Not Acquaintances.

"How did we get together? Hmmm... I have no idea."

- Anonymous quote.


Byakuya frowned as Kagome and Sesshoumaru broke through one of his well-weaved illusion. He had never expected that the miko would come up with such an idea and that she had such strong purifying ki; her raw spiritual strength was almost on par with the undead Kikyou. Worse still, the taiyoukai had lent her a hand despite the fact that he was injured, and even risked the possibilities of sustaining more injuries and the existence of his only right arm. Their relationship was sudden and puzzling, yet he was not alarmed. Oddities and miracles happen, this was merely another one of them at work.

"What a scene," he could not help but to sulk at the dismay of his unsuccessful illusion. He did not have the intentions of killing them but merely wanted to see how far he could push them. To witness such an intimate scene between the taiyoukai and the miko was at least rewarding for his never-ending curiousity. He glanced at Kanna, who was holding her mirror tightly and not saying a word.

"Kanna?" Byakuya cocked his head to one side and wondered what was going on in her imperceptible mind. He could not help but to feel that she was so alike to Naraku in that respect. But the nihility youkai did not respond and merely walked away, having seen enough to rest her suspicions and fears. The seer had been right, and Naraku had not been able to eliminate Sesshoumaru as he had thought so. She let out a silent breath of relief and decided that she would have to made adjustments to her plan. Now that Kagome was with Sesshoumaru, everything seemed a little easier, yet a little more complicated too.

"Shall we let Naraku know about this?" the illusionist youkai was dying to get a word out from her.

Kanna stopped in her silent tracks and fingered the rim of her mirror, she would have to find out more and in the meanwhile, it would be better to keep Naraku in the dark regarding the taiyoukai's survival as long as possible. She finally replied tonelessly, "what he wants now is Inuyasha." Byakuya sighed inwardly at her answer and trudged on through the snow, "aa."

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"Do you really not remember anything at all?"

Sesshoumaru widened his eyes at her question, she had been so silent for so long on his back that he thought that she had gone mute after the kiss. He had been worried but the tone of her question unnerved him a little. It was as if there was something that she was hiding from him in regards to their relationship, like unspoken enmity.

"I have some recollections of my memories, but they are not clear. I remember a man, a hanyou, and a little ningen girl. I believe she is Rin?" he answered her honestly.

Kagome bit on her lower lip, "hai, I think so. Demo... anything about yourself?"

He closed his eyes and dug his boot into the snow, "hmm, here and there. I seem to remember that I lost my left arm, and that I'm a youkai. A powerful one I assume."

She could not help and smiled silently at his arrogance, but frowned when the next question popped into her mind. "What about your skills?" she narrowed her eyes warily, not sure whether Sesshoumaru was leading her around in a game.

He paused for a while and thought hard. He did not know how he had managed to do all of those things that he had did. It came as natural to him as flexing his fingers, or wriggling his toes.

"Wakaranai, it's innate I think. Datte... I can't seem to command the youki-cloud to my will as easily."

"Sou ka..." she mumbled to herself, wondering how much of his past he had recalled exactly. She was afraid, nervous, confused, yet excited at the same time. The last emotion troubled her, she could not really figure out what she was excited about. Perhaps it's the...

Kagome blushed hard at that unfinished thought and instantly felt that it was not right for her to be on his back nor thinking about such treacherous thoughts. He was not Inuyasha, even though he was his elder brother and he had lost his memory. She felt as if she was taking advantage of the situation and that he would probably feel so disgusted at himself if he ever knew that he had carried a human on his back. Shudders crawled up her back at the next thought of her impending death when he would regain his memory one day.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Rin and Ah-Un had kindly saved her day. She could see Rin on the draconic beast speeding down towards them and thanked Kami that she could finally get off his back.


Sango knelt before the tombs of her village and placed white daisies and chrysanthemums, while Kirara followed her around. Miroku stood silently at the back until Sango reached her father's tomb. He could see her trembling back and hands as she laid the flowers respectfully before it. Kirara mewled and rubbed her nose against Sango affectionately.

"Sango," Miroku went forward and laid his hand on her shoulder, not knowing what to say to comfort her. Three years had passed and he knew that Sango still blamed herself for what had happened.

