I barely own my clothes, what makes you think I own Inuyasha?! Silly goose.

A/N: Special love and thanks to jazduffgirl, Tammy, Bridget, sango taiyga, and piratesswriter for being so kind as to review. It warmed my heart and made me feel special. Anyway, I looked over the first chapter I posted and I just wanted to say that for the most part, all my chapters will probably be around that area in the length aspect. On Microsoft Word 2,200 words is about 3 pages, so that's what I'll probably be producing every time. I just wanted to get that cleared up because sometimes readers get overzealous and demand updates. Just a minor warning, if YOU take it upon yourself to act so stupidly, I'll take it upon MYSELF to not post here. Flames are wonderfully fine and acceptable, but making demands are not. Get it? Got it. Good.

"The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time."

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Recap:

The kind woman stopped and observed me. Her smile was being ripped from her face and I starred back stupidly.
"Kagome?"
I gulped and looked back at her, "Are you talking to me?"

Installment 2: His Eyes, Tears, and Hot Spring

The young woman's eyes widened.
"Kagome? Are you—joking?"
From her face it was apparent of the utter shock she was feeling.
'Am I supposed to know her? Why is she looking at me like I slapped her in the face?'
Starring back at her with the same disbelief, I looked at her and stupidly replied, "No, are you?"
For a while, not a word was passed. She looked at me, as if she was trying to measure out who I was with her eyes. I, being uncomfortable and memory-less, just looked back timidly.

I tired to backtrack all the current memory in my shockingly blank mind. I remember seeing piercing golden eyes and, blackness and then when I was here. This all was so frightening. My mind already felt like something had crashed and burned in it, and now this? My head began to swirl. I blankly gazed at the beautiful kind woman in front of me.
"Miss, I just really want to go home--," I stopped before going any further; the young woman looked as if she was greatly distressed.
I didn't want to cause her any pain by asking to go home, and I honestly have to come to terms with the fact I don't know where home is anymore.
"Kagome, do you—I mean you have no recollection of anything do you?"
Before I could even open my mouth to answer I heard a male voice behind me speak, "Lady Kagome! You really should be in bed; the wounds you sustained need time to heal properly."
'Lady Kagome? I'm really not anywhere near home am I?'
I turned around and felt more and more out of place. The man who addressed me looked so foreign. He was dressed in long heavy looking purple robes and had a golden staff in his hand. He looked like a monk or priest.

Feeling alienated, lost, and confused I just stared. Who were these people? They seem to know me, but I don't know them. 'Well,' I wryly mused, 'I didn't even know my name until they said it, so perhaps they can help. It's worth a shot.' With that in mind, I stepped backwards to have them both in my peripheral vision so I could address them both at the same time.
Clearing my throat, I spoke hurriedly as to not loose my nerve, "Where am I? Who are you? How do you know me, and how did I get so badly bruised and injured?"
Everything rushed out of my mouth so fast, I'm not even sure I comprehended it. The two unfamiliar people stared at me blankly; seeming unable to understand either. An uncomfortable silence ensued and thus the staring match began.

----

"Miroku, Sango! Where were you guys?" a gruff deep voice broke the induced silence.
The two now identified as "Miroku" and "Sango", stared back at the new guy. His eyes gravitated to mine and my heart skipped a beat. All the things worrying and hurting me evaporated. Physical pain, emotional pain and spiritual pain were all temporarily forgotten. The new comer had long silver hair and white dog ears on his head. His eyes were the most radiant shade of gold and amber; second only to the sun in the sky. I immediately identified him as the one who saved me. I just remember being cold, then his eyes. I gaped at him openly, he was not only my savior; he was also the most handsome man I had ever seen in my life.
"Kagome?" his miniature suns were now directed at me and I looked down shyly. I felt my cheeks get redder by the minute. I had only known him for only a moment and already I was shy and totally in awe.
"I, uh….just want to know how to get back home."
The words came out of my mouth before I had control. 'I never want to leave this place if it means that I will never see him again. I don't care if I never get my memory back.' Some otherworldly feeling gravitated me to him. 'It's as if we were very close once…'
Misinterpreting what I had said he suddenly got a frustrated and exasperated look.
"Kagome, you're still injured! And you're only thinking ABOUT 'skool'. We need to find Naraku when you're better; the battles are getting a lot worse now that that basterd has most of the jewel shards."
Intrigued, nervous, but interested none the less, I simply asked, "Who is Naraku?"
That sure set the beautiful man (or teenager?) in front of me over the edge.

