Murakumo Birthday 2

I had everything I needed for Murakumo's birthday, all I had to do now was sneak everything into the house. I had to procure some items from auction sites and have them delivered to my workplace to keep them a secret. There was also a necklace that I bought from a nearby jewellers. Murakumo was home but I was confident I could get them by her if she was busy working on a deadline. The real problem would be the "kids" she brought into the relationship; a trio of misbehaving wolves that only obeyed her commands.

 

The biggest culprit was Kotarō who had found a way to ruin every valentines and had at one time ran off with Murakumo's Christmas gift. Kagerō was his partner in crime who's job was to bury anything they got their hands on and lastly was Daigorō, the ringleader of the operation who never got his paws dirty. Any one of them was a danger to the rare collectibles I had tucked under my arms.

 

As soon as I turned the lock on the front door I was jumped by Kotarō who flattened me out on my back and sent the packages and bags I was holding onto sprawled onto the floor. He had all four paws on me and lapped at my cheek, I had to fight push him away 'Kotarō! Enough!' I heard Murakumo call from her office and Kotarō let me go. I scrambled to pick everything up and called to Kumo to alleviate any suspicion 'Hey, I'm home!'

 

I could hear her shift the office door open wider 'H-hey, I was just about to make a coffee. You want one?' She shouted down the hall. It would be easier to sneak around if she just stayed in her office. I had to keep her occupied.

 

'Don't worry, I'll get it!' I yelled back. Murakumo seemed satisfied with my response and that was one problem solved. Now I just had to deal with the "brats." Kotarō and Kagerō circled around my legs and threatened to topple me over again. I tip-toed around the wolves and made my way to an antique cabinet in the spare bedroom that went mostly unused. I chose it for the lock and key on the doors as the wolves were clever enough to raid regular closets.

 

Kotarō and Kagerō watched me with perked ears and tilted their heads as if they marvelled at the lock. I carefully stowed away the gifts and covered them with old pillow cases as camouflage. 'There that should do it for now.' I was confident they were safe for now and latched the door shut. The wolves sat and watched the door, as if trying to figure out how it worked. To be safe I took the key with me 'You're not ruining this surprise!' I boasted.

 

I headed to the kitchen to go make Murakumo's coffee before she started to suspect anything but had to race back to the cabinet seconds later due to the wolves scratching at the antique. Their ruckus threatened to drag Murakumo away from her work and ruin the surprise. I had pull them away by their collars and march them over to go and sit with the snoozing Daigorō. I even went back and closed the door to the spare room just to be sure and I thought it would be over.

 

With Murakumo's fresh coffee in hand I finally got a moment with her. She was cooped up in her office working on the next, eagerly awaited chapter in her manga series. It had gotten so popular she had offers for an animated adaptation and the fans online would be furious if they were kept waiting any longer after the cliffhanger the last entry ended on.

 

I could see from her monitor that she was using photo references and one of them looked like her friend, who was a bit of a pop culture phenomenon of her own, with the face cropped out. It couldn't have been her though, that would be silly. 'Here's your coffee. Sorry to keep you waiting, our kids were hyperactive today.'

 

'I could hear them scratching.' Murakumo sipped at her fresh drink and set it down next to the other mugs that covered the corner of her desk. 'I'm almost done here, then you can have me to yourself again.' She smirked 'How was your day?' Before I could answer there was a loud crash. It was as if a wall had come down. 'Wh-what w-as th-that?' Murakumo stuttered.

 

Both of us raced down the hall to investigate and we found the source of the commotion in the spare room. The door had been opened and the antique cabinet had been toppled over. The wolves had clawed into it through the back where a flimsy board had been put in as a replacement. Kotarō and Kagerō stood over the downed antique, both of them with a gift I'd purchased in their mouths. Kagerō had pulled the necklace from its case and slobbered over it while Kotarō carried a mint condition Nobunaga figure from Sengoku Super Wars in his maw.

 

'What's going on here?' Murakumo growled. Kagerō relented quickly and crawled low to the ground towards Murakumo, presenting the necklace to her. 'What's this? Looks expensive.' Murakumo pinched the necklace and pulled it free 'Other than the drool it looks gorgeous.'

 

I couldn't keep any of this a secret now and I too gave myself up. 'It's decorated with emeralds to match your eyes.' I nervously scratched the back of my head and watched as Murakumo blushed 'I wanted to keep it a secret but you know these two.'

 

Kotarō was crafty enough to use our surrender as his chance to escape and he ran off with his prize. 'Not so fast!' Murakumo barked. She gave chase with superhuman speed and tackled the wolf to the ground. The figure flew from Kotarō's mouth and tumbled across the ground. Amazingly it survived in tact but its mint condition status was tainted by wolf drool. Murakumo snatched it up 'That's not for you!'

 

I caught up with Murakumo and was relieved her gift was in one piece 'It's a little early but: Happy Birthday.' Murakumo sat on the floor and clutched at her presents. I don't think she expected me to spend so much, I had to save up for months to get these for her. She hopped to her feet and dashed over to squeeze me tight.

 

My surprise had been spoiled and an antique had been ruined but at least Murakumo was happy and that's what mattered to me the most. She even took time away from her work to marvel at her gifts and try on her new necklace. Her eyes lit up when she saw herself in the mirror. We spent the evening together on the couch and managed to have a whole twenty minutes together before being dog-piled by Murakumo's wolves. Kotarō had the audacity to sit himself between us.