Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this long-awaited update... especially for the one who is making do. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess.
Author's Note (March 2021): THANK YOU for your patience. Unexpected has been gently revised and updated. I tried not to change too much. Just smooth things out a bit. Expect new chapters each month. Upcoming dates can be found on my KO – FI account, where I'll be goofing off in fandom ways (usually) on the fourth Saturday of every month. And as always, you can find me at ForthWrites dot com.
Double Purple
Late February...
Shippo escorted Kagome on a supply gathering mission that included a side trip to the little girls' room.
"Do you have any extra clothes here?" he asked, gesturing toward the administrative wing.
Though she was hugging herself in the relative chill of the hallway, she brightened. "A sweater."
"I can contribute warmer socks. And we could snag blankets and pillows from the nurse's office."
Kagome set a brisk pace, but her steps faltered when she spotted one of the big wall clocks. "Is that the right time?"
"Might be." Shippo winked. "Maybe I changed all the clocks to mess with you."
Telling time was next to impossible in a blizzard, let alone a basement. But at the first exterior window, she was able to confirm that it wasn't just storm-dim. It was dark.
"It's five in the morning?"
"Yep."
She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept right around the clock. Sixteen hours, more or less. And all of it spent in Inuyasha's arms.
Shippo's gaze was kind. "You must have been pretty worn out to sleep so long."
"I suppose." She'd been too keyed up to sleep because she'd been excited about corn dog day and a second date. Not that she was admitting that to Shippo. He probably already suspects.
"Sleep. It's the best way to start a mini-vacation," he offered, squinting into the gloom.
"Is that what we're calling this?"
"Why not?" Shippo favored her with a smile. "How did you put it? 'This will be as fun as we make it, so let's do our best.'"
Kagome planned to, and she set a brisk pace. "Can I bring my coffee pot to the party?"
"Cinch."
"And… can we raid the kitchen for a few extras?" The corndogs had taken the edge off, but she was still hungry.
"I like the way you think!" Shippo clapped his hands, rubbing them together. "Today was supposed to be pizza day, and I know where Gert keeps the brownie mix."
Kagome didn't want to miss out on the foraging, so she begged, "Wait for me? I want to make a quick call."
"At five in the morning?"
She laughed. "My brother's a farmer. He's been up since four."
Shippo grinned. "I'll just check on a couple of things quick, then meet you in front of your office."
They parted ways, and she placed her call, making a mental note to grab the phone charger from her desk. Her brother picked up almost immediately.
"Hey, Sis. According to the radio, you gave yourself the day off. Shouldn't you be sleeping in?"
Kagome laughed. "I did, I promise."
"Trouble?"
"None," she quickly assured. "Listen. You don't have to tell Mom or Grandpa, but I wanted someone to know where I am."
It took a while to explain how she'd wound up at the school.
Souta was laughing. Not so much at her as with her. "All thanks to Mr. Whiskers."
"The rascal. So we're here for the duration," she finished.
"That's probably another whole day. Maybe two. You sure you're okay?"
Kagome said, "We have food and running water, and it's not as if we've lost power."
"Could happen," he warned.
"I think the guys are prepared for any eventuality."
"Survival mode, huh?" Her brother's tone took on a teasing note. "Can you get along without your beloved bathtub?"
"I'll admit, it's difficult to wash properly in a lavatory sink. Once the skies and roads are clear, I'll be taking a long, hot bath."
There was a bit of rustling on the other end, and Souta said, "Hang on. Oh. Miroku-sensei wants to know if Shippo's right there."
"We're meeting up in a minute. Did he want me to pass along a message?"
Another pause, and Souta said, "No need. He says he'll place his own call."
"Miroku's with you?"
"Sensei's helping me make sure the animals are comfy. We were insulating hives all day yesterday, getting ready. We'll make a farmhand out of him yet!"
She laughed, and they traded promises to stay safe and keep warm.
