Silence stretched between them, wearing her nerves thin, but Kagome refused to be the only one who spoke their mind.
There were too many questions to be answered.
"Our initial meeting was accidental," he relented, still avoiding her gaze. "I was following his trail when I came across you at the lake."
"But you didn't say anything." Even from a distance, she could see the muscles in his jaw tense.
"I could not."
"Couldn't or wouldn't?"
His youki was turbulent, agitation clinging to his shoulders. "Naraku was at the heart of the uprising, manipulating others into thinking my mother was hiding some great power from them. When she refused to give up its location, he sought to punish her in the harshest way possible."
"Your transformation—" Kagome covered her mouth with her hand. "Naraku was behind that?"
"He thought I could lead him to you, but Mother kept the secret to a select few people. When he did not receive the necessary information, he sealed me in my other form."
Even with the myriad of barriers between them, the urge to comfort him was intense, hands balling into first to keep herself where she was. "And you couldn't just tell her?"
He shook his head slightly. "There were layers to the curse; I was prevented from communicating with anyone I had a bond with. So, Mother and—" He finally met her gaze, and Kagome had to swallow at the emotion she saw within.
"But we hadn't even met yet! That fight was over 20 years ago!"
"Time means little to those seeking power. Naraku wished to keep me separated from Mother, hoping she would become desperate and give up your location." He ran his claws through his hair. "We were merely pawns to him."