Kagome stood at the top of the steps leading down to the well. She stared at the old structure, moving the flashlight beam so it shined into the open top. Her dream was still fresh in her mind, the man's voice calling her name playing on repeat. She felt a little silly now that she was out here. Did she really expect to find someone hanging out in an ancient well?
She walked down the steps slowly, hesitating on the last one, feeling the rough wood of the stair under her feet. A light breeze ruffled her hair and blew it back away from her face. The air around her felt heavy, like she was in the presence of something powerful or ancient...or both. She took the last step slowly, holding her breath, and put her hand on the aged wood surface. She leaned over and shined the flashlight into the well...and dropped it. "Shit."
Inuyasha was staring at the inside wall of the well, afraid to look up. He knew where he was, he had his answer. So why was looking up so difficult? He realized he was holding his breath so he let it out in a whoosh. When he finally took a deep breath in he was almost overwhelmed by her scent. He heard movement above him then felt something hit his left shoulder and bounce to the dirt at his feet. The flashlight hit the ground with a small thump, the beam of light going out with the impact.
He heard a quiet curse from above him and with that one word he knew it was her voice. Since when did Kagome curse? He bent and picked up the flashlight before tensing his legs to jump up and out of the well. He landed on the edge in a crouch, drawing a startled squeak from Kagome, and held the flashlight out to her. He had to resist the urge to do something stupid, like jump down and hug her. Three days of tension and worry had left him in an instant when he saw her, safe, alive, and existing, and it was really messing with his judgment.
But the look on her face and the tension in her posture let him know that all wasn't completely right. She was looking at him like she was seeing a ghost. Backed up against the bottom step, her body leaning back away from him, her hands were clenched in front of her chest defensively and he could hear her heart beating frantically. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, focused intently on his face. But it was her scent that told him the most in that moment.
Her scent was clouded by fear...Kagome was never afraid of him.
He lowered his right arm and set the flashlight down on the wood next to him. Slowly, so as not to scare her more, he stepped down onto the ground keeping his legs against the well to maintain distance. It was killing him to see the fear in her eyes and he was desperate to put her at ease. He did his best to relax his posture, letting his arms hang loosely at his sides, trying to let any lingering tension out of his muscles. He wanted to appear as non-threatening as possible.
Kagome watched the familiar stranger step off the edge of the well (the well he'd just jumped out of) and stand in front of her. She'd let her initial fear and shock control her actions, stiffening her posture and making her move away from the man in front of her. She was afraid, but not of him. All the visions and dreams of the last three days suddenly felt much more real and she didn't know how to process the situation. She let herself relax slowly, unclenching her hands, letting them fall to her side, and taking a few deep breaths to try and slow her pounding heart.
It was too dark in the well house to get a good look at him. His silvery white hair stood out in the gloom and his amber eyes seemed to glow but the rest of his features were shadowed. She needed to see him in the light, to confirm what she already knew: that this was the boy from her visions.
Then he spoke and it was all the confirmation she needed.
"Kagome, are you ok?"
She gasped at the familiar way he said her name, almost missing his question. It was him. Her voice shook a little when she answered, "I'm ok, I think. Do I know you?" Even in the dark she couldn't miss his dismayed look.
"You don't...you don't know who I am?" His relief when the fear started to dissipate from her scent was short-lived and Inuyasha couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.
"No, I'm sorry. I…" she trailed off, not sure what to say. How do you tell someone that you've been having visions and dreams about them? Or that a strange, disembodied voice practically announced his arrival? But he had said her name which meant that he, at least, knew her. "But you know me, don't you? You said my name. How do you know me?"
He should have known, he really should have known that it wouldn't be that easy. Things had just gotten much more complicated and Inuyasha did not do complicated. He ran a hand down his face and heaved a sigh of frustration. What was he supposed to tell her? He couldn't fuck this up, couldn't risk scaring her off before he could fix things. And he would fix things. The well worked, kagome was in front of him, and she hadn't immediately run away from him.
