Day One ~~~~~
Kagome plopped down on the couch, exhausted, but happy the decorating was finally complete. "Holiday decorating is a lot of work!" she thought.
"Time for some hot cocoa, and a nice warm fire," she thought to herself, jumping up to head to the kitchen. "I love our new house, but I am really going to miss my family," she sighed to herself.
She returned to the freshly decorated living room, and began to start a fire. "OH! Christmas music! I almost forgot!" as she jumped up to turn on her favorite CD of classic Christmas carols. She relaxed back into the couch, and sat admiring her handiwork. The tree was fully decorated with lights and new ornaments, stockings were hung over the fireplace, and the house smelled of evergreen.
She eyed the tree again and spied an ornament she did not remember buying. She got up to examine the mysterious ornament closely. As she neared it, she let out a gasp of surprise as she realized what it was.
Nestled into the center of the tree, sat a delicate and intricately carved little gold frame that housed a hand painted picture of herself as a young girl, with both of her parents behind her. She carefully picked up the ornament and held it close to her chest. "It's absolutely perfect," she looked around the living room and house, finding it strangely empty. "Hmmm . . . maybe there is a Christmas Elf in my new house?" she smiled to herself.
Day Two ~~~~~
Kagome stumbled into the front door, dropping her book bag in the hallway. "Graduate school! What was I thinking?! I could be living the easy life back in the Feudal Era about now," she sighed as she kicked off her shoes. " I am never going to get all of my homework done!" she thought as she trudged through the living room toward the kitchen.
As she walked by, a flash of color from the tree caught her eye. There, above the picture frame, hung a new ornament. She felt a huge smile come across her face as she went over to examine it. "It's exquisite!" she thought. "It looks like a jeweled egg!" The gold egg-shaped ornament was covered in colored enamel and small pink jewels. As she examined it, she noticed a small hinge on the edge of the egg. Carefully, she undid the clasp and opened the top half, only to discover a small scene inside. "Is this. . . this is the Shrine!" A tiny carved scene of her home, including the well house, lay inside of the ornament.
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you, my secret elf," she said to the empty house. "It's so beautiful. I will always have home with me," she felt her frustration from the day begin to fade away at the new discovery on the tree.
Day Three ~~~~~
She awoke with a start from a dream of being buried in an avalanche of schoolbooks. "Ugh. Too much studying. Oh man! I feel asleep at my desk again!" she thought as she realized that her history book had been her pillow. "At least I didn't drool all over it this time," she thought. "It's time for bed."
She made her way through the dark house, hoping she could make it to the bedroom without tripping over anything. She made it to the living room, and noticed the embers of a fire. "Hmm . . . looks like my Christmas Elf was warming himself while I was studying!" she thought.
She looked over at the tree, and smiled again. "Yes, my Elf has been here again!" She could barely make out a new ornament with the glow of the fire. Her curiosity overwhelming her need for sleep, she turned on a side lamp and she saw that her new ornament was a carved replica of the well she had used to travel to the Feudal Era.
"If I ever catch my Christmas Elf, I'll have to thank him with a big kiss!" she said aloud in the empty room. She knew her secret Elf had heard her.
Day Four ~~~~~
"Okay! I've got my textbook, my pencils, and my notes. My Final papers are in my notebook, ready to turn in . . . What am I forgetting?" she thought. "Oh yeah! Holiday cards for my friends at school, and the small presents for my professors," she thought to herself as she loaded her bag for her big exam. "How did I ever do this, AND save the world at the same time?" she wondered aloud. "I must be getting older. This is wearing me out!" she said to no one in particular.
She finished loading her bag and ran towards the door. She couldn't help but glance over at the tree on her way. "There's a new one!" she squealed in her mind. "I can be a few minutes late," she thought as she made her way over to the tree.
She let out a laugh when she noticed the new ornament was an angel. But not just any angel. This angel was dressed in a school uniform, which looked suspiciously like her old school uniform. "Yes, I have an angel ornament that is wearing a green mini skirt and a sailor top!" She laughed again and knew her final was going to be no problem now. "After all, I DID do this and save the world at the same time. I can handle this puny Final!" she thought as she ran out the door.
Day Five ~~~~~
"Yessss . . . home. The semester is over! I totally aced that exam today," Kagome thought as she dropped her bag off at the door. "Ugh. I don't want to see that bag again until January!" She thought as she kicked it behind the coats hanging from the hallway rack.
