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The family had been traveling for a few hours, returning home after a few days at the beach. The kids were so restless that even Sesshoumaru was loudly complaining about being locked up inside the flying carriage for so long, Inuyasha was a minute away from destroying the whole thing, it was time for a stop.
They found a clearing with a solitary dry well, there were a couple of huts not so far from it but the humans were occupied and wouldn’t bother them, Touga left to hunt something for them to eat and let his mates take care of the kids.
“Boys, this well has some strange aura about it, It is probably magical somehow, do not get too close did you hear? It reeks of dead youkai inside.” Inukimi warned the pups.
They rolled their eyes, Sesshoumaru more discreetly, but Izayoi didn’t miss it and she chided “Answer your mother! Did you two understand?”
“Yes Mother” both pups replied grumpily.
Later on, the kids were playing with sticks for swords, after much pestering from his younger brother Sesshoumaru was teaching Inuyasha the basics of swordsmanship. He’s a very strict teacher, so Inuyasha wasn’t having too much fun, sulking, and complaining after every correction, but following the instructions anyway.
Izayoi and Inukimi were lazing on some cushions that they got out of the carriage by a big magnolia tree, the youkai lady was lying on the human’s lap and receiving a scalp massage, Izayoi was the one looking after the kids, especially Sesshoumaru, she had to be always mindful of the signals that his patience was waning off, he tended to be too rough with Inuyasha after it and the new moon was just a few days away.
The kids were loud but close enough to be seen, a little too close to the well for her tastes, this training of them was getting little by little suspiciously close to it...
Suddenly they hear a scream coming from the well, a human scream, high-pitched and whiny like a little girl. Inukimi sat immediately her youki rising as a manner to call her mate and to spread out and assess what was on the well.
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru immediately positioned themselves in front of the well, between their mothers and the danger. Their sticks-blades positioned to attack at the slightest provocation of whatever was inside. Sesshoumaru makes his best regal impression of his dad on a battlefield, or what he thinks he looks like there, and Inuyasha tries a mix of angry and serious but the result is just a cute pouting.
The sound stopped, Sesshoumaru sniffed at the air and kept position, deciding to wait for whatever it was to come out by itself.
Inuyasha had a different approach though, little ears swiveling and focused on the old dry well drops of the stick, his little nose working full time, he was smelling something divine, the sweetest scent he ever felt, he had to get closer…
And he jumped onto the well, too fast that his old brother couldn’t stop him, Izayoi screamed, Inukimi fast as a blur followed him, bringing him back into her arms alongside a little surprise.
A little human girl, wearing strange vests, her black sort hair tied with a red ribbon, her round face wet with tears, her blue eyes big and scared, she reeked of fear, but it was rapidly changing, as she was focused on Inuyasha, especially his ears.
Inukimi walked to the cushions and gingerly put down both kids, the little girl promptly turned to the hanyou and reached to his ears asking “Are they real?”
Inuyasha let her touch him, baffling everyone including Touga who came running still wet and carrying some fish, he looked around confused by the lack of any signal of an enemy “What’s going on?”
“She came from the well” Izayoi answered, not taking her eyes away from the little girl happily rubbing her son's puppy ears, and he was still letting her! No complaints!! He was actually openly smiling at her! Inuyasha?! Was this really her son?
Inuyasha was in heaven, that amazing scent was so close to him now, and this girl was so pretty too! She was curious about his ears, and he let her touch them, he would do anything to make her giggle like this.
Touga let the fish by their side, motioning for Sesshoumaru to gather some wood, and asked the little girl “Who are you, girl?”
She startled and yelped a little, as if a spell was broken, she looked at the youkai on armor looming over her and shrieked jumping into Inuyasha’s open arms, the boy started growling at his father reading his little claws to protect her.
Touga raised an eyebrow at them, changing his focus to his pup “Inuyasha, stop, I’m not threatening her or you, you two are safe with me, tell me one thing, how does she smell to you?”
“her scent?” the hanyou asked, voice rough with his grow still in his throat
“Yes, it is… different?”
“Yes! Dad, it is amazing! It is the best thing ever!! Can she come with us? I need to be with her! She is mine now!” the young boy asked animatedly.
“People are not possessions son, this is a human girl, she has a family to go back to” Izayoi interjected.
Inuyasha’s golden eyes widened like saucers, he hugged the girl more tightly and shook his head.
Touga sat by them and held Izayoi’s hand “My dear, I think he found her…”
“Found who my love? Do you mean she is…?” the human gasped looking at the kids, they were too young, Inuyasha especially, he would need at least a hundred years, maybe a hundred and fifty years to be old enough for mating, the girl would have died by then, she would get old and her baby boy would lose his soul mate before he could do anything to keep her. She could feel her eyes watering already, her mind going a mile per second with all the disastrous scenarios.
Inukimi made the same calculations, but she had more info to work with, this girl was not from here, and from here, she mused, means this time. Time traveling was rare, almost impossible, it was heavy magic, usually divinely made, and deities hated to mix with it because of the immensurable possible repercussions.
