Hurray for chapter 3!
Disclaimer: Inuyasha...is owned by Rumiko Takashashi. She is an awesome writer and sadly she is 100 times better at this than I am. This is obvious because she is making a living drawing cartoons and makes more than I do in year. Of this I am very sure.
Chapter 3: Getting to know Jiji: Is Being Sneaky a Sin.
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Jiji blinked and let his gaze drift from work. There was the rapid patter of feet and quick breathing. Shippou's smothered laughter reached him moments later and the pounding of bare feet on the ground grew loud.
He called out a warning but knew no one would pay him any mind.
"Kagome!"
The sound of someone making a wild dash through his home echoed in his ears.
"Kagome!" he warned again.
There was a thud, Jiji glanced up, and a squeal rang in his ears.
Kagome vaulted herself over the counter.
A smile found his lips despite himself. He could make out Kagome's energy and delighted aura as she sailed through the air, limbs askew as if she hadn't a care in the world. Shippou took a leap with her and sailed through the air like a well-kicked hideball.
Her first few months of training had been spent crying- she couldn't keep up with her studies, she couldn't sit still, she was clumsy (so much so that she was dangerous). It'd been one thing after another, and he'd had to punish her often. After the first few weeks, Jiji had been amused to find the 20 laps around the nearby village were no longer a punishment, but a game, for a very bored young woman. She'd adjusted after nearly a month and Jiji now had the damnedest time making her not run.
Kagome's sail through the air slowed as gravity made itself known. She blinked and seemed to realize a bit too late that something was wrong. A shriek later, Kagome lay on the floor wailing, pressing a hand to her abused back.
Shippou had managed to land on his feet and stood watching Kagome sheepishly.
Jiji inhaled deeply, "What did I tell you about counter hopping?"
"Oww! Not too- but Jiji did you really have to move my futon?"
He shot her a stern glance. "I wondered why a futon was in the middle of my floor."
Kagome climbed to her hands and knees to press her forehead to the floor.
"I think I broke something," she sobbed breathlessly.
"It's your own fault. I've told you too many times not to jump my counter. You put ideas in our guest's heads."
"I'm sorry Jiji."
"You'll be sorry if you jump my counter one more time" The sharp ring of metal started. Kagome glanced up blurry eyed to see Jiji sharpening a sword. "Now get up. You'll be fine, I didn't hear anything break."
Kagome staggered to her feet with a moan and used the counter as a head rest for a second.
"Nobody is gonna jump your counter Jiji. Everybody knows better."
She sniffled, rubbing her tears into the counter with her nose.
"I don't care. Don't do it again," he threatened.
She understood that if a customer walked in, it looked bad. But she could really care less what some stuck up youkai thought. Too many had made it clear that they hated the ground she walked on. Still, they weren't willing to get on Jiji's bad side just to insult her.
She'd heard rumor from a friendly old Tanuki, that her Jiji wasn't somebody to start a fight with. That was besides the fact nobody wanted him as an enemy for fear of loosing face with one of the very few youkai weapon's smiths around. Many weapons, she'd found out after a particularly nasty encounter with a cursed sword (for the last person that had pissed Jiji off), were demonic swords in nature, which made his work even more appealing to the youkai populace.
"Kagome, Shippou, did you two hear me?"
They both moaned their agreement, though by this point it was a waste of breath.
In another week or so, she and Shippou would miraculously forget their promise and be right back at it. Jiji would tell them to stop, they would do it anyway, and, like usual, she would end up hurt. She kept telling herself she would learn one day when she split her head open but until then…
She gave a moan and Jiji finally stopped working.
He grumbled but set the sword aside and moved into the aisles. He stuck his hand in a jar that he'd finally put in the first row, of the first column, of the first shelf, and pulled back a hand covered in slime.
"You are human. You will kill yourself," he complained coming around to her side.
Lifting the black and pink hoari, he let loose a rumble of frustration when she tried to dance away, squealing and complaining.
Shippou shook his head watching Kagome's backside dance about in dismay. At least she had shorts on. He imagined being without something under her top would embarrass Kagome more than Jiji really gave a damn about that second.
"But Jiji-"
He growled louder and smeared medicine across her back. She did a strange hop and squealed about it being cold.
"Hush! Would you rather not be able to move later."
She still wiggled but let him finish.
"Fix your clothes and go do something with yourself. You have some relatively simple chores to do, right."
"I have to wash clothes," she grumbled, hobbling away like an old woman.
Jiji only stared dryly at Kagome's retreating form. That wasn't the type of chore he'd been thinking about, but he said nothing, only went back to his work. She rubbed the medicine into her back a little more and had the nerve to complain.
