The walk back to Kaede's was filled, pretty much, with silence. Miroku had offered to carry Kagome back all the way, but Kagome had chosen to ride Kirara instead, saying something along the lines of, "At least Kirara doesn't have any wandering hands..."
Sango and Inuyasha didn't say one word to each other during the walk either. Sango spent the time walking beside Kirara and Kagome, talking to her friend about little things; mostly about how things were back in her own country. Inuyasha, on the other hand, walked behind everyone else, his eyes closed and his arms stuffed in the sleeves of his haori. Miroku tried speaking with him a couple times, but the hanyou only snorted and ignored him.
Finally, the small group arrived at Kaede's village. The elder woman ushered them all into her hut, and listened patiently while Miroku and Kagome explained what had happened. Once they had finished, she nodded, "So, it was just the fall that injured you, Kagome? Are you sure you weren't infected by its venom?"
The young miko nodded, as she tried to situate herself so she was comfortable, without hurting her ankle more, "I'm sure, Kaede-obasan. It just wanted the Shikon no kakera, and once I dropped them, it left me alone. It didn't bite me, or anything like that. It would've bitten Miroku-sama, though, if Sango-chan and Inuyasha hadn't been there."
"Is that so?" Kaede asked, looking up to Inuyasha and Sango, "It sounds as though you two make quite the team."
"Keh! It's not like we can be a team if someone won't stop running off all the time." Inuyasha mumbled, crossing his arms.
And Sango was ready with a comeback of her own, "And some people need to learn to let their team-mate do things on their own as well."
"How can that happen if the person won't even listen to her team-mate?!" The hanyou asked, looking to Sango.
"And how can you expect that someone to listen, when her team-mate won't go any way but his way?!" She replied.
Inuyasha frowned as he uncrossed his arms and hit his hands on the floor, "She should stop being so stubborn!"
The taijiya turned and looked at him, "He should stop being so protective!"
"P-protective? What do you mean protective?" He asked.
"Treating me like a child who can't take care of herself, following me whenever I go to fight a demon. Need I go on?" She said.
"I worry about you!" He said, turning away from her and shutting his eyes.
Silence seemed to fill the small hut as Kagome, Miroku, Shippou, and Kaede all looked at the hanyou in surprise. Sango, however, didn't seem to impressed by what he had said. After a minute or two, Kagome leaned closer to Miroku, "I think Sango-chan has a point...Inuyasha has seemed over-protective of her lately." She whispered.
The monk nodded slightly, "Indeed he has. Maybe its just the way he is, but Inuyasha has definitely been acting different with Sango." He replied, whispering as well.
Shippou jumped up onto Miroku's shoulder and leaned closer to the two humans, wanting to be a part of their talk as well, "Inuyasha wants to protect Sango, but Sango can protect herself."
Kaede coughed into her hand, wanting to turn attention away from the tension that was in the room, then turned to Kagome, "Kagome, is your ankle still bothering you?"
Kagome turned to Kaede and nodded, "Hai...I probably just sprained it though. You don't have to worry."
"Well, at least let me mix up some medicine for the pain. It won't take too long." Kaede said, smiling warmly at the group of travelers.
Kagome smiled and gave the okay. Kaede then went outside to gather the necessary herbs. "While I get these, could someone please get some water from the stream for me?" She called into the hut.
"I can do that." Sango said, standing up and walking towards the door. Glancing back to Inuyasha, she then added, "That is, unless a certain someone thinks I might not be able to handle it alone."
"Keh!" The hanyou laid down on his side, waving dismissively at her, "Go on. Just don't get attacked by some water demon, 'cause I won't be there to help you."
"Inuyasha...baka!" The slayer muttered, clutching her hand into a fist, "I can take care of myself!" With that, she stormed out of the hut, grabbing a bucket in the process.
Once Sango was gone, Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, do you have to keep upsetting Sango-chan like that?"
Shippou jumped down from Miroku's shoulder, and made his way over to the hanyou, "Really, Inuyasha! What's with the possessive streak all of a sudden?"
"It's none of your business!" The hanyou spat as he switched sides, lying so his back was to the others.
Kaede returned about that time. She settled down beside Kagome and began to mash some of the herbs in a bowl, "Once Sango returns with the water, we'll pour a little in this, then we can rub this on your ankle. It should help with the pain."
The school girl nodded and smiled, "Great."
...Silence...