But she was sure this girl was one of those cases, she came out of nowhere inside that well, her clothes were made of a material that didn’t exist, with a weird fashion, the little human reeked of hundreds of smells she couldn’t identify in her centuries of life, everything pointing out to things there weren’t invented yet, this girl was definetley from the future.
“Hello sweetie, I’m Inukimi, can you tell me your name?” She gently asked, giving the girl space so she could feel safe.
The girl shook her head, hugging Inuyasha firmly.
Inuyasha patted her head and murmured softly in her ear “You can trust the adults, they are my moms and my dad, they are safe.”
She looked around and asked “You have two moms and a dad? That’s nice! Do you get the double of treats and toys too?”
“I should get more toys? Why?” Inuyasha turned his head to the side in a doggish manner.
“Because you have two moms!” she pointed out leaving the hug and sitting by his side and crossing her arms, pouting.
“That’s makes no sense!” He yelled at her.
“It does!!” she screamed back at him.
“This is dumb!!” he growled.
Inukimi seeing that she was more comfortable asked her again “So sweety, what is your name?”
“I’m Kagome Higurashi! I’m 5 years old! And I’m very smart! You are a dummy who doesn’t know anything!!” she pouted.
“And how did you get here darling?” Inukimi inquired, fetching a water canteen to offer her.
Kagome finally looked around, noticing for the first time that she wasn’t by her family shrine anymore “I was looking for my new kitty buyo, and then I come looking at the old well… Mama say to never go there but I heard my kitty there! Where is the shrine? Where is my house? I want mamaaaaa” and she wailed again.
Inukimi let Inuyasha hug her again, he was giving her a dirty eye but she let it pass, they had more important matters to deal with now. She caressed Kagome’s head gently, the girl stopping her crying and sniffing loudly. “my dear girl, we will take you to your mother, I just need to ask you one more question “Do you know where your house is?”
“It’s on the Higurashi shrine! Er… on Tokyo?? You must know! It has those biiiiiiiiiig stairs and toori gates and the statues and…!!”
“Tokyo? Eastern capital?” Touga queried.
“It’s a big big city!!! Souma sensei said we live in the biggest city in Japan!!!” She answered animatedly gesturing widely.
Touga glanced at Inukimi who nodded at him, he hummed solemnly at the girl’s words, he was certain now, his boy’s soulmate came from the future, and probably a far one, human settlements took centuries to grow, and to have a new capital the whole country would need to pass through drastic changes that also took time.
Inukimi saw that Izayoi was still ignorant of their discoveries, her scent giving away a deep sadness, she hugged her mate and pointed to the field of flowers a few meters away “Inuyasha why don’t you go fetch some flowers with Kagome? I’m sure she will like them.”
“’kay,” he said pulling the girl with him to see said flowers.
“Calm down my dear, this girl is not from here, she is probably from the far future, this strange well brought her here to meet Inuyasha, I can feel the magic on it still active, our boy will find her again when the time is right I’m sure of it,” Touga said hugging his soulmate tightly too.
“He is going to be fine?”
“He is my love, don’t worry, for now, he is all instinct, but it is too early, his body and soul know of it too, he can part from her and be okay.”
“Oh thank the gods! Then let them play to their heart's content today” Relieved Izayoi smiled at the kids bickering again by the flowers.
“It is orange! Not red! Orange!” Kagome ranted at her new friend with her little hands in fists resting on her hips.
“Look at this smelly one! It is more red than orange!!!” Inuyasha pointed out.
“Oh yes… you’re right…” She blushed prettily and then snapped at him “Hey!! You haven’t said your name to me yet!!! My mom says we should tell each other our names! Don’t you want to be my friend?”
“My name is Inuyasha!!”
“And how old are you?”
“humm…. Mom said that to human years I’m about 5 years old or something…"
“Oh yeah, you are a youkai right? We don’t have youkai kids at my school, they go to a different one.”
“Yeah! I’m a strong youkai” Inuyasha beamed puffing his chest and then asked, “What’s this skool?”
“The place when we learn things and play with friends!!!” We are learning the names of the animals now!”
“Ooh like the lessons with Kenji sensei! But it is just me and my big brother Sesshoumaru there… I hate him! It is boring!” Inuyasha said pointing to his brother who was helping his Dad set the fire.
Kagome shrugged and took some deep red flowers making a bouquet, she offered it to Inuyasha and asked “Do you want to be my special friend? You are cute and I like your ears.”
Inuyasha gingerly took the flowers “Keh!! I should give you flowers! Sit down, I'll make a flower crown for you! My mom told me how to!”
She squealed and hurriedly sat at his feet, Inuyasha collected a few more colorful flowers and made a messy but cute flower crown while telling her how good he already was with his swordsmanship lessons.
The adults watched them play for a while, and called them to eat a delicious meal, a little later when Inuyasha and Kagome were napping together Touga took the little girl in his arms and jumped at the well feeling her being taken by the magic on it. He knew she would be safe in her own time. It was time for them to go, they assembled everything back into the flying carriage and traveled back home.
Inuyasha whined and cried the absence of his special friend for some time but it passed. The time for them to be together definitely would come when destiny demanded. She was his soulmate, they would be together when the time is right.