This was bad. This was really freaking bad. Kagome puffed as she ran down the shrine steps. Of course, Shippo-chan would sneak out. She should have made him kitsune promise that he would be on his best behavior, but nooo she just had to trust those large green eyes of his and his sugary words of wanting to experience Christmas with her and her family. She really should have known better.

He was in so much trouble when she got her hands on him. The modern world was no place for a trickster like him to be running amok.

Kagome pressed a hand to her temple, pushing into her skin as though the harder she pushed, the greater her thinking would expand. If she were a kitsune alone in a modern city, where would she go?

Think. Think. Shippo might be older than her, but his mind was still that of a child's. The park nearby? No, too basic—he could get a better view of nature in his time. Think. Think. She snapped her fingers. The amusement park. Sota was bragging about all the rides and candy earlier. Kagome stuffed her hands into dark coat pockets, the bite from the cold winter stung her cheeks red. In her hurry, she neglected to grab gloves or a scarf. Half-jogging, she made her way to the amusement park. Even with the park being closed, the attractions were big enough to still draw the eye.

"Shippo! Where are you?" She called out, her voice cracking like ice against the cold front. Creepy doesn't even being to describe how eerie it was to be at this park this late at night. Not quite the same as walking alone in the feudal era, where all sorts of nasty demons and humans just lie in the shadows, waiting to pounce.

A chill that has nothing to do with the cold has the hairs on her arms rising. That energy was like nothing she has felt before, not demonic but not good either- it was as though the power was corrupted, cursed, and it was coming from behind the Ferris wheel.

"Fox fire!" Her heartbeat stopped for a fraction of a second. No. Shit. Shippo was in danger and she left her fucking bow at home because it's modern Japan and nothing ever happens here. Ugh. She pumped her legs to go faster, skidding to a stop at the sight of a grotesque thing.

The hell was that? Now, she has seen some ugly, and she means ugly demons in her life, but this thing puts all those low-level demons to shame. Its foot was sawed off, barely hanging together by its tendons. There was a black inky substance leaking from its foot. Its other leg was smashed together as though it had tried to fuse the parts back on. Bones stuck out from its back, and the whole thing made her want to hurl.

That thing was disgusting, and the smell of rotting flesh did not help its case.

"Get away from them," she commanded, noting a younger boy with spiky hair peeking out from behind Shippo. Shippo's legs were shaking and this thing clearly outclassed him, and yet he stood firm.

Did he rush off to save this boy? She would dwell on it later. Right now, her focus was on how the heck she was to go about beating this thing with no weapons.

It turned around slowly, like a bottle cap being twisted off, a sick crack with each movement. Its face was sewed up into a smile, its eyes were red and small like beads. "B-back," it croaked out, "come back." The amusement park lit up suddenly, as though the monster's voice commanded the lights. Just as quickly as the park lit up, it died down shrouding them in darkness.

"It's a special grade!" The boy shouted as though she should know what the heck that meant.

"Hey! Ugly, leave them alone!" She pointed her finger at it. Her eyes darted to Shippo. Even if she could get him to transform, without an arrow or something makeshift, it was pointless. "Shippo, you two get out of here." She jumped, just barely out of the way of its attack, tumbling over herself. How graceful, she bemoaned.

"We can't leave!"

"It set up a domain expansion!"

A domain what? Ouch, her knees stung from the way she landed. At least her jeans helped to take the brunt of it, but dang, this was not how she planned to spend her Christmas Eve.

A game plan would be nice.

Or a bath.

Or maybe this thing could just not exist.

Suddenly it leaped on her, its hands- claws? Gripped her shoulders as its patched mouth ripped open revealing more black liquid. What was it going to do? Swallow her? Goodness, this was not the time to be making such morbid jokes.

"C-come back," it cried out, itching its face closer to hers. She huffed and groaned at the weight. It was a struggle, but she got one arm free. Her powers rose from her gut to her palm, sending a blast of pink in tune with the slap to its face. The thing screeched as it scrambled backward, clawing at its face.

Her heart was beating erratically at the near-death experience. She really should take Sango up on that offer for hand-to-hand training, because this was not it.

