"Hn.."

Kagome shrieked, startled, and stopped on the spot. She hadn't heard him come up next to her.

Her heart beat rapidly and she put a hand to her chest, trying to calm it as her breath evened back out. When it did, she gave him her best glare,

"What in the hell, you can't just do that to someone, Sesshomaru-Sama. You have to warn someone when you come up behind them, I understand you're a-"

She stopped herself abruptly, biting her lip to keep from saying something she shouldn't. Kagome had tried to avoid him, but ever since the first time she had accidentally said his name, he had returned exactly at the same time each day, seeking her out. Damn her mouth for always getting her in trouble. She hadn't meant to say it, and he most likely no longer went by that name. Old habits died hard. He was nothing like the killing perfection she had once feared and respected.

He raised one perfect brow at her, "And what, pray tell, am I, Higurashi-San?"

"Kagome," She uttured flatly, avoiding his question. "My name is Kagome. "

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at her slightly, and she fidgeted there, biting her lip. She didn't know this man, not at all. The Sesshomaru she knew would have impaled her with his claws for saying such a thing, but this one just made his usual 'hn' sound deep in his throat. He let the subject drop.

She took a moment to really look at him; his short silver locks and missing magenta stripes were so unlike his usual self it made her uncomfortable. She wanted to see them, she realized, because he reminded her of the home she couldn't forget.

"Would you allow this Sesshomaru to walk you home?"

Talking about himself in the third person made Kagome let out a soft laugh. Hundreds of years and even a wish had not changed his speaking habits.

"I'm sorry," She giggled, then looked up at him with big blue eyes, "You remind me of someone that I used to be aquainted with."

Then, after a long pause with his eyebrows raised at her, she conceded defeat, reaching for the arm he held out to her patiently.

"Yes, you can walk me home, Sesshomaru-Sama."

It wasn't long before they reached the shrine's steps and they parted. Their walk had been mostly silence, but Sesshomaru had wanted to know what she was thinking.

This Kagome obviously knew he was a demon. It made him wary, as very few of his kind roamed these days. He took pride in staying hidden for so long. Of course, all those who would have recognized him had been dead for a few hundred years now.

So how in the world did a little human girl know?

A stab of pain went through his chest; the last time he had befriended a human girl it had not gone well.

Sesshomaru had been poor little Rin's demise and had yet to forgive himself.

Would he risk the same fate with this Kagome girl?

Even as he asked himself, he knew the answer.

'Here I go again'.'

A/N: This chapter didnt come through the way I wanted at all. But here it is! Sorry to have kept you waiting!