Courage

Chapter One: To Fight

Hola! This is the first chapter of my short little Courage fic. In addition to its only being six chapters long, the chapters themselves are also pretty short. I mean…you don't exactly need to gabble for ten pages about how brave a certain character is. In fact, you could easily do it in a paragraph or two. But…being myself, I couldn't resist dragging it out for five pages.

The focus of this chapter is our own beloved Shippo.

And please, I already realize that doing this on top of all the other fics that I can't stay on top of anyways is literary suicide, but I can't help it! I really like this idea, and if I let it fester for too long, it'll degenerate from crap to the fungus that forms on crap.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shippo, or Sango, Miroku, or Inuyasha, or Kagome, or Kirara, or Naraku, or anyone else that has anything to do with Inuyasha (excluding my OCs from other stories, of course).

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'Helpless!' Shippo thought furiously. 'Just like every other time, I'm too weak, too young, too inexperienced! Always so helpless!' He bit his lip and watched his friends battle, not noticing that the precursors of his fangs were digging painfully into his own soft flesh. His cheerful shock of orange hair looked oddly out of place on the frustrated young fox demon.

He glanced across the battlefield as a cloud of poison dust erupted, momentarily untangling the knot of demon slayer and golems that had just been at its heart. Sango, the slayer, fought on, safe behind her filter mask, expertly bludgeoning the golems with her boomerang bone and trapping them with a weighted chain. The golems, white baboon pelts atop masses of sharp, writhing roots, sent tentacle after tentacle towards her heart, each of which was sliced away, twisted off, or expertly evaded. Even from across the clearing, he could see her sharp magenta eyes swiveling between her opponents, could see the familiar flick she used to remove her long black ponytail from her field of vision.

Behind her stood Miroku, a monk, armed with nothing but a staff, yet effectively holding his own against another golem. With the ease of long practice, he blocked one root's path with the slender pole, slicing off the tip of another with the sharp ornament adorning the top of the staff. The butt of the shaft swung up to club away the root intent on gouging out his violet eyes as he knocked away another with his arm. His short black ponytail and loose bangs swished across his face, veiling and unveiling his unusually serious expression, mirroring the swinging of his black and purple monks' robes.

A blur of red and silver flew across Shippo's field of vision. When the blur settled, he identified it as Inuyasha, a half-demon clad in bright crimson. He swung an enormous sword with little apparent effort. However, the curious hardness in his golden eyes told Shippo that he was having trouble. Blood stained his long silver hair, blood that poured from the gaping wound in his right shoulder. Still, he managed to hold off the two golems attacking him, slicing roots and baboon pelts as quickly as he was able. His claws and fangs glinted with each snarl andvicious swing.

As hard as the three were fighting, Shippo wasn't as worried for them as he was for the fifth member of their "family": Kagome, his surrogate mother. He found her across the field from Inuyasha, coolly shooting arrow after purifying arrow. The golem she focused on so intently dodged and weaved, trying to avoid each too-close-for-comfort missile. Occasionally, it managed to shoot out a piercing tentacle, only to have it pinned and blown up by Kagome's arrow. She seemed to have the upper hand.

But she didn't. Shippo sniffed the air anxiously and closely watched her sharp gray eyes. Even as they swiftly followed the golem's movements, they showed signs of exhaustion. She had been tapping into her purifying abilities far too much lately, so her power reserves were low. And now, those reserves were quickly running out. He knew what would happen when her power reservoir was empty. The arrows would lose the pink glow that characterized her power, and she would collapse, unable to move until she had gotten adequate rest. If that battle didn't stop soon…

He scanned the field again. A whirl of black cloth and pink armor: Sango was still fighting. A distant spot of purple and black: Miroku hadn't finished off his golem yet. The ever-in-motion spot of red and silver: Inuyasha's opponents were still alive. A stationary green and white uniform, spewing shafts of pink: Kagome's battle went on.

'And here I am, absolutely helpless!' he thought again. He stroked the fur of the mewing firecat beside him. "Too bad those venom wasps got you, Kirara," he murmured, eyeing the welt on her side where the Saimyosho, the wasps that served the same master as the golems, had finally managed to land a venomous sting. "You'd finish off Sango's golems in a second, wouldn't you? At least you would be of use if you were healthy. Me…" he glared at Kagome's golem. "I'm useless even when I'm in tip-top shape."

