Authoress' Notes: To everyone who were kind enough to review the previous chapter, thank you so much! You all who actually take the time to leave comments and feedback really inspire me to press on and finish this story. Good and bad news: it's no where near complete. I estimate that there will be around 50 chapters, maybe more so please bare with me! It took longer than intended, but I wanted to treat all of my reviewers to another update before April ended! I'll try to shoot for 1-2 updates per month. No promises but I will try my best! The cherry on top of this sundae is that this chapter is longer than the last so hopefully the length makes up for the making you wait~
The Shaman Fights Begin and Shippo's Magical Debut!
"Hao-sama," Opacho looked up at her guardian with puzzled eyes. "Kagome-sama did not seem pleased to meet you at all. She refused to kiss you. How can a queen refuse her king?" Hao chuckled at her blunt observations. The innocent, unfiltered nature of young children was one of the best things in life.
"Yes, I am well aware, Opacho," He replied with an amused smile. "But do not fret, I expected her to reject me," he admitted while ruffling the light and fluffy locks of his ward's dark hair. "In fact, our meeting was quite the success."
Yes. Their meeting went exactly as he had planned, down to the very last detail. All it took was a small wave of "hello" to get her hooked. Yoh's face was the perfect bait. His spiritual caress was enough to arouse her spirit, but going in for a kiss was what made her snap. Part of Hao actually wanted Kagome to give in and let him take what he wanted but, he was not surprised or angry that she fought back before he could.
"You said that we're going to play a game with her tonight, right?" Opacho beamed at Hao.
He then smiled and nodded, "Indeed we will. And we have another playmate to help~"
On cue, a small aura of blue flames appeared before the duo hovering in mid-air.
"You've been watching Kagome for a while now, eh?" Hao asked inquisitively, "I assume that you were attracted to her rare aura. For being a good boy, I'll grant you a small boost to your power for a while." With that said, Hao opened the palm of his right hand and released a minute amount of energy to the spirit before him. To him, it was a negligible amount of energy, but it would be more than enough for this mischievous little spirit to have some fun for a while.
"Heh heh," the spirit chuckled impishly as it felt the power course through its very being, "Thanks, Mister! No human will be able to ignore me with this kind of power!"
"I look forward to your performance," Hao told the spirit before it excitedly took off in the direction of that pure aura that lured it away from its old home in the mountains and into Tokyo. "Show her a good time," he added but no one but Opacho and himself heard it.
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
Ren rolled his eyes at the weeping girl, "I could have told you that," he bluntly replied to her confession. He decided not to make a big deal out of it, like she was. He kept his usual cool demeanor. Instead, he plopped down onto the soft grass right next to her. 'Honestly...' he thought to no one in particular, 'I have no clue what to do.' Somehow, he did not have it in him to see her crying face again. It made him uncomfortable, and his chest felt somewhat tight. He decided to look up at the sky, a canvas of orange, pink, and purple paint blending together. It was not everyday that the girl that he liked cried like this. Sure, sometimes she would angrily cry in frustration but there was never a heart ache like this one. There was the urge to place an arm around her shoulder and pull her close, but he knew that would only make things awkward between them. He felt awkward just thinking about it.
The two of them sat side by side in the seemingly deserted park preserve. It was as if they were in a world of their own. The sound of city life did not reach their ears. There was nothing but the cries of the traumatized girl, who kept her head down as she hugged her knees to her chest. Soon, Kagome's quiet sobs softened and die down into the occasional whimper. That was when Ren guessed that it was time for a talk, or anything that would bring her back to normal herself.
"So..." He began slowly and tentatively, unsure if him speaking would somehow trigger another barrage of sobs. A hum spurred in his throat as he paused, his mind going blank about what to talk about to cheer her up. Despite them living together for a while, he was not exactly sure how to make her happy. 'Everything seems to make her happy,' he thought about the countless smiles and grins that graced her face and made her very being glow. 'Especially...' His next thought caused him to carelessly ask aloud.
"Why do you like that kid so much?" Ren imagined himself bashing his head into a wall at how rude and blunt he came off as. It was just in his nature to be straightforward. But when it came to interactions with other people, it sometimes came to bite him in the butt.
Kagome's head shot up from the safety of her knees in an instant. She looked over to her left, her blue eyes wide and almost shaking at the sudden question. "Eh?" Was her only reply. She was beyond taken aback by the question, at least, since it came from Tao Ren. It was not uncommon to talk about romance with other girls, but with a boy...it was different. She did not even talk about things like with Manta or Yoh. A quiet scowl from Ren told Kagome that the Tao was expecting an answer, no matter how long it took. "Uh...well," She replied, her cheeks instantly feeling hot at her thoughts. "I can't really think of a reason that I wouldn't like him."
Ren raised an eyebrow and asked critically, "What does that even mean?"
He almost regretted asking because suddenly, the girl who he liked, looked him dead in the eye. Her blue eyes were softened but full of raw emotion. Her tan cheeks were rosy and a small but fond smile was on her sweet face. Despite the darkening sky, she seemed to sparkle and glow as she spoke from her heart. "Yoh is special to me in every way. I just didn't realize it until now," She admitted, "I should have known. I feel stupid for being so clueless to my own heart. His smiles always felt so warm. His eyes always felt so sincere. His hands are unique, they're not the manliest but I love them because they're strong yet gentle."
Unbeknownst to the Higurashi, her words made the Tao's chest feel even tighter than before.
"Even his flaws...I love them," She explained, her smile widened as she felt her heart flutter. It was her first time talking about love. It was somewhat embarrassing, but fun and liberating. "He's pretty lazy but I love how he moves at his own pace. It makes me feel reassured that I can take my time but still make progress. He's a pushover but it's pretty cute how he does anything to keep everyone happy." Kagome blinked when she realized that she had almost spaced out, thinking about why she loved Yoh so much. She looked over at Ren and cocked her head to the side when she saw him covering his eyes with one hand. The only thing visible on his face was his frowning mouth.
"Tao-kun...what's up? Do you have a head ache?" She asked curiously.
"No..." He mumbled a reply without uncovering his eyes. "I'm fine."
The girl was unaware of the effect that she had on him. Perhaps it was his karma for being born a Tao but fate was truly cruel. Ren loved it, and Ren hated it. This creature known as Higurashi Kagome. The way that she looked when thinking about his romantic rival was a double-edged sword that cut him right in the heart. To him, Kagome's love-struck face was stunning. He wanted to see it more often. But at the same time, he wished that she would not let her feelings for Yoh show so easily.
If only she would make a face like that for him instead.
"Come on, you're getting your qipao dirty," he stated gruffly, while getting to his feet and trying to act as normally as possible, for both of their sake's. He extended his hand to her and looked away to hide his pinkish cheeks, waiting for her to take him up on his offer.
"Uh..." Kagome sniffed while changing her gaze between Ren's hand and his face.
"What are you waiting for?" Ren asked while narrowing his eyes at the girl.
She gave him an embarrassed, awkward smile, "I'm pretty much out of energy right now," she admitted. "I lost control so...I don't think I can move for a while... You can...go ahead without me. I'll be fine."
