Note: This was my NaNo 2012 project! It is about half way finished, so I thought I would go ahead and start posting chapters. This is fairly AU and will be quite long. It is also posted on my DA, so if it looks familiar, I haven't plagiarized, it's mine :)

Journey to the Future – Chapter 1

Dawn painted the sky brilliant shades of soft pink, pale blue and vibrant orange. Higuarshi Kagome sat on the steps leading to the family shrine, breathing in the cool morning air. It was a crisp, clean contrast to the last seven years spent in the heart of Tokyo. While the shrine was not far from the crowded business district, the atmosphere was quiet and refreshing. Kagome had found a similar feeling at other shrines she had frequented. The hustle and bustle of the city seemed unable to penetrate the peaceful aura of the shrine.

As the sun continued to rise, Kagome stood, straightening her shirt. Her thick black hair was pulled back into a ponytail that teased her lower back. A light breeze stirred her long bangs and she tucked them back behind her ears, silently grateful that she had allowed the short pieces to grow out enough to do so.

Kagome fitted a pair of headphones into her ears and turned her music up loud enough to drown out the sound of her own breathing. She had woken up early from an unsettling dream and desperately craved the high that running provided.

She took off, heading for the barely visible trail that carved through the Higurashi land. The shrine grounds and her family home occupied a fairly small portion of the property. A large forest spread out from the edge of the yard and extended back several miles. Kagome could remember several attempts to purchase some of the pristine land, but her grandfather had always refused.

The pounding of her feet against the hard packed earth was comforting as she weaved along the worn trail that her father had painstakingly carved out before she was born. Each step took her away from the disturbing images that had torn her from sleep in the early hours of the morning. She supposed that it was fitting, dreaming about youkai and magical jewels while at home. Her grandfather loved to tell stories about such things.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled and Kagome slowed to a stop, pulling the headphones out of her ears and looking around in slight alarm. Even though she strained her ears, the only sounds she could hear were her own breathing and the roaring rush of adrenaline. Her flesh crawled at the silence. Kagome had never heard the forest so still. It was if something was out there, waiting.

Just as suddenly as it had come, the feeling was gone and the tittering of birds and chirping of insects filled the air. Kagome sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Must have been a dog or something…" she muttered.

She was about halfway through the running trail, but she decided to turn back and head the way she had come. Kagome rolled up the earbuds and tucked them into the armband that held her music player. She didn't want to take any chances of being surprised by wild animals, so she kept her ears free and her eyes alert along the tree line as she headed back toward her house, her pace slightly too fast to be considered a leisurely run.

When Kagome returned to the shrine grounds, her grandfather was up tidying the area. There wasn't much to do, as he swept every morning and was nearly obsessive about keeping everything pristine.

"Need any help, jii-chan?" Kagome's legs burned slightly and she breathed heavily, but the exercise and the concern over the sudden silence in the woods had chased away the last vestiges of her discomforting dream.

The old man turned to smile at his granddaughter. "I've nearly finished, Kagome-chan. But if you could help me bag these leaves, I would appreciate it." He gestured toward a large trash bag sagging against the side of the sacred tree.

"Of course!" Kagome hurried forward, taking the rake out of her grandfather's hands. "You hold the bag open, and I'll do the rest."

Her grandfather relinquished the rake and took up the trash bag. Kagome dumped in a few small piles of leaves and grass clippings. "Jii-chan," she started, leaning on the rake as her grandfather tied off the bag.

The old man looked up at her from his task, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Have you had any trouble with wild animals here lately?" She asked, taking the bag from her grandfather as they headed toward the maintenance shed. "Like foxes or stray dogs?"

"I don't believe so," the priest said thoughtfully. "At least none that have come close to the shrine. Did you see anything strange out there?"

Kagome shook her head negatively. "No, I didn't see anything. It just got really quiet out there for a moment, so I thought there may be some kind of predator out there."

"That's certainly possible," her grandfather agreed. "I'll call someone to come out and take a look, so in the meantime, try not to stray too far out in the forest." He locked up the storage shed and gestured for Kagome to go ahead without him. "I've got a few more things to finish up out here, but you go on inside. Your mother has breakfast waiting for you."

Kagome grinned at her grandfather. "Thanks, jii-chan. I guess I'll make sure to save some for you."

She ducked to avoid a playful swat and jogged back toward her house. Her relationship with her grandfather had greatly changed from her teenage years, where she was embarrassed of his obsession with legends and youkai. During her last year of high school, her grandfather had suffered from a minor stroke. While he had completely recovered with little side effects, the experience had shaken her up enough to change her view of him. She had grown to enjoy his stories and was honestly amazed at the sheer amount of lore that he had accumulated.

Kagome entered through the front door of her family home and nearly drooled at the smells in the air. She slipped her feet out of her sneakers and dropped her armband on the entry table. Following her nose toward the kitchen, Kagome inhaled deeply and groaned in pleasure. "Mama… that smells sinful," she sighed, smiling at the older woman standing over the cooktop.

"Good morning to you too, Kagome-chan," her mother laughed. She gestured toward the table, where breakfast was already set. "Did you have a nice run?"

