Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Inuyasha, but then who knows maybe I will someday. Yeah I know how unlikely that is but a girl can still hope can't she?







Twisted Love


Chapter One


Nighttime Bliss






Kagome stared out the window gazing up at the first stars to grace the evening sky. She shivered slightly in the breeze as her thoughts began to wander. "Inuyasha..." she whispered gently feeling a tinge of guilt. If only he knew how much she loved him, but it could not be; her master would never let it last if he found out. But as long as he did not find out about them she was free to love as she chose and as long as Inuyasha did not find out about her master she knew he would not abandon her. But things were becoming increasingly difficult now that her master had obtained a certain liking for her. She was lucky to get away from him for a few hours let alone the days she used to spend with Inuyasha. She never knew how long it would be between their meetings.

Lost in her thoughts she did not notice the encroaching footsteps as an unknown presence neared her. A cold white arm reached out at her and Kagome almost jumped when she felt a hand take hold of her arm. She calmed slightly when she saw the talons on the end of each finger wrapping themselves around her thin delicate arm. "Lord Sesshoumaru", she said turning with a flourish to bow before him as he dropped her arm. She blushed slightly noticing she was only wearing a thin nightgown and reached for a coat to cover herself.

"Don't bother covering yourself, I'm not bothered by your appearance", Lord Sesshoumaru stated flatly. But Kagome got the impression that he was lying and could see his eyes roving over every curve of her body. Flustered she went to sit down on a couch along the back wall. After offering him a seat she sat down gracefully, smoothing the wrinkles in the material covering her lap, not looking up as she inquired, "To what do I owe this surprise visit, Lord Sesshoumaru? I'm quite honored that you came directly to my quarters. Why is it that you did not just ring for me as you usually do?"

He sat down next to her not even an arm's length away. "Kagome, it pains me to think that you see me as only your master for I would greatly desire to also be your friend. That is why I came here tonight. I have decided to have dinner with you tomorrow so we can get acquainted." Kagome didn't like the sound of that, she had hoped to see Inuyasha after she had finished her chores. She searched her mind for some sort of excuse. "But master don't you remember that tomorrow is laundry day and market day? I will be doing chores until late into the night. I do not have time for a luxurious dinner such as that." Sesshoumaru didn't look worried in any way, cool, calm, and collected as usual. He took a slow deep breath. "Kagome, things like that can be taken care of. I'll just have Sango and Miroku take care of it. It shouldn't be that hard on them. Tomorrow is Sango's day off anyway she'll have plenty of time to take care of it, don't you think?"

Kagome could think all right and she knew that Sango would hate her for this. She'd been planning on visiting her little brother who was sick. He was staying with their mother and they lived so far away that Sango needed a whole day to have time to get there and back still having time left to spend with them. Now she'd have to stay and do someone else's work. That was unfair, but what was Kagome to do. Sesshoumaru's heart was set on it and her arguing would only make things worse for poor Sango. Instead she offered, "I suppose it will be okay as long as I do her work when you have your little "get to know you dinner" with her." She doubted he was planning on doing anything like that but she'd give it a shot. She smiled sweetly at him hoping it didn't look as forced as it truly was.

"Indeed..." He eyed her strangely, all the while his hand wandering closer to her bare leg. "I shall have to tell her that when I give her the news. She won't mind I'm sure, you two are close friends right? So what's a little favor for a friend?"

His hand was barely an inch away from her thigh and she could almost feel his cold sharp talons tapping across her skin. She stood up quickly to escape his touch and with great effort appeared to be merely excited. "Oh we shall have so much fun. I can't wait. But you better hurry and go tell Sango; she'll be packing for tomorrow and she goes to bed early sometimes."

Sesshoumaru seamed rather bewildered. This was easier than he'd thought it would be. Not that he couldn't have forced her to go but she looked quite anxious and he hadn't expected a reaction like this. It was a little awkward for him, perhaps because he wasn't used to this kind of thing, it was strange she'd never acted like this before. Usually she acted as though he wasn't there, not even looking at him when he spoke. Now she was at least being more than polite. "Alright I will go tell Sango, she will be angry for a few days, I'm sure but perhaps your offer will make up for it." He walked to the door slowly whispering quietly over his shoulder, "And don't even think about skipping out on me tomorrow. You know what happens when you don't behave." A sly smile spread across his face as he closed the door softly behind him.

Kagome shuddered. Yes, she knew what would happen. She could still feel the sting of his whip although the cuts on her back had long since healed and become long sharp scars.

She still sat on the couch; motionless long after Sesshoumaru had made his dramatic exit.



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A few miles away Inuyasha was taking a walk through the wood. He walked slowly taking in everything, sights, sounds, the beauty of the forest at night. He walked along a path he knew well, he didn't even need to look where he was going. His feet tread sure leading him through a twisted net of foliage. He walked until he reached a clearing. Not any old clearing he thought to himself. This was where he and Kagome had had their first kiss. The night she had discovered his secret. He sat down leaning his back against a tree as he remembered. Thinking about it he felt as though it had only been yesterday. They'd been walking along the same path he had just left...


