A/N: Thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them. I think I'm going to be adding a MirSan plot (albeit small) to this story, now all I need is to wait for the plot bunnies to suffocate me with mushy ideas!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha but if Rumiko Takahashi is holding a raffle for him, I'm the one in the red hat.

Things Not Said
Chapter Two: How to Cook for Kids

'Okay, don't panic. I can do this.'

"Sango, we need to leave. Right now."

Said girl simply turned to face her friend, "Kagome, if you do not take this job, you life will be a living hell. Not to be rude, but hello? Your parental units? And let's not forget the fact that you can't exactly hold down a job!

Tossing a glance at the huge looming waves of water behind her, Kagome turned a sickly shade of white. "I'll go see a counselor or something!"

"What is so scary about a nice, calming wave of water lulling you to sleep?" Sango pointed out.

"Oh I don't know, why don't you tell me what's so scary about a substance that can kill the whole world in 24 hours if we were all forced to live in it."

Rolling her eyes, Sango pushed Kagome towards the ship where she was to stay in for the next month. The ship itself was stunning, even to an amateur's eye. Her gleaming white body towered above its passengers. The subtle accents of mahogany only increased her magnificence. The polished windows gleamed in the sun and the trickle of staff boarding the ship could be seen. Her streamlined shape of a sharp angled bow and stern gave a glimpse of her power and performance.

Smiles, laughter and some tears could be witnessed among the crowd. The different colors of luggage that people brought on the ship created a contemporary rainbow while the number of suitcases varied in number. But the one thing everyone had while boarding the ship was a smile. A smile of anticipation of what was to come, of the adventures they were sure to face. Everyone except Kagome.

"Sango, I really don't think this is a good idea. I mean, I wasn't even properly interviewed!" she protested, in a final attempt to prolong the inevitable.

"Yeah, I know. I still can't believe Inu blew off the interview to go to that basketball game! But whatever, I know you'll do great."

"Sango! Did you not just hear me? I didn't get interviewed. What if they hate me? What if I get fired and I have to swim back to Tokyo?!?" Kagome's face was sheet white now and she had started shuddering despite the boiling temperature.

Sighing tiredly, Sango ushered Kagome up the steps leading to the ship. "Don't worry Kag, you're a great chef. And you still have two days before the passengers actually board the ship which will give you plenty of time to settle in!"

Sango followed up her motivational pep talk with an optimistic smile. She looked at Kagome expectantly for some type of enthusiasm but received none. Sango's head flopped back in disappointment. "Nothing?!? You must be at least a little bit excited!"

Kagome raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Fine, be that way! This is only our last time of actually seeing each other before you take off and sail for a month."

Kagome crinkled her nose. Soon, she gave up trying to cheer her unrelenting friend up and went on to try and make her look presentable. She pinched Kagome's pale cheeks to try and get some sort of color back into them. Sango finger combed the wavy obsidian she had always envied and straightened up the classic white shirt and cardigan that she had insisted Kagome wear.

"Well you look good so really, that's half the battle. Now go on! I'll miss you!"

Giving Sango a weak hug, Kagome stumbled up the steps to the ship. Too caught up in not throwing up and running away, she didn't even hear what Sango was telling her.

Forty-five minutes had passed and she hadn't felt any better. After settling in her surprisingly spacious room, it was all she could do to try and focus on breathing calmly. However, the racket of people shuffling about wheeling suitcases and the suffocating sea air made it impossible. It had come suddenly but she had been prepared. Retching out her breakfast, Kagome stood over the toilet gagging while holding her long hair back.

She didn't get much time too recover since the captain had sent crew members to come and gather most of the staff into the eating area. Rinsing her mouth of the bitter aftertaste, she popped a mint in her mouth and briskly walked out of the room. When she got to the designated spot, most of the people had already arrived and the slightly graying captain was about to give orders.