"Jiji is this that medicine that stains the clothes?"
Jiji glanced at her, "I don't know," he sighed, searching for a familiar hilt in his box of swords.
"You don't know but you put it on my back."
Jiji pointedly went back to sharpening weapons.
Kagome pouted.
She had bartered the cloth off a merchant friend of Jiji's who had just been passing through. It had taken almost two hours to talk him into selling. Mostly because the weather resistant cloth was very popular among youkai, of which she was not. The merchant had deemed her unfit to have clothing fit for higher status youkai, even if she had the money to pay, which she had. And damn it, after a hard winter trapped with Jiji, and no place to spend her earnings, she had wanted to splurge.
Jiji stepped up to put in a few words, and his angry aura had turned the tides in her favor. A few days later, she had stitched together a new outfit. The very nervous merchant had even thrown in extra cloth for Shippou's clothing for half price. That agreement had come about when Jiji threatened to stomp the poor demons face in...
How she loved Jiji.
In the end, Shippou got three new outfits from the deal.
"Jiji, where are your clothes? I'm doing laundry," she called over the sound of metal rubbing violently against stone. He paused in his work a moment, and tilted his head to a corner over by a pile of weapons, then immediately went back to his work. She managed to look wholly pitiful gathering clothes. Too bad Jiji was blind and wouldn't have helped her right then if held at sword point.
She kept disobeying, so she didn't really blame him.
Shippou dragged a woven basket over and they both worked to get the dirty clothes outside. Kagome cringed and hissed as her eyes protested their first steps back into sunlight. She silently vowed to give Jiji an earful for suggesting she keep her enhanced night vision activated at all times of the day.
Now it was on permanently and she didn't know if she should be happy, or very pissed. Sure, she could see outstandingly well in the dark now and, as he had promised, the blurriness in her vision had faded with use. But she wondered how it was of any benefit when the sun blinded her most of the day when she did need to see. After all, she didn't make a habit of wandering about at night.
With a grunt, she set the basket by the basin of water. Walking over to the fire with a pot hanging over it, she pulled the cover off to check on the soup. While they hadn't had breakfast today, they were going to have an excellent soup for lunch. "Shippou!" she called not even having to look around to see that the kit wasn't where she wanted him to be. He'd helped her get the basket out before running for his life. It was time to study. Shippou, the kit, did not like to study.
Living with a youkai that loved to sneak up on her, she had taken to using auras to search for someone she wanted. Shippou knew he was supposed to be was sitting over by a rock, using a wooden plank Jiji had given him to work on his writing. Instead, he had run off to the tree line to play with bugs. She lifted the soup pot by the handle, ignoring the uncomfortable heat against the palms of her hands.
She set the soup aside to cool by the rice container that, no matter how much everyone ate, never seemed to run out of freshly cooked rice. She vowed silently to question Jiji on this.
She put a kettle of water over the fire for Jiji's tea.
A quick sweep of the area revealed the kit's bright orange hair bouncing by in the field of tall grass.
It astounded her how tall the grass had grown when just a few weeks ago, it had been snowing as if hell were freezing over.
It had been a very tough winter, even by Jiji's standards. Between Shippou constantly being bedridden with colds, and the shortage of food in the nearby village, she realized both she and Shippou would be long dead if not for Jiji. She was doubly sure of this, especially after the violent vomiting fits she'd been subjected to during the winter that he was very sure she had picked up from Shippou.
"Hai, Kagome-chan?" the kitsune shouted. Despite his cry, he was already racing toward her and knew what she wanted.
"Finish your writing practice for today, and then you can go play." He slowed to a trot once he was upon her. With a grumble, he went to obey. Kagome smiled at Shippou, and moved to toss some of the dirty clothes into the basin.
"It's not even after noon yet, don't you have to do your lessons first?" he whined.
Kagome shot him a dirty look, and he grinned at her distress.
"No, but I'll make you run if you don't do what I told you too," Kagome scolded.
Shippou's shoulders sagged as he turned back to his plank of wood with a brush in hand.
Kagome bit her lip, feeling bad. She'd been the one to coax Shippou into racing her inside. Now that the fun was over, he wanted to play still. She'd started the mess but-
She sighed.
Maybe she could go for a longer run with Shippou later, if her aching back permitted.
The young miko went to scrubbing the clothing. Despite her disdain of going near the human village (the wild dogs loved to chase things, mainly her) she did go jogging every day, just not by the village. She had yet to tell Jiji about that little bit of information, but she figured if the distance was the same, he would let her off.
Every few minutes a growl bubbled up when she found an unaccounted for hole or stain in Shippou's clothes. Kagome stuck a finger through the armpit of one shirt, and the kit smiled sheepishly when he saw her scowl.
