The Fox & The Hanyou

Those of you who are familiar with my first 3 stories in YYH, know that I do my thing in script form. I've had this story sitting around in my notebooks for a while now, so I thought I'd go ahead and submit it. I think I've placed plenty enough warnings that I could think of. I usually do long, involved stories, but this one may be shorter. It's been a while since I fooled with it. Guess we'll see where it goes, shall we?

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Scene 1 ------------------------------------------ Kaede's Village

* It is a sunny, peaceful day. Another in an unusual week of sunny, peaceful days. Inuyasha is relaxing in his usual, favorite spot on one of the wide, lower branches of the sacred tree. Inuyasha is lazily keeping an eye on the village where his 'pack' is residing. But even though his demeanor is outwardly laid back, his inner senses are wide awake. His eyes coast over the various activities taking place in the village. His nose tests every breeze for any scent that may be out of the ordinary. He notices Keade come out of her hut to begin hanging some various herbs to dry in the sun. Inuyasha's ears twitch as they pick up the woman's soft humming. He smirks to himself knowingly when a shriek and a loud slap comes from a nearby hut. 'That monk can be tenacious', he thinks. His eyes watch Sango as she comes fuming out of the hut. Inuyasha shakes his head slightly as Sango moves away toward the garden. 'Why don't she just give up the cat and mouse game', he thinks. Everyone in the village knows how those two feel about each other, even his half brother and that evil, good-for-nothing Naraku knows. Inuyasha lets one of his legs swing off the side of the branch. Sango joins Kagome in the garden. The two young ladies begin chatting and checking the plants. The hanyou watches them continue pulling some smaller plants out. Gardening kinda puzzles the half-breed. He hmmphs to himself as he considers the insanity of wanting some green things to grow while ripping out others that are obviously more healthy-looking. As he considers this train of thought, a movement catches his attention to a small flat rock near the garden. Shippo, the kitsune, has just hopped up on top of it. Even though the fox demon is now in his sixteenth year his body still, and probably would for a long time to come, only resembles that of a ten year old human boy, well half of him does. Unlike Inuyasha, Shippo is a full demon and, although the young kit could be mischievious, and often annoyed Inuyasha, the hanyou knew this demon was on their side. For this Inuyasha is kinda grateful, even though he'd seldom admit it openly. Another hmmph rolls through his brain until a breeze waifs through the village from the kit's direction. Inuyasha's nose twitches at the scent that lifts him upright almost immediately. He recognizes it vaguely. He focuses more alertly on the two girls in the garden. 'Is it coming from one of them'? His brain begins to silently analyse it, then his focus changes to Shippo. It doesn't take long for the mystery to be solved. Inuyasha watches the kit's tail twitch nervously, then Shippo raises his nose to the breeze when it turns his direction. Shippo hops off the rock and lands in a crouch on the ground then cautiously begins to stalk toward the garden. The boy only has one thought in mind, only one person in his sights. For the past week he's tried desperately to avoid contact. Kitsune demons first come into sexual maturity in their sixth year, however this first and their second mating periods, coming in their eigthth year, are usually pretty much harmless and are only considered life-learning experiences. Down through generations of time, and because Kitsunes were usually far from a rare species, not to mention prolific when they would mate, nature had adapted them to only come into a mating season every four years after their second period. Even though Shippo has been seperated from his own kind since a very young age, there are still some things his instincts have taught him through the years. So when he'd first detected the change in his own scent three days ago his mind quickly calculated how long it had been since he'd last felt these feelings that were starting to burn through his insides. Yep, four years on the nose. Not long before he met up with the group he now traveled with. During his last season he was able to hole himself up in a den, resolved to the fact that he wasn't ready to be tied down just at that time in his life. He'd just lost his family, he wasn't up to starting his own then. But this season was going to be a problem. Fate has thrown him into the lives of the people in this village and into the arms of Kagome. 'Ahh, Kagome', he thinks dreamily as he stalks closer lost in the scents tickling his nose at the moment. His brain screams for him to streak away. He loves her, but she belongs to 'the Alpha male'. Shippo knows this, at least his brain does, but at the moment something else is at the wheel. The cursed breeze is variable today. It tossed her delicious scent his way intermittenly to where he was hiding behind the rock. He was able to keep himself under control, barely, until Sango's scent joined in the mix. The scent of the one female he was handling, barely, but two was just too much of an overload on the poor kitsune's senses. The reaction was more than he could handle. Again, his brain whimpers for control as he closes in on Kagome. 'She belongs to him,.. that hanyou,.. that half-breed', his brain mumbled. 'At this very moment, who cares'? his body grumbled, but Shippo manages to pause. Then another breeze ruffles Shippo's shaggy red bangs. The scent, 'Oh, that scent', tugged him the last couple feet to Kagome's rear. He had to... he just... had to... Kagome continues her task of weeding, unaware of the kit sneaking up behind her, but Inuyasha sees every move. Like a sudden collapsing of dominoes, things take place rather quickly. Kagome raises up with a startled 'eep'! as Shippo's cold nose makes contact in a most unwelcomed place. Sango looks up at Kagome puzzled as the young miko spins to look at Shippo. Shippo's brain finally springs back to life as he tumbles backward. Then he is snapped up in a few seconds by a somewhat angry hanyou.

