Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha

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After the incident with his fox fire, Kaede banished Shippou from the house except for meals and bedtime, hoping to keep damage to a minimum. Kagome and Inuyasha amused him for the first couple of days, but Kagome eventually tired of the constant activity and when Kagome lost interest, there was no one to 'convince' InuYasha to help. The two of them had turned the cub into Kaede's custody a few hours ago and then wandered off to relax with Kikyou in the hut while Kaede tended to her herb garden.

"Shippou?" asked Kaede, sternly addressing the young fox.

"Yeah? What is it, old lady?" Shippou asked, his innocent tone belying the fact that he had just called her an old lady.

Kaede's eyebrow gave a noticeable twitch. "You will stay in this garden, where I can see you," she began in a tone that brooked no argument. "You will amuse yourself quietly. You will behave yourself; if you cause me any trouble you will spend the rest of the day with Kikyou, and she is not fond of children who misbehave."

"Sure, I'll be good," promised Shippou. Somewhat reassured, Kaede returned to the meticulous cultivation of her beloved herb garden.

"Sheesh, these people can be really uptight," muttered Shippou to himself. "Now, what am I supposed to do while this old lady is doing boring gardening stuff?" He trudged off to the furthest corner of the garden and plopped down in the dirt to ponder what he had done to deserve such a cruel fate.

Shippou sat quietly for a grand total of two minutes before he realized that any more peaceful behavior would very likely kill him. He fidgeted anxiously for a few seconds before a brilliant idea occurred to him. He could just do a little gardening of his own!

Shippou looked around at the corner of the garden he had wandered off to. These plants didn't look very important... Kaede probably wouldn't mind if he made his own garden here. Shippou make quick work of the plants in his 'garden,' pulling them up and tossing them neatly over the fence. Rummaging around in his vest pocket, he pulled out a miniature jars containing the spores of his treasured mushrooms.

Smiling gleefully he shook a generous amount of spores into each empty spot which had formerly been occupied by the plants Shippou had disposed of.

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Kaede looked up from her gardening with a start. Was that crying she heard? It was coming from the distant corner of the garden- Shippou! "Oh god, no..." she thought. "How could I have been so careless... !"

Kaede jumped up as fast as her arthritic knees would allow her, running toward the sound of childish wailing at speeds she hadn't reached for decades.

When Kaede reached the place that she'd heard the crying come from, three things registered in her mind. Firstly, Shippou was absolutely fine, and in fact took the whole thing as a huge joke if his giggles were to be any indication. Second, the cries she'd heard came from the plethora of bulbous-eyed, tear-dropping mushrooms that the child had planted. Third, Kaede realized exactly what Shippou had removed from the garden to make room for his little fungus farm.

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"InuYasha, did you hear that scream?" asked Kagome from her seat inside Kaede's house. "It sounds like somebody got hurt... should we go check on Shippou and Kaede?"

InuYasha looked up lazily from his spot reclining against that wall. "Of course I heard it. Super duper über demon senses, remember? And if you wanna go check, be my guest. I could care less."

"InuYasha! How could you be so heartless?" demanded Kagome. "Someone could be hurt and you don't care?"

"Well, to be honest-" Before InuYasha could further demonstrate his lack of sensitivity, he was interrupted by another scream, this time from right outside the hut.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaede! I didn't know! You're not going to hurt me, are you?" wailed a childish voice.

"Silence, child! I am not going to injure you," asserted Kaede. "But... You. Are. In Trouble."

Kaede pushed aside the bamboo door with one hand, the other hand occupied with carrying the repentant kitsune by the scruff of his neck.

Setting Shippou firmly in a corner Kaede stepped back and glared at him. "Now then," she began, addressing the occupants of the house. "What are we going to do about Shippou? Obviously we need to take more drastic measures to control him."

"We could sell him into child slavery," offered Kikyou helpfully. "Think about it... not only would he be able to work off that excess energy, but we would all get a break! It's the perfect solution, right?"

Shippou squirmed nervously. He hadn't been that annoying, had he?

InuYasha gasped. That was a brilliant idea! "Now why didn't I think of that?"

Kaede gave InuYasha a stern look. "We are not going to sell Shippou." She paused, thinking of her cherished (and now dead) plants. "No matter how tempted we may be."

Shippou continued fidgeting for a few more moments before volunteering, "Um... I do have medication for the, uh, hyper-ness..."

Kaede looked up sharply. "Where?"

