Whew, I finally managed to get a moment. Sorry for the wait, but schoolwork comes first (most of the time, anyway). I like this chapter a lot better than the previous ones, it seems less stilted. Inuyasha's a little more open and talkative in this chapter than I think we normally see him being, but I figure he's been hit with a lot, so it's excusable.

Besides, I like it that way. Nyah!

Oh, and I noticed that I got Inuyasha's dad's name wrong in the last chapter – sorry about that! I think when I was writing it I just did it from memory, and forgot to check it against the episode when I finished. It's fixed now.

Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed this and my other stories! I really, really appreciate you all taking the time!

***

Inuyasha crashed through the trees, running full-tilt and not paying attention to where he was going.

How could she just say that so easily? That woman!

He dodged back and forth, pushing his speed to the limit, sinking into the awareness of his heartbeat and his pacing, the coil and pull of his youkai muscles, focusing on the physical, the superhuman strength and stamina that reminded him he was not human, he was not—

Weak. Stupid hanyou.

***

Back in the house, Kagome and Yoko both rushed to the window Inuyasha had leapt out of, afraid.

"Inuyasha!" was all Kagome had had time to yell before he had jumped onto the rooftop of the outer part of the palace, and was out of sight.

"Oh my," Yoko's face was full of distress. "Oh no, what a mess I have made…How awful he must think me, to treat him with such disregard and then force myself on him in such a way, after such a brief time."

Kagome was less generous. "What's the matter with that guy?" she demanded of the air hotly. "He finally finds out after all this time that he has family, and he runs away?"

"He must be very upset," Yoko pressed her fingers to her lips in worry.

"He'll be back," Kagome reassured her. "Hopefully he will think more clearly then…" She looked out of the window once more, wanting to run after him, but she knew she could never catch him. He will be back, she reassured herself as well. She looked to Yoko and mustered a smile. "Things have been difficult for him."

Yoko offered a tentative smile in return. "You seem to know him well."

Kagome blushed slightly. "Well, not really – I suppose I know him as well as anyone does, but he's so difficult."

"Will you tell me about him?" Yoko ventured. "I don't want to offend him again…"

Kagome's eyes slid away. "Well…his story is not mine to tell…" He would be angry with me. I don't have any right, he would say.

"I see," Yoko looked at the floor for a moment, and fiddled with a ring on her little finger. "Then…" She raised her head and smile. "Will share your story with me?"

"Mine?" Kagome blinked as Yoko nodded.

"You are obviously a good friend to Inuyasha-sama," the girl smiled. "I would like to know more about you." Her gaze flicked for an instant to Kagome's strange clothes, and Kagome smiled to herself.

"Okay."

"I'm so glad!" Yoko beamed. "I'll have dinner brought to us. Please, come sit back down."

Kagome did as she was instructed, as Yoko gestured with two fingers to a servant waiting in the shadows in the back of the room. The servant retreated immediately, and Yoko seated herself across from Kagome, her composure restored, and her aristocratic bearing once more evident. Her smile, however, remained open and friendly, as she encouraged Kagome to begin her story.

***

Inuyasha threw himself down at the foot of a tree for a moment, heaving for breath. He'd pushed himself hard, almost to his limit. He was far away from the house, he realized. It would take him a while to get back.

"Damnit," he muttered to himself. He would have to go back, of course, he couldn't leave his companions there by themselves. Kagome was always getting into trouble when he wasn't around, anyway.

Inuyasha took a deep breath and levered himself up, and then leapt into the tree, climbing into the branches for safety and a vantage point out of long habit. He crouched there a moment to catch his breath, and then started back.

He traveled at a more reasonable pace this time, avoiding trees and obstacles almost automatically. He needed to concentrate less at this easy, familiar pace, and almost immediately thoughts started seeping into his mind…memories, and uneasy questions, and Yoko's voice, calling him cousin.

Damn her, anyway.

***

It was very late when he crept back in through the window of the room they'd been given, moving quietly among his sleeping friends.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha froze in the middle of the room, caught.

"You should be asleep," he muttered roughly.

"I was worried."

Inuyasha snorted, but quietly, mindful of the sleeping forms around his feet. Kagome was blinking owlishly in the darkness, her eyes never quite focusing on him. It was too dark in the room, he realized, for her human senses to find him clearly. He picked his way across the room to her, tossing himself down by the wall near where she lay. "Well, I'm here now," he said, discovering it was hard to be gruff and quiet at the same times. "You can sleep."

He felt her smile even before his sharp eyes saw it, and he flushed a little. "Of course," she said, keeping her voice almost below a whisper, knowing he could hear her perfectly. "But I meant that I was worried about you."

Inuyasha snorted again. "Me? There's nothing in that forest that can hurt me."

"I know," Kagome shrugged, accepting his admittedly pompous statement as truth. "But…I was worried that what Yoko-sama said was hurtful to you, somehow."

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment. "She has no right to say such things to me."

