Deds:

FluffyandKagome - Thanks. Here's chapter four. Enjoy!

DemonDog113 (Joelle) - Thank you! Hahaha, this chapter isn't as harrowing, lol, but I think it's funny. You may, also. Enjoy!

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Chapter Four

Late that night, Kagome sneaked out of her guestroom and down the hall, looking for Inuyasha's room.

She found it easily. It was the last room on the right. She smiled sadly to herself, her hand frozen on the door, hesitating to open it. Taking a deep breath, she rolled it open silently and stepped inside.

The scent hit her full force. His smell still permeated this room, ten years and some after his passing. She was amazed, but seconds later it began to fade, her nose becoming familiar with his scent once more. She felt her gut clench in panic; she didn't want to forget his smell ever again.

His pallet was small, and unkempt. His blood-crusted kimono and haori were slung over a low chair, and Tetsusaiga leaned, dusty and dull in the corner. She wondered if Sesshoumaru had left it behind, or if Inuyasha had. She crossed the room and picked it up. There was no point in leaving it here, and even though it would not transform for her, she would take it with her tomorrow morning. It might come in handy, even as a rusty, battered old katana.

"Kagome."

She froze. She knew that voice but hadn't seen its owner since she kissed him goodbye eighteen years ago, for him anyway. She turned slowly.

The demon in the doorway lounged against the jamb, wearing only a pair of navy hakama. His muscles jittered under his skin at her scrutiny, and his handsome face, framed by long, flowing red hair, smiled lazily at her.

"Shippo... Is that you?" She clutched the Tetsusaiga to her chest.

He grinned. "In the flesh."

"Oh, Shippo!" She flung her arms around him, her tears hot on her cheeks. If she'd known these reunions were going to be so emotional she'd never have stayed away so long.

"You're all grown up, and I missed it! I feel so rotten!"

Shippo shrugged in her arms, returning her embrace tightly. "You did what you had to do. We got along."

She leaned back, to see his face. "You're just as handsome as I knew you would be. I bet you've broken a few hearts, huh?" She ran her fingers through his bangs, but withdrew them quickly when she saw the look in his eyes, and realised that her gesture was no longer conceived as maternal.

He chuckled. "Unfortunately, I've broken no hearts yet. There really hasn't been anyone interesting whose heart I'd be interested in breaking, I suppose."

"Aww," she replied, hugging him again, "I find that hard to believe. How have you been? I mean, Sango told me about... you know... Inuyasha's leaving you..."

He shrugged again. "He did what he had to do."

She stared back at him, hard. He smiled. It was devastatingly beautiful.

"Well, then. I suppose I should be getting back to bed. I've got a long walk ahead of me tomorrow."

Like a gentleman, he took her arm and escorted her back to her room. She turned to face him when they reached it.

"Will you see me off?" She was referring to tomorrow morning.

"I'll do better than that, Kagome. I'm going with you."

...oOo...

No matter what she said, he refused to budge.

As they packed up to leave that morning, Kagome shot Sango a murderous glare, but Sango merely smiled back. She never said she wouldn't play dirty to get her way. Besides, she'd reasoned with Kagome earlier, Shippo would protect her, and lead her in the right direction. With him leading the way, she was sure to find Sesshoumaru, no sweat.

Kagome had disagreed, saying this was something she needed to do on her own, but she was voted down. Sango and Miroku even threatened to sic their children, all fourteen of them, on her, and carry her back to the well. After she'd passed the Jewel, of course...

She smiled, despite the memory. There was still no sign of the Jewel, which was a good thing. She dreaded having to extract it after its' passing and she vowed that no matter how clean she may get it, she would never swallow it again! Despite the idea having been a stroke of genius at the time.

Shippo had laughed loud and long when he'd learned of the location of the Shikon no Tama, and Kagome had glared till her eyes hurt, yet he still chuckled even now, as he tightened the strap of her travelling pack.

"It's not that funny," she mumbled, stretching.

He snorted. "Yes, it is. You'd better hope it stays in there for a while. Fighting off other demons is so annoying."

She stomped her foot. "You sound more like Inuyasha than even Inuyasha did!"

He grinned, and she couldn't help but smile back. The fox and the dog-boy, best friends...

She turned to wave goodbye to Sango and Miroku and all their progeny, and Ryouta winked at her. She made a face.

"Come on, Kagome. We're burning daylight."

She hurried to catch up.

...oOo...

"He likes you."

Kagome glanced at Shippo's profile. He really was a good-looking demon.

"Who?"

"Ryouta."

She snorted. So what if some wet-eared kid showed off for her, or winked at her? She'd had worse!

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I could smell him. He stinks."

She laughed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

He looked at her like she was a retard. "Pheromones, Kagome. He was putting off major pheromones."

She watched him a moment. "Are you jealous?"

He grinned. "Maybe."

