Miracle of Christmas Wishes chapter 3
Almost two hours later Sesshomaru exited the building with little to show for what had took place inside except for lone drips of crimson he licked off his claws and a vicious glint in his eyes that expressed more than a thousand words put together.
He didn't kill the toad. It was tempting, very tempting. However, he resisted. Death was too quick, too easy. Making him suffering sent the right message, one that he would never forget.
And by Kami, Jaken had suffered.
The firebending human hunched over his laptop he must have packed along with him, eyes glued to the screen, hands typing furiously on the keyboard. He was deep in his research that he didn't realize Sesshomaru was outside the car, waiting to be let in, until his third knock nearly shattered his windshield.
"Hey!" Zuko exclaimed. "You break it, you buy it."
"A fifty-dollar repair?" Sesshomaru snorted. "That will hardly lose me a night's sleep. My pup's toy car is made of sturdier material."
Muttering curses under his breath, Zuko let him in.
"You know this is all your fault, right?" he said as Sesshomaru slide into his seat.
Sesshomaru thought he would never see the day or find the universe so cruel when he would meet an individual who was just as infuriating as his brother. Just what I needed. He rubbed the right side of his temple that was already throbbing. "And how pray tell is this my fault?"
"You were too damn lazy to do the shopping yourself so you let some idiot do it for you. The same idiot who decides a dead frog, a vibrator, and stripper clothes would just fine for the kids."
Sesshomaru, as much as he wished it, couldn't argue against the valid points the human made. Jaken was an idiot; there was no doubt about that. Trusting a fool with a dire task brought question to his own intelligence.
As Father always said: if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. "How far to the nearest mall?"
"An hour-which is the around the same time the stores will be closing."
Damn you, Jaken. Sesshomaru was glad he didn't murder the useless imp after all. When Christmas was over, he would spend the following days preparing his New Year's bonus.
Every word that fall from his lips caused great pain to the demon, like a knife sinking deeper and deeper into his abdomen. "You realize what this means, don't you?"
Jaw locked tight, Zuko nodded. "Sadly I do."
Sesshomaru glanced over at his work. The human had several tabs opened on Google Chrome to different toy stores. Good. They were going to need it.
The two enemies were going shopping tomorrow.
They spent the night going through various websites on their laptops and calling close allies who were in the business to get the information they needed. They used the information given to come up with a list of what stores had the toys, along with possible stops, and a map of the city, the penciled Xs marking where they were stopping.
Armed with their list and map, along with the Santa letters, the two left Zuko's house at the crack of note, leaving a note behind that said they had business to attend.
Their first stop was Toysrus at the East Gate plaza mall, which was the biggest toystore in the city. According to an email sent to every card-holding member, the store was expecting a new shipment of toys-including Frozen and Ninja Turtle-today. Which was good for them. But the email featured a warning. Supplies were limited and there was a clearance sale, meaning all things must go. Which meant a crowd of last-minute shoppers, which was not good for them.
Their worst fear was confirmed as Zuko drove through the parking lot, finding every spot taken. In front of the store, a crowd of mothers armed with their purses and a few fathers was forming, growing by the dozens.
Unbelievable. Zuko groaned.
"I suggest you focus on watching the crowd and more time securing a spot." piqued unhelpfully his reluctant partner.
Zuko gritted his teeth and counted backwards from ten to keep his temper from boiling over. It's for the kids. It's for the kids. It's for the kids, he reminded himself. "I would love to, but in case you haven't noticed….there's no spot!"
Sesshomaru glanced around the parking lot, finding his words to be true, and settled back in his seat.
Not so smug now, are you? Zuko nearly smirked.
Sesshomaru lowered his window and stretched out his arm. Letting his arm wind back, he flung it forward, unleashing his venomous whips through his fingertips that entwined around the back of a black Jeep. The poison spread through the car like a virus, eating through the metal, melting. He yanked his arm back. The charred remains of the car followed his movement, pulling itself away from its spot, colliding against an Audi parked behind it, knocking them both into the pole.
"My car!"
"My mother is going to kill me!"
What the…Mouth agape, Zuko turned over to the passenger smirking next to him.
"Your welcome."
"You can be really twisted sometimes, you know that?"
Sesshomaru shrugged. Zuko rolled his eyes and parked the car.
The two made to the store just in time, Zuko having to elbow his way through while people parted for Sesshomaru, as an employee with a bright smile on his face and nervous eyes came out to greet them.
"Hello shoppers," he said. "Good morning to all. Allow me to be the first to say Merry Christmas."