He just needed time to figure this out. "Yeah, I know you, but shit's complicated." He sounded angrier than he wanted to.
"Alright. Well," she hesitated, "un-complicate things, I guess. Tell me something at least."
Of course the stubborn woman wasn't going to give him a minute to think. "I gotta think, alright? I don't wanna say the wrong thing and have you run away before I can explain myself."
She gave him a flat look. "I'm standing here, talking to a man who I found in an old dried up well, in the middle of the night, who's dressed like a cosplayer, has dog ears, and is carrying a sword. And I'm still standing here, I think I can handle a little 'complicated' without running away."
He returned her look. "And that's why you're always getting kidnapped."
"Excuse me…? Kidnapped?"
"I told you, complicated. Listen," he said, "we should go outside and talk. It's stuffy as hell in here and I know you can't see in the dark." He started past her up the steps, not waiting for a response. This was not how he'd pictured their little reunion going.
He finally heard her start to follow him when he slid the door open. He had a very specific destination in mind, one he knew would help put her at ease and convince her of their connection.
She followed him out of the well house and across the shrine grounds, knowing almost immediately that he was leading her to the sacred tree. She watched him walking ahead of her, taking in the red outfit that she'd seen in all her visions. His fluffy white ears twitched on top of his head occasionally and she had to resist the urge to reach up and touch them.
"Umm," she started, "could you at least tell me your name?"
His shoulders slumped a little at her question and he sighed again. "Name's Inuyasha. Don't forget it cause I'm not sayin' it again." Her annoyed huff made him smile.
He heard her mumbling to herself, "You don't have to be rude. Like I could forget a name like that anyway."
His smile turned into a smirk. She'd said it so low he was sure she hadn't meant for him to hear. "You makin' fun of my name, Ka-go-me?"
"How'd you…?"
He stopped walking and turned to look at her. The dusting of color on her cheeks and the look of annoyance almost made him chuckle...almost. He caught her gaze and pointed at his ears instead. "These work a lot better than your weak human ears."
"Oh, I didn't-" she started then thought about what he said. Her hands went to her hips and she leaned towards him, going from apologetic to angry at a speed that always baffled Inuyasha. "Well excuse me and my 'weak human ears' for not knowing you had super hearing! What are you anyway? And why do you have a sword? And how did you manage to just casually jump out of the well?" She couldn't seem to stop her barrage of questions, her hands gesturing wildly at his head, then his side, then his legs. "For that matter how do you know my name? And why are you so comfortable just strolling around my shrine in the middle of the night? And why the hell aren't you wearing any shoes?!"
Inuyasha couldn't stop the grin from forming at her last question. "Keh, would you slow down, woman? I told you we were comin' out here to talk, didn't I?" he cut her off before she could ask any more questions. "And why the hell aren't you wearin' shoes? You're the one with weak human feet," he emphasized the last three words, clearly teasing her now.
"I may have weak human feet but at least I'm not a big, stupid...jerk!" she yelled the last word, walking forward until they were only inches apart. "And another thing..." she started and raised a hand, pointing a finger at Inuyasha.
He grabbed her hand and pulled it against his chest, effectively cutting her off. She was so close to him he could see her nostrils flare, her eyes narrowing at his boldness. He looked down at her flushed face, her lips forming an angry pout. "I didn't come through the well to argue with you Kagome," he said slowly, suddenly serious. "Shit needs fixed and to do that I need you to trust me. I'll answer your questions but you gotta promise to listen to everything I have to say."
Feeling the weight behind his words, Kagome let most of her anger drain away. "Fine, but you have to promise to tell me what I want to know. I've had a rough last few days and I'm pretty sure you're the one who can tell me why. I don't care how complicated things are."
"Fine. Let's go then." He let her hand go, missing the contact the instant it dropped away. He turned and resumed the short trip to the tree.
