The ruins of the battlefield had been left behind long ago, but the memories of pain would not leave….
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They had all fought valiantly to win the sacred jewel shards that Naraku held, and a fierce battle it had been. Despite the group of heroes' strength, Naraku's forces were vast and had proved quite a challenge. After their years of searching, collecting shards, and strengthening themselves the group could not manage to strike Naraku down. Their enemy gradually gained the upper hand and smote them down.
Sango had been the first to fall along with Kirara. The demon slayer's fierce attacks were not enough to save her life as the hordes of demons knocked her and her faithful companion out of the darkened sky. Kirara, having been knocked unconscious, could not save herself or Sango from falling to their deaths amongst the rocks belong.
The monk fell soon after the demon slayer. In an attempt to rid his friends of the numerous demons that surrounded them, Miroku had opened his wind tunnel momentarily forgetting the danger it could cause for him. Naraku's insects quickly infected the monk with their deadly poison. The rest of Naraku's minions put an end to Miroku's suffering as he lay upon the ground slowly dying.
The three remaining heroes had kept fighting against their foe despite the loss of their friends. That was until Kagome was fatally wounded. Naraku had thrust one of his tentacles through the girl's abdomen once she was caught off guard. Kagome had fallen to the earth, her blood mingling with the blood that was already on the ground once the tentacle retreated from her body.
Inuyasha had rushed to Kagome's side immediately after having seen her fall limply to the ground. He picked up the bloody body of his lovely Kagome, holding her close to him as he gazed upon her for one last time. She had been his hope and inspiration. He had loved her so much, and she had never known it. Two tears fell upon her cooling cheek although he tried to hold them back. He had realized just how much he had lost. Not just Kagome, but his friends as well.
The overwhelmed hanyou had been ready to give up when fate intervened. The frightened cry of Shippo rung in his sensitive ears and he bolted in the direction of the kitsune. Inuyasha had pulled his last living companion out of Naraku's grasp at the last second. However, instead of turning to face Naraku the hanyou had turned the other way and ran back to safety, dragging the bewildered kitsune behind him. For the first time in his life that he could remember, Inuyasha had fled from a battle like a coward.
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Inuyasha had been unusually quiet the past few days, but then so had Shippo. In fact the two had barely spoken to each other since the tragic battle only a few days prior. Shippo could tell that Inuyasha was still hurting from the loss of Kagome, but the kitsune dared not speak about it to the troubled demon. Shippo wasn't quite sure how he would react. Would Inuyasha explode and hit him? Would he draw inside himself even more? Or perhaps he would not even react at all. The fox demon decided it best just not to speak about it. When Inuyasha was ready to talk about it, he would do so himself.
Shippo sat in the clearing they had chosen for hiding, his emerald eyes scanning the trees for any sign of Inuyasha's return. The dog demon was almost always nearby in the forest doing things. He brought back food each evening, but Shippo doubted he spent all of his time hunting while in there. Probably still grieving thought the kitsune sadly.
Tears burned at the back of Shippo's tired eyes as he recalled the painful memories they had both endured. I mustn't cry he reminded himself. I'm not a baby! I have to be brave like Inuyasha, no matter how hard it is! The young demon rubbed his nose with a little sniff and pushed himself to his feet, determined to be strong. Hearing a rustle, Shippo spun around and faced whoever was there. It wasn't until he saw Inuyasha stalking towards him that the kitsune exhaled his fright in relief. He always felt safer with the dog demon around.
"Here Shippo…" Inuyasha spoke quietly as he placed the food by Shippo's feet. Without even looking at his companion, the hanyou continued walking until he was under the shade of the biggest tree on the other side of the clearing. Then the demon sat down with his back against the trunk, eyes cast downward and arms folded. All was silent as Shippo watched the sad, yet peaceful, sight of the hanyou. Although Inuyasha appeared to have fallen asleep, the kit knew he was still very aware of his surroundings. Inuyasha would not sleep as long as Naraku was still a threat.
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Inuyasha's golden eyes flashed open in the surrounding darkness. He stood and peered around the little campsite for any signs of danger. It had been quiet since the sun had set, but now Inuyasha was sure he had heard something in the darkness. He paused, motionless, as he listened for any more noises. The hanyou was about to settle back down when he heard the noise again…A muffled sniff followed by a soft whimper.
