okay, warning. this is based on a dream I had, and in truth, this story is really, REALLY old. I wrote it several years ago and it has been sitting idle on my desktop in storage for ages. so if it seems amateurish compared to my others, that's why. in a way, I'm proud of it due to the state its in regarding the time period I'd written it in. given, I was not as good at writing in character as I am now, so Sesshomaru acts really, really weird most of the time, but it was just a fun little story I actually completed and I wanted to share it with my readers and other fans. just enjoy and remember, all great accomplishments started somewhere.

anyway, MOVING ON!

I have the weirdest name you could probably ever give a baby girl. I wasn't a Tamera, Bethany or Elizabeth; Vicky and Holly weren't enough for my parents; Alexandria wasn't pretty enough; Alexei didn't come close to unique. No, my folks were so hot-wired to unusual that my name sounds like a hotpot pedigree: Azralea Surianna GoldWisp Halo Kallira Athens; A. S. G. W. H. K. A. I've been called Alzheimer's and Alcoholics Anonymous when I use my first and last initials and even the captain character off Halo the game. And yes, my last name is Athens like Athens, Greece, no joke.

My life has not been easy because of my parents' ingenuity, and even worse because of their bad habits of drinking, drugs, etc, and bruises are the least of my worries, yet I'm happy. If anything, the thing that keeps me from going crazy is anime. I lose myself in it so as to preserve what part of my brain is yet to be damaged by my life. I'm timid, so I get pushed around easily, even though I go to martial arts classes (which I'm horrible at) and archery (not so bad) but bad teachers are most of the problems with my learning curb.

It was only recently that we moved into our rinky-dink house and I started going to public school; my folks were tired of spending time home-schooling me when they could be getting knocked up or drunk down. Wonderful, aren't they? So, sixteen and behind in my studies (thanks, dad, thanks a lot), I had a lot to make up and little time to do it; third quarter was not the place to slack off. My life is spiraling out of control; I have so much stress on me that only by dropping my bag and opening a manga can I hope to preserve that little wisp of personality that is me. Otherwise I'll be a purebred stepping stool.

Okay, since we're on the subject, I'll tell you: my favorite anime of all time is InuYasha; OMG, bishi central. I love a lot of characters, but if I could be, I'd be in love with Sesshomaru, the kick-ass older brother of Inuyasha. Naraku is okay, he's got miasma, and Kikyo has priestess powers, but Sesshomaru can turn into a freaking kick-ass dog demon! Don't get much better than that, especially since if he got out of line I could just whap him with a rolled up newspaper (joke, he'd kill me). Plus, he's hot and has this fluffy thing that can kill you! Totally not gay! But I hate Kagome. Hate her, hate the bitch! I found a video on YouTube which expresses the very reasons Kagome is pathetic. Zayane from ZayaShuku speaks the truth. Amen, sista.

So, yeah, that's me in a nutshell. Other than the fact my mom is a Japanese descendant from a long, supposedly-well-respected line of priestesses; I see no respect at all. Yet, I hardly look Japanese; if anything, maybe American Indian from my dad, but I'm pale as a westerner with big, black eyes and long, black hair.

But despite everything horrible that could happen to me, and has, I think in the end it was worth it. Why? Well, think of Kagome. If you know the series, you know she falls in a well, travels through time and ends up in feudal Japan, right? Okay, I live in a small town in Tennessee, no well anywhere for a few square miles. I'd finished doing the crap ton of dishes for the night once more as my parents happily snoozed in the living room, buried under a mountain of beer cans and bottles. They don't think my anime habit is worth anything since it takes from time I could use to cook or something so I have to sneak stuff in; like they even notice. This time it happens to be a special-order poster straight from a small shop in Japan; the guy who sold it to me said I should be careful what I wish for when I told him I really wanted it because it had a sweet-ass picture of Sesshomaru on it.

I asked why and he said it was because wishes sometimes come true. Uh-huh... Oh, well, I got my poster. It went right next to my headboard and I couldn't help but kiss two of my fingers and then tap them on Shi-shi-sama. Ah, yes, life is good when you have bishies. But of course, karma is a factor in everyone's life; I don't know if she likes me or hates me.

It was night, the next day was Saturday. I was cleaning my room, looking for the TV remote for my dad, even though I told him it was probably under the couch like last time. Okay, well, apparently I'd left a cord for my radio out and tripped. This being right next to the wall, I was expecting to hit my head and black out, but you know what? I pulled an Alice in Wonderland and fell through the wall, my poster specifically, dropped through a shower of lights and hit the ground. Boy did gravity hurt.

