Itachi – Loved your reviews! And don't worry – I haven't abandoned any of my stories!

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JokerChapter 5

"Wander into the woods at night, and he will steal your heart." That had been told to wanderers to keep them from the surrounding wooded area, but, when a lone girl finds herself lost and in the midst of a storm, she stumbles upon an empty castle, staying for just the night, she soon learns the legend had been real…for the acceptation of his utter laziness.

And then? Why should I care?...

In front of us stood the very being who had cursed Sesshomaru to the name of the feared 'Night Walker' all those years ago. The powerful demon from the legend who; in anger and grief, cursed his eldest son, and left him to fend for himself all alone in the Black Castle. It was easy to see how Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were his sons, and even easier to see the legend I once did not believe come to life, unfolding like a book before my eyes. Two pairs of golden orbs starred at the other, until the taller being (the father, I should say,) turned around and started to walk down a long corridor. Sesshomaru followed behind his father, grabbing my hand in the process, than whispered slowly into my ear, "Do not trust him, whatever he says, whatever he does, keep up your guard." The silence was strangling. Not a word was exchanged as we were ushered into what seemed to be a lounge – the inside of the castle itself was polished, fixed and bright, unlike the outside – Two sets of chairs on both sides of a small meeting table…a family set of four chairs. Above it all was a portrait of a woman. Sesshomaru nor his father had even bothered to take a look at it.

"Please," His father spoke at last, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "Take a seat, both of you." A servant walked inside with a platter of food, setting it down on the table, three pickings of 'finger foods', "Take one," Sesshomaru's father spoke rather nicely, how was he the one who nearly killed Inuyasha for trying to leave? How was he someone who hated Sesshomaru so much as to harbor that hate for over 500 years? It didn't seem possible… I took one of the three finger foods, and was about to eat it when it was snatched from my hand by Sesshomaru. He ate the serving himself. "He has such bad habits at the table," the father seemed to be enjoying this, the other two servings were left untouched, "Go on, young one, take another ins-" Before he could finish his words, Sesshomaru had already taken the other two from the plate, and ate them swiftly. The silence had returned. "My son, you did know what I was trying to do, didn't you?" What? What he was trying to do? "That was three servings of poison gone to waste." …P…Poison?! Sesshomaru's father tried to…kill me?! Do not trust him, whatever he says, whatever he does, keep up your guard. So this is what Sesshomaru meant.

"The likes of weak human poisons do not affect me, father," Sesshomaru's voice was void of emotion, "I am the one you wish to make suffer, leave her out of this." It was that moment that his father's expression had changed, his golden eyes darting from his son to me. He sighed, pushing his chair back to stand, then turning his back to us…facing the large portrait on the wall.

"So…Sesshomaru, tell me, what is the name of the young women who stands by your side?"

"I-It's…" I sputtered out an answer before Sesshomaru, "It's Kagome-" Once the name was uttered from my mouth, Sesshomaru's father started to speak in a voice that would make the friendly inviting side shown before non-existent.

"You are a human, Kagome."

"Yes..?" Why would he ask the obvious? "I am-"

"And you and my son love each other, don't you?" Before I could answer 'yes', his father spoke once again, "Sesshomaru, why haven't you eaten this women's' heart?" Sesshomaru answered immediately, with the same emotionless voice as before.

"Never would I eat the heart of my lover," The father still did not look away from the portrait, he instead started to trace the lines of the women's hair with his clawed finger, gently as to not scratch it, "Why are you asking me these questions father? If what I heard from Inuyasha was correct…you still hate me…"

"Indeed," The father spoke without a trip in his sentence, "I actually wish to rip you apart with my claws…no…Not you my son, I wish to murder your 'Kagome' – your lover, in doing so, you would be met with the same hopeless despair and hate that greets me every morning…" Sesshomaru looked down, most likely disturbed by the words of his father reminding him of the past, "So how have the last 500 years been my son? I hear that the people of the Old Country have come up with a name for you, Night Walker, if I remember," It was as if his own father was trying to beat him with the whip of words coming from his mouth, "So, my son, how many human women have you killed in the last 500 or so years that have past?"

"…I've killed thousands…" Sesshomaru's replay was grim, and filled with regret, his father pushed on.

"How were they? Who were they?"

