Chapter Four: Fourth Time's the Charm

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

o - o - o - o - o

It was the day of her fifteenth birthday. It was just as normal as any other day, except she was another year older. She didn't feel any different and certainly didn't expect anything miraculous to happen. She had to leave for school in a moment, and there would definitely be no special treatment outside of a few "Happy Birthday" proclamations from her friends.

"I'm leaving!" she called as she bounded out the door. It was a crisp fall day, and the leaves had not yet begun to change from varying shades of green into their vibrant fall colors. It was chillier in the morning hours but still pleasant during midday, enough to justify no sweater for her trip to school. This day looked promising. No clouds in the sky, and everything was cheerful. The birds chirped, and the different critters scuttled around the perimeter of her home in their usual fashion.

She began her usual journey to school, hoping to meet up with some of her friends. As she passed the shrine, she saw her brother, Souta, poke his head out as he heard her approach. "Hey, Kagome," he called.

"Souta? What are you doing? You shouldn't be playing in the shrine," Kagome told him. "Shouldn't you be on your way to school?"

"Buyo's down there and I can't get him to come out," Souta pouted. He looked back down into the darkness of the shrine. "Plus, it's really dark down there…"

"Well, yeah," she confirmed. She stepped into the dark shrine, the only light source from the open door pooling in, leaving much of the shrine shrouded in darkness.

They heard scratching from the darkness where the sealed well was. "Wha-What was that?" Souta asked.

"Probably...the cat!" Kagome teased.

Souta grimaced, "We should go down and check. And by we, I mean you!"

Kagome sighed, "Fine, I will go down there and show you; it's just the cat." She stepped towards the stairs that descended towards the sealed well, which she vaguely remembered was named the 'Bone Eater's Well.' A shiver ran down her spine.

As she stepped tentatively on the first step, she heard something that caused her to jolt. "Kagome!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin, turning to find one of her friends poking her head into the shrine. "Oh, Eri! You startled me."

Eri, one of Kagome's best friends, waved Kagome up, refusing to enter the shrine. "Hey, it's creepy down there."

Kagome exited the shrine, much to Souta's protest, "But, Kagome, what about Buyo?"

"He'll be fine, Souta. Just leave the shrine door open a little, and he will find his way out when he's ready!" she called, hurrying off with Eri toward school.

"Happy Birthday Kagome!" Eri said. "I waited for you, but you never came. I thought I would swing by to see if you were playing hooky on your birthday."

"Who me? What could I possibly have better to do than go to school with you guys?" Kagome laughed.

Eri laughed, "We'd better hurry. I left Yuka and Ayumi waiting. Also, act surprised when you see them."

Both girls giggled, "Fine," Kagome responded, "I'll do my best."

o - o - o - o - o

Every year, and sometimes on more than one occasion, Kagome would feel drawn to the shrine. They were always unusual scenarios that revolved more around happenstance than a calling.

The following year it had been her grandfather, Jii-chan, who had sent her to the shrine. "Kagome, I think I left something in the shrine. Go fetch it for me, dear!"

Or the year after that, a horrible rainstorm produced hail the size of golf balls. The storm had seriously damaged the shrine entrance and required repairs. That time Kagome had been sent to assess the damage and report back.

Then the year after that, Kagome's friends had been staying over for a late study session, and they decided to go and check the shrine out; one of her friends was intrigued by her grandfather's stories.

All these times, Kagome had been thwarted from going too close to the sealed well. Not that she had much desire to be near it anyway. Even the name of the well was off-putting; 'Bone Eater's Well.' It implied something sinister happened there in the past, and her Jii-chan had told one too many ghost stories for her to willingly go near it.

Now Kagome was eighteen and had finished high school. She knew she wanted to go to college to be a doctor so she could help people, and she would soon leave her home for an apartment near campus. She had procured a job at a local shop that would allow her to pay her expenses during the next six years she would spend at school. Kagome was excited and nervous about making this big step, but she also began feeling melancholy over leaving everything she knew. Her life was pleasant enough, but she always had secretly wished for something...more...except she was not sure what the 'more' was. Perhaps that is what her calling to medical school was.

