InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 5: Phantasm ❯ Kissing Cousins ( Chapter 50 )

~~Chapter 50~~

~Kissing Cousins~

 

Bas rolled over and leaned up on his elbow, peering over Sydnie's shoulder to stare at the hanyou who did not belong in their bed. Sparing a moment to narrow his eyes on his cousin, Bas gave up without a word and flopped back down, opting instead to ignore the interloper.

 

Sydnie craned her neck to peer at the hanyou before slowly casting Bas an amused little grin. “Who's that?” she asked, jerking her head to indicate the unwelcome guest.

 

“That? That's Morio, my cousin. Ignore him, kitty. He'll go away.”

 

Morio heaved a heavy sigh, tucking his hands behind his neck and staring up at the ceiling.

 

“I don't think he's going away,” Sydnie commented a few minutes later.

 

“Poke him. See if he's still breathing.”

 

Sydnie held the sheet against her naked breasts and rolled over, poking Morio in the side and drawing another melodramatic sigh from him though he remained staring off into space otherwise. “I think he's dead,” Sydnie stated, sitting up as Bas pulled the sheet closer around her.

 

“Hmm, well, I'll get rid of him before he starts to stink,” Bas grumbled. “Maybe after breakfast . . .”

 

Morio sighed for the third time and finally rolled onto his side, leaning on his elbow and blinking lazily at his cousin and Sydnie. “Nice to meet you, Sydnie,” he commented before shifting his golden gaze back. “Bas, you've gotta help me.”

 

“I'll help you,” Bas said with a loud snort. “I'll help you get the hell out of my bed, Morio.”

 

“In a minute,” Morio went on, waving a hand to shut Bas up. “I've got a problem, and I need . . . her help.”

 

“Tell her about your boner, and I swear to God I'll kill you.”

 

“My . . . wha . . .?” Morio glanced down at his crotch then shook his head in confusion. “No, no! Nothing like that! She doesn't give me a boner—well, she might have if I hadn't met her first, but damn it, the only boners I pop lately are aimed directly at her . . . now just to get her to see my boner, and we'd be in business.”

 

“Her?” Bas echoed with a slow shake of his head. “Who is `her'?”

 

Morio sighed dreamily, his statement coming out with the expulsion of breath so that it sounded even more wistful than should have been possible. “Me-e-eara.”

 

“Meara.”

 

Morio nodded, flopping onto his back and grinning in what could only be described as an idiotic manner. “Meara, Meara, Meara, Meara, Meara . . . ah . . . It's true love, Bas. She's my mate.”

 

“Your mate, huh?”

 

“Absolutely. Too bad she won't give me the time of day . . . but she will.”

 

“She will.”

 

“Yes, yes . . . she definitely will. We're meant to be. I've seen it in the stars. It's been prophesized. It's like . . . fate.”

 

“Did your father whack you upside the head recently? You really ought to start paying more attention when you're practicing,” Bas added dubiously.

 

“I like him,” Sydnie commented to Bas.

 

Bas rolled his eyes, wrapping a lock of her hair around his index finger. “Don't get too close to him, kitty. He might be contagious. I'm not sure . . .”

 

Morio sat up quickly, eyes igniting in a thoughtful light. “You're a girl!” he exclaimed, grabbing Sydnie by the shoulders and giving her a little shake. “You can help me!”

 

“Help you do what?”

 

Morio lay back again, this time pulling Sydnie down with him, nestling her in the crook of his arm. “Here's the thing, Sydnie . . . I can call you Sydnie, right?”

 

“Sydnie's fine, puppy,” she giggled.

 

Morio grinned and nodded. “See, nothing I've tried has worked so far: serenading her, walking her home from class . . . waiting for her outside the library . . . bringing her flowers . . .”

 

“Stalking . . .” Bas added.

 

“Not stalking,” Morio snorted. “Wooing. Huge difference.”

 

“Wait . . . did you just use the word . . . `wooing'?”

 

“Yes, I believe I did.”

 

“Wo-o-ow.”

 

“Hush, puppy,” Sydnie said, covering Bas' mouth with her hand. “I'm trying to help your cousin—you could take a few lessons from him, I think, on wooing.”

 

Bas snorted loudly and rolled over onto his side. “I don't woo,” he grumbled.

 

“I know,” she retorted dryly.

