Chapter Two
At around daybreak the next day, Sesshomaru was awakened by the sounds of someone entering his room. He was a bit surprised to see Inu-Yasha standing there, with a soft, yet unreadable expression on his face.
"You really don't remember me, do you?" Inu-Yasha asked. Sesshomaru shook his head.
"I don't. I feel that I should, but I don't. Even your friends seem familiar to me, but I can't remember having met them before." Sesshomaru said, with a frustrated sigh.
"Kaede-baba had said that you might not remember me or Kagome and the rest, but do you remember someone going by the name of Rin?" Inu-Yasha asked.
"Rin………….?" Sesshomaru murmured. For the briefest of seconds, a faint image of a little girl floated into his mind, but it disappeared just as quickly.
"Yeah, do you remember her?" Inu-Yasha asked.
"There is something……………..but it's not clear………" Sesshomaru trailed off, nearly jumping out of his skin when something impacted into the side of the hut and landed with a plop into the snow.
"Feh. Seems that Sango has just given the monk a taste of what he deserves." Inu-Yasha said, sarcastically.
"I take it that he is not well liked." Sesshomaru murmured, dryly, cringing when some fiery insults were exchanged between demon exterminator and monk.
"Heh. Not really. I sometimes wonder why he even became a monk." Inu-Yasha admitted, then caught himself; he was actually having a civilized conversation with his half brother?! Sesshomaru caught the look of surprise in Inu-Yasha's eyes and raised an eyebrow.
"I also take it that we have never talked like this before, either. Is that correct?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Yeah. That's right. Before you came here, all you wanted to do was kill me." Inu-Yasha muttered, too stunned to notice Sesshomaru's look of complete confusion.
"Why would I want to kill you?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Never mind. Kaede-baba is preparing breakfast. Do you feel up to walking to her hut?" Inu-Yasha asked, now indicating that Sesshomaru was in a separate building from the one Inu-Yasha and his comrades stayed in.
"I guess so." Sesshomaru replied, as he carefully attempted to stand. The moment he was on his feet, however, pain washed over him like ocean waves and forced him to his knees. Without even realizing what he was doing, Inu-Yasha reached out to his brother with concern in his eyes.
"Are you all right?" Inu-Yasha caught himself saying.
"I…………..I think so……………" Sesshomaru said, from between gritted teeth, as he gripped his wounded side with one arm. He uttered a gasp when Inu-Yasha helped him stand by slinging an arm over his shoulders and supporting his weight with his other arm. Startled though he was, Sesshomaru gave Inu-Yasha a questioning look. When his eyes met those of Inu-Yasha, he saw that there was concern, worry, guilt, and a plethora of other emotions hidden in the golden depths.
"What?" Inu-Yasha asked, returning to a belligerent mode.
"I………..thank you." Sesshomaru said, uncertain of what else to say, at that moment.
"Feh." Inu-Yasha grumbled, also uncertain as to how to take this new and strange Sesshomaru.
Kagome and the rest looked up when Inu-Yasha entered, with Sesshomaru leaning heavily on him (not in that way, potential yaoi readers!).
"Ohayo, Inu-Yasha! Sesshomaru-san!" Kagome greeted.
"Ohayo." Sesshomaru replied, quietly, as he was gently released from Inu-Yasha's grasp.
"Feh." Inu-Yasha grunted, as he sat down on Kagome's opposite side.
"Ohayo!" Shippou shouted, cheerfully. He got a nod from Sesshomaru, before Kaede handed him a plate of food and some chopsticks.
"Arigato." Sesshomaru murmured, then looked directly at Miroku, who sat across the room with a lump of ice tied to his head by some cloth.
"What happened to you, houshi?" Sesshomaru asked. Miroku jumped slightly, as though surprised that Sesshomaru had spoken to him, but he quickly gathered his wits about him and answered.
"She could tell you." Miroku said, as he pointed at a smug looking Sango.
"I think it would be best if I didn't press the matter further." Sesshomaru said, when he thought about what Inu-Yasha had said a few minutes before.
"How do ye feel, Sesshomaru-sama?" Kaede asked, deciding to play it safe and remain polite, in case Sesshomaru erupted into violence. The youkai lord smiled slightly in approval.
"As well as can be expected. My side is very sore." Sesshomaru said, honestly.
"I see. I guess the poison had slowed your natural healing abilities as well." Kaede murmured, her single eye taking on a thoughtful look.
"Poison?" Sesshomaru asked.
"We'll talk about that after you've eaten, okay?" Kagome said, hoping to get off the rather grim subject.
