Kindred by royalbk

Chapter One

Kindred

By Royal blueKitsune

This was certainly enjoyable.

Kagome smiled contently, not bothering to open her eyes to see what was happening around her. Her memory was only too happy to generously supply some information for her sleep muddled brain and it only served to improve her mood even more.

It was six and a half in the morning. She could live with that as long as no one forced her to get out of bed yet.

It was Christmas morning and it had snowed last night. Big, puffy snowflakes that she loved so much were probably covering the entire expense of the yard by now. She loved snow and as soon as the hour turned slightly more respectable, she would remember how to make snow angels.

She was currently snuggled against her mate and husband, Sesshoumaru, and feeling very comfortable at that. Their legs were tangled beneath the comforter and she could feel every inch of his body molded to her back. Kagome could definitely live with that! Five hundred years together and he could still make her feel like a giddy schoolgirl with her first crush.

Without even touching her consciously.

Kagome smiled from ear to ear and curled herself in a small ball, pretending she was a kitten and thoroughly enjoying the way Sesshoumaru's arms tightened around her to create the safe heaven she so cherished.

"Are you awake?"

"It is too early to be sprouting such purposeless nonsense miko. Of course I am awake."

He still acted and talked like he was her superior but his hand was tangled in her hair, slowly combing through her messy ebony locks. The man was a contradiction on two legs - occasionally four paws - even in his waking hours and she was completely and utterly in love with him.

"If I'd had known you were in such a good mood, I would have taken the usual approach and tackled you. Then I would've kissed you breathless and proceeded to have my way with you for as long as I was allowed to." She tilted her head backwards; blinking twice to dispel the dizzy feeling his sunset kissed eyes were giving her at such close range.

"Very amusing mate." Sesshoumaru intoned blankly, curling long fingers under her chin to place the customary kiss in the corner of her mouth. It was an awkward position for both but that didn't stop Kagome from wounding her arms around his neck and enthusiastically returning the half kiss. Ignoring the fact that kissing and more had taken most of their night together due to the fact that her lover had insisted on giving her an early Christmas present. One best kept behind closed doors and thick walls. Away from the children as a necessary condition.

"Should we be getting up or do you think it's too early for Satsu and Taka to have woken up?" She whispered in the kiss, giggling when his claws gently raked across her ribs and tickled the sensitive skin of her stomach.

The answer came in form of a loud giggle, followed by erratic thumps, hushed whispers and muffled laughter, and then a not so timid knock on the door. Despite herself, and her earlier words, Kagome groaned and wished against wish...

"Momma, papa! It's Christmas morning. Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

...that her dear children hadn't gotten into the stashed sweets once more.

There was no mistaking the barely suppressed excitement though. Her daughter was suffering from sugar high and that could only mean that her younger brother was in the same state and would thus be harder to control than any other time. It was hard enough to normally control an eight year old and a six year old with the life spans that surpassed those of some humans.

"Big sister, big sister...are mommy and daddy awake yet? The chocolate chip cookies are all finished and I'm hungry. I want mommy and daddy!"

Said parents caught each other's eyes and Kagome bit her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing at the downright resigned expression on the face of her mate. It was something that held exasperation, fondness, amusement and reluctance all in one. She so loved it when he was like this - it was blackmail material and her only regret was that she didn't have a camera at the moment.

A high-pitched squawk and Kagome recognized it as the moment Jaken came in the picture. Panting, huffing, no doubt having chased her troublemakers through the house and just as grouchy as ever.

"That is enough out of you two! It's too early to bother anyone at this ungodly hour...both of you, back to bed this instant! Don't make me drag you there."

Twin whines of displeasure were expected of course. Kagome felt a surge of pride when her mate's youki flared, bursts of warm gold that invaded her senses and danced across her bare skin, in silent warning; no doubt he was displeased at the way the toad was addressing his family...again. Kagome herself felt reasonably avenged when Jaken squeaked in fear.

Served him right for daring to speak like that to her pups.

"Jaken, cease your disrespect this instant or I will remove your tongue." Sesshoumaru sat up and Kagome couldn't help but notice the way the sheets pooled around his waist in a very delectable fashion. He looked very sexy and yummy like this but that didn't save him from her motherly instincts.

"Not in front of the children you won't." She warned, poking him in the ribs. "No threats of death either...I don't want my children to become cold hearted killers before they're twenty."

Sesshoumaru didn't show any sign that he had taken anything into consideration but she knew that he had probably filed that tidbit with careful precision for further discussion at a more opportune time.

