The quiet summer afternoon was a nice reprieve from the normal chaos within their small group. Miroku sat beneath a large shady tree on a hill that overlooked the forest surrounding the village. His staff leaned against his shoulder, his head bent in what appeared to be sleep. He had excused himself from the hut, avoiding the brewing argument that had been growing between Kagome and Inuyasha. These days it was rare that the two ever saw eye to eye. Shippo, as usual, took the Miko's side and ended up on the wrong end of Inuyasha's fist. A soft sigh of peace escaped Miroku's lips. Perhaps he would be able to take a little nap; it was so nice and quiet.

Just as his mind began to fog, sending him into a peaceful sleep, he was unpleasantly pulled from the wonderful fog that had taken over.

'So much for peaceful,' he thought ruefully. His violet eyes snapped open to see a brilliant display of light and sparks, the noise, though far away, was still unpleasantly loud. He stood up and, to his dismay, assumed the display to be coming from the direction of the Bone Eaters Well. He only hoped he was wrong, Kagome would be devastated should anything happen to the well.

Without any further delay he began to run back to the village to gather the others. This was something to check out immediately. He had a strong feeling this had something to do with Naraku. The villagers moved from his path as he neared Kaede's hut, some of them whispering amongst each other. No doubt wondering what had the normally collected monk in such distress.

He came to a sudden stop as he burst through the straw flap. Inuyasha paused his fist in midair where it hung inches above Shippo's head, Sango looked up from her Hirikotsu, and Kagome; who had the word 'sit' hanging on her tongue, turned her head.

"I fear something might have happened to the Bone Eaters well," Miroku informed them. "There was a sort of light and sparks shooting up from the area, I'm not sure if it came from the well itself, but I have a good feeling it is. It sounded almost like an explosion." Kagome's eyes widened in worry as she immediately stood and pulled her backpack over her shoulders.

"Let's go check it out," she said. When Inuyasha stood and opened his mouth, no doubt to complain, she put a hand up to stop him. "It sounds like something Naraku would do."

"He doesn't even know about the well!" He huffed as he stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his haori.

"Kagome has a point Inuyasha," Sango spoke up. "Besides, how are we to know if he does or does not know what the well can do? He has spies everywhere," she pointed out. Inuyasha opened his mouth before promptly shutting it and following the others outside. Flames surrounded Kirara as she grew in size allowing Sango and Miroku to mount her. Inuyasha knelt down to allow Kagome to climb onto his back; once he secured his arms behind her legs he took off.

Kagome held onto the fabric of his fire rat robe as he leapt through the trees, Kirara in the air above them.

"Are you sure it was from this direction Miroku?" Inuyasha called up.

"I'm sure of it!" The monk confirmed. Inuyasha didn't say anything as he kept going, he could sense the thick amount of worry radiating off of Kagome. Though she said nothing, he knew she was afraid the well had been destroyed. She'd be crushed if she could never return home again. Shippo ran his hand through her hair in a comforting gesture, if only to calm her down.

By the time they had neared the well the sun had hit the tops of the mountains, nightfall wasn't far behind. Inuyasha quickened his pace; he didn't want to face an unknown enemy in the dark especially if they'd be at a disadvantage that way. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of the ruckus being caused by Naraku. Finally, when the sun was hidden halfway by the mountains, the well came into view. They stopped short of the clearing. Nothing seemed out of place or out of the ordinary. Inuyasha turned a frustrated glare on Miroku.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming Monk?" He snapped.

"I wasn't!" Miroku insisted. Inuyasha, grumbling under his breath, let Kagome off his back.

"This is a waste of time!" Inuyasha yelled as he raised a fist in the air. He sighed and stuffed his hands into his haori. "Naraku's stench isn't even around here; no way he could have done anything." Inuyasha titled his head upwards a bit and sniffed the air lightly. Miroku, who had been expecting a firm fist to his head, looked on curiously.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"Naraku may not have been here, but someone is," Inuyasha replied as he began walking towards the well. "I can smell blood." He stopped once he reached the lip of the well where the scent of blood came from the strongest. He peered into its depths, his amber eyes glowing slightly in the overcoming darkness. At the bottom he could see a body laying crumpled at a very odd angle as if it had just been dropped down there. He wouldn't doubt the truth behind it either. The person was probably some poor traveler bandits came across, stole from, beat up, and then tossed him down there to die.

Inuyasha heaved a sigh as he jumped in, careful not to land on the body. The bone eaters well was for the bones of evil demons, not some human that was unlucky enough to be killed. He tossed the limp body over his shoulder; surprised when he could hear the boy's ragged breathing.

'So he's alive,' Inuyasha thought as he leapt out of the well with ease. He heard Kagome gasp the moment his feet touched the ground. He walked over to where the others stood in shock.

"Is he…" Kagome couldn't bring herself to finish the question.

"He's alive," Inuyasha assured them. "But it won't remain that way for long if he goes without help." Foreboding though the information was, Inuyasha was certain he was correct in his assumption if the man's increasingly rising temperature and ragged breathing was anything to go by.

"What do you think happened to him Inuyasha?" Miroku asked as he helped Inuyasha lift the boy onto Kirara's back, making sure he wouldn't slip off.

"Not sure, probably ran into some bandits," Inuyasha shrugged.

"I don't think so," Kagome suddenly spoke as she looked at the boy.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked roughly. "How would you know for sure?"

"Because…" she paused for a moment, "…he's from my era." Sango came to stand next to Kagome and examined the unconscious boy.

"You probably didn't notice his clothing before because he was in the well, but Kagome's right. His clothing is strange, not at all like what we wear here," Sango explained.

