Shippo scurried about in the field of wildflowers, giggling. "C'mon, Kagome! Run faster!" He laughed and she gave him a smile. It had been a long time since he had been able to frolic like this—the battles, the shard hunting and, most recently, worrying over Kagome had taken up most of the kit's free time. He was a child, Kagome reminded herself. He was child that was never allowed to play; no WONDER he was always instigating with Inuyasha. He had to be bored stiff.

'Poor Shippo,' Kagome thought pityingly, smiling still more brightly as the kit looked concernedly at her.

"What's wrong, Kagome?"

Two days had passed since their return to the Feudal Era. The bickering between one Inuyasha and Kagome had long since died out. For the first day he had pouted, and given her sullen looks, but she was used to that anyway. It was all a part of his after-sit tantrums. He was a lot like a three-year-old, she thought. But still she had treated him like a seventeen-year-old, for the age that he was, telling him she was sorry. "Can't we just put it behind us?" she had asked feebly.

The only reply had been a surly, "Keh." But apparently, he had taken her words to heart, because he hadn't said a single rude thing to her since.

Actually, he hadn't said a single word period.

But oh well. She had more to think about than a temperamental half-demon's grudge.

"Kagome?" She glanced down, finding a pair of big green eyes staring at her.

"What is it, Shippo?"

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Huh?"

"You look tired," he said in a small voice. "You...you don't feel sick again, do you?" Tears sparkled in the youthful jade orbs.

"Oh, no! Of course not!" She gave him the brightest smile she could muster. "I'm fine, Shippo-chan, don't worry." She tousled his bright orange hair and took his small hand, pulling him along the field. They walked for a while like that, hand in hand, both silent. Shippo wasn't stupid. He could see that she was lying.

"Let's rest here, Kagome," Shippo said at last, pulling her hand until she sat down. They had stopped right beneath a large, poison-green-leafed tree. The shade felt nice, Kagome thought pleasantly, sitting against the rough trunk. The tree was blooming, as was everything else in the forest—there were wonderful variations of wildflowers all around, most of which she couldn't name, either because they were already extinct in her time or were simply too wild to grow in such an urban area as where she lived. The colors all began to blend together after a while, and so every direction she glanced in, she found a splotchy rainbow looking back. The sky was a brilliant cerulean, too, and with the hot, white-hot sun, it was almost too bright to see.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it," Kagome sighed happily. She WAS feeling a little tired... it was so warm and comfortable... She yawned, then stretched, and glanced at Shippo, who was watching her fearfully. "Don't worry," she said hastily. "I'm just a little sleepy, that's all. I didn't sleep well last night."

That's not true, a voice in her head protested. You've never slept better than last night, knowing that Inuyasha was watching you, just a few feet away....

She pushed the voice to the back of her mind and told it to hush. It was to be expected that she'd be tired—she hadn't slept well the whole time she'd been home, and the days directly after her grandfather's death she hadn't slept at all. Not to mention it took a lot out of her to be recovering... She had every right to be tired, and there was no reason to worry. No reason....

"Hey," Kagome said. "D'you wanna go for a walk in the forest, Shippo?"

"In the forest?" The kitsune looked uneasy. "How come?"

"I dunno," Kagome said dreamily. "It's just pretty, with all the Sakura blooming, and all the flowers...it might be nice to have a change of scenery," she added. "What do you say?"

"Oh...I don't know...." Shippo looked pensive, and Kagome wondered. Secretly, he was remembering the talk Inuyasha had had with him before they'd left.

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"Do me a favor, Shippo....Watch out for Kagome while you're away. Watch her carefully."

"Why?"

"I can't always be there...and she'd get mad at me if she thought I was trying to spy. Just...watch out for any odd behavior. If anything happens, anything at all, you have to come tell me."

"Okay, Inuyasha..."

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"Please, Shippo?" Kagome felt like the child, not the person watching the child. "We'll stay close, nothing will happen."

"Kagome...." He bit his lip. He was only a child! Why did he have to feel so responsible?!

"Inuyasha will hear us if we get into trouble," Kagome said exasperatedly. "We can call him. It'll be fine." Shippo waited a moment, silent, and looked thoughtful, staring at a spot on the ground as if to burn a hole in it. Kagome watched him, biting her lip as well, knowing that if he didn't come, she couldn't go either—he would go back to camp, and then Inuyasha would come to find her, or send someone. He hadn't left her alone, since their return—though he hadn't walked everywhere with her, he had obviously talked the others into doing so; Sango had followed her on her trip to the herb field, Miroku had gone with her to retrieve water for Kaede, and Shippo had gone with her into the meadow.

And she was almost sure Inuyasha had been tailing her as well, though secretly—once or twice, out of the corner of her eye, she could've sworn she saw a flash of red.

But she let him go on thinking he had fooled her. Why shouldn't she? If it gave him comfort, she thought, then let him do as he wished. Truth be told, she didn't entirely mind the idea of him being concerned...even though it felt sort of like being stalked. The image of him sitting in a tree above the hot springs taking pictures entered her mind, and she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth in self disgust. Of course he wouldn't do that! Never!

...He didn't know how to work a camera.

"Well...okay," Shippo said in defeat. "But only for a while, okay? I'm...hungry," he invented cleverly, blinking in the innocent way that would fool most people, hands down.

