A/N: Thank you my reviewers! :3

-MissKatt

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. All credit goes to the amazing Takahashi-san!

A Christmas Healing

By: MissKatt

Chapter Three: Dinner

"Ah, Rin-chan! You look so pretty!" Kagome praised as the little girl walked into the kitchen. All the dirt was free from her person and she glowed with cleanliness. The orphan blushed and walked over to Sesshoumaru before bowing low to him in thanks.

"Clean suits you better." He commented and watched as she straightened up, a large grin on her face. She nodded enthusiastically at him before helping Kagome dish out the servings for dinner as the children piled in around the table.

"I think you may have just helped me solve our bathing issue with her." She laughed as she set down his plate in front of him. He eyed her before giving her a curt nod, looking down at the plate of curry. The smelled wafted up into his nostrils, filling his sinuses with a delicious scent. Once everyone settled in their seats, Rin sitting next to her new friend, they gathered their hands together in a prayer.

Wait, what?

Sesshoumaru did not agree to such a thing. He looked at the little girl to his right who was holding her small hand up to him. He then glanced to his left, looking at Kagome as she sat at the head of the table. Awkwardly, he held out his hands and each of the girls grabbed one and begun their prayer to Kami-sama to thank him for the food and their health.

Once they finished, they began to happily dig into their food. He studied them each carefully. None of them had their elbows on the table, none spoke with their mouths full, and none chewed with their mouths open. He was shocked to see they actually had manners.

"Taisho-san, is it true you have been running your business since you were seventeen?" Sayo asked, looking at their guest.

"It is." He replied, setting his spoon down as he answered the girl. How did she know?

"That is so awesome! I want to be business man when I get older!" Muji said with a grin and then balled his hand into a fist before tossing it up into the air. "Yosh! I will become a successful business man like Taisho-san!"

"Yeah right, Muji-kun, math is your worst subject!" Suki commented, sticking her tongue out at the boy as he fumed at her.

"T-that's why you hire other people to do the math for you! Right, Taisho-san?" He asked, looking at the inuyoukai with bright eyes.

"I suppose." He took another bite from the curry, hoping it would cease the questions.

It didn't.

"Anyways," Sayo drew out the word as she glared at Muji. She then turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru. "I read in Japan Weekly that you graduated high school early. Did you have to wait until you graduated? Is that why you didn't take over the business sooner?"

She was a cunning little girl. "Indeed. That was the condition set by my father." He explained. Why was he supplying these strangers with his information?

"Wow! How nice of your father!" She cooed and then her face fell a little, making an odd pang in his heart.

"Indeed." It was actually the least his father could have done after everything.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Rin-chan?" Kagome asked, trying to change the subject from parents to something else.

The little girl opened her mouth, sparking a hope in Kagome, but snapping it shut. The woman sighed as her hopes were crushed. She looked at Sesshoumaru as he gazed down at the girl. "Do you know what you want to be?" He asked.

The girl quickly turned her attention to Sesshoumaru and nodded, a blush on her cheeks. She turned and pointed towards the TV. Everyone followed her gaze and began to shout out answers.

"An actress?"

"A singer!"

"A salesman?"

"A chef!"

"A reporter?"

Rin clapped her hands together and nodded with a large smile. Muji snorted and rolled his eyes at her. "You need to speak in order to do that!"

As the little girl's face fell, Sesshoumaru felt a small spark fuel him. "You can speak. You just choose not to." He commented. She looked at him and smiled kindly at him. He reached out and patted her head, much to his own disbelief, smoothing out her hair. He felt the other kids stare jealously at her.

"That's what Mama wants to do!" Shippou spoke up, pushing his plate away as he finished his dinner.

"Not exactly, Shippou-chan." Kagome said with a kind smile. She stood up and began to collect the kids' dishes.

"Oh, then what is it?" He asked as she came over to collect his plate.

"I want to be a journalist. I would love to travel and write about things that inspire me." She said and nodded at the children when they asked to be excused from the table.

Shippou suddenly looked sad as he looked down at the table. "But, Mama can't because of me?" He asked shyly.

She balanced the plates in one hand before bending down to kiss the top of his head. "Not at all, Shippou-chan. If I were to become a journalist, you would be coming with me. But at the moment, I am very content being a teacher." He beamed up at her before leaping from the table to go play with the other kids.

Kagome brought the plates to the sink and turned on the water. Rin walked over with her and Sesshoumaru's plate and began to wash them. "Say, Rin-chan, why don't you go play with the other kids? I can do the dishes." The girl looked up at her with a shocked look before she shook her head, her hand finding the hem of Kagome's shirt. "Okay, okay, you don't have to." She sighed and looked over at their guest as he watched the scene from the table. "Tea?"

"Yes," He spoke up, keeping his eyes on the little girl. Why did she allow herself to get bullied? Did she not know that children festered upon those who showed weakness? When the cup was put down in front of him, he nodded to Kagome in thanks. "The kit is your son?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes, he's the one I was telling you about." She said, smiling at him.

"Hn." He replied and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

"Ah, thank you for indulging the children, Taisho-san." She spoke up after a little. "I think they need an idol of some sort and you are a great candidate."

He eyed the smile on her face with his amber eyes. "I'm not, Higurashi-san." He admitted, surprising even himself.

"I suppose no one truly is," She commented. "Everyone has their dark secrets, but to children they don't exist and it's better if it stays that way." She smiled once more.

He nodded at her logic and sipped at his tea before glancing at his watch. He downed his tea and stood from his chair. "I must be going."

"O-oh," She said, a pinch of disappointment in her tone. Why was that? She stood up and walked towards him. "I will walk you out."

