Inuyahsa was sitting on the floor next to Kagome's bed watching some anime on one of his many, many computers when he heard his charge sniffle and shift under the covers. Pausing his program, he turned his head to look at his only human friend and found that she was curled up on her side facing him, awake, and quietly crying.

"Gome?" He used the little nickname he had given her when they had first met in a small effort to show that he wasn't an enemy. He was her friend, and as of a few hours ago- her new older brother/pack mate and as such the last thing he wished was for her to be scared of him. Slowly setting aside his computer, he shifted his body slightly so that he went from sitting to standing so that he could see her better and vice versa.

"Gome, do you know who I am?" He asked her in a low, uncertain tone.

She didn't move. Didn't react. He...wasn't even a hundred percent sure that she even blunk her eyes or bothered to take a breath. She just lay there, shuddering almost violently as tears slipped down her pale face.

"Gome- it's me, Inuyasha. We go to school together, and are friends, remember?" He said as he reached out a small clawed hand to gently take her own, but she made a weak, little screaming sound and jerked back away from him the second that he got too close.

Ears flattening against his head, he dropped his hand back to his side and simply stared at her as the scent of her pain and fear slowly penetrated his senses. Oh dammit, He thought.

This wasn't how things were supposed to be.

They were supposed to save her from her bastard of a father, and keep her as one of their family/pack. And she was supposed to feel safe. But thanks to what had happened between her and her father- the girl was completely terrified. And while he understood that to some extent, she was his newest sibling/pack mate.

She was supposed to understand that she was safe. That he and his elder brother and dad wouldn't hurt her. That they were literally incapable of doing so as long as she was considered theirs.

They had been taught about such behavior in various youkai in school several months ago. He even remembered being called to the front of the class and asked by the teacher to explain certain kinds of Inu youkai behavior. He even recalled Kagome being resent to hear his expinations to the questions that their teacher and others had asked.

So she should understand...that as her new brother/pack mate it was one of his jobs to comfort and protect her from whatever she was scared of no matter how big or small. But for some reason- she didn't seem to get it.

She didn't want him to touch her. To offer her comfort and protection.

Could her mind have been damaged in some way? He wondered as a low whine left his throat at the exact moment that the bedroom door opened and his father peeked in and saw that she was awake.

"Yasha? What is it, son?" Inu no Taisho asked as he moved into the room, his gold eyes locked on Kagome's cowering figure. Inuyasha looked up at his dad and let out another distressed whine as he looked back to Kagome.

Inu no Taisho could take the hint since it was fairly obvious what the problem was.

The trauma of being raped by her father had obviously scarred the little one deeply. So much so that she was apparently having trouble differentiating between friend and foe at that exact moment.

"Yasha, why don't you go on to your room and let me handle this." Inu said, noting that his son looked vaguely alarmed for a moment.

"But dad-" He started to argue when Inu cut him off by picking him up by the scruff of his neck and tossing him out into the hallway with a dull 'thud' and a loud yelp. Before quietly closing the door and locking it and then turning to face his new child. His heart aching as he took in the sight of her wide glassy eyes, the tear stained face that she tried to hide underneath her dark curtain of silky hair.

Sighing because he was fairly certain that his newest task was going to be more than a little bit unpleasant, not just for him but for the girl as well, Inu closed the slight distance between where he had been standing and the child sitting on the bed, studying him in an eerie manner that reminded him of when Sesshomaru had first started hunting- the large male merely stood at the edge of the bed and waited for the girl to blink so that he could pounce.

Now don't get him wrong- he wasn't trying to intimidate, frighten, or terrify the child even more. He merely knew that if he attempted to touch her at this point, she would fight him, kick and scream and try to hurt him- possibly with her miko powers. So he decided if that was the only way for things to be at the moment, then he would at least hold her and allow her to do so until she exhausted herself.

At least this way she wasn't as likely to injure herself without him knowing about it.

The knowledge brought him a small measure of comfort, but it was a comfort he afforded himself nevertheless.

Finally after what seemed like forever, she blinked. And upon doing so gave him the opening that he sorely needed to get in her personal space and grab her. She let out what could have been a scream- if it wasn't so alarmingly weak as he pulled her struggling and thrashing little body against his chest and then with practiced ease, dropped down to sit on the floor and did the best he could to hold her still while she smacked at him and hit him and kicked in an effort to get him to let her go.

Time slowed to a crawl as Inu silently waited for her to tire herself out.

He must have sat there with her in his arms for the better part of over an hour before the girl finally stilled in his grasp and simply sobbed. Inu's gold eyes focused on her tiny face as he began to gently run his clawed hand through her long hair. Combing out the little snags and tangles that had been created by her nap and her fit while simotaniously shifting her little body in his hold so that his mouth was close to her ear and letting out a deep rumbling sound that was niether growl nor purr.

He was unsure of just how long it took for the sound to finally sooth her.

All he was truely aware of was Sesshomaru coming picking the lock sometime around five a.m in the morning so that he could relieve him of his current task.