Lyra had been following the odd three all day and the sun had just started to dip below the horizon. She doubted they even knew she was following them at all. She began to lose hope she would ever find Kagome. She didn't now what sort of trick was being played on her but her will to survive was strong. Although she had no idea where they were going or who they were, staying with them was her best chance of survival. A little girl was travelling with them so they couldn't be dangerous. They were still walking amongst the trees and she wondered if they even knew where they were going. At one point, the girl announced she was hungry and they stopped by a lake to go fishing. The smell of the fish cooking on the fire had wafted over to her and her stomach growled terribly as she stayed crouched behind some bushes.

'I need to get some food so one or I'm gonna starve to death.'

There were a few things she had learned that day. One, the little annoying man who was always so mean to the girl was not a man, but a walking and talking frog. Two, the one with the long white hair was a man. She had not yet seen his face as she remained behind them but she could tell from his voice. Though, he didn't talk very much at all. Sometimes he wouldn't talk for hours. Three, the little girl was called Rin, the frog-man was Jaken, and the white haired man was called Lord Sesshomaru. Perhaps being a lord would do Lyra some favours and maybe he could help her get home.

Sesshomaru was surprised by how long the human had stayed hidden, not letting her presence be known by even Jaken. She was certainly light on her feet. But a lowly human wouldn't be able to last long without proper food and water. He doubted she would last much longer.

The trio had set up camp for the night and Lyra took refuge behind the large trunk of a tree. It started to grow cold again and Lyra realised how much she took central heating for granted. Oh, how she wished she could sit with them beside the fire. She leant her back against the tree, wrapping her arms around herself, a pathetic attempt on shielding herself from the cold.

"Jaken, watch Rin."

Lyra heard the man speak.

"Where are you going, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken asked flustered. "Uh, L-Lord Sesshomaru..?"

Lyra peaked her head around the tree to see the man walking away from the camp, his hair swaying lightly with each step. Sighing quietly, she leaned back against the tree again and decided to get in as much sleep as she could get. Hopefully she would wake up before they left.

She didn't notice how tired she was until she fell asleep straight away. With the lack of food, she didn't have any energy and she felt so much weaker. A twig snapping in the distance had woken her up with a start. It was completely dark but her eyes quickly adjusted in time to see the bushes in front of her rustling. Her heart panged in her chest, her eyes focused sharply ahead of her. Just a second later, a wolf slowly emerged from the bushes bearing its fangs at her. A low and dangerous rumble emitted from its throat as if to taunt its prey.

Her breath got caught in her throat as she slowly began to stand up, trying her best not to make any sudden movements. The wolf growled and snarled at her only making her heart pound faster. She knew there was no chance of escape. If starvation didn't claim her life, this wolf surely would. She was cursed ever since she heard that sound coming from the well in the shrine. This is how she would die. Her eyes were glued to the wolf's very own and she could see the hunger coursing through them.

A loud screeching went through Lyra's ears, her hands instantly shooting up to shield them from the noise. She witnessed the wolf's eyes widen in fear, whimpering and turning to the direction of the screeching. A second later, a huge monster came flying through the trees before capturing the wolf in its huge jaws and killing it in one bite. The blood completely drained from Lyra's face as she saw what could only be described as a giant, flying millipede with a face. If she wasn't dreaming before, she was definitely having a nightmare now.

"A human?" the monster growled as it slowly made its way back to her.

Lyra's back was pressed right up against the tree. Part of her wished she was facing the wolf again instead of this monster. Her core was frozen but sweat was dripping from her forehead as if she was in the scorching heat.

"You're pretty brave to be here on your own," it taunted as it crawled closer. "Humans taste so much better when they're scared."

The monster cackled, drawing back as it got ready to strike. Lyra closed her eyes tight as it flew towards her. She accepted her fate and the pain that was about to come. But she felt nothing. Was her death really so painless? Seconds later, she heard the monster squeal before there was a loud thud on the ground.

Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the same image of the man she had been following for the whole day. Long white hair falling down to his waist as he stood in front of her. He had his back to her as if he was shielding her from the monster. Moving her gaze to the ground, she saw the monster had been cut cleanly in half, its dead body in pieces and lifeless.

Her eyes travelled back to the back of the man's head. She wanted to thank him for saving her life but her voice just didn't seem to be working. Never having seen the man's face at all, she didn't know what she was expecting. But what she saw was the last thing she could ever imagine. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at her. His skin was pale with two magenta stripes going across each cheek, the same colour on his eyelids and a thin crescent shape on his forehead. His nose was sharp and his lips were thin. But his eyes stood out to her most. Golden eyes with thin black slits. The very same eyes she had seen in the well and ultimately had made her fall in.

