Chapter Four
Shippou had been waiting within earshot of the well for the entire week. He wanted to be the first to see Kagome when she came back, to be the first to apologize for InuYasha's stupidity, and to beg her not to go back. For him it had been the longest week of his short life. It was bad enough when Kagome went home for her tests and to see her family and to attend events she swore she had to be at, but the last week she had been gone because InuYasha had cheated on her with Kikyo. The dumb dog had actually thought he could have both women, and the story he'd told, of Kagome stabbing the tree and the strange human man that was with her, had caused Shippou to have endless nightmares since she'd been gone. Sometimes he even had waking nightmares, like now, when his dream became a hallucinations and he almost lost his mind thinking Kagome was back.
The current apparition was climbing over the edge of the well, a moderate sized pack on her back, and scanning her surroundings as though looking for someone. Shippou noticed that this time his nightmare was becoming creative, changing Kagome's hair style to a shoulder length braid instead of being down free, and her clothes too were different. Rather than the normal green and white school uniform she was wearing a pair of fitted blue pants and a sweater with multi-colored stripes. She seemed to hesitate on the well's lip, searching the trees and undergrowth silently, and then turning to gaze in his direction. This was where the nightmares always ended, so Shippou closed his eyes
The pain of loneliness flooded his heart and he felt as he had when the Thunder Brothers had taken his parents. He was helpless and frightened, but all out of tears to cry and not in the mood to go beat on InuYasha again. He snuggled again down into the blanket he had found at Kaede's hut. It was one that Kagome used whenever she was staying in the old witch's house and it smelled of her and him, since he always slept with her. The rough fabric was beginning to loose her scent, replaced by his demon child scent, but if he squeezed it tight enough a little more of her could be extracted. It was just enough to get him through the nights, through the nightmares that plagued his mind and walked with him all day.