Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I've just been really busy, you know, with school and all.

It's another one of my new chapters in my new story. I hope you all liked the first one…well more like the introduction.

Feel free to give ideas too! Oh, and reviews of course! I loooove reviews.

Chapter 1

*Whip*

"When will you ever learn to stop running?"

*Whip*

"You're only going to end up hurt."

*Kick* *Slash*

"Will you try again? You're a worthless slave! You're nothing without me."

Kagome could hear Sango crying in the corner, trying not to wail. Her torturer paused from shattering Kagome's ribs and turned to her.

"And you…you will pay for not telling me." He started walking towards her, taunting.

Kagome used whatever energy she had left to leap and grab hold of her master's leg and in one second, she sank her teeth into his leg.

The master howled in pain and awkwardly hopped on his free leg for a few moments to try to regain balance and once he did, he sent Kagome to the other side of the room with one forceful kick. The jagged surface of the wooden wall struck against Kagome's shoulders and tore through her delicate skin, leaving a long, ugly line up her left shoulder as she travelled down the wall of the cabin.

Kagome closed her eyes and savoured the pain, trying to numb the feeling of fresh blood dripping down her spine and soaking through her already bloodied clothes.

However, she screamed in agony when she was pulled by her hair to her feet.

"How dare someone of the likes of you touch me without permission? You will pay for that…dearly…"

Sango began to cry loudly.

"Please…" Kagome gasped. "I'm…sorry…please just don't…" Kagome reached up to her head and whimpered as the vice on her hair tightened. .

A smile could be seen spread across his face. "Please, please, please…huh, pathetic." He mocked her with a pouted voice, full of fake sympathy. "You should really learn your lesson." He began to drag Kagome to the door to the basement.

Sango screamed and pleaded but to no avail. Kagome stood her ground and kept her mouth shut.

What came next was a nightmare in one.

~:~:~:~:~

Kagome awoke with a scream in her mouth but nothing was heard coming out of it. She placed a hand to her forehead. It was covered in sweat, though for some reason, Kagome felt cold. Kagome fell back down on her bed.

'Wait…my bed?'

Kagome jumped up from her bed, acting like the bed was made of hot, burning coal, and ran to the side of the room. She braced herself against the cool, smooth surface of the cement wall and franticly looked around the area, feeling like a timid rabbit having thousands of hands reaching out to her.

The bed she was previously laying on was a four post bed with lots of mattress layers underneath the one she was sleeping on. The covers were violently tossed to the floor in a heap and looked as if a blender whipped through it. The walls were painted light blue and a simple ceiling fan hung from the center of the room. To one side, the opposite side of where Kagome was standing were sliding windows that lead to a semi-circle balcony, fenced with thick, white columns. All Kagome could see outside was a beautiful, not to mention huge backyard with neatly trimmed pine trees and rose bushes surrounding the area. Kagome could even hear the birds singing. But the sun was barely in the sky meaning it was still early in the morning.

Kagome looked down at herself and stared in disbelief. She was wearing a pale pink, silk nightgown that flowed just to her feet. Her body was free of dirt and wild debris but was polluted with scratches and bruises, old and new alike. Her body ached but she thanked Kami that she was still alive. At least that meant she has another chance from running away from that person.

Kagome searched for the door and once she discovered it, she placed the side of her head to the white painted door and listened for any sound coming from the other side. Nothing clear enough for her to make out but she swore that she could hear talking from downstairs. Who would be up this early?

She had to admit, she was scared. The surrounding was very foreign and she had no idea what she was up against. But she straightened up and took a deep, deep breath before opening the door just a crack to take a peek outside.

The hall outside was very large and very grand. The floors were polished and clean and there were paintings adorning certain areas of the walls. The window at the end of the hall was draped with golden mesh-like material and tied at the sides to let the sun in. As well to accompany the sunlight, the light was on, shining from small diamond chandeliers leading down the hall. Kagome was very breath-taken at how beautiful the place was.

