Surprises

Sango didn't seem to be able to stop shaking. She was freezing. It didn't matter that she had been out of the water for more than ten minutes already and that she was wrapped in a large towel. The shock had, together with being in the water for far too long, made her so cold she doubted that she'd ever warm up again.

Koga was still telling her how stupid she was, pacing to and fro before her.

"Swimming out like that when you didn't know how far you were able to go… You are such an absolute idiot I can't imagine how you've even made it to this age. You ought to be long dead, by laws of nature! Survival of the smartest and such. What if I hadn't seen you? Where do you think you'd be now? You'd be out at sea! As dead as the rats in the school's basement! You are so unbelievably stupid!"

"I did know how far I could – " she started rebelliously, but was interrupted when he grabbed her wrist and shoved her own hand in her face.

"Take a look at that," he said tightly. Giving him a what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about-look, she gazed at her hand.

"It's a hand," she said. Koga growled.

"It's shaking, bright kid. And do you know why it's shaking? Because you have spent God knows how long swimming against the currents. And why were you swimming against the currents? Because you were too bloody far out. Now tell me again that you know exactly how far out you can go."

"I just… lost track." He had a point. Of course she had been stupid. It had been a terrible risk. But she did usually know how far out she was able to go. She didn't want him to think she was weak.

"Oh, you lost track! Well, then everything's OK isn't it? I've got news for you – it's not! Because if you can't concentrate you don't belong in the sea! Because if you can't concentrate you get pulled out to sea and drown faster than you can say "oops"! I thought you were supposed to be a smart girl!"

"Lay off it, Koga," said Miroku soothingly. He was looking rather pale and she realized that he had been worried, too. "Leave the poor girl alone for a while. She's probably figured out by now that she should have been more careful."

"Damn right she should," grumbled Koga, but let Sango's wrist go and turned away.

"…sorry."

"Hm?" He turned back again and saw Sango staring at her feet. Her cheeks were burning with shame and something else that she couldn't herself define.

"For making you all worry. I know it was stupid of me to lose focus like that."

"Feh." Koga snorted dismissively. Sango felt her blood starting to boil again. Didn't he realize how hard that apology was for her? Stupid, insensitive jerk. And on top it all off he was just so… ah… aah…

Sango sneezed.

"Someone must be talking about you, Sango," grinned Miroku, breaking the tenseness. Then he saw her blue lips. "Or there might be a more natural explanation, of course. What clothes have you brought with you?"

"Nothing except the ones I came in…"

"Oh for Heaven's sake," Koga exclaimed, "you're wearing thin on my patience now. Take that off." He pointed at her swimsuit.

"WHAT?!"

"Take-that-off-and-put-something-dry-on," he ground out between clenched teeth. When she had done so in the toilet of the café she felt a little better, but still far from warm. As she came out again Koga tossed something big and soft at her face. She caught it instinctively.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Guess three times, you moron. Wear it, what else?"

Sango looked in distaste at the piece of clothing she held in her hands. But it looked warm… She pulled it over her head before he decided to change his mind about giving it to her.

"Ooh, cute," smiled Kagome. "Maybe you should start playing rugby."

Sango looked down on the rugby jersey she was wearing. God, that this day should come to her…

"And it's not even my colour," she sighed.

*************

Koga drove her home. Apparently he had been kept back a year – well, no surprise there. That meant he was one year older than the rest of them – two years older than Kagome, did you figure that out all by yourself? – and had a driver's licence. And a car. A rather battered one (actually, a very battered one), but still a car. He was still grumbling a bit, but not as much as before. He had given Miroku a lift too, dropping him off somewhere in the centre of the city. Sango had a strong suspicion that Miroku didn't really live there though, and that his only reason for stopping there was the large group of girls sitting at the "Rainbow Café". Lecherous idiot.

As they started to come closer to her home, Koga became very silent, looking about him in wonder.

"Posh area, huh?" he said casually. For some reason, Sango was almost embarrassed, not knowing what to answer.

"Please tell me you live in one of the basements. No? Well then, show the way to your house."

"There," Sango said simply, pointing at a beautiful house at the end of the street. Koga raised an eyebrow.

