Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha.

Author's Note- It's been what, two minutes? ;) Here's the next one. This one isn't meant to be as funny- this little subplot thing is kind of the heart of the story. Enjoy!


Word Count- 478

Have Yourself A Beary Little Christmas

Part One

It was December in Tokyo, Japan. And a fourteen year old Kagome Higurashi was standing in a little sample shop, wandering around the merchandise with a bored, politely curious expression on her features.

Only a few days remained until Christmas Eve, which her mother had been preparing for and busying herself over all month. The same woman was just behind her in the small store, looking about with cheer, searching for more gifts to send to her sister and her husband. So when Kagome found the bear, sitting on a little stool among toddler items, the lady almost ran into her.

"Kagome, dear, what is it?" she asked at her daughter's now-enamored posture. "Have you found something for Aunt Akemi?"

"No, but Mama, just look! Isn't he so cute?"

The small teddy bear was white and very, very soft. He had a brown nose and eyes, and two round, white ears sitting atop his head. The girl fondled them absentmindedly as she took the animal from the stool and displayed him for her mother to see.

"Oh, come now, Kagome. Aren't you too old for such things now?" Mama told her, with a smile all the same.

"Are you kidding? I love stuffed animals, and he's just so adorable, Mama!" What the teen didn't say was that this bear meant much more to her than just as a toy that she should have outgrown an interest for years ago.

After a moment of deliberation on the part of her mother, she gave in with a sigh. "All right," the woman conceded, taking the small white animal from her daughter. "But you have to act surprised!"

Christmas morning came, a few days later, and with it, the little white bear. Kagome good-naturedly dealt with the teasing from Souta and her grandfather as she made a fuss over the toy, smiling and laughing at herself.

But later, in the afternoon, she sat on her bed with the bear in her lap, thinking.

Lately, she'd been thinking about her future. Her fifteenth birthday was not far away, just about four months from now, and something felt like it was about to change. Something big.

She couldn't help imagining what her family might look like at Christmas, ten years from this day, and wondering if she might be married and making a family of her own. Clutching the bear to her chest, she wondered if she might have a baby by then.

If so, she decided, feeling the bear's soft head and little round ears, then this loveable little teddy bear would be her child's.

She could almost pretend the child was in her arms already, holding the small form of the toy, except for the ears. She giggled to herself. Now wouldn't it be something strange, her baby with little animal ears?

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Author's Note- Repaso, por favor! Feliz Navidad!