He couldn't help the fact she was using him.

He couldn't help the fact he was using her, too.

Admiring her nude form, he wondered how it came down to this.

Sure, they both felt neglected. Personal time was few and far between on shard hunts, but even when they settled to camp at night there was a tension in the air, that something was off.

He couldn't exactly explain it.

The only things that mattered at the moment was him, her, and what they had just shared. They were lonely, and misery loved company.

He wanted to prove to her that she was more than a shard detector. She was a wonderful girl - no, woman- that was as deserving of love as anyone else.

And he was just a - no, he wasn't anything special. Just a normal man.

The first few times they had gone off had been almost painful for both of them. They were hurting, so they saught refuge in each other.

After that, it seemed almost routine. They would feign sleep until they were sure they wouldn't be followed, snuck away from wherever they were, and just loved each other, no matter how briefly.

He would still never be who she wanted. He grit his teeth every time she called out his name, never the name of the one giving her a reason to cry out.

It enraged him.

He was nothing more than a replacement, a warm body.

'I wish we could stop this, but I feel almost incomplete whenever she isn't near.'

What pissed him off even more is the fact he slowly, over the span of the year, began to really care for her.

Admitting it had been like pulling teeth. If he admitted what they were doing, it suddenly became more real.

And that was too much for him to handle right now.

One day he would tell her.

Right now, she didn't need to know.

------------

'Why am I doing this to myself?'

She needed the comfort from someone, unfortunately the someone wasn't the man that held her heart.

She felt awful groaning someone else's name, especially when it was not said person showing her pleasure.

The feelings were apparent to her when they were together, there was no way she could return them. She was a replacement, but he had grown to love her. She could feel it.

He was someone to hold her, to make her feel like she was needed, wanted, desirable.

But she knew he wasn't making love to her, she was just a replacement.

When the pressure in her body released, she called the man's name, wishing it was he that was with her right now.

------------

Inuyasha bit his lip as the girl under him cried out Miroku's name.

His heart ached knowing he was never truly the one she made love to on their little trysts.

These were the times he hated the monk the most.

------------

Early the next morning they were off again, trekking across the countryside in search of jewel shards and Naraku.

Like normal, Inuyasha walked at the head of the group, Sango and Kirara scouting from the air, leaving Kagome to walk with Miroku.

"I had the strangest dream last night," Miroku commented.

Kagome looked at him. "What happened?"

"I don't remember. But I could have sworn you were screaming my name."

When Kagome turned the color of a beet, his suspicions were confirmed.

"You do realize, Lady Kagome, you don't always have to sneak off with Inuyasha."

He left her behind stumbling for words.