Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Inu Yasha as they are all currently in the possession of the very talented Rumiko Takahashi. Please don't sue me; I'm just having fun in their world.

A/N: Update: 9/26/09: Please note the date of publish on this story, that's right, back in 2004. This was written well before the third and fourth movies came out, and also before the end of the series was shown on Cartoon Network. All off which I have since viewed. I appreciate the need to inform me the some of the details concerning Inu Yasha's past do not fit with what was portrayed in the movies, etc. but there was no way I could have known what Takahashi and co. had in mind. I will also not be altering the story to make it fit. This story is complete and has been for several years now, I will not be changing it. As always, thank you for reading. I'm very happy that so many of you found this story as fun as I do.

This story has major spoilers for later on in the series. I know the CN has shown up to episode 52, but I use things from way beyond that so if you don't want a few spoilers you might want to stop reading. If you don't really care, I give you a brief update and then go on with the story. Right, so I'm going to start…this is your last chance to remain spoiler free… Okay, so this takes place after the Shichinintai (Seven Man Army) are all defeated, Kikyou was slain by Naraku, and Naraku has his new body. Right about episode 126ish, so to set the scene; the Inu Yasha group has gone back to Kaede's village to regroup after their last big battle, Naraku has revealed that there is only one shard left that he has been unable to locate, and that he has contacted a demon that can hear for a thousand miles around him to tell Naraku if he has heard any whispers of where the last piece Naraku is searching for might be. The demon tells him he will keep an ear open. The only thing I changed was possibly the time of year. I think Kagome is still in school, but I put her on break. I figured she needed a break from freaking out about missing so much school. And, I haven't been able to figure this out yet, but I am assuming the Inu group still has the 7 or so shards that Inu Yasha got from Bankotsu, the leader of the Shichinintai.

Also, I will mainly use the English translations just to stay consistent with the language issues in the story. The only time I might use Japanese is when Sango addresses Miroku as Hoshi-sama (I'm not sure how I would translate that correctly into English), or some of the attacks 'cause I don't really like the way they are translated. So for those who like Japanese strewn through out the story, sorry, but I try not to do that. I don't speak Japanese, so I am not going to pretend to. Okay, I think that sums up the current story and author preferences, and if you read this whole thing I applaud you.

Now on with the show.

Chapter One: The Adventure Begins

Julia absent-mindedly played with her pendant as she stared out the window of the airplane. This is it she thought. She'd finally graduated, received her BA in International Relations, and now she had the job that she had always wanted. In just 12 hours she would be starting her life in Japan, and then a month later she would be the liaison between her office in the States and their counterpart in Japan. Although working as a translator for the Americans coming in to do business was not exactly the job she had wanted, the traveling involved had drawn her to that profession.

Closing her hand around her pendant, Julia smiled as she thought of all the wonderful things she would be able to experience in this position. Her company was even giving her this month to get adjusted to her surroundings and to learn the lay of the land. Her smile turned inward as she thought of something her mother had told her long ago…

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"Keep this with you always." smiled her mother as she placed the crystal shard around her young daughter's neck. "It will bring you luck."

"What is it, Mom?" she asked going cross-eyed trying to look at the small crystal now hanging around her neck.

"According to your great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother it is a piece of a star." She stared wide eyed at her mom. "That's right; according to her it fell from the sky and continued to glow for many days afterwards."

"Wow," Julia had breathed out, still in awe of the beautiful treasure her mom had just given to her.

"Ah, my sweet Julia," her mom cooed as she hugged her small daughter. "I hope it always brings you happiness."

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I think it's working, Mom. Julia thought to herself, a small tear slipping from the corner of her eye as she recalled her mother. It wasn't long after that that her mother had passed away. She and her dad had muddled through somehow, but as time passed they had drifted apart. He had remarried and spent most of his time with his new family, so as Julia got older the two rarely spoke aside from the occasional card or gift. Only the thought of traveling and making her dreams come true kept her going through school towards her degree. She knew that was what her mother would have wanted for her, and now it was happening. Life could not have been better.

The apartment that she had rented was in downtown Tokyo, and only a train ride away from her work place. She spent the first two days getting used to the transportation system and navigating her way from the station to her office. After checking with her boss and finally getting completely unpacked Julia found herself wandering through her community checking out her neighbors. Mostly there were more apartment buildings, but there were also small housing developments. As she walked over a rise she could see a large set of stairs that seemed to go on forever. When she approached she found a sign posted to a wall beside the steps that read "Higurashi Temple."

