Chapter 1: In which we find Shippou and learn many important things to the
plot
Shippou looked over the sprawling city outside his window. He could never quite get used to it, never quite get rid of that itching feeling that he shouldn't be here.br dlddiOf course, as most youkai live for a gazillion years, I really should get over that feeling./i Shippou mused to himself. Hanyous didn't really have that problem; they lived longer than humans, but still not as long as a full-blooded youkai would. Which was a very long time.br dlddiI wonder if Shesshoumaru ever felt like this./i He wondered, not that I'd ever know, as most often when he met us he'd try to kill us, but.../ibr dlddIt was a feeling of being out of place, of not quite fitting in. There were so few youkai left now a days, having left for better places elsewhere. Anywhere not settled would do. But those places were becoming fewer and fewer as humans bred and bred they're -children. iNot pups. He reminded himself. Children./ibr dlddThe only youkai who stayed in the cities were the mischief-makers, the kitsune and, in other countries, the raven youkai or the coyote tribes. They were halfway across the world, though, even though now it didn't really matter. Hop on a plane and you were there.br dldd"Yo, Shippou! Wake up!" said an amused voice next to him.
dldd"Not asleep, not that it's really any of you're business." Shippou muttered back at one of his human friends.
dldd"Course it's my business! How can you help teach me English if you keep spacing out?"
dlddShippou had learned as the years went by that a youkai could only do so much and not get bored, especially a kitsune, who lived to make mischief. So he had amused himself by teaching himself languages, and learning all he could about everything around him.
And instead of doing anything interesting with that knowledge, he was stuck tutoring kids in English.
"Okay, okay. What do you need help with?" Shippou asked, knowing that if he didn't answer, the kid would bother him incessantly.i Did Inuyasha ever feel like this?/i
"My homework."
"What about it?"
"Will you do it for me?"
Shippou resisted the urge to bang his head on the table. Barely.
Shippou hit the lights on his apartment, his eyes taking in everything. No messages on the answering machine, no one had stolen his shampoo, and his window was still intact. Which was a miracle, he personally thought, as at least 7 birds a day decided to find out what a lovely place was inside.
iI should probably stop putting birdseed out on the inside windowsill if I really want the birds to go away. But it's so much fun!/i
Speaking of fun, life was getting boring again. He'd helped kids learn rude words in different languages, left 3 love letters in random mailboxes, and he was bored. Everything was the same nowadays. Nothing new was happening.
Maybe he could change his look. Go for the bishonen look. He dragged himself over to the mirror, and thanked whatever sick god had come up with the idea of youkai that they aged very gracefully. He was really not that old in youkai terms, as people like Kouga were still alive and reaching the end of middle age. He was, to youkai, about just out of his teenage years. In human terms, maybe 28. Not very old.
He had given up the old fashioned clothes of the warring states era, and had recently learned to love modern clothes. Especially American clothes, and jeans. Muscle shirts, rude T-shirts, everything. It gave him something to do when he was bored. Which he was, a lot.
Shippou often wondered about Kagome. Did she live here, in this city? Had she met Inuyasha yet? Had she met him yet? Maybe he could go search for her. What as her last name, though? He only knew her first. It wouldn't work.
Shippou lay down on his bed, thinking. Well, he was really remembering. About how they had defeated Naraku, and how Inuyasha had- Shippou shook his head violently. It would do him no good to think about Inuyasha. He couldn't change anything. Inuyasha would choose, and life would go on for Kagome.
If only he knew her full name! He could change the way things worked out, let Kagome be happy. Make her-iaw what am I thinking? Make her do what? I can't make her fall in love with someone else./i
The full force of his thought hit him. Make her fall in love with someone else! Then when Inuyasha wished to be a complete youkai like he did, she would be gone and he never would have-
He shook his head again. iI can't even think that word anymore. But I have to someday; I have to come to terms with the fact that Inuyasha almost raped Kagome./i
It repulsed him to even have to think about that day. That day, Inuyasha had chosen to become a full youkai. And Miroku had been right; Inuyasha had turned evil.
