A/N: Hello everybody! Here's a new story for you! I hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or Doctor Who. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and BBC respectively. Though I really wish I owned my own TARDIS.

Chapter 1: A Secret Kept

The TARDIS seemed to be acting weird. Sluggish even.

"What's the matter, old girl? Need a recharge?" The Doctor asked caressing the console.

The machine chimed agreeably.

"Alright! To Cardiff then!" so he keyed in the coordinates. As soon as he did though, the TARDIS immediately blanked them out.

"What's this?" he tried again but again the coordinates were deleted as soon as they were entered. "Don't you need a recharge? We need to park over the rift in Cardiff to refuel."

The TARDIS hummed for a moment before new coordinates appeared on the screen.

"Tokyo? What on Earth is in Tokyo?"

Suddenly, the whole ship lurched as she landed and materialized. Sprawled on the floor, the Doctor muttered, "You could've given me a warning." He leaps to his feet. "Let's see where we are, shall we?" He pulls the monitor around and views the outside scanners. The screen showed the inside of a very small wooden structure. "You picked a good spot. You landed us in a shed." He patted the console affectionately.

The ship purred happily before shutting down to refuel.

"Wait. What are you doing? You can't shut down here! There's no where for you to fuel around here!" but she had already started the recharge process. The screen indicated that in seventy-two hours, the refueling would be complete. "What? What are you fueling from? We're thousands of miles from the rift in Cardiff. How can you be charging?" He grabbed his Janis Joplin coat and rushed to the doors. Throwing them open, he nearly fell out of the TARDIS before he grabbed onto the side doorframe to keep himself upright. The TARDIS had landed on an elevated platform about two and a half feet off the ground.

The Doctor jumped down and turned to look at what he landed on. The platform was square and the exact size of the TARDIS' base. "What an odd thing to have in a shed." Looking about, he saw the rest of the small shack empty. "Maybe it's not a shed. There's nothing stored in here. Then what's this then?" He knelt beside the platform beneath his ship and laid his hand on it. Immediately, he felt a thrum of power flowing through the aged wood. It reminded him of the power of the time vortex. "Is this where you're getting your recharge from, old girl?" He asked stroking the side of the blue box. "It's not as strong as the Cardiff rift but it'll do. No wonder it's going to take nearly three times longer for you to charge up." He stood up and thumped his ship on the side. "While you do that, I'll go take in the sights!" He grinned and climbed up the stairs to the door and slid it open.

Yep. Definitely Tokyo. The shed was in the middle of a Shinto shrine. And to his right, he could see the skyline of the city as the sun sank towards the skyscrapers. A few paces in front of him was a sign facing away from him. So he closed the shed's door and walked around to read it.

Bone Eater's Well

The headline of the sign read. Figuring that it was indicating the small building he just exited, he read the description beneath. It went on to describe how in ancient days people threw the bones of demons into the well and in a few days time, the bones would disappear. That was how the well received its name since it appeared to swallow the bones. The Doctor chuckled. Humans and their silly superstitions. Demons. Such a thing never existed. However, he now knew what that peculiar platform that the TARDIS had landed on was. It was a well. But the well had some mysterious power. He'd have to look into this some more.

As if on cue, someone spoke behind him. "May I help you, Sir?"

The Doctor turned to see an elderly man wearing traditional Shinto robes, leaning against a broom. "Ah, yes," he responded, pulling out his psychic paper and handing it over to the man. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. I'm a history professor at Cambridge University."

"I see." The man handed back the "credentials." "And what brings you here, Professor?"

"Please, call me Doctor. I dislike 'Professor.' Makes me feel old." The Doctor smiled at the man when he nodded. "To answer your question, I'm on a short sabbatical. Traveling and absorbing the local customs and histories of the various countries I teach in my World History class so that I can better understand them so my teaching can be enhanced for it."

"That's very commendable of you. How can I help?" the man's eyes sparkled with excitement, for everyone who knows him knew he loves to speak of history.

The Doctor patted the sign beside him. "Could you tell me more about this well? Its story is fascinating."

"Certainly! Why don't you come inside? I'll tell you everything I know over a cup of tea."

"That sounds lovely, thank you." With that, they entered the house.

