Comfort Food

Sango-sama

Disclaimer: I don't own much. But I own this challenge. ^_^

Fic Challenge appears below!

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The kettle sat over the fire, tongues of flame reaching up to kiss the bottom. Whisps of steam came up from the top, furling and twining as they rose into the air.

The bubbles in the pot had started as small, miniscule really. While they lurked in their smallest form against the metal edges, they could be easily ignored by anyone who couldn't tell that pot was heating. But the efforts of time and toil brought the bubbles to the surface, and soon, little is able to stop the bubbles from frothing over the lip except by removing it from the heat.

Kagome sighed heavily. When had she started to compare her love life to the most meaningless and mundane things around her?

She stirred the pot lazily with a wooden spoon, letting the tiny bubbles prick the tight surface.

Everything between her and Inuyasha had bordered on the border of boiling over often enough. She didn't know exactly what she was hoping for, but it kept being interrupted.

Kouga.

Houjo.

Kikyou…

She had been the reason today. Showing up with little warning as the group had taken a break at a river's edge, she informed Inuyasha that not only was Naraku in the area, but her had been watching her. And with just as much notice, she had stalked away.

'I suppose I should be happy that she left right away,' she mused, drawing her chin into her hand, her elbow balanced atop a tree stump. 'She didn't hug him, or try to kiss him again either. Nor did she try to drag him down to hell with her.'

But that was the problem. The undead miko had left so suddenly that Inuyasha hadn't known just what to think. And now, he sat on the highest sturdy branch above her, not quite sulking and not quite musing, but falling somewhere in between.

She pulled the kettle off of the fire.

She could understand what he was feeling. She understood it all too well. They had been pulled off of the flames once again, by his ties to the past.

But she couldn't fault Kikyou for her connection to Inuyasha. It was that after all, which allowed her to travel through the ages just to meet him.

So for now, she would have to grin and bear it.

"Inuyasha." Her words were only a soft murmur, but they reached his youkai senses with ease.

Still half dazed, he peered absently down to her.

"Won't you come down? I have some ramen for you…"

In the blink of an eye, he was down on the ground next to her, pulling the Styrofoam cup from her fingertips.

She watched as he gulped down the noodles and the slurped at the brown liquid.

He grimaced slightly, pulling the empty cup away from his lips. "It's a little cold."

Kagome's smile became a bit strained.

"I suppose I must have pulled it from the fire a bit too early then…"

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Okay. I hope this makes sense to some of you. No sleep usually makes for a good fic, but since I usually write for Sango/Miroku I think I may have come up a bit short. -_-

So anyways, my first fic challenge. It's very general...which means more creative influence from you all...which I think is a bit better. This way, it's not like reading the same thing over and over again.

"Cooking"

Food can be a great source of comfort (and on some occasions, sensuality...), but it is something we largely take for granted. As for cooking, it can be a great stress relief for some and a harrowing experience for others. The greatest thing here though, is that Takahashi doesn't show very much in the way of cooking or eating (except Inu-Yasha and his Ramen...and some random campfire scenes...) And of course, what is the purpose of cooking without someone to enjoy the food? ^_^

This could be a real insight into the individual character...or perhaps a brief flash of comedy. Who strikes you as the Iron Chef...who makes Akane's cooking look...well, less toxic.

Take a stab at it...and have fun! I hope to see a bunch of posts. This will very likely be a contest.

Ja ne!

Sango-sama