Boundless

Disclaimer: I own nothing, the character belong to their respected owners.

Summary: She loves him but not the way he wants. To insure that Kagome will forever be his, Shippo does the unthinkable. The group is frantic to find Shippo after he disappears one night, but when they find him will he be the same Shippo. Will she accept him for what he now is? Terrible summary I know!

Pairing: Kagome & Shippo

Enjoy!

The sun rose high into the day leaving the temperature to be a little warmer than the group would prefer, but all carried on as they followed the dirt path through the forest, stopping every so often when they needed refreshments. Walking behind Inuyasha but in front of Mirko and Sango, Kagome walked with Shippo in her arms. It had been little over a year since the group had formed but there were some noticeable changes. Mainly Kagome.

Shippo smiled happily at the young miko, who had grown far more than others in the group. She had set aside all of which she could for the sake of restoring the jewel. Instead of having to make weekly trips through the well she went once a month if not every other month so as to get medical supply that could only be found in the future. Hoping to better fulfil the duties that were placed upon her shoulders, Kagome trained tirelessly in gaining control of her powers -that grew quickly with every passing day-. If that wasn't enough, she had changed her wardrobe to better fit in with the time that she now occupies the most.

Having been looking at her Shippo took the opportunity to look at what she decided to wear today. She wore a take on the traditional miko garbs, the top being a creamy white in color with blue stitching, a shade lighter than the royal blue hakamas she wore that came up to tie under her brust. While he prefered that she wear her hair down, she had taken a liking to wearing it in a somewhat sloppy bun atop her head, her bangs along with a few wild strands of ebony black hair were the only things left untouched to frame her heart shaped face. But no matter what she wore, Shippo found her just as lovely as before.

Kagome smiled down at him, showing him her bright crystal blue eye and ever breathtaking smile. She was perfect to him, the only problem -to him anyways- being that she still held feelings for the ever rude Inuyasha.

Shippo didn't like it one bit, whenever he was trying to enjoy his time with Kagome, the dog turned around to ruin it with his foul behavior. He knew the dog to be jealous, jealous that he -from the moment they met- had become her main priority. After all Kagome loved him, even with that knowledge it left him a little bitter because she meant so much more to him than what she saw herself as: a surrogate mother. She fell into the role of his caretaker, he loved that he got her attention, but he wanted more than the motherly love she bestowed him with. He wanted her to love him like she did the dog, to love him the way he did her, they were meant to be together why couldn't she see the undying love that he held for her.

It all had to do with him being a "child". The gods had messed up, if she hadn't been pulled down the cursed well, he would be old enough to fill the position of a lover and not a child needing to be taken care of like she saw him now. The times were messed up, he knew deep in his bones that they had been meant to meet in his future and her present. He knew that what he felt could only mean she was his soulmate, she would be able to feel that pull too if she wasn't blinded by the fact that he -unfortunately- was a mere tike.

It infuriated him to no end. He was far more mature than many gave him credit for -blinded by the fact that he did in fact look the part of a child-, he may only have one tail but he was after all nearly a hundred and fifty. Foxes aged differently than dogs. The dog had reached physical maturity quickly because of his human half but his mind was slow as he continued to mature like demons. He like many demons on the other hand aged at a slow pace, it was a blessing and a curse. The dog and he were the same age but the dog had been the luckier of the two and reached puberty and it was one reason that made the mutt more appealing because seeming to be a more physically aged match for Kagome.

Shippo cursed his luck, silently wishing that he could prove himself. He was merely a fox tike though with a single tail unlike his father who had several because of the great power he had. Tails, for nearly all canine species of demon, were earned with every growth in power which often came when one grew older and more experienced in fighting and in using magic (as to why there were fox/demon schools). InuYasha would rank- if he had tails- at one for his power mostly came from his father's sword unlike his brother who had more than four but surprisingly hid the true number of his tails most demons took pride in their number of tails. His father had been similar in that aspect simply because he didn't like showing off, he knew how strong he was and didn't need a demon picking a fight with him simply to prove themselves.

Thinking about his father made his small heart tighten. He had -and still did- love his father, he'd been a virtuous man and kind ruler of the Southern lands having overthrown the "panthers" -more like stray cats- with the assistance of InuTaisho before his birth. He looked back at the times in the southern palace with great fondness, the thunder brothers had been lucky when they miraculously murdered his father, he was only grateful that his father's soul could be at peace with the cowards deaths.

Bringing up his father, caused Shippo's brain to wonder, going over the precious memories they'd shared.

And then his teal eyes grew wide, realization appearing in their cool depth. "The temple.." It left his lips in a rush of air grabbing the attention of his adoring miko.

"Did you say something Shippo?"

He looked at her quickly not skipping a beat as he replied with a lie. "When are we stopping? I'm getting hungry,"

And like that Kagome called the group to a halt -with of course some arguing with the dog- the group soon stepped off the road though and made camp for the night.

