Chapter sixteen: Old and scarred

"Thank you Kaede-baaahp—" Quickly, Shippo covered his mouth with his hands as a high pitched note left his lips and a shade of red crept up his face.

"Sorry…" he murmured, mortified, but in exchange, a taunting chuckle reached his pointy ears and his blush changed to an angered gesture and narrowed eyes.

"Don't laugh at me…" The kitsune threatened in a low voice, maybe to sound more menacing, or maybe just to avoid another embarrassing note from his, nowadays, treacherous vocal cords.

"It's not my fault you sound so ridiculous!" Inuyasha laughed again, leaving the half chewed rice in his mouth exposed.

"Inuyasha…" But another low, and very menacing voice made him close his mouth and straighten his back.

"No one knows how to enjoy a little joke around here," he murmured as he looked, resentful, toward Sango, who wouldn't withdraw her warning look.

"Young man," Kaede interceded. "Your jokes are of a terrible taste. Shippo's voice is changing and that's natural, he's growing, and making fun of him is not nice at all."

"Keh!"

"You heard Kaede-baachan, Inuyasha, stop mocking me or you'll see!" Shippo stood up, his hand in a fist, the bowl of rice in the other. The young youkai was now much taller and in little time, Inuyasha's human strength wouldn't rival with his.

"Really? And what are you gonna do?" Inuyasha snickered and with a fast move, stole one of Shippo's fish that was resting by the hearth. Shippo growled, Kaede sighed and Inuyasha suddenly received a hard blow on the top of his head.

"Can't we eat in peace just for once? Inuyasha, give back Shippo his fish now, and you Shippo, sit. Now." They did as told with a pucker and Sango put a hand to her forehead, pretending to cover a throbbing headache, but she smiled a little. In fact, she was more than used to this behavior and it comforted her; that's how they were, how they acted around each other.

Another laugh broke into the hut but this one was warm. Kaede moved her head, the smile wouldn't leave her wrinkled face. "Seems like you have two children to take care of, eh, Sango? What a way to practice for the day you become a mother."

The secret smile left Sango's lips at once and her features hardened in a second. Kaede frowned and spoke with worry. "Are you all right? Have I said something wrong?"

"No… It's just that I'm not hungry anymore. Excuse me." She stood up and left the hut. Shippo raised a hand with five fingers up so only Kaede could see and he started lowering one by one. By the time the last finger had lowered, Inuyasha had already left the hut.

"Ha! I knew that was gonna happen," he said with a triumphant grin that made Kaede smile. Shippo went to Inuyasha's bowl and started eating his portion as he talked between mouthfuls. "This guy's got, like, a karma or something, don't you think Kaede-baachan?"

"Why do you say so, Shippo-chan?"

"Kaede-baachan… It's Shippo-kun," he corrected. "And I mean, the story is repeating itself, he's in love but he won't face it! He's too thickheaded."

"Sango seems oblivious to her own emotions as well, don't you think? But don't worry, you'll see how eventually they'll figure it out."

"I sure hope so, or they'll end up missing it."

"We hope not. So, do you want to go with me for a stroll after we eat? They day is lovely."

Shippo glanced at the entrance and his face became sullen.

"No… I'll stay here, maybe at night, alright?"

"If you wish, Shippo-kun." Kaede knew perfectly well what was upsetting her young ward, but she decided against commenting it at the time.

"Hey Sango, wait up!" Inuyasha caught up with her but she kept her head lowered and her arms around herself.

"What the hell got into you? Why did you leave like that?" He tried to have a look at her face, which Sango obliged to, giving him a small, reassuring smile. Not long ago, Inuyasha would have rather faced a thousand youkai than dealing with anyone's emotions.

"It's nothing." She tried to broaden her smile but failed, instead her eyes fixed into space.

"Come on, don't give me that shit, you know you'll tell me anyway so why to lose time with all that 'it's nothing' crap?"

She stopped her stroll and started playing, nervously, with her hair. "I… it's just that… I… I don't think Kaede-baachan's right."

Inuyasha recalled the miko's words and frowned. "About you being a mother?"

"Yes… that."

"Don't you… uh… don't you want to be one?" he asked hesitantly. He didn't know why but all the sudden he became very apprehensive.

Sango chuckled in a somewhat bitter tone. "I'm scarred, Inuyasha, and I'm 21 years old. Who would want me like that? It's not that I don't want a family, it's just that I don't think I'll ever have the chance to have one! And I'm too old to marry!" Her voice trembled as she looked down, embarrassed at her outburst. He could see her eyes starting to water.

Sango was startled when she felt a tender touch on her cheek as Inuyasha pushed some hair strands from her face.

