Chapter 4: Night Reflections

"So, old man, you found Sesshoumaru, eh?" Jaken felt himself quail under the kitsune's intense gaze, but slowly he managed to gather his courage.

"Shippo! Put me down you damnable fox!" The kitsune blinked in surprise before throwing back his head in laughter. He then carefully set the small youkai down, still chuckling to himself.

"Forgive me Jaken, I did not mean to frighten you," Shippo said with a grin.

"What are you talking about Dad? You were…" Shippo placed a hand over his daughter's mouth, but Jaken was already glaring up at him.

"Shippo!"

"Okay, I admit it. I wanted to see you sweat."

Jaken still glared at him. Typical kitsune, always having to play their tricks! Of course it doesn't help that he had Lord Inuyasha as a father figure growing up. Jaken took a moment to study the younger kitsune. She definitely had her father's eyes and tail, but otherwise she was her mother's daughter. The child had her mother's black hair and intense pride.

"Sango has certainly grown, hasn't she?" Jaken asked. The last time that he had seen young Sango was when she was a toddler. Shippo smiled warmly down at his youngest child as he placed a clawed hand gently on her head.

"Indeed she has," the kitsune agreed.

"I killed my first youkai eight years ago Mr. Jaken!" Sango exclaimed excitedly, still proud at her achievement. She had been with her older sisters on that day. The young kitsune had dragged her prize all the way home to show her parents, much to the amusement of her sisters.

"Is that so?" Jaken asked.

"Yeah, it was a huge boar youkai!" She stretched her arms as if to emphasize her point. Shippo chuckled softly to himself as a fierce sense of pride filled his heart. Sango had insisted on sending one of the boar's teeth to an amused Inuyasha. The hanyou Lord had placed the tooth on a cord that he now wore around his neck. Inuyasha still wore the enchanted necklace placed on him by Kaede and Kagome. Sometimes Shippo yelled 'Sit!' just to make him jump. The end result would usually have Inuyasha chase him around with his sword until he calmed down.

Shippo turned his attention to the path that he had seen the humans on.

"Jaken?" he asked. The older youkai retrieved his staff as he looked up at the kitsune.

"Yes?"

"Will you go after Sesshoumaru tomorrow?"

"Actually I wished to go tonight," he said, but Shippo shook his head at him.

"I think you should wait until morning. It will be difficult enough for Sesshoumaru's reincarnation to accept the truth, but right now he is tired. You should wait until he is refreshed. Remember, he's a mortal now, not a youkai."

Jaken slumped his shoulders. The kitsune was right, it was better to wait. He had let his zeal take control of him.

"Very well," he agreed. Shippo gave a hint of a smile as he looked down at the disappointed old man.

"Perhaps we should eat something ourselves," the kitsune said. Jaken agreed and followed the two kitsunes. He dragged the two swords behind him until Shippo took them from him. Jaken was about the protest, but the fox reassured him that they would be returned.

"These aren't my swords Jaken, I have my own." Shippo indicated the sword at his hip as he continued walking. Jaken relaxed, he knew that Shippo would never take the swords. He was just used to protecting them from thieving youkai and humans.

Some time later, the three youkai were sitting around a small fire deep within the woods. Jaken eagerly sank his teeth into the roasted venison, followed by an equally hungry Sango. Shippo took his time as he kept a careful watch over his two wards.

After he had finished his meal, Jaken wiped his mouth. He had questions for the fox, just as he was sure Shippo had questions for him. But first, they had to get certain pleasantries out of the way. Shippo was technically a lord now, even if only because he was an adopted member of Inuyasha's court and because of his marriage to Lady Souten.

"How are your twin daughters and your wife doing?"

Shippo threw some tea leaves into some boiling water as he answered.

"Souten is in China right now and Kagome is with her." He had named one of his daughters after Kagome. "Nariko is currently watching over her mother's lands." Even though they were twins, the teenaged sisters weren't identical. Kagome looked like an older version of young Sango while Nariko had Shippo's red hair. Shippo had been secretly pleased that his three daughters had inheritated his tail and green eyes. But while Kagome and Sango also had his fox feet, Nariko didn't. Jaken looked up with interest.

"Why is your Lady wife and Lady daughter in China?" he asked.

