Work Text:
Shippo sat on a rock outside Kaede's hut, just staring up at the sky. He could almost see a faint vision of his mother floating among the clouds. "Hahaoya. I wish you were here." A tear slid down the lonely kitsune cub's cheek. His thoughts were interrupted by Kagome's voice.
"Shippo-chan!" she said, waving. "Time to eat!"
"Hai!" Shippo called back excitedly. "She reminds me of Hahaoya." he thought fondly.
Kagome smiled as she ushered the little cub into the hut. Inu Yasha, Kaede, Miroku, and Sango sat in their respective places around the fire. Kagome sat next to Inu Yasha. Shippo was sitting on her lap as he happily munched away on his cup ramen, occasionally getting hit in the nose with one of the noodles as he slurped them up.
Shippo stopped eating for a moment to look up at Kagome and sighed inwardly. "I wish I could ask her to...." He shook his head to clear away the thought that was forming. Humans didn't do that sort of thing for youkai, no matter how kind they were. "Still...Kagome-chan seems more accepting than most humans...." He let that last thought ring in his mind for a while before he yawned and fell asleep in Kagome's lap.
When Shippo woke from his nap he found himself lying on the pillow Kagome had brought from her time. For some reason the warmth and the softness of the pillow made his heart sink. He began to cry again. "Hahaoya. I miss you Hahaoya!" he sobbed into the pillow. He knew why the pillow made him sad. It reminded him of being held by his mother. What made it even worse was Kagome's scent was on the pillow and she was the closest thing to a mother he had now.
A hand suddenly landing gently on Shippo's shoulder caused him to suck in a breath. He looked up to see Kagome's concerned face. "Shippo-chan? Daijobu desu ka?"
Shippo wiped his eyes quickly. "H...hai."
Kagome picked up the small boy and put him on her lap. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked.
Shippo was silent for a moment. Suddenly, he leapt from Kagome's lap and ran for the door yelling, "I'll be right back!"
Kagome simply sat there in confusion. "Ara?" When Shippo returned, roughly five minutes later, he was holding a necklace. It was a string of golden beads shaped like roses. From it hung a teardrop-shaped pendant that glittered from its multi- faceted cut and iridescent coloring. He knelt down in front of Kagome and held up the necklace over his head, bowing.
"Kagome-chan." He took a deep breath and continued. "I have been without my Jitsubo for a long time now. I try to be a man and I try not to cry, but I'm still a kid. I...I need an okaasa." He kept his head bowed during his speech, out of respect. "This necklace belonged to my Hahaoya. I offer it to you. According to yokai custom, if you accept, and wear it...." he gulped. This was taking all the courage he could muster, "....you would become my...my...Youbo...."
Kagome's eyes widened. She didn't know what to say. "Shippo-chan...." she began.
The young kitsune would not relent. "Choudai Kagome-chan. I would be honored to have to have you as my Youbo," he asked again, his voice breaking a bit. Suddenly he felt the weight of the necklace disappear from his small hands. He looked up to see Kagome fastening the ornate necklace around her neck. She smiled warmly at him.
He thought his heart would burst from happiness as he leaped into Kagome's arms. "Youbo!" He said with tears of joy streaming down his face.
Kagome hugged Shippo tightly. "No Shippo-chan. You honor me," she said softly.
Inuyasha watched with a smile as Kagome embraced the Kitsune cub. "She'll make a fine Hahaoya someday," he thought. Suddenly he got incredibly embarrassed as he realized he had been imagining Kagome's pups were also his. After a moment of frowning, he realized the thought wasn't so bad and let himself slip back into his daydreams.