Me: I think regarding Sango's acceptance of her condition, things are going to start off a bit serious at first, since I'm attempting to try and really think about how she would react. But things will lighten up later.

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

Chapter 2: Just the Beginning…

"Sango-chan, are you done yet?" Kagome was outside with Kirara, waiting for Sango who was inside searching for new clothing.

From the storage building Sango replied with a wavering, "A-Almost," and it took Kagome a moment to figure out why she had responded like that.

She stood next to the doorway and asked carefully, "Sango-chan, are you okay in there?"

"Y-Yes." There was a minute of silence before Sango said, "Okay, I'm coming out now." She emerged from the building, no longer in her kimono but in a dark blue haori and black hakama. In her arms was her new taiji-ya uniform. "So… how does this look?"

Kagome slid her gaze over Sango. She smiled. "It's actually quite fitting."

"Really?" Sango looked down at herself.

"What did you do with your other clothes?"

"Oh, I left them inside."

"What?" Disbelief on her face, Kagome went past Sango and inside, coming back out with her kimono and taiji-ya garments. "Don't leave them here," Kagome scolded.

"Why not?" Sango glanced off to the side stubbornly. "It's not like I'm going to need them."

Kagome's eyebrows creased. "Because they're your clothes, and you'll need them when you change back."

Sango was about to say how that may not happen, but instead opted for rebutting that it would just be extra weight to carry. Kagome argued that it wouldn't be, and that she'd carry it for her in her bag. That was that, as Kagome put it, and told Sango that they'd better be getting to the next village.

They were flying over the forest which lead to the next village when they heard a scream from below. Sango guided Kirara down and they passed through the trees while Kagome pointed out a demonic aura. Sure enough, up ahead a girl around their own age was running as a bipedal youkai chased her. She tripped and would have been caught if it wasn't for Hiraikotsu swinging across to lop the youkai in two. Sango caught the bone boomerang and Kirara landed, the girl-turned-boy hopping off to check on the girl.

"Are you okay?" Sango turned her over, the girl wincing in pain.

"Ah–! My ankle… it hurts." The girl had tears in her eyes, hands over her ankle.

Sango looked the injury over. "Is your village nearby?"

"Yes," her voice strained. "It's just beyond this forest."

"Okay. Can you get up?" Sango intended to guide her to Kirara.

Watching this from atop the neko-youkai, Kagome suggested, "Sango-chan, why don't you try picking her up?"

"What?" Sango looked back at her dubiously.

"Well, before you mentioned Hiraikotsu seemed lighter." Kagome grinned. "Why don't you put that new-found strength to the test?"

Though it seemed a bit strange to her, Sango followed through and was surprised with her ability to lift the girl. The village girl gave a small, "Eep!" and tucked her arms in. Sango brought her over to Kirara, Kagome helping her to sit at the front.

Inuyasha sensed their approach, the three coming out to meet them near the outskirts of the village.

"Oh, who do we have here?" Miroku eyed the new girl settled on Kirara. When Sango told him what had happened, the monk put on his usual charms. Walking towards her, he said, "Oh my, it must have been quite a shock."

"Y-Yes, it was."

"Then allow us to accompany you to your home." He made her a small bow.

The girl agreed and began to give them directions to her residence.

While Miroku walked ahead with the girl being carried by Kirara, Shippo whispered to the others, "Even when it's Sango who saved the girl Miroku still goes to flirt with her."

"It's not him wedging into my rescue that bothers me as much as the flirting." Sango shot the back of Miroku's figure a dark expression.

"Well, Miroku-sama may have taken the girl, but I don't think she's quite taken with him," Kagome commented.

Inuyasha glanced at her. "What do you mean? Usually the girls Miroku talks to like him right away."

Aware of Sango's increased irritation, Kagome hissed, "Inuyasha, stop saying things like that!" She moved back and sighed. "Anyway, what I mean is – I think she likes you Sango-chan."

Her friend faltered, eyes darting round to land on Kagome. "What? That can't be right!"

"Of course it is." Kagome was half-amused with Sango's reaction. "You saved her from that youkai, carried her, and now," Kagome gazed ahead, "she can't stop turning around to look at you."

Sango followed Kagome's gaze to find the girl quickly turning back with a blush, while Miroku rattled on about something she wasn't paying attention to.

"Wow, it's true!" Shippo was in awe of this development.

Groaning, Sango wondered out loud what she should do. Kagome patted her on the back and told her to let her down easy. Inuyasha simply muttered to himself how weird this was getting.

The girl turned out to be the headman's daughter, Takiko. He thanked Sango for saving his daughter and invited the group to spend the night. After they had eaten however, Sango was called away on the request of Takiko. As Sango headed for the door the headman gave her a knowing nudge, whispering not to get too far with his daughter.

"Why did she call Sango to her room unless…" Miroku looked stricken. "It can't be!"

"Took you long enough," Inuyasha said. "Didn't you realize she wasn't even listening to you on the way here?"

