He'd thought it a rumour—the videogame industry was filled with as much fantasy as the fairy tales they stemmed from—but the ending had surprised him more than the plot.

As a high school teacher, Sesshoumaru was forced to listen to his students' new-age jargon and references. He ignored it for the most part; if they wished to speak in idioms and slang during their free time, that was their prerogative, but if they did not include proper grammar and spelling in their essays, points would be taken away.

The first assignment always informed them how he would grade them for the rest of their senior year.

But this 'Feudal Fairy Tale" game had been growing in popularity over the last few months, and his final class of the week refused to calm down, especially since most of them had finished the game.

Sesshoumaru had been ignoring the blatant stares, but the growing number of raised hands, even though they were supposed to be reading silently, had him sighing, calling on one of the girls sitting in the front row.

"Sensei, do you play video games?"

He stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "I have answered this question before."

Someone poked the girl from behind. "Told you!"

The student glared over her shoulder, then pushed on. "Okay, do you know anyone who designs video games?"

Sesshoumaru leaned forward on his desk, intertwining his fingers. "Do I look like the type who associates with those who design video games?" he asked.

"Then you've got a twin!" Someone called from the back row. He simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for the girl to continue.

She bent over, rifling through her backpack before producing the case for the game in question. "He's right, sensei. One of the main characters in this game looks just like you—if you had silver hair and were a demon."

"And could cut someone in half!"

Curiosity spiked. Youkai and hanyou alike remained in the shadows in modern-day society. The humans had grown too numerous, only second to their fear, so anything outside the norm was stifled. It hadn't taken those with demon blood long to realize if they wanted to survive, to flourish, they would have to do so in secret.

So, here he was, sitting behind a desk with short hair and dark eyes, teaching teenagers how to write a coherent sentence, and having to move and reinvent his identity every few decades. It was a far cry from the warlord he'd set out to become, but even daiyoukai required an income.

The student was still holding the case, and he sighed, taking it from her before inspecting the art on the cover. He managed to keep his eyes from widening at the familiarity of it, the figures of his brother and the miko engaged in combat against a creature that struck a striking resemblance to the spider.

There were subtle differences; the miko's hair was shorter, and Inuyasha's robes were darker, but when he turned the case over, he nearly dropped it. A quick summary of the game was printed in the top corner, but the character sitting across the bottom was a mirror image of himself—his demon self.

Clad in white silk, his doppelganger sat up against a tree with one knee raised, armour poking through downy fur. Even the hexagonal insignia was the same. How had the creators gotten ahold of this information? It was more than just a coincidence.

"You should play it, sensei. This Sesshoumaru dude is a badass!"

"Language!" the first girl said.

"What? He is!" One boy argued. "If you gain enough experience, you turn into a giant dog!"

More puzzle pieces without an actual puzzle. He didn't go by Sesshoumaru now, hadn't in some time, but someone on the development team had inside information, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Someone was playing a prank on him.

After being presented with so many aspects of his past, Sesshoumaru had purchased the game for himself, glad that he had been able to find the proper system secondhand. Why people spent so much money on something that only provided short-term gratification was beyond him.

It took him a week before he understood how to use it, another before he could go more than a few rounds without meeting his death. He was sorely tempted to give up—several times—but the image of his humanoid self staring up at him from the back cover kept him going.

He had to see how it ended.

Most of the events were similar; the shattering of the jewel, the rise of Naraku, and the two brothers being pitted against each other. Most were things he wasn't privy to, the list of protagonists being short and only available within the pack of the younger brother.

The point was to play through each character, to gain multiple perspectives to create a whole narrative. He was slightly put off that his own character wasn't a viable option, but perhaps that was due to his lack of direct involvement.

Even with his constant visits to Rin's village and subsequent reconciliation with his brother, Sesshoumaru had never realized just how much the other members of his pack had gone through. Rin had mentioned the kit being an orphan but never the parameters as to the reason behind it.

Similar things had happened with the young slayer, his sister, and the monk, and a fresh wave of guilt washed over him at his first interaction with Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru had been single-minded in his conquest, assuming he'd been the only one slighted by his sire.

