Disclaimer: I do not own any character from Inuyasha.

Chapter 4: Discovery

In Kagome's House

I have to really study for this test. This geometry is going to kill me one day; I don't think I can ever understand it. Kagome was writing furiously on a piece of paper on her desk in her room. She was determined to get as much done as possible before Inuyasha bothered her again. Finally, no more distractions. There was a knock at her door. She sighed. She looked up as her mother walked into the room carrying a bowl of hot miso soup and a soda. Kagome's expression instantly brightened.

'Here you go dear,' Mrs. Higurashi said warmly.

'Yum, thanks mom!' She began to drink the soup and returned to her studies.

The Well House

Inunobu sniffed the air, and coughed. The air is so filthy, how can anyone manage to live in this? He made a clean jump out of the well and slid past the sliding doors. He found himself in a courtyard. Straight ahead of him was the Goshinboku. That is the very same tree we passed earlier today. I am amazed it survived another 500 years. He walked silently through the shrine grounds until he stood beneath a wooden house. He noticed the front doors, and decided that they were probably not the best choice, as they would attract attention. Then he noticed a window, and he could see Kagome sitting at her desk. There was a tree that led up almost to the window sill. Perfect. Kagome seemed bored and looked out her window.

Kagome inhaled heavily, a chill running through her as she focused on what looked to be a stray dog, a large dog. The dog was not ordinary however, because a golden light emanated from its eyes. The dog was three quarters in the shadows, and it was night time, so the only thing that Kagome could see was a hazy outline and the eyes. The dog was sitting on its haunches looking right at her. She ran downstairs.

'Mom! Souta! Grandpa! Don't go outside there is a wild dog out there,' she pleaded with them.

'Really Kagome?' her younger brother Souta asked, 'what does it look like?'

'Well, it's kind of hard to explain…It's white, almost silver. Just don't go outside, ok?'

'Yes Kagome, thank you for the warning,' her mother added.

Her grandpa was currently looking through a small opening he had created between the two sliding panels of the front door. He was surveying the shrine yard carefully. He saw no dog.

'Kagome I can't see a dog out there, are you sure you weren't imagining it?' her grandpa said.

'Yes I am sure; just keep an eye out for it.'

Kagome headed back upstairs to her room. She went to her window in hopes of seeing another glimpse of the animal. She was about to turn away when something caught her eye. She looked at the tree that was near her window, and saw them. The same pair of gold eyes staring right at her, the shadows of the branches now covered the dog's entire body in darkness. She screamed and shut the curtain to the window. Her heart raced wildly. How did it get in that tree, and why does it keep looking at me? What should I do? I have to warn my family again, before they get hurt. She opened the curtains for one last look to make sure it was still there, and she saw nothing. She heard her mother scream and the sound of dishes crashing to the floor. No! She rushed to her door and opened it, to find the dog standing right in front of her.

'AAAAH!' She screamed and tried to shut the door but the dog was too fast and it bolted through the opening. Kagome, registering what had happened, waited for the attack. She heard her family trying to get upstairs to her, but it would be too late. Nothing happened. She turned to face the dog, which was now sitting in a crouching position.

'Go away! Leave me alone!' she said terrified. The dog cocked its head to the right just a little ways. She thought haven't I seen that before? Where? To her increasing surprise the dog surrounded itself in light. Legs became humanoid limbs, and the torso increased as the dog stood on two paws, now rapidly transforming into feet. Kagome's fear was replaced with curiosity, then amazement as she beheld Inunobu standing in front of her, facing off to her left. She walked around him to make sure it was Inunobu, and now she stood further from the door of her room than he did. The door opened.

'Kagome!' it was Souta, 'are you alright? Inuyasha? Did you see or smell a stray dog around here? And how come your clothes are white?

'For the last time, I am not Inuyasha.' Inunobu turned and faced Souta. Souta jumped backwards into the open door frame and then slumped onto the carpet, not moving, staring at the new demon.'

'I should have known a demon was at work here!' yelled Grandpa as he saw Inunobu. Inunobu merely stared back at the surprised Souta, the angered Grandpa, and the worried Mrs. Higurashi. Grandpa hurled sutras from his robe and they struck Inunobu in the chest, and did absolutely nothing, as usual.

'Pathetic excuse for a sutra, old man.'

'Insolent beast!'

Oh, a beast am I? How dare you human? HOW DARE YOU! If it's a beast you want, then a beast you will get. He allowed his eyes to change from golden to bright red and snarled at the old man. All of the people in the room, even Kagome, were shocked. Souta had near fainted from fear, Mrs. Higurashi had in fact, fainted, and was lying facedown on the carpet in the hallway, and Grandpa looked intimidated. Inunobu curled his upper lip and revealed a very long shiny white fang. Both of his hands glowed green with the poison threatening to come from his claws. Would it really be so bad if her family was to die? Inuyasha would no doubt be enraged and saddened by Kagome's death, but he could get over the loss of these ingrates. He raised one poison clawed hand in a menacing posture. He felt two small hands on his body, one on his forearm that was raised to strike, and one on his collarbone. His red eyes returned to their golden state, and he regained his composure. I…what…was I about to do to them? I was going to kill them. I was really going to… It was then that he heard the voice that had been pleading with him the entire time.

