InuYasha Fan Fiction / Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Three Days In Tokyo ❯ Approaching the Well ( Chapter 2 )

Standard disclaimers apply:

Inu Yasha and all related characters are property of Takahashi Rumiko and Viz.

Rurouni Kenshin and all related characters are property of Watsuki Nobuhiro and Shounen Jump.

Three Days In Tokyo

By

koinekid

Summary: After exposure to the stomach acid of an ogre carrying a shikon shard, Kagome and Inu Yasha pass through the Bone Eater's Well. Finding themselves in late nineteenth century Tokyo, they must defend Kagome's ancestors and the Sunset Shrine against a vicious attack. Fortunately, they receive help in the form of the legendary Hitokiri Battousai and his companions.

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At the Bone Eater's Well Inu Yasha and Shippou argue, Kagome discovers a strange glow emanating from the burns in her and Inu Yasha's hands, and Inu Yasha remembers his mother's advice that protecting others is in an inuyoukai's nature.

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Chapter 2

For the first few minutes Kagome struggled to bear Inu Yasha's weight-not that his weight was that difficult to bear. Quite the contrary, his boyish frame was surprisingly light. But Kagome was small herself. Eventually her shoulders and back grew used to the dull ache, and by the time they reached the clearing in the forest surrounding the Bone Eater's Well, the hanyou's weight on her shoulders felt almost comforting.

As for the hanyou himself, Inu Yasha was annoyed. Not at Kagome of course. As he told her on more than one occasion, being near her calmed him. The kit, however, annoyed him…especially tonight. Shippou had been smart enough not to hop on Kagome's shoulders, but his constant need for attention manifested itself in his scampering about and going on endlessly in a one-sided conversation. Several times he had inadvertently mentioned Inu Yasha's temporary "handicap." The first two times, Inu Yasha had answered in his usual manner, bopping Shippou on the head. But the annoyance on Kagome's face as he pulled her down to reach Shippou had prevented him from striking the kit again, even though he deserved it.

When the trio reached the well, Kagome helped Inu Yasha sit down with his back to the well. He tried sitting in his usual cross-legged posture, but found it sent pinpricks down his calf and into his ankle. As soon as Kagome sat and sidled up behind Inu Yasha, Shippou hopped into her lap.

"Why're ya resting, Kagome? We're almost at Kaede's village."

"What are ya, runt, deaf?" Inu Yasha called. "Me and Kagome are goin' to her time."

Shippou snorted, and, brushing pretend dust off his shirt, stepped into his best heroic pose. "Some of us were too busy fighting ogres to sit down and talk!"

"Fighting ogre remains, you mean," Inu Yasha bit back, "I slew that ogre, and don't you forget it!"

"And got Kagome hurt in the process!" No sooner were the words out of Shippou's mouth than were his eyes shut tight and his arms over his head, shielding himself from the expected impact of the hanyou's fist. Feeling no impact, the kit lowered an arm, and hazarded a one-eyed glance toward Inu Yasha.

To Shippou's surprise, the hanyou sat silently with a bowed head, his hand clutching his knee. Shippou smirked. He'd finally gotten that dog good! He felt pretty good about himself…until he looked at Kagome's face. Then Shippou's smirk disappeared.

Kagome's eyebrows were high and the corners of her lips low. Angry she probably wasn't, but sad, concerned, hurting…definitely. Not hurting for herself, but for Inu Yasha.

"Shippou, why don't you head back to the village?" Kagome said, her voice hollow. "Tell Miroku-sama and Sango-chan that we'll be gone for a few days."

Shippou nodded, and scampered out of the clearing. At the clearing's edge, he squeaked a small "sumimasen," before disappearing into the blackness of the forest.

"Inu Yasha?" Kagome started.

"The runt was right," the hanyou interrupted. "It's my fault you got hurt."

"That's not true. You didn't know-"

"I should have."

"Inu-"

"Listen, Kagome."

The girl furrowed her brow in frustration. A wicked smile crossed her lips, and her hand shot out, striking Inu Yasha in the arm. The hanyou fell onto his side. Kagome pounced on him, and, careful not to harm his leg, flipped him onto his stomach.

"Osuwari," she shouted. As Inu Yasha was held almost magnetically firm to the ground by the subduing spell, Kagome stood over him. "I'm sorry, Inu Yasha, but you didn't give me much of a choice. And as long as the spell lasts, you have to be quiet and listen, right?" She licked her lips. "I already said I forgive you for the burns, even though it wasn't your fault. You can't always protect me from everything…"

Something about Kagome's words triggered a long forgotten memory. The smell of cooking rice. The wistful smile on his mother's face. Inu Yasha himself as a young, very young child. He'd asked okaasan a question about his father and forgotten the question before she'd given half the answer. But one comment she made that night had always stayed with him: "Protecting his pack is part of an inuyoukai's nature."

Kagome, Inu Yasha thought, I'm sorry but you're wrong. I failed you.

"...but," Kagome continued, "You've never let me down when it's counted." She stroked the reddened blistered flesh on her hand. "This is nothing."

"So, how's your hand feel?" Inu Yasha asked as the spell wore off and Kagome sat down, this time on the well's edge. The hanyou righted himself and sat beside her.

"Inu Yasha," she exhaled roughly, about to lecture him again. "What did I just finish saying to-?"

Inu Yasha gulped, and hoping to avoid the verbal onslaught mumbled a quick "I can be concerned without blamin' myself, all right?" Thankfully, that seemed to satisfy her, and the hanyou released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. Damn, that wench was scary when she wanted to be. A comment Shippou had once made to antagonize him flashed in front of his mind. "I don't think Kagome even needs those rosary beads to subdue you, Inu Yasha. One word from her, and you'll do anything."

"Keh!" the hanyou snorted. He immediately glanced at Kagome to see if the girl had noticed his outburst. She had been staring at the burn mark on her hand, oblivious to anything he had been saying.

"Ka-Kagome?"

"It's glowing."

"Nani?"

"Beneath the burn…my hand is glowing."

"Eh? I don't see any-"

A blush colored Inu Yasha's face as Kagome suddenly grasped his hand in both of hers.

"Yours too," she said, "where you touched my hand

Inu Yasha nodded though he couldn't see the glow. Kagome, not he, had the ability to see spiritual energy. "What do you think it means?"

"No clue. All of us get drenched in youkai blood and guts on a fairly regular basis, but I've never seen anything like this." She chewed on her lip for a moment. "Oh well, we can ask Kaeda-baba about it in a few days. I want to go home, have a nice hot bath, and get some antiseptic on this burn."

With that, Kagome swung her legs over the edge, and allowed herself to freefall into the shaft. Inu Yasha shrugged, and followed suit, allowing the blue glow, accompanying the passage between the worlds to overtake him.

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Note:

The plot has not progressed as far as I would have liked in this installment. I had planned to progress to two vital plot points - Kagome's discovery that there are others living in her shrine (her ancestors, though she does not yet realize this) and an attack on Inu Yasha and Kagome by either brigands or the sword-bearing police (with the dramatic arrival of a certain crimson-haired samurai in the last paragraph). I'd need to write at least an additional four to five pages. I could have done this, but this would have delayed updating the story for another few days. I have elected instead to post the chapter in its present form. Expect a four-page update (or more if the muse strikes) once or twice a week work-permitting.