"Which is why he should hand it over in the first place."

"But that's not fair to him."

"I ain't talking about what's fair, I'm talking about what won't get him killed."

The kokiri scowled at the direction of the conversation, and his neutral fairy mirrored the expression. The place they ended up staying at was an unexpected location. They had been told before that Impa had originally been from Kakariko, but not that her house worked as a makeshift Inn for travelers and others that might need it. That would have been nice to know before Miroku's "dark plague over your house" routine had been slapped back three times. As it was, two other guests besides the "traveling heroes" settled in, but seemed to be wide awake as well, so did not mind the heated debate going on in the back of the first floor. At least the mismatched group found two hearts to tide Link over until morning. Now there were only minor aches and injuries spotted over his body. Unfortunately, that did not help his mood, given the situation.

"If he's up against Naraku, it sure ain't gonna be a picnic for him." InuYasha scoffed. "Heck, even Shippou would be a better choice to carry it; at least he knows what we're up against."

Said child frowned. "And just what's that supposed to mean, InuYasha?"

"It means even your stupid little tricks would stand up better than his inexperience."

Even though the condescending demon terrified him deep down, Link still managed a glare. Navi flashed angrily.

"You can't just take it away from him," Kagome argued, "He still has the right to carry it. Right, Sango?"

All eyes turned expectantly to the demon slayer, but the support the young girl had hoped for was no where on her face.

"Actually, I find myself agreeing with InuYasha on this one." She admitted. "Not only are we up against Naraku, but he's now working with a new foe we don't understand. In this world, the stone is probably as important as the jewel shards. I'd feel better if you were the one carrying it, Kagome."

"Exactly," InuYasha smirked in satisfaction, not noticing Kagome stiffen nervously. "Actually, it makes sense since you're already carrying the jewel shard. Why not protect both at the same time, right…?" he trailed off as he noticed her nervous posture, and looked at her in confusion. "What?"

Now all the eyes looked curiously to the sweating girl. "Uh… about the jewel shard…"

"What is it Kagome?" Shippou wondered. "Is something wrong?"

"Well… I don't think they really work in this world." she concluded, laughing slightly from nerves.

"What?" came the source of her nerves. "What do you mean "don't really work"?"

"What do you mean, Kagome?" Sango asked in worry.

Miroku looked seriously to her. "Has something happened to the jewel-shard?"

"You might say that," she admitted, and reached for the cord around her neck, "Now don't freak out or anything, but…"

As soon as the little glass bottle came from under her blouse, Link and Navi could not figure out what was wrong. It was just a clear little piece of glass or quartz in the itty-bitty container. This thing was supposed to be as important as the stone?

"It's clear!" Shippou exclaimed.

"It looks like a regular little crystal." Sango mused.

"How long has it been like this?" InuYasha demanded.

"Um… I didn't really realize it until last night, but…" she looked shiftily away from him. "Probably since we got here."

"And you didn't tell us?" he demanded.

"Well, there was a lot going on at the time," she defended.

He growled in frustration as he sat back. "Damn it all. If the jewel shards don't work here, then what's the point of protecting 'em?"

"You shouldn't be all that surprised, InuYasha," Miroku pointed out, "considering all the other slight changes we've been noticing. It only makes sense that Midoriko's and the demon's souls would have no power here." -Link and Navi stared at each other. There were souls involved in this?- "At the moment, we should focus on what does work here. Namely, the Kokiri's Emerald."

Link's hands twitched. Two deku nuts, and at least thirty seeds left. Would they be enough to hold them at bay if he had to make a run for it? Hopefully. There was no way he was handing it over without a fight. The little fairy in brown glowed and jumped up to flutter almost protectively in front of him.

"I don't care what any of you say, he's not handing it over!" the fairy argued hotly. "The task was bestowed to him, and he'll be the one to carry it out."

"Now wait just a minute," Miroku raised one hand to gesture a halt to her anger, "I'm not suggesting he give it to anyone. If anything, we're the ones at fault here."

"But we're just trying to help," Shippou argued.

"Yes, but we're forgetting one important fact. The kokiri don't mature as regular humans. They have youth beyond that of even a demon's."

"That's right," Sango's eyes widened in realization. "They remain as children in their appearance. They don't age."

"But they also don't leave the forest," Kagome remembered, "They don't go outside."

"Precisely." Miroku nodded. "He may actually be much older than any of us, for all we know." He did not notice Link glancing curiously at Navi, and her hushing him softly in turn. "But if this is the first time he's traveled out into the land, it's hardly surprising that he'd have trouble. After all, he does have a sword and a shield." And his eyes shiftily slid to his attentive friend. "Not to mention he managed to outsmart InuYasha at one point."

Pink flared across fearsome half-demon's cheeks at a couple of traitorous snickers snuck out at his expense. An embarrassed scowl was his automatic response.

