Okay, okay, I know how you all are planing my immediate death, especially since I'm releasing another story. However, I want you all to know that this is not going to be some long, drawn out story that never gets finished. Instead, it is only a three-shot and of course it is a Kagome/Yoko/Kuronue pairing. What else would it be besides a Kurama/Kagome or even a Yusuke/Kagome? Sheesh, I'm not switching to Hiei, no siree. Anyway, this story popped into my head some time ago and I couldn't resist, since Shippo is also one of my favorite characters. Here, you'll see the bond between him and Kagome as he 'accidentally' makes a wish. To find out what that wish is, I guess you'll have to read more.

Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this one and no more! I don't own Inu/Yu Yu so don't sue!

Promise of Tomorrow

Three-shot

Shippo's Awakening

Chapter 1

He didn't know where he was, where he was going, or for how long he had been traveling. Pretty much the only thing traveling through young Shippo's mind was that his mother was gone and she was most definitely not coming back. Not his real mother in flesh and blood, but in spirit.

Kagome, the girl from another time who had inexplicably become the mother he never knew, was gone; just disappeared upon completing the sacred jewel. Shippo reasoned; he should be happy. The jewel was now complete, one half of it hanging around his neck, the other…well wherever it was, it was long gone now lost in the vast vestiges of time, along with the only one he knew as a mother. Something had gone wrong, upon completion and the jewel had split into two pieces. One went to Kagome and the other…to Shippo.

Shippo sniffled, raising a frigid hand to his running nose, trying to keep from crying out with sadness. He glanced around miserably at his companions who no longer seemed as bright and cheerful as they should have been. Sango was walking quietly ahead, Kirara perched ever faithfully on her shoulder, every now and again rubbing her body and tail around Sango's neck in a comforting manner.

Miroku walked several paces behind the taijia staring back and forth in between the slayer and his hand as if not believing that his curse had finally come to an end and that he could finally live a normal, peaceful existence, the kind of existence he should have known to begin with.

"Shippo?" a quiet voice, belonging only to his mother's best friend questioned. "Are you all right?" Shippo turned his head and met the soulful brown eyes of the taijia and immediately saw the raw pain flickering in her own brown depths. She must have seen and sensed Shippo's fear and heartache and known that she could do nothing for him.

Shippo gave a tired sigh and tried to force a smile. "I'm fine," he whispered sadly.

Sango continued to study him for a long while before looking away, muttering, "yeah I guess you are fine…just as we all are." She began walking away and Shippo knew at once that she was leaving; just like his mother. He wanted to protest, to cry out, anything to make her stay with him. For if his mother was gone, who would be around to take care of him and watch him grow up? But Shippo never opened his mouth, not once, knowing that even if he asked she would not stay. She needed to be on her own now and think about the life ahead of her. Besides, she was going to create her own village of new-age slayers. She wouldn't need a kitsune around to damage her image.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Miroku looking after Sango concernedly before calling out to her. "Sango!"

The slayer stopped as she heard his voice, just seconds before she would have disappeared and been lost forever. Miroku glanced at his love and down at Shippo before slowly nodding as if coming to a decision. At once he looked down at Shippo, smiling a small apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, Shippo. But my place is with her. Wherever she goes I must follow, for my soul will never be complete without her. You may come along if you wish or stay here, it is your decision but I must go with her. She holds my heart and I am forever bound to her."

Shippo nodded and so badly wanted to say yes, but knew that even if he went it would never be the same. He would always look at them and remember his mother and the tears in her eyes as she was forced out of his reach forever. "No, Miroku," he found himself saying. "I'll walk my own path." Alone…The words remained unspoken yet Miroku sensed.

The tired monk smiled sadly, leaning down to run his hands through Shippo's course hair one last time. "Don't worry, Shippo. You will see her again. After all, 500 hundred years is like no time at all…for a demon."

Sure, Shippo thought. But right now she is more than a few life times away. Oh, mother, why couldn't the jewel have let me come with you? Didn't you know we belong together?

Shippo watched with envious eyes as his last two friends embraced each other and walked off to rebuild their shattered lives.

With that last blow, Shippo's heart seemed to stop and yet race all at the same time. He felt hot and then cold and then began swaying with dizziness. Gone; they were all gone. His friends, his mother, even Inuyasha. Inuyasha had followed blindly after Kikyo as he kept his promise and let her drag him to hell. And without his mother around to stop them, Inuyasha was gone within the blink of an eye.

