Okay, first posting on ff.net so if you like what you see please hit the 'review' button and let me know. I might actually write and add some more. ^_^ Also, this isn't
Beta'd so please keep that in mind.
The song is 'Lullaby ~ Good Night My Angel' by Billy Joel. Great song.
Disclaimer: Hey lookit, I'm an American college student, not a small incredibly rich Japanese woman named Rumiko Takahashi. Guess I don't own it. ^^
Lullaby
"Kagome, I can't sleep." The owner of the pitiful sounding little voice tugged at her skirt. A yawning little kitsune crawled up into her lap. There was a snort from the branches above her and in the glow of the fire Miroku and Sango smiled at the fluff ball on her lap.
Shippou generally went to sleep earlier than the rest of the group. Even though he was a youkai, he was still a child and little kitsune need plenty of rest if they're going to be genki ippai and battle big bad youkai. Every now and again though, he got like this. Bad memories of his parents's death coming back in the shadows. During these times, he would crawl up on Kagome's lap, her presence letting him slip into sleep within a few minutes. Shippou snuggled against her and she went back to attempting to explain the concept of space travel to Miroku and Sango. Note the word 'attempt'.
After about ten minutes, Shippou turned.
Five minutes later he tossed.
Twenty minutes later he still wasn't asleep.
"Kagome, I still can't sleep." "Would you like me to tell you a story?" He looked up at her with shadows in his normally bright blue eyes. "Okaa use to sing to me." he said quietly. Kagome paused. Her? Sing? Well, if it would get Shippou to sleep...She sighed. "Alright Shippou-chan." She then gave the priest and demon huntress a glare. "No laughing. That goes double for you!" She shouted up at the branches about them. "Feh!" Came the answer. "I'm sure Kagome-sama sings beautifully." Miroku smiled, laying on the charm. Sango gave him a look.
Kagome brushed a hand through the kit's hair and began to hum. She really hadn't thought of what to sing, no lullabies had come to mind, but the hum immediately took the form of an American song she had on tape back home. "Good night, my angel time to close your eyes and save these questions for another day." She sang gently, rocking the kit as she did. "I think I know what you've been asking me, I think you know what I've been trying to say." There was a rustle from the branches above. "I promised I would never leave you and you should always know, wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away."
Little by little, the kit's eyes started to droop and by the time she finished the last line he was asleep. Smiling, she placed him in his usual spot snuggled in her sleeping bag. "That was lovely, Kagome-chan. I didn't understand what you where saying, but the feeling got across." Sango whispered to her. Kagome blushed at the older girl's compliment and then a puzzled expression crossed her face. "Didn't under..." She realized she had been singing in English. Of course they wouldn't have understood. She turned another shade of red. "You're great with him Kagome-sama. You'll make a wonderful mother." Miroku smiled suggestively, Kagome sweatdropped, there was a growl from above, and Sango smacked the Monk. "Don't start getting ideas, Houshi-sama." "Ah, why don't we all try to get some sleep?" The two agreed and Kagome sighed with relief as another fight was avoided.
**********************
Inuyasha sat in a tree contemplating the mysteries of life. Well, actually, he was pouting, not that he'd ever admit it.
Kagome had gone back to her own time and left him alone with this pack of idiots to watch over. There was a scream from the lighted windows of Kadea-baba's hut then a loud SMACK! Yup, the lecher had been peeking in on Sango changing again. He sighed, wasn't it too late for that?
The moon shone brightly overhead, filling the woods with streams of moonlight. Ears flicked forward as something rustled in the foliage. There was a yelp and then something grabbed the edge of his sleeve. Lifting up his arm, Inuyasha found a Shippou attached to it. "I can't sleep!" wailed the kit piteously, giving the dog demon the 'I'm-ever-so-cute-won't-you-take-pity-on-me-and-do-as-I-ask' look. It didn't work. "So? Go get Sango or the Old Hag to cuddle you." He tried to shake the little kitsune off but Shippou clung like a burr. "They don't smell like Kagome!" The half demon paused, surprised, and then sniffed the air. Sure enough, it was old and faded, but Kagome's scent was there. Must be from when she grabbed my shirt earlier, he thought. It was there, he could smell and his nose was weak compared to the fox's.
The kit must have been having nightmares again, he realized. And when he had nightmares Kagome was the only one who could get him to sleep. Inuyasha groaned mentally. Why did this have to happen on a night when Kagome wasn't here? Well, maybe if he just sat and let the kit smell Kagome's scent that would work and he'd fall asleep. Yup, sounded like a plan to him. The kit needed his sleep. Cranky kitsune's are scary. He put the fox in his lap where Shippou promptly curled up into a ball of fluff. He watched the moon for awhile, listened to the various night noises of the forest and kept a look out for other youkai.
Shippou tossed. Shippou turned. Shippou tossed again.
By this time the dog demon was getting severely annoyed. "Stop that!" "I still can't sleep!" came the wail. "So what am I suppose to do about it?" Shippou was quiet for a long moment. "Okaa and Kagome sang to me." Inuyasha's golden eyes went wide. "Oh, no. I do not sing." The kitsune snorted. "I bet your Okaa didn't sing to you, that's why." he felt the other demon freeze. The half demon closed his eyes as memories of his mother singing him to sleep came unbidden from the depths of his mind.
"Someday," she said "you'll have a pup of your own and you'll sing them to sleep." "No, I won't." a sleepy little Inu-chan answered around a yawn. "I heard them the courtyard. I'm a half-breed no one in their right mind could love me. 'cept you, Okaasan." he sniffed slightly. Okaasan had frowned and then smiled bravely at him. "Iie, my Inu-chan. One day you'll grow up to be a strong, honorable youkai like your Otousama and you'll find a beautiful girl who will love you even if you are a half demon." She then sang to him softly and he fell asleep to the lulling sound of his mother's voice.
Almost unaware of it, Inuyasha started to hum. Shippou snuggled against the red kimono, trying to breathe in Kagome's scent, even if it was stale. Slowly, a deep voice made soothing, if somewhat odd sounding noises. He realized it was Kagome's lullaby. Inuyasha sang it syllable to syllable as Kagome had pronounced it, not really knowing what he was singing. He just repeated what he had heard Kagome sing. Hell, it had gotten the kit to sleep before hadn't it? He'd have to ask Kagome what it meant when she came back.
Shippou snuggled closer, the mixed scents of Kagome and Inuyasha comforting and chasing away the nightmares, it was like home. Though he'd never admit it. He began to drift off wrapped in a cocoon of warmth, the last thing he could remember was Inuyasha's singing. "Some day your child will cry and if you sing this lullaby then in your heart there will always be a part of me." The half demon finished the song and looked down at the little kitsune asleep on his chest. He thought he heard a murmured "Otou..." as the kit buried himself in his tail and the fabric of the kimono.
Well, Kagome would be happy with him about this, so that was good. He'd have to ask her to teach him some more lullabies. Just in case this ever happened again. Which he hoped it didn't. Really. I don't think this exactly what Ofukuro had in mind, he thought pulling the kit in to a more protective position. But I'm happy the way it is. He stared out at the moon for a few moments longer, thinking of the girl that lay beyond the well, the kit in his arms, his friends in the village below, and life in general. A small smile crept across his face and eventually, he fell asleep.