Yawning and stretching, Inuyasha walks across a roof to the next house of the list. He taps the device attached to his wrist and it lightens up with the map of the town. Only three more houses and they can return home.
Ok, next… the twins Oscar and Victor Johnson.
He turns to his companions. Shippo, the little fox-elf he saved five years ago, is shivering, rubbing his arms vigorously to get more warmth into his body. Inuyasha sighs and shakes his head.
I told him to get a warmer jacket but no, he had to be stubborn.
He watches as Kirara, his loyal canine companion since he was three years old, pick the kit up and settle him in the plush fur of her neck. Inuyasha backtracks and takes Shippo's warmer coat out of one of the bags strapped to Kirara's side.
"You ready to put this on?" he offers it to the fox and he pouts a little, but nods and takes his current jacket off. Inuyasha helps him put the new one and holds on to Shippo's tabled while the child zips it up. When he's done he gives it back. "The next one's are the Johnson twins, so start looking for the boxes." He ruffles the elf's coppery mop of hair and start's following the map to the Johnson residence. Shippo taps on the screen's tablet and scrolls down until he finds the twins' names.
"Let's see… Oscar asked for the complete set of Playmobil City Action and Victor two Nerfs and… a thousand kilos of Nesquik? The hell's wrong with this kid?" Inuyasha jumps through the roofs on silent feel, Kirara following just as quietly.
"We don't need to know what they want, runt, but what they are getting." Reminds the man for what seems the thousands time. The 'runt' nods and taps again.
"Oscar is getting four cases of the six that make the set and Victor one Nerf and two kilos of Nesquik." That said, Shippo puts the tablet on the front pocket of the jacket –custom made especially for that purpose– and start's ruffling inside the left bag as they set foot on the roof of the Johnson's household. Inuyasha immediately goes to the window to work on the locks and Shippo finds the first box, no bigger than a shoebox and labelled Playmobil City Action 4/6. He sets it aside and searches some more before starting on the right bag. He finds it as Inuyasha finally manages to open the window. Nerf x1 & Nesquik x2kg. "Here, Inuyasha!"
The man takes boxes and nods his thanks to the kid. "Now you stay put, ok?" Shippo nods and salutes him. Inuyasha rolls his eyes but has an amused smirk on his lips. He looks down at the canine and scratches her ear. "Keep and eye on him, girl." She barks once and Inuyasha is off, jumping into the house and landing on the plush carpet with a muted thump.
He looks around, the room is dark but thanks to his keen eyesight and the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree he sees just fine. He stays still for a second, his elfin ears twitching to catch the sounds of the sleeping family. When he doesn't hear anything that might suggest that one of them is awake, he gets up from his crouched position and tiptoes to the tree. Kneeling before it, he takes his beaded necklace from beneath his red shirt and uses one of the white, claw like beads to cut the tape that keeps the first box closed. Then he takes the bag of 2kg of Nesquik out of it and sets it beneath the tree, straightening the bow when he's satisfied with the position. He takes the Nerf next and leaves it behind the bag. Once done, he repeats the process with the other box, piling the cases in a way that they resemble the Pyramid of Djoser. Inuyasha get's up and is on his way to the window when he notices the sound of soft footsteps. And then he sees the glass of milk and the plate of cookies sitting innocently on the coffee table.
Shit, I forgot to eat those! I'm out of time!
He looks around for a hiding place but finding none he resigns himself and is quick to drink some milk and take a bite out of a cookie by the time a yawning kid appears around the hall. He looks around the room before noticing the man standing next to the tree, a glass and half a cookie in his hands.
"Santa?" asks the child, rubbing his left eye with a tiny fist.
"Not quite, kid." Chuckles Inuyasha after swallowing the last mouthful of milk. He sets the glass on the table and walks to the child, crouching before him. "See? I'm a lot younger than Santa." The boy blinks and nods.
"Who are you then?"
"I'm his son. The name's Yash, what's yours? Wait, don't tell me… Victor?" his little eyes open wide and he nods, taking Inuyasha's offered hand and shaking it.
"How'd you know my name?"
"Well, I need to know it if I'm gonna bring you your gifts, don't ya think?" he jerks his thumb to the tree behind him and takes another cookie, watching amusedly as Victor imitates a tarsier. "But no touching yet, you hafta wait till morning." The child pouts but nods. "Good boy. I gotta go, I still have some houses left. Here, have a cookie and go back to bed." He gives the untouched cookie to the boy and grabs the remaining two before gathering the empty boxes and getting up. He walks to the window and jumps on the ledge before turning to the nine year old. "See ya around, kid!" and with that he jumps over the window, closes it and jumps again to the roof. He turns one last time to see the boy waving at him behind the glass and he returns it with a two-finger salute before returning to his companions. "Cookies, guys!" he gives one to Shippo –it disappears the moment it's out of his hands to never be seen again– and he offers it to Kirara, who eats it more slowly. He pats her head and taps on device to see the map. "So… who first: the McGee or the Higurashi?" Shippo thinks it over for a second.
"Let's do the McGee. There are like… ten kids in that house. All but two of the remaining boxes are for that house."
"Ok, let's go then."
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Turns out, all but one of the boxes were for the McGee house.
"Huh, I thought there were two Higurashi kids." Utters Shippo in confusion, the last box in his hands. It's labelled as PS4 game x3 & soccer ball x1.
"There are: a girl and a boy. Looks like one of them has been naughty this year and isn't getting any gifts." Says Inuyasha, munching on the chocolate nougat the McGee family left for them. Shippo frowns and, plopping his last piece of treat in his mouth, he takes his tablet from the pocket and starts scrolling through the list of names until he finds the Higurashi's.
Higurashi, Kagome:
Asked:-
Gets:-
Higurashi, Sota:
Asked: PS4 game x5, soccer ball x1, star dust x10kg…
Gets: PS4 game x3 & soccer ball x1
Shippo's eyes are wide, blinking at the screen. "What… What does this mean? There's nothing here." He taps on asked, but the screen come's up blank. Inuyasha leans in and goes back to the list.
"That means she didn't send a letter." The tiny elf frowns and looks at the man.
"What do you mean she didn't send a letter? Everybody sends a letter! You can't not send a letter!"
"Don't get so worked up, kid. It happens more often than you think. I bet she's a teenager." He taps on Higurashi, Kagome, bringing up the profile of the girl. "And there it is, she's nineteen. Shame really, this was the last year she could ask for gifts."
"Everybody has to send a letter…" grumbles the fox, ignoring the comment, and taps on Sota Higurashi's asked so he can read the boy's letter. When it appears on the screen he does so, out loud.
Dear Santa Claus,
How are you? I hope you're fine and having a good time up there in the North Pole. I'm sure you already know I've been a good boy all year and I was wondering if you were willing to forget that prank I pulled on my sister a couple of months ago? She and mom already punished me enough about it, I don't want another reminder, please XD.
So, let's start with business, shall we? I don't have a long list –well, not as long as last year's– so I hope you can bring me all I'm asking for: 5 PS4 games, a soccer ball, 10kg of star dust –I don't know if you have any but better be safe than sorry– and a golden retriever puppy. Not much, right?
And, before I finish, I would like to ask you one last thing. It's for my sister. You see, she's been acting funny this last month and last week I found out her boyfriend had been cheating on her. I didn't catch most of it, but in conclusion: she'd dumped him. And I was wondering… could you cheer her up? Gift her a new boyfriend, maybe? I know she hasn't send a letter this year and I apologize for her; as I said, she hasn't been herself lately. I just want my sister happy again. So, could you do it?
Thank you and a hug,
Sota Higurashi.
Shippo looks up from the tablet only to find that his surroundings have changed and he's now standing –or Kirara is standing– on the roof of the Higurashi household. He turns to Inuyasha and sees him already working on the lock. He's about to say something but before he can even open his mouth, the window is open and Inuyasha has jumped inside. He blinks and turns to Kirara instead.
"You know, Kirara… I think I know now why Santa was so adamant that Inuyasha took this town."
|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|
Landing softly on the tatami floor, Inuyasha looks around the room before taking his shoes off and cleaning the spot where he landed. He didn't need a repeat of last years scolding for leaving footprints on the tatami floors all over Tokyo. He rubs the top of his head, remembering the punch his father had dropped on him. He'd been lucky his mother had been there to save him or the scolding would've been much longer.
Looking around the room he spots the mochi by the tree and grins. Bingo. But first: the gifts. Ignoring the mouth-watering treats, Inuyasha crouches before the free and opens the box with one the fang-like beads of his necklace. He takes the three thin cases and arranges them beneath the tree and then the ball, straightening the bow when he's done.
