Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Summary:

Inuyasha is a full yokai ruling his own lands while raising his young sister, Inume. Kagome is an abused hanyou that has sought safety in Inuyasha's forest. When Inuyasha seeks a mate to help raise his little sister, he stumbles across the kind yet timid Kagome. Will Inuyasha earn her trust? Will Inume finally have the mother she needs? Will Kagome find true love? Will Inuyasha find happiness? M for future citrus and emotional pain.

Okay, I want to let everyone know that this story is going to be different from usual. In this story Inuyasha is a full blood inu yokai and full brother to Sesshoumaru. Kagome is a black Inu hanyou that was orphaned as a child and has been living in the woods of Inuyasha's territory for a few years.

Inuyasha's background: Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are full blood yokai and brothers. He is very close to his father, who is still alive. He was also very close to his step-mother, Izayoi, who was more like a mother to him than his birthmother ever was. Inutaisho and Izayoi had a daughter together, named Inume, but Izayoi died during childbirth. Inutaisho left Inume in Inuyasha's care and then disappeared to grieve for his lost lover. That was five years ago. Inume, under her brother's care, is learning everything she needs to know about fighting and ruling lands, but even Inuyasha knows that she needs a female role model in her life. So he sets out to find a mate that will accept his hanyou sister and help raise her.

Kagome's background: orphaned as a young child, Kagome, a black inu hanyou, has suffered at the hands of humans and yokai alike. She is hurt, physically and mentally, after one trip to a village where humans and yokai alike beat her and called her names. Now she trusts nobody. She retreats to the forest for safety, where she finds a cave to call home. Now she is a young woman without a home and without love. All she wants is for somebody to show even the slightest sign of love for her, even if it's just a sympathetic human giving her a stale loaf of bread to eat.

Okay, now here's the story:

Chapter One

"Aniki! Aniki!" a cheerful young voice called from deep in the woods, catching the attention of a certain yokai. The yokai opened his amber eyes and looked down at the forest floor from his perch on a branch in the canopy. A young child, no more than seven years old, was running in the direction of his tree, an armful of flowers pressed closely to her chest. The child, a girl, was certainly an adorable little thing, with long silver hair and golden eyes. Two fuzzy white dog ears sat atop her head, twitching occasionally. She was a hanyou, a dog hanyou.

The yokai smirked as he watched the girl approach, searching for her beloved brother, her aniki. As she came closer the yokai stood, balancing gracefully on the narrow branch that supported him. Then he jumped down to the forest floor, his long silver hair flowing easily behind him as he landed lightly on the ground. He turned toward the young hanyou as she smiled happily and hurried over to him.

"Aniki! I found flowers!" the little girl cheered as she showed the yokai all the wildflowers she'd gathered. The yokai smiled down at the young hanyou.

"They're very pretty, Inume." he told her. "Would you like to put them on your oka-san's grave?" The little girl, Inume, quickly nodded her head enthusiastically. The yokai smiled and started to walk away, motioning for the girl to follow.

"Will oka-sama like the flowers?" she asked her brother as she followed him in the direction of her mother's grave.

"Your mother will love them." the yokai assured her, keeping his eyes forward as he walked. "Now hurry, Inume, or we won't reach her grave before it gets dark."

"Hai!" the little girl cheered, picking up her pace to follow her brother at his heel. The two walked in a peaceful silence through the forest, both looking forward to reaching the grave.

They reached the grave right as the sun was beginning to set. It was a small and very simple grave in the middle of a field of gentle pink flowers, surrounded by a dense forest and protected from desecration by a strong barrier. While the yokai stayed near the edge of the field, the hanyou girl hurried to her mother's grave. The yokai watched as Inume arranged the colorful flowers neatly around the grave before stepping back and saying a quick prayer. His sharp hearing allowed him to pick up the young girl's words.

"Oka-sama, today is my seventh birthday. Inuyasha onii-sama finally told me how you died, oka-sama. I'm sorry you died giving birth to me, oka-sama. I'm happy to be alive... but I wish that I had been born when oka-sama wasn't sick." Inume said quietly as she sat down in front of the grave. "I got to see otou-sama last month. He gave me a pretty kimono before he left again. Inuyasha onii-sama says he doesn't know where otou-sama stays all the time. Otou-sama looked so sad, oka-sama. Why is he so sad, oka-sama? Is it because you died? Does he hate me, oka-sama? Because I killed you?"

"He doesn't hate you." The yokai, Inuyasha, spoke up now, appearing behind the young girl and startling her. Inume looked up at her brother and he saw that she was crying. He kneeled down beside her and gently wipe the tears from the young hanyou's eyes. "Our otou-sama loves you very much, Inume. He could never hate you. And you did not kill your oka-san. She was sick and too weak to give birth to you without being cut open, but she did it anyway. She died because she wanted to bring you into the world through a wonderful birth, not have you ripped from her womb through a nasty cut in her belly by an ugly doctor." Inuyasha explained to the girl. "She wanted your beginning to be beautiful, in every sense of the word. And she died for that. She died because she loved you and wanted the best for you. You didn't kill her."

