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Through The Well	By : TheKaytla Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 25850 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I do not own the series Inuyasha, nor its characters.They are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 3
- 4
- 5
Chapter Four

Once again, Inuyasha found himself walking through the forest that bore his name. This time, however, he lacked any sense of determination. It had been replaced instead with a kind of dazed numbness and an undeniable sense of dread sitting heavy in his stomach.

What was he supposed to do now? He'd realised he'd been counting on the village as some sort of safe haven, somewhere he could relax and feel, well, safe while he picked apart the mess he'd landed in. Make sense of the strangeness somehow.

But the strangeness had invaded even there, he thought, with a sideways glance at Kaede. She looked the same, smelled the same, sounded the same... but she was different. She wasn't the Kaede he knew. Somehow, something had changed this woman and the world he knew so well, and all he could wonder was how much everything else had changed with her.

That the village looked as it always had was the first thing he noticed. It didn't seem to have expanded much in the last decade or so. Maybe a few new houses dotted the perimeter, pushing back the trees, and the fields were a little bigger, but all in all, it seemed exactly the same.

But that didn't cheer Inuyasha any.

The village itself wasn't what always gave him the feeling he hesitantly thought of as homey. It was the people inside the village, though like hell he'd ever tell them that. It was this village, with both Kikyo and Kagome, that he'd found a place where the faces were the same - familiar - and they didn't chase off an unwanted hanyou. Oh, he had no illusions that they welcomed him with open arms, but there was a sense of security nonetheless.

Now... would those faces be different? Would their attitudes have changed? For better or for worse? Sure, Kaede had told him he was some sort of village hero, and even if she was different, he was still inclined to trust her word... but these villagers also thought of Sesshomaru the same way. That was just fucked up.

Following Kaede, Inuyasha took a deep breath and took his first steps into the village. The scents were pretty much the same as he remembered. He even caught those of villagers he was more familiar with, overlaid again and again throughout the village, and he would admit that soothed his frayed nerves just a little. But these people had aged, too.

And they were staring at him. He met the eyes of a few as he passed (one he recognised, but the others he didn't), but eventually found himself staring hard at Kaede's back with his shoulders hunched. They were all gaping at him, mouths and eyes wide open in what looked a hell of a lot like shock and horror to him. Some of them were even going pale. He was seriously beginning to wonder if Kaede was actually right about the opinion of him here.

"INUYASHA!" came a sudden, ear-splitting shriek, and the hanyou spun wildly even as he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What the --!" was all he had time for before a mass of pink and flowers and girl came flying through the air and barrelled into him full force, bending and almost breaking his spine from the impact. He was only saved from being knocked flat on his back by his quick reflexes, planting his feet firmly, claws digging into the ground, as he caught the way over-excited bundle.

"Let go!" he yelped as the thing clung onto him like a happy monkey and proceeded to enthusiastically plant sloppy kisses on his cheeks and entire face in general, giggling like a loon, despite his best efforts to push her off him.

Finally, blessedly, she pulled her face back enough to look at him, a wide grin stretching from ear to ear and tears sparkling in her doe brown eyes. "I've missed you, Inuyasha! I'm so glad you're back!"

Inuyasha stared at her (still firmly attached to him, he didn't really have much choice). A face that was pretty, but ordinary, a small dusting of summer freckles across her nose, long black hair and warm brown eyes crinkled at the edges with her smile. She looked like any other village kid... and he had no idea whose she was. Actually, he couldn't even remember letting any of the village brats get near him, let alone close enough to miss him.

So was this someone who remembered him... but he didn't remember them?

Fuck. He hadn't even thought of that possibility. He'd been so worried about having a place - a familiar place - in the memories of the people he knew that he hadn't even thought of where he might fit with other people in this world turned upside down. How was he supposed to handle this?

"Look, kid..." he began, but the little monkey started chattering again.

"I was so sad when everyone told me you were dead, Inuyasha," she said sorrowfully. "But now you're back! I just knew it couldn't be true, and I was right! Everyone will be so pleased. But how did you come back, Inuyasha? Was it hard? Where were you? Why did it take so long?"

Fuck, how was he meant to shut it up?

"Rin," Kaede said gently, but admonishingly. "Inuyasha needs time to come to terms with all that's happened. It would be best if ye gave him a little space until he's ready to greet ye properly, child."

Inuyasha felt the girl reluctantly let go of him and drop to her feet, but he wasn't paying attention. Rin? She said Rin, right? Rin, as in... that creepy little girl who was obsessed with his brother? That Rin? She was living... in the village?

"Woah, woah, woah," he interjected, holding up a hand. "Rin? Sesshomaru's human? This is her?"

