Ok just to warn you since this was posted first on another website there is an interlude where I tease my readers for not reviewing. My pen name there is chaini. I could not take the interlude out because it would disrupt the flow of the story. Sorry if this causes any confusion.
Chapter 5: Powdered Sugar, Thumbprints and Kisses
“Kagome, is that you two?” Kagome heard her mother call from the kitchen when the two teens came through the door, accompanied by a rush of bitterly cold wind. Kagome blushed and dropped Inuyasha’s hand quickly. Her mother popped her head around the corner and took in the sight of the two snow covered teens who’s cheeks were a little redder then what would have been caused by the whipping winds. “You two are late. I thought we would have to stick the dough back into the fridge.”
Kagome’s blush deepened and she looked away. “Yeah, we lost track of time and then got caught in the snow.” Kagome paused, taking in the sweet aroma in the air. She frowned. “Mom, you started baking without us.” She stated accusingly.
“Well, I couldn’t wait all day for you two to come in from the snow now could I? Besides, we just started on Souta’s. Yours is sitting on the counter. I took it out of the fridge for you when you did not come in.” Kagome’s mother started forward when she saw Inuyasha struggling with his boots. “Two batches are already decorated and in the oven. Three more are sitting in on the counter to cool. With a dozen per batch, that makes sixty sugar cookies so far. I have Souta working on cutting three batches and I have two more already put on pans for you and Inuyasha to decorate. They are waiting on the table in there. After you are done with those you can roll some of your walnut balls and set them on the wax paper till the pans are free.”
“Man mom, you should run a bakery.” Kagome commented respectfully.
Her mother made a face. “Not likely. I have enough trouble with these cookies every year.” She replied as she leaned down to untie the knot in Inuyasha’s boot before the young man could cut it with his claws. “Besides, then I would have to rely on your brother to do all of the chores while I am gone. The day he does that is the day that he gets married.” she told Kagome with a wink. Kagome giggled. “There you go Inuyasha. You’re free.”
Inuyasha sighed in relief as he practically jumped out of the boots. He repressed the urge to kick them as he bent to examine the raw blisters on the back of his feet. I would have been better off going barefoot.
Kagome gave him an apologetic smile. “They will get better, I promise. The boots. Just need to be…”
“Yeah, yeah, broken in,” Inuyasha said peevishly still examining his broken skin, which was slowly beginning to heal. “Still would rather shred them.” he muttered under his breath as she undid the hooks that fastened his trench coat. Once he was free of that, the two teens pranced into the kitchen.
Once inside, Inuyasha took a big whiff of the cookie-scented air. All the ingredients and contraptions of their earlier efforts were, for the most part, cleared away replaced by endless yards of wax paper. In one corner of the house the old oven clicked productively, its light flicked on to revel two enormous industrial size black trays sitting inside. Inuyasha walked over to peer into the oven. On the trays, he saw about a dozen colorful bell shaped cookies baking evenly.
“What kind of cookies is these Kagome?” Inuyasha asked, turning to face the girl. “They are as colorful as the snow people we saw.”
“Snow people? My someone is getting a jump start on the winter festivities aren’t they.” Kagome’s mother commented as she slipped on some oven mitts and carefully pulled the cookies out of the oven under the Hanyou’s curious stare.
“Oh, I wanted to have the first snowmen.” Souta wined dejectedly from his place across the kitchen, rolling and cutting dough.
“Sorry Souta, the boys around the corner beat you to it.” Kagome teased her brother earning herself a glare as the boy turned to stick his tongue out at his sister.
“Just you wait Kagome, me and Inuyasha are going to pummel you in the snowball fight. Then you will be sorry.” Souta retorted.
“You wish runt. Besides who said that Inuyasha is going to be on your side. You’re going down and you know it. Poor Souta.” Kagome said patting the boy’s head, which made his face turn red with fury.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Runt? She always sits me for calling Shippo that. He thought both annoyed and amused as he watched the boy slap her hand away, glare daggers at her.
