Disclaimer: Shockingly enough, I don't own him. I know, crazy. Someone should look into this.
A/N Hello, everybody. Been awhile, hasn't it? I meant to update this chapter back in July... I had 16 pages written, but I hadn't finished writing all the material I wanted to put into it. But I had to go out of town for a couple weeks. I thought it would be no big deal to pick it up again when I got back... Yeah, so one ridiculous set of circumstances happened after another and here I am a couple months later and only two pages extra. So I decided to update what I had before something ELSE pops up. I shall do my best to continue the rest of the material as soon as possible to get the next chapter out swiftly (here's hoping – I know I say this every time).
Anyways, enjoy!
"Souta, do you have everything?" Kagome asked her younger brother as she stuffed another shirt into her backpack.
"Of course," Souta replied. "I was ready ages ago. It's you we're both waiting for. I mean, it's just a couple of days, Kagome – how much stuff do you need?"
"I just want to be prepared, that's all," Kagome said defensively. "You never know what unexpected things might come up, forcing us to stay longer, or get stranded somewhere..."
"Relax, Miss Overthinker. We're going to Inuyasha's house, not Hawaii. I think we can manage to get there and back relatively as planned."
"Yeah, yeah," Kagome muttered as if annoyed, though a small smile played at the corner of her mouth. "Let me just grab one last thing..." She picked up a psychology textbook from her bedside table and shoved it in her bag.
"Now are you ready?" Souta asked, exasperated.
"Sure am. Let's go down and meet Inuyasha," Kagome said, ruffling his hair and skipping past him.
Inuyasha was waiting for them outside, leaning on the hood of a limousine. When he saw them come out of the school doors, he grinned and gave a flourishing gesture to their ride. "The chariot awaits."
Souta's eyes widened. "Where'd you get a hold of this, Inuyasha?"
"Yeah, really," Kagome uttered her shared astonishment.
"Apparently Sesshoumaru was willing to part with it long enough to transport you guys to the house," Inuyasha responded wryly. "But we better be quick. If he's separated too long from things that remind him how insufferably rich he is, he starts to get cranky."
"Gotcha," Kagome laughed as she lifted her small suitcase into the trunk of the expensive car. Souta tossed in his backpack and then dove into the cushy backseat. The other two piled in after him. "How is living with Sesshoumaru once again?" she asked once they were all settled and the chauffeur started the car.
Inuyasha made a face. "Thank god it's temporary, is all I can say. I'm already sick of his classical music, constant watching of the news, and his unholy obsession with the stock market. Not to mention his very strange preference for all things bran. Cereal, muffins, you name it! It's not a major food group, you know! Seriously, Rin is the only thing remotely interesting about him. I still can't get my head wrapped around how they ended up together."
Kagome's giggle interrupted his rant. "So you're having a good time, I can see."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and suppressed the next half hour of his rant. "Yeah, it's a thrill. And how's the school been in my absence?"
It was Kagome's turn to roll her eyes. "Same as usual except much duller. No classes and hardly anyone else there makes it pretty quiet. I've mostly just been reading psychology textbooks. Trying to find reasons for your memory loss and ways to help you gain it back."
Inuyasha stole a glance at Souta, who was paying attention. As if to answer his unspoken question, the boy said, "I know you're the boy in her visions. She told me it was you right after she found out. I also know all about your parents and the coma. Sorry that I know things I shouldn't."
Inuyasha regarded him for a moment before shrugging. "The whole city knows, one more kid's not going to make a difference. Well, they know about my parents and the coma, anyway. Not so much about my imminent demise." He was glad at this point for the glass barrier separating them from the driver so he couldn't overhear.
"For what it's worth, I'd really rather you didn't die," Souta offered.
"Thanks kid," Inuyasha responded wryly. Turning back to Kagome, he asked, "So did you find out anything useful?"
"I have a few ideas. The closest cause I could find to match what's happened is called repression. It's supposedly a defence mechanism against trauma. Your mind forces itself to forget what happened to save you more emotional damage," Kagome said.
"Gee, that really makes me want to remember now," Inuyasha interjected.
"It was a common theory for a while that hypnosis would draw out repressed memories, apparently. But that was kind of shot down the tubes when people started remembering things that never actually happened, due to the hypnotists' accidental suggestions."
"Sooo, we're not going the hypnosis route then?" Inuyasha guessed.
"I'd say not. Unless you want to stir up fictional memories of molestation," Kagome proposed.
"You know, I think I'm good on that front. I think we should move on," Inuyasha said hastily.
"I thought you might feel that way. Anyways, I don't think outright forcing the memories to surface will work – which is kind of proved by the fact you'd only get headaches when you tried before. I think we need to take a more subtle, gentle and roundabout approach," Kagome mused.
"Like what?" Souta wondered.
"I'm still working that part out," Kagome admitted. "I'll let you guys know when I've come up with something I think might work."
"Fair enough," Inuyasha conceded. "But, you know...take all the time you need, really. I hear emotional trauma isn't all that it's cracked up to be."
"Fancy that," she responded.
The rest of the ride was relatively uneventful, spent mostly by discussing Christmas plans for the following day. Soon enough they arrived in front of Sesshoumaru's grandiose house, the lawn and gardens looking as manicured as ever. As they alighted from the limousine, the man himself and his adoptive daughter came out of the house to greet them.
"Kagome!" Rin cried, making a dash for the older girl.
"Hey, Rin! How's it going?" Kagome asked, giving her a hug.