"That was a beautiful sunset", Kagome exclaimed looking at the horizon where the last rays of the sun were dyeing the sky with ribbons of blood-red light flooding over the crisp violet that covered the rest of the sky. Inuyasha looked at her, her face a reddish hue in this light, her eyes glowed and a smile turned up the ends of her mouth. She was beautiful like this and he stared trying to take in every inch of her beauty to keep it, to remember it, and hold it close to his heart like everything else about her. He saw her turn and look into his eyes she smiled at him her eyes reflecting his love. He could fall into those eyes buried deep inside of them. She was so wonderful no wonder why he'd fallen for her. She laughed bringing him back to reality. He blushed, soft pink flushing his cheeks. He turned away from her gaze but clasped her hand when she reached out for his.

They walked for a while talking about this and that, their hands still holding on neither one willing to let go of the other. Just as they rounded a corner to continue following the path Inuyasha's ears began to twitch and his fingers began shaking. He dropped Kagome's hand. "Kagome I have to go uhhh... I...I just remembered I have to do something. I'll see you tomorrow or something okay." He ran off into the trees. He stopped several yards away in a clearing. Sitting with his back against a tree he hoped Kagome would just turn around and go home.

His ears twitched again and this time they faded away only to appear again at the side of his head like a normal human, the talons on his hands changing into short fingernails. His hair darkened slowly becoming the deep midnight black his mother had had and his eyes lost their brilliance becoming the same crisp violet as the sky had been. He hadn't told Kagome about any of this and was afraid that she would be angry with him for keeping something like this from her. He was angry with himself for running off and leaving her alone in the semidarkness like that. He hit himself mentally for being so rude to her, but just as he resolved to go find her and apologize, he heard something and turned around to see Kagome stumble into the clearing. He ran to her, "Kagome are you okay?" He helped her across the clearing and set her down against the tree he'd been leaning against. "Kagome are you okay?" He repeated it once more just to make sure she'd heard him the first time.

"Inu--Inuyasha?!! What happened to you?" She said reaching for a lock of his hair. He blushed again a deeper hue and looked up. "Well um... I wanted to tell you Kagome but I thought you'd think I was even weirder than when you saw my ears." Kagome grabbed his arm urging him to sit down next to her. When he sat down she again reached out to hold his hand. He took it, a small smile spreading across his face. "How did you get like this?"

"Well do you remember when I told you I was a demon?" He waited for her to nod and then continued, "Well I'm not a full-blooded demon, only half. I'm a hanyou; half youkai, half human. Once every month when it's a new moon I change into my human form." She squeezed his hand tightly. "You could have just told me you know it's not that bad, I mean not bad enough to run away like that." She ran her fingers through his hair. "It's not as nice as your pearly white locks but I like it." She let out a small laugh like a bell tinkling. He laughed with her feeling all his troubles melt away.

"I'm tired." Kagome acknowledge after several fits of uncontrollable laughing had had their way with her. She leaned back resting her head against Inuyasha's chest. He wrapped his arms around her protectively. Running his fingers through her hair slowly, he reveled in this seldom-experienced happiness.

Kagome lifted her head, tilting it back to look into his eyes, their noses almost touching. "Inu-" But she never finished. Almost as soon as she had started to say his name Inuyasha had leaned forward their lips touching lightly. Kagome leaned into it as well shivers running down her back as Inuyasha pulled her closer to him. It was a long lingering kiss, both their tongues searching to find the secrets hidden in the other's mouth. When they let go Kagome smiled a pure deep smile up at her hanyou. Inuyasha smiled back as she let her head drop to lean against his chest again. He held her close to him all through the night even long after they both had fallen asleep.



Inuyasha smiled at the memory. So much had happened since then, they were so much closer now. He knew a lot about her but it still puzzled him when she left sometimes. There would be no warning, no reason he'd just look up and she'd be gone. She apologized for leaving him but she never told him where she went. He wondered if it was because she didn't trust him or perhaps she didn't want to tell him. But somehow he knew that when the time came she would tell him, he trusted her that much at least.

Sitting alone in the dark his thoughts on Kagome he drifted off to sleep among the memories that misted about him.



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Kagome couldn't sleep. She'd only just moved form where Sesshoumaru had left her sitting on the couch. Climbing into her bed she had pulled the covers up over her as if they could protect her. She lay in her bed thinking about what he had said. She still could find no way out of it and she didn't want to just abandon Inuyasha without a reason again. She rolled over on her side looking out the window. Perhaps Inuyasha was out there thinking about her at that very moment. If only he knew, but Sesshoumaru wouldn't let it be. She sat up slowly turning so her feat dangled over the side. She wanted to go to the clearing; it was always easier for her to think when she was there and more often than not Inuyasha could be found there. Maybe she should tell him about Sesshoumaru. But then, maybe not. A turmoil of thoughts twisted and turned inside her head wrestling against each other for supremacy as she stood and grabbed a coat to wrap around herself to keep warm.

