Wrapping the towel around her body, the taijiya felt her cheeks flush at having pulled something like that. What had she been thinking? Her head felt light and she eyes grew heavy as she inhaled those delicious scents Hiro was carrying with him. They were strong now that she was so near him. The girl looked over her shoulder at the warrior's steed; it was a handsome horse, all black with a white star stretched down its nose. She smiled and placed a hand between its eyes and brushed down, his coat was unusually soft for a horse that goes to battle.

"His name is Kokoro" Hiro said softly with a smile as he watched Sango pet the horse.

Miroku cleared his throat; his expression showed he was not impressed. "So, Hiroyui, what business have you here? Why travel so late at night, why not make camp somewhere…away from here?"

"I couldn't sleep, I'm not so good at setting up camp on my own so I decided to travel through the night, I know of a village around these parts, I was hoping to run into it and stay at an inn there," the man replied courteously. Sango turned to look at him and glanced quickly at Miroku.

"Miroku, I don't think he seems like an enemy, you don't work for Naraku, right Hiro?"

"No, I've never even spoken with him, but my father has met him. He didn't say much, only that he seemed like an upstanding man, very cold and firm though." Hiro shrugged as though they were talking about the weather, which gave Sango peace of mind. If he was clueless about the real demon that Naraku was then he must not be that bad.

"Maybe you can camp out with us," the taijiya suggested, "we've already set up camp…kind of, but with how dangerous things are in these times, the more the better, right?" she smiled at Hiro and he returned the grin and accepted.

Miroku stood dumbfounded unable to even refuse, what was she thinking letting a complete stranger spend the night with them in the woods? Miroku hadn't even made one pass at Sango that night, so he just couldn't understand what was going through her mind.

"Here, it's this way," the girl walked around the edge of the pool, grabbed her garments, and led the way past Miroku towards the spot they had been resting. Hiro was right on Sango's heels as he and his horse trotted past the wordless monk. Miroku noticed a smug smile from Hiroyui as he passed him. Knowing he could only argue this with Sango for so long before admitting defeat, he lowered his head and admitted it now and followed to two slowly back to the resting spot.

The forest was so quiet, the sound of three people and a horse walking around seemed louder than it should have and Sango was constantly looking back to make sure it was them three and only them three. She felt a surge of relief when she spotted her armor in the same place she left it, and her bag of belongings right next to it. Miroku only carried his staff so the spot he had been occupying was vacant.

Once the three of them had settled down and the taijiya had put her robes back on, Sango and Hiro got a fire going, although they both agreed they should be sleeping about now, they wanted to learn more about each other. A conversation between the two started almost as instantly as the sparks from the flint Hiro had started the fire. Miroku was suddenly feeling like the third wheel.

The monk sat and listened to the conversation, but soon grew bored as he heard Sango retell her stories and was not impressed with the warrior's stories of bravery and battle. When he suggested that someone scout the area again just to be sure there was no danger within a mile radius, both Sango and Hiro thanked Miroku for offering and waited for him to do it.

The monk laughed, "I'm sorry, I thought the warrior with so much more experience than I would like to be the one to protect the maiden," the sarcasm dripped off his last words like venom. Both the taijiya and Hiro were taken aback by this, but the monk rose and left without any more fuss.

"What's wrong with your friend?" Hiro's brow furrowed as his eyes followed the houshi.

"Hm, serves him right. He's just jealous that I'm talking to you."

"Oh, are you two involved?" he asked feeling as though he should back off now that this information had surfaced.

Sango blushed, but her voice was harsh, "Of course not! He's a lecherous slime! He's lucky I even decided to travel alone with him!"

The young man felt a flicker of anger at her words, of course he could partially understand the monk's desire for her as the taijiya was beautiful, but a monk of all people should know better than to do or say whatever he did or said to Sango to make her call him such names. Houshi's were supposed to be chaste and respected, and yet here was a young girl disrespecting someone of such holy status. The warrior then stood and began off in the direction Miroku had left.

