Disclaimer: InuYasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, but…I ….I,….I,….I….WANT SESSHOMARU for my birthday!!!! I'll accept a combined birthday and Christmas present if I can have him!
Notes: First, let me mention that I have suddenly become slightly busy with the onslaught of the silly season, so, updates may not be as frequent as they have been, but I'll try.
Also, I hope you will indulge me on the subject of Christmas in my little story here. I have learned that there are families who are Christians and celebrate in the western fashion with the tree and such, BUT considering that Kagome lives on a Shinto shrine I seriously doubt they are one of them!!! LOL

But, please give me a little indulgence here. I SO LOVE Christmas and I loved the idea of the four of them exchanging a gift with the one they love, but having to be creative. So, while I know they wouldn't celebrate Christmas, let's just pretend they would ok? No flaming reviews on this please.

I'm also planning on getting them off the mountain soon… I think I will be writing two or three more chapters on the mountain and then starting part two.


Enjoy the chapter, and for my readers in the US…

Have a happy and joyful Thanksgiving!

Puppy Love!

CJ


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Part One-Chapter Nine

Desperate Times

call for

Drastic Measures


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InuYasha and Miroku had left nearly an hour ago, but the words were still vibrating in Kagome's mind.

"What the fuck's a guy got to do to get some time alone with the woman he loves?!"

Miroku, the consummate smartass that he is, just grinned and raised his hands in the air and said

"Don't worry, I can take a hint."

Then turned on his heel and left them alone again. Neither said a word for a minute, just stared at the ceiling of the cave quietly. Then InuYasha spoke quietly.

"Kagome…I'm really sorry." he reached over and took her hand

Kagome turned her head and looked at the cave wall. "I understand, you were angry, you didn't mean it, it just came out. It's okay...really."

InuYasha squeezed her hand, and then turned on his side, turning her face to his. "Kagome, you know me better than that. I wouldn't have said THAT if I didn't mean it."

Kagome looked up at him, her eyes rimmed with tears, heart aching and full of doubt. "Then why are you sorry?"

He smiled "Because I'd hoped when I told you, that I would say it in way that was a lot nicer"
Kagome smiled, lifting her hand to his cheek. "It's okay InuYasha." She kissed him softly and he held her for a minute. Miroku called out again, asking if they were still going hunting.
InuYasha rolled his eyes, kissing her again.

Then he rose and left.

"He does love me, he finally said so"
Kagome curled up, closing her eyes. She had longed to hear the words for so long.

Why was it she suddenly felt so afraid?


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InuYasha quietly stalked the rabbit, reaching down and swooping it up in his hand triumphantly.

"That's six." He grinned, "That should be all I'll need"

"For what?" Miroku asked, stabbing the snowman in the heart.

"As if I would tell you." InuYasha sat to clean his catch while they were far from the cave. He didn't want the blood scent attracting animals; there was no way they were moving again, this cave was too perfect to leave behind.

"Don't tell me you're still mad at me InuYasha." Miroku jerked around quickly and took another jab at the snowman, missing completely.

"Your suppose to hit the target, not the air baka. Quit trying to be a show off and work on your aim." InuYasha grumbled

"Ah, you are still mad at me."

"Miroku, if you keep taking swings like that, you're not going to survive your first battle. You need to be more forceful, put more thrust behind your jabs, and don't jab strait up you baka, always at an angle."

"That's easy for you to say, you've probably been doing this most of your life."

"I've only had Tessiaga since shortly after I met Kagome, almost a year ago."

Miroku made a forceful swing and jab, catching his "foe" directly in the groin area. InuYasha laughed so hard he nearly fell off the rock he was sitting on.

"Good job Miroku, you've successfully castrated the snowman."

Miroku chuckled. "Hurts just thinking about it. Anyway, tell me InuYasha, mad because I unintentionally drove you to admit something you didn't want to admit, or because I almost walked into something you didn't want me to see?"

InuYasha blushed "None of your business houshi."

"But you and Kagome have gotten much closer lately have you not?" Miroku cut off part of the snowman's head. "Ah! Partial decapitation!"

"I think you've had a partial decapitation, and mind your own business. What is going on between me and Kagome is our business, not yours"
Miroku completed the snowman's decapitation, and then put the sword in its scabbard. Sitting down near InuYasha, he became serious.

"InuYasha, now hear me out, because I speak in total sincerity."

InuYasha looked over at Miroku, seeing the serious expression, he nodded.

