A/N: Ack! Yet another long chunk of time flew by before my update…thanks to everyone for their patience, and as a reward, I will try and get at least another chapter out before I leave on 4th…I promise! Well, this chapter was written in a flurry, and I haven't exactly taken a great amount of time to edit and add to it as I've done with other chapters…hopefully everything's okay…and to all my wonderful, dedicated reviewers, I love you all to bits and pieces! Your comments means SO much, and they're the reason I refused to put this story on hiatus…once again, another chapter dedicated to you guys

This fic has been nominated for Best Alternate Reality Fic by the Inuyasha Fan Guild at Yahoo! Groups…I nearly cried! I can't believe you guys think that this story deserves an award Love you all so much!

Now onto the chapter…

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Chapter 15: The Murky Waters Known as Memory

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The black SUV pulled out of the pebbled driveway, and began at a swift pace down the dirt road until it disappeared behind a thicket of evergreens, and out of Miroku's view.

He hadn't known whether letting the two women use one of his favourite cars was such a smart idea, but after the morning's rather interesting events, it was all he could do to keep the peace in the house. When Kagome had emerged from the room, she hadn't even bothered glancing over at him, despite the peace offering of a steaming cup of coffee that was cradled in his hands.

It was the iciness in that particular gesture that made Miroku realize that what had happened this morning was not something of a joke, but had touched upon a much more serious level.

Although it had been evident both Kagome and Inuyasha had been harbouring "a thing" for each other--for lack of a better term--what hadn't been available to the naked eye was the fact that this little infatuation ran deeper than Miroku had expected.

Inuyasha wasn't exactly known for taking women--human women especially--seriously, and he had been worse than Miroku in the sense that the women he took an interest in were discarded in a matter of days or weeks, depending on his mood.

At least when Miroku dated a woman, he did it because he took a genuine interest in her…although whether it was an interest in her chest or rear was beside the point. Still, if he dumped a woman in a few days it wasn't because he tired of her company. It was usually because he realized that the relationship was going nowhere fast.

Turning away from the frosted window, he wondered just how Inuyasha was holding up. Last time he'd seen his silver-haired friend, he had been storming up the stairs to claim the shower, a scowl etched onto his face.

Guess he wasn't exactly on Cloud Nine either.

Shrugging to himself, the meddling young man decided that this was something he wouldn't be able to work out, let alone fix. He'd try the whole Cupid thing later, of course, when Inuyasha and Kagome weren't ready to jump at the first sighting of each other.

But for now, he would content himself with enjoying the beautiful scenery, and the idle tasks that had to be taken care of around the resort.

And, of course, trying to keep his hands away from the lovely Sango. A task which was proving to be more difficult as each minute of being in her presence passed him by.

Flexing those traitorous fingers, Miroku decided that what he needed was a nice little trip outside. Preferably buried in snow and ice and cold wind. Anything to keep his mind off of the woman that had invaded his home.

Glancing up to the loft that acted as a second story, the young businessman wondered if Inuyasha could use the same treatment. That was, of course, if the shower he was busy taking wasn't already doing the trick.

Maybe it would work better if he started to conveniently run the hot water…then again, just how much did he value his life?

With plenty of dirty jokes running through his mind despite fears of being mauled, Miroku got a hold of the telephone and decided to take care of some business before the girls came back. That, and come up with a really great, hentai remark to use when Inuyasha strode down the stairs. Just because the hanyou was suffering from emotional turmoil didn't mean the young man couldn't have his fun.

Besides, it was Miroku's life purpose to corrupt the lesser population of the world, and there was nothing that would stop him from his job. Even if the threat of brutal dismemberment was waiting for him the moment he opened his mouth.

After all, it was the dangers that waited to leap at the unsuspecting pedestrians that made life so much more interesting. Especially when you could toy with them

-------

It was just no use.

Frustrated, Inuyasha turned the tap to its limits, nearly breaking the knob off of its stainless steel trappings as he desperately tried to get the damn water to cool down. But no, obviously being high up in the mountains of Northern Japan automatically dictated that the water only remain lukewarm, never below ten degrees, even as the pipes continued freezing in the hideously wintry conditions.

