With Love, Kagome by Kogasangel

The Mailman

A/N: I've taken a bit of a break from writing and am now starting back up.  I hope that you enjoy this fic and please read and review. 

Disclaimer:  I don't own IY or any of his friends.

~!~

Naraku had been defeated and peace had once more been established.  The group of shard hunters returned to the village within Inu Yasha’s forest victorious, but a member short.  The inu-hanyou leading the pack refused to look the old miko in the eye as he informed her that Naraku was dead and the shikon jewel was with its rightful owner.  The slayer burst into tears as the hanyou recounted the disappearance of the girl from the future in a monotone voice and the monk gently drew the sobbing woman to his side, the cursed hands, for once, not roaming.

The only member of the group who seemed calm was the tiny kitsune who merely watched with narrowed eyes as the hanyou wiped a tear away and before he started to wretch, Shippo quietly moved away from the group, sickened by what he had heard.

The daiyoukai who watched the proceedings allowed his eyes to stray to the kitsune and watched as the youngest of the group picked up a large yellow backpack and began to move towards the woods.  Waiting until Shippo was out of eyesight from the group, Sesshomaru followed him and once they were far enough away from the village, he appeared before the kitsune and blocked the youngster’s path.

“It is foolish to leave the village when you are unable to protect yourself.”  The daiyoukai stated and watched as Shippo simply shrugged. 

The kitsune had heard enough from the group and he shook his head.  “Better to die honestly than to be where lies live.”  He replied, his tail swishing back and forth calmly.

The daiyoukai could see the wisdom in the kit’s words, yet his honor would not allow him to let the boy walk into danger.

“I have been told that you are orphaned.  Where will you go if you will not stay in the village?”  He asked and then watched as Shippo sighed.

It never failed to amaze him that people thought he was all alone in the world.  Didn’t anyone understand that kitsune come from huge clans and that his mother and father were only a small part of a much larger family?  “My parents are dead.”  He said, but then added, “However, I have family in the southern part of Kyoto.  I will go there.”

The daiyoukai’s eyes narrowed slightly.  “Very well, but are you aware that you are traveling in the wrong direction?”  He countered, a slight smirk adorning his pale lips.

Shippo’s eyes grew wide and he quickly glanced up at the sun.  However, unlike the daiyoukai before him, he was unsure of the direction he was walking in.  He just started to walk after hearing all of the bullshit that the hanyou kept spewing.

“Will you please point me in the right direction?”  Shippo asked, his tone hopeful.  However, his tail sagged at the Sesshomaru’s reponse.

“No.”  The daiyoukai replied.  Shippo’s eyes darted to the ground as he processed the reply, but at Sesshomaru’s next words, the kitsune’s head snapped up.

“I will take you to your family in Kyoto.  It is the very least I can do for what your adoptive mother did for Rin.”  The daiyoukai said and before Shippo could form a reply, Sesshomaru had snatched him up by the collar of his vest and was already forming his sphere to take them to Kyoto.

When he finally was able to collect his wits, the kitsune glanced up into the face of the great and terrible daiyoukai who was holding him and offered a quiet, “Thank you.”

“Hn.” 

~!~

Time passed, as it tends to do, and before anyone knew it, ten years passed by quickly.  The village within Inu Yasha’s forest had grown and despite the fact that the elderly miko who had protected them for so many years passed away, she had established a new guardian for the village and died knowing that her precious people would be safe.

The once brash inu hanyou had calmed down and claimed a mate.  His mate was gentle, quiet, and gave to her mate an unconditional love that he knew he could never have had with the tragic miko, Kikyou.  The miko had returned to the soil right before the battle with Naraku, giving her reincarnation the power she would need to take down the spider.  The miko from the future was brilliant as she stood before her enemy and fired the arrow that would send Naraku straight to hell.  And once Naraku was gone and the jewel purified once more, Kagome faded from their sight and from their lives.  Inu Yasha settled into life protecting the village and could be seen daily running around and making sure that the village was protected.