Little Shippo couldn't take it anymore and he sat down roughly and cried, the tears falling in waves down his pale cheeks. His little hands were balled up trying to keep in the heavy tears as he cried for his lost mother. He lay down never noticing his half of the jewel glowing a bright, eerie blue color. It was long into the night when the tears finally stopped and Shippo lay still, mentally and physically exhausted from the past few days. He lay there thinking about his mother, wondering if she was all right, if she was as sad as he was. Yet Shippo couldn't find it in his heart for her to be sad. He wanted her to be happy. But…was it wrong for him to want to share in her happiness? Was she thinking about him? Would he really see her again? Kagome had always said she didn't think demons were alive in her time. So would he really never see his mother again?

Shippo's face hardened and he sat up. No, he was not going to let that happen. He would see her again and he would make sure of it. He was not going to age until he saw her again. If he had to stay in his chibi form forever, just to see her again then it was a price he was willing to pay. Now, how to make that happen? He sat there wondering whether he should ask Kaede if she knew any spells he could use when the wind began to pick up and whip around his face.

Is that truly what you want, little one? Duel voices rang out in the midst of his mind. For a moment Shippo's head felt fuzzy until his mind began to accept the invasion.

"Who-who's there?" Shippo demanded shakily, standing up, his hands clenching into fists.

The voices chuckled, two high, two low, and it was at that point that the jewel began glowing and shaking. Shippo glanced down and jumped. "Ah, what's that! What's happening?"

Do not fear, young one, for we are the four souls, the living spirits of the Shikon no Tama, the duel voices sang, echoing slightly.

"The four…souls?" Shippo questioned.

Yes. We have heard your inner pleas and have decided to grant you your wish. However there will be consequences should you make your wish.

"My wish?" Shippo shook his head. "But I didn't-." His eyes widened as he remembered wanting to never grow up. "Can you really do that? Can you make it so I see my mother again?"

The voice was silent before the words, we can, rang clear in his mind.

"Then do it," Shippo whispered. "I don't care what the consequences are. I want to see my mother. I will see her."

Then your wish shall be fulfilled.

The jewel in Shippo's grasp seemed to levitate off his body, before the string broke and the jewel began pulsing even brighter. Suddenly Shippo's entire body started glowing just as blue as the jewel. He watched in awe as his body began to tingle, a slow rise that began at the top of his head and ended at the tips of his toes. Suddenly the jewel shot into Shippo's hip, the exact spot when the jewel had been ripped from Kagome's body. And with that, Shippo collapsed under the strain of the enormous energies.

Kagome sat up breathing heavily, clutching her hip and wincing, as something suddenly came crashing into her side. She clutched her chest and hip, noticing a light blue aura beginning to fade.

What was that? She thought, brushing her fingers against the slight lump, directly over the spot where the Shikon had been brutally ripped out. Wait! The Shikon!

Kagome gasped and reached up to clutch at her necklace all at once noticing the loss of weight. The jewel was gone!

For a moment her mind went into a panic. Had something attacked her and stolen the jewel again? Had all her and her friends' hard work been for nothing?

Fear not, young one, all was not in vain.

Kagome's head shot up and she looked around warily, trying to feel out any kind of threat. "Who's there? Come out demon!"

All is well, the voice soothed in her mind. We are the four souls and have granted a wish from someone very dear to your heart.

"What!" Kagome cried. "Someone made a wish? How is that possible without the whole jewel together?"

The voices were silent before a duel voices spoke again. But it is together, young miko, for even those who cannot reach through time, are still bound by eternity.

What is that supposed to mean? Kagome thought. "Shikon, who made the wish? I don't even know who has the other half of the jewel? I didn't have time to see what happened before I was sent back?" A thought which saddened her features and riddled her with guilt at leaving behind the one person she'd promised to protect and love forever. Oh, Shippo, my little Shippo. Where are you, my little one? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

Do not cry, young miko, for you will see him again. We cannot tell you more, for you both must find a way to each other by yourselves. But, never fear, we would never have granted his wish if we didn't have complete faith in you both.

What? Kagome thought. Could it be possible that Shippo made a wish? If so, what had it been? Her heart lightened a bit, knowing somehow in her soul that she would see him again.