The dog demon's eyes shifted immediately a few feet away from him to where Shippo was lying on the ground. As he stepped forward the whimpering stopped for an obvious reason—Shippo had heard him. The elder demon paused again, not sure what to do in the dead silence.
"Wh-…" Shippo sniffed. "What do you want?" he finished in a breaking voice.
The question struck Inuyasha off guard. There were a lot of things he wanted. He wanted to be rid of Naraku. He wanted to be useful again. Most of all, he wanted Kagome back. However Inuyasha was pretty sure Shippo hadn't literally meant it that way.
"What are you doing? Why haven't you said anything yet?" Shippo clarified in a slightly stronger voice. The kitsune sat up with his back to the elder demon.
Inuyasha was baffled again and at a loss for words. What am I doing? He neared the kit and crouched down as he changed the subject.
"What's…the matter?" he asked the still-sniffing Shippo, his eyes gently looking at him.
"I want to know why you did it" Shippo replied. A confused silence filled the air as Inuyasha waited for more clarification. When none came he responded.
"Did what?" slowly questioned the hanyou.
"Why did you save me?" Shippo turned to face Inuyasha, his voice choked with pain. His emerald eyes were watery and it was clear that he had been crying. He stared into Inuyasha's set of amber optics with intent as the question hung uncomfortably in the air.
"What do you-" Inuyasha started after a moment only to be cut off by Shippo.
"Why? Why am I suddenly worth saving?" Shippo asked, desperate to know. He needed to have a grasp on something. He had to know and be sure of something. This was the only thing he could be sure of, but only if Inuyasha chose to answer it.
The hanyou's face hardened slightly out of the kinder expression he had been wearing. His amber eyes flashed with pain before looking at the ground. Without answering the question, Inuyasha turned to his tree and began to walk off.
"No, please…" the kitsune's suddenly fearful voice rang out. Tears welled up in his eyes again. Now I've gone and gotten him mad at me thought Shippo with regret. "I-I'm sorry…Inuyasha". With that apology the kit thought it best to just let the whole conversation be and go back to bed. He lay down and rolled over, hoping Inuyasha wouldn't still be mad in the morning.
Shippo jumped slightly with shock as he felt a large clawed hand touch his shoulder. The kit turned to find Inuyasha crouched beside him. The hanyou's face was no longer hardened and the fox demon noticed an almost paternal glow flickering behind the golden orbs that met his.
"Inu...yasha..?" Shippo whispered to the night, completely confused. He had been sure the elder demon would never speak to him again after the little indignant speech he had just pulled off. Shippo had no idea why Inuyasha seemed so unaffected by it now. It was like Inuyasha almost knew what Shippo was feeling. There was more going on here than meets the eye.
"I miss Kagome, Shippo" Inuyasha surprisingly confided in the kitsune after a slight pause. The hanyou had to avert his gaze as if trying to hide the emotion building there. "I miss her so much".
The small fox demon looked at the sight before him. He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real or not. This wasn't the Inuyasha he had known for the last couple of years. Never had he seen his companion act like this.
"Bu-" Shippo started.
"That's why I have to protect you, Shippo" Inuyasha explained, although it was obvious from the expression on the younger demon's face that he was still confused. "Kagome..." he paused to clear his voice when it choked "Kagome would have wanted me to keep you safe. That's why I had to run here with you. I couldn't risk you getting hurt. I swore to myself to protect you. You're all that's left. I've already lost everyone else. If I lost you too…"
It fell silent in the little camp for a few minutes as what he had said began to sink in. No words were interchanged between the two demons. No words needed to be exchanged.
The feelings young Shippo had been holding back broke through with unbearable force as he wrapped his tiny arms around Inuyasha's crouch form, sobbing into the strong figure he had latched onto. Surprise fluttered onto the unprepared demon's face, and then he tentatively placed his arms around the fox in a comforting or protective fashion. Shippo's small tears wet the hanyou's fire red kimono, but Inuyasha didn't seem to mind.
"I miss them' sobbed little Shippo, his face still buried in Inuyasha.
"Me too" whispered the elder demon, gazing into the night sky before looking back down at the form held in his arms. He closed his eyes as the two of them sat there comforting each other and waiting for the pain to pass.