The Protector by Selestic

Through the Well

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha! (only in my fantasies)

xxx

Chapter 1

Lights illuminated the sky. The village was on fire.

Men and women fled as youkai raided their tiny huts; this was not the first time the village had been attacked. Weak farmers - the village's only defense - gathered up their tools and prepared to ward off the menacing demons.

Though the villagers outnumbered the youkai, the monsters had the upper hand, having claws and hard scales. Swords clashed with fangs as the village men fought for their lives; most of the men knew it was hopeless. The demons always won.

"My baby!" A woman screamed.

In the middle of the battlefield, a baby girl wept for her mother. The woman's pleas attracted the attention of a snake youkai who made its way towards the young child, another meal in its eyes. The snake hissed and dove for the baby; the mother couldn't bear to watch.

The child was devoured by the snake. But the creature was not appeased. It moved towards the trembling woman, bent on ending her life the way it had ended her child's.

Before it could attack the woman, the demon was embedded in a tree by an arrow that pierced its head. Glowing with light, the arrow dissolved the snake youkai. Villagers sighed a breath of relief as their savior arrived.

"Lady Kikyo and Inuyasha are here!"

Inuyasha made quick work of the lesser demons as he used his claws to tear them apart. Moving quickly, he easily dispatched a large number of youkai. Covering his back, upon a hill, Kikyo fired her arrows at all the demons chasing the half demon.

By this point, the tide of the battle had turned. The once weary farmers found strength and pushed the demons back.

Using Sankontessu, Inuyasha destroyed the last remnants of the youkai invaders. The battle was over and the village head ordered a scout to inform the men and women in hiding to return to the village. All was safe, for now.

"Keh." Inuyasha huffed. "I don't get why we have to save these damn humans all the time."

Despite being over a hundred years old, the half-demon hadn't matured since day of his birth.

"It is our duty." Kikyo loosened her grip on her bow.

"Our duty?" Inuyasha laughed. "My only job is to make sure you keep that head of yours on your shoulders. And don't think for second that I'd help these losers if weren't for you."

Kikyo patted Inuyasha on the head affectionately. "I understand that you want to protect the jewel, but you must learn to open up to others as well. You cannot be the lone half-demon any longer. Humans do not see you as a monster; you should take advantage of that."

"Whatever." The hanyou grumbled, knowing somewhat that Kikyo was right.

"Lady Kikyo!" A farmer ran up to the pair, fell to his knees and bowed.

"Rise, sir." Kikyo addressed. "You have been valiant in your efforts today."

"Many thanks to you my lady and your companion." The man inclined his head in reverence to Inuyasha who replied with a lazy wave. "You have saved us yet again, we are indebted to you once more."

At that time the old miko of the village Kaede approached her sister Kikyo who was actually older than her though she did not look the part. In fact Kikyo looked to be in her early womanhood whereas Kaede was as old as the village itself.

There was reason for this.

Her older sister had died, taking the Shikon no Tama with her, after pinning Inuyasha to the great tree. Within weeks the jewel had materialized back into the feudal era and fifty years later, the heavens shook and gave the young miko another chance to live under the circumstance that she would forever guard the Shikon.

Kikyo took the job and then made an agreement with Inuyasha. In exchange for his protection, she would release him from the sacred tree Goshinboku. Inuyasha, although reluctant, agreed to her terms and was freed.

Three months later, the miko and hanyou re-established the relationship they had before Inuyasha's betrayal.

"Kaede."

The old miko looked at her older sister who had called her. "Yes, big sister?"

"How many are injured?" Kikyo inquired.

"Far too many. A dozen are killed, three are injured. Others have yet to be heard from." Kaede sighed and rubbed her shoulder. "A sad day it be."

All of a sudden, a woman screeched as she charged at Kikyo with a knife. It was the woman who had lost her baby to the snake and now she was delusional, mad for blood. She knew that the reason why the youkai had attacked the village was because the miko possessed the Shikon no Tama. It was all her fault!

Before the miko and the hanyou had come to their village, everything had been peaceful. Ever since they arrived, attacks from youkai were uncommon even expected. She would shelter them no longer; her voice had to be heard.

Inuyasha tackled the crazy woman to the ground and disarmed her before damage could be done. "You crazy bitch, what the hell ya cryin' for. Kikyo just saved your fuckin' life."

"She's the reason they came in the first place!" The woman spat out, glaring at the young miko. "Unhand me you tainted beast!"

