Smells Like Magic by Peach

A Fox on the Loose

Smells Like Magic

I do Not own Inuyasha! This is purely fan made!

A/N: Ok so, new story! This story will be different from my usual. This story is meant to be lighthearted. It will be primarily Humor and Romance based. I kinda need a break from my usual dark, tragic, and 'save the world' type of story, so there will be none of that in this one. But, like my other stories, there will not be immediate romance, that will come in at later chapters. Now, I will mention that this is NOT a Crackfic but there will be a little bit of silliness from time to time... Nothing too outrageous though. I do hope you all will enjoy. Feel free to review, they are much appreciated. :D

Chapter 1: A Fox on the Loose

The sound of soft chirping greeted Kagome as she slowly, almost dazedly, opened her eyes to finally look around her surroundings. Blinking a couple of times to help clear her vision, the first thing that greeted her was the wooden planks of her roof. It was still dark inside her hut so that told her that it was early enough that the sun has yet to kiss the horizon for the day but by the sounds of the birds outside, it seems like that will likely change very soon.

A small smile touched her lips, this was her favorite part of the day. Slowly sitting up, Kagome pulled her furs off herself before standing. With a long lazy stretch, Kagome was ready to start the beginning of her day. Folding all her fur blankets before placing them in one of her chests, Kagome then put away her tatami mat before starting on making her morning tea. As she sat there waiting for her tea water to boil, her mind began to wander.

Three years have past since the final battle against Naraku. It was a long gruesome battle but it was a battle that they had won. Naraku was by no means an easy opponent, it had taken their whole group plus Koga and his lackeys, Ayame and her wolves, as well as Kikyo, and Sesshoumaru to band together to defeat him. But they wouldn't have accomplished this without the help of Kagura, as strangely as that was... The wind demoness had played a crucial part in exploiting all Naraku's weaknesses and was rewarded by finally being free to live out the life she always wanted. They still saw her from time to time, well at least Kagome did. The wind demoness had a weird fascination with her for some reason but Kagome just shrugged it off. To everyone's surprise, Kagura had decided to pledge her loyalty to Sesshoumaru, although from what Kagura had confided to Kagome at a later date, she done so with hope of becoming his mate but it seems the inu Lord had refused her. With a faint smile, Kagome remembered how the sorceress had huffed but shrugged his rejection off in flippantly manner. Kagura told her it was worth a shot but she wasn't all that heart broken about it. Now Kagura worked as a spy for the Western Lord and was apparently pretty good at it... Which came as no surprise to Kagome.

It was almost surreal how everything played out, but what surprised Kagome the most was Kikyo. Kagome had figured that Inuyasha would use the jewel to wish Kikyo back to the living and he would have too if Kikyo hadn't have stopped him. Kikyo had expressed that she was at peace with her circumstance and wished to go back to her rightful place much to Inuyasha's horror. Inuyasha had tried with all that he could to convince Kikyo to stay but she refused. She had calmly explained to everyone that their was no such thing as a pure wish and to wish upon the jewel would taint it before returning at later date. The cycle would have begun all over again and that was something that they couldn't allow to happen. When she had asked Kikyo what she was suppose to do with it, Kikyo's only reply was to keep it close and protect it at all cost.

Kagome grimaced as she looked down at the pink bobble that still hung around her neck. Inuyasha had not been happy... Far from it actually. He had fled after Kikyo's second death, he returned to Edo 6 months later. Nobody knew where he had gone but none the less everyone was relieved when he came back. Kagome let a small smile stretch her lips at the thought. Inuyasha had changed during his time away... But he changed in a good way. Don't get her wrong though, he still had his hotheaded moments but for the most part he seemed to have matured... Some what. Kagome believed a lot of that credit belong to Shoiri though. Inuyasha had told her that he had come across the bat hanyou during his 6 month vacation, as Kagome called it, and he had been making trips over to her village ever since then. Although Inuyasha still refuses to admit that anything is going on between the two, Kagome knew better... His embarrassment over the situation gave him away.

Kagome laughed out loud at the thought, the image of Inuyasha all red face and sputtering was far too amusing. She was happy for him though, she was happy that he was finally opening up more and moving on with his life. She had been worried that he would close himself off after Kikyo's death and her rejection of a love relationship. To much had happened between them for any romance to take place, and they were happy where their friendship was at. He would always be her best friend... Although he still irritated her with his overprotective nature at times.

The sound of loud whistling snapped Kagome out of thought, after looking over at her tea kettle she realized that the water was finally ready. Reaching over to her right, Kagome picked up a medium size box that had all her tea leaves in. Peaking inside, she looked down at all the little glass bottles that were neatly organized, trying to decide what flavor she would have this morning. Skimming over the labels, it didn't take long for one in particular to grab her attention. After taking out the small bottle, next she picked up her reusable tea bag before she carefully began to pinch the right amount of herbal mixture from the bottle. Once she was satisfied, she put the tea bag in her empty cup then poured in the hot water. Knowing that it was going to be a minute before her tea was fully ready, Kagome carefully packed everything back in her tea box before she stood back up. She figured she might as well get dressed for the day as she waited.

