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Itty Bitty Pretty Two

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"So the question is how do we get him back to the village without losing him?" Kagome said with thinly veiled amusement, "He's so small he'd probably just blow away if we held him."

"This does present a problem," Miroku chuckled as he rubbed his chin, "Perhaps we could attach a string to his waist and tie him to your backpack?"

"A string?!" came a small irate squeak, "Are you fucking serious? I don't..."

"That's not a bad idea," Sango interrupted the high-pitched yet quiet tirade, "Or maybe we could put him the jewel shard bottle and just put the jewel shards elsewhere for the time being?"

Everyone's lips twitched upward as the barely audible string of curses that escaped from Kagome's palm.

"Well he might not able to breathe in the bottle," Kagome reasoned, "But maybe if I took the stopper out that might work."

"So it's settled then," Miroku agreed as he held out his palm, "I'll hold the..."

"Stop talking like I can't hear you!" Inuyasha shrieked causing all his companions to glance down at him with warm grins.

"It's just so hard to hear you, my friend," Miroku teased lightly as he picked the small squirming hanyou in between his fingers and gently placed him in his good palm.

"I could probably run in this size as fast as y'all walk," Inuyasha pouted as he folded his tiny arms across his chest, "We could just walk to the village."

"Now, now Inuyasha that might take days," Miroku chided lightly as he smirked down at the small man, "It makes much more sense to fly."

Huffing, the tiny hanyou glared up at the monk as Kagome reallocated the jewel shards and the stopper to a small baggie she'd retrieved from her backpack. Holding the small glass bottle up for inspection and then next to Inuyasha to gauge size, Kagome snorted at the fact that Inuyasha was going to fit comfortably inside. Inuyasha blanched when he realized the same but before he could make a break for it, Kagome had plucked him up and deposited him safely inside.

"Stop manhandling me," Inuyasha barked out in a aggravated yet strangely chipmunkish sounding voice, "I don't need to be inside here!"

"Sure, sure," Kagome chirped happily as she placed the cord over her neck and glanced down at him, "Stop pouting. It'll only be for a little bit and then I'll let you out."

Inuyasha huffed and glared up at her before smirking at her and barking out, "Geez, that's a very unflattering angle for you isn't it?"

Flushing a deep crimson, Kagome huffed as she deposited the bottle down her shirt ignoring the tiny shriek of surprise. Yeah so what if he saw her bra. Wasn't like he hadn't seen more than that during the time they'd been together. They'd both seen all they had to offer at one point or another. If he was gunna be rude, then he'd just go in time out of sorts. Plus, maybe she kinda wanted to put that image in his mind as incentive for after he regained full size again. The idea would've shocked her only a few months ago but at this point she'd do pretty much anything to make him interested.

"Kagome-Chan!" Sango chided lightly as she sent her friend a knowing smirk and the monk's jaw dropped unashamedly as he whispered in awe, "That lucky bastard."

Inuyasha for his part was hyperventilating as he glanced around at the surrounding scenery comprised of hills and valleys he'd never had the luxury of seeing up close. What the hell was she thinking?! Not that he was complaining. He'd fantazied about this particular landscape for months now but never in a million years would he have ever expected to actually see it. Maybe this whole bottle idea wasn't the worst thing. Not in the slightest.

The inutaichi were all so enthralled by this latest development that they failed to notice the small hissing and crackling from the ground where all those inanimate victims of the witch's curse had stood only moments before – those inch tall trees, rocks and shrubs shimmering before vanishing entirely in a puff of smoke.

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"Ye have always managed to find yeself in some interesting situations, Inuyasha, but this is one I never never seen before," Kaede chuckled as she examined her miniature patient before addressing the others, "Ye said it was a demon of some kind?"

"Well, she looked more human than anything but Inuyasha was able to use the wind scar," Kagome admitted, "She vanished when it hit her."

"Did ye sense any demonic aura?" Kaede asked as she used her forefingers to lift Inuyasha's small mane - to which he reacted by batting her fingers away and letting loose yet another string of high-pitched muffled curses.

Sighing, Kagome shook her head, "Well...I didn't really think that far ahead at the time. I don't really remember to be honest but I know I didn't sense any jewel shards."

"Could it have been a puppet?" the elderly miko asked quizzically as she placed Inuyasha down onto the floor, "If she was truly destroyed, the curse should have broken but indeed, here he is still only so tall."

Cringing, the inutiachi exchanged guilty glances before turning ashamed looking eyes down at the hanyou exuding an incredible amount of attitude for someone so small.

"Well we...uh..." Kagome stuttered at a loss for words. It had literally never occurred to her - so distracted by the absurdly cute miniature form that the thought never even crossed her mind, "We didn't think of that."

"Well ye need to consider that as an option," Kaede sighed, "Why don't ye take him to your era tonight, child? It should be easier to keep track of him there."

"WHY THE FUCK DO I NEED TO GO WITH HER?! DON'T I GET A SAY IN ANY OF THIS?!" Inuyasha screeched angrily - sounding more like a faint version of Alvin the Chipmunk than his usual self.

"Ye do indeed Inuyasha," Kaede soothed before adding, "Ye can go with Kagome or ye can stay here in the bottle so we will not lose ye."

"You wouldn't dare," Inuyasha gasped as he turned tiny amber eyes in horror towards the bottle sitting on the floor nearby. Kaede chuckled as she sent him a look that quite clearly said 'try me.'

"Fine, I'll go with Kagome then," Inuyasha squeaked out as held his fists angrily by his side, "But don't think I'll forget this you old hag."

"Indeed I would think less of ye if ye did," Kaede chuckled good naturedly, "Now off ye go. I need to consult my scrolls to see whether such a sight has been seen before."

Sticking his tongue out pettily, Inuyasha marched up to Kagome and waited for her to pick him up. He might be cranky but he sure as hell wasn't stupid enough to try to scale her legs. One, his claws would probably hurt her and two, he wasn't suicidal enough to try to see how she'd react if he accidentally saw up her skirt.