Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters.

The room was dark save for the dim bulb hanging above the small, round dining table. On its smooth wooden surface sat a boy with long, silky silver locks and rare dog ears to match. His mother would have hated that if she were still there.

But those days were long in the past. Now instead he sat there dressed in a baggy red sweatshirt and equally baggy gray sweatpants, his surroundings falling apart before him as water dripped from multiple holes in the ceiling and rodents and insects creeping through the bare pantries. The boy clutched an old cell phone in his clawed hand. He spoke into the mouthpiece in his typical harsh voice.

"Look, Miroku," he hissed into the phone, careful to be as quiet as possible. "I got other things to worry about. I can't just pack up all my shit and leave."

"Hear me out," said the smooth voice on the other end of the phone. Despite being faced with the snarling tones of the dog-boy, he—Miroku—remained calm and sounded carefree. "I know that you're in a tough spot right now, but that doesn't mean you can't come down with me to California. This guy is offering good pay, and what better place to find a start than down in the Sunny State?"

Scowling, the white-haired boy replied, deadpan, "How about New York or Tennessee? Ya know? Where all the famous people are."

"Heh…" Static crackled through the phone as the boy imagined his friend fidgeting, trying to think out a legitimate argument. Good luck to him with that. "Okay, look, I can't promise you this is the best, but it's the best offer people like us can get right now. C'mon, Inuyasha. Didn't your dad leave you that money for this kind of situation?"

At that, Inuyasha's heart gave a painful squeeze. That money was the only thing his father was able to give him before his untimely death. He wanted to use it for something that would matter, something his parents would be proud of. Unbidden, a few of his mother's final words came to mind: "I want my boy to go to college, okay?" He recalled her weakening smile as she clutched at his hand. "I want you boys to have a better life."

"Sorry, Miroku, but I just can't." He snapped the words curtly into the phone to hide his heavy heart.

"But—"

The phone clicked softly as Inuyasha's clawed thumb pressed the end call button. With a great sigh, his head sagged forward, his hands grasping at his head in desperation. That was the last decision that he wanted to make at this point in his life. He needed that money to make sure the house didn't fall apart, to put himself through some community college, and to take care of—

"Inuyasha?"

In a flash of silver hair, Inuyasha spun at the sound of his name. He peered into the shadows to see a small figure dressed in long green pajamas dotted with fluffy white cartoon sheep, their woolen shapes crudely sewn into the fabric. A large, bushy brown tail stuck up stiffly behind him as he looked the dog-boy up and down anxiously with large eyes. Brown hair, stuffed into a tiny ponytail, drooped over a forehead to his round, childish face.

"What're ya doing up, Shippo?" the silver-haired boy asked, no longer bothering to keep his voice hushed. "It's gotta be three in the morning!"

"What were you talking to Miroku about?" the little fox boy inquired as though Inuyasha hadn't asked him a question.

"Er…" Inuyasha hesitated. What could he tell his adoptive brother that would be believable? He couldn't tell him that he was being offered to move out of state. No, that wouldn't work. "Just some crazy new gig. Ya know how he gets with this kinda thing. I turned him down though so don't worry about it.

With a wave of his hand, he wordlessly dismissed the younger boy to go back to bed. However, when he turned around and peered into the shadowy doorway, Shippo still stood there, watching him expectantly.

Shaking his head, he murmured, "How much did you hear?"

Quietly padding over on his tiny fox paws, the little kit came over to the table, climbed clumsily up one of the matching wooden chairs, and plopped down on the tabletop with his back pressed snugly against his brother's. The elderly brother felt the younger as he breathed in a steady rhythm. It calmed him to no end knowing that he was not alone, but it also worried him to be reminded of the fragile life he was now responsible for.

"Where did Miroku want us to go?" the little boy asked simply.

With an exasperated growl, Inuyasha replied, "California. But it ain't happening."

"Why not?"

"We got other stuff to do."

"Like what?"

"School for you and work for me."

"Why?"

"Heh." The dog-boy nudged Shippo from behind playfully. "That's a lot of questions you've got there tonight."

For a brief moment, there was pure silence. Not even the old house dared creak or settle as the two brothers sat there quietly, one thinking, one waiting nervously for the other to speak.

Finally, Shippo broke the uneasy silence by saying, "Let's go."

"What?" Inuyasha couldn't believe his ears. They prickled and twisted around in the direction of the adolescent voice behind him.