"Didn't my parents leave it with you?" Shippou blinked innocently.

"No. Apparently it slipped their minds," said Kaede bitterly. To think that all of this could have been prevented...

"It's no big deal, right?" asked Kagome, who didn't seem overly upset about the untimely demise of Kaede's greenery. "We can just find Shippou's parents, get the medicine, and everything will work out fine!"

"Easy for you to say..." mumbled Kaede.

"Well, spill it, child!" ordered Kikyou. "Where are your parents now?"

"They gave me an address," muttered Shippou, fumbling around in his vest pocket for a moment. "Okay... here it is," he said, holding out the folded scrap of paper.

Kaede accepted the piece of paper, examining the address written on it. "Western Lands Country Club?" she mused aloud. Frowning at Shippou, she asked, "Is that very far from here?"

"I don't know," confessed Shippou. "I've never been there... I'm not allowed."

InuYasha, meanwhile, had stood up and was peering at the address over Kaede's shoulder. "Western Lands Country Club... isn't that...?" he stopped mid-sentence, shaking his head. "I know where it is. If that medication will make him shut up then I'll gladly show you all the way."

"I believe I will stay here in the village," decided Kaede. "I've had enough of all this running around. How about you, Kikyou?"

Kikyou thought for a moment and replied. "I think I'd rather go along. I've been bored lately. And besides, those children will need a competent priestess along for protection,"added Kikyou with a glare at Kagome, which Kagome remained blissfully unaware of.

Shippou perked up at the idea of an excursion. "Wow! This'll be like a vacation or something! Hey, InuYasha, do you think we'll get to see any cool youkai on the way? Oh, and I know a whole bunch of really great songs we can sing on the way!"

InuYasha groaned. It was a week's journey to the Western Lands... maybe, if he asked real nice, Kikyou would stick him back on that tree?

-----------------3 days later-------------------

"Hey, InuYasha..." whined Shippou. "I'm tired and my feet hurt and I'm thirsty and I have to go to the bathroom. Can't we take a break soon?"

"Silence, child," ordered Kikyou before InuYasha got a chance to reply. "Since we undertook this journey for the sake of you and your medication, the least you could do is remain quiet and walk without complaining."

"Fine," grumbled Shippou, crossing his arms in a pout. "But I still want a break."

Kagome paused, poring over the wrinkled travel map she carried. "You know, InuYasha. a break might not be such a bad idea. According to the map, the next town we're coming up to is going to be the last place to stop before we get to the Western Lands. So why don't we spend the night there?"

InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Do I really have a choice?"

Kikyou chuckled. "Nope. Glad you finally caught on." Even Kikyou had to concede that a good night's rest sounded appealing.

Shippou brightened considerably at the promise of a break soon. "Yay! We get to stop! Hey, how much further to the town?"

Kagome checked her map again. "Not far. In fact, we should be able to see it any minute."

The group walked in silence for a few minutes before Shippou piped up again. "Are we there yet?"

Kagome flinched and ignored the question... it had triggered some rather vivid flashbacks of unpleasant car trips with her younger brother. Then she looked up and thanked the gods of Good Timing for what she saw.

"Actually, yeah. We're here," she said, pointing to a large wooden sign painted in garishly bright colors.

InuYasha squinted at the sign. "Welcome to the Town of Mullet, home of the World's Largest Hairball?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Are you sure you guys want to stop here?"

Kagome looked a little unsure, but set her jaw stubbornly. "Yes, we do. At least we'll be able to get some food and find someplace to stay overnight."

The four travelers kept walking toward the promise of cold beverages and a hotel. "Doesn't look like much of a town, does it?" asked Shippou.

"No, it doesn't," admitted Kagome. In reality it only seemed to consist of one large building, flanked by several smaller adjoining buildings. They were all built from plain wood and looked to be slightly run-down.

Kagome knocked on the door of the largest building, Kikyou brushing past her to enter when the knock went ignored.

"Excuse me? Is anyone here?" asked Kagome, poking her head into the dimly-lit building.

"Come in," called a rather shrill female voice. Kagome followed Kikyou through the door, Shippou right behind her and Inuyasha bringing up the rear. Sitting behind a dark wooden desk was pale woman with short black hair and a rather skimpy outfit.

"Welcome to my little establishment," greeted the woman cheerfully. "I'm Yura of the Hairball."

"Hi, Miss Yura of the... erm... Hairball," began Kagome.

