Inuyasha's trip back to camp was uneventful. He didn't try to recall any more memories, worried he would suffer through more headaches and remember things that he was positive hadn't actually happened. Instead he tried to think of the best way to go about getting information from his remaining companions. Maybe they were hesitant to say anything with Kikyo there and maybe Kikyo was holding back in front of Miroku and Sango. He would just have to find a way to separate them before asking his questions.

When he arrived back at their chosen clearing he was not surprised to see that everyone was ready to move on for the day. He was usually the one to rush everything so it made sense they would assume he'd be ready to move once he got back. Not one to beat around the bush, Inuyasha decided to take the most direct approach to get the separation he needed.

"Kikyo, I need to talk to Miroku and Sango. Why don't you start back the way we came and we'll catch up," he said, not even looking at the dead priestess. He instead focused on his two companions, trying to gauge their reactions.

Kikyo took a few seconds to respond, the hesitance evident in her voice when she did. "Inuyasha, I do not think we should separate our group right now. Something clearly happened last night, may still be happening now, and you are acting in a very unusual manner. I think it is best that we stick together."

"Well I don't," he responded, finally looking at her. "You've been fine on your own for this long, I think you can handle going a little ahead of us for some of the day."

Kikyo made an odd face at that comment but didn't respond. She glanced at the other two members of the group before turning and heading back the way they came the day before.

Inuyasha waited until she was out of his hearing range before speaking again. "Alright you two, now that Kikyo isn't here I want you to tell me why the fuck you're acting like nothing is wrong."

"Well'" Miroku started, "that's because, as far as we can tell, the only thing strange about today is your behavior."

"My behavior!?," Inuyasha growled. "Should I not be worried about two of our group going missing? Or Kikyo just showing up out of the blue and making herself at home? Or everyone acting like they don't remember Kagome or the brat?"

"You keep mentioning this girl, Kagome, but none of us have ever met a Kagome. I thought I heard you or Kikyo mention the name Shippo before but I can't be certain," Miroku responded, looking more concerned than ever. "And Kikyo was traveling with you for longer than either me or Sango so her presence shouldn't be the least bit strange."

Inuyasha looked to Sango, hoping she would have a different answer for him. She looked just as concerned as Miroku and even more confused. "Sango, you too?"

Her small nod caused Inuyasha to drop to his haunches, no longer certain his legs would hold him up anymore. He had really hoped that getting Kikyo away from them would bring about some answers. He hadn't wanted to examine his dual memories anymore but it was looking more and more like he wasn't going to have a choice in the matter. An idea struck him, a way to maybe save himself some pain and get information out of his friends at the same time.

He turned back to Miroku and asked, "Who broke the shikon no tama?"

The question caught Miroku off guard and it took a few seconds for him to answer. "Nobody knows. The pieces just started appearing one day."

Shit, that's not good. "Who unsealed me from the tree?"

"Kikyo of course. Though I wasn't there for that so I'm only going on what you two told me."

Oh fuck no. He would have to ask Kikyo about that. "How did you two end up joining us?"

"I came along because Kikyo could both see and purify jewel shards and also because of our mutual goal of destroying Naraku."

Sango looked hesitant to answer, not having spoken much to Inuyasha since the day before. "I-," she paused. "I joined because of my debt to Kikyo for...for," she stopped, her expression reflecting the pain she was clearly feeling.

Inuyasha looked to Miroku who finished for her, "For Kikyo putting an end to Kohaku's suffering at the hands of Naraku. Inuyasha I hope you have a good reason for bringing all of this up. You are clearly causing distress for poor Sango, you know how painful that day was for her."

Inuyasha didn't know how painful that day was because, for him, that never happened. Kohaku was still out there somewhere with a jewel shard sustaining his life, at least as far as Inuyasha could remember. He couldn't deny the emotions clearly shining in Sango's eyes though. In her mind Kohaku was gone, his life ended by Kikyo, apparently.

He debated trying to explain everything right then and there. Maybe they would believe him without too much arguing, or maybe they would think he had lost his mind or was under some sort of curse. He could end up bringing up more painful memories and driving away his two remaining friends.

He decided instead to call for a break in their journey to head back to Kaede's village. There was only some light protesting before Sango and Miroku agreed, both worried about Inuyasha's mental state. They left immediately to follow after Kikyo who had no doubt stopped to wait for them. It didn't take them long to catch up and Inuyasha immediately sent Sango and Miroku ahead on Kirara so he could talk to Kikyo alone.

