Kagome Higurashi stood at the entrance to the shrine. She looked around at the charred remains of her home, and held back the tears valiantly.
Poor Grandpa.
She wandered to the ancient tree, sighing sadly at the overgrown grass. She looked up to the tree, remembered days long gone, a love lost to time. She turned her head to look at the old well house. She crossed the yard and placed a hand on the door frame, looking into the dilapidated room. The door was open enough for her to fit through, so she squeezed in and walked to the decrepit railing.
The well.
There it stood, though she couldn't see it for the shadows. She didn't have to see it to know it was there, her sole connection to the past.
That girl couldn't have possibly…
Kagome descended into the lower area, and walked to the edge of the well, expecting to see it sealed up. She gasped involuntarily at the absence of both the covering of sutras, and the board she'd placed atop so many years ago.
That's not possible…is it? There's no way she could've gone back, the jewel is long gone…Perhaps…
She laid a tentative hand on the frame of the old well. Her fingers shook as she peered inside. Kagome leaned over the edge, but saw nothing. She leaned farther over the edge, staring into the depths.
Kagome suddenly pulled back and clutched her hands to her chest.
Did it just...
She reached her hand out again, and received the same small shock as before.
Maybe it does still work…
Kagome placed both hands onto the old wood, and gathered her courage. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a few moments as she thought about what she was going to do.
It couldn't hurt to try…could it?
Summoning her strength from days bygone, Kagome leapt into the well.
Inuyasha sat by himself on the branch of a tree. He peered through the foliage covering his position, to observe the pair in the meadow below. His face was scrunched in a familiar glare; scrutinizing the duo comprised of Bailey and Shippou. They ran amongst the flowers and grass, playing a friendly game of tag. Bailey ran with a barely noticeable limp, obviously still slightly sore from her jump at the well.
Inuyasha shifted, suddenly uncomfortable on his perch. He clutched his sword with one arm, and shifted his weight to lean back onto the tree's trunk. His thoughts drifted as he watched the two at play.
Kagome...
She'd been gone years, eons it had seemed to him. He truly hadn't realized how important she was until she'd left. Somehow the well had sealed itself, or maybe Kagome had sealed it from the other side. He'd tried on numerous occasions to go to her strange time. Each time he'd been disappointed, and had trudged back to Kaede's village in a foul mood.
Kikyo…
He huffed and turned his head in disgust. He preferred not to think of the woman Kagome had brought back from the dead. Her jealousy had eventually turned into a senseless anger, and had brought about her own destruction. Inuyasha remembered the day vividly; the day he killed his former love.
She'd left early in the morning, leaving him in their hut alone. She'd mumbled something about gathering herbs, but her manner had struck him as off. There was something sinister…foreboding in the air that day, something that spoke of imminent danger. Like the smell of ozone before a lightning strike; the atmosphere was heavy, almost foggy.
Kikyo had returned midday, walking tall into the center of the village. The workers stopped as the priestess halted, something about her called for attention. She'd drawn a bow from her stocked quiver, and had promptly shot a nearby villager in the heart. In the chaos that followed, Kikyo had killed at least ten people before Inuyasha had come upon the scene.
She looked crazed as she gazed upon the hanyou, taking aim with her bow. The swirling blue light around the tip of the arrow signaled the engagement of her spiritual powers. He had tried to reason with her, but she'd ignored him. He dodged the fired sacred arrow, and leapt at her. Kikyo faltered, and it was her last mistake.
She'd died in his arms, his bloodied claws protruding from her back. It ran in slick, hot streams down his arms, along with the few tears he couldn't hold in.
Something jarred the red-clan demon out of his reverie. A scent tickled his sensitive nose; one that was strongly familiar. He instantly perked up, sniffing the air in disbelief.
My mind has to be playing tricks on me….it can't be….
He looked to the meadow as Shippou let out a shrill cry of surprise. He looked to the woman now coming out of the tree line into the meadow, and gasped softly.
K-Kagome…