It was a long walk from her master's estate to the forest, but she needed to think and this was the only time she'd have. Tomorrow she'd be lucky if Sango didn't kill her for ruining her day off, then there would be that dinner with Lord Sesshoumaru, and to top it all off it would be a whole day she had to spend without Inuyasha. She hadn't seen him in so long. She wondered if he would even be there, maybe he had given up waiting for her to come. She hoped he hadn't because she really was looking forward to seeing his face. She loved everything about that little hanyou from his pearly white locks and those bright golden eyes, to his long talon ended fingers. She especially liked his eyes. They were such an unnatural color, like the golden wheat fields she used to work in long ago before she had belonged to Lord Sesshoumaru. Those were much better days. She could still remember them faintly, growing up free not having to worry about cleaning up after someone or attending to their needs. She missed her family; her little brother and her mother. She even missed her grandpa with all his long boring stories. Kagome sighed, she wouldn't be seeing any of them in the near future.

She was almost there and she could see the trees a short way off in the distance. She shivered lightly in the cold, pulling her coat tighter around her.

Her feet tread softly along the path towards the clearing. Listening to the night she wandered into the clearing to find Inuyasha waiting for her. He cocked his head to the side looking at her questioningly.

"I needed to think." She said walking over to him. "And why are you here?"

"The same I suppose, I've had a lot of things to think about lately." He helped her to sit letting her down slowly so she could hold the coat close around her. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her to keep her warm. She leaned her head on his shoulder smelling the scent of the forest on him accompanied with the light hint of his own sweet smell. She loved the way he smelled it gave her the feeling that she was walking through a forest the smell of the trees soothing her into a comfortable sedated state of mine. "What was it that you came here to think about?" Kagome looked up at him remembering that she had to tell him something. She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she was a servant specifically Sesshoumaru's servant. But she needed to tell him that she would not be able to see him tomorrow. She'd run out on him enough times before and she owed it to him to tell him. She lifted her head off his shoulder leaning back so she could see his face. "Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"I can't see you tomorrow. I have to do something for one of my friends and I won't be finished until late in the night. I'm sorry, you know if I had the choice I'd rather be with you but I promised I'd help her out. I think that she's going to be needing a lot of my help so I might not be able to see you as much as I used to." She waited not sure what to expect from him but at the same time unsure if she should say more. For a long time neither of them said anything, until Inuyasha spoke, "Remember Kagome I'll always be here for you and if you ever want to find me, I'll be here in this clearing waiting for you. I want you to come back to me as soon as you can even if it is only for a little while at a time."

"Thank you for understanding." She whispered knowing that it took effort for him to admit things like that. She pushed herself off the ground leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. He blushed slightly and she could barely tell in this faint light. They sat like this for another hour and a half. Inuyasha telling her about his new job working in the mines and of all the new people he was meeting, Kagome talking about her little brother and how badly he used to behave when her mother wasn't around. They laughed with each other and Kagome felt slightly better now. As it was getting earlier she knew she would have to talk to Sango before she went ballistic on her. She got up slowly standing up and stretching her arms out. "Leaving already?" Inuyasha was looking up at her, his head tilted to the side in that cute little questioning look of his. "Yes, I'm sorry but I have to go and see my friend and I don't want to be late, she needs my help for the rest of the day so I would feel guilty having her wait too long for me. I'll come back and see you as soon as I can. I promise."

He stood up wrapping his arms around her enfolding her in a tight embrace. He kissed her softly on her forehead before dropping his arms and backing away. Kagome smiled up at him and before she knew it he'd grabbed both her arms and held them behind her back. "Ha! Now how will you leave?"

"I'll fight you off." She replied jokingly.

"Like you really could." He retorted.

"Yes I could. You're a push over." She said rather indignantly as she struggled to escape his firm grasp. "I'm just in a hurry that's all."

"I'm sure." He said a smile playing across his face. "As long as you promise to come back, I'll let you go. But I'm not sure I can trust you, you do lie an awful lot." He turned her around to face him. "How can I be sure you won't run off and marry some old codger for his money and never come back to me?"

Kagome swiftly leaned forward and kissed him hard on the mouth. In his surprise he let go of her hands. That was all she needed. She turned and ran yelling back at him over her shoulder, "You'll just have to trust me won't you. But then who knows that old codger might be pretty cute if I squint my eyes."

Inuyasha listened to the soft cadence of her laughter as it faded into the distance along with her footsteps. He could still hear it long after he could no longer see her, his dog ears straining as far as they could. She was gone, that sweet laugh of hers only a memory until the next time he saw her. He hoped that would be soon.



A/N: Please review this is my first story and I wouldn't mind suggestions. I hope you like it and I hope it's not too short. I'll have the next chapter up in a few days. Over and out.