He did not protest her company as they walked to the entry way and out the front door. He turned to say his good-byes and watched as she bowed to him. "I'm probably annoying you like crazy, but, thank you again, so much, Taisho-san!"

He raised a brow. He was not used to being thanked so much for something he was obliged to do. "Thank you for the food, Higurashi-san."

"Please, call me Kagome." She said, smiling at him as she straightened.

He nodded at her in acknowledged and then turned to leave. He walked two steps before he paused, a soft cry coming from behind him. He turned around once more in time to see the little girl approach him before latching onto his leg in a hug. He looked up at Kagome uncertainly. She smiled encouragingly at him and he looked down at the girl once more before patting her on the head like he had down at the dinner table. She then stepped back and waved up at him before retreating to Kagome's side.

"Good-bye, Taisho-san." Kagome said, holding Rin's hand.

"Good-bye, Kagome-san." For the third time, he turned from them and headed down the shrine steps towards his car.

*~~~CH~~~*

"Sesshou-kun~." Sakura cooed as she walked into her boss's office.

Sesshoumaru glanced up at his secretary from his mounds of paperwork. "Did you need something?"

"So, how did last night go?" She asked coyly, grinning wickedly at him as she walked over to his desk, leaning onto it with her elbows.

"Hn. I dropped off the clothes. That was it." He said and turned his attention back to the papers on his desk.

"Oh? Hmm, well our messenger from downstairs brought this up for you." She said and handed him an envelope. "It's from a Higurashi Kagome." Sakura wiggled her eye brows suggestively at him. "Who's that? A lady friend? Or perhaps you knocked up some girl when you were in high school? Ohh, drama!"

He grabbed the envelope from her. "Get out."

She pursed her lips together before releasing a disappointed sigh. "Fine." She huffed before storming out of his office.

The owner of Taisho Corp. waited until she was gone to open the envelope. He pulled out a simple looking card with a cartoon Rudolph on it. He let himself smile briefly at the image of it before he flipped it open to read its contents.

Taisho-san,

We thank you so, so much for the generous donation and for your company at dinner! We hope to see you next weekend!

-Sincerely,

Kagome, Rin, and the children at the orphanage.

He couldn't help but have a small smile from the warmth in the card. He couldn't believe how thankful a person could be for something such as a bag of clothes. Did these people really have so little? He shut the card and set it on his desk, the card propped up so the picture stared back at him. He thought back to the woman he had met. She was so…bubbly. The only time he had seen her remotely unhappy is when she would talk about the state of the children and her worries for them. Other than that, there was always a smile on her face. Did she ever grow tired of it?

He stood from his chair and gathered his coat, slipping it on and buttoning it up. He pulled his ponytail from the confinement of the jacket against his back and tugged on to his gloves. He exited his office and paused briefly by his secretary's desk. "I will be eating out for lunch."

"Would you like some company?" She asked with a smile, looking up at him.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "That will not be necessary." He did not miss the disappointment in her face.

"Oh, alright. Well, have a good lunch, Taisho-san." She murmured and looked down at her papers as he walked past her and towards the elevator. He took it down to the first level and proceeded to exit the building. He stepped onto the crowded sidewalk and began to walk with no real destination. He sighed softly, a puff of white air forming in front of his lips, as he continued down the sidewalk.

"Taisho-san!"

He turned at the familiar voice and saw Kagome walking towards him with Rin and Shippou at her side. He stopped his walking and waited for the small group to catch up to him. "Kagome-san, Rin, Shippou." He nodded to them.

She smiled at him with her brilliant smile. "How nice to see you again! Did you get our card?" She asked, walking alongside him now. Rin had somehow managed to move around to the other side of him, trapping him between the two females.

"I did. It is appreciated." He commented, looking at Kagome. She was stunning today. She wore a thick crimson v-neck sweater and dark blue jeans that disappeared into a pair of knee-high flat boots. Her ebony hair was tied into a braid and hung over her right shoulder.

"Oh, no, we are the thankful ones!" She let out a soft laugh and smiled once more.

There it was again. That smile. "Where are you headed to?"

"We were out to get a few groceries, but I think we are going to go grab a bite to eat." She smiled down at Shippou as he tugged happily at her hand. She was happy for the distraction. She knew if she looked back up she would continue to stare at the handsome man in front of her. She couldn't see his shirt, but his black pea coat matched his black slacks. His silver hair was in a long flowing ponytail behind him, his amber eyes gleaming in the winter sun.

"Barbeque?" He asked, grinning up in hope at his mother.

She let out an awkward chuckle. "Um, maybe after the holidays, Shippou-chan." She knew how much the child ate and could definitely not afford her, Shippou, and Rin.

Sesshoumaru watched the disappointment droop his features. "Oh, okay, Mama."

Curse it all; he was going to be…nice again. "I think barbeque sounds appetizing." He commented and gazed down at the boy as hope filled his eyes, a large grin forming on his face once more.

Kagome got what he was hinting at. "N-no, Taisho-san! We couldn't possibly accept such a generous offer."

"Nonsense. I am out for my lunch break and I would like company." He replied, his molten honey eyes now focusing on her.

She blushed under his gaze. Oh, no, Kagome! Don't start blushing now! "A-are you sure?"

"Of course. I do not go back on my word." The inuyoukai responded.

"Alright, Taisho-san, if you're sure." Her smile returned and he glanced forward to lead them towards the barbeque restaurant.

"Yay! Barbeque!" Shippou cheered, looking over at Rin who was as equally happy.

A/N: Woot, woot! :3 Let me know what you think!