A/N: Yay! A couple of reviews! Thank you! :)

Chapter 3

Kaede greeted the little group at the outskirts of the village. She had been gathering herbs at the edge of the forest and had seen them approaching. She took in the addition of the two-headed dragon, a little human girl, a green imp-like demon, and two silver-haired children who couldn't have been more than three or four summers.

"Where be Inuyasha?" she asked, noting the half-demon's absence. Normally he would have been at the forefront of the group, announcing their arrival with his usual bravado and gusto.

"Well… that's sort of why we're here," Kagome said, uncertain how to explain what she didn't understand herself. "He's not hurt!" she hurriedly added, seeing Kaede's alarm. "He's… different." She motioned to the children on Ah-Un.

Kaede took a closer look and her eyes went wide with shock as she recognized the distinctive ears on top of the silver hair. "That child be Inuyasha?" she asked in disbelief. At Kagome's nod she added, "What has happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us, Lady Kaede," Miroku said.

"Down!" Sesshomaru demanded, bored with the adults talking around him.

Kagome absently lifted him from Ah-Un's back and placed him on the ground, along with Inuyasha. Rin slid off herself and stayed near the pups.

"Don't go wandering off," Kagome admonished.

"Boring!" Inuyasha muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I have never heard of such a thing," Kaede admitted. Their attention refocused from the children to the problem at hand. "Has he any memory?"

"It doesn't appear so," Miroku said. "They both seem to know nothing of their adult lives."

Their attention was diverted for a moment by a low growl from behind them. Sesshomaru was crouched low in front of Rin. The girl looked frightened. The demon pup's gold eyes were darting everywhere and his fangs were bared. His nose was twitching at the strange smells. His growling increased as villagers paused to look at them. He held his claws up threateningly. Inuyasha, upon hearing his brother's growls, nuzzled his head against Rin. She wrapped her arms around him, petting his ears.

It was then that Kagome realized that Rin wasn't frightened of Sesshomaru as she had thought upon first glance. She was frightened of the villagers. He was protecting her.

"Maybe we should get inside," she said hastily. She didn't want to cause a scene or for Sesshomaru to attack one of the villagers. She had no idea how strong he was as a pup or if he would be able to use the poison from his claws and she had no desire to find out the hard way. They entered Kaede's hut. Sesshomaru gave a final growl of disapproval to the villagers before following Rin inside.

"Who be this other demon child ye have with ye?" Kaede asked.

"It's Sesshomaru," Sango said.

"Sesshomaru?! Inuyasha's older half-brother?"

Sango nodded. "Apparently whatever's happened has affected them both."

"I see… Tell me everything that you remember."

A while later Inuyasha's companions as well as Rin, with several interruptions from Jaken, had told their tales. Kaede frowned as she listened and then checked over the pups.

"I do not know what has befallen them," she admitted. "I can see no sign of spell or curse upon them. Whomever has done this has covered their tracks well."

"How is that possible?" Kagome asked.

"I do not know." Kaede was troubled. She had never heard of such a thing and was not able to even guess how it had been accomplished. "Ye did not notice anything, no matter how inconsequential it may have seemed at the time out of the ordinary?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. Nothing. We helped a village we were passing through with some minor demons. Then we camped for the night in the forest. There were no strange auras, no strangers passed, nothing. We woke up and Inuyasha was like this." The others nodded in agreement. Neither Miroku or Sango, both capable of sensing demonic auras, had sensed anything, nor had Shippo smelled anything unusual.

"Could Naraku be behind this?" Sango wondered.

"I don't see how," Miroku answered. "How would he benefit from turning Inuyasha and Sesshomaru into children?"

"Maybe to make them weaker?" Kagome suggested.

"Perhaps. But why then has he not already attacked or sent his minions to capture or kill them? And there was no trace of Naraku's aura in the area. I'm also certain Inuyasha would have alerted us to his scent."

"I would suggest ye check again in the area where this occurred. Perhaps there is some clue ye missed."

Kagome sighed heavily. "I guess that would be the best place to start."

"Ye should wait until morning to leave," Kaede said. "It will be dark soon and ye will not get far. Besides, I think ye should find some suitable clothing for the children before ye go again."

