Present Time.
Inuyasha Fanfiction
By alandrem and telosphilos
Chapter 25
Disclaimer: Blah, Blah, Blah. Same as chapter one.
Author Note: From this chapter on, I'm including telosphilos in the title, so she gets more credit. Present Time is no longer, and hasn't been for some chapters a one person effort.
This chapter has not been edited, although I proofread it. So… it might have quite a lot of errors. I usually send this to evercool and to Chri. But because of some allergy medication I was taking (I was so sleepy that I didn't realize what I was doing and accidentally deleted a lot of stuff in just one go and caused my e-mail program to crash in the process. I still haven't been able to recover most of the stuff I lost.), I lost Chri's and quite a few other e-mails, and I haven't been able to get in contact with evercool. Chri if you can, please send me an e-mail to alandrem@hotmail.com
There are some good news besides updating, chapter 26 is almost finished and I'll be sending it for editing as soon as I can get in contact with Chri and evercool. I hope that it should be out in a week or a week ½, chapter 27 is going nicely too. I have a good part of the next lemon already drafted, so it might turn out being chapter 28 or 29. Unfortunately, it won't be posted in ff.net, but you'll be able to read it in MediaMiner or Iridescent Dreams. In a couple of days I'll be adding an annex, responding some comments and questions posted in the reviews at both ff.net and MediaMiner.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Lieutenant Watanabe walked back into the office, it was lunchtime. He had spent the entire morning helping Inuyasha get the medical attention the kit needed. He was starting to understand where Higurashi-san and Rin-sama got the idea that the pup was some one very special and fundamentally good right through his very being. Every time Kojiro thought he had hit bottom with him, the boy went deeper. He had truly profound depth to his character. The walls had come down a little there as they talked and he had seen the truth about him.
"Hey Kojiro! Where have you been?" Nomura opened the door and called him as he passed by Goroko and Ando's office on his way to their own.
Nomura had been looking out the small office window as he absently scratched Rurouni's ears, much to the dog's delight, while Ando argued about his choice of radios for the bust with his partner. Homicide detective, and dog, had been momentarily forgotten as soon as they started. Those two usually got along on the job perfectly, except where electronic gadgets were concerned. Goroko always wanted state of the art equipment and took the time to learn how to operate it. She was good with those things, which was strange for a woman in the forces. Fujimaro on the other hand was of those that thought, 'if it works and it is efficient, why change it?' The only exception to that being guns.
The sudden re-appearance of his partner would be a relief, since there were no signs that any of those two would give in anytime soon. Seijuro had been in their office most of the morning going over what they had, and what they could teach the boy to prepare him better for the bust. He still did not agree with the idea of involving him in a drug bust. But, Inuyasha won and there was nothing he could do about it save nurse his injured shoulder, that still hurt like hell, and his pride.
Who would have thought a sixteen year old could be that good, that fast, or that strong? The grip on his throat every time he made him angry should been enough of a warning, but he had refused to believe it was possible. At least the teasing so far had been down, but he was sure it would not remain so for long, after all he HAD been in Ando, Nakada and Rurouni's office the whole morning; Goroko being the only one to leave just to re-supply their coffee mugs.
"What's with the face Watanabe?" Fujimaro asked as soon as Kojiro entered the office. The young man had an annoyed expression on his face that changed to relief as soon as the door closed.
"The rumor mill's been busy since yesterday," was his answer and Seijuro groaned; it was worse than he thought if Kojiro looked that annoyed. Since the homicide cop entered the precinct, some of his co-workers and friends had started to tease.
"That bad huh?" Nomura asked not looking forward to being outside the office until next week. Unfortunately, he was not going to have the weekend off and neither would Watanabe because of the recent developments of the case.
Seijuro had been the unbeaten police Kendo champion for two straight years, and everyone knew that. Yesterday had not been an official competition, but there were enough onlookers to spread the news of his defeat. He had also been quite surprised at finding that Kojiro's fighting skills were well beyond what he displayed on the last competition. This puzzled him, why would his partner hide that. In fact, the only reason he had competed in the first place was that he lost a bet to Fujimaro.
"Yeah, even the Captain made a couple of comments on the way up," he said with a sigh. At their puzzled looks, he added as he sat on Goroko's desk on top of a pile of folders. "We met on the elevator."
"Hey kitten, get your 'behind' off my work!" Goroko told him as she shooed him off her desk. She knew well he hated when they called him kitten, which they did just to tease him. It was of course, a private joke among their group, since one of Kojiro's numerous dates had called him that during one of their nights out, much to his embarrassment. He pretended not to hear.
"What my partner meant was to move your ass of her desk, in case you didn't understand, those are this case files." Fujimaro told him nonchalantly, he waited until Kojiro moved off the folders then moved them to his own desk. "Anyway, where you? You went to your office for something and next we know you left the building like a bat out of hell."
"Long story… have you all had lunch yet?" He answered, deflecting the question until he finally decided on what to tell them and hoping they would leave it for a little while.
"No, we were hoping you would get back in time to join us, so we waited…" Ando began saying.
"You know how these two get when it comes to the gadgets; they started discussing and forgot about the rest of the stuff." Nomura interrupted him.
"Should I have made a bet Seijuro?" The other two just glared at them, but then shrugged, half the precinct knew it took them a while to decide on the equipment. "Who won this time by the way?"
"No one yet."
"Shit! What a bore," Kojiro murmured; they were in for a few boring hours if Goroko and Ando did not reach an agreement soon. Both of them were stubborn.
"I heard that!" Goroko said, "And you're changing the subject Watanabe."
"Now tell us where the hell you were and why you took off without warning us first." Ando asked again.
Fujimaro was a bit annoyed that Watanabe had taken off like that and was not going to let the deflection slide. Inuyasha should be there any time now, and they still needed to agree on some things, before starting with training. Especially since Nomura was against teaching the kid about firearms. Although he and Goroko thought that, the boy at least needed to know what he was up against.
"Let's head down to the cafeteria and I'll fill you in," Kojiro said with a resigned sigh, he hoped that what he told them would be enough to assuage their curiosity until he had some food in his stomach. "Short version is: I got a call from Inuyasha, he needed medical help for the little boy, and I was the first person he could reach. He won't be in until after his girlfriend gets home if he gets in at all today," Watanabe answered leading them all out the door.
"If he gets here at all?" Nomura asked not at all pleased, a bust was something to take seriously and they really did not have enough time to put the kid up to police standards. Besides Higurashi-san had assured him, the kid would be there later.
"Well things are a bit of a mess, but I really need some food, I'm starving. Don't worry I'll explain once I have something to eat."
"You and your insatiable appetite Watanabe," Goroko told him with a teasing smile, it was a well-known joke that Watanabe Kojiro could probably eat a whole cow if he was allowed to, and everyone wondered why he never seemed to gain an ounce of weight.
They started down to the cafeteria. Watanabe got the others to fill him in on what they had done that morning to pass the time until they could get a quiet table. The others correctly assumed that he was trying to keep whatever had happened out of the office rumor mill, since it already was busy with Inuyasha's feat from the day before, they guessed he did not want more gossip about him. When they got to the table, and he had taken a few sips from his soup, it was time for answers.
"Ok Kojiro, its just us now spill it. What happened?" Nomura told him, his tone was impatient. He really hated not knowing things.
"Certainly, just didn't want the pup to be all over the shop, since he already seems to have gained enough attention. I don't think Inuyasha can deal with the 'mill' just yet. He won't be in until his girlfriend is back from school at the very least, since his foster mother is not home either. There in no one to take care of the boy, and frankly the little one needs him," Kojiro started.
