Disclaimer: Don't own it, but it'd be nice.

Shippou's Love

By: Inuyasha's Long Lost Twin AKA Kagome-chan

This story is for a contest with a friend! The winner is determined by how many reviews we receive. Whoever receives the most reviews wins. OK? So, plz review!

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Shippou yawns and stretches. This time, he's the first up. He looks around and rubs his stomach.

Shippou: I'm hungry.

Shippou goes in a corner and sits. Sango and Miroku wake up, yawning. They had slept side-by-side the night before. They still blush when they help out each other. Sango and Miroku kiss, only a peck. A sneak-so-no- one-will-see kiss. Shippou smirks and walks over to them. Miroku and Sango blush, knowing that they were seen.

Shippou: Morning!

Sango: Um....Hello.

Miroku: Hello, Shippou-chan.

Shippou: Can we hunt rabbit?

Miroku: Sure. Come with me. Sango-chan, will you come with us?

Sango blushes as Miroku adds -chan to her name.

Sango: Sure.

Inuyasha and Kagome were still curled up under the skins in the hut. Shippou, Sango, and Miroku leave the hut, and go into the nearby woods. They are silent, so as to not scare away their prey. Shippou sniffs the air, and points to the side of a trail. They peek over the bushes, slowly. A little rabbit family is eating wild carrots. Sango shakes her head, and they walk away. A rustle is heard, and they find two plump rabbits, and Miroku and Shippou tackle them. Shippou has a little trouble, he got the larger one. They kill them swiftly, so there is no suffering. They head back to the hut.

~In another part of the woods~

A family of fox demons are walking along a trail. A little fox-girl was holding her paren't hands and skipping along.

Mother: Akari, what do you want for breakfast?

Akari: Um.....I want rabbit!

Father: Okay, Come on, we'll get some.

They go for three rabbits, one a smaller size for Akari. The mother takes the rabbits to a clearing and cleans and skins them in a stream running through the clearing. She sends Akari for firewood, and she went to find herbs. Akari comes back and makes a little pit for the fire. She is now dirty and no longer a pale tan but a dark brown/black organic soiled child. Her mother comes back.

Akari: Here mother! I made a pit!

A brilliant, white smile peeks through a dirty and smudged face.

Mother: Akari! Go wash yourself!

The father is sitting by the woods, smirking. A log is thrown from the mother and it hits him in the head.

Father: Ow!

Mother: You go wash up too.

Soon, a flavorful smell fills the air as the rabbits are being roasted.

~In the hut nearby~

Kagome and Inuyasha wake up. They stretch out and yawn. Shippou, Sango, and Miroku come in carrying four rabbits.

Shippou: Originally, we had two large rabbits, but then we found two more on the way here.

Kagome: Oh.....

Miroku: Will you start a fire?

Kagome: Sure.

Kagome digs into her backpack, looking for her matches. Inuyasha watches Kagome, admiring the way she looks and moves. She pulls them out and makes the fire.

~Akari's Hut~

Akari and her family had walked home, enjoying the meal they had just had. They walk in the door, and Akari plays with her wooden toys. A crash comes from outside and her father goes to look. He runs back into the house.

Father: A demon has just set the house on fire! Get out!

Akari's father picks her up and runs out, her mother close behind. He sets her down, and she runs as fast as she can alongside her parents. She trips and the demons overtake her parents. As she fell, she hit her head on a tree root and blacks out.

~At Kagome's hut~

Kagome: Are you guys ready?

Inuyasha: Of course.

Shippou: Yeah! Let's go!

Miroku: If Sango-chan is ready.

Sango blushes and nods her head. They walk out of the hut, and start down the trail. They see a small kitsuné child, unconscious on the ground. Inuyasha sniffs around her.

Inuyasha: She smells of smoke.

The girl's eyes flutter open. She sees the group, and screams. She then sees Shippou and stops. Shippou blushes, having not seen another kitsuné(except his father and mother), let alone a female.

