The Lost Puppy by Chante

Chapter 1

Kagome stared at the small booklet, lying on the cool grass beneath her as she tried to figure out the last math question. She had asked Inuyasha to allow her to stay in the village for a while to catch up for her Math test that was coming up in a week or so, and he had said yes. He had decided that the rumor that they were currently chasing was unimportant enough for her to stay here and they wouldn't miss her. Kikyo had joined up with them a while back and they had decided that when need be, Kagome could stay behind and study or train. This plan had worked wonders for her and she was coming along nicely with her powers and with her studies. She was also quite happy that she could get a regular break from Inuyasha's slave-driving ways.

Kagome smiled to herself and looked lazily up to the clouds drifting in the sky. Her smile widened when she thought about all the ways that she had progressed while Inuyasha wasn't there, and if she wanted to be truthful, she was almost twice as strong as Kikyo now that she got some scarce training while she was doing what she did best, and lord Knew that she had worked her fingers to the bone with her extensive notes on every class that she got the chance to attend. She sighed in pure bliss when she thought about how she had brought up her grades to the point that she could quit now, two weeks from the end of school, and still come out with a passing grade. Kagome rolled over to look fully at the sky, arms behind her head. As cloud after cloud passes by her irises she became tired, closing her eyes to bask and relax in the warm summer sun.

Kagome heard a small yip in the distance. She tensed, then relaxed as she didn't see anything come out of anywhere and nothing moved in any way. Yip, yip, yip! Kagome cursed under her breath as she heard the unending yips come from what sounded like a puppy. Kagome jumped up and looked around, she still didn't see a puppy or anything else for that matter. Yip, yip, yip! The sounds echoed threw the hill she was laying on. Every echo that passed, another wave of guilt crashed down upon her and she couldn't stand it for much longer. Her movements were rough and desperate to find the source of the noise. She started to run down the hill she was standing on and she ran into the wooded area, and the yips got louder. She clicked her tongue, trying to attract the creatures attention. The yips were even closer to her as her frantic search was nearing to a close.

"Little puppy or whatever, come here, a little louder, please!" She said in a frantic voice.

Come on, come on! She thought angrily to herself, as she closed in to the small yipping puppy. Her footsteps neared its location and she saw the source, a small silver puppy, with his only paw stuck in a trap. Her heart clenched painfully when it whined, a pained, strangled sound. Her resolve doubled as she closed in to the small pup. It looked at her when she came close enough and growled and snarled, but cocked his head as Kagome did nothing but smile warmly at him. She inched closer to the pained puppy.

"It's okay, boy, I'm just going to get your paw out for you..." She said as she was close enough to touch it. The pup looked at her angrily, but begrudgingly stuck out his paw. Kagome only hesitated for a moment, then started to pry off the metal contraption that was on his leg (think of a bear trap, only smaller). She released the metal, and sighed audibly. "Little pup, I'm sorry I'm not strong enough to get this thing off of your foot. Hm.." Kagome stopped to think of another way to save the poor puppy. " Aha!" She exclaimed happily when she was struck with an idea.

"I need you to hold still, okay?" She asked as she put her arms out to her sides, and started to channel her power to her finger tips and to help the puppy.

Her powers caressed his body, an interesting feeling to have, and he looked up at her when he felt the power pass his small form and go on to start at the metal. Her power transformed from a loving caress to a crackling, burning power when it touched the metal, and the trap collapsed after just a moment of her power. His body fell, but never touched the ground as Kagome jumped to catch him, and she rolled as she fell.

"Hey there, are you all right?" Kagome asked softly. She ran back to Kaede's hut, laying the pup down, quickly walking to the book bag that had served her so faithfully while she was traveling. She opened the top flap to get gauze for his foot, and she rushed to get a splint also for him, seeing as he couldn't walk, and she had a feeling that something was wrong. She walked back to him, smiling brightly to him and checking for any other injuries, and a pleased coo came from her when she saw that there weren't any others. She looked down to the stump that was left of his front left paw. Her heart clenched for a second time that day as she reached out to rub it, subconsciously letting her healing powers touch his aura, and her eyes and his widened when the stump was replaced with a limb, a full limb with a paw at the end.

He looked at her gratefully and limped toward her and rubbed his head over the skin of her body that he could reach. Kagome looked down with her shocked face at his small form, what had happened to having him snarling at the mouth? Oh well. She looked down at the gauze covered paw and found herself upset slightly. Her knowledge on dogs wasn't as good as her knowledge on humans. She looked at the way that he carried himself, proudly but, she couldn't help but be worried about the way that he winced slightly every time he put weight on his right-fore paw. Kaede walked inside her hut, after a long days work. She saw Kagome bent over something and walked over to see what had her apprentice so perturbed.

"Kagome, what ales ye?" Kaede asked in her normal tone. Kagome looked over her shoulder at Kaede and smiled and replied to her.

"I found this puppy, Kaede-baba and I think I should take him to a vet, so that they can look at the wound that this little guy has." Kagome rubbed her chin, while contemplating on weather she should or not. Kaede walked up to the pup, and lifted him, she nodded her head and looked sternly at Kagome, before telling her what she thought she needed to know.

"Kagome ye should take the pup to ye home, perhaps the doctors there can heal it, this one won't last through the night. He has lost much blood and he appears weak, for he should have been more energetic for such a small pup." Kaede nodded her head, as if signifying that she was right to herself. Kagome turned wide gray irises toward Kaede, then to the whining puppy. Kagome decided that it would be better to take him to the vet and have him checked out. She thought for a few moments about a good vet that would be near the shrine when she got home, and she had to find a collar and a leash so that she could take him to the vet, and then there was the fees to have him treated. She sighed as she realized that what little money that she had saved up just went out the door for the little guy.

"Hey little guy, what do you want to be called? I think that Gin would be good, don't you, 'cause of your silver fur?" The pup bobbed his head, nodding the affirmative, and Kagome couldn't help but to giggle at the pure cuteness of it all. She picked up the pup, and prepared herself, and she looked at the puppy. A sudden thought hit her, but she brushed it off as she went out the door and toward the well.

 I mean, how mad could Inuyasha get?