Kagome wasn’t the only one to disappear after the battle.  It would seem that Shippo who had traveled with them decided that without the miko, he would move on.  No one knew where he was, if he were alive, or if he had perished.  And, along with the kitsune, the backpack that the miko carried and remained behind had also disappeared.

The slayer and monk married in a simple ceremony and loved each other passionately. Miroku’s dream of having a son was realized several times over and while they held their father’s good looks, they were not blessed with the hentai tendencies that their father possessed.  No, those tendencies were actually passed to the daughters of Miroku’s line, much to their mother’s displeasure.  Needless to say, the boys in that family were always close by to protect their sisters’ virtue.

When the anniversary of Naraku’s demise finally arrived, the village held a festival to remember those whom had perished in Naraku’s quest for power.  They also honored Kagome and prayed that her life would never again be touched by such evil.

Everyone was in attendance.  The wolf prince and princess brought their packs with them.  The great and terrible daiyoukai managed to arrive, even though he was currently dealing with an uprising in the northern part of his territory.  Others arrived and were welcomed to the celebration by the hanyou and as the hanyou turned towards his mate, he stopped when out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.

Walking towards him was a tall, young youkai.  Kitsune, if he had to guess, and he confirmed his suspicion as the kitsune’s tails gave him away.  The kitsune was carrying a large, yellow backpack in his arms and it was then that the inu hanyou froze.

Sesshomaru, Miroku, Sango, and others moved to see what had caught the inu hanyou’s attention and they too, watched as the kitsune drew closer.  When he stopped a few feet away from the group, it was clear that this kitsune had been their young companion, but his eyes were cold as they looked upon the inu hanyou. 

Inu Yasha took in a deep breath and said, “Welcome home, Shippo.”

Shippo, now matured and who stood at least a good head over Miroku, bared his fangs at the hanyou and snapped, “This is not my home, half-breed.  My home was with Kagome, but now that she is gone, my home is now in Kyoto.  I’m here to honor her memory, nothing more.”

Stepping back as though he had been slapped, the hanyou watched as Shippo strolled past him and walked towards the large fire in the middle of the village.  The others slowly turned and followed Shippo in a stunned silence, leaving the inu hanyou and daiyoukai alone.

“What the hell?”  Inu Yasha sputtered, disbelief still in his voice.

Sesshomaru shrugged and said, “It would seem that you and the kit have some issues that need to be worked out.”

Turning on his heel, the daiyoukai walked away, following the large group and selected a seat that was a few feet away from Shippo.  He watched as the younger youkai fiddled with the straps of the backpack, but then turned his eyes towards the monk, who was now calling everyone’s attention.

“Welcome, dear friends.”  Miroku said, his tone warm.  “Today we celebrate the tenth anniversary of Naraku’s destruction.  Let us all say a silent prayer for those whom were taken from us.”

~!~

The celebration ended and people were beginning to settle in for the night.  However, the members of the group whom had fought against Naraku remained around the fire, reminiscing over the past and wondering if the young miko was safe.

The monk glanced over at Shippo who was staring at the backpack, deep in thought.  Taking a deep breath, he asked, “How are you doing, Shippo?”

The kitsune’s head snapped up and his eyes narrowed; however, after a moment of silence, Shippo’s shoulders slumped and he said, “I miss her.”

“We all do, kid.”  The inu hanyou said, but froze when the kitsune growled at him.  “What is your problem, Shippo?”

It was clear that the kitsune was struggling to keep his temper in check and finally, he managed to say, “I have a problem with you, Inu Yasha.”

The hanyou nodded.  “Ok, let’s just get it out into the open, shall we?”

The daiyoukai watched as Shippo’s tails began to whip around in agitation and after a moment, they settled down.  It was clear that the kitsune was struggling to remain in control of himself and for the moment, he was winning.