"Ah-ha! I knew it."

He pushed her, and she tripped. "Hey!"

She pushed him, as hard as she could, and he barely moved, but he laughed at her failed attempt. Then he pushed her right into some bushes, and kept on walking, laughing harder.

She stumbled out of the bush, furious. "Hey! No fair! That bush had prickers!!"

He howled.

This is going to be a very long journey, she thought morosely, picking thorns out of her pants. Guess they don't call them tricksters for nothing.

...oOo...

Their first night around the campfire, Kagome leaned back against her bag and stuck her sore feet close to the flames, wincing but enjoying the relaxing heat. Shippo shook his head at her.

"Five hundred years between us and you still didn't bring good shoes? You told me they were better in your time."

She glared. "They are! I just haven't broken them in yet."

He gave her a sardonic look. "Only an idiot would wear a brand-new, un-broken pair of shoes on a long journey, Kagome."

Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and put on her best pissed face. "Look, I wasn't anticipating having to make a country-wide trek, okay? And I kinda have to blend in here, lest I be mistaken for a demon. My outfit is already out-of-date, as so many people have so tactlessly pointed out. I came back to save a life, not to participate in a nature hike!"

He turned away from her. "Well it's a little late for that, isn't it? Is that all you came back for?"

She heard the hurt in his voice, and she leaned back, not realising that she'd leaned forward in her rant. "At first, it was, yes."

He nodded, still not looking at her. "I see."

She tilted her head, frustrated with his avoidance. Inuyasha used to do that and it drove her crazy. "Do you? I'm not so sure."

Finally he sat down and faced her, hands on his knees, his eyes intent. "What don't I see, Kagome? Hm?"

She blinked, angry. Now he was questioning her morals? Ohh! She knew she should have done this alone! At least no one would make fun of her, or reprimand her, or make snide comments about her weaknesses!

"You don't see that I came back to save the man I loved, Shippo. I still love him, but all I have left of him is a rosary, a sad gravestone and a story I will wring from Sesshoumaru if it kills me! And even after all my effort, I'm still too late. And there's nothing I can do about it!" Her tears burst forth, even though she'd thought she'd have none left, she'd cried so much in the past few days.

Shippo decided to end their argument, and moved closer, draping his arm around her neck and letting her cry on his shoulder. It wasn't romantic, but it was something.

Soon, she was snoring. He smiled. She looked so similar to his memories... A few years had been added to her youthful face. He wondered how old she was now. Her face was leaner now, and small wrinkles had appeared at her eyes now that weren't as prominent before. He sighed. He could guess why they were like that now.

Inuyasha, you fool, he thought bitterly. Shippo had been so angry, then...

Why did Inuyasha leave me? Had been his most oft-asked question of Sango and Miroku, and they had been unable to answer him. And then the hanyou had come home, dead, carried in the arms of his half-brother, who'd actually held him carefully, in a gentle position, with his only arm. Almost like a baby he'd brought him, dead and bloody, broken and battered, home to his friends. To the woman who'd never see him again.

Shippo suppressed the angry tears that threatened to overflow. Inuyasha had grown to be his best friend, sort of. When he wasn't helping Miroku, he was teaching Shippo defensive skills, or at least he was, until he became even more melancholy and started wandering off like a lost puppy searching for its master. Shippo knew he'd probably picked up all of Inuyasha's bad habits, but there wasn't much he could do to change that now. He was sure that despite Kagome's ire, she enjoyed living vicariously just as much as he did. It made it more like old times, except now everything was tainted in his eyes... except for her.

Shippo had come to think of Kagome as a saint in her absence. How she'd ever dealt with Inuyasha all that time was a mystery to him, but as he grew older it occurred to him that she'd stayed out of love, even though Inuyasha had occasionally seemed to two-time her or make some stupid comment that would end in his being sat into oblivion, but he was beginning to understand her devotion, and her desires. When Sango had come to him and told him Kagome had returned, his gut had flipped over.

Shippo had wandered off on his own shortly after Inuyasha's funeral. He hadn't strayed far, but far enough that he was mostly left to himself. He learned to take care of himself, and live his life as peacefully and quietly as possible. Sango and Miroku, and several of their children (Sango's eldest daughter had a crush on him, which was embarrassing because she was only nine) would often visit him, but the look on Sango's face this last time had been different.

The pregnant woman had waddled up to his hut with a look on her face he'd at first construed as labour pain, but after he'd helped her to sit she'd reassured him that she would be some time yet before birthing this child, which she swore (a common occurrence) would be her last. It was then that she had dropped the bomb that Kagome had returned and would he please come home with her and convince her to stay instead of wandering around the countryside searching for Sesshoumaru?

He'd been reluctant at first, but in the end he could not deny his uncomfortably pregnant friend, and had finally agreed to return with her.

