Chapter One: "Hello Liyoko!"
Inuyasha sat against a tree, watching the fire blazing steadily in the middle of his encampment Sango was munching on her cup of noodles as Kagome pulled other goodies from her bag and handed them around. Miroku was near the girls, staring absentmindedly at his right hand.
Inuyasha looked up suddenly, his vision snapping back into focus. He wasn't sure but he thought he had smelled … yes! There it was again. He sniffed a few more times to be sure. He grinned, if he was right … he know exactly who it was. He stood and faced the direction the smell was coming from.
"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.
"I smell something." And with that he rushed into the woods.
"We should probably fallow him." Said Sango, Chap Stick halfway to her mouth.
"Most likely." Said Miroku, looking up from his hand.
Kagome stood and stared after Inuyasha. Her face contorted into a worried frown. Finally after only moment's contemplation she set off to follow Inuyasha. Miroku and Sango looked between each other and stood to follow.
"C'mon Kirara." said Shippo over his sucker and he and Kirara stood to follow the others.
Inuyasha was standing in front of a thick tree, a triumphant grin spread across his face. He had him cornered now. If he tried to run for it, Inuyasha would see him for sure. Inuyasha swiftly reached around the tree and grabbed a hold of the person there.
When Kagome arrived, she couldn't believe her eyes. Inuyasha was holding … himself? It was a kid version of Inuyasha, from his red cloths right down to his cute...brown? … ears. She rubbed her eyes to be sure. Nope, he was still there.
Sango and Miroku skidded to a halt beside Kagome. They looked at Kagome's face, which resembled that of someone who found out her best friend hated them. They glanced at Inuyasha and did a double take. Their jaws dropped in unison.
"You can quit starin'!" Inuyasha snapped. "It's just my little wannabe of a brother."
"Yeah… sto… sto ... achoo!" said the boy, sniffing.
Sango looked at the boy, her face softening. She smiled and walked slowly towards the pair. "Aww!" she said quietly taking the boy form Inuyasha and cradling him in her arms.
"Hey! What're you doin!?" Inuyasha asked, looking dumbfounded.
Sango ignored him. Instead she proceeded in wiping the boy's nose gently with the cloth she usually tied around her waist. The boy glanced at Inuyasha and began to squirm. It didn't matter, he was too ill to put up much of a fight and he finally succumbed to Sango's gentle rocking. He seemed to enjoy being babied, but he kept glancing at Inuyahsa and screwing up his face like he hated it. Finally he feel a sleep, too tired to stay a wake any more.
"He's burning up!" said Miroku removing his hand from the boy's forehead.
"Let's take him back to camp and lay him down, the poor thing.' said Sango soothingly.
"Wait! We're not taking that brat with us!" Inuyasha yelled as everyone turned to leave.
"Inuyasha! Don't be a baby, his harmless, and sick." Said Kagome over her shoulder.
Sango gently laid the boy down and covered him with her spare shirt. She bundled up her skirt and put it beneath his head.
"We need to keep him warm to break the fever. I'll go get some water from the stream to wipe his face" said Sango, then she left.
Inuyahsa slumped into camp where everyone else had settled in and sulkily sat down against his tree.
Sango returned with her socking wet sash and wringed it out off to the side. She then neatly folded it and placed it on the boy's head. She looked over at Inuyasha who had his eyes closed and his face pointed directly at the ground.
Sango stared at him, ignoring his sulky mood. She hoped for a response.
Inuyasha felt Sango's gaze boring into him. He didn't what to respond but as her gazed lingered his temper got the best of him.
"What do you want?" he snapped.
"Who is this boy?" she asked calmly.
"Liyoko, my little brother, son of my mother and another man." Inuyasha said solemnly, arms crossed, eyes down unblinking to the fire. "He is a half demon, like me. His father was a cat demon. He's been following me for quite a while. He was born when I was bound to the tree."