"I'm not about to go an' attack a little kid just for fun." he defended.

"Oh yeah?" Shippou challenged. "How come you always pick on me, then?"

"Keh, you're hardly a little kid. You jus' look like a little brat. At least the kid's braver than you are."

"Hey! Is that a challenge?" He jumped up, pin wheeling his arms in an attempt to strike, but InuYasha's hand was a simple enough barrier to keep him at bay. "C'mon, put 'em up, I'll show you!"

"My point exactly," Miroku smiled, successfully breaking another argument. "Given time, I'm sure he'll become quite proficient in defending the stone. And the Goron's Ruby and Zora's Sapphire, once we acquire them."

"That's right!" Navi popped up from Link's shoulder with a hint of pride. "At least one of you sees reason. He managed to even slay Queen Gohma all by himself, and that's no easy feat. This boy is the best swordsman among the Kokiri, and given time, he'll be the best in Hyrule. He's still learning, but I know he'll be great someday."

Link flushed from the praise, embarrassed and not used to it, while several other eyes stared at the little fairy. Sango looked in surprise at the tiny woman's conviction.

"You seem to have quite the confidence in him."

"If the Great Deku Tree believed in him, then so do I!"

"Keh, believe in him all you want," InuYasha scoffed. "Just don't say I didn't warn ya when worst comes to worst."

Kagome tapped her chin and looked up in thought. "Who is Queen Gohma anyway?"

""Who", you ask?" Navi brought herself up to her impressive height of two full inches. "Why, only the fiercest arachnids in all of Hyrule! She was an evil monster, sent as a curse to the gaurdian, the Great Deku Tree. Those tektites were nothing in comparison! Gohma was big- enormous- as big as this room!" She tried to demonstrate by spreading her hands, though one: they were not visible, and two: they could not go that wide in the first place. "But Link took her down; and even her hatchlings like they were nothing."

Link could not help but grin at the memory. Bruised, scraped, fatigued, but triumphant. That feeling of awe and accomplishment and pride was probably one of the greatest moments of his short life. He nodded in agreement as he looked out to everyone expectantly.

"Huh." Sango blinked. "That would be impressive if it were true."

Shippou shrugged, and leaned back, crossing his hands behind his head. "We've battled demons that big plenty of times without even breaking a sweat."

Link's eyes went big as his apprehension rose. That easily? Were they really that strong?

"Just who was battling those demons, Shippou?" InuYasha asked.

"Big as the room, huh?" Kagome tried to imagine it, but nothing she had seen of him to so far made her think he was capable of such a feat. Maybe it was a bit of a tall-tale?

Miroku seemed to think the same thing, but humored him. "That is quite impressive. Perhaps you'll be able to hold your own after all."

"He will." Navi assured. "You'll see."

The lights went out, everyone settled, but one certain troubled soul remained awake. Huddled off to the corner as the others lay, blue eyes stared solemnly at his boots as his mind tried to grapple with the situation. How could he prove himself? There had to be a way to go up against this Naraku person, but could he? What if he was even stronger than Gohma?

Link, thou art courageous…

He hugged himself tighter. His eyes wandered to where the fiercest of the fighters sat, his arms and legs crossed in a casual posture, with his mysterious sword held against his breastbone. His eyes hooded as they traveled over to the form of the beautiful and deceptively lithe Sango.

Actually, I find myself agreeing with InuYasha on this one.

His hands fisted against his knees. Neither of them thought highly of him. Even Shippou was better equipped for this than he was. Darn it, this could not be right. The Deku Tree trusted him with this.

I knew…

A little tap on his cheek made him turn to Navi's neutral form on his shoulder, and he followed her pointing finger to the window. They had discussed and argued so much, that night was already over. Gray tinted the horizon and he glanced quickly at all the other bodies in turn. They were strong, but he would have to get stronger.

He knew one thing he could do to start.

Very carefully, he put both hands on the ground, and slowly raised himself up, trying to remain as quiet as possible. As soon as he stood, A pair of suspicious golden yellow snapped open to peer at him. Link froze, caught in his act.

Then Shippou sat up and gave him a heart attack.

"It's no good! I can't sleep at all!"

Kagome sighed as she swung up as well. "It's no good. It's too soon for me."

Sango rose, with Kilala mewing once before arching into a standing position. Miroku stretched briefly from the stiffness.

"Well, time does pass different here than what we're used to. It will probably take several of this world's days to equal one of our own."

"Great!" Shippou hopped onto his fox feet. "Let's get going then."

"But, are you gonna be all right, Link?" Kagome asked. "You still have to sleep, don't you?"

"The forest's energy is still fueling him." Navi explained briefly. "He'll be fine for a while."

"That's good then," Sango picked up her massive weapon and rose to her own two feet. "That means we can head out now and save time."

"Finally," came the exasperated comment from a certain non-too-happy half-demon.

