Chapter Thirteen: "Sit."
"Sure. Kagome," Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder. "Would you like to go with him?"
"What? No." Kagome said without hesitation, appalled at the idea.
"Before you decide to act stupid, I suggest you take some time to think." Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha, who looked defeated by Kagome's answer. "I'm sure the priestess in red and white explained things."
"She did." Miroku said with a nod.
Sesshomaru went to speak again, when he felt Kagome press against his back. He blinked and looked back at her. She was curling into him for warmth. It was then that he noticed she was soaked. There was only one reason she would have fell in that god forsaken river…
"You chased her, didn't you?" Sesshomaru asked them.
"She ran away. We had to." A young fox boy hopped off the shoulders of the humanoid demon in all red. "Kagome, don't you remember us?"
Kagome looked around Sesshomaru's shoulder to eye all of them as she shivered in her wet clothing. Her eyes fell upon the young fox boy last. She stared at him the longest. He was the one from her most recent vision. She recognized him immediately, so she walked up and knelt down in front of him.
"What's your name?" Kagome asked him, hugging herself for warmth.
"Shippo…" He answered sadly.
"Shippo." Kagome repeated and looked back to Sesshomaru. "He's the one I saw in my latest memory."
"Huh? You saw me?" Shippo asked excitedly.
"Can you remember what was said now that you are able to see him?" Sesshomaru asked, but Kagome shook her head. Sesshomaru turned to the rest of her group. "We're camped up the river. You may join us if you wish. However, you'll be in charge of obtaining your own food."
"Like we're going with you!" Inuyasha yelled angrily at his brother.
"I doubt that." Sesshomaru said uncaringly as he turned on his heel and walked back toward camp.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha scoffed at his brother.
Kagome didn't really acknowledge the group too much. She looked down at Shippo and smiled, but that was it. She then turned to follow Sesshomaru, leaving the rest behind.
"That's what it means." Sango said worriedly. "She's come to trust and rely on him, hasn't she?"
"It's been months and he's kept her alive." Miroku said appreciatively. "Let's show him respect and follow up on his offer. Remember what Kikyo said about forcing her memory."
It didn't take the Inuyasha group long to catch up to Sesshomaru and Kagome. When they first did, Kagome looked over her shoulder and then moved closer to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru watched her curiously and then looked back to his brother and his friends. They weren't exactly happy about the sight. This was going to get awkward quickly, especially since Kagome was still shivering.
"Do not get sick again." Sesshomaru demanded.
"I wasn't sick before, remember? And it's not like I can control it if I do." Kagome pouted and hugged herself. "I didn't mean to fall in the river and it's the middle of autumn, so the breeze isn't helping my case."
"Are you trying to make this more awkward?" Sesshomaru asked. Kagome wouldn't understand what he meant, but Sesshomaru's first reaction was to warm her up somehow. Unfortunately, with her old friends watching, he wasn't ready to deal with the annoying responses his brother would give.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome countered with her voice raised.
"Forget it." Sesshomaru said.
"No, explain!" Kagome demanded.
"Inuyasha." Sesshomaru stopped walking and turned to his brother. "I assume you can keep up?"
"What?" Inuyasha questioned.
"If not, follow our scent." Sesshomaru said and swooped Kagome up bridal style, something that had never happened before. "I have no interest in dealing with this woman while ill, so keep up."
Kagome curled into Sesshomaru. His body was warm and she was freezing, though there may have been an extra reason for her little snuggle. The amount of comfort and trust that Kagome showed toward Sesshomaru was hard for the others to watch. Inuyasha was angered by it more than anyone else and Shippo was just worried that his Mom would never remember him.
Sesshomaru carried Kagome off toward camp and the group followed behind him. It was a little difficult for them to keep up while Sesshomaru was running full speed, but they kept him in sights. As they got closer, Rin's scent reminded Sesshomaru of one important thing: she calls him Dad now. Sesshomaru suddenly came to a sliding stop at the edge of the large clearing, Rin and Jaken in sight. He set Kagome down and contemplated how to deal with this. Of course, the moment he makes a decision that big and counter to his normal behavior, Inuyasha shows up to witness it all. How infuriating.
"Are you alright?" Kagome asked him.
"I told her." Sesshomaru said and Kagome's eyes brightened, knowing what he meant. "I'm not sure if I want my brother to know about it."
"Don't be silly. Be proud of it." Kagome told him. "I bet he doesn't have something so special."
Sesshomaru felt a tug on the side of his lips and looked over his shoulder as the group caught up. He nodded to them, pretending he had been waiting and continued on to Jaken and Rin. He landed with a light thud next to the two and set Kagome on her feet. Rin, of course, hurried to give Kagome a hug.
