Hey you all…this is in response to a challenge by Jade Garden, and I thought I would take her up on the challenge. Why not? Hope you like it…I will be continuing it soon! I hope to have it done before Christmas, but who knows. Have fun with it.
Read and enjoy,
-MC
Disclaimer: All I want for Christmas is no more disclaimers. I'm easy to please…
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I paced back and forth, unable to think, unable to understand the sudden urge, the painful need to just, to just, accomplish my damn goal. It was all very confusing; very very confusing.
It had all started when she walked into our life on the pretense of business relationship. Her company had the awful luck to be coveted by the ruthless and often dangerous Naraku and his company, the E-Axis of Vil. Clever; like we wouldn't figure it out. So, her company, the Shikon Industries were under unfortunately under attack and she came to us, supposedly we screamed "SANCTUARY!" when actually our name was something more along the lines of Western Lands Incorporated. And we had a Forest branch that belonged to my younger brother. So, I guess we were a natural sanctuary for the Shikon to hide in, able to live among the trees in peace and harmony with the earth or some damn nonsense like that.
Anyway, she came, she conquered, and she was still here. However, she didn't seem to specifically want to conquer the heart of—ahem, my younger brother, Inuyasha, but she did. However, she seemed to just be another one of my pathetic little brother's obsessions and I absolutely hated dealing with it. But I did because it turned out that Shikon Industries was the perfect bedmate to the Western Lands…and my bother agreed, however in a less than business like manner. No matter why the axis of evil wanted her. Kagome was initiated into the Western Lands family (sounds so warm and fuzzy…) and the Shikon was now nestled safely in the Forest of Inuyasha, for better or worse, and figuratively or actually.
However, unlike his other wenches, I found that this Kagome was actually getting somewhere serious with Inuyasha…or that could just be my imagination or wishing it to be so. Since Kagome was a talented business woman I found it a little more than depressing that she should be tricked, manipulated, or otherwise, by the affections of my dearest relation. Not that I cared one whit about what went on in the bed of my stupid younger sibling but when it would directly affect work, that was when it crossed into the realm of me caring—and consequently having a say in it. So, I sat the boy down and set down the ground rules.
"I don't want you to fool around with her. Dump her if she is just a plaything," I said, while flicking away some imaginary dirt from my immaculate desk. Ah, the peace an organized and clean workspace could give one was astonishing. It was a wonder to how Inuyasha ever got anything done for his…office, loosely speaking, of course, was an absolute mess. Kagome, for one, understood this aspect of the workplace quite well. Whenever I needed to walk by her office on my daily stroll to my personal break room, her office was never so much a pin out of place. Well, that was my sidelong observation while strolling to lunch thinking about nothing but food and perhaps another corporate takeover. That's life for you…
"Where do you come off with the right to think you can just order me around like that?" He asked, raising his voice unnecessarily. I never understood why people raised their voices, you could understand them perfectly, get your point across better and still remain the very essence of calm when inside you were fuming "what the fuck is going on here?" without taking your voice above normal tones. Inuyasha never did understand that one. Subtlety is not one of his strong traits.
"Habit; I have been ordering you around since you arrived in this world blue, bloody and still grasping your mothers breast for the life of you. And since your most recent…relationship, if you could even call it that, if it goes wrong, could directly affect this company. Now I, for one, believe, that being the head of this company, secures my right to order you around in this fashion. If you dip your nib in the corporate dating pool, Yasha, you have surrendered your right to be free of me. So get over it and listen to me or drop the girl and find another one exactly like her outside the office." I didn't really care about his response because he knew as well as I knew that I was correct, and everything that he could say henceforth would be defunct. I looked up and was a little surprised at the small smile on his face. What was he up to?
"Well, brother dearest when you put it that way, how can I refuse? Speaking of Kagome, however, I wanted to ask about Christmas. Every year we have such a boring Christmas at—"
I took a deep breath. Smirk and nod, Sesshomaru, smirk and nod! NOOOOOOOO! What the fuck is going on here? He knows I covet that time away from work every year. It is the only vacation that I allow myself to take. He is not going to ruin MY time of the year with some stupid bed warmer!
"—home that I wanted to know if I could invite Kagome to come and stay with us that month. It is such a wonderful time of year, and to share it with loved ones…" he trailed off, looking wistful in that fake way that made me want to rip his arm off and beat him with it. He knows exactly what this holiday means to me and there is nothing that can be done about it. The wench simply cannot come.
"I don't think that's necessary." Inuyasha smirked evilly again. I was beginning to understand why my father had told me to watch this one. He was a wily fellow and I was ready to shoot him for it.
"Oh, but it is, Sesshomaru, it is. If I want to be serious about her I must invite her…especially after…" he trailed off again, baiting me to ask the inevitable question of—
"Why?" Playing with fire will get you burned, boy, I thought to myself. He better have a damn good reason for this absolute inconvenience.