Once it was just the two of them Kikyo turned to face Inuyasha, still looking slightly annoyed. "We are wasting time. Whatever it is that you are dealing with you need to figure it out quickly. Every minute spent on this is another minute Naraku draws ahead of us."

"Yeah well, for all we know Naraku is the reason things are messed right now. I'm going to ask you some things Kikyo and I need you to answer me truthfully. Do you really not know who Kagome is?"

"Not at all. Today is the first time I've heard that name."

"And what about Shippo?"

"Shippo? Are you talking about that poor kitsune child we met early in our travels?"

Inuyasha perked up at that, though he didn't like the small bit of pity he saw flash across her face. "Yeah, annoying little runt, bushy tail, likes to whine to Kag...well he likes to whine, a lot."

"The one who was killed by the thunder brothers?"

"What?! He wasn't…" but maybe he was. Maybe in this new reality they were living in, without Kagome to keep an eye on him, he had died. Inuyasha had to know for sure so he thought back to that day. And there was the headache, much stronger and more persistent than before. It took almost a full minute for the pain to fade enough for Inuyasha to think again. When his mind cleared he could vaguely recall the fight with Hiten and Manten. He remembered barely getting out of that fight alive and only because Kikyo was there to take out Manten with one of her sacred arrows. Inuyasha's final burst of strength that allowed him to kill Hiten came from his anger at the brat's death at the hands of Manten right before Kikyo finished him off.

Shippo was dead. When he found Kagome she was going to be heartbroken.

This new reality was looking worse and worse.

"Inuyasha," Kikyo said softly, interrupting his thoughts. "Inuyasha, are you alright? You look like you may be ill. That happened so long ago, I didn't realize it still affected you to this degree."

"I'm fine," he bit out, even though he was clearly anything but fine. "Another question, who unsealed me from the tree?"

"I did, of course. No one else would have the power to release you."

"Why?"

"Why did I release you? I've told you, after discovering the truth about Onigumo I saw no reason to leave you sealed. If Urasue had not brought me back you would still be pinned to that tree and Naraku would still be free to do as he pleases."

"And we've been traveling together ever since?"

"You know that we have. You are really starting to worry me Inuyasha."

"Keh. We're heading back to Kaede's. I wanna talk to her and check on a few things near the village."

"If you think that will help…"

Inuyasha turned and headed in the direction he'd sent Sango and Miroku, not bothering to wait for Kikyo to finish her response. They traveled the rest of the day and a little into the night before they came upon the camp the duo had set up. His companions were already sleeping so Inuyasha jumped into a tree and settled in for the night, Kikyo taking her place below him.

He didn't try to recall any more memories and he didn't sleep.

The next morning the group broke camp in silence and continued their trek. Everyone was quiet, a somber mood hovering over the group. Inuyasha led the group, Kikyo keeping pace with him. Sango and Miroku walked in a line behind them, Sango bringing up the rear.

It was around midday when the incident occured. Inuyasha thought they were moving a bit too slow so he made a comment about slow humans and insisted they pick up the pace. He started to pull ahead, leaving the others slowly behind. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for him, they knew he was impatient. So why did Kikyo have to argue with him and slow them down? Why did she walk even slower after his comments? Why did the other two go along with her and also slow down? He didn't have time for this.

"Alright then, fuck this. I'll meet you guys there, I don't got all day."

"Inuyasha!" Kikyo's voice was demanding, causing him to stop and turn.

She pointed at him and closed her eyes. He felt the familiar tug of the beads, felt them pull him down with overwhelming force, felt his face hit the ground at an alarming speed, felt his jaw and his nose crack with the force of the impact. This wasn't a regular 'sit' command. This was a violent subjugation with the clear intent to injure and incapacitate. Kagome's use of the beads never actually hurt, it was just an annoyance. No, this was something much different.

He felt Kikyo kneel next to him. "You can not keep running off. I have tolerated your outbursts since yesterday but I can not allow you to do as you please. We will travel together and at a pace the rest of us can handle."

Inuyasha tried to get up but the pull of the beads hadn't weakened. Since when did the beads hold him this long? He felt Kikyo place a hand on the rosary and suddenly he could move again. He jumped up and back, away from Kikyo. His jaw was aching and he could feel the blood trickling from his obviously broken nose. The worst thing about it all though was the complete lack of reaction from Sango or Miroku. The looks on their faces clearly conveying that this had happened before, enough times that they were unaffected by the violence of the command.