"Guess what?" Rin said excitedly, trying to whisper but failing badly.
"What?" Kagome asked with a smile.
"I can call him Dad now!" Rin threw her hands in the air and clung happily to Kagome, who of course returned the embrace and congratulated her. It took Rin a moment to realize that Kagome was soaking wet. "Ah! You're so cold. What happened? Get next to Ah'Un. Go, go, go! You know the rules. You'll get sick if you don't." Rin lightly pushed Kagome along toward their two-headed demon companion. Ah'Un was always very warm, so when things were colder than normal, the two sat next to him to avoid getting sick.
"Okay, okay." Kagome sat down next to Ah'Un and laid against his saddle-less side. "Thanks, Ah'Un."
Inuyasha and the group arrived to watch Kagome being pushed around by a concerned Rin. They stayed silent, unsure of what to do or say when their friend didn't remember them. Rin looked over to see them standing there and stared for a moment. It took her a second to recognize them all, but when she did, she looked back to Kagome and pointed at the newcomers to their campsite.
"Kagome, those are the people you usually travel with." Rin said casually.
Kagome said nothing. She glanced over to the group, but quickly looked away. What was she supposed to say to them? She didn't know them. It was awkward. A piece of her wanted to ask questions, but there was a larger part of her that wanted to tell them to go away and leave her alone. Any interactions she had away from Sesshomaru up to this point had all gone very bad. She did not want to repeat anything like with Kitanran or Kagura. She was safe with Lord Sesshomaru and that was it.
"You might as well sit down." Sesshomaru spoke up, glancing over his shoulder toward Inuyasha and the group. "Standing there will help nothing."
"Alright." Miroku spoke up first and nodded to Sango. The two walked over and sat down near the campfire, but kept a comfortable distance away from Kagome to make sure they didn't bother her. It was the young fox demon that broke the silence by starting up conversation with Rin. He asked about how Kagome met them, where they've been staying, what fun activities they did, and anything that gave Shippo an idea on how his Momma was doing. From what everyone could tell, Kagome was okay.
"Now that Kagome isn't hurt anymore, we get to go on more adventures." Rin told Shippo.
"How did Kagome get hurt?" Shippo asked.
"She was training super hard, like how demons do, and her body needed recovery time." Rin explained.
"Training? What training?" Inuyasha asked, the question pointed toward his brother.
"I was given the idea to have her participate in activities that she did before she lost her memory." Sesshomaru explained to Inuyasha with an annoyed expression. "The only thing I knew about her was her experience with a bow and arrow. So, I had her training with a bow and arrow."
"Did it help?" Sango asked, looking to Kagome.
"I got really good with it." Kagome nodded excitedly.
"She meant with your memory, Kagome!" Rin corrected with a giggle.
"Oh, I… Hm… Did I have a vision around that time?" Kagome thought back. "I don't think I did. It was just months of training. The only visions I remember are of Shippo and you." Kagome pointed toward Sango and smiled. "You were helping me stand up. I think I got hit by something or… I don't know. For a while I couldn't remember your face, but now that you're here I remember that memory some."
"Her recovery is slow-going, but Lord Sesshomaru has taken the necessary steps to guaranteeing your friend's good health and safety." Jaken spoke highly of Sesshomaru's efforts.
"I hate to ask since you've done so much already by taking care of her…" Sango looked to Sesshomaru, "I was wondering… Have you figured out any other ideas on how to return her memory?"
"We have figured out that it is a powerful curse, Naraku put it on her, and that the jewel shards may aid in having her memories return." Sesshomaru explained, watching the flickering campfire. "We traveled south to a powerful demon priest that lives there, but Naraku predicted it and stole the priest's tools that could possibly help. When I spoke to him, however, he said even if he had them, the curse was likely too powerful for him to remove. Whatever Naraku has done, it's thorough."
The news did not help the group settle down at all. A few minutes of silence followed as they all contemplated what to do next. Inuyasha wanted to take Kagome and leave as soon as possible. Sango and Miroku both had ideas of staying with Sesshomaru until Kagome's memory returned. Shippo just wanted to tell Kagome everything he remembered about her, but was scared of what Kikyo said may happen if her memory was forced. Rin was worried about Kagome leaving. Sesshomaru was worried about everyone staying. Jaken worried for Sesshomaru's sanity.
"All this time and that's all you've got?" Inuyasha spoke up to break the annoying silence. "Heh, and I figured you were smarter."
"Shut up. You sound stupid." Rin looked up from her writing and yelled at Inuyasha.
"Hey, I'm not stupid. You're stupid." Inuyasha stood up angrily and replied like a petulant child.
