A/N: to demonalchemist5 – I picked someone else for present because for the story to go the way I wanted, it wouldn't make much since to be Kagome, you'll see what I mean and I wasn't really thinking about Christmas not being around back then, not totally sure when the whole Christmas celebrating started to be honest and about Japanese not celebrating, I just thought it would fit the story better if Kagome had Christmas with her family, I mean some families celebrate Christmas in different ways I guess, I don't mean to offend anybody or anything, anyway, I hope you enjoy part 2.

An InuYasha Christmas Carol

Part 2

Inuyasha muttered annoyingly as he once again landed on his butt. Wondering where the heck he could be this time, he picked himself up off the ground and looked around. His mouth widened, he was near Kaede's village. He smiled as he thought, 'Finally, I'm back.'

Hoping to get the whole experience behind him he ran towards the village. Just as he was approaching Kaede's hut, he stopped suddenly. He turned his head to see Kikyo just standing there staring at him. Inuyasha blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't some dream. When he came to the conclusion that it wasn't he went up to her, "Kikyo, what are you doing here?"

But she didn't answer; she just kept staring at him.

"Uh," Inuyasha stuttering, wondering what her problem was, "are you alright?"

Kikyo still said nothing, but this time looked over at the hut the stood before, Kaede's.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," said Inuyasha before running to the hut. He burst into the door with a huge smile, hoping to see his friends. He saw his friends sitting in a circle, but they didn't seem to pay any attention to his arrival.

"I wonder where Inuyasha is?" spoke Kagome who seemed the most worried.

"You don't have to worry Kagome, I'm right here," Inuyasha said as he walked right in the middle of their circle. But this didn't change Kagome's reaction as she stared straight through him. Kagome sighed.

Inuyasha frowned, "Hello Kagome," he said waving his arms in front of him.

"They can't hear you or see you, just like they are unable to hear or see me," he heard Kikyo say as she entered the hut.

"Why not?" he asked turning to face Kikyo.

"You're a ghost to them Inuyasha," answered Kikyo with her emotionless gaze.

"A ghost?" said Inuyasha, frowning even more. Kikyo looked down at Kagome and the others, causing Inuyasha to step from the circle beside Kikyo and watch them too.

"I don't care if he doesn't come back," said Shippo, "all he does is pick on me," he crossed his arms.

"Shippo," Kagome said, looking down at the fox kid like she couldn't believe he said that.

"Shippo does have a point," Miroku cut in.

"He does get very violent and cruel sometimes," added Sango.

Kagome looked at her friends as she thought about this, "Well I know he can be a royal pain a times."

Inuyasha couldn't believe their words, how could they say those things. Kikyo looked over at Inuyasha then casually at the others with a glare as though she despised them.

"Maybe their right," said Inuyasha as he hung his head, "maybe I need to back off more."

Kikyo looked over at him with a look of ponder.

"Why is this happening, what is really going on?" Inuyasha snapped as he turned to Kikyo, but just like Myoga, she was suddenly gone.

"I'm really get fed up with this," Inuyasha said with a snarl. Just as he got the words out, he was sucked in again by another vortex. As soon as he landed on his butt this time he stood with rage.

"What is going on, I just want to go back!" Inuyasha yelled.

He saw a dark figure out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see a black hooded figure. Inuyasha reached for his sword, but it wasn't by his side.

"Just great," he mumbled.

Then a light bulb went off in his head, this seemed familiar. He remembered that he heard something about a hooded figure from the story Kagome. He remembered so well because Shippo had woke him up from being scared. He rolled his eyes, when he decided to sleep was when he needed to be awake the most. It seemed all too convenient.

"Alright, what do you want?" he asked the hooded figure with a knowing look, "What is it you want me to see?"

But the figure stood there, facing him, it was starting to creep Inuyasha out.

"Look, if you want me to see something, show me, I ain't got all day!" barked Inuyasha.

Then Inuyasha's ears perked, he heard a voice, he heard his voice. Turning around, he saw himself, standing in the clearing of a forest they were in.

"That's me," Inuyasha stated the obvious, "but how…."

Inuyasha watched as his other self tapped his foot impatiently and growl. Then to the ghost Inuyasha's surprise, Sango came running up to the Inuyasha he was watching before him. Ghost Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, mouth gaped and eyebrows forwarded in confusion.

