Disclaimer: InuYasha is owned by Rumoshiko Takahashi; however, this piece and this plot are mine.

Special Thanks to: Dr. Dogma, for his help, ideas, patience, and beta work on the first story; and of course, special thanks go to all my readers and reviewers for their extreme patience and encouragement.

Recap: After an awkward pause, Mae finally raised both brows and questioned, "That reminds me. What in the earthly world are you two doing at the bottom of this old well for anyway?"

Now that was an interesting question.

Forgotten Memories

Chapter Three

'What are we doing in the bottom of the well?' Kagome repeated the question to herself mentally.

'Well, umm…' Kagome smiled nervously as she scanned through the suddenly blank pages of her mind for an answer.

Mae's eyebrows wiggled suggestively as she said, "Kagome, care to share what is so funny about the two of you standing alone in the bottom of a well?"

Blushing, Kagome mumbled quickly, "We were cleaning."

"Cleaning?" Mae asked, her brow furrowed. "Why would you be cleaning the well?"

Snorting, InuYasha muttered, "And Shippo calls me an idiot."

Kagome gave a warning glance to InuYasha, and answered hurriedly, "Grandpa hired InuYasha to help him clean the shrine, and I was just showing him a spot he missed." She smiled cheerily and rushed to add, "But it's all finished now, and I was just getting ready to climb out before you showed up."

Mae muttered skeptically, "Sounded like something far different to me."

From Kagome's nervous tone and flitting gazes with the boy, Mae was quite certain that her cousin was not being entirely truthful. Mae's eyes twinkled; she would wrangle more information from her favorite cousin later.

Tossing her head, she glanced laughingly down at Kagome, "Well, are you going to get up here or am I going to have to wait forever?"

Unable to stop a small smile, Kagome grabbed the sides of the well ladder and began to climb.

'Perhaps there's nothing to worry about,' Kagome encouraged herself as she made her way up the rickety ladder that creaked as it held her weight. 'She seems like a nice girl, and it's not like I don't have experience trying to explain InuYasha and my absences away.'

With that thought, Kagome stepped over the lip of the well and onto the shrine floor. Now in the better light, Kagome could finally get a better look at her cousin. Mae was a few inches shorter than Kagome and appeared to be about fifteen, the same age Kagome had been when she was drug into the well. Her dark bobbed hair, small mouth, and dainty nose seemed to highlight, the girl's best feature—her vibrant green eyes that gleamed impishly at Kagome from behind her glasses.

The miko gulped; she had seen that gaze before on her friend's faces, and it most likely meant that Mae was nowhere near finished with her questions.

Slightly confused at Kagome's studious expression, Mae said cheekily, "Good grief, Kagome, you act like you've never seen me before. Are you sure you don't have amnesia" Mae tapped her chin thoughtfully and murmured, "Not that you would remember if you did have amnesia."

Kagome shook her head vigorously, "No, I'm fine—just a little tired. That's all; I'll be better later."

"If you are tired, I can come back another day, Kagome; I know you've been sick," Mae said concern now evident in her voice.

"No, I'm okay," the miko assured her cousin. "It won't hurt me to talk to you."

Still a bit skeptical, Mae's gaze softened, "If you're sure—you'll tell me if you start to feel bad, won't you?"

Nodding, Kagome began to walk to the shrine door, "I'm sure."

Ears twitching from under the kerchief, InuYasha listened with mixed emotions to the girls chatter. Then waiting for them to step outside, he leapt from the well and stood at the shrine entrance. He watched as Mae grasped Kagome's hand and practically dragged her inside the Higurashi home. Then slowly he walked to the Goshinboku and leapt onto the tree branch that overlooked Kagome's bedroom.

"Mae, I'm going to get us some tea."

"All right; I'll meet you upstairs."

Opening the door, Mae looked into Kagome's bedroom and smiled. Nothing had changed since the last time she had been in there- same furniture, same colors, same arrangement, same Kagome. She stepped further into the room and looked out the window to the massive Goshinboku—a tree that held great significance to her family. Seeing a bright red blob, she moved closer to the window and peered out, her eyes squinting to make sense of the bright colors in the radiant sunlight.

'It's that boy that was with Kagome. What's he doing up there?'

Crossing his arms, InuYasha glared at the girl from his position on the tree limb.

"I've got our tea."

Hearing Kagome's voice, Mae turned from the window and questioned, "Does he always do that?"

Kagome blinked. "He who?"

"Look out the window," Mae demanded as she pointed in InuYasha's direction for someone trying to clean the well, he isn't doing a very good job."

Kagome's face paled slightly as she saw InuYasha in his normal spot. "Oh, he's on break," she replied.

