Disclaimer – I don't own Inuyasha, and I make no profit from this.

A/N – I went back to my first fanfiction for nostalgic reasons, and found that between now and then I have changed considerably in at least my evaluation of my writing. I was overcome more with shame at the forced sentences and old plot then I was proud of a job well-done as a younger member of society. This is my attempt at re-writing this tale into an effort to make it worthy of being read.

Please R&R – that is why I am doing this, to better myself in light of my old style. Only you all can help me with that endeavor.

When They Found Each Other of Different Worlds

Chapter 1 – To Know One Another

The world around her is brighter and fresher than any she could have imagined. A field of golden wheat stretches for miles at the base of the hill she has found herself on, plump heads waving softly in the breeze. Not nearly as tall, but still just as healthy, a warm carpet of green grass spreads itself thin and sweet on the ground almost everywhere else. The grass is broken only by the field below, scattered groves of trees that dot all the way to the horizon, and a thin dirt road, passing feet and wheels plucking any potential for life from the dry track.

It is peaceful on the hill; she could almost fall asleep in this place. The few people that have passed by are oddly dressed – like they are all going to a costume party with a Feudal Era theme – but their faces are serene, and they have looks of determination and purpose set firmly in all their faces, so she is not bothered by this phenomenon. Merely, she soaks all of the sights up with the combined eagerness of a student, and the numb detachment of a professor.

The sky has pulled out a shade of blue that she has rarely laid eyes on, a bright and clear blue all across from horizon to horizon. Few clouds block the unusual view, but where they are, they appear with the slow regality of haughty lords. They are fat, towering things, feeling more fit to crawl through their lanes with slow ease. She would find them intimidating if they were people, these large slow-moving masses of power, but fluffy whiteness all the way through their flanks lends to their imagined personas a playful gentleness just in time.

A brisk breeze stirs the air around her, making the dappled shadow of the leaves above her turn her skin moving shades of shadow and light. The oak at her back is too old to even sway in such a tiny wind, but she finds herself laughing at the rustle from above her. She is surrounded by the sharp scent of smoke and cinnamon suddenly. A smile blooms automatically on her face, stretching her lips tight across her cheeks and bringing some of the bright sunlight to dance joyously in her blue-gray eyes.

Her friends are here.

Now, everything is perfect. The world is at ease, with no trace of the darker side of humanity versus nature; she is comfortable enough to never leave; and best of all, her friends are on the way. She pulls herself to her feet carefully, still very loose-limbed in her ease, and walks around to the other side of the oak. A small wooden hut stands bravely against nature, yellowed thatch held on the roof by rounded river stones. A small garden of herbs stands prominently in a larger square of tilled earth before the hut, and the fresh, sharp scents are clear even from where she stood. The thin reed door hanging moves to the side, lifted not by the wind but by forces from within the small building, and she watches eagerly.

Shadows shift subtly over different sized figures. Light falls over the figures as the hanging is pushed out of the way. Sunshine glints off a tiny pair of clawed hands; long silver hair; the bronze toper of a jingling staff; and a thick, bone-white surface scarred with use. But different shadows are creeping into her eyes, stopping her from seeing more then these hints. Fog clouds her mind; who are her friends, anyway?

The darkness fully consumes her, her world is black, total and consuming shadow, an ocean of…

… of soft, downy comforter?

Higurashi Kagome sat up in bed, pulling the thick blanket away from her small seven-year-old body. Large blue-gray eyes blinked, astonished in the gloom of the pre-dawn outside her window. That it was an odd dream she is sure of, but even as she strains to recall it, the details slip away until she is left just with a feeling that the dream was more peaceful than any place she'd ever visited.

The sharp squall of a colicky baby split the night air, disrupting her sleep-muddled thoughts. A wince crossed her young face, and she sighed resignedly. A quick glance at her nightstand told her in luminous green numbers that it was 1:42, even as her hand sought the black elastic tie for her hair that she'd left next to her alarm clock. Swinging her legs over the side of her bed and pulling her hair into a messy ponytail with the ease of practice at the same time, Kagome stood and stretched.