Snarling, he rammed a fist up against the smooth tiles of the shower, hardly able to keep from screaming his irritations to the world. Never before had he felt like killing someone as he did now. The funny thing was that this anger that welled up inside him stemmed from a completely different source than the usual 'hating the world' scenario.

Okay, so it wasn't exactly humorous. But if Miroku had seen Inuyasha's turmoil, he would have been curled up on the floor giggling like a woman.

Which was precisely why the hanyou refused to even consider leaving the confines of the bathroom, let alone face the pervert, until his system had settled down.

Sadly, it didn't seem like that was going to be happening any time soon, as his keen sense of smell suddenly picked up on a scent that could only be considered as flowery and feminine. A scent that was attributed to a complimentary soap the cleaning lady had left in the bathroom, but a scent that none-the-less had the hanyou dunking his head under the strong spray of water, in an effort to rid himself of all feeling.

Was there anything that wouldn't remind him of her? So far he had avoided any scent, any image, any bloody sound that would remind him of the last few hours. But this was all apparently to no avail, for his treacherous mind clung to the memories of the morning as though they were the only memories he had ever possessed.

Not even the cold water--which was well-beyond freezing at this point--could cool the heated flush that caused his pale skin to turn a rosy red. Nor could it douse the fire in his eyes whenever his damned brain brought back the sensation of Kagome's skin to his clenched hands.

It was enough to drive a sane man flying off a cliff. A feat that the hanyou was beginning to seriously consider.

But then flying reminded him of birds, and birds reminded him of animals, and animals reminded him of veterinarians, and--

"GODDAMMIT ALL!"

Inuyasha slammed off the water, threw back the glass door and stormed into the bathroom, looking for something to hurt, or at least to maim. Any kind of thing that would direct his wandering thoughts onto something that had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with women.

The same scent of flowers nudged at the corner of his senses, and he knew he found his target. Digging out the offending soap from a decorative basket, Inuyasha tore open the small window near the toilet, and hurled that damn thing to kingdom come.

It was only after that incident--and after tossing out a few other soaps and remotely smelly things for good measure--that Inuyasha felt his boiling blood slow a little.

Feeling decidedly better, Inuyasha tugged a fluffy blue towel out of its hiding place and proceeded to dry off, noting that his skin wasn't quite as sensitive to things as it had been when he had first stormed off to the bathroom.

In fact, he was feeling so much better that the stray thought of Kagome didn't send him into a maniacal fit. Instead, he took control of his heated mind, and quenched every last thought that it might have snuck on him.

Technically, the memories of a rather passionate veterinarian in his arms were still there, but now they were forcibly restrained to a corner of his mind where he would never have to go again.

It wasn't that he hated what had happened. It also had nothing to do with the fact he had lost control.

What ate at him--and what would still eat at him no matter how much he wished to deny it--was just how much he had wanted to respond, just how much his body and soul had craved to be surrounded by the wonder known as Kagome.

Even through the demonic haze, the hanyou had found something in those soft arms that somehow, he knew he had been searching for.

And that little nagging thought there was probably going to be the death of him.

"Not if I can help it," Inuyasha muttered, digging out a spare hairbrush in an effort to keep the wild, wet silver locks at bay. "She meant nothing, that meant nothing. It was just a stupid little dinky kiss, from a featherbrained human female. I'm part dog-demon, I'm better than that."

The little pep talk was helping, as was the immense pain he was feeling when the danged brush managed to get caught every other second in some new knot.

"Nothing would have happened if Miroku hadn't put us both in the same room. Hey, wait a minute" Inuyasha growled, straightening slightly as something dawned on him, "This wasn't my fault at all. It was because of the stupid Houshi. Him and that meddling assassin he's been drooling over. When I get my hands on those two I'll…"

But no punishment that the hanyou could concoct seemed adequate. At least no punishment that he was going to admit to his reflection in the mirror. For some reason, telling the mirror that you're about to toss your friend out of a moving vehicle over the largest cliff there was didn't seem quite sane.

And the last thing the silver-haired man needed was to come off as being anything but sane.

