A/N: All right, kiddies. Here is another story from me. This will be a series of interconnected one-shots centered around Inu/Kag and always staged during the Christmas season. I have approximately 30 chapters planned out, so it's going to be a tad on the long side. However, I will only be updating this fic during the holiday season. That means that if I don't finish this story by the end of the year (which is unlikely at this point), then it will be on hiatus until December of next year. It may be slow with updates, as it seems difficult to find the Christmas spirit these days, but I promise to do my best to get it done as quickly as possible. Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!

As always, thank you to my amazing beta Evervescent. She is simply lovely :)

A Christmas Story
Chapter 1: Winter Wonderland

The crisp, white snow had smothered summer. It appeared as if somebody laid a sparkling white sheet over what was once green grass and put it to bed. Naked winter trees lined the avenue and there was a freezing chill in the air that brought crispness to the leaves, bejeweled with frost, that crunched underfoot.

Inuyasha Taisho hunched his shoulders to fight off the cold as his breath raised in visible puffs to join the grey-clouded sky. Rosy cheeked, he stamped to keep warm, pulling his woolen hat snugger over his silver-haired head and tightening his purple scarf around his blue-tinged lips.

He was not a fan of winter. The wind howled through the desolate neighborhood, biting at his frozen skin. The bleak grey clouds overhead reflected perfectly his grey mood inside. The days became shorter, the nights became longer, and the dampness crept into his bones and made them ache for summer again. The world seemed to lie barren and lifeless before him, as if God Himself had put it to sleep.

"Keh," came a muffled grunt beneath his scarf. Damn his half-brother for being too preoccupied with his girlfriend, and damn his father for working late as per usual. Inuyasha had quickly become the man of the house at the tender age of thirteen, left to care for his sickly mother. He loved the woman dearly, of course, but it was rather troublesome to go trudging out into the snowy depths simply to take the trash out.

His teeth chattered as the bitter cold seeped into his gloves and numbed his fingers until they ceased to bend properly, stiffened and frigid. It had to be below zero out – he may have been exaggerating a tiny bit – because he should not have gotten this cold this fast.

Thin frozen puddles cracked under his winter boots as he hauled the trash bag into the container at the end of his driveway. Streetlights were misty in the light snowfall descending from the sky. Ice gently blanketed the sidewalks and streets. The faint glow of the sun attempted to peak through the clouds without success as the snowflakes danced and pranced in the cold air. Winter was a wonderland.

Or so most would like to think.

Inuyasha just thought it was cold.

"Snowball fight!" someone shouted, causing his head to snap to attention.

A split second after the obligatory warning, a snowball exploded from the front of his winter jacket. Immediately, he knew the fight was on: duck and cover, build a stash, and keep his head down. Inuyasha quickly dived and rolled behind his mother's car.

His woolen gloves picked up snow like they wanted to be snowballs themselves, frozen crystals dangling from wild loose fibers he never noticed. Already, the coldness of the snow chilled his fingers to the point where they no longer wanted to work. But cold or not, a snowball fight was a snowball fight, and he didn't give in. Ever.

Snowball fights were all the rage on their street. Inuyasha and his friends versus the girls in the neighborhood. There were mornings they used to wake up early just to build a bigger stack than the opposing team. Since they were pretty much all lousy shots, having ammo was the key. However, as the years passed and they grew older, they resulted to sneak attacks instead. It made things more interesting.

Soon, another icy ball hit the side of the car he was hiding behind and another whistled through the air just above his head. Childish laughter echoed from all around him, as he tried to pinpoint where his assailant was coming from. A stupid grin plastered over his face as he took his first snowball and whipped his arm back to send it flying toward the back of a blue-jacket kid.

"Hey!" the boy shouted upon impacted.

Inuyasha laughed as the kid turned around to glare at him. "Take that, Miroku!"

The young boy with dark hair narrowed his eyes. "Inuyasha, I'm on your team!"

