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bloodsong1Shippo lounged against the Iwaso courtesy car. It was a beautiful Monday morning and Reiki was checking out. Jadeite hovered nearby, carrying Reiki's borrowed, dented schoolbag and Wakamiya patiently waited on the gravel drive, resplendent in another ancient full court kimono. The hot spring kami refused to look at him. Shippo folded his arms as Reiki came out and stopped to talk to Wakamiya. He was in a rather perilous predicament. What he hadn't told anyone, and what the Stone Guys may or may not have picked up on, was how good Reiki smelled. Her scent was almost like Hoshimi, a mortal woman Shippo had adored about fifty years go. They were actively courting and he was seriously considering taking her as a mate when World War 2 started. She had died after Hiroshima from radiation poisoning. The humans weren't the only ones who suffered from the atomic bombs. Hundreds of demons died in the blasts and hundreds more were so corrupted they either fell apart or mutated into hideous monsters that had to be killed for everyone's sake. It had been a brutal time, especially for the bound kamis; the spirits of woods and water and earth. Unable to escape, those that survived the bombings slowly withered with their natural elements. Shippo could still hear their cries, one of the many reasons he stayed away from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Jadeite's furious hiss brought Shippo's attention back to the present. Wakamiya and Reiki were locked in a kiss, Reiki mostly hidden in voluminous sleeves. Shippo sighed and shook his head. It was obvious Reiki was saying goodbye to the kami. There was no threat there. Reiki broke the kiss and stepped back, blushing prettily. Wakamiya pressed something into her hands, bowed gracefully and vanished. The Okami and Nakais twittered from the doorway. Reiki ducked her head and scuttled over to the car.
"Can we leave now, please?"
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"Ahoy there, Shippo! Welcome aboard!" Hakkaku called, waving from the deck of the Lady Rin. Reiki stared up at the yacht, clutching her bags close to her chest.
"Wh...wha?" She stammered. Hakkaku blinked, shaded his eyes, then let out a whoop.
"Ginta! Ginta! Lady Reiki's here!" Reiki staggered back into Shippo as the mohawk-haired wolf demon leapt over the railing to land in front of her and bow. "I am Hakkaku, Lady Reiki, and it's an honor to finally meet you."
"Ha...Hakkaku?" Ginta appeared on deck, bent halfway over the railing and waved furiously. Reiki peered up at him. "G...Ginta?"
"Come, come aboard! You'll just love the Rin, Lady Reiki. She's the finest Xanadu yacht in the world!" Hakkaku commandeered the bag from a stunned Jadeite and snagged Reiki's arm before Shippo could stop him.
"How...dare..." Jadeite snarled. Shippo grabbed the furious construct by the shoulder.
"Relax, Jadeite. Ginta and Hakkaku are happily mated with a couple of pups each. Reiki's in no danger," Shippo explained, hauling Jadeite up the gangplank. Reiki was blinking rapidly at Ginta bowing to her.
"Um, hi, Ginta." Shippo nodded to the rest of the crew, who promptly got to work getting the yacht ready to go. Ginta took Reiki's other arm and escorted the bewildered human to the lounge on the second deck, Jadeite and Shippo trailing behind.
"We've got everything set up for you, Lady Reiki! Over there is your stateroom," Hakkaku explained, pointing to a door behind the bar. "You can take a nap if you wish, we're about eight hours from Tokyo. We'll be serving lunch about 12:30. Lord Sesshomaru will arrange for dinner after your meeting."
"Um, Hakkaku? If you're here, where's Kouga?" Reiki blurted out. Hakkaku and Ginta froze. Shippo closed his eyes and shook his head. His eyes flew open when Reiki gasped. "Oh gods, I've said something wrong. I am so sorry!"
"Kouga died at Nagasaki, trying to coordinate an evacuation. We knew the Americans were going to do it, but we didn't know when," Shippo explained. He gently squeezed Reiki's shoulder, noticing how bright her eyes were and how tightly her fingers were pressed to her mouth. "You didn't know, Reiki." Reiki shook her head, reached out and snagged a wolf demon in each arm, pulling them into a three way hug. Ginta and Hakkaku stumbled, glanced at each other, glanced down at Reiki's bowed head and completed the hug. Shippo frowned when he smelled her tears. Ginta and Hakkaku reacted kindly; Ginta stroked her hair and Hakkaku gently patted her back.
"I...I'm...so...sorry," Reiki choked out.
