Companionship

The Story of Rin and Shippo

A/N: Here I am, at it again. Starting yet another fiction without finishing the others..anyway, i have wanted to write this one for quite some time and i think of this as a kinda fluffy romance. Shippo is 19 and Rin is 17..

Prologue

Three Years Ago

The Great Battle

Though Shippo tries to forget the past, he still remembers some details of that Great Battle only three years ago. Shippo had returned from his training (with Sesshomaru) a month or two after his sixteenth birthday to help in the fight. He used his foxfire to shield most of his companions from the miasma. Naraku attacked him and he escaped with only a torn ear and a cut just below his eye. Inuyasha was on his last legs in the battle and Kagome was unconscious.

Sango was standing by the also unconscious Miroku, who had used his wind tunnel and was badly poisoned by the Saimyosho and Naraku's miasma. Kirara was unable to transform and Sango's haraikotsu was broken. Sango would soon fall from the blood lost from her wounds. Kohaku was free from Naraku, so he helped with his scythe.

Sesshomaru kept his demon self under control though he almost transformed many times. Inuyasha sent a wind scar towards Naraku, who dodged it easily but was caught in the blast from Tokijin, wielded by Sesshomaru. Tenseiga acted on its own and sent power to the wind scar. The force from Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga cut open the very air around Naraku and that cut in the air caused a wind tunnel to form which acted as a portal to the Netherworld.

Naraku was sucked into the void but it was not over yet. Reaching a tentacle out, he wrapped it around Inuyasha's neck. Sesshomaru used Tokijin to sever the tentacle and in doing so, he failed to see a claw of Naraku's. Naraku then pierced Sesshomaru's abdomen and both Naraku and Sesshomaru were drawn into the void.

"Send a wind scar and close the portal, brother! I shall finish this feind!" Sesshomaru said, struggling against Naraku.

Inuyasha complied with his brother's last request, sending the wind scar toward the black hole, sealing it forevermore. Inuyasha then fell to his knees and sank into blissful darkness.

The Aftermath

Shippo had not lost consciousness so he carried his companions away from the battlegrounds. Kouga arrived too late so he helped carry the others to a place where they could recuperate. Everyone had suffered from Naraku's poison but no one died from it. Miroku suffered the worst from the toxins and Shippo suffered the least. Sango had her gas mask so not much of the poison was inhaled but her wounds made her vulnerable to the miasma.

Sango's old wound from Kohaku had been ripped open and so had Kohaku's wound from the arrow in his back. Inuyasha, Miroku, Kagome, and Sango were all unconscious for many days. The first to come to was Inuyasha. The second, Sango followed by Miroku, then Kagome, and lastly Kirara. Kirara was close to death for weeks. When the group realized that they were all okay, they wondered what to do with themselves. How were they supposed to go back to a normal life? They were unsure how to live their lives but they managed somehow.

What Has Happened

Since the day of the Battle

Naraku has been dead for approximately three years. The Shikon no Tama was never found again. Inuyasha's group has broken up and gone their own separate ways. Shippo went off on his own again to make a life for himself. Inuyasha and Kagome have gotten married after Kagome graduated high school. She basically lives in her time with Inuyasha but they do go to visit the feudal era often. Souta loves when Inuyasha comes to visit (but Buyo doesn't).

The Higurashi's gave a house to Inuyasha and Kagome. Miroku's wind tunnel has not fully closed but it is slowly disappearing and it is a good deal smaller. Sango has her brother back and is happily married to Miroku, who IS faithful to her. Kohaku, who is now 20 has his sights set on a young woman and will soon be wed to her. The demon-slayer village will be brought back now that Sango is with Miroku's child. She doesn't know yet but she is pregnant with triplets, all fraternal.

Sesshomaru has, unfortunately been taken into the void by Naraku so Rin was left with Jaken and Ah-un, who later desert her for reasons unknown. Kouga has kept his promise to Ayame and they are mates. They have three young pups named Kinori, Hoshi, and Kagome. Ginta and Hakaku babysit the pups often.

Totosai is retired and does not make swords anymore, except he did make one for Shippo. The sword's name is Jinsokutakai, or "Swift Death." He also comissioned two daggers, Takai and Seidai, right and left, Death and Justice. Myoga is a traveling wise man, well wise flea, and helps whoever needs his help though he is useless in battle.

As for all of Naraku's incarnations, they have disappeared. Where they are, no one knows. It is rumored that they died when Naraku did, though there have been sightings of a woman on the wind, a young girl dressed in white and a horse of fire. Hopefully, they are only rumors.

-End Prologue-

Chapter One – Rob Me Blind

Three years after the Great Battle, in the middle of August - Nighttime

Shippo sighed as he made camp for the night, his hair glowing in the dying light of the fire. He rested his head against a smooth rock, relaxing and falling into a light doze in the fading light of the sunset. Shippo shifted position slightly in his slumber. Unknown to the sleeping fox-demon, a young human was inching towards the small clearing in search of food. Jaken and Ah-Un had deserted her sometime ago and had not come back. So the girl, starving for food had traveled for almost three full days looking for a satisfactory meal with her senses keen in her vulnerable state as hunger clawed at her insides.

