Don't Cry by Sayah1112

Chapter 1

I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I make any profit off of this story.

 AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is one of the first fics I ever wrote. I have recently decided to rewrite it. Many things will change in the new version (like giving Sesshoumaru a larger romantic role this time around). I will warn you that eventually this fic will be MA.

And no, it's not just a Sess/Kag fic. Kouga is a major romantic player in this story. I know for a lot of you, Kouga really isnt your cup of tea...which is why I am warning you now!

Another warning...this chapter is a little choppy. It's because I am combining two writing styles...one that is ten years old, and one that is current. I apologize, but it will eventually smooth out!

To all of those who do read this fic, thank you! Let me know what you think!

Chapter One:

Kagome Higurashi had always thought of herself as a typical high school student. At the tender age of sixteen she lived with her grandfather, mother and little brother Souta at the Higurashi shrine in Tokyo, Japan. Her life growing up had been surprisingly quiet for living just on the outskirts of a major city, but Kagome would not have it any other way. Sometimes, admittedly, it could be tedious. There were always chores to do at the shrine, raking and sweeping, mowing the lawn and weeding the flower beds. Not to mention the constant upkeep and general repairs needed to keep the ancient grounds as pristine as they were. Kagome's grandfather was quite the task master, and there was not a single place that she could hide on the property that the cratchety old man would not be able to find her. When you were sixteen and more concerned with boys, and what to wear to your school dance, than with the running of a shrine, it could quickly become rather irritating. There was no such thing as lazy Saturday afternoons in the Higurashi household. If you weren't working on your homework, or helping around the house, then there was always more work waiting for you outside. Not, however, if you were crafty enough to sneak out of the house and off the grounds without your Grandfather catching you in the act. Which is pretty much where our story begins.

It was just a typical Saturday night, save for the fact that Kagome had skipped out on her Saturday chores in favor for going to the school dance with Hojo, a boy in her class whom she absolutely did not have a crush on (okay, well, maybe a little). Not that she would ever admit it to her friends, but Hojo with his sweet smile and kind eyes was exactly the kind of man she dreamed about marrying someday.

Kagome, herself , was a pretty girl. With coffee colored eyes and long jet black hair that spilled over her shoulders to reach the small of her back, she was quite popular at her local high school. Though Kagome wasn't involved in any extracurricular activities (how could she be with all her free time devoted to the family shrine?) her body was still slender and lithe, her skin lightly tanned from all her time spent doing yard work. Despite having almost no social life, she had plenty of friends at school. She was, first and foremost, a social butterfly- seeing the good in most of the people she met. And people loved her. Maybe it was that she was a very genuine person, who had no problem speaking her mind, or maybe it was just something about the way she seemed to flit from group to group, having an innate ability to bring people together and soothe ruffled feathers. Whatever the reason, Kagome definitely did not lack in friends. Despite this, she couldn't help but feel like she was missing out on something. That there was just something more to life than duty and responsibility. At sixteen, going on seventeen, Kagome just wanted her freedom. She wanted to get involved in a school sport, or go out and watch a movie with her girlfriends. Heck, maybe even go out with a boy. She was sick of asking, constantly, to go do things outside the shrine and always being told "No".

So she snuck out. And it could, arguably, have been the biggest mistake of her life. . .

Kagome elbowed her way through the crowd that surrounded her family's shrine. Her usually bright eyes were full of concern as she plowed through the people who were blocking her from getting to her house, to her family. As Kagome broke through the ranks of bystanders and gawkers,  a young police officer grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her from running toward her house which was currently engulfed in flames. Fire climbed up the sides the two story home she had grown up in. Smoke, thick and black, poured out from the broken out windows to snake upward in a billowing cloud toward the sky. The young officer was talking to Kagome and distantly she realized this, but she was no longer listening. She couldn't hear the sirens blaring in the background. The startled shouts and worried murmurs that ran through the crowd of onlookers and neighbors went unnoticed, unheard. She ignored the hum of the news van, the excited cadence of the reporters' voices as they stood in front of her burning house and filmed her childhood home being destroyed. She couldn't even smell the thick smoke that was catching in her lungs, making it even harder to breathe past the knot of fear that had lodged itself deep in her throat. All she cared about was her home…and the people who were supposed to be in it.

