Kagome crept down the oddly decorated hallway and contemplated whether this was a good idea. Anything or anyone could be at the end of this hallway and here she was, nothing but a flashlight for protection, about to open a door hidden behind a secret entrance at the bottom of a well. If she were watching a tv show or reading a book she'd be yelling at the protagonist to turn back and don't open the door, stupid.

She grasped the doorknob and took a deep breath before twisting her wrist and pushing the door open. Kagome wasn't sure what she expected but she supposed a fully furnished small apartment of sorts shouldn't be that big a surprise, considering the journal entries. Now she knew where all the purchases her grandfather was making had ended up.

She took a step in, hand still on the doorknob, and called out, "Anyone in here? I come in peace." She waited for a second but didn't get a response. There was a kitchenette directly to her right and she could see someone had breakfast ready on the counter that divided it from the back half of the room. Someone had to be here.

On the other side of the counter, she could see a sofa, a small table, a tv stand with a small flatscreen perched on top, and a desk in the back right corner. There were some books stacked on the table and a laptop, a box of tissues, and a small lamp on the desk. Straight ahead, to the left of the living room, was a small collection of workout equipment. A black t-shirt hung from the end of the bar on the bench press.

There was a heavy-looking metal door behind the workout equipment and a sliding door on the wall to her right, between the kitchen and living room area. The walls were all wood paneling and the ceiling was cement with exposed metal beams. The maroon carpet from the hallway extended into the room, wrapping around the tiled kitchen floor. Calling the room an eyesore would be kind.

She turned to close the door and survey the rest of the room but dropped her flashlight and screamed when she saw the man standing behind the door, claws raised and poised to attack.


'Fuck, she smells fantastic,' was all Inuyasha could think when the door swung open. He could pick up hints in her scent that connected her back to the old man so at least he knew she was part of the Higurashi family.

She called into the apartment and glanced to her right, away from Inuyasha. He probably should have relaxed his stance when he realized she wasn't a threat but he was too busy thinking about that small spice to her scent and wondering if it would get stronger when she was angry. Then she turned around and it was too late and the bitter smell of fear hit him accompanied by her scream.

His ears flattened to his head and he threw his hands up in an attempt to calm her down. "I'm not gonna hurt you, would you calm the fuck down, woman?" He probably shouldn't have yelled but fuck was her scream loud.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing hiding behind the door?" she yelled back at him. The bitterness in her scent disappeared and, much to Inuyasha's delight and amusement, the spice magnified with her flaring anger.

He crossed his arms and glared down at her. "I live here, I can hide wherever the hell I want."

She returned his glare and he had to fight the urge to smirk. "Well if you live here then why were you hiding in the first place? You could've just answered me when I asked if anyone was here."

"Keh. You're one to talk, barging in unannounced. You could've knocked." He reached over and demonstrated, giving the door three quick raps. "See, not hard." He almost laughed at how her mouth hung open and this time he did smirk.

Her mouth snapped closed and she looked ready to tear into him again but her eyes caught something above his head. He twitched his ears, knowing that's exactly what she was looking at. Her eyes widened and she pulled her gaze back to his face.

"Ears," she squeaked. He could almost see the internal battle she must be having: to touch or not to touch. Women always found his damn ears cute.

"Something wrong with my ears?" he asked. He made a point of looking at the side of her head. "You've got ears too, but you don't see me pointing it out."

"Of course I have...that's not...you know what I mean," she said, her tone giving away her frustration. "Most yokai wear concealments in public so I don't usually get to see their...unique features."

"I'm hanyo, not yokai. Ane we wouldn't have to hide our features if stupid humans would just mind their own business," he said. He scowled and walked back towards the kitchen; his breakfast was getting cold, they could talk while he was eating.

She turned and followed his movements. "I wasn't implying you should hide anything. I...I like your ears."

He didn't miss the way her eyes wandered to his arms and chest as he moved; it looked like his ears weren't the only things she liked. "Whatever. Just keep your damn hands off them." He sat and started into his rapidly cooling meal. "You hungry? I got extra."

