A/N: Thank you all those lovely reviewers! I noticed I've lost a few of you... and while it saddens me, what makes me much more happier is that there are a few new reviewers as well! I have put out the first chapter of Family Reunion out too. I would appreciate it if you gave that one a shot as well. It's much more different than this one, I'm actually quite fond of it...

On another note, I have edited the first chapter (Discovery) because, as a reviewer pointed out, it had a whole shitload of grammatical errors and upon rereading it I was simply aghast at the nerve I had in posting that up! I really am disappointed in myself. nods repeatedly

Well, read on and enjoy! I'll have (as usual) another author's note and review responses at the bottom!

"So why are we walking around the mall again?" Kagome asked as she yawned and stretched her arms out. She was walking next to Keiseki and Shippo, they had been walking around the mall doing a whole lot of nothing but making Kagome's muscles ache.

"Because," Keiseki looked excited and hyper, not a good combination. "We are looking for Kohaku-kun! We've got Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha. We still need..." she paused as she fished in her red purse to pull out the folder that had everyone's stats. "Kohaku, Kouga, and Ayame." She snapped the folder shut and nodded happily, as if pleased with her statement.

Shippo looked at his watch for the millionth time since they'd arrived an hour ago. "When is he supposed to be here?" He shoved his hands in his baggy black jeans and stared ahead at nothing.

"In a half-hour, he works at an electronics store or something like that. He gets off in a half-hour, so we have that long to kill at the mall. And guess what else!" Keiseki went rummaging through her purse once more; trying to find something that was buried inside with all of her other possessions.

Both Kagome and Shippo leaned in to look at what was so important to Keiseki. She moved her hand through the seemingly endless amount of things inside and shouted "aha!" Kagome looked to see what was inside her clenched fist and almost fell over in shock.

"A credit card!" Both Kagome and Shippo shouted in unison.

She smirked and leaned in, "not just any credit card! Sesshoumaru-sama's credit card!" She waved it in the air and smiled madly, muttering about the possibilities in that one little piece of plastic. They could by anything they wanted! But that was the furthest thing from Kagome's mind.

To Keiseki (and even Shippo) this seemed to be fun and games. Kagome didn't see it that way. This was a trial that she had to overcome for the good of all (or at least she preferred to think of it that way.)

She didn't even know Sesshoumaru's role in all of this. How was it benefiting him? Was there something hidden beneath his explanations that revealed his share? Kagome sighed as she zoned out the heated conversation (a.k.a. brawl) between Shippo and Keiseki and concentrated on her feuding thoughts.

Why would Sesshoumaru bother with all of this 'fixing' time business? And why did he have to bring her into it? Couldn't he find someone else? Or do it himself? Why did he kiss her last night? How long did he know about this? When...

Why did he kiss me...? Kagome knew that one thought would be raging through her mind for a long time. She had wanted the kiss and enjoyed it, but why did it happen? She thought it was weird when as soon as the thought of Sesshoumaru entered her though process she saw red. She had dismissed it as some side effect of the memory transfer but it didn't stop. She had also recently noticed that her senses had gotten better and her strength was returning quickly. Even though these things were good, she couldn't shake the fear she was feeling.

"So, wanna go shopping Kagome?" Kagome shook her head and glanced at Keiseki in surprise. She was currently draping a hand around her shoulders and leading her to a clothing store, with an infuriated Shippo stomping behind them.

When they finally left the shop Kagome's hair was tousled and Keiseki was sporting a new hat and purse, both of which were extremely expensive. Shippo had the worst of it, having to hold all of the bags holding the new clothes and various accessories. Kagome glanced apologetically toward Shippo then turned ahead to the map of the mall in front of them. "He works here right?" Kagome asked while pointing to an orange square on the board.

Keiseki put a finger up and fished through the purse she'd just bought and quickly pulled out a folded up piece of paper. "Yep, Letronix that's it!" She squealed happily as she skipped down the walkway and toward an escalator.

"What an odd name for an electronic store..." Shippo muttered as he shifted his hold on all of the bags and began to walk.