When they reached the sacred tree Inuyasha took a second to stare up at the spot where he had been sealed. It hadn't changed in the 500 years since Kagome had released him. He thought back to that day, realizing his mistake too late as the headache washed over him. He heard a pained cry behind him but couldn't think straight enough to process the sound. This was the longest headache yet, dragging on and on until Inuyasha thought he would pass out from the overwhelming agony of it. After what felt like an eternity his head cleared, the pain faded completely, and he had another memory to examine. The smell of Kagome's tears hit his nose a second before he heard her crying.
He whirled around and his heart dropped at the sight before him. She was lying on the ground, curled into a ball, arms wrapped around her stomach. She was practically sobbing, her breath hitching as she tried to breathe. All the worry he'd felt over the last few days and the relief he'd felt coming through the well combined with the sight of Kagome in obvious distress broke straight through all of Inuyasha's walls. He crouched next to her, acting before he thought about what he was doing.
Kagome felt like she might be dying and, in her current state, thought she might be ok with that. The headaches were definitely getting worse and the pain in her side was back. She'd dropped to the ground and curled in on herself, sound and images bombarded her senses even as the throbbing in her head and side intensified. She'd concentrated on the vision to try and distract herself.
The boy she now knew as Inuyasha was pinned to a tree by an arrow. Kagome was pressed against him, a large centipede-like creature wrapped around them. She was being crushed. He spoke, asked her if she wanted to die. The creature tightened it's hold, pushing her to a decision. She grabbed the arrow and pulled, power surging through her until it dissolved in a flash of light. There was a pulse of energy. She said his name before she was thrown back by his burst of power.
The headache finally faded but the stabbing pain her side did not. Her scar felt like a brand burned into her skin. She was crying, struggling to draw breath. She felt Inuyasha slide his arms under her, lifting her and walking towards the sacred tree.
He settled his back against the rough bark, legs in front of him, parted and bent slightly at the knee. He shifted her between his legs so she was resting on her left hip, her knees bent and tucked under his left leg. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her against his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder, her breath warm on his neck. Her hands were balled into the fabric of his suikan, one on his right shoulder near her head, the other directly over his heart.
"Kagome," he said her name so gently and with so much concern. "Kagome, what happened, what's wrong?"
Her breathing evened out, the tenderness in his voice calming her. She felt safe wrapped in the cocoon of his sleeves. She took a few shuddering breaths before answering, "My head, and my side. I keep getting these terrible headaches.I think they're getting worse." She made a small pained sound and seemed to press against him more.
"Shit. When? How many?" Inuyasha made the connection immediately. He panicked and held her a little tighter, wondering if this happened to her every time.
"Seven, I in the morning a couple days ago and three more really close together last night plus this one just now."
Fuck. "How bad are they?" He knew how bad his were, and if hers were even half as painful then she was in some serious pain.
She pulled away from him a little and looked at his face intently, his features so familiar even though she'd only met him less than an hour ago. Less than an hour and she was already wrapped up in his embrace, taking comfort from him like she'd known him for most of her life. She needed to know what was going on, why he was so familiar with her. So she asked, "What am I to you?"
The question caught him off guard. How the hell was he supposed to answer that? 'Everything' was the most accurate answer but he had a feeling she wasn't ready for that in her current state. 'A friend' would work but she was so much more than that. 'Complicated' didn't even begin to describe them. He decided to keep it simple. "We're close friends, we travel together."
She looked around a little at how they were sitting then gave him a pointed look. "How close exactly?"
Damn, that was a hard question to answer under normal circumstances. "It's complicated," he started, a little hesitant. "You're important to me Kagome, that's why I'm here. I need you to remember me and our other friends. And I need you to remember why we travel together."
Kagome gave him an appraising look. The night was catching up to her and she was feeling drained from the last headache; she needed to get some rest. She'd been fighting back the pain and her exhaustion, wanting answers, but she could feel her eyelids drooping, her body heavy with fatigue. And apparently Inuyasha noticed.
