DISCLAIMER: Nickelback owns the song "Rockstar". Rumiko Takahashi owns the characters. I own the piece of work you're about to read. And the friend this is dedicated to owns… (Reads paper) My soul and my iPod? Oh, hell no. (Goes to fight for iPod)
Rockstar
He was tall and had flaming red hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck that ran down past his shoulders and towards his lower back. His features were sharp and illuminated by the setting sun's light. He wore a formal kimono in a color reminiscent of the red-tinted clouds above him. He looked stern with his current visage, but to all who knew him, he was nothing if not a big softy at heart.
He sighed, it had taken a really long time, but he had finally gained the life he'd dreamt of for so long. He had prevailed over his kin a decade ago and now ruled over them with pride.
He inwardly scoffed; when he was younger he had been small, weak, and unnaturally naïve for his breed. He was clever, but on a slightly lesser level, he was good at petty theft, but his grander schemes had always lacked finesse and, ultimately, the results he'd desired.
It wasn't until he'd been taken under the wing of his adoptive mother and, much later, adoptive father that he'd smartened up to the world around him and grew stronger, physically and mentally. He could now map out the entirety of the forest he lived in, in his mind, and name all of the creatures that lived within it by heart. He was one of the best fighters around as well, only surpassed by his adoptive father, uncle, and a few of their rivals.
Strong or weak, none of it really mattered at the moment. What good was strength when one had difficulties wooing the woman he wished to court? He had learned many things from his parents, but relationships had not been one of them. He was truly lucky he knew of the "Birds and the Bees" at all, he was sure his mother's face could not get any redder when she was attempting to teach him that. And then she had foisted the responsibility onto his father, which had been even worse. Remembering the bluntness of his father's words still brought a blush to his face, and even then he hadn't gotten the whole story of it.
In the end, he'd went and learned from his Uncle Miroku, the perverted monk was an idiot sometimes, but he could also be incredibly wise when the situation warranted. Unfortunately, explaining mating to the young demon had not been one of those situations.
He blinked when he noticed that the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon and that the stars had begun appearing in the night sky. He stared at the inky blackness marred by white spots for a few minutes, finding the constellations his Aunt Sango had taught him when he was younger. He smiled softly, he had often spent the nights awake, just stargazing and falling asleep to the sound of her voice as she told him and Kirara of the stories behind each constellation.
When he'd named them all he decided it was about time he began to turn in, he'd need to get up fairly early tomorrow if he wanted to make it to the shrine sometime before lunch was served.
In thinking so, he turned on his heel and began his trek down the long halls. The halls were nothing fancy, simple wood floors with regular rice paper shoji doors; it was the occasional piece of artwork he and his parents had collected over the years that made walking down these halls enjoyable. All the paintings were intricate brush designs of landscapes and the occasional portrayal of a demon of some sort.
He turned down one hall and opened one of the doors, revealing a large bathroom. The bathroom was big enough to play baseball in and held the usual bathroom essentials, a sink, toilet, a laundry basket in the corner, and a furo. The furo was far from the normal size, being big enough for 11 people to relax in.
Once he had finished bathing he re-entered the hallway and made his way to his bedroom. He paused as he came upon a large picture frame; it was a family portrait. It had been done shortly after they built this house; his father was on the left, slightly behind his mother in his old fire rat garb, and his mother stood there in her old school uniform. He himself knelt in front of her in his old traveling clothes, but he was older, he looked like he was approaching his teen years.
He smiled; this was his family. InuYasha, Kagome, and Shippo Higurashi.
He shook himself from his thoughts; if he didn't get to bed soon he was most definitely going to wake up late tomorrow morning. He continued down the hallway and went into another room, his bedroom this time. It was a fairly plain room, most of his stature would call it sparse, but he was happy with how it was.
A king-sized bed in one corner, a large closet on the opposite wall, two paintings of landscapes on one wall, and a set of shoji doors on the wall across from the door leading out to the backyard and, consequently, the forest.
He pulled back the soft, silken sheets and slipped underneath them. Burrowing deeper into the cold caress of material, he slowly slipped off into a deep sleep.
----- ----- -----
The next morning, Shippo awoke with a start, it was dark outside, but one could see the light of the rising sun slowly making it's way above the thick forest. He got up, got dressed in a newer version of his old traveling clothes, a plain light blue top under a tan vest and dark blue pants, and left his room.
He didn't want to involve his parents, their relationship wasn't exactly considered the norm, so he'd be better off visiting his Uncle Miroku for dating advice. Of course, he wasn't really going to ask Miroku, he was going to ask Sango.
He walked quickly down the halls, stopping in the kitchen for a quick breakfast before exiting the house with a note for his parents on the low table where they normally ate breakfast.