 

“Anyway,” Morio interrupted, “she's just gorgeous, you know? Just . . . Wait! I have a picture . . . wanna see it?”

 

“Okay,” Sydnie agreed.

 

Morio rolled his hips to the side far enough that he could fish his wallet out of his back pocket. “See?” he said with a dramatic flourish, holding the wallet open so that Sydnie could examine the picture.

 

Sydnie grinned at the dark haired girl in the picture. She wasn't smiling, but her silver eyes glowed softly in the natural light of the snapshot. “She is pretty.”

 

“Damn straight, she is!”

 

“Lemme see,” Bas said, reaching over to snatch the wallet out of his cousin's slack fingers. He scowled at the image and slowly shook his head, moving his hand to elude Morio's attempts to reclaim the wallet. “She looks familiar,” he finally stated. “What's her last name?”

 

“MacDonnough,” he supplied with a wolfish grin. “Meara MacDonnough is her name . . . stealing my heart is her game!”

 

“Stick to drawing cars,” Bas retorted with a grimace. “Your poetry sucks. MacDonnough? As in, the MacDonnough?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, yeah . . . her father's the European tai-youkai.”

 

Bas winced and let Morio grab the wallet back. Eyes widening as Morio plastered a wet, sloppy kiss on the plastic sleeve that held the image, Bas sighed but refrained from comment.

 

“Good grief, how many stupid tai-youkai are there?” Sydnie grouched.

 

Bas chuckled. “Not that many, kitty . . . we just happen to know most of them.”

 

She snorted and shook her head, her disgusted sigh saying it all, as far as she was concerned.

 

“If I were you, Morio, I'd forget her. Her father's a nasty one, you know.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, but this is totally different.”

 

“How do you figure?”

 

Morio shrugged. “It's me! Everyone loves me!”

 

“She won't give you the time of day, right? That ought to tell you something.”

 

Morio winced and heaved another loud sigh.

 

“You be nice, puppy,” Sydnie admonished, tapping her index finger against the tip of Bas' nose in gentle reproach. He snorted. “You've really serenaded her?”

 

Morio nodded enthusiastically. “Sure! Love songs all the way, baby!”

 

“Did you consider the fact that you're tone-deaf when you thought that serenading her would be a good idea?” Bas parried.

 

“Incidentals! I've been taking lessons.”

 

“You have?”

 

“Absolutely . . . they have `em on public access television every evening at seven o'clock.”

 

“Good God,” Bas groaned.

 

“I think it's sweet,” Sydnie piped up. “Why don't you ever serenade me, puppy?”

 

“Same reason he shouldn't,” Bas remarked before turning his attention back to his cousin once more. “Anyway, you've already proven that you're a glutton for punishment. Ian MacDonnough hates hanyous. There's no way on earth that he'll sit back and watch his daughter marry one, you ass.”

 

Morio looked downright hurt by Bas' cryptic commentary. Ears flattening against his skull, he flinched slightly, and Sydnie shot Bas a doleful glare. “Well, she isn't like that,” Morio grumbled.

 

Bas sighed. “Maybe—maybe not.”

 

Sydnie carefully wrapped the sheet around herself since she was pretty sure that Bas would have a fit if she ran around naked in front of his cousin even if it wouldn't bother her in the least. She crawled over Bas and ran lightly down the steps, heading for the bathroom.

 

Bas watched her go before shooting Morio a significant glance. “Look, Ri, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I just think that you'd be better off forgetting about her; that's all.”

 

“You think I haven't tried that?”

 

Bas rolled over and sat up, scratching the back of his neck. He glanced over his shoulder and sighed inwardly. Morio was frowning at the high ceiling, hands tucked casually behind his head with a stubborn scowl on his face. “Have you?”

 

Morio grunted in response.

 

“All I'm saying is that you're going to end up in the middle of a family squabble if you're not careful, or worse: she will. Ian MacDonnough won't accept you for his daughter, and if that's the case, you'll be forcing her to choose between you and him. How fair is that?”

 

Morio sighed. “Sydnie still doesn't like Cain, you mean.”

 

Bas nodded and stood, striding over to rummage through the bureau drawers to locate a pair of jeans. “Something like that.”

 

“But you'd choose her, right?”

 

That earned him a momentary glower before Bas shook out his jeans and jerked them on.

 

“Holy balls, Bas . . . you've gotten even bigger!” Morio blurted.

