Bad, Bad Berries...

[Aiko]

Things always went wrong when she was around. It didn’t matter what she did… she always caused so much trouble for people, so maybe it was better this way. This way, she wouldn’t have to beg for her food any more. She could just stay here, lay here… die here…

No, she was being a pessimist. That wasn’t her way. After all, she’d been able to eat a few berries. Bitter little berries, but berries nonetheless. After that, it seemed like a good idea to take a nap by the stream… and yet the sleep wasn’t coming. She wondered why… It was also so hot out here. The grass was prickly against her skin, and her clothes were sticky. Why were her clothes sticky? That was strange. Perhaps some of the berry juice had dribbled down and clung to her clothes. Funny. They were such dry, tiny little berries…

How was Kikan? She’d left because she didn’t want that mean lady to come back because of her, so the lady wouldn’t kill her newfound friend. She’d left her dagger, too, because it wasn’t really hers. Kikan had only given it to her for training, so she could learn how to fight. But had her leaving actually helped? Oh, gods, what if the lady had killed him anyway? What if she killed him because she had left? Had she done the wrong thing… again? She should go find Kikan… but her limbs were so heavy, protesting sluggishly against movement… surely she could lie here a little longer…

How long was a little longer? A minute or a day? She felt wet… did she fall in the stream? She tried to remember… her mind seemed kind of cloudy… Huh, she couldn’t seem to recall. She felt hot and sticky… and she felt wet. Why was she wet? It didn’t make any sense.

Her throat felt so tight, so contracted… like a vine was wrapped around it and was slowly squeezing. It made her mouth feel dry. That was kind of funny… that her body was wet and her mouth was dry… She would laugh, but it seemed kind of hard. She wondered why.

Why was she laying here? What had she been doing before? Oh right… the berries… those were bad, bad berries… They didn’t taste good at all, but now she felt so sleepy…

She couldn’t see anything. Head throbbing, teeth chattering… why were her teeth chattering? It was so hot… so beastly hot… Maybe just sleep a while… Yeah…

Sleep…

[OOC: In case this didn’t make any sense, Aiko ate some poison berries and now she’s sick.]

[kagura]

Enter Shippo...

Golden eyes looked about brightly, curious to all his surroundings. He spotted a small, colorful butterfly, immediately taking after it, laughing joyously. Sadly, his tiny legs could barely keep up, so soon enough, his pace slacked causing him to finally slow, with short gasping breaths.

Shippo's tiny chest heaved up and down trying to catch his breath, but it wasn't working out to well with him. He sighed and pulled himself up on a near-by medium-sized boulder. He collapsed onto it with a plop and layed for a moment, eyes closed. 'Aw...' He thought, his small body relieved to be resting again, He felt his little breaths slowly return to normal.

Finally, he pushed his small body up into a sitting position and looked around. His tiny pale hand unconciously slid into his pocket and began finddling around, looking for something. Shippo finally relized what he was doing a looked down. His small hand gribbed the slim stick and pulled it out. He began unwrapping his favorite treat, a big, bright red lollipop. His eyes lit up for a moment before poping the candy into his mouth. He sucked on it happily as he looked down toward the stream. There, something caught his eye.

He spotted a small girl laying in a heap down toward the water. Something didn't seem right. His brows creased in concern and he wiggled off the large rock. His puff ball of a tail bopped up and down as he began making his way toward the girl. With the lollipop stil being sucked wildly, he finally reached and looked over her carefully.

The girl seemed to be in pain, her body broken out into a sweat. Shippo recognized it all too well. It had to be some type of poison, but what? And what could he do to help her? He had to get whatever it was out of her but what was he trying to get out? He let out a small groan. He didn't even know this girl, let alone she know him. What if she wouldn't let him help?

He plucked his lollipop out and looked at her, all kinds of worries now in his mind. "Umm... Miss? Are you okay?" His small childly voice finally pipped up. His face went blunt for a moment, of course she wasn't. The concern returned a second later. He looked down at her.

