Summary
With their friendship at a major turning point, will Itachi make the right decision in regards to Kagome?
A/N: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! I'm so excited to be posting this! I've had this in the making since I first began Something Blue! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I sure had a blast writing it!
Also, I want to thank everyone that has reviewed on this story! You guys are absolutely frickin' amazing and I'm so glad you're all on board with me on this project! I know I've mailed several of you with questins and I appreciate your responses. Everyone has been so positive and helpful. It really lifts my spirits to know you all enjoy what I come up with. I'm almost at 300 reviews and I cannot believe how popular this story has become in such a short amount of time. This is for all of you! Thank you!
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Itachi cursed his luck and tried to shuffle the snow from his shoes. 'I hate snow. It's completely unnecessary. Not to mention cold.' He supposed he had himself to blame, though. After all, he had chosen to walk the female next to him home from the orphanage this evening. Said female seemed to be content, though, so he shoved his discomfort aside for the time being.
"Thanks for walking me home, Itachi. It was really sweet of you," Kagome stated, twirling a piece of her dark hair around one of her fingers. The Uchiha muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "not sweet", and restrained the urge to roll his eyes.
"I was in the area and decided to stop by," Itachi responded, puffing a breath out and watching it rise into the chilly air absently. After all, it was the least he could do after acting like such an ass to her before. He still really regretted the harsh words he'd said to her. Then again, he couldn't really understand why she still wanted to associate with him after threatening to kill her.
"Look! It's snowing again!" the priestess exclaimed, watching the sky rain down the frozen droplets again in awe. Itachi huffed minutely, annoyed at the thought of even more of the cold wet stuff falling to the ground.
"Indeed." His tone of voice was nearly as frosty as the frozen water falling from the sky. She merely smiled and began to twirl around in delight.
"Don't you just love the snow?" the small woman asked, laughing happily when a snowflake brushed the tip of her reddening nose.
"It's... nice... I suppose," the Sharingan user lied, a foreign taste in his mouth at actually voicing the 'n-word' out loud, then added, "If you like the cold." Kagome hummed in agreement next to him and turned with a cute smile on her face.
'There I go with that 'cute' thing again. I thought I banished that word from my vocabulary. There are many other words... none of with are acceptable to me.'
They continued on in a comfortable silence, Itachi grouching inwardly about his freezing toes and Kagome giggling every time she caught a snowflake on her tongue. He tried not to stare. Really, he tried. But he couldn't help it. He was a guy, after all. There was only so much he could take. And she didn't seem to mind, anyway.
"Itachi? Do you guys have any sort of... holiday that you celebrate around this time?" Kagome asked out of the blue before she stopped walking.
"What? No... Not that I'm aware of," the Uchiha replied, giving the priestess an odd look and waiting for her to continue heading home. What exactly was she planning now?
"Well, where I'm from, one of the cultures celebrates a holiday where you get together with the people you care about and spend time together. We make food, play games, give gifts to eachother," Kagome hedged, staring resolutely at their feet. She could feel her cheeks heating up in anxiousness. After all, this was a moment that was important to her.
"Is that so?" Itachi muttered, watching the girl in front of him fidget minutely in slight amusement. He'd figured she was from a different land, what with her sometimes strange mannerisms. To hear her admit it, however, made him swell with pride. He was, after all, a genius. It was nice to be proven right every once in a while.
"Yeah. It's called Christmas," Kagome replied, glancing up at him shyly and clenching her hands around her gift behind her back, "I... know you can't really stick around, but if you want, I'm making dinner and... well... you can come over." She shut her eyes, waiting for the rejection from the quiet man in front of her.
Itachi was torn. He knew that it would be incredibly dangerous for him to accept the invitation. He still didn't understand why she was being so nice to him. She should have cut ties. He needed to say no; and yet, he wanted to follow the priestess home, sit and talk amiably over good food, laugh about silly inconsequential things.
"I'm... sorry. I can't," the Uchiha answered, calling himself every foul name he could think of at the wilted look on the girl's face. She, of course, perked up instantly, and smiled brightly at him in acceptance.
"It's okay! I know you have a lot of work," Kagome chirped, grinning and hopping from foot to foot, "so before you go, I want to give you something!" She noted, with a tiny amount of satisfaction, that the former heir looked momentarily stunned.
"You didn't-!" he began to protest but was cut off again.
"You're my friend, Itachi! I wanted to give you a gift!" Kagome demanded, bringing the small package out from behind her back and biting her lip at the small crinkles in the golden wrapping, "Sorry. I was nervous."
Itachi reverently took the gift gently from her, awed by the unending amount of kindness the priestess continued to bestow upon him.
"... Thank you."
"Merry Christmas," she whispered, smiling gently and giving him a quick hug before turning and starting home, "If you change your mind, you know where I live." She waved and disappeared around the corner. It took the Sharingan wielder a moment to realize that he was waving back and dropped his hand awkwardly.
'I didn't get her anything,' Itachi thought, furrowing his brow at the gift still in his hand and turning to head back in the direction of the hideout. Slowly, he unwrapped the package and stared for a moment at the small box.
