Author's note: Title lifted from the "Crayons" chapter of Shikon no-go, an excellent fanfic you can find under my Recs. Go read it.
This story is proudly spoiler free.
"Shi-… -pou."
"Is that really my name?"
"Of course it is. Now let's try it again. Keep in mind that the first stroke can decide the fate of the kanji. All the other strokes revolve around it. If you make it too long… like this, it will throw everything else off. You see? You have to make each stroke just right."
Shippou nodded determinably, clutching the stick in one tiny hand, and clearing a space in the ground in front of him with the other. He concentrated on mimicking the kanji, but they came out all leaning to the side. He sighed.
"That's good for a first try, Shippou. Now look, I'll help you with another one, and then you'll keep practicing on your own, all right?"
The larger hand covered the little one and both began to trace the stick on the levelled ground.
"That's so much better! I wonder if I'll ever be able to write so well." Sighed the child, looking at the neat and elegant kanji.
"It only takes practice, I'm sure you'll become very good at it. You're already very good at drawing, right?"
The kitsune fluffed his tail proudly, and then tried to nod modestly. It didn't work.
"When you've mastered your name we'll buy some paper and ink, I'll lend you my brushes and you'll write it out properly. A calligraphy exercise."
The teacher smiled on the delighted pupil.
"Really? On real paper?"
"The very best we can find. So you see you have to practice a lot, for you only get one chance with paper and ink, and you want to do your very best with it."
"I will! " Cried Shippou, clearing a space right next to his teacher's writing, and concentrating hard on his task.
A little away from the two huddled figures, the rest of their friends were lounging under the shade of a tree, enjoying a short post-lunch break.
"Tsk. There's more important things to learn. Like fighting. He should be practicing moves instead of stupid kanji. You never know what might save you in you next battle."
"Don't be dense, Inuyasha. Of course he needs to learn to write. You can't just live your life going from one battle to the next. Oh, sorry Sango-chan! I didn't mean-"
"That's all right Kagome-chan. I have on occasion whished I had learned to read and write properly, but in the tajiya village it was never a skill that was particularly cherished, or encouraged. Now I'm the only one left who knows the stories and the legends of our ancestors, and I wonder… how many I never heard or never bothered listening to… are now forgotten forever."
"You could write them down now, Sango-chan. You could ask Miroku to do it, he has a beautiful hand."
Sango stroked Kirara's little head and looked down to where the monk was sitting with Shippou, watching over the work of his pupil.
"Perhaps one day I will."
The end
Author's note part two: In the manga and the anime Miroku is often carrying Shippou and answering his questions. It's probably because it's convenient, but I like to think that they have a little relationship going on. After all, Shippou seriously needs a father figure, and Miroku is just adorable with kids.
Also, what they mean for "proper paper" is traditional Japanese rice paper. I don't think Kagome's modern school notebooks would look and feel like the real, expensive thing they had in the Sengoku era. ;)