Kagome: No need to scream, we're not going to hurt you.

Sango kneels down in front of her.

Sango: What's your name? And where are your parents?

Akari: My name's Akari. I don't know where my parents are, we were attacked by demons.... they set our hut on fire, and we ran away. I tripped on a root, and don't remember anything else.

Shippou: (thought bubble) Her voice matches her beauty....

Shippou shakes his head.

Shippou: (thought bubble) I'm only 10!

Akari: What's your name?

Shippou: **stutters** W-Who? M-Me?

Akari: Yeah.

Shippou: Shippou.

Akari: Nice to meet you.

Shippou: N-Nice to meet you t-too.

Kagome and Sango look at each other knowingly, while Inuyasha and Miroku look away and cough. Kagome kneels down before Akari.

Kagome: You can come with us, until we find out what happened to your parents.

Inuyasha: Hey! Wait a minute! Don't you think we have enough people already?!

Kagome: No! She can't be left all alone! Don't make me S-I-T you!

Inuyasha: Okay, I suppose she can come along.

Kagome gives Inuyasha a smile, and Inuyasha sticks out his tongue.

Akari: I don't want to be any trouble.

Kagome: Nonsense, he's always like that.

Akari: Uh.....okay.

Akari gets up, and brushes herself off. They all get ready to leave, again. They walk down the trail, enjoying the sounds of the birds

Myouga: So, where are we going?

Myouga is on Inuyasha's shoulder.

Inuyasha: Where have you been?

Myouga: I was in Kirara's fur.

Kagome: You mean you were hiding.

Myouga: No....I was....observing.

Myouga didn't have a very convincing tone, so Inuyasha flicks him off his shoulder.

Inuyasha: If you didn't have any useful information, stay hidden!

Akari: **whispers to Shippou** Who was that?

Shippou: **whispers** Myouga. He's not very useful.

Akari: Oh.

They continue to walk along the trail. Akari picks a flower that was growing on the side of the trail. She sniffs and puts it in her hair. Shippou looks at her, and Akari looks back. Shippou, being caught, looks away and blushes. Akari smiles. She grabs a hold of Shippou's hand and kisses him on the cheek. Shippou's eyes widen, and he blushes even more. Shippou looks at her again, and admires her fire red hair, and her cute, bushy fox tail. Her eyes are a hazel color, almost like the leaves in the fall, being almost pure yellow-green.

Kagome: Are we going to Kaede's?

Inuyasha: Yes.

Akari: Who's Kaede?

Kagome: Kaede is a priestess that taught me a lot about herbs.

Akari: Oh. How old is she?

Kagome: Don't know really, but she's old though.

Akari: Oh, I see.

They continue to walk, heading toward the village where Kaede resided.

Akari: What were you doing in that part of the forest?

Inuyasha: A demon had a shard, and was terrorizing a nearby village.

Akari: Was it big?

Inuyasha: Yes.

Akari looks to Shippou.

Akari: Did you help?

Shippou: I tried, but I don't have a lot of power. I'm only 10.

Akari: Really? Me too!

Akari grins at Shippou. They're the same size, and Akari still holds Shippou's hand.

Inuyasha: Let's take a lunch break.

Miroku: Alright.

They stop and sit. Kagome makes a fire, and Sango and Miroku go to hunt. Inuyasha lies down, looking at the clouds. Kagome sits at Inuyasha's head, and scratches his ears. Inuyasha closes his eyes. Akari pulls Shippou off to the side.

Akari: I like you....a lot.

Shippou: I like you a lot, too. Do you want to be my girlfriend until we find your parents?

Akari: What's a girlfriend?

Shippou: I dunno, exactly. I think it's when two people get together who like each other.

Akari: Umm....sure, okay.