"Alright, chefs this is a challenge for you. I realize that you've worked together briefly during the practice dinners and it will be hard at first to be accustomed to each other so this activity is to prepare you for the task ahead. Each chef will be randomly paired with a inexperienced staff member and will be given 45 min to prepare a meal. Together. I will be watching closely to see that you are doing equal amounts of work and whoever wins gets $50, each. There are six stations and six sets of identical ingredients. Equipment is first come first serve basis. A panel of judges will be judging the food so make enough for five."

Smiling lightly to herself, Kagome felt herself growing calmer. Cooking was something she could do, something that had always made sense to her. Certain amounts of each ingredient, however unexpected it was could be thrown together and make a beautiful dish. The exact opposite of real life.

She was soon paired up with her partner, a striking youkai named Kouga. At first glance, Kagome could tell he was charming. His sleek jet black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, piercing ocean blue eyes sparkled with mischief and his lips were tugged into a smirk, revealing the tips of pearly white fangs. When she was caught staring, she quickly looked away, trying to look nonchalant (but it would have been impossible to miss her red cheeks that were set afire with embarrassment).

She heard someone beside her clear their throat and against her better judgment, looked. "Hey, I'm Kouga."

She smiled shyly. "Um, I'm Kagome. Nice to meet you."

He grinned reassuringly back at her as if he could sense her nervousness (which he probably could since she was fidgeting) and turned back to listen to the captain.

"Now, before we start, are there any questions?"

Kagome waited patiently for someone to ask the obvious question at hand. She scanned the crowd for a raised hand but there were none. With no choice, she took the plunge. "Yes, you in the gray sweater."

All eyes automatically zoomed into her, making Kagome feel very self conscious. 'Did her hair have weird kinks in it? Was her fly done up? Did she look deathly pale?' Pushing her doubt aside, she timidly answered. "Who will be the judges?"

Smiling in an amused but impressed way, the captain answered. "Good question. Tom, bring the judges out please."

Everyone's attention suddenly turned to the doorway and in ran five children. "Ladies and gentlemen, these will be your judges. Now if there are no more questions, let us begin!"

The kitchen shuffled to life as the chefs ran around grabbing their ingredients but Kagome stood her ground. She snatched two aprons off a hook, put one on then motioned for Kouga to wear the other one. He awkwardly shrugged into the apron that was too small for his frame.

"Okay so these are kids we're cooking for. We want them to enjoy the food but at the same time have a nutritional factor," she paused and looked at her partner for understanding and he knowingly nodded. "The other chefs will probably we whipping up five star restaurant dishes but we want to keep it simple. For a good source of omega-3 fatty acids we can make fried salmon filets. Then there's macaroni which can be a good source of protein if we use low-fat cheese and whole grain pasta for the fiber. Lastly we'll slice up some strawberries and sweeten them with Splenda for the vitamin c."

Kouga nodded excitedly and the two headed for their set of bountiful ingredients. Kagome took a basket and starting throwing fresh salmon, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, milk, butter, cheddar cheese, tortellini, strawberries and some sugar and salt in. Once finished they spread out the ingredients and separated them according to the recipe.

"Why don't you boil some water for the pasta first? I can start slicing the salmon," Kagome offered.

Nodding, he turned out the stove, filled a pot with water and placed the lid on for it to boil. When he went back to where Kagome was, she had already cleanly sliced five salmon filets and had grabbed several more ingredients. Too focused in transferring the salmon from the counter to the awaiting dish, she knocked over the bottle of salt. By instinct, he reached out and swiped it before it crashed.

Kagome had witnessed all this and was currently staring at his in awe. Embarrassed, he sheepishly smiled. "Uh, you could say you have a slight edge in this whole cooking thing."

She cocked her head in confusion. "I'm a bartender so I uh guess I'm pretty nifty with my hands."

She laughed lightly and replied. "Well aren't I just the luckiest girl in the bunch? Come on, you can measure out the batter for the salmon with your nifty hands while I pour the pasta in the pot and start grating the cheese."

Every so often she would shout out the amounts for the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and powder, salt and sugar that he needed. Once it was all measured out, Kouga sifted it all into a large bowl and Kagome had a combination of eggs and water ready for him.

