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*Kitty suddenly throws chapter to waiting people* HAHAHAHAH! We did it! We finally did it!...I seriously feel sorry for my actual readers who follow my actual stories… I hope You're happy Pink T.T I'm hated now!

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~ Thanks for those people that still keep in touch with this story. We really appreciate your reviews and thanks to those favorites and alerts. ^_^ Sorry for the late, late, and late update! We finally able to release the new chapter after so many months, especially almost a year! Sorry! -.-' However, we work hard to make this chapter comes out before the New Year. We hopes that everyone loves this chapter as much as we do since this chapter proves that we won't ever drop this story. Let's look forward to the storyline. Hurray! ^_^ ~

Sweetness of Pain

PinkuTsutsuji88 & Kitty1217

Chapter 03

1340...Year 1340...That could just not be possible. The girl, Sayuri if she remembered right, must be playing with her or something. Nonononono. She shook her head. Nonono, just no. It couldn't be possible. She looked at Sayuri, who in turn was looking at her weird.

"You...you must be joking with me...right? I mean…" Kagome looked around. The people, or villagers in this case, were looking at her very weird. They were some that even whispering something to each other. She could not hear what it was but something told her it was not...something she would want to hear in this situation. She looked back towards Sayuri. "That is just not possible," she finally said.

What could she said in this situation? What if everyone here was crazy? And in her saying something against their beliefs, would they do something to her in retaliation? She couldn't do anything if they will, she definitely wanted to see her family. She had to find a way to contact her family, some way or another.

She looked around once again, and finally noticed the crowd. She remembered that she wanted help from the head village and had come here but why was it crowded? Was something big going on?

Leaning towards the girl she asked, "What is going on here? I mean if I can ask that is."

The weird gaze turned to one of worry in the girl's brow eyes. "My mother is in labor. Everyone is worried for her since she is a sickly woman," Sayuri told her.

'She must really care about her mother.' It made Kagome think of her mother.

"Ah, thats must have been why you were in such a hurry." Kagome thought of their meeting.

Sayuri sheeply grinned at her, a hand behind her head. "Yes, sorry about that. I hope you were not hurt at all." She stared at Kagome for a heart beat or two, which made the said girl worried. "I hope I am not being rude or anything, but what are you doing here? Oh! Was the kimono* ripped or something?" She became nervous. "Oh, I hope not, it looks like a very expensive one too." She mumbled softly but Kagome heard her anyways.

Kagome smiled at her. "Don't worry, nothing is wrong with the kimono*, see?" She did a quick twirled to show that it was as fine as she said.

"Oh, I see." Sayuri gave a relief sight. She ran her right hand by her messy brown hair. Sayuri opened her mouth but an urgent voice made the girl turn towards the house.

"Sayuri!" Said the voice once again. Sayuri ran into the house leaving Kagome behind all puzzled. Kagome turned towards the crowd as the people started praying and she could only guess it was for the one in labor at the moment. She stared at the people for a few moments more until what Sayuri had said came back to her.

It must be a dream. Yeah! That was the most possible thing. Or, everyone in this village was crazy, or she was crazy, but her being crazy couldn't be true.

'Yeah...' She started towards the crowd, 'must be a dream…' she thought as she went through the crowd.

Kagome suddenly stopped. Pain was penetrating her brain and she looked down. Her geta* were scraping the skin in her feet. She looked around to see if there was any place where she could lean on something or sit on something to rest her feet. She would prefer something to sit on so she could take said things off her feet but she couldn't be picky. Luckily, as she looked towards her left, she saw a small platform to sit in. She hoped no one would mind if she rested real quick.

She took the getas off and immediately felt the relief in her feet.

She looked around once again at the village. It just really didn't feel real. It must be a dream, but the pain in her feet were telling her otherwise. So, was this really the year 1340 or were the people trying to make her crazy?

People making her crazy was weird and a far fetched idea, but her being in the year 1340 was even more unbelievable!

Thoughts of her grandfather suddenly came to her, to seen as if they were taunting her for not paying attention to him or the history classes in school. Some things did stick in her mind though. The word 'Youkai' was just repeating in her brain now. Her grandpa had always love to tell her stories, which of course are not true to her, especially ones about miko* and youkai*.

