She came, she saw, she conquered. by one_winged

Chapter One

Amber eyes scanned the little clearing and while doing so, his gaze rested upon an old, disused well. Walking up to it, he peered over the worn out edge only to find dark earth and some weeds at the bottom, not that he was expecting anything else, yet. To any other, this was just one of the many dried-up wells around, although it did have a legend as well as a name attached to it. The villagers from the village nearby knew it as the Bone-Eaters' Well and they'd stay away if they could help it.

Legend has it that a long time ago, corpses of defeated youkai had been thrown into the well and after that they just simply disappeared. The bones were literally eaten up by the well itself hence its name. To those simple-minded villagers, it was as if the well was enchanted and they, afraid for their worthless lives, never dared to venture near it.

He, however, was different. He is a great taiyoukai, the Lord of the Western Lands to be exact, and unlike those human fools; he feared nothing, especially if it was only a useless well. True, this weather beaten well did have some enchantment surrounding it but as far as he was concerned there was nothing evil or malevolent about it.

In fact, the strange magic the well possessed was nothing but a blessing to him. Instead of another person, it had brought her, out of the many in her world. Instead of somewhere else, it had transported her here, out of the many places scattered throughout these lands. Instead of another time period, it had taken her to this particular age, out of the many others in history. And instead of to someone else, it had brought her to him, out of the many people that existed here.

This old well had brought them together, a girl and a man, a commoner and a lord, a miko from the future and a taiyoukai from the past.

He tilted his head, allowing his eyes to look upwards. Through the small opening among the treetops above, he could see the blue sky and its herd of fluffy, white clouds. There will not be rain today, nor will it be too hot. It will be perfect, just as she liked it.

She had always liked warm, sunny days whereas he preferred cold, rainy ones. The harder it rained, the better. It suited his nature, much like her weather preference had suited hers. He was silent and deadly, she was bubbly and harmless. Well, harmless enough unless her anger was triggered, but that was another story.

They both come from opposite ends of the pole, yet, despite their glaring differences, they complemented each other very well. It was as if they were specifically made with the other in mind.

She would know what was on his mind just by a slight lift of his eyebrow and him, honestly speaking; it didn't pose much of a challenge for she had everything written upon her face for the world to see. She could finish off his sentences for him, not that he said too many of them, and he, just to annoy her, could say what she wanted to say before she even had a chance to get her voice out. She knew him inside out and he knew her like the back of his hand.

However, every time he assumed he had understood every last bit of her, she would always surprise him with something new and he'd have to begin figuring her out all over again, not that he minded at all. It only served to make his otherwise dull life more interesting.

Noting the position of the sun in the sky, he figured that she'd be here soon.

First, there would be a bright blue flash from the old well, signaling her arrival to the Sengoku Jidai from 500 years into the future. A few minutes later, a black head would be visible over the top of the well, followed by a lithe body, the back of which would almost be fully covered with the big, yellow looking thing she called a backpack. Hoisting herself and the heavy backpack up with the help of stout vines growing down the sides of the well, she would begin muttering about stupid, ungrateful hanyous who live only on ramen, something that her bag was stuffed full with every time she returned.

She said those exact words on every single return, he wondered briefly if she would ever tire of them. After having climbed out from the well, she would stand for a while in breathless silence, wiping her brow and catching her breath. He supposed he should help her out of the well, but watching her struggle with the bag is very amusing.

She is a rather weak creature to get out of breath after such a short climb; then again, all humans were weak, unlike him. A small smirk graced his lips. If it had been him in the well, he wouldn't even need to waste time climbing, he'd just take a short leap upwards. There was no need for him to take minutes to get out of such a shallow well, and he certainly wouldn't be out of breath at all. He probably could spend a whole day jumping up and down all the mountains in his lands without even drawing a pant although there was no way would he ever be caught doing something like that. Truly, humans are weak, pathetic things.

Nonetheless, it had been this weakness of hers that had called out to the more protective side of him. It made him want to protect her from being harmed in any way, shield her from the dangers lurking around and keep her safe within his arms.

However, her physical weakness was no indicator as to her mental and spiritual strength.

Appearance wise, she was delicate and fragile, but her spirit was the strongest of anyone he knew. She feared no one, not even him, the great Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands, the most feared youkai throughout the lands. The mere whisper of his name is enough to instill a terrifying fear in the hearts of the stoutest men yet the petite girl was not even the tiniest bit afraid of him.