Giving his head a shake to rid his hair of the last few droplets, Inuyasha felt renewed. No longer did his skin feel like it was on fire, and his mind wasn't as fogged up.

Rejuvenated, he stretched out tired limbs and reached out for his clothes.

The moment his hand closed over his wrinkled shirt, a familiar scent that had been masked by shampoo and soap suddenly wafted up into his nose.

Inuyasha didn't notice his hands clenching on the already mottled fabric, nor did he notice his teeth slowly revealing themselves to the bathroom wall.

All that he could notice was the faint scent that he recognized as Kagome's. It must have been left over from the morning, when she had been closer than he had ever had her before…

With a very undoglike hiss, the hanyou had the shirt balled up into a mangled ball, and it was soon on the same adventure that the soap had been on moments before--followed shortly by pants, boxers, and socks.

Huffing, Inuyasha tried desperately to think of a way of escaping his mind, but the only idea he could come up with was going for a nice long drive with the windows down and good, angry music blasting in the stereo. A senseless action that would purge his mind for a little while.

And if Miroku refused to let him use the car, then he would just have to kill him.

Hand on the doorknob, Inuyasha felt a draft well up from underneath the door and suddenly realized that he was lacking something important. Something clothing-like and covering.

Sighing in unguarded frustration, he grabbed the towel, wrapped it around his waist, and then proceeded to take on the great task of salvaging his clothes from the room.

Kagome's room…

Bloody hell, would this ever end?

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It was one of those events in life that not only had you turning your head, but also spending many minutes afterwards wondering what in God's name you had just seen.

In all of his life, Miroku decided that he would never go through such an event again. Even if he ended up in that insane asylum that his friends always threatened to deposit him in, nothing would be able to compare to the sight he was witnessing before him.

Glancing down at an equally bewildered Kirara, Miroku blinked a few times to try and make sure he was still seeing things straight.

If only he had had a Polaroid of Inuyasha flying down the stairs, splendidly dressed in a blue towel, which would have fallen gracefully to the floor if it hadn't been for a clawed hand keeping it in place. Or maybe when he had stopped outside of Kagome's bedroom door, taken a deep breath--and held it--before disappearing for all of two seconds, then emerging with his bag under his arm, and his coat hanging haphazardly from his head, gasping for air.

Or perhaps a better picture would be the struggling Inuyasha trying to climb the stairs while keeping hold of his bag and the slipping towel, and the trademark snarl on his face.

"You did see that, right?" Miroku asked the cat, trying to decide whether he needed to purge his mind of the last few moments as a door shut rather forcefully upstairs. The shock had numbed his mind to the point that he didn't even want to consider just how Inuyasha had managed to open the door.

Kirara gave a soft mew as her only response, shook her demon kitty head, and then found her place once again in the welcoming cushions of the chair, as if she saw things like that everyday.

Miroku, on the other hand, couldn't quite dismiss it. Obviously Inuyasha was still pretty riled up over his moment with Kagome.

Either that or he had gone utterly insane.

Bonkers.

Off the wall.

There was barely enough to time to get his head set straight before the sound of a slamming door echoed throughout the house, and Inuyasha appeared on the stairs, fully dressed in jeans and a bulky sweater.

"What are you staring at?" He growled as he descended the stairs.

Miroku could only let his jaw hang lower. His earlier thoughts on making some dirty comments had long ago flown out the proverbial window. "What's happened to you? Are you OK? Is this some kind of temporary insanity or should I be checking you into a very "special" place?"

"I'm fine," was the hanyou's curt response. "Now stop looking like a cow, and hand over the car keys."

"I do not look like a cow," Miroku retorted, crossing his arms over his chest, and happy that the surly Inuyasha was back. After that last display, he had almost expected him to start preaching about love, joy, and all things pretty. Maybe it had been a temporary thing after all. "And you're too late about the car. Sango hijacked it from me, saying she and Kagome needed a girl's day out, meaning no men or pets included. Of course, why they chose to have their day in the village when they have my wonderful abode is beyond me."

"Ever think that it might have something to do with you being here?" The hanyou said, rolling his eyes. "You don't exactly hide those pervert instincts."

