Snowfall

By

Chibijem

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters herein and am making no financial gain from this work of fiction.

A/N: First, this is dedicated to my Imoto-san for always being there for me. Secondly, Oono Suefumi is a character from the Harukanaru film, Maihitoyo; please read my other work entitled "Time To Heal" to see my idea as to how he is brought back to life. I hope you enjoy the story.

Tachibana no Tomomasa turned the corner and saw Fujiwara no Takamichi approaching Fuji-hime's home from the opposite direction. He smiled when he saw his young partner all bundled up to keep himself warm from the winter which had descended on the city. Snow had fallen during the night and there were children all over the streets of Kyou enjoying the powdery play land. He laughed when he saw one small boy throw a snowball in Takamichi's direction. "He's only playing." He told the bespectacled vice minister who had a sour look on his face.

"That may be but does he have to do it here?" Takamichi asked as his friend walked up to him. "Honestly." He finished with an annoyed sigh.

"What am I going to do with you, Takamichi?" Tomomasa asked as they entered the property. "You need to relax and enjoy life, my friend. There is more to life than just books and scrolls." They both stopped in their tracks seeing the Ryuujin no Miko, her love: Oono Suefumi, Tenma, Shimon and even Minamoto no Yorihisa looking like they were building a figure in the snow. "Akane-dono?" Tomomasa questioned waving his fan at the snow sculpture.

"Ah! Tomomasa-san. Takamichi-san." The miko greeted them with a smile.

"What are you doing?" Takamichi asked, a perplexed look on his face.

"We're building a snowman." Tenma replied, rolling yet another ball from the snow.

"Want to help?" Akane asked as she patted the snow firmly on the first globe.

"What is a 'snowman' and why are you building one?" The vice minister asked, handing his books to one of Fuji-hime's household, nodding his thanks.

"Akane tells me this is what they do where she comes from when it snows." Suefumi answered, breaking branches to make arms and such for their effigies. "Ne, koibito?" He smiled at Akane.

"Hai, it's fun." She told the Byako duo. "Come on. You both need to unwind." She ran over to them and taking them both by their arms, pulled them into the group.

"Takamichi, you can help Tenma and Shimon start rolling another base." She ordered. Looking at Tomomasa she gave more thought. "And you, Tomomasa-san, you can help Yorihisa gather more snow for the body and heads." She left the group and went over to Suefumi and started decorating the first completed snowman.

"Yorihisa?" Tomomasa looked at the samurai. "How did you get into this?" At the samurai's look, he laughed. "Never mind. Akane looks at you…or any of us….and we give in." He laughed. He turned to see Takamichi and the rest of his group, diligently putting together the base for a third figure. "How long have you been constructing all this….?" The general waved a hand.

"Most of the afternoon." Yorihisa said with a sigh, his breath wafting on the slight breeze. "As soon as the sun was out, she had all of us out here." He stood to his full height, stretching his back. "I'm getting too old for this." He muttered.

"If you are too old, then what am I?" Tomomasa asked. They both turned when they heard Akane shriek with laughter as snow fell from the trees onto her. Everyone laughed as she jumped around trying to dislodge the snow from inside her hanten; Suefumi made his way over to help her, smiling all the way.

A few minutes later, Eisen, Yasuaki and Inori arrived and were put to work. Fuji-hime sat on the walkway watching and making sure everyone was warm enough and making sure there was plenty of hot tea on hand. Even Kotengu was helping, he could not stop himself seeing the fun everyone seemed to be having. It was almost an hour later, when Shimon, carrying a smaller snowball for the last snowman, slipped letting the powdery mass fly through the air to smack Akane in the back.

"Ah, gomen ne, Akane-chan." he called out with a smile.

"Miko-dono…..Akane-dono….Koiishi?" The Hachiyo and Suefumi called out.

"Heki desu." She reassured everyone with laughing eyes. "This is another custom."

"Ahhh….Snowball fight." Tenma added with an evil gleam in his own eyes. He leaned down and started packing a tight ball, looking for his Hachiyo partner.

"Tenma," Yorihisa warned, backing away from the stalking teen.

"Snowball fight?" Takamichi asked, unease in his voice.

"Hai," Shimon began coming abreast of the green haired man. "You throw the balls at each other. Usually no one gets hurt but you have to be careful not to let the snow melt in your hand and become icy. That hurts." He said with a grimace.

"I imagine," the vice minister replied, watching the full out battle going on between Yorihisa and Tenma, who were both laughing. He noticed the others join the fight, laughter filling the air. He didn't see Tomomasa and gave a yell when he felt an icy path make it's way down his back. He whirled to see a wicked smile on the general's face. Takamichi bent down and scooped snow into his hands. "You think I won't retaliate?" He asked, now stalking his friend who was backing away with a laugh.

"Iie, I was hoping you would." The teal haired Hachiyo replied honestly. "I was hoping you would let go of your staid manner and learn to play."

"You're going to get your wish, Tachibana no Tomomasa." Takamichi told his partner, an wicked sparkle in his golden eyes. He let the ammunition fly as Tomomasa turned and ran. The ball hit the general square in the back. Takamichi quickly packed another sphere and their own battle quickly escalated.

It was some minutes later when Fuji-hime clapped her hands loudly to rein in their play. Everyone was soaked, smiling and breathless. "Minna, I think you've had enough play." She giggled when everyone groaned.

"Demo…." Tenma whined.

"Iie, you all need to come in, get dry and warm. The evening meal is almost ready." She turned, expecting them to follow.

Tomomasa, had his arm wrapped around his long-time friend, Suefumi, when he jumped, feeling the snow slipping down his back. "Oi, Suefumi! Takamichi!" He hopped around, much like Akane had. "You helped him by distracting me." He said to Suefumi. "And you!" He looked to the vice minister. "You learned to play too well."

"You did say I should learn to relax and let go of my serious manner." He looked innocently into mirth-filled teal eyes. " I am only trying to heed your words."

"You were on the receiving end of your request, Tomomasa-dono." Suefumi laughed.

"And you were his accomplice, Suefumi-dono." Tomomasa retorted. He then laughed and put an arm around Takamichi's neck; they both watched as Suefumi ran up to Akane who held her arms out to him. He looked at his dearest friend, "You had fun, ne?"

Takamichi considered Tomomasa, "Hai," he said sincerely. "I did. Arigatou, Tomomasa-dono."

"Iie, just remember to repeat it often." The general smiled….and then dropped a handful of snow down the back of his friend's hanten.

"Tomomasa-dono!"

FIN