Experience from the last month – the last four days in particular – told her that if her one-year-old brother, Souta-chan, was up this early, there would be no sense in trying to sleep anymore tonight. Shaking out the folds and wrinkles of her powder blue winter nightgown as she crossed her small bedroom, Kagome pushed her long sleeves up to her elbows as she stepped out of her dark room. After sliding the door to her room shut, the girl began the long trek down the wooden hallways to Souta-chan's room on the other side of the building.

Not to say she and her brother lived in a mansion, or anything; rather, she, her brother, and their mother were guests of her Jii-chan until her Mama could support two children on her own. His home – Our home, now, she reminded herself – was actually a large, old shrine set at the top of a hill. He claimed it was his heritage, and if he didn't live in the huge place every day, it could fall into disrepair, which would be a thumbed nose in the face of his prestigious ancestors. He had spent time before Kagome's Mama got married trying to teach her how to be a shrine maiden, so she could take over the up-keep of the holy place when his spirit left, but she had refused. Kagome got the sense that he saw their arrival as a blessing; if the daughter wouldn't listen, perhaps he had a chance with the granddaughter?

Kagome gave an unladylike snort as she padded along the hallways. If her Mama wouldn't bow to the old man's senilities, then she wouldn't either! The day Jii-chan convinced her to wear that crazy priestess get-up and sweep the grounds and pray to the spirits would be the day that her Tou-san returned from the grave!

The little girl stopped short, a sharp gasp hissing through clenched teeth. Her tiny hands cradled her head, her shoulders bowed under the force of memory, and her body shock with repressed sobs. The tall, dark-haired man with dancing green eyes who lifted her in his strong arms and spun her around in circles would never hold her again. His deep laughter echoed hollowly in her skull, followed closely by the sharp screech of twisted metal, and a vivid visual of splashes of dark crimson creeping over white cloth. They had been walking back from the park three months ago, and a driver had run a red light, effectively slamming into her Tou-san, and pinning the body between the twisted wreck of a black Hummer and a splintered telephone pole. It had missed her by six scant inches; she had a front-row-seat to the whole ordeal. She drew a blank after that for several days – whispered conversations behind closed doors told her that the doctor said she was under the influence of a combination of natural memory-repression and shock, whatever that was.

Five minutes after leaning against the sturdy, solid wall behind her and trying desperately to repress the staring green eyes and the smell of burnt rubber, Kagome was jolted back to reality. Souta-chan was still crying; helping care for him would help her push back the memories, as always. Kagome took a deep breath, let it out, and continued down the hall, still trembling slightly.

A wet snuffle finished the threat of tears for now, and she passed the back of her hand over watery, stinging eyes and red, puffy cheeks. Approaching the baby's closed door, Kagome winced at the volume her younger brother managed to produce. The wood and ceramic make-up of the shrine, as well as the shape of the building and the scattering of buildings around the grounds made for carrying sound exceptionally well atop the hill where the shrine sat.

A small sigh, and a tired smile pulled at her face as she slid open the door in front of her. An inbuilt mothering instinct grabbed her as she moved into the obvious domain of a baby, and she cooed softly as she ghosted over to the moonlight-bathed crib and the other uncomfortable occupant of the room.

"Hey, Mama. Here, let me take him for a bit; you look dead on your feet." She gently grabbed Souta from her mother, and settled him easily into the crook of her arm. Blue-gray eyes found tired brown orbs, and the younger frowned at the older worriedly, "Mama? When was the last time you slept decently? What about Jii-chan; couldn't he help out with Souta-chan, especially now since he's developed colic?"

Higurashi Mayu felt a wave of awe pass over her in regards to her eldest child. Even in the dim light of the infant room, she had seen the shadows in her daughter's eyes, and guessed a nightmare had prompted her to go to her brother's needy side. In spite of the darkness of witnessing death, Kagome put the health of mother before herself; took on part of the parental burden of caring for a child; helped to care for her aging OJii-chan; and on top of it all, still went to school and scored among the top in her class. Mayu's heart bled for a girl grown entirely too fast. Wide eyes lingered on her, waiting for an answer.

"Ah, Otou-san is getting up in years, you know, Kagome-chan. He isn't what he used to be, and is even less of what he could be for spending so much of his time and energy in his younger years caring for a place that will never give half as much back. He doesn't hear Souta-chan, so he doesn't wake up. And his body needs the rest, anyway. It's fine; I can handle it. You don't need to worry about me, baby." She mustered up a wan smile for Kagome's sake.

The young girl joggled the baby in her arms when he began to fuss, her brow furrowed at the information passed along by her mother. Her lips set in a disapproving frown a minute later, she shook her head roughly. Her young eyes were fierce.

"No, Mama! He isn't even sixty yet! I know it's disrespectful to speak of my elders like this, but you know it needs to be said! You aren't getting half as much sleep as you need already, and being tired all the time will not help you when you try to get a job. Jii-chan still has a lot left in him that he can use; he can lend a helping hand here with us. It doesn't make sense for us to live here if he doesn't: The whole reason we're living here is so Jii-chan can help raise the two of us while you get a job that can support the family and get the hang of caring for us. If grandpa doesn't help it's just like we've gotten free room and board, and nothing else. He can be woken up every other night or so to help deal with Souta-chan until the colic goes away – he owes it to us in his promise to help you through the hard times!"

Though she couldn't make her voice like steel, or completely reason-proof her argument because she was old enough to understand the basics but not old enough to really handle them, Kagome felt she put up a good argument. Especially in the face of her dead-tired Mama.

Kagome watched triumphantly as Mayu's face broke into a tired but receptive smile. The older woman dragged her hand through her hair and then turned toward the door. "I'll go wake Otou-san up, alright Kagome-chan?"

"Yes, Mama."

While her Mama was out searching for her Jii-chan, Kagome busied herself with her brother. She settled into the rocking chair in the corner, and began to hum a nonsensical tune as she gently rocked back and forth. Souta-chan wrapped his fat little fist around her finger as his mouth opened wide in an infant yawn. He might actually settle down tonight! Her hopes were cut short as, not even two minutes later, he began to whimper anew. She sighed tiredly.

"Hey, hey now, little brother… No more crying tonight, please? For Mama's sake?... Shh, shh, shh… It's alright, little man. It's alright. Hush, now… Shh, shh, shh…" Kagome murmured warmly, soothingly to Souta-chan, joggling her arms in addition to the rocking. For a moment she was rewarded as he quieted, and looked at her wide-eyed. Had she not been so tired, she might have winced as her Tou-san's eyes stared at her from this round child's face; as it was, she rewarded his attention with a small smile.

At that moment, Higurashi Jin scooped the unsuspecting baby from the unaware arms of his sister. His deep voice, going raspy with sleep and creeping age, stirred the air of the room as his eyes met hers.

"Oh, Chibi-Kagome-chan, what a sister to your brother you are. So responsible. Your Mama and I are proud of you, you know." His brown eyes twinkled with parental pride. Kagome flushed under his praise, fidgeting, "Mm hm; I know, Jii-chan. I like to take care of Souta-chan, though, so it isn't that big a deal. Besides, Mama needs the help." She looked up at him, her gaze subtly challenging.

He grew marginally more serious. "Yes, I know. She told me how you felt, Chibi-chan – oh, don't worry so much! You are right, after all. It would take you to make me see sense, wouldn't it?" Shifting Souta to one arm, his wrinkled hand fell heavily on her head. "Don't you worry, Chibi-Kagome-chan, I will help your Mama more from here on out. I have even sent her to bed tonight, to start things off. And you… You look like you've had a rough night of it, too. Go on back to bed – Souta-chan will survive without you for one night. Rest well, Chibi-chan. Now go on."

After being gently gestured out the door and having it closed gently but firmly behind her, Kagome sighed. Now she'd been made purposeless; she'd already gotten up, and now it would be impossible to regain the bliss of sleep for tonight. Returning to her room to slip on her dark blue robe to keep her warmer outside than just her nightgown alone, she noted vaguely that at least she'd eaten up a good portion of the night – it was now 3:15.

