A/N: Life...crazy...That is all. Well that, and thank you for the lovely reviews, they so brighten my days. You guys have no idea how much they can inspire. :)

"Put me down or you will seriously regret it!" Sango's voice rose an octave with each word, increasing in volume to the point that Inuyasha had to flatten his ears in pain. Shippou and Kirara had already fled the scene to fish at the river, their ears twitching painfully as they scurried away.

He scowled at the threats and swatted her on the bottom. "Don't talk to me about regrets, woman.You had your chance, now we do it my way."

Sango gawked at him with murder in her eyes. "You obnoxious, pig-headed...jackass!" She spit out the last word as though she were afraid of being scolded for using such language. When no such censure followed she struggled with more vigor as though freed by her own daring. "That's right, you heard me! Jackass!"

Miroku watched in a half-daze as Inuyasha carried off the squirming Sango, her threats becoming more and more elaborate."What….just happened?"

"I looks like Sango-chan won't be bearing your child after all. It seems she has a prior engagement." Kagome's clipped tone held a dangerous quality that instantly put Miroku on guard.

Miroku gulped and took a cautious step backwards, using his most charming smile as he soothed her. "Surely you don't believe that I in any way instigated the situation at hand-" That's it man, calm the miko down before she starts to glow and turn combustive...erm , did she just growl at me?

"Knowing the tendency your hands have for finding mischief, I certainly do." Kagome gritted her teeth, stalking towards the seemingly innocent-looking man with her fists clenched at her sides.

"Shut up while you are ahead, monk. It's less painful in the long run." Inuyasha tossed tiredly over his shoulder "Oh and while you're at it, find your own woman. This one's taken."

Sango thumped against his back with renewed effort at his declaration. "And I suppose I don't have any say in the matt-……" Her attack halted suddenly, as she processed what he had said. "W-wait, I am?"

Turning to meet her eyes directly, his voice softened and he slid his fingers over her hair, smoothing it away from her face. "You are."

So that's the way the wind blows these days. Kagome smiled tearfully as her friends disappeared into the thicket. "I should have guessed something was going on with the those two. Its like they're smoothing away each other's rough edges."

Miroku watched in wonder as the petite miko's eye misted over with happiness for her friends. No sign of jealousy marred her face, despite the fact her first love had finally chosen a love of his own. "You really are the most gentle soul I have ever known."

"Gentle soul?" Kagome mused distractedly before her eyes focused more clearly on the man in front of her. He watched her with a cautious care, as though ready to catch her if the moment proved to be too much for her. His violet eyes held a tenderness that she was just now coming to recognize.

Suddenly it struck Kagome how absurd the sitaution was. How often had she watched the same cycle of missed opportunities and wasted moments turn into heartbreak and tragedy? Somewhere within her breast a part of her soul fluttered in agitation, as though Kikyo herself was warning against repeating the past.

This is the one. Her soul pulsed again in response and Kagome found herself reaching out to Miroku. His eyes widened in surprise as she slid her fingers across the spiky strands of hair at his forehead, and he relaxed into her caress as her hand fell to trace his jawline.

Kagome smiled tentatively up at Miroku and he lifted his hand to cover her own, his eyes intent. He slowly drew it lower to rest over his heart, and held it there against the steady rhythmn. The reassuring pulse echoed her own hearbeat, and the air tingled with static of emotion between them.

"There was never any plan for a union between myself and Sango-chan..." Miroku spoke earnestly, his eyes searching her face for a response. "Shippou came running back to tell us that you and Inuyasha were planning a wedding…."

Kagome spluttered over the word. "W-wedding? You don't mean you thought Inuyasha and I were…." She trailed off incredulously at the notion and inadvertently stepped away to throw her arms out in agitation. "Don't be ridiculous!"

Miroku's own temper spiked at her response, his voice rising. "Isn't it though? This whole situation is utterly ridiculous!"

