A Kludge of One Shots by tenchi no mai
A Promise to Keep
Chapter 25 of my oneshot collection: A Kludge of Oneshots
This was written in response to Chie’s monthly challenge.
Theme: Snowfall
Due: January 31, 2020
Actual Word Count: 2,131 – Story only
Universe: Alternate Universe – Modern Day
Rating: M
Warnings: Only a few naughty words from our favorite miko.
Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz Media. Only the plot to this story and my original characters, Shun and Hayato, are my intellectual property. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
‘Italics’ = thoughts
With a bit of a stretch, a continuation from Chapter 24.
A Promise to Keep
Kagome stood with her hands clasped together under her chin as she and Rin watched Shippo change into his true form of a fox. Rin laughed as Kagome ran over and flung her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the top of his head before he could run away.
Shun was standing at the door from the dining room to the patio, mug of coffee in hand, keeping an eye on the weather as well as Kagome and Shippo. He was not exactly jealous; he now knew the history of the miko and the fox kit. But he, or more correctly, his beast, didn’t always like the affection she so freely bestowed on the rest of the pack. Though, when he thought about it rationally, the affection was not shown to just the males. She was affectionate with all the many members of the pack, children as well as adults, both male and female. Kagome was currently hugging Rin as they trudged through the snow that covered the paths from the gardens towards the patio and house in deep drifts.
The temperature was rapidly dropping, snow was swirling down and it looked like they may be snowbound soon. The snowflakes were getting larger and clung to Kagome and Rin’s hats and jackets as they danced around. Shun shook his head; they were holding hands and twirling in circles, reminding him of the children at the wolf dens. Suddenly they let go of each other and fell into the drifts of the white stuff and made snow angels.
Sesshoumaru joined him at the door with a mug of tea, an indulgent smile on his face. “They seem to be enjoying themselves.”
“I don’t think they will be staying out there too much longer, it’s getting colder.” Shun glanced at the thermometer outside the French doors.
“We should make a pot of hot chocolate for them.” Sesshoumaru headed towards the kitchen.
Shun caught sight of the snowmobile Shippo and Rin arrived on and wondered if Shippo would let him borrow it to take Kagome for a ride. She could probably fit into Rin’s snowmobile suit. Then a slow grin spread across his lips and a wicked glint lit his eyes as he remembered a promise made some time ago. If the temperatures continued to plummet it would be a perfect day to change into his true form and play in the snow. He hurried through the kitchen, plunking his coffee mug in the sink, and headed towards the family wing.
~*~
Rin giggled as she thought of the pile of clothes in the laundry room. Boots, snowmobile suit, hat, scarf, gloves, goggles. It was worth bundling up to come see Sesshoumaru and Kagome. It had been a while; she worked rotating shifts at the hospital and was glad to have a couple of days off, especially since it looked like they may get snowed in.
Tiptoeing into the kitchen in her stocking feet she tried to sneak up on Sesshoumaru, but he suddenly turned and held out his arms to give her a hug. Kagome, or time, had worked a miracle. He was much more demonstrative than he had been back in the Sengoku Jidai. Rin leaped into his embrace, hugging him tightly around the neck as she kissed his cheeks. She sniffed appreciatively, “Is that hot chocolate?”
“Yes, with marshmallows.” Sesshoumaru poured her a mug and added whipped cream and shaved chocolate. “Let’s sit at the breakfast bar and you can fill me in on what has been happening while we wait for Kagome to come inside.”
“I think she wanted to stay outside for a few more minutes and watch for Shippo.” Rin smiled. “Although it’s not like he’s going to get lost out there. He knows better than to leave the shiro while in his true form.”
Sesshoumaru’s lips twitched. “I know that, and you know that, but Kagome worries about him as though he is still a kit and always up to some mischief or another.”
Rin was watching Kagome standing at the edge of the patio near the path to the gardens, stomping her feet to keep them warm, and at the movement outside was the first one to notice the large cat sneaking around the extension that was the dining room. She laughed loudly, “Uh-oh! It looks like someone else is up to some mischief.” Pointing towards the curved row of windows on the far side of the room, she added, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shun in his true form.”
“You most likely haven’t, it’s extremely rare for it to be cold enough here for him to change. Usually he heads for the mountain ranges of Central Asia where there’s sufficient snow to keep him from overheating and having a heat stroke. This may prove interesting. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen him like this.”
“Huh, I don’t think I felt or heard the release of his jyaki when he transformed.” Rin began giggling when she noticed Shun’s rear end wiggling in typical cat fashion as he crouched at the corner of the dining room and patio.
“I didn’t sense it either. He must have it tightly reined in. Won’t Kagome be surprised. She’s been bugging him about letting her see him in his true form. Although I think that she loves seeing the transformation the most, even more than the result.” Sesshoumaru stood up from the stool at the breakfast bar and headed for the doors to the patio to keep a closer eye on whatever was going to transpire. The miko was not overly fond of surprises.
~*~
Leaving Sesshoumaru in the kitchen, making hot chocolate, Shun went through the shiro to the family wing and their bedroom. Opening the French doors onto the patio and leaving them unlocked, he stepped outside and transformed into his true form. He wasn’t nearly as large as Sesshoumaru in his true form, but was several times larger than Shippo. Shun stretched his front legs out and flexed his toes, leaving claw marks in the snow. It felt good to be in this form and he may do it again soon as long as it remained cold enough.
