Obligatory Disclaimer: The "Inu Yasha" series and its characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Shounen Sunday, Viz, and other corporate types. I am none of those entities. I'm just a silly fan writing silly stories because it's fun. Suing me would only be a waste of time and funds, so please don't.

I CHOOSE NOT TO WARN!

This story contains material that might be disturbing or outright triggering to some. Reader discretion advised.

Seed of Memory
By Misarae

Chapter Four
Wishes and Dreams

Kagome was absolutely stunned, that niggling feeling of wrongness that had been plaguing her all day back with a vengeance. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of something to say, but no actual words came out.

"Okay, let's go back. Where did the conversations about our future take place?"

Inu Yasha looked at her as if she were crazy, but he went along with it. "On the hill above the village."

"What, exactly, did we talk about? I mean, what were our plans?"

Inu Yasha began to say something, but then his eyebrows drew together in confusion. She could tell his mind was racing, and she let him try to process whatever was going on. Finally, he shook his head as if to clear it.

"It's all jumbled," he said. "Some of the things I remember don't make any sense at all, because I know you, and you'd never say anything like that."

"Like what?"

"That you want me to become human."

Kagome took Inu Yasha's hand and squeezed it. "That's right. I'd never say anything like that. I love you just the way you are." Kagome blushed as she realized how easily that word had just popped out of her mouth.

The look he gave her in return took her breath away. "And you wouldn't only want human kids, either."

"It's not that I wouldn't love any children we had, but I'd like it if at least a couple end up with your ears instead of mine." She reached out to tweak said appendage. Instead of growling and snapping at her, he tilted his head into her touch. Kagome took advantage of the moment to savor how soft they were, fighting back a giggle at the memory that the very first time she'd touched him, it had been to rub his ears.

"And I wouldn't be sitting far way from you when discussing stuff like that, would I?"

Kagome shook her head. "I don't know. Again, we've never actually talked about things like that."

Inu Yasha reached into her pack, bringing out her clothing. "I'll go to the other side of the tree. Call me when you're dressed."

Kagome blinked. "Why?"

"Because we're having that discussion now, then, and I don't dare hold you like that, or you will end up naked again."

The look he shot her before he ducked around the tree made her knees weak. Was it awful of her to wish that whatever had happened to him was permanent?

Once she'd finished changing, she called him back. She quickly found herself back in his arms, this time situated in his lap. She'd seen the position before, back when they hadn't known each other very long. She recognized it as the way Inu Yasha's mother had held him. It didn't matter that the woman holding him at the time wasn't his real mother. The position had obviously been pulled from a precious memory of his.

Inu Yasha sighed. "Okay, maybe we didn't talk about this, because otherwise I'd remember your answer to this question."

"What?"

"Which side of the well would you prefer to be on if it closed?"

Kagome fought down her initial well of panic to delve deeper into her heart. She would definitely miss Mama, Souta, and Jii-chan if she didn't go back to the Modern Era. However, if she had to make a choice...

"This side," she said firmly.

"Really? What about your family?"

Kagome smiled sadly. "I think they already suspect. I know Mama is aware of how I feel about you. I'll miss them, sure, but I'm willing to take the chance of staying here if," she paused, deciding in that moment to put everything on the line, "there is a chance of building a family of my own here in the Feudal Era."

Kagome swore she could almost feel her ribs creaking under the pressure of Inu Yasha's hug. It brought tears to her eyes at how much more physically affectionate he was, as if he were trying to ensure his scent clung to her at all times.

"I take it that means you'd be willing?" she prompted.

Inu Yasha chuckled. "Aren't I supposed to be the one asking those questions?"

Kagome smiled. "Probably," she teased. "But I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Even if I want to run Miroku and Sango competition?"

"What?" Inu Yasha said, obviously confused.

Kagome poked him lightly. "Miroku asked Sango if she would bear ten or even twenty of his children."

"Ten or..?" Inu Yasha looked a little shell-shocked.

Kagome laughed. "I'm teasing," she said. "Would two be okay to start?"

Inu Yasha snorted. "That's two more than I thought I would ever have," he said. "As soon as Naraku is dead, I want you to be mine, Kagome."

"I already am," Kagome replied, leaning back against him. He was so warm, the sleeves of his robe covering her stomach and legs. His arms were modestly placed around her waist, keeping her close. She slowly realized he was scenting her again. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Inu Yasha said. "You're getting stronger."

