The Inuyasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am not profiting from writing this story.

Dedication: Though I'm not sure if she'll like it, this is for Aamalie. Because of the miscommunication during the MiroSanta fic exchange, you didn't get a story and you deserve one. This isn't a Mir/San, and there is a real chance you won't like it at all, but here is a story, all the same.

Author's Note: While I am still in the Inuyasha fandom for the MirSan, I wanted to try my hand at a friendship fic. I picked Inuyasha and Sango because I figure they have a lot in common because they're both fighters. I wanted to explore how they would act together, away from both Kagome and Miroku, after the series ends. As you're about to see, I'd wager there would be a lot of teasing back and forth between them. Let me also take the time to thank Scribe Figaro for looking this over and giving me his advice, some of which I took.

About an Inch

By Starzki

-x-

There was a spring in Sango's step as she strode toward the outskirts of the village. She'd be starting her training again for the first time in several months and she was looking forward to the break from taking care of three children. Though the youngest was only weeks old, and though Kagome was only just back from her time, both Inuyasha and Sango honored the timeline they had promised one another. They'd be training today, rain or shine.

Sango was glad for the break from childcare, but she missed them already. The baby, their son, had been a little fussy, but Sango knew that after years of caring for two daughters that were quite a handful had more than prepared Miroku for a cranky infant. Just as she thought, Miroku had turned out to be a wonderful father. He was more than happy to take care of them for the hour that Sango needed to begin her training after her pregnancy.

Inuyasha was already there before her had started his warm up exercises. He heard Sango's approach and gave her a small nod to acknowledge her presence.

Already in her slayer's uniform, Sango did a quick bit of stretching before unsheathing her sword. She wasn't yet ready to begin her training with the Hiraikotsu. Late pregnancy didn't allow for strenuous training or exercise and her muscles had grown too weak to hurl her favorite weapon. However, after a few weeks or months of training with Inuyasha on her basics, she'd be ready for Hiraikotsu again.

While Sango appreciated being away from the children just for an hour, she also really looked forward to spending time training with Inuyasha again. Miroku loved the part of her personality that was a fierce fighter and was no slouch in battles, himself. But he had been trained as a monk and he tried to avoid fighting whenever possible. It was different with Inuyasha. He, like Sango, had grown up fighting and had come to love the skill and endurance needed to triumph over a foe. When Inuyasha and Sango trained together, they trained as equals. Over the three years of training together since Kagome's disappearance, Sango and Inuyasha had grown more comfortable in each other's presence and the familiarity that grew between them often included more teasing and laughter than those who knew either fighter would ever expect.

Sango smiled as she readied herself for the drills that Inuyasha and she had devised after the twins were born. First came sparring.

"You ready?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, but with a smile in his voice. He looked as happy as Sango felt about the training.

"I just endured the most painful experience a person can survive for the third time in two years. I think I can handle a little training," she responded. Sango loved that Inuyasha accepted her as a fellow fighter and that she could share the same kind of repartee she used to have with fellow slayers in her village, that kind of teasing bravado.

Sango and Inuyasha bowed to one another and began a series of simple exchanges with their swords. Tessaiga remained unchanged during the sparring and both fighters were testing to see how much the recent pregnancy and birth had changed Sango's strength and fighting ability. The blades clanked and flashed as they each looked for an opening to attack.

"Hmph," grumped Inuyasha. "I'd expect you to be a little steadier with your defenses." He advanced gently, yet exposed the way she was dropping her shoulder and giving him a striking opportunity. "After all, you should have had a lot of practice defending yourself from that lecher you married."

Sango corrected her shoulder and, in a move that was surprisingly quick and strong for a woman hadn't held a sword in nearly five months, took an offensive advantage when Inuyasha failed to balance well enough through his lower body.

"Ha!" she cried as she continued the forceful offensive. "Who says I'm the one on the defensive in our marriage? I'll have you know that I've found ways to make Miroku blush and that he sometimes has a difficult time keeping up with me." For all her big talk, Sango was acutely feeling the strain from only a few minutes of sparring on her body.

Inuyasha scrunched up his nose and gave a wholly disgusted look. "Don't say another damn word, Sango. Not unless you want me to puke all over that nicely cleaned slayer's outfit you've finally pulled out of storage." They advanced and retreated, parried and thrust, under the hot midday sun.