He snarled and hit his pillow in anger. How could Inuyasha have done that? If it hadn't been for Kikyou, as much as it galled him to admit it, he would have-he would have.
The anger was gone as quickly as it came, leaving him with only a hollow feeling inside. It was over; there was nothing he could do about it. He lay down and let himself fall off to sleep, knowing that he would dream about that day, and knowing there was nothing he could do to stop the events.
iHe was in a field, watching his younger self pout and worry about Inuyasha. Shippou-the-younger knew there was something wrong with him. Ever since he turned full demon; he'd been acting strange.
Miroku and Sango sat in the grass next to him, also worried. Inuyasha and Kagome had been gone for almost 2 hours. Miroku started to say something, but stopped as he and everyone else saw Kagome stumble out of the forest, bleeding and crying.
Shippou-the-younger got to Kagome first, and ran into her arms. "Kagome! Kagome, what's wrong?!"
Kagome was crying so hard she couldn't answer. She fell to the ground and flinched when Miroku tried to help her up. Sango looked worried. Shippou-the-younger couldn't understand what was wrong. What had that stupid Inuyasha done?
Sango picked Kagome up, her eyes flashing over the cuts and bruises on her chest, thighs and neck. Kagome's clothes looked as though someone had tried to rip them off. Shippou-the-younger still didn't understand. What was wrong with her? Where was Inuyasha? He was supposed to protect her!
Sometime later, when Sango had gotten Kagome over to Keade's hut, and Kagome had calmed down enough to speak; she told Sango what had happened in a dead, hollow voice.
"I was walking through the woods because I wanted to bathe, and Inuyasha came and he-" she broke off, and then tried again. "He tried to." She started crying again. Sango looked angry. Livid, really. She looked like she was going to kill something. Preferably Inuyasha.
She stood and left, and Shippou crawled up to Kagome, scared and confused. What was wrong with her? What had Inuyasha done that made her this scared? He curled up on her chest, noting that she relaxed when he touched her, but.she had looked really scared when Miroku tried to help her up.
Suddenly it dawned on him. Everything clicked-her not letting Miroku, a grown man, touch her, the bruises, the way her clothes looked ripped, why Sango was so angry.
It took all the self-control he had not to leave Kagome to find Inuyasha and maim him. He started to go, but Kagome whimpered and grabbed at him, trying to make him stay. He lay down again. Kagome needed him; he needed to be strong.
Several days later, Kagome finished the story. Kikyou of all people had stopped Inuyasha, pulling him down to hell with her. Inuyasha was dead.
After she healed, Kagome left and never came back./i
Shippou woke up, sweating, ready to lash out at anything in his way. The dream had toned down a bit, but every time he remembered, he wanted to rip Inuyasha to pieces. Kagome had never quite been a imother/i, more like a crush he would do anything to protect. Even little kids have they're crushes, people they respect and admire and look up to.
iI doubt I ever really thought of her as a mother. She was someone I loved, or at least thought I did, someone who could make all the bad things disappear. It was a little child's crush./i
Shippou gave up lying in bed and decided to go for a walk around Tokyo.
Walking around the Tokyo streets, Shippou got about 3 bocks away from his apartment building before he was grabbed by one of his female students, Yuka, who needed someone to explain irregular linking verbs. While he did so, she proceeded to bother him about his hair.
"It's so ishaggy/i! Shippou, honestly, you need to get it cut. I know this one girl who does really cheap haircuts, and I could even pay for it in return for all your help."
He blinked. She grinned. "Really! It's cheap, and I'd sleep well at night, knowing I'd done a good deed."
She wouldn't take 'no' for answer, nor would she take 'I like my hair, thank you very much!' or even 'So, about these linking verbs..'
Shippou was hauled to Yuka's friend's house, where he inspected his hair, trying to figure out what on earth was iwrong/i with his hair anyways? So it was a little shaggy, and he hadn't gotten it cut for a while. Well.really, for years. It came down to his mid back; the only reason he hadn't gotten it cut was that it seemed to shock his neighbors, who (in his opinion) were in serious need of shocking.
