Chicken Soup
by: I. C. All

A/N: Hello, faithful readers! It is I, IC, with yet another fic! *cue applause* Yay! Okay, this story is just a sweet, but not that mushy story that I thought up when I read a really great Inuyasha fanfic! Unfortunately, that was a few hours ago, and I forgot which one it was. ^_^' Don't worry! I'll remember ... eventually. *_* Yeah ... that's pretty much it ... Okay, that'll be all for now! See ya'll later!

~ I. C. All

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. *sigh* But at least I still have my dignity ... *KC shows up, holding an Inuyasha poster* AH! GIVE MEEEEE!!!!!!! *pounces on KC in attempt to snatch the poster*

Dedicated to: KC, Andrea, Robin, Angela, Clara, Kristen, May, Jan, Ramona, Ron, Timothy, Jerome, Christopher and all of my other friends who have graduated with me. See ya'll after the holidays! I'll really miss ya'll ... Except maybe for KC ... Hey!
*snickers wickedly*

Special thanks: Thanks to Ai (well, I'm sure Kagome will get a very BIG surprise when she develops those pictures. ^_^) and to FlamingDragon5 (Aw, shucks!). My very first two reviewers!


"A-choo!"

Inuyasha frowned at the sniffling girl next to him. "Stop that!" he said irritably. Kagome glared right back at him. "It's not like I can - achoo!" she sneezed, and blew into a white piece of cloth she called a tissue. A growing pile of used 'tissues' lay beside her.

Inuyasha just glared at her, reflecting on this morning.

*/\*/\* Earlier this morning */\*/\*

"Kagome-chan! Wake up!"

Kagome didn't respond to Sango's cheerful voice, and groaned, snuggling into the sleeping bag even more. Sango sighed, and smiled. "Kagome-chan, I think Inuyasha is getting terribly impatient. You really should get up before he blows his top again," she urged Kagome, kneeling down and shaking her.

A few feet away, Inuyasha snorted. "That's probably the understatement of the year," Miroku smiled, calmly eating his 'oatmeal' and amusedly looking on. "Kagome-chan!" Sango kept on urging the younger girl. Poor Kagome finally gave in when Sango resorted to unzipping her sleeping bag, and groggily got up.

Well, tried to.

She ended up groaning in pain and holding her head. "Kagome-chan? Daijobu desuka?" she asked worriedly, and put her hand on Kagome's forehead. "Shimatta!" Sango exclaimed.

Her exclamation caught the attention of her other three companions. "Doshita no desuka?" Miroku asked, as they came over to join the girls. "Kagome has a burning fever," Sango told them worriedly. "Oh, dear," Miroku sighed.

"Kagome? Are you okay?" Shippou asked, climbing onto the sleeping bag and attempting to look into Kagome's face. "I'm - Achoo!" she sneezed, making the kitsune topple off the bag.

"Wah! Kagome's scary!" Shippou wailed, hiding behind Inuyasha. "Baka!" Inuyasha growled, and jumped over to Kagome, and sniffed at her. "What's wrong with you now, wench?" he snarled. "You smell all clammy and ... sick!"

Kagome finally looked up at them, confirming their suspicions. Her nose was red and stuffy, eyes red, forehead unusually hot, face pale, hands clammy and cheeks flushed. Immediately, everyone knew that they couldn't go.

"Nani?!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"I'm afraid we can't go hunting for Shikon shards right now," Sango repeated. "Naze?!" Inuyasha demanded. "Isn't it obvious?!" Shippou replied angrily. "You little -" Inuyasha growled, attempting to grab the kitsune, but was soon stopped by a sharp slap, courtesy of a familiar staff.

"Ow!" Inuyasha moaned, nursing his injured hand and glaring at the offending monk, who sat as cool as a cucumber, oblivious to the deathly glares a certain hanyou was shooting at him.

"If you're all quite done acting like people half your ages!" Sango growled, making all three boys shut up. She cleared her throat and started up again. "Okay, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted!" she said, shooting a nasty look at each of the three.

"We have to take Kirara to the nearest village to buy Kagome-chan some herbs for her sickness. Miroku-sama, Shippou-chan and I are all going, so Inuyasha, you have to stay behind and protect her," Sango said calmly.

"NANDA?!"

Sango sighed, and tried to explain to the angry hanyou. "Inuyasha, you have to protect Kagome-chan because she's sick, and can't protect herself."

"Why can't you protect her?" Inuyasha muttered. "Because I'm the only one that can control Kirara. Miroku-sama needs to come along to help me distinguish the right herbs, and Shippou-chan needs to come along because I'm not going alone with that hentai," Sango reasoned out. "But, you have to admit, you like it," Miroku grinned. The look Sango gave him was enough to make even Naraku flinch.

They set off before Inuyasha had another chance to complain.

*/\*/\* Present */\*/\*

"Stop glaring at me like that!"

Inuyasha was snapped out of his thoughts by an angry exclamation coming from the dark-haired girl next to him. "I can glare at anyone I want, anytime I want!" he replied smugly. Kagome was about to make a rather good comeback, but was broken off by another sneeze. Inuyasha watched her from the corner of his eye as she blew into another tissue.

"Gomen, Inuyasha. I'm just really tired," Kagome apologized, the fever and the cold affecting her, making her tired and too worn out to argue. Inuyasha barely managed to hide his shocked expression that Kagome actually said she was sorry.

