AN: Here's the 2nd chappie. Guess what? I have 2 reviews!! Kyuuka is so happy!! Hehe, I love my reviewers! Muah!!!

Disclaimer: I'm not disclaimin nothing! Wait, where are you taking my ramen noodles?! You can't do this to me!!! Gimme ramen!!! FINE!!! -sigh- kyuuka-kitsune does NOT own Inuyasha...at all. Yay, Ramen!!!! Mmmmm....

Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts

Chapter 2: Chopstick Chivalry

Inuyasha stared after the retreating girls. 'Kagome, huh. I could've mistaken her for Kikyou. I wonder if they're related.' Inuyasha's thoughts were interrupted by a loud groan coming from the man on the ground. Inuyasha looked over at him, and looked at his watch.

"We've only been open for 2 ½ hours and you already got knocked out twice, Miroku."

"Ah, but it was worth it..." Miroku replied, slurring his words signifying he wasn't fully conscious yet.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be a monk in training or something?"

Miroku sighed. "Yes, but only because it's in my blood. All the men in our family have trained long years at becoming a powerful monk. Remember we still have to defeat Naraku's gang. You know how he tricked both of us..." Miroku suddenly looked up to find Inuyasha gone.

"Inuyasha?" he glanced around the room and found the hanyou digging through a discount bucket.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" he asked the startled hanyou with a raised eyebrow.

The hanyou turned his head and had a look of disbelief on his face. "The Shikon no Tama...is...it's gone!"

Miroku developed a startled look and accusingly asked, "What was it doing in a bargain bin!?"

The next emotion to cross Inuyasha's face was guilt. "Well, I sort of put it there for safe keeping..." His voice trailed off as he suddenly found the ground very interesting.

"What's so safe about a bargain bin!?" shrieked the monk-in-training.

Inuyasha raised his head and glared daggers at his friend and shouted, "How was I supposed to know people actually went through those stupid bins!? I mean, what kind of baka would want this crappy jewelry!?"

Their 'conversation' was interrupted by loud "AHEM!" Inuyasha and Miroku turned their heads towards the sound verrrrrrrrry slowly with wide eyes. Standing there was a very angry looking plump man with a big bushy yet curly mustache, eyebrows twitching, arms folded over his chest and tapping his foot. They could just imagine smoke coming out of his ears as he yelled, "WHAT are you two doing STANDING around doing NOTHING but ARGUING?!?!?"

Both Inuyasha and Miroku flinched as he started yelling, spit flying everywhere. When he had finished, Inuyasha wiped his face with his hand, just to get on the man's nerves. When he saw the man's eyes widen, he smirked and replied, "We were just having a contest to see who could scream the loudest, but I apologize...we should have invited you, you would have won."

The man looked like he was about to rip the hanyou's head off, but instead, opted for the next best thing. "YOU'RE FIRED!!!!"

Inuyasha responded by crossing his arms over his chest, looking away and saying "Feh!" With that said, he walked off, taking off his hat in the process. When the man saw Inuyasha's ears, he became even more enraged and Inuyasha could hear as Miroku tried to no avail to calm the man down. Instead of becoming calm, the man turned on Miroku, grabbing the front of his shirt and yelling in his face, "YOU'RE FIRED TOO!!!!" Miroku pulled away from the man's grasp and ran to catch up with Inuyasha.

Inuyasha looked over at his friend. If looks could kill, Inuyasha would have turned to ashes long ago and he flinched. He'd never seen Miroku glare at him like that. "What?" he asked.

"Inuyasha, you baka, you just got me fired!!"

"Feh, it's not my fault the man's an idiot. We can get a better job than that, and you know it, Miroku."

Miroku sighed. He knew his friend was right. They were very talented, strong, and smart. Inuyasha might be a bit stubborn, but some managers saw that as a plus. Miroku on the other hand was a very good liar and was amazingly good-looking (or so he thought). They could easily get another job just as good, if not better. That's when he noticed Inuyasha had stopped walking and stood rooted to the spot a few feet back. Miroku back-tracked and stared quizzically at Inuyasha.

"What's wrong?"

"The Shikon no Tama," he whispered, as if out of breath.

Miroku mentally slapped himself. Of course, that's what they had been arguing about before their boss had come over and fired them. Miroku developed a look of skepticism as he asked, "But how did it get out of the store?"

Inuyasha shook his head and replied, "I would've noticed if someone had been buying it."

Miroku nodded, "I would have as well. But if nobody bought it, then...how..." He stopped mid-sentence as a thought struck him. "Inuyasha, nobody bought the Shikon no Tama, right?"

Inuyasha nodded, not getting where Miroku was going with this.

"Well, if nobody bought it, how else could it get up and walk out of the store."

Inuyasha scoffed, "It didn't grow legs, Miroku, don't be stupid!"