Kagome - Shippo?!

* The poor kit's face soon matches the color of his hair as Inuyasha glares at him.

Inuyasha - What do you think you're doing??

* Shippo is just too embarrassed at his actions to answer. But he really doesn't have to. With him being closer now, Inuyasha's suspecions are quickly realized. He quiets his growling to begin sniffing at the kit.

Inuyasha - Uh oh...
Shippo - P-Please... put me... d-down...

* Inuyasha's ears pitch forward as Shippo bows his head with a sad whimper.

Shippo - Please, Inuyasha... I'll go away...
Kagome - Why did you do that, Shippo??
Sango - What happened?

* Kagome comes around Inuyasha to reach for the kit, but the hanyou refuses to let her take him. Shippo raises his eyes to look at Inuyasha when he steps away from Kagome to continue snuffling his scent.

Inuyasha - Ummm... You smell sooo...
Kagome - Inuyasha??! What's going on?

* Shippo starts to squirm in Inuyasha's grip. He looks toward Kagome.

Shippo - I'm sorry, Kagome... Put me down, Inu...

* Instead, Inuyasha is the one now lost. He brings the kit closer to continue hogging in more of that wonderful scent. Sango watches and begins to come to her own conclusions. Kagome begins to worry.

Kagome - Inuyasha, is there something wrong with Shippo? Is he sick??
Inuyasha - (Mumbling) He just smells soo...ummm... good...

* Shippo goes limp as the shock of the hanyou's growing interest hits him, 'Inuyasha? Interested in him'??

Sango - Kagome, we really need to get this garden done before sunset.
Kagome - I need to know what's wrong with Shippo...
Shippo - Nothing!! There's nothing wrong with me...
Inuyasha - No, of course not...
Shippo - I... I was just... following a t-trail and...
Inuyasha - (Dreamily) He wasn't watching... where he was... going...

* Kagome puts a hand on one of her hips.

Kagome - Torturing the rabbits again today, Shippo?

* Now both Shippo and Inuyasha look at the young miko. Sango sighs and goes back to the weeding. Somebody has to get some work done.

Inuyasha - Rabbits?
Kagome - Yes... I saw him yesterday morning playing leapfrog with one.

* Shippo flushes even deeper red. Sango looks up puzzled as she and Inuyasha both ask.

Both - Leapfrog?

* Kagome sighs and shrugs off a long explanation of the activity from her time.

Kagome - Well, actually it was more like Shippo was trying to ride the poor rabbit.

* Now Sango blushes and goes back to work a little quicker. Inuyasha turns his eyes to stare at Shippo. Shippo just wants to die. Right there, right then, in the hanyou's strong grasp. 'Very strong, muscular grasp', his instincts note.

Inuyasha - You actually...?
Shippo - No!!

* Shippo drops his eyes embarrassed.

Shippo - (Quietly) It got away...

* Shippo starts to squirm again.

Shippo - Now put me down!!

* Kagome reaches for Shippo again.

Kagome - Oh, poor little kit... I see what the problem is now... You're lonely...

* Inuyasha still holds Shippo aaway from Kagome.

Kagome - Give him to me, Inuyasha... I've been so busy with the garden that I haven't played with him lately....
Inuyasha - You still have more of those things to pull out.
Kagome - I can take a minute...

* Shippo squawks and shakes himself away from staring into Inuyasha's eyes as Kagome reaches for him again.

Shippo - No! Don't let her...! Just put me down...!

* Finally Kagome yells the dreaded word at Inuyasha when he still refuses to relinquish the kit.

Kagome - Sit!!

* Inuyasha just manages to give Shippo a toss so he won't end up crushed beneath himself and the ground as they meet. Shippo hits the ground running and keeps on going as Kagome yells for him to come back, Inuyasha moans, and Sango sighs. Shippo hides behind a tree then peeks out to watch Inuyasha finally crawl up out of the shallow hole his body has made. He watches Inuyasha rattle off a litany of
choice words at the miko then heads back toward the sacred tree. Shippo ducks back behind the tree again. He could have crushed me, he thinks. Then the realization of Inuyasha's knowledge of his 'delicate' situation dawns on the kit once again. Shippo looks around the other side of his sheltering tree toward where the hanyou is settling back onto his branch. He sniffs Inuyasha's brief scent on the breeze a moment then scurries off further into the woods. 'No way', his brain wails, 'Do you really think he'd...? No, it's the heat talking, you silly kit', Shippo berates himself. Then another part of him remembers the sniffing. All that wonderful, exciting sniffing. 'He WAS interested in my scent', he argues. Shippo slows his pace as he continues to be torn by his thoughts until his nose catches a new scent. He stops, looks all around, then up. When he sees the fruit growing on the tree he's stopped under he grins to himself.

Shippo - Just my luck... Inuyasha's favorite fruit... Maybe I could...

* Without further delay Shippo makes his way up into the tree to gather up as many of the small tangerines, called Mikans, as he can handle.

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You'll find a smattering (murdering? lol) of mixed American and Japanese terminology throughout this story.