Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters associated with it

Back to You

Chapter One

The clean smell of freshly washed clothes made Inuyasha's sensitive nose twitch. He opened one eye and glanced down through the leaves of the tree. He had been dozing, expertly balanced on one of the higher branches with his head resting against the trunk. Through the soft green of the leaves, he could see Kagome and Sango hanging wet clothes out on the line to dry. Kagome was chattering away about something while Sango listened quietly, as per her usual. Inuyasha shifted silently, his ears perking up as he tried to make out what Kagome was saying.

"…and he keeps asking me to go places with him, but I'm always so busy here. Especially with Naraku gone and the jewel shards scattered all over," she said, reaching to scoop a pair of her jeans out of the wash basket.

Inuyasha tensed almost imperceptibly. He knew who she was talking about. That boy from her time, Hojo. The one who was always giving her gifts. Inuyasha growled softly to himself, his golden eyes narrowing slightly, before leaning back against the trunk of the tree and scoffing dismissively.

Keh, as if I care about some idiot who's trying too hard to impress her, he thought. Human men are morons.

As if on cue, Inuyasha spotted Miroku out of the corner of his eye. He had just emerged from one of the several small huts the group had constructed within the walls of Sango's village. He was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze plainly fixed on Sango. Oddly enough to Inuyasha, the monk's usual comical smirk had been replaced with a look of what seemed to be deep concentration. After a few minutes, Miroku sighed and turned back into his hut. Inuyasha watched the dark robes disappear through the doorway and frowned, wondering what his friend could have been thinking about.

His thoughts were interrupted by a feminine yelp from below him. He swiftly dropped out of the tree into a crouch on the grass, his fangs bared to scare off any approaching demons. What he saw caused him to straighten up and roll his eyes. The basket of damp laundry was overturned and the clothesline and all of the garments on it had collapsed onto Kagome, who had apparently tripped and taken the whole apparatus down with her. Sango was fighting a chuckle when she looked up and met Inuyasha's questioning gaze. She shrugged with a small grin as if to say "Well, it is Kagome". She moved to help her friend out of the tangle, but instead walked in the direction of the hut she and Kagome shared, a knowing smile on her face.

Inuyasha watched Sango leave before turning his attention back to the mass of damp cloth and tangled string in front of him, wondering how he was going to get Kagome out of it.

"You alright?"

A low and muffled groan came from the heap of clothes and Kagome wriggled fruitlessly, trying to untangle herself.

"I can't see and my wrist hurts. How about getting me out of here?" she grumbled a bit irritably.

Inuyasha smirked and crouched down, deftly maneuvering the different articles of clothing and knots of twine until Kagome was visible. She was sprawled out on the grass, clutching her left wrist to her chest. There was a rip in the knee of her jeans and her tank top had hitched up just under her breasts, making the lace trim of her bra visible. Inuyasha jerked his hands back instinctively, averting his eyes from Kagome's exposed torso.

Kagome sat up, smoothing out her shirt and reaching up to comb her fingers through her tangled hair. She looked around and was wondering where Sango had gone when she twisted her injured wrist too far to pull a twig out of her hair. Before she had time to react, her forearm was resting gently on Inuyasha's calloused palms. His fingers traced the bruise blooming dark on the skin just below the back of her hand, careful not to press to hard for fear that he would hurt her. The lightness of his touch caused Kagome to shiver slightly. Her heart fluttered involuntarily at the tenderness in his eyes as he examined the bruise, but she forced the butterflies down and watched him turn her wrist over gently.

"Did you land on your arm when you fell?" he asked plainly, making a soft "huh" noise when she nodded. "You know, you wouldn't get hurt so much if you weren't always tripping over nothing".

He let her wrist drop from his hands and stood, trying to seem stoic and unemotional. But he could still feel the smooth warmth of her soft skin tingling on his skin. He clenched his hands into fists and glanced down at Kagome, who had yet to rise from the ground. She was staring up at him, half confused and half frustrated. He looked away, unable to watch her features twist angrily after what he had said.

"You should let Sango look at that. It ain't broken, but she might want to wrap it up or somethin' ".