"Let me go!" Kagome yelled wrenching herself free from the police officers grasp. She sprinted past the safety perimeter, ignoring the shouts of police officers and fire fighters alike, and made her way towards the burning building.

"Kagome over here!" She heard her younger brother Souta call out from her right. Kagome turned abruptly and nearly collapsed with relief when she saw that her brother and her mother were both standing by the back of an ambulance. Soot was streaked across their pale, scared, faces and Souta clutched a thick wool blanket around his shoulders as if he was holding onto it for dear life. As Kagome approached she noticed something that made her stomach drop, Souta's eyes were full of fear and worry a combination that Kagome didn't like to see on her little brothers face.

"Mama! Souta! What happened?" Kagome called as she raced toward them. Her heart leapt into her chest as she saw her mother. Kagome's mother's usual bright cheerful face was covered in a mixture of soot and blood. She could see where the heat from the fire singed her eyebrows and hair. Crinkles of worry creased her mother's usually smooth skin and her eyes which were almost always smiling were now full of tears.

"Oh Kagome!" her embraced her in a rib crushing hug as those tears cut twin paths down her soot streaked face. Kagome just stood there shocked. She had no idea what to say, never before had she seen her mother act like this, never before had she seen her mother cry. And the blood…

"Mama it's okay I'm here." Kagome soothed, gently embracing her mother who smelt of smoke and charcoal. Kagome's mother wept softly into her shoulder. "Mama what's wrong? Where's Grandpa?" Kagome's mother pulled away from her almost reluctantly, clearly feeling guilty for having taken comfort in her daughters arms. Silently tears fell down her mothers face.

"Grandpa. Grandpa didn't make it out… yet." Kagome's mother whispered softly. Kagome stood there stunned. It seemed as if all of time had stopped and she was a stranger on the outside looking in at someone else's tragedy, at someone else's life. 'It cant be. Grandpa has to be okay… he's the strongest of us all.' Kagome thought to herself.

"No." Kagome whispered softly, her body starting to shake and tremble unconsciously. Her thick ebony hair whipped at her face, and only then did she realize that she was shaking her head in denial. She backed away from the ambulance slowly, moving toward the raging fire behind her.

"No you're wrong! Grandpa's okay, I know it! He must be in the shrine he must be… " Kagome shouted in disbelief. Tears welled up in her eyes; she refused to believe that her grandfather was actually still trapped in that inferno.

"Coming through! We need a doctor!" Two firefighters called, carrying the limp form of Grandpa between them. "He's still alive! Hurry up we need a stretcher." Two medics jumped out of the back of the ambulance. Carrying a stretcher the two men brushed Kagome aside hastily.

"G-Grandpa!" Kagome choked, as she dashed after the medics. "G-Grandpa are you alright? Please be alright!" tears pricked at Kagome's eyes, rolling down her cheeks while she watched her unconscious grandfather be loaded onto the stretcher. His clothes were black and soot streaked where they hadn't been burnt completely away. His skin was varying shades of red and black, burnt by the extreme heat of the flames. Blood trailed sluggishly down the side of his face and body. Kagome choked on a sob, her heart wrenching in her chest. As the stretcher was being wheeled past her, Kagome's grandfather's eyes snapped open and he grabbed Kagome's wrist, his grip surprisingly strong. His eyes were wide and his pupils beady, and Kagome could sense the panic that filled them. His face was covered in black char, and she could feel the blistered skin on his hands, as well as smell the acrid scent of burnt hair and cooked meat.

"Stay AWAY from the well Kagome! Beware of the well!" he whispered hoarsely, his normally cheerful and strong voice broken with pain. His eyes searched hers frantically before they closed from exhaustion and pain. His hand fell from Kagome's wrist to hang limply at his side, leaving a sticky red handprint behind.