"You need to get some sleep. I can see how tired you are. Are you still in pain?"
Her right hand moved to her left side. "Just my side, but that's almost all the time now."
"What happened to your side?"
"Nothing, it just started hurting. I've got a scar there but it's a few months old."
Inuyasha looked like he wanted to ask another question but stopped himself. "You should go get some rest. I'll still be here in the morning." He moved to stand, straightening up and helping her to her feet with him.
"Where are you gonna stay tonight? Are you going back to...wherever you came from?"
"No. I'm staying here until we figure some things out. I'll sleep in the well house so nobody sees me."
Kagome debated with herself for a minute before speaking again, "You can stay in my room if you don't mind sleeping on the floor. I'll lock my door so nobody barges in in the morning."
He wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to sleep surrounded by her scent. "Fine, I'll sneak out the window before your family can see me. I'm guessing they don't remember me either."
Kagome shook her head, "Probably not." She turned to head back to the house but Inuyasha had other plans. She made a startled sound when he scooped her up, arms under her knees and shoulders, and ran to the house. He leapt up to her window, sliding it open and depositing her on her feet inside her bedroom then followed her in and closed the window behind them.
"Well that was easier than trying to sneak through the house at least," she said, voice low so as not to wake her family. "I need to change so turn around and close your eyes."
He did as he was told, facing the window and closing his eyes. He tried not to think too much about Kagome getting naked behind him, listening to the sound of her clothes rusting while she changed. "You done yet woman?"
She huffed, he smiled. "Yes, you can turn around now."
He turned and watched her climb into bed, now wearing long-sleeved pink pajamas. He sat down cross-legged under the window and leaned Tessaiga against his shoulder. "How're you gonna explain me to your family?"
"I dunno. Maybe I should get you some normal clothes to wear," she yawned, already sounding mostly asleep. "I'll figure it out in the morning." Her breathing started to even out and within minutes she was asleep.
Inuyasha spent a few hours dozing off and on under the window. He spent most of his time awake thinking about how much to tell Kagome. He debated just taking her through the well but Kikyo was probably waiting for him on the other side. That could be a disaster. That thought led him to think about his latest memories. His unsealing at the hands of Kikyo had been much different than when Kagome released him.
There was no giant centipede to fight, no angry villagers to shout at him, and no Kagome. Just Kikyo standing directly in front of him and Kaede waiting a few steps back, bow and arrow at the ready. Kikyo released him and immediately subdued him so she could explain things to him without him attacking or running off (why didn't she just leave me pinned to the damn tree?). When she released him he ended up running anyway, too pissed to care what she said. He must have been destined to eat dirt no matter who unsealed him because she subdued him again before he could get out of the clearing.
So it hadn't gone well. No wonder they still had trust issues; their second chance had started with Kikyo putting a collar on him before he'd done anything to deserve it. At least he was actively trying to get the jewel when Kagome subdued him the first time.
He let his thoughts drift back to Kagome, trying to stay away from the unpleasant memories. When the first rays of sunshine shone through the curtains he got up and jumped out of the window, heading to the well house to wait for Kagome.
Kikyo stood in the early morning sunlight, her shinidamachu floating around her, looking into the well she'd watched Inuyasha disappear into the night before. She'd followed him, of course she'd followed him. Half a year of travelling together hadn't fostered a greater sense of trust between the two of them. Their orchestrated betrayal at the hands of Naraku had exposed just how easily they could turn on each other and the experience had left deep scars on their relationship.
She'd thought, at first, that they were making progress, growing closer, learning to actually trust. He'd started letting himself sleep a little deeper around her and she'd stopped putting a barrier around herself at night. He'd stopped throwing a fit about every village they stopped in and she stopped pretending to control him when they were in those villages. He'd even opened up a little to the other two members of their group, after a time.
