Part 3
AN: As I said, I'm doing this the second after I finished writing Part 2. I haven't even moved to set up the internet or anything (cause it's early and someone might call)! I'm on the ball this week! Plus, with four planned updates for today, I needed to write... Yeah. I know it's few days after I wrote this. That's how my fics usually go. Sometimes it's months or weeks, if you haven't noticed with my other stories. But this break is nice for having writing time... Yay! Oh yes! I do not own Inuyasha. Silly disclaimers...
Remember the fluff warning in the summary? Well, this is where you're gonna see it. So again, I'll say beware of warm, fluffy, out of character overly romantic stuff! And here are my reviewer responses!
Kato Shingetsu: Thanks! Hm, you know, I actually was thinking about putting Inuyasha in a Santa hat... laughs evilly
FlamingRedFox: Yay! Thank you for all of the encouragement! :) And well, you'll just have to see about the mistletoe... Hee hee hee.
Seed-of-Flame: Thank you!
The priest staff seemed to move above the crowd; whoever was carrying it had it propped up on his shoulder. However, the people couldn't help but notice the strange sprig of berries tied on the end.
Miroku seemed to be lost in thought, staring straight ahead. However, after his years of practice, he was really scanning the crowd for the first.... There!
The young woman stood near the edge of the building looking at the snow covered ground. She suddenly her a clanging sound and found a staff raised above her head with some berries tied to it. She gasped a little and looked at the handsome smiling monk holding it above them. "Hello, miss," he said.
"C-can I help you, houshi-sama?" she asked, not knowing what this man was up to.
"Well, you see, in certain places it's actually a tradition during this time of the year that if these berries are above two people they must kiss?"
She giggled a little. "Really?"
"Yes," he replied, earnestly. "And it's a tradition that cannot be broken. Therefore, miss, I must ask you to..."
It was just then that Miroku felt a presence behind him. An evil presence. The fire within the aura that was radiating from it burned like a thousand fires of Hell. His doom was upon him. He stopped moving all together and looked very nervous as this power of darkness welled up behind him.
"Houshi-samaaaaa....."
"Oh," he began, turning around nervously, "h-hi, Sango! I was just teaching the villagers all about that festival that Kagome's showing us..."
Her glare pierced into his mortal soul, and were he not constantly on death's door, it probably would have cut a few years off of his life. "Really?"
One word. It was amazing how one word alone could be full of all the hatred and bitterness ever felt by humankind. He was left speechless. Truly, this was the greatest threat ever known to man: the power of a woman's vengeance.
Sango stared at him angrily for a moment, and then finally marched up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his robes, dragging him away. The girl watched the entire scene with confusion and finally went back to what she was doing.
"Now, Sango, let me explain," Miroku said, a pleading look on his face.
"What's to explain?" she grumbled in return. "You're using that stupid plant to get more girls. Why am I not surprised? After that whole mess earlier, you'd think..."
"Come now, did you really think it was a mess?" he asked, causing her to stop walking and loosen her grip, allowing him to free himself. "I rather enjoyed it myself! You can't deny that it wasn't a special moment!"
Sango's face started turning red. "Well, I... That is, I, um..."
Just then, the staff was up above their heads. "Well, would you look at that!" Miroku said, grinning. "I guess we'll have to do it again!"
Sango frowned and walked off. "Let's just get back to the others."
Miroku sighed with disappointment. "Hey! Kagome-sama said we have to do it!"
When Inuyasha woke up, he immediately noticed that something was strange. And it didn't have anything to do with the fact that it should have been much later and he should have had a pounding headache which would keep him out of doing the rest of this Christmas thing with Kagome. It felt as though there was something on his head.
He reached up and yanked off whatever it was and found a red fuzzy hat with white trim and a white ball on the top. "What the hell is this?" he exclaimed.
"Put that back on, Inuyasha!" Kagome said, pulling out a strange thread with little clear berry-type objects on it. "That's a Santa hat! It's very Christmasy! And since you're all ready wearing red, I thought you should wear it!"
"Well, I don't wanna!" he retorted. "What's the point of it? And why did you put it on me while I was out?!"
"How else was I supposed to get you to wear it?" she answered with a frown. "Besides, it's an important part of the holiday. Santa is the person who brings gifts to all of the children, so I thought at least Shippo would enjoy seeing it."