Her grandpa, who is the elder always taking care of the shrine where she lives along with her mother and brother, is always telling them stories of the old days, where miko* and youkai* would fight. He would say that youkai would try to hurt humans and that miko were the ones that defended said humans.

Though, there was actually one youkai he talked about, which she founded weird and was one of the ones she actually listened to. 'If I remember, it had something to do with dog..' She massaged her right foot as she thought. "Inu no…" She changed to her left foot, "Inu no… what was it again? Maybe I should have payed more attention to him." She mumbled to herself. 'Still don't think it's that important though.'

To her far right, she saw a few kids coming out of some houses, hut she corrected herself again. They too were dress in those short hamaka* and kimono* she was so used to seeing in historical dramas.

1340 came once again into her mind. 'Inu no Taisho!' Yes, that had been the name her grandfather had always mention. He had said he had done many things. He had been a Lord of some sort, which type she couldn't remember for her life. He must had been a dog demon from his name though. He had been the first lord to actually help and respect humans, and humans respected him too and didn't hate him like they did all other demons.

And of course, her brain came into a blank after that. But why was she thinking of that? She was either crazy or she was starting to actually think she was in the past, "Which can't be!" She finished out loud. Some people looked at her for a few as if she was crazy, and she might actually be.

But...Just but...If that is actually true, that she was in the past of course and not crazy, then…she might be in real danger with youkai roaming the lands and all. Though… she looked around again, it didn't look like people were worry about youkai or anything related to them. Andddd, history classes never said anything about youkai...not that she can remember anyways.

Yeah, so no need to worried!

She smiled to herself, putted her geta back on.

Her smile drops after a minute or so when the rational voice took over her mind. What was she going to do if she really was in the past? And how was she going to get back to the present, more like the future, if she was here? Not that she was of course. And how had she gotten there anyways?

She thought back to a few hours earlier, trying to remember anything that might be important.

She knew she had woken up with a headache, vines were around her, blue sky, nature surrounded the well, trees as pretty as she had seen, fresh air. Her eyes widen.

The Well!

Had it been the well that had somehow, mysteriously brought her here? Could be if what ever her grandfather had said was true, though if you asked her what he had said, she wouldn't know what to tell you. But if what she was thinking now was correct, then maybe, just maybe, she could return!

She stood up with a smile bigger than before. Head straight and eyes clear, she made her way through the way she came in to the village. She was going back home!

Fate of course, or was it her brain, had other plans. The forest was so dense that she didn't know if she had passed one tree once or maybe a hundred times already. Maybe if she had payed attention to where she was going early this morning, she wouldn't be in this predicament.

For the nth time, she looked around to see if she could find any context clue to where she might be and just how close she could be to the well. Walking around in a circle was not the best way to not get lost. She knew this but, she smiled wide as the well came to her sight, it might also be good from time to time.

She ran towards it as fast as she could with the geta. Getting there, she looked around, making sure no one but her was there. Seeing no one, she looked into the well. It looked deep and for some reason dark, but at the moment she didn't care. She looked once again around, and seeing no one took of her geta. Putting them to the side, she fixed her kimono so that it wouldn't get in the way.

Satisfied with her work, she looked around again, and happy no one had yet to come around, started climbing down the vines of the walls and into the well. She wasn't sure how the well worked or how it had brought her back into the past, that is if she was actually in the past and not becoming crazy. Maybe there was some kind of portal in it, like a lot of anime and manga she had read showed some kind of? Made her remind her of "Red River" and how the main heroine got teleported to the past by a portal in water. That could be here just at this moment, though she wasn't as brave as the heroine.

Getting to the bottom, she let go of the vines and studied her surroundings. It smelt of moisture and dirt to her. The dirt, which was a dark brown, felt soft and it was like nothing she had ever felt under her feet before. She continued to study it. Could there actually be a portal like in manga? She crouched down and put her hands on the dirt.

'Doesn't seem like theres anything here...' She thought as she looked to her left. Maybe something had to be done?

