A Very Merry Christmas Kludge of Oneshots by tenchi no mai
They're Blinking Again!
Chapter 2 of my oneshot collection: A Very Merry Christmas Kludge of Oneshots
This was written in response to the December 2013 Challenge, using Sunset Mikos’s prompts.
Prompt #2: Lights
Due: by January 31, 2014
Required Word Count: Minimum 250
Actual Word Count: 1661 Story Only
Universe: Alternate Universe – Modern Day
Rating: T
Warnings: None
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 character, Shun, are my intellectual property. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
‘Italics’ = thoughts
They’re Blinking Again!
Sesshoumaru carefully picked his way through the tangled strings of lights stretched from the kitchen door, leading past his home office and on through the hallway towards the foyer.
Dropping his briefcase on the chair just inside the office doorway, he then took off his jacket and tossed it on top. Loosening his tie, he followed the twisted trail of multi-colored and white miniature light bulbs that suddenly flickered on and began blinking, knowing full well who he would find at the terminus.
“Inu-yash-a!” Kagome screamed. Sesshoumaru snickered, waiting to hear the infamous ‘Sit, boy!’ that usually followed that particular intonation of his half-brothers name.
“They’re blinking again!” Kagome’s voice rose to a shriek. “What did you do to them?”
He heard Inuyasha’s “Keh!” before the mumbling and grumbling started, then the lights flickered off once more.
The dai-youkai shook his head. The hanyo and miko together were like oil and water. They never did mix well, and it had gotten worse over the last year or so. He had hoped for a truce this holiday season, but, apparently, it wasn’t going to happen. It appeared he was going to have to step in and act as peace maker, or referee, sending them each to their respective corners for a time out to cool down.
Rounding the corner into the foyer, Sesshoumaru took in the scene. The door to the attic was propped open, and Kagome was sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, head down in her arms, which were crossed on top of her knees. Inuyasha, claws and lap full of green wires, continued muttering, only somewhat quieter now. However, with his sharp youkai hearing, Sesshoumaru could still hear him plain as day. “Inuyasha, I thought we had agreed that you would try to avoid using profanity for the month of December.”
“Keh! An entire month’s too long. You’re going to be lucky to get a week! Unless you want to up the ante?” Inuyasha asked hopefully.
“I’m already ahead, why would I want to give you more incentive?” Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow as he surveyed his half-brother sitting back on his heels, surrounded by the tangled strings of lights.
Kagome raised her head up off her knees and glared at the hanyo. “Why do I even listen to you? I should have called Ginta and Hakkaku to come help me with these lights. They do that enormous tree over at the dens each year, so I’m sure they could handle this little project.”
“Go ahead then and call them stinking, mangy wolves. I’m done with these stupid lights! Or maybe you could get Souta to come help you. Good luck with that!” Inuyasha knew that Kagome’s little brother wasn’t due home from college for another week or two. He got up off the floor and made a big show of dusting off his jeans before grabbing his baseball cap and stomping over toward the entryway. If she was going to imply that he couldn’t untangle the lights and get them strung up, then he was going to let her think the house was dirty. The sound of the front door slamming followed seconds later.
Sesshoumaru looked at his mate and sighed. She appeared to be on the verge of crying and he could faintly smell the salty tang of her, as yet, unshed tears. Sitting down beside her, he pulled the miko over onto his lap. Rubbing her back, he attempted to calm her down. “What, exactly, were you trying to do here, koi?”
“I wanted to get the multi-colored lights and the white ones separated into their individual strands. Inuyasha just jumbled them all up into a giant ball when he took them down last year.” Then she began to sob. “And they won’t stop blinking!”
He knew it wasn’t just the blinking lights that had her frustrated. Inuyasha was the larger part of the problem. He would have to find a way to keep the half-breed from upsetting Kagome. She had always gotten rather high strung around this time of year, what with all the excitement and her desire for everything to be perfect for the holidays. And the month had barely begun.
“Isn’t tonight the tree lighting ceremony over at the wolf dens?” Sesshoumaru asked, feeling Kagome nod from where she was leaning against his chest.
Kagome sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Yes, it was supposed to be the day after Thanksgiving, but something came up and Kouga moved it to tonight.”
“We’ll catch up with Ginta and Hakkaku afterwards and get them to come over here tomorrow or the next day and get the light problem straightened out. Okay?” That was one problem solved.