The boy throws his hands together in a dog gesture—no, wolf; she corrected herself as a white wolf leaped from the boy's shadow and pounced on the monster. She stumbled forward on wobbly legs. Where did Shippo run off to?

There should be a common agreement that nothing bad happens around Christmas. If InuYasha were to catch wind of this, she'd never hear the end of it. The wolf let out a yelp as the monster tossed it back towards the boy. Kagome does a mad dash towards the monster, determined to not let it put a single creepy hand on him.

"Kagome! Catch!" Shippo yelled out, throwing a cheap wooden sword at her. It's not a bow, but her aim is true no matter the weapon.

"Oi! Yeah, you," she goaded, rearing her arm back. It would be preferable if the sword was pointier, but beggars cannot be choosers, and this was her only option - saved from throwing herself on its back and trying to purify it that way.

Idiotic. Yeah, well. What else was she to do? Try to fight it like she actually knew how to wield a sword?

It turned at her, snarling as its bones expanded even further out of its body. She aimed for the mouth, anticipating that it would have something to say back to her goading. The sword struck true. The aura alone from her purification stopped the monster from getting away again. Kagome sucked in large amounts of cold air as she tried to calm her heart rate. That took so much out of her.

"How did you do that?" The boy looked at her in awe as Shippo helped him and his wolf up. He patted the white wolf before it disappeared into the boy's shadow once more.

At least, he and Shippo-chan were bundled up in appropriate winter clothing.

"Uh." Kagome stuffed her hands into her coat pockets. The adrenaline was wearing off fast, along with the feelings in her fingers. "Where are your parents…?" She prayed he didn't watch that thing kill his parents.

"Gone." He jutted his chin out.

"Kagome is cool. She won't judge," Shippo assured the boy.

"Fushiguro Megumi," he told her. "I have a guardian," he spat out, causing her brows to raise in response.

Either the kid was upset because his parents were gone or he hated his guardian. Or both.

"Let's get you home, okay. You shouldn't be out here alone." She crouched down to his level and smiled. He was so adorable with how serious he was trying to be.

"Why did you save me?"

Huh?

"Because you were in danger."

"It could have killed you."

"I would have died with no regrets if it meant that you two could have gotten away."

"Megumi," Shippo interrupted, "Kagome isn't the type to just run away. We should get out of here." Shippo waved his hands excitedly in the air. "There are cookies back at the shrine for Santa Claws."

"Santa Claus," Megumi corrected, a small smile on his face as he watched Shippo-chan jump up and down.

Kagome blinked at that. How did those two become such quick friends? And how did he summon that wolf from his shadows? And what the heck was a curse?

"Megumi, would you like to come back with us and call your guardian?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer. The boy seemed to be pretty fascinated by Shippo. Not that she could blame him since Shippo went out, bushy tail and all. She stood up, holding out her hand to him. Megumi looked at Shippo for confirmation before taking a hold of her hand and grabbing a hold of Shippo in his other hand. "Let's go home."


Gojo Satoru was not having a great day. First, the higher-ups lectured him about the responsibilities of taking in Megumi and how the Gojo clan taking in a Zenin was a political imbalance or some shit like that. Really, the Zenins were just pissed that he put a stop to the sale and stopped them from getting their grubby hands on Megumi. The only thing that clan cared about was Megumi's cursed technique. They did not give a damn about Megumi's or Tsumiki's well-being.

He spiked a hand through his hair, mildly irritated at the vibrations from his phone. What was it now? "Yo!" he answered with false joy.

"H-Hi, Gojo-san," the babysitter stammered out.

His body festered with annoyance. He gripped the phone tighter, knowing that the next words out of her mouth would surely ruin his night even more. Why else would the babysitter call him if not to deliver bad news?

"Megumi is uh missing–"

"What?" Did he get kidnapped? "Is Tsumiki okay?"

"Y-yes, for the most part. She's upset, but unharmed. We went to the amusement park and I don't know –"

"You went to the amusement park hours ago," he said lowly, "and you are just now calling me?" What was he paying her for if she couldn't handle watching two kids? He pulled the phone back to glance at the unknown number calling. "Do not let Tsumiki out of your sight." He ended the phone call.