"Yes, you said something about that, who is this kid and what happened to him to freak Inuyasha out?" Goroko asked, he smelled an unfamiliar kitsune on the neko and was very curious if that was what the boy was. "That kid does not seem the kind to freak out or ask for help, so I assume this had to be pretty serious."
"He is not Goroko just give me some time to explain it all. There is a lot you are going to want to know." He made a pause to gather his thoughts, and hoped the kitsune vixen had understood his meaning that he was going to double talk, and then went on. "Shippou-chan, that's the boy, can't be more than four years old, although he is really small in size. Inuyasha has basically assumed a paternal role in the boy's life ever since the kit's father was murdered and he found him…"
"I don't think the kid is capable of taking care of himself much less a little boy," Ando commented judging by his experience with his own two teenage twins, they just were not mature enough. "He doesn't strike me as mature or even a caring person."
'Well here we go!' Kojiro though with a sigh, although Ando's thoughts were about the same as he had before actually going to look at the kit. The inu hanyou attitude towards the little one had changed his point of view. He could be mature if need be as well as quite caring.
"After what I saw yesterday I am inclined to think he is more than capable of taking care of himself and others," Nomura disagreed with Ando. "Besides, you also heard some of his story, even if I still find it hard to believe, the fact that he is alive proves he can be self sufficient."
"Inuyasha can act mature if he wants to too. Although he doesn't seem to want it that often. And… you should have seen him with the kid, completely different from what we have seen here, they are very close. Anyway, going back to what I was saying, he saved Shippou from his father's killers and has been looking after him ever since. He sort of got it into his mind that he is the boy's protector."
Goroko's eyes widened at the paternal role part. She thought she got the hidden message in that and her eyes narrowed. The boy was a kitsune all right, but an orphan. It sounded like the pup had marked him, so the boy must have nearly died, or Inuyasha had been incredibly stupid. In her opinion, boys were not supposed to raise other boys. Watanabe gave her a barely perceptible nod at her inquisitive look.
"Don't think I can believe that change in attitude Kojiro, the other stuff I'm at least trying, but him being the caring kind? No, I can't see him like that."
"To be truthful, neither did I Seijuro. But I saw him be caring and patient with the kid, we also had some talk about the case, he made me realize we are just too set on the way we outlined this case. And since we included him a lot of what we had for granted is just plain wrong. I'll tell you more about that later."
'I need to talk to the Captain first and tell him about Kagome-chan's connection to one of the killers. Let's hope he finds a way to use the information that she can provide.'
"It turns out Shippou wasn't just sick," the neko hanyou went on. "When Inuyasha left the kid was healthy, and since he wasn't supposed to be away more than a couple of days, he left him under the care of some friend's. It was this week that the boy developed a very high fever for a few days and was periodically delirious, and since there was no way to get in touch with the pup, he was unaware Shippou was ill."
"Not able to get in touch? That's strange a phone call will do in most cases."
"Yeah, it seems there are no phones where the kid's friends live. He only told me they lived in a village in the wild forest but not exactly where." Goroko looked at him with narrowed eyes; she did not think she was understanding what Kojiro was referring to, the untamed lands were just out of bounds for any civilized youkai.
"That is odd," Ando commented. "But not unheard off, there are still places with no phones."
"Yeah I though the same," the neko hanyou agreed, looking at Goroko's puzzled face, then continuing with the story. "During one of his spells of delirium, Shippou wandered off looking for Inuyasha and his girlfriend. He got a ways into the woods and something big and nasty attacked him. It mauled the boy pretty badly. When I saw him, he was in bandages from head to toe, Inuyasha did not tell me what it was, but the wounds were consistent with what something with sharp teeth could have done." There were not any birds of prey big enough, at least in Japan that he could have attributed the injuries to, so he decided to go for teeth, instead of beak, and claws. Goroko watched her friend's eyes for more hidden information.
'Girlfriend? That is highly unusual; do I really understand what he means? I just can't believe the pup has already chosen a mate.' She sighed mentally the neko hanyou's story just did not make any sense, she was going to need to have a youkai to youkai conversation as soon as possible to clear things up. 'It seems the boy had been in a bad way and the pup used his blood to save the cub's life after he was attacked by a youkai. Why the hell didn't he take the kid to a hospital? A suitable donor could have been found easily. Goodness! That pup is in for it, as soon as I get the chance; he's going to have a piece of my mind on this.'
"Whatever it was, Inuyasha arrived just in time to see his pack of friends trying to beat it off of the child. He saw what was going on and jumped into the fray. He killed it," Goroko let out a soft gasp at the admission that Inuyasha had killed a youkai. She hid it behind a cough, but again Kojiro gave her a barely noticeable nod. "And got him some first aid, but the area is very rural and they couldn't do much. He brought the boy back with him so that he could take care of him and get better medical care. According to the pup, Shippou-chan was doing fine this morning when he moved wrong and messed up one of his broken ribs. He fainted from the pain, and that's when Inuyasha decided to call for help, he didn't know what to do. His foster mother was not available and the only names he recognized were Seijuro's and mine, so he called me."
"At least you're progressing in gaining the kid's trust," Nomura commented.
The story was a little too wild for his taste and the name Shippou was just going round and round in his mind. Yet another coincidence with the Jewel of Four Souls' legend, the Shippou in that legend was a little kitsune boy around four years old that had been rescued by Inuyasha and Kagome from his father's killers. He would have screamed aloud his frustration at those coincidences if he could, but the others might think he had gone crazy. After all, who would believe he was even considering comparing the characters from a 500-year-old legend with people in the present?
"It seems so; Inuyasha was very upset about the little one's injuries so I took off immediately after hanging up the phone."
Goroko sat back trying to hide her shock, the pup had a pack? It sounded like Kojiro was saying the pup was a pack leader, but that could not have been right. Inuyasha was too young, dog demons required by their traditions that any of their members wanting to lead or start a pack reached adulthood. There was no way Inuyasha was one hundred years old, although he did have a dominant scent. And he admitted the pup had killed a youkai!
There were only two circumstances where that was permitted, self-defense, and preventing the deliberate murder of another person. It sounded like the later was the case, but why did he not contact the local authorities, they would have dealt with the problem. She still was not sure that Watanabe meant it all happened in the untamed lands; although she did know that place was lawless, killing was a very common occurrence, as was cannibalism among youkai. The kitsune vixen was barely able to suppress a shudder, those customs had been barbaric, and she was glad most of the youkai had chosen to be civilized.
"I drove over there and re-bandaged the rib so that the boy could breathe easier, but he really was a sorry sight. He needed stitches and casts. I wanted to take him to a hospital but Inuyasha did not trust anyone with Shippou. We talked for a little bit in the hopes that Higurashi-san would get home since we could not reach her. She did not, so we left a note and I took them to see Tsuki instead. It was a good choice because she eased the pup's worries."
"Yeah, your sister is good with kids," Ando agreed, she usually visited his kids when they were sick and needed a checkup, and the rascals adored her.
"The boy was unconscious for a lot of the time," he said then went and recounted Shippou's injuries and some of what Tsuki had to do.
They were all appalled at what they heard, and could not help but worry for the little boy. It was no wonder that Inuyasha wanted to say with the kid. Besides, from what Kojiro explained, they gathered that Shippou only knew the kid and his girlfriend so it was to be expected that he would want to have those he knew close. The neko hanyou also talked to them a bit about the kit's curiosity when he woke up. How he, even wounded as he was, wanted to know everything that surrounded him. And how he almost drove him and Inuyasha crazy with his inquisitiveness, although Kojiro had to add that Shippou was a charming little guy.