"Good! Uncle Sesshoumaru has been teaching me how to make paper cranes!"
"Wow, how exciting! By the way, Rin, I'd like you to meet my younger brother, Souta," Kagome said, indicating her brother who was stepping out of the car.
He gave the younger girl a lopsided grin. "Hi, Rin. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you!" Rin responded in kind.
"Well, that's fabulous. Everyone's acquainted," Sesshoumaru drawled as he walked up. "How about you all do something useful and take your bags inside the house?"
Inuyasha bristled at his tone. "Oh sorry, did we interrupt tea time?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Sesshoumaru said, turning away to head back to the house, Rin at his heels. Over his shoulder, he continued, "Tea time is not for another four hours."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and hauled Kagome's suitcase out of the trunk. "What a ponce."
Despite herself, Kagome snorted in laughter. And then chided Souta for doing the same.
The three of them made their way up the walk as the chauffeur drove the limousine around the side of the house, presumably to a private garage. Inuyasha gave the siblings the grand tour of the house, though Kagome had seen most of it upon her last visit. Kagome was offered her previous guest room, and Souta was offered one right next to it. After dropping off their gear, they headed back downstairs to join Sesshoumaru and Rin in the family room.
A giant coniferous tree stood in the corner, bedecked with decorations, lights and tinsel, sheltering the multitudes of wrapped presents that lay beneath it. Classic Christmas carols were playing softly in the background and a fire crackled in the authentic fireplace.
"Wow," Kagome uttered. "So this is what real Christmas is like."
Inuyasha snorted. "What would any of us know about real Christmas? We're just pretending everything's normal and happy."
"Isn't Christmas what you make it?" Souta piped up. "Isn't it about having a good time with the ones you love?"
Sesshoumaru looked up from the book he was reading with Rin with a bemused expression. "I believe you have been, as they say, schooled, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha glared at his older brother before scoffing. "You and your insights..." he muttered to Souta, who merely laughed in return.
Kagome layed a hand on Inuyasha's arm. "Souta's right. Let's just have as much fun as we can! Starting with these!" she squealed, examining a stack of classic Christmas movies.
Rin was soon drawn away from Sesshoumaru's book and began inspecting the movie collection along with the others. After much debate, they decided on How the Grinch Stole Christmas and settled down to watch it on the large flat screen television.
The members of the room were left with varying opinions once the movie had ended. Kagome, Souta and Rin thoroughly enjoyed the movie, Inuyasha pretended not to like it but secretly did, and Sesshoumaru kept silent, wondering what was so unearthly terrible about being a Grinch.
Souta eventually challenged the rest to a snowball fight and everyone save Sesshoumaru bundled up and headed outside. The expansive backyard was filled with snow from the first snowfall and they quickly jumped into action. Souta and Inuyasha intently constructed forts on opposite sides of the yard while the girls busied themselves with a snowman they called Barry.
Once the forts were ready and snow angels littered the ground, they all gathered ammunition and readied themselves; Souta and Kagome against Inuyasha and Rin. A fierce battle ensued, resulting in heroics, bravery, betrayal, promises of revenge and endless tears of laughter.
When they were all lying on their backs, worn out and panting, Sesshoumaru came outside to assess the damage. Inuyasha mustered his strength and chucked the last of his snowballs at his brother's head, but Sesshoumaru deftly caught it and crumbled it in his fist. Raising a delicate eyebrow at his chagrined younger brother, Sesshoumaru said, "Now if you've all had quite enough, there is some hot chocolate waiting inside. Rin, come along."
"Yes, Uncle Sesshoumaru!" the girl chirped happily, bounding to her feet and skipping after the older man into the house.
"Hot chocolate does sound good right about now," Souta admitted, sitting up.
"Gosh, if we use up all this fun today, there won't be anything left for tomorrow!" Kagome laughed.
"Ah, that's where you're wrong," Inuyasha informed her. "Tomorrow will be spent being thoroughly distracted by our new presents. And turkey dinner." He paused, then added, "He betterbe planning on cooking a turkey dinner."
"I'm sure he is," Kagome said in a placating manner. "Now let's go get that hot chocolate!"
The rest of the evening passed happily. After their hot chocolate, they ate dinner and settled in for two more Christmas movies before heading to bed.
"Sweet dreams, everyone!" Rin called happily before Sesshoumaru ushered her into her room for the night.
Inuyasha, Souta and Kagome shared a look. "God, if only," Kagome said, rolling her eyes. The other two smirked at her dark humour before retreating to their respective rooms.
Surprisingly, no nightmares plagued Kagome that night and she awoke relatively rested and ready to experience Christmas at the Reijiro household. Rifling through her suitcase, she took out a few wrapped presents she'd picked up for the others. Hugging them to her breast, she left her room and tiptoed down the stairs so she could place them with the rest of the presents under the tree.
Sesshoumaru was already awake and fixing himself some coffee in the kitchen. Kagome deposited her presents and came to join him.
"Good morning!"
He nodded as greeting. "Coffee?" he offered.
Kagome grimaced. "Mm, pass. It still tastes gross to me."
"Orange juice then," he said, indicating the jug on the counter.
"Yeah, I could go for that," Kagome smiled, pouring herself a glass. "I'm surprised Rin's not awake yet. I always woke up really early when I was little, especially on Christmas."
Sesshoumaru gave a barely perceptible shrug. "She's an unusually late sleeper. She would likely miss school if I did not come in and wake her up most mornings."