Yuka's friend turned out to be a 30-odd year old woman who took one look at him and told Yuka that a cut would be free of charge, as everyone should do their civic duty to make their neighborhood look better.
Half an hour and many odd conversations later, Shippou was deemed ready to be able to face the world without 'feeling unbearable shame.'
iWhat do these girls do in their free time, when they're not jumping poor youkai and making them cut their hair?/i Shippou looked in the mirror. He had to admit he looked good. Handsome even. His hair had been cut and flattened, so it was straight and not as unruly as it used to be. His bangs (something he had argued furiously against, although he knew he had no chance of winning,) were also straight, and drew attention to his eyes.
"You just need to wash and blow-dry it every morning, and it'll stay like this." Yuka said, her tone implying that she did not believe he even brushed his hair.
"Joy, rapture, yippee. May I go now?"
He was out the door and halfway across the street when Yuka yelled "Can you come to my place tomorrow? I've got a friend who's been sick a lot and needs help on her work, especially English and math!"
"Does this girl have a name, or am I supposed to refer to her as 'She- who-is-sick-a-lot'?"
Yuka looked speculative; as if she was judging weather he was worthy of this friend's name. Shippou resisted the urge to walk away. "Sometime today, please!"
"Higurashi Kagome!"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A/N: Hi all. This is where my author's notes will be. I'm sorry if you do not like the way I portray the older Shippou (yes, it is spelled S-h-I-p-p- o-u). And I'm sorry if this was confusing. It's hard to give all the information and not make it seem fake. As this is in Shippou's and (at times) Kagome's point of view, even if it is 3rd-person, I can't just go on explaining things at will. And the only 'flashbacks' will be in Shippou's dreams. You just don't normally have flashbacks while wandering around.
I took some creative license with the way Shippou felt around Kagome, making her more of a little boy crush. (Do little boys do that? I know little girls do.) And no, Shippou is not a teenager. He's like 25-30ish. I'm sorry I didn't describe what he looks like. It just didn't fit. It'll happen later.
Wow.. These are long A/Ns, ne? I'll shut up & let you go read something worthwhile now.
plot
Shippou looked over the sprawling city outside his window. He could never quite get used to it, never quite get rid of that itching feeling that he shouldn't be here.br dlddiOf course, as most youkai live for a gazillion years, I really should get over that feeling./i Shippou mused to himself. Hanyous didn't really have that problem; they lived longer than humans, but still not as long as a full-blooded youkai would. Which was a very long time.br dlddiI wonder if Shesshoumaru ever felt like this./i He wondered, not that I'd ever know, as most often when he met us he'd try to kill us, but.../ibr dlddIt was a feeling of being out of place, of not quite fitting in. There were so few youkai left now a days, having left for better places elsewhere. Anywhere not settled would do. But those places were becoming fewer and fewer as humans bred and bred they're -children. iNot pups. He reminded himself. Children./ibr dlddThe only youkai who stayed in the cities were the mischief-makers, the kitsune and, in other countries, the raven youkai or the coyote tribes. They were halfway across the world, though, even though now it didn't really matter. Hop on a plane and you were there.br dldd"Yo, Shippou! Wake up!" said an amused voice next to him.
dldd"Not asleep, not that it's really any of you're business." Shippou muttered back at one of his human friends.
dldd"Course it's my business! How can you help teach me English if you keep spacing out?"
dlddShippou had learned as the years went by that a youkai could only do so much and not get bored, especially a kitsune, who lived to make mischief. So he had amused himself by teaching himself languages, and learning all he could about everything around him.
And instead of doing anything interesting with that knowledge, he was stuck tutoring kids in English.
"Okay, okay. What do you need help with?" Shippou asked, knowing that if he didn't answer, the kid would bother him incessantly.i Did Inuyasha ever feel like this?/i
"My homework."
"What about it?"
"Will you do it for me?"
Shippou resisted the urge to bang his head on the table. Barely.
