*Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha, Kagome, and Shippou, although Kansuke, Mitsuya and Namiko are mine. Inu Yasha and everything affiliated belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter One: White Hair and Tails
In the comforts of his house, lying on a comfortable futon, Inu
Yasha stirred. He opened his eyes and propped himself up on one elbow, surveying the
room cautiously. The ears atop of his head twitched as he listened outside for something,
anything amiss. Something peculiar itched at the back of his mind, but Inu Yasha wasn't
entirely sure what it was. Worry? Concern? He was sure his Inu instincts were picking up
something amiss, but it had been so long since real trouble had arisen that his instincts
were often sorely inaccurate. Could he be imagining it?
Staring into space, he focused his senses on the outside world. The sun rose slightly higher into the sky as Inu Yasha concentrated on the smells and sounds outside, but the uneasy feeling that had awoken him crept away as gradually as it had arrived.
Just my imagination, he thought with a grunt.
Inu yasha flopped back down onto his bed and covered his eyes with a forearm. The sunlight was streaming unadulterated into his room now and the hanyou grumbled in protest. Using his other arm he felt next to him for Kagome.
She wasn't there.
He bolted upright in bed this time, still partially asleep, and stared down at the empty space next to him? Where the hell was she? Out wandering around? This early in the morning? That was very unlikely… perhaps she had gone to well…
The memory of her leaving sprang into his thoughts and he lay back down. She had gone to well. A week ago. She had taken Namiko to her world to visit her brother mother, and grandfather. Damnit, when were they coming home? He just might have to go get them . . . again. And that was never pleasant.
Sometimes he felt guilty for taking her back to the Sengoku Jidai. She obviously loved her old home and missed it like hell, but he needed her. After all their years together, he could finally admit that to himself, and to Kagome. But no one else. Perhaps indirectly to Kansuke and Namiko, but they were the only exceptions.
He sighed. He would give them until this afternoon, and then he would pay a visit. He rolled onto his shoulder. It didn't take long for Inu Yasha to fall asleep.
Or for Kansuke to wake up.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Out in the forest that bordered Inu Yasha's home, a demon halted in his tracks and sniffed the air delicately. The sun had risen several hours ago and was casting rays of golden sunshine inbetween spring leaves. The youkai thought he had smelled something foul, like a rotting corpse, and tried to locate it with his nose. But a breeze blew gently by, carrying the faint scent away and replacing it with the rich scent of newly opened blossoms.
The youkai shrugged nonchalantly. Just his imagination. He was almost at his destination anyhow. He stroked his long tail in thought. For five weeks he had been traveling to this place, and he was somewhat worn out. He was a full demon though, and didn't suffer from the extremes that those mere humans do. A slight rest and he should be fine.
The demon sat down crossed-legged and picked a berry from a bush at hand, swallowing it whole. He was hungry though . . . perhaps that stupid hanyou had something to eat; although he doubted Inu Yasha would be any more accommodating than he was all those years ago. He picked another berry and ate it.
Suddenly he came to a decision. Tossing his knapsack onto the forest floor, he stood up and stalked back the way he had just come. There was an acorn tree he had seen not too far back and figured that nuts would fill an empty stomach.
It only took him a little while to fill his pockets, then the youkai strolled back to where he had left his heavy knapsack. What he found startled him.
A small human boy, perhaps only four, was crouched over his knapsack, sorting through it curiously. He fingered many of the objects thoughtfully, then pulled a necklace from the fray into the sunlight to inspect more closely. Irked, though not particularly angry, and the demon asked pointedly, "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to play with other people's belongings?"
The boy dropped the necklace as he straightened like an arrow and bolted for the closest tree. He disappeared in an instant as he scampered up into the boughs of the tree.
The youkai blinked in astonishment. No mere human could move that fast…
He stepped over to the tree gingerly and stared up at it. Save for a few falling leaves, one wouldn't have known a boy was up there.
"You can come out. I won't hurt you."
Silence.
"Look, I'm a friendly youkai. You won't have to worry about me attacking you or anything. I'm just here visiting some friends."
The boy still didn't answer. He grunted, losing patience.
"Alright then, stay up there," he said irritably, "Just don't go ruining my surprise by telling everyone I'm here, or else I really will hurt you."
Birds continued to chirp as he set about looking for kindling and firewood. A little while later, he had a crackling fire to roast his acorns. The sun above him rose steadily as he set about his work in relative peace (though those damn birds were getting on his nerves now) and soon the youkai had a nice bundle of roasted acorns to munch on.
The boy chose that opportune moment to make conversation. There was a rustling of leaves overhead and then a head adorned with white hair poked out of the foliage.