"Let us through!" The young medic shouted. Kagome stepped aside wordlessly.

Her eyes were wide with shock as she whispered. "Grandpa..."

The funeral was a surprisingly large one, considering her grandfather had lived the life of a hermit. People from all over the country attended. Family and friends and even strangers Kagome had never met before came to pay their respects to Kagome's dead grandfather. They had said that the funeral service was beautiful, that Grandfather would be honored. But Kagome wouldn't know, she barely remembered any of it. Instead, she had sat there the whole time replaying the events that had taken place days before. She could still see Grandpa's soot covered face, his panicked eyes and his hoarse cry. "Stay AWAY from the well." Those had been his last words to her, and they weighed like a stone heavy upon her heart. Kagome couldn't help but wonder the significance of the warning. It made no sense. When she had told her mother about what her grandfather had said, she had merely petted her head, brushing the hair out of Kagome's face with gentle yet firm hands.

"He was in a lot of pain Kagome. He was probably delusional. People say the strangest things before they go. I wouldn't worry about it dear. "

But Kagome did worry about it. Grandpa, as much of an oddball as he was, never said or did anything without a purpose. She refused to believe that his last words to her had been the crazed ramblings of a dying man.

She, her mother, and Souta had gone to stay with their aunt Rinzi after the fire. Their home was in ruins, very little had survived the fire. A few clothes and a couple of nick nacks was all that they had left. Everything else inside the house was gone.

A silent tear trickled down her face as she remembered her grandfather's smile. The jokes that were never funny and the stories he always told. She regretted not listening to him, not spending more time with her grandfather. When she was younger she had been very close to him, the two had been as thick as thieves. But growing up sometimes meant growing away, and over the years that was the situation Kagome had found herself in. Now she would never get that time back, never again get to listen to one of his corny jokes.

"Kagome are you alright dear?" her mother's voice whispered softly into her ear as she placed a gentle hand on Kagome's shoulder. Kagome swiped away her tears and sniffled, ashamed of her grief and of herself. None of this would have happened, she was sure in an oddly irrational way, if she had just stayed home that night. She was sure that if she had been home, If she hadn't gone out to the school dance with Hojo (which really hadn't been that fun in the first place), her family would still be intact.

"Yes I'm fine. I think….I think I-I just need to be alone." She said softly giving her mother a halfhearted smile as she got up from the place on her Aunt Rinsi's couch, where she had been sitting with her head cradled in her hands. She was still wearing her clothes from the funeral. Despite the v-neck and thin straps, the dress was modest, it's hemline just above her knee. She wore no makeup or jewelry, save for a silver heart shaped locket that her grandfather had given to her for her 16th birthday instead of the usual mummified something-or-other. She never thought she would have to wear it to his funeral only weeks before her seventeenth birthday. After the funeral a group of friends and family had followed them to Rinzi's house to offer moral support as well as their condolences.

Kagome bit her lip to keep from crying as she made her way through the crowd of concerned family and friends. They let her pass without a word of complaint or hindrance.

"There's the granddaughter."

"She's taking this hard."

"She was his favorite, she was."

Kagome blocked it out- she didn't want to listen to it anymore. When she reached the front door to her Aunt's home, she flung it open and ran. Tears seeped out of the corners of her eyes as she ran down the street filled with empty cars. The sound of the city was closer, overwhelming. She longed for the comfort of home, the sound of birdsong and the lullaby of crickets chirping outside her window. Choking back a sob, she ran out into the black night, using the pale light of the slivered moon as her guide. Twice she stumbled in her heels, nearly spraining her ankle in her haste to get back home. To put as much distance between herself and her Aunt's house as possible. To go back there would be to admit he was gone, and that he wasn't ever going to come back again.

