Much love to those who have taken the time to read and review; namely Inuyasha-inu-hanyou (Thanks! I'll definitely keep up with the action and drama!), KitsuneFoxChild (Thanks for your sweet comments, and I hope your computer feels better), and Amujr (Twice. O-o Should I be afraid? Don't worry, I remember. I owe you a hot spring scene with Kouhei. Also; 'her world' is the track). Usual disclaimers apply.

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Kimiko's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, she wondered why it was cool and dim. Then, the realization came to her just as surely as the sword hilt poking into her side. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment more, then sat up. Dizzy, she pressed a hand to her forehead until her track shoes stopped square-dancing with each other.

She'd had this weird dream about a woman with six arms and the lower body of a centipede. "Nasty," she muttered, rubbing her eyes, then shaking her head as though to rid herself of the image, and looked around for the note. It was what she'd jumped down there for, anyway.

Finally she found herself sitting on it. It was a little squashed, but otherwise fine. Folding it back up, she carefully slipped it into her white track t-shirt's chest pocket. With a little sigh, she stood and touched the side of the well, looking for some way to climb out. She was relieved when she found the hard, thick vines growing up the side, but it instantly became clear that it would be hard to balance the red haori and the sword.

Kimiko swept the haori over her shoulders, and was surprised at how it cut out the chill of the evening so well. Clenching the strings around the mouth of the saya in her teeth to hold the sword in front of her, she climbed her way up the vines. Although they creaked a little with her weight, they held easily.

About three-fourths of the way up, she paused. A small white butterfly fluttered inches from her nose, then landed on it. She blinked a few times, screwing her face up, then sneezed it off. She watched it flutter upwards, rubbing her nose. It occurred to her that she'd never seen a butterfly quite like it before. Then, with a start, she realized she was seeing it against a backdrop of blue with fluffy white clouds.

With her breath catching in her throat, Kimiko realized that the roof of the shrine was gone. With urgency, she climbed the last few feet much faster, and threw her arm over the side of the well, hauling her torso out. What she saw made her mouth go slack, and she almost dropped the sword.

Trees. Trees were everywhere. Grass, shrubs and wildflowers covered the ground. The air was filled with the smell of warm earth, rain and birdsong. It was a world far removed from Tokyo.

"Wha..." Kimiko whispered, clutching the sword to her chest and pulling the haori around her as she perched on the side of the well. "Where am I...?" only the lilting singing of birds answered her. She turned her head from one side to the other, wishing she had about five more pairs of eyes so she could see everything around her at once.

Strangely enough, it felt somehow familiar. How that was possible, she had no idea. Clutching the sword, she knew it would be cumbersome to carry... she had no idea where she was. Maybe she could walk until she found people, or a place with a phone. Yeah.

Pulling the bright red haori around her shoulders and shoving her arms through the sleeves, she realized just how huge it was. Obviously made for a man, the giant sleeves fell several inches past her fingertips, making her have to hike it up to have the use of her hands. The jacket was longer than the skirt she wore to school, when she tied it at the waist, and she wasn't a small girl. She did have somewhere to put the sword, though. Flipping back the sleeves a little clumsily, she slipped the sword through the sash so it rested on the left side of her waist. Well, that was the best she was going to get for now.

She scanned her surroundings again, turning in a circle. There didn't look to be any trails around. If there were, they would likely be overgrown. It looked as though this place had remained untouched for years. It looked like something had been through the undergrowth recently in a place, though. Hopeful, she jogged over and examined the snapped twigs and bent grass.

Looking up to follow the trail with her eyes, she gasped as she saw something familiar.

The Goshinboku.

Excited, she dashed through the undergrowth towards it. When she had been a child, she used to find her way home by that tree. It was so huge it would rise up among the skyscrapers, and was visible from a distance. That tree meant that -

"Kyaa...!"

The breath was knocked out of her as she hit the ground, scraping her hands. Panicked, she reached for the sword at her side. As she touched it, a strong hand clamped around her wrist, keeping her from drawing it. Her free hand balled into a fist, which she swung at her attacker without thinking. She felt the empty swish of the air, but the hand around her wrist loosened. With a strong pull, she yanked out of her attacker's grip, freeing the sword. It clanged slightly, and then all was still.

