Author's Note: I do not own Inuyasha or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Notice:This story will be told through the first-person view of my OC, Yume. I will occasionally change the POV from time to time, and when it do I will given an indication saying so. That being said, here is the first chapter! Enjoy!

Wings of the Phoenix

Ch.1 A Wish Come True

"Just leave me alone!" my sister yelled, slamming the door to her bedroom in my face. I was tempted to force it open and try to make her see reason, but knowing both her and me neither of us were going to reach a peaceful end to this discussion. So I sighed sadly, and turned around to walk back to the living room.

My name is Yume Soyokaze. I had recently turned sixteen along with my half-sister, Suteki. We both lived in a sparsely populated area of Washington (the state, not the capital) with our single mother Tsuki. Ever since we had turned thirteen my sister and I had been drifted apart, separated by some unknown barrier. I had become more fiery and independent, and my sister became secretive and sullen. Over the last few months we had constantly argued over the littlest things- today being a prime example. I wanted to watch my DVD of this anime I was interested in called Inuyasha, while Suteki wanted to watch Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Somewhere along the road the disagreement had become another argument, with my sister retreating to her room to either read a book or surf the web on her laptop.

I sighed, wondering what could be done about us while I made my way back to the living room. As long as my sister was in her room I might as well watch TV. Our house didn't have a lot of furniture; a single mother raising two daughters with no help from her family couldn't afford many luxuries. But one time my mother had won three-thousand dollars in a local lottery, and after placing half of it in the bank she told us that we as a family could decide what to get with the other half. And, both us being nine years old at the time, my sister and I had said that we wanted a bigger TV. Now I sat down on the couch, and clicked the remote to change the input on our 42 inch HD flat-screen.

I placed the disc to the first season of Inuyasha in the DVD player and waited while it loaded, before showing the menu with the two main characters, Inuyasha and Kagome. I hadn't gotten very far in the series, only far enough to see Shippo join the party and nothing else. I was looking forward to seeing what came next. Then the first episode began playing, and I realized that I had put in the wrong disc. "Dammit," I muttered, but decided to watch this episode anyway. The usual occurred; Inuyasha stole the jewel, was pinned to the tree, Kagome entered the shrine, fell in the well and saw him there fifty years after he was pinned. "Man, I wish I could be in Inuyasha," I thought aloud.

Little did I know, a shooting star passed by at the exact moment I said that.

A while later I had fallen asleep watching my show, but was awoken to the smiling face my mother. "Come on Yume, it's time to get up. Dinner's ready," Tsuki said. Groggily I did as she asked, but immediately snapped to full alert at the scent of the food. "Is that... fajitas?" I asked, almost drooling at the thought of my favorite Hispanic food. She nodded. "I made then just for you and your sister," my mother said. "Oh mom, you didn't have to..." I began, but she shook her head firmly. "I don't want to hear it. Now go wash your hands and then come make your plate," she said, smiling. I hugged her tightly and said "Thanks, mom," before running off to the bathroom. I washed my hands thoroughly- both my mother and I were clean freaks- before stopping to look at myself in the mirror.

I was a little above mid-height, with definite curves that were accentuated by my athletic build, having gotten from years of being on track and field. My brown hair came down to about my shoulders, framing a face with lightly tanned skin and sea-blue eyes that showed a definite calm, which I only failed to keep in the most intense situations. At that moment I wore blue jeans that clutched my legs tightly, a brown turtleneck sweater and black ankle boots. Smiling, I walked back to the kitchen too that my sister had already made her plate and was eating. Suteki looked like me in that she also had brown hair and blue eyes, but her appearance was shorter, paler and more that of someone who did little exercise yet ate healthy. Which made sense considering her skill and time spent practicing music.

My mother had grown out her long hair such that it touched the small of her back, and the birth of two children had done nothing to diminish her beauty. She wore the same blue dress she had worn to work beneath a large white apron, and she squinted blue eyes that were the same as mine when she peered at the pan full of sizzling strips of beef and chicken on the stove. "There, all done," she said happily, and scooped them onto the plate from which me and my sister could grab them and make our dinner. The whole meal was, as usual, delicious, and I thanked Mom for it once I was done. I felt strangely tired, and when I went to sleep I just fell on my bed without even changing into my pajamas.

xxx

That night I had one of the weirdest dreams I had in my life, which was saying a lot. I imagined that I was flying through a long, dark tunnel, unable to see or hear except for the sound of rushing wind and a distant pinprick of light. Gradually it grew, becoming larger and larger until it consumed me entirely, and I felt a blaze of burning pain. I gasped and my eyes snapped open, only for me to be in a place that I didn't even recognize. I was wearing the same clothes as before but now I stood in the middle of a Japanese shrine, with a huge tree near the side and a sign next to an old building that read "The Bone-Eater's Well". The minute I saw that my eyes widened, and then I heard a voice call "Bye Mom! See you after school!"

