Yes! Reviews! Awesome… well here we go, another chap!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was late afternoon and the sun was setting on a peaceful autumn day. Tomorrow would be brighter; he knew it. Shippo had always had a good eye for weather. His mother had teased him, telling him he should be a weatherman. But Shippo had been appalled with that idea. He would be horrified to picture himself in a suit and tie in some musty newsroom. Besides, he would be fired for goofing off in front of the camera. He let these thoughts flow loosely in his mind as he took a puff on his cigarette. He didn't know why he was smoking one. He only did it when something was bothering him.
He looked down the road and saw a blonde head bobbing with her stride as she came towards him. Kilala lived right down the road on the other side of the line. There wasn't really a line there but you could tell which side was which. There were the nice, not real big, but nice houses on one side. On the other were the shacks and flats. It got worse as you moved further in. Thankfully Shippo lived in a fairly nice part for his side of the line. His house itself wasn't in the nicest of shapes though. It had needed a lot of fixing when his parents had bought it and his dad had only done minor repair work. He may have been following his father's footsteps when it came to mechanics but he was no good at home improvement. He leaned against the rickety white fence and watched her come up the drive.
She smiled and brought up her hand in a familiar wave. "Hey Shipp!" He brought two fingers to his forehead in a miniature salute. "Sup, Ki?" She looked at the cigarette between his lips and let her smile slide into an annoyed scowl. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged at her but she was not enthused. She snatched the smoke from his mouth and ground it under her heel. "Hey! I was using that!" She smiled at him with sarcasm. "Yea, that's the point. Shippo, if I've told you once, I've told you a billion times, that stuff is crap. Just a waste of money and I hate to remind you, you're low on the green." He smiled at her. She was always on him about something, but never in a way that bugged him. "Yea yea, I know. Ease off a little, you're starting to sound like my mom." He laughed a little and she smiled but in his eyes she could see memories that were enough to draw tears. He looked down and his smile faded a little, she knew what he was thinking about. It had been almost a year now but he had never gotten over it. Maybe he never would. His parent's death had smashed any hopes that Shippo ever had at being a "normal" kid. Its not like he had ever been an extremely good kid but now… smoking, F's, skipping school. And whenever he was there he was in trouble. She knew he was still good old Shipp at heart but he needed to clean up. And no matter how hard she tried she was not the one who could do it. She looked up at his house. Another shutter had fallen loose and hung lopsided like the haunted manors in horror movies. She sighed, "Shippo, you really need some help with this house…" He smirked; "Aww c'mon, the house is fine, it-" He was cut off when the fence post he was leaning on gave way and the whole fence toppled over. He stared dumbstruck from the ground. "OK, so it needs a little work…" Kilala giggled and extended a hand to help him up. "C'mon lets get inside before the ground caves in under our feet." She led him up the cracked path to the house and let herself inside. It had been like that even before Shippo was living on his own. She was just like one of the family. And now she was all he had left.
They went into the messy living room and fell into the old armchairs. "So how was detention Shipp?" He growled at her. "Annoying. But I bet it was better then sitting in class soaking wet." He smirked at her and she smiled back. "Actually I want to thank you for that." "What??" he gaped. She giggled, "I slipped because of the water and RUNE helped me up!" Shippo put his head in his hand, "Oh not this again…" She beamed, "Aww Shipp, but he's too hot!" He just shook his head ad suddenly leapt to a regal pose on the armchair. "He ain't got nuthin on me!" he fell off the chair. She laughed out loud, "Nooo, no one can compare to your charm!" He sat up grinning. "Yea, I wish…specially with that new girl…" She was instantly in his face. "New girl? What new girl? So you like her? What's she look like? What's her name?" Shippo smiled mildly, Ki had always been trying to get him a girlfriend but he just never wanted one. News that he could even possibly like a girl was enough to make her go crazy. "Easy Ki! Her name is Rin Shelling and she just came to Disten High. She's got dark hair and she looks real shy." Kilala gasped and giggled in that way that girl's do when they're talking about boys at slumber parties or their favorite band is on TV. "Awww, she sounds sweet! I can't wait to meet her! Shippo's FINALLY got a girlfriend!!!" "Hey hey! She's not my girlfriend!" He waved his hands frantically but Kilala just started taunting him in a singsong voice and it ended in a wrestling match. Shippo came out the victor and Kilala decided it was time to head home. It was dark and Shippo had nothing to do so he walked with her.
On the way there, Sota came up behind them on his bike. He was on his way home which was further down the road, where the neighborhoods were very nice. He rode beside them and listened to Ki go on about Shippo's "girlfriend" and then enjoyed watching Kilala being chased by Shippo with a stick. He laughed along with them. "Hey twerp, where are you coming from at a time like this, anyway?" Sota smiled happily. "I was over at Kohaku's house. We have lots in common." Kilala smiled sweetly, "Its good to see you make a new friend Sota, specially one that's actually your age. You were always so shy before." Sota blushed, "yea, I guess so." Shippo snatched him off his bike and caught him in a noogie. "Yea, you can't hang with the big kids forever, shrimp!" The bike went crashing to the ground and Sota was struggling in Shippo's arms. "Hey! Cut it out Shipp!" he laughed and let Sota drop to his feet. Kilala turned to her house and waved to them.
Ki's mom was waiting in the window. She cared very much for her daughter, which was all she had. Kilala's dad had left the family when Ki was only six years old and they hadn't seen him since. That always made Shippo's blood boil. A girl like Kilala deserved nothing but the best. But he shoved these thoughts aside and waved to Ki's mom before turning to Sota. "So, you ok the rest the way to your place?" Sota got back on his bike, "yea, I'll be fine. See ya tomorrow!" "Later, twerp!" Shippo head back to his shack on the other side of the line. The night breeze ruffled his jacket and he shivered in the autumn wind. He'd have to double up on the blankets, tonight.
Sota watched Shippo leave before turning and heading towards his house. As e neared the two-story home he could just make out his sisters car over the hedge that surrounded the yard. He wondered if Sango was over for supper again. His thoughts were answered hen he turned up the drive and met his sister, Kagome, and her friends, Sango and Hojo, leaving the house. Sota waved, "Hey sis! Where ya headed?" "Hi Sota! We're going out to eat. Want me to pick you up anything?" "Nah that's ok…" He went past to put his bike in the garage and waved them good-bye before going inside. He was home; he said hi to hi mom and grandpa before making himself a sandwich and settling on the couch to watch TV. He had made a new friend and still had Shipp and Ki. Live was particularly good today.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And next time we take you into Kagome's life, WOOO! OK later. I gotta go to school .