“I think that you are a liar, Inu Yasha.”  Shippo announced to the group, his voice strong and firm.  “However, as much as I would love to beat your ass, I’ve made a promise not to resort to violence.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Inu Yasha snapped, “Oh, and exactly who did you promise?”

Shippo smiled, though it was not a very friendly smile.  Leaning forward, the kitsune made sure that the hanyou’s eyes were upon him and he said, “Why, Kagome made me promise not to hurt you.”

Snorting, the hanyou shook his head and echoed, “Kagome made you promise not to hurt me.  That’s total crap.  Besides, Kagome isn’t here anymore to make you promise anything.  You’re full of shit, Shippo.”

The kitsune growled, but instead of rising to the hanyou’s bait, he opened the backpack and began to pull out several paper bundles.  Once he was done, Shippo carefully untied on bundle and sifted through the papers until he found what he was looking for.

“Believe it or not, Kagome knew that she would disappear once the jewel was complete.  She knew that her time here was limited and because of that, she began to do a lot of writing.  I’m sure you will remember all of the times you interrupted her from what she was doing because you wanted her to cook for your lazy ass.”  Shippo snapped, his eyes narrowing.  “Despite all of the lies you told her, all of the times you abandoned her to run to Kikyou, and all of the times your selfishness got in the way of her well-being, she thought enough of you to write your letters.  In fact, she wrote all of us letters.”

Inu Yasha was silent for several minutes before he asked, “Which ones are mine?”

Shaking his head, Shippo muttered, “Of course, you just have to make sure that you get yours before anyone else gets theirs.  Well, here you go and I hope you choke on the paper, half-breed.” 

Inu Yasha caught the small bundle of paper and then watched as Shippo handed the others out.  When Shippo came to the last bundle, Inu Yasha nodded.  “Those must be for Kaede.  After all, it’s the largest stack of all.”

Shaking his head, Shippo smirked.  “Actually, Kagome mentioned in a letter of mine that it was Kaede who suggested that she write letters to us in case she did leave.”   He replied and enjoyed the look of confusion that crossed the hanyou’s face.

Unable to contain himself any longer and feeling the delicious rush of victory over the hanyou, Shippo said, “These letters, Inu Yasha, are for Sesshomaru-sama.”

The inu hanyou’s mouth fell open and both the monk and slayer scooted far away just in case the hanyou decided to throw a temper tantrum.  As Sesshomaru calmly accepted the stack of letters that held his name, the hanyou surprised everyone by plopping down to the ground and shrugging.

“Whatever.”  He muttered and then turned his golden eyes towards his own stack. 

The group grew silent as they looked at the letters in their hands.  Finally Shippo took in a deep breath.  “She was my mother.”  He said softly.  “So, when she hurt, I did too.  My problems with you, Inu Yasha, are the result of how you treated my mother.  You are selfish, conceited, arrogant, and despite all of that, she managed to see something within you that was enough to convince her that you deserved her loyalty.”

Inu Yasha’s head bowed as he took in Shippo’s words.  Yeah, he knew that he was a royal ass for all that he did to Kagome.  However, he just could not let go of his first love.  Perhaps Kagome had realized that he could never be the man she deserved.  Perhaps that is why she began to pull away from him and began to seek attention elsewhere.  He was not blind, nor stupid (despite what the others thought), but he noticed that Kagome would look at other males and it was hard, but he had decided to stop interfering.  At least, until that male crossed the line and she asked him to get rid of the offending male.

Shaking his head, Shippo rolled his eyes at the hanyou’s bowed head and then looked at the group.  “Kagome numbered the letters.  She wanted us to read them aloud when we were all together.  Of course, I have already read a few of mine.  When we get to letter four, then I will start reading mine from there.”  He said and watched as everyone, save for Sesshomaru, nod.

“Ok, let’s get this going.  Miroku, you’re first.”  Shippo announced and then leaned back to watch as the holy man carefully opened his letter.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Shippo knew that this was going to be a long night.  He could only pray that Kagome would be proud of him for following through with her request.