I darted my head in time to see a young girl run out of the door of a house. She had long black hair and a curved figure with well-toned thighs, which could be seen because of the lesser length of her green school skirt. Her eyes were brown and filled with energy, and she wore a long sleeve white blouse with a red ribbon laced through the front with a green collar. I gasped. Kagome. I was unable to move and hardly able to breathe as she ran towards the edge of the shrine, but stopped when she saw Sota standing by the house that led to the well. "You know you're know supposed to play around in there," she said firmly. "But, the cat..." he protested, looking inside. They both went in, and I had to see whether I was dreaming or not. Picking up a rock the size of my hand from the edge of the shrine, I put all my strength in my arm and threw I down on my foot.

The pain made my eyes water and I shouted out, clutching my foot. Okay, so I wasn't dreaming. But then I remembered exactly what happens when Kagome and Sota went near the well, and without thinking I rushed forward. I made it just in time to see the wooden panel on top of the well burst off, with a several arms of energy wrap around Kagome. Too shocked to fight back, she was pulled in while the cat jumped out of her arms. "Kagome!" I called, and ran forward to grab her arm and pull her back. But the arms were too strong, and rather than pulling Kagome out I was pulled in. The space around me turned into white, blue and black energy, and I gasped when I saw what had actually drawn us in. It was a woman whose upper half was a naked woman with long black hair and a total of six arms, while below the waist she was a giant insect. Mistress Centipede.

She reared her back. "Alive. Oh to be alive once more. Already my strength returns," she said, and I saw flesh cover the bones of her insect body until it was fully healed. She looked a Kagome. "You have it, don't you? Give it to me," she said, sticking out an unnaturally long tongue and licking Kagome's face. For some reason rage burned through me at the sight, and I clutched one of her arms. "Get away from her!" I yelled. Mistress Centipede glared at me as if I was the insect, and she said "Begone with you. I have no business with aberrations such as yourself." "Wh-What are you doing? Let me go!" Kagome yelled, slapping her face when a bright purple burst from it and sent the demon away, one of its arms still clutching Kagome's sleeve.

"Wretched girl. I must have the Sacred Jewel!" she said, falling through empty space. "The... Sacred Jewel?" Kagome repeated. She and I kept falling until the ground appeared before us, which we promptly fell unto. I looked around; except for a single arm lying behind us the demon was gone. "Am I inside the well? I think must have bumped my head or..." Kagome began, before she noticed the path of my gaze and looked at the arm. "Maybe not," she amended, and I said "It's a good thing she's gone." She looked at me. "I appreciate the hep back there, but can you tell me exactly who you are?" she asked. I thought of what to say, until I realized that the truth would probably be best. So I stood up, dusted myself off and pulled her up.

"My name is Yume Soyokaze. And you are...?" I trailed off, acting like I didn't know. "Kagome. Kagome Higurashi," she said formally, shaking my hand. Then she looked up at the top of the well and called "Hey Sota! Get Grandpa!" "I don't think he's there," I said. Kagome grabbed the vines attached to the stone side of the well and began climbing. "He probably took off. The little-" she began, but stopped when a huge glowing white butterfly flew down and fluttered around her. I grabbed the ivy and climbed next to her, and we both threw ourselves over the edge at the same time, our eyes widening when we took in the scenery. Rather than the stuffy inside of the well-house, around us was lush, green wildlife filled with plants and the twittering of birds.

Kagome and I stood next to the well, looking around. "I could be wrong but Toto, I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore," she said, and I nodded in agreement. She walked forward and I followed, and she called "Mom! Grandpa! Sota! Buyo!" Then I noticed a huge tree dominating the rest of the forest, and pointed to it. "Hey Kagome, doesn't that tree look familiar?" I asked. She looked at it and gasped, smiling. "It does! That means I'm close to home!" she said, running forward. But once we got there, we saw something that had never appeared at the Higurashi Shrine. A huge mass or roots grew from the ground and wrapped around tree, long with a person who was attached to it.

He had the appearance of a boy about my age, with long silver hair and fair skin. He wore a red kimono and hakama, and his fingers ended in sharp claws. He appeared as if he were asleep, but an arrow was sticking out of his chest. The most noticeable feature however, were the pair of dog ears on his head that replaced human ones. "Is that a... boy?" Kagome asked softly, and I nodded. Not just a boy though; a half-demon one. Inuyasha. Kagome climbed up to him. "Hey there, whatcha doing?" she asked, but stopped. "Oh, wow. Dog ears. I think I wanna... touch them," she said, abruptly grabbing his ears and rubbing them between her fingers. I rolled my eyes and folder my arms, waiting patiently for her to finish. Though, I kind of wanted to touch them too.

After about a minute Kagome stopped and sighed. "Now that that's out of my system..." she began, but then we heard a voice call "Hold it right there!" A volley of arrows fired from the woods, and I shouted as I had to duck to avoid being shot. Kagome huddled against the unconscious form of Inuyasha, and we saw that the ones who had shot at us were several men who were all wearing kimonos. "Don't even think of running!" one of them warned us as they moved forward. I was about to just that when my hands were grabbed and forced behind my back, where they were tied together with rope. The same thing happened to Kagome, and we were marched to like this back to a village. More men and woman, all with kimonos and the men wearing topknots watched us, until we reached the center and were forced upon a straw mat set in the open.