The village chief, a sturdy old man with graying hair tried to reason with the livid woman, telling her that Lady Kikyo had to be protected. He tried to convince her that the young miko's life was top priority. Had the youkai obtained the jewel today, far more destruction would have followed. When it seemed the woman had calmed, the chief released her.

"Be careful!" Kikyo warned. Inuyasha flexed his claws. He could sense a foul amount of dark miasma radiating from from the woman. She had been possessed by a greater demon. Taken by surprise, Inuyasha hit the floor as the new demon grazed his face with her talons.

Inuyasha found himself pressed against the ground unable to move. The poison in her claws had paralyzed him, and his vision had begun to fade. A greater youkai's poison was not to be taken lightly; it induced paralysis and body failure.

"Inuyasha!" Kikyo screamed. Seeing her companion on the floor, she immediately rushed to his side trying to shield him. "You foul beast!"

Her curses had no effect, she was struck by the demon as well. Kikyo fell to the floor watching Inuyasha struggle to breathe. She could not move her arms or her legs either. Her ears were becoming deaf; she could barely make out the screams of the village people.

Was this the end? Had she failed at protecting the jewel? Kikyo could feel the jewel glowing from her necklace. Her eyelids drooped and soon she was blind. With a last effort she prayed to the Gods asking for help.

"Please. Someone... Help us."

xxx

"P-please. Someone... H-help us."

Kagome Higurashi woke up with a start. "Mom! Did you say something?"

"No, honey!" Came the voice from downstairs. Kagome closed her school book and stretched. Studying for three hours was not fun at all. It was strange though; she could have sworn she heard a woman call for help. Well if they wanted to call her again, she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

At that time, the young girl felt a pat on her back. She turned to see her little brother, Souta watching her with a smile. "Hey Kagome, Gramps wants to see you. He says he needs to talk. I think he bought you a birthday present!"

That was right! Tomorrow was her fifteenth birthday and her grandfather had promised to get her something nice.

"Okay." Kagome replied. "I think I need a break."

"Come on!" Souta pulled his sister's hand and took her downstairs.

Their grandfather had been waiting patiently for his two grandchildren. When he saw his youngest grandchild Souta walk down the stairs with his sister in tow, he took out a box wrapped in ribbons. He had prepared a special gift for Kagome; she loved antiques after all.

"Come, sit down both of you." Grandpa Higurashi ordered.

Both Kagome and Souta hesitated. When their gramps told them to sit down, it usually meant that they were going to receive a lesson on the history of ancient Japanese artifacts. They both groaned when the old man took out a plastic jewel key chain from a box.

"Ji-chan." Kagome whined. "Please tell me you're not going to give us another one your talks."

Her grandfather ignored her. "Ahem! This here is a replica of the Shikon no Tama also known as the Jewel of Four Souls. A great deal of history circulates around this jewel. In a era known as Sengoku Jidai, priestess were given the duty to protect this jewel from the evil youkai."

"Lame." Souta interrupted.

"You ungrateful child!" The old man shouted. "There is more to life than those electronic video play screens."

"That would be video games, ji-chan." Kagome corrected.

"As I was saying, the Shikon no Tama -in the wrong hands- would cause devastation. A demon with the Shikon can dramatically increase its strength. Therefore, youkai would constantly prey on the Jewel's guardian miko. Of course the miko alone could not protect herself from all these demons, so the Gods assigned a protector to miko, an Inu Youkai."

"What's a Inu Yoooh kai?" Souta asked, butchering the pronunciation.

"Inu Youkai are a rare type of demon. They are dog demons that can assume a humanoid form to look like us. Their true form is that of an enormous dog as big as a mountain. These creatures are the most powerful of all demons, and because they were so powerful, every other youkai breed plotted against them." Gramps explained and took a sip of his tea. "In a matter of years, the youkai were able to hunt down and kill the last Inu Youkai female, causing a freeze in the dog demon birth rate. That just shows how much of a threat people and demons alike viewed the Inu Youkai as."

"Wow." Kagome whispered. "So does that mean the Inu Youkai race became extinct?"

"Not necessarily my girl." Gramps replied. "Inu Youkai are immortal, in other words they do not age, but they can be killed by theirs wounds. I assure you, the male Inu Youkais definitely lived on."

Kagome absorbed all that her grandfather had told her. Never had she been so engaged in a topic or talk that gramps gave. She couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for the Inu Youkai. Their majestic race had been discriminated against because they held so much power.