Then she'd learned he was hiding something. The first time he'd disappeared during a new moon was easy to brush off. It was early in their travels and they both needed more space in those early days. But when the second new moon came around and he'd disappeared again, without an explanation, she'd gotten suspicious. The next new moon she was ready. With a little help from the monk, she'd put up a barrier around their camp meant to keep him in. He was understandably angry when he tried to sneak off but so was she. How dare he continue to hide things from her while they were trying to learn to trust each other? When the sun set that night and his hair turned black, his dog ears sliding down to form human ears, claws and fangs disappearing, the look of betrayal on his face had been unmistakeable.
They'd failed to trust each other...again. Instead of him explaining why he went off on his own, and instead of her just asking what was going on, they'd assumed the worst of each other and kept their own counsel. It left her wondering if, even as a human, would she have even been able to fully trust him. Things hadn't improved from there.
Every time she subdued him, every time they got in each other's way during battle, every time they entered a new village and Kikyo kept her distance from him, they were reminded: they still didn't trust each other. Their encounters with Goshinki and Gatenmaru had only made matters worse. She'd watched him become a murderer and he'd felt the full force of her spiritual powers. She didn't know that purifying him would turn him human, she'd just wanted to stop his rampage. If Inuyasha realized the implications behind her actions he never said anything.
Now Kikyo had a choice. She could wait for him to return, ask him what was really going on, where he'd been, who Kagome was. She could try to trust him, make an effort to believe what he said. Or she could do what Inuyasha had already done and take matters into her own hands and figure it out for herself.
It wasn't really a choice though. He'd implied that they didn't belong together. He'd made it clear that some other woman, Kagome, was supposed to be there with him instead. He wanted to replace her, send her off on her own, and spend his time with Kagome. Was Kagome more precious to him than she?
She turned away from the well and walked towards the tree that she'd sealed Inuyasha to all those years ago. She could feel a strange energy coming from the area, a dark aura that she hadn't felt the last time they were in the village. The closer she got the more obvious it became that some kind of dark magic was at work. When she saw the black light shining from within the hole left by her arrow she knew it had to be the cause of Inuyasha's strange behaviour. She also knew that Naraku had to be involved. Who else would know the significance of this particular tree with that particular blemish?
She walked closer to the tree, examining the ominous glow. It wasn't a jewel shard but it was startlingly close. They'd encountered something similar when they'd been caught between Kagura and the wolf yokai. That shard had been so potently poisonous that it had claimed the wolf's life in the end. And now she was looking at something almost the same but so much worse. She needed to do something about this before it was out of her control, if it wasn't already.
But first she needed to talk to Kaede. She was going to have to leave on her own for a while and she would need Kaede to keep Inuyasha around until she got back. That was, of course, if he even came back through the well.
She started back towards the village, a plan forming. She would fix this. She would put things right and make sure Inuyasha knew where he truly belonged.
Kagome was tired. Her body hurt, her side ached, she had dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, and just getting out of bed had almost been too much for her. She almost wished Inuyasha had stuck around to carry her to the bathroom but wouldn't that just be fun to explain to her family. It took over an hour of struggling but she somehow managed to bathe, get dressed, and find clothes for her overnight guest. She'd even managed to sneak out to the well house to deliver his new outfit before heading back inside to deliver their cover story to her mother.
Inuyasha hadn't waited for Kagome to return for him, heading to the house as soon as he was changed. He'd made sure to memorize their cover story about him being a transfer student from a rural part of Japan and Kagome befriending him. He was supposed to be coming over today so Kagome could show him around and he could help her study. He'd managed to get through breakfast with her family without arousing any suspicion and had even held a pleasant conversation with her mother about her spectacular cooking skills. Kagome suspected he was just there to keep an eye on her (Kagome looked and felt like shit) but it was still pleasant having him around.
Now they were seated side-by-side on the stone bench under the sacred tree and Kagome was ready to get some answers. She opened her small journal and turned to a blank page. "Alright, time to answer some questions."
"Fine, but do I really still have to wear this?" Inuyasha picked at the thin material of the white t-shirt he was wearing.
