Me: 2004? … Well, I finally finished the next chapter. It's pretty long, so I hope that pleases those who have been waiting for an update.

I still intend on keeping the couplings canon, though I have to admit I was tempted to morph it into a slash… e-heh. Feel free to interpret whatever you like however.

Er… sorry if people who have been waiting for a reply from me never got one. Please accept my apologies!

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 4: Fervent Friends

"Mmnn…" Kagome opened her eyes. It was just about morning and she was lying in her bed rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. Sighing, she vaguely wondered why her bed felt so warm. She glanced beside her and was a bit surprised to see Sango sleeping next to her. Kagome had to remind herself why she was there in the first place.

Stretching, she sat up and looked at her clock. The alarm was about to go off, so she decided to turn it off before it could. She leaned across Sango to reach for it when a loud noise suddenly startled her. Yelping, she leaned too far forward and tumbled off the bed onto the floor, carrying all the bed sheets with her.

Groaning, she put a hand on her head. "Ow…"

"Mm… Kagome-chan?" Propping herself up on her elbows, Sango looked down at the girl from atop the bed.

"Oh, Sango-chan." Kagome looked back at her. "Sorry. Did I wake you up? I didn't mean to."

"That's fine. What are you doing on the floor?"

"Eh? Oh, um… eh?" Something was moving around in the sheets. Pulling them aside, Kagome revealed Kirara.

"Ah, Kirara!" Sango leaned forward. "There you are."

"Kirara?" Kagome stared at the ruffled up feline. "You gave me a fright!"

"Mew?" Kirara tilted her head to one side.

Sango laughed when she realized what must have happened.

"Eh?" Kagome looked at her. She soon joined the laughter too though, and the day was off to an interesting start.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Mmff…" Inuyasha twitched in his sleep. "Something… smells… disgusting…" he mumbled half asleep. A sharp pain in his sides brought Inuyasha to consciousness. "OW! What the heck was that? Huh?" He was staring at two legs wrapped in fur with bandages around the feet. "It…" he looked up and saw him. "Kouga?" He shot up onto his legs. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too, Inukkoro." The wolf demon had his hands on his hips.

"Grr! Answer the question!"

"Heh. I thought I'd take a break and look for Kagome, what else?" He threw Inuyasha a condescending smirk. "What? Didn't think I came all the way here just to watch you drool in your sleep, did you?"

"Grr! I do not drool!" he shouted back at the wolf youkai.

Kouga gazed off to the side. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. So where's Kagome?"

"Humph." Inuyasha folded his arms. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but she's not here."

"Huh? Not here?"

"That's right. She went off to her time with Sango for a couple of days."

"Sango? The taiji-ya? Hmm… to her time you say?"

"Yeah, and don't even think about trying to go get her. Only I can do that," he added self-satisfactory.

"Don't flatter yourself. I wasn't thinking about anything of the sort. Tsk, what rotten luck." Kouga kicked at the dirt. "I come all the way here for Kagome and she's not even here."

"Yeah, too bad for you." Inuyasha slumped down onto the ground.

At that moment Miroku and Shippo came out of Kaede's.

"Oh, Kouga." Miroku walked up to them. "What brings you here?"

"I was looking for Kagome, but Inukkoro here tells me she isn't here."

Inuyasha growled. "Stop calling me that, Yasee Ookami!"

Miroku replied to Kouga, "Yes, she went back to her time for a while."

"Just my luck." Kouga turned his head away so his ponytail swung as he did so.

Miroku thought for a bit. "Well, if you're not busy…"

"Hrn?" Inuyasha and Kouga looked at him.

"Would you like to stay with us for a while?"

"Eh? Miroku, what are you doing?" Inuyasha sat up in his spot, eyes flashing.

"Thanks, but no thanks. If Kagome isn't here there's not point in staying around this guy." Kouga jutted a thumb at Inuyasha.

"But when she comes back you can tell her about all the things we did," Miroku persuaded. "I'm sure she'll be interested."

Kouga paused at this. "Hmm… Alright!" He made a decisive stance. "For Kagome's sake, I'll put up with you guys for a while!"

"Huh?" Inuyasha blinked. "Hey, what are you –"

Brushing the hanyou off, Kouga said, "So, what are we doing first?"

"Hey! Listen to people when they're talking to you!" Inuyasha wasn't looking forward to how this would play out at all.

- - - Present - - -

Kagome had left Sango alone in the bathroom to tend to herself while Kagome went off to prepare other things. Presently the taiji-ya was searching for that mint stuff Kagome had made her use the previous night.