The rest agreed. Link silently thanked the turn of events. It seemed to distract InuYasha enough not to comment on his little escape attempt. Except that meant now he would have to pause everyone's attempt to get going more. Just their imagined impatience made him nervous. He pushed his fingers together nervously as he thought of what he wanted to do and what he needed to do.

"Link?" Navi murmured. "What's wrong?"

Now he was going to have to explain. Rats.

It took a little while, but he finally plucked up the courage to confront them before they reached the gate. He marched up, and pulled on InuYasha's sleeve. The man turned to him in question.

"What?"

Link took a breath, and declared as loud as he could past his dread:

"I have to g-go!"

There was a stunned silence as the comment made itself apparent, and Link mentally cursed his stutter. Miroku leaned in around InuYasha.

"Was that a voice I just heard?"

"I think it was," Sango marveled.

Shippou jumped up on Kagome's shoulder and peered down at the boy. "He speaks…" he murmured.

InuYasha just stared down at him, a little bewildered to the comment.

"Why are you telling me? We're already heading up the mountain, what more do you want?"

Navi fluttered a little. "Actually, even I don't know. What are you trying to say, Link?"

Oh no, they wanted him to say more? His mouth opened in an attempt to speak, but all the eyes expectantly on him made his bravado waver. Then his eyes betrayed him and flickered to Sango's waiting face, and the bravado promptly shriveled and died. In defeat, he reached back to unhook his shield and brought it out in front to attempt an explanation. The others stared down at it.

"The…" Kagome tried first. "Shield?"

Link nodded. Navi lowered a moment in a sigh.

"Don't tell me, that guard's comment about the shield is getting to you, right? Don't listen to him, you don't need another one. This one is perfectly fine."

"So that's what this was about," InuYasha muttered. "An upgrade."

Reinforcing his determination, he nodded, and stared up, silently daring him to try to stop him.

"Fine, just hurry up and come back."

…Well that was easy. With a pleasantly surprised heart, he turned about on his heel to stroll back to the entrance of the village. Yes, of course, InuYasha must have sensed the determination in him, and did not want to fight back. He nodded to himself in reassurance. And once he got back with a bigger, stronger shield, maybe even Sango would take him seriously.

"We could take Kirara," Said woman offered. "Since only a few of us will needs to go. It should only take a few minutes."

Then he stopped, and looked back confusedly. He had only gone a few steps anyway. But they were talking about coming with him? That wasn't what he had wanted. The flying ball of light looked at Sango a moment, before fluttering down to the two-tailed kitten below.

"So, you're gonna help us, huh?"

The kitten mewed in response, her furry face the perfect picture of cheer.

"She's a reliable mode of transportation," Miroku assured.

"Uh-huh." The response was less than convinced. Even Link seemed skeptical. He doubted he would even be able to balance on her. She came back up. "Well, whatever. Who's coming with us, then?"

"I vote InuYasha!" Kagome cheered with her hand up, and Link's heart nearly stopped.

"Why should I go?"

"Well, it's dangerous out there. He needs someone around who can protect him if monsters show up." She said as a matter-of-fact, wagging her finger a bit too cheerily. "Besides, I think someone looks up to you…" she hinted.

"What are you talking about?"

She looked up innocently. "He did seem to want your approval an awful lot…"

Link blinked, completely confused. Who were they talking about?"

"Tch, you're jus' tryin' to shove it off on me so you don't have to go."

She laughed, a bit too forcefully as she waved him off. "Oh come on InuYasha, you have such little faith in me."

"Keh."

"Oh come now, InuYasha," Miroku encouragingly put a hand on his shoulder, "I think this will be a good experience for you. After all, we will all be traveling together for a while. This will be your chance to bond with the boy."

"Hey, don't you take her side too, monk."

"No, he's right," Sango popped in helpfully. "I think it's a great idea."

"Now you're all against me?" he said indignantly. "I never agreed to this."

"Aw c'mon," Shippou joined in, "you're just gonna leave him to fend for himself? What if something happened to him?" He sighed and shook his head. "It would all be because you wouldn't go with him."

And as the familiar group bickered good naturedly, Link felt his stomach churn in unease. Of all the people that had to accompany him, they wanted to choose him? He carefully took a few steps back, attempting to sneak out and travel by himself without them noticing.

"Now InuYasha…"

"…InuYasha…"

"Come on, InuYasha…"

"Alright, fine, I'll do it!" he finally snapped, and stomped away, crossing his arms. "C'mon, Kilala, looks like we're stuck together."

Kagome stopped as an idea struck her. "Hey Shippou, why don't you go with them?"

"Who, me?"

"You and Link would probably get along pretty well."

The little demon turned to the pair, only to stare at a young Link silently pleading for him to do just that. His blue eyes were wide, and sparkled with hope, and his child's hands were clasped together in the universal gesture for pleading. Shippou considered it a second, before huffing, and turning away.