"Huh." Kagome hesitated and then blurted out, "Listen, I hope this isn't too forward...but were you planning on cooking turkey dinner? Inuyasha seems to be kind of looking forward to it..."
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason I should adhere to that whelp's every whim?"
Kagome was taken aback. "I–well, no, I guess not. It's just..."
As she stammered, he nodded to something behind her. She turned around to see a thawed turkey on the counter, ready to be basted. A smile snaked itself across her face as she turned back to the older man, who was still trying to look indifferent.
"You know, you're sly," she said, taking a sip of her orange juice. Sesshoumaru didn't reply. "You know how to get him angry at you. You rile him up so he doesn't notice. But I'm so onto you."
"I have no idea to what you are referring," Sesshoumaru drawled.
Kagome laughed before downing the rest of her drink. Putting the glass down on the counter, she teased, "You're such a loving brother!"
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't appreciate that insinuation."
Kagome giggled again, but was saved from responding by the entrance of two more of their group, Rin and Souta.
"Morning," Souta yawned.
"Ah, so you guys did decide to get up," Kagome said, smiling at the pair.
"Where's Uncle Inu?" Rin asked sleepily.
"It seems my pest," Sesshoumaru emphasized this word with a pointed look to Kagome, "of a brother is still asleep. Who would like to volunteer to abruptly interrupt his slumber?"
Kagome smirked. "I'll go. You guys get set up in the family room." Leaning down to Rin, she said, "I think a lot of those presents have your name on them."
The little girl squealed, now fully awake, and scampered out to the other room. Kagome headed upstairs to confront her sleeping boyfriend. Lightly knocking at his door, she called, "Inuyasha?" She tried calling a few times, but got no response. Sighing, she steeled herself and entered the room.
Inuyasha was face down on his bed, his head impossibly buried in his pillow. His sheets were entangled around his legs and one of his arms was dangling over the side of the bed.
"Inuyasha..." she sang, walking up next to the bed. He still didn't move. A devious thought struck her. Leaning down, she blew lightly on one of his furry ears. It twitched frantically for a moment before settling again. She did this a few more times until his hand came up to guard his ear unconsciously.
At this, Kagome broke. She started laughing loudly and he soon roused enough to pry his face out of the pillow and glare at her. "What?" he demanded rudely.
"You're such a cute puppy," she cooed, scratching the base of his ear.
Inuyasha leaned into it for a moment before realizing what was happening and pulling back, intensifying his glare. "Dammit, wench. What do you want?"
"It's Christmas morning, Inuyasha. Time to come downstairs and open presents with the rest of us."
Inuyasha grumbled and looked at the clock which read 8:30. "I'm pretty sure Christmas doesn't start 'til noon."
"Oh shut up you, and get out of bed!" Kagome chided good-naturedly. "Everyone's already waiting for us."
Inuyasha rolled over and yawned loudly. "This is a crime."
"Even so. I'd like to tell you Merry Christmas, Inuyasha," she said, leaning forward and planting a kiss on his lips.
Immediately he turned as red as his pajamas and bolted upright in bed. "I'm awake now."
"Then let's go," Kagome said with a coy smile, getting up and heading out the door. Inuyasha hastily followed.
Downstairs, the kids were anxiously waiting beside the Christmas tree as Sesshoumaru lounged in a comfortable chair, coffee cup still firmly gripped in his hands.
"Can we start now, Uncle Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked eagerly. "Can we? Can we?"
"Yes, Rin," Sesshoumaru acknowledged. "Make sure everyone has a gift before you open one of yours, though."
Presents were distributed amongst the group and Kagome was surprised to see that Sesshoumaru had bought several gifts for her and her brother, despite not knowing them too well. There was also a gift from Rin, and a few from Inuyasha.
Once they'd demolished a good amount of the pile, unwrapping new toys, clothes, jewellery and video games, Sesshoumaru handed Inuyasha a paper thin present. "Here, brother."
Inuyasha gave him a quizzical look before turning to the present. "What's this?" he muttered. "A certificate disowning me?"
Sesshoumaru snorted in disdain and then paused. "Perhaps next Christmas..." he mused.
Inuyasha angrily tore open the package to find an envelope underneath. Opening this, a concert ticket fell into his lap. He gaped for a full minute before saying anything.
"Mimic? You got me a concert ticket for Mimic?" Inuyasha exclaimed in disbelief.
"Whoa, awesome!" Kagome said, scooting closer to get a good look at the ticket. "I love that band!"
"Me too," Inuyasha admitted, still in awe. "Well, at least I did. Before...my coma. Wow! You mean they're still around?" he asked Sesshoumaru as he looked up at him.
"Apparently," Sesshoumaru responded neutrally.
"Too cool! I can't wait to see what they're like now," Inuyasha said excitedly.
"Rin and I will of course be accompanying you," Sesshoumaru informed him. "Thankfully your favourite band wasn't some hardcore metal punk death thing so it is still appropriate for one of Rin's age."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Of course you wouldn't let me go alone."
"What? Trust you to behave responsibly?" Sesshoumaru retorted. "Don't be absurd, brother. I'd have you on a leash at all times, if that were not considered illegal and a breach of rights. No, instead I have to constantly monitor your useless self myself to make sure you don't embarrass the family name."
Inuyasha's glee noticeably faded as he clutched the ticket tighter and growled. "There goes any chance you had of me thanking you, you giant prick."
"So weird..." Souta uttered beside Kagome, staring at Inuyasha's ticket.
