Convivial

By: The Hatter Theory

Flip A Coin Day

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Inu Yasha

AN: This chapter was slated to be posted on June 1st.

Update 2/4

She felt vaguely stuffy the next morning when she woke up, and the sunlight filtering in through her sheer curtains was brighter than normal, but those were the only remnants of the night before when Kagome woke. Groaning, she pulled the pillow over her head when she felt Sesshoumaru's youki, subdued and calm, downstairs.

Araki had not yet arrived. Which meant she had at least some time to shower and get ready.

She didn't want to go out. In fact, she wanted to stay in her room, in her bed, and make a cave out of the blankets and hide in it until the tension had blown over. While she and Sesshoumaru had sparked each other's tempers before, she couldn't recall a time they had both become so polite, so civil, and with such speed. Not even when she'd first been found by him had they spoken so...Formally.

Sighing heavily, knowing the day would continue whether she wanted it to or not, and not wanting to disappoint a little girl that was oblivious to the complications of being an adult, she threw the covers back and sat up. Getting up, she shed her clothes, letting them fall where they would on the floor and walking into the shower, ignoring the towel warmer completely, and choosing to ignore the hot water as well.

The cold shocked her senses, startled them into wakefulness before numbing her skin. Shivering, she washed her face, hoping that maybe she could wash away the frown that persisted despite her best efforts. Like an automaton she got out and dried, dressed in jeans and a tank top before pulling her still damp hair back.

Araki still hadn't arrived.

Sesshoumaru was downstairs, presumably waiting for Araki to come with their new cabinets. Knowing, if nothing else, that she didn't want to endure an awkward breakfast, she chose to go through her books and pull out a book of poetry translated from Chinese. It had been one of the few books she had chosen for herself, and had nothing to do with her studies.

Going back to her bed, she resting on her stomach, pillow propped beneath her, and began to read. Or try at least. The words blurred and moved on the page, ignoring order as her thoughts kept drifting back to the daiyoukai. Turning page after page, she knew she absorbed nothing. It was almost a blessing to hear the front door open and to feel the presence of the two visitors. Houka's delighted chatter seemed to ring through the empty, deadening silence.

Closing the book and setting it on her nightstand, Kagome grabbed her purse and took a fortifying breath before opening the door. She forced a smile to her face, one she didn't feel, and called out a bright hello as she walked down the stairs. Houka's voice rang out above her own, the echos mixing as she greeted both Sesshoumaru and Araki.

"Papa said you're taking me to a shrine!" Houka said, bouncing on her feet.

"I am, it's where I grew up," Kagome told her. "My mama said that we still have targets and bows there."

Houka made an excited sound, one Kagome knew must have grated on the sensitive ears of the inu that, aside from nodding in her direction, had not acknowledged her at all.

"Well, shall we go so your papa and Sesshoumaru-sama can work?"

"Yes!" Houka exclaimed, holding out hand. Kagome took it, the little girl's cheer infectious. It didn't erase the awkwardness, couldn't blot out the very real tension swirling in the room like smoke, but it did offer a reprieve and freedom from it.

"We'll be back later," Kagome told them, waving as Houka pulled her forward with surprising strength. Kagome reminded herself that, beneath her disguise she was still a youkai.

"Mind that bracelet," Araki called out.

"I'll make sure she keeps it on," Kagome promised as Houka tried to pull her towards the elevator. The door closed as Kagome felt herself yanked forward again, arm jolting painfully in it's socket. Knowing it was merely the child's enthusiasm, she said nothing, working to keep up with her instead of being dragged behind.

"Slow down Houka, I promise the shrine isn't going anyway," Kagome laughed.

"But I don't know how to shoot, and papa told me it takes a long time to learn, and I was to be able to do it today," The child said as they got into the elevator.

"You won't get it perfectly today, it takes a long time to learn and practice," Kagome told her as she pressed the button for the lobby.

"How long did it take you?" Houka asked, eyes wide.

"A while," Kagome hedged, not wanting to admit to the child that even by the time her adventure had been over, she had not been perfectly adept. Houka nodded, not seeming to understand the half truth and smiling widely. Kagome was reminded again of Shippou and returned the smile with one of her own, already feeling better.

Houka's presence was overwhelming. A bombastic child with a hundred questions and bits of trivia to fill the silence, Kagome found herself falling into the carefree cheer, forgetting the apartment and the night before.

On the bus and then the train, Houka dutifully held her hand and asked her more about her shrine and what it was like to grow up as a miko. Kagome explained, gently, that she hadn't been raised to be a shrine maiden, but that it was something that had happened as she had gotten older. Houka asked if Kagome believed in the old gods, and Kagome told her that she did, even if she wasn't entirely sure of it.

By the time they were climbing the shrine steps, Kagome was -again- wishing she exercised more, making note to join a local gym as Houka bounced ahead of her.