“Kagome, stop tormenting your brother and go get those sugar cookies decorated.” Kagome’s mother intervened, officially ending the siblings’ squabble.
Kagome stuck her tongue out at her brother once last time, to the frowning displeasure of her mother, before pulling the hanyou over to the counter. On the counter, two pans filled with neat little rows of sugar cookies sat surrounding by several containers of multihued sugar crystals. Inuyasha bent to examine the different shapes on the pan. Instead of being filled with one style of cookies like the pan of bells in the oven, these pans contained several different designs. Inuyasha saw stars, snowflakes, angels, and trumpets along with other festive shapes.
Kagome pulled up two stools. “Come on Inuyasha, is… um, butt on stool.” Kagome caught herself as she placed the stool in front of the giant pans. Inuyasha obediently sat as Kagome arranged the sprinkles so they both could use them. “Which pan do you want?”
Inuyasha examined the two pans before pulling one close to him. “Now what are we doing?”
“Decorating. Those colored crystals are made out of sugar, pick a color and sprinkle it on the cookies… NO not like that.” Kagome cried out when Inuyasha lifted a bowl of sprinkles and almost dumped the whole container on his pan. Kagome snatched the sprinkles away just in time. “Just a little, a pinch full at a time.”
“But Kagome, that’s going to take forever,” Inuyasha protested.
“The point isn’t to finish the cookies fast, it’s to make them attractive.”
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Why do they have to be attractive? People are just going to stuff them in their faces in the first place. It would be a lot faster if they did it his way, but deciding it was not worth getting sit over, he conceded to Kagome’s instructions.
By the time they were finished, the sugar cookies were as colorful as a perfectly formed rainbow. Well Kagome’s were anyway.
“Why did you decorate them all red? If not for those two green ones, you might as well have poured the red sprinkles over the pan.” Kagome chided gently as she inspected his handy work before plopping it down on the counter beside three more pans. She smiled down at the red carefully striped candy canes and small red ordainments on the two green Christmas trees. She had to give the Hanyou credit what he lacks in variation he made it up in the details.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her comment. For a moment, he toyed with the thought of reminding her that that was what he was going to do before she stopped him. Instead, he simply stated, “I like the color red.”
“Obviously,” Kagome muttered. “Ok, walnut ball time. Here.” Kagome stated, plopping a bowl of cookie dough down in front of them. “Grab some dough and roll them into balls like this.” She demonstrated, placing the ball on the wax paper. “Just roll them up and put them on the wax paper.”
Inuyasha nodded and the two teens worked in silence for a few minutes before Kagome spoke up.
“Inuyasha did you and your mother ever have a portrait painted?”
Inuyasha almost dropped his dough in surprise. What in the world would make her ask that? Recovering, Inuyasha thought back for a moment, “I don’t think so. I don’t know. I was really young when she died. Why Kagome?” He asked glancing over at her above their work.
“Oh, no reason really. I was just wondering. I never seen what she looks like and you rarely talk about her. I guess I was just curious.” Kagome stated.
“You saw her that one time. . . Well it was not her, but it looked like her.” Inuyasha recalled quietly. His mind flashed back on the day that Sesshomuru showed up with a figment of his mother wrapped in chains to trick him into following him. He remembered the pain he felt when seeing her chained and the even greater pain he felt when he found out the women he thought he had saved had really the un-mother.
Seeing the sad, thoughtful look come across Inuyasha’s face Kagome quickly switched subjects. “Hey Inuyasha, you were looking at my photo album this morning weren’t you?” Kagome asked, blurting out the first topic that came to mind.
This time Inuyasha did drop his ball. The dough stuck to the side of the bowl with a sick thud. The torn bedspread he had previously forgotten popped, unwelcome, into his mind. He paled. Kagome, who was watching the boys face closely, felt a wave of panic when the look of sadness she was hoping to replace turned into one of fear.
“I don’t mind or anything.” Kagome hurried to add, thinking the boy was afraid he was going to be sat for looking through the book. “I was just wondering.”