Sango bent her head as tears coursed down her face, "I hate him."

Miroku knelt down beside her and closed his eyes, "I know."

She sniffled and stared at the tablet, recalling the vow that she had taken before it three years ago. "Chichi-ue, I will avenge for us, and retrieve Kohaku. I promise."

"And I will help her," Miroku clapped his hands together and bowed, "please give us your blessings."

"Houshi-sama..." Sango turned and looked at the man that held her heart, eyes brimming with tears.

Miroku shifted his position and looked into Sango's deep brown eyes, knowing that he could give her ithis/i promise, "Sango, I will go wherever you go."

The tears clouded her vision, but she decided to let go of her usual restraint and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, "Miroku!"

The monk smiled at the rare embrace and in return wrapped his arms around the woman that he was willing to die for, "Sango..."

His hand was itching to squeeze her firm butt, but decided against it when he saw her Hiraikotsu lying near them. Instead, he buried his fingers into her snow-laced hair and rested his cheek against her head. He could feel her warm soft chest pressing against him and that was enough.


Thank Kami that Rin has good eyesight... Kagome thought to herself absentmindedly as Ah-Un landed at the entrance of the cave. It took them just a short while to return back to their hideout while Rin bombarded both of them ceaselessly with her questions, to which none of it were answered. Sesshoumaru dismounted from Ah-Un gracefully and stretched his hand out. Kagome was not sure whether she should take it when Rin thrust her hand into his, with a big smile plastered on her grimy face.

I will need to give her a wash... Kagome thought to herself again as she led Sesshoumaru to the inner cavern, noticing that Jaken had fainted on the ground with tears on his face, probably overwhelmed with joy that he's not dead...

"Kagome-neesan! Are you hungry?" Rin pulled out a familiar chocolate bar from the lapels of her thin yukata and smiled at Kagome, to which the miko was not sure whether to be happy that she had started to talk, or to be wary that she was growing up to become a thief.

"Iie, you go ahead and eat first. I need to tend to Sesshoumaru first," Kagome decided that she would have a talk with the little Rin soon before her strayward hands get her into further trouble. Not that anyone will dare to do anything to her... She sighed softly to herself and pinched her nose-bridge. Things were whirling by so fast that she had hardly gotten the time to sit down and properly sort through the plethora of thoughts in her mind.

And now, it's even messier than ever, she glanced a peep at the taiyoukai who was sitting down and leaning his back against the wall of the cave, staring into the space quietly. She lit a candle and pulled out the stuff that she would need to change his dressing. Now that Sesshoumaru was conscious, Kagome felt even more embarrassed to go near him, not to mention touching him. The memories of their kiss, the feel of his masculine lips; and the sensations that accompanied it hung at the back of her mind.

"Ano... I need to change your dressing, and it might hurt," her voice came out a little squeaky and strangled and she coughed hard, not wanting to ridicule herself further. "Please take off your top."

Sesshoumaru sensed her anxiety and embarrassment, but could do nothing to relieve her from it. He had expected her to lash out at him for the kiss, but not this. Kagome was being exceptionally quiet and cautious, not speaking other than it was necessary. Questions pertaining to their relationship were swirling around his mind and he knew that he would have to clarify with her.

"How do I take this off? It's unlike anything that I can remember of," he spoke as he fumbled with the buttons.

"Ah!" Kagome quickly knelt down in front of him and helped him with the buttons, "gomen nasai, this is actually my otouto's shirt. Yours was... beyond wearable condition and I had to get another for you. I hope this is alright with you."

His lips straightened at the formality she held with him. She was too polite, and distanced. Nothing like the Kagome he had known two nights ago. He nodded his head once and she slipped the shirt off him carefully, not understanding why she herself was so tense either. While Kagome was cleaning up and tending to his wounds, Sesshoumaru noticed that the whole cavern was covered in her sweet natural scent. He was wondering to himself whether that would attract any undesired visitors when he heard the snipping sound of her scissors.

