CrazyDreamerGirl: Hey! The votes are in and you will see if Shippo's mother is dead or alive in this chapter... or you can read the reviews I received and count the votes for yourself. Anyway, I want to thank sleep all night rock all day, Easy-Company-506101, kuramasgal, Hirina, Rei Minamino, Shimoyuki, and Neori for reviewing.
Disclaimer: -sigh- Don't sue. I own nothing.
Note: italics - thoughts or flashbacks.
A Fox's Heritage
Chapter 3
Youko Kurama was currently hiding in a bush. His ears twitched when the wind blew causing a twig to fly into his ear.He took the twig out and rubbed his ear. Youko looked at his fingers."At least I'm not bleeding," the silver fox said to no one in particular.
"A bit conceited aren't we?" a familiar voice commented behind him.
"Shut up, bat, you'll blow my cover."
"What cover? You are hiding in a bush and spying on- what is that, a chicken?" retorted the bat demon.
Youko stepped out from the bush. He shook the leaves out of his hair. "Kuronue, for your information a couple villagers were talking about a strange group of travelers. They mentioned a kit."
The bat demon, now identified as Kuronue, Youko's partner in crime, hung his head. "Do you think it's Shippo?" he asked.
"I hope," Youko paused, "it's the only lead I have." The fox thief turned away from his friend.
"Kurama, stop beating yourself up. Sakura's death was not your fault." There was no response from Youko, so Kuronue continued, "There was nothing any of us could do."
"What about Shippo then?" asked Youko angrily.
"There was no way we could know about those thunder demons. Besides, they're dead now," the bat demon paused for a moment, sighed, and continued, "There was no trace of Shippo, so we should hope for the best and that kit in that strange group better be him or else there will be hell to pay."
Youko laughed, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's scare and or kidnap some villagers into telling us where my son is!"
Kuronue shook his head and followed the joyful fox on the path to the village. "Amazing how you can act like a complete idiot sometimes."
"Takes one to know one," replied Youko and sped off toward the village before Kuronue even had a chance to grasp the handle of his sickle.
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Night had fallen already. The stars shone brightly in the night sky. There was a rustle in the trees and a flash of silver. A big, silver fox jumped down from the trees and landed next to a bat demon. The bat demon held down his hat. (The wind was blowing quite strongly tonight.) The fox edged forward, hiding itself behind a tree. The bat demon raised an eye brow.
"A bit cautious are we?" the bat said. It was Kuronue.
The silver fox transformed into the famous thief known as Youko Kurama. "At least you're holding onto your hat, unlike last time," said Youko.
"Oh, please Mr. High and Mighty, it seems like you've forgotten about that little incident with the cat."
Youko narrowed his eyes and glared at his best friend.
"So," said Kuronue, changing the subject, "who are we kidnapping because scaring them sure didn't work."
When the thieves attempted to approach a villager, well, said villager gulped and ran away, screaming like a little girl. The other villagers after him we just as bad, although there was a little girl that threw a knife at Youko. The knife only grazed his cheek and the girl ran away after seeing the look the fox was giving her.
While this was happening, Kuronue was stiffling his laughter. Imagine that, a little girl managed to do something that hundreds of demon died trying. Youko shifted his glare back to him. Kuronue mouthed "what?" The fox merely rolled his eyes.
Youko peered down into a little clearing from behind the tree. The same girl that threw the knife was down there. She seemed to be taking a stroll. He motioned Kuronue over. The bat demon saw the girl as well.
"We're gonna kidnap her?" asked Kuronue in disbelief.
"Shut up and listen to what she's saying," hissed Youko.
The girl sat down on the ground. She looked up and saw a shooting star. "I wish Shippo would come for a visit."
"To answer your question, Kuronue, yes, we're going to kidnap her, but hopefully not for very long," Youko said, stepping away from his hiding place, "I'd rather not stoop to kidnapping little girls, but I guess I have to now."
Several minutes later, which involved a lot of struggling, Youko and Kuronue succeeded in kidnapping her. Youko bent down to be at eye level with the girl wrapped in vines. He put his hand on her head and smiled. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you," said Youko, "we just want some answers."
The girl gulped. "About what?"
"Just some things. Like, what's your name?" asked Kuronue.
"Satsuki."
"Okay, Satsuki, how do you know Shippo?" Youko asked nicely.
"Well, he came to this village and he saved me from a lizard demon and we became friends," she answered.
"Describe how he looks," demanded Youko.
"Um, he had light brown hair, was shorter than me, turquise eyes, and, oh, he could shapeshift."
"Do you know where he is?" the bat demon asked.
