"Otoo-sama," she whined for the hundredth time since the sun had come up.

He didn't bother to glance down. "Keh! You want something, brat, you got to come up here," he snorted in response.

Shippo shot the hanyou a glare. Inuyasha was hardly being reasonable. Yahna was technically a baby, after all. How could the dumb inu be so cruel? It's not like she's poisonous or anything! She just misses Kagome! That jerk! The kitsune let out a sigh as he folded his arms together. I miss her too. She should just stay here. Then everyone would be happy. Yahna sniffled again and more tears spilled form her eyes. Inuyasha grunted coldly. Inuyasha shouldn't be such a jerk, either! He's always nicer when Kagome's around...

Emerald eyes fell on Yahna's miserable form. With his tiny hands, he gently brushed a few tears from her cheeks. How she could still being crying like this without any sleep was something not even he was sure of.

Seeing her like this made the kitsune feel terrible. It reminded him so much of himself... his parents. He had been playing, been happy. Then he turned around and they were gone. Just like that. His parents hadn't even been given the time to fight back or run.

Onii are suppose to make their imooto happy, not sit by and watch them cry. But there's nothing I can do. She just wants Kagome back... or that jerk to hold her... I want Kagome back...

"Otoo-sama."

"You want me, come get me," Inuyasha snorted as he laid on his back, ignoring them.

Shippo's eyes traveled up to the said hanyou. Hm, then again, maybe there is something I can do... He smiled softly and gave the girl a pat on the head. She blinked curiously, halting her sniffles for a moment. A leaf was pulled out from his vest and placed on his head.

Inuyasha let out another sigh. Damn it! When did Kagome say she was coming back again? I don't think I could take another night of that. His ear twitched, sending pain through his brain. He could have sworn they started bleeding last night even if everyone else insisted they hadn't. His brain was still pounding against his skull. Damn tree brat.

"Otoo-sama," the child whined yet again.

"I said..." He started to sit up and cut off as he found himself staring right at the child in question on his branch.

She started to move towards him. Inuyasha jerked back, losing his balance. He tumbled down but managed to land easily on his feet.

Just as he was turning around and was about to yell at her, Yahna latched on to the front of him. He stared in horror at the girl. How had she gotten down so fast? He looked back up in the tree and saw Shippo sitting up there with a big grin on his face. Oh yeah. The brat is gonna get it... and this time he's not going to hide down Sango's kimono...

"Otooooo-sammaaaaa," Yahna whimpered as she snuggled in to him.

His golden eyes traveled back down to her, ready to scream and rip her off... then stopped.

Salty tears spilled out her eyes as she stared at him. The skin just under her eyes was swollen and purple. The rest of her face was flushed with exhaustion. Pink little lips trembled as she struggled to stop crying and hold on at the same time. Her little hands gripped the fabric so hard, her fists had turned white. The rest of her body was limp and weak. From the way she panted, it seemed like even breathing was a chore for her.

Inuyasha gulped. He knew that look.... all to well. That fear of being alone and unloved. The misery that came with the lose...

A deep sigh escaped the hanyou. He wrapped his arms around the girl and leaped in to the trees. Shippo watched in confusion, but didn't complain. If he was going to make Yahna feel better, that was fine with him.

It only took a few moments for him to reach his chosen destination. Inuyasha landed easily in the small clearing around the bone eater's well and plopped down against the side. His hold on the girl loosened, and the girl slid down to his lap. She snuggled in to his stomach, tears still freely flowing. One clawed hand gently reached behind her head and brushed down her hair in a comforting manner his okaa-san use to do when he was upset. Yahna snuggled closer and squinted her eyes tightly shut.

"Hush, pup," the hanyou whispered in a soft he rarely used with anyone. "It's alright. She's not gone for good. She'll be back." Tears leaked from her eyes. "She always comes back," he tried to assure her.

He slipped his hands under her arms and started to lift her. An audible whine escaped her. She gripped the front of his hario so tight had it been made of regular cloth, her claws would have ripped it.

"I'm not pushing you away," he insisted gently. "I just want to show you something."