"Kagome!" Her mother called out, waving and smiling. Kagome walked over and introduced her mother to the small kitsune, and the kitsune immediately bombarded Nodoka with as many questions as she had Kagome.

As it happened, Nodoka stayed with them during archery practice, helping Kagome string the bows and set up the targets.

When they finally began to practice, Houka sent more arrows into the side of the temple than she did into the target.

Kagome bypassed the temple completely.

And Nodoka hit within the bull's eye every time.

It was only a few hours later when Kagome felt the tell tale pulse of youki that heralded a youkai's presence. She turned, surprised to see Araki walking up the stairs and towards them, waving with a grin on his face. Houka dropped her bow, the wood clattering on the ground, and launched herself at her father.

"How's my spitfire doing?" He asked, picking her up and hugging her, not putting her down after as he walked over to them.

"Kagome-sama is awful at archery," Houka confided in the sort of innocent, loud whisper only children could manage.

"I haven't practiced in a few years," Kagome hedged, blushing but smiling nonetheless.

"I can see," Araki said, staring at the side of the temple and the ground around it, littered with arrows. Kagome had just managed to hit the targets themselves a few times, mostly sending arrows beyond them into the dirt or, in one special case, onto the roof of the temple that had been behind them.

"Papa, can you fix it?" Houka asked.

"Don't see why I couldn't," Araki said, walking over to where several arrows stuck out of the temple. Kagome and her mother watched, perplexed, as he began pulling arrows, one by one, from the wood, Houka grinning and trying to help.

When all of the arrows were in a haphazard pile, Araki smoothed his hand over the surface of wall, eyes closing.

Kagome watched as small dings and nicks caused by the arrows and nature begin to disappear, his hand sweeping over them and when the spot was visible, the wood was smooth and unmarred.

"That's," Kagome murmured, eyes widening.

"An exceptionally handy skill for a carpenter to have," Araki chuckled as he stepped away and gave the wall a once over. Nodding firmly, apparently satisfied, he walked back over to Kagome and her mother, who were regarding him through wide, curious eyes.

"Papa is the best carpenter in the world," Houka said firmly.

"Doubt that, but I'm a fair hand," Araki demurred.

"Papa, we want ice cream," Houka declared.

"I think that can be managed," Araki laughed, a booming laughing that started deep in his chest, drawing laughter from Kagome and her mother. It was an infectious sound, one that drew them in and gave no option but to be happy.

–

Kagome walked in, tired and more sore than she had thought she would be, but she was happy. Araki had dropped her off at the building, Houka making sure to extract the promise for another practice session soon. Nodoka had been charmed by the carpenter, and Kagome couldn't help but find happiness in the day despite aches flaring up as her body, woefully out of shape, protested the exercises she had put it through in the afternoon.

The first thing she noticed when she walked in was that the cabinets had been hung and the appliances installed. The kitchen looked brand new, different than it had before. The cabinets weren't as deep as the others had been, but were darker. The cherry gleamed, a high polish reflecting almost as much as the stainless steel appliances.

The next thing she noticed was that Sesshoumaru was leaning against one, a thoughtful expression on his face, and a wineglass in his hand. He said nothing, didn't even acknowledge her. She wondered if he noticed her presence at all. He seemed distracted, withdrawn.

"They look nice," She finally said, to break the silence. He started, eyes widening when they landed on her. Equally surprised, Kagome didn't comment on his lack of attention, choosing instead to sit her purse on the small entrance table and walk to the fridge.

It had been fully stocked, and she grabbed a bottle of water, intent on getting back to her room.

"Did you have fun today?"

"I did."

"How does Araki's daughter fare with a bow?"

"She's better than me," Kagome snorted, opening the bottle and wondering if perhaps the chilly courtesy of the day before was, as she hoped, a passing mood. "I haven't practiced in years. Mom is better than us both though," She added wryly.

Sesshoumaru nodded quietly, eyes back on the cabinet across from him. Kagome could feel him withdrawing.

"Sesshoumaru?" She asked quietly, hoping to pull him back from that distant place. He didn't look at her, but she could see that he heard, his brows knitting together. It was the only movement he made, the only sign that he was thinking about something that either perplexed or frustrated him, possibly both.

"Fate is decided by coin tosses long before we come to the impasse, it's the natural order of things," He finally said.

"I've never had much time for fate," Kagome told him, not understanding why he would say such a thing, especially given his own views on predestination.

"There are always things beyond our control."

"We can always choose how we work with them, or to fight against them," Kagome pointed out, growing even more confused. Sesshoumaru only nodded, turning and pouring the rest of the wine into the sink and setting the wineglass into it before walking past her. Wordlessly he walked upstairs and to his room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Kagome wondered if he wanted her for a roommate anymore, or if he was regretting offering her a ride months before, calling attention to the fake sword she had been waving around.