"Shut up and sit you-…" Kagome started, but Inuyasha was suddenly pulled to the floor. "Uh, is he okay?"
"Yeah, that happens when you say the word 'sit' to him." Shippo explained. "You do it when he's acting like an idiot."
"So, I did that?" Kagome asked. She crawled over to Inuyasha, who was barely lifting his head up. "Sit."
Inuyasha was once again pulled to the ground, the dirt beneath him being dug deeper. Kagome said it again and it happened again. Suddenly, she giggled happily and repeated the word until Sango felt bad enough for Inuyasha to stop her.
"Kagome, please, no more." Sango said through laughs.
"Why does she do this to me?" Inuyasha asked, but his voice was muffled by the ground.
"That's easy. Now, I know how to deal with you." Kagome said and grabbed the top of Inuyasha's hair to lift it up. The smile she showed him was one that dripped venom. "Insult Rin or Sesshomaru again and I'll make it ten feet deep next time. Alright?"
"Y-Yes." Inuyasha nodded, a few tears in his eyes and dirt falling from his nose.
"Good boy." Kagome said, dropping his head and patting him like a dog. Kagome moved back to Ah'Un and leaned against him for warmth again. Sesshomaru watched her, very amused by what just transpired. Kagome defending him from Inuyasha was an unexpected perk of all this. Once Kagome's eyes met his, he nodded in approval to her, which only made her smile wider and want to do it again. However, she'll wait for Inuyasha to mess up.
"Another thing. We were confronted by Naraku." Sesshomaru told the group, "He attempted to sway Kagome toward him by manipulating her loss of memory and trying to make her believe that I was the assailant in all of this."
"Yeah!" Rin sat up angrily. "He tried to say Daddy was the bad guy, but Kagome didn't believe a word he said."
The entire group contemplated Naraku's intentions. A couple of seconds later, something clicked and they all looked confused at Rin.
"D-D-D-Did you just… call my brother… Daddy?" Inuyasha asked in horror.
"That was quite unexpected." Miroku blinked surprised at Rin and Sesshomaru's apparent kinship.
"That's adorable." Sango giggled and looked at Rin. "When did you decide Sesshomaru was your Dad?"
"A long time ago, but he finally said I could be his daughter today." Rin explained cheerfully.
Sesshomaru was sitting silently. Hearing it said out loud was jarring at first. Rin called him 'daddy.' He was hoping to cut off the last bit and have Rin just say 'dad,' but maybe that was normal at her age. Demons and humans matured differently. If he was being honest with himself, he found it cute. It wasn't something he'd admit though, especially when Inuyasha and his friends were around.
"So, Sesshomaru said it? How wonderful!" Sango added, eyeing the demon lord, who only replied with a 'what of it' expression.
"You're a dad." Inuyasha eyes his brother with an expression between confusion and disgust. "This is unbelievable."
"Someone sounds jealous." Kagome said as she leaned her back against Ah'Un a bit more. She was looking tired and her clothes weren't completely dry yet. Sesshomaru noticed this and tossed a bag at Kagome. She knew it to be the one that held the blankets, so she pulled it out and covered up.
"I'm not jealous. I don't want to be a dad. Are you kidding me?" Inuyasha shouted, hitting his knee with a fist.
"Are you always this loud?" Kagome asked, meeting Inuyasha's gaze for a moment before shaking her head and looking up at the sky. "Why wouldn't you want to be a dad? I can't wait to be a Mom. Being a parent sounds wonderful, especially if I'm lucky enough to get a little one like Rin."
Hearing that broke Shippo's heart. He watched Kagome with tears in his eyes, his paw gripping his shirt tightly.
"You mean that, Kagome?" Rin asked excitedly.
"Of course, Rin. You're wonde-." Kagome's sentence was cut off by Shippo getting up and running off suddenly. Kagome watched him disappear into the darkness and called out. "Hey, what are you doing? You're gonna get lost."
"God damn it." Inuyasha stood up and began walking after Shippo. "I'll get him."
As Inuyasha passed Kagome, he shot a disappointed glare at her. Kagome raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha. She didn't understand where that look came from. Once Inuyasha was gone, she rolled her eyes at him and sat up again.
"I don't like that guy." Kagome said.
"You just don't remember him." Miroku said sadly and took Sango's hand. "Maybe we shouldn't stay."
"We can't just leave. Shippo will be fine." Sango said, though she knew it was a somewhat selfish decision. "I don't… I don't want to lose another person I love to memory loss. This is the second time Naraku has done this. This isn't fair."
"So, who is this Naraku anyway? What does he want with me?" Kagome asked.