"No, thanks, I already ate breakfast. Also, I don't make it a habit to eat food prepared by people living in secret under wells." She stood there awkwardly for a second then slowly walked over and motioned to the stool on the other side of the counter. "May I?"

"Oh, now you're all manners and asking permission." He raised his eyebrows and gave her a pointed look. "Go ahead, I don't bite," he said and flashed a fang at her, "often."

"That's reassuring. It's been under five minutes since I walked in here and I can already tell you're a very frustrating person to deal with." She hopped up onto the stool and folded her hands on the counter in front of her. "Do you have a name? Or should I just call you dog boy or something?" She glanced at his ears again.

"Dog Boy is fine, I'll tell you my name when you learn how to knock." He heard her little snort of laughter and allowed a smile to tug at the corner of his mouth. "What about you? You have a name or can I just call you 'ears'?"

She let out another small laugh and he decided he enjoyed the sound. "I do have a name: Higurashi Kagome. 'Ears' would be more appropriate for you anyway."

It was his turn to laugh. She wasn't wrong, 'ears' would suit him much better than her. "Alright Higurashi Kagome, I guess you're related to the old man then. How about you tell me what you're doing all the way down here and why the old man isn't with you? I figured he'd bring someone down with him at some point but-" he cut off when he saw the look on her face. All the humor was gone and she looked like she may cry. "What happened?" he asked, his tone serious.

"If by 'old man' you mean my grandfather, he died about a week ago. There was an accident," she sniffled and he could smell the salt of her tears. "He fell down the shrine steps."

He reached over and placed a hand over both of hers. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

She looked a little surprised at his gesture but didn't move to pull her hands away. "It's alright. You just caught me off guard." She gave him a weak smile and a few tears ran down her cheeks.

Inuyasha gave her hands a quick squeeze then got up to get her some tissues. He grabbed the box he kept on his desk and brought it back to her. At least now he knew why he hadn't heard from the old man. He felt a small pang at the loss, he really was starting to like the old grump.

Kagome took the box of tissues and pulled a few out. "Thank you," she said and blotted at the moisture on her cheeks. "I've gone from barging in and yelling at you to sitting in your kitchen crying. You must think I'm crazy."

He settled back onto his stool and cocked his head to the side. "I don't think you're crazy. Well, maybe you're a little crazy since a sane person probably would've run away when they found me in attack mode behind the door. How did you know I was down here anyway? I thought he was the only one that knew."

"My grandfather was keeping journals about his interactions with you. At least, I'm assuming it was you, he never gave a name or anything. I came down here hoping to find whoever he was talking about, so you weren't a complete surprise," she explained. "As far as how I knew where to look: he mentioned getting splinters and Mama remembered him complaining about getting splinters from the old well. So here I am, my investigation was a success."

"Alright, but how did you find and open the entrance? Only people with spiritual powers or yoki should've been able to activate the stone. I don't sense any reiki or yoki from you." He gathered his dishes and took them to the sink to wash while she explained.

"I don't know, honestly. I caught something shining with my flashlight and when I ran my hand over it, things started to move." She paused and looked around. "Where is my flashlight?"

He nodded towards the door, "You dropped it when you saw me. It's still laying on the floor over there."

"Oh, I didn't even realize..." She got up and picked up her flashlight. She clicked the beam off and set it on the counter.

"You were too busy making my ears bleed to notice anything else," he joked. "Aside from the screaming, you're handling this whole thing pretty well though. Not sure how I'd feel if I found a stranger living under my property."

Kagome shrugged and fiddled with the wrist strap on the flashlight. "Like I said, I'd kind of prepared myself mentally for anything coming down here. Well, anything except someone hiding behind a door ready to attack me, apparently."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "I didn't know what to expect when the door opened. I don't get many guests."

"Hmm, I don't imagine you do. Sorry I barged in. I was a bit too distracted by that awful wallpaper in the hallway," she joked.

