Chapter Three
Old Friends and New Surprises
'InuYasha,' she thought, feeling her breath catch in her throat, just as it always did when she looked at him… well, when he looked like that. Dangerous, but kind, and fierce. Not so much when she had practically 'sat' him into oblivion. Leaving would now be SO much harder…
Raising his hands, the spell was broken. "Sorry… I… I didn't know," he managed to splutter out. Kagome blushed insanely red.
"Oh… Go-gomen," she muttered, looking at the ground. It hurt… being forgotten, even if it WAS her fault. She had never expected to come here and have her heart broken once again. "It's just… I'm tiered of everybody thinking I'm her… After a while, there's a point when somebody says it and I crack. I guess the straw just broke the camel's back…"
Looking up, she suppressed a giggle and InuYasha fixed her with a confused look. "Nani? What's… what's a 'carmel'?" he asked, instead mispronouncing the word.
"Oh, nothing," she said, smiling. Holding out her hand, she felt she should reintroduce herself. "Kagome desu! What's your name?" She felt stupid; she knew his name but… is somebody just suddenly came up to her and said 'Hi Kagome!!!", she'd be very VERY freaked out…
InuYasha just looked from her hand to her face and back again. "Keh. InuYasha… and why should you care? I mean-"
"KAGOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A small ball of amber fur slammed into her and knocked her onto her rear. Pain shot through her leg and she cried out in pain. "Shi-Shippo-chan," she said, smiling at the small kitsune who had buried his head into her chest, crying. He looked a bit bigger than she remembered, but acted the same. "Shippo-chan?"
"Ka-Ka-KAGOME!!!???" he cried, looking up at her with bright emerald eyes, glistened over with tears. "WHY DIDN'T YOU COME BACK SOONER!? I-I-I-I THOU-THOUGHT YO-YOU WOULDN'T C-COME BACK!!!" he stuttered at the top of his lungs, tears spilling down his cheeks and onto Kagome's blood stained sweatshirt. She smiled and hugged him. "How long can I stay away?" she asked him, holding him as close as she could without suffocating him. It felt as if she was fifteen again… it felt nice.
But, as usual, InuYasha ruined a perfect moment. Giving a half groan, half growl, he rubbed his head, his fingers making their way through his silver hair to massage his scalp. "Keh… Shippo, how do you know her?"
Shippo looked up at him, confusion written across his face. "It's Kagome!" he practically screamed again, but it appeared that, after all that other yelling, his throat was now sore. "It's thanks to her you-"
Kagome stood up. She wanted InuYasha to find out some other way- you know, something like, hm… REMEMBERING everything! And if he didn't, it would be easier to return to her own time… that and he wouldn't regard Shippo as insane.
"Shi-Shippo-chan," she said, hoisting him up into her arms better. "Let's see everybody else…"
Shippo grinned like a maniac and shot off into the distance. InuYasha looked after him and shook his head. "Weird…" he muttered, watching Shippo bounce off. "He's never acted like that around anyone…
Kagome let out a sigh of relief. 'Hallelujah!!!' she thought, resisting the urge to punch the air. If InuYasha remembered who she was… it would be next to impossible to leave… and even though a small part of her heart longed to have him remember her, however guilty she felt about it, she couldn't let that part grow. Her heart had been broken once; she didn't know if it could be broken again and let her live.
Finally they reached Kaede's hut and Sango burst out, tears in her eyes and her arms outstretched. She grabbed Kagome in a tight embrace screaming at the top of her lungs "KAGOME-CHAN!!!!"
Kagome laughed and hugged Sango back, happy tears trickling down her cheeks. She pulled away and looked at InuYasha who had snorted. A distant look crossed his face and Kagome tilted her head to the side. "InuYasha…?" she asked, as if she was fifteen again and nothing had changed. "Is there something wrong?"
"Keh," he muttered, throwing his head back and refusing to look at her, but Kagome knew InuYasha too well not to catch that sparkle of curiosity that he had in his amber eyes. "Why should you want to know, wench?"
Kagome sighed and shook her head, but felt new arms encircling her. She jumped slightly but relaxed as she realized it was only Miroku. Then she tensed up again. "Miroku-sama!" she said happily, but wearily. He smiled at her.
"Kagome-sama, you look the same as always; always beautiful and always-"
She closed her eyes, head down and a vein popping. Miroku's hand was resting on her ass… again…
A loud slap sounded and Kagome's shouts echoed slightly throughout the village. "CAN'T YOU EVER CHANGE!? NARAKU'S DEAD AND I'M BETTING YOU'RE MARRIED TO SANGO-CHAN, AND YET YOU STILL GROAP ME!!! DISGUSTING SICK EXCUSE FOR A MONK!!!!"
Sango was laughing, holding in her sides and Miroku cringed under Kagome's intense glare. He looked around at her, his eyes pleading with his wife's, but Sango just grinned and said, "Hey, Hoshi-sama, YOU got yourself into this; YOU will get yourself out again!"
Kagome's eyes were narrowed. She had forgotten how… annoying it was to have Miroku fondle you, and after a good amount of time of him doing just that, it had been enough! Best part was, Sango didn't have to worry about Kagome actually going of with Miroku; never happened, never would!
Miroku practically crawled behind Sango to hide from Kagome's evil glare. She leaned back and crossed her arms, surprised at the reaction he had given her.