Kagome nodded and helped herself to a bite of sweet omelet. "Yeah, I feel a lot better. Where's Souta?"

Sitting across from her daughter, Higurashi Hana let out an exasperated sigh. "Ever since he started high school, that lazy boy sleeps in until noon on his days off."

With a light, slightly guilty, laugh, Kagome hid a blush behind her rice bowl. At her boarding school, she had done the exact same thing. She hadn't thought her mother knew, but by the expression on her face, she must have guessed.

After a companionable silence, Hana said fondly, "you really are so much like your father. I never did understand the appeal of running first thing in the morning." She smiled a little mischievously. "Or running at all, for that matter."

Kagome grinned at her mother and set down her chopsticks. She had inherited her father's black hair and unusual blue eyes. Although her brother Souta had the same color hair as his sister and father, his face was shaped more like their mother's and he had her soft brown eyes.

"It helps make my problems seem smaller, somehow," Kagome admitted. "Helps with bad dreams too."

"Did you not sleep well?"

"Oh, I didn't really have bad dreams so much as they were unsettling," Kagome quickly corrected. "It was probably jii-chan's legend about Goshinboku that he shared with us last night at dinner."

"Jii-chan does have some pretty wild tales to tell," the older woman conceded. They shared a quiet laugh before Hana shooed her away. "Go shower, dear. Your father's clinic has some recommendations for you. I gave them a call last week before you came home."

"Oh, mama! Thank you!" Kagome swept her mother up in an excited hug.

"Kagome-chan!" Hana laughed, returning the embrace briefly before pushing lightly at her daughter. "Go bathe, you sweaty girl!"

Kagome laughed and headed upstairs to her old room. It hadn't changed much since she had last lived in it. She had told her mother when she moved out that the family was free to use the room as they pleased, but it still looked just like it had when she last lived in it at fifteen.

She chuckled at the corny band poster that greeted her when she entered the room, wondering how she could have ever liked the cheesy group. Kagome pulled an outfit appropriate for job conversations from her closet and laid the clothing out flat on her bed before grabbing her robe and heading for the bathroom. That her mother had called the clinic really surprised her. Kagome knew that even after nearly fifteen years her mother was still grieving over the loss of her husband.

Kagome paused in the middle of lathering up her hair in surprise. She could hardly believe it had been so long since her father's death. The accident still felt like it had been only yesterday. She shook herself and ducked under the hot spray. There was no use dwelling on the past; thinking on the accident only brought her mood down anyway.

Her father had been the surgeon at a small clinic not too far from the shrine. Kagome originally wanted to follow in his footsteps, but she quickly discovered that she was too squeamish for that kind of work. It wasn't the blood that bothered her, but the idea of putting her hands inside another person's body.

Instead, she fell in love with physical therapy. In her last year at university, she interned with a therapist attached to the nearby hospital. Kagome found helping people to relearn how to use their limbs or recover from accidents or surgeries to be particularly rewarding. She especially loved working with children. While she was now a licensed therapist herself, Kagome lacked the means to start her own private practice. As she finished showering, she hoped that her father's old clinic would have some good ideas for where she could begin work.

She dried her hair carefully, parting it on the side and allowing the front to gently frame her face. As a teenager, her hair had been slightly wavy and bushy. In college, she finally learned how to dry it properly, using a large rounded brush, to a sleek and smooth finish, although the ends still tended to curl. The heavy weight of her hair on her back had become comforting and she couldn't believe that she had once chopped it off.

Kagome applied minimal make-up and dressed in a soft gray pencil skirt and a royal blue blouse. She chose a pair of low-heeled black pumps to finish the outfit. The underside of the shoe was the same rich blue as her blouse and the pair was one of her favorites.

Heels dangling in her hand, she resisted the urge to rudely awaken her brother as she passed his room. But she promised herself that if he was still in bed when she returned that he was fair game.

Unfortunately for Kagome, her little brother was awake when she came back from the clinic. They had given her a list of prospective work places and had enjoyed seeing her as an adult. Kagome had stayed longer than she intended, going with them to lunch and listening to stories about her father.

"You are one lucky guy, Souta," Kagome teased, reaching over the top of the couch to ruffle his hair.

Souta sat up and swatted at her hand, causing her to skip away with a laugh.

"How do you figure that," he asked through a yawn as he paused his game and looked at her.

"Well," Kagome hedged, perching on the arm of the couch. "I was remembering some of the tactics you used to get me up when I was in middle school."

Souta paled slightly. "I am lucky then! What made you change your mind?" He wasn't completely sure that he wanted the answer, judging by the somewhat evil expression on his sister's face.

"I didn't want to ruin my clothes," she said ominously, rising from the couch and sauntering to the stairs.

"Wait," Souta called after her, video game forgotten on the couch cushion. "What do you mean 'ruin'? What in the world were you going to do?"

She answered his question with a laugh that bordered on menacing as she climbed the stairs to her room. Kagome shut her bedroom door and leaned on it, laughing at the expression that had been on her brother's face. She knew now that she had to prank him at least once before she moved out.