"Now how did you do this?" she demanded. Shippou shrugged, ducking his head a little at her anger.
She tossed the top into the pile of clean, but wet, clothes already in the basket and shook her head. It was damn hard making Shippou's clothes because he was so small. Trying to copy the style of clothing he had worn for as long as she had known him, she had worked long and hard to make his outfits. Her fingers ached when she even thought of all the work.
Standing, she picked up the basket of clean clothes and went to hang them on the clotheslines. Shippou went back to work, focusing hard so he wouldn't hear kagome grumble.
Shippou's clothing and the bit of education he had received before their meeting raised a question of the kits status. His clothes were very well made and more durable than anything she had ever come across. Shippou had already started on his writing, reading, and math. He had already been at a decent level before she'd decided to continued his lessons. She tilted her head in thought, but shrugged it off when something else caught her undivided attention.
Her body went rigid when she felt a youkai aura approaching. Shippou glanced up at her, uncertainly. She waved a hand. It wasn't unusual for a youkai to come see Jiji for something, mostly weapons. Shippou turned back to his work and Kagome finished hanging clothes and resisted the urge to flare her aura and chase of Jiji's customer. Said youkai landed in the clearing not ten minutes later. Kagome turned from her work to look at their guest, and he stared at her in return.
He was a humanoid youkai who stood a few inches taller than she did. He had short, black and red hair that seemed wild and looked like it had been cut without any care to how it would turn out, but then again it was a unique style that made his handsome features stand out. He had that beautiful face that seemed common in many humanoid youkai she'd come across.
He was young and leaning toward the same 'wild handsome' as Kouga. His eyes were a strange and very light brown color with specks of lime-green in the iris. Under each eye was a green stripe that stayed close to the eye then vanished off into his hair.
She had learned to examine the type of fighter by body type. This youkai had a graceful body, like a dancer. He was most likely a fighter who liked to move around and was very flexible with devastating effect. She pegged him more of an assassin, or someone who didn't go toe-to-toe with other fighters very often. His body wouldn't allow for it very long before he would be overpowered by a bigger youkai. One good example of such a tank was Jiji, five foot eleven and built like a brick wall.
This new arrival did look the type to dance around you and tease you into a rage during a fight.
He examined her in equal depth, and then they both stared each other down a moment, neither willing to back down. Unfortunately, the bubbling of the teakettle caught Kagome's attention. She tossed a shirt onto the line and walked slowly, cautiously, around him to the kettle. The youkai turned away and started into the cave, and Kagome pouted at his dismissal. He didn't seem to notice Shippou, who had been staring a hole into his back.
Water set aside to cool, she snuck in after him, and spotted their customer at the counter with Jiji. She ignored him in favor of grabbing the wooden bowls, cups, and utensils she had set on one of the shelves earlier.
Walking back outside, she sat everything down and scooped some soup into a bowl along with some rice. The miko poured the hot water into one of the cups, then stood with the bowl and cup in hand. Kagome walked back inside and paused at a small, off to the side shelf with many small jars on it. These jars contained tea, and lots of it. Jiji was well off money wise, and could always afford his favorite teas. She checked one of the jars on the bottom shelf, where her favorite kind of tea always was. Yesterday, Jiji and his guest had emptied it out, much to her dismay. She licked her lips happily when she found the jar of mint tea full.
She didn't know where he got the tea leaves, but all of them were addictive beyond reason.
She went for the black tea though, which was Jiji's current favorite, and with a scooping spoon, dumped the leaves into a haphazard cup filter. Taking the bowl of food back into her hands, she walked toward the counter and around it this time, for fear of spilling hot tea on herself. She put the bowl of food in his Jiji's hands and sat his tea on the counter.
"Thank you, little one," he hummed.
Kagome hugged him happily. "No, thank you."
He grunted in confusion. Their guest watched their interaction in fascination. Kagome grinned, pressing her cheek to his. "Mint tea," she purred.
"Oh," he whispered playfully. She happily bounced away to go prepare her own tea. Feeling a stare on her, she paused and turned to glare at their guest. He didn't try to hide the fact he was eyeing her bare legs and Kagome couldn't decide if she should be flattered or angry. She settled for a growl.
He seemed a bit surprised if not miffed by her response. "You have a miko as your servant?" he commented to Jiji, not taking his eyes off her.
Kagome bristled, and while her growls left something to be desired, her hiss made cats proud.
Their guest smirked coldly at her.
"She must not know any better," he continued. Jiji hummed, eating slowly.
"She doesn't seem to understand that mikos kill our kind and we should be enemies, but I'm not complaining," Jiji admitted. "She's a good girl though, so if you have a problem with my little one, then you should leave Sin-sama."
