Flowers for Shippou by Cosmic Castaway
"I can't believe it," Shippou grumbled, stalking through the woods in a huff. "That stupid hanyou. What does she see in him?"
Four years had passed since the end of the quest for the Shikon no Tama. Luckily, all of Shippou's friends had come out of it alive, and for the most part, Naraku's other enemies as well. Yet despite the absence of their enemy, life seemed to go on as it had always done. Sango and Miroku were still exactly the same. They were married, but their relationship was still as comical as it had been when the five of them had still been traveling. Kagome, although matured, was still a spitfire. And Inuyasha, who had probably changed the most since Shippou had met him, was still very clueless to the world.
Not everything was exactly the same. Out of all his friends, he realized that things had been changing in him the most. He had been young when his father had died, only seven years old by human standards. Now, he was approaching adolescence. And what he had thought had been a strange affinity towards women had become, quite recently, very different. Kagome didn't feel like a mother anymore. She didn't even feel like a sister. Everytime that Inuyasha seemed to be making any progress with her, it made Shippou feel almost sick to his stomach. He found himself being very childish about the whole thing, and he'd wished that it would go away.
"I'm being stupid." Shippou growled, plopping himself down beneath a large, fragrant cedar. "I don't get myself."
The ground was wet and springy beneath his foxtail, and the forest was dripping with moisture. It had rained the night before, and there was a puddle right beside him. Shippou sighed to himself as he glanced at his reflection. He felt so different from before. His face was getting thinner, his hair was getting darker, and his voice was getting deeper. The once small bun he'd held his hair up in was now as long as Kouga's ponytail. His clothing was different- he'd grown out of his old attire ages before. Now he wore a pair of pale yellow hakama with a dark green leaf-print haori like his old one, only larger. His feet were human now- he'd figured out how to keep them that way. The only thing he felt that remained of his childhood were his stunning bluegreen eyes and his cream-colored foxtail.
"It never used to bother me," Shippou whispered to his melancholy face in the puddle. "I used to spy on them with Miroku all the time."
The silence of the forest was suddenly broken by the sound of someone humming. Shippou's human form disappeared in a flash of blue fire, and in its place stood a small, cream-colored fox. He flicked his ears forward, listening. By the sound of it, it was a very young boy or a girl, and by the scent of it, the person was human. Shippou relaxed his tensed shoulders and peeked out his head to see who it was.
A young girl emerged, no older than himself. She was wearing a pink and white yukata with a fushia sash, and her long dark hair was down except a tiny pigtail on one side of the top of her head. She hummed happily to herself, oblivious to the world. Shippou had to wonder how foolish she was to be out here all by herself. He was pretty deep in the forest, and the place was known to be home to all sorts of dangerous youkai.
Shippou slinked back into the shadows. He wanted to watch this girl. There was something vaguely familiar about her scent, and she looked a lot like Kagome. In fact, she looked nearly identical.
Shippou wracked his mind for the image of another little girl he could disguise himself as. All he could think of was Souten, but she was a youkai, so he settled for Kagome herself. That way he could approach her pretty easily and lead her out to safety.
With a light popping sound, a mass of blue flames engulfed the young fox and Kagome sat in its place. He'd not used her school uniform, but decided it would be better to appear as if dressed like a miko. So trying his best not to frighten her, Shippou slowly stood up and walked up behind the girl.
"Oh! You scared me." The little girl said, looking startled. "Miko-sama? Are you lost?"
Shippou had to think quickly of what a miko might say in this situation. Using his most polite and feminine speech, he replied, "Thank you for asking! But no, I'm gathering herbs!"
The little girl blinked. "There aren't any herbs around here."
"There aren't?" Shippou/Kagome replied, scraching the back of her neck nervously. "Well, I'm an apprentice to a miko. I guess I didn't know!"
The girl laughed. "I'm Rin!"
"My name is..." Shippou paused. "Er...Kikyou."
"Pleased to meet you, Kikyou-san!" Rin replied.
