Hiya peoples! I'm back with an extra long chappie this time! I hope you enjoy it!

Review responses:

IYchick: Thanks! Glad you like it!

IceSugarHigh: Yeah... Inuyasha's childhood did suck... And I think you are paranoid. Thanks for the review!

Shippogrl: I think his mom will die somewhere in the next few chapters. It's going to be sad, too! WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! Enjoy the chappie!

dark-wolf-soulX: Angstness rules! XD My computer doesn't like the word angstness...

Dragon Man 180: It made you feel warm and fuzzy?! ::twitch:: It's an angst fic! It's not supposed to make people feel warm and fuzzy!!! WHERE DID I GO WRONG?!?!?!?! ...Just kidding. Glad you liked it!

Koinu-chan: Heheh... Sorry it took so long... And I have no idea why my school let out so early this year. ? Oh, well. Hope you enjoy this chap!

punkkagome: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

dragon's kitty: XD Swedish keyboards... lol.

ChibiYugiYasha: Thanks for the review!

dragon winx: Wow. You really think my fics are that good? I feel special... Thanks for the review!

arline: Thankies!

LilBlue-Hedggie: Thank you... ::sniff:: You have rescued my self-esteem from sure oblivion... ::sniff:: Anyway, I LOVE Inuyasha as a kid! He's irresistibly adorable! ::huggles::

Lost Darkness: XD I'm amused. Why? I don't know.

Youroma: Yes. Evil villagers! I wish I could kill them! But I can't because that would ruin the plot... %#$!!!

gilbertfan: No, they can pick up stuff. They just can't interact with people. And, um, no, Kagome can not stone the villagers. One, that's not her style, two, let's face it, she would NEVER do anything like that. ::Mutters about sentimental women even though I am one:: I like your little sugar commercial thingy! XD

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Chapter 11: Dark Night

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Tsuki smiled and sang quietly to herself as she walked through the house. It had been two days now since Inuyasha had been attacked. She had been too busy taking care of Inuyasha to take the issue up with the villagers yet and find out why they had attacked him. But now Inuyasha was almost completely healed. It would take a while yet for his arm to fully heal, but as for the rest of him, you could hardly tell anything had happened to him. Tsuki still found it incredible how quickly her son could heal, even for a half-demon. She planned on talking to the villagers tonight. She went to check on Inuyasha. She found him sitting on the bed playing with the smooth river pebbles she had given him earlier.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha looked up at her and smiled. "Yes mother?"

Tsuki walked into the room and sat down next to him. "I have... something to take care of in town for a little while. I need to talk to someone about something. Do you think you'll be all right?"

"Of course! After all, I do have my guardian angel to watch over me."

Tsuki smiled at his innocence. "Okay. If there's an emergency, I'll be at the tavern talking to the inn-keeper."

"I'll be all right, mama. Don't worry."

Tsuki got up and left and Inuyasha returned to his marble game. Tsuki quietly slipped out the front door. The sun had just set and it was already quite dark. Tsuki shut the sliding door behind her and gazed up at the moonless sky for a minute.

'Wait... moonless?'

"MAMA!!!"

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Kagome watched amusedly as Inuyasha played with the pebbles. He would gather the pebbles into two piles with the two biggest ones in front of each pile, like two armies facing off. He would imitate the voices of army generals telling their troops what to do. Then he would start flicking the pebbles from one pile toward the other until there were pebbles scattered all over the bed.

"'Looks like we've won again, sir.' 'Of course we have! No one can defeat us!'"

Kagome giggled. After a while, Inuyasha became bored of the army game and started arranging the pebbles into pictures instead. Shippo joined Kagome and they tried to guess what the pictures were while Inuyasha arranged them.

"That one looks like it's gonna be a horse!" Shippo said.

"No, no. Its legs are too short, see? It's a bunny."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Is too!"

"Wait! Now it looks like a dog."

"I'd say it looks more like a cat."

"It's Kirara!"

Kagome stared at the arrangement of pebbles. "What do you know! It is!"

"I bet Inuyasha misses her."

"Yeah..."

"Ooh, look! He's doing another one!"

"A fish?"

"I think it's a flower."

When it started to get dark outside, Inuyasha's mother came in and sat down on the bed next to Inuyasha. She told him that she was going to be gone for a few minutes and asked Inuyasha if he would be all right on his own. Kagome smiled when he answered that his guardian angel would watch him. Tsuki did too. She also told him where to find her in case of an emergency and as soon as she did, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku knew what she was going to do.

Tsuki got up and left. Sango and Miroku opted to follow her and see how things turned out while Kagome stayed and kept an eye on Inuyasha. Kagome agreed and turned back to Inuyasha who had resumed his picture pebble game. Shippo continued to guess what they were, but Kagome became lost in her own thoughts. She was flung suddenly back into reality when Inuyasha suddenly cried out. She turned immediately back to him and realized with horror that his hair was changing from silver to black.

'The new moon?!'

"MAMA!!!"

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Tsuki ran back to Inuyasha as fast as her legs would carry her. When she entered the room, she found Inuyasha clutching at his broken arm in pain. She gasped and ran to the bed. She sat down and gathered Inuyasha into her arms gently. She soothingly stroked his now midnight black hair and tried to calm him down. It took a while, but eventually, Inuyasha relaxed in her arms a little.

