"Buyou! Doko desu ka?!" A small raven-haired girl called out as she wandered her yard. Buyou, seven-ear-old Kagome Higurashi's kitten, was missing again. Kagome had looked everywhere with no sign of the koneko. Deciding there was nowhere else he could be, Kagome ran over to the old well house in the backyard. Though her Jii-chan always told her to stay out of there, she knew that was where her beloved koneko was, it was the only place she hadn't looked. After staring at the intimidating old well house for a moment, Kagome bravely approached and entered.

Letting out a small giggle, Kagome skipped down the stairs, all there was in there was a well, what could be scary about that? No longer fearful, Kagome continued her vigilant search for Buyou, finally coming to the edge of the well. "Maybe he fell in?" She said to herself as she climbed up onto the lip of the well. Not the most graceful of children, she lost her balance and fell forward into the old well, letting out a scream and closed her eyes, bracing herself for what she knew would be a painful landing. But rather than hitting the ground, Kagome suddenly felt like she was floating. Too scared to open her eyes, Kagome kept them clamped shut, waiting for the odd feeling to go away.

S Suddenly the feeling disappeared and Kagome landed with a thud on the bottom of the well. Expecting to see the wooden ceiling of the shrine, Kagome let out a small yelp out surprise when she looked up and saw clear blue skies.

"Hey!" A voice called out from above her. "Daijobu ka?" It was a boy, he was looking down the well at her but she couldn't see what he looked like, his face cast in shadow. "Daijobu, but I'm stuck." She called up to the strange boy. He was silent a moment and then with a sudden leap, he had jumped into the well. Kagome pressed herself against the side of the well to make room for him and gave him a confused look as he landed gracefully, looking at him up and down. He looked only a few years older than her with long braided silver hair, amber eyes and strange marks on his face. "How did you do that?" She asked, amazed. He looked at her as though surprised she was asking such a question, "Baka ningin, I'm a youkai." He said with an air of superiority, crossing his arms and waiting for her reply.

"Honto, a youkai!" Kagome exclaimed, an excited gleam in her gray-blue eyes. Rolling his eyes, the young demon closed the space between them. "You're hurting my ears, just grab onto me so we can get out of this filthy well." He said in a bored voice. Nodding, Kagome wrapped her arms around one of his and he jumped into the air, landing gracefully in the grassy clearing surrounding the well. kagome let go and stumbled back, amazed before remembering her manners.

"Arigato goziamasu um..." She trailed off, realizing she didn't know the name of her savior. "You'll address me as Sesshoumaru-sama." He said, sounding slightly irritated that she didn't know who he was. "Sesshoumaru-sama, thank you for helping me." She said, bowing deeply. 'Wow, Sesshoumaru-sama, he must be really important.' she thought as she straightened up.

"Aren't you going to run away and cry for your mother or something like the rest of your kind?" Sesshoumaru asked, apparently having expected a different response from the girl after helping her. That was how it worked as far as he could tell, whenever a ningin was in trouble, they would beg for help and until their problem was solved and then they'd take off without so such as a thank you. He had expected the girl to cry or scream, certainly not for her to show him gratitude and respect. It was even more odd that she hadn't known he wasn't human, ningin children were taught young to recognize and fear his kind and she had done neither.

"Why would I do that?" Kagome asked, tilting her head in confusion and snapping Sesshoumaru out of his reverie. "Because that's how all you ningin are, as soon as you get what you want you disappear. Now run back to your village." He said and began to walk away.

Panicking, Kagome ran after him. "Wait!" He stopped and turned his head to look ever so slightly at her so she'd know he was listening. "Please Sesshoumaru-sama, I don't know where I am or where my family is. Could I please come with you?" She asked desperately, her large eyes pleading with him. What would she do if he left her there in the woods, she was too scared to jump in the well and hope it took her back home.

He couldn't leave a defenseless human child, a female no less, alone in the forest, Sesshoumaru knew that. 'Damn it, this is what I get for helping a ningin. I suppose I can leave her at the next village I pass.' He thought before nodding his head curtly and continuing into the forest, ignoring the girl's squeal of delight as she followed after him.