"Baka..." Ren grumbled and sighed. He crouched down as low as he could in front of her. "Can you at least climb on?"
Kagome blinked before smiling, "Mmhm~" She nodded and leaned forward a bit, she easily fell onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Despite being more toned than she used to be and muscle weighing more than fat, Kagome still almost felt as light as feather to Ren. Slowly but easily, he got to his feet after he secured her legs to his sides. "Thank you..." She whispered into his ear. "Eh- you okay?" She asked worriedly when she felt a shiver go down his body.
"Duh," He mumbled grumpily, "Why wouldn't I be?" He had to hide how he felt. That was just the way it was.
"Well, I was just asking!" Kagome narrowed her eyes and pouted a bit at his sudden change in attitude.
"Stop pouting," Ren commanded without even looking at her. "But I guess you being immature is a sign that you're feeling better, so that's good, I guess," He said as he carried the girl away from the park and back towards the city, where their family and home awaited their return. When she merely hummed a half reply, Ren inwardly. It meant that she was still thinking about Asakura Yoh. "Tell me something."
Kagome blinked and asked, "something like what?"
"Anything." All he wanted was for her to go back to her usual cheery-self. "How about...why is it such a big deal that you like that Asakura kid?"
"Oh..." She breathed deeply for a moment. Her cheeks flushed a bit, "Well... For one thing, he's my one of my best friends."
"So?" Ren asked back, raising an eyebrow.
"So," Kagome hissed, "You can't just like a friend that way. It's just...wrong!" She exclaimed.
Ren kept his eyebrow raised at her statement. Personally, he could count his number of friends on one hand. And he was not even sure if he should count most of them because they were blood-relatives. He did not have much experience with friends so he did not understand what the big deal was about having romantic feelings for one. For him, it seemed natural to like someone who you knew well. He liked Kagome after all. "Okay," He conceded, "Is that all?"
"W-well...another thing is that..." She replied, a tinge of sadness found its way into her voice. "I know that it's unrequited. There's no way that he could ever feel the same way about me."
Ren's eyebrow twitched, 'This girl...is so slow.' There was the temptation to just come out and tell her that she was probably wrong about her assumption, but he decided against it for many reasons. It was not his place to. And if he did, then it could possibly ruin his chances with her (if he had any). As selfish as that thought was, Ren felt no guilt over it. All was fair in love and war after all. "Hypothetically," he began to continue the conversation as he looked up at the darkened sky, "If he did like you back, what would you do?"
"Nothing," Kagome replied before burying her face into her back. Now that night had fallen, the cars that raced by on the streets now zoomed by with bright headlights that made her feel a bit dizzy. It was probably a strange side effect of whatever Hao did to her. "If he did like me, there's nothing that we could do about it... He's already engaged to someone else," she explained, her voice nothing but a whisper from her lack of energy.
"I'm guessing it's an arranged marriage."
"It is- but...how did you know that?"
"The Asakura family is renown in the shamanic world. Most of their marriages are arranged from a young age, if not birth," Ren replied. "Don't tell me you didn't know that?" He asked incredulously.
Kagome gave an embarrassed laugh, "Not really. But I guess it makes sense now...he's a kid who lives alone in a huge manor. It makes sense that his family is famous and wealthy."
Ren scowled when he noted how impressed Kagome sounded at her new discovery, "The Tao family is also quite renown, you know," he added in, feeling annoyed at her amazement of Yoh's lineage.
The girl on his back giggled and smiled as she corrected him, "You mean infamous, don't you~?"
"Oh, shut up," He growled at her. "We're not all like that-" he spoke of him and his sister, and his cousin that he had grown closer to recently. "Not anymore anyway."
"Yes, I know~" came her voice from behind. "I'm very glad too..." Ren noted how her volume faded, her breaths shallowed, and her body went more limp. Despite the added weight, he did not mind that her body gave out. She definitely needed the rest, and he definitely needed some time with his thoughts before they got home, where he was sure they would be bombarded with prying questions or teases.
He still did not know what exactly triggered her epiphany but it must have been something drastic. The girl on his back could be knowledgeable about the most random trivia but when it came to things like this...she was dumber than a sack of rocks. When he first realized that he actually felt something for her, he figured that his feelings would fade away as soon as she discovered her own for the Asakura. 'But...' He thought to himself, 'that's not what happened at all.'
Contrarily, despite the fact that her confession dealt a huge blow to his feelings, Ren was surprised that he felt like he wanted Kagome even more. Was it that he felt threatened and wanted to prove that he was the best choice for her? Or was it that he wanted to be the one who she loved so that she would never have to cry like that again? Maybe it was a little bit of both. With her closer to him now than she had ever been, the young Tao could easily take in her scent. It was as fresh and feminine as he had imagined. He growled and slapped his forehead so hard that it turned red, 'What am I? Some sort of pervert?!' He mentally admonished himself for enjoying her smell so much. He sighed inwardly.
Who was he kidding?
For Kagome, he was a pervert.
And a love-sick puppy.
And a fool.
And more.
The night air was a bit cool but Ren welcomed it because having Kagome so close to him made him feel uncomfortably and inexplicably hot. He absently began to wonder when exactly did he fall for the young priestess and shaman? And why? Was there even a clear reason? Did there need to be a reason? With mental replays of his month and a half time span with Kagome inside of his mind, Ren was deaf and blind to his surroundings, everything except the light breathing and incoherent, sleepy mumbles of the girl on his back. For such a short amount of time, there were so many memories of when she made his heart skip a beat- so many that he had a hard time keeping them in chronological order.
There was the first week when he felt suspicious of how she would skulk around early in the morning when she should have been training. Five times that week, she would spend a while just staring at him train from a small crack in the door that she thought he did not notice. At first, he ignored her presence. But Ren was not one for patience. Her antics grew old quickly and on her sixth spy session, he ended up yelling at her and demanding to know why she kept spying on him train. That was when she timidly entered his training room. Her blue eyes clouded with complicated emotions and her posture more skittish that what he was used to from her. She ended up catching him as off guard as he did her. Instead of running away, like she was caught doing something wrong red-headed, or yelling a rebuttal, she came inside with her hands behind her back.
He remembered glaring at her because she was obviously hiding something, "What do you want?"
"N-Nothing!" She threw up her hands defensively, causing her to drop a water bottle to the floor. "Uh..." She blushed, "Whoops." She quickly regathered it before extending her arm to offer it to him. "I just wanted to give you this!"
Ren sneered and eyed her sharply, not buying her explanation, "You've been spying on to give me water?"
Kagome huffed, feeling a bit indignant, "There's more to it than that!"
"Then speak, I don't have all day," He told her while leaning against his kwan-dao.
"At first, it was an accident..." She confessed. "I had gotten lost on my way to the bathroom," she said. Ren ignored the fact that she had her own private restroom inside of her room. "But then, when I noticed you, I couldn't look away. You're amazing honestly."
Ren growled at the memory, feeling embarrassed that he was too flustered to do anything but blush, glare, and give her a half-assed, cocky reply that something along the lines of "Of course I am. I'm the Tao heir." But her words from that morning never left him.
