Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trembling Roses ❯ Old Beginnings ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: I don't know where this came from…

I don't know what prompted me to write it…

However, I like the idea here…

And I'm going to see where the Foxes will take me.

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"Oh! Ohayo sensei!" Moving hurriedly to clean his small quarters, Shippo tried to quell the nervous fluttering in his stomach as his master entered his room. "Gomen ne sensei. I was studying a lesson and failed to clean afterwards."

No sound save the quiet rush of air in and out of the figure's lungs marked that his master was even there. Upon moving further into the room, a full and resplendent tail of silver accidentally swept by a pile of clutter that scattered as it fell. Containing mostly minor tricks and charms of illusion, they still earned a frown of disapproval from the older youkai.

"Counting this moment, how many times have I told you that those toys will not avail you for long in a life or death struggle?" The air of disapproval reverberated in the sensei's voice as well. "You should have long ago mastered the basics of leaf manipulation and wooden puppetry but you've relied too much upon these old tricks to commit yourself to the task."

A lean and muscled arm swung down to pluck up two such items for scrutiny. "A wooden snake and a spinning top? You still have so much yet to learn Little Tail and I am beginning to wonder if I should continue to waste my time." Although the rich voice held a note of scorn in its depths, the trinkets were handed cordially back to their flustered owner and not flung aside in contempt.

Shippo clutched them gratefully since they were the last of many that he'd brought with him when he'd first left those he'd loved behind in order to apprentice himself to one of the most powerful kitsune in all the land. The wooden snake still bore the hiragana for 'dog' and while the marks on the top had faded after all these year, Shippo could still read the name 'Kagome' with the eyes of his heart.

The special ofuda from Miroku had been mistakenly lost one night as had the charms for Sango and Kirara. Even after all this time, the loss still had the power to break the kit's heart anew. Much of that raw emotion filled his brittle voice as he answered.

"Hai sensei. I-I will try harder."

Eyes of liquid gold settled on him, but not unkindly. "I do not say this because I enjoy it Little Tail. I say it because I know that you have the potential within you to be so much stronger than you are." Clawed fingers tipped the youth's faintly pointed chin up so that luminous orbs of deep turquoise met with ones of gold. "Otherwise I would not have taken you on at all. Do you understand?"

"Hai sensai." Blinking slowly, Shippo held his gaze steady in the face of those fathomless eyes. He'd seen golden eyes before. The sight of eyes of that hue were not unusual to him since he'd traveled with Inuyasha and the others for years. Even Sesshomaru had eyes of almost the same color. But his master…

For what felt like the hundredth time in moments that surely spanned years, he found himself drawn into their depths again. 'Gold isn't the right word for them. Gilded crystals floating in pools of night? No, something else…'

"Is something wrong with my face Little Tail?" came the whisper-soft inquiry.

"No, it's perfect." The winsome response slipped out before the kit realized what he'd just said. Wide-eyed with horror, he stammered badly in his haste to correct himself as that dizzying gaze watched on. "It's not perfect, not that it's ugly or wrong. No, that is…it's an okay face. Wait." Shippo took a quick breath and crammed his words in the exhalation.

"What I mean sensei is that there is nothing wrong with your face." The bright eyes lowered as Shippo composed his face into a thinly veiled mask of neutrality. "It is fine. Perfectly fine."

Now a more pronounced trace of humor colored his master's voice, making it richer than before. "As long as you're sure of that Little Tail." The careless nickname that had so aptly described Shippo when he'd first arrived now grated against his pride like silk over an old wound. It didn't have the power to hurt him, merely to irritate. "I expect this mess to be sorted and cleaned by the time I return for the first of today's lessons. Do not disappoint me Little Tail." With that last amused command, Yohko Kurama turned and left the presence of his pupil.

Behind him, Shippo gritted his teeth on frustration and silently bowed his head.