"Stop! Theif!" A man's voice calls out. A half-demon known as Inuyasha had taken a few fish to eat since he didn't have any money. He was on top of a roof of a hut with a smirk. He looks back to see a few castle guards after him.
"I will have your head you lowly half-demon!" One guard threatened. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"All this for just a few fish?" He scoffed. He shakes his head and jumps down from the hut. Once he landed, he looks up to the men.
"There he is!" One man called out.
"You won't get away that easily!" Another called out. Inuyasha smiled.
"Feh! As if you can catch me!" He scoffed. A few village woman were giggling at him. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. His ears twitched as he heard the castle guards. He looked over to his right and saw them coming.
"You two over that way, the rest of you follow me." The leader of the guards said. Inuyasha hid in the shadows where the women were standing.
"If you have something to say to me, then say it." He said with an annoyed expression.
"Getting into trouble a little early today, aren't we Inuyasha?" One of the women giggled. Inuyasha scoffed.
"Feh! You're only in trouble if you get caught." He told them with his nose in the air and crossed arms.
"Got ya!" The leader said as he pulled the half-demon's ear. Inuyasha winced.
"Hey! Let go of the ear!." Inuyasha shouted as he swiped at the guard with his claws. The guard just barely dodged Inuyasha's claws and grabbed his arm with an angered expression.
"Don't think that you're going to get away from us. You will be locked away for good this time." The guard growled angrily. Suddenly he was pinned down to the ground with a stone statue that looked all too familiar to Inuyasha.
"Hahaha! That shows you to mess with Inuyasha!" a young fox kit said as he placed a charm on the statue.
"Perfect timing Shippo." Inuyasha smiled. Shippo chuckled and hopped up onto Inuyasha's shoulder.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Inuyasha said as he and Shippo ran off with the fish. Both of them were laughing as they would dodge everything the guards would throw at them. Anytime the guards got too close Inuyasha would use his claws to back them off or Shippo would use his fox fire or fox magic.
Once Inuyasha and Shippo lost the castle guards, they went into the forest where their campsite was. Shippo started a fire and started to cook the fish.
"Awesome job Shippo!" Inuyasha said as he ruffled the fox kit's hair. Shippo smiled with a big grin.
"Thanks Inuyasha! We make a great team." Shippo said with both hands on his hips. Inuyasha nodded.
"Definitely! Did you see the look on their faces?" Inuyasha chuckled. Shippo sat down with his hands at the back of his head. He and Inuyasha leaned against a tree waiting for the fish to be done.
Once the fish was done they both got their share. Shippo had two fish and Inuyasha had three.
"Let's eat." Inuyasha announced. Shippo was so excited to eat and Inuyasha was about to take a bite out of his fish when his ears twitched. He looked up and saw two little half neko demons, his ears drooped and he frowned. He looked at Shippo and Shippo looked at Inuyasha with worried eyes.
"Nah-Uh!" Shippo said as he took a bite out of his fish. The little half-demon's had a sad look and Inuyasha gave a sad smile. He knew what they must be going though, he knew how hard life was for a half-demon. He gets up and heads towards the two children with a couple of cooked fish on a stick.
"Here." He told them softly, handing the fish to the older sister. They were a little hesitant at first. Inuyasha chuckled lightly.
"Trust me, you need it more than I do." He told them with a smile. The sister takes the fish and the brother smiles. Inuyasha pets the sister's head with a soft smile. Both the neko half-demon's chuckled happily.
"Take care of yourselves you two. I know what it feels like and it isn't easy. But if you stay together, then you two will grow up strong." Inuyasha told them before he started to walk away.
"Thank you mister." The sister said with a smile. Inuyasha looked back to the two siblings.
"Inuyasha." He introduced himself with a gentle smile.
"I'm Sakura, and this is my brother Keiichi." Sakura introduced themselves. Inuyasha nodded to them, then he looked at Shippo. Shippo had a sad look as he looked at his fish. He walked over next to Inuyasha and held out the other fish to the two siblings.
"Shippo, I'm surprised at you." Inuyasha said with amusement. Shippo sighs sadly.
"I'm sorry for being so selfish. Inuyasha is right, you guys need it more than us. So, here you go." Shippo told Sakura. She smiled as she took the fish from Shippo.
