Chapter One: And They Lived Far From A Happy Ever After…
The day had started well; a cloudless sky, birds singing their morning tune and a calm breeze that washed over the city of Tokyo. A young school girl around seventeen emerged from her home, pulling the door so she could make her way toward the large stair way that served as her only way to the sidewalk below. Her ebony hair framed her face and blew gently as the wind caressed it, her hazel eyes scanning the people below as she neared her destination. Her white blouse and green school skirt swayed slightly at the wind passed by. She made her way down the sidewalk, humming a soft tune as she rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and headed toward her High School which was about seven or eight blocks away.
"Today's going to be a good day." she said to herself, "Not a cloud in the sky, birds are out, I have a test today that I actually think I'm going to pass. Life is good."
Upon entering the school yard the girl was almost trampled by three of her fellow classmates.
"Kagome how are you?" One of the three questioned as she neared her classmate. Her uniform swayed as she neared, her shoulder length ebony hair blowing behind her.
"Fine Ayumi how are you?" Kagome responded with a smile.
"Just fine thanks." Ayumi said.
"Are you sure you should be out of bed so soon Kagome?" the girl in the middle of the group said. Her short brown hair gently blowing in the breeze as she stood in front of Kagome.
"I'm fine Yuka." Kagome reassured her friend.
"Well we have to go and take that exam, lets get to class and get this over with." the last of the group said as she turned and made her way from the group.
"You said it Eri." Kagome agreed and they all made their way to their first period class.
oOo
The day had gone rather slowly, the first two and a half hours of the school day were scheduled for the students to take their end of year exams, Then the day would resume from then. The dismissal bell rang and the doors were thrown open as the horde of students rushed out to the freedom of the weekend.
"Only three more exams." Kagome said to herself as she made her way down the street and back to her home, reflecting on the exam she had just taken.
'I bet I passed that one,' she thought to herself, 'History has got to have been the easiest exam I can take this year. I have English on Monday, what book did my teacher say was important for the test…'
'what was it…' Kagome had completely forgotten what book her teacher had said was going to be ¾ of the covered material on the exam. She reached the top of the stairs and looked toward the well house, 'I remember!' she thought happily, 'The Time Machine.'
A thought popped into her head as she neared the door to her house, 'I bet H.G. Wells would have never thought that an old well could take you 500 years into the past, bet he'd be overjoyed to meet me and my friends .'
"Mom!" Kagome called upon entering her home, a smile on her face, "I'm home."
"Welcome home dear." Her mother replied as she made her way from the laundry room. She was a middle aged woman with dark brown eyes and short raven hair.
"Where's Grandpa?" Kagome questioned, the presence of her annoying, spiritual powerless grandfather was missed as she pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat down.
"I think he's out giving some people a tour of the shrine." He mother said as she dropped off the basket she had been carrying and returned to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.
"What's for dinner mom?" Kagome asked as she watched her mother pull out an assortment of ingredients for their meal.
"We're having oden tonight, I know it's your favorite and you're going to stay for supper right?" Her mother asked looking toward her daughter.
"Yeah, I think I may go and get InuYasha," Kagome thought out loud, "What do you think mom?"
"That would be just fine honey." Her mother responded in an excited tone.
Her whole family enjoyed it when their favorite half demon came to visit. His cute ears just made him so hard to resist.
"Okay well I'll go and see what he's up to." Kagome said as she lifted her self from her position at the table and then exited the house and entered the old well house. She placed her hands on the lip of the old well and then swung her legs over the edge, in mere moments she was surrounded by the welcoming warmth and colors as she traveled 500 years into the past.
She climbed up the vines and sat down on the grass for a moment to regain some of her strength, "Man I have got to get a ladder for this side of the well, climbing these vines are going to kill me one day."
She started to make her way toward the small village located not too far from the clearing which housed the well when a familiar feeling in the back of her head seemed to pull her toward the old "God Tree"-the tree which InuYasha was sealed to for fifty years. Kagome started to concentrate, in the past two years she had been traveling through the well, Kaede had been training her how to use her Miko powers and she was able to sense auras very well now and was able to distinguish whose aura was whose. The pull eliminated a few possibilities for it was the feeling she got when she sensed a jewel shard, then she realized who exactly was at the old sacred tree.
She took off at a run and upon reaching close to the tree she stood behind a rather thick tree beside the sacred one. She gazed out at the two figures in front of her; a young man claded in red with silver hair, piercing golden eyes and two pointed dog ears atop his head. The other looked much like herself and was dressed in the traditional Miko garb with a quiver slung over her right shoulder as well as a bow. Kagome watched the two as their conversation neared the end and she waited for one of them to leave.
"So InuYasha, have you desiced what you are going to do?" the woman asked.
"Yes Kikyou I have." InuYasha responded as she stepped closer to the miko and embrased her.
Kagome couldn't take it anymore and ran off, crying as she made her way to the well. The well was in sight as her foot was snaged on an upturned root and she came crashing down to the hard ground with a thud. She hadn't even realized that the small brush low at the ground had managed to snag the chain around her neck braking it as she rose to her feet and began to run toward the well, leaping over the edge and returning to her own time, leaving the sacred jewel shards she carried behind in the forest of the feudal era.
oOo
Kagome felt the warm calming aura which transported her to the feudal era dim as she landed hard on the cold ground of the well of her own time. She couldn't bring herself to climb the ladder and go inside at the moment. She sat there in a corner of the well and cried, she was down there for maybe ten minutes when she heard the well house door open and she saw the light from the setting sun illuminate the small shelter of the ancient well.
Kagome's mother came in and peered over the edge of the well, "Kagome, are you all right dear?"
All Kagome could do was shake her head as she finally regained her composure and began to climb up the ladder to the top of the well. Once she hoisted herself up and over the edge, she immediately went to the embrace of her mother.
She was a complete wreck, she knew what InuYasha was going to do, she knew for certain. He was going to go to hell with Kikyou and leave her. In her eyes, her heart was broken beyond repair. 'How could you InuYasha….?'
Recovering once again she thanked her mother then asked curiously, "Why did you come out here anyway mom?"
"Oh, well," her mother looked surprised for a moment as she remembered why she had made the short journey across the yard to the well, "Hojo called and asked if you wanted to go out tonight. I told him you were about to eat and he said if you would call him and you two would go see a movie in about an hour. Then I told him I would have you call him back and then I came out here to tell you."
Kagome thought for a moment and made her decision, "I'll go out with him tonight, if that's all right."
"Of course dear." her mother reassured and the two women went into the house and ate dinner with the rest of the family. Afterwards Kagome called Hojo and then went up into her room to get ready for her date.
oOo
A half an hour later a knock came at the door as Kagome made her way down the stairs from her room. She had her hair pulled up in a high pony-tail with a few strands left loose to frame her face. Her school uniform was replaced with a red mini skirt with a black form fitting tank top with an almost transparent red short sleeved over shirt. She reached the door and opened it to see the young man standing in front of her.
He had also done away with the uniform, he had chosen a pair of dark blue faded jeans with a white t-shirt and a light black jacket. "Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yep." Kagome replied as she plastered a fake smile on her face. The two left her house and headed down the stairs and then the street toward the theater.
oOo
InuYasha had followed Kagome's sent, he had known that she had come by earlier and had seen what had transpired between himself and Kikyou. He knew, however, that she had missed the most important detail of that meeting. He had sent Kikyou to the afterlife so she may rest in peace. He had explained that he had fallen in love with Kagome, needless to say she was not happy about the fact that she was being replaced by a 'copy' but in the end she saw it InuYasha's way.
He ran toward the well a while after Kagome had left, he figured it might be good to let her cool down before he went after her. On his way to the old well, a pink glint caught his eye as the light remaining in the sky from the setting sun landed on a small pink object. Reaching down he realized it was Kagome's piece of the jewel. They had over the two years collecting the thing managed to obtain a rather large portion, even larger than that of the piece they had when Kikyou had stolen it.
Placing it in the sleeve of his haori for safe keeping he leapt into the well and was greeted by the soothing aura of the well transporting him into the future.
Climbing out of the well, he tested the air outside of the well house with his keen sences and found that Kagome's scent was somewhat old. So taking it upon himself to find her and chew her out for spying on him and then apologizing for it was not what it appeared to be. He followed the trail and then realized that there was another's scent there too, a male. A low growl emited from his throat when he thought of the possibility of Kagome with another man. Though there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him he was no good for her.
He ended up at a strange building with people standing in four, maybe five lines with a bright sign that stretched about nine feet and was about three feet wide. It spaned from one set of double glass doors, over the crowed that had gathered at a glass wall, to another set of double glass doors. The sign had been switched on not long after the sun had set, InuYasha had to jump on top of the strange building so as not to be seen. He hid in the shadows and waited for Kagome to come out from inside, he sat there as the gentle summer breeze carried with it the delicious smells from with in the building.
oOo
Two hours later Kagome and Hojo emerged from the movie theater, Hojo had been holding Kagome's hand for the better part of the night, she hadn't seemed to notice he guessed.
"So Kagome, did you like the movie?" He asked as he looked into her deep hazel eyes. Almost everyone he knew, knew that he loved Kagome, yet she was the only one who was oblivious to his actions. It was as if; for example, when they were out on dates or working together on projects she was never there, like she was in her own little world. Little did he know her little world was 500 years in the past around the feudal era.