Inuyasha chuckled, the wallpaper was the fucking worst. He dried his hands and held one out towards Kagome for a handshake. "Let's start again then. I'm Dog Boy, nice to meet you."

Kagome reached out and gave his hand a firm shake. "Higurashi Kagome, pleased to make your acquaintance, Dog Boy."

He smiled and motioned to the sofa. "Why don't we sit somewhere more comfortable, I think we have some things we need to figure out."

She followed him the few steps to the little living room area and sat on the small sofa while he settled into his rolling desk chair and turned to face her. He watched her for a minute as she glanced around. She had long black hair that seemed to shine even in the low light of his living space. It was pulled into a ponytail and draped over one shoulder. Her eyes were a rich brown, like mahogany, and they also seemed to be able to catch even the smallest bit of light. He'd noticed earlier that she was petite, only coming up to about his chin. Her modern clothes, low-cut jeans and a pretty pink blouse, hugged her curves nicely.

He shook his head and looked away before she could notice him staring. "So," he started, "now that you know I'm here, I have to ask that you not tell anyone about me. I'm kind of a secret."

She stopped looking around and focused on him. "I figured as much. Are you gonna tell me why you're a secret?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Okay," she drew the word out. "Can you tell me why you're living under my shrine?"

"Also no."

"Why not?"

"It's a secret."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, what can you tell me?"

He chuckled at her frustration. "Not much, at least not yet. Gotta know I can trust you first. I can give you my shopping list though."

If looks could kill her glare would've ended him. "I'm not your maid."

"No, you're not," he admitted. "You are, however, the only person who knows I'm here. And I can't leave." He let that sink in.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, her right hand came up and she nibbled on the end of her thumb nail. She seemed to come to a decision, "Alright, I'll help you out. But! You have to tell me something. Anything you can like how you know my grandfather or how long you've been down here."

He thought for a minute, trying to think of something safe he could share with her. "Alright, your grandfather was friends with my father. That's how we met."

She smiled brightly at him, "Perfect! See, that wasn't so hard. You-" she cut off at an odd buzzing noise. She lifted her butt off the sofa and pulled a cell phone out of her back pocket. The screen lit up and she got a panicked look on her face. "I gotta go, I didn't realize what time it was."

She jumped up and jogged to the door.

"Hey, hold on," he tried to stop her but she was already through the door when he reached it.

She stopped halfway down the hallway and turned. "I'll be back later tonight, I promise. I've got things I need to do today." She gave him a quick wave and jogged the rest of the way to the platform.

Inuyasha watched her disappear up the small shaft and let out a sigh when she was gone. She was going to be a handful to deal with but at least she was cute.

He went back into his apartment/prison and headed straight for his makeshift gym. Working out always helped clear his mind and right now his head felt like a jumbled mess.

He still couldn't believe the old man was dead but he was lucky his granddaughter was clever enough to find him. What the hell would he have done if nobody knew he was here? He could live longer than a human could without food but he wasn't immortal. A few months and he'd be miserable. Sneaking out was an option but extremely risky; his silver hair and ears were easy to spot and a hat could only hide so much.

Also, for the first time he could remember, he was glad the old man put a time limit on his seal. Being sealed for eternity, in a bunker that nobody knew existed, did not sound appealing.

He loaded weights onto the ends of the barbell and laid down to start lifting. Just because he was a hanyo didn't mean he could neglect his body. He had a routine that he followed every day. He ran on his treadmill and spent at least an hour practicing moves from different fighting styles. He also had a replica sword that he practiced with a few times a week. He needed to stay sharp so that what happened to his father would never happen to him.

While he worked out he let his mind drift back to his new caretaker of sorts. He could get used to her presence, especially with her wonderful scent. She was no pushover so talking to her would be interesting at least. He just had to be careful not to get too close to her, his past was too messy.


Kagome tapped her foot impatiently while the platform raised her back up into the well house. Her mother would more than likely be back by now with Sota and she would probably be wondering where Kagome was. And how was she supposed to explain her absence without revealing the mystery man living below the well?