"You know that because of my curse I haven't allowed many people get close to me. Not even friends. It never seemed right, to allow people to care about me knowing the odds were fifty/fifty that I would die within the next month.

"But when you and Kagome came along, that changed, you were the first friends I really made since my curse began. You are both important to me, but I have a particularly strong affection for Kagome."

InuYasha's eyes narrowed and his face scrunched into an angry scowl.

"Now wait" Miroku saw InuYasha's fist forming and hurried to put a stop to it "This is why I said, hear me out." He chuckled, noticing InuYasha lowered his fist, but didn't unclench it.

"When I was a boy there was only one thing that ever wanted. A little sister. I would see boys my age, standing up and protecting the little girls in their families and I always thought how brave they were. I wanted to be like them, to have my own little sister to protect. "I longed and yearned for years, when my father died, I was crushed over losing him of course, but that day, my dream also died. But it came back to life again when I met Kagome."

"Miroku, you grabbed her ass and asked her to bear your child." InuYasha scoffed.

"That I did, before I realized that her heart was already claimed. And, though you denied it, so was yours."

InuYasha gave Miroku a look that said he had only seconds to get on with it before he got hit.

"And…Kagome has become like a sister to me, I cherish her in my heart as if she were truly my sister by blood."

"Do you have a point here Miroku?" InuYasha impatiently began scraping pelts, feeling nervous about the direction the conversation seemed to be going.

"I want to know that your intentions are honorable, that this isn't just…"

"Of course my intentions are good baka; I want Kagome to be happy."

"You say that now InuYasha, but what about tomorrow, or the years after? I don't want to see Kagome get hurt. And I will tell you straight out, if you ever hurt her, physically I mean, full demon or not, I will kill you." Miroku looked at InuYasha, his eyes serious, deadly serious.

InuYasha nodded "I will tell you, straight out. I love her Miroku, she is my future and I would give my life for hers. And if I ever hurt her, if I ever so much as put one scratch on her, there would be no need for you to kill me, because I would kill myself."

Miroku looked at InuYasha, his eyes were huge and clear, his expression completely non-combative and deadly serious. Miroku had never seen such intensity in his eyes outside of battle before.
"Well, I don't think you need to kill yourself over a little scratch. That would be a little extreme, don't you think?"

InuYasha looked at the houshi, ready to smack him upside the head. Then grinned slightly at the look of mischievous humor on his face. Sometimes Miroku's goofiness was contagious, even InuYasha wasn't immune.

"You tell me then oh great knower of everything. What should I kill myself for?" InuYasha scraped the last part of the pelt he held, adding it to the stack by his feet.

Miroku rose, going to obliterate the remainder of the decapitated snowman.

"That should be rather obvious InuYasha, that and excessive abuse to your friend the soon to be former houshi."

Miroku stabbed the snowman in the heart, laughing loudly.

"Don't hold your breath on the second part of that" InuYasha laughed "Former houshi?"

InuYasha picked up his final pelt, grateful it was his last to scrape. Ever. But he still had all that sewing ahead of him. Great idea InuYasha…wonderful. He consoled himself, thinking of how thrilled Kagome was going to be with his gift.

"I plan to see Master Mushin as soon as we are off this mountain. There's nothing standing in our way anymore. Besides, my mastery of this blade and as you see, I am almost there."

Miroku whipped around, showing off, and proceeded to castrate the snowman once again.
InuYasha laughed thrilled with Miroku's timing. "I wouldn't be trading in those robes quite yet, baka houshi!"

Their laughter combined, echoing down the mountainside, even InuYasha thought the sound was kinda nice.


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Kagome stared over the pages of the book that sat forgotten in her lap, watching her toes do some trick that Sango imagined must be invisible, but terribly interesting since it had absorbed Kagome's attention most of the morning.

"That really must be some trick." She smiled, her fingers expertly weaving a new backup handle for Hiraikotsu. The one's she had were almost brand new, but not like she had a hundred other things to do.

"Huh?" Kagome looked up, her expression blank.

"Your foot, it's had your attention all morning, it must be doing something pretty entertaining." She smiled, making clear she was teasing.

Kagome returned her smile, slapping shut the book she hadn't once turned a page on.

"I guess I'm just too distracted." She tucked her knees up, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin on her hands.

"I can see why." Sango admitted, she had been woken by InuYasha's loud declaration this morning.

"Yeah." Kagome sighed.
"You're not happy?" Sango was surprised "I would have expected you to be bouncing around in excitement."