"Oh, just call me Yura," amended the woman brightly. "And what are your names?"

"Well, I'm Kagome, and this is Shippou, Kikyou, and InuYasha. We were hoping to spend the night in this town. Is there a motel here?"

"Oh, certainly. Our main attraction is the World's Largest Hairball, but we also have a motel, a restaurant, and a gift shop," replied Yura. "Would the four of you like to book a room for tonight?"

"You bet we would!" chirped Shippou. "Hey, Kagome, do you think there'll be cable TV? I wanna watch Power Rangers!"

"Great! It'll be $40 for one night..." Yura trailed off, scanning the motley group. "I'm afraid you'll have to pay in advance."

All eyes turned expectantly to InuYasha. "What? You think I have any money?" he growled, muttering something under his breath about 'ripoff tourist traps' and 'ungrateful humans.'

"But," said Kagome, her voice laced with annoyance. "None of us have any money, either."

"Well, super!" muttered InuYasha sarcastically. "How very inconvenient, while simultaneously being a complete waste our our time! Come on, we're leaving!" he ordered, turning abruptly around.

"Wait! Don't go yet!" called Yura from the desk.

"Why not?" demanded InuYasha.

"Look. In case you didn't notice, I really like hair. And your hair, in particular. So, here's the deal. I'll let you guys stay overnight for free. In return, I use your hair to practice some hair styles from my magazines that I've absolutely been dying to try. How about it?" asked Yura.

"Are you crazy? Why would I want to do something like that?" asked InuYasha incredulously. "That's just... weird!"

"Come on, InuYasha," pleaded Shippou. "Do it for cable TV. Do it for Power Rangers!"

"Please, InuYasha, do it for your friends?" asked Kagome.

"Do it or else, InuYasha," ordered Kikyou. "My bunions are killing me."

InuYasha's ears drooped under the weight of the stares from his companions. Between the eager gazes of Kagome and Shippou, and Kikyou's threatening glare, he really didn't have much of a choice, did he?

"Keh. Fine," he replied. "You had better appreciate this."

Yura'seyes lit up with a gleam that could be described as joyful, but would much more accurately be described as slightly insane. "Great! This is going to be so much fun! We can start off with a split ends treatment..."

InuYasha cringed. "Nothing permanent, right?"

-------------next morning-------------

"Hey everybody! Time to get up!" chirped Shippou happily. "Hey, this place is awesome, huh?"

InuYasha growled and put a pillow over his head, only to be reminded that his hair was still crunchy from excessive amounts of gel and other hair-care products. "Dammit, I think there's hairspray in my ears," he thought miserably. He reached up in an attempt to scrape some of the gook from his ears, but only managed to tangle his claws in one of the tiny braids that were scattered throughout his hair. At this point, InuYasha closed his eyes, preferring the unconsciousness of sleep to his overly coiffed waking nightmare.

"Do you think there's a swimming pool at this hotel?" asked Shippou loudly, leaning over InuYasha and tugging at the pillow in an attempt to wake him up. "If there is, will you take me? Huh?"

On second thought, he sooner he woke up the sooner they would leave, and they sooner they would get Shippou's medication. Which would mean a moment of peace and quiet, right?

InuYasha sat up and tossed his pillow aside. "Where are Kagome and Kikyou? We've hung around at this place just about as long as I can stand. We're leaving."

Shippou scratched his head. "I dunno... they were walking around somewhere when I saw them this morning. Maybe Yura's seen them?" Shippou had to jump up to follow InuYasha, who'd promptly got up and headed out the door.

Rounding the corner from the hallway, InuYasha found the reception desk, but no Kagome or Kikyou. Yura sat at the desk, reading a magazine.

"Where did the girl and the old woman get to?" asked InuYasha, skidding to a stop in front of Yura's desk, Shippou colliding with the back of his legs at the abrupt halt.

"They're in the gift shop," replied Yura, pointing to a door opposite the one that InuYasha had walked through without looking up from her magazine.

InuYasha was through the door in two seconds flat, scanning past the racks and shelves of cheap trinkets for the two women. He finally spotted Kagome near the back, waiting patiently outside of a smaller room.

"Where's Kikyou?" asked InuYasha. "Did I say you two could go wandering off without telling me- especially when we need to get moving and leave already?"

"Chill out, InuYasha," replied Kagome, rolling her eyes. "Kikyou's right in there. She said she wanted to buy a souvenir t-shirt before we left, so she's trying some on."