"Like I care," Inuyasha said, tossing the hat aside. "I don't like this holiday at all."
"Inuyasha," Kagome said, standing up and glaring him down, "if you don't wear that hat, I'll say the "s" word!!!"
Inuyasha cowered with fear. "A-all right," he replied. "Geez, if this stupid thing's that important to you..." He begrudgingly put the hat back on. (AN: How's that for a word?)
It was just then that an angry looking Sango and a slightly disappointed and confused Miroku made their way back inside. Shippo was waking up from a nap in the corner, empty candy cane wrappers surrounding him, and Kilala was trying to make a game out of them.
Kagome looked around at the group and smiled. "Okay, everyone!" she said, holding up the strange thread she had unraveled. "Now it's time to decorate the Christmas tree!"
"Where's this tree?" Shippo asked, looking around to see if there were any new decorations or candy cane boxes.
Kagome thought for a moment. "Why don't we use the Sacred Tree!" she suggested, pulling out some strange balls. "I think that would be appropriate. But Inuyasha and Shippo will have to decorate it... Miroku and Sango can help me with the generator!"
"The what?"
As night was beginning to fall, Inuyasha had managed to finish threading the strands throughout the branches, doing so after several threats and a few sits from Kagome. Shippo had hung the ornaments in the places that he deemed appropriate, and Kagome tried her best to plug the strange strings into a large, odd looking box she had brought with her. Finally, they all joined her on the ground looking up at the branches.
After a few moments of Kagome staring at the box seeming confused, Inuyasha said, "Dammit, Kagome! What the hell is all of this for?!"
"Wait a minute..." she said, pulling on a string on the box and causing a strange grumbling from inside of it. Finally, she hit a button and the box began making strange whirring noises and the bulbs on the threads began glowing with a mysterious light.
"That's a Christmas tree!" Kagome said proudly, looking at the shining lights.
The others stared at it with eyes wide and jaws dropped. "That's really... um..." Sango finally began, seeming as overwhelmed as the others. "Wow."
"Lady Kaede!" the villager exclaimed, running toward the town's miko. "Something strange has happened to the tree!"
"It looks as though demons have possessed its branches!" another added, looking in fear at the odd glow coming from the sacred plant.
Kaede looked at the tree for a moment, seeming both scared and confused. "Methinks that this is the doing of Kagome," she finally said, thinking about the strange items that were hanging in her house. "I believe she is showing everyone a celebration from her land. We need not worry about it."
The villagers still cringed with fear. They didn't know why a festival would include demons perching in their holy tree.
The others were still staring at the tree, Kagome beginning to realize that maybe electricity wasn't the best thing to introduce to them at this moment. "Well, I guess that's enough of that," she finally said. "At least you got to see what we have!"
"Do I still have to wear this stupid hat?" Inuyasha asked, pointing at it.
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I think this stuff will be fine... The lights will go out when the generator turns off. Let's go back to Kaede's and have the party and those of us who got presents can give them out!"
"And we can have more candy canes!" Shippo cried, racing around the tree in circles.
"Well, let's go!" Kagome said, walking away. Inuyasha grumbled a little, staring at the tree and trying to look at his head gear before finally turning and leaving, Kilala at his heels.
Sango still stared at the tree, seeming just as lost as she was before. Suddenly, she heard the jingle of metal above her head and looked up to see Miroku's staff over her head, the mistletoe still tied on the end. The monk had edged his way next to her and looked at the tree innocently.
Sango frowned and didn't move. Miroku scowled a little and edged his way closer to her, lower his staff a little to make sure she saw it. Finally, she reached up, plucked off the mistletoe and threw it as far away as she possibly could.
Miroku sighed sadly, Sango still glaring at him. "There's your stupid berry," she finally mumbled, her frown still evident. Her gaze went back to the tree for a few moments, and the only sounds that could be heard were Shippo's giggles as he ran around the clearing, stopping for a moment to pick something up, and then running off toward the village.
As Miroku looked at the lights with a seemingly depressed look, something suddenly stepped in front of him. He looked down with surprise to see a still frowning Sango staring at him. "Uh, can I help you?" he asked, seeming confused.
She glared at him for a moment. "You were just using it as an excuse, you know," she finally said, although she seemed slightly uncomfortable.
"Whatever do you mean, Sango?" he replied, still lost as to what she was getting at.
"I'm saying you were just using that stupid berry to get me to kiss you!" she yelled, leaning toward him in anger.