The silver-haired young man came up to me very close and grabbed me loosely on the shoulders.
"Kagome, don't play games."
With his face so close to mind I turned bright red and looked down. So, I supposedly knew these people.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" the tone of my voice bordered on plain pathetic.
"This is no time to act cute."
He really didn't believe me.
"You don't understand, "I gasped, "I don't know where anything is anymore! I don't know where I am…."
I felt my eyes begin to sting and I looked down suddenly.
"ARE YOU A DEMON?!"
The complete and utter surprise and dare I say, fear, caught me off guard. He really was worried about this Kagome person. Uh, I guess I'd be that Kagome person…

I looked at him oddly when he seemed to take a large whiff of air around me. Miroku, the monk, and Sango, the beautiful woman looked as tense as I felt.
"Is it possible she's possessed Miroku? She smells the same…." The silver haired man mused.
"No. Impossible. Her aura is clean and pure. There isn't a pinch of youkai lingering on her," Miroku replied.
"Her eyes…she looks…like Kohaku…,"Sango whispered.
A feeling of pity and regret filled me up quickly at the sound of that name. Not questioning the impulse, I blurted, "Please don't worry Sango."
My heart thumped loud in my chest when I saw them all look at me with surprise. I knew this was going to be a long day; far too long.

----

"Okay, so go over this one more time," the now identified silver haired man as Inuyasha requested.
When will he let this up?! I told him every single thing I knew.
With an exasperated sigh, I was about to repeat the same thing I had just told Inuyasha, but I was greatly relieved when Miroku interfered.
"Inuyasha, don't you think that Kagome is tired? She has gone through this horrible ordeal….I'm sure she doesn't remember anything else. And for your theory of her lying…"
"HEY! Monk, I never said I didn't believe her!!"
"You didn't have to; it's written all over your face. Kagome wouldn't purposefully forget."
"Shut up monk."
Watching the two guys fight, I sighed and banged my head lightly against the wooden cabin walls.
Or at least it feels like a cabin…
I felt so alienated and so odd. How was I supposed to react to everything? It was all so overwhelming; not to mention that the various bruises and gashes on my body ached. I felt like crying and demanding I be "un-casted" from whatever spell they had put me under. I also felt like sleeping.
Ah, sleep…it feels like such a long time ago since I woke up…
My body felt weak; my mind, numb and my heart? My heart felt like breaking and then breaking some more.
Bringing my eyes up off the floor, I met Sango's dark brown orbs. I hoped I conveyed my complete and utter exhaustion.
Please, pity me… I tried looking as helpless and tired as possible. Lying is wrong, but this is a special circumstance.
"Inuyasha," Sango interrupted, standing up slowly, "Kagome and I are going to the hot springs for some rest."
I smiled thankfully up at her and painfully began to stand.
"Now you wait----!" Inuyasha's eyes blared with protest.
Miroku sidestepped and covered Inuyasha's mouth, "Sounds like a wonderful idea, you two run along!"
He winked slyly at Sango and she blushed looking away muttering, "Pervert".
As we left the hut I heard Miroku whine in pain.
"You didn't have to bite my hand."
"YOU SHOULD'VE NOT PUT IT IN MY MOUTH!"
"I did no such thing!"

