Summary
One good deed deserved another... right? Oh, wait, unless it involved youkai...
A/N: After a ridiculously long absence, I am back. I hope you all can forgive me, but with the baby, I'm sure you guys can understand. Being a mommy sure is something else, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Just so you guys know, unless I make it clear and say so, these are all considered unconnected One-Shots. Some of them I do plan to go back and write a continuation. Others are merely stand-alone. Just wanted to make sure I got that across.
Anyways, enjoy!
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She never should have bothered to care. Her bleeding heart was going to get her killed one of these days. Kagome blew a breath from between her teeth as she carefully manuvered the terrain of the forest. Honestly, what was she thinking?
'Right. I was thinking that I heard a noise that sounded like a wounded animal and just had to investigate. I should really just go back to the hot spring and enjoy what little alone time I get for my baths.' She'd been perfectly content to sit and soak for a while in order to wash away the aches of the day- courtesy of one touchy inu-hanyou- when she'd heard a yowl coming from somewhere in the forest. Oh, why hadn't she just gone back with Sango earlier? Then, she wouldn't have been running around out here in the wild with nothing but a towel on.
The priestess shook her head and again cursed her need to check on whatever it was that had made the pitiful noise. She froze before a conglomeration of bushes when that mournful howl echoed around her. It literally sounded like it was right in front of her!
'Well, whatever it is, it must be in a lot of pain...' Steeling herself, Kagome nodded and pushed the bushes aside. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat. The creature looked as though it was glowing; it's fur was such a bright shade of silvery white.
"A fox..." the girl whispered, watching its' long bushy tail bristle and twitch in fury as it tried to pull itself from a nasty looking trap that was clamped on one of its' hind legs. 'It's hurt! I should-!' She stopped. No, she shouldn't try to help it. It was a silver fox, for crying out loud! That color alone definitely didn't fall under the category of normal by any means. That, coupled with the fact that it was nearly the size of Kirara's transformed state, should have had her scampering back to her bath. Because with her luck, it was probably a youkai of some kind. But still...
The fox yowled again and Kagome didn't think twice as she turned tail and ran back to where her bath supplies and her backpack were. Changing quickly into a pair of pajamas, she hefted out her first aid kit and checked the contents, letting loose a string of curses that would have made Inuyasha proud, had he heard them. She was out of bandages. An idea hit her and she dug into her bag. Pulling out one of her school uniforms that was shredded beyond even her mother's ability to repair, she untied the long red scarf and stuffed it in the kit as she scrambled to her feet and headed back.
A few moments later, Kagome stepped out of the bushes and into fox's line of sight. Immediately, the creature tensed up, its' lip curled back in an intimidating fashion to show off some very sharp teeth as it growled at her defensively.
"Easy there, fella. I'm just going to get you out of there," Kagome soothed in a calm voice, despite the fact that she was shaking on the inside. The fox's bright viscious red eyes were locked onto her and following every movement she made. When she got just out of its' reach, the growl became a snarl and it tried to lunge at her, only to fail when it put pressure on its' trapped foot. Giving a whine of pain, the magnificent creature lolled back and started to reach for its' foot.
"No no! Don't do that! You'll only make it worse!" the priestess chided in a soft voice, scooting a little closer. She was now in the large canine's range of attack. "Let me help you, please!" The fox swept its' gaze back to her, vermillion staring down blue in a clash as it tilted its' regal head just slightly. Almost like it was assessing her...
'I hope you're not just luring me in to rip my throat out, buddy,' Kagome thought, swallowing carefully and refusing to back down. It was a fox, damn it! She wasn't going to lose a staring contest to a fox! Somehow, she must have conveyed the right feelings, because the animal looked away and acted as though she wasn't even there. The dark-haired teen felt the distinctive urge to twitch and smack the creature upside the head for the arrogant move, but reigned the urge in and put her first aid kit down next to her. Reaching for the metal trap, she clasped her fingers around it and looked it over for a second before nodding.
"Okay, when I say so, I'll set this loose and you pull your foot out," she murmured, shaking her head and snorting, "Oh, who am I kidding. You're a fox! It's not like you can talk or understand what I'm actually saying!" She didn't bother looking up when she noticed the canine shift a little. If she had, she would have seen eyes that were no longer red, but gold, staring at her in incredulous annoyance. Instead, she heard a small snort and licked her lips.
'This is going to suck...'