"Because when Kagome mentioned her family would be out of town and she would be unable to be with them due to complications at the office I might have mentioned that we could provide some solace in the fact that her family is gone by providing a family for her, with our traditional month-long hibernation every winter. She seemed more than delighted to come…"
It might be a bluff, it might not, yet I didn't really want to call it on him at the moment. I was simply trying to just have a restful and peaceful "hibernation" as he lovingly put it, in his own delightful words, this Christmas, but he had to go ruin it with a non-family member's presence. This was unprecedented. Even when father courted mother she was not allowed to come to the tradition of a month of sanctuary until she was married into the family. Now that it was just Inuyasha and I, tradition had become a month in the mansion acting like it was a bachelor pad—except Inuyasha had to keep his women off the premises. This was my time to relax, not be the sole audience member in the drama that is Inuyasha's pathetic love life. However I could not deny the fact that he was correct, it would be most rude to deny the women he is "courting" the honor of gracing us for my…one…month…of…solitude; especially since she was most important to the company.
"Very well; however she is to stay in your wing of the mansion. And she can't disturb me. For anything." I hated compromising.
"But brother dear, you know that my wing is insufficient for her needs since my bedroom is the only room not being redecorated. And sorry to say but our relationship has not progressed to such a level where that kind of intimacy is needed." He smirked again and I had the distinct feeling that he was planning something. What, I had no idea. But he was correct about the wings.
"Very well, she shall stay in my wing…but in the guest rooms at the end of the hall." I almost sighed but stopped myself when I noticed that Inuyasha was still dallying about the doorway. "What is it?"
"Well, you do remember that you were having new marble put in the guest bathrooms this year and since the workers won't be there for the month it will be unfinished. So, that only leaves…"
"Mother's old room." It was true, I was largely redecorating the mansion since Father died because I wanted to make my mark on the place, give it some style, make it more of a sanctuary than just my father's old home. I had redecorated my room, or the master bedroom to my liking but I left my mother's bedroom, connected to the master, alone. I didn't want to ruin the memory of her with redecorating it. But now the wench had to stay there. This was turning out to not only be an inconvenience, but shaping into an entire fiasco.
"Yes. So it seems you will at least be seeing a bit of her. Unless you would like me to move into your chambers for—"
"Don't continue; you know the idea is ludicrous." Inuyasha left my office laughing hysterically and I felt more or less used in some fashion I never felt before. Before I could bring my hands up to rub my temples to try to soften the power of my headache, he came back, still chuckling and smirking.
"By the way, you know you have to get her a Christmas gift now, too…" he smiled once more and then left, the swing in his step lighter since he KNEW he had a one up on me. I never bought anyone Christmas presents. But the wanker was right. I had to buy her one since she is a partner and she is staying in my home. If anything, I knew when propriety told me to push down my pride and suck it up. It still didn't mean I had to like it.
I was about to leave for my stroll to my personal break room when there was a light knock on my door.
"Come in," I called, wondering why Marlene (my secretary) hadn't notified me of a visitor. When she walked in, the first thing I noticed was her happiness. It radiated off her in tangible waves and I wanted to strangle her with these physical manifestations of her emotions. I don't need this right now; you are the one who is ruining my solitude.
"Hi, Mr. Takamada. I just wanted to thank you in person for inviting me to your home. I know how much of an inconvenience—"
Yeah, you're right.
"—this must be, but I thank you for extending the invitation. I just can't believe Christmas is coming so soon, I had forgotten it. I usually spend time with my family but I can't this year. Actually, it's really my time for a break from everything and allows me to just curl up and do whatever I would like. It's like my hibernation time…" She blushed prettily when I quirked an eyebrow at her. There is that hibernation analogy again…However, I was a little surprised that she had mentioned it at all. I wonder if Inuyasha told her about my feelings on this holiday…I continued to look at her until she finally brought her eyes back to mine. We stared at each other for a while until she turned away, blushing again. How was this girl with Inuyasha? "Well, I just wanted say thank you."
"It was not necessary. There were no…pains in the invitation."
"Oh, I know, sir, but I also think that since it's such an important time of year I should thank you for allowing yourself to spend it with someone outside the family."
"Nonsense. You're a part of the company's family." I didn't know why I was pressing this point, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I wanted to make her feel less guilty about inviting herself over and taking away my peace and quiet? What was going on?
"Well, I thank you again, sir. Have a good lunch." And with that she left, her hips swaying, giving her backside a nice twitch from the pumps she was wearing. I see, that's why she is with Inuyasha.
So that was how I found myself in this predicament; confused and wondering. I was wondering what to buy the girl for Christmas, but I also wondered why the hell it mattered to me; for I could get her anything, some expensive nonsense but I didn't want to do that. No. No, now I had to actually want to give her something she wanted, simply because she was a kindred spirit in the belief that Christmas was an important time of the year…