.:*:. ~!!~ .:*:.

.:*:.Chapter 4.:*:.

            Up in the safety of his beloved trees, Inuyasha could finally think to himself. "Who is the one that is controlling this stuff? And why would they want to? Naraku isn't the one controlling it, because it affects demons, so how could a demon use it on someone else. How did it get into our hands?" Inuyasha shook his head as he tried to figure it out. Not coming up with any valid reasons, he gave up on it for the moment. "Let the monk figure it out." But then his mind went back to the story. The two lovers had been tricked by an enemy, just as Inuyasha and... Kikyo had been tricked also... "Feh!" He shook his head to get the thought out of his head. He looked down from the tree and could hear voices resonating out from inside the room. He could hear Sango yelling at Miroku lividly. Apparently he had groped her again. He leaned back against the truck of the tree and let his eyes close. He remembered the fear he saw in Sango's eyes when she saw him. He never meant to hurt her. Never.  Even though he didn't show it, he was glad that she wasn't seriously injured. Her wounds should heal within a matter of weeks. He could not let himself succumb to this potion's power again. He would not endanger Sango again. He heard a noise, and glanced down. It was Sango.

            "Inuyasha, could I speak to you for a few minutes?"

            Needless to say, it didn't take long for Inuyasha to hop down from the tree and land in front of Sango. He gave her a brief nod, and then followed her as she led him down a pathway. He also noticed that she had her Hiraikotsu, and he could have sworn he saw the faint outline of Kirara near the bushes.

She doesn't trust him anymore.

            "Miroku..." Inuyasha winced at the name. "...thinks he knows who is controlling this stuff." Inuyasha's eyebrow went up, showing interest.

            "Well, who is it then?"

            Sango paused a moment, knowing this would be painful for Inuyasha.

            "Well, he's not completely sure... but as far as he can tell now..." Sango paused a moment, and looked up at Inuyasha. She gently laid her hand down on top of his, hoping he wouldn't pull away as he usually does when Kagome tries to talk to him. For the moment anyways, he didn't. "He believes that it is," she paused for a moment, and then continued, "...Kikyo." Inuyasha focused his intense gaze at the ground and, for a while, he refused to look up. When he finally did, he whispered something so softly, Sango wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.

"...As long as you're okay, it doesn't matter..."

~!!~.:*:.~!!~

            Miroku frowned as he heard the last words Inuyasha had uttered. He heard Sango ask him to repeat what he said, and he heard Inuyasha reply that he had said nothing and that Sango must have heard something else. Liar. Inuyasha and Sango have been talking more frequently since that last incident with Naraku. Have I pushed her too far away? Though he most certainly had a physical attraction for Lady Sango, he most certainly could control that same attraction. The only reason he groped her was to keep her distant from him. What if they didn't defeat Naraku? The air rip would eventually swallow him. He couldn't take the risk of hurting Sango. He would not, could not, have a relationship with her until Naraku was soundly defeated. Even though he knew that sometimes it annoyed her, he could not ask her the question until he knew he could provide for her with stability. Until then, he would continue to ask everyone but her.

            But had he pushed the groping too far? Maybe tonight had been too much for her. Miroku looked over at the clearing where Inuyasha and Sango had been talking before. It appeared they were still talking. As he stared at them, sitting a bit too close to each other for his own comfort, he realized that he couldn't stand looking at them together. He should go back to the house to make sure Kagome and Shippou were safe. Even though he didn't want to leave Sango alone with Inuyasha in case he succumbed to the potion again, it appeared she could take care of herself, judging from the way they were talking tellement maudire intime. He held the rings on his staff together so that they would not hear the jingling as he slowly got up, careful not to step on anything, and despondently made his way back to the village.

~!!~.:*:.~!!~

            "I know that... but why would Kikyo want to do this? She has no motive! I don't see how it could be her!"

            "Inuyasha... she does have a motive. Don't you remember the story?" He did.

            "You and Kikyo were betrayed by Naraku, and she didn't realize it wasn't you who had betrayed her until it was too late," Too late indeed.

           "...and the witch, the woman in the story, she and her love were betrayed by an enemy also, and he didn't realize that it wasn't her until it was too late." No, he hadn't realized it soon enough.

            "So you see, she does have a motive. Or perhaps Naraku has a motive. Perhaps it is Naraku who got Kikyo to use the potion on you. But still, she does have a motive, yet all this doesn't matter unless we find a way to stop this person before they use it on us again. I don't even know how they gave it to us in the first place! Do you understand?" He did understand.

            "Yes." As he sat there, something began to come over him. A strange feeling made its way through his feet all the way up to his throat. "Aahh! Ants!" Inuyasha jumped around frantically in an attempt to get the millions of ants off his body. Sango, in between her hysterical laughter, brushed the ants off of his shoulders and back. When she had brushed the last one off, her hand came to stop on his chest. She blushed, and pulled her hand back away from him. Caught off guard, his mouth dropped open, but soon a small smile took the place of the previous gape. He took her hand back into his and placed her arm around his neck. Before Sango had time to react, Inuyasha had pulled her into a tight embrace.

            "In-Inuyasha..." Sango started, but Inuyasha just pulled her closer and quietly shushed her. Inuyasha thought to himself, "Mmmm... she smells like... like cherry blossoms... And she's so soft."

            "Sango..." Inuyasha quickly murmured under his breath. As they pulled away from their embrace, Inuyasha looked deep into her eyes, as she stared back into his golden ones. "Oh no, not again, please don't let him grope me." Sango silently pleaded. But instead of reaching for her rear end, Inuyasha brought his hand up to her cheek. He gently ran his finger over a small scratch she supposedly had received from him.

            "Sango... I'm sorry... I didn't know... I wasn't aware... I--" He was cut off as her mouth was suddenly placed on his. For a moment, he was soaring through paradise. Then a low growl came from the bushes, and Kirara jumped out to reveal herself. She transformed into the large cat demon, and approached Inuyasha and Sango.

            "Kirara? What's wrong? What are you doing?"

            Kirara bared her teeth at her owner, and stopped only a few feet in front them. Sango looked at Inuyasha then back to Kirara. What was going on?  Is it attack-Sango day?? She slowly began to back up and move away from Inuyasha. Surprisingly, Kirara didn't come any closer. Sango gradually stood up when she thought she was far enough away. When she had finally straightened up into her fighting stance, Kirara bared her teeth at her again, and nuzzled up against Inuyasha. What the...??? Inuyasha looked down at Kirara, then back to Sango. Then his eyes went wide with realization.

            "Sango! It's the Chimera!" Sango nodded her head in agreement. But how could they break the spell?

~!!~.:*:.~!!~