Sango stood as well and called after him, "Hiro, where are you going?" she quickly caught up and grabbed one of his wrists.

Her touch was firm, but her hands were soft, he froze under her grasp, but regained his composure and said, "I will teach your monk friend a lesson in respect if he has been lecherous to you in any way Sango," there it was again.

The way he said her name was like listening to the chime of a beautiful bell. It was enchanting and melodic. Her cheeks filled with a rosy color again and she half smiled at him. "Hiro, it's okay, I've dealt with him thousands of times. One day he'll learn, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

He peered down at her and gazed deep into her chestnut brown eyes, her porcelain skin glowed in the moonlight, the slant of her eyes was so slight and endearing, her tendrils were still wet and they snaked around her skin. Something about the way she stood there, holding her own, her confidence, was so sexy. Hiro then felt himself leaning forward, a movement he couldn't control, instinct drove him to do it, and his lips found hers. They were delicate and supple; he tasted her and let his tongue glide over the surface of her bottom lip. He heard her gasp, but she did not struggle.

Sango's head was spinning, she had not been expecting him to kiss her, but when he did, she found herself unable to pull away. Besides he was just as handsome as the houshi, but he was so much more courteous than the monk, which for some reason didn't attract her more, but made her pay more attention to him. She knew she liked Miroku, she knew she had deep feelings for the monk, but this surprise encounter, this mystery, it turned her on. Maybe she was setting herself up for a trap, but right now she was liking the trap.

Hiro reached his arm around the demon exterminator so that he could pull her closer to himself by her waist, and with his other hand placed it delicately on her neck, gently tracing her jaw line with his thumb.

Almost as soon as Sango let herself relax with this beautiful stranger she pulled away. Surprised she even let herself do something so naïve. She placed her hand over her mouth looking to the ground for a second before looking up at the warrior with a shocked expression.

"I'm so sorry," she started to explain, "it's just…I don't even know you, you seem very nice and all, but," he raised his hand in front of her to prevent her from saying more. With a smile he replied,

"There's no need, dear Sango, I understand. I am truly apologetic; it was rude of me to even think that a beautiful, independent woman such as yourself would want anything to do with someone like me. I am a protector, that's my job; it's what I love to do. You do not need protection, and I feel as though I have crossed a line with your monk friend." His words baffled her a little; she didn't quite understand where he was going with the whole "protector" speech, but he was right about crossing a line with Houshi-sama.

"Things…are a little confusing with Houshi-sama, he means well, and we are good friends, I just don't know what we are. I care for him, and I know he cares for me. Maybe it would be better if you perhaps went on your way? The village I believe you're looking for is three miles west of here." Sango lost her certainty; she had never been in a position such as this. Yes she had affections in competition with Miroku's before, but none had ever succeeded in winning her affections in return. Hiro smiled slightly realizing that his addition was crowding the two companions and took the taijiya's hand into both of his own. He placed a delicate kiss below her wrist and looked up with a striking gaze.

"Please forgive me. I never meant any harm, I have just never met a woman quite like you. You're like a breath of fresh air, and more beautiful than the blooming of the cherry trees. I am honored to have met you, but am most unfortunate that heart belongs to someone else. I will go and not cause anymore trouble for you." And with that the warrior bowed his leave, took the reins of his steed, mounted the beautiful horse and sauntered away. He held a posture of pride, but Sango could feel the energy of defeat as he retreated into the night.

By the time Hiro's shadow was out of sight, Sango suddenly realized she was all alone, Miroku was still out about a mile from camp scouting the area, and the small fire she and the warrior had built had dwindled down to dim glowing coals. A chill crept upon her and she wondered why she asked Hiro to leave before Miroku had returned. Although she used to do this all the time after her village had been decimated, and before she met InuYasha and his gang, the demon exterminator had become so used to having a group of people or at least someone by her side that this loneliness made her feel so vulnerable. Kirara wasn't even there to comfort her. Miroku will be back soon. He had to, all his other investigations hadn't taken long. But time wore on and the night grew colder, and Sango sat by the coals in the dark.