"Now Kagome. Time for your present!"

Smiling, Kagome eagerly waited for gramps to hand her the gift. Her cat Buyo walked in the house and sat on her lap.

"Open it! I'm sure you'll be pleased with it!"

Unwrapping the ribbons and opening the lid, Kagome frowned as soon as she saw what was inside. "Eww! Ji-chan, what is this? Some kind of freaky hand?"

"That my girl is a mummified hand of a water imp."

"Lovely..." Kagome sighed. "Here Buyo, eat!"

Buyo gratefully snatched the treat and ran off with it much to gramps's horror. "Waah! That's a priceless antique!"

"Someone... Please... H-help..."

Kagome flinched as the voice she heard earlier became more pronounced. She looked around the living room for signs of who could possibly have spoken. In actuality it was getting kind of creepy for her.

"Whats wrong?" Her grandfather asked.

"N-nothing, I'm just going to go out and get some air. All that studying, you know?" Kagome replied.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome walked out of the house. She spotted Buyo not too far away, giving her with a strange look. The cat started to hiss as she came closer. That was strange what could have possibly caused him to act like that? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have fed him the mummified hand.

"Hey Buyo, what's wrong? Stomach ache?" Kagome knelt down and tried to pet her fat cat, but he swatted her hand away.

The only time she could remember when Buyo acted like this was when a stray dog had entered the shrine. Buyo had gone nuts until she had chased it off. That made no sense though. There weren't any dogs around, well not that she could spot anyways. Strange, first the voices and now this?

Kagome watched as Buyo made a mad dash for the shrine's well. She followed after and winced as her cat collided head on with the well house's door. That had to hurt, just hearing the sound of the collision made her shiver. Poor Buyo limped away wide-awake from the trance he was in.

As Kagome examined the dent in the door, she noticed that the voices in her head got louder as she got closer to the well.

"Help! Take Lady Kikyo and Inuyasha to safety!"

"We'll hold it off!"

"Gods have mercy!"

Falling to her knees, Kagome clutched her head. The voices were overwhelming. Just who in the world was Lady Kikyo and who was Inuyasha? What were they trying to hold off and why did it sound like there was something burning in the background? Everything was so confusing.

A bright ray of light lit up on her face. Kagome watched as streaks of light flowed through cracks in the wooden board covering the well.

Using all her strength, Kagome uncovered the well only to close her eyes at the brightness of light. Something or someone, she felt, pushed her forward causing her to fall face first into the depths of the mystical well.

The lights faded after some time and Kagome felt cold dirt under her. She had somehow made it to the bottom of the well, in one piece. A fall from that high should have at least gave her some bruises or broken bones.

Then she cringed as a pungent smell attacked her nose. The smell was indescribable; it seemed to be a mixture sweat, dirt, burnt flesh, and blood. Kagome rubbed her stomach. She wanted to churl out everything she had eaten.

Getting dizzy, Kagome called for help, hoping someone - a passerby - would hear her voice. After a few minutes, she gave up. No one would visit her shrine at this time of day, the only ones who would such as her brother, mother, and grandfather were probably too busy to notice that she had disappeared.

Since it was too dark at the bottom of the well, and because she felt as if something would pop out and eat her, she grasped the vines against the well and pulled. They were sturdy enough to act as a rope. She started to climb to the top.

Upon reaching the top, Kagome hissed as her ears and eyes took in the scenery. Her ears and eyes had become extremely sensitive. She could see things she never thought she would have been able to, and she could hear cicadas and crickets chirp from meters away. All in all, her senses had magnified.

That would also explain the horrible smell.

Her eyes widened when she saw that her nails had grown longer, two inches at least. It looked like she had grown claws. To make things worse there was a small crescent moon tattoo imprinted on her wrist. Kagome groaned; her momma would kill her if she found out.

Just what was going on and where was she?

She definitely wasn't back at the shrine that much was obvious from the lack of buildings. There was only grass everywhere she looked.

Suddenly a scream pierced her ear. Kagome looked to the direction it came from and saw smoke rising above the trees. She didn't know why but she felt compelled to go there and find out what was happening. It was sort of an impulse, her instinct.

Taking a shaky step, trying to cope with her physical changes, the confused girl walked towards the black clouds.

What she saw when she got to the village-like place was nothing she could have ever imagined. Destruction and devastation beyond comprehension was laid out before her. She couldn't believe it. Those couldn't have been actual human corpses buried under the buildings, could they?

