Sorry to say that the only reason I edited this chapter was that when I went back to skim over it for a review of what had happened, I saw a ton of spelling errors and words that I forgot to type and such. So, there isn't anything new. I promise! I'm updating as we speak!

Chapter Five:

Kagome held the small child in her arms as it trembled and sobbed brokenly. From his scrunched up position, she could not tell that he was mortified and frightened of something, even more so than when he had sprawled into her arms, yelling for help. She made small sounds of comfort and stroked the silky red hair that covered his head, hoping that he would calm down so she would be able to speak with him and get some wanted answers.

"It's ok, honey, stop crying," she lulled, adjusting his position so that his head was rested on the dip of her shoulder. It was then that the young woman noticed he had a tail. An adorable, fluffy fox tail. He must be a kitsune demon, she thought as the little boy that she held started to hiccup more than he was sobbing. Good, he's calming down a bit.

"T-they are gone!" The small youkai moaned, through tremors and hiccups. "Ma... Pa..." he finished, his little hands grasping the shoulders of Kagome's cloak as he spilled more tears from his tortured emerald eyes. "I'm all alone..."

"Shhhh," Kagome whispered, nuzzling her face into his back, trying her best to appease the poor boy. "Would telling me what happened help you?" she asked, trying her best to be comforting even though she did not know how to treat the poor little crying boy.

"No," the kitsune replied, his voice raspy from his tears as he continued to tizzy and shake in Kagome's grasp.

"All right," the young woman whispered, sighing a bit. "Well, why not tell me your name?" she suggested, watching as the tears stopped momentarily as the cute little boy looked at her face with puffy eyes and a red face. "Wouldn't knowing someone else help to ease your loneliness?"

The kitsune boy thought about this for a moment before he barely nodded, his small hands rising to wipe at his fevered eyes. He sniffled a bit as he fought to gain what little composure he had. "I am Shippo," he told her softly, his little voice cracking a bit because his throat was so dry from wailing and sobbing aloud.

"Well, Shippo, I am Kagome and it's very nice to meet you," she told him, her face kind and gentle but suddenly, Shippo's face of calm transformed into one of horror. Kagome saw his change in expression and looked to him questioningly, seeing that he was staring at something behind her. She whirled with slight fear in her chest to see Inuyasha, looking angrier than he had the night before in the library. "Oh! Lord Inuyasha," she started, her voice slightly jumpy. "What a nice... surprise!"

"Surprise my ass," the cursed hanyou snorted and crossed his arms, his ambers eyes fixating upon the little bundle that she was holding in her arms. "What the hell is that?" he asked, approaching her to stare into the kitsune's eyes, frightening the child more.

"He's not a what. His name is Shippo and from what he was muttering earlier, his parents were murdered," Kagome told him, her voice slightly sharp as her eyes narrowed in irritation at his rudeness. Inuyasha scoffed and crossed his arms insolently over his chest.

"So?" The hanyou asked, his voice completely disinterested. Annoyance started to boil within Kagome as Inuyasha tempted her further down that road. She cleared her throat and calmed herself so that she was able to speak in an even, leveled voice.

"Lord Inuyasha, can Shippo stay here at the castle? He has no where else to go and his family is all gone," Kagome said, doing her best to pout out her lip and make her chocolate eyes large for guilty emphasis.

The cursed hanyou swallowed at her facial features, feeling something tugging in his chest at the site. She's pouting? Whatever for? He wondered to himself, feeling slightly at fault for it. Maybe it was something I said? GAH! Who cares! This girl is too much of a whiny crybaby anyway! Snarling, Inuyasha paid no heed to her words of suggestion towards the fox boy or her attempts to make him empathize with the small youkai. He burrowed his arms deeper into his sides as he hunched a little bit, a growl escaping his lips.

"I want to leave, Kagome-sama," Shippo whispered as he trembled slightly from the sight of Inuyasha. "I will just live in the forest on my own... even though I used to rely heavily on my family..." he finished, attempting to hop down from her arms but Kagome wouldn't have it. She squared on Inuyasha, who was currently simmering, and confronted him, standing on her tiptoes so that she could at least stare into his face, even though he still towered over her.

"You selfish-"she started, making a noise of exasperation. "Do you only care about yourself? This little boy's family is now gone and he has no place to stay and you are muttering and growling just because I dared to ask if he could stay here? How much trouble could letting a small demon boy live in my room be?" Kagome fired at Inuyasha, raising her voice as she felt her adrenaline start to pump. "Don't you have any heart at all?"

