Sesshomaru Tashio could recall on hand three times in his life that gave him pause and that in itself was an undivine miracle because Sesshomaru Tashio was over 800 years old.

The first moment was the night of his great father's earthly death. Though demons never truly die. Foolishness on his father's behalf, killed by a human which was fitting seeing as how his father liked to play with the creatures. His father though a demon was more on the heavenly side. Lucky for Sesshomaru, his mother gave him his name, and there was nothing angelic about him. In this time of his life, he was known as Sin, the devil, a killer. But he never killed a man who didnt deserve it, and he wasn't the devil as he didn't rule Hell. He just dispatched those evil greedy humans to Hell. One could say he was as close as you could get to being the devil, but the devil may disagree.

The second time in his life was when he met a child named Rin. Humans he had always detested, but the child had purely been innocent in her short life, and he had the power to save her gifted to him by his now dead, not dead father. To test it, he simply saved one human child. He refused to use the sword again; thereafter, he refused to be a pawn for his father. Why his father wanted him to protect these creatures was beyond him. But, he found though still living up to his name, himself checking up on the child. She once asked if he was her guardian angel. He silently cursed his father and told her he was simply a guardian and nothing more. He gave her life; it would have been a waste to well, waste it. But Sesshomaru still refused to be ruled by anyone, father, heaven or Hell. Sesshomaru simply always did what he wanted to do and nothing more.

The third and final pause was when Naraku almost succeeded in sending him directly to Hell. Of course, Sesshomaru was not afraid of Hell, hell his mother was from HellIronicnc that she now lived in the sky just shy of heaven of course. He would have gone and come back; it would have been nothing on him. Thought Naraku could hurt him a mere half-demon even at his level could never kill Sesshomaru. Son born from both heaven and hell, yeah not so easy to do. But all those moments had been just that, mere hiccups in his timeline, a mere split-second pause nothing that ever made him ponder, ask what if. Question himself. He was always in complete control.

But today, today that changed.

It was more than a hiccup; time literally started moving slower which when you immortal is hard to wrap your head around even for him. Sesshomaru had been all over the world, seen all you can see, bought all he could buy. He had everything but one small thing he wanted. The land that sat on top of a hill with a shrine, an old well, and the God Tree as they liked to call it. Every few decades or so he would come back to the place trying to buy it and ever time the answer was the same.

No.

That's if they would even let him step foot on the first step. In the beginning, like all humans, they knew who he was. The family was powerful in their own right. Holy with a well full of Holy water and demon he was. The divine and even the non-divine walked among the humans after all they were first on Earth. But as the years went by the line grew weaker, till it reached a point that their blood had become so water down that not one of them now, had their ancestor's Holy powers.

Not one Monk, not one Miko. Of course, the Holy divine left back to the city no man could see, and only the demonic remained.

Though the last time he had been there, the head of the house did try to throw a useless paper at him and yelled at him to be gone. It didn't work, and Sesshomaru only stared at him. Unlike the many before him, this man let him halfway way up the steps. This told Sesshomaru that this man was the least strong of the whole line. But he was still unsure of the grounds itself.

So he kept coming back and watched the man get older and older. He tested step by step each time as the years went by.

Sesshomaru left, then came back and today was that day.

Today was the day that gave his life the biggest pause, made him question everything.

Today he made it all the way up the steps and no he didn't burst into flames. He was touching Holy grown. The church would throw a fit if they knew. He made it all the way to the God tree; he even reached out and touched it. He could feel its power, the power no human could ever feel. It was calming, well it was calming.

"Can I help you?"

Sesshomaru moved his palm quickly and hissed silently in his head. He looked at his palm, and to his great shock, it was bleeding.

"Oh, are you ok?"

Was he? How the hell did that happen? Did the tree do it? Did she do it? Sesshomaru looked at the tree in confusion. It held no hot energy, its power very dormant. His eyes glided back to the girl "I do not see the old man,"

"You mean my grandfather?" She asked as she stepped around to look at the tree as if she were checking on it to make sure that it was ok. It was amusing until she placed her hand on the splinted wood.

That was the moment.

She smiled with such innocents even though she wore an indecent school uniform. He watched as power rolled from her elbow, went down her forearm and into the tree as if to tell the thing it was ok, to heal it.

Hell, he was the one bleeding, and the tree did it.

"Kagome," A strong voice spoke. Sesshomaru knew this voice to be that of the old man.

"Gramps!" She beamed,

"Kagome go inside please," The old man was trying to be a peacock for sure though Sesshomaru was sure nither he or the girl was buying what the old man was selling.

"Hai," She said cheery and then flashed him a smile, which he recoiled from with a snarl of his lip as if her smile had somehow offended his person. She seemed not to noticed and began to walk away. Sesshomaru watched her.

The old man cleared his voice "Your bleeding,"

Sesshomaru looked at his hand again. Indeed he was. He looked up at the old man "The tree did it,"

The old man rose an eyebrow "That tree can no more hurt you than I can Demon,"

Which meant one thing, "What is she?"

The old man smiled "A Miko,"

Even so, he should not have been bleeding.

Sesshomaru had his slow-motion moment as he realized, for the first time in his life, he was vulnerable and all because of some silly human girl who apparently was born in the wrong time.

He had so many questions, of course, curiosity may just kill the cat or in his case, the hellhound.