"Souten wished for a break from the humans." Jaken nodded in understanding. With the increasing number of humans living in Japan, the population of youkai had begun to decline. Many youkai were simply withdrawing into the wilds or even leaving the country all together. Jaken had even heard rumors that several of Kouga's tribe had made their way to the wilderness of North America.

"Will…" Jaken wasn't sure how to broach the subject. "Will your family leave as well?"

"No, we will not give up our lands to humans."

Shippo took a sip of tea. His wife would never abandon her ancestral lands to humans. However even Souten, his ever prideful, beautiful Souten, had become tired of dealing with the mortals. She had gone to China a few years after the beginning of the Meiji Revolution, but she had promised to return soon. Shippo hoped so, he missed his wife terribly.

Jaken took an offered cup of tea from the kitsune as he considered his words. Inuyasha and Kouga had both said the same thing, but is seemed as if humans were every where these days.

"And…how is Namu?" Jaken ventured delicately. He saw Shippo stiffen slightly at the mention of his hanyou son. Apparently the relationship between father and son still left much to be desired.

"He is with Inuyasha," Shippo said stiffly.

"I…see…" Jaken said no more, seeing that the kitsune had become deep in thought. The old youkai simply drank his tea as he listened to the sound of the cicadas.

Shippo stared into his cup. Although Souten was the only woman he had ever truly loved, he'd had a failed relationship with a human woman before he and Souten had crossed paths again. It would only be years later that the fox would discover that he had fathered a hanyou son with her.

To say that Souten had been extremely unhappy would be an understatement. The twins had only been sixty-eight when Namu had showed up on their doorstep. After a frosty start, she and his son had eventually accepted each other. Souten now treated him as her own son and Namu was close to his half sisters, especially his youngest one. Sango practically hero-worshipped her older brother. It was only between father and son that relations were poor.

Being half-human, Namu didn't have the pointed youkai ears of his father, but rather he had a pair of fox ears on his head. Namu also had his father's red hair and green eyes, but lacked the fox tail and feet. Shippo felt a sense of sadness as he thought about his son. Although their relationship had significantly improved, the kitsune knew that Namu saw Inuyasha more as a father than he would ever see him. Perhaps it was better that way. Inuyasha was far more qualified to guide his hanyou son than Shippo ever could. Even so, the fact that he would probably never have the relationship with his son that Inuyasha did made him a bit depressed.

"Dad?" Shippo gave a start as he realized that he was still staring into his tea.

"What Sango?"

"Are you and Namu still fighting?" Anxiety filled his daughter's large green eyes.

"No Sango, we're not fighting." It wasn't exactly a lie, but he didn't want her upset. She idolized her father even more than she did Namu. Shippo looked up at the crescent moon just barely peeking through the tree tops.

"You should get some sleep Sango."

"I'm not tired," she protested, but a yawn betrayed her.

"You won't miss anything, I promise."

Jaken watched as the girl pulled a leaf out and created a blanket out of it with her kitsune magic. She curled up and was quickly asleep. The old youkai was tired, but he needed some answers first.

"How did you know I was here Shippo?"

"I followed you from Kyoto. Yes, I know…" he held up a hand as Jaken began to sputter. "I should have told you before hand, but I was curious. You should be thankful actually, there was a cat youkai stalking you about two hundred miles back.

"A..a…cat?" Jaken hadn't noticed anything. Stupid cats. He sighed tiredly, ready for sleep. He let Shippo refill his cup as he thought about the red-haired human with the cross-shaped scar on his cheek.

"How did you find Sesshoumaru?" Shippo asked suddenly.

"Kaede had said that he would have red hair, blue eyes, and a cross-shaped scar on his face. I started hearing rumors of a great swordsman with that description during the humans' civil war. I followed the rumors to Kyoto and heard that he was living here. His human name is Himura Kenshin."

"Kenshin," Shippo mused. "I've heard rumors of him too. He's said to be the greatest human swordsman of this era. Battousai the Manslayer, isn't that what he was known by?"

"And why would a kitsune Lord be listening to human rumors?"

Shippo grinned wryly as he took a sip of tea.

"It is wise to pay attention to the rumors of humans these days."

"You were looking for him too, weren't you?"