"Geez, I can see why you left in such a hurry, but I still wish you had warned us first," Nomura grumbled at Watanabe, then with a sigh added. "Now we are going to have to remake the entire training schedule we have for the kid or… maybe we should just pull him off of it altogether." This could be what he needed to take Inuyasha off the case, and it was worth a shot to suggest it.
"It will be ok, Seijuro," Ando reassured his friend. He was well aware that his intent had been to dissuade them from using Inuyasha as a search dog. He agreed that police work was no place for young ones, but the kid was their best hope to capture those criminals. Their informant was sure the bosses would be there this time. The man's call the day before had confirmed it.
'Damn! They didn't go for it, but there might still be a chance to pull him out of this bust. It's just not the place for a teenager,' Nomura thought a bit disappointed. But it had been worth a try.
"I'm sure we can find a way to do it," Ando told him confidently and noticed his friend slightly displeased look. He could not help and smirk at Nomura, letting him know he was aware of what he intended. "It sounds like you were finally able to get the young man to open up a bit Kojiro. Did you find out anything that would help us work with him?" Watanabe sighed and nodded, boy this pup was a lot of trouble to have around even if he was damn useful.
"A bit that might help, I don't think I would ever have gotten any of it out of him, if it weren't for the fact I had just helped his little one." Kojiro winced internally at his slip, but drank some soda and continued.
"He gets along a lot better with people who treat him like an adult rather than as a boy his age. He doesn't take kindly to being ordered about."
"What teen does Kojiro?" Goroko added. Her kits were not teens yet, but some her nieces and nephews were, as well as her youngest sibling. And she was a handful.
"It's more than just being rebellious Goroko, although he is. Inuyasha raised himself and he learned to make his own decisions. He lately made some friends and he naturally became their leader." The kitsune vixen shot him a look of complete disbelief, as there was no chance of misunderstanding after that comment. Inuyasha was pack leader. Watanabe gave her a barely perceptive nod.
"He did tell me he was responsible for himself when I first met him," Seijuro mused aloud. "I just didn't make too much of it. I attributed it to natural rebelliousness against authority."
"Well it isn't, mostly anyway, but I have to say his foster mother had that one correct when we talked the other day."
"You mean she chewed you out, instead of talking, on Tuesday," Seijuro corrected 'helpfully' at the time he saw his partner look a bit embarrassed.
"His mother chewed you out? What the hell did you do Watanabe?" Fujimaro asked more than curious. Kojiro did not usually get into trouble with either potential witnesses or any of his co-workers. He would have believed that of Seijuro though.
"Hmm… well, never mind that," he said waving a hand in dismissal of the topic. He was just not going to tell them, although Goroko might pull rank for an answer if she got too curious. "I think he will stop calling you 'jiji', Seijuro, as soon as you stop calling him 'kid'. He doesn't like it and has no clue how to get you to stop it." He looked at his partner in the eye.
"Then why doesn't he get mad at you when you call him a 'pup'? And why does he find it so offensive anyways, he is a 'kid' not a dog." Nomura returned at him. The questions had been bothering him for days. Both Goroko and Kojiro had been taking sips of their drinks and could not help it but find the comparison funny. It was hard not to sputter their drinks all over the table. "I don't see anything funny."
"Sorry about that, but I guess Kojiro and I were thinking that if Inuyasha wasn't wearing that scowl all the time he would indeed look a bit like a puppy."
"Yeah I was thinking along the same lines Goroko. Seijuro, the people who were trying to kill him called Inuyasha a 'kid' a lot. It has unpleasant associations for him. I'm not sure why he doesn't mind being called a pup though. I just know that he doesn't."
"Well his name means dog demon, so he might not mind the comparison that much," Fujimaro suggested, after analyzing things a bit.
"That's probably it, and since he doesn't mind, then I call him that. It is better than needlessly antagonizing him," Watanabe tried to explain.
It was Nomura's turn to wince. He had not been trying to antagonize the boy. It was just force of habit and a common way of addressing some one his age. What his partner said made sense and he remembered Kojiro had already told him that. He had to be more careful from now on. Still, he could not help but feel uneasy that the boy preferred to be identified with dogs. His sniffing ability was even better than a dog's and, the Inuyasha from the legend was an inu hanyou who used his superb sense of smell to track his enemies.
"If you really want to have a bit of fun with his name, call him 'dog boy'. It's his nickname. I'm not sure he likes it, but Kagome-chan and Shippou-chan both call him by it without any sort of sting in their tone." Watanabe smiled at them. It really was a terrible joke, but they did get away with calling Inuyasha that.
"So if we start treating him more as an adult, you think training him and working with him will go better?" Ando asked, restoring the conversation to its original topic. He had a daughter and a son the boy's age, although their circumstances were by no means similar, it might work on his kids too. For some time he had the feeling that Dayu was in some kind of trouble. But, with work taking so much of his attention, he had not been able to find out if he was right.
"Aa, from what we talked about, it really seemed that way. The young man is damn good at wilderness survival. And he lately has not just taken care of himself, but of Kagome as well as Shippou-chan."
"By the way did he tell you how he met her and her family? It's just strange, from what we have been told about him, Inuyasha avoided people like the plague. So how come he ended meeting his girlfriend and you mentioned he had friends. And how come her well to do family ended taking not just him in, but the other orphan kid too?" Seijuro was really curious since Higurashi-san had been extremely vague in her answers. The fact that the kid was the missing son of some of her acquaintances and they left his custody to her after they died was just, again, too much of a coincidence to be believable.
"He met her when she got lost one day in the forest. He started looking after her because she was basically helpless. After she found her family, she kept coming back to visit him and eventually brought him back to civilization with her. Her and her family had been working to convince him to stay full time when he…" He stopped, Fujimaro and Goroko did not know Kagome-chan was the victim that escaped from the 'Park Killers' so he changed what he was about to say. "He heard about the attack and the killings, and got it into his head that we needed help."
"Which of course you both needed badly; I suspect it was a shock to hear this strange looking kid telling you that he could help you capture the 'Park Killers'" Ando could not help but tease his friends.
"Yeah it was, when his foster mother began explaining me about this 'gift' I assumed he was one of those fraud psychics, you know I don't believe in that shit. Thankfully, it turned out that it was something less mysterious. Do you have anything else on him Kojiro?"
"Yes, as I was saying, somewhere between the time Kagome found him, almost a year ago, and the present, they found Shippou. The little kid's father had just died. The two of them have been acting as Shippou's foster parents, providing him food, shelter, protection, and comfort while Kagome worked to bring them both back here. I think they found the little guy rather quickly, it seemed like it had been going on for a while. So he is used to assuming adult responsibilities and being treated as one."
"Yeesh, no wonder he doesn't react well to the way we have been treating him. How did you get clued in the first place?" Ando asked, at the time he scratched his head a bit. It was a bit hard to believe for him that Inuyasha was assuming adult responsibilities. It did not matter what Kojiro said the 'pup' looked to immature in his opinion, he was barely sixteen years old! But he would give it a try and see how the change in treatment worked.
"I gave him a reaming over the phone about cuddling the girl in front of us when we went to his home to talk about the test results," Kojiro said still omitting linking Kagome with the 'Park Killers'. Nomura gave him a look of approval did not go unnoticed by the other cops. In silent consensus both, Ando and Nakada, decided not to ask yet what that was about.
'It seems I'll have to tell them about that conversation with Higurashi-san.' He mentally sighed; it was rather embarrassing. But he guessed it would help to distract the narcotic detectives from asking too many questions about Kagome.
"His foster mother phoned me back after that, and called me on the carpet for it. She told me a fair bit about Inuyasha, and I never want to be on her bad side again. That woman can be scary," Kojiro told them shuddering slightly just for effect.
