Kagome awoke to someone gently shaking her shoulder and Inuyasha's voice. "Kagome? Kagome, wake up, we need to leave."
"Mmm." she murmured, snuggling into her sleeping bag. Her drowsiness, the warmth of her bedding, and the soothing quality of Inuyasha's voice all combined to create in her a supremely contented state.
"Come on, Kagome, wake up!"
"Fi' more min'tes." she bargained, yawning.
"No, we have to go."
Kagome slowly blinked her large eyes open and rubbed them. Inuyasha was squatting next to her. "Do you feel all right? How's your wound?"
"I need to change my bandages." she replied, awake and frowning.
He nodded. "I'll make sure the monk stays away."
Her eyes met his soberly. "I'll need a while to change Sango's, too."
"You've got it. There's already water in here, and I've gotten what Miroku and I will need out of your bag."
"Inuyasha, you know I don't like it when you go through my things-" she argued wearily.
"I know, but they were all right there on the top, and we need to leave."
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
He gave her an incredulous stare. "Naraku knows we're in no condition to fight. He'll undoubtedly send something after us." His voice lowered and roughened. "And I don't want you anywhere near a battle right now. You're far too hurt."
"I can still fire my arrows, if it comes to that. I'm not that weak, Inuyasha." she told him, touched.
He helped her sit up. "No, you're not weak. You're hurt."
Kagome wriggled her way free of the sleeping bag and began rolling it up. "You go ahead and tend to Miroku. Are Sango and Shippo up yet?"
"Sango's awake, but the brat's gone to sleep again." said Inuyasha, swiftly striding across the room to remedy that.
"Remember, he has a head injury!" Kagome called after him.
"That's no injury." Inuyasha scoffed, giving the boy a gentle (for him) fist to the back of the head.
"Ow!" Shippo wailed pitifully, springing up with obscene energy. "Kagome!"
"Inuyasha." Kagome scolded.
The half- demon merely snorted and made his way out the door. "Come on, Shippo."
"What do I have to go for?" he whined.
"So you can help me make breakfast, since you're such an expert." Inuyasha growled, doubling back and snatching up the fox demon child before he could protest further.
Kagome looked at Sango. "Are you feeling all right?"
"I'm fine." the demon exterminator replied, packing away her own bedding before Kagome could make a move to help.
"You're first this time." Kagome told Sango, advancing on her with bandages and antiseptics.
Sango made a face, but complied.
"These look painful." Kagome remarked, wincing as she changed the bandages.
"I'm used to it." Sango said, with more than a touch of irony.
Kagome gave her a look. "You'll be all right."
The older girl sighed. "I'd rather Kohaku be." she confessed, so quietly Kagome barely made out what she'd said.
"We'll find a way."
"But-"
Kagome spared a moment to put her arm around Sango's shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze. "We'll find a way." she repeated, with such conviction and determination that Sango couldn't help but believe her.
*
"That looks painful." Shippo unwittingly echoed Kagome, but he was looking at Miroku's wounds.
"That's nothing." Inuyasha said dismissively.
"I am in surprisingly good condition, considering." Miroku admitted.
"I thought you were making breakfast." Inuyasha barked at Shippo.
"You're the grown- up! You're supposed to be making breakfast!"
"Maybe you shouldn't criticize my cooking if you can't do better yourself."
"I can't cook! I'm only a kid!" Shippo whined indignantly.
"Boil some water." Inuyasha ordered.
"But-"
"Just do it." Miroku muttered out of the side of his mouth. "Don't test him right now."
Seething, Shippo set a pot on to boil.
*
"You aren't eating much, Sango."
She looked over at Miroku, surprised to hear concern in his voice. The sincerity in his eyes was real. "I'm not very hungry."
"You need to eat, to keep your strength up." he scolded gently.
Inuyasha took this as his cue to see how much Kagome was ingesting. "He's actually right for once. You need to eat more than that."
"She can't! You ruined this stuff too!" Shippo pushed his food away in disgust.
Inuyasha shoved his face in it. "If anyone ruined it, it was you. If you were so concerned about the taste maybe you should've done something to actually help!"
"Inuyasha, stop! Let him up!"
Shippo's faceful of breakfast dimmed the effectiveness of his argument. "I did help! I boiled water, and added the noodles, and stirred it!"
"And if it turned out badly, it's your fault." the half- demon told him.
"Drop it, Shippo." Kagome warned. "Inuyasha, leave him alone."
"He started it."
"Do you want me to say it?"
Inuyasha resumed eating without answering. If Kagome weren't hurt...
*
Inuyasha carefully placed Sango on the litter he and Miroku had made earlier. "How's that?"
"Thank you." she told them.
Inuyasha had a one- track mind. "So it's good?"
"Yes, thank you." A miniscule smile lurked at the corners of the demon exterminator's mouth.
The boys had rigged a litter large enough for both girls to a transformed Kilala. Inuyasha put Kagome in next. "All right?" he asked, anxiously peering into her face.
"Yes, " she smiled, "I'm good."
Miroku and Shippo would be riding on Kilala's back, and Inuyasha, the least injured among them, could keep up on his own.
Sango and Kagome grimaced a little as Kilala left the ground, her takeoff jarring them. It was a little unsettling, flying through the air with only a flimsy- feeling litter for support, but exciting too.
Still, Kagome thought to herself, I'd much rather be riding with Inuyasha. Preferably in his arms. she mentally admitted, blushing.
"Kagome?"
She shook herself awake. "What?"
Sango gave her an odd look. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, why?"
"You were blushing." Sango pointed out.
Kagome blushed again. "Oh. Yes. Well. That." she gibbered. "I- um- well- it's nothing."
Sango gave her another look- we'll talk about this later- but merely replied, "Oh. I see."
How do girls ever know what they're talking about? Miroku wondered.
I think I'm going to end this soon. Relatively soon, anyway. This won't be one of those fifty- chapter stories. Don't ask me how the litter's hitched to Kilala, I have no CLUE. It's there because I'm the author and I said so, dammit! Quit questioning my authori- ti! Cartmen Cookies to: um, well, I don't have anybody on my list, but if you reviewed, get back to me. Just write a review for this chapter and you get DOUBLE the virtual cookies! Fun fun fun!