"No, that's okay, I think I'll stay."

And just like that, his hope was brutally shattered into unattainable pieces. They were only spread further when he felt a clawed hand grab a hold of his kokiri tunic collar.

"Quit dawdlin', we're gonna be back by dark if we keeping stalling."

Link held out his hand in one last attempt at pleading as he was dragged on his heels away from the waving companions.

"Have fun, you two!" Kagome called out and waved after them.

"Well, then, shall we get started?" Miroku asked the group. "The least we can do is gather any last minute travel necessities. Maybe find some food that would actually be to our liking."

"Yep!" Shippou puffed out his chest and began his strut to the heart of the village. "They'll be fine, so we ought to get started so we'll be ready when they come back."

"You're awful cheerful, Shippou," Sango noted as they came up behind him.

"Yeah, well, I guess I'm just excited to be in a new place like this. It'll be a chance to test out my skills as a demon."

Briefly he had a memorable image of Mina (or, Princess Zelda, as it was revealed) clutching onto Link's hand, with said boy in green so obviously enjoying the contact. It flashed through his mind, quickly followed by the memory of Link's horror when they suggested InuYasha to go with him. He snickered, despite himself.

"Yep, a new adventure indeed."

The other's glanced at each other curiously as he threw back his head in laughter.

A shame the other young one of the group could not find similar humor.

"Hey, quit man-handling him, you brute!" Navi demanded.

"If the kid'll walk on his own, fine by me."

The release on the green fabric let Link know just a bit too late how quickly he meant. He lost his balance and fell backwards onto the ground, grunting in time with his behind thumping against the hard ground. For a moment he nursed his bruised tailbone, remaining at the midway point between the tree in the center of the plaza plain and the gate entrance before he looked up in time to see InuYasha's white hair and red clothes disappearing through the wood. The boy stood and followed the quickly disappearing demon, and hurried into a jog to catch up, Navi following about in time. Running was the focus until they reached the stairs and hurried down to the feild. Link had to jump at the flare of a huge bout of swirling flames bursting in front of InuYasha. He drew his sword quickly and stepped back from the searing heat.

"What is that?" Navi called out over the fire.

"Relax," InuYasha looked back to them, "It's just Kilala."

And the flames dispersed to show a giant, saber toothed cat, with a creamy fur coat, and red eyes and two swishing tails.

"Ki…lala?"

Navi hovered over uncertainly, and Kilala meowed in cheery greeting. Except now she was so big, with huge teeth, it came out as more of a roar. Navi squeaked and zoomed back to Link.

"Relax, she won't bite." He commented, irritated. "What are you so surprised about? You saw her last night during the fight."

"Um, actually, we were a bit distracted for that." Navi admitted.

The boy, for his part, found himself very curious. Stepping closer to the enlarged cat, he raised the hand that was holding up the shield. The cat demon blinked at the hand, before it got close enough, and she ducked her head under it and nudged it up in urging. The fur was long and very soft to the touch. Link smiled and obliged in petting the overgrown creature, earning a sigh of contentment. After sheathing his sword, he brought his second hand up to feel at her velvety fur and pet the other side of her head, and she licked along his cheek and the side of his forehead. He giggled in surprise, and wiped at his face, before throwing his arms around the cottony neck and burying his face in the fur. She was so warm, and soft, and comfy…

"Oi, you comin' or what?"

Link stiffened and backed away guiltily, blushing hotly. He was supposed to be proving himself, not getting carried away. He nodded quickly and re-hooked his shield onto his baldric. InuYasha sat cross legged on the back of their temporary transportation as he came around, and the boy noticed that the man still looked angry. He tried not to look at him too long, thinking he might incur some sort of wrath, and focused instead on the task of jumping, trying to debate whether to go in front of, or behind the demon.

"Up front, where I can see you."

To be honest, Link wasn't sure he liked the way those words sounded. They sounded like he was in trouble, but he was not about to argue. In front of InuYasha seemed easiest to hold onto and had the most room anyway, so Link figured "what the heck?" and focused on that. Besides, he did not want to seem afraid, of all things. He managed to jump up enough to pull his chest onto the bony shoulders. It was a moment's struggle, but he managed to hoist himself up and turn to settle comfortably on the cat's back, his feet dangling on either side.

"Let's go, Kilala."

And Link yelped as the demon cat lunged upward and took off into the sky.

The woman was a lovely vision. Miroku had to admit that the people here of this world were very different than uniform black hair and brown eyes he was so used to, but the women here were just as beautiful. Such as this slender red-head over here. Her cropped hair swished about her long ears like the blue skirt around her ankles, and shone in the sunlight as she searched frantically for some lost item. Even her simple garb was not enough to hide her lovely figure from his expert eyes.

"Miss…"

The girl turned at the smooth, velvety voice, wide blue eyes frantic with worry. Miroku made sure his pace was slow but deliberate as he neared her and the empty fenced pen she stood close to.