Miroku only smirked. "Why hide the gifts you were blessed with?"

That prompted another eye roll from Inuyasha, who was beginning to feel the walls of the cottage creep in closer. Miffed that the girls had gotten to his mode of transport first --and beginning to feel another onslaught of craving the raven-haired vet--Inuyasha aimed for the door, hoping the winter wind was especially cold today.

"Well, do you have anything else that goes really fast?"

"Only the snowmobiles. Wait, if you really want to get out of the house," And away from Kagome's scent, Miroku thought with an evil grin. "Then why don't you come up to the main resort with me? I have to go settle a feud between the contractor and architect, and inspect the new hot springs. If you're going to be my partner in crime, then it's only fair you have a say in things as well."

"That is if I live long enough," Inuyasha grumbled, and then realized how pitiful that comment sounded.

Keeping his eyes carefully averted from Miroku's no doubt sympathetic ones, he grabbed the only other set of keys hanging off the rack, and proceeded towards the door.

"Wait--Hold up! Unlike some people, we normal humans need more than just a sweater to stay warm." Miroku sighed as Inuyasha disappeared out the door, wondering if the selective hearing was part of the hanyou's genes, or whether he had simply spent many years perfecting it.

It took Miroku a second to find his coat, another second to try and do up all the complicated zippers and buttons so that not an ounce of wind could penetrate the shield. Throwing on bulky gloves and a lopsided hat, the young man joined Inuyasha on the snow covered deck, making sure to lock the door behind him--it never hurt to be overly careful, secluded mountain retreat or not.

That last comment from the hanyou brought Miroku back down to a reality that he had been trying to avoid. The reality that they were being hunted, and no matter how much he wanted to make things normal, stupid mistakes such as leaving a door unlocked, or security systems off could simply make the reality even harder.

Inuyasha took one glance at the young man's ridiculous getup and couldn't stop the smile from emerging on his usually bitter face.

"You look like an idiot."

"We'll see whose the idiot after we've reached the lodge," Miroku sniffed, then gestured behind him. "Hope you don't mind if we have company."

Kirara not only appeared from hiding behind the business man's legs, but she also grew in size as well, until she was about the equivalent to a very cat-like pony.

Inuyasha merely raised an eyebrow, used to the tendency for demons to show off their talents when they found the opportunity. "As long as she doesn't hold us back, I suppose."

"This little critter?" Miroku reached up, gave a large fuzzy ear its well deserved scratch. "She'll probably leave us in her dust."

Inuyasha snorted his disbelief, but decided against saying anything. The cat had big fangs when she grew, and the last thing he wanted was those sharp pointy objects aimed at his head.

"So where are these snowmobiles of yours, perv?" The hanyou asked, snow exploding under his feet as he leapt down the stairs. If the current situation hadn't been so dire--and if he hadn't been so messed up over a certain human girl--then he might have taken note of the soft white snow that dusted the mountainous world, and the soaring evergreens that surrounded them.

Instead, he blatantly ignored everything that he possibly could, impatient to get a move on. Even if there was no thumping music in the background, the loud whirr of the machines would lull his senses well enough.

That was if his stupid friend got his butt moving and stopped staring off into space.

It took another second of silence before the hanyou decided to make sure that particular friend was still breathing properly.

"Hey, Miroku! Are we going now or not? What the hell has gotten into you…?"

Miroku swivelled around, glancing down from the deck at his silver-haired pal with the utmost confusion painted on his perturbed face.

"I should be asking you the same question. You want to tell me what your entire wardrobe is doing over there?"

Inuyasha followed his outstretched finger, and saw a familiar shirt dangling from the branch of a small pine tree, flapping in the cold winter wind, as well as a myriad of socks and pant legs. That particular sight was slightly less disturbing than his boxer shorts crowning the tree in all their plaid glory.

In all of his years associated with the hanyou, Miroku had never quite seen him turn any kind of colour, let alone the bright, shiny red that his cheeks were acquiring now. True, there was that one time they had spent one too many hours at the beach, and they had both emerged looking like ripe lobsters, but that was due to circumstances beyond their control. This colour change was all Inuyasha's doing, and yet again he found himself wishing for that danged camera.