"So just carefully pour small quantities in and whisk it all together. When you're finished, the batter should be slightly lumpy but that's fine. I'm going to go slice up the strawberries and just call if you need help," she instructed and wiped her hands on her apron.

As he worked on mixing all that together, Kagome sliced the strawberries in even slivers. She put equal amounts in small serving bowls and sprinkled some Splenda on then put them in the fridge to cool. Kouga was finished with his job soon after and she went to examine the batter.

"Did I do it right? I wasn't sure because I thought it might have been too thick and…" he trailed off, nervous of what she'd say.

"No it's great Kouga! You did really well, it's perfect. Kay so I'll baste the salmon in the mixture and you can go drain the tortellini and start adding the cheese and milk. I've measured it all out for you so just add the milk and slowly add the cheese, it'll thicken up. This shouldn't have any lumps," Kagome said while dipping the salmon in the flour and egg mixture.

"Wait but, isn't macaroni made with those bendy noodles? Last time I checked tortellini was a weird U-shape and has stuff inside." Kouga pointed out, befuddled.

"That's true," she acknowledged, "but this is more of a modern twist on it and you can have different colored tortellini which is more fun. Alright, so after I finish basting it, I'm going to deep fry the salmon fillets then set them out so dry on a paper towel so the excess oil can seep through. Once that's done, we just have to plate it and we'll be complete."

Nodding, Kouga cut out a chunk of butter and threw it in the pot. As it melted, he carefully dumped the tortellini in and mixed it with a stirring spoon. Grabbing the measuring cup, he poured the ¾ cup of milk in with the pasta. Slowly, he added the grated cheese, taking extra time to make sure it blended together smoothly.

While he was working on the macaroni, Kagome had finished dipping the salmon in the prepared batter Kouga had made. Starting up the deep fryer, she set out a plate and put several pieces of paper towels across it. Once the fryer was hot and ready, she cautiously put the fillets of salmon in, letting them cook until they were golden brown. Kagome then warily put them on the plate on top the paper towels, washed her hands and went to see how her partner was doing.

"Are you almost finished with that?" she asked, looking over his shoulder into the pot of bubbling macaroni.

"Yeah, I think it's done but you might want to check it over," he said in a slightly triumphant tone. Smiling at him, she took the wooden spoon from his hands and skillfully tossed the pasta around. Satisfied with that, she proceeded to find two spoons and scooped a bit of the melted cheese up. Taking one for herself and giving one to Kouga, she motioned for him to try it.

"Mmm, this is great! Good job Kouga," she appraised and he grinned even harder. "I'm just going to add a little more milk since it might be a tad thick for the kids."

As she was doing this, the captain came around and announced that they had barely five minutes left in the competition. Acknowledging this, Kagome instructed Kouga to continue folding the pasta while she got the plates and bowls.

Reaching the cupboards where these items were stored, she contemplated the plating of their dishes. 'Kids, what do kids like? Should I carve a rose to put beside the strawberries? Maybe some herbs with drizzled dressing on the salmon? Or perhaps a fruit mountain to go along with the strawberries.'

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her mind. She quickly wracked her head for a list of children friendly plating designs but none came to mind. "You okay?" a voice interrupted, causing her to jump.

"Oh, hey Kouga. Uh yeah, I'm fine, just wondering what kind of plates I should get for the food."

"That's no problem; just grab some colorful plastic bowls and matching plates," he easily responded. "Don't tell me that our professional chef didn't know something a mere bartender like me knew."

Flushing hotly, Kagome looked at the tiled floor. "I-I've just never had kid friendly meals. We had a family chef growing up and my mother was picky about her meals so I guess I've never really learned about this kind of stuff."

Slightly amused he probed further, "You seemed to know quite a bit about cooking for kids though."

"I spent a week just reading kid's cook books after I got my own place, trying to cram the things I had missed as a kid. They had pictures but I was in too much of hurry to ever look at them," she explained in a sheepish tone.

His eyebrow rose in understanding. "Well, allow me then."