The man turned to face her completely and stared down at her. She was still hunched and cowering slightly against the tree but she eventually composed herself, standing up straight. His eyes lingered on her face coldly as she stared into his in amazement. She even took a step closer to him, peering up at his face having never seen anything like it before. And those eyes...

Her body suddenly drained of all energy, whatever adrenaline she had diminishing in that moment causing her to fall unconscious.

***

"I think she's waking up!" a little girl gasped in delight.

Lyra breathed out softly as she opened her eyes. She was met with big brown eyes staring down at her. As Lyra went to sit up, the girl sat back on her knees and gazed at her in wonderment. Lyra held herself up with her hand as she looked around the area. There was a clearing amongst the trees and it was morning again. She could see the clear blue skies and hear the birds tweeting in the distance.

"What's your name?" the girl asked.

Lyra looked at her. "Um, Lyra."

"I'm Rin! And that's Master Jaken," she said, pointing to the frog-man before pointing to the one who had saved her. "And that's Lord Sesshomaru."

She looked over to Sesshomaru only just noticing he was even there. His expression was as stoic as she remembered before she passed out. He was sitting against a tree but not once did he even glance in her direction. She was about to speak before she was cut off by Jaken.

"What an inconvenience you have become, woman!" he yelled at her, holding a staff with two heads at the top of it.

She looked at his attire, from his hat to his little robe before her eyes travelled back to the staff. It creeped her out a little and her expression showed her slight disgust.

"What a strange frog you are," she muttered aloud.

"I am NOT a frog! I am the imp demon Jaken!" he shouted in frustration, his large eyes filled with anger.

Lyra blinked. "Demon?" 'Okay, I've definitely time travelled somehow.'

Jaken gave a stern nod. "That is correct! I am Lord Sesshomaru's henchman. You are lucky my master was feeling so merciful, human, or you would have been dead! He is the most powerful and feared demon! Now show your gratitude to him and leave before I-"

"That's enough, Jaken."

The imp demon was halted by Sesshomaru. He didn't even raise his voice but he held great command, instantly making the little demon become silent. Lyra even gulped from his overwhelming authority.

"Why were you following us?" Sesshomaru asked, not turning his gaze away from whatever he was looking at.

Lyra stood up slowly, holding her hands together in front of her. "How did you know I was following you?"

That was when his eyes turned to look directly into hers. Never had anyone dared to answer his own question with another question. Was she not afraid? She was definitely frightened when she was about to be attacked the previous night, yet she didn't even scream. It was as if she was accepting whatever fate had in store for her. Even now, her piercing blue eyes bore into his own, unwavering.

"I could smell you," he answered.

Lyra knitted her eyebrows together and sniffed her clothes. "I don't smell that bad, do I?" she asked, mostly to herself.

Sesshomaru found her behaviour odd but ignored it. "No. Your scent. Your blood."

"O-kay..." she replied awkwardly. "Well, the reason I was following you was because I'm lost. I actually fell into a well and I ended up here. I was looking for my cousin or perhaps a way home."

"Cousin?"

Lyra nodded. "Yes. Her name is Kagome."

"Kagome?!" Jaken exclaimed. "You mean that girl who follows around that half breed Inuyasha?!"

Lyra didn't know why that made the imp so angry but she remembered Sota mentioning that name. "Uh, yes. She's the one."

The imp huffed and crossed his arms. "They have been nothing but trouble."

Sesshomaru stood drawing everyone's attention to him. He was about to walk away from them all before being stopped.

"Wait!" Lyra quickly called out. She then bowed, her hair falling to one side. "Thank you for saving me."

Sesshomaru didn't turn to look at her, only glancing over from the corner of his eyes. Nor did he say anything. She remained bowing down, her hair softly swaying from the breeze. All she heard were footsteps going away from her before Jaken huffed and walked away as well. Lyra lifted only her head, watching Sesshomaru casually strolling off with the imp at his heels. She sighed quietly before standing straight again.

"Let's go, Lyra!" Rin chirped beside her.

Lyra looked down at her, forgetting she was even there because of how quiet she had been. "Go where?"

"With us. We're travelling with Lord Sesshomaru," she explained.

"But he didn't say I was to go with you. Besides, I don't want to be a burden," Lyra said, smiling softly.

Rin held her hand, grinning up at her. "He sometimes doesn't voice what he wants but he means for you to come with us. He has his own goal so it might take some time to find Kagome but you can still travel with us. At least you'll be safe."

Lyra was in shock at how mature Rin was considering she was so young. Her bright eyes and the small ponytail on her head added to her childish appearance but she was clearly smart. She suddenly pulled Lyra's hand to lead her to Sesshomaru and Jaken who had made it quite far. Rin laughed as she ran making Lyra jog to keep up with her. Lyra couldn't help but smile brightly. Not only was Rin a breath of fresh air, but for the first time, surviving no longer seemed impossible.

