Surprises Around The Corner

As the month was coming to a close the Sanzo party found themselves stuck in a small village that was surrounded by mountains of snow thanks to a blizzard that happened the night before. "Well looks like we won't be going anywhere for a day or two," Hakkai said looking around at the snow covered town.

"Man, why does it have to be snowing so much?" Goku whined.

"Do you not like the snow?" Ran asked him.

"Not really," he said. "It's all cold and silent and creepy."

"What about you guys?" Ran asked the rest.

"Eh, I don't mind it," Gojyo said shrugging.

"It's fine with me," Hakkai said.

"Whatever," Sanzo muttered.

"Well, since we're going to be here, you guys find an inn and I'll go do some shopping for provisions," Karin suggested.

"Sure thing, just don't get lost out here…you don't want to freeze to death," Ran shouted after her.

"I know," Karin shouted back running off into the market.

"Well I hope she has fun in the snow," Ran said as they headed toward the inn.

"She's getting provisions…will she have time to play?" Goku asked curiously.

"She really just wanted to go play in the snow…and getting the provision gave her an excuse to do so," Ran explained laughing. "I don't mind though…considering today is her birthday and all."

A blanket of silence seemed to roll over them. "Wait a minute… today's her birthday?" Gojyo asked in surprise.

"Yep," Ran said with a nod.

"What's a birthday?" Goku asked quizzically.

"You gotta be kidding me," Gojyo said mystified by Goku's obliviousness.

"It's the day that you celebrate when you turn a year older," Ran explained to him.

"Oh, that sounds neat! How old is she now?" He asked.

"Today she'll be nineteen," Ran revealed.

"So she IS legal," Gojyo remarked and Ran punched him in the head.

"But why didn't she say anything?" Hakkai asked.

"She'd feel like she was asking for gifts if she said anything so she kept it quiet. In her opinion it's better to not get anything than tell her friends about her own birthday. If it was mine she'd be telling everyone about it though," Ran explained smiling. "Now that you know though…she can't complain any."

"Well, when she gets back maybe we could have a party for her or something," Goku suggested. "We could surprise her and everything."

"Great idea Goku….want to come with me to get the needed items for a party?" Ran asked with an evil grin.

"Yeah…sounds like fun," Goku exclaimed.

"We'll meet you guys back at the inn. Be ready to party when we get back." With that the two ran off in search of party items.

"I think I'll just go for a walk," Hakkai said suddenly.

"You too?" Gojyo asked raising an eyebrow.

"I won't be long…" Hakkai replied turning around and walking off.

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As Karin skipped through the small town, the snow crunching beneath her shoes, she couldn't help but feel light as a feather. Snowflakes were falling gently from the cloudy gray sky and everything was so calm and peaceful. As she was doing a little spin she accidentally bumped into someone. "Sorry," she quickly apologized.

The stranger in question glanced at her coolly over the collar of a traveling cloak before continuing on his way. Karin began walking again but suddenly stopped. "That man…" she turned around to get a better look at him, but to her immense surprise, he had vanished. She looked down at the snow for foot prints, but all she saw was her own. "He looked… so familiar."

"Meow" A small kitten had started rubbing itself against Karin's leg and looked up at her expectantly.

"She's so….cute," Karin thought looking at it with chibi eyes.

"I'm sorry about that," an old man said picking the kitten up and smiling warmly at her. "I found this little girl injured on one of my travels and healed her up. Unfortunately I can't keep her with me so I'm trying to find someone to take her in."

"Oh that's so sad," Karin expressed scratching the kitten on the top of her head. "I'd love to take her with me….but unfortunately I'm in the same boat."

"I understand…well if you ever want to come visit her we'll be here until I can find someone," the old man said cheerfully.

"Okay…bye kitty," Karin said walking away sadly.

Around a nearby corner Hakkai sat listening to the exchange and thought, "Hmm…on the one hand getting that cat would make Karin very happy. On the other hand getting that cat would make Sanzo sneeze, and be completely miserable." Then he put one hand into the other and exclaimed, "I see no reason to not get that cat."

Moments later Karin heard the sound of footsteps behind her as she stared at the snow covered ground. "Oh Hakkai…I thought you went to the inn," Karin exclaimed surprised.

"I decided to go for a walk. Is there anything wrong?" Hakkai asked concerned.

