EPISODE TWO, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE MONK'S GAMBIT

Inuyasha smacked his lips loudly in contentment and let out a stentorian belch. Kagome gave him a dirty look from across the clearing, but he ignored it. Right now, ramen was his goddess, and he was content to worship at her altar. Miroku set down his bowl and belched as well, but quietly so. "Excellent," he proclaimed. "I could eat another of those." And lo, there was another cup of ramen resting next to Kagome's backpack. Miroku reached forward and grabbed it, but at the same time, a clawed hand rested on it as well. He turned and glared at Inuyasha, who glared back, adding a growl to emphasize that the last cup of ramen was his, and his only.

"Inuyasha, this is foolish," Miroku said evenly. "Two grown men–well, one grown man and one grown hanyou-- fighting over something so lowly as a cup of ramen."

"I notice you're not letting go," Inuyasha replied.

"True. Rather than fight over it, I propose to gamble for it."

"Gamble?" Inuyasha thought about it for a moment. "All right, sure. What did you have in mind?"

"A bet."

"Bet? Heh. I agree." Baka, Inuyasha thought. Anything you bet I can do, I know I can do.

Miroku glanced at the two girls across the way. Kagome and Sango were talking to each other, neither paying them any attention. He bent over, careful not to let go of the ramen, and whispered into Inuyasha's ear. The hanyou listened, then jerked back, actually letting go of his prize. "I won't do it."

The monk smirked. "Afraid to?" he challenged.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Inuyasha snapped, surprising Miroku. "You're asking me to get hurt, on purpose! That's stupid."

Miroku lifted the ramen cup and looked at the top. "It's Kyoto beef."

"I'll do it. They're green." Inuyasha got to his feet, shot Miroku daggers, sighed, and trudged across the clearing. "Kagome." He folded his arms across his chest.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" she replied with a small smile, leaving off her conversation with Sango.

"Could you stand up for a moment?"

Confused, Kagome did as she was asked. "What is it?" she repeated.

"Ah, it's nothing. Never mind." Inuyasha turned away, scrapping Plan A and going to Plan B. Plan B meant kicking Shippo in the rear–not terribly hard, just enough to bowl the kitsune facefirst into his ramen. Shippo yelled out a horrible oath that he had learned from the hanyou who had just kicked him.

Kagome's eyes widened. "Inuyasha! What did you do that for?"

"Because I felt like it," Inuyasha replied. Kagome thought she detected a hint of boredom, and as she took a deep breath, she saw him turn around to face her, close his eyes tightly and tense up for what he knew was coming.

It didn't stop her, though. "OSUWARI!"

It is said the meek shall inherit the earth. Inuyasha was anything but meek, but he claimed his inheritance nonetheless. "Owww..." He struggled to look up at Kagome. "That...hurt..."

"It was supposed to! How can you pick on poor Shippo just because your train of thought derailed!" He had no idea what she was talking about, but the point got across. He mumbled an apology to her and Shippo, who had turned around and began savagely kicking Inuyasha in the ribs. It didn't hurt him much, and Shippo drew back as the enchantment wore off and Inuyasha got back to his feet. He brushed off his clothes, looked at Kagome, sighed, and trudged back to sit down heavily next to Miroku.

"What's wrong with him?" Kagome wondered.

"He's a jerk!" Shippo exclaimed.

"He may be," Sango said, "but it's strange. It's like he purposely made you 'sit' him."

"That doesn't make any sense. He would never do that purposely. Besides, he was angry–his face was red. He probably just felt the need to come over and remind us of his presence." Kagome speared the hanyou with a burning stare.

Inuyasha ignored her. He was glaring at Miroku again. "Well?" the monk asked placidly.

"The ramen's yours," Inuyasha growled. Miroku clapped his hands together twice and grabbed the cup. While Inuyasha sulked, Miroku poured from a pot of hot water over the campfire. He waited a few moments, carefully watching Inuyasha's hands in case he tried to steal it. Inuyasha didn't, and Miroku peeled off the top and began to dig in.

"Actually, you were wrong," Inuyasha grumped, "but you were closer than me, so you can have the damn ramen." Miroku, mouth full, looked quizzically at him, but Inuyasha only shrugged. "She wasn't wearing any."

The monk choked, coughed, and finally spit out the mouthful of ramen. He continued to cough, but struggled out, "You're...kidding..."

Abruptly Inuyasha grinned. "Yeah, actually I am. You were right, they were white."

Sango shook her head in derision. First Miroku had begun choking, which had concerned her, until Inuyasha burst out laughing. Miroku had then grabbed his staff and brought it down over the hanyou's head, but Inuyasha was practically screaming in mirth. "Men," was all she said.