OMG!!! I hit 100 reviews! And at only 7 chapters, too! I LUV YOU PEOPLE!!!!!! Guess what! Everybody gets a kitty plushie and a cookie! Thank you so much peoples!

(: :)

^. .^

(,,)(,,)

By the way, this is where the angst REALLY comes in. And the plot finally makes its appearance, too! What do you know? This story has a plot! It's not just random acts of angstness! (I made up a word!)

Review responses:

Lost Darkness: No, really? Of course I'd be mad!

kittykathy: Um, actually he does get to see Kagome, but not for a while.

Koinu-Chan: Yay! No threats for a week! All right! And a cookie, too! *Munches on cookie* Ummm... See ya next time!

Kitala: YAY! You're one of my favorite reviewers! You've reviewed THREE of my stories! I'm so happy... PLEASE keep reading and reviewing!

Dragon Man 180: Oh! Has anyone told you Hihan's death is planned to occur in this fic?

Gilbertfan: You REALLY like Shippo, don't you? Anyway... I like all of your funny reviews! Makes me laugh when I read them. Hope your knuckle gets better soon! See ya!

arline: Thank you!

Lil-BlueHedggie: YAY! Long reviews! ^_^ Yeah, I know. Those people are mean... But, you know how people are... Oh, well... Can't wait for the next review!

Silver Nitte iz: Yeah, I know. But this is an angst fic, sooo... Thanks for the review!

crazcat416: Kagome & Co. will return to their time at the end of the fic.

dark-wolf-soulX: Hello, my dear friend in angst! How are you? Anyway, as I've said before, I can almost guarantee no one will be celebrating Hihan's death. I know you're all curious, but it will be a while yet. Maybe two chapters? Anyway, I think I will patent the word angstyness! ... Uh, how exactly do I go about doing that?

Kidakkia: Thanks! ^_^

Poke'master rulz: Uh, what did you want me to e-mail you about?

Shadowed Faith: Sick of you? No f-ing way! I luv you! You are also one of my favorite reviewers! ... *Looks at you tied to tree* I don't understand why you threatened me with chaining YOURSELF to a tree. It's really no fur off my tail if you stay there forever. But since I like you so much, I'll update and set you free!

RaTheSunGod: Thankies!

dragon's kitty: Heck, ya speech sucks!

Amaya Saria: Thank you!

Lloyd's Girl: Thankies!

Disclaimer: Wow. It's been a long time since I put one of these up, huh? Anyway, I don't own Inuyasha. I own Hihan, Nikushimi, and Uwasa. Not that that's anything to be proud of.

~

Nikushimi smiled as he brought the sharpened blade up to his face. Its thin edge gleamed in the moonlight. A small noise caused him to turn around.

"Father? What are you doing?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about. Now get back in bed. You shouldn't be up yet."

"But- "

"No buts! Go back to bed, Hihan."

"Yes, father."

Once he was sure his son had gone back to bed, Nikushimi exited the hut. He crept quietly towards the stables of the village's inn.

~

The owner of the inn sat at a table with some of his friends, discussing things such as the weather, the crops, and Inuyasha.

"I don't know. Maybe that kid is more dangerous than we thought. After all, he is half demon."

"But he's also just a kid. We'll stick with our decision to keep an eye on him."

Suddenly, a frightened whinny rang through the air.

"What was that?!"

"It came from the stables! Hurry!"

The inn master rushed outside to see five of his best horses on the ground, dead and covered in blood.

"What the-? Who has done this?"

The inn master glanced around to see if he could find any sign of the criminal. The only thing he saw was a little hanyou child on his way home with his pet fire-cat trailing along behind him. The inn master's rage began to boil.

'Perhaps Nikushimi was right after all. How dare that hanyou runt!'

