Kagome was vaguely surprised to find her leap was not a plunge, nor the short, sudden stop she had been fearing. She floated down, drifting into that consuming blackness. It wrapped around her like a blanket of lead, compelling her to be still and descend. She felt as though she was being pulled into the depths of the world, of herself. From those depths, she watched as the wellhouse floated away, with only a thin beam of moonlight that peeked through the crack in the roof to reach her. It twisted with her as if it were a thread of silver. It snaked around her, through her, filling that void that had been carved into her that horrible day a piece of her had been stolen away into this darkness.

Kagome squinted, trying to focus her vision as the roof of the wellhouse shimmered away to reveal the moon beyond, flanked by a sea of stars that rippled down around her, surrounding her from all sides. Was she dreaming? She had to be, to behold that slivered moon with edges sharp enough to slice the night sky, that could be seen so far down deep and away from the world she had left behind. And through that thread, she was connected to it.

That tether of light held fast to her and in her heart, she knew that despite what she was seeing, this was no dream – and she was not safe beneath her quilt in the Higurashi house. Weightless and floating, she could only look up at that perfect crescent moon whose light forced itself into her body. That thread of light grew taught, beckoning her back up again. Towards that perfectly shaped, too-bright moon. Towards that warm light, getting brighter and brighter.

Consciousness cradled her, called her to float up despite the light that blinded her. She blinked, and it was gone. That sudden stop she had feared wasn't her hitting the ground, but awakening from that ethereal dream on it, packed cold and hard beneath her. With each slow, steady breath, she took in the musty smell of old earth and stone that was a sure sign she was at the bottom of the dried-up well. A regular well.

She felt heat and pain, but there was relief to be had in the realization. She could feel. Though there would certainly be bruises, Kagome could not bring herself to care.

The world came into focus slowly, and what she saw was sharp and clear and bright. Too bright. But it was not the moon that heated her face, that she saw through her eyelids. The sun had risen since she had jumped. How much time had passed since she had finally acknowledged the call that had grown too loud to ignore? How many hours had it been since she had answered it in a stunningly stupid fashion by leaping down a well gods-knew how deep? Kagome winced at the near white light that shone down the well-shaft, bouncing off the slick sides and illuminating the once dark well interior. She would have to scale the side to meet that blue sky that should have been hidden by a wellhouse.

She didn't think to call out, who would she even call to? And would she want to meet who would answer? Kagome pulled herself up to sit with her back propped up against the well. She had wisely swapped her pajamas for comfortable athletic pants, sneakers, and a hooded sweatshirt. She had dressed in layers – just in case.

Kagome stood and stretched out her muscles, sore from the awkward position they had been in for some time since she landed. Had she been knocked unconscious? What if she had a concussion? She fumbled for her water bottle and cursed herself. What the hell had she been thinking? She knew now that she had not been in her right mind, that she had been overtaken by urges that were not her own. She had been on the brink and pushed herself over. Her heart started to race as it struggled under the weight of her actions.

Stupid.

Stupid...but better, somehow. That horrible feeling that had haunted her had dissipated, evaporated from her mind and body, replaced by pain and worry and all the things that had been missing these few weeks. Her head was pounding as she bent to retrieve the things that had slipped from her backpack from the fall, and she tried to steady herself against the wall as she considered if she could even make the climb in her state. It was a long way to fall. Again.

Her mother would be so mad if she found out...hopefully she wasn't already looking for her. Maybe it was still early enough, and her family would still be asleep. Something told her that it didn't matter either way.

After re-lacing her sneakers, she started the slow climb, relying on the thick vines and tree roots that had grown between the cracks in the solid well foundation. Inch by inch, she pulled herself up the side until she was able to hook her arm around that familiar wooden ledge. Her upper body strength wasn't what she wished it was, but using her arm as leverage, she pitched herself over the side and hit the ground. Kagome rolled to her back, letting the sunlight warm her skin through the cover of the tree canopies as she tried to catch her breath.

No no no.

This wasn't her home. This was someplace...different. It felt older, from a time where this land belonged to the forest and earth. A strange place, yet she knew that it was her; she was the stranger. An invader to a place she didn't belong, and despite the obvious idea that she was dreaming, or had hit her head and was hallucinating – a part of her understood the truth.

That wasn't a normal well, and she wasn't in Tokyo anymore.

But wherever she was, the birds were singing and the wind rustled her hair. It was real, and so was the well that had always been on her families property. From her spot on the ground, her head sunk back and upside down, she recognized the trunk of the great tree, the one that she had grown up playing under. She twisted in the dirt, lifting herself to stare at it. It was her tree, but different somehow, wrapped in a dermis of leafy green. Her house, her world, was gone.

Another cracking sound, twigs breaking in the forest just beyond the clearing of evergreens. That's when she saw the glint of metal. Through the brush, knelt beside a small boulder, she made her out. A woman dressed as a shrine maiden. And the glint of an arrowhead pointed at her.

Kagome tried to swallow her fear, to clear the lump in her throat enough to speak without her voice wavering. She looked suspicious enough, and she didn't want to make a wrong move. Standing slowly, with hands raised, she called out, "Woah! Hi! Uh, I don't want any trouble! I'm just, lost."

The woman did not faulter. "What is it you seek in these woods?"

Was this woman deaf? Didn't she just say she was lost? "Seek? Uh, a way out of the woods, I guess? I'm lost, like I said."