He was strong and lethal, so much more than her that it would not require much effort to kill her if he had wanted to. She was aware of that, yet, it had not stopped her from aiming her arrow at him on more than one occasion, not that any of those little things would do him any harm. The young girl, standing firm and without the slightest tremble in her small frame, had captured his attention and admiration for there weren't many who had the courage to stand up against him. And because of this, he had let her live, a decision he did not and never will regret.

He walked a few paces away and sat with his back against a tree, the well directly in front of him.

There would be no way he'd not see her coming back for sure. Sitting beneath the shade, he was not surprised to find that he was eager to see her again. She had only been gone for two days and he had missed her. Before, he would have found the thought of him missing anyone absurd, but now, it was different. It was as different as who he had been before and after he met her.

He really missed her and had felt rather uneasy the minute she was gone from his side, like there was just something not right with him. His amber eyes wanted to look upon her beautiful, flawless face and gaze deep into those captivating sapphire eyes of hers again. His sensitive nose pined for the sweet, intoxicating scent that was hers and hers alone. His hands longed to feel the silky smoothness of her dark, glossy hair as they weaved themselves between his long fingers. His lips craved for the softness of her lips upon his as their tongues moved together in a dance of passion. His body yearned to feel her small, warm form pressed against his bigger, harder one as he held her tight against his chest in a crushing embrace.

He closed his eyes, imagining her arms wrapped around him and small hands pressed against his back as she returned his hug.

A gentle breeze touched his cheek. It reminded him of the kiss she first gave him. They were sitting side by side in companionable silence under a sakura tree that night, removed from her friends, from his group, from the world. The moon was out as a silver crescent that night and the stars were scattered across the night sky, twinkling brightly.

Out of the blue, she had turned to him and shyly laid a kiss on his cheek. He had been surprised, very surprised for he had never been kissed in such an innocent way before. The women he had before were anything but innocent. From the light blush that colored her fair cheeks, he could tell that he was her first kiss.

He felt honored that she had decided to bestow her first kiss upon him and not on anyone else. To return the favor, he had captured her lips with his and taught her as to what constituted a real kiss. She had blushed profusely after that. A small smile appeared on his lips. She blushes easily around him and it amuses him to no end every time she does that.

Soon, she'll be back here with him. The little miko who had seen what no one else could see would soon return into his arms. Yes, he had both arms now, thanks to her, although he had never gotten around to telling her that.

She first saw his injury and had taken up the responsibility of healing it, much to his and Inuyasha's protests. He hated humans with a fervor then, and even in his wildest dreams never would he dream of having a human girl restoring his arm. But she had been as stubborn as a mule and continued with her work, all the while cheerfully ignoring whatever threats he threw her way and occasionally contributing some of her own. For someone who looks like an angel, she certainly has some rather creative ways to eradicate a person.

He ran out of death threats after a while and settled for watching her at work just to make sure that she really wasn't trying to kill him, not that she could. Well, there was an off chance that she'd be able to purify him if she really tried, but to take his life, never. It was then, in the light of the setting sun, that she saw the veil of loneliness that shrouded his heart and took it upon herself to chase it away.

Till today, he still wondered how she managed to deduce that he was lonely and if it really was loneliness he felt then. She had talked to him while working on his arm, just random things that popped up in her mind and he found that he liked listening to her talk. He liked to hear her sweet voice that sounded like music to his ears. It soothed and comforted him, like one of the lullabies his mother would sing to him on dark, stormy night when he was a young pup.

He had left her for a short period immediately after obtaining his arm again, to return to his own lands. He is, in any case, a lord and had to attend to some matters regarding his lands. It was during the two months away from her that he discovered a certain emptiness in his heart, a void that could only be filled by her. Every night, he dreamed of her and longed for the day he'll be able to see her again.

So as soon as he could, he had left the Western lands again, to journey in search of her. It wasn't hard to track her down for the wind brought with it her unique scent and told him of her whereabouts. Three days later, he found her together with her little group of friends as well as his brainless half-brother, a fact that didn't go down well with him. He did not go to her the instant he saw her, instead chose to stay in the shadows, content with just watching her, following her and protecting her undetected for the time being.

