Chapter Five

Kagome sensed the demon the second she was through, but it was not InuYasha. Coming over the well' s rim, she searched the surrounding area for the being that was there. She was worried it might be SesshouMaru or Naraku, in the area to terrorize InuYasha, or even maybe Kikyo, waiting for her to return so she could settle the score, but when the tiny huddled form of kitsune cub caught her eye, Kagome almost burst into tears. It was obvious he'd been waiting for her in the forest and knowing Shippou, he'd been there all week. Feeling guilty and selfish, Kagome quickly went to the cub's side.

He was wrapped around a blanket that she identified as the one then slept under when staying at Kaede's. His little nose was buried in its folds and he appeared to be crying. Feeling like she had the first time Souta'd gotten hurt, Kagome carefully reached out and stroked a hand down the cub's head and back. He seemed to moan and shake a little and then she heard the tiny sobbed that he could no longer contain.

She was crying too, silent tears streaking her cheeks, as she continued to rub his back.

"Shippou?" The kitsune seemed to form a tighter ball. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stayed away."

She was having trouble speaking now, the tears having reached into her throat and tightly grasped her voice. She didn't know what else to say. She was truly sorry for staying away and inside she began to hate herself for wanting to go back so badly, for wanting to see Hojo again. She was ready to just scoop the cub up into her arms when he rolled back al looked at her.

Not sure exactly what to do, Kagome grasped his little hand and squeezed. He shifted his gaze from her face to their enjoined hands, and then crawled into her lap. Holding onto her torso, his child's hands clutching her sweater and his face to her shoulder, Shippou cried.

Kagome held him too, rocking back and forth, as she tried to calm both him and herself. She spoke to him too, promising she'd never just leave him like hat again, that she'd always come back for him until she couldn't, until she died. There were lofty promises but she would do it. She would brave seeing InuYasha, brave disrupting her normal life in Tokyo, and brave the dangers that could always come for her on this side of the well, all just to see this cub. He was her little brother, her child almost, and she would never abandon him again.

Shippou cried himself to sleep in her arms, sniffling and hiccupping occasionally until finally snoozing with deep even breaths. Kagome continued to hold the cub, letting his slumbering peacefulness ease her own emotional disorder. It hurt inside because she's betrayed him and almost lost him. It scared her to think he would have stayed by the well for too long, allowing others to hunt and trap him while he awaited her return. She had not been a good friend to him or Sango or Miroku, but the others understood somewhat, being human and older than the kitsune. Shippou was just too young still, that and he had sort of adopted InuYasha and Kagome as his parents after they saved him. Kagome worried anew that he'd think her leaving was his fault, as she had when her father died.

Gathering the blanket from Kaede's hut around him, she carefully rose and began walking towards the village. It was a short stroll that took her from the forest, around a few rice fields, and into the small collection of grass and wood huts, a storage house for food and goods, and a few animal enclosures. Coming to Kaede's tidy yet ancient looking hut, Kagome noticed the shadow of a figure sitting just inside the bamboo mat door. Coming closer she could distinguish the distinctive form of one in prayer, a staff of rings leaning against the figure's chest, and the smell of incense drifted out from behind the door.

Having a sneaking suspicion that Miroku would not appreciate the interruption, Kagome settled down on the bottom step of the hut and waited. She cradled Shippou in her arms and rocked him slightly, occasionally running her hand through his hair and tail. He sighed and snuggled her the entire time, like a kitten begging for more attention. A slight smile on his face told her he was dreaming of pleasant things.

"Children bruise and recover quickly, but that doesn't mean they don't feel pain," Kaede said softly from behind her.

From the bottom step Kagome looked over her shoulder to where Kaede and Miroku were watching her with the kitsune. Kaede wore an expression of concern and Miroku's was similar only with a touch of admiration.

"I know. I apologize for being gone so long, and for not letting you know,' she said then dropped her gaze to Shippou. "I didn't think I could handle seeing InuYasha."

Above her Miroku felt the hot rage he'd been curbing all week return. After InuYasha had told them what had happened with Kikyo and that Kagome had seen it all, he'd wanted to trap the half-demon in his own ward for an eternity as punishment. He had ranted and raved at InuYasha that Kagome, unlike Kikyo, was a living feeling person, not some manifestation of earth and bone. In her current form Kikyo could not truly feel pain and love, all she knew really was revenge and she would never be at rest until she was once again allowed to be dead. From what Kaede had told him, Kikyo had not even wanted to be raised, that the situation had been beyond everyone's control.

InuYasha did not see this or rather he didn't see it until Kagome had taken off, until he'd gone after her and seen her with another man, a human man that had lead her away from the well and InuYasha, back into her own world. When Miroku had head this he'd become concerned and enraged. The half-demon had tried to have both women, and in the process it had seemed it's cost them all Kagome. The priest had been sure she would not return, and had been praying all week for some sign so that Shippou would understand and stop killing himself waiting for her. He was happy now though, looking down on the one person who could hold them together, as she snuggled and protected the little fox.

"Why not come inside, Kagome. There is much we need to talk about," Miroku's voice seemed emotional and strained but then again Kagome felt hers would be the same. She rose and followed her friends inside.