Not yet…
"I-I don't have any problem with your little human pet," he admitted quickly, obviously confused.
"She's not a pet, she's my little one," Jiji corrected as if chastising a child. Kagome sent Jiji an amused glance. Sin was oblivious to Jiji's playful tone.
"O-Oh, little one. But she's human. Why are you claiming her as yours?" the younger youkai demanded.
Damn it, she knew he wanted to do it, why was he holding back?
Jiji shrugged. "Why not? She hasn't been corrupted by other mikos. She protects whoever else may need it, the kit, herself," Jiji paused with a dry glance to Sin, "you. She is not a threat to you if you don't harm what is hers," Jiji explained. "I have no children of my own, and she's a fine little one. I might as well claim her as my own." Kagome blushed and glanced over her shoulder. "I've grown quite fond of my little one while she's been here, I'd hate to see her harmed in any way." There was a threat in his words that his tone swore he would carry out quite painfully.
Sin shifted uncomfortably, glancing between Jiji and Kagome. She stared at Jiji with burning cheeks and wide, warm eyes. "You aren't the first customer I've explained this to, and you won't be the last. I say again, is there a problem?" Sin stared at Kagome a moment before finally conceding.
"No, I don't have a problem with your child."
There it is!
Jiji gave a shit-eating grin.
Kagome quickly covered her mouth to stop a snicker.
"Good," he all but chirped, tilting his head in a manner that reminded Kagome of someone playing stupid.
"Now what can I do for you Sin-sama?" the weapon's smith asked pleasantly.
"Kagome-chan, can I eat now?" Shippou called from the mouth of the cave. Sin's gaze darted to the fox kit.
"She really has a fox kit!" Sin sputtered. Kagome rolled her eyes as Shippou ran in.
He paused to eye Sin warily. "Should you not be with your parents, kit?"
Shippou scowled at him, but Kagome stepped between him and Shippou. "He's an orphan. I take care of him, and that's all you need to know." Sin frowned as she took Shippou's hand and walked away.
"What a-" he searched for the right word, "fascinating human."
"Yes... she hasn't realized that's what draws the most attention to her," Jiji admitted. "My little one loves to fight with others. She has a healthy dose of fear for youkai that should be present in even other youkai, but she's not afraid to fight and defend her beliefs." Jiji shrugged. "You should get to know her, you'd like her Sin-sama," the old youkai suggested.
"She's a human," Sin snapped.
Jiji shrugged the younger youkai's comment off.
"So? She's a powerful little human and she doesn't have the same foul scent as most humans either. I saw to that," He pointed out with a toothy grin. Sin glanced at the old youkai in confusion but didn't think to find out what he meant.
"She figured out how to see in the dark like a youkai. The fox kit says her eyes glow in the darkness like a youkai's also," he said a bit gleefully. "Do you know if other humans can do that? I've asked but nobody knows so far," he inquired curiously.
Sin's eyes narrowed. "Humans can't do that," he assured.
Jiji was silent a moment. "Well, she can, so surely other mikos can too," he huffed.
"No, I've fought mikos in the dead of night during the new moon. They can't see." Sin grumbled. "Their power burns their eyes when they try."
Jiji went silent again for a long moment. "Then surely Kagome must have a talent for picking up weird new powers, because she can see in the dark. I demand it of her." Jiji nodded to himself thoughtfully. Sin eyed the old youkai curiously, but again chose to keep his thoughts to himself.
"I'm debating if I should find her a youkai mate. She's not normal. A human male is not worthy of her, nor would they tolerate her unique personality. If they hurt her for disobedience, I would have to kill them," he said this with such nonchalance Sin could only stare.
"You're serious? You're actually claiming her as yours?"
Jijis eyes opened a bit, but even as he focused on Sin, it was as if he were looking right through him. Sin shivered a bit, having only seen the elder youkai's pink eyes once when he was a small child. His father had started an argument with Jiji. That particular argument had ended badly with his father hobbling away while nursing a broken jaw.
He didn't want to repeat his father's mistakes.
"I am a very serious person," he said calmly. Had Sin known Jiji better, he would have caught the laughing undertone in the demon's voice. "I just told you she is my little one, you didn't believe me?" the inflection in Jiji's voice told Sin he was offended.
"W-wait! I didn't mean-" Sin smacked his forehead, and Jiji gave an amused smile as he finished off his meal.
"You are heir to a clan. You can't let the common folk like myself fluster you, Sin-sama." Sin looked a bit ashamed even as he glared at the counter in his frustration.
"Yes, you have always given me fine advice since I was that kit's age. I don't know why I choose now to question your logic, even on the human." He sighed deeply.
