Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me (dangit ^.^) They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I'm only taking advantage of them at the moment, especially Inu Yasha. Get over here Dog Boy, hehehe!

Note: We're gonna jump back a few novels to when Inu Yasha encountered his "mother." I'm meeting a challenge fic and the only way I could really write on this topic was to use when he was turned into a whelp in the water, soooo not to worry. In this Kikyou is alive, well, brought back anyways and such. I'm just going to twist the SL a tiny bit, so pretend just a lil ^.^.

Kagome watched helplessly as she lay on the cold, damp ground of the false world she had thought to be the crossroads between Earth and Heaven. The chains that bound her against the ground were held fast by the little gremlin like demons that laughed and snickered at her evily. She tried to scream to Inu Yasha, but her voice was lost and her throat paralyzed. All she could do was squirm in desperation as she watched the Hanyou slowly become enchanted by the No Face woman, whom he believed to be the woman he called Mother.

"Be a good boy now...let mother embrace you..." Her voice was so entoxicating and so real that Inu Yasha could barely control his emotions, memories flooding back of when this woman, whom he loved dearly, held her son close and rocked him gently to sleep. In his heart he knew that this woman was not his true mother, but in his mind, all he could do was give into the tightening embrace.

Inu Yasha stared down at his reflection in the water. It was him that he could see, however, it was the image of him as a small Hanyou whelp. He looked so innocent and pure as he stared down at the ripples in the water, only to glanced slightly over at the reflection of the woman and see she had no face.

"What ARE you?!" Inu Yasha demanded as he tried to struggle free from the now locked grasp. Although she was only a woman, her strength was almost like that of a demon; strong and steadfast. "I will never let you go...never again..." She cooed softly into his ear as she pulled the struggling Youkai even closer to herself. Inu Yasha kicked and scratched frantically, but it was of no use, he could not fight this demon. One, she was to powerful and second, because even though she wasn't her, she still had the image of his beloved mother.

"Kagome! Be strong now girl!" came a small yet familiar voice as he jumped down from the branch of the plant and onto the paralyzed face of the trapped girl. "You poor kid...bound hand and foot and totally helpless.." Myoga mused as he hopped over to her cheek. "Let me handle this!" He quickly went to work on her cheek, biting and sucking her blood until she was finally brought out from the trance of the No Face woman's spell. *SLAP* and down went Myoga as he floated onto her hand, flat as a pancake.

"Thanks. I think I can move now." Kagome said unenthusicatically as she glanced back over to the scene before her. Inu Yasha was already half way buried into the woman's body, unconcious and drugged by her senses over his emotions. As much as he had tried to fight her off, her scent was to entoxicating for him to handle. The woman probbed and probbed deeper into Inu Yasha's mind, trying to find the key that would led his brother, Sesshou-Maru to the grave of their departed father. "Try to remember Inu Yasha...where is your father's grave...?"

"What can I do?!" Kagome thought frantically as she quickly stood up and rushed over to where Inu Yasha was. If she didn't figure out a way to bring him back from the woman's spell, his soul would be destroyed. She suddenly stopped at a familiar voice over towards where the woman was and quietly snuck behind some bushes and reeds to get a better look. It was Jaken, Lord Sesshou-Maru's right hand man.

"Then shatter it! Or it'll be me facin' Lord Sesshou-Maru's cold wrath!" Jaken hissed at the Nothing Woman. Shatter it? Shatter what?! Inu Yasha's soul?! No! Never! I'll never let you do that to him! Kagome screamed inside of her mind as she jumped out from behind the reeds and bonked Jaken square on the head. "You little Toad! I'll never let you shatter Inu Yasha's soul!" She quickly picked up the Staff of Two Heads and did an amazingly powerful line drive right on Jaken's head, knocking him a good mile out into the cold, muddy swamp. She turned to face the Nothing Woman who was now looking directly up towards Kagome, Inu Yasha's arm all that was undevoured by the woman. "And you! Give him back!" Kagome yelled as she reached out with one hand to grabbed Inu Yasha's arm, and with the other, allowed a powerful blast from her hand to slammed into the Nothing Woman, shattering her into pieces.

Both Kagome and Inu Yasha flew back from the sudden explosion, landing only a few inches away from the water. Kagome slowly sat up, only to be knocked back down away with a *THUD* as a body suddenly collided with her's.