"But if I hadn't been born, Oka-sama would have lived." Inume cried. "And otou-sama would not be so sad and Inume would not be hated..." she cried, talking about herself in third-person as she had when she was a toddler. Inuyasha's heart ached at his sister's tears, and he quickly scooped his beloved little sister up into his arms, holding her close to comfort her.

"Nobody hates you, Inume." the yokai cooed, putting away his tough outer appearance in order to calm his beloved little sister.

"Aniki is a liar! All humans hate Inume! Even yokai hate Inume for being a half-breed! Only aniki loves Inume..." The little girl buried her face in her brother's chest as she cried. He sat down on the ground with her and rocked back and forth, trying to calm the upset girl as best he could. He was never very good with children and it was hard for him to find a way to comfort the crying girl. This is a woman's job! I love Inume, but I can't handle a crying child! I need to find a woman to help me with her, someone who will accept Inume for the hanyou she is.

"You can't even calm a child. Father should have left her in my care." a familiar voice reached Inuyasha's ears. He looked up and glared at the inu taiyoukai that was the rightful heir to their father's lands, Sesshoumaru. He was standing only five feet away, frowning down at him and the crying girl.

"Shut up, Aniki." Inuyasha growled at Sesshoumaru. "Oyaji left her in my care because I actually cared about his human mate and hanyou child. You just looked the other way when he was trying to find someone to raise her."

"I would have done it had he asked." Sesshoumaru told him. "You merely volunteered before he got the chance to ask me. And now look... you can't even stop the girl from senselessly crying over her pathetic human mother's death when that was clearly the best gift her mother could have ever given her on her birthday." Hearing her eldest brother's words, Inume's crying ceased as she was filled with shock. Inuyasha let out an enraged snarl as he held his sister closer.

"Aniki, if you value your life, leave!" Inuyasha growled as his yoki surged. How dare he say something so cruel and unsympathetic right in front of Inume!

"You cannot start a fight with me, little brother, over a few mere words. Our law prevents such things unless those words challenge another's honor." Sesshoumaru said smugly, crossing his arms with a smirk.

"I cannot fight you for insulting Inume's Oka-san... but I can certainly fight you for trespassing! Did you forget, Aniki? You're on my land! NOW GET OUT!" Inuyasha roared, scaring Inume into releasing a fearful whimper as she tried to hide herself in her beloved brother's arms. Sesshoumaru's smug look finally faded, replaced with a frown. He knew that Inuyasha was right. He could very well fight him for trespassing, and he did not want to end up fighting Inuyasha, who was almost as strong as he was. So he turned and left without another word spoken, leaving his brother and hanyou sister in peace... for now.

"Inume." Inuyasha got his sister's attention now. She looked up at him as he picked her up and jumped up to sit on a tree branch, her tears gone at last but an upset expression still on her face. "Don't believe a single word that bastard says, understand? He's lying. Your mother was not pathetic and crying over her is not senseless. Understand me, Inume?" he asked. The young hanyou girl slowly nodded before a drowsy look crossed her face. Inuyasha saw how tired his sister was and he smiled gently at her, reaching up to gently rub one of her cute dog ears. "Go to sleep, Inume. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Okay, Aniki." Inume said quietly as she nestled in closer to her brother's strong, warm chest. "Aniki... arigato..." She said with a small yawn before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Inuyasha smiled lightly and leaned back against the tree. He became lost in thought for a while. Sesshoumaru is right. I'm not suited to raise a child, especially a female. I don't know anything about raising a child. I can't even get her to stop crying. I don't know how to be nice or gentle or considerate. And then there's puberty... she's only a few years away from hitting puberty. I know NOTHING about that! How am I supposed to explain it to her when she starts bleeding? Or when her body starts... changing. Uhgg... I really need to find a woman to help me raise her. Maybe it's time I sought out a mate. Not just for Inume, but for me as well... I wouldn't mind settling down with a mate that I can love and that will love me back. That's it. I've decided.

I will find a mate.

-Hi! Aozora12 speaking... err, well, typing. Okay, so this is my third fanfic that I will continue updating on. Apparently I have so many different ideas running through my mind. I already have this story completely finished in my mind. Now just to type it... and my other two stories...

As you can see, there's a lot going on inside my labyrinth of a brain, but I'll sort it all out eventually! This story is only going to be about ten chapters in length, but I might add onto it later if I get a really good idea from someone (hint,hint)

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Please comment and critique! Oh, but no foul language or hateful comments, please. Constructive criticism is good, but don't go posting things like "I hate this. You suck. Go crawl in a ditch and die." Got it? :)

Also, please no spam. Someone put a whole bunch of wiki links on one of my stories that was like a page long, and they posted that to all seventeen chapters! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NO SPAM!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful life!

-Aozora12