Kagome could hardly contain her excitement. She had finally gotten Sesshoumaru to take her to his estate during spring break. Her mother had insisted on her not missing any school, so she had one week to try and find something, anything, about the well.

She was waiting for him at the foot of the shrine stairs early in the morning, her bags at her feet. He had warned her that even though the snow had melted, it would still be quite cold.

While she was on the lookout for the luxury car she had seen Sesshoumaru ride sometimes, a big black four wheel drive pulled up in front of her. Sesshoumaru stepped out, dressed in his disguise, a pair of dark blue jeans and a woolen sweater. She quickly gathered her bags as he opened the boot. Tossing them in, she threw him a bemused look.

"No sleek sedan today?"

He actually smirked at her. Kagome wondered if it was a side effect of the charm he was wearing.

"I thought I had told you, Miko. My estate is a hard place to get to."

Kagome nodded as she slid into the passenger seat. "Yeah, I know. I took me the better part of two months to get you to take me."

The drive up to the mountains was unexpectedly peaceful to Seshsoumaru. Kagome had fallen asleep before they had even reached the outskirts of the city. She had been up all night from excitement.

During the first gas-stop, he woke her to let her stretch her legs and get some food. She came back with a bag full of onigiri and a few cans of self-heating tea.

"Do we have to get groceries somewhere on the way?" she asked as they took off again.

"No. My servant has already been there for a few days and will have everything prepared."

"Ah…anyone I know?"

"Jaken."

It took everything she had not to spray the windscreen with the tea she had just sipped. After a violent coughing episode, which Sesshoumaru observed with a mildly bemused look on his face, she composed herself enough to ask how the old toad could possibly blend into society.

"He wear a charm much like mine own, though not as…convincing. You will see when we arrive tonight."

For the rest of the trip, Kagome amused herself with imagining how Jaken would look, alternating between that and enjoying the view. Save for the occasional building or town, they drove mostly through wooded and mountainous country. She could almost imagine herself back in the Sengoku Jidai.

A few stops and a lot of hours later, Sesshoumaru got off the highway and steered the car onto a small lookout point. Before Kagome had a chance to get out her camera, he commandeered her to help put on the snow chains.

"But I thought you said the snow had melted…" she pouted.

"It has, but there may still be patches of ice."

When they were done, Kagome had just time enough to snap a few pictures before Sesshoumaru insisted they move on. He wanted to be there before dark, when the roads would really become treacherous, despite his enhanced eyesight.

The last stretch of their journey took them up a windy mountain road with a sheer drop on the right sight. Sesshoumaru was amused to see Kagome edge to the far left of her seat so as not to have to look down the ravine.

"Scared, Miko?"

"Heh, well, I'm not really good with heights, so…"

"What about all those times my half-brother carried you on his back?"

"That was different. His hair was always blowing in my face, so I couldn't exactly see how high up we'd be. And besides, I always trusted him not to let me fall."

The slight smile Sesshoumaru had been wearing vanished. "And you do not trust me to drive you up this mountain safely?"

Wide eyed, Kagome back pedaled. "No, no, it's not like that! I mean, it's like, you know, you could hit a sheet of ice or something, or the ground could crumble under the wheels, and then-"

"Save your breath, wench," he growled at her.

Kagome swallowed the retort she wanted to throw at him for the drop in civility and stared angrily ahead. The last couple of bends passed in a stony, uncomfortable silence. By the time the walls that surrounded the estate came into view, Kagome was close to tears. She had been beating herself up for spewing out something that had set her friendship with Sesshoumaru back so far that he had not even called her 'Miko' anymore. As he pulled over to wait for the automatic gate to open, she sniffled and angrily wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Beside her, she heard him sigh softly and gruffly demand what was wrong. It reminded her so much of InuYasha that she burst into tears.

"I'm so-ho-rry, Sesshou-ho-maru," she managed through her outbursts, "I didn't mean it like that! I always sa-ha-y things before I think about them, always have. I do trust you, I do-ho!"

By then, the gates had opened and Sesshoumaru started the car up again. They drove through, Kagome still violently sniffing. He could not stand it any longer.