 

Bas rolled his eyes but couldn't quite contain the rampant blush that rose to the surface of his skin. “Sydnie doesn't complain about it,” he growled.

 

Morio finally broke into a wolfish grin. “Don't suppose she does.”

 

“Get out of here, will you? I'll come down in awhile.”

 

Morio rolled off the bed onto his feet and shrugged. “Yeah, okay . . . you want Sydnie all to yourself . . . selfish if not completely understandable. She's—what's the word? Ah, yes, a hottie.”

 

Bas chuckled as he tugged a t-shirt over his head. “Damn straight, she is.”

 

Morio headed for the stairs but stopped, glancing over his shoulder as his easygoing smile faltered then disappeared. “Okay . . . hey, Bas?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Could you . . .? Would you mind not saying anything to Gunnar about Meara right away? I don't care what he says, but . . .”

 

Bas sighed, his expression foreboding despite the curt nod he offered.

 

“It's not that I'm afraid of what he'd say,” Morio went on, “but . . . Well, you know Gunnar.”

 

And he did, didn't he? Gunnar, in his no-nonsense way, would be more than happy to go into detail as to why he thought that Morio was setting himself up to play the fool. Thing was, Bas couldn't say that Gunnar would be wrong, either. Ian MacDonnough, it was safe to say, was just not a nice person, but as much as Bas wanted to tell Morio that there really wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that things would work out with the MacDonnough's daughter, he couldn't seem to find the words to crush his cousin, either.

 

“All right,” Bas agreed slowly, tucking the shirt into his jeans. “If that's what you want.”

 

Morio shrugged. “Thanks, Bas, and, uh, congratulations.”

 

“Yeah. Thanks.”

 

Morio grinned again, loping down the stairs and striding toward the hulking doors of the studio, whistling a painfully off-key love song under his breath.

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“She'll never go through with it, you know,” Gunnar pointed out with a grin as he jerked open the sliding glass door and strode out onto the patio with Bas right behind him.

 

Bas snorted and closed the door after following his cousin outside. “Pfft! You're such an ass, Gunnar, just so you know.”

 

Gunnar chuckled. “Maybe, but you know she'll dump you—leave you standing at the altar.”

 

“You wish.”

 

“Hell, yes! She's better off with me, and she knows it.”

 

“Such an ass . . .”

 

Gunnar's grin faded, only to be replaced by a little scowl as he lifted his chin and surveyed the sprawling yard of the Zelig estate. “I smell `em, but I don't see `em.”

 

Bas glanced around, too, absently scanning the freshly fallen snow. A good two feet of snow had fallen overnight, adding to the blanket that was already there, and Bas grunted, nodding at the two sets of footprints that led toward the old stone stairway on the edge of the yard that descended to the pebbly beach and the ocean beyond.

 

Gunnar grimaced as he and Bas drew closer to the stairs. Having figured that Morio and Mikio had gone down to the beach, he spotted the darkened leather of Morio's coat sticking up above the blanket of snow. “Suppose Mikio fell down again?” he muttered under his breath.

 

Bas shrugged offhandedly. “Dunno . . . either that or one of Morio's lamer pranks.”

 

Gunnar grunted.

 

Bas agreed, really. Chances were good that Mikio had fallen down again, and Morio had done what he always did—what the other three always did at times like that: he'd flopped down beside Mikio, pretending that he wanted a breather, too. It had become an understood thing over time. Mikio's balance was bad—so bad that there were times when he'd simply fall down, even if he weren't moving at all. He hated it when the others would make a fuss or try to help him stand up again, so they would sit down—or lie down, as the case was now—pretending as though they were all just taking a breather. Mikio never commented on it, but it was in his eyes, how much he appreciated the gesture that gave him time to regain control of his equilibrium at his own pace.

 

Gunnar draped his hands on his lean hips and tilted his head to the side as he stared down at the two silver-haired hanyous lying in the snow, both of them seemingly unaware of the cold. Mikio was staring at the thick clouds overhead while Morio had his forearm draped casually over his face. “Nice day for a lie-about, don't you think?” Morio deadpanned.

 

“I think you've spent too much time in Scotland,” Gunnar shot back just before stretching out in the snow beside Morio.

 

Bas shuffled over and sank down in the open spot between Gunnar and Mikio. “How was the flight, Uncle?”

