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Kimiko glided into the dining room where her mate was busy setting up the buffet table for the party. "Is everything ready, dear?"
Kagura didn't look up from the cake, not when she had a masterpiece before her. She couldn't afford to mess this up, not when she was this close to achieving perfection. "Almost. I just need to arrange the candles. I got Kagome one of those flower candles that springs open when you light it." And the effect would be glorious.
Kimiko's concern was palpable. "Are you...certain that is wise, my dear?"
Kagura rolled her eyes. She was used to the unfounded concern in her mate's voice, after all. "It's a candle, not a hand grenade."
"I am aware, my little wind, and it is certainly a lovely idea, but..." Kimiko trailed off as she set down a bowl of chips on the buffet table before turning to face her wife. The matter would need to be put delicately, but the topic simply could not be avoided.
"Kimi, I seriously doubt I can set the house on fire again," Kagura reminded her, all too aware of the direction of her mate's thoughts, "and Kagome already warded Mokomoko's collar with a fire protection charm." The maine coon Kagome had given them was now fully fireproof—not that Kagura intended to test that out.
Kimiko pressed her lips together; she certainly remembered the last…situation, even if Kagura did not. The last kitchen fire as her willful mate had attempted to make cake pops was exactly why every room in their home now had a state-of-the-art sprinkler system installed.
"Kagura, dear, while I have no doubts as to Kagome's prowess," Kimiko replied with a patience that, at times, was rather tested by her mate, "may I remind you that she warded the feline, not the entire house."
Kagura pouted. "I know that. You also know that I baked the cake myself this time and didn't set anything ablaze, right?" It was the first time she'd managed to do so, and dammit, no one else seemed all that impressed. Sure, the cake was half-cake, half-ice cream, but the important thing was that she didn't burn, incinerate, or flambé the cake part. She deserved credit for that.
Kimiko’s brows raised. "Yet," she stressed, deadpanned, as she eyed the rather ornate cake Kagura had managed to assemble. Kimiko hadn't woken up this morning worried about her house, not quite anyway, but now she deeply wished that she'd asked Kagome to ward the entire house and not just the cat. She made a mental note to lower their deductible on their fire insurance...just in case.
The wind elemental caught her mate eyeing the cake warily. "It's not going to blow up, you know." She rolled her eyes again. "I'll have you know that I've actually learned a few things since the last time." She crossed her arms, silently daring her mate to argue.
Kimiko turned to grab the last entree for the table. "Let us hope so," she said breezily as she swept past her mate. "Let us hope so indeed, my little wind."
Not fifteen minutes later, Sesshomaru and Kagome arrived for the small birthday party, and the afternoon so far unfolded normally, to Kimiko's relief—at least, it did until the ice cream cake was pulled out of the freezer and set on the table for the big moment.
The cake was beautiful, decorated tastefully with little icing roses along its border, and Kagome had the widest smile on her face as she praised Kagura for her efforts. The moment was absolutely perfect...right up until Kagura pulled out a blowtorch from the pantry.
A chill raced down Kagome's spine as she and Sesshomaru exchanged a nervous look. Kimiko had not even realized they'd had a blowtorch, and she was quite concerned as Kagura approached the cake. "Kagura, dear, I do not think we require a blowtorch—"
"It's to light the candles,” Kagura explained, grinning as she proudly hefted it into the air. "I've always wanted to do this."
If history was anything to go by, Kagome's anxiousness was more than justified, and she gripped her mate's arm tightly in an unspoken show of her growing nerves, silently begging him to do something before the inevitable bonfire occurred. It was Kimiko, however, who came to their defense.
"Ah, my little wind, perhaps a lighter would be more appropriate? Surely the candle isn't that hard to light." Kimiko smiled at her mate, but the wrinkles she vehemently denied having crinkled on her face as she attempted to talk her mate down from the proverbial ledge.
Kagura's grin widened. "Oh, it's fine, don't worry. These bad boys can't be that powerful. What is man's invention to the might of a yokai?" She hefted up the blowtorch and, before anyone could stop her, a fierce blaze was exploding from the tip in a fiery projectile right toward the cake she'd so painstakingly prepared that very morning.
Almost as soon as the flamethrower lit up, the fire suppression system kicked in. In a matter of seconds, the sprinklers soaked everything and everyone, dousing the weapon out before it could reach the candle it was intended to light. Everyone sputtered in shock, but Mokomoko yowled as he fled Sesshoumaru's side, hissing as he raced for the nearest cover.