"It's American I believe, probably a play on the word 'electronics' in English." Kagome muttered as she moved to pick up a bag he'd dropped. "Want help with these?" She motioned toward the bags Shippo was carrying but he shook his head no. She kept walking by his side as Keiseki looked at the window displays happily.

"You know he really likes you." Shippo said quietly as they walked slowly behind Keiseki.

Kagome blushed but pretended she didn't know whom he was talking about. "Who, Shippo?"

Shippo hid his smirk because, for once, he was being serious. Now wasn't the time for teasing and playfulness. "You know who. The truth is, he's been silently pining over you for centuries. Since you left." Shippo looked ahead with his emerald eyes staring into nothing. "He doesn't show much emotion but I think when he's with you, he's different."

Kagome walked with him silently, pulling at the invisible threads of her bag. She felt really nervous now. She didn't know what she felt for the youkai lord nor did she think that he was in love with her. Then again, they had shared one hell of a first kiss. She didn't like thinking about complicated things for too long. She had always had a bad habit of reading too much into things and she really didn't want to think about a delicate subject. Especially since it had to do with the relationship between herself and the youkai lord Sesshoumaru.

As they boarded the escalator Kagome sighed. Why did her life have to be so damn complicated? She began to drift into her own thoughts completely when she felt a nudging at her shoe. She almost fell off the escalator but managed to grab on to someone before gravity introduced her to the ground. At least she probably wouldn't have left a life-sized crater of herself in the tile...

Kagome flinched at the memory of a certain hanyou pummeling into the ground because of one of their petty arguments. It took her quite a while to realize that she was still holding onto the person that had steadied her as the stairs disappeared back into the floor to continue their descent. "I'm sorry!" She mumbled as she quickly disentangled her hands and purse from around the person. She took a step away and brushed her hair from her face and straightened her clothes.

"Erm, uh... sume...summi...um...sumimasen. Err, gomen nasai?" The man's flustered voice and stumbling on his words showed his Japanese wasn't very strong. Kagome looked at the man that was currently blushing like mad and rubbing at the back of his head nervously. Upon looking into his eyes she knew immediately who he was.

She knew that he was speaking English and, unfortunately, she had flunked that class miserably thanks to Inuyasha burning her book in another argument concerning her studying schedule. She searched her mind for some English phrase that she could say that fit the situation but couldn't think of one. Fortunately she didn't have to, because Keiseki said it for her.

"You're American right?" Her eyes were alight with an excitement that Kagome felt she had seen before. "I absolutely love America, what part are you from?" She held the flustered man's hand and began shaking it as she talked and exchanged words with the foreign reincarnation of Kohaku, Sango's brother.

Kagome and Shippo stood on the sidelines, feeling cast aside and out of the loop. Shippo translated their conversation as well as he could. He was having trouble because Keiseki spoke so fast and so much at a time that by the time he had finished translating a few sentences they were on another topic. Somehow they had managed to get on the topic of sports teams and Shippo felt he needed to step in.

"Excuse me for my interruption," he said in perfect English. "But we have more important matters to discuss than who will win the baseball season. Personally I'm fond of the Mets but that's beside the point."

Keiseki glowered at Shippo and wagged an angry finger at him, "well I'll have you know," she continued in English. "That the Yankees are a shoe in for the win and that the Mets won't stand a chance."

"Actually, I'm fond of the Red Sox." A deep voice came from behind the arguing youkai. Both of their shoulders hunched and they turned their heads slowly to look into the eyes of Sesshoumaru.

"But they suck!" Both Shippo and Keiseki cried after a period of all of two seconds.

Kagome felt so lost at this point that she just gave up and sat at one of the benches that was situated next to the escalators. She had managed to follow the conversation (granted she only got bits and pieces) all the way until Sesshoumaru had showed up. She wondered why it was that at a time like this, they were talking about baseball. What was even more surprising was that Sesshoumaru was talking about baseball, in English, with a perfect stranger who just so happened to be an avid Red Sox fan as well.

Kagome didn't feel like having to deal with the insanity of the topic any more so she did what any other border-line insane woman would do...