Kimiko stared up into the blue-violet eyes of a young man. They were wide, and his mouth had formed a little "O" of surprise. She had the sword pressed against his throat. She caught her breath as he scooted backwards, out of the range of her sword. The short black ponytail at the nape of his neck bobbed.

"Pervert," she hissed. Instantly his eyes went from surprise to indignation - it seemed he wasn't used to being accused of that sort of thing, and found it very insulting.

"What would you have expected?" he asked. "Should I have lie down and let you kill me?" the strands that escaped the ponytail swished in his eyes.

Kimiko rolled her eyes and lowered the sword slightly, but didn't put it away. "Why would you think I'd kill you?"

He straitened and gave her a look as though she'd asked him something akin to why the sky was blue. "Better safe than dead," he told her, "especially in these woods." with that, he spun around and walked over to the bushes, pulling one back and reaching underneath it for something.

Kimiko watched with fascination as he pulled out a jingling Houshi's staff. It occurred to her that she'd never seen one, outside of festivals. It was the mark of a Buddhist monk. No one just walked around with one. She blinked, dumbfounded, as he turned back to her. Now that she had a chance to look, he was wearing a deep purple and midnight blue kesa that fastened in the front, exactly the garb of the servants of Buddha.

Where the hell was she!

"Now, let's try this again," he said as he leveled the staff at his side, giving her an even stare, "This is the Inuyasha no Mori. No one comes here, because..." he lifted his right hand and index finger in front of him, as though he were trying to make a point to a child. "It's dangerous."

It was his manner, more than his words, that made Kimiko bristle. If she had been paying more attention, she would have wondered about the strange gauntlet on the hand he was holding up. "I haven't seen anything dangerous except you," she snapped. "Lecher."

The young Houshi gave her a dark scowl.

"Fine," he muttered under his breath, a slight pink tinge coming to his cheeks. He turned on his sandaled heel, starting towards the thick undergrowth. "Go get disemboweled by a youkai, for all I care."

Kimiko scowled darkly after him as she jammed the sword back into its sheath, then tromped off in the opposite direction. "Crazy, stupid..." she muttered under her breath, kicking a rock. Birds jeered at her from the treetops. He was a moron, she told herself. There's no such thing as youkai. He's as crazy as Jii-chan.

The thought of her great-grandfather stopped her, and she stared up at the Goshinboku, biting back the panic again. She still had no idea where she was, but this tree was familiar. She knew every coarse curve of the bark, every snag. The only thing missing was the shimenawa tied around it. With a sigh she stepped up on the protruding roots, running her hand over the scar on the trunk. This was all she recognized. Just the Goshinboku and the well.

And the things she carried. She lifted a hand to her chest, touching the red fabric of the strange haori. With a sigh she turned, leaning her back against the tree, taking the sheathed katana from the left side of her waist, and sat down cross-legged. The corner of her mouth twitched upwards in a smirk as she thought about what Jii-chan would have to say about that.

"That's not the proper way for a young woman to sit," she said to herself, wagging a finger in the air in the semblance of the old man, wrinkling up her face to try and imitate the sour expression he always seemed to have.

"Well," she murmured, thinking out loud as she closed her fist around the saya, near the hilt, and balanced it against her shoulder, next to her left ear. "It ain't as though he's here right now!"

Just as soon as the words left her lips, the satisfaction died. Her smirk became serious and thoughtful. "I've gotta get home," she murmured, then let out a dejected sigh, looking up into the branches, the leaves that swirled in the breeze.

But where was she?

Wait, that Houshi. He'd told her where she was. Some forest... Mori. Inu... Inuya...

... Inuyasha.

Inuyasha no Mori.

She snapped her fingers. That young Houshi had told her that this was the Inuyasha no Mori. But... with an exasperated groan, she slapped her palm to her forehead.

Where the hell was THAT!

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Eee! She's lost! XD

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