Miroku lowered his head and shook it in disbelief at his friend's stupid manner. "Inuyasha, someone stole it," he put in simple terms that he knew the hanyou would understand. The realization his Inuyasha like a stone in the head when Miroku said it was stolen.

"The girls..." he growled. It was the only logical explanation, and it was perfect. The girl with the giant boomerang distracted them by trying to buy a piece of jewelry and not having any money while the other girl, what was her name again, oh yeah, Kagome stuck the jewel in her pocket. Neither Inuyasha nor Miroku had been paying attention to her while the boomerang girl was looking for money. Inuyasha growled low in his throat.

"We have to get it back."

Miroku nodded. The Shikon no Tama was very important, to both of them. Although, it had more sentimental value to Inuyasha than anything. "They can't have gone very far, they only left about 15 minutes ago."

"Let's split up, you take down there, and I'll go this way. We'll meet back up at the food court in a half hour." With that said, they raced around the mall, searching for the 2 elusive girls.

----The 2 'elusive' girls----

Before researching the Shikon no Tama, Kagome and Sango set out to get food. After arguing over whether to get food at McDonald's or Chik-Fil-A, they decided on Sarku Japan. After ordering their food, they sat down at the table they'd been at before and wolfed down their food. Kagome finished first and eyed Sango's hungrily. Sango noticed her looking at her food with a weird glint in her eye and pulled the plate closer to her and blocked it from Kagome's view with her arm. Kagome picked up her chopsticks and hold them out, like she was preparing for battle. Sango got the hint and picked up her chopsticks as well, holding them similar to how Kagome held hers. They then started sword fighting using their chopsticks. Sango knew winner would take all and she wasn't about to give her food up that easily.

"HA!" Sango shouted as she broke Kagome's first chopstick. Kagome looked at her broken chopstick like she was about to cry, but quickly got back in the game, still having one chopstick left. After about 2 minutes of struggling, Kagome finally managed to break one of Sango's chopsticks. Sango stared in disbelief at her broken chopstick but her expression quickly changed to determination and this scared Kagome. She knew when Sango had that look, things could get pretty nasty. Sango jumped up from her chair, surprising Kagome, but she jumped up too. Soon people began to stare at the odd girls fighting with chopsticks. They started to circle around the table, watching the opponent carefully scrutinizing their every move. Sango made the first move, catching Kagome by surprise and as a result, she didn't have time to block and was hit on top of her head. She quickly recovered and lashed back, catching Sango's left hand.

"Touché!" Sango smirked, "But let's see how you like this!" With that, Sango swung her chopstick like a sword into Kagome's and she watched as it broke into 2.

"NOOOO!!!!" Kagome yelled as she fell to her knees, arms outstretched to the ceiling, as she looked up. Sango gave an evil laugh but then she realized something and she too fell to her knees, looking at her chopstick in regret. Kagome saw this and crawled over to her and poked her arm. Sango looked up.

"What's wrong, Sango?"

Sango started sniffling as she held up her chopstick. "I only have 1 chopstick left."

Kagome raised an eyebrow in confusion. "And?"

"And you need 2 to eat with!" she cried out.

Kagome realized her plight and sympathized with her friend, patting her on the back. "There, there, Sango, it's ok. Wait here, I'll be right back." That said, Kagome walked off, leaving Sango to stare at her chopstick. Kagome returned a minute later, her hands behind her back.

"Sango, I've got something for you!"

Sango raised her head. "For me?"

Kagome nodded and gave a big smile as she showed Sango what she had behind her back. Sango gasped as Kagome handed them to her.

"Kagome, you're the best ever!" she said as she gave her a big hug. She quickly released her hold and sat down at the table again, taking the set of chopsticks Kagome had given her out and quickly finished her food. Sango set down her chopsticks and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed and a smile on her content face. Kagome sat down across from her and just giggled. Sango opened one eye.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking about that Miroku guy back at the store."

This caused Sango to open both eyes and a frown to appear on her once content face. "Don't tell me you like him, Kagome!"

Kagome only laughed harder which made Sango's frown deepen. "What in the world is so funny!?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I don't like him. I was thinking about the question he asked you."

Sango's face turned a bright red. She almost forgot about that...'almost'. "What about it!?" Sango asked, glaring at her.

Kagome knew when she stepped over her limits, and she knew that now was a good time to keep her mouth shut. "Nothing! Never mind, it was nothing!"

This seemed to satisfy Sango as she smirked. Her smirk quickly disappeared though and was replaced with a look of worry and she seemed to look at something behind Kagome. Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and slowly turned her head. Her eyes widened as she spotted the 2 guys from the shop stare at them and begin to make their way over to them. Sango said the 2 words that Kagome was thinking but couldn't voice, "Oh shit!"

----Inu's and Miroku's POV----

After a half hour of quickly searching through every store in the mall, Inuyasha and Miroku finally met up at the food court.

"I couldn't find them anywhere! Any luck with you, Miroku?"

