Hehehe, hey everyone... so in all reality, I'm not dead and gone, but I am stuck in a bit of a rut with my Rise of the Guardians stories (really, you should go check them out *shameless self-promotion*) Truthfully, I can't think of much more to write with them, and I am waiting until I can get the movie before even trying to continue, so I've decided to start working on a new section. This is actually something that I hand wrote on Tuesday with a little bit on Wednesday, and typed in the last 2 hours adding in some details. Still, updates are going to be a lot slower (if at all) from now until whenever... I'm right in the middle of my spring semester, and need to keep my grades up if I have any hope of transferring schools. (Midterm grades - A, A, B, B, B-, B- & C- - the C- being in creative writing! *headslap*) Oh, well...

Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me, it belongs to the amazing manga-ka Takahashi Rumiko-sama. However, this plot line is mine xP... I refuse to apologize for the characters seeming "a bit OOC"... THIS IS DONE PURPOSEFULLY AND IS A PART OF THE PLOT LINE. I now give you - Runaway, chapter 1.

It's now or never, she thought before opening her brown eyes to face the dark sky. The flames from the fire were still flickering strong, casting a dull orange glow around the small camp. The tiny kitsune that normally slept on her bedroll was now sleeping next to Sango to "protect her from Miroku," but in reality she asked him so that she could pack without waking him and everyone else up. Shippo… she sighed, looking at the boy that she doted on, before she turned her gaze up to the tree branches over their small camp site. There, with eyelids softly covering honey golden eyes and the breeze flowing gently through long silver hair, sat her reason for leaving… her hanyou protector, Inuyasha. She watched him silently for a few moments before stretched, easing the kinks out of her back that came from sleeping on the hard earth all the time.

Getting up as slowly and quietly as possible, the girl began to roll up her sleeping bag. As she prepared to leave, she kept throwing anxious glances at her friends praying to Kami that none of them woke up just yet. It would ruin everything if they did. Latching up her bedroll to her bag, she dug out the four envelops for each of her friends, outlining everything that caused her to leave so suddenly, before making her way over to the sleeping fox child. She lightly placed her hand over his lips and shook his shoulder gently to wake him… she had promised that she would wake him up to say goodbye. Shippo jumped, startled, but relaxed when he saw who it was waking him, at least until he saw that she was wearing her bag and was leaving. His eyes immediately began to water.

"Shh, Shippo. I need you to stay quiet or you'll wake Inuyasha."

The boy took several shaking breaths to calm down. "I'm sorry, Kagome, I just don't want you to go," he whispered, jumping into the girl's arms.

"I know, Shippo, but you know that I have to. I have to know something for sure, and this is the only way to find out." He looked up at her with tear filled eyes and an unspoken question of what, but she shook her head. "Maybe when you're older, I'll explain it to you." Shippo was about to ask, but then he saw her sad eyes drift up to where Inuyasha was sleeping, his arms crossed and his chin to his chest, before Shippo looked back at Kagome. "I want you to promise me that you'll leave him alone. Don't make him mad because I won't be here to protect you."

He nodded. "I'll try." His eyes then found the letters on the ground next to Kagome's legs. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.

"Something that I want you to give the others. There is one for each of you." She smiled sadly at the boy before looking at the sleeping forms of the people who meant the world to her and thought of something. "There is one other thing you can do for me, Shippo," she paused until he looked up at her again. "Be strong and be brave. But most of all be forgiving. Will you do that for me?"

"Alright, Kagome, I will," his voice cracked slightly with emotion.

She smiled sadly at the tiny fox in her arms before she kissed his forehead. "I love you, Shippo. I promise I'll be back one day."

"I love you, too, Mama." The little kit's tears suddenly fell down his face and he held her tightly.

All she could do was hold him for a few more moments before she set him back down and put the envelopes in his small paws. She pulled herself up before reaching down and petting his head and going to wake Kirara. "Take me where I need to go, girl?" The fire neko demon jumped into her outstretched arms with a small mew and Kagome looked at the kitsune sadly. "Bye, Shippo. I'll be back."

