Disclaimer: Hmm… I've repeated it about 20 times now in each chapter of all my stories….Do you get the point yet that I don't own Inuyasha?

A/N: Thank you all for your well wishes during my exam week (I think I did well)! My fictions are not very popular, but I really don't mind at all! Thank you all again for your nice reviews and for not losing faith that I wouldn't update! Here is chapter four, please enjoy (if not, please refrain from rotten tomatoes being thrown!) and I hope you review after!

Chapter Four: Broken Time Barrier

Kagome had had many nightmares before, but none that had ever really frightened her like the previous one! None of her dreams had yet been as vivid as this! Plus, the fact that Kaede told her that this dream was a dark omen did not help the current situation very much. Although Kagome was not very superstitious, she couldn't help but feel just a little bit unnerved about the whole ordeal. What if something really did happen to Souta and her mother? Kagome was not about to let anything happen to them, no matter what the cost may be…

The day passed very slowly. Nothing interesting had happened. There were no demons around to kill, no demonic auras to chase, no scent of Naraku, or any sensation of a jewel fragment nearby. There was nothing that day for Kagome to do but sit around and only grow more anxious about her family at home.

After hours of contemplating over the previous couple of days, Kagome decided to get her mind off the subject and occupy herself to pass the time. She noticed the woodpile beside Kaede's hut was getting low, and she would need more soon since it was getting colder outside. So Kagome set off with Sango and Shippo to the forest outside of the village boundaries to collect some more firewood.

The sun was covered by thick gray clouds as the three set off into the forest. A slight chill in the air foreshadowed a possibility of snow, as the late autumn leaves danced to the ground each time the wind blew through the forest. It was quiet except for the rustling of leaves.

"Aren't ye going to follow Kagome and the others, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked vaguely, not bothering to turn her head to see the silent half-demon sitting on her wooden fence as he usually did. Instead, she kept her eye on her herb garden as she plucked the last of the autumn herbs for the winter.

"Keh, they're just going for firewood, nothing exciting." Inuyasha yawned in boredom. He watched Kaede sit in her garden, carefully pulling her herbs and vegetables from the soil.

"So sitting around all day on a fence is more interesting than collecting firewood?" Kaede gave a small chortle.

"They're both boring, but this is the lesser of two evils," he stated in a monotone voice. "And the fact that I'm sick of hearing Kagome's lies" he added mentally.

"I'm worried about Kagome, Inuyasha…" Kaede said quietly, turning her head to see him.

Inuyasha shot up in surprise. It was almost as if Kaede just heard what he thought. Was this old miko some kind of mind reader, or was everyone worried about Kagome all of a sudden? Inuyasha gave Kaede an awkward look. He hesitated to say anything.

"She suddenly comes back with a large bruise, and she is not as cheery as she usually is. Haven't you noticed ever since she told us about her father, she has changed?" Kaede got up, carrying the basket of greens with her. She began walking back to her hut. Inuyasha followed half reluctantly, and half anxious to hear where Kaede was going with this conversation.

Inuyasha sighed impatiently at Kaede's remark. "Yeah I noticed. What of it?" He tried to sound as uninterested in the subject as possible, even though he too was deeply worried about her.

Kaede looked at him as if he said some crazy remark. "Do not ye care about Kagome anymore? Do you even notice she is in stress at the moment?"

"I do care. But it's hard to care when she won't tell me the truth anymore!" Inuyasha's mood began to get worse from the conversation.

"Maybe Kagome is not telling the truth because she thinks that looking weak in front of so many strong people would not be such a good thing? Or perhaps she is ashamed and is afraid of what you would think of her?"

Inuyasha stopped walking with Kaede. She was really good with reading people's feelings, Inuyasha had to admit. Too good it seemed. He opened his mouth to comment, but a wind blew by his face, containing a scent he found alarming.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Kaede asked him as she saw the awed look frozen on his face.

Inuyasha sniffed the air again. He thought he was imagining it at first, but after a few moments, he realized he was not hallucinating. He recognized that scent, but not from the feudal era. It was not a good thing for this scent to be in the feudal era. If this scent was here and now…that would mean…

Kagome had to know about this, and fast!

"Inuyasha, where are you going?" Kaede asked puzzled, as he began to run in the direction of Kagome in the forest.