"You mentioned that at the time, but you didn't say anything about the little boy," Nomura pointed out a bit accusingly. Somehow, he had the odd feeling in his gut that Kojiro was not telling them all he knew, and he wondered why.
"She didn't mention Shippou, Seijuro. Most of what she told me was about the circumstances Inuyasha grew up in and about his relationship with her daughter. There was a lot to absorb, so I think she left Shippou out on purpose so that she wouldn't be hitting me with it all at once. Besides which, the little one wasn't here and they had not planned on bringing him over yet," Kojiro rejoined.
"Well, he is here now and Inuyasha is taking care of him while Kagome-chan is at school. I think I'd like to meet her and her family… they sound like interesting people," Goroko commented, and hoped that Kojiro understood that she did not approve of some of the things he said. She wanted to make sure they kids where with the correct humans. "So, what are we going to do about it?" She asked, her eyes fixed pointedly on the neko. They were overdue for an airing out session in one of the specially warded rooms in the precinct.
"Inuyasha didn't much like the idea of firearms training. He says they are noisy, but above all smelly." That comment brought some incredulous smiles to the men, but Goroko nodded slightly as if she was agreeing. "But he agreed to do it if we thought it was necessary. He said that he has never been really good with projectile weapons, except over long distances. He just found out he is farsighted, so now that he has glasses, they should help. Kagome is the real marksman of the two. She can hit a moving target with her bow."
'Hmm… so Inuyasha was lying when he told me he hunted with a bow. But, if he does not use a bow or any gun, then how the hell does he hunt?' Nomura wondered and added one more thing to his increasing list of odd things about Inuyasha. 'Maybe I should ask him for a demonstration with a bow after the fire arms training. It might prove interesting.'
"I think we had better teach him anyways, even if he isn't any good at it. He needs to know what to expect and what the guns are capable of in case of a shoot-out," Ando replied, the lesson should at least teach him to keep out of range.
"He seems to have a healthy respect for them. He mentioned having seen the gang war break out last Friday night," Nomura said.
"I'll like to talk about that with him, if he saw something important we might solve that case," Ando commented, so far none of the kids involved had said a thing. And, so far, they really had no leads as to who actually killed the six kids in the morgue. They did not even know to which gang each of them belonged.
"He might be of help to the guys at the department," Goroko agreed. "Now going back to what we were discussing, I still want him to do a couple passes outside the warehouse beforehand to make sure we are right. If they are moving the merchandise around he will definitely be able to tell."
"He did offer to track the drug dealers for us in order to gather some more intelligence on the outfit. Considering how good he must have been to survive all those years on his own, I'm tempted to let him. I don't think he has the patience to wait, doing nothing, until we have another body in our hands. This bust will give him something to do that'll make him feel useful. On this same note Inuyasha also wants to hunt for the park killers the way he would an animal," Watanabe told them.
"It might be worth a shot. The kid is very observant and if he is as good a hunter as he is a fighter, those dealers would never know he was there." Nomura surprised himself by agreeing, but he really wanted to know more of what the kid was capable of, it piqued his curiosity. Inuyasha's skills were useful in a very pragmatic way, even if some of them were somewhat illegal in a city. Their very unusualness made them even more useful. "I would first want proof that he is as good as we're being led to believe. Think the boss would go for it?"
"Most likely, last time I spoke with him after you three sparred, he was considering pulling some strings to get the 'pup' some more training and an official place on the force as a peace officer. I think he would be pushing to send him to the police academy if his education wasn't so far behind," Goroko told them. Ando had listened in on the conversation a little, but the match with Kojiro had kept most of his attention at the time.
As they changed topic and started talking about the match's highlights, one of the junior officers at narcotics approached them. He wore a grim expression and all four veteran cops could tell that whatever the news he brought, they were definitely not good. And they were right, their key informant was found not an hour ago floating face down on Tokyo bay. It was a strange murder, since the man had all his identifications and his face was barely marked, although he was badly beaten. And, by the looks of it, he appeared to have been executed. They still had to wait for the coroner to confirm that, but the Captain had already pressed the Coroner's office to give priority to the case. Too much was at stake if they did not read things right. The junior officer also informed both Nomura and Watanabe that since they were working jointly with narcotics the Captain decided to assign them the murder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shippou was confused and intrigued by the strange feelings. He was sure he felt them, but they were gone in moment. It was as if someone had put a lid on them. The puzzle was enough to make the tears go away and distract him from his objective, asking for the hanyou's forgiveness. The moment he stopped crying a new wave of vague feelings rushed by, and just like the first one, they were quickly gone. But this time he had been able to distinguish which emotion was stronger, to his surprise it was relief.
'Who would feel relieved if I stopped crying?' Shippou asked himself. 'There is no one here besides Inuyasha and me…' he began thinking and then the answer hit him. If they were the only ones there, and he was sure it was not him feeling relieved, the sensations had to be Inuyasha's. 'But… HOW? I never felt anyone's feelings before. Besides, I always thought he was insensitive, and could only feel angry, annoyed or bored…'
'Ack! That's not true! I always knew he could feel more than that. He loved Kikyou didn't he? And he loves Kagome now… he cares for all of us. Why can't I accept that? Why do I put him down? I like him so much better now, ad besides he is my new Otou isn't he? He adopted me… waaaaah! My otou would have bitten me or left me without dinner for less than what I said to Inuyasha, he would have been angry. But, dog boy wasn't angry, although he looked like it. What he really was… sad and hurt and… disappointed. He is being so good to me now, why can't I be good to him?' The little kit felt guilty, confused, and very distressed, so he started crying again. He was starting to think there was something wrong with him. Inuyasha HAD changed overnight, so why couldn't he?
"Oi Shippou, what the fuck is wrong with you now?" Inuyasha hid his concern with his gruff voice.
The kit was not bawling his eyes out as he normally did. He was sobbing quietly and the sobs seemed so full of emotion that it only served to confuse and worry him more. Shippou could feel his concern, and it only made him cry a bit louder, feeling guiltier. Inuyasha was stumped, he had no clue as to what was wrong with the kitsune, and it began to stress him. He decided to leave the pantry, where they had been looking for something tempting to eat, and sat at the table. He rocked the kit gently and hummed the song from earlier, it had worked soothing Shippou before, so he guessed it would work again. But this time it did not, the kit started to cry full tilt. "Come on Shippou, tell me what's wrong? I can't do anything if I don't know what the problem is." The worry this time showed in both his face and voice.
"N… nothing," Shippou sobbed and buried his face in Inuyasha's shirt.
"I know it's something. You're usually a crybaby, but this time I can smell your distress. So…"
"You… you're… being… nice!" The Kid managed to say, the young hanyou started at that.
"I'm being… nice," he repeated dumbfounded at the kit's words. Why would his being 'nice' make Shippou cry? Wasn't he always complaining that he was mean to him? And, now that he was not, the kit cried. It went beyond his comprehension. "And that makes you cry?"|
"Y… y… yes!"
"O…kay," Inuyasha said slowly trying to assimilate that fact without success. "I… I don't get it twerp. Why would that make you cry?"
"Be… because… because I'm… not."
"Huh?" That made even less sense to the young man. "I still don't get it Shippou."
"You're different from the person I thought you were! So… different, I thought you didn't care, that nothing I, or the others said could hurt you. So we said some pretty bad things… I was wrong, you feel just like us, you do care, and things hurt you. You just hide it better," he sobbed slowly.
"Whe… where did you get such a hare brained idea? I'm not weak, nothing…"
"You're lying you know? And by the way you suck at it," Inuyasha just growled. Hurt or not Shippou was earning a few bops. "I… hurt you when I said you were mean an…"
"That's nonsense!" Inuyasha interrupted the kit. He did not like where this conversation was going, he hated to talk about feelings, and that day he had already talked and showed too much.