"I…" Kagome put her head down, hiding her face. Sango put her weaving down, and then moved to sit next to Kagome.

"Kagome, I don't understand. What could possibly be wrong? You have waited and wanted this for so long. It's happened now, you should be happy." Sango brushed her hand soothingly down Kagome's hair, reminding her of her mother.

She looked up and took a deep breath.

"It's not that I am not happy, I am, and he didn't even try to take it back afterwards either like he always has before when he let hints slip that he cared about me."

Kagome smiled, remembering, "He even apologized for not saying it nicer, it was so sweet. I guess I'm just scared. All of this has happened so fast."

"I don't know if I would exactly call a year and a half fast Kagome." Sango laughed a little.

Kagome wrinkled her eyebrows "Well, no, but, for almost all that time I knew what to expect. Everything was always the same, I loved InuYasha from afar, he longed after Kikyo, I was hurt. His focus was always on Kikyo and Naraku."

"Kagome! That's not true and you know it. You saw how worried InuYasha was…"

"When something happened to me, if I was kidnapped or hurt, or if Koga was around. Otherwise, all he ever thought about was destroying Naraku."

"That wasn't just because of Kikyo though, you know that. It was to save Miroku, and for Kohaku, to help me avenge my father and the village and for the things Naraku had done to you too."

"It doesn't matter now anyway, Naraku is dead, Kikyo has gone on, she's at peace. His mind and heart are his again to do with what he wants" Kagome sighed

"How is this a problem?"

"I'm scared!" Kagome buried her head again. "Besides finding the shards, I'm the only thing he's focusing on, I'm not use to him paying so much attention to me and it scares me."

"Isn't that what you want?" Sango patted Kagome's shoulder.

"But what if he looks too close and decides he doesn't like what he sees?" Kagome lifted her head, putting it in her hands.

"Being together this long, and everything we have all been through together, don't you think we have already seen the worst we all have to offer?"

"It's just that, in my time people go on dates to get to know one another, they don't spend so much time together right off the bat. And they really don't scream out for everyone to hear that they love you barely a week after you get together."

Sango laughed, Kagome looked at her and smiled, then started laughing too.

"You have to admit Kagome, InuYasha is an original personality."

Kagome nodded, still laughing.

"No argument there." She bumped Sango's arm with her own. When they quieted, she went on.

"He just seems to sure, so intense about how he feels. It is a little overwhelming at times. I feel it, but I'm not ready to say it."

"Well, it has only been a week" Sango nodded "Perhaps it is a little soon."

"I just feel like if we go too fast were going to be making a big mistake and it will ruin everything." Kagome sighed again.

"You need to talk to InuYasha, tell him how you feel." Sango stood and picked up her weaving once again.

"I know, I just hope InuYasha understands."


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Kagome and Sango had both nodded off when InuYasha and Miroku returned, despite his best attempts, InuYasha wasn't able to shake Miroku, so he put him to work instead. He finally confessed to someone what he was doing with all the rabbit fur, and then forced Miroku and fist point to start sewing.

"This is a wonderful idea InuYasha; I wish I had thought of it."

"You just make sure your mouth stays good and closed houshi…FUCK!" InuYasha stabbed his finger once again, before long he was going to be so jabbed up Kagome was going to start asking questions. It was also a reminder that he STILL hadn't had a chance to talk to Kagome.

"I don't understand this odd celebration. Tell me more about it." Miroku made careful stitches, InuYasha noticed, some woman had taught him how to sew obviously, he was an expert.

He shrugged "Last winter she invited me to go home with her for a Celebration. They had a pine tree in their house with shiny decorations on it and they gave each other presents. Other than that, I don't really know much about it ask Kagome"

"Why would they have a tree in their house?" Miroku laughed, "That sounds a little baka"

InuYasha made a fist and got into Miroku's face. "Listen houshi, Kagome isn't going to be able to go home this year, and this celebration was a big deal for her family…so don't be making stupid comments like that in front of Kagome. If she wants to drag in a toilet and decorate it I am going to make it happen."

"All right, All right!" Miroku put his hands up in a warding gesture. "There's no reason to get so excited InuYasha. Hmm, I wonder what I could come up with to give Sango."

"You think you got problems? Where am I going to come up with tree decorations out here?"

Miroku looked at InuYasha and they both grinned.

"InuYasha, by the way…what's a toilet?"