"I understand its cold outside, but you do realize that plants don't exactly need the same kind of protection from the winter that humans do? Although," Miroku paused for effect, watching with amusement a certain face contort into a menacing scowl, "I'll admit that the shirt contrasts with those green needles rather nicely. But those boxers, man, just don't cut it. Too much green I think. Now if there were red stripes that would be a lot more attractive."

A fuming, furious half-dog demon turned his full attention onto his human friend who was smirking from the deck. Bearing shapely teeth in Miroku's general direction, the flustered young hanyou stalked over to the tree and promptly began tearing off the wayward pieces of clothing from every branch.

Gritting those same pointed teeth against each other, Inuyasha found the garbage bins and tossed all offending articles inside, finishing off the little performance with a loud smash of the lid onto the can.

"Bravo! And now for your next feat?"

Inuyasha turned to find a grinning dark-haired man and a large demon cat sniggering behind him, their obvious laughter disguised as coughs and snorts and the occasional strange purr.

"You keep laughing like that, dumbass, and you'll attract some nice, round, female pigs," Inuyasha growled, stomping over to the shed that could be the only place where two large snowmobiles would be able to fit. At least he assumed that they would be hidden there, since Miroku wasn't really any help at this moment.

Of course, even though his remark was clear and direct in its insult, it did nothing but cause a much tortured man and demon convulse in even bigger fits of laughter.

Trying hard not to break open the wooden doors with his bare hands, Inuyasha found his salvation as the winter sunlight filtered into the dark confines of the shed, illuminating two flashy snowmobiles.

Not stopping to even glance back at his highly amused friend--who was probably having trouble breathing properly at this point--Inuyasha found two sets of keys close to the machines, and picked the first one he could grab.

It took Miroku a second to wipe the tears from his eyes, another for him to regain all sensible breath, and the final second was spent realizing that Inuyasha didn't even know how to work the snowmobiles properly, let alone steer one.

And if he turned on the snowmobile in the shed and accelerated in the wrong direction, then there would be bigger problems than a pissed-off Inuyasha.

Laughter was replaced by a panicked "Ack!" as Miroku darted over to the shed before his precious machines were completely destroyed, as a still snorting Kirara pranced in his wake.

It was going to be a long, long day.

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She couldn't believe it.

It was like one in a million chances that she ended up here, in this exact city. But for once, Fate had decided to give her the luck it had been withholding from her as of late.

Kagome blinked as she stood on the familiar sidewalk, gazing down a bustling street with eyes that recognized so much.

Who could have possibly guessed that Miroku's resort--their hiding place--was only a fifteen minute drive from her old haunt, the old village where she had done her first internship as a veterinarian. In fact, Dr. Satsumi's clinic was just around the corner, past the teahouse where the old ladies would go have their afternoon tea and gossip about the latest happenings.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to see if the Sushi Bar that she had spent most of her lunch breaks frequenting was still around, but couldn't see past the crowds.

"Hey, I know you're pissed off at Inuyasha, but do you really have to glare at all those innocent people?"

Jolted back to the present, Kagome smiled at her newfound friend who was leaning against the sleek surface of the SUV. "I'm done being mad at him now. He's just your regular jackass who takes advantage of any situation to get some action. Probably can't remember the last time he met a woman he didn't have to pay for. He's not worth my time."

Sango merely quirked a brow as she listened to the speech for the forty-second time. Or was it the fifty-seventh? "Nope, not bitter in the least, are you?"

Before Kagome could reply, the assassin jumped in again. The last thing she needed to hear while freezing to death was just how calm and collected the vet was. "Now, let's get our plan together before I get stuck to this car. I need to pick up a few things, especially some proper food for Kirara before Miroku turns her into a butterball. Why don't we meet somewhere in about an hour and then go have some drinks?"

Kagome paused, reasoned out the whole thing, and decided that an hour on her own might be a good idea. It would give her a chance to reacquaint herself with the old town, among other things.

"Sounds like a plan. How about meeting by that bookstore down there? It seems like a good marker."