"I need to call Mama and let her know how I did on the exam. She knew I was worried about it. Plus I just want to talk about something else besides school," Kagome picked up the phone and plopped down on the couch. She had just finished telling her mother about her class, when she looked up and saw her new ornament.
"How are you settling into your new house, Kagome?" her mother asked.
"Better than expected. It seems I have a Christmas Elf who is helping make it a home, and not just a house," She replied as she gently touched a small, carved replica of the Goshinbuko, the sacred tree on her family's property - her new ornament.
"Well, dear, home is where you make it."
"It would seem so." Kagome replied with a smile on her face.
Day Six ~~~~~
"Thank you for coming to the company Christmas party tonight. You were beautiful. I think red is the best color for you," Sesshoumaru said as he opened the front door for Kagome.
"Mmmm. I think everyone was looking at how handsome you were instead, " Kagome chuckled as he shut the door against the biting wind. "A big snowstorm is coming through tonight. It looks like we may have to postpone our shopping trip tomorrow."
"Well, I guess we will just have to find a way to keep ourselves entertained, now won't we?" he replied with an evil smirk. She laughed. "I guess so. So, why don't you start a fire for us, and I'll fix some hot cocoa. Then we can just relax," She asked nicely as she made her way to the kitchen.
She returned to the living room and immediately took notice of the new addition to the tree. It was another hand carved ornament. This time it was a large white dog. Kagome smiled to herself, and took the cocoa over to her husband.
"You know, I think we need to install a better security system here," She said.
"And why is that?" he replied.
"Because someone keeps breaking into the house and leaving Christmas ornaments on our tree," She replied.
"Hnnn."
Day Seven ~~~~~
Kagome sat at the table going over her Christmas list. "Ok, I've got Mama, Granpa, and Souta. Check, check, and check. Inuyasha, check. Shippo, check. Eri, Ayumi, check and check," She noticed the glaring name with no check mark. Sesshoumaru. "What am I going to get him for the holidays?" she thought in panic.
The wind howled outside, and the wind suddenly picked up. Kagome looked up from her thoughts to the window. Snow was piled high in the yard, and on the windowsill. "It's a good thing we don't have to be anywhere!"
The power suddenly cut out, leaving her standing alone in the darkness. "Oh man, me and my big mouth!" she thought.
Kagome made her way to the living room and opened up the living room curtain. "Great. A blizzard," she thought. She started a fire, and glanced up at her tree. There, hanging next to the dog ornament, was a miniature Tessaiga. She smiled in remembrance. "How many times did that sword save my life?" she wondered. "Well, it will be just like we're back in the Feudal Era again. Camping out next to the fire, in the freezing cold!" she said aloud.
"Yes, but you did not have me there to help keep you warm," Sesshoumaru said as he walked into the room.
"Are you offering to warm me up?" she said with a smirk.
"Always," he smiled back.
"Maybe this blizzard isn't so bad after all," she said.
"Perhaps."
Day Eight ~~~~~
Kagome bolted upright from sleep when the power came back on. She had forgotten she had left the radio turned on, and most of the lights on as well when the power went out last night. Looking down, she realized she was naked under a pile of blankets on the living room floor. "I guess the floor is pretty comfortable," she thought randomly as she struggled to wake up.
She gathered the blanket around her and began to go though the house, shutting off the lights and the radio. She went back into the living room to look for her husband, but could not find him anywhere.
"Where is he? That's strange," she thought. Kagome cracked open the curtain and peeked outside. Her husband, apparently oblivious to the cold, was seated in a meditation pose on a rock in garden. His hair was blowing all around him, but he seemed to notice nothing.
"Well, at least he cleared the driveway for me. I have to go shopping today! Not everyone can have a Christmas Elf to do their shopping for them!" she thought. She turned around to head upstairs when she noticed their new ornament. Tessaiga's twin, Tenseiga, hung gracefully from her tree.
"And he tried to say it didn't mean anything to him," she thought.
Day Nine ~~~~~
"I can do this . . . cooking is easy! If I could only remember the recipe!" Kagome thought as she bustled around the kitchen.
Although they had decided not to return to Japan for the holidays, Kagome had decided to cook a traditional dinner anyway. "You can't have a holiday without having oden!" she remembers telling Sesshoumaru, who had just chuckled at her in response.
"Oh, it's my favorite Christmas song!" she squealed as she turned up the radio a little louder.