"Oooooh, can I have a t-shirt, too?" asked Shippou, just now making his way over. "Of course, maybe some candy would be even better, huh?"

InuYasha snickered. "You two must not get out much, if you think you need souvenir t-shirts from this dump."

"Shut up," instructed Kikyou, poking her head out the dressing room door. "You didn't exactly get out much these past 50 years, either." She stepped out of the little room, once again dressed in her usual clothing.

Kikyou held up a hanger for Kagome's inspection. "What do you think of this one?" she queried.

Kagome gave the garment an appraising glance. It appeared to be an exact duplicate of the skimpy black outfit Yura wore, except for the screen print across the front that read, 'I Saw The World's Largest Hairball.'

"So," asked Kikyou, "Do you think they have this in an extra large?"

InuYasha made some noises in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like gagging. "No time for shopping! We're leaving! Now!"

---------------4 days later---------------

"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Kagome, peering through the bars of a sturdy gate. "I dunno if we can get in without, like, ID or something."

"Yeah, I'm sure this is the place," grumbled InuYasha. "I've been here before, when... well, never mind, okay?"

Kikyou sniffed. "They certainly went to a lot of trouble to make this place look imposing, didn't they?" Indeed, the massive stone building- complete with immaculate landscaping, brick walkways, and an iron fence with the words 'Western Lands Country Club' emblazoned on it- appeared to give off an aura of intimidation.

"I'm surprised that they let you into a fancy-looking place like this, InuYasha," teased Shippou from a safe perch on Kagome's shoulder.

"Well, they did let me in, which is more than can be said for you," remarked InuYasha. "I seem to recall your parents being rather opposed to the idea of taking you here." InuYasha crossed his arms in triumph, immensely proud of his comeback.

Kagome shifted nervously. "Shouldn't just hurry up and get what we came for? I don't like just standing here outside..."

"Yeah, sure. Let's get this over with," conceded InuYasha, slipping through the rather wide-set bars in the gate. "You all coming?" he asked over his shoulder, already halfway to the front door.

"Wait up!" called Kagome. "Hey, don't you think we could get in trouble for doing that?

InuYasha shrugged. "Whatever."

Kikyou and Shippou joined them at the front door, slightly winded. "Kikyou got stuck in the bars, but I helped her out," said Shippou proudly.

Kikyou glared at the kit, but said nothing.

"Hey, can I press the doorbell?" asked Shippou. "Please? Pretty please?"

"Nope," smirked InuYasha. "I get to press the shiny button."

"No faaaair!" whined Shippou. "Kagome, tell InuYasha to let me push the button!"

"You can push the button next time, Shippou," promised Kagome. "Now be good while we're here, okay?"

InuYasha pressed the doorbell with due ceremony, and then pressed it a couple more times for good measure. "Hey, open up!"

The door creaked it's way open and a diminutive green creature stepped out, looking over the group with ill-concealed disdain. "Whatever on earth is a bunch of low-lives such as yourselves doing here?"

"Shut up, Jaken," said InuYasha. "You're making Kagome cry. And we're here to see this kid's parents."

"Hey!" protested Kagome. "I'm not crying!"

"You mean the Kitsunes?" asked Jaken. "What do you need them for?"

"They left him with us ten days ago," stated Kikyou. "Without his medication. We traveled here to correct the oversight."

Jaken pondered this for a moment. Obviously, he had to let these people in. But that didn't mean he had to be polite about it. "You may come in. But don't touch anything, don't bother anyone..."

Jaken continued along in this vein for quite some time after the group went in, leaving him to lecture thin air at he front door.

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"Oh my, I can't believe I forgot something like that," apologized Mrs. Kitsune. "I certainly hope he didn't give you too much trouble..."

"Well, not too much, I suppose," placated Kagome. "He's just so, you know, energetic, it's been a little hard to keep up with him."

"Yeah, yeah, just hand over the medication and let's go," blurted InuYasha impatiently.

"Very well," sighed the Kitsune woman, handing a small white bag to Kagome. "The instructions are on the bottle, and please don't lose it. I'd hate to have to get it refilled."

"Great, wonderful, fantastic, but let's leave," demanded InuYasha.

"Hello, little brother."

Oops, too late. "Sesshoumaru."

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AN: Alrighty, I think this chapter is long enough to post. Thanks for the reviews for last chapter, I enjoyed them all. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and if you can think of anything I could do to improve on this story please let me know.