She stood up and jumped up and down. Nothing seems to change after a while so she decided to think of something else. Looking up, she stared at the blue sky. An idea suddenly came to her and she started climbing the walls of the well once again. When she saw she was a good distance away from the ground, she let go and dropped towards the ground. Feet touched down and a vibration went through her body. She stayed still as it passed by.

Okay, remind her to never do that again. She moved her body, testing it to see if the tingle had disappeared. When it had, she looked up and a frown appeared on her face. It looked like it hadn't work.

Had she done something wrong?

She lowered her head. She needed to do some serious brainstorming to get over to solve this past time travel thing. That or she was crazy, and her brain was starting to reaaally lean towards crazy.

Still, she was human and humans tried and tried until worst came. And just that she did.

'Maybe I did it wrong.' Once again, she started climbing the walls with the help of the vines and this time stopped higher than last time. And not thinking of what was to come, or what could be the worse possible outcome might it not work, she let go and the dirt zoomed in towards her.

"Ouch…" She said after a few seconds. "Definitely remind me to not do that again," she told no one in particular. Looking up this time, she had no hopes of not seeing a blue sky over the well.

She thought of what was the best thing to do now that she had no hopes, that or she had finally ended up crazy from all this. But she had felt pain so this could not be a dream, but you could still feel pain as a crazy person...right?

Shaking her head, she decided to climb out the well. There was really much she could do now…

She touched her feet in the grassy floor and looking in the direction she had come from earlier, made her way towards Edo.

When she entered the village, she expected to still be met with a village that was quiet. She expected that or anything else other than a village filled with festivity.

She looked around. Just how had they done all that while she was gone? She wasn't gone that long, was she? Nah, of course she wasn't….At least she hope she hadn't…

What had brought this on anyways? Hadn't they, just a while ago, been worried about Sayuri's mother? She shook her head, not knowing what was real and what was not anymore. The pain in her feet made sure that she knew this was definitely real. She looked down to said feet.

'Ah,' She glared at the pebbles and other such things that wanted her to step on, 'Forgot my geta.' Now she definitely needed something to wear, and she really hoped it wasn't geta.

She straighten as she heard a voice. Looking around, she saw nothing but people talking to others, 'banzai'-ing and other things she was not sure. She stepped forward, thinking of ways to find new shoes when she knocked into someone. A feeling of deja vu came over her. She looked up and brown eyes met her blue ones.

"Ah! Miss….Um...You are still here!" Sayuri's surprise yet happy voice washed over her. "I saw you from all the way over there," She pointed to a place far from the way she had came from and Kagome was surprise she had seen her. Sayuri gave a nervous laugh, "Knocked you down again," She stood up and gave a hand to Kagome, "Sorry."

Kagome gave her a small smile. "Don't worry. Thanks," she said as she took the offered hand and stood up. Dusting herself off, she looked at Sayuri. "By the way, I'm Kagome."

"Oh! Nice to meet you, Kagome. I'm Sayuri, the head villager's daughter." Sayuri gave a nervous laugh, a small blush in her face. "I didn't introduce myself properly this morning."

The laughs and giggles from people around them didn't made Kagome's mood better. She looked around her. Children Played. Men Drank. Women Danced. Still, her mood stayed the same as she looked at them with hollowed eyes.

The village girl looked around herself, then back at the shoeless girl in front of her. "Did something happened?"

Kagome jerked her head to her, surprised at how her voice sounded. It was, how could she say, as if it was someone else, not the girl she had been hearing since this morning. For some reason, it puzzled her and made her surprise at the same time. Her mouth hung open for a second and closed as soon. "You could say, yes…" She brought her sight back to the villagers. "Did everything go well with your mother?"

Sayuri saw the subject change and for a moment decided to not answer her question. Of course, she knew she didn't know the girl in front of her for long, okay not that long at all, but something called to her to help her. She could always go back to the question. "Yeah," she thought of the difficulty that almost took her mother this morning along with her new sibling, "everything came out to be well at the end." She smiled, grateful for the Kami*-Sama's* grace. "As you can see," She looked around them, "the villagers are celebrating."

"Ah…" was her low reply, "so that's why…"

The brown hair girl stared at Kagome for a few moments before making up her mind. "So? What is wrong?"

