Stepping inside the room labeled "Shippou"; Kagome glanced around slowly, Inu Yasha moving to lean against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"This isn't going to take long, is it?"
"No..." whispered the young girl before saying a little bit louder, "Shippou? It's okay; it's me, Kagome. Remember, the girl who used to baby-sit you? Are you okay?" There was a muffled sound from beneath the bed and Kagome got down on her hands and knees to peer under it. Inu Yasha watched his captive in fascination, especially her rear area as she crawled closer to the bed.
"Shippou?" there was a sniffle in response and Kagome reached under to pull out a small boy with a large fluffy foxtail. She blinked at him as Inu Yasha tilted his head in confusion. "You're...Shippou?"
"Y-yes..." the little boy replied, looking up at her. "You h-haven't seen me in my d-demon form because m-mommy and daddy said to hide it. Th-that's why I d-disappeared sometimes, so I c-could re-disguise myself..." he said in a wavering voice. "Wh-where are mommy and daddy?" Inu Yasha snorted slightly until it was cut short by a glare from Kagome. She looked at the fox kit kindly.
"Well, Shippou, your mommy and daddy have...they've..."
"They died kid," said Inu Yasha bluntly.
"Inu Yasha!" chided Kagome. "Don't say such things!"
"What? That's what happened," muttered Inu Yasha, "I'm only telling him the truth."
"They died?" asked Shippou, trying to control his crying. Kagome gave him a gloomy nod. The tiny boy cuddled against the girl and buried his face in her shirt. She could hear his sobs start up again faintly. Inu Yasha groaned loudly.
"What are you planning on doing with that runt?"
"I'm taking him of course," replied Kagome defiantly. "Where else is he to go?"
"I dunno, but I'm not letting him in my house!"
"Fine. Then I'm not going in your house." she huffed
"Ugh. Okay, smart one, how are we supposed to get him there on my motorcycle?" question Inu Yasha smugly.
"Sango's got a car. She can give me a ride." There was a frustrated growl from the half-demon before he sighed.
"Fine. But I'm not taking care of him. Or sparing a room for him."
"That's fine. He can sleep with me." The white haired man wisely refrained from commenting on that. Shippou was still crying quietly, though the sobs had subsided into moans and whimpers. Kagome glanced around quickly and snatched a small blanket from Shippou's bed, covering him with it. Inu Yasha looked at her curiously until she said,
"So he won't see anything."
As they made their way back outside, they noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Haipa had gained tails and pointy ears, like their son had and Inu Yasha said almost inaudibly,
"They're kitsunes, or shape changers. No wonder you didn't know the kid was a demon." Kagome made a vague response and went back over to Sango's house.
"Kagome!" yelled her friend, hurrying over and stopping suddenly at Shippou peering out at her. "Wha-who's that?" she asked warily.
"This is Shippou. His parents were killed by gangsters...Kouga's." said Kagome, scowling. Sango smiled at the boy.
"Hi Shippou. I'm Sango."
"Hi." whispered the fox demon, snuggling deeper into Kagome's arms. Inu Yasha glowered.
"Um, Sango?" questioned Kagome.
"Yeah?"
"Could you give Shippou and me a ride home? Both of us can't go on Inu Yasha's motorcycle."
"Sure! How do I get to Inu Yasha's house?"
"Just follow me," responded Inu Yasha, going over to his vehicle and hopping on. Shippou stared at it for a minute before Kagome got into Sango's silver Toyota Camry.
"Thanks a bunch, Sango." said Kagome as Sango started the engine.
"No prob."
"Hey, I have a question."
"Yeah?"
"Did Inu Yasha find me at the Haipa's because he's a demon or because you told him?" Kagome clicked her seatbelt in place as Sango pulled out the driveway after Inu Yasha.
"Um...combination? He came storming into the house saying he could tell you had left and I had better give him a good reason. I told him you heard noises next door and went over to inspect. So he went tearing over after you. It was quite romantic, really..." sighed Sango, causing Kagome to groan.
"Oh no, Sango. Don't start on that again! I don't even know if I'm going to try your plan."
"Come on, Kags. You have to!" said Sango, using Kagome's old nickname. It caused the young woman to sigh before saying,
"All right, all right. I'll try it. But that's it. Okay?"
"That's all I ask." said the future detective.
Meanwhile, Shippou was trying to figure out what the two girls were talking about. He knew who Inu Yasha was; in fact, he knew it was the man on the motorcycle in front of them. He didn't understand how Kagome had gotten herself involved with the ex-gangster, but he was also pondering what she by Sango's 'plan'. He decided that he would ask Kagome later and curled up on her lap to go to sleep.
"Damn." said Kagome once they reached Inu Yasha's house.
"What?" replied Sango before turning off the car and reaching for the handle to get out.
"I forgot shampoo..." Kagome moaned as she cautiously got out, holding Shippou carefully.
"Oh, Kags, I'm sure Inu Yasha will forgive you for the shampoo because of the gangster murdering incident."
"You don't know Inu Yasha..."
Kagome invited Sango in, and though she had no authority to do so, Inu Yasha tolerated it and the two girls settled at the kitchen table with sodas, talking about the good old days. This was after Kagome had laid Shippou down in her bed of course.