Sigh. She was talking like him wasn't she? Too much time spent studying scrolls, reading ancient books and definitely too many years of hearing her lover speak in that formal language only he could pass off as being elegant and casual at the same time.

"Your mother has hidden presents downstairs koinu. Satsu, help your brother find them and we will join you once we are properly attired. Jaken, see that the children are taken care of." He didn't raise his voice but the young ones were bound to hear and the toad was bound kiss his master's feet mentally and scurry to do his will as fast possible.

Once the hallway was quiet once more Sesshoumaru turned to look down at her in what some might call languid. Kagome called it weary and it only fueled her mirth even more because she knew he knew what was coming up next. It was customary really.

"I will forever cherish the moments I hear Taka calling you, of all things possible, daddy. It sounds so unbearably cute that I can't stop the fuzzy feeling in my chest. Who would've thought that great Lord of the Western Lands would someday earn this particular title? Who would've thought that the feared Daiyoukai would have pups?"

"One would say that five hundred years would get you used to that notion by now woman." His voice was gruff and she wrapped her arms around his bare torso, trying to placate the - currently - not so savage beast. The eyes simply couldn't fail her now so she batted her long lashes rapidly a few times and grinned from ear to ear.

"Still, I can never get enough of hearing them call you daddy or papa or father. Makes me think of cute puppies - which in a way we all are."

"You talk too much."

"So what would it take for you to shut me up?" Kagome's eyes twinkled mischievously and she didn't bother to hide the meaning of those words. Her arms twined around his neck, the dark-haired woman waited for him to make the next move.

"Were you not eager to greet your pups?" His hand splayed against the small of her back and the other fisted in her ebony locks, pulling her head backwards sharply to bare her neck to him. Perhaps one day she would ask him what his obsession with her pulse point was...and that delightfully sensitive spot behind her ear he liked to nibble and scrape his fangs against so often.

"They are busy searching for presents and sweets aren't they? We have time..." She nuzzled his hair and returned the favor by curling the impossibly pristine strands around her fingers. His hands were treacherous things that liked to torture her as much as possible - but all in all who was she to actually complain about anything?

"This Sesshoumaru does not hurry mate..."

"Half an hour?"

He smirked against the column of her throat and surprised the breath out of her, literally, by scraping his nails against the side of her breast. That meant...no.

Kagome giggled when he lifted her and set her on his lap. "Forty five minutes and I'll throw in a bath too complete with a relaxing massage with scented oils and subtle lavender aroma you don't want to admit you like."

The low, rumbling growl told her that he very much liked that idea. "Deal."

It was a good thing that the walls were soundproof.

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An hour and half later Kagome was grumbling about a certain possessive demon and his wandering hands but as she arranged her mussed hair there was a smile playing at the corner of her lips as she looked at her beautiful family. Together.

It brought such a warm feeling in her chest that she thought she would burst from happiness.

There was no wall to separate the kitchen from the living room but Kagome didn't think it highly unusual. She was able to see the joyful expressions on her puppies' face as they fumbled with the wrappings of their presents, witness the delight in their eyes as they found what they had wanted under colorful ribbons and carefully made packages. Plus, seeing the killing perfection trying to maintain his dignity every time Taka jumped in his arms was simply priceless.

Currently Satsu was trying to braid his hair and her brother was trying to imitate his father's serious countenance and cross-legged position as much as he could. Unfortunately his balance was off and he ended up falling on his face more times than he managed to sit up straight.

Kagome wanted to laugh. Of course Sesshoumaru managed to look every inch the Lord he had once been even dressed in a yukata; the finest material, because if it wasn't perfect it wasn't worth his attention, with buttermilk sequins skillfully embodied in the sleeves and collar. She had it from certified sources - her own eyes - that he hadn't even struggled with choosing a proper outfit.

He had picked up something on a whim and practically made use of it. She had to struggle to look presentable and he made it seem as if it were a natural instinct. He looked good asleep, when one was usually completely unaware of himself, sexy when he woke up, elegant even when he didn't want to and oh so handsome when he did.

Now she had to ask herself - where was the fairness in that?

Sesshoumaru met her smile with a raised eyebrow and Kagome felt the stirrings of faint curiosity coming from him through the tightly weaved bond they shared. She grinned sheepishly at him, realizing that she most likely looked silly sitting there with the food filled tray...staring into space.

"Look at me momma. I'm a samurai!" Taka was the first whirlwind of energy to latch onto her feet as she finally stepped into the room (one wouldn't think that only five minutes had passed since he had last seen her. So endearing). Thank God his father had taught him the meaning of a wooden sword, otherwise Kagome might've felt worried about the dangerous way he swung his present round and round.