Her eyes opened and blinked several times to clear away the salty liquid. She studied him carefully, focusing intently on his golden eyes. Azure orbs seem to dig right through his body, hunting for his soul. He squirmed under her gaze and looked away.

Then, her grip loosened and went completely slack. He grabbed her by the waist of her hakama and lifted her over the darkness of the enchanted well.

The pup's sensitive nose suddenly twitched. The rounded white ears stood up and faced fully towards the bottom. Her whole body tensed. She was near... so close...

Yahna squirmed against his hold frantically. Kagome was there. She had to be. Her scent was so strong.

Inuyasha kept a firm grip on her so she didn't fall... though he did debate dropping her in and leaving her there for a moment.

"Okaa-sama!" she cried out desperately.

No, he couldn't drop her. Not when she missed Kagome so much. "She's not in there. This is just where she comes from. There's a magic thing in there that let's her and me go through to each other's worlds. No one else can so don't even try jumping down there. You do, I'm not pulling you out, pup," he ended harshly.

Inuyasha pulled her back up so she was leaning against his chest. "I know you want her back. Everyone does." He let out a deep sigh. "She just doesn't understand this is where she belongs... not at some stupid thing called 'school'... where she talks with idiot human boys. Damn it! If she'd just stay here, we'd have the shards and Naraku would be dead already!" he growled fiercely.

A low pitched purr rumbled out of Yahna as she bared her tiny, razor sharp teeth. She scruntched up closer to him and snuggled against his chest. Inuyasha blinked. An inu doesn't purr, so what... She stopped and peered up at his face innocently. Realization suddenly hit him and he fought back a smirk.

"Keh," he grunted. "Ya gotta growl louder than that if you want to scare anyone besides Shippo."

"Keh," she grunted back and shoved her hands in her sleeves. Inuyasha couldn't fight the smirk any longer and broke out in to a proud grin. He nuzzled his nose against hers. She nuzzled right back, letting out a contented rumble... though it sounded more like a purr. At least it stopped crying.

*****

"Ooookkkaaaaaaa-ssssaaaammmmaaa!!!" Yahna wailed.

"Not again!" Inuyasha wailed louder.

Everyone covered their ears as Yahna burst in to tears for the third night in a row. She had kept it up almost non-stop for two days and nights straight and seemed fine with making it three. In near by houses, several people moaned as they prepared for another night of ear piercing screaming and crying.

"Shut up or I'm shoving you back in that tree!" the hanyou threatened.

"Shut her up or I'm shoving her back in the tree," Sango threatened back. One night without any sleep she could deal with. Two nights? That was pushing it. Three? Nope. The child either had to be quiet or she would make it be quiet. One could only put up with so much...

Desperate, Miroku reached around and grabbed her. His left hand clamped over her mouth, muffling the sound. "Ya know, I could just put a seal on her mouth. That would keep her quiet," the monk offered.

"No!" Shippo protested. "Those things hurt and I'm not letting you hurt my imooto! They'd just make her cry louder, anyway!"

"I agree," Kaede sighed. "Inuyasha, take her out of the village."

"What!?!" the hanyou cried. "No way! You do it!"

"She's your child! You should be the one taking care of her!" Sango snapped. Kirara mewed in agreement. "So far, all of us have been doing all the work! All you've done is give her a single bath!"

Inuyasha glanced at their nodding faces fearfully. "No! It's not my pup!"

"Well she thinks she is," Kaede retorted. "That is enough at the moment."

The child in question was squirming madly to break free of the monk's hold. While she put up a good fight, more than a normal person could put up with, she wasn't near strong enough to get out of his hold.

"I don't want it!"

"We don't care!" everyone shouted at once.

"The villagers need sleep," the old miko continued. "They adore Yahna, but they do need to sleep. So long as she is not going to, she needs to be outside the village for the night. Take her and go."

The dog hanyou growled. He ripped the child from Miroku's arms and carried her out the door by the front of her hario. "God damned evil tree making a god damned little brat. God damned villagers..."

