The Inu-tachi watched on in confusion as Kagome hung strange colorful objects around Kaede's hut.

"Kagome-sama? What are you doing exactly?" asked Miroku.

"Just decorating for Christmas," replied the girl from the future with a smile.

"Christmas? What's that?" asked Shippou, eyes wide with curiosity.

"It's a wonderful holiday from the future where friends and family get together and give gifts," explained Kagome as she turned towards her friends.

Inuyasha let out a snort. "So it's like that stupid Valentine's Day you told us about? You going to try and poison me again?!"

This earned the hanyou a glare from Kagome. "I didn't try to poison you and no, it's not like Valentine's Day! Christmas is much different. Christmas is a time for thinking about others and being with family. I figured since you guys are like a second family to me, I wanted to bring Christmas to the Feudal Era so you can all enjoy it."

This earned her smiles from Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, while Inuyasha let out another snort. Sango was the one to speak up first. "Is there anything we can help you with, Kagome?"

"Well, I could use some help hanging the garland around the rest of the hut. Oh, we could also use a tree!"

"A tree?" questioned the taijiya.

Kagome reached into her bag and pulled out a picture of a pine tree covered in various, colorful ornaments. "Hai! It's a tradition to find a tree, bring it home, and decorate it."

"Like a tree is going to fit in here," replied Inuyasha with a frown. "This is stupid!"

"And that's why I'm putting you in charge of finding a small enough tree for us, Inuyasha."

The hanyou glared at Kagome. "Like hell I'm going out there just to look for a damn tree! What we should be looking for is Naraku's location!"

"Inuyasha…" replied Kagome with a familiar tone.

Before Kagome could make Inuyasha come crashing down, Sango butted in. "Come on, Inuyasha. It shouldn't be too hard to find a tree. I'll even help you."

"I don't want to look for a damn tree," growled out Inuyasha as his glare turned towards Sango, but didn't fight it as Sango dragged him out into the snow.

Once the two warriors were gone, Kagome let out a sigh. "Why does he have to be so difficult?"

"In his defense, Kagome-sama, this Christmas thing is pretty new to him, to all of us really, and it was more or less sprung on him so suddenly," explained Miroku, offering her a smile. "Just give him time and I'm sure he'll come around."

Kagome gave off a slight pout. "He could be a little nicer about it at least."

"Hey, Kagome, what's this?" asked Shippou, holding up a plant sprig.

"That's mistletoe, Shippou-chan! When two people stand underneath it it's tradition for them to kiss," explained Kagome with a smile. She then let out a loving sigh. "It's just so romantic. I wish I had someone to kiss under the mistletoe."

Looking back at the mistletoe in hand, Shippou got an idea. 'Don't worry, Kagome! You'll get your kiss and Inuyasha will be the one to give it to you!'

-:-

"I said it before and I'm saying it again; this is stupid!"

"I don't know, Inuyasha. The idea of Christmas sounds very interesting," replied Sango as she walked beside the silver-haired hanyou.

"Keh, like cutting down a tree and bringing it inside is "interesting". I'm telling you, Sango, we'd be better off without it!"

"…You know, when Kagome mentioned how this holiday was for families to come together, I wondered if my own family would have enjoyed such an idea if they had heard about it," said Sango, a sad smile on her face as she remembered her loved ones.

Inuyasha frowned from Sango's words. He looked away in nervousness. "…I'm sure they would have liked it, Sango. Hell, once we get Kohaku back from Naraku, you can tell him all about it."

Sango smiled at Inuyasha in thanks. "So can we still find a tree, Inuyasha?"

"…Yeah, whatever," replied Inuyasha with a sigh. "Hopefully we can find one small enough to keep Kagome from bitching at me."

Sango could only roll her eyes as he grabbed hold of Inuyasha's arm. She could feel him tense under her touch, but that didn't stop her from leading the way. As the two made their way through the white fields of snow they came upon where the pine trees grew.

"I hope we can find what we're looking for," said Sango as she noticed all of the pine trees were very tall.

"You sure you still want to get a tree," replied Inuyasha, glancing at her with a narrowed look.

"You already agreed that we can get a tree, Inuyasha~" teased Sango with a giggle. She giggled even more when Inuyasha let out a groan.

"Let's just get this over with," came the growl.

The two continued their search for a tree, but after a good while their search turned up empty. Inuyasha glanced over at Sango to find her shivering from the cold. Being a demon and wearing clothes made from fire rat fur, he was a little more resistant to the cold than a human would be. Not even hesitating, he slipped off his fire rat coat and draped it over Sango's shoulders.