One day before leaving home for the last time, she took a walk around the shrine. She fondly remembered Jii-chan's silly stories that usually began with "Its history begins with…" Although, she could never actually remember the stories beyond that. 'Hmm,' she would think, 'Funny, I cannot even remember one thing.'

She walked up to the shrine door and pulled the door open a little. A musty, old smell flowed out and around her. She took a look inside and began to shut the door closed. No sooner that she started to close the door that Buyo ducked in. "No! Buyo!" She groaned and threw the door open. "Silly cat. What is your fascination with this shrine?" she called down. "Mrooowww," she heard in response.

Kagome sighed. Buyo was always getting into places he didn't belong. Usually, she would just let him do his thing, be curious and all, but today she felt compelled to get him out of this creepy place. Plus, no one would be around much today, and Jii-chan would be displeased to find the shrine door left open. Last time Jii-chan had harped on about how anyone who passed through could go in and desecrate the sacred shrine, yada-yada-yada. Kagome did not want to upset Jii-chan, even though nobody in their right mind would go near the creepy old well just for fun.

"Buyo," Kagome called. "Get up here."

She heard another sound. "Shhhsk….shhhsk."

"Here kitty, kitty. Come on, Buyo. I'll get you a nice can of food. You like that right?" Kagome pleaded. She stepped down on the first step towards the well. It loomed eerily down at the bottom of the shrine. "Brrrrow," she heard from behind the well.

"Buyo. Tchtchtch. Come on, Buyo." She stepped down another step. She could hear the cat call out occasionally, exploring the darkness of the well, probably looking for spiders or other creepy crawlers.

Another step down. She could vaguely make out sticks shaped like bones. Nope, those were bones, all right.

"Buyo!" she whispered with urgency. The closer she got to the well, the more she felt compelled not to make as much noise. As if something inside the well would hear her and come out.

She sighed again. "Okay, Buyo. This is your last warning. If you don't get over here... I'll... I'll…." she trailed off.

There was that noise again, 'Tssshhkk….tssshhhkkk.' It seemed to be coming from inside the well. There was no way that Buyo could have gotten into the sealed well, right?

"Buyo," she whispered again. This time there was no response from the cat. Maybe he had somehow gotten into the well. Cats were notorious for slipping into small places. Quietly, she approached the sealed well. "Buyo," she whispered.

"Meowww!" called the cat as he jumped up on top of the well. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin. "Buyo!" she exclaimed. "Silly cat, what do you think you are doing down here? Exploring? Why don't we go explore a can of wet food instead?"

Kagome grabbed the cat around its middle and lifted him off of the well. As she did, she heard a creak from the lid of the well. She slowly turned around to see where the noise was coming from. 'Krrkkkk' The noise must have startled the cat because he began squirming within her arms, trying to get loose. She dropped him, and he dashed up the stairs and out of the shrine in short order. There was an ominous feeling in the air, and Kagome also felt the urge to run. She made to vault up the steps, but something burst out of the well and grabbed her from behind. "AHHH" she screamed as she was pulled back.

Her mind was racing, and all she could feel was the grasp of six hands pulling at her. Somehow she could flip around and come face to face with the people who had grabbed her, only to find that it was just one...thing...with six arms. "What the?!" she shouted.

The creature holding her smiled with its human-esque face, though to call it human was a gross injustice. "I feel it here!" the creature rasped. "My body...my body is regrowing!" It began to nuzzle her body with its face as if smelling her. A grotesquely long tongue spilled from its maw and ran over her neck and face in a warm, smelly, slimy trail. "Oh God! That's so gross! Get off of me!" Kagome screamed.

She pulled her arm free from one of the creature's arms and grabbed its face, hoping to push it away from her. She saw a light build up from beneath her hands and blast the creature away, disintegrating it. With a thud, she landed at the bottom of the well. "Ooomph," she grunted.

