Prologue
At a glance, all seemed normal.
The sun was slowly dipping, disappearing and covering the land in it's beautiful light.
A fire crackled, a soft noise.
The figures sitting around it unmoving.
Not a word was spoken. A tense atmosphere cloaking the people sitting.
A sudden huff broke the silence, startling the group. A woman stood, eyes trained on the young miko sitting to her left.
She walked towards her, kneeling down to start rummaging through the yellow pack at the young woman's feet.
A monk stood as well, dusting off his robes before disappearing silently into the woods behind him.
The figure in the tree moved then, a slight readjustment before settling to stare off again, but not before he stole a glance at the three women below him.
Two small bundles on the opposite side of the yellow backpack moved, the little neko demon readjusting to sleep, the kitsune coming up to land on the lap of the miko he had come to think of as a mother.
Giving the kitsune a reassuring smile, she set him down beside her and joined the taiji in her preparations for their evening meal. The last sitting figure stood, dusting off red and white robes, picked up her bow before disappearing into the woods, as she always did.
The silence presumed over the remaining group, only the occasional sounds of the fire and the movement of pans and water bottles breaking the quiet.
The monk reappeared a few minutes later, a pile of fresh firewood in his arms. He set them down behind the yellow backpack and took a seat, watching as the women went about making dinner.
The sun had completely set by the time the miko and the slayer were done making their simple meal. Setting the bowls out, the slayer filled each one with a serving of rice, while the miko set a plate filled with curry.
The monk set about obtaining their water bottles from the backpack before settling down closer to the fire and watched as the others did the same. The figure in the trees dropped down with a soft thud, before walking to sit and eat, unwilling to make eye contact with anyone before him.
A lone bowl and plate lay untouched besides the hanyou, gently steaming.
Their meal began and finished in silence, only the murmuring of thanks from the monk breaking it. "Thank you Sango, Kagome."
Both women bowed, a silent thank you, before starting the clean up.
The miko, Kagome, paused, as she always did, before the untouched plate of food.
She looked out where the older miko had left, before turning to the inu-hanyou that jumped into his tree when he felt her eyes upon him.
Understanding his sign, she picked up the plate, placing it before the little neko demon to eat before throwing the rest away.
Dinner done and cleared away, Sango and Kagome went to gather their bathing supplies. They set off with a promise to be back soon, that was always answered with an invitation to join them by the monk, and a cheerful be back soon from the kitsune.
The women soon reached the spring, Kagome smiling at the slight steam rising from the surface. It was a hot spring. A welcome change from all the cold baths they'd had to suffer recently.
After disrobing, the women slowly sunk into the water, the tension easing away as they floated in the hot warmth of the spring.
"I really needed this." Sango said, her voice lazy with happiness.
"Yeah. I was getting tired of all the cold, quick baths." Kagome answered, her own voice soft with contentment.
"How are you holding up?" Sango asked, the silence finally unbearable.
Kagome stiffened up slightly beside her, but answered. "I'm fine. The walking really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. He's being more lenient then I expected. And its been surprisingly calm. Almost no demons attacking at all."
"That's not what I meant." Sango said, frowning.
"Oh, you mean? I'm fine, Sango, really. You shouldn't keep worrying. I've told you already. I'm alright with this. We'll be able to find the remaining 3 shards a lot faster." Kagome said, sinking lower into the water, her eyes trained on a spot a few feet away.
" I know but. Still. I just hate the silence. It's depressing. It's like everyone is a stranger. But we're friends. We should talk and joke, and be happy." Sango said, voice slightly rising in anger.
"We are friends. Its just, I'm sure we have a lot on our minds." Kagome said, glancing at her friend.
"More like the presence of that woman is so..."
Kagome interrupted Sango, voice almost chiding, "We can't blame her for everything.."
"But it's true! We were never like this before Inuyasha dumped her into our group. We never had to tip toe around and pretend not to notice each other. We were happy before she came along." Sango said, standing, staring down at her the younger woman.
"Perhaps we were more outgoing before she came, but when she arrived, I think the seriousness of defeating Naraku and finding the shards finally set it. We couldn't just keep on pretending everything was fine." Kagome said, reaching out to get the shampoo.
Sango plopped back into the water most unladylike, her mouth slightly open. Her words died in her throat. Shoulders falling, Sango followed Kagome's lead, grabbing the bottle from the grass beside her and lathering her hair. A sad frown on her face as she watched Kagome.
They finished their bath in silence, the lightness from earlier all but gone.
"Will you just continue to defend her, even to me? Kagome, I really thought we were closer then that." Sango said, voice soft, before walking away, leaving her friend behind.
Kagome blinked in surprise, but followed after her, hand squeezing excess water from her hair. Why do I defend her? A flash of silver and red fluttered through her mind and she felt a bitter smile make it's way onto her face. Of course she knew why.
She made her way back into camp, face carefully schooled behind a small smile.
A/N: Short, I know. But this was just something that popped into my head in the middle of the night. It didn't' let me sleep, so I put my thoughts to words (in the laziest, unsophisticated way possible). Even I'm not sure where this is going, but I hope to have fellow readers join my on this tale. R&R.
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Co. do not belong to me.