Akari gives Shippou a quick kiss and runs off beside the fire. Shippou's mouth is hanging open a little. He stares at nothing, and gathers his wits about him, and goes to sit beside Akari. Sango and Miroku come back, with fish in one hand, and herbs in another. Miroku scrapes off the scales, and sprinkles them with herbs. He puts them over the fire to cook. He goes to sit beside Sango. Kagome is still scratching Inuyasha's ears, while he looks extremely pleased. Akari lies down beside Shippou. Miroku gets up and checks the fish. He sits down beside the fire, he sees that the fish are almost done. He takes them from the fire and divides them up. Shippou shakes Akari's shoulder.

Shippou: Akari! Wake up, the fish are done!

Akari: Mmmmmm?......okay.

Akari gets up and stretches. She yawns and gets up. She goes and gets her fish, and gets Shippou's, who had gotten up to get his. Everyone eats their fish quietly. After lunch, Sango puts out the fire and they get up to walk. Kagome puts her backpack on, and they move on down the trail. Akari stay close to Shippou, holding his hand. Occasionally, a rabbit runs across the trail. The flower Akari had in her hair had fallen out. Shippou looks for a flower, and finds a bush of white flowers. He grabs a handful of them and runs back to the group. He hands the bouquet to Akari.

Akari: **sniffs at the flowers** They're so pretty! And they smell nice, too!

Akari kisses Shippou on the lips. Shippou kisses her back, and they both blush when everyone looks at them. A rustle is heard off to the side of the trail. Inuyasha unsheathes Tetsusaiga, Sango draws out her boomerang, Kagome pulls out her purifying arrows, and Miroku readies his wind tunnel. Shippou and Akari get behind Sango and Kagome. Two fully grown fox demons come out.

Akari: Mother! Father! What happened to you!?

Akari's parents are covered in wounds and scratches.

Mother: I thought you were dead!

Akari's mother runs to her and picks her up.

Shippou: Do you have to leave now?

Akari: Mother? Can we walk with them until we get to the next village's fields?

Mother: As long as your father has no problems with it.

Father: Nope, no problems here.

Akari is set down and she returns to Shippou's side. They walk on, slowly, lengthening the time to get to the fields, so Akari and Shippou have more time together. They can't fight off the inevitable, no matter how much time they take. They stop for dinner, Kagome making her ramen noodles. They eat slowly, all except Inuyasha. Nightfall comes, and they lie down to sleep. Akari and Kirara beside Shippou, Inuyasha beside Kagome, Sango beside Miroku, and Akari's parents beside each other.

~In the morning~

Miroku wakes up, then Shippou. They go to get food; berries, nuts, and other things. While they were gone, everyone else woke up. Miroku and Shippou returned shortly with berries and herbs. Akari stands up, and takes berries from Shippou, and puts them beside last night's ashes. Shippou and Miroku had one hand behind their back. Shippou gives a white rose to Akari. Miroku walks over to Sango and gives her a red rose. Sango and Akari blush. Akari's father and Inuyasha see this, and go to find a rose. They soon return with a yellow and a pink rose. Inuyasha has the yellow rose, and gives it Kagome. Akari's father gives the pink one to his wife. Both blush and smell the roses.

Inuyasha: Okay! Let's go!

They get up, slowly. The nearest village was only one mile away. Shippou and Akari are saddened by this and are as close as they can be without embarrassing themselves. An hour later, they reach the fields. Everyone stops.

Father: Okay, Akari. It's time to go.

Akari nods and looks to Shippou. Akari starts to cry, and Shippou holds her.

Mother: Come on.

Shippou lets go and Akari kisses him, Shippou kisses her back.

Akari: **sniffles** I guess I can't be your girlfriend anymore.

Shippou: When we see each other again, we'll spend more time together, I promise.

Akari: Okay.

Akari walks to her parent's, who are at the edge of the forest. They wave, and the Inuyasha group waves back.

Akari: Bye!

Shippou: Bye!

Akari and her parents turn around and disappear into the forest.

OWARI~

The end! Hope you liked it, please review! You wouldn't want me to lose, would you? **sniffles**