A/N: A handful to thank for reviews. Esha Napoleon, Taraah36, Rukia's Reflection, xxdarienchibiloverxx, authorofhope, butterfly here i come, Sora7, and icegirljenni. And thank you to everyone who had added this or its author to their lists. I hope everyone had a happy and merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Here's a little something that is lighthearted.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
What Ifs and Plot Holes
Winter
Having lived her entire life in Tokyo Kagome was well aware of and used to the types of winters the twentieth century produced in the large capital city. Due to the smog and global warming, large quantities of snow hadn't fallen in quite some time. In fact, the last major storm had thrown the city into a panic because they hadn't been prepared.
Going through the well to the other era, the young priestess found that the past didn't have that same problem. Deciding on a surprise visit hadn't been the wisest course of action for when Kagome arrived in the Feudal Era she found herself standing in several centimeters of snow at the bottom of the well. Apparently it had snowed the night before and everyone had yet to dig out.
It was either that or no one had been expecting her at all and hadn't thought to clear out the well. Granted she usually spent all the time she could get with her family but every once and a while Kagome liked to return when her friends weren't expecting her just to see how her two favorite boys really did without her.
Shippou liked to pretend that he was the injured party in all his squabbles with Inuyasha but he didn't have her as fooled as he would like to believe. Arriving unexpectedly was a good way to find out to just what extent he misbehaved.
Inuyasha liked to pretend that he was fine without her by his side for a few days but from the not-so-subtle hints Miroku gave out, the half dog demon wasn't as calm as he would like her to believe either. Kagome wasn't so blinded by love that she thought he waited by the well for her to return, but it was nice to think that he might be just a tiny bit unhappy with her absence.
"Oi, wench, are you going to stand there all day or come out?" A red clad sleeve trailed behind a hand that reached down to get her.
"You were waiting for me!" Kagome exclaimed, delighted.
"Of course I was. I figured that the first major snow of the year would attract you, even if you didn't know that it had happened. You have a knack for getting yourself into trouble." Inuyasha saw that she was about to argue when he set her down in snow that came almost to her waist. Almost immediately he lifted her back into his arms and headed for Lady Kaede's.
"At least I wore pants," Kagome murmured. She hadn't been completely unprepared for the weather.
"Yeah, that skirt thing of yours wouldn't have done you much good. Sorry about the well, I didn't get it covered in time to prevent some of the snow from getting into the bottom. The wind blew the branches I used away earlier this morning. I've been helping the old woman get dug out so the path isn't cleared either."
"You don't have to apologize, Inuyasha. It's winter. These things happen. I would rather you help Lady Kaede and the villagers. Besides, I got the answer to the reason why I came back so early." Kagome rested her head against his chest, rubbing her head against the area over his heart in an unconscious gesture of affection.
Inuyasha blushed at the action but kept on walking. They came over the rise and were herald by a large snowball. It hit the hanyou on the head and he roared in anger. "Shippou! I'm going to get you for that!"
"I'll tell Kagome you were mean to me!" the kitsune yelled back, not having sensed his adoptive mother in Inuyasha's arms.
"I heard that!" Kagome called. Looking up at her protector, she brushed the snow away from his face. "Yes, my question about how much mischief Shippou actually gets into," she said, hesitant to talk about her other reason.
"As you can see, he's a regular pain in my…" the half demon started.
"Shippou, apologize to Inuyasha," Kagome demanded as they joined their friends.
"Ah, Kagome…" the child whined. "I was just having fun."
"If you have a snowball fight, you don't hit people in the head. Is that understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." Shippou shuffled back inside Lady Kaede's hut, Sango and Miroku coming out with Kirara on their heels. The monk cracked a grin and gave the miko and hanyou a significant look when he saw their "embrace."
"Raising a child is a difficult task, is it not?" he asked, earning a hit to the head by Sango.
Setting Kagome down carefully, Inuyasha grinned meaningfully at the houshi. Scooping a handful of snow up, the dog demon carefully made a firmly packed ball. "No hits to the head, isn't that your rule, Kagome?"
"Yeah, it hurts too much. Although, in Miroku's case, it probably wouldn't make much difference." Catching on to what her dog demon wanted to do, the priestess followed suit, smiling when Sango joined her. His question had made her uncomfortable and a little payback was called for. All in the name of some innocent winter fun, of course.
Kirara, who had never liked the snow to begin with found a spot near the old priestess' stoop and sat back, wanting to watch what would happen next. Shippou, apparently finding no sympathy from the elderly woman rejoined his friends and stared wide eyed at the impromptu battle now going on.
"Hey, that's no fair," he said to the nekomata, seeing an "accidental" hit to Miroku's head.
"Mew!" the fire cat said, amused.
Kagome raced by the duo and sprinkled some snow on their noses, laughing at their consternation. She looked up in time to dodge a missile from Sango. "Missed me," she taunted the slayer, only to get hit in the back by her hanyou.
Winter in the Feudal Era might mean more snow, but it had its benefits, the priestess thought and continued to play with her friends. The unspoiled nature of the landscape covered in fresh powder reminded them all that there were still good things in this life.
A little snowball fight didn't hurt either.