Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The following story is for entertainment and not profit.

Chapter 28: Different Kind of Love

Kagome sighed as she sat up and leaned against the tree she had been attempting to sleep under. Shippo lay sleeping at her side, the rhythmic rise and fall of his tiny chest soothing to her, but unfortunately it wasn't going to be enough to put her to sleep tonight. It was like her mind was refusing to shut off. It all played through her head again like she was searching for something important that she had missed. She remembered the young kitsune attacking Kikyo, she remembered a bright light and a deafening shriek. She also remembered being surrounded by a very familiar presence that was followed by a feeling of a once forgotten completeness. She then vaguely remembered Inu Yasha shaking her, concerned look on his face, and her failed attempts to speak or respond to him as waves of something powerful washed over her, like a rhythmic heartbeat.

She was pretty sure that she had passed out then because the next thing she remembered clearly was one hand gently squeezing her butt as another slid down her leg. "I am just assuring that there are no broken bones, Inu Yasha. There is no need for you to look at me like that."

She remembered raising her hand and slapping the cheek of the lecherous monk. They had fussed over her for some time; Sango and Miroku explaining how they had come running when they heard Shippo screaming and arrived just in time to see Sesshomaru finish off a very disfigured Kikyo. Kagome had looked around for the stoic face of the youkia lord only to be informed that he had left not long after she had passed out, to find where Jakken and Ah-Un had wandered off to. Knowing that he could take care of himself and seeing how it was getting rather late, they had all opted to get some rest before heading out at first light. Kagome hadn't discovered the problem with this plan until she had laid down under the tree.

Kagome laid her head back against the rough bark of the barren tree to see the orb of the nearly full moon caught in its branches. "What a beautiful sight." She whispered into the clear night air.

"It sure is." Came the unexpected response from above her.

His voice caused an anxious knot to form in the pit of her stomach and her limbs to tense. The short conversation he and the former miko had shared played again in her mind. 'She's right Kagome. I'll never be able to love you the way I loved Kikyo.' The words hadn't lost any of their sting. 'We will never share that kind of relationship.'

Kagome jumped when she felt his clawed hand brush the hair from her face. "Are you sure you're okay?" She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes.

"I don't know. I'll be fine. I just need some rest. I…just need some rest." The words rushed out of her as she shifted her body away from his touch.

"Oh," he shrugged as he got up to return to his vantage point above her, "it's just that I thought you might be upset with me or something."

"I am!" She burst out, a little louder then she would have liked. "I am upset with you—" She stopped as her voice caught in her throat.

"Is it about what I said –about Kikiyo?"

Kagome turned her quickly misting eyes on the hanyou, "I know I'm nothing like her, but … I thought you loved me." The tears that had escaped her earlier spilt forth again as she struggled to keep the waver in her voice to a minimum.

A sharp pain struck Inu Yasha in the chest, dropping him to his knees at her side. "But I do love you, Kagome. I do!" He couldn't stand to see her cry, especially if it was because of him.

She closed her eyes as his hand cupped her cheek willing herself to believe his impassioned words, before slapping it away and turning her face from him again. "But not as much as you loved her."

Inu Yasha moved to embrace the weeping woman before him, to comfort her, before stopping short as her body shifted away again. With a deep sigh he pulled his arms back and crossed them behind his head, slumming against the tree. "I wouldn't be here with you now if I hadn't fallen in love with her then."

Kagome felt like her heart was sinking into a bottomless pit, dragging her soul with it. She had finally given herself to someone, someone she had thought loved her, and now in the cold darkness of one autumn night, she feared she was going to lose everything.

"I had grown up being shunned by the world, to the point where I hated everything human, especially that part of myself. That's the reason I wanted the jewel, to be a full demon and be happy again." His eyes drifted from star to star across the vast night sky as he spoke, knowing that he had her attention even though she had not moved. "Something about her reminded me of my mother. She had the same look in her eyes."

He paused as the image of his mother's sadly smiling face seemed to shimmer in the still night air. "I guess you could say we saved each other, at least at first. Really, we were using each other. I wanted the jewel and she wanted a way to rebel. We never really trusted each other and Naraku took advantage of that. She never really loved me, only what she thought she could make me. I was a project to her and I let her use me because I was using her."

Kagome's body stiffened as his arms snaked around her shoulders but she didn't pull away. "That's why I don't love you like I loved her. Because I love you. Your strength, your honesty, and the way you love me for who I am now, a half-demon that's completely in love with you.

She melted as he placed his lips next to her ear and whispered, "Thank you."

Inu Yasha hugged her closer as he felt her weight relax into him.

Naraku watched with a twisted pleasure as his prisoner struggled against her bonds, a silent scream contorting her features and hot tears staining her cheeks. She had begged him for it. He smiled as she writhed in pain and growled her frustration at not being able to sink her claws into him.

Naosu felt like she was being ripped in half as the two powerful youkia within her tore at each other caring out the battle that had first joined them. Her pulse quickened as she strained against her shackles, the desire to destroy the dark haired man before her becoming overwhelming. It was the night before the full moon, the night she suffered from her hanyou curse. But this night was worse than any other, with the object of her despise so close she could smell him. The thoughts that filled her head were angry and murderous. His lilting voice taunting her both from within and without. She had become a ravenous animal who's torment brought him joy. Her hatred for him grew and rolled off her in waves, filling the small room, encouraging him to tease her more brutally. What she hated the most was the pleasure she got from his pleasure.

Her limbs began to quake with exhaustion before finally giving out as day returned. Her internal conflict buried once more, she longed for rest. Removing the key from the folds of his robes, Naraku released her from her imprisonment. "Indeed, you are quite the woman, my dear." He cooed as his arms lifted her limp body from the floor. "If only I could keep you."