A/N: Back to back chapters because this story is slow moving. It's one of the OG rough drafts I was noodling about with for the sake of smuttery alone, and there is no story web so I'm sort of just writing it as I go, full disclosure lol. Hope you like it anyway! I want to finish it regardless, even if it ends up more of a novella than novel size, whatever. Enjoy!

He couldn't believe it.

Here he stood, breathing in the complex and distressed scents and auras of the future – the city, Kagome had called it – Kagome. Kagome's time.

He hadn't moved from the bottom of the well at first, so entranced by the vortex of light that had transported him, finally, back to a place he recognized immediately. Just by the smell.

He could smell her.

Quickly coming to his senses, Inuyasha leapt from the well before it could swallow him up again and force him back, emerging from the well house with his nose taking in everything it could. His ears too, trembled with the response of honking horns, chattering civilians, grumbling steel transport machines, he could even hear that large metal snake Kagome had called the sub-way.

But not her family – and not her.

Sprinting into action, he focused on the sounds around him as he ran toward her home, following familiar paths to avoid the family he knew wasn't there. Old habits die hard. The trail to her bedroom window took him no time at all to navigate, and leaping up to the sill filled him with a happiness so severe he had to choke back a cry and grip his own palm until his claws bit the skin. How could he not be dreaming? He had, after all, had this exact dream so many times. But no – the blood tingling to the top of his skin told him, this was real, this was happening. He was here, and he was not leaving until he found her.

Oh gods, her room – he was rushed with the memory of one of the first time he'd come for her, when the very scent of this room had enveloped him in a feeling he, at the time, couldn't understand. How comforted he was by her and her presence.

The bed was done up with a light pink spread, the bed skirt ruffled slightly at the ground just where he used to sit and protect her during the night.

And the spot where…

I'll protect you with my life.

He set his hand down on the bed, crouching to take in a deep breath of the perfect scent he had missed so much – unmistakeable, irreplaceable. He wished to roll himself in the blankets and stay there forever. Maybe he would – after all, wherever she was, she wasn't expecting him – and she would come back, he was sure. Her scent was so pervasive, she had to have been there recently.

He sat down just where he always had, heart racing, wondering what exactly he could say to her. Would she still be waiting? Would she be happy to see him at all? What if –

He shook his head. No. But he couldn't help but tilt his head and get a good whiff of his surroundings.

To his satisfaction, he smelled no male – or at least not one he didn't recognize, as the light scent of her kid brother and her elder hung around here and there.

He had to admit he was relieved that this was the case. Still, his mind went wild. What if she had moved on? What if she told him to go back – to never come back? What if she had been able to return all this time… and had chosen not to?

Letting loose a frustrated growl, he found himself on his feet and pacing, Tessaiga in its holster bumping along gently against his leg as he did so. He stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his suikan and grit his teeth together, swiftly losing all the confidence he had possessed when first climbing into her bedroom moments before.

He wondered where she was, where her family could be. He knew she had mentioned trips to hot springs before. Maybe the whole family had went away and he'd be stuck here alone longer than he thought. So be it. He thought with determination. There was no way he was heading back now – no way he would even try the well again until he spoke to her. And if she wanted him to stay?

He may never test the well again.

But Sango, Miroku – Shippou… would they know?

Guilt washed over him, sinking him where he stood. As wave after wave hit, he tried with some fortitude to right the ship – Kaede surely knew something was happening, she must have felt the energy in the air. Anyone could guess where Inuyasha might end up if he disappeared, wouldn't they think it themselves? Wouldn't they be happy just knowing there was a chance he was back with the one they all had missed so much over the past years?

"Poor Shippo." He mumbled under his breath, thinking of the little kitsune. Now he was stuck with Miroku, Sango and the twins – and that new loud-mouthed twerp, what had they called the tiny one again? He shook his head. "Shoulda called it rooster, screaming so early in the morning every day."

Of course, he was happy for his friends, and watching their family grow had been a privilege, especially after all they'd been through – but it had also been discouraging, and a little sad for Inuyasha, who watched his life roll by year after year. No one had ever, or would ever, he had decided, pique his interest again. His heart had already been claimed, no, claimed itself, to one. And that one…

He breathed in deeply. Her scent filled him and brought him back to where he was now, standing in her room, waiting to see her, to talk to her.

In the distance, the grumbling sound of a motor approached – and something else, a scent he recognized immediately.

"Kagom-" He began to cry, turning in the direction of the approaching sound, just in time for his nose to pick up on something peculiar.

He sniffed once, twice – then bared his teeth, a growl ripping through him.

He could smell two things that raised his hackles as he swung out of the window, undetected by the car pulling into the drive below.

First, the scent of a man – a man who, judging by the accumulation of his own blood, was sending out wave after wave of hormonal attraction. It was all Inuyasha could do to keep from hurdling out of the tree in which he hid, obscured by the darkened, blooming boughs. He watched this man park, leave the driver's seat, and come around to the passenger's side, at which point the second offending scent made itself overpoweringly known.

The smell of Kagome's blood wafted up on the breeze, rustling through the leaves.

He watched as the man slid his arm around her waist, all the while tightening his grip on the branches until they threatened to snap. The guy hoisted Kagome to her feet and began to pull her toward the wellhouse.

Inuyasha began to follow them, deftly navigating the trees and roof tops around the property to track their path without a sound.

Questions unanswered whirled in his mind as he stealthily followed, rage building for every step the stranger held Kagome in his arms. Was this that same loser he'd run into at Kagome's school that one time? What is she doing with him? He narrowed his eyes, biting his lip to force a growl back down, and why is she bleeding, hobbling?

Had she hurt herself? It seemed that the kid was assisting her under her direction to the old hut in the corner of the property, the place where Inuyasha had just a few moments ago made his entrance. Fury fuelled his motion as he watched Kagome's limp body disappear into the darkness of the wellhouse, and the wooden doors slap shut after her. He leapt to the ground and stalked after them, gripping the hilt of Tessaiga as their words became clear and he made out the sound he had been dying to hear: Kagome's voice.

But something was wrong; she sounded tearful, her words breaking, her breath coming heavy as she whispered in a weak and distorted tone,

"Closer to the well."

The male human with her snorted and a loud thump was heard, followed by his slurred drawl, "I don't think so, bitch. Time for you to give me what's owed."

Before the sentence reached completion, Inuyasha had ripped his sword from the sheath. He stood, trying to slow the low rumble that had begun to rise in his stomach. Focus, he grit his teeth, the fist holding his sword aloft beginning to tremble with his effort. Stay Hanyou. You can't help her if you lose control-

"Hojo, stop, I don't want…"

His eyes began to flash in dangerous tones of red, and he charged forward with Tessaiga raised. The demon in him roared, desperate to rise to the surface, but Inuyasha dug his feet into the ground for a moment before slamming his weapon back into its scabbard. With our hands he uttered in a guttural hiss, and his demon seemed to purr in agreement, we are going to kill him with our hands. I want to feel his life leave him.

Satisfied, his demon allowed him to regain full control, and bolt toward the wellhouse.