Turning around, Kagome made her way over to another chest that was against the back wall of the main area in her hut. It didn't take her long to find a Miko outfit to put on. By the time she was done changing, the aroma of her tea began to tickle her nose. The smell of apples, berries, and spices began to fill the whole hut causing Kagome to instantly relax. With a soft hum, she slowly made her way back to her fire pit before picking up her cup. Carefully picking up the now soaked tea bag, Kagome dipped the bag back in twice to make sure the tea seeped out fully before pulling it out and setting it aside. In an after thought, she reached back down and grabbed an apple out of one of her fruit baskets before she slowly began to walk over to her window.

After taking a small sip of her tea, she carefully set the cup down on the window ledge before taking a bite out of the apple in her hand. As she slowly chewed the juicy fruit, she began to mull over everything that she needed to do today. Which really wasn't much now that she thought about it. First thing on her list was to check on her garden, that would probably only take her a couple of hours. Next she would need to finish hanging up and drying out some of the herbs she picked, and later she would need to check on her apiaries... Since it should be getting close to the time to harvest from them. She also wanted to go and check on Sango to make sure that her and the baby were doing ok. Three months after the final battle Sango and Miroku finally got married and it was only six months after that when Sango got pregnant with her first child. Now, three years later, she was 5 months pregnant with her second child. Another smile touched Kagome's lips as she thought about the couple. They both were great parents... And to her delight, Sango and Miroku's first child was a girl. It will be interesting to see how the monk will handle that when little Hana gets older. Kagome's smile turned into a devious smirk at the thought. Oh the karma that awaited that man. The thought caused her to crack up, almost spitting out a piece of apple that was in her mouth.

Getting herself back under control, Kagome's thoughts shifted to Shippo... She wondered if she would see him today. Last year the little kit had found a Leash, or a community of kitsune, to learn from. He still would visit her often to show her all the cool new tricks he has learn and she couldn't be more proud of him. He was progressing in leaps and bounds.

Humming quietly to herself, Kagome brought her apple up to her lips but just before she could take another bite, a strong gust of wind blew through the area... Knocking her apple out of her hand. Leaning forward, the upper half of her body almost completely out the window, Kagome glanced down at her long lost fruit before scowling and quickly checking the area.

'That was no ordinary gust of wind'.

It took a total of 3 seconds to find her culprit. Hoisting herself back, Kagome sighed over her lost breakfast as she trudged forward to meet her guest... Grabbing a medium size sack as she walked out the door.

"Do you have what I've come for Miko?"

Kagome slightly raised an eyebrow before she gave a small scoff. "Good morning to you too Kagura."

Kagura rolled her eyes before unfolding her fan with a quick flick of her delicate wrist, and brought the fan up to cover her amused smile. She watched Kagome come closer before she gave a proper greeting. "Good morning Kagome, how are you fairing?"

"Great! ...For now at least." Kagome laughed with a small shrug before handing Kagura the bag she had been carrying.

Kagura's eyes lite up as she put her fan away and handed Kagome decent size bag of coins in return before opening the bag Kagome gave her. "Everything is here?"

"Yep... Everything you ordered as well as the orders for the other three ladies." Kagome told her with a smile as she gave the bag of coins a toss up in the air before catching it with her other hand.

"Hmmm..." Kagura gave a nod of approval as she pulled out a small glass jar labeled Lavender that had a light purple creamy substance in it.

It was one of many jars in there that had many different scents. Her homemade 'Shampoo' and 'Conditioner' were surprisingly big hits with both youkai and humans alike. Kagome had decided about two years ago that she didn't want to be a normal Miko with normal Miko duties. So she decided to instead run her own apothecary... Or at least her version of one.

She still made medicines and help heal those that needed it but she also made her own shampoo, conditioner, scented candles, bathing oils, scented soaps, and perfumes for the humans, as well. She even figured out how to make homemade toothpaste, but she didn't sell that. She only made that for herself, Sango, Miroku, and Rin. All of which she learned how to make with her books and futuristic equipment. It wasn't long before it became a big hit with the neighboring villages... And it wasn't until Kagura became interested in her products that the high born ladies of the Western court became fans of her merchandise.

So now Kagura was like her middle man so to speak. Going back and forth with a list of products the demonesses wanted... And it brought in very good money. She almost had enough money to build a shop where she could store all her products but first she had to decide if she wanted to set it up here in Edo or in a bigger village.

Although she really didn't want to leave Edo, Edo wasn't exactly big enough yet for her to do this for a living... So more than likely, she knew that she would need to set up shop elsewhere. With Rin being here to learn from and help Keade, she felt comfortable enough that her presence here wasn't required.

