A/N : If you have NOT READ the First Three Parts of this mini-series, be warned they are written in sequence, Season/Arc style, and this Continues from those. Please check out my story page for 'Path of the Heart' stories and read those first. The very first one doesn't have a number. Otherwise you'll be lost and confused wondering why Shippou is a teenager-sized two-tail using Sou'unga and is romantically involved with a woman he created and the man he created her for at the same time. If you're Not new to this series, do read on, you know what I say by now.
I'll be honest with you about one thing. Doing all the bold/italics editing when I write in raw notepad medium is...tiresome at times. Sorry if the lessening of that seems lazy in comparison but I hope you don't have any difficulty understanding because of it. If you do please leave a review, I can always edit and re-update if necessary.
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Shippou drew Sou'unga from the sheath of Saya, grasping the hilt with both hands and ducking low, parrying the incoming strike with a flash of steel and a swift roll away.
On his feet as swiftly as he'd drawn the sword, Shippou stood guardedly, eying his opponent, who also stood guardedly, eying him.
"It seems I've underestimated you, kitsune," the youkai paused warily, his eyes peering closely at the deadly sword now in the fox's hands.
"It seems you have," Shippou agreed, "so what'll it be, then? Will you stop attacking the cattle of these villagers, or is it worth risking your life to fight me about it?"
The youkai sniffed the air a few times, and Sou'unga pulsed softly, emanating a tiny wave of it's power.
"I will let them be, kitsune, but harry me not for the wildlife. The forest is mine, do you hear me? They cannot hunt my woods without an offering to me. That is why I have taken their cattle to begin with, the greedy bastards."
"I'll make sure they know that," Shippou said with a huff, deciding that was fair enough as the youkai had not yet killed more than a few of the farm animals, "but if I catch you breaking your end of the deal, I'll be back to show you the power of Sou'unga."
"Sou...Sou'unga?" the youkai gulped, having heard of that sword before, "I've heard...I've heard of that sword before. Is it...but that's impossible, you can't be That Fox..." and here he paled, realizing out loud, "although you fit the description...f-forgive me, I promise not to cause any trouble, I swear it," he bowed his head and scurried off, apparently not willing to wait in case Shippou changed his mind.
Sou'unga chuckled as Shippou slipped the blade back into Saya's sheath, sighing in relief.
"That was rather simple," Saya remarked, musing out loud, "now that you have been using your reputation to keep stray youkai in check and defend the innocent, it is actually rather amusing to watch them run in terror, I must admit."
%-You always used to sigh so sadly when mortals ran before. I much prefer your amusement, Saya. I like it this way.%
"You used to be so nasty to all the mortals, but you have indeed changed. Now you rest easily inside my sheath at night, I can take all the naps I want these days without fear of you trying to take control of anybody or wreak havoc...it is rather lovely actually."
%-And you do so enjoy when I fit snugly inside you as you sleep, Saya.%
"Oh you foul being! I am not That kind of Sheath!"
Sou'unga and Shippou both chuckled, and Saya grunted, slightly perturbed, but not by any means Angry, truthfully.
"Well, we settled this problem," Shippou dusted his hands and started to stroll down the pathway, "time to report back to the local headman and collect the reward. I hope they have some good food. I'm starving," he idled as he walked into town.
Now, the villagers were often wary of him despite his youth and good nature, because of course it was often obvious that he was a youkai as he didn't always hide his tails and lower paws. When he himself had been very small he wasn't seen as a threat, but now he walked about at the size of a young teenager and with a large sword, and people could tell by his swagger that he was a warrior, and that made it all very different now.
Yet in truth it was often the children and village dogs who sensed his purity of heart and ran to greet him with smiles, and he rarely made himself known in the larger towns full of many more people and much more skepticism and unrest. Tiny little villages usually had sensible people who paid attention to the way one behaved; cities full of crowds were just Different, and if he had to pass through one for any reason he often hid his tails and paws in a fully human guise, though he detested it for reasons he couldn't always really explain. It just Felt Weird, he supposed.
Reaching the second nicest house in the village, belonging to the headman, the first nicest house belonging to the merchant who had made use of the nearby soil to grow a rare and particular spice that did very well in just such particular conditions, Shippou entered after a polite exchange with the doorman.
"So you have slain the cattle killer?"
"No, I decided to spare his life, and in exchange, he vowed not to touch your cattle if you don't steal from his forest without returning an offering in kind. And I know you don't like the idea of that, and are about to ask me why I didn't just kill him and let you have both the village and the forest, right? Well, because truth be told, if you give this forest youkai some offerings when you go make a successful hunt, you'll gain his trust, you see, and then he'll guard your flank. He isn't that strong compared to me, but it never hurts to have an ally that has a vested interest in watching your back."
"Hmm," the headman frowned, slightly displeased, "well, I see the sense in that. And I did hire you even as a youkai yourself, so I can't say that I think it's a bad idea just because he's a youkai, but...well, I will tell the men of the village to have respect for his domain. I'm not sure they'll be happy about it but we'll enforce the rules with harsh punishments to deter anybody from breaking this trust."
"Not Too Harsh, but that sounds like a reasonable train of thought," Shippou agreed, and the headman gestured towards one servant.
The servant brought Shippou a pouch of silver coins, and without counting them, Shippou smiled and accepted, putting the bag into his sleeve as his stomach began to growl.