[Aiko]

Finally, the sleep had come. A hot and feverish sleep, one filled with nightmares, but sleep nonetheless.

She was standing in front of her house. She was home? Yes, she was home! It was all so familiar, the thatched walls of the tiny hut that she and her family called theirs, the roof that looked a little patchy… The summer sun beat down on her old home, a happy summer sun. It was hot out, and Aiko was sweating, but she had just been working for her mom and dad, going out to collect some supplies from the nearby village. Her little bag was slung over her shoulder, see, and it felt heavy and weighted down.

Someone walked past her, feet throwing up little puffs of dust. She looked up, shielding her bright brown eyes against the sunlight, so that she could see the person. But it wasn’t a person at all; it was a demon, but not just any demon. It was Kikan! She saw his familiar reddish hair, the eyes that stared unseeing at the world in front of him, cloudy and blind, and his big, bushy fox tail. It was definitely Kikan. Was he coming for a visit with her family? How nice!

Just before he walked into the shadowy archway that was the doorway, he turned back to her, sightless eyes landing a bit to her right as he smiled. She smiled back, even though he wouldn’t see it, and he turned and continued on into the hut. Aiko wanted to follow him; she willed her feet to move forward, for her to carry her burden into her home and deliver the supplies to her parents, but she couldn’t move. Why not?

The sudden trumpeting whinny of a horse sounded behind her, and Aiko turned her head. More guests? But no! These were mean-looking men on battle-scarred horses, horses whose eyes leaked blood and breath blasted foully at her.

The breath smelled like bitter berries.

The men were clad in worn, bloody armor, but they were led by a beautiful woman. Aiko knew her; it was the woman from yesterday, the one who said she was going to kill Kikan! She was coming for him, she knew it! Turning her head back to her home, she tried to call out a warning, but her throat was tight, so very tight, and it was hard to suck in enough breath. Two horses charged past her, and their riders carried torches. No, Aiko thought desperately, willing them to turn away, brown eyes growing wide. She pleaded with those big chocolate eyes, supplicated, begged them not to set fire to her home. Not again.

They didn’t even turn their heads as they tossed the torches at the hut, and within a moment, Aiko’s home was alive with writhing, screaming flames, and the doorway belched smoke.

The smoke smelled like bitter berries.

Suddenly, the bandits on their horses surrounded her, lead by the lady, but Aiko’s burden weighed her down, wouldn’t let her move. And the bandits threw berries at her, little shriveled berries, and they crowed, “Bad berries, very bad berries, and you must eat them!”

“I don’t want to eat them!” Aiko whimpered, and she awakened, still feeling the heat of the flames, still seeing their glare. Above her there was another figure, apart from the bandits that circled in her peripheral vision. It looked like… a fox demon. Kikan? He was alive?

“Kikan…” the girl whispered hoarsely to the young kitsune who was, obviously, not actually Kikan. “Run away… the bad lady… came back…”

[kagura]

Shippo watched her as she tossed and turned, obviously having some sort of nightmare. Finishing off his lollipop, he placed the stick in the wrapper and placed both back in his pocket. He bit his lip, unsure of what to do. He could hear her heavy breath, mixed in with the occassional groan. He chewed on his lip slightly. He felt so helpless right now, and he could only imagine what she could be feeling right now. Should he wake her up? Or leave her be?

He raised a small hand and scrated his necked, debating what to do. He plopped onto his knees silently, and watched her carefully, his bushy golden tail popping straight up behind him. It swished back and forth uncertainly for a moment, then turned still.

He stared down at his hands, which were placed upon his lap. He began slinking off into his thoughts until he heard her small, scared voice. His head popped up and his eyes immediately flew to her face. Had she awoke?

He raised a brow, completely confused as to what the heck she was talking about. "Um..." He began not knowing what to say. Whoever this Kikan was, certainly wasn't him, but what should he say? "I'm Shippo..."