Inuyasha released a breath he did not even realize he was holding. She must not have noticed the torn sheet. A little annoyed at being scared out of his wits if unintended he growled, “I was bored. Like I said you take to long in the shower.” He snatched up the ball he had dropped, rerolled it and plopped it down onto the wax paper.
Kagome felt her temper rising. Fine, if he is going to act like a moody pmsing girl then I’m not going to talk to him. The next few minutes passed in silence as both teens fumed. Slowly, her temper began to cool and Kagome sighed. “Mom would be happy to hear that someone was admiring her work. She worked for years on those albums.” Kagome trialed off, giving up when she saw the boy wasn‘t looking at her. He’s probably not listening to me anyway. Probably thinks I’m an idiot for rambling.
“Kagome?” Inuyasha began absentmindedly, his mind wondering back to his ponderings this morning. “What was your life like before you came to my time?”
Kagome looked at him, equally confused by his question as he was by hers. “What do you mean, Inuyasha?”
Inuyasha shrugged half-heartedly, “I don’t know. Sango and Miroku have stories about what they use to do before Naraku ruined everything. We all know that Shippo was with his father. And you know what I was doing. . .”
Kagome raised a playful eyebrow at this. “Yeah, you were hanging on a tree.”
Inuyasha almost growled until he realized she was kidding with him. “Yeah, well I was looking through those pictures and they had lots of strange things in them. It made me wonder what you use to do before you came to my time. What your life was like?”
“I did the same things all the normal girls my age do. I would go to school for half a day. Then I would come home.” Of course when I went to school every day, it was not nearly as hard as now. Kagome mused as she grabbed the last chunk of dough, split it two and gave the other half to Inuyasha to roll.
Inuyasha grimaced. He was glad that they did not have “schools” in his time. He had watched from the window at this school once. It looked innocent enough from the outside but from the look of fear and anguish on Kagome’s face, not to mention the way she seemed to drop in her seat like school was some kind of life-force sucking parasite, he could tell that there was something seriously evil about that place. : ) “What would you do after school?”
“Well, after I would do homework I would go out and do things like shopping, hanging out with friends, and other stuff like that.” that was when my friends were not still mad at me for never having time to hang out. No, I am always either gone or having to play sick. Kagome sighed as she took the bowl to the sink to toss it in with the other dirtied utensils. Inuyasha followed behind.
“Did you go out on “dates”?” Inuyasha asked shyly remembering the word from one of her stories she told about her friends.
Kagome flushed, “Um, no not really.” she admitted. Hojo probably would have asked her out if she had given him the time. He certainly was not shy about doting on her, but now that she is always gone, she doesn’t have the time. Still, somehow that did not seem to upset her. Suddenly kagome felt something slimy and wet hit her neck. Shrieking in surprise, she whirled around to see what had hit her.
Inuyasha flinched and growled when he heard Kagome’s scream. Instinctively, he dove in front of her, protectively. Seeing no danger, he straightened up and turned to look at the girl wondering silently what had provoked her terror. Seeing something strange on the girl’s neck, he reached forward to peel the offending object from her skin. It was a small rather slimy piece of dough. “Hey Kagome, what’s. . .” Inuyasha paused when he saw the young girl’s expression. He flinched out of habit as he stared at Kagome’s pinched red face, her eyes burning with anger. Her fist clenched and her mouth twitched, still frozen in that O of shock and surprise.
“SOUTA, YOU ARE DEAD,” Kagome bellowed at the top of her lungs.
The aforementioned (A.N. good word.) boy froze, hands still dripping from egg as he held a similar slimy piece of dough inches above a bowl of nuts. He stared at his sister with a mixture of panic and guilt. Inuyasha’s eyes flickered from sibling to sibling. His mind quickly calculated the amount of time it would take for him to cross the room and grab Kagome. Would he be able to save the boy before his sister could wrap her hands around his neck? The odds did not look good.
Quick as a snake strike, Kagome darted forward, grabbing the rolling pin from beside the sink, and lurched towards her brother.
