Chapter 8

Shippo was certainly surprised that the Inu no Taisho was addressing him. He knew for a fact that, despite that one bow he forced, his manners were not exactly "spot on". He had tried to level the taiyoukai with the ground, for goodness sakes (tried, of course, being the operative word). He had to protect his mother, though!

"Yes?"

He responded, not liking how his voice squeaked, exploiting his not-so-strong front.

"You call her your 'mother', does she treat you well?"

'The nerve!'

Kagome thought, glaring openly at the inuyoukai, not at all impressed with his vindictive words. She sent a satisfied smile his way next as her son replied in the affirmative. Shippo nodded his head frantically, grabbing her hand and pulling her to his side.

"My Okaa-san is the best! She makes really good food, even though we have to have the same thing a lot of the time. She likes all little kids, and she helps them when they are hurt when we pass villages and stuff. And she was really good with Sesshomaru too, and-"

"Shippo."

Kagome silenced him, yanking him behind her instead. Shippo grabbed onto the back of her yukata, staying quiet obediently. He had to make sure the Taisho-sama knew that his mother took good care of Sesshomaru, because even though the baby was small, Shippo liked playing with him. His Okaa was fun, but other kids were more fun. Toga was silent, but this time, he was content with saying nothing; this time he was silent in speculation instead of confusion. He knew for a fact that if he kept the Miko around, he would most likely be in a state of constant annoyance, but besides Sesshomaru's mother, he had no one else in his palace that could...do what was necessary for his son's feedings. And since it was so necessary, he had to leave with her.

"Miko, your son requires teaching that you cannot give him regarding his powers."

She winced, hating the words that were very similar to those of Midoriko; just plain hating the subject entirely!

"I am aware."

Toga shook his head, vowing to himself that he wasn't going to let her stress him. She would be at the palace for at least a year.

"He will have to be trained at my palace. There happen to be very few inu that are strong enough to train him, and all of them reside with me-"

"You can't take Shippo with you!"

Toga sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"I did not mean I would be leaving you behind, Miko."

XXXXX

Kagome trudged behind the three inu youkai, having said nothing for quite some time. Sesshomaru was too little to talk to her (or be bothered by her silence). Shippo had attached himself to the older male, and Toga was the least bit bothered by her choice to remain silent.

Her eyes were speculative, and she was using almost every part of her brain in an attempt to make sense of the taiyoukai she had distanced herself from. He didn't seem evil; anyone that looked at him for a second when Sesshomaru was around would be able to see the gaping soft spot that he had for the pup, and that side of him seemed to extend to all children. He could try and spout the nonsense about wanting to preserve the stronger inu from his depleting race all he wanted, she could see that he cared for her little boy too. If it had been any other child, she would have questioned a bond that formed in two hours.

But Shippo was pretty freakin' irresistible.

A smile touched her lips at the thought. Besides, her spontaneous bond with Sesshomaru was much the same.

"Miko."

Her head snapped up, for she had been looking at the ground, only to come face-to-face with the demon lord infesting her thoughts. It actually was more like face-to-chest; he was a great deal taller than her.

"Sesshomaru requires your-"

She all but snatched the small child from him, shutting him up effectively, and scurrying behind a tree. She sat on the large roots, delving back into her thoughts as she tended Sesshomaru, the pup himself perfectly content with the arrangement. Thinking back to the Taisho, she soon found herself comparing him to his sons. As things stood, the only one of them that she could identify was older Sesshomaru. Not much of his character reminded her of Inuyasha. She remembered joking about never being able to meet someone that could pull of such a frighteningly impassive face as well as Sesshomaru, but ,by the looks of it, his father had invented the expression.

'Er…non-expression…'

She attempted to reason with herself with a giggle. It was easy to understand though; with so many enemies, you could only give away so much. And at least he didn't refer to himself in third person.

'And he's beautiful…'

She blushed furiously, flustered by her own thought. Thankfully, Sesshomaru needed to be burped now, effectively shifting her attention from her wandering thoughts.

XXXXX

The little tyke was quite the character actually. Toga had only "known" the boy for short, but already he had gathered information on his favorite foods, colors, and seasons. He knew that the boy would never pay attention in any kind of lesson. For his attention span was much too short. He knew that, to little Shippo, his "mother" was the most beautiful, strong, and caring woman to ever be. Of course, all those things about the Miko could be easily debated, but he wouldn't crush the pup's dreams. The pup had many questions for him as well, which was also understandable considering the natural curiousity of inu youkai. He, in fact, had a question or two for the boy.

"Shippo."

Shippo was more used to his name being spoken as a question when someone was asking for his attention, but hearing his name spoken quietly by the Taisho was enough to get him quiet.

"Yes?"

"Where is your father?"

The boy looked away from him, re-training his eyes on the butterfly he had been tracking.

"I don't have one."

Yes, Shippo knew he had a father, but he didn't remember much of him. He remembered avenging his death with Inuyasha, so he must have cared for him, but there wasn't much else. Unlike other canines, foxes weren't really known to run in packs, and even within their small family there was a distance. And he had his Okaa-san now, and she was the best.

Toga chuckled at the little boy's musings, noticing by his overall body language that he probably had no idea he was speaking aloud.

XXXXX

The sun was setting now, and (almost) everyone was dismayed, knowing they were no closer to the West. Sure they had covered about 12 miles, but that was hardly a dent in the distance that needed to be travelled.

"Toga-sama?"

Shippo inquired, looking up and using the elder youkai's name now that he knew it. The man locked eyes with him briefly, letting him know he had his attention.

"Can't you fly?"

XXXXX

Again, Kagome trailed behind them, left to her own devices. This time, she was allowed to keep Sesshomaru in her arms (for reasons she knew not of but did not fight) so she was substantially less bored. The occasional floating blossoms left Sesshomaru a drooling, gurgling ball of fun. He was also becoming a huge fan of her hair; more a huge fan of her face after he tugged it as hard as he could, but it was all the same to him. The pup slept now, her pinkie finger his current hostage as he snoozed away, so all Kagome was left to do was enjoy his cuteness…and of course wonder how he could have possibly been so cold as an adult. He was the calmest, most content baby she had ever interacted with!

She stopped a few paces behind the Lord of the West, noticing he and Shippo had stopped as well. She didn't really want to ask why he had stopped walking, for she knew her words would only annoy him; the less she added to the obvious animosity between them, the better. But even if she had, her inquiry would have been interrupted by the sudden screaming throughout the clearing.

She didn't even have time to be embarrassed when she realized they were her screams.

"Toga-sama!"

She clutched tightly at the fabric of his kimono, since his arm had found its way around her waist.

"Stop yelling, Miko."

She could hear the venom in his words, but what else could you expect from someone who had the ground she was used to replaced with a cloud that she was not…hundreds of feet in the air! She had a death grip on Sesshomaru, who was actually awake again, and COMPLETELY un-afraid. Even Shippo was laughing, reaching with one hand out to the low clouds that they passed. She turned to glare at the inu that held her, and her look only became more deadly as she saw his own expression.

He was smiling! Laughing at her foolishness…

"I'm not going to drop you, Miko."

He whispered, and she couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine and the blush that made it's way to her cheeks.

"It's Kagome…"

She mumbled, looking away from him, staring off at the setting sun.

'What have I gotten myself into…?'

A/N: TADA! New chapter! And it's not nearly as painfully awkward as that last one! Hope you liked it! REVIEW MY CHILDREN! And don't forget to check my profile for updates! Oh yeah, and Kagome is around 20-21 ish, if you don't feel like doing math…