A/N: I'm back with another chapter. This one was quite fun to write, especially the last part. You'll see what I mean when you get to it.

But first off, a big thanks to LenaMiaH, Lindell Alissa, Cat2k10, xoxonana, and jennap7662 for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam.

And to Kagz419, thanks for the review. We all just know that Miroku can't keep his hands to himself! And I'm happy that you liked the chapter; it was quite emotional for me to write it – I really felt Aiko's despair when she saw the change.

Lastly, thank you all for taking the time to read my story; I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).

Now, let's get on with the chapter:

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Chapter 28 – The Noodle Queen

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Kagome had been ecstatic seeing us return, and even more so when she saw that my eyes had turned back to their usual green color. We had eaten in relative silence, though I could feel InuYasha staring at me with apprehension. I really did owe him an apology. Also, I still needed to talk to him about that fight I had remembered.

When the others had gone to sleep, InuYasha had gotten up from his spot and headed towards the opening. I looked at him and saw that he had stopped up, a hand on the curtains while he held them aside. He was looking intently at me and I knew that he wanted to speak with me. I gave him a nod, wordlessly saying that I would follow him shortly. Seeing my nod, he gave one in return and exited the hut, the curtains gently shuffling back to their proper place.

Slowly I got up from my sleeping bag and stealthily went after him. I couldn't see where he was, but I could feel his yōki. Letting it guide me to where he was, I found him sitting on the roof of the blacksmith. The very same roof we had sat on and talked with each other days ago. I chuffed at the notion; it was like we had our own spot to talk in privacy. It was somewhat funny to think about.

I quickly scaled the walls and got up onto the roof, then I slowly approached him. He was lying on his back, his eyes watching the starry night sky. When I was only a few feet away from him, I sat down in the lotus position, facing him while he kept staring at the sky above us.

He didn't acknowledge my presence, but I knew that he knew that I was there. I had a feeling that he waited for me to start the conversation. Taking a deep breath, I slowly let it out like a soft sigh.

"I'm sorry, InuYasha," I said demurely, looking down at my lap, "I shouldn't have let my anger out on you."

He closed his eyes and chuffed out: "Tch, I'm not sentimental…"

I closed my eyes and sighed; he was really not an easy person to apologize to: "Even so, I shouldn't have said those things I said… It was cruel of me!"

I heard him shuffle on the spot he was in. Opening my eyes, I looked up and saw that he had sat up as well. Though, he wasn't looking at me.

"Well, it's not like I was any better…" he said softly while he closed his eyes.

Then he opened them and looked at me for the first time since we've gotten up on the roof.

"I didn't know how important the memory of your otō-san is, and how much the change would affect you…"

His golden eyes glimmered with an unspoken apology to his earlier harsh words. I gave him a gentle nod, forgiving him with the small notion. He gave one in return. Even though he didn't say I'm sorry, we both came to a silent agreement. It was good enough for me. Truthfully, I had something else I'd rather talk about.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something important," I said gently while I closed my eyes, trying to gather my thoughts.

He didn't say a word, waiting for me to speak my mind.

Sighing softly, I then asked him: "Back in your otō-san's remains… What happened?"

I opened my eyes and looked at him. He had a grim expression on his face, looking like he wasn't happy about the question.

"What I mean is… I've recently reexperienced my fight with Sesshōmaru, and I want to know what you saw during that fight… You are the only other one who knows what happened. Other than Sesshōmaru…"

"I know that!" InuYasha exclaimed harshly.

I stopped talking, feeling slightly hurt by his harshness. I just wanted to know what had happened exactly.

He sighed then said in a gentler manner: "I know that…"

Silence filled the air in between us while I waited for him to talk. The ball was in his courtyard, so to speak, and it was his move. He turned his attention back up to the heavens. I mirrored his movement and let my eyes rest on the beautiful white specks that was scattered across the black canvas of the sky.

Then after a short while, he sighed defeatedly: "When Kagome got covered by Sesshōmaru's poison, the air seemed to shift around us."

At his words, I shifted my gaze back to him. He was sitting with a thoughtful gleam in his golden eyes, staring at his clawed hands that rested in his lap.

"At first, I was…" he shifted his eyes up to meet mine, and I saw something that I wouldn't have thought I would see in his eyes.

I saw fear. An unadulterated and deep fear.

"I felt a yōki… a powerful one…"

His eyes shifted back down to his hands, and he silently swallowed a lump in his throat.

"It came from you…" he said in a breathless manner, "And when I looked at you … you had changed!"

I wanted to ask him how I had changed, but at the same time, I didn't want to interrupt his recount of what had happened.

"Then you attacked Sesshōmaru, and I could only watch…"

His eyes shifted up to me once more, his golden eyes hard to read.

"It was only when Kagome turned out to be unharmed that you stopped."

Time passed us by with no words spoken, and after a while, I finally forced myself to ask: "You said I changed… Explain it to me."

It took another minute or two for him to tell me: "You looked like a yōkai…"

I had a feeling that he wasn't referring to Gin… and I was right: "You had black markings and your eyes had turned blue…"

A wave of shock coursed through my body. I knew that it had to be my mother's blood that had taken a hold of me during that fight. It was like I had already thought, but to be faced with the facts was difficult to accept. But then I began to ask myself: how was it possible for my mother's blood to activate if it was sealed within me? What was the spell breaker?

"But it's not the only time I've seen the change!" InuYasha said in a rough manner.

I looked up at him and saw his severe expression while he said: "Back when we were fighting the Peach Man. After Miroku helped us get out of those vines, you changed for a few seconds when you thought that Kagome had been eaten."

That was news to me. I hadn't even registered that it hadn't been Gin's yōki I had used at that precise moment. But when I tried to remember it, I couldn't. I couldn't remember if it had been Gin's or it's yōki I had felt take a hold of me. It was mildly annoying.

"And I changed during our latest encounter with Naraku…" I added in, knowing completely that it hadn't been Gin's yōki I had felt during the majority of that fight.

InuYasha nodded at my statement. Clearly, he had registered it as I had. I began to wonder what exactly it was once again; it was still a mystery to me. Maybe InuYasha had an idea of what my mother's bloodline was.

"Do you know what type of yōkai I turned into?" I asked him.

To this, he shook his head in a negative and then added: "I couldn't recognize the scent…"

I nodded solemnly to his response. But at least he had shed some light over my enigma, yet most of it was still unsolved. And more questions had been added to the ever-growing list.

~oOo~

My night had been a restless one. I had tried to sleep, but every time I was just about to fall asleep, my thoughts kept nagging at me. I kept mulling over the questions I still had about my own heritage. About my mother's yōkai blood that seemed to be able to activate itself at random situations. I couldn't help but try to figure it out, yet I couldn't find out how it was possible. If it was sealed away inside of me, how was it able to break out of said seal without breaking the seal completely?

When the first rays of the rising sun shone in through the small cracks between the wood and the curtain of the doorway, I finally gave up on getting any resemblance of sleep. I got up from my sleeping bag and silently stretched my slightly stiff limbs, muffling a yawn that wanted to escape my lips. Then I let my gaze sweep over my companions. They were all sleeping. InuYasha was sleeping next to the entrance in his usual posture: sitting up against the wall while he held the Tessaiga close to his chest. Miroku was lying close to the opposite wall of where I had been lying, facing the wall while his shakujō was resting gently against the corner of the walls, near his head. Within reach if he needed it in a second's notice. At the wall opposite the entrance, lied Sango, still out cold after our encounter. She was lying on her back with Kirara curled protectively around her head. Then right next to where I had been lying was Kagome. Lying in her sleeping bag on her back with Shippō sprawled out like a sea star on top of the sleeping bag on her stomach. It was adorable the way Shippō lied and I had a tingling sensation in my hands. How I wanted to scratch his exposed tummy. But I refrained from it. Shippō was a kitsune, a person, and not just some common house pet. Yet I still wanted to scratch his inviting stomach like he was a pet.

