Chapter 5: And just when you want to quit…

Toga sliced mercilessly through another tree, his eyes gone completely red. His breath came in pants, but from anger instead of over-exertion. Two days. Two days he had searched for his son and he had nothing to show for it. He roared again, smashing a new path for himself. The trees hit the ground with a loud crash, but it fell on deaf ears. The only sound he wished to hear was his son.

"My son…I am coming for you…:

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"Unhand him. I will not ask again."

Kagome quickly notched an arrow. She held it taut, ready to release it at a moments notice. The baby continued to scream, even louder now; what with confusion piled on top of his already fussy mood. Kagome fought a wince every time she heard the child scream, her resolve strengthening the longer it went on. She knew the sounds of a child in distress when she heard them.

"Shippo!"

She hollered, releasing her arrow. The large youkai, that had been completely silent up to this point, let out a single yell as he was completely purified. The small boy that traveled with her had been waiting behind her opponent, and he rushed forward dutifully to catch the screaming baby.

"I got him!"

He called, now rushing towards her with the poorly wrapped bundle.

"Thank you, Shippo-chan, nice work."

She managed to get out before being overcome with the grimace she tried to fight down. The baby had obviously been fed, otherwise he would not have been able to stay alive for the captivity that she estimated for around two or three days from the smell of his diaper; the diaper that had obviously NOT been changed.

"Okaa-san…he smells…"

Great…now she knew what else she was facing when she changed the baby: A two day old, soiled diaper, and a distance pee-er.

"Shippo? Can you tell which way to the nearest stream?"

The little boy nodded enthusiastically, always happy to help. He moved just a little bit away from her, in the hopes of catching wind of anything other than the smelly baby. Once he found a spot of clean air, he began his task.

Kagome took her eyes off of him, returning her gaze to the covered, screaming baby. She hadn't heard about any demons snatching children from the village they had just passed, so she assumed he must have been taken from one somewhere up the road.

"Alright, little guy, we'll get you cleaned up and hopefully back…to…wherever…"

The words died in her throat as she removed the thin blanket covering the baby boy's face. The baby stopped crying as well. Just as shocked to see her as she was him. She rubbed the twin magenta stripes on his cheek, a small smile touching her lips as she remembered always having wanted to know what they felt like. She traced the pale blue crescent on his forehead next.

"Well…you're a little farther from home than I expected."

She whispered, moving a piece of the baby's surprisingly long silver hair from his face. He had stopped crying and merely blinked at her.

"Kaa-san! Just a little bit that way!"

She nodded, not really looking up at Shippo, but following behind the sound of his skipping just as well. It was quiet as they walked; Shippo having come up with his own game to keep him, and Kagome too lost in her own thoughts to talk. She knew she had been thrown back into the past at least 100 years, but certainly not this far…

"And just what does finding you have to do with my destiny, Sesshomaru?"

'Today is the day your journey begins…', Midoriko had told her. Surely this had something to do with it…right? She heaved a sigh, deciding not to bother with trying to find the rationale of the Fates. Her only focus now was the inu pup in her arms; getting him bathed and back to the West.

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Sesshomaru stared up at the woman that held him so gently. He decided not too long ago that he wasn't going to give her a hard time. She bathed him and changed him, and as far as he was concerned, that was as good as people got. She wasn't his father, but she would do for now.

A/N: Was that…2 chapteers in one day? I think YES! Again I thank my awesome beta/friend because…well because she's awesome! Now that "the baby's" identity has been revealed, things will move a lot quicker (I promise), so don't lose interest yet! As always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW (two minutes of your time that will forever warm my heart!) Check my profile for updates (if I'm away too long), unfortunately school does start soon, but since my chapters aren't very long, they'll probably be up every two-three days. Thanks for reading!