The Spirit of the Season by jgem

The Spirit of the Season

The Spirit of the Season

By jgem

A/N: Written for Mai_Sensei for the 2010 Dokuga Exchange. The selected prompt was “Sesshoumaru decides to get into the Christmas spirit after meeting his new secretary”. Hope you enjoy this, Mai.

As always, this author does not own the rights to the story Inuyasha or any of its characters. Can I say that it’s on my wish list though? I also do not own Kubota sake or Kate Spade. They’re on my wish list too. I also do not own Blackberry.

***

     The minute he stepped off the elevator, Sesshoumaru was greeted by the obnoxious refrain of what his American co-workers called Christmas carols. Though he had been in the US for several years, he had never developed a fondness for this blatant excuse for commercialism that called itself a holiday. Everything about it seemed to rub itself the wrong way in Sesshoumaru’s mind.

     He had known about this ‘Christmas’ that many Americans celebrated before he had left his home country of Japan to take charge of the US branch of Mega Electronics. However, the water-downed version that was celebrated in Japan did not compare to the full-scale version the Americans offered.

     Sesshoumaru still found himself surprised by how extreme some people took to ‘decking the halls’ and their homes. Last year, one overly zealous employee proudly announced that he used some ungodly number of light strings that he synchronized to carols that were broadcast over a radio frequency. People apparently drove by this man’s house for the whole month of December to sit and enjoy the free light show. Sesshoumaru found it difficult to believe that someone would spend that much time putting up all those lights, not to mention the electric bill for the month.

     Most of the other Japanese workers that were brought over had embraced aspects of the season, especially hanging the lights on the house and the gift exchange. Sesshoumaru remained committed to his original stance of eschewing the holiday and only attended the office “Christmas Party” for the minimum minutes needed to maintain his image. There were several attempts made to get him into the ‘spirit of things’ but after the first few years, people left him alone.

     That is, until the year that Higurashi came into his life.

     Kagome Higurashi was his secretary, or administrative assistant, as she preferred to be called. She was not just his secretary, though. He actually shared her with Peter Lawson, the useless grandson of the original owner of the company that had been bought out by Mega Electronics. Lawson was part of the deal that had been agreed to by both parties. Sesshoumaru thought that Mega lost out on that particular arrangement.

     Lawson was the typical stereotype of the partying offspring who was forced to take interest in the company if he should wish to continue earning money. He was self-centered, but his good looks, fortune, and easy-going manner made him a favorite with the women. Sesshoumaru disliked the man, viewing him as quite lazy when it came to any actual work being done.

     Higurashi came to be in Mega Electronics’ employment when both Lawson and Sesshoumaru found themselves without their original assistants. Sesshoumaru’s secretary had grown homesick for Japan, while Lawson’s had decided to retire. Thinking that this might be a way to save some money, Sesshoumaru had suggested they find a bilingual replacement to take the place of the other two, for even if they paid the replacement slightly more, it would still be cheaper than two employees.  Sesshoumaru also hoped a bilingual assistant would lessen the need for him to spend hours of his time translating the less important documents that his original secretary lacked the skills for.

      Though he wanted to be in charge of the hiring, Lawson had managed to maneuver Sesshoumaru into a position where finding a replacement was out of Sesshoumaru’s hands. He had been certain that Lawson would hire someone without the necessary skills needed for the job but with plenty of “looks,” which would end with Lawson having an affair or a harassment lawsuit to settle.  Surprisingly, Lawson had for once made a good choice in selecting Higurashi for the job.

       Raised in Japan until high school, Higurashi had finished her schooling in the US when her family relocated. As a result, she was fluent in both Japanese and English and her accent was negligible compared to the heavier accent of her Japanese colleagues, Sesshoumaru included. Her vivacious, people-pleasing personality made her a favorite with the American employees, yet she understood the workings of the traditional Japanese office hierarchy, allowing her to transition between the two distinct groups with an ease that even Sesshoumaru admired, if only to himself.

     The only fault he could find in Higurashi was one that did not show up until the holiday season started. Had he known, he might have found a way to release her from Mega Electronics employment during the probationary period. Sesshoumaru discovered that Higurashi was unfortunately obsessed with the Christmas holiday.

***

     Much to Sesshoumaru’s dismay, the carols that he had heard upon exiting the elevator were coming from the area of the building where his office was located. He hoped that it was only due to some strange acoustic effect, but as he made his way closer to his office and the space occupied by Higurashi’s work area, there was little doubt that the carols were coming from a small CD player on her desk.

     The dark-haired assistant looked up just as she saw his arrival. Smiling brightly, she stood up from her task, gave a small bow and greeted him in Japanese. “Good morning, Fujisawa-san!”

     Sesshoumaru stopped at her desk, his face showing obvious signs of disproval. “Higurashi, why are you playing this music when it is still four weeks away?” he asked, getting straight to the heart of the matter. It was a trait that was very different than used by most Japanese workers but one that Sesshoumaru felt was best to take when dealing with his American co-workers. Unfortunately, along the way Sesshoumaru forgot that it should be tempered with tact.

     Higurashi smiled. “I can’t help it. I really like the Christmas season and listening to the carols helps get me in the mood. If the music is bothersome, I will turn it down.”

     “Off would be better,” he replied curtly. “Did the latest purchase order get updated into the system?” he asked as he made his way to his office.

