Though he'd lost his demon abilities, it seemed the Kami had gifted him with new skills to replace them. Still, the sight of Inuyasha using a cell phone struck Kagome as odd and she had to look away as he called up his friends at Dogtown to let them know he was bringing visitors. He wouldn't tell her who they were going to go see, afraid that meddling too much might cause her memories to get stuck and he didn't want to press his luck. Getting Kagome and the others to Kouga's was as far as he was willing to help. He just hoped it would be enough.
Miroku and Sango locked up their respective offices and the strange group progressed to the parking lot. They split up into two vehicles where it was decided that Shippo and Rin would go with Sango, the children still being small were required to be in car seats, and Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kirara would all travel together in Inuyasha's car. Shippo begged at the last minute for Kagome to ride along in their jeep, having been reunited with his mother less than an hour prior. She agreed, as the idea of Inuyasha driving a car was just too much for her to take in at the moment. The arrangements were finalized and at last and the tiny convoy journeyed onward.
As they pulled into the parking lot in front of the stucco-covered building and near the large fence, Rin became withdrawn. Kouga and Ayame were waiting for them on the deck, Tae at their side. Kagome helped Shippo out of his seat and set him down on the ground when a scream of terror sounded from the other side of the door. Sango had gone to unbuckle Rin from her seat, but the girl refused to get out of the car, her eyes filled with anxiety and tears.
"No! Get it away! Don't let them eat me! I don't want to die!" She sobbed, pushing her small body into the back of her seat and holding onto the straps for dear life. Sango was bewildered and looked to Kagome for guidance. She'd never seen the girl so tormented.
"Rin, shh, it's okay! We're all right here. What's the matter? Nobody is going to hurt you!"
Kouga glanced at Inuyasha with a worried look on his face. He whispered something to Ayame who nodded her head and took Tae back into the office. At once, Rin was sedate, though salty moisture still trailed down her puffy cheeks. Ayame returned, Ginta and Hakkaku in tow. They had heard the commotion and had come to investigate.
"What's wrong with the kid?" Ginta asked, approaching the fretful child.
The movement caught her attention and she began once again thrashing in her seat.
"Woah! Okay, calm down!" he stuck his hands out in front of him in a gesture of surrender and backed away.
Rin's tantrum was beginning to attract the attention of more than just their small group, and soon the sound of hoofbeats could be heard coming down the dirt road. A flighty looking blonde-haired man leading two horses approached cautiously. The black beasts snorted nervously, and one of them stuck its large nose in the car to snuff the source of the unrest. Rin stilled instantly as the warm breath hit her in the face. Carefully she reached a small hand out to the equine, letting it sniff her open palm before placing it gently upon his snout. Her eyebrows almost hit her hairline as she stared at the animal.
"Un." The single syllable was all it took. The spell was shattered and she hurled herself out of the seat and attached herself to his face in joy, completely forgetting the presence of the wolves.
The blonde stood dumbfounded and Ah fought to get free. He released the reigns, numb, as the twin horses nuzzled the girl. They retreated enough to allow her egress from the car and sat patiently on the ground waiting for her to approach. Settled comfortably between her two large protectors as she stroked their shiny manes, she finally turned to look at the astonished adults.
"Rin?" Jaken whispered, convinced that the small being before him was an apparition that would vanish the moment he blinked. His voice, once a screech was now a soft tenor. He fell to his knees, his face in his hands. Hearing the disbelieving remark, Rin turned in the direction of the voice to see an unfamiliar man kneeling on the ground. His medium-length blonde hair spilled over his face as he sobbed into his hands. Something about him was tugging at her soul. She crawled over hesitantly, not caring about the dirt she was gathering on her clothing. She peeked up at him and reached out for his hand.
He felt the tentative touch on the back of his hand and slowly lowered them from his face to peer at the baby angel in front of him. He thought he would never see her again. He didn't have a clue where he should start searching and had resigned himself to living with the memories of their time together. Even though he didn't show it, pretending to be inconvenienced by her presence most of the time, this little girl was his whole world. His loyalty to Sesshoumaru would never be called into question, but he placed Rin above even his undying devotion to his Lord.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but I don't think I know who you are yet. I don't think I'm supposed to be afraid of you though." She reached for his hand again and led him over to the group. He followed sedately until she came to an abrupt halt in front of the sanctuary and darted behind him trembling.
"It's the wolves," he murmured to the shocked onlookers. He wasn't surprised they hadn't made the connection, "Rin was murdered by wolves in our time."
He could tell that the quivering behind him had ceased and she let go of the back of his shirt.
"He saved me. I was dead. They were going to eat me, but he took me away from them. Lord Sesshoumaru brought me home." Her heavy admission shook them all from their stupor.
"Jaken, can we go home now? I want to see my daddy." she was sure of it now. This was her protector, the one who watched over her when Sesshoumaru had to be away.
The question pierced through the veil that had been shrouding the rest of their memories. A confusing mix of emotions assaulted them from every angle as their last memories before the jewel had been purified came back full force.
Sesshoumaru. He was the one that was missing. Kagome could feel his loss intensely now and the pain shook her to the core. An unearthly lament tore from her throat before she blacked out.