***

Sesshomaru could hear Rin constantly talking away to Lyra, telling her about how she had came to be travelling with them. He wondered how she managed to travel through the bone eater's well too. That Kagome was a reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo so there was a link there. But what was her link? Not that he cared anyway. The moment they cross paths with Kagome, she'll be gone and no longer any of his concern. Right now, he had to find a suitable demon to forge a sword instead of only having the useless Tenseiga.

They eventually reached a river before coming to a stop. Lyra was confused as to why they had stopped seeing as it had only been about half an hour since they began walking.

"You need to eat," Sesshomaru spoke, answering her unspoken question.

"Oh! Right, thank you," Lyra said gratefully.

"You are weak and I will not have you slowing us down," he continued.

Lyra sweatdropped. 'Of course...'

She walked over to the river before crouching down. The water was running so clear that one was able to see the bed of the river. She could see plenty of fish swimming through but the thought of actually reaching and catching one to kill and eat put her off. Her attention was caught by Rin who was happily splashing around in the water trying to catch the fish.

Lyra smiled and looked back down at the water. If she wanted to eat, she would have to try and catch a fish. She darted her hand into the water but completely missed. She tried again but again she missed. She rolled her eyes at her pathetic attempts before concentrating properly. Leaning in a bit closer, she waited for a fish to swim by before darting her hand in to catch it. She ended up falling into the river with a yelp, completely drenching herself with water. Luckily, the water was shallow and she quickly got back up, clutching the fish in her arms. But it suddenly started flapping and Lyra lost her grip as it went flying back into the water. Lyra huffed in defeat, standing soaked from head to toe in the middle of the river.

Rin laughed in amusement at seeing the state she was in. Even Jaken chuckled to himself, enjoying the entertainment. Lyra huffed, feeling defeated as she gathered up all her hair before wringing out as much water as she could. Her clothes clung to her body and she tried to loosen it from against her skin as she climbed back onto the bank of the river. She suddenly spotted Sesshomaru watching her from a short distance away. His expression was stoic as usual and he was clearly unamused. Feeling embarrassed, she turned away before finding Rin standing in front of her holding three fish.

"Wow, Rin! You really need to teach me your ways," Lyra said with a bright smile on her face.

Rin seemed extremely proud at Lyra's reaction and nodded. "Of course, Lyra."

Rin showed her how to start a fire to cook the fish before skewering them with twigs. As they sat around the fire waiting for their food to cook, Lyra's clothes were slowly drying as well. She had taken her shoes and socks off as well so the inside could dry. It felt horrible to still have to wear wet clothes but she couldn't exactly strip and hang her clothes out to dry. She didn't even have any to spare.

As they all ate, she noticed that Sesshomaru wasn't eating anything. He simply sat alone, away from the group as he contemplated his next task. Eating was the least of his priorities. Being a demon, he could go days, even weeks without having to consume any food or water. Right now, he was picking up a certain scent. It wasn't too far from where they were now but it would be nightfall by the time they reached it. It was Inuyasha, but there was something different about it.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Wait up!" Jaken suddenly yelled as he scrambled up onto his feet.

Lyra looked over to see that Sesshomaru had just started to walk away without saying anything. Clearly he expected the others to follow. Lyra groaned quietly as she grabbed her shoes, putting them back on before standing up. They weren't completely dry but it was better than before. Rin grabbed her hand again and they walked quickly to catch up to Sesshomaru.

"Is he always like that?" Lyra asked Rin as they trailed a little behind.

Rin gave a nod. "Yep! Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Lyra let out a sigh, her eyes now focused on Sesshomaru from behind. This whole world had been crazy from the start. At first she thought she had been dumped in some remote part of Japan but it was obvious that she had travelled back in time as well. And she couldn't help but think that Sesshomaru was the reason she was brought here. She saw those piercing golden eyes in the well. Although she had only seen it for a split second, that image stuck in her mind. There was no doubt in her mind that those eyes belonged to Sesshomaru. She just needed to find out why. She also noticed he only had one arm. She was curious to know what happened but she figured it was probably a sensitive topic and decided to leave it unasked.

Sesshomaru himself didn't know why he had agreed to allow her to travel with them. She could prove to be more of a nuisance but he couldn't just let her wonder off on her own. He felt a sudden urgency to protect her from that demon the night before when he could have easily let her die. When she collapsed, he had caught her and instantly carried her back to the camp. He was bombarded with questions from Jaken but even he didn't know why he had saved her. However, it wasn't a problem he was interested in. Yet.