Sango led me across the village, which was seemingly sleeping. The night air was cool and I shivered. My body felt ragged and beat up. Seeing me wince, Sango rushed to my side and let me use her as a crutch. I managed "Thanks" before I was ripped back into my own thoughts.
'What if this is all a dream? A really, really bad one...?'
'If this was a dream, I'd already be awake, covered in sweat, and in my own bed. Plus, these bruises and gashes are defiantly real.'
I sighed, something I had seemed to taken a liking to. There was no way this place was a dream. I was real, and so were these people. The weight of my predicament set in. I had no memory of my past, who I was, what I liked, what happened to me or who my family and friends were. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and sadly I didn't even know what color my eyes were anymore. How stupid. I know now my name is Kagome, and I know I'm a girl…but I have no idea how old I am, what I look like or anything. When I question my mind "ME?" everything draws a hazy blank, as if everything was locked away. Looking away, so Sango might not see, I let two tendrils of salty liquid wash over my face. The two tears I shed led to 4 and then more and more. I lost track of how many, and gave away to full fledged sobbing. Sango noticed by the 4th tear and held me in her embrace. I was surprised about how strong she was, but I made no comment. Bleeding out my unspoken sorrow onto the other woman, I cried long and hard. We stopped in the middle of the village street and amongst the dark huts; the silence and the trees and I stopped crying.
"Kagome," Sango's voice was dark and sounded as broken as mine was, "please don't cry."
I noticed the wet of her cheeks and realized that I wasn't as completely alone in my pain as I thought.
"I-I just…"my voice was shaky and I felt another wave of tears coming on, choking them down, I went on, "I don't know who I am!"
Sango hugged me softly, "I promise that we will get Naraku, or the Witch Demon, or whoever did this to you. You will not forget forever….I swear it."
With one last squeeze, we broke the embrace and headed the rest of the way to the hot springs.

----

The humid warm air was the red flag that signified we were at the hot spring. Sango and I unclothed and folded our outfits off to one side. Mine clothing though, was red smooth fabric that looked more like a top to someone's outfit. I looked at it closely and realized why it looked so much like a shirt than a dress. Inuyasha was wearing red pants identical to this and a white undershirt. This must be his shirt. My cheeks immediately flashed a dark crimson.

Sango and I submerged ourselves in the warm soothing water and I felt all sorts of muscles I didn't even know were tense, loosen up. The bruises littering my body were beginning to soften up and be so uncomforting. The small scratches and occasional serious gash lessened in the inflammatory pain I had been feeling. I sighed with pleasure and Sango, across from me looked like she was feeling the same. I smiled at her, grateful that she brought me here away from the two men. Here, there were no piercing questions about why I didn't remember; there were no accusing eyes or pitying ones either.

After a good five minutes of silence, I spoke.
"Sango, why am I in the condition I'm in?"
The thought had been tickling my mind here now that I was comfortable. How did I get in this painful state?
"When we found you…you were in this deep pool of what looked like blood. You were…being thrashed around in the liquid really badly. It seemed a current of liquid was pushing you into the walls and rocks of the pool."
Her reply seemed very precise, as if there was something she was leaving out.
"Is that why I don't remember? A bad bashing to the head….?"
Not possible…I remember that darkness; it was pulsing and felt demonic.
"Maybe…Miroku thinks the Witch Demon ripped away your memory after she couldn't coerce you into her will. She tried to do that with all of us, but we never ended up in a pool of…blood."
She said the last word as if not to frighten me. So, I was in demon blood? The thought repulsed me to a point where I thought I might puke. I didn't want to probe her for more details; it seemed very gruesome and sick.
"Oh…okay."

----

Back at Kaede's hut (the owner was an old kind priestess), Sango and I had a large meal waiting. I was extremely grateful for whoever had made the hearty stew and ate like there was no tomorrow. My belly was grumbling on our way back to the hut, and I felt starved. The meal I shared between Miroku, Sango, Kaede, Inuyasha and I was a silent one. I felt something looming over us like a black dark cloud. Everyone's spirits seemed to be at a lowest low.
Really, who am I to think anything? I don't even know these people…well, anymore…
Content in the body, I was now trying to tend to emotional wounds.

Things would be so much easier if I just had a clue…

Hey guys, sorry for the update taking SOOO long!! was having a hard time uploading this chapter. I'm really sorry, really. This installment is very, very overdue! Please review and tell me what you think.

Sarai D. Lee