"When?" He really didn't like the thought of her being gone for long periods of time.

"I'm not really sure, yet. Someday, though." She looked up at the stars before looking back down at him. "I love you and I'll try and see you as often as possible. However, a decision has to be made before I can return. Goodbye, my sweet little Shippo. Please, behave and don't upset Inuyasha." With that, she disappeared into the dark forest until they were just out of hearing range. "Come on, girl, I need to get out of here quickly." The cat changed into her true form, allowing the young woman to climb on the furred back of her friend, before they took off into the night, leaving a sad fox child behind to watch the girl he has come to regard as his mother fly away.

Looking down at the envelops in his hands, Shippo decided to give her a head start before he let the others know that she was gone for good. He sat down in front of the fire before he let his tears race down his face. "Who am I kidding? I want Kagome… I need my mama," he sobbed quietly, determined not to wake anyone up, as he curled up and cried himself back to sleep.

Far above, and getting further away, was the young girl astride a fire neko youkai. "Can you take me to a town far from here, Kirara? I can't have him finding me yet." There was no need to explain it to the demon who she was talking about. The cat and the kitsune had been a part of planning the girl's escape for several days now, so she let out a low growl of agreement. Kagome scratched the giant neko behind the ears in silent gratitude and continued on their journey to wherever they were going.

As he sat on Kirara's back, the girl, Kagome Higurashi, the girl from the future, the one who was out of place, thought of how everything had come to this. On her fifteenth birthday she had fallen into the well at her family's shrine and ended up in Feudal Japan. Now she fights demons as a part of her everyday life, alongside a monk with a cursed hand, an orphaned demon slayer, a young, orphaned kitsune youkai, a two tailed, fire neko youkai, and the half inu demon, Inuyasha. Each was fighting for the same purpose, but Kagome wasn't from this time… she shouldn't be fighting at all, but she was, and now that she wasn't as afraid, she knew she couldn't go back to being that ordinary, shy schoolgirl that she was. Her eyes have seen too much, her hands weren't as free from blood as she liked to try and fool herself… but most of all, her heart was full, and only one person would ever be able to do anything about that, whether he crushed it, or cherished it, it was up to him. This time away should give her the answers that she needed. It just has to.

Her brown eyes glistened with tears that she refused to shed as she placed her small fingers to her lips, and blew a kiss behind her in the direction of camp, sending it to fly with the rays of the rising sun. Placing her hands over hear heart, Kagome could feel it beginning to break the farther the distance between her and her friends became. I'll see them again, I know it. He'll make his decision, and when he does, I'll go from there.

Seeing a small stream below, Kagome turned to her companion, "Let's stop for a drink and a quick break, Kirara." The cat growled her assent before heading in the direction of the stream and fresh water.

The tow rested there for a while as the sun climbed higher into the sky, but nothing would stop Kagome's mind from drifting back to camp and wondering how her friends were taking the sudden disappearance of the untrained miko. Shippo is probably crying… Sango probably is, too. I wonder if Miroku is trying to take advantage of her. I wonder what Inuyasha is doing right now….

The kit stirred from where he had curled up by the fire when the sun began to shine. Rubbing at the tear tracks that stained his face from his crying all night, Shippo noticed that the letters were still sitting there on the ground where he had dropped them when Kagome left with Kirara. Padding over to them, he made a hasty decision to keep them secret for now. At least until we stop for the night, he told himself. Using a small bit of his fox magic, he hid the letters from his friends, hoping to give his surrogate mother a chance to get further away. As the kit mused about how he would tell his friends, Sango began to wake up.

"Good morning, Shippo. Did you sleep well?" He kept his back to her as she yawned softly. When he felt her eyes staring at him, he turned his face sadly towards her, green eyes shimmering with tears. Sango saw his face covered in tear tracks and his bloodshot eyes. "Shippo, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" The slayer frantically looked at the small boy for any signs of wounds.

