Well, it's finally here. You've whined, I've whined, you've complained, I whined, you begged, I whined, you b****ed, I got my butt in gear. ^_^ This is a semi-rough, as I have only gotten two out of six of my pre-reader's input. (Hey! I made you pre-readers for a REASON, you know!) Thanks to Li-chan (a.k.a. Aquilious and a whole bunch of other names ^_^) and Alison (owner of the famous homepage "Inuyasha's Forest"). You're input has helped greatly! I would have waited until the rest of the pre-readers to send it to me, but it was taking way to long and I know I promised you it would be out a long time ago. BTW, I've been doing some art for this fanfic... if any of you want to send me some of your art for it, I'd GLADLY accept it! Enough with that, it time to go on with the show...!

When Inuyasha had woken up, he found himself in a small, worn-down house, with a cloth against his head and his various scrapes and bruises tended to. He had seen this old lady before, she was one of the old woman working out in the field with the other women. A sharp pain from the back of his head led him away from any reasonable thoughts, and he grunted.

"Well, you're finally awake, are you?" the woman asked kindly.

Inuyasha's first instinct was to panic, naturally. This was his first time ever being so close to a human before, excluding his mother, but then he never really thought of her as... human. But once the old woman's concerned eye fell upon him, he felt himself relax a bit. The fact that he was in a human form also made him a bit edgy, as it always had, but as reason slowly crept into his mind, he found that he wasn't in such a dangerous situation, unless there was any one else here, preferably people with weapons.

He looked around him slowly, straining his weak human eyes to gather an image of his surroundings. It was a small hut, nothing fancy, just simple and... comfortable. A fire was cackling lazily in the pit, sending off the occasional spark that faded away as soon as it made contact with the wooden floor. The walls were worn down, most likely by weather, and it seemed that he and the woman were the only one there. Inuyasha sat up slowly, wincing as a sharp pain shot through the back of his head.

"Ara, you shouldn't be sitting up yet, you've quite a bump on the back of your noggin." The old woman spoke, moving towards Inuyasha in a concerned manner.

Inuyasha looked up at the old woman warily. He may have been a kid, but he wasn't completely ignorant of the humans' ways. As concerned as she looked, humans were very unpredictable… The stories his mother had told him about humans had made him come to that much of a conclusion. While some humans were kind and gentle, others were violent and full of greed, sometimes even killing their fellow humans to attain what they wanted. He also was painfully aware of how humans reacted to youkai, or anything else they didn't understand. Further investigation of the old woman made him waver, though. She was looking at him with deep concern, as his mother often did when he got hurt hunting or playing in the forest. He was in his human form as well, so he wasn't in too much danger with the humans... until day broke. His uncertainties faded, for the time being.

Besides that, he felt the overwhelming need to talk to someone other than his mother and brother, and ocasionally the traveling sprites or harmless demons. Inuyasha grew up quite alone in his hidden house in the forest with only his mother and brother to talk to. He loved them both very dearly (although he would never admit that to Sesshoumaru), but his mother always seemed so distant, as if her mind was far away from the comfortable prison she was accoustomed to. If she ever stepped foot outside and some human were to see her, she would be as good as dead in a two day period. Humans feared and despised the youkai, depending on what type of youkai inhabited the land around their towns. Human and youkai interaction was strongly put down amongst both humans and youkai, although the human social society was much more dangerous and harmful than the youkai's. In some places, it was considered filthful and whosoever commited this treason would be put to death immediately. Unfortunately, Inuyasha and his family lived around this towns.

"That's okay... I've been hit on the head much harder." Inuyasha said slowly, rubbing the goose egg bump on the back of his head. "Ite...."

The old woman's eyes widened a bit. "From where, if you don't mind me askin'?"

"From sparring with my brother." Inuyasha stated simply.

The old woman's concerned frown faded into a slight smile.

"Ah, so you are of a samurai clan? I am of warrior blood as well." She said happily. "All three of my sons are samurai, and my grandsons are training to be samurai as well." Her smile faded a bit before she added, "Although the third one is no longer with us..."

Inuyasha's ears perked up. "What happened to him?"

"The war with the Takeshi state." She said sadly. "He fought so bravely, but in the end he was killed."

"Was he a good fighter?" Inuyasha asked innocently.

"Oh, yes! He was one of the most wonderful fighters you've ever laid eyes on!"

Inuyasha tried to resist the temptation to ask more, but he was a small child, and his curiosity to learn more was almost unbearable. It couldn't hurt to talk, as long as he didn't tell her anything about where he lived or that he was a half-youkai…

"Wh… What kind of weapon and fighting technique did he use?" Inuyasha asked hesitantly.

The old woman answered without hesitation, a smile brightening up her face more than any lamp or fire could. The night wore on, animated chatter filling the small hut that served as the woman's house. Inuyasha was thoroughly enjoying himself, he had never talked with a human before, and this particular human seemed very kind and happy, especially when she was talking about her sons. The pride for her children shone like a fire from her body.