"Thank you," Kagome murmured out loud, already feeling the disappearance of the voices in her mind. Yes, she would find her son again, even if it lasted an eternity.

Shippo coughed heavily at the invading force and was relieved when his lungs began to expand again. When the blue finally faded from his form Shippo mentally checked himself over and although there was now a slight bump where his hip lay, there was surprisingly no pain. "Well, I don't feel any different," he whispered out loud.

It has been done. Know this, young kit; a wish does not come without a price. Until you find your mother the jewel will stay within your body. You and the jewel cannot be separated from each other until you reunite with your mother. Once the jewel is complete the spell will be broken and you will age as you should and the jewel will be whole once more.

"So…the jewel is inside me?" Shippo questioned feeling the area where the jewel entered his body. His hands crept down and uncovered a spot of flesh just below his left hip where a star shaped scar was beginning to form and a spot of blood seeped from the wound.

It will keep you safe from purification, should you ever come across a miko in these dark times who wishes to do you harm. For now we must depart, young kit, and know that we wish you well upon your journey. You and your friends have assisted us greatly in the past and we thank you for your sacrifices. May the stars guide you and the spirits pave the way.

With that the voices completely left his head leaving Shippo to contemplate his new destiny and fate.

Shippo had been traveling for nearly a week on his own and had gotten used to the silence around him. His senses having been heightened just a bit more than a normal demon's and his throat was scratchy whenever he tried to speak. So far traveling had been hard, yet not unbearable. Because of all his previous traveling he pretty much knew how to take care of himself and stay out of danger. Once or twice he'd had to evade a hungry demon but he always managed to run away or escape unscathed, especially with the new tricks his mother had taught him towards the end of their journey together. He even had a new secret weapon, which usually caught any demon off guard.

He realized that his powers must have grown with the jewel as he found his attacks had grown in intensity whenever he practiced with them. Once again, he thanked his mother for having the patience to train him.

It was night time now and Shippo yawned tiredly spotting a large tree that looked plenty inviting. He'd taken to sleeping in trees recently as they were the best place for a little demon like him to sleep without fear of attack.

"Well, this looks like a good place to settle down," he said to himself sitting down at the base of the tree and reaching into his small satchel, pulling out a juicy apple. His mouth watered at the sight of the tasty treat. He hadn't eaten all day, as he'd had to ration the food he'd stolen from a village a few days before. Shippo sighed after eating the apple, searching through the pack for something else to eat, noticing that his supply was already dwindling. Before long he would have to sneak into another village and steal some more food and supplies. It wasn't hard, seeing how small he was. Most of the time he went unseen and other times he looked like a normal human boy so people felt pity towards him and would offer him all sorts of treats.

"Tomorrow; tomorrow I will find a village and restock everything," he declared to himself before climbing up high into the branches, pulling out a blanket made of rabbit fur and wrapping his tiny body up tight. It wasn't long before he was out like a light.

Some time in the middle of the night Shippo was awakened by strange crashing noises. He bolted up immediately cursing himself for falling so deep into sleep. He sniffed the air noticing there was a slight disturbance. Something was coming towards him; something fast.

He sat up quickly peering through the bushes and was surprised to see two men, or rather two demons, bolt from the safety of the thicket. A few seconds later a group of men also came racing past only to turn around and run the other way a split second later. A loud roar split the night air, startling Shippo he nearly fell from his perch. He screeched in dismay and his nails bit heavily into the bark, trying to sustain his hold. He had just righted himself again when a minute later a rather large demon crashed into the night and Shippo's jaw dropped noting how big the thing was. He had no idea just what kind of demon it was, but it looked like a cross between a giant white tiger and a bear. It was massive in height with a giant head the size of Sesshomaru in his demon form and gleaming, snapping teeth. Its face was shaped like a bear with little doggie type ears on either side of its head, while the rest of the body stood on two furry brown legs. The strange thing was that it was white with black Bengal stripes. Shippo gulped and silently thanked Kami he was in a tree and not on the ground.

Suddenly something caught his attention. The two massive paws opened and Shippo's jaw dropped spotting the man held tightly in its grasp. A kitsune; a silver kitsune! How had a silver, especially an adult, managed to get himself caught in such a hold? He looked to the other paw, surprised to see another man held just as tight. The second demon surprised him even more. A bat demon? It had been a long time since he'd seen one of those

Shippo gulped knowing that he had to do something. He must have picked this up from his mother. She was always trying to help people and she would have jumped in a long time ago.