She smelled something cooking a ways off and followed the smell. She peered through a row of young saplings and saw a sleeping demon. Having grown up around demons, she knew how to distinguish one from a human, no matter how much they looked like one. Her breath caught in her throat as the demon moved but then came out in a soft sigh of relief when he didn't wake.

This demon looked oddly familiar to her. He had rusty colored hair and his ears came to small points, much like Lord Sesshomaru's, except one of this demon's ears was torn. He also had a long, fluffy tail much the same color as his hair, only a little lighter.

'How remarkable.' Thought Rin. 'He is so beautiful.' Rin shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and crept into the camp and quickly found the food. She ripped part of her kimono and bound the torn strips together to form a kind of sack. She then put as much as she could into the 'bag' and slung it over her shoulder. She looked back to the sleeping demon and saw he was looking at her.

Instantly those eyes bored into her and she lost sense of reality. For what felt like hours (but was only a second), she stood rooted to the spot. Finally, she blinked and saw that the demon wasn't awake at all. He had his back towards her and he was gently snoring. Rin shook her head and almost ran into the forest, desperate to get away from those supernatural eyes.

- - - - -

Shippo's eyes snapped open as a series of not so quiet noises woke him from sleep. Shippo looked around for the culprit and saw a young mortal woman taking his equipment, mainly his dinner that he had cooked and other supplies. He stood, ready to strike at her when he heard a small, quiet grumbling sound. He glanced around the clearing, puzzled.

'What was that?' He thought. He heard it again though slightly louder this time. He looked to the girl and realized she was making the sound. Shippo had been around Inuyasha enough to know that the girl was hungry. No. She was starving. He sat and watched her as she worked. She stopped when she was finished and looked in his direction. He held her gaze for a second, then turned around and feigned sleep. For many more seconds, he didn't hear anything. Then he heard the young woman stumble and move towards the forest.

Shippo chuckled to himself once she was gone. True, now he would have to hunt again and obtain more supplies but that wasn't that hard to do. He knew how to get to the well that led to Kagome's era after all. He had had a feeling of recognition for the mortal, though who she was eluded him. Whoever she was, she was starving and weak, so he had let her rob him blind.

'Perhaps I should follow her, see where she is going.' Shippo stood and stretched his muscles, taking his sweet time. Inhaling deeply, he picked up her scent with no difficulty at all and followed it slowly, giving her time to get a head start. About half a mile into the wood he found her. She was so hungry, she had already eaten the cooked meat and was now eating the rest of it, which was raw. Her hands were bloody from it, as was her mouth. The sight was revolting to Shippo but he understood why she wasn't bothering to eat neat and proper.

He sat and watched her for quite some time without her noticing he was there. On the other side of the trees, Shippo heard a slight rustling. At first, he thought it was nothing but the sound grew louder and the wind blew a foul stench his way. He almost gagged, it stunk so bad. Shippo looked to the girl and saw that she didn't notice anything. 'Man, she must be starving.' He sat on his haunches, ready to pounce, to fight whatever may be lurking just beyond the trees.

Suddenly, the young woman looked up and stopped eating. She listened carefully, then started packing up rapidly, haphazardly throwing everything into the 'bag'. Shippo watched with interest and followed her when she set off to the right, away from the creature and away from Shippo. She didn't get too far when the beast jumped out at her. The demon was huge, standing over seven feet tall. It's teeth were yellow and sharp. The breath it exhaled was a foul odor, like a mixture of rotten eggs, sour milk, and a rotting corpse. It's skin was covered in slime and it's eyes bulged every time he took a breath.

The girl stopped in her tracks, fear written all over her bloodstained face, her long black hair whipping about in the wind. Before the demon could move again, Shippo had jumped from the cover of the trees and had his claws prepared for the fight.

"Step aside, little demon. Leave me be. I do not wish to harm you." The reptilian demon said to Shippo in a low, guttural voice.

"I will only say this once, monster. Step aside and you will live to fight another day. If I was anyone else, you would be dead already." Shippo's blue-green eyed blazed with a rage hard to look upon.

The demon just laughed and charged at the fox demon.

"Foxfire!" Shippo sent a torrent of flames towards the oncoming demon. The reptilian demon couldn't turn in time to avoid the fire. The flames engulfed him and he started to scream.

"Demon! Those flames aren't even hot!" The screaming demon stopped his shrieking and blushed, making him look even uglier. "That was a foul trick, cub."

"Not as foul as your breath, pungent. And my next trick will be better, I can assure you that."

"Bring it on, kitten." The demon charged for a second time but this time it was towards the young woman cowering on the sidelines. She gasped and started running away when the demon suddenly yelled out and fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the blue foxfire burned him alive. To finish up the job, Shippo drew his demon sword and sliced the demon into tiny pieces.