From the style and décor of the house, the Doctor surmised that they must be around the turn of the 21st century, no later than 2010. It was spacious and very "Japanese" in design but had an influence of western culture thrown in for good measure.

The Doctor was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a woman's voice. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon, Father. Did you finish sweeping up already?" She looked up from her dinner preparations as they walked into the kitchen. "Oh! Who's your friend?"

"This is Dr. Smith from Cambridge University. He's interested in the history of our shrine. Doctor, this is my daughter-"

"Why?" the woman cut her father off. "Our shrine isn't famous or anything. What makes you so interested?" Suspicion dripped from every word.

The Doctor shrugged. "No real reason. I just happened upon this place by chance and it seemed interesting so I'd like to know more about it, is all, if that's alright with you."

"Now, now." The old man made placating gestures with his hands. "Doctor, why don't we go sit and have our talk while my daughter makes us our tea, okay?" He began to lead the Doctor towards the kitchen table throwing a stern look over his shoulder at his daughter for her rudeness to their guest. He was surprised at her. She never acted like this.

His daughter watched them sit warily as she prepared the tea. When it was ready, she carried it over to them. "I apologize, we don't have any English tea. I hope you like green tea." She said, reverting to her comfort zone of gracious host.

The Doctor smiled up at her, relieved she seemed to have gotten over her initial aversion of him. "Green tea is fine. It has many health benefits. Thank you." He took the offered beverage and sipped it appreciatively.

Suddenly, the front door smashed open and someone flew upstairs.

"Souta! Walk when you are in the house, please!" The woman called out to the one who made all the noise.

"Sorry, Mama!" A young boy's voice called back.

The mother sighed and returned to preparing dinner.

"Your son?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes. He's quite rambunctious. My children keep me on my toes."

"How many children do you have?"

"Just the two, but they're enough. My daughter should be home soon. She should be done with her club activities by now." She glanced at the clock and nodded.

"Shall we have our talk now, Doctor?" The old man asked impatiently.

"Oh right. Of course!" He responded turning away from the woman. He wasn't entirely sure why he was asking about her family. He surmised he was just trying to relax her. The show of suspicious hostility a moment ago was… unnerving. "Sorry about my distraction."

"Its alright. So where'd you like me to start?"

"How about the beginning? I'd like you to tell me as much as you can."

The old man nodded and launched into his tale. "A long time ago, maybe five or six hundred years, during Japan's Warring States Era, demons walked among humans. Some were benevolent but most sought to destroy us. So the humans trained and learned to kill these demons. However, the demons had the ability to revive themselves over time so if they were not sealed or purified they would rise again to wreak havoc on the people.

"Now I don't know the true origin of the well, who dug it or if it ever contained water for in all the stories it is always dry. But I do know its spiritual origin. One day a group of demon exterminators were fighting a bear demon near the well. When they finally felled the beast, it fell in pieces down into the well. The exterminators were unable to collect the bones to seal the demon so it wouldn't revive. So they stayed close by in case it rose up again. But after three days nothing happened and they checked the well. It was empty. There was no sign of the bear's bones anywhere.

"Of course they assumed the bear had revived and searched for it to slay it once more. But the beast was nowhere to be found. In an experiment, they tossed the carcass of a snake demon into the well; it was gone by the next day. They continued to throw demons down the well and it never failed to gobble them up. They found that the stronger the demon, the longer it took to disappear, but it was never longer than three days. And so the people discovered a way to be rid of the demons without relying on those with spiritual powers.

"That's it for the legend. Do you have any questions?" He was thoroughly impressed. This man was the first person ever to sit and listen to one of his stories so avidly. Like the information was vitally important somehow.

The Doctor ran his hand through his unruly hair and tugged on it for a moment before asking, "What happened to the bones after they disappeared? Where did they go?"

"Don't know. The legend doesn't say. It just says they disappeared."

"Well, they had to go somewhere. Matter can't just up and disappear. Its not possible."

"This is legend, Doctor. Scientific fact doesn't really apply."

"I suppose you're right. Is that all you know about the well?"

The old man nodded stiffly. "That's all the stories say. There is nothing else."

The Doctor frowned at the slight false note that was suddenly in the old man's voice. He was hiding something. He nodded anyway and continued sipping on his tea. After a moment he asked, "Are there any other legends about this shrine?"