It had taken him several days after finishing Sango's story before he picked up the game again. Specific sections were missing, ones that Sesshoumaru himself could fill in, and visions of Kohaku and Rin in the underworld filled his mind.

She'd forgiven him, and had told him such on various occasions, but the chill of her unmoving body in his arms never quite went away—even with her eventually mating the kit and prolonging her life. He'd taken a break from the game, visiting with them both to rid himself of the lingering shadows.

When he'd eventually returned to it, he'd thought to save Inuyasha for last, but when the game ended without the miko returning to his side, Sesshoumaru was struck with a bout of _. Everyone else had received some sort of happy ending. Could the same not be said for the person portrayed as the main character?

Inuyasha had never revealed what happened to the miko, just that she'd returned home. Sesshoumaru rose to turn off the system, but after the credits finished, the screen turned dark, white lettering rolling across the screen stating he'd unlocked a secret character.

Frowning, he started it up again, moving his cursor across the screen and eventually landing on the Shikon itself. It sparkled for a moment, then flashed, the miko floating above it, the jewel clasped in her hands.

She was the secret player?

Intrigued, he clicked on her, the game resetting but inside a modern bedroom. A few minutes and mundane cut scenes later, the multiple arms of Mistress Centipede grabbed her inside the well house, pulling her through the opening of the well—pulling her through time.

Sesshoumaru ran a hand over his face. He could chalk it up to the fanciful imagination of the game developers, but everything else lines up. Everything matched. And the miko being 500 years from the future, explained much about her odd phrases and attire.

Clearly, the unlockable character has been the most significant pull of the game, as her storyline filled in the gaps of all the other characters—including his own. But as Sesshoumaru delved deeper into the story, more interactions with himself appeared on screen. She'd come to terms with Inuyasha's infatuation with the dead miko, her affections turning to someone just as unobtainable.

Him.

He'd never realized how grateful she'd been after he'd interfered with the poison-maker's scheme, trying to find a way to contact him for days after she'd recovered. Her frustration at missing the birth of Bakusaiga had been taken out on the entire pack, eventually berating those who had been present for as many details as possible.

No one else had been privy to him saving her inside the bowels of Naraku except her, either. He had been focused on finding Rin, on ending the foul spider, but due to the miko being the playable character, the camera was focused on her during the entire ordeal.

Sesshoumaru was on the edge of his seat when she'd nearly thrown herself at him in relief, how she'd snuggled into his pelt after the fact, and then the blush that spilled onto her face when she'd realized what she'd done.

How she'd seen the meidou open in front of her and thought he'd been the one to come after her.

He reached the end of her story—the story—and watched as she was thrust through the well to her own time, forced to return to her modern life, all while living each day with the hope the magic would come back. Sesshoumaru continued to move the cursor around, looking for some sort of interactive item, ready to throw his controller at the television, when the miko leaned over the well, tears pouring down her face.

The screen rippled, and sparks flew out of the well, triggering another cut scene between her and her mother before she jumped. More ripples and she landed at the bottom of the well, scrambling up the vines before a clawed hand reached in to pull her out—one with magenta stripes on its wrist.

Her arms quickly wrapped around his neck, face buried against his pelt, and the smile that spread out on the miko's face wasn't an expression he'd seen before.

Cursive lettering danced across the screen, finally reaching the true end of the game, and Sesshoumaru put his controller down. Leaning back on his couch, he glanced at the back of the case. He had learned much from his virtual travels, but one question remained: where had the creative team come up with this idea?

And more importantly, whose happy ending was it?

It took some digging, as none of the names during the end credits had helped, most hidden under more prominent labels, but he'd lucked out that a panel had been set up at the next media convention due to the game's popularity. An entire hour had been cut out for fans to ask the game developers questions, so Sesshoumaru bought himself a ticket, settled in one of the aisle seats when the conference room opened up, and waited.

