The wrong door opens, something Murasaki realizes far too late as Shimazu Toyohisa is pulled through a door made of old wooden beams that have ivy curling around them. He glances down at the page on his clipboard and scowls at the singular error that has thrown off his game with E.A.S.Y.. If she finds out about this he will never hear the end of it, she will hold this mistake over his head for all of eternity. Instead of sending the warrior off to the world where he is collecting Drifters very much like him, he has ended up sending Toyohisa nearly a hundred years into the past of his own nation.

It is done. There is no correcting this egregious error now.

Murasaki sighs and puts Toyohisa's file away as another appears in his hall.

Kagome is hopelessly lost. She's well aware of this fact as she attempts to navigate her way back to the well, all while muttering to herself about InuYasha's rather selfish and inappropriate demand for her to change out of the Miko garb. Just because she might be Kikyō's reincarnation does not mean that she is actually Kikyō. She is Kagome! And InuYasha can't demand that she change her clothes just because he is uncomfortable with how she looks.

Not only that! He had the gall to insult every little thing about her! From the way that she smells to how she can't use a bow and arrow after having just touched one for the first time in her life! She didn't ask for any of this!

Kagome is so wrapped up in her thoughts that she trips over something in her path, causing her to fall forwards with a shriek. She lands on this something, which groans and makes an effort to shift, and she very quickly realizes that it's a person she's tripped on.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Kagome says frantically as she scrambled off of the person, a man who groans again and finally manages to flip himself over. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the sight of him, an obscene amount of blood covering him—as if he had just come from a battle—but most of it is his, she realizes, as she notices that blood is pooling under him.

"Must not be hell then," the man bites out with a pained grin, his words making absolutely no sense to Kagome. Does he think that he is dead? Well, he will be soon if she doesn't do something, anything.

Kagome is a Miko, after all, and a Miko is able to use their reiki to heal injuries. She just isn't sure about how she can actually do this but she is going to try. She is going to do this.

Forcing down her uncertainty, Kagome leans over the man, a samurai she absently notes as she notices the wickedly long blade he clings to, and gently presses her hands on his chest. "Please let this work." She closes her eyes and bites at the inside of her lower lip as she focuses on using her reiki to heal him.

"What are you-Your hands are glowing…" The samurai is still conscious, thankfully, and sounds as confused as she expects him to be.

Kagome cracks open an eye and finds that her hands are indeed glowing a soft pink-white that is spreading to the samurai. "O-oh! It's working!" She smiles in relief and opens both of her eyes to watch as her power bends to her will.

"You're a Miko." It isn't a question. No, the samurai seems to know exactly what she is and yet there isn't a single mention of Kikyō from him.

"Not a very good one according to InuYasha," Kagome admits bitterly and looks away from the warrior. She jumps slightly when a large calloused hand settles over hers and looks back at the samurai to find his piercing gray eyes are fixed on her, his mouth drawn into a frown.

"You're saving my life, Miko-sama, and that's more than good enough for me." His expression becomes steely, as does his voice, and Kagome can't help but be shaken by his words.

InuYasha had no problem letting Kagome know that he found her lacking in every aspect and yet this complete stranger has no higher expectations of her. He is in fact satisfied with her as she is and she finds it comforting.

The glow of her reiki fades once there's no more wounds to heal and she pulls back from the samurai with a weak smile. "Thank you. I needed to hear that," she says gratefully while the samurai sits up. "And my name is Kagome. Higurashi Kagome."

He moves, faster than someone who had just been at death's door should be able to, and prostrates himself before her despite the fact that he is in a pool of his own blood. "It is I who should be thanking you, Higurashi-sama. I, Shimazu Toyohisa, owe you my life. This InuYasha you spoke of is a fool for making you think so lowly of yourself."

