InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Here Comes Santa Claws ❯ The Friendly Beasts ( Chapter 5 )

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I'm still fighting my cold, but I think it's getting better. Not sure how many chapters this story will have, but I know it's not close to being finished yet.

 

Enjoy!

 

HERE COMES SANTA CLAWS

 

Chapter 5: The Friendly Beasts

 

“When will Inuyasha get back?” Kagome picked at the food on her plate. It was very good, but she wasn't really hungry.

 

“Bored already, Kagome?” Sango looked concerned. She took her responsibilities very seriously. “I would think that Inuyasha would be the last person you would want to see.”

 

“Maybe she misses Inuyasha for other reasons?” Shippou suggested slyly. He may look like a kid, but sometimes he didn't act like it.

 

Kagome blushed. “Of course I don't miss him,” she spluttered. “It's just that everybody keeps telling me that he's my guardian, and then he goes and abandons me my first day here.”

 

“The border patrol's important,” Sango said. She stood up and gathered her plate and Kagome's. “They should be back in about a week.”

 

“A week?” Kagome followed her new friend to the long counter that she supposed led into the kitchen. “Why so long?” And why is this barrier so important? Do you have a problem with strays or something?” Other people were placing their dirty dishes on the conveyor belt built into it. Within seconds, they disappeared through a flap cut into the wall.

 

“The barrier protects us,” Sango replied. “It also keeps out the others.” As if realizing that she might have said too much, she looked uneasy and glanced away. “Come on. I'll show you around.”

 

Kagome trotted after Sango, determined to get some more answers when she had a chance. Sango was a good guide and Kagome was impressed in spite of herself. Kaede's house was huge. It was where all of the work was done for each Christmas. Even though the holiday season was now over, the helpers seemed to be just as busy.

 

“We can't make gifts out of nothing,” Sango explained. “And Santa doesn't get paid, so we had to find other ways to get the materials needed.”

 

“Why make the gifts?” Kagome asked. “Wouldn't it be easier just to buy them wholesale and then distribute them?”

 

Sango shook her head. “How would we explain millions of dolls and erector sets being shipped to the North Pole? Some of our people who chose to leave have managed to make it into positions where they can get us the materials. It causes a lot less stir. Grab a coat and a hat and I'll show you more.”

 

She led Kagome outside. A blast of arctic wind buffeted them. Kagome shivered despite the heavy jacket she was wearing. Kaede's house may be huge, but it was comfortably warm. She wondered how Kaede managed that without huge heating bills. More magic probably.

 

“This is the best part, Kagome!” Shippou darted up to a small hut that looked almost exactly like the others. He tugged open the door, releasing the aroma of fresh-cut alfalfa and the dusty smell of animal feed.

 

Kagome followed the fox child into what turned out to be a barn. Just inside the door, a pair of shaggy donkeys peered at her. A flock of wooly sheep bleated in complaint at the black and white puppies tumbling around their feet. A corral on one side held several frisky colts and fillies. One on the other side contained bouncing calves and a small goat or two.

 

“How sweet!” Kagome bent over to pick up the tabby kitten that was rubbing against her foot. She scratched his ears and was rewarded with a stuttering purr. “Do you raise your own animals? Are they for the children to play with?” She looked at Shippou when she said this.

 

“Nah!” Shippou glared at the overly enthusiastic goat that tried to butt him with its head. “Do you know how many people ask for a kitten or a puppy? Some want ponies or ferrets or baby crocodiles. We keep the animals here until we find somebody who really deserves it.”

 

The kitten in Kagome's arms slapped at the tassel hanging from the end of her hat. She untangled the kitten's claws and set him back on the ground. “Do you breed them here then? I don't see too many adult animals.” The kitten scampered over to join the games of two other kittens.

 

Shippou shook his head and started to say something, but fell silent at a warning glare from Sango.

 

“We have farms outside,” Sango said. “They take care of the details for us. There's something else I want to show you.”

 

They didn't go outside as Kagome half expected. Instead, Sango led her to another room that had been hidden by bales of stacked hay. She didn't see how this room should exist. From the outside, the hut didn't look big enough to contain half of what was inside. It still surprised her, though she was starting to get used to it.

 

Sango gave a curious whistle as she walked in the door. A kitten came running, separating itself from a group of its fellows. It mewed happily and leaped into the girl's arms. Kagome smiled, watching the kitten flick its two tails.

 

What? Two tails? Kagome stared at the happily purring kitten. It was a pale cream color with black ears, black paws, black rings near the tip of the tails, and a black diamond in the middle of its forehead. She couldn't be totally sure, but she thought this was the same one that had been with Kaede earlier.

 

“This is Kirara.” Sango scratched the kitten behind the ears. “She's a firecat. One of several.”

 

Kagome looked and, sure enough, all of the cats in the room sported two tails. They looked perfectly ordinary otherwise. “Do people ask for two-tailed cats for Christmas?”

 

“No, of course not.” Sango beckoned Kagome to follow and led the way back outside, cradling the firecat in one arm. “Firecats are helpers as much as the rest of us. They were nearly wiped out centuries ago. Kaede welcomed them here and keeps them safe and protected.” She stopped in the middle of a snow-covered street. “This is good.”

 

Shippou jumped up on Kagome's shoulder, startling her again. “Watch this, Kagome! You'll love it!”