The panel eventually filtered in, the audience immediately breaking out into excited chatter and applause. Each person was introduced, most being the voice actors behind the characters, and Sesshoumaru pursed his lips at the lack of people included that worked behind the scenes. He eventually gave up his seat, heading toward the door when someone stepped up to the mic to ask the question that had been burning at the back of his mind.

"Who came up with the concept of someone falling through time?"

The director chuckled, and Sesshoumaru paused, glancing over his shoulder. "Funny story. We keep trying to get our lovely creative mind to join us on these panels, but she prefers to stick to the shadows." There was a collective groan, even as the director motioned to the curtain behind them. "She suffers from stage fright, but we've convinced her to join us at the autograph table later, so you're welcome to ask her then."

Youki flared, and Sesshoumaru was glad he'd decided to walk around without his glamour; the convention was filled with people walking around in full cosplay. He hadn't had to spend a dime on his outfit, simply pulling it from storage. He'd been stopped four times since he left the panel, but apparently, sneering at them wasn't a deterrent—those with cameras had simply squealed and clicked a photo anyway.

Heading to the autograph tables, he was relieved to find that most people had lined up for the voice actors, leaving no one in the lineup with the director or elusive plot writer. As chairs were pulled back and ropes pulled aside, a dark-haired woman in a pine-green skirt sat down beside the director, her shoulders hunched.

Sesshoumaru approached the table, the director leaning forward over the table with a low whistle. "Damn, that's the best Sesshoumaru cosplay I've ever seen." He nudged the woman, finally getting her to look up, and her mouth dropped open, Sesshoumaru's nearly doing the same.

The miko.

Blue eyes were hidden behind tinted glasses, but reiki sparked in surprise, and he nearly grabbed her from behind the table, only the blush that spilled onto her face stilling his hand. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, hands clasped tightly in front of her.

He placed his copy of his game on the table. "I have questions about the plot."

Her flush deepened. "You played it."

"All of it."

She snuck a look at the director, and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If you have a complaint, she isn't the one—"

"She is exactly who I need to speak to." He gave her a meaningful look, and she stood up.

"I'll be right back."

"Higurashi—"

She waved off his concern. "It's fine. He's an old friend."

"Am I?" Sesshoumaru asked when they finally found a quiet area to talk.

"Are you what?" she asked, not facing him.

"Your friend."

"Is that what you want to be?" she asked, wringing her hands together. "Look, Inuyasha didn't care about his story being told, so if you're looking for a cut—"

"Do you honestly believe that is why I am here?" He ran a hand through his hair—his very long hair. "You created an ending that did not happen."

She snorted. "Happy endings make more money."

"So then why not have the miko in your story end up with the hanyou who had fought by her side?" He watched her shoulders stiffen.

"Because it would be a lie."

"And the ending you created is not?"

She finally turned around, a pained expression on her face. "Why are you here?"

He backed her up against the wall, amber eyes boring into hers. "Are you the sole person behind the miko's storyline?"

She audibly swallowed. "Yes."

"Then I take it this was more than just a fabricated 'happy ending'?" Her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and he could see the hesitation on her face, but Sesshoumaru refused to back down.

He had to know.

"It was the ending she deserved," she said eventually. "Everyone deserves a happy ending."

"Including you?" he pushed. The blush returned, and she finally looked away. Sesshoumaru grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him again. "Was that the ending you wished for?" The look on her face said it all, and he closed the distance between them.

He'd barely had a moment to taste her before a flash went off, eyes blazing as he growled at the interruption. The guilty party blanched, people on either side shoving and smacking him. "You're supposed to ask permission first!"

The man bowed in apology. "I'm sorry! But your cosplay of the main couple is so good!" His friends shoved him again. "What? We never got a kiss at the end of it! I thought they were acting it out!"

Sesshoumaru huffed, waiting until they'd gotten out of earshot before turning back to her. "I apologize. This is not the place—"

"There's a place?" she all but squeaked, her eyes a mixture of disbelief and hope.

"Indeed." He paused to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "You are an apt storyteller, but it ended too soon. I wish to see what a happy ending truly looks like."

She choked on a laugh, then wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his pelt like she'd done in the game. "Do as you please."