AN: Thank everyone for the kind reviews, and I really, REALLY must apologize for not updating this for a long time. I caught a bad case of writers block, and I seriously considered deleting this. But, then, while working out another story I had planned (which was also an Inu/San), I suddenly got the idea to just have that story as a chapter for this one, and ta-daa! No more writers block! Hurrah! So, yes, I know what I'm going to do now, so expect updates to come sooner!

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The sun continued to shine down on the two as they silently lay near the water. Sango, despite what she had said to Inuyasha moments before, had dozed off; her body still curled contently near the hanyou. Inuyasha realized this by the way her breathing had leveled to a slow, yet steady rhythm. And also because the 'few minutes' she had spoken of, had somehow managed to draw out into several minutes. Not that he minded, of course. It wasn't easy to find time to spend alone when one had three other companions around all the time. And, even when they had managed to get away from said companions, it seemed as though that would be the time that a demon decided to attack. So, between Kagome, Miroku, Shippou, demons, jewel shards, and the constant hunt for Naraku, it was nearly impossible to get even one minute of time to themselves.

A small sound brought Inuyasha out of his thoughts, as he turned his head to see what it was.

Kirara was standing there, nudging the bucket Sango had brought to get the water for Kaede in, slightly. As the fire-cat saw Inuyasha looking at her, she sat down and looked back at him; her large, crimson eyes blinked once as she gave him a look that seemed to say 'did you forget?'.

The hanyou grinned slightly as he reached up and patted the neko's head, "Alright, alright, Kirara. I'll get the water for Kaede-baba and Kagome." He said quietly, not wanting to wake Sango. Then, still being careful to not disturb the sleeping slayer, he took the bucket and got up. And, once the bucket was filled, he was back at Sango's side. He looked down at her for a moment, thinking. He could return to the hut and be back in only a few seconds, if he ran, but he didn't want to leave her; if only for a few seconds. Sure, he knew full well that she was capable of taking care of herself, but he couldn't help but feel that he needed to protect her. It wasn't a choice, like when he chose to protect Kagome, or Shippou, or anyone else. With Sango, it was different; it wasn't just a choice, it was instinct. He had to do it.

Blinking, he smiled at the taijiya's sleeping form, 'I guess she's right.' He thought, laughing a bit, 'I guess I am protective of her.' Inuyasha shook his head in amusement, before leaning down to pick Sango up, "Come on, koishii, lets go back to the others." He whispered. Another smile crossed his lips as she curled closer to him, once she was in his arms. Then, looking down to Kirara, he motioned to the bucket, "Get that, would you?" He asked.

Kirara looked up at him, tilting her head to the side slightly. She mewed, and then walked a circle around the bucket, before sitting down and mewing again.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Don't give me that, Kirara. I know it's the same size as you, while you're like that. Why don't you transform, then carry it back?"

The fire-cat looked at him for a moment, before looking to the side and yawning. When Inuyasha repeated himself, the neko merely scratched at an ear and ignored him.

He frowned and sighed, frustrated, "Kirara, would you stop ignoring me?" Then, seeing that she wasn't going to stop, he finally gave in, "Would you please carry the bucket back to the hut?"

The neko gave a triumphant, "Mew!" And jumped up, instantly transforming and picking the bucket up in her mouth. With a feline-ish grin, she trotted past the hanyou and taijiya, back towards Kaede's hut.

Inuyasha mumbled something under his breath, and followed after her. It was something Kirara had started not too long after Sango and Inuyasha had gotten together; when outside of battle, she wouldn't do what he asked unless he asked nicely. Both Inuyasha and Sango had talked to her about it, but the feline was intent on continuing her ways.

"Can you blame her, Inu-chan?" Sango asked suddenly, surprising the hanyou carrying her.

Inuyasha blinked, then shook off the surprise and snorted, "Keh. Why can't she just do what I ask without me saying 'please' and all that shit? Jeez..."

The taijiya smiled and laughed, "Well, since we're not in a battle, she likes to be asked to do things nicely. In battle, there's no time for such things, but outside of it... she likes it if you have some manners."