"Thank you Shippo. We will never forget you or Inuyasha for your generosity." Sakura said with a smile. Shippo's face turned bright red as Sakura pecked him on the cheek. Inuyasha couldn't help but chuckle.
"Okay, okay." Shippo said with a smile.
Suddenly there was a bunch of villagers that were crowding around the entrance of the royal palace. Inuyasha decides to walk over to where all the villagers were to see what all the commotion was about. Shippo hopped up onto Inuyasha's shoulder to take a look.
"What do you suppose is going on Inuyasha?" Shippo asked. Inuyasha shrugged.
"Who knows. I guess we're about to find out." Inuyasha told the fox kit.
There was a man with light brown hair and royal clothing approaching on his black horse with royal reins. The village woman were all amazed by how handsome he was and the men were looking a little annoyed. They knew he came here to the Western Lands for one purpose.
"He's headed his way to the castle, I suppose." One villager said. Inuyasha looked at the man. Something about him didn't seem right to our half-demon friend.
"Another suitor for the Princess." Another villager said with a slightly annoyed look. Inuyasha looked at the man who talked about the Princess. 'Another one huh? I wonder why she keeps rejecting all these suitors?' He thought to himself. 'I wonder what she looks like.' He thought more with a slight blush. Then the sound of two little neko half-demons reached his ears. They were headed out in the middle of the entry way for the Prince to come through.
"Keiichi please stop!" Sakura shouted as she finally grabbed her little brother. She hugged him tightly as the Prince's horse whinnied and came to a halt. The Prince was angered by their presence.
"Out of my way you filthy half-breeds!" He shouts as he was about to use his whip. Inuyasha gets in front of the children catching the whip with his arm. He glared at the man.
"If I were you, I would take my leave and high tail it out of here." Inuyasha says as he throws the whip at the Prince's face. The Prince glares.
"How dare you disrespect me. Do you have any idea who I am!?" He said with anger. Inuyasha scoffs.
"Another high and mighty Prince that the Princess wishes to kick out of her palace it would seem." Inuyasha said. The Prince steps down from his horse and walks over to the half-demon.
"You know nothing about the Princess half-breed. Even if you did, she will never take the likes of you as a husband." The Prince smirked. Inuyasha growled angrily as he watched the Prince hop back up on his horse and headed his way to the royal grounds.
"I know the Princess will never take you as a husband!" Inuyasha shouted. The Prince stopped his horse and looked back at Inuyasha.
"And how would you know you filthy mutt?" The Prince growled. Inuyasha growled back clenching his fangs and claws. Once he calmed down he began to speak.
"Because if she keeps rejecting every suitor that comes to call, then that would mean that she hates this ridiculous law about marriage. She doesn't want to be forced into a marriage that she doesn't want to be in. She knows that she won't be happy with the likes of you!" Inuyasha shouted.
"My, my, has our little half-demon friend fallen in love with our Princess?" The Prince said with an amused expression. Inuyasha blushed, then he looked away. The Prince chuckled.
"Well isn't that something. No wonder you defended someone that you have not once laid eyes on." The Prince continued. Inuyasha growled. 'Someday I will. I want to meet her.' He thought to himself.
"You are nothing but a worthless half-demon. Even if you did confess your love for her, it is forbidden." The Prince laughed. Inuyasha's eyes turned red with anger as he began to charge at the Prince. Before Inuyasha could rip the guy's throat apart, he rammed into the shut doors of the royal palace.
"I am not worthless!" Inuyasha growled. He then began to calm down, his eyes going back to normal. Shippo walks up to Inuyasha with a sad expression.
"Inuyasha, you okay?" He asked. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. He looked down to Shippo and sighed.
"Come on Shippo. Let's go home." He said as they both start to head home together.
It was getting dark as they were on their way home to their hut in the forest. Inuyasha pushes aside the fur that he used as a door entrance looking around his hut. 'If only they could see that there is so much more to me than what they intend to believe.' He thought to himself sadly. He watched as Shippo yawned and went to lay on the stack of furs. Inuyasha covers up Shippo with a smile and heads to the window. Inuyasha has a good view of the castle.
"Someday Shippo, things are going to change. We'll be rich, live in a castle, and never have any problems at all." Inuyasha said softly with a smile.