Chapter 1

The First Meeting

The smell of times long past tinged through the air in the small rooms. Relics representing everyday life from hundreds of years ago were nestled safely in glass cases. Armor and swords occupied the room in the back. The carpet covering the wooden floors was worn down from the passage of time. This was the Heaven to Earth Museum, built in 1671 and run by the Tanaka family from generation to generation. Few knew of the museum, fewer had walked through the rooms where history was portrayed so elegantly, and fewer still knew of the secrets housed within the very walls of the museum.

Kagome Higurashi was an average woman fresh out of college with a Master's in History. She had always wanted to work in a museum, but there never seemed to be an opening anywhere. Desperate for a job, Kagome was about to settle working at her family's shrine as a shrine maiden when, as fate would have it, she stumbled upon a run down building with a sign that was barely legible, reading "Hea...n ...rth Mu...em." Deciding to take a chance, she tried the handle to see if the door was locked. It wasn't. "Hello," she called walking into the quaint lobby.

There were a few moments of silence, then a voice from a room away answered back with, "Just a moment, please." After another minute, a figure appeared in the doorway of what looked to be an office. He was tall, handsome, slim. Though he looked to be no older than thirty, his hair was silver, the most beautiful color of silver Kagome had ever seen. "Yes, may I help you?" spoke a voice, no longer muffled by a wall, that sounded as if the heavens were singing.

Kagome, slightly stunned by the man in front of her, took a second to gather her thoughts. "Is… is this a museum?"

"It is," the voice of heaven answered. "You may walk through if you would like. Do you want a tour or can you find your way around? I'm afraid most of the pieces here are not labeled." His words were inviting, but his tone was less so, with a tinge of annoyance displayed in his eyes - his golden eyes.

This place had been his home for almost four- hundred years now. Though fond of it, he was tired of running a museum that never saw visitors. True, he detested humans, but it would have been nice if more people came by, if for nothing else but to keep the boredom at bay. 'Stupid curse,' he thought as he opened his account book. Still, he continued to muse, humans were amusing and he truly did love the museum. Mostly he loved the history that was preserved in the rooms; however, seeing the relics often made him miss the past when he could roam as he pleased.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and a timid voice calling out , "Hello?" It had been a month since someone had ventured into his little piece of heaven, and it took him a minute to gather himself.

As he walked out into the lobby, she stood there with a quizzical look on her face, as though confused or hesitant. With some prompting, she settled down and asked, " Are you hiring?"

'Am I hiring?' the demon asked himself. In the almost four-hundred years he has operated the museum, he had never hired anyone. It was a small building, housing only a small amount of history; why would he need help with it? He studied the woman in front of him for the first time, noticing her simple demeanor, her elegant looks, and her beautiful black hair. 'Beautiful!?' he surprised himself with that thought. Her hair was beautiful, he allowed, and so were her features.

"I would not be able to pay you much," he said finally.

"That's fine," there was excitement in her voice as her eyes danced with glee. "Really, all I want is to work in a place that is filled with history. It's the history I want."

Impressed by her response, he closed the distance between them and stuck out his hand, "Sesshomaru Tanaka."

Smiling, the girl accepted the handshake. "Kagome Higurashi. Thank you so much!"

Thank you for reading!