Disclaimer: I still have none ownership of Inuyasha.

Chapter Four: Painful Memories

Miori and Sesshomaru had joined Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku on the ground. Sesshomaru had placed himself a good distance from his idiot half brother, and Miori had chosen to sit next to him. Inuyasha was sprawled on the ground opposite Sesshomaru, his head nearly on Kagome's lap, a fact not unnoticed by Miori. Sango was seated on the other side of Kagome, and Kirara was curled up on her lap, with Miroku next to her. Shippo was seated in front of Kagome.

"Well…" Miori started, at a loss for words due to the interruption of her and Sesshomaru's activities moments before.

"Where were you Miori?" Inuyasha decided to jump in, having a very good idea of what he had interrupted.

She smiled and shrugged at him, "All around. I just traveled. No place significant." Sesshomaru's head jerked up at her last sentence, "Liar."

"Prepared to back that claim up, Fluffy?" she arched one elegant eyebrow in his direction, daring him to answer. He smirked slowly at her, enjoying her irritation.

"Your nose twitched. That only happens when you're lying." Miori grumbled to herself, cursing the said appendage in her head. Sesshomaru fought to retain his cool emotionless visage despite the fact he wanted to laugh at his friend. His will prevailed in the end, and he prodded his friend to see where she had been, "So where did you really go?"

She hesitated a moment and Sesshomaru gained the feeling he would not like her answer, "I did visit the northern mountains…"

"What!" Inuyasha jumped up and looked at Miori with shock. Sesshomaru twitched slightly though his inclination was to do the same as Inuyasha.

"Gee, from the way you both are acting, you would almost think it was a bad thing I was there." The sarcasm that dripped from her voice was thick.

"What's in the northern mountains?" the one called Kagome asked.

"It's fox demon territory mainly. That's where I come from." The little kitsune informed them all.

"Miori shrugged and swept her hair back from her face, "I don't know if you've been informed of this, but I'm half fox demon, half dog demon. My mother was a fox demon, and I discovered on my trip there that she also happened to be the youngest daughter of the Lord of the Northern Lands. Ashamed of my mixed blood, my grandfather sold me into slavery. I was only a baby. I was maybe five when Jaken bought me."

"But…Myoga told us you were in slavery ten years." Sango blushed when everyone looked at her.

"That is a common misconception. However, if I know Myoga he also told you I went through fifty different masters in my time as a slave. That is true. Apparently I was a very ill mannered child."

"Not much has changed since then." Sesshomaru couldn't help the jibe as he lay down on the ground. Miori in turn hit him-hard- in the ribs. He scowled but resisted the temptation to rug the sore spot.

"Anyways, I always thought my grandfather killed my mom. Turns out she gave me to him to get rid of. The bitch didn't want me, and had tried to abort me until it became a risk to her health." The bitterness in her voice was palpable, and Sesshomaru pulled himself up to look at her, swearing he caught the glint of tears in her eyes, "Turns out I have a younger sister too, and an older brother. Pure fox though so they got to stay." Sesshomaru reached out and patted her knee once, all the reassurance he wanted to give with these strange people around. She smiled at him, completely understanding his feelings. Inuyasha of course crawled over and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry Miori."

"It's okay. Which reminds me, Inu. I heard you cut off your brother's arm while I was away." Her voice was entirely casual, but Inuyasha paled nonetheless.

"I…uh…he started it!" Inuyasha summoned quickly.

"Hey, I'm not mad."

Sesshomaru snorted and grumbled, "Thanks for the support." at her back resisting the urge to tickle her. She stuck out her tongue at him, "It's not like I wasn't able to fix it!"

Inuyasha looked confused until his brother waved at him with his restored arm, "Miori, you grew it back! You've gotten a lot better at healing." She shrugged embarrassed, and decided to turn the conversation to the others and what they were doing with each other. Sesshomaru only half paid attention, learning more about the quest for the Shikon jewel, and to destroy Naraku, then he really cared to know. He noted how his brother had found Miori last night however and chuckled.

"What?" Miori cast an irritated glance at her friend, knowing she had something to do with his amusement.

"Only you would travel almost an hour to visit a hotspring."

"Well, you didn't place your houses in very convenient locations. Actually I think I'll go back tonight." She threw him a mischief filled look he understood at once. All the talking had taken most of the day, so his genius brother and his friends would likely be spending the night with them. However if they traveled to the springs they would be alone. The others threw looks at them, apparently baffled by the understanding the two shared.

Miori stretched her arms and yawned, "I'm tired."

Inuyasha shook his head at her, "How are you always so tired? You always used to sleep all night and most of the day too."

She winked at him and laughed, "I have a secret for you. Remember how I always used to know where everything in the castle was, even though I hadn't the day before?" When the two boys nodded at her she leaned forward and whispered, "It's because I don't sleep at night. I was up exploring the castle. The day is the only time I slept."

"But…but what about the night guards? Wouldn't they have stopped you?" Inuyasha questioned the confusion on his face evident.

"Ever wonder how I got so fast?" She winked and laughed at them, "Wake me up for lunch. Thanks." She stood up and sauntered back into the house. On her way back to the cabin she turned around and yelled, "Secret number two: I'm not a slave either!" She laughed and walked into the cabin forcing Sesshomaru to explain what she meant.