There it was again, that tone. Blue met brown as seriousness and hollowness battled each other. The fifteen year old turned her eyes towards the path she had came from and sighed. She knew she had to tell someone, but would she believe her? She really doubt it, but she could try. She turned her eyes back towards the girl.

Sayuri smiled as a defeat sigh came from Kagome.

"You could say a lot happened… Though I'm not sure if you would believe me, even if i told you." Blue eyes peered at her.

"You never know if you don't try," she told her softly.

Kagome gave her a nod, and very slowly turned her eyes the way to Sayuri's house. "It would be better if we are somewhere more...private."

Sayuri gave a nod and turned. "My room should be good. Follow me." Kagome did as such, ignoring the pain as rocks dug into her bare feet.

Along the way, many people congratulated Sayuri on the addition to the family. Kagome gave a small smile. The village was really close to each other. From the looks of it, if something happened to someone here, all would suffer the same pain.

After a few minutes, Sayuri was moving the flap in the door and holding it for her to enter. She gave her a small 'thank you,' and stood in the genkan* as Sayuri removed her shoes. She stared at her dirty feets for a moment and thought of how to clean them. She didn't want to dirty the wooden floor. Trying some stuff to take the dirt away, she noticed Sayuri waiting for her and gave a blush, giving up on what she was doing and followed her.

The house wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. She could see they weren't rich but neither were they poor. You could say they were in the middle class if she categorized them in the way they did in the future.

A shoji* door sliding echoed in the quiet hallway and she looked towards Sayuri. Sayuri nod towards the room and waited until Kagome had enter the room to enter herself. Rushing towards the low table, Sayuri offered her a cushion and sat herself in another. She waited until Kagome had sat down to talk.

"So…?"

Kagome looked at her.

"Want to talk now?"

Blue eyes lowered to the hands that were in the table. Sighing she answered, "Nope," she looked up and studied Sayuri's face, "But I know I'm going to need help."

Sayuri nod, but stayed quiet.

"Now where should I start?" She thought for a second. "Oh yeah, we could start about the year. What is the date?"

She got a weird look at that question. "It's the second year of Shohei, eighth day of the seventh month."

Kagome gave a sad nod. "Well, that's not my year. I am Higurashi Kagome, a fifteen year old high school student." She watched Sayuri carefully, "I was born in Tokyo, Japan, and I am from the year 1995. Edo, which you told me this morning is this village, will become Tokyo in about 500 or so. Don't ask me a exact date 'cause I didn't pay much attention in history class." Sayuri gave her another awkward look at that and Kagome giggled a little. "As you can guess by the year, since this should be 1340, I come from the future. I don't really know how I got here but I am guessing it was the well-"

"What well?"

"The Bone-Eater's Well. Um...I think it should be that way," she said as she pointed in the direction she was sure it was. "If I remember correctly, my grandpa said that they used to drop youkai's bones...into...it…." She hadn't remember that little detail earlier as she was inside said well. A shudder passed her as she thought about it once again.

Sayuri stared at her, not knowing what to do. What she had told her was very far fetched, it didn't sounded real at all. Yet, the look on Kagome's face told her that she was being very serious.

"Kagome…" she started slowly, "What you are telling me its very hard to believe…" she paused.

Kagome's thought started panicking. 'I knew it! She doesn't believe me!'

"But something is telling that you are telling me the truth," she saw as blue eyes lightened up, "yet I do not know how it is possible-"

The shoji door slide and they both looked towards it. "It is possible." A woman in white haori* and red hakama* stood in the doorway.. She stepped into the room.

"Miko*-Sama" Sayuri said as she stood up.

The miko gave a small bow as she looked towards the blue girl in front of her. "Pardon me. I did not meant to eavesdrop, but I overheard as I was passing by."

Kagome stared. It wasn't that weird for her to see a miko, after all she was raised in a shrine.

The miko, though, continue. " It has actually been passed down in our family. It is the first thing they teach us about actually."

Kagome looked at her confused and the miko smiled. " This has actually happen in the past. I do not know exactly when it was, but our teach have always told us that the Bone-Eater's Well is actually some kind of portal towards the future."

"How is that possible miko-sama?" Sayuri said, very confused of all this. If that was true, and what Kagome had told her was true, then was it a reality that she was a person from the future? It just did not make sense to her.