I wonder what this could be? she thought, and decided to begin the climb to the top of the steps. As she did so, she noticed that her pendant was starting to feel slightly warm against the skin of her neck. Pausing, Julia pulled it out from under her shirt to discover that the crystal seemed to be glowing slightly. Unsure of what to think of this strange occurrence, Julia began backing down the steps, but noticed as she did so that the crystal's light began to fade. This thing must be connected with this temple somehow. she thought. With her sense of adventure getting the better of her, Julia continued up the steps. Once she reached the top the crystal began to glow even brighter. Julia held it out like a compass, and began to search the grounds for the place that seemed to make her pendant glow the brightest.

The grounds she had walked up to seemed well kept, and in fact there appeared to be a residence not too far away from the top of the steps. A huge tree, with some sort of ceremonial rope tied around its trunk, was the most prominent object in the landscape. That must be one old tree. Julia mused to herself as she looked the gigantic tree up and down. An old storehouse was also on the property, looking like it had seen better days. It almost looked like it had been repaired from fire damage, though Julia couldn't think of why the owners would have bothered. It didn't look like the new structure would last very long, anyway. As she turned Julia sighted another building but, unlike the storehouse, this one had a sign posted outside of it.

Upon reaching the building Julia discovered that the sign read "Bone Eater's Well." Momentarily forgetting the pendant she held in her closed hand, Julia began to read the brief legend that surrounded the well.

It was during this reading that she heard voices coming from the direction of the steps. Unsure as to whether or not she should be poking around, she quickly stepped inside the well house. She'd only just closed the door when two figures started to appear over the top of the steps. Looking through the cracks in the wooden walls Julia could see that they appeared to be a mother and son, and as they approached she could hear pieces of their conversation.

"When do you think Kagome will get back, Mom?" asked the small boy.

"I'm not sure Souta," replied his mother in a very kind and patient voice, "it does seem like she is gone longer and longer every time she goes. I'm just grateful she's on summer holiday right now. I just don't know what Kagome would do if she missed any more school." She seemed to shake her head, but then started to laugh. "That and Grandpa seems to be running out of realistic diseases for her to have." Souta laughed with his mom as she continued to shake her head ruefully. "I do hope that she is doing alright. Kagome always takes so many medical supplies when she leaves."

"Ah, don't worry Mom, Inu Yasha is with her, he wouldn't let anything happen to her, he…" but they began to fade out of hearing distance and Julia lost the rest of the boy's statement. 'Inu Yasha,' what did that mean? She stood in the dark well house pondering the strange name as she waited for the coast to clear.

Deciding that she had waited long enough she raised her hand to open the door, but she stopped as she realized that the well house had suddenly become a whole lot lighter. Looking down, she was amazed at how much light was being emitted from her closed fist, and had to shield her eyes momentarily when she opened her fingers. Now that's interesting she thought. If it glowed like this when my ancestor found it, no wonder she thought it was a star! As Julia looked around she saw a rather beat-up looking wooden well in the center of the well-house, at the bottom of some old wooden stairs. How on earth could this old well and my pendant be connected? Julia wondered as she walked down the stairs and peered over the edge of the well. Though stare as she might, Julia could not see the bottom of the well, so whether or not there really were bones of long dead monsters down there she could not tell. Turning around and leaning up against the well she continued to think on what this could mean. Clearly the stories that her ancestors had passed on about the stone glowing were true, but as for it being a piece of a falling star…well, Julia was still skeptical about that. But what could have caused the pendant's reaction?

Julia was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a noise emanating from somewhere under the stairs. Figuring that she'd had enough adventure for one afternoon Julia began to move back towards the stairs only to be stopped by a pair of rather large eyes floating under the stairs. The light from her pendant reflected eerily off of those eyes, and Julia took a step back as she tried to figure out what was under there. As the eyes continued to glow, she decided that one step was not far enough and stepped back yet again. To Julia's dismay, this second step caused her to bump into the well and, before she could prevent it, she found herself plummeting to the bottom. Oh, this is not good!

And sitting on the lip of the well, watching Julia fall with great amusement, was none other than Buyo the Cat.

A/N: Okay, the chapters will be longer in the future. I am still getting the hang of how many pages give a decent read.

Reviews are appreciated. Let me know if I have piqued your interests.

Thanks. More coming soon.