Every Now and Then

A/N:Orignally, this was only going to be a oneshot, but then I found myself adding more and more to it, so now it's quite longer and has something of a plot. This first chapter is more of an introduction.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim any rights to Inuyasha.

--Then--

Three years ago...

"KYAA!"

Birds in nearby trees scattered into the sky as a frustrated young girl stomped on by, and maybe for the second time; hadn't she past that fallen tree earlier? She wasn't sure, the forest looking pretty much the all the same no matter where she trekked. There was no point in denying it. The girl was lost. (Although she refused to say so aloud; the reality of word would only make things worse.) Alone, tired, and lost in an unknown forest that seemed to have no end.

She was not a remarkable girl, in appearance. She looked to be around fourteen summers, maybe younger, at an average height for her age but lanky and thin. Long, dark brown hair hung untied, messy and matted, withs bits of leaves caught in the tangles from the numberous times she tripped and fell. Her clothes were dirty and travel-worn, her feet bare, and she carried nothing. She had a pretty enough face, when clean, but now it was scracthed and smeared with dirt. The only thing that really stood out about this girl were her eyes; they were, without a doubt, purple. Not violet-blue, not indigo, but purple, one eye a darker shade than the other. But overall, she was just a scruffy looking human girl, clueless and lost in the woods. Just a scruffy looking human girl, but so much more than that.

"Hunnh. I should have just stayed with the caravan, instead of chasing after fleetings visions like a fool again. I should know better by now. Everyone's gonna laugh at me again, when they find out. Father will not be pleased. Not at all. Perhaps he shall throw me back here, and tell me to stay lost, for good this time." Talking to herself, even if it was negative talk, kept her mind off the eerie silence of the woods. Not that the woods were exactly silent; birds sang, bugs hummed, creeks burgled. There certainly was noise, but it was forest-noise, noise she wasn't used much used to. The girl perferred people-noise and the lack of it thus gave the forest an eerie "silence". Maybe, she mused, there was a reason there were no people there. Who knew? Maybe it was demon-infested, and maybe there were demons watching her right now. Watching her, and discussing whether she would taste better boiled or baked. She shuddered and felt as if there were a hundred dark, hungry eyes on her, peering out from behind the bushes menancingly. There weren't, of course, it was all just in her head, but that didn't stop the girl from breaking into a panicked run.

She didn't know how long or how far she ran. Fear just kept driving her, kept her moving. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, she noticed something was different. The forest wasn't so thick with trees anymore, and there was a beaten dirt path beneath her sore feet. She didn't jump with joy at the sight of this, since she was far too tired to do any jumping, but she did let out a huge sigh of relief and plopped down in front of gnalred tree to rest, slowly closing her eyes. It was when she opened them did she see him, and it startled her so much that she jumped back up and prepared to run away again. Fortunately, she stopped herself first to get a second look. When she saw that this demon could not come after her, she remained where she was, wide-eyed and confused.

It had to be a demon, the doglike ears ontop the white mane of hair assuring her so. He was just one of those humanoid demons. Only...there was something else about that, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. He was young, maybe a bit older than herself. (Then again, he might just look young. Hard to tell with those demons.) He was dressed in a red haroi and his feet were bare.

And...he was pinned to a tree!

The tree itself was the largest and oldest one in the forest that the girl had seen all day. It was ancient and powerful, as if it were rooted in Time itself. The demon-boy was pinned to it, his back against the bark. Vines and branches twisted about him, but surprisingly, the real thing that seemed to be holding him there was a single arrow sticking in his chest, perhaps piecring his heart. His head was slumped to the side, and he looked like he was sleeping, although he didn't seem to be breathing.

But even this wasn't the strangest thing about the demon. No, the strangest thing was that the staring girl recognized him. She didn't know him, didn't know who he was or why he was here. They had never met before. But she had seen him once, not in person but in her vision. Her vision of his future. That's what threw her off; how could that future be when he was pinned here to a tree, possibly not even alive? Was this the reason she was brought here in the first place, pulled into the forest by her Sight? She couldn't figure it out though; it didn't make any sense.

She went through everything she knew, which wasn't much and didn't help. Still indecisive about what to do, she gazed at the demon-boy some more. True, he did look asleep, but if he was, it wasn't a very peaceful sleep. Maybe it was just her, but the girl thought he looked kind of sad, pained. Broken-hearted, even. Why she thought so, she wasn't sure. It might've been her Sight in the back of her mind telling her so. Or maybe it was just intunition. She compared his expression now to that of him in her vision and noted how different he was. It almost seemed to be a glimmering piece of hope, that difference, but once again, she wasn't sure why she thought that. These thoughts only led to greater confusion and frustration for her.