 

He didn't have to see Mikio's face to know that the hanyou was rolling his eyes and making a face. “It was a flight, Nephew.”

 

Bas chuckled. Mikio was only two years older than Bas and wasn't overly fond of being called `Uncle', in any case. “Glad you could make it.”

 

“Yeah, well, Mikio's just irritated because the stewardess thought he was cute,” Morio added.

 

“Baka,” Mikio mumbled.

 

“What's this?” Gunnar demanded. “You didn't take Grandfather's plane?”

 

“He needed them both since he and Toga are flying in later in the week,” Mikio explained.

 

Bas grimaced. Mikio hated flying, not that anyone blamed him. No one in their family was fond of it. The changes in cabin pressure were lessened since the Inutaisho planes had more sensitive controls, but Mikio, who seemed to have more trouble than most with those changes in pressure, probably felt worse for having made the international trek on public transportation, no less, which would also account for his inability to control his balance, if that had been the case. Mikio didn't fall nearly as much as he used to when they were younger, but flying in general tended to throw him off-balance often enough and seemed to affect him for weeks afterward, as well. “I'm glad you could make it, Mikio,” Bas mumbled.

 

“I can't believe you're the first one to get married,” Morio grumbled.

 

Bas lifted his head to peer over the crust of snow in an effort to see just what was making the dull thumping sound that punctuated his remarks. Morio's boot kept knocking against Gunnar's, and Bas let his head fall back, figuring that it was only a matter of time before Gunnar smacked Morio for the irritating display. “Why's that?” Bas demanded.

 

“Because,” Morio explained in a tone that implied his belief that the answer should have been obvious. “You're a grouch.”

 

“Sydnie likes him grouchy,” Gunnar remarked with a snort.

 

“Too bad she doesn't like you dead,” Bas shot back.

 

“It's the ears,” Gunnar quipped with an exaggerated sigh. “Sucks to be you, not-quite-hanyou?”

 

“She doesn't complain,” Bas growled.

 

“I wish I had your ears,” Mikio mumbled. “I can't ever keep my concealment on right.”

 

Bas sighed. That was true enough. Mikio tended to wear a bandana to supplement the concealment spell that should have hidden his hanyou ears from unwitting human eyes—at least, he did when he could get away with it—not an easy thing for a corporate attorney. Kagome could have put a concealment on him, but Mikio was too stubborn to let her, and that was one of the few things that Kagome didn't press. Everyone at the mansion was either youkai, hanyou, or mated to one, so the lack of a concealment here wasn't something to worry about. Since Bas could see through Mikio's concealment, though, he hadn't bothered to remark on the ever-twitching ears on Mikio's head. He didn't have to look to know that Mikio was twiddling his left ear—the one that ticked the most.

 

“Bite your tongue, Mikio! The chicks love the ears!” Morio pointed out.

 

“You'd better not be running around showing `chicks' your ears,” Gunnar grouched.

 

“I'm not, but it stands to reason. Look at Mama . . . and grandma . . . and your mom, too, Mamoruzen.”

 

Gunnar grunted since it was a well-documented fact that his mother did, indeed, love his ears, so much so that she never let an opportunity to play with Gunnar's ears pass without indulging herself.

 

“So the stewardesses were hitting on you?” Bas spoke up, mostly to stave back the altercation that would come from Morio's injudicious use of Gunnar's given name.

 

Mikio groaned. “No.”

 

“Yes,” Morio countered. “He's got the shy act down pat, you know.”

 

“Shut up, Morio,” Mikio grumbled.

 

“They eat it up with a spoon, I tell you!”

 

Mikio reached over and smacked Morio in the center of his chest. Morio chuckled but smacked Mikio back.

 

Gunnar grunted again and balled up his fist, smashing it into Morio's arm. “Stop kicking me, baka.”

 

Morio half-laughed, half-groaned since Gunnar had hit him a lot harder than Mikio had. “I'm not kicking you, Mammie.”

 

“Oi, you're dead,” Gunnar warned.

 

Bas sighed and shook his head as he listened to the sounds of Gunnar and Morio's little scuffle that basically amounted to little more than a series of lazy punches—Gunnar punching Morio, and Morio retaliating in kind.

 

“Have you met Sydnie yet?” Bas asked, kicking Mikio's foot to gain his attention.

