Silence filled the air creating an uncomfortable tension. Who was Mayu? Why was this

girl out in the forest by herself? Didn't she know it was dangerous to be out on your own with no form of protection what-so-

ever? Demons lurked in every part of the night, no one was safe on their own. No one.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked tenderly trying to earn a response from the girl beside her. Sadly she received none.

The girl seemed to be deaf to her words. Her soft brown eyes held a sadness that Kagome couldn't even begin to

understand. There were shadows in her heart. Kagome could seem them plain as the dawn that would, in a few hours,

creep over the hills. Something lurked within the girl before her, something horrible, but she couldn't put her finger on what it

was. The depression radiating from her seemed rather personal.

"What are you doing here?" Inu-Yasha barked suddenly. It was irritating him to say the least that the girl had barely

even spoken one word. He could sense that she was no demon, but he was entirely sure that she wasn't dangerous. There

were ways for humans to gain power. The seemingly innocent girl beside Kagome could truly be after the jewel shards that she

possessed.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome scolded harshly. "Leave her alone! Can't you see that she's upset?" Kagome glanced down at

the girl and her voice softened. "It looks like something horrible happened to her."

"How can you tell?" He yelled in exasperation. "How do you know that she's not really after the jewel shards?"

"Does she look like she's after the shards?" Kagome practically screeched.

"That's the point! You're not supposed to be able to tell. Humans are just a greedy as demons!"

"Please, Inu-Yasha. Let's taker her back with us. She can rest and we can talk to her in the morning. Together."

With much argument, Inu-Yasha finally gave it and allowed Kagome to lift the confused girl from her place against the

tree and lead her back to the campsite. There was no way that he was going to help Kagome bring what could possibly be an

enemy into their company.

As the bushes rattled, signaling Kagome and Inu-Yasha's return, Sango and Miroku glanced up to meet there eyes.

They didn't expect to see a third person enter into the small clearing.

"It seems that Inu-Yasha and Kagome have found a friend." Miroku stated casually.

"Who is she?" Sango stated calmly, though not without a bit of curiosity.

"We don't know." Inu-Yasha stated dryly. "We found her in the forest."

Sango studied the girl intently. There was something strange about her, she would give Inu-Yasha that, but it wasn't for

the reasons he suspected. The girl was sad, that could be seen by merely looking at her tear-stained cheeks. What caught

Sango off guard was her clothing. It didn't look like anything she had ever seen Kagome wear, but it certainly didn't appear as

though in belonged in Feudal Japan.

"Hey Kagome," She stated cautiously.

"What is it Sango?" Kagome replied sweetly.

"Those clothes she is wearing...do they...do they come from your time?"

As her words reached the ears of those around her they all turned their heads to stare at the strange girl they had come across.

"She's right." Inu-Yasha said roughly.

"But Kagome," Miroku began, stumbling over his own words. "I thought, besides Inu-Yasha, you were the only one

that was able to pass through the well."

"I am." Kagome replied breathlessly.

"The how the hell did she get here!" Came an angry voice that Kagome immediately identified as belonging to Inu-

Yasha.

"I don't know! There has to be some other way she could have gotten here."

"How, Lady Kagome?" Miroku interrupted. "If the Bone Eater's well is the only passage through time that must be

where she came from."

"The would make sense," Sango agreed. "But how would she have gotten way out here without getting herself killed?

The well is at least three days away."

"I see your point."

"None of this makes any sense." Kagome stated calmly. "But she's here now and we have to take care of her. She

probably doesn't even have the slightest idea as to what happened to her or where she is. So let's just calm down and rest. We

can talk to her tomorrow."

With that said Kagome marched over to the girl and grabbed her hand in a friendly gesture. Carefully she lead her over

to the fire and pushed her lightly on the shoulders indicating that she should sit down. Reaching for her backpack she began

mumbling something about how some people just didn't have any feelings. When she had managed to haul it over to her place

by the girl she undid the latch and rummaged around through it until she was able to pull out a light blue blanket. Silently she

unrolled her sleeping bag and smooth out all of it's wrinkles. Carefully she urged the girl into a sleeping position and spread the

blanket over her. She would sacrifice her modern conveniences for warmth so that this new and confused girl could sleep

peacefully. In all honesty she didn't really mind. She could, and had slept on the hard ground. This girl needed her help and she

was more than willing to give it.

The next morning the sun twisted it's way through the tree branches and leaves just so that it could rest on the eyes of

the sleeping companions. Birds chirped nearby and a slight breeze could be felt.

Aside from Inu-Yasha, Kagome was the first to wake. Sleepily she raised her head from the ground and began to try to

rub the sleep from her eyes. Last night had been a long night so she couldn't exactly say they her body was well-rested.

Shrugging this fact off she proceeded to stand and stretch while she gazed at her sleeping companions.

"You're awake."

Startled, Kagome spun around to face the one who had spoken to her. Unfortunately she stumbled backward in the

process and landed roughly on the dirt covered forest floor. When she looked up her eyes locked with the amber ones

of Inu-Yasha.

"Why are you so jumpy? It's just me."

"You scared me! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Kagome sorely wished she had the confidence to slap Inu-Yasha

for scaring her. She didn't really feel like sitting him.

"I wasn't sneaking!"

"Yes you were!"

"No I wasn't!"

"Then what do you call what you did!"

"I call it saying good morning!"

"But you didn't say good morning! You never say good morning!"

"Why the hell does it matter!"

"It doesn't, but-"

"Excuse me?"

Both Inu-Yasha's and Kagome's head whipped around to face the source of the voice that had interrupted their

conversation. What they saw shocked them. Before their eyes stood the girl they had found last night. The sadness in her eyes

had vanished without so much as a clue as to where it had gone. Now she only seemed lost.

"I don't know where I am. Could you help me?" Her voice came out in timid whispers and her posture indicated that

she was some-what frightened.

"You don't remember last night?" Kagome asked softly.

The girl looked up to stare at her sadly. "I don't remember anything." She said quietly.

"What's your name?" Kagome prodded hoping that the girl would at least remember that.

"I don't know. I just feel like I'm supposed to be somewhere."

Kagome and Inu-Yasha glanced at each other unsure of what to do next. How were they supposed to handle someone

who had no memories. Whenever Kohaku had crossed paths with them he had at least known his own name.

"So you have no idea how you got here?" Kagome asked curiously.

"No, but it feels different. Something inside of me is telling me that I've never been here before."

Nervously Kagome spoke again. "That's because you're five hundred years in the past."

A/N

Sorry my chapter is once again short. I hope that anyone who is reading this is enjoying it. You might not know what I am crossing this story with and that's OK. I don't plan to come out-right and tell you until the end. I'll give a hint at the end of each chapter that I introduce a new character. If you figure out where a character is from feel free to e-mail me underground, I continued to dig a hole
without knowing how far it would go
my scoop, wet by the earth in one hand,
I searched for your arm.