AN: Wow. Thanks for the reviews people, and for those who did ask questions, I'll be answering them at the end of the chapter. As I said before, any and all reviews are welcome. Okay. Continue

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and crew. (sniffle) I said I wasn't going to cry.

Chapter Three: I Don't Remember

Kagome stared as the man ground herbs into his mortar and pestle. It didn't appear as if he would say anything else, of which she was glad. She had expected him to be full of questions, questions she didn't have answers to. Questions she wouldn't and couldn't answer, even if she wanted to. They remained silent, though fully aware of one another.

Sesshomaru frowned thoughtfully. He could feel her wary gaze presenting itself as an itch between his shoulder blades. Her caution irked him, but he knew there was no help for it. The girl had obviously been attacked by something, and she was scared. Perfectly understandable. 'And she is in a different country as well,' he thought, finishing with his herbs and setting them aside. 'It is completely reasonable for her to be frightened.' He left the room briefly to obtain a pitcher of water. It hadn't gotten by him that she was dehydrated. Before he returned to his charge, he called down to the bottom of the stairs for broth and bread. 'She may not be able to stomach anything too heavy,' he thought, returning to the room.

Kagome had been inspecting her surroundings when her silver-haired doctor returned. She tensed without realizing it, her eyes following him as he moved about. He stopped at the dresser, his back turned to her. 'He is so stealthy. I wouldn't have even heard him come in,' she thought, making herself all the more alert. Something akin to panic rose in her chest when he turned and started towards her. It took everything in her not to bolt for the door once he reached her bedside.

He noticed her apprehension and spoke. "Do you feel well enough to eat?"

Kagome, eyes wide with alarm, nodded slowly.

"I'm going to have to sit you up then."

He reached for her. She flinched.

Sesshomaru looked up, his gaze meeting hers. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he paused.

She blinked. 'Gold eyes? How odd.' It was even more odd that he had stopped when he noticed her unease. He was waiting for her. She took a steadying breath and forced herself to relax.

He put an arm around her shoulders, slowly pushing her forward until she sat upright. Then, with his free hand, he arranged the pillows behind her then lowered her once again, careful of her wounds. He arched a brow. She nodded hesitantly. He turned away, leaving her bedside. 'That wasn't too bad,' she thought with a sigh. The silver-haired, golden-eyed man returned and offered her a cup. She looked at it cautiously, then at him as if to say 'You expect me to do drink this?'

"It's just water," he said, still holding the cup out to her. She glanced at him again before taking a timid sip of the offered liquid. 'Tastes alright,' she thought, then snatched the cup from him, draining it in moments.

Sesshomaru watched her empty the cup, not saying a word. He knew she would be thirsty and had prepared himself for such, but could not help staring at her. She blushed, lowering her eyes. He took the cup from her, refilled it, and offered it to her once again. She took it gratefully, drinking it slowly but eagerly. "How long has it been since you ate or drank.?"

She lowered her eyes once again. "I don't remember."

He didn't reply as he took the cup from her and placed it on the night stand. He turned to her once again, reaching to take her pulse. She recoiled slightly, panic once again returning to her features. He spared her a glance before continuing with his examination. Her pulse was quickened 'Probably by fear,' he noted, but normal otherwise. "Take a deep breath," he ordered, listening intently as she did so. It was a bit shaky, which he also attributed to fear, but normal as well. He then took a bandage off of her arm. 'So odd.' In the small amount of time since he had changed her bandages, she seemed to have healed even more. "Do you always heal this quickly?"

She looked away, but nodded.

"Are you in any pain?"

She shook her head.

"Lightheaded?"

She shook her head again.

They continued that way for a few moments before he finished his examination. 'And not a moment too soon,' he thought, hearing the sound of footsteps in the hall outside. Seconds later, there was a knock at the door. Kagome jumped a foot in the air. "Come," called her healer.

In came two people, neither of which she recognized at first. Upon closer inspection, however, she noted that one of them was the boy with her healer the night before. They shared the same hair and eyes, but the features were irrefutably different. The other person in the room was a girl, but not the 'Kikyo' who looked so much like her. The girl before her had dark hair and brown eyes. They each carried a tray laden with food. Kagome blinked, though her healer shook his head.

"I asked for a bowl of broth. One bowl of broth. What is all of this?" he asked, plainly annoyed.