Kagome is ready to protest the position that he's put himself in but his words stop her cold and she blinks down at the sight of him. Warm tears prick at her eyes and she puts a hand over her mouth as her already stirred emotions begin bubbling up. Before she can even stop herself she gives a choked sob and the very next instant she is being pulled to Toyohisa's chest, his arms tightly winding around her.

"I'm sorry that my words have upset you so, Higurashi-sama. It was not my intention," Toyohisa breathes into her ear as he presses a hand to the small of her back and rubs soothing circles there.

Kagome can't quite find the words to reassure him that it isn't his fault, not entirely. He's simply much too kind and it had triggered her into this state. She spends the next few minutes just crying into his neck and he lets her while he keeps silent and continues to rub her back. Once her tears finally dry and her sobs finally stop—what a sight she must be—she pulls away, her gaze downcast while her cheeks flush with her embarrassment. "I'm so-"

Toyohisa silences her with a finger against her lips then slips his hand under her chin and tilts her head up. Once she is looking at him he gives her a subdued smile and pulls his hand away. "You have nothing to apologize for, Milady. It was I who upset you."

Kagome gives a hard shake of her head and balls her hands into the material of her hakama. "I was already upset when I found you, Shimazu-san. Hearing such nice things from you just happened to be the trigger to make me break down like that, and I think I needed it so I wouldn't have a worse one later on. It wouldn't do well for me to have a yōkai find me in such a state."

Toyohisa blinks, his expression twisting into another frown. "Yōkai? Yōkai haven't been around for one hundred years, Higurashi-sama."

Kagome blinks as well and takes a better look at Toyohisa. "Shimazu-san, what year is it?" She doesn't know why she chose this particular question, but finding herself five hundred years in the past doesn't make much sense either if he thinks yōkai have been gone for a hundred years.

"It's 1600, Higurashi-sama." He sounds so sure of it and Kagome's heart sinks as she registers the answer.

"Shimazu-san, it's 1497…"

There is no dishonesty in Kagome's face as she breaks the news to him. Instead, there is a deep sadness in her eyes, and even more there is a sort of understanding. "H-how?"

"In your case, I honestly don't know. I doubt you climbed out of the Bone-Eater's Well in your state and I can't even be certain that it was how you got here considering it pulled me here from 1997." He doesn't remember a well of any sort and it seems like the circumstances in how they got here, though similar, are incredibly different. She is even more out of place than he is.

"What part of Japan are we in?" He has to know this much, considering he had last been at Sekigahara and it doesn't seem like he's anywhere near there.

"Um… We're in Edo. Why?" Kagome's brows furrow slightly with her question and she tilts her head to one side.

"I was at Sekigahara," he admits in a harsh whisper. So far. How did he… That white hallway with the doors and that strange man at the desk! "I was giving my uncle time to escape from Tokugawa's forces so he could make it back to Satsuma."

Kagome's expression shifts to one of realization and she stares at him with wide eyes, her mouth parting slightly in her shock. "Wait…you're from the Shimazu clan?!" Her gaze leaves his face and travels down to the crests stitched into his karuta sashinuki style kote. "He really is…"

Toyohisa blinks at her then arches a brow at her now stunned expression. Yes, he really is from the Shimazu clan. He won't claim otherwise. "Can you tell me if my uncle made it back to Satsuma?" If she knows of his clan, like it seems, and if she is from nearly four hundred years after the battle at Sekigahara…

"I'd know if I had my history book!" A what? The confusion must be evident on his face because she gives a sigh and shakes her head. She looks ready to say something when her expression lights up and she shoots up. "I can show you! I just have to go back through the well and… Oh no, my family must be worried about me!"

Toyohisa climbs to his feet, ignoring the way his legs tingle, and picks up his nodachi to sheathe it. "What are you going on about?"

Kagome must not hear him because she is too busy looking around before she quite literally bounces on the spot. "It's that way!" And then she takes off.

Toyohisa frowns, unsure of what might have gotten the Miko so excited, and jogs after her. It becomes evident after a few minutes and the forest opens up into a field where there sits a well. The well that Kagome must have been talking about.