And now, for the moment we've all been waiting for…
With a silent howl of victory, Inuyasha dives for the plate of Japanese treats. Neither Shippo nor Kirara like them, so they are all just for him. And, to make it even better, this is the last house of the night for them, so he can take his time to relish in the flavour and enjoy without feeling guilty about neglecting his duties.
This. Is. Heaven.
However, he's so engrossed with the food that he fails to notice the almost silent steps descending and approaching from the stairs.
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Sota had always been a heavy sleeper –his sister once told him he had slept through a car crash that had happened just outside his window–, but on nights like this, when he goes to bed extra soon so he can be up that much earlier, he's the lightest sleeper on earth. So when he hears a soft thud on the roof followed by another sound from downstairs, he's instantly awake. Jumping form the bed, he tiptoes to his half-closed door and sticks his head through the crack, a pile of dirty laundry preventing him form opening it more.
He listens closely and thanks the gods that his room is the closest to the stairway when he hears the distinct sound of something being ripped open. The first thought to cross his mind is that a thief has gotten into the house and that he should be calling the police. But then he rethinks it; what if it was Santa? He would be on the naughty list for life if he threw the cops at him! Grabbing his cell phone in case it is a burglar, Sota squeezes through the thin space and starts his trek down the stairs.
As soon as his feet touch the hallway's floor, he practically runs to the opposite wall and presses his entire body against it, ninja style. He turns his head either side dramatically and finally a little grin breaks past his lips.
This is so fun!
He tiptoes to the living room door and peeks inside. He almost gasps in shock. There's a man, seated in his couch, eating Santa's mochi and drinking the hot chocolate his sister made. He's about to call the police when he finally notices his… peculiar looks. White hair, long and pulled up in a ponytail; elfin ears and strange purple markings on his cheeks. Then there's the way he's dressed: white shirt beneath a red leather jacket, black pants with red details and stitching and… red socks? He looks around… bingo! Red winter boots propped against his grandfather's armchair.
The man opens his eyes and this time Sota does gasp –His eyes are gold!–, but thankfully, the stranger is too engrossed with the food that he doesn't hear him. Or, that's what he thinks until he hears him mutter.
"Damn… what's with tonight and everybody waking up?" he plops what's left of the mochi in his mouth and set's the mug on the table. "I know you're there, kid, no need to go all ninja on me." Sota blinks and steps into the doorway, fiddling his hands and scuffing his bare foot on the tatami. The man sighs and bites on another ball of rice before continuing. "You can come closer, y'know? I ain't gonna bite ya." The child takes a couple of steps into the room but stays well away from the strange man seated on his couch. He opens his mouth to say something, but what comes out is much different from what he'd planed to.
"Are you my sis' new boyfriend?" the stranger chokes on the chocolate and coughs. Sota jumps to the door and closes it so nobody wakes up. "I'm sorry! You just look my sister's age so I thought…"
"It's alright, you just took me by surprise." Rasps Inuyasha while he get's up and walks to the kid. "Yasha." He says, offering his hand. The child grins and grabs it.
"Sota!" Inuyasha chuckles and as soon as the boy let's go of his hand he takes it to his head and ruffles his short mop of black hair. "Hey!"
"Keep your voice down, we don't want your family waking up, do we?" Sota shakes his head rapidly and Inuyasha pats his head one more time before taking a step back and taping the device on his wrist. He looks at the time at the side of the map. 03:07. Too early to return home. A crazy idea pops in his head and he is considering it when the child speaks up again.
"Wow! What's that?" asks the teen, peering at the screen. Inuyasha turns it off and Sota whines.
"Something exclusive for elves, so don't think you can ask for it next year cause you won't get it." Sota pouts and crosses his arms. Inuyasha stays silent for a few seconds before thinking 'Fuck it!' and proposing the idea to the boy. "Anyway, do you mind if me and my team crash here for a few hours? We distributed the gifts quicker than we though and we can't return home yet."
"Wait, you're telling me you've already gone around the world and my house is the last one?" there's silence for a second before the man bursts out laughing. "What? What's so funny?"
"Do you really think a single person can travel all over the world, stopping every two minutes?" asks Inuyasha when he finally calms down. Sota shrugs. "Well, it's not possible, not even for my father."
"Your father?"
"Santa Claus."
"Santa has a son?"