She realized she still didn't know his name and she let out a huff; he was not going to be easy to deal with. Every time he gave her one of those cocky smirks she wanted to scream. Who did he think he was anyway? Hiding behind doors and scaring her, demanding that she buy his groceries, refusing to tell her anything about himself; what a jerk. A slightly arrogant, rude, stubborn, cute, well-muscled jerk.

The platform stopped and she stepped off, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. As soon as she was back on the dirt floor, the side of the well rose back up and the platform started its descent back into the well. At least she didn't have to figure out how to reseal the entrance.

She hurried out of the well house and went straight to the back of the shrine to see if her mother was home. There was a long driveway that wound its way around the outside of the shrine and down to the street but it ended on the far side of the house so Kagome couldn't see if her mother's car was back. She slid open the door and called out a greeting.

She heard her mother call back to her from the living room to her right. She slipped off her shoes and went to join her.

"Mama, did you pick up Sota?" she asked as she settled on the sofa next to her mother.

Her mother looked up from the book she was reading and nodded. "We just got back a few minutes ago. He's already up in his room, playing his video game I'm sure. Did you find anything in the well house?"

"No, it was a bust. I did get a splinter though." She held up her finger to hide her guilty expression. "Did Sota seem better today, since he spent some time with Kohaku and his family?" Kagome asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, much better. You should give Sango a call, she mentioned you two haven't talked since the funeral."

Kagome grimaced. She'd been avoiding calling her best friend; she wasn't ready to talk about her grandfather yet and she knew Sango would want her to open up, at least a little. They'd been friends since they were five though so she knew Sango would understand why.

They'd both lost parents young, Kagome's father when she was 10 and Sango's mother when she was only 7. They helped each other through the tougher parts of growing up in a single-parent home. There were a lot of tag-team babysitting nights when they got older and one of their parents needed a night out.

"I'll give her a call later. I want to get started on the last of those boxes before lunch." Kagome stood up and started towards the hallway.

"I'll be there in a minute dear," her mother said before looking back at her book.

Kagome made a stop in the kitchen to grab a few more garbage bags then headed down the hallway to start sorting her grandfather's things. She eyed the remaining five boxes and wondered, not for the first time, why her grandfather had so much junk.

She grabbed a box at random and sat at the little table. The flaps were a little dusty and she brushed them off before pulling them open. A spider had made its home in the box and Kagome nearly fell out of her seat when she almost put her hand through the web. She hated spiders.

Her mother giggled behind her. "I'll grab a duster, hold on," she said before she ducked back into the hallway. She came back a second later and swirled the duster through the web, scooping the spider up in the process.

Kagome looked back into the box to verify it was free of any more rogue bugs while her mother went to dispose of the unwelcome guest. When she didn't see anything suspicious she allowed herself to reach in and pick out her first object of the day: a small wooden box.

She examined it for a second but there wasn't any obvious way to get it open. The box was shaped like a miniature chest and had an intricate geometric pattern carved lightly into the 'lid' part of the box. There weren't any hinges or a latch but she could hear something rattle inside when she shook it. She noticed seams running along one side and realized why the box was strange: it was a puzzle box.

"Your grandfather loved those things. I'm surprised this is the first one we found." Mayumi joined her daughter at the table and held her hand out so she could examine their find. Kagome gave it to her and she started turning it over and over, looking for something. She let out a little "a-ha!" and popped a thin piece of wood out of one of the corners. "You just have to know where to look," she said and grinned at Kagome.

"I've never seen him with one of these before," Kagome remarked and took the box back. She continued turning it, trying to work out what to do with the little stick of wood. She looked up to her mother for a suggestion and stopped when she saw the tears streaming down her face.

"He stopped doing them after your father died. He said they brought back too many painful memories." Mayumi pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket and used one to dry her cheeks.

"Oh, Mama," Kagome said and pulled her mother into a hug. They sat there for a moment, both shedding tears for the men no longer in their lives. "I miss them both so much," Kagome whispered into her mother's shoulder.