"No, I didn't mean it that way." She touched his arm reassuringly. "Things have finally gotten to the point where Inuyasha and I can talk and show how we feel-"

"How you feel about each other?..." Miroku shook off her touch and stared at her silently, his jaw visibly clenched with anger.

"Am I supposed to be patient and silently watch as you reconnect with your first love?" He grabbed at her shoulders tightly, his eyes a little wild. "Do you find it amusing to provoke me?" He shook her in frustration causing her to let out a whimper of pain.

Miroku released her suddenly as though burned and looked down at his hands, clenching them into fists. "Do you know what it is like to feel utterly helpless in loving someone?"

Kagome felt her heart lurch at the raw honesty in his voice, and was swept away with the memories of her own hopeless love of Inuyasha.

How many times had she settled for being by his side rather than being his one and only? She had second-guessed and battled in her own mind between love and want, secretly fearful of the day Inuyasha made his final decision. But she had never taken that last step towards a resolution, because deep down inside, she had somehow known that he wouldn't chose her.

" I do." She replied in a rough voice, her throat suddenly dry. "I know exactly how it feels, and I swear I never meant to put you in this situation."

"I thought if I could manage to stay away from you that you would realize how much you loved Sango-chan." She gazed off into the direction that Inuyasha had dragged Sango. "I never imagined that Sango-chan's feelings had changed for you..."

"Don't you mean that you couldn't believe me when I told you the truth?" Miroku retorted. "Am I so untrustworthy in your eyes that I would lie to get my own way?

He ran his hand thorugh his hair out of nervous habit and turned away from her in frustration. "Do you really believe that I wuold disrespect Sango-chan or you in such a manner?"

Kagome watched as his shoulders dropped in defeat, hating the hurt expression that he was trying to hide from her. "I couldn't…" Her voice was soft as a whisper as she tried to explain."No, I can't conceive that you care for me as I care for you. Its too good to be true, I would never be handed that sort of happiness in this world…."

The world seemd to be a blur of motion as Kagome was pulled hard against Miroku, his arms circling her waist. Before she could so much as blink his lips were on hers and he was kissing her with an intensity that took her breath away. He held her so tightly against his body that her feet dangled inches from the ground, making her dizzy. There was no pretense of seduction or playful coaxing, only soft, deep kisses that made her feel as though her heart would burst.

Miroku murmured softly against her lips then, loosening his hold on her reluctantly, bit by bit until her feet touched the ground again. "Any happiness that we find in this world is not handed to us." He pulled back to look down at her with serious eyes. "We have to be willing to reach out and take it."

They stared at each other tacitly, knowing that this was their moment of resolution. Miroku tensed in anticipation of the worst, his heart beating heavy and dull in his chest at the thought of losing the one woman he had learned to cherish. As he felt Kagome pull away he shut his eyes at the recoil in his soul, his head falling forward.

Taking a deep breath, he was unable to force a smile. "I will respect your choice, Kagome-sama. I misunderstood-" Suddenly a pair of small, warm hands were cradling his face, the fingertips smoothing his brow. A pair of soft grey eyes met his as he looked down to find Kagome standing on tiptoe to breach their diifference in height.

"We just reach out and take it?" Kagome pulled his face down closer to her own. Miroku nodded slowly, afraid that she might let go.

"Just like this?" Kagome asked as she pressed a whisper of a kiss against his lips, their breaths mingling.

"Close enough." Miroku replied softly, pulling her tightly to him in a hard embrace.

Across the glen a firecat, a fox kit, and a flea sniffled tearfully, watching the emotional scene shamelessly from the bushes. Kirara dabbed at her eyes with her paws as Shippou and Miyouga passed a small handkerchief between them.

"If two hard-headed warriors can fall in love, you'd think a simple monk and miko wouldn't have such a difficult time!" Miyouga whispered as his partners-in-crime nodded their heads in unison.

"Inuyasha-samaaaaa!" Myouga whined. "Please stop squeezing your elder in such a fashion!"

Inuyasha raged into the clearing with Sango following closely behind."Then you'd best start explaining why you chose to interupt me like you did!"