"SHUT UP!"

And it worked like a charm. All faces turned, all mouths were shut, and insanity was contained within the minds of her peers (if you could call them that). Kagome sighed a happy and relieved sigh and stepped forward, not caring about the shopping bags that were laying on the ground next to the bench she'd been sitting on. "Now," she said rather calmly and with a hint of sweetness. "Let us start over shall we?" At least she knew that much English...

Everyone, except for Sesshoumaru nodded, too shocked to speak. Sesshoumaru, however had an almost amorous look in his eyes. It threw Kagome off, for sure, but when she made a double take, his eyes fell to their emotionless amber. She was still staring into his eyes and had absolutely no idea what it was she was going to say when his mouth opened. "I do believe we've bothered Miss Higurashi." He smirked at her and then focused on the young man she'd bumped into. Kagome had no idea what he said but could only guess from that smirk. She had a feeling this was going to turn in ways that would end up being at her expense...

It seemed that this Kohaku (known as Tori in this time period) was an untrusting fellow who was extremely cautious. Fortunately, he was also a teenager who was on his own in a foreign country and needed money and was willing to take it where he could. And so, two hundred dollars later, they were in Sesshoumaru's manor finishing up a confusing (at least to Kagome anyway) conversation about their purpose and his role in all of this.

Keiseki translated what Kagome said to Kohaku and Shippo, in turn, translated what Kohaku said for Kagome. Kagome had felt embarrassed that she was the only one among them that did not know English. Ruri had gone overseas to America to study medicine at NYU and knew enough English to follow the conversation.

When Ruri had seen Kohaku she had immediately moved from her seat in the living room and walked up to him. It had looked like they knew each other, they stood there and the rest of the group stood still. No one dared say a word for fear of breaking the spell the two had woven. Tori's eyes narrowed and an eyebrow raised, "do I know you?" And Ruri burst into tears. It was like Sango and Kohaku when he had not remembered anything because of Naraku. Kagome immediately rushed to her friend's aid, hugging her and consoling her.

Tori kneeled next to her seated form on the floor and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry if I've done something to offend you. Have I done something wrong?" The sincere look in his eyes was the only hint that Kagome had of what he had just said to Ruri.

"Oh, Kohaku."

Kagome let go of Sango as she hugged Tori around the shoulders. Despite the obvious tenseness in his shoulders he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Kagome sent a pleading look toward Sesshoumaru but all he did was clear his throat pointedly in the 'past' siblings' direction.

They pulled apart and Sesshoumaru stepped forward. "Shall we proceed with the memory exchange?" Kohaku looked at Ruri then nodded awaiting the explanation of why he was here.

And so now they sat, Kagome sitting on her knees in front of Kohaku's seated form. Kagome's heart beat faster as she reached out for Kohaku's forehead. She felt a sense of apprehension and found it hard to breath. The last time she did this she had leaped in without knowledge or fear. But now that she knew what was going to happen she had no desire to repeat the wrenching and tiring ordeal.

But I made a promise, so I must fulfill the task that has been given to me.

The voice filled her head once more as her fingers pressed against Kohaku's temples. He took in a quick intake of breath and went rigid under her hands. The memories flooded again, Kagome was prepared for it but Tori wasn't. She surrendered to the voice that called for her to speak aloud.

Paths unwound and separated, turns straightened and lives changed. Hidden in the memories of warriors fallen and risen, a sphere of gold. The key to the fissure is here waiting to be righted and filled. Unlock to door to the past...

She could faintly hear a gasp that came from someone as she spoke what the voice told her to say. Fallen warrior, sent to betrayal of kin. Weighty guilt ridden soul controlled and erased. Awaken...

Kagome felt the same things she did with Ruri, all sorts of emotions flew through her mind. Visions of Kohaku's life flashed before her eyes. She felt calm when she saw the memories of his childhood and it seemed so peaceful. The last thing she remembered before parting from Tori and falling into darkness was Sango's crying face.

