Love and Responsibility

I thought I'd have a little bit of fun with this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

Warning: Sexual Content; Offensive Language; Violence

Rating: M for Mature

Couple: Inuyasha and Kagome (Based)

Sango and Miroku

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters associated with the series.

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Recap: "I'm still Kagome?…" This seemed like a fresh phrase to her. No one had said this to her since she'd awoken with memory loss and she felt like it was something she'd needed to hear. She wanted to thank Inuyasha, but she just couldn't bring it out. She simply smiled.

"Y… you see, Miroku… I… I'm pregnant." End Recap

Chapter 10: Remembering The Warmth

"Wow, what an effect that medicine of yours has Inuyasha." Mrs. Higurashi beamed, making her way down the steps with the smallest of blankets wrapped around her shoulder. "I feel better than I did before I even got sick." The woman giggled. "I just regret that I wasn't awake to make breakfast and see Sota off to school again."

At this point, Mrs. Higurashi had yet to notice the rag that Inuyasha was holding tight to his nose. His face seemed to be a light purple, as though he couldn't breathe. When Suteki did notice this, her brown optics went wide with both shock and concern.

"Oh my! Inuyasha what happened?!" The hanyou responded by pointing up the stairs. This gesture confused Kagome's mother. He muttered something, but she failed to understand his jumbled words. He pulled the cloth away to speak.

"Go ask your daughter." He than proceeded to press the rag over his nostrils. "I'm going out for a walk." With that he was gone.

"What could Kagome have done?" Mrs. Higurashi wondered, climbing back up the steps and heading for Kagome's door. She felt a faint and unfamiliar smell in the hallway. "What is that smell?"

Opening the door, her eyes became slightly bigger. She observed her daughter as she rolled a paint roller up and down her wall. Her furniture was all moved into the center of the room, presumably to be kept out of the way. The priestess herself wore overalls and a blue bandana in her hair. She seemed overly energetic.

"Kagome, Dear, why are you painting your room and where in the world did you get the paint and supplies from?"

"Oh, mom." The miko gave the woman a quick smile. "So happy to see your not sick anymore. Inuyasha's stuff must really work."

"Yes, it sure does."

"I just decided that the color was kind of boring. I wanted to paint it a light yellow, you know, like the sun. I got these supplies all from the storage shed. Isn't that lucky? I didn't really want it yellow at first, but it was the only color there was."

"Are you sure you'll be alright with this?" Mrs. Higurashi was referring to the Kagome with memories.

"Inuyasha has taught me something." Kagome dipped her roller onto the her paint pan, nearly spilling it onto her carpet. "I'm me. I know that sounds funny, but you know what I mean." She giggled. "If I'm okay with this, the me with memories will be okay with this, cause we're obviously the same person. I mean, I know a little bit less than the me with memories, but I've still got the same heart, right?"

"That's very true."

"I'm sure I wanted this and if I didn't, what's the worst that could happen? Is the me with memories gone beat the me without them up?" This caused her mother to let out a giggle. Kagome definitely came off as spirited, but this wasn't exactly like her normal self.

"Well than, I suppose I'll just leave you to your work." With that, the woman exited, realizing that Inuyasha's nose must have been very agitated with the strong odor that the fresh paint gives off. She felt sort of sorry for the half demon. That smell wouldn't be gone for a couple of days.

"I sure wish Inuyasha could help me move this furniture back." Kagome sighed, pushing her dresser back up against her wall. She had finally finished with her painting project after more than three hours. She had been so excited in the beginning, but after only an hour she'd felt worn down and tired of painting. "I don't think I'll be painting anymore rooms for a while."

"I don't think I'll be painting anymore rooms for a while…" Wiping her forehead, the preteen fell to the ground in a drowsy haze.

Kagome laughed, to see that she had to relearn yet another lesson in her life.

Moving the last of her furniture back to it's place, Kagome fell back onto her bed, utterly fatigued. The smell of paint seemed to clog her senses, but the scent didn't seem to faze her to hard.

"All finished?" Suteki asked, entering Kagome's bedroom. The miko gave her sideways glance and a tired nod. "I see. Have fun?"

"Some."

"You know…" Mrs. Higurashi took a seat on Kagome's bed. "Sunshine was the same exact word you used when you bought that paint."

"It was?" She sat up. "I bought that paint."