Jiji nodded approvingly. "Now, you still haven't told me what you need." Sin nodded absently, and began rattling off a list of things. Jiji stared at him with open eyes, the dangerous gleam no longer present, and Sin recognized the expression of 'are you serious?' on the old youkai's face. Jiji was silent a moment as he made a mental list of all the weapons and supplies needed. "Are you preparing a small army for war?" he asked playfully.
Sin chuckled. "Something like that," he admitted.
"Ah, are you trying to be sneaky Sin-sama?" Sin blushed, and glared at Jiji.
"Well, as you can be sneaky, I can be aggravating. Kagome will make your weapons." he said with the kindest smile.
Sin looked at Jiji, horrified. "I don't want a weak human's weapon!" he cried. "You're going to get us killed!" he accused.
"What, did you think I was going to sit and make a slew of demon weapons? I bet you can't pay for them all and Kagome can make a good sword as well as any."
The boy blushed.
"But Jiji-"
Jiji looked at Sin in mock horror. "Are you questioning my logic again, young one?"
Sin bit this tongue to keep from screaming in anger, and made motion of strangling the old youkai.
"What are you doing?"
Sin looked back to see Kagome staring at him, highly amused. He snarled at Kagome even as his face turned a most dashing cherry red. Jiji gave a belly laugh, and Sin glared at the old youkai, who obviously knew Kagome had been standing there. "How did you sneak up on me girl?" Sin demanded. Kagome pointed to Jiji in a child-like manner.
"Jiji taught me how to hide myself," she answered immediately.
"And how long have you been there?" Kagome bit her lip debating if she should tell him or not.
With a shrug, she made her decision, "Since you accused Jiji of trying to get you killed."
Sin's face burned with embarrassment and shame.
He slammed his fist on the counter. "Damn you, old fart!" he fumed.
Jiji laughed again, even as Sin stormed out.
"Come back in a week!" Jiji called, waving after the young demon. When Sin's aura had left the area, Jiji turned on her with a grin that made her pale.
"Did I miss something important?" she asked wearily.
"Yes you did. You're going to be making Sin-sama's weapons."
She thought she would die right then.
"I can't! I've only been learning this stuff, like, seven months," she sputtered frantically.
"He wants quickly disposable weapons. Most of my weapons are infused with youki, and it's very hard for me to do otherwise now. Your weapons, on the other hand, are more suited to monks, mikos, even creatures like earthly spirits, but for a youkai, they have no special properties that can be called on. It'll be easier for you to make weapons that can be used and left behind in the heat of battle simply because you haven't even practiced making anything more."
Jiji pet her head then reached for his forgotten food. "Don't fret, I'll stand over you and make sure you do what is needed."
Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Jiji just likes to bother people," came Shippou's sigh.
Kagome's eyes briefly flickered to the cave entrance where she had left Shippou a few moments ago. The kit stood on the counter shaking his head even as he grinned. "That's why Jiji and I get along so well!" the kit chirped. Kagome groaned and bowed her head in defeat.
XXXXXX
The door slid open with a creak that made the rats in the room flinch and scatter. Only the sound of nails hitting the solid stone and heavy breathing echoed in the room.
Kana slid the door closed, obviously unaffected by the loud scraping sound it emitted. She stood a long moment staring at the door, lost in thought before she gathered herself and turned slowly to face her father, maker, and soon to be executioner. She did not believe herself above Naraku's usual treatment of his offspring. If they were not useful, he re-absorbed them. Simple.
"Kana," Naraku's voice whispered from the darkness of a corner. Despite the moonlight flowing in from the hole in the roof, the light seemed repelled from Naraku's form, or rather it wasn't being repelled, but absorbed.
She walked a little closer, and as she did so, she began to see glimpses of his hulking form. Tentacles covered in slime, bulging pieces of flesh that shook and writhed when he moved–another transformation to go. She briefly wondered if he would need more strength for this transformation; would he absorb Kagura back into himself? Or maybe she herself. It was a fleeting thought, so she ignored it in favor of hearing her master out.
"Have you found the girl?" His voice was a low whisper that cracked and shook as if he were in pain.
"No, I have not," Kana answered staring directly into Naraku's flaming red eyes.
"What do you mean you have not," Naraku hissed in a low voice.
Kana remained unfazed, "Where ever Kagome has gone, there is powerful magic protecting her. Even I cannot catch a glimpse of her unless she is in a human village. I saw her only once, and never again."
Naraku was silent a long moment. "Powerful magic that even you cannot get past? There aren't many who could do such a thing," he mused aloud. "It would have to be a spell specifically made to hide her. Hmm."