"I'll be back in a second," he called to Kaede. He ran at a demonic speed, leaving Kaede alone in a confused state.

Usually, when around friends, you would talk to them and enjoy their company. Any time with a good friend is time well spent. But today, things didn't happen so normally as usual for Kagome.

As Kagome and Sango accompanied by Shippo, walked through the forest together, they all were deadly silent. Sango and Shippo found it difficult to strike a conversation with Kagome that didn't involve the subjects of "modern time" or "family". If anything like that was brought up, Kagome was sure to have a fit. Sango and Shippo didn't want to risk Kagome getting hurt again.

Even so, silence was not good for them. They were dying in the awkward silence.

"Just say something!" Sango's mind repeatedly told her after agonizing moments of the silence. "Talk about the weather, or what to cook for dinner, or maybe even of Naraku if you're that desperate. Just SAY something!"

After many fumbling with words and topics, Sango finally tried breaking the ice.

"So, umm…Kagome how is your schooling going?" Sango asked. She kicked herself mentally after realizing how idiotic her question was. Fortunately to Sango's relief, Kagome didn't seem to mind.

"I'm actually surprised I don't need to take summer school!..." Kagome began. Both Shippo and Sango were glad to hear Kagome sound her normal self for a little bit.

"…I've missed so much school, but thankfully my mom has been helping me with a lot of classes and I'm doing a lot better than I thought I would..."

Sango and Shippo listened happily, thinking they got the cheerful Kagome back. They thought that, until…

Kagome's face suddenly became sullen out of nowhere. "I missed a really important test the day he came back…"

"Good job Sango!" Sango kicked herself mentally once more. "Think of something quick to get her mind off of that topic…"

But before Sango could sidetrack her with another topic, Shippo thankfully butted in. The little kitsune who had been sitting on Kagome's left shoulder looked alert as he jumped down from his perch in front of the girls.

"What is it Shippo?" Sango asked him.

Shippo held a small hand out to signal the girls to stop walking. His brow knitted as he looked around the autumn forest. "Do you sense that, Sango?" he asked. "I think something is coming our way!"

Sango stopped walking to concentrate. All was silent, except for a wind that rustled through the dying leaves. Then she sensed it. Shippo was right! Something was coming from behind them, and in their direction! She had been concentrating all of her energy on trying to distract Kagome, that she didn't notice it!

Before she could warn Kagome, a flash of red rushed past them, taking Kagome with it.

Sango and Shippo were left in shock for a few moments, before they realized it was Inuyasha who just swiped Kagome from their noses. It was Inuyasha they were sensing.

"T-that was just Inuyasha, right Sango?" Shippo asked wide-eyed, staring in the direction of where the red blur just took his friend.

"Yeah," Sango said, still dazed, but she quickly went out of her daze. "They just went in the direction of the well. I think we should follow them."

Still in a daze, Kagome found herself on Inuyasha's back, clinging onto his neck for dear life as he reached almost Kouga-like speeds racing through the forest.

"Inuyasha! What was that for?" she asked him heatedly.

"I'll tell you when we get to the well." He answered simply. He was too distracted by dodging trees and such to give a complete answer to her question.

"There's no way you're making me go back down that well!" Kagome spat angrily, yet half worried. "Besides, I was just having a conversation with Sango and Shippo! You couldn't stop and tell them where we were going?"

"They'll follow us if they were really worried," Inuyasha assured her. "And I'm not taking you down the well."

Kagome winced as he narrowly missed a large tree in front of them by quickly dodging it. He skidded to a halt right in front of the well, and quickly let Kagome off his back.

"Alright then," she said, "Why are you bringing me here if you're not pushing me down the well?" Kagome positioned herself as far away from the well as possible. He had thrown her down it once before, and she wasn't about to let it happen again.

"Keh, do you even trust me anymore? I wouldn't throw you down that well right now!" He crossed his arms in annoyance. "I smelled something that came from your world that I know shouldn't be here. And you should be here 'cause you'd probably want to know."

"And what is this something?" she asked, still suspicious he might trick her.

Before Inuyasha could answer her, something down the well answered her first.

"Hello? Somebody there? Kagome is that you!" A voice echoed from the bottom of the well to Kagome's ears.