Kagome raised her head, staring up into the leafy canopy of the Goshinboku. "Inu Yasha?"

He paused. "Hm?"

"Who pinned you to this tree?"

Inu Yasha snorted. "Naraku, of course. I'd probably still be there if it weren't for you."

Kagome closed her eyes, wishing the moment would never end.

The male members of their group had gone off somewhere, leaving Kagome and Sango in the village. They'd gone to Kaede's hut, Kagome eager to share what she'd discovered during her and Inu Yasha's conversation.

"He's completely forgotten my sister?" Kaede asked.

Kagome nodded. "Did they go to the hill above the village to talk?"

Kaede frowned. "Indeed they did."

Kagome sighed. "Inu Yasha thought it was me he talked to up there, and when I asked him who pinned him to the Goshinboku, he said Naraku."

"This is truly odd," Kaede said. "I took the last few umeboshi and tried everything I could think of to figure out what exactly what happened, but my endeavors were, if you will forgive the pun, fruitless. The only thing I could really deduce is that it does have something to do with magic, but the intention was not malevolent."

"If anything, this is actually great!" Sango enthused. "This way, Kagome-chan is the only one in that idiot's heart."

"Yeah," Kagome said, but she wasn't sure if she agreed entirely. Something about the situation was bothering her, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Oi! Sango! Wanna get in on a boar youkai slaying?" Inu Yasha yelled from outside before making an actual appearance.

Sango's eyes shone. "Of course! Let me grab Hiraikotsu!"

"I'll come, too," Kagome said, standing to go get her bow and arrows.

Inu Yasha put his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place. "You're healthy, but your power reserves aren't up to full yet," he said.

"I'm surprised you aren't telling us we should hurry up and get going to find Naraku's next hideout. We were so close when..." Kagome cut herself off, torn between continuing and letting him fill in the blanks.

He made the decision for her. "Yeah, that Princess Abi is annoying," Inu Yasha said. "We could start out, but I'd rather you got another day or two of rest, just to make sure."

"Who are you, and what have you done with Inu Yasha?" Kagome said with a laugh.

He placed a kiss on her forehead, in full sight of Kaede, both of them blushing when the older woman cleared her throat.

"I have responsibilities now, wench. I want to defeat Naraku, but I want to make sure I'm not the only one surviving in the end."

For the first time since the umeboshi incident, the shadow of pain lurking in the very depths of his eyes was back. That look slid another puzzle piece into place for Kagome.

"I know you'll keep me safe," Kagome said.

Inu Yasha gave her shoulders a squeeze, then let go as Sango re-entered dressed in her taijiya outfit, Hiraikotsu slung over her back.

"Let's go!" Sango said.

A few moments later, they were gone.

Kagome sighed as she sank to her knees, still not knowing what to make of this new Inu Yasha.

"Something tells me you are not as happy with this situation as you would like to be," Kaede said.

Kagome gave her a weak smile. "I want to be happy about it, really! I mean, this is what I wanted, isn't it? For Inu Yasha to make up his mind once and for all."

"Ah, but you see, his mind was made up for him."

The realization hit Kagome like a ton of bricks, yanking on that thread of unease that had been souring her enjoyment of the new and improved Inu Yasha. "You're right," she said carefully. "That's what's been bugging me about this. It feels like I'm cheating, somehow."

"I know who left those umeboshi."

Kagome snapped her head in Kaede's direction, her eyes growing wide. "You do?"

Kaede nodded, her lips drawn into a straight line. "My sister's shikigami."

Kagome didn't know what to think, her emotions overwhelming her. Relief, was Kikyou letting him go? Suspicion, it couldn't be that easy. Joy, Inu Yasha was hers. Uncertainty, but was he really? Finally, anger. How could she have done such a thing to him? Didn't he mean anything to her?

"I cannot even begin to fathom my sister's intentions," Kaede said, forestalling any questions Kagome might have tried to pose to her.

"I just don't understand her," Kagome said. "First, she wants to drag him to hell. Then she helps our common enemy, the one who actually did kill her! After that, she simply goes her own way until she nearly dies again, continuing to do so even after I've healed her and I told her that Inu Yasha's been worried about her! Why wouldn't she stay and at least put the poor guy out of his misery?"

"I do not know the person she has become, now that she is a golem," Kaede said, "but the Kikyou-onee-sama I knew did not understand other people's feelings very well. That was something she and Inu Yasha shared."

Kagome stared at Kaede in disbelief.