Hurrying along the hall, Kagome tried to shake the idea that she was forgetting something. It was as if she'd become detached from everything that was normally important. The date and day of the week. Meetings and their agendas. She was at work. With no work to do.
But she was with a good friend and the man she loved.
Kagome only felt a tiny bit guilty for making plans to play.
"This will be as fun as we make it," she promised herself.
When she reached the administrative wing, Shippo was already there. And talking on the phone. Miroku must have been on the other end, since the redhead was chatting in Japanese. With a wave, she slipped past him into her office.
Coffee pot. Phone charger. What else?
Kagome located the bulky sweater that she usually only used on weekends, since it wasn't particularly flattering. The lumpy, bumpy knit was stretched and soft, and she'd always loved the color, a muted red that had pinkish tendencies.
Pulling it over her head, she located a comb and tidied up her hair. Twisting and piling, she put it up, but only found two bobby pins in her desk drawer. Improvising, she added a couple of number two pencils. Applying lip balm and popping a breath mint, she added both items to her pockets before loading her arms and hurrying to rejoin Shippo.
He was coming along the hall, rolling a cart from the AV closet. Only instead of a big screen TV, it was loaded with a microwave and toaster oven. "I raided the faculty lounge!"
"Good thinking." She added her coffee making accoutrement to their pile. "To the kitchen?"
"To the kitchen!" he agreed, puttering along like a shopper with his cart.
"Was that Miroku? On the phone?" she asked.
"Yep!"
Kagome ventured, "Have you been to Japan?"
Shippo searched her face, then smiled softly. "I have. Long while back, though. What about you?"
"No. Not even close. My great-grandparents immigrated, and they wanted to become true Americans. Grandpa will sometimes share something from his childhood, but we don't really have any overseas connections." She shrugged. "I never learned the language, and I know next to nothing about customs. And things like your Halloween costume."
His eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"
"It was some kind of fox spirit, right? I forget the name. Miroku told me."
"When was this?"
"Mmm, right after the holidays. He saw the picture we'd taken at Halloween. It's on my fridge."
"So that's how it was." Shippo laughed softly and said, "He would know, wouldn't he?"
"He was right, then?"
Shippo's expression gentled. "Sure, Kagome. What you saw that day was a kitsune."
"And … Inuyasha?"
"Oooh, I don't know. He's a bit of a mash-up, honestly. Not one thing or another. But he makes it work."
She could only admit, "He does."
Inuyasha had just about finished rigging a light when Kagome and Shippo returned with half-pint milk cartons and several items from Kagome's credenza, including a bowl of apples. The edible sort.
"So that's where that table scarpered off to!" Shippo exclaimed, peering up at him.
Inuyasha had lifted one of the square café tables from the lounge, along with three chairs. Rigging an overhead light was taking slightly longer, but Kagome couldn't see like they could. This would be better for her.
"What a good idea!" Kagome exclaimed, all smiles.
The approval in her tone made Inuyasha's chest swell. He barely smothered the rumble that wanted to answer, and the unexpected strength of the urge flustered him enough that he looked to Shippo for help.
A small headshake.
A crooked smile.
Both promised him that Shippo was on alert for small slipups. He could camouflage sights, sounds, and smells. Everything would be fine. Now that he thought about it, Inuyasha suspected that Shippo was playing both sides, keeping some of Kagome's scent from him.
He wasn't sure he liked that. He wanted to breath so deeply, he became drunk.
Which could weaken his resolve in dangerous ways.
Guess his bag of tricks is keeping me out of trouble. Again.
Kagome was pushing up the sleeves of a bulky sweater. "It's so much warmer in here. And it's much homier with a table and chairs."
She was pleased.
She was at home.
Inuyasha had to look away, had to swallow hard. It would be so easy to ….
Shippo snapped his fingers. "I think it's high time someone explained the house rules to Candyland."
Kagome began setting up the board as she ran through the adapted gameplay.
Dropping to the floor, Inuyasha propped his stepladder in the corner and dropped into one of the chairs, claiming the yellow playing piece for himself. Kagome took red.
