Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but later tonight I'm going to dress in all black, sneak out, and kidnap all the characters, then hide them all in my basement. That way, I really will own them. Don't worry they'll be treated kindly, they just won't ever get to see the light of day again (evil laugh).

Notes to my reviewers: How do you spell Kikyou's name. Sometimes I see it spelled 'Kikyou' and sometimes I see it spelled 'Kikyo'.

Captured Moon : I'm sorry camp sucked. If it will make you feel better, I tried to put a lot of Shippo in this chapter. Enjoy.

KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter : I read what you think is going to happen, and you're only half right. Kikyou and Kagome have most of the jewel, but there is still one shard that isn't accounted for. Of course, that comes up later in my story.

Inuyasha-my-lover: I didn't know that I left chapter 14 at a cliffy ... sorry.

Inufreak831 : Shit. I have to think of a gift for Inuyasha to give Kagome. I had something in mind, but it isn't as thoughtful as it should be. Now I'm nervous.

Chapter Fifteen : Shippo And The Stupid Tree

Kagome sighed and shook her head when Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her. She wasn't complaining about it, but she could tell that he was just trying to show Kouga that she was taken. He's hopeless she thought

"Go on Kouga." She said "What do you have to tell us."

Kouga stopped staring at Inuyasha and looked at Kagome. "I was near a spot in the mountains that had a demon running around."

"What kind of demon?"

"A wind one, I think. Anyway, I figured it must have a hold of a jewel shard. It kinnda came out of nowhere."

"Why did you come to me? Why didn't you just defeat the demon yourself?" The conversation stayed between Kagome and Kouga.

"Your supposed to be the true owner of the Shikon jewel right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I thought you should know. If you don't want to go after the demon "

"No — we really should go." Kagome sighed. She was almost used to the idea of not having to fight demons anymore. "Where was the last place you saw it?"

"Why don't I stay with your group for a little while, and show you where it is."

"No." Kagome said instantly. That surprised everyone a little bit (even Inuyasha who would have said the same thing.), usually she was really nice to people who wanted to help them.

"What?"

"No."

"Why not."

"Because, you and Inuyasha will be at each others throats all the time."

Kouga stared at Inuyasha, he couldn't argue about that. "I'll try to control myself, if that mutt promises to do that same."

Inuyasha growled a little bit. "See Kouga," Kagome said sharply "You're already causing trouble."

"Fine. I'm sorry." Kouga mumbled.

"What about your clan? Won't they wonder where you are?"

"They already know about what's going on?"

"Really?"

"Really. So can I join your group, it will only be for a few days."

Kagome closed her eyes and leaned on Inuyasha. "I don't know. It's Inuyasha's decision."

"What?" Sango, Miroku, and Kouga said at the same time.

Inuyasha looked at Kouga with disbelief. It was his decision. With all intentions of saying no, he smiled and glanced at Kagome. Her eyes were still closed, she was waiting for Inuyasha's answer.

He stared at Kagome for a few more seconds, then looked up at Kouga. "- sure." He practically whispered.

Kagome's eyes flew open and she lifted her head up. Neither she nor Kouga expected him to say yes. "What did you just say?" she asked. Maybe I didn't hear him right.

"I said sure. Kouga can come along, but only until we find the demon."

"Are you sure?" Kagome whispered to him.

"Yes." He whispered back.

She kissed his cheek (Kouga faintly growled) and stood up. "I guess that settles it. Kouga, you can stay with us, but only for a little while."

"When are we going to leave?" he asked.

"I don't know."

Sango decided to join the little group' discussion. "I think we should leave after Kagome's birthday."

"Birthday?" Kouga glanced between Kagome and Sango. "Your birthday?"

Kagome put her hands up to her forehead when she heard the voice again, Kagome Kagome. The voice was starting to give her a headache. "Sango, are you sure you want to wait that long?"

"Yeah. We can have a little party for you here. Plus you could visit your family, have dinner with them, or something."

Kagome couldn't argue with that. Her mom was probably hoping for a visit from her anyway. "Alright." She said.

Kaede's house was filled with a very uncomfortable silence, so Shippo jumped into Kagome's arms. "Do you want to watch my lesson, today."

"Sure."

Inuyasha originally wasn't going to give Shippo a lesson today, but he didn't want to embarrass him in front of everyone by saying no. So he got up, handed the ring to Miroku (without Sango or Kagome noticing) and led the way to an open area.