"W-well," he began, not sure of how he should respond to that and not get a sore cheek in the process.
She kept looking at him, still leaning toward him. Suddenly, she put her right hand up to his face and her other hand on his shoulder and leaned closer until her lips were against his. Miroku stood in shock for a moment, and then returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her.
After a few moments of this, Sango quickly pulled herself away and started walking toward the village. Miroku stared at her for a few moments, still seeming surprised, when he heard her mutter, "You really didn't have to use it." He smiled and walked off after her.
Kagome finally finished mixing up the hot chocolate, since they were now out of egg nog and she wanted them to have some sort of drink. Just then, a very subdued looking Sango walked in, followed by a grinning Miroku. "Hey, what took you guys so long?" Kagome asked, putting down the last steaming cup.
"We were... just looking at the tree is all," Sango replied, sitting next to the fire and looking at Kilala, who hopped into her lap.
Miroku was still smiling and sat down across from her. "Yes, just admiring the beautiful sights," he added, looking at the slightly blushing demon slayer.
"Well," Kagome began, not sensing the awkward vibes between her two friends, "I made some hot cocoa for everyone. It's also something that we drink around this season, although it's very hot. It's good for warming a cold person up, though!"
Miroku and Sango each took their glasses and slowly sipped on the drink, seeming to enjoy it, although not saying anything.
Kagome smiled and went to her bag, pulling out some brightly wrapped boxes. "Okay, everybody, now it's time to open the presents I got you!"
Shippo, who was finishing off his last candy cane, stared at the packages. "Wow, Kagome, those are pretty! I only found some really neat leaves!" he replied, dashing around the room and handing one to everybody.
"Gee, thanks," Inuyasha muttered, not seeming too impressed.
Kagome kept smiling and passed the gifts to the appropriate people. They all stared at them for a few moments, looking a little lost. "Now you unwrap them and see what's inside!" she finally said, realizing that they didn't even know about that part of the holiday.
They mostly ended up being the usual things she brought back for her friends: ramen, soda, chocolate, and more candy canes for Shippo, which she didn't realize how much of a problem that would be at the time. The kitsune went back to his corner to start on his new stash while the others thanked her and broke into whatever they could that didn't require cooking.
After a few minutes of eating, talking, and Shippo becoming so hyped up on sugar that he was now racing around the hut and redecorating everything as he saw fit, Inuyasha suddenly stood up and walked outside. The others stared at the doorway for a few seconds, and Kagome finally followed him out. Miroku and Sango watched her, looked at each other for a second, and went back to what they had been doing, Sango's cheeks seeming red again.
Inuyasha sat on the front porch, seeming upset. Kagome slowly sat down next to him, looking concerned. "Is everything all right, Inuyasha?" she finally asked.
"I put up with it, okay?" he suddenly said, still staring off into space.
"What...?" she began, raising at eyebrow.
"I went along with all of the stuff you wanted me to do for this stupid Christmas thing," he interrupted, turning to look at her. "That's my present, or whatever you called it."
Kagome looked at him with surprise for a moment and then smiled. "Thanks, Inuyasha."
She looked down at the snow covered ground, Inuyasha went back to looking at whatever he had been focusing on earlier. "It looks really nice out tonight," she finally said, not wanting the silence to last forever.
He grunted in reply, starting to shift his view to other places. Finally, he leaned his head back a little and blinked in confusion.
Suddenly, Kagome felt Inuyasha's hand on her cheek. She looked up in surprise and saw him staring at her intently. Her heart began to pound, but before she could say anything, he had leaned in and kissed her. She sat where she was in a daze, finally returning it after a few moments.
It wasn't very long before he pulled away and went back to looking out into the distance, although his face seemed slightly flushed. "Inuyasha, I..." Kagome began, still too overwhelmed to say much.
"What?" he replied gruffly. "That's what I was supposed to do, right?" Without moving his head, he pointed one hand straight up. Kagome looked, and saw that apparently the hyperactive Shippo had not only found the mistletoe, but had hung it back up over the doorway.
She looked at the half demon and smiled. "Yeah. It was."
AN: FMP's first kissing scenes! Yay! Yeah, as I said, out of character fluff, but if it made you feel all warm and fuzzy on these cold winter nights, that all I ask for! ;) Happy Holidays, everyone, and thanks for reading!