Chap 5 Celebrating Suzy
Inuyasha couldn't stop smiling.
The inuhanyou prince beamed as he glanced at all the faces around his dining room table. They no longer lived at the castle in Japan where he actually had a seat of honor. They had long since moved to Canada and resided in a large but simple home. No one called him "my Prince" any more (except Sesshomaru behind their bedroom door). But today he felt like a king!
Today they celebrated.
Quietly he sat at his place to the right of Sesshomaru. He smiled as he watched his children talk and laugh at each other's tales.
Sesshomaru turned and watched his mate as Inuyasha smiled at their children. Curious to what held his spouse's attention, Sesshomaru turned to regard their prodigy. On his left, Kenichi was talking with Yuki. Between them was Kyo. To Yuki's left Bobby sat next to Barbie. Suzy and Rin were between Bobby and Inuyasha. The table was set for nine but could easily be expanded for the twelve of them. The children sat at the table in their birth order. Birth order had been important earlier in the children's lives but since Keiko's and Steven's mating, it had become a bit more flexible. The twins took advantage of that and often swapped places.
Kenichi, their first born son, was visiting. In order to be closer to them, Kenichi had secured an appointment as a visiting professor at the British Columbia University. Typically visiting professors' appointments were for one year at the most. But Kenichi was an excellent professor. The students clamored for his courses and the alumni pledged more money when they heard he was there. Therefore, the term length had not been set. Both Tokyo University and British Columbia University besought his presence on their faculties and both were bending over backwards to please him. Tokyo University was afraid they would lose him if they didn't allow him the flexibility to visit Canada. British Columbia University was trying to woo him to stay there permanently. Kenichi was enjoying himself. His teaching assignment had not yet started so he was enjoying some time with the family, reconnecting with his younger siblings and reminiscing with his birther and sire.
Kenichi was listening to Yuki who was telling of a particularly challenging landing on a runway at a mountain resort. It appeared that the mountainous area could not be leveled perfectly and there was a slight bump in the middle of the airstrip. All pilots knew of it but it always required extra thought when landing. Yuki was telling the tale with a little extra flare as well as hand motions and that made it even more entertaining.
Kyo was sandwiched between Kenichi and Yuki absorbed in his sister's tale. The beta male was quietly observing his two alpha siblings. He had heard this tale multiple times before but enjoyed hearing it every time. His sister never ceased to amaze him. He found her fascinating. As he watched her, Sesshomaru could see the adoration in Kyo's eyes. Sesshomaru gave a slight shake of his head. 'Yuki is blind. Everyone else can see Kyo's devotion and love. Silly girl.'
Sesshomaru continued to study his children. To the left of Yuki, at the far end of the table Barbie and Bobby were leaning as they listened to Suzy. They were moving at the same time, heads nodding in agreement, bodies leaned just a bit to the left, pointed attentively to their little sister. Neither had said a word all night. Suzy had been talking non stop since he had arrived from work. Sesshomaru pondered that point as he unintentionally rubbed his mating mark. 'I suppose she had been talking since she got home from school.'
Inuyasha turned his attention to his brother.
"You are correct."
A minuscular startle escaped Sesshomaru before he could stop it. It was only seen by Inuyasha though.
"Correct?" Sesshomaru queried.
Inuyasha's smile increased with a fang showing. "Look at your hand, Koi," then he pointed to the tattle-tale hand rubbing Sesshomaru's shoulder. "You need a massage. I'll talk care of you tonight. Meanwhile let's enjoy the moment." He grabbed Sesshomaru's hand under the table and squeezed it.
Sesshomaru nodded his agreement and squeezed Inuyasha's hand in turn.
"What brought about this feast?" He used a large elegant sweeping gesture with his left hand to point to the spread on the table.
"Suzy's first day of school," came the simple reply. Inuyasha was staring down the table to Suzy's location.
"Hnnn?" Sesshomaru tilted his head to the left and adopted a curious expression.
Coincidently, Dolly, who was seated on the floor near her master, adopted the same expression.
The identical actions didn't miss Inuyasha's attention. He laughed.
"Your dog loves you."
Sesshomaru reached his left arm down and scratched Dolly behind the ears. The dog and her master shared a tender look and then Sesshomaru returned his attention to his mate.
"She loves me in her own way. But you haven't answered my question yet, my adorable hanyou."
Blushing slightly, Inuyasha glanced around the table and then back in to his mate's eyes.
"Suzy had been very anxious about school starting, Sesshomaru. While you've been at work, she's been clingy, needy, and a bit challenging. The other children were excited about going to school but she's been very nervous about meeting new children and leaving my side especially after Rin was born. We knew we would have to deal with some sibling rivalry but she's our first to be worried about school.
