I'm still in the middle of my main fanfic, but this possibility was calling out to me :) This chapter is longer than the rest will be, simply because its the prologue. I intend for each to be 500 words or less! In each chapter our favorite demon lord will learn something about Kagome's time, and about Kagome herself, and in turn Kagome will become stronger and closer to Sesshomaru. So I hope you like it!

And now......Curiosity

Prologue: At First...

Kagome had given up.

It had been a week already since the two packs: Sesshomaru's and Inuyasha's; had melded together into a sort of reluctant alliance. Rin and Ah Un were social enough, and Jaken was his usual infuriating self, but the stoic lord had done nothing to suggest he even acknowledged her existence.

It was...unsettling, to say the least. Kagome was the type that enjoyed finding a friend in others, even someone as ruthless as Sesshomaru, but the imposing demon was not willing to cooperate on that front. In fact, she was sure he held a special distaste for her already.

Kicking a rock from the forest path Kagome groaned. She couldn't blame him. She was clumsy and cumbersome at best, and even though her purification powers had improved with time, ever since the daiyoukai's arrival she had made a habit of getting in his way during battle.

So, it was safe to say she did a little more than simply unnerve him. All of Kagome's hopes for an amiable relationship with the inuyoukai were swept downstream once she found herself on the receiving end of his glare yesterday. It definitely promised retribution.

She sighed. It's probably taking all those centuries of endurance training not to skin me alive! Kagome couldn't hide her cringe at the idea of being on the receiving end of Tokijin. Her mind continued to wander on as she returned to camp from her morning trip to the nearby stream. Inuyasha's gruff shouts of "Hurry it up wench! We're wasting time!" were being drowned out with a skillfulness that only came with time.

Hmmm...what else had she done? Well, she had stepped on Sesshomaru's fluffy boa...thing a dozen times already. She had tripped onto him over upturned roots, mud puddles, rocks, rocks in mud puddles; she had even tripped on nothing a few times! The demon lord must have some sort of gravitational pull that only applied to awkward mikos not accustomed to rocky terrain. There were no words that could express her guilt when she got mud on his pristine white kimono sleeve. It had gotten so bad, even Inuyasha was teasing her about how much his half-brother loathed her presence and avoided her like the plague! By that afternoon, it was almost an absolute truth in Kagome's mind that the Gods were trying to put her in an early grave.

So you could imagine her surprise when he spoke to her that evening. Even crazier, he asked her a question. A question!

She had been pulling out supplies from her bag frantically. Her favorite grapefruit body wash had gone missing, and she never bathed without it. Not once did she give thought to the newcomers in the group who had never seen such things, or even knew about the well to begin with.

Rin's eyes widened like saucers, and her mouth opened to let out a string of questions in rapid succession. Jaken attempted to do battle with the foreign objects that she threw over her shoulder; all this to protect his precious lord, no doubt.

But Kagome did turn around when a tall, ominous shadow blocked her vision of what was in her bag. She was about to turn and give the impatient hanyou a piece of her mind, when a familiar, but unwelcome shiver went up her spine.

Something just told her that this wasn't Inuyasha.

Turning slightly to face him, she plastered on a shaky smile. "Y-Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?"

Mind you, she was no longer breathing at this point.

The daiyoukai crouched down to her eye level and raised a clawed hand gracefully, moving it in her direction. Kagome flinched, and when she felt the brush of a claw on her ear she shut her eyes. He's lost his patience I bet! Looks like this is the end Kagome!

The silence was broke by a rich baritone, much louder than she had expected.

"Miko, where did you obtain such a peculiar scroll?

Kagome scrunched her brows together in confusion before slowly opening her lids.

"A scroll? W-Wha?....Oh! You mean my calculus textbook?" She looked to the left to find her giant school book grasped in his hand, hovering just in her periphery. Without thinking she grabbed it and started leafing through the pages. "It's my summer homework this year. It had to take extra classes to get more credits."

The raised brow told her he had no clue what she was talking about, and that it was her fault somehow.

"What is...calculus?"

For the first time the miko noticed the perplexed look on his face. She closed the book and regarded him suspiciously.

"Why the sudden interest if you don't mind me asking?"

Sesshomaru straightened and sent her a haughty glance before looking away with a huff.

"Can this Sesshomaru not be curious?"

Kagome chuckled. "Well you're not a cat....so I guess you're safe." Realizing her mistake she brought her hands to her lips. Me and my big mouth!

The demon lord leveled his gaze on her at that comment. "Why would this Sesshomaru be a feline? What nonsense are you spouting now miko? Now you will tell this Seshomaru about this...calculus."

Kagome got up from her kneeling position and dusted of her skirt. "Sorry, sometimes I forget to think before I speak. Don't worry about it, just ignore me!" She began walking toward her sleeping bag when she felt herself falling. Shit! What did I trip over this time?!

When the cool grass did not scratch at her face, Kagome opened her closed eyes to find herself being righted again by a frustrated Sesshomaru. He scoffed. "How like a newborn foal you are, miko. You cannot even navigate through a forest."

Kagome sighed, but her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. Picking up the troublesome textbook she held it out to him. "Tell you what. I'll tell you all about calculus, and anything else you wish to know about my time if you train me. Deal?"

Golden eyes flickered with surprise. He took the book from her. "You are willing to learn the art of combat?"

Kagome stuck her nose in the air. "Are you curious about the future?"

Sesshomaru spared a glance around the camp, and his half-brothers suspicious glare did not go unnoticed. The demon lord smirked every so slightly.

"We start at dawn, miko. Do not be late."

The young woman beamed.

The hanyou scowled.

And Sesshomaru felt very pleased indeed.

Hn. This shall be interesting.