"But... why?" He asked, wrinkling his nose slightly, "Why does it matter if I'm like that or not?" He was silent for a few seconds, and then, "How do you want me to act?"

"Me?" She blinked, and looked up at him, "Ano... well, I..."

He grinned and donned a very uncharacteristic teasing look on his face, "You know, Sango, be careful of what you say, I wouldn't want my hands to slip and drop you by accident."

The taijiya's eyes widened slightly as she instantly held on to him tighter, "You wouldn't!"

His grin only grew at her response, as he purposely loosened his hold on her, "Wouldn't I?"

She shook her head frantically, holding onto him tighter, "No, you wouldn't! If you do, I'll... I'll..."

"You'll..." He prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll, ano... I'll have Kagome-chan osuwari you!" She stated, nodding slightly.

He winched and dropped the charade, tightening his hold again, "Okay, okay, no need to do that, koishii." He grinned, then added, "And just so you'd know, I'd never drop you."

She nodded and smiled slightly, "I know, Inu-chan, I know."

"Finally!" Came Shippou's voice a moment later, "We thought something had happened to you two, especially since Kirara came back without you!" He cried, as he ran outside of the hut to meet them.

"Hmph. What could happen? Kirara would've let you know if something happened!" Inuyasha retorted, walking past Shippou and into the hut.

"Sango-chan, are you alright?" Kagome asked worriedly, seeing Inuyasha carrying her.

Sango blinked, then laughed, a little embarrassed, as she waved her hand slightly, "Oh, hai, I'm fine. I just... fell asleep, that's all. But Inuyasha and Kirara's arguing woke me up."

"Oh..." The school-girl said quietly. Then, giving Inuyasha a confused look, she added, "What were you and Kirara arguing about?"

Inuyasha sat Sango down and crossed his arms, muttering something along the lines of, "Something stupid... don't worry about it."

Shippou looked up at Inuyasha and frowned slightly, "Then at least tell us what took you so long? What were you two doing?"

"Indeed, we're all a bit curious." Miroku added, also turning to look at the couple, "What, exactly, were you two doing?" And, though he had only asked the same thing as Shippou, he had that lecherous grin written on his face; telling them that he had his own ideas.

"H-Houshi-sama!" Sango stuttered, blushing profusely as she covered her face with her hands in an attempt to hide the blush, "We were just talking!"

"Yeah, you perverted houshi!" Inuyasha added, though he did a much better job at hiding his embarrassment, "Besides, why should you care what we were doing?" Then, almost as an afterthought, he quickly added, "Th-though we just talked!"

"Mou, really Miroku-sama!" Kagome scolded, holding her hands over Shippou's ears, much to the young kitsune's protests, "Saying such things while Shippou-chan is here. He's still just a child!"

"But, Kagome-sama, I was only repeating Shippou's question." The monk replied with his most innocent smile, "And aren't you the least bit curious as to what--"

"Quiet!" Kagome said, accenting the word with a jab to his ribs. Then, uncovering Shippou's ears, she smiled and said, "Arigatou for getting the water for Kaede-obasan though."

"Hai, thank you very much." Kaede added, as she rubbed some of her herbal mixture onto Kagome's ankle, "There, Kagome does that help at all?"

The school-girl nodded, "Hai, it does." Then, looking around at the others, she continued, "If its not better by tomorrow, I'll go back home and see if mom knows anything to help. But I'm sure I'll be fine. We need to continue on our journey though. That last lead we got on the whereabouts of a jewel shard sounded promising."

Sango nodded in agreement, "It really did. And, if that village really does have a jewel shard in it, we need to get to it before Naraku or one of his detachments."

"We'll get it." Inuyasha added in a 'that's a fact' tone, "There's no way I'll let that bastard or anyone else get to it before we do."

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AN: Will they get to the shard before Naraku? Or is there even a shard in this village they speak of? Will this story ever turn out like the summary said? I won't say anything about the first two questions, but the last one is a definite yes! Trust me.