"Okay, on the count of three. One, two, THREE!" She pulled, the bloody silver foot disappeared from her sight, and she let the trap drop. Its' teeth snapped shut and the girl breathed a sigh of relief before glancing up at the big fox licking its' injured foot. Reaching over for her kit, she pulled out an antibiotic cream and her red necktie. "Hey, big guy, let me take a look at that and I'll get it cleaned up for you."
It, no, she had a feeling the animal was a he, gave her a long measured look before snorting and glancing away. Kagome, for her part, was stunned speechless when she locked gazes with those golden eyes, but shook herself out of it and scooted closer, uncapping the antibiotic and staring at the wound. She winced, then took a deep breath.
"This is going to sting a bit, so don't freak out and bite me." With that, she took the plunge and poured it onto her hand before smearing the cream over the wound. Working quickly, the priestess spoke soothing nonsense and hummed a few bars of a melody under her breath as she rubbed as much of the blood out of the pretty fur as possible and wrapped her necktie around the wound. With a smile and a little pat, she tied off the makeshift bandage and proclaimed her work finished.
"That should hold for a little bit!" Kagome exclaimed softly, glancing up and jolting at the fact that the fox's face was only a few inches from hers. She froze, waiting carefully and not making any sudden movements to stir the animal's instincts. After all, she didn't want the large silver creature to tear her head off all of a sudden. It was with no small amount of surprise when, instead of the nip she was expecting, the gorgeous canine snuffed at her hair for a moment before giving her a lick on the cheek.
For some reason, she had to fight down the urge to blush. Honestly, what was her problem?
'Animal, Kagome. Don't forget that.' Reaching up, the school girl tentatively ran her fingers over one of the ears, watching with inner glee as the appendage twitched. 'Ohhh, his fur is so soft!'
"You're not so bad. Why would someone want to trap you, big guy?" Tilting her head to the side, she met that golden gaze again, the curiosity inside her reflected in his eyes, "Unless you were trying to steal someone's chickens. That's probably not such a good idea, you know." The fox let out a bark that sounded a bit like a laugh and she giggled as well. "I mean, you're a pretty good sized fox. You'd probably eat a bunch of chickens. You could always look for rabbits or something though."
His ears flickered and suddenly perked up, drawing the priestess's attention again. It looked as though he was listening for something...
Kagome gasped when she heard Inuyasha's voice faintly calling her name. A moment later, Sango's voice echoed also, and she scrambled to her feet, careful to not jostle the animal that had managed to scoot so close to her. "I have to go! My friends are calling for me! Ohh, I probably have them panicking!" Reaching down, she pushed things back into her first aid kit and snapped it shut. "As it is, Inuyasha is going to be so pissed when he finds out I just up and left the hot spring without letting anyone know."
The fox tilted his head in a way that she had to keep from cooing at- Shippo had the tendency to do that when he was intrigued about something- and hauled the kit up.
"Bye now! Get better soon, and try not to get caught in anymore traps, big guy!"
Darting back through the trees, the priestess disappeared towards her friends voices. Once she left his senses, the fox stood gingerly on its' feet, stretching out and flexing his injured foot in a way that a normal fox wouldn't have ever done. A white fog surrounded the creature, building in density for a moment before it receded completely. In the animal's place stood a man dressed in all white with long silver hair, large pointed ears perched on his head, and a bushy silver tail that was nearly hidden by his hair. Glancing down, he stared at the red fabric wrapped around his ankle and examined the handywork. For being such an odd human, the woman had sure known what she was doing. Remembering what she said before she left, he smirked, golden eyes glinting in amusement.
"Perhaps you're right, girl. Stealing chickens isn't exactly worth getting caught over." His gazed landed on the trap and he growled, "On the other hand, using traps imbubed with magic to keep me from switching between forms is also considered foul play." With a flisk of his wrist, vines wrapped around the metal and he manipulated them to toss the nasty trick into the stream nearby. That being done, he turned and stared back towards the way the girl had gone.
"Now... how to repay you..." He smirked again, "After all, I do enjoy a good puzzle, girl."
He'd heard her friends calling her name. Kagome... Hmm...
'One that this Kurama will enjoy solving, After all, there is a high likelihood that we will meet again.'
He would make sure of that.
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A/N: This one is going to be fun to come back to. I already have an idea of how I want the next part of this to go. It's going to be so much fun! Until further notice, this will be known and the Trap series.
Hope you enjoyed! If you did, leave a review and let me know!
