Pendulum

Chapter 3: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

The following weekend, Kagome packed her backpack full of hiking supplies and hit the mountain trail; one where she knew there would be no bypassers to interrupt what she was sure was going to be a volatile exchange. After all, the Sesshomaru she knew had a low tolerance for humans and probably less for one looking to interrogate him.

"Sesshomaru!" she called out into the twittering forest. "Sesshomaru!" she repeated, lowering her bag to the ground. "I know you can hear me." That part was a lie, but she did know that his hearing was unquestionably superior to any animal, or human. There was no way he wouldn't hear her...eventually.

"Sesshomaru! Come out!" she repeated, starting to feel a smidge stupid. What if he didn't hear her? What then? He'd left in a snit days before and Kagome didn't doubt that he was embarrassed. Heck, she was embarrassed and all she did was step out of the well.

"Sesshomaru! she called, listening as her voice echoed across the mountains. Hours passed without any sign of her target. Though it was spring the air was uncannily hot and by noon Kagome was ready for a break. Finding a grassy clearing, she set out a blanket to eat a modest lunch.

"K–AAA–G–OOOOOO–MEEE!"

Kagome heard the incoming tackle seconds before the very wind was knocked from her lungs. A mop of bundled chestnut hair filled her vision as she fell backwards into the grass. The egg sandwich in her hand flew from her fingers and was forgotten instantly at the sight of a bushy tail swishing frantically in the air.

"I've been looking for you all day!" squealed the person tightly clinging to her. "Your ma' said you came out here and I've been floating for hours trying to find you!"

Stunned, Kagome simply spoke her surprise in a simple question "Shippo?" Slowly she sat up against a propped elbow to view the boy more clearly–boy, that wasn't quite the accurate description for the beaming face before her. There wasn't an ounce of child left in the teenage fox youkai.

"I missed you so much! It was hard staying quiet this whole time! Inuichi said you saw big-bro yesterday so I figured if he saw you then I could see you too!"

Holding Shippo at arms length, Kagome studied his features, round cheeks now had a fox-like slant to them, jade eyes were no longer large and round but sleek and pointed. Though he was nearly a man, his innocence clothed him like the green printed tee and khaki cargo shorts he wore. Tenderly her fingers moved to pinch his cheeks, her lips lifting into a heartfelt smile.

"It really is you." she breathed in wonder, dropping her hands from his face. "You're all grown up."

Proudly, Shippo snubbed his nose with his thumb. "C'mon Kagome, you already knew that." he grinned cheekily.

"I did?" she asked with a tilted brow.

At her lapse in memory, Shippo's enthusiasm dimmed. "Yeah, remember? You were the one...who...told..me..." Shippo paused, his excitement dimming into caution. "You remember right? Right?... Kagome? Right?"

Softly, Kagome shook her head in disagreement. "Apparently there's a lot of things I don't know yet." she admitted with a lilt of sadness.

Instantly he froze in fear, looking at her as if she had three heads. In a blur, a cell phone appeared in his hand and in seconds, numbers were dialed. Shippo bolted to his feet, crossed the clearing, and crouched with his back to her.

"Big-bro! Inuichi said you saw Kagome!" he began in a panic. "...Yeah, but if you saw her why doesn't she remember anything? ...Yeah I saw her–" The tail at his back went stiff, its hairs standing on end in fear. "What?!...How can she be the wrong...Well how was I supposed to know?...I didn't– N-nothing!...Uh...Maybe?" The tail that stood tall suddenly went slack, drooping with Shippo's shoulders. "H-hey wait a minute, it's not that bad right? It's not like she saw him...Uh..." Shippo slowly turned his cheek to face her, his expression turning pale. "M-maybe?" he stammered, whipping his head back around and lowering his voice.