I do not own Inuyasha or the characters by Rumiko Takahashi.

A Face without our Memories - Part 4

Kagome's mouth fell open and Iesada let out a carefree laugh, "Don't worry, I'll be behind the privacy screen."

Kagome let out a sigh of relief.

"Ha ha, you should've seen your face," he laughed.

"Your teasing has no boundaries, I see," Kagome countered.

"If it did then you wouldn't have as much fun with me," he said, walking behind the privacy screen located directly across from her.

Kagome giggled, "Is that what you think?"

"Well, you haven't tried to knock me out with the water bottle yet," he quipped. Kagome giggled again, but didn't say anything back.

Iesada took off his shirt and tossed it over the top of the screen and Kagome tried to focus her attention elsewhere. And when she heard the distinct sound of his pants being unzipped, she felt guilty. Why did she stay in the room? It was completely inappropriate to be in the same room as a naked guy. Forget Inuyasha, if her mother knew what she was doing now, she'd lose her mind.

Then without warning, the door flung open.

Kagome dove into the corner of her chair, expecting to see an infuriated half demon in the doorway.

"Hey Iesada, I got your sword here!" the man standing in the doorway shouted. The man looked around the room for Iesada, but found a startled Kagome instead. "Sorry little lady, I didn't mean to frighten you," he apologized. He seemed to be one of the men working behind the scenes. Thank goodness it wasn't Inuyasha, he would've gone insane.

"Are you in here Iesada?" the man asked.

Iesada leaned out from behind the screen. "Ya Ken, just leave it by the door," he instructed.

Kagome's face progressed from it's red shade to a deep scarlet at the sight of Iesada's muscular chest. He was attractive, there was no point in denying it. Kagome sunk deeper into the chair and buried her head in the armrest.

"Got it, sorry to disturb you."

Kagome heard the click of the door and stole a peek to check if Iesada had retreated back behind the privacy screen. Thankfully, he had and she let out a sigh of relief and re-positioned herself in the chair. Her eyes shifted warily over towards the closed door. Never mind her mother, she had just been completely terrified at the though of Inuyasha coming to get her. If he had busted in at that moment, she would never be able to explain why she was in a room with a half-dressed man. Kagome scowled thinking about Inuyasha's chastising remarks again. She stared at her lap, knowing that he meant well. Obviously her current situation could be dangerous if Iesada had turned out to be crazy. Luckily for her, he wasn't.

From between the joints of the privacy screen, Iesada peeked over at Kagome. She was chewing on her bottom lip with her eyes cast downwards. "Wow," he breathed, admiring her long lashes and petite feminine frame. His pulse quickened and he hid his flushed face even though she couldn't see him spying on her. He knew she was only a teenager, but there was something about the way she moved and talked. It made him want to be close to her. He tried to deter the improper thoughts creeping into his head and focused on getting her to talk again. "So Kagome, tell me, do you have any siblings?"

"Huh? Oh ya, a younger brother, and you?" she asked.

"No, I'm an only child. Although I always thought it'd be cool to have a brother or something."

"Hah, brothers are not all they're cracked up to be," she sneered, with Sesshomaru in mind.

"Why? Do you and your brother fight a lot?" he asked.

"Oh no, Sota's great, but you know, not everyone gets along with their siblings," she said quickly. She couldn't stop comparing him to Inuyasha.

Iesada stepped out from behind the screen, looking like Inuyasha on the night of a new moon. Kagome was tempted to roll her eyes at the irony. So much for getting him out of her head. She looked Iesada over. It was no contest to the fire rat robe, but it wasn't half bad. The sleeves weren't nearly long enough and it was a tighter fit than how Inuyasha wore his clothes, but it was a fairly decent representation.

"Looks good, is there a necklace that goes with that outfit too?" Kagome joked.

"Well, ya actually there is, but I don't like to wear it," Iesada grumbled.

Now that's something the two of them have in common.

"I mean he's a warrior right? So I don't think it's important to wear it, right? It's probably just a fashion or ceremonial thing," Iesada said.

Kagome however felt a slight twinge of guilt. She knew exactly what it was for. And Inuyasha definitely didn't wear it because he wanted to.