"…I know, Miko."

It brought on another wave of tears, but also a smile so bright he could have steered the car up the mountain by it.

"…and this will be your room," the squeaky voice from the phone conversations said.

She could now put a face to it. After they had entered the main house, they were met by a small, sickly colored man. It took her a second to put one and one together, but as she did, she burst into hysteric giggles. A charm not so convincing, indeed. Jaken the human did not even reach Kagome's shoulder and looked as if he had been bent over a toilet for the better part of a week. His nose was sharp, as if all the magic in the world could not cover up the beak of his true form. His ears were still slightly pointy and his eyes were big and bulbous, but not nearly as much as she remembered them to be.

Beside her, Sesshoumaru had taken of his watch and tossed it to the imp in disguise.

"You may take of the charm now, Jaken."

"B-but, mi'lord, she is human!"

"And you are an imp. Don't you remember me, Jaken? Should I step on your head to jog up your memory?" Kagome had said through a grin.

Gasping at her comment, Jaken had waddled closer and squinted at her, before his eyes had opened wider than she thought possible.

"The Shikon Miko! How dare you show yourself here, after-"

"Jaken." Sesshoumaru's tone spoke of terrible things if the imp would not shut up instantly.

"Yes, mi'lord?"

"Show her to the guest room. Then come unpack my things."

"…Yes, mi'lord."

He had then obediently shown Kagome to her room, though he had glared at her all the way. Kagome wondered what it was that she did to upset him so much. Surely, her stepping on his head was long enough ago for him to be this angry about. Before she could ask him, though, he had tossed her bags into the room, shoved her inside and slammed the sliding door shut. When she opened it again, he had already vanished down the hall.

She turned back into the room to examine it. It was a 6 tatami mat room, with sliding door closets to house her clothes and the futon. There was a small alcove where an electric kettle was set up. In the far back, more sliding doors connected to the engawa and gardens. It was too dark already to go explore the gardens, but the sound of water and a shishi-odoshi told her there had to be a pond somewhere. She quickly unloaded her bags into the closet and went back to the common room Jaken had told her dinner would be served in.

When she got there, Sesshoumaru was already seated at the low table, looking fresh and crisp in a clean yukata.

"Wow, you already bathed?" Kagome asked as she sat down, "I didn't think I was gone that long…"

"I dislike long car rides," he explained, "I always take a bath right after. You may take your bath after dinner, should you wish."

They said a quick prayer before starting on their dinner of miso, nikujaga and rice. Kagome was surprised at how tasty it all was and snorted when the unbidden image of Jaken in an apron bubbled up in her head. It earned her a raised eyebrow, but she waved it away.

After dinner, Sesshoumaru showed her to the indoor onsen and back to her room before leaving her to her own devices. She decided that having a bath was not a bad idea at all, and grabbed her bathing supplies and pajamas before heading back down the hall.

Just as she was done washing herself and had gotten comfortable in the warm water, an outburst of youki broke through her reverie. Drying herself off as fast as she had ever done and quickly shooting into her pajamas, she flew to the gardens, only to almost bowl a not so human anymore Jaken over. He was standing there quietly, observing something in the garden.

"Jaken! What's going on, what happened?!"

"Quiet, woman! Lord Sesshoumaru does not need you interrupting his time of relaxation!" the imp snapped at her.

The wind picked up and blew her still dripping hair away from her face. She stared into the darkness and suddenly understood. She sat down quietly beside Jaken, her feet dangling off the engawa.

"Does he always do this when he gets here?" she asked in a quiet whisper.

Jaken glanced at her from the corner of his eyes before nodding. "Usually the very moment he arrives. He only delayed this because you were there. Be grateful, human."

Even in the dark of night, Sesshoumaru's huge silhouette was easily discernable. His silvery white fur reflected even the slightest source of light, making him stand out against the background. Completely in awe, Kagome admitted to the imp that she was, indeed, very grateful to be there. The inuyoukai heard, and was very pleased.

A.N.: Still don't own anything.