"Oh yeah!" The hanyou roared back, his arms falling down at his sides to ball into very strong fists. "I don't want to become a charity castle to those in need! And I definitely don't need some brat wandering around my castle all the time causing trouble!" Inuyasha finished, his voice ending in a clipped bark.

Kagome stood still, her expression serene and tranquil; as she looked him over, lowering herself from her tip- toes back down onto the ground. She nodded to Inuyasha and walked right passed him towards the entrance to the castle. The hanyou spun on his heel and yelled, "What are you doing? I just said-"

Kagome turned and looked at him with an impassive, uncharacteristic face. "You don't care how he feels about it, so I don't care how you feel about it," she told him solemnly, her voice holding no emotion as she entered the castle, leaving Inuyasha to stand alone outside.

Miroku winced at the emotional blow to Inuyasha's pride as Kagome entered the castle. Like usual, the young man tried to situate himself to look like he had not been eavesdropping on the little spat that took place outdoors. Seeing Kagome walk towards him, he approached her with a rueful smile.

"Well, who is this?" he asked, his rich voice slightly mischievous. Shippo shifted uncomfortably in Kagome's arms at the prying look the young man was giving him.

"My name is Shippo," the kitsune boy replied and stopped fidgeting nervously.

"Oh, I see. I am Miroku, young Shippo," Miroku replied, nodding to the small demon. Shippo seemed to be loosening up some more in the new surroundings but he still felt rather cornered.

"Um... Kagome-sama and Miroku-sama?" Shippo asked. When both of their gazes were on him in a questioning manner, he continued. "Why does that Lord Inuyasha have a rag over his face with eye holes?"

"Well," Kagome started, not really sure how to explain the situation of the curse to one so young. It would have probably been better if he didn't know about it at all. Miroku read her frustration exactly and intervened to aid her.

"He finds them terribly comfortable. He really is an odd one," the young man told Shippo, winking at Kagome who smiled briefly. Shippo nodded, somewhat confused by the answer but then shrugged it off.

"Who is the little visitor?" came Sango's voice from down the hall as she walked towards them. All eyes were on her as she looked at Shippo strangely, observing his fox-like tail and his beautiful emerald eyes. "A little fox demon?" she asked.

"Yes, his family was murdered not too long ago I suppose. I'm going to keep him here with me until he feels comfortable enough to leave and live on his own," Kagome replied, running her fingers through the kitsune boy's silken red hair. Sango nodded in understanding but her brow knotted in confusion.

"Um... pardon me, Kagome-chan, but did Inuyasha agree to this?" she asked but seeing Kagome's hard expression at the mention of the hanyou's approval, she did not need an answer. "I see," she finished, biting her lip momentarily.

"I don't care why Inuyasha-sama says right now. This boy needs a place to stay and needs love and comfort. He was too selfish to even let him stay in my room!" Kagome told Miroku and Sango in bewilderment and irritation.

"Well, that's our Inuyasha, Kagome. He's too hardheaded for his own good," Miroku told her, patting her on the shoulder and when his hand started to travel downwards, Shippo smacked at it and growled at him. Miroku looked very surprised, not too mention startled but Sango and Kagome were on him in an instant telling him how cute he was.

"You never told me a dirty old man lived here," Shippo said, his eyes narrowed at Miroku in deep intensity. The young man shrugged and laughed nervously as he dismissed himself away from the ladies and the fox child.

"There," Kagome stated as she laid another blanket on the ground and fluffed the pillow. "How about that, Shippo-chan? Why don't you go and lay down on your small bed Sango-chan and I have made?" In compliance, the little demon boy nodded with a soft smile upon his lips and threw himself onto the small-bedded area that the two young women had made for him.

"It feels just like home with you two tucking me in for the night," Shippo said softly as he released a large yawn, his fangs showing. He stretched and found a more comfortable position on the blankets and then let out a small contented sound. Kagome and Sango got up to leave but he called to them before they went out the door.

"Yes?" Sango asked, as she and Kagome turned to look at him.

"Kagome-sama, can I call you mother?" Shippo asked sheepishly, watching as Kagome flushed a bit.

"Me? Okaa-san? What for, Shippo-chan?" The young woman asked in embarrassment.

