InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love of a Kit ❯ Never let Shippou near a fire ( Chapter 2 )

Me: O.o I got a total of 7 reviews for this so far, adding together the ones on mediaminer and fanfiction. *Shrugs* Heh, at least I got more than 0! *Happy dance* I really am trying to get this out within a week, but please don't yell at me if it's a little late. This is a harder concept to write than you know, and I know that I'm just not the best of writers. *Bows down to the greats* And it might not be as funny as the last chapter, as this jerk is talking to me on my sister's Trillian, and won't stop bitching at me because I was a bit moody the first time he imed looking for my sis. *Sighs* Kami, the world is full of jerks.

Firethroat: I think you're doing very well. You haven't strangled the idiot yet.

Vurso: Keyword "yet".

Me: At least I only found one typo in the last chapter so far! Dang imps… they always get in after you finish the document and put in typos! *Tragic anime pose*

Vurso, Firethroat, and Erica: *All calmly playing Go Fish*

Firethroat: Got any 7s?

Erica: Go fish.

Me: *Facefaults* *Vein pops in head while I make a fist* Thanks for the support guys…

Vurso: *Puts two cards down* You're welcome. Sera doesn't own Inuyasha.

Firethroat: *Draws a card* On with the fic.

***

Shippou sighed as he dismally poked at the small, sputtering, lonely fire before him with a dry stick. Of course, as is the nature of dry sticks, the one he was holding caught on fire… also, as it was a small one, the fire soon spread to his arm guard. "AAHHHH!!!!!" The Kitsune yelped as he jumped around, slapping hurriedly at the flames to try to put them out. This made the fire spread to his other arm guard, and his screams were twice as loud.

Light lit up the clearing as the young youkai danced around, yelping and trying fruitlessly to put out the flames. It didn't really HURT, but still.

Well, didn't hurt until he tripped over a rock while hopping backwards on one foot, and fell on his furry tail…

Right into the fire.

"YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWCCC CCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

NOW it hurt.

The poor male jumped around, yelping and yowling in pain for all he was worth… though who could blame him, as his crotch and tail were on fire? (A/N: I can just FEEL the male readers cringing right about now.)

Shippou had just opened his mouth for another yelp, when he found it filled with water. At the same time, the pain in his crotch and tail mostly disappeared, until only a dull throbbing was left. He opened his eyes, and looked over to see a slightly frazzled, and very familiar, female exterminator standing there, holding what USED to be a hollowed out section of log filled with water. Now it was just a poor, abandoned, hollowed out section of log.

Shippou sighed as he spit out the water. "Thanks Sango." The exterminator's left eye twitched slightly.

"I don't know HOW you set yourself on fire, and I'm not sure I WANT to know." She muttered as she shoved the makeshift bucket at him. "Since the water that was going to be for our dinner was put to other uses, YOU go get it from the stream this time." Sango then set about cleaning up the camp, and trying to start another fire from the soaked ashes of the previous one, all the while muttering about baka Kitsune that didn't have a shred of sense.

Meanwhile, Shippou was sighing in relief where he was sitting in the stream. The filled bucket stood on shore, and all he was doing at the moment was further cooling his aching burns. His healing abilities weren't at the level that Inuyasha's were, simply because he had sustained fewer injuries, but the burns would be gone by morning. His clothes, having been made by youkai, were fine, if a little charred.

The real victim here was his tail.

His poor, abused tail floated listlessly in the water behind him. Chunks of fur were missing, and a lot of the rest was slightly blackened. All in all, the former furry plume now looked like a large, charred, drowned rat. Let us all have a moment of silence for Shippou's poor tail.

With a large, resigned sigh, the youkai stood, icy water falling off of him in droves as he sluiced it away with his hands, and carefully wrung his tail out before flicking it behind him, sending waves of droplets into the night. Some of them were caught by the stray strands of moonlight filtering through the treetops, making a nearly misty aura appear around him, to be gone an instant later. Bedraggled as he was at the moment, he still looked magnificent. A pity no one was there to see him.

A pity SANGO wasn't there to see him, but of course, if she was, we all know how THAT would probably end up, and then we wouldn't have a story, now would we? … Like we have a story anyways.