"Yup, you sure did. It wasn't that long ago. You'd planned on painting your room for a while now, but you've been so busy with-" She stopped herself, causing the girl before her to become somewhat addled.

"With what?" The miko pushed for more, but her mother just shook her head.

"Nevermind. It's not important." Seeing that she was going to get no where with her mother on this one, Kagome decided to change the subject.

"So what's the deal with Inuyasha? Is he like a foreign exchange student or something? Or maybe he's related to us?"

"Has Inuyasha said anything to you about who he is, or why he's got those odd ears?"

"No… he won't tell me, so I just stopped asking him about it."

"I see… well Inuyasha's story is one that I can't explain to you. It's something you're going to have to remember."

"What? No way, not you too?" Kagome groused. "What's so secretive and shocking about this story that I can't even know about it. I mean, I knew before, right?"

"I'm sorry, Kagome. I just think it's better for you if you wait to remember this particular thing."

"Fine, fine…" The miko gave up, recognizing the fact that she would not get any farther information out of her mother about this precise tale. In that millisecond she questioned just what kind of notification her mother would give her. What should she ask? "What will you tell me about my past?"

"Hmm…" The woman lifted her finger to her chin in contemplation, a smile was plastered upon her lips. "I don't think I should tell you anything that isn't basic."

"Isn't basic?"

"Yes." Mrs. Higurashi replied, gleefully. "I won't tell you anything you don't need to know, or don't question about."

"Mom…" Kagome complained. "I need more than that. Can't you understand how curious I am?"

"Kagome, Dear." Suteki giggled, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Think, but not to hard. Don't give yourself a headache. Here are some basics: Your name is Kagome Higurashi, your eyes are brown, your sixteen years old…" From the words that had come from the woman's mouth about basics, Kagome had a feeling than the next thing would be something extra basic, just like the others. "Oh, and you're in love with Inuyasha." Kagome's head flew up, her eyes opened as wide as planets.

"W… what do you mean!?" Kagome's mother simply gave her a wink and left. Kagome sat, thoroughly stunned. She was in love with Inuyasha?! How could this be? Was that the explanation for him living in the house? Were they getting married!? 'Maybe he was housebroken and needed a place to stay, so we took him in because he's my fiance?' Shaking her head, Kagome questioned whether something like that would be reality, or her fantasy.

"What does she expect me to do with this information? Does Inuyasha know I loved him? Did he love me too?" Kagome rolled over on her bed, Inuyasha prominent in her mind. The harder she thought, the more familiar her feelings for Inuyasha seemed to be. Before the priestess knew what was happening she saw a flash of red on top of her and a flash of red below her, as well as a flash of red beside her.

Memories were let lose in that instant, recollections of her and Inuyasha in bed together floated around her head, replaying over and over, until Kagome became sick with confusion. 'Just what was that!? Was that me and Inuyasha in… in bed? Oh my gods!' Red rushed to her cheeks and burned at her ears. She twisted in her pillow, feeling as if she had done it with a stranger. Right now that's exactly what Inuyasha was to her, for she could remember nothing more than tweaking his ears and sleeping with him.

Two Days Later

"So have ye two decided what the plan for the future will be?" Kaede queried. It took Sango a moment to let the words sink in, for she was deep in thought, questioning how Kagome could have come to losing her memory.

"Oh… we've discussed it a little. Miroku's trying to convince me to wait for him and the others to return after defeating Naraku." She sighed. "Which would probably be the most reasonable thing, it's just I'll feel as if I couldn't get my own revenge, and what about Kohaku? Does he expect just to forget about my younger brother?"

"I'm sure he doesn't. He's just thinking about what's best for the child and ye. Besides, you never know if they'll of defeated Naraku within the next nine or ten months. Ye may still get your chance."

"I suppose…" Sango nodded her head in agreement. What the elderly healer had said was true after all. She could still get her chance if it took the group longer than nine to ten months. "I guess that's really my only option, but I could still go with them for now, right? It's still early on."

"I wouldn't recommend it. Any stress can be harmful to an infant. Ye'd be placing your child in risk."

"Oh…" These words depressed Sango, but she understood that she needed to hear them. She could not harm her baby, just so she could exact revenge. It would be cruel. The demon slayer decided to tell Miroku what she had decided. She was positive he would be pleased with her compromise.