"I'm sorry Sesshomaru, but it was all Kaede's doing," started the girl. 'Sesshomaru?' thought Kagome. 'That must be his name. But who is Kaede?' The girl continued. "She started off with the broth, but then she said that broth never fills anyone up, so she added the bread. Then she thought that the girl might like something heavier, since she healed up so quickly and added the potato soup. Which would need more bread. Then she though that the girl would like something nice to drink besides water, and then she said that 'all girls like something sweet', so–"

Sesshomaru held up a hand to stop her. "Enough." He took a deep breath, then looked at the girl. "This is Sango and Inuyasha." They greeted her. She nodded to each of them. "I have a feeling I will regret this." He shook his head, then continued. "I'm out of Tricera root. Do you two think you can manage to keep an eye on her while I get some?"

"Keep an eye on her? She's not two or anything. I seriously doubt she'll fall out of bed or stab herself in the eyeball with a fork or something," commented Inuyasha with a smirk.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he grew annoyed. "Just don't kill her. Is that simple enough?" He turned to his patient, whose eyes were wide. He sighed. "Eat whatever appeals to you." Then he was gone.

"Asshole," muttered Inuyasha, rolling his eyes.

"Well of course. He is, after all, your brother," replied Sango nonchalantly. Inuyasha frowned at her and she grinned. "It runs in the family," she said to Kagome with a wink. Inuyasha grumbled under his breath, but didn't reply. "Well, which tray do you want?"

Kagome looked at her choices. One tray had broth, what looked like potato soup, tomato soup, and silverware. The other had a scrumptious looking chocolate something or another on it, two plates of bread, and the devices needed for making tea. She looked quite astounded. They waited for an answer.

"Well?" asked the annoyed young man.

She blinked and looked up at them. "This is mine?"

Sango laughed softly. "Yes."

"All of it?"

"Are you not right in the head or something? Yes it's all yours," snapped Inuyasha, then received a glare from the girl next to him.

"And I get to choose?"

"Yes. 'Eat whatever appeals to you'. That's what he said, right?" Sango was smiling.

She frowned. "There's something in it, isn't there?" she asked softly, sounding disappointed.

Sango seemed shocked. "Of course not!"

The girl seemed hesitant but, after further urging, stared in awe at the food presented to her. She gazed longingly at the potato soup, but instead chose the broth. She settled down with the clear liquid and began to consume it.

"What are you doing?" asked Inuyasha, sounding annoyed.

The girl froze, then looked up at him fearfully. "Y-y-you said it w-w-was m-mine." She looked so afraid that Sango hit Inuyasha for being so snappish with her.

"What he means is," she started gently with a glower in the boy's direction, "you obviously wanted the potato soup. Why'd you pick the broth?"

The girl looked nervously down at her chosen meal. "Well, it is what he sent for me to begin with, so he must have wanted me to eat it–"

Sango shook her head. "No. He just wanted to start you off with something not too heavy so it wouldn't make you feel sick. If you can stomach the potato soup, then go ahead."

"But Sesshomaru," she started, feeling quite torn.

"Forget about him. If you want it, eat it. It isn't really that big a deal," said Inuyasha, crossing his arms.

She looked so upset. "But. . ." It was spoken softly, almost tearfully.

"Fine! If you want to eat the broth, eat the broth! It's no big deal!"

Sango sighed, rolling her eyes. 'He obviously doesn't know that this is about more than the food.' She indicated for him to be quiet and turned to the girl. "What's wrong?"

"The people here are so strange. . ." She opened her mouth to continue but just shook her head, letting the sentence trail off.

"Here? Where are you from?"

"Sakaio. But here people are so double-faced. I-I-I don't know wh-wh-what–"

"It was just some soup," started Inuyasha, but yelped as Sango kicked him.

"It's okay, Kagome," she said gently, sending him warning looks. 'What?' he mouthed. "Shut up," she growled, trying to comfort the girl. "As soon as you're well again, which should be in a few days, you can go back to Sakaio."

"Why go back if there's nothing to go back to?" The girl's response was so softly spoken that the two weren't entirely sure that they heard correctly.

"Don't you have any family?"

"Not any more."

Sango glanced at Inuyasha seriously. She was about to speak when she saw the door open. Sesshomaru entered silently and raised a brow at the scene. He gestured for Inuyasha to follow him into the hall, then closed the door behind them.