 

“Uh, no,” Mikio admitted. “Didn't figure you'd like waking up with Morio and me in bed with you two.”

 

“So long as it isn't Gunsie or Evan, I don't care,” Bas grumbled.

 

“. . . Gunsie?”

 

Bas snorted. “Don't ask.”

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“What are they doing?”

 

Isabelle glanced up from the magazine she'd been leafing through long enough to peer over Sydnie's shoulder at the strange tableaux laid out in the yard below the window. Sydnie had been tugging on her only pair of jeans since she had every intention of hunting down her mate and making him spend the day with her. She'd been sidetracked by the sight of him, sprawled in the snow in the yard below with Gunnar, Morio, and a third hanyou who seemed vaguely familiar to her. Bas looked like he might be smiling just the tiniest bit while Gunnar was busy thumping his fist into Morio's arm while Morio laughed heartily, hitting Gunnar back. The third hanyou was fiddling with his left ear and grinning slightly. `Mikio,' she realized as a grin quirked the corners of her lips. `Sebastian's told me about him . . .'

 

“Hmm . . . looks like Mikio fell down, and the others are just going along with it,” Isabelle explained as a little smile surfaced on her pretty face.

 

“That's strange,” Sydnie finally decided, crossing her arms over her chest despite the amused light in her gaze.

 

“Not really . . . Mikio has balance issues, and the guys have always been rather protective of him.”

 

“So they're all lying in the snow?”

 

“Yep.”

 

Sydnie turned away from the window and grabbed her coat. She wanted a better look at just what the men were doing, and she had to admit that watching Bas' interactions with his cousins was something that fascinated her. Isabelle followed Sydnie onto the balcony, rubbing her arms against the clean, crisp air.

 

Isabelle scooped up a glob of wet, sticky snow and packed it between her bare hands. “I don't think they'll ever grow up,” she commented with a soft giggle.

 

“You grew up with them, right?”

 

Isabelle nodded. “Sure did . . . I was always a little jealous, though. They were always closer, I guess, being guys.”

 

“They left you out?”

 

“Not exactly. I guess I got more attention since I was the only girl. It just wasn't quite the same.”

 

Sydnie giggled, glancing at Isabelle long enough to see the dog-hanyou breathe onto the snowball she was making before rubbing it between her hands for a little longer. Setting that one aside, she scooped up another handful of snow.

 

Sydnie followed suite. “Sebastian makes the others look like puppies,” she mused.

 

Isabelle laughed. “Bastian's always been a big boy,” she agreed. “Funny, since the others aren't really that much shorter than he is.”

 

No, Sydnie had to agree. Bas was the tallest, sure, but that wasn't what made him seem so much larger than the others. He was definitely wider than the others, too, and that gave him the appearance of being larger than life. Gunnar, she knew, was only an inch or two shorter than Bas, but Gunnar was lithe, sinewy; strong certainly but lacking the powerhouse physique that Sydnie adored. Morio, too, was tall enough—well over six feet tall—but he also tended to seem lankier—wiry was a good word for it. Mikio, from what she could see, was nearly as tall as Gunnar though he also seemed to be the least muscled of the men. She didn't doubt for a moment that even Mikio had his fair share of bulk. Maybe it was simply that Bas was just bigger than the others in every single way that made Bas seem so much more powerful than the others . . . Broad shoulders, lean musculature, they were all fine looking men, but they simply didn't compare in Sydnie's mind to her puppy; not at all . . . `Of course,' she had to allow, `the hanyou ears . . . those certainly work to level the playing field. They are awfully cute, after all.' Luckily for her, she was already quite attached to Sebastian. So long as he smiled that bashful little grin at her, she'd make do without the dog ears . . .

 

“Do you have a puppy?” Sydnie asked, forcing her gaze off the men sprawled in the snow.

 

Isabelle giggled and mashed together another snowball. “A puppy? No . . .”

 

Sydnie lifted her eyebrows, smiling at the telling blush that stained Isabelle's cheeks. “Someone else?”

 

Isabelle's smile widened. “Sure . . . maybe . . .”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I asked him to come with me, but just sort of looked at me then shook his head. Even if he did like me, he probably had stuff to do for class, anyway.”

 

“He's still in school?”

 

Her blush deepened as she tucked a long strand of golden bronze hair behind her ear. “Uh, no . . . he's my . . . professor.”

 

“Oh . . .” Sydnie giggled. “Your professor . . .”