"Nothing's wrong…it's just that this snow reminds me of that day," Karin answered slowly.

"What day?"

"That day years ago…when we had my mother's funeral," Karin replied. "On that day it was snowing like this and then a man appeared that I'd never seen before. It was strange because he showed up so suddenly and then vanished just as quickly. We never saw him after that though," Karin explained staring off into an unknown time.

"I see…well I don't mean to barge in on anything important but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Hakkai said pulling something out from behind his back.

Karin's eyes widened as she was once more staring down at the grey tabby which stared up at her with bluish gray eyes. "Meow?"

"But… would it be okay?" Karin asked him. "I mean, will anyone mind?"

"We did have a cat along for a short while and everyone simply adored her," Hakkai explained leaving out the fact that Sanzo was absolutely miserable.

"So… I can really have her?" Karin asked breathlessly.

"Consider her already yours," Hakkai said handing over the kitten with a smile.

"Thank you so much!" Karin exclaimed, gleefully taking the kitten and cradling it in her arms. "This is the greatest present ever. I love you!" Karin froze after she said that and her face, which had been stinging with cold just seconds ago, now burned hot with embarrassment.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed since you've already said it," Hakkai chuckled. This only proved to turn her face even redder and Hakkai smiled at her. "You're really cute when you're embarrassed."

"D-don't say stuff like that," Karin stuttered, her face somehow by some cruelty of the color scheme turning redder than she already was. "You'll just make it worse."

"Don't you know, that when you tell someone not to do something, it only gives them an incentive to do it?" Hakkai asked, tilting his head ever so slightly so that she could see both his eyes.

"You're mean," Karin pouted, looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry. Why don't we finish shopping and then head back to the inn. I'm sure the others are waiting for us," Hakkai suggested putting a hand on her shoulder.

Karin already hot and bothered by the previous exchange pulled her shoulders up to her ears and muttered softly, "Sure."

She was sure she heard him chuckle softly once more before the two of them walked through town together towards the end, the kitten curled up in Karin's arms. When they got there, Hakkai pulled open the door and stepped aside. "After you."

"Um… thanks," Karin said, feeling flattered before walking inside.

As she stepped in she noticed that all the lights were off and soon became even darker as Hakkai closed the door behind him. "What's going on?" Karin asked to the darkness.

Suddenly the light came back on temporarily blinding her and three people jumped up shouting, "SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARIN!!!" Goku, and Ran stood there grinning from ear to ear and Gojyo had a rather amused smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Sanzo was off in a corner with a 'why am I even here?' expression. After recovery from the near heart attack Karin looked at her friend. "Ran… you weren't supposed to tell anyone."

"Ah, lighten up. Your birthday only comes once a year," Ran told her. She then noticed Karin carrying something. "What's that?"

"Isn't she cute?" Karin almost squealed, holding up the kitten for all to see. "Hakkai got her for me."

"That thing is not staying," Sanzo said from his corner. Then he sneezed and Ran had to stifle a laugh.

"Wow I didn't know Sanzo was allergic to cats," Ran said smiling.

"What are allergies?" Goku asked having run over and was now petting the cat.

"Allergies are things that make you sneeze whenever you get close to them," Ran explained not really wanting to go into the mechanics of it.

"So have you picked out a name for her yet?" Goku asked. "Cause if not I think we should call her Stripe."

"I was actually thinking she looks like a Veronica," Gojyo said rubbing his chin.

"I think Tiger works best," Hakkai suggested.

"Are you listening to me!?" Sanzo barked. "I said she can't stay!"

"They're not listening to you," Ran said.

"Shut up!"

"I like Chihiro," Karin said after some thought.

Goku and Gojyo weren't listening as they had gotten into a fight over whether Stripe or Veronica fit better. "Here we go again," Hakkai chuckled.

A few minutes later Ran had had enough and took out her hammer slamming it in between the two of them. "The name's Chihiro so deal with it," she shouted ending the argument instantly. "So who wants cake and ice cream?" Ran asked, suddenly cheerful.

The rest of the evening the six, er… eight if you counted Chihiro and Hakuryuu who both seemed to take a quick liking to each other, had fun eating, drinking, and enjoying each other's company. Everyone had given Karin a gift even though she protested against it. Goku gave her a box of dumplings before asking if he could have one… or two. Gojyo gave her a bottle of wine, assuring her it was the 'good stuff'.