During one of the lags in the conversation, Inuyasha noted that the sky was brightening. Reluctantly Inuyasha said his good-bye, but not before he made a promise to come back next month. His next visit he learned that the old woman's name was Sayoko. Almost immediately he began to call her Sayoko-obaa. Sayoko didn't mind at all, seeing as he reminded her so much of his third son. He continued his visits, always looking forward to their talks, but always avoiding the subject of why he couldn't visit more often.

It soon became a ritual when it was time for Inuyasha to leave:

"Will you be able to come back before next month?"

"… No."

"Why?"

"I can't…"

She never asked further than that, for which Inuyasha was grateful. And he kept coming back.

And so it had gone on for over a year....

**end flashback**

Inuyasha looked up quickly at his mother, who was looking at him expectantly. Sesshoumaru was also looking at him oddly.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"I asked if you are all right."

"Oh… yeah, I'm fine."

"Good." She spoke, smiling faintly.

Sesshoumaru leaned over towards Inuyasha. "What's up with you tonight, runt? You seem more quiet than usual."

"Nothin'." Inuyasha stated, clinching his teeth at Sesshoumaru's backhanded insult.

Sesshoumaru looked at him dubiously, but continued eating.

Later that night, Inuyasha lay wide awake on his stomach in his "bed", a thin matress with his cloak as a blanket. Staring blankly at the far wall, he didn't move an inch except for the faint rise and fall of his chest. Sesshoumaru and his mother slept on either side of him in similar beds, Sesshoumaru spawled out snoring loudly, cloak thrown to the side, and his mother sleeping peacefully on her side, dark hair glowing red in the dying fire's light. Sighing noisily, Inuyasha rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling, counting the many cracks.

*Only a while more… I should probably go now.* Inuyasha thought. Inuyasha sat up slowly, taking extra care not to make any noise.

Silently he pulled his cloak on and tucked it in his pants while creeping toward the door. His ears were pricked forward for any possible movement from either his mother or brother. Fortunately, none came. His eyes glowing a dim gold, he reached the door and slid it open, emitting a slight scratching sound. Inuyasha winced and whipped his head around to see if Sesshoumaru or his mother had noticed. They hadn't. Stealing one last glance at his small family, Inuyasha slid the door closed and sped off into the night.

Upon reaching the familiar rock where he had taken his first fateful plunge, Inuyasha looked down intently down at the small shack where Sayoko-obaa lived. There was smoke billowing from the small chimney. Good, that meant Sayoko was there and well.

A small shock suddenly shot down his shrine, and Inuyasha realized mildly that the transformation was beginning. It was still an unpleasant feeling, or at least as comfortable as your body parts shifting and changing around in your body can be, but Inuyasha was actually starting to get used to it. As he felt a tingling sensation coming from his eyes, Inuyasha tried his hardest not to start scratching frantically at them as the slowly went dull and numb. When he first experienced the change as a small child, mother said that he had nearly scratched his eyes out in a frenzied panic. The sight was always the first to go. Next came the smell.

Inuyasha took one last deep breath through his nose, inhaling whatever smells he could pick up, the grass, the trees, the few rabbits and squirrels that scurried around below him, anything he could before his sense of smell dulled by nearly half. He could still smell efficiently, but it was the same as with everything else about his change. Something was… missing. Then there were the ears. Inuyasha disliked this part more than any of the other changes. It was truly a disgusting feeling when you felt your ears sliding down the side of your face, to a place where they had no right to be. Inuyasha twitched involuntarily and closed his eyes, remembering detestably the time he played his normal curious self and decided to watch the change in a mirror. His mother had spent a lot of time comforting him after that, even Sesshoumaru had joined in. After that experience passed, Inuyasha felt his canines begin to shrink until they were no longer fangs, but normal human teeth. That was one of the least troublesome experiences of the change, as were the claws. He felt his tough and sharp claws slowly weaken and thin until they were nothing but normal human fingernails.

Then Inuyasha felt his whole scalp start to tingle, an odd sensation as his hair became less coarse and dense and changed into the jet black fine hair that completed the change. Inuyasha waited a few moments, getting used to the feel of being human once again before he set off down the hill towards Sayoko's house.

The sight that met his (rather dim) eyes was not what he was expecting to see. Two men, quite large in size and in the armor of a warrior, sat at the old table in Sayoko's cottage. Inuyasha had slid the door open and paraded right on in, as he had never had to worry about any visitors at her house at that time of night. But there they were, staring at him as if he were a thief.

"Who are you, kid?" One of the men asked gruffly.

"I-I…" Inuyasha started, "Where's Sayoko-obaa?"

The man hardened features fell a bit, but they hardened up quickly, making it seem that it had never happened.

"Who are you to her?" the other man demanded, less harsh than the other.

"I- I visit her. From... a town far from here. Where is she?"

There was a moment of silence as the two men looked at each other. One seemed to nod slightly, and they turned to Inuyasha.

"Sayoko-san is dead."

Inuyasha must have misheard the words. "What?"