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Kagome tried twice to get time alone with InuYasha but always there were interruptions, InuYasha tried at least three times with the same results. Finally, in frustration he scooped up Kagome's bedding, some wood and food and said they would be back in the morning. He also said that should anyone have the guts to follow them, they would be losing theirs.

Kagome struggled with her nerves, not knowing what he was planning or expecting out of the time alone, but she trusted him. She knew in her heart that InuYasha would never do anything to hurt her. InuYasha helped her spread out their blankets and Kagome made dry soup and some deer meat on sticks, then they cuddled down together in the blankets, finally free to have the talk they needed to have.

"Kagome…I've wanted to talk to you about…well I," He stopped and took a deep breath. "The morning after I took you back to the cave, I found your pajama top with all the buttons missing."

Kagome gasped, her cheeks turning crimson.

"You…you did? You saw?"

He nodded "The morning we left the other cave, I couldn't understand why you were so mad at me, it didn't make sense. I thought that I had pushed you too fast when I asked you to sleep with me…well not sleep with, but…Sleep with…arghhh" InuYasha was getting frustrated the more his tongue got tied

"I got it." Kagome smiled a little.

InuYasha smiled back "Thanks. I'm so sorry Kagome. I was dreaming…I mean, I thought I was just dreaming, but…Kagome…"InuYasha looked into her eyes, she could only remember seeing them so sad only a few times before "….I can't remember everything…please tell me I didn't go too far, or hurt you."

Kagome didn't mean to, but she couldn't help it, she started laughing. InuYasha rolled up onto his elbow and looked down at her, confused at first, then angry.

"Oy! Baka! What's so fucking funny?" he looked at her like she had lost her mind. But the truth was, Kagome was suddenly struck by how silly the whole thing had been.

"I'm sorry." Kagome put her hands on InuYasha's cheeks, still laughing. She lifted her head and kissed him gently. "You didn't hurt me or anything like that…promise. It's just that …"

She couldn't stand it, the memory of his being so passionate one minute, and then rolling over and snoring the next, had just suddenly hit her for how comical it really was.

"What?" InuYasha wasn't mad now, but he was terribly curious now to know what he had done that was so funny. "Tell me what I did that's so damn funny then."

"You…." Kagome struggled to catch her breath "You…"

"WHAT?!?" InuYasha was totally exasperated.

"You…just…all of a sudden… stopped and…"

"And what!

"You rolled over and SNORED!!" Kagome doubled over, laughing so hard her stomach hurt.

"I did not." InuYasha protested, relieved but aghast at what he had done.

"You DID!" Kagome rolled over and got in his face "You went Snnnnooooorrreeee"

InuYasha decided, Kagome's fake snore was pathetic.

"That's my InuYasha…the great romantic." Kagome giggled, the worst of her laughter past her now.

"I like that." He said, pulling her close to him, giving her a soft, sweet kiss.

"The great romantic part?" Kagome grinned

"No, the part where you called me yours." InuYasha kissed her again, so, so sweetly.

Kagome smiled, her body infused with warmth, yet no fear. Still…

"InuYasha…You know how much you mean to me, right?"

"I think so, yeah." He brushed his fingers through her hair, enticed by the scent that drifted to his nose.

"So then, you would understand if I told you that I want to take things slow, and not rush into anything too fast."

"Is this about this morning?" InuYasha lifted her chin so here could look into her face. Kagome was relieved to see that he didn't look upset.

"No, not really. You know I feel the same. I'm just afraid if we rush things we will screw everything up."

"Us? Screw something up?" InuYasha laughed

Kagome smiled "Hard to believe, I know."

"You know, that's what I was trying to say when everything blew up the other day over the alcove. I never want to push you into anything you aren't ready for Kagome. That's not what loving someone is supposed to be about." InuYasha took her face in his hands and kissed her, long and sweet, with an air of innocence. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"Besides, I would never want to do anything that could cause me to lose you. You are too important to me. You decide when you're ready for things to happen between us Kagome. No matter what it is, I'll always wait for you."

Kagome smiled, and then laid her head on InuYasha's chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat, thrilled to know that it was filled with love for her.


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- Chapter 10 Preview


When InuYasha mentions going to look for a Christmas tree Kagome is thrilled that he remembered the celebration so important to her. But when Sango accidentally lets it slip that InuYasha has a gift for her, Kagome frets about what to give InuYasha, While Miroku and Sango try to decide what to give each other.And just what will they use for Christmas decorations???


Part One

Chapter Ten

There's No Mall on this Mountain!

Coming Soon!


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