InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Waiting For Kagome ❯ Mother's Arms ( Chapter 5 )
Inuyasha goes after Shippo, who made the mistake of waking him up.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.04.2009 | Updated On: 07.04.2009 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 802 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: This is based on "Inuyasha" by Rumiko Takahashi. No copyright infringement intended or implied.
Shippo bolted down the path, shrieking in pain, feeling terror he had experienced only once before. He'd known that Inuyasha would be furious when he sneaked into the hut behind Miroku's back, intending to wake up the lazy dog with his whistle. But, he'd planned his escape route, and figured that the worst that would be a bop on the head before he could dash to his safe position behind Kaede, who was working among the rows of herbs next to the stream.
But, he did not expect that the hanyo would wake so enraged that he would attack at full speed, with claws extended. Shippo screamed as he slammed into the side of the hut, two long gashes shredding his clothes. Instinct took over, and he fled as his top speed, totally forgetting his intended refuge. He ran until the trees surrounded him, until a shadow under a bush attracted his attention. He dove into a hole, scrabbling with his hands and feet to move deeper, before finally curling into as small a ball as his body would make. Eyes closed tightly, the kitsune shook, aware of nothing but fear and the burning slashes down his back.
Inuyasha waited patiently for Miroku to untangle his tongue, to tell him how he could help the monk and the tajiya. He held onto the warm sense of contentment he had discovered, thinking how much he owed Kagome, how good and peaceful and new the spring morning was. Letting his eyelids slide lower, he remembered the relief on Kagome's face when he had found her in the darkness, how he had surely saved her from a fate worse than death. He treasured his contentment, willing it to last--
"Inuyasha." Kaede's aged croak interrupted his thoughts, and Inuyasha snapped his head around, already feeling the first bristling of his quick temper. She looked up from her kneeling position next to the herb patch, dirt-grimed hands resting on her thighs. "I am pleased that you wish to assist Miroku and Sango in creating their new home. But before the two of you wander off, should you not find Shippo and see that he is well? His whistle to wake you up was unkind and unwise: but should you not make sure that you did not--in the instincts of the moment--injure him?"
His injured ear ached and rang, and Inuyasha's temper leaped. Why should he care about that damned little kitsune who had destroyed his dreams and woken him up before he was ready? That fox was always trying to make his life miserable with his tricks and his teasing, and getting away with it because Kagome liked the kit and defended him and spoiled him. She wasn't here now, she might never be here again, so why should he care what happened to that kit? If he'd scared Shippo badly enough to make the kit run away and leave him alone, well, good!
But, the thought of Kagome checked his anger. Smelling blood--now that he was paying attention to his nose--Inuyasha looked at his hands. His ears shifted, lowering, as he examined the two claws tipped with shreds of cloth, reddish fur, and kitsune blood. Damn it. Shippo was just a kid. A brat, a constant irritant--but just a kid. Kagome would have oswaurie'd him for that, though it wasn't his fault, but she would have been right, to say Shippo didn't deserve to be clawed. He knew that, even without her angry, disappointed gaze on him. Shippo deserved several bops on the head for his stupidity. But not his claws.
Inuyasha shot Kaede an irritated gaze. "All right, I'll go find him," he growled. "Stupid kit," he added.
"Sorry, Inuyasha," said Miroku. "We all tried to keep him from you--he's upset because Kagome didn't come back with you."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Inuyasha avoided the monk's attempt to reach out to him, stalking down the path, following the easy scent. Stupid kit, he snarled in his head. Stupid, stupid, stupid...
Shippo fought against whimpers and tears of pain, grinding his teeth together. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt! It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair! Stupid Inuyasha, failing to bring Kagome back, refusing to talk about it, and then trying to sleep all day so he wouldn't have to talk about it, he deserved to get blasted awake, stupid hanyo, mean hanyo, he hated him! Hated hated hated!
"Hey, brat." The kitsune flinched at the low, gruff voice. "Come out of the hole."
"Leave me alone!" he screamed. Come out so that mean Inuyasha could use his claws again? No, no, no!
A low growl responded to him. "You can come out, or I'll pull you out."
"Go away!"
"Can't. Told Kaede I'd bring you back." A pause. "Now, you coming out, or do I start digging?"
"Leave me alone, you--you meanie!"
