Inu-Yasha is © Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc.

Stupid girl. He couldn't believe he was doing this for her.

Inu-yasha hopped nimbly from rooftop to rooftop, pausing briefly here and there to catch his breath. On most occasions he'd simply take to flying, but right now his blood was boiling so thick he had to release it somehow. His feet grabbed and pushed off again, smooth and rough scaffolding alike not fazing him in the slightest. It paid sometimes to be a half-demon.

In his hand he clutched a present, the delicate wrapping paper beginning to tear slightly beneath his claws. The night before he had snatched it from a human girl's room and stole off with it, intending to return it to Kagome, whom he had seen giving to her that morning. Unfortunately, it hadn't gone as planned and ended up with him nose-first to the carpet, an intensely vexed Kagome standing over him shrieking "Sit!"

Now, curse her to all the hells, he was going back to that forsaken place to return the stupid thing. He'd rather just dump it off at her doorstep or pitch it through a window, but the skies boded rainfall and he doubted the Kurosawas would appreciate a hole through one of their windows.

Inu-yasha alighted on a familiar branch, and he realized with a shock that he had already arrived at the humans' home. Where had time flown? It wasn't an often occurrence that the brash young halfling was so absorbed in his thoughts that he missed the passage of time, yet here he was. "Huh," he said out loud, then leaned against the trunk of the tree, trying to recall which window led into the girl's room.

When he found it, he swore. Last night's incident had resulted in the closing and locking of the girl's window; even the curtains were drawn, restricting him from seeing inside. For a fleeting instant, Inu-yasha considered shattering the glass and breaking inside, but he didn't want to deal with the girl's family when they were brought running by the crash.

"You know, Lord Inu-yasha, you could sneak in through another window."

The piping voice from his shoulder startled him and the half-demon almost fell off the branch. Head jerking around, Inu-yasha glanced down at his shoulder to see Myoga the flea curled up between his prayer beads and his collar. The flea beamed up at him as he swore softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Hmf. There aren't many demons around in this time period, Lord Inu-yasha. You aren't very hard to find."

Inu-yasha grunted out a sigh and looked away again, smashing the flea demon between his forefinger and thumb as he felt him nip his neck. "Stop it. Now what are you jabbering about another window-?"

Myoga suppressed a sigh. "There is more than window on the girl's house, Lord Inu-yasha. Simply find one that isn't locked and enter through there."

Inu-yasha blinked. Now why hadn't he thought of that? "It's a good thing I'm around to tell you these things, milord," the flea said, as if reading his mind. Annoyed, the half-demon smashed him again.

Another window... Hrm. Hopping lithely from the tree branch to the ground, Inu-yasha began to circle the small patch of property. How humans could live so tightly meshed together, he would never understand; he could barely breathe comfortably around them, let alone live so closely next to each other. Careful to keep a lookout for any humans that might see something they shouldn't, the white shadow of a demon stole through the yard and came around the back, finding the window that led into the sitting room. Softly, footsteps soundless against the uncarpeted floor, Inu-yasha slipped in and closed the window behind him.

The home was a curious thing, towering taller than most any building he'd ever seen, and a maze of corridors. A white-and-dark pink blur against the inky background, Inu-yasha crept through the house, trying to find his way around. His nostrils flared, trying to find the girl's scent and follow it, but the place made him dizzy with all the smells. He could find the girl and her father with ease; the other two dominant ones could only be her mother and... her brother? It was an older boy to be sure, maybe this "Sho" she had been going on about earlier.

Eventually Inu-yasha found the stairway and crept up. Down the hall, turn a corner, and he was facing a dead end with a door. Amused at finding Myoga no longer snuggled in on his shoulder - abandoned him again, the coward - Inu-yasha slowly slid the door back and looked inside.

The girl was quite visible, even in the dark. Inu-yasha's golden eyes glittered slightly as he made out her profile against the moonlight shining waxily through her curtains. She hadn't heard him open the door, thank the gods, but she no doubt was awake. After the episode the night before, even Inu-yasha wasn't surprised.

Slinking inside, he left the door open rather than risk her hearing him close it. Her eyes were on the window, as if daring anything to jump out at her, so her back was facing him. All the better for me, Inu-yasha thought with a grim smile as he snuck up behind her. Tucking the present under his arm, he clapped on hand over her mouth and snuck his other arm around her shoulders.

He hissed in her ear, "Be still, girl, or I'll pitch you out the window."

Yuri stiffened as she felt the hands close around her. She was still only a moment, then began to struggle, her mind racing. No! He's going to kill me! O-Or worse! Tears stung her eyes as she gripped the floor, trying to get away, but his grip only tightened and she felt the pressure of sharp nails against her cheek. He wasn't kidding. She let her body go limp in his arms, tears starting to trickle down her cheeks. Oyaji...

"Better." The intruder's arms released their grip for a moment, then roughly pushed her away. Suppressing a gasp, Yuri fell back on to her futon, then immediately crossed her legs and hugged them to her chest, staring up at the golden-eyed demon in fear. "P-Please," she whispered, her mouth dry. "Please d-don't..."

The strange boy gave her an odd look for a moment, then blinked, recognition dawning in his eyes. "Oh. Um." His nose wrinkled scornfully after a moment, batting away his awkwardness with a shake of his head. "Don't worry, girl. I'm not going to hurt you."

He's not going to... Yuri brightened, but only slightly, still keeping her legs hugged to her chest. Summoning what courage she had left in her, she croaked, "What do you want? Oyaji..."

"This has nothing to do with your father!" The exclamation cut her off before she could say much more. Instantly, the stranger flushed, glancing around nervously. Yuri crossed her fingers and hoped that someone had heard him, but there were no sounds of footsteps. Dejected, she wilted.

The boy cleared his throat. "I, uh, have something that I, uh, need to give back to you, uh... yeah." From beneath the folds of his jacket, the white-haired intruder unearthed a package wrapped in shiny, slightly torn paper and handed it to her. "Here."

Her hands shaking as she reached out to take it, Yuri blinked in surprise. "I... My present!"

The boy only nodded, golden eyes shadowed. "Yeah. Uh. Gomen."

Yuri didn't answer, instead running her fingers over the creased paper in amazement, not knowing what to believe. She unwrapped her knees, folding them beside her, and hugged the precious item to her chest. Eyes wide, she gazed up at the strange boy with golden eyes and milk-pale skin. "I... Arigato. Domo arigato. ...Why?"

"Why?" he echoed.

"Why did you take my present? Why did you bring it back?"

He seemed to find a shadow on her wall most interesting. "Never mind," he answered after a moment, gruff. "I brought it back, that's all that matters. But now..." And he looked back at her, lupine gaze unwavering. "I have something to ask of you, girl."

Yuri, for lack of anything to say and not wanting to anger this strange, frightening creature, merely nodded.

"My name is Inu-yasha," he said with a slight wave of his hand.

"And I want you to tell me about Christmas."