Kikyo stood and started towards him. "Inuyasha, let me look-" she started to say.

"No, stay the fuck away from me!" He took another step back to emphasize his command.

"Fine, suffer on your own then." As if on cue everyone fell back in line, like it was rehearsed, like this happened all the time.

It was only after they had been traveling for a while, Inuyasha at the back of the group, that he realized how effective Kikyo's show of power had been. He was too shocked to argue, too caught off guard. He didn't even attempt to leave the group after that, traveling slightly behind so as not to have his back to the group. With a sinking feeling Inuyasha realized that he no longer trusted the people he was traveling with, not even the two he had come to consider his family. He felt isolated and alone to a degree he hadn't felt since before his days with Kagome. His head started to hurt again but it had nothing to do with memories.

That night, as everyone settled down to sleep and Inuyasha took his spot high in a tree, he decided he should deal with the headaches and examine more of his recent past. There were still a few specific events he wanted to ask about but he didn't dare bring them up to the others.

First was how he acquired Tessaiga. Kagome was the one who had been able to pull the sword out after he and his brother had failed. So how had he attained it without her? The headache seemed to go on forever, his ears ringing, eyes squeezed shut against the pain. But at the end of it there was the memory he was looking for. He went after the sword alone, followed Sesshomaru without Kikyo, and managed to pull the sword out himself...and immediately transform it to it's larger state. That couldn't be right, could it? His desire to protect Kagome had been the catalyst that drew power from the sword, gave him the ability to wield it and defeat his brother. Had he still cut off the bastard's arm? Yep, at least that hadn't changed.

His other concern was his youkai blood. Namely the times it had taken over and turned him into a killer. Had Tessaiga still been broken by Goshinki? Time to find out. One brain melting headache later and Inuyasha had his answer. It had broken, he had transformed, and Kikyo had used the subduing spell to bring him back. The memory confirmed that the subjugation was just as violent then as it was now. It also meant he had one more thing he had to try to recall. How had Kikyo reacted to him slaughtering the bandits when they faced Gatenmaru? This time the headache was nothing compared to the shock of the memory. It played out much the same at first, with him and Miroku getting stuck in that damn cocoon. He'd transformed, broke out of their little prison, defeated Gatenmaru. And he'd still gone after the bandits, his claws taking down anyone in his path. In the middle of it all, while he was distracted, Kikyo snuck up to him, grabbed his arms, and purified him.

The bitch purified him. She turned him human surrounded by bandits who could easily have killed him in his weak human state. And it had hurt. Kikyo hadn't held back, hitting him with the full force of her miko powers. She could have killed him, would have killed him if not for his human blood. Kagome would never have...But Kikyo wasn't Kagome. Kikyo never really trusted his youkai half, that much was clear now. Maybe that was why he was still wearing the beads. Afterall why would Kikyo need to subdue him if she knew about Onigumo before releasing him? That was enough trips down memory lane for one night.

It took a lot of effort for Inuyasha to try to act normal the next day. At their new, slower pace it took until nightfall to reach the village. Inuyasha resisted the urge to bolt to the well, worried that Kikyo may follow and try to subdue him again. He would wait until late at night to sneak away from the others.

He didn't question Kaede either when they arrived, wanting to wait until he could get the older miko alone. The others would probably get to talk to her first, to warn her of Inuyasha's apparent new found madness, but he wasn't concerned. If the well worked none of it would matter. He would see Kagome and set things right.

They settled around the fire in Kaede's hut eating their stew quietly. Kaede hadn't said much beyond her initial greeting, sensing the tension of the group. While everyone was laying down for the night Inuyasha stepped outside and hopped onto the roof to wait for everyone to fall asleep. He didn't think Kikyo actually slept but he was confident he could get far enough away before she noticed he was gone.

Some time around the middle of the night Inuyasha finally took his chance and headed to the well. He made sure he passed the sacred tree, glancing at the place he was once sealed. It all looked the same but it felt so, so wrong. He prayed to whatever kami would listen that the well would let him through.

Finally at the well he almost couldn't bring himself to jump in, not knowing what he would do if it didn't work. He looked into the depths, perched on the side of the old wooden structure. Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, Inuyasha stepped off the side of the well into the waiting darkness.