The hanyo outside the hole growled again. And then, the sound of claws digging through dirt came to his ears. Ignoring the pain searing his back, the kit tried to scrabble backwards, though he was already pressed against the back of the hole. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and Shippo shook with fear, losing his fight to remain quiet.
Claws brushed against his body. Panicked, Shippo lunged forward and buried his teeth into the reaching hand. "Ow!" came the yelp. "Let go, you stupid kit!"
But he wouldn't let go. Never, never, never! Pain and fear forced tears down his cheeks, but he would never let go! Just like that other time, with that other meanie, Manten, who was trying to kill Kagome when Shippo had launched his attack--he would never let go!
Something rumbled outside the hole. Eyes closed, Shippo ignored the words, ignored everything but the effort to keep his fangs buried in flesh. Or, he did until another set of fingers touched him. He kicked, but the attempt was ineffective, as the long fingers managed to clamp around his legs and his tail. As he felt himself being moved, the kit released his hold and struck out with his own set of claws. That change proved worse than useless, as the bitten hand managed to snag first one hand, then Shippo's other hand, between the long, strong fingers. Shippo bit again, but this time encountered bony knuckles instead of the side of the hand. His teeth snapped together, and he bit again, this time catching a finger in his mouth. Eyes tightly closed, he bore down with all the strength in his jaws, determined that he would let go this time. He'd at least take a finger with him, yes he would!
Growling softly to himself, Inuyasha wriggled backwards on elbows and knees, trying not to injure the kitsune, even as the kit continued to try to gnaw off his middle finger. Finally, he pulled Shippo free from the hole. Straightening with a grunt, he brought the kit up to eye level. "Want to let go now, Shippo?" he asked. "I'll take you back so Kaede can clean you up."
Green eyes popped open to glare at him. "You big meanie!" spat Shippo. "You hurt me!"
"And you hurt my ear and woke me up, so what does that make you?" snapped Inuyasha, bristling.
"Why didn't you bring Kagome back! You--you meanie!"
That scored. Inuyasha snarled, ears flat. "What the fuck was I supposed to do--tear her out of her mother's arms?"
"Hunh?" Shippo's eyes widened as his mouth sagged. Closing his eyes for a long moment, Inuyasha fought down the rage, and the desire to fling the stupid, insensitive brat into the nearest tree. What was he supposed to have done--what could he have done! It wasn't his fault Kagome was gone! It wasn't his fault!
Shippo stared at Inuyasha's face, shocked out of his fear and rage by Inuyasha's words. Her mother's arms?
He could remember the experience of being in his mother's arms, and the shattering pain when she had died. If his mother--or father--came back from the dead, would he stay with his friends over his family, if it came to a choice?
But he wanted Kagome back! She'd been almost like a mother, and he missed her! Surely, she could come back, at least for visits, couldn't she?
"She will come back, won't she, Inuyasha?" he finally asked. "She has to! Doesn't she?"
Weary, pain-stricken, golden eyes looked at him. "I don't know, Shippo." Hands shifted, pulling Shippo into a comfortable position against Inuyasha's chest. "But the well... when I came back, it felt--different. I ... I'm not it works, anymore." Claws gently scratched the top of the kit's head.
"I'm sorry."
Shippo looked up, but could not see Inuyasha's face from below. Lowering his gaze, he leaned his head against Inuyasha's chest, then sank the claws of one hand into the fire-rat robe as the hanyo stood up. He felt vaguely ashamed. He'd known that Kagome had a mother and a family on the other side of the well. But, he'd come to think of her as a kind of mother-- and well, who thought about a 'mother', needing a mother? He thought of his own mother again, and felt sadness he hadn't felt in a long time. He was only a kid, of course, he wouldn't want to leave his mother, given a choice, but still...
"I'm sorry."
"Humm?"
"I wouldn't have wanted you to pull her away from her mother."
He felt and heard Inuyasha sigh. "Yeah."
Shippo tried to wriggle into a more comfortable position, abruptly feeling drained. "You're still a meanie," he muttered.
Inuyasha snorted. "And you're still a brat." The claws gently combed through Shippo's hair again. "Let's go see Kaede."
Author's Note: This was originally published on June 16, 2009, on the Inuyasha FanFic Contest (iyfic_contest) community on LiveJournal. It won the contest.