“MOM,” the young boy cried out, dropping the ball of dough and dashing towards the women by the counter and to relative safety.
Inuyasha rushed forward as well grabbing Kagome by both arms and dragging her backwards. Kagome shrieked in anger.
“Sit boy.” the furious girl screamed struggling against the hands that held her trapped. Unfortunately, the young girl did not think of the consequences of sitting Inuyasha while he held her. Both youths went down hard, their landing making the floor tremble. They slammed into the back of the counter as well. The resulting vibration shook a bowl that was perched precariously on the edge of the counter. The bowl tittered for a moment before tumbling downward, sending its containments of powdered sugar straight on top of the teen’s heads.
As the fine white powder hit Inuyasha’s nose he blanched, knowing what was coming but, because of the lingering restraints of the spell, powerless to stop it. He let out a thunderous sneeze, throwing out an enormous white cloud to cover the kitchen. The occupants all froze for a moment. Kagome stopped struggling and blinked. Souta peered fearfully around his mother’s legs. His eyes were as wide as saucers. Kagome’s mother stood frozen, her hand over her mouth as she watched the snow like substance settles over her clean countertops. Inuyasha glanced fearfully from mother to daughter and silently wondered from which his painful death for the sneeze would come. None of them spoke for several seconds. Then it happened.
Kagome blinked again and then suddenly began to giggle. It was soft and weak at first but then it began to grow. Soon Kagome was giggling uncontrollably. Inuyasha stared at her, trying to decide if she was crazy, but then he heard soft laughter from someone else. Kagome’s mother stood with her hand still on her mouth only now it was to muffle her laughter. Souta soon joined in, doubling over. Inuyasha just stared at them all for a few minutes then glanced around at the powder cover counter, at the still dripping ball of dough that Souta had dropped, and the dusty laughing family in front him. Inuyasha began to laugh as well.
He could not help it. The moment he saw the ridicules sight in front of him it bubbled up from his stomach and he was laughing in spite of himself. Kagome was shocked when she felt the shaking hanyou’s chuckling from her place on still top of him due to the spell. He’s laughing. I have never heard him laugh before. I have heard him snort at me plenty of times but that was it. She was momentarily shocked out of her giggling state as she stared at his free unstressed expression. His laughter sounded almost magical. His face enthralling as his very soul seemed to shimmer in his sparkling eyes.
Inuyasha wiped his eyes as he slowly began to regain control over himself. It had been literally decades since he had felt like this. Happy, content with where and what he was, free to laugh and smile without holding back. He had almost forgotten what it felt like and now that he remembered, he did not want it to stop. Smiling brightly despite the fact that he was covered from head to toes in powdered sugar, Inuyasha took a deep breath to prevent himself from bursting into another peal of laughter. He felt sort of giddy, whether it be from the lack of oxygen or from the feelings he was experiencing he had no idea.
Felling some movement from the creature still sitting in his lap, Inuyasha glanced down, still smiling, at Kagome. Kagome was staring at him with large enchanted eyes. Inuyasha, confused, was about to ask her what was wrong when suddenly the girl reached out towards him, her eyes locking with his. Inuyasha froze, a fluttering feeling starting in his stomach as Kagome reached out cautiously to brush silver bangs away from the hypnotic honey eyes they hid. Inuyasha felt the fluttering turn into a frantic hum as his heart began to pound uncontrollably. Kagome’s silky fingers brushed lightly against his cheeks and Kagome leaned closer. Inuyasha was sure he was having a heart attack. The skin Kagome’s fingers just brushed tingled. That tingle seemed to seep into his very bloodstream and spread through his entire body. He leaned closer.
“Ew, get a room.” Souta’s voice rang out like gunfire to shatter the moment. The sound was shortly followed by a smack. “Ow Mom, what was that for.” Souta’s offended voice protested.