He began gnawing on his lip again. "You're ok, you don't have to eat anything" He said quitely, a bit uncertain as to whether she was fully awake, or what the situation was about.

Shippo fidgeted on his knees slightly. He watched her carefully, looking for signs as to whether she was fully awake or not. What was it she didn't want to eat? Who was this Kikan? What bad lady? So many questions filled his tiny head, but he had no clue to what the answers were.

[Aiko]

Sadly for Shippo, this feverish little girl was slipping into a subconscious realm, a place where reality mixes with nightmares. Closing her tired eyes, she whimpered again, frightened by everything and nothing. That was not a Shippo, it was Kikan! She was sure of it! Or was it the bad lady playing tricks on her? And as her eyes closed, she saw that it really was the bad lady, but she was holding up Kikan. But… he wasn’t moving… and his skin was so dark… and he smelled like the bitter berries…

Why did everything smell like the bitter berries?

“I… don’t?” Aiko murmured in a whispery, feeble voice that was filled with hope. That was good… she didn’t want to eat the bad berries any more. They didn’t taste very nice, not very nice at all. But then the woman came up to her, dropping Kikan’s blackened body, and she was holding a bunch of berries in the palm of her hand. In her dream and in reality, the girl started to squirm again, but in her dream the woman held her still and crammed the berries into her mouth. The bitter taste of them filled her mouth, tasting sour and stinging her throat. “N-no!” she gasped, and spit them out.

And, in the realm of reality, Aiko threw up a small heap of mashed magenta, which was all that remained of the bitter berries.

She had twisted to her side and vomited on the ground beside her, and, luckily, all that was on her was dribbling from the corner of her mouth. Feeling exhausted, her head plopped back down and she shuddered. Behind her closed eyelids, the bad lady reeled back in surprise. Now she was the one covered in the bad berries, and now she was melting with a hiss of steam. And then the bad lady was gone, and everything that was left was fading into blackness.

Slipping back into a half-awakened state, Aiko narrowed her eyes back up at little Shippo. Confusion and pain creased her forehead as she stared at him, her gaze blank and alien. Finally, recognition fluttered in their dark depths and she whispered, “Kikan, you… you came back… to find… find me…” But this was all the still-sickly girl could manage at the moment, and she closed her eyes again. Her head fell back slightly, and she bumped against an old bruise on the back of her head.

“Ow…” she moaned, pain throbbing through her skull, reverberating around her brain. As her eyes began to close once again, she muttered, “Bad, bad berries…”

[kagura]

[ooc: lol we should come up with some type of plot with her and Shippo later on ^.^]

"No you don't" He replied trying to reassure her. His small pale hands began to reach out to her, feeling sympathy for her, but he quickly withdrew. The girl didn't know him, and he didn't want to make the current situation worse. He bit his lip a bit harder.

His eyes widened in surprise as he watched the begin to throw up. He quickly jumped back, and wrinkled his nose slightly. He forced himself to swallow, but the wrinkles in his nose wouldn't go away. He couldn't help it. His nose was so sensitive, and he couldn't stand vomit. A bitter taste came into his mouth at just the thought of the vomit.

His small body shivered for a moment. Oh he hated when he got sick, and just as much as watching some one ELSE getting sick. He took a couple uncertain steps back toward the girl, hoping she was finished. He felt sorry for her. He forced his eyes to look at the purple mess.

"Poisonous berries?" He said in surprise. 'So that's what she ment by not wanting to eat anymore' he thought gently. He'd had a not so great experience with those himself. The best thing for her to have done was to have thrown them up. They had to get out of her quickly if that's what she had eaten.

He scratched the back of his neck once more. His brows creased once more. "I'm sorry, but I'm not Kikan. My name's Shippo..." He replied gently. Seeing her in such pain, made him hurt a little as well. He hated to see people in pain.

"Is there anything I can do for you Miss" He asked quietly, as he listened to her moans of pain. He felt so helpless and had no clue what to do. 'If only Kagome was here. She'd know what to do.' He thought with a silent sigh.