His words were met with silence.
"Alright. As we stated in our email, it being the last day for Christmas shopping, all items are fifty to seventy-percent off. While we restocked our shelves, please keep it mind that supplies are limited-"
"Every bitch for herself!" A blonde forty-something year old woman smacked the man across the face with her heavy bag and dashed into the store.
Frantic parents followed behind her like soldiers racing into battle, grabbing onto carriages and baskets like they were armor, scrambling off into different directions.
"I'll handle the Frozen, you get the Turtle." Zuko called over to Sesshomaru, heading straight for the doll section that was located in the back.
Passing through the Barbies and Monster High, he raced to the Disney section already flooded with people. He had to push and bump his way through to check the aisles for the toys. He saw Sleeping Beauty. Little Mermaid. Princess and the Frog. The ice-princess with her sister and her friends-what a minute.
Zuko took one step back, ignoring the pained cry of a father whose foot he ran over. He peered down at the very bottom of the shelves, where several Elsa and Ana smiled up at his confused face. The Snow Glow Elsa Rin put down on her list was hidden the Frozen Castle playset his daughters wanted for Christmas, set up in such a way it was like the Spirit of Christmas decided to have mercy on him.
Yes, he grinned, placing the toys onto the cart, quickly racing towards the cashier. He stopped short as a familiar figure emerged from the doll aisle, grinning up at him.
"Toph?"
She smiled at him, but there was something in that smile that put Zuko on high alert. "I love you, Sparky, but I love my kids more."
She lifted her foot and stomped it onto the ground, as if she were killing a bug. The vibration from her stomp traveled over to Zuko, raising the ground below him, knocking him back into the aisle.
"Nothing personal." Toph brought the cart over to her and proceeded to the register-until demonic energy smacked against the face, alerting her of the presence she sensed standing in front of her.
"I do not like people meddling into my family affairs. Nor attempting to make off with what belongs to me."
So, this is Sesshomaru. Sugar Queen had told her about the priestess friend she made in tot-aerobics and her husband who was praised as a powerful demon. She could tell it wasn't a bluff. Two feet across from him, and she could feel power oozing from him.
"Well, I don't like listening to children whining about not getting their gifts, so we're both at odds."
She dogded just in time to avoid to the whip he aimed towards her, but she didn't escape scratch-free. It didn't kill her, but it did slash a burn against her cheek, sizzling her skin.
"Bastard."
Sesshomaru glared at her, ready for the earth to move as it had for Zuko. Instead he found himself falling underground, courtesy of the hole Toph enclosed around him.
"Season greetings, prick." He heard the devious woman yelled above as she made way with their gifts.
By the time, he resurfaced everything was half-cleared-the aisles, the dolls, the customers, including the earthbender who managed to caught him by surprise. He glanced over at the doll section, where a defeated Zuko limped over to him.
"So," he said. "I see you had the pleasure to meet our good friend, Toph."
"She is added on my list."
They left the toy store annoyed but determined. Sadly, what they experienced at the first store was a small taste of what was to come.
The second Toysrus had little for the Frozen, except for small trinkets and dress-up gowns, but did have the turtle Shippo wanted, making all not lost. Sadly, they also ran into someone who was after the same thing.
A burst of wind pushed them back away from the registers, knocking Zuko into an empty cart while Sesshomaru managed to remain on his feet.
Groaning, Zuko pulled himself up, meeting the smirking, red eyes of an attractive demon dressed in purple, armed with a sharp fan.
"Yo." she greeted.
"Yo yourself." he muttered.
"Kagura." Sesshomaru warned his possibly soon-to-be-unemployed secretary. "If you value your job, as well as your neck, I suggest you move."
She smirked. "No offense, boss, but I have a six year brat of a nephew. I need the turtle."
"How do you expect to do that if you're cut down to pieces?" Sesshomaru grabbed hold of her with his whips, tightening his hold, and flung her over his head, tossing her over to the diapers in the baby section.
That being that, Sesshomaru grabbed the toy and made his way over to the register, stopping short as a small kid with pale white hair and dead eyes, carrying a small mirror.
"I am sorry." She murmured softly, holding the mirror in front of him.
One look into the glass and everything went back.
When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see he was back in the car. Pain flooded his head, but he forced himself to move pass it, lifting his head up slightly to look over at Zuko who was driving.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"A little woman-child knocked you out with her mirror. Your crazy secretary came back and blew me out of the store. By the time I came back, they were gone, the gift was gone, and some idiot was trying to pick-pocket you."