Ran pulled out a nicely wrapped gift and handed it to Karin to open. Inside was a well shaped piece of steel that had a picture of Hakuryuu imprinted in it. "Oh wow…the resemblance is uncanny," Karin exclaimed holding it up to Hakuryuu in comparison.

"How did you get that?" Goku asked surprised.

"I made it while everyone was sleeping," Ran explained. "It took awhile to finish but I pulled it off."

Sanzo managed to come up with a gift…though grudgingly. He just kind of left the parcel out so she could see it but didn't hand it to her himself. Inside was a set of headphones thinking it may keep her quiet during the trip.

"Thanks Sanzo. I didn't know you knew I loved music," Karin said happily, completely misinterpreting the monk's intentions.

"I seriously doubt that was the case," Gojyo muttered out loud and Sanzo pointed his gun at the half demon.

"You want to critique some more? I dare you to go right ahead."

"No I'm done," Gojyo said holding his hands in the air.

"So what's next?" Goku asked looking around excitedly.

"How about party games," Ran said running to one corner of the inn where she had hidden a large bag of different games. Inside there was the pieces for Mahjong, a blindfold and pin for pin the tail on the donkey, and she had even brought a large bat for a pinjata.

While playing pin the tail, Goku accidentally stuck Gojyo with it and Goku had to run from Gojyo who had wanted to return the favor. While Trying to hit the piñata, Hakkai did such a great job of keeping anyone from hitting it, that finally Sanzo just pulled out a gun and shot the thing open.

Goku went diving for all the candy as it fell and somehow managed to get them all before they landed on the ground. "Wow I knew he was fast but that was cool," Ran thought laughing.

Finally their Mahjong game began. Everyone was very focused on the game at hand and nobody seemed to notice that Chihiro and Hakuryuu had fallen asleep…as it was so late. They played several games and everyone won at least one game…Hakkai winning the most…of course. By the time they finally called it quits the sun had gone down and everyone was tired so they packed up the game and headed up to their respective rooms.

Karin and Hakkai were the last ones to finish cleaning up and he walked her to her room, their respective pets curled up in their arms. When she had gotten to her door she turned and smiled up at him. "Thanks again, Hakkai. This has been a really fun evening. And I'm really happy to have Chihiro with me now."

"It was no trouble at all," he assured her with a smile.

Karin glanced away shyly and was silent for several moments. Then she stood up on her tips toes and gave Hakkai a small peck of gratitude on the cheek. "Well, goodnight," she said turning quickly and reached for the door handle to her room.

Hakkai quickly placed a hand on her arm and got her stop for a second. "I'm glad you were able to have so much fun," he said moving his hand from her arm to her cheek. He then bent down slightly and returned the kiss on the cheek. "Sleep well," he told her letting her go and walking away.

Karin watched him leave, her heart thumping loudly against her chest and she knew that she must be very pink. But at the same time, she couldn't keep from smiling as she went in the room and got into bed with her new friend curled up beside her.

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"Hey Karin, wake up!"

Karin's eyes snapped open and she sat bolt up right breathing heavily to see Ran staring at her in concern. "Okay, you're never allowed to make fun of me making weird noises in my sleep ever again," Ran stated. "What the heck were you dreaming about?"

"I... I'm not sure. It was really vague. Why, what kind of noises was I making?" Karin asked.

"Uh... well you were kind of... groaning like you were in pain. And then you kind of, growled maybe?" Ran said awkwardly.

"I must have eaten to much cake," Karin laughed nervously brushing her bangs out of here face.

At this movement, Ran thought she saw something strange about one of Karin's eyes... it looked different somehow. But it was dark so it was probably just her imagination. "No more sweets before bedtime then. Next you'll be chewing on my arm in your sleep."

Karin laughed again but was sure to keep it quiet so as not to disturb the others. "If you insist." With that she lied back down with Chihiro close beside her and tried to fall back to sleep. But a unshakable chill prevented her from doing so.

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CM: A prelude for the next chapter!

RAN: Huh? Sanzo? Why are you acting all nice like that?

SANZO: Hakkai, please quit hitting on Gojyo.

GOKU: My hair, it's all gone!

KARIN: Would you losers shut up!

HAKKAI: How am I supposed to get a date looking like this?

GOJYO: Whoever is responsible for this is going to pay.

CM: Stay tuned for next time, and please review. :)