Summary: She was given to him, meant as a slave, but he freed her. How was he to know that she would change everything that everyone ever knew?

Kagome tilted her head to one side as she watched her new Master. He reminded her of Sesshomaru, a catatonic child, yet he could be endearingly sweet at times. Almost a wee had passed since her old Master had given her to him and he had yet to order her to do anything. So she stayed by his side. All he asked of her was to be his friend.

Even though he had told her that she could go wander throughout the whole of the Kazekage's palace, she tended to remain near him. Mostly, she would be curled up on a cushion in his office with scrolls and books to entertain her. Her presence calmed his beast, and she was not indisposed to help her new Master. A Master that had yet to harm her and was a broken child himself. Maybe it was her sense of what was right and wrong that made her want to help him, protect him? Or maybe it was because he was the first Master who had been enraged at the sight of her chains and destroyed them? Perhaps…perhaps he could be the one…

Kagome quirked a brow, a habit that she had picked up from her older brother, as her Master's sister Temari (and what an odd creature she was) began to berate Gaara for not letting her see any of Suna just before they were to leave for Konoha.

She had already seen the city of Suna before. Many, many times…when it was just a small village in the vast ocean of sand, she had been there. She had seen it. Recently, she had been there too. So it didn't matter. There was no need. But still…the young girl inside of her that had been forced to mature far too early perked her head at the thought of running about the city freely.

Gaara watched as Kagome paused to glance at a fennec fox caged apart from the rest. The small creature's fur stood on end and he hissed and snarled at anyone who came to close to his cage. He was smaller than the rest of his kind, nearly half their size. It was quite obviously only a few months old at most, but already he was vicious.

"Poor thing, you're set to die when you haven't even begun to live…"

Even though her words had only been above a whisper, Gaara had heard her voice. It was so heartbreaking that he wondered how no one else had noticed her speak. Then, he came to a startling realization; he did not like it when she was distressed. He didn't. He hated it. He hated the sheer thought that she was unhappy. Why? He wasn't sure.

Kagome looked at the bundle of squirming crème fur that had been dropped on her lap by Gaara. She had been sitting on the bed, brushing her hair when he had suddenly come in. With a question in her eyes, she looked up at him even as her hands curled themselves around the small form. She had thought that the little desert fox would already have been killed, so why had her Master dropped the little fox onto her lap not even a full day after she had seen him? She had thought that no one had noticed her staring at the little fox as they passed by the cages, but apparently, her Master had noticed. But…why?

"For you." Pink was dusted across his cheeks lightly as he turned on his heels and left quickly, only just hearing two soft words as he made it to the door.

"Thank you."

When he turned around, he saw that she extended her hand to the fox that had started snarling once more. "Sh, there's nothing to fear." The creature bit into the flesh of one of her fingers harshly and he saw her flinch but she did nothing. All she did was speak soothingly to the fox again. "There's nothing to fear. See? Nothing to fear." The long ears of the fox bent back on his head and he began to lick at the open wounds on her fingers, asking for her forgiveness.

Glancing up at Gaara, who was staring at her with an odd expression on his normally stoic face, she spoke again. "Thank you, Gaara-sama. I can't tell you how much this means to me, thank you."

Gaara let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding. Anger had coursed through him when the fennec fox had bitten Kagome and surprisingly, fear as well. The small creature had bitten him several times, the wounds on his hands were proof of that. But why…why had he wanted to fling the desert creature away from her and examine her, make certain that she was alright.

The scent of her blood began to make his head spin. It was intoxicating and…he had never smelled anything so wonderful…he wanted it.

"Gaara-sama?" Tilting her head up at her Master who stood before her with a hungry gaze, Kagome petted the fox that had curled up in her lap with her uninjured hand. Looking into his eyes of sea green, she couldn't help but feel like the young naïve girl full of hope she had once been again, even with all the long years that she had lived through under the yoke of slavery. Why, just why did looking into his eyes give her hope of all things? She was a cursed creature that could not have happiness, even now, she waited for things to change, for something to happen for her to be out casted and hated by her new Master.

He saw how blood welled up at the puncture points on her finger. Four perfect drops of blood just begging to be tasted. It didn't help that she had bared her neck to him, he could see the veins on her neck pulse as her heart beat. Instinct took over. Coming down on one knee in front of her, he took her right hand with both of his and began to lick the blood that was escaping her. He ignored her surprised, almost breathless gasp and continued his attentions to her hand, not wanting to waste even a miniscule drop of the divine elixir that he discovered her blood to be. It was just so delicious.

A shiver went through Kagome's body as her Master tasted her blood. She closed her eyes as her mind worked to discover why, in her sealed state, her blood was having such an effect on her Master. A whimper escaped her as his fangs scraped the palm of her hand. Somehow, she found herself leaning into his touch, wanting to give him the blood that he so desired. Kagome wasn't sure if it was the seals that made her want to give her Master what he wanted, or if it was herself who, for a reason she had yet to discover, wanted to please him.

She couldn't bring herself to care. But she knew what her blood could do. Especially to someone like her Master.

"Gaara-sama." Pulling her hand away from his mouth, she saw that the wounds on her finger were already healed. "Please, the wounds are healed, there isn't any more blood." In those few moments that she had closed her eyes, his own had begun to bleed red. There was still aqua in his gaze enough that she was sure that he was still in control, if only partially. "I'll tell you more of the story, the one about the priestess that travelled through time, about how the Western Lands came to be."

Gaara whined when she had pulled her hand away from him and the blood, that sweet, sweet blood but didn't do anything to stop her as she began to speak. He rested his head on her shoulder and spoke.

"Mine."

"Yes Gaara-sama, I'm yours." Kagome ran her fingers through his crimson hair, humming softly as she attempted to calm the raging demonic instincts that lurked in her young Master. She knew what happened to the demon vessels over time; so really, she shouldn't have been surprised that her blood had been the catalyst for the merging.

"Always."

"Yes Gaara-sama, until you no longer want me." The last part was spoken softly as her Master fell into an opium-induced sleep, worn out by the power that slept within her blood. A soft cry escaped her as she thought of her dear fox, trapped in a body as well, forced to suffer through such pain and torment as well…