'PLEASE INUNOBU WHAT ARE YOU DOING? They are my f-family…I-I…don't hurt them…please…' Kagome was hysterical. Her crying only made her stutter her words between sobs. Tears poured from her eyes.

'I…Kagome….I'm sorry. I don't know what happened…I just lost control.' At this she gave him a relieved hug, not a loving hug. It was more for her sake. She crushed him into an embrace, sobbing silently the whole time.

Kaede's

Inuyasha walked through the flap that covered the opening to Kaede's hut. He noticed Shippo curled into a ball in the corner. Sango and Miroku sat beside each other like always, and Kirara rested on Sango's lap. He laughed to himself, Shippo was probably still to scared of Inuyasha's elder brother to go anywhere near him. It was then that he noticed that Inunobu was not there. Miroku and Sango were asleep.

'Miroku, Sango, where is Inunobu? Where is my half brother?'

'I am sorry Inuyasha but we do not know, he left about fifteen minutes ago, he said he would return shortly,' the monk answered.

'Try not to worry so much Inuyasha,' the demon slayer coaxed, 'the worst that can happen is that we have to go look for him. With Kagome on the other side of the well there is no reason to worry; nothing can happen to her besides failing those tests she's worrying about.

'I suppose you're right. Still, what was the last thing that Inunobu said before he told you he was leaving?'

'He asked us how Kagome got through the well, and Kaede told her that she used the Shikon Jewel.' All three of them came to the same realization at the same time. Inunobu was made into a full demon as he is now through the jewels power, meaning he must have absorbed the energy. Which means…HE CAN GO THROUGH THE WELL. Inuyasha said three words before racing off to the well.

'Got to go.' He ran up the gentle hill towards where the Bone Eater's Well was located and dove in without giving it a second thought.

Kagome's House

'Mom, Grandpa, Souta, this is Inunobu, he is Inuyasha's half brother. He really did not mean to scare you; he just is very sensitive to being called a beast. Please, don't be afraid of him, he won't hurt you.'

The family was less that convinced. The family along with Inunobu was seated at their kitchen table. Souta wore a terrified expression on his face as he sat across the table from the demon. Those eyes, I can't get them out of my head! What an awful demon!

'Kagome,' Souta spoke up meekly, 'isn't Inuyasha's half brother the one who tries to kill you guys all the time?'

'No Souta that is Sesshomaru and Inunobu here is much nicer than he is.' She could see Souta visibly shudder. She couldn't blame him, the look in Inunobu's eyes had been the same as when he was hunting Shippo in the woods, and Shippo, unlike Souta, at least was somewhat used to seeing demons angry. He was around Inuyasha when he transformed into a full fledged demon, and Shippo still hadn't fully gotten over his fear of Inunobu yet. Inunobu could see that this situation was going no where unless he did something himself to remedy it.

'Souta was it? I truly am sorry, your grandfather was right, I am a beast.' Souta was now extremely confused. He saw that the demon was genuinely feeling bad for what he had done. Was it possible that all that this demon wanted was to be accepted somewhere. I guess with that personality, the people he chooses to keep in his company do not stay alive long. Souta felt a little empathy for the demon. His mother was still fainted, and their grandpa had gone to take care of her.

Kagome noticed that Inunobu's hand was clenched very tightly when he was talking to Souta. Inunobu, you must be so lonely. She gently draped her hand over his clenched fist, startling Inunobu into unclenching his hand.

Inunobu picked up a sound of a door closing softly outside, and the pattering of feet against the cement of the shrine ground. Inuyasha has finally realized that I came. It is too late to make myself scarce. I may well be forced into a fight with another brother. The door opened to reveal a very panicked Inuyasha searching the room for Kagome first, then his half brother.

'You.'

'Inuyasha, I was wondering when you would come.'

'Damn you, you could have hurt Kagome. I'll kill you for tricking us like that bastard!' Inuyasha threw a punch at Inunobu's head. His older brother caught the fist in his own hand, but made no move to retaliate. 'What's the matter,' Inuyasha continued on to taunt him, 'even animals know self defense!'

Kagome saw that Inunobu was visibly struggling with himself. She placed the same hand in a reassuring position on his shoulder. It only seemed to affect him slightly. As he ran through Inuyasha, knocking him over, and continued out the door into the night. Inuyasha bolted up to follow him outside, only to find a ball of light engulfing him. A golden eyed white canine emerged from the light and looked angrily at Inuyasha. It gave one fleeting glance at Kagome and Souta, still in the house, and ran down the long stairs of the shrine into the street below, rounding the corner and disappearing from sight. Kagome ran to where Inuyasha was standing.