A far-off voice rasped, "The Jewel... I shall have it…"

Kagome looked around and saw pieces of the creature around her, effectively disproving her 'this is just a dream' theory. She could see the pieces of flesh begin to move around her, and with a quick burst of energy, she pulled herself up and climbed up and out of the well.

It was bright, brighter than it should have been in the shrine unless the creature had destroyed part of the building, allowing sunlight to pour in. However, she did not remember anything but the well's lid being destroyed before she had been pulled in. This must be something else, she thought.

Once she crested the top of the well, she looked around and saw many more green vines and trees than she remembered there being back home. She almost began to panic until she saw something familiar...the Goshinboku tree. She ran towards it, hoping that she had inhaled too much mold from the old shrine that induced hallucinations, but that hope shattered once she got close to the tree. It was definitely the Goshinboku tree, but as she walked around its massive trunk, she halted when she noticed a man pinned against it.

The first thing she should have noticed was the arrow protruding from his chest, or the fact that he was dressed oddly, or his unnaturally silver hair, but what piqued her interest was his ears. They protruded from the top of his head rather than where normal ears would be, and to top it off, they were not normal ears at all, but those of maybe a dog. 'Were they real?' she asked herself. Only one way to find out, so she climbed up the tree-thickened vines that held the man securely against its trunk to take a closer look.

Kagome marveled at the man's appearance. He looked so peaceful, as if in a deep slumber. There was something different about him, not just his ears, but something else that set him apart. Hesitantly, she reached up and touched the ears. They were velvety soft, and warm. Suddenly she felt abashed with herself. 'Am I really touching his ears?' she thought, mentally chiding herself. She pulled back a little to get a better look at him and found a pair of golden eyes staring at her.

"Ai!" she shrieked and fell back, landing on the ground before him on her rump. He was awake and had caught her tweaking his ears! How humiliating, she lamented. She rose up, brushed herself off, and looked up at him. He merely stared at her from his position on the tree. He made no move to come down. Perhaps he could not.

"Hey," she called tentatively. "Are you stuck up there?"

He looked at her curiously but stayed silent. It was then that she noticed the arrow lodged in his chest. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, climbing back up to him. "There's an arrow in your chest! Are you okay?"

The strange man couldn't seem to move anything but his head, and he only continued to stare. When she reached him, she could feel his breath on her neck. "Should I try and pull it out?" she asked.

He looked down at the arrow and back up at her but did not answer. "Okay then," she said. "How about we just get this out and go from there?" She grabbed the arrow, and with mental gumption, she began to pull, but rather than pull free, the arrow vanished. The man's eyes popped open in surprise. "Whoah!" she called, surprised herself, and fell back again.

"Damn." She stood back up, rubbing her rear yet again. If she weren't going to be bruised before, she would be now. She looked up and saw the strange silver-haired man had fallen to the ground and remained in an animalistic crouch. He reminded her of an animal, indeed. A dog would be the best way to describe it, and the ears on the top of his head were evidence enough for that.

"Umm," Kagome began, not knowing what to say or do here, "Are you okay?" She took a few steps towards him, and he seemed to shy away with his body. He looked around in every which direction before sniffing the air and suddenly bounding off, leaving her alone in an unfamiliar place.

"You're welcome!" she called after him. "The nerve of that guy…" she grumbled. "Oh well, better get used to it now. The profession I am going into is often a thankless one," she said.

"There!" a voice called from the direction she had come. Kagome swiveled to see the creature from before launching towards her. "Oh my gosh!" she yelled, turning to run. Before she turned, she had gotten a good look at the thing. Its top half was a human woman. A woman with six arms, but a woman no less. From the waist down, the creature resembled a centipede with multiple legs working their way toward her.

As she ran, she saw things whir past her head and a shrill yell from the creature behind her, "AIEEE. You cannot stop me. I shall have it!"