"You took me in and helped me when I was crying... and you gave me a place to stay even though Inuyasha-sama didn't want me too," the little boy replied, smiling at her again.

"Well... I suppose so, Shippo-chan. If you want to," Kagome replied, feeling somewhat gladder that someone would think of her as a mother even though she was far from it. Well, there was now a reason to practice!

"And Sango-sama?" Shippo called for the other young woman who was in the room. "I want to call you Sango-basan," he added, snuggling deeper under the covers of his small bed as he turned the opposite direction of the door.

"Goodnight, Shippo-chan," both of the young women said as they closed the door behind them and went down the stairs.

"He wants to call me aunt," Sango laughed lightly, her cheeks flushing a little from the attention. "I think that Shippo-chan is very adorable," she added as the two young women continued to walk along. Kagome really was not very talkative at the present moment, Sango observed. "Kagome-chan? Is something bothering you?"

"Hm?" The young woman asked before her eyes went to the ground. "I just don't believe that Inuyasha-sama is so selfish that he would not let a little boy who had no family have a place to stay," Kagome groaned in remembered frustration as they stopped to converse about this more so in the kitchen.

Hm? What's that? Inuyasha thought to himself as the door to the kitchen started to creak open. He swallowed the remainder of his food in a quick gulp. He sniffed the air and growled a bit when he recognized Kagome's scent and he decided to hide in the pantry. He did not want to see her. He was still royally furious still at the display of defiance and overall making a fool out of him act that she had performed just splendidly.

"I just don't believe him!" Kagome sighed, raking a hand through her raven locks as she blew a breath out of her mouth.

"Oh, he is always like this. I don't think there is a way to change him," Sango told the young woman, her voice neutral as she rolled her eyes just thinking about the cursed hanyou's mannerisms.

"But- he was just acting... so heartless! Like no one else mattered in the world... That was what bothered me," Kagome replied to Sango's comment, her voice full of shock and of pity. Inuyasha cringed in the pantry. If there was one thing that he could not stand, it was pity and it was dripping from the young woman's tone like melting ice cream. "Sango-chan, I don't think I could ever fall in love with him," Kagome added, watching as Sango whirled around to look at her. Inuyasha froze in the pantry, his eyes wide with shock.

"Whoever said you had to, Kagome-chan?" The other young woman asked, her dark eyes large and her mouth gaping open.

"I... I think that's what he needs..." Kagome replied, quenching Sango's bewilderment with that statement. "Or he needs to fall in love at least... He needs to see that it takes more than just caring about yourself to care about another person I suppose... That could save him," she added, swallowing heavily as Sango's gaze was still on her. "What?" she asked, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not staring at you... I'm staring at the crack in the pantry door... There is someone inside!" Sango answered her, approaching the pantry as she opened both of the doors wide. Kagome let out a mortified gasp, seeing the cursed hanyou inside.

"Lord Inuyasha!" she shrieked, her cheeks red. He had heard everything she had said. Feeling her heart leap into her throat as he came out of the pantry and started walking towards her, she went with her gut instinct and fled. She started to run towards one of the doors to the outside and opened it, rushing out into the cold, her eyes blinded briefly by the setting sun, but was stopped when she felt a large hand grasp her arm and stop her movement. She was then hurled up against a very warm, very muscular chest. She gulped and looked up to see Inuyasha, wearing that silly rag over his face, looking down upon her, his expression unreadable.

"Why are you running?" he asked her, his voice husky yet soft all together as opposed to hard and ornery like it normally was.

"Because... I am embarrassed," Kagome replied honestly, sighing a bit. Her breathing was uneven as she still was held tightly against his body, why she didn't know. There couldn't be any attraction to him, could there? Her thoughts were confirmed when the wind blew, brushing some of his soft silvery white hair against her cheek. I am attracted to him... Damn it all! She thought in dismay.

"Are you embarrassed because you said you could never fall in love with me?" He asked her, his voice not allowing her to beat around the bush at all. Kagome swallowed again and tried to control the rapid beating of her heart but it wouldn't slow down or become quieter.

"Partly, yes," Kagome whispered, her eyes going up to meet his. "But frankly I think that would be more embarrassing to you than to me at any rate," she told him her lips turning up into a shy smile at the ends.

