Splinter Fate by R.M. Avalon

Wrong

Chapter One: Wrong

Note: This story starts off slightly AU. The well never reopened after the final battle and Kagome has been living a normal life ever since then.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the quotes or song lyrics used in this story from here on out.

"I was on the wrong page of the wrong book,

with the wrong rendition of the wrong look,

with the wrong moon, every wrong night,

with the wrong tune playing till it sounded right yeah."

-Wrong, Depeche Mode

"The time is out of joint: O cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right!" -Hamlet, Shakespeare

~

All those times, traveling back and forth through the well, Kagome never even thought to wonder how the magic that made it work had ever come to be. She never had any idea that there was something dwelling within the well, something far older and more evil than she could have dreamt.

Unbeknownst to her was the fact that the Bone Eater's Well was not a straight tunnel between the past and the present, but that it was actually the opening to a larger maze of tunnels between many different times, and more importantly, that the being who slept in the darkness there had made its nest within this maze.

And gradually, that the being, who had been content to sleep away the eons, had finally been woken by the sounds of Kagome and Inuyasha traipsing back and forth through time.

~

"Bye Mama! I'm off to work!" Kagome raced out of the kitchen, a piece of toast in one hand, her raincoat in the other, and her purse slung over he shoulder. She shoved the toast into her mouth and held it with her teeth as she hopped up and down on one foot, then the other, struggling to get her shoes on.

"Ow, ow, ow." She muttered around the bread as she banged her elbow into the low table in the front hall.

She was running way behind for the third time that week, an if she was late again, she was going to be in a lot of trouble with her boss. It wasn't he fault that she was having a hard time making it into work on time lately; she had been having the most awful week in the history of awful weeks.

First, the engine of her car- an ancient, white Honda, which had belonged to her mother for fifteen years before she passed it on to her daughter- had… well, blown up was really the only way to describe it. Strangely enough, the car had been off at the time and the mechanics that had examined it had found nothing wrong with it and no traces of any sort of explosive devices or materials.

The next day there had been a devastating crash on the subway line that she was supposed to take to work instead, and she had been forced to take a cab. As if that were not enough, the cab had gotten a flat tire in the middle of Tokyo rush hour. She had gotten into work slightly after the time that she normally took her lunch break.

And that very morning she had awoken to the scent of something burning and when she had looked around her room, wildly searching for the source of the smell, she saw a rat youkai chewing through the wiring of her alarm clock. She had screamed bloody murder and attacked the rat with the lamp on her bedside table.

It wasn't until later, when she was standing in the shower lathering shampoo through her hair, that she was struck by the thought that that was the first youkai she had seen in five years. It seemed that youkai had simply all but vanished from the modern world. Perplexed, she shook her head, it had accidentally caused some of the shampoo to drip down her face and into her eye, the stinging discomfort made her forget all about the rat for the time being.

Shoes finally on, she dropped her purse and shrugged her tan raincoat on with some difficulty, as one of the sleeves managed to get itself twisted around her arm. Kagome tore the door open and raced out and down the steps, eating her toast as she went. If she really hurried, she could still make the Eight o'clock train. The weather outside was cool and gray; the dark, fat clouds in the sky sat ominously above her, threatening to open up and dump rain on her at any second.

Please don't rain on me. She pleaded to whatever gods might have been listening. The only response she got was an icy gust of wind rolling down the street, tugging at her hair and crawling underneath her clothing to make her shiver; her conservative black pencil skirt and white collared shirt did nothing to stop its invasion.

"Stupid wind, stupid clothes, stupid week." She huffed as she ran. She was out of shape, she realized. Since she had stopped hoofing it all across feudal Japan in search of Shikon shards and Naraku, she hadn't really taken on any other sort of physical activity to make up for it. Not to mention she was wearing the worst running shoes ever.

The adorable black pumps with eight centimeter heels had been a gift from her mother for her twentieth birthday, and they were perfect for wearing when she was sitting at her desk at the office where she worked, but they were awful for just about everything else.

As she rounded a corner, another gust of wind hit her; this one came head on, bringing with it the scent of… blood. Kagome gagged, stumbling to a stop. There, in front of her, lay the mutilated corpses of a man, a woman, and two small children.

A family. She realized, horrified.

And standing over the bodies were a pack of snarling wolves, all with glowing red eyes that were now fixed directly on her.

Damn it! Kagome cursed; she had no weapon and there was no way she could outrun the creatures.

One of the wolves began to advance on her, it's teeth bared in a snarl. Kagome took a step back. The other wolves, taking a cue from their leader started towards her as well. Then they attacked.

With a scream, Kagome ripped her purse off her shoulder and swung it like a mace. It smacked into the first wolf and her eyes widened as she saw the leather bag glowing with the soft pink of her miko powers. The wolf yelped as it crashed to the ground, the place where it's body had come into contact with her purse was blistered and blackened, as if it had been burnt.