And the sight of Kagome had seared his heart. Her face, her hair which was so short now - it pained him that she would have cut off such luxuriant length - her still young body, her quick, indignant mind... He had seen immediately what had made Inuyasha stay despite her so-called resemblance to Kikyou, his dead girlfriend. There was just something about her, a vulnerability perhaps - that made his heart melt at the sight of her. And the fact that now he was seeing her though the eyes of a young man, and not a child, made a difference as well.

He sighed again. However this turned out, he promised himself he would let her choose. But he certainly wasn't going to throw in the towel. Maybe Inuyasha couldn't convince her to stay but perhaps, given the chance, Shippo could.

...oOo...

Kagome awoke alone in her sleeping bag, the campfire dead but still smoking as the embers smouldered under the charred sticks from last night.
She rubbed the crust from her eyes. "Shippo?" She called blearily.

"I'm here, Kagome." He replied, dropping down beside her. "I caught some breakfast." With a look from him, the fire burst into full flame again, and he threw on a few sticks, and it crackled happily as he speared a few fish and stuck them close to cook.

"You've mastered your power, Shippo, I'm impressed," she said, sitting up and running her fingers through her tangled hair.

He stared while she was unaware, wishing those were his fingers in her hair and that their skin was pressed tightly together, his lips at her neck, ear, lips...

She turned her head, and just caught the look on his face before he quickly hid it away, and stared very hard at the cooking fish.

"Yes, thank you. It was a long process, but I managed."

Kagome smiled. "Well, while that's cooking, I'm going to bathe. There is still a hot spring near here, isn't there?"

He kept his eyes strictly on the food, and not on her long legs as she stood up. "Yes, it's that way." He pointed.

"Back in a flash," she said, breezing by.

He tried not to imagine her flashing him, with little success. He fought the urge to follow her and spy, and the battle was tormenting him. This was typical behaviour of someone raised by Miroku and Inuyasha, but Sango's teachings were also strong, and when he'd reached a certain age she'd forbade him to bathe with her. It was then that Miroku had taken his place and he'd been cast out. And Miroku had certainly done his share of teasing, that damn letch!

He could usually resist his impulses, but no one was watching here, and if he was discreet Kagome would be none the wiser, ever. He glanced at the fish, and estimated they had about twenty minutes before they were ready.

Quickly, he got up, and followed his nose.

...oOo...

Kagome dropped her things and inspected the spring. It was exactly as she remembered it. It comforted her to know that even after eighteen years back here, some things had stayed the same.

Stripping off her clothes hastily, she dipped a toe in the water and smiled; the warmth was delicious. She waded in, and chose a spot out near the middle, where the steam would make her invisible to anyone who might amble along and decide to take a peek.

Leaning back, she soaked up the heat, her muscles relaxing, and as she closed her eyes, she opened her awareness. Any demon approaching her would immediately be sensed. A human, though, would go unnoticed. There's always a flaw, she thought irritably.

As she relaxed she pondered how long the Jewel would stay in her gut. She was almost afraid to go to the bathroom, lest it be in the open again and she would have no way of hiding it. Her era was so much more convenient for a job like guarding the Jewel; she'd put it in her safe deposit box and walked away. She'd sensed no demons in the present, and humans had all but forgotten the Jewel. It was simply a legend, a story. A story she'd helped write, but of course history wouldn't remember her. She was simply 'the Priestess' and that was it. She was at first indignant that her efforts should go so unrecognised, but she soon began to understand the convenience, and all the explaining she was saved from, of anonymity.

Her sense flared. There was a demon nearby, alright. But she recognised this demon. In fact, she'd know him anywhere.

What was Shippo doing here?

She remained quiet. If he'd come for a reason he wanted her to know about, he'd call out and make his presence known, and warn her he was there. Nothing greeted her except more silence.

It occurred to her that perhaps he was spying. After all, he was a young man now... the thought made her blush. She was having trouble thinking of him that way, since she'd known him as a child for so long. And his handsomeness was very distracting, she found herself sometimes forgetting he was Shippo altogether and imagining him as some handsome demon she didn't know. It seemed to be a way for her to excuse her attraction to the boy without feeling guilty, but she never forgot who he was, no matter how tempting the idea was. He was her escort on this trip, a very annoying one, and that was all. She was out to find his Lordship, Sesshoumaru, and she would, if it was the last thing she ever did. She needed to know the whole story, not just the edited version. She needed to know how Sesshoumaru had killed Inuyasha.

Though from the sound of Sango's story, Sesshoumaru had been very reluctant to kill his little half-brother. Back when she was just starting her adventures in the past, Sesshoumaru had been more than happy to take a crack at Inuyasha's life in any way, shape, or form. He'd been ruthless then. She wondered what had made him change his mind. And then she remembered Rin. How was she? Had she grown up and married a nice young man, and had a family? Or was she still patrolling the borders with her Lord?