"So, I am so selfish and so horrible that it is impossible to fall in love with me, hm?" Inuyasha pressed, his voice sounding sullen and slightly depressed. He was being uncharacteristically patient also. What was going on?

"Well, I never said it was impossible, Inuyasha-sama," Kagome replied, watching as the last few rays of sun flashed against his lovely silvery white hair. But, as soon as the sun disappeared and blackness cloaked through the night, something startling happened. Inuyasha released her from his hold and stepped back, taking off the rag as some sort of magic began to take place. His glorious silver mane leaked into an inky black and his bright amber eyes darkened to a violet that was almost as lovely as Miroku's. And his face... his face... was normal!

"Inuyasha-sama?" Kagome asked meekly, looking the young man who was standing before her over. It looked like him... only... "What happened?" she asked coming closer to him to get a better look.

"I am a half demon. My human night spans on the night of the new moon," he replied, his voice now soft and calmer like a human man's, as he looked her over, his gaze gentler. Kagome nodded, understanding somewhat because back in the village she had lived in, there was a hanyou who owned a shop down the road from her house and on some nights he would walk the streets as a human.

"But... But your face," she mumbled, reaching up to touch his face, expecting him to fling himself backwards or to scream at her for her deliberation, but he leaned downward a bit so she could reach it easier. Kagome was a bit hesitant but Inuyasha nodded to her to go ahead and touch. With the permission, the young woman's hands rested on his face, stroking his cheeks softly, her face glowing a bit at the warmth and softness of his skin. There were no scars, no hideous markings, no nothing. "Why is your face... not scarred?" she asked, her hands drifting upwards into his unruly dark bangs.

"It wasn't my human night when I was cursed so I suppose I'm just normal," He replied, his violet eyes taking in her curious and slightly baffled expression as the texture of her soft fingers stroked his face and hair lightly. His human emotions hungered for her touch, for her attention, for her presence... maybe it was the curse that made him want to distance himself from her but now... now he wanted to converse with her, be with her... make her love him... He shook himself from his thoughts and returned them to the present.

He's so handsome, Kagome thought as her fingers continued to meander across his strong-featured face. Kagome took the time to memorize every one of his handsome features. His violet eyes were warm as he looked at her with a gaze that she had never seen him give before, then his lids slid over his eyes, thick, lush lashes tipping the lid. His face was free of those horrible, putrid markings and scars. His lips looked soft and content instead of hard and curled back like they always went when he was angry and she noticed that his lower lip was slightly more full than the upper one. She looked up to the top of his head and missed the fluffy white dog-ears that were normally there instantly. They're so cute! She thought in a pout but continued to observe him.

The more Kagome began to observe him, the more she began to realize how warm and gentle he was being with her. She stopped her ministrations and drew back, her face covered in genuine confusion. Inuyasha's eyes opened and he stared down at her, wondering why she had stopped. "What?" he asked her, his voice sounding anxious and a bit impatient, like normal but without the growling rumble that blended in his voice.

"Why are you being so kind to me? Aren't you furious with me? Aren't you upset that I defied you and am letting Shippo stay in my room even when you told me I couldn't keep him?" Kagome asked, her voice somewhat strained as she continued to eye the man who stood before her who was so similar... yet so different all the same.

"That, I was angry about..." Inuyasha told her honestly, his dark, thick eyebrows lowering over his eyes, as his voice grew more constricted with emotion. "But what you said after that... It really bothered me," he snapped at her, crossed his arms and then turned so that his back was facing her.

Kagome thought a moment, her brow scrunching in thought as she fought to remember. What did I say? What is he talking about? She thought as she observed the human Lord of the Castle who was staring off into the distance. His form had grown very tense and rigid. "Inuyasha-sama? What did I say?"

"Feh," The hanyou turned human scoffed, turning so that his profile was in view and one of his violet eyes could fix on her. "Don't act like you don't remember," he finished, his voice harsh. Kagome took a step back at his voice but then stood her ground, her confusion starting to get the better of her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked with more force this time, running to his side to look into his face for an answer but he just avoided her. "Come on! That's not fair!"

"You really FORGOT?!" Inuyasha barked at her, releasing his arms and let them sprawl out to his sides in exasperation. "How could you forget saying, 'Do you have any heart?' and 'You don't care how he feels about it, so I don't care how you feel about it'!" He yelled at her and shook his head, his body heading off to go back into the castle until he heard a small sniffling sound. His head whirled and he saw Kagome's hands on her face. His eyes became the size of watermelons as he began to panic. "H-hey! S-stop that!" he stuttered, not really knowing what to do.