Shippo nodded.

"Yes I was."

"And has Inuyasha heard these rumors?"

"Yes. He figured that if he was Sesshoumaru, then you would be close behind."

So Shippo had been looking for him, it hadn't been mere chance that he'd found him in Kyoto. That meant that the kitsune would probably come with him to meet the humans tomorrow. Instead of annoying the old youkai like it once would have, it comforted him. The young boy that he had met years ago had grown into an honorable man.

"May I see your sword Shippo?" he asked politely. A pair of green eyes studied him for a moment before unsheathing the sword in question. The kitsune handed his sword to Jaken.

"Ah, it's beautiful! Totousai's work is really amazing!" Jaken ran a finger down the blade of the Kadouki. The delicate image of leaves had been engraved into the side of the sword. The blade itself was slightly shorter and lighter than the Toukijin, but it was no less lethal. The blade was both sharp and incredibly strong. While clearly not the Tetsusaiga, the Kadouki was a powerful sword in its own right. Jaken had seen the kitsune use it in battle before.

From what Jaken understood, the sword itself acted as an amplifier. It enhanced the natural abilities of its master, who happened to be Shippo. The sword magnified his senses and boosted his kitsune magic. The sword even glowed violet when it sensed a strong youkai presence nearby and blue when it sensed the strong spiritual energy of a human.

Jaken had also heard, although he didn't know if it was true, that the Kadouki also allowed him to sense the emotions of others. A weak type of mind reading, so to speak. However, if this was the case, he didn't know. Jaken gave the sword one more admiring look before handing it back to its master.

Shippo replaced the blade in its scabbard. The fox had discovered that he was able to generate a more powerful and destructive version of his fox fire through the sword. He'd also found that he could coat the blade in an aura of his fire, creating what he called a fire blade.

"You should sleep as well Jaken." He could feel that the old man was ready to fall over in exhaustion.

"Yes, I believe I will."

The old man was soon asleep, leaving Shippo the only one still awake. The kitsune rose to do a quick survey of the area and place a few traps. Satisfied that there was no danger, he drifted into a light sleep.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It called to him. Kenshin followed a soft light as he wandered through a strange hall. It seemed strangely familiar. As he reached the end of the hallway, it suddenly opened up to an even stranger landscape.

As Kenshin stood there, he stared in awe at the huge skeletal remains of some beast. It wore strange armor and the creature had two fangs missing from it's teeth. Something about the remains filled him with sadness. As he looked on, he saw the soft light appear inside the creature's ribcage.

He followed it, walking inside the body of the dead creature. Kenshin felt no fear, for some reason he felt safe here. The human noticed a strange sword floating several yards away. As Kenshin approached, the sword began to pulse with a soft light. His hand reached out for it, aching to touch it.

"Tenseiga."

Kenshin gave a start as he woke up. A dream, it was only a dream. But it had seemed so real. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. The dream was already fading from his mind. He soon forgot the contents of it, but Kenshin still felt unsettled. Despite forgetting everything else, the image of the sword stayed in his mind.

The swordsman stood up to go get a drink of water. Sanosuke and Yahiko were both snoring unconcerned on their futons. Kenshin sighed as he walked outside for a breath of fresh air.

The crescent moon shone brightly in the night as Kenshin stared up at it. He couldn't explain why the dream had unsettled him. The door slid softly open as Sanosuke stuck his head out.

"You all right Kenshin?"

"Yes, this one is fine. I am sorry to have awakened you."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it was just a dream that it was."

Sanosuke gave him a strange look before ducking back inside.

"Well, if you want to talk about it we can. I'm up for a bottle of sake."

"No, I'm fine. Really." His friend gave him a doubtful look through the doorway before finally shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay then, I'm going back to bed. But if you don't go back to sleep, I might just be forced to stay up and annoy you."

Kenshin took the hint and walked back inside. The only way he could convince Sanosuke to go back to bed was if he did as well. Kenshin slid underneath the covers, but it took him a while to fall back asleep.

…………………….

Author's note:

Nariko is a Japanese name that means 'Thunder peal.'

As Shippo's daughters are also descendants of the Thunder youkai tribe, I thought that Nariko would be a fitting name for one of them.