"But how did he get here? Only Kagome and Inuyasha can get through the well. I had the jewel shards once and I still couldn't get through," Shippo pointed out.

"I'm not sure," Kagome muttered.

"We're just going to have to wait till he wakes up, it's not like we can ask him how he got through right now," Inuyasha said impatiently as he began to walk away.

"For now we have to do what we can for him if Inuyasha is correct," Miroku said gravely. Sango nodded her agreement as she helped him situate the unconscious man onto Kirara so he wouldn't fall off while they were in mid-air.

"Kagome and I will go ahead," Sango informed them. She motioned for Kagome to climb on before Kirara took off into the air. "We'll meet you back at the hut!" Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo were left looking at the spot previously occupied by the girls. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he huffed and started the long walk back.

"What's wrong with you?" Shippo asked from the safety of Miroku's shoulder.

"Nothing!" Inuyasha snapped.

"He's mad," Shippo sighed. Miroku simply nodded in reply. Inuyasha growled irritably.

"I can hear you!" He glared at the dirt path he walked on, looking as if he could burn a hole straight through the ground. There was something about the boy that was off, something that he didn't trust. As soon as the boy was deemed well he was going straight back where he came from.

IIIIIIIII

Black nothingness surrounded him, if that even made sense. He was weightless yet, at the same time, was falling. It felt as if he were in the pits of the Makai fires but at the same time it felt as if he were standing in the midst of the Ice Maiden Isle. He felt nothing, but ached everywhere. He couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not, it seemed that he was met with the same inky blackness no matter what.

Suddenly, all too soon it seemed, he was plunged from the blissful blackness. His back hit the sandy surface hard; causing him to groan loudly as he spat out the sand that had entered his mouth. Yusuke sat up and looked at the all too familiar surroundings. His eyes narrowed as he stood with surprising difficulty, his limbs felt like they had been filled with lead. He rubbed at his blurred eyes trying to clear his vision.

Somewhere from his right someone chuckled. Yusuke moved too quickly it seemed as he doubled over in pain, causing the other person to shake their head and come closer. The sand crunched beneath their bare feet as they approached. A warning growl escaped Yusuke's throat, but did not faze them. He struggled to stand upright, trying to figure out why he was in such pain.

Just as he managed to stand upright to get a good look at the persons face, he was kicked in the stomach sending him flying across the sandy field. He landed on his side, pain etched into his features. He was dragged upright by his hair before a punch made contact with the side of his head, stomach, and several other parts of his body before he was tossed carelessly against a rock.

He growled in frustration as he leaned against the rock in order to summon enough strength to stand. Not being able to see clearly enough, he simply pointed his index finger at the blurred figure, but nothing happened. His finger didn't even grow warm to indicate the gathering of his energy. He suddenly doubled over as he was thrown into a coughing fit, blood passed his lips to splatter on the ground.

'What the hell?' he thought as he rubbed his eyes again. A foot suddenly rammed into his back causing a strangled cry to escape his lips as he was forced to the ground. The foot ground into the middle of his back for good measure before moving; Yusuke pushed himself up on his hands and knees only to receive a kick to the side sending him sprawling on the ground once more.

This was seriously pissing him off. He couldn't see who the hell was beating him up clearly, he didn't have the energy to do anything back, and he could barely summon the energy to freaking talk! He was getting his ass kicked and there was nothing he could do about it! He attempted to stand, yet again, but his head was pushed forcefully on the ground.

"Come now," a deep voice whispered into his ear. "You're simply expending energy you don't have."

"Bas…tard," Yusuke grunted. He turned his head to see the person kneeling beside him, but could only make out a dark blur. "Who…are…you?" His only reply was a laugh. He was hauled up by his neck; he dangled limply like a rag doll. He could imagine the smirk that curled onto the attackers' lips as Yusuke hung from his grip defenseless.

"It would be too easy to toss you off of a cliff in this state," the voice was sultry, each word rolling off of his tongue like poisoned honey. "It's more amusing to see you squirm." Yusuke felt a claw run slowly across his cheek just hard enough to draw blood. He tried to focus on the unknown demons energy, but it eluded his senses each time he tried.

'What the hell is wrong with me? Come on Yusuke, fight back!' He yelled mentally. Despite his iron will, his body did not want to cooperate. Even lifting his fist took more energy than he cared to admit. The more he moved the more worn out he became and each time he tried to move too quickly electricity seemed to course through his veins. His blurred vision was really beginning to grind on his nerves.

After what seemed to be an eternity he was tossed in the air, crashing upside down against a large rock. It cracked beneath him before bursting into little pebbles sending him crashing down amongst the rubble. He was thrown into another coughing fit. Red colored the grey rubble.

His stomach convulsed, threatening to empty itself of whatever was left within it. He managed to hold it off twice, before his body finally forced him to vomit. A sickly pale green substance poured from his lips mixed in with whatever his stomach had digested hours prior. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand as he shakily stood up and moved over to the sand, where he soon collapsed. He waited to hear the sound of his attacker coming close, but he never came.

Blanketed in a cold sweat Yusuke lay in the sand on his stomach wishing that a black hole would suddenly open up and swallow him whole. Anything had to be better than this agony he was currently experiencing.

IIIIIIIIII

Tijiya: I feel sort of bad, putting Yusuke through this crap for the first few chapters. He was conscious for one chapter, but then he's out cold directly after. He's probably not gonna want to wake either, that expierience, I bet, will be unpleasent. Then again, I'm the writer, I already know whether or not it will be. Okay...yeah...anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Inuyasha (c) Rumiko Takahashi

Yu Yu Hakusho (c) Yoshihiro Togashi