At the back door, she slipped her feet easily into a worn pair of wooden shrine sandals – a gift from her Jii-chan, possibly in the attempt to start the training-for-shrine-maiden ball rolling – and headed out the door as quietly as possible.

Once outside, Kagome walked out into the open area of the shrine yard, and stood for a moment, basking in the cool breeze and the silver moonlight. After a few moments of calm, she began to wander the grounds aimlessly, content just to be outside and by herself. But enough is enough – when she passed by the old Well House for the fifth time in fifteen minutes, feeling more and more drawn to it the longer she stayed away, she gathered her courage and stepped towards the tiny building.

Now, even as a much younger child, just coming here to visit Jii-chan, she had been warned away from the Well House. Mama warned her away saying it was too old to be playing around in, that wood slats could be rotted and lead to an injury, or that the Well itself was not boarded up, and could be a prime place for her little girl to fall in and seriously harm herself. Jii-chan told her off for completely different reasons. He said as a descendant of a holy powered family, she should not be tempted to go to such a place with a dark aura and an evil past. But on the off-chance she wished to spurn her culture and her inherent purity, she should avoid the place simply because the spirits of malcontent oni who had perished there hung around, and were always looking for a weak-willed person to wander by that they could possess to wreck their vengeance on the unforgiving world.

In spite of both warnings, Kagome found herself on the first stair leading up to the darkened doorway. She was only half-aware of having walked there in the first place, and the rational corner of her mind was already cowering beneath the aura that she could subconsciously sense. Stepping cautiously through the doorway, fear making her on the rational alert for rotting wood, and the irrational, superstitious alert for the poisonous sense of an evil spirit, Kagome was ready to spring at a moments notice. A moment came, and then it went; with it she felt some of the superstitious tension bleed away as she was not immediately fried by darker beings of an incorporeal existence.

With the lack of the overpowering irrational fear, logic kicked into high gear when her over-alert eyes caught a shadow sweep between her legs, up into the air, and then down directly into the gaping mouth of the old, dry Well.

A bird? Why would a bird be awake now, of all times; not to mention awake enough to make such a good dive into the narrow opening of the Well?

She opened her ears, desperately seeking reassurance that the bird was alive; that she had not just witnessed another life being extinguished by forces beyond her control. Not hearing a single peep took its toll her nerves, and she found herself practically flying down the interior steps of the Well House, coming to a stop at the lip of the old Well. She gripped the sturdy wood tightly in both hands as she attempted to peer into the gloom for any sign of life.

And then, Higurashi Kagome, seven-year-old daughter to Mayu, and first grandchild of Jin, pitched all rational to the wind. Seeing death wreaked havoc with her psyche – if she could help it, she would keep anything else from dying around her again. This was one of those times, and her quickly developing hero-complex would not take 'no' as an answer.

She jumped in.

When purple and pink lights began to bob and weave in the air in front of her, without any apparent attachment to any electrical source, Kagome began to wonder if this less-than-half-baked idea was so great after all. When she continued to fall long after she felt she should have hit the bottom, the eccentricities of her Jii-chan suddenly began to maybe hold some weight, after all. But when she finally hit the ground with enough force to severely bruise her right ankle, instinctual response took over from any kind of thought process. Between the emotional strain of reliving her Tou-san's death numerous times a week, the efforts that went into helping her overtaxed Mama, the adrenaline rush of her 'heroism', and the sudden shock of twisting her ankle, Kagome slumped to the ground, and lay there, unconscious with the overload on her young mind and body.

As the hours of night gave way to morning, and then to midday, Kagome still lay at the bottom of the Bone Eater's Well, open to the elements – and whatever demon got to her first.

Some miles away, Sesshomaru-ouji-sama, heir to his Chichi-ue's Western Lands, and one of the last living White Dog Clan, was running a routine check of the borders when he felt a disturbance in the air. It smelled of miko energy, but also of putrid hanyou scum. His nose wrinkled at the abhorrent stench, and he nearly turned away before curiosity got the better of the young inu oni. The disturbance was actually within the boundaries of his Chichi-ue's holdings, but it was on the very edge, so he would have to make it quick.

Were it not for the alluring scent of lavender and a hint of spice, Sesshomaru would have turned away not even three miles away from the Bone Eater's Well for the stench and sense of evil that seeped into the surrounding area. As it was, seeking out the fresher scent brought him to the Well, where he found a most particularly dressed human. Once again moved by vague curiosity, but now guarding his emotions as a proper ouji should, in the event that he had to actually speak with her, the ouji leapt into the Well, and when he came out it was with the human girl-child nestled snuggly in his grasp.

He laid her gently on the ground some feet away from her would-be grave, and found himself studying her intently. Her midnight black hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, numerous strands escaping to frame her round face, the tail itself falling to her shoulders. He could tell she was young, because a swift glance of her figure showed not a hint of female curve, though her pale face indicated an old soul if nothing else. She was overall slender and lanky, with long, tapering fingers and a beanpole body. The impassive demon nearly winced as his eyes found her angry red-purple ankle, swelling horribly in a thick knot of collected blood and bruises. Her clothes were odd – the thin material and better-than-expert sewing, the way the sash held it all together, and the way that it revealed and covered all at once. She was something else, and he had yet to actually even speak to her.

Sesshomaru turned molten gold eyes to her face when he heard her heartbeat speed up, signaling her growing awareness. He felt a slender sliver eyebrow lift of its own accord when the pair of blue-gray eyes locked on him, and quickly scan his person. True, he had done the same to her moments before, but what human in their right mind would stare so at a demon? As her eyes returned to his, he found himself idly wondering if this girl was insane.

Waking to find herself in the presence of a rather haughty nine- or ten-year-old, Kagome, still groggy, found herself looking over the regal sight of her apparent savior. It took her a moment to take in his lean body – covered, of all things, by a billowing white pair of hakama pants, a similarly white haori coat, an intricately tied lavender obi, and a pair of black boots. She could barely make out the edges of the lavender hapi undercoat peeking out beyond the folds of his haori; a well-used and well-cared-for sword was strapped expertly to his narrow hips; and a large, furry, silver pelt was draped over his right shoulder, the color just slightly darker than his immaculate, waist-length silver hair. Closer inspection showed her sharp claws on his hands, narrowed pupils in his golden eyes, a navy blue crescent moon on his forehead, maroon on his eyelids and stripped twice across each cheek, and slender, sharp points to both his ears. When he spoke, and fangs glinted in his mouth, she came to the conclusion that he wasn't as human as she suspected at first… But, there isn't any such thing as oni!… Right?

"Who are you, human?" his voice was smooth and commanding despite looking not much older than she, and she shivered before realizing what he'd said. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and confusion.

"My name is Higurashi Kagome. Who're you?"

Gold eyes blinked, betraying his confusion in the action. He then drew himself up to his full height, allowing his youkai aura to flare out at the insolent human. "This one is Sesshomaru-ouji-sama, heir to the Western Lands, eldest son of Inu-no-Taisho-sama, and one of the last of the White Dog Clan. You will address this one with the respect due his status, or you will not live to see the sun set, human." She flinched at his youkai, and then drew herself up like him, staring him full in the face in spite of the fear flickering in her wide eyes.

"Alright, I get it. You are Sesshomaru-ouji-sama, and I'm supposed to respect you for your title. But the thing is, I have this thing that interferes with that: I can't respect you if you can't respect me. I told you my name; I may not have a fancy title like you, but as a living person, I deserve enough respect to be addressed by my name. There is no respect in calling me 'human'. My name is Kagome – say it with me now: Ka-go-me." Having delivered her speech, some of her fear was erased from her eyes, and they flashed all the more angrily for it.

Sesshomaru had to use every ounce of personal control he possessed to keep from exposing his shock physically. No one had ever stood up to him like that. No one. Sure, he had seen some of the elder, more trusted attendants – or, occasionally, his Haha-ue – berate his Chichi-ue sometimes, so he knew that the well-respected weren't above reproach; but it had never happened to him. Being a well-behaved child naturally had kept his Chichi-ue from scolding him, and being the only son his Haha-ue had ever borne naturally led to favoritism on her behalf. His retainers were too scared of the latent youkai that he had chance inherited from two superiorly strong parents to do more than correct him on stances in training or sparring.