'Don't tell me...' He thought back to the time where he had visited and Kagome's kitchen had been scattered with dark tiny glass beads. She had been making something then, and-
'She wouldn't let me see it.' Itachi lifted the lid and sucked in a breath. Laying innocently on a tiny silk pillow was a necklace. One whose beads he recognized immediately.
"She... made this," the Uchiha breathed, stopping in the middle of the street and ellicting grumbles from the people around him, "for... me." Reverently, he lifted the chain from the box and examined it critically. It was surprisingly well crafted, and carefully done.
'... I'm a horrible person,' Itachi thought bitterly, dropping the chain decisively back into the box. Snapping it shut angrily, he paced away from the crowd and entered a nearby ally. The question had been burning in his head for months now, and it was finally getting the better of him.
"Why?" Why had she approached him in that drugstore all those months ago? Why had she helped him so innocently? Why did she have to be so damn forgiving and nice?
"You're my friend, Itachi!"
'Is it really that easy? Would she still say such things even after she finds out about... everything?' the raven-haired man thought, jumping through countless scenarios of how she would react if he were to 'spilled the beans' about his past, the rest of his present... his doomed future. He shut his eyes, grinding his palms against them.
He was not considering this! Dropping his hands and opening his eyes, he waited for the black spots to disappear and watched the bustle of the last minute afternoon shoppers. He felt... so hopeless.
A trolley bearing scarves wheeled slowly by and he felt his breath freeze in his throat when he saw the wisp of bright yellow material.
It was the scarf.
As if moving by instinct, he walked out of the ally, approaching the cart and the old woman selling the scarves. Itachi blinked and came back to himself when he realized he was fingering the heavy yellow silk. The old woman merely grinned in a know-it-all fashion.
"It's a lovely piece. The only one of it's kind," she stated, her voice scratchy from age.
"... It is," the Uchiha agreed, smoothing his hand down to find the price tag. Remembering the look on Kagome's face when she had done the same thing a few weeks ago, he barely twitched at the expensive price and dove into his cloak to retrieve the correct amount.
"For a friend?" the woman asked, that same knowing grin still on her wrinkled face.
"... Yes. A good friend," he replied, making his decision as he gently pulled the length of bright material from its' spot.
"A lovely choice, sir." She accepted the coins and began counting the change.
"Keep the rest." With that, Itachi Uchiha swirled off into the night, tucking the yellow and indigo scarf into his cloak.
He had a mission; and he never failed his missions.
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Kagome hummed quietly to herself as she mixed the batter for her cookies. She was still a little down, but the priestess wouldn't let that bother her right now. It surprised her when there was a knock on her door.
"Who could that be?" Kagome muttered to herself, setting down her things and making her way to the door. 'The only person I would be expecting would be...' Her blue eyes widened in shock and she ran to the door, giddy and nervous at the same time.
"Please, please, please..." The priestess undid the lock and swung the door open, air whooshing out of her lungs at the sight of the man on her door step.
"Itac-!"
"Had I known I was supposed to get you something, I would have done so," he interrupted her, stepping closer to her porch light. Kagome blinked at him owlishly as he settled a bright piece of fabric loosely around her neck.
"... What?" The dark-haired girl quickly examined the yellow fabric and felt her heart stop briefly.
It was the Sesshomaru Scarf.
"Merry Christmas, Kagome." She gazed up at him with wide eyes for a moment, taking note of the necklace he now wore. It suited him. When the shock wore off, she bowled him over with an enormous hug, muttering thank you's under her breath the whole time.
"Is... the dinner invitation... still applicable?" the Uchiha heir asked uncertainly.
"Of course! Come in! I'm so happy you're here!" Kagome chattered brightly, dragging the man inside forcefully, "I was just about to start making Christmas cookies! Do you want to help?" He smiled awkwardly and let her manhandle him into the hallway.
"I... don't know the first thing about making... cookies," he admitted, blinking at the horrified expression on her face.
"You..." she trailed off, tilting her head to the side as she thought before grinning excitedly, "Well, there's always room to learn! Come on!" She proceeded to drag him to the kitchen, and he was once again surprised at how unusually strong Kagome was.
"... I suppose I have no choice, do I?"
"You do, but I'm the one making the executive decisions! So, no, you don't." The priestess continued to chatter on brightly, the yellow scarf still hanging loosely from her neck; and though he was worried about what the consequences would be for his decision, for once, he couldn't care less.
'This... was the correct choice.'
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A/N: Awww! Anyone else get the warm fuzzies? Itachi's finally progressing in the right direction. Maybe now, he'll stop denying his... whatever they are, eh? ... Then again, maybe not. It's gonna take some work. Uchiha are stubborn, after all.
Also, I did another Christmas One-Shot in the same realm as this, but posted it separately. I wanted to do something a little more romance-ish. However, it won't be mentioned in later chapters. It's separate for a reason. It's called Mistletoe and I hope you enjoy that one too!
So be on the lookout for The Red Sin! It shall be coming up shortly, and I hope you all will take a moment to read that and let me know how I did with it. It was a beast to write, but I did it. For you guys!
Anyways, a Very Merry Christmas and a Super Happy New Year! I'll be back after the holidays with more all new stuff!