"Stay awhile and eat, we are about to have dinner soon. This is but a humble town and I am barely of status enough to have a doorman and a few servants, but do make yourself at home while they finish preparations," he said kindly, and Shippou smiled and sat himself down, and he began to stretch his limbs out and crack his joints all over, relaxing.
He dozed just slightly, taking a short nap for barely a few minutes until his nose told him the food was ready; he awoke and ate and they insisted he have more and more until he was full-the headman was not Rich but he was not by any means Poor, and the kitsune was well stuffed for his troubles in helping them, and sent to the guest room to sleep afterwards in gratitude for the peaceful solution to their problems.
He left in the morning and headed towards the Maboroshi, recalling that it was an Exam Day in just two nights and that he had been meaning to teach a few of his students some things.
Yes, students. Although he had taken some time off from constant teaching to go on his own journeys, he still had some students that were most faithful to him and sought themselves full apprenticeship under his tutelage; he himself felt just a little too young to take on a real apprentice of his own full time, but indulged training them to be better foxes anyways.
So spending the whole day lazily flying along the way to get to the Maboroshi, reaching it a little after nightfall, he coasted in with his simple duck form, which he'd found great for long distance flight, and reverted after he landed to be greeted by some of those students.
"Master Shippou, Master Shippou!" they chorused, and Shippou counted, yes, eight of them after a moment. Maku, Saitou, a third one by the name of Koto, and then Ippou and his four younger brothers, these being the five kitsunes who had been there to witness the birth of the HeartScar.
"Hey, hello, okay, settle down," Shippou laughed, "one at a time, one at a time!"
They caught up for the rest of the day before the exam, loafing off at the Maboroshi grounds; this had become something of a standard for a lot of the foxes, catching up here at the Inn right near Exam time and passing around a few tips and tricks to test out. Shippou had actually been a forerunner of encouraging the foxes to help each other rather than compete solo or in small groups; because of him there were now some far more elaborate schemes these pranksters would pull on large parties of travellers.
"Sou'unga is so impressive," Koto marvelled after a moment, "we've heard about how you are the only one powerful enough to weild the sword that even the two dog brothers had to seal away for a dozen years until you grew your second tail, because they were not strong enough to take hold without becoming possessed."
"That's not entirely accurate. Inuyasha was actually able to fight it's possessing powers somewhat even as only a hanyou, and Lord Sesshoumaru never actually Tried to take hold of Sou'unga. It originally wanted just to kill them both, but since then it's had a change of heart," Shippou insisted, brushing past regaling them with all the finite details.
"It had a change of heart? Sou'unga has a heart?" Maku asked, and the others oohed.
"Yes, Sou'unga is actually a Nether Dragon with three heads and nine eyes," Shippou chuckled, "and he was very cranky in the old battle. Things are different now though. He's seeing the value in doing things for a good purpose, a higher purpose. Mischief is all kinds of fun, sure, but out in the real world you'll have to use what you learn here to defend yourself and those you care about from harm. So be sure to practice your escapes just as much as your tricks," he advised with a wink, "I wanna see some first-class vanishing acts this time around!"
"Hai, Sensei Shippou!" they all bowed their heads and went to prepare for the Exam, teaming up to make plans on how they should set up for the night, and who was going to use what tricks, and trading tools from one fox to another and one pocket to another, and showing each other new sutras to use...
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Tenseiga pulsed at Sesshoumaru's side, and he glanced at it, curious. Ever since all the things had transpired with Shippou and the Nether and having subdued Sou'unga into Shippou's service, Thanh Long had developed a much stronger connection to his heart and now it was not difficult for him to speak into Sesshoumaru's mind while away from the other swords like it had been before.
But still, there were times where words were not the thoughts that came to him; just feelings, strong ones, sensations that pulled him in this way or that, sometimes flashes of imagery, but most often a strong pulse was all it took for him to heed the dragon spirit.
Slowing down to examine the area from up here, Sesshoumaru spotted one point of interest, and one point only.
He snorted and cross his arms, frowning down at the sword.
"The Maboroshi? You want me to go there on one of their Exam nights?"
Thanh Long's chuckle preceded the next teasing words the dog heard in his head.
=What, are you afraid they will make a fool of you, Lord Sesshoumaru?=
Sesshoumaru snorted, rolled his eyes, and looked over at Jaken and Ah-Un.
"Thanh Long apparently senses Sou'unga nearby. Shippou must be at the Maboroshi. I think it must be an exam night, for the scent of kitsunes is thick even from here. Be wary of their pranks, and try not to make it too easy for them to fool you," he huffed, leading the way in.
"Oh bother," Jaken sighed, knowing no protest he could raise would get him out of this. Lord Sesshoumaru would never deign to allow Chief Minister Jaken to miss out on this 'fun' if he himself would deign to indulge it.
Ah-Un bobbed both heads and chuffed and snorted, clearly laughing as he dove towards the Inn with anticipatory glee.
Ah, he's finally going to see what Shippou can do here at the Maboroshi.
Un, I wonder if Shippou will get a promotion tonight.
Ah, I'm sure he'll try.
Un, I'm sure he will.
Shippou felt Sou'unga pulse softly as he caught the faint but undeniable tingle in his houshi-no-tama that let him know Sesshoumaru was near.