Kagome decided that she would be a little braver and venture out further in this unknown house-hold. She would retreat in an instant if she were to be discovered. She walked down the hallway and turned the corner to find a spiralling staircase leading down to main floor.

Curious, she took the chance of solidarity and slowly, carefully, walked down the stairs while cautiously looking towards the direction of the sound.

As her feet touched the bottom, she dashed silently to the wall between the kitchen and her body. As she arrived, she heard the current conversation.

"…for the best." The voice of a young man could be heard. Kagome immediately knew that it was the same man from last night. She would know that rough, yet gentle, voice anywhere.

"I know my dear, but how do you think your brother would react when he returns home?" This time, a woman's voice resounded, quite fearful too. Also familiar, Kagome could tell that it was the woman who discovered her.

"Who cares what that bastard thinks? Don't you care what might happen to her out there?" The boy's voice rose, clearly frustrated. "It's worse of a life in the village than with the bastard of a brother I've got in this house."

The woman sighed. "Well, I do suppose it's for the best. You could do wonders with her." There was a moment of silence. "And her body needs the rest. You wouldn't believe the fright I had when I began bathing her, cuts and bruises everywhere. Wherever she was she wasn't exactly treated with kindness."

"Yeah, exactly why she needs to stay here." The boy insisted.

Kagome wondered why he was trying so hard to keep her here. Wouldn't it be easier for them to just kick her out?

The woman sighed again. "Alright, alright, she can stay. But she is fragile; we need to take good care of her…and from your brother." There was a pause then some quiet laughing. "You know dear, I've never seen you so worked up before. Why do continue to insist she stays with us?"

"Well…"

This made Kagome's curiosity grow. She peeked over the edge of the door way. The two bodies were sitting at the kitchen table which was made of polished, dark wood surrounded by six matching chairs. Kagome could only fully, but not clearly see the figure of the woman since she was the one facing towards her. Kagome could only see the top of the man's head and even with that little exposed, it threw Kagome completely off. She was definitely not ready to see what she saw.

Kagome gasped, softly, but it was enough for them to hear.

The two turned their heads to see where the sound came from but by the time Kagome heard, "She's awake." she had already bolted back up the stairs. She winced at the loud, ungraceful sound it made along the way.

Kagome ran and stumbled into her room, not bothering to shut the door behind her, and hid in the corner furthest away from the door, which was beside the balcony windows.

It took some time to catch her breath but Kagome panted in pain. It hadn't been long since her escape last night but it hurt every bone in her body to even breathe. Her body was still healing from the most recent abuse from her master. Broken bones and deep bruises scarred her body and refused to go away. It would haunt her forever.

She thought about what she had just witnessed in the kitchen.

'Dog ears?' Kagome thought. 'How on earth did he have white dog ears on his head? They could have been false though…but I thought I saw them twitch when I gasped. Could they be real?' Kagome knew demons existed for her master was one, but had never seen one with dog ears before!

Shivering, although not cold, Kagome could hear footsteps just outside her door, approaching closer to her room.

Kagome cursed silently at herself for being so ruthless. She was in enemy territory. What if they hurt her? She can't trust anyone, especially in a place she had just woken up in.

The footsteps stopped just outside the room. The person was probably looking for her. Kagome held her breath.

"I know you're in here. You don't have to be afraid, I won't hurt you." It was the young man's voice that called out to her.

But Kagome didn't budge. 'Huh, likely story…' Kagome thought. 'They'll just call me out and betray me like everyone else does. I can't trust anyone…'

Thinking deeply to herself, Kagome didn't notice that the stranger had already entered the room and was standing right in front of her looking down at her frail shape. When he laughed, it made Kagome flinch violently in fright, but as much as Kagome wanted to, she refused to look up into his face. She quickly curled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, burying her head between them.

