The Sins of the Father

Disclaimer: I own neither Kenshin nor Inuyasha or any of their respective cohorts. Too bad, really... I have a thing for cute boys with long swords...

er...

anyway... *ahem*... Enjoy.
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Shippo ran like the wind.

His red hair was unbound and tossing about wildly, as he used every bit of his demonic speed to escape from the mass of ningens following him. The men behind him were burning for the blood of the one he held tightly in his arms -- one of the very few left upon this world whom he would give his life to protect. Although the man he carried would likely welcome the death they would bring, Shippo could never allow it to happen. He would sooner die himself.

For it was his son that he carried; his unconscious hanyou son, and he would move mountains if it were necessary to save him.

He glanced over his shoulder, and was relieved to find that he still had a significant lead on the angry mob chasing him. Not that he expected them to have closed in on him - he was a fully grown kitsune youkai, after all -- but with their western weapons, he was still in danger, even at a distance.

He was not surprised when heard a loud bang from behind him, followed by the faint hint of sulphur in the air. Shippo veered to the left in an attempt to avoid the gunshot.

He was not quick enough. The bullet ripped into his shoulder, and still he ran, intent upon reaching his destination. He could not be bothered by the blood that was trailing down his shoulder, nor the pain that caused his vision to blur somewhat as he fought to increase the distance between him and his pursuers.

No.

He was desperate to gain their freedom and to get his son to safety. For this situation was entirely his fault, and he had to rectify it, had to do what he could to make amends. Had he been involved in his son's life, had he not been so intent upon vengeance, had he even bothered to make himself known to his child and informed him of his heritage, quite possibly none of this would have happened.

The sound of a galloping horse fast approaching broke through the haze of his despair, as one of the more ambitious men pulled up along his right side. The man was trying desperately to aim his rifle at Shippo while keeping his horse under control at such a high velocity, but fortunately was not having much success.

Shippo swore under his breath as he repositioned the slight form of his son with one arm in order to have access to the sword that was tucked tightly into his son's obi. He couldn't help but let out an anguished howl from the increased pain of his injury, as he now had to use his left arm to support the weight of his son. Never had he felt the pain of a bullet more keenly, and though he wished that he had a moment to rip the damned thing out of his shoulder so his youkai healing could begin to repair the damaged tissues and tendons, he knew that would not be an option until they were safe and far away from the armed ningens pursuing them.

His son's breathing changed with the repositioning, and for a moment Shippo feared he would wake. Nevertheless, he managed to maneuver his right hand to pull his son’s sword from its sheath without awakening the battered swordsman. Shippo was not prepared to battle his own child as well as deal with the mob intent upon their deaths, and he knew all too well that that would be the consequence of his son awakening now.

'Kuso,' he swore to himself as he examined the sword his son carried. For a brief moment he wondered how his son had received his fierce reputation, carrying such a useless sword.

Still, looks could be deceiving -- especially when it came to weapons. He remembered with fondness another hanyou that carried a blade that was much more than it appeared to be. Perhaps this one was as well. Hopefully he'd be able to take the matter up with his son in the future.

Provided that they had a future.

For now, he needed to deal with the man along side of him. With a jump and a mighty swing of his son's blade, he struck a blow to the startled ningen's left side. He put enough power behind the blow to knock the man off of his horse, and he and his rifle hit the ground hard. As Shippo continued to run, he could hear the man's muffled curses fading behind him.

It was an hour of running through farmland and forests before he finally felt safe enough to take a short but much needed break.

Shippo found a soft moss covered patch of ground underneath a large sakura tree, and gently set his son down so he could tend to both of their injuries. He pulled a small dagger from inside of his cloak, and turned his left shoulder inward as much as he could. With the dagger held firmly in his right hand, he pried the bullet out of his shoulder, all the while clenching his jaw, and trying not to scream from the searing pain.

Once the bullet was removed, he sighed with the relief of it. His rapid youkai healing kicked in almost immediately afterward, and he could actually feel the flesh mending itself. The wound would be near healed by sundown.