 

“I mean, he was my professor last semester. He's not now, but . . .” she shrugged. “I really like him. His name is Griffin . . . Griffin Marin . . . Dr. Griffin . . . He's going to be my mate . . . He just doesn't know it yet.”

 

“You're not dating him?”

 

She wrinkled her nose and grinned. “Well, I couldn't date him last semester. That might have been a little unethical, don't you think? Anyway, no, I waited until the last day of classes . . . then I strolled right up to him and told him that I wanted a private class in Griffin-ology. Too bad he turned me down flat then, too.”

 

Sydnie giggled. After their initial meeting when Bas had to pull her away from this particular cousin to explain that she was a cousin, Sydnie had to allow, however grudgingly, that she actually liked Isabelle Izayoi quite a lot. She would have figured it out eventually. After all, Isabelle's coloring was exactly like Bas' . . . it was simply the shock of seeing him with her draped around him like a second skin that had prompted Sydnie's instinctive desire to protect what was hers. “Is he human?”

 

Isabelle ducked her head almost shyly as she packed another snowball. “No, he's youkai.”

 

“Not a dog?”

 

“He's a bear—a Kodiak-bear-youkai . . . a teddy bear.”

 

Sydnie laughed. “Are you serious about him?”

 

“He's my mate . . . well, he will be. He's just a little shy—at least, that's what I've been telling myself. It makes no sense, really. He's such an intelligent man—brilliant, actually . . .” She sighed, scooping up the snowballs and stuffing them into the generous pockets of her winter coat before offering Sydnie a bright smile. “Anyway, I think those four are looking a little too comfortable down there, don't you think?”

 

Sydnie nodded, gathering the three snowballs she'd made before leaping over the banister and dropping onto the ground below right behind Isabelle, who carefully dusted off her hands and sauntered over to the men, stopping when she was beside the one that Sydnie had yet to meet: Mikio. “Having fun, boys?” she drawled, leaning over and tilting her head as she stared at the hanyou stretched out at her feet.

 

Mikio's hand rose from the indentation in the snow, snaking around Isabelle's ankle before neatly jerking her feet out from under her. She shrieked so shrilly that three sets of dog ears flattened at the sound and landed hard on her bottom before scrambling to her knees, scooping together a huge pile of snow that she promptly smashed into Mikio's face. The hanyou came up sputtering, wiping snow off his face with a good-natured grin lighting his expression. Isabelle ran backward, pulling a snowball from her pocket and whipping it at Gunnar, who had just sat up.

 

“Holy dogs, Izzy!” he complained, gripping his arm where the snowball had struck.

 

“Get her!” Morio hollered as he rolled to his feet and darted after Isabelle.

 

Bas got up, brushing the snow off his pants before straightening up. Sydnie threw a snowball at him, and he slowly turned his head, hand shooting out in a blur of motion as he caught the snowball and quirked an eyebrow.

 

“Kami, she throws like a girl,” Morio snorted in obvious disgust though he winked at Sydnie as he packed a snowball and ducked his head to avoid taking one in the face from Isabelle.

 

Mikio was the slowest in standing up, only to be smacked dead center in his chest by one of Gunnar's flying projectiles. “Speaking of throwing like a girl,” Mikio grumbled, methodically packing a snowball and chuckling as Gunnar sputtered indignantly.

 

Sydnie threw another snowball at Bas. It fizzled out halfway between them, landing harmlessly in the unbroken snow as Bas shook his head and grinned at her. Whipping the intercepted snowball at Gunnar's head, Bas chuckled at the round of expletives that Gunnar mumbled as he flicked snow from his ears and stooped to scoop up another handful of snow. She bit her lip, concentrating on hitting the intended target, and Sydnie hurled the last of her snowballs, watching in dismay as it sailed to the right. Bas shot her a lopsided little grin before stepping into the path of the last snowball. It hit him cleanly in the chest though not hard enough to break apart. He caught it before it fell and whizzed it at Morio, who spun around in time to avoid it, catching Isabelle and locking his arms around her as he swung her around in a circle.

 

“Oh for the love of—that was just sad!” Gunnar grouched, rolling his eyes as he packed another snowball and shook his head at Bas.

 

“What?” Bas demanded, loping over to Sydnie and smiling as she slipped her arms around his waist under the cover of his leather duster.