The rest of the pack circled her, briefly confused by the failure of their leader's attack. Then another wolf darted forward, and the rest moved in again. Kagome spun like a ballerina, purse held by the end of the strap, cutting a wide arc around her. She caught three move wolves with it and they too dropped like their alpha, but the final wolf crashed into her back. She slammed into the sidewalk, palms and knees scraping against the concrete, as her breath was knocked out of her body.

She felt teeth grabbing a hold of the back of her raincoat and heard a rip as the wolf tore away the part of her jacket clenched between its jaws. She rolled over, kicking out with her left foot, and the spiked heel of her shoe caught the youkai in its soft belly. It flew off of her, yelping. Around her, the other wolves, which had been downed by her purse, were beginning to stir and some of them were coming to their feet. Looking around desperately, Kagome felt dread set in, as there was absolutely nothing that she could use to save herself. Then she saw the truck coming down the street and a desperate plan formed in her mind.

Well, I'm going to be torn to shreds by wolves if I don't do anything, ether way I'm probably dead, at least this way it'll be quick. She reasoned with herself.

Then she turned and ran out into the street. Just as she hoped, the wolves lunged after her. Her ankle twisted as she took a bad step on the uneven asphalt of the road, but she kept going, not daring to look back and then she heard the loud blast of the truck's horn and felt the wind of its passage less than a meter behind her. Then she heard it; a sickeningly glorious combination of sounds. The squealing of tires, the high-pitched yelping of injured wolves and the crunch of bones breaking as the truck plowed into the pack.

She didn't stick around to see if any of the wolves were still alive, or to answer the truck driver's frantic calls to her, instead, she bolted back in the direction from which she had come.

This is no mere coincidence. Blood pounded in her ears as she ran. I haven't seen a single youkai in the five years that I've been here and suddenly within a few hours I see a whole bunch? Something's not right.

She heard a scream to her left and spared a brief glance in that direction, only to see a flying snake youkai wrapping itself around a man in a business suit, who was beating on the creature with his black briefcase.

Kagome thought for half a second about leaving him, but her conscience wouldn't let her. She dashed across the street and hit the youkai as hard as she could with her purse. Stunned, the snake uncoiled and collapsed, dropping the man on his rear, where he sat, gibbering incoherently and crying.

"What are you sitting here for?" She yelled at him, "Go! Get out of here!"

The man scrambled to his feet and ran off as fast as his legs would carry him. Kagome looked back at the snake, and then down at her- now very battered- purse, she took hold of the bag portion, and proceeded to smack the youkai directly in the head until it lay still.

Looking around her, she felt fear wash over here. There were youkai everywhere. She didn't have time to fight them all, she had to find their source and neutralize it. At that moment, more than ever before, she wished that Inuyasha were still with her.

And then she felt it; a tug at the very center of her being. From… she closed her eyes and concentrated… the well.

She kicked off her shoes, leaving them on the sidewalk, and barefoot, she bolted home.

All hell is breaking loose and I can feel the well! This is not a coincidence! Excitement and fear warred within her. Could the well have reopened and be spitting youkai into the modern world?

She raced up the stairs outside of her family's shrine and as she reached the top her mother came flying out the door.

"Kagome, thank goodness you're safe!" She threw her arms around her daughter, and then pulled her into the house, slamming the door and locking it behind her. Stepping away from Kagome, Mrs. Higurashi took in her daughter's disheveled and slightly bloodied appearance and raised her hand to her mouth to cover her gasp.

"Were you attacked?" She reached out and smoothed down Kagome's mussed up hair.

"Yeah, but that's not important; I'm ok." She moved past her mother, into the house. "I think they're coming through the well."

"I thought you said the well didn't work any more." Mrs' Higurashi's voice was tinged with confusion.

"It didn't, but I can feel it calling to me, Mama." The two women made their way back to the rear of the house and Kagome peered out the window. Sure enough the well shrine was surrounded by youkai.

Her face tightened with resolve, Kagome turned to her mother. "I'm going to grab a few things, then I'm going to go take care of this."

"All alone?" Cried her mother.

"Nope. I'm going to go get the best youkai slayer I know." The corner of her lip lifted slightly as determination sparked in her eyes.

"You, you really think the well has reopened?"

"I'm positive that it has and I don't know anyone more qualified to take care of this problem than Inuyasha." She hurried up the stairs to her room.

She stripped out of her clothing at lightning speed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved pink shirt. Then she grabbed the backpack that had sat in the corner of her room for the past five years- just in case- and the bow and quiver of arrows that rested next to it.

When she returned to the main floor, her mother was standing at the foot of the stairs worrying her lip with her teeth.