["Seeing someone as strong as you work hard inspires me to work hard too~ So that's why I've been watching you. I guess, I kind of admire you."]
He did not want to admit it but it felt like there was no way that he could have avoided falling for Kagome. She had grown on him quickly: this girl who looked past their previous encounters and pushed and pushed to get to know him personally. How could anyone hate someone like that? Ren flushed and sighed when the sleeping girl suddenly tensed up and began to cling to him tightly. "Hey..." She mumbled, sleepily on the boundaries between consciousness and sleep. "Thank you so much...for everything..." She snuggled up against him, causing him to tense up and his face to warm a little. "...Tao-kun..."
'This girl,' he thought, feeling exasperated at himself for being so easily swayed by simple words.
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G.
It was dark, and it was cold. It was a cold darkness. And it was the darkest of colds. That was all that she could perceive for a long, long time. From the endless depths of nothingness that was her prison, she no longer had a sense of time. Conversely, time had no sense of her. Sometimes, there was a lapse in her memory. Sometimes, she had the feeling that there was a place that she wanted to go and something that she wanted to do. Sometimes, it felt like she knew where it was and who it was, but the epiphanies would soon be lost in the gaps of her memory.
Darkness and cold.
She had a feeling that she knew what light and warmth was at some point. But that was a luxury that she had lost a long, long time ago. At this moment, all that she could remember was this lonely place that she called both "home" and "prison". 'But...' She thought without getting up from her seated position. 'Why am I here?' Her blue eyes were dulled to grayish color, a symbol of her rusted, weary existence. Whatever this existence was, if even qualified as an existence.
Was this punishment? She sometimes contemplated this. But she had little recollection of anything that she had ever done to deserve such solitary confinement. In fact... Her dark eyebrows furrowed as a bead of sweat ran down her forehead. She could almost remember something about herself... But that was probably because it was about time to have another epiphany that would soon be lost later.
Her mind was a cycle of discovery followed by destruction.
She was not even sure if the thoughts that she was currently thinking had not been thought billions of times before.
This was the nature of her existence.
Suddenly, a beam of golden light slowly pierced through the darkness. Her eyes instantly caught onto the disturbance in her domain. Her head looked up and she squinted as she placed a hand above her face to shield her eyes from the light that grew larger and brighter, filling the space, driving away the darkness, and illuminating her home. Her eyes wavered as her jaw dropped a bit. Light was all that she needed. She could finally see where she was. She could recognize where she was.
And the memories came rushing back like the violent waves of a tsunami after the ocean tide of memories in her heart receded so long ago...
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G
It was the night before the preliminaries of the Shaman Fights. All was quiet in the Tao residence, even Ren did not stay up late to train like he usually did. Despite the quiet in the dead of night, all was not calm. For inside of Kagome's room, the girl was sweating and thrashing around in her sleep. The combination of anxiety of her first match and almost losing her first kiss to a stranger made her mind plagued with troubled thoughts and horrid dreams. Finally, she shot up in her bed, panting lightly. Looking around in the darkness, she spotted her digital clock which read 1:33AM. "Sesshomaru..." She whispered, needing some comfort, "Are you here?"
On cue, she felt the chilling but familiar presence of her primary spirit. Being a spirit, she did not need light to see him, for his aura was enough to see him, in the way that priestesses and shamans could. "I can't sleep," She told him. "Could we...practice some more?" she asked. "We haven't practiced in a couple of days.
"Sleep is more important," Sesshomaru replied casually. "No practice will make you any more prepared than you already are at this point," he informed her, but he knew that she knew that. The girl was looking for company, to be coddled. But that was not something that he was willing to do for anyone, especially without having a physical body. There was no point. He could not provide the type of affection that she craved.
Kagome huffed, trying to be upset but then sighed when she realized that she could not even bring herself to pretend. He was right. He could see right through her. He was her partner. Despite being cold and standoffish, he understood her and was not the type who half-assed anything. "I know, I know," she mumbled, "But still..."
"No arguing," He commanded while narrowing his eyes at her. He did not spend all of this time on the little human for her to be eliminated so early on. "Rest." Was his final word before his aura disappeared entirely.
Kagome sighed again, 'He agreed to be my partner, but he's still so mysterious. Whenever he has the chance, he completely ditches me without a word.' She shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She felt like...she had a weird dream, but she could not remember much of it. Most of it was nothing but darkness, like she had been asleep within her dream. Kagome sighed aloud. There was no way that she could sleep when her forgotten dream made her feel so anxious!
'I wonder if anyone is awake...' She thought as she began to wander the dark halls of the private complex. One by one, she crept up to their private rooms and peeked inside, searching for any signs of light or movement. Not even Ren was training like he usually was at this hour. 'But,' she noted, 'that doesn't mean that he isn't awake'. She needed a reason to press on and check his room too.
Despite knowing where it was, Kagome had never seen what it was like on the inside, let alone been inside. Slowly, she cracked the door open, just a small slit and peered inside with one eye. It was just like when she used to watch him train. Only this time, he was not awake, much to Kagome's display. 'Mou... I would be the only restless one here,' she thought miserably with a small pout.
[Click!]
"Kyah! Ren, you scared me!" Kagome shrieked when the room suddenly became partially illuminated by a small lamp on a desk next to the Tao's bed. How many times had he surprised her like this now? It felt like she had lost count a month ago.
He glared at her, golden eyes slightly glazed over from just waking up. He rubbed one of his eyes and scowled, "What the hell are you doing in here?" He asked grumpily. Even in his sleepy haze, he noticed how cute Kagome looked in her frilly, white nightgown that Jun had bought for her weeks ago. He certainly was not angry, but boy was he annoyed and confused!
"U-uh!" Kagome scratched her cheek as her blue eyes avoided contact with his his sharp ones. She blushed a bit, "W-Well...I couldn't sleep so..." She did trailed off, not adding that she just wanted some company and sought it with him.
"Ah."
His reply was simple. With one arm, he lifted his blanket up and revealed an empty spot on his bed next to him.
"Eh?" Kagome blinked when he gave her an expecting, waiting sort of look. Without giving it much thought, she stepped forward once...and her other foot followed. Her body reacted on its own because before she knew it, she was laying in bed next to Ren. As soon she settled in, he dropped the lifted part of the blanket and it fell over her, completely covering her body.
Kagome was grateful for the clicking sound of the lamp because the darkness hid how red her face must have been. "Goodnight," Ren mumbled before he fell back asleep instantly.
'Oh God... What am I doing?!' She screamed inwardly. 'And poor Ren...he offered me this because he wasn't in his right state of mind! Oh God, Oh God, Oh God! Am I...taking advantage of him?!' It took a lot of willpower for her not to scream out in frustration. She took a few deep breaths, which helped to calm her nerves a bit but not her heart that felt like it was hell-bent on pounding its way through her chest! 'Okay, Kagome. You can do this. Ren is a very light-sleeper but you can sneak away after he goes into deep sleep! You got this!' She told herself.