"Where is it?" Sango walked around the counter with a toothbrush in hand. "Maybe I should just ask Kagome-chan where it is." She opened up the medicine cabinet and two boxes fell out of it.

"Hn?" Sango bent down to pick them up. "What are these things?" She looked at the pictures on the box and then at the words. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Kagome was in her room laying out the clothes for Sango. Today was the day she was to meet her friends, and she hoped everything would turn out all right.

"Phew… okay, there we go." She put her hands on her hips and admired her work.

A knocking came at the door. "Kagome-chan?"

"Yes?" Kagome turned around.

Sango walked through the door carrying the boxes she had picked up in the bathroom. "What's… na-pu-kin and… tampon?"

"Huh?" Kagome stared at the boxes in Sango's hands. "Um… er… well, they're… uh…" All of a sudden Kagome felt like a mother trying to explain something taboo to their child. 'Boy, as long as I don't have to have the sex talk with her…'

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Mmm…"

"Hnn…"

"Grr… Would you hurry up?"

"Hey, these things take time!" Kouga snapped at Inuyasha. "Alright… I choose… this one!" Kouga snatched up the card. "Yes! I win again! Hahahaha!"

"Grr…" Inuyasha tightened his grip on the joker card he still had. "Gah! This game is stupid!" He threw the card down to the floor.

"Inuyasha, there's no need to be a sore loser," Miroku quipped.

"Yeah, even if you haven't won a game yet," Shippo added.

"Keh! I'm not being a sore loser! I just don't want to play this stupid game anymore!"

"You just think it's stupid because you haven't won yet," Kouga smirked triumphantly.

"Keh… what do you know?" Inuyasha laid himself across the floor with has back facing the others.

Kouga glanced at him. "Yeah, I'm sure Kagome would get a kick out of hearing you didn't win when she comes back."

"Gh!" Inuyasha sat up suddenly. "Miroku, deal them again!"

"He's so easily manipulated," Shippo mumbled.

"Mm-hm…" Miroku nodded.

- - - Present - - -

"So what do your two have planned for today?" Kagome's mother asked as she cleared her breakfast dishes.

Kagome followed her mother to the sink with her own dishes. "Well, today we're supposed to meet my friends at McDonald's for lunch."

"McDonald's?" Ms. Higurashi took the dishes from her daughter and placed them in the sink. "Don't you think you girls think you should be eating something more substantial?"

"Well, Sango-chan's never had fast food before, so I thought it would be all right for today."

Ms. Higurashi appeared thoughtful. "Well, I suppose that's fine for today then."

"Fast food?" Seated at the kitchen table, Sango had an image of various servings of food running around at light speed on their legs. She shook her head. "No… what am I thinking?"

"Hn?" Souta was watching her, wondering what Sango was thinking about just a moment ago.

"Sango-chan, we won't be leaving until around eleven," Kagome informed the taiji-ya, "so do whatever you want until then."

Sango replied obligingly. "Mn… all right."

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"Hey, this stuff is pretty good for something that's not meat." Kouga was slurping up a fresh bowl of ramen. It was originally intended for Inuyasha, but the wolf youkai decided to help himself after the hanyou had prepared it.

"You…!" Inuyasha was absolutely seething as he watched this outsider gobbling down his precious ramen.

Miroku decided it would be best to try and ease the tension. "Ah, Kouga; where are Hakkaku and Ginta?"

Kouga licked his lips after sucking in a few strands of his food. "They should be catching up with me anytime now. Ah, there they are." He glanced up at his two companions who were stumbling their way over to the group. "Hey, you two."

"K…Kou…ga…" Hakkaku panted.

Ginta bent over with his hands on his knees. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? Eating of course!"

Hakkaku wiped his brow. "Where's nee-san?"

"She went back to her own time apparently." Kouga went back to his ramen. "I'm just waiting around here until she gets back."

"Huh?" the two youkai chorused.

"Why don't you guys sit down and have something to eat? Here." Kouga reached out and grabbed the second bowl Inuyasha just finished preparing, holding it out to his comrades.

Inuyasha's features grew with wrath. "HEY!"

- - - Present - - -

"Hmm…"

"Souta, what are you doing?" Kagome glanced up from her magazine to look at her brother. He was just sitting there at the table, an arm propping up his face.

"Nothing – that's the problem," Souta mumbled.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "How can you have nothing to do?"