It would have continued that way had she not found out about him by chance. She was bathing alone in the hot spring that evening, and him, he was not peeping in or doing anything perverted like that, merely ensuring her safety as usual, after all he did have his back turned. A twig from the bush behind him had caught onto his sleeve and in his annoyance; he tugged a bit more roughly than usual and had rustled the whole bush capturing her attention.

Her immediate reaction was to say something about unrepentant monks followed by a rock flying in his direction, something he dodged easily before disappearing behind a large tree to avoid being found out. He certainly did not want her thinking he was some kind of pervert or anything. He was a very dignified noble-youkai for heaven's sake! She had dressed very quickly and from what he could hear, had advanced near his hiding place. Even the slightest move at the moment would have given him away.

She stopped at the other side of the tree and had said softly, "Come out Sesshoumaru. I know you're there." He stepped out of the shadows with a blank face and as much dignity as he could muster, but the sight of her standing there with water still dripping from her wavy hair, made him feel guilty and sorry for disrupting her bath, something she always looked forward to at the end of a long day. She must have known what he was thinking because her next words were, "It's okay. I shouldn't be in there too long anyway," before giving him a reassuring smile and walking back to where her group had set up camp.

From that day onwards, she always knew whenever he was around. He had asked her about it once and she had replied with something about her miko senses being able to pick up his demonic presence. To prove her point, she would often turn to where he was hidden in the shade and send him a smile that went straight to his heart. When she was bathing by herself, she would talk about everything under the sun, knowing that he could hear her. After each bath, she would go to wherever he was hidden and if she weren't too tired, they'd either take a short walk together or just sit and watch the stars twinkling above.

This little routine went on for some time and had happened so often, her friends started getting suspicious, Inuyasha especially since he could always smell his masculine scent on her. She had wanted to keep it a secret at first, because she was afraid of what their reaction will be when they find out that she's in love with a demon lord. But in the end, albeit after much pressuring from her exterminator friend, she had told them of their relationship and surprisingly, his dim-witted half-brother had been amazingly docile about it. He must've known that there is no way could he ever compare himself to this Sesshoumaru.

An inaudible sigh escaped him when he thought about the young girl from the future. Right from the beginning, he had found himself captivated by her, although he would rather die before admitting it out loud. The captivation turned into fascination and the fascination went on to become attraction.

Every little thing about her contributed to his growing attraction; the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, the way she smiled at him, the way she placed her head on his shoulder, the way she held his hand despite his claws, the way she fit into his arms, the way her scent would overwhelm his senses, everything. Soon, the attraction morphed into a deep love that knew no boundaries.

He loved her, yes, the great taiyoukai whom so many have thought incapable of feeling, loved a little human and a miko too at that. He couldn't say when or how exactly did he manage to fall for her, it just happened and before he knew it, he was already too far from salvation.

She had conquered his heart, like the brave, courageous little miko that she is, and there was nothing he could do about it because frankly speaking, he didn't want to do anything except love her and keep her safe. She had reached out to him when all others flee from him, cared for him when all others wanted him dead and loved him when no one would. It was this loving heart and compassionate nature of hers that endeared her to him and if he had his way, nothing would separate them, ever. She is his and his alone.

A flash of blue light emitted from the well, causing the demon to smile to himself. His lovely miko is back at last!

Getting up from where he was seated under the tree, he walked towards the well. A few paces away, he could already hear her scrabbling about at the bottom of the well mumbling about ungrateful hanyous, and just for the fun of it, decided to let her climb out on her own yet again. She would get angry with him for not giving her a hand, but it won't be for long; he had never known her to stay angry at anyone for more than half an hour.

Furthermore, he liked the way she looked when she got all riled up. It was very amusing to see someone so small get so worked up. A smirk played on his lips. A few minutes later, his petite miko appeared lugging her heavy backpack behind her. She turned to face him, hands on her hips, ready to tell him off for not helping her with the bag. But before she could start scolding him, he already had her crushed to his chest in a tight embrace, his nose buried in her ebony tresses. All traces of anger upon the young girl's face disappeared instantly.

"I've missed you too, Sesshoumaru," she said with a smile.

A/N: Just some slight editing with the paragraphing. Thanks to those who reviewed and voted. =)