Sango followed Kagome's gesture, and saw the emblem of an open book a few stores down. Peeling her coat off of the frost-covered hood, she gave the young woman a once over. "Are you sure you're all right? We can always go for coffee first--"

"Stop worrying about me," The vet cut in, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. "I think I can handle an hour on my own. Besides, I wouldn't want to hold you back from the fascinating process of buying cat food."

Sango smiled again, but it didn't quite reach her eyes as she realized that the Kagome she had driven here had changed from the one she had met in Tokyo. Whether it was a change in the right direction though, was still something to be seen. And as much as she wanted to hang around and dig at her new friend, the call of tedious shopping was ringing in her head.

"Okay then, I'll be on my way. Try not to get lost or anything. I really don't want to go back and explain to our darling male companions how I managed to lose you in under an hour."

"Stop worrying about me, and worry about that cat of yours," Kagome chided, waving her on. "Heaven knows what Miroku is feeding her this very minute."

With a wince, Sango shook her head. "Good point. Just don't wander down any suspicious alleyways, and if you see someone with silver hair, run."

"Do you listen to anything I say?"

"You mean the 'Stop worrying,' part? Yeah, I heard that. I just didn't process it."

The laugh bubbled up so suddenly that Kagome didn't realize how much she had missed laughing until Sango disappeared across a busy street--waving all the way. In fact, that had been the first laugh she had had in a while, and it had felt good.

You know, maybe things will start looking up, she thought, watching the bustle of people buried under every kind of winter clothing conceivable. After all, it was just a kiss. Albeit, a very passionate, wonderful kiss from a very sexy man. But just a kiss. Heck, he's probably forgotten about it already. So there's no reason for you to get all moony-eyed about it.

Shaking her head to rid it of its thoughts, she began her meandering down the street, letting her feet guide her along well-trodden sidewalks. Even as she neared the corner, her mind instinctively knew the direction that she would be moving.

It would be nice to see her old employer, and to exchange stories with him on a much higher professional level. He'd be proud of the Sakura Animal Hospital, although he'd probably start preaching about the wonders of interns.

Still, it was better than sitting alone in a bookstore, letting her mind dwell on the events that had taken place.

Talking to people was a good cure for insanity. Or, at least for a deterrent from the insane ramblings of the mind.

Kagome decided she would take whatever was available to her, at any cost. And right now, her first vet clinic seemed like a pretty good place to start.

-------

"Will that be all?"

"Oh, and maybe that squeaky ball over there. Next to the stuffed mouse."

The saleslady didn't question the new addition to Sango's growing line of purchases, but merely retrieved the toy and placed it on the pile that was slowly building up on the counter.

Sango eyed it all, and came to the conclusion that there was enough to last Kirara a lifetime. Geez, it might even last longer than her lifetime.

"Thanks. I think this should do just fine."

As the saleslady rung in the purchases, she stared at the assassin over tortoiseshell rims. "Is this your first pet, miss?"

Sango debated her answer, not wanting to come off as being some psychotic cat lady who spent her entire life savings on Creampuff the obese Persian kitty. Instead, she decided to go for the seemingly obvious answer.

"Yep. My first cat. I figure she needs some toys to amuse herself with." Sango forced a bright smile, hoping to complete the picture of an uncertain first-time pet parent. Technically, Kirara was her first pet, but after so many years of partnership, she felt like a true veteran of the animal-owner world.

"I'm sure she'll be very happy for a long time to come."

"She better be, with all this trouble I'm going to," Sango added, hoping the sarcasm seeping into her words didn't sound too evil. "So I can get the food where?"

The woman perked up. "Oh my, I forgot about that. Here, let me write it down for you. You can find it at the vet clinic here in the village, just across the street and down a few blocks. The vet's name is Dr. Satsumi, and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to help."

Propping her glasses on her head, she gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. Usually we keep our stocks plentiful, but the new shipments were delayed with the snowstorm."

Waving a careless hand, Sango paid over a rather hefty sum for a bunch of plastic toys, and gathered up her purchases--adding to an already weighted down arm. "No worries. We drove through the snowstorm too, and it wasn't the smartest thing we've ever done."

