Chapter 38 - Spirit

Shippo felt his otou’s warm pelt around him. He remembered how his otou taught him were to find the best acorns and the best place to enjoy the peaceful world that we lived in. His otou once said. “A little fox is small in this world, but you are only as small the heart that pounds in your chest.”

Shippo will never forget that saying, he wished he his otou was here, to guide him. InuYasha and Kagome had run into him for Shikon no Tama shards, but it truly was the first Shippo had ever experienced such friendship.

Shippo would admit InuYasha was harsh, rude, and obnoxious, but he almost seemed more like an otou figured then a rowdy brother. Shippo pulled his pelt, otou if you can here me; I need you now to save my friend, as when he saved me from the ones who killed you.

“Little one…?”

Shippo blinked, his otou’s pelt was gone, and he felt skinny, weak arms holding him up. Blinking Shippo looked up at his rescuer, or captor.

It was Ginta, of Kouga’s wolf tribe. Hakkaku was not too far behind; his right leg seemed badly injured.

“Oh…” Shippo felt the warm dream fade away, only to be replaced by intense pain that eased all the way up his small body.

“You took quite the dive, Hakkaku ran after you, but broke his leg in the process.” Ginta said.

“What…happened?”

“InuYasha, if you can call him that anymore.” Hakkaku gulped.

Shippo desperately wanted to walk, his feet were yelling at him. “Ginta, can you let me down?”

“Sure, are you sure you can walk?” the wolf youkai asked.

“I…think so.” Shippo jumped out of Ginta’s arms and felt intense pain shoot right back up. Shippo gasped, and fell to his knees.

“Hey!” Ginta said.

“I…just need a little rest.” Shippo gasped. He was just a kid, why was he in such a position?! Shippo laid himself on some roots of a nearby tree and closed his eyes. What he really wanted was to feel his otou’s pelt again. He wanted to fall in that peaceful sleep, where there was no fighting, no pain, and more of all no tears.

Shippo never truly felt sadness for InuYasha until now. Every time the hanyou went to see the miko Kikyo, he always stood by Kagome with his nose to the air to show how he felt about the feelings between Kikyo and InuYasha. And of course InuYasha was angered easily and hit him or call him nasty names with that mouth of his.

InuYasha, Shippo thought, what happened to you? He really wanted the loud mouth, nasty, angered tempered hanyou back. He hated to see someone so stubborn in such despair.

“Ohhh…” Hakkaku sat down clutching his broken. “I hope Kouga is alright.”

“I hope sister and the others are to.” Ginta whispered.

“We can’t sit here!” Shippo yelled at the two wolf youkai’s.

“What do you want us to do, fox?” Hakkaku asked. “I can’t walk much further.”

“I…” Shippo should’ve kept his mouth shut. He really didn’t know how to back up his demand. “I’m Sorry; I’m just worried about everyone.”

“We are to, young fox, especially Kouga and sister.” Ginta said.

“Why do you call Kagome ‘sister’?” Shippo asked.

“Kouga asked her to be his mate when we first met all of you.” Hakkaku yawned. He flinched at the sudden body shudder.

“Oh. I think she’s InuYasha’s…”

“I don’t know.” Ginta interrupted. “Do you really think InuYasha is capable of doing that!?” Ginta shot his finger over to the burning blast that apparently Ginta and Hakkaku had fled from. “With his bare hands!?”

“Ginta!” Hakkaku growled. “It’s not the young fox’s fault! InuYasha is possessed by someone who did that!”

“But…”

“I…” Hakkaku didn’t finish, he pulled his lips into a tight squeeze and fell off the root he had been sitting on.

“Hakkaku!” Ginta shouted.

Shippo watched as the Ginta ran over to his pack mate and held him steady. Clutching his small paws, Shippo plucked a leaf from the ground and stared at it.

“Are you alright?” Ginta asked.

“I’ll live.” Hakkaku gasped.

“We better find Kouga, at least its morning now.”

Shippo glanced up to see the sun peeking out from behind the hills. The orange filled the night sky and brought reassuring light to see the full extent of there surroundings.

“Kami…” Hakkaku shook his head.

Shippo looked up and almost fell off the root. The blast had been bigger then they had originally thought.

“What?” Shippo asked.

“He’s more powerful then I thought.” Hakkaku said, shaking his head side to side.

“We got to find Kouga, he was closer then we were.” Ginta said.

“So was Kagome.” Shippo put his hand over his face, and cried. If Kagome had died he would never forgive himself.

“Hey, hey, sister is not dead!” Ginta tried to reassure the little fox.

“Kagome was trying to stop him! It’s all my fault!” Shippo wailed. He whimpered and curled his fox tail around his legs. Why, why did Kagome have to be so bold and leave him behind? InuYasha was not himself! Shippo wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.

“Hey little fox, sister was doing what she thought was right for InuYasha, it’s not your fault.” Ginta said as he picked Shippo up once more.

“But it is!” Shippo cried harder. That was until he felt InuYasha’s scent slam his small nose. That only meant one thing now. “Run! InuYasha is coming!”

Hakkaku, even with a broken leg, managed to get to his feet quickly and run after Ginta. Shippo clung to Ginta’s shoulder hoping his nose was not leading in the direction of the possessed hanyou.