She ducked her head beneath the blanket and unconsciously sighed contently. It was so warm and toasty from the accumulation of her and Ren's shared body heat. She stared at his back, which was bare because he slept shirtless. There was barely any distance between them. He was so close... Kagome frowned and began blushing even more- just after she had gotten her heart to calm down! She knew that neither of them meant anything by it, so it wasn't wrong...was it? 'Just wait a bit longer...' she told herself, not knowing that her body was falling victim to the calming, lulling effects of warmth.
And with that...she closed her eyes and drifted off.
Her body welcomed the feeling of not being alone.
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G
Kagome sat up slowly. She looked at Ren's digital clock that lit up with bright-blue face in the darkness. It read 3:04 A.M. To her surprise and delight, she only slept for a couple of hours but she already felt so refreshed and ready for the day! The soft blue light of the clock ever-so-delicately illuminated a small portion of the dark room. The girl looked at Ren's sleeping face and smiled. He looked and seemed much more their age when he was sleeping. His face was not scowling or moody for once. 'This guy...is much kinder than he lets on,' she thought when she recalled how he offered her comfort and solace in his bed in his half-sleep state. To her, it showed just how caring he truly was inside, despite how aloof he tried to act when he was awake. She lightly poked his cheek and whispered, "I'm going to cheer Sango-chan on~ See ya later~"
With that said, she slowly and carefully crawled out of the silky sheets and blankets and got to her feet. 'Her match is at 3:45 by the river so she should be getting ready right about now.' The young priestess tip-toed out of the room and journeyed down the dark hallways that her body memorized after all of the time spent with the Tao's. When she arrived at Sango's room, she gave her door a light knock, as to not startle her or disturb Ren or Jun. "Ah, Kagome," came the brunette's voice from the other side of the door. "Come in. I'm almost ready to go." Kagome smiled and was more than willing to comply.
"Good morning, Sango-chan~" She greeted cheerfully as she placed her hands behind her back, "Did you sleep well?" She asked to make small talk as Sango finished getting dressed. Kagome happened to be walking in as her friend was pulling her arms through the sleeveless arm-holes of qipao.
Sango smiled and nodded, "I did. I've been looking forward to this so I made sure to get enough rest," that was when the older of two turned around and showed the younger girl her back. Kagome bit her lip when she saw the scars that littered and marred Sango's otherwise flawless skin. "Kagome-chan, sorry to ask..." the Tao said a bit bashfully, "but, could you zip me up?" The Higurashi nodded and once again, more than happily complied. She nearly skipped over to Sango and gently took the zipper between her thumb and pointer. Two sides of the lustrous, silky dress came together and met like twin doors that closed to hide away the marks of punishment on Sango's backside. "Thanks," Sango turned back around and offered Kagome a small smile, realizing that the younger girl probably felt sorry for her. She grabbed Kagome's hand and gave it a firm, reassuring squeeze.
Kagome squeezed back and mimicked her friend's smile. She knew that she was strong and did not want sympathy. "Sorry," Kagome said while bowing her head a bit in apology.
Sango shook her head and smiled even more, "Don't be. Just know that they don't bother me as much anymore." Being raised in a traditional family, Sango used to anguish over her scars. As a young child, she did anything and everything to avoid being whipped as punishment. Fore she was told that a woman with an imperfect body would never become a valued bride. The more bodily blemishes you had, the less value that you had as a bride. No wealthy or esteemed men would accept anything less than perfect. The Tao almost scoffed at the thought of the dribble that used to be pounded into her young head on a daily basis. "No matter how ugly they are, they serve as a reminder of how wretched the Tao's are," she stated, her voice going cold and grave.
Sango stifled a surprised scream when suddenly she was almost knocked off balance by Kagome nearly launching herself onto her back as she cried out, "No!" The younger girl wrapped her arms around her friend and held her from behind. "I'm sorry but I disagree," She said in a more calm manner than her initial outburst. "I think...that they're a reminder of your strength."
The older girl closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. She did not know what it was but a warm, soft feeling suddenly overcame her. At first, it felt like it came from within. But then she realized that even though she felt the warmth inside of her, coursing through her veins and even in her very soul, she was not the source of the warmth. It was the embrace of the girl who looked up to her and stood up for her so much. "Thank you," Sango gave a soft reply before opening her eyes as the warmth gradually began to fade away. "We should go," she told Kagome as she turned around with a smile on her face. Kagome smiled back and nodded as Sango pulled on a pair of elastic underpants that matched her qipao.
"Your fighting outfit is so beautiful," Kagome outwardly expressed her admiration for Sango's attire. Sango was wearing a female fighter outfit. Her qipao was primarily black in color but also accented with peach-pink trimming along the collar, short sleeves, and hems of the dress. Unlike Sango's usual ankle-length dresses, this one was calf-length and had long slits on each side for leg freedom and flexibility. And to reserve her modesty, Sango completed her outfit with a simple pair of pink, straight-legged pants. Her shoes were black, traditional slippers with pink soles.
"Really?" Sango asked with wide eyes. "I uh...made it myself..." She admitted a bit bashfully as the duo headed towards the door. This was why she enjoyed Kagome's company so much. She usually had something positive to say about most things. It was so refreshing to have her around.
"Wow!" Kagome marveled with shining eyes, "Sango-chan, you'd make such a great bride!" Sango was glad that the darkness of the complex hid her reddened cheeks. Sure, she used to dream of being a beautiful bride married to a handsome, kind husband and live happily ever after with a new family that she made, but never before had anyone indulged her childhood fantasies and thought of her as anything but a servant. "You can cook, clean, and make beautiful clothing! And the best part is that you're super strong, no one would ever mess with your kids with Super Mom around!" Kagome punched the air for emphasis. Sango smiled as she silently walked and listened to her friend's rants and fantasies about being her bridesmaid at her wedding.
'You say that, but...' Sango thought fondly, 'You'd make a beautiful bride too...for Ren, or for this Asakura Yoh that you adore so much.'
"So, what's the name of your first opponent anyway?" Kagome asked with curious, innocent eyes.
Sango blinked before looking at the orange communication device strapped to her arm, "Oh right. I think it's some guy. His name is..."
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G
Crap. Crap. Crap. Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap.
He had been so excited for his first match in the preliminaries that he could hardly get any sleep! When he initially received the message that told him of the time, date, location of his first match, he was beyond pumped up for some action! And when he first read the name of his opponent, it felt uncommon and even weird. Tao Sango. The family name seemed to be Chinese while the given name was Japanese. The person could have been a half-blood but he was not interested in anyone's heritage so he did not dwell on it beyond his first thought of, 'Wow, what a weird name.'
But his disinterest all changed as he approached his destination: Meguro River, and that was when he first saw her. "Eep!" He shrieked and panicked before ducking behind one of the many trees that covered the green area. His brown eyes were wide as he snuck another peek at his opponent from his hiding place that was about ten or eleven meters away from where she awaited his arrival. He gulped at the sight of her, his heart was pounding his ears.
