Moonlit Night

By ShadowYoukai87

Disclaimer: Own InuYasha I do not. Have enough money I will never. Borrow him I must.

Chapter 1

It was getting darker by the minute and she had no idea where she was. It made sense, in some twisted way, that she had to get lost the one time she left later than usual to collect her herbs. Her father had needed her to mend his best kimono for the soon to come duty collector from the Lord of the Western Lands. It only made sense that he would want to look his best, but, the collector wasn't due for nearly a month. She wasn't even sure how it had gotten so full of holes. She had recommended he just get a new one.

She looked up at the sky. The light was fading, nearly gone, the sun already behind the mountain. It might have been late spring, but once the sun went down, it got very cool, very fast. She could already feel the chill in the air, and she was getting hungry. She looked around her nervously, hoping to find some shelter, but the trees weren't strong enough, their branches weak from the long winter and bare. A gust of wind of wind shook the trees around her and she shivered as it hit her. She didn't even have anything with which to start a fire. She began to gather twigs around her, hoping she'd be able to set even a small one before it got too cold.

She was, finally, able to get the smallest of fires going. She hurried to build a small windbreak of grass around it, hoping to keep it from blowing out in the wind. It was painstaking work, but she finally managed to get a decent sized fire. Without any sign of food, she sighed, vowing to ask Sango how she made those traps.

As she was preparing to settle in for the night, she heard a sound from the forest surrounding her. She stood, back to the fire as she looked around her, wishing she had brought her bow. It was the last time she'd let her father tell her she wouldn't need it. She saw a pair of glowing red dots in one of the bushes, then a second a little above it, then another few to the right, a half dozen on her left. She turned behind her and saw even more. She must have camped right in the middle of their nesting grounds. Just great. She grabbed one of the longer sticks from the fire, the end burning brightly She swung it at her foes, but instead of crawling away, the eyes came closer, as if drawn by the flames. She dropped the stick back in the fire and tried to avoid the almost centipede like creatures, moving slowly, hoping not to draw more attention. Unfortunately, once all of the little creatures were in the clearing, they turned to her and she knew they were going to make a move. She walked back until her back hit the trunk of a tree. Before she could move, they charged.

Seeing no way out, she closed her eyes and tried to sink into the tree as she heard the shrieks. She waited a moment, expecting to feel their attacks on her skin before hearing a voice, a human voice, yelling.

"Iron reaver, soul stealer!"

She opened her eyes slowly and was surprised to see a rather human figure between her and the fire. The corpses of the demons that had attacked her were strewn around the small clearing and the blood coated the ground. She looked around dazedly taking in the appearance of the clearing slowly. It was odd, the moment before she had been fearing for her life, thinking about all she had yet to do, now she was alive, but didn't know what to do. Finally, she managed to wake herself, moving away from the trunk and towards the forest behind her.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you."

She paused at the voice, turning to look back at the fire, the man standing there, a dark silhouette between it and her.

"Wh-what?"

"I wouldn't head out into the woods if I were you. These demons may have been drawn to the fire, but plenty more are scared of it. Leave it, and be prepared for worse demons."

She turned back to the woods, considering his words before slowly backing up, eyes fixed on the darkness surrounding her. She screamed when her back hit something and something grabbed her around the waist.

"Shut up already!"

She silenced herself, breathing quickly as she assessed her situation.

"Better, now, are you going to thank me for saving your life or what?"

She nodded. "Thank you for saving my life. I," she hesitated, unsure. "I am in your debt."

He released her and she rushed to the tree, using it as a support. Who was this guy?

"In my debt, eh? Well then, do me a favour and don't go running off."

She nodded, slipping to the ground slowly so she was sitting on the ground. She watched the man as he wandered the campsite, inspecting the dead bodies strewn about the place.

"Why did you save me?"

He turned to her. "What? Would you have rather died?"

"No!" she protested, "I'm just curious. I mean, certainly you have more important things to be doing than rescuing some foolish girl."

"Maybe I don't," he replied kneeling by the fire "Can't leave this going all night."

"But you said…"

"I never said we were staying here all night. For one, its way too exposed. We're going back to my place. Then, we'll discuss how you pay your debt to me."

He stood and faced her as he circled to the other side of the fire and she saw him clearly for the first time. White hair, dog ears, golden eyes, fangs, claws…he was a demon. He kicked dirt on the fire and she shivered as the new cool air swept in around her.

"You're name?"

She hesitated a moment, her mind still reeling with her discovery. "K-kagome," she replied finally, "a-and yours?"

He looked at her a moment, judging her reaction carefully, knowing full well she knew he was a demon. "InuYasha." He stepped over the fire pit and took hold of her arm, helping her stand. "Get on my back." He understood why she hesitated. She was weighing her options. "C'mon," he grinned, "I ain't gonna bite."

She got on his back, a little awkwardly. "It's not biting I'm worried about."

He smirked as his hand secured her on and lead her hands to his shoulders. She was almost surprisingly light, and small. She couldn't be much more than sixteen, if even that. What was a child doing out in a place like this, filled to the brim with demons? It was a wonder she was still alive at all.

She gave a small cry of surprise when he started to run, her hands tightening and her legs squeezing him slightly tighter, her head buried in his hair. He allowed himself a small chuckle at her expense. Of course, it was a little awkward running at the speed he was with an unfamiliar weight on his back, especially one that kept moving around. Luckily, it wasn't that far. His hut came into sight fairly quickly, the small cooking fire giving it a small glow.