"It's done, please lie down so that I can treat your eyes," she guided him to his furry pelt and while she was cleaning the pus away from his eyes, Sesshoumaru could not help but to wince. The fiery pain had subsided considerably but he could feel the pluck of his raw skin everytime her tissue got stuck to it.

"Gomen ne! I will be more careful..." Kagome apologized and narrowed her eyes in concentration, inwardly cursing herself for her clumsiness.

"Daijoubu," he let out a slight pained smile at her as he slowly snaked his hand over to the tendrils of her hair that were lying on his abdomen. The tending miko's lips parted a little at his reassurance, before a small smile appeared on her worn-out face, "arigatou."

"For?"

"For... helping me just now," she squeezed the herb-paste over his eyes slowly.

Sesshoumaru wondered how Kagome looked as he twirled a lock of her raven hair between his fingers, it was so cold, soft and smooth. "We are allies, isn't it so?"

She froze at his words, not knowing how to reply him.

"Kagome?" Sesshoumaru felt her hands stop and he turned his face a little to her.

"Sesshoumaru, what happened just now was purely an accident," Kagome resumed her task of wrapping the gauze around his head as she said out the words firmly.

His heart dipped a little at her words, but his face revealed none of that. There were too many things in his mind that needed to be solved and settled, but this new addition was the one he had sought out to tackle first. He was dubious to their previous relationship as allies but he knew that he could not rush her.

"You are not telling me the whole truth. Were we really allies, or something.. else?"

Kagome widened her eyes, she could not tell him the whole truth now. Maybe later, but not now... She was too confused with everything and her mind could not exactly handle the things that had happened between them. "We.. were not really allies... but our enemy is the same. Inuyasha and you are not exactly on very good terms..."

Inuyasha... Sesshoumaru felt a stab of pain through his head as he tried to recall the images that were attached to this name.
"You mentioned that he is my otouto?"

Kagome tied a firm knot around his head and nodded her head, "ee. Half-brother."

He thought he could see a hazy image of someone clad in red in his mind before it vanished, he would ask about Inuyasha and the red haori later. "I see. What about us?"

She almost choked on his words, but regained her composure fast and scrambled away to clear up her stuff. "We... are acquaintances, you might say."

"Acquaintances?" Sesshoumaru was puzzled and confused. Acquaintances did not take care of one another like the way she had. He knew that he could have died from such serious injuries on his body.

"Um... we seldom talked," Kagome thought of the time that they had sparred verbally in Inu no Taisho's grave over Tessaiga.

"I see," the tension in her answer did not go unnoticed, and Sesshoumaru wondered what exactly the nature of their relationship was. "Were we friendly?"

Kagome thought hard and long as she proceeded to boil the herbs, "you saved me once, and Inuyasha."

Sesshoumaru frowned a little, her answers sounded a tad forced, and he surmised that their relationship was not friendly at all. In addition, she mentioned his half-brother's name ever so often, to his unexplained dismay.

"You are close to Inuyasha."

Her jaw slacked at his sudden remark, and it took a long while before she answered softly, "you can say so."

His next question came out equally fast, "friends? Or lovers?"

Kagome felt as if she was being interrogated and frowned a little, "is it important?"

He quirked his right eyebrow up, she had unconsciously given her answer away with her question. "I am merely curious, since you mention his name so often."

She brought two fingers up and massaged her temples, Sesshoumaru was wriggling information out from her cleverly but yet she did not know how to advert it. "Inuyasha... is bound to someone else, I am merely his good friend."

Sesshoumaru thought that he had never heard a lousier liar before, but he chose to go along with her, "I see. Are we friends now, then?"

Kagome raised both eyebrows as she handed the bowl of cooled herbs to him, quite unable to restrain the smile on her face, "I should think so. Drink this, it helps to purge the poison out from your body."

Sesshoumaru nodded once and downed the whole contents into his mouth, scrunching his nose as he used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, "hidoi!"

Kagome giggled, "I have already added sugar, you know."

"You should add more," he replied instaneously.

"I didn't know that you have a sweet tooth," she giggled again.

He was glad and relieved at her relaxed giggle, but was surprised at the same time, "how did you know that it was bitter?"

Kagome could not answer in time and his next question caught her off-guard. "How did I drink this when I was unconscious then?"