Kagome sat back by a tree while Inuyasha showed Shippo better ways to perform moves. He showed him how to bend his legs a certain way to gather up more speed when he jumped in the air. He also showed him a way to put more force behind his kicks and punches without using much space or energy, apparently it was the speed of your hand.

"Practice that for a little while." Inuyasha said, then he sat down next to Kagome. "Are you feeling ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She was feeling better and better as the day went on. "How did you guys get the poison out of me?"

"Lady Lei gave me a potion to give to you."

"Oh."

"Inuyasha!" Shippo yelled out "Am I doing this right?"

"No." he yelled back "Lift your leg up higher."

"Hey, Inu. Why did you let Kouga stay?"

"Do you want him to leave?"

"I don't care, but I expected you to tell him to stay far away from us."

Inuyasha leaned back on the tree and kept his eyes on Shippo. "It was just something I read when I was at Lady Lei's house."

"Oh."

"Shit, I was supposed to ask you something."

"What?"

"I can't remember." Inuyasha scratched his head and tried to remember, "Something about a a damn it!"

"I'm sure it will come to you later." Kagome said as Shippo came running over to them.

His voice sounded a little winded, but he didn't show any sign of being tired. "Inuyasha, I practiced everything. Did you see any mistakes?"

"No. You had everything down pretty good. Do you want to try the tree again."

"Yeah!" Shippo jumped in the air, then he and Inuyasha walked over to a different tree. Kagome stayed a distance away, she didn't want to get hit by any wood chips.

Inuyasha squatted down next to where Shippo was standing. He could tell the little guy was starting to get nervous. "Are you going to take a running start."

"Yeah." He concentrated on the tree in front of him then started running. His eyes closed and he gritted his teeth. When he got to the tree he felt the sharp, but familiar, pain going through his arm.

He screamed out, but it was mainly for frustration. He still couldn't even dent the tree. "Let me look at that." Inuyasha had appeared at his side and grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry you'll be fine." He said after examining it. "Why don't you try again."

"I'll just get hurt again. I hate that stupid tree."

"Don't worry." He said "But this time, don't close your eyes."

"Alright." Shippo walked a few feet away from the tree and Inuyasha went to stand next to Kagome.

Shippo once again concentrated on the spot on the tree. He started to run and almost closed his eyes again, but remembered what Inuyasha said. He stiffened his arm and ran as fast as he could, all the while keeping his eyes open and on the spot he was supposed to hit.

He was really surprised when his hand and the tree made contact. Instead of a sharp pain his fist went through it. Instead of just denting the tree, like he originally expected, his hand actually went halfway through it.

Wood chips went flying everywhere and despite how far away the two of them were standing, Inuyasha still had to put his hand up to protect Kagome's face from them.

"Good job runt!" Inuyasha yelled out.

Shippo came running towards them. "I did it Inuyasha, now I get to use Tetsusaiga!"

"That's right."

Kagome patted Inuyasha on the shoulder. "I'm gonna check on Sango and Miroku. I really should make sure Kouga isn't bother them too much."

"Alright."

"Good luck Shippo." Kagome said. She kissed Inuyasha on the cheek then started to walk in the direction of Kaede's house.

Inuyasha watched her leave then turned to Shippo. "Are you sure you're ready to use Tetsusaiga?"

"Yeah." It was the one thing he had been looking forward to for the last few weeks.

Inuyasha held out his Tetsusaiga for Shippo to grab, but for some reason he hesitated. Instead of just picking up the weapon he first ran his fingers along the smooth side of the blade until he came to the handle.

"You hold it like this." Inuyasha said as he guided Shippo's fingers so they were holding the Tetsusaiga in the right way.

Shippo held on to the Tetsusaiga as tightly as he could then stood in the fighting position that Inuyasha always stood in.

"First," Inuyasha said "Don't hold it as tightly."

Shippo loosened his grip.

"Second, you should stand with your legs so far apart. It will be to easy to loose your balance."

"Ok." He tried remember all the new things Inuyasha was telling him.

"Now, lift it above your head, and swing it down towards the ground."

Shippo held the Tetsusaiga above his head like Inuyasha said, then cut through the air with all the strength he had in his arms. He was happy at the size of the whole he made in the ground, but knew that it wasn't nearly as deep as Inuyasha could have made it.

"Good job runt, why don't you try again."

Shippo nodded. He put a lot of effort into lifting Tetsusaiga above his head again, but he lifted it a little too fast. It took Inuyasha off guard and he got hit in the nose.