"Don't you cry!" She yelled at herself as she bit her lip, tears running unchecked down her cheeks. The night was oddly cool for summer, the cold nipping at her bare arms while the night breeze raked icy fingers through her hair as she ran. She didn't care where she was going; she just needed to run, to be away from those people, to be away from that place. Before she knew it Kagome was standing in front of the charred remains of her house. It jutted out from the ground, a monument to her old life. There was barely anything left now, the second story had collapsed and debris lay all over the ground, black and ugly.

"Beware of the well." her grandfather's long gone voice whispered in her ear. Kagome closed her eyes trying to get rid of the image of her grandfather's panicked face and beady eyes. "Beware of the well."

'What well!' Kagome wanted to scream, falling to her knees on the lawn, heedless of how the grass stained the pale skin of her knees. She didn't know how long she had knelt there in front of what used to be her house, nor did she care. She was too lost in her grief to pay much mind to anything. Eventually she came back to herself, rubbing her chilled arms as she glanced around at the place she used to call home. Slowly, wearily, she rose to her feet; she wobbled dangerously on her two unsteady legs that had, unwisely, been strapped into heels.

All she wanted was a good memory of her grandfather, something of his that was still intact- not burnt and ugly. She let her gaze sweep over the ruins of her house and knew she would find no memories there, no comfort. Her gaze continued to travel until it rested upon one of the many small wooden structure. What was inside of it, no one save her grandfather knew. She and Souta had never been permitted to enter it, and if they were caught anywhere near it they had been punished with a swift swat to the butt, and extra duties for at least a month. Trying to sneak in had never been a repeat offense. She always wondered why her grandfather never let her enter.

"Well it looks like I'm going to find out." Kagome mumbled determinedly, marching across her family's grounds. Kagome stopped just outside the shrine and stared at the three steps that led up to the entrance. In her mind's eye she could see her grandfather in his long black priest robes sweeping the steps. His brown eyes would sparkle as he shooed the small birds off the railings.

"Not a place for the young." He would say as he shook a crooked old finger. Kagome was smiling at the memory and, before she knew it, her hand was against the wooden door that blocked entrance to the shine.

"Grandfather." she whispered softly as she pushed open the door and stepped in, letting the darkness consume her

Kagome stood in the shrine for the longest time just waiting. Breathing deep of the smell of earth, wood, cleansing incense, and what she swore was the faint scent of her grandfather's cologne. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness. It took a while, but slowly her vision adjusted to the pitch black of the room and she was able to make out rough shapes in the darkness. There were six wooden steps that led down to a small platform. In the middle of the platform there was what looked to be a large wooden box. Kagome hesitantly took a step forward the boards beneath her feet groaned under the pressure she put on them. Kagome's heart tightened in her chest, she felt like she was doing something wrong by coming in here, something really wrong.

"It's too late to stop now." Kagome shuddered as she forced herself to take another step forward, then another one. All too soon she found herself at the bottom of the steps. She felt the hard packed earth beneath her feet and paused. She didn't want to go near that box like structure in the middle of the room, but it was as if it was calling her. As if it was beckoning her to come and look. Kagome reluctantly obliged and stepped towards the wooden box. As she neared she noticed that the thing in the center of the room wasn't a box at all but in fact it was a...well.

"Beware of the well!" Kagome gasped and took an involuntary step backward. Her hand flew to her mouth and she stared in silent horror at the well as if expecting something to pop out and grab her. Kagome stood there for quite some time, transfixed. So this was what he had been talking about, this is what he meant her to stay away from. The question was…why? What was so important about this ancient well that Grandfather had used his last words to warn her away from it? Guilt and curiosity warred within her. Was there something he was hiding in the well? A secret he hadn't wanted her or her brother to know? What could be so important, so shameful, that he had barred his grandchildren from ever stepping foot into this building? Visions of dead bodies piled at the bottom of the well danced in her mind. Dare she look? Clearly her grandfather hadn't wanted her to.

The sun was just rising over the horizon as Kagome took a tentative step towards the well . Kagome stopped. Nothing happened. She scowled at her own folly.

