Miracles of Christmas Wishes Chapter 2
As much as the dog-demon and the firebender disliked each other, there was only time out of the year that the two would put their differences aside for the sake of their children: Christmastime. After Thanksgiving, the kids' minds immediately turned from turkey to Christmas, and spent most of the time in between getting together and going through store catalogs, deciding what gifts they wanted from their parents and each other and which ones they wanted from the man in red.
Once the lists were made and the letters were sent out, the parents were off. While all four of them worked together to get what was written on the wish-lists, the dads took it upon themselves to play St. Nick. And every year for the past five years, Christmas was perfect. The kids would wake up, rip open the gifts that were from the parents, squeal in delight as they saw Santa's gifts and rip them open, and all would be well.
This year was expected to be the same.
Or at least that was what the dads thought until they received that call.
Sesshomaru said nothing during the long car other than the directions, which led them to a three-story brick apartment building outside the city. It looked like something Zuko could easily see Katara admiring, finding it quaint.
"Stay." He ordered, climbing out of the car.
The hell I will. Zuko frowned behind his retreating figure. He turned off the car, undid his belt, and came out the car.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed by the response given to his demand but said nothing. Why waste useful energy questioning the thinking of a nuisance when he could use it for killing the toad?
The pair walked through a narrow case of the stairs, passing by lone hallways and identical gray, painted-chipped doors, climbing up to the third floor and down the hallway to the last door on the right, room 320.
Zuko looked over at Sesshomaru, who nodded slightly. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly, using small pressure against the door to open it slightly.
A burst of fire shoot from the room.
In a micro-second, he would have been burnt to crisps if he hadn't been trained by his uncle, the Great Dragon, who taught him ways of control through breathing, syncing one's heartbeat with that of the fire. He captured the flames in a single breath, letting the energy flow around him while slowing it down to a single beat. Then, with a firm step forward and a tight fist thrust, he sent the fire back, adding his own power to the mix.
"My nanny Bora's menorah!" a high-pitched voice shrieked.
Zuko peered inside. A green toad the size of a small child, dressed in a brown robe and dark hat, was on his knees, one hand tightly gripped onto his staff embroidered with two decapitated heads of demons, the other close but not exactly touching a pile of ashes that were once fine material.
"My nanny brought it here all the way from Japan. Crafted piece by piece by a great, one-handed master of silver and glass art. And it was finally my year to light it," His big eyes were filled with unshed tears and anguish, which quickly morphed to fury once he took notice of the intruder slipping inside his home. "You fool! You practically spat on my family's history, which you carelessly burnt. Now you shall feel its pain. Behold the staff-"
Two kicks. One to the wrist, knocking the staff clean off his hand before more fire could ignite from the the heads. One to the chest, knocking the demon fall on his back.
"Who do you think you, you damn-" his words were cut off as a foot squeezed down on his windpipe.
"I won't recommend throwing anymore fire at me unless you know how to redirect it, toad." Zuko warned.
Even when pinned to the ground, the toad didn't know the meaning of submissive. "How dare you? Do you know who I am? What I am? Do you know whom I serve-"
"Jaken."
At the sound of his name, all the color in the demon's face drained, making him appear more as a ghost. A frightened ghost.
"Ma-ma…master Sesshomaru." he stuttered.
Sesshomaru entered into the room calmly and stared down at the toad, long and hard, until he was a trembling, stuttering mess underneath Zuko's foot. The chill Sesshomaru usually for Zuko was nowhere near close to the thick, black ice in his eyes that were for the toad-demon. It was the type of the black-ice, truly-cold look one would see in the grim reaper's eyes right before they were killed.
"You will explain to this one why I received a call from you saying that you lost the bag containing the Santa gifts we purchased for the children." Sesshomaru said.
"I would love to. Gladly," Jaken said. "But I'm afraid that simply cannot be done. So much to do and very little time-"
Zuko clenched his fist, sparking fire that danced around his skin, and held it close to Jaken's face. "Then make time."
"I am under no obligation to explain myself to filth like you-" His tone quickly changed as the fire became to grew, its cinders spilling onto his face. "I mean it's a terribly long story."
"You have five seconds to explain it." The vicious tilt of Sesshomaru's tone hinted at a very dangerous threat if the order didn't follow through.
In five words, Jaken was able to get the story across. "I never ordered the gifts."
"What!" they demanded, Zuko's voice hot as his fist, Sesshomaru's as cold as his eyes.
Knowing well his life was on the line, Jaken explained in rushed, breathless whimpers what happened. This year was Lord Sesshomaru's turn to play Santa for the brats-kids, he quickly corrected himself, burnt by the harshness of the duo's glares. After human-Zuko, he was corrected after said-human nearly set his jewels on fire-obtained the letters the kids have written to Santa, along with his share of money for the gifts, Sesshomaru turned to him for assistance. Ordinarily, such a thing would never happen, since the master preferred handling family affairs on his own, but around the time of Christmas shopping, his business firm was bombarded with meetings, paperwork, and threats and meetings with rivals. He had contacted Jaken, informing him what needed to be done and what needed to be done immediately, the silent or else heavy in the silence.
Wanting to prove his Lord that he could handle anything, even holiday shopping, Jaken turned to his grandmother who always managed to get every item on the family's wish-lists every year. She directed him to a website she used, saying it was a life-saver, called Wish & Grant. Problem was during the time he had ordered the gifts, he didn't have his reading glasses on and his eyesight was more than inadequate. He couldn't make out most what the children had scribbled onto the papers, other than Frozen, teenage, and turtle. Using what was given, he typed the following words onto the search engine, added whatever items that were listed to the cart, and paid for it. It was until after a week later, opening the package that arrived on his doorstep, with his glasses on, and lists in hand did he realize, with a sharp pang through his heart, the grave mistake he made.
