Blame It on the Changes.
Chapter Five:
On the other side of the door was a surprisingly long corridor, all white tile floors and hardwood paneling, lit sconces lighting the way as Sesshomaru, Kouga, and their secretary led Kagome past two doors on the left and one on the right to the one at the very end. Opening it gracefully, Sesshomaru swept in and flicked the lightswitch, and she suddenly realized it was a spacious meeting room, with the same white tile floor and hardwood panel walls. Along one wall, stretching about halfway down, was a counter, darkly stained wood with a lighter stained wood for the countertop. It was built with a sink and several cabinets, and a white mini-fridge was set beside it, humming peacefully. In the very center of the room was an oval table, the tabletop made of glass and the legs made of black metallic material. Six darkly stained wooden chairs surrounded the table, and as Kagome passed through the doorway, Sesshomaru gestured to the table, standing stoically to the side. "Sit."
Swallowing hard, she chose the seat closest to her, the one with its back to the door, and sat.
Sesshomaru nodded to the secretary, who took the seat to Kagome's immediate left, he himself taking the seat directly to her left. Kouga sat down to Kagome's immediate right.
"Oh!" the secretary started, her mouth forming an "O" shape as her eyes widened at the miko. "I'm so sorry! I have yet to introduce myself." She reached forward and took Kagome's hand in hers with a firm shake. "My name is Taisho Iyo." At that, Kagome's gaze tore from her smiling face to Sesshomaru's silent glare, officially taken aback. She must be his... mate? Or... The miko took another long look at the girl, noting the eyes, the facial features that seemed slightly familiar, except for...
Her nose. She had the same nose as Sesshomaru. And the shape of their faces matched as well. There were other, smaller similarities that were more difficult to name, but seeing the two of them side by side at the table made them easier to decipher. Kagome's chocolate eyes zeroed in on Sesshomaru, who was looking away. "Rin?" she squeaked in question, her voice high with surprise.
Iyo smiled her same sweet smile, and Kagome could guess now where she'd gotten it from. "She was my mother."
The miko nodded, releasing the other girl's hand and taking a breath. Under her chair, her legs crossed before she really realized it, and her hands clasped nervously in her lap. Her eyes darted back and forth between the three of them. "So," she started, her voice coming out sounding much more confident than she felt, "who's going to tell me what's going on?"
It seemed a simple enough question, but their reactions made Kagome wonder. Sesshomaru and Kouga shared a look she couldn't read, but their demeanors resonated with anxiety, and Iyo took a deep breath and smiled at her once again. "We know what's happened," she stated, her voice even and unflinching. "We know that your son – Shippo – has been taken by the state." She said that last part with a weird inflection that made Kagome's eyes narrow and her head tilt. "We know he isn't from this time period, and that you need some... special assistance to get him back." Her smile hadn't wavered throughout the entire spiel. Not once.
Kagome blinked, nodding at her words. "They need his papers. Obviously his papers don't exist, or else I'd have handed copies over to the school when they requested them."
Kouga chuckled right then, drawing her attention. "We've already got those taken care of," he said, nodding to Sesshomaru as the other man –demon? - removed a large manila folder from the inside of his jacket and passed it down the table to her. Opening it, she pulled out all the necessary paperwork – proof of Shippo's birth and citizenship, proof that Kagome was his mother and legal guardian. Her gaze snapped back up to regard those at the table with a shocked – and hopefully grateful – expression. "Th-Thank you," she murmured, sliding the papers back into the folder and clutching it close to her chest.
For the first time since this began, she had a glimmer of hope. They really could help her.
"Now all I need to do is find another job and another place to live..." she mumbled, mostly to herself. At that, Iyo laughed softly, and Kagome looked at her again.
She waved her hand absently. "Oh, don't worry about those parts. We've got that taken care of for you."
Okay, now the miko was really confused. "What do you mean? You found me another job already?"
Now Sesshomaru was smiling. It was a little creepy. "That will not be necessary – given the course of action that was taken." He continued to smile at the girl's puzzled look. "All you need to do is show back up to your place of employment tomorrow morning at ten to start your new job."
Brown eyes narrowed, but she knew that was all she'd be getting out of him – for now, at least. "And my apartment?"
"Oh, you won't be staying there anymore." Now it seemed it was Kouga's turn to be cryptic.
Kagome rolled her eyes at the two of them; they were being absurd. "Oh yeah? Then where will I be staying?"
"With me."
She stopped, her heart clenching yet again at the voice that made those words, and her eyes widened as she could only stare down at her knees through the glass tabletop for a long moment. Inuyasha! The voice had come from behind her, but Kagome hadn't realized anyone else had entered the establishment, let alone the room.
