Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha (damn...) or any of the characters that the wonderfully talented Rumiko Takahashi has invented for our entertainment, but the characters Rhiodoru, Masaka, Shinobu, Akika, Mutsu, and Isao are my own personal creations. :D

( " " talking, italics thinking )

Explosion

They arrived at Kaede's village late that evening. Kagome, still walking beside Inuyasha, reluctantly let go of his hand. She did not need Kaede giving her lectures about the risks of sex too. She tried not to blush as she remembered Miroku and Sango's little 'discussion' with her that morning. They had given her a long description about all the reasons it was a bad idea to get involved with Inuyasha, especially in a sexual relationship. She blushed some more. So maybe she wasn't all that experienced when it came to that kind of thing, but she knew what she wanted and she was perfectly capable of making her own decisions. At least she had managed to convince them that nothing was going on between her and the hanyou, although she secretly wished there was. The entire thing seemed so distant now. So much had happened since she had woken in Inuyasha's arms, thinking that today was going to be a good day. So much for that.

At the thought of that poor little boy, Kagome felt tears prick her eyes. Sometimes she just hated this era. Sometimes it felt more like her home than her own world, but other times, it felt just as strange and frightening as it had the very first time she'd arrived. People could be so cruel. Kagome snuck a look at Inuyasha. He had been even more somber than normal, and he hadn't objected at all to her holding his hand. In fact, he'd seemed to want her to. That was very strange behaviour for the hanyou; he always heatedly objected to any kind of public display of affection. Kagome couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head.

She recalled how he had beaten the headsman. She had thought that Inuyasha was going to kill the man. She couldn't help but feel a little proud. Even though the man had deserved it, the half-demon had shown mercy. The image of Inuyasha's face as he had done the deed suddenly flashed through her mind. It had been frightening. The pure hatred and disgust in the half-demon's eyes had been bad enough, but what had scared her more was the deep pain that had seemed to lie underneath the anger. She wondered what it meant, why he had reacted that way.

She was pulled out of her musings by the sight of Kaede walking toward them. The old woman looked the same as always, a basket of herbs in one hand.

"Ye have returned earlier than I expected." She said, then noticed the group's sad and haggard appearance. "Why don't ye come inside and have some tea?"

After they all had hot cups of steaming tea in front of them, all except Inuyasha who had declined, they began the retelling of their story. When it came to the part about Inuyasha's power, Kaede seemed shocked.

"Ye have the fabled mind powers, Inuyasha?" She asked in disbelief and astonishment.

The half-demon merely nodded, looking distracted.

"Why did ye not tell us?" She pressed. Inuyasha shrugged. Seeing that she would get no answers from the suddenly reclusive hanyou, Kaede turned to Miroku, who answered her questions based on what Inuyasha had already told them.

Kagome looked at the half-demon. Why was he so quiet and withdrawn? She started to worry. Did it have something to do with that look of inner pain she had seen on his face earlier?

Miroku had begun to tell Kaede about the village and the little boy. When the monk told her what Inuyasha had done to the headsman, the old woman jumped to her feet.

"Inuyasha!" She exclaimed, her voice full of disapproval. "Ye know better than to interfere in the matters of other villages like that! If it is their law to whip thieves, then ye cannot undermine it that way. And to beat the headsman, why the trouble ye have brought down upon us!"

Inuyasha slowly rose to his feet to confront the old woman.

"Are suggesting that I should have done nothing?"

His voice was too quite, too calm. He almost crooned the words. Alarm bells went off in Kagome's head. Although she had never seen Inuyasha do this before, she knew instantly that it was not good. She desperately tried to convey this to Kaede without words, but the old woman didn't notice.

"Nay, I am not. But ye should have put more thought into your actions. Ye have created a mess than will, in all probability, be impossible to resolve. Ye should not have done what you did. It was wrong. The headsman was merely doing what he thought right in punishing a criminal, be it child or man."

Kagome winced. This was bad. What Kaede said made sense, but she didn't know the whole story yet. She didn't know that the boy had stolen nothing but a little food, that he was an orphan, or that he had died because of that horrible man. Kagome was in complete support of Inuyasha.