Kagome saw figures before her wielding an assortment of weapons. They stood at the edge of the woods, just outside the greenery, and were shooting and throwing things at the creature behind her. "It's a girl!" one marveled. "She must be a demon coming from the woods!" another reasoned.

Kagome ran over to them, breathing hard, "What is that thing?"

The people parted and allowed an old woman through. She looked haggard and angry, with an eyepatch over her left eye. The old woman reminded Kagome of an elderly pirate "You girl! Where did you come from?" She seemed menacing and pointed a bow at her.

Kagome raised her hands in defense, "Uh, my name is Kagome and I came from Tokyo?" she said in an unsure tone.

The old woman lowered the bow she seemed to double use as a walking staff. "Hmm," the woman speculated. "You bear a striking resemblance to her..."

"To...to whom?" Kagome asked, her hands still raised. Feeling foolish, she lowered them.

"Kaede-sama!" one of the assembled people called. "Nothing is working! The demon comes!"

"Stand back, child!" the old woman yelled.

"Give it to me! The Shikon no Tama is MIIINNNEEEE! I shall take it from you!" the creature hissed as it propelled forward in Kagome's direction.

The old woman, Kaede, looked at Kagome in confusion, "The Jewel? You have it?" she asked harshly.

Kagome jumped back, "What? No! I don't know what it wants from me... Lookout!"

The centipede demon catapulted towards her and leveled into Kagome, sending her flying. "Aiiieee!" Kagome hollered. The centipede demon grabbed at her arms and pulled her up. The tongue rolled out of its mouth and whipped around in a snake-like fashion. "Ewwwewwweww!" she shrieked. The centipede demon held Kagome still and scanned her body frantically before settling on Kagome's side. Sharp, jagged teeth appeared as the demon unhinged its jaw and opened its maw. Before Kagome had time to register what was happening, the demon bit into her side, causing her to black out momentarily in pain as a chunk of her flesh was rent from her.

The demon casually threw Kagome aside, having removed what it sought. A round orb dropped to the ground in front of her.

"It cannot be!" Kaede gasped. The people accompanying her remarked among themselves over the queer jewel that had flown from Kagome's body.

Kagome quickly came to in just enough time to evade the centipede demon from consuming her. She landed on her belly and saw the small jewel before her. 'That was inside of me?' she pondered. She could feel the demonic creature coming towards her. It helped that the thing kept yelling for the Shikon Jewel as it plunged for her, giving Kagome the indication that she needed to roll over and throw her hands out in front of her. She wasn't sure what good throwing her hands out would do, but the power that pooled into her hands and blasted the centipede into nothingness was helpful.

Kagome panted on the ground and shook her hands in shock, "What in the world?" She hadn't had the opportunity to let everything that had happened sink in before she was pulled to her feet by one of the men who had battled the creature.

"Quick! Take the pieces back to the dry well and throw them in before it has a chance to reform!" the old woman instructed. People hurried to obey, picking up the scattered pieces and running them toward the well.

Kagome felt a dull throb in her side, her adrenaline still pumping and preventing her from feeling most of the pain she knew she would endure later. The old woman approached her and pointed at the Goshinboku tree. "What have you done?" she asked accusatorily.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Kagome asked, unsure of the implication.

"There was a demon sealed to that tree by my sister over 50 years ago," Kaede explained.

Kagome gulped, "A demon you say? He looked harmless enough."

"So you did release him then?" she asked again.

"I'm sorry," Kagome responded.

"Hnnnnh," the old woman grunted. "Come with me," she said. She bent over and laboriously retrieved the Shikon no Tama from the ground before Kagome's feet. Together they walked out of the forest and towards a village. Kagome marveled at the sight. 'It's like out of a history book!'

The woman brought her to her little house, pulling the woven reed door up so they could enter. She ushered Kagome in with a wave, "My name is Kaede. I am the village miko."

Kagome entered the small one-room home and supplied her name, "Pleased to meet you. I am Kagome, from the Higurashi Shrine."

"Come child. Let's get that wound treated," Kaede said and went over to prepare a fire in the middle of the room.