"I know, I do too," she whispered back.

They pulled apart a minute later and Mayumi handed her daughter a few tissues. They did their best to dry their tears and clear their noses before going back to the task at hand. Kagome set the puzzle box aside to work on later.

They worked quickly so by the time they took a break for lunch there were only two more boxes left. Kagome had three more puzzle boxes and another journal in a little pile for herself and her mother had a small pile of keepsakes to give to Sota.

Sota joined them for lunch and they spent the time telling funny stories about their grandfather. When they were done eating, Mayumi cleaned up and Sota went down the hall to glance through what was already sorted. Kagome followed him and showed him the small pile that was specifically for him.

Sota stuck around to help after that and it didn't take long to get through the last two boxes and finish cleaning up. They took the last few trash bags out and added one more box to the donation pile. The pile of things they were keeping was sorted through and Kagome and Sota each took a box of mementos to their rooms.

Kagome decided to go through the last journal while her mother prepared dinner. She flipped through and discovered it was much older than the other three; the first dated entry was from 1974.

'Well, I've finally found a good use for that old World War II bunker. It only needed a few upgrades to make it livable so it will be ready when, or rather if, he makes it out successfully. This needs to be kept as quiet as possible but I feel I should have some record of events. I will write what I need to in journals and keep them well hidden. If all goes as planned, he will be safely hidden by the end of next week.'

She flipped through and found one of the last entries, from 1975.

'We found out his mother died after his escape. He did not take it well and I can not blame him. He has requested that I completely seal him until it is safe for him to return to the world. I do not know when that may be or even if it will ever be safe for him. I have agreed to do the sealing but it will only last for 50 years unless I release him sooner. I do not want him trapped if something were to happen to me. He deserves a chance to live someday.'

Kagome quickly closed the book. She felt like she was spying now that she knew who the subject was. It sounded like he had a rough life: in hiding, lost his mother, sealed since 1975, living in an apartment that was basically a furnished cave.

But she was more curious than ever now. Why was he hiding? Did someone want to kill him or did he do something that got him into trouble? It said his mother died after his escape so who was he escaping from? The temptation to open the journal and keep reading was almost overwhelming. Instead of giving in, she stacked all the journals together and resolved to turn them over to the man hiding in the well. She would go see him right after dinner to avoid any more temptation.

Maybe he would open up to her in time, maybe not, but she wasn't going to go snooping either way. She was going to be getting his groceries for him so they would have to interact; she could earn his trust the old-fashioned way. And she had to admit, he wasn't bad to look at or talk to. His ears were adorable and his long silver hair and gold eyes were beautiful. The graceful way he moved and the way his muscles moved under his t-shirt had been...she cut off that line of thought. She would not let herself be attracted to the stranger living under her well; at least not until she knew his damn name.


In a large, top-floor apartment in the middle of the city, a red phone began to ring. A man with long silver hair sat up in bed and reached a clawed hand out to grab the phone.

"Speak, now," the owner of the clawed hand growled, glancing at the clock next to the phone.

There was silence for a second then someone laughed. "You know, most people say 'hello' when they answer the phone."

"I have no need for such pleasantries. What do you want, wolf?"

"I think I have something big but we're gonna have to meet in person."

"I do not wish to deal with your kind in person. I am using a secure line, tell me what is so important that you had to disturb me in the middle of the night," the man demanded.

"I'm still using an unsecured cell phone, dipshit. And this needs to be done in person either way, I have documents to give you."

"You know I despise the stench of wolf."

"Listen, one of your father's old human buddies died, the one with the shrine. I've got information and I've got documents and you're gonna want both."

"Fine. You will make our meeting quick.. Thursday, meeting place six, 2:00 p.m., sharp."

"Fine. Nice talking to you, asshole; always a pleasure. Maybe when we meet, I'll shove these documents up your-"

The man hung up the red phone and got out of bed. He didn't need the sleep anyway.