"You've been trying to find a big break, right?" Twisting his head around to peer at his brother, Shippo gave a lopsided frown as he tried to sort through things. "Why don't you use the money papa left you to go for it now?"

The silver-haired brother gasped, surprised at his sibling's outspokenness. His words practically mirrored his wanna-be-manager friend's, and he came to the exact same conclusion.

"Shippo, look, Mom wanted me to go to school so I could take care of you." He spoke slowly, measuring his words carefully for once. "On top of that, I have to fix up this shack before it falls down on our heads, and there's no telling how much that's gonna cost."

Not missing a beat, Shippo retorted, "But when you get discovered, you'll have lots of money to do whatever you want with."

"There's no guarantee I'll be discovered!" the dog-boy snapped, frustrated. He whipped around entirely, knocking Shippo forward onto his hands and knees on the table, and slammed a clawed hand down on the wooden surface so hard it groaned in desperate protest. "What then, huh?" he snarled. "What if I don't get discovered? The money will be gone! You'll have no food, and I won't have gone to school to get more money! Did you think about that?"

Despite the roughness shown him by his brother, the kit merely pouted at his brother as he rose from his position. "No, I didn't."

"Well, surprise!" Inuyasha once again turned his back on the boy, folding his arms across his chest as he did. "The world doesn't always work out perfectly like ya want it to."

Before he finished his snarling phrase, he felt a small pressure on the small of his back and tiny arms wrap around his waist as far as they could reach. He gasped as Shippo squeezed around his stomach tightly, nuzzling his face into his stiff back.

"I believe in you, though, Inuyasha," the kit sniffled into his shirt. "I know you can do it if you just try. I just know it! You're a great musician, and you just need a chance!" His voice grew louder and louder as the silver-haired brother felt the back of his sweatshirt become damp with hot tears. "Miroku's just trying to help you by giving you that chance, and I know that you'll regret it if you don't go for it now! Inuyasha, I know you'll get discovered! I know it!"

"Shippo!"

Said boy shrank back, loosening his grip at the harsh tones directed at him. He knew what was coming even before he felt the familiar bonk atop his skull. It throbbed where Inuyasha had dropped his fist down, but Shippo had learned to accept it as his brother's way of becoming emotional. It gave him hope.

He waited for his brother to say something—anything. He peered up at the still frame expectantly, though the silver-haired boy did not turn around. It seemed like forever as the boy thought it over, silence permeating the air as agonizing as the wails of a small child. The kit held his breathe.

"Shippo," the elder brother began softly.

The boy perked his ears up at the sound of his name, his tail puffing out in nervousness. "Yeah, Inuyasha?"

Much to Shippo's shock, the same violent hand that gave him a goose egg just a moment ago came down to gently rest atop his pounding head—an endearing gesture, especially for the dog-boy.

Without turning, Inuyasha continued: "Mom left me in charge of you. She said so herself on that last day, and that's what I've done. Dad didn't ever think something like this would happen when he left me that money, but if he had, he'd be telling me the same things that Mom did." He paused for a moment, drawing the kit into his back again comfortingly. "You are my main priority right now, Shippo. I have to make sure you'll be okay before I even think of anything else."

"But I will be okay," Shippo protested confidently. "Inuyasha…please, can we go?"

"Shippo—"

"I'll babysit!" the kit said suddenly, pulling away from Inuyasha. "I'll make a lemonade stand! I can rake leaves and walk dogs and watch pets…oh!"

Finally, the silver-haired brother turned around to fully take in his little brother. His eyes were bloodshot from his short cry, and his hair was an unruly mess from where he'd snuggled into his back, static from the fuzzy sweatshirt making it stand on end in random places.

His heart gave another agonizing pang. He couldn't put this little kit at risk.

But, just as soon as that thought entered Inuyasha's mind, Shippo reached into his pajama pants' pocket and pulled out a tiny copper coin. Attached to it was a thin silver chain, appearing delicate but beautiful just the same.

"Take my lucky penny!" Shippo said with a beaming smile on his face. "Momma said that it would bring luck to whoever wore it, but the chain is too big for me to wear yet. You can borrow it until then! You're sure to catch your big break with thi—"

His words were cut off as he was scooped into strong arms. As though fearing the brother before him would disappear any moment, Inuyasha pressed the kit tightly to his chest, resting his head on his brother's tiny shoulder. Shippo embraced his elder brother back tightly, knowing that hugs like this were a rare experience since Momma…since Momma…

"We'll find a way to put you through college too, big brother," Shippo said, a hint of tears creeping back into his trembling voice. He had to hold them back, though. He had to be strong for his brother like Momma was. "We'll make Momma proud. I know we will. She'll look down from heaven at us and smile, if it's the last thing I do."

