Hello everyone! I'm going to post this Holiday gift for the Tumlr user ruddcatha because she was my giftee for the Inuyasha Fandom Secret Santa on Tumblr!
I really hope you like this and I'm sorry I wasn't able to post it sooner.
At first I wasn't really sure what to write but after bouncing some ideas off with the amazing witchygirl99 she helped me a little and this One-shot came to be. It's just really a fluff peace, really, really, really fluffy that I hope you like and it's something that resembles what you had in mind when you wrote your prompt.
Christmas Traditions
"Momma, what are you doing?" a soft voice asked behind her. Kagome smiled and looked down to her little girl.
"I'm doing a little bit of Christmas decoration," she replied with a soft voice while she crouched down to be eye to eye with her daughter.
"Christmas?" the little girl asked, enjoying how that new word sounded in her mouth.
"Yes, honey, Christmas. We celebrate it every year, and now you get to be a part of it!" she exclaimed.
The little girl exclaimed and started jumping around repeating the word "Christmas" over and over again and Kagome couldn't help but smile. Now that Moroha was a little older than four years old, she started to be more talkative and loved expanding her vocabulary and learning new things. Kagome didn't know how involved Moroha would want to be with Christmas but she was secretly hoping that she would be able to share some things she used to do with her own mother when she was a child.
"Dad is picking the perfect tree for us, Moroha," she smiled at the thought of Inuyasha looking for the perfect tree for their family. He didn't quite understand the idea of Christmas, but he knew it was important to Kagome, so he did his best to help in any way he could. She wanted the three of them to go and look for the tree together, but Inuyasha insisted that she stayed inside since it was cold and he didn't want her to catch a cold in her condition.
Kagome put her hand on her belly and felt a strong kick on her hand. Yes, it's definitely going to be a boy this time. She knew Inuyasha was going to pick the perfect tree for them, but she was really looking forward to the whole family to go together.
Well, we'll go next year.
"Tree? What do we do with it?" she asked, curiosity lighting up her face.
"We put it inside our house, it's going to be over there," she explained, pointing at a spot in their hut. "And we decorate it with ornaments," she paused, waiting for Moroha to ask her mandatory question.
"What is that? Ornament…" Moroha softly repeated after asking her question.
"It's what we use to decorate our tree. We are going to make our own ornaments, like I used to do with my mother," Kagome smiled, melancholy showing in her features. She really missed her family and would love for her mother to meet Moroha, but she knew that was impossible.
"And how do we do that?"
"Look," she replied, showing her daughter all sorts of dry flowers that she had been collecting during the last spring. There were also little sticks, thread, paper, some dark ink, some twigs and leaves.
"We can grab this," she said pointing at a flower in her hand, "And we can use this thread to tie it together with this other flower," Kagome replied while showing Moroha how to do it.
"Momma, it's beautiful!" the little girl exclaimed as she grabbed some twigs and started tying them together.
While Moroha was busy making her own ornaments, Kagome looked at some leaves and smiled to herself. Maybe she was about to get into the naughty list, but she didn't care. She was a married woman, after all. After grabbing some thread, she started to work.
"What is that?" she heard her daughter ask, again.
"It's a mistletoe," Kagome replied, holding it in the air.
"A mistle-what?" Even though Moroha was trying to do her best when incorporating new words, some words were plain impossible to her.
"A mistletoe, we hang it in the ceiling and when dad and mom or uncle Miroku and auntie Sango are under it, they have to kiss! Moroha, you are in charge of reminding everyone of their duty under the mistletoe!" Kagome declared as she smiled.
"I will do it, mom!" Moroha exclaimed in all seriousness.
They spent the whole afternoon crafting their own ornaments, Kagome being so relieved and happy that Moroha loved their new tradition. She was quite surprised with how good and creative was Moroha with the limited crafting materials she provided. She knew she was doing her best but she couldn't help to think about how much Moroha would love to see the ornaments from her time so colourful and full of life. Suddenly, a noise outside the hut pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Daddy, you are back!" she heard Moroha say.
"Keh, of course I'm back!" Inuyasha replied while shrugging the snow off his shoulders. "And look what I brought! I picked the perfect tree!" he said proudly. Kagome could swear she saw him puffing his chest at that statement.
She looked at the tree Inuyasha had picked and he was saying the truth; he did pick the perfect tree. It was full of leaves and it perfectly fit the spot they had picked for the tree. It wasn't too big but it wasn't too small, either. It was, like he had said, perfect.
"Welcome home, Inuyasha," she said while she greeted him with a kiss.
"And what have you been up to?" Inuyasha asked while putting his hand on Kagome's belly, greeting their unborn child.
"Daddy, daddy, we've been making ornaments for the tree!" Moroha explained, happy to be able to share her work with her father. "Look, I did this!" she said while handing him a tiny stick figure made out of twigs. The stick man seemed to have a sword. "That 's you! I wasn't able to give him your ears, though," Moroha pouted while explaining her failure.
Kagome was able to see how Inuyasha's eyes were full of love when he saw what Moroha had done. Even though she would never say it out loud, she saw how a little tear that threatened to fall was quickly blinked into oblivion.
"Thank you, honey, I love it," Inuyasha simply replied as he leaned down and kissed Moroha on her temple. After a few seconds of silence, Inuyasha spoke again. "Do you want me to put down the tree so you can start decorating it?"
"Yes! Do it, do it!" she started jumping up and down again.
This girl really has a lot of stamina. Kagome thought while shaking her head.
Once Inuyasha made sure that the tree wasn't going to fall off, he announced that Moroha might start decorating it. When Kagome made an attempt to stand up and start helping with the decorations, Inuyasha motioned her to sit down again.
"You already did a lot of work while crafting these ornaments Kagome, you need to rest," he said smiling down at her. "I will let you tell me where they go."
Kagome laughed at that comment, knowing that she could actually be a little picky when it came to how the tree should be decorated. After a few hours of Inuyasha and Moroha decorating the tree, Inuyasha grabbed the mistletoe Kagome had made and was about to put it on the tree when Moroha stopped him on his tracks.
"No! Dad, stop! That doesn't go there!" she practically screamed as if that simple act had offended her, the tree and Christmas itself. Inuyasha looked at Kagome and she playfully smiled, playing dumb and looking at Moroha as if she held all the answers.
"That's a mistletoe and has to be hung from the ceiling! Mom said you will hang it when you come back!" Moroha explained.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome. She was suppressing a laugh so hard that he swore she was about to give birth on the spot. He shook his head.
"And where should I hang it?" Inuyasha playfully asked.
"There," Kagome replied, pointing at a place near the fire.
Inuyasha did as he was told, paying close attention to whatever Moroha had to add to that matter. She surely was as talkative as her mother.
Kagome stood close to Inuyasha while he finished hanging the mistletoe and smiled at him. For a moment, they forgot about everything and stared deeply into each other's eyes. Inuyasha's eyes were warm and full of love, as were Kagome's.
"Dad, you have to kiss mom! You are both under the mistletoe!" Moroha stated, happy to be able to carry on with her duty.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome and she giggled in response.
"Oh, I see why it needed to be hung," Inuyasha jokingly replied. "I guess I have no other choice," he said, faking defeat.
He grabbed Kagome by her waist and took her by surprise. Kagome gasped, not expecting the kiss to be that type of kiss, but Inuyasha captured her lips before any sound could come out of her mouth.
The kiss they shared wasn't passionate, since their four year old was watching, but it was a kiss full of love, where Inuyasha tried to show Kagome how much he loved her and how thankful he was for the life he had with her. Kagome understood as she felt the same way.
After a few days, a few more mandatory mistletoe kisses and making Sango blush and feel awkward being forced to kiss Miroku in front of everyone thanks to the mistletoe, it was Christmas morning and Kagome couldn't be more excited for the gift exchange.
"Mommy, Daddy, come here, presents appeared under the tree!" Moroha screamed the minute she opened her eyes and saw the tree.
Of course, it was quite a normal sight, with presents inside bags made out of cloth and nothing spectacular like the ones Kagome used to see in Hollywood films, but it was her own version of Christmas with her family and she honestly didn't care. It was perfect.
"This one has my name on it!" Moroha exclaimed, eyes beaming with joy. Even though she was still young, she had recently learnt to identify her name.
It had been quite easy, after Moroha fell asleep Kagome and Inuyasha put all the presents under the tree for Moroha to see when she first woke up. They knew it would get harder and harder as each year passed and Moroha's senses sharpened, but they would enjoy surprising their daughter for as long as they could.
"Then it must be for you," Kagome replied with a smile, just waking up and putting a hand on her belly.
Soon you'll come out and next Christmas you'll get to have your own presents.
Moroha opened her present and stared at it, it was a red piece of cloth and she examined it, trying to figure out what it was.
"I don't know what it is…" the girl said, slouching her little frame.
"Let me see Moroha, bring that over here, maybe we can figure it out together," Kagome said, unable to move from the bed she shared with Inuyasha. Turns out being pregnant with a hanyou baby was a little more rough on a human body than a normal one; she had learned that with Moroha, and every day that passed made it harder and harder for her to move around.
Moroha sat down between her parents as she grabbed that little piece of red cloth with her hands, she was so careful it seemed she was afraid to break it.
Kagome pretended to examine it and she even put a hand under her chin, as if she was thinking. After a few seconds she said, "I think I have an idea, come closer, Moroha,".
When Moroha was well within her reach, she put the cloth on her head, as if it were a headband and made a bow on top of her head.
"Moroha, it looks like you have ears!" Kagome exclaimed, acting surprised.
"What?! Really?!" Moroha asked, her big round eyes filled with hope. She shot her hands right to the top of her head and felt the little fake cloth appendages. "I have ears," she quietly said, and then she exclaimed once more; "Mom, Dad, I have ears like Dad! Mommy, mommy I want to see!".
Kagome was overwhelmed with joy to see how that little gesture made Moroha so happy. She knew she felt like something was missing and she wanted to feel special like her dad, as she had put it. It wasn't something big or expensive, but it was important to Moroha and Kagome wanted to give her the world.
"Inuyasha, could you please hand me my mirror?" she kindly asked her husband.
Kagome's voice seemed to snap Inuyasha out of his state of shock and he went to fetch for it. After a time that seemed like hours to Moroha, he came back with a little mirror and carefully gave it to Moroha.
The little girl looked at her reflection on the mirror and screamed.
"I have ears, like daddy! Look, mom, I have ears like daddy!" she screamed again. Inuyasha could swear he saw how Moroha's eyes turned glassy as she smiled with pure joy. He tried to fight it, but he also felt how tears began to well up in the corner of his eyes.
Her daughter wanted to look like him. Her daughter wanted to have the same ears he cursed so many times before. And his wife, his Kagome understood that and wanted to give their daughter the world and make her happy.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome and caught her looking at him. He knew Kagome loved him with every ounce of her body, she sacrificed everything for him, she gave him Moroha and was carrying their second child. She was the most caring woman in the world and he couldn't be happier to be allowed to be part of such a loving and caring family. His chest was swelling with love and gratitude. Even though it was the same promise he made to himself every day, he renewed the vow to make Kagome the happiest woman alive and protect their family at all costs.
Inuyasha got up and grabbed the two presents that were left on the tree. One contained the gift he got Kagome and the other one was Kagome's present for him. He handed her her present and sat down next to her.
Kagome decided she had the right to open her present first, being pregnant and all, and open her the bag as Moroha sat down on her legs.
"Mommy what is it?" the little girl asked as Kagome put her hand in the bag and grabbed whatever was inside of it.
She felt something cold and pulled her hand and looked at it. It was a necklace that contained a pendant with a shape of a little girl that looked incredibly like Moroha. Kagome shot Inuyasha a quizzical look to which Inuyasha replied in a whisper only audible to her. "Once our baby is born, we can have Totosai make you a new pendant to add to your necklace," he simply said, as if that would answer everything.
But oddly, they were so connected that was all he needed to say. That was enough for her to understand.
"Look baby girl, that's you! I will carry you with me forever! This is beautiful, I love this present with all my heart," Kagome said out loud while she hugged Moroha and looked at Inuyasha. It was a look that poured all the love she had for him, and some implication that she would be thanking him later.
"Dad, it's your turn!" Moroha exclaimed as she jumped out of Kagome's embrace and crawled over Inuyasha.
Inuyasha opened his gift and found a bracelet that contained an amulet. He didn't know what it was, so he looked at Kagome, waiting for her to provide an explanation.
"It's a bracelet!" Moroha exclaimed. Kagome was so happy that Moroha was loving the holiday as much as she used to do when she was a child.
"It seems to be a very special bracelet, indeed," Kagome added, faking curiosity. "It seems to be a bracelet that protects the ones that have something special to protect," she said as she winked at him.
Inuyasha looked at them both, completely dumbfounded. He knew he loved his family with all his heart, but every time Kagome or Moroha did something, that proved him that he was capable of feeling even more love than he thought he was.
Kagome looked at Inuyasha and she knew exactly what he was thinking, because she was thinking the same. She loved her hanyo and their hanyo children, and even though she sacrificed a lot to be there with him, she would do it all over again.
"Mom, Dad, I love Christmas!" Moroha screamed beaming with joy and pulled them out of their thoughts.
"I know Moroha, I love it too," Kagome said, messing with Moroha's hair.
"Mom, careful with my ears!" her daughter said, covering them like her father did every time she wanted to play with his ears.
Kagome looked at Inuyasha and smiled, at the same time she felt a quite strong kick in her belly. She was about to put a hand on her belly until she felt Inuyasha's big hand on her.
"Easy boy, let mommy rest," Inuyasha said while stroking her belly.
"How did you know it was kicking?" Kagome asked, surprised.
"You tend to make a face whenever he's being rough with you," he simply said.
Kagome smiled at Inuyasha and leaned in to kiss him, to which Inuyasha immediately responded.
"Mom, dad! You are supposed to kiss under the mistletoe!" Moroha exclaimed, laughing.
Kagome smiled, she had everything she could have ever asked for and more.
Yay! This was my first time participating in Secret Santa so I'm really happy to be part of this. I really hope you like your present ruddcatha!
I Googled and Christmas was celebrated in Japan for the first time in the 1500s so I said, why not? Let Kagome and Inuyasha's family be the one to start that, lol. I'm going to apologize if I made Moroha be not realistic at all or I didn't make her behave as four years old should, I haven't been around kids that small in a while, so I did my best and I googled a few things. I hope she's not too off.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading this little fluffy one-shot 3! Merry Christmas everyone!