All good questions, Kagome thought, sinking deeper into the water, as Shippo's presence seemed to become more insistent, as if he were trying harder to see her. And hopefully she'd have all her answers in good time. She thought of her mother and brother, and the note she'd left them. Souta probably wouldn't care, but she knew her mother would worry, especially since Kagome had promised her she'd never return here, and she'd broken that promise.

Deciding that she'd soaked long enough (her watch indicated that she'd been lost in thought for twenty minutes), she made a lot of noise as she approached the bank, and felt Shippo fade away. Probably doesn't want to be caught red-handed, she thought, sniggering.

She returned to camp shortly afterward, resolving not to mention what he'd done and instead act completely ignorant. It was the best way.

"Mmm! That smells good!"

Shippo smiled. "Here. This one's yours." He handed her a blackened fish and she sat down, hungrily devouring it.

He watched her lick the fish grease from her fingers, and quickly stood up before he did something stupid and said gruffly, "You ready to go yet?"

Kagome raised a brow at him, but put her fish down and also stood. He could tell that it bothered her to be the short one again, diminishing her former authority over him, but she only replied, "Lead the way."

Shippo picked up her bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Come on."

She ran to keep up. "Thanks."

He glanced at her, and smiled. She smiled back, and they walked on in silence.

They'd been walking for a while when a thought suddenly occurred to Kagome.

"Shippo, where was Kirara? I didn't see her in the village."

He chuckled. "You wouldn't. She's been gone for a few weeks now, though I imagine she'll return soon."

She looked up at him. "Why? Where did she go?"

He looked at her, her curiosity shining bright in her eyes, as always.

"She went to have a new litter of kittens."

Kagome smiled. "Aw, that's so cute," she said, grinning. "Do you think I'll get to see them?"

He shrugged. "Stick around long enough, and I'm sure you'll find out."

She glanced at him, raising a brow, but he refused to meet her gaze. Ignoring the thinly veiled barb for now, she sighed and asked, "Can you smell him yet?"

Shippo snorted. "I've been on his trail since we left. I'm not a hanyou, Kagome, my nose works just fine."

She crossed her arms. "I wasn't implying that you were. I was just wondering how long until we find him."

Shippo shifted her bag, angry. "It will be a day or two yet. We have to go to his Lordship's castle. He is no longer on patrol."

Kagome's eyes widened. Sesshoumaru had a castle? Well, she supposed that only made sense. He was a powerful demon Lord, he would obviously need a grand castle. She'd just never imagined him in one, because he'd seemed so self-efficient.

"I see. So he's at home now."

"Yes. He is. And I think I'm beginning to understand why Sango begged me to go with you."

She flashed him an angry look, and stopped in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

He stopped too, and turned to face her. God, she was beautiful when she was angry, her chest heaving, her cheeks flushed, her hands gripping her narrow, thin hips...

Focus! He berated himself. "Sango was worried you'd get lost out here. She was right. You would have. You obviously haven't improved your survival skills in all the time you've been away, Kagome. You thought far enough ahead to dress in period clothes, sort of... but you didn't completely think this all through, did you?"

Damn it, what was his problem!?

"Shippo, for God's sake, how many times must I say it? I came here to save Inuyasha! I can't control when the well dumps me out! Apparently it thought I was needed in this time, whether I agreed or not, and all I can do now to change it is go home, but I'm staying and trying to fix my mistake as much as I possibly can! Why are you brow-beating me over it? I said my goodbyes to you, and everyone else, and you said you understood why I left. What is your problem?"

Shippo dropped her bag. He wanted so badly to tell her why he was being so horrible, so short with her; he wanted to tell her that he loved her, and that he refused to be overlooked any longer, that he wanted her to consider him, to let him ease her memories of Inuyasha, and his demise. He wanted to be her Inuyasha.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She raised her brows, as if to say, Well? Spill it! But he could not. He remembered his promise to himself to let her choose him, and he realised he'd been doing a terrible job of convincing her to do so. In fact, he'd probably screwed the pooch altogether. Damn it!

Finally he turned away from her and picked up the bag again. "Nothing. Let's just go."

Unsatisfied, she dropped her arms to her sides. Did he just walk away from her?! That was it!

"Shippo, listen up-"

"Drop it, Kagome!" His tone brooked no argument, and his eyes were sad as he looked at her over his shoulder.

She frowned. "Fine."

She sulked. There was something wrong here, she knew it, but he wouldn't budge and inch about it. Just like Inuyasha, she thought, pouting. Stubborn jackass!

Shippo continued on, not letting her catch up, but remaining in the lead. His heart was sore about how he'd acted on this trip. He was hard at work thinking up ways to make it up to her and get their relationship back on the right track when the scent he was following suddenly changed. Apparently Sesshoumaru had left home again, and... he was coming straight for them!