'Even though I no longer serve him, I still belong to him and am still considered a lowly slave…never equal enough to look at someone of a higher ranking. Never.' Kagome heard the laughing subside. She prepared for the punishment. 'Why was he laughing?'

Kagome watched as the young master's feet approached, stopping a few steps in front of her. Kagome just studied his feet for they were the only things part of him that she could see. Apparently, he wore no shoes or socks, and it looked like he's been walking around barefoot most of the time for his feet were clean but blistered in some areas and callused.

She watched in curiosity as the feet moved from in front of her to her bed as he sat down.

'Wait no punishment?' This made Kagome want to look up at him even more.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I've told you that before. You don't need to be scared of me."

The man continued to try to persuade the young woman in front of him. He sighed as she continued to cover her head with her arms and not move.

"Can you at least look at me? Please?" He tried again, this time the girl's head could be seen shaking between her arms.

Kagome wasn't ready for what happened next. She could hear him getting up, but she was expecting him to give up and leave. Instead, she felt a soft touch on her arm, making her jump a bit.

The boy could feel the girl, by his touch, tense up immensely by his sudden contact but he rested his hand on her arm without moving.

They stayed like that for a few seconds but to Kagome, it felt like an eternity before either of them moved or spoke. The boy spoke first. It was barely a whisper; he didn't want to scare her.

"I need you to come downstairs with me to eat. My mom is making breakfast for us." He tried removing her arms but he felt her resist and saw her violently shake her head. It wasn't much for even with her resistance, he felt he could pry her arms away with only two fingers. But not wanting to hurt her, or scare her, he stopped his actions. "Please, won't you eat?" He pleaded.

Kagome relaxed a tad in wonder. Was he just asking her to eat? Why was she refusing? Oh right.

'You can't trust anyone…'

The young man sat crossed-legged in front of her. "I'm not moving until you decide to come eat with us." He was just as stubborn as she was, and he knew. "I'm not letting you go hungry; you're skinny enough as it is."

Kagome thought to herself. She is usually the one stealing food from her master to feed both Sango and herself, but now, she was refusing food being offered to her? Geez, she could be stupid sometimes. But she was scared…scared to trust.

Minutes passed and Kagome could still feel him nearby. 'Why doesn't he just give up?'

"Honey, are you coming down!" His mother's gentle voice stretched into the room.

"Be right down!" He replied. The man turned his head to the girl. "Are you even going to talk to me? What's your name?"

Silence…

Kagome heard him sigh. "In time I guess…in time." He turned to leave.

Kagome took a peek above the horizon of her arms. He was heading towards the door. No! She couldn't let him go now!

"Pl…" she stuttered, sitting up and reaching out to the man. She noticed how he had white-silvery hair flowing to his waist. "Please, master…" Kagome croaked out. Her throat hurt to even make a sound. She wasn't used to talking yet. Her own voice sounded strange to her ears. She saw him stop walking, waiting for what she was saying.

"Don't go yet…please, master…" Kagome retracted her outstretched arm and sat there, silently pleading. It felt awkward to her. Why was she doing this? What happened to being silent?

As soon as he started turning around to face her, Kagome's eyes crashed to the floor but kept her head up. She heard him walk over.

As he stopped in front of her for a while, Kagome wondered if she did something wrong. Fear immediately scorched her but she stuffed it back down with force.

She saw him bend down in front of her and felt his eyes on her. Kagome lowered her head and kept her eyes to the floor.

"Thank you…" A whisper was heard.

Kagome didn't know what to do, so all she did was nod.

The boy got up and offered her his hand, but Kagome didn't go that far and got up without assistance.

They walked downstairs in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable like before. They walked in peace and comfort. He accepted her silence, for now, and she accepted his hospitality. It was a win-win situation. But it wasn't the end. She knew that one day; she would have to run again. She was a slave after all. A nobody…a nothing.

The young man walked into the kitchen and gestured to a chair, waiting for her to sit down. His mother welcomed her.