 

Kirara jumped out of Sango's arms. Sango backed away a few steps. “Okay, Kirara.”

 

“What is she--? Oh!”

 

With a great whoosh of fire, Kirara grew to several times her former size. Flames licked around her paws. She now sported fangs, at least as long as Kagome's hand. The firecat yawned and sat down, tilting her head to regard Kagome quizzically.

 

Kagome was startled, but enough unusual things had happened to her in the past several hours, that she wasn't really frightened. “This is Kirara? She got big.”

 

“Yep. Kirara and her kind fly us where we need to go,” Shippou boasted. “Firecats are really fast, and they're good in a fight, too.”

 

“Instead of reindeer...” Kagome mused. “Nothing else has been like it is in the stories. I shouldn't be surprised that you use flying demon cats instead of flying deer.”

 

“Thanks, Kirara,” Sango said as the firecat shrank to her smaller form. She turned to Kagome. “Why don't you come to my place for tea? I'm sure this is a lot to take in.”

 

“That sounds wonderful.”

 

They hadn't gone too far, when someone hailed them. Kagome turned to see a rather handsome boy running after them. The wind ruffled his unruly brown hair and flung snow at cheeks made pink by the cold. In one hand he was holding something, shielding it from the wind so that Kagome couldn't see what it was. He didn't seem to have pointed ears or a tail, but Kagome didn't automatically exclude him from being a demon.

 

“Do you need something, Hojo?” Sango asked the panting boy as he slid to a stop in front of them.

 

“That's Hojo,” Shippou whispered in Kagome's ear. “He's human. Hasn't been here that long, either. Not too bright, but he has a talent with plants.”

 

“Everything's fine, Sango,” Hojo said when he had caught his breath enough to talk. “I heard that we had a visitor.” He turned to Kagome with a dazzling smile. “Hi. I'm sorry that I couldn't greet you earlier. Had to fertilize the poinsettias in the greenhouse. I'm Hojo.”

 

Kagome smiled. “It's nice to meet you, Hojo. My name's Kagome.” She winced and could have smacked herself for that remark. How many visitors did these people see in a year? Of course he would know who she was.

 

Hojo didn't seem to take offense. His smile only widened. “Oh, this is for you. A kind of welcome to the village present.” He held out a beautiful snow-white flower with just the faintest pink blush tinting the tips of the petals.

 

“It's beautiful.” Kagome accepted the flower, examining it with interest. She had never seen anything like it before. “I love it.”

 

“It's a snow rose,” Hojo offered shyly. “They only grow in Kaede's village. I sort of created them.” He glanced at the ground and then back at Kagome as if undecided about something. “Would you like to have tea or something?” he blurted and then blushed.

 

“Thank you, but I can't.” She winced as the boy's hopeful look faded. “I'm having tea with Sango today. Maybe some other time.”

 

He immediately brightened. “Sure. I'll see you later, Kagome. I know you're going to love it here!” With a cheerful wave, he hurried back the way he had come.

 

Sango giggled. “I think Hojo likes you. He doesn't give his precious snow roses to just anybody.”

 

Kagome blushed. “He seems like a nice boy.” A flake of white spiraled out of the sky and landed on the flower.

 

“It's starting to snow,” Shippou observed. “We should get inside.”

 

Sango led the way to another hut that also looked like all of the others. There didn't seem to be a lot of imagination in construction around here. She held open the door for her new friend. Already the snow was coming down thicker, and the wind was starting to blow harder.

 

“Looks like another blizzard,” Sango said. Kagome looked concerned. Sango hastened to reassure her. “We get them all the time. Nothing to worry about. We're perfectly safe in the village.”

 

Something occurred to Kagome. “What about outside the village? Inuyasha and Miroku are patrolling the border. What if they're caught in the blizzard?”

 

“Don't worry, Kagome.” Shippou hopped off her shoulder. “They've been through blizzards before. They'll be fine.”

 

Kagome didn't look convinced, but she didn't press it. She let Shippou lead her to the low table in the middle of the room while Sango got out the tea things. A lot of things about this place didn't make sense; not counting the demons that she never knew existed. There was a lot of security for an isolated village that made gifts for Christmas.

 

Sango poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. Kagome accepted with a smile and a quiet “thank you.” Several minutes passed in silence while they savored their tea. Kirara lapped at a bowl of milk, her paws tucked neatly under her body.

 

Kagome set her cup down. “Can I ask you something, Sango?”

 

The older girl looked suddenly wary, but she nodded.

 

“I don't mean to be nosy. This is a great place, and you've all been so wonderful to me. I was just wondering how all of you came to be living here. Did you fill out job applications or something?”

 

Sango sipped her tea slowly, avoiding Kagome's eyes. Shippou stared into his cup as if it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. They both looked extremely uncomfortable. Kagome felt her resolve waver and had to force herself to focus. If she wasn't stuck here, then these people owed her a few answers.

 

“Do you really want to know?” Sango poured herself another cup of tea, but didn't drink it. She just held the cup in her hands. Kagome nodded, and she sighed. “It's a long story...”

 

“Please, Sango,” Kagome pleaded. “I think that I deserve to know what's really going on.”

 

^**^

 

Food for Thought: My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today I have finished a cheese pizza and two bags of chips. I feel better already.