Pancake Madness and other stories by Hairann

Winter's Gift

Winter's Gift

Author: Hairann

Theme: The Ultimate Fanfic Tournament Challenge!

Final Round: Snow

Opponent: Creature of Shadow

Genre: Comedy

AU/CU: AU

Rating: K

Warnings: May cause cavities. This is not connected to Pancake Madness or Summertime fun or Nature's Magic Eight Ball, simply another story with them as children.

Word Count: 2310

Summary: She had waited long enough, now all Kagome wanted to do was go outside.

Challenge Link: http://www.dokuga.com/forum/29-challenges/46246-the-ultimate-fanfic-tournament-challenge?limit=25

Note: Don't forget to read both, mine and Shadow's one-shots, and send Tangerine Dream your vote for your favorite :).

 ...

It was barely seven in the morning when what sounded like a pair of thundering hooves came barreling down the stairs; their owner unlikely aware that it was too early for so much noise and even if they did, it was doubtful they would care. There were far more important things going on and said owner intended to be a part of them.

But as the owner continued down the stairs, trying in vain to put on their pants without having to stop, the soft, but authoritative voice of their mother called out, “Kagome do not even think about it. You get your butt to the table this instant.” Knowing her daughter as well as she did, it was not hard for her to figure out just what she was planning to do; skip breakfast so she could be outside that much faster.

“But momma...,” the young girl began as she stepped into the kitchen where her mother was waiting, one leg inside her over pants, the other still outside showing the small, pink cupcakes that adorned the pajamas her mother had bought her for Christmas the week before. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes at her daughter's impatience, she turned her attention back to her one-year-old son and handed him a piece of rolled omelet.

“No buts, Kagome. You haven't even changed out of your pajamas yet and you're trying to put on your stuff to go outside? I do not think so. You will sit there and eat your breakfast. Then you will go upstairs and get dressed and only after you are completely done, are you to come back down,” her mother instructed as she turned her no nonsense expression on her daughter, taking her eyes off of her son long enough for him to smush the omelet in his hand; giggling at the way the mashed food felt between his fingers.

Hearing the noise and turning back toward the sound, she decided to roll her eyes at her son as she picked up the towel she kept on the back of his high chair for such a reason and began wiping away the mess he had created. “Souta, you are supposed to eat your food, not play in it,” she reminded him, causing the toddler to laugh again; this time at her expense.

Grumbling about unfair mothers, Kagome took her seat and began pushing around the food on her plate with her chopsticks; her mind too focused on going outside to have much of an appetite. “You might as well start eating, Kagome. You are not going to be going outside until the plate is clean,” her mother warned without having to look to know what she was doing.

Annoyed, Kagome stuck out her tongue at her mother prompting the response, “I can see you Kagome. You forget that mother's have eyes in the back of their heads.” As Kagome searched her mother's head for literal eyes, the older woman found herself grateful that her daughter had yet to realize her reflection shown in the oven; sure the advantage would come in handy for many years as long as she did not notice it.

Giving up on ever finding the eyes, Kagome set her chopsticks aside and opted instead to use the spoon her mother had set out for her; usually used when she was unable to grasp the last few grains of rice. Wasting no time, Kagome began shoveling large spoonfuls into her mouth, barely giving herself time to chew before swallowing; earning herself another warning. “Chew your food correctly Kagome and take smaller bites. The outside world isn't going to go anywhere.”

Grumbling under her breath, Kagome did as she was told and began taking smaller bites; though she chewed them as few times as she did with the larger ones. But as she discreetly glanced up and realized her mother was too busy trying to feed her brother a spoonful of rice to notice her, she smiled at her small victory and grabbed up a couple of pickled veggies with her fingers, popping them into her mouth right before adding the spoon.

Once she was finished, she attacked her miso soup with the same gusto, practically drinking her soup before turning to gulp down her soy milk. “All done!” she informed her mother triumphantly, grabbing the woman's attention away from trying to feed Souta applesauce. Taking a quick glance over at her daughter, and smiling at the soy milk mustache she was sporting, she made sure enough food was missing for her to have eaten her share and nodded her head.

“You may go now, but wash your face and teeth and get dressed, then you can go play outside,” her mother insisted, watching as she nodded frantically before rushing off upstairs, one leg still outside of her over pants. Noticing for the first time that she had yet to take it off, the older woman chuckled to herself before turning her attention back to her son just in time to see him dump his bowl of applesauce on top of his head.

As she removed the bowl and went to begin mopping up the mess with the towel, she turned back to find he had already begun smushing it into his short, brown wisps of hair. Each handful of hair and applesauce made a rather fun squishing sound, causing the little boy to giggle with each one. “Oh you think that's funny, do you?” she inquired rhetorically as she shook her head at his antics and began wiping the smeared sauce off of his face and hands.

Wiping each hand in turn clean, she noticed the thundering feet coming down the stairs once more and glanced over to find her daughter making a beeline for the mudroom; already fully clothed in her outer wear. Giving her a quick once over to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, her mother called out in warning, “Stay close to the house. I should be able to see if you if I look out the window.”

“Yes momma,” the girl replied, barely even listening to her mother's words as she plopped down on the step leading into the mud room and began putting on and tying up her boots. “Bye!” she called out over her shoulder as she rushed outside without waiting for a response, causing her mother to chuckle at her antics before turning her attention back to her son; finding him doodling in the applesauce that was dropped onto his high chair tray.