Sesshoumaru wandered into the kitchen right as Kagome was belting out "F - I - V - E - GGGoooolllldeeeennnnn RRRRRiiinnnnggsssss!!" at the top of her lungs, using a whisk as a microphone.
"Uh, hi there!" she replied sheepishly.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Making a Christmas dinner, and singing holiday songs. What else would I be doing?" she asked.
"I thought you were being attacked by feral cats, with all of the racket in here," he replied coolly.
"Hey! I don't make fun of your singing!" she retorted.
"You have not heard me sing," he replied as he walked out of the kitchen.
"Don't forget we are having some of my friends over tomorrow night. We're doing the orphan Christmas, remember?" Kagome followed him to the living room, and she noticed the new ornament. It was a miniature painting of Rin, with flowers in her hair.
"How can I forget? You collect orphans like pets," he replied.
"You should know," Kagome smarted back, eyeing the ornament.
Day Ten ~~~~~
"Wow, dinner was wonderful, Kagome," her friend Amy said as she sat on the sofa with her cocoa. Amy was her friend from graduate school, and along with her other guests Rachel and Alex, had nowhere to go for Christmas.
"Yes, thank you for doing this for us, Kagome. Otherwise, my Christmas would have consisted of leftover pizza and a rerun of 'It's a Wonderful Life,'" Alex laughed as he stood up to help Kagome with the drinks.
"It's no problem, guys. I just couldn't stand the thought of anyone having to spend the holidays completely alone," Kagome replied.
"Well, it was very kind of you. Of both of you," Rachel said. She turned and started to admire Kagome and Sesshoumaru's tree. "These are such beautiful ornaments, Kagome! But they're so strange . . . why do you have two swords as ornaments?" Rachel inquired.
"Huh. Look, a two-headed dragon! Where did you find these, Kagome? Are these characters symbolic to your culture?" Alex asked.
Kagome got up and went to the tree when she heard Alex mention a two-headed dragon. Hanging there next to Rin's ornament was Ah-Un. Kagome smiled to herself. "So my Christmas Elf is still busy, I see," she thought.
"No, they are just symbols that are meaningful to the both of us," Kagome replied.
"So, what's with this well?" Amy asked.
"It's a long story," Kagome replied. "Maybe I'll tell you one day."
Day Eleven ~~~~~
"The Christmas lights were beautiful, don't you think?" Kagome asked Sesshoumaru as they came into the house.
Her husband had surprised her by taking her for a surprise shopping trip downtown. They ended up simply walking and admiring the lights, and doing more window-shopping than anything. That was her favorite treat, when they just spent time together and talked.
"They were intriguing," he replied dryly.
"You're so romantic," she mocked him gently.
He turned to face her fully. "A light bulb is not romantic," he replied.
"Then what is?" she asked.
He eyed her up and down. "I was thinking more along the lines of something lacy," he said.
"Of course you would," she reached up to give her husband a kiss, and he helped by picking her up so she wouldn't have to reach so far. She looked over his shoulder and noticed another new ornament. There was a replica of the Shikon jewel, the item that finally had brought them together after so many battles over Tessaiga. She smiled to herself.
"You know, we really have to do something about all of these burglars that keep leaving things in our house," she whispered in his ear.
"I think you are imagining things," he replied.
"Am I?" she said.
Day Twelve ~~~~~
Kagome woke up early, like always on Christmas day. She rolled over to greet her mate, only to find his side of the bed empty. She padded down the stairs and into living room in time to catch Sesshoumaru placing a new ornament on the tree.
"AHA! I knew it was you all along!" she exclaimed.
He looked at her and smiled. "I don't know what you are talking about. These ornaments just appeared out of nowhere. I think we have an elf on the loose."
"Yeah, sure, whatever," she replied. "So, what's the ornament this time?" she said, looking to see what he held in his hand. He held it out to her, and she gently took it. It was another small gold frame, but the picture inside was of her and him together.
"It's so beautiful!" she said. She gave him her biggest smile. "Thank you for making this house ours together, and for making this holiday special," she said as she hugged him.
"Don't thank me. Thank the elf," he replied, kissing the top of her head.
"Oh! I nearly forgot! I got something for the tree too!" she exclaimed as she bent down to get a bag from under the tree. She pulled out a tree topper in the shape of the crescent moon.
"It just didn't seem right to have a star on top," she said. "Help me put it up there?"
He smiled, kissed her again, and lifted her up to the tree. "Perfect," he said.