"You know," the elder continued in hushed tones, "that it won't be easy, right?"

Hearing that made the kit perk up, and, from his position wrapped in his brother's arms, he wriggled with excitement. "Does that mean we're going?"

"Well…" Inuyasha thought about it for a moment longer, weighing the risks one final time. But, if his brother was so adamant about it, so determined that they would be okay—well, there was no way to say no without crushing the little boy's heart at this rate.

"It's up to you," he finally sighed. "Do you think we can do it?"

~SIISSIISSIISSIIS~

Three days later, the two brothers rode in an ancient, run-down once-black now rusted Lincoln convertible. What little they had that was worth taking with them was stuffed in the back seat with the snoring fox kit, though some of it a friend of Miroku's had already driven to their destination, California. The dog-boy rode in the passenger seat in front of his little brother, staring blankly out the window, trying not to doze off.

"You know, I did take the wheel so you could sleep for a bit," said the dark-haired boy behind the wheel. His matching feline tail swished to the side agitatedly. "Staying awake means I took the wheel for nothing."

"Eh?" Inuyasha twisted to glance at his panther-friend in confusion. "Sorry, I just don't wanna wake the kid." He nodded to the seat behind him where Shippo sat buckled up with his tail wrapped around him like a blanket.

"How would you wake him up if you're asleep?" Miroku shot him a sideways glance before devoting his attention back to the vacant highway before him. The sun glared bright, only now rising above the horizon, and forced the panther to squint through the windshield. He flipped his sunglasses down from his forehead to better see his ever changing surroundings. They'd only left two hours ago, but now, at six in the morning, they were already crossing over the border of Wisconsin. The plants, the animals, the people, even the air was beginning to change.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku waved one hand in front of the dog-boy's face to snap him out of his reverie. He'd yet to answer his question, choosing instead to stare idly out at the highway before them.

"Wha—oh." Inuyasha shook his head, silver strands tossing this way and that. "Forget I said anything." Without another word, he slouched in his worn gray seat, his head resting against the bug spattered glass of the passenger-side window.

"Hmm…" Miroku knew the canine well enough to know that something wasn't right, but he found it was better to wait it out and allow the stubborn boy to tell him in his own good time.

So, instead of pondering it, he fiddled with the dial of the old radio, careful not to break it off completely. Worn old vehicle, had to be at least twenty years old, if not older, and it showed as the voices on the radio came in through a haze of static and white noise no matter what station he turned it to.

"Damned thing." He fiddled with the knob for several minutes, making sure that it was quiet enough to not wake Shippo or keep Inuyasha awake, but if anything, the quality of the stations only became continually worse. Minutes passed by, Inuyasha now surely asleep, and, heavy sleeper the canine was, he dared raise his voice a bit more as he cursed the prehistoric device. "Damn. Work! Work! C'mon, damn it."

But then another sound reached his ears. A harsh, deep, wet cough emanated from Inuyasha beside him. He turned his shaded eyes over to cast a quick glance at his friend and found, much to his surprise, that his form had begun trembling with the sheer force of his coughing. Behind him, Miroku could hear the kit begin to stir, whimpering, his eyes flickering behind his eyelids at the unsavory noise.

"Inuyasha." The panther-boy reached over, grasping his friend by the shoulder. "Inuyasha, you're waking Shippo." He shook the boy's shoulder in an attempt to wake him. "Inuyasha, wake up!"

"Mi…Miroku." The silver-haired boy's hoarse voice could finally be heard over the vicious hacking as he curled in on himself, forming a tight ball around his seatbelt. "Pull over…now."

While normally Miroku would have scolded him on his manners, he chose instead to oblige. The canine was clearly in pain, and the panther-boy found himself cringing at some of the wet sounds being made as he eased the vehicle onto the shoulder.

Inuyasha didn't waste any time. He rushed out the door almost before the car came to a stop and proceeded to kneel in the green grass just off the road, his shoulders still shaking with the force of his coughing fit.

"Hey."