Shivering, Shippou waded to the bank, kicking up water around his furry fox legs before stepping out of the swiftly moving stream. The lean Kitsune leant down, carefully picked up the bucket, and made his way back to camp.

***

Sango tensed and looked up as a twig snapped, then relaxed as the still-becoming-familiar form of her companion stepped out of the shadows and set the bucket beside her. Soon giggles filled the air.

"You look like Kirara when she's fallen in a stream." Shippou and Kirara protested loudly. Shippou's protest was that he DIDN'T look like a half-drowned cat youkai, and Kirara's protest was that she was surprised Sango had the NERVE to compare her to Shippou when he looked so completely awful. This prompted a debate between the two on just WHO looked worse when half-drowned, and Sango was quickly getting a headache.

"Shut up before I feel the need to practice with Hiraikotsu." She growled at them, and the two youkai promptly, you guessed it, shut up.

***

After a dinner of rabbit stew (the rabbit was courtesy of Kirara), Shippou poked his head over Sango's shoulder when he noticed she was rooting around in the small pack she carried with her.

"Whatcha looking for?" He asked, the warmth of his breath tickling the back of the human's neck, making her shiver and rendering speech nearly impossible. Thankfully, she was saved from answering by the discovery of what she had been looking for. With a triumphant noise made in the back of her throat, Sango held up the modern-day comb, courtesy of Kagome.

Shippou blinked. "What's that for? Your hair isn't tangled." He asked, confused.

Sango snorted. "It's not for me, it's for you. Sit." She pointed at a spot near the fire, where the somewhat apprehensive Kitsune sat.

"I don't see why-" His voice cut off as he felt gentle hands undoing his hair from its tie, and smoothing it out some before gently applying the comb. Shivers ran down his back at the sensations of the teeth lightly ghosting along his skin or scalp occasionally, and a soft purr soon filled the clearing.

Sango blinked at that development. She hadn't known Kitsune youkai could purr, but the strapping young male before her seemed to have no problems producing the noise. Of course, she hadn't know Inu youkai could purr either, and both Kagome and Rin swore that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru could resemble huge cats, given the right motivation. This made Sango chuckle softly as she remember Rin's story of how once she was scratching Sesshoumaru's tummy, and she hit a ticklish spot. Sesshoumaru had instantly put his hand over the girl's mouth and told her to never speak of the incident again.

The exterminator couldn't resist gently running a hand through Shippou's hair once the tangles were out and it was drying reasonably well, with help from the heat of the fire. It's so soft… She thought to herself, then smiled as she felt the goosebumps on his skin, before starting on his tail.

A very little known fact about Kitsune: Their tails are highly sensitive. Shippou nearly melted as he felt the comb running through his fur, followed by Sango's fingers. His purr tripled in volume and intensity, and he couldn't help but lean back against her, his back pressing against her chest, and his head laying on her shoulder. Sango's eyes widened, and it didn't take her long to figure out why he was acting this way.

Okay, quick question girls, and guys that swing that way. If YOU were in Sango's place, would you stop coming and petting his tail? I didn't think so. Of course, Sango is as sane as you or me (well, she's sane, we'll leave it at that), so she didn't stop either.

As soon as the last tangle was out and the last bit of fur on his tail was smoothed down (it now looked much like its former self), Sango found herself pinned to the ground by her companion, his tail flicking the air behind him as he looked down at her, his normally bright green eyes darkened to olive with… something. (A/N: Gah, this chapter alone is gonna send the rating up to PG-13.) She barely had time to gasp before she felt soft lips gently press against her cheek.

Shippou HAD been aiming for her lips, but missed due to the fact that Sango had turned her head at the last second. An instant later, he felt one fist connect with his skull, and another with his side. He then learned EXACTLY how Miroku felt whenever Sango started beating up on him, or how Inuyasha felt when Kagome activated the subdueing spell. He also had an understanding of why they would beat up on him when he laughed at their misfortune.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!" He yelped every time a fist or Hiraikotsu made contact with his poor, battered body. He wondered how Miroku SURVIVED this. After all, he was a youkai, and it STILL hurt like hell! It was a wonder Miroku could even function after one of these.

***

"It's your own fault you weren't able to control yourself." Sango growled out as she tightened the bandage with a jerk, prompting another yelp from the youkai.