"I felt it, so it's not nonsense."
"You what?!"
"I felt… feel, what you feel. Right now you're alarmed, confused as hell, don't worry I'm too, and… you're a bit scared that I can…" he said the last bit softly and let the implications hang on the air.
"Ho… how?" Inuyasha stammered. He was too shocked to do anything else but ask.
"I don't know… I just… started feeling when we came to look for food." Shippou would have shrugged his shoulders if he could at that moment.
"That still doesn't explain why you were crying," Inuyasha stated trying to change the subject. He needed to think about what the kit had just told him.
"I really can't explain it. But, you… changed overnight and I… haven't. This is so confusing that I don't know how to act! I… treated you as I always do, and then I felt you be sad… I feel like I'm the jerk now. I don't want to be a jerk! All this is just so weird I don't know what to do! I don't know what to say! Heck I don't even know how to call you anymore!" He started sobbing again feeling guilty. Inuyasha just sighed; he began guessing that all those weird feelings and sensations were just part of the mark. There really was not much either of them could do except accept it as things came.
"I understand Shippou; believe me I feel confused as hell too," he said with a sigh. This was just too much for the kit to take at once. It was for him too. But somehow, he was managing. Probably because he was a bit older than the twerp was. And because it had been his choice in first place. He had been willing to accept whatever changes happened as long as Shippou lived. "All this is probably because of the mark. We just have to take things as they come, so just call me what you always have, no need to change that," he then gave the kid a mischievous smile before he added. "Of course if you miss being bopped so much, I think I can deliver a few bops a day." To make his point he bopped him lightly, but it ended being more like a slightly rough caress.
"No thanks, I'll pass on that offer."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After that talk, Inuyasha decided that it would be better for Shippou if he cooked something. He went to look for raw food in the fridge instead. The kit was marveled at the strange cold thing, his confusion replaced by curiosity at the wonders of Kagome's time. He wanted to inspect the place closer, touch, sniff and even taste it if the hanyou allowed him to. As it was, he had to content himself with just looking and asking questions that got no answers, or a simple 'I don't know'. Inuyasha inwardly thought that if Shippou had been able to move and inspect the thing on his own he would have probable locked himself inside it.
His foraging in the fridge was successful and he got a couple of chicken breasts, some vegetables, leftover miso soup and rice from the day before. In his opinion, it was enough for a decent meal. He set Shippou on the kitchen counter so he could watch before he gathered his ingredients. It took the kit little time to realize what Inuyasha's intention was, and he could not help but be exited. If he could have, he would have been jumping all over the place with glee. Of all the members of their little pack he was the only one that had the 'honor' of tasting something the hanyou cooked.
Contrary to popular belief, Inuyasha had quite a few tricks down his huge sleeves. One of those was cooking; he had a deft hand for seasoning even the simplest of meals when he had a mind to. He was, according to the kit, the best cook of the group. Unfortunately for the others, Inuyasha never had the mind to cook for them. In fact, Shippou had found by accident and sheer luck, after that he had always wondered and even dared to ask him why he never let the others know he could do more than fight and eat, but he never got an answer.
Flashback
Shippou was bored almost to death. There was nothing to do; he had played a bit with some of the kids he befriended from Kaede's village. But that had been early in the morning, and they had to stop their games because of pending chores. He had then searched for Miroku and Sango since Kagome had returned the day before to her time. She was going to stay over for five days. As always, Inuyasha had thrown one huge tantrum and ended 'osuwaried' enough times to dig a small crater, after that, he left muttering angry curses and had not returned yet.
Monk and tajiiya had been busy taking care of their weapons in as tranquil a mood as was possible with Miroku trying to cop a feel of Sango's behind as soon as she got distracted. Since his favorite teasing subject had made himself scarce since the day before, Shippou decided the monk would do. He dedicated a great part of his time to teasing him about his habit of asking every woman on his path to 'bear his child' until he unintentionally ended annoying Sango too. To escape from his teasing both humans asking him to look for Inuyasha under the pretext that they had heard a shard rumor and wanted to discuss it with him.
Since he had nothing better to do, Shippou reluctantly agreed and left them in search of Inuyasha. He spent the rest of the afternoon in the forest trying to locate the hanyou's scent, but he had to admit he was not very good at tracking. He lost the scent often, or ended going back to either the Go-Shimboku or the bone eater well. It was well after nighttime when he finally gave up, feeling hungry, he went back to the old miko's hut.
To his surprise he found it empty, after looking for them he ended at the village head's house. The human's wife told him Kaede-sama, the houshi-sama and the tajiiya-san had left a bit before sundown. A messenger from three villages away had come to request their urgent help. They had been waiting for him for some time, but when he did not return, they decided to leave. A strange sickness was killing people from the man's town and the younger Miko there thought it might be youkai related. She was not powerful enough to defeat it by herself. The young Miko asked for Kaede-sama's help and both monk and tajiiya decided to go with her. It was not safe to let the elderly Miko to travel alone.
The village head's woman had offered him dinner and a place to stay, but even though the people there treated him well; the kit did not feel comfortable with them. They were still strangers. She was not a bad person, and he played with her grandchildren a lot, but he guessed Inuyasha's pride was rubbing off on him. He refused her offer saying that he would be fine on his own, and left toward the Go-Shimboku in search of the hanyou.
Shippou spent the worst nights and days of his life since his Otou died. He was afraid and hungry. On several occasions, he had considered going back to the village and accept the woman's offer. Yet, a little voice told him that he was a youkai, he could be brave. He would show them he could survive on his own. The thing was… he really could not. He was too small, a terrible hunter, and had never really paid any attention to what was edible besides acorns and some berries. It was not the season for those.
On his third day alone, he finally stumbled into a small campfire near a stream, all caution gone since he could smell the scent of a freshly killed rabbit, and he was starving. There were a couple of small pots with water already boiling on the fire. Whoever the owner of the camp was, he or she was getting ready to cook some food. To his surprise, he realized the camp belonged to Inuyasha, and the hanyou was finishing cleaning his kill and some other edibles, in the stream.
Inuyasha looked startled to find him there. Shippou guessed he must have really looked terrible and half starved because the young man seemed to take pity of him. Not that it was evident with all the 'You're pathetic!', 'You stink!', and 'You're useless runt!' he received, but he was told to go to Kaede's hut and bring a bowl, chopsticks, and a cup while he finished cooking.
Not wanting to anger Inuyasha and risk missing another meal, Shippou complied and was back almost in no time. The rabbit and vegetables were already in one of the pots simmering and it was beginning to smell delicious. Something aromatic was seeping in the other, away from the fire. Since lunch was not ready yet, Inuyasha ordered him to take a bath in the stream to remove the stink of fear and the grime of days of not washing. It had been more like being forced actually, since Inuyasha ended throwing him in the stream.
Once Shippou was sitting by the fire after finishing his dip in the stream Inuyasha served him some tea he had made from peach-blossom flowers. The kit was surprised the flavor was unusual but it tasted great, sweet and fruity. He drank it slowly savoring it in silence, although he could tell the hanyou looked at him oddly. To the young kit it seemed like it was almost expectancy, but he dismissed it immediately. Inuyasha would not care what he thought, still, he decided to compliment him, he got a 'Feh' as he expected. But the odd expression disappeared.
When the stew was ready, Shippou could barely contain himself it smelled delicious and once he tasted it, it was even better. He could not help but be impressed. It was one of the best things he had ever tasted, besides chocolate and candy. He would have never believed Inuyasha was a good cook if someone had told him. But he was tasting the proof of it, and he had to give credit where it was due. He raved about it and ate his fill, two bowlfuls, while he explained to the hanyou why he was alone and so hungry.
