A/N: I know this is a little later, but it's still December 1st by me. And many thanks to my beta! We both worked tirelessly to make sure this chapter was ready on time to be posted. Hope you enjoy!
For Wenchster.
A Christmas Story
Chapter 7: Carol of the Bells
Inuyasha pulled his scarf snug around his neck as he shuffled out of Sango's house and into the bitter winter air. He shoved his mitten-clad hands into his coat pockets, ignoring the merry nature of his friends trudging behind him.
He was anything but merry right now.
"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, sidling up next to him and looping her arm through his.
"Keh," he scoffed in reply. "Do I even have to answer that?"
She smiled brightly and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Oh, come on, it'll be fun."
"I'm not singing," he refused for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. He honestly didn't know what his friends were thinking coming up with a plan like this. And furthermore, how in the hell did he get wrapped up in it?
Kagome jutted out her lip in a pout. "But everyone is going to be singing."
"Yeah, I bet you have the voice of an angel," their friend Shippo called out, his green eyes glinting mischievously.
"I am not singing." Inuyasha made a mental note to throttle the kid later. "Explain to me why we're doing this again?" he grumbled. His toes were already beginning to freeze.
"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear," Kagome pledged with a laugh.
He stopped walking and looked at her. "Did you just quote Buddy the Elf?"
"Stop being such a scrooge," Sango chimed in as her and Miroku caught up with them. "We haven't gone Christmas caroling since we were kids."
"Correction, you haven't gone Christmas caroling since you were kids," he amended. "I, on the other hand, never had to go through that torture."
"I wasn't torture," Sango scoffed. "We actually enjoyed going caroling. The Christmas songs, the bells, the hot chocolate…"
Miroku chuckled. "We're going with some other people," he reminded Inuyasha. "You can just mouth the words and I'm sure no one will notice."
"Absolutely not," Kagome interfered. "You can't spread Christmas spirit unless everybody is singing."
"Well, I don't have any Christmas spirit, so you're outta luck." He folded his arms over his chest and sneered. "I don't understand why anyone would want to walk around in the freezing cold, bothering people, and singing off-key."
Kagome frowned and shot him a glare. "It's actually really fun, if you give it a chance."
"I'm already miserable, so why torment myself?"
"Why are you always such a cynic?"
He balked and glowered at her. "Am not!"
"Are too!" she barbed, pulling away from him and clenching her fists.
"Now, now, you two," Miroku attempted to interfere. "This is supposed to be an enjoyable night full of Christmas spirit."
"Let's just enjoy ourselves," Sango chimed in, resting a reassuring hand on Kagome's shoulder. "This isn't the time for fighting."
Kagome scowled at Inuyasha before she clucked her tongue and turned away. "They're right," she said, storming on ahead. "I'm not going to let your anti-Christmas attitude ruin the night."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes as they passed by the town square and reached the church. A small group had already gathered near the door as the Father passed out booklets full of Christmas songs. A few classmates had shown up, along with some parents and their young children.
"Here you go, Inuyasha," Kagome snipped as she handed him a song book.
He glanced over the red cover that had a picture of a Christmas tree, and then quickly flipped through the book that had approximately twenty songs. "This is stupid."
Sango shot him a warning glare. He quickly shut his mouth, not wanting to be at the receiving end of her wrath.
"All right," Kagome said, clapping her hands together with a smile. "Are we all bunded up? Got our hand warmers and our thermoses of hot chocolate?"
Shippo pulled out a bag of hand warmers with a grin, as Miroku held up three thermoses filled with cocoa. "Prepared and ready, Captain!" Sango cheered.
"Hey, Kagome!" a voice called, drawing their attention to a sandy-haired boy their age walking toward them.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. Hobo…
"Hi, Hojo," Kagome greeted their classmate warmly. "I didn't know you would be here."
"Every year." He handed her and Sango some extra candles he had. "I help out at the church whenever I have some free time."
"Of course you do," Inuyasha mumbled under his breath.
Miroku leaned over. "Tell me again why you don't like him?"
Inuyasha had his reasons. Like Hojo always flirting with Kagome, or giving her presents, or offering to help her study. Keh. He was always hanging around when he wasn't wanted. Inuyasha wasn't jealous or anything. No, of course not. The kid was just annoying. Even worse than Shippo. At least the red-head was tolerable.
Deciding to stay silent, Inuyasha folded his arms and continued to sulk.
"This will be fun!" Kagome said as Hojo lit her candle from his.
That smile he gave her made Inuyasha's skin crawl.
"Are we gonna get goin' yet?" he barked. "I'm going to freeze to death."
Kagome frowned, but said nothing. "Ah, yes, Inuyasha," Hojo replied, gesturing with his hand toward a blue pickup filled with blankets and a bag of toys for the children they met along the way. He turned to address the rest of the group. "The truck is all packed up. Go ahead and pile in. I'll be right there."
As the group began shuffling toward the truck, Kagome leaned over and lit Sango's candle. "You know, Inuyasha, you could be a little nicer," Kagome said off-handedly. "Hojo didn't do anything wrong."