[Aiko]

What was Kikan asking? “But I don’t want a kiss…” she protested, sounding befuddled. Her mind still felt muddy, but she was pulling out of the effects of the poison, slowly but surely. She was so very sleepy… couldn’t Kikan just let her take another nap? Why was he pestering her? It had to be something very important; Aiko struggled to pay attention to what her teacher was saying. What was it he said about a kiss? “I don’t want a kiss…” the girl repeated, still sounding rather confused. The bitter taste of berries was in her mouth when she said that, so she coughed and blinked her eyes open.

Her bleary gaze focused on Shippo. For the first time, she saw that he was obviously not Kikan; her fox demon mentor was much, much older, and looked rather different than this little guy. “Where’d Kikan go to?” she asked, her voice sounding slightly fuzzy or drunk. “He be here two moments ago.” Why am I lying on the ground? she wondered, feeling somewhat dizzy. Why would Kikan let me lie around? I gotta be his eyes! No… that’s right… I left Kikan… but he came back! Didn’t he?

She realized that her gaze was slipping out of focus, and Aiko tried harder to concentrate on the face of little Shippo. It seemed blurry, sort of indistinct… It was kind of funny to look at. The girl tried to laugh, but it came out as a strangled cough. She tried to raise herself up, tried to force some strength into her arms, but her hands just trembled by her sides. Wanting to understand a little more about the young fox demon who was near her, the girl asked softly, “Where be your name?”

…that didn’t really make any sense.

“I don’t know,” Aiko added, trying to string together the thoughts in her mind. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to grab a wisp of sense in her confused brain. They, the thoughts, were as fuzzy and indistinct as her vision, and were drifting away as she tried to catch them. “Almost gotcha,” she whispered, talking to herself. Her puppy-dog-brown gaze roved back to Shippo, but her eyelids were drooping. “Nighty nigh…” she murmured, head turning away from the pile of vomit…

…because that smelled like the bitter berries.

[OOC: Sounds like fun. ^_^]

[kagura]

{ooc: aww I just thought of something though I dunno if it should happen. wouldn't it be cute if SHippo developed a crush or something on her? idk lol}

He furrowed his brow. A kiss?! He wasn't offering a kiss, nor did he want too! He couldn't help but wrinkles his nose a bit more. He knew she had to be only half awake then. "uhhh..." He began scratching his next, once again. He glanced at her. She looked extremely tired. "Do you want to rest? I'll leave you be..." He offered looking at her with curious eyes.

"I'm sorry miss, but whoever this Kikan is, hasn't been here at all...Just me..." he replied gentily. He was seriously curious to who this Kikan was now. He was a tad confused by her dialogue but he got the jist of it.

He shoulder fell for a moment. His name? He had only said it, what, three times? He held his tongue and looked at the girl. " My name Is Shippo" He repeated, forcing himself to be nice.

Her heard her say something but wasn't sure as to whether she was talking to him, or herself. "Um, are you talking to me or yourself?" He asked uncertainly.

He plopped himself into a more comfortable position and leaned back slightly, onto his big fluffy tail. He looked over her and could see how exhauted she was. He opened his mouth to say something but shut once more she needed her rest. But what should he do? Leave her be, or stay with her until she woke up again?

[Aiko]

Several hours later…

Finally, it seemed that the effects of the poison on little Aiko’s body were finally beginning to dissipate. Now, she was sleeping. It was no pain-filled, fever-induced sleep that left her half awake and half asleep like her earlier nightmares had been, but just a normal sleep, brought on by sheer exhaustion, filled with normal dreams.

Er… sort of…

“No, no, no!” Aiko mumbled, her eyebrows scrunched up in what appeared to the outside world to be annoyance. “Octopus-san wants the red kimono for the ninja monkeys…” Still engrossed in her discontented mumblings of sleep-talking, the eleven-year-old rolled over slightly, but then kept rolling… right into the little brook that had looked so pretty and soothing during the day.