Kagome makes a beeline for the structure and starts to climb onto the lip of it, much to his surprise and shock. And then she jumps down into it.

Without even giving it a thought, he races over to the well and vaults over the lip of it just as a bright glow lights the bottom of it. He closes his eyes against the glow and expects everything to end, but the sensation of falling turns into the sensation of floating. He lands quite gently after time seems to stretch on forever, and dares to crack open his eyes.

"Shimazu-san?" Kagome stares up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, her features barely distinguishable in the darkness. When did it get dark out? It was at least midday when they had jumped into the well.

"How did it get so dark?" Toyohisa cranes his neck to look up, and instead of stars in the sky he can make out wooden beams. He looks back down at Kagome, and for the first time notices that the top of her head barely reaches his shoulder. And that there is barely any room in the well for both of them.

"We're in my time, Shimazu-san, and it's dark because we built a well-house over the Bone-Eater's Well. Could you possibly get us out of here?" Kagome shifts against him as she fidgets, her gaze flicking away from his as she turns her head just slightly. Even though he can't really see it he knows that she is blushing.

"Of course, Higurashi-sama, hold on." He wraps his arms around her and gives her enough time to twist her fingers into the fabric of his shitagi before he leaps upwards. They easily clear the lip of the well and he can see what she is talking about when they land. It is akin to a little house that covers the well.

The doors to the well-house suddenly open and light floods in, revealing two figures standing there in the doorway. Kagome gives a surprised gasp then pulls herself free of his embrace and rushes over to them, having obviously recognized them. "Sōta! Jii-chan! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Whoa, Nee-chan, is that blood?" The boy, Sōta, asks as he takes in Kagome's state. Sōta looks from the Miko to where he stands, uncertain of what to do, and the boy's eyes widen. "Oh cool! Who is that?"

Toyohisa's head hurts as he absorbs the sights, sounds and smells from the future, along with what snippets of information he can gather from Kagome's family. They have managed to relocate to the house where he meets the third and final member of Kagome's immediate family, her mother.

The Lady Higurashi had taken one look at them both and smiles, her relief palpable. "I won't pester you with all sorts of questions, Kagome, since you look like death warmed over, but I will ask that you introduce this young man."

Kagome fidgets with the hem of her haori sleeves and looks down at the floor, her entire posture rife with nervousness. "Okaa-san, this is Shimazu Toyohisa. Shimazu-san, this is my Okaa-san."

"It is an honor to meet you, Higurashi-dono," Toyohisa exclaims with a deep, formal bow.

"And you too, Shimazu-san," Lady Higurashi returns with a polite bow of her own. "Run along upstairs, Kagome, while I ask Shimazu-san a few questions." There is an odd inflection to the Lady's voice, one that sends a shiver up Toyohisa's spine.

"Hai, Okaa-san," Kagome utters softly and goes up the stairs after mouthing a 'Good luck' in his direction.

Once Kagome vanishes up the stairs the Lady Higurashi's expression becomes sharp and she scrutinizes him for a moment. "I don't know what happened to my daughter on the other side of that well, Shimazu-san, but I hope you can answer my questions satisfactorily. How did you meet Kagome?"

"To start, I am from a different time than the one that the well leads to, Higurashi-dono. I was grievously wounded at Sekigahara in the year 1600, and when I wandered away from the battlefield I was taken to a strange white hall with many doors. There was a man in that hall but he wouldn't answer my questions and he wouldn't send me back." Toyohisa clenches his hands into fists and sharply looks away for a moment, his lips pressing together into a frown. When he returns his gaze to Lady Higurashi he notices that her expression has softened. "When I came back into consciousness Higurashi-sama had tripped over me. She healed my wounds and we talked for a bit. She explained to me that the year was 1497 and when I asked her about Sekigahara she mentioned something about a…. She called it a book?"