Stacking his arms full of bowls and plates, he walked over to where the pasta was waiting. Taking a pasta ladle, he started scooping spoonfuls of the macaroni into the colorful, plastic bowls. Next, he moved on to the deep fried salmon fillets. With a nearby set of chopsticks, he casually placed the fillets upon the crayon colored plates. Once finished, he simply placed the bowl onto the plate and moved them to the counter where they were to be presented. Moving on, he counted out the correct number of spoons, forks and knives, rolled them in Disney themed napkins and set them beside the dishes.

"Aren't you impressed?" he teased.

"Wow, I don't know what to say," she admitted.

Flashing her his perfect set of teeth, he said, "It's okay, I get that a lot. Silent admiration is all I ask."

She laughed at his outgoing personality but then remembered something. "Wait, it's missing something," she said and ran to the fridge.

"There!" she victoriously announced, placing the bowls of strawberries beside the fish and macaroni.

With a minute to spare, the pair talked easily for the remaining time before excitedly presenting their creations to the judges. Two of the other chefs had prepared intricate dishes but with an obvious flaw. They only had that one dish, since it had most likely taken the complete 45min to make. The remaining three had made slightly simpler (but still a fancy restaurant deserving) courses like Caesar salad and filet mignon topped with asparagus. The one thing all meals had in common were the little details most chefs were sure to entail in their cuisine. All except theirs.

"Good job and I hope everyone had fun," the captain began. "I know it must have been frustrating to some of the chefs to work with such inexperienced sous-chefs but that was the point of the game. Now I have walked around and seen the amount or in some cases, lack of teamwork in each pair but let's move on to the tasting. The criteria will be simple; each child will give a thumb up or down to the dish and whichever team has the most thumbs up wins. Let's begin!"

After 40min, all dishes had been tasted and the judges had decided who the winners were. "I am happy to announce that Kagome and Kouga have won the challenge. You showed excellent teamwork and the kids believed your simple and classic were the best. Congratulations! Lastly, photos of the ship crew will be taken by the bow so please meet there!"

Polite applause followed the captain's speech and they were each handed a crisp $50 bill. Bowing her head respectfully, she accepted the money and turned to her partner. She reached out to shake his hand but he had enveloped her in a bear hug. Blushing, she nervously returned the hug, her heart pounding furiously.

'Feh! Stupid, fat woman, blaming me for everything! I don't cook, how the hell can she expect me to know all the…cooking terminology?!?' he angrily thought. "You're doing it all wrong!" he mimicked, recalling his horrible experience with the experienced chef (him being the cooking impaired staff member) he had been paired with for the cooking challenge.

Flashback

"Dice the tomatoes and toss them in the salad while I skin the chicken," she grunted at him, motioning at the large, ripened tomatoes.

Inuyasha, who had lived his years feeding off of ramen, pizza and beer hadn't a rats ass what this beluga whale in front of him was saying. Deciding to do whatever he thought was best, he started cutting the tomatoes in fat chunks and threw them in the salad.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?"

"Uh…tossing it?"

She had turned beet red at this moment and dropped the 10lb cutting board on her size 12 loafers. She continued to jump around the kitchen in frenzy cursing up a storm. Once she had calmed down, she sent him to wash more lettuce since that was something even an 'ignoramus and half-witted simpleton' like him should be able to do. He had responded with calling her an elephantine McChunky.

The rest was history.

End Flashback

Stalking over to where the photos were being taken, he stood thinking about the pair that had won, Kouga and Kagome. The girl had been very easy on the eyes but seemed too shy for his tastes and the guy seemed too confident for his own good. Tossing a glance over at the photographer, he had to do a double-take. After looking closely, he saw that the shutter-bug he had spied looked a lot like that Kagome girl but her eyes and the way she carried herself seemed different. Putting on a smirk, he went over to talk to her.

At this moment, Kagome was walking past where pictures were being taken when something or rather someone caught her eye. 'Kikyou?'

A/N: The cooking challenge took up a good portion of this chapter and I was just wondering if I should continue with one-page cooking sections every now and then. Ooh and...reviews pleasee?