Hey again! Before I start writing the third chapter, let me thank silveryuki06 for her review. Yeah, Shippo and Kirara are the only ones in the group that're sane… anyway, thanks for reviewing and hope you like the next chapter. That goes for all of you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu… but Makoto's mine! Hah!


Minutes turned into hours as the day wore on, and by sunset both Kagome and Sango were charmed by Makoto's neverendingly cheerful mood. He was a gentleman, always polite and never without a smile on his face. Both the girls thought he was the most delightful being they'd ever laid eyes on.

Inuyasha and Miroku hated him.

How could they not? He was stealing their girls away from them, for pity's sake! The man knew when to laugh, when to comment, and when to keep his mouth shut. He appeared to be, in all ways known to mankind, perfect.

"It has not escaped my notice," Makoto said quietly to the two girls, "that Inuyasha and Miroku have been glaring at our backs for quite a while."

Sango turned her nose up. "They're jerks."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, that's for sure."

Makoto raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Miroku's a horrible pervert," Sango informed him, exasperated and angry once more. "It seems like every minute of every day, all he's doing is thinking of the right time and place to grope someone – usually me. He's such a lech, and so annoying! He just can't keep his hands to himself!"

"I can understand how that would be frustrating," Makoto nodded, almost laughing. So the monk had a hidden side to him, did he? That was interesting…

Kagome was nodding. "You know what, Makoto? One of the first things he ever said to me was to ask whether I would bear his child. How sad is that? I've never met a guy more perverted than him! It's disgusting!" She and Sango both shivered.

Makoto smiled slightly. "That is indeed sad. I cannot speak for him, but you are in no danger of such atrocities by my hand."

Kagome grinned and linked arms with him. "Thanks, Makoto!"

The newcomer smiled at her. "You are welcome, Lady Kagome."

"Oh, you can stop with the Lady thing," she said, waving a hand. "Just call me Kagome. We're friends now, right? Friends don't go around calling each other Lord and Lady!"

"As you wish, Kagome," he said, bowing his head.

Sango rolled her eyes as she heard Miroku and Inuyasha arguing behind them. Makoto's sharp eyes didn't miss this, and he cocked his head. "For a group who travels together," he commented, "you don't seem to like one another very much. Why are you so angry with Inuyasha and Miroku?"

"I'm mad at Miroku because he won't keep his hands to himself," Sango hissed venomously, sending the monk a death glare that got him angry at her all over again.

"Inuyasha's a lousy idiot," Kagome announced to Makoto with a scowl. "He thinks everything's about him, and he's selfish and stuck-up."

"Why do you say that?" Makoto asked, glancing back at the hanyou, who was glowering at them.

Kagome hesitated. She liked Makoto a lot, but she didn't completely trust him, no matter how nice or charming or polite he may seem. She certainly didn't trust him enough to tell him about the well and the fact that she was from the future. "Well," she said carefully, "I'm not from around here, and every once in a while I have to go home for a little bit – usually no more than a day or two." Good, that didn't reveal anything important. "But Inuyasha gets really mad, and tries to stop me, and then we get into a fight and he won't ever let it go."

Makoto looked surprised. "If it is his fault, Kagome-"

"Which it is," she growled.

"-then why does he not apologize?"

Kagome threw her hands up in the air. "That's exactly what I say! See, you understand. Inuyasha should just apologize, and then we wouldn't be so mad at each other! But no, he has to go sulking off and wait for me to say that I'm sorry, when I had nothing to do with it!"

"Why should you have to apologize to him?" Makoto questioned as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "From what I have heard, the argument was not your fault."

Kagome smiled at him. "You're so understanding, Makoto."

The stranger smiled back down at her as they walked. "I am surprised anyone would wish to stay angry with such a kind, wonderful young lady."

Blushing, Kagome laughed, beaming at him.

Sango sighed dejectedly, scuffing at the ground with her foot. "I guess I should apologize to Miroku. I mean, he groped me and started the whole thing, but I did slap him pretty hard…"

"You had every right to," Makoto reassured her kindly. "I would expect no less."

Sango smiled brightly at him, amazed at how considerate he could be. "Thanks, Makoto."

Inuyasha and Miroku sulked from behind them. "Why do they like him so much?" Inuyasha grumbled. "He's not all that great. It's obvious he's just sucking up to them."

"It's working well," Miroku said dolefully. "What does he have that we don't?"

"Intelligence," Shippo muttered, and flinched when Inuyasha glared at him sourly. "Seriously, can't you two see? He actually tries to get along with them. Observe: he's not yelling, and he's not groping. There's your problem right there."

The two grumbled, and sulked some more, as Shippo caught up with the others.

"Hey, Makoto," he said cheerfully, jumping up onto Kagome's shoulder.

"Shippo," the man said, acknowledging the kitsune with a nod.

Kagome ruffled Shippo's hair affectionately. "Get tired of Inuyasha?"

"Yeah," Shippo nodded, glaring back at the hanyou, who crossed his arms stubbornly. "They're both stubborn and idiotic. All Miroku thinks about is women, and all Inuyasha thinks about is himself."

Kagome smirked. "And ramen. Which reminds me…" She raised her voice so the hanyou could hear her. "I'm never going to bring him ramen ever again! Serves him right for being such a jerk!"

Inuyasha's ears perked up at that. "Hey!" he shouted angrily, stalking towards them, eyes blazing.