Sensing blood in the water and feeling much more tired than she expected, Sango wanted to end the fight, so went for the (figurative) kill. "Yeah, Miroku laundered my uniform for me as a favor after I promised to do that one thing with my tongue that he likes."

Inuyasha froze, stunned with complete horror, his face screwed up in a painful grimace. Sango took her opportunity and struck the Tessaiga from his hand. "You lose!" she cried with glee.

Inuyasha's the corners of his mouth twitched downward and he shuddered, glaring at Sango. "You're a mother," he accused, but with a touch of amused irony in his voice. "You kiss your kids with that mouth?"

Sweating and panting, Sango retrieved her canteen of water and motioned to the ground in the shade of a nearby tree for them to take a break. She wasn't quite ready to drop the faux-macho report, so she continued, "Oh, I'd only make you blush if I let on the full extent of the things I did with this mouth. But maybe I'll tell Kagome for you."

With those words, Inuyasha did blush. Then he shook his head and chuckled, sitting next to Sango in the grass under the shade of a nearby tree and gratefully taking a sip of water from the canteen she proffered.

Sango joined him in the chuckling. "You must be so happy that she's back! Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd even see you here. You've only just moved into your new home. I thought you might be, you know, 'breaking in' your new futon."

Inuyasha gave another laugh. "Your training is important, Sango, even though you cheat. I swear it's unnerving to have the monk's perversions coming out of you."

Sango smiled and took her canteen back for another sip. "Well, it's not just from him. We all used to talk this way when we trained back in my village. It's just what I grew up hearing so it's what comes naturally to me when I can't think of anything else to gross you out so you'll drop your guard."

"You play dirty," accused Inuyasha. "But I guess you have to be since you've really lost your touch with this latest pregnancy. You're even a worse fighter now than you were right after you had the twins."

Sango stuck out her bottom lip in a mock pout. "Ouch. Don't hold back, Inuyasha."

"It's just that I can tell that your joints are still loose, especially your hips. You'll need to work on strengthening the major muscles around each joint. Definitely work on your core muscles in your back and abdomen. Right now, I'd say you're off by about an inch in your fighting."

He held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart and said, "Your blows are falling about this much behind where they should be. However, as long as you keep working at it, you'll be as lethal as you ever were in a couple of months."

Sango smiled and nodded thoughtfully at Inuyasha's critique, glad for the friendly but expert criticism. She agreed completely with his assessment. And she would work hard. She wanted to be back in fighting shape and helping Inuyasha and Miroku with defending the village as soon as possible. As much as she loved being a wife and mother, and as much as she adored her children, she'd never feel complete unless she was doing something that put her years of training to good use. For now, she would continue slaying demons and defending nearby villages.

After a few more minutes of quiet companionship, Inuyasha announced that the break was over and that the second half of their training was about to begin. Rather than sparring, they stood side-by-side and worked through a kata, the choreographed patterns of fighting movements, they'd both designed and practiced over the years.

It started out moderately fast, with sharp, repeated blows and kicks at imaginary foes. This allowed Sango to push herself as far as she felt able to go and helped build up key muscle groups for fighting. Inuyasha was also able to push himself and perfect his fighting skills should he ever have to resort to hand-to-hand combat or face human opponents that he didn't have to kill.

Next, the routine slowed down to include stretching and balancing poses. Sango's labored breath finally began to slow as she and Inuyasha synchronized their movements through the steady motions designed to lengthen and strengthen their bodies.

Finally, each picked up a sword and ended the kata with a complex series of movements they had come up with to both mimic the moves used during battle as well as to find the grace and balance needed to become truly efficient with a sword. It looked like a cross between a dance and a sword fight against an invisible foe.

When they were done with the long routine, Sango was soaked with sweat, yet Inuyasha looked like he'd barely exerted himself, which was unusual for him.

Sango took her water and slumped to the ground, eying Inuyasha. "Is there something the matter?" she finally asked.

"Hmm? No. Why?" he responded a little too defensively.

"You seemed a little distracted. You usually push yourself much harder." Sango got a sly look and began to tease him again, "You saving up your energy for Kagome, tonight?"

Inuyasha blushed a deep pink and looked away. Long moments passed and still he refused to acknowledge Sango's question.

Sango felt instantly concerned. He had responded good-naturedly to her earlier teasing, but now he refused to even look her in the eye. In the past three years, Inuyasha had come to trust Sango enough to share what he was thinking, especially in regards to Kagome. Or at least he felt comfortable enough to tell her to back the hell off and leave him alone if she got too prying. It was unusually for him to say nothing when he was teased.

