Chapter 2

Amane was walking through a lush, thick forest, unsure of where she was headed. Her mind was full of so many questions. Why had she been sent here, what was her purpose? She wasn't of this time, or this world even but what was the point?

Long ago her father would tell her stories of a mysterious world hidden inside of an old well. At the time she thought her father was just making up some fairy tale and everywhere they would go she would look inside a well to be greeted by either water or dirt. It wasn't until four years ago that she found these stories to be true. At the time she was struggling with her identity, she had discovered so many things about herself and her "family" but they only thought she was crazy. Frustrated, she ran into the forest surrounding their backyard and found an old wooden well. There was dirt at the bottom and she jumped inside, taking comfort in her father's stories. All she had wanted to was to take some time for herself to process what she had learned. However, that all changed when she found herself in feudal Japan.

Since that moment that she emerged from that old well, the thought of returning "home" never crossed her mind. For a month she wandered aimlessly, much like she was doing now, and exploring this new world. Until one day when she heard a rumor of a powerful sword. The legend was that an incredible sword that had been forged by the Gods out of a dragon demon had unimaginable powers and was awaiting for its true master to come claim it. Many searched for the sword and came up empty handed, which led most to believe that the sword itself didn't want to be found. This intrigued Amane and she decided to seek out the fabled sword herself.

This task would take her a year. Amane wasn't sure what to think of the rumors, despite the location of the sword being generally difficult to find, the sword known as Zanshiki was easy to obtain. She had expected there to be some sort of trial in order for her to take possession of the weapon. Not too long after that she found herself on a killing spree, becoming a well known murderer. Her first few weeks in this new time were interesting and an adventure, and the search for Zanshiki had also been something that kept her mind busy, but once that was over she remembered her anger at her family and lashed out on anyone she could.

Wouldn't it be better to kill them all? That's what she thought at the time anyways. Her murdering ways would continue up until about eight months ago, when she encountered a girl who bore a striking resemblance to her late younger sister. If someone where to tell her that they were the same person, she would believe it had her sister not already been dead. It was in that moment that she saw this girl's face and was reminded of her beloved younger sibling that all urges to kill had left her body and mind. So why was she here? It was obvious that she was meant to come here. Zanshiki had chosen her as its true master, the girl who looked so much like her sister whose death had been so tragic, and the fact that her father had told her about this place so long ago in his stories.

"Watch I bet you I'm in a coma or something and this is all just a dream." she laughed as she quietly said the words to herself and rubbed her forehead in frustration. That was when she heard a familiar voice say, "You're in my way."

It was the demon from three months earlier! She couldn't forget his face, not after that experience. Even though she'd been shaken up while watching him fight earlier she was still pretty pissed that he didn't cut her ropes and she was the great Amane! How dare he. She held up her sword, still in its sheath, "No. You're in my way." Amane squinted her eyes at him, no one told her what to do. Especially not some demon. His claws were definitely something to watch out for, but she had Zanshiki so she felt she had an advantage.

Sesshomaru stared for a moment, his face expressionless. He was surprised that she managed to survive such fatal wounds as he was sure she had died from them shortly after he last saw her. "If you're not going to get out my way then I suggest you say your last words now." This girl was a half breed of some sort, that he could tell. However, what that was exactly, he was unsure. He definitely smelled human on her, there was no mistake in that, but what was the other scent? It wasn't demon that's for sure, but if not that then what? It smelled pure. He didn't know how to describe it really, it was a scent not like any he'd ever smelled before. Despite that, this girl had challenged him and it was time for her to go. She was half human so killed her would be more of a challenge than a normal human but it would still be an easy task for Sesshomaru. Though he did somewhat appreciate that this girl didn't back down, somewhere deep inside, not that he would ever admit it.

He cracked his knuckles and lunged towards her. "Whoa! He's fast!" she thought to herself. Barely, she was able to dodge his attack with her sheathed weapon and hopped out of his way. "Why do you not draw your sword?" he asked, partially curious and another insult. "I could ask the same thing about you!" Amane pointed towards his sword which he kept at his side. "As if I would need a pitiful thing like a sword." he responded as he once again lunged at her. "Well then I guess you kind of answered your own question. Why would I waste my energy and use full force on you?" she laughed a bit while working hard to dodge his attacks. This was proving to be more difficult than she thought. She had only seen him fight a small army of men in their last meeting, but he didn't attack like this, his speed was insane! "Keep quiet and focus on your fight." Sesshomaru said calmly as he grazed her arm. Amane inspected the wound for a moment before giving a cheeky smile, "What? You can't have a decent conversation before you kill? That is, if you can kill anyways. Which you won't be able to. Believe me! Many have tried." Blood was spilling from her arm now and she seemed generally unphased by it. In fact she didn't even make a sound when she got cut. It was almost like she didn't feel it at all.

He could tell this would be a waste of time. She acted like her wound didn't even exist and was more interested in having a conversation with him. Instead of continuing out their fight he continued on his path. She gave him a puzzled look, though kept up her guard as he passed her. He stopped for a moment and looked back over his shoulder, "I don't have time to waste with filthy half breeds." "Filthy half-breed?!" Amane's mind was going a mile a minute. She could practically feel steam coming out of her ears. Before she could respond, he was already out of sight. For some reason she followed him. She didn't know why, but her body just urged her forward. Even though he was not someone she wanted to be around, was he someone she needed?It didn't take long for her to catch up to him, "Wait!" she called out. He stopped and turned around, "I told you, I have no time to waste on fi-" "Filthy half-breed." she cut him off and finished his sentence in a somewhat annoyed tone. "I know you say that but let me travel with you." Amane felt her stomach churn, this was more of a blow to her pride than him calling her a filthy half-breed. "It won't be forever, I promise! I just need to find out something. Yes, I'm a half-breed but I'm sure you've noticed I'm not part demon. I know what I am but I have to find out why." she knew it sounded silly but this was a question she had for so long. Why was she a half-breed.

Sesshomaru really didn't want this girl to travel with him. He hated humans and he hated half-breeds, so a half human person was not his idea companion. There was something about her though, that he felt drawn to. He was curious about this other blood of hers, what was it? Why wouldn't she say what it was and why did she have to find out why she was half human and half whatever? Isn't it obvious why? Sesshomaru turned back around and continued walking, "Do as you will."

Amane smiled a bit, excited to see if any of her questions could possibly be answered by traveling with this mysterious demon. She did find it a bit odd that she'd run into him twice in such a short amount of time, that had to mean something didn't it? "I'll be out of your hair soon I hope. Don't worry I have no interest in becoming friends with you either so I won't stick around." Friendship was something she never had, nor did she have any interest in obtaining it.

Sesshomaru said nothing and continued on his way with Amane now following a few paces behind him.