"What I said should have bothered you..." she sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "But they were hallow... my words were hallow," she finished, looking up at him with liquidly eyes. "I knew that if I really wanted my way you would let me... I was thinking about poor Shippo..."

"I... I know that!" Inuyasha barked, fed up with all of the emotion. "STOP CRYING!" He roared at her, which only served to make her angry and more upset. "Your crying is NOT going to change the fact that you hurt my feelings earlier today so just SHUT UP!" He added angrily, mocking her.

"You JERK! YOU STUPID JERK!" She cried at him, charging at him blindly, tears flying about her face. "YOU'RE MOCKING ME!" She continued to shout as she threw punches and missed because he had caught her by the shoulders and was holding her there. Kagome started to realize that her attacks were pointless after a few moments and relaxed, her body going slack. She sighed and hung her head, her hair covering her face.

Inuyasha felt the same telltale guilt well up in his chest, only more so now because of his human night. Great, you just made things worse, he thought, wondering how he could get himself out of the hole he had dug for himself. He cleared his throat and decided to just be careful of what he said. "That fox brat can stay..." He told her softly, seeing her look up at him with tears rolling down her cheeks, meeting at the dip in her chin.

"Thank you for doing that for him," she replied, a soft smile appearing on her lips. Inuyasha felt his breath catch in his throat while his cheeks burned. Why did she look so damned pretty like that?

"I'm not doing it for him," He told her honestly, wondering if she understood what he was getting at. Kagome looked at him for several moments, gauging any falsehoods or any such matters and worried her lower lip between her teeth.

"Are... Are you saying that you're letting him stay for my benefit?" The young woman asked shyly, feeling her own cheeks flare to life when she noticed the color in his. Inuyasha made no response save for his eyes looking off into the distance as his cheeks blazed harder. "Inuyasha-sama..." she murmured in shock, looking up into his face.

"What?" he asked, his voice still a bit gruff, but he was embarrassed.

"I'm sorry my words hurt you earlier..." She apologized, his eyes meeting hers. The anxiety and tension left his body as his arms slid from her shoulders down to his sides in a graceful movement. "I... I was just so upset and I-"

"No, what you said was partly true... I just hate believing it," he told her, his voice barely a whisper. Kagome started to cry again, making his anxiety spring to life again. "Why the hell are you crying now? What did I do?" he demanded.

"It's not that..." she wheezed, rubbing at her eyes furiously. "I know you hate pity... But... I just can't help it!" she sobbed into her hands. Inuyasha watched her helplessly, not knowing what to do. "Now that I've gotten to know you better... I know you're not as bad as you first seemed..." she sniffled but continued to talk through her gasps for air. "I want to stay with you! I want... I want to love and care for you because through all of this punishment I think that is what will heal you, Inuyasha-sama," she continued to cry and unceremoniously sagged into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist as she bawled on him.

Taken aback by the sudden gesture, Inuyasha stood rigid, unable to believe what she had just said. "Will... Will you really?" he asked her, feeling hope and warmth rise in his chest. Hearing her muffled reply of yes, he pulled her close and held her, the soft fragrance of her scent reaching his human nose just barely.

"Inuyasha-sama..." she moaned as she started to calm just a little bit, her hands fisting in his robes.

"Kagome..." he whispered against her hair and pulled back to flash her a soft smile before he went inside without her, turning to look at her before he entered. "Thank you," he added and then went inside, leaving Kagome standing there alone.

He... He just called me by my name... And he thanked me, she thought, the redness in her cheeks consuming her face. She held her blushing face and closed her eyes trying to get a damper on it. Kami-sama... I believe I'm starting to have a crush on him, she was thinking when she entered the castle to go to her room.

Writer's Corner:

Woo! Getting hot huh? And no, Inuyasha was NOT out of character! Trust me, if he was, he would have been all LOVEY DOVEY and such. Lol. He's just in touch with his human emotions like passion, belonging, gratefulness and hope and he also realizes his mistakes and such. Kagome is lucky, no? I'd wanna be held by a HOT human Inuyasha... and a hot hanyou Inuyasha... drools

Well, that was the chapter! We're getting fluffy now for all of you who like that. Review please! Tank you!

Luv

RayJay