A/N I am so sorry this took so long! February was nuts and it just flew by! But, now I will have lots of time to write! Yes, Purity is taking shape as well and will be posted as soon as this is finished.

ENJOY!
Chapter 5: Forgiveness and Understanding

"They were your troops Inuyasha. You were taken over by your demon blood, and ordered them to attack." She said remorsefully and handed him Tetsusaiga.

"I...I did this?" he lamented, holding Tetsusaiga in a clenched fist. "This is..all my fault. He gazed at his bloodied hand at up at the massacre before him.

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!!" he cried to the sky and fell to his knees tears streaming unchecked down his face.

Kagome knelt down beside the distraught dog demon and pulled his form into her arms.

"Shh..it will be alright." Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha tensed in her arms and pulled away. He looked away from her and spoke in a voice roughed by intense emotion.

"I do not deserve your kindness. I led these demons to war against humans. No, it was not a war! It was a massacre!"

As if to prove his point, the people of the village had formed a circle around the distraught hanyou. Armed with sickles and swords, they looked on the hanyou in contempt and fear.

"Filthy scum!" One villager cried out.

"Now you show remorse! Only when to your advantage!" Another leered at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha flinched at the harsh words but did not rise to challenge them. Spurred on by the lack of response from their opponent, the villagers tightened the circle around Inuyasha and Kagome.

'They are right! I am a monster! This proves it!' Inuyasha though anguished, 'They were all right all along.'

Kaede hung back, allowing Inuyasha to handle it. She would step in if things got out of hand.

"Monster! We let you stay here and this is how you treat us!?" Another villager yelled, hate coloring his features "Half-breed filth!"

Kagome suddenly had a flashback to the incident with Jinengi, the kind demon who had been persecuted by the villagers by an unknown demon was attacking the townsfolk, even though the events that had occurred were beyond his control. Now, the same thing was happening to Inuyasha. Enraged, she stood and placed herself between the angry men and the distraught hanyou.

"Now you listen to me! Inuyasha is half demon and therefore can be either human or demon. Since his father was a Tai-youkai (great demon) the demon blood is too strong for Inuyasha and whenever he is cornered it takes control. Tetsusaiga held it in check, but he was without Tetsusaiga by no fault of his own. As a result he was controlled by the demon blood. It was not his fault! You trusted him before! Why not now!?"

Inuyasha rose to his feet calmly, "Stop, Kagome."

Surprised, she did what he asked and was silent.

When he looked at them, the villagers were surprised to see the streaks of tears running down his pale face.

"They are right. All of them were right."

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked

"I will never be anything more than a soul hung in conflict. I can't be trusted and I can't belong. Not here, not anywhere. There is no place for me." Inuyasha said softly. "No place to call home."

"But-" Kagome protested

"No, Kagome." Inuyasha pleaded, "Let me go. I cannot stay where I am feared."

The villagers stood silently watching the exchange between the two. Inuyasha ducked his head and walked toward the village outskirts.

Miroku and Sango had been listening to the exchange with Shippo in the hut. Now, they came out to try and stop the hanyou.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled, "Please stop!"

"Come back Inuyasha! We want you here!" Sango pleaded.

Inuyasha paused and looked back at them. The sadness in his eyes was so immense and soul shattering that they were unable to look away. Inuyasha's voice broke the spell, speaking words softly but with great emotion.

"You were as they were now. You jumped at a moments suspicion to blame me. You are no better than them. All of you here can find no place in your hearts to trust a hanyou."

Inuyasha turned and walked away. Shippou was unable to keep his silence any longer, he bounded up in front of the hanyou.

"You can't go Inuyasha!"

"Inuyasha glanced down at him, "Shippou, this is where you belong. I must find a place to belong as well. But, the first thing needed is trust. Let it go Shippou. Let me go."

Stunned by his sadness and sincerity, Shippou pulled back.

Then, a village boy pulled out of the grasp of his mother and turned in anger at the village.

"Can't you see what you've become!? You are no better than the demons who came here to kill today. Inuyasha has protected us, and now you drive him away for something he cannot control! What kind of person does that make you?"

Inuyasha paused at the boys powerful words and turned to gaze in awe at the villagers that now were squirming in shame under a 10 year olds glare.

"Inuyasha-nee-chan is right. The first thing needed in a home is trust. But you also need to be able to forgive. We need now not to push Inuyasha away, but to bring him into our family to help him heal. It is obvious he did not mean for this to happen, nor was he able to control it. I implore you to see past your prejudices. You know in your heart Inuyasha would not do this on purpose."

The boy then turned and walked up to Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked down.

"Look at me Inuyasha. I do not blame you."

Inuyasha kneeled down and locked gazed with the boy.

"Thank you."

The boy launched himself into Inuyasha's arms and hugged him fiercely. Surprised, Inuyasha was knocked backwards onto his back from the force. Sitting up, he slowly raised his arms and encircled them around the boy who had shown him the meaning of true kindness.

Kagome walked up to the two boys.

"You see, it is all alright in the end."

Inuyasha released the boy and stood, gazing out at the crowd.

One by one, they moved forward and forgave him. A boy changed the times that day. 'Perhaps, I can belong here.' Inuyasha thought contentedly.

After all was said and done, Miroku and Sango still stood by the hut, gazing down in shame. They had started this after all. They would finish it.

TBC..

A/N:

Epilogue: True Healing *coming soon*

Review please!