A/N: Hi everyone! I'm kinda shifting the days for the story, so the ice -skating was on Christmas Eve and this one leads into Christmas day. It'll fit better with the 'Batteries no included' thing.
Disclaimer: While I may now own a DDR and a bonsai tree, I sadly do not own these characters.
The 12 Pains of Christmas: chapter 10It was definitely a trial trying to get Kagome's cousins to sleep that night. Cookies were left beside a glass of milk for Santa, and their stockings hung cheerfully over the fireplace. Kagome was put in charge of staying up late to discourage any peeping eyes. Riku desperately wanted a glimpse of Santa, and Kurai would just as soon follow him as tell him not to.
So Kagome was cuddled up on the big squishy armchair in front of the fire with a textbook spread over her lap. Even tonight she would have to study just so she wouldn't fall even more behind in school. Evil teachers assigned homework and scheduled tests for the Thursday and Friday they came back. She couldn't wait to try and explain to Inuyasha that she couldn't go back to the Feudal Era right away because of these tests. He'd want her to ignore them and come anyway. But exams didn't just go away if you ignored them long enough.
Speaking of Inuyasha, he was lounging on the couch next to her, dozing if his closed eyes were any sign. His chin was resting on his palm, and every so often, his head would begin to tip forwards before he jerked it back. His eyelids would flutter, and occasionally he would utter something incoherently, but then he'd be right back off to dreamland.
Kagome was pretty much oblivious to him as she tried to cram, but it was very hard to study something you never learned in the first place. With a sigh she rubbed her temples and looked up just in time to see two little shadows creeping down the stairs.
"Hey, you two. Back to bed, Santa won't come if you're not asleep," she hissed only loud enough for them to hear. Now that she saw Inuyasha, she didn't want to wake him.
Too late. She saw his ears twitch in her direction a second before his eyes snapped open. Any sign of fatigue was instantly gone as he peered from her to the railing, where two little faces looked pleadingly at their cousin Kagome.
"But, Kagome, you and him are still awake. Does that mean Santa won't come?" Riku asked innocently. The pout on his little face was enough to melt her.
"No, it doesn't. We'll be going to bed as soon as you guys go back in your room and stay there," she promised, hoping to get them to finally go to sleep. Then she'd be able to get some much-needed rest before tackling Christmas morning. Kagome could just picture paper flying everywhere and little toys getting lost in the sea, with three very excited boys right in the middle of it. She had probably been just as joyful as a kid, but that was before she had learned that sleep was a very good thing.
"Okay," they sighed dejectedly in unison. Four tiny feet began trudging slowly back up the steps and a couple minutes later the quiet shutting of a door was heard downstairs. Inuyasha signaled that they had stopped moving and they were starting to fall asleep. Sometimes heightened senses were a good thing. Kagome got to her feet and packed up her textbooks, walking up to her room. Inuyasha followed, but went on to Souta's bedroom while she stopped at her mother's doorway.
"All clear. The munchkins are sound asleep," she whispered into the darkness where she knew her mother was waiting. The bedside light clicked on, illuminating the piles upon piles of gifts wrapped and ready to be put under the tree. Mrs. Higurashi was sitting in the middle of it, looking at her daughter pleadingly. Kagome sighed and helped shift the stacks downstairs, wishing all the while that Inuyasha hadn't gone to bed yet. Some of this stuff was really heavy.
~*~
The next morning, it was eerily quiet when Kagome woke up. Blinking at the digital numbers on her clock, she saw it was almost eight o'clock. Why didn't she hear anything from downstairs? She was sure the boys would be all over their presents by now. Still in her flannel pajamas, she crept to the landing of the stairs. From there she saw everyone but Mrs. Higurashi and herself sitting on the couch twiddling their thumbs. Could it be that Inuyasha and Souta had managed to convince the kids to wait for them?
"Can we go wake her up now?" Riku said, bouncing up and down on the couch seat. Kurai was barely restraining himself from doing the same thing. Little Ryo slumped over the arm of the sofa, waiting with a big smile on his face. He clapped his hands in the adorable way only little kids can accomplish before squirming off the edge onto the floor. Souta swiped him up before he could make it to the stairs.
"No, no, Ryo. You have to wait a little bit. You can all go up in about five minutes, okay?" he said, more to the older two than the baby in his hands.
"Yeah, I guess," Kagome heard a small voice reply as she snuck back up to her room. If they were planning what she thought they were planning, the pups would be invading her room in a matter of moments. She quickly stepped into some jeans and shrugged on an old gray sweater before sliding under her covers again.
Sure enough, she had barely closed her eyes when the door swung open silently. She heard the pitter patter of six tiny feet before a sudden weight landed on her chest. Hoping to surprise them, she sat up and caught the next flying body before it could hit the bed. Kagome found herself looking at Kurai's shocked face as he hung about half a foot in the air. Oblivious to it all, Ryo scrambled up to, plopping his twenty-four pound self on one of her knees.
She grimaced before looking up at her doorway. There stood a grinning Inuyasha and a beaming Souta. Her mother stood slightly behind them, having just woken up. The woman clenched her robe tighter and made her way downstairs for presents. Riku, Kurai, and Ryo all got up and followed her like baby ducks, leaving Kagome to stare after them. Then she kicked off her comforter and went downstairs too.