Sesshoumaru picked up her seemingly lifeless form from the floor. "Take care of the boy," he aimed toward Ruri and Shippo and then glanced toward Keiseki with an authoritative "onna." The walk to the room was a silent affair, Keiseki's quick steps trailed slightly behind Sesshoumaru's long strides. He placed the miko on the made bed and stepped back, allowing Keiseki to examine her.

After minutes of prodding and observing Keiseki looked up to Sesshoumaru, "she'll be fine. She should recover once her ki replenishes, and before you can say it," she added with a bit of contempt. "No blood, we don't need her to progress any farther than she can handle."

Sesshoumaru decided not to question her choice of words. His delicate hearing had already pinpointed the sounds of a car driving up to his manor. He turned and walked out of the room without a word, not bothering to close the door behind him. Keiseki rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Kagome's forehead, "I'll go greet our guests. It seems Miroku-kun and Inuyasha-dono have arrived."

"Kagome-san," the cold feel of the woman's hand rested upon her forehead. "You must wake up now. Our time is short here."

Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she looked into the eyes of the woman she had heard before. The voice was the same but this time when she looked up she could see the figure clearly. The outline of a female's body confirmed the gender indefinitely. She was wearing a crimson kimono with light pink sakura petals across the sleeve and disappeared from her current line of vision.

The dark brown hair of the woman was flowing around her, it looked almost alive as it swirled with the nonexistent wind. Kagome tried to decipher what it was about the woman that was so familiar but it was impossible. She sat up slowly and bent almost in half, holding her head in her hands. The pain was slowly ebbing away from her temples and so were the memories that were raging through her mind.

"Kagome-san," the voice called to her again. It was different this time, the words were said aloud unlike before. Kagome looked around her to the grassy field surrounding them and the small amount of trees. She looked above her expecting to see a blue sky but instead saw nothing. Overhead were dark gray clouds, like when she had arrived here the first time.

"Huh?" Kagome voiced out after what felt to have been forever.

"I cannot explain now," the gentle hand touched her forehead again. The woman's expression turned serious, "you must not fear what you once loved."

Kagome's eyes widened but narrowed dangerously a split second later. "I am not afraid," she kept her gaze aimed directly at the woman's brown ones. Kagome's heart contracted when her eyes stared back in amusement.

The stranger raised an eyebrow, "you aren't?"

It took all she had in her to suppress the desire growl deep in her throat and it surprised her. A reaction like the one she was currently having was like something Inuyasha would do. It seemed primal and untamed. She didn't like it one bit. "Why am I here?"

"I cannot give you the answer to that inquiry."

"Why?" Kagome was beyond annoyed now.

"You cannot even begin to understand and accept what is true."

Kagome's eyes narrowed again, "I can handle anything you dish out."

"Anything?"

"Anything," Kagome replied with confidence.

The being smiled, "if you say so." She snapped her fingers and before Kagome had a chance to adjust she was underwater.

Kagome's eyes widened as she looked frantically around. She pushed her inky black hair away from her line of vision angrily. She had done this and when Kagome got out she was going to make that woman give her some answers, starting with who, or what, she was. All around her was water and nothing more. She couldn't tell whether she was in an ocean, river, pond, or swimming pool. There were no fish, no plants, no people, only water.

Her lungs were burning without the necessary oxygen and she resisted the urge to gulp down water. Kagome waved her arms, seeing a ray of light above her. She began to swim higher, kicking her legs and clawing forth. After a while she realized that she wasn't going anywhere and her muscles burned with overexertion. Kagome panicked and her head spun as she felt herself falling out and those brown eyes stared at her as her sight went black.

Kagome gasped as she joined the waking world. She gulped the air hungrily and glanced around. She met the brown yet familiar pair of eyes that belonged to Fujimaru. He was sitting in a chair that was unusually close to her bed. As a matter of fact she didn't remember there ever being a chair in this room in the first place.

She stared into his eyes for a while. The words that had been told to her by that woman played in her head. You must not fear what you once loved. She realized, with a jolt, what she must've meant by that. She had always been apprehensive of waking Inuyasha's memories, partly because those memories would be shared by her. She would have to see everything Inuyasha had ever seen or done. She would have to feel and hear everything he felt and heard. She had always wondered how he had felt about her and this was a way to find out, but she was scared of the answer.