"I am really not sure. In our teachings, there was not much information on it. We just know that a few times, many, many but many years ago, persons have come from the future. It might sound very strange to you, and maybe you," she said as she looked at Kagome, "but since then, our family have always help those that come. Each generation, one, who is the most powerful, is picked to help those that somehow end up out of their time and in this one." The miko explained.

"So…" Kagome began, "I'm not the only one who has come from the future?"

The miko shook her head. "You have not been the only one. Many have come." She answered her.

"Then how can I go back?!" She said standing, hopeful and images of her seeing her family again coming back to her mind.

"Conditions have to be met. I do not know them, since only the one who is chosen to help in this generation is told what to do." She told her truthfully.

A frown appeared on Kagome's face. 'That means she isn't the one chosen.' Of course, that meant she might know where the person who could help her was since they were from the same family. "Do you know where this person is? I mean, the one who can help me."

"Hmm, I do not know exactly where this person is."

Kagome's frown deepened. What was she to do now?

"Last I heard, the person was headed towards the west." The miko continued, "it was not that long ago."

"Are you sure?" Kagome wanted to be sure.

"Of course. It is required to know the person's position in case something like this happens. They are the only one who can help."

"Ah, I see." Kagome gave a sigh. 'Then this person can definitely help me!" Her frown turned to a smile, hope returning to her. "Then where can I find this person?

"I do not know the exact location. Last I heard of, the location was Hinohara Village." The miko said thoughtfully, "Someone in the next town should have more information. There should also be someone who could take you to the person if you would like to meet them."

"Of course!" She was so excited! She could go back home! She could go back home soon!

The miko smiled, "The lets get you ready for your journey."

Sayuri just stared at both in confusion. 'Just how can it be possible?'

Kagome waved goodbye one last time to Sayuri and Mashiro, who was the miko. She was really thankful someone had help her. If it wasn't for Mashiro and Sayuri, she wouldn't know what to do.

She gave one last look at Edo and turned, heading towards the west. She had a map with her, thanks to Mashiro who had been thoughtful enough to give her one. SHe actually hadn't thought of one until she had handed it to her. And really, knowing her, she would had been totally lost like this morning if it wasn't for it.

She patted her small pouch. They had given her enough food for her trip until the next village or two they had said. She gave thanks to them, and almost hug them to death when they gave them tatami sandals. They were way more comfortable than her geta and she was happy for that. She doubted she could travel with genta as her shoes. They had also offer her clothes for her to wear and she had decline, but of course, they still gave it to her, for when she bathed and/or when some accidents occurred.

'Talking about accident.' They had been slow and patient with her as they explained the dangers and such of this era. Youkai had been one of thems. She couldn't hide her surprise at knowing that they were actually real, just like her grandpa had said they were. She couldn't stop the question from coming to her when she heard of them, 'Just what had happened to them that they did not exist in her time?' She couldn't think of anything in history or anything that her grandpa had told her, though she never really listened to his stories.

Another danger here, they had said, were bandits. Bandits would rub anyone. "They had no pride" is what Sayuri had said when they were talking about it. Kagome really hoped she didn't encounter anything while she was travelling. She needed to get to the next village before the sun went down. Hopefully she didn't get lost.

She still had her green kimono with the white puppies on it. It was one of the few things she had from her time and she was going to treasure it.

She looked towards the sky, 'For now,' she thought as she smiled towards the white drifting clouds, 'lets try our best!'

Blue Eyes stared down at the bamboo water container in her hands. She had run out of water. She wasn't use to walking for so long. She was used to Tokyo's public transportation. She sighed. Technology was really spoiling them.

She looked up, the sun was past midday, meaning it had been maybe four to five hour since she had been walking. Maybe she had been walking a lot, but no matter, she might have to get used to this for whatever long she was going to be here.

'Well, first, I need to get more water.' She looked around, hoping to find water not to far from the road. As if the Kami had heard her pray, she smiled big as a small pond came to sight. Rushing towards it, she kneeled down and took water in her palms. Looking at her reflection, she noticed how sweaty and tired she looked. She frowned and splashed the water in her face.