Shun snickered internally. He’d forgotten how much fun he could have in this form. He had leaped into several large snow drifts and batted icicles off the eaves at the front of the shiro. He could hear Rin and Sesshoumaru talking in the kitchen, and hoped they wouldn’t alert Kagome to his presence. Currently he was on his belly, sneaking around the dining room extension towards the large brick patio. As he shook his head to remove the snow from his whiskers and eyelashes he noticed Rin kneeling in the window seat and waving at him. Peering through one of the windows, he could see Sesshoumaru standing near the doors to the patio. Kagome was still standing at the edge of the patio, looking through the trees into the far reaches of the shiro, probably hoping to catch a glimpse of Shippo. With a little bit of luck, and keeping his aura tightly folded in, he could sneak up on her.
Something must have tipped her off, because Kagome suddenly turned towards the house, tripped over her feet and abruptly sat down hard on her hind end. Shun grumbled under his breath. It was probably her miko senses; they had been well honed during the Sengoku Jidai. He withdrew slightly around the corner of the dining room and waited.
“Shun?” Kagome sat with a hand to her chest, the question rising into a shriek at the end. At his nod she struggled to her feet, stood with her hands on her hips, and launched into a lecture. “Shun, you scared the shit out of me!”
He could hear her accelerated heartbeat and her breath was puffing out in clouds. He hadn’t wanted to scare her or make her angry. Sometimes things didn’t work out quite how he expected them to.
“What did you think you were doing sneaking around the shiro like this?” Kagome waved her arms up and down at her sides as she took a few steps towards Shun.
Shun blinked at her as she continued to verbally blast him. Kami, she was gorgeous when she was mad. Her hair was slipping out of the ponytail she had it in under her hat, and her blue eyes were sparking. It was hilarious when he thought about it; a small human woman scolding a youkai in his true form. He chuckled, the sound translating somewhat into a huffing noise.
“Oh, so you think this is funny do you?” Kagome bent down to gather up some snow. Quickly launching the snowball, she managed to hit him on the nose. While Shun swiped at the snow with his paw, she rapidly made several more snowballs.
Rising up onto his toes, Shun arched his back and danced sideways across the patio towards the dormant gardens. His tail flipped back and forth, inadvertently clearing a line of snow off the dining room roof.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Kagome pivoted to keep him in sight, watching him impersonate a house cat, albeit a very, very large one. She figured he was up to some monkey business or another or he wouldn’t have snuck up on her. Launching a few more snowballs, which he batted away with his paws, she finally laughed. Trying to remember what she knew about snow leopards, she realized it wasn’t much. Snow leopards bodies are stocky, and have long, thick fur, with small rounded ears to help minimize heat loss. Wide feet distribute their weight better for walking on snow and have fur on their undersides to increase traction on steep and unstable surfaces. Their tails are nearly the length of their bodies and help them to maintain balance.
Shun took advantage of her momentary inattention, and snaked out a paw to bat some snow at Kagome.
Getting hit with the equivalent of a small avalanche, Kagome sputtered and tried to wipe it off her face and shoulders before it slid down her neck.
~*~
Rin watched nervously from the window seat. “Maybe you should go help her, Sesshoumaru.”
“I don’t think so. Kagome is perfectly capable of handling Shun.” Sesshoumaru headed back into the kitchen to make another cup of tea.
“Well, I suppose so, but is Shun capable of handling Kagome?” Rin asked, as the big cat got pelted by a few more snowballs.
“I can only hope so.” Sesshoumaru called over his shoulder.
~*~
Kagome continued to bombard Shun with snowballs. “Hah, you can’t hide, it’s like hitting the broad side of a barn!”
Shun suddenly pounced, catching Kagome with both paws. He then began purring and rubbing his chin and cheeks against her. After he finished marking her he had several ideas that would take up most of the afternoon.
Knowing she wouldn’t be able to escape his clutches easily, Kagome tried to come up with a plan. He was much faster than her in his human form and in this form had the advantage of not being slowed down by the snow. Looking around she realized she was almost in front of the door into the kitchen. Only one or two steps and she could make a break for it. “No, Shun! Stop marking me, I’m not a cat toy!” With that, she jumped, smacked him sharply on the nose and when he reared back in shock, she quickly escaped into the kitchen.
Shun was stunned. How dare she smack him like that! He was in his true form, and who in their right mind would mess with a youkai in their true form? Would she act like that with Sesshoumaru? When she tried to sneak into the house, his paw was instantly through the door, curled around her and hauled her back outside.
Kagome first thought was that she was in trouble now. Shun’s paw was wrapped completely around her and she was drowning in fur. Feeling more and more like a mouse, she watched as he bared his fangs at her. He then gently picked her up by the back of her jacket and began to head around the house towards the family wing. She struggled to get down, but he must have caught the belt on her jeans, she was firmly in his grip.
With every breath that Shun took more feathers puffed out from the tears his fangs made in Kagome’s jacket. He sighed, not only would he have to replace the jacket, he would be picking feathers out of teeth for the next hour or so when he had more interesting things to do with his little mate on a snowy afternoon.
~*~
Fin