Author's Note: This was written for iyficcontest's Week 151: Favorite Food Theme, and was first posted on July 12, 2008 (Word Count: 388). Btw, a grateful nod to Knittingknots's short-short of the same name, which unconsciously inspired this one—I didn't realize until someone pointed it out to me that I had actually read hers at some point in the past, and must have been thinking of it when this came to mind (--grin--). I promise it's not completely stolen though—you'll see…
Better Than Ramen
"Mm—oden, definitely," Kagome answered, stirring the warm, curly noodles in her little Styrofoam cup thoughtfully. "It's been my favorite ever since I was little. My mom's is the best—she makes it for us every year on my birthday. Fantastic."
"Sounds lovely," Sango agreed.
"I'll have her make some for all of us sometime."
"Would you? I've never been much of a cook myself, so it's always nice to have one of your home-cooked meals, Kagome."
"Yeah," she said with a wry smile, lifting her cup in a small salute, "man—and woman—cannot live on instant ramen alone, right?"
Sango laughed, nodding.
"Alright, Inuyasha," Miroku said, turning the group's attention to the hanyou sitting across the fire, "your turn: What is your favorite thing in the world to eat?"
"That's easy," Shippo chimed in. "Everybody knows that—it's ramen."
"No it ain't," he scoffed, indignant, and everyone turned to look at him in surprise.
"It isn't?" Kagome said, looking puzzled.
He shrugged. "Used to be—but it's not anymore."
"Really?" Sango sounded equally baffled.
"Then what is?" Miroku inquired.
His gaze darted to each of them in turn, face growing redder by the second, until finally he buried himself in his dinner, eyes fixed on the ground. When everyone continued to stare expectantly, he cast a sidelong look at Kagome, twitching his eyebrows meaningfully.
All of a sudden she understood. "Ooh…" she murmured slowly, eyes widening in comprehension. Her face flushed even brighter than Inuyasha's, and she cleared her throat, dropping her gaze to her noodles as well.
Sango and Miroku exchanged a look of shrewd awareness, saying in unison, "Ooh…"
"Wait, I don't get it," Shippo pouted, looking from one to another of the adults around the campfire in consternation, "what is it he likes to eat?"
Miroku patted the kit indulgently on the top of the head. "Don't worry about it, Shippo. Inuyasha will explain it to you when you're older."
"Hey!" the hanyou protested, Kagome snorting into her cup.
"But if it's better than ramen, I want to try it," Shippo whined. "Why can't I have some now?"
Kagome and Inuyasha both choked on their noodles, but Miroku merely continued to smile placidly as he answered: "I don't think you'd like it very much at your age. Let's just say…it's an acquired taste."