"No."
"Was he traveling in a strange group?" asked Youko.
"Yeah, a monk, a half demon, a demon slayer, a cat demon, and this girl that seemed to be able to sense sacred jewel shards. They were really nice."
Youko stood up and said, "You're free to go. And don't you dare mention this to anyone, or else." The girl nodded and ran away.
"I heard about a group that was after the Shikon Jewel," said Kuronue absentmindedly.
Youko thought for a moment and finally said, "Let's get a jewel shard."
The bat demon looked at him. "I thought you were against stealing the jewel."
"I'm not doing it for power, you moron! If they are looking for the jewel, that means they will come to us," explained the fox demon.
"Oh, I get it."
Youko put his hand to his forehead and shook his head.
They heard a rustle in the bushes. The ever alert Youko began darting his eyes around, trying to find the source. Kuronue had his sickle out already. Youko reached into his silver hair for his rose.
"I can't believe two legendary thieves could stoop down to kidnapping a little girl," a feminine voice said.
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The gang was traveling to another village in hopes of finding Naraku. Inuyasha was leading the way as usual. Kagome was riding on her bicycle with Shippo in the basket. Sango and Miroku were walking with Kilala on the demon slayer's shoulder.
It was night and Inuyasha was absolutely refusing to stop until they reached a village. He claimed that there was one nearby. The only thing stopping Kagome from saying the magic word was the reassurance from the dog demon that the village really was nearby, and well, Miroku did agree with Inuyasha.
Inuyasha jumped onto a tree branch and scanned the countryside. He spotted a village not far from where they were currently.
"The village is just a bit farther," he said.
"You said that an hour ago, Inuyasha," complained Shippo.
"Can it, twerp."
"Inuyasha," scolded Kagome.
"Fine, sorry Shippo," grumbled Inuyasha.
"We're all tired, let's just hurry and find an inn," said Miroku. He was trying to stop a coming arguement. And thankfully, it worked.
They entered the village and with no surprise it seemed a bit empty. After all, it was night; people need sleep.
"Doesn't this village seem familiar?" asked Sango.
"This was the village with the girl that had the fake jewel shard," said Kagome.
"Good, we know people here. There is no need for an exorcism," commented Miroku.
"Don't you mean fake exorcism?" Inuyasha asked angrily.
"Fake? My good... half demon, my exorcisms are never fake."
Inuyasha snorted. Sango rolled her eyes and Kagome and Shippo sweat dropped.
Inuyasha's ears twitched. He heard the sound of a person running. He turned around and saw a girl coming towards them. Shippo immediately recognized her as Satsuki.
"Hey, look, it's your girlfriend, Shippo," Inuyasha said.
"Shut up," the small kit replied.
The girl stopped in front of them. "Is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Kagome said worriedly.
"Nothing, nothing is wrong- hi, Shippo," she said. Shippo waved back.
"Satsuki, do you mind if we can get a place to sleep tonight?" asked Miroku. Sango hit him upside the head. "Ow." He rubbed the spot where he was hit.
Satsuki giggled at their antics. Should I tell them? she thought. No, the demon did say 'or else.'
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The two thieves turned around and saw a priestess. She was aiming an arrow at them.
"Come to purify us, priestess," said Youko coolly.
"On the contrary, I came here to help the girl, but apparently, you really weren't going to hurt her."
"I may be a thief and a demon, but I do keep my word," replied Youko.
"Aren't you Kikyo?" asked Kuronue.
The priestess narrowed her eyes. "How do you know?"
Youko realized what Kuronue was getting at. "As you said yourself, we're legendary, we know things."
"Right, and you're supposed to be dead," added the bat thief.
"Unforeseen circumstances brought me back."
"Wait, you can sense the jewel shards, can't you?" smirked Youko.
"Why do you want to know?" asked Kikyo.
"Well, we need a shard, and fast," said Kuronue, circling around her. "You can help."
Kikyo lowered her weapons. "What do I get in return?"
"What do you want?" asked Youko.
"Naraku."
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CrazyDreamerGirl: First off, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas or a Happy Holidays! Which ever works for you.
So sorry for not updating earlier. There are a lot of things going on in my life right now and I didn't have the time to update. And to explain a few things, I'm not making Kikyo evil in this story just because she's making a deal a with a couple of demons. And the girl that was kidnapped really did meet Shippo. It was the episode where she had a fake jewel shard.
Oh, and have any of you ever noticed that there seems to be endless new villages in Inuyasha? They never go back to same village, unless it's Kaede's village. Anyway, please review, no flames please, and please, please feel free to give me any ideas. Bye!