"I-Inuyasha?" questioned the girl, looking at her friend with wide eyes.

"Just didn't want you keeling over from the cold," replied Inuyasha as he looked away from her.

Sango couldn't help but smile. She knew this was Inuyasha's way of showing that he cared, even if he didn't sound like it. A slight blush was on her face, but she hoped Inuyasha thought it was from the cold. "Arigatou, Inuyasha."

"…No problem, Sango. Now let's find this tree so we can get the hell out of here!"

Another giggle came from Sango as she slipped on the coat. She could feel the warmth radiating off of it and she could swear that it had Inuyasha's scent on it. Another blush came as she reveled in his warmth.

Continuing on, the two couldn't find a tree that was small enough to fit into the hut. The smallest they could find looked like it wouldn't even fit through the door.

"What are we going to tell Kagome?" asked Sango as she turned to Inuyasha. "Do you think she'll understand?"

"Don't know, don't care," replied Inuyasha as he drew Tessaiga. "Just stand back."

Before the taijiya could say anything, Inuyasha swung his blade and chopped the tree down. Sheathing his sword, Inuyasha then grabbed hold of the fallen tree and ragged it passed a stunned Sango. It didn't take long for Sango to regain her senses and run after the man she cared deeply for.

"Inuyasha! Just how do you plan on explaining this to Kagome? This tree is too big!" exclaimed Sango with a narrowed look.

"Then we don't put it in the hut. We'll stick it somewhere outside of the hut. Trees should be outside anyway," explained Inuyasha.

Sango let out a sigh at Inuyasha's logic, but really couldn't fault him for it. Keeping the tree outside might be the best option. She only hoped Kagome would understand.

-:-

"Where are they?" questioned Kagome as she looked at the door with a worried look.

"I'm sure they're okay, Kagome-sama. They do have to go quite deep into the woods where the pine trees grow," said Miroku, trying to reassure her.

"It just feels like they've been gone for a few hours now."

"Maybe they started arguing at some point," said Shippou, adding his two cents. "You know how Inuyasha can be at times."

"…That's one possibility," replied Miroku with a sweatdrop. "But I'm very sure nothing of the sort has happened!"

Kagome still wasn't convinced. She was about to head out to find them when the familiar gruff voice she has come to know sounded out.

"Oi! We got your damn tree!" growled Inuyasha as he stepped through the threshold and glared at Kagome. "It's standing outside if you want it!"

"Inuyasha…" said Sango in a warning tone as she also stepped inside and stood next to Inuyasha. "Didn't we already talk about this?"

"Why didn't you bring it inside?" questioned Kagome as she looked at Inuyasha.

Sango was the one to answer. "Gomen, Kagome, but the smallest tree we could find is too big for the hut. Inuyasha thought it would be a better idea to set it up next to the hut instead."

"…If that's the case, I guess it can't be helped," replied Kagome with a sigh after some thought. She then smiled and turned to Shippou. "Shippou-chan, would you like to help me decorate the tree?"

She grew confused when Shippou didn't answer and when she opened her eyes to look him she was surprised to see him glaring hatefully at Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! What do you think you're doing?!" demanded the little fox demon.

Inuyasha glared right back at him. "What the hell are you talking about, you little brat?"

"You're standing under the mistletoe with Sango! You should be standing under it with Kagome!"

Inuyasha and Sango looked confused while Kagome tensed up and went bright red. Miroku all the while stayed back and held off a humorous grin.

"Mistletoe?" questioned Sango, looking up at the sprig hanging above her and Inuyasha.

"What the hell is this?" questioned Inuyasha looking at the plant with a narrowed look.

"Nothing!" exclaimed Kagome with a nervous laugh. "Just a Christmas decoration with no meaning!"

Oh how Kagome wished she had paid better attention to what Shippou was doing. With the fact that the child was upset that Inuyasha wasn't standing under the mistletoe with her, she knew what Shippou was trying to do and bless his little heart for it. She'd be lying if she said she didn't want to stand under the mistletoe with Inuyasha, but there was no way she could do it now! She just hoped she could keep Inuyasha and Sango from kissing each other.

Fortunately and unfortunately for her though, Shippou decided to explain his plan.

"Kagome said when two people stand under the mistletoe that they're supposed to kiss and you were supposed to stand under it with Kagome, Inuyasha!"