Kagome placed her heels back in the closet and hung up the blouse and skirt. She still wasn't used to wearing business appropriate attire and found it to be a little uncomfortable. Knowing that she had nothing else to do for the day and remembering the sight of her old, fat cat ambling toward the well house (again) when she had left that morning, Kagome chose to wear a pair of soft black cotton pants and a red tank. She pulled her hair back up into a high ponytail, leaving the long bangs out to frame her face.

She made a pit stop in the bathroom after leaving her room to carefully remove the small amount of cosmetics that she had just applied that morning. She once forgot to wash her face in college and never made that mistake again after waking the next morning with terrible acne. Of course, she wasn't a teenager anymore, but Kagome knew her own luck well enough not to risk it.

As she padded back downstairs in socked feet, her grandfather called to her from the front door. "Kagome-chan! Your cat has gotten himself stuck in the well house again!"

"I knew I should have grabbed him his morning," she sighed. "I'll go get him, jii-chan!" she called back.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her useless lump of a brother, who had resumed his sprawl on the couch, handheld game system in front of his face. She was tempted to sneak up behind him and roll him off the couch, but she decided to wait for a better time when he would least expect it. He was off for the holidays anyway and she would have plenty of opportunities to prank him.

She slipped on her shoes and headed out to the old well house. The door was crack open just wide enough to permit one fat cat entry. Kagome sighed, once again thinking that they should bar the door shut to keep Buyo out. Slipping inside, she blinked rapidly for a moment, hoping her eyes would adjust to the darkness of the small structure soon.

For as long as they had had Buyo, it was Kagome's job to retrieve the troublemaker from the well. Souta had never liked the well house, citing a bad feeling as his excuse, but Kagome loved it. She felt drawn to the well and often sought conform in both its presence and Goshinboku's after the car accident which had claimed her father's life. Kagome struggled with the guilt of surviving that crash for years. Once, during a particularly low moment, her mother had shared her father's love of running and Kagome had taken up the habit as a form of stress relief. It worked wonders combined with the therapy she had received. Still, the well held a special place in her heart and she never minded when she had to rescue her cat from its depths.

"Buyo, where are you?" She called, listening carefully for the meow that usually followed. It sounded faint, but was definitely inside the well house.

Kagome looked around carefully and let out a gasp as she saw the well itself. It was normally boarded up and pasted with faded ofuda, supposed used to seal away some ancient evil. Now, however, the charms were torn and the lid had fallen through. Underneath her concern for the cat, she was somewhat amused that his hefty weight had broken through the usually solid wood.

She approached the well and peered down into its depths. It was too dark for her to see the bottom but when she called for the cat, she heard his answering yowl more clearly. There was an old ladder leading down to the bottom of the well and she vaguely wondered why it was there. It looked sturdy enough, so she swung her leg carefully over the side and navigated her way down the ladder to the frustrated cries of her cat.

The bottom of the well was closer than she expected and a faint glow emanated from the ground, allowing her to see Buyo's petulant face. She was relieved to see that the husky cat was unharmed, although he was certainly unhappy.

"You are one bad cat," she scolded him, hefting him in the crook of her left arm and holding him tightly to her body. "Now, if you squirm, I'll drop you and you'll have to get out on your own. Got it?"

Buyo mewed in agreement and Kagome carefully ascended the ladder. It was with a sigh of relief that she climbed out. She set the cat back on the ground outside of the well house and shooed him away. Kagome couldn't help feeling amused as Buyo shook himself and stalked away, his tail held high in the air as if completely unbothered with making her work so hard to save him.

She turned around to look around the inside of the well house, placing her hands on her hips. "Now… to board that up again," she muttered. Unfortunately, her grandfather kept the shrine facilities a little too tidy and there was nothing inside that could be used as a temporary cover.

She determined to tell her grandfather about the broken cover. He would no doubt be ecstatic about applying new charms to the lid.

As Kagome started pulling the doors closed, a gust of wind burst from within the well house, knocking the aged wood from her hands and causing her to stumble backward.

"What in the world…" she gasped. The wind died down and she stared owlishly at the well sitting benignly in the center of the shed. She took a few steps forward to peer into the bottom of the well, but it was empty. A chill stole over her and Kagome shuddered lightly.

She backed up and quickly shut the doors of the well house. This time, they stayed closed and she hurried back to the house, feeling unnerved by the whole experience.

Buyo was waiting for her by the entrance of her house and she let him inside with a soft sigh. Kagome took off her shoes and shuffled into the living room, sitting heavily on the couch beside her brother.

Souta looked up at her in surprise. "What's up with you?"

Kagome tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned back into the cushions. "Something weird in the well house," she said.

"I always told you that place was creepy," Souta asserted. He pressed a few buttons on his game system and set it aside. "Want to play some Wii?"

With a grin, Kagome sat back up straight. "You always know just how to cheer me up," she said, lightly punching her brother on the arm.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing WiiSports, in which Kagome mercilessly slaughtered her brother, and she nearly forgot about the strange wind that had blown from the well until she was in bed that night.

Kagome cursed under her breath as she realized that she forgot to tell her grandfather about the uncovered well. She mentally shrugged and snuggled more deeply under her covers. One night wouldn't hurt anyone, would it?