A Visitor From Another World

Shippo Kato was tired. The journey to Rinjihoshi was long and uncomfortable, plus the air was stagnant and warm. He particularly disliked having to use the modern forms of transportation. Automobiles were noisy, bumpy, and unpleasant smelling although there were a choice few he could tolerate. But if it made travel easier and quicker he could endure the discomfort. But as he sat on the horse drawn cart looking at the passing scenery up the hills of Rinjihoshi, Shippo fell asleep.

"Kitsune! Kitsune!" Shippo slowly opened his eyes and eyeing the driver of the cart looking down at him and thrashed for a second before scampering to his feet. The driver jumped back apologizing profusely, "I'm terribly sorry sir, but you did not wake up and we are here!"

"That's alright," Shippo quietly replied retrieving his belongings and climbing down from the cart and handing the driver some money for the journey. He turned and began walking towards town but stopped suddenly, realized he did not know where to go.

"Excuse me," Shippo stated as he returned to the cart. "Do you know where Taisho dojo is?"

The driver smiled, "Of course. Everyone knows where the Taisho dojo is. My little girl goes there." Shippo smiled and quickly memorized every detail the driver had given him and entered the town. He was surprised by how much more crowded this village was to his and how lavishly everyone was dressed in colorful flowing kimono.

But it was the scent of a sweet cake cooking that caught his attention. Finding a small stand with a long line grilling small cakes, Shippo joined the line. He was happy the line moved quickly and soon found himself carrying a small basket of the treats while biting into one, "Azuki beans! This is amazing."

Having finished his snack, Shippo found his way to a tree lined path and eventually gazing upon a simple courtyard with a large building. Slowly he walked into the large building and gazed through a doorway as Kagome was teaching a small class. Shippo watched as Kagome instruct her class in a complicated series of moves with her long sword, the naginata. As she spun around she noticed Shippo and smiled. Kagome finished her sequence and quickly excused herself embracing Shippo outside of the studio, "Did you just get here?"

"Uh huh," Shippo smiled as Kagome led him out of the school and through the gate into their garden, "Inuyasha and Izayoi are probably asleep and Hikaru is at the tera koya but you can relax in the garden, take a nap, or have something to eat. I'll be done in about an hour."

"It's so pretty. Did you do this yourself?" Shippo quietly commented as he looked over the bridge. Adjusting her long flowing sleeve, Kagome smiled, "Mostly. We had a lot of help from Sesshomaru."

Shippo gazed wistfully down at the pond and was quiet for a moment but was interrupted from his thoughts by Kagome, who was tugging on his arm, "Lets get you settled."

Kagome quickly led him into the house apologizing profusely for leaving him to fend for himself, "I'm so sorry Shippo. I was expecting you much later."

"Don't worry about it," Shippo replied holding his hands up. "I'll just relax while you finish your class." Grinning widely, Kagome replied, "Thanks Shippo. Let me see if Inuyasha is up." Quietly she slipped away then returned motioning for Shippo to follow him.

Seating himself on a cushion at the low table on the floor of the kitchen. Spread out on the table was gazing upon a large map. Quietly Inuyasha groggily stepped into the kitchen, his long hair swept up and tied at the back of his head. The glow of a candle on a low table cast a hazy light over him. Inuyasha looked at Shippo and smiled, "How was the journey?"

"Tiring, but quicker than I was expecting," Shippo whispered. Pointing to the map, he asked "What you looking at?"

"It's a map of Rinjihoshi," Inuyasha explained rolling the map up. "I'm looking for different places for my advanced students to train. But this can wait. Let me show you around." Shippo was quiet as he followed Inuyasha, astonished at how much he had changed. As they walked through the garden, Inuyasha asked, "How have you been doing?"

"Okay," Shippo sighed. "My village has been so…tense lately. Everyone is scared and although no one has said it, I feel like everyone is blaming me for bringing this onto the village."

Adjusting the sleeve of his kimono, Inuyasha looked down at the ground, "Is that how you feel?" Shippo was quiet as they walked over the bridge and stopped, leaning over the railing and looking down at the colorful koi fish in the pond, "A part of me does."