Kagome stood up in the dark with her hand out, searching for the wall.

"Stupid! What are you doing?" Inuyasha stood and caught her hand. "You'll fall and wake up everyone." Kagome put out her other hand and found his arm, stepping up beside him. They sat down together by the wall. "Why don't you just go to sleep?" Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome scowled in the dark. "I'll go to sleep when I'm finished talking to you. How'm I supposed to sleep when you go running off in the dark alone? What's the matter with you, anyway? Do you hate humans so much that you'd rather have no family at all?"

"That's not it!" Inuyasha protested out loud, and Kagome slapped a hand over where she thought his mouth would be. She missed a little, and only the tips of her fingers covered his lips, but it was enough to shush him.

"Be quiet!" she hissed.

Inuyasha growled. This is stupid. He picked up Kagome, and she buried her face in his shirt to muffle her yelp of surprise as he darted out the window with her and up onto the roof, where they could at least talk in semi-normal tones.

"Geez. Warn me before you do that," she grumbled when he set her down.

"Feh." Inuyasha sat down and folded his arms, and Kagome took her place next to him, though with a great deal more care. "I wouldn't have to do it at all if you'd save talking for the daytime like a normal person."

"When everyone else is awake to hear it too? I can do that if you want me to," Kagome said pointedly. "Anyway, who are you to talk about being normal? Normal people don't go running off into the dead of night when they're confronted with their long-lost family members, you know."

Inuyasha's sulky silence was all the reply she got, and she sighed.

"How do I know she really is my family, anyway?" he grumbled after a moment.

"I think you know," Kagome replied quietly. "She reminded you of your mother so strongly…you said she even smelled the same."

"Similar," Inuyasha corrected, not looking at her. "Not the same. No too people smell exactly alike. Even you and Kikyou smell different, and – " He stopped. He'd been about to say "and you're practically the same person," but somehow he didn't think Kagome would like that.

She shifted uncomfortably next to him, and his shoulders slumped a little guiltily. "Well, still…" she mumbled.

"It wasn't even that," Inuyasha said after a moment. "She moves like my mother did. She has the same look about her…no one could help but respect my mother, even the ones who despised her for being with my father couldn't be disrespectful to her face."

"Ah…" Kagome nodded knowingly. "Charisma…Yoko-sama definitely has it. You almost can't help but like her, but you also can't help but know that she's born and bred to power, too."

"Something like that, I guess," Inuyasha agreed, shaking his head. It was all so confusing…

They were silent for a moment again, thinking.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said after a moment. He looked at her, surprised at the seriousness in her tone. "I think you should give Yoko-sama a chance. I talked to her for a long time tonight, after you…left. She seems to genuinely want to know you. I had the feeling that she was holding back, a little. I think there are things she wants to explain to you personally. She's invited us to stay here for a few days, and I think it's a good idea. Sango-chan doesn't complain but I think she really needs a chance to rest and let her wounds from that last fight finish healing properly. We're a long way from the village, but this castle is well protected and none of us sense anything out of place here. You'll have plenty of time to think about what Yoko-sama has said before we leave, but, I think you should get the whole story before you make any judgements."

"Hmph." Inuyasha looked away. "She looks at me as if I am a novelty here to amuse her. Like a freak at a festival. 'Oh, look, it's a good youkai, how interesting!'" He made a face. "I'm not a good youkai, and I'd rather be frightening than interesting."

"She doesn't think that, exactly," Kagome said, studying her feet. "The story of your parents was often told to her as a child, and she has always thought it was very romantic—"

"Romantic," Inuyasha stood and scowled. "What can she know about my life? Romantic!"

"Inuyasha—"

"Feh! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. What's romantic about being hated and spit at and looked down on behind your back? What's romantic about being called a disgrace? Talking about it like it's some kind of fairy tale…My mother didn't get any stupid happy ending!"

He scowled, fuming, with his back to her so she couldn't see the fangs he couldn't help but bare.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome stared at him for a moment, and dropped her gaze again. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Inuyasha turned to look at her.

"I've always thought it was romantic too…"

"You did?" Inuyasha looked puzzled.

"Yes…after all…to love in the face of adversity…isn't that the most romantic thing there is?" Kagome smiled a little sheepishly. "So please try to forgive me, and Yoko-sama. A love strong enough to stand through troubles is the kind of love every girl dreams about."

"Hmph," Inuyasha faced the night again. "Women."

Kagome bit back a sharp response, and looked away.

"Where were they when she died, anyway?" Inuyasha demanded, as if talking to himself. "I didn't have any family then, and I don't need one now."

"If that's the way you feel," Kagome said quietly. "But don't you think she at least deserves a chance to answer that question?"

"Feh," Inuyasha muttered. He picked Kagome up, and leapt down from the roof. The conversation was clearly over, as far as he was concerned.

"Go to sleep," he said shortly, depositing her on her sleeping bag and throwing himself down against the wall again.

Kagome smiled a little in the darkness. "Goodnight, Inuyasha."