"Where is Souta?" Kagome asked.

"He's with Oji-san, boarding up the other side of the house."

"Good. Lock yourselves in, get Oji-san to put up as many ofuda as he can, and do not leave unless you absolutely have to. I'll be back soon with Inuyasha and we'll take care of everything." She directed as she made her way to the back door and shoved her feet into a pair of tennis shoes.

Then slung her bag over her shoulder, kissed her mother on the cheek, and ran out the door.

As she approached the well shrine she knocked an arrow and waited for a few seconds till she felt the warm rush of her powers, then she let it fly towards the clustered youkai.

They scattered. She darted into the shrine, which strangely enough was completely devoid of youkai, however a powerful, malevolent youki filled the air. Taking a deep breath, she hurried down the steps then hopped into the well.

The minute her feet left the ground she knew something was different. Instead of falling straight down, it felt like she was being jerked from side to side. Then suddenly she heard a ripping sound and felt the weight of her backpack being pulled away from her. Seconds later her bow hit something in the darkness and she heard it snap. Coldness spread through her and terror caused her heart to race.

What on earth is happening?

Then suddenly she was sitting on the ground at the bottom of the well, blinking in the early morning sunshine.

She took a deep breath and smelled… clean. The air here was pure, without a hint of smog or pollution. She felt tears pick behind her eyelids. She was back in the Sengoku Jidai.

With great effort, she dragged herself to her feet and climbed out of the well. The evil presence that she had felt earlier was still there, but it was diminished somewhat now and she felt the tension in her shoulders easing just slightly. Her ordeal wasn't over yet; though she was safe, her family was still in danger, so she took off towards the village.

Rin was the first one who saw Kagome as she came out of the forest. Her eyes grew wide and she gave a yell of delight, causing Shippou, who was sitting next to her, to smash the clay figurine that he was working on.

"What the hell, Rin-?"

"Kagome-sama!" Rin dumped the load of clothing that she had been folding off of her lap and onto the floor, as she leapt to her feet.

Shippou's mouth widened into a wide grin and he ran after her. They collided with Kagome simultaneously, smothering her in a massive bear hug. For a few seconds Kagome was stunned and very confused. Then she looked at the faces of the young man and woman who were clinging to her.

The woman was small and thin, with wide blue eyes and an abundance of long, shiny black hair. The man on the other hand was actually a teenage boy, still gangly with youth, and his foxy brown hair matched the large, fluffy tail that protruded from the base of his spine. His turquoise eyes and mischievous smile tugged at her heart, stirring memories from her younger days.

"Shippou! Rin!" She hugged them back and a few tears leaked out of her eyes. Oh yes, she was back.

The racket they had raised had alerted the rest of the village to the fact that something was going on and people were coming out of huts and sticking their heads around corners to see what the commotion was all about.

"Where's Inuyasha?" She asked, laughing.

"Oh, he's probably in his hut! Come on, we'll take you!" Shippou and Rin each took one of her hands as they led her through the huts. The village seemed bigger now; there were more huts than there had been when she had last been there.

"You guys are so grown up now! How long was I gone?" She asked.

"Well, Rin was eight when you left and she's now nineteen… so you were gone…" Rin paused, brow furrowed, as she tried to do the math in her head.

"Eleven years." Kagome finished for her, frowning slightly. That seemed off; normally the time in the Sengoku Jidai passed at the same rate that it did in her world.

They came around the corner and stopped dead. There, standing in front of a hut, arguing loudly with another man, was Inuyasha. But he wasn't Inuyasha as Kagome had last seen him. He was human.

"I-Inuyahsa?" She called and he spun around, eyes wide.

"Kagome?" He stepped forward. "Is that you?"

She nodded, not quite trusting her voice at that moment. He raced forwards and wrapped her in a hug. Her face was pressed into a familiar red-clad shoulder as a pair of strong arms came around her back to hold her to him. She buried her face in that shoulder and felt tears beginning to leak out of her eyes.

Wrong. Said her brain.

"How did you get back? He said, breathlessly as he stepped away from her.

"The well reopened." She told him as she wiped her eyes, frowning. "That's actually why I came back; I need help. Youkai are coming through-"

She stopped and shook her head; her temples pounded and she felt a strange pressure in her head, as the idea that her confusion in Inuyasha's humanity was erroneous. Half of her brain knew that he was supposed to be a hanyou, while the other half was insisting that he had become human after the final battle with Naraku.

"Youkai are showing up in your time?" He interrupted her train of though, momentarily distracting her.

"Yeah. I can't handle them by myself and when I felt the well reopen I hoped that maybe you could help me." She looked up at him, into his brown eyes.

Wrong, wrong! Insisted her brain.