Shippo's face hardened as he thought of his mother and his resolve grew. Reaching behind him he picked up his new weapon of choice and with a war cry, leapt into battle.

Yoko and Kuronue hadn't known what hit them. One minute they were running away while playing with some stupid castle guards when a demon suddenly swooped down and caught them unawares, something which normally wouldn't have happened.

Looking back on it now, it had all been a trap. The castle guards had been the ones who must have set this up. The lord would have known what sort of demons were on his lands. He must have let them escape, while his guards chased them directly into the danger.

Yoko glanced over at his partner, noticing the grimace and pain on Kuronue's face as he struggled in the demon's grasp.

Kuronue cried out, feeling his wings snapping, causing Yoko to growl. Great, that one will take a while to heal, Kuronue thought, noticing Yoko wasn't doing much betterThe silver kitsune was biting at every place he could sink his teeth, yet the demon never relented in its torture, only help on tighter.

"W-well, Yoko, old friend, I hate to say it, but it was nice working with you," Kuronue bit out, groaning as another bone popped.

"Don't talk like that," Yoko bit out. "You are talking about Yoko Kurama, one of the greatest, ugh, thieves of all time. I'll get us out of here. Have no fear."

Kuronue wanted to role his eyes, yet he gave a slight chuckle. Even in the face of death, Yoko still held onto his massive pride.

"Let them go!" A sudden and surprisingly childish voice rang out, startling all three demons.

The tiger/bear demon let out a growl as something hit him in the back of his head, although it did nothing to drop the two demons. Yoko swung his eyes around surprised to find a tiny orange kit, standing just a few feet away, a miniaturized bow clenched tightly in his hands. The knuckles on his hands were terribly white and it was obvious he was scared to death, yet his eyes never gave anything away.

The larger demon let out a guffawing laugh. "And what do you think you can do with that bow and arrow, little one?" The demon demanded. "You don't actually think a little thing like that can hurt me do you."

Yoko and Kuronue were interested in that answer as well. All eyes were on Shippo as he took a daring step forward and pulled one gleaming white arrow and strung it effortlessly.

Shippo let a little smirk cross his face. "Last chance, demon. Let them go, or else."

When the demon chose to forgo the demand, Shippo sighed before a glowing energy began to glow from the tip of his arrow. Mixing with his Fox fire, Shippo concentrated solely on the demon's heart, allowing his mother's influence to guide him. "Mother, please give me…strength," Shippo whispered out loud, causing Yoko's ears to perk.

Suddenly the energy grew, expanding almost double in power.

The large demon's eyes widened as he caught the scent and aura. "Wait that's-," he never got to finish his sentence as Shippo released his arrow, making a direct hit.

The demon screamed in pain, the white hot flames biting him on the outside while the miko aura purified him from the inside out. Yoko and Kuronue were released almost immediately and they both gasped at the power of Shippo's attack. In a matter of seconds there was nothing left of the great demon and Shippo dropped his stance.

Yoko lay on his back, joyfully taking in much needed breath, while Kuronue clutched at his poor wings. Shippo was in shock. He had finally managed to take down a powerful demon, all on his own.

"I did it," he finally croaked out loud drawing the attention of Yoko and Kuronue. Both demons stood up as Shippo continued staring at his hands. All of a sudden he began laughing out loud. "Ha ha, I finally did it and all on my own!" He cried, dancing around, oblivious to the two sweat dropping demons.

After a moment he realized he was the center of attention and swiveled around, blushing slightly. "Uh, sorry, about that," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just I've never taken down a demon that large before. Not on my own." He ran over to the two demons. "So who are you guys? You're okay, aren't you?"

Yoko couldn't help chuckling. The little guy was cute in his own way and even reminded him of himself when he was younger. "We are fine, kit and our wounds are not life threatening. I'm Yoko. And this is my partner, Kuronue. Nice work on that demon."

"Partner?" Shippo made a funny face and looked between them, wondering what he meant by that.

"Yes," Kuronue continued. "We're…treasure collectors of sorts."

Shippo blinked. Treasure collectors? "Oh, you mean thieves?"

"Ha!" Yoko crowed. "As if we could be roped in with simple thieves," he remarked haughtily while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Speaking of which," Kuronue interrupted before Yoko could go off on one of his many rants. "That's a pretty nice bow you've got there, kit," He remarked.