Splash!

With a muffled cry, Aiko scrambled to her hands and knees, shivering. She felt suddenly soaked, and it was absolutely freezing! Already, she could feel her skin prickling where tiny goose bumps were springing up, all up and down her arms and legs. “Oh!” she gasped, rocking back to put her weight on her lower legs as she knelt, still in the pond, and quickly crossed her arms and began to rub them, trying to warm up. It was terribly dark out; had the sun been out, this might have been easier. The moon didn’t quite have the same heating properties that its daytime rival had.

But… but why was the moon out anyway?

Last she remembered, she had left Kikan, hoping that the bad lady would leave her mentor alone if she did so, and wandered down into a nice-looking valley, eaten some berries, and… the rest was kind of a blank. Her mouth felt bitter, though, and tasted vile… like bile. If she didn’t know any better, she would have said she threw up, but by the way her belly was aching, she guessed that she was just hungry still. After all, a handful of berries isn’t enough to satisfy a growing girl.

“Maybe I should find more berries…” she mused aloud.

[OOC: Argh, still brain dead. ]= ]

[kagura]

{meanwhile}

Shippo scurried about where the gang was sleeping tonight. He looked around, seeing no one their. He bits his lip, thinking of what to bring. He grabbed a smaller blanket, and looked about, some grilled fish catching his eye. 'InuYasha can be stuck with one tonight,' He thought with a smirk, though he really was trying to help the girl. He grabbed two sticks, one for her, and one for him. With his bundle, he wondered over to Kagome's bag, and opened it. Spotting some fesh fruit they had found earlier. He grabbed two as well, added it to his pile, and took off.

Soon he was back on the path again, his small legs scurrying beneath him. His body wobbled back and forth, as he struggled to keep his balance. He glanced up at the sky. Was the day already over? He hoped the girl was still there.

He neared the river and spotted a shivering lump next to the river. "uh-oh," He murmured, picking up speed. He saw that she was awake. 'I'm glad I brought the blanket,' He thought to himself, proud.

He set the stuff down next to her, He set the food on a small rock next to them, and unfolded the blanket. He held it up, offering to wrap it around her. She had to be freezing.

"I brought some food. I figured you'd be hungry, after, well..." his voice cut off, and his nose wrinkled slightly. "Getting sick..." He managed to say, but very quietly. "There's some fish and fresh fruit" He added with a small smile. His green eyes reflected the moonlight, but they were also filled with his own brightness. He was happy she was still here.

[Aiko]

Almost right before she had finished her sentence, a small, light-colored critter came scurrying towards her. Suddenly conscious of the fact that she was sitting in the middle of a stream, Aiko scrambled out, hands and knees scrabbling against the smooth pebbles and mud that lined the streambed, and tumbled in a clumsy heap on the banks, still shivering. As the small boy, for that’s what it appeared to be now that it was in close range, came up, holding a bunch of odds and ends, the girl tried to organize herself, pulling herself into a sitting position and pulling her wet, matted clumps of hair out of her face.

He held out the blanket to her, and Aiko, teeth chattering loud and regularly enough to qualify as a musical instrument, by some miracle managed a grateful smile. “T-th-an-nk y-y-y-y-” What the girl was trying to say ended in a sneeze, and she reached out to take the blanket from him with one hand while wiping her nose on the back of her other. Not meaning to snatch the boy’s blankie, and not realizing that he intended to wrap her in it, she managed, “It-it’s for m-m-me, right?”

Did she know him? He said that he brought her some food, and then he said that she got sick… “Did I? asked Aiko, a puzzled look growing in her naturally-radiant chocolate-colored eyes. “I… I didn’t know. I’m sorry…” Suddenly, she wondered what else had transpired during that span of time that had been replaced by a big fat blank in her mind. Feeling upset at the thought of the things that might have occurred, she sat up, eyes brimming with sudden worry. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! I didn’t…”

What exactly was she apologizing for, anyway?

