The story so far: Kagome broke Nebuto's spell but Inu-Yasha ran off. Just then, a hand grabbed her...
***
"Argh!!!!" Kagome screamed as the hand gripped her tighter. "Who... who are you?" she asked as she turned to see a girl with a murderous expression on her face.
"You... what did you do to my brother?"
*Brother? I didn't know Inu-Yasha had a sister!* Then she noticed the telltale tail (hahaha) behind the girl. "You're Shippo's sister?"
The girl nodded. "Where is he?" she demanded as she grabbed Kagome's throat.
Kagome choked. "He's in the village. He's okay...[cough]." The girl looked distrustful but she let go. Kagome continued, "I'll take you to him."
On the way Kagome gave the other girl a brief report on what had happened. Her tail caught Kagome's eye. *If Shippo's a kitsune, then she must be too. Damn, are all kitsunes so cute?*
Lady Kaede came outside to meet them, Shippo (all bandaged up) bouncing out behind her. When he saw whom Kagome was with, he gave a cry of joy and leapt into her arms. "Nikki!"
"Shippo!" Kaede looked confused. Nikki smiled sheepishly, "Hello, I'm Shippo's sister." She paused before apologising to Kagome, "I'm sorry if I scared you before. I smelt Shippo's blood on you and I went psycho."
Kagome smiled back understandingly. She then told Nikki about herself - how she ended up in feudal Japan, how they met Shippo and defeated the Thunder Brothers.
Shippo butted in then and told Nikki how their father had saved him and Kagome. Nikki smiled sadly at the memory of her father. She toughed the bandages on Shippo's head gently. "Who did this to you?"
Shippo looked at Kagome who looked at Kaede who looked back to Kagome who then turned back to Nikki. Finally, it was Shippo who said quietly, "It wasn't his fault."
Nikki seemed confused. "Whose fault?"
Kagome grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her violently, and cried hysterically, "It's not Inu-Yasha's fault, he didn't know what he was doing, he wasn't himself..." Kaede gentrly pulled Kagome away whilst Myoga and Shippo explained to Nikki what had happened.
"Well, surely you're not going to just sit here and do nothing, Shippo."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Aren't you going to look for him?"
"Wha? Oh!" Shippo breathed a sigh of relief - he thought Nikki had meant to avenge him. He asked, "But aren't you mad he hurt me?"
"Of course I am! But from what you told me, these people saved your life. They deserved more than a favour."
Shippo nodded enthusiactically as this chance to help Kagome, and the two (plus Myoga) set off to find the dog-demon.
***
"Thanks, Lady Kaede," Kagome said as she accepted a cup of tea. "I didn't know what came over me." She looked down at her lap. Suddenly she noticed the silence outside. "Where did Shippo and Nikki go?"
Kaede looked outside and saw no one. She knitted her brow before replying, "Perhaps they went for a walk to catch up on each other's lives."
"Hmm... I wonder how they became separated in the first place?" Kagome said thoughtfully.
Kaede didn't have an answer for her, so she waited to hear what was really on Kagome's mind. She didn't have to wait long.
"Lady Kaede..." She stopped to take a big breath. "What am I going to do if... Inu-Yasha doesn't come back? How am I going to find the shards? How am I even going to guard them?" Tears started to fall down her cheeks.
Kaede patted her hand and said comfortingly, "You know how he is - he tends to brood for awhile. Give it some time." She paused, "Afterall, he might feel upset about hurtin gou."
"Well he shouldn't be! We're not mad at him!"
"Kagome, you do know that without the beads, you have no control over him..."
"But I did! My arrow almost hit him. I yelled 'Sit' and he fell!"
Kaede shook her head incredulously. "Perhaps it was just when Nebuto's control of him had weakened." Kagome started to argue but Kaede broke in, "you must be very tired. Perhaps you should get some rest."
Kagome sighed in desperation. *She's not going to believe me* and decided to follow Kaede's advice.
***
"This is where I found Kagome," Nikki declared. Shippo nodded, his nose detecting her faint smell.
"Do you think you can pick up Inu-Yasha's?"
Nikki replied, "Yeah, I picked it up at Lady Kaede's hut. It's in that direction." Half an hour or so later, they stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Nikki sniffed around. "The smell. It's gone."
Shippo tried to pick up the scent, but his nose was not as sensitve as Nikki's. Myoga said, "Nonetheless, I can sense him not too far away."
Nikki nodded, "Okay, you guys look for him that way, and I'll go this way." Then they split up.
To be continued