Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
Note: This takes place chronologically after chapter 8 ("You Can't Leave").
Soak
Grandpa's outburst left the kitchen encompassed tension and pain. Supper eventually proceeded, without him. But, only Souta reayly ate, the other two listlessly poking their food.
Mama left to check on Grandpa. Souta glanced at Inuyasha, who was staring at his mostly-full plate, clearly uncomfortable.
If only he could do something! He'd persuaded Inuyasha to stay, but it wasn't enough. Pouting a little, Souta tried to think of some way to cheer Inuyasha up. Something they'd done before, something that might make Inuyasha relax a bit.
"Hey, Inuyasha," he said, finally. The hanyo glanced at him. "Want to take a bath with me?"
The elderly hanyo blinked. "Your mother ... had me clean up earlier," he said slowly.
"Yeah, but I bet you didn't soak. Come on-I promise not to make it too hot!" Souta grinned, remembering that particular incident.
"Hot?"
Souta's grin faded. "Don't you remember? Sister was trying to study, you were annoying her, so she called me to help. I suggested a bath, but I made the water hotter than you expected, and you went running out of the bathroom, and up to sister's room, with nothing on but a few suds..."
Inuyasha frowned, and Souta's heart sank. Five hundred years was a long time: did Inuyasha remember anything of their brief adventures together? He looked down, feeling bad. What if he'd upset Inuyasha?
A soft chuckle caught his attention. Relieved, he saw that Inuyasha was smiling slightly. "I'd almost forgotten ... Kagome and I made a game of that. She'd start soaking, I'd pretend to surprise her, and she'd try to hit me with something before I could jump into the tub..."
"Really?" Souta started to grin.
"Yeah. A soak?"
Souta nodded.
"Not too hot."
Souta shook his head.
Inuyasha tilted his head, considering. "Okay."
"Great!"
Author's Note: This was written for the prompt "Hot Water," for the LiveJournal community "FirstTweak." It was originallly published on October 4, 2011. (11/2/2011)