The stench of decay filled her nostrils. By the smell Kagome could tell that the bodies had been brutally put to rest long ago. How long? Well she didn't want to find out.

All she could guess was that the well had transported her to some rural place in God knows where.

Then she heard footsteps rapidly approaching her direction. In fear that mastermind of this brutal massacre was returning, Kagome hid behind some wooden pillars that were once used to support a hut.

She watched fascinated as an old lady, around the age of her grandfather, stopped for a breath. A group of farmers, as it seemed, with tops knots - Kagome almost laughed - followed after the old lady with the eye patch. The men were carrying two people on a makeshift bed. Kagome couldn't get a glimpse of who though from her position.

"We must hurry, the demon will not be held off for long, and soon it will come for the Shikon no Tama." The old lady warned.

The Shikon? But the Shikon existed 500 years ago. Kagome gasped; her ji-chan had just mentioned the jewel. There was no way that this was all a coincidence and judging by the way the women and farmers were dressed, she knew that she was no longer in her time.

"What has happened to Lady Kikyo and Inuyasha?" The man with the top knot - well they all had top knots - asked.

The girl in hiding became more and more interested as she heard the names of the people mentioned in her voices.

"They are not dead." The old woman answered. "Thank the Gods, but they have been gravely injured. The poison of a powerful Youkai can cause the human body to lose its ability to function. My sister and the half-demon are merely in a deep sleep. Only fate can tell us when they will re-awake."

"But what of the hanyou? Surely his demon blood should have protected him."

"I believe the blood of his mother runs deeply within him; therefore the poison was able to have an effect."

Another question was asked. "Is there no way to heal them, Lady Kaede?"

"Only time will heal these two, but I'm afraid that is what we do not have." Kaede replied. The elder heaved a deep breath. Things were looking grave for her and her companions. Only some miraculous work from the Gods would save them now.

Kagome cursed her luck. Something tickled her nose, and she had to sneeze really bad. Don't sneeze! Don't sneeze! Banana! Banana! Bana- "Achoo!"

Time seemed stopped, but her heart didn't. The farmers picked up their pitchforks and shovels and aimed them in her direction. She stayed behind the pillars, not wanting to reveal herself. Stupid! Stupid nose!

"Who's there?" An elderly man shouted, weapon in hand.

"Show yourself!"

Kagome groaned before revealing herself. Eyes widened at the sight of her. She felt like some trophy on display for everyone to watch. Come on she didn't really look that bad did she? The old lady, Kaede gasped. It looked like she could catch flies with a mouth as wide open as hers.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry or anything. I mean I was here first!" Kagome explained. The girl felt under-dressed in front of these people. They were all wearing baggy pants and some type of top, whereas she was wearing her school uniform.

"By the Gods." One man gaped. "It can't be."

"An Inu Youkai." Lady Kaede whispered, disbelief evident on her face. "A female no less."

Inu Youkai? Where? Kagome looked around but saw no one. "Where's the Inu Youkai? I thought they were supposed to be extinct."

The old miko was stunned. The girl standing before her was no doubt an Inu Youkai. Those claws she had, and the fangs that showed when she spoke were clear evidence of her heritage. Her markings were vaguely familiar, and the mark on her wrist showed that she belonged to... Heavens help her, the miko was about to faint. If her guess was correct then if the female before her was harmed in any way, hell's wrath would surely fall upon her.

The way that the Inu Youkai female dressed was a completely new concept for the old lady. Never had she seen such a kimono and why did the girl ask where the Inu Youkai was? It seemed as if the girl was oblivious to herself.

The question now was whether she was friend or foe. An enemy Inu Youkai, Gods forbid, would mean that they would be sent to their graves sooner. Kaede hesitated though, the girl looked harmless with her stunning sapphire doe eyes.

"You my girl." Kaede addressed. "You do not know?"

"Know what?" Kagome retorted.

"You do not know that you are an Inu Youkai?"

"I'm a Inu Youkai?" That was crazy. Kagome didn't believe it one bit, but the fact that she had grown claws and fangs still lingered in the back of her head. "Am I really?"

"Yes my dear." Kaede walked up to the confused girl and examined her. "What is your name?"

"Kagome."

"Ah what beautiful name. But now is not the time to talk we must-" The miko was interrupted.

A deafening screech filled the air and shook the trees. Out from the shadows of the forest came a deathly pale woman with pupils dilated and tears of blood on her face. The demon had found them, and it wanted the Shikon.

