La dee da...here again! This story has gotten more hits than Hearts in Armor, and we're only on the 5th chapter! How about that? But still, the ratio of hits to reviews is not a good one! Read and review, people!

Chapter Five

Why Didn't You Tell Me?

"Hey!" The tall one with the ponytail stood up, brandishing his staff in an attack stance. The girl next to him raised a large, sharp boomerang, eyes darting left and right. The third member of the party, the smaller of the two men, squeaked like a mouse and took cover behind a large log, much to the amusement of his companions.

Kagome raised her head timidly, her hands trembling. "Please," she begged, "Don't hurt me. I'm not strong anyway."

The two members of the group that were still standing exchanged glances, then realized that they were still raising their weapons up high, prepared to bring them down on Kagome's skull. They lowered their arms quickly, coughed, and then the girl reached out and helped Kagome up.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked, "Why do you look like me?"

The tall one looked mildly amused. "Do we?"

Kagome blushed. "I mean, you don't have claws or fangs, either."

"Of course we don't," said the girl, a smile playing across her lips, "We're human."

Kagome looked at the two of them, and then at the third one, who was carefully disentangling himself from the underbrush that he'd landed in. "Human? What's that?"

"What?"

"What's a human?"

The tall boy looked at her disbelievingly. "A human is…a human. There's really no way to explain it. And from the looks of it, you're a human too."

"Way to not confuse her, Miroku," the girl said, hitting him lightly on the back of the head.

"Human? I can't be a human!" Kagome exclaimed, a dubious smile on her face. She crossed her arms. "I'm a demon."

"She's a demon!" The one who had been hiding in fright a moment ago jumped forward and brandished a sword, trying to act heroic, and promptly dropping the hilt of the blade on his foot. "YAAAAAH!" he screamed, cradling his sore foot.

"Hojo! Sit down and be quiet!" the girl reprimanded, then turned back to Kagome with a smile on her face. "You certainly don't look like a demon, or even a hanyou."

"I grew up in the demon village nearby," Kagome protested, feeling more and more uneasy.

"Do your parents live there too?" the girl asked, prying.

Kagome sighed and shook her head. "They died when I was a baby. I never even knew them."

The taller boy nodded vigorously. "That explains it, then! Who was the one who took care of you all these years?"

"Someone I'm not very fond of right now," Kagome muttered, "I'll be back in a moment."

She turned and ran back into the forest. The girl watched her go and sighed.

"It's a good thing we didn't tell her we're demon slayers," she muttered, glancing at the older boy with a severe look, "because now we have a pretty good idea where Lord Sesshomaru is located."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called, looking about frantically. Tsubaki stood beside him, looking for her mistress just as Inuyasha was.

"What if she came to harm? After all, she's only a hum—"

"She's fine," Inuyasha snapped, "Now keep looking!"

And then there was no need to look any further.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, running across the square with a smile when she caught sight of him, "I've been looking all over for you!"

Inuyasha grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and stared at her calculatingly. "Do you – feel all right?" he asked, putting a hand gently to her forehead, then trying to take her in his arms. She ducked away, smiling.

"Inuyasha, you won't believe what I found!" she said, grinning and pulling him along.

What is she so bubbly about? Inuyasha wondered, It isn't exactly like her.

"What the—?" The three humans stood up immediately, weapons drawn, when Kagome returned, and following behind her was a boy with silver hair, fangs, claws, and dog ears.

Kagome turned to him and said, "Aren't they amazing?" She gestured excitedly to the three, who were sitting back down bewilderedly.

Inuyasha's amber eyes widened, and his face reddened slightly. Humans! Aw, shit!

He tried to change the subject. "That's all you got to say?" he snapped, feeling frustrated, "I've been out for almost an hour looking for you, and all you want to do is show me these weird creatures?"

That's right, he thought, pretend you're just as naïve as she is. How did humans get into this forest? What could they possibly want around here!

Kagome nodded. "These 'weird creatures,'" she said pointedly, "are humans!"

Her smile faded suddenly, and she bore holes into Inuyasha's eyes with the glare that suddenly appeared.

"Inuyasha," she said calmly, though her eyes were raging fire, "am I a human?"

Inuyasha hesitated, then scowled, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Am I!" she demanded, grabbing his sleeve and making him look at her. Her eyes now held a mixture of pleading and anger, and Inuyasha was mortified to see that tears were brimming in them.

Inuyasha sighed, looking at the ground. "What do you want me to say, Kagome?" he muttered.

Kagome dropped his arm like a hot coal and backed away from him, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"So," she said, her voice quavering, "we're a different species! My parents died and then you made me…believe…that I was a weaker demon than everyone else! How could you be so cruel?"

Inuyasha's head shot up, and he glared at her. "I was trying to keep you safe!" he growled, "If I'd told you…you would have…"

"Gone away to find my remaining family! You bet I would have!" she snapped.

"And left me!" he added sharply, grabbing her wrist and pulling her close.

She pounded angrily on his chest until he released her. "Don't you touch me!" she yelled, drawing away, "You think that just because you're in charge of keeping me safe that you own me! I'm not yours to keep safe!"

Her words cut like a knife, and Inuyasha closed his eyes painfully for a moment before yelling back, "Fine! Leave! Be with your species, for all I care! But don't expect me to be here for you if the human world isn't what you thought it would be!"

"Good! I don't need you!" she sobbed, angry tears burning at her eyes. Turning back to the three humans, who had been watching this entire conversation with mild interest, she asked, "Can I go with you guys back to the human world?"

"We'd let you," the girl said sheepishly, "only we're not planning to return to our village for a few months yet."

Inuyasha pushed past Kagome. "What do you want around here anyways?" he snapped, arms crossed.

"That's no business of yours," the taller boy said calmly and dismissively, turning to add another log to the fire.

Frustrated that he hadn't been able to take his anger out on anyone else, Inuyasha turned furiously back to Kagome, whose face was running with infuriated tears.

"So, this is it, then," he muttered darkly. Kagome hesitated, then nodded, tears flowing even faster.

"I just hope you don't forget," he growled as he turned to leave, "who was here for you all these years, species be damned."

He ran off, and Kagome turned away, not trusting herself to meet his eyes again.

Waaah! Fight number one! And the victor is...NO ONE! Aw! But yeah, don't worry, because there will be more to come. Sigh. Drama, drama, drama...