"And your mom doesn't find it strange that he chooses to spend his breaks staring through your bedroom window?" Mae asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

A rather large sweat drop appeared on the back of Kagome's head as she hurriedly said, "He's just a little protective of me, that's all."

"Really now," Mae said dryly.

Not trusting herself and not liking Mae's expressions, Kagome gave a shaky nod.

Mae sat cross-legged on the bed and crossed her arms. There was a long awkward silence, and Kagome, suddenly finding the room to be very warm, walked to her window and opened it, allowing the warm breeze that contained the smallest hint of winter chill.

Finally, Mae spoke, "All right, Kagome. Out with it."

Kagome's body went rigid, "Wha-what do you mean?" she stuttered, suddenly unsure of what Mae might know.

Placing a hand on her hip, Mae demanded, "I want to know all the details about you and your boyfriend."

She held up a hand to silence Kagome's protest. "I don't know why you are keeping it a secret, but give me a little credit, Kagome, I am not that stupid. Come on you used to tell me everything."

Kagome appeared to hesitate as she found herself at a loss on what to say. "We-he-InuYasha really isn't my boyfriend," she finally stuttered out.

"Oh." Mae said visibly surprised. Then a second later she continued, "Why not—he too afraid to ask?"

"It's complicated," Kagome managed.

"So is the rest of life, but I've got time," she said, her tone giving every indication that she wanted details.

An odd feeling prodded Kagome to tell Mae what was on her heart, but she held back based on the reality that she just could not explain without revealing details that no one but her family could know—correction, her immediate family, since Mae was family now, too.

Wondering at Kagome's nervous expression, InuYasha watched as she came over to her bedroom window and opened it, letting in the nice breeze.

"All right, Kagome. Out with it."

Startled, InuYasha blinked as he began to listen in unwittingly on the girl's conversation.

"I want to know all the details about you and your boyfriend."

InuYasha snorted—typical girl—Kagome's friends talked about these "boyfriend" people all the time. Still not sure what a boyfriend was, InuYasha growled subconsciously.

"We-he-InuYasha really isn't my boyfriend."

At the sound of his name, InuYasha glanced up, startled into alertness once more.

"Oh. Why not—he too afraid to ask?"

InuYasha snarled childishly, "As if I'd be afraid of anything." Then blinking, InuYasha stared unseeingly through the window. "Ask—ask what?"

Staring perplexed at Kagome, InuYasha missed the heavy footsteps coming in his direction.

"InuYasha!"

Surprised, the hanyou boy almost swayed dangerously on the tree limb before glaring murderously down at the body on the ground below him.

"What do you think you're doing, staring into my daughter's room like that? Get down from there this instant, you 'Peeping Tom.'"

'Peeping Tom?' Both eyebrows raised, InuYasha stared incredulously at Mr. Higurashi.

Cracking his knuckles threateningly, the older looking male stared up at the boy in the tree. "How could you even think of spying on my innocent daughter? I bet you've even stared at her while she was undressing, and to think that I—"

InuYasha's eyebrow twitched angrily, "You sick idiot!" Then, leaping, he landed with his fist on the center of Mr. Higurashi's head before the human had a chance to finish his sentence.

Crossing his arms, InuYasha lifted his nose in the air haughtily as he watched the poor man rub at his sore skull. "Why would I watch that?" InuYasha growled. Then he muttered, "It's not like I haven't seen it all before anyway."

Without warning, a shiver made its way down InuYasha's spine as he felt the outer flames of anger radiating off the man beside him. What could be wrong now?

Inside Kagome's bedroom, Mae watched Kagome's face as they talked. Though they lived in the same city, Kagome and Mae went to different schools, but they had always kept in close contact with each other up until the past two years. Recently though, every time she called wanting to visit, Kagome was too sick for visitors. Her cousin could not know the intense worry that Mae had felt knowing Kagome was struggling like that, yet, here the same girl was looking more fit and healthy than she was before. Seeing the nervousness that Kagome had around her now, Mae could not shake the feeling that Kagome was hiding something—something big

…and she aimed to find out exactly what that was.

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Author's Note: Please don't stop reviewing. I need all the input you can give.

I know this chapter is short, but I just couldn't find a better spot to end it at. I promise: I will make the next chapter twice as long to make up for it.

I know not much in the way of plot was revealed, but I am still in the process of setting up the scenes to introduce more of it.

Did InuYasha ever learn what a boyfriend was in the anime?

You haven't seen him much yet, but Mr. Higurashi reminds me an awful lot of a mix between a Fruits Basket and an Ouran High School Host Club character. (At least, he seems that way in some of the future scenes I've written.) I should take guesses and see who figures out who he reminds me of.