"I don't know. I just feel really… bored." He let his head fall to rest on the table lazily.

"Then go do something."

Souta showed no signs of interest. "Mmm…"

Not that Souta was particularly annoying Kagome, but seeing him there doing nothing was making her feel sluggish herself. Trying to think of something for him to do, a brilliant idea struck her. Face breaking into a grin, she said, "I know. Why don't you go look for Sango-chan?"

"Mn – Wha-what?" Souta's eyes widened and he immediately sat up in his spot at the table.

"I said why don't you go look for Sango-chan? I think the last time I checked she was outside."

"Mm-but -"

"Oh, just go already. I'm sure she wouldn't mind your company."

Souta started at his sister. There was no way he was going to win this. Somewhat begrudgingly, he muttered, "Fine…" and got up, leaving a satisfied Kagome in the sitting room by herself.

"Sango-onee-chan?" Souta opened the front door and peered out, turning his head from side to side. He stepped out the door and tried calling again. "Sango-onee-chan?"

"Souta-kun! Over here!" Sango was sitting a ways off from the house with some materials placed before her. She waved for him to come over. "I'm almost finished."

"Finished what?" Souta asked as he came up to her.

"This." Sango held out the object she was working on for him to see. "A wooden kusari-gama."

"Wow…" Souta was simply awestruck by the woodwork. He watched as Sango took a few more brisk strokes of sandpaper to the wooden blade and connected it with the chain she had.

"Here you are." She held it out to him and Souta accepted it with careful hands and awe-filled eyes. He examined the gift vigilantly, fingers trailing over the crafted wood. Finally Sango said, "Why don't you try it out?"

Souta looked at her. "Eh? Try it out?"

"Yeah." Sango stood and lead him to the target practice she had set up for him. The station was made up of some tin cans placed atop a few boxes which Kagome's mother and grandfather had helped her to find. "Try aiming for those." She pointed at the cans.

"But…" Souta stared at the weapon in his hands. "How?" Sango took the wooden kusari-gama from him to demonstrate. She held the chain with both hands and swung the end with the blade just over her head until she threw it forwards to collide with one of the cans.

"Like that." Sango handed the kusari-gama back to Souta. "Try it."

Souta swallowed, holding the kusari-gama the way he had seen Sango do it. He swung the appropriate awkwardly, the blade falling to the ground when it slipped out of his hands. Shocked, Souta apologized to Sango but she simply told him to try again. He did, this time managing to throw it, though it didn't reach the boxes. He pulled the blade back and once again attempted to throw it, this time the blade hitting the boxes, rattling the cans.

"Ah, you almost got it that time," Sango commented.

Souta dragged the piece of wood back. "Not really…"

"Don't worry," Sango assured him with a pat on the back. "It took Kohaku quite a while to get it right."

"How long?" Souta mumbled miserably.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome was calling the taiji-ya from the doorway this time. "Come on, we have to get ready to go."

"Okay!" Sango turned to Souta. "You'll get it."

He nodded, but otherwise didn't seem to believe that he would.

- - -

The girls were walking down the bustling street, Sango constantly turning her head and taking in the sights of modern Japan. Kagome watched her amusedly. Sango's reaction to coming to the present was sure different from Inuyasha's. Then Kagome remembered something that she had seen earlier when they were leaving the shrine. "Say, Sango-chan. What was Souta doing when we left?"

Tugged away from her sightseeing, Sango turned to Kagome and replied, "He's practicing how to use a kusari-gama."

"Kusari-gama?" Kagome echoed with a hint of surprise. "Isn't that…"

Sango nodded solemnly. "He wants to learn it so he can protect people he cares about." She smiled and caught Kagome's gaze. "That includes you Kagome-chan."

Kagome faltered at first but then recovered with a slight prickly demeanor. "Souta can be so ridiculous sometimes. He –" Something bright caught Kagome's eye. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk abruptly, staring starry-eyed at something in the window display. "Oh, wow!"

"Hm?" Sango had to retrace a couple of steps when she found Kagome was no longer walking with her. "Kagome-chan, what are you looking at?"

Kagome's eyes sparkled, her hands clasped together in front of her. "Wedding dresses!" she breathed in a dreamy tone.

"Wedding dresses?" Sango followed Kagome's gaze to a display of three different, but equally dazzling white dresses, adorned with fitting accessories. They looked pretty extraordinary to Sango, but she still couldn't figure out why Kagome was so fixated with them. What she failed to realize was that Kagome was in "day-dream mode," conjuring up yet another delightful scene of Sango being married off to Miroku in one of those ravishing gowns. "Um… Kagome-chan?" Sango glanced at her memorized friend.

