Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.

Curiosity

Ignoring the sad chatter of her kittens and the tom, Kirara leaned down, hind claws digging deep into the wood, forepaws braced lightly against the wall. Head lowered, nose slightly wrinkled, mouth slightly open, she tried to discern just what had attracted her attention. Something of Kagome's, but what?

Mrrf! This was getting her nowhere! Kirara whipped her tails back and forth, and then decided the somnolent well was safe enough to explore. Pushing off, she dropped into the well. Sango shrieked in dismay. Kirara tilted her ears back—silly kitten! She was perfectly safe. Pfft!

She landed with a solid, four-footed thump, as if to warn any invisible foes that the neko was here. Spotting a long, pale, slender form propped up in one corner, ears and whiskers pricked forward. Kagome's bow! How strange! Kirara tilted her head and sat down to study it. Why hadn't dog-boy retrieved it from the well? Surely he'd sensed it—his senses were almost as good as hers, after all.

Well, normally. Perhaps his grief had dulled his senses: he was half-human, after all.

Should she drag the bow up? She wasn't a dog, to play fetch, but if seeing the bow made her kitten happier …

The well was quite narrow. Vaulting up onto her hind feet, Kirara transformed, dropping big fore paws on either side of the bow. Delicately, she clamped her teeth around the end of the bow—

Wham!

… … …

Mrow-ow-ow! What was she doing on her back, why did her skin, her fur, her head hurt! Claws scratched at her chest: realizing who the idiot was, she bit. Hard.

"Ow! Stupid cat!"

Stupid dog! He knew she hated being carried upside down! Kirara bit again.

"Alright, alright," came the mutter, and then a move, which left her nestled in the crook of his arm, properly upright. "Don't you know better than to touch someone's weapon, without permission? Tessaiga burns youkai, and that bow can be just as fussy."

Oh. Dog-boy had a point. She should have remembered. That bow was a miko weapon, which meant it was worse than a youkai weapon. Meh. Magic weapons. Just leave them alone.

The delightful, sharp claws scratched gently through her fur as hanyo and humans talked. She ignored them, purring as the pain faded.

Petting was more important than magic weapons.

Author's Note: I've written several pieces about Kirara, and decided that it's time she had her very own collection. Prior pieces where she stars (or co-stars) can be found in Little Bits: (#7 Ears; #34 Partners;) Waiting For Kagome #21 The Feline View: White To Black #8 Lessoning the Kitten.

This piece was posted in a shorter version for the LiveJournal community ib4y, the prompt being a picture of Kirara, Sango, Miroku and Shippo looking down the well. It was originally posted on March 28, 2011. It placed second.

(July 5 2011)