'Inunobu! Wait!' she cried.

Half an Hour Later

'Inuyasha! We have to look for him; he could cause so much chaos if he is left to himself out there! Think of all the people that he could hurt.'

'Kagome, no, did you see him? He was wild; there is no way he would let us anywhere close to him in his condition.'

'Inuyasha we have to try!'

'Besides Kagome, I can't follow his scent in this village. The air is filled with too many smells to sift through, there is no way to find him unless we see him with our eyes, and we have the best chance of that during the day. Besides, giving him one night will cool him off. What the hell is wrong with him anyways?

'It's your fault! He hates being called an animal, beast, or savage, that's like me bringing up Kikyo with you…' She trailed off as she realized what she said. 'Inuyasha…I'm sorry, it slipped.'

'It's ok Kagome.'

Kagome looked at him sadly. The subject of the resurrected priestess was a soft spot for both of them. It hurt Inuyasha because he loved her, and she was not the same as she once was when she was alive, and it pained Kagome because she loved Inuyasha, while he had openly told her that Kikyo was the only one he could be with. Still she resolved that there was the more urgent matter of finding Inunobu.

The Streets of Tokyo

A dog could be seen running down the streets of Tokyo. It was raining heavily, and it was three hours after Inuyasha had arrived at Kagome's shrine. Inunobu was in his canine form, being chased by a strange contraption with motorized wheels.

'God damn it man, I've never seen any kind of dog run like that one,' said one man.

'Yeah me either, but he looks stray, maybe even rabid, and it's our job to get those animals off the streets,' the other responded.

Inunobu blurred down the streets of downtown Tokyo. No one was on the streets because of the rain, and it was late enough at night to leave them relatively devoid of cars. Inunobu, of course, had no idea what a car was, so he attacked the ones that seemed to move of their own accord when he ran past them on the road. He had been running for at least two of the three hours that he had been away from Kagome and Inuyasha. He had been running hard, as fast as his dog form would carry him, but this machine could keep pace with him, barely. Damn that…metal…monster…he thought between breaths. I have to end this, my strength is draining fast. He turned into an alleyway.

'Hah, that stupid mutt cornered himself.'

'Alright you ready Yoko?'

'Always.'

The pair got out of the car. Inunobu eyed them carefully. They held odd looking clubs made of wood and metal, and they inserted tiny arrows with colored ends into one end of it. One of them, the one named Yoko, pointed the club directly at Inunobu. There was a sharp popping sound, and Inunobu felt a sharp prick in his side. The tiny arrow? How did it get to me?

'Nice shot Yoko.'

Nice shot? As in, that thing is some type of bow? What kind of world does Kagome live in anyway? I will discover that after I take care of these…p-people…His thought jumbled as the edges of his line of sight blurred. He felt a little drowsy.

'I shot that dog with enough tranquilizer to put him out for a whole day, and he isn't even moving. I'll have to hit him again.'

No, human, you won't. The dark, damp alleyway filled with a bright light as a humanoid form emerged from the light. The two men looked shocked beyond belief.

'W-What the fuck are y-you?'

'A demon, you fool, isn't it obvious, or did you fail to notice the dog ears on my head.' Yoko and the other man looked at him in terror and awe.

'Look at those ears, man!' he turned to address Inunobu, 'answer us, what in hell are you, and don't give us some bullshit about demons!'

'You mock me human?' His eyes began to again glow red from intense anger. Both of the men screamed in fear before a red flash emerged from Inunobu's fingertips, ending both of their lives with one stroke. One civilian passerby had seen it all, and reported it to the animal control agency. He did not mention the transformation for fear of them thinking that his report was false.

The Morning, Kagome's House

Kagome awoke tired. She had not gotten much sleep, and she doubted Inuyasha got even an hour's worth. She turned on the television out of habit, then was about to switch it off when a story came onto the news that caught her attention.

"This is an urgent news bulletin warning people to be careful on the streets today,' it began, 'because it has been confirmed that two workers at the local Tokyo dog pound have been killed by a rabid dog running lose throughout the city. We will now take you live to the scene where this vicious animal continues to avoid capture, even when shot with tranquilizer darts.'

The television went to a helicopter camera where is showed a very familiar white dog racing down the streets, outrunning most cars. Although Kagome could not see well, she noticed that the animal seemed to be limping slightly. It seemed the animal control agency had the canine cornered. Its hackles were raised on its back and it received several tranquilizer darts to its body. It shuddered for an instant before refocusing and lunging at the throat of the nearest human with a tranquilizer gun. The dog only knocked him down and kept running, but it was clear that the darts had done some work on the creature. Kagome was now positive that the dog was Inunobu.