It reminded her of Inuyasha a little too much.

"Of course you are." He puffed up his chest with pride and she suppressed a giggle, instead crouching down slightly to scratch behind his pointy ears. This was definitely the Shippou in the family. "Just don't hurt anyone love. It's too early for my little boy to grow up."

"I'm already grown up mommy. Daddy said so." He whined pitifully, completely belittling the words he had spoken. Kagome's eyes were warm and soulful blue, reflecting the hidden amusement of both herself and her mate and she knew instinctively that he took a sip of his tea to hide the faint quirk of his lips.

"Put that down koinu. Your mother has difficulties with kimonos and there is no need for you to further inconvenience her."

Both mother and son pouted and the similarities were stagnating, despite their different features.

"Yes papa."

"Five hundred years later one would think you would've forgotten that incident." Damn that pretty hair of his! He had tilted his head sideways and that pretty hair was already distracting her from what she wanted to say. She was supposed to berate him not give him the love struck puppy eyes. "It's not like I wanted to trip and fall in the lap of that Lord..."

'Who then tried to grope me and almost got killed trying to do so. I'll never get over the fact that Sesshoumaru was on the verge of leaving the Eastern Lands without a ruler. Kouga won't either - probably hasn't considering how careful he still is around him.'

"Papa...I'm all grown up too aren't I?" Satsu chimed cutely, having abandoned her quest of arranging her father's hair in favor of beaming up at both her parents. "Momma said that only big girls could wear kimonos."

She jumped up and twirled around, trying to demonstrate how well she could fair in her new acquisition: a dark blue kimono with silvery-gray patterns that her mother knew she had been wanting for so long. It wasn't really hard to guess especially when her daughter had practically begged to have it in exchange for being such a good girl throughout the entire year.

"Well at least one female in this family loves them." Kagome mock surrendered, plopping down unceremoniously next to her mate, expertly smoothing the wrinkled from her fire colored kimono. Her son now busy throwing hopeful looks at the cookies and cocoa, she set the tray down and thanked anyone who was listening for the miracle of having gotten everything in one piece.

Only God knew how many accidents happened in a house when Satsu and Taka were involved.

'At least you're being honest with yourself mate.'

'Pompous jerk.' And still she leaned her head on his shoulder (well arm actually because she didn't quite reach that high) and sighed contently, watching as Satsu and Taka munched on some chocolate and wondering if she was going to regret giving them sweets later - the equivalent of a ticking bomb when it came to her children - just because it was an important holiday.

'Probably so.' He sounded so very satisfied and so Kagome elbowed him in the ribs lightly.

'Oh shut up. You would act just as bad as they do if I gave you chocolate in any form.'

'It only happened once and it was by virtue that it didn't smell as any poison I have ever encountered.'

'At least now I know that they get it from your side of the family.' She replied cheerfully. 'Which is actually quite unfair considering that I did most of the work and they still look and act like you. From the white hair to golden eyes and youkai heritage...'

'I distinctly remember there being two of us in that bed.' He wrapped an arm around her and she went willingly, pecking him briefly on the lips.

'Yes but all the twelve times that resulted in me looking and acting more horrendous than your demon form, in other words pregnant, were because you couldn't keep your hands to yourself.'

He didn't let her pull back but instead brought her forward for a deeper, more meaningful kiss that sent shivers and heat up her spine. She blamed the fangs - always the fangs!

'I'm ready to try for a thirteenth time if you are.'

Tempting...did it involve him naked and tangled in the sheets? She was ready to give it a try and damn the consequences.

"Are you and daddy going to get it on mommy?"

If she hadn't known that there was nothing wrong with her hearing, Kagome would've believed that she needed to see a doctor. Because she hadn't just heard what she thought she had.

"Taisho Inu Satsuki where did you learn that foul language?!" She sputtered, having broken the kiss with more speed than she thought she could've possessed.

Satsuki fidgeted under the shocked gaze of her mother and the stern one of her father that demanded she explain herself immediately.

"Uncle Inuyasha..." Kagome groaned, aware that this wasn't starting in a good way, and Satsuki hurried, almost stumbling over the words. "...said that whenever you and father kissed you were probably to go and do it because there was too much se...sexual tension floating in the air. He said that this is how you made us."

"I'm going to kill him!" The young woman growled, cracking her knuckles loudly. "Your half-brother is one dead hanyou when I get my hands on him."

"Satsuki, Takashi...remember what I have always told you about uncle Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru intoned softly, feeling annoyance sharply in the form of an oncoming headache. It brought with it the urge to rub his temples to relieve the pressure.

