Chapter 4: A Merry Christmas Indeed

A/N: Yo, peeps! FINALLY, I AM DONE!

And it's Christmas Day—not a moment too soon! Phew!

I'll have you know this is my first multi-chapter fanfic that I've actually completed!

Okay, it's not my best work. But I'm certainly proud! WOOT!

Now, read before the day is done~!

IT WAS FINALLY TIME!

After all the exhausting preparations, all the draining decorating, and so much cold that Kagome got a fever, it was FINALLY CHRISTMAS DAY!

In the morning, when Kagome finally woke up, she realized to her surprise that she didn't feel sick anymore, just lonely. Mom's soup really does work magic, she found herself musing as she slid out of bed, eager to start the holiday.

Not surprisingly, Inuyasha, Souta, Mrs. Higurashi, and Gramps were all already awake, and when they saw Kagome, they beamed. "Kagome!" her mother exclaimed, overjoyed. "You're better now?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Mm-hm! And I'm glad, too, cuz it wouldn't be fun to be sick on Christmas."

Souta grinned. "Yeah! Now you can open presents!"

"Not so fast, kids," Mrs. Higurashi interrupted. "Before we open presents, we need to make breakfast. And besides, we still haven't finished decorating the hallway."

Kagome's mind was hazy due to the aftermath of her fever, so she didn't question why they weren't done. "Alright," she agreed. "We can eat breakfast and finish decorating, and then we can open our gifts."

It was around ten in the morning, and they still weren't done with decorating. Kagome, who had been told to stay in the kitchen and eat breakfast as not to make her sick again from the effort of decorating, was making hot chocolate for herself and her family. She grabbed her own mug that was decorated with a snowman on the side, strode over to the table, and collapsed in a chair. Kagome reclined a bit, exhausted, and gently sipped her hot chocolate.

Inuyasha, who was waiting in the kitchen too, having been told to watch out for Kagome, stared in fascination at the mug in Kagome's hands. "Oi," he said, interested. "Wuzzat?"

Absentmindedly, Kagome replied, "It's called hot chocolate."

Hot chocolate, he repeated in his mind, gaze shifting to the other mugs that had been left on the counter. Inuyasha sniffed quietly, and suddenly swooned, captivated, upon smelling the scent coming off of the hot chocolate.

Kagome didn't notice what was going on until Inuyasha had already crept over, grabbed a mug, and crooned, "Ooooh, this is sooo good!" (slurp) "Almost as good as ramen!" (sluuuuuurp)

Kagome snapped to attention and spun around. "OH, NO! INUYASHA!" she cried out, gasping in horror. "DON'T DRINK THAT!"

By the time she'd finally said this, however, he'd already guzzled down over half the mug. He looked up reluctantly from his drink when he heard her. "Wut?" (slurp) "Why? What's wrong?" (sluuuurp)

Kagome's horrified expression increased. "That's… you drank… you drank hot chocolate…"

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow and continued to drink. "Yeah?" (slurp) "So?" (sluuuuuuurp…) Now there was nothing left in the cup, and Inuyasha looked in, disappointed, at the brownish, powdery residue at the bottom.

Kagome's face looked just as devastated. How… How do you explain to a half-dog demon from the Feudal Era the problems with dogs and chocolate?!

Well, twenty minutes later, the answer became evident when Inuyasha was writhing on the floor, gasping, "Wh… What was in that drink?!"

Kagome sweat-dropped. "Well… you see, you're, um… half dog, and, uh… well, in this century, chocolate to dogs is…" She hesitated, then blurted, "Chocolate to dogs is toxic!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "I-I'M GOING TO DIE FROM THAT DRINK?!" Inuyasha howled, before writhing in agony again.

Kagome paused. "Well… uh, no, I don't think so. To my knowledge, dogs usually only get sick. But… well," she explained uncomfortably, "you're just gonna have to be like… like this for a while."

The half-demon moaned and rolled over. "Whyyyyy… Oh, whyyyyyyyy…" he groaned. He continued to yell out randomly, but Kagome was no longer there; she'd fled to her room and slammed it behind her.

She leaned against the door and tears streaked down her face. None of tis would've happened if I would've just stayed in the past, she thought. Everything that's happened… it's all my fault!

Kagome crawled dejectedly to the center of the room and sobbed. She fell asleep, curled up in a ball like a child, trembling.

After sundown, and after Inuyasha had mostly recovered, he slowly, cautiously got up and climbed the stairs to Kagome's room.

"Kagome?" he called out, tapping on the door.

There was no reply.