"Sorry Inuyasha." Shippo said, holding back a laugh.

Inuyasha felt his nose. It didn't hurt that much, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't broken. "Yeah, I'm sure you are." He mumbled sarcastically. "This time try jumping up and swinging Tetsusaiga through the air."

Inuyasha continued to teach Shippo different moves and the best way to use Tetsusaiga until the sun started going down. "I think we should start leaving." Inuyasha suggested. Shippo tried not to yawn after he said that, but he couldn't hold it back.

"Do you want a ride or something?" he suggested.

Shippo nodded and jumped into Inuyasha's arms. At first he thought it was odd that Inuyasha was carrying him, usually he just made him walk, but he brushed off the thought and started to drift off to sleep.

xxx Kaede's House xxx

"I think I hear them coming." Sango said.

Kagome lifted up her head and saw Inuyasha walking towards them with Shippo sleeping in his arms.

"He worked really hard, but I think he used up all his energy." Inuyasha said before walking inside Kaede's house and putting Shippo in his little bed.

"Wow," Sango said as soon as Inuyasha came back out of the house, "you'll make a great Dad, Inuyasha."

"Dad?" Inuyasha said and everyone turned to looked at Kagome. She blushed and buried her face into her hands from embarrassment.

"I meant," Sango said hastily. "Someday. You'll make a good Dad someday, Inuyasha."

Kagome still couldn't bring herself to look up at everyone. The way everyone looked at her when Sango said the word dad' made her feel like she was standing butt naked in the middle of a crowed.

"Here Inuyasha," Miroku said, "We saved you some food, from dinner."

"I'm not that hungry."

"But Kagome cooked it." Sango said.

"That doesn't mean he has to eat it." Kagome's muffled voice could be heard through her hands.

"Kagome, don't be so embarrassed." Inuyasha said.

She lifted up her head, it was still a little red. "I'm gonna take a bath." She said, then stood up.

"I'll join you." Sango said, then she and Kagome walked towards the river. Miroku yawned and headed for the house.

"Night, Inuyasha." He mumbled.

Inuyasha didn't respond. He was about to jump into the tree, but he noticed Kouga sitting some distance away. "Don't you sleep?" he yelled out.

Kouga looked up at him, "I'm keeping a look out."

"For what?"

"I don't know demons I guess. Ones that will attack the village."

"This village has a ton of spells on it. A demon would have a really hard time attacking it."

"Hey, I can never be too safe when it comes to Kagome's security."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why do you want Kagome to be your mate?"

Kouga gave Inuyasha a curious look, "Because I love her."

"Do you really or are you just interested in her because she can see the jewel shards?"

"That's silly."

"Well, you've never spent any time with her. You don't know what her favorite color is, what kind of food she likes to eat, what makes her mad — you hardly know anything about her."

"I -" Kouga didn't know what to say. It was true. He knew so little about Kagome.

"Is it just me, or are you two having a civilized conversation." Kagome had appeared a few feet away from them.

"It's just you." Kouga mumbled. Inuyasha shook his head then jumped into the tree.

"What about me?" Kagome said.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to help me up?"

"You still want to sleep in the tree, even after the last time?"

"Yeah. The ankle injury was worth it."

Inuyasha smiled and helped Kagome into the tree. She sat in his lap and rested her head on his chest. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, holding a little tighter this time and fell asleep.

The whole time Kouga was on the ground watching them. He gritted his teeth and kept telling himself over and over again, This will only last for a few more days.

xxx Next Morning xxx

Shippo climbed up the tree that Inuyasha and Kagome were sleeping in. He woke up first and had nothing to do, so he thought maybe he and Inuyasha could practice more moves or something.

He carefully stepped around Kagome (not wanting to wake her up) and pulled sharply on Inuyasha's ear.

"Fuck." Inuyasha jerked awake. "What the hell was that for?" he almost yelled, but remembered that Kagome was still sleeping.

"Inuyasha, I'm bored."

Inuyasha growled and, while still holding onto Kagome, lifted one hand and pushed Shippo out of the tree. Then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Shippo sat on the ground under the tree. Kouga wasn't that far away from him, but he didn't like Kouga very much, so he didn't bother going to him for entertainment. He gave up on the thought of Inuyasha coming around and turned towards Kaede's house.

He smiled when he saw Sango walk out. "Good morning Shippo." She smiled at him.

