InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Encounter With Fate ❯ A New Member ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! ^_^ It was a great birthday present ^_^

Disclaimer: Thanks to shesshomaruluver1723, I now own Inuyasha &co. thanks for the great birthday gift!!! ^_^

An Encounter With Fate

Chapter 7 - A New Member

Last time:

Inuyasha shot a look that said, "You better watch out," at the back of his head, and started after them while mumbling and grumbling to himself.

Sango and Miroku looked back at them. They were walking side by side, but they each looked anywhere but at each other. They sweatdropped and sighed as they thought, `This is gonna be a loooong trip.'

=*=

Sango and Miroku were correct in their predictions. It was a very, very, very long trip indeed. Kiyoshi and Inuyasha argued like their lives depended on it. Arguments occurred as often as rain fell and birds sang. It became a daily part of everyone's routine. The only time they really, truly stopped arguing was in their sleep. And Sango and Miroku could have sworn that they heard Inuyasha, and once even Kiyoshi, mumble in their sleep, "No, you're wrong," but whenever either thought they had heard it, it was quickly replaced by the calm sounds of even breathing and snoring.

In spite of this, the group became very close to each other. They messed around with each other (which was usually the cause of an argument), laughed with and at each other, sometimes argued and became angry (well, a lot of times on Kiyoshi and Inuyasha's part). If you saw them, you could see they were as close as could be. They were each other's family. It wasn't exactly your typical, run `o the mill family, but they were a family of wanderers. An odd, but very loving family.

They were very close. You could say that they knew each other more than they knew themselves. Kiyoshi had come to learn how close the bonds of his three companions were, though he too, had a bond almost, if not as, strong with them as well. Kiyoshi and Sango had become the best of friends. They didn't like each other in a romantic sense, but just in a friendly, brotherly sisterly sort of way. They were like inseparable siblings, and from the looks of it, you wouldn't guess that they had only known each other a few months.

One thing Kiyoshi learned was how much Miroku loved Sango. It wasn't really apparent, with all of Miroku's lechery and such, but he really loved Sango. Miroku actually asked Kiyoshi on occasion if he had any intentions of getting into a more intimate relation with her. This confused him, and he asked why he wanted to know. He was embarrassed about it, but he told him all about it. Kiyoshi assured him that he saw Sango as a sister, not anything like Miroku thought. `Besides', Kiyoshi thought at the back of his mind, `I'm still Kagome, a girl.'

Since the group had started on their journey in the beginning of summer, the time came when they could no longer wander as they did before. When harvesting season came into view, they decided to settle in a village until the colder months passed and spring would come. They, including Sango (this made the men laugh until she hauled the load of two men) helped harvest the rice and the crop in exchange for lodging in the winter. The group became very well known in the village and was very well liked.

Many women, younger and older, fawned over Inuyasha, Miroku and Kiyoshi. Inuyasha ignored it, Miroku soaked it up and Kiyoshi was severely embarrassed. He still held fast at the back of his mind that he was still a she. Not to mention many marveled at the strength of Sango, while still more marveled at her beauty. Whoever they were, they held great respect and reverence for the group that wandered into their village.

The village children especially liked the group. The boys thought that Inuyasha was the best, with his sword and claws and stuff. This scared his companions, they all thought they would turn into mini-Inuyasha's. All broody, rude and temperamental. It was not a pretty thought. The little girls thought Sango was the coolest, and all of them wanted Kiyoshi as their older brother. They thought Miroku was pretty cool too, except that all their older sisters, cousins, anyone child with a young, attractive female relative was told to keep away from him. Though they really didn't understand why.

One who especially liked the group was a young child named Shippo. He was an orphaned kitsune, who had taken up residence near the village. Before Inuyasha and Co. came around, he was scorned by many of the villagers because he was a kitsune, and this taught the children to dislike him as well. They threw rocks at him, called him names, and made fun of the fact that he had no parents. When the Inuyasha gang came around, Shippo immediately took a liking to them. When they first came, they met him first and was the one who led them to the village. They earned respect, and since Shippo was with them a lot, most of the villagers left him alone. But still, they disliked him. It was deep-rooted within themselves to get rid of it, so they kept on disliking him.

The wandering band had no negative feelings toward the young fox spirit, and they became friends with him. Shippo was ecstatic to have found someone who liked him, so he stayed with them all the time. He even lived in their hut, which was actually very near his old home. He became like a younger sibling to them, especially to Kiyoshi. If Kiyoshi was a girl, (at least, if everyone knew he was a girl) it would seem that he was a parent to the boy.

Soon, the cold passed and the warm weather came. It was time to leave. No matter how much the liked it there, or how much they wanted to stay, or how much the villagers wanted them to stay, they had to go. They had decided it together.

When they left, it was around the end of March. Saying their last good-byes, they turned away down the road and resumed their journey. Non of them looked back.

=*=

"Ah! It's good to be on the road again!" Miroku said happily/

"Yeah," Kiyoshi sighed. "But I will miss those beds"

"I'm gonna miss those kids though," Sango said. "I wonder how Shippo's doing?"

"Keh! He's proly all like, `Oh no! I'm so sad `cause I'm all alone! Waaahhhh!'" he said in a falsetto imitation of Shippo's voice.

As if on cue, a sneeze was heard from Kiyoshi's bag. A chorus of Huh's echoed within the group. Swinging the bag off his shoulder and onto the ground, Kiyoshi opened his pack only to find a small something curled into a ball. Whatever it was, it was shaking, and small whimpers could be heard from the little ball.

"Shippo?!" the group chorused. The little ball whimpered louder.

"So that's why I could smell Shippo! I thought it was just because he clung to you so hard K'yoshi." Inuyasha said.

The small ball suddenly uncurled from its defensive position and clung desperately to Kiyoshi's neck. From what they could see, it was definitely Shippo. He held so hard onto Kiyoshi's neck that it was starting to cut off his windpipes. The group sweatdropped.

"Please don't make me go back!" the muffled voice of Shippo came from his position on Kiyoshi's neck. "I don't wanna! Don't leave me there by myself! Wahhh!" he started to cry, although Kiyoshi didn't notice, he was concentrating on breathing.

"Ok, ok," he replied in a strangled voice.

Shippo let go for a moment and looked up at Kiyoshi with big, watery eyes. Sniffle, "R-r-really?" Kiyoshi nodded. If it was possible, he clung even harder to his neck. He was really getting strangled this time.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!" he rejoiced. Kiyoshi tried one more time to pry him off of his neck.

"Shi-sh-Shippo," gasp, "l-le-let" wheeze "m-m-me g-" cough, gasp, wheeze, "GO!" he basically flung Shippo off of his neck. Rubbing his neck gratefully, he sat back and breathed in a few good, deep breaths. When he looked up, he saw Shippo clutching to Sango's leg. He couldn't help it. He laughed. The look on Sango's face was priceless, a real Kodak moment. Soon, he wasn't the only one laughing. Miroku and Inuyasha were laughing as hard as he was. But Shippo didn't notice, but Sango did. A vein popped on her forehead.

Shouts and yells were heard as a voice rung out, "You'll be sorry!"

^*^

A/N: yay! Chapter 7! Phew! Do you know how hard writing this chapter was? Man! I think I deserve some reviews ^_^ until next time minna-san!