Allís Fair in Love and War

Chapter Twenty Nine

Happy

Inu Yasha sipped the last of the milk from his bowl of corn flakes and gulped, followed by a small sigh on his part. Shippou sipped his second kiddy cup full of whole milk, a luxury for the small demon. As if it were some natural inherited cat trait, he loved all things creamy and milky. He took a fork clumsily in his chubby fingers and jabbed it at an opened can of tuna fish, a new favorite of the child. He had never eaten fish.

Inu Yasha licked away the milk mustache he had grown over the past thirty seconds and rubbed his face on his sleeve. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, the low rumble of sound coming from his throat rising a few notes to a high pitched sigh at the end of his yawn. He twisted his torso to the side, placing his hands on his hips as he did so. Kagome looked over at him and grinned before she finished off her orange juice. Inu Yashaís eyes, tired from a very short night of sleep, sat half lidded on his amber-gold irises as he lazily gnawed on the rim of his glass.

The bright light from the freshly risen sun beat down through the sun roof and set the room aglow in bright and dazzling light. Kagome took the last bite of her egg, her silverwear sparkling as she twirled it in her fingers. She chewed slowly and lazily as she turned to face Inu Yasha, his half lidded eyes roaming the room as he gnawed on the glass he held in his clawed fingers. He turned towards her and his eyes widened a little as he removed the glass from his mouth. ìUm, Kagome?î he asked. ëCan we, um, well, is it okay ... um.î

Inu Yasha couldnít do it. He couldnít ask for favors. Fact be, he could not ask for anything at all. Yes, his confidence in himself was at an all time high now, but for some reason, after all the abuse, the feelings of worthlessness; he could ask for nothing. After all, didnít he have all he could ever wish for? He didnít need anything else, right? Did he deserve anything else?

ìWhat?î she asked, licking away orange juice with a pink tounge tip.

ìUm, nothing.î he said and went back to chewing hopelessly at the rim of his glass, fogged by the milk the faded slowly from the sides of the glass that once contained it. Kagome shrugged and got off of her chair to put her dishes away. When she returned to her chair, she sat down and looked out the window boredly.

ìYou two look bored, why dont you do something?î she suggested. ìWhat would you like to do?î

ìInu Yasha, you choose, youíre the guest.î Kagome said.

ìI dunno.î Inu Yasha shrugged, removing the glass from his mouth. He almost hoped Kagome would pick for him.

ìWhy donít all three of you play in the garden, Kagome likes it there. Iím sure youíll love it as well, Shippou.î Shippou flicked his tail and his ear perked up. He made a mew of contentment before slurping the last drops of liquid out of the sippy cup he held in his small hands.

ìOkay!î he chirped as he wiped away his newly grown milk mustache with his sleeve.

ìAlrighty.î said Kagome as she stood up.

She tugged lightly on Inu Yashaís sleeve to rouse him from his chair and he stood and followed her to the door with Shippou in tow. Kagome lead them through the confusing Higurashi household, abundant in twists and turns until they reached the garden they were searching for. Shippou squealed in delight at the plant that greeted him and he dashed towards the fountain to perch on the rim and look out at the lush greens. ìPlants!î he squealed. ìInu Yasha, plants! Theyíre everywhere!î He trotted around in a bush for a while and Inu Yasha and Kagome couldnít help but let a little bit of their suppressed laughter escape.

ìYou know, Inu Yasha, he kind of looks like you did when you first saw you.î she said and put a hand on her waist as she rolled her head on her shoulders.

ìAgain, Kagome, itís my evil influences rubbiní off on him.î he said. She giggled and punched him softly in the arm.

ìNo, I mean you looked kind of ... I donít know, young, when I first met you. You were all wide eyed and naive looking. Most people loose that look when they hit ten. I kind of liked seeing you like that. You just seemed so ... innocent. I really canít explain it. But um, you just looked ... like a child, I guess.î she said, her words kind of drifting along slowly, as if she were talking more to herself than to him.

ìIs that a good thing or a bad thing?î he asked cautiously and raised an eyebrow.

ìNeither I suppose.î she said. ìI thought it was kind of neat. You have a different look now though I think. I guess youíve changed.î she said and shrugged.

ìSo is that a bad thing?î he asked, curiously.

She laughed and knocked his arm with her fist again. ìNo, Inu Yasha.î she said, laughing. ìIíll like you whether you look like a child or an eighty year old man. Kay? I promise.î she continued, still laughing the tiniest bit. ìGeesh.î she said and made an exaggerated sigh.

ìSorry.î he mumbled. Shippou came running out of the bushes with a fist extended towards Inu Yasha.

Before Shippou spoke she mumbled, ìThough if you look like an eighty year old man now, we might have a slight problem on our hands.î

ìLook!î he squealed. ìI got a ant!î he said and wiggled around in place. He unclenched his tiny hand and a big black ant was crawling over his pointer finger, slowly making itís way to his fingernail.