Shaking my head from side to side to shake out the impulse, I decided to get out of the hut. I snuck out as silently as I could, without stepping on someone's toe or make a single thing scramble with disturbance. When I was at the entrance, I gently pulled the curtain aside and hurriedly stepped outside. Once outside, I stretched once more and let a gentle yawn escape my lips. It was refreshing to stretch out my sore muscles. The fight I had been in with Naraku had really done a number on my body. Thinking on the battle, I remembered how I had been pierced by small thorns in my throat where he injected his poisonous yōki into me. My right hand sought after it and felt around on the smooth skin of my throat underneath my fingers, yet there weren't any blemishes that indicated that my skin had ever been pierced. That surprised me and I wished that I had a mirror to see if what I had felt was true. But that thought quickly dissipated when I felt the beginning of a headache forming in my mind. I closed my eyes and hissed a bit at the pain. And just as quickly as the pain had appeared, it disappeared in almost the same instance. I had a feeling that it had something to do with my mother's bloodline that resided in me, which got confirmed when I suddenly felt a fluke in my yōki, accompanied with an innate anger that bubbled up with the increasing of my yōki. I had to do something about it and decided that some meditation couldn't harm me. If it would work like it had done the night before when Miroku guided me through the steps, it would be fantastic.

With my mind on that, I exited the village and walked down to the small meadow with the yellow flowers I had seen Kagome and Shippō in when we were burying the dead villagers. When I was fairly deep within the flowery meadow, I glanced back and could barely see the path leading up to the village entrance. I decided that this spot would do it. Sitting down right where I was standing, I was soon enveloped with the scent of those yellow flowers that surrounded me. They smelled pleasantly like fresh honey and pollen. The smell made me sigh pleasingly and I closed my eyes.

Sitting in the lotus position, I mentally guided myself through the steps, starting with the regulation of my breathing pattern. Taking a deep breath, I counted to four, then slowly let it out while I counted to four. While my lungs was depleted of oxygen, I once again counted to four before I breathed in while I counted to four. I repeated the process until I felt like the breathing rhythm was natural and self-sustainable. Then I proceeded with the next step and felt how my body became heavier and heavier with each exhale. When it felt like the weight of my body was making a crater in the grassy earth I was sitting upon, I let my spirit fly up towards the sky with every exhale I made. I felt how my spirit became lighter and freer with each exhale, expelling every negative emotion from my soul. When I exhaled again, I felt like I could touch the sun without being engulfed by its heat. I counted to four while I kept my lungs depleted of oxygen. Then I took in another breath and I felt my surroundings disappear. The warm rays of the rising sun were gone. So was the pleasant smell of honey and pollen from the yellow flowers that had surrounded me. Even the soft breeze had disappeared like it had never existed. Then I was plunged into darkness. It felt like I had been there before, surrounded by the same darkness not too long ago. I looked around trying to find a way out of the never ending darkness. Wherever my eyes roamed, there was only the darkness. Then I felt something tingle in the back of my skull, like someone was watching me. I hastily turned around to look at where the feeling was coming from. My eyes landed on a dark silhouette that was almost consumed by the surrounding darkness.

The silhouette shifted and suddenly I was staring right into a pair of electric blue orbs, shining like lightning striking down. I felt myself stiffen in surprise with how intensely those eyes were staring into my own. They seemed cold. Calculating. It was like those blue orbs were studying me, appraising me. I could only see those intense electric blue orbs, the rest of it was enveloped in the shadowy darkness that was enveloping us both. My thoughts had stopped up entirely while we stared into each other's eyes.

Time seemed to stand still while we held each other's gaze, neither of us blinking or wavering our gazes away from one another's. I couldn't breathe, though I didn't have the need to breathe at all while I stared into those eyes. At first they were unrecognizable, but with each ticking second, they seemed to stir something in my mind. It suddenly felt like I knew those eyes. Like I've always known about them. Flashes of images began to flitter across my inner eyes, but they were distorted. I couldn't focus on them, no matter how much I tried to. But I had a feeling that it was a long forgotten memory that tried to be relived. Before I could figure any of it out, I suddenly felt something crash into my chest and knock out my breath.

I sat up abruptly and almost choked on the sharp intake I took of honey filled air. Something seemed to tumble off of my chest when had I sat up. Slowly, everything seemed to come to my senses: the gentle warm rays from the sun, the sweet smell of honey and pollen, and the tender caresses of the soft breeze.

"Ai-che-che-che-che!" I heard a childish voice exclaim repeatedly in pain.

My eyes landed on the small form of Shippō clutching his small hand on top of his head, where a small bump had already formed.

"Shippō-bō…?" I asked slowly, feeling confused at what had just happened.