"It's as if I'm expecting something bad to happen." She muttered, trying to shake of her nerves. With a deep breath she boldly stepped right up to the lip of the well and peered down into its murky depths. There were, she was relieved to find, no dead bodies. It was pitch black down there, but that was the only creepy thing about the ordinary well. Kagome laid a hand on the wooden railing and peered down into its darkness trying to make out shapes, but there were none. She let out a shaky laugh, raking her fingers through her windblown hair. There was nothing to be afraid of here. Maybe her Grandfather had meant another well? Just as she was about to turn to leave, the clasp on her locket snapped. The silver heart shaped locket her grandfather had gotten for her slid off her neck and plummeted, all the way to the bottom of the well. Kagome flinched waiting to hear the small splash of something solid hitting water. It never came.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" She cursed, biting down on her lower lip. She needed to get the locket back, it was one of the only things she had left to remind her of her grandfather and there was no way she was going to be leaving here without it. There was no real way to tell how deep the well was, but she was fairly certain that it was dry. After all, if there had been water in it, she would have heard a splash when she dropped her locket, right? Kagome stood there for a while, hoping for an idea to come to her that didn't involve climbing down there in the dark to search for her locket. After a while of listening to the soft whisper of her own breath in the silence of the well shed, Kagome sighed. It looked like there was only one way to get that locket back, and it definitely involved her getting her hands dirty. Rolling her neck to ease out the tension that was starting to build there, she approached the lip of the well with caution. It took a little effort (she was wearing both a dress and heels after all) but she swung herself up on to the edge, her feet dangling over the rim. With a sigh, Kagome toed her heels off her sore feet. There was a moment of silence before the clunk of her heels hitting the bottom of the well reached her ears. Nibbling gently on her lower lip, and deciding that this had to be the most singularly stupid thing she had ever done, Kagome estimated that it was a fifteen to twenty foot drop. She could take it, she decided, she'd had worse falls in her life. 'Well, here goes nothing.' She thought with a detached sense of finality, before taking a deep breath and pushing off from the well. Meanwhile the sun had risen above the horizon, casting its golden rays across the ground and into the small shrine. The light of a new day glinted off the top of Kagome's head right before it disappeared into the well.

For a moment, Kagome felt adrenaline fill her while her body fell through the air, a soft wind whispering past her ears to lift her hair. There was something about doing something so stupidly reckless that just made you feel alive. It felt great, wonderful even. That is, until the freaky blue light began to shine and pulse around her body. Time slowed and the very air around her seemed to grow thick. It felt like she was falling through syrup, so slowly did she drift, and the blue light only seemed to pulse faster the further she got. She could hear her heart thundering in her chest, beating against her ribs like a trapped animal. Her eyes widened as fear stole the very breath from her lungs, making her feel as if she were suffocating under the suddenly heavy weight of the air. It felt as if an eternity had passed as she drifted downward, like a leaf riding to the ground on a summer breeze. Only once did she try to scream, for help or out of fear it was anyone's guess, but no sound escaped past her parted lips. It was as if her vocal chords had shriveled up and died.

"Beware of the well!" The echoes of her Grandfather's voice came back to haunt her. Why, oh god, why hadn't she listened! Just as she felt her lungs were about to burst, the air became thinner, the odd blue lights began to fade, and the bottom of the well swam upwards into her vision. Kagome braced herself for a harsh impact, but instead she merely continued to float to the bottom…landing gently on her hands and knees.

"W-What the hell…" She gasped, greedily sucking in a lung full of air. Her hands curled spastically against the soft earth at the bottom of the well. The fresh, mineral, scent had her breathing a sigh of relief as her fingers worked against the soil. For a second there, she had thought she would never again touch the earth, let alone anything else. Tilting her head backward, she reveled in the feel of the warm summer sunlight brushing against her face.