You must not fear...

But she was afraid.

...what you once loved.

Loved. The key word here is loved. In the past tense. She no longer loved him, she could do this no matter the consequences. She had to do it because she promised she would and she never broke her promises.

She noticed that he looked uncomfortable and had his hand on the bed. His voice was nervous as he spoke, "Ruri says that we were... close" he cleared his throat and shifted in his chair near her bed. Kagome sat up and faced Fujimaru without pain or discomfort. "Is it okay that I'm here? Sess-" he stopped his sentence when Kagome placed a hand upon his.

"It's fine. I'll show you," after the visions she had seen with that woman, she was determined to get this over with. She had yet to find what they had been looking for this whole time and she felt that maybe the key was hidden in the last place she would like to look. Quickly and without warning Kagome placed her hands on his forehead. Her fingers pressed at his temple gently and the voice sounded in her head.

For some reason Fujimaru retaliated little. He held onto her wrists initially but when the voice took over his hands dropped to his sides limply. She closed her eyes and let the memories flow, visions of his childhood flashed, his father's figure, his mother's smile and embrace, his childhood idol Sesshoumaru. Then they moved upward, when he was abandoned to fend for himself, when he heard of the jewel, meeting Kikyo.

She didn't know that tears were streaming down her face until the memories stopped at when he died in the arms of Kikyo, the last thing she saw through his eyes was her. And now she knew why...

A/N:

Kohaku's name is pronounced Toh ree using the traditional r' sound in English. It's the same name as Sakura's brother in Cardcaptors, the English version. I was going to name him Touya but he's American and that name would not make sense.

Tori in Japanese could mean (depending on pronunciation and whether I'm right or not) either street, shrine gate, or bird.

I am sorry for the shortness in this chapter, it's only six pages and I usually try for eight or nine... mou... I hope I'm correct in the assumption that a short chapter is better than no chapter ne? glances around nervously

Riddle answers:

1. Their names are not what they imply. One brilliant person answered correctlyand one gotclose...thank you both for participating! I'm sorry for not knowing who you are at the moment, I think you guys reviewed on A Single Spark...

2. The truck driver was walking! (Crickets chirping) Well, I thought it was aggravating when I found out that was the answer... One person got it right, and her, I'm sure, reviewed from A Single Spark...

I found that both of these were embarrassingly easy when I found out the answer after I had given up...

Review Responses:

ladylillyofazra- Cute name... I'm glad you think they're a cute couple, obviously I agree... I might just make them telepathic and then again, I might not...

Blue Rhapsody3- Ever heard of Bohemian Rhapsody? Lol. I like that song... thanks, I thought they were really good too! That's why I felt like sharing them with you guys! I'm glad you're enjoying this and I hope you like this chappie too!

Eternityoftears- Late reviews are better than no reviews, lol. I appreciate that you liked my story and how I am carrying it out I hope you read this and enjoy it just as much (if not more)!

PegasusRider- Thanx, I'm rather fond of Keiseki myself. By the way, it's spelled R-E-L-I-E-F I hope you think that this chapter is wonderful as well and I look forward to your next review!

Sheenachi- I thank you for sticking around since the first chapter! I really appreciate it! Of course I know who the almighty Foamy is! Imitates Foamy I'm the lord and master, you all are bastards! Worship me or I'll stab your eyes till you bleed! I'm the lord and master! giggles

Kira the Mizu Ryuu- Umm, this is the sequel. I know it's weird to have your sequel within your story but I decided at the last minute to make the first chapter an epilogue...sighs I'm so absent-minded...

P.S.

To all my wonderful readers! I need a beta! One that is online A LOT giggles and is not offended/angered/disturbed by yaoi fics. I know it would be asking a lot but I feel that I need one and would like it if someone who doesn't mind abnormal pairings such as Draco/Harry or Sess/Kag or Inu/Kik and such send me an email, please!