"You seem to be looking for someone."

"I, yes, well, I've lost something very important, and I'm not sure what to do."

Engaged by her plea, he grasped her hands and held them between his own, using his dark eyes to capture her surprised blue orbs.

"There is nothing more heart wrenching to me than a maiden in distress. Please, allow this humble monk to assist you in any way he can."

The woman, for her part, was a little dazed. Soft pastel rainbow clouds and bubbles had engulfed them both, sending her into a minor panic. What on earth was this?

"I… thank you… Mr. Monk." she dropped her hands, and sighed with relief as the strange bubbles vanished. She brightened as she realized his words. "Will you really help me?"

"Of course," he answered smoothly. "I could never leave such a beautiful woman alone to fend for herself."

"Oh, thank you!" and this time she was the one to grasp his hand. "Then you can be the one to search for them and bring them here."

"Them?"

"Miroku…"

An ominous chill vibrated up the man's spine as a certain woman's voice slithered out at him.

"Just what are you doing?" Sango asked suspiciously.

The man turned to her and smiled, as he laughed, though it was obviously strained. "Why nothing, Sango. This young lady here was just asking me to… uh…" It was only until that moment he realized that he had no idea what trouble the girl was in.

The girl took over, too pleased and excited to notice the sudden tension. "He's going to help me find my cuccos!"

The man blinked and looked at her a bit confusedly. "Cuccos?"

The woman nodded, and dropped his hands to step away. "All but one of them escaped. But I'm allergic, so I can't touch them to bring them back. They give me goosebumps. So I'm very glad you've agreed to help me."

Just what were cuccos? Both Miroku and Sango looked to the fenced pen next to the woman to see the stout, white feathered bird clucking inside the fence. A chicken.

"So I…" the humble, yet proud monk turned slowly to the woman. "Have to… collect them?"

The woman nodded and clapped her hands together, "I'm sure it won't be any trouble. They're usually very well behaved."

Sango smirked benevolently to him. "Well, this is very kind of you, Miroku. I'm sure this will be an easy task for a humble monk, such as yourself."

"Sango… you won't accompany me?" he practically begged.

"I'll wait here," Sango assured, and sat on the wood beam of the fence, "And keep count."

"Oh, thank you, miss," the woman piped in. "You are very kind as well. There were seven lost."

"Better get going then," Sango shooed him away, "And get them all before Link and InuYasha come back."

Miroku sighed dejectedly, seeing that he had lost this fight. "Yes, Sango," he conceded, and turned to begin on his task.

As it turned out, Sanog was right, it had only taken a few minutes. Blue light flickered out from under Link's hat, and Navi circled about, and Link frowned in actual disappointment. After the initial terror, he wished the ride had lasted longer.

"That was fast."

"Hurry up, we wanna get this shield or not?"

An irritated jingle escaped the fairy as she snapped. "We're coming. Jeez, what's with this guy? Who made him boss?"

Link could not answer as he swung a leg around and slid off of the furry back. About two steps away Kirara transformed back into her tiny kitten form, earning a jump from Link and a squeak from Navi as the fire sprung up again. Kirara pitter-pattered across the wood as she bounded for InuYasha, and Link quickly went into a jog to catch up again.

"What's Miroku doing?" Shippou tilted his head from his perch on Kagome's shoulder.

"I'm not sure." Kagome admitted, and tilted her head the opposite direction. "It looks like he's trying to coax that chicken."

The pair watched in interest as the monk jingled his staff at the feathered bird on the side of a building. The chicken was hopping about, attempting to move around the man, and Miroku used his staff as a barrier to keep the bird at bay, until he approached close enough to finally make a grab for it. A shame that it slipped under his hands and flapped away.

"No!" he cried in distress, and spotted it heading toward Kagome and Shippou. "Don't let it get away!"

The pair glanced down at the bird flap-hopping to them, and for whatever reason, Kagome decided to assist and attempt to trap the bird. Her slower and calmer movements had the bird more at ease, and she picked it up easily, though it made quite the ruffled ruckus when she did. She squeaked and held it away from her as feathers went flying.

"Ah, don't worry, he won't peck at you," Miroku assured, even as he took it away from her. He also held it away from his body as the short wings flapped frantically. "Thank you. This one was giving me trouble."

"Uh, Miroku," Kagome finally asked and picked out a few feathers from her clothes, "What're you doing?"

"Ah, I just caught the third cucco, and now I'm taking it back to the pen."

The pair blinked, and Shippou asked. "What's a cucco? That chicken thing?"

"Yes, I need four more. Ah, perhaps you two could help me?"

"Why are you doing this in the first place, Miroku?" Kagome asked. "We need to get ready before the others come back."

"Well, ah," he looked a smidgen uncomfortable, "I already agreed I would help the poor woman, and I'm not a man to go back on my word."