"They were…" Sesshomaru struggled to speak, "They were mothers, daughters, young, with a life ahead of them that I forcibly took away…" At a first glance, sadness was all that could be seen on Sesshomaru's face…but very quickly did it start to turn into anger, it was a quiet, silent, and slowly seeping rage which was an emotion that –in my short time being with him; was never once shown, "They all died because you have left me with a curse in which I cannot break, for over 500 years, father, we have protected those humans who live on these lands, this curse just makes it seem as if… we the protectors are nothing more than what they need to be protected from…countless human lives were all taken-"

"All taken by you." At the voice of his father did the tense silence of before return once again, draping us all in his hidden shadow, "The young lady you bring with you is a human with a beating heart, obviously your lost 'love' now found – you can eat her heart right now and the 500 year cycle of death for the other humans would cease to exist, better yet, my son, you'd be freed of your curse-"

"I have already answered that question – never would I eat her heart." Sesshomaru confirmed his answer.

"Yes… you've…" The father started, "You've made that clear to me…" He turned from the portrait of the women, the long silver pony-tail lagging behind him, a smile spread onto his face, "Do you remember the reason I cursed you all those years ago?" From the way things have been playing out, it looked as if Sesshomaru's father truly resented him. He must have purposely brought up the horrid memory of the past to belittle his eldest son, and make him feel guilty, as he has for centuries.

"Because of my…laziness…" Sesshomaru started in a lower voice then before, "…Because I killed mother-"

"And for that I've wanted you to feel the same horrid pain that comes with losing the life of your lover," So…it truly was just for 'revenge'… "You should know by now that every and any ways of removing the curse are futile – I'm sure that Inuyasha has told it to you."

"Futile…" I heard Sesshomaru mutter.

"Eat her heart and stop the curse, but for that you must kill her," His father sounded almost happy while stating the hopeless, "You could always find some way that I would actually remove this curse from you, but alas, the sudden freedom will cause you to go into a moment of horrid pain, or a moment of insanity – both outbursts will only cease once the closest human heart near you is devoured…that being your 'lost-love' who stands so bravely at your side…" His father scoffed, "It makes me ill…to think the fates could give you such good fortune as to find the women you love who still stands by you even knowing that you eat her kind…" His voice softened, "She is a good, faithful, brave woman indeed…which is exactly why I want her to die." Every word was spoken with a smile on his face, "If the love of my life died because of you, then the love of your life should die because of me – Every soft cloud holds sharp pieces of ice – it is only fair that I repay you for bringing nothing but ruin into my life…my eldest son Sesshomaru," The father seemed to enjoy the hurt that he knew he was bringing upon his son, "Don't even dare ask for me to remove your curse without a reason that would make me care."

..

Joker…

..

We both had left his father's palace. Night fell quickly. He simply dropped me off in front of the empty Black Castle, and with a warm, lovely, lonely embrace, stalked into the darkness to become the Night Walker once more. Every single act made by his father was out of selfish revenge. He would go as far as scarring his own son over the incident of the mother. He too had felt grief for his mother – he took the fault…but instead his father ignored it all, and even after so many years past, his father still held on to the internal rage, and hatred for his eldest.

Lying on the large bed in our shared bedroom, I looked to the clock. It was past nine. By now, the horrid deed was done. By now, the life of another was given to preserve my own – to keep me alive. If I could give my own life to stop the cycle of death, I would…but then…Sesshomaru…he would be alone once again. Yes, the curse would be gone, and in his own way, he'd be free…but alone. I couldn't betray him like that. "Even so, there has to be something I could do for him…" I would do anything to bring his spirits back. Everything his father said must've hurt him more than any weapon ever could; but there stands the question, what could I do to help him? As if on cue did the door open on its own and cloud of black mist floated silently inside, the door closing with a thud, as the mist made itself to my side of the bed. It was not too long until the mist took the form of a person…Sesshomaru. He stood while starring down at me with saddened eyes…blood staining his cheek. The blood of his latest victim.

"Kagome…" Ever so slowly did he start to lean down, bringing his face closer to my own, "Are you…frightened of me..?" The answer did not come as our lips touched; he brought down his hand to the bed, pushing himself closer into the quickly deepened kiss. I was human, and as he said before, the emotions every human has would get to me… I was terrified; seeing him with blood on his face, tasting the blood - it was only more proof of his horrid deed in which he was forced to do until the curse was lifted. All of this to keep me alive, and by his side in this lonesome Black Castle. Shyly did I bring my hands to wrap around his neck. For a moment, we pulled away.