She watched with growing apprehension as the hanyou's detached, almost sleepy expression turned to one of ice-cold rage.

"You think that it is all right for that man to beat a child to death?" Inuyasha asked, his voice dripping venom. "You think it's okay for orphaned children to be killed for nothing more than stealing food because their guardians weren't feeding them? You agree with that man's actions?"

Kaede's eyes widened as she realized what she hadn't known before. Inuyasha had become a terrifying sight. He was standing, every muscle tense, his shaking hands balled into fists, his expression a contortion of fury and menace. His eyes though, his eyes were what frightened Kagome. Haunted eyes. Ancient eyes. Eyes that swirled with rage, bitterness, and deep, deep pain. Eyes that had seen more agony and horror than she could ever conceive.

"I... well... Inuyasha, ye must understand that tragedies do occur, and ye can't go attacking villagers for every case of mistreatment." Inuyasha began to snarl. "Calm yourself, please Inuyasha. After all, it was just one boy. It is not the end of the world."

Inuyasha's face went strangely blank for a moment. Then he exploded.

"Just one boy!" He screamed, his voice breaking as if from a terrible pain. "Just one boy! Not the end of the world, you say! It was almost the end of my world, Kaede! I was that one boy, you old hag! I was the one strapped to that whipping post! I was the one who was almost beaten to death for no more reason than walking into a village! Me! More times than I can even count! When I was a child even younger than that boy, I was beaten, I was whipped, and I was nearly killed! And for what? Nothing! Because I'm a hanyou! I'm an orphan, just like that boy! And just like that boy, I had no guardian, no one to take care of me! Does that mean that I should get whipped to death too? Does that mean that I should die for stealing food so I didn't starve to death? Do I deserve that? Because if you think that that little boy deserved to die, then you condemn me to death as well! Is that what you think, you old hag? Is it? You disgust me!"

Inuyasha spun on his heel and tore away, disappearing into the evening gloom, the echo of his voice still reverberating in Kagome's mind. She was in shock. Inuyasha had been beaten just like that little boy? Just because he was a half-demon? She suddenly had the horrible vision of a child-Inuyasha tied to that whipping post, bleeding from a hundred wounds instead of that little boy. Tears started to run down her face. Poor Inuyasha. No wonder the whole thing had seemed to bother him so much. She looked at Kaede. The old woman was staring at the place where Inuyasha had disappeared into the trees, an expression of shock and regret on her face.

Kagome didn't waste another moment. With a sob, she began to run in the direction Inuyasha had gone. She didn't care if it took her all night to find him. She wasn't going to leave him by himself with nothing but his pain. She ran faster.

And she had a good idea of where she would find him.

When she arrived at the Sacred Tree, she was out of breath from running. Slowly circling the enormous trunk, she found him on the far side. He was standing at the base of the trunk, watching her approach. His face was dry; there was no sign of tears. Kagome felt a wave of sympathy. In all the time she had known him, Inuyasha had never once cried, no matter how bad things got. She didn't know why she had expected him to this time.

"Inuyasha..." She said quietly, suddenly at a loss for words.

"Save it." The hanyou snapped. He was clearly still furious. "I'm still tired from healing Masaka. I over-reacted. That's all. Forget it happened."

Kagome didn't know what to say. Inuyasha was far too angry to want to be comforted right now. Kagome searched her mind for what to do. He was still hurting inside; she sensed it on some deeper level, no matter how much he tried to brush it off. She had to help him, to comfort him, to heal his pain. She needed to; she couldn't bear seeing him hurting so much. She tried desperately to think of some way to calm him. Then an inspiration came to her. She stepped towards him, raising her hand.

Author's Note: Thank you for all the great reviews! I'm glad that everyone liked the last chapter so much! Oh, and if you would like me to respond to any questions you ask in your reviews, just ask for me to reply and I gladly will, but otherwise I'm just going to assume that you're wondering out loud. ;) Thanks again for all the awesome reviews, and please keep reviewing! :D