"Then what are you doing on the other side of the street?" he called, ducking as another snowball nearly clipped him in the shoulder. Another shout from Miroku determined he had been hit, before a flurry of crunching snow indicated he was running across the yard toward him.

Miroku crouched down next to him, holding his gloved hands over his head. "The girls are really feisty this year," he commented with a smile.

Inuyasha continued to pack ammo together. "Shut up and start making snowballs," he directed. "I'm not about to let them win."

"Oh?" Miroku questioned with a raised brow and a grin. "You mean like last time?"

Amber eyes glared daggers, effectively muting him, as they prepared to attack. A few minutes were spent in silence as they prepared their ammo, before Inuyasha suddenly paused. His eyes scanned the open lawn behind them, watching and waiting for movement.

Noticing his friend's delay, Miroku turned hesitant eyes upon him. "What is it, Inuyasha?"

"Shut up," he hissed. "It's quiet."

Miroku glanced around. "So?"

"It's too quiet," he corrected. "The girls are up to something."

Recognition dawned on his face as Miroku halted in making his latest snowball to peak his head over the hood of the car. Without warning, a snowball hit him square in the face, causing him to tumble backward from the impact.

"Direct hit!" someone called out. Inuyasha glanced up to see his neighbor pumping a fist in the air. "That was so worth it!"

"See? I told you, Sango," a raven-haired girl laughed as she poked her head around a tree. "Patience is a virtue."

Smirking, as the girls had clearly divulged their hiding spots, Inuyasha sent a few snowballs hurdling toward them. One hit Sango on the back of the neck, while Kagome got hit in the leg. Both girls screeched and dived for cover as Inuyasha whooped. "Serves you right!" he cackled before ducking his head again.

Sango was a tomboy at heart, and always tended to best him when it came to snowball fights. She was quick on her feet and had great aim thanks to years of softball. However, it was Kagome who was his key opponent. Quiet and petite, she tended to launch a sneak attack when he wasn't paying attention, and then dashed away before he could get his bearings.

The fight intensified. The best thing Inuyasha knew he could do right now was taunt them into releasing all their missiles and then run out into the open with his. It worked like a charm every time.

"Come and get me!" he bellowed, dashing across his yard to the tree in front, dipping and dodging as snowballs flew by him, narrowly missing their intended target. Miroku lagged behind, catching most of the onslaught, as he attempted to dodge as swiftly as his friend. Unfortunately, Miroku preferred to make nice with the girls rather than run track with the boys. It was one of his many shortcomings.

Hours later, a snowball fight in the fading light was how they finished the day. Inuyasha was quietly sneaking through the neighborhood, tracking Kagome's movements. The teams had paired off, and he could faintly hear Sango and Miroku's battle occurring a few houses down.

Inuyasha poked his head out from behind a tree, watching and waiting. Kagome had currently ducked down behind an old truck. He had her cornered. But knowing her, she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"Come on out, Kagome," he taunted. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

There was silence. And then, without warning, she bounced to her feet with a hastily fashioned weapon sitting in her brown woolen glove. She wore the same face she had when she had him beat in scrabble, but this was no war of words and he fought dirty – all in the name of "fun" of course.

Her snowball sailed through the air, but he shielded himself with the tree effortlessly. He had snowball fights down to a science; best snowball size, best snowball density, just the right swing in his throwing arm.

"I'm gonna get you, Inuyasha!" she promised fiercely, her eyes sharp but her smile wide. "You can't hide behind there forever!"

There was a nagging voice telling him to let her win, that it would be better in the long run, especially with that cute little face she was giving him and the confidence in her voice. But he just couldn't. Snowball fights were a war and wars just had to be won.

Swift as the wind, he dashed from his hiding spot straight toward the old truck. Kagome shrieked at his surprise attack and fumbled through the snow to escape. He ran after her, pursued her, listening as she screamed and pleaded with him to stop, all the while laughing.

He smirked, holding a large snowball in his hand as he drew closer and closer to her. This one was going to be the end of her, he knew it, and so he relished the chase. Her raven hair blew wildly in the wind, tearing her green knit hat from her head and falling somewhere behind them. He raced after her across the neighborhood, dashing through lawns and avoiding the snowball fight currently happening between their other friends.

After a few minutes, he was within arms' reach. Gently, he reached out and grabbed her around the waist. She screeched with laughter as she fought against him.

"P-Please Inuyasha!" she urged. "Let me go!"

"Sure thing," he whispered in her ear. "I'll let you go. After all, I don't take prisoners."

With those words, he shoved his snowball down the back of her neck, earning a satisfying shriek from the girl in his arms. She pushed and pulled against him, fighting to break free in order to save herself from the cold slowly seeping down her back.

Inuyasha cackled, watching as she struggled in vain. "Guess I win this round, huh?"

Abruptly, she stilled in his arms. He grinned, thinking she had finally given up, but when she didn't move, he began to worry. His lips slowly pulled into a frown and he began to wonder if maybe he had gone too far. Maybe he was pushing the limits by forcing a handful of snow down her shirt.

"Uh, Kagome?" he questioned hesitantly, loosening his grip on her. "You okay?"

The sound of sobbing met his ears and his eyes widened in alarm. She was crying?! Kagome knelt down in the snow and ducked her head, her shoulder shaking as she wept.

"Wait. Kagome," Inuyasha tried, reaching out to touch her but pausing before he made contact. "I-I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it."

When she continued to weep, he crouched down in the snow beside her. "Kagome?"

All of a sudden, her hand came up at an alarming speed, smacked against his collar bone, and then suddenly there was cold seeping down the front of his chest. He blinked once, then again, his brain trying to catch up to what just occurred.

"Holy shit!" he cried out, jumping to his feet and clawing at his jacket, trying without success to alleviate the frigid ice running down his stomach. "Holy shit is that cold!"

Kagome started giggling, causing him to jerk his head toward her, confused by her reaction. "Y-you should have seen your face!" she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand and pointing at him with her other one. "Oh my— Inu-Inuyasha!"

He narrowed his eyes. "You think this is funny?" he grumbled, taking a threatening step toward her.

She shook her head negatively, but her expression said otherwise. "You deserved it," she reasoned, fearless brown eyes staring up at him. She crossed her arms over her chest. "That is not how you treat a lady."

Inuyasha raised his brows. "Oh, is that so?"

He treaded toward her, arms outstretched, with a confident grin on his face. Kagome held out her hands, waving them dismissively in an attempt to ward of his attack, but it was all in vain. Soon, he had tackled her to the ground and straddled her stomach.

She giggled as he pinned her down. "Beg for mercy," he commanded, grinning down at her.

Kagome looked up at him, still laughing, as fresh frozen flurries fell gently into her midnight black hair spread around her head, a stark contrast to the pure white of the snow surrounding them. Her cheeks were flushed prettily and her eyes sparkled with a fiery spirit. Small puffs of air escaped her pale lips as she tried to catch her breath.

"Never," she whispered defiantly.

He opened his mouth to respond, intent on making her pay for all of her insolence, but was interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Kagome!" her mother called from a few houses down. "Time to come inside!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he reluctantly released the girl. "Keh, go see what your mom wants." He disentangled himself and sat down in the snow, leaning back on his hands.

She lay still for a moment, watching him intently, before finally bracing herself on her knees. "It's getting late," she pointed out, glancing up at the darkening sky. Sango and Miroku were currently wading through the snow toward them, more than likely hearing Ms. Higurashi's call as well.

"Yeah," he replied half-heartily, amber eyes shifting to his own house a few yards down. The windows were all dark, making it seem cold and unwelcoming.

Kagome pushed herself to stand and held out her hand. "Come on. Let's go warm up with some hot chocolate."

He eyed her hand, hesitating for a moment, before wrapping his own around hers. "I don't want those little marshmallow things in it though," he commented gruffly as they began walking toward her home.

She laughed, looping her arm through his. "That's the best part!" she argued playfully.

Inuyasha shook his head, glancing away to hide his smile.