It felt like forever, but she finally gained the courage to turn in her chair and look hesitantly into the newcomer's eyes.
Instead of molten amber, though, her gaze found deep violet orbs watching her from inside the doorway. The young man they belonged to was young and very modernly dressed. His long midnight hair was in a long, thick braid that he had draped over one shoulder, the ends brushing the chest pocket of his red button-down shirt left untucked from slightly holy blue jeans, worn white sneakers covering his feet. His hands were crossed over his chest and he leaned against the doorframe, a familiar pose that made the miko's breath catch.
It was him. He wasn't hanyou at the moment, but...
She would know her love anywhere.
Kagome stood suddenly, the impulse to throw herself into his arms suddenly too much to hold in, but she was able to stop herself at the look in his eyes... Wary. Fearful, even.
"You're... human?" she asked. She was standing only two feet from him, from her lost love, but it was gone. That pull, that sensation that everything was right with the world... No, his presence was wrong. Her stomach churned at the thought. "How...?" she couldn't finish. Not without fully recognizing the wrongness she was feeling.
He shifted, obviously uncomfortable. "I'm not a reincarnation," he said, and Kagome exhaled in relief, not having even noticed that she was holding her breath. "Or so they tell me." He jerked his head at the trio still sitting at the table.
Kagome tensed at that and stuck him with a stare. "What does that mean?"
The wariness in his eyes intensified. "I don't remember."
She didn't move; she couldn't look away. "What?"
He huffed, suddenly agitated and glaring full force at her. "I don't remember, stupid bitch!"
She felt her face turn red. "Don't you dare start that again, Inuyasha-"
Kagome stopped, startled beyond his expectation, it seemed, when his fist met the door with a loud bang! "Dammit, don't call me that!"
All the air left her lungs as she gaped at him, her mouth hanging open. "Wh-What?"
He was visibly trying to rein in his temper, swiping shaking fingers through his bangs and looking at the floor. "I don't remember what happened before. Sesshomaru and Kouga told me some, but..." He finally looked up, meeting the girl's shocked brown eyes. "I go by Yash. Right now, anyway."
The world swayed for a moment, but suddenly strong hands were on her shoulders, helping Kagome find the chair again. She looked up into Inuyasha's - Yash's - concerned violet eyes, leaning against him out of pure habit and taking in the woodsy smell she still somehow remembered, even after everything that had happened these past three years. There was more to it now though... Cologne? She couldn't be sure. The world stopped spinning as her butt hit the cushion again, and she fixed Sesshomaru with an accusing look. "What happened?"
Was that pity she saw in his brown, human eyes as he started his tale? Kagome couldn't be sure.
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Kouga raised his brow at Sesshomaru's anxious pacing. He hadn't seen his business partner this worked up in at least a century, though he knew it was to be expected. After all, Rin wasn't around anymore to calm the taiyoukai, and no matter how much of her was in Iyo, it just wasn't the same without the silly onna around to keep the demons in line.
The five hundred years was up; Kouga knew that the well had closed a few days prior. Being as old as they were meant having your hands in just about everything, and having your hands in just about everything meant getting the information you needed practically as soon as it had happened. It was simple to discover Kagome's secret after what little Inuyasha had shared with them before his sealing. They found her school records, her address at the shrine, whatever information they needed on her family. To help matters along just in case it was needed somewhere down the line, they forged her medical records to show that she had been hospitalized and diagnosed with whatever illness her crazy grandfather had faked for her. Now that the well was closed and they officially knew that she and Shippo were in this time period for good, they'd already begun creating the kitsune's legal papers. Everything would be in order by the time Inuyasha awoke.
Whenever that would be...
It had been a simple enough task, guarding him while he slept. Sesshomaru had set him to the side, building a home around his half-brother and keeping him well hidden from the world. Only he, Kouga, Rin, and Iyo knew where to find the sealed hanyou - now just Sesshomaru, Kouga, and Iyo. Rin had managed to remain loyally at her mate's side for almost four hundred years, finally losing the battle with her own creeping mortality when she was struck by a wild kumoyoukai. It was a painful, drawn out death that only made Sesshomaru withdraw from the rest of the world even more than he had been before he met the ningen as a girl in the woods. Only Iyo, who, in her true form, only resembled her honored mother in some of her facial features and her hazel eyes, could seem to draw the might Sesshomaru back out of his stoic brood.
Now though, it was obvious that the unknown was getting to him. They hadn't thought about what they would do if Inuyasha didn't rise from his slumber at the appropriate time, and the two youkai were beginning to get a little worried – not that either would ever admit to worrying over Inuyasha, of all people.