"Woman? You mean you're getting away with that?" Shippou asked in surprise. "Where's Sango?"

"She's… ah," he cleared his throat, "with her, helping to keep track."

Of you, the pair mentally finished.

"You probably did something to deserve it." Shippou jabbed.

"I did nothing of the sort," he insisted, and fumbled with the bird as it almost escaped from his clutches.

The two sighed at the turn of events, but accepted their fate. "Right. Okay then, Miroku, we'll help you."

The relief on the monk's face was immense. "Thank you both. I'm sure with us working together, we'll be finished in no time."

The cuccoo in his hand clucked indifferently in agreement.

"But you're not listening!" Navi argued.

"Don't need to. This ain't bartering. Either ya got the eighty, or ya don't, I won't go lower. I'm tryin' to run a business. I can't go giving away my merchandise for free."

"We don't want you to give it away. We're not regular customers, see? I mean, we heard from-"

"Don't care where ya heard about us, I just need the money as much as you need that shield. That's how he market works."

"We only have about fifty or so."

"No can do, it's way too low. What if word got out I gave you special treatment? Then I'd be outta business."

"But we're-"

A clawed hand smacking the wood counter with an audible thud stopped both of the heated combatants.

"Look," InuYasha seethed, "I don't give a damn about yer business." he pointed to the merchandise in question, "All I know is that we need that shield. Just take the kid's money and let us go."

"Like hell I am." The burly shopkeeper scowled. "A price is a price, buddy, take it or leave it."

"The damn guard said you could give us a discount, now give it to us!"

"The guard? Ya mean from Death Mountain?" The hearty man let out a laugh. "Well, why didn't ya say so? In that case, that changes everything."

Link's face brightened in hope.

"I'll just make it seventy then. Ought to do it."

His face fell again.

"Why don'tcha jus' get lost, and get the money before trying this stunt?" the shopkeeper complained.

"I'd like to, but I need that stupid thing, and I did not come all the way back here just to get told to my face I couldn't actually get it. Take the fifty."

As a haggling argument commenced, Link stepped back, kicking the counter base briefly in embarrassment. How stupid did this sound? Coming all this way, and needing to be turned away because his pouch was too small. Just his luck. He looked desperately to the great metal shield hanging tauntingly from the top shelf. It was just so close, and yet so far. He could reach over and touch it, yet it was so far out of his reach. How tempting it was to just stroll around the counter and reach up top to get it. And he turned to look fully at he metal shield gleaming in the shop light, as he thought of how he would have to face the others and tell them that he had not managed to get it. He looked back at the shop keeper still arguing with the half demon, glanced at the shield, and looked at the pair again. Navi sighed.

"C'mon, let's leave." she murmured. "This isn't worth it. Let's just go back and work with-" he ducked under the rope- "Link!"

InuYasha, for his part, caught the boy ducking under the barrier rope out of the corner of his eye, though the glance was too quick for the shop keeper to notice. Understanding the emergency, he changed his battle plan. He relaxed his aggressive posture, and leaned back instead, crossing his arms and looking at the man more seriously.

"Alright, fine, you won't lower it that much. How about I throw in ten for the kid's sake and raise it to sixty instead?"

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" the man leered. "The answer is still no, I won't go lower than seventy rupees."

"So you want the kid to owe me twenty? Jeez, you're not just greedy, you're heartless too."

"Look, pal…"

Link glanced behind him, even as he rose to his tip-toes and reached his hands up. He looked at the man one more time before finally grabbing the metal edges and quickly bringing it down. As quietly as he could, he stretched his legs out to lunge around the counter as he sauntered out to the shop, holding the huge thing in front as he tried to sneak away.

InuYasha waited until his hearing told him that the kid really was out of the shop, before huffing.

"Alright, I see how it is." he turned and stalked out of the shop, "I'll just have to take my business elsewhere."

"Good luck," the man scoffed.

The shopkeeper watched as the strange looking young man left before resting on the counter in aggravated exhaustion. What was with these people? Didn't a set price mean anything to them? Like he would give away such fine craftsmanship for…

He had turned to glance at the shield in question, only to find empty space.

"THIEVES!"

InuYasha broke into a run to catch up with Link.

"WAH! Kagome!" Shippou cried from the heavens. "Help, it's gonna take me away and eat me!"

"Shippou!" The poor protective girl's eyes widened in shock and alarm when she spotted him.

The tiny demon kicked his little fox feet in a panic as he floated high above the floor. He held on for dear life onto the brown cucco flying off over the rooftops. He had just meant to jump down because it was quicker, not because he wanted the thing to carry him away. The sight terrified him so much he gave up on looking over his predicament and kept his eyes firmly shut as he cried out.

"I don't wanna die!" the boy wailed. "Someone get me down!"

"Wait, Shippou!" Kagome called up to him. "You're already coming down."

"Huh?"