She gave a blissful sigh. "Feels so cool." She did this a few more times. Taking the Bamboo container, she put it in the water and left it there so that it could feel with it. As it did, she took the time to look around.

She had never expected to be transported back in time. It still sounded crazy to her. 'Maybe I was actually hit by lightning and I'm dreaming or in some kind of coma in a hospital.' That seemed more realistic than being transported by in time.

'Well, better enjoy it while it-'

Splash, followed by gurgle sound could be heard as a water container floated in a small pond.

The girl, now under water, tried to keep eyes open as oxygen left her system. Someone was grabbing her hand, dragging her deeper and deeper into the pond. Who would have thought that a pond was that deep? She tried to see what was holding her to see some kind of...She wasn't sure what it was but she could bet any kind of money that it was a youkai. Of course, her mother had always told her that it wasn't good to bet but what else could she do at this second?

Ah, right, she could try to save herself.

With that thought in mind, She started struggling, hitting, scratching, anything to make the thing to let go. She was failing miserably though. Accidentally, she opened her mouth and what ever little oxygen she had left, left her. With no oxygen, and the pressure of the water affecting her, her vision started getting blurry. Consciousness stated disappearing, strength leaving her.

Memories of things she had done with her family as a child started flashing through her mind. Souta, her small brother smiled reasurly at her, along with her mother and grandpa. The shrine where she lived at shined with a light she wasn't sure she had seemed before. The arms and smiles of her family called to her and she too pulled her arm, the one she had free, out to grab them. A light suddenly came out and the memory dissolved to nothing as she started floating up.

Getting to where she could grab some of the earth, she grabbed it with the little strength she had left and breathed all she could while a series of coughs came. No, she could not die here. She had a family waiting for her, she could go back. She could go back with the help of the person Mashiro had told her.

She gasped, eyes widen as she was once again pulled under water, this time going down faster than the first time. She didn't have any strength left to fight anymore, her muscles had no more oxygen nor the energy to do so.

She looked up, the light of the sun glittering as if nothing was happening underneath the water. So innocent that it was hard to be mad at the peace outside the water. Blue eyes started becoming unfocused as light began to leave said eyes.

'Mama...Souta...Grandpa...' she thought sadly, 'sorry I can't see you again...' Eyes started closing, but before they closed fully, a blue light flashed by her and suddenly she was floating up.

Her mind shut down, but before it did, she saw a shadow overhead.

'I'm...sorry...' she mumbled slowly...

Vocabulary:

Kimono: A long, loose robe with wide sleeves and tied with a sash, originally worn as a formal garment in Japan and now also used elsewhere as a robe.

Geta: Japanese wooden shoe with a thong to pass between the first (big) toes and the second toe.

Youkai: Traditional Japanese monsters of supernatural origin. In this case word for demon.

Kami: A divine being in the Shinto religion. In this case word for God.

Sama: It is used mainly to refer to people much higher in rank than oneself, toward one's guests or customers, and sometimes toward people one greatly admires.

Miko: A Shinto term of Japan, indicating a shrine maiden or a supplementary priestess.

Genkan: Traditional Japanese entryway areas for house, apartment, or building- something of a combination of a porch and a doormat.

Shoji: A sliding outer or inner door made of a latticed screen covered with white paper.

Haori: A loose outer garment resembling a coat and extending to the knee and worn in Japan.

Hakama: loose trousers with many pleats in the front, forming part of Japanese formal dress.

"Kitty shows up* Haha! I finally did it! I finished! And something for you guys~ (looks at next chapter) Someone is coming next chapter~ (tried to said it in 'Santa is coming to town' kind of way but failed miserably) Also correct me if i am wrong in the sandals being called tatami sandals….I couldn't find the right term for those sandals they used to used….

*Pinky jumps up and down while yelling 'Hooray!'* Phew! -.-' This chapter finally comes to an end.
-Claps Claps- Whoa, don't misunderstand what I said. I meant the next chapter will be coming soon, so it is not like the end of the series yet. We have a surprise for everyone on the next chapter about someone. *wink wink* Keep checking the next chapter to see who it is. Ehehe. ^_^ Bye Bye for now. *waving hand*

-PinkuTsutsuji88 & Kitty1217

Uploaded: December 29, 2014.