"So he finally decides to arrive," Shippou lifted his lips in a devious smile, watching as the sun began to set, "just as we're about to get underway, I see. This shall be most interesting indeed."
Dipping his head as the leaf with his number flew out and attached itself, Number Seventy-Seven grinned as the light slipped below the horizon, the last streak of red like a flare to signal the start of the night's revelry. The Maboroshi instructors cast the setting, magical paths that re-routed main road travellers revealed in the rising moonlight, the main road itself cast with obscuring illusions for the hours they would trick passerbys.
"Don't underestimate that dog," Shippou advised the others from where they surveyed the approaching taiyoukai, "that's Lord Sesshoumaru."
"We spoke of the devil," Maku snickered, exchanging a grin with Saitou, for they had already met the dog a while back, at the old cave...
"Will he kill us if he catches us?" Koto asked fearfully, and Shippou just grinned at him fiendishly.
"Well, he Knows me. But I'm not going to promise your safety. You prank him at your own risk."
Many of the other kitsunes shuddered at that, but Maku and Saitou just snickered. They knew better.
Sesshoumaru neared the Maboroshi Inn, stopping as he glanced at the two statues guarding either side of the steps to the Inari shrine just up the way from the entrance.
"Un, reveal them," Sesshoumaru smirked, and Un snuffed and let fly a small bolt of green energy at each statue rapidly, one-two, and both of the foxes were exposed, and ran off shrieking in terror.
"Too easy," Sesshoumaru smirked, continuing onwards.
"Wow, he's good," the younger foxes marvelled from the shadows.
"He's a dog taiyoukai, his nose is far superior to most. You have to disguise your scent from him if you want even a chance at being sneaky with a dog. Of course that's not all he senses, but if you can't even do that you may as well not try. You'll lose more points than you gain testing basic magic and simple tricks like what you use on humans," Shippou advised them, then smirking, "watch this."
Slipping his hand into his chest pocket, Shippou pulled out his leaf-sutra Hidden Cloud Invisibility charm, and after just one more thought, he slipped off Sou'unga and Saya and whispered, "Sou'unga, Saya, don't give him any hints, that's cheating."
"How could we cheat?" Saya was confused.
%-If Brother Thanh sensed me near, his illusions would be spoiled. And he is taking a trickery test for foxes,% Sou'unga explained.
Shippou used his charm once having set down the sword in a secure and hidden place only the foxes could access, trusting that Saya and Sou'unga would not be pilfered by any other fox in the area, to be sure. Stealing close to Sesshoumaru, only a dozen yards away, the kitsune stalked his intended victim carefully, calculating his angle of approach.
Without warning he leaped, and barely clearing the downward angle over Ah-Un's heads, he transformed into his true form, roughly the height of Kirara now but only about three quarters her weight, and landed with all four paws squarely on Sesshoumaru's chest just as the dog whirled in time to Sense the kitsune, but not in time to Dodge him.
Shippou crowed with victorious laughter as he bounded away, not daring to wait for Sesshoumaru to get to his feet, vanishing in a puff of smoke just as suddenly as he'd appeared.
Sesshoumaru smiled as he stood up, slowly dusting himself off as Jaken gulped behind him.
"M'Lord," Jaken began quietly, "are you..." he was about to ask if Sesshoumaru was Okay, then realized that would indeed be a stupid question.
But Sesshoumaru didn't seem to notice that trailing statement, merely grinning to himself.
"I'll catch you yet, Shippou," he chuckled darkly, and Jaken pitied the kitsune in that moment.
Ah, he's enjoying this.
So he is, Un. He needed some time to play.
Yes, things have been rough lately.
Kagura still doesn't know her true form.
And the pressure from the South is getting intense.
Lady Mud Nose is always complaining about not having grandchildren yet.
Shippou would have gotten a lot of points for that Lady Mud Nose prank had it happened here.
Oh, for certain, brother. That was most brilliant and daring of him.
Even in the midst of horror he can still find humor. What a noble fox.
A noble fox indeed.
Shall we, brother?
I should think it's only fitting. Fire away, brother.
Un spat another small green orb at the fox that had been trying to creep up on them, which scampered off crying at the points he'd lost in his failed attempt. Jaken wisely decided to stay close with the dragon to avoid as much mischief as possible.
Shippou circled about the other side of the Maboroshi and prepared his next set of tricks, eager to try something brand new he'd picked up and combined with his own Blue Dragon illusion. Once it had been just an old thing which reminded him, not only of fond memories of the battle with the three monkey sprites when he'd used it then, but also of Sesshoumaru's Soryuuha, Thanh Long's spirit after which this Seiryuu illusion was actually modeled. Well except it didn't have five claws, just three.
Now it had another special power, something Shippou would surely make use of...
Snickering to himself, he set that near the end of his sleeve for a quick dispatch, and with another Hidden Cloud charm, he vanished again.
Sesshoumaru snarled and tried to catch the kitsune as he felt a tiny pocket of air warn him; but it was too late, and the fox had counted coup on him, daring to strike the sheath of his sword in a haughty taunt, which was considered "rude etiquette" at that time you see.
But just as Sesshoumaru went to give chase, Thanh Long appeared before him and spoke.