"Stop talking nonsense, I think any man would be lucky to have you as a wife." His hand rested on her shoulder, one finger absently caressing the side of her neck.

"Y—you mean it?" She buried her eyes into his, as if expecting to find solace in the sincerity she would find there.

"I… yes, I do." He could feel his face going red and, suddenly, aware of his actions, he removed his hand quickly and diverted his gaze.

Sango gave a step closer to him and, standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Inuyasha resisted the urge to take a hand to his face.

"Thank you for your kind words, I don't think you're right, but I appreciate them any way," she said and started to walk away, but he caught her hand and she couldn't go further.

"Wait! I'm not lying! I really mean it, Sango, You… you're…" Sango searched into his face as his features morphed in gestures she had never seen him do, she could see in his gaze he was troubled. However, Inuyasha never got to say what Sango was as a yell reached their ears.

"Inuyasha-san! Sango-san! Help!" A young boy, Hiro-chan, they recognized, came running toward them with a terrified look upon his face. He hung to Inuyasha's hand and started pulling him from his white haori. "There are youkai in the village! Just outside Hideoshi-san's field!" he said with a fearful look.

At once, they tensed up and Sango ran to her hut to retrieve her weapons. Inuyasha followed her not before telling the boy to run and hide, that they would take care of everything.

Just some minutes later, they arrived to the place Hiro had indicated. All the inhabitants had fled, but there were no signs of youkai near, at least not any visible ones, but Sango, as well as Inuyasha, could feel the demonic aura surrounding the area.

"They're more than one, be careful," he whispered as Tessaiga was freed from its saya.

"Yes, I can feel them too."

Then, just a second early, they jumped in opposite directions as a burst of blue fire exploded right where they had been standing up.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango threw her weapon to the place where the flame had come from, but it only found air to rip. Then, a second flame was launched from behind and she barely had time to jump out of the way. Inuyasha ran to the bushes where the attacks seemed to be coming from and delivered a blow to their attacker, but his katana produced a metallic sound when it crashed against solid rock, a rock that had a mocking face carved on it.

Then, the rock grinned.

"What the—?"

His sentence was cut off when the rock disappeared behind a cloud of smoke and a pink, big balloon appeared in its place and it started gaining height. Where had he seen that before? What the hell, he was about to pop that stupid balloon and that youkai would learn better than to make fun of him. He raised Tessaiga over his head.

"Wait! Inuyasha! Don't attack them!"

An unexpected weight prevented him from lowering the katana and made him fall on his butt instead. Snickers and laughs surrounded him.

"Oy! Shippo! What the fuck are you doing!"

Sango had been surprised for Shippo's behavior, but then she observed how the pink balloon took a more human form, a human form with bright orange hair and bushy tail. Other three individuals with the same characters appeared from behind bushes and trees. Realization stuck her.

"Inuyasha, look, they're kitsune!" she pointed.

"Huh?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you!" Shippo yelled as he stood up.

One of the youkai approached them, a curious look in his face. He studied Sango, then Inuyasha, who had stood up as well and wouldn't lower Tessaiga, and then his eyes rested on…

"Shippo? Is that you?" he said, surprised. The others, two females and a male, approached as well, not taking their bright eyes from Shippo.

Shippo rose from the ground and, curious, got closer. "Yes… How do you know my name? Do I know you?"

"Ah! It's Shippo-chan!" One of the females screamed and ran toward Shippo, who, in a second, found himself caught between hugs and kisses. Inuyasha was about to jump between them, not sure if it was an attack or a show of affection, but Sango stopped him, not sensing any threat.

"Look how much you've grown! Where have you been all this time? You're so handsome now!"

"Karumi, let him breathe!" The other male ruffled Shippo's head, "He surely doesn't remember us."

"You remember us, don't you, Shippo?" The youngest female, who was about his age, got closer and looked at him with a reassuring smile. "Because I do remember you."

Shippo, whose bewilderment reflected on his face, only managed to move negatively his head, mouth-opened.

"Of course he doesn't remember us, he was only four the last time he saw us," said the kitsune who had first recognized Shippo. He appeared to be the oldest. He then turned to Shippo and smiled, pointing his finger to his face.

"I'm Shigoru, this is my wife Karumi, my brother Hideki and my daughter Kagami. We've been looking for you for a long time but we were starting to fear that you had died. And just imagine, we've found you by mere luck!"

Shippo nodded politely to each one but still he didn't understand how they knew about him. It must have showed on his face because immediately, Shigoru added, "I'm your father's cousin. We're your family."

- In Japan, when someone points at oneself, it's done to the face instead of the chest.