Inu-yasha thought it more than he said it, perched atop the roof with his chin resting in his hands. His eyes were half-closed, looking sleepy with boredom, and his ears were pricked forward and down towards the walkway below. The bitter cold of winter nipped at him, the breeze brushing through his snow-white mane and tickling at his exposed ears. The half-demon wrinkled his nose idly and decided that he hated being cold.

"Well, Lord Inu-yasha, I'm certain that this day will go on more enjoyably if you stop sulking on the roof and talk to her."

The flea demon's voice piped in his ear, intruding on his thoughts rudely. Inu-yasha sat straight up, blinking rapidly before he looked to his shoulder, startled. He hadn't even realized that he was thinking out loud! Myoga looked up at him with a bemused expression, arching his minute brows. "Well?"

"Well what?"

The flea emitted an exasperated sigh. "Well, why don't you go and talk to her?"

"What? Who? Kagome?" At the flea's slight nod, Inu-yasha grimaced and rose to his feet, teetering on the roof's edge. "No way! What would I want to talk to that idiot for?"

The parasite's whiskers shifted as he smirked. "If you don't want to talk to her, then why did you come to the future? This is her house that you're sulking on; why not talk to her?"

"Because I don't want to, all right?" With a nimble grace that betrayed his demon heritage, Inu-yasha hopped from the top of the house to a nearby tree branch, perching there with one hand resting on the trunk for balance. He scowled grouchily. "You know, she's not the only thing in this time period that I'm in- ah, that has anything to do with me. There are shards of the Jewel here too."

Myoga caught the slip, even if Inu-yasha tried to cover it. A sly smile on his face, the tiny demon chuckled softly, his eyes flickering knowing. "Oh, Lord Inu-yasha, surely you're not still angry over that little incident before, are you? Ancestors know she's certainly done worse!"

"Feh!" Inu-yasha's eyes glittered yellowly. "That's not the point. I don't deserve the abuse she dishes out! Stupid girl, I could probably find all the Shikon jewel shards on my own much quicker. If it weren't for her being so meddling and stupid and clumsy and stupid and cruel and stupid..."

Myoga sighed, "Lord Inu-yasha..."

"Shut up!" With a sudden violent gesture, Inu-yasha swatted the flea demon from his shoulder, scowling as he whirled about to face the tiny speck of Myoga as he plummeted towards the ground. "Nobody asked you anyway!"

"Kagome!"

What? Instinctively, Inu-yasha darted to a higher branch, using the thick foliage to hide him from view from below. He nearly slipped on the frosted branch, but a quick grab to the limb above saved him exposure - and embarrassment.

The doglike half-demon frowned, peering down through the tangle of leaves and branches to the scene below. A young girl about Kagome's age stood on the walkway, hugging a bag to her chest. Curiously, she was dressed in the same garb that he often saw Kagome in. 'Must be the fashion for this era,' Inu-yasha reasoned distantly. But unlike Kagome, this girl's hair was cropped short, just below her ears.

"Kagome!"

Her voice was silvery, rather pleasant to the ear in fact. Not as nice to listen to as Kagome's though.

Inu-yasha blinked, then slapped his hand to his face, rubbing the thought out of his head quickly. Ack! Where had that come from?

"Coming! I'm coming!"

Before he could think on the matter further, the more familiar voice stole him from his thoughts. Looking frantic and rumpled, Kagome Higurashi darted down the steps and ran towards the girl waiting for her, panting heavily as she slowed to a stop. "I'm sorry, Yuri! I'm sorry, I'm SO sorry!" she blurted, clutching at her chest. "I slept in - the alarm clock didn't ring! - So I didn't get ready in time! We're not late, are we?"

Yuri laughed and clapped her friend good-naturedly on the back, eyes twinkling. "Not yet, Kagome. But we will be if we don't go now!"

A sheepish smile was on Kagome's face as the pair moved in a brisk pace down the walkway. "Thank you for waiting for me, Yuri."

Her friend paused, then offered a smile, tilting her head to one side. "Of course, Kagome-chan. I'll always wait for you - except when you're sick, of course," she added with a wink.

Kagome's cheeks flushed, but she returned the smile as she claimed, "I never get sick!" The two walked the rest of the way in relative silence, a silence that was broken once they cleared the archway. "Oh!" Shocking out of whatever thought had possessed her, she turned back to Yuri again and started digging through her backpack. "I almost forgot!"

Yuri's brows drew together, an uncertain look on her face. "What is it? Kagome, we have to get going... We're going to be late..."

"It'll only be a moment, hold on.... Ah! Here it is!" With a bright smile, the longhaired girl brought out a colorfully wrapped package and presented it to her companion. "Happy Christmas!" she said brightly, brown eyes sparkling.

Startled, Yuri took the package from her, looking first to the present, then to Kagome. All thought of being late was suddenly stricken from her mind. "I... Thank you. How... How did you know I was Christian?"