"Okay," Kagome said obediently. "It's settled, then. C'mon." She smiled again and took his hand, leading him down the path that she knew was the quickest. The sun shone down warmly on their backs, and a soft breeze seemed to push them forward.

They found the forest without much trouble. (Hanging around the same place for a couple of weeks at a time can do that to a person.) Shippo glanced at Kagome as she watched the twirling Sakura blossoms, falling serenely like so much pink snow, and felt he had made the right choice after all. She seemed genuinely happy; she hadn't been really happy in a while...she'd seemed so stressed, those days right before she'd left them...

'I knew something was wrong,' Shippo thought sadly, 'and I couldn't stop it....'

He had known. He had told Inuysaha of his suspicions long before she had left, and still, no one had done anything to stop her. Miroku and Sango had even known that she was planning to run, and they hadn't stopped her! They had felt they were doing the best thing for every one, respecting her wishes, but really....

Shippo felt sure that if Inuyasha had confronted her, she wouldn't have run. If someone had insisted that she stay, she would've.

If he had insisted, she would've.

They had almost lost her then. He had almost lost the one person that had become like a mother to him, and, in turn, had almost lost Inuyasha as well—everyone had felt the same intuition Shippo had, that as soon as Kagome was gone, the hanyou would be different, changed permanently.

She had changed him in the first place with her presence, and the lack of it was sure to have changed him back. Inuyasha must've noticed, too, how he was teetering over the edge, how close he had come to becoming the heartless being he had been before—the distrustful, lonely, angry hanyou that Kikyou had known. It was good that he was all right. It was good that they were both all right.

Shippo looked pensively ahead, through the fine curtain of pink petals, and frowned, a look that made him look more pouty than thoughtful. Everyone would've changed, come to think of it, if she had really died. Sango would've been so sad...and, because of that, Miroku would've been sad....

And Shippo...Shippo would've been simply devastated. He couldn't imagine not having her around, to watch after him, to defend him when Inuyasha teased, to kiss him and read him bedtime stories. Sango was a nice lady, of course, and she had really tried to take over that role while Kagome was sick, but...Sango was a friend, not a mother figure. He couldn't picture her as a mother figure...to him, anyway. Kagome would always be the only mother-figure, and the only thing that could've possibly been as comfortable would've been having his own mother back again.

Yes...so much counted on that one girl's existence. Shippo wondered vaguely if she knew how much she had affected all their lives... she had brought them together, giving some of them a family for the first time, and the others a renewed sense of the thing.

Shippo glanced up, smiling, to tell her a little of what he had been thinking, but as soon as he met her eyes, the smile left his face.

Something was wrong.

Her face was suddenly very pale, and she looked strained, even in pain. Shippo's eyes widened and his heart began to pound wrathfully. "K-Kagome," he stuttered fearfully, "Kagome, you don't look so good. Come on, let's g-get back to—"

She gave him a hopeless stare, and crumpled to the ground.

"KAGOME!" Shippo rushed to her, panicking, and shook her shoulders, pulled on her hand, anything he could think of. "Kagome! Kagome! Please say something!" His heart was thudding so loudly he could barely hear anything, and one thought resounded in his head over and over, getting louder with every passing moment:

'Your let this happen! You let her come out here!'

"Inuyasha!" Shippo squealed. "Miroku! Sango! Kirara!" He put his hands to his mouth and trembled, not sure what to do. No one was coming at his shouts. No one heard him.

What was he going to do?

He had just decided to carry her, and had transformed into the little horse-type form when the still figure stirred, and Kagome lifted her head. Shippo reverted to his usual kitsune form and in a split second was holding onto her, sobbing, as she struggled to sit back up.

"It's okay, Shippo," she mumbled, sounding sort of sleepy. "I'm all right..."

"I was so worried!" the little child wailed, clutching her shirt desperately with both hands. "I thought—I thought—"

"I'm sorry, Shippo," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm okay, really. I just tripped." Shippo knew it was a lie—she hadn't just tripped. She had—well, he didn't know WHAT she'd done, but she hadn't "just tripped." Still, he sniffled and nodded, looking at her trustfully. He was just glad she was okay.

"Okay..."

"But Shippo," she said, suddenly serious, "you have to promise me something."

"What?" Shippo asked, wiping his eyes on his sleeves.

"You can't tell Inuyasha about this, okay?"

Shippo froze.

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"I can't always be there...and she'd get mad at me if she thought I was trying to spy. Just...watch out for any odd behavior. If anything happens, anything at all, you have to come tell me."

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"Shippo? You can't," Kagome said desperately. "He'd be so worried, and I'm okay. It was just a one time thing. Please don't tell him. It won't happen again. Please."

"Oh..." Shippo bit his lip, the conflicting promises ricocheting off of his conscience in turn.

"Please, Shippo. Promise me." Her eyes were so serious...it really meant a lot to her....

Shippo swallowed, closing his eyes and nodding, trying to force Inuyasha's voice out of his head.

"Okay, Kagome. I...I promise."

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Tailz: Well, guys...I've calmed down a bit, and gotten over it...and I AM updating, see? Please forgive my earlier out burst....

Sanji: ::Smiles:: Look, Tailz! We've got 65 reviews already!

Tailz: Yaaaay! ::Throws confetti:: Well, see yah next time people!

Ja!