"As if. That kid has been making goo-goo eyes at you since the third grade."
Kagome sighed. "No need to get jealous. He's not my type."
He blushed furiously, mouth dropping open. "W-Well I would hope not, since you're my girlfriend."
"You're right." A small smile wormed its way onto her lips. "I'm yours."
She folded herself against his side as he looped an arm around her shoulders. He placed a kiss to the top of her head. It was something about those two words that made his stomach do flip-flops. There was nothing in the world that made him feel the way he did when she said that.
Kagome made him happy, even though they fought sometimes. She made him laugh. She was smart. She was different. She was a little crazy and awkward, but her smile alone could make his day.
That's right, Kagome, he thought as he pulled her tighter against him. You're mine.
ACS
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way," the group sang hours later at another house covered in Christmas lights. Inuyasha had begrudgingly mumbled along with the words, but didn't do so with cheer, much to Kagome's disdain. As they wrapped up their caroling, moving onto the next house, he groaned in discomfort.
"Here," Kagome said, handing him some hand warmers and a thermos of hot cocoa. "Warm up a bit before we get to the next street."
He stuffed the hand warmers into his pockets, and took a few sips of cocoa, relishing in the warmth pooling in his stomach. "How much longer are we going to be out here?"
She shrugged. The truck had taken some of the children back home a long time ago, the little ones too cold to finish. "I think this might be the last block."
He wrinkled his nose, which had long ago become numb. He made a mental note to never let them drag him out caroling again. He stamped his feet to keep them warm as the group shuffled onward. Miroku and Sango had their arms linked, heads bent together whispering, while Shippo hung around near the front, joking with one of the other kids from the neighborhood.
Inuyasha didn't understand why nobody else seemed bothered by the cold.
They stopped in front of a white house with a red door as everyone flipped through their song books to the tune Hojo had selected. The soft harmony of The First Noel filled the sky, as the carolers in the back hit bells softly against their hands to give a tinkling ring into the night.
After a minute, a young woman opened the door. Her brown hair was frazzled and unkempt, dark circles under her eyes, as the sounds of children screaming could be heard from within the house.
"Please, no carolers tonight," she begged. "I-I'm trying to get the kids to bed."
The carolers stopped singing, Hojo nodding his head in apology. "Of course. Sorry to disturb you. Merry Christmas."
Before she could shut the door, a little boy appeared, pulling at his mother's dress insistently. "Toshi took my toy!" he screamed at her, red-faced and crying. Another boy from within the house yelled back with indignation.
The mother obviously seemed overwhelmed as her children appeared, each one asking her a question or peeking their heads out curiously to see who was at the door. They ranged from toddlers to young teenagers, all misbehaving and causing their mother a lot of grief.
It had been more than two years since Inuyasha had lost his own mother, but sometimes he was caught unaware, during moments like this, and he was flooded with memories of her.
"Behave, Inuyasha," Izayoi said with her back to him.
He stomped his feet and pouted. "But mama, I want that toy!"
She turned to look at him, dark hair sweeping over her shoulders. "You know about Christmas, don't you?"
"Of course!"
"Well, then you know about Santa Claus, right?"
He nodded his head eagerly.
"Then you better watch out."
"Why, mama?"
She smiled, a shine coming to her eyes. "Because Santa Claus is coming to town."
A shouted cry from one of the kids startled Inuyasha out of his memories. As the mother struggled with her young ones, looking on the verge of crying, he couldn't take it anymore. Finally, Inuyasha stepped forward, kneeling down to the boy's height. "Hey," he called out, effectively drawing the children's attention and silencing them. He glanced over them before setting his sights on the boy, still clinging to his mother's dress. "Do you guys know about Christmas?"
The boy nodded, side-stepping to hide behind his mother.
"Well, then you know about Santa Claus, right?"
They all nodded their heads, their interest piqued as they moved to look out at the strangers on their doorstep.
"Are you being good for your mom?"
The children didn't answer, looking up guiltily at the woman whose gaze was fixated curiously on the man before her.
Inuyasha shook his head. "Oh man, that doesn't sound good. You better watch out."
"Why?" one of the girls asked, pulling at the hem of her shirt.
He scoffed. "Cause Santa Claus is coming to town, that's why."
Kagome, who had been standing back and watching Inuyasha with a warm expression, had an idea and quickly told the carolers around her to flip to a different song. In a soft voice that rippled through the group, she sang, "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why…"
As they began singing, Inuyasha joining in as he handed each of the children a toy, the kids all looked on with wonder, scampering outside to join in, listening to the words and singing along – their eyes bright, their smiles wide, giggling as Inuyasha sang off-tune and stumbled over a verse.
"Santa Claus is comin' to town!"
As the last of the song faded, Inuyasha chuckled at the look of excitement in the children's eyes. "Now, Santa is going to be here in a few days," he warned them gently. "So you need to be good for your mom. Otherwise, Santa is only going to give you coal for Christmas."
The absolute horror on the kids' faces made him grin, as they each turned to apologize to their mother. She patted their heads, smiling down at them, as they ran back inside to get ready for bed.