"Lord Sesshoumaru," the dragon boomed, hovering in the air, "you must heed my words. Seek your destiny within your heart, within your soul, within the Maboro-"
Sesshoumaru flattened the illusion, huffing at himself, embarrassed that he'd even fallen for it. Sharply looking to the side, he watched a piece of paper flutter down into a bush nearby, and pounced.
"Not that easy!" Shippou laughed as he narrowly dodged the dog, then quickly drew out several leaves, "Multiply!"
"You won't fool me so well this time, kitsune," Sesshoumaru smiled as his eyes narrowed, "ever since I've shared your houshi-no-tama, these copies are more obvious to me."
"You lie," they all laughed at him, and he cracked a grin.
"I had to try."
"Clever try, but I already knew better," the copies all laughed at him and stuck out their tongues.
Sesshoumaru drew himself up, ready to face a barrage of attacks like he'd dealt with in his Mother's courtyard, but Shippou had other things in mind, and the copies now just looked about nodding at each other, as if conspiring amongst themselves.
Sesshoumaru grew wary of this after a few seconds, and paused to focus on his own gut instinct.
Thus it was that he just barely avoided the next trick that had been cast at him, which flew past his sleeve and hit the tree next to him, and a sticky rice goop began to spread from it rapidly, so that Sesshoumaru jumped away with swiftness. He hated that goo. HATED it.
"Ooohhh, Shippou, you were about to Use that stuff on me?! Now I shall grow cross with you, kitsune," he jeered.
"That only matters if you manage to catch me," Shippou chuckled, and all his copies and he split up.
Sesshoumaru stood frowning at the directions they'd gone; he scowled at the sword at his hip.
"You tell me to come here and then you won't even help, Thanh. I see how it is," he sniffed. The sword pulsed just once, softly, humorously.
Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and focused. This was good training for him too, if he were to be honest; most of the other kitsunes here would prove to be incapable of fooling him really, but Shippou was indeed a match for his own wits and senses. Learning how to identify the ways in which Shippou was able to trick him would sharpen his own senses...for if one youkai could do it, surely another could, and he had quite a great many enemies as of late cropping up out of the woodwork.
There!
He narrowly dodged again as a small shower of...
"Acorns? Shippou, you insult me with this pitiful-"
He had opened his mouth too soon, of course, and in went his foot with the boot attached. A net sprung up from beneath him like a snare and snatched him up fast, and the net became heavier and heavier...
Sesshoumaru fought his way out of it after using his poison claws, but not before the kitsune had snatched his points paper and fled with a laugh of triumph yet again.
"Laugh while you can, Shippou, I'll get you yet!" Sesshoumaru shouted, taking up pursuit.
Shippou was relishing this. He rarely found it amusing to fool simpletons these days; but to go at it with Sesshoumaru was exhilarating, he had to be perfect, and his timing had to be just so, and his tricks had to be top-notch, and the effects were generally very fleeting so that he had to stay on his toes throughout. Sesshoumaru was indeed not a dog to be trifled with, and many other foxes watching had decided to stay away from the taiyoukai altogether, for they could tell he could sense Their Tricks quite easily.
"Lovely to see you again, Ah-Un," Shippou chuckled as he breezed by.
"Get back here, you little runt!" Sesshoumaru roared, zooming past in heated chase.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, I wouldn't-" Jaken warned, but it was too late.
Sesshoumaru frowned at himself. He'd flown right through the spiderweb illusion, which had clung to him and started to turn into sticky rice.
"You could have said Stop," he muttered at the imp, flaring up his jyaki to disperse the substance as he huffed and looked around keenly.
Shippou tried to snatch the paper before it could be noticed, but Sesshoumaru was too quick for that, and diving headlong into the tree that the kitsune had paused at, he swiped his claws and took off the whole branch.
But before Shippou hit the ground, he kicked with his paws and sprung off the falling limb, recovering swiftly and fleeing up into the sky; Sesshoumaru followed, fast enough to catch up-
And caught a puff of smoke that laughed at him and reverted into a leaf, floating down in front of him towards the ground.
"How do you DO THAT?!" Sesshoumaru roared in frustration, then narrowed his eyes and hovered, still and silent, seeking the fox again.
After a moment, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and used his nose.
Not that fox. Not that fox. Not that one either. Where oh where is Shippou now?
Shippou giggled to himself from the other side of the Exam field, seeing Sesshoumaru hovering in the air in the distance, unsure where to find him at the moment. Rearranging some things in his sleeves, Shippou slunk around to the side to strike again.
This time, though, he would Really mean it.
From out of nowhere a dozen copies sprung up around Sesshoumaru, surrounding him from every direction.
Sesshoumaru smirked.
"About time you showed up again," he spoke in a darkly amused tone, showing his claws, "I've been waiting, Shippou."
All of the copies grinned back at him, and he began to attack.
But these copies were actually nothing but a diversion, as Shippou had other plans.
"Who wants points?" he greeted his students in the back staging area, and they all grinned at him deviously.
"Master Shippou, are we to help you deceive this dog?"
"Yes. You keep making more and more illusions of me, don't worry about their scents or anything really, just keep popping out the fakes of me to rile him up. He'll get very cross and distracted, and it will give me time to stage an epic trap."
The eight fox students grinned at him devilishly and readied their leaves.
Sesshoumaru suddenly was aware of other foxes drawing near-probably watching the fight, he assumed...