"Kagome!"

This new and notably louder voice was what knocked Kagome awake back to reality. She stared down the sidewalk along with Sango, seeing three familiar faces coming up to meet her. "Oh, you guys."

"What are you looking at?" Yuka faced the window display and gasped. "Wedding dresses?"

"Er, it's nothing, nothing!" Kagome waved her hand dismissively.

"Ah! Is this your friend?" Eri eyed the girl with Kagome eagerly.

"Oh – yes, she is." Kagome stepped aside. "Sango-chan, these are my friends from school: Yuka-chan, Eri-chan, and Ayumi-chan."

Sango greeted politely, "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Yuka said when Sango made them a little bow.

"Hm…" Ayumi voiced with interest. "To do that says something about your character though."

Kagome laughed a bit nervously. "Er – come on. Let's go get something to eat."

The girls took Sango to their usual burger joint which wasn't too far from where they were. They sat at their usual booth with the usual food, and Kagome helped Sango pick out what she might like to try from the menu up on the wall. As soon as they were seated, the interrogation began.

Yuka was the first to start things off. "So Sango-san, what school do you go to?"

"Uh… school?"

Kagome mentally smacked herself. How did it not occur to her to get Sango's story straight before coming to meet her friends?

"You look older that Kagome-chan though," Ayumi observed.

"How old are you?" Yuka continued. "I think it's a bit odd for Kagome to be going off on her own and making mature friends."

"Eh?" Kagome raised a crooked eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sixteen," Sango answered as she fingered her burger's wrapping.

"A year older then!" Eri said excitedly. "And? What school?"

Here is when Kagome interjected, "Oh, you wouldn't know where Sango-chan's school is."

Yuka looked suspicious. "What? But you said she lived in the local area, right?"

"Yes, but she commutes to her school which is very far away." Kagome was making exaggerated tones in her voice.

"Really?" This made Eri all the more interested. "So what's the name of the school?"

"Oh, it's um… er…" Kagome mumbled some indistinguishable words.

"What was that?" Ayumi leaned forward slightly.

"Er – Astraea Academy!" Kagome blurted out the first plausible yet unfamiliar school name she could recall ever seeing.

"Astraea?" her three friends repeated.

"Yes, i-it's an all girls school, very prestigious," Kagome added in an attempt to make it sound more believable.

"Hn… if that's the case, then how did you two meet?" Eri looked at the two girls sitting across the table.

Kagome was beginning to squirm uncomfortably. She glanced at Sango, knowing that it would seem odd if she kept answering for her. Sango appeared to sense this as well, and Kagome prayed that the taiji-ya would be able to come up with something proper.

"It was during a fight."

Kagome's arm slipped on the table and she banged her forehead on her tray of food.

Her friends were oblivious to her minor mishap however, more intrigued by what Sango had said. "A fight?"

"Yes, it was between me and the boy Kagome-chan was with," Sango said a little too calmly.

Kagome rapidly lifted her marked head from the table. 'Sango-chan, what are you saying?'

Ayumi looked thoughtful. "The boy Kagome was with?"

Yuka flattened her palms on the table, feeling a revelation coming on. "Then, was that boy Kagome's boyfriend?"

Kagome's face was pulled into a panicked yet diffident expression.

Sango blinked. "Huh?"

"You know; her boyfriend." Yuka tried to drag more information out of her. "Is he really a delinquent?"

"Her boyfriend?" Sango still didn't understand the meaning or use of this word.

Eri described him as, "The one who gets jealous easily and has anger management issues!"

Reflecting on this description, Sango replied, "Could it be you're talking about Inu-" At that moment Kagome stuffed a couple of french fries into Sango's mouth.

"Inu?" Kagome's friends were puzzled.

"His name has 'dog' in it?" Eri said.

Yuka whispered to the others, "Maybe it's part of his gang name. This isn't good, Kagome spending time with friends who are perverted and violent."

"Sango-san seems nice though," Ayumi commented. "And she does go to a private school."

The three of them were muttering to each other while Kagome and Sango sat at the other side of the table and endured. Kagome felt feverish, noticing that so far there had been more questioning than eating going on.

"Kagome-chan, are you okay?" Sango didn't think Kagome was looking too well, what with her bent over the table seemingly ill.

"I-I'm fine," Kagome replied with a