"It's your destiny. Why should I even care about it?" she quietly asked him, not getting a response in return. "Your destiny. Not mine. It's never mine. Why do I always have to deal everyone else's destinies and never my own?" she cried, and again, only silence answered. She sighed and stared at the ground, then looked up at one pinned to the tree, the one was unaware of his destiny (if he had one now) when she was aware of it, and would be stuck with it until it was realized.

"And I don't even know your name," she told him solemly.

"It's Inuyasha..."

"Oh," she blinked, once, twice, then shook her head as she let the words sink in. She looked at the demon pinned to the tree, not really expecting that it was he who spoke but still surprised when she saw that he looked exactly as he had moment before, silent and unmoving. She bit her lip and tried not to start trembling, without sucess, as she turned around to see who was there.

Her fear had been for nothing: it was just an elderly woman. A priestess, actually, judging from the outfit. She was short, with long gray hair, and walked with a cane. She also had an eye patch over her right eye. The girl let out her breath.

"L-lady Priestess," she bowed her head, "My apologies. You just startled me. I thought you were a demon. Ah, no! I meant that, uh, well, never-nevermind. I, um, I was just, uhh..."

"Calm down child. It is all right. I'm sorry for startling you so. My name is Kaede, and I am the prietess and leader of the village nearby."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kaede," again, the girl bowed, and stopped stuttering, "I'm Reyu Takaya. I was traveling to visit family when I, er, got..separated..from my caravan and got lost in this forest." She paused before adding, "I just now stumbled onto this, um..."

"Inuyasha. That is his name."

"Inuyasha." Reyu repeated, turning back to glance at him, "Is he dead?" she asked.

Kaede hobbled up next to Reyu and looked at him thoughtfully. "No," she said, "No, he's not exactly dead. He's not exactly alive either."
"Huh?"

"See that arrow?" Reyu nodded. "It is a miko's arrow, fired by a powerful priestess nearly fifty years ago, and it sent Inuyasha into an enchanted sleep, a sleep he can wake from only if the priestess who shot that arrow removes it and releases him."

As Kaede talked, Reyu could see it all happening right in front of her: A black-haired woman in white and red, weak but angry, pulling back the bowstring. She releases the arrow with a twang, sending it sailing right into the chest of the startled demon, pinning him to the tree. It all happens so fast, like a blur, but Time seems to freeze for just a second, when the arrow hits its target and the two look at each other, just staring. Then the demon's eyes close, Time restarts, and he falls into his endless sleep. Then, the priestess; she looks sad, pained. Broken-hearted even. She's stumbling towards the demon...

Reyu blinked and rubbed her eyes. Directly in front of her was Inuyasha, still pinned to his tree, but there was no sign of the black-haired priestess. The vision was gone. The old woman next to her was looking at her curiously.

"That priestess will never remove this arrow she shot, will she? No, she won't," Reyu said, answering herself. "She can't, because your sister is dead, isn't she? She died soon after shooting him?"

"Yes. She was my older sister, and she did die that very day. And you, child, are a very adept seer, if you can see into the past."

"How do you know that I'm a seer?" she asked Kaede, impressed that she figured it out. The old priestess shrugged.

"Your eyes give you away. Such purple eyes. And the darker one glowed for a moment, which is when I supposed you Saw."

"M'hm. Yes, I am told they do that when I am visited by visions. My darker eye Sees into the past, apparently, and the lighter one into the future."

"It's been a long time since I last came across a true seer." sighed Kaede.

"Do you still know any? Because, honestly, I'm not very good with the whole thing. It would be nice to meet someone else like me, who maybe could help me with it..."

Kaede shook her head. "I'm sorry, child, but the seer I knew died long ago. You are the only other one I have met."

"Oh." They fell silent, and Reyu found herself staring at Inuyasha again.

After a while, she asked, "Was he an evil demon? Is that why your sister shot him?"

"Well, first off, he was only a half-demon." A look of understanding crossed Reyu's face; that's why he seemed so human, because he was part human!

"And, as far as evil goes, well...I believe he just misunderstood. Oh, he was a trouble-maker all right, and possessed some bad morals. But he wasn't quite evil. A rebellious and stubborn youth, more like it."