Jumping in his seat, Miroku jerked his eyes away from the awful scene just outside the car to find a groggy Shippo in the back seat rubbing bleary eyes. The kit yawned, his tail unfurling, and his mouth opened wide in an enormous yawn.

"Oh, Shippo." The feline driver lifted his sunglasses back onto his forehead, still facing the back seat. "You're awake."

"Where's Inuyasha?" the child demanded. He dazedly stared at the empty seat in front of him, certain that's where his brother had been just a minute ago.

Though getting softer, the dog-boy's coughs were still audible with the rusted passenger door left wide open in his haste. Quickly as subtlety would allow, Miroku reached back up to turn up the classical rock station that played in the background. It was still half static, but it would at least cover up the ugly sounds the kit's brother was making.

He put a false smile on his face, hiding his anxiety well in front of the child. What is the matter with him? the feline wondered about his friend. But to Shippo, he only said, "Inuyasha just got a bad pig-in-a-blanket this morning. He's outside getting it all out of his system, but…I wouldn't recommend taking a peek. It's not a pretty sight."

"Oh." With another equally huge yawn, the kit began to snuggle back into the seat, oblivious to the pain his brother was currently in just a few feet from him. His tail curled snugly around him again in a makeshift bed. "I hope he's okay."

Miroku smiled, relieved, as the boy shut his eyes and instantly drifted back to sleep. "I'm sure he will be." With a troubled frown and a readjustment of his sunglasses so his eyes were once again protected from the glare of the sun, the feline added, "At least, I hope he will be."

"Will ya turn that down? You're gonna wake him up."

Startled again, the Miroku looked up in time to see his friend clamber back into his seat and shut the door as silently as he could. "What happened?" he whispered, hastily turning down the radio.

"I dunno." Inuyasha tucked his hands behind his head, trying to appear nonchalant, but the rough undertone in his voice gave him away easily to his childhood friend turned manager. "A cough."

Reluctantly, Miroku eased the Lincoln out onto the highway again, ignoring the awful puttering noises it made as he accelerated. "That looked like a pretty bad cough."

"Yeah, what of it?"

For a moment, Miroku didn't reply. He hid his scowl behind his sunglasses as best he could.

"C'mon," Inuyasha grunted tauntingly. "You ain't about to tell me you're gettin' worried over a little cough, are ya?"

"Inuyasha…"

"If I wanted someone to nag me and worry, I'd have gotten a girlfriend already."

The feline rolled his eyes, well aware of the way most girls stared at him. A wolfman was difficult to come by these days, especially a strong one.

Still, it was not enough to deter Miroku as the canine had hoped. "How long has this been happening?"

"What?"

"Don't play games. You were scared to go to sleep. If this hadn't happened before, you wouldn't have had that fear of waking Shippo." Uncharacteristically serious, the panther gripped the wheel tighter and, in a tone laden with sternness, hissed, "How long has it been going on, Inuyasha, and why is it only when you sleep?"

Ever stubborn, Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest and forced his friend to sit through a moment of suspenseful silence before giving his answer: "I can fight off the fits before they start when I'm awake, but there ain't much I can do when I'm asleep, not for the past month."

"Month?" Miroku had to pause and take a deep breath before he tensed and swerved off the road. "Have you gone to see a doctor about this?"

The only reply given was a grunt and a dismissive shrug.

"Inuyasha, please, you need to see a doctor. This isn't normal."

"Miroku, stop being such a—"

"No. I hate to do this but…" The panther-boy gave a melodramatic pause. "I won't let you set foot in California until you've promised me you'll see a doctor once we're settled. If not for me, then for Shippo, at least."

Guilt froze Inuyasha's words in his throat. The implications this could have on his brother hadn't entered his mind, but now that they were planted, they were impossible to ignore. What if Shippo found out? What if he started panicking? What if he started having nightmare again just like when mom was so sick?

"Fine," he sighed with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "I'll see a doc. Happy?"

With a sly smirk, Miroku answered, "Winning a verbal battle against one so stubborn as you?"

"Can it with the Shakespeare shit, will ya? It gives me a headache."

Miroku chuckled under his breath. This would be an interesting move, no doubt about it.