Inu Yasha laughed and patted the childís head, rubbing the cat ears down against his skull. ìNice. What are you going to name it?î he said.

ìI can name it!î he squeaked. ìNo way!î He was surprised indeed. What a priviledge.

ìYep, name it anything you like.î he said.

ìOkay. Then ... itís name is Happy.î he said. Happy, the ant, crawled across Shippouís hand and tried to make its way down his arm when Shippou placed his other hand in the way and the bug went onto his finger.

ìThatís not a name!î protested Inu Yasha.

ìYes it is!î said Shippou. After all, Inu Yasha had said, anything he wanted.

ìWell, I think Happyís hungry.î said Kagome. ìYou should let him go now. He wants to go back to his ant family. Iím sure they miss him.î she said knowingly.

ìOh.î said Shippou sadly. ìI have to?î he asked.

ìYeah, I donít think he likes being held that much.î she said.

ìFine.î he agreed and kneeled down, placing his hand against the grass and watching his friend crawl into the green plant life.

ìI have an idea!î exclaimed Kagome.

ìHm?î said Shippou, looking over his shoulder.

ìI can help you catch lizards.î she said. ìLots of little lizards crawl in here and they are real fun to catch.î she said. ìJust um, donít eat any, kay?î

ìNo, no, no. I already ate. Iím stuffed.î he said, as if turning down an offer for a gourmet dinner of lizards.

Inu Yasha watched as Kagome charmed small Shippou. ëSheís really good with kids.í he thought. ëShippou really seems to like her.í He was glad too. After all, it would be difficult if Shippou didnít like one of his favorite people in the world. Shippou was important to him, after all, one of the most important people he knew. It would be pure tragedy if the two clashed. But all his fears were assuaged when they met.

In his cat form, Shippou tends to be rather weary of people holding him, much less, touching him. In a strange way, without even knowing Kagome, he trusted her. Whatís more important is that he placed all his faith in Inu Yasha and if Inu Yasha liked this Kagome girl so much, she had to be a wonderful person, or so he thought. After all, Kagome made his daddy so happy. He liked her just for that. Though sometimes he got a little jealous of her. Did Inu Yasha talk so greatly of him too? He hoped. After all, Inu Yasha was his favorite person ever.

Kagome, Inu Yasha, and Shippou clambered along the vines that clung to the walls of her house and searched for the mentioned animal life. Lizards seemed to be abundant in her yard because they caught many. And Shippou named them all.

There was Susie, Mary Lu, Warrior (This one was a biter, poor Shippou would soon find.) Wubbie, Foot, and Cranky. (Cranky was ësleepingí.) Then there was three small ones that Shippou decided were sisters, so they were named Annie, Lannie, and Fannie. He has yet to realize that ëfannyí has dual meanings.

Then there was Linda the bullfrog, and Scary, the garden snake that Shippou swears he saw slither by. All in all, Shippou caught twice as many thing as Kagome and Inu Yasha combined. Shippou enjoyed having Kagome around. Inu Yasha realized that by the end of their time in the garden, whenever he caught something, he showed it to her before he showed it to Inu Yasha and made happy faces as she praised him on his good work.

At around eleven, the three of them heading back inside to the living area of Kagomeís home. It was partially due to the fact that they were thirsty and cold, and also the fact that Inu Yasha felt rain coming towards them. He could usually tell the weather when he paid enough attention because of certain feeling he gets in his body. The hairs stood up on his arm in the garden as they were lizard hunting and he sneezed. Kagome asked him ìAre you getting sick?î

ìNo,î he said, ìitís going to rain.î

Inu Yasha plopped down on a chair and sighed. He looked down as he felt Shippouís small body land with a plop on his lap. The child stood on his thighs and rested his head against Inu Yashaís chest, reaching up and grabbing up bunches of Inu Yashaís shirt in his tiny hands. He closed his eyes and snuggled closer to Inu Yasha, trying soak in some warmth from the boyís body. Tentatively, Inu Yasha wrapped his hands around the childís back and held him closer. ìYouíre cold.î he stated.

ìHm.î Shippou agreed.

Kagome returned from the kitchen with glasses of water. On top of one sat a sippy cup that Inu Yasha assumed was full of milk for Shippou. Inu Yasha tapped the small boyís back as he saw Kagome coming and Shippou looked up. ìHuh?î he questioned.

ìLook.î Shippou turned his head and saw Kagome coming with the glasses.

ìKagome!î He shrieked and lept off of Inu Yashaís lap. He clambered to the table sloppily and grabbed the rims of it with his small fingers as he peered over the table.

ìIs that for you?î he asked and pointed over to a glass of water, dripping with water droplets.

ìAnd Inu Yasha.î she said softly. She handed a glass to Inu Yasha and he thanked her quietly. ìBut this is for you.î she said and handed him a sippy cup.