Kagome almost leapt out of Inuyasha’s lap, red as a ripe tomato. Inuyasha was equally crimson. His heart still pounded loudly in his ear and his skin still tingled from her touch. He rose slowly, feeling slightly dizzy. What’s wrong with me, he wondered. His stomach was still doing flip-flops and his mind was spinning in circles that got smaller and smaller until the memory of Kagome staring directly into this eyes flashed repeatedly in his head.
Kagome’s mother sighed as she turned away from the blushing youths to survey the disaster that was the kitchen. “Alright, what we are going to do is clean up and then I am kicking you kids out of my kitchen.”
“But mom…” Souta protested, but his mother held up a hand.
“I don’t want to hear it. Look at this mess. You two can’t stop fighting for a minute to help me.” her face softened as she added. “Besides, all that’s left to do is some baking and some small finishing touches. I can do those without you much quicker then with you. I also have to get supper started so be better get to it.”
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Kagome sighed as she dropped her filthy powder ridden rag into the sink. Done. She wiped a dirty sleeve across a sweaty brow leaving a streak of powder sugar in its wake. The cleaning up had actually taken longer than the rest of the cooking. Kagome watched as her mother scooped up the rest of the still warm cookies and placed them into a container. After placing the container in a corner, her mother began to gather up the yards of wax paper to be thrown away.
From the corner of her eye, Kagome caught sight of a flash of red. Inuyasha was mopping the floor near the doorway, his ears twitching at some interior thought. Kagome blushed just looking at him. What was I thinking earlier? He loves Kiko. He promised to follow her. But Kagome could not forget the way he looked when he laughed, he way he leaned forward, his lips coming closer to hers.
“Kagome?” Kagome flushed as Inuyasha’s voice penetrated her thoughts. Looking at the hanyou, she noticed a suspicious pink color across his cheeks as well. “What should I do now?” He asked lifting the mop and bucket.
“I think we are done so you two can go and entertain yourselves till dinner.’ Kagome mother interrupted relieving the half demon of his mop and bucket.
Inuyasha nodded and looked at Kagome expectantly. Kagome blushed under his gaze and looked away. “Um. I think maybe we will go wait in the living room.” she stuttered before quickly retreating.
Inuyasha sighed as he watched her go. He knew how to kill a demon that was three time his size, knew how to knock down towering trees with a single swipe of his claws, but he had no idea how to deal with a blushing girl. Glancing up at Kagome’s mother, he received an amused and sympathetic smile. Inuyasha wished he could ask for her advice, but could not even begin to find the right words. Sighing again in defeat, he turned to follow her into the living room.
Kagome was sitting on the couch holding a book in her hands. She was not reading. She was staring at the flickering tree. Inuyasha stopped to watch her. She gazed almost dreamily at the shining pine, the rainbow lights playing across her face, being captured like jewels him her shiny black hair. The fluttering sensation in Inuyasha’s stomach returned. Only this time it was worse. She looked like an angel sitting there, her eyes far away, her radiant face bathed in rainbow light. She looked like a flawless, ageless angel, totally beautiful, perfect and completely out of his reach.
T. B. C.
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Chaini pushes back her chair and sighs in relief and exhaustion after a job well done.
“Chapter 5 is finally done and I don’t have to write anymore about cookies.” she said smiling to herself. She turned totally prepared to change into her p.Js and go to bed. She freezes. In front of her, a large crowd of people stands crammed into the small confines of her apartment. She smiles nervously at her readers, “Um. . . Hi.”
A girl with electric blue highlights stares at her before cocking her head to one side. She says one word, “Mistletoe.”
Chaini blanches, “Um, no sorry not this chapter.”
“Mistletoe,” The girl repeats impassively as a burly bald man pushes out of the crowd to stand beside the girl with his arms crossed.
Chaini begins to back up, hands out with palms up. “No! I warned you to review, you guys didn’t…. well most of you didn’t. There was one person who gave me a review for each chapter and several for my other stories. It made me very happy.” Chaini smiles at the girl nervously.
The girl cocks her head the other way. “Mistletoe.”
