Chapter One: Cursed

Important Note: Please bear with me for the first part of this fic! The OC is necessary, but she won't be in here much. The story centers on dear Kagome and Sesshomaru. Trust me, you'll see plenty of them. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha… I just pretend to. (Don't we all?)

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From her perch high atop the cliff, Celestial Maiden Dai watched the demon with growing apprehension. She frowned down at the figure far below, while her blue-tinged silky hair wafted out behind her in accordance with the wind. From what she could see, the creature was nearing a band of humans. Her eyes narrowed to form tiny slits. If the demon did anything rash, such as harming the travelers, then she would be forced to act. She was not one to sit idly by while other beings suffered. Because of this, she had avenged many deaths in her time, and had challenged many demons.

Of course, there was no way that she could save everyone. She had known this throughout the entire course of her existence, and yet something still compelled her to protect those that she saw. It was a fruitless task, but even so, it was something that Dai excelled at.

The humans were going to cross the demon's path at any moment. Dai leaned forward slightly to better observe the white demon. That was when his aura shifted. Dai could sense it; he was going to attack them! This would not be tolerated.

Dai was truly a sight to behold, as she soared down from the cliff to land before the humans. They fled the moment they saw the demon, and the celestial maiden turned on the creature, her eyes hard.

When she spoke, her voice was fragile and crisp, like leaves in fall. "You were going to kill them," she stated, with only a hint of uncertainty in her tone.

The demon did not respond, and so she tilted her head slightly, appraising him. He had long silver hair, and a blue crescent moon rested upon his forehead while red stripes adorned his cheeks. His clothes were all of white, excepting the sash that he wore around his waist, and the spiked armor that covered his shoulder.

Dai was not impressed.

"I shall repeat my question," Dai whispered. "Do you deny that you would have killed them?"

The demon looked almost bored when he answered. "I deny no such thing."

Dai acted. She thrust her hands forward, fingers splayed, and whispered a single word. Magic coursed through her before erupting from her palms. "A curse upon you, demon," she whispered, shifting her power towards the being before her.

To say that the demon was taken by surprise would have been an understatement. He had never imagined that any being would be able to land a blow upon him, and yet she did so with ease. Her magic hit its intended mark, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

The fact that the magic incapacitated him might have been a merciful one. Had he still been conscience, he would have noticed immediately his lack of strength, and also one other, slightly more troublesome change… Dai's curse had physically changed him as well. Where once there had been a tall proud demon, there now lay an abnormally small crumpled form.

Dai glared down at the fallen demon. She had not expected any resistance and was not in the least surprised that the creature had been unable to fend off her magic. She had cursed him instead of killing him, and she had made a very clean job of it. The curse had worked perfectly, and yet rage still bubbled within her. She had witnessed too many human deaths, and she had grown weary of it.

I shall make things difficult for you, Dai decided, walking forward until she was right beside the demon's body. She picked him up with one hand, eyeing him as though he were something repulsive. Now carrying the limp form, she set off to find a place to leave the demon. Perhaps…I could leave him in the dry well that I saw on my way here. She considered the option. It is too steep for him to climb out of easily, especially if I cover it over. Perfect.

…………….

"Bye Mom, Gramps, Souta—Hopefully I'll see you all again in a couple of weeks!" Kagome Higurashi, a seventeen-year-old high school student, stepped out of her house. She brushed back a stray lock of ebony hair, and walked over to the mini-shrine that was situated on her family's land.

Although it didn't look like much, the mini-shrine was probably the single most significant thing in her life. If she had never fallen into the old well it contained, then she wouldn't have met Inu-Yasha and, for better or for worse, he had played a lead role in her life for the last two and a half years.

Kagome sighed, thinking about how much she had changed since the first time that she had seen the half-demon. She had grown to love him, and was only now beginning to understand the power of that old emotion. If only she could go back to the earlier days when she had been naïve, and had not known anything of the pain that loving someone could inflict. She now knew that Inu-Yasha had never truly loved her as much as the dead priestess that she so resembled. It didn't matter how deeply that had wounded her, for despite all of the feelings that her heart had contained for him, Inu-Yasha would always love Kikyo, and only Kikyo. For some time after Inu-Yasha's decision to stay with Kikyo, Kagome had been completely miserable. She had simply refused to believe what was happening, and had gone into denial. Everything had seemed so promising, but she had been let down. Despite all that she had suffered, Kagome could not dredge up feelings of hatred for the half-demon that had shattered her heart.

