Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.
A Christmas to Remember
or
Be careful what you sing with a hanyou around...
'EEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Kagome bolted out of bed in a panic. Her heart raced as she tried to fight the disorientation from being woken by deep sleep. Her head spun for a moment and she staggered. Then she raced out of her bedroom door, wishing she had not left her bow and arrows in the past, as she followed the sound of her mother's terrified scream.
Bare feet slid on the floor as she tried to race to her mother's side. Was it a burglar? A murderer? What kind of sicko breaks into a person's home during the holiday to steal their stuff and murder them in the middle of the night?
"No Kagome!" her mother yelled in terror as she reached the stairs, "Stay upstairs, don't come down! It's too dangerous!"
Right.
Like she was going to stay upstairs all nice and safe while her mother was in danger. She grabbed a picture from the wall preparing to use it as a throwing weapon as she flew down the stairs. She really REALLY wished she had brought her bow with her. Rounding the corner and preparing to throw her makeshift weapon, Kagome skidded to a stop.
"What the... Mama... is that...?"
"Yes."
"Are you ok?"
"Yes, dear. Go back upstairs."
"Going to take that thing on all by yourself, Mama?"
"Honey, it's not safe, go upstairs. I've got this."
Slowly Kagome edged around the living room, needing to get to her mother. She rolled her eyes at her mother's scolding look for disobeying. Saving her mother was her first priority.
"Souta will call the police."
"Souta?"
Kagome sighed, turning to glance at her brother at the top of the stairs. "Turn that camera off and call someone won't you, brat?"
Souta shouted back, "It's eating the tree!"
"Kagome! That is no way to talk to your brother! Apologize."
"Mama... we are about to be trampled or eaten or gored to death any moment now... and Souta is filming us on his phone! Laughing like a maniac! I'm pretty sure giggling while your sister and mother are in mortal danger qualifies as being a brat."
"Kagome..."
Gritting her teeth, Kagome growled out an apology, though she would get the brat later. "And stop eating the tree," she yelled at the creature, "Its plastic!"
A roar shook the house.
Kagome had never seen a mouth open up that wide. Would it swallow them whole? Or grind their bones to make its bread... wait, that's giants.
Keeping low she followed the wall, finally she reaching her mother. Kagome was grateful that their decorations seemed to capture the creature's attentions as it destroyed their living room. Let it. As long as she got her family out safe the thing could level the place for all she cared.
Slowly she backed out of the room, keeping her mother safely behind her. They almost made it to the stairs when it turned and stared at them. Both Higurashi women froze.
"Do we back away slowly, freeze, or run?" her mother whispered from behind her.
Kagome stared into angry eyes across the room. The decision was made to run as it charged at them. Throwing the picture at it only made it more angry as the useless weapon bounced off.
"We need Inuyasha," gasped Kagome from the top of the kitchen counter. The creature had blocked their path to the stairs.
"Well..."
Kagome narrowed her eyes at her mother tone. "Well, what?"
"He will be back soon, honey."
"Be back soon? He's here?"
"Well..."
"MAMA!"
A familiar thump landed on the roof, and her favorite man in red came bounding in the house.
"Inuyasha!"
"Kagome!" he called in surprise. "Wait! No, you aren't supposed to see til tomorrow!"
The miko blinked dumbly. Then she looked at her nervous mother, then back to her disappointed hanyou. Then the two looked at each other. Kagome's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Someone better start explaining."
"It is just a misunderstanding, dear," her mother said as she threw food at the creature. "I was hoping to have it all cleared up before morning."
"Mother... there is a HIPPOPOTAMUS in our living room. How could that be a misunderstanding?"
"He is rather cute... in a slightly dangerous way."
The hippo or Inuyasha?
"You don't want him?" Inuyasha's ears drooped... he looked crushed.
"Want? Why would I want a hippopo...ohhhh."
"I didn't know what to get you for your Christmas holiday thing. Your mom said I should listen to you carefully and I would get hints from you."
"Ohhh no..."
"And you've been singing that song over and over, you even taught it to Shippo."
"Inuyasha..."
"You said it was the only thing you wanted. You said no dolls or dinky tinker toys..." He looked nervous, but an uncertain kind of nervous, not the scared that she was going to 'sit' him a hundred times kind of nervous. "These things aren't easy to find you know!"
An hour later Kagome was bundled up next to Inuyasha as they watched the hippo wander back into the enclosure it was stolen from earlier that night.
"That was..." Inuyasha looked crestfallen as Kagome paused, "sweet. But it's a very bad idea to keep a wild animal as a pet. Plus you shouldn't take animals from the zoo like that. We could get in trouble."
Inuyasha sighed as he looked at the sky.
"I wanted to see the joy and surprise in your eyes like you sang about. I wanted to be able to give you something you wanted." He paused, then looked at Kagome. His golden eyes sad and serious. "I have nothing, Kagome. I have nothing to give you. I have no home, no money, no education... I have only the clothes on my back."
Kagome lowly reached for his hand and held it between her own. "You have me."
Inuyasha smiled sadly. "I wanted so badly to give you something special. All I have is me."
Nervously Kagome bit her lip and rocked back on her heels. Then she gathered her courage. "That... that is all I could ever want, you know. You. Your... your heart."
Inuyasha blew out a breath of impatience, "That's stupid. You already have that. I wanted to give you... are you crying? What..."
With an overflowing heart and a smile, Kagome stood on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his. He froze for a moment, then softened and began to kiss her back.
"We should head back," he said as snow began to fall. He shifted his weight a few times. "I'll... uh... help you clean up that mess at home."
"There wasn't a really a question about that, you know."
"...yeah."
"Merry Christmas!" she yelled out to the hippo.
Together they walked back in the snow as the sun began to rise.
"Merry Christmas, Inuyasha. Thank you for the hippo."
"Merry Christmas, Kagome. Sorry it destroyed your house."
She couldn't help but laugh.
"So, he asked "... what did you get me?"
Kagome thought about the likely destroyed present under what was left of their tree. Then she grinned as she changed her mind. She turned to Inuyasha and stood on tiptoe to kiss him lightly.
"A song," she said softly.
"Song?"
Kagome tried not to giggle as his voice cracked slightly. Before she lost her nerve she whispered part of the song in his ear in a husky voice, then sashayed down the road as Inuyasha tried to pick himself off the ground.
She began to laugh as she ran down the street as her dog demon began to chase.
Most destructive and most wonderful Christmas ever!
oOOooOOooooOOooOOo
oOOooOOooooOOooOOooOOoo
oOOooOOooooOOooOOo
Author's Note:
Happy Holidays! I hope everyone has a wonderful winter!
For those who read my stories, I have my right hand in a cast and my left in a brace. My other stories may take a while, since it takes FOREVER to get anything written.
Disclaimer Part II:
I also do not own the song "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas", even though it is my favorite holiday song.