Chapter Nine: Doesn't It Feel Like Christmas?

Kagome awoke Christmas morning feeling content in the within the world. The sun was shining through her bedroom window, caressing her with warmth and promise of a wondrous day. Arms wrapped around her and she was pulled into the comforting embrace of the person waking next to her. Golden eyes opened as InuYasha drew Kagome closer to himself, pressing her against his chest.

When she turned over to face him for a brief second she looked so much like Kikyo his breath caught. He shook himself out of his daze when Kagome smiled warmly at him and wished him a Merry Christmas. He would not feel guilty, he had done nothing wrong. They were together now and that is what mattered.

"Merry Christmas Kagome." InuYasha said softly before planting a kiss on her waiting lips.

"What do you have to do today?"

"Not a lot, I will have to go see my brother. He is looking into getting you and Marc to do more work on another one of his cars, he was impressed with the engine clean you guys did on his Dodge Charger. Which was just as well, he would have killed me if you guys had botched it."

"We had a lot of work before the Christmas break and last week we both worked our arses off to get his royal highnesses car finished since he didn't want to wait until after Christmas to pick it up. And excuse me as if either I or Marc would botch anything up!" Kagome glared at the man smirking playfully at her.

"Yeah he can be a bit of an ass."

"Was just as well Sango had organised that get together it gave me a chance to relax and blow off some steam, it sucked you didn't make it though." Kagome sighed.

InuYasha tensed up slightly as once again the bitter feeling of guilt crept up on him, When Kagome turned to look at him with a slight confused expression he struggled to push the guilt back down and steady his heartbeat.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah I just remembered I haven't got your Christmas gift here so ill have to go home and get it and catch up with you later today."

"Oh, okay well you're more than welcome to take a shower before you leave." Kagome was a little put out he was leaving already, but these things couldn't be helped.

InuYasha paced his small living room angered at his inability to just forget what he had Kikyo had done, which was ridiculous. Kagome wasn't his girlfriend when it happened so it wasn't cheating. Besides Kagome had reeked of his brothers scent the night before, in actuality that was the reason InuYasha had invited his brother over swiftly after leaving Kagome's place.

He had to know what occurred and he had to warn his brother to back off. His brother should know better being a full dog demon, as the Inu demon tribe were known for their possessive behaviour towards what was theirs even within a pack. The last thing InuYasha needed was for Sesshomaru to interfere and attempt to screw his chances up with Kagome.

She was beautiful, even in the morning after a night of passion. He had enjoyed finally having her intimately, having every inch of her at his fingertips, it had been more satisfying than his night with Kikyo that was for sure. A sound at his door brought him from his musings as his brother strolled in without bothering to knock.

'Arrogant son of a bitch.'

"Why am I here, I imagine It isn't for Christmas well wishes or Seasons greetings."

"What the fuck were you doing with Kagome last night."

"Ahh smelled me did you? I'm surprised your half breed nose works, or your brain for that matter. Tell me if your half superior nose smelt me that night, what is it you think that I smelt on you that morning? Or should I say who?"

InuYasha visibly stiffened, his eyes narrowing in shock. Sesshomaru knew about Kikyo. This was not good, how was he going to explain this one?
"Feh, yeah so I smelt like Kikyo, you saw me walk her home, that's why I smelt like her you idiot."

"Little brother, do not insult my intelligence, we both know I smelt more than that."

"Fuck you Sesshomaru! You keep your arrogant mouth shut. Me and Kagome weren't together then, but we are now so don't fuck that up or I swear to god I will rip you limb from fucking limb!"

Sesshomaru flicked his wrist and smirked as his brother hissed in pain, the sickly glowing green whip dissipating as soon as it had been summoned.
"You forget your place too often half breed." Sesshomaru sneered before he left his brother clutching at his arm, blood dripping onto his old tattered carpet.

Kagome glanced in the mirror trying to see some kind of difference in her appearance. But she looked the same, then again Peter Parker didn't change when he got super human abilities so maybe she was the same. After InuYasha had left she had jumped into the shower to clean herself of the evidence of her activities that took place the night before, when she had begun thinking of the incident that had taken place with the perverted man on the hill.

She had begun examining her hand and then placing it out before her to try and get it to glow again. Nothing had happened until she had begun getting frustrated and growled as she tried it one last time. Her hand had glowed brighter than it had before and had sent a small blast of energy out that had put a hole in her wall so she could see into her bedroom which was now covered in debris.