His green eyes gleamed up at me with small drops of tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. When he looked me in the eyes, he seemed to forget his pain. His hands moved away from his head and the tears seemed to disappear in the same second they had been made. Then he quickly sprung up from the grassy ground and ran up to me. Before I could react to his actions, he jumped up and landed on my chest, hugging himself in close to me.

I was more than confused at the way he was behaving.

"Did something happen?" I asked him slowly, trying to get my mind to focus on the little kitsune hanging on my clothed bosom.

He was nodding vigorously into my chest and seemed to sniffle a bit. His answer made my head clear up instantly and I looked pointedly on the kitsune when I pulled him away from my chest to see his face. New tears had gathered in his eyes, and he impatiently tried to dry them away with his small hands.

Then he stammered out: "You weren't breathing, and suddenly you fell backwards! I thought that you were dying!"

Oh kami, he was worried about me.

"Oh, shush shush, Shippō-bō," I said in a loving manner, "I won't go down that easily…"

I hugged him tenderly into my chest while he seemed to succumb to his fright of me dying. He wailed so heartbreakingly that I could feel my own tears sting underneath my closed eyelids. Dear kami, he was such a sweet kid.

I gently shushed at him while I softly whispered: "I'm right here… I'm not dead… No need to cry…"

We sat like that for a while with me comforting him the best I could. When he seemed to have calmed down enough, he slowly pulled away from my chest and dried the last of his tears away with the sleeve of his turquoise happi coat. With him no longer resting his head against my chest, I registered the wet spot his salty tears had left when a gentle breeze rolled over us. But I didn't comment on it. Instead I began to wonder why Shippō was here in the first place.

"Why aren't you with the others?" I asked him softly.

He blinked up at me a few times before he told me his tale: "I heard the curtains ruffle and saw that you weren't in your sleeping bag. I went out of the hut to look for you when I saw you exit the village."

He sat down on top of my folded shins looking up at me with his sparkling green eyes that were a tad darker than mine. His fluffy fox tail was swishing gently from side to side, his soft fur tickling my naked shins with each motion. But I sat still, my sole focus on him while he continued berating his story to me.

"I followed you and found you sitting in the meadow. When I was almost right in front of you, I tried to get your attention. But you didn't respond at all and seemed to be somewhere else entirely."

The next sentences he said was in a much hurried spoken manner and the panic he had felt seemed to reappear in his green eyes: "Then you stopped breathing and fell backwards. I panicked and tried to wake you up, but you didn't respond at all. It wasn't until I jumped down on your chest that you woke up. You sat up straight and slung me off of you with the same motion."

His small hands then moved up to the small bump there was on top of his head, his facial expression morphing into one of slight pain: "I hit my head in the fall."

"I'm so sorry," I said softly and hugged him gently into my chest.

Then I placed a gentle kiss on top of his bump. Something that my father always did whenever I had hurt my hide. His kisses would always push any pain I had morph away to bliss.

I drew back from him and saw a confused expression on his childish face.

"What ya do that for?" he asked me just as confusedly as he looked.

I gave him a loving smile: "I'm kissing the pain away. My otō-san always kissed my pain away whenever I had hurt myself. Whether it would be a scrape or a bump, the pain always disappeared whenever the tender point was given a kiss by him."

He looked at me with slightly watery eyes, clearly not knowing what to say or do.

"Did the pain go away?" I asked Shippō tenderly.

He blinked at me a couple of times, then he got a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. Suddenly a surprised gleam overtook the thoughtful look he had had, and he stared into my eyes while he kept the surprised look on his face.

"How?" was his only question to mine.

I gave a soft chuckle. He reminded me slightly about myself when I was a little kid. The first time my father had kissed me on a booboo, I had asked him the same question. The answer he had given me was not what I had wanted to hear, but I never pressured him on it. I now knew what it was that had done the trick, but I didn't tell Shippō that. Instead, I gave him the same apply my father had given me so long time ago.

"It's a family secret."

Again, Shippō blinked in confusion, until he figured out that it wasn't a satisfactory answer. Then his face morphed into dissatisfaction.

"That's not a real answer!" he grumbled at me and crossed his hands across his chest.

I chuckled again in light mirth: "No, but it's the same answer I got when I was a kid. All I can say is when you get older, you'll know the secret."