Weakly, she nuzzled his side and chirped. He smiled weakly at her. "Thanks, Kirara."

A breathless, "Shit!" brought his attention back to the battlefield. After searching for a moment, he saw Kagome had dropped down to one knee, now firing from the ground. She gasped, her wavy black hair soaked with sweat, and continued to hold off the golem. But now, she was at a decided disadvantage. On her feet, she could twist and turn to aim better and follow the golem. But now, her range of movement was limited, and her aim was compromised where she had to twist around to fire. The golem took advantage of this and danced off to her right, where she could only draw the bowstring halfway back, straining her muscles each time.

"Kagome!" he whispered. "Oh no, oh no, please be okay, Kagome!"

Inuyasha, it seemed, had noticed the same thing, for he dashed toward her, shouting her name. But as he ran, a tentacle stabbed through the back of his already-wounded shoulder, emerging on the other side. He cried out in pain and surprise and turned to hack at the root. Kagome continued to fire as she shouted, "Inuyasha, just take care of yourself! I'll be fine!"

Although he didn't acknowledge her words, he seemed to obey her, following the golems back to the other side of the field.

Shippo, however, didn't agree with Inuyasha's course of action, and continued to keep watch over her. Occasionally, his eyes would be drawn to the cloud of Saimyosho that hovered over the battle. Each was round and fat, a sickly shade of yellow, with red eyes that somehow made the viewer nauseous, and a long, barbed sting. It was because of the contents of those stings that had this battle had lasted so long. Not only had it harbored Kirara useless, but it also made it too dangerous for Miroku to use his most powerful weapon: the Wind Tunnel.

Kagome's sudden intake of breath returned Shippo's attention to her. "Kagome!" She had reached the limits of her strength. Slowly, almost gracefully, she crumpled onto her side, dropping the bow and arrow, the contents of her quiver scattering. Her gray eyes closed in her equally gray face, as a defeated breath escaped her.

The little fox kit heard an echo of his desperate cry.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha, attempted to launch himself across the field toward her, but found himself hemmed in by a maze of tentacles. "Get out of my way, you scum!" His already-wild sword blows took on an almost insane air, but did little against the ever-regenerating golems. In his wild, panicked rage, the half-demon appeared to have forgotten the golems' weak point, the chest, instead focusing entirely on what lay between him and Kagome, although it did him no good. He was stuck, and Kagome was being fast approached by the golem she had such a short time ago been holding off magnificently.

"Wind Tunnel!"

"Miroku, no!" Shippo stiffened, staring in horror at Miroku, who had decided to unleash his deadliest weapon. A string of prayer beads dangled from his left hand, which was bracing his right arm. He held his right palm toward both his golem and Kagome's. In the center of his hand was a pitch black hole, which was steadily sucking in the struggling golems and, more importantly, the Saimyosho.

"Miroku, you fool!" Sango shrieked, tearing her mask from her face. "The venom—"

But Miroku already knew what she was going to say, and shouted in return, "A dose like this won't kill me, but that golem will certainly kill Kagome!"

The demon slayer was prevented from answering when one of her opponents drove a tentacle straight through her calf. Even as she crumpled, grunting in pain, her boomerang bone swung out, snapping the tentacle in two.

Although he didn't have Sango to argue against him, Miroku suddenly closed his right hand into a fist, wrapping the beads around his right forearm again. His breathing had gotten heavier, and he was sweating profusely. "That's my limit," he gasped weakly, cradling his hand to his chest and sinking to his knees. "I can take in no more venom without seriously endangering my life."

After a moment of scrutiny, Shippo turned away from the monk. As heroic and stubborn the monk could be, he did know what he was and wasn't capable of. If he said he would live, it was likely that he would. But something new had captured the little kitsune's interest. Sango's wound had crippled her, and she could only fight one golem. The second one seemed to realize that, for it abandoned the battle.

Shippo's world froze. 'It's heading for Kagome!' he thought wildly. 'Kagome will be killed!' Already, the golem was aiming a tentacle at her heart.