Makoto immediately stepped in front of him. "Calm yourself, Inuyasha," he said firmly. "It's not worth you getting angry over. I am sure Kagome didn't mean it." He heard Kagome snort from behind him, but ignored her.

Growling under his breath, Inuyasha turned away from them and stuck up his nose at Makoto, who moved to walk between the two girls once again. Shippo looked very impressed. "Wow, Makoto, you actually stopped Inuyasha from getting into a fight with Kagome!" the kitsune exclaimed. "That's hard to do. I never manage it. It's a good thing, too; they probably would've killed each other."

Sango smiled at the image. "Inuyasha would do anything for ramen."

"Selfish, selfish," Kagome sighed.

Makoto merely smiled. "It is getting dark. Would you prefer to stop for the night, or continue on?"

"We should stop," Sango said, yawning. "I'm starting to get tired. Oh, great timing, Makoto – I think I can see a hot spring! I need a bath… Kagome, want to come?"

Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, Sango! Great idea."

They stopped and set up camp. Miroku started a fire, pointedly ignoring both Makoto and Sango. Inuyasha leaped into a tree and ignored everyone. Sango took two towels from Kagome's bag and got ready to go down to the hot springs as Shippo and Kirara relaxed.

"Sango," Kagome hissed, drawing her friend over.

The demon-slayer tiptoed over to Kagome, far enough away that the others could not hear her. "What is it, Kagome?" she asked, wondering at her friend's strange behavior.

"Makoto," Kagome whispered. "Isn't he cool?"

Sango smiled, her eyes straying to the handsome young man. "Yes, he certainly is. He's much more kind and polite than Miroku and Inuyasha. He is quite the gentleman. I'm glad he's decided to come with us to hunt for Naraku; he is good company, especially because he understands us."

Kagome was nodding. "He's really nice and all, but I'm not sure if I trust him yet. I figured out a way to see whether he's really like Miroku and Inuyasha or not – you know, whether he's a perverted loser. We can just see whether he sneaks down to spy on us when we're in the hot spring or not. If he does, we know he's not as good as we think. If he doesn't, we know he's that much better!"

Sango smiled enthusiastically. "Good idea, Kagome. But how will we know if he comes to peek? I'm sure he'd be much quieter than Miroku and Inuyasha are when they follow us. We almost always find them."

"Yeah," Kagome nodded, "which is why we get Shippo to act like he's asleep and keep an eye on Makoto. If he gets up and leaves the camp, Shippo can tell us."

Sango nodded. "Okay, let's go."

They called Shippo over and told him their plan. He agreed, eager to see whether Makoto was really as good as he made himself out to be. All the while, the man worked to keep the fire going, seeming perfectly innocent as he went about his ways in silence.

"Okay, guys," Kagome announced, "we're going to the springs."

"Don't even think about following us." Sango glared at them. For Miroku, the warning was more of an invitation – they wondered whether it would be the same for Makoto.

As the two girls sauntered off towards the water, Shippo lay down, closing his eyes most of the way and watching through his eyelids as the three men sat in silence. Not two minutes passed before Miroku got to his feet, claiming to have to go to the bathroom. Inuyasha snorted and leaped into a tree, ignoring the houshi and falling asleep within minutes.

Makoto watched the monk leave, amusement in his eyes as he shook his head. Shippo watched him like a hawk, but the man simply sat back with a sigh, closing his eyes.

Kagome and Sango remained mostly underwater – if Makoto really was a peeping tom, the last thing they wanted to do was let him see them, and they knew Miroku would be there anyway. Sure enough, a few minutes after they submerged themselves into the water, a rustle sounded in the bushes. Furious, Sango shot for her towel and wrapped it around her, grabbing a rock and throwing it at the quickly retreating monk.

Miroku groaned and rubbed his head, but that rock was the least of his worries. Sango threw herself at him, slapping him across the cheek and yelling at him in rage.

"You stupid – sick – perverted – houshi!" she growled.

Kagome, also angry but unwilling to see Miroku murdered, pulled her friend back. "Get out of here, lech," she snapped at Miroku, who immediately shot away into the woods again, a bright red handprint on his face as a new souvenir of his perverted actions.

Makoto glanced up as the monk reentered the clearing. His eyes strayed to the handprint and he let loose a sigh. "You know," he said quietly, "you really shouldn't do that."

Miroku glared at him and remained silent.

Shrugging, Miroku settled back, closing his eyes. "It would seem to me, Miroku, that the way to get a woman to trust you does not involve committing various lecherous acts against her, but respecting her as an individual and leaving her in peace."

Miroku didn't reply. Shippo smirked slightly. The monk couldn't argue with that.

Kagome and Sango came back into the clearing a moment later to see that Makoto hadn't moved from his original spot. He glanced up as they arrived and flashed them a charming smile. "Sleep," he advised. "I will watch over you."

They smiled back at him, reassured, and turned to Shippo, who settled down in Kagome's sleeping bag.

"Well?" Sango asked quietly.

Shippo shook his head. "Didn't move once. He even told Miroku off for going."

The girls blinked in surprise and glanced over at Makoto, whose eyes were closed. "Really?" Kagome said with a grin. "That's nice of him. Did you hear what he said?"

Shippo repeated what Makoto had told Miroku. The girls looked impressed.

"Well, that's one test he's passed, in my opinion," Sango whispered. Kagome nodded along with her and settled down. "Let's get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning, Kagome."

They slept well that night, knowing that their new friend was awake to protect them.

Though they couldn't have seen it in the rapidly descending darkness, Makoto was smiling.