Minutes passed, and no one said anything.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
That was soon the only sound that filled the hut, as Inuyasha began to tap his fingers against the floor.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Sango sure is taking a long time." The kitsune stated as he looked towards the door, looking for any sign of the taijiya.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"You've got that right, Shippou-chan." Kagome agreed.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"She's probably doing it on account of Inuyasha." Miroku said, glancing at Inuyasha.
Tap. Tap... Growl.
"And just what is that supposed to mean?!" The hanyou growled, turning over to face them again.
Miroku shook his head, "Nothing at all, Inuyasha."
"Only that Sango-chan is just trying to make you worry." Kagome said, looking at him.
"But Inuyasha won't fall for that, will you, Inuyasha?" Shippou questioned, hopping onto the hanyou's head.
Inuyasha frowned as he stood up. He picked Shippou up off his head and dropped him to the ground, "I have to check on something." With that, he calmly walked outside.
The others, who were left inside, all looked at each other and let out a collective sigh. It was as if he really thought they didn't know where he was really going...
--
'Sango...what the hell are you doing?' The hanyou wondered silently, as he walked towards the stream. 'You're making it look like I'm the bad guy here... Why... ' He stopped walking, and let his thoughts trail off, as he neared the stream. His ears twitched slightly hearing a small sound. Cautiously, Inuyasha crept forward, being careful to keep quiet. He moved behind a tree, and peeked out from around it.
Sango was sitting near the edge of the stream, looking at the waters surface.
Kirara sat by her side, looking up at the taijiya with her large, crimson eyes.
Sango stroked the neko's head gently, looking over at her, "I'm sorry, Kirara. I don't mean to be such a bother to anyone, especially Inuyasha, but... I don't know what's wrong with me lately."
Inuyasha felt a pain grow in his chest, as he listened to Sango speak. Had he really been the one to make her feel that way? Slowly, he stepped form behind the tree and moved to stand behind her, "There's nothing wrong with you, Sango." He said quietly.
The taijiya jumped slightly, and looked back at him, "Inuyasha... I-I didn't know you were there." She said, turning around again and wiping her eyes, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.
Inuyasha kneeled down behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to upset you."
Sango shook her head slightly, "Y-you didn't upset me. Don't worry about it."
The hanyou sighed and hugged her shoulders, pulling her back against him, "Don't lie to me. I head what you said to Kirara, and... and I know something's bothering you."
"How do you know that?" She asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder at him.
He shook his head slightly before resting his chin on her shoulder, and leaning his head against hers, "I don't know, really... I can just... feel it, if that makes any sense."
"I guess it makes some sense." She replied, "And... I wasn't lying... You didn't upset me. I did it myself. I'm sorry about earlier... I know you worry about me, just like I worry about you. I just... I don't know what's wrong with me."
He tightened his embrace on her, "There's nothing wrong with you. You're a fighter, simple as that. You have a fighting spirit, and that's something I've always loved about you."
She smiled slightly, "Always? Even though our first encounter wasn't very... nice?"
He chuckled and kissed her cheek, "Yeah, Sango. Always."
She sighed contently, remaining quiet.
Inuyasha suddenly fell back, recieving a small gasp of surprise from Sango since he pulled her back with him. "Let's stay here for a while. The others will be fine by themselves. Besides... I miss being with just you. It's not exactly easy with Miroku, Kagome, and Shippou around all the time."
Sango smiled, moving off of him; choosing to lie beside him instead. She nodded slightly before reaching up to toy with the bead of his rosary, "I know what you mean... But we can't just leave them, or expect them to leave us. We need to finish gathering the Shikon shards so we can finally defeat Naraku. Things will settle down once we finally kill him."
The hanyou nodded. He would never just forget Naraku; not after everything he had done. First he had killed Kikyou, and then Kohaku. No, Inuyasha wouldn't ever think about settling down without first killing Naraku. "Yeah, I know." He said quietly, closing his eyes.
"But, we don't need to talk about that right now." The taijiya said, curling closer to him. "Let's stay out here a few more minutes. I don't want the others to start worrying too much."
He grinned, "They'd start worrying even if we were only gone for two seconds. But, whatever you say."
She closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest, "Good."
--------------------
AN: I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out! I had it written, then I had to go and re-write it because I decided to change what happened. I'll wait to do what I originally planned a little later, so no worries.
Also, meant to put this in the last chapter, but I forgot. 'Kakera no Unmei', if you didn't know, means 'Shards of Destiny'.
And, as always, please review. Ja!