"She's dead."

Silently Inuyasha looked down at his feet, trying to get the words in his head, to understand them, but they tumbled around his head like slippery stones, he couldn't grasp them, as hard as he tried.

"…She passed away a few days ago, of sickness."

"Y-You're lying."

The man's demeanor stayed the same, stone-faced and quiet.

"I would not lie about such a horrible thing. I am her family, I would never say anything to dishonor or disgrace my family."

Inuyasha's mind was blank. The only thing that registered to his brain was that it was all a lie. Sayoko-obaa couldn't die, she was too happy, and too kind… He thought of her as someone who was always… there when he needed her, to hear his uncertainties about his life. She never even knew he was a half-youkai. It had never even occurred to him that one night, when he came down to visit her as he always did on the new moon, that she would not be there to talk to him, to take care of him as a grandmother, a father, and even a mother would. It wasn't possible. It was all a lie.

Inuyasha ran out of the cottage at lightning fast speed. The sounds of the men shouting in surprise barely reached his ears, they sounded far off and distant.

Looking back, Inuyasha wasn’t sure how long he ran, or what path he took. He just kept running until he couldn’t run anymore, and was forced to sit down where he stood, or rather slouched, breathing raggedly. Sweat poured down his human face, plastering his black hair to his face. The wear he felt on his body was much worse than that when he was a youkai, he had never really experienced physical pain in his human form. Yet the pain, his form, and even his location was lost to him as he stared blankly at the ground beneath him, his mind filled with rapid and meaningless thoughts.

It was Inuyasha’s first experience with death, and he didn’t like it. At all. In fact, he hated death at the moment, enough to hunt it down and kill it. Stupid and unreasonable thoughts, but Inuyasha was beyond reason. He sat there, hating everything and nothing at the same time.

Inuyasha hit the wall with terrible velocity. Blinking against the sudden harsh light he tried to stumble up, but before he could scarcely move, his shoulders were roughly grabbed and he was shoved against the wall by two strong hands.

"What were you doing, you idiot?!" a loud voice roared in his face.

"W-Wha…" Inuyasha croaked, dazed.

"Are you trying to get us all KILLED?!! Just what do you think you were doing just SITTING out there, dead to the world? Near a damned village, no less!" the voiced roared again, this time even louder.

Inuyasha winced, his dog ears twitching. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his blurry vision. Slowly, the blurred picture in front of him came into focus, and he was greeted by the sight of his brother snarling furiously. Squinting his eyes against the bright sunlight filtering through the waving trees, Inuyasha tried to move his stiff muscles.

"WELL?! Answer me!!" Sesshoumaru bellowed.

Sun… light?

Inuyasha felt his body go cold.

"B-Brother…" he whispered hoarsely, eyes wide. "I-I didn’t mean to…"

"Didn’t mean to?!" Sesshoumaru answered indignantly. "I would certainly hope not!! Do you have any idea what you have just done?!"

Horrified, Inuyasha shook his head slightly.

Sesshoumaru calmed down a bit, noticing his little brother’s frightened demeanor. He took a deep breath and slowly let go of Inuyasha’s shoulders, drawing back a pace. Inuyasha slid down to the floor, staring at Sesshoumaru with wide eyes.

"I-it started when Ofukuro woke me up early in the morning. You weren’t anywhere near the cave, and she was worried since it was the night of the full moon. I went out looking for you around our home, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. So I started looking for you around the villages, cuz’ I know you like to watch the humans and everything. I had expected you to be hiding in the trees like you always were, but where do I see you-" Sesshoumaru continued, growing angry, "but in broad daylight, right before a damned village!"

Inuyasha winced, and looked down at the floor.

Sesshoumaru looked at him and sighed. "I wouldn’t have been as pissed of at you as I am know, because you looked like crap, like someone took a club at you, if there weren’t two bloody humans standing right in front of you, scared to death!"

Inuyasha eyes widened and he started to shake. He looked into Sesshoumaru’s eyes pleadingly, hoping that it was all a joke, but he only met eyes as filled with fear as his own.

"What ha- No, never mind, not time for that. Let’s get inside as soon as we can." Sesshoumaru spoke as he dragged Inuyasha through the small crevice in the rocks leading to their home.

Neither Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru noticed the group of men watching them.

**End Part 2**

Yeah, here I am bugging you again at the end of it, too. I just wanted to clear some things up. Firstly, what I'm basically trying to do is explore what it is that makes, as I had Kagome say, "Why Inuyasha is like he is." (or something like that...) I'm also kind of taking Takahashi's words and twisted them to my own desires at times as well (insert evil laugh here). I've always loved and hated authors that did that. I know that I'm not exactly doing the best job, but I'm still having fun writing. Now, people think that Sesshoumaru did not grow up with Inuyasha and his mother, because the two seem rather distant. While I'm not giving anything away right now, because it will most likely be revealed in the nest part, I'm have my own idea of why Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are so distant. You'll see it soon! Till the next part finally gets close to being finished... see ya.