"What do you want?" his other self asked as he crossed his arms.

Sango seemed scared to speak, but raised her head in confidence and as she took a deep breath, she said, "I was wondering if you could offer Miroku and me some money, I know you have some now."

"Feh, why would I give that money to you?" he asked, staring at her with cold eyes.

"Well, we don't really have much money," she said, averting her eyes from his gaze, "and people aren't needing demons slain or exorcised and we don't know what to do for money," she looked at the ground.

Inuyasha kept his cold eyes on her, "Maybe you should have thought about that, you're not my problem anymore so you can go and tell Miroku that your little plan for sympathy from you didn't work."

Despite his cruelty, Sango bowed her head before turning to leave. Ghost Inuyasha watched her go and noticed the hurt look in her eyes. Ghost Inuyasha shook his head, how could he be so cruel to his friend.

"What's happened?" he asked, turning to the hooded figure, "I wouldn't do that to Sango and Miroku."

"This is the future if you continue your old habits of treating people the way you do," the hooded figure spoke with a voice, Inuyasha swore he had heard before.

He looked back and saw a small kitsune run up to his crueler self, "Inuyasha," Shippo said, "I need a place to stay, I don't know where to go, I was wondering if I could stay with you, I don't want to be alone."

"Maybe you should have thought about that Shippo, go back to wherever you came from and leave me alone," he snapped at Shippo, "can't you see I don't care about you anymore."

Shippo's eyes wailed with tears before he ran off in the other direction, crying.

"Shippo," Ghost Inuyasha said, hating having to watch the whole thing. He turned back to the hooded figure, "I don't get it, where's Kagome, why am I treating everyone like dirt?"

A flash of light took hold of Inuyasha's body and him and the hooded figure suddenly stood on top of a hill. Inuyasha looked around.

"Where are we?" he asked.

From the sleeve of the hooded figure's robe, a skeleton like finger extended so that a boney finger was pointing on the other side of Inuyasha. Inuyasha turned around and saw a mound of dirt with a grave stone placed above the mound. Inuyasha walked up closer so he could read what had been engraved on the stone.

In big letters, he read, 'Kagome.'

"No," he shook his head and turned quickly around, "What happened to Kagome, why is she dead, I would have never killed her."

"But you should have been nicer to her, I brought you here so that you could change the future, before you turn out to be the person you are, a heart broken and taking it out on everyone you love because of your own guilt for Kagome's death," said the hooded figure as he removed his hood. Inuyasha snarled as he realized he was looking back at himself.

"This was a test," Inuyasha looked down at the grave, "because of what I did to Kagome before when all she was doing was being with her family."

"Inuyasha," he heard Kagome say.

"Kagome," he looked down at the grave confused. Suddenly he woke with a start to find Kagome looking down at him. Inuyasha sat up quickly and noticed he was back in the hut with his friends.

"Kagome," he said again before giving her a hug, "I'm sorry Kagome, if you wanted to spend this Christmas with your family I understand now and you shouldn't feel bad about it."

He pulled away from her to notice she was blinking at him, stunned.

"Are you feeling alright, Inuyasha," she asked, feeling his head.

"Of course I am," he swatted her hand away and went to Sango, "and if you need any money for whatever, you can count on me, both of you," he said, glancing at Miroku as well.

"Meow," Kirara said, very confused with this new Inuyasha.

"And Shippo," he went over to him, "you can always stay with me, even if you are a little annoying."

Shippo stared at him, completely shocked, "O…k"

Kagome laugh, "Must have been some dream for you to act that way, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha went back to Kagome, "Thanks for the gift, you know the cookies and stuff," he said a little embarrassed to admit his wrong ways to her.

"You're welcome," she smiled, wondering what had gotten into him. Whatever it was, she hoped it had a long lasting effect on his attitude, who knows; maybe Inuyasha was starting to turn over a new leaf.

Shippo figured since Inuyasha was being so sweet, that he would just have one of his left over sweets. Inuyasha cut him off as he grabbed his tail, "and what do you think you're doing?"

"Oh come on," Shippo whined, "what happened to being nice?"

Kagome giggled, or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

THE END

A/N: hope you enjoyed my first Inuyasha holiday fanfiction, please r&r.