Her heart skipped a beat. She immediately recognized that voice. But that was impossible! How could he get here! Weren't Inuyasha and herself the only ones able to go through that well?

Forgetting the possibility of Inuyasha pushing her down the well, she ran to its edge and looked down into the darkened bottom.

There, looking up at her were two small, teary brown orbs. "Kagome! You're here! Can you get grandpa? I've been stuck down here for an hour!"

"Souta!" Kagome gasped in disbelief. He really was here in the feudal era! So this was what Inuyasha smelled? Her brother's scent?

Inuyasha jumped down the well, then quickly came back up, carrying a teary-eyed little boy under his arm.

The little boy immediately looked in a daze as he found himself in a place far away from home.

"Uumm…We're not at my house, are we?" Souta asked Inuyasha, who shook his head.

"Souta, how in the world did you get through the well!" Kagome asked him.

Souta thought back. "I'm not sure really…"

Inuyasha set him down and sat on the edge of the well. "Well, how did you get in the well, anyways?"

"Oh yeah!" Souta shouted, suddenly sounding frightened like when he was in the well again. "I was trying to get to you Kagome! I thought it wouldn't work, but I jumped in the well anyways…and then I thought it didn't work, so I was calling out for grandpa, and then you came-"

"Slow down Souta!" Kagome shouted amidst his fast ramblings. "So, why were you coming to see me?" she asked. It was surprising to hear her younger brother wanted to see her, when he would usually just wait for her to come to him.

"Because…Because…" Souta suddenly looked ashamed. "Because mom was trying to make me wear a pink kimono."

Inuyasha snorted with laughter, almost losing his balance on the well's edge. Kagome laughed a little too, but she knew he was lying. Her mother would never do that to Souta!

"Come on Souta, tell the truth," she said in a more serious but motherly tone, "we both know you're a worse liar than I am." Inuyasha immediately stopped laughing to hear the truth.

"Well…it was because…dad scares me."

Kagome half-expected an answer like that. It wasn't everyday when Souta looked that frightened, even when he saw a spider!

"What was he doing?" Inuyasha butted in, sounding angry.

"He yells a lot! And he's mad at mom and grandpa for not telling him where you went!" He pointed his comment towards Kagome. "Also, he sneaks out at night, and doesn't come home until when we're all asleep. I'm afraid…he might do something."

Inuyasha balled his fists in agitation. He regretted not staying the last time to meet this guy and confront him. This guy was tormenting first Kagome, and now the rest of her family! He sounded too aggressive as well. If their father was agitated, he would surely do something terrible.

Inuyasha made up his mind. He would see this person right now and confront him once and for all. He stood up off the edge of the well and readied himself to jump down it.

"What are you doing Inuyasha!" Kagome asked alarmed.

"What do you think! I'm going back and I'm meeting this guy."

"DON'T!" Kagome and Souta screamed in unison. Inuyasha turned around at them confused.

"Why can't I?" he asked them.

Both siblings hesitated to give him a reason. They knew it really wasn't one hundred percent safe at home, and if he upset their father's mood, chaos could come.

"We can deal with that later Inuyasha," Kagome told him hastily, "right now; we should do something about Souta."

Souta went over to his sister and looked up at her with his big, puppy-dog eyes. "Sis, can I stay for one night? I've always wanted to see where you and Inuyasha go when you're away from home!"

Kagome tried looking away from his eyes. She knew she was a sucker for her brother's eyes when they were teary and cute like that, however annoying he may be. Still, it was dangerous for him to be here in the feudal era. There were many demons who would like nothing better than to eat a human like him, and he had nothing to protect himself with.

"Isn't it a little dangerous for you to be here, Souta?" Kagome said, looking at Inuyasha for back up. He merely nodded.

"But I promise I'll be good! I won't get in any trouble! Just one night! Please? I will go home tomorrow morning, I promise! I PROMISE!" Souta tugged on Kagome's skirt, giving her the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster.

And it was working. Kagome gave up and looked at Inuyasha. "What do you think, Inuyasha? Can he stay for one night at Kaede's and go back tomorrow? I don't think he would be in that much danger if all of us were around him."

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "That's your decision. He's your brother. But if he is staying, he shouldn't stay for more than a night."