Tao Sango: a young lady who looked a couple years older than himself. She was not built like other teenage girls in Tokyo. She was tall and muscular, but not overly-so that made her lack in feminine sex appeal. In fact, this young lady was nothing but curves and legs for days! From her ample bosom to her curvy hips, she was the full package! The icing on the cake was that even though her dark chocolate locks were pulled up into a single, elegant bun, he could tell that it was considerably long. Despite her well-built physique, she still obviously had the heart of a girly-girl has she colored her eyelids and plump lips with a pretty pink color. In his eyes, Tao Sango was a warrior princess! 'Crap, crap, crap, crap!' He thought, feeling dread inside of his head. 'Why do I have to fight this hot chick?!'
Fate truly seemed to hate him. The gods truly conspired to sentence him to a life without a girlfriend! Because in his book, hot girls like Sango did not grow on trees! And his first encounter with her just had to be as opponents! "KoroKoro!" His tiny spirit called to him as she tugged on his sleeve.
"Not now, Kororo!" her partner whispered aloud. "I have to figure out how I can fight a hot girl!"
"KORO!" The spirit insisted as she flew up to her partner, grabbed onto his head with her tiny arms, and forced him to turn to see-
"Pirika?!" He suddenly shouted when he spotted his younger sister stomping over to him angrily, and he knew why. Wanting a break from Pirika's pestering and prying eyes, HoroHoro had decided to disable their alarm clock and sneaky away from the Asakura residence without her.
"Onii-chan!" She huffed with angry eyes and small fists that were held stiffly to her side. "How dare you try to ditch me, Onii-chan! I helped you train, why don't I get to see you fight?!" She chastised him as she approached, causing HoroHoro to wince. There was no way that his opponent did not hear his loud sister, even if he was hiding behind a tree that sat on an upward slope.
HoroHoro, who had no choice but to reveal himself now and somehow distract Pirika from his act of betrayal, stepped away from the tree. With his boyish face grinning and snowboard tucked beneath his under arm, he decided to try at least look cool in front of everyone. "That's right!" He proclaimed with a cocky chuckle as he jabbed in his thumb into his chest, "The one and only HoroHoro has arrived!"
Kagome blinked and before clapping her hands together and giving a wide, closed-eyed smile, "Oh~ It's BoroBoro-kun~ Hi there!"
Sango blanched and gave Kagome a weary expression, "BoroBoro? Is this person human filth?" HoroHoro then faceplanted as Kagome's rekindling of Yoh's terrible joke ruined his epic entrance. His anime fall was so dramatic that not only did he fall, but he rolled down the small slope where his hiding tree was located and landed unceremoniously at the two girls' feet. The blue-haired inwardly cursed Yoh for likening his name to the word "crap", then he inwardly cried that Kagome chose now of all times to roll with it.
"Kagome-chan," He grumbled into the grass, "Long time no see..." before lifting his head up to look at the girls- only to get a front row seat up their skirts. Sango, who wore pants under her dress, was fine. However, Kagome, who was only a spectator, was wearing a casual outfit that consisted of a plain white short-sleeved shirt beneath a blue and white plaid jumper dress and matching- "P-P-P-P-Panties!" HoroHoro shrieked as he looked away and covered his eyes.
Kagome blushed and squeaked as she grabbed the hem of skirt and pulled it tight against her thighs. "BoroBoro's eyes have defiled me, Sango-chan!"
HoroHoro gulped when he peeked at the girls through a parting of fingers of the hands that covered his face. "So my opponent truly is human crap," Sango whispered coldly as she cracked her knuckles and gave HoroHoro an evil glare so cold that it even made Kororo shiver.
Pirika glared at the duo and angrily made her way down the slope and towards the flatter area where Kagome and Sango stood and her older brother lied. "Who do you think you are, insulting my big brother like that?!" She shouted while placing her hands on her hips and glaring at them hotly. HoroHoro then got to his feet and tried to defuse the situation that seemed like it would lead to something explosive by throwing up his hands defensively.
To his surprise, Sango sweat dropped and smiled awkwardly when Kagome squealed and pulled Pirika into a tight hug, "You're HoroHoro-kun's little sister?!" She asked incredulously, "You're sooooo cute! Just like a little doll~ HoroHoro-kun is so lucky~!" Pirika's tempered instantly cooled down as she melted into Kagome's warm embrace. The three girls were instantly friends.
HoroHoro sighed aloud, "If only cute girls would fawn over me like that," he grumbled with slumped shoulders and a gloomy aura. Great. The most beautiful girl that he had ever seen thought he was a pervert (which he was, but she didn't need to know that!). And his little sister was stealing all of the attention! Just when he thought that things could not get any worse- it happened.
"Hahaha~" Sango chuckled delicately behind her hand, causing HoroHoro to blush and completely tune into the sound of her soft laughter. "You're a such a weirdo, BoroBoro," She said bluntly but with a smile. She extended her hand to him and added, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Let's have a good match."
The blue-haired shaman blinked then grinned and gave her a firm hand-shake, "You bet!"
Sango looked over at Kagome and Pirika and told them, "You two should go stand somewhere safe. Something tells me that this could get messy."
"Heh," HoroHoro smirked at his opponent and added teasily, "That's right~ Hot and messy is how I like to take pretty girls like you." The statement caused Kagome and Pirika's jaws to drop and earned HoroHoro a blush and indignant slap from Sango that sent him crashing to the ground.
Kagome gently patted Pirika's back, trying to soothe the girl who was balling her eyes out and shaking her head in denial, "Waaaaaah! No way! My Onii-chan can't be a hopeless creep who doesn't know how to talk to girls!" Kagome laughed nervously as she lead the crying Pirika away to a safe spot away so that they could watch the match from visible sidelines.
"Perverted men are definitely not my type," Sango scoffed as her nekomata spirit suddenly appeared. The Tao threw her giant boomerang into the air and commanded, "Kirara, into Hiraikotsu!" An enthusiasm "mew" was her response as the cat demon entered the boomerang that her partner used as a medium. The Hiraikotsu became encased with an orange-yellow flame aura and Sango caught it with one-hand. "Prepare yourself!"
HoroHoro cursed his luck once more before shouting to his spirit, "Kororo, into the snowboard!"
Wanting nothing more than to never see this boy again, Sango decided to make the first move. "Burning Rush!" She shouted as she used her one of her short-ranged attacks since she and her opponent were so close together. She held up her boomerang in front of her with both hands and dashed forward with all of her might. Within the blink of an eye, she used the blunt force of her strength to ram straight into HoroHoro, boomerang first.
He winced as he was sent flying backwards at the force behind the hit. He used his snowboard, which was shining a bright blue aura from Kororo's icy influence, to slow down and regain his posture. "You're pretty strong, huh?" He asked rhetorically as he smirked, feeling impressed that his beautiful opponent's beauty was only matched by her strength. 'I thought that she'd be slowed down by that massive boomerang, but she's still pretty fast despite its size and weight.' He decided to try to a distance based offense against her. HoroHoro boarded his snowboard medium and took to the sky. "Take THIS!" He roared as he launched a ruthless barrage of icicles that came raining down at Sango at bullet-like speed.