All at once Shippo drew back, clutching his bow tightly against his chest. "You're not going to steal it from me, are you?" he asked, his eyes wide with panic.

Noticing the fear, Kuronue drew back. "No, that was not my intention. It is just rather fantastic that you have a bow made out of white wood. Where did you come across it?"

Shippo glanced down at his bow, his eyes lost and hazy in a world of memories. "It-it was a gift, from my, from my mother," Shippo stammered quietly. "She made it herself…from the bark of our tree."

"Your tree?" Yoko asked, wondering which tree. Plants and flowers were sacred to him and so he found it slightly endearing that a kit had claimed a tree as his own. "Speaking of which, where is your mother now, kit?" Yoko asked soothingly. "Won't she be worried about you, as well as your father? It's not safe out here without someone to protect you."

Shippo glanced up, his eyes shining brightly. There was pain and loss emanating from deep within his soul. "My real parents died a long time ago. I don't remember my mother much, and I'm starting to forget my father too. He died protecting me from the thunder demons who wanted a shard of the Shikon no Tama."

Yoko and Kuronue had no idea how to deal with this so they merely stayed silent and let the kit deal with his grief, though something caught Yoko's attention.

"Shikon-."

"no tama?" Kuronue finished. "What is it? It sounds like a jewel."

Shippo's head shot up. They'd never heard of the Shikon no Tama? Where had they been all these years? His jaw dropped. "You've never heard of the jewel; seriously?" He gave them a skeptical look.

Yoko growled. There was a jewel somewhere out there that he'd never heard of? "I'm pretty sure, if we knew of a jewel, we would have tried to steal it at some point."

Shippo continued to stare at them before a smile spilt across his face. "It wouldn't have been any use," Shippo remarked. "You wouldn't have been able to get to it anyway." He turned his back to them in a dismissive manner, while Kuronue looked on amused and Yoko looked properly insulted.

Kuronue raised an eyebrow. "Well, by all means, kit, tells us why not?"

Shippo began pacing back and forth, wondering how much he should tell them about the jewel and Inuyasha, his friends, and Kagome. Something inside him was urging him to keep his mouth shut and he always realized he'd forgotten to tell them his name. Finally Shippo shrugged and turned around. "It's just a jewel with a long history." His eyes dropped to the forest floor. "But it's all over now, so I guess it doesn't matter."

"Interesting," Yoko murmured, glancing at the kit curiously, marveling at the brevity of the young one. "So you've been along all this time?"

Shippo shook his head, but remained silent. His eyes grew distant as he remembered his lost mother, trying in vain to hold back the tears threatening to fall. Shippo shrugged them away, stiffening his shoulders and spine, allowing his beautiful mother's face to form into a smile, imagining she was right there with him.

The three stayed silent for awhile before Yoko was struck with a brilliant idea. "Hey, kit, since you have no place to go, would you like to travel with us?" He asked, startling Kuronue a bit, though he had no objections. Having another demon around to help then especially if he were a kitsune would be mighty helpful.

Shippo pondered this for awhile, before slowly nodding. "Sure," he finally responded. "Where are we going?"

Yoko and Kuronue shared equally devious grins before picking up the kit and racing off. "That's the beauty of being a thief," Kuronue proclaimed. "We go where the treasure takes us."

Yoko rolled his eyes, while Shippo laughed. "Baka! And its bandit, not thief," he corrected while it was Kuronue's turn to roll his eyes, attempting to playfully swipe at his partner.

Meanwhile Shippo found himself curling up upon Yoko's shoulder, loving the way the silver kitsune's hair fell across his shoulder and shielded him from the harsh wind. This was almost like having family again. And Yoko, oddly enough, felt a bit like his father. Now the only thing missing was his mother….and Shippo was no longer worried. He would see her soon enough. His wish made sure of that. Smiling with contentedness, he curled up and drifted to sleep, listening to the soft laughter of his newest family.

Well there ya' go. I can't tell you when the next chapter will be out, but I do promise to finish this one. At least I know where I'm going with it. In the mean time, I hope this tides you over for the time being. I'm still working on Knight of Kagome's Heart and its a slow go, so don't expect any updates for at least a week or two.

Ja ne

Kura

P.s. And please remember to review. Its disappointing to see how many times a story has been hit and then see that there are only a few reviews. But flamers beware!