Miroku put a hand to his head. "I can't believe this. Sango becomes a male and the first girl she meets falls in love with her?"

"I don't find it that surprising," Kagome said nonchalantly as she sipped her tea. The others stared at her. "What?"

- - -

Sango knocked at the door, sliding it open when she heard a voice inside say, "Come in." Takiko was sitting up on her futon under the covers, a damp rag over her bad ankle.

"How's your injury?" Sango sat next to her on the floor.

"It doesn't hurt as long as I don't move it." There was a blush on Takiko's face, and Sango knew what would be coming. "It's Sango-san, right?" She laughed. "Funny, it sounds like a name more suited for a girl."

"Yes, well…" Sango inwardly sighed.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to insult you!"

"No, it's okay. So what did you want to see me about?"

"Well…" Takiko stared at her bed covers, faint red on her cheeks. "First, I want to thank you for rescuing me. And, I know you're a traveler, so I wanted to say this before you had to go." Her eyes met Sango's. "I… like you."

The words were awkward to hear, and Sango couldn't help squirming. "Thank you, but… I don't think anything can happen between us."

Takiko smiled dolefully. "I thought as much, but… I at least wanted to say how I felt."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Takiko took a breath and let it out gently, relieving herself of her emotions. "Is it that girl you were with?"

Sango jerked her head up. "What?"

"That girl you were with when you saved me. Is she the reason?"

"N-No!" Sango flushed. "Kagome-chan is just a friend."

"Oh, really?" Takiko's eyes widened. "I thought you two were a couple."

"We're not," Sango stated solidly.

"Oh, sorry. My mistake." Takiko laughed.

- - -

When Sango approached the door to the room they were staying at, she heard displeased tones coming from inside and paused her reaching hand.

"Would you two stop pestering me about it!"

"But we want to know what you really think, Kagome-sama."

"Miroku-sama, what do you need me to tell you for? Shouldn't you already know? I mean, you do care for her the most, right?"

"Yes, but… being a male, I wouldn't know what to make of her now."

Kagome made a sound in the back of her throat. "Are you saying that just because she changed physically you care less for her? Are you that shallow Miroku-sama?"

"Kagome-sama, please settle down!" Miroku's voice was now frantic. "That's not what I meant at all!"

Inuyasha came into the conversation, drawling, "What's the problem? All he asked for was your opinion."

"Why do you want to know what I think anyway, Inuyasha?"

There was a pause in the exchange which Sango took as Inuyasha's hesitance to reply. She decided to use this moment to come in, sliding back the door. The others turned to the doorway, a guilty expression shared among them as they looked at her.

Not sure about her friends' conversation to begin with and preferring to pretend she knew nothing, Sango asked, "What's… going on?"

The three who were avidly talking before now shrunk back from her gaze.

Rather than answer her question, Miroku acted as if she had just walked in; a different matter coming to his mind. "Oh, Sango – so what was it Takiko requested of you?"

Feeling better about this subject, Kagome clapped her hands together and chimed, "Oh, yes! Was it really what I said it was Sango-chan?"

Sango sat on the floor and gave a sheepish, "Yes."

Kagome gasped excitedly, leaning closer to Sango. "So how did you let her down?"

"I told her we couldn't have a relationship like that…" Reciting these words out-loud in front of the others was embarrassing, Sango averting her gaze to the floor.

Pressing on, Kagome questioned, "What was the reason you gave?"

Sango lifted her face. "Uh – reason?"

"Yes, the reason why you couldn't…" Kagome's eyes widened. Her hands slapped the floorboards. "Sango-chan, don't tell me you rejected her without a reason!"

"My, my," Miroku chuckled. "It seems Sango needs some help when it comes to handling the ladies."

Shippo's eyes narrowed at him. "I don't really know if you'd be any help."

"No, well…" Sango backed away from Kagome's expecting stare. "I mean… we're traveling, right? And we're after Naraku. It's not like I can drop everything and stay here with her. Besides, I don't feel the same way – and I'm not really a male!"

Kagome stilled for a moment before sitting back. "Well… I guess that answer is about right."

'What was she expecting me to say?' Sango watched Kagome settle into a restless position.

Shippo yawned, signaling to the others that it was time for them to rest. Inuyasha pulled the screen by the wall over and set it in the middle of the room. Miroku moved to join him on the other side, while Shippo stayed with Kagome. Sango however looked torn between where her place would be.

Seeing her tentative behaviour, Kagome inquired, "Sango-chan, are you coming to bed?"

"Um, yes, but…" Sango's eyes continued to shift between either sides of the screen and Kagome caught on to what was worrying her.

"Sango-chan, just come here."

Sango faltered. "What?"

"It doesn't matter to me if you have a guy's body now, you're still you inside." Kagome tilted her head. "Besides, we all usually sleep in one room without a screen, or outdoors."