Shippou hit the lights on his apartment, his eyes taking in everything. No messages on the answering machine, no one had stolen his shampoo, and his window was still intact. Which was a miracle, he personally thought, as at least 7 birds a day decided to find out what a lovely place was inside.
iI should probably stop putting birdseed out on the inside windowsill if I really want the birds to go away. But it's so much fun!/i
Speaking of fun, life was getting boring again. He'd helped kids learn rude words in different languages, left 3 love letters in random mailboxes, and he was bored. Everything was the same nowadays. Nothing new was happening.
Maybe he could change his look. Go for the bishonen look. He dragged himself over to the mirror, and thanked whatever sick god had come up with the idea of youkai that they aged very gracefully. He was really not that old in youkai terms, as people like Kouga were still alive and reaching the end of middle age. He was, to youkai, about just out of his teenage years. In human terms, maybe 28. Not very old.
He had given up the old fashioned clothes of the warring states era, and had recently learned to love modern clothes. Especially American clothes, and jeans. Muscle shirts, rude T-shirts, everything. It gave him something to do when he was bored. Which he was, a lot.
Shippou often wondered about Kagome. Did she live here, in this city? Had she met Inuyasha yet? Had she met him yet? Maybe he could go search for her. What as her last name, though? He only knew her first. It wouldn't work.
Shippou lay down on his bed, thinking. Well, he was really remembering. About how they had defeated Naraku, and how Inuyasha had- Shippou shook his head violently. It would do him no good to think about Inuyasha. He couldn't change anything. Inuyasha would choose, and life would go on for Kagome.
If only he knew her full name! He could change the way things worked out, let Kagome be happy. Make her-iaw what am I thinking? Make her do what? I can't make her fall in love with someone else./i
The full force of his thought hit him. Make her fall in love with someone else! Then when Inuyasha wished to be a complete youkai like he did, she would be gone and he never would have-
He shook his head again. iI can't even think that word anymore. But I have to someday; I have to come to terms with the fact that Inuyasha almost raped Kagome./i
It repulsed him to even have to think about that day. That day, Inuyasha had chosen to become a full youkai. And Miroku had been right; Inuyasha had turned evil.
He snarled and hit his pillow in anger. How could Inuyasha have done that? If it hadn't been for Kikyou, as much as it galled him to admit it, he would have-he would have.
The anger was gone as quickly as it came, leaving him with only a hollow feeling inside. It was over; there was nothing he could do about it. He lay down and let himself fall off to sleep, knowing that he would dream about that day, and knowing there was nothing he could do to stop the events.
iHe was in a field, watching his younger self pout and worry about Inuyasha. Shippou-the-younger knew there was something wrong with him. Ever since he turned full demon; he'd been acting strange.
Miroku and Sango sat in the grass next to him, also worried. Inuyasha and Kagome had been gone for almost 2 hours. Miroku started to say something, but stopped as he and everyone else saw Kagome stumble out of the forest, bleeding and crying.
Shippou-the-younger got to Kagome first, and ran into her arms. "Kagome! Kagome, what's wrong?!"
Kagome was crying so hard she couldn't answer. She fell to the ground and flinched when Miroku tried to help her up. Sango looked worried. Shippou-the-younger couldn't understand what was wrong. What had that stupid Inuyasha done?
Sango picked Kagome up, her eyes flashing over the cuts and bruises on her chest, thighs and neck. Kagome's clothes looked as though someone had tried to rip them off. Shippou-the-younger still didn't understand. What was wrong with her? Where was Inuyasha? He was supposed to protect her!
Sometime later, when Sango had gotten Kagome over to Keade's hut, and Kagome had calmed down enough to speak; she told Sango what had happened in a dead, hollow voice.
"I was walking through the woods because I wanted to bathe, and Inuyasha came and he-" she broke off, and then tried again. "He tried to." She started crying again. Sango looked angry. Livid, really. She looked like she was going to kill something. Preferably Inuyasha.
She stood and left, and Shippou crawled up to Kagome, scared and confused. What was wrong with her? What had Inuyasha done that made her this scared? He curled up on her chest, noting that she relaxed when he touched her, but.she had looked really scared when Miroku tried to help her up.
