Purely inspired by nostalgia, a scene I remembered from Zero no Tsukaima, a scene I remembered from a Naruto movie I briefly watched with my sister, and Urd-chan's fanarts for her fanfiction Temple of the Dog on deviantart. I'm currently in the process of reading it, and it is amazing :)
"Miroku! Hurry up with those sutras! I'm pretty sure the town watchmen'll be coming soon," Kagome called to Miroku from next to the door of the town's richest family. "Shippo and I are ready to go."
"Just a moment," Miroku called back to Kagome and Shippo. "Annnnd.. finished."
Miroku ran to the waiting Kagome and Shippo and handed them the sutras. The three of them were now ready to make their exit. Miroku placed a sutra on his, Kagome, and Shippo's forehead. Shippo then slapped a leaf on to each of their sutras, reciting an old fox demon chant he was still perfecting. The three of them were now invisible. Kagome nodded and led Shippo into the home of their victim.
The two of them gasped at the sight of everything. Despite it being but the main room, there were still elegant paintings, china pottery, and fine silks served as curtains. Kagome smirked and began wrapping the paintings ever so carefully and placing them into her bag. Shippo was working with the pottery, gently placing them into his bag, as not to break them or make any noise. The people of the home were fast asleep by now, no doubt, and it would harm them immensely if someone found them.
When the two of them finished up, they began taking down the silk curtains and wrapping them around them as cloaks. They scanned the room to make sure there were no signs of anything else valuable before placing sutras and leaves on the bags and the curtains. They rushed out of the main room and carefully slipped into the others, repeating their previous steps of stealing all the precious items with swiftness and stealth.
Once the two were out they rushed passed Miroku. He smirked upon seeing the immense loads crammed into their bags and looked around for any bodies quickly before catching up to them.
They ran out of the town and purposely off of the dirt roads and to the nearest river, something other thieves took no care in doing. You can't run on the roads because the good demons track your steps or scent. You run into the rivers and mask your scent. Not that the three of them needed to mask their scent, for the sutras took care in doing that, but they weren't taking any risks.
"Shippo, now would be a good time to transform," Kagome whispered to her fox demon companion. She wouldn't need to speak loudly, the ears of a demon would pick it up clearly. That was something else other thieves took no care in. They didn't bother to have a demon with them. They thought they didn't have an ounce of trust or faith in them and would turn on them for other demons or turn them in. But that wasn't the case. It was important to have a demon companion with you, fully trained of not. They will always come in handy. You don't have to shout, or ask for any assistance beforehand. They can smell any emotion off of you, which lessens the need to speak. They can also smell, hear, or sense any predators coming your way.
Shippo simply nodded before transforming into a pink-ish blob and grabbing both Miroku and Kagome to place on him to reach higher grounds of safety, and look for good camp grounds for the rest of the night.
Kagome stretched as Shippo lifted them higher and higher, their invisibility now long gone. She ripped her sutra and leaf off and ripped it to shreds, to get rid of the evidence, before tossing it off and watched it fly off through the wind. "Jeez! I thought those men back there would never leave me alone!"
"Boasting about your grace and beauty, now are we, Kagome dear?" Miroku asked and waggled his brows. Kagome giggled and punched his arm, causing him to tip over greatly. "Though I admit, those men sure did have a thing for you, compared to the others in previous towns we have visited."
She sighed in content before looking out over the view before them. It was truly beautiful. Another pro to being a professional thief, you get the goods out of the bads. Most thieves would be stressing over what to do next, but when you're a pro, you don't have to. You simply sit back and enjoy the view when your job was done (literally).
The lush, green trees beneath them were close together, but left a path for the road to follow. The sun was just peaking over the horizon when the three of them heard a faint feminine scream in the distance. Shippo smirked and the others just laughed.
"What's going on right now, Shippo?" Kagome asked him as she sat propped up on her elbows. She had half of the goods in her lap, the other half in Miroku's.
"She just woke up, and found her goods missing," He responded with a cheer in his voice. He paused for a moment, focusing on his target and listening to the vague words. He was at the stage of a retired demon at age eleven, which was highly impressive for a demon, but he was still young, and his senses still needed time to help him improve. "I... I think she called for the town watchmen... yeah, she called for them. Right now they're probably inspecting everything."
"Another mission accomplished!" Kagome sighed as she lay back on Shippo. She closed her eyes and thought about her friend on a private task at an old town far off with many goods to speak of. Lucky girl... She thought. Private tasks were rare and hard to get when you tried to stay secret.
Her, Shippo, Miroku, and her friend Sango all worked together in robbery. The four of them pretended to be harmless entertainers and waltzed right into a town to steal, then run out leaving no suspicions or traces of them ever being the cause of it all. They didn't want to become a well known group of entertainers, the risks of getting caught were too high then. They tried to keep a bit secretive, but it was always nice to have what they called private tasks – a mission where you are invited into the town, alone or with the group. Its always challenging when you're alone, you're at a higher risk for everything.