"Her friends do not know where she has gone either? She has effectively vanished from view all but that one time you say she appeared for a bit?" he rasped, turning fully to Kana. His movements made the room shake, and the already unstable ceiling crumbled a little. Kana glanced up as dust fell into her hair. She turned back to Naraku, not even bothering to wipe the dust from her pristine, white hair. Why her master had chosen such a rundown, abandoned castle to hide in for his transformation was beyond her comprehension.
"Yes, I saw her once."
"Tell me what you saw, did you get a good glimpse of the terrain at least?" he asked with an edge to his voice.
"The time I saw her through my mirror, I didn't have enough time to glance around to find where she was exactly. The moment the spell caster realized I was watching her, I was violently ejected from my vision. Then, the mirror cracked." She traced the lines running across the smooth surface of the mirror. It was only a little cracked, and the broken piece on the side of her mirror would fit in her palm if taken out, but the fact someone had managed to do such damage without even seeing her face-to-face was still baffling.
"The miko has an amazing ability to attach herself to powerful youkai. I wouldn't be surprised if she convinced a new friend she met to cast this spell. For the moment she is out of our reach, but that is fine." Naraku shifted in the darkness, "It won't last forever. Inuyasha's group is testament to that. They're at each other's throats without their little miko. They will go find her to keep their own lives or she will find them," he purred.
'Sadly, they still fight together when I send hordes. No matter. As I said, it won't last' Naraku inhaled deeply.
"Have you been watching our other target? I'm sure he doesn't have such luck with youkai that he can hide himself."
Kana turned mirror to show him the vision he wished. He stared at the mirror a long moment.
Naraku seemed strangely pleased, but she couldn't be certain because his face was hidden in the darkness. "This human lord...I believe I can use him. Send Kagura out to speak to this human," he murmured, turning away fully. Kana nodded amd turned to obey.
Naraku stared at the wall, lost in thought. "A youkai cannot fight a miko and hope to get away unscathed, but a miko cannot harm a human. Let's see how much longer you can hide with a human to fight," he chuckled to himself.
XXXXXXX
Jiji sat silently by the fire as it crackled and danced. His eyes were cracked open a tad to watch the fire and the food over the fire. It was always nice to see the beautiful colors of the blaze, especially for someone who couldn't see otherwise. Naturally, he developed an unhealthy love of fire because it had been the first thing he had ever seen. Despite his love of the dangerous element, his attention was on the container in his hands. The vial was small and carved from wood instead of glass, but it served its purpose to hold the precious liquid he was trying to complete. He absently ran a finger over the carvings he had etched into the vial. He could not read but his father had been an avid reader and collector of information. This particular spell had been drilled into his head when his father had worried his son's disability would make him a target.
He clenched the tiny object in his hand, and looked into the fire absently as he searched for any auras. He didn't need Shippou or Kagome being nosy just yet. Shippou was off in a field, and Kagome was inside working on the weapons he'd assigned to her.
Jiji nodded to himself and looked down to the tiny bits of herbs lying before him on small bits of paper. He sat the vial aside and cupped his hands together. After a long moment, a small ball of water appeared in his hands. When the ball of water became about the size of a chicken egg, he moved one hand away slowly. The youkai sat a moment, waiting, and once he was satisfied the little orb wouldn't burst, he picked up the little pieces of paper and slowly, one by one, dumped the herbs onto it. He watched the orb spin violently in his hands, mixing the ingredients as he murmured an incantation under his breath. The ball of water began to turn brown, but then the brown color began to concentrate itself into a smaller ball inside the bigger ping-pong sized ball. He watched it carefully as the water around the core began to clear, and when he was finished, he eyed his work with a critical eye.
A gust of wind blew the little bits of paper that had held the herbs away, but he ignored it.
Bringing his free hand up, he stuck a finger into the orb and paused just as his claw penetrated the core. Slowly, he pulled his finger away and the brown core followed the digit, flowing through like water. The core now extracted from the orb, he swirled his finger absently. The orb was useless now, so he tossed it to the ground nearby and it exploded upon impact before dissolving into the ground.
He turned his attention back on the swirling brown liquid, and smiled in approval. Grabbing the vial, he popped the cork off and willed the brown liquid to go in. It quickly filled the container, and Jiji took it carefully in his hands. A few sniffs of the liquid gained his approval. He put his thumb to his lips and bit down to draw a bit of blood. Before the trivial wound could heal, he let his blood join the other mixture and was satisfied. He sealed the vial quickly and tossed it into the fire.
With a smile, he stood in relief and walked over toward the tree line where he had tied a fish to hang earlier that morning. He circled the person sized catch, sniffing lightly. "Poison," He rubbed his nose thoughtfully, "I couldn't be too sure earlier, but now I am."