This made him look at me with curiosity while his hands relaxed once more, his hands gently resting on my naked shins.

"Do you know the secret?" he asked me.

I gave him a loving smile. He simply was an adorable little kid.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to do it myself."

He returned my smile like only a child could, then he got up and hugged my face gently in his small arms and gave my cheek a small peck. I hummed in happiness with his loving gesture and rested my hand on his back in a heartfelt manner, loosely returning his gesture.

"Now, let's get back before the others will have a search party looking after us," I said gently and got up from the ground while holding him securely on my left shoulder.

He agreed with a hum and settled himself on my shoulder.

After a few steps, he asked me: "What exactly were you doing out here?"

While walking I turned my gaze towards him and answered: "Meditating. I figured it would be as good a time as any."

With that answer, we returned into a companionable silence while I led us back to the village.

~oOo~

When we returned, everyone was awake. Though Sango was still out cold, which wasn't a mystery since she had been so badly hurt when we encountered her. I could only guess that Kagome had had her things to do, considering that I was out cold as well and had been bruised as well. But definitely not as severe as Sango had been. Kirara had never left Sango's side all this time she had been out cold. At least not what I knew of, anyways.

Kagome was in the middle of preparing breakfast when I entered with Shippō on my left shoulder. Our entrance brought their attentions towards us, and I saw how relieved Kagome became when we entered the hut.

"There you are!" Kagome said in a reprimanding tone, "Where have you guys been?"

I looked at Shippō, who looked at me. His eyes were clearly telling me that I was the one who was gonna answer her. I felt my lips twist up in a soft smile and looked back at Kagome.

"Meditating," I answered simply and walked inside.

Then I sat down while Shippō jumped off of my shoulder and went over to Kagome. He stepped a bit back and forth on his vulpine feet, making a small jug in anticipation for breakfast. His eyes rested only on the bowls of instant ramen. I couldn't help but laugh gently at how cute Shippō was while he made his impatient little dance.

"It seems that it's working," Miroku said softly and I glanced over at him.

He was looking at me with gentle indigo eyes, clearly studying my behavior: "You seem to be more relaxed."

This made me think, and I could happily say that I was relaxed and felt quite good.

"I feel good," I said in a cheery manner.

Then my stomach grumbled loudly, and I glanced down at my protesting stomach: "… And I'm starving!" I then exclaimed in a happy manner.

Kagome chuckled at my enthusiasm and I turned my attention over to her.

"I'm happy that your appetite has returned. There's enough for you to gorge 'til your heart's content…" Kagome said mirthfully.

But then InuYasha exclaimed: "Hey! How come she gets to gorge 'til her heart's content?! How about my stomach?!"

While Kagome got up from her seated position with a bowl of ramen, she answered InuYasha in a very patient manner: "Because Aiko-chan is still recuperating from the fight with Naraku…"

I received the bowl of noodles from her and thanked her. Then before I could dig in, InuYasha exclaimed once more.

"I was hurt in that fight too!"

"But not as severely as Aiko-chan!" Kagome said fiercely while she gave Miroku his bowl of noodles.

Shippō had already a portion and was digging into it hungrily, barely letting it cool enough to not burn his tongue.

"Besides, you're already healed," Kagome then added in an afterthought while she returned back to her spot to get InuYasha's portion of instant ramen.

"But that's not fair!" he mumbled out with annoyance and discontent.

I quickly swallowed the mouthful of noodles I had in my mouth and said to InuYasha in a joking manner: "Life's not fair… Never has been. Never will be."

I looked over at InuYasha in a smirking manner, feeling a little bit like my old cocky self for once in a long time. He was staring at me with narrowed eyes, clearly not happy with my comment. Then he grumbled a bit while he dug into his portion of ramen. I suddenly felt competitive and quickly returned to my own noodles. With how fast InuYasha was eating his noodles, I wanted nothing more than to be faster than him. I felt eyes on me and knew that Kagome was staring at me. I could only imagine what she was thinking.

I quickly finished my portion and placed the bowl in front of me but kept my chopsticks in my right hand. Then I glanced up at Kagome and saw that she was staring at me with a knowing look in her eyes. I gave her a smirk in return and asked for seconds, just as InuYasha harshly placed his bowl on the floor and demanded for seconds. Our 'seconds' came at the same time and I shifted my eyes over to him, only to see him turn his golden eyes towards me at the same time. A glint came into his eyes and I recognized it immediately. He was challenging me to an eating competition.