"You can get off now, Kagome."

She gave a small sound of surprise as she looked around and slowly released him. He could smell nervousness about her as she approached the hut ahead of him. She paused at the entry and he motioned for her to enter. She swallowed anxiously before walking in, him right behind.

Almost immediately, she rushed to a corner, huddling near the small fire, shivering, her hands near the flames, a little too close. He ignored her, turning to the meat on the fire. Nearly ready. She could smell the tantalizing aroma in the small hut as if it were teasing her. Her stomach growled as he pulled a portion off the fire placing it on a small plate and handing it to her, urging her to take it when she hesitated. The first bite was slow, almost tortured, carefully testing the meat before going on to devour the piece in front of her. He smirked, giving a small grunt, and she looked up and, for an instant, their eyes met. In that moment, she felt her whole body race and shift in a strange but oddly pleasant way. She liked it, and yet, it scared her. She had never felt anything its equal. Confusion winning, she turned away, looking at her hands as she tried to understand what had happened.

"About your debt," he said suddenly, handing her a second piece of meat, "how about we work it out in the morning. You look pooped."

She nodded, looking around the hut. "Where should I sleep?" He pointed to the small futon against the wall and she nodded, crawling over to it and lying down. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but at least it was better than the ground. She turned to him as she cuddled under the blankets. "Good night, InuYasha."

She fell asleep almost immediately.

He had never felt anything like those few seconds he and Kagome had looked into each other's eyes. It was as if he had seen everything in the girl's soul, every emotion, every fear, every desire, even the ones she didn't know she had. It had been awesome, and strange, a little scary. He thought back to what she had asked him earlier, about why he had saved her. Truth be told, he hadn't known, hadn't until he had looked into her eyes. He had a feeling, deep in his gut, they were connected somehow. He looked at her, sleeping in his bed and felt something akin to affection rise up in him. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt that for anyone. He didn't even know her, but he held affection for her. It made no sense.

His look softened. Maybe it was just because she was beautiful. He hadn't been this close to a beautiful woman in a very long time. Perhaps this was just years of built up sexual tension, but then, why would she look at him like the same things were going through her mind. It had been like an exchange of some sort. He wondered, was she thinking about it too, or did she understand it? No, she had stunk of confusion.

She shifted in her sleep, mumbling something he didn't catch, but her hand reached out towards him. He shifted closer and touched her hand gently, careful not to wake her. It closed around his and she smiled, shifting again so she was lying on her stomach. Smiling, he watched the fire die, his hand not leaving hers as he fell asleep.

She clung to him tightly as he ran through the woods towards the tree near her village called the God tree, the ancient tree said to be magic. He stopped in the clearing around it and she let go, slowly getting off, almost as if she didn't want to. She didn't understand it, but she didn't want to be away from him. To her, it made no sense. She had always been taught that demons were evil, had seen with her own eyes how heartless they could be. She shook her head, wanting to clear away the image it brought, the blood, the fear, the pain…

"Hey," she started at his voice, "You okay?"

She nodded, a look of gratitude in her eyes. "Yeah," she replied softly. She didn't want to relive that moment. "We still haven't discussed what you want from me."

He smirked. "I haven't decided," he replied slowly, turning to look at the tree. "Can you make it back to this tree?"

"Not easily, and not often," she replied softly, "But, there's a small spring not far from here. I go there twice a day to draw water for my father's inn. Would that serve?"

He turned to her critically. "Your village has a river running by it and your father makes you go to a spring to get water?"

She nodded. "He says the water near the village is overused."

"It's not used by the others, is it?" She shook her head. "Then it will serve. I'll wait for you there." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" He paused, looking back to her as she took something from her bag of herbs, a small charm. "Take this," she said softly, forcing the thing into his hand, "as a token of my gratitude and of the debt I still owe you."

He looked at it, a small string of dark wooden beads accented by fangs, perhaps of a snake or a dog. "What is it?"

"Lucky beads and I'd say they work. After all, they brought you to me in my time of need."

He stared at them, waiting for some kind of catch. "That wasn't because of some stupid beads. That was because I happen to hate those things."

"But was I not still lucky?"

He paused, not sure what to reply to that.

"InuYasha, so long as you hold those beads, I pledge myself to your service until I have repaid my debt to you."

She bowed, almost curling up at his feet as he looked on in shock. She was actually very serious about this. It made him a little uncomfortable about the whole thing. No one in his entire life had ever bowed before him. Somehow, it felt so very wrong for her to be the only one. He knelt down in front of her and touched her shoulder. Once more, her blue eyes looked into his, but this time, the rush of the last time didn't happen. There was still a rush, strangely pleasant, and neither understood why, but not nearly of the same intensity. It made his throat go dry and the words in his mouth die for a moment.

"Get up," he said finally, his voice hoarse and oddly small. He had never felt so exposed before, or more peaceful. What was this girl doing to him?

"InuYasha," she whispered as she knelt, still focused on his eyes, her hands bracing themselves as if to jump onto him.

He stood then, fast, forcing himself look at anything but her. "I said 'get up' and I mean it. You have to get back home. You don't want them to worry about you more than they already have, do you?"

She nodded, head down, almost disappointed, before standing in front of him. "You're right. Thank you. I suppose I'll see you before long." She avoided looking at him in the eyes as she spoke. "Until next we meet."

With that, she turned around and walked towards the village, disappearing in the green trees.