“Um…” Feeling a bit embarrassed by her usual antics, and feeling her face grow warm as she inadvertently flushed a bit, she mumbled, “I’m sorry, but… Do I know you? You don’t seem very familiar. But then again, I sometimes have a bit of trouble remembering. All I remember is Kikan and that bad lady… Oh! Do you know Kikan? How is he? Is he…” Realizing that she was rambling, she clapped a hand over her mouth, and she grew warmer still as her blush increased. Maybe she didn’t need the blanket after all…

“I’m sorry,” Aiko mumbled, looking crestfallen.

[kagura]

He watched as her poor teeth chattered uncontrollably. It made him sympathize for her. "Sure" He replied with a small smile. He took a step towards her to place the blanket upon her shoulders, but was stopped as she took the blanket from him. Shippo stepped back again. "Yeah it is," He replied in his little voice, nodding. He took a seat upon one of the larger stones, his rather enormous (compared to his body), puff-ball of a tail, sticking up cutely behind him. His small hands rested on his lap. He glanced at his tiny hands for a moment.

Hearing her voice, Shippo looked up again. he nodded once more. "Don't be. It's not your fault you got sick. That always happens with anyone if they eat poisoned berries" He replied with a shrug. He had a feeling she didn't really know what she was eating at the time. "You don't have to be sorry, it's ok. Really!" He reassured her, as he watched the worry creep up into her eyes.

His shoulders shrunk for a moment. He had to say his name again?! This was like, the fourth time already! He gave a small sigh. "My name is Shippo," He repeated, sounding like a broken record to himself. He shrugged. "Not really. I found you, well, kinda passed out on the grass" He replied glancing up to her original spot on the grass.

His listened to his words, the name Kikan ringing in his ears. Who was this Kikan she kept speaking of? "No, I'm sorry," He said, shaking his head. A small smile appeared on his face as she rambled on, though he did feel bad he didn't know who she was talking about, and wasn't any help to her. "It's ok," He repeated. Leaning over, he took ahold of the two sticks with fish on them, as well as the two fruits. He handed her one of each. "I figured you'dd be pretty hungry for some good food...." He said quietly, thinking of how she had to have been hungry if she had eaten the berries in the first place.

[Aiko]

“Um… um… okay,” Aiko finally mumbled, draping the blanket over her shoulders and trying to wrap herself up in it. Her teeth started to chatter again, now that she’d finished her rambling, and she drew her knees up closer to her body, pressing her legs close for warmth. Hands shaking a little, she managed to take the food that little Shippo had offered her. A smile, spiting her shivers, began to grow on her formerly-forlorn face. “Thanks, though. For helping me.” She was pretty hungry, as eating some poisonous berries would make anyone…

As she nibbled a bit on the fruit, a sad look took over her eyes. The last meal she had shared with anybody was with Kikan… But she had to forget about him now. That bad lady would kill him if she drew attention to him again, and she didn’t want any trouble for her former mentor. She just hoped that he would be alright, being blind and all. Having no sight probably made things a lot more difficult.

There she went again, thinking about him! She had to stop that. She had a new life to lead.

Uh… Maybe not so much.

The only thing that Aiko could see in her near future was trying to find a new village to lurk, scrabbling about for any scraps of food that were unwanted. Like a stray dog… she reflected, disheartened. She continued to take little bites from the fruit, forgetting about her hunger in her melancholy. She had to stop feeling sorry for herself; it just wasn’t her way. Positive, happy thoughts were the kind she needed!

She looked up at Shippo, her chocolaty eyes sparkling with sudden happiness. This little guy was actually quite nice, much nicer than any of the boys that had teased Aiko in the past villages. It made her heart feel warm to know that there were such people in the world.