"Why hasn't she eaten?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, explaining about the whole broth fiasco. "It was just some soup! Nothing to get all emotional over!"

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to strangle his little brother. 'It obviously isn't about the soup.' "I swear, you don't have the brain you were born with," he muttered, hearing his brother's sputtered protests but not paying them any mind before he returned to the room. The girl's eyes were lowered and she seemed even more withdrawn than before he left. "Kagome." The girl looked up, slightly startled at hearing him say her name. "Eat the soup." 'There. I told her to eat the soup. That's one problem taken care of,' he thought, watching the girl promptly pick up her spoon and begin to eat. When she finished, he asked Sango to prepare her a cup of tea. Once it was done, Kagome took the cup in shaking hands. 'At this rate she'll have a nervous breakdown before dark.'

"You are from Sakaio," he stated simply. She nodded. "Then what are you doing here?"

The girl wasn't shocked by his blunt approach. "I don't remember."

There was something about her, perhaps it was the way she didn't meet his eyes or that she answered so readily, but whatever it was told him that she was lying. "You don't remember," he repeated.

"No."

"Nothing at all."

"No."

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"Last night."

"What about it?"

"Coming into the clearing."

"And that's it."

"Yes."

"Hmm." She glanced at him before looking down at the cup in her hands. "Nothing before then?"

"No."

"Nothing at all."

"No."

"Nothing about being at Lord Naraku's castle?" he asked, looking for a reaction. He got one. The girl stiffened minutely, but he noticed nonetheless.

"Who?"

"Lord Naraku. The cloak you were wearing last night had his personal crest on it. The only way you could get that is if you were at his castle."

"Oh."

"So you were there?"

"I doubt it."

"But you can't be sure, since you don't remember."

"What business could I have with a lord?"

"I'm certain there are a few things."

She glared up at him. "What?"

'A satisfactory response at last.' "I suppose there are lots of things a Sakaiian young woman such as yourself could do with a Taisokuan lord." The girl listened in silence, so he continued. "You could be inquiring about purchasing some land, you could be inquiring about a place in his staff. There are quite a few things you could be doing there, aside from the more obvious things that come to mind." He knew that he sounded skeptical. It was exactly what he was going for.

And she took the bait. "What are you trying to say?" she asked, noticeably offended.

"Tell us what you were doing at Lord Naraku's castle."

She was still trembling as she answered through gritted teeth. "I don't remember."

Sesshomaru gave an 'annoyed' sigh. "Fine then. Since you are from Sakaio and Inuyasha says that you have no family, what did you plan to do upon reaching Taisoku?"

"What makes you think I actually wanted to come here?" she spat, seething with anger, then immediately caught her error.

'Ah,' Sesshomaru thought, nodding, 'an answer at last.' "So you were forced to come here." The girl just nodded, eyes downcast. "By who?"

She shook her head. "Don't remember," she whispered softly.

'Now things are starting to make sense.' "What do you remember?"

She continued to shake her head, but more vigorously. "Don't remember," she insisted, sadness creeping into her voice.

But he knew that she did.

And now, kiddies, it's Q&A time!

midnightloon- 1. Does Kagome have amnesia? No. Not exactly. The only reason she 'doesn't remember' is because she doesn't want to, and Sesshomaru realizes that. Hence. . . well. . . that last sentence there in the chapter.

2. Are Kagome and Kikyo long lost twin sisters separated at birth? Once again, not exactly. But close. It's gona take them an excruciatingly long conversation tracing over family trees and such to realize exactly how they're related, but they are related.

3. When is the story taking place? The past or present? Hmm. It never occurred to me that this could take place in the present. I have it set in the past, but I suppose it could work in the present too. Except for the whole sword thing. If guys just randomly whipped out swords today, I'd be a heck of a lot happier. We'd have a whole Highlander (which I don't own) thing going on there, but it'd still be cool anyway.

AN: Oh my good heavens above, my neck is killing me. I hurt it a few days ago and now I'm stuck in this brace thingie and taking pain pills and muscle relaxers that make me so incredibly tired. And if I don't go to sleep. . . lets not go into that. Please review people. I know it's a lot to ask, but I'm begging here. I'm exhausted, drugged to the high hills on friggin prescription pain killers, and in excruciating pain. I want is a few letters in me mail box. Come on. Please? The next update will probably be a little late, b/c of this friggin hurricane. Darn you, weather channel! Oh well. Ta ta my darlings!