"I'm alright, Sango, I just had a bad dream is all." He didn't like lying, but it was actually the truth… just, not all of it. He would lie for Kagome, if he had to, though!

Sango scooped him up and hugged him close. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Shippo nodded, "Yeah, but I want to wait for Miroku and Inuyasha to wake up first cause it has to do with them." He wriggled in her grasp until she let him go, "Can you help me get some firewood and some breakfast, please, Sango?"

"Sure, but where's Kirara?" The kit froze and looked up at the young woman. "And where's Kagome?"

Shippo gulped softly. "Kagome asked Kirara to take her back to the well so she could get some more stuff from her time. She said that she would be back soon." Please don't catch that lie!

Sango shrugged. "Oh, okay. Well, let's get breakfast ready for those two when they get up. You know how they are when they get hungry." She flashed the fox a grin and the two set off into the forest to get what they needed.

While they were gone, Miroku began to stir and woke up, ready to greet "his beloved Sango" a happy morning (even if it meant her beating him up), only to find that he was alone on the ground of their camp. To say he was worried would have been an understatement. Not only were Sango and Kirara gone, but so were Shippo and Kagome. If a certain dog eared hanyou happened to notice that his miko were missing… Miroku shuddered at the thought. He may be a fool, but he was far from stupid. He did want to live, and being the one to inform Inuyasha that the girl was gone was probably one of the fastest ways to lose his life. Getting up from his bedroll, Miroku began to look around. I need to find where everyone went before…

"Where is everyone?" a baritone voice sounded from above him before a soft thud signaled the awakening of their hot-headed travel companion, Inuyasha.

Before Inuyasha wakes up. Miroku sighed softly, his shoulders slumping forward. "I'm not sure, Inuyasha, when I woke up, they were gone," he said, bracing himself for the fallout.

Inuyasha felt his eye twitch in agitation. "So, what? They just up and left?" he yelled at the monk. The hanyou had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he really didn't want to analyze too closely, afraid of what he might find.

"I'm saying, I'm not sure where they are, but I say we go looking for them and pray that we find them first, before something else does." Miroku bent forward to pick up his staff from where it lay next to his bed before turning to his friend. "You coming?"

Inuyasha nodded and they began walking to the edge of their campsite when a rustling in the bushes to their left startled them. Drawing out the Tetsusaiga from its sheath, the half-demon faced the direction of the noise. Just as he was getting ready to charge at it, Shippo and Sango emerged from the thick underbrush. "Hey! I could have killed you! What the hell were you thinking wandering around like that?" As he yelled at them, he kept his golden eyes trained behind them, looking at the shadows, at least, until he felt a hand – or a paw – tugging at his hakama. Looking down he saw Shippo looking up at him with sad eyes.

"She's not with us, Inuyasha. Neither is Kirara."

It felt like a blow to his gut… no… his heart hurt… hand he was a bit afraid of what might have happened to his precious miko. When did I start referring to her as mine? He decided to push that thought away for now, until he was alone. "Where is she? Where's Kagome?"

The kid looked up with tears in his eyes. "She mentioned having to go home for a while."

Inuyasha sat down quickly; unknowingly giving his friends the chance to see how badly those words really affected him. He looked at the little fox standing in front of him and realized with slight horror that the kid had been crying for a while. "How long did she say she would be gone this time?"

Shippo looked up at the golden eyes of his tormentor and protector, friend and surrogate father, before doing the last thing that anyone expected. He climbed into Inuyasha's lap and held him, tears sliding down his small face. "She didn't say. She left with Kirara late last night after everyone was asleep." He buried his face into Inuyasha's chest, seeking comfort. "She also told me to behave and asked me to ask you not to take things out on me."

Shippo's sobs got louder and Inuyasha felt his heart breaking for a multitude of reasons before his arms wound their way around the boy who was clinging to him as if his life depended on it. It almost sounds as if Kagome was… saying goodbye.

"Please don't be mad at me, Inuyasha… I'm sorry I let her leave. Please, please, don't be mad. Please, don't send me away!" Shippo's distress became more evident, even to the hanyou who was always so oblivious when it came to emotions.