Sango narrowed her eyes but kept calm as she pulled her arm that was holding her Hiraikotsu back and swung it at just the right angle that caused it to not only slice through each ice shard, but also turn them into steam on impact. HoroHoro grunted and gritted his teeth, he thought that he would have the advantage having a spirit of ice against Sango's spirit of fire but Sango and Kirara's fire was so intense that it neutralized his and Kororo's ice!
"Onii-chan, you can't lose to her! Ice is stronger than fire!" Pirika called out to HoroHoro.
"Don't listen to her, HoroHoro-kun! Kagome called next, "It's okay to lose to fire!"
Pirika then glared at Kagome and pouted, "Whose side are you on anyway?!"
Kagome playfully stuck her tongue out, "Team Girl Power, of course!"
Meanwhile Sango and HoroHoro stood twenty meters away from each other, both staring the other down, searching for a sign of weakness or initiative. The boy hummed to himself as he analyzed his fierce opponent, his brown eyes scanned her defensive stance and her body for an opening or any indication of how he could gain an edge in the fight. It seemed like she had no weaknesses. His eyes finally landed on her giant boomerang and a thought struck him as he envisioned how she caught it on its rebound back to her. 'That's it!' He thought, 'If I can bait her into throwing her boomerang and land a blow before it comes back, then I win!'
Sango quietly watched her opponent's facial expression change from focused to as if he had an idea to confident and determined. He probably was unaware that he was currently wearing his emotions on his sleeve, but that played to her advantage. She knew that he had a plan and judging by his face and eye emotions, she had a pretty good guess as to what it was. Once again, HoroHoro took to the sky and launched a wave of icicles at his opponent. She in return swung her boomerang at the cold army and watched her weapon obliterate the projectiles.
"Gotcha!" HoroHoro shouted as he raced towards Sango at top-speed and formed an ice-sword at the bottom of his snowboard. "It's...OVER!" He added as his ice sword ripped through the fabric of Sango's dress.
"Sango-chan!/Onii-chan!" Kagome and Pirika cried out from the sidelines as their eyes widened at the sudden turn of events. They could not believe it!
Within the blink of an eye, the match was indeed over.
A bead of sweat ran down HoroHoro's forehead and he visibly gulped as he felt the intense heat that was being emitted from a hidden dagger that Sango held against his neck. The startled boy had dropped his oversoul in shock, and thus, instantly lost the match. He thought that he could scare her out of her oversoul, but she turned the tables on him and exacted his exact plan on him instead. He dropped to his butt and scratched the back of his head as he chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment as Sango caught her boomerang and powered down. "Maaaaan, girls are pretty scary!"
Sango glared down at him silently before turning heel and beginning to leave the scene without a word.
"Ah!" HoroHoro jumped to his feet and grabbed onto her wrist, "Wait a second, Sango!"
The older teen turned and glared at him with an annoyed expression, "What is it now, pervert?" she hissed at him through clenched-teeth. She easily yanked her arm away from his grasp and turned to face him fully. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him an impatient look. She was tempted to lecture him on addressing her so intimately but she did not want to waste any more time with him!
"Well, you see-!" He began but paused as he tried to gather his thoughts and save face with her. If Sango and Kagome truly were friends then it meant that he could possibly meet her again! But there was no chance in getting anywhere with her if she thought so badly of it. He then bowed deeply at the waist and exclaimed, "Sorry!"
Sango blinked and was taken aback by the sudden apology. She unconsciously uncrossed her arms.
"For the perverted joke earlier!" He continued, still bowing as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I said something out of line because I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to talk to beautiful girls like you! Please forgive me" He explained aloud, staying bowed before her.
The Tao felt her cheeks burn when she heard the younger teen call her a "beautiful girl". But she quickly regained her bearings and crossed her arms again. "Yeah, well..." She replied in a huffy voice, as if she was trying to speak normally but was still bothered by it, "Don't let it happen again. Next time, just talk to me like you would anyone else." She did not have it in her to hold a grudge about it since he apologized so dramatically about it. With that said, she turned and walked away.
HoroHoro lifted his head and grinned excitedly at her choice of words, 'Next time... Yes! Nailed it!' He wanted to bid his new crush a cool "goodbye" but instantly his eyes widened and all he could managed to get out was a lame, "GAH?!"
When he looked up, there was not three girls- but FOUR. One loud Pirika; one beautiful Sango; and...two Kagomes?! The two Kagomes were doing everything in unison. They blinked and stared at each other in wonder. They poked each other's right cheeks. They cocked their heads to the side. They looked at Sango with a confusion look. Then they looked back at each other. Finally, they spoke in perfect unison:
"Does anyone have any clue who this Kagome is?" they both asked while pointing a finger at the other.
The two Kagome's blinked at each other again while crossing their arms and looking up with a thoughtful expression, "That's weird. This other Kagome is mirroring me perfectly."
HoroHoro screamed and pointed straight at the doubles, "There are TWO Kagome-chan's! How?! What do we do with them?!"
Sango sweat dropped at the dramatic scene as Pirika sighed aloud at her older brother embarrassing her once again. She walked over to the two Kagome's and informed the siblings, "Calm down, you two. There can only be one true Kagome-chan."
The Kagome on the left placed her hand over heart as if she was speaking from it, "It's me! I'm the real Kagome!" She told them.
Immediately the Kagome right's facial expression changed from confused to taken aback to upset as she turned to glare and yell at her double, "Um, excuse me?! Don't lie! I'm the real Kagome!"
"No, I am!" The left Kagome rebutted while balling her fists at her sides.
"As funny as this is," the Kagome on the right begin while pushing an accusing finger into her double's face. "Drop the act! You're obviously a fox, I can sense it!"
The Kagome on the left then pointed an accusing finger into her double's face and retorted, "Stop doing that! You're obviously the fox here!"
HoroHoro scratched at his spiky hair in a wild, frustrated manner, "Man, this is so confusing!"
Pirika then raised her pointer finger as she chimed in, "Couldn't you two just ask them questions that only the real Kagome-chan could know?"
Sango smiled and decided to play along since they had time to kill before Kagome's first match, "Alright then, let's test them both. And the one who gets the most correct answers out of fifteen questions wins."
HoroHoro was the first to quiz the pair of Kagome's, "What is your favorite color?"
The two, who looked like identical twins dressed in identical outfits, piped in unison, "Blue!"
"Cooooooooooooooooooooooorrect!" HoroHoro grinned and cheered into a fist that simulated a microphone of a television host.
Pirika gave her older brother a deadpanned expression, "Onii-chan, did you even know the answer to that question?"
"Kagome-chan," Sango interjected as she stuck her Hiraikotsu into the ground to lean against. "What do we go out for every Friday?"
"Taiyaki!" The two Kagome's answer simultaneously.
"What is your little brother's name?" Sango asked.
"Souta!
"Your bra size?" HoroHoro asked with a devilish grin that earned him Sango's elbow to the back of his head and the twin Kagome's yelling back at him,
"As if you'd know something like that!"