This human girl – Kagome-san, he reminded himself, bemusedly – was something new. Perhaps… something even valuable. Chichi-ue had often commented on how his Haha-ue kept him "on my toes, and ready for any attack from any direction". Kagome-san could become something similar for him, maybe?

Realizing she was still boring holes in his head with her gaze, the young ouji-sama inclined his head slightly, acknowledging her statement. "Very well, Kagome-san. You are a strange human. Why are you not frightened of me to the point of incessant babbling, like others of your class?"

Kagome realized, amazed and somewhat put-off, that his comments were not meant to offend, that they were asked in honest curiosity. If he continued to speak with her, she knew he would have to learn some form of tact, or there would be a lot of avoidable arguments in the future. Sighing at the possibly difficult prospect ahead, she answered calmly in return, "Are you an oni, honestly?"

She watched as a slender silver eyebrow rose into his hairline, the first open emotion he had shown beyond royal haughtiness yet. "This one did not make such a thing clear with his aura, his appearance, or his lineage? Should this one be made aware of a mental deficiency you possess; perhaps being the answer to this one's former question?"

"No, I was just using the question to begin, pointing out the obvious," she murmured, waving the comments away with an absent flip of her hand. "So you are an oni. And seeing as I'm a human, you could more-than-easily kill me, right?" His eyes narrowed in confusion as he inclined his head, again doing her the respect of acknowledging her words. "And yet, you have yet to lay a harmful finger on me. You even went so far as to remove me from potential harm from within my Well-prison. You have given me no reason to fear you; and even some reason to trust you. Until you act in such a way that I feel I should fear you out of more than just a healthy respect for your obvious abilities, I will not fear for my life where you are concerned, Sesshomaru-ouji-sama."

His expression once again smoothed into nothingness, and Kagome took that to mean he understood her reasoning. But now that she was no longer so focused on the boy in front of her, she realized she was faced with another dilemma. She didn't recognize this area. She had only just been introduced to this ouji-sama, and didn't know where anyone else was. And she recognized the Well – so her family shrine had effectively gone missing.

She was lost and alone. Where anyone could take her; where anything could happen to her…

Smelling fear begin to seep off his new companion, Sesshomaru glanced at her, distracted from his perusal of the tainted area around them. Now she was afraid, and that intrigued the boy, that something could shake her confidence where he could not.

"What bothers you, Kagome-san?"

She jumped, brought back to the present, and away from her gruesome imagination.

"I, that is… I don't know where I am. I don't know where the shrine is, or where to find my Mama or Jii-chan… I know you, a little… But I don't know anyone else. I want to go home, and I don't know the way. I'm scared, Sesshomaru-sama."

Looking at her worried blue-gray eyes, Sesshomaru decided to let her slip-up with his name go. She was young, like him, and were he in her place, he'd be scared enough to make some mistakes, too. He opened his mouth to offer her… what, he didn't know; but that didn't matter.

The oni with the sickening aura and scent had decided to show itself.

In form, it was humanoid, revealing that it had a great reserve of youkai which it could decently command. Taking note of its scent, Sesshomaru found this surprising: it was a hanyou, and it was extremely rare to stumble upon a hanyou of considerable strength. It appeared young, about thirteen or fourteen – but that could point to any age. All that really meant was that the oni was young, and Sesshomaru was grateful for the favor, because most young beings are inexperienced beings, and power means nothing without experience.

It took the form of a sallow-skinned boy, with long, greasy black waves of hair and power-hungry brown eyes. His lanky form was only hinted at by his narrow, almost-gaunt face because his body was otherwise draped from neck-to-toes with a heavy-looking white baboon pelt. He was panting wildly, and it was a mystery whether his gasps were the result of exertion, or an outlet for some of the madness that sparkled in his eyes. He finally opened his mouth to speak, and Sesshomaru felt a niggling of surprise: this wild hanyou would speak before he would fight? Perhaps he could be a force to be reckoned with; in which case Kagome-san would need to be protected if either hoped for her survival when the actual fighting commenced.