If only she could just forget about the feudal era, and try to live a normal life… Kagome shook her head sadly as she pulled back the shrine door. She wasn't sure that she even knew what a 'normal life' was anymore.

Walking into the darkness of the shrine, Kagome descended the steps leading down to the well. Once there, she prepared herself for the jump over the edge. When she was ready, Kagome leaned over the well, about to make the time leap, but something stopped her. If she squinted, Kagome could just make out a faint white blotch at the bottom of the well that she was certain hadn't been there last time she had gone time traveling.

Without warning, Kagome's miko senses went wild. She gasped in surprise and lurched backwards. There must be a demon down there, she realized, and with this thought, she raced for the top of the stairs. Slamming the shrine doors behind her, Kagome stood silently for a moment, thinking about what to do.

First I'll go get a flashlight, she decided. Then, I can go back into the mini-shrine, and find out exactly what is down there. Kagome headed back across the yard, and into the house. When she had closed the door, she immediately ran to the closet in the living room, moving so fast that she didn't even notice that her mom was sitting on the couch.

"That was a short trip," the woman noted. Kagome was busy trying to locate an elusive flashlight, and her voice came back slightly muffled.

"Well, yeah…I haven't actually gone to the feudal era yet. I, um, forgot my flashlight, so I decided to come back in to get it." There was no sense in making her mom worry by telling her the reason that she needed the flashlight. It was likely that Kagome was just imagining the white splotch and the demon aura at the bottom of the well.

"Oh, I see," her mom said. "It's on the left-hand side of the closet, Dear, near the front."

"Got it. Thanks Mom," Kagome called, running back out the door, and then to the mini-shrine. She opened the door slowly and waited for a moment, trying to sense a demonic aura, but it had faded. Is the demon…gone? Kagome wondered. No…

She could still sense an aura, but it was faint. It was almost as though the being was losing power.

Kagome walked over to the lip of the well, and peered downwards. She flicked the switch of her flashlight, and shone the hazy yellow beam through the blackness, scattering the shadows.

She was more than a little surprised by what she saw.

"Shippo," she questioned. "Is that you? How did you…"

Kagome trailed off as she realized that she wasn't looking at the small fox demon that usually accompanied her on her travels, but at someone who looked very much like…

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome was horrified. She might have run, but there was something about the whole situation that seemed so wrong. Sesshomaru wasn't supposed to be able to get through to her time! Of course, now that she thought about it, it made sense. He did have almost the same blood running through his veins as his half-brother, Inu-Yasha, and Inu-Yasha had always been able to come to her time. There was something else that really did puzzle her though. Either the well was a lot deeper than she remembered it being, or Sesshomaru was a lot shorter than the last time she had seen him. She was pretty sure that it wasn't the latter of the two – that would be just plain silly.

Kagome stood on the brink of the well for several minutes, trying to decide what to do. As she thought, she observed the body below. Upon closer inspection, Kagome could tell that the demon below was out cold. That settled it. Kagome Higurashi was not going to just stand by and watch someone fade away, even if the person injured was an enemy. Sesshomaru could go get himself killed in his own world, and she wouldn't lift a finger to stop him, but he certainly wasn't going to die in her family's shrine! She didn't need that weighing on her conscience.

Kagome could see that a save-the-lord-of-the-western-lands plan was going to require some thought. If she just leapt into the well to help him, as would be her natural reaction, then she would end up in the feudal era. Kagome wasn't even sure that she could get him out of the well on her own, since she couldn't very well support a fully grown demon with one arm, while using the other to climb out of the well. That just wasn't going to work.

Kagome walked around to the other side of the well house. She remembered that her grandfather had put a ladder there after retrieving her cat, Buyo, from the God Tree the year before. She smiled when she saw that it was still there, tucked into the corner. Kagome grasped the sides of the ladder, and began to lug it across the room.