“You know, Souta, insanity is hereditary,” she informed her son, not bothered by the fact he had no idea what his mother was talking about. “You get it from your kids,” she finished, laughing at her own joke while her son gave her a strange look as he tilted his head to the side. A brief moment of silence passed between them before he began giggling again; though she was not sure what had caused the reaction this time.

…

The moment Kagome stepped outside in the the brisk, cold morning air, she could already see her breath becoming visible in small puffs; causing her to giggle in her excitement. This year had been unseasonably warm and in fact, it wasn't until last night that the first flakes of snow had fallen; which is of course what had caught Kagome's attention and had her trying to rush outside half dressed at seven o'clock in the morning.

Winter was her favorite time of the year and this year, she had to wait extra long just to see the ground covered with a frozen white blanket. As she stood perfectly still, watching as a single flake drifted silently toward the tip of her nose, Kagome's eyes crossed as she followed its decent. The frozen drop of Winter caused her to shiver; though only half from the cold, the other was from delight.

A moment later and Kagome had plopped herself down in a mound of snow, kicking her feet into the pile and watching as millions of flurries flew in every direction; causing her laughter to rise in volume as they did. “It's snowing, it's snowing!” she cheered as she kicked her feet with more vigor, excitedly clapping her hands with each syllable.

“Easily amused much?” a soft, but firm voice called out in only a slightly mocking manner, and as Kagome glanced toward the sound, she found a boy only a few years older than her staring down at her from over the fence blocking her yard from the next door neighbor's. Confused, Kagome sat there blinking at him in silence for a few moments, causing him to raise an eyebrow at her in question.

“Why are you in neighbor-san's yard?” Kagome inquired as she glanced around for said neighbor before turning her umber eyes back to him when she had been unsuccessful in finding him. Instead of answering her right away, the young boy simply continued to stare at her in silence as if he were the one waiting for an answer.

“I do not know who this neighbor you speak of is, but it is likely he is the man that moved out. My family just moved here today,” he explained, gesturing toward the house behind him. Kagome's tinged blue lips, shinny from the strawberry flavored lip gloss she had gotten in her stocking, formed an 'o' shape as she stared up at him, her eyes becoming large as the information she received began to make sense in her mind.

“So that would make you the new neighbor-san,” Kagome decided, nodding her head as if her saying so had made it law before climbing to her feet and dusting the snow off of the back of her legs. Walking over to the edge of their property and standing on her tippy toes, Kagome held out her hand as she informed him, “I'm Kagome. Momma and Souta-chan are inside. He's my baby brother. Momma says you always have to be nice to your neighbors, especially when they are new.

“Do you want to come over and play? When it's time to go in, momma will have some nice, yummy hot coco waiting for me and I know she wouldn't mind making another cup for you too. It's really good, it has marshmallows in it and everything and momma always adds a bit of milk to mine to help it cool down faster. Does your momma do that? Where is your momma?” Kagome's questions came out far faster than the poor boy could keep up with forcing him to remain silent as he stared at her in shock.

When he didn't answer, Kagome glanced down at her hand still suspended in air, wondering if she had gotten something on her gloves and that's why he didn't want to touch her. Seeing nothing that might put him off, Kagome gestured her hand toward him once more and getting control of himself back, the boy shook her hand as she indicated. “My name is Sesshoumaru. It is a pleasure to meet you,” he informed her, his speech proper; each word pronounced perfectly.

“No need to speak so formally; we're just kids. If you aren't gonna speak informally when you are a kid, when are you?” Kagome asked rhetorically as she shook his hand enthusiastically while nodding her head to her own statement. “Come on over; we'll build snowmen,” Kagome informed him, leaving Sesshoumaru with little other option than to do as she said if he wanted to remain polite.

After a moment, he finally shrugged his shoulders and passed through the gate that led into her yard; finding her already beginning to roll the bottom ball into shape. “You know, Winter is the best time of the year,” Kagome began to explain when she noticed his presence and pulled his hand toward where she was working so he could help. “All the best things in my life happen when it snows.

“The day I was born, it was snowing, and it wasn't even the right time of the year. Momma says that the first time I walked, it was snowing. The first time I saw grandpa's shrine, it was snowing. It's a really fun place, you have to go there some time,” she insisted, continuing her explanation before he had the chance to say anything.

“The day my best friend-that's Sango by the way-moved down the street, it was snowing. The first time I lost a tooth and got a whole 500 yen coin for it, it was snowing. The day my baby brother was born, it was snowing. And now you. See every year when the snow comes it brings me a present and this year it was late.

“I was starting to wonder if I was even going to get one this year and then here you are. You're Winter's gift to me,” Kagome informed him sporting a toothy grin as they completed the first snow ball, the largest one of the three, and began working on the next biggest one. “You don't mind being my present, do you?” Kagome inquired after a few moments when she noticed the boy had remained silent even though he now had the chance to speak.

His only response was a shrug of his shoulders, but to Kagome, that was all the answer she needed and grinned from ear to ear as they set the second snow ball on top of the first and began working on the last one. Though they had only met a few minutes ago, Kagome could already tell they were going to be friends for a very long time.