Miroku slowly shook his head and Inuyasha caught a glimpse of a look of a defeat on his face, but it quickly turned to relief and victory as he grinned.

"What are you so happy about, monk?"

Miroku glared at his friend. Today, his good ole pal decided it'd be fun to start calling him 'monk' instead of Miroku. He rolled his eyes as he simply pointed behind the confused hanyou. Inuyasha turned around quickly and smirked when he saw the two girls sitting at a table. He then started walking towards them with Miroku right beside him. He saw the look of horror on the 'boomerang-girl's face and watched as Kagome turned around with a look much like the other girl's. With his hanyou hearing, he clearly caught the first girl saying "Oh shit!". Then to his dismay, the girls got up and started walking quickly away from them. 'Oh no, we're gonna lose them in the crowd!' Inuyasha thought, his smirk turning to a scowl. When they reached the spot where the girls formerly were, sure enough, they had lost sight of them. They continued to look around the food court, however, and hope that they caught sight of them again.

(Should kyuuka-kit stop here? ...Nah!)

----Kag's and Sango's POV----

Kagome and Sango walked away from their table, hoping to get lost in the crowd. They proceeded to head the last place a person like them would be...the merry-go-round. They paid for the tickets and got on the merry-go- round. Kagome picked a black horse while Sango took the one next to her. It was a giant yellowish cat demon with black stripes on its two tails and red eyes. Sango instantly fell in love with it and decided to name it.

Kagome turned towards Sango when she heard her say "Kirara" and saw Sango giving the plastic demon a hug. Kagome sweat-dropped and faced front again. But she didn't have long before she was interrupted yet again by a small voice saying, "Hi!"

Kagome turned to her left and saw a little kitsune cub climb onto the horse next to her and stare at her with big adorable turquoise eyes.

"Hi!" Kagome responded, flashing a big smile towards the little boy.

The boy beamed and flashed his own grin and continued. "I'm Shippo and I'm a powerful demon!" he said smirking and striking a pose. This made Kagome giggle. When Shippo heard her giggle he asked her, "What's so funny?"

"You're just so kawaii!" Kagome replied.

Shippo frowned. "I am not cute, I'm a ferocious demon!" he corrected.

Kagome decided to play along, "Okay, okay!"

Shippo looked at her and then said, "You didn't tell me your name."

"Oh, sorry, my name is Kagome," she replied, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Wanna be my friend, Kagome?" Shippo asked, and Kagome could see the sincerity in his eyes.

"Yes, I would love to be your friend, Shippo!"

He beamed at that comment and the merry-go-round started up. He then started talking about all his special abilities, like his fox-fire and his transformations and his crying mushrooms. Kagome looked at the adorable little boy. When there was a pause, Kagome asked, "So Shippo, I would love to meet your parents, they raised you very well." Kagome noticed his eyes looked sad at what she said. 'Uh oh,' she thought, 'I should start watching what I say.'

"My parents died," he said looking a little sad.

"Oh, Shippo, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have brought that up, please forgive me?" she asked sincerely.

Shippo stared at Kagome in wonder. No one had ever asked him to forgive them before. He smiled big and answered, "Of course, I forgive you, Kagome! Not a lot of people ever wanna talk to me and I really like talking to you!" This made Kagome smile as she enveloped the kawaii kitsune in a tight hug. Shippo smiled and after Kagome let go, he jumped in her lap and looked at her.

"Can I sit here with you, please?" he asked with big puppy dog eyes that Kagome couldn't refuse.

"Of course you can!" But the ride suddenly stopped and Kagome looked over at Sango who had been watching the whole scene take place with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Shippo, this is Sango," Kagome introduced Sango to him as Sango stood up and the kitsune jumped onto her shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, Sango!" Shippo smiled. Kagome stood up and they all walked (well, Shippo rode on Sango's shoulder) off the ride. As soon as they exited the ride and were away from the crowd, though, a hand grabbed Kagome's wrist and she froze in shock.

AN: Well kyuuka-kit's gonna end it here, ok? I guess it's sort of a cliffhanger. If you can figure out who the hand belongs to, you get a cookie! Mmmmm, cookie. This is where I respond to my reviewers! I'm still so excited that people reviewed! You like me, you really like me!! Hehe.

Icy Ichigo- You really think this is as good as kit's stories? This makes me happy!!! Cookie for you!! Oh, and okey day is just my thing for saying okey dokey. You'll probably see that in later chapters too!

Alyssa- Ok, here's more! And for reviewing...here's a cookie!!

I decided that just one cookie isn't enough for my awesome reviewers, soooo...if you DO review, you get a BOX full of cookies!!! C'mon people, this is an offer you can't refuse!! What do you mean, you can refuse it, no you can't!!! I have a magic spell over you!! My spells don't affect you?! How can this be?! It must be the awesome powers of the readers/reviewers that protect you. But if you're reading this, you know you like it! And if you like it you should review! That's all I gots to say. Catch ya later!

kyuuka-kitsune