Inupunzel

Disclaimer: I don't own any Inuyasha characters.

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Chapter 6: The Fox

Inuyasha sat hunched in the back corner of his room, as was now his habit whenever Kikyo visited. The Priestess bustled back and forth, stowing various foodstuffs in the pantry. His ears would occasionally flick to follow the sound of her movement, but otherwise he pretended to be ignoring her in favor of doodling with a stick in the dust on the floor. He was too upset about his imprisonment to help her now, but he'd spent too much of his childhood wishing he could help her more to feel comfortable sitting by while she worked, either. It made him even more grumpy.

Eventually the supplies were put away and Kikyo pulled out a broom to begin sweeping. She left his corner for last, but finally approached him. "I need to sweep there now," she informed him with a flat voice. Without a word Inuyasha got to his feet and stalked to the bed, where he sat cross-legged facing away from her. Kikyo simply resumed sweeping.

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Inuyasha lounged on his bed while Miroku sprawled in the tower's lone chair. "I just don't understand," Miroku was complaining. "I'm a handsome, charming fellow. The girls should be flocking to me, but I can't get a single one to agree to bear my child! Do you think I'm maybe my approach is too weak? Should I try to come on a little stronger?"

Inuyasha let his companion continue to chatter, simply enjoying the friendly company. He had his own opinions about where Miroku might be going wrong with "the ladies." But considering his own lack of experience in human interaction, he supposed Miroku was more likely to be right about the situation, so he kept his mouth shut.

Suddenly Inuyasha's ears perked and he sat upright facing the window. "Do you hear that?" he asked Miroku.

"Hear what?" Miroku frowned in concentration.

"It's coming closer," Inuyasha replied.

A few moments more and they could both hear the noise – a high-pitched, fast-approaching voice screaming. "Aaaa!" continued the voice as it raced towards them, growing louder until finally a small red blur burst from the underbrush and headed straight towards the tower. It didn't even pause when it reached the base of the building, instead continuing right up the rope of Inuyasha's hair. Inuyasha and Miroku both jerked back from the windowsill as the small blur burst through the window and continued on into the room, still screaming all the way. The blur reached the back wall and scrabbled at it for a moment, before redirecting to run circles around the room. On the third pass Miroku reached out and snagged what they could now tell was a small child by the back of his shirt. The kid's limbs continued flailing for a few moments, before both that and the screaming finally petered out into gasping pants. Finally, the kid opened eyes that had been squeezed shut the entire time.

Now that the limbs were no longer a blur of movement, Inuyasha realized that while the child looked roughly human in shape, he sported a foxy tail and paws instead of feet. The kit's green eyes widened as he stared at Miroku, and a small hand came up to point at the man's face. He sputtered for a moment before catching his breath enough to speak. "Human!" he declared accusingly.

Miroku made to reply, but before he could get a word out, Inuyasha snatched the kit from his grasp and tossed it across the room. It landed in a ball and rolled a few times before scrambling back to its feet. Inuyasha took a protective stance in front of Miroku. "Stay away from my friend, demon!" he snarled.

Both Miroku and the kit gaped at him. "Uh, um, huh," Miroku coughed out. "Er, thank you for your concern, Inuyasha, but I think I'll be alright this time."

"What do you mean?" retored Inuyasha. "That thing's a demon! They're dangerous!"

"That's rich coming from a half-demon," the kit muttered from his corner. He crossed his little arms and scowled at the adults.

Miroku put up his hands placatingly. "He does have a point, Inuyasha. You have demon blood, but you're not a danger to me. It's true that some demons are dangerous, but there are plenty of harmless ones too."

Inuyasha took a long moment to wrap his brain around what Miroku was saying. "But, Kikyo..."

"Has a well-known hatred of all demons," Miroku finished for him. "I'm sure she has her reasons. But she was wrong about you, wasn't she? Is it so hard to think she might be wrong about others too?"

Inuyasha still looked a bit doubtful, so Miroku continued. "Besides, this one's just a kid, hardly more than a baby. Even if he wanted to hurt me, I doubt he could do much."

Inuyasha glanced over at the kit. "He is pretty small," he allowed.

"Hey!" the kit protested. "I'm not that little!"

Miroku walked over to the kit and squatted down to his eye level. "What's your name kid?"

The kit immediately puffed out his chest. "I'm Shippo!" he proudly proclaimed.

"Well Shippo, what was it you were running from just now?"

The kits eyes grew large, and his hands grabbed at his hair. "I almost forgot! I'm being chased by some bad demons! They're really scarey!"

"Hmm," Miroku said, as he and Inuyasha both glanced out the window. "Given that they haven't shown up yet, I'm going to say you lost them."

Shippo scrambled up to the window and peeked over the sill. "Yeah, looks like it. I doubt they've given up looking for me, though. They've been chasing me for days!"

"That's a lot of effort," Inuyasha observed. "Why are they after you?"

"Ehehehe," Shippo rubbed at the back of his head in embarrassment. "I kinda played a trick on them, only it didn't quite go as planned, and I might of, sort of, maybe ... flooded their house."

"What'd you do that for?" cried Inuyasha.

"It was supposed to be funny," Shippo muttered while scuffing a foot on the floor.

"I think perhaps in the future you should plan your pranks out a little more thoroughly, and perhaps choose safer targets," Miroku concluded. "In the meantime, perhaps you should stay here with us awhile longer, until the bad demons give up looking for you?" Miroku peeked over to see what Inuyasha thought of the idea.

"It's ok by me," Inuyasha said, "but if Kikyo shows up while you guys are here we'd have a problem. She doesn't want me being around anyone, and she'd purify the kit before asking any questions."

Miroku looked a bit mulish at first – he had been pushing for Inuyasha to introduce him to Kikyo, but so far Inuyasha had adamantly refused. Shippo, meanwhile, looked scared. He tugged on Miroku's hem. "I don't wanna be purified! Kikyo sounds scarey!" Miroku's expression relaxed as he looked down at the frightened kit.

"Inuyasha, are you able to sense when Lady Kikyo is coming?" he inquired.

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, her cart's kind of creaky, I can hear her coming from a couple miles away. I can smell her from further away if the wind's right."

"That should give us plenty of warning," replied Miroku. "You keep a watch for Lady Kikyo, and if you sense her coming, we'll leave until she's gone."

Inuyasha nodded, and Shippo relaxed. A small smile worked its way onto his face. "I've never stayed over at someone else's home before," he confided in growing excitement. He peered around the room in open curiosity. "What's with all the hair all over the place?"

"It's a long story kid," Inuyasha groaned.

"I've got time!" Shippo chirruped. He crawled up onto Inuyasha's bed and sat looking expectantly up at him. When Inuyasha looked to Miroku for support, the monk joined Shippo on the bed and mirrored his expression. "I'd like to hear the full tale as well," he enthused.

Inuyasha let his shoulders slump. "Fine, fine... but no laughing!" Miroku's eyes crinkled in amusement, and Shippo looked to be already holding in laughter. Inyasha sighed in defeat, and launched into the story. "So, it happened like this..."

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Author's note: Yay another chapter! Thanks to anyone still reading this!

Next chapter: The Slayer. I hope you'll look forward to it!