She was so fired.

"Gojo," he answered, his mind going down the list of his many enemies. They were as good as dead once he found them. Coming after him was one thing—going after children was unforgivable.

"Hi Gojo-san," a melodic voice rang in his ears, "I have Megumi-chan with me. He's fine, busy eating cookies right now. Do you know where the Higurashi shrine is? If not, I can give you directions," she said.

Higurashi shrine? Could be a trap, he mused, but his gut was telling him that Megumi was fine if he was staying out at a shrine.

"I know of the shrine," he responded, "and who am I speaking with?"

"Oh, sorry!" She laughed, "Higurashi Kagome. Just knock when you get here and sorry for feeding Megumi-chan sweets so late, he and Shippo-chan insisted on them." The sound of Megumi laughing in the background was foreign to him. The kid was always so serious that he didn't think the boy knew what fun was. "See you soon, Gojo-san," Kagome said before hanging up on him.

He yawned as he stuffed his phone into his pocket. So much for relaxing when he got home. Not wanting to waste any more time, though his body was tired from working mission after mission, he teleported to the bottom of the shrine steps. He paused at the front door; his shades slid down the ridge of his nose. Megumi's cursed energy burned like a light, but it was the presence of something darker - more visceral in the home that had him pushing down his own energy.

It was nothing he had ever felt before and he has fought a number of special grade curses.

He knocked and listened to the scrambling of footsteps. His shoulders tensed, not sure what to expect to be hiding from behind the door. The door swung open.

"Hi! You must be Gojo-san. Kagome," she greeted, her words breathless. Her beauty sent him spiraling. He was not a drinker, but he wouldn't mind getting drunk off on the taste of her. He wondered if her lips would taste as sweet as they looked. Long, dark lashes framed her doe eyes. On anyone else, he'd think the color plain - normal, but on her, he saw warmth and an innocence he wanted to protect with every fiber of his being.

Well… fuck, he thought, love was the most twisted curse of all and if this was the face of such a curse, then maybe falling in love was not so bad.

Megumi glared at him from behind Kagome's legs, his hands gripping onto her pants tightly as though Gojo were the stranger and not the other way around.

"Where'd you find the runt?" he asked, his smile dropping at her frown.

"I found Megumi," she stressed, "at the amusement park." She placed a hand on Megumi's head. "Why don't you come in Gojo-san? Surely you must be cold standing out there. We were just getting ready to make some more hot chocolate." She turned her back to him. Megumi trailed behind her.

"Don't do anything," Megumi mouthed, glaring back at him like the brat that he was.

"Thank you for calling me right away, Kagome," Gojo said, trying a different angle. "I just got the call from Megumi's babysitter right before you called." She led them to the kitchen where the darker energy was emitting from. His fingers twitched at his side as he came face to face with a… boy with a tail?

He supposed that even curses could be cute sometimes, but why the heck was it happily eating actual food?

"Shippo is a fox demon, leave him alone," Megumi announced, joining Shippo at the table. Kagome jerked back and then looked at him sheepishly.

"Are you like Megumi?" Shippo asked, stuffing marshmallows into his mouth. "Can you summon a fox?"

"What's wrong with my wolves?" Megumi argued.

"They're wolves! And I'm a fox."

"So."

"So, wolves eat foxes."

"Okay boys," Kagome interrupted, "that's enough or you won't get any hot chocolate." They groaned and pretended to zip their mouths shut. "Gojo-san-"

"Satoru."

"Satoru," she said, "there was a…"

"Special grade," Megumi offered up. "We couldn't leave the park, so I think it had a domain expansion."

So, the runt did listen during his training sessions.

He flicked his gaze to Shippo, his eyes roving over the childlike features. Was he responsible for saving them? He didn't look like much. Smaller than Megumi, but the power coming from him was more than what Megumi had at the moment. Stronger. Darker. He could be trouble.

But was it enough to get rid of a special grade, he wondered, though looks could be deceiving.

"Kagome-san exorcised it."

Surprised coated his face. He was not expecting that at all.