InuYasha was laughing his ass off behind her and she glared at him. "Oh, and what's so funny, InuYasha," she hissed. It was just like old times. Problem was, InuYasha didn't know to shut up when she used that tone…
He lifted his head, wiping a tear from his eye and still laughing. "Miroku… can poke… mutilated corpses… and offer his arm to three headed dragon yokai… but can't face a measly skinny, weak, GIRL!? He's such a-"
What Miroku was, however, was cut off by a loud and very angry "SIT BOY!!!" Fwamp "WHAT THE-" "OSUWARI!!!! OSUWARI OSUWARI OSUWARI OSUWARI OSUWARI OSUWARI OSUWARI OSUWARI!!!!!! SIT BOY!!!! WEAK AND SKINNY, AM I!?"
She whirled around and began to stomp into Kaede's hut, calling, "Konichi wa, Kaede-obachan!"
InuYasha had finally managed to pry his head from the earth, a bewildered expressing glued to his face. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were laughing like there was no tomorrow. "What- How- Why?" The beginning of questions danced across his now muddied lips and he pulled the rest of his body out of the ground. Memories dashed across his mind.
"Ah, ah…" InuYasha grinned and thought he was safe. Subdue him? This weakling couldn't- "Osuwari." Gnag "Osuwari." Bam! "Osuwari" Bam "Osuwari." Bam. Everything went quiet and a soft voice said… something. Inuyasha couldn't hear… he was to far stuck into the bridge.
InuYasha's nose was stuck in the air as he turned away from the nuisance from below. She was REALLY gettin' on his nerves! "Well," came the voice. "If you ever get out of hand, all I have to say is 'osuwari' and-" WHAM! "Oh, gomen gomen! I didn't mean to say that this time!"
He clutched his head. A small headache was starting up in the back of his brain. Scowling, he shot of towards the forest, the wind slowly soothing him. What had been those cut off memories? Whose had been the voice? Why did it sound like the new girl's voice, though more inexperienced and a bit younger…?
Leaping into the Goshinboku, he settled himself into a comfortable position on a jutting branch. More memories were leaping into his mind and the headache was REALLY gettin' bad!
"I'll protect you, ok!? Just… STOP CRYING!!!!"
"INUYASHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"KAGOME!!!!"
He shifted on his branch. "What the hell," he whispered, closing his eyes and trying to focus on the last one. Only a deep fear and worry could come to him. That and the sound of water…
Growling, one last memory flashed across his closed lids before they died down.
A bright light filled InuYasha's eyes and he cried out, reaching out for… somebody. Silver streaks of tears glowed in the night's darkness and he shouted. "KAGOME, NO!!!!"
His lips moved around the name. Kagome… was this Kagome the same as the one he had just met? She looked like Kikyo, but didn't act like her. And damn, did it hurt when she shouted sit… "Kagome… Hm…"
The sound of footsteps echoed up to him and he jumped up into a particularly bushy branch. He glared down and growled, "Speak of the devil, quiet literally…"
Kagome was furious. Why did InuYasha have to always be such a baby!? She sits him a few times and he goes running off! 'I wonder why…' she thought. Sighing, she shook her head. 'Then again, if somebody shouted 'duck' or something, and I landed face first in the dirt, I'd also be kinda creped out…'
She tripped and landed sprawling on the ground. Her jeans ripped at her knee and pain shot up through her leg. Crying out and biting back tears of surprise and pain, she shifted so that her knee was facing the skies. "AAAAAAAAARG!!!! INUYASHA NO BAKA!!!" she all but screamed. "IF YOU DID RUN OFF, I WOULD HAVE TO FIND YOU!!!!"
Kagome grabbed her handkerchief and placed it over the ripped skin, flinching as it touched the sensitive and tender flesh. She swore under her breath, not really blaming InuYasha, but her own clumsiness and muttering about how she now felt bad about blaming him, not to mention cursing her selfishness. "I feel bad about wanting him to remember but…" Sighing, and without even thinking about it, she placed her chin on her wounded knee, yipping as pain rippled through her again.
"Feel bad about wanting who to remember what?" a voice asked behind her. Whirling around, Kagome found InuYasha crouching not to far off. She blushed and averted her gaze. "No-nobody," she stuttered, but knew he could smell the deceit on her. He could always tell when she was lying… especially when she didn't want him to know…
"Liar," he muttered, giving a small 'keh' of annoyance and leaning away from her. Kagome sighed and bit her lip as her blood began to soak through her handkerchief. He cast an eye at her and growled. "Wench, you'd better wash the scrape…"
She smiled and nodded, not saying a word but in the back of her mind half cringing, a quarter laughing, and a quarter crying. So many emotions played across her eyes that she turned away and had to close them to make her aching heart feel better. It was just like when they had first met; he had yet to call her by her name. But this time there was no Yura to make him say her name, and no shattered jewel to hold them together. Just empty space, forgotten memories, and old feelings, though for one of them, the feelings were very new.
Taking a deep breath, Kagome stood, leaning heavily on one leg while trying desperately to keep her handkerchief over her knee. She turned towards InuYasha and opened her mouth to say something but felt a tap on her shoulder. By a very clawed finger. A very VERY clawed finger. Oh God…
She turned and gasped. Kagome had to bite down an 'Oh shit' as her eyes locked with the golden eyes of a powerful full blooded taiyokai who happened to hate InuYasha with a passion. Ah yes, old meetings were always the best when you got to stare up into the ever emotionless face of none other than Sesshomaru-sama…
'Could my life suck any more!?' Goooooooooood question… one this writer, does not have an answer to…