Sesshomaru nodded. "That is true, Inuyasha. Bobby and Barbie went to school long enough ago that they had individualized teaching. Keiko, Kenichi, Ryuu, Steven, Yuki and Kyo were all trained by castle staff.
"And Uncle Jaken," Kenichi added.
Sesshomaru's and Inuyasha's heads turned toward their oldest son.
"Sorry to butt in on your conversation, Father, Dad, but the three of us were curious too. What's this feast about?" The three older Takahashi children's expressions were relaxed and affable.
"A celebration of your sister's first day of school," Inuyasha replied simply. "Suzy is often over looked now that's she's not the "baby" anymore. She needed some positive reinforcement to celebrate her first day of school. As I was about to tell your father, she had worked herself into a mess about whether the other kids would like her and whether they would play with her or not. She was even worried about leaving Rin and I alone here at the house. So, I promised that I would make her favorite foods to celebrate her first day of school. We've been planning this meal for a few days." Inuyasha smiled as he looked over the many dishes of food on the table.
"But Dad, those Japanese sweet potatoes are my favorite," Yuki pointed to the bowl in front of her.
"Yes, they are," Inuyasha responded as he looked directly at Yuki.
The others looked at the potatoes and then carefully looked at the rest of the dishes.
Kyo pointed. "I love gyoza!"
"Yes, I know," Inuyasha moved his gaze to Kyo.
Kenichi saw Kyo's finger point and then glanced next to it. "And, I enjoy fried rice with daikon chunks."
"Uh huh." Inuyasha nodded as he looked directly at each of his children.
A bowl of ramen sat in front of the hanyou.
The other dishes on the table were favorites of Bobby, Barbie and Suzy.
Sesshomaru took it all in. He smiled. He knew what dessert was going to be.
"Go ahead, Inuyasha, tell us. I can tell you are dying to." Sesshomaru winked as he looked at his mate.
Inuyasha looked like he was going to pop the buttons off his shirt.
"I'm so proud of Suzy. She selected all of your favorite dishes. She understood the party was for her but she wanted to show you how much she loves and respects you. There's not a selfish bone in her little body."
Kenichi's eyes opened wide.
Yuki dropped her spoon.
Kyo just smiled.
Inuyasha's face hurt because of how hard he had been smiling, but he smiled even larger as he drew all their attention to the cute, curly haired preschooler at the middle of the right side of the family table. She was bouncing in her chair telling Bobby and Barbie every last detail of her first day of school.
"And then the crayon broke," she was saying.
Clearing his voice, Kenichi interrupted her. "Back up a little, Suzy. I missed the first part."
Suzy turned to her oldest brother and beamed. She started that part of the story over again this time with all eyes on her.
When the tale was finished, Inuyasha asked Suzy to help him with dessert. Suzy radiated joy as she bounced out of her chair, but not before looking at her father with a big smile.
"You're going to love this, Father!" Suzy sang out.
"I'm sure I will, my graceful lily," Sesshomaru purred.
Shortly nine bowls of homemade ice cream were served, starting with her father. That bowl was delivered with a hug and a kiss. As she delivered the remaining bowls she was praised and congratulated for her first day of school by all her siblings.
When Rin got her bowl she used her hands to eat the ice cream. Dolly rushed over to her side for any scraps that made it to the floor.
"Suzy, Congratulations again. I'm super proud of you. Thank you for the sweet potatoes. They are my favorite. Dad, Thanks for the great meal. Barbie, Bobby, Kyo, Kenichi, and I can do the dishes and the clean-up. You and Father can take care of Suzy and Rin." Yuki offered.
Suzy smiled at the recognition from her big sister.
"Thank you, Yuki," Inuyasha smiled. 'There was hope for that girl.'
Sesshomaru rose and walked to his youngest daughters. Rin had managed to get ice cream on everything.
Suzy threw herself in her daddy's arms.
"Did I do good, Daddy?" she whispered in his ear.
"Brilliant, my little lily. Come let's take a bath with Rin and get ready for bed time."
"But I'm not sleepy," Suzy countered.
"I know. But if you go to sleep you can be ready for school tomorrow. Didn't you say you were going to make slime?" Inuyasha patted her curls as he hugged her to his side.
Suzy pondered this quietly for a less than a second. "Okay," she nodded happily, curls bouncing.
The two parents rolled up their sleeves as they entered the bath. Stripping the soiled clothing and washing down the girls was easily accomplished. Soon they were playing with boats and ducks in the tub while watching the two girls assuring their safety. The water was warm. The room was moist. Suzy's curls became even curlier. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru kept their voices low and soft and before long Suzy's continuous story telling slowed and stuttered. Inuyasha smiled. Suzy was covering a yawn.
"What do you say we get you out of there before you turn into a kappa?"