Watching Shippo for a moment, Inuyasha added, "I learned a long time ago that you can either choose to be safe and not experience the world or you can take a chance and see some beautiful things"

"I suppose," Shippo reluctantly stated. Inuyasha looked down at him, "And what about your students? Did they learn anything?" The kitsune smiled brightly as he looked straight ahead, "They haven't stopped talking about your visit."

"Really?" Inuyasha grinned. Shippo nodded as he admired the fish in the pond, "They keep asking when you are going to come back. All of them were surprised that hanyou could be so strong."

"Heh, most youkai are surprised," Inuyasha smirked. Laughing, Shippo added, "A lot of my students keep saying how beautiful hanyou are."

Inuyasha glared at Shippo strangely, "What are you talking about?"

"Well hanyou don't exactly look human and don't exactly look youkai," Shippo explained. "You look exotic and attractive, especially to a lot of the girls in my village." Inuyasha's cheeks turned red as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "That's stupid."

"There are a lot of girls in my village that would love to prove you wrong." Looking away, Inuyasha grumbled, "Is that so?"

"That hanyou was so dashing with his long white hair and amber eyes and those adorable ears," Shippo retorted in a high-pitched voiced as he laughed. Inuyasha shook his head, "Sometimes I just don't get this world."

Shippo chuckled but then darkly added, "But there are still many in my village that despise hanyou." Inuyasha solemnly nodded in agreement, "That thinking exists here too, but I don't let it bother me. I know as a hanyou I have to work harder than everyone else. But if I wasn't a hanyou, if I was given everything, I would not have worked so hard to have my own dojo."

The kitsune looked over at Inuyasha, still unused to him talking so frankly about himself, but appreciating the insight. Inuyasha sighed and continued, "I used to think that I did not care, but everyone wants to be accepted. If I can change just how one person thinks, then all the hard work is worth it."

Focusing on a particularly large fish circling a rock at the bottom of the pond, Shippo thought of those words, understanding the hardship of a hanyou. "So will Hikaru and Izayoi have a hard life?"

"Not if I can help it!" Inuyasha stated loudly with determination and emotion in his voice. Looking down with sadness in his voice, Inuyasha explained, "There will always be someone who can't see past what they are. But I can give them the tools to make them strong."

"Hikaru seems happy, though," Shippo added. A peaceful look came across his face as Inuyasha smiled, "He is. His heritage has been an issue already, but we live in an area of Rinjihoshi where hanyou are a bit more common. Hikaru goes to the tera koya, has started at the dojo and has lots of friends just like all the other children here."

Shippo was quiet as he gazed over the garden as he thought of the incident at the tournament.

"It may not be so easy now, but things will get better and your village will become much more safer." Shippo nodded as he watched Inuyasha look down at his feet, wondering what the hanyou could be thinking. Resting his hands on the red railing of the bridge, Inuyasha quietly added, "It was a matter of time before something was bound to happen in your village. Like I said before, you need to look ahead and not let any feelings of guilt hold you down. I know all too well how that can hold you back."

"So what do we need to do?" Shippo asked. Resting his elbows on the railing and looking down, Inuyasha explained, "Your village just needs to set up an effective guard, and watch for anything."

"We have a guard. And they patrol, but they missed Ganjou."

"Yes, it can happen to even the most powerful defenses, but each breach is an opportunity to learn and improve," Inuyasha quietly explained. "But don't dwell too much on what happened." Shippo nodded and looked down at the water and whispered, "I know."

"C'mon, lets go get something to eat runt," Inuyasha smirked as he ruffled Shippo's hair before walking off the bridge and heading toward the house. Growling, Shippo followed Inuyasha, "Who are you calling a runt?"

Smiling Inuyasha turned to face Shippo, "Well you've grown so you are not as much of a runt. But you're still a runt!"

"You're such a jerk," Shippo, grumbled as he followed Inuyasha to the kitchen. Inuyasha smiled as the treats Kagome had prepared earlier were still on the small table. Inuyasha was boiling water on a small fire and adding powdered green tea to a teapot.

