Shippō



Shippo (七宝, Shippou) is an orphaned young fox demon who attempts to steal the Shikon Jewel from Kagome and InuYasha, wanting to become stronger and avenge his father's death. Though his plan fails, Kagome and InuYasha aid him after hearing his story, and he becomes their companion for the rest of the series. Shippo normally appears to be a young boy with certain fox-like features: his legs, feet, ears, and tail. He can shape-shift, but his other forms (such as a large pink flying balloon) are temporary and often ineffective, usually given away by his lingering fox tail. He can also create illusory duplicates of himself, as well as weak fox-fire magic and toy-based tricks such as his giant spinning top attack. Naively observant, he often directs cheeky comments to InuYasha, earning a smack on the head. InuYasha and Kagome serve as older sibling figures to Shippo. Because of his small size, Shippo often rides on Kirara or the shoulders of others. When he does travel on the ground, he drops to all fours if he wants to run quickly. His actual age is never stated in the series; according to the official InuYasha guide by Rumiko Takahashi, his appearance is equivalent to that of a seven year old boy

Abilities

 * Crying Mushrooms: Leaves a trail of wailing, crying mushrooms that can be followed to his current location.


 * Spinng Smashing Top: Fox magic using a small toy top that gives the appearance and presence of a very large top, often used to pin opponents to the ground.


 * Divide: Using special leaves, creates many clones of himself that distract the enemy.


 * Fox Fire: Summons a ghostly-looking blue fire. Used mostly for defense but works as an effective attack against weak yōkai. It is strong enough to kill several of Naraku's lesser demons.


 * Heart Scar: Basically he bites someone he's using Heart Scar on. In the episode it was used, he possibly bit hard enough to draw a little blood.


 * Transformation: Deceives the enemy by transforming into another creature. These transformations are often incomplete, his untransformed tail usually gives him away, and the appearance usually can't be maintained for very long. He is also able to transform to a pink balloon-like shape with limited flying ability to carry one light person like Kagome. Shippō is also able to transform into a spider, thinking that Inuyasha was afraid of spiders. However in ep 168 he can tranform fully into Miroku without giving any fox-like trait, though Sango see through this disguise.

Etymology
Shippo literally means "seven treasures". Coincidentally, another way to say shippo is tail, which might have to do with his fox tail.