Kagome was suddenly snapped out of thought as Kagura waved a scroll in front of her face. Tilting her head to the side, Kagome took and carefully unrolled the scroll... Quickly realizing it was another list of items that needed to be made. Truth be told, she was starting to feel like the Feudal Era's version of an Avon Lady! A second ticked by before the thought caused her chuckle. She wasn't going to complain though, after this order she will for sure have enough money for a shop.

Reading over the scroll again, Kagome turned to head back into her hut, knowing Kagura would follow quickly behind her. Mentally she started going over what she already had made. 'Apple and Cinnamon scented candles- Check! Wild Berry Shampoo and Conditioner- Check! Peppermint Soap- Check... Wait no, I already sold that...Hmmm.'

Kagura raised an eyebrow as she silently followed Kagome into her hut. The place... Was a mess. The back of the hut was filled with all sorts of things she didn't recognize, but she figured that these things were what made all the wonderfully scented products. "Kagome, how do you even find anything in here?"

Kagome glanced back at Kagura and noticed the small frown that crossed her red lips. Looking back in front of her, she had to admit... Her hut looked something akin to a mad scientist's laboratory. Beakers, tubes, glass jars, and a wide variety of other things were set up everywhere in the back of her hut.

Giving a small shrug, Kagome decided to go back to riffling through the open chest in front of her. "It may look messy but it is what we call back home an organized mess. I know where everything is."

Kagura gave a disbelieving scoff before dropping the subject.

"Besides, after I get paid for this order I will finally have enough to buy a shop. Although I haven't-" Kagome was suddenly interrupted by an angry flux of jyaki that flooded the area. Snapping her head to quickly look at Kagura, she took immediate notice of her look of bafflement.

Quickly standing, Kagome and Kagura made there way to the door, very intent on investigating. Oddly the jyaki felt familiar but at the same time... Unrecognizable.

"Do you know who it is?" Kagome asked as she glanced over at Kagura.

Kagura shook her head no as she walked up to stand by Kagome, quickly grabbing her fan from it's secured place in her red obi. "I don't recognize the jyaki but I can tell it's a kitsune."

Before Kagome could ask anymore questions, a bright orange fox came burling out of the forest's tree line. The fox was about the size of a small pony. It's eyes bright red and it's fur standing on end. It snarled viciously at Kagome and Kagura as it slowly inched forward.

Kagome watched in horror as the fox furiously shook it's head back and forth before backing up a couple of steps. It was almost like it was fighting with it's self... And that was when Kagome realized what was going on. As well as who the fox was.

"It seems the kit lost himself to his beast." Kagura hummed as she readied her fan to attack.

"Kagura no!" Kagome quickly grasped the fan to stop her. "That's Shippo...The kit that use to travel with my group."

Kagura stared blankly at the kit... Trying to think. 'Was there a kit in the Miko's group?' Riffling through her memories, Kagura briefly recalled a small orange furball that did cling to Kagome back then... Funny how she never really noticed the little runt until now. With a small tsk and a quick flick of her wrist, Kagura mournfully put her fan away.

The moment she did though, the kit lunged. Fortunately, Kagome already anticipated this and trapped the kit inside a barrier. The two women watched as he snarled and trashed inside with wild abandon, which worried Kagome.

"I didn't even know he could take his true form yet." Kagome whispered as she watched with mounting concern.

"He's still young... This is most likely his first transformation." Kagura responded as she too continued to watch the kit with a lot less concern than her human companion.

"How do we help him?" Kagome asked as she slowly approached her barrier.

"We can't, this is something he has to figure out on his own, he needs to prove his dominance over his beast." Kagura paused as she thought about it further. "The only other way that can help him is if we find him a kitsune elder. Usually an elder guides the young through their first transformation."

"He never told me the location of the Leash he joined. I have no idea where to even look." Kagome gently rested her hand on the barrier as she started to use her healing abilities to try a lull Shippo's beast to sleep... Or at least into a calmer state. Thankfully she began to notice it was working.

Kagura sighed, she knew her next suggestion was going to be a bad idea but she was beginning to dislike the Miko's down trodden disposition. "I do know the location of a kitsune elder..."

The hope that crossed Kagome's face couldn't be hidden, even if she had actually tried. "Where? Will you take us there?"

Kagura nodded but pursed her lips. "He lives in the Heart of the West... He use to be one of Sesshomaru-sama's advisors."

Kagome's breath hitched... Of course, silly of her to think that finding someone to help to be easy. Giving out a small sigh, Kagome looked down at the now sleeping fox. 'You sooo owe me big time Shippo.'

Looking back over to Kagura, she dejectedly gave her response. " Will you be able to carry us both on your feather?"

END OF CHAPTER 1

Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to review, I would love to know what you all think!

Until next time!

-Peach