Suzy's eyes opened wide. "Like Uncle Jaken?!" She scrambled to the edge of the tub and lifted her arms to be pulled out of the water. "Hurry, Daddy! I don't want to be a kappa."
Sesshomaru smirked. "Daddy's teasing, Suzy. You will always by my sweet lily," his baritone voice soft and reassuring.
Inuyasha was wrapping her in a big thick towel. He hugged her tightly. "I'm just a teaser, Suzy. Father's right. You will always be our sweet lily. Good job today. Let's get you in some clean pajamas and tucked into bed.
No response came from the preschooler.
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru looked at her. She was sound asleep, wrapped in the fluffy towel, and safe in her Daddy's arms. The two men exchanged smiles. Then they walked to the girls' respective rooms. Once the girls were dressed and tucked in, complete with good night kisses on their foreheads, the parents found their older children lounging in the recreation room.
"Thanks for the great dinner, Dad," Kenichi said as he looked up from his game controller.
"Pay attention to the game, Man! You're going to get us killed," Bobby quipped. "And Dad, thanks for the heads up. Barbie and I followed her every word. Man, she can't tell a story yet."
Yuki's laugh sounded like a bark. "That's rich! You were the worse story teller when you were that age!"
Kenichi laughed, "So were you, Yuki. I was too I imagine."
Sesshomaru smiled at his oldest son. "Kenichi, I remember you telling me a bed time story. It may not have been perfect in sentence structure but the emotion and actions you added made it perfect." He patted his son on the head as he walked by to pick up a spare controller.
Kenichi turned bright red.
Bobby groaned. "Kenichi! You just got us all killed!" He flopped back into the sofa.
Sesshomaru spoke up.
"Good, 'cause I'm ready to show you how it's done! Kyo, bring up a new mission. I'll take point. Let's talk strategy."
Kenichi leaned forward to hear what his father was saying about making a sneak attack. Bobby was putting in his opinions. Kyo watched in fascination. When he was Bobby's age he would have never interrupted Father. Yuki and he never got away with anything, but Bobby and Barbie – wow—that was another story.
Inuyasha took a look around the room. Yuki and Barbie were playing a board game on the floor to the right of the TV. Kyo, Kenichi, Bobby, and Sesshomaru were now in full battle mode playing a video game on the big screen TV. Inuyasha smiled as Sesshomaru raucously praised his team for a particularly smooth invasion and conquest of an enemy's territory.
'I love my family! I'm the luckiest happiest man in the planet!'
Inuyasha stood there watching for a while and then suddenly got inspired and walked out of the recreation room. He entered Sesshomaru and his home office, pulled out the spare game controllers and texted Yuki.
"Don't tell the boys. Grab Barbie and come to the office."
Yuki passed the text to Barbie and they walked out of the recreation room and down the hall to the office.
"What's up Dad?" Barbie asked.
"How would you like to battle with me against your Father and his team?" The inuhanyou smiled mischievously.
A chuckle escaped Yuki and she quickly covered her mouth.
"It's on!" Barbie grabbed a controller and sat down.
It was decided that the goal was just to interrupt the boys and cause as much mayhem as possible rather than actually try to beat them because Yuki didn't know the game. The threesome logged on and found Sesshomaru's team.
Inuyasha's team ran into Sesshomaru's team. Literally.
They shot them.
They dropped things on them.
They sabotaged them.
Basically they wreaked havoc.
In the office Inuyasha's team laughed loudly.
Meanwhile in the recreation room Sesshomaru took all the actions against his team in stride at first. However, it didn't take long before his competitive streak took control and he started growling and barking at the game. Kenichi, Kyo, and Bobby were taken aback. They had never seen their Father lose his cool-Dad, yes, but not Father.
The identity of the competing team remained a mystery until Yuki's character did a Yuki signature move. Kyo was the first to figure it. Speaking softly and respectively Kyo caught his Father's attention.
"Father, I know only one person who can make you lose your cool."
A silent pause hung in the air as Sesshomaru's mind processed the comment. A second later,
I-N-U-Y-A-S-H-A!
The hanyou waltzed into the recreation room.
"You barked?" A mischievous smile adorned his face.
"You're in so much trouble!" Sesshomaru dropped his controller gently on the sofa as he stood and stalked over to his mate.
Inuyasha laughed and ran.
The chase was on.
Naturally it ended in the master bedroom with tattered clothing raining down around two passionate lovers.
Xoxoxoxox
As they basked in the afterglow, Sesshomaru gave Inuyasha another kiss.
"Inuyasha, I'm so grateful to you for recognizing Suzy needed some reassurance. Thank you for making tonight a celebration of Suzy. Thank you for everything."
A long fervent kiss followed and the lovers continued their affections until late into the night.