"What's up, Souta?" she asked curiously.
Wordlessly, he passed her her own paper thin present. Ripping it open, Kagome discovered a second concert ticket to the same band. Looking up at Sesshoumaru, she exclaimed, "Wow, did you get me a ticket too?"
Sesshoumaru returned her expectant look blankly, telling her something was amiss.
"No...Kagome. That present is from me," Souta said quietly.
Kagome looked down confused. "Oh, but..." She looked over at Inuyasha's ticket. They were for the same date. "They're for the exact same concert... Did you guys coordinate or something?"
Sesshoumaru and Souta shared a baffled look. "No..." Souta said. "Like I said, it's weird... I guess it's just a lucky coincidence."
"Huh," Kagome said, looking back and forth between the two tickets. "What do you know..." Coming back to herself, she leaned over to give her brother a tight hug. "Thanks a ton. I love this band! I'm so glad I get to see them in concert. Did you get a ticket for yourself too?"
Souta rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah... I thought we could go together. Now I guess we'll be able to go with these guys too."
"Yeah!" Kagome smiled brightly, looking over to the other three. "This'll be fun!"
"When is the concert?" Rin asked curiously.
"January twenty-ninth," Inuyasha answered after looking at his ticket. "Man, I can't believe we're going to see Mimic!"
The rest of the presents were promptly opened and marvelled over. Afterwards, they all headed to the kitchen for breakfast. It took many waffles and muffins to finally sate them, but eventually everyone had sufficiently stuffed their faces and were ready to wash up for the day.
Once Kagome had freshened up and finished blow-drying her hair, she made her way across the hall to Inuyasha's room. He too was dressed, and now lying on his back on the bed, gazing up at the Mimic ticket held in his hands. She shooed him over and layed down beside him.
"Pretty cool, huh?" she said.
"Yeah," Inuyasha replied in awe. "It was my favourite band. Man! Mimic. Geez, that sure brings back memories..."
The two were silent for a few moments before Kagome shot up into a sitting position. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "That could work!"
Inuyasha gave her a confused look as he sat up as well. "What're you talking about?"
"Your memories, Inuyasha! Your memories! This could be the key to getting them back!" she said excitedly.
"The concert?"
"No, not the concert! Well, the band might though..."
Inuyasha was still lost.
"Think about it. The band is something that reminds you of the time before your coma, right? It's something familiar about that time. What if we could surround you with familiar things from that time? Don't you think it might help bring more memories to the surface? And then maybe we could trick your brain into remembering those memories that you've repressed from that awful night," Kagome explained.
Inuyasha blinked. "Wow. That...might work. I guess I'll have to come up with a list of everything I remember right before the coma."
"Yeah! Like the foods you were eating regularly, the movies you saw, all the music you listened to, the games you played, even what the house smelled like... Speaking of the house, this isn't it, right?" Kagome asked.
Inuyasha shook his head. "When I woke up from my coma, Sesshoumaru had already bought this house for himself. He probably didn't want to stay in the house where...that happened."
"Understandable. I sure wouldn't either. How terrible," Kagome shuddered.
"Yeah," Inuyasha said sadly. "I've never been back there since."
"Really? Gosh, if only we could go back there," Kagome mused. "Not that it would be a particularly happy experience, but if you could be at the scene of the crime itself... Just that could maybe bring something back to you!"
Inuyasha looked apprehensive at the idea. "Sesshoumaru bought this house, but he did keep the old one." At Kagome's excited look, he continued, "But I dunno, Kagome. I don't know if I could face going back there..."
Kagome sobered up. "If you thought you could, I'd be with you every step of the way. I wouldn't let you do it alone, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha was quiet for a moment. "Do you really think it would help?"
Kagome took one of his hands in hers. "I can't guarantee anything, Inuyasha. I don't think there's any straight equation to figuring out the brain and how it works. But I think this has a good shot of doing something to dislodge that memory. I mean, you haven't been back to the house at all since you woke up. Don't you think it oughta have some sort of effect?"
Inuyasha wavered. "And you'd stick with me?"
She squeezed his hand. "Of course. I wouldn't let you out of my sight."
He sighed and let his head drop onto her shoulder. "Okay, let's do it."
"Really? You're absolutely sure?"
"Yes, positive. I want to put this to rest once and for all. If this has any chance of helping me remember, and you're going to be there the whole time, I want to give it a shot. And as soon as possible, to get it out of the way," he said, determined.
"This winter break?" Kagome asked.
"Tomorrow," Inuyasha pressed, "while you're still visiting with us."
Kagome blinked at his sudden enthusiasm. Or perhaps it was just the desire to get it over and done with, like ripping off a bandaid. But once the bandaid was off, they still had to deal with the gaping wound underneath. "Okay, I'm game. Oh, but Miroku and Sango are coming to visit tomorrow."
Inuyasha shrugged. "They can come too."
Before they could exchange another word, a commotion from the floor below interrupted them. There was a knock at the door and Rin could be heard bounding towards it, chattering to Sesshoumaru excitedly.
"I guess we better go see who it is," Inuyasha said reluctantly. Kagome smiled at him as she hopped off the bed, allowing him to do the same. Together they made their way down the stairs.
"Kagura!" Rin's voice wafted to them before they reached the landing.
"Hey, Rin! How's my favourite munchkin?"
"Good! Christmas with Uncle Sesshoumaru is fun! I got a new Barbie, and new shoes and a new backpack!"