"How do you know about him, then?" Sango asked glancing down at Liyoko who was sweating profusely. She took the sash from his forehead and whipped the sweat away, grinning at his adorable snore.
"When I was pinned to the tree by the arrow he found me and pulled it out. I awoke, but I was still bound to the tree by Kikyo's spell. Kaede scared him away and put the arrow back, but not before I could talk to him."
"Oh, what did he want?" she asked looking at him once again.
"To meet me. Our mom talked about me."
"And are you angry with him?" Miroku asked.
Inuyasha looked over at him surprised. He hadn't realized he was listening, and he was quite starteled his question. He closed his eyes and grinned.
"Of course I am mad. That coward left me there."
"Well he was probably frightened! Wouldn't you be too if Kaede came running at you"" Sango said defensively.
Kagome stooped tickling Shippo and looked up. She was curious about the answer to this question, too. Inuyasha's gaze shifted to the fire once more as he thought about it.
"I'unno." He said quietly.
Liyoko mooned and began to stir. Sango looked down at him, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"He can't be older then six." Said Kagome.
"Six demon years." Said Sango. "He could be anywhere around 20 years human."
Liyoko tried to sit up but Sango gently pushed him back down onto the makeshift pillow.
"There, now. You're safe!" Sango said softly. "Don't worry about moving, now. We'll take care of you. Your ill."
"N…no! Inuyasha doesn't get sick, and Liyoko doesn't either!" he said, then started to cough.
"Inuyasha does get sick." said Kagome.
Sango took the towel and started to wipe his forehead . she watched Kagome fumble through her bag and poll out a bottle of purple liquid. She poured some into a spoon thanking her mom the whole time, and held it out for Sango to take.
"what is it?" Sango asked.
" It sounds like Liyoko has the flu. If he takes this he'll get better really soon." Kagome said.
"Okay" Sango said, taking the spoon and bring it to Liyoko's lips after propping his head up in here arm.
He outright refused. He turned his head and kept his lips pressed tightly together.
"Take it, Liyoko. It'll make you better!" Sango pleaded.
Liyoko shook his head. He crossed his arms and looked stubbornly off into the distance.
Kagome edged close to Inuyasha, grinning. Held behind her back was the bottle of purple liquid. She tugged on Inuyasha's ear with her free hand and looked at Liyoko.
"Hey, quit it!" Growled Inuyasha.
"Liyoko! Look here!" Kagome said, ignoring Inuyasha. "Inuyasha will drink it! He's not scared. He's not afraid of anything."
Liyoko closed his eyes to show her that he wasn't listening. Steadily, thought, one of his eyes began to peep open.
"I will?" asked Inuyasha. "No I won't"
"yes you will. You will because your brave." Said Kagome pretending to poor the liquid into the spoon.
"I'm not doing any favors." Inuyasha stated.
"Yes you are . . ." Kagome said.
"Ugh! It smells awful!"
"Well to bad. Drink it and like it."'
"No!"
"Inuyasha!" said Kagome warningly. "Si…"
"Alright, alright." Said Inuyasha, taking the spoon and pretending to drink it. "Mmm…. good." he said flatly.
"See? C'mon." said Sango, nudging the spoon towards Liyoko.
After a few moments he opened his mouth and allowed Sango to feed him the medicine. Sango smiled and then pulled the cover up to his chin. She winked at him.
"okay, now. Get some rest and you should feel better in the morning." Said Sango in a soothing voice.
"That includes you, Miroku." Said Sango sternly. "And you Shippo and Kirara. We had all probably get some sleep. I can tell that tomorrow's going to be a long day."
Shippo rolled up with Kirara and fell asleep. Miroku closed his eyes, still leaning against the tree. Inuyasha watched Kagome and Sango snuggle up beside Liyoko and go to sleep.
After a few minutes when he was sure everyone was a sleep he made a face at Liyoko.
"Aww… just because he's cute let's treat him like a king." Mumbled Inuyasha in a high pitched mocking voice. "Stupid girls." And he too closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Miroku smiled.