Even if their main goal was to steal, they also loved to perform, so it worked out nicely. Kagome was a dancer and singer. She managed to keep the men busy if time was needed. Sango was specialized in weaponry. She came from a long ling of demon exterminators, and she always had tales to tell the children of her adventures when she was younger, before she was a robber. Miroku was their musician, put any instrument in his hands and he'll figure it out faster than anyone else. He managed to keep the women busy if needed, and if he just purely felt like he needed some action that night. Shippo was an illusionist. He could make illusions, prank you, and was cheerful and cute, which usually got the group some coos.
"I miss her," Miroku said randomly, interrupting Kagome from her thoughts. At first she was startled and had no idea who he was talking about, but then thought to Sango, someone who he cared for deeply. Although he would often tell her about how he really did care for her, she never believed him because his womanizing was just too much. He bowed his head lightly and pressed his lips in a firm line.
"If you miss her so much, you shouldn't drive her away too often," Shippo responded before Kagome could answer. "She was way too happy when she got this task. Usually she's a little sad, knowing for a week or two we'll be separated, but there was no trace of it on her when she left this time."
Miroku heaved a sigh before looking back up. "I really can't help it. Its just... when she doesn't except me it drives me to the second attention – women. And the women from the last town were so beau-"
"Miroku, seriously. Just try not to womanize for like.. a month when she comes back. That's a long time for you, I'm pretty sure she'll be impressed," Kagome said and sat up to comfort Miroku. "You should give her stuff too.."
"Kagome, this is about Sango's fantasy," Miroku said and glared at her. "Not yours."
She simply shrugged it off. They often had family-like arguments, and got over them quickly. "Just tryna help."
Miroku sighed heavily again. "I know.. I'm sorry.. I just get all bitchy when she's not around.."
Kagome smiled before putting her hand on Miroku's shoulder. "It's alright. She'll be back soon."
"Landing." Shippo stated and began lowering to the ground he declared as their campsite. Shippo often chose where they landed, since he was always the one driving them around.
Once landed, Kagome took off to the river that was bound to be near. They never landed unless water was near for all of their essentials. "I'll be back in an hour or so.." She said lazily over her shoulder.
When she reached the river she stripped of her attire from the previous day. She stepped into the river and sighed in content at the feel of the water rushing past her. She thought hard about the next market they would be coming to, and what they should keep in case Sango wanted, or what they should sell. She gave up a while later and soaked her whole body before coming out of the river and drying off.
"Ahh, well..." She mumbled as she headed back to camp.
"Miroku, Shippo, you guys can take a bath now," She called when she heard their voices.
"Ah, Kagome, back so soon?" Miroku called back as she entered their clearing. The two had already made a fire, and seemed to already be sorting through the selling goods and the keeping goods. Miroku got up and dusted off his robes before smiling at Kagome. "I won't be taking a bath today."
Kagome tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Not taking a bath..? What are you two up to?"
Shippo chuckled and jumped onto Miroku's shoulder. "Nothing, really. Miroku just got invited to perform at Sango's town!"
Kagome smiled greatly. "What? Seriously! This is great!"
Miroku chuckled and motioned for her to sit down. "Come, sit, I shall explain. Much has happened during the short amount of time you were away at the river."
Kagome sat and waited for Miroku to continue while she idly brushed her fingers through her wet hair. He sat down across from her and began picking at the fire with a smile.
"While you were gone I took a stroll, just to get a bit familiar with the forest in case of anything out of the ordinary, like I usually do, when these two men had come up to me. They asked what I was doing out here by myself, and I told them I was a traveling musician. They hastily asked if I would come and perform for their town, since it seemed to be quite dull lately, and so-"
"It can't be dull.. you two told me Sango's there right now." Kagome interrupted and furrowed her brows. "What if ..something went.. wrong..?"
"Kagome, you need not worry," Miroku added cheerfully, completely ignoring the fact that Kagome him off. "They told me about the town, Town Kyoko – The town of Tune. I told them that I knew of a performer who was currently there. They told me that it would be excellent if I would accompany her in their town. Not only do they know that Sango is there, based on how they described her as 'a skilled weaponist', but they asked me to actually perform with her! This could be my chance to see her after these past weeks!"
Kagome, Miroku, and Shippo were all smiling widely, not only about knowing that they had an update on their friend, but that Miroku had been received a private task to accompany her in Town Kyoko.
The following day, Miroku would be on his way to Town Kyoko with some of the goods they had recently stolen. Kagome and Shippo would continue venturing forward, in hopes to find another good steal.
Its boring, I know. Wasn't proof read, either. Its a prologue though! I dont exactly work hard on those . Review please, don't hesitate to ask any questions, either!