No, they were just worried that all their hard work these past five centuries would be for nothing.
Then, when they'd both just about lost all hope that the idiot would come unsealed...
"He's awake!" came Iyo's excited cry from Inuyasha's chambers. "Father, Kouga! Come quick! His eyes are opening!"
Both youkai dashed down the hallway in the Western House, Kouga forgetting Shippo's paperwork for the time being. Sure enough, when they entered the room set aside just for the sleeping hanyou, they saw him struggling to sit up, fighting off his niece's hands.
"Uncle Inuyasha!" Iyo cried out, trying desperately to keep her hands on his shoulders as he grunted and groaned, pushing at her. "Uncle, please stop! I'm only trying to assist you!"
"Get back!" he was crying out, still sounding groggy. "I- What's going on?" He finally looked up, meeting eyes with Sesshomaru. Kouga stood to the side, staring and unsure of what to do. "Where am I? Who are you?" He glared firmly at the taiyoukai as he continued to fight off the girl.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed while Kouga sputtered. If Inuyasha had awoken and asked that question while the two of them were still under concealment, that would have been one thing. But both youkai were standing before him in their true forms, though their clothing was more modern. They should have been easily recognizable to their old ally, as both of them looked very much the same as they had five hundred years before.
"You do not know me anymore, brother?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice quiet but commanding; Kouga gave him a startled look at the sound of the word "brother."
But Inuyasha just shook his head. "What's going on? Where am I?"
Tilting his head in what seemed to be curiosity – but Kouga and Iyo knew better – Sesshomaru came forward, standing over his half-brother. "What do you remember, Inuyasha?"
The man sitting in front of them swallowed under that hardened gaze. "I remember-" he started, but the sentence couldn't be finished, and Kouga knew it just by the sudden widening of his eyes, the panicked expression on his face. He shook his head, his gaze dropping to the floor in horror. "I... I don't."
Sesshomaru quirked a silver eyebrow. "Explain."
The human shrugged in defeat. "I don't remember anything." After another moment, he looked up. "Inu- Inuyasha. That's my name?"
Iyo finally released her uncle, stepping back from the bed in shock and horror as she realized what was going on. She turned, her eyes meeting Kouga's questioningly, but the wolf had no answers for her.
Except one. "We can't tell Kagome yet," he said, his stomach turning at the thought of Kagome's heartbreak upon receiving the news that her love had returned – but not really.
"Who's Kagome?"
The three of them simply stared at the human, in shock, dismay, and disbelief.
This was not turning out the way any of them had expected.
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As Kouga led Kagome out of the offices after the exhausting meeting, Iyo returned to the front desk, leaving Sesshomaru and Yash alone together. Yash couldn't bring himself to drag his eyes from whatever fascinating aspect of the tile he'd discovered, and Sesshomaru had just about had it with his brother's memory loss.
"Well?"
Yash finally looked up at the taiyoukai turned human. The brown eyes were on him expectantly. "Well what?" he finally asked, his tone biting. He was annoyed, and there was this strange inner turmoil he was feeling. The way that girl had looked at him when she found out his memories of their apparent time together were still sealed away with his youki...
It made him feel like an ass.
But I didn't do anything! he kept telling himself, though his gut and Sesshomaru's accusing eyes said differently.
"Did you feel anything? Seeing her here?" Sesshomaru asked, his tone quietly falsifying patience.
Yash snorted. "You've had me tailing her practically since I woke up. I've seen that girl every day for three years now."
"Yes," Sesshomaru said, standing, his palms still flat on the table, "but today was the closest you've been to her physically. So did you feel anything?"
Looking away, Yash shoved his hands back into his pockets, thinking over everything. Did I feel anything? he asked himself. Sure, he'd felt plenty of things when he saw the girl's face, her reaction to him. It was awkward, scary, unnerving... But he knew what Sesshomaru meant. Did Ifeel anything? he asked himself again, searching now for those good feelings that are supposed to come flooding to the forefront of the mind when a man is reunited with the girl he waited half a millenia to see again.
After a moment, he shook his head, bowing it a little in shame. Sesshomaru had the fleetingly amusing idea that if his brother had his youki and was in his hanyou form, his pup's ears would be lain back against his head despondently. "No," Yash murmured, closing his eyes. "There was nothing like I expected."
It wasn't what Sesshomaru had hoped to hear, that was for sure. But they had much more pressing matters to deal with; Yash's memory retrieval could wait for now. Sesshomaru sent him to take Kagome and her roommate to their new home – which was also Yash's home. The hanyouInuyasha would be restored – it would just take time.
Hopefully...