Disclaimer-Inuyasha does not belong to me.

I am almost grateful in a way that the sorceress Kikyo trapped me against that tree with her celestial arrow for so many years. It gave me the time to think about the error of my ways, my selfish need to finally claim the Shikon jewel for my own to transform myself into a full demon.

I blamed my family partially for this, for demanding that that I fulfill my destiny. All my life I had been told I was supposed to take over as patriach of the family once my father had died in his sleep so long ago.

I was ignorant and stubborn and wished only to sacrifice others to satisfy my murderous needs. In that way, I am ashamed. I cannot begin to count how many lives I had taken in the pusuit of the treasure I sought, how many families I had destroyed in murdering their only providers. Until I met her, I had known no other way, even after we met, it took me some time to become accustomed tot he differences in our ways.

Kagome. Whenever she would come from her world to be with me in mine, she and I learned a lot about each other's cultures. She lived in modern Japan, and I lived in the feudal times, where the people of my land were still trying to find their way through the world.

We had both spent time in each other's world before, me in hers briefly and her in mine more so. She and I had had many adventures together and had become friends through doing so. Sometimes when we would cuddle together to sleep under the stars, I would feel her reach over to stroke my ears lovingly. I purred in spite of myself whenever she would do that. I loved her touch. She was not my mate, but I had learned from being with her that the physical aspect between two creatures was not as important as other things, like companionship and trust.

"It's times like this when we're alone and your eyes are closed, Inuyasha, that you look so innocent to me, almost boyish. It makes it hard to believe all the things you've told me you've experienced have actually happened." he told me.

"That is because your culture looks down on the way mine does things. I will tell you, it is frowned upon when creatures like me prey upon the weak here. Many fear that it will only be a matter of time until they are victimized too, and in a sense, they are smart to think so. Here, it is either kill or be killed. If someone doesn't try to destoy you, you have to do the same to them first. I guess in that way your culture is much more evolved than mine." I told her.

"My culture is primitive in it's ways, too. My people do not as successfully mate for life as most of yours do. There is not much sense of duty in modern families." she told me.

"Sometime I would like to see more of your time, Kagome. I would like to see your modern world through your eyes and really see if it would be a place I could call home just as I do this one." I told her.

She snuggled close to me as I put my arm around her, sighing from my exhaustion. We had had a very long day, and I was very tired from all the efforts I had expended to be with her that day...

The day had started as it usually did, with me sleeping contently in the crack of a rather large tree. Trees were my prefered resting place, there I coul shed the offending garments that I wore to cover my half-human body and scratch my back and arms against the rough bark of the plant's exterior. Sometimes in my need to satisfy my itching skin, I would rub against the tree until my skin broke, causing me to bleed a little. I would quickly lick the blood away, knowing the scent of it would make me vulnerable to predators.

Feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, I opened my eyes to the morning, yawning and strtching. My first priority upon waking was to find a meal for myself. I prefered the meat of a fresh kill, but whenever I would do this with Kagome around, she would exclaim to me about how brutal it seemed to her to take a life just to satisfy my body's need.

"It is only a wild boar, Kagome. It would have killed us if I hadn't killed it first." I told her, kneeling over the bloody carcass with the redness of it staining my hands and the grass beneath it.

Kagome shook her head and sighed. "I guess you've already done it, so I guess it's okay, but I would prefer some fruits or vegatables for my meal instead, Inuyasha." she told me.

This was not a problem for me. Normally, I would raid nearby villages and steal their produce from their small gardens, but Kagome frowned upon this. She would command me against this with the power of the prayer beads around my neck and ask me instead to climb nearby trees to fetch the items she wanted.

I had to admit, she had a very good eye for the sweetest fruits and most delicious vegatables. I would gather our meal in a handful of shrubbery and take it to a nearby river in which to cleanse them. I looked up at her with widened eyes when I saw her point at me and laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked her, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I'm sorry. I've just never seen anyone tear into an orange, peel and all. The juice is running all over your face. It just struck me as funny." she said.

I smiled, happily licking the sweet citrus from my hands and cleaning my face in the same fashion. "How are you supposed to eat them then?" I asked her.

She laughed. "Well, I guess you can either peel it first and eat it that way, or you can cut it in half or fourths and eat the fruit part that way." she said.

I looked at her puzzled, digging my claws into the orange's hard exterior. "Peel it first? That seems like a lot of trouble to me. Which way do you prefer?" I asked.

Feeling spontanous, I didn't give her time to answer as I pulled out my sword and sliced her orange and a few other fruits she had into small pieces. Unfortunely because of this, I had also frightened her with my sudden movement.

"Inuyasha! Sit!" she commanded.

I instantly sat at her command and apolgized for scaring her. She thanked me for my effort to help and together we shared a nice meal.