"Kagome?" Said a voice from behind her and she felt the ground drop out from underneath her feet. She spun around and stared at the woman behind her. Tall and as ethereally beautiful as Kagome remembered her to be,the older miko stood with a basket of flowers propped on one hip.

"K-Kikyou? How are you here?" Kagome stammered, drawing back in shock. I'm losing it. I've finally gone around the bend. She thought weakly.

Inuyasha's brow creased in confusion. "What are you talking about, Kagome? She's been with us since you saved her after that fight with Naraku. The one where he took the jewel even after you shot him with that bow from Mount Azusa. You remember, right?"

"What are you going on about, Inuyasha?" Kagome frowned. She could feel a strange ache beginning anew in one of her temples, again as if something was trying to force it's way into her head. She jabbed her finger in Kikyo's direction. "Kikyou died in that fight! I couldn't save her."

Kagome could picture that moment in vivid detail; it had been one of the most heartbreaking things that she had ever watched and there had been absolutely nothing that she could have done to prevent it. It had eaten her up inside for months. The ache intensified and she pressed her hand to the side of her head.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha stepped forward to her and lay his hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

Kagome jerked away from him as if she had been burned. She could still remember the horrible scene of Kikyo's death, but on top of that memory was another one. In this second memory Kagome watched herself pressing her hands against Kikyou's wounds and drawing the darkness within them to the surface, where it hovered like a thick, black storm cloud above her body. Then, she watched herself purifying the evil miasma.

Wrong, wrong, wrong! Screamed her brain, but she could not deny that she suddenly knew that she had saved Kikyou's life during that fight.

"No." She gasped; it wasn't just little things that were different, this whole world was different. Somehow Kagome had stumbled into a parallel version of her Sengoku Jidai.

"Kagome, what's going on?" He stepped towards her again but she turned and fled, running through the village as fast as she could. She had to get back to the well. She had to go back to her time and try again. Inuyahsa was human, Kikyou was alive; this time was wrong and she couldn't stay any longer.

"Kagome, where are you going?" Cried Shippou.

"Kagome! Wait!" Kikyou called out, but that was all Kagome heard; the rest of her words were cut off by the sound of the wind in her ears as she ran.

She scrambled over brambles and fallen logs, stumbling as her shoes slipped on the loose rocks on the forest floor. Branches whipped past her, and she kept her hands up to protect her face as she ran. She skidded to a stop in front of the well with a gasp of horror.

Hovering above the well was a shapeless, black thing whose very being exuded evil so strongly that it made her feel sick. Its great, bulbous eyes were filled with hate and when they fixed on her, she felt dread shoot through her body. It opened its awful mouth and roared at her and she felt the marrow freeze in her bones. There was no doubt in her mind that this being was the presence that had been hanging about in the well shrine; the one responsible for all the death and destruction, and for sending both the youkai to her time, and her to this distorted version of the past.

What should I do? She bit her lip. I have to get to that well, I can't stay here. I have no bow and arrows… what can I-

Looking around she saw a medium sized branch, about the size of a softball bat lying on the ground. She darted to the side and picked it up. Holding it in her hands, she focused all of her energy on the bough and it began to grow warm against her skin as she filled it with the pure energy of her priestess powers.

With a yell, she tossed the branch as hard as she could towards the creature. It hit dead on and the acrid scent of smoke filled the air as the creature let out a piercing wail that brought tears to Kagome's eyes. The being reared up and then dove down into the well.

Kagome dropped to her knees, her body limp and shaking. Not only had she not killed the creature, but she had forced it back into the well, meaning that she was trapped in the twisted version of the Sengoku Jidai with no possible means of escape, because there was no power heaven or hell that could force her into that well while the being still lurked there.

Then to her left, she felt another wave of powerful youki.

No, no; please not this! Why does life hate me so much? She cried silently as she turned her head and looked up… and into the narrowed golden eyes of Sesshomaru.

~

Woo! So this is chapter one of Splinter Fate! I have a lot of ideas with this story and I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

Some notes: First, I need a beta. preferably a good one, one that knows what they're doing and doesn't just want to read the chapters early. You've also got to be willing to work with me on this, I can't really have a beta that I can't get a hold of on a semi-regular basis, you know?

Second, this fic is going to be Sesshomaru/Kagome. Why? Because that pairing makes me giddy in a way that surprises the hell out of me. It's going to take a little while to get there, though; I'm not a huge fan of lightening fast romances in long fics, I think they lose something when that's how they're written.

Third, as far as the rating goes, this fic will hit the M mark, so that's what I'm setting it as. I do not want someone to start reading it when it's rated T then getting upset if they read something that they didn't really want to later on.

Well, that's all for now! Please R&R, Your reviews help inspire me to write!

Thanks,

R.M. Avalon