The others had taken two more days in returning and the whole time Inuyasha had shared his kills and cooked for him, of course he had to help by gathering wood and making the fire, but those days were among the few they had not fought. Inuyasha made him promise not to tell the others of his skill. He agreed, and subsequently enjoyed more than a few good meals courtesy of the hanyou. Until one day by accident, he blurted about the secret. Inuyasha had been so angry about it, especially because the rest of them teased him, that he never cooked for him again.
End Flashback
Inuyasha began using his claws to cut the vegetables and the chicken breast in large chunks, but as he looked up from his chopping to check on the bubbling kitsune, he realized large pieces of food would not do. With a sigh, he searched the drawers on the counter for a chopping knife. He knew how to use the basic kitchen utensils, Hitomi obaa-chan had taught him before she died, but he had to learn to do without them while he roamed the forests on his own.
Inuyasha began chopping again, happy that for once Shippou had decided to be quiet and observe instead of pestering him with questions he really could not answer. It only made him feel inadequate even if he did know much more about that time than he had only eight days ago. He was also enjoying cooking again, it was something he liked doing and that he reserved for those times he felt safe and relaxed. Mostly when he visited the cave, if he was close enough to the area, or if he was sure no demons prowled close to him. During his childhood, he spent many a lonely night experimenting on what tasted well. He found many interesting mixes, combinations, and after a few disastrous experiments, he had learned to keep away from extremely spicy food (hot). His tongue, and a few hours later his guts, could not take it.
While he was absently chopping some vegetables into small bite sized pieces he was distracted by the sound of the phone ringing. Shippou was so startled by the sound that using his only good foot he had managed to jump about a foot off the counter. Inuyasha deftly caught him before he touched the hard surface, and moved to get the wireless phone at the other side of the counter, at the time he told the little twerp to be careful and not hurt himself.
"Higurashi Shrine," Inuyasha stated just as both Higurashi-sama and Kagome told him to.
"Gaah! It's not my fault! That thing scared me… what is it anyway, and why are you talking to it?" Shippou replied forgetting his fright in favor of being curious.
"Inuyasha, what did Shippou just do? I heard you telling me to be more careful. Is he all right?" Kagome asked worriedly.
"It's a phone runt. Now be quiet," Inuyasha told the kit and directed his attention to responding Kagome's questions. "He's fine, don't worry. The twerp nearly jumped off the counter when the phone rang," he told her sounding slightly annoyed. "He was hungry, so I'm fixing lunch for the both of us. I didn't want to leave him in the TV room alone."
While he was working on fixing lunch, he had noticed that Shippou had been wiggling about and trying to scratch the parts of his body where he had the casts. He guessed they might be itching since he did not smell any pain coming from him, only a bit of exasperation. The kit had not complained yet, so he had not offered to help either. He wanted to see if he would ask anyway.
"It seems the casts are starting to drive him nuts since now he really can't use his hands or his right leg." Inuyasha gave the kitsune a warning look when he muttered something that sounded like 'you could have offered to help'. He only mouthed 'you could have asked' in response.
It was already a strange day and he was one tired hanyou. He had four fights, a few worrisome situations that had him extremely tense and two nights with so very little sleep in two days. And that did not even count the confusion he was feeling, it all had him hoping to take a nice long nap the next time Shippou got tired out again. Besides, the kit had promised to let him sleep once he was fed.
"Casts? I take it mom decided to take him to a hospital to get them put on?" She asked puzzled, her mother told her she did not expect to be home before she got out of school.
"No, your Ofukuro is still out," Inuyasha replied. "He tried to purr this morning, but that only made his broken ribs hurt a lot more. He had some trouble breathing, and he fainted from the pain… I tried to call your Ofukuro but I could not find her…"
"You were worried?" She sounded surprised and worried. "Is he all right?"
"Yeah, I was. But he is doing fine now," Inuyasha answered. "I ended calling the neko for help."
He then went on explaining about their morning activities, Kagome sounded worried but he reassured her Tsuki had pronounced Shippou on the way to healing. He had to admit that even if the female neko hanyou had hurt his pup, he thought she was a nice person. And the kit seemed to like her too. Kagome chuckled a bit at the thought of the hyperactive little kit trying to drive Inuyasha and Watanabe-san nuts when he could not even walk, but then she realized that he could talk, and Shippou was indeed a handful.
"That's good to hear, I'm glad Lt… Watanabe-san was able to help you both," She said correcting her slip, Eri knew of course, but no need to tell the other girls yet. And even Watanabe-san's name might ring a bell. He had been on the news enough, beside his partner, in connection with the 'park killer'.
A few feet away and hiding a bit to avoid being noticed, the oni teacher listened to her conversation. Her hearing was extremely acute and she could hear both sides of it although the voice of the person on the other side was faint. Contrary to what she thought, the Higurashi girl was not saying anything about the strange flares of power she had that morning. Still, it was odd that she was speaking of not taking someone to the hospital, was she in some kind of trouble.
And the girl had almost slipped the word 'lieutenant' so even if she did not find out about the power, she might get an insight about why she was under police protection. She had noticed the car parked outside, seen the people inside get out and walk around the school's outer wall. The people inside also followed the girl's every move once she was out of school. The principal had told her that they were police officers when she reported their strange presence.
"After I feed the runt I'm hoping for a nap, I'm dead tired," he commented. Then scratching one of his ears added grouchily. "Although I shouldn't feel this tired, I've been through worse. Anyway, you wouldn't believe the number of questions he asked. Made Kojiro dizzy with them, but better him than me." Shippou had been watching all of this conversation in fascination. This phone thing was a really neat contraption, Inuyasha was speaking to Kagome, and she was not even there! He could hear her voice faintly, and he wanted to talk to her too.
"Hey, I wanna talk to her too. Can I, can I, please?" He gave him his cutest and most pathetic pout, which usually go him bopped, but since dog boy was changing, it might work.
Inuyasha gave the kitsune brat a level look. He hated that pout, it usually got him what he wanted from the others, he just never thought it would be directed at him and make him react just like they did. He hated it more now, he felt powerless against it. Shippou could see Inuyasha's look of annoyance, but was surprised that he did not feel him anymore. It was strange to say the least; it would require a lot of thinking once he had the time. At the moment, getting to talk with Kagome was more important.
"Ack! Don't give me that fucking look, I hate it! Just be glad that I won't hit you because you're injured, otherwise you'd have that thick head of yours full of lumps," Inuyasha told the kit with a soft growl still she could hear it. He sighed and looked at his chopping before he asked Kagome. "The brat wants to tell you all about this morning, but I'm starting to feel hungry and need to get back to chopping up the vegetables…" Shippou directed him a smug grin. 'The look' worked even better on the hanyou than any of the others, faster too.
Kagome was more than a bit surprised by his reaction. She heard Shippou begging in the background and what he responded, so for a second there, the young woman was not expecting him to comply. But he had, leaving her the option to decide if she could talk to the boy, he had been grumpy and protested like always, but he still asked. He would not have before. Inuyasha would just respond with a flat 'no', lunge for the kit's convenient handle, his tail, and either hit or shake him to make his point. The changes there were too strange and happening far too quickly for her to know what to expect from him any more. Inuyasha was actually acting down right domesticated for once, and for all his growling, he seemed to be taking good care of the little cub.
"Sure, I'll talk to him, but I don't have much time. Can he hold the phone by himself?"