Inu Yasha went into the living room and turned on the TV, pretending to watch it while really listening to the women's conversation.
"So Sango, how long until you graduate?"
"One semester! Then I'll be a full-fledged detective! Well...once I'm certified of course..." Inu Yasha frowned at the thought of Sango being a cop. Then she'd be mostly against demons. Pretty much all the police officers in Chicago were. "What about you, Kags? Are you going to actually get back to being that historian/curator for that old templey thing?"
"It's a shrine, Sango!"
"Whatever."
"Once I need the money. The one good thing about Kouga, besides his looks, was that he gave me lots of presents, including cash. So I think I'm set for a little while. Assuming he doesn't want it back once I convince him I'm through with him." Inu Yasha frowned at the mention of Kouga's attractiveness. He didn't really think that wolf demon would really make girls think he was good looking.
Especially not one as pretty as Kagome. Wait. What? I do not think Kagome is pretty! At least...not very pretty. Inu Yasha thoughts were cut short by the front door opening and closing.
"I'm ho-ome!" came a cheerful voice. Inu Yasha grumbled to himself before twisting around to actually watch the television.
Miroku entered the kitchen and started at seeing the two girls at the table.
"Well, hello there." he said, grinning. Kagome nodded to him as Sango looked at him suspiciously. "What might you two ladies be doing?"
"Talking." said Sango shortly. Kagome smiled, knowing Sango's distrust of men. She had been screwed over a couple times, and many a men had been snubbed by Sango Ryoushi. Miroku looked at her as if she was possessed and then glanced at Kagome, who said sweetly,
"I'm sorry Miroku. We're discussing the past. Care to join us discussing the future?" The raven-haired man beamed, nodding and grabbed a beer out of the fridge, then sat down next to Sango. She scooted away slightly. "So, Miroku, what do you think I should do once Inu Yasha fails in killing Kouga and lets me go?"
"Such confidence." hissed a voice from Kagome's left. She turned to see Inu Yasha glowering at her. "What makes you think I'll fail in killing Kouga or let you go?" Kagome smirked at him saying,
"Oh, believe me, when I'm done with you, you'll do anything I say." Inu Yasha blinked in shock as Sango sniggered and Miroku chuckled. The half-demon madly squashed down any thoughts he had, knowing they would be bad and replied snidely,
"You wish, wench. I'm going to kill Kouga and you won't stop me no matter what!" Kagome dignifiedly didn't respond, choosing instead to take a sip of her soda and turn to Sango.
"Well Sango, mister big bad demon thinks I have no control over him." She swiveled in her chair to look back at him and declared, "Kouga thought the same thing. Now look what he's doing. He's searching the entire city to rescue me."
"Well, obviously he's not doing a very good job," replied Inu Yasha, smirking, "What has it been, like three days? I would have been able to find some stupid human wench by then. Obviously Kouga is an inferior demon."
"But you're the half demon." came a sleepy voice from the doorway. Kagome glanced over to see Shippou standing there smugly.
"Shut up squirt." snapped Inu Yasha.
"What, you are! I know who Kouga is. He's a full demon. You're not." Shippou stated, "I'm only telling you the truth." the fox demon continued, repeating what Inu Yasha had said earlier. Kagome covered her mouth, laughing slightly. "Maybe Kouga is just trying to find the perfect moment to spring a trap on you." With that, he made his way over to Kagome and jumped onto her lap. Miroku was staring open-mouthed at the small boy.
"Who's that?"
"This is Shippou Haipa," replied Kagome, stroking his tail, "I rescued him from some murdering gangsters."
"Is he staying here?" asked Miroku, peering at Inu Yasha a moment.
"Of course." said Kagome firmly, glaring at the half-demon who choose to ignore her. "He doesn't have a family anymore..."
"Kagome's my new family!" cried Shippou cheerfully. Then he stopped and looked at the girl eagerly. "Hey, do you have any candy here?"
"Not unless you consider beef jerky candy..." muttered Kagome in response, receiving a fierce look from Inu Yasha.
"Awwww…" replied Shippo, frowning. Inu Yasha smirked slightly before turning away sharply, starting to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" asked Kagome, glancing back at him.
"Back to the TV. I've got nothing else to do." She sighed, rolling her eyes as he went into the living room and starting watching the television. Sango blinked and frowned, motioning to Kagome. The girl looked at her innocently as the future detective raised her eyebrows significantly. Miroku looked totally confused as Sango slid over to whisper in Kagome's ear.
"You have to convince Inu Yasha to take you somewhere. But make sure it's a public place. Tell me, and I'll try to have Kouga there. Then you can finally escape!" She moved back and smiled brightly, as Miroku looked away rapidly and grinned, as he had heard. Kagome sighed and stood, sauntering off. Shippo moved to Sango's lap, glaring at her.
"Why did you tell Kagome that?"
"So she can get away from here. Inu Yasha is keeping her prisoner."
"Oh. He's a jerk…" said Shippo, Sango nodding in agreement. Miroku just beamed as he thought of what might happen between Kagome and a certain half-demon.