Suddenly it dawned on him. Everything clicked-her not letting Miroku, a grown man, touch her, the bruises, the way her clothes looked ripped, why Sango was so angry.
It took all the self-control he had not to leave Kagome to find Inuyasha and maim him. He started to go, but Kagome whimpered and grabbed at him, trying to make him stay. He lay down again. Kagome needed him; he needed to be strong.
Several days later, Kagome finished the story. Kikyou of all people had stopped Inuyasha, pulling him down to hell with her. Inuyasha was dead.
After she healed, Kagome left and never came back./i
Shippou woke up, sweating, ready to lash out at anything in his way. The dream had toned down a bit, but every time he remembered, he wanted to rip Inuyasha to pieces. Kagome had never quite been a imother/i, more like a crush he would do anything to protect. Even little kids have they're crushes, people they respect and admire and look up to.
iI doubt I ever really thought of her as a mother. She was someone I loved, or at least thought I did, someone who could make all the bad things disappear. It was a little child's crush./i
Shippou gave up lying in bed and decided to go for a walk around Tokyo.
Walking around the Tokyo streets, Shippou got about 3 bocks away from his apartment building before he was grabbed by one of his female students, Yuka, who needed someone to explain irregular linking verbs. While he did so, she proceeded to bother him about his hair.
"It's so ishaggy/i! Shippou, honestly, you need to get it cut. I know this one girl who does really cheap haircuts, and I could even pay for it in return for all your help."
He blinked. She grinned. "Really! It's cheap, and I'd sleep well at night, knowing I'd done a good deed."
She wouldn't take 'no' for answer, nor would she take 'I like my hair, thank you very much!' or even 'So, about these linking verbs..'
Shippou was hauled to Yuka's friend's house, where he inspected his hair, trying to figure out what on earth was iwrong/i with his hair anyways? So it was a little shaggy, and he hadn't gotten it cut for a while. Well.really, for years. It came down to his mid back; the only reason he hadn't gotten it cut was that it seemed to shock his neighbors, who (in his opinion) were in serious need of shocking.
Yuka's friend turned out to be a 30-odd year old woman who took one look at him and told Yuka that a cut would be free of charge, as everyone should do their civic duty to make their neighborhood look better.
Half an hour and many odd conversations later, Shippou was deemed ready to be able to face the world without 'feeling unbearable shame.'
iWhat do these girls do in their free time, when they're not jumping poor youkai and making them cut their hair?/i Shippou looked in the mirror. He had to admit he looked good. Handsome even. His hair had been cut and flattened, so it was straight and not as unruly as it used to be. His bangs (something he had argued furiously against, although he knew he had no chance of winning,) were also straight, and drew attention to his eyes.
"You just need to wash and blow-dry it every morning, and it'll stay like this." Yuka said, her tone implying that she did not believe he even brushed his hair.
"Joy, rapture, yippee. May I go now?"
He was out the door and halfway across the street when Yuka yelled "Can you come to my place tomorrow? I've got a friend who's been sick a lot and needs help on her work, especially English and math!"
"Does this girl have a name, or am I supposed to refer to her as 'She- who-is-sick-a-lot'?"
Yuka looked speculative; as if she was judging weather he was worthy of this friend's name. Shippou resisted the urge to walk away. "Sometime today, please!"
"Higurashi Kagome!"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A/N: Hi all. This is where my author's notes will be. I'm sorry if you do not like the way I portray the older Shippou (yes, it is spelled S-h-I-p-p- o-u). And I'm sorry if this was confusing. It's hard to give all the information and not make it seem fake. As this is in Shippou's and (at times) Kagome's point of view, even if it is 3rd-person, I can't just go on explaining things at will. And the only 'flashbacks' will be in Shippou's dreams. You just don't normally have flashbacks while wandering around.
I took some creative license with the way Shippou felt around Kagome, making her more of a little boy crush. (Do little boys do that? I know little girls do.) And no, Shippou is not a teenager. He's like 25-30ish. I'm sorry I didn't describe what he looks like. It just didn't fit. It'll happen later.
Wow.. These are long A/Ns, ne? I'll shut up & let you go read something worthwhile now.