Kakera
'I hate dawn.' Bitterness swelled to fill the deep emotional wound; it was a temporary salve. Everyone was asleep, nestled in the happy fantasy of dreams. She bowed her head, refusing to look up at the rising sun.
It brought the promise of a new day, which was always like the last. A new day of hunting for the shards of the Shikon no Tama, a new day of hunting for youkai to kill. A new day of knowing… knowing that the things that she wanted, the things that she needed…
'Will always fall through my hands as I reach for them.'
The sun rose into the sky, and Sango turned away. The promise of a new day was too much for her at the moment.
"It's time we make camp." Kagome firmly stated, looking at Inuyasha's back as he walked in front. It had been a long day of trudging gloomily through forests, near clear rivers, and down roads. No shards had been near throughout the day, although a few youkai had to be exterminated along the way.
They had stopped in the middle of a small forest, in a clearing that allowed the sun to leak through and bath them with a small amount of light.
"…Fine." Without turning around, Inuyasha gave a wave of distinctive coolness in Kagome's direction. It had been like that since Kagome chose Miroku's affection over his own.
Luckily, although Kagome did not believed so, Sango had never been truly in love with Miroku.
Kagome's face fell, and her lip quivered involuntarily. Despite the fact that she had made it clearly known that she loved Miroku, Inuyasha was still her friend and protector – they had been close, once.
As Sango went to go and set up camp, she heard Shippo begin to berate Inuyasha. She put up the first tent, and involuntarily heard their conversation.
"What's the matter with you? Just because Kagome chose Miroku doesn't mean that you can be so mean to her! And besides, you had Kikyo, until Naraku killed her…" Shippo's voice rang out through the forest, and Sango was sure that the small group could hear every word he said.
Although this would have brought curses and a large bump on Shippo's head in the past, now it only received a distant, "I'm not being mean."
Sango sighed, her heart swelling with sympathy for Kagome because Inuyasha was so obviously being cold toward her, and Inuyasha…
Well, she would have to figure out what that emotion she felt was.
"Kagome-sama, come sit here." Smiling his charming smile, Miroku offered a seat beside him. Kagome flashed him a sickly sweet smile and walked over, taking her bowl of ramen with her.
Inuyasha's eyes flashed with a mixture of hurt and anger. He was still getting used to the fact that he no longer had the right to be jealous over whom she showed 'affection' to.
'He's hating every moment that Kagome-chan spends with Miroku.' The thought rose to the surface of Sango's mind unbidden, and it carried on its back deep sympathy. She suddenly rose and sat down at Inuyasha's side.
"Can I sit here?" A quiet question rose to her lips, as Sango looked into Inuyasha's honey golden eyes.
Inuyasha said nothing, although he glanced quizzically at her. But he made no move to leave the spot, and his face seemed to relax a little. He nodded slightly.
Eating her ramen, she noticed from out of the corner of her eye that Kagome's face hardened and her eyes narrowed. This surprised Sango; what did Kagome have to be jealous and angry about?
Surprisingly, though, Sango felt strangely at peace, sitting by Inuyasha's side.
"You damn pillow… go to hell!" Sango, suddenly realized that she was, in fact, talking to a pillow. She shook her head and slowly got up, pushing the blankets off of her. It must have been the middle of the night.
She slowly got out of the dark tent and looked up at the sky, the stars glistening down upon the small camp.
'There's no moon.' Eyes widening, Sango realized one of the reasons why Inuyasha had been so cold to Kagome and had not spoken much throughout the day. 'Inuyasha's human, and no one remembered…'
Before she had discovered her love for Miroku, Kagome had always made a huge deal out of his human day of the month. She would attempt to talk to him about it, and set up camp early so that they wouldn't run into any youkai that could take tetsusaiga or harm Inuyasha. Now, of course, she didn't even remember.
Sango ran to go and find Inuyasha, abandoning her need for sleep. Her pillow wasn't cooperating in any case.
"Inuyasha?" Calling out quietly, Sango emerged from the forest, only to find herself close to the edge of a cliff.