"What sort of youkai are you?" he asked in a small child's voice.
The youkai blinked up at him in disbelief. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked, somewhat condescendingly.
"So you're a squirrel?"
His eyebrow twitched dangerously at that comment. "No, baka. I'm a kitsune."
"Oh." The white-haired boy flashed him a winning smile. "That was my next guess." He chuckled at himself. The child rearranged himself on a branch expertly, and the kitsune thought this quite curious.
"What's your name, kid?" he questioned nonchalantly.
The boy laughed. "What's yours?"
All right. Fair enough. "Shippou."
The boy seemed surprised by his name. He jumped onto a lower branch and peered at him from behind a sea of green. "Shippou, you said?" The child seemed to deliberate with himself for a moment, then asked innocently, "May I have some of your acorns?"
Shippou crossed his arms and looked away. "That depends."
"On what?" The boy sounded put out.
"You have to come down here and eat them with me. I promise on my father's honor that nothing will hurt you. Especially me."
Shippou hurt another light chuckle, and then the tree quivered slightly as the boy hopped to the ground. He opened his arms wide in presentation. "All right then!" he grinned, "Fair enough!" And the child sat down before the fire.
The kitsune couldn't believe his eyes. The boy was indeed no older than five, perhaps closer to four, with delicate features and large, dark, soul-searching eyes. His hair was short and flowy, so that when the breeze came his hair danced like feathers. And it was a silver-white, and reflected in the sunshine.
Kagome's eyes. Inu Yasha's features.
Shippou shook his head. The thought seemed completely absurd. Indeed, Inu Yasha and Kagome made known their feelings for one another when Naraku had been destroyed (and when Kikyou was out of the picture so Inu Yasha couldn't two-time Kagome) but married? With kids? Memories surfaced of all the times Kagome and 'sat' Inu Yasha, all the stupid things he'd said, all the times they had fought, as well as all the times Inu Yasha had smacked him as a kid; the two of them in matrimony was an amusing thought.
The boy was stuffing acorns into his mouth at an alarming rate. Jumping from his brief reverie, Shippou placed a hand over the acorns. "Slow down!" he ordered, "Leave some for me!"
The child gulped and smiled again. "Gomen," he apologized, "I haven't had breakfast yet."
"Obviously." Shippou took a handful of acorns. "You haven't told me your name yet, kid."
"Kansuke. My family and I live in the village a few miles from here."
"Do your parents know you travel all the way out here?" the kitsune asked discreetly.
"I don't travel far when my Okaa-chan's home. She gets upset because of all the demons that have a tendency to pick fights with the villagers. But she's away right now. She's supposed to be coming home soon though." Kansuke added this last sentence with a hint a trepidation, and Shippou smiled gently. The kid didn't want to get in trouble with Okaa-chan.
"And your Father?"
Kansuke instantly went stiff and dropped the few acorns he had been holding. He peered at Shippou suspiciously through the corner of his eye. "What about my father?" he snapped.
Shippou blinked in surprise at the boy's sudden change in demeanor. He swallowed his acorns. "I was curious," he said passively. "I knew him when I was a kid."
Kansuke suddenly looked at him eagerly. "Were you one of his companions when he defeated Naraku?"
A sweatdrop appeared on Shippou's forehead. He defeated? What had Inu Yasha been telling this kid?
"Um, yeah, you could say that."
The boy jumped to his feet. "I thought your name sounded familiar! I heard Okaa-chan talk about you too!"
"Oh, they mentioned me?" Shippou was genuinely pleased. He crossed his arms and shut his eyes in pride. "Well, I was important to the journey."
"My papa said you were more like a piece of luggage."
Shippou's eyebrow twitched in anger. "Inu Yasha" he growled, cracking his knuckles. That was so like him…
"They're the friends that you're visiting? Mother and Father?"
"Well, I thought I'd pay Kaede a visit as well…"
"Great! My dad should be awake by now. And my mom should be coming home by this afternoon --- she's been gone for a week with my sister --- I'm sure they'd be glad to see you! Come on!" And the boy bounded into the thicket, leaving Shippou to clean up the fire and the acorns. He called out to Kansuke, but the child in his excitement had bounded off. Shippou sighed. Today was going to be an interesting day.
*Ah, another update. I try to update regularly, even though no one's reading my story. *cries* I know it's not as good as some others out there, because I've read some damn good Inu Yasha fanfics. I haven't been writing in a while, and so I figured a fanfic featuring my favorite anime would help get my creative juices flowing and writing muscles in shape. Reviews are always helpful and appreciated. Thanks!