"Okay." Sesshomaru agreed, even though his eyes had a hint of worry in them. After the meal, Kaede stood and started to explain to Sesshomaru what had happened to him.
"I have only seen that kind of poison once before. Fifty years ago, a youkai wandered into this town. He had been bitten by something. Something big. Kikyo-nee-san tried to save him, but he was so far gone that she was forced to put the poor thing out of his misery. Afterwards she figured out a remedy for the poison. That is what I used on ye, Sesshomaru-sama. Unfortunately, however, it was too late to save some of your memories, since that poison destroys both mind and body." Kaede said, explaining the situation as well as she could.
"In other words, I am not who I was because of this poison." Sesshomaru said, remaining surprisingly calm about the whole thing.
"That's about it, yes." Kaede said. For a few moments, there was silence, then Sesshomaru settled back with a sigh, putting a clawed hand to his face as he did so.
"What do I do now? Now that I know this, what do I do? I am hesitant to go back to the Western Lands, especially since I don't remember who was an ally and who was an enemy." Sesshomaru muttered, as he put his hand down and stared at the ceiling.
"You're not afraid, are you?" Inu-Yasha asked, his question almost sounding like a taunt.
"No. I am not." Sesshomaru replied, this time his words had some bite behind them.
"Feh." Inu-Yasha grunted, in disgust.
"Do you have a death-wish, hanyou?" Sesshomaru suddenly growled, sounding like his old self.
"Are you threatening me?!" Inu-Yasha replied, as he stood and prepared for a fight.
"What do you think?" Sesshomaru snapped back, also getting to his feet, forgetting about his injury for the moment.
"Inu-Yasha, SIT! Sesshomaru, STAY!" Kagome shouted. Seconds later, both of the two bristling youkai were on their butts.
"What the…………?!" Sesshomaru asked, suddenly noticing that he had a set of rosary beads around his neck similar to those Inu-Yasha wore
"I'm glad you decided to take that precaution, Kaede-san." Sango said, smiling grimly.
"So am I." Kaede agreed, as she watched both brothers give Kagome, then Kaede, a look of bloody murder. But it was Sesshomaru who calmed down first.
"Gomene, minna. I think I let stress get the better of me." Sesshomaru said, quietly.
"Quite understandable, since the news came as quite a shock." Sango said, then looked at Kagome.
"Feh." Inu-Yasha muttered, crossing his arms and going into sulky silence.
When they had all exited Kaede's hut, Sesshomaru limped back to the hut that had been reserved for him. All he wanted to do at that moment was lay back down, since his side was throbbing and his head didn't feel all that much better. For a second, his vision seemed to swim, but, when he shook his head to clear it, it was normal again. Some of the villagers were looking his way, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was rest. His sight blurred again, and when it straightened out, he was looking at the cold gray sky. He heard running footsteps, and saw a face enter his line of sight, but he couldn't hear a thing that was being said. There was a strange roaring sound in his ears that prevented him from hearing. He blacked out not long afterwards. When he next awoke, he was again in unfamiliar surroundings. The room he was now in was decorated with strange objects that looked like intricate paintings that were covered in a strange glass covering. His bewilderment ended when a familiar face appeared before him.
"Kagome-san?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice weak.
"I'm here. How do you feel?" Kagome asked, as she brushed some strands of white hair from his pale face.
"Horrible…………whole body hurts………….worse than before." Sesshomaru muttered, closing his eyes and shuddering against the pain.
"Hang in there. My mother is calling a doctor now. Maybe he can help you." Kagome said, gently.
"Where am I?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice getting a strained note in it.
"My time and in my house. The guest room to be more precise." Kagome said, as she placed a damp cloth on his brow.
"Your time? Where's Inu-Yasha?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Right here." Inu-Yasha said, as he sat down at the foot of the bed.
"Shippou-chan came too, but he's downstairs with my otouto." Kagome said, noticing when worry came into Inu-Yasha's usually arrogant gaze. It was then that Kagome's mother entered the room.
"The doctor is on his way. Don't worry you two, this is an old family friend. I know he'll keep all of this a secret." Kagome's mother said, reassuring the two concerned caregivers of the obviously very ill Sesshomaru.
"He'd better." Inu-Yasha muttered, darkly. Both women ignored Inu-Yasha's remark and Kagome's mother looked gently down at Sesshomaru. In his delirium, Sesshomaru saw another woman, who had the same warm gaze as Kagome's mother.
"Okaa-san………………" Sesshomaru thought, as some of his earliest memories came into his mind. He smiled slightly; at least he still had some memories. At least he had those to remind him of who he was. And that made all the difference.