"But most people don't know much about the myth of the red warrior, so I opt not to wear it. I'm surprised you know about it. How did you hear about it?" he asked her.

"Oh well, you know, one of Gramps stories," she lied.

"Oh right. How old is Sota, by the way?" he asked.

"Sota is 8," Kagome said.

"So that would make you…." Iesada prompted.

"Older than him and younger than you," Kagome smirked.

"Which is right around 17, I presume?"

"If you mean 15, then yes."

"WHAT!" Iesada's mouth fell open. Then his jaw tightened and he leaned his head into his hands. Kagome found this reaction amusing. "Kagome, you shouldn't make a habit out of meeting up with strange men," he scolded her.

Kagome, taken aback by his sudden change of emotions, responded playfully, "Are you calling yourself strange now?"

"This isn't funny!" he lashed out at her. "I was completely naked behind that screen!" he shouted, pointing at the screen, as if she had forgotten. "What if something happened to you?"

When Kagome realized that he wasn't joking around, she began to lose her temper. "That would mean that you would be doing that something to me," she said through narrowed eyes.

"Stop. No. I mean t-that's not the point," he stammered, knowing full well that he had already daydreamed about what they could do together. Iesada stomped over to the door and opened it. He opted to stay on the opposite side of the room from her, as well. "You don't understand. I don't do stuff like this," he sighed. "I'm a fairly responsible 20 year old adult. What I just did was completely inappropriate and you should've said so right away. I'm sorry Kagome," he said sincerely, "for behaving so improperly." He looked into her brown eyes, but wasn't convinced that she understood the severity of the situation.

What Iesada didn't know was that Kagome frequently camped outdoors with a lecherous monk nearby. To her, Iesada had been perfectly polite.

"If you had a boyfriend he'd be furious," he continued.

"Ya, he would," Kagome agreed begrudgingly.

"W-wait y-you have a boyfriend too?" Iesada clutched at his heart. Apparently he was more honorable than she was giving him credit for.

"No, no I don't," she said, shaking her head with her hands extended out in front of her.

Iesada raised his left eyebrow. He crossed the room in a few long strides and leaned onto both armrests of the chair, trapping Kagome. She backed up as far as she could, but his face came closer and closer to hers.

"I want the truth. Do you have a boyfriend or not?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," she tried to sound brave, even though her heart pounded out of control.

"I don't have a girlfriend. Now answer the question," he replied sternly.

Kagome submitted to his commanding brown eyes and shifted her eyes to the right before answering. "No, I don't have a boyfriend," she said quietly.

"Good," he said with a subtle smile and stood up straight again and crossed his arms across his chest.

He was totally in character since changing his outfit, whether he realized or not. He'd had multiple mood swings with a touch of possessiveness, accompanied by a disregard for personal space and a piercing gaze. These were among the many reasons why she was glad Inuyasha had the beads of subjugation.

"I'm sorry, but I've been mixed up in a situation before with a girl that wasn't honest with me. I'd prefer to avoid any future incidents like that," he apologized again.

Kagome nodded in acceptance of his apology, but became intrigued about the girl he spoke of. "What happened?" she inquired.

"Let's just say the girl played me and her boyfriend and we ended up fighting each other. If it wasn't for my best friend talking some sense into me, I probably would've gotten arrested or something.

"Is this the same Iesada who was just talking to me about honor?" she questioned.

"Ya, I know, but I've changed and I'm a better person because of it. I've learned from my mistakes."

A chime rang through the hallway signalling to the audience that the performance would start soon.

"Well let's go, I saved a seat for you in the front," Iesada said and grabbed the rather large sword leaning by the door and propped it up on his shoulder. The size of it couldn't compare to the Tetsuaiga of course. But the sight of him standing there like that made her smile. "What?" he questioned, her genuine smile stirring up his feelings for her.

"Sorry, nothing," Kagome said. Her mind distracted by how dashing Inuyasha always looked when he slung Tetsuaiga over his shoulder. Iesada looked her over again, before offering Kagome his hand. She allowed him to help her up off the chair and followed him down the hallway.