Inuyasha leaped out of the village and was a decent distance away in less than a minute. When he was out of sight of the village, he lifted her higher up in to his arms so she didn't wiggle so much. His ears were flipped back from the pain of her wails. This was really getting annoying. Hell, this was beyond annoying. Each wail made him regret his decision to not kill her.

Once he found a perch in one of his favorite trees, he lifted her up so she was able to look easily in his eyes. "Oi, pup! Stop crying or I'm leaving you out here to starve!" Yahna continued to cry. "Damn it, just stop crying! Go to sleep like a normal child!" She made no attempts to stop crying. "Last warning, brat: shut up or I'm dropping you at the bottom of the well and leaving you there!" Yahna cried louder. "Alright! You asked for it!"

He leaped to the well and held her over it by the back of her hakama. "Stop or I let go," he stated in a serious tone.

The child cried harder. In fact, she seemed to have gotten just a little louder too. How she get her voice that high, we will never know.

"That's it!" he roared.

He was just about to let go, when inspiration struck. (Twice in one chapter. He's on a roll.) She may not be able to go through the well, but I could always drag Kagome back... and she can't sit me for it since Yahna's the one who sent me to get her. The hanyou grinned evilly. Alright, worst possible outcome: it's trapped at the bottom of the well, I get sat, Kagome stays in her time, I stay in her time, and get some sleep. Best outcome: Kagome comes back, it stops crying, I don't get sat, and everyone is happy.

"Alright pup," he stated confidently, "You want Kagome, I'll get you Kagome." He leaped in to the well. The familiar power washed over him as everything around him turned a dark shade of blue mixed with black. Her voice was drowned out and for the first time in two days and nights, it was quiet around him.

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Japanese words I've used in this chapter

nothing... awwww, how sad.

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Ten chapters and still going strong. *cheers* Man, her lungs have to made of iron. That's my conclusion, anyway. Fixed a few things before in earlier chapters. I have my own computer back. Yay! I love Fred. Yes, my computer is named Fred. Why do you ask?

Note on Shippo's past. It has never been fully explained exactly how his parents died. All that has been said is his father had a shikon shard and was killed by the Thunder Brothers. Given that they had several shards already, I imagine it was probably a pretty quick fight. This is just my interpretation, though. Given that the Thunder Brothers didn't recognize him right off, I don't think was in their direct line of sight when it happened. They may not have known he was there at all. I decided he would probably have been playing when it happened. That was why I put it in, if anyone was curious.

Nightswift, good question. No one is sure exactly what the tree did. Sure, I know, but that would ruin the rest of the story.

DiaBLo2, I'll contact you soon as I have a full list of words they'll be using. So far I only know a small list of them (a few threats, mother, and demon for certian). The rest I'll know soon as I start writing them into the story.

Acacia Jules, you are right on two counts. Inuyasha does have a lot of walls around his feelings. Think about how he treats Kagome in the beginning of the series. Heck, up to episode 90, he still does have those walls. Of course, Kagome is breaking through those walls bit by bit. Inuyasha was Shippo's primary caretaker for a short while when Kagome was gone. My take on Inuyasha and Shippo's relationship is that they are kind of like brothers. Inuyasha is the bulling, angry older brother. Shippo is the annoying, sometimes real bratty, little brother. They fight, but when and where it matters, they get along.

Real work, major-inu-lover. Well, so far, my fanfics don't pay for my college and if they ever did, I'd be in trouble. Yes, writing is work, especially fanfics if you want the characters to act in character. However, I do this for fun. This is mainly because the idea is in my head and wont leave until I get it out. (You should hear my Yimahtai series which started as a Gargoyles fanfic oh so many years ago when Gargoyles was still new.) What I meant by real work was stuff that people have to get done so they can survive in this world. For example, my novels get priority over fanfics since I intend on publishing them (hopefully getting the first one accepted this summer).

Well, I'm off. Have new classes to worry about, a club run, and characters to go torture. Hope you're all enjoying it so far. Next chapter, Kagome hears the dreaded word "okaa-sama" and the rest of her family gets to learn about Yahna-chan. Tell then...