Accidental Time Traveler-InutaishoxOC

1. On The Otherside Of The Well

Clutching a torch in her hand, Kagome followed the others into Midoriko's cave. "I sensed something strange last night, a powerful demonic energy."

Inuyasha sniffed the air experimentally. "It ain't Naraku, I can say that much."

Shippo hopped onto Kagome's shoulder, his fluffy tail twitching anxiously. "This place is creepy."

Kagome swept her torch over the shadowed corners of the vast space, the fire rippling wildly as droplets of water fell from above and struck the flames. Creepy, dark, and lonely. An eerie quiet hung over the cave like a funeral shroud.

"We cannot make assumptions here. Naraku is a formidable foe." Miroku glanced around the dark cavern. "This is the place where the Sacred Jewel was born. Anything is possible. We must proceed with caution."

Yeah. What if those huge demons of Midoriko's had revived? Kagome suppressed a shiver and moved closer to Inuyasha, hugging the half-demon's haori sleeve.

Sango placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, expression grim. "I don't see how Naraku or his allies could have gotten beyond the cave's barrier. Midoriko has kept evil out for generations."

True. The whole situation baffled Kagome. The demonic energy didn't feel anything like Naraku's or any of his incarnations.

Water dripped from the stalagmites echoing hollowly on the cave floor. Kagome's shoe splashed in a puddle, spraying dirty water across her knee socks. She grimaced. No Naraku definitely wasn't here but it didn't mean she liked coming to Midoriko's cave.

There was something sad and forlorn about the cave and it pierced Kagome's heart with pity for the ancient priestess. What must it have been like to wage war by yourself? Kagome couldn't imagine facing the things she had without her friends by her side. "Naraku has nearly all the shards of the jewel. It's only a matter of time before he completes it, but I don't think he's responsible for what I'm sensing."

"How much further?" Inuyasha demanded impatiently.

Kagome sighed. "Not much. Just a few yards ahead, I think."

A gloomy pall settled over the group. Things were indeed looking grim. With the majority of the shards in his possession, Naraku was nearly invincible.

Yet they couldn't give up and let his evil remain unchecked. There was too much at stake to fail.

Miroku pulled Sango to a halt when the slayer would have continued, the rings on his staff jingling in the stillness. His eyes narrowed. "Wait. There's something up ahead."

Kagome lifted her torch for a better look. Moonlight spilled in from an opening in the ceiling. Midoriko stood frozen as a stone statue, surrounded by the hollow corpses of the demons she once battled.

Before her, encircled by a crystal chrysalis was a white-haired demon with a heavy fur draped over his broad shoulders. Jagged blue marks streaked across both cheeks and his eyelids were lined in red paint, beneath a set of thick black brows.

Inuyasha swore profusely, speeding around the chrysalis to take it in everything from multiple angles. "What the hell is this?" His dog ears twitched back and forth as he placed a hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. "This can't be real..."

Kagome gaped in disbelief at the figure incased in the crystal, her brain short-circuiting as her neurons misfired, failing to make sense of what she saw.

She had glimpsed this demon's apparition only briefly when they defeated Takemaru of Setsuna but this was unquestionably the great demon lord of the Western Lands.

"How is this possible?" She squeaked, the torchlight glinting off the many facets of the chrysalis, throwing rainbow light on the cavern walls.

No one answered her. All of Kagome's friends were completely entranced by the chrysalis' demon contents.