InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Okaeri ❯ Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 13

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Interlude: Sengoku Jidai

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Shippou paused, motionless, and listened. Nothing but the distant calls of birds came to his ears, and the rustling of wind through the treetops. He sniffed, but the only scents were those that should be there.

 

He relaxed minutely and breathed out a small sigh of satisfaction. He definitely hadn't been followed. He began moving again, noiselessly picking his way across the forest floor in a zigzag pattern, moving from cover to cover, just as Inuyasha had taught him. He scowled briefly at the thought of that flea-bitten jerk, but his more immediate concern was making sure that he wouldn't be tracked by Miroku or Sango. He peered over his shoulder to make sure he was leaving no tracks in the damp leaf mold carpeting the ground.

 

Bad enough that the nosy monk had regained so much mobility, and had taken to following him around, popping up when least expected, he thought sourly. If he managed to evade Miroku, the pervert would send Sango after him— Sango, the expert tracker. And while Miroku's pious lectures were bad, Sango's smothering solicitude was even worse. He grimaced. He couldn't stand to be around either one these days.

 

Time to head for the trees. She can't track me up there. Effortlessly he scaled the nearest tree trunk, headed for a handy horizontal branch, and began moving from tree to tree, as quickly and nimbly as a squirrel. Another lesson from dog-boy; he grudgingly admitted it was a valuable one. You could definitely see a lot more from the trees, and like he'd said, nobody ever thought to look up.

 

Traveling through the lower canopy of the vast forest, it took Shippou about an hour to reach his quarry. He kept a sharp eye on his surroundings, looking for any sign of intruders, but disappointingly, did not see anything amiss before he arrived at his destination.

 

I guess it's just as well, he thought, as he peered down at the jumble of huge rocks below him, and the well-disguised den entrance on one side of it. I'm sure she'd be impressed, once she sees what a great fighter I am, but I can't be here all the time to protect her. Abruptly he sat up straight. Wait, why can't I? I could move out here! There won't be anything holding me back there soon, anyway— and that moron broke the well—

 

“Shippou? Is that you?” A quiet voice came from below, but he didn't see her. The small clearing besides the nearest boulder was empty; the straggly bushes on the edge of it remained still and undisturbed.

 

“Yes, it's me,” he called down. “I made sure I wasn't followed,” he added, before she could ask. Digging his claws in as he went, he shimmied down the trunk, stepping off carefully when he reached the bottom, and looked around. “Soen?”

 

“Here.” The taller girl appeared at his side, seemingly out of thin air, and he managed to suppress a start.

 

“How do you do that,” he said admiringly. She smiled faintly in answer, and moved toward the other side of the boulder, and the small clearing. Some flat-topped stones were arranged around the tiny, currently cold firepit there, and she took a seat on one. He followed, and flopped down on another. She regarded him without speaking, one feathery eyebrow slightly raised.

 

Suddenly self-conscious, Shippou looked down, and then remembered why he had come. “I brought you something,” he said as he reached for the cloth slung around his neck. The bundle had bumped against his back the entire way; it had smelled so good, it had been a struggle to virtuously leave it untouched. He unrolled the cloth in his lap and produced a couple of smaller cloth-wrapped packages. He held one out to her.

 

“It's fried bean-curd. My friend was getting some ready for her wedding, and she made me a few pieces, early.” Shippou felt a little guilty about wanting to get away from Sango when she'd been so nice, but she'd asked too many questions at the amount he'd wanted. He saw Soen's eyes darken with interest, and she sniffed. Hesitantly she reached for the package he was proffering.

 

“Tofu aburage. I haven't had that in…” She took it, and opened it slowly, almost ceremoniously. He had already torn his open, but hesitated to bite into one of the slightly greasy delicacies until she had. She raised it to her lips, closed her eyes, and took a dainty bite, obviously savoring the taste. Shippou took it as a signal to wolf his down.

 

He watched her surreptitiously as she ate. She was so pretty; he couldn't figure out how she managed to keep her hair and clothes in such perfect order while living in a dirt cave. Today she had on the light green kimono, patterned with darker green leaves, and her straight black hair was tied back from her face. Delicately she ate the tofu, and wiped her fingers carefully on the cloth before handing it back to him.

 

“Thank you, Shippou. It's difficult to get good food like that out here, as you can probably guess.” She smiled at him, and he beamed.

 

Suddenly he thought of the other little gift he'd brought. “I've got something else good to eat. I've been saving it,” he said. With only a little reluctance he reached inside his shirt to bring out the last of the chocolate he'd had from Kagome. He'd been hoarding it for weeks…but it was better to share than to keep it for himself, wasn't it? Besides, if Kagome did come back, he'd be able to tell her he'd shared.

 

Soen watched quizzically as he unwrapped the bar, and divided the slightly melted candy into two equal parts. “What is that?”

 

“It's `chocolate',” he answered, handing her one half of the bar. She took it gingerly and sniffed it, slightly suspicious. He took a big bite of his piece to show her it was safe. “It's sweet. My friend brought it from her land. I don't know when I'll be able to get any more,” he said apologetically.

 

She nibbled it experimentally after she'd seen him bite into his. “This is…interesting,” she allowed, and took a bigger, but neat, bite. Very soon, the chocolate was gone, and she frowned at the melted, gooey mess on her fingertips, shooting a glance at Shippou when he began licking his. Flushing at the implied rebuke, he brought out the cloths that the tofu had been wrapped in and wiped the rest from his hands, silently mourning the loss of the last bit of the candy. She finished wiping her fingers for the second time, and handing the cloth back to him, sat back with a sigh and murmured thanks.

