"Are you sure this is okay?" She asked, for what must have been the umpteenth time. She couldn't help but feel anxious. This was, after all, the first time she had ever ditched class before. Hell, she'd never even considered it before, despite her extreme aversion to school. And with Miroku? She must have been in desperate need of a break.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It was okay the first time you asked, and the third, and the ninth, and the forty-eighth…"

"Okay!" She interrupted, subjecting him to the full wrath of her patented glare. "I get your point."

"Besides," He shrugged loftily. "Even if it wasn't, it's a little too late to be having second thoughts."

"I know, I know," She sighed. "It's just that…"

"Kuranosuke?" Miroku offered, looking slightly irate.

Making a distinct effort to avert her gaze, Sango nodded. "Who knows what he might think?"

Miroku could barely contain a wicked smile. Let him think, he thought rather viciously. Out loud, he just sighed. "Look, I'll take you back if you want,"

"No!" She hadn't intended to sound so desperate. "I mean, it's alright."

His bangs hid the knowing twinkle in his eyes. "This is your first time," He noted, with a smirk.

"W-what?" She stuttered. "What are you talking about?"

He laughed at her poor attempt at playing it cool. "Cutting class, of course," He exclaimed, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"So what?" All traces of embarrassment gone, she felt a familiar anger welling up within her. "That's something I'm proud of!"

"I didn't mean to make you mad…" He murmured. "I was only teasing." He stared at her a moment, nodding before turning away, completely missing her expression as it softened.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Sango seized the moment and turned to contemplating her situation. Just why had she asked -- no, begged -- Miroku to take her away? Surely, what she had overheard was disturbing, but by no means traumatizing. She had just felt the need to be whisked away from it all. Again, her choice of companions rose several questions deep within the catacombs of her mind.

Her strides were long and her movements frantic; the raven-haired beauty weaved in and out of the various school hallways, hoping -- praying, even -- to locate Miroku before the bell rang. Never once did it occur to her that she could simply whip out her cell phone and reach Kuranosuke, possibly before he even left for his next class.

Her search carried her through almost every wing in the large school, leaving her both discouraged and out of breath. Just as she was about to give up and retreat in hopes of stumbling across a water fountain, she rounded a corner and promptly ran into the very man she had been looking for.

Head reeling from the collision, she dropped to her knees and groaned. He was at her side in an instant, ignoring his belongings even as they skidded down the hall. Gently clapping a heavy hand on her shoulder, he lowered his head so as to get a better look at her. "Are you alright?" He anxiously inquired.

She didn't answer right away, opting instead to wait until her wits were gathered. When she finally spoke, she looked at him with pleading eyes. "H-Houshi-sama…"

Now he was concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I think I overheard something I wasn't supposed to…" She hadn't meant to come across so desperate, but the magnitude of what she had heard was finally catching up to her.

He glanced sharply at her. "What?"

And so she had explained what had transpired between Yura-sensei and Naraku behind closed doors. Miroku had seemed more troubled than she, calming only when he discovered she had not revealed herself, opting instead to abandon her folder in search of him. Wait. The young man blinked. In search of 'him'? As in he?

While she was lost in her thoughts, he took the time to regard her carefully. She had an independent air about her, this much was clear. But when the rare chance to observe her so closely arose, a certain vulnerable side would often crop up. Just like now. She looked so lost, so out there. He wondered if it was intentional -- in the sense that it was a natural reaction -- or if she just slipped into the depressed mode. He hoped the latter was not the case.

Sango seemed to have finally broken free of her stupor. "What time is it?" She quite suddenly inquired.

He glanced at his wristwatch. "Almost one-o-clock," He replied. "Say…You hungry?"

Sango cast him a curious look. "But we just had lunch not even a half an hour ago," She reminded him.

"I know," He shrugged, in a rather off-hand matter. "But you were supposed to come to work 'after school', right? It'd be kind of moot point to drop you off so you could get your bike and then force you to cycle there. So I was thinking, we make a quick run to the school, grab your bike and hightail it to the Shoppe. As I'm not only the manager but the owner, I think it'd be alright if we had a sundae or so on the house," His grin was sly.

She laughed at his expression and it didn't take her very long to cave in and agree. All-in-all, it took them only about twenty minutes to arrive at their final destination. "Might as well get changed now," He stated cheerily, after unlocking the door and flipping on the lights. She nodded absently and wandered off behind the counter in the general direction of the employee lounge while Miroku began turning on appliances.

In a few minutes, Sango re-entered the main area, fully garbed in her uniform. Miroku bobbed his head at her in acknowledgement and went off to change himself. When he returned, the two of them stood back and surveyed the massive set of cases. Turning to her, that sly grin reappearing, he raised a brow and casually inquired, "Shall we?"

This time she returned his grin. It was rather infectious. She supposed once one got to know the lunkhead better, he wasn't actually so bad. Both of them sidled up to the counter from behind. Miroku reached over to pluck two cups and handed her one of them, which she gratefully accepted. "Well," He began, as he groped for a nearby set of scoopers, also handing her one. Throwing back the case, he added, "Help yourself,"

He made a reach towards the chocolate chip cookie dough while she made a grab for the banana. The two dished themselves out healthy portions of the sweet confection. As they came up from their bending position, both accidentally bumped heads.

Sango's brain was crying out from all the abuse it had taken that day, while Miroku looked rather star-struck and brought a tentative finger to his mouth. Had that been her lips?

A/N: Bah. I loathe this chapter. The beginning is fine, the very end is fine, but the middle sucks. The descriptions felt so tedious. Oh well, it's an update, I suppose. Wow, though! Ten reviews for one chapter. I feel spoiled. Let's hope we can continue that pattern, wink-wink. As I mentioned last chapter, my new goal is 150 reviews, so please leave one (or two ;D). That being said…

Please Review!