The girl had not stopped running so Shippo sheathed his sword, picked up the bundle she had dropped and followed her again, at a distance. He found her a way off, shaking uncontrollably and curled into a ball. Shippo smelt her fear in the air so he just dropped the bundle she had stolen from him on the ground at her feet, then retreated into an oak tree. It shocked her, to say the least.

"What the—"

She saw the bundle and tears welled up in her eyes. 'Who was that demon?' She stood up and looked around but didn't see him anywhere. She felt her fear ebbing and mustered the courage to talk. "Demon! Where are you?" She called out, wondering why she should even care. "Demon!"

"Yes, mortal?" Whispered a voice right behind her.

She jumped and spun around to find herself face to face with him, close enough to him that she felt his warm breath on her face.

"O-oh." Shippo noticed her heart beat faster but he was sure it wasn't from fear. Shock, yes. Not fear anymore. "I didn't kn-now you w-were behind m-me." 'Why am I stuttering? I am not afraid of this dog demon.' She backed up a few steps to look at him better.

"I believe you were calling for me?" Shippo felt powerful and in control. 'This human is peculiar to say the least. Her scent if intoxifying.'

"Y-yes. I was wondering..." She thought furiously for an exscuse to get him to stay, "..if you were hungry." She then looked down at her feet and blushed.

"Yes, I am. But someone seems to have stolen my belongings." Shippo looked like he really didn't know it was her who took them but she knew he knew.

"I am sorry, my lord. Please forgive me." Rin bowed to Shippo, hating formalities.

'My lord? This feels like a deja vu..who is this girl? She is so familiar but I just can't place her.' "There is no need to call me 'my lord'. My name is Shippo. And you are?" He gazed at her, his eyes once again causing her to stand still as if paralyzed. She heard herself answer though she didn't feel like it was her doing the talking.

"My name is Rin."

Shippo's jaw almost dropped. 'So that's who she is! The little girl Sesshomaru always had with him. She must know who I am then. Maybe not though. Many long years have passed. I have changed and so has she.'

"You say your name is Shippo? Why does that sound so familiar?" She bit her lip, trying to place where she knew him from.

Shippo chuckled. "I used to travel with Inuyasha and his group."

Rin's face lit up and she smiled. 'Wow. She looks beautiful. I should take her to wash her face, though. It still has blood on it from earlier.'

"You're that little runt!" She started laughing and now it was Shippo's turn to blush.

"Yeah well..a runt I was.." Shippo chuckled weakly and ran a hand through his hair nervously. "There's a hot springs nearby if you would like to wash your face. It has blood on it from the meat you ate earlier."

"Oh. Okay then." Rin was embarrassed but she didn't let it show. She followed him to the spring where he then left her to wash in peace.

- - - - -

After she had bathed and cleansed herself, she sought Shippo out. 'Where is that demon?' She found him not too far from the spring. He was staring at the fire, seemingly lost in his thoughts. She sat opposite him. He looked at her, a far off look in his eyes. She called to him and he jolted back to reality.

The rest of the night passed pleasantly, both mortal and demon feasting together, exchanging stories of the past. Both had not had companions for awhile and they were both grateful for some company. Shippo learned of why Rin always followed Sesshomaru, of how her family died, and how alone she always felt. Rin learned of how, for years, Shippo felt inadequate as a demon, of how he would freeze in the face of danger, and of how he always annoyed Inuyasha on purpose.

They had never really talked this openly to anyone before and they enjoyed the feeling. When the moon was about to disappear from the sky and the sun was about to show, Rin tried to stifle a yawn, but Shippo saw it anyway.

"I saw that. Listen, for the rest of tonight, sleep here. It is not safe in these woods. There are demons lurking in the shadows." Shippo glanced around as he spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

"Does that include you?" Rin asked playfully.

"Ha. Very funny." Shippo answered, sarcasm heard in every syllable he spoke. "Try to get some sleep, Rin."

"Goodnight, Shippo. Pleasant dreams."

"Same to you, Rin. Same to you."

They each bed down on opposite sides of the fire, each person absorbed in their sleepy thoughts. 'See you in the morning, Rin. Hope you can stay for awhile. You make me smile so easily.'

Rin smiled as she watched the demon through the burning embers. 'He looks so calm. He even looks beautiful. I hope I can stay for awhile, my lord.' With that in mind, she drifted off to a peaceful sleep, undisturbed by dreams.

- - - - -

A/N: That is the end of chapter one! It actually didn't take me too long to write but it took me forever to post..it seems i have no trouble writing the stories, but keeping up with the updates is killing me! Oh, well my fans, please review and i wish to thank those people that actually read my crazy stories. Next chapter is written but not typed. I do not want to say i'll update soon but i'll do my best! Once again, i beseech you to review this story. Oh yeah, in my profile there are links for pictures of what Rin and Shippo look like when they are grown. Take a peep if you're curious. SHOUT OUT TO MY MOTHER! 4/21/07 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY!