Kouga frowned at Kagome's furrowed brow. It was caused by one of her less favorable characteristics. Impatience-and she was, highly.

They had been chasing a jewel-their first jewel-for over a day now. But where the expert trackers had never had trouble before, this time was different. They could barely track it, at all. Kouga believed it must be a demon, as fast as or faster than him, since Kouga's nose only ever picked up the faintest traces. Kagome admitted, even with her power stretched to capacity, she could barely keep him within her senses. His demonic aura and the jewels aura had been almost impossible to keep track of. She was starting to worry they would lose it.

Again, he glanced at her and still, she frowned.

"Cut it out Kags. You're gonna give yourself wrinkles."

She barely acknowledged he'd spoken, and went right back to concentrating.

"I'm sure we'll catch up to it. Chill out."

She knew he thought their lack of progress was what marred her expression, and she let him think it. It was the way the jewel seemed to, sporadically, change position, in sync with the demons faint aura. She had no idea what manner of beast awaited them. And it would be her first time using her new techniques since the cats.

Would Kouga even allow her to fight? Could they even take such a mysteriously powerful creature?

It almost seemed impossible, its movements, even for a demon. It seemed-

"Magical." She whispered.

But Kouga never noticed the uttered word, and Kagome all but forgot it when the wolf suddenly skidded to an abrupt stop. It was so unexpected, Kagome lost focus entirely.

It was clear Kouga had sensed something. He was scenting.

She shifted on his back, indicating she wanted down, and the wolf complied quietly.

"What is it?"

If he heard her question he ignored it, as he tiptoed away.

She stayed rooted to the spot as he disappeared into the brush and quickly focused, stretching her senses as quick as possible to the max.

There it was. The demon they'd been chasing. It had stopped and Kouga had noticed instantly.

Had it noticed them? Is that why it suddenly stopped?

She focused harder and noted that the demon didn't feel malevolent. She just couldn't say its peaceful aura would last once it felt the shard it possessed was about to be taken.

She realized she shouldn't be waiting back. She should be going with him. He was safer that way.

Even so, she waited.

Minutes stretched on as she did, her attention focused solely on the demonic aura of Kouga getting farther away, and nearer the unfamiliar aura of the unknown demon with the shard. It was much clearer now. Detectable, where before it was erratic and barely detectable. It was, as herself, still.

For a long time it stayed that way, so when it suddenly was moving toward her at a dizzying pace, she nearly lost her footing as she moved backward. She could still feel Kouga. He was also on his way back but not nearly as fast as the shard and its host.

Was it actually faster than Kouga? It was improbable. Only one other demon was. Sesshomaru.

She didn't dare believe it was he who was almost upon her.

The crunching of leaves told of its proximity, and for a moment she felt afraid. She recalled her last fight with a demon. Recalled her powers and her strength and the dead, burned faces of the cats shed killed.

Her lack of control.

She reigned in her fear and knew she would not make the same mistake. She would only kill him if she had to. The crunching grew louder and she lowered hands from their offensive position. As she started her formation of a barrier, the stranger broke the treeline and she was met by teal eyes from her past.

The barrier dropped, and her eyes widened with disbelief.

The familiar creature brought up a small clawed hand to brush at his copper colored head, knocking leaves loose before he grinned widely at her.

"Long time no see Kagome."

Stammering his name was all she could manage. The sound of his changing voice made its way into her ears first. She felt her heart swell.

He was the best thing she had seen in two years.

He was different in appearance-he had grown to at least four feet. Gone was the fluffy tail, and hair, and chubby cheeks, but he was the same. He was still Shippo. The mischievous twinkle in his eye, remained.

She took a step toward him and he spoke again.

"You always did keep the worst company."

His joke surprised her, but she recovered.

"I never noticed!" She choked out, gripping him in a tight hug.

His warm, skinny arms held her back tightly.

"What is it with you and canines?" He asked, his voice muffled by the kimono he was smashed into.

She let out a quiet laugh and pulled him away for further inspection. She ran her eyes down his form and he responded almost dutifully, straightening his spine and standing still for her inspection. He was grinning proudly when she met his eyes again.

"And just how tall are you?"

His grin somehow grew and his lips pulled back to expose his long sharp teeth.

"Tall enough to take care of myself now. And you for that matter."

She felt stupid that she hadn't thought it odd he was alone. She had been shocked and delighted to see him, but he was one of them. If they were nearby, couldn't he be?

Nervous panic clawed up her skin. He implied he was taking care of himself, but she had to be sure. She looked away from him to focus her powers outward. No sign of any other demonic presence.

She quickly looked back down at him, ready to chide him for going off without Sango and Miroku, when an obnoxious snort cut her off. She turned to glare at the wolf prince who was the source of the rude noise. Shippo raised an eyebrow when she returned her attention to him. It made her smile. He was adorable.

But for as cute as she found him, she had to acknowledge what time apart had wrought. He was growing up. He'd grown so much, in fact, that he was taking care of himself. So she couldn't bring herself to call him cute to his face anymore. She settled for the next, truest thing.

"You sweet boy."

Not unlike a certain someone from her past, he smirked. It was a face she'd never seen him make before, and yet it was all too familiar.

"To you-yes. Always." He answered before sending a clear glare over her shoulder at the wolf.

She didn't care to notice it. She was still dumbstruck.

"Shippo. This is crazy. Meeting you here-"

"You have no idea Kagome." He cut her off. "When I heard the wolf coming, I prepared to run. I didn't want to deal with him. But as it was, he was close enough to smell, and I wasn't sure until he got closer. When he showed his face I knew. It was your scent all over him. You don't know how happy I am to see you."

She did know. She knew well. And she wanted to tell him, but suddenly she was too afraid to. She had left them. Him. How could she dare say it?

"Shippo-"

"We've been tracking you all damn day kid. Save the catching up for after."

Kouga's stern, commanding voice was a welcome interruption. She didn't know what to say. But it ticked her off, the obvious dislike of her boy, by Kouga.

Shippo glared back at him.

"So what?"

"So, you've got a jewel shard. Hand it over." Kouga answered.

"Shippo's irritation disappeared and he looked curious at Kagome, who hadn't taken her eyes off him yet.

"You've been hunting the jewel shards?"

She found it odd that he seemed surprised by that.

"Well, yes." She replied.

He took a step back, suddenly catching a laugh in his hands. He smothered the sound, cutting it off completely, then let his hands at his sides. He was smiling an amused smile.

"Follow me."

He led them back the way they'd both come, through the brush until the trees thinned out and the soil turned soft. It was a welcome change. If it weren't for the long sleeves of her kimono, her arms would be covered in scratches from the tree-tangled forests.

They walked about a fourth of a mile and Shippo stopped next to a young birch. He started digging swiftly at its base, with his bare hands, and after a short while he produced a small bundle from the freshly dug hole.

She took it when he held it out to her and didn't need to be told its contents. She opened it up, surprised to see a huge cracked jewel. It was the lost jewel. The forsaken piece, cursed to the depths of the sea. The part Naraku had defiled, til it was black.

It wasn't black, now. It was pure. And found.

"How on earth do you have this jewel shard Shippo, and untainted no less?"

She stared in disbelief at the chunk.

"Do you remember the island?"

She looked up at him confused. "I remember the island but why mention it? It's gone."

Shippo nodded, affirming she was right and hadn't misremembered.

"But the kids-they aren't. Do you remember Asagi?"

He didn't wait for her to say yes. Her face answered for her.

"I had her get it for me." He shrugged, like it was an easy thing.

He looked pleased as punch.

Kagome had so many more questions.

"How did she manage?"

Shippo kicked loose dirt back into the hole he'd dug as he answered.

"Girl can hold her breath under water like a godfish. It's amazing! Hours she can spend down there.

"I hadn't planned on jewel hunting. But when I started, I knew I'd never be able to get that one by myself. And I only knew one person who could go down there for it. It took us months searching off the coast. She dove so many times."

He finished refilling the hole and returned his eyes up to hers.

Kagome stared at the purity gleaming in the shard and wondered. She squeezed her hand around it and met his eyes as well.

"Shippo, I expect it to stay pure in your possession, but Asagi-didn't you consider what grasping the shard might do to her?"

She didn't dare utter an elaboration, and eyed him expectantly for understanding.

"She's not as weak as that. Not all half demons are idiots."

She accepted his answer. He obviously trusted the girl to be good-natured. But she didn't like the undertones of the answer that opened doors for mentions.

"When I first found her she was living alone in a sea cave offshore. She didn't say what happened to the other kids but that she had been wandering like Inuyasha."

The fox glanced at Kagome to gauge for any reaction at his mention. What he didn't know was the woman had trained her face not to. Confounding as he found it, he continued.

"Not feral or anything, just preferred it, she said. She was happy to help me and who wouldn't be? When I asked her for help she didn't hesitate."

"Does not explain how she found it brat." Kouga growled, annoyed by a certain dog's name and length of the story.

"I said she could hold her breath. Usually one would deduce that meant she was swimming, you know, underwater? Stupid wolf."

Kagome interrupted Kouga's growling with a snap of her fingers.

"So, she didn't see it like I see them. She looked for it by sight alone." Kagome added to answer the question Kouga had asked.

"Without magic." She finished nodding at Kouga, and pleading with him with her eyes to stay calm.

The exchange annoyed Shippo instantly.

"That's incredible Shippo." Kagome continued, assuming Shippo's irritation was at the wolf's interruption, and hoping it placated the young boy.

Shippo rolled his shoulders and placed his hands up the long, dark sleeves of a haori she'd never seen him in.

"We almost have up." A bitter smile stretched over his fangs and again Kagome saw another in him.

""I say we. Asagi did all the work. Boy, is she tough. Why is it that the half demons always surprise you?"

She knew why, but she didn't want to talk about it. About him.

"It's the human part-the weakest part of them-that's the most stubborn. Most, undefeatable. It's infuriating at times." Kouga answered, mostly muttering the last part, as he crossed his arms and looked away.

She barely contained her shock at his cool quick answer. He'd thought about this.

"You got that right at least." Shippo agreed.

She wouldn't deny being stubborn. So she stayed quiet.

"A week ago when we were just about to quit, she found it. She surfaced and there it was. She said a striped fish was nudging it along the seafloor."

Kagome's mouth fell open and Shippo laughed.

"I'm sure I looked the same when she told me. I called her a liar but she won't admit it."

His brows lowered just barely.

"I think she sensed it. Was drawn to it. Some of us may be able to resist it, the call of its power. The promise-"

Shippo turned his eyes to Kouga, flitting them down to the legs he knew carried the damned pieces, and eyed him judgmentally.

"Luckily she was true at heart."

"You are too." Kagome reminded him.

"I've seen what happens to those who tie themselves to it. It's a bringer of death."

"Wise words for a fox." Kouga grinned, and Kagome thought, a little smugly.

"So why'd you dare start a quest that would doom you?"

It sounded like an accusation more than curiosity. Determination flashed in Shippo's eyes.

"It will never get the better of me. Cursed or not, it had to be done. No one else could do it. Not even my friends."

Kagome heart picked up pace at their mention.

"Although." He began, grabbing Kagome's hand in both of his. "Now you're here." He gave her hand a slight squeeze. "So now what?"

Kagome noted the way his hands had changed, staring at them clasped around her own. She pursed her lips together and fell deep in thought.

Obviously, it was a miracle.

She'd finally listened to her instincts screaming for her to start this old quest, and the nearly completed jewel was delivered right to her, by an old friend. Her heart told her it was fate, this meeting, and she'd be damned if she'd let her fear of seeing an old dog keep her from having Shippo at her side.

Kouga would argue undoubtedly, she realized, and she glanced over his way. He was glaring out of the corner of his eye at their joined hands.

"We all keep looking." She finally supplied, squeezing Shippo's hands with her free one. She smiled at him and he let go to wrap his arms around her again. She took it as his yes to her invitation.

"And by we you mean?"

Kouga left room at the end for an answer, but Shippo beat her to it. He let her go quickly and stepped in front of her like a guard dog. A move she'd grown quite accustomed to.

"If she says I can come, I'm not leaving her until she sends me away."

He was half of Kouga's size, and she waited for him to cower behind her as she'd seen him do in the past. She marveled when he held his ground.

Kouga sighed, knowing she'd never send him off. He was now their plus one. It made Kouga uneasy. Not because the kid was dangerous, but he was a reminder-probably a painful one-of her past. And he'd stayed strangely quiet and brief on the matter of his pack. He seemed the chatty type to offer information not asked for. Overly-friendly. Open. He had said little, to nothing, about his alpha.

What if he remained loyal to the dog? What if he slipped away, and ran off to tell the mutt of her presence here?

He knew he couldn't ask in front of Kagome. If she wasn't too afraid of even hearing the dog's name she'd undoubtedly ask herself for more details. He'd wait til he was alone with the kid. He didn't trust him in the slightest.

A muffled, airy giggle coming from Kagome distracted him. It was such a pleasant sound, and one he rarely heard her make. Fears aside, Kouga knew there was no hope for it. He watched Kagome hug the kit fiercely and hoped he was wrong to worry.

But the look the adolescent gave him over her shoulder-cold, dark, and somewhat threatening-told him otherwise.

Authors note:

I'm so happy Shippo found her!

Shippo is my favorite character in Inuyasha, to this day. I love writing his character, and I could honestly read a Manga just about him all grown up. Who is your favorite character? Let me know in the reviews!