Later that night…

It had taken about two and a half hours to reach the hot springs. Miori had made Sesshomaru run faster and longer then he would've liked too. He forgot all of this however when they first arrived at the hotspring. Miori walked over to the edge and dangled her feet in the water, her eyes downcast. He folded his legs and sat next to her.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, his smooth baritone voice showing his concern.

"About what?" she smile falsely at him, her tone overly bright. She swept her hair out of her eyes, and leaned back onto her hands gazing at the stars, "Remember when we were kids, and I used to make you sit up and watch for the first star every night?"

"You always used to make wishes on it. But you would never tell me what, even though I used to sit for hours and try to get you to."

"Back when I would spend the night in your room because we were kids and we could get away with it. Yeah, that's what I meant. Every night I would wish that I would find out what really happened to my mom. I knew my dad was dead courtesy of your dad. I always thought that she was dead too, or if my grandpa had let her live, he had her kept prisoner. I always thought that she couldn't get to me because she wasn't able to, but then I found out she just didn't want me. She was ashamed of me." Her voice broke and he could see the glint of tears she was fighting to hold back. Even as a child she had hated to cry. He didn't know what to say, so he just pulled her to his chest, and rubbed her back soothing her as best he knew how.

Miori buried her head deeper into her best friend's chest, inhaling his distinct musky odor. She was willing to admit she was very happy about being there. More than she should be as they were only friends. She resisted the temptation to snort. This morning's experience had proved that wrong. She had no regrets, that wasn't the problem. But if her mother hadn't wanted her, her fucking mother, what in the hell would someone like Sesshomaru do with her. Not only was he the Lord of the Western Lands, but he was strong and smart, and caring. At least the Sesshy she knew was. What could he want with a mixed blood, a former slave, when he could have anyone?

"Miori?"

"Huh? What?" he broke her from her musings with a light tug on her hair.

"If you want to cry, just this once I promise I won't tell." She couldn't help it. She started giggling. He looked at her as though she were slightly crazy, which only made her laugh harder. "Crazy bitch." He muttered under his breath.

She rolled her eyes at him, and shrugged his arms away. Deciding to bathe which is what she came here to do, she pulled her hair up off her neck. She became distracted by the feel of his hands on her hips once more, pulling her onto his lap, his breath on her neck, "I take it your feeling better." A grin tugged at her lips for a moment as she decided to toy with him.

"I feel as good as I did this morning." She turned into him, pressing her entire body against his, almost purring as she muttered into his ear. He growled at her, no doubt guessing what she was doing. She hid her smile, and flicked the shell of his ear with her tongue, sliding her hands up her chest. His breathing was becoming heavier, and she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck and shoulder. His hands encased her waist, and he drew her closer, before she allowed him to catch her lips. She made the kiss deeper, absorbing the very soul of her friend through the kiss. She lovingly and gently explored his mouth, running her tongue over his fangs, trying to impart care, and not lust in her actions. It didn't matter. Fluffy was getting pretty damn horny either way. He moved to pull her closer when she pulled away and stood up.

He glared at her, which disappeared quickly when she pulled off her outer top. She waited until she had his full attention, and turned her back to him, and slowly slid her inner top off, and heard him groan slightly behind her. Laughing in sheer delight she dived into the spring, swimming to the other side. He stood up as well, stretching his long legs, and removed his armor. She turned away, flushed as he removed his haori and he laughed at her.

"Why Miori, you'd think you'd never seen a male without their clothes before."

"Not all of us are whores like you Fluffy." She couldn't contain the eye roll and sarcasm, though she tried very hard.

"You haven't, have you?" His voice was torn between wonder and surprise. Most people were surprised at her innocence. When it came to mischief making, there was little she had not done, but in matters of the flesh, well she lacked much experience.

"Well then, I'll try to make this memorable for you." He whispered into her ear, sliding behind her. She jumped a little, as she had not heard him enter the spring. Truth be told, she would have liked nothing more but…

"What is it? You forget I can read you like a book." He rubbed her shoulders, attempting to ease the tension he could feel there.

"Then you should know what's wrong." She wrapped her arms across her breast, leaning into his hands.

"I can guess. You don't want to get that close."

"I won't tie you to me like that. Not now."

"Because you're scared that I'll discard you like your mother did?"

He had, she thought, found it exactly. She shook her head, "How do you always know what's bothering me, when I have no clue?"

"Comes from spending most of my life with you."

"Yeah, you were the lucky one between us." He prodded her once in the ribs, and then wrapped his arms around her, which did more harm then good really. A sluice of warmth went straight through Miori's body and settled in her loins, and her breathing became harsh. She fought to regain control.

"I suppose I should tell you that's not all then. Sesshy, what happened this morning? Lust, yeah that was there. Nothing beyond that. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret it. But you're my best friend. I wouldn't want to mess that up."

Sesshomaru grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, their lust of the moment before temporarily forgotten, "Miori, listen to me. I know what you mean. I felt that too. I can't say what will happen to us. But I promise that I will never abandon you like your mother did. I will always be here for you no matter what."

She bit back a sarcastic remark, and instead hugging her friend so tight she hoped he could still breathe, hiding her fresh wave of tears against his chest. Of course it didn't fool him, "My offer about not telling anyone if you cry still stands." She stopped fighting then, and cried, sobbing against his strong chest. He soothed her until she decided she had cried enough, and then he helped her onto the bank. She curled up on her top, not caring that she was still naked, and fell asleep, cleansing herself of all the pain her memories had brought that day.

Wow! I'm done! Review on the way out! Please!