He took a good look at his son, who was still blessedly unconscious. He was badly bruised, yet much less so than he was when he first found him. He was still covered in blood, although by the scent of it, most of it was not his.

Shippo winced when he thought about how his son would react when he found out he was responsible for the deaths of so many innocent men.

It was all his fault. For all his sins, his worst one was his failure as a father.

He should have found his son years ago.

He should have found the old geezer Toutousai and had one of his fangs made into a sword to bind his blood.

He should have warned him about how one night each month his speed and strength would falter and he and the ones he loved would be vulnerable.

It was his fault that his son's intended fell at the hands of Shippo's own enemy on that night; killed by the one that had taken his sweet Rin a scant thirty years prior.

It was also his fault that her death caused his son to go into a demon rage when the sun rose.

His son didn't even know that in this particular battle, he had merely been a pawn. For it was no idiot from the war reaching out blindly for bragging rights or retribution, but a youkai, one of the few remaining, who knew by scent exactly when to strike and who. How that bastard knew of his son’s existence, Shippo did not know. What mattered was that he knew, and that he found him before Shippo.

It was all his fault that his son was now wanted for the deaths of so many.

He should have raised him himself instead of leaving him with that ningen couple. He should have been a true father to him; for he knew all too well the pain of being left all alone. And yet, when he’d found his beloved Rin's body, all he could think about was avenging her. Her body was mutilated in such a way that even if the Tensiega had been available -- the sword that had restored her life once before and consequently extended her natural lifespan -- it could not have revived her.

His infant son, while hanyou, did not have any external characteristics that would mark him as such, and so he felt safe leaving him with the young farming couple who had no children of their own. Once he was assured that his son would be taken care of, he had set out on his hopeless quest for vengeance, the youkai he hunted always staying two steps ahead of him for almost three decades.

Rin would not have wanted him to spend that time seeking vengeance while he blissfully ignored his fatherly responsibilities. She would have been horrified to find out how much blood was on her own son's hands when puberty brought out his bloodlust, with no sword to temper his demon blood..

It was his fault that his son was forced to participate in a war that ensured that his bloodlust would go unchecked, and his fault for the mental anguish his son felt because of it.

Shippo brushed his hand ever so softly over the cross shaped scar on his son's face. Was it during that war that he received this injury? Perhaps during his time of weakness, when his healing would not have kicked in so readily, forcing the skin to scar?

At the very least, it was another thing for Shippo to feel guilty about; just another reminder of his failure to both his mate and his son.

The worst part of it was that when he found him after so many years, he had to subdue him with his own claws and teeth in order to calm the uncontrolled demon within. When the red and gold finally bled from his son's eyes back to a vivid violet, his son begged for the death that had managed to tear the one he loved away from him, and yet unmercifully left him alive to bear the weight of it.

Shippo had swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat, and with a carefully placed strike, rendered his own son unconscious. He then fell to his own knees in grief and cradled the broken man against him.

It wasn't long before the frightened townspeople realized that the madman among them was out cold. They surrounded him and demanded he place his own son into their custody. Shippo did the only thing that he could; he let his illusion fall and revealed himself as the demon he was. In the shock and pandemonium that ensued, he took his son and ran.

Now he was carrying not only his son but the tremendous weight of his guilt, and he had to make amends. He could not bear to see Shinta - or Kenshin, as he was now known - suffer the same fate as Inuyasha. He would not watch him destroy himself for events that were beyond his control; could not allow him to give up what remained of his soul for a ghost who would definitely not wish such a fate to befall him.

He would make him see, make him understand who and what he was.

He would make him thirst for vengeance against their enemy.

But he needed help to do it, and the only one who could possibly begin to help him rebuild the shattered soul of his son was over a hundred years away.

His despair came forth in a choked sob as he gently picked up his son and cradled him against his chest. With a great sigh, he took off toward an old forest that held many memories for him, and he prayed to Inari that the well would accept them when they got there.

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A/N: Hope you enjoy - Next up, Kagome gets some uninvited guests.
Thanks :)