"Inu Yasha no Baka!" She slowly sat up, rubbing her now bumped head as she glanced down towards his body. "Watch it where you....are...n..nani?!" Kagome's eyes widened in surprise as the sudden figure before her. It was Inu Yasha...but...now he was a..."Inu Yasha....what...what happened to you..." She softly whispered as she looked at the small child now before her. Inu Yasha had become a child.

"Kaede-baba I have no idea how this came to be! When I saw him last, he was as grown as I was, but as soon as I had pulled him from the body of the Nothing Woman, he had been reverted back into a child!" Kagome spoke softly, grief stricken as she glanced over at the little toddler of a demon, trying his best to walk and no fall onto his behind. Myoga sat quietly on his Lord Demon's shoulders, pondering how this also could have happened. The old miko gave a slow shake of her head and she added another piece of wood onto the burning fire, before glancing over to Inu Yasha and then to Kagome.

"Kagome, have you any knowledge about the Nothing woman?" Kaede spoke in her usual, questioning voice. Kagome gave a slow shake of her head before a small voice perked up. "The Nothing Woman is a vengeful spirit made up of the souls of grief stricken mother's who lost their children to war or famine. If the Nothing Woman devours a soul, the only way to awaken it is to somehow break the spell the woman placed onto him. When Kagome tried to free Lord Inu Yasha from the spirit's spell, the woman had already probbed into the Lord's mind of when he was a child, making our Lord revert back to the time before his mother's passing. Kagome was not able to free our Lord before the spell was broken, seeing as how she destroyed and freed Lord Inu Yasha at the same time. Meaning, the Nothing Woman was destroyed along with Lord Inu Yasha's memories of now. His soul must now grow up all over again."

Kagome's heart sank deep into her body as she stared at the ground, tears welding up in her eyes. "It's all my fault that Inu Yasha is now...a...child...how could I have been so careless?! I didn't even think of the consequences! How could I do this..." She suddenly felt a small hand touch her shoulder, the familiar touch of claws brushing against her shirt. She slowly glanced up and over to the little dog child, with his big, bright golden eyes and long white bangs that almost covered his face. He looked so innocent..so..so.."Oh Inu Yasha!" Kagome exclaimed as she burst into tears and hugged the little boy tightly. She cried softly into his shoulder, uttering over and over again how sorry she was. The little boy only looked at her in confusion but a small sparkle in his eyes shown in the glow of the firelight.

"Myoga-Jii San, is there any way that I can somehow regain Inu Yasha's soul?! Can't I give him what shards we have so far and allow him to grow up quickly? There must be something, anything!" Kagome spoke softly as they sat within the small hut in the village, Inu Yasha sprawled out on the futton, snoring and drooling. The small flea gave a soft sigh as he shrugged. "I do not know my lady. I have never had the experience to come face to face with the Nothing Woman, all I know of her is the legend. She is made of mothers' souls who lost their children without the chance to say their final regrets or goodbyes. They wander the land in search of defenseless children to care for in hopes to repent for their damned and unsettled souls. By taking the form of our Lady's form, Inu Yasha was brought to realization of the regrets he had of not being able to say goodbye to his mother, which is why he gave in so quickly. It could have been if...he...wanted to become a child again..so he could have the chance to relive those memories of his life that he missed as an adult. The question here being is...does our Lord wish to return to being an adult?" Kagome gave a soft sigh of lost hope as she watched the little dog boy toss and turn in the futon. So innocent..not yet knowing the coroption he life would soon encounter. Perhaps, this was a chance for Inu Yasha to relive his life. Grow up without the constant war his brother brought upon him, a life full of happiness, and even..a chance to find another woman..just like Kikyou..and this time, he and her could live together, as he wanted, happily. Kagome glanced down at the small vile that contained the few shards of the shattered Shikon no Tama and sighed softly to herself. If she could somehow gather all these shards by herself, she could explain to Inu Yasha as he grew older about the Jewel, and how he could use it to become human. She didn't want to say it outloud..but his happiness was her only concern now..

"We're leaving now! I promise to be back soon!" Kagome hollered and waved to Kaede as she walked across the foot bride of the small stream, Inu Yasha now holding onto her back while her napsack was hanging off on her one shoulder. The day was bright and clear, the air was clean and fresh, the birds singing and the sun shining brightly. Maybe this little exploration would somehow turn out for the better. She glanced over her shoulder at the little whelp as he looked around curiously at the surroundings, with a look of both fascination and curiosity all at one time. She gave a soft smile to herself, speaking outloud, even though she doubted he would understand. "Okay Inu Yasha, here is the plan. We're going to start westward and try to gather any clues if some demons have been around. You have to somehow tell me if you nose picks up any unfamiliar smells, and if so, you tell me, okay?" She glanced over her shoulder back towards him as the little boy just looked at her as though she was speaking a whole other language. Kagome gave a frustrated sigh. "Nevermind..." She focused her attention back on the path ahead, unaware of the small sparkle that gleamed in his eyes once again.