"Naraku is a half-demon menace that has hurt all of us in different ways." Miroku explained and then motioned to Sango. "Sango's brother Kohaku had his memory wiped and is forced to act as a servant to Naraku. Due to that, Kohaku has been forced to do many horrible things. We're worki-…"
Kagome shot her hands up to each side of her head. She clenched her jaw and whimpered in pain. Rin tried calling out her name, but got no response. Kagome was in too much pain to respond. Kagome cried out as memory began forcing itself to the surface. Kagome was seeing many faded memories at once and every one of them were of Sango. She saw another young boy there; he wore a similar outfit to Sango. She saw a fight with the demon Naraku and an arrow she fired strike him. She saw Sango looking to kill the young boy that was dressed like her, but being stopped by Inuyasha.
Kagome's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body began convulsing violently. Sesshomaru took that as a hint to act. Ah'Un became frightened at the scene and backed away from Kagome quickly, causing her to fall, but Sesshomaru caught her and held her as still as he could without hurting her.
"KAGOME!" Rin yelled fearfully.
Inuyasha ran back into the area to see what was wrong, sensing the fear in Rin's voice. Shippo stood on Inuyasha's shoulder with his eyes red from crying, but the tears had stopped. When the two saw what was happening to Kagome, they hurried over to her side, but were scared to touch her.
After a very long five minutes of this convulsing, Kagome's body finally stopped and fell limp in Sesshomaru's arms. When she did, Sesshomaru laid her gently on the ground and put a hand on her forehead. She did not have a temperature and she was breathing normally.
"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha asked.
"I do not know." Sesshomaru shook his head. "But it is probably best not to push her any further. Reminding her of who Naraku is may prove to have harmed her more than helped her. I can guess that his existence impacts more in her soul than I would think."
"Yeah." Inuyasha nodded. "Naraku's existence is why we all travel together. It's what fuels Kagome's motivation for Miroku and Sango. Reforming the jewel is a part of that too, but Naraku is the cause of all of our pain."
"If reminding her of who she is does that, maybe she shouldn't remember that she's my Momma." Shippo said, wiping a few near tears with his sleeve, "I don't wanna hurt her anymore."
Sesshomaru looked up from Kagome to the fox child and watched him. When Shippo noticed this, he pushed up a weak and saddened smile.
"She's a Mom?" Rin asked.
"She's my Momma." Shippo pointed proudly at himself, but only ended up sad again. "But she doesn't remember."
"If Kagome marries my dad, then you'll be my brother." Rin said innocently, revealing an idea that had been in her head for a while now.
Sesshomaru looked at Rin in astonishment, blinking once. He had no idea what to say to that. He had just told Rin that the possibility of being with Kagome was not there. It wasn't going to happen. Now, she just put that idea in everyone's head. Inuyasha was glaring so intensely at Sesshomaru that it made the hairs on Sesshomaru's neck stand up. He looked back to his brother and they locked eye-contact. Sango and Miroku were dumbstruck as well.
"I never thought I'd have a sister." Shippo continued the casual conversation, wiping his nose. "That'd be cool."
"Like Kagome would ever be interested in someone like Sesshomaru." Inuyasha said, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
"Why would you say that?" Rin asked, tilting her head to the side. "You like Kagome, don't you?"
"What? She's my friend, nothing more!" Inuyasha answered, his cheeks turning red.
"Enough, Rin. Please." Sesshomaru said calmly to the child and pat her head. "Let's get Kagome to a more comfortable position."
"Right!" Rin hurried over to their things and started setting out a bed for Kagome. Sesshomaru picked Kagome up and laid her down on the bed Rin made for her. Kagome was so still that it bothered everyone, even Sesshomaru. Whatever that episode she just had was, it may have done some damage. Now, they could only wait until the next morning to figure out what happened. Did Kagome suddenly get her memories back? Did she lose all of them that she had recently gained? Was there some other effect going on here? None of them knew and only morning would tell.
After the night came to a close around the group, no one slept well unless they were a child. Rin curled up in bed next to Kagome, which made Shippo very jealous of her. It took him a bit to get to sleep, but once he did everything was fine. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were the last to fall asleep. Inuyasha had not stopped his glaring and it was becoming frustrating for Sesshomaru. If everyone wasn't sleep, he would have smashed Inuyasha's face in by now. When Inuyasha finally turned over to look the other way, Sesshomaru allowed himself to fall asleep. He understood his brother's frustration. The woman that Sesshomaru thought was his Inuyasha's lover had shown more care toward him than Inuyasha. Sesshomaru would be upset as well. However, the situation was unique and Inuyasha was going to have to get over it. He'd just have to calm Rin's hopes for Kagome as a Mother.