Chapter 25: Winter Wonderland

The weeks pass, day to day activities dulling time into a blur. Inuyasha asking Miroku why he hadn't put up the Christmas decorations yet every now and again. When asked, Miroku would simply smile and say that he doing what he did in the best interests of his lord and to trust him. Also, to Inuyasha's dismay, Kagome seems to disappear during the day more and more often.

Finally the night comes, Christmas Eve, and Sango and Miroku somehow get the two into a carriage to take a night ride through the winter countryside. Inuyasha does his best to look disinterested while Kagome, in retrospect, did nothing to hide her wonder at the look of the scenery. "Oh Inuyasha, this is so beautiful! The way the moonlight reflects off of the snow is almost magical! It's amazing to think that this is the same countryside. It looks so…untouched." She comments, no small amount of awe in her voice.

In spite of himself, Inuyasha finds himself smiling at the girl, who was to busy looking at the snow covered hills and trees in the distance to notice. 'She's so amazing.' He allows himself the thought, 'She's like a little child, amazed and awed by everything. How does she do it?' It's around this time that he notices her shiver slightly and shakes his head, 'Stupid wench. I hold her that if we were going to be forced out that she should bring a thicker sweater.' He thinks before taking his haori off and placing it around her shoulders. This seems to shock her out of the trance that the landscape had held on her and she looks up at him with a slight look of surprise before smiling at him. Though he wouldn't admit it, that made it all worth it in his mind. Just seeing her smile at him made everything alright. He quickly covers his smile with a now familiar scowl, saying "Feh, I told you to wear something warmer wench. I don't want to have to deal with you getting a cold." She merely smiles before laying her head against his arm, making him blush beet-red.

The rest of the ride passes in a companionable silence, Inuyasha trying to get his face under control while Kagome simply rests her head on his shoulder, the warmth of his haori around her soothing her into a light rest. They reach the castle once again about two hours after they leave, Inuyasha gently waking her up with a shake to the shoulder before removing his haori from around her shoulders. He helps her out of the carriage before walking towards the door, Kagome right beside him. A small part of his mind found it strange that there were no servants there to welcome them back, as there usually were. He dismisses the thought with the excuse that they were probably just finally getting around to putting up the decorations. He places a hand on one of the double doors that made up the entrance just as Kagome does the same. They open the doors at the same time and are blown away at the brightness of the main hall. When their eyes adjust, Kagome gasps and Inuyasha has to keep from having his jaw hit the floor. In the main hall there was a giant tree that looked like it couldn't have possibly fit through the door. It was decorated with every ornament imaginable, from different colored balls to porcelain figurines to white candles that were strategically placed as so that they would not catch the tree on fire. On the floor around the base of the tree several colorfully wrapped presents laid, ready to be opened when the time came.

Kagome places a hand over her mouth to cover it, tears welling in her eyes as she whispers, "It's so beautiful. Oh, Inuyasha, it's so beautiful. I can't believe I had started to think that you didn't celebrate Christmas! This has to be the most beautiful tree I've ever seen!"

Inuyasha barely hears her, amazed himself at what his servants had been able to accomplish in such a short time. He still could see one or two here and there, inconspicuously putting final touches on the room, a bow here, a lit candle there, but all in all the hall was complete and more cheerful then he'd ever remembered it. It was about this time that Miroku and Sango made their presence known, hopping out in front of them and bowing low, Miroku saying "Glad to have you back from your trip Lord Inuyasha and Lady Kagome. I hope that the hall meets your expectations my lord and you'll excuse if some parts of the castle look a bit drabber, so many can only do so much in so little time."

Inuyasha quickly recovers and nods, "Yes, this looks just about right. Don't worry servant, I understand what you mean, just try to finish up quickly." To this both of the servants bow once again, making Kagome blush a little, showing that she was obviously a bit uncomfortable with the gesture. Inuyasha notices this and says "Take Kagome to her room, she nearly fell asleep in the carriage. I'll be in my room, only disturb me if the house is on fire or something of the like."

With that the four disperse, Sango taking Kagome to her room, Miroku going off to check on some detail or other presumably, and Inuyasha heading to his own room, doing his best to not think the kinds of thoughts that had forced themselves into his mind during the ride, asking himself once again the question that had been plaguing his mind ever since he first laid eyes on the girl 'What the hell is wrong with me?'

A.N. Alright, sorry for the delay, the lazies haven't been very nice, not to mention the 'read-only' periods that have seemed to plague the site lately. Anyways, what'd you think? Not much happening this chappie, but I promise, this one was just to set-up the next couple. Christmas presents, Koga's reappearance, and possibly a little bit of mistletoe lie ahead in the next chappie or so. Well, onto Reviewer Replies!

animereader1- Thanks for the compliments, and sorry about the delay in getting this one out, I promise to be better about getting chappies out sooner.

RebelWriter- Yes, I would really like it if you could tell me when you reviewed, and don't feel bad about it, sometimes I need a reminder about things, just ask my friends lol. Lol, don't worry, plenty of fluffiness is coming up.

Starflower-Gem- Lol, maybe, maybe not, you'll just have to wait and see like the rest of the readers.

Copperline Kitty- Lol, sorry for leaving the two of you dead for so long, but as I said, the lazies have been ruthless lately. I promise that I'll be getting my butt back in gear and get back to updating more regularly.

Inuyashasonly1- Lol, well, you've seen part of their plan, but I promise there's more to come and if I have much to say about it the two unsuspecting lovebirds'll just get more adorable over the next couple of chapters.

RoseMaiden- Eh, it kinda just happened that way. If anything, it was more of the Christmas Spirit giving me an itch to write a Christmas chappie then anything else. Thank you for the compliments, I try to keep the characters as close to realistic as possible and it's nice to know that it's noticed.

MeMe- Thank you, lol, I'm glad to know that you find my story so good. I'll do my best not to disappoint.

Kiara-Star- Thank you, I promise to update sooner then what I have been.

Liarra- Thank you for the compliments. I hope you don't lose to much sleep over the story lol.

Oki489Tsubasa- Thank you. I promise to get chappies out more quickly then this last one did.

NewSalemWitch- Lol, don't feel bad, I'm not all that great when it comes to remembering to review either. I'm glad you're enjoying it and agree that Inu-kun beating up Kouga is so much more satisfying lol. Which is why Kouga'll be coming to call in upcoming chappies. Glad to hear you like it so much and I'll do my best to keep it up.

Sakura chikyuu dragoness-miko- Wow, I'm glad to hear that you liked my story so much. I always love getting reviews like yours because they make me feel good that people can get so excited over my story. I hope that you are feeling better from whatever reason you were taking a pain-reliever for, and I promise to update more promptly then this one came out.

ChibiSess- Christmas laughs are on the way, I promise. I plan on the next chappie being very heart-warming. After that things'll definitely speed up a bit, less fluff and humor and more action, at least I think that's how it'll go. As I've said before, the story pretty much writes itself, so we'll just wait and see what happens.

Neko-Yuff16- Thank you for the compliments. I'll do my best to update sooner then this one came out.

Well, that's all for now folks! R&R!