While Shippo's hand hovered between the remaining options, he considered them with an air of amusement. "You really did play Candyland on your first date?"
Kagome glanced his way. "You didn't tell him?"
He could only shrug. It was probably silly, keeping every detail secret.
"He only said he had a nice time," interjected Shippo. "You don't have to tell me anything."
With a laugh, Kagome said, "Games are for sharing."
"You'll like her version," Inuyasha promised. "It's tricky because the rules keep changing."
"Tricky, huh?" Shippo palmed the green playing piece and propped his chin on his palm. "My favorite!"
The game began tamely enough. Single colored cards. Slow progress.
But then Kagome drew a double yellow and eyed them speculatively. "Do you know any of the hand clapping games the children play during recess?"
Shippo bounced to his feet and beckoned for Inuyasha to join him.
Their first rendition of "Say, Say, Oh Playmate" was merely a warmup. Successive rounds gained speed until Kagome burst into applause and laughter.
Inuyasha pulled a double green and eyed Shippo's lead. For the next three turns, he'd have to move his piece backward instead of forward.
After that, Shippo and Kagome seemed to be dueling for the most creative challenges. They were all harmless things.
Tongue twisters. Quoting the alphabet backward. A jump rope contest.
After hearing about Souta's favorite penalty, Shippo made them move into the hallway upstairs in order for Kagome to demonstrate her cartwheeling prowess.
When Inuyasha drew double blue, he required a limerick from each of them.
They had to draw Shishi from memory. Reveal favorite things. Give their date of birth.
Kagome's was coming up in April.
And then Kagome drew double orange and pointed to Shippo. "Show me what's in your pocket."
"Hoping for one ring to rule them all?" he quipped.
She laughed and explained, "I stole all of Inuyasha's paperclips last time."
With a waggle of eyebrows, Shippo produced a sprig of mistletoe.
"Where did you get that?" gasped Kagome.
"My pocket."
Inuyasha knew his friend was up to something. He was always up to something. So when Shippo took his turn next and tapped the top card of the deck, it wasn't exactly a surprise when he flipped it, revealing double purple.
Tossing the mistletoe to Kagome, Shippo cheerfully ordered, "Put that to good use."
Inuyasha fidgeted. "That's hardly a penalty."
"We can't argue." Kagome smiled. "Rules are rules."
Standing and stretching, Shippo moved to leave. He paused on the bottom step and pointed to Inuyasha. "You make sure she follows through. I'll go borrow a box or two of frozen pizza slices. Won't take me long."
He shot up the steps two at a time and let the door clang shut behind him.
Inuyasha fidgeted some more. "Look, you don't have to, just because he…."
"Stand up."
With a blink, he clammed up and complied. Her arms slid around his waist, and it was impossible not to pull her closer.
Up on tiptoe, she repeated, "Rules are rules."
Mistletoe might be out of season, but kisses weren't.
She'd stolen a dozen before he could react.
Maybe he was just an idiot. Or maybe she was just what he needed. Because Inuyasha found out that kisses could be small and playful. And with Kagome it was safe to be affectionate. She liked to be held and touched, and it didn't need to turn into some grand seduction.
"I love you," he said, even though she knew.
It seemed worth repeating since there were more reasons, now.
Her smile and her scent were clear and bright, like she was happy just to be together.
Inuyasha could hardly believe his good fortune. "How'd this even happen?"
"You don't know?"
He shook his head.
"Well, I haven't a clue how he managed the mistletoe, but I do know that he's had that double purple up his sleeve since his second turn."
Used to Shippo's sleights of hand, Inuyasha had been keeping a pretty close eye on his best friend's draws. "Huh. How'd he manage that?"
Though her tone was solemn, Kagome's eyes sparkled with triumph. "I passed it to him under the table."
End Note: Posted on March 27, 2021. 2,162 words. Thanks to everyone who dropped by my KO – FI account today. I enjoyed hanging out. See you next month!