"I do admit that this imposter Kagome has their trivia down perfectly," Sango observed. "So it all comes down to one question." The four other teenagers looked at Sango curiously as a serious look appeared on her face. "This next question will determine who the real Kagome is... Are you ready?" The two Kagome's nodded in unison. "Tell me..." The Tao began slowly, "the name of the boy you love."
Sango and the siblings watched the two Kagome's react in unison, but differently this time. The Kagome on the left giggled and held her cheeks in her hands in a romantic way while fidgeting cutely, "It's Yoh~ " She whispered bashfully. While the Kagome on the right's face turned beet red as steam blew out from her ears. She balled up her fists and squeaked in embarrassment, "Sango-chan, don't make me say something like that!"
Sango then pointed at the Kagome on left and stated casually, "This one is the imposter. I win."
HoroHoro and Pirika stood there looking lost before the brother blurted out, "Kagome-chan has the hots for Yoh?!"
Hearing this, the real Kagome covered her face with her hands and turned around so that she was facing away from everyone else whispering over and over again, "This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening!"
Sango gave HoroHoro an incredulous look, "You mean you couldn't tell?"
That was when the busted imposter Kagome chuckled mischievously, successfully gaining the attention of the others, including the girl who they impersonated. "So you finally figured it out. My identify isn't Higurashi Kagome." The Kagome launched herself into the air as her body began to glow with a blue firey aura. With a small popping sound and a cloud of smoke, the Kagome was replaced with the body of a younger child. He was around the same height as Manta with reddish-orange hair that was pulled into a small ponytail held together by a blue bow, old-styled Japanese attire, and a blonde, fluffy tail that was just as large as his body. "The Great Fox Spirit Shippo has appeared!" He announced haughtily as he landed on the ground gracily. He smirked and thought to himself as he saw the group's awestruck and surprised expressions, 'They're stupefied by my amazing power!'
After a moment of silence, the early morning air erupted into noise once again as Pirika and Kagome squealed at the adorable boy and pulled him into a group hug between them. "What is this?! He's as cute as a Koropokkuru!" Pirika exclaimed between excited laughs.
"He's a Red Kitsune spirit~ I've only heard of them in stories so I didn't know that they were this cute~" Kagome explained while patting on Shippo's head.
"H-Hey!" Shippo protested while squirming in their grasps. "I'm a Great Fox! Don't treat me like some pet or something!" He chastised them, causing Pirika to relinquish her grip on him and offer an apologetic smile.
Kagome did not release him. Instead she smiled down at the small child in her arms and said, "Well, your performance was pretty funny and convincing. You did a good job."
Shippo's eyes widened before he asked her curiously, "You mean...you're not mad that I tried playing a trick on you and your friends?"
The priestess shook her head and asked with a small laugh, "How could I be? No harm, no foul, they say~" She then lightly tapped him on the nose and added, "Besides, you're way too cute to be mad at~" She placed him down his feet.
Sango decided to step in at this point, knowing that Kagome was too kind to ask more pressing questions of the spirit. "More importantly, what was the purpose of you tricking us? Why did you choose us out of all of the people in this city?"
Shippo bowed his head so that his bangs were covering his face, "Well, I..." He gripped his pants tightly, "Honestly...I just...wanted to her to acknowledge me..."
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G
Being dead was not new to him. He and the other demons died a long time ago. They were hunted down and murdered one by one, or family by family, by the most powerful humans from monks to priests to shamans. Shippo sighed as he watched an ordinary fox cub playfully wrestle with its young sibling, their mother was watching them from somewhere nearby. Their orange fur and white socked-feet reminded him of his family in their animal forms. Sometimes he had wished that he was born a normal fox back then. Then maybe, he could have lived out a full life, even if it was a much shorter life-span than a fox demon's.
The afterlife for a demon was similar to the afterlife for a human spirit, he assumed. "BORING!" Shippo cried out and rolled around in the soft grass of the forest floor, throwing a mini tantrum that no one could hear. "BORING! BORING! BORING!" He did not know how long he was dead, but it was probably a long time. He witnessed so many changes that there was no way that a lot of time had not passed! There was less and less forest everyday it seemed! The humans who eradicated his kind was now destroying the homes and lives of innocent animals. To Shippo, it was sad. But he tried not to dwell on it too much. There was nothing that he could do about it after all.
After he got bored of rolling, the young spirit stopped and lied on his back to stare up at the small glimpse of sky that the overhead trees allowed to penetrate through. Ever since he died, Shippo spent his afterlife residing in the forest of the mountains like many other demonic spirits. At first, he tried looking for his parents but he never found them. He assumed that they moved onto the next plane or life since this forest used to be their domain and they never ventured out of it during life.
The sun was warm today, or at least, he assumed that.
He could no longer feel it.
He could almost recall the feeling of basking in the sun on a chilly spring morning.
He could almost recall the cool caress of the wind on a sweltering summer night.
He longed to feel something other than the chill of death.
When he first realized that his life was coldly taken away from him, he used to be an angry, vengeful spirit that haunted the forest. Whenever humans ventured in for camping, tours, or construction, he would use all of the energy that he could to scare them away. But alas, he was a weak spirit so the most harm that he could cause was pinching, biting, and scratching. Mustering up enough energy to make contact with a living being left him feeling weak and listless for weeks. He used to wish that he were a stronger spirit. He wished that he could throw rocks- or better yet, throw the humans themselves around! But that was just a pipe dream that he gave up on a long time ago.
Centuries of being dead did that to anyone. It changed anyone, even a child. He could not be angry at the humans anymore. Shippo found it difficult to be angry when he was overcome by an even more powerful emotion: loneliness. Being a demon did not automatically make him evil or aggressive. When he was alive, he used to be a trickster when it came to humans and other demons, but that was in his nature. He was a fox demon after all. Even demons felt emotions though. Even he felt emotions. Sometimes he felt lost. Sometimes he felt empty. And worst of all: sometimes he felt nothing.
The afterlife was quiet and cold. He resided in the world of the living without being a part of the living, or maybe he was somewhere in between the living and a place beyond it. He could see the living. He could hear the living. But it costed too much to touch the living, to make contact with the living. Ordinary animals sensed his presence but were not afraid of him. Ordinary humans on the other hand, they did not notice him at all unless he really wanted them to. Although he knew that they could not help it, it was like the entire world was ignoring him. Other demonic spirits in the area was merely apathetic or territorial and kept their distance. So no matter where he was, he was alone.
There was no one to be friends with him.
There was no one anywhere who would greet him.
That was...until today.
"Sesshomarrrrrruuuuu!" Came the voice of a human girl. "Wait up!" Shippo perked up and sat up immediately. Even though no humans could perceive him, he was still excited whenever one visited the forest. Seeing someone and watching them served as temporary entertainment! The young fox jumped up and ran in the direction of the voice. He phased through the bushes without a sound or rustle because he had no body to speak of.
'A priestess and a demon?! A strong one?!' He noted as he sensed their auras. He grew even more excited at the idea. Something like this did not happen everyday! In fact, it did not happen once in hundreds of years! Finally, he stopped once they came within eye distance.
