Chapter Two: The Stray

InuYasha sat quietly in the comfortable warmth of his kitchen, watching with some amusement as the tiny dirt-streaked waif bolted her ramen almost as fast as he could. It was obvious that she hadn't eaten in some time, as he had felt her ribs through the scraps of rag that covered her as he carried her the three miles to his apartment. Within minutes, the tiny things bowl had been emptied twice, and as he filled it up a third time, she seemed to pull herself together, even so, it was so quiet that he barely heard;

"Thank you InuYasha-sama." He smiled at the girl, and filled his own bowl again as he spoke,

"You're very welcome wench. I could hardly leave you out there in this weather could I? After you've eaten, I'll run you a bath and find some warmer clothes for you to wear. They'll be massive on you, but better than those scraps you have on now." He stood, and turned to suit his actions to his words, before his surprise at the title fully registered. "Oh, and none of that -sama bull with me, I'm no lord." The girl looked up at him in surprise, then flinched and fixed her eyes firmly on her feet.

"That's too kind of you, but I can't. I ought to leave. If I stay... you will hate me like all the others, and I don't want you to hate me." InuYasha gripped her chin firmly, drawing her gaze as he spoke softly, but with all the conviction of his 700 years:

"I will not hate you. I don't judge people by how they look, only by how they act. Kami knows I spent long enough as an outcast because of how I was born. Now, what makes you think I will hate you wench? And do you have a name, because I can't keep calling you wench, that's like calling my aniki 'bastard' – technically accurate, but not appropriate for everyday use." The waif looked at him in pleased amazement throughout his little speech, even letting out a tiny giggle at the end. Slowly she smiled at him, her entire being seeming to shine with joy as her tiny ears twitched upright, having flattened against her matted locks as soon as she had started to speak.

"My name is Kagome. I guess its still Higurashi Kagome..." at this point her ears flattened against her head again, and a sense of overwhelming sadness struck him through her aura. He couldn't help the whimper that forced its way out, and he didn't even try to resist the inexplicable urging from his Youki to put the frail wench back in his lap. "InuYasha-sama?"

"Yes Kagome?"

"Why don't you hate me? You've seen my ears, you know that I'm a freak, something to be hunted, cast out... how can you even bear to touch me?" At this she whined, a pitiful sound that tugged at something deep inside him, even as his Youki raged at the thought of anything hunting this tiny wench.

"Because I know exactly what humans do to anyone even slightly different than themselves. Look at what they do to each other – religion, caste, race... the slightest provocation and they rip the world to shreds to destroy anything that makes them doubt their own superiority."

"You talk like you're not human. But you look human, so..." Wide eyes looked at him in utter confusion, searching for something unknown in those strangely compelling amber orbs.

"Hold that thought wench. I forgot about that damned concealing charm." InuYasha cursed quietly to himself. Of course the wench wouldn't know what the silver chain around his neck was. It was obvious that she had spent her entire life alone, or at least most of it, and had never been introduced to the safeguards of formal Youkai society. Quickly, he fiddled with the clasp on the tiny dog-headed silver amulet around his neck, pulling it off to reveal feather-soft inu ears, claws strong enough to rend steel and tiny fangs peeking over his lip as he smiled down at the look of utter shock on the wench's face. "You see? I won't chase you away or hurt you because of what you look like. I spent over 200 years being hunted for what I was born. I know exactly how it feels to have to hide from the world, and I will not let anyone else suffer the same thing." Kagome stared at him, eyes wide in shock before her body finally gave in to the shock, cold and exhaustion, collapsing into a boneless heap in his arms.

Ring...Ring...Click.

Izayoi reached over her sleeping mate to lift the phone, absently noting that it was almost midnight, too late for a business call, slight worry tugging at her as she realised that the number displayed was Inuyasha's. Her son made a point of calling only at sociable times, unless there was a dire emergency.

"Konbanwa Inu-kun, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Gomen nasei Okaa-san, I didn't know who else to call. I need you and Otou-san to come over as soon as you can, and bring someone trustworthy who knows how to treat a fever. I'll explain more when you get here."

"Alright Inu-kun, we'll be there as soon as we can. Are you unwell?"

"No Okaa, I'm fine, but my...guest... is very ill. Please hurry."

"We will. See you soon Inu-kun"

"Thanks Okaa. See you soon."

Izayoi sighed as she put down the phone, not relishing waking her mate. He was always grouchy first thing, just like the boys. Nevertheless... she applied herself to the task of waking him as pleasantly as possible.

Inuyasha paced the length of his hall for the thousanth time, his worry increasing with every passing minute. The tiny wench had just collapsed, completely insensible. He had carried her into his bedroom, laid her down as comfortably as possible then applied himself to cooling her rapidly heating brow. Calling his Okaa had been a last resort, but then this was a highly unusual situation. Inuyasha had only been ill once, to his recollection, (His ear flicked with aggravation. 1683 had not been his favourite year) so seeing the wench so frail shook him to his core. Then there was the increasing part of his mind which was insisting that something was very wrong. The wench couldn't possibly be more than two hundred years old, which meant that she ought to be on the youkai register. The thought that she was not... meant that somewhere there was a youkai, no – an Inuyoukai, that had abandoned either a pregnant mate, or a pup. The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him. He knew all those youkai, considered them... well, if not friends then at least allies, and that one of them had abandoned their own pup... He shook his head, growling fiercely. His increasingly volatile mood was broken by a quiet knock on his door. In seconds, he was ushering three sodden people inside.

"Okaa, Otou... Rin? Thanks for coming. I'll explain after the wench has been checked over. This way."

Several hours later, the soft grey light of a damp November dawn was filtering into a room of very tired, very concerned members of the Taisho family. Rin was the first to break the silence;

"Inuyasha, she will be fine. We need to change the damp towels every hour, and try to get some liquid into her later, but she will recover." A sigh of relief came from the hanyou, his normally indomitable spirit dampened slightly with worry.

"Well son? You promised us an explanation. Now seems as good a time as any. Why is there a barely mature Inu-hanyou on the brink of starvation lying in your bed?" Inuyasha sat back heavily, looking his father in the eye.

"I found her huddled under some cardboard when I was coming back from that meeting with Sessh earlier. She was so scared Otou... It was like seeing myself before I learnt to fight back. I honestly thought there were no abandoned hanyou left." He took a shuddering breath. "Long story short, her name is Higurashi Kagome, and she isn't registered. Hell, she had never seen a concealing charm before." The Inu no Taisho's brows drew together with an almost audible click.

"Son, you are saying that she was abandoned. That the code on those of mixed blood has been violated. Not just violated, but torn into shreds, stomped on and burnt... by one of our friends."

"Believe me Otou, I don't like the implications any more than you, but there is no way in hell that anyone would let a recognised member of their pack get into that state, and she is certainly young enough that she ought to be registered. I was hoping that she will be able to tell us a bit about herself when she wakes, or if she has a Youki mark, that would simplify things considerably." Rin glanced up.

"She does. I saw it when Izayoi and I bathed her. A golden starburst on the back of the neck. Same place as your crescent Inuyasha."

"Golden starburst? Then she's part of Mafuyu's clan. That can't be right... he helped write the code for Kami's sake."

"Calm down Inuyasha. Once Kagome is awake, I will contact Mafuyu and ask him to pay us a visit. I am sure that he will be just as appalled by this as you and I. There is no need to fear that she is his child, after all, as you say, he was the driving force behind the code."

"Hai Otou. Until then, we can only guess."