"Damn you, insufferable miko! I don't know what you've done to me, but I will kill you for it! And since that mutt of yours isn't around to protect your worthless hide, it will be all that much easier a goal to accomplish! With you gone, the Shikon no Tama will be mine for the taking! Bwahahaha!"

Golden eyes narrowing a fraction, Sesshomaru shifted subtly into a defensive crouch in the space between Kagome-san and this deranged hanyou, responding to the fact that the hanyou's full attention remained riveted on the young girl he had saved. He growled low in his chest, cracking his claws threateningly. The oni reacted surprisingly by blinking, and then tilting his head in 'docile' confusion.

"You have even affected the stoic Western Lord in your attack against me, miko? What does making all of us younger, and addling the mind of a powerful inu oni do for you? Ah, well. This will end in your death no matter who you bewitch into protecting you, so it really doesn't matter to me." Such a blasé comment was followed by a sudden rush towards Kagome-san, and Sesshomaru felt himself act reflexively in retaliation with a block, and then a blow. It sent the oni flying back into the tree line from whence it came, for the moment.

Kagome, even though she had been witness to the whole thing, had not truly seen anything except some blurs because of the demonic speed both oni possessed. Terrified at the fact that this new, much more evil oni seemed intent on destroying her, Kagome began to back away from the center of the fight. Only when her back hit the rough, worn side of the Bone Eater's Well did she sink to her knees, hands clasping her arms at the elbows. It was almost too much to take in – this odd place, the existence of oni, the fact that someone wanted to kill her – but she still couldn't help but notice the things that had been said to her.

Why did he think she was a holy woman? Who was the 'mutt' that apparently protected her enough for this crazed oni to notice? Why did he refer to Sesshomaru-ouji-sama as 'Lord of the Western Lands' – that would be his Tou-san for a while yet, wouldn't it? And what was the 'Shikon no Tama' it so obviously wanted?

Apparently Sesshomaru-ouji-sama had similar thoughts, because he cried out demandingly to the oni as he emerged from the brush, "Who are you? What do you want with Kagome-san? Answer me, insolent oni!"

Brown eyes focused on the ouji-sama, and thin lips curled up into a superior smirk. Drawing himself up in a cheap imitation of Sesshomaru's challenging stance, the oni replied, "My name is Naraku, soon-to-be possessor of the Shikon no Tama, and soon-to-be full-oni. That miko behind you must die for humiliating me! By pushing me into that damned Well of hers, my powers were stripped away to an infantile level, and thanks to your presence, young ouji-sama, I was also apparently thrown into the distant past. I will wrench the secrets from her with her unwilling breath, and then I will ensure she dies slowly and painfully to make up for the crimes done to me. If you hand over the worthless miko now, I may even consider allowing you to keep a portion of the land you are currently entitled to when I come into power. What do you say, Sesshomaru-sama – do we have a deal?"

"You do not know this one well enough to be allowed to address him by his name; you shall be duly punished for you insurrections, Naraku. And once this one has taught you manners and etiquette, this one will continue to punish you for your unsavory attention directed at one under my wing. Die in pain, hanyou!" Sesshomaru-ouji-sama charged ruthlessly at Naraku in a blur of white silk and silver hair.

As the two oni battled, throwing kicks and punches – and in Sesshomaru-ouji-sama's case, even at one point a sharp, poisonous-looking yellow whip of some sort – Kagome puzzled over Naraku's words. It was obvious that one of his ambitions in life was to own the Shikon no Tama, and he would do anything to get it. He was also more-than-convinced that she was a miko, and that she had something instrumental to do with his current 'lack of power'. He had also mentioned the Well, and the past…

If this were the past, than the lack of a family shrine could be easily explained: it had yet to be built. And Jii-chan had told her once that the Well was much older than the shrine that surrounded it, so it would also make sense for the Well to be here, anyway. Also, the stories of oni were most often in the past, so that would also solve the mystery of Sesshomaru-ouji-sama and Naraku both being oni. But if the past were the case, how did she end up here?… Naraku mentioned being pushed into the Well by her – something she certainly didn't recall, having never met this odd oni before – and she, herself had jumped into the Well… Maybe the Well was the key? Kagome was just about to leap up and throw herself once more into the inky depths of the old Bone Eater's Well, but she caught sight of the on-going battle and froze.

