"You can't be serious!"
Shippou frowned, popping another strawberry into his mouth. "Why would I lie about something like that?"
Kagome pursed her lip, the meal long forgotten. "Even when I was here before, there weren't any sacrifices, Shippou. That's barbaric."
"So's his majesty if you get on his bad side." The kit giggled at some inside joke she wasn't privy to, and for the first time, she wondered if the innocent façade he gave off was just that.
Fae were meant to be conniving and, oftentimes, selfish. Was it a mistake to put her trust in him? Even as the thought crossed her mind, she banished it. Shippou had never done anything to hurt her. She wasn't about to start doubting him now.
"Like I said," he continued. "It hasn't happened in a while. But people used to bring him all sorts of things to gain his favour."
She shook her head. "Offerings are one thing. Outright sacrificing people is another. He's not that kind of person."
Emerald eyes gleamed. "And how would you know?"
Groaning, she threw a pillow at him. She should've seen that coming. "I'm not getting into this again."
"Why not?" The kit jumped back up on the bed. She didn't need to be lying down, but the pelt around her shoulders seemed to think otherwise. She'd tried to ask the king about it, but he was avoiding her at the moment, so she'd barely seen him at all.
He wasn't out chasing her doppelganger, so that was a plus, but she would've liked to have had some sort of interaction with him. A faint blush spilled onto her cheeks as she idly stroked the pelt.
She'd like to have a lot more than that, but considering he still thought she was someone else, that wouldn't happen any time soon.
"I saw that," Shippou said, poking her in the nose.
Kagome pinned him with a fierce glare, but it didn't hold much credence considering the colour in her cheeks. "Tell me more about the children," she said, evading his question.
Shippou squinted at her, then sighed and lay on his back. "There's not much to tell. None of us remember much from before we arrived. The king makes sure of that." She'd been able to fill in the gaps pretty well, considering just how many halflings were running around the castle alone. She hadn't encountered many of them, relying on Shippou's stories and recollection of his own time in Meikyuu.
There was no resentment toward the king, either. The few she'd interacted with, Hakudoushi notwithstanding, were loyal, and she couldn't see people like Shippou or Jinenji supporting a tyrant.
Sacrifices just didn't make sense.
"Do you miss your old life?" she asked.
Shippou paused, a frown pinching his brow as he thought about it. "I remember being scared a lot. There were loud sounds—and lightning." He rubbed his chest, gaze turning toward the window. "I think I was hiding when he found me." She was tempted to reach for him, to offer the comfort he so strongly deserved, but she wanted him to continue, too.
They sat in silence for a few moments, a soft breeze blowing through the room, ruffling their hair before Shippou sucked in a deep breath.
"I think it's the same for all of us," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Souten won't talk about it, but Ginta and Hakkaku—those are the wolf twins I told you about—get all twitchy when there's a storm."
His hand felt small in hers when she reached for it, and she gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I'm glad you made it out alright."
He rolled his shoulders, trying to play it off. "Like I said, I don't remember much." Kagome bit her lip but didn't push. "I like it better here, anyway! I get to play pranks on people all I want, and if they don't catch me, I get away with it. I'm way too fast for them."
She chuckled, shaking her head. "Is that why you helped me out last time?" He'd attempted to lead her down the wrong path with illusions of Souta, but she'd seen through them, grabbing the back of his shirt and forcing him to transform back into his original body.
Shippou's chest puffed out. "A man has to honour his debt!"
She ruffled his hair. "Didn't stop you from playing pranks on everyone else along the way."
"Of course not! It would've been boring otherwise." They both dissolved into laughter, recounting how Jaken had been strung up by his own staff, half his robes eaten by a two-headed dragon. She mentioned the beast, and Shippou immediately perked up. "We can go see them next time! I'm sure they'd love to see you." Apparently, there were more than just dragons in the stables, but since they abided by their own rules, he'd have to get permission from the king first.
Her shoulders deflated, and she leaned back against the headboard with a sigh. "We don't want to bother him," she hedged.
Shippou snorted. "You don't wanna bother him. Even though you should."
She scowled, crossing her arms. "He doesn't want to see me. He doesn't even sleep in here anymore."
The kit eyed her carefully, and she could tell there was something on his mind, but in the end, he just shrugged and slid off the bed. "You should still do it. He doesn't listen to anyone else."
"He doesn't listen to anyone period," she scoffed. "Least of all me."
Shippou paused at the door. "The only reason I came and got ya after you said his name was because of the spell," he reminded her. "Things would've gone a lot differently if he'd heard you." The blush returned as he slunk from the room, and Kagome sighed.
If she looked too deeply into everything that had happened since she'd arrived, there would be a lot of questions she'd have to answer that she wasn't sure she was ready for. Just like Shippou, she'd forgotten most of her time in Meikyuu, chalking it up to an overactive imagination, but as soon as she'd seen him, in all his regal splendour, her heart had started beating again.
He'd made too big of an impact on her as a teen, and it had scared her, so she'd repressed as much of it as possible. Now that she was an adult, she could put a name to it, though the avoidance was still there.
How could she feel so strongly for someone who didn't even remember who she was?
Groaning, she turned onto her side, burying her face in the soft fur. "You're an ass for forgetting," she grumbled, hugging it tightly. "And for making me spend all this time in your room and not being in here with me." The pelt pulsed, the soft buzzing increasing before one end wrapped around her leg.
She should've been surprised, but nothing in Meikyuu was as it seemed, so his fur having a mind of its own was the least of her worries. She pulled it closer, rolling her body against it, the vibrations tingling her senses. She hummed, spreading her legs and allowing the pelt to move higher.
She gasped as it rasped against more sensitive flesh, biting her lip as the vibrations increased. She'd been cooped up in the castle for far too long, her secret visits to Bokuseno's glade her only reprieve, and frustration had manifested in more than one way.
If he was going to ignore her, he couldn't complain about what she did with his things.
The fur tightened around her thigh, hiking her robes up around her hips. She dragged her nails down the length of it, another moan escaping as power pulsed. Her breath came out in short pants, heat coiling lower in her stomach as she spread her legs further.
She was so close.
The other end wrapped around her neck, sliding against her entire torso as she sought release. Her power began to spark, making the fur stand on end, but just when she could feel the build-up near its peak, a snarl sounded from the doorway.
Kagome shot up from the bed, chest heaving. Whatever she expected to see, the glowing eyes of a monster were not it.
She couldn't describe it as anything else. Snow-white fur gave way to ivory teeth, streaks of magenta carved into its face. Teal pupils glared at her from within crimson irises, and the power from its paws should've sent her to her knees.
But she wasn't afraid.
She continued to stare at it, her heart still beating wildly in her chest. She wasn't sure if it was from what she'd been doing or almost getting caught, but she waited for the beast to enter the room. It snarled again, baring its teeth, then disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.
The pelt had returned to its dormant state, and Kagome looked between it and the now-empty doorway.
Maybe there was a way to get his attention after all.