Smiling, she took a bigger bite from the fruit, and as she could finally concentrate on the sweetish flavor that seeped into her waiting mouth, she remembered that little thing called hunger. Oh yeah, hunger… Actually, now that she thought about it, the girl was positively ravenous. The blanket slipping from her shoulders as the single-minded drive of absolute hunger took over her mind, she began to munch greedily on the fruit, juice dribbling down her chin to leave a sticky trail.

As she polished off the fruit, relishing the sticky flavor and licking her lips, tasting the remnants of the juices, she looked back up at the little fox demon, startled. Shippo was a fox demon. Not quite sure why she hadn’t realized it until now, Aiko burst out in small, sprightly bubbles of laughter. “A fox demon! That’s what you are!” She laughed, feeling a little silly that she had assumed Shippo was just a boy with a tail. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize until just now. But a fox demon! I love fox demons!” Kikan had been a fox demon.

Dang it! There she went again, thinking about Kikan. She stopped her laughing and concentrated, trying to banish the thought of the blind kitsune from her mind.

Sobered, Aiko realized something else, and she looked crestfallen again. “I’m sorry… There’s no way for me to repay you for your kindness.”

[kagura]

"Sure!" He replied brightly. He loved helping people, it was just his nature. He watched her for a bit, seeing her emotions change from one thing to the next. He was curious to what she was thinking about, but he didn't want to pry.

His eyes widened a bit as she changed from small nibbles to almost attacking the poor fruit. He was glad he had thought to bring food for her as well. She was definitely starving. It made him feel bad for her.

His small ears piped up as she suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. "What's so funny?" He asked, but was answered before he could barely finish the sentence. He was surprised at how his being a fox demon made her so happy. "Yep, I am" He said with a grin. It was nice to hear her laugh. "Ah it's ok," He replied smiling it off.

He frowned slightly as he watched her face fall. "Oh no. You don't have to repay me at all! I just wanted to help," He replied in a hurry. He didn't expect anything from her, this had been his own doing.

He adjusted his seat on the rock and let out a silent sigh. He felt slightly bad for the girl, seeing how her emotions changed from thing to the next. 'She must have a pretty hard life,' He thought looking at her gently.

[Aiko]

“Oh.” Feeling a little embarrassed by her constant jumpiness, Aiko busied herself with staring at her hands, face hot. Was she blushing again? That seemed to happen a lot. Oh well, it wasn’t something to dwell upon. Shippo seemed too nice to make a fuss over her awkwardness, so she relaxed mentally. Stop worrying! she scolded herself. It is possible for nice people to be in the world. Kikan was nice, after all. My mom and dad were nice. So why am I expecting the worst? It isn’t my way!

Empowered by her mental decisions, Aiko’s head snapped up to look at the young fox demon again. “Well, thanks!” she piped up, cheerful as a lark and with a big, borderline goofy grin to accompany it. “It’s really awful nice of you to do something like that for me. You’re a very nice guy, Shippo!” No, this was not absent flattery. This was precisely what she thought, and she wasn’t about to hide the fact that someone was nice, now was she? Grateful for everything he’d done for her, she beamed at the kid a moment longer before turning her attention to the fish-on-a-stick that he had also given her.

Still hungry, she began to gobble up this second offering, her legs drawn up close to her body and used as a makeshift table. The fleshy, slightly smoking flavor of the fish mingled wonderfully with the sweetness of the fruit, and she closed her eyes, savoring the tastes on her tongue. Much nicer, these tastes, than those awful little berries from earlier… But then again, those were poisonous, and these were not. Famished, she took large bites out of the fish, every so often taking off a bit of twig in her mouth but not noticing in her haste to devour the whole thing.

Once she had finished, she put the stick beside her, almost tidily in contrast to her messy appearance, and wrapped her arms around her knees. Putting her chin on her knees, she gazed at Shippo, curious. “So… so what are you doing out here, anyway?” She didn’t draw attention to the fact that he was alone; she knew personally that it could be a tender subject. Tilting her head in the curious way that a little kitten looking for mischief does, she waited, patiently for once, for an answer.