Hi guys, thanks for the great reviews, really makes writing this worth it!

Here's chapter 13 - and I'm posting on a Friday which could be dangerous...

Enjoy!

Chapter 13: Sleepwalker

Kagome was, quite frankly, in awe. The sheer elegance and wealth of her surroundings was making her feel slightly dizzy and very humble. She hadn't been in a fit state last night to appreciate the opulent decoration or the beautiful antique furniture. She might have thought that the entrance was extravagant, but it was nothing to the rest of the mansion, the size of which she was fast losing patience with. When Sesshoumaru had left her rooms earlier, he had assumed that she knew where the dining room was…..and she had no idea. She had been wandering around aimlessly for almost twenty minutes and was now completely lost. She had ended up on a long corridor, lined with portraits. This was obviously the ancestral home of the Taisho clan because everywhere she looked she saw men and women with Sesshoumaru's silver hair or golden eyes. A few of the portraits were of silver dogs, massive beasts with red eyes and jaws dripping with saliva. Kagome shuddered; they looked far too menacing to ever be family pets…..

Kagome was so absorbed in her perusal of the exquisite paintings that she didn't notice she wasn't alone until she tripped over something near her feet. Kagome sat down hard on the floor and had to smother yet another scream – after all, it wouldn't do to embarrass herself again in front of Sesshoumaru. Before her was the ugliest thing she had ever seen; it was green in colour and came up to her knee height. It's toad like face and bulbous yellow eyes made her shiver with revulsion. She wouldn't have thought it sentient if not for the old fashioned kimono it was dressed in. It bowed to her and held out a hand to help her to her feet. Kagome accepted it gingerly – its skin was damp and ever so slightly slimy.

Once she was standing again, the creature gave her a long, hard look.

"My Lady Kagome," it said, its voice squeaky, "My Lord Sesshoumaru sent me to bring you to breakfast. Please follow me…"

It turned and lead her to a door which, in turn, lead to a staircase. Something about the creature was so familiar…

Kagome studied the back of the creature's head as she followed it, until the strand of memory she was struggling with suddenly unwound.

"Jaken?" she asked quietly.

The creature stopped and turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised in question.

"Yes, my Lady?"

Kagome grinned and shook her head, just glad that something was coming back to her. He looked at her for a moment before continuing to walk down the stairs.

As she walked more fragments of memory came back to her – following a much younger Sesshoumaru down this corridor during a game of hide and seek, being served tea in the library by Jaken, running down the portrait gallery to get away from a bullying Inuyasha and sobbing in Sesshoumaru's arms…..

The memories were so real and yet so foreign to her. She hadn't had many memories of her childhood before – probably because they were all faked – but it made her wonder just how much of her old life was real. Was her mother real? Her brother, her grandpa, were they just actors? Was Sango really a demon too? What about her boss? Her mind swam with all the possibilities, but of one thing she was certain; she needed answers to her growing list of questions and only Sesshoumaru could give them to her.

Eventually the staircase reached a wooden door. They went through it into the largest kitchen Kagome had ever seen. Bustling around inside was a plump old lady with greying hair curled up into a bun. She was busy doing the finishing touches to a mountain of food on one of the units.

"Kaede…" Kagome whispered to herself. She had no idea who this woman was or what she meant to her but Kaede seemed to fit this little old woman somehow…

"Kagome, my dear!" the woman Kagome had dubbed Kaede in her head called when she caught sight of her visitor, "glad you're finally up. I made all you're favourites; I expect you're hungry after living on a human diet for five years!"

She smiled at Kagome expectantly and Kagome gave a hesitant smile back.

"Umm, I'm sorry but…..how much did Sesshoumaru tell you? You know, about my…."

"Memory loss?" Kaede cut in, "yes, I know all about that dear. And don't worry; it'll come back in time. In fact, I expect you are already getting bits a pieces back already. Now eat up, you have a long day ahead of you."

With that she turned back to the pile of dirty pans in the sink and started to scrub, leaving Kagome to start her breakfast in peace. Kaede had been right; she was absolutely ravenous now that there was food in front of her and she quickly tucked into the feast. Kaede had been right; Kagome loved all of the dishes in front of her, even if she didn't recognise half of what she was eating. It seemed her body wasn't as confused by this memory loss as her head was.

After about half an hour of eating, Kagome finally decided she could put it off no longer. She rose to her feet, gave Kaede a distracted smile and made her way to Sesshoumaru's study. If she didn't think about it too hard, her feet knew the way by themselves. It took only minutes for her to find the right room.

When she reached the door she hesitated, her hand on the handle. Did she really want to do this? She could turn around right now, walk away and never look back. This didn't have to be her world, not really…

Kagome took a deep breath and closed her eyes. What did she want? Her answer was a mixed up flurry of emotion, but one thing really stood out. Sesshoumaru; she wanted Sesshoumaru. And to have anything to do with him, she had to summon up her courage, open that door and ask for the answers to questions she didn't want to ask.

She had no idea who she had been, but right now she was Kagome Higurashi, and Kagome Higurashi never let fear get in the way of what she wanted. She squared up her shoulders, took another deep breath and opened the door.