19

Integra and Nagira stood on the stairs leading up to the Nagashite shrine and watched Amon and Robin drive away.

"I wonder if we'll find something ourselves this time." Integra said darkly as they turned away from the road and started climbing.

"So, can you tell me what's going on between you and Amon?" Nagira asked, as he walked beside her.

Integra eyed him warily for a moment and then sighed.

"I suppose you'll find out anyway," she began. "Amon is afraid of vampires. So I left my strongest pet vampire at home. And unfortunately, he's the only one strong enough to defeat the enemy that's tracking us right now. Not having him here leaves us vulnerable."

"And you blame Amon for that."

"No, not really."

"But you said..."

"I was angry. I was looking for someone to blame. He didn't deserve it."

"Why don't you tell him so?"

"I think I'll wait a little while longer."

"I get it. You're just letting him stew for now."

Integra let a small but wicked smile pass across her face. Nagira watched it come and go. They continued up the stairs into the shrine grounds and just as they were realizing that the place was practically empty, Nagira opened his mouth again.

"You've got a real mean streak, you know that Buffy?"

"What did you call me!" Integra demanded, wide-eyed.

"Buffy, as in Buffy the Vam..."

"I know that. Why did you...?"

"It's just a nickname."

"Don't give me a nickname. Especially not that one."

"Why not? It fits."

"Where in the name of heaven did you get such a ridiculous idea?"

20

Robin fanned herself with the folded shrine map as she wandered down a flower strewn walkway in the second shrine. She had forgotten its name but it certainly was pretty. There were blossoming trees everywhere and every time the wind blew, more of the petals would fall onto the paved path. There were already so many that Robin's footsteps were muffled. At the end of the path Robin could see a small structure. It wasn't connected to the main shrine building which stood off to the right behind the trees. But it looked very old. As Robin got closer, the thought occurred to her that this little outbuilding could easily be a few hundred years old. Should she call Amon?

When they'd arrived at the shrine gate, the priestess Miss Mizuki had told them that there were several old buildings still standing on the grounds. They had split up right away and made plans to meet at the tall tree that stood in front of the main building. They had also agreed to call each other if they found anything interesting. Was this interesting enough? No, not yet. If she called him and it turned out to be nothing, he'd be mad. This was a very bad time for that considering that he and Sir Integra were already fighting.

As Robin approached the old building, she noticed that the double sliding doors were open slightly. Without considering what Amon would say, she pulled them open and waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. A dark orange shape hung on the wall a few meters in front of her. The light from outside didn't reach far enough to illuminate it properly so she couldn't tell exactly what it was. She moved forward and reached out her hand. A chill ran down her spine as she touched soft fur. She knew what it was then. A fox pelt, and a big one too. In fact, it was too big to be a normal fox. Could this be…? She stepped back and tried to take in as many details as she could. The edges were ragged as if whoever had removed it from the body had done so in a hurry. There was a small bald spot on one side that looked like an electrical burn. Robin pulled her phone from her pocket and speed dialed Amon's number.

"It's me," she said when he answered. "I think I found the trickster."

Story Notes:

The Nagashite shrine is completely fictional.

"Buffy..." - Please forgive me. I couldn't resist. Watch for this to become a running gag.

Miss Mizuki - If this name seems familiar to you then you must have been a CLAMP fan at some time in your life. Miss Mizuki was an ally of Sakura Kinomoto in Cardcaptor Sakura. She was the one who rescued Sakura and her friends from the trap laid by the Maze card. She helped capture the Wood and Rain cards. She also appeared as Sakura's math teacher and the priestess of the local shrine where my story catches up with her. If you saw the uncut Japanese version of the series, you might also remember the big tree in front of the shrine. That was the tree that the Return card had possessed when it revealed that Miss Mizuki had an affair with Sakura's brother Touya.

"…electrical burn…" - This proves that the pelt belongs to Shippo's father. He was killed by a lightning attack from Manten of the Thunder Brothers who wore the fox's skin as a belt. The pelt disappeared right after it was recovered from the Thunder Brothers in episode 10 of Inuyasha. Its final resting place was never revealed.