"I've been called worse," Inuyasha smirked as he poured the hot water into the pot. Sitting down at the table, Shippo crossed his arms and complained, "And my hair is now a mess thanks to you!"

"You can use a comb to fix it," Inuyasha nonchalantly replied placing the pot and two cups on the table. Glaring at Inuyasha, Souta replied, "Maybe I should fix your hair."

Inuyasha glared at Souta, "If you touch my hair…"

"You'll what?" Kagome sweetly asked as she stepped into the kitchen. Looking up at Kagome's face, Inuyasha quietly replied, "Nothing."

Sitting down next to Inuyasha, Kagome eagerly began to ask about his village since their visit there. Shippo calmly answered her questions, but both Inuyasha and Kagome could see the apprehension in his face. Resting her hand on top of his, Kagome asked, "Shippo, whatever is the matter?"

"I have been given a huge responsibility. The leaders of my village have sent me here to learn the secrets of how your village is so strong."

"Huh?" Inuyasha and Kagome replied. Shippo looked a little distressed as he explained, "Rinjihoshi is known as a large and wealthy youkai village. We want to know how you can keep such a big village so safe."

Frowning, Inuyasha looked down at the tabletop wondering how to answer that question. He poured three cups of tea and passed them around the table. Taking a cup, Kagome sipped her tea as she thought how best to answer the question.

"The reason our village is so well guarded is that there have been we have had rogue youkai wreak havoc. We had to learn from our mistakes."

Nodding in agreement, Inuyasha explained, "There is a youkai named Ganjou who comes from this village. He was power hungry and would blackmail other youkai to do his bidding. And when we came here to live, he made it well know how he felt about humans and hanyou."

"So what happened?" Shippo asked, enthralled by the story.

"He formed an alliance with the youkai that did not want to live with humans or even hanyou for that matter," Inuyasha explained. "There was a rather large number in this alliance. But this alliance also saw it as an excuse to run around the village."

"It was awful," Kagome added. "Vandalism, graffiti, destroyed crops. Inuyasha had just formed a small dojo. But we did not know that some of these students were the children members of the guard."

"Heh, it wasn't long before the guard was recruiting us for help," Inuyasha smirked.

Kagome placed her hand on top of Inuyasha's and smiled, "They wanted a hanyou to represent the village, to let this group know that tolerance and peace not blood was to be valued."

"Heh, we ended up driving them out of the village!" Inuyasha smirked. "He hasn't been back since."

"That's good!" Shippo proclaimed. Inuyasha smiled as his ear twitched. Standing up he began to walk out of the room, "Someone is awake!"

Once Inuyasha left the room, Kagome grinned, "Inuyasha adores Izayoi. He tries to spend every waking hour with her."

"Its cute," Shippo mused. "But I'm a bit jealous. He was always so rough with me." Kagome narrowed her eyes as she looked at Shippo, "Don't act so innocent. You instigated half the arguments."

"Like Inuyasha was innocent," Shippo tried to protest, but quickly quieted as he heard Inuyasha's footsteps. He could not help but smile as Inuyasha returned cradling Izayoi in his arms with a large grin on his face, "She's teething so she's a bit fussy."

"Oh, she's not that bad," Kagome smiled as Inuyasha sat down next to her. Still grinning, Inuyasha agreed as he adjusted the squirming infant in his arms, "She barely fusses, but she can't help it. It hurts to have your teeth come out."

It was obvious that both Inuyasha and Kagome loved their children. But Shippo had been curious about the name and boldly asked, "How did you come up with her name?"

"Izayoi," Inuyasha smiled. "That was my mother's name."

"So another Izayoi walks the earth again," Shippo mused. Inuyasha and Kagome grinned at each other, but it was Inuyasha who spoke first, "That is what Kagome said when Izayoi was born."

All three were silent for a moment as Inuyasha cradled Izayoi in his arms. Looking directly at Shippo, Inuyasha replied, "Would you like to watch me teach and perhaps we could train afterwards?"

Shippo nodded, excited to spar against Inuyasha.