A swipe of his claws cut the fish free from the tree and he caught it before it hit the ground. The fish was half his height and a two thirds his weight. He admired his own skills a long moment. With a hum, he walked over to a plank of wood and lay the massive fish across the make-shift cutting board. Taking up a nearby knife, he went to cleaning and gutting the fish. The half he didn't plan to use today he wrapped in some paper to be taken care of later.
The top half of the fish was left for him to use. The first matter to take care of were the eyes. Kagome would absolutely refuse to eat a fish with three eyes, even if she wouldn't be eating the head. Today, if she caught a glimpse of the fish, he would have to fight with her to make her eat something. And that was just a pain in the ass.
She didn't need to know it was a demonic fish, she just needed to know it was the only thing keeping her from starving. He cut out the third eye of the fish, and threw his head back as he tossed it into his mouth and swallowed. He smacked his lips and rubbed his stomach absently. "I'm going to have heart burn later." He loved cooked meat, that didn't necessarily mean his food had to be cooked, just the benefit of being a youkai. But, moving on…
Next, he worked on cutting out slices that both Kagome and Shippou could eat easily. He cut out the poison-creating organs of the fish. A few extra herbs would take care of the poison still in the flesh, as Kagome couldn't handle that just yet. He skewered their meal for the day and sat it by the fire to cook.
As he sat down to relax, Kagome finally decided to emerge from the cave. He smiled when he heard her stomach growl and her tired groan. "Working hard?"
She only grunted and sat down beside him. Kagome snuggled into his side with another groan and he chuckled, lifting his arm and draping it across her side to allow her more space. He could make out her soot-covered face from the corner of his eye.
"How can you do that every day?" she grumbled.
"You get used to it," he promised.
Kagome wrinkled her nose. "Making weapons isn't for me then. I don't think I'll ever get used to it."
"It's a good skill to know though, just in case you don't have a choice but to make your own weapons. Saves money too."
She only frowned and pushed herself more into his side. They sat in silence almost fifteen minutes just watching the fire.
"You smell like fish" she muttered, turning her face into his shirt.
Jiji only pet her side.
The sound of Kagome's stomach broke their peace, and he cracked a toothy smile. Her face burned in embarrassment, "Why are you making so much food today? Fish and soup?"
He shrugged. "The soup is left over from this morning, and I simply got lucky with the fish and needed to cook it." She didn't question him anymore on the matter, and was content to sit attached to his side.
He stroked her side and glanced down again at this rare opportunity to sit and look at his ward. Her hair was getting longer, but she had lost so much weight during the harsh winter. He had lost weight too and only Shippou had been spared. The kit had been sick and he was a child, of course he got food before the adults.
Kagome was very thin, almost sickly so compared to her very healthy weight when he had met her. She hadn't complained of being hungry, probably because she knew of the situation. Besides there being a lack of food, it had taken him a long time to figure out humans had different dietary needs than an old youkai like himself. He didn't have to eat everyday while she and the kit did, which was another problem. She didn't notice she had lost weight, that or she didn't really mind, after all females of every species loved to diet for some unfathomable reason. Now that it was easier to hunt and he could actually leave his cave without freezing to death, food was no longer an issue because he could easily get around to hunt or buy it. He wanted badly to get her back to her previous weight.
Little things like that gave you an edge in tough times like these.
Right now, he wanted her diet to change. If he fed her right, her body would fix itself a lot faster than if he left her alone and hoped it got better. If she ate like him, he could worry less about what she needed to eat.
"Kagome?"
She glanced up blearily at him. "Go fetch Shippou so you two can eat. The fish is almost done."
Kagome nodded absently and slowly pulled herself up from the warm little spot in his side. She climbed to her feet, and started in the direction she sensed the fox kit. Jiji stood and once she was at an acceptable distance, he pulled his sleeve back. He took a breath and flexed his hand a bit nervously.
While he loved fire, he was rightly wary of being burned. His abilities gave him a semblance of control over fire, but that didn't mean he couldn't get hurt playing with said force of nature. He reached into the fire slowly, fighting not to flinch as the flames danced around his arm, but never burned him. He searched under the hanging pot of soup for the vial he had tossed into the fire earlier. The charred surface of the container met his fingers and he quickly grabbed it and slowly pulled his arm from the flames.
With a wary sigh, he ran his fingers over the surface of the vial. Despite it having been submerged in fire, it was only warm to the touch. He turned and walked toward the cave. When he found teacups, he took them over to the tiny shelf with all of his personal teas on it. He wiped the soot from his hands onto his clothing before pulling the top off the vial and pouring it into one of the cups. Next, he added mint tea leaves to the cup. In another empty cup, he put some kind of spice tea. Shippou had begged him for it, and he had obliged. His own cup was soon full of black tea.