"Yeah, you too," said Shippou, but now it was time for him to ask some questions. "May I ask, Rin-chan," he began, "What you might be doing out here?"
Rin smiled at him. "Well, I live here."
Shippou balked. "Out...here...?"
"Yep!" Rin nodded, "With Sesshoumaru-sama and Lord Jaken!"
Shippou experienced a feeling very similar to all the times he was punched upside the head by Inuyasha. It was so intense a revelation that he lost his grasp on his transformation and in a flash of blue flames, he was back in his regular human form.
"Ah!" Rin gasped. "A...a TANUKI!"
Shippou hung his head in exasperation. "I'm a kitsune," he muttered dismally.
"Oh," Rin replied. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"Yes," Shippou replied. "I was the kid of Inuyasha's group."
Rin's eyes narrowed. "Why'd you try to trick me?"
"I didn't want to frighten you, and I was...worried you were lost."
Rin cluched a fist to her chest, blushing slightly. "Oh."
Letting out a sigh, Shippou turned to go, mumbling something along the lines of "As if I haven't embarassed myself enough already..."
But Rin stopped him. "Wait."
"What is it?" Shippou asked her.
And then he had another revalation. As he looked back at her blushing, embarrassed face, the fact that Kagome had been holding Inuyasha earlier that day seemed to not mean a thing to him. He felt a heat creep into his cheeks and felt his stomach fill with butterflies.
"Thank you." Rin replied softly, smiling.
"Of c-course," Shippou stammered in return. "Nothing do it. Er, to it."
"I was heading home," Rin told him, her shyness seeming to pass. "I'll see you around."
"Okay," Shippou replied. His mouth had dried up and his brain seemed suddenly blank. Everything he felt like saying to her seemed like it would be stupid.
Rin turned and continued walking deep into the forest, leaping nimbly over logs or balancing on top of them, humming happily.
"I can't believe it," Shippou grumbled, stalking through the woods in a huff. "That stupid hanyou. What does she see in him?"
Four years had passed since the end of the quest for the Shikon no Tama. Luckily, all of Shippou's friends had come out of it alive, and for the most part, Naraku's other enemies as well. Yet despite the absence of their enemy, life seemed to go on as it had always done. Sango and Miroku were still exactly the same. They were married, but their relationship was still as comical as it had been when the five of them had still been traveling. Kagome, although matured, was still a spitfire. And Inuyasha, who had probably changed the most since Shippou had met him, was still very clueless to the world.
Not everything was exactly the same. Out of all his friends, he realized that things had been changing in him the most. He had been young when his father had died, only seven years old by human standards. Now, he was approaching adolescence. And what he had thought had been a strange affinity towards women had become, quite recently, very different. Kagome didn't feel like a mother anymore. She didn't even feel like a sister. Everytime that Inuyasha seemed to be making any progress with her, it made Shippou feel almost sick to his stomach. He found himself being very childish about the whole thing, and he'd wished that it would go away.
"I'm being stupid." Shippou growled, plopping himself down beneath a large, fragrant cedar. "I don't get myself."
The ground was wet and springy beneath his foxtail, and the forest was dripping with moisture. It had rained the night before, and there was a puddle right beside him. Shippou sighed to himself as he glanced at his reflection. He felt so different from before. His face was getting thinner, his hair was getting darker, and his voice was getting deeper. The once small bun he'd held his hair up in was now as long as Kouga's ponytail. His clothing was different- he'd grown out of his old attire ages before. Now he wore a pair of pale yellow hakama with a dark green leaf-print haori like his old one, only larger. His feet were human now- he'd figured out how to keep them that way. The only thing he felt that remained of his childhood were his stunning bluegreen eyes and his cream-colored foxtail.
"It never used to bother me," Shippou whispered to his melancholy face in the puddle. "I used to spy on them with Miroku all the time."
The silence of the forest was suddenly broken by the sound of someone humming. Shippou's human form disappeared in a flash of blue fire, and in its place stood a small, cream-colored fox. He flicked his ears forward, listening. By the sound of it, it was a very young boy or a girl, and by the scent of it, the person was human. Shippou relaxed his tensed shoulders and peeked out his head to see who it was.