When she reached the well, Kagome began to slowly lower it downwards. Although the pace made the muscles in her arms ache, she was afraid to go any faster. She knew that if she did so, she might drop the ladder right on top of the person that she was trying to save. For some reason, Kagome didn't think that this would improve matters.

She sighed with relief when the ladder touched the soil at the bottom of the well. Carefully, Kagome pulled herself onto the ladder, and began to climb down. She was surprised when her foot met the ground after only a few moments.

So, if she was really at the bottom of the well…then why did Sesshomaru still seem so small?

"No way," Kagome breathed, reaching out towards the demon to confirm the crazy thought that had just passed through her mind. She was shocked when her hand brushed against the demon's silver hair.

I don't understand it, she thought. All I know is that somehow Sesshomaru shrank, and that he ended up in the Bone Eater's Well… Kami, being that short must be awful for somebody as proud as he is. Oh well. Kagome gave a mental shrug. Based on what I've seen of him, he probably deserves it.

She gingerly scooped up the demon lord, and began her ascent back up the ladder. As she carried the demon back to her house, Kagome couldn't help but think what would happen if he were to wake up while she was holding him. She swallowed hard. The result probably wouldn't be pretty, or good for health.

Kagome snuck up the stairs that led to her room. She didn't want her mom to start speaking to her now, because she needed to set Sesshomaru somewhere first. Talking to her mom about their temporary guest would come later. In any case, Kagome knew that her mom would allow it. This was the family that covered for her while she was in the feudal era gathering Shikon Shards. Kagome really appreciated what they all did for her; not every family would have done the same.

Reaching her room, Kagome quietly opened the door. She shuffled inside, and placed Sesshomaru on her pillow. It was just the right size, and his entire body fit on top of it.

Kagome sighed. I can't believe I'm doing this, she thought, shaking her head slightly at the absurdity of it all.

She walked back through the hallway to find her mom. Mrs. Higurashi was right where Kagome had last seen her, and so the young miko located her quickly.

"Hey mom," Kagome said, her voice soft and rushed. "Inu-Yasha's half-brother was in the well, and he was unconscious so I brought him upstairs, is that okay?"

Her mom nodded once, and waited for the explanation that she knew was coming.

"Oh good," Kagome said, relieved that her mom didn't mind. "There are a few things that you should know though. Inu-Yasha and his brother, Sesshomaru, aren't exactly friends. Actually, they're kinda the opposite… Um, also…let's see, how do I say this? Sesshomaru is…well, he's really short today, but he isn't usually. Normally, he's taller than Inu-Yasha. Anyway, if you can help it, please don't tell Inu-Yasha that Sesshomaru is here if he comes by, and please don't say anything to Sesshomaru about his height."

"Do you need help taking care of Inu-Yasha's brother, Kagome," her mom asked.

"Oh no, don't worry about it! I'll be okay."

"Well, alright then. I'll remember what you told me." Mrs. Higurashi smiled. "Do you think that your guest will want something to eat?"

"He'll be okay for now, Mom. I don't think that he eats human food, and he's not even awake yet…"

"Well, when he does wake up, ask him what he wants for dinner."

Kagome returned her mother's smile. "I will, Mom. Thank you."

"Of course, Kagome."

When she got back to her room, Kagome stared at the occupant of her bed for several minutes before pulling herself together, and sitting down at her desk to work on homework. She had the uncomfortable gut feeling that her life was about to become a lot more confusing, aggravating, and all around difficult.

…………….

Sesshomaru could feel something tickling his face, and he stirred, trying to open his eyes. He managed to do so, and immediately regretted it.

This is the end, Sesshomaru decided. All he could see were two great big yellow-green eyes glaring down at him. He was in no condition to move, he could tell, and the great beast was pawing at him. What an undignified way to die.

Despite his imminent doom, Sesshomaru found himself unable to stay awake, and he began to drift into a dreamless sleep. The last thing he heard was a woman's voice yelling, "Buyo, no! Get off of him!"

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Please review! Thanks for reading this – you rock:)

Author's Note: So, first chapter up! W00t, w00t! Hmm…what to say? Oh yeah! My thanks to Rhonda (anime poison) for listening to my crazy ideas!

I'll try to post chapter two soon!