It only took her a minute to realize that something here was not right. Kagome paused in her breathing ears straining…and she heard nothing. Nothing but the distant sound of the wind whispering through the trees, and the soft cooing calls of birds in flight. There was no roof above her, nothing but a cloudless blue summer sky and white, fluffy clouds. Where the hell had the shed gone? And the soft, but always present, sound of Tokyo? Her heart began, again, to beat erratically.

"What the…" She whispered, startling at her own voice. Shaking her head slightly, Kagome climbed to her feet, placing a trembling hand against the rough stone of the ancient well for support. Her knees wobbled as she stared upward into the bright light of a sunny afternoon.

"This…This is impossible. It is literally…" She didn't understand what was happening. She didn't understand about that freaky blue light, or the fall down the well, or how an entire building could just disappear in what her mind knew had to be really only a matter of seconds. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt and her vision began to swim.

"Okay, calm down Kagome. There has GOT to be a rational explanation for this. Just focus on one thing at a time." She gave herself a much needed pep talk, licking her suddenly dry lips. Suddenly, the light from above caught on something at the bottom of the well, catching Kagome's attention.

"My locket!" A smile flirted at the corners of her lips. Bending down, she extracted the heartshaped locket from the ground where it had been partially covered with dirt. With fingers that were still shaking, she put her necklace back on, taking care to make sure the clasp in back was fully closed this time. She definitely did not want a repeat performance of this entire ordeal. Once the necklace was secure, she turned her gaze upward to the bright light of the sun and the distinctive sound of leaves rustling in the breeze.

She had to get out of the well. It wasn't as if she could just sit down here on her duff and hope that someone would happen to waltz on by and notice her down here. Years spent working outdoors had leant strength and muscle to Kagome's young body. Her gaze fell to the walls of the well, which were made of stacked slabs of gray stone. Vibrant green moss grew in the cracks of the stones, while vines climbed down from the very top of the well, weaving around the walls like a tapestry of greenery. With a determined nod of her head, Kagome reached for a dangling vine and gave it a hard, firm, yank . When it didn't budge, Kagome gave an even firmer pull, testing her weight. The vine held.

"Well," she said on a sigh, noticing that her heels hadn't survived the trip to the bottom of the well, "it looks like I'm doing this barefoot. Terrific." Not that she could very well climb up a well wearing heels…but it would be nice to have her shoes once she got out of here. How was she going to explain this to her Mother? They had so few possessions left, and little money to buy any more. Deciding that, again, that was a worry for a different time, Kagome began the long and difficult process of hauling herself up and out of the well. More than once on that particularly strenuous journey did she curse herself for eating too much damned ramen and poky.

Eventually she reached the top, hands gripping the wooden lip of the well before she pulled herself up. Throwing her legs over the edge, Kagome bowed her head, breathing heavily. Sweat beaded across her brow, and the muscles in her arms felt almost rubbery after hauling herself up that damned well. She looked down at the long grasses swaying beneath her feet, and for a moment her heart stopped. Slowly, hesitantly, she lifted her gaze… and what she saw fair near took her breath away.

She was in a small clearing where the grass had been allowed to grow wild. Flowers, of varying shades of white, yellow, and pink, dotted the landscape before giving way to the impressive, ancient, giants of the forest. Everywhere she turned she was surrounded by trees. The wind rustled their leaves, and birds chirped overhead, creating a symphony of sound.

Luckily for Kagome, some sort of preservation instinct kicked in, because when she swooned it was forward that she fell. Her knees slammed against the hard earth as she stared around in slack jawed wonder. Everything she knew was gone. The shrine, the wreckage of her burnt home…even Tokyo was gone. And in its place? A forest that was just as beautiful as it appeared vast.

"I…am so screwed." The whisper left her lips subconsciously. She knelt there, in shock, for the longest time. Barely moving, barely breathing. How could her entire world just disappear in the blink of an eye? Had…had the well done this? How was that even possible? Eventually the sun climbed higher in the sky, late morning giving way to early afternoon. When her legs started to throb from kneeling too long, then, and only then did Kagome stumble to her feet. She had to find some form of civilization. A telephone to call her mother and let her know…

That what? She had jumped into a well and it had taken her to a different location? Her mother was going to think she was insane! Kagome, however, didn't care. Not as long as she made it out of this place alive. With a shaky sigh, Kagome began her walk through the woods in search of civilization…or even just a pay phone. She gave a worried glance toward her bare feet. Hopefully they didn't get too beat up.