But then three more false Shippous were floating nearby, and then another five, and another five, and another seven, and soon there were too many to count, all kinds of fake Shippou copies floating around him.
Of course he could easily identify which ones had been created by Shippou by the lengths he went to in order to make his copies carry the same scent, youketsu, jyaki, all those other things he'd learned to perfect; but the fact that the other kitsunes were mocking him did not go unnoticed. Growling, he began to swat at all the copies with his claws and whip, but as soon as he eliminated a few, others took their place, and after about fifteen minutes of that, flustered, he let out a long and frustrated growl and began to spin...
His energy whip rotated faster and faster, twirling and swirling, and finally caught in his jyaki vortex, he cast it wide and destroyed all the copies...although carefully, he made sure not to catch the youngest kitsune's tail as it ran away in terror from his strikes.
"Hn. Clever little brat," he scoffed as several pieces of paper floated down in every direction, seeing what Shippou did there. If they all got points, he could no longer use just the one floating paper to locate the fox he was looking for.
Shippou chuckled darkly to himself, his setup finally finished. Now he was ready.
"I hear you've been looking for me," Shippou appeared out of thin air right behind Sesshoumaru, and actually startled, Sesshoumaru's eyes went wide and he flipped around in midair, facing the fox with claws ready.
"Indeed," Sesshoumaru said, eying Shippou warily, "and now you've chosen to show yourself at last. Tell me, Shippou...what do you have up your sleeves now that makes you bold enough to appear?"
"Would you like to find out?" Shippou teased, and Sesshoumaru adjusted his stance more regally, accepting the challenge.
"Show me, then, if you dare."
And Shippou vanished again, and Sesshoumaru tensed and looked about warily, unsure how the kitsune had snuck up on him just now. He'd been able to determine when the kitsune was close before a strike many times by sensing the sharp change in air pressure right before the strike would connect; what he didn't know was that Shippou had begun to realize this and now slowed his approach as he drew near, so as not to carry any wind with him. In doing this he reduced the ability of Sesshoumaru to sense this pressure difference, even as he hovered, breath bated, close enough so that if he even breathed the dog would feel it on his neck...
A swift punch to the back of the head and a peal of laughter before he sprung away and vanished again was all Sesshoumaru knew of the fox's presence, and he swore and snarled and whirled about, but he couldn't detect the kitsune anymore, and this made him grow very cautious.
"Oh Shippou...where are you?" he called, looking about and casting his gaze this way and that way, "here, foxy foxy foxy..."
Shippou snickered and gestured to his students, and more likenesses of him began to appear from their illusions.
"I'm right here, Sesshoumaru," one of Koto's copies stuck out it's tongue.
"No, it's me," one of Maku's copies waved two tails, pointing it's butt at the dog.
"They're lying, I'm the real Shippou," Saitou's copy grinned and cracked it's knuckles, "get ready to fight!"
"There's only one real Shippou and it's me," Ippou's copy taunted.
Sesshoumaru's eyebrow twitched and he clenched his fist. Obviously, by scent and silliness alone, he knew these were all fakes.
Shippou slipped in behind one of the copies, pausing, then slipped behind another for cover, and paused again. Moving through the air behind the copies his friends made, Shippou silently crept up on Sesshoumaru, watching the dog bare his fangs as more and more fakes cropped up and began to argue with each other about which of them was the Real Shippou.
"I'm Shippou!"
"No, I'm the real Shippou!"
"All you other Shippous are just imitating!"
"Would the Real Shippou please move forward, I repeat, would the Real Shippou please move forward..." one copy intoned, and the others began to jostle against each other to move in a slow and hilarious swarm...
Shippou moved closer, and paused. He fingered one illusion, then thought better of it, and adjusted slightly instead.
Still under the cloak of his perfected Hidden Cloud technique, he turned himself into a small spider, no bigger than a coin, and floating silently over to the taiyoukai, an invisible, featherweight spider, he landed softly on the dog's pant leg and paused.
Sesshoumaru didn't notice, and after being assured of that, Shippou began to slowly walk up the outside of the pants leg, careful not to tread too fast or heavy, even in this flyweight form, for the dog's senses were sharp and acute, and he was alert now, expecting something to happen soon, Shippou was sure of it.
Finally growing irate with the copies, Sesshoumaru began to fly into a small tantrum of eliminating them, but just like before, where he rid himself of one, another was created.
The extra motion and speed and flurry gave Shippou the opportunity to move faster while still unnoticed, the ripple of the wind making it impossible for Sesshoumaru to sense the tiny spider movements on his pants leg. Shippou crawled up until he was on the armor, then swiftly perched upon the upper portion near one of the tassels, just on the fang that pointed outwards from the chestplate. Gathering himself to hold on tightly until just the right moment, Shippou watched with great amusement as Sesshoumaru continued to destroy more and more copies of him.
Finally, Sesshoumaru paused, huffing in irritation at all the new copies crowding up around him, not a one of them actually created by the fox of the hour himself.
And in that moment, Shippou struck, swift as lightning itself.
Transforming into a serpent, still invisible, he coiled himself around the taiyoukai's throat and squeezed as hard as he could, and in a near panic at the sudden constriction of his breathing, Sesshoumaru raised his glowing claws to his throat-
"Sssoooo, you thought you could ssseee through my tricksss," Shippou hissed playfully in Sesshoumaru's ear, flicking his snake tongue to tease and tickle his cheek.