"Oh, she had compassion," Kaede said with brutal honesty, "but she lacked empathy. I believe, Kagome, that she was deeply ashamed by your selflessness in saving her, and might not have been able to face Inu Yasha knowing that if your roles were reversed, she likely would have chosen differently."

Kagome was thunderstruck. "But everyone talks about how warm and loving and kind she was."

Kaede shook her head. "They saw what they wanted to see, and my sister was a very good actress. She'd been raised from the cradle as a miko, saw it not only as her fate, but her duty, and she takes her duties very seriously."

"Another thing she and Inu Yasha have in common."

Kaede nodded. "It was not mere chance that led them to become acquaintances. I hesitate to call them friends, comparing the relationship they had with what you and the others in your group now share."

"It was probably the closest thing to it either of them had ever experienced."

"True." Kaede beamed at Kagome. "You are truly wise beyond your years."

Kagome shrugged. "I've learned a lot over the last few months."

Kaede simply smiled in a way that would have been patronizing were it not so full of genuine warmth and affection. "I believe Inu Yasha's.. demonstrations are the result of what you have accomplished during your time here in their purest form. With his memories of Kikyou-onee-sama gone, all he knows is what he feels. To him, you are now the first person he trusted, and you have never betrayed that trust."

"So I'm seeing the Inu Yasha that could have been?"

"Yes, child. I said it once to my sister, now I will say it to you. You have healed his heart, Kagome. As long as he has you, he needs never be lonely again."

Kagome blushed, remembering her conversation with Inu Yasha under the Goshinboku. "He has me, for as long as he wants."

Kaede nodded. "Whichever choice you make about this situation, I have something that I firmly believe belongs with you now."

"Whichever choice?" Kagome asked, but Kaede did not respond except to shuffle her way over to a lockbox that sat on a ledge near her futon.

Kaede unfastened the lock and drew something out before closing the lid of the box again and making her way back over to Kagome. "Hold out your hand."

Kagome did so. She felt Kaede place something small and cold in her palm before the older woman pulled her hand away. Kagome stared down at the tiny shell riddled with gold nestled in her hand.

"Open it, just be very careful. I found a craftsman one day long ago who was able to repair it, so it's even more fragile than it appears."

It took Kagome a moment to find the tiny crease where the two halves of the shell met and popped it open. Inside was a tiny pool of crimson lip paint, the same color as Inu Yasha's fire rat robes.

"That belonged to Inu Yasha's mother. It is the only relic he had left of her. He gave it to Kikyou-onee-sama. Initially I wanted to bury the thing when I found it in the field where Naraku inflicted the wound that caused my sister's death, but something told me to keep it. Eventually, I had it repaired. Now I am very glad that I did."

Kagome couldn't help the tears that came into her eyes. "Thank you, Kaede-baa-chan," she said.

Kaede let the younger woman weep.

Fortunately, her tears had dried by the time their impromptu hunting party returned. Kagome stared in admiration and horror as Inu Yasha brought the giant carcass into Kaede's hut.

"Do you really believe my fire pit big enough to roast something of that size?" Kaede said dryly.

"Keh, no way. Just wanted to show Kagome. Imagine how big this sucker would have been if it actually had a jewel shard!"

"That's.. great, Inu Yasha."

Inu Yasha beamed.

"Inu Yasha, for heavens' sake, bring it out here so the village can prepare it!" Sango's voice called from outside.

"Heh."

The gleam in Inu Yasha's eye was all the warning Kagome had before he leaned down and nuzzled her cheek before darting forward slightly and nipping her earlobe with his fangs before straightening. Kagome stared at him, speechless. Inu Yasha grinned, repositioned the boar, then left the hut whistling.

"This is just too weird," Kagome said.

"I didn't know Inu Yasha could whistle," was Kaede's response.

Author's Note: Alrighty, last bit of comedy before a nice helping of drama. Sometimes I wish fanfiction dot net let you pick three genres instead of two. Ah well!

I really, REALLY tried to draw out the "Inu Yasha without the memory of Kikyou" section. I even put in a few threads I could follow. Yet for some reason, every time I did, it just felt like I was adding filler and nothing that enhanced the story. So, there's just two more chapters to go now. Darn stories with minds of their own.

I know review responses in fics are frowned upon, so I'll keep this short. I'd like to thank Amanda, Riley Night, and Guest for their reviews since the site won't let me do it directly! Your reactions and compliments make me so happy! Thank you!