The wide teary eyes opened and looked down to notice that the ground did actually look like it was coming closer, though certainly not from lack of effort from the determined cuccoo.

"Just hold on, and you'll come down," Kagome soothed.

Shippou nodded, calmed a bit by the discovery. He waited calmly until he finally landed, though it ended up being on a roof.

"Now, you can just toss it down to me and climb down," Kagome assured.

Though Shippou looked up, and found that he could see Sango and that one lady leaning against the pen. He looked up to the pair, to the cuccoo, to the pair, and back to the cuccoo, and smiled mischievously.

"That's okay Kagome, I can handle it from here."

The tiny demon raised the bird that was practically the same size as him, including the feathers, above his head and turned in the direction of the fence behind the house. He trotted off for a head start, and jumped off the roof top. The cuccoo flapped wildly again, keeping it's impromtu passenger airborne with it as he chuckled joyously at the newly discovered mode of transportation.

Link fidgeted with the newly filched shield on the field on the other side of Hyrule's bridge. He looked down at the strap he had to hold across his chest, and frowned as he could not get it on straight. It was just so big. Kirara binked, and mewed at the sight. With a curious light, Navi circled about.

"It looks good on you," she commented. "You look sharper already: A real emissary!" She bonked him on the head. "But what you did was stupid! What would Saria say? Oooh, shame, shame on you!"

Link rubbed his head idly and whistled while he glanced away from her. She did not need to know.

"Kilala!"

Link spun at the voice as Kilala took the hint, and burst into flame. She roared as InuYasha grabbed a hold of the back of Link's collar, and shoved him onto the cat's back.

"Thieves! Stealers of merchandise!"

"You mean they caught you?" Navi muttered.

"I got out, didn't I?"

A moment later InuYasha was already on Kirara's back, and the demon-cat jumped airborne just before the man with a trail of guards reached them. The small kokiri finally straightened himself out and glanced down worriedly at the angry man and guards below, but turned his attention at the sound of InuYasha's voice.

"Whatever you do, don't tell anyone about this, especially not the monk." The older youth warned the boy. He grunted before looking away. "Otherwise, I'll never hear the end of it."

Link nodded quickly to appease him. Of course, the stern and moral man probably would never approve of such deceitful behavior.

"You!" Navi huffed. "You shouldn't be endorsing this! Now he's going to have bad influences thanks to you."

"Hey, we got the shield, didn't we? Lay off." He crossed his arms and scoffed as his eyes looked to the entrance of Kakariko. "Besides, if something like this rattles you, ya probably won't last long in Miroku's company."

Navi was silent as the statement raised her suspicions. "Now that you mention it, I should have known this sort of thing would happen, after that routine last night. Just what else does Miroku do?"

"You're better off not knowing."

Link ignored them for the sake of looking down at the scenery below. The highest he had ever been was the top ledge just before the Lost Wood's entrance, or on the bridges over the town, but this was completely different actually seeing it all move under you. Unfortunately, it all had to come to an end, though Link promised himself one day he would ask to ride Kirara again. Now was the time to focus on getting to Death Mountain, so he hurried up the steps with InuYasha not far behind. When they actually arrived at the village entrance, they were just a little more than concerned. Both of the errand boys remained very still as they took in the scene before them. InuYasha and Link's eyes were wide and bewildered. Though Navi's eyes were not visible, it could be correctly assumed they were similar.

"Little cuccoo!" Shippou called out from his cupped hands, before kneeling down and lifting a rock to look under it.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Miroku yelled from behind his hand, not noticing the little feathers sticking to his long black and violet robes. A squawking bird flapped through with a desperate Kagome chasing after it, though Miroku and Shippou did not seem phased by the sight and continued with their searching.

"Hey," InuYasha finally ventured, though his wariness was apparent, "would someone mind tellin' me just what the heck is going on?"

"We have to find the final cuccoo," Shippou insisted, though didn't look at them. "It's really hard, we've searched everywhere."

"We know it's somewhere around here, because we can hear it." Miroku elaborated. "But we can't just leave the woman to find it herself, because she can't actually touch them."

Kagome huffed as she finally caught a hold of the jumping bird in front of her, and struck by a moment of brilliance, straightened from her crouch and pleaded before the demon.

"Please, InuYasha, help us out? Use your nose to find the cuccoo."

The youth blinked in confusion. "Looking for what now?"

"The cuccoo. It's just like this one," she held up the obnoxiously squawking bird ruffling feathers all over the place. "But it might be a different color."

He frowned. "Why do I wanna look for some dumb bird?"

Shippou used this time to come up beside Kagome and make the point. " 'Cause if you don't, we'll never be able to leave. Miroku can't do anything until he finishes, Sango said."

"Keh, I'm fine leaving you all behind after ya dumped me with babysitting. What do I care?"

"I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart!" the monk insisted.