“Is Shun home yet? He said he’d go with us tonight.” Kagome looked up at him with red rimmed eyes.
“He called me a little while ago and said he’ll meet us there.” Sesshoumaru watched Kagome’s face fall as he said this, knowing she wanted Shun’s first Christmas with them as a family to be special and for him to be included with them in as many holiday activities as possible. “Why don’t you go wash your face and get changed into something warm. You know Kouga and the clan always have a terrific feast set up. Shun will be there, don’t worry. And the littlest pups will be allowed to stay up for the tree lighting. You don’t want to miss seeing them.”
The awe and wonder in the expressions on their little faces when the tree was light was worth every minute standing in the cold for, and Kagome smiled at the thought. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
Sesshoumaru breathed a sigh of relief as she headed towards the bedroom to get changed. Another possible problem averted.
~*~
Kagome was glad she had listened to Sesshoumaru and they had gone on ahead to the dens. She had momentarily thought about waiting at the shiro for Shun, but hadn’t wanted to miss any of the fun.
The word ‘dens’ was a misnomer when talking about the wolf clans housing. There were probably half a dozen apartment buildings set up around a central quadrangle, and the huge open first floor of the original one that had been built was the gathering place for the party. It was beautifully decorated for the holidays, and long tables had been set up at one end for the buffet. The normal furniture in this room had been pushed back and tables and chairs filled the middle space of the room.
Everyone was in a great mood, the food had been delicious, the music was great, and the pups were now running around playing games. An ear piercing whistle penetrated the din, and heads turned as Kouga made his way to the central part of the room. “Okay, everyone, let’s get the pups bundled up and head out to the quad. We’ll start the tree lighting ceremony in about twenty minutes.”
Sesshoumaru went to retrieve their coats while Kagome stayed with a couple of the female wolf demons to help gather up their pups and assist with jackets, hats and mittens.
Inuyasha strutted up to Sesshoumaru outside the cloakroom. “Where’s Shun? He couldn’t be bothered to show up?”
Knowing his half-brothers dislike for the big cat demon, Sesshoumaru decided to let the snarky comments pass as long as he didn’t try to start anything with Kagome. She was in a much better mood now than she had been earlier. “Shun got delayed with business. He’ll be here soon, it’s none of your concern.”
“Keh.” Inuyasha smirked at him. “I’ve got better things to do than worry about your problems.”
Sesshoumaru shook his head and watched him stride off toward the front doors, then turned to go find Kagome.
~*~
The speeches were almost over when Kagome felt Shun come up next to her and wrap an arm around her waist. She had been leaning against Sesshoumaru, trying to keep warm. Shun opened his overcoat and wrapped her in it. With Sesshoumaru’s jacket and arm around her back, she was now completely sheltered from the wind and the cold.
Snuggled between her two demons, she smiled as Shun leaned down to give her a kiss. “Sorry to be so late, Princess.”
“That’s okay. You made it before they lit the tree.” Kagome had one arm around each of her mates, hugging them close.
Kouga lifted the smallest pup into his arms and started the countdown. When they reached “One” he had the little pup press the button to light the tree.
A loud chorus of ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ as well as cheers and whistles erupted as the hundreds of strings of lights flickered on. This years’ tree was an enormous fir that had to be at least fifty feet tall. It towered over the three story apartment blocks and the lights cast a pure white glow over the large assembly of wolf demons and their invited guests. The clan wolves howled and wagged their tails, caught up in all the excitement as well.
Shun happened to look to his left and took notice of Inuyasha and the girl he was with. Catching Sesshoumaru’s eye, he lifted his chin in that direction.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at Shun, who returned the gesture. He then turned his head to see Inuyasha with his arm around one of the wolf demonesses who was very obviously pregnant. His half-brother didn’t notice him, and turned with the girl to head towards one of the apartment blocks reserved for the single demons.
The crowd went silent as the lights on the tree flickered off then on several times, before settling down into a strange blinking pattern that started at the bottom of the tree and worked its way up to the top. Then the star on the top then also began flickering.
There was a loud shriek, and Hakkaku’s voice could be heard, “They’re blinking again!”
~*~
Fin
~*~
Authors Notes:
Updates will be extremely sporadic, as IRL problems are particularly demanding at the moment.