"Then why was he..?"

"That part is a little unclear. I just a little girl back then, so I don't remember it all. I thought my sister and Inuyasha got along well enough, perhaps they were even close, but then one day my sister said he attacked her and stole the Shikon Jewel she was guarding."

"The Sacred Shikon Jewel? I've heard of that!"

"Yes, many have, and because of its legendary power, many people, like Inuyasha, were constantly seeking it. When he wounded her and took it, she retaliated by pinning him forever to the God Tree. It took up the last of her power, and she died."

"I'm sorry," Reyu mumbled. Kaede just nodded. "I don't understand though. You say he probably wasn't evil, and that they got along. Why would they hurt each other like that?"

"I do not know, child. Fate is mysterious like that and works in strange ways."

"Don't I know it," Reyu muttered. This was like one giant puzzle with missing pieces, and Reyu didn't know where she and her vision fit it in.

Maybe she could learn more from Lady Kaede, but when Reyu opened her mouth to ask more questions, she felt how scratchy and sore her throat was. She realized that she had been running through the forest all day, then just had a conversation, and never drunk any water in between all that. Where was that creek I saw earlier? she thought, searching through her surroundings. No creeks, but then she noticed with growing joy that, a little farther up, was a well.

"Excuse me for a moment, Lady Kaede!" As soon as the words left her dry mouth, she took off towards the well. Reyu was grinning ear to ear and bent over with cupped hands to recieve the refreshing water. Kaede watched as Reyu frowned, bent over some more, and stretched her arms out to reach. Her tounge was sticking out as she stretched farther and she kept reaching deeper into well until her feet were barely touching the ground. Kaede felt now was a good time to inform the girl that the well was empty, but she was a moment too late. She heard it as she hobbled closer:

"W-WHOOAA!" Thud. "Ohhh, owww! Ow! Ow! Ow! Oww! My ankle! Oww!"

As Kaede neared, the ow's suddenly stopped and were replaced with ekk's.

"Ekkk! Help! The well's trying to eat me! Ekk, make it stop! Kyaa!"

And then Reyu's hands appeared, clinging to the rim of the well, and Kaede hurried over to help pull her out. The girl crumpled to ground unhappily and glared at the Bone Eater's Well. She stood up and kicked it, unfortunately with her hurt foot, causing her to wince in pain.

"Here, child, it seems you twisted it. Let me take you back to my village. I'll set your foot, and find you something to drink and eat."

"Okay. Thank you for your kindness...ow."

"Your caravan will most likely stop at the village sometime soon, I'd wager, so you'll be able to return to your kin. I'm sure they're worried."

"They're not. They think I'm unnatural," Reyu blurted out. She felt like a complete mess then. The entire day was a complete mess.

"Oh, dear, you're not unnatural. You're gifted, and your family's foolish if they don't realize that." Reyu smiled a little. "Gifted, although uncoordinated," Kaede went on, "Clumsy girl, didn't you look into that well before tipping over in it?"

"Hey!" Reyu scoffed, "It wasn't my fault! What kind of stupid well doesn't have water in it? And eats people?"

"It does not eat people."

"It does too!" she argued, "It was sucking me in!"

"How long has been since you last had any food?"

"About a day."

"Ahh, that explains it. Delusional from lack of nourishment."

"I am not delusional!" Reyu cried as the exited the forest, heading into the village. All thoughts about Inuyasha and his unlikely destiny were now currently off her mind as she attempted to defend herself. She would worry about it later. "That well tried to eat me! I know it did, and I am prefectly sane!"

Lady Kaede seemed to think this was particularly funny.

--TBC--

A/N: As you know, this took place while Inuyasha was still stuck to the tree. That's really what started this; I was wondering how people would react if they walked through the forest and saw some guy pinned to a tree. I mean, he was there for fifty years! Personally, I would have drawn on his face with a permenant marker, but they didn't have those back then, so I guess they didn't have the option. The next chapter will take place in the show's current time setting, and the rest of the gang will be there. Things should start picking up soon.

Reyu is my very own character, in case youwere somehow unsure about that, and she was made-up just for this story. That means I do own something in this fic afterall! And it also means I get to torment her by writing bad things to happen to her. Muhahaha! -Just Kidding-And no, she will not be "paired" with any of the orignal characters. I hate that.

Okay, one chapter down, a few more to go! Please review and tell me what ya think so far!