"Nope, wait a moment while I think of something." He picked Shippou up and cradled him against his chest causing him to 'eep' softly before he settled him into the crook of his arm. Then Inuyasha put the phone next to the kit's ear and went back to work on their lunch, searching the overhead cabinets for some herbs and spices with which to season the chicken.
"Kagome, can you hear me?" Shippou asked all excited as only a small child could be. His voice still sounded very weak, but he seemed to be well enough.
"Yes Shippou-chan, I can hear you." She had a small smile at hearing the kid's enthusiasm even if he still did not quite sound like his usual self. "You can tell me about your little adventure when I get home. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were feeling better. Are you?"
"Aa, dog boy's been acting weird, but I like him better. He doesn't hate me and is cooking again for me!" he said happily.
"Of course he doesn't hate you Shippou-chan, he's just no good at letting people know how he feels about them…"
"I heard that!" Inuyasha commented while he gingerly sniffed a small vial full of some kind of brownish-black powder that made him sneeze. "Good I found the pepper," he commented to himself. He liked that condiment, Higurashi-sama had used it a couple of times during the week. He thought it would add a nice flavor to the chicken.
"Well he knows I'm right, what's he cooking? I thought that after that fight you two had, he'd never cook for you again." The little kitsune must have noticed the changes, she was glad that he sounded so happy.
"I thought the same…"
"I'm only cooking for you runt because Tsuki said you should eat something else besides ramen and candy to heal," Inuyasha retorted while he continued investigating the dried herbs and powders in the vials, some he even tasted.
"Whatever, he is making some kind of stir-fry for lunch," he informed her before she could say more. "When will you be coming back? I miss you," Shippou asked. He wanted her back right then, but dog boy along with the neko had explained earlier that he had to wait, because she was 'working' for her status placing on her time. In his little kid's mind he finally understood why she went to that 'school' place.
"Not for a couple hours. You know I want to be there but I cannot, so eat as much as you can for Inuyasha, he's cooking just for you, and you know this is rare enough. Besides, you need to get your strength back, so you can play with my brother Souta, ok?" Kagome tried to mother the pup over the phone. She could not help it after hearing that he has been so sick for days and then seeing him so injured, it was only normal for her to try to help him get better.
"Yes Kagome, if I don't Inuyasha might change his mind and hit me," Kagome could hear the hanyou angrily saying that he would not since he was injured, but just wait until he was healthy. The young woman could not help a smile. "Come home soon" Shippou told her. He really wanted to prolong the conversation. This telephone thing was just too cool to his little feudal era mind.
"I will, now be good Ok? Don't pester Inuyasha, you know he has little patience and he is doing his best taking care of you."
"I won't, and I know… I can feel he is. I promise I'll be good, he even bought me chocolate!" He exclaimed elated, and that made her smile widen, chocolate and Shippou had an interesting history, the kid simply adored the stuff, but then who didn't? Inuyasha mentioned the lieutenant took them to a supermarket or perhaps it was a drugstore, after the cast and stitches. "But I have not eaten it yet," he whined.
"Don't eat it until you finish lunch Ok?"
"That's what he said," and he pouted. That chocolate had caused some problems between him and the hanyou. But they seemed to have been solved for the moment. He and Inuyasha had come to a sort of understanding about their confusion at the changes.
"Good, so he did pay attention when I didn't let you eat sweets before lunch. I have to go eat my own lunch now Shippou-chan. Tell him to make enough food for the rest of us since he is at it, and to hang up the phone, bye." Kagome ended the call before Shippou could get another word in, but she did hear Inuyasha's 'Feh' at her request. Well they might get lucky, according to Shippou, her mate was an excellent cook, and she really wanted to find out if that was true. She handed Eri back her phone and sighed. "Thank you," she said as she gave the very surprised girl a grateful hug. Arumi collected her wits back first and said.
"Come on, let's eat and you can tell us what that was all about. Who is this Shippou-chan anyway?" Kagome opened her bento box and set her place.
"Shippou-chan is another orphan. He is somewhere between three and four years old and very precocious. Inuyasha has been taking care of him for several months since his father died," she decided to omit the parts where Shippou's father had been murdered and she acted like the kit's mother. Her friends would get in a loop about those two things. "We don't know what happened to his mother, only that she had died sometime before that. I don't think Shippou-chan really remembers very much about her."
"Is he as bad as Inuyasha then?" Yuka asked. She was really having a hard time seeing why Kagome put up with him.
"Depends on how you mean the question," Kagome answered. "But Shippou is a just small child, so how can he be bad? Besides, I don't think either of them are, Yuka-chan. Inuyasha is a bit rough, true, but he has a huge heart. And he hasn't gotten used to be around people. And Shippou-chan… well I think he is just too cute for his own good."
"Cute?" "What about the casts?" "Is he hurt or something?" The girls asked at the same time.
"Yes to all," Kagome responded. "Inuyasha went back to his forest yesterday afternoon to check on everyone and make arrangements for us to bring Shippou back on Saturday."
"Wait a second Kagome-chan. You said 'his forest'? And why wouldn't a boy around our age not be used to people?" Eri asked catching into that, it was just too strange and it did not make much sense.
"Yeah, you mentioned this on Tuesday and I thought I hadn't heard you right," Arumi joined in.
'Ack! I slipped again! Now how to explain…' Kagome mentally slapped herself for that. She was just so used to talk about him as a not being used to people, and living in his forest, that she no longer thought that would sound strange to others. 'Now Kagome, think! And think fast! Come on!' She urged herself.
"Well, it's a bit hard to explain… but huh… he grew up alone. He lived in a very isolated forest area; and the people where he lived shunned him because of his looks…"
'Good going, you have their attention, but so far you haven't said anything weird yet,' the young woman congratulated herself.
"His looks? Why would anyone shun such a
hot guy?" Clueless
Arumi asked.
"Do you think white hair on a little kid, and amber gold eyes are not strange?" Kagome asked her friend raising her eyes skeptically. "The people from the area he lived around are a bit isolated and superstitious, so they didn't like him because of that."
"Well I have to admit that his looks are really exotic, he could almost pass as a foreigner," Yuka had to agree with Kagome. The jerk was strange looking even if that made him even more interesting.
"So he decided that spending a lot of time on his own in the forest was better than being around people."
"I don't think I could blame him for that. I wouldn't hang around where I'm not wanted," Eri agreed thoughtfully.
"Anyway," Yuka began saying wanting to go back a bit to the little kid. She was curious. "You wanted to bring the boy here?" Yuka asked. "I suspect your mother thought Inuyasha was a bad example for him."
"Actually it was Inuyasha's idea. He did not want to leave him alone." Kagome looked at her friend through narrowed eyes. She did not like the way she talked about her 'mate'. "Only, once he got there, he saw our friends trying to beat an animal off of Shippou. Inuyasha killed the beast that was trying to eat him. After that, they got him the best medical care available in that area, so Shippou's bones were set with splints and his wounds bandaged before Inuyasha brought him back here. Apparently, a friend dropped by this morning, and they went and got casts put on him while Mama was out. The poor little thing is a complete wreck. He looks like a mummy, and to top that he has been sick most of the week," the young woman finished explaining.
"Oh my goodness, no wonder you have been so distracted today," Arumi said looking quite horrified at the recount of some animal trying to eat a child. "It sounds awful."
"He doesn't seem like the type to take care of a little boy," Eri commented.
"Are you sure Inuyasha can take good care of a sick and injured child?" Yuka asked. She really had her doubts there. From what little they knew, the young man seemed quite violent. In fact, Dayu said the white haired kid had admitted to being violent when he asked him on Wednesday.