Then the bathtub she was standing in had cracked and broken and she had slipped and fell, hitting her head and blacking out for a few minutes. When she had come to, she had got up gingerly, a large lump of the side of her forehead standing proud when she had made it to the mirror to glance at her reflection. Was she bitten by a spider? Had she been exposed to some form of radiation?

She ran a hand through her damp wet locks and decided it was time to turn the shower off before she flooded her bathroom. She had one of the showers that where inbuilt into the bath so it meant now she could neither have a bath or shower. The water had begun getting through the hole in the wall and beginning to saturate some of her carpet. She slumped onto the wet floor when she realised being Christmas she would not be able to buy the materials needed to fix her wall, or buy a new tub for that matter since no stores where open.

"That one was a little stronger, do you think the priest or priestess is training?" Kagura asked as she emerged from her room dressed in a pink leather dress and black strappy heels, the over powering scent of her perfume filling the room.

"Training? With who? There hasn't been a priest or priestess in Rio for years now, well except for the one we know of anyway. And I doubt she would help train anyone." Naraku mused from his throne like chair in the living room as he gazed at readings on his laptop, glancing at Kagura as she entered.

"Hmm a valid point." She murmured as she grabbed her purse from the coffee table.
"Where are you off to anyway?" Naraku asked, his eyes narrowing at her dressed up form.

"Well I was going to go wish Sesshomaru a Merry Christmas to keep up appearances."
"Very well, do not come back empty handed. Bring me some kind of information as to how we can further destroy the dog."

"I will not." She said quietly as she headed out of the door. Naraku snapped his fingers and at once a child dressed in a white dress with matching white hair appeared holding a mirror. Her pitch black eyes regarded the man sitting before her with no emotion what so ever.

"Kanna, follow her and report back to me."
"Yes." The child said in a soft voice before disappearing into nothing.

"When is the shipment due into Rio?" asked an older looking man whispering into his phone while his wife slept in bed next to him. It was late at night in Japan and everyone was tired after boxing day revels.

"New Years Eve, their New Years Eve. They have already begun to get orders in for those wishing to purchase the drugs as soon as the ship is docked. The ship arrives that morning and they will have it unloaded and ready to distribute by the afternoon." Replied a slightly younger man who was glancing at a woman sleeping in the bed opposite the wall he leant against.

"Katashi you had better up production then so you have enough for that order as well as the order Mr Hatake placed."
"Yes I know Mr Tanaka." Katashi sighed as the woman in his bed began to stir. He knew all too well the deadline and the issues that would arise should he fail to meet them.

"Look I have to go, we will meet tomorrow morning and will talk more then." Katashi whispered before hanging up the phone. The woman stirred further when he crept back into bed.

"Katashi what are you still doing up?" the woman slurred in her half asleep state.
"I thought I heard Souta get up but I must have been hearing things, go back to sleep Yasuo." He cooed as he wrapped his arms around the woman he had come to love. Yasuo snuggled into him before drifting back off again. It seemed life was finally being kind her after a rough few years.

Kagome snorted as she pulled into the carpark of the last hotel she wanted to stay in. Until she got a chance to fix her bathroom and wall she had decided to stay somewhere else. And being Christmas it meant a lot of the hotels and motels where full of family members who had come to visit their loved ones during the holiday season.

The only places she had found vacancies were a backpackers which she refused after seeing the state of the people who were staying, and the Copacabana Palace. The dreaded hotel where she now knew Sesshomaru resided was only place that she could stay which promised a nice shower and good food.

There was InuYasha's but she hadn't heard back from him yet and she didn't want to smother him too much, it was still early days for them as they had only been together not even a day. Grudgingly she got out of the car and locked her car, when she heard the beep of her alarm indicating it was on she then started off towards the entrance, credit card in her hand.

Walking in she saw the same woman at the desk who had been there the last time she had stayed, the woman seemed to look down her nose at her when Kagome approached card ready in her outstretched hand.

"I'm here for the room I booked for a week, under Higurashi." Kagome stated in her most confident voice.

"Here is your room key, you are fortunate to be in the same room as last time so you will know where it is, housekeeping comes in at around 11am in the morning, breakfast starts at 8am and ends at 10am, lunch begins at 12pm and ends at 2pm and dinner is from 6pm until 8pm should you wish to dine here." The woman almost drawled out.

Kagome took the key and headed to her room. Once in the safety of the place that was home for a week she lay down on her soft bed and thought about what she wanted for lunch and when InuYasha would get back to her.