Sesshoumaru grunted and let the poison glow leave his claws, but still wrestled to try and loosen the grip of the fox in his snake form transformation; Shippou, however, knew the secret to this illusion well, and the more Sesshoumaru fought it, the tighter he could squeeze. For this was a transformation used in conjunction with a technique that drew upon the intensity of the opponent and subtly turned it against them; it was, in a strange sort of way, the 'Backlash Wave' of the illusory schools, if one could compare the two methods.
Sesshoumaru felt himself growing light-headed after a few minutes; being a taiyoukai, he could go much longer without air than a human, but being unprepared to hold his breath and being strangled, well that didn't make it Easy.
"Ship...pou...te-mee," Sesshoumaru wheezed as the coils drew tighter around him, and his whole body made a spasm, the lack of air now starting to affect him,
"I'll...get...you," his breath escaped him, and another spasm wracked his body, stronger now, "for...this..."
Shippou released as he felt two more spasms and a slight slackening; Sesshoumaru blacked out for but one second, so he hadn't hit the ground before he recovered, just in time to prevent an undignified splat into the dirt below.
"Okay," Sesshoumaru snarled, watching the half dozen points papers floating down in every direction as all the little kitsunes laughed and ran off, giving their teacher cover, "Okay, Shippou, You Asked For It!"
And with a mighty swirl of jyaki, Sesshoumaru's eyes grew red, his fangs and claws lengthened, his snout began to protrude, his nostrils began to shift and form into those of a dog...
"Uh-oh," Shippou whispered into Jaken's ear, "looks like I made him mad this time."
"You little-!" Jaken shook his fist as the chuckling kitsune disappeared from his side.
Sesshoumaru revealed his true form, and the other kitsunes nearby ran screaming from their bushes back to further hiding places, terrified.
Shippou smiled, sure that Sesshoumaru had underestimated his abilities. Even in his true form, Sesshoumaru would have difficulty telling a copy from the real thing, after all the things he'd done to perfect his tricks.
Shippou tossed one leaf to the side, and it became a convincing copy of him, and sprung into the air above Sesshoumaru.
"Here, doggie doggie doggie..." he taunted, just as Sesshoumaru had earlier.
Sesshoumaru leaped into the air, snapping his jaws dangerously close to the illusion, which took off as soon as that happened; Sesshoumaru took chase, but being that the Maboroshi test area really wasn't meant to accomodate such Large Targets, there wasn't much of anywhere for him to have it run except to swing wide around the side of the woods and fly up into the air.
And with a fierce snap, Sesshoumaru closed his whole mouth around the copy, not touching one hair of it with his actual fangs, but trapping it in his maw with a cage of fangs around it in a triumphant grin, as if to say, 'Got you now!'
And then, his eyes went wide and he opened his mouth, and a noxious purple fog rolled out, and he lolled out his tongue and shook his head and started to retch as if he were about to be sick. Immediately he bolted for the nearby lake and stuck his whole mouth into the water, chin and muzzle and all, and started to gargle and whine a low note at the same time.
This didn't seem to work too well, as soon he was back in his human form, now kneeling over a tree stump, gagging and sounding like what he really wanted to do was vomit, except for some reason he couldn't quite force it up.
"I'm going to kill you, Shippou," he groaned, and his face grew a pale greenish color as he finally managed to expel, by force, whatever in the hell the kitsune had gotten stuck in his throat and all over his tongue.
That took him at least fifteen minutes, during which time Shippou had had a good laugh at his expense and made peace with all the gods; he knew payback after this one would be well-deserved, but also probably well meditated. Sesshoumaru wouldn't catch his vengeance for that tonight, but the next time he did...
Finally alleviated of the ghastly sickening substance that had clung to his mouth, Sesshoumaru kicked a clump of sand over the pile in disgust, hoping to dampen the lingering scent of it, and then his scowl deepened as he looked back at the Inn.
"Well, perhaps Outside is too much open air for your escape, kitsune," he decided, stalking purposefully towards the Maboroshi Inn itself.
Shippou followed him in with the softest steps that even a cat would have been jealous of, and sat next to him with silence worthy of an assassin, and when the foxes who preyed on Simpletons saw the dog, they dared not tangle with him too much. One nervous youngster approached him in the guise of a lovely lady, and he glared back; the foxling paused and scratched her head, trying to decide what to do now.
"Uh, let me just...get you a cup of tea," she offered nervously, "Good tea, I promise, not trick tea. I'm not as brave as Master Shippou."
Sesshoumaru continued to glare, his eyes narrowing.
"I promise, I promise!" the girl kitsune squealed, rushing off to find a real cup of tea and returning with it about two minutes later.
Sesshoumaru eyed the cup warily, then the saucer, then sniffed the tea, then tasted it, then watched her reaction as he drank it.
"Look, see? No points," she gulped nervously, "no trick, you see? Just a real cup of tea. I'm no fool fox, honest."
"Hn," Sesshoumaru's gaze became slightly less frightening, then holding out the cup, "I still taste that foul substance on my tongue."
"Of course," she dared not defy this powerful dog and fetched him another cup, wondering how she'd gotten herself dragged into playing the part of a serving girl without actually getting any points for it...but it wasn't worth Fighting that scary dog so she didn't complain.