"Uh, Kagome?"

"GO AWAY!"

Inuyasha leapt back at the sudden screech; her voice had been dry and sounded hurt. "Kagome, come out."

He could suddenly hear sobbing. "It's all my fault," she wailed. "Everything that's happened—it's all my fault."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, surprised. "Kagome—"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She continued to cry loudly.

Inuyasha hesitated. "Kagome… please come out. There's something that I want to give you." And you know I can't stand it when you cry.

There was a brief pause. Then slowly, Kagome opened the door. Her face was flushed and streaked with remnants of tears, her eyes were red, and her hair was tangled and messy.

Inuyasha looked at her forlornly. Kagome, none of this is your fault, why are you so upset?! "Kagome… come on."

The tired priestess nodded weakly before following him into the living room.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha said quietly upon sitting down on the couch, "This… this is something that I got for you."

He crept over to the tree and gingerly reached underneath, pulling out a small box. "…Here, this is for you."

Eyes wide, she gently took it from him and unwrapped it. She looked even more shocked when she opened the box inside to reveal a small golden necklace on the inside, lined with small diamonds. "Inuyasha," Kagome breathed. "How did you…?"

He looked sheepish. "Your mother… she told me that you'd want something like this, and… well…"

Kagome beamed. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

His cheeks grew a little dark. "K-Keh."

To his surprise, she stood and said, "I got something for you, too."

She reached under the tree and handed him a large box. He opened it…

…And pulled out about twenty packages of ramen.

His eyes practically grew the size of baseballs. "Wha…?!"

Now it was Kagome's turn to be embarrassed. "W-well," she stammered, "I c-couldn't think of w-what else you w-would want, s-so I… I… uh… well, yeah," she finished lamely.

An awkward silence passed.

Then, suddenly, Inuyasha began to laugh. He laughed so hard he fell off the couch.

After a few moments passed, Kagome joined in on the laughter. And, still chuckling, they climbed up the stairs, hand in hand.

They slowly stopped laughing and grew serious in the hallway leading to her room. They turned to face each other, and they held both of the other's hands in their own.

Kagome smiled—she looked much better now—and told him, "Thank you, Inuyasha. I… I really appreciate it."

Inuyasha began to smirk back, but then suddenly froze, sniffed, and looked up. "Uh, Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned, staring directly above them. "What's that thing?"

Confused, Kagome looked up. Her mouth fell open when she saw what he was looking at—mistletoe.

Seeing Kagome's expression of shock, he asked nervously, "Uh… Kagome? What's wrong? What is that?"

Kagome's face flushed with embarrassment and she stared at her feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. She squirmed. "Ah… well… it's called… mistletoe." She blushed even deeper. "It's… it's supposed to bring good luck to… um… kiss under."

Inuyasha's eyes widened.

Then suddenly, she leaned forward and pecked Inuyasha on the lips, before turning away to hide her face.

Inuyasha froze, stunned. She… she just…

Kagome hid her face in her hands, mind going a mile a minute. Oh, I cannot believe this… I just kissed him… When did I become so bold?! Why did I have to tell him what it meant?! Why couldn't I just pretend I didn't know? What if he doesn't return my feelings? What if he hates me now?! MAMA, SOUTA! I AM GOING TO FREAKING KILL YOU!

Despite Kagome being so flustered and panicked, Inuyasha grabbed her shoulder, spun her around suddenly, and kissed her back.

It was quick, but sure. Then Inuyasha pulled away, blushed, and dashed off, leaving Kagome shocked with a bright red face at the top of the staircase.

The following day, despite how uncomfortable and unsure they were in each other's presence, they went back to the Feudal Era the following day.

To their shock, when they entered the village, they immediately spotted Miroku partying it up in the center of the village, Shippo showing off to some little girls in the village his shape-shifting abilities, and Sango, relaxing obliviously next to Kirara, and a small fire going. She seemed unaware of Miroku's antics.

But when Inuyasha appeared in the village, they all froze.

"Oh, I-Inuyasha," Miroku stuttered. "W-we were just—"

"Youuuuuu guyyyyyyyyyyys…" Inuyasha hissed in a dangerously low voice.

They all gulped, including the villagers.

Suddenly, they all knew this was going to be a very, very long day…

A/N: Haha, yep! Random, I know! And I couldn't think of any other gift Kagome would get him, except for the ramen, so… that's what I went with…

Not exactly romantic… '^.^

BUT! If you enjoyed this story, please review!

Thank you! And now…

Go listen to Gangnam Style and randomly dance!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!