Chapter 10: Dango

Kagome knew Sango wasn't happy with her. Leaving the safety of the garden and charging towards the sound of battle were things that Sango didn't approve of anyway, but bringing back a demon child-a kitsune no less-had her livid.

For his part, Shippo ignored Sango in favor of the food. Kagome couldn't decide what to make of the ball of orange fur. Was he really starving? Where were his parents?

Sango seemed to be thinking along a similar line. "Kitsune, why were you sneaking into the palace?"

"My name's Shippo," he replied without looking up. Sango frowned.

"Shippo, please answer her question," Kagome chastized softly. The kit sighed, but answered.

"I was hungry."

"And you want me to believe the easiest place to steal from was the royal palace?" Sango snarled, her fingers clenching as she resisted the impulse to grab her weapon.

"Man, you don't know anything do you?" Shippo scoffed as he grabbed a trio of dango and pulled the top one off the stick.

"Shouldn't you eat those at the end of the meal?" Rin asked, giggling. Shippo glanced over at the young human and seemed to note her for the first time.

"I don't have parents telling me what to do," Shippo huffed.

"My parents died a long time ago." Rin looked away from the rest of the group, out across the pond. Shippo had the good grace to look embarrassed, but before he could apologize, a shadow fell across the group.

"Might I inquire as to why my wife and her retinue are dining with a theif?" Sesshomaru's voice was cold and harsh, and Kagome looked up to meet those piercing golden eyes. Her stomach filled up with knots, remembering their wedding night, and the fact that they hadn't seen much of one another since he'd carried her to her bed and left her there to cry.

"I invited him as my guest," Kagome managed weakly.

"Guards, seize the kitsune, and put him in a cell. It seems I need to explain to my wife how things are done in the Kingdom of the West."

Sesshomaru pulled Kagome to her feet as Rin and Sango rose and backed away from the guards. The kitsune, though, was faster than the guards had given him credit for. Shippo snapped his fingers, and a cloud of smoke filled the gazebo. By the time it cleared, the kitsune was gone. Sesshomaru's expression remain flat and cool, but he held Kagome's arm in an iron girp. "Let's go."

Kagome glanced back at the gazebo as her husband dragged her towards their quarters. A single dango on its stick lay in the dirt.

Author's Notes: Dango are a snack made using rice flour...and are actually kind of difficult to explain, since they're so different from western desserts. They're described as sweets by Japanese, but they're not really very sweet compared to American desserts, and I've had sweeter tempura squash. But they are tasty!

For clarification to the readers, the reason Kagome was crying after their wedding night was because he called her 'Kikyo', but he assumes it was because the experience was so horrible for her. Ah, communication.

Sorry for such a huge pause! Life and work just totally overwhelmed me, but things are looking a little less hectic for a couple weeks... and then things will pick back up. Oh well... at least I'm doing what I love. :D