Several hours later found Kagome stumbling through the undergrowth of the forest, her bare feet mudcaked and bloody. Try as she might, she somehow always seemed to step on a sharp twig, or even sharper rock. At one point she had stumbled through a pricker patch, and boy had that just tickled the bottoms of her abused feet. Exhausted and aching, Kagome leaned against the rough bark of a weathered old tree for support. For all she knew, she could be walking around in circles in this godforsaken forest. She had tried to just walk straight in one direction, but there had been the occasional obstacle to dodge, and over the course of the last few hours she had probably been veered a little off her chosen path. The merry sound of gurgling water sent hope to rise in Kagome's chest, and made her parched mouth water with need. Following the sound, it eventually led to a small stream.

Gently Kagome kneeled by the waters edge, and using both hands, scooped up the cold, refreshing liquid –drinking greedily. The water was sweet and clear, and Kagome drank until her stomach was full. Leaning back, her thirst satisfied, she dipped her abused feet into the cool water and allowed a sigh of relief to escape her. Damn, that felt like heaven.

"So tired," Kagome said on a yawn, her jaw cracking with the force of it. It was late afternoon now, and although logically Kagome knew she should just keep walking until she found a phone, all she wanted to do was sleep. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd had a good night's rest….or even a nap. Certainly not since Grandpa had died. Looking around, she saw a particularly cozy looking spot beneath the branches of an old willow tree. It couldn't hurt to take a quick nap…could it? After all she had been walking for hours now and if she wanted to continue on her journey she was going to have to have her strength, right?

"I'll just rest my eyes for a few minutes." Kagome yawned again as she nestled down upon a bed of moss and fallen leaves beneath the willow tree. It was only a moment until she was fast asleep.

Kagome awoke to the sound of angry voices. Harsh, biting baritones, thrummed in her ears, jogging her out of her quite peaceful nap. Slowly, she blinked scratchy eyes that were still blurry from sleep. Looking up at pitch black night sky, Kagome realized she had seriously over slept. The moon hung full and bloated in the night sky, a beacon of light to illuminate the forest. She sat up, shivering, as a cool night breeze brushed against her bared arms. Trying in vain to rub away the slight chill, Kagome climbed to her feet, freezing in place as the sound of what could only be an argument drifted to her on the wind. Her head whipped around, trying to locate the source of the voices. People! Here! In the forest! She had to be the luckiest girl alive. Maybe, just maybe, one of them had a cell phone on them. Oh, a warm bath and bed would do wonders for her tired and achy body. Determinedly, she followed the sound of voices through the forest and away from the stream. In little to no time at all, however, it became clear that some sort of argument was taking place out here.

In the forest.

In the dead of night.

In the middle of no where.

Kagome became hesitant, unsure. This definitely had the potential to turn ugly. How many horror movies had she seen just like this? What if the owner of one of those voices was carrying a gun? What if she was about to witness a murder? Biting down gently on her lower lip, Kagome warred with herself. She could go see what all the commotion about, and hey- who knew, maybe it wasn't such a big deal and she could use a phone. Or maybe she was about to witness something so gruesome and horrifying that it would be burned into her retinas for as long as she lived. Or? She could just turn around and walk away. Pretend she had never heard any voices, heated or otherwise, and continue walking until she found civilization again.

Eventually the desire for a hot bath and warm food won out.

Kagome paused as she saw a clearing in the distance. Sneaking as quietly as she could, and wincing at the sound of very loud, very angry, and very male shouts, Kagome pressed her back against a particularly large tree that blocked the source of the voices from view. Taking a fortifying breath, she turned to peek around the side of the tree – and out at the other side of the clearing. What she saw left her gaping in fascination.