Kagome giggled cheerfully and started walking again, pleased to see such an expression drawn across Yuri's face. "Remember when we studied at your house instead of mine? I saw the cross on the wall and asked Grampa about it... That's a symbol of your faith, right?"

"Um... Yes, it is." Tenderly, Yuri hugged the present to her chest, moving as if in a trance. Then, ever so slowly, she shifted her gaze to regard her companion, looking at Kagome through the corners of her eyes. They filled with tears. Very suddenly, Yuri blurted, "Oh, Kagome, thank you ever so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

The sudden explosion startled Kagome, and she looked back at Yuri with widened eyes. "Y-Yuri-chan, I... You haven't even opened it yet...!"

"I know, but..." Closing her eyes, Yuri bowed her head, tucking her chin to her chest. As quickly as they came, the tears were gone. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Thank you all the same."

Kagome managed an awkward smile. "I'm just glad you like it, Yuri. I was worried that I had gotten the date wrong. Now, come on: we better hurry if we don't want to be late!"

Inu-yasha watched thoughtfully from above as the two schoolgirls hurried down the lane and quickly out of view. His claw-tipped fingers stroked thoughtfully at his chin as he straightened, leaning back against the tree trunk. Christian, he mused, turning the strange-sounding word over in his mind, tasting it. Why did that sound so familiar?

Crosses... Presents... Christmas... The words called up dim, vague memories of round-eyed barbarians with fur-covered faces, garbled voices, and strange hair color. Inu-yasha frowned, trying to remember, but whatever the memories were slipped through his fingers and quickly out of reach. The memories were too scattered and vague and so different from the bell-voiced Yuri that Inu-yasha eventually dismissed them. He didn't always remember things: the price of immortality and living from moment to moment. Sometimes he lost in the long run.

"Lord Inu-yasha!"

For the second time that morning, Myoga's voice intruded in his thoughts. Biting back an irritated growl, Inu-yasha looked down at his shoulder as the kimono-garbed flea hopped on. The flea huffed: "Really, milord, do you have to so callous? I nearly went splat and then you'd be without my guidance forevermore!"

"I'm crying inside, really," the half-demon muttered in reply, climbing up still higher in the tree, finding another vantagepoint as he scanned the surrounding areas. Inu-yasha's golden eyes were distant with thought, his lips pulled into a pensive frown. Myoga stopped in his scolding, eyeing his halfling master with an uncertain amount of concern, then nipped him briefly on the neck to get his attention. "Lord Inu-yasha?"

"Hm?"

"Is... something bothering you?"

Instead of answering, Inu-yasha avoided the question, instead asking one of his own. "Myoga, what's a," he stumbled over the unfamiliar word, "Kir-shtan?"

Myoga blinked. "A Christian, you mean?"

"Yeah."

The flea's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "A Christian... hm. They're barbarians for the most part, Lord Inu-yasha, but there are some still left in Japan - our Japan that is, I'm not so sure about this one. They're all but extinguished, though. They caused too much trouble, with fearsome riots and temple burning, and the like... and it was feared that they would take over the country as their predecessors did across the oceans."

Inu-yasha's chin dipped in a thoughtful nod. A few moments passed before he dared to ask the next question, and he refused to meet the smaller demon's eyes as he asked it. "Do you think Kagome might be a Christian?"

Myoga blinked again, then arched a skeptical brow. "High doubtful, milord. Her grandfather is a shrinekeeper, after all. But then, I don't know much about Christianity... Hm. It could be a... eh, Christian shrine," he finally offered helpfully.

The half-demon nodded thoughtfully again, not bothering to answer as he fell into a pensive mood. Myoga considered his lord for a long time then echoed his mood, settling into place between Inu-yasha's collar and prayer beads. Time passed: the sun danced across the sky and the shadows shrank and stretched as was appropriate at certain times. The flea demon took a nap, nestled in the dark pink material of Inu-yasha's kimono, and was surprised to find when he awoke that Inu-yasha was still brooding. Myoga's curiosity turned to concern and he hopped up to perch in the half-demon's snowy mane.

As if on cue, Inu-yasha spoke: "Myoga."

"My lord?"

"Do you know anything about," and Inu-yasha found himself stumbling over another unfamiliar word. "Krist-mas?"

Myoga's brows furrowed in thought. For quite a few moments the flea was silent, then he found himself shaking his head in negative, a solemn expression on his face. "I'm afraid not, Inu-yasha. I know very little about Christians. They are very few in Japan."

A frustrated sigh escaped Inu-yasha's lips. "You're a lot of help." There was a bone-dryness to his tone that made Myoga cringe, then bristle in retaliation.

"Now, see here, Lord Inu-yasha! How am I supposed to know anything about some remote minority religious cult in a Japan only ancestors know how far into the future, hm? My assistance is a very valuable thing to you, I know, but truly, I do think you're overestimating me and taking advantage and I-"

His expression thoughtful and distracted, Inu-yasha smooshed Myoga and casually flicked him off his shoulder.