Pack by Sereia

Chapter 1

Shippou sighed, dragging his feet through the snow as he approached the house. Usually, the sight would bring warmth to his heart and a spring to his step, but the bright lights only made the weight on his shoulders that much heavier.

He'd missed Christmas.

And not only that, he'd bombed the test he'd been studying for over Christmas. He hadn't been able to concentrate, the images of what he was missing at home refusing to leave him alone. Instead of formulas and definitions, his head had swum with snowball fights and the sweet scent of shortbread coming from the kitchen.

Why he needed philosophy and calculus to be an artist was beyond him.

The whole reason for missing Christmas was because of the stupid test, so overall, he felt like a failure. Kitsune school seemed like easy pickings compared to modern-day university, but Kagome had encouraged him to pick up a degree, citing it would help him blend into modern society better.

Shippou was pretty sure it was bogus, but he'd never been able to say no to his mother.

He snorted, the waft of air rustling his bangs before swirling away into the evening sky. At least he wasn't the only one with the problem. He could count on one hand the number of times Sesshoumaru had won an argument against her.

The thought of the powerful daiyoukai finding out about his grade made him slump again. Kagome's disappointment he could deal with—barely—but Sesshoumaru had a strange ability to say nothing and communicate everything. Facing him would be a battle on its own, and Shippou was half-tempted to turn around before they sensed his arrival.

Shaking his head, he turned the knob.

They hadn't raised a coward.

"I'm home," he said, kicking the snow off his feet. Before he'd even had the chance to remove his jacket, he was tackled to the floor, one set of claws quickly replaced with two more.

The four of them rolled around in a tangle of limbs and fur, a few tufts coming out of Shippou's tail before he could figure out which way was up. Something slobbery smacked him in the face, and he feigned death, crying out in anguish.

He waited until the trio of attackers got closer, the toddlers having not developed their sense of danger yet, and he grabbed the twin boys by the scruff, their sister keeping her distance. He should've known better because Mizuki jumped back into the fray as soon as his hands were full, smothering his face with kisses.

"I give, I give!" he waled, but they were relentless, Riku and Sora poking him in the sides while Mizuki continued her assault.

"No prisoners!" the seven-year-old cried gleefully.

"Yeah!" her brothers chorused. "No priznerz!" They managed to keep him pinned for several more minutes before he disappeared from under them in a puff of pink smoke. He chuckled as he floated into the living room, intent on hiding on the ceiling fan, but the pile of untouched presents under a still-lit Christmas tree had him returning to his original form and falling to the floor.

Mizuki jumped onto his back, still giggling. "Now we can open presents!"

"Christmas was almost a week ago," he said lamely, emotion tightening his chest.

"We hadda wait," Sora said, tripping over Shippou's foot before sliding his tiny hands through the fur along his leg.

"It wouldn't be the same without everyone being here," Kagome said, stepping into the room with a soft smile.

Shippou wasn't sure if angels existed, but if they did, he knew she was one of them. Unfolding Mizuki's arms, he set the twins on top of her, quickly escaping into his mother's waiting arms. "You didn't have to do that," he said, words muffled against her neck.

"Silly pup," Sesshoumaru chastised. "It is tradition."

Tears welled up in his eyes as Kagome drew comforting circles on his back. Soft youki caressed them both as Sesshoumaru returned to the kitchen for a plate full of cookies, keeping them out of reach of those tussling on the floor.

The children eventually got impatient, grabbing Shippou's shorts and tugging him over to the tree. Sora attempted to hand out the gifts, placing all of them in a pile for himself as Mizuki pilfered the ones that didn't have his name on them.

Riku was too busy building a tower with his to open them, and it wasn't until Sora poked him in the arm with a wooden train that he realized there were things inside the boxes. The floor was suddenly littered with coloured paper, and Mizuki moved her collection of treasures to the couch to keep them from getting buried.

"You didn't have to wait," Shippou mumbled, thumbing a new set of paintbrushes.

"As if I would attempt that argument with your mother," Sesshoumaru sniffed. "She alone understands how important your studies are."

He flushed, though it was more with shame than embarrassment, leaning over so his bangs covered his eyes. "I flunked the test," he admitted softly, trying to keep the children from hearing. The twins wouldn't know the difference, but Mizuki was too smart for her own good, often trying to help him study over the phone.

Kagome slid off the couch and onto the floor, offering him a cup of tea. "Not distracted by girls, were you?"

Shippou blanched. "No way! I kept thinking about all of you and wishing I was here." She met Sesshoumaru's gaze, and the kit prepared himself for the onslaught of disappointment he was about to receive.

But it never came. Kagome just clicked her tongue and said, "Told you we should've written him a note."

Sesshoumaru sighed, leaning back on the couch. "Once again, I yield to your ability to predict the future regarding our children, mate."

Shippou looked between them in confusion, and Kagome gave him a cheeky smile. "I wanted to call the school and fake an emergency to get you out of it. Who schedules a test two days after Christmas?"

"You're not mad?" he asked, gobsmacked that his mother, who'd spent the better half of her time during the shard hunt with her nose buried in her textbooks, would've let him out of an exam just to open presents. He jumped to his feet, sending pieces of wrapping paper flying. "I thought you'd be pissed!"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, then looked at the three hanyou currently fighting over the last bow. "Children, which present is your favourite?"

There was no hesitation; they immediately abandoned their conquest for glitter and launched themselves at Shippou. "Big brother coming home!" Mizuki said, kissing his cheek.

Riku scrambled around his shoulders, pulling at his hair as he poked him in the nose. "No Crissmiss wifout you." Sora tried to follow Riku, but his grip wasn't as good, Kagome catching him before he hit the floor, as she added herself to the embrace.

As she held Shippou close, Sesshoumaru squeezed his shoulder. "Given the choice, even knowing all the mischief you would get into, we would still choose you." Shippou tried to cover the trembling of his chin, and Sesshoumaru's grip tightened. "You are our son. We will always be proud of you."

He gave up fighting, burying his face in Kagome's dark hair. The children tugged at his ears, trying to find his face. They squealed in delight, thinking it was a new version of peek-a-boo, but he only squeezed his mother tighter, whispering soft words of gratitude to both parents.

The beginning of his journey had been rough, orphaned at the very age Mizuki was now, and each step forward, each thought of going on alone, had paralyzed him with fear.

But he couldn't deny Sesshoumaru's words.

He'd found laughter, love, and purpose within the tangled web of Naraku's plot, each shard gained getting them one step closer to their happy ending. There had been times when he wasn't sure they'd make it out alive, but the light within Kagome had never gone out, leading them out of the darkness.

And he wouldn't trade that for anything.

No matter the hardships, no matter the strife, he'd have chosen them too.