Sesshoumaru drank the second cup of tea more slowly, surveying the room with a sharp eye.
Three statues, one table, two lamps and one floormat were all foxes in disguise. The next room over had some bawdy human visitors being very much entertained by a handful of other kitsunes playing pretty ladies and doing silly little tricks, simple things that would never fool him.
But where is Shippou?
Sesshoumaru frowned and set down the teacup, and before she could be roped into it again, the girl fox sped off as soon as his attention was off her, leaving the cup behind and going to the other end of the inn for easier prey.
"He must be afraid of me," Sesshoumaru said slowly, "knowing that in close quarters, his chances of escaping me are slim."
Shippou held back the desire to laugh as he looked at Sesshoumaru sitting next to him, still undetectable to the dog. This baiting ploy of his wasn't going to work...Shippou himself had used it far too often on others to fall for it so easily himself.
"Did you know," Sesshoumaru looked over at another statue, which was a fox in disguise, "that Shippou wasn't the one to defeat Naraku?"
"And I suppose you're going to tell me it was You who played the biggest part in that battle!" the fox reverted from his disguise, and a piece of paper floated down, whereupon he groaned, "aw man, you blew my cover and I lost two marks!" and puffed away.
"Actually, as a matter of fact, we all played our part in killing him and destroying the Shikon Jewel, but I'm sure that among the Fox Tribe the rumors have exaggerated Shippou's role in the matter."
The table refused to reveal itself, so Sesshoumaru began to speak to one of the lamps.
"Why, I heard that the old rumor here was that Shippou was even the leader of his group of friends. But I'm sure you know by now that's not exactly the case. I think he'd at least have the courtesy to correct those kinds of misconceptions."
"As a matter of fact, he has," the lamp scowled and reverted to a fox before adding, "you're no fun, he was right about you. Too tough a mark for lower classmen. Not worth the hassle, just gonna lose points trying to mess with you. I should have listened," he rolled his eyes and flew out the window, and the five other furniture-disguised foxes took these as words of wisdom and also dispersed.
Shippou smiled as Sesshoumaru surveyed the room, still sitting right next to him, still having been unseen, unheard this whole time.
"Hn," Sesshoumaru scowled, looking around for other foxes in disguise, shifting to lean just a bit as he tapped a statue a few times with his claws, assuring himself it was genuine. "I wonder if he gave up," he mused out loud thoughtfully.
Shippou moved with utmost caution, not daring to even breathe as he did so. Positioning himself in the perfect spot, he leaned his body just as Sesshoumaru had leaned, poised with only a half inch between them, his body curved the same way, and so when Sesshoumaru was done tapping on the statue and began to settle back from whence he leaned...
"So nice of you to come sit on my lap," Shippou purred just as Sesshoumaru's back touched his chest.
Sesshoumaru leaped into the air and busted a rafter with his skull. Which actually kind of hurt.
"SHIPPPPOOOOOOUUUUUU!"
Shippou laughed and scrabbled out of the room, Sesshoumaru barreling through the hallway just behind him.
"You gotta try harder than that to catch me!" he threw over his shoulder, and instantly wished he hadn't, for when he did, the dog broke into a wide grin as his eyes flashed with just a hint of red.
"I think you may be right," Sesshoumaru agreed, and with ungodly speed, he flitted out from behind the fox and appeared right in front of him, and as fast as Shippou was running, he had no time to stop, and plowed right into Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru, having known what he was doing, had landed braced for the impact, and didn't budge. Shippou practically bounced backwards, and as he floundered in just one moment trying to get to his feet, Sesshoumaru was upon him; finally having caught up to the fox, and not about to let him go so easily, the dog gripped both of the kitsune's wrists and put one knee on his chest, pinning him soundly.
"Uh...hi, Sesshoumaru. Lord Sesshoumaru," Shippou smiled nervously, appeasingly, "so uh, how's the uh, how is everything?"
"Oh, you know, same old, same old," Sesshoumaru chuckled in a deep, dark, devious tone, "keeping bandits out of my towns, making sure the trade routes are safe, trying to meet Mother's demands for her grandchildren, hunting down annoying foxes..."
"You know, only a little bit of that sounds like fun," Shippou gulped as he shrivelled under the taiyoukai's stare.
"You seem afraid, Shippou. Don't tell me you've lost your courage just because I've pinned you to the floor," he taunted.
"Lost my courage?" Shippou chuckled, deciding to turn things around to his benefit, "oh, no, I have plenty of that still. But maybe some of the time, when you have me pinned down like this and you're looking at me like that...well, you know, we foxes are notorious for roleplay."
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the kitsune, curious.
"Are you even Allowed to encourage things like that in the Maboroshi?"
"Uh, Hello, do you Not see the dozen kitsunes pretending to be Gorgeous Ladies around Drunken Men? It's like a bunch of Mirokus in there. All perverts with cursed hands. There's a special door though, you know, that leads to a few rooms...for the older students. I've never used it but you can get a lot of good tips from watching," he added devilishly.
"Hmm, interesting," Sesshoumaru pondered, leaning harder to put more of his weight into pinning the kitsune, "but I wonder, just how much Do you learn from That sort of trickery?"
