Sango and Miroku gently laid the girl on Sango's bedroll. "She's sleeping, Sango," he whispered nervously, "Should we wake her?"
"I'm not sure." Sango's eyebrows furrowed. "I guess not."
"Well, I can stay up and watch her," Miroku offered.
"Absolu-" Sango's protest was interrupted by a yawn. She sighed, "Alright, but if I find out you did anything…" The threat went unnoticed. Miroku was staring worriedly at the girl. Sango decided it was safe to leave him with her.
"You can sleep in my bedroll," he offered.
"Thanks," she replied. He didn't break his gaze from the girl as he sat down by the fire. "Are you going to be ok, Miroku?" Sango asked finally.
"Uh-huh." She laid down in his bedroll.
'Strange, I've always wondered what this would feel like,' she thought ironically, 'But I never figured I'd end up sleeping here for this reason.' She shook her head. 'What am I doing? I'm thinking about Miroku when something's happened to my poor Kirara.'
"Sango?" Miroku whispered.
"What?" she asked, trying to hide her blushing face. She sat up to look at him.
"Do you suppose that's really Kirara?" His eyes reflected the firelight, but she could see he was upset.
"I guess so," replied Sango, looking at the girl, "You saw what happened, not me." Miroku nodded.
Miroku might have been a monk, but he wasn't a saint. He soon fell asleep. He was dreaming fitfully, when he woke to someone crying. He opened his eyes and saw the girl curled up in a ball.
Her eyes flickered up at him, and they glowed an odd red. "Miroku," she whimpered slowly. He blinked twice.
"Kirara?" he asked, questioning his own thoughts. She simply nodded. Before he could think, she crawled over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. His eyes widened, and he carefully put his arms around her shaking form.
"Oh Miroku!" He felt her shiver at the sound of her own voice.
"What…what's wrong?" he asked, stupefied.
"I'm so scared!" she cried, pulling him closer, "I can't see, and I can't smell anything, and I can't hear anything…I'm so weak and fragile and little. I…I…"
"Shh," he whispered finally. He couldn't really think of anything else to say. But he was also having difficulty believing this was real. He started running his fingers through her hair, and he brushed her ears accidently. He was shocked to hear a low sound come from Kirara. He continued rubbing behind her ears until she'd stopped crying and was contentedly purring. He pulled away. "Kirara, do you have any idea how this happened?"
She looked down at her hands to avoid the question, but her lack of paws made her tear up again. She nodded, "One sixteenth human. Who would have thought it would actually show itself?"
"Huh?" Miroku asked.
Kirara laughed, "My mother had one eighth human in her. Every eight years she would turn human for one week. I guess it's similar to Inuyasha's condition." She was blushing slightly.
"Are you embarrassed of being part human?" he asked.
"Oh, don't misunderstand me. I'm not ashamed of humans, I just feel strange," she said quickly, afraid she'd offended him, "I'm sorry."
"It's ok." Miroku really wasn't feeling anything at the moment. He was still half waiting to wake up.
"Master Miroku?" she said suddenly.
"Huh? Oh, yes?"
"Would you mind holding me? I've never slept alone, never mind in such a weakened state," she asked, looking up at him pleadingly. A look of fear crossed Miroku's already pale features. Kirara laughed, "Don't worry, I'll explain to San-chan in the morning."
"I guess so," he said after deliberating it. She curled into an oddly feline ball. He couldn't help but hear her purring against him. The pair drifted slowly off to sleep.
A/N: Do you see where I'm going with this? Do you like it? Inquiring minds want to know, R&R.