"If we bring him back tomorrow, I'll have my chance to talk to this guy." Inuyasha added mentally. He decided he would not tell his plan of this to Kagome or anyone until after the matter.

As the three decided to walk back to Kaede's village, Sango and Shippo finally caught up with them half way and walked back with them. Although Shippo was pleased to meet Kagome's brother for the first time, Sango remained quiet the rest of the way back.

The sun began to sink lower into the sky as the five returned to Kaede's village. The short days and long nights of winter were approaching. Kagome was dreading the thought of returning home to get winter clothes.

Souta was amazed at the feudal era. He had only heard of villages like these in history books, at school, and by grandpa (not that he listened to everything his grandfather said). He had been dreaming of going back in time with his sister and Inuyasha since the very day he found out where she went on the other side of the well.

Now, finally, his dreams had turned to reality. There he was, meeting friends of Kagome, going to an old-fashioned village—and hopefully going off to fight demons with Inuyasha! But even if he fought demons or not, it was pretty cool!

"Where's Miroku?" Sango asked, finally perking up a little when they reached Kaede's hut.

"I last saw the monk over by the reserve trying to impress some young women a little while ago," Kaede told her, as she came out of her hut.

Without another word, Sango rushed to the direction of the fish reserve. Kagome giggled a little at this.

As Inuyasha and Kagome went inside Kaede's hut, Souta lingered outside the door, feeling a little awkward to barge in on someone's home. Kaede immediately noticed him.

"Who is this young boy?" she asked.

Kagome introduced Kaede to Souta and explained how her brother somehow got through the well. She also explained why he was so scared to go back and had to spend the night.

"I see," Kaede said after listening to the story. Souta had already taken a seat in between Inuyasha and Kagome (Inuyasha wasn't too thrilled for him to be in between himself and Kagome). "So none of ye understand how Souta got through?"
All three shook their heads in dismay.

Just then, Miroku and Sango returned to Kaede's hut. Miroku had a handprint on his face, and Sango had the look of utter annoyance.

It was sad and almost loathing to see, when Inuyasha noticed that Kagome's cheek still resembled Miroku's. The bruise had not left her pale skin yet. The hate towards Kagome's father grew larger and harder to control, even though Inuyasha hadn't even met him yet.

As Miroku sat down, Kagome had to explain everything once more about Souta to Miroku. He too was unable to think of a logical explanation to Souta being able to break the barrier between the future and past.

After dinner, and as the night drew on, the group began to get tired. Souta, on the other hand, was much too excited to go to sleep. He had met a fox demon, a cat demon, a monk, a priestess and a demon slayer all in one night! Souta thought his sister had the coolest life in the world…or…in the time period anyways.

"I wonder why Sango has been so quiet," Kagome wondered aloud as she watched Sango sleep. Sango had turned in early, blaming it on a restless day.

"I think it was because of Souta," Miroku replied.

"What? Why me? Have I done something to offend you guys?" Souta asked alarmed. He didn't want to ruin another chance at coming back again some time.

"No, you haven't offended us," Miroku laughed, sipping a cup of green tea, "I just think you remind Sango a lot of her brother Kohaku. You do resemble him in ways."

"Sango has a brother?"

The group explained about Sango's tragic ordeal with her brother, speaking quietly in hopes she wouldn't be listening. They told him how he died, and was resurrected by their worst enemy to do evil biddings.

"I think that's enough stories for one night," Inuyasha yawned, "I think we should all go to bed."

"Aww! But your time is so interesting! There's so much I want to do! Can you tell me a bit more?" Souta pleaded, but Kagome forced him to go to bed. She too was getting exhausted.

It only seemed like they were all asleep for a minute or two, before a great tremor in the earth awoke them with a start.

"What's happening!" Souta screamed, jumping from his blankets.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. He growled at the scent, and immediately unsheathed the Tetusaiga. "Naraku's close by."

A/N: Sorry to leave it at a cliff hanger, but this chapter will only keep going on and on and on and on…It's already 7 pages on Microsoft Word! This chapter is one of the longest I've ever written! Sorry if some parts are really thin and boring. If you are wondering why Inuyasha was swayed so easily by Kagome to leave her house, was because….well, you get to know in the next chapter! Please review when you're finished reading! Love you all! (If you have a DeviantART account, support Jark!) Until the next chapter!