"Only what you practice," Shippou replied with mischief, his body now having gone limp, not even resisting the taiyoukai that pinned him, and save for the expressions on his face and his two gently flicking tails he was still and pliant now.
"Well, if you've never used those rooms before, then perhaps you should practice now," Sesshoumaru smirked at him, and Shippou grinned back, his two tails flicking more vigorously now.
"I knew there was a reason you came to find me at the Maboroshi. You wanted me all to yourself for a change," he teased.
"Mmmm, perhaps that was part of it. But don't get ahead of yourself," Sesshoumaru smirked, "you still have to lure me there, and I'll not be so easily fooled again."
"Lure? You? No," Shippou shook his head, and with a small smile and a flick of his wrist, a rope appeared in his hand, and the other end was tied to a collar around his throat.
Raising both eyebrows in great surprise, Sesshoumaru lifted his hand from the kitsune's wrist to take the end of the rope.
"Oh? You naughty nogitsune," he chuckled devilishly, moving his knee, but still holding one wrist in a vicegrip, "but how do I know you're not tricking me again?"
"I never said I wouldn't," Shippou laughed, and with a wave of his now freed hand, he was gone, and the rope dangled in Sesshoumaru's hand, attached to nothing, before it too vanished.
Sesshoumaru sighed at himself, then stood just as a few other kitsunes disguised as women came upon him.
"Oh, look at the handsome-"
"You are not the kitsunes I am seeking," he huffed at them, and they scowled and moved away into a different room with easier customers.
Turning this way and that within the Maboroshi, Sesshoumaru discovered by scent and sound the general area Shippou had spoken of, but found that when he went to open the doorway, it was enchanted, so that he could not pass; he assumed it was to protect the foxes who were doing the most elegant of tricks that left them vulnerable, which made a lot of sense really.
"Too tempted to contain yourself?" Shippou startled him yet again by sidling up on his left.
"Why you-"
"You know I am a tease, Lord Sesshoumaru," Shippou interrupted, pulling out a collar from his chest pocket, "but this one is real, and if you want to use it, you can of course be my guest," he said with a flourish and a sly lift of his chin, offering his own throat.
Sesshoumaru was very wary at this point, having been confounded by tricks all night long; but deciding to gamble on the sheer principle of intrigue, or that is to say, because he was too curious to resist, he took the collar in hand and eyed the kitsune for a moment.
"Just why do you have a real collar in your pockets, Shippou?"
"It was going to be a gift, but I wasn't sure about when to give it to you. Now seems as good a time as any."
"That's suspiciously convenient, isn't it?"
"Isn't it though?" Shippou chuckled, lifting his chin just a bit higher. "What's the matter, are you afraid to use it on me?"
"Afraid? Never," Sesshoumaru smirked and undid the buckle, and without the slightest bit of protest, he wrapped it around Shippou's throat and pulled it as tight as it would go before cutting off the kitsune's air.
Shippou felt a shiver of anticipation make his tails flick a few times as Sesshoumaru did that, and Sesshoumaru noticed and smiled.
"Hmm, you really Do like choking, don't you?"
Shippou just grinned back, opening the enchanted door to the hallway of private rooms.
"Shall we?"
.
In the Maboroshi scoring logic, the Reactions were the most important factor. A lot of factors were graded-form, execution, duration, and realism of illusions were all taken into account. Cleverness and complexity were other factors. Lots of things were factors. But probably what had become the Most Important, to the observers who scored them all, was the Reactions that the exam takers got from what they did.
Shippou had accumulated a lot of Reactions, and in the private rooms of the Maboroshi, a different kind of special scoring system scored different kinds of Reactions that didn't necessarily come into play in the rest of the Inn.
And so when Shippou and Sesshoumaru had finished with their fun a couple of hours later, and a slip of paper floated down, Shippou whooped for joy despite himself, showing off his brand new rank.
"Alright, I got to Fifth! YESSS!"
Sesshoumaru burst into laughter, uncannily amused by that.
"Are you serious? You owe me for that then," he declared, and Shippou giggled.
"It's almost dawn, we'll have to leave soon so they can clean up and get ready for the next Exam Day. But you're right. I definitely owe you. Thanks for stopping by, Lord Sesshoumaru."
"Still using my title? I was done taming you ten minutes ago," Sesshoumaru teased.
"But now I am domesticated," Shippou chuckled, flicking the end of the collar strap about his neck, "you see?"
"Hmm, I see. I see," Sesshoumaru agreed, then with a pause, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, "Shippou...where is your sword?"
"In the backways, the hidden areas we foxes use to get from one place to another without the guests seeing. Not that any other fox here would have the power to weild it anyways," Shippou laughed, "but I'll go get it as soon as you let me put my clothes on."
"Was I stopping you?"
Shippou smirked at him coyly, pulling his clothes on.
"I'll meet you outside," he said, then with a short pause, he took off the collar, pressed it into the taiyoukai's hand, and hopped off to retrieve Sou'unga.
.
.
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Marshall Mathers, if you're reading this...I ain't gonna write you a disclaimer! I'd love to actually watch a celebrity decide it's worth their lawyer fees to go ahead and Sue Me. It would make me the most notoriously famous fanfiction author of the whole internet XP XP Except for that Gundam Guy who got his fanfiction on screen...what was that one called again? Started with a "Why..."