"How exciting!" Looking up, Kagura spotted Inuyasha and Kagome coming towards her. "Hi guys, how are you doing?"
"Great," Kagome responded, smiling. "It's nice to see you again, Kagura."
"Likewise," the older woman replied warmly.
"Merry Christmas," Inuyasha greeted.
"Merry Christmas to you too," she said, letting Sesshoumaru slip her coat off her shoulders. "I brought you all some gifts."
"That wasn't necessary," Sesshoumaru lightly chided.
Kagura smiled. "Nonsense. It was my pleasure."
They moved into the family room where they could visit more easily. Souta was already there and he and Kagura were introduced before everyone settled.
"Has your Christmas been good so far?" Kagura asked.
"It's been really good!" Rin gushed. "Right?"
The others all nodded their assent. "I'm so glad to hear it. Here, these are your presents," Kagura said, pulling out several wrapped packages from her bag.
Kagome and Souta looked at her in wonder when she handed presents to them as well. "Sesshoumaru told me you two would be coming to visit over the holidays. I thought I'd pick something up for you as well," Kagura explained.
"You really shouldn't have!" Kagome said, taking the gift from her in awe. She opened her package to reveal a silver necklace with a lavender coloured pendant in the shape of a tear drop. "Wow, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
Souta's present turned out to be a sharp looking tie. "Because every man should be able to look smart, no matter the age," Kagura told him with a wink.
Rin's present was a jigsaw puzzle, and Inuyasha received the latest album from Mimic. "So you can prepare for their concert next month!" she said to him, smiling.
"Wow, thanks, Kagura. This is awesome!" Inuyasha said graciously. "And of course you would already know about the tickets."
"I am your brother's secretary, assistant and overall life manager, after all," Kagura joked, looking over at Sesshoumaru.
The corner of Sesshoumaru's lips lifted slightly as he gazed back at her. Turning to Rin who was sitting on his lap, he said, "Rin, please go get Kagura's gift for me."
"Okay!" Rin chirped, hopping down and dashing to his study.
Kagura watched her go with a smile. "Here's your gift in the meantime."
Sesshoumaru accepted the small package she offered him and slowly unwrapped it. Inside lay an ornate silver pocket watch and matching chain. There appeared to be an inscription on the back and as Sesshoumaru read over it, his eyes seemed to soften.
Kagome looked on curiously, but any emotion she may have seen on his face vanished as he looked up. He thanked Kagura profusely but mechanically and she responded in kind.
Rin soon returned with Kagura's gift and handed it to her eagerly. She opened it to find a jewelled hairpin complete with two white feathers. Kagome observed her reaction closely and was surprised to see a sad, almost pained expression cross her face for a moment, before disappearing as quickly as it had come.
These two were just plain confusing her. She had no idea what to make of their relationship.
"It's beautiful," Kagura said quietly. She inserted it into her up-do and fashioned it for the others in the room. "How do I look?"
"Really pretty!" Rin enthused.
"Gorgeous. Wouldn't you agree, Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, watching him closely.
"The bauble does you no true justice," he remarked neutrally.
"You're too kind," Kagura replied, just as carefully.
When Kagome squinted and looked really closely, she thought she could detect a slight red hue dusting Kagura's cheeks. But she blinked and whatever she thought she saw was gone. Sighing, she decided to give up trying to figure them out. One impossible-to-crack egg was hard enough to deal with, she didn't feel like trying her hand at two.
After everyone had spent sufficient time marvelling over their newest gifts, Inuyasha decided to speak up. "Hey Sesshoumaru... Do you think we could go out to the old house tomorrow?"
Sesshoumaru and Kagura looked up at him sharply.
"To your parents' house?" Kagura asked uneasily.
"Why do you want to go there?" Sesshoumaru demanded.
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "Kagome and I thought...it might help...with you know...my memories..."
Sesshoumaru was silent a long time before speaking. "I don't know if that is a good idea, brother."
Inuyasha bristled. "Why not? Aren't you always on my case for not being able to remember anything? This could be our chance for something to click! I sure as hell don't want to go, but it could be our best chance to, you know...learn what happened to our parents."
Sesshoumaru remained impassive. "I need to be here to look after Rin. I will not bring her to that place."
"Then we'll go without you," Inuyasha retorted stubbornly. "We'll take the limo."
"I gave the chauffeur time off for the holidays," Sesshoumaru said.
Inuyasha sighed. "Fine. Miroku can probably give us a ride."
"Actually, I think he and Sango were planning on coming on his motorcycle," Kagome interjected. "Sango seemed pretty excited about it..."
"Seriously? Geez!" He turned back to his brother. "You can't even give us a ride out there? You don't have to come in or anything."
"I can take you," Kagura spoke up. She ignored Sesshoumaru's warning look. "I'll drive you all out there tomorrow in my car."
"Really, Kagura? You'd do that?" Inuyasha asked her eagerly.
Kagura looked hesitant and apprehensive, but she nodded. "I don't like it much more than your brother, Inuyasha, but I sense there's no stopping you. If you're really determined, I'll help you. It may be hard, but you deserve to know what happened..."
Inuyasha met her gaze and nodded grimly.
"There's probably not enough room in the car for me," Souta piped up. "I'll be happy to stay behind and play with Rin."
Kagome smiled at her brother and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Thanks, Souta. We won't be too long tomorrow, I promise."