Brightly wrapped presents covered just about every open inch of floor space. The tree was surrounded by a wall of gifts easily two feet high. Kagome waded through the sea to find the armchair. She knew it was around here somewhere…'Ah! There it is!' she thought, sitting down.
From there she watched as the boys descended on their piles like ravenous beasts. Ribbons and scraps were thrown everywhere. As things were revealed, short "oohs" and "aahs" were shared, but they were hurriedly thrown aside in favor of unwrapping more. Random flashes blinked as Mrs. Higurashi went around snapping pictures of the boys with various presents. Panting, the boys came to the end of their gifts. Now they could scrutinize and poke at all of them. Everyone else took this time to open their own piles of gifts.
Before she opened her own, Kagome watched as Inuyasha found her gift to him. She watched as he withdrew a delicate silver chain with a locket on the end. It wasn't all that feminine, but still beautiful. She had had to make sure that the metal would hold up under serious strain because she wanted him to be able to wear it, even in battle. Right now both sides were empty so he could choose what pictures to put in it, and she hoped that eventually it would be her portrait inside.
He seemed to like it. Then Kagome watched as he opened his gift from Souta. Inside laid a pair of fluffy earmuffs. 'I'm going to kill the little brat!' she thought, glaring at said brat.
When she finally turned to her own presents, Kagome found: some new clothes from her mother, a slightly chewed stuffed-animal from Ryo, and some shiny new trading cards from his brothers. 'Guess these are the ones they could bear to part with,' she thought, studying the ten Pokemon cards in her hand. She looked around for her gifts from Inuyasha and Souta, but didn't find anything.
Suddenly a box appeared in front her nose, held by a nervous Inuyasha. Kagome smiled brightly at him, taking the large-ish box from his shaking hand. She unwrapped it slowly, pulling away ribbon and bow, until she came to a white box with a store name printed on the front. Why did it look familiar?
Then she opened the box, and inside she found a folded bunch of white silk. She stood up, and it unfurled to reveal the dress she had been longing for in the mall. The bodice and skirt were done in silk, but it had wide belled-sleeves made of antique lace. Thin spaghetti straps criss-crossed down the scooped back, the ends hanging down almost to the floor. The front was cut slightly lower than her normal shirts, but it wasn't indecent. Happiness danced in her eyes as she turned to look at him. One minute she was standing there looking at him, and the next, she found herself in his arms.
"Thank you, thank you! Inuyasha, it's beautiful!" she cried, not noticing the wink the hanyou and her brother shared over her head.
"I'm glad you like it," he said, restraining himself from pushing her away. This actually felt very nice. He smiled tenderly down at her before leaning down to whisper in her ear. This was all going exactly as Souta had said it would, and he hoped she wouldn't turn him down now.
"Would you wear that to the church Christmas party as my date?" he asked, holding his breath. He had no idea what her answer would be. She gasped, looking at him starry-eyed for a moment before realizing she had to give him an answer. Was this what he and Souta had been planning? Looking over at her brother, she saw him grinning widely as he opened his presents. It didn't take a genius to see he was in on this.
"Of course I will, Inuyasha!" she yelled, hugging him tighter. Then she let go and returned to her seat. After all, there was still Souta's gift to unwrap. He handed it to her, and inside she found a picture of her favorite hanyou sleeping peacefully on his bed, one hand wrapped up in the blankets and the other hidden under the pillow. His ears drooped slightly and one fang glinted in the light. She smiled; never realizing her brother was such a matchmaker. 'He must really want Inuyasha to be his nii-chan,' she thought.
A tiny fist clutching a metal toy was thrust in her face, efficiently breaking her out of her reverie.
"Kagome! Make this work!" Riku said, shaking the transformer impatiently. She held out her hand for it, and turned it over, looking for the on/off switch. Finding it, she flipped it several times, but nothing happened.
"Argh! Come on!" she yelled, frustrated. Mrs. Higurashi neatly plucked it from her fingers, finding a battery compartment near the switch. It was empty. She chuckled and looked at her daughter.
"Dear, it would help if you put batteries in it first," she said and Kagome fell off the chair. When she had excavated herself from the empty boxes and clinging ribbon, she giggled nervously.
"I knew that!"
"Sure you did. Are you sure you don't need your eyes checked?" Souta asked, holding up the box and pointing to where it clearly read, "batteries not included." Inuyasha began laugh. Kagome joined in too. Even she had to admit, it was kind of funny.
**Fingers…about…to…fall…off. First beating my brother's butt at Soul Caliber II, and now typing almost two-thousand words in an hour and a half…
If you suddenly realize you never saw Kagome's grandfather in this chapter, it's 'cause I forgot about him until I read it over. I couldn't find a spot to fit him back in, so it didn't happen. You all know what he got, anyway. Sorry.
Thankies to all my great reviewers. Comments will be in the next chapter.
The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to meBatteries not included
No parking spaces
Buy me something!
Get a job, ya bum!
Oh, facing the in-laws
Five months of bills
Yo ho! Sending Christmas cards
Oh gees, look at this!
One light goes out, they all go out!
And finding a Christmas tree.