"I'm Inuyasha's human, too!" the girl protested, pouting up at him. He blinked. What?

"Rin, Inuyasha is having some trouble with his memories," Kaede said before he could formulate a response. "But we're all going to help him with that."

"Inuyasha, did you forget me?" Rin's eyes filled again, and her lower lip trembled in a way that alarmed Inuyasha more than the idea of being surrounded by youkai without his Tetsusaiga. Shit, he hated crying!

"No, no, I didn't forget you," he said hurriedly, stretching out his hands, then suddenly pausing them. What the hell was he supposed to do? Pet her like a dog? Stroke her like a cat? Fuck. He didn't get kids! "I just... I guess I forgot we were friends and all that." Like hell he did. But he'd lie through his teeth and tell her the sky was green if she stopped crying.

"But you will remember me, right?"

"Uh, sure..."

"You promise? Pinky swear?" She held out her hand, little finger extended.

Inuyasha stared at it. Shippo used to do shit like this, but not with him. Were they supposed to touch fingers or something? But even if he did know, it wasn't like he could promise that. What was he meant to do in this situation? He looked beseechingly at Kaede, but was spared having to come up with some sort of response by another piercing, grating voice slicing through the quiet village.

"Rin! Rin, where did you go?!" shouted the voice Inuyasha instantly recognised, his hackles raising. This was a voice he would never forget, and one that would never change.

The little kappa came tearing around a nearby hut, running as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him, but he skidded the last few feet toward their little group with his beak wide open. "You - you --!" he stuttered, gesturing wildly with his ugly stick, and Inuyasha reacted out of pure instinct.

He slammed his foot down on Jaken's head hard enough to send the little imp sprawling face first in the dirt, glaring at him. "Listen, you little toad, if you dare try to roast me with that stick again, I'll shove it up your ass. I'm not in the mood."

Jaken shot to his feet the moment Inuyasha's foot lifted off him, spitting out a mouthful of mud. "You miserable hanyou! Filthy ingrate! How dare you strike me for no reason!"

Inuyasha almost felt like hugging the creepy little bastard for not being different. It was probably the first time in his life he was happy to have someone still hate him. He was even feeling good enough about it to not boot the little kappa over to the other side of the village when he started waving the stick around again, settling for just batting it out of his way.

Once again, Kaede came to his rescue. "Jaken, why don't ye take Rin to Akiko? Please tell her we need a large meal to be prepared tonight to welcome our hanyou friend back home. Rin's help will be greatly needed and appreciated."

Inuyasha had to admire the way the old woman diffused the situation in a mild manner. Rin looked elated at the idea of being entrusted with something so important, and after a brief squeeze of Inuyasha's hand (he had to admit he warmed to her a bit for that, because most people always worried about the claws), she was tearing off across the village with Jaken hurrying after her.

The hanyou let out a deep breath. "That was a lot to take in."

Kaede eyed him. "Ye didn't recognise Rin."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Well... when I last saw her, she was small. I mean, really small."

"Yes, five or six, if I remember correctly. She's now fourteen."

At least that gave him a better judge of how far he'd been carried forward in time by the well. Not far, but enough to seriously fuck things up, it seemed.

"Yet even with the age difference, ye should have at least been able to guess."

The hanyou glanced at her. "We weren't exactly close. Sesshomaru kept her away from us. Guess he was embarrassed to have a little human kid following him around, or maybe he thought we were as nasty as he was and might try to hurt her. Who knows. It's impossible to tell what that bastard is thinking." He felt her staring at him. "What?"

"Such things I never expected to hear ye say about Sesshomaru," the old miko replied. "Fight ye did, and often, but never was there hate between ye. Nor distance."

Inuyasha shook his head. "That's just one thing I need explained. Everything's... different. I don't understand any of it."

Kaede looked sympathetic as she laid a hand over his arm. "I feel the same way ever since seeing ye again. Come into my hut. We'll see if we can come to a mutual understanding."

Hoping fervently for that very same thing, Inuyasha followed her inside.

---

Once again, Demitria Miriam to the rescue! Without talking to her, I wouldn't have somehow found myself in the mood to write this, so I guess you all owe her your thanks. XD

It's getting - hopefully - funnier now. It's not going to be a doom and gloom story. It will have its upbeat moments. Hopefully you'll laugh.

I have to say, I've discovered that I love writing Rin. Her part just... flowed. And I giggled. A lot. I was listening to Yellow by Hatsune Miku while writing it, which really helped me get in the frame of mind of bubbly, happy, weird girl...

So yeah. Hope you enjoyed. <3
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Through The Well