"Interupt you?" Miroku grinned up at them from below the tree where he and Kagome were spreading lunch on a tablecloth. "What exactly did Miyouga-jiichan interupt, Inuyasha?"

"N-nothing that you need to worry about you perverted monk!" Inuyasha stammered, his red face saying it all as he glanced quickly towards Sango who's face was also supiciously red.

Miyouga hastily interjected, trying to avert disaster in the form of one seriously pissed off hanyou."As I was trying to tell you, Inuyasha-sama, the rumors of the shard in the village north of here are definitely true!"

Inuyasha threw his hands up in irritation, launching Miyouga through the air to land on the picnic tablecloth. "Is that all, jiji? We're already on our way to the village, the situation isn't that urgent!"

"Inuyasha! Owsuri!" Kagome casually scolded, causing him to dive head-first into the dirt. "I'm sure that there is more to it than that."

"Damn it, Kagome! Is this any way to treat a friend?" Inuyasha yowled from inside the hanyou-shaped crater.

Sango muffled her laughter as Miroku twitched in sympathy for his friend. Shippou glanced sideways then and drawled in a voice beyond his years. "She's so nonchalant with that temper of hers."

Nonplussed, Kagome ignored the stream of curses that Inuyasha rattled under his breath and leaned over to pluck Miyouga from the tablecloth, resting him in her palm. "Go on, Miyouga-jichan, continue your story."

Miyouga dusted himself off with a huff, and sat down in a meditative pose on Kagome's palm. "As I was saying, I've heard that one of the locals found a "wonderous jewel" inside of a fish they had caught. The villagers seem to have no idea that it is a shikon shard, and are having a festival to celebrate their good fortune before they sell it off to the highest bidder."

"Highest bidder? But that means that just anyone could walk into the village and buy it right out from under our noses!" Sango declared.

Inuyasha pulled himself upright, and snorted with disdain. "It's not like we can't take it from whoever tries to buy the jewel."

"Inuyasha, we are not going to steal the jewel from someone who has rightfully paid for it!" Kagome exclaimed. "We need to get to the village before someone else buys the shard." Nodding in agreement everyone began to collect the picnic lunch and pack it up for later.

Inuyasha lazed on his side gnawing on a chicken leg while watching them scramble about hurriedly. "It's no big deal, I'm not going anywhere until I get ramen."

"You can eat on the road." Kagome slammed the top onto the container and tugged on the tablecloth that he was lying on. "And I'm not making you ramen, we need to get going."

Sango leaned over to yank at athe other corner of the tablecloth also, helping her friend try to move the difficult hanyou. "Kagome-chan is right, we have to leave right away. Stop being such a child."

"Now you're ganging up on me too?" He spluttered while crossing his arms stubbornly, refusing to budge.

Shippou and Kirara scrambled over to the tug-of-war then, Kirara nipping at his heels while Shippou clung to Kagome's neck shouting out encouragment.

Inuyasha flailed, rolling on his side."Ack! Stop it! I'm not getting up and that's final!"

Miroku walked up then, deep in conversation with Miyouga. "You say that your sources indicates that Sesshoumaru has expressed an interest in the "jewel" as well?"

"What?" Inuyasha's ears perked in surprise and he lept through the air to a nearby treetop in a flash of motion causing them all to tumble backwards into a dogpile.

Wiggling and flailing in confusion they tried to untangle themselves little by little, although the process was interupted by a quick sucession of slaps from both Kagome and Sango as Miroku insisted it wasn't him that was taking liberties.

"Owie! Is that an arm or a tail?"

"That's my leg you're sitting on!"

"Mreow!"

"Kagomeeeee, Miroku's squishing me!"

Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently on a nearby branch. " What's taking you people so long? We can be at the village by late afternoon if you'd get a move on."

Six pairs of eyes glared darkly at him across the clearing and he gulped audibly. "Uh…I think I'll just scout ahead for a bit."