There was silence.

"You always said that uncle Inuyasha is ill in the head and that we shouldn't listen to anything he says." Both children repeated obediently, like a poem well learned with time.

"Precisely. And..."

"If he does say anything we should come tell you father."

"So you should. Inuyasha is in the habit of sprouting nonsense one too many times and it is not something you much listen to. Understood?"

"Yes papa."

"Yes daddy."

More silence.

"But what is sexual tension daddy? And what does 'doing it' mean?"

"Something you won't find out until much later." Kagome squeaked, wishing for once that Takashi wasn't such in inquisitive being as both she and Sesshoumaru were.

"But mommy..."

"Your mother has made it clear. You will forget this discussion understood?" Sometime between all this Sesshoumaru had decided that he would be the first to painfully and slowly torture his half brother once he got hold of him.

Both pups looked reluctant to do so and here Kagome had a spark of brilliance.

"There is ice cream in the fridge..."

A few moments later the parents were sipping their tea while listening to the ruckus going on in the kitchen where Satsu and Taka were working together to open the door and get their prize. Too busy giggling and uniting their strengths, they had already forgotten about their earlier dilemma.

"Inuyasha is coming for dinner tonight right?" Kagome asked a little too sweetly considering that her eyes promised purification.

"I will deal with the half breed. You need only take care of preparations."

"Can't I just set his hair on fire? Or at least pour some poison in his ramen...it will only give him indigestion and at worse his hair will grow back in a few days." She pouted, looking fixedly at the burning embers coming from the fireplace. Sesshoumaru was positive he didn't want to know what she was currently thinking.

He made a mental note to watch his back in case they ever got into a fight. Hair grew fast for demons but not that fast...even for him.

"You may not. I will resolve this." He looked at her from the corner of his eyes and Kagome could swear that she could see a flicker of weariness in his eyes. "On your word."

"Would you make me lie like that? You know I hate lying my love." She chided, picking up the now empty tray and heading for the kitchen. "I promise that I will not kill him and he will still be able to walk away in one piece."

That left a lot of room for possibilities in his opinion.

"Until then we can occupy our time with that earlier idea." Kagome chirped, batting her eyelashes at him from over her shoulder. "Takashi always wanted to be big brother..."

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Satsuki, or Satsu as her mother liked to call her, blinked owlishly and looked at the spot where her mother had been just a few seconds before. The tray was on the counter...but there was no one in sight anymore; not even her father. Only the echo of laughter.

"Where did they go?"

"Probably upstairs...uncle Inuyasha said that this would also happen after kissing." Her brother munched on his share of the ice cream, having managed to smear the rich substance on his chin in just a matter of moments.

The knowledge made Satsuki giggle mischievously.

"So that means that they won't be down for at least an hour or two right?"

"Uncle Inuyasha said so." A toothy grin.

"Then we'll just have to make the best of this time. I bet you can't drink a glass of lemonade before me so nyah!"

"I can too..." Taka countered, red flushing his cheeks. "I can drink it before you."

"That's enough you two!" Jaken suddenly materialized behind them, feeling pleased with himself when his young charges yelped and toppled over in ungraceful heaps. "No one will be raiding anything at this time and especially when Sesshoumaru-sama isn't here to approve."

He still held a small grudge against the human woman that had ensnared his powerful master with her feminine wiles. Bleh! Who needed love?

"We weren't going to do anything Jaken-sama!" Taka squeaked, trying desperately to disengage himself from his sister. "Pwomise!"

"I know everything so don't try to fool me." The small toad puffed up, speaking haughtily to the two wide-eyed children. "I know what you were trying to do."

"Really Jaken-san? You're so smart!"

'That and your mother sent me take care of you two.' Jaken added grudgingly in his mind. 'Sometime during my life I've become a babysitter...how disgraceful!'

"Ne Jaken-san if you know everything than you know that you would look so nice in a kimono don't you? I have just the thing for you." Satsuki flipped her long hair over her shoulder and with a wide grin grabbed the back of the retainer's robe (completely ignoring the terrified expression that turned him even greener) and proceeded to drag him upstairs forcefully, all the while babbling about how beautiful he was going to look when she was done.

"Taka! Bring mother's high-heeled shoes too. The red ones...and the yellow wig she wore for Halloween! It would be perfect."

"Noooooooooooo! Cease...desist! Stop it! Not agaaaaaaaaain!"

The door closed behind the three, sealing the fate of one faithful retainer who was going to look very pretty for the oncoming Christmas party.

History had a tendency to repeat itself after all and this time Kagome would actually be able to take a picture.

End.