Miroku's head popped over the screen. "Hmmm…? What's this? Are you afraid to sleep on the other side with Kagome-sama?" He chuckled. "You don't trust yourself to keep your distance?"

"You stupid houshi!" Sango's face flushed angrily at Miroku's perverseness. "That is not what this is about!"

"Geez, this is so stupid!" Inuyasha grabbed the screen and tossed it back to where it was before. "There, now stop complaining!"

Accepting what Inuyasha had done, though he could have done so without nearly destroying the screen, everyone settled back down. Seeing this as a compromise, Sango moved to rest between Kagome and the boys. Her wrist was caught before she could sit, and she turned to see Kagome holding her still.

"Over here." Kagome pointed to her other side. Surprised, Sango tried to protest, but Kagome said, "You need to adapt to being male, I know that, but don't act like things have changed between us."

Sango didn't quite comprehend Kagome's words. 'Between… us?'

"See, even Kirara agrees." Beside Kagome was Kirara, waiting for Sango to take the other side.

"But… it's not…" Sango trailed off, her wrist limp in Kagome's hand.

"Kagome, just leave her alone." Inuyasha grumbled. He was lying across the floor propping his head on his hand. "Can't you see bringing up her condition is just making things worse?"

For a second Kagome appeared hurt, but soon let go of Sango. "Sango-chan, you can do whatever you want." She lied down with Shippo, Sango sensing as though Kagome were acting upset more with her than what Inuyasha said.

The taiji-ya glared back at him, Inuyasha faltering at her incensed expression. She purposefully went and took the futon Kirara was still sitting at, not caring about what her reason for not doing it before was. As she rested her head, Sango thought she saw Kagome's lips twitch into something of a smirk.

- - -

It was time for them to leave the village, the headman and Takiko saying their goodbyes and giving their gratitude.

"Are you sure you should be standing with your bad ankle?" Sango's expression showed concern when Takiko came closer to her.

"It's okay. I wanted to see you off. So…" Takiko leant forward and kissed Sango on the cheek. "Take care," she smiled.

Colour came to Sango's face, the friends behind her expressing their own shock at the gesture.

The headman slapped Sango on the back. "Young man, I'll let you know that you were lucky to get any sort of affection from my daughter."

Takiko's arms stiffened at her sides. "Father…!"

Not until they were on the path out of the village did anyone mention what had happened.

Miroku sighed exaggeratedly and jested, "Sango, I never knew you could be such a heartbreaker; and even so she still gave you that remarkable display of affection." He pulled the sleeve of his robe to his face, pretending to be tearing.

Sango rolled her eyes. "I never asked for any of that."

From atop Kagome's shoulder Shippo put in, "Sango did rescue her."

"Yes, but…" Kagome gathered her thoughts. "Sango-chan actually makes a good-looking boy too. Well, compared to…" Suddenly her vision was filled with the faces of Inuyasha and Miroku.

"What? Better-looking than whom?" Miroku looked like her might cry if Kagome said his name.

Kagome was taken aback and a little befuddled. "What are you two so concerned about?"

"Well…" Miroku backed away to a less threatening posture. "It's not everyday that we get to find out what type of men you prefer, Kagome-sama." He closed his eyes and folded his arms. "Besides, your tastes do seem questionable…"

Inuyasha's eyebrows twitched. "Is that supposed to mean something to me Miroku?" he said in a lengthened tone.

Miroku waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, not at all."

"Is that so?" Inuyasha lunged at him but then monk simply stepped out of harm's way and scuttled ahead to meet Sango.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha from behind, the hanyou still glowering at Miroku's retreating form. "Is that why you want to know too?"

Inuyasha whipped round, a scandalized expression on his face. He sputtered, "W-What? No!" Crossing his arms he looked away and said, "As if I care about anything like that."

"Oh? Then what about Kouga-kun?"

He gazed back at her defensively. "What about him?"

"You don't like it when Kouga-kun comes too close to me." Kagome felt a tinge of superiority. "Are you trying to find out what I like about him?"

Inuyasha flushed at Kagome's probing. "I don't care, alright!? You can go and do whatever you want for all I care!"

"Tsk." Shippo's eyes narrowed. "I think Miroku has a point about Kagome's choices."

"What did you say?" Inuyasha approached Shippo warningly, Kagome stepping in to prevent any chaotic scenarios.

"Look, I was kidding, alright? Can we please just drop this?" Her act of pacifism was successful, the three now continuing their trek behind Miroku, Sango and Kirara.

Miroku's hand was twitching just below where he usually reached for Sango, but seemed unable to make any follow-through.

"What are you doing?" Sango's jaded voice questioned.

Miroku lowered his head shamefully. "I just can't do it… not like this," he moaned.

Sango sighed. "At least there's one positive aspect to all this."

Me: A little bit of trivia – Takiko is the name of the main character in the manga "Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden." In the drama CDs, Takiko's voice actress is Satsuki Yukino; the same woman who voices Kagome in "InuYasha."