An air of displeasure seemed to surround Sesshoumaru but his facial expression gave nothing away. "Very well," he finally conceded. "Do as you wish. And now, Kagura and I have some business matters to attend to. Despite it being a holiday, my company still needs some of my attention. Please excuse us."
He and Kagura arose and exited the room, already turning their conversation to stocks and budgets.
The remainder of Christmas Day passed swiftly. Kagura took her leave in the late afternoon and the others sat down for a delicious turkey roast. Inuyasha was more than pleased but no matter how hard Kagome scrutinized him, Sesshoumaru's poker face remained intact.
The evening was spent cleaning up the dishes and kitchen, and then settling in for one of Rin's new movies. Everyone was yawning by the end and decided to pack it in for the night.
..:V:..
"Sango! Miroku! Merry Christmas!" Kagome called as the pair drove up the driveway on Miroku's motorcycle.
"Merry Christmas, Kagome," Miroku said with a grin as he took off his helmet.
"Merry Christmas," Sango echoed, looking exhilarated from the ride.
"Hey guys," Inuyasha greeted, coming up behind Kagome.
"What's up, Inuyasha?" Miroku said, pulling the other boy into a half hug.
"Not much," he acknowledged, then hesitated. "Well, other than a slight change of plans, that is."
"What do you mean?" Sango asked.
"We're planning on going out to Inuyasha's old house today," Kagome explained. "To see if it won't stir up any of his suppressed memories."
Miroku blinked. "Oh. Wow. That is a change of plans."
"Sorry to make the holiday a lot less fun," Inuyasha apologized.
Sango waved him off. "No way, don't worry about it. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we're honoured you'd like to include us in this. If there's anything we can do to be of help, we're more than happy to do it." Miroku nodded his agreement.
Inuyasha broke into a smile. "Thanks, guys. Kagura will come pick us up in an hour or so. Let's go inside 'til then."
More Christmas presents were exchanged between the group, and all too soon Kagura came knocking at the door once more. They all piled in her car and were soon on their way to Inuyasha's childhood home.
After a fifteen minute drive, they pulled into the driveway of what seemed like a mansion. Kagome, Sango and Miroku gaped at the sheer size of the house before them, which clearly spoke of the wealth of the owner, and then some.
"Holy crap!" Miroku exclaimed. "And I thought my parents were rich."
"Ditto," Sango remarked.
"Speaking from a low to middle class perspective, this house is massive!" Kagome said in awe.
Inuyasha, however, remained silent and looked up at the house with something akin to dread in his expression. He gulped nervously and reached for Kagome's hand beside him. As soon as she felt the touch of his hand on hers, she turned her attention from the house back to him entirely. She rubbed his arm gently and gave him an encouraging smile. Shakily, he smiled back.
"So here we are," Kagura said as she turned off the car, looking tense.
Everyone waited to see what action Inuyasha would take, no one wanting to make the first move. Slowly, he opened the car door beside him and slid out.
The group had sunk into such silence that every step Inuyasha made towards the manor was clearly audible, from his first few confident ones to his progressively more hesitant ones. Gradually, the others disembarked from the car and came to stand behind him, looking up at the scene of such a great tragedy.
Kagome came to grasp his hand once again, and gave it a light squeeze. Together they began walking once more, until they were on the front landing. A wave of uneasiness overtook Kagome as she stood there, and Inuyasha was suddenly compelled to support her instead of the other way around.
"Kagome? You alright?" he asked anxiously.
She looked down at the cement beneath her feet. Recalling the article she had once read about the incident, she deduced what was causing the roiling in her stomach. "This is it, isn't it? This is where it happened?" She glanced to her right, where shrubberies lined the front of the house. "That's where you were found..."
Inuyasha gulped as realization struck him. An aching in his back where the bullet had pierced him five years prior was slowly becoming apparent to him and as his eyes lost focus, he thought he could hear the faint sound of a woman screaming...
The footsteps of the others coming up the path brought him back to himself. With a shudder, he turned his attention to the front door. He pulled out the key Sesshoumaru had given him that morning and unlocked the door.
Cautiously, he and Kagome stepped inside. "Whoa," Inuyasha breathed.
"What is it?" Kagome asked.
"It's...exactly as I remember it. It's all exactly the same. Sesshoumaru didn't change a thing."
"Wow," Kagome replied. "After five and a half years, that is amazing."
She looked around and was immediately struck by the family photos lining the walls. She had never seen a picture of Inuyasha's parents before, but they were both beautiful people. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had clearly inherited their long white manes from their father, along with their golden eyes. But Inuyasha's soft facial features were obviously passed down by his breathtakingly gorgeous mother. Kagome gazed sadly at a family photo where the four family members were gathered together, smiling warmly at the camera.
It struck Kagome that Inuyasha's mother and Sesshoumaru looked nothing alike. The elder brother's sharp, aristocratic features were clearly distinct from both parents.
"Sesshoumaru's your half brother, isn't he?" she remarked, remembering back to when Inuyasha first told her about him. "What happened to his mother? If that's not too personal a question for me to ask."
Inuyasha shook his head. "She died in a car accident when Sesshoumaru was five. Both her and her sister were in the car, and both died, along with the other driver. My dad married my mom three years later, and my mom got pregnant with me almost right away. Sesshoumaru's nine years older than me."
"Geez..." Kagome said softly. "That's so sad. And now Sesshoumaru's lost three parents..."
Inuyasha lightly brushed his fingers across the smiling faces of his parents before pounding his fist on the wall beside the picture frame. "I still can't believe they're gone," he admitted, his voice breaking.