"Well it's not MY fault that you were brushing my tail." He was glaring at her with all the force his bishie face could muster.

"How was I supposed to know that fox tails are so sensitive?!" She yelled right in his ear, prompting another yelp of pain.

"Oh I dunno… MAYBE CAUSE YOU'RE A DEMON EXTERMINATOR!" He just yelled right back.

She glared at him as she tightened another bandage with a jerk. "For your information, smart aleck, we very rarely had to deal with Kitsune. You're all so peaceful that most people don't even consider you a nuisance."

Surprisingly, Shippou's face fell. "Yeah… I know." He whispered. "My parents were actually guardians of a human village before they…" He swallowed, unable to finish.

Sango's eyes softened. "I'm sorry Shippou…" Without thinking, she drew him into a hug, and for the first time, he was able to cry for his parents' death.

All the while the hot tears trickled down her shoulder from where his face was pressed there, all Sango did was rub his back and make soft, soothing noises in her throat, trying to be as comforting as possible. She had to force tears back to keep from crying herself… she knew all too well how the fox felt.

Finally, his sobs died down, but Shippou stayed there, taking deep gasps of air, all the while noticing how nice Sango smelt… she had been around him a lot lately, and her scent was coated with his. He had never noticed how NICE a smell that could be… now he understood why Inuyasha was always hanging around Kagome right after she took a bath.

Reluctantly, he pulled back. "Thanks…" He whispered.

She smiled tightly. "No problem." There was an unspoken agreement between them that neither would mention this. Poor Shippou's male pride wouldn't be able to handle it if someone found out he had cried.

"We better get some sleep." He said with a sigh, standing. He put out a hand for Sango to grasp, and easily helped her to her feet.

Sango mentally thanked each and every Kami she knew of that their blanket was big.

***

"Turn around." She glared pointedly at Shippou, who looked all too eager at the moment to watch her change. What, all that traveling with Miroku, and you expect him to come out of it completely unscathed? I don't think so.

"Damn." He muttered as he turned around, which prompted Sango to throw one of her shoes at the back of his head. A yelp told her that her impromptu weapon had found it's mark. He decided it was safest to behave… the next thing she threw would probably be more painful than just a little old shoe.

Finally, he was given the okay to turn around, and sighed in disappointment, seeing that she was in her sleeping yukata. All that he had had to do to get ready to sleep was to take off his arm and leg guards.

They decided on sleeping back to back. Well, more like Sango decided. Shippou wouldn't have minded sleeping other ways… oh come on, you KNOW that Shippou sleeping curled up on Kagome's stomach or chest in the series isn't COMPLETELY innocent. Shippou was puzzled when she started laughing when she was supposed to be getting to sleep, though.

"What's wrong?" He asked, turning his head as much as possible to try to see what the problem was.

"Your tail tickles." She said, embarrassed. This prompted a laugh from Shippou as he shifted his tail so that it would no longer bother her.

With that out of the way, the two settled down to sleep, with Kirara curled up on the blanket on top of them.

Mental note… Shippou thought with a yawn. Ask Inuyasha how to court a girl when we get there tomorrow… especially one that could bash your brains in if you make a wrong move…

Sango's thoughts were running along a similar line. Got to remember to ask Kagome what to do if a youkai starts courting you… sure, Kitsune and Inu are different breeds, but there are probably a lot of similarities… She bit back a small chuckle. And gotta ask how to start a courtship, if the guy's reluctant…

Let us all have a moment of silence for Kagome and Inuyasha's sanity, once those two show up.

***

Me: Yay! I got this done in time! *Happy dance* Aren't you all proud of me? ^_^ Oh, I decided to put in the Sango/Shippou/Miroku love triangle. So put ideas in your reviews about things Shippou and Miroku might do while courting a certain demon exterminator. I probably won't be able to use most of them, but I'll try to fit in the funnier ones.

Firethroat: You do know that the readers are probably gonna kill you for that potentially waffy scene up there?

Me: Eyup. That's why I'm gonna run now. *High-tails it out of there*

Vurso: O.o' Erica, that's the 20th game of Go Fish you've won in a row!

Erica: What do you expect, you two suck at this game.

Both: *Sweatdrop*

Erica: Please review. And we're sorry if this might be late being uploaded, ff.net and mediaminer are both being evil.