My dad was a pervert, so I was dressed in a ridiculous old-fashioned brown inn-keeper's dress and said it made me look cute. I knew otherwise; it was so he could see the underwear he made my mom buy me. That said, the heat of the day, even though it was the middle of winter back home, really got to me but I couldn't move because I freaking hurt everywhere! And even if I couldn't look around, I knew something somehow: I was not on earth or in the same dimension. How I know this, I'm not completely sure, but my vision faded to a pair of familiar-looking cloth shoes and a fuzzy-thing.

When I woke up a little later, I was perfectly fine. No aches, no bruises, no nothing. I'd landed behind a little stand of trees near a stone wall covered in ivy. My heart was pounding as I circled around them, looking carefully for anyone or anything while also observing the area I was in. A large, stone wall surrounded a small but spacious courtyard with trees in the corners and a pond near a big, extravagant building that seemed rather modern but with an air of ancient. A cluster of bushes along the far wall brought shelter because I saw some movement in the building and ducked behind the shrubs.

Right into a cluster of small animals in helmets with weapons who were discussing battle tactics.

"Yeah..." I muttered to myself when they saw me and stopped. "I really hit my head hard."

"Who're you?!" a badger announced, pointing a small spear at my face. "I've never seen you here before."

"Um, I'm Azralea?"

"Lies! I know no 'Azralea'!"

"Well, maybe because I'm not from here?"

"Ah-ha! I knew it!"

The bushes should be big enough to hide me so I sat on my knees and looked down at the little assortment of critters; badgers, foxes, mice, birds, hedgehogs, rabbits, even a turtle. "Uh-huh..." I've gotta be dreaming...

Pinch.

Nope. "Look, I'm really sorry about dropping in and everything, I didn't mean to." Small or not, those spears they were all aiming at me looked like they could hurt. "I just wanna know where I am."

"How could you not know where you are?" one of the rabbits asked, hopping closer and keeping level with my eyes.

"Because I fell and blacked out."

"You are in the home of the renowned Lord Sesshomaru, son of the great dog demon. We're trying to take him down for reasons we can't disclose to outsiders."

"Um, right," I muttered, "I just wanted to know where I was." I don't recall ever seeing Sesshomaru's living quarters or anything in the anime and with the glowing white light instead of sky, I figured he was telling the truth; a living dimension like what Naraku does with his castle. No wonder Inuyasha could never find him.

But this doesn't explain how I ended up here in Sesshomaru's place from my room. I really must've hit my head and gotten a concussion. It was right about now that one of the birds asked what I was doing here. "Well," I started, scooting closer because I saw my toes peeking around the bush, "I was cleaning my room and tripped, fell against the wall and either hit my head or fell into some parallel dimension."

They discussed amongst themselves whether I was telling the truth and I heard one say, "It could be that. After all, didn't that Kagome girl fall through time?"

"Yes, but another dimension? Highly unlikely."

"Almost as unlikely as falling in a well and ending up a thousand years in the past?"

The badger leader snipped, "Not the point! Even if she's a time-traveler or a dimension crosser, we can't trust her! For all we know she could be one of his minions come to trick us!"

Next thing I know, before I could convince them I was harmless, I got thrown over the bushes during a charge at none other than Shi-shi-sama! I must be fragile, too, because the impact really jarred loose a few bones since I hit the wall before the ground. "Ow..." I hissed.

"Jaken," a deep, calm voice said directly above me, "take care of our little rodent infestation. I have something more pressing to deal with."

It was me. It was so the freak me.

...

Yup.

Painful as hell, but I rolled to my side and pushed up with one arm to stare at Sesshomaru in all his demon glory, watching me with careful, yellow eyes. I always hoped there was a side of him deep down that was merciful toward my kind (humans, that is); he had Rin, right? Though obviously she wasn't here now. Still, I tried to plead to him as best I could given the fact I probably had a rib or two giving me a hernia. Grabbing his pant leg with my hand, I rasped through a very dry (awful fast) throat, "Please... help me..."

"I did once already," he told me, which explains my fade-out earlier, "but those without the power to keep themselves alive have no place in this world." Three swords and the one he reaches for is one that can kill me. Bakuseiga. Great.

I'll say something now: I'd confirmed with myself that if I ever met Sesshomaru, I'd definitely be afraid of him, but the reason I'm afraid of him is the very reason I love him.

If that made any sense, tell me now. But basically, I love the cold, distant side of him; the merciless killing, the unnatural hate for his brother, not to mention he looked good doing it too.