"Morning Sango."

"I'm gonna go get some fresh water from the river, do you want to come?"

"Yeah." Shippo ran to the back of Kaede's house and grabbed two buckets then joined Sango at her side.

"Ready?"

"Ready." Shippo repeated.

They walked past Kagome and Inuyasha silently and tried to ignore Kouga's stares as they walked past him.

"I wonder why Inuyasha let Kouga stay." Shippo said once they were out of his ear shot.

"I have no idea, I was expecting him to say no."

"Yeah, whenever Kouga's around Inuyasha always acts really jealous."

Sango snapped her fingers, "Maybe he's trying to prove to Kagome that he can keep his promise."

"What promise?"

"Inuyasha promised Kagome that he wouldn't get jealous anymore."

Shippo bent over and started laughing hysterically, "Inuyasha — not jealous!"

His laughter continued until the were finally at the river and she splashed water on him, "Be nice, I'm sure he'll try."

They filled up their buckets and turned around to see that Miroku had been following them. "Miroku." She walked over and kissed him "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her. "I have a present for you."

"Really?"

Shippo shook his head, he hated it when people got lovie dovie'.

Miroku held out two fist, "Pick one."

Sango bit her bottom lip and tapped his left hand, but he shook his head, so she tapped his right hand. When he opened it, Sango saw the gold ring with one diamond and two emeralds.

"Oh Miroku!" Sango covered her mouth, she had never seen a more beautiful ring in her entire life.

"What finger is it supposed to go on?" he asked.

"I — I don't know." She was having a hard time talking.

"Why don't you two just ask Kagome." Shippo suggested.

Sango nodded and carefully examined the ring as all three of them walked back to Kaede's house. "Where in the world did you get this?"

"Inuyasha helped me find it." He rubbed the back of his neck. He knew that Sango would never except the ring if she knew it was originally for Kagome.

"I'll have to thank Inuyasha then, too." She linked her free arm in Miroku's and watched Shippo run ahead of them.

xxx Kaede's House xxx

Inuyasha pretended to be asleep until he felt Kagome lift her head up, "Morning." He said.

She rubbed her eyes and kissed him, "Good morning." She carefully climbed down from the tree and walked into Kaede's house. She expected to see Sango, Miroku, and Shippo, but was surprised to see that everyone was gone, except Kaede.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Sango and Shippo went to get some water and Miroku followed them."

"Alright." She stretched, her back was still a little sore from sleeping in a tree all night. Oh well she thought I'll get to sleep on a mattress in a few days.

Kaede started mixing some food for breakfast, "Do you need help?" Kagome asked.

"No child. You go outside and keep Inuyasha and Kouga from killing each other."

Kagome groaned and walked out of the house. "Inuyasha!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"What!" he yelled back. He hadn't moved from his spot in the tree.

Kagome smiled. Might as well wake up the whole village "Why aren't you down from the tree yet!"

"Cause I'm comfortable!" he started laughing.

"Shut up." They heard someone yell out from the neighboring houses. Even Kouga couldn't hide his laughter when they heard that. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo walked over to them wondering what was so funny, but they didn't question it.

"Kagome. I need to ask you something."

"What?" Kagome turned towards Sango.

"What finger does this ring go on." She ran up to Kagome holding out her left hand and the ring at the same time.

"This one." Kagome pointed, "Oh my god. That ring is beautiful."

Inuyasha frowned. Now that he knew Kagome liked the ring, he regretted giving it away. He jumped down from the tree and walked over to Kagome's side.

"Inuyasha. I should be thanking you too." She hugged him tightly.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome and held his hands high in the air, trying to say she's hugging me, I'm not hugging her.' Kagome smiled and shook her head.

Kouga growled, "Why is Inuyasha allowed to hug other women, but Kagome can't hug other men."

"Inuyasha is not hugging Sango. Sango is hugging Inuyasha." Kagome said.

Sango let go at Inuyasha and stepped away from him, as if he was now toxic. "Sorry Inuyasha."

"Everyone," Kaede stepped out of the house. "Its breakfast time."

xxx End of Chapter Fifteen xxx

I could really go for some hot soup right about now, I think I'll go get some. I will absolutely not post the next chapter till I see, at least, 5 reviews on my computer. See you guys later.

I don't know if Kaede's village really has a bunch of spells on it, I just thought it would be a good way to make my chapter longer. So, don't get mad if I'm wrong.

Lots of love Daydreamer62386