And then she turned teary eyes to Inuyasha as he stood, clasping her hands around one of his. "Thank you," she said, giving him a smile, before returning inside to the warmth of her home and shutting the door behind her.
There was a stillness in the air as he turned around to look at the other carolers. Each one was looking at him with a stupid grin on their face. He frowned. "What?"
"You're such a softie," Shippo laughed.
Miroku joined in. "What a teddy bear."
"All bark and no bite," Sango added.
Inuyasha furrowed his brows and stormed toward them. "I am not!"
Kagome linked her arm through his before he could grab a hold of one of their friends – who all took off in the other direction – and looked up at him. Her cheeks pink from the cold, she smiled. "That was really kind of you, Inuyasha. I think you just gave that family the best present of all."
"Keh. And what's that?"
"The hope of Christmas spirit, good cheer, and a smile."
He blushed under her praise, shuffling forward with the rest of the group. And for the first time that night, he didn't complain about the cold or the long walk home. He didn't argue about the songs, and sang louder than everyone else the rest of the way home.
He pictured that mother, her warm smile of appreciation, and the wonder reflected in the eyes of her children.
And as they finished caroling for the night, a small voice in the back of his head admitted that Christmas caroling wasn't so bad after all.
ACS
Inuyasha pushed open the door to his house, letting Kagome escape inside from the cold before shutting the door behind him. They peeled the layers of their clothes away, hanging their coats and scarves on the hooks in the entry way. Kagome shivered, running her hands up and down her arms.
"I'll start a fire," he offered, stepping toward the living room.
"Sounds great. I'll make us come hot chocolate." She disappeared into the kitchen.
He knelt to start setting wood on the grate, and with a few flicks of a match, a small fire began to burn. He stepped back and sat on the couch, eyes watching the flames grow to life, licking the wood hungrily and bringing warmth to the room.
Amber eyes turned, sweeping over the emptiness of the living room. His father was working late again, and Sesshomaru had moved out over the summer. Kagome had bought some new Christmas stockings that hung with care over the fireplace. She had briefly mentioned early in December about putting up a Christmas tree, but Inuyasha had refused. He didn't have the heart to go through their Christmas decorations just yet.
Izayoi swept across the living room, dressed in an over-sized Christmas sweatshirt, hanging glittering ornaments on the tree.
Inuyasha gazed into the box filled with Christmas wonder, his little hands grabbing at the plastic ones that looked like little toys.
"You want to help me, Inuyasha?" his mother called, bending down to look into the box with him. "Why don't you hang some of these for me?"
He nodded his head eagerly, carefully hanging one of the ornaments near the bottom of the tree where he could reach. The ornament, a plastic rocking horse with small beady eyes, twirled on its string, reflecting the lights of the Christmas tree.
Izayoi's tinkling laughter filled the room, and he looked up at her curiously. "What are you laughing at?"
She smiled down at him. "Laughter comes from joy, and I'm just very happy right now. Good things just feel good, Inuyasha."
He gave her a curious stare, the soft tunes of 'Oh Come All Ye Faithful' playing over the radio.
"Here you go," Kagome's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see her standing beside him with two mugs of hot cocoa, reaching one out to him. She took a seat beside him, pulling an old red-checkered blanket over their laps, and snuggled up next to him.
He draped an arm over her shoulders as he sipped on his hot chocolate, eyes turning distant as he watched the flames curl and sway, crackling as they burned the dry wood. It felt good to feel their warmth, shying away the cold empty feeling of the house.
"I just don't feel the spirit of it anymore," he finally mumbled.
Kagome looked up at him questioningly. "The spirit of Christmas?"
He furrowed his brows. "Ever since my mother died, I just… I just don't feel it. It's like when she left, she took it with her."
She bit her lip, taking a glance over his barren living room. "Izayoi always did love Christmas."
He nodded his head. "She did. It was her favorite time of the year." He sipped his hot cocoa quietly for a moment, and then he added, "But tonight, I felt it again. When we were out there singing to those kids, seeing their smiles, how grateful their mom was…" He paused, trying to find the right words to describe what he was feeling. "I haven't been the same since my mother died. But tonight, just for a moment, it was like she was still here. Like I'd come home and she'd be singing Christmas music as she decorated the tree."
Kagome sighed deeply, smiling warmly up at him. "She's still here," she reminded softly, laying a hand over his chest. "She'll always be here."
He granted her a smile, kissing the top of her head as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
As the fireplace mimicked warmth the house had long forgotten, Inuyasha and Kagome sat cozy by the flame, their features illuminated by the flickering light. He could smell the hint of pine as it burned, just a faint fragrance to reassure their comfort during the long, bitter winter.
And as they finished their hot chocolate, Kagome falling into a quite doze beside him, Inuyasha felt a sense of warmth spread through him, beginning where his heart beat softly in his chest.
"Merry Christmas, Mom," he whispered, amber eyes glistening as he stared into the crackling evening fire.
"Merry Christmas, my Inuyasha."