He contacted the manager of the website, asking for an exchange, only to be shut down. All sales were final. No exchanges, no refunds. He asked then if the items were still in shock at least, for the sake of kami, to which the man nearly killed with his eardrum with a loud burst of laughter before he hang up.
"I tried other websites. Amazon, EBay, Toysrus, even Craigslist-but it was all the time. Out of stock. I tried other stores, but after the third fail, I was terrified. I knew you would be coming tomorrow to pick up the presents and knew you would have my head if you saw what I got instead. So, I called you, deciding honesty was the best policy. And may also be my lifesaver."
He had his eyes closed most of the time during the story, opening just a bit to see their reactions, shutting them just as quick when he was met with dark glares. He shut them tight as he finished his body locked and tense, waiting for the feel of metal to pierce through his flesh or the lick of fire to kiss his skin. Seconds went by and he felt nothing but the tight coil his body was twisting itself into.
Perhaps they understand, he thought. It was a daring thought, but one he put his faith into. After all this is a common problem for adults during this time. Plus those brats already have close to five dozen presents from them already. What's one more?
Comforted by the thought, Jaken slowly opened his eyes. Only to choke on his breath as Sesshomaru scooped him up and brought him close to his face, hand tightly clenched around his neck, slowly but painfully squeezing the life out of him.
"Give me," Sesshomaru said. "One good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
"Mercy," Jaken breathed in between his gags. "Spirit of Christmas."
"I believe that by ridding you of the world, I will be giving demons and humans alike the greatest gift of all."
"My Lord, please."
While Sesshomaru took his time torturing his assistant, Zuko took notice of an opened package box lying underneath the coffee table. Those must have been the gifts the toad ordered for the kids. Curious, he walked over and pulled it out from underneath. What he saw inside made him wonder if death would be enough for the toad.
"What is it?" Sesshomaru asked. "What is in the box?"
Zuko decided that this that was better seeing firsthand than explaining. His eyes locked onto Jaken's terrified eyes, he carried the box over to them and dumped the contents onto the floor. "What the hell is this?"
What fell out of the box were items that would bring both tears and disgust to the children's eyes if they had received them as gifts: strips of fabric that took dress-up to a new whole, very-adult theme level which vaguely resembled the Disney princess's dress, a sparkling blue vibrator, and the corpse of a small turtle covered in frostbite.
"Uh…the kids' presents from Santa."
He paid dearly for those words.
Nearly every breath of air in his lungs immediately burst from his mouth in a gasp as Sesshomaru loosened his grip for a moment and then squeezed his neck to almost an inch, merging his windpipe and tongue together.
"My lord-my lord," he croaked. "Please have mercy. It is Christmas for kami's sake. Peace. Forgiveness. Goodwill."
"You forget," Sesshomaru said. "Christmas is two days time. That is when those traits are acted out. Between now and then, vengeance and murder are fair-game. Which I fully intend on bestowing upon you, Jaken. You may consider it a Christmas gift to repay you for all you have done for me."
The toad wasn't the sharpest mind around, but even he wasn't that much of an idiot to miss the sharp bite of sarcasm and venom embedded in every word that passed through Sesshomaru's lips. Each word impacted the toad like a hard blow to the head, foreshadowing the grave danger that awaited him.
"My Lord please, let's not be hasty," he begged. "What's one compared to the dozens they're already receiving? They're getting far more from you alone than what I've gotten the past five Hanukkahs. Besides, Santa Claus doesn't even exist. And it's high time those brats learn that-aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"
Jaken shot up from Sesshomaru's hand like a rocket, fueled by the fire-ball Zuko aimed directly to his ass.
"Water! Water! Water! Where's the waaaaaaaaater!" Jaken zoomed through the rooms in a panic, arms wildly waving like banners, screaming like a manic as his rear was being burnt. It took him almost forever to remember he had a bathroom, which was equipped with water, and ran there, locking the door behind him.
"I'm going to have his head-" Sesshomaru cut Zuko off
"You will go to the car and wait for me there."
"The hell I will-"
"Go to the car." The tone in his voice left no room for argument.
Zuko stood for a moment conflicted. On one hand he wanted to burn down the bathroom door and show the toad that dads were just as deadly-protective as mothers when it came to the well-being of their children. On other hand killing the toad, while it would bring amusement, wouldn't bring a solution for the predicament the two were in.
On top of that, he really hated taking orders from the ice-prick as if he were the dog.
Zuko glanced over at Sesshomaru, then over at the door. With as much dignity he could muster, resisting the great urge to hurl another fireball at the door, he left the apartment.
As one door closed, another opened. Jaken burst from the bathroom, behind burnt and damp, armed with a bucket of water. "Alright, fireboy, let's rumble. I'm lean. I'm mean. I'm-"
"There is only one thing better than seeing you in agony, Jaken, and that is when I'm the one masterminding the pain to your agony." Sesshomaru lifted one hand up, flexing tense areas, lengthening his claws. His eyes changed from gold to crimson red. His straight-lined mouth lifted themselves into a sharp, fanged-tooth grin that put the Cheshire cat to shame.
I'm a dead man. Jaken swallowed a dry lump as Lord Sesshomaru took a step forward toward him.