 

“I suppose it must be handy, having all these humans around that are willing to give you things.” Shippou was piqued by the slight sneer in her voice.

 

“Well, they're my friends, and they're good friends to have. We've been together for years.” He gave her a sideways look. “We took down Naraku, you know.” Unconsciously he puffed himself up a bit, waiting for her reaction.

 

“Yes, so you've said,” she drawled, looking away as if bored. “He was nothing but a hanyou, when all's said and done. How hard could it have been?”

 

“Inuyasha's a hanyou too, but there's nothing ordinary about him.” Shippou wondered why he was sticking up for that lousy bastard, but the words shot out of his mouth seemingly of their own volition. “He's the strongest hanyou in probably all of Japan— he killed Ryuukotsusei by himself. You've heard of him, right? And Naraku was really strong, and tricky. He had the whole Shikon Jewel, at the end, and we were still able to take him out.” With some help, he admitted silently.

 

Soen glanced back at him, eyes narrowed, and didn't conceal her contempt this time. “Friends with a hanyou, a dog at that. Really, Shippou, for a kitsune you keep very odd company. How did you stand the smell? And how could you allow that miko to destroy the Shikon no Tama?” She sniffed, and looked away. “I assure you, if I had a chance at it I could have put the Jewel to much better use.”

 

He got to his feet angrily. “Soen, nothing good could ever come from use of the Shikon! My father died because of it!” He crossed his arms, staring at her with some disdain. She couldn't be blamed for her ignorance of the danger the Jewel posed, he reminded himself; she hadn't his experience. “And you may be older than me, but that doesn't give you the right to tell me who I should and shouldn't be friends with,” he added indignantly. “I'm just as much a kitsune as you. It doesn't make me less of one because I'm friends with a monk and a hanyou.”

 

“And miko and demon exterminators,” she added, waspishly. “I think it's more than odd. But that's your business. It has nothing to do with me.” She got up and stalked over to the edge of the clearing, and stood there, arms crossed, her back to him. “I have my own revenge to think about.” She looked at him over her shoulder. “Have you thought about what I asked?”

 

He slowly sat back down. “I don't know, Soen. This doesn't seem right…” She glared at him suspiciously, and he hastened to add, “Are you sure those are the right people? They can't all have been a part of it.”

 

“As far as I'm concerned, every one of them should pay for the crime to my family,” she snapped. There was a hard gleam in her eyes, one Shippou didn't like at all. “If you don't want to go, it's fine. I can do it myself.”

 

That'll make a bad plan even worse. At least if I'm there I might be able to save you from the outcome. He decided to try a different tack. “There's a lot of armsmen,” he pointed out. “It's a tall order to get past them to the lord, even with my help.”

 

She smirked a bit, and turned to face him. “We won't have any trouble. We're kitsune, Shippou. We can look like anyone we please, get in, get out. Easy.”

 

“Well…” He hated to admit it, but… “I'm not that good yet. I don't know how long I'd be able to hold an illusion.” He flipped his tail for emphasis, noting that other than her pointed ears, she looked completely human. No tail was evident.

 

“Oh, that. You just haven't had anyone to teach you. I can show you how to look like anything, and do a lot more besides.” She gazed at him, levelly. “How about it, Shippou. You help me, I'll help you. It's been nice having a friend to talk to.” She looked away, a little abstracted, perhaps even a little embarrassed. “I've been alone for so long…I'd really like for you to come with me, after we're done here.”

 

Suddenly feeling hot, Shippou carefully did not meet her eyes. “I'd…I'd like that, Soen.” I'd really like that. And maybe I can talk her out of this crazy plan of hers. She'll be killed, and so will I if I don't keep my head on straight.

 

She smiled then, and looked back at him. “How about a lesson, and then we can go test the disguise by a little scouting?”

 

“Scouting?” That sounded harmless…and the wedding wasn't until tomorrow night. He should be able to humor Soen, and be back in plenty of time. He shrugged and nodded.

 

“Watch me.” Her form blurred, and suddenly there was a black fox sitting at his feet, lolling her tongue in a vulpine grin as she looked up at him. “No guard would look twice at a fox, right?” It was strange, seeing the words come out of that fanged mouth. He gaped. Another blur, and then she was standing in front of him, a mocking smile on her perfect red lips. “Now you.”

 

“Uh…” With a pop, he did his best to assume fox shape, but he could tell from her slightly furrowed brow that there was something not quite right about it. At least his feet and tail looked fine.

 

“Shippou, you've got to picture what you want to look like, in your head. And this should be the easiest form to take. Watch again, and then try…”

 

A half hour later, he had attained a realistic enough fox shape that she pronounced herself satisfied. Now that she had explained the trick, it seemed easy; the fox form wasn't a strain at all. Even speaking with the fox mouth seemed natural.

 

“How do you know all this?” he asked curiously. “You're not that much older than me. My dad told me that kitsune don't get really good at illusions until they're at least a hundred. I've never seen you lose the shape you were holding, down to the tail.”

 

She looked away. “I had to learn fast,” she said shortly. “Look, it's nearly dark. Shall we go?”

 

“We're just scouting today, right?”

 

“Right.” She turned and began threading her way through the bushes. Hoping he'd be able to keep her out of trouble, he followed, as silent as she.

 

TBC