The man's wrinkled, gray head bobbed up and down as he nodded. "There's the tale of the Jewel of Four Souls." He was suddenly not looking at the Doctor anymore but beyond him, over his shoulder, to his daughter.

He turned in time to catch the glare she sent her father before she schooled her features and smiled at their guest. This jewel must be part of the secret they don't want him to know about. He turned back to the elderly man and prompted, "Jewel of Four Souls?"

As he spoke, however, the front door opened and he heard a feminine voice call out, "Mama, I'm home." After a moment the same voice murmured, "I smell oden." Not even a second later, a girl of fifteen or sixteen rushed into the kitchen. "You're making oden, Mama?" At the older woman's nod, the girl did a little excited dance. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The Doctor surmised that this "oden" must be a favorite of the girl to generate this kind of reaction. He stood and approached the two women.

When the girl noticed him she spun to face him. "Oh! I didn't know we had a guest!" She bowed in greeting. "I'm Kagome Higurashi. What brings you to our shine this evening?"

The Doctor responded with a bow of his own. "I'm the Doctor." When he was upright, he smiled and answered her question. "I was interested in the local legends. Your grandfather was just about to tell me the story of the Jewel of Four Souls."

Kagome's eyes widened at the mention of the jewel. But she quickly recovered. "I can tell it to you. Grandpa used to tell the story so often, I probably have it memorized!" she laughed nervously scratching at the back of her neck.

"Then why don't you join us?" He indicated the table where her grandfather still sat looking slightly abashed for a reason he couldn't guess.

"Okay," she said and crossed to the table and plunked herself right beside the old man. She threw him a suspicious look and the man's guilty expression deepened. Now the Doctor was certain this family was trying to hide some secret and it had something to do with this jewel.

He sat in the spot he vacated a minute ago and looked expectantly at the girl sitting across from him. When she didn't say anything, he prompted, "So about this jewel…"

"Right," Kagome replied. She looked up at her mother. "Mama, would you get me a cup of tea as well please?"

"Certainly, dear." The woman responded and came over and poured her some tea.

When that was said and done, and the girl had taken a sip of the steaming liquid, she launched into her story. "According to Japanese belief, the human heart has four souls inside it, Courage, Friendship, Wisdom and Love. The Jewel of Four Souls contains each of them. It was created when a powerful demon and a great priestess named Midoriko fought. Midoriko was unable to defeat her foe so she took the four souls within her heart, along with the soul of the demon she fought, and locked them inside her. This formed the Jewel and it burst from her body killing both the demon and herself. Their souls continued to battle within the Jewel. Depending on the heart of the one who possesses the Jewel, it will be pure, meaning Midoriko's soul is winning, or corrupt, the demon is winning.

"The Jewel is incredibly powerful and has the ability to grant some of that power to the one who possesses it. Many power hungry demons and humans sought after it. So in order for the Jewel to not fall into the wrong hands, it was entrusted to a priestess named Kikyo to protect it. However, Kikyo was attacked and suffered fatal wounds in the defeat of her attacker. Before she died, she ordered the Jewel to be burned with her body so that it would never be in danger of being stolen again. Kikyo carried it into the afterlife in her last act of protecting the Jewel."

When she didn't say anymore, the Doctor said, "What, that's it? The Jewel doesn't exist anymore?"

Kagome hesitated before answering, "No. Kikyo took it with her in death."

Her pause made him suspicious. He just knew the Jewel still existed. Why were they hiding the fact? Were they trying to protect it as that Kikyo woman did? And what did it have to do with the strange energy he felt in the well?

He puzzled over it while he finished his tea. When his cup was empty, he put it down on the table and extended his hand. "Thank you for your time. I'd best be going now."

The old man shook his hand first but when the girl's hand came in contact with his, he jolted slightly in shock. Kagome was filled with residual time energy. This girl was a time traveler; he could feel it when he touched her. But also there was an immense amount of another energy he couldn't describe. He'd never encountered anything like it before.

His wide, surprised eyes narrowed at her as he opened his mouth to question her about all of this but before a single sound came out, a large crash was heard outside…in the direction of the well.

A/N: So that's it for chapter one. I hope you liked it. I've already started writing chapter two. Hopefully I'll get it up in a few days. In the mean time, let me know what you think of this chapter and review! Come on, you know you want to...