"I…" I took a breath, "I want to make you happy again…Sesshomaru…" He said nothing as he harshly pushed me down onto the bed, crawling over me only to drip into a suffocating kiss. I felt his claws racking down my skin, leaving red marks in its wake – "I…" My words became lost as I caught sight of his golden eyes – they were sharp…intense…and slowly bleeding red. Though my mind was still slightly hazy and trying to put together exactly what was occurring, I knew that my eyes had not deceived me. His golden eyes were turning…red. For an instant did a growing fear start to lurk from within me, wanting me to pull away…a simple graze of his claw on my cheek had taken the fear away though, setting it aside and turning my attentions back to him. It took me a moment to see that he had; quite quickly, stripped himself of the majority of his clothing – I almost looked away, but soon remembered that if I did, he might think I too rejected him, turned him away like his father had done all those years ago. His clawed hands started to roam until he reached the front of my dress, pulling down the collar and ripping it lower until an amount of cleavage was exposed…It took only moments for me to understand what was happening. As if he wasn't satisfied, he started to tare more and more of the fabric – than ripped the dress off completely. That 'dress' being my undergarments which served as the last barrier to the 'rest of me'. How badly I wanted to cover myself at that moment! He starred at me, red eyes searching up and down my exposed form, memorizing…it was that very moment which he met my lips for another suffocating kiss…

..

Joker…

..

The rays of the morning sun shone through the window, past my eye lids, forcing me to awaken from my dream-filled slumber. The first thing I felt was the tickle of Sesshomaru's silver hair on my face, without looking up, I knew he was still there, laying by my side – most likely awake by now. His skilled fingers racking through my hair, scorching the scalp gently, "Kagome…" he spoke apologetically, "Please forgive me for my…hurried actions last night I-"

"It's okay…Sesshomaru," Truthfully, I was quite freighted when he started, but I grew content later on, "I…" I took a breath, preparing myself to speak embarrassing words, "I enjoyed every moment."

"Even so," Sesshomaru started, "I continued without your permission…"

"And I say it okay. Don't worry, I'm not mad…" In a strange way was I glad that it was Sesshomaru who introduced me to… the other sides of love, "Night Walker or not, Sesshomaru," I smiled upon looking into his once golden orbs yet again, "I really am glad I met you…your my first everything Sesshomaru – my first fear, my first promise, my first love, and now…my first lover." I saw him smile at the mention of him being my first at practically everything.

Everything in this moment was plain perfect.

As quickly as I thought that did a series of hurried knocks come from the main door. We both ignored the knocking at first – that was when the voice of Inuyasha rang in our ears, "Sesshomaru! Kagome! Open the hell up!" He sounded panicked. Getting himself dressed quickly, Sesshomaru got to the door in a matter of seconds, seeing as my dress was torn to shreds, I opted to putting on some of Sesshomaru's clothing (which was quite large) before heading down the stairs stopping in my tracks when Inuyasha had spoken words that none of us were expecting to hear, "It's the Ol' Man Sesshomaru…I saw him a mile or two from the town- he's goanna make his way here! Whatcha' say to him?! Did you make him angry or something?! He might try to kill you!" Before Sesshomaru could ask Inuyasha to slow down –

"Inuyasha, it is quite rude to announce that I was going to drop by," There, not even a foot from the first tree stood Touga, the cruel, unforgiving, holder of a 500 year grudge father of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in peaceful serenity, "And don't be silly, my youngest son, why would I kill your beloved elder brother? You leave my side to chase after him, hoping he would forgive you…how bitterly sweet…" Turning from Inuyasha, he faced us two – seeing my attire, he sighed, before facing Sesshomaru, "And I see you and your lover had an eventful night," Before any words could be spoken from Sesshomaru, Touga interrupted, "I've come to make a deal with you, my eldest son,"

"I am listing, father." Spoke Sesshomaru.

"Give to me the women whose heart you refuse to take, and in return, I will lift from you the curse of the 'Night Walker'."

Joker… Chapter 5

End

T.B.C

Itachi – ITS SOO LATE! Sorry about the lateness on all of my stories, I've had a lot of work, and a bunch of huge test coming up, I'll try to update soon! I'm already getting to work with chapter 6! Don't forget to review! They make me write faster!