Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this holiday installment… especially for the competitive one. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess.

A Debt of Gratitude: With thanks to Fenikkusuken for the once-over… and the sporfle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day…

A Little Friendly Competition

Kagome turned her head and frowned at the tiles. "That is not a word."

"It is," Miroku countered confidently. "You just need to brush up on your honeybee anatomy."

"You're bluffing," she accused.

"If you want to lose your turn, feel free to challenge me. You'll learn a new word, but your narrow lead will evaporate."

"You do realize this is Scrabble, not poker," she grumbled, drumming her fingers on the table.

Miroku's eyes twinkled. "I cannot be faulted for your imperfect knowledge of entomology."

Kagome huffed and rearranged the letters that remained on her holder. "I'm not sure we should allow obscure scientific terms. We already let you take SHAKUJOU, even though it's a foreign word."

"As Japanese is my native tongue, it isn't a foreign word for me," Miroku reasoned. "I think you're just worried because those 119 points have kept me in the running."

"But… you could be making words up. I mean… what in the world is a shakujou?"

"It's a traditional staff carried by Buddhist monks," he replied distractedly as he tallied up his points. "I have one—well, the finial for one—back at the residences. I could show it to you sometime."

"Why would you have something like that?" Kagome asked curiously.

"I'm a monk."

Kagome sat back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest. "I thought you were an apiarist."

"I am a man of many talents," Miroku replied with a salacious wink.

She decided against calling his bluff and play moved on. "Ward? It's your turn," Kagome called, waving her hands in front of the other man's face.

Though he'd been staring right at her the whole time, he blinked in surprise. "What? Oh! A thousand apologies—my mind was elsewhere," Ward murmured as he looked over his options.

Kagome turned her attention back to Miroku. "You expect me to believe that you come from a long line of bee-keeping monks?" she asked skeptically.

"That's the family business, though there's not much call for exorcisms and purifications these days," he cheerfully replied. "Hence, the day job."

"I can't imagine you living in a monastery," Kagome smiled.

"All of my forebears were traveling monks; wanderlust flows through our veins."

"Along with the lust," she remarked under her breath.

"I heard that," Miroku announced in a sing-song voice as Ward finished his turn and turned the board so Kagome could see.

Kagome wrinkled her nose at Miroku and quickly found a spot for her next word. Passing control of the board back to the self-proclaimed monk, she said, "I'm going to the kitchen for more coffee; do you two want refills as well?"

"Yes, please," the two professors replied in unintentional unison. Kagome laughed and excused herself.

Soon, Captain Doyle's voice boomed from the direction in which she'd disappeared. "So when are you going to make my grandson an honest man, Kagome?"

"Captain, please… don't," the young woman replied with a sigh.

Miroku eyed Ward curiously. "Your grandfather isn't very subtle," he remarked casually.

The history professor's polite smile was a little too tight. "No, he's not. She's used to it, though; we both are. Kagome will ignore him."

The retired police chief's voice carried easily through the door. To Miroku's amusement, it seemed he'd been marked as 'competition' for Kagome's hand. The old fellow was making free with some unsolicited advice. "You be careful of that one, Kagome. I'd hate to see you fall for that boy's flim-flam. What you need is a steady man with a steady job—not some flittery flirt who won't settle down."

Miroku chuckled and caught Ward's eye. "Is he planning to run me out of town?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," his companion replied with a rueful grin. "To be on the safe side, I'd watch out for tar and feathers."

Miroku considered the mild-mannered history professor. His warmth and kindness were actually very much like Kagome's, yet he lacked the young woman's sparkle. Ward never seemed to shift from his slow and steady pace. "You've loved her all your life, haven't you?"

Ward eyed the Higurashi's houseguest warily. "You seem more prone to love at first sight," he countered.

"Touché."

Brown eyes widened. "Do you mean to say… that you intend to pursue Kagome?" he asked. Miroku could almost hear the 'too' that remained unspoken.

"No," Miroku replied patiently, pointing towards the game board. "That's my next word—TOUCHE."

End Notes: With special thanks to my sometime baituh and Scrabble-playing partner JMaxwell, who helpfully calculated Miroku's high-scoring word. If those tiles were played along the edge of the board—one space down from the corner and hitting the 3x word multiplier—SHAKUJOU would receive 69 points. Adding an additional 50 points for using all seven of his tiles brings the total to 119. So there you have it, folks. Miroku scored a 69. ::twinkle::

Posted on November 27, 2008. 737 words.