There were two men standing in that clearing. Agression, as well as frustration, was clearly defined in their tense bodies. These men were by no means ordinary. As a matter of fact…Kagome didn't think that they were really men at all.

No man she had ever met had long, silver hair (the color of spun moon beams) that flowed over their shoulders to the middle of their back. Her eyes narrowed in disbelief as she saw that his ear were long and pointed. Like Legolas. Like frickin' Legolas from Lord of the Rings. Like a frickin' elf! A gasp almost escaped her as she caught sight of his eyes. Nope. Defintiely not normal. This man's eyes were bright gold, the color of toasted honey. His face was lean, aristocratic. His jaw strong, and his bearing almost…regal. Though, his demeanor as he glared coolly across the clearing, was most definitely cold. As if that weren't odd enough, there seemed to be some sort of tattoo across his face. Two, maroonish red stripes cut across those highly defined cheekbones and a small, blue, crescent moon hung in the center of his forehead. This particular man also dressed as if he were a blast from the past. His hakama was white, with an intricate red floral designed patterned on the sleeves and across his broad shoulders. It was then that Kagome noticed…the tail.

'Hoooooly shit.' Kagome was tempted to pinch herself, certain she had to be dreaming. No one who was human looked like this. And he was so breathtakingly gorgeous…it was unreal.

The man that stood across of him was much his opposite. Although he was equally handsome, he had black hair that had been restrained, lifted up into a ponytail. His eyes were a shocking blue, but unlike the other man, they burned hot- not cold. Determination twisted across his mouth, set in the strong line of his jaw. Like the other man across from him, he had pointy ears. He also had a long black tail that wrapped around his waist. This man was dressed in brown furs and pelts that revealed his strong, muscular arms and legs. A shiver of foreboding crawled up her spine as she gazed at this man. CAUTION DANGER! STAY AWAY! Might as well have been written across this guy's forehead. He oozed danger and sex appeal.

"You waste this Sesshoumaru's time, savage." The man with the silver hair said, his voice thick with disdain. His golden eyes reflected boredom and detachment. Kagome craned her neck and listened with all her might to hear the other man's response. And oh BOY did he respond. The young, black haired man yelled and snarled at the same time, his eyes glowing with rage.

"I have no idea what the fuck you're saying, you pompous asshole, but if you look at me one more time like that I have swear on the old gods and new, I have no problem tearing yer throat out!"

Wow…that was weird. Kagome blinked, rubbing at her ears. For some reason… for some reason it almost seemed as if their words were slightly distorted, coming to her from far away. It was almost as if they spoke gibberish, but somehow Kagome's brain was able to pick out those individual noises and put them together in a pattern that made sense to her.

"This meeting was pointless, this Sesshoumaru would never sink to working with such a mindless beast." The golden eyed man said as he turned on his heel and stalked away, his silver hair billowing in the wind.

"Feh! There will never be an alliance between the West and the South!" The dark haired man shouted at the other's retreating form. As he shouted Kagome saw the unmistakable glimmer of fangs. Despite the funky hair, the weird and outdated clothes, the pointy ears and… what really suspiciously looked to be tails…it was the fangs that did her in. Kagome couldn't help the gasp of surprise that whistled past her lips. She stumbled backwards, unconsciously trying to put distance between herself and the strange men. Unfortunately for the unlucky young girl, her foot came down hard on a small twig. It snapped. Kagome flinched. Oh, oh if there was a god…

The silver haired man stopped dead in his tracks and turned slowly to stare in her direction. The dark haired young man growled and turned, staring directly at her.

Kagome's eyes bulged as her heart stop beating. She had been caught. She gave an awkward, choppy laugh and a small wave, before abruptly turning on her heel and making a break for it.

The man known as Sesshoumaru gave the other man a weighted glance. The young man understood and responded with a curt nod, then shot right after Kagome into the woods.

"This should be interesting." Sesshoumaru sighed as he waited patiently for the other to return.