ìEe!î he shrieked and grabbed it sucking it greedily as fast as he possibly could. After a few moments, when Kagome was situated on the couch, he turned to her and looked around in a confused manner. ìIt tastes weird.î he said. ìItís like milk, except not. Like thereís something else in it also.î he said.

ìItís chocolate milk.î she said.

His eyes widened and he shook his head wisely. ìOh.î he said simply. ìItís really good!î he said happily and continued to drink. Kagome hummed happily and then took another sip of water.

Shippou stumbled over to Inu Yasha and sat next to her, leaning against her side and purring happily as he sipped the chocolate treat. Inu Yasha felt a wave of relief wash over him as he watched the two. They were so comfortable and content. There was almost a perfect moment of peace that he saw in Shippou at that moment. ëThatís how Iíd always like to see him.í

Kagome rested a hand on Shippouís head and lazily scratched the back of his neck making the kitten mew happily, despite being in his human form. Kagome giggled at the mew and took another sip of water.

The perfectly placid tranquil moment was shattered as a drum of thunder splashed into his ears and rumbled past the house. Inu Yasha spooked and bounced in his seat once. He hadnít even noticed it was raining. The whole morning he knew it was going to rain. He could smell the wet in the air, and feel the growing static and tension he usually felt before a rainstorm. He looked at the hairs on his arms and as he had guessed, they were standing on end, like a plane of thin blades of grass that shook when a wind strong enough hit them. He looked over and saw that Shippouís tail looked much like a fuzzy salami loaf from all the fur that puffed out. Inu Yasha chuckled to himself as Shippou hissed when the thunder struck again, toppling over after failing to regain his composure from the first wave of thunder.

The kitten let out a long whining somber mew and burried his head into Kagomeís body. He whimpered into her side ìI hate rain.î Kagome stroked his head gingerly and attempted to calm him, but after the third wave of lightning struck the horizon, the child scampered over to Inu Yash and dug himself into the boy, searching for a kind of solace that not even Kagome could offer him.

Inu Yasha stood and cradled the cat closer as he rose and trotted smoothly towards Kagome. He plopped down on the couch next to her, and leaned towards her. ìYou should shut the window.î he whispered softly, as if Shippou were sleeping and he was trying to keep from waking him. Kagome nodded and walked over to the window that offered a limited view of the outside world from her house. She placed her hands on the wood framing the glass and pulled the window shut with little effort. ìHeh,î she laughed softly, ìthis is getting kind of stubborn.î

She retreated to Inu Yasha. ìIs he asleep?î she asked.

Inu Yasha looked shocked. ìAsleep? Oh no, he can hardly stop shaking!î Shippou, now in his fully feline form, lay like a pille of sofft vibrating fluff in Inu Yashaís arms. Kagome hummed thoughtfully, as if what she was about to say would have such deep meaning that you would try to remember those words. Somehow, everything she said had that affect on him.

ìGive him to me.î she commanded, and Inu Yasha obeyed silently. Shippouís small claws dug into the fabric of the shirt that Inu Yasha was wearing and each tiny talon had to be removed individually.

Kagome cradled the cat in her arms and kissed it behind itís ears. Shippou whimpered as another fissure of lightning streaked the sky, and sure enough, the intense explosion of sound followed. She hummed a tune to the cat and rocked him back and forth. Shippou settled himself inbetween her side and her arm that held him and nuzzled his head under her chest. Kagome continued humming louder and Inu Yasha recognized the melody as the one she had sung earlier. That same hypnotic and entrancing tune he loved. The one that made him feel so eased and peaceful. He tingled as she hummed. Nothing in particular about Kagomeís voice was out of the ordinary or special, but somehow, he felt like his entire life could be perfect and all his troubles would melt away if he could just hear her sing this song.

After a few minutes of soft humming, Shippou lay like dead weight in her arms.

Authorís Notes


In regards to my contest, all entries are due January 30th.

ENTRIES DUE JANUARY 30TH! AS IN: TWO MONTHS FROM NOW! (Now equals12-2-05)

As you know I need a male and female character for my story. But if two females win, because not enough males enter, then I will name one girl 1st place and the other 2nd and the second will have to make a boy name for me I guess. (weíll work it out)

Bulletin Board

1) Thanks for a thousand! I love you guys! Hugs for all! And oreos!

2) I have had new computer limitations imposed upon me. And due to them I can only go on the computer every other weekend from noon to nine p.m. That is why this chapter is so late.

3) I can now reply to reviews! That is so cool! Yay!

4)This story is going nowhere slowly. Shit. On a lighter note, next chappie is in progress and after some more fillers, I DO plan to add the rising action, the climax of the story and a conclusion.

Note: The chapter is named after the ant, not the emotion. I like lizards. I used to catch them all the time when I was little.