Of Youkai and Old Men
Summary: A story of the age-old rivalry over the girl.
AN: Setsubun generally always precedes Lunar New Year, but for the sake of comedy, I've switched them around.
Hiei glared at the house standing awkwardly to one side of the shrine grounds. More specifically, he glared at the old man who resided in the house, surely gloating to himself at this very moment, like a wily old dragon protecting his treasure from outside eyes.
The old man had hated Hiei at first sight. For once, Hiei had taken the high ground, if only for Kagome's sake. He had kept an open mind.
He hadn't hated the old man until the fool had gone and pasted an ofuda on his forehead, not five seconds after Hiei had entered his line of sight. Kagome called him "traditional". Hiei knew better than to tell her what he thought.
And thus the rivalry began between Kagome's grandfather, the priest, and her boyfriend, the youkai, with Kagome constantly trying to act as referee between the two, and her mother and brother acting as the cheering crowd—and, occasionally, hecklers.
So far, even with his rival plotting against him with everything from ofuda plastered over the entire shrine complex (forcing Kagome to stay home to remove them all) to faking his near-death (forcing Kagome to remain home for the time it took her to diagnose him), Hiei had remained smug because, despite all diversions, with the ultimate prize of their rivalry, Kagome, on his side, how could he lose?
That was his general impression up until a couple weeks ago when Kagome explained that her adorably "traditional" grandfather had decided that they should adhere to the strictest guidelines of Lunar New Year. Then she had gone on to explain that this meant he would not be allowed to visit for two weeks.
He had underestimated his opponent.
Just because he couldn't speak to her didn't mean he couldn't visit the shrine, at a discrete distance, of course. He wasn't about to give the old man a reason to gloat, or attack.
And so he watched as the entire family cleaned every inch of the house, and then the rest of the shrine grounds. Watched as they exchanged gifts and envelopes, and prayed to the gods. Smelled the aroma of the delicious home-cooked meals that Kagome would usually make for him; but not now.
He had waited patiently, but today was the sixteenth day. The old man couldn't hold his granddaughter captive much longer. Just one final bit of pointless ritual before Kagome was his again. He stood this afternoon not on his usual perch hidden in the branches and leaves of the Goshinboku, but instead on the torii at the top of the stairs, upwind of the scent of the rotting sardines that hung from every structure on the complex. It was no wonder the tradition began; the smell must have been bad enough for humans, so of course it would keep youkai away. Together with the sound of drums blasting from the speakers in the center of the shrine, Hiei normally would have had no problem leaving the shrine and its crazy inhabitant alone. But today, that would be accepting defeat.
He nearly sighed in relief when he saw movement near the doors. Her mother and brother opened the kitchen door, and Kagome and her grandfather opened the front door, facing him. Reaching into baskets at their sides, each pair reached in and threw handfuls of beans outside, shouting, "Oni wa Soto! Fuku wa uchi!" The old man was throwing them especially far, in Hiei's direction.
He snorted. "Ogre be gone" his ass.
Baskets emptied, the family bent down to begin picking up the beans. Kagome had said they were to eat the same number as their age to ensure good luck. In the back of the house, their usual audience was hurrying; neither wanted to miss the show. Not that they could, in Hiei's opinion. Even as they were jogging to the front of the house, the old man was putting on a show of age, bending down slowly to pick up each bean, one by one. When Kagome offered to help him, he brushed her off, insisting that he do it himself, else his good luck disappeared.
If he doesn't hurry up, his good luck will disappear regardless.
On the sidelines, Souta was full-out laughing and their mother was hiding a smile behind her hand. Hiei wondered what they did for entertainment before he came along.
It felt like an eternity as the old man counted, but he could finally see the light at the end, just as he was beginning to realize that it was in fact possible for his eyes to begin to ache from glaring. "Eighty-four…eighty-five…eighty-si—oops, I dropped it!"
Annoyed, and wanting nothing more than this farce to end, Hiei dropped down, snatched the bean from the ground and dropped it into the old man's hand. It took his rival just a split second—much faster than he could ever have expected—to acknowledge this and formulate a plan.
"Ah!" He jerked, spilling all the beans, forcing the mother muffle her laughter. "You scared me! Now, I'll have to start all over again." The only part that was off about the act was the ring of delight in his voice.
Fed up, and not caring what Kagome thought at this point, Hiei, using the speed he was known for, picked up the eighty-six beans in one hand, then reached out his other to grasp the old man's clenched fist. He leaned in menacingly. "If you don't take these, old man, and yield quietly, no amount of beans or rotting fish heads will save you from my wrath."
The stubborn family patriarch returned the glare for just a second before reluctantly opening his hand. Hiei deposited the beans there and let go, allowing the man to retreat with some of his dignity intact.
With him out of the way, Kagome rushed up to Hiei and, instead of his cheek being met with her hand in one of the slaps she was so good at to punish him for a threat to a member of her family—granted, the most annoying one—it was met with her lips.
She stepped back, smiling. "You're so sweet when you're jealous." She took his hand when he remained quiet, still not quite sure how to respond. "Now come on, I'm craving a burger. I really need something I can sink my teeth into." He allowed her to pull him along for a few steps before smirking and lifting her up, taking them away from the shrine at a speed only he could reach.
Souta looked on, watching his sister and his favorite source of entertainment race away like their lives depended on it…or maybe just their sanity. He turned to the source of their frayed nerves, just inside the house, arms crossed and still glaring into the distance, very unlike the delighted demeanor he'd taken on for the Lunar New Year celebrations he'd suddenly decided they needed to observe in full.
"Come on, gramps. They're already mated, it's not like you can prevent them from getting married or anything," he joked. His cell phone rang and he left to finally see his friends, so he missed the gleam that appeared in his grandfather's eyes at his comment.
But Mrs. Higurashi didn't.
Hmm…I wonder what sake we should have at the wedding…and of course Kagome and I will need to go shopping once she wears father down…And I wonder if Hiei has anything else to wear? So much to do! She looked over at her father, noting the calculating look in his eyes and his slight smirk. But at least I'll have quite a long time to work on it.