"Oh, I know he'll take very good care of him. In fact, Shippou-chan just confirmed it. Inuyasha has a major soft spot for little kids. He just doesn't like to let people to know about it, beats the 'I'm a though guy' image, if you know what I mean," Kagome pointed out and both Arumi and Eri nodded. They knew most guys their age would not be caught dead admitting they did not mind taking care of little kids. Hojo-kun was probably the exception. Yuka did not want to agree, although she knew her own bother, and most of his gang, were like that. "Besides, he is the one who was up all night taking care of his fever. He did not want leave him out of his sight. He's an orphan too, so I guess he just sort of 'adopted' Shippou. I found Inuyasha asleep in the recliner with Shippou-chan cradled against his chest this morning. He told me the fever broke just before down."
"You have got to be kidding!" Eri said, that did not sound at all like the guy they met. She still remembered the way he glared at her, and a shiver ran down her spine. He had looked downright spooky.
'Although just moments later, his attitude changed, I could tell he is very concerned for Kagome's safety even if he still tried to look very though and uninterested,' Eri thought analyzing what she had been able to notice on Tuesday.
"Yeah it doesn't sound right Kagome-chan," Yuka said a bit disbelieving. "That doesn't sound like a guy who could beat eight of Takashiro's gang."
"I'm not kidding! Really! Of course, he'd most likely be upset at me for telling you, but it's true. That was how I found them this morning before we changed his bandages. Inuyasha even volunteered to stay home with him so that I could be here. Mom had too many appointments to stay home and Inuyasha and I are the only ones here that Shippou-chan knows."
"I don't know what to make of that," Yuka said as Kagome ate her food. Kagome just shrugged. "I take it the little kid is also feeling much better?"
"Yeah, he is even eating again. Inuyasha was cooking lunch for them. Shippou was getting a kick out of that too, since Inuyasha doesn't often cook," Kagome reassured them.
"He cooks?" Arumi asked in surprise.
"Of course he does! He spent ten years in the woods by himself, would you expect him to eat raw meat?" Kagome asked the logical question. She had often wondered why he would never cook for anyone else, but she had always known that he most likely could. Shippou had even mentioned that he was the best cook of their group.
"Well, no, I guess I had not thought about it that way. Is he a good cook?" Arumi backpedaled; she could not deny the logic there.
"Wait a minute there Kagome, he lived on his own in the woods? That doesn't sound right! I thought he'd lived near the forest and gone there from time to time from what you said." Eri's mind was whirling, it sounded like her friend was sort of inventing stuff about the guy… or maybe trying to cover something up and failing miserably.
"It does sound a bit… strange Eri, but well…" Kagome sighed. It seemed it was impossible for her to make Inuyasha look like any other street kid from her time. She might have to end giving them a very edited version of his life, but she was sure it would sound too weird to be possible in that day and age. "His… childhood is very complicated guys… that's one of the reasons mama took him in… it's rather hard to explain but he did live on his own since he was five years old."
"That sounds like a weird story, perhaps you can tell us more Kagome-chan," Arumi was curious, it just sounded like one big novel. "Anyway is he a good cook?" She asked again.
"Maybe later Arumi-chan, on the cooking though, I have no idea," she responded with a shrug. "Shippou thinks he is though. He is the only one Inuyasha has ever been known to cook for. And Inuyasha might cook, but he definitely refuses or is unable to clean up. At this point, I just hope they don't leave a mess in the kitchen," Kagome answered with a sigh, remembering the last time she had to clean the hanyou's mess. It had not been a pretty sight and that was before he knew what a stove was for; would she still have a house to go back to after school? "But even if they do, it'd be worth it to get Shippou well again."
"Can we come over to meet him?" Eri asked. "I really would like to meet this kid, since you said he was cute." The young woman also had in mind that she might be able to talk with Inuyasha and see if any new developments on the case had come up. He might have news on how the search for the 'park killers' was doing. Or if she might help with anything.
"Hmm…" Kagome muttered thoughtfully, she might use their help and from the sound of his voice, she could tell Shippou was much better. He basked on the attention people gave him, she was sure he would love having three more girls doting on him. "Sure, I don't see why not. If mom's not back yet, I'll probably need the help to clean the kitchen." All of the girls chuckled at that and they turned the conversation to lighter subjects.
As they were talking about the mall, and putting Kagome up to date on the newest sales, Hojo-kun decided to approach them. He carried as always one of his odd gifts for the young woman in hopes that her assortment of 'illnesses' would get cured. Arumi and Yuka saw him approaching and instantly, each on their own decided to get their friend a date. Yuka because she did not like Inuyasha and she was completely convinced he was that 'two timer' who made her friend so sad. Handsome or not, in her opinion that rude 'jerk' was not Kagome's type. And Arumi was being just plain clueless, she believed the story of Inuyasha being just a friend and her foster brother. In her opinion, a boyfriend was just what the doctor ordered for her friend.
"Higurashi!" Hojo called Kagome as he handed her a small wrapped package. He wore one of his big hopeful smiles. "I brought you this tea. They told me it was good for unexplained fevers."
"Ah… thank you Hojo-kun," Kagome responded a bit embarrassed at getting another weird gift from the clueless boy. Actually, this one might be the first useful thing he gave her. It might be good for Shippou's fever.
"Higurashi I was wondering if you would go with me to the movies tomorrow?" He asked her with a bright smile and hopeful eyes, she had stood him up a couple of times. And the one time she actually made it, they had to interrupt the date because she felt ill. But this time she had been to the school the whole week.
"Ah… well… I don't…" Kagome began saying trying to find a nice way to tell him off.
She had someone now and it was for the rest of her life. She was no longer available or interested in dates. Besides, there was no one that could compare to Inuyasha in her mind. Hojo was human, he would never be able to offer the sort of commitment her hanyou could, for life, a very long life if they triumphed over Naraku. She still did not want to hurt Hojo´s feelings, but the more she tried to find a way not to bluntly tell him off, the more she was beginning to be convinced that it was the only way.
"Of course she will," Yuka answered for her. "You know she's just shy."
"That is right Hojo-kun," Arumi assured him. "She'll go out with you."
"Thank you Higurashi," he told her with a bright smile. "I'll pick you up at 5," he turned to leave a big happy smile on his face.
Kagome was red and for a moment, her friends and Hojo thought she was just being shy, as Yuka mentioned. They were wrong, so very wrong. The young Miko was livid! Her powerful aura began flaring and more than a couple of youkai and sensitives turned her way, slightly afraid at the anger her energy carried. From the second floor of the building, Suzuki sensei peered out the window, a slightly worried frown on his face. Kagome was positively glowing for all the youkai to see, a bit more and even the non-sensitive humans would see her strong aura.
The Oni teacher that had just returned to her rounds by the school's fence, could not help but stare again at the young Miko, and out of precaution began signaling some of the closer youkai students to move away. Higurashi Kagome might just loose control of her powers and injure someone.
The girls had done it again. They set her on a date without waiting for her consent! Yuka and Arumi both knew she had to take care of Shippou, she had just told them about him. Were they not listening to anything she said? It was when they did things like this that she wondered if she should keep their friendship. Her path in life and her ideas were so different from theirs. In addition, at least where Yuka was concerned Inuyasha was her two-timing boyfriend. Arumi was usually clueless, so she did not blame her too much.
"Hojo-kun, wait!" Kagome said standing up, taking the tea and going to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Well another chapter has reached its end. I know some of the questions you have about what the teacher's conversations with Kagome haven't been answered, but be patient they will be in the next. That conversation was to be part of this chapter and it is completely written, it is just that this little past was a natural break in the story that I couldn't pass it.
Chapter 26 is 90 % done and it includes some explanations of how things are for demons, the rest you will be getting as the fic keeps moving on.