Gathering the cups ,bowls, and utensils, he walked back outside to the fire pit. Shippou and Kagome were making their way back over to the pit. Shippou chatted happily while Kagome listened with a fond smile. Spotting him with all the supplies, they quickly rushed over to help. Kagome took the cups, and Shippou took the bowls, leaving Jiji with the chopsticks. He raised an eyebrow then looked to them. "I am capable of handling this myself."
"Nugh ugh! Jiji is old, let us do it!" Jiji frowned, annoyed, and Shippou grinned cheekily as they sat down for dinner around the fire. Before Kagome could notice the tealeaves in one of the cups were wet, he was able to swipe the cups from her and serve the tea. He set the cup of mint tea before her as she served the food. Shippou got his food first and with a cry of 'ITADAKIMASU' began demolishing his meal.
Kagome ate at a more reserved pace. Jiji found he couldn't eat because he kept chuckling. "Kit, you'll choke if you don't slow down." Shippou looked up, his cheeks stuffed with food and his face covered in soup soaked rice.
"No I-" Shippou gave a wheeze, his eyes widening when a bit of rice went down the wrong pipe. He set his meal down and beat frantically on his chest. Kagome rolled her eyes skyward as she pounded Shippou's back roughly. When he could breathe correctly, he smiled at her with watery eyes and Kagome looked at him critically. Jiji shook his head amused.
Shippou cleared his throat with a few rough coughs "How did you know what I was doing?" he called across the fire to him.
"I can hear you, silly kit," Jiji answered dully.
"O-kay, I want to know how you can see across the fire though," Jiji paused and looked up and Kagome looked between them thoughtfully.
"I don't know," he said as he shrugged.
Another silence fell over them as they all worked on filling their stomachs.
"Jiji, what type of youkai are you?"
His attention turned on Kagome. The eager gleam in Shippou's eyes told him Shippou approved of the question to fill the silence of their meal.
"I am part wolf," he answered after a long pause.
"What's the other half?" Shippou asked immediately.
Jiji pressed his lips together, and Kagome shifted sensing he didn't like where this conversation was going.
"I purposely left that out so I wouldn't have to tell you kit," he growled.
That didn't stop Shippou.
"If you didn't want me to ask, you should have just said you were a wolf!" Shippou pointed out. Kagome frowned at the rude comment and made a note to scold Shippou later.
"I'm not just a wolf. I'd would be lying if I said so," Jiji replied a bitter tone sneaking into his voice.
"Grown-ups lie to kids all the time," Shippou responded confidently.
Kagome coughed a bit when the food in her mouth took on a sour taste.
The two males stared each other down, and Kagome had the sudden urge to go to her room and leave them to their arguing. She wasn't very surprised when Jiji chose not to get up and simply leave the vicinity. Of course, Jiji was never one to leave an argument. He was stubborn and very confident in his fighting ability. He had threatened enough youkai to reinforce that image. The problem was this wasn't fighting, it was debating and he was talking to a very wise and clever little kit.
"My father was a black wolf, my mother a Spirit of fire," he finally spat out. Both Kagome and Shippou appeared stupefied.
'How is that possible?' they both thought to themselves.
Jiji already knew what they were thinking. "Spirits can take on bodies of flesh if they are powerful enough," he grumbled.
Shippou and Kagome nodded dumbly, and went back to their meals, their thoughts racing. Shippou finished quickly and, not wanting to sit with the two quiet adults, raced off to play in the forest.
"I'll talk to him later for being so rude," Kagome murmured.
"It's fine, he's a fox kit. It's what foxes do," he answered quietly as he took a sip of tea to calm his nerves. Kagome took a drink of her own tea and smiled happily at the mint taste. Jiji smiled to himself, suddenly feeling as if that conversation had never taken place. As long as she drank the potion once a month, he could keep the silly girl safe, that made his life that much easier.
"Besides, it's not that important."
Kagome frowned at him. "It is," she insisted. A tired look flashed across his face and Kagome looked away, frightened that Jiji suddenly looked his age. "I-I think it's cool your mom was a fire spirit. I bet that was an interesting childhood!"
Jiji tilted his head, then nodded in agreement, his lips twitching upward. "It was," he admitted. He stood with a sigh. "Finish that tea and come inside so I can check your weapons."
Kagome smiled brightly and saluted him playfully "Hai sir!"
With a chuckle from her teacher, she turned back around to finish her tea.
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Hurray for chapter 3!
Thanks
RXR
(revised 6/5/12) (8/6/2022)