"What are you talking about, Shippo?" Inuyasha asked. He began pushing at the kid to get him to let go.

"You're mad… you're gonna send me away cause I didn't stop Kagome from leaving. I'm sorry, Inuyasha." The young fox demon was so hysterical that Inuyasha didn't even try to push him off anymore, but instead, wrapped his arms tighter around the kit, holding him close.

"Shippo… Shippo, look at me." Inuyasha waited until the bloodshot, watery green eyes met his stern gold ones. "Nobody, not even me, is mad at you, and nobody wants you to leave." The fox's eyes searched the hanyou's for some form of deception, but found none, so he settled for burying his face in Inuyasha's neck. "Now, what brought all of this on, hmm?" Inuyasha asked softly.

"Shippo said that he had had a nightmare, but that he wanted to wait until the two of you were awake before he talked about it," Sango answered.

The hanyou's eyes softened. Maybe this is why he and I fight so much. We're the same, well, sorta. Inuyasha thought hard about what he could do, both boys were orphaned at young ages, only, where Inuyasha had no one to help him, Shippo had Kagome and Sango, Miroku and Kaede, and… me. The silver haired hanyou gave himself a mental slap on the head and internally yelling "Osuwari!" as many as this one deserved… twenty sounded good. "Shippo?" His voice was soft as he moved to stand, the boy still wrapped in his arms.

"Uh, yeah, Inuyasha?" The kit was wary, but curious.

The inu put the kitsune child on the ground before taking a step towards the forest. "Come on, I want to talk with you." He heard Shippo gulp loudly. "You're not in trouble, but come on," he continued towards the forest with the kit running to catch up.

"I'm not in trouble?" he asked, his voice soft and timid, sending a bit of pain through Inuyasha's chest.

The older demon sighed and held out his arms for Shippo to jump into, which he did, albeit a bit suspicious. "You're not in trouble. I just…" Shippo looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. "I just wanted to apologize for the way I've treated you all this time. I don't really understand why I did it, but all I can say is that I am a bit jealous of what you have."

The kitsune gaped at his friend, and Inuyasha turned his honey golden gaze down to the bundle in his arms. "Why are you jealous of me? What do I have?"

The childlike questions caused a sad chuckle to bubble from Inuyasha's lips. "You have people who love you." They had stopped walking and Inuyasha sat down with his back against a tree, still holding the fox child. "You get to grow up being accepted, being loved. You're lucky, you know. Kagome adores you, she and Sango dote on you, Miroku protects you, and Kaede teaches you. The villagers don't call you names…." The inu looked out towards the sunrise, "You're so lucky to have that, Shippo, and I'm jealous."

The kit couldn't take this mopey, brooding, NICE Inuyasha, but the guy had a bit of a point, though, not entirely correct. "But, Inuyasha, you have people that love you too! Sango and Miroku love you as a friend, Kaede looks at you like a son, the villagers aren't mean to you much anymore…" Inuyasha scoffed lightly at this, but Shippo ignored it. "I love you like a new papa... and Kagome…" Inuyasha froze. "Kagome just loves you."

To say the half demon was stunned wouldn't even come close to the truth, he was flabbergasted! "You look at me like I'm a father to you?" he asked, glancing down at the little kid in his arms. Shippo nodded. "And you said that Kagome loves me?" Again, Shippo nodded. Inuyasha held the boy still closer in a tight, calming embrace. "I suppose that's a start. I'm gonna start treating you like a son, and I love Kagome." The kit's head snapped up at this new information, which caused Inuyasha to chuckle a bit more as he gave the youkai a real smile. "Come on, let's get back and figure out what we're gonna do now." Inuyasha got up from the ground and they started back for camp where Sango and Miroku were waiting.

Still wrapped in Inuyasha's arms, Shippo smiled. This may be easier than I thought. At this rate, I might be able to get Inuyasha and Kagome to admit that they love each other a lot sooner than I expected.