"Rich, your parents?"

"Parent."

"Ah."

They drove the rest of the street in silence. Well, he drove in silence and she…was driven in silence. He stopped just outside the gates to her house, reaching back into the back seat and tossing her bag to her.

"See you at school, maybe. If I bother to come."

"Yeah…" She thought TURN, but her feet didn't obey her. Seemingly, they were agreeing with her conscience and her good manners.

'Fine, fine, you win,' her own will muttered, defeated. Her conscience sniggered smugly. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"I just wanted to say thank you." There, she had said it.

Koga was staring at her with a nothing less than astonished expression on his face. It made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"What?!"

"You're welcome," he said slowly, the surprised expression not leaving his face, but grinning. A real grin, without any smirk.

"Uh, bye then," she said hesitantly, feeling freaked out by his reaction. He kept grinning, starting up his car again.

"Bye!" With a cheery wave he pulled off, leaving her very confused.

'God, what was that all about?!' she asked herself as she stomped into her room. 'What was there to be so damn happy about? The fact that I said thank you? Oh yeah, 'cos that's so fantastic, or what?'

She flopped down on her bed with a sigh.

'Stupid idiot, he did it to bug me.'

She started going through her schedule for the day after. Do her Chemistry homework, work a little on her room, maybe start on the wardrobe door – even after more than one month she hadn't finished renovating yet – and then meet up with Kagome for a cup of coffee somewhere. It was how her Sundays usually looked, nice and slow, not a terrible lot to do.

'What would it be like if I had a boyfriend? Would it be him I met up with instead of Kagome?'

Hm, not likely. Kagome didn't spend her time with Inu-yasha all the time, did she? She was with Sango just as much, and Miroku…

Miroku, Miroku, Miroku. There she was, thinking about him once again. His laughter. His eyes. His jokes. His hair that fell into his eyes. His way of turning his head when he spoke. His always groping her.

Not that she liked that.

Certainly not.

She'd really have to talk to Kagome about this. Even though Sango had only met her little more than a month ago, she felt she could trust the girl with almost anything. And if she didn't tell anyone about all the mixed feelings she had soon, she would go nuts.

Mixed feelings? Where did that thought come from? There wasn't really anything mixed with her feelings, she was in love with Miroku and the only thing that was mixed up was him.

Why did she suddenly think of Koga?

'GAAAH! Oh, I seriously need some sleep.' Rubbing her temples lightly, Sango got up from her bed. Yes, some sleep would be nice. And before that, a nice long bath. She went into the bathroom and put the hot water on, then reached down to start undressing, and paused.

She was still wearing Koga's rugby shirt.

Damn.

*************

"'Orry, wha 'ere oo shhayiin?" Kagome asked, around a mouthful of cake. They were sitting in a small café not too far from Sango's house, having their usual get-together. Sango correctly translated her question as "Sorry, what were you saying?" and replied.

"Does Miroku ever talk about me?"

"Well, it depends on what you mean, of course."

"I just thought… since you've known him for much longer than I have… he might have said something to you…" Sango's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

"About what?" asked Kagome, a perplexed wrinkle in her forehead. "Spit it out, girl."

"About how he feels for me."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's like this," Sango said, speaking hurriedly. "I really, really like him, and he keeps flirting with me all the time. But he flirts with everyone else, too. I think it seems like he flirts with me more…but maybe that's just wishful thinking. I have no idea how he feels about me, and I thought you might know…?" She looked up to see Kagome staring at her with an expression that was very hard to read – it seemed like mixed amusement and pity, or something.

"Oh," said Kagome. "Um… jeez, you don't know… er, I don't really know how… oh my god. Uh… it's like… er…"

"What?"

"Well, Sango… Miroku's gay."

*************

To Cookie: Well, that's one question answered for you, at least! (Can't believe you actually figured it out…:P)

To Aamalie: Love you for being such a faithful reviewer… warms my heart. :)

To elsiey and Skitzoflame: There will be no Sango/Miroku in this fic for… natural reasons.

To everyone else who has reviewed so far: Thank you! Sorry for the breaks between updates… I want to update more often but school is killing me. Wish I could go to a school that was more like the one in my fic! :)