"What's the matter? Really. Kagome is back, you exchanged vows, and now you have your own place. Everything is going okay, right? You're not fighting, are you?"

Inuyasha sighed. He knew that if he could confide in anyone about this matter, it was probably Sango. With Miroku, he'd never hear the end of it, and there was no way he could go to Kaede.

"No. We're not fighting. Things are going really well. Kagome's really taking to her priestess duties and she says that she doesn't miss her own time nearly as much as she thought she would."

"Well, that all sounds... good." Sango realized that Inuyasha was still blushing, so she pretty quickly guessed what was on his mind. "So, how are things when... you're alone together?"

Inuyasha's blush deepened to red. "Fine." He corrected himself, "Mostly fine." He took a deep breath. "Actually, things are wonderful... for me."

The realization dawned on Sango. "Ah." She waited a moment, allowing Inuyasha some time before he had to process what she was going to say next. "I can give you some advice."

"Ugh. Don't want it," he said with a frown.

"You and Kagome are my friends. If I can help, please let me."

The frown didn't leave his face, but he looked resigned to telling Sango what the problem was. "Fine," was all he said, "but you repeat this to no one."

"Of course. Now, Inuyasha, as much as you're going to hate doing it, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for some details. I need to know what exactly you've tried."

Inuyasha scowled and surveyed the meadow for eavesdroppers. Then he threw a threatening look at Sango, "I mean it, you can't even tell that lecher of yours."

Sango held his gaze solemnly. "I promise."

Inuyasha took another deep breath. His scowl disappeared and a worried and bashful expression overtook his features as he leaned in and began whispering in Sango's ear.

Sango nodded thoughtfully as he went through his explanations. The sweet birdsong masked any whispers that might be caught on the breeze.

When Inuyasha finished, he sat back and scowled again to hide his embarrassment. His blush had faded, but he looked miserable.

Sango looked at her friend with compassion. "Let me first say that it's completely normal for it to take time to get to know one another... physically. And you're really not doing anything wrong."

It took effort, but Sango suppressed a smirk. She continued, "It seems to me that you're off by about an inch."

With that, Sango leaned in and began to whisper into Inuyasha's ear. His expression changed from incredulous, to a sudden understanding that lit up his face.

She then pulled back and explained, "What works for me is..." and then she leaned back in and continued with her whispered instructions.

Inuyasha's expression continued to change. First, he blushed, and then his nose scrunched up with a vaguely disgusted look. Next, he bore the features of someone cautiously curious to hear what was about to be said next, and finally he grunted and pushed Sango away.

"Enough! I get it! And that damned husband of yours has been a terrible influence on you. Do you realize how much he's rubbed off on you?"

Sango laughed wickedly "I sure do!" Then she quieted and said with all seriousness, "I promise it'll work out with Kagome. You're already almost there." Then she held up her thumb and forefinger and held them an inch apart, "You're only this much off the mark."

"Keh," was the only answer she got before Inuyasha rose to his feet stalked out of their training area.

Sango smiled to herself as she watched Inuyasha stomp away. Then she stood up and headed back to the hut where Miroku was watching the children. She wanted to clean up a little before the baby's feeding time. When she got home, as she kissed her wonderful, perverted husband, she hoped for Kagome's sake that Inuyasha would take her advice.

-x-

Two days later, Sango arrived for the next training session. Inuyasha was already there. He was warming up and didn't acknowledge Sango for quite a while. As Sango began stretching, Inuyasha shyly came up to her.

"Here," he said. He handed her a pretty white flower with a beautiful fragrance.

"Um, thanks?"

Inuyasha blushed, then looked away, then looked back with a barely visible glint of pride in his eyes. "It's really from Kagome."

Sango smiled, and then gave a small laugh. She winked at Inuyasha, "How nice of her, but I have no idea why she would do such a thing for me."

"Good!" said Inuyasha, finally breaking into a broad smile. "See, I knew that Miroku hadn't completely corrupted you, yet."

He and Sango pulled out their swords and prepared to spar. "Not for lack of trying!" she crowed with delight.

"Hey, maybe Kagome got you that flower because she knows how much of a stinking cheater you are!"

Sango and Inuyasha bowed to one another with ridiculous smiles on their faces, and then brought their swords up to attack.

END.

A/N2: Let me know what you thought!