CHAPTER 6 ; THROUGH THE WELL AND BACK AGAIN:
((I don't own Inuyasha or anything in this fic.))
"What is taking them so long?" Pagan asked Shippo. He sat next to her, holding the stuffed dog she had made him. "Does Kagome always stay away for so many days?"
"Sometimes."
"Does Inuyasha always go with her? And what do they do over there? Do you ever go with them? Are they bringing back real food? I hope it's some candy."
After four days everyone in the village had gotten used to Pagan and Angel's endless questions. Both girls wanted to know everything about the village, demons, hanyous, what everyone did and how they did it. Who liked who, what did what, and thousands of other things. 'They ask more questions then a village full of kids.' Shippo thought, sucking on the candy that Pagan had given him.
"No, he doesn't always go with her. I never go with them, only Kagome and Inuyasha can go through the well." He tossed his stuffed dog in the air and caught it.
"I wonder if they stay there so long because they are having se…" Angel's hand on her mouth cut off the rest of Pagan's sentence. The younger girl looked confused, until Angel motioned to the child with her eyes. "What do you mean, about only Kagome and Inuyasha being able to go through the well? We came through it."
"Hai, when you first came, everyone was talking about that, after you two went to bed. No one knows how you were able to come through."
"That means we could be trapped here. Or if we go there then we might not be able to come back home. Pagan we must find out why."
Pagan laid down on her mat and stretched, almost hitting Shippo with her wings. "I don't care if we can't go back there. THIS is our home and I love it here. I don't know why Kagome goes back there, she should stay here."
"She has family back there, you Baka. This is important Pagan, we need to talk to Kaede. Come on." Angel grabbed her sister by the tail and dragged her out of the hut. Shippo happily reached for the bright red box she had left on her mat.
"Shippo, don't eat my Pocky while we're gone." Angel yelled back at the hut just as a chubby little hand averted its course in favor of something less detrimental to its health.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKaede stared at the two hanyous sitting in her hut. In less then five minutes, they had knocked over a bowl of herbs and then spilled water into the fire while trying to clean up the herbs. They lacked Inuyasha's grace and balance. She often wondered if the creatures were indeed hanyous.
"Lady Kaede, we have some questions about the well. How is it that Kagome can go through it? Has anyone else ever gone through? What is it made of? How can Inuyasha can go through it?"
Kaede still had trouble understanding the sisters. Kagome had explained that in her time there were many people from different lands, who spoke several different languages. The sisters had been to many of these lands and knew many different languages and customs. They sometimes forget which language they should speak and often forgot what customs were acceptable. Walking into someone's home uninvited was their main problem.
"You wish to know about the well?" The sisters nodded. "The well is called the Bone-Eaters Well. The corpses of dead demons are thrown into it, and the bones are sucked into the bottom."
"Gross!!!
"SSSHHHH. Don't interrupt! Sorry, Lady Kaede. Please continue."
"The Bone-Eaters Well has been around for many years. Only demons and humans in possession of Shikon shards can go through. Inuyasha is linked to the shards and Kagome, so that is why he can go through. Plus, the well is made out of wood from the tree that Inuyasha was pinned to, and Kagome told me that her family shrine is near the Well."
"Is the tree still standing or did they cut it down? And if it is still standing, then where is the tree? Is it a demon tree or haunted?"
"The well is made from the Goshinboku, in the center of Inuyasha's Forest."
"Will you please show us this tree, Lady Kaede?" Angel asked, walking to the reed door. She had to find out how they had been able to come through the well. Shippo, Miroku and Sango had been telling them about Naraku. He sounded very dangerous and Angel had no desire to be trapped here with some kind of killing machine. He might kill her or her sister…or their new family. Standing outside the hut, she waited for Lady Kaede while her mind constantly ran through questions, reasons and possible answers.
Kaede hesitated. Why this sudden interest in the well? Pagan knelt in front of the old woman.
"We mean you no harm and we don't want anyone hurt or to cause any trouble but…this place is strange to us. It's a very nice place and we are so very grateful that you let us stay, but it's hard to be away from everything we have known our whole life. I just want to see if the well will let me visit my time once in a while, like Kagome does." Pagan layed her head on the old miko's lap. "Please help us, Grandma."
Kaede couldn't resist the girls' request. The two hanyous were looking for a home and to be part of a family. They reminded her of Inuyasha…lost children wanting to belong. The demons and wars of this land were creating many lost souls. Like Inuyasha…and Kikyo. She would help Pagan and Angel any way she could.
"Come child, I will help you."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The Goshinboku IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"This is the tree whose branches the Bone-Eaters Well is made from." Kaede pointed at the tree.
Angel walked around it slowly, examining every detail. 'It seems normal. The branches are strong and steady. It does smell stronger than other trees. Its leaves seem greener and the tree looks like it's glowing, but that could be the light.'
"Why are you so special? Why? Lady Kae…"
"Hey this is that lucky tree?" Pagan called down from the branches. She sniffed the leaves and put one in her mouth.
"What are you doing? And what are you talking…stop eating those leaves, Pagan!!!! BAKA!!!"