With a smile that could only come from seeing the enormous bill, the woman leaned against the counter and handed over a small bag of treats. "Here, as a bonus. Good luck with your cat."

"Thanks!"

With another wave, Sango exited the pet store and found herself back on the streets in the cold winter weather.

It was typical of any shopping excursion she had ever gone on. The one thing she had been aiming to buy--the one thing on her shopping list--was still missing in action, while her arms were laden down with plenty of other useless things.

With a sigh, she glanced down at her bags and decided that it wasn't useless. After all, every girl needed a good trashy magazine or two to read, right? Not to mention a few bags of candy, and some decent hot chocolate mix and marshmallows for those nights spent curled up by the fire.

It was all necessary to ensure a happy, fulfilled stay at Club Miroku, where the hands never stayed out of everyone else's personal space.

Grinning to herself, she followed the saleslady's instructions and soon found herself walking a strangely familiar path.

In fact, it was so familiar that she didn't even need to concentrate on the directions any longer, but rather let her feet take her where she needed to go.

And when she ended up in the front of a tidy little building, with pruned cedar hedges gracing the front, Sango suddenly realized why the village had brought back memories of her assassin days up north.

She had been here before.

On a hunt. Way back when she had only just started out on her own.

And the hunt had involved Kirara getting hurt. Really hurt.

And…and there was something else. Something scratching at the back of her mind. Something that was fuzzy, but still, getting clearer by the second.

Furrowing her brow, she stared long and hard at the glass doors, at the bronze plaque with the veterinarian's name. At those neat and tidy bushes.

Staring hard until someone emerged from the clinic, someone she knew now and had known back then too.

Her eyes connected with dark brown ones and suddenly Sango remembered everything. Remembered coming to this very clinic. Remembered reaching for those stainless steel handles.

And coming face to face with…

"Sango? Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Kagome rushed forward as Sango faltered, then stood straight, staring at her in bewilderment.

"I know who you are."

"Of course you know who I am," Kagome said, torn between grabbing the young woman and shaking some sense into her, or getting her to sit down for a bit to get that glazed look out of her eyes. "Although, mind you, spending the last 48 hours with someone doesn't necessarily mean you know them, but still--"

Waving a hand in an effort to stop the no doubt run on sentence, Sango gave her head a shake, and stared at Kagome, the glazed look slowly dissipating from her eyes.

"No, I knew you. Before this, before we met at your apartment."

Kagome narrowed her eyes, took a slight step back as if the extra distance would help jog her memory.

But it wasn't the distance that helped in the end. It was the look on Sango's face, that same plaintive look that she had seen so many years ago, when she had first started her internship with Dr. Satsumi. The image of Sango was being misted over by an younger version of her, clutching a small bloody bundle, and tears welling up in those same dark eyes.

The face, the name, and the location all added up into one suddenly bright, blinding memory that Kagome was surprised she hadn't even thought of before.

Now, though, was not the time to be wondering how memories of long ago had gotten so completely buried. At this moment, it was time that they needed to talk.

A serious talk.

"You remember it too, don't you?" Sango asked quietly. The look on Kagome's face was all that she needed for an answer. "Why don't we get that coffee now?"

Nodding, Kagome unburdened her friend of a few of the bulging bags, and they started towards the teahouse.

Neither of them questioned the fact that they both knew exactly where they were going. Instead, the silence spoke more than any words they could use at that moment, as flashes of the past continuously ran through each woman's head.

A small bell jingled as they entered into a warm, cozy room, packed with old ladies and young mothers holding wide-eyed children.

Finding a table in the back, they ordered some tea, and a few little snacks, before they managed to face each other head on.

It seemed to be a competition as to who could hold out for the longest with the questions burning away at the back of their mind.

Finally, Kagome decided to put her mind at ease.

Looking Sango straight in the eye, she cocked an eyebrow.

"So when, in all our time up here, were you going to tell me that you were really a demon exterminator?"

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Chapter 16 might actually avoid the fate of succumbing to writer's block…

note All will be explained in the next chapter, so don't worry if it's a tad confusing…