Kagome smiled ruefully at the two once again naked pups running around the hut. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. She was eager to be off to help return Inuyasha to normal as soon as possible. But she saw the wisdom in waiting until the morning to do so. "Inuyasha, Sesshomaru," she called. The pups stopped their game and looked at her with twin quizzical expressions on their faces. She smothered her smile at the sight. She had to admit, Inuyasha was absolutely adorable as a pup. Even Sesshomaru had been a beautiful child, she mused. If she hadn't known better, she would never suspect this smiling child was the cold and impersonal demon who wanted nothing more than to kill his brother that she'd encountered. "We're going to find you two something that fits you better for now."

After several minutes of trying to get the excited pups to stand still, Kagome and Sango had them wrapped back into their overlarge clothes for the foray into the village. Jaken insisted on coming along. Kagome sternly warned him against harming any of the villagers but allowed him to follow. She carried Inuyasha in her arms while Sesshomaru walked beside Rin. The little girl held his hand and skipped along cheerfully, appearing completely nonplussed about seeing his transformation to a child younger even than herself. Jaken had tried to take Sesshomaru in hand and had nearly ended up with a set of tiny fangs in his arm for his trouble. He muttered sulkily as he trailed behind the little group.

An hour later they returned to Kaede's home. Inuyasha was pouting in his green outfit because it wasn't red. Their choices in children's clothing had been limited. Sesshomaru looked perfectly content in his royal blue, the silver of his tail contrasting nicely with the dark fabric. A fact he seemed well aware of as he ran his hands over his clothes, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles and wrapping his tail around himself. He preened as Rin complimented his new clothes. Even Inuyasha's ears perked up a bit at her praise. By the time they returned, Kaede and Miroku had prepared a meal which was cooking over the fire. The pups went out to the garden behind the hut with Rin and Shippo to play until dinner. Jaken followed to keep an eye on his lord.

Dinner wasn't exactly somber, but each of the adults was trying to think of anything that could help Inuyasha. They had hoped Kaede would at least be able to give them some clues or guidance if not outright cure him. At worst, it appeared as though he'd simply grow up on his own. Though they'd all be dead and gone before he reached the age he had been before his transformation. It was a sobering thought.

The children were all yawning by the time dinner was consumed. Kaede made up a place for them to sleep. After some sleepy protests, they curled up and fell asleep one by one while the adults remained near the fire, talking quietly amongst themselves.

#####

Kagome wasn't certain what had awoken her. It was still nighttime. The hut was quiet and still. Her companions slept peacefully nearby. She sat up, listening, stretching her senses. She didn't feel any unfamiliar demonic auras in the area or sense any Jewel shards nearby. She noticed that Kaede's place was empty. Then she heard a quiet voice outside. She went to the door, pushing the covering aside to peer out.

Kaede sat on a wooden bench just outside her hut. In her arms was a small silver-haired bundle. She was whispering softly to him. Kagome heard soft sniffles coming from it. From the lack of puppy ears on his head, she realized the child Kaede held was Sesshomaru.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, keeping her voice low so not to startle the pup. She sat beside Kaede, who looked over at her.

"He misses his father," the old priestess answered, equally quiet.

The silver head raised a bit and a pair of gold eyes peered at Kagome from over the arm that held him. They were wet with tears. He wiped his sleeve across them, wiping the tears away. He hiccupped and Kaede rubbed his back until he put his head down on her shoulder. Kaede kept her voice gentle and calm as she comforted him. She rocked him until the gold eyes closed and the little body went limp. Kagome watched silently, marveling at how well the older woman handled the pup. It was easy to see why the village children loved the priestess.

In spite of everything he had put them through, the number of times he had tried to kill them all and not just Inuyasha, his cold and cruel manner, Kagome found herself feeling sorry for him. At the moment he was not the cold-hearted demon who coveted his brother's sword and wanted him dead. He was a small, frightened pup who missed his father. She reached out and brushed his bangs back out of his eyes, revealing the crescent moon on his forehead. She stroked the surprisingly soft hair for a few minutes.

He looks so innocent, she thought as she looked at the face that was relaxed and open in sleep. She smiled to herself. She fervently hoped Sesshomaru didn't remember this when he returned to normal. He would kill her for certain.

"Ye should try to get some more rest, child," Kaede said as she stood a few minutes later. "There are still a couple of hours before the sun comes up."

Kagome held the door cover aside while Kaede carried Sesshomaru back inside. Once he was settled back with this brother and the other children, both women returned to their beds. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.