Last Time:

Inu Yasha watched silently from the doorway, his face completely blank. Then, for the first time, he left Kagome without any intention of coming back.

Dishonor

Ch. 6 Part 2

Hated and Deservedly So

Inu Yasha leapt from the still glowing depths of the Bones Eater Well, alighted on the ground, and was promptly met by a pair of haunted eyes set into the hardly recognizable body of a young kitsune.

For a moment Inu Yasha said nothing, then he picked the child up and walked towards the Goshinboku tree. He sat down cross-legged at the tree's base, still cradling the kit in his arms. Voice horse, Inu Yasha said the only thing he could, "she's alive, Shippou. She's alive."

Shippou looked up at Inu Yasha balefully.

Inu Yasha looked away. "She's not coming back, runt."

Shippou sniffled and Inu Yasha, startled, returned his gaze to the young kitsune. Unable to bare the sight of tears, Inu Yasha pulled the kit closer. "Don't be a baby. You'll see her again."

Shippou choked on a sob. "Ka-Ka-Kagome!"

The kit's proclamation ended in a screeching wail and Inu Yasha's ears flattened to his skull.

"Shippou! You'll see her again. You hear me? You're a youkai. You will see Kagome again."

The last statement was uttered so forcefully that Shippou abruptly swallowed and fell silent.

Inu Yasha eyed the young kit critically. "Sleep, runt."

Shippou looked for a moment as if he was going to start kicking and screaming, but Inu Yasha just shook his head and fondly told him to shut up.

And surprisingly, the kit did just that. After a few moments Inu Yasha could hear the kit's deep breathing; he sighed and looked up at the cloud filled sky.

The rain continued to fall.

oooooooooOOOOOOOOooooooooo

Rage flickered unchecked across a young face as a thunderous crash echoed through conspicuously empty halls. Sharp nails gouged ragged trails through a once immaculate desk.

"My Lord?"

Silence answered Keimaru's entrance, but he paid it no mind. "The scroll has been moved to your library as ordered. Is there anything else, my Lord?"

There was no reply- as expected. The wise youkai kept silent as he respectfully bowed and left his rather pissed Lord's presence.

Once in the halls, Keimaru looked back towards Lord Sesshoumaru's chambers with a frown. He paused for no more than a moment though, walking away in deep thought.

Sesshoumaru growled as his general left the west wing.

'Damn the girl. Damn that mongrel half-breed. Damn it.'

With calculated vengeance, Sesshoumaru removed his claws from the wood of his desk and with hatred filled eyes, dug them into his palms. He watched his blood bubble up around his claws.

Never before had he been filled with such loathing. Never before had he acted so shamefully. Not in over 600 years had he so completely lost control.

'Damn… me.'

oooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

'I'm damned… I do nothing but cause trouble and hurt others. I am a burden. I am no more than a cast out whore. He hates me… Inu Yasha hates me. I hate me. …I am a disappointment. I'm a failure. I am weak, ugly, insignificant… I'm damned, and I deserve everything I get.'

oooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

'I should have been there. I should have been there. I failed. I failed her. Kami she must hate me! Kuso! I'm worthless. Everyone I've ever loved has died because of me… mother… Kikyo… Kagome… I'm sorry.'

oooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

'Momma! Momma… I should have gone with you. I should have protected you. Momma, it's all my fault! I- I- I failed to protect you, but I promise: I'm going to be the strongest youkai ever, and I'm going to find you, and I'm never going to let anything hurt you again.'

oooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

"…Miroku?"

The tired monk looked up from the dwindling fire in front of him. "Yes, Sango?"

The troubled exterminator met his eyes, "were we wrong… letting Kagome go on out on her own? I can't help, but think-"

"Sango. We could not have known she would come to harm." The monk set another branch ablaze and moved around to where the woman he loved sat huddled against a wall.

"But we did know! We all knew she couldn't defend herself. Miroku… " A sob escaped and her face contorted, but she struggled through her words. "Miroku, we knew that her abilities were out of control. Even Shippou saw that Kagome was hurting herself. She needed training. Kaede-baachan said- said that her ki was- was hurting her. Kagome felt that pain because of us. We never gave her the chance to train, to study. It's our fault that she was so defenseless. We abandoned her! I failed her!" Sango's anguished cry bit into him.

"No, Sango. Do not blame yourself. We are all to blame, but Sango, she needed that time on her own. She had lost control of her powers, yes, but she never had control of them in the first place. We never let her protect herself, never allowed her the comfort of knowing she could help herself. We owed her more than we ever gave. It's our fault that she got hurt, but not because we weren't there. It's our fault because we crippled her abilities. Subconsciously she expected us to be there, to save her. Know at least, that she will not have that pain anymore. She will never again know the pain of being let down by friends."

Outside the hut the rain was falling harder. Inside, a monk and an exterminator were left to their own thoughts of blame and hate.

Well how was that for depressing? Don't worry though, just about everyone gets a grip next chapter.

Special thanks to all those who reviewed Ch. 5 and Ch. 6 Part One! I'll thank you all personally next Ch. sweat drop 'cause at the moment, I can't figure out where I saved those emails… anyways, I'm special.

'til next chapter then, ja!