"Whatever," the hanyou muttered, turning around to hide the blush that was forming on his face. The next few moments were spent in an uncomfortable silence.

"Inuyasha?"

"Nani?"

"Could you cook me up some chicken soup?"

Inuyasha turned around to gape at Kagome, who was smiling sweetly.

"What the heck is chicken soup?!"

Kagome laughed. "It's a kind of soup that's supposed to make you feel better when you're sick," she explained, still giggling slightly. "Oh ..."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" she asked him. "Where am I supposed to get a chicken?!" he exclaimed, making Kagome laugh again.


"Okay, now you stir it continuously, until it starts to bubble a bit."

"Like this?"

"Yeah, like that."

Kagome watched amusedly as Inuyasha awkwardly dipped the ladle into the pot, and dribbled the contents into a little plastic bowl. 'This is actually kinda funny,' she observed. 'But sweet too ... Inuyasha's so nice ...'

Kagome was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she hardly noticed the faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. But Inuyasha did. "Daijobu desuka, Kagome?" he asked.

This snapped Kagome out of her thoughts. "Huh?" she asked confusedly. "You're blushing," Inuyasha pointed out. Kagome panicked. "Um, it's just because ... of the fever! Yeah! The fever!" she quickly thought up. The hanyou nodded, and continued ladling soup into the bowl. 'Thank Kami-sama he's ignorant,' she silently thanked.

"Here you go," Inuyasha said, offering the bowl to her. Kagome smiled, and accepted it from him. But just as she was about to take one bite, a sneeze decided to force its way up and out of the poor girl.

"Achoo!" she sneezed, making the bowl fly. "Whoa! Watch it!" Inuyasha exclaimed, reflexly catching the bowl in one hand and Kagome in the other. "Ugh, thanks, Inuyasha," Kagome sniffled, sitting up.

"Erm, yeah ..." Inuyasha said, blushing slightly from the realization that they were so close. Kagome hadn't seemed to notice it yet, though, and smiled up at him, making him blush even more.

"M-Maybe I should feed you the soup," Inuyasha said, his face coloring even more. "What? Really? Arigato gozai masu, Inuyasha-kun!" Kagome smiled brightly, making Inuyasha redden even more (if that was possible) with the sudden addition of the '-kun'.

Inuyasha gulped, and picked up the spoon. He scooped up a bit of the soup, and held it out for her. She gratefully accepted it, swallowing the contents and smiling brightly up at him. The hanyou nervously smiled back, and repeated the process, although this time, he was a bit braver. They continued this, until the whole bowl had been finished.

"Arigato, Inuyasha-kun ..." Kagome murmured sleepily. Inuyasha's golden eyes widened as Kagome fell asleep leaning on him, her head on his shoulder. He smiled one of his rare smiles, and carefully lay her back down. He then stood up to climb another tree, but thought better of it, and sat down next to her.

'She has no idea how pretty she is when she's asleep,' Inuyasha thought fondly, his hand subconsciously moving to her face to brush a few loose strands of hair from her face. Inuyasha sighed, and smiled.

"Sweet dreams, Kagome-chan ..." he whispered. She merely murmured something in her sleep, a smile spreading over her face.

Inuyasha blinked, his ears twitching.

'Did she just say ... Aishiteru, Inuyasha-kun?!'


"Kagome! Oh, Kagome! Kago-mph!"

"Be quiet, Shippou-kun!" Sango hissed to Shippou, her hand covering his mouth. The kitsune wriggled out of Sango's grasp, and turned to glare at her, annoyed. "What for?!" Shippou exclaimed.

Miroku smiled, and beckoned to Shippou. Deeply interested, the young kitsune bounded over. "What is it, Miroku-kun?" he asked. Miroku merely pointed to something behind the bushes. Shippou's mouth formed an 'o' as he realized what it was. "Yuck! That's disgusting!" Shippou exclaimed, making a face. "No, it isn't. It's love ..." Sango smiled, looking at the couple in a somewhat longing way.

Kagome lay on top of her sleeping bag, snoozing gently. Beside her lay a certain silver-haired hanyou, whose right arm was wrapped protectively around her. Kagome's head lay on Inuyasha's chest, and the two looked every bit like the perfect couple.

"Wow ... I wish I could find love like that ..." Sango said, revealing a very feminine side that she didn't allow to surface very often. Miroku glanced at her. Unfortunately for him, she caught him gazing at her before he could pull his eyes away.

"Huh? What is it, houshi-sama?" Sango asked. "Er, nothing!" he insisted, for fear of receiving a very nasty beating. Sango just nodded, but continued watching him warily. Shippou, who watched the two, figured the whole thing out.

"Yuck! Adults are disgusting! I never wanna grow up!"


A/N: Woo hoo! Finished with only one break! Sorry that I couldn't add much detail in the ending. I ran out of ideas, and my annoying little brother's bugging me to get off now, because he wants to play 3D Pinball. @_@ That's little brothers for ya! But at least I added some M/S fluff! :) Anyway, you know what to do. Click the button down there, and get my little brother off the computer! Ja ne!

~ I. C. All

Quote of the Day:
Kagome: Are you still mad about that? Well, you got to see me naked, so we're even!
Inuyasha (blushing furiously): I didn't see anything!
Kagome (whispers): He did, didn't he?
Shippou: Leave me out of this.