Here's chapter four! I don't think there's anything I need to clarify for this chapter, but if anyone has any questions, ask away!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters.
Chapter Four
At his name, the kitsune's eyes fluttered open. He felt as if he had been hit with something. What was the term Kagome used? Oh. Right. A load of Bricks. That seemed to describe it nicely, not that Shippou really had an idea what bricks were. He stared straight into the night sky for a moment before finally looking around. When he saw Inuyasha, he inquired in a hoarse voice, "What happened?" At first, Shippou was certain someone had coincidentally said the same exact thing as him at the same exact time. That wasn't his voice. Green eyes darted around the area, desperately looking for someone else besides Inuyasha.
For his part, Inuyasha wasn't being very helpful. He was too busy trying to figure out why the once tiny fox was now a great deal larger. He simply shrugged.
Shippou scowled and struggled to sit up. It was then, he too, noticed his legs. Am I sitting on someone? But no, those legs were his. At least, they moved when he tried to move his own, so that was the only conclusion he could reach. It's said children are blessed with adaptability. That may be, but it was a little too soon for Shippou to accept the dawning realization in his head that everything about himself was larger. He let out a rather familiar high-pitched yelp that was not even slightly impeded by his new voice, "Agh! What happened?! Inuyasha, What the hell did you do?!?"
Inuyasha slid Tetsusaiga into its sheath and folded his arms across his chest. "Feh! I saved your lousy hide, that's what!"
Shippou ignored him, scrambling on all fours to the edge of the rock to look into his reflection in the water. What he saw almost knocked the breath out of him. Eyes that had once been exceptionally large in his face were now just the right size, narrowed and slanted upwards, giving the appearance of eternal mischievousness. His hair was a mess, as was to be expected, but he did notice that it was longer and from what he could tell, it was a slightly darker red. Baring his teeth, he noticed his fangs were sharper and lethal looking. His features were no longer the adorable ones of youth by any means. The image staring back at him was sly and -in Shippou's opinion- rather handsome. I look like my father, Shippou thought in satisfaction.
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Inuyasha watched Shippou admire his reflection, all the while trying to figure out how he was going to explain this to Kagome. Uh. Yeah. You know how Youkai age slowly? Well. Shippou decided to be different. Somehow, he didn't think that was going to work. Inuyasha had already realized it would be impossible to track down the creature responsible for the entire situation. At least right now, anyway. The scent of the youkai had disappeared with the youkai. Sighing, he walked over and yanked the kitsune to his feet, "Come on. The others are waiting." Taking in Shippou's appearance once more, Inuyasha removed his red shirt and held it out to the fox.
Shippou's tail twitched in annoyance, his teeth baring slightly. He looked about to respond to Inuyasha's bossiness with a few choice words of his own, but suddenly he took in the hanyou's words. "Kagome! I can't wait to show her!" He accepted the shirt, giving Inuyasha a puzzled glance.
"Your clothes are ruined." If it had been just Miroku back at the camp, Inuyasha would have kept the shirt and let the kitsune go around uncovered. As it was, there was both Sango and Kagome to consider, and Inuyasha wasn't so dumb to delicate sensibilities as some might think.
Shippou examined the shirt before making a decision and wrapping it around his waist so that all essential parts were covered. Wordlessly, Inuyasha entered the woods, leaving Shippou to scramble after him.
They walked in companionable silence, each content to keep to their own thoughts. Inuyasha's were still focussed on how he was going to explain this mess to Kagome while Shippou's were, not surprisingly, still dwelling on his new form. He was fortunate for being what he was, he decided. Having shape-shifted since he was very young, he was relatively used to handling the demands of getting used to a new body. He had no trouble walking on his new legs, nor did he feel incapable of managing his sudden height. Yes, he certainly was lucky!
Unfortunately, despite his physical appearance, his maturity level was left relatively untouched. As he was reflecting on how lucky he was, his thoughts took an abrupt switch to Kagome. She'll be surprised! It did not occur to him that her surprise could possibly be negative. How could it be? He was delighted! His newly man-sized chest swelled with not-so-new childish pride. In fairness to the kitsune, any child with such sterling role models as Inuyasha and Miroku would be hard pressed to avoid pride. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn't realize Inuyasha had come to a halt in front of him.
"Watch it, Shippou!" Inuyasha growled as Shippou ran straight into him. The hanyou was in a grumpy mood. Being sent out to find a kid and returning with something that was decidedly NOT a kid could do that to a person- even a half dog demon. Out of habit, he reached to smack Shippou, but to his surprise, his hand connected with thin air. Startled, he turned fully to regard the kitsune...only to find he was no longer behind him.
"Hah!" Shippou's laugh of triumph came from where he was sitting comfortably on a limb of a tree above the hanyou, "Too slow, Inuyasha!" The kitsune's eyes glinted mischievously, his lips pulled back in a merry smirk.
The warrior on the ground was not amused. In the slightest. "Get down from there." So I can kill you. Or at least cut off your tail. The last was added mentally, as he was well aware that the sentiment would not serve his purposes in the slightest. The purpose being, of course, to get Shippou out of that tree.
Shippou, however, wasn't inclined to come down and in a flash he was on his feet, balancing easily on the branch. A grin spread across his face, "I always wanted to try this!" Before Inuyasha could even fathom what 'this' was, Shippou had leaped nimbly to a branch in a nearby tree. In this manner, he proceeded to make his way back towards the campsite.
There's going to be hell to pay if he gets back there before me. Inuyasha winced at the unwanted images in his head, most pertaining to a thousand "Sits" in a row. "SHIPPOU!" He followed the jumping fox at a run, ducking around trees as he tried to keep Shippou in sight. As he was running, the full impact of what had happened smacked him upside the head. A tree branch did as well, but he ignored that. We're dealing with a grown kitsune!
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So, now's the time for mischief! Any ideas you have for things you could see Shippou doing now that he has full kitsune power are welcome. I may or may not use them, but they're sure to give inspiration for havoc! Please review and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can.