She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks again as she mumbled to herself and took the bowl from him, "I've got my own ways..."

Sesshoumaru smiled and did not pursue the matter anymore. He knew that it would not be too difficult for their previous strained relationship to change to a better one. But safety was the first priority in his mind as he heard heavy slapping footsteps running to him, coupled with heavy breathing.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! I am so happy to see you well and alive!" Jaken knelt before his lord while Rin ran around the taiyoukai in circles laughing merrily, "Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!"

His eyebrows furrowed into a slight frown at the noise they made, and he guessed that the female was Rin while the squawky voice belonged to Jaken, "damaru."

All three froze at his command, not daring to open their mouths.

"Rin, come here."

"Hai," Rin obeyed solemnly and crawled to his front with a serious look on her face.

Sesshoumaru knew that he had wanted to do this in his dreams, and placed his right hand over her head, patting it awkwardly. Kagome was shocked; Jaken was appalled. Both came to the conclusion that Sesshoumaru had indeed lost his memory and screws.

Rin froze at his tender action, it was the first time that her lord had made physical contact with her, other than the times he had saved her. Her eyes widened with shining adoration as a big toothy smile appeared on her childish face, "Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Sesshoumaru retracted his hand and nodded his head in a lordly way, "be good."

Jaken's eyes almost popped out as his mouth gaped open, his lord was not behaving like himself at all. The first thought that came to his mind was that Kagome had done something to him.

"Wretched ningen! What have you done to Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken barked at Kagome.

Kagome frowned and glared at the kappa-youkai, "baka! What can I do to him! He lost his memory, that's all!"

Rin turned her head around and peered curiously, "honto ni?"

Kagome nodded her head while Jaken continued, "you must have put something into the herbs! I knew that you would not be so nice to us!"

"How dare you accuse me you disgusting toad!" Kagome was tempted to smash her fist onto his slimy head when Sesshoumaru intervened.

"Jaken," his low voice held that edge of danger to it.

"Hai Sesshoumaru-sama! Jaken is here!" the kappa-youkai answered fervently and waved his hands.

Sesshoumaru could not help but to feel insulted and annoyed, "does it matter whether I have lost my memory? Or do you intend to switch masters?"

"Iya Sesshoumaru-sama! Gomen nasai! I do not mean this!" Jaken dropped Nintoujou and bowed to the ground, not daring to move his forehead away from the ground. Rin's smile was wiped off her face as she looked at Jaken's profuse apologies.

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru continued in his lordly tone, which unnerved Kagome a little. His tone reminded her of the old Sesshoumaru. The one who would kill without thinking.

"Hai."

"I know that you are not under my protection before, as you have pointed out to me. But things have changed, now that you are with us, you shall listen to me."

Kagome glared at the taiyoukai, it was more that he needed her to take care of his wounds but he had made it sound like she was their burden. She bit her tongue in order to restrain her temper, knowing that he would not like it if she retorted back in front of his retainer and ward. Still as arrogant as before, jerk!

Sesshoumaru smirked inwardly at her silence, he could feel her glares on him, and wondered how anyone could interest him to such an extent. "We shall leave rightaway."

Kagome raised both her eyebrows in shock at his command, where would we go? Demo-"

"Naraku has discovered our hideout, unless you want the morning incident to repeat itself again, do not argue."

Kagome was rendered speechless and her cheeks tinged red from his double-meaning words, inwardly lamenting to herself the umpteenth time what exactly she had gotten herself into.


A/N: I really like Miroku. )

hanyou - half-demon
ningen - human
demo - but
shiranai - I don't know
wakaranai - I don't understand
chichi-ue - respectful way of addressing one's own father
houshi - buddhist monk
Kami - God
-nee-san/ - onee-san - elder sister
iie - no
datte - even so/though/but
ano - excuse me/erm
gomen nasai - sorry (formal)
otouto - younger brother
daijoubu - it's alright/ok
arigatou - thank you (casual)
Inu no Taisho - General of Dogs (this term is used by Myouga and Toutousai to address Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's father)
hidoi - bitter/terrible
damaru - be silent
honto ni - really?
iya - no/nope (masculine)