"Thank you for joining us. We were getting worried that you wouldn't wake up due to your injuries." Her voice was sweet and soft. Gentle. It was a tone that Kagome hadn't heard for a long time.

'I didn't think I would wake up either.' Kagome thought.

She waited for them to sit down. She always had to wait until her master sat down before kneeling at his feet when he ate. But why wasn't the man sitting?

She watched with her head down and eyes slightly lifted to see what he was doing. Currently, he was pulling out a chair and still standing.

'What is he doing?' Now Kagome was really confused.

Silence…

"Well aren't you going to sit?" The silver-haired man waved to the seat.

Scared of the punishment she might get for not sitting, she rushed over to the seat and sat down in a flash, sitting quite awkwardly straight with her head bowed and her arms straight in her lap, hands fidgeting.

Another soft laugh exited from his mouth.

"Are you hungry, my dear?" Kagome shook her head.

"Tch, now dear, I know you're hungry, you look like a skeleton! No, this cannot do, you must eat." She heard the chair scrape and watched from the corner of her eye as the woman walked around the counters to get some toast and soup.

"Here, eat up." The woman said as she placed the plate and bowl in front of Kagome.

Kagome, however, continued to shake her head. But once the scent of the food reached her nose, Kagome could feel drool slipping out of the corner of her mouth. Wishing for nothing else, her body betrayed her refusing actions and she sat in embarrassment as her stomach growled loudly.

The boy smiled and the mother giggled a little. They wouldn't let this girl go hungry; she had been through too much already.

'Where did she come from? According to the amounts of injuries her body contains it probably wasn't a good place…I've got to find out more.' The boy thought to himself as he watched the girl in worry.

Kagome gingerly picked up her spoon and timidly scooped some soup into the metal tool. She planned on taking it down slowly but once the salty liquid touched her tongue, she gobbled it all up. In seconds, the soup was gone. Next she attacked the bread, crunching noisily leaving crumbs all around her. As soon as every plate was filled with crumbs instead of food, Kagome realised her act of greediness and retracted her body against the back of the chair in embarrassment, shoving her hands back between her knees.

"Do you want seconds?" The mother spoke to her gently, delighted that she ate. But the response was still the shaking of the head and more refusing, without uttering one single word.

"Alright then…but you tell me if you're hungry, okay?" Kagome continued to stare at the floor in silence.

The mother and son shared a look of worry as they made eye contact but neither of them said a word more.

Once the dishes were cleared and the water from the sink was running, the boy got up and walked over to the huddling girl in the chair. She looked like she wanted to bolt out of the chair immediately. The look of worry, confuse, and fear was apparent on her pale face.

"Do you want to go up to your room?" He asked softly.

Kagome wanted so badly to look up at the faces of the people who were so kind to her, but she wasn't ready. She was going to wait. Her little schedule had already fast-forwarded too fast for her taste when she spoke out, so she was planning to wait a little longer until she looks at their faces. But Kagome was convinced that she would be kicked out by then. They wouldn't want her after time.

"Can you understand me?" Worry was etched in his voice. Kagome nodded ever so slightly.

He sighed with relief. "Whew, that's good. So do you want to go up to your room?" He asked again.

Kagome tried to speak, thinking that it's the least she could do, but her voice failed and came out as a hoarse wheeze instead. Trying several times but failing on each try, Kagome just nodded.

"Alright, I'll take you up." The boy offered as Kagome quietly got up from her seat and slowly walked behind the mysterious boy.

Silence took them once again as they travelled together up the stairs and through the corridors of the grand house.

As they arrived at the closed door of Kagome's room, the boy opened it and as the door swung slowly open, he stepped aside and waited for the girl to go in.

In the past time they shared, he was able to study this frail girl. He wanted so much for this girl to trust him. He felt somehow connected to this girl. He felt the great need to protect her. He didn't want to let her go. That's why he wanted her to stay. He thought silently to himself as he watched the girl hesitantly wait outside her room.