"Two, to be exact, but let's not stray to little things." He waves his hand in the air. "Anyhow, it ain't possible for one person to circumvallate the globe, so a group of elves is sent to each town, several of this groups to a single city, so everybody get's they're presents in time. I usually take big cities, but this year the old man sent me here."
"Why?" Inuyasha blushes and turns around.
"Not important. Are you gonna let us stay or not? Cause I have a kit freezing outside and if you say no I have to find somewhere warm." Sota nods slowly and it's not until Inuyasha has opened the window again that he understands what he's said.
"Wait… a kid!?"
Inuyasha ignores him and, sticking his head outside, whistles a series of tones softly. Kirara's head appears over the edge a second later and Shippo's follows soon after. He gestures them closer and the canine floats down to the window, the silver flames at her feet illuminating the wall. The elf grabs the child, tucking him close to his chest when he feels him shiver. He looks expectantly at his girl and she blinks back.
"Well, c'mon, girl! The heat isn't cheap for humans." She snorts before the flames engulf her and a tinny, puppy sized dog jumps into his arms as well. When he turns Shippo makes a sound of alarm.
"Gah! A human!" he turns away and scrambles his way up Inuyasha's chest until he's perched on the man's shoulder, half hiding behind his neck. Inuyasha just wipes Kirara's paws before setting her on the floor. She instantly trots to the boy and sniffs him. A second later she sits and wags her tail, her tongue lolling out of her open mouth as she looks up at the stunned human. "Huh?"
"It's fine, runt. He's a good human." Shippo is still sceptical but he let's Inuyasha tug him down to his chest again and wipe his paws. "Shippo, Kirara, this is Sota. Sota, my teammates." He gestures around and the teen finally comes out of his stupor.
"Nice to meed you..?" Shippo tilts his head to the side before whispering to his paternal figure.
"Is he asking or telling?" Inuyasha snorts and ruffles the boy's hair.
"Be nice. He's letting us stay here till the roads open again." He sets him down and pads to the couch, where he drops with a groan to eat the last mochi. Sota raises a brow at him but then looks down at his feet when Kirara whines and puts her forepaws on his shins. When he doesn't move she whines again and jumps a little. "She won't stop till you pet her, kid, so you should before she wakes your family." Sota chuckles and drops to his knees. Kirara instantly crawls onto his lap.
After the golden puppy is satisfied with Sota's loving's, the boy is left kneeling on the floor with a white-haired stranger seated on his couch and a little child with fox feet peeking around the room. So, the does the most logical thing to do in his current situation.
"Hey, you guys wanna play some videogames?"
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Kagome wakes up slowly, which surprises her, given that her little brother always comes barrelling into her room at the break of down so they can open the presents. When she looks at her phone, it says it's 08:26. She blanks confused, and even a little worried. Was Sota still mad at her for not sending a letter this year. She sighs and gets up, walking to the door and opening it slowly. Weird… she can't hear her mother bustling in the kitchen. She turns to the turn in the hall that leads to her mother's bedroom. The door is closed, which means that she's still inside. She leaves the room and walks down the hall to peek into Sota's room. Empty.
Now she's starting to really get worried. Maybe a little angry too. Had he gone ahead without them and opened his presents? No, he wouldn't do that. He may be a brat, but he respected traditions. Kagome then pads down the stairs and instantly turns to the living room, from where she can hear the distinct sound of Sota's PS4 music playing inside. She recognizes the music from one of his old games, so she at least knows that her little brother hasn't done something he'll regret later. The only explanation left is that he'd gotten up and waited until they all got up on their own. Which was, actually, a really sweet thing to do. She smiles softly as she slides the door and her mouth opens to greet the teen good morning, only to practically fall to the floor at the sight before her.
A white-haired man –a devilishly handsome white-haired man– is lying on his back on her living room floor, snoring softly. Her brother is sprawled face down on top of him, a little speck of drool on the man's shirt, noting that Sota's been there for a while. And in the same way, there is a little, red-haired child curled on her brother's back, softly snoring away. She sees too a little ball of fluff in the crook of the man's neck, but she ignores it for now. In her shock she fails to see the pointed ears of both strangers and the hairy, animal feet of the kid. As if in a trance, she unlocks her phone and snaps a few pictures before dropping it to the ground with a muffled thud and releasing a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream.
'Kay, here it is! I can leave this as a one-shot, but I can make it a two-shot if y'all want. Depends on you, guys!
Anyway, Merry Christmas, lovers! And kisses for everybody!