I can't just leave Sesshomaru-ouji-sama to fight Naraku on his own! What if he gets hurt? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I found out that he died because I was too concerned over my own skin! She battled internally, even as the blows across from her became more frazzled.

A turning of the tables had a swift roundhouse kick from Sesshomaru-ouji-sama send an unfortunate Naraku from his previous position in a particularly stalwart oak, and into a shallow, sudden Naraku-shaped depression in the ground at the oak's base. He groaned, and then lay still. Kagome became so wrapped up in the battle before her that the idea that the Well was the source of her problems was firmly cast from her thoughts. All she could do was pray that Sesshomaru-ouji-sama would win, keeping her out of the dark, crazy clutches of the hanyou Naraku.

Kagome stood shakily, and took a tentative step towards the silvery oni who was her savior. She gasped as he suddenly appeared in front of her, looking down his nose at her with cold, killer eyes. For a long moment, she knew what it was like to fight Sesshomaru-ouji-sama; it was something she was glad she would never have the strength to actually experience. He finally blinked, and his eyes were once more a somewhat-familiar, dispassionate gold. A slender eyebrow rose in silent questioning.

"Ah… I was coming, that is… I wanted to see if he was – well, if you'd killed him…" Kagome stuttered, bewildered. Truthfully, she had moved on instinct, and really did not know why she had started toward the battle. When he scoffed gently at her words, she flushed and looked away.

"This one suggests you don't move any further, or else your ankle will get worse. This one will dispose of that worthless hanyou, and then will decide what is to be done with you. Stay here." She blinked, having not expected the semi-concerned thoughts of the superior silver youkai to be voiced, and then sat slowly. Her rescuer was already back in front of Naraku, hauling the hanyou up by his stringy hair. The ends began trailing smoke as poison claws activated, and the ouji-sama growled threateningly.

"You have been thoroughly beaten by this one's superior tactics, hanyou. This one is a warrior of his Chichi-ue, who has commanded a… chance… be given to all offenders of the law within the boundaries of his Western Lands. As a proven hand to his Chichi-ue, this one is obligated to uphold that consideration; this one will not kill you this night. But be warned, pathetic hanyou: If this one is given a chance to fight you again, this one will definitely tear you limb from limb, because this one does not believe in second chances. So do not presume to anger this one again. When I return to this place in two days, you will not be here, and will not have been here for at least two days, or this one will take the liberty of hunting you down. Understood?" His golden eyes bore into Naraku's own pain-dulled orbs until Naraku gave a weak moan, which Sesshomaru took to be an affirmative.

The oni was ruthlessly dropped back to the earth, and the silver youkai was once again in front of Kagome. Looking at her speculatively, Sesshomaru came to a decision. Turning around, and crouching in front of her, he threw over his shoulder, "This one does not often consent to passengers; be grateful. This one will take you to his Chichi-ue – he may have a way of getting you back home, since this predicament occurred within the boundaries of his lands. But if this one is to take you to see his Chichi-ue, this one cannot present you with your human injuries worse-off than when he found you – were this one's honor less demanding, it would be done. Know that were this errand for any other, you would not currently be so close to this one's person.

Kagome blinked. Sesshomaru-ouji-sama was showing that he didn't care for the indignities of the life of a car, but here he was in this position for a weak human. She wondered if that was simply how the ouji-sama was, or if he was just another boy who wanted to appear rough and tough?

"It may take a while, depending on how many minor oni this one must avoid. This one has confidence in his Chichi-ue; if anyone can solve this mystery of the whereabouts of your family, it will be him. You are in good hands where he is concerned, Kagome-san."

And she fell asleep, lulled by the smooth rhythm of powerful inu oni strides.