Word Count: 297
Chapter 26: Defensive
Sesshoumaru had seen many orphans in his lifetime. He was guilty of creating them in many cases, but there was something about Shippou's situation that intrigued him. From the fox's explanation, he was fairly young when Kagome had took him in, but he was now clearly fully grown and powerful in his own rights, capable of surviving on his own and taking a mate and starting his own family. In spite of all of that, though, he still remained with her, showing no inclination of pursuing his own path.
"Do you feel obligated to stay with her?"
"I choose to stay with her," Shippou corrected Sesshoumaru sharply. "She wanted me to leave a long time ago, to find my own path and happiness, but…I'm happy with her."
Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed at the response. "You are wasting your life and potential."
It was Shippou's turn to narrow his eyes. "Did I ask for your opinion?" He gestured to Sesshoumaru's concealed form, looking just like a typical Japanese human man. "What potential am I not living up to in a world that has forced demons into hiding?" His tails twitched wildly behind him as his voice rose in anger. "At least here I don't have to hide myself. I am happy with her. You cannot possibly understand something like that when you have lived your life causing destruction in your path."
Sesshoumaru stiffened slightly, a tic that would have been lost on most creatures, but Shippou was far sharper than he let on. The trickster let out a low chuckle, his eyes darkening briefly.
"Don't underestimate me, Lord Sesshoumaru. I know who you are, perhaps even more than you realize." His wry smile melted away, returning to its usual mischievous merriment. "Now, would you like some of my dorayaki?"