Ginta and Hakkaku may not be as fast as Kouga, but they were faster then any human could run. Though InuYasha had them still beat, Shippo was glad he was not running from InuYasha, alone.

Shippo heard a whooshing sound, almost making Ginta stop in mid-run. But Hakkaku zoomed by, hoping mainly on his good leg, coaxing them to continue without stopping. Ginta took a deep breath and caught up with Hakkaku quickly as he had both good legs, only Shippo’s eyes were scanning the terrain. The wolves were only focused on running, Shippo was more concerned were InuYasha’s location was.

Shippo gripped Ginta’s shoulder tighter as the scent drew nearer. “He’s catching up go faster guys!” Shippo shouted.

“Were going as fast as we can!” Ginta shouted. Shippo knew they would never out run InuYasha, more or less out fly him. Shippo had seen InuYasha, or Inuhidoi, Shippo found himself sneering as that name entered his mind. InuYasha had flown so fast that he breezed by Sesshomaru like he was nothing more then a human that was against a youkai in a speed race.

Shippo felt his tail puff out more when he felt the scent almost on top of them. He kicked Ginta as a sign to go faster, but what was the point? “Just hide!” Shippo hissed.

For some reason, it felt like he was their leader now, because both Ginta and Hakkaku did as he ordered. Hakkaku, took one good leap with his good leg, and grabbed the bigger branch, pulling himself up the tree with incredible speed, due to adrenaline.

Ginta jumped up into another, well rounded tree, knocking Shippo off his shoulder. Shippo landed in a bush, but refused to move, holding his breath as for sure his death was close by.

Suddenly Shippo felt a sharp tip push a little into his back. Shippo screamed and curled into a ball, whimpering.

“InuYasha please, I’m just a kid!” Shippo held his hands up showing he was no threat to this so called half-Kami.

Hearing no response, Shippo curiosity got the best of him, and squinted an eye open. He smelled InuYasha alright, but where was he? Shippo glanced up, what had poked him the back?

Shippo glanced around, the wolves were still hiding in the trees, and there was no sign something as large as InuYasha had been there.

“InuYasha…?”

The tip pushed into his back, this time Shippo held very still, uncertain to make a movement. He turned around seeing some type of steel tip poking through the bush into his back. A sword?

Shippo blinked, and found himself laughing at himself. He mistook InuYasha’s scent for a human’s?

Shippo jumped back, his fire fox at the ready. Shippo knew not to hurt humans, but since he was scared out of his mind, he had to just scare this human away. Shippo crawled out of the bush baring his small fangs, and making a hissing noise with the swishing of his tail.

Shippo almost fainted for what he saw, this was no human. It was Tessaiga, floating there, just floating there, in it’s huge transformed state.

“Is that InuYasha’s sword?” Shippo heard Hakkaku ask.

“Looks like it to me.” Ginta said, as he fell from the tree. “I thought you said you smelled InuYasha?”

“I did!” Shippo huffed. “It was different I should have thought of it that way, but I was scared.” Shippo put his head down in shame.

“Why is it floating like that?” Hakkaku asked, as he slowly made lowered himself from the tree.

“I…” Shippo was completely clueless. “Tessaiga?” Oh, Shippo thought to himself, you’re such a moron, your talking to a sword!

Tessaiga said nothing of course, but it slowly turned in the opposite direction and began moving at a quick pace.

“I think it wants to follow.” Ginta said.

“Come on!” Hakkaku yelled. He wrapped some of his fur that was attached to his armor around his blood soaked leg, and began hopping as fast as he could after InuYasha’s fang. Ginta ran after him in hot pursuit.

Shippo stood in the small clearing completely dumbfounded. How was that possible? InuYasha’s sword only moved on its own when there was impending danger, or if it was being called back to its sheath.

Shippo snapped out of his questions and raced after the wolves and the floating sword. He had lost ground quick, so instead of running on such small paws, he put a small leaf on his head, and transformed into his pink balloon shape.

“Wait up!” Shippo cried. He flapped his skinny arms until he caught up, and popped back onto Ginta’s shoulder.

“Do you know what’s going on little fox?” Ginta asked.

“No, Tessaiga never acted like this before.” Shippo said, shaking his head. He hopped off Ginta’s shoulder and ran along the floating Tessaiga. He glared at his reflection in the shiny fang as he paced the speed it was traveling.

Shippo then felt InuYasha’s scent, was it coming from Tessaiga? Shippo blinked, no, it was InuYasha’s hanyou scent, not the new inquired one his body was now producing. Shippo glanced up to see Tessaiga’s hilt unmanned. Shippo blinked once, he swore he saw a hanyou InuYasha gripping Tessaiga’s hilt, running, glaring at the target he now had acquired.

Shippo blinked again and the illusion of InuYasha was gone, only left was the floating, flying Tessaiga. Shippo realized it was InuYasha he was running with, he forced himself to go faster. Don’t worry InuYasha, Shippo thought, you seem to be in control of Tessaiga at your own will, and that is what Myoga was the key, to defeating this monster that has taken you. Shippo felt some type of new determination burn through his small body, and with Ginta and Hakkaku trailing behind; Shippo was determined more then ever to bring the old InuYasha back.

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