Kagome brought up her hand to rub his back as the others hung back, silent.
"I swear, the last time I saw them was while saying good-night the day before...this happened. And then I wake up and they're dead? Why the hell did they have to be taken away? Why?"
"I know, Inuyasha, I know. It's just not fair," Kagome sympathised, recalling all of her loved ones who had so cruelly been taken away. "It never is."
Inuyasha sighed and tried to collect himself, turning away from the family photo. Just beyond the front entrance was a winding staircase to the upper floor and a hallway stretching further into the house. Inuyasha glanced down the hallway, feeling a shiver run up his spine. Looking at the staircase instead, he made his decision. "I want to go visit my old room."
"I'll come with you," Kagome said.
"We'll look around a bit more, if that's alright," Miroku said. Inuyasha nodded and he and Kagome made their way up the stairs.
Inuyasha's room, according to the boy himself, was exactly as he remembered it, save for the dirty clothes he distinctly recalled dropping on the floor before going to bed. A giant poster of Mimic hung over his bed, and smaller posters of various other bands were strewn across his walls. A bookshelf filled with books ranging from fantasy to science fiction sat against one wall, next to a wooden desk where he presumably worked on his homework. A dresser stood against another wall, stuffed with clothes that would no longer fit him. A chest sat next to it, brimming with toys such as action figures and Lego. His closet door was opened and showed more clothes and toys shoved in in a haphazard manner. His bedside table held a lamp and a stack of baseball cards, along with multiple CDs.
Inuyasha froze upon entering and simply gazed around for a few minutes. Slowly, he made his way into the room, his fingertips grazing over the various pieces of furniture as memories flooded back.
"These were my favourite toys," he said, looking down at the chest. "Mom let me keep them up here in my room. The rest stayed down in the basement, where I'd play for hours..." He moved on to the bedside table. "My favourite baseball team... I was trying to collect the cards of all its players... My music, these were the bands I was into right before..." he trailed off. He looked to his bed, where a few stuffed animals sat. "Haha...I remember thinking I was getting too old for stuffed animals. And I wanted to get rid of them...but I couldn't let go of them." He sat down on the bed, grabbing a stuffed bear and hugging it to his chest. "I had this one since I was four... My mom gave it to me for my birthday."
An aching feeling filled Kagome's chest as she looked down at him cradling the bear. After a moment, she had to look away and scanned the room for something to distract herself with. Her eyes lit upon the desk, where a few sheets of paper lay amongst the pens and pencils. Striding over, she picked up the top sheet to read in Inuyasha's handwriting: The Outsiders.
"That was the book report I was working on..." Inuyasha said from his spot on the bed. He made a face. "I hated that book."
Kagome smiled sadly and replaced the paper on the desk. As she put it down, a picture frame on the edge of the desk caught her eye. A younger looking Inuyasha with distinctly shorter hair occupied half of it, his arm thrown over another boy's shoulders. They were both making faces at the camera, trying hard not to laugh.
"Who's this boy?" she asked Inuyasha.
He came over and looked down at the picture."That was my best friend, Jinenji. He was also a half-demon so we got along really well. I didn't have a lot of friends, but he and I always hung out and had fun..."
"What happened to him?"
"Sesshoumaru said his family moved away a couple years ago. Apparently Jinenji didn't handle what happened to me very well. His family wanted to move away and have a fresh start. Once I woke up, I asked about him, but Sesshoumaru didn't know where the family had moved to. I guess Jinenji doesn't even know I'm awake..." He took the picture frame from her, reminiscing.
Kagome next made her way over to a calendar hanging by his dresser. The theme was various breeds of dogs and the month selected was May. She saw that he had crossed out every day that had passed, up to the 14th – the day the tragedy occurred.
The room was beginning to creep her out, seemingly locked in that single moment in time. That perfect moment just before Inuyasha's life was changed forever. It was almost as if she had a window into Inuyasha's past, but could do nothing to warn him of the tragedy that was about to befall him.
The feelings sweeping over her were painful, but they also gave her an idea. "Inuyasha... I think we should try to take a lot of this stuff with us."
He looked up, the picture in his hand having been replaced by a Game Boy Colour. "What do you have in mind?"
"Well...remember how we were talking about how a familiar environment might trigger some memories? I think you should try to immerse yourself as much as possible in all the things you had right before...May 14th. Like, start listening to those CDs by your bed, look through your baseball cards, watch your favourite movies from then, reread The Outsiders – even if you hated it. What else...? Watch the TV shows you liked to watch, use the same toothpaste, keep that teddy bear with you, think back on your times with Jinenji... Anything and everything you can think of that you might associate with that time in your life. If you can recreate it closely enough, maybe your memories will come with it," Kagome suggested.
Inuyasha thought for a moment, wondering if he was strong enough. This wasn't his life anymore, Sesshoumaru was constantly telling him he had to let go and move on... But what if this was the only way to figure out what happened to his parents? But on the other hand...if it didn't work...would he be able to pull himself back or would he constantly be stuck in this time, yearning for what he could never have again?
He steeled himself. "Okay, let's do it." He looked around. "I'm sure my old backpack's around here somewhere, we can put the stuff in that..."
Together they soon located his grey and red backpack and began packing it full of various memorabilia. When it was full, Inuyasha took one last look around his room before they turned and exited.
Back downstairs, Inuyasha and Kagome faced the hallway once more. They could hear the voices of the others far off in the mansion, but Inuyasha seemed incapable of taking another step.