He really hated lying to her, it left the worst taste in his mouth yet he could not tell her. He had a plan and only hopes she wouldn't be too worried.

~(*~o~*)~

Hazy blue eyes snap open in fear followed by the half asleep girl sitting straight up in her dingy purple colored sleeping bag. The dying embers of the night's fire burned hot but left very little to be seen while the cold evening breeze seeped through the fabric of her kimono to chill her warm skin. Her eyes darted back and forth in fear as she looked around for her small kitsune companion.

Jumping up to her feet she nearly tripped over the sleeping bag. The noise woke up Kirara who meowed her confusion at the frantic miko that now began to tear apart the makeshift camp, throwing her yellow bag and sleeping bag as she searched for the fox.

"Shippo!" She called, urging him to appear, as if he were simply playing a trick. Kirara took the time to look around but she could not see or smell the kit, this caused her to jump up and look around the camp with the miko.

"Shippo?" Kagome called again, her voice strained by emotions. Kirara turned as Sango and Miroku began to stir from their rest because of the commotion.

Kagome couldn't find him, she couldn't feel his aura anywhere near the camp. He was gone.

"SHIPPO!"

~o.O~O.o~

Kagome cried herself back to sleep with Sango holding her close while Miroku and Kirara circled the camp in search of both Shippo and InuYasha. They were mostly keeping their eyes open for InuYasha for the sack of using his nose to help locate the small kit that had gone missing sometime in the middle of the night.

And just as the sky began to transform, its coloring lighten with the coming of day, did the half-breed decide to show up. He stepped into camp hesitantly with a raised eyebrow when Sango openly glared at him. He simply rolled his eyes, ignoring her as he looked over the camp and then taking note of the heavy scent of salt in the air, that only meant that someone had been crying-a lot.

His ears fell to his head with his eyes falling to the ground. 'Kagome must have woken up when I left,'. He loved the futuristic girl but he still loved the woman from his past, he couldn't just abandon Kikyo after everything they had been though.

"Where were you?" it was Kagome, there was no sweetness to her voice in fact it held no warmth at all, instead it was horse as she repeated the question louder with the same monotone voice. "Where were you InuYasha?"

He turned, she looked at him with emptiness, he never thought that such a sight would make him feel so broken. Her beautiful sapphire eyes were half open with dark circles forming that caused the blueness of her eyes to turn dark, making them like storm clouds. The darkness made her look almost ghostly paler with her hair falling flat against her shoulders and her clothes untidy. Did he do this to her?

"Where were you? Was a quick fuck really so much more important than our safety!?" Her voice grew louder filling with disdain and hatred as she rose to her feet.

He growled opening his mouth but stopped when he looked into her eyes. She looked so broken, but at the same time a new fire burned within her. In that moment he feared what she would do to him, from the glare she shot his way it looked as if she were ready to purify him.

"Because of you Shippo is gone!" She roared as she walked straight up to him, looking up into his gold eyes with a hatred that surprised him. "My Shippo is missing and it's all your fault!" And like that she hit him across the face with a glowing hand, sending him straight to the ground.

"He told us that he'd pick us off one by one, that he was done playing games. But you didn't want to listen, you were too prideful to take his threat seriously that you could take on whatever he threw at us. I believed in you, I trusted you to help keep this group safe," Kagome yelled with tears in her eyes as she trembled. She was talking about Naraku and his threat nearly a month ago today when he had last attacked having used Shippo for bait to lure Kagome to him. Shippo had been hurt pretty bad and she couldn't get over it.

She fell to her knees in a heap of sobs, her hair falling to hide her face while her drooping shoulders shook with every trembling breath.

Sango hurried over to her friend doing her best to try and comfort the girl.

InuYasha was broken at the sight, he had never seen Kagome like this before. She had always been so strong and positive no matter the situation or danger they faced. And here she was crying on her knees over their weakest companion. Never before did he ever really think as to how Kagome stayed so strong, he hadn't ever considered that she could ever be anything but strong for the group. He never really thought about her feelings.

"We'll find him for you Kagome, I promise," he told her feeling as much the failure as she claimed him to be. He was alpha of this pack and it was his job to protect them and he failed miserably at it.

Sango looked up meeting his gaze with anger and fear. "We better," she whispered.

"I'll go get Miroku and Kirara, you get the camp packed up, we leave immediately so we don't lose the trail," he told Sango before rushing out of the clearing to find the other members of his small pack. He couldn't lose anyone, their all he had and if he lost Kagome he didn't know what he would do.

~(*~o~*)~

Shippo winced as he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest. It quickly faded but left him feeling as if something were wrong. He simply shook his head as he continued heading South, but he'd have to head through the Western lands first. Even at his fastest it would take him at least five days.

But it would all be worth it when he made it to the temple…

wolfYLady: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter to my newest addition to my fanfiction gallery. Please review I would love to see your thoughts on this story and what you think I should do next.