Down the Well

Kagome is a fairly average young lady studying for exams, hanging out with friends, and ignoring her grandfather's stories about the origins of the different oddities in their family shrine. On her 15th birthday, she is on her way to school when she notices Souta, her brother, standing by the building containing the hidden well--a place where they are not allowed. When she reminds him that he should not be there, he tells her that their cat Buyo is inside, but he is too scared to go in after him. Instead, Kagome goes down the stairs towards the covered well, where Buyo spooks her by rubbing against her leg. Order seems to be restored, but suddenly a light bursts from the well, and Kagome is pulled down into it but several glowing arms.

The centipede demon pulls her down into a bright purple light and a space that appears much larger than the well. As the demon attacks her, Kagome puts out her hand and emits a glowing burst of power which forces the demon to flee. Suddenly the well walls reappear and Kagome finds herself at the bottom of the well. She calls to her grandfather and brother, but no help arrives. Instead, she pulls herself up using the vines which cover the well walls. When she reaches the top, she finds she is no longer in the building which housed the well, but somewhere unfamiliar.

She walks around trying to find her way home when she spots a familiar site-the sacred tree from her family shrine. She runs to it, but finds a boy pinned to its trunk with an arrow. She walks up to him to investigate, but he does not awaken. She finds herself drawn to the dog-like ears on top of his head and is bold enough to touch them. Suddenly she finds herself surrounded by men who shoot arrows at her, always missing but close enough to be threatening. They capture her and take her back to their village.

Looking at the people and their strange clothes, Kagome realizes that she is no longer in her world. An older woman in a priestess outfit comes to investigate and purify her, but decides that she must be a human foreigner. The woman, Kaede, wants to know why Kagome was in the Forest of Inuyasha, but Kagome does not know how she came to be there. In the mean time, Kaede appears to notice something about her guest, but she does not mention anything quite yet.

Later, the demon which had pulled Kagome down into the well, returns and attacks the village. The men of the village try to subdue her, but are defeated easily. Kagome runs towards the well where she had come from, but the demon chases after her. In terrible danger, Kagome wishes for help and the young man on the tree wakes up, but he does not seem very happy. When Kagome falls before him, he taunts her and calls her Kikyou. Upset by him referring to her by a name which is not her own, she insists that she is "Kagome" not this "Kikyou" person. Upon closer inspection, he agrees and remarks that Kikyou was smart and pretty. Kagome is irritated by this remark, but there is no time to retort when the centipede monster attacks her again.

The demon attacks her and rips open a hole in the side of her body, from which a glowing orb falls out. The monster consumes the jewel and its body begins to change. The centipede wraps around her and the tree where Inuyasha is bound. He tells her to pulls out the arrow in his chest and break the seal that binds him to the tree, and he will be able to take care of the demon. Kaede tells her not to, but he insists that, while they have a chance with him, the demon will surely kill them all. After a moment's thought, Kagome agree and takes out the arrow. Inuyasha bounds into action and uses his sharp claws to rip the monster in two.

Although the monster is in pieces, it does not yet die because the power of the jewel has strengthened it. Kaede instructs her to find the jewel in the mess of centipede parts. Kagome sees a glowing light which nobody else can see because she is able to sense the jewel while most people can not. She takes the jewel and appears relieved, but the battle is not over. The newly freed Inuyasha wants to take it, even if he has to kill her to do so.

Kagome tries to run away, but he is intent on getting the jewel from her. Kagome dodges his sharp claws but will not be able to escape him much longer when Kaede takes out a rosary and begins chanting a spell. The beads of the rosary appear around Inuyasha's neck and Kaede instructs Kagome to chant the spell of subjugation. Of course Kagome has no idea what to say and continues to run until she trips and loses the jewel. It rolls onto a bridge, where Inuyasha goes to pick it up. Suddenly she sees his ears in the moonlight and something occurs to her. She yells, "Sit," and he is forced to the ground. She takes the jewel and begins to walk away, but Inuyasha is not happy. He threatens and insults Kaede, who tells Kagome to use her phrase again. She says, "Sit," and he is forced down again, the bridge breaking under his weight. He is washed down the river.