It wasn't long before he found himself deep in the woods. Shippo was enjoying the crisp morning air and the brisk walk. He made sure to keep to the west; the shrine was that way, settled just outside the forest so the family would never be more than a day's walk from one another.
Sure, his Uncle Sesshomaru had nothing to do with this; his reluctant Uncle lived to the east, far to the east. It was a week's time on foot actually.
He honestly couldn't wait to arrive at the shrine; his aunt was practically a master chef. His uncle, on the other hand, was a master letch, but still married to his aunt. He questioned Sango's choice in men often.
He spent the rest of his walk contemplating what his Aunt Sango could possibly see in Miroku, aside from that ever-present entertainment factor. For Shippo anyway, it was very amusing to see how people would react to Miroku's lecherous ways.
Shippo was taken from his thoughts when a whistling sound pierced the air. Looking around he quickly noticed a black dot in the air, becoming larger by the second. He took several steps to the side and watched the projectile land with a heavy "thump".
"You never change, huh, Uncle Miroku?" Shippo asked with a smirk tugging at his lips.
Miroku raised an arm to protest, but it fell limply as he cringed in pain, "Don't mock your Uncle and help me up, I think I sprained something in the landing."
Shippo chuckled, "You'd think you'd have mastered the art of landing after so many flights."
Miroku stood with Shippo's help and stretched his back, making a couple popping noises that echoed on the trees, "Practice makes perfect, Shippo. Are you heading to the shrine?"
"Yep," Shippo chirped, "I started early so I wouldn't miss lunch."
Miroku nodded and they both began walking, "What brings you this way aside from the obvious?"
"Um…" Shippo hesitated; he hadn't actually considered asking Miroku, he doubted he'd get good answers from the man. But it seemed he didn't have much of choice now, "I came seeking dating advice…" Miroku's chest puffed out, "From Aunt Sango."
Miroku deflated, "Am I truly that bad?" Shippo didn't have to ask what he meant; he nodded. Miroku puffed out a breath, "I guess I have gotten a bit too frisky in my old age…"
"You're only in your early 30s, Uncle."
"Still, I hadn't thought I was quite that bad…I suppose I'll have to fix that," Miroku straightened, his eyes now filled with determination.
"You can start by getting rid of those blonde women you seem so intent on sharing your shrine with," Shippo said, "It's a shrine, Uncle, it's supposed to be pure."
"Can't really be pure when Sango's pregnant again."
"Really? I have another cousin on the way?" Shippo sounded excited. Another new member for the family, he couldn't wait.
They were both silent for several minutes before Shippo sighed, "So, how does one woo a woman they like, Uncle?"
Miroku grinned widely and Shippo suddenly wanted to be anywhere but there.
----- ----- -----
Amazing, absolutely amazing. Shippo had done everything Miroku had suggested: flowers, candy, romantic dates, compliments, sweet words, and absolute truth when they asked questions. Unless of course it had to do with how big their butt looked in something, then the answer was always "perfect".
And now he stood in front of her house, a soft smile on her face and slightly blushing cheeks as she leaned forward to kiss him goodnight. He noticed his face was burning and realized he was blushing as well.
He leaned forward and closed his eyes as he thought to himself, Nothing could go wrong…
----- ----- -----
"SHIPPO!" He sat up stock straight from his lying position and he noticed little black earplugs attached to a wire fly from his head. He looked up at Kagome and blinked, last he checked he could view his mother in the eye when sitting up…
But…Shippo's eyes widened, "No…" He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and looked down at himself. What he saw made him want to cry.
Kagome laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke in concern, "Shippo? Are you alright?"
He pouted, "No," He bit out, "I was tall, and strong, and InuYasha respected me, and…and…" He blinked again, "And Miroku gave good dating advice…I should've realized it was a dream right then and there," He sighed.
Kagome giggled, "Sorry to interrupt such a great dream, Shippo, but we have to get moving again."
Shippo nodded, "Alright, mo- Kagome," He'd almost slipped up. He would not call her that until she had adopted him herself. He wouldn't push the issue; it wouldn't be fair to either of them.
Kagome gathered her headphones and mp3 player together and let Shippo sit on her shoulder. She looked at him from the corner of her eye as she spoke, "So, what did you learn from your dream, Shippo?"
Shippo thought about what to reveal when he remembered the song he'd been listening to, "We'll hide out in the private rooms with the latest dictionary and today's who's who. They'll get you anything with that evil smile, everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial," He grinned, "Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar. I'm gonna sing those songs that offend the censors, gonna pop my pills from a pez dispenser."
Miroku, who had been walking beside them smiled as he listened to Shippo sing. When he was finished, Miroku smiled and announced, "I wanna be a pez dispenser!"
The End
A/N: Honestly, I'm not even sure if this came half as good as I'd hoped, but I hope you liked it anyway. Happy Holidays!
Review welcome. Flames will be used to light my fireplace.
-Lov3the3vil