Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. It'd be nice if it was though, cause then I'd be rich...or maybe not.

Chapter Five

The day was drawing to an end and the twilight was fading quickly. The group was scouting for a suitable place to camp. They were close to the village they were journeying to, but no one felt like putting up with the hassle of getting a room. In fact, nobody felt up to doing much.

They had been traveling since a little after dawn and had walked the entire way. With Inu Yasha sprouting wings every time a woman touched him and his flat out refusal to carry Miroku, not that the monk had suggested it, that bad been Kagome's brain child, they had hoofed it the entire way and only stopped for short breaks. All of them were eager to get the spell off; it put them in an extreme disadvantage in the long run.

"Here's a spot," Sango said pointing to a little clearing. It was close enough to the road to be convenient, but far enough back that travelers wouldn't notice them. Nothing else was said as they settled down and started to build a fire. Kagome was pulling out the cups of Instant Noodles while everyone else went on the search for suitable firewood.

Twenty minutes later they had a fire going and water on the verge of boiling. No words were being spoken; every one was too tired or just too annoyed. It was Inu Yasha who had set the trend for the mood. He was in a foul temper that spread like a disease because he had turned into a raven three times that day. All he wanted to do was get the stupid curse lifted, find whoever cast it, and then smack them in the face a few times.

The half demon had been too busy brooding about his plans of revenge to notice Kagome in front of him with the food. She stood with the meal outstretched to him, waiting for him to notice her, or at least smell her, so that she could hand him the noodle cup. The wind was not to her advantage though, so she finally just yelled, "INU YASHA!" He jumped and almost slashed Kagome before he recognized who it was. His claws at just barely stopped in time, hovering inches from her face. The girl glared at him with an expression that clearly said she would have beat him down if they hadn't. Sheepishly, he accepted the Instant Noodles.

The miko took her place next to Sango and the silence was broken only by the occasional slurp.

It could be worse, observed Miroku in between bites. Shippou could be here. While the monk himself had no peeves about the kitsune, he knew that he would have simply aggravated the situation. For that reason he was thankful that the demon child had decided to stay with Kaede under the excuse that witches were too scary.

Seeing that Inu Yasha was still hungry, Kagome went to hand him the extra cup she had made. Their fingers brushed though, and with a tiny Pop! the noodles splattered, soaking the raven. He hopped a few feet away and began to use his beak to strain the broth from his feathers.

"Sorry Inu Yasha," the girl called after him. She watched him for a moment, trying not to be amused, but some cynical part of her was laughing. Kagome came to the conclusion that the cleaning behavior must come with the body, just like eating worms.

When the raven/half demon was satisfied with the clean up, he began to eat the fallen noodles. The dirt didn't bother him; it gave them a gritty texture, but didn't ruin the taste. Miroku finally made a comment and received a bite on the nose for his troubles.

A half hour later, Inu Yasha was still a bird. He had finished the noodles and was now snatching unsuspecting moths from their low flight. Kirara watched him, the tips of her tails slightly twitching. She had gone after him once and had received scratches all over her face. The demon kitty wasn't about to attack again, but still stared at him like she was.

This is a long one, Kagome thought to herself. The other times he had changed, it had lasted ten minutes maximum. Sango and Miroku were snuggling into bedrolls, but the girl was going to wait it out. Some part of her felt responsible and she would feel guilty leaving him like that. She found a tree a little ways from the others, and sat down to lean against it.

Every time she would start to drift off, Kagome would catch herself and slap her cheeks lightly to wake herself up. By now she had lost track of time, but Inu Yasha still wasn't back to himself. He looked up at her and clumsily flew onto her shoulder. Once he settled and got his balance, he began to run his beak through her hair. She sighed in enjoyment. The action was making her skin tingle with pleasure. She raised her hand and sleepily brushed it over his sleek feathers. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but she ended up drifting off again.

The miko's eyes opened partially. At first she thought she had fallen over but then she realized that she was lying in her sleeping bag. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a pair of feet walking away from her and she knew whom they belonged to. Kagome thought about thanking him, but decided against it. She merely rolled over so she could see him better when he settled on a tree branch for the remainder of the night. She smiled and closed her eyes.

A/N: First off, I'd like to thank all of you guys that reviewed. You can't imagine how happy it makes me, or maybe you can.

I'm going to try to update at least twice on the weekends. Don't expect much during the week though. Maybe I will, but don't count on it. Oh yeah, I'd like to apologize for the typos in the last chapter; I thought I had gotten them all.

Anyway, keep the reviews coming and thanks in advance for taking the time to do it.