"Thank you," Hakkaku said, nudging her temple with his nose. Shippo couldn't stop the faint growl rumbling in his throat and the wolves almost fell over themselves scrambling back.
"I...I didn't MEAN anything by it, Shippo!" Hakkaku babbled, waving his hands around. Reiki wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeve and turned to glare at Shippo.
"You could have WARNED ME!" She snapped. Shippo shrugged sheepishly.
"It didn't cross my mind."
"Fine, whatever." Reiki blinked a few times, glanced around. "Um, are we moving?"
"Yep! Our top speed is about thirty knots, but we'll only be doing about fifteen until we clear the inland sea," Ginta answered, dropping back into tour guide mode. He took her arm and led her to the stateroom. "Here, why don't you rest for a while? Lord Sesshomaru told us about your head injury. Don't worry, I'm a trained medic!" Shippo gave Hakkaku a warning glare as he followed the two, Jadeite following and grumbling under his breath.
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Sarah waited until Ginta left with exuberant promises of tea and snacks in the lounge that opened to the pool area before she turned on Shippo, who insisted on staying behind.
"Gods, Shippo, why are you DOING this to me?" She snapped, hands on hips. Jadeite snickered and her eyes flicked to him. "You should go back to sleep, Jay-ototo. You're not going to want to hear this."
"I'm fine, my lady!" Jadeite assured her. Her eyes narrowed and she held out her hand.
"That is now an ORDER, Jadeite. Revert. I'm going to need my energy." Jadeite jerked as if she had punched him in the face. Lips twisted into a frown, he stomped over and grabbed her hand. Shippo's eyes widened as the general dissolved into smoke and solidified into a solid piece of stone. Sarah dug the remaining crystals out of her jeans pockets and dropped them on a mahogany nightstand. She then whirled and marched right up to Shippo.
"Well?"
"I...I don't understand."
"You don't UNDERSTAND? Shippo! You're shipping me to Tokyo in a private boat that costs three times what I used to make in a year to meet the Lord of the West! He's practically royalty! What kind of impression am I going to make looking like this?!" She gestured to the slim jeans and green striped T-shirt, part of Usagi-imoto's donation. "I know you think I'm some silly American stumbling around doing the best she can on a mad quest for people you may or may not had known about, but I do CARE about the impact I make on this universe. I've been doing everything in my power to make sure I don't destroy Usagi and Mamoru's future and now I've got DEMONS involved, I'm going to meet one of the Leaders of the Pack and I look like a poor teenager because that's what I've become! A poor single mother living on other's charity until she can find a way HOME. I'm TERRIFIED!"
"Here, this might help," Shippo said, walking to the mahogany paneled closet. He opened the doors with a dramatic flourish and Sarah's jaw hit the floor. Inside were four outfits. Four expensive outfits, with various shoes on the floor and a range of jewelry displayed on the back of one door.
"No, that doesn't help," Sarah sobbed, shoulders drooping. "That's a Vera Wang dress, isn't it?"
"Um, yes," Shippo said after checking the discreet label. Sarah shook her head.
"Why, Shippo? Why drop me in the middle of all this luxury? What's the point? Whose clothes ARE those anyway?"
"Kagome picked them out."
"So they're Kagome's. I get to show up to meet the Lord of the West wearing clothes that smell like his brother's mate. Peachy."
"No, they're NOT Kagome's. I called her yesterday when you were napping and explained the situation. These clothes are yours until you leave."
"More charity? I don't DESERVE this, Shippo! I'm nothing special! Why are you doing this to me?" Shippo closed the doors and leaped to her side, cupping her chin in one hand and making her look into his eyes. Wow, those were deep green eyes!
"Because you are Blessed by Amaterasu-sama. Because you are on a holy quest and we would lose face if we didn't help you. Because you need to realize you are NOT alone. No matter what happens with the Stone Generals, I will be here for you. And," here he grinned, showing off a fang that Sarah immediately fixated on, "because you smell really, really good."
"Really?" She whispered, wondering how that fang would feel on her neck. Shippo's nostrils flared and Sarah promptly blushed.
"Really," He purred softly and gently bumped his nose against hers. Sarah's blush deepened and he smirked and disappeared. She blinked and saw him by the door. "I'll be in the lounge. Take your time and enjoy the luxury, Reiki. It's yours for as long as you're here." Sarah gaped at him until the door closed, then smacked her forehead.
"Chronos! If you throw ONE MORE unavailable bishi at me I swear I'm going to track down Dr. Jackal and French him so hard his knives will feel it! That will likely get me killed, you know!"