"Another wasted day! You'd think with all these shards around there would be atleast one demon out! But noooooooo, ofcourse not." Kagome growled, frustrated as she unpacked her bag to find some food for dinner. It had been a week since they started their quest for rumors of the Shikon Shards, and so far, no one had any clues as to the location of the next ones. Inu Yasha sat on the ground besides the small stream that passed along, watching the different colored fish swim back and forth. Kagome had pulled out a few Ramen cups and her hotplate before glancing up and noticing Inu Yasha staring down into the water. He tilted his head curiously at his own reflection, and noticing it, Kagome slowly crept over and behind him, glancing over his shoulder down into the water.

"Hey..Inu Yasha..what's wrong? What are you looking at?" She spoke softly to him. From the reflection, she could see his eyes turn towards her own reflection and a small smile arose on his face. His words were whispered, the first words he had spoken since his transformation a few days ago. "M...mama..." Kagome's eyes widended in surprise, first at the fact that he spoke and secondly because he had just called her his mother. Her eyes began to weld tears as she quickly covered her mouth and backed away from the water, crying softly to herself. Inu Yasha turned around and waddled closer towards her, laying both hands on the side of her face so that she could look at him. She looked into those big, golden eyes of his, so full of concern and love. He really thought that he was her mother, seeing as how she had been there for him, caring for him just like....a mother. He gave a soft smile and he played with her cheeks a little bit, making her giggled softly. She carefully gathered him into her arms, resting herself onto her knees so that she had a better leverage. She hugged him gently, burying her nose gently into his hair, trying her best not to cry again. "I'm sorry...Inu Yasha..this is all my fault...it's my fault that you're like this..it's my fault that you cannot even remember your true mother..it's my fault that I can't gather the shards like you can and give the Shikon no Tama to you so that you can become a human and live your life normally with a woman you'll one day find again.."Tears streamed down her face and she tried her best to choke back the sobs, shutting her eyes tightly, her arms still wrapped around him. "I'm sorry Inu Yasha..I've ruined your life like this..I should have thought..about you first rather than myself..I was only concerned of getting you out, even before thinking about what could happen if you were removed to quickly. ...I can't be your mother Inu Yasha...a mother places her children before herself..a mother loves her children with devotion and would sacrafice whatever it took to make them happy...I wish Inu Yasha I could make you happy...but I can't..but God Inu Yasha...I do love you...but..I guess my love just isn't enough to make things better..."

She suddenly felt two arms wrap around her waist tightly, pulling her closer against the figure in the most loving and gentle embrace she had ever felt before. She slowly opened her eyes to come face to face with the familiar, matured face of the Hanyou, however, the same bright, golden eyes staring right back into her deep purple orbs. Kagome's eyes widended in surprise as her jaw slowly opened in sheer shock. "I..In..Inu Yasha...?! But...how..I...how did you...?!" She whispered gently. He only smiled softly down at her, the first smile she had ever seen on that beautiful face of his. "Kagome..." He softly whispered to her as his lips slowly brushed against her in a tender kiss. She felt her cheeks suddenly grow hot and red from the blush. He...he kissed her...her first kiss with the man whom her heart yelled out towards..She could feel the love towards her through his kiss, so gentle..so loving...Her eyes fluttered a few times before she managed to focus on him once again. Her eyes spoke the many questions she wanted to ask him, but he only hushed her with his finger gently pressed against her lips.

"It was you Kagome.." he whispered softly. "It was your love...your devotion..your caring of me that pulled me from the spell of the Nothing Woman..."

"My...my love...Inu Yasha...but...but how..I..I don't understand..." she whispered back to him. He gently touched her cheek as a claw very lightly traced down to her jaw with a soft tap to her nose. She smiled a little as she rested her head down against his chest. He held her close as his chin rested atop of her head. "Your love Kagome..your pure devotion and caring towards me was like that of the wandering souls of the mother's who lost their children...all the nothing woman wanted was to have that chance to love her son again as he had been before the famine took him...only your love for me Kagome could break that spell...."

"Only...my love...Inu..Yasha..?"

"Only your love Kagome...only a Mother's Love..."