Challenge accepted, I thought happily and then turned my eyes back to Kagome.

"Line them up, Kagome-chan! InuYasha is challenging me for my title!"

An exasperated sigh came from Kagome, but she began to line the bowls of noodles.

"You know, Aiko-chan, if you're going through with the challenge, there will be no more instant ramens when you're done."

InuYasha scoffed at Kagome's comment: "No way in hell she can eat that much!"

I glanced over at him and couldn't help but smirk at his comment: "You're talking to 'the Noodle Queen' over here!"

"Bah! 'The Noodle Queen!' What a hoax!"

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, InuYasha," Kagome said softly.

She had lined up ten ramens up to each of us and had prepared the first bowl of ours. More water was being boiled while we were speaking. Kagome already knew how much either of us could wolf down, and if she was warning InuYasha, then it was an easy win for me.

My smirk was ever present as I turned my attention back to InuYasha who was looking at me with a mirroring smirk and a fierce determination burned in his eyes.

Then I looked back at Kagome and gave her a serious nod. She sighed and looked up at me with hopelessness.

"Do I have to?" she asked me, which I replied to with another nod.

I turned my attention back to InuYasha while Kagome gave another condemning sigh.

"Alright then," she mumbled.

She cleared her throat and spoke out in an authoritative voice: "The title for 'Noodle Queen' or 'King' has been challenged. The challenger is InuYasha, who's challenging the current ruler, Aiko. The objective is simple. The first to finish ten bowls of instant ramen will be the winner."

A bowl was placed in front of us both and we stared at each other, trying to intimidate each other. Like hell he would get my title of 'Noodle Queen!' I've been the ruling master of noodles for five consecutive years and no-one has ever come near to beating me.

The scent of chicken flavored noodle wafted up to my nose and I could feel how hungry I still was. I heard Kagome preparing the next three bowl of noodles before she put over some more water.

"Are the contestants ready?" she asked and we both nodded in agreement.

Then I heard the smile in Kagome's voice when she uttered: "Ready, set… Noodle up!"

And we both dug into our respective bowls of noodles. I concentrated only on my own bowl. And before I was done with the first bowl, the next had already been set up in line.

Good. Keep them coming Kagome! I thought victoriously.

I quickly finished up my first bowl and started on the second. While I wolfed down the second bowl, the empty bowl got replaced with a fresh batch of cooked noodles. This process was repeated until I reached my tenth and final bowl. And I quickly finished the bowl.

When I was done I place it down in front of me with the chopsticks on top of the empty bowl.

Then I clapped my hands together and exclaimed: "Done!"

I glanced up and looked up at my noodle-rival and saw his cheeks were puffed out with noodles, while a few strands hang out from in between his lips. He quickly swallowed the noodles down and looked down at the bowl he had in hand, then at the still full bowl he had in front of him. I followed his gaze and looked over to where Kagome was sitting. There were no bowls of instant ramen in front of her. Then I glanced back at InuYasha, who looked at me with puzzled eyes.

I had to give it to him. He was at his second to last bowl of instant ramen, which was the closest anyone had been to beating me in my own game.

"Aiko-chan remains the ruler of noodles: 'the Noodle Queen'!"

I clapped my hands in praise to his speed, happy that he was somewhat fast in wolfing down hot noodles.

"Good job, InuYasha," I said happily, closing my eyes in mirth.

I could feel him looking at me incredulously and opened my eyes to look at him. He had finished his ninth bowl but didn't dig into his tenth and final one.

"How's that possible?" he asked me, clearly surprised with my speed.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his surprise and decided to tell him about my title.

"I should let you know that I have been 'the Noodle Queen' for five consecutive years. The title has existed for five years."

This clearly took him by surprise, and I heard Shippō gasp in awe. I glanced over at him and saw how he looked just as surprised as well. Then, just out of curiosity, I looked at Miroku, only to see him mimicking the other two. It was so funny how every male that had been witness to my noodle consumption always seemed so surprise with the result.

My eyes shifted back to InuYasha, who was now sitting with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"But I have to give it to you," I said with mild surprise, "You're the only one who's come this close to beat me in the 'ten-noodle-challenge'."

