Dedication: To Angie, Happy Birthday!

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THE SNOWSTORM

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The snow began to fall in Awara two days after Christmas. It wasn't just a few flakes, but a full blown storm that kept the Wataya's inside their home. Chihaya wandered over to her husband who was on the couch, reading a book to their six-year-old daughter, Kurenai.

"Arata, when you're finished with that, lets play karuta."

Kurenai raised her head from her father's shoulder and re-adjusted her red, wire-framed glasses. She had inherited her eye-shape from Arata and her long lashes from Chihaya. "Daddy promised to read all of these with me," she said, pointing to a stack of books on the coffee table.

"Why don't you ask Hajime," Arata suggested. Their 4-year-old son knew how to play karuta, though he was still learning the poems.

"Alright." Chihaya left the living room to go in search of him. He was an energetic, imaginative boy who was always looking for an adventure, which often caused problems for his parents. Just last year, Hajime had fractured his arm by falling out of a tree. *Well at least I know he won't be outside in this storm,* Chihaya thought as she climbed the stairs.

She discovered her son going through old boxes in the storage room. His black hair was sticking up in exactly the same way as Arata's. "Have you found anything interesting, Hajime?"

He turned around and smiled brightly. "Yes, look! Was this daddy's?" he asked, holding up a red T-shirt that said 'Team Chihayafuru' in Arata's handwriting.

"That's right," she replied, walking over to him. "Those were our team shirts back in 6th grade. I'm pretty sure I packed mine too. Lets see if I can find it." She searched among the boxes, spotting one towards the back with 'Chihaya's childhood things' written on the outside in black sharpie. She opened it up and found the shirt in a plastic bag. Her memories came flooding back as she held it in her hands. Even though they hadn't won the tournament, it had been so much fun to compete alongside her two best friends.

"Mama, can I wear this?"

She glanced down, meeting his wide, brown eyes. "It'll be too big for you, sweetie."

He shrugged. "That's okay. I want to play karuta in it."

Chihaya smiled as an idea formed in her head.

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Kurenai wrote her name on the inside collar of Chihaya's shirt and Hajime added his own on Arata's before they were tossed into the dryer to get all the dust out. While they waited, Chihaya pulled her daughter's shoulder-length, brown hair into a ponytail and secured it with a daddy bear elastic.

Hajime took them out as soon as the buzzer rang and quickly pulled the red shirt over his head. The static from it caused his hair to halo out and Arata laughed as he attempted to smooth it down. Hajime looked up at him with a smile that was the mirror image of Chihaya's. The T-shirt went past his knees and had to be tucked into his pants before they started playing.

Arata read out the cards while Chihaya filmed their children with her camera phone. Kurenai combined the karuta style of both of her parents: photographic memory and excellent hearing. It was almost terrifying how good she was. *She might become the youngest queen in history,* Arata mused proudly as he watched his daughter capture 'Fuku kara ni.' Hajime, on the other hand, had Chihaya's fast reflexes and determination. *He'll grow into a good player just as long as he puts in the hard work.* Whether or not karuta would keep his interest was another matter though. Arata had a feeling that his son was destined to become an athlete instead of a meijin, which was perfectly fine. Chihaya and Arata would support their children's dreams in whatever they decided on.

Hajime lunged for 'Arashi fuku' in his sister's territory and managed to get it, although he sent half the cards flying in the process. "Haji! You ruined my formation again," Kurenai scolded as she attempted to straighten her rows out.

Hajime wasn't discouraged by his 22-card loss. "Someday I'll be just as good," he vowed solemnly.

She ruffled his hair. "We'll see about that."

The storm stopped an hour later and they all bundled up in coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. They stomped through nearly a foot of snow in their water-proof boots.

"Lets make a snowman!" Hajime suggested.

Everyone pitched in and they managed one that was nearly as tall as Arata. Afterwards, Kurenai made a row of snow bunnies on the railing of their patio. She was just placing the berries and leaves on for the eyes and ears when Hajime threw a snowball at her back. She quickly spun around, preparing her own to launch at him.

"Me and your father recited poems when we had a snowball fight once," Chihaya told them. "Here I'll show you." She hit Arata in the shoulder and announced, "Yama kawa ni."

"Nagare mo aenu momiji nari keri," he finished with the card you would pick up.

"But I don't have enough of the poems memorized yet!" Hajime complained.

"I'll pick the ones you know then." Kurenai bent down to get another handful of snow. "Asaborake," she said, tossing the ball at her brother, who swiftly dodged it.

"Araware wataru zeze no ajirogi!"

Arata threw one towards his daughter. "Chihayaburu."

"Kara kurenai ni mizu kukuru to wa," she replied with a smile, reciting the end of the poem which she had been named for.

It went on like that for about five more minutes until Hajime hit Kurenai in the face. "Ahhh, you got my glasses! That was mean, Haji." She pulled them off and tried to use her glove to wipe the wet snow from her lenses.

"I'm sorry, nee-chan." He ran up and hugged her around the waist. "Please don't be mad at me!"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, patting the back of his blue puffer coat. "I'm tired now. Lets go inside."

Chihaya helped the children out of their snow clothes while Arata went into the kitchen to prepare hot cocoa for everyone. He carried a tray into the living room with 4 mugs and a plate full of sugar cookies that were left over from Christmas. Once they finished their snack, all of them snuggled together under a fuzzy red blanket. Chihaya and Arata each read a picture book aloud before Kurenai took over. Hajime interrupted a few times to ask his sister the definition of certain words, but she patiently explained them.

Arata and Chihaya smiled at each other, thinking the same thing: *We have the best kids in the world.*

A/N: This idea was inspired by my friend Angie, who was talking about Arata finding his 'Team Chihayafuru' T-shirt and reminiscing about the past. My mind immediately went to how cute it would be if their children wore their old shirts while playing karuta ^.^ I wanted the kids to be a mixture of Arata and Chihaya instead of being mini-versions of them. Kurenai means 'crimson' and Hajime means 'beginning' (he was named after his grandfather)