"Man," he huffed, and rubbed his head. "I get back from one errand and you all try to send me on another one."

"Please, InuYasha?" Kagome implored.

As the three were getting into yet another back and forth conversation of persuasion, Navi jingled and fluttered near a wood crate on the side of a house directly near the entrance. Link noticed when she flashed green for a moment, and hurried to arrive.

"There's something behind there," she explained as she flew about him. "I can hear noise coming from behind there."

Link looked about curiously, though could not really see through any cracks, or the like, so instead went to pull on it. It did not have good purchase, and it was very ingrained into the dirt and the walls it nestled against, so that endeavor did not last long. The resourceful boy studied the box a moment, and knocked on the wood before nodding to himself in conclusion, and taking a few steps back. He ran and fell into a roll to head butt into the wood. It splintered apart on impact, and a revealed cuccoo clucked and looked about itself at it's new freedom. The others turned at the loud thunk, and three pairs of eyes brightened.

"Link found it!" Shippou's voice called.

"Don't let it get away!" Miroku warned.

Link looked back and forth before standing, and crouching down to scoop up the animal. He held it above his head and looked at them as Shippou jumped and Kagome cheered.

"Yay, you found it!" the girl rejoiced.

Miroku nodded appreciatively. "We are very grateful."

InuYasha scoffed. "I can't believe you're all getting so excited over one stupid bird."

"Come on," Kagome took to leading him to the needed goal. "We can put the little guys back in and be on our way."

It was practically a parade. Kagome lead the way, with a mildly bemused Link in tow, with a happy Shippou and relieved Miroku following behind. InuYasha and Kirara brought up the rear with a little less enthusiasm, though did not stray behind.

"We found it!" Kagome greeted and waved as they approached.

The Cucco Lady brightened. "You did? Really?"

Sango smiled at the lot of them as they approached. "Bring them in then, and we can get going."

InuYasha stared dryly at the relaxed woman. "You seem to be enjoying yourself lazing about there, Sango."

She looked away and said innocently, "I'm just enjoying my day and making sure the cuccos don't escape." She smiled as her beloved kitten companion trotted up to her, and leaped up into her arms. "Hello, Kilala. Did you enjoy your trip?"

Kagome dropped her bird in first, and Link strolled up, and tossed the cucco into the fenced pen. The young woman finally beamed and bowed to the boy.

"Oh thank you so much for all your hard work."

Shippou blinked, and his eagerness faded. "But, he didn't do anything."

The woman did not hear him. "I know it's not much, but please take this. It's fine glass, and should be useful to you. Please take good care of it."

And a little bottle that the woman just so happened to have tucked into the pocket of her skirt found itself hovering above Link's hands, with its own happy tune. He turned to show off his treasure and Navi jingled joyously. "You've received an empty bottle! You can store lots of things in it, and use them for later."

This time the whole group was present to witness it, and they all stared.

"What was that?" Kagome could not help but ask. "I meant to ask last night, but kind of got concerned with other things…"

"So I didn't imagine it the first time," Sango murmured to herself.

Shippou frowned, despite himself. "How come he gets something? We're the ones that caught them all."

"Oh, I know," the woman admitted, and she grew uneasy. "You've all helped me so much. I wish there was more I could do."

"Some rupees would be nice," he suggested nonchalantly.

"Shippou!" Kagome chided in horror.

"Oh no, please," the woman chirped. "It's the least I could do. You've all been working all day, you deserve something too. Please, take this."

She handed over a glittering red gem, and Shippou whooped and held it up with glee.

"All right, I got a rupee!"

He examined the shimmering currency with curiosity while InuYasha slowly cringed away. His brow twitched. That move was far too similar to Link's for his liking.

"That's it, the second he gets music to play for him… I'll put him out of your misery myself."


Alright, net chap. I know, still no real plot development here. Blame it on InuYasha. That show NEVER moves quick enough. XD On the bright side, I have all the little items out of the way for Kakariko, so they don't have to stick around later.

Anyway, sorry this took so long, but I do want to say something, because unfortunately, the last two reviews I've gotten had the same issue, and I have to say it: I warned you before that this would not be my focus. My mind and heart are mainly focused on my other long-running piece of fanfiction. You ask when the next chapter will be up, and I have to answer: When I'm done with the other one. I switch between fics for updates, and unfortunately for you, the other one takes longer to write. What time I do spend writing, is first and foremost on that one.

The good news is, recently I got a really awesome idea for the final battle and started up the first rough draft. I promise you, it will be epic. I doubt that will have much effect now, but I digress.

I appreciate the reviews, but if you're going to waste it on "Update, I'm getting impatient" don't bother. I'll update when I update. If you want to encourage me, say that you enjoyed it, or tell me why you thought it was good. It will get me thinking about it again, instead of just rolling my eyes in annoyance and going back to my pocky.

For those of you that understand: Thank you. Your patience is appreciated.