Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to InuYasha; everything belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan and Viz Media.
"Kagome, did you remember the yakitori and hoshigaki?" Mrs. Higurashi looked at her daughter who stood in the kitchen; her overstuffed yellow backpack slung over her shoulder and two large boxes in her arms. "Yeah, I don't want to imagine InuYasha's face if I forgot it."
"Be careful "said the older woman as she brushed a strand of hair away from Kagome's face and kissed her forehead. " I know you want to share the holiday with them, so tell InuYasha I said hello won't you? And tell him that next year he's spending the holiday with us!"
"I'll be sure to tell him Mama "Kagome laughed resting her head on her mother's hand in a gesture of thanks before heading out of the house.
"Keh, I still say that extermination was a waste of time. It was just a stupid badger demon with a big mouth…no fight at all." The hanyou mumbled as he stuffed his hands in his sleeves and kicked at the ground, stubbing his toe. "Ow! Damnit!"
Miroku exchanged glances with the demon slayer at his side as she shook her head and eyed the kitsune youkai on her shoulder disapprovingly. "Please don't Shippo-chan; he's already in a bad mood." "When's he ever in a good one?" The latter grumbled and jumped off her shoulder to walk along side Kirara. The monk smiled and turned his focus back to the grumpy hanyou. "When Kagome-sama is here of course."
"This looks great!" Kagome looked around the large hut, a brilliant smile on her face. She just hoped all the hard work would be worth it and they would like it. "Do you think they'll like it Kaede-baba?" The old miko took in the sight of all the food laid out around the fire-pit, silently wondering if her sister would have been so generous. "I think they will enjoy it very much Kagome." The young girl suddenly stood up. "Oh I almost forgot!" Turning and grabbing her now significantly smaller backpack, Kagome reached to the bottom and pulled out two small cloth wrapped parcels handing them to Kaede. "It's the hoshigaki and genmaicha you like." The old woman frowned passing them back to Kagome. "That is kind but after you brought the rice from your time I cannot accept such a gift, you and InuYasha have done more than enough for the village." Kagome shook her head and pressed the parcels back into the woman's hand. "Rice is very easy to come by in my time and I know the total harvest was bad this year so holding Niiname-sai isn't possible but if you want to eat with us you can."
Kaede put her hand on Kagome's shoulder and smiled softly. "You are a most giving soul Kagome and I thank you for the offer but I will be eating with the village headman in return for a favor." With a sly little smile, the miko shuffled outside. Perhaps that was one of many reasons the hanyou was so infatuated with the futuristic young girl.
He could smell it, that distinct smell that separated itself from everything else. It had reached his senses on the outskirts of his forest. Dropping Shippo from his shoulders and ignoring the kitsune's yelps he had dashed off in the direction of the hut.
"What the hell was that about?" Shippo yelled as he looked to Miroku and Sango but received no answer as both were already in the sky on Kirara preparing to follow their wayward friend. "Hey! Wait for me!" He cried, shape shifting into a balloon.
Following the scent closely brought InuYasha to the hut the group stayed at in the village, he had suspected as much. Hearing a roar and a pop, he turned to see his friends behind him looking puzzled. "Is there a demon inside?" Sango asked, her hand reaching for Hiraikotsu. InuYasha shook his head and pushed aside the straw curtain. "K-Kagome!" he spluttered. "When the hell did you get back? And how come I couldn't smell anything but ninja food?" Kagome stepped forward into the light and smiled.
"Well I can't explain why the ramen stood out to you, but maybe the other food was blocking my scent?" She giggled and then looked over his shoulder. "Where's Miroku-sama and Sango-chan? What about Shippo-kun?" The dog demon turned his head. "Oi! Get in here! Kagome's made a feast!" The girl turned pink and fingered her skirt edge. "It's not really a feast…just some food." Now the actual test would be to see if he actually liked it. She watched her friends eyes widen as they entered the hut; a fire crackled warmly in its pit, five tatami mats were laid out neatly with their names written on pieces of paper in what InuYasha recognized was Kagome's handwriting. He didn't often see his name written and to see it so delicately… InuYasha shook his head and looked at her. "So where these papers are is where we sit?" "Right" She replied with a nod. "I only did it because we all like different things and I didn't want you to wind up eating Sango's umeboshi again."
Kagome sat down beside him and looked around at her gathered companions. Knowing that they had faced death numerous times together over the past year, and been through so many trials and tribulations only made her feel that much closer to them; and the possibility that it would be first and last harvest she would spend with her new family sat in the back of her mind. Burying it the knowledge of the present, Kagome smiled and picked up her cup of tea. "It's called Niiname-Sai here, 500 years in the future it's called Labor Thanksgiving Day but the point is still the same right? It's to be thankful for what the Kami has brought, whether its rice or friends. I'm thankful they've brought me the best of both."
"Well spoken Kagome-sama, truly beautiful. I for one am thankful for both my friends and the company of a beautiful bodhisattva who would bear my-"Miroku's cup clattered to the floor, his tea spilling as he rubbed his face. "I see Sango is not as thankful for my company"
Sango smiled proudly and took a sip of her tea. "Oh I am houshi-sama, I'd be even more thankful if you kept your hands to yourself. But really, I truly am thankful for friends like Kagome-sama who are there when you need them the most. And friends like InuYasha who tell you the truth even when you don't want to hear it." The dog demon flicked his ears in annoyance "You wouldn't listen if I didn't tell you how it is"
Shippo rattled the marble in his ramune bottle and grinned. "If InuYasha is finished being grouchy, I'd like to say I'm thankful for having Kagome and Miroku, Sango and Kirara too!" At the sound of her name the twin tailed neko looked up from her water dish, mewling happily. "Now it's HIS turn to say what he's thankful for." All eyes turned to InuYasha as he shifted uncomfortably in his place in front of the fire. What he was precisely thankful for he didn't want to say in front of them, well not ALL of them anyway. He only wanted to say it to Kagome. But that would have to wait until later, when they weren't counting on him to say something. "You want me to say something? Fine, I'll say it." InuYasha stared into the fire and frowned; he was horrible with words. "I'm thankful none of us have died fighting Naraku. You happy?" He looked over at Kagome; she was still wearing that same smile but he could tell she was let down by his false confession. Setting down her tea, Kagome picked up her chopsticks, gesturing for him to do the same. "Itadakimasu!"
Much slurping of noodles, a few belches, one sit and a screeching kitsune later, the hut was in silence. Miroku was curled up on one side of the fire, snoring deeply from the surfeit of food. Sango was also sleeping, only on the opposite side of the pit, Kirara resting comfortably in her arms a fishbone sticking to her whisker and Shippo was sleeping deeply on a mat that should have been occupied by Kagome. But the girl was not in the hut with her friends, she was outside with the hanyou whose presence she much preferred when she could not sleep.
InuYasha crossed his arms over his chest and grunted his disapproval. "You're supposed to be asleep; we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Lots of traveling in Naraku's direction to make up for the past couple days." Kagome sighed and looked up at him; he was perched on one of the low branches, his leg stretched out in front arms still crossed. Always on the defensive, she mused. Settling down in a crook at the tree base, she smiled and pulled her knees to her chest. "Did you like the food? And I don't mean the ninja food." He smirked and cocked his head to the side. "The takuan wasn't terrible; I'd eat the tonkatsu and the tonjiru but with less green junk."
"The green junk is vegetables and they're supposed to be good for you, InuYasha." She said patiently. "Yeah well pork is good for you too; it makes you strong, what kind of liver do you think I put in the tea when you got sick, huh?" Kagome grimaced and put her hand to her mouth. She had drank pig liver? Well, Jii-chan did have much worse in his storage shed and it HAD worked. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But still I'm glad you liked my cooking and that you're thankful for something this year, we'll get Naraku soon so don't worry about anyone dying."
Just as Kagome pushed herself away from the tree, two steady arms wrapped themselves around her. "I-InuYasha? Are you okay?"
The hanyou pulled her back flush to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Yeah, I wanted to tell you what I'm really thankful for Kagome." Turning her body in his embrace, she faced him nervously, wondering if it was all a dream and she was going to wake up in the hut. "What are you really thankful for InuYasha?" she mumbled. He leaned forward, his hair brushing her face as he put his mouth near the shell of her ear, the miko could feel the heat of his breath on her skin and it sent chills through her.
"It's nice to have the houshi and the taijiya around, but you're the one who woke me up….made me realize it's okay to be me. And I'm thankful to have you in my life because if it wasn't for you I probably would have been a goner a while ago." Kagome put her trembling hands on his forearms and knew it wasn't a dream when she felt his lips brush hers in a chaste but tender kiss. "Happy Labor Thanksgiving Day Kagome" InuYasha mumbled as he pulled away from her, his face pink. "Back 'atcha" She whispered and gave his hand an affectionate squeeze.
*Labor Thanksgiving Day is a real holiday in Japan that occurs on Nov. 23. For more info go to this link.
* All info about the Japanese food in the fic I got from my mother in law's cookbook, the above is just some lesser known things I came across.