The burly man starts forward grabbing a protesting Chaini with both arms and lifting her as if she was a mere child. A rather hansom boy steps out of the crowd to slide Chaini’s desk chair back out.
“No I don’t want to,” Chaini cries out as she is dumped into the chair none to gently. Her laptop appears and is placed in front of her. The readers stare at her expectantly. Chaini sighs, giving up, and pulls up the file.
The girl with the blue highlights smiles and pats her on the head. “Mistletoe,” she coos contently.
Chaini groans as she begins to type. Under her breath she mutters, “I better get reviews for this.”
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Kagome turned when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Turning away from the colorful lights of the tree, she noticed Inuyasha standing in the doorway staring at her. Smiling she rose. “Well, it will be awhile before mom gets supper done. What do you want to do till then?” she asked
The boy did not reply. Instead, he stared at Kagome with a shocked and almost awed expression on his face.
“Inuyasha? “ Kagome asked gently, slightly confused by the look on his face. Suddenly Inuyasha seems to remember himself. He shakes his head as if trying to clear away some offending thought. Kagome smiles at him amused. “Daydreaming?”
The hanyou blushed, “Just thinking.” he mutters looking at the floor.
“About what?” Kagome prompted, taking another step closer.
The hanyou’s blush deepened. In a quiet shy voice, he answered, “About you.” His eyes did not leave the carpet.
“What about me?” Kagome asked, taking another step forward until mere inches separated them.
Inuyasha’s eyes suddenly snapped up to meet hers, trapping in the depths once again. “Your beautiful.” the youth whispered in a voice that was barely audible but that voice contained so much emotion it made Kagome heart skip a beat.
“Kagome.” A whisper invaded her trance. Kagome shot her brother a deadly glare before realizing that the boy was pointing at something. Looking up, Kagome saw it hanging there on the doorway, its leaves glistening in the trees light. Kagome looked back at Inuyasha who had followed her gaze up to the mistletoe and was looking at it curiously. Hesitating for only a moment, she closed the gap between them, placing her lips on the hanyou’s.
Suddenly she was flying. Flying as easily and as freely as a bird, her heart rising up its song with notes so beautiful that they were forbidden to human lips. She could feel her heart pounding like a grand drum, adding to the sweet music of her soul as everything that made Kagome what she was sang out to the boy in front of her.
Her bones melted, her mind fluttered as she felt his shock start to fade and give way to something much more. Slowly his arms snaked around her waist, pulling her into him both roughly and gently. Kagome could feel his heart beating out its own tune, different and yet still in harmony with hers. Kagome felt like she was drowning in music and only Inuyasha could save her.
He swore he was dying. There was no way someone could feel so much happiness and joy and live through it. His stomach was going crazy, fluttering madly like a humming bird caught in a spider web. Only there was no pain or fear. Only bliss. Sweet and utterly consuming bliss. That beautiful angel, that perfect goddess was kissing him. Him! A dirty, filthy, inadequate hanyou. Inuyasha shuttered as he put his arms around her, pulling her closer, afraid that if he did not hold her in her arms this moment would melt away and he would wake up with tears streaking down his face to find that this was merely a dream.
But it was not a dream. He could feel her silky lips move chastely against his. He could feel his heart pounding, threatening to explode from his chest and swell to fill the room as to accommodate all the utter joy and love he felt right now. Yes, love. He now knew the reason behind the fluttering in his stomach. He shuttered again, feeling dizzy and knew they would have to soon come up for air.
He sighed and wished in vain that this moment could last forever. But it couldn’t, and he almost sobbed when he felt Kagome’s lips leave his. His head spun and he closed his eyes to fight back the tears burning against his lids. He did not see Kagome’s brother run away giggling nor did he see Kagome’s mother retreat back into the kitchen a knowing and approving smile on her face. All he felt was Kagome laying her head on his shoulder. All he felt was his own trembling as wave after wave of pure unrelenting love crashed against him. He had only one thought. Gods, I love you Kagome, with all my heart and soul I love you, and there is not a thing I can do about it.