"I really, really don't get a good feeling from this hallway," he admitted.
"I guess...in a weird way...that's a good thing?" Kagome said uncertainly. "I guess it means we're on the right track..."
"Yeah, I guess," Inuyasha replied without any real conviction.
Slowly, one step at a time, he began to make his way forward. He never remembered the hallway being so long, but it seemed to stretch out forever. Cautiously he made his way down it, pausing at the entrance of every new room, surveilling their contents before moving on. Other than the intense feeling of dread, however, no clear memories were coming to him.
The hallway ended by branching into two separate rooms. On the right lay a room with a wall of windows overlooking a massive frozen pool outside. Inuyasha stepped inside, taking in the couches and cold, empty fireplace.
Kagome, however, looked into the room on the left. It looked like a massive study, complete with mahogany desk and high-back leather chair. Rows of bookshelves lined the walls, though there were several gaps where books had been taken out. A giant, rotatable globe stood in the corner, next to a mini bar.
Curious, she took a step inside.
And was immediately hit with a wave of nausea that sent her to the floor.
After gasping for a few moments while clawing at the carpet, she began to breathe slowly and deeply, feeling the nausea abate somewhat. Shakily rising back to her feet, she took a few more steps forward, focusing more intently on her surroundings.
An outdated computer sat upon the desk, along with several pictures in frames facing away from her. Another table sat in the right corner behind the desk, holding a few ornaments, along with an open wooden box.
Her strength gave out as soon as she reached the desk. Leaning on the structure for support, she felt a pounding headache overtake her.
"Inuyasha!" she called hoarsely.
He came into the room promptly. "What is it–? Holy crap, Kagome, you're pale!"
He rushed up to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She thankfully pulled her weight away from the desk and leaned into him instead. She focused on her breathing as she did before, hoping it would help. When she didn't feel any better, she cast about her to try and figure out what was causing her sudden illness.
The memory of the front porch came to her. She thought back to the article once more. Finally, she gasped in realization.
"Here..." she rasped. "Here...this is where your father was killed."
As soon as she uttered the words, as soon as she made the connection, the sickness subsided. Intense relief swept over her and she sagged against Inuyasha, her legs no longer willing to support her.
Inuyasha compensated for the rest of her weight easily, before looking around. "Here...?" he swallowed thickly.
"The article I read said your father was shot inside the house, and you and your mother were found outside. This has got to be where your father died. I got the same sickening feeling at the front door, except it was much worse in here. Your father was murdered in this room. I'd bet my life on it," Kagome said firmly.
Once he was sure Kagome could support her own weight, Inuyasha stepped away to more closely inspect the room. "This was Dad's study... He took care of all his business matters in here. I wasn't usually allowed inside. He wasn't to be disturbed while he was working."
He went over to read the spines of some of the books. Most had to do with recent leaps in technology or business management, along with a few leadership and workplace psychology manuals. "Sesshoumaru must have already taken away the useful ones," he remarked.
"So you found your way here," Kagura's sad voice came from behind them.
The two teenagers turned to see her in the doorway. Kagome regarded her expression carefully, then asked, "This is where Inuyasha's father was killed, isn't it?"
Kagura looked torn for a moment before nodding. "This is it. Awful, isn't it?" She shuddered reflexively.
"But how...?" Inuyasha demanded. "What the hell happened?"
Kagura shook her head. "The police seemed to have hit a dead end. I don't know how their investigation went, though."
As the two of them talked, Kagome's eyes roved over the room once more. Her gaze stopped upon the open wooden box she'd seen before and her curiosity got the better of her. Walking around the desk, she made her way to the table and checked to see what was inside.
Her blood ran cold.
"Guys," she called softly to the others. "Check this out."
Inuyasha and Kagura came up behind her and looked over her shoulder.
"That's..." Inuyasha trailed off.
The box was empty, but the padding inside left nothing to the imagination as to what had once occupied the space. Two perfectly sculpted indentations showed that at one time, two pistols had been the residents of the box.
"Where are the guns?" Inuyasha said frantically. "Those were my dad's prized possessions. Really valuable antiques. They were worth a huge amount of money! They couldn't have been..."
Kagura picked up on his unfinished thought. "They disappeared after the shootings, I heard. There was a rumour that the police suspected the killer used Inutaisho's own guns against him and his family..."
Inuyasha was filled with horror. "No way..."
"The two guns didn't happen to be..." Kagome started.
"One was specially made to hold spiritual bullets and its twin was made for regular bullets," Inuyasha answered. "It was based somewhat on a sort of yin and yang concept – the opposite forces of demons and humans and whatnot."
"It must have been these guns, then," Kagome deduced. "You and your father were shot with the spiritual gun...and your mother with the regular one. And then the killer must have taken them with him!"
Inuyasha felt sick to his stomach. "I think I've had enough for today," he admitted. "This is more than what I want to deal with right now."
Kagura nodded and took him by the shoulders, leading him out of the study. "I agree. I thought this might have been too much, too fast. Let's go find your friends and head back to your brother's house."
Inuyasha nodded and the two of them left the room together. Kagome lingered for a few moments, trying to absorb what they had discovered that day. She was standing in the very room Inuyasha's father had been shot and killed, with his own pistols no less. Who could have done such a thing, and why?
She felt they were just beginning to delve into the mysteries surrounding Inuyasha's coma and his parents' murders. What new horrors would they discover?
A/N Hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter! 'Til next time!