"Give him to us!" rang the shouts.

"We'll let you go even; just give us the little bastard!"

Izayoi trembled. She knew they wouldn't leave without Inuyasha. She grasped Inuyasha firmly by the shoulders and stared him intently in his big amber eyes.

"Inuyasha, you must run," she sobbed. "Run so that you can live!"

Inuyasha shook his head as tears began to form in his own eyes.

"Mother, they'll kill you," he protested.

"Go, my boy."

"No!"

"Inuyasha, GO!"

For the first time in his young life, Inuyasha was slapped by his mother. It broke Izayoi's heart to do hurt him, but it was the only way he would run. And run he did.

A strange silence overcame the atmosphere. The villagers had stopped their shouting. The silence was almost worse than the deafening shouts.

Smoke began to cloud and sting Inuyasha's eyes. He sniffed the air and smelled fire.

Mother! He thought desperately.

Suddenly, a flaming stick crashed through a window, not three feet from Inuyasha. His fire rat kimono shielded him from the flames as he leapt through the window into the crowd of villagers.

They shouted once more and tried to grab him, but Inuyasha snarled and scratched at them. The people howled and tried to hold onto him, yet they backed away at the ferocity at which Inuyasha showed. His tiny fangs sank into any hand that came near. His sharp little claws ripped at anything that came too close. They backed him into a corner against a tall rock. The house raged with fire all the while. Tears streamed down the small hanyou's face.

"MOTHER!" he screamed suddenly leaping into the crowd. He latched his claws onto a man's throat and squeezed as hard as he could. People rained blows down on him but he refused to let go. The man's pupils shrank to pinpricks as Inuyasha ripped his jugular open.

Again, Inuyasha attacked a man. Another throat was cut. Again and again he leapt from man to man slashing. Blood coated his hands and face.

"We can stay here for the night," Sango said pointing to a village at the bottom of the hill they were standing on.

"I hope they have food," Kagome pouted as her stomach growled.

"And women…OUCH!"

"Let's go shall we?" said Sango tensely.

"Come on, Inuyasha!"

"Inuyasha?"

"Huh? Oh, coming," he answered coming out of a daze.

The villagers greeted Miroku, Sango, and Kagome warmly while inviting them to stay for as long as they liked. Inuyasha, Kirara, and Shippo stood outside the circle that had formed around their companions.

"I guess demons aren't as well liked here," Shippo said sounding quite annoyed.

"Apparently," agreed Inuyasha.

Kirara gave a meow.

The three forced their way to their comrades and eventually were led to a house with food and warm fires.

The room was full of excited chatter as food was passed along and served by the women. The people were very friendly and wanted to know where they had been, who they were, who they met, and so on and so on. They ate until they couldn't eat anymore. The talk went far into the night until everyone fell asleep where they were sitting. (Miroku was put outside by none other than Sango.)

Inuyasha slept in a corner, his hands held protectively around tetsusaiga. Again memories swirled around in his mind…

The crashing of his home as it burned bored into his head causing an uncontrollable madness to come over him. The villagers could not subdue him and soon, every one of them lay dead on the ground. Inuyasha stood amidst the dead bodies, blood and tears mingling on his face. He looked up, and through the smoke and flames, was his mother.

She too had tears in her eyes, but the heat of the fire dried any tears on her face. Her kimono was already burning, as was her beautiful hair. A smoldering beam lay across her back, crushing her. She reached out a slender hand to her son and beloved husband, whom she saw standing beside Inuyasha.

"My love…my boy…"she whispered.

Then death claimed her.

No, though Inuyasha. No. No no no no no NO!

"NO!" he screamed.

His exhausted little body couldn't support him much longer. His mind was pleading for respite. Every part of him wanted to fall into eternal rest. He felt as though his heart had been ripped out from his chest and now a gaping hole was all there was, bleeding and crying to the world.

Mercifully, he fell to the ground into unconsciousness.