Okay. First of all, I just want to say that I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the brunette joke last time. I didn't mean to. But, hey, I'm a blonde. You think I'm not offended by blonde jokes? Or maybe I'm too stupid to be offended. ;_; But, anyway, you'll get enough morbidity in this chapter, so I won't go on about morbid stuff now. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I was sorry if I offended you and if it makes you feel better, I went back and took the joke out of the chapter.

Btw, in case any of you were wondering, NIKUSHIMI was the one who killed the horses, NOT INUYASHA.

Review responses:

Dragon Man 180: Sorry about that. At least I updated soon, though, right?

crazcat416: Again, I don't really have a reason for Kirara becoming invisible again other than it fit with the story line.

Koinu-Chan: I really am sorry about the joke and I truly didn't mean to offend anyone. Thanks for the review!

dragon's kitty: Tail: okay, number one, she did that because she wants to make all the chapters approximately the same length and two, she loves leaving people on cliffhangers. Me: You thought that chapter was depressing? Wait till you see this one! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Tail: O_O

inuyashafreak337: Thanks for the review! I look forward to your next reviews!

Shadowed Faith: *sweatdrop* *stares at you* *stares at computer* *stares at you again* Um, I don't really understand how I'm supposed to type while chained to a tree. I liked it better when you were the one chained to a tree. *mutters* Oh, well. Anyway, Kirara became invisible again just because it fit with the story. No other reason. Keep reading and reviewing! And unchain me from this tree!

Inu Yasha's Girl Alex: Uh... Okay! *updates*

LilBlue-Hedggie: You're welcome! And thank you, too! Hey at least your story has 100 reviews, right? That's a plus.

Gilbertfan: Yay! And, yes, you do make me laugh. And I know my e-mail is screwed up. Hopefully it will work if you send me new messages, though. See ya next time!

Lost Darkness: : P Btw, thank you.

Kaze-Mizu: Boy do I feel stupid. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I went back and fixed it and now it's just a dog, not any specific type. Thanks for the review!

ChibiYugiYasha: If you want to know why I ended it there, you can scroll up and look at the review response for dragon's kitty 'cuz I'm too lazy to type it again even though this review response is probably taking even more effort. Keep reading and reviewing!

Devil: Oh... Okay. Thanks for the review!

tip2toe: Kirara became visible/invisible only because it fit with the storyline.

Oracle of the Stars: DING DING DING!!!! We have a winner! Yes things will get worse from here, but the ending is happy!

hyperdude: Thank you! That makes me feel better. Keep reading and reviewing!

Dark-wolf-soulX: Um... Please tell your sister that she is right... But please don't tell anyone else about it. It's supposed to be a surprise thing. Also, tell your sister she has good insight. And, yes, Inuyasha's mom will be killed in front of him. Thanks for the advice on patenting too! ANGSTYNESS IS MINE!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

RaTheSunGod: Lol...

D-chan3: Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not planning on making any of the other characters visible. Who knows, though? I wasn't originally planning on bringing Sesshi in as early as I did until I got a review that gave me an idea, so yours might do the same.

Rekouri Sentusu: XD Maybe I'll just leave you hanging there forever. No, that would be too mean...

lilpip: Sorry. If you don't want Inuyasha to get hurt, then you won't like this chappie. Keep reading and reviewing, though!

~

"Haita?! Haitatsu!! Where are you?!" Inuyasha pushed a stray tree branch out of the way as he searched for his lost fire-cat.

"There he is! Up there!"

Inuyasha turned around to see a small group of the villagers approaching him with torches and various tools and weapons. Even though they were from the village, Inuyasha's instincts told him to run. So he did. He took off as fast as he could. With his demon speed, it would be easy to outrun them.

~

Kagome, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku raced through the forest. Kirara was a short distance ahead, trying to sniff out Inuyasha's trail. Soon, the smell of burning torches was obvious enough for everyone to smell, though.

'I hope we're not too late,' Kagome thought as she raced along.

~

Inuyasha skidded to a halt. He stopped at the edge of a cliff next to a very large waterfall. He heard shouts behind him and turned to see the villagers closing in on him. They cornered him against the edge of the cliff.

"Ha! Now we have you, you little monster!"

The villagers closed in on him. One of them kicked him to the ground and the rest proceeded to beat him with everything they had. Inuyasha curled into a ball and tried to block out the pain. At least when Hihan had attacked him, it had only been fists. He could feel his own warm blood seeping through his clothes.