"A collection of papers bound together with the information stored on the pages," Lady Higurashi helpfully supplies with a warm smile. "Her history book, perhaps?"

Toyohisa brushes aside the explanation for now and gives a nod. "She called it that and said she could show it to me instead. Afterwards we came through the well. She, uh, jumped in first and I followed, fearing for her life."

"I see," Lady Higurashi says in a thoughtful tone. "How old are you, Shimazu-san?"

Toyohisa blinks, taken aback by the question, but he is going to answer nonetheless. "I am thirty, Higurashi-dono."

Lady Higurashi frowns at that and folds an arm over her chest, her brows furrowing slightly. She does not seem to like that answer at all. "And what are your intentions towards Kagome?"

He really does not like how she asks that question. "I owe Higurashi-sama my life and as I have nowhere to go back to I would pledge my life to hers. I do not believe in harming a woman and would never force myself upon her or any other woman. I would sooner cut my belly open."

"Kagome is only fifteen, Shimazu-san, half your age. Things are very different here in the future and it is generally unacceptable for a girl to marry so young. Things were much different in your time, let alone the time the well goes to, and when she has to go back…" Lady Higurashi's voice cracks slightly and for one moment she looks utterly broken. It is gone in the blink of an eye and she straightens her posture, her arms going to her side. "I would rather someone as honorable as you are be the one to care for Kagome."

As much as she wants to take a long and relaxing bath Kagome opts for the shower instead. She does make sure to scrub every inch of herself clean and she washes her hair twice, so only twenty minutes have passed by the time she finishes with her shower. She has just wrapped herself up in a towel and grabs one for her hair when her mother enters the bathroom.

"Done already, Kagome? That's unusual," Mama comments teasingly. "Is it because of Shimazu-san?"

Kagome blushes and looks away from her mother as she pats the moisture out of her hair. "I promised to look up some information for him."

"About Sekigahara?" Kagome falters slightly as the question leaves her mother, and she snaps her gaze back to her mother's as her mouth drops open. "I did ask him a few things and he was incredibly honest. I was only concerned for you and I can rest easy knowing that he'll be traveling with you when you go back through the well."

"I don't want to go back there, Mama," Kagome whimpers out, the towel for her hair dropping from her hands. Her mother rushes over to her and wraps her in her arms just as her knees buckle.

"Oh, Kagome. I knew this day would come but I never imagined it to be like this," her mother says soothingly, and she helps Kagome out of the bathroom. "Come now, let's get you dressed and we can talk."

"M-m-marriage?! But I'm too young!" Kagome is sure her voice echoes well throughout the house but that isn't important right now. What is important is that her mother is talking about marriage.

Kagome sinks down onto her bed and buries her face into her hands as it turns a bright red. Her mother sighs and sits down next to her, a hand going to her shoulder. "I'm not talking about right away, Kagome, but it is something you will need to consider when you go back through the well."

"But I-"

"No, Kagome. As much as it pains me to say this, going back is unavoidable. I wish you didn't have to but I've known about this for a long time and I had to make my peace with this when you inevitably fell down the well." Her mother lifts her hand to Kagome's face and gently strokes her cheek then brushes a few damp locks of hair behind her ear. "Now dry your hair and I'll go start on oden for dinner."

Normally, she will perk up at the mention of her favorite food but with everything seemingly crashing down around her she gives her mother an empty smile. Once she is left alone in her room she flops back onto her bed and stares up at the ceiling. Why does she have to go back? Why will she have to get…

"You really should dry your hair, Kagome-chan," an incredibly familiar voice drawls from the direction of her window, startling her out of her thoughts.

With her heart in her throat she sits up and blinks at the sight of a man who looks almost exactly like Toyohisa, with the addition of modern clothes and some vividly crimson stripes slashing across his cheek bones, perching on the sill of her open window. He flashes her a roguish grin, revealing inhumanly sharp canines, and has the audacity to wave.