He eyed the ground at his feet, the same spot Kagome had chosen to sleep. The girl was dozing quietly, unaware of both the hanyou watching her and the kitsune wound tight against her side. He squinted at the grass around her, looking for any trace of his objective. Nothing. "Damn," Inuyasha muttered in frustration. Then he sighed, crouching down beside the two sleeping figures. One hand pushed Shippou further against Kagome as the other fished under the kitsune. "Ha!" He looked proudly at his prize; then his ears drooped when he noticed what he’d actually gotten. "Only one?" He wondered in surprise, staring at the lonely stick in his hand. If anyone had watched the scene, they would have been the witnesses of a very pouty look in the hanyou’s face. The sound of boiling water interrupted his thoughts, making the pout flee as it was replaced by an impatient scowl. "Only one?!"

Inuyasha’s head went from his sleeping companions to the fire. He frowned minutely and then went back to consider how to recover the lost chopstick; the water could hold for another while. He nudged Shippou, rolling his eyes when the child’s body simply curled into itself and away from his touch, always sticking close to Kagome. Inuyasha lifted the kitsune and felt the ground under him. Nothing. How strange. If that’s where he’d found one chopstick, shouldn’t the other be there, too? Evidently not. As he was depositing Shippou back in his place, the water’s bubbles got louder, distracting him momentarily. A moment that was enough to drop the kitsune a few inches to the ground.

Inuyasha flinched, held his breath for a second, sure that the kid would begin bawling at the ‘harsh’ treatment any moment now. Last night had been particularly tiring, if Shippou’s cries woke the others up and then explained the reason, Inuyasha would be the one to hear about ‘his supreme thoughtlessness’ all day, not to mention be the victim of Kagome’s accusing glares. That girl spoiled the brat too much. Those thoughts at the forefront, Inuyasha didn't move for a long while. Then another. He finally sighed in relief when Shippou didn’t react in the slightest. Oblivious, the child happily shifted back into his previous position as if nothing had happened. But the movement had jostled Kagome, and the girl was already stirring lightly in the first signs of wakefulness.

"Shippou?" she asked, her voice low and raspy with sleep.

Inuyasha stayed silent as a rock, hoping fervently that Kagome would go back to sleep; she’d be the one to complain the most if she woke up too early.

But her eyes had opened already. "Inuyasha?"

The mentioned hanyou sighed.

"Is that water?"

His ears flicked to the fire, wincing on the inside at the angry sound of rising bubbles. Kagome wouldn’t like this....

She got out of her sleeping bag, making sure not to awaken Shippou, and stared in disbelief at the steaming bowl. "You... you’re cooking?"

Inuyasha’s eyes widened; she wasn’t lecturing him? "Keh." He shrugged. "I was hungry and you all are exhausted."

Against all odds, Kagome smiled. "That’s sweet." Inuyasha fought down a blush, unsuccessfully if her widening smile was any indication. "But you really should pay more attention to the fire. In fact, you shouldn’t have gone so far away." She tilted her head curiously. "What were you doing over here anyway?"

Inuyasha considered walking out without a word – it wasn’t as if he owed her any explanation and she should be sleeping, anyway - and taking care of the ramen himself. But then, Kagome might know where the lost chopstick was. He didn’t dare eat with his hands anymore; last time he’d tried Kagome had gone on a long speech that scarily made too much sense. He held the one he’d found in front of her. "The other is lost," he said succinctly.

Inuyasha inwardly cursed his decision when the girl rolled his eyes at him. "You lost it, Inuyasha." He frowned. Kagome noticed and explained. "Remember? There was a lynx youkai we couldn’t hit and you decided to distract it by..." She shuddered visibly. "...poking its eye out."

Oh. Now he remembered. They’d been having dinner, so of course the closest object at hand had been a chopstick. Damn. His ears fell as he stared to the ground. Now how was he supposed to have breakfast? Surely Kagome would understand if he forgo utensils this time... He was so lost in his musings, that Inuyasha never noticed Kagome rummaging through her pack until she nudged his arm.

"Here." She held a small packet to him. "I brought some replacements just in case. Guess I had the right idea."

Inuyasha tore it open, almost smiling when he found chopsticks inside. He raised his head to thank Kagome, but the girl was already walking in the direction of the fire, a couple of his favourite ramen packages in her hand.

"You could have always used the one you had..." a sleepy voice commented at his side.

"Don’t be an idiot." Inuyasha tossed the lone chopstick at its owner, ignoring Miroku’s indignant yelp when it hit his head. "What good could that one do on its own?"

Miroku shook his head, almost amused, and sat up on the ground. He looked pointedly at the new pair Kagome had just given Inuyasha, and smiled enigmatically. "Sometimes I wonder the same, my friend..."

Inuyasha frowned, then glanced down at the chopsticks trying to figure out what the monk was implying. With nothing to go but a meaningful look – which didn’t actually mean anything to Inuyasha – and a couple ambiguous words, the hanyou gave up instantly, grousing at himself for paying attention to Miroku’s nonsense in the first place. "Shut up," he muttered irritably, getting up to see why Kagome was taking so long with his breakfast.

Miroku gazed after him, chuckling slightly when the teenagers began to bicker loudly by the fire. Another day had officially begun.

The End
11/01/05

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