"I like leaves, they taste good. This is that tree that we were sitting in before we went through the well. Remember? It had a fence around it and some kind of banner was stuck to it. You said it was lucky so I made you put a branch in your pocket."
"How do you know that this is the same tree?"
"The leaves taste the same. This is the best tasting tree ever. They're really good - you should try some."
"Yeah right, like that's going to happen. You are so weird. It's not healthy to go around putting things in your mouth. You don't know if some animal pissed on it, or Kami knows what other foul substances could be on it. Dammit, stop eating the fucking tree and get down here, NOW!!!"
"Perhaps that is why you were able to cross through the well." Kaede said, looking up at the tree. "If this is true then others may be able to past through it as well."
'I have always wondered about Kagome's time. The medicines are so helpful and work better than some of mine. If I could find a miko there who could teach me about those medicines...'
"We need to test this branch theory. I think were going to need some help."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Begging IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"Miroku…please. We need to catch some live demons to test The Branch Theory (as it had been aptly dubbed). Come on, Sister. Sango is going to help us."
"We don't need him anyway. Miroku would only flirt with all the pretty, lonely women in Kagome's time."
"Yeah, the women in our time are so lonely that they will sleep with any man. But there are so few men there. Miroku would be too busy crawling into their beds to help hunt for shards." The sisters grinned as Miroku's smile turned lecherous. 'Perfect.'
"Clearly you require my assistance, so far be it for me to deny help to two damsels in distress. Besides, Kagome would be upset if anything happened to you."
"Thank you Miroku. You are so sweet."
The small group (Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Pagan and Angel) set off in search of some lesser demons to test The Branch Theory on. They came to a small village that was having some trouble. It turned out to be a lizard demon which lived in a cave near the village.
Angel, Pagan and Shippo hid in a tree near the cave so that they could quote, "Watch your backs" while Miroku and Sango walked up to the cave entrance. The lizard demon came running out of the cave.
Miroku easily took down the demon by throwing one of his powerful Ofudas at it. The ofuda paralyzed the small lizard demon, who was then picked up and placed inside a box. Miroku went to the nearby village to get payment for removing the demon; which had been eating their pigs.
Deciding that two demons should be used to test The Branch Theory, they continued walking. Between two large villages, they were attacked by a monkey demon. The demon lunged at Angel, so Sango threw her Hiraikotsu at it. The demon barely missed being hit by the large boomerang. Miroku threw four ofudas at it, actually hitting the creature with two of them. Pagan picked up the stiff demon and placed it into another box. Sango and Miroku sat on Kirara's back to return home, while the sisters flew home beside them carrying the two boxes.
The journey had been a great success. Only two mishaps had occurred the whole time.
1. Miroku had asked a woman to bear his child, not knowing that she was married. The angry husband had chased them out of the village. When they were far away, Sango had hit Miroku on the head with her Hiraikotsu.
2. Pagan ate all the food they had brought on the trip. With nothing left to eat but fish from a nearby creek, Angel had attempted to strangle her sister. Sango had to pull the two apart and they refused to speak to each other after that.
The group returned home hoping to see Kagome and Inuyasha, but Kaede informed the small group that they had not yet returned from Kagome's time.
The group walked over the well to test The Branch Theory. Breaking off two branches of the Goshinboku, they tied them around the two small demons they'd caught.
"Ok, listen up. This is …a…a test! Yes, a demon test of bravery. You go to the other side of the well and then come back through, to prove that you are brave and strong. Weak demons never come back form the other side. And…ah…you get a prize IF you come back." Angel lied to the two demons.
Sango walked to the well and dropped the lizard demon in. A bright blue light momentarily shone from the well's depths, and then it went dark. Sango looked into the well.
"He's gone through." She happily yelled back. "It worked!" She cried out again when the small lizard demon came crawling back out of the well. The group jumped up and down in joy.
Pagan untied the branch and handed the demon a small box full of treats. "You did well brave one. Now return home, but tell no one about this or they will…be jealous and kill you." The demon peacefully left thinking that he was the strongest lizard demon in the land.
Miroku walked to the well and spoke to the monkey demon. "Go through and then jump back in to prove that you are strongest and bravest of your kind." He dropped the monkey demon into the well and watched as the light appeared once again. After a few minutes he did not appear. Everyone grew worried.
"It didn't work. No, that can't be. It let the lizard demon go through and come back. He's trapped over there for some reason. This isn't working right. Why doesn't he return?"
"Maybe the demon doesn't wish to return."
"Not to worry. Inuyasha will bring the demon back, but I wonder why he didn't throw it back into the well." A grim supposition occurred to Miroku. "You did inform Inuyasha and Kagome about this theory and test before they left, right?"
"Oh, gee I guess that would have been helpful, huh?"
The monk just sighed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAN : :
This is a preview ofA few of their wonderful plans for love:
# Romantic picnic next to a gentle creek
# Romantic dinner for two
# Flowers
# Teach Miroku to be a gentleman
# Henti vs. henti.
If you have any ideas for chapter 10, I'd love to hear them. Any ideas of match-making on how Angel, Pagan, & Shippo can get Kagome/Inuyasha together or to help out Sango/Miroku. Put it in the review. I will pick out an idea or two to use in chap 10.