'Please! Someone help me!' he thought desperately.

The villagers continued to beat him until he was barely conscious. Finally, one said, "I think that's enough. The whelp has probably learned his lesson by now."

Inuyasha lay on the ground as the villagers left one by one. When they were all gone, he slowly tried to stand up. He slipped on a bloody rock and fell of the cliff into empty air. He barely felt the sting of cold water on his skin as he slipped out of consciousness.

~

'No!' Kagome thought as she saw a small bundle of red and silver fall from the top of the cliff up ahead. She winced as she heard the telltale splash of water. She picked up speed and raced up to the bottom of the waterfall. Her eyes scanned the water for any sign of Inuyasha. There was none. Sango and Miroku caught up with her and they began searching up and down the river for Inuyasha. Kagome bit her lip to keep from breaking down in tears. The group traveled downstream looking for Inuyasha for close to ten minutes, but what seemed like hours to Kagome, before Kagome spotted him.

"Up there!" she shouted.

Kagome & co. ran up and knelt down beside Inuyasha. Kagome gasped. His face was so bloody and swollen, she could hardly recognize him. Both water and blood were forming a pool around him. He was pale and unmoving. Sango pressed her ear to his chest.

"He's still breathing," she said with relief.

"We need to get him back to the village!" Kagome said worriedly.

"How?" Sango asked. "We can't carry him. We can't even touch him, we just go right through."

"Then we've got to get help!"

"From who? And how?" Miroku asked. "Nobody can see us and even if they could, they won't want to help."

Kagome was hit by the reality of that statement. "There's got to be something we can do."

Sango nodded her agreement. "His mother will help. We've got to at least try to get her here somehow. Come on, Miroku, Kirara. We're going. Kagome, you should stay here and watch him."

Kagome nodded. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara took off in the direction of the village. Kagome turned her attention to Inuyasha. Shippo sat next to him with a worried expression on his face. Kagome felt so helpless just sitting there waiting.

'Please be okay, Inuyasha,' she thought.

~

Kirara flew to the village as fast as she could. She landed and the three dashed into Inuyasha's house. No need to open a door, they just went through it. They found Tsuki sitting next to the fire, crying over Inutaisho's death.

"Poor thing," Sango said. "She's still mourning over Inuyasha's father."

"Yeah, well she's going to have someone else to mourn over if we don't hurry."

Sango walked up to Tsuki, unsure how to get her to know what was going on.

"Miroku, what are we supposed to do? Tsuki, please! Your son is in trouble! He's hurt!"

~

Tsuki sat next to the fire, letting the tears fall freely down her face. Her husband, her wonderful husband, was dead. She wondered briefly where Inuyasha was, but she wasn't worried. He knew how to handle himself and he probably just needed some time to be alone. Besides, Haitatsu was with him. Suddenly, she had an incredible sense that something was wrong. She looked up and was shocked to see what looked like the faint ghost of Haitatsu; so faint, it was hardly even there.

"Haitatsu?"

~

"She sees Kirara!" Sango said to Miroku. "Kirara, show her the way!"

Kirara nodded and she, Miroku, and Sango began running back to where Inuyasha was.

~

Tsuki watched as the ghost of Haitatsu beckoned her to follow. She leapt up and followed, worried about what this might mean. She followed Haitatsu deep into the forest. Up ahead, she could hear the sound of the river. Soon, the river was in view and there was Inuyasha, half washed up onto the shore.

"Inuyasha!"

She ran up and dropped to the ground next to her unconscious son. She checked to make sure he was still breathing and let out a small sigh of relief. She quickly gathered him up in her arms and rushed back to her house. Kagome & co. followed her. Once at the house, Tsuki lay Inuyasha down on her own bed. She removed Inuyasha's wet clothing and lay the blanket over him instead. Kagome gasped as Inuyasha's shirt was removed. His entire body was covered in bruises and cuts and his left arm looked like it was broken. Tsuki ran to the kitchen and grabbed some medical supplies. She seemed to be experienced with this sort of thing and quickly dressed Inuyasha's wounds. She set his broken arm and gently wrapped it. And she did the whole thing with the gentleness only a mother could have. Kagome wished that her doctor were that gentle. Tsuki brought a chair next to the bed and sat down. Then she broke down and wept.

~

So, what did you think? Sad? ;_; I know, I'm sorry. Anyway, review please and tell me what you thought about it.