This made him narrow his eyes with his eyebrows furling down over his golden eyes: "What kind of wimps have you been challenging?"

I smiled at his question: "I was never the challenger, so you tell me."

My answer made his silvery eyebrows furl even deeper over his eyes while he seemed to ponder upon my answer.

Then my attention was taken by Shippō asking: "How fast can you consume ten bowls of ninja food?"

"My record is a bit over four minutes."

He gasped out in fascination: "That fast?!"

I nodded with pride, and said: "Yep," while I popped the 'p'.

Then Miroku pulled at my attention: "Why did you call it the 'ten-noodle-challenge'? Wouldn't it be simpler to just call it 'the challenge'?"

I looked at him and said simply: "That's because it's not the only challenge available."

This seemed to spark his curiosity: "What other challenges are there?"

"Only one other," I said and help a pregnant pause for dramatic effect.

Then I said: "The 'Max-challenge'," in such a dramatic manner that I imagined fireworks going off with the announcement of the other challenge.

"The 'Max-challenge'?" InuYasha asked me in a slow and questioning manner.

I nodded pridefully, crossing my arms over my chest with my eyes closed while I kept a satisfied smirk on my lips.

"The 'Max-challenge'!" I said and put pressure on the 'the' for extra flare.

"What's that?" Shippō then asked me.

I chose to not answer. Instead, I looked over at Kagome and decided that she should answer it for me. She sighed when I looked at her imploringly.

But she answered Shippō's question: "The challenge had only been done once. Basically, the challenge is about how many bowls one person can eat in one go."

"Why has it only been done once?" Miroku then asked Kagome since I had let her be the spokesperson for this subject.

She gave another sigh and scratched the back of her neck: "Because we only have been able to gather enough bowls for the challenge that one time."

"How many?" InuYasha asked in an accusing manner like he would rather had done the 'max-challenge' than the 'ten-noodle-challenge'.

I chose to give the answer to that question: "Fifty bowls."

There was a pregnant pause before Miroku asked the question I had been waiting on: "What's your record?"

Another satisfied smile came to my lips and I answered him: "Twenty-seven."

"And your opponent?" Miroku then asked.

I chuffed out and leaned backwards, supporting my weight on my outstretched hands: "He only got through thirteen bowls."

"I was quite stuffed at the twenty-seventh, but I knew that I had room for more… But I decided that it was better to save the last ten bowls for another challenge. That way, we only had to get ten other bowls for the next 'ten-noodle-challenge'."

"Where the heck do you keep all that noodle?" InuYasha then exclaimed in utter surprise.

I chose to lie down on my back for a bit, suddenly feeling a bit tired: "I've got quite the metabolism!"

He chuffed at my answer and I heard him get up from his spot. I kept my eyes closed, not caring where he was headed to. Then I heard Shippō skitter across the floor and he dug into the leftover bowl of instant ramen that InuYasha had left.

Then I heard people get up and head out, but one pair of feet walked over to me.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked me with curiosity tinted with slight nervousness.

I lazily opened an eye and saw her hovering over my face, her hair curtaining her gentle face.

"Yeah… just gonna nap a bit…" I mumbled out tiredly and let out a yawn.

She gave me a smile and I closed my eyes, drowsily returning one to her.

"Alright," she said warmly and walked away from my lying form, "Sleep tight."

I hummed in agreement and turned onto my side, lying properly on top of my sleeping bag. While I felt myself succumb to the enticing idea of sleep, I couldn't help but feel extremely happy. I was still the ruler of noodles: 'the Noodle Queen'.

A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; a bit of seriousness mixed with something fun to round it up. I really loved writing the noodle-challenge. I could just see how it transpired and I think that it's simply hilarious. Also, it gives you a bit of an insight to how Aiko is underneath this whole yōkai-bloodline-mystery that is her – a bit of her old self!

But I would really love to hear what you guys thought of it. Did you find it funny?

Next chapter will again be a bit more serious. A bit of emotions running rampage and new clues appearing. But until next Sunday, you'll only have your own imaginations to think about what might happen next chapter.

Stay safe, everyone!

Updater 05/15-2020: Chapters 1-28 has been corrected for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Nothing to the story has been changed.