A young girl emerged, no older than himself. She was wearing a pink and white yukata with a fushia sash, and her long dark hair was down except a tiny pigtail on one side of the top of her head. She hummed happily to herself, oblivious to the world. Shippou had to wonder how foolish she was to be out here all by herself. He was pretty deep in the forest, and the place was known to be home to all sorts of dangerous youkai.
Shippou slinked back into the shadows. He wanted to watch this girl. There was something vaguely familiar about her scent, and she looked a lot like Kagome. In fact, she looked nearly identical.
Shippou wracked his mind for the image of another little girl he could disguise himself as. All he could think of was Souten, but she was a youkai, so he settled for Kagome herself. That way he could approach her pretty easily and lead her out to safety.
With a light popping sound, a mass of blue flames engulfed the young fox and Kagome sat in its place. He'd not used her school uniform, but decided it would be better to appear as if dressed like a miko. So trying his best not to frighten her, Shippou slowly stood up and walked up behind the girl.
"Oh! You scared me." The little girl said, looking startled. "Miko-sama? Are you lost?"
Shippou had to think quickly of what a miko might say in this situation. Using his most polite and feminine speech, he replied, "Thank you for asking! But no, I'm gathering herbs!"
The little girl blinked. "There aren't any herbs around here."
"There aren't?" Shippou/Kagome replied, scraching the back of her neck nervously. "Well, I'm an apprentice to a miko. I guess I didn't know!"
The girl laughed. "I'm Rin!"
"My name is..." Shippou paused. "Er...Kikyou."
"Pleased to meet you, Kikyou-san!" Rin replied.
"Yeah, you too," said Shippou, but now it was time for him to ask some questions. "May I ask, Rin-chan," he began, "What you might be doing out here?"
Rin smiled at him. "Well, I live here."
Shippou balked. "Out...here...?"
"Yep!" Rin nodded, "With Sesshoumaru-sama and Lord Jaken!"
Shippou experienced a feeling very similar to all the times he was punched upside the head by Inuyasha. It was so intense a revelation that he lost his grasp on his transformation and in a flash of blue flames, he was back in his regular human form.
"Ah!" Rin gasped. "A...a TANUKI!"
Shippou hung his head in exasperation. "I'm a kitsune," he muttered dismally.
"Oh," Rin replied. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"Yes," Shippou replied. "I was the kid of Inuyasha's group."
Rin's eyes narrowed. "Why'd you try to trick me?"
"I didn't want to frighten you, and I was...worried you were lost."
Rin cluched a fist to her chest, blushing slightly. "Oh."
Letting out a sigh, Shippou turned to go, mumbling something along the lines of "As if I haven't embarassed myself enough already..."
But Rin stopped him. "Wait."
"What is it?" Shippou asked her.
And then he had another revalation. As he looked back at her blushing, embarrassed face, the fact that Kagome had been holding Inuyasha earlier that day seemed to not mean a thing to him. He felt a heat creep into his cheeks and felt his stomach fill with butterflies.
"Thank you." Rin replied softly, smiling.
"Of c-course," Shippou stammered in return. "Nothing do it. Er, to it."
"I was heading home," Rin told him, her shyness seeming to pass. "I'll see you around."
"Okay," Shippou replied. His mouth had dried up and his brain seemed suddenly blank. Everything he felt like saying to her seemed like it would be stupid.
Rin turned and continued walking deep into the forest, leaping nimbly over logs or balancing on top of them, humming happily.
"Bye..." Shippou trailed off. He blinked, and she was gone.
"Ke. Now I REALLY don't understand myself." Shippou shook his head and headed out of the forest, wondering if he was ill.
To be continued...
A/N: Wow, this is my first non-yaoi fic in quite a long time. XP I've always thought the pairing of Rin and Shippou was cute, and there's not that much fanfiction out there about the two. I hope you liked the first chapter of Flowers for Shippou, and please Review!