And he was gone, a flash of red darting through the trees of the forest. Kagome gazed at his retreating back until he was no longer visible, sighing and looking up at the clouds moving overhead. The clouds were turning darker and she was sure it was going to storm soon. She smiled to herself, imagining the look on Inuyasha's face when he walked back into the village soaked to the skin. She chuckled softly and stood, gathering the damp clothes and tossing them haphazardly into the basket. She left the twine and wooden poles of the clothesline on the ground, resolving to set it back up once the storm was over. She walked toward the hut she shared with Sango, the basket resting on her hip. As she stood in the doorway, she looked over her shoulder at the dense forest beyond the clearing and wondered if Inuyasha would beat the storm back to the village. He rarely used the hut that he had built, preferring to sleep in the tree closest to the village wall. Kagome turned into her hut and set the basket down as the first drops of rain began to patter against the roof and shook her head, hearing the hanyou's curses in her mind. She just hoped he'd have enough sense to make a fire and warm himself up once he got inside.

"I don't see him anywhere, Kagome" Sango called over her shoulder from the doorway of their hut. "I'll go look for him. It's not raining that hard yet".

Sango stepped outside into the drizzle and scanned the clearing for the small fox demon. Shippo hadn't been seen for a few hours and Kagome was starting to get worried. Sango called out the kitsune's name a few times, walking over to the far east wall of her village. She passed the graves of her fellow villagers who had been slaughtered so mercilessly and felt her jaw clench. She had still not felt a complete release of the hatred she felt for Naraku. Though the loathsome creature was dead, Sango still could not stop the loud drum of her heartbeat in her ears each time she thought of her brother Kohaku. He had disappeared after Naraku's defeat and hadn't been seen since. Sango sighed and leaned against the wall, looking up at the rain clouds and wondering if she would ever see her brother again. She blinked in frustration when she felt tears sting her eyes, reaching up to wipe them away. She tensed when she felt warm fingers lace through her own and turned to see Miroku standing beside her, his expression concerned and thoughtful. He's changed so much, Sango thought as she gazed into his dark eyes.

And he had changed. Sango could still remember rushing to monk's side moments after Naraku had been defeated. He had fallen to his knees and was clutching his right hand, crying out in pain. For a crazy moment, Sango had thought he was being consumed by his wind tunnel. Despite her terror at this thought, she had unwound the prayer beads from his hand and trailed her fingers across the now smooth skin of his right palm. Miroku had stared in disbelief for what seemed like an eternity before wordlessly pulling Sango to him, clenching his once cursed hand into a fist at her back. At that moment, all of Miroku's promises of marriage and children and a life together had suddenly washed over her. He was never going to be claimed by the curse of his forefathers. He was going to live.

The memory made the slayer tremble a bit. Miroku felt this and squeezed her hand reassuringly. He was much more subtle in that way now. With the disappearance of his wind tunnel had come a different man. Miroku had been deep in contemplation ever since Naraku's death, consumed by plans for a future he never thought he would live to see. He still wasn't sure what to do with all of this time he suddenly had to spare, but he knew that whatever he decided to do with the rest of his life, he wanted to do it with Sango by his side. He just didn't know how to tell her.

He looked at their joined hands and saw the prayer beads he still kept wrapped around his hand. He was so used to them being there that he still hadn't felt comfortable removing them. He released her hand and reached up to trail his fingers down the side of her face. Sango turned to face him completely, leaning against the east wall and giving him a weak smile. He saw through it in an instant.

"Sango…" he said quietly, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "What is it?"

She shook her head slowly and he gave her a knowing look. She sighed and reached out to take his right hand, tracing the cool spheres of his prayer beads with her fingertips.

"I was thinking about Kohaku," she said, feeling tears threaten to spill from her eyes again.

Miroku watched her with soft eyes, his heart clenching in his chest as he saw her cinnamon eyes well up with tears. He hated that he could do nothing to relieve the crushing sorrow that sometimes came over Sango. His strong fingers cupped her chin, turning her face up to his. Her eyes remained downcast.

"Look at me, Sango," he said softly. Her gaze slowly rose to meet his and he rested his forehead against hers. "We will find him". His voice was steady and firm.

They stood together for a few minutes before the rain became heavier. Miroku led Sango back to her own hut and gave her hand one final squeeze before turning back toward the warmth of his own fire. Sango watched him go from the doorway and turned to see Kagome watching her with a knowing look. A slightly damp Shippo was sitting beside her in front of the fire. Sango sat down silently and warmed her hands. As she let them rest in her lap, she noticed the faint imprint of Miroku's prayer beads pressed into her palm.