"yeah it was an interesting film." Kagome said half heartedly. In all honesty she hadn't paid any attention to the movie. Her head was swimming with thoughts of the man who had stolen her heart and then shattered it into a million tiny pieces.
They were half way back to the shrine where Kagome resided when Hojo stopped his advances toward her house. Kagome turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.
"Something wrong Hojo?" She asked, concern lacing her tone.
"Kagome I need to tell you something," Hojo started, he suddenly became very nervous as he looked at he young woman before him.
"What is it?" Kagome asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Well you see," Hojo said, "I really like you Kagome. I mean REALLY LIKE you and I think I may even be in love with you."
Kagome just stood there in shock, she didn't want to hurt the poor boy. I mean he was absolutely clueless, she knew he liked her and maybe she was giving off the impression that she hadn't noticed him, but that was totally false. It wasn't that she hadn't noticed him, it was that she didn't feel the same way. Even though she had put two and two together and finally realized that InuYasha and Kikyou were meant to be, she still loved him and it was stupid for her to hang on to something she obviously would never have.
Hojo took advantage of her shocked expression and slightly open mouth and leaned closer into her, slightly pulling her closer as well. He was no more that millimeters away from Kagome's lips when he managed to summon up all the courage he had went for it. Placing a gentle kiss on Kagome's soft lips.
oOo
InuYasha had been watching the two as they left the strange building they were in. He leapt from tops of buildings that lined the street in the direction of Kagome's home. He leapt down to follow them closer as he saw that the boy she was with had stopped. He crept close enough that Kagome couldn't detect him but close enough for him to hear what he was saying.
He heard everything, and when he leaned into Kagome and kissed her a low but quite growl emitted from deep within the pit of his chest. It soon turned into a quite whimper as he realized that she wasn't fighting against him. Hanging his head in defeat, he stealthily made his way back towards the Shrine. He was about to jump into the well when he realized that he still had the jewel. InuYasha wasn't about to give up, he would fight for her any day, protect her from everything yet it seemed there was always one thing he was unable to protect her from; himself.
He turned around and made his way quickly to room, opened the window and jumped in. Looking around her room he found a pad of paper and a pen on her desk. He set the jewel fragment down and turned to the pad. He wrote her a note explaining what had transpired that day and to apologize.
Dear Kagome,
I'm sorry I upset you once again, but what you saw wasn't what you think it was. I was simply tying up loose ends with Kikyou, the truth is that I love you and I'm sorry I couldn't say that to your face. But obviously I can't compete with that human you were with tonight so I accept that I you could never return the feelings I have for you, after all I am just a half breed.
Come back when you're ready, I'll be there waiting for you.
Inuyasha
Satisfied with his letter he placed it down upon her desk and went to leave her room when a ear piercing scream came from somewhere down on the streets below followed by the unmistakable sound of tires skidding across the road as the brakes refused to yelled to their master and halt the vehicle. The silence that followed the outburst made his blood run cold. With all his effort he managed to whisper a name in a terrified tone, "Kagome…."
oOo
Kagome had recovered herself soon after Hojo had leaned in and kissed her. She hadn't resisted because of the pure shock she was experiencing. She gently pulled away from the man before him, looked him dead in the eye and braced herself for what she had to unload on the young man, "Hojo, I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way."
Hojo looked as if someone had taken his heart out, smashed it into pieces, tried to fix it but got too frustrated and threw it across the room. "oh I see, well then I'm sorry for my actions."
Kagome looked into his brown eyes so full of hurt, "I like you Hojo just not in that way, you're a really good friend and I never wanted to do anything to complicate our relationship."
Hojo seemed a bit happier after her comment and looked deep with in her hazel eyes, "Friends." he said as he held out his hand.
"Friends" Kagome agreed as they turned again to make their way toward the shrine steps once again.
The couple noticed about ½ a mile away from them that a pair of swerving headlights were heading in their direction. They had no clue how to react to what was to come, in a matter of minutes the couple were flung with such force that when they landed back to the safety of the ground they were unconscious. Trying to protect Hojo, Kagome had jumped in front of him and tried to put up a barrier. Kaede and her had been practicing and she was able to place one up, but would it be strong enough. As the car hit the couple at over 85 miles an hour the barrier shattered and the two had no chance, Kagome taking most of the hit. She yelled a loud blood chilling scream before everything went silent and still. Everything seemed to move in slow motion throughout Tokyo that night as the paramedics arrived and assessed the condition of the two teenagers who had been struck by one of the deadliest weapons available to the general public.