He wanted her to trust him. But how? How, when she refuses everything he offers her? How, when he doesn't and can't find out anything about her?

'No,' he thought. 'I can't give up. I can't let her go on like this.'

He watched as her black, raven hair drooped around her shoulders every time she bowed her head. He watched as her delicate fingers intertwined with each other in conflict. He watched as she entered the room with steps that looked like feathers to him. He regarded her skin, bruised and scratched and tainted with horror. Some fading, but some as bright as day. He watched the little scene before him but something still bothered him.

There she was, her actions were so clear and her appearance was just as apparent, but one thing made him twitch in anxiety.

He needed to see her eyes.

He wondered what colour they were and what emotions played inside them. What emotions play with the colour of her eyes? Is she blind? No…she can't be. She can definitely see out of them. But what do they look like?

This problem irritated him. But he mentally hit himself for being to forward. He barely knows her. He didn't even know her name.

Her name…

He rushed to bring himself back to the present and looked in to see where the girl currently was.

She was standing in front of the window, staring out into the view of the balcony, not moving an inch.

He walked in, and walked up to her. Trying not to scare her, he lightly touched her shoulder to announce his presence. It didn't work.

He felt the girl jump and tense up, gasping ever so softly. He let go immediately.

"Sorry…I scared you." he apologized. "Umm…I was wondering if I could know your name…" he asked.

Kagome felt her eyes widen in surprise. Her master didn't even call her by her name. It was usually a sign of respect in the slave business so this really took her by surprise. She didn't know how to respond.

Silence…

She heard the boy sigh. "It's alright. In time I guess…in time." Kagome listened as the same words he used before was repeated once more. The same words that made Kagome wonder, 'Will there really be time? Will I have time? How long…how long until he comes for me...'

This time, the boy turned again to leave, his thoughts broken and shattered by the empty response from the girl.

"Ka…"

He stopped, thinking that he heard a sound escape her lips. He turned to her in wonder.

"Kag…Kag…" Kagome swallowed in the pain that scorched her thought. She needs to do this. Getting an idea, Kagome lowered her voice, swallowed, and tried again.

"Kagome…" This time, her name came out in ease but in a whisper that even the boy with dog ears couldn't hear.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" He slowly took a few steps towards her turned back.

"My name…my name is Kagome."

This struck our male demon with a force so strong, he could feel his heart squeeze and stop.

Kagome held her breath and waited. In curiosity, she turned a quarter so that she could watch him from the corner of her eye without seeing him face to face.

The boy stared at the girl and Kagome ignored his eye contact.

The boy smiled. "Kagome…doesn't that mean 'everlasting light'?"

Kagome's eyes widened in shock once again. 'How does he know?'

He spoke softly, and his voice shook a bit. "My name is Inuyasha. It's nice to meet you…Kagome."

Kagome just savoured the name in her head, but did not mutter it out loud. Instead she just said, "Yes master."

Kagome saw Inuyasha's face darken with worry and discontent, but it disappeared after some thought. "Please…don't call me that."

"Yes master…"

Inuyasha sighed…it wasn't right for her to say that, but the negative feeling wasn't enough to drive the squeeze in his heart away.

He knows her name…

Kagome stared at the floor once again. But her eyes swerved once again to look at why her new master was still standing in her room.

Inuyasha's silvery bangs covered his eyes, shadowing it from Kagome's view meaning that he wasn't looking straight at her, which was good for her.

But Kagome watched with shock and wonder, as a single teardrop slid down Inuyasha's cheek.

Hey ho! FINALLY done this chapter. Whew this must be the longest chapter I have ever written! Wow…

Sorry it took so long to update but I didn't have much time. It took me two hours to write the last 7 pages…tee hee.

So more reviews please! I love them!

Next chapter (hopefully) coming soon!

Love

miko2miko4ever