"You didn't have to tie us up, you know!" Kagome protested. They didn't listen to her, and began talking amongst themselves. "Think it's the war going on?" one asked, and another replied "Of course it is. And right in the middle of rice-planting season." "Think they're a couple of kitsunes in disguise?" a woman whispered. "No, them shape-changing foxes are a lot trickier than that," her friend said. I looked around them, and could almost hear Kagome think "Topknot, topknot, topknot, topknot, topknot. What is this, medieval Japan?" "Make way for High Priestess Kaede!" a man called, and the villagers parted too allow an elderly woman forward.

She wore a white kimono with long sleeves, a red hakama and her hair was tied back with a band, while she hunched over and walked with a long bow in her right hand. An eyepatch covered her right eye. The woman, Kaede, stopped before us and handed a villager her bow before reached into a draw and flinging handful of salt at us. "Demon, begone!" she ordered. I closed my eyes so the salt wouldn't hit them, and Kagome called "Hey, hey! We're not demons, alright?" "Are ye not? Then why were ye in the Forest of Inuyasha?" the woman, Kaede, asked. The man she handed her bow to suggested "They could be spies from another village." "In that case they would be fools. Who would invade such a poor village as ours?" she replied.

Kaede looked at me, and then at Kagome, and her eyes widened in surprise. She walked forward and grabbed Kagome's chin, working her face from side to side. "Look clever girl. Or be a half-wit?" she wondered aloud. While Kagome glared at her I did my best not to smile, and said "Look, we aren't spies or demons. We honestly just took a wrong turn... and got lost," I said. Technically it was the truth- I knew we were in the world of Inuyasha but neither of us, especially me, had any idea how we had gotten here. Kaede looked at me and then at my clothing. "Such strange garments. Tell me child, are ye from another land?" she asked. While I wanted to be honest I knew that this would get us out of these ropes, so I nodded and said "Yeah! That's the case!"

Satisfied, Kaede gestured for the villagers to removed our bindings. They did, and after a few hours we found ourselves in her hut, waiting for her to finish making dinner. When it was ready she placed it in two stone bowls and handed them to us, along with two pairs of chopsticks. "Stew?" she offered. I knew it would be rude to decline, so while I was still hungry from the food my mother had made I nodded my thanks and took it. "Finally. Real food," Kagome said in relief. The stew was fantastic; when I watched the anime I never thought Kaede was a good cook. "Bear us no ill will, child. In these troubled times no stranger may be welcomed among us without deep distrust," she informed us.

"I guess we really aren't in Tokyo anymore, are we?" Kagome commented. "Toa-Key-O?" Kaede asked, confused. "Never heard of it. Is that the land ye come from?" "Uh, yeah! So I should probably head back..." she said, but trailed when she remembered that she didn't know how. I wondered if I would be able to go back; all Kagome had to do was either fall of jump into the well. Rather than another time I came from a completely different dimension, so would the same work for me? Or was I trapped here? We sat like that for a while, until suddenly there was a deep rumble and the sound of something giant being crushed to the ground. Screams of men and women filled the air, and Kagome looked at the mat doorway. "What the-?" she said, but Kaede and I were already heading for the door.

Outside the villagers were running around in a panic, and above them Mistress Centipede stood with an entire horse held up by her teeth. She threw it down at us and called "Give me the Sacred Jewel!" "it's that thing!" Kagome said. I nodded, but had to roll to the side when it charged at us. "It said 'Sacred Jewel'. Bear ye it still?!" Kaede asked in amazement. "I... I don't know. I mean, I've heard about the Jewel but-" Kagome began, before the demon charged at her again. Villagers tried firing at her, but she called "I must have it. I must!" She spun in a corkscrew and her tail hipped around in several directions, knocking into villagers and sending them flying. "Spears, arrows, nothing works!" one of them yelled. "We must lure it to the dry well," Kaede announced.

"Dry well?" Kagome asked, and she specified "In the Forest of Inuyasha." "Which way is the forest?" she asked automatically. Before Kaede could answer she looked ahead. "Where the light's shining, right?" she said, and took off. "Kagome, wait! Come back!" I called running after her. Mistress Centipede gave chase, and Kagome called "Someone will save us, right?" I shrugged, no longer concerned with doubling back. "Who cares? just keep running?" "Grandpa, Mom, Sota! Anyone, help me!" she yelled. Far ahead of us, in the center of the forest, Inuyasha's body pulsed with life for the first time in fifty years. He flexed his hand and claws, opening amber eyes and smiling. "I smell it. The blood of the woman who kill me, along with someone else. And they're coming closer," he said.

xxx

Well, how was the first chapter? You'll find out more about Yume and why this story is titled this way soon, so stay tuned!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)