She was beautiful, stunningly beautiful. Her face was round and full, and though her hair was tied back with a ribbon, its length was displayed as it fell around her shoulder like a glossy cascade of ink against the white of her top. Though dropped to a knee, Kagome could tell she was tall – taller than she was at least. She was dressed in the red and white of the shrine maiden, and surrounded by green forest, looked as though she stepped out of one of the scenes in the scrolls of grandpa's sitting room.

She found herself speechless, and not just because of how striking this woman appeared. What could she possibly say to her? What could she ask her? 'Hey where am I and oh by the way I came here through the well from what looks like the future?'

Not happening. "Can you put that bow down? You're kinda...freaking me out."

The woman did faulter at that, a look of confusion splashing across her face told Kagome she didn't know how to take what she just asked. She wondered how she must have looked to her in all black, with her old athletic clothes hanging off her and hair piled on top of her head. Despite her obvious uncertainty, the woman lowered the bow and rose to stand. The arrow remained nocked. "Alright." She looked Kagome up and down a second time, nodding. "Lost you say? From what village do you hail?"

Shoot. She had to think fast.

"Well, uh...that's just it, I fell down a well back that way." Kagome pointed in the general direction of where she had awoken to this new reality. "And, well, I hit my head, so I'm afraid I don't remember. I'm a little...confused?" Her acting wasn't terrible, but she knew it wasn't good. It must have been sufficient, though, as the stranger paled, eyes widening. "The bone-eaters well? You fell in the bone eaters well and survived?" She approached Kagome, though apprehension laced every step and movement. "Aye, your condition is surprising in that you are alive to experience it."

Though the woman's shoulders were relaxed as she inched closer, Kagome couldn't help but notice her delicate fingers still perfectly positioned on arrow shaft, bow and string. She had no doubt that this woman would have an arrow between her eyes in the time it took her to blink if she wasn't careful. "Yeah...so I'm really happy I found you. It's like you saved me!" She pushed gratitude into her voice, pursing her lips so they would not quiver.

A smile slipped onto the woman's face as the tension there holding her grimace melted away as she motioned to where Kagome stood. "Demons and worse prowl these woods of Inuyasha. It is not a place for young girls to be alone." The woman's eyes narrowed, and the color of them reminded Kagome of the jade charm that hung from her mother's neck, a gift from her father.

"Inu...yasha?"

The woman didn't try to hide her surprised expression. She stepped closer to Kagome, studying her as if by just looking, she could read her past and future as if it was written across her chest. The silence that hung between, cut only by the cawing of crows, was driving Kagome crazy. She nearly opened her mouth to ask her what she could be staring at when finally, the woman spoke. "Yes, you must be from far away, for sure to not fear these woods. I can tell you the story, but you should come with me, out of this place immediately. I fear this darkness will affect us both.

Kagome didn't feel anything. In fact, next to this woman she felt calm and safe despite the fact that she had leveled an arrow at her face only minutes ago. She had always been sensitive to people's personalities, and presence. Superstitious people probably thought of them as auras...but she knew better. She didn't believe in any of that stuff, despite the constant bombardment by Gramps.

"These are troubled times, with new power...well, old power, suddenly reappearing in the world, we are careful as ever to ensure the safety of our villages."

New power? Old power?

She thought it best not to ask, not to appear too naive to this world. "S'okay." Kagome let the tension off her shoulders, letting them fall forward as she took a tentative step in the stranger's direction. "Anyway, I'm Kagome Higurashi."

The stranger just stared, so she pressed a little harder. "And you...I mean, what would you like me to call you?"

"Oh. Yes, you can call me Yuki."

Kagome smiled, her anxiety finally easing. "Great, Yuki. That's a really pretty name!" The woman bowed her head at the compliment. "Well, Yuki...what now?"

"We can head back to my village; I can show you the way." To prove that the ice finally, truly broke, Yuki returned the arrow to her quiver as Kagome strode alongside her.

They walked silently, and from her side, Yuki's hand raised to touch the sleeve of Kagome's sweatshirt, her small hand grazing her forearm in curiosity. "From where did your village obtain these fabrics to..." Kagome instinctively swatted her hand away, as if by touching the material, Yuki would know that she didn't belong. "Hands off!" Her face heated instantly with regret.

"My apologies." Yuki kept her eyes on the path, then, and cleared her throat. "I would take you to lady Kaede, but I've just come from there. She has been shut up in her hut and would see no one since..." She trailed off, eyeing Kagome again, as if she still could not trust a stranger wandering the woods with this sensitive information.

Kagome wasn't offended.

"Well, she is busy. They told me she would send for me when she is ready. She would know best what to do. Until them, perhaps I should bring you back with me. I live in the neighboring village, and there is plenty of food and beds."

Kagome tried to ignore the growing pit of hunger that gnawed at her. As she stared down at her hands, she noticed how horribly dirty she had gotten from the fall and her climb. How tired and beat up she felt. She could feel the wind against her skin – signaling that her clothing had gotten wet and now clung to her. Even her fingernails seemed to ache with dirt packed beneath them. "That would be great! But is there a place I could...clean up?"

"Yes, there is a stream not too far from my home." It would be the first time she bathed in a stream, but her only worry was passing out in it and being swept away. She would need to be careful. "Come, and I will give you something to sate your hunger, and then perhaps something to sate your curiosity."

The story, yes. She was going to learn where she was. But more importantly...when she was.