His surroundings began to move again, rather faster than he remembered, until he realized that he was also in motion, sprinting toward his surrogate mother as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him. "F-Foxfire!" he shouted, flinging a handful of bright green fire at the threatening tentacle. To his shock, the tentacle, burned through, fell to the ground. He sighed in relief. "It worked…"

But not entirely. Two more tentacles shot out, one trying again for Kagome, the other zeroing in on Shippo. In a split second, he dug his hand into his pocket and drew out a small toy horse. He tossed it next to Kagome, where it swiftly transformed into a large, round straw pony, which scooped the girl up and set her on its back, galloping away to safety. The tentacle plunged uselessly into the ground.

But he still had its partner to worry about, which was quickly approaching him. Another split second found him tossing a handful of leaves into the air. "Doppelganger!" Each leaf transformed into a perfect replica of the fox demon. As each was punctured by a tentacle, it emitted a loud "pop" and transformed back into a leaf. The distraction had granted Shippo time to escape.

But he didn't. He dodged and weaved with his replicas, thinking resolutely, 'Miroku's completely used up for this battle, and Sango can't take on more than one of these things. Inuyasha is already dealing with two, so it's up to me to take care of this one!'

Just he finished his heroic thought, he felt his feet swept out from underneath him. "Oof!" He landed hard on his back, knocking the wind out of him. He watched weakly as another tentacle plunged toward him. He raised a shaking hand and gasped, "Fox…fire…." Fortunately, the spell still worked, and the tentacle was once again burned.

"Shippo, look out!" He twisted his head when Sango called out to him, when the world suddenly turned upside-down.

He shrieked and began twisting wildly, fighting the vise-like grip on his ankle. His desperately clawing hands scrabbled at what felt like a particularly slimy, squishy root, and he screamed again. One small, barely clawed hand reached inside his vest and flung out a number of firecrackers, lit with his fox magic. "Fire Bombs!"

As they made contact with the golem, each firecracker exploded, sending smoke, showers of sparks, and resounding booms across the field. Shippo felt the tentacle wrapped around his ankle loosen, and he twisted, this time managing to free himself. Huffing and gasping for breath, he struggled away from the golem as quickly as he could. His ears noted a peculiar rush of wind and scattered debris coming from the golem before he stopped and turned to face it, once again ready to fight.

But there was nothing left to fight. Inuyasha stood before him, panting slightly, his enormous sword resting on the ground. After a few tense moments, the half-demon turned and appraised the kitsune. "You know, runt," he said almost reluctantly, "you really can find a use for yourself once in a while, can't you?"

Shippo blinked up at him, momentarily at a loss for words. What had just happened?

Returning the Tetsusaiga to its sheath, the elder continued, "Thanks to you, Kagome's safe, and those things were distracted enough for me to finish them off in one blow. Hop on."

The change in subject caught him off guard, forcing Shippo to once again blink confusedly at his rescuer. Inuyasha seemed to notice, for he sighed impatiently and clarified, "We have to find Kagome, stupid. Come on, or I'll leave you behind!"

"B-but what about Sango and Miroku?"

"We'll be fine." Sango limped over, using her boomerang bone as a walking stick of sorts. A crude bandage of what looked like part of Miroku's robes was wrapped around her wound. The monk himself looked tired, but could at least walk on his own. "You two go on. And nice work, Shippo. That was extremely brave of you," she added with a proud smile.

Miroku wore a similar smile as he nodded and continued, "We probably owe Kagome's life to you."

He blushed proudly at the praise, then hopped onto Inuyasha's uninjured shoulder. "Let's go!"

The half-demon set off immediately, following the trail of Kagome's flowery scent. Shippo sniffed eagerly, itching to regale his adoptive mother with his heroic tale. Oh, the praise! Oh, the hugs! Oh, the extra treats!

As they sped onward, his escort grunted, "Hey, runt?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. You did a pretty damn good job out there. I'm…" He hesitated. "I'm proud of you."

(end)

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So there you have it! Shippo has the courage to fight and risk his life for his loved ones, despite his size, age, and abilities (or rather, lack thereof).

I still haven't decided whether all six of these will be completely disconnected, or whether they will make only brief references to each other, or whether they will proceed just like any other story, each chapter building on the one before. I'll probably end up treating it like an actual story, simply because it's easier that way (although I have to figure out how I'll work in Inuyasha's and Kagome's chapters)

One thing I know is that I probably won't be using cliffies, because each chapter is still its own separate entity. I want them to be connected, but I don't want them to directly lead into each other. Yennoe?

Anyway, review, and let me know what you think of this (abysmally short) chapter! Thank you!