Sesshomaru growled under his breath. Two more names were added to his list. "How much did the thief get?"
"Five fireballs to the ass," Zuko answered. "Don't worry. I took care of them for you."
Sesshomaru didn't say thank-you, which was expected of him. He did nodded his head slightly, which was the closest thank-you he would be seeing.
They didn't have much luck with the next Toyrus, the next one, or the one after that. Either the toys were cleared off the racks altogether, the ones left were items they already gotten for the kids, or someone-a crazed mother, a distressed father, or a familiar face-would get in their way. By the time noon rolled around, the two had already been through six stores, leaving empty-handed.
"I cannot believe this," Zuko said. They have left another store that was cleared of toys. "It's like the whole world is going crazy."
"The appeal of the holidays." Sesshomaru said.
Zuko huffed in agreement.
It was clear Toyrsus was a dead end, so they decided to turn towards a different store: Walmart. The parking lot was packed, but Sesshomaru easily cleared up spots for them after depositing of several cars. Unlike the previous times, Zuko kept quiet, focused on their mission.
The toy section was packed with people, demon and human, parent and child alike, all pushing and shoving, arguing and fighting as they picked through the scrapes.
Nodding to each other, Zuko placed his feet on Sesshomaru's clasped hands, and Sesshomaru tossed him up, throwing him into the snake pit. Zuko miraculously was able to get in with little injury and crawled, ignoring the looks pointed towards his direction.
"Aren't you too old to be crawling on the ground, mister?" asked a child from above, sitting comfortably in the carriage and sucking away on his thumb.
"Aren't you too old to be sucking your thumb?"
The boy stuck his tongue out at him. Zuko scowled and continued. The Barbie aisle was completely empty, saved for a few stuffed animals. The Monster High dolls were gone. Disney only had a few things left.
The playset was gone, to his annoyance, but he did mange to see the Snow Glow Elsa among the clutter. He reached for the toy, surprised to see another hand on the box.
He looked up. A heavyset, muscular woman with dark brown hair practically bursting from her dress glared down at him.
"That doll is mine, bud." she sneered.
Zuko answered her with a fierce scowl. "In your dreams."
He set off a small fire close to her feet. She stumbled back, terrified. He took that as his cue to run, doll tight in hand.
"Sesshomaru! Sesshomaru!" Zuko yelled. "I got it. Where are you?"
"I'm preoccupied at the moment." Zuko looked over to his left. Sesshomaru had the turtle in one hand while the other held his sword, fighting off a demon clad in red who greatly resembled him with his silver hair and gold eyes that was swinging away his own sword.
"Hand over the turtle, bastard!" he yelled.
Sesshomaru scowled and pushed the demon off him. "Always a pleasure, little brother."
"Give me the damn toy, Sesshomaru!"
Sesshomaru managed to dodge the swings Inuyasha flung towards him, able to get in a few strikes of his own. "Insolent fool." He looked over at Zuko and tossed him the toy. "Get them to the register so we can finally be done with this madness."
Zuko managed to catch the toy and ran towards the registers already growing with shoppers. As he took another step, a hard force slammed against the back of his head, knocking him face-first to the ground. The toys slide away from his hands.
"Elsa's mine, bitch!" the woman growled. She smacked him again on the head with her purse for good measure, grabbed Elsa and took Leonardo just to spite him, and walked to the register with a smirk on her face.
He had found one more person to add to Sesshomaru's hit-list. Zuko scowled after her, placing a tender hand on his aching head.
Unfortunately for them, the day only worsened as it went on, their luck dwindling. Zuko helped Sesshomaru make room for the car in the full parking lots, burning down a few cars to scrape metal without care. Their list of stops and stores lowered. Each store they stopped at brought nothing but disappointment.
Zuko cast a nervous glance at the clock. It was a quarter to ten, and stores were about to closed.
Sesshomaru insisted that he be the one to go inside Target while Zuko waited in the car. It was the seventeenth store they've been today, their last hope.
Maybe he found it, Zuko thought. He has been in there for over half an hour. Usually they spent a good fifteen to twenty minutes inside each store.
The remaining hope he had left died a painful death as he watched Sesshomaru emerged from the store empty-handed, a nasty bruise forming on his bottom lip.
"Drive." he ordered. "I said drive."
He turned over to him, about to ask him if the blows he received today from various purses affected his hearing. What greeted him was not a look of anger or frustration, but one of despair. Utter saddness, an emotion he had never seen in the firebender before now.
"It's over," Zuko whispered, eyes glued to the steering wheel. "Christmas is ruined and it's our fault."