Kagome rolled over on her side, and then back onto the other. For the last two days she'd been having the memories of her night with Inuyasha running through her mind. She couldn't get the images out of her immediate thought process. She could only say she was very lucky that Inuyasha had not returned since the morning she had painted her bedroom.

When Inuyasha came hopping into her room, she felt a sense of fear, embarrassment, and a sense of surprise to see that he had decided to enter their home through her second story window. The priestess was speechless and had no idea what she should say.

Inuyasha gave her a look, a sort of 'Oops, you caught me' look. A blush rose to her cheeks. The half demon had no clue that Kagome recalled spending that night in his arms. She didn't know whether or not it would be best to tell him, but no matter how hard she tried to speak, she just couldn't get the words out.

Kagome cackled nervously, "What a convenient way to enter the house." She didn't want to go anywhere near the subject of them. Inuyasha just nodded, a somewhat insignificant look of anxiety shimmied in his honey-golden eyes. "Oh, and lucky you. You're back for dinner. Yum. I can smell it from here." She leaped off the bed and nearly tripped on her way to the door. "Shall we? I think everyone will be happy to know you're back… I'll go tell them."

Inuyasha awaited her departure. 'How come she seemed so nervous?' He came to the conclusion that questioning her jitters would not be very wise.

The smell of seasoned steak wafted the air. The scent of vegetables and baked potatoes pooled together, initiating the watering of the mouths of the beings seated at the dinner table.

"I've decided to make a western style meal this afternoon. I know how much Sota loves them." Mrs. Higurashi had already completely the task of bringing all of the plates and cups to the table. She had set out forks and knives, rather than chopsticks. A pitcher of iced tea was centered in the table.

"It smells so great!" Kagome squealed, still struggling to pluck her memories of Inuyasha from her mind. Of course, she understood that it was a meaningful memoir, but that didn't mean she wished to be thinking of such a thing at the dinner table. Even know, her blushed refused to perish. 'If I keep this up, they're going to think something's wrong with me…' Even though she was aware of this, she could not force her flustered look to vanish.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha, who sat beside her, gave her a look of consideration. As soon as Kagome's eyes met his, they were locked. Her blood began to blitz through her veins and her heart doubled in pace, hammering in her ears. She could feel it all. Inuyasha against her, Inuyasha holding her, Inuyasha… A need for him developed within her. It was a longing to have him in the same way she'd had him on that night. She shivered, her spine needing the warm tingle that only the half demon before her could give him.

The priestess was far into a fantasy when she realized just how wide Inuyasha's eyes were. She bit down on the inside of her cheek as hard as she could without causing it to bleed. 'What am I doing?! Staring at him like that!?' She turned back to her food, ignorant to that fact that it was not the look Kagome had been giving Inuyasha that had caused his awestricken look, but rather the scent she was giving off.

'Why did she smell like that?' It was the scent of a women in heat, which didn't make sense because if she had been in heat, the smell wouldn't have come and gone so fast. The hanyou decided to forget what had just happened. If it happened again, then he might decide to question it. Besides, this food smelt way to good to eat with a troubled mind.

"Inuyasha!" Gramps' orbs opened in amazement. "You haven't got on your hat!" The others around the table had to contain their laughter at the man's slowness to realize this truth.

"I apologize, Sango…" Moonlight beat down on the monks midnight hair, making it seem slightly greasy, yet neat. "I've caused you inconvenience." Miroku could not bare to look his beloved in the eyes. He knew perfectly well that she was forced to choose the path she had. "I know that you've wanted to avenge your younger brother…"

Sango kicked a small pebble into the nearby stream. She seemed to be at a lose of words. Miroku was correct about her wanting to avenge Kohaku and about her inconvenience, but he had not been accurate in his assumption that he was the cause. They were both at fault for Sango's pregnancy. The demon slayer didn't mind that she was having Miroku's child, in fact, she was very pleased with it, but at the same time she would have preferred if it had happened after Naraku was already deceased.

"Miroku?" Sango found herself overly exhausted. She rested her head on the monks shoulder, allowing him to wrap his arm around her.

"Hmm?"

"You don't think Naraku will try and find a way to use this child against us?" The worry in her words was evident.

"I wont let anything happen to harm out child. I promise you that."

I really thought it would be comical if Kagome remembered sleeping with Inuyasha before she got back her other memories. I also figured it would be nice to add a little Miroku and Sango moment at the end of the chapter for those of you who like the couple.