Kagome handed him a cup of hot chocolate. Her fingers brushed against his - which should be impossible. Wait a minute. He was too distracted earlier to notice, but there was no cursed energy within Kagome at all.

"I purified whatever that thing was." She shrugged, without a hint of arrogance, as though the task was truly no biggie.

"You took down a special grade?" He discreetly sniffed the hot chocolate, raising the cup up to his mouth. If Megumi claimed that it had a domain, then it had to be a special grade, and somehow Kagome took it down, no problem. He roved over her figure behind his dark shades, committing to memory how petite she was. The longer he stared, the more the primal part of him wanted to make her his.

What was wrong with him? He had no time for relationships and lusting over Megumi's savior was awful, even for his standards.

"I still don't know what that means." She turned away, fixing two mugs of hot chocolate. He wasn't sure if he should be annoyed, skeptical, or flattered that she felt so comfortable around him. "It didn't feel like a demon. I'm just lucky that purification worked on it."

"It was a curse, borne from the negative human emotions."

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she placed the mugs in front of the boys. "Gramps is always going on about curses. I thought he was just talking as he always does." She pressed a finger to her chin before looking at him with an excited expression. "Does that mean you are a sorcerer?"

"The strongest," he replied, resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at Megumi's obvious eye roll.

"Demon begone!" A man shouted behind him. His cursed energy was so low that it barely registered on Satoru's radar. The sutras hit his infinity. He raised a brow at the older man. He made Gakuganji look young.

"Grandpa! What are you doing?" Kagome brushed past him, startling him once again at the contact. She smelled like honey and lavender. The sutras were still floating in the air, so his infinity was still up, and yet Kagome could bypass it?

Looks could be deceiving, he thought, and powerhouses seemed to come in the shape of curvy shrine maidens. He could feel a pair of eyes glaring holes in his back. Satoru turned his head to see both Megumi and Shippo glaring daggers at him.

Was he that obvious?

"Well, Megumi and I should be going now," he said. His heart clenched at leaving so soon, which was all the more reason why he needed to get out of there. His mind was a muddled mess of thoughts of how to make Kagome smile, laugh, and other thoughts that were not at all appropriate with the given audience.

"What! You can't leave," Shippo said. "I thought Clawsmas was about celebrating with family and friends."

"Christmas," Megumi corrected, "and yeah, I want to stay. Why can't you go get Tsumiki?"

"We can't just impose." Seriously, what has gotten into Megumi? The boy hated people.

"Oh, we don't mind. Right grandpa?" Kagome flashed him a smile as she plucked the sutra out of the air.

"Hmph. I have my eye on you, boy," the older man pointed and then swiped a cookie from the table.

The old man had his eye on him, but not the fox demon? This family was strange and entirely too trusting, in his opinion.

"Ignore gramps," Kagome said. "You wouldn't have made it up the steps if you were a bad person. And gramps, Satoru is a sorcerer like those stories you always tell."

The hell did she mean by the steps comment?

"What's your surname, boy?"

"Gojo." He eyed the cookies that were disappearing fast. The sharp gasp drew his attention. So, the old man knew of him then, but Kagome did not, and yet she could take out a special grade. He should start taking the time around Christmas off.

"Oh boy, I don't think gramps is going to let you go now," she joked, shaking her head as the older man rushed out of the room. "But really, we do not mind. Shippo-chan has taken a liking to Megumi-chan and I have some questions if you don't mind."

"What do I get for answering your questions?" He smiled back, ignoring the sharp rise of cursed and demonic energy. His fingers curled around the mug handle tighter as he took a sip. Man, that was some good shit. Kagome must have won Megumi over with the hot chocolate alone.

"Um, well, what do you want?" She crossed her arms, pushing her breasts together. He took another long draw from his drink.

"Well-"

"Oi! Kagome!"

The color drained from Kagome's face as a man in a red haori came skidding into the kitchen. His hair was as white as the snow out, and he had two dog-shaped ears on top of his head. Another demon? Satoru sat his mug on the table.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man demanded, one claw-tipped hand on the hilt of his sword.

Satoru bit back a snarl. Shippo might not mean any harm, but this dog-eared one did.


A/N: I wrote this instead of binging anime.