The girl was stooped over, her hands on her knees as she panted aloud. Her body was dripping sweat as she looked at a regal-looking dog demon who only gave her an emotional look. "W-Why..." She asked between pants, "a-are we training way up here in the mountains anyway?"
"The elevation change naturally increases the intensity of your training."
Shippo had no clue what the two were talking about but he was surprised when the girl smiled and agreed to whatever it was that the demon was talking about. The small demon looked down at his furry paw-feet and wondered if he should try calling out to the girl. Because he was so weak, other spiritual humans were unable to detect his presence. What would make this girl any different? Just trying should have been no big deal...but to him...it just was. Trying to make contact with someone alive again was now more important than it ever had been.
'Because...'
Shippo felt as if the world suddenly closing in on him. He was filled to the brim was dread and anxiousness.
'Because...if...'
"Alright~ Let's get it started then!" The girl said excited while throwing a fist in the air as she began to ascend further up the grassy slope.
'Because if this one does not notice me, I'll lose all hope!'
Shippo finally raised his head and jumped out from his hiding spot in the bushes and called out while extending his arm to the odd pair, "H-hey, wait!"
His heart was unprepared for what happened next. It skipped a beat when he heard "Huh? Is someone here?" come out in the lovely, sweet voice that he knew that he adored. Shippo's green eyes widened as things seemed to move in slow motion. The world of the living that used to look gray suddenly bursted into a whirlwind of colors in brilliant hues. Bright greenery. Golden sunlight. Luscious black hair. Deep blue eyes, the color of his favorite watering hole when he was alive. Lips as pink as the cherry blossoms of spring.
And warmth.
A warm aura that chased off the cold of death.
The creature that stood before him was unlike any human that he ever met.
She was a stranger, but she was not.
She was the sun that finally brought daybreak to the cold night that was his afterlife.
But there was more. Thousands of images of this unknown but comfortably familiar face flashed through his mind. The moment that he had longed for, the moment that he cried out loud for, it utterly frightened him. It was strange and confusing, to know and love someone who he did not know. The fox child panicked and dove back in the bushes and broke off into a mad dash away from the pair. Even though part of him screamed for him to go back, he was too afraid to respond to her calling, "Who are you?! Hello?!"
S.H.A.M.A.N.K.I.N.G
Shippo bit his lip and looked away from Kagome. He felt bad to omit the part about how he knew her from somewhere else, but it was a part of his deal with Hao. He could not break the promise that he made to the person who gave him the power use his old magic and be seen by everyone! Kagome smiled looked over at Sango and asked, "Do you think that Jun-neechan will let him stay with us?"
Sango replied with a smile her own, "Jun will be the least of our worries."
Kagome tapped her chin and hummed, "You're right... Tao-kun is the more strict one, huh?"
"I'm sure that it'll work out as long as you're the one who asks," Sango said, causing Kagome to tilt her head to the side curiously. The older girl merely shook her head and patted her best friend on the head lovingly, "Don't worry about it. Forget I said that."
Pirika then piped in with shining eyes and cupped hands, "If you guys can't take him in then Onii-chan and I can take him back to the Asakura place!"
Something clicked in HoroHoro's head at Pirika's proposal, "Speaking of that, Kagome-chan," he began while looking over at her, "The Shaman Fights began. Shouldn't you be coming back soon? We all miss you."
Kagome gave a nervous smile but nodded nonetheless, "Y-Yeah, I will..." She replied almost skittishly. "I just need some time to pack all of my stuff, you know..." She was too embarrassed to admit that she felt like prolonging her return because her recent discovery of her romantic love for Yoh left her with mixed feelings. It was true that she missed all of her friends very much, but at the same time, she was not sure if she trusted herself. She did not know if she would able to hide how she felt. Just thinking about Yoh nowadays made her face feel so hot and made her feel so giddy and energetic! It was weird! 'I don't want to freak them out...or ruin the ways things used to be.'
Shippo reached up and tugged on a bit of her hair, "I don't mean to be rude and interrupt but, isn't your first match starting soon?"
Kagome nearly dropped the child in her arms in surprise, "You're right! My match starts in an hour!"
HoroHoro blinked then grinned as he gave her a thumbs up, "I've got time on my hands! I'll come support you!"
"Awww, thanks, HoroHoro-kun~"
"Who is it against anyway?" Pirika asked curiously as she followed behind the group of shamans.
Kagome looked down at her communicator and paled as she read the name... It turned out that she misread the name when she first received the message.
Location: Sumida Park.
Time: 4:45A.M.
Opponent: Shichinin Mukotsu
She did not know him personally but she remembered that he was an upperclassman from her old middle school before she moved away from the shrine and into inner Tokyo. If he was a shaman...then there was also a high chance that his six brothers were also shamans. And that meant that she could possibly encounter her past sexual harasser: Shichinin Bankotsu.
...she hoped not.
Notes: Welp, that's all for now! That's 20-pages of crossovery goodness for you, guys! The 20 pages exclude all of my notes so much love is in this update! I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter because I worked hard on getting it out there! I wanted to squeeze Kagome's first fight into this chappy but that would ran it over 30 pages long and you guys would have waited even longer for an update! But I promise that the next chapter will be the one we've all been waiting for: seeing what the freshly trained Kagome can do~ That, plus you'll get to see some more Ren x Kag and more characters from Inuyasha will make their debut~
Things to note:
I based the locations of the fights on real locations in Japan~
Shippo is keeping secrets with Hao, OoOooOh~!
And HoroHoro and Pirika never left the Asakura residence since his opponent was not Yoh!
I know that a lot of you want more appearances from Yoh, but writing the story to follow both Kagome and Yoh would make the story dreadfully long and difficult for me to write realistically so I hope that reading Kagome's side with satisfy you all for now~ Someone asked if I'll have omakes that will cover parts of the story that is glossed over and skipped, such as Kagome's training. The answer to that question is: yes. I plan on making a compilation of omakes after this main story is complete. As far as I am concerned, her training and other events are unimportant to story as of right now so I will give small snipets here and there in this main story when they serve a purpose. Once this is complete, I will fill in the holes for anyone interested~
I hope that no one confuses how I wrote the ending to imply a Shippo/Kagome pairing because it's not happening. Also something that is not happening to the overly done mother-son dynamic between Kagome and Shippo. This is not happening for many reasons. A) They're both children. B) I personally have never been a fan of this fan-based dynamic between the two. Even as an adult, I do not see or approve of a mother-child (even if it's "adoptive) relationship between Kagome and Shippo. In the anime, she starts off at age 15. Shippo is like...8? I do not see how a fifteen-year-old would have motherly instincts for a child that old. ._. It takes no sense to me. I could kind of understand if Shippo were a baby or a toddler or if Kagome began the anime at an older age but...no...just...no. Sorry to anyone who is a fan of reading Shippo go "Mama!"/"Okaa-san!" to Kagome but it's just not going to happen in this story, or any of my stories for that matter.
Anyway, much love to all of my faithful reviewers! Thank you all for your support!