Curiosity Killed... the Dog?

Chickens

"What is this place?" Sesshomarus voice was low and laced with an awe that was unfamiliar to Kagome. Giving him a moment to absorb what he was seeing, she smiled before answering.

"This is the supermarket!" It had been an interesting few days in her time. She had to admit, at first she was a bit nervous about bringing the daiyokai to her home. She remembered how Inuyasha reacted to all the foreign sights and smells and worried his much stronger brother would react even worse.

She should have known better, though. While Sesshomarus senses and physicality were stronger than the inuhanyu, so too was his discipline. Sure, the usually collected inu had been overwhelmed at first glance, but it didn't take him long to gather his composure and begin his exploration with his usual aloof attitude.

Her family had been gone. A note left by her mother said they had traveled to Australia for a vacation, leaving Sesshomaru with ample opportunity to monopolize Kagomes free time. She began with explaining things that seemed basic to her, but nearly magical in their operation to the quiet inu.

After she had explained a refrigerators use, Sesshomaru was determined to see where she procured goods to keep in it. The fact that her family didn't have to hunt or grow food was seemingly unfathomable to him.

It was then she decided to bring him here, to Natural Groceries, her favorite shopping center. "My family comes here at the beginning of every week to buy meat, produce, and other things for the house. When I'm getting ready to go back to the past, I like to come stock up on ninja foods."

"Ninja food?" Though the words felt foregin on his lips, Sesshomaru still felt the need to clarify just exactly what she was talking about.

He had heard the term before, when the Mikos kit offered to share with his ward a sweet given to him by the Miko. But he wasn't sure what else she considered such. Did she only buy sweets for the children? She seemed far too intelligent to make such frivolous purchases when she could be stocking up for emergencies.

"Hai. Ramen, trail mix, treats for the kids, things like that." She was absent-mindedly pushing a green and silver cart down a narrow passage lined with colorful boxes and bags filled with, what he assumed was the food she mentioned. His lip curled in disgust, and he had to consciously hold in a snarl of disapproval.

He had thought the Miko smart enough to know thst humans and growing children needed foodstuffs thst would nurture that growth. Not fill their bellies simply for the sake of filling them.

Not bothering to hold back the irritation in his voice, Sesshomaru scoffed. "Those things you feed the pack hold little to no nutritional value."

Kagome cringed at the tone in his voice. She felt ashamed, which didn't make sense. It's not like she went out of her way to buy unhealthy things. it's just so happened that the things she could transport easily weren't particularly healthy.

Obviously, they could be eating better, healthier... but the truth of the matter was, they were a small group on a life or death quest. They were lucky to eat regularly at all. 

She decided she wouldn't allow Sesshomaru to make her feel bad about trying her best to keep everyone fed the only way she knew how. "I know, but I can't count on Inuyasha to hunt us something every night, or I would buy other things instead. Im actually a pretty good cook, regardless of what your baka brother might say."

They continued walking, Kagome tossing random snacks and drink mixes in the cart, Sesshomaru lost in thought. He ignored her mistake in calling the half breed his brother, as if the whelp had earned such a prestigious title, in favor of mulling over her words. She could be a better provider if her acting 'alpha' were actually taking his responsibility to his pack seriously. It was a simple fix, but the implications of taking on the task himself were high.

When he saw her reaching for a third pack of dried ramen noodkes, he decided he couldn't allow this to continue. The Miko said she could prepare healthy meals given that the correct ingredients are provided. It was a simple enough task for one such as himself and damn the consequences. His choices were his own, and in that moment, he chose to take on the responsibility of his half-brothers pack.

Mind made up, he halted Mikos' progress by reaching out and removing the ramen from her hand. He took a brief moment to enjoy her surprised, wide-eyed, stare before, placing the noodles back on the shelf with an air of finality. "You will buy these other items. Meat will be provided going forward."

~~♡~~

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows as he looked down at a suddenly agitated Miko. He couldn't sense anything that may have caused her distress, but nonetheless, she was rushing him in the opposite direction of where she said she wanted to go, with an aura of urgency.

Expanding his senses, he felt himself grow frustrated at the lack of a threat. Not that he wanted there to be one, but the lack of one meant the Mikos' actions were irrational. He was nearly ready to reprimand her when he heard three squeeling voices and simultaneously felt the Miko stiffen nearby. "Oh my goodness, Kagome!"

With a groan, she turned toward the voices that were growing steadily closer and more nasaly. She should have been more excited to see the girls she had grown up with, but she wasn't. She didn't want to anazile what she WAS feeling, so pushing it to the side, she plastered on a fake smile and waved politely.

Sesshomaru watched with a twisted feeling of confusion and irritation. The screeching sounds these females were emitting were unacceptable, and the discomfort they were causing the Miko was obvious.

They stood there for nearly ten minutes, babbling nonsense and wasting time. They reminded him of the chickens some humans kept, scurrying about and squawking for no apparent reason.

He couldn't understand just how the Miko could stand there with a strained smile plastered on her face while these vermin disrupted their excursion. While his patience may have begun to run thin, his opinion of the Miko heightened.

He had thought her oddity was a product of being born half a melinia in the future. But it turned out that human females were just as fickle and brainless now as they were in his time. If it wasn't her time  that allowed such anomalous behavior, then what was the cause? Just another thing about the Miko to be pondered at another time.