One sunny day in the feudal period, the shard-hunting group had settled down for a well-earned break. Everything was peaceful… that is, except for the ear-spitting sounds of Inu Yasha and Kagome arguing.
"You didn't have to hit Shippo that hard!" hollered Kagome.
"The brat was fucking choking!" Inu Yasha bellowed back. "If you didn't let him go through your bag like you do, it wouldn't have happened!"
"If you hadn't scared him, he wouldn't have choked!"
"If you didn't give him so much fucking candy, NONE of this would've happened!"
"Well, SOMEBODY has to take care of him! He's just a little kid that needs love and attention, and I sure as hell don't see YOU GIVING ANY!!"
"That brat is fucking spoiled rotten because of you! If you didn't spoil him so fucking much, he wouldn't be up my ass all time!"
"He just wants to play with you!"
"And piss me off!"
"That's 'cause you have no patience!"
"BULLSHIT! If he did half the shit he does to me to you, I don't think you'd be giving him ANY fucking candy for the rest of his fucking life!"
"Maybe if you were a little more CIVIL when you quote unquote 'punish' him, he'd have just a little respect for you!"
"I AM CIVIL about it! I smack him, tell him to knock it off, end of story!"
"Well apparently you're not getting the message across if he's still doing it!"
"The brat does it 'cause he knows he can run to you afterwards!"
While all of this was going on, two humans and two youkai were sitting some distance away, listening to the entire ordeal. Miroku was trying to relax with a cup of tea, but it was obvious from his angry eyebrow twitching that he was anything but relaxed. Sango was polishing her giant boomerang as best she could, but her aggravated, hard swipes verged on sanding down the weapon. Kirara was curled up in a ball on Miroku's lap, but no matter how tightly she balled up, her sensitive ears continued to tingle from the noise.
Little Shippo was seated a bit away from the others, his face staring hard at the ground and his fists tight like onigirimeshi. If Miroku or Kagome had been paying attention, they would've noticed the fox's youki flaring slightly. It wasn't until the last moment that Miroku finally looked up.
"… Inu Yasha, you're such a jerk! OSUWARI!"
*CRASH!*
"OW! DAMNIT, BITCH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Everyone froze as Shippo screamed his lungs out louder than any of them would have thought possible. Inu Yasha was stunned into silence. Kagome got quiet fast too. Sango and Miroku covered their ears. Kirara simply gave up.
Shippo's screaming turned into all out crying, with big, fat, crocodile tears streaming down his face. Kagome moved to pick him up, but he scooted away, running off into the bushes by himself.
"Shippo!" Kagome cried.
"Shippo! Come back!" Sango dropped her boomerang as she bolted to her feet. She quickly joined Kagome in chasing the child into to brush.
"Stupid brat…" Inu Yasha grumbled as he recovered from the spell. "Now I've gotta go find him before some other youkai does!" With that, Inu Yasha joined the chase.
Running and crying, Shippo neither noticed nor cared that he was getting scratched and cut on all the rough vegetation he was rushing through. He could hear the others coming up behind him, and he blindly reached into his shirt for some of his leaves. Using his fox magic, he turned the leaves into several copies of himself, which in turn headed off in different directions. That done, found an indent in the side of tree, curled up in it, and sobbed quietly.
Elsewhere, Kagome, Sango, and Inu Yasha caught up with Shippo's copies and quickly pursued them. Inu Yasha was about to chase one of them when his nose told him truth.
"He sure as hell doesn't want to be found." the hanyou remarked to himself. "But I'll have to find or the girls'll get pissed."
He dropped down to all fours and inhaled deeply. The kit's magic scent flooded the area, but there was one distinct trail leading off in the direction the girls certainly weren't. It was the real Shippo's actual path, and Inu Yasha followed it closely.
It didn't take too long for Inu Yasha to find the boy. Before he'd even gotten close, the kit's sniffling gave his location away. The hanyou approached, intending to grab him by the scruff of the neck single-handedly as usual, then paused.
"Maybe if you were a little more CIVIL when you 'punish' him, he'd have just a little respect for you!"
Inu Yasha reached for the boy - with both hands - and lifted him into his arms. But Shippo would not have any of it.
"Put me down!" he wailed, squirming every which way possible. "Leave me alone, you big jerk!"
"The girls are looking for you, brat!" Inu Yasha growled. "They're worried sick!"
"What do YOU care?" Shippo retorted. "Oh right! Kagome probably threatened to flatten you if you didn't help 'cause otherwise you wouldn't give a shit about-"
*WHAP!*
"OW!" the fox squeaked as Inu Yasha's hand came down on his nose. He covered it as if to protect it from the ensuing stinging which came moments later. That was when Shippo realized something - Inu Yasha had struck only his nose.
"You hit me…!" the child's tone was more surprised than angry.
"Don't you ever say that again, you little pest." the hanyou's voice was low and deadly serious. "If I didn't give two shits about you, you'd be an ascot around Manten's neck right now, remember? I could've EASILY left you behind, do you hear me!?"
"You're lying!" Shippo sobbed, tears flowing freely again. "I'm only here 'cause Kagome loves me!"
"You're here 'cause I didn't want you turning out like me!" Inu Yasha's growl escalated into a sharp snarl. "You and I have a lot in common, Shippo, whether you fucking believe it or not. The only difference is that someone took you in - I DIDN'T GET THAT FUCKING LUXURY!"
Shippo was stunned into silence. For the first time, the little boy saw something else in the older demon's eyes, and it made him regret all the ear-biting and insults he had ever done. Unsure of how to react, he resumed his quiet sobbing. Inu Yasha just shook his head and started heading back to the camp. Shippo buried his little face into Inu Yasha's haori and sniffled himself to sleep.
*********************************************************
It was nighttime when Shippo finally woke up from his nap. All that screaming and running had tuckered him out, but now he was awake and looking around.
The others were already in bed and asleep, and without even looking, the little boy knew that it was Kagome curled up next to him in the sleeping bag. Cautiously, he slithered his way out, sat up, and yawned. Looking down at his arms and legs, he found them all bandaged up securely. He sighed, his ears twitching at the light sound of footsteps. Kirara plodded over to him, stretched, and yawned, giving the fox a full view of her sharp, tiny fangs.
"Can't sleep, Kirara?" the little boy rubbed his eyes.
Kirara shook her head, and as though to answer why, a slap was heard from Sango and Miroku's end of the camp.
"Me neither." He said, ambling to his feet. "Come on, let's go for a walk."
The two youkai headed off casually, stopping off well within screaming distance in case anything attacked them. There, they plopped down for a chat.
"I'm tired of Inu Yasha and Kagome fighting all the time, aren't you?"
Kirara nodded.
"I wish there was something I could do to make them stop and say what they really mean to each other. I don't get why they just won't come out and say they like each other…"
The cat youkai replied by licking at her paw.
"Inu Yasha was actually somewhat nice to me today… I gotta make it up to him, but I don't know how."
"Mrow?"
"Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but I mean it! He didn't hit me or nothing when he came to get me! Not the way he usually does anyway..."
"Mrrrrw…"
"What I wanna know is how I can make it up him in return… hmm…"
Shippo sat there, side by side with Kirara. His arms and legs were crossed the way Inu Yasha's often were and his face scrunched up in thought. After a short time, he got up suddenly and snapped his fingers.
"I think I've got an idea!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
onigirimeshi = rice balls
This is Chapter 1. Where would you like to go next?