"Shh. It's alright. I'm here."

"It hurts, mother."

"I know."

"Why does it have to hurt more when this happens?"

"I don't know."

"I'm scared."

"You don't have to be. I'm here."

"So you're not leaving?"

"Of course not. I'm just sorry I forgot about this."

Inuyasha smiled a little and settled into his mother's arms. After a while he fell asleep. The innkeeper would just have to wait until tomorrow.

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By the next evening, Inuyasha was a hanyou again and fully recovered. His arm was still a little stiff, but other than that, it was as if nothing had ever happened to him. Sango, Miroku, and Tsuki once again started on their way to the inn. Tsuki did her best to look bold and confident as she walked along, but Sango and Miroku could see that she was nervous. Miroku and Sango followed closely behind her. Suddenly, Tsuki stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Oh! May I help you, young man?" she asked.

Miroku gasped slightly and looked around to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else. There was no one in sight. "Uh... Who, me?" Miroku asked, slightly bewildered.

"Yes."

"Well, um, I'm just a traveler passing through and I was... just on my way to the tavern. Do you think you could point the way for me?"

"I was just headed there myself. You can walk with me if you like."

"That would be wonderful."

"What's going on?" Sango asked Miroku.

Miroku shrugged and gave her an "I don't know" look before walking up next to Tsuki.

"It's not often we see monks in the village. Where are you from?"

"It's quite a long way away. I'm not sure you would know the place."

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Once at the tavern, Miroku thanked Tsuki and found an unoccupied table. He sat down, keeping an eye on Tsuki, while Sango leaned against the wall next to him.

"So I guess you're visible now," Sango said casually.

"Yes, it would seem that way," Miroku replied, making sure no one was looking so he wouldn't look weird talking to what looked like empty space to everyone else.

"This is so strange. I hope we get back to our own time soon."

Miroku nodded.

"...Miroku, are you sure we're going to get back?"

Miroku sighed heavily. He was hoping this wouldn't become an issue. "No, Sango. I'm not sure at all."

"You mean we could be trapped here for-"

Suddenly, a shout rang through the tavern. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAD NO REASON?!!!"

Everyone in the tavern came to a standstill. Miroku and Sango peered through the crowd and saw Tsuki facing off against the innkeeper.

"Of course I had reason!" the innkeeper was shouting. "I had all the reason in the world! That monster of yours killed six of my best horses!"

Tsuki looked taken aback. "I don't believe you. You're lying."

"It's true. I'm still trying to scrub the blood stains off the floor. Your monster of a son killed my horses! He deserved to be taught a lesson!"

"That still doesn't give you the right to hurt him!" Sango jumped at the sound of Miroku's voice beside her. "He's just a child!"

Tsuki gasped in surprise as she recognized the monk she had helped earlier. 'How does he know about Inuyasha?'

"What does it matter if he's just a child?! It's not like he has any feelings anyway."

"How can you be so stupid?!" Miroku shouted, his anger flaring. "Of course he has feelings! You have no idea what this will do to him! It will destroy him!"

"Good! The world needs to be rid of him!"

"I can't believe how heartless you are!"

"Why are you even defending that worthless half-breed?" someone from the watching crowd shouted. Others voiced their agreement. Then it all happened at once. The innkeeper slapped Tsuki across the face. The crowd of people launched themselves at Miroku. Miroku fended them off with his staff, occasionally knocking them unconscious, while desperately trying to keep an eye on Tsuki. She was lying on the floor while the innkeeper yelled at her. Amidst the chaos, Miroku saw her pick up a bottle that had been knocked to the floor in the commotion and throw it at the innkeeper. The bottle hit him in the head and Tsuki took the chance to run away. She disappeared through the back door of the inn. Miroku looked to Sango who nodded. Miroku used his staff as a battering ram and forced his way to the door. The crowd of people decided not to follow him, luckily for Miroku. However, Miroku and Sango continued to run until they reached a secluded area. As the two caught their breath, Sango smiled warmly at Miroku.

"What?" Miroku asked.

"I'm glad you stood up for Inuyasha like that."

"Yeah, well..." Miroku said, blushing. "I just couldn't stand the way they were treating Inuyasha. After all, he is only a child. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"I suppose. Still, I'm glad you did it."

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Tsuki ran away from the inn as fast as she could manage. Once she was far enough away to feel safe, she stopped to catch her breath. She then started home. On her way, she saw the monk once again. He seemed to be talking to the air in front of him. Tsuki thought this was strange, but then, he was a strange man. He seemed to know a lot about her son and he had only just arrived in town. She decided to thank him for standing up for Inuyasha. As she approached, he looked up, slightly startled.

"I wanted to thank you for standing up for my son at the tavern," she said gently.

"No worries," he replied. "I'm always glad to help a friend."

Tsuki was slightly confused at this statement, but before she could inquire, the figure of the monk faded and disappeared before her.

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Wow! This has to be the longest chapter yet! I hope you enjoyed it! It's been a while since we've seen Hihan, ne? Don't worry, he'll appear again soon!