why? I want to find out what just happened here." She exclaimed.

"Will you just listen to me?" Inuyasha howled back.

"Why should I?" Kagome retaliated. Just as Inuyasha was opening his mouth to tell her how stupid she was being, he thought he heard something. Kagome, noticing his sudden and almost passive change in expression, questioned him about it. "What's wrong?"

"Shut up." He hissed. Jumping from the top step down to the well, Inuyasha began searching for something. What it was, he wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that there was something there. After coming to the conclusion that there was nothing outside the well, then what he was sensing must be inside it. As stealthily as possible, he approached it and slowly peered over the side. Even with his amazing vision, all he could see was darkness. Nothing. But there had to be something there. He was sensing it. How could he sense something that didn't exist?!

"Find anything?" Kagome's voice startled Inuyasha out of his trance like state. He was so deep in thought; he hadn't even realized she had approached. Mentally, he scolded himself for letting his guard down.

"Didn't I tell you to say up there?" He barked, pointing to the top of the steps. Kagome, in response, simply put her hands on her hips and took a defying stance. She had her book bag on her back, as she was intending on going back to her house when she was finished dealing with the boy.

"And who do you think you are that you can tell me what to do?" She snapped. He didn't answer. He simply glared at her. After a while, Kagome remembered something.

"So, how is your back?" She asked as nonchalantly as possible as she approached him. Not understanding what she was doing, Inuyasha pulled away from her.

"What are you talking about?" He snapped.

"Your back. It but really hurt after...after..." 'After what? You saved my life?' she thought to herself. "After all that wood hit you when the well cover blew off." Inuyasha stared at her for a minute, trying to figure out what she was babbling about. Then he remembered what he had done. He had thrown his body in front of hers, so she wouldn't get hurt.

Wait! He did what?! He had saved her. He protected her. But, that's not like him. He doesn't look out for anyone or care for anyone except himself. Why had he done that! There was something about this girl that was making him do things he normally wouldn't do and it was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Here, let me look at it." Kagome said after seeing the look on his face. 'He must be in so much pain', she thought as she reached for his haori top so that she could examine his back. Inuyasha was deep in thought again, which was another thing he was doing a lot around this girl, that he didn't realize what she was doing until he felt her pulling at his shirt.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing?" He demanded, pulling back from her grasp. Kagome stood back and looked at him coldly.

"I'm just trying to help. You probably have splinters all over your back. We should get them out now." She shot back.

"I don't need your help. I'm fine." He spat, turning his back to her. This, normally his way of ending an unwanted conversation, turned out to be a mistake on his part.

"Oh really? So then this doesn't hurt?" Kagome said, reaching out and poking the boys back with her index finger.

"Ahhh!" Inuyasha cried out, whirling around. "What the hell was that for?"

"See I knew you were hurt." She said triumphantly. "Just let me take a look at it."

"NO!" He howled. "I don't need or WANT your help!"

The two held another staring contest for the next 5 minutes. Eventually, Kagome tired of the game and forfeit by taking a seat on the edge of the well.

"I don't think you should do that." Inuyasha said suddenly. Kagome noted that his voice was not as hostile as usual. It actually carried a hint of concern and worry. What she didn't know was he was sensing something from the well again and he had a really bad feeling that something was about to happen.

"Why not? You think I'm going to fall in and you'll have to go down to rescue me?" Kagome asked, playfully leaning back so it appeared that she would fall into the darkness of the well at any second.

"And why the hell would I go down there to rescue you?!" He almost laughed at the thought of it. Though, watching her rock back and forth made him really uncomfortable.

"Seriously, don't do that." He said urgently. Kagome, starting to get a strange feeling as well, decided to heed his words. Just as she sat up, the strange blue light that had engulfed them before suddenly returned. This time, though, there was a powerful energy accompanying the light. It felt like some sort of suction. Kagome could feel herself being dragged in.

"Inuyasha! HELP ME!" She screamed and held on to the edge of the well as tightly as she could. But soon, the suction became too much and her hands slipped. Letting out a glass shattering sheik as she fell back, she thought that was the end. Suddenly, she felt something grip her right wrist and begin to pull her forward.

Opening her eyes, which she had closed tightly when she first saw the light again, she saw Inuyasha gripping her wrist tightly and attempting to pull her away from the well. He seemed to be having some difficultly though, as though he too was being sucked in. Beads of sweat could be easily seen gathering on his forehead while his face was contorted in an expression of concentration and frustration.

Not only was his forehead gathering sweat, but so were his hands. Soon, though he try with all his might to keep a solid grip on her, she began to, quite literally, slip through his fingers.

"NO!" He cried out as he dove towards her and attempted to grab her again before she fell into the darkness. He succeeded in getting a hold of her arm.

"Don't let go." She whispered in a voice full of fear. Her eyes were red and wide with horror while salted tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

"Of course I'm not going to let go!" He said in a harsher tone then he had intended. Then, softening his tone, he added, "Just hang on. I'll get you up in a minute." Unfortunately, neither of them was strong enough to fight the amazing energy that was emitting from the well. With Kagome going down first and Inuyasha quickly following suit, the pair tumbled down into the seemingly endless darkness of the well. Not knowing what to expect at the bottom, Inuyasha pulled Kagome close to his body, her chest against his and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He then rotated his body so that when they hit bottom, he would take the force of the impact.

That was the last thing he remembered. He had to protect her. As they fell, the blue light became brighter and brighter. As the light increased, Inuyasha and Kagome's consciousness decreased, until they were free falling into the unknown; unaware of where or when they would end up.

A/N: Finally! This chapter is extra long to make up for my lack or writing recently. I hope you are still enjoying this story! PLEASE! Don't forget to review. Think of it this way: If you review, it will make me happy and when I'm happy, I write more. So it's a win-win situation, right?

:-: AouraMaiden :-: