Kagome woke the next day to the smell of stew simmering over an open fire. She yawned heartily as she sat up, stretching her arms out before her. Taking in the sunlight one bit at a time, she became aware of a white haired hanyou crouched down by the fire, fanning it gently to keep it going. He had a look of determination set in his eyes as he supervised the pot so intently, one would have thought he was cooking it through sheer will and not experience...
     Well, on second thought, that couldn’t have been too far from the truth.
     Kagome couldn’t help but giggle at the rare sight. So it must have been true – what he proclaimed yesterday about trying to get along with everyone else must have been true.
     He was startled to see her awake, nearly dropping the ladle into the stew itself. After recovering from the minor shock he had been delivered, he forced a "compassionate" smile onto his face and greeted in a cheery voice, "Good morning, Kagome."
     Her jaw nearly dropped at the display, but she could not refrain her eyes from bugging out. This was too abnormal, even under the current conditions. Sweatdropping, she replied, "Good morning..."
     Seeing a smile, though lopsided, appear on her face, Inu Yasha felt assured he had won her good side, at least for the time being. "Could you wake the others? Breakfast will be ready in a bit." He scooped some out to show her the tender, juicy meats, along with ripe, steaming vegetables. Needless to say, Kagome’s mouth watered at the sight.
     "Alright," she answered obediently as she removed herself from her sleeping bag and turned to wake the others.
     When he saw that her back was turned, he allowed a devious grin to form in place of the warm, motherly smile. "Perfect."

     Minutes later, the four were gathered in a small circle, awaiting their "host" to serve breakfast. Each wore a different expression on their faces, one proud, one amused, one suspicious, and the last not quite awake.
     "Here you go," Inu Yasha said as he set down bowls of stew on the ground before each hungry soul, including Kirara who waved its tail as a sign of appreciation. The air was filled with "Ooh"s and "Ahh"s as the savory aroma drifted its way to their noses.
     "Itadakimasu!" they declared before gorging themselves on the scrumptious meal, all complimenting Inu Yasha’s cooking abilities at one point or another.
     He, too, was eating the well-made food with a smile plastered to his face, but for different reasons. Lucky for him, Kagome had no suspicion left in her eyes as she watched him eat, but rather, smiled graciously at his gesture of kindness instead.

     Kagome nearly tripped over her own feet as the load on her back suddenly got lighter, courtesy of the hanyou. "Arigato," she thanked softly, blushing as she watched him sling the pack over his shoulder. This was definitely something she could get used to. She prayed silently for the snow to keep falling, and for the day to never end.
     Sango watched the whole scene unravel by simply turning her head so she could glimpse over her shoulder at the two. Keeping pace with the monk walking beside her, she whispered, "What exactly did you do to him, Houshi-sama?"
     He smiled nervously, laughing lightly and rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. "Nothing...absolutely nothing..."
     At this, the taijiya’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she held back from asking any further questions. Continuing to keep a wary eye on the pair behind her, she walked along the trail leading through the middle of the two mountains.

     On the other side of the mountain...
     "Ne Kouga, when are we going to raid another village and cause chaos?" one of his clan members questioned. He looked to be about Kouga’s age, except for the troublemaker expression on his face.
     The wolf-youkai smirked at the implied request. He was about to respond when a familiar scent passed through the air. He stood up abruptly, knocking his companion off his feet. "Kagome?!"
     Before anyone could ask him anything, he was already racing over the mountain to where Inu Yasha and the others were...

     Shippo was the first to notice the emerald whirlwind that came speeding their way. He jumped in front and alerted everyone to its presence with a simple "Look!"
     All four heads turned at the same time, but only Inu Yasha’s sense of smell was able to identify the on-comer. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "The worse possible person at the worst possible time..."
     The whirlwind came to a stop near Kagome, (Though Inu Yasha had thrown himself between the two in a gesture that looked as though he were trying to protect her from immediate harm) and she found herself greeted by a pair of emerald eyes. "Kouga-kun!"
     The hanyou winced at the familiarity of the term "kun". He had completely given up his composure upon realizing whom they were dealing with, and greeted the youkai with a loud "Keh!"
     Kouga grinned at the group of travelers. He glanced at Miroku and Sango to the right, then turned back to Kagome. "I see you’re still with Inu-koro here."
     At hearing the less-than-liked nickname, he glared at Kouga and fumed. "Why you...!"
     Kagome frowned at this. "And he was doing so well..." she thought as she let out a sigh. "Inu Yasha! O suwa-!"
     He clamped a hand over her mouth gently, looking as if he had nearly died to a heart attack. "Wakatta yo!" he announced, then walked off to the side obediently, like a good dog.
     She cast a smile sideways at him, then focused her attention on the confused youkai standing before her. "So, how have you been, Kouga-kun?"
     "Huh? Oh, fine I guess," he replied, still giving Inu Yasha peculiar side-glances.
     Occasionally you could make out a word or two like "Stupid girl" or "Damn Rosary", but other than that, all of Inu Yasha’s grumbling sounded like gibberish.
     From the other side of the pair, Sango commented, "Did he just have a mood swing or...?"
     Miroku, Kirara, and Shippo all simultaneously shook their heads and sighed in hopelessness, then all four dodged the small stones being chucked their way by an eavesdropping boy.
     "And how have you been? Has Inu-koro been feeding you right?" Kouga interrogated. A small "Keh!" could be heard from Inu Yasha’s direction, but it wasn’t distinct.
     Kagome sweatdropped. "Of course. Actually, he’s had a recent change of heart and is trying to get along with the others better," she explained.
     Kouga’s eyes were filled with disbelief, then with utter amusement. "Is this true, Inu-koro? You’re trying to be a goody-goody now?"
     The hanyou stood up then, fists clenched as he said through gritted teeth, "Nani?!"
     "Inu Yasha..." Kagome warned.
     "Wha-?" he was stopped by Miroku’s slicing-throat hand gesture. Remembering the circumstances for getting the rosary off, he folded his arms and sat back down. "Hmph!"
     Kagome grinned at this, then looked to Kouga again. "Thanks for coming to check up on me, but I think you’d better go before his temper blows," she said.
     He grinned back. "No problem." Not minding the onlookers around them, he tucked a strand of her hair behind an ear and kissed her cheek briefly. Not caring about the gaping he received from the others, nor the bright red blush that flooded Kagome’s features, he waved and said, "Ja!" before leaving as a whirlwind.
     A moment of silence passed as Kagome sank to her knees in embarrassment. She glanced over in Inu Yasha’s direction only to find a large, smoking crater in the ground where he had been. The hanyou was nowhere in sight.
     "Ara," Sango gasped.
     "Oh dear," Miroku commented.
     "Oh brother," Shippo concluded, folding his small arms and shaking his head at the act.
     In the distance, you could hear trees falling and a variety of colorful words...