Chapter 3: Hanyou Talk

(very dramatic chapter-NON HUM0ROUS)

That night, Inuyasha went to sleep in a tree while the others were in a clearing below. Not sleepy at all, Tenko decided to join Inuyasha by sitting in a tree right next to his.

"Hey, what're you doing here?"

"I'm just not tired and I just thought it would be fun to watch the moon and stuff."

"Keh, whatever…"

The two hanyous were silent for a while, but then pulling her head back, Tenko asked:

"What's it like to have a mother who actually likes you?"

Inuyasha was totally silent for sometime, but then he responded.

"It makes you feel safe and warm and it makes you feel like you're never alone when she's around."

Tenko looked down and felt a bad feeling creep to her heart.

"Oh…" she said silently.

"But I didn't feel that way forever. She died when I was about your age, Tenko. And that's when I started to live my life in the woods, going through the same things you are."

Tenko turned closer to him.

"You had people chase you and throw rocks at you and shout curses at you and make you wish that you were dead?" she asked.

He nodded his head and turned away. But then he looked at her again.

"Did you ask someone what you were? Where you came from?" he asked, realizing that that question came out of nowhere.

Tenko nodded.

"Yeah. I asked my mom one time before she kicked me out and then she started to chase me out the door with a broom. And then she yelled: "I'll tell you what you are, you little shit! You're just an animal, a dirty blood, a threat to the human race, A HALF-BREED!" and then she slammed the door."

"Well what exactly did you ask her?"

"'What am I?' I made it really simple."

Inuyasha stared at her with sad, golden eyes.

"O. My mother broke the truth to me really gently. I was too little to get it, but when my mother told me the truth, she started crying because she knew what my life was going to be like, she knew what kind of pain I was going to endure."

"I think my mother knew I was going to suffer, but she just didn't care because I did a little something to her reputation in the village. I think that's why she abandoned me that day!"

As soon as she thought that, Tenko felt tears well up in her eyes again.

"Damn it! Why do I have to be such a damn crybaby!" she screamed out loud as a couple of tears escaped from her eyes.

As soon as she said that, a clawed finger brushed the water from her cheeks. She looked up and saw in blurry vision, Inuyasha.

"It's okay. Let it out, kid. You have more than a right to."

Tenko looked away and tried to growl away her tears and shook her head some more but none of those attempts worked. And soon she was coming to find that she had to follow Inuyasha's advice.

She curled up in a tight ball and cried in her knees. Inuyasha jumped to her tree branch and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Cry as much as you want, Tenko."

Tenko twitched and she breathed heavily.

"I can't take these beatings anymore! I only want someone to love me too!" she said between her sobs.

Inuyasha nodded and silently rested his head on her head. Tenko grabbed fistfuls of his fire rat cloak and held onto him, not letting go.

"Tenko…"

"It hurts too much…" she whispered.

Both of them went to sleep like that, Inuyasha with his arm around Tenko with his head on hers and Tenko not letting him go.