 

“You moved so that she could hit you?” Morio added, kicking Isabelle's legs out from under her and bringing them both down in the snow.

 

Mikio shook his head and chuckled. “That's not so bad,” he allowed.

 

“The hell it isn't,” Gunnar snorted. He tossed a snowball at Bas, who didn't even try to avoid it as he hunched his shoulders forward, carefully sheltering Sydnie from the flying snow. “You're a pussy!”

 

“No, well, he has a pussy,” Morio mused.

 

“Supposed to marry that pussy,” Mikio added.

 

Sydnie giggled, leaning to the side to peer around Bas' wide body. He leaned, too, just in time to protect her from another volley of snowballs.

 

“They're just jealous, kitty. Ignore them,” he said loudly enough that his voice carried across the backyard. He grinned at her then frowned, shaking his head slightly as another round of snowballs smacked into his wide back. “What the hell are you wearing, cat?” he growled.

 

“Hmm? My jeans?”

 

Bas wrinkled his nose. “I like your dresses better.”

 

“You like it when I show off my legs, you mean?” she parried.

 

Bas shook his head. “I'm used to your dresses. Those draw a little too much attention to your legs.”

 

Sydnie shook her head but kissed his cheek, unable to fathom some of Bas' more insane ideas, like this one. “You're a funny puppy, did you know?”

 

He opened his mouth to retort then snapped it closed, ducking his head and curling himself more securely around her as another bout of snowballs rained down on them unmercifully. “I'm glad they could make it for out wedding . . . doesn't mean I'm not going to clobber `em, though.” That said, he scooped Sydnie up and pushed off the ground, landing near the patio and setting her back on her feet. “Stay here, baby. I'm going to go maim those guys.”

 

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. Bas grinned, pausing long enough to give her a quick squeeze before sprinting after his cousins once more. Said-cousins, however, were busy trying to bury Isabelle, and Bas zipped past them, shoving Gunnar face-first into the snow, knocking Morio on his rear, and stalking Mikio, who had smacked Bas with a well-placed snowball upside the head in the commotion. Isabelle sat up, chucking a snowball at Bas, and he changed direction, scooping up an immense blob of snow that he neatly deposited down the back of Isabelle's sweater and coat.

 

She screamed but laughed, contorting her body as she tried to shake the snow out of her clothing. “Back off, boys, or I'll kiss you! Every last one of you! I swear I will! Don't tempt me!” Isabelle proclaimed.

 

“Now you know, that's just wrong,” Gunnar pointed out. “That's like . . . incest . . . or something.”

 

“Or something,” Morio agreed with a wolfish grin.

 

Mikio shook his head, idly toying with his left ear again. “Kiss . . . them . . . not me. I'm your uncle, and that'd be even worse.”

 

Sydnie giggled, slipping her arms around Bas again. “I'll kiss you, puppy,” she offered.

 

Bas grinned a little shyly but chuckled. “Yeah?”

 

She nodded, and he leaned down to kiss her, his lips cold but warming quickly enough as the kiss deepened.

 

“Oh, kami! Make them stop!” Gunnar grumbled, tossing a snowball at Bas and hitting him in the shoulder. Bas ignored him as he pulled Sydnie a little closer.

 

“Well, they are engaged,” Mikio reasoned.

 

“Makes me want a kiss, too,” Morio announced. “You'll do!”

 

Bas broke the kiss, and Sydnie blinked in shocked silence as the silver haired hanyou grabbed his cousin's face, smacking his lips against Gunnar's cheek soundly.

 

Gunnar growled in annoyance, shoving his cousin away before lunging after him. Morio cackled as he stumbled but kept moving.

 

Mikio shook his head. “That was . . . worse than Bitty,” he decided.

 

“That was disturbing as all hell,” Bas allowed.

 

“I just don't have anything to say about that,” Isabelle remarked.

 

“I thought it was sweet,” Sydnie added.

 

Bas grunted but hugged her close, watching in silence as Gunnar sent Morio sprawling face down in the snow.

 

 

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A/N:

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Reviewers

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MMorg

OROsan0677 ------ 1Inuyashafan ------ inuyashaloverr ------ FireDemon86 ------ Morana_Luna_Marchand (Thanks, and I'm uploading the next chapter early, just for you lol)

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Final Thought fromSydnie:

… A bear-youkai?

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Phantasm): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~