For a moment, everyone froze—save for the large white Maine coon that was now taking shelter under the buffet table—as they tried to take everything in.
Fire. Water. Puddles. The fire sprinkler company calling to see if the fire department needed to be called.
Kagome took a deep breath and let out an exasperated sigh, brushing wet hair away from her face. Despite the small amount of hope she'd had, she couldn't be too surprised by the wind yokai's recklessness. In spite of everything, a burst of laughter punched out of her chest from the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. She was wet, they were wet, the cake was wet and rapidly melting, and yet, the astonished look on Kagura’s face as she started at the smoking end of her blowtorch was probably the funniest thing she’d ever seen.
The wind yokai turned to her mate, her expression horrified as she muttered, "You broke it. You broke my brand-new blowtorch! Dammit, I didn't even get to light anything on fire yet!"
Sesshomaru, initially too relieved that the clingy furball had finally left his presence, glanced up then. "Hnnn. It is better that your blowtorch is broken than for Haha-ue to explain why your house caught on fire to the insurance company. Again."
Kagura gave him a dirty look. "When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it, stepson."
Sesshoumaru bristled at the term, but Kagome stepped in quickly before the situation could escalate. "Since dessert is pretty much a wash," her mate snorted at that, "why don't we all freshen up and then go to my favorite cafe for dessert instead? The fruit cake is amazing, though," she added quickly, giving Kagura an apologetic smile, "it's probably not as good as your cake would've been."
Kagura huffed as she set the blowtorch down. "Stop looking at me like that. I didn't even burn anything this time."
"That is hardly something to be disappointed about, mate," Kimiko replied dryly.
"Oh, bite me." Kagura gave her mate a petulant look. "Nothing caught on fire this time; that's all I'm pointing out."
"Nothing caught on fire because of the sprinkler system, Kagura—and while the blowtorch is, admittedly, awesome, couldn't you have waited to use it on—just a suggestion—an intruder instead of my birthday cake?" Kagome used one of towels Sesshomaru had taken from the guest bathroom to dry her hair.
"It would have worked on the candles, okay?" Kagura turned to her mate as Kimiko discreetly attempted to toss out the blowtorch. "Hey! Don’t you dare throw that away!"
Kimiko sighed as she set the blowtorch back on the table.
After snatching back her now moist blowtorch, Kagura turned to Kagome and continued, "And this neighborhood is so safe, who knew when I was going to be able to use it on some intruder trying to break in? I've had that thing for months now; I couldn't wait any longer!"
"Yeah, well, now you've certainly used it." Kagome gave her best friend a stern look as Kagura attempted to tuck part of the blowtorch into her purse. "And you can leave that thing here, Kagura, because we do not need that thing at my favorite cafe." She was not about to get herself banned because Kagura liked to play with fire—literally.
"Patience is a virtue," Sesshoumaru muttered in the background. "It would seem to be a virtue, however, that is in short supply in your chosen female, Haha-ue."
Kimiko sighed and gave her son a resigned glance. "Yes, I am aware, my son. However, that is part of her charm," the female inuyoukai responded before muttering under her breath, "most of the time."
Kagome saw Kagura open her mouth to reply and took charge before the discussion took over the rest of the afternoon. "Why don't we all go back to change and clean up? We’ll meet up at the cafe in, say, an hour? Does that work for everyone?
Kimiko went over and wrapped an arm around her mate's shoulder, leading her toward the stairs. "That sounds perfect, dear. Perhaps while we're there, we can discuss alternate venues for birthdays from now on?" She glanced over her shoulder and, recalling several other recent mishaps, suggested, "Perhaps your mother's house might be more accommodating, hmm?"
Kagura blanched. She remembered the last—and only—time she'd had a fire at that home, and she did not want to repeat the experience. Kagome's mother was fearsome when she was enraged, and she had been quite enraged at the near-loss of one of her beloved family heirlooms.
Kagome grinned. "Oh, she would love to host! She always enjoys an excuse to cook—and the company, of course."
Kagura hung her head, disappointed at the turn of events. If they were going to be having parties at Kagome's childhood home in the future, she was not going to be allowed anywhere near fire. Ever.
"Perfect." Kimiko inclined her head. "We will see you soon, then, dear."
Relieved that the situation had been resolved so readily, Kagome and Sesshomaru left to change, and Kagome couldn't help but hope that hosting at her mother's place would prevent another fire from happening—ever.