~SIISSIISSIISSIIS~

The ramshackle house stood tucked away behind a large swamp of weeds growing as high as his knees. Paint had chipped off the sides of the house until weathered bits of blackening wood were blatantly visible, and the remainder of the color was an undistinguishable gray mess splattered in random patches here and there. The roof that he imagined must have been sturdy and well-made at one point in its existence was patched over with boards held down by jagged, rusty nails poking out hazardously like gnarled fingers pointed wretchedly at the side. Nearly all of the windows had been at least partially boarded up, and tiny shards of glass could be seen glimmering wickedly in the tall grass below the frames. The door—well it happened to, thankfully, be intact, though he didn't know how long that would last.

He stood there, hefty boxes in hand, waiting for Shippo and Miroku to come down the short walkway—what was left of it—with the remainder of their things and stand beside him in the fenceless yard. Looking at what would soon be their new house, he couldn't help but second guess his decision to come down here in the first place. Even their old home didn't look so weather-beaten and rundown. Hell, the houses next to them—shacks really they were so small—held more appeal than the thing that stared him down now.

"So where is—whoa!" Miroku, his arms carrying the last of the boxes, stood just behind Inuyasha, his normally sleek tail puffed out in surprise. "Um…it's, uh, really something, isn't it?"

"Miroku, what the hell did you get us into?" Inuyasha spun around so that his nose was inches away from his friend.

Miroku shrank back, fearful of the dog-boy's intentions. Attempting to placate him, he offered another of his infamous smiles up, saying as soothingly as he could manage, "Now, I know it looks bad, but—"

"It's fucking awful!" Inuyasha hissed through gritted teeth, mindful of his little brother likely still dragging his bag out to them. "Do you really expect me to let my brother stay in a place like—"

"Inuyasha! Look at this tree! Isn't it great?"

Both boys snapped their heads up to an especially tall palm tree that was overlooking the house. It was so tall that, to glimpse the leaves at the top, Inuyasha had to crane his neck backwards. That was when he saw Shippo, his tiny claws digging deep into the trunk to anchor himself high above. He kicked a stray leaf that was nearly as big as he was, giggling at the sound it made, almost like rubber the leaf was so thick.

"Shippo, what are you doing?" Inuyasha bellowed upwards. "Do you wanna get yourself killed?"

As though he didn't hear a word, the kit slid down the trunk, his claws raking down the bark as he descended. When he hit the ground, he scampered off to the backyard, his green pack strapped to his back.

"I can't wait to see what other cool things are around here!" he shouted, running off to explore his new playground.

"Er…" All the silver-haired canine could do was stare dumbfounded at his little brother's enthusiastic response. Did he not see the house?

"Ha ha!"

Inuyasha shot Miroku a sideways glance as he strode past him, a real smile on the feline's face.

"It seems like your brother that you're so worried about will be just fine here," he said happily, opening the creaking door with his foot. "I don't think we have anything to worry about once we start fixing the place up a little bit."

And with that, he disappeared inside, still laughing to himself.

All Inuyasha could do was shake his head. The people around him were slowly losing what was left of their minds—that was for sure. He sighed, not seeing any way out of the situation. They'd driven for over a day to be standing there in the hot afternoon sun. They couldn't exactly pack up everything and leave.

He flexed his hand anxiously around the box he carried, and a dry scraping caught his attention. He glanced down at his palm, curious. On his palm he found tiny spatters of red, once crimson, now a dried rust color. He remembered his coughing fit then. Hurriedly he rushed inside, hoping to find a sink in secret. It wouldn't be good if his roommate caught wind of this, and it would be disastrous if Shippo saw it.

But surely it couldn't be that. They'd just washed their hands of that entire situation.

The feel of cold copper against his collarbone reminded him of the mother that had left Shippo such a lucky charm.

That was all over, right?

Hello there! Alright, since I know, while I myself like to infer things rather than outright say them, not everyone else like this method. The advantage to having fanfictions instead of actual novels or mangas: you can do both. This is a modern world but where people have different races judging by skin color and what kind of animal they most resemble or act like instinctually. I mean, I couldn't just take away Inuyasha's puppy ears or Shippo's cute little fox tail! =T.T= That would make me sad. Anyways, I know it was a really long introductory chapter, and it didn't explain everything. I also know that, for readers of my other fanfiction that may be viewing this, I said I would have a GrayxLoke fanfiction coming soon. I couldn't resist though! Things will be explained in due time, and I will have the other fanfiction out shortly…I hope. Until then, read, review, and by all means, enjoy! =^.^=

P.S. For all those that don't know, the kitty face is my thing. If you don't like that…skip the author's notes I suppose. I'm just here to share the works of my imagination!