Upon hearing this, both Inuyasha and Sango tensed up and became bright red. The idea of kissing each other sent different thoughts through their head. With Sango, her heart was going a mile a minute at the thought of kissing Inuyasha. She had always imagined what it would be like to be with Inuyasha and has even admitted to herself that she loved him, but always kept it a secret considering Kagome's own feelings and the threat of Naraku looming about. To kiss him now, in front of everyone, someone was bound to get hurt.

Inuyasha on the other hand…

"There is no damn way I'm kissing anyone!" exclaimed the red-faced hanyou.

If she were any other girl, Sango would have been offended by Inuyasha's words. She knew Inuyasha well enough that he was greatly uncomfortable with public displays of affection.

"You should be kissing Kagome!" exclaimed Shippou as he continued to glare up at Inuyasha.

"Like hell!" yelled Inuyasha as he punted Shippou across the room.

Not giving anyone a chance to say anything else, Inuyasha stormed out of the hut and back into the forest.

"That could have gone better," stated Miroku with a sigh. This of course earned him glares from the girls.

Sango then turned around and headed out. "I'm going to go find Inuyasha?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked the monk, raising an eyebrow in question.

"…Considering I know exactly how he feels at the moment…" started Sango as she cast a glare towards the mistletoe. "…I feel I can talk to him more easily than anyone else right now."

Kagome wasn't so sure about that. If anything, the futuristic miko was the one who wanted to talk to Inuyasha right now, but that might be impossible right now. Maybe Sango had a point.

"Good luck, Sango-chan," said Kagome with a smile.

Sango returned the smile. "Arigatou, Kagome."

With renewed confidence, Sango went out to search for her favorite hanyou. Once she was gone and out of earshot though, Kagome finally realized something.

"Wait, was she wearing Inuyasha's coat?!"

-:-

Snow crunched under Sango's feet as she made her way through the forest towards where Inuyasha was. It wasn't hard to figure out where he was since the hanyou was a creature of habit.

"Inuyasha," called out Sango as she stood before the tree he had been pinned to for the last fifty years. "I know you're up there. I want to talk to you."

"Go away, Sango."

The taijiya merely rolled her eyes. "Inuyasha, you're not the only one who was put on the spot, remember? I was just as embarrassed as you were."

Before Inuyasha could reply, Sango started to climb the tree, much to his surprise. It didn't take long for the girl to reach the branch Inuyasha was and sit next to him.

"Wh-What the hell Sango?!"

"Like I said, I want to talk about this."

"Keh, there's nothing to talk about!"

"But there is, Inuyasha. I know how you feel after that incident and I want you to know that you're not alone. Remember the gift I gave you on Valentine's Day? I'll always be there for you, Inuyasha, and will never turn my back on you," replied Sango, as she reached out to hold one of Inuyasha's hands in her own. Despite the cold weather, his hand was quite warm she noticed.

Inuyasha blushed slightly as he glanced at their hands. He noticed though that her hand was quite cold thanks to the weather. "Damn you humans are so weak when it comes to the cold."

Sango was about to snap at him for changing the subject, but blushed when he wrapped his hands around her smaller ones to keep them warm. Trying to stay focused though; she got back to the conversation she started.

"I-Inuyasha! Don't change the subject! We're going to talk about what happened!"

The hanyou looked at her with a frown. "What is there to talk about?"

Sango let out a groan at the stubborn hanyou. "Inuyasha, I know that you don't like public displays of affection and the fact that you had to kiss me, or even Kagome for that matter, in front of everyone, I can understand why you'd be upset."

"Keh, you're damn right I'm upset! If I'm going to kiss anyone, it'll be on my terms and not because of some stupid plant!" growled out Inuyasha.

The girl couldn't help but smile at Inuyasha's conviction. "I could say the same thing. I'd rather kiss someone because I want to, not because I was forced to."

"What? Am I not good enough for you?" questioned Inuyasha, giving her a narrowed look.

"N-Nani? N-No! Th-That's not it at all, I-Inuyasha! I w-was just saying…" stammered Sango, trying to explain herself. When she noticed the smirk on Inuyasha's face though, she realized he was teasing her. "Inuyasha!"

"Heh, couldn't help myself," replied Inuyasha. His smirk then turned into a frown. "Seriously though, what were your thoughts when you thought you had to kiss me?"

Sango's nervousness came back full force. She didn't want to lie to Inuyasha, but she didn't want to speak the truth either. Looking into Inuyasha's amber-colored eyes though, she didn't have the heart to lie to him about this. She only hoped that it wouldn't harm their friendship or their group in the end.

"W-Well, if you must know Inuyasha, I honestly wouldn't have minded if we kissed."

Inuyasha had a blank look on his face. "…Wait, what?"

"I know this is sudden, Inuyasha, and I was hoping to tell you much later considering everything we're dealing with, but I l-love you. I have for a long time now. Despite your brash personality, you've shown me care even after everything I've done to you in the past and over time my feelings for you grew from friendship to love."

"B-But what about Miroku?!" questioned Inuyasha as he looked at her with wide-eyes.

Sango frowned at the mention of the monk's name. "I care for Hoshi-sama and I always will, but not in the same way I do you, Inuyasha. Plus, what kind of life would I have with someone who is constantly asking strange women to bare his children?"

"S-Sango…"

"Inuyasha, I know this must be a lot to take in and I will understand if you don't feel the same way, considering your feelings for K-Kagome," said Sango, choking up slightly at mentioning her friend's name. She just knew Kagome was going to be hurt by this. "But I still felt it was best to tell you my own feelings."

"Oi! D-Don't go making assumptions about me and Kagome!"

"But don't you love her like you do Kikyo?"

Inuyasha let out a growl. "Kagome reminds me too much of Kikyo and it wouldn't be fair to her if all I ever see in her was Kikyo."

"…But you still love Kikyo."

"Of course I do! I'll always care about Kikyo since she was the first person after my mother to accept me for what I am!" declared Inuyasha with much heat in his voice. He soon cooled down with a hint of sorrow in his eyes. "But she's a part of my past and with her being dead, whatever could have happened between us can never be. I've accepted that. The only reason I keep going off to see Kikyo now when she's near is to make sure she's okay. Like I said, I'll always care about Kikyo and that'll never change."

Sango felt a tiny bit of hope build up in her heart since this meant she had a chance. Granted, she was saddened that Inuyasha and Kikyo couldn't find happiness with each other, but she hoped that she could fill the hole in his heart.

She took her hands out of his and reached up to cup his face. "And how do you feel about me, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha could feel his face heat up as he looked at Sango. "…You're different, Sango. You don't take crap from anyone and you're possibly the strongest human I know."

A smile appeared on Sango's face. She was happy that Inuyasha thought so highly of her, but there was still something she needed to know. "You're avoiding the question, Inuyasha. How do you feel about me as a woman?"

More heat made its way to the hanyou's face at the question. "…Do I have to answer that?"

"It's just you and me, Inuyasha," replied Sango with a giggle. She found his nervousness adorable. "You can tell me the truth."

"The truth, huh?" questioned Inuyasha. He let out a sigh before looking Sango right in the eye. "Sango, you might not see yourself as such at times, but you're a very beautiful woman and any man would be stupid not to see that."

It was Sango's turn once again to blush brightly. She wasn't used to someone calling her beautiful. "D-Does this mean you feel the same way I do, Inuyasha-kun?"

Inuyasha looked away from her. "I…I don't know, Sango. I wasn't lying when I said you're beautiful, but I never even considered you as a possibility considering I thought you and Miroku…you know."

"But now that you know I don't feel that way for Miroku?"

"…Kagome is not going to like this."

Sango frowned in sadness at the reminder of her friend. She leaned into Inuyasha, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. "I know, Inuyasha-kun, and I really don't want to hurt her, but if she's truly our friend she'll understand. She might be hurt at first, but she'll be happy for us eventually…right?"

"…I hope so, Sango," replied Inuyasha. It was then that he noticed that it started to snow. "We should probably start heading back."

"Not yet. I want to spend a little more time with you alone," said Sango as she snuggled closer to her hanyou and watched the snowfall. It was then that she had an idea. "Inuyasha-kun?"

"Hm?" hummed Inuyasha, turning to look at Sango. He was surprised when she reached up and kissed him on the lips. When she broke the kiss, he was as red as his outfit. "S-Sango!"

She let out a few giggles. "Something wrong, Inuyasha-kun? Would you rather have kissed under the mistletoe?"

"It doesn't matter where we kiss! Just give me a little warning next time," muttered Inuyasha, still looking flustered.

More giggles came from the girl as she leaned back into Inuyasha and snuggled closer once again. "Merry Christmas, Inuyasha-kun.

"…Merry Christmas, Sango.

FIN

-:-

I'm diving back into some InuSan for a Christmas contest being held being by the InuSan-Fan-Group on DeviantART. Even made some references to my previous InuSan One-shot "Sango's Gift", so I guess this could be considered a sequel of sorts.