Give and Take

Kagome was surprised to see Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara when she hopped out of the well. She glanced around, frowning when she didn't see the hanyou.

"Inuyasha caught Naraku's scent," Sango explained, answering her unasked question. In a lower voice, she added, "he was worried because it was mixed with Kikyo's."

A brief spark of emotion flashed across Kagome's face but it was quickly replaced with an unreadable mask. She pressed her lips into a thin line before looking at them with grim determination. "Come on, let's follow him. Inuyasha can't fight properly if his mind is somewhere else."

Knowing better than to argue with the miko, they all nodded and leapt onto Kirara's back as they ascended to the sky.

Please be okay, Kagome silently prayed, clasping her hands tightly on her chest, eyes closed shut.

But there was no trace of Inuyasha anywhere, nor Naraku and Kikyo. They have flown as far as three villages over and the vast expanse of trees, but nothing. Not even a sign of a fight or any disturbance. It was already dusk and Kagome was becoming more and more worried. Her heart raced wildly, her wide brown eyes constantly on the lookout for a red Fire-Rat robe dashing through the trees below.

Soon, the sky let loose a heavy downpour, forcing the group to stop at the nearest shelter they could find.

The cave, however, was not empty.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Rin-chan!" Kagome exclaimed in evident surprise. The child was huddled at the back with the daiyoukai's retainer who was busy rekindling fire.

"How dare you trespass here, you filthy humans!" the imp screeched as soon as the entire group stepped inside.

Kagome glanced at the silent youkai lord who sat at the entrance, his face displaying no emotion at all. "Sesshomaru-sama, may we share this cave with you? There's no shelter anywhere else. We can share food and bedding if you let us stay here for the moment. As soon as the rain stops, I promise we'll leave."

No sound could be heard aside from the crackling fire and the steady patter of raindrops outside. Kagome could feel Miroku and Sango tense behind her. Without meeting her glance, the daiyoukai opened his mouth to speak. "Do as you please."

She released a sigh of relief and bowed. "Arigato, Sesshomaru-sama."

The group joined Rin and Jaken around the fire, much to the imp's distaste. Kagome passed towels around to dry off as she listened to Miroku and Sango discuss in hushed tones.

"It's really strange that we can't find Inuyasha anywhere. Do you think something awful happened?" Sango asked.

"As much as it pains me so, I'm beginning to think something did happen," Miroku answered. When he noticed Kagome had gone still, he hastily added, "b-but Inuyasha is Inuyasha, I'm sure he is okay somewhere."

The miko smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Worrying about Inuyasha won't help him," she chastised softly. "I'm sure we'll find him. Or he'll find us."

Silence descended as they mulled over their own thoughts. After a while, Rin, who was now seated beside Shippo, pointed at Kagome's yellow backpack. "Kagome-nee-san, why is your bag always full?"

The miko blinked, disoriented. She followed where the young girl was pointing at and suddenly remembered that she was supposed to share the food they have.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, grateful for the distraction. She pulled the backpack to her and rummaged. "Well, this is where I store our supplies for our shard-hunting. Food, clothes, bedding, bathing supplies, and my books."

She brought out the bento boxes that Mama had prepared, thankful that she had packed two extra set. Rin's eyes widened as ramen cup noodles were placed on the ground along with a box full of tamagoyaki and slices of tonkatsu that Kagome cooked herself. Miroku proceeded to boil a kettle for the noodles and Sango helped with setting a mat over the ground to arrange the food that was brought out.

Kagome noticed that the sudden flurry of activity seemed to catch Sesshomaru's attention, and he was now watching them intently with those yellow-gold eyes of his. He remained reticent, however, and she put on a smile as she walked towards him.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" she said shyly, nervously, as the golden orbs bored into her inquiringly. "May I invite you to join us for dinner? It's not much, but I did promise to share our food with you. It's give and take."

The youkai lord regarded her for a few moments before nodding imperceptibly and rising to his feet. He fluidly settled himself to an empty spot beside her, his eyes narrowing in curiosity as he glanced over the prepared food.

"The delicacies from Kagome-sama's time are quite unique but excellent in taste, Sesshomaru-sama," Miroku said with a tone of diplomacy. The youkai lord accepted the proffered bento box and chopsticks and Kagome suddenly felt her cheeks redden as golden eyes stared curiously at the tonkatsu cutlets. Sensing what caught Sesshomaru's attention, Miroku proudly smiled. "Ah, that is Kagome-sama's specialty. She always cooks that for us."

Tentatively, Sesshomaru extended his chopsticks and picked up one of the tonkatsu slices from his box. Kagome nearly choked with nervousness as the great inu daiyoukai held it at eye level, scrutinizing every side of the meat and smelling it. "What is this?" he asked.

"Oh, that's a… a pork cutlet, Shesshomaru-sama," Kagome answered, stuttering. "I deep-fried it and glazed it with tonkatsu sauce."

"Hnn." He popped the meat and chewed appreciatively, much to Kagome's relief and pleasure. Ramen also seemed to interest him and the miko gladly explained how it was prepared and which flavor went best with the food they had.

After the dinner was finished and cleared, the daiyoukai retreated back to his spot at the cave entrance. Rin played with Shippo while Jaken vigilantly watched over the children. As Kagome piled the used bento boxes in the corner, she can't help but smile to herself knowing that Sesshomaru had asked for a few extra slices of her tonkatsu.

He liked it. With that in mind, she mentally made a note to bring a few more next time she came back from the well.