And only to find Inuyasha sitting closer still to the edge.
"Sango?" Turning his head, Inuyasha's face flashed with surprise, more so then usual, because he couldn't hide it as well when he was human.
"Hai?"
"I couldn't smell lilac… I couldn't tell it was you." Turning back, Inuyasha nodded towards a spot beside him on the grass.
Sitting down, Sango stared blindly at the comfortable ground. "Is that what I smell like? Lilac?"
Nodding absently, Inuyasha glanced over at her. "Uh-huh. Not as overpowering as Kagome's scent, and defiantely not as musky as Miroku's."
"And Shippo?"
"I can smell Shippo from a mile away. He always smells somewhat like Kagome and a lot like kitsune."
"I see."
They sat like that for a long while, until Inuyasha, still staring at the stars, started a conversation because of only one word.
"Arigatou."
Sango's head turned so quickly that she thought she heard her neck snap. Her eyes widened in amazement as she struggled to ask the question that arose.
"For what?"
"For noticing. You don't always seem to notice – or if you do, you don't seem to care." His head was still turned upwards, and his golden eyes still gazed at the stars, as if he tried to find some answer in them. "But last night, you noticed my hurt, and tonight, you showed that you care enough to notice that this is the night I become human. I'm grateful."
Inuyasha's haori looked like a comfortable pillow by now, but Sango was too absorbed in the conversation that they had to care. Black as night, his usually silver hair looked amazingly soft, all of a sudden.
It made Sango wonder why.
"Inuyasha…" Looking into his face, Sango made a bold move. "Are you still angry with Kagome?"
Inuyasha stiffened and began to speak hesitantly. "Not so much angry… as hurt. She chose Miroku over me, and I don't think I can forgive her completely for that. I chose her above Kikyo, although it was after Kikyo died again."
Sango was surprised. Not even Kagome could get him to open up to her like that… although if she had been able to, Sango probably wouldn't have cared in any case. But that was before… before…
'What's happening to me?' Sango desperately groped for an answer, although none came at her call.
Whatever it was, it was for the best, Sango decided. She felt peaceful at Inuyasha's side, a peace that she had not felt for a long time. A small smile directed at Inuyasha let her feelings be known, as he turned to her and looked at her quizzically.
"My thanks to you to, Inuyasha." She stopped suddenly. "Can… can we still talk? When you're a hanyou again?"
"You still want to talk to me? Even though I'll be a hanyou?" Inuyasha's surprise was etched clearly on his face, then a small amount of suspicion. "And what're you thanking me for?"
"I would still like to talk to you… and I'm thanking you for understanding." Leaning against his shoulder, Sango breathed in his earthy green smell. She suddenly felt jealous of Kagome, whom had been able to smell this all while she rode on his back.
Just before she fell asleep, Sango felt Inuyasha put an arm around her and pull her closer.
By the time Sango had woken up, Inuyasha had left. Happily, Sango realized that he had only left her to go and wake up everyone else – she still felt his lingering warmth around her shoulders.
Looking up the sky, Sango realized that she no longer hated the dawn.
OWARI
IMPORTANT: After that night, a few things changed around the small group. Sango and Inuyasha still talked, and soon realized that they were in love. (GASP! THE WONDERS NEVER CEASE! ;) Kagome, although jealous at first, soon got over it after she realized that she had given up her claim to Inuyasha's affections. Miroku didn't really care, although he made lecherous comments toward Inuyasha on the matter. (And was hit a lot… --;) Shippo was just happy that Kagome was happy – even though Inuyasha was sometimes a little bit cold towards her. Although everyone had his or her quarrels, everything was a lot more peaceful around the group.
GLOSSARY:
Shikon no Tama: Jewel of Four Souls
Youkai: Demon
Hai: Yes
-Sama: Lady, Lord, Master
-Chan: Best/Great friend
Kitsune: Fox
Arigatou: Thank you
Hanyou: Half-demon, Half-breed
Owari – Finish/Finished
I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.