'Inuyasha! Inuyasha come here! I know where Inunobu is!'

'How do you know?'

'Look,' she said, pointing to the TV.

'Kagome not that stupid box again, what good can it possibly…' he cut himself short as he saw the dog on the screen running among the cars in the street.

'Kagome lets move.'

'Right.'

With Inunobu

I'm dead. There is no way I can escape them. If I cannot escape the metal machines on the ground, what damned chance do I have against a flying machine. If I transform into my demon state it will only attract more attention. At least this way the humans think I am just some wild animal. He ran, continuing at the grueling pace he had kept up with most of the night. His lungs were on fire, and his throat was too dry to make even the smallest growls. His paws bled because of the hard substance that the ground seemed to be made of. His vision was almost totally out of focus, and he wondered what those arrows could have done to him. He made a quick decision and ducked into another alleyway. Before any of the humans arrived he transformed into his humanoid state and jumped over the wall that separated one alley from another. When he was on the other side, the most he could do before collapsing was transforming into his canine form again.

Inuyasha, with Kagome on his back, raced through the streets. Inuyasha followed Kagome's directions, and it kept them away from the eyes of the humans. Inuyasha wore the same hat that he usually wore when he went off the Higurashi Shrine's grounds. As they neared Inunobu, Inuyasha no longer needed directions because Inunobu's scent was in the air. It was a mix between his scent and his blood's scent. Inuyasha dropped into the alleyway to find the dog demon lying helpless on the ground, still conscious.

'Inunobu…' Kagome said sadly. She reached with a hand to stroke the fur on the side of his neck.

'Kagome, what are you doing?' Inuyasha demanded rather suspiciously.

'Making sure he is all right!'

'Since when do you care whether or not he's alright? Don't tell me you've gone soft on him.'

'Inuyasha! This is not the time to argue…we need to get him back to my house.' Kagome shot back. As if to demonstrate that he needed no help Inunobu shakily rose to his standing position as a dog.

'Kagome, you're going to have to hold on a little tighter on the way back.'

'Ok, Inuyasha.' Inuyasha knelt down so Kagome could climb on his back, and then grabbed Inunobu and started in the direction of Kagome's house.

Kagome's House, Three Hours Later

Inuyasha and Kagome had arrived home with Inunobu. He refused assistance in getting in the house, and snarled at Kagome or Inuyasha every time they tried to give him help coming inside.

Damn it you fools, my injuries are not serious; it is just fatigue. Stop trying to treat me like an infant. I need no help from anyone. He had assumed his humanlike form soon after he found a suitable place to rest in the corner of the living room.

Kagome noticed that other than his bruised and battered hands, which had healed in the first few hours, he looked very tired. Has he been running all night? Of course he has, and it's our fault for driving him away. She couldn't wait any longer, so she began talking to the fatigued demon. He still had not gone to sleep, but he had not moved much from that spot in the room.

'Inunobu…I…I'm sorry we drove you away,' she said rather quietly. She was surprised when she heard him answer.

'I was the one who decided to run, not you. I don't understand how you can even think that you had something to do with this, Kagome. You were the one trying to calm me down.' Inunobu noticed that Kagome was sobbing silently. I will never come to understand human emotions. Still, why does she cry? I met these people, when, about a month ago? I tried to kill half of them, and she is crying.

Inuyasha stepped forward. 'Inunobu is completely right Kagome; he is the one who was stupid enough to run off into a world he didn't know. I will promise not to call him an animal though,' he added more softly.

'Inunobu,' Kagome said more confidently, 'I know why you act this way. I know why you sometimes lose control of yourself.' Inunobu was now looking straight at her. 'You see, Inuyasha is the same way. When he gets extremely angry, or his life is threatened, and he doesn't have the Tetsusaiga, his demon blood takes control of him. He cannot stop himself; someone must do it for him. When you got that angry when my grandpa and Inuyasha called you an…an animal, you lost control. I think that when your father used the Shikon Jewel to make you a full fledged demon, some you half demon self remained. You don't have a sword to keep yourself in check when you lose control. Does…that make any sense to you?'

Inunobu, who was listening to Kagome speak, nodded in response. I didn't think of that, but it makes sense. I think it would be best now if I rested for at least a few hours.

'Inunobu, if you don't mind me asking…why does being called an animal upset you so much? Is it a bad memory?'

'Sesshomaru.'

He cast one more glance at Kagome, then at Inuyasha, and closed his eyes. Once he was asleep, Kagome turned to Inuyasha.

'Hey Inuyasha, why don't we take a day off tomorrow and relax, I think Inunobu needs a break more than any of us.'

A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter 4. Keep in touch, next chapter you will see familiar faces of minor characters from the series.