"Yes, you still have to wear that. My family could wander out here at any time and we're going out in public later to get you more clothes."
Inuyasha was wearing an old pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that had belonged to Kagome's father and a red zip-up hoodie that she'd picked up by accident from the locker room at school. The hoodie was much too big for her but fit Inuyasha perfectly. The jeans and t-shirt were a little big but not noticeably so. He had a black baseball cap covering his ears and Kagome had somehow convinced him to let her put his hair up in a loose, messy bun, leaving his hair hanging in the front. Shoes had been the only real issue; apparently he didn't wear them...ever. Luckily her grandfather had purchased zori that were too big for him not that long ago and she'd managed to get Inuyasha to wear them, sans socks of course, at least while they were outside.
Now, aside from the color of his hair and eyes, he would blend right in (so long as nobody took too close a look at his claws and fangs). And he would look good doing it, at least in Kagome's opinion. She'd already decided that they were going to go shopping later to get him more clothes. He couldn't show up in the same thing every day and expect her family to not get suspicious. Right now though he had some questions to answer.
"OK, how did we meet?"
"I was pinned to a tree, you released me." Simple, easy answer.
"Why were you pinned to a tree?"
"That's complicated." Nope, he was not going there yet.
"It's all complicated."
He growled, "Well that's more complicated."
"Fine," she huffed, "how long have we known each other?"
"Not sure, half a year, maybe more."
"What are you?"
"A hanyo. I'm half inu youkai and half human." He twitched his ears for emphasis.
She smiled at the gesture then continued, "Why were you in the well?"
"It connects your time to mine. I'm from the past."
"How far in the past?"
"Really far, I think? You called it the sengoku jidai before."
"That would explain the clothes and the sword. You said we travel together. Now or in the past? And is it just us?"
"In the past. And no, we travel with a monk, a taijiya, her neko youkai, and a kitsune brat. And what are you writing?"
Kagome held up her journal for him to get a closer look. "I started writing things down after the first headache to try to figure out what was happening. I'm writing down our conversation so I can compare it to my visions later."
Inuyasha's eyes went wide for a second before he narrowed them. "You're having visions? Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's complicated. Also, it's been a bit of a whirlwind since I literally found you in a well so it may have slipped my mind. Anyway, I'm the one asking questions. You can ask what you want when I'm done." She looked back at her journal then continued, "Do the people we travel with have names?"
"Of course they do. And how does having visions just 'slip your mind'?"
"Inuyasha…"
"Fine. Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippo."
"Shippo? I recognize that name." She looked thoughtful for a second but continued, "Why do we travel together?"
"To defeat Naraku and complete the sacred jewel so that it can be purified. Is any of this familiar besides Shippo's name?"
She sighed. Her visions made a little more sense now but they weren't going to get very far if she just kept firing off questions. They needed to talk about her experiences the last few days and figure out why she'd forgotten everything. She had a passing thought that she probably shouldn't just accept everything at face value like she was. He could be making everything up and she'd have no way of knowing. He was technically just a stranger that she'd found hanging out in an old well after all. But there was one thing she'd known from the moment he'd first said her name and asked if she was ok.
She knew she trusted him. She knew he wasn't lying or making things up. She knew his concern for her was genuine. She even knew he cared for her in some capacity. And she knew, in her heart, that he wouldn't hurt her, that he wouldn't let anyone or anything else hurt her. He'd told her, hadn't he, in one of her visions, 'I'll protect you'.
She didn't know how she knew but whatever was happening they were at least on the same side.
"Kagome, you alright?" he interrupted her thoughts. He didn't like the tired look she gave him or how long it took her to answer.
"Yeah, I'm alright," she responded slowly. "It just doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere with these questions. I think...I think we should talk about my visions now. And my dreams."
"Visions and dreams now? Alright," he said, giving her a very serious look, "We'll do that then. But first we need to get some ramen."