Seven villagers lined up and bared their weapons against the intruder.

Kagome watched fearfully, knowing by instinct that they were no match. Something in her mind told her that she was supposed to be the one facing the strange woman. Her primal instincts arose and she growled as the stranger took a step closer.

Taking big strides, Kagome didn't know what possessed her to walk in front of the men and flex her claws. There was a bad aura surrounding the intruder.

The Inu Youkai female immediately turned around to look at Kaede. "What am I supposed to do?" She pleaded. "I don't know why, but my body is moving on its own."

"That woman in front of you is a demon that has been preying on our villagers. It has come to kill the miko, Kikyo and claim the Shikon no Tama." Kaede tried to calm the poor girl down. "You must kill that woman! She is a demon."

"I've never killed anyone in my life!" Kagome shouted. How were they expecting her - who would never even hurt her annoying brother - to kill this demon woman?

"Well now's your chance!"

Oh my god! Kagome panicked as she barely managed to avoid the swipe that been meant for her face. She responded by lashing back and clawing at the demon's face. The demon howled as a good amount on skin was torn from her face.

Eww! I have blood on my nai- claws.

The Inu Youkai readied herself as the demon prepared to charge at her once more.

As the possessed woman came inches from striking her again, Kagome instinctively flicked her wrist and beheaded her. Kagome was as surprised as the dead demon by what just transpired. Using two of her nails she had created some sort of whip/sword and killed the demon. This day was definitely getting weirder and weirder.

The villagers cheered at the sight of the strange female defeating the demon.

"How did I do that?" Kagome asked the old miko as soon as she reached her. "That's strange, for some reason I felt compelled to protect you guys."

"Your Inu Youkai instinct allowed you to perform what you have just done. A demon's instinct always acts for the safety and benefit of its master." Kaede informed.

"Oh."

"Lady Kaede, we must return to the village's center. There may be more survivors in need of aid." One of the villagers spoke up.

"I'd better get going then." Kagome ran her hand through her hair and notice that it had streaks of silver. Well, that was new and so was everything else. She still wasn't used to all this 'I'm an Inu Youkai stuff'. "Even though I don't actually know where to go."

"Nonsense dear girl." The old woman interjected. "You may come with us to our village, and I will answer any questions that you may have."

"That sounds nice. I would like that!" Kagome smiled. "Lead the way."

The party arrived at the village center and found that the demon had not inflicted any damage to the huts. They were greatly relieved to see that there were indeed survivors. The surviving villagers informed them that they had fled once the demon woman had killed the first farmer.

All eyes were on Kagome who looked at floor uneasily.

Kaede took the Inu Youkai female to her hut and answered everything that the young girl wanted to know. The old miko herself learned a great deal, too when Kagome explained that she was from the future and a mysterious land called Tokyo. With exchange of words, Kagome felt more and more at ease with her current situation. She gradually accepted the fact that she had been dragged back 500 years into the past, and that she was now an Inu Youkai, the only Inu Youkai female in existence.

Night had fallen and the old miko took some wax and lit a candle.

Another woman entered the hut and told Kaede that Kikyo and Inuyasha were awake and well, all traces of the paralysis gone. Kagome declined the offer of being introduced the miko's older sister and companion. She was too tired from all of the day's events and she wanted a little nap.

Lying on the wooden floor, she immediately fell asleep.

In her dreams, she was in the middle of a beautiful forest.

Kagome walked around and smiled. This place made her happy and filled her with a sense of completion. Everywhere she looked different types of animals played with one another; an atmosphere of joy and ease filled this place. One step after another, she navigated the whole forest and stopped when she saw perhaps the finest specimen she had ever seen.

Sleeping - it seemed - against an old tree was the most beautiful and gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. Kagome, being fifteen, had never experienced love or had any crushes for that matter, but she knew somehow she was connected to this person.

She wanted to touch his the stripe marks on his cheeks and play with his lovely silver locks.

Observing the unconscious man, she noticed that he had the same mark she had on her wrist on his forehead. Kagome walked over to the sleeping figure and hesitated before reaching out to touch one of his stripes. She ran her fingers along his cheeks and sighed. He had soft skin.

Then as she reached for the crescent moon on his forehead, the man's eyes shot wide open.

Kagome gasped.

His eyes. They were golden.

xxx

End Chapter 1

A/N: How was it? Please leave some feedback and remember that this is my first fic! And if there are any readers willing to be my beta-reader please contact me. I would be super happy if you beta-read for me! :D