Kagome sat down next to the fire and allowed herself to relax a bit. As she relaxed, her adrenaline waned, and she began to feel the throbbing pain from her side and various other places she hadn't realized she'd taken injury.

"So you say you are a shrine maiden? That helps explain your spiritual powers," Kaede began while she prepared medicinal herbs.

Kagome felt unsure, "Uh, I wouldn't say that exactly. I'm going to school to become a doctor."

"Doc-tor?" Kaede paused, trying the word out. "I am unfamiliar with that term," she concluded.

"I suppose it would be like what you are doing now. Healing," Kagome supplied. She watched, fascinated, as Kaede expertly ground up some dried herbs and added liquids, continuing to mash them together.

"Hmm," Kaede said thoughtfully.

"You said that I resembled someone?" Kagome asked.

Kaede paused again, placing down her pestle and mortar bowl. She came over to Kagome and placed her hands on her face, looking deeply into her eyes. Kagome nearly blushed being judged so. "Yes, you greatly resemble my older sister, Kikyo," Kaede told her. She dropped her hands and went back to grinding the medicinal concoction.

Kagome looked around to see if Kaede shared this domicile with another person, "Is...is she around?"

"No." Kaede said firmly. "She died. Killed during a skirmish over the Shikon no Tama with the demon you released today."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Kagome said sadly.

Kaede regarded her solemnly over her mortar bowl. "How could you, child?" She must not have expected an answer and turned back to the task. Once she finished mixing the salve, she had Kagome lift her shirt so that she could treat the open wound. It stung as Kaede spread it thickly, but it soon began to have a calming effect that pulled the pain away. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and stayed still so that Kaede could dress the wound appropriately.

"There," Kaede said finally. "That is done."

Kagome voiced her thanks and accepted a cup of hot tea. "Thank you for all your help Kaede. Might I ask what the Shikon no Tama is?"

Kaede pulled the Jewel out of a hidden pocket and placed it in Kagome's hands. "It is further proof that you must be the reincarnation of my sister," Kaede responded.

"Wait...what? That's not what I meant. Really? Reincarnation?" Kagome sputtered.

"Hnh, yes, child. That explains why you look so much like her, your spiritual powers, and the presence of the Jewel in this world. You see, the Shikon no Tama was cremated with Kikyo's body after she was killed," Kaede explained. "My sister was a powerful priestess and was tasked to protect the Jewel from those who would seek it for nefarious reasons. She was to purify it."

"And then what?" Kagome asked, intrigued by the story. "What happens after she purified it?"

Kaede pursed her lips in thought, "It was her lifelong duty to protect the Shikon no Tama and keep it pure. There was nothing else."

"Oh, I see," Kagome put her chin in her hand, and the other brought the Jewel to her face to look upon it. "It doesn't look like much," she said finally.

Kaede stepped over and placed her hands over Kagome's, causing her to make a fist around the Jewel. "It may not look like much, but if it were to fall into the wrong hands, it would grant all the wielder's desires. As such, those who desire it are not after it for pure reasons. Most who come are searching for a way to increase their own power and propel their evil machinations. Both yokai and human alike."

Kagome looked up into Kaede's pleading eyes. The old woman seemed to be asking something else. "What am I supposed to do with it?" she voiced aloud.

"You've brought it into this world and you are the only one with the power to protect it," Kaede informed her.

"Wait, what? Me?" Kagome exclaimed. "I... I'm not sure if I'm the one you want."

"Child, you've already demonstrated immense potential with your spiritual power. Once you've harnessed these abilities, you will be capable of great deeds. One of those being protecting the Shikon Jewel from evil beings. If one of these evil beings were to get ahold of it, life as we know it would cease to exist." Kaede explained with an air of gravity.

Kagome opened her hand to look at the jewel again. It reminded her of a large pearl with its gleaming opalescence. "I see…" She closed her hand around it again and looked up at Kaede with resolve. "I understand, then. I will protect it with my life. Tell me what I need to do."