~

Inuyasha subconsciously walked towards his house, fingering the rose's soft petals between his fingers. Haitatsu trotted along behind him, mewing softly occasionally. Inuyasha reached his house and silently pulled open the sliding door. He stepped inside and his sensitive hanyou hearing picked up the sound of his mother crying. He cautiously followed the sound until he found his mother sitting next to the fireplace.

"Mother?" he called softly.

Tsuki turned around and a look of relief flooded her tear-streaked face. Inuyasha bit back his own tears as he rushed into his mother's arms.

"Mother, I'm so sorry."

"It's all right. I don't blame you."

Inuyasha reached up and gently wiped his mother's tears away. "I didn't want to make you cry. I love you, mother."

"I love you too, my son."

(A/N: That was WAY sappy for someone like me. Oh, well.)

The two sat together in the light of the flames for some time. Suddenly Inuyasha's ears perked up and he looked in the direction of the door.

"What's wrong?" Tsuki asked.

"Someone's outside."

Tsuki and Inuyasha stepped outside to find Sessho-maru approaching the house.

"Fluffy!" Inuyasha said happily before he caught himself. He waited for Sessho-maru to berate him for calling him Fluffy, but it never came. "What's wrong?"

"He's dead."

Both Inuyasha and Tsuki gave him blank looks. "Who's dead, Sesshi- ru?"

"Our father." Tsuki gave a small gasp. "A bunch of demons, both foe and ally attacked and killed him. He's gone."

The reality of that statement hit Inuyasha hard. Sessho-maru turned on his heel and began walking away. Inuyasha began to follow him. Sessho- maru pretended not to notice.

"Sesshi-ru? Aren't you staying with us?"

Sessho-maru still ignored him.

"Sesshi- "

Sessho-maru spun around and knocked Inuyasha to the ground. "Fool!" he yelled. "It's because of you that they killed him!"

"What?"

"Because of you, they considered him disgraceful to youkai and slaughtered him in front of my eyes! Because of you, he's dead, you filthy hanyou!"

Inuyasha reached out to try and hug his older brother. "Sesshi, I- "

"DON'T touch me!" With that, Sessho-maru turned and left.

'I'm sorry.' Inuyasha felt the tears stinging his eyes. He turned back towards his house where he could hear his mother crying. 'I'm sorry.' He had no idea what he had done wrong, but Sessho-maru said that his father's death was his fault. Because he was a... hanyou? He didn't even know what a hanyou was, but if it was dangerous, he couldn't stay near other people. He had to leave. He looked around for Haitatsu. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Haita? Haita, where are you?"

She had always followed him around, wherever he went. Where was she?

~

Kagome stared at Inuyasha, confused, as he searched for Kirara. She was right there in front of him, practically mewing her head off. Couldn't Inuyasha see her? Kirara seemed to be becoming frustrated. With a tense growl, she leapt up at Inuyasha's chest and...

...went right through him.

'No!' Kagome thought. 'She's become invisible again!'

~

The inn master and a group of about ten townspeople gathered together with torches, clubs, hoes, and other gardening tools; the makings of a small mob.

"This hanyou must be taught a lesson!" the inn master shouted. The mob sounded their agreement. "We've got to stop this before it becomes serious!"

With that, the mob set off in search of Inuyasha.

~

Inuyasha couldn't find Haitatsu anywhere. He decided that she might have wandered off into the forest, so he went off into the forest in search of her.

~

One of the members of the mob had been smart enough to bring their dog along. The dog followed Inuyasha's scent straight into the forest...

~

Kagome and Kirara returned to the rest of the group to determine what happened and what they should do about it.

"Well, you must remember that she wasn't visible in the first place," Sango said. "She's probably invisible again for the same reason that she became visible before, whatever that might be."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Kagome asked. "Inuyasha probably thinks that something's happened to her."

"I- "

Suddenly Kirara's ears perked up and she hissed dangerously in the direction of the forest.

"What is it, Kirara? What's wrong?"

~

Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger. You must really hate me now... Promise to get the next chapter out as soon as I can though! I luv you guys!

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