Drawing the blade with a long, soft hiss, I saw the power transformation (though I don't recall this either in the anime) and on impulse, made a grab for it. Please! I don't wanna die! He didn't move, probably thinking my attempt to stop him was futile, but in a flash (literally) the sword was back to normal. This caught his attention and took his gaze from me to his blade, giving me the chance to try and prevent him from using the other deadly weapon. I grabbed that one next and felt the aura around it disperse, though it was only a temporary thing, and then dropped down because the pain was getting to me. I grabbed the Tenseiga and slipped to the grass, catching it glint a purple color before closing my eyes.

There was another sound of metal sliding out of its sheath and I was expecting the slice to make me go white, but instead I felt a cold sensation which became warm very quickly and all my pain disappeared. Tenseiga... I thought as his voice registered again in my ears.

"Jaken, finish up here. I have something important to take care of." And then, of all things a fangirl could hope for, he picked me up. He picked me up! I'm small, 5' 6" and very light, and compared to him I was even smaller, and through the surprisingly delicate fabric I felt the muscles developed over I-don't-know-how-many decades of training and fighting.

And two arms. Hurray Bakuseiga!

Go figure. May as well enjoy it as I go and not sneeze; that fuzzy thing tickles! The interior of his house-thing was a mix of modern and classical; there were couches and armchairs in some rooms but also some futons and other older Japanese things, but nothing electric or gas powered. There was a stone, wood-burning stove in the kitchen and other Japanese-style appliances, but no TVs, computers or even outlets; the light came from windows and candles and the occasional glowing ball, but no light bulbs.

The room he took me to had a large bed, a small couch closer to the far wall and a long, not-very-comfortable-for-sleeping-on couch right next to the bed, just off the foot and a window with a sit-in to look out into the whiteness; it may seem stupid, but staring into nothing can be quite peaceful. The carpet in this room was soft and white and made gentle sounds as he stepped and there was nothing on it from what I could tell.

He's very tidy, isn't he? I thought while peeking around through my eyelashes.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru's voice suddenly said, "stay here with the girl in case she wakes up. I'll return shortly."

"B-b-b-but sire," the toadie (lol) stuttered, "even if she gets out of the dwelling she cannot leave! There's no way out except with your lordship!"

"She got in some way, no doubt she can get back out," he stated.

If only...

"Now stay with her until I return or I will kill you." God, I wish I could've seen his face when he said that! Death threats are what make him so irresistible!

But currently all I can do, unfortunately, is pretend I'm passed out and hope Jaken doesn't decide to finish me off right now; I wanted to know why Sesshomaru was taking pity on me, I didn't do anything. Too bad for me, staying still meant listening to Jaken complain. "Why does m'lord want her anyway? Aren't I enough? And what's taking this girl? Even that Rin child woke up faster." He sighed. "That child was at least tolerable and useful, until that incident. If only he'd been able to reach her, lord Sesshomaru could of saved her, but alas, those rocks were too many and the ravine deep." That explains things.

A few musings and a prod in the side later, Sesshomaru came back. He shooed Jaken away to check on the animal rebellion before focusing on me. "He's gone, you can open your eyes now. I know you're awake."

I did as he said; best not invoke his wrath now of all times. Next, I sat up slowly, watching him carefully, our eyes locking on accident, but he wasn't in a violent mood. Despite that, my habit of recoiling from a stare kicked in and I shrunk up, breaking his gaze but not letting him out of my sight. Carefully, I asked, "Why'd you save me?"

"You negated my swords," he said plainly. I peeked around at him more. "No normal human can do that. You also activated the Tenseiga and penetrated my barrier. I let you live out of curiosity, nothing else."

Like I was expecting something else. "Well," I said quietly, "if you're going to try and get the reasons out, don't; I don't even know myself. I ended up here by accident and the swords, well, I was just desperate to live. It was an impulse." This moment I realized why he'd left earlier.

This being his house, he could actually relax around here so he had no use for armor or weapons. The Tenseiga and the other two blades were gone, the fluffy thing was gone and his breastplate and ring guards were missing. Without them, the front of the kimono he wore opened down the middle and revealed part of his chest and the upper portion of his abs. He'd even swapped his poofy (pajama) pants for slacks. It took all I had not to blush, though I don't think it worked anyway.

"An impulse that can dispel the power of a demon of my caliber? You are aware of who I am, aren't you?"

"Of course." Out of respect more than anything, I bobbed my head. "You're lord Sesshomaru. How can I not know about you?" Something bugged me about understanding each other but just being here made anything I thought of seem plausible.

His careful glance hardened for a moment before he turned and motioned over his shoulder. "Come."

I did.