     Higurashi followed him, notepad in hand to make a list of the tasks she would need to finish for him. “Matsui-san verified that it had been, however there were some issues and he asks if he could come by discuss them with you.”

     “Fine. Schedule him for the afternoon. Has Lawson returned from his trip?”

     “Yes,” she replied though the answer was drawn out in a hesitant manner.

     Sesshoumaru glanced up from the laptop that he had been logging onto. Eyebrow raised, he commented, “It is clear by your tone that there is more to that answer.”

     “He is not coming in until tomorrow,” she answered disliking Lawson for putting her in the position of having to deal with Sesshoumaru’s ire yet again.

     “What is it this time?” Sesshoumaru asked, sarcasm heavy in his tone. “Another ‘friend’ that needs to be shown around?”

     “Something like that. He also mentioned something about lunch with his mom.”

     Sesshoumaru shook his head in disbelief, but refrained from making any comments, much to his assistant’s relief. “Has the home office confirmed the dates for their visit?”

     “Yes. They are set to come out when we reopen after the holidays. I’ve set up the hotel reservations and am working on the itinerary right now.”

      “Be sure that I give the final approval before you send it to the home office.”

     “Of course,” Higurashi replied.

     “Anything else?” Higurashi shook her head. “Well, then, what are you waiting for? There is work to do.” He turned his attention back to his computer, missing the slight look of irritation on Higurashi’s face from his rude dismissal. “Close the door behind you on the way out.”

     Kagome left the office, resisting the urge to slam the door shut. If it weren’t for the excellent pay and benefits, Kagome would have quit not long after being hired. While her two bosses were some great eye candy, their personalities left a lot to be desired from. One was a playboy and the other was just too uptight and brusque to the point of being rude. “Too bad there isn’t a way to get them both out of the office at the same time,” she thought to herself.

     Sesshoumaru soon discovered that when Higurashi said that she loved the Christmas season, she was not exaggerating. The following day, he came in to find that not only were the Christmas carols playing again, but that Kagome had also decorated her workspace in true Christmas spirit. However, it seemed that Kagome preferred the bright, loud colors instead of the more conservative gold and red that Mega Electronics favored and the only colors that Sesshoumaru tolerated.

     A silver tinseled garland hung along the edges of her office furniture with multi-colored lights and candy canes to complete it. Hanging off the corner of her desk was a green felt stocking featuring Santa and his reindeer while behind her, sitting on the corner of the extra table she used, sat the gaudiest tree that Sesshoumaru had ever had the displeasure of seeing.

     “What is that atrocity?” he could not help but ask when he spotted the 3-foot pink, plastic monstrosity that was covered in multi-colored lights, glass ornaments, and tinsel.

     Kagome looked up from the document she was typing to look at what he was referring to. “Um, are you talking about my Christmas tree?”

     Sesshoumaru glared at the tree, willing it to melt away with the ferocity of his stare. “Higurashi, trees are supposed to be green,” he stated.

     “I know. But I, uh, like pink and, um, I like Christmas so um, this combines two of my favorite things,” she told him, then added in a rush, “Mr. Lawson assured me that it would be alright to decorate my workspace, but if it is unsuitable, I can remove it.” She looked sadly at her “atrocious” tree that she had been so thrilled to find last week.

     “Do so,” Sesshoumaru commanded. “And while Lawson is correct that you can personalize your work area, it should be done in a more,” he paused trying to find the right word, “tasteful and appropriate manner.”

     “Yes, sir,” she replied meekly. She stood up to start removing the garland from her furniture edges.

     “When you are done with that, I need you to find Mr. Sanchez. Tell him to bring his latest reports on the problem with the manufacturing specs for the newest electronic components with him. And turn down that music.” He moved towards his office when suddenly Kagome dashed out from behind her desk towards him.

     “Fujisawa-san, wait!” she cried out, but he had already opened his door to step into an office with it’s own pink, plastic tabletop tree. Seeing the shocked look on his face, she could only look at him apologetically and tell him, “The trees were buy one get one free and Mr. Lawson already had one.”

     Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. In the background, he could hear the refrains to ‘Deck the Halls’ start up.

     Seeing her boss tense up, Kagome wisely said, “I’ll, uh, remove the tree and leave you alone.”

     “Please do.” Sesshoumaru hoped that this would be the end of the matter but a gut feeling told him that this was only the beginning of dealing with his quirky assistant.

     Higurashi had replaced the brightly colored decorations for more subtle ones by the next day, though it seemed the number of approved decorations had increased. While Lawson was fine with the extra decorating she had done to his office, it took Kagome until the end of the week to realize that Sesshoumaru was serious about his office being off limits. It seemed, though, that Kagome could not endure anything being left undecorated, even herself.

     Sesshoumaru could only stare in amazement at the latest Christmas sweater that Kagome wore into his office the following week. “Where does this woman find this stuff?” he thought in amazement. “Are there really companies out there that made money off of selling such gaudy merchandise?” He found it harder to believe that people really bought the stuff.

     Today, Kagome wore a bright red sweater that sported a Christmas tree that, at least, was the right color. Tiny pom-pom balls decorated the sweater with a yellow felt star topping the tree. When pushed, the star happily belted out ‘Rocking Around the Christmas Tree’ in an annoying, high-pitched computerized whine.

     The last notes of the song were still playing when she walked into his office. He looked up at her, annoyed by the intrusion, and had to clamp down on the desire to strangle every person who had Higurashi demonstrate her sweater. “What is it Higurashi?” he practically growled.

     “I was wondering if you would like to sign-up for the Secret Santa exchange this . . . ,” she began excitedly.

     He cut her off immediately with a terse, “No.”

     She looked at him, unsure of what to say after being interrupted so quickly. “But, we have an uneven number of people. Would you reconsider?” She asked, smiling pleadingly at him.

     “Higurashi,” he began, “let me be clear. While you may have adopted this absurd holiday, I prefer to abstain from celebrating this blatant excuse for commercialism. I find it to be a waste of my time. However, I am not so much of a,” he paused trying to recall the term that Lawson had called him last year, “a ‘Scrooge’ as to interfere with others celebrating Christmas in the workplace. I allow these frivolities to happen because it makes the employees happy, which in turn makes the company successful. Please refrain from trying to force this onto me as I have no appreciation for your efforts.”

     Kagome nodded her head, her smile long gone. “I understand, Fujisawa-san. I just didn’t want anyone to be left out. Please forgive the intrusion.”  She closed the door quietly behind her.

     Glad that he finally gotten the message across to her, Sesshoumaru wondered how his normally clever assistant failed to understand that he did not do nor like Christmas. He was certain that Lawson and the other employees had warned her about his attitude towards the holiday.  He turned to his computer to finish his email only to hesitate as the image of the soft, brown eyes of Higurashi came to mind. They had reminded him of a puppy that had been reprimanded for bad behavior. Even the quite closing of the door had seemed sad.

     Perhaps he had been a bit harsh. “No matter,” he thought as he tried to return to the task at hand. “It is better to be clear upfront to avoid further problems.” Somehow, this thought did little to ease his small feelings of guilt at his treatment of his happy-go-lucky assistant.

     Later that day, Sesshoumaru stepped out of his office to drop off some minor paperwork for Higurashi to translate when he came upon his assistant attempting to hang some paper snowflakes from the ceiling around her work area. She was standing on top of a chair that did little to boost her higher.

     “Higurashi,” he started, intending to ask why she had to hang more decorations when she had plenty around the office already. 

     Startled by his sharp tone and sudden appearance, Higurashi had jerked and become unbalanced. She tried to reach out to grab something, but the only purchase she found was in one of the paper snowflakes she had been attempting to hang. Both snowflake and assistant started to fall towards the ground.

     Sesshoumaru reacted the moment he saw her teetering on the chair and was able to break the fall of his assistant as she fell back into him. The papers in his hand fell to the ground as he let go of them to catch the woman.

     “Ooof!” Higurashi grunted upon impact.

     “Are you alright?” he asked as he held her steady against his chest. Irritation flared when he realized that he had managed to hit the felt star on her sweater, causing the annoying music to start up.

     She checked herself over. “Yeah,” she replied. Then looking at him over her shoulder, she smiled and added, “Thanks for catching me.”

     Sesshoumaru stared down into her eyes, briefly noting that she had a gentle, pleasing scent about her. Any further thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly pulled away from him but not before he noticed the blush on her face, which he dismissed as embarrassment. “It is fortunate that I was close by to assist you. You should have called maintenance for a ladder to attempt such a task,” he scolded her.

     Higurashi’s blush deepened. “I know. I just didn’t want to bother them and I was doing ok,” a brief wave of a hand indicated the few snowflakes that had already been hung, “until you startled me.”

     Sesshoumaru was about to argue that he was not the cause, but upon reflection he realized that he had snuck up behind the girl. “Perhaps it is my fault for this incident, but that is not to say it might not have happened either. Safety first, Higurashi.”

     “Of course,” she agreed. “Thank you, again, for catching me.”

     “Hn,” Sesshoumaru answered. “However, in order to do so, I had to let go of the paperwork that I was bringing to you.” He pointed to the piles of paper now spread out all over the floor.

     “Well,” Kagome said with a bright smile, “at least I know I’m more important than the paperwork.” Sesshoumaru did not return the smile but he was relieved that his assistant did not seem bothered by his earlier words to her, as shown by the return of her smile and helpful attitude. He stooped to start collecting the scattered pieces.

     “Let me, Fujisawa-san.” She grabbed the paper out of his hands, “After all, it’s the least I can do as I am the cause of this mishap.”

     Sesshoumaru stood and nodded. “I was bringing them to you to translate and prepare for tomorrow’s meeting.”

     “Ok!”

     Having nothing more to say, Sesshoumaru returned to his office noticing that her gentle scent still clung to his shirt and finding himself strangely pleased by it.

***

     The following days brought even more of the Christmas spirit into the office. Higurashi was no longer the only one playing carols or wearing outlandish holiday wear. Sesshoumaru kept reminding himself that he only needed to get through the next week and a half then the company would be closed for the few days around Christmas. He would then have a whole year—well, maybe less with Higurashi as his assistant—before having to deal with the holiday again. Meanwhile, he could be thankful that he had his own office with a fully functioning door that could shut out the insanity that was building up in the office.

     That is, until he came to work and discovered that the heater for his office was not shutting off, creating an instant sauna for him. He tried to work through it, having removed his coat and tie and rolled up his sleeves in an effort to remain cool. Finally, he opened his office door and brought a fan in but that only sent all the paperwork around his office fluttering in different directions. He could have used Lawson’s office, except that the man actually decided to show up for work that day, leaving Sesshoumaru with no other choice but to take up residence at the spare desk in Higurashi’s work area. At least the pink tree was no longer there to share it with him.

      He had installed himself in a little nook created by the table and Higurashi’s filing cabinets, giving him the feeling of some privacy. Kagome had been surprised when he came out and set up shop in her area, but upon spying his sweaty face figured that the heat in his office had gotten unbearable. She had been trying all morning to get the maintenance men to fix the problem but now it all came down to “waiting for a part”. She did find it awkward to have her boss in such close proximity, but Sesshoumaru was rather unobtrusive and she soon forgot his presence as the day grew busier.

      Though he was vexed with the situation, Sesshoumaru found he could not remain so. Being tucked away as he was, the many people that stopped by did not see him and had afforded him an interesting view into the daily work life of his assistant. Not only did she seem to be taking care of the work that he and Lawson constantly assigned her, but it seemed that she fielded a lot of the small, stupid, irritating things certain employees felt needed to be handled by the higher ups. His previous assistant had been incapable of making decisions as to the priority of those requests, so Sesshoumaru’s workload had been a lot busier then.

     Sesshoumaru had thought that the decline in the little stuff was simply due to the fact that the employees had finally gotten used to the new owners and policies since the take-over. A new appreciation for his hard working assistant started to develop as well as some delayed sense of guilt for being so harsh with her at times. She took her job seriously and was quite good at what she did.

     Shortly after noon, Higurashi informed him that it was time for him to depart for his lunch meeting with some longtime clients. She went to his office to get his coat while he packed up his work for the day. He was surprised at how much he was able to get done, even though the area around Higurashi’s desk had so much going on around it.

     Returning with his coat in hand, she told him, “I will be sure to get your heater fixed by tomorrow.” Sesshoumaru nodded his head in thanks. “Also, Mr. Belks’ assistant just sent me an email to let you know that he will need to leave by three so that he can make it to his daughter’s holiday show at school.”

     “If that was the case, why did he not reschedule?”

     “Well, you’re a busy man, Fujisawa-san. It is easier to hold a shorter meeting than reschedule for another day,” she answered thoughtfully.

      “Hn.” Sesshoumaru was more inclined to think that Belks was using his daughter’s show as an excuse so that he could get a free lunch but leave before talks for updating and extending the contracts for electrical components could be discussed. Putting on his coat, he noticed his scarf was missing. “Higurashi, have you seen my scarf?”

     “Let me run back and see if it was dropped,” she trotted back to his office only to return a few minutes later with an apologetic look on her face. The scarf was wadded up in her hands.

     Immediately Sesshoumaru scolded her. “Higurashi, you are wrinkling my scarf.”

     “I am sorry, Fujisawa-san, but it was like this when I found it.” She hesitated before holding it out to him. “I think the maintenance men must have knocked it off the hook. It has gotten oil on it as well.”

     Sesshoumaru took the scarf to look at the damage and was not pleased at all. The dark oil would never come out of the wool scarf and while replacing it was not a financial problem, it annoyed him that the maintenance workers had not taken any care to make sure nothing was damaged while they worked on the heater. “I want to know who the workers were. This is unacceptable.”

     “Yes, Fujisawa-san,” she replied making a note of it on her to do list.

     He gave one last look of disgust at the scarf before throwing it away in the garbage can. 

***

     The week of the office party drew near. Higurashi had been constantly chatting about it to Sesshoumaru, much to his displeasure. Parties of any kind were bothersome, as he disliked large gatherings and the forced mingling that went with it. The fact that this was also a Christmasy sort of gathering only made it more unbearable for him.

     “Are you bringing anyone, Fujisawa-san?” she finally asked him at one point, while waiting for him to sign some documents.

     “I fail to see how this relates to the work at hand nor should it be a concern of yours,” he replied, not looking up from he papers he was signing.

     “I’m not inquiring for office gossip. I just didn't want to be the only one going without someone.”

     Sesshoumaru looked up at his assistant, rather surprised that she was going to the party alone. He had assumed that someone as friendly and popular as she would have had several eager dates to take her, even if it was only on friendly terms. It wasn’t as if his assistant was not pleasing to look at or be with. “Hmmm, now where did that thought come from?” he asked himself.

     Higurashi started to blush from his sudden interest in her person. “Um, Fujisawa-san?” she waved her hand in front of his face to gain his attention.

     He blinked at her a few times and then realized that he had been staring at her while he had been thinking. Frowning, he asked, “Higurashi, do you not have some assignments to finish up? I can assign plenty more to you.” She immediately got the message and made a beeline for the door, but before she left he told her, “By the way Higurashi, you won’t be the only one.” Though why he brought that up, he could not say, but her answering smile was enough.

     The next day, Lawson came barging into his office. “Hey, Say-show!”

     Sesshoumaru grimaced internally. Lawson had never bothered learning to pronounce his full name correctly and then had insisted on giving him that ridiculous nickname. Lawson was certainly not the best representation of the American people as a whole and Sesshoumaru found it trying to be in the man’s presence for too long. The man was loud, too talkative, and overly friendly. The sort of man that thought everyone loved him. It didn’t help that the man was considered good looking and had money, so women and men were willing to hang out with him and reinforce this belief.

     Trying to maintain a neutral tone and expression, Sesshoumaru replied, “Peter, I did not realize you were working today.”

     Lawson knew the words for what they were, a commentary on his lax work habits. He brushed them off in his typical manner, “Yeah, well you know. Gotta be sure that this company keeps turning that profit for the home company in Toe-key-yo.”

     Sesshoumaru crushed the impulse to strangle the man and his bad Japanese pronunciation. Actually, what he wished was that he had some sort of magical whip thingy that could fly out of his fingertips to dispense of idiots like Lawson. However, since those things only existed in the realm of fantasy, he could only reply, “The headquarters has been most pleased by our production outputs.”

     “That’s good,” Lawson commented, though the tone indicated he could care less what went on in the company so long as he got his salary. By this point the man had taken a seat. It irritated Sesshoumaru that Lawson had such little respect of his time to not even inquire if Sesshoumaru was in the middle of something important. Like reviewing the report of this week’s production outputs.

     Deciding to get straight to the point, Sesshoumaru closed the top of his laptop and asked, “You don’t usually stop by my office unless you need something, so what is it.”

     “You know, Say-show, I have to admit that the one thing I like about you compared to the others from the home office is that you get right to the point. Not the way most of you do business, but then again not all American companies do that either,” here Lawson laughed. “Can’t say I always do.”

     Taking a look at Sesshoumaru, Lawson could see that the man wanted him to say what needed to be said. Lawson didn’t like Sesshoumaru per se. He thought the Japanese executive a little to stiff and formal but the man knew how to run a business, earning a respectable profit for the company while keeping the majority of the employees happy. Lawson was a bit angry when his dad sold the company to the Japanese, but his old man still made sure that his son was taken care of. Lawson still got the money, but he didn’t have to work quite as hard as he would have if he had to run the company. For that, he could work with the uptight, arrogant Japanese man.

     “Relax, Say-show,” he said, though he would guess that such a task was impossible for someone like Sesshoumaru. “I’ll be out of here quickly and just to let you know, I’m not here for something for me.” He saw the eyebrow go up in disbelief. “I don’t know if you realize this, considering your Scrooge-like beliefs concerning the Christmas season, but since it is Kah-go-meh’s first year with us, we need to pick out a gift for her.”

     Sesshoumaru first impulse was to say “huh”.  Instead he just sat there looking at Lawson wondering why he needed to get a gift for Higurashi.

     Lawson looked at Sesshoumaru in confusion as well. “Did you know that we gave gifts to our assistants for Christmas?”

    “I was unaware that we did such a thing,” Sesshoumaru responded, completely surprised by that bit of news and hating that he had to admit such a thing to Lawson.

     “Yes, we do. Turns out my mother had been in charge of purchasing gifts for the assistants over the years. She wanted to stop when the company was sold to Mega, but since she had known my old assistant for so long, she kept it up and even took care of yours as well. Now that they are both gone, she has decided it really is no longer her responsibility and has just informed me of this. We have 2 days to get a gift for Kah-go-meh.”

      “I don’t see why we need to bother. Higurashi does not know that we gave gifts to the previous assistants.”

     Lawson was shocked by this reply. “That’s not right. She may not know but she deserves something. She’s a great assistant. Puts up with a lot of our baggage. Plus, it turns out that she didn’t participate in the Secret Santa exchange because there was an uneven amount of people. You know how much she loves the whole Christmas thing, right?” Sesshoumaru nodded. “It must be hard on someone like her to not be able to participate in something like that. It’s so her. Not to mention, you know she will get us something for Christmas. It is something she would do. You can’t go and be all Scroogy with her.”

     Sesshoumaru didn’t to respond to Lawson as he was recalling the way Higurashi had answered people’s inquiries as to what her Secret Santa had given her. She had sounded like someone who was sad to be missing out on something that was so obviously fun. Had she not mentioned something about an uneven amount of people when she tried to sign him up?

     Still, Sesshoumaru was not the least bit interested in participating in a gift exchange. While he could not stop the Christmas cards or small gifts that still made their way to him, he was under no obligation to return the favor. Higurashi had been told how he felt about this holiday and with this in mind he finally replied, “You may purchase something for her if you so desire, but Higurashi is aware of my feelings concerning the holidays. She will not be expecting anything from me.”

     Lawson shook his head in disbelief at the man in front of him. “And people accuse me of being self-centered,” he muttered as he got up to leave the office. Just before he left, he turned to look at Sesshoumaru. “Just be nice and thank her when she gives you something, like I know she will. She’s a real decent person.”

     Sesshoumaru could only wonder when Lawson found the time to get to know Higurashi so well and that she could earn his respect. An irrational feeling of jealousy at their perceived closeness arose within him before he quashed it.

***

     In two days time, it was Christmas Eve and the day of the office party.  Making his way to his office, he was greeted by squeals of pleasure emanating from Higurashi’s work area. There he found Higurashi hugging Lawson and thanking him for the gift he had given her.

     Spotting Sesshoumaru, Lawson loudly called out, “Merry Christmas, Say-show! Come see what our wonderful assistant has given me.” Lawson held up a large brown bottle for him to inspect.

     After reading the label, he raised a brow at his assistant and said, “Kubota sake? That is quite a gift for an assistant to be giving.”  Kubota was considered one of the better sakes on the market and rather on the expensive side. He wondered if Lawson knew how much the bottle Higurashi had given him cost and why Higurashi would spend so much on a man who could afford something like the sake much easier than she could.

     Lawson laughed. “Kagome knew that I wanted to try some sake not normally served at most bars. It’s a great gift!” Lawson planted a kiss on Higurashi’s cheek. “Thank you, my dear.” Kagome blushed prettily while Sesshoumaru scowled at Lawson’s display.

     “Thank you for your gift to me as well,” Kagome said. Sesshoumaru noticed that her desk was piled high with presents in bags, boxes, and tin cans.

     “It’s not easy for a guy like me to find a gift for such a great assistant.” Lawson leaned in closer to Higurashi and lowered his voice as if he was sharing a secret. “To be honest, my mother helped me pick it out.”

     Sesshoumaru was irritated that the mother who no longer wanted to buy gifts for the assistant didn’t mind helping to pick something out. By that point, the woman could have just bought the gift herself.

     Higurashi laughed. “Well, please be sure to tell your mother thank you as well and that she has wonderful taste. My friends will be jealous when they see that my boss gave me this Kate Spade bag.”

     He grew tired of hearing the two of them go on and left for his office to get some work done. As it was, today would only be a half-day for those employees who did not use their floating holiday to start their vacation earlier.

     Once in his office, Sesshoumaru sat down at his computer to check the emails from headquarters. He clicked to open the first one but found that he was unable to focus on its contents. The gift exchange that had just happened weighed heavily upon his mind. For some strange reason, his mind fixated upon the idea that Higurashi had picked out a gift for Lawson, yet she had not presented anything to him.

     In addition, he was quite disgruntled with the ease and familiarity with which Lawson acted towards Higurashi. The man had kissed her on the cheek! It was inappropriate and Lawson was lucky that Higurashi did not see the act as being anything more than Lawson being Lawson. Such an act could easily be construed as harassment. Just what Sesshoumaru didn’t need to deal with.

     Growling at his thoughts, he tried to rationalize his discontent as being stupid. Higurashi simply was respecting his wish to be left alone when it came to all the things associated with the holiday. He had made it clear to her. So why was it bothering him?

     He sat there trying to figure it out, when a knock came at his office door. Higurashi opened the door and peeked in.

     “What is it?” he asked coldly.

     Higurashi walked in, her hands behind her back. It was obvious that she was holding onto something and Sesshoumaru thought bitterly to himself,  “So now she brings me something.”

     “Fujisawa-san,” she began. “I know that you said that you didn’t believe in participating in gift exchanges but,” here she revealed a festive bag that she had behind her back, “I wanted to give you something.” She held it out to him, smiling shyly at him.

     Sesshoumaru glared angrily at the bag, hating that Lawson had been correct that Higurashi would give him something and that he had actually felt a bit pleased when she showed him the gift. He hated the Christmas season and yet here he was, happy to be getting a present (from her, his mind supplied). It was this mixture of confusion, jealousy, and anger that drove him to say what he did.

     “So, you think that you need to give me something so that I don’t feel left out? How charitable of you, Higurashi. Are you attempting to change the Scrooge of the office through your thoughtfulness?”

   Kagome was shocked at the venom in his words but before she could say anything in her defense, he continued on. “Or perhaps you were hoping to gain another expensive gift from your other boss? Do I need to give you a kiss on the other cheek in appreciation as well?”

     Sesshoumaru knew he had gone too far, but he had this urge to take his anger out on her. Higurashi’s face had gone pale and her eyes had filled with tears.  He had never once felt regret for his actions, yet this time he found that he wished he could take back all that he had just said.

     Just as quickly as the tears had come, Higurashi’s face darkened in anger. Sesshoumaru suddenly found the gift that she offered thrown forcefully in his face. It was his turn to be shocked by the words she said to him.

     “How dare you! You, you,” her anger caused her to stumble over her words. “You arrogant jerk!”

     “Do not talk to me in such a manner, Higurashi,” he commanded her.

     Higurashi’s brown eyes sparkled in her fury. “Do not talk to you in such a manner?” she repeated after him mockingly. “Yet, it’s ok for you to talk to me in such a humiliating and degrading manner? What you just said was not only hateful but unprofessional of you!”

     “Higurashi, I am warning you,” he growled only to be cut off when she stormed up to him and shook a finger in his face.

     “No! I am not through. I don’t know why or how you became such a hard person but I am through putting up with you. I love Christmas and I will not apologize to anyone for that. Yes! Christmas has become over commercialized. Yes, it has become tacky in many ways. But you,” here she jabbed her finger into his chest, “have closed your eyes to the beautiful things that Christmas also brings.”

     She stopped yelling and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing on. “I feel sorry for you Fujisawa-san.  You missed out on what Christmas really means. Is it because you yourself are that shallow?  Yes, I did get you a gift because I was trying to show you that I was thinking of you, because to me that is one of the reasons for this holiday. It is a time to start thinking of others, without you thinking that you are going to get something out of it. It is too bad that some people can’t do it all year long and it's even sadder when some people just can’t seem to do it at all.”

     She looked at him so sadly before turning to walk away from him. She was at the door to his office when he finally found his voice again.

     “Higurashi.” Sesshoumaru winced internally from the way his voice sounded so cold when he really wanted to sound apologetic.

     Kagome turned around to look at her boss. She could not deny that he was gorgeous to look at, but that was all there was to him. “I am sorry that I yelled at you,” she told him, her voice more calm and steady. “I think that I will not be returning to work when the company re-opens next year.”

     With that, she left a very stunned Sesshoumaru sitting at his desk wondering what just happened. The bag that she had thrown had fallen to the floor. He picked it up and looked inside. What he found inside left him feeling even more ashamed.

***

     Sesshoumaru was not able to get any work done. Higurashi’s words kept repeating in his mind, as well as his own actions. Disgruntled, he shut down his computer and left the office to go pick up his tuxedo for the party tonight.

     The shop was busy from all the last minute pick-ups that had come in. The clerk apologized and informed Sesshoumaru that he would be helped as soon as the customers before him were taken care of. Seeing as he needed the tux, he had no choice but to wait.

     He hunted down a quieter corner and attempted to take care of the emails he had been unable to work on earlier with his Blackberry. A young mother and her child sat nearby as they waited for the husband to finish paying for his tux rental. The mother was reading a story to the child called The Gift of the Magi.

     For some reason, he found he could not stop himself from listening to the story. He settled for trying to be discreet in his eavesdropping but towards the end of the story, Sesshoumaru snorted in disdain. “Foolish people,” he muttered, making it clear that he had been listening.

     The young woman overheard him and looked at him with a smile. “Yes, it would seem but you have not heard the end of the story yet.”

     “What more is there to hear? They each gave up something important to them just to give gifts that they could not afford. If they had not felt the compulsion to give a gift in the first place, they would not have sold off the very things that the additional gifts had been purchased for. It would have made more sense for them to use the money acquired from the sale of their ‘treasures’ and save it for where it was needed.”

     “Hm,” the young mother agreed. “That is true, yet not the point of the story. It’s about the true meaning of Christmas.”

     “It seems that everyone is saying that to me today,” he remarked bitterly as he recalled Higurashi’s words. “Perhaps you can enlighten me on what I seem to be missing.”

     “Well, I can only tell you how I see it,” the young mother replied. “You see, to me, it’s all about loving sacrifices made for the happiness of others. It’s also about the greatest gift that was ever given to man.” She continued to explain and Sesshoumaru continued to listen.

     When he left the tuxedo shop, Sesshoumaru realized that he had much more left to do that night.

***

      That night, at the office Christmas party, Sesshoumaru looked for an opportunity to get Higurashi by herself so that he could make his apologies to her. She was not making it easy. Though her large social circle had kept her moving and chatting constantly, it also became clear that she was avoiding him. He would move towards her location only to watch her start moving in the opposite direction. Exasperated, he finally resorted to actively herding her towards the corner of the room, where she could not escape.

     “Higurashi,” he said by way of greeting once he had where he could talk to her.

     “Ah, good evening Fujisawa-san,” she replied, her tone making it clear that she was only speaking to him so that the others around them would not know that she was angry with him. “It was good of you to make it to the party. I’m sure you have other things to take care of so that you can make your departure as planned.”

     She tried to walk away but Sesshoumaru took her by the arm to stop her. “Higurashi, I would like a moment of your time.”

     Higurashi turned to look at him. “Fujisawa-san, I don’t know what else there is to be said. You made yourself perfectly clear to me this afternoon. You needn’t worry about me. “

     “Higurashi,” he said and then added, “please.”  Higurashi looked at him for a few seconds before nodding her head and allowing him to guide her to a more private spot.

     Once there, Kagome turned towards her boss and waited for him to say what he needed to say. It was not easy for him, as he rarely felt remorse for his actions, let alone the need to apologize, but finally he spoke. “Higurashi, this afternoon, I said some things to you that,” he paused briefly, feeling guilty again for the pain he had caused her, “should never have been said. The words and the manner in which they were delivered were unacceptable. It was unprofessional of me as well as disrespectful towards you. Please accept my sincere apologies.”

     Higurashi said nothing for a minute. Her normally expressive brown eyes were unreadable. Sesshoumaru found that her silence was quite disturbing for it was so unlike her. He did not like that he may have been responsible for such a change and he felt a strong desire to make sure that at the least, Higurashi and he parted ways on better terms.

     With this in mind, he continued speaking.  “I hope one day you will forgive me. This company will miss your presence but in light of what has happened, I understand your desire to move on. I have crossed a line in our professional relationship by my actions, but I want you know that I will only offer the highest recommendations to any of your future employers. You are a model employee.”

     Here, Sesshoumaru reached into his pocket to give her the gift that he had chosen for her. Holding it out to her and silently willing her to take it, he continued on. “Please accept this token of my gratitude for all that you have done.”

      Higurashi looked at the gift warily. Finally, she spoke but her words were full of suspicion, “Is this my farewell gift from the company?”

     “No.”

     “No?” she repeated, her tone disbelieving.

     “This is from me. It was not chosen by anyone other than myself and it was picked specifically with you in mind.” He held the package closer to her.

     “You chose this for me?”

     Sesshoumaru fought the urge to tell her that he did not repeat himself and instead replied, “Yes, for you.”

     “For me?”

     This time, he sighed before replying, “Yes, for you.”

     “You picked this out for me.”

     “Yes, I picked this out for you.”

     “You picked this out?”

      He could no longer hide his irritation by this point, “Higurashi, I fail to understand what part I have not made clear. Yes, I picked this out for you. I did not have anyone else pick this out. I did not pick this out as your company farewell gift. This gift was chosen by myself to be your Christmas present.” He shoved the gift into her hand.

      Higurashi looked at the brightly wrapped gift that seemed to be covered in more tape than wrapping paper. “Did you wrap this yourself?” she asked, her tone rather amused.

      He nodded and then looked away in embarrassment. “I am not used to wrapping things. It was the best I could do under the circumstances.” He looked back at Higurashi only to find that she was rummaging through her purse, noting that it was not the bag that Lawson had given her earlier that day. “What are you doing Higurashi?”

     “I’m looking for my nail file. There’s so much tape on this that I need it to help cut through it.”  She had a small smile on her face as she said this.

     Trying to be casual about his inquiry, he commented, “I would have thought you would be using your new purse tonight.”

     “Huh?” Higurashi asked looking up at him in confusion.

     “The one Lawson gave you.”

     “Oh, that one,” she said with sniff of condescension. “I gave it to my mother. She’s always wanted a designer bag.”

     “I do not understand. Why would you give something away that was meant for you and something you seemed to clearly enjoy receiving.”

     “I don’t normally give away my gifts, but I made an exception for this one.”

      “I do not,”

      Higurashi interrupted him. “Would it help to know that Mr. Lawson’s mother did not help him pick it out and that he had purchased the exact same purse for his current girlfriend at the same time? Good thing mine was in its gift bag under my desk when she came in with hers. Imagine how she might have reacted if she saw mine? I get paid well, but not that well. It was a bad move on his part, but something to expect from him.”

     Sesshoumaru thought on that while she returned to the task of finding her nail file. Finally locating it, she was able to cut through the tape and paper to the box beneath. She opened the lid to find a gold toned Christmas wreath pin studded with chips of green and red colored stones. It was not an expensive gift; a common costume jewelry that one can even find in a drugstore.

     “Why?” she asked after looking at the gift for a few minute.

     Sesshoumaru looked at her, confusion clear in his golden eyes. “As I said before, I am sorry for the words that I said,”

     “No,” she interrupted him. “I understand the reason behind the apologies and I accept them. What I am trying to understand is why this gift.”

     Sesshoumaru reflected on his reasoning when he had picked it out the piece of jewelry. Looking at his assistant, he told her, “Perhaps the spirit of Christmas moved me to make the purchase.” He hoped she would let it go at that. It seemed to somehow work in the movies.

     Higurashi snorted in disbelief and continued to wait for his true reason.

     “Hn. While I still feel that the Christmas holiday is overly commercialized, I have also found that you are correct in that there is a great deal more to Christmas than I previously believed. It is unfortunate that many people choose to show good will towards their fellow men only at this time and not year round, but perhaps changing one person’s attitude a little at a time is still better than dismissing the season as a whole. You may view it as a symbol of my small change in accepting some of the positive aspects of Christmas. Besides, is it not the thought that counts?”

     Kagome looked at her boss, her heart gladdened by what he had just said. She had always thought he was a good man at heart and was glad that he was finally getting a glimpse of the message behind the season. “I accept your gift because it was chosen out of the kindness in your heart with only the thought to make the recipient happy.”

    Sesshoumaru frowned. “I am not a kind man.”

    Higurashi laughed and then much to his surprise, wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug. Releasing him, she looked at him and said, “I promise not to let others know.”

     She grabbed her gift from the box and pinned it onto her dress. “Shall we return to the party?”

     “No, I have stayed longer than I wished and only because it took me so long to get you alone to speak with you.”

     Higurashi looked at him thoughtfully. “I think that even if this weren’t a Christmas party, you wouldn’t stay longer than necessary. I think you and parties just don't mix.”

     “Perhaps,” he conceded, though she had discovered another truth about him. He had never found it easy to converse with others unless it involved business. That is why he clung to the formality of the Japanese business world and shunned the informal approach Americans tended to prefer. In order to be informal, one had to be able to socialize well and that was not within his abilities, though it was one that Higurashi had. “It is a trait that you seem to have an ease with. I find it admirable.”

     Kagome blushed at his compliment. Shyly, she replied, “There is much to admire about you as well, Fujisawa-san.”

     Her compliment of him was welcomed and helped him realize a truth about her. Coming to a decision he asked, “Higurashi, would you care to join me for a late supper?”

     Kagome smiled in appreciation of his invite. “I am a bit hungry. I was trying so hard to stay away from you that I did not get a chance to eat anything at the party.”

     He almost smiled as he recalled her efforts to avoid him. “I noticed. Where would you like to go?”

     “Do you have an aversion to American Diner food? There’s a great 24-hour place near-by.”

     Sesshoumaru sighed. “Where you will undoubtedly try to persuade me that the grease they use to cook their food is healthy for me in some way.”

    Kagome laughed. “No, it’s quite unhealthy but it’s fun to eat all the same.” She moved to leave with him when she suddenly remembered her coat was still down at the party.

     “It’s no matter. I have mine in the car. You may borrow it.”

     “How chivalrous of you,” she teased as they snuck out of the party and to the valet to get his car. When the vehicle arrived, he reached into the back seat to grab his coat and held it up for her to put on.

     “Oh!” Kagome gasped softly as she caught sight of the red scarf that was still tucked under the collar of the coat. “You opened it!”

     “It has been doing a fine job of keeping my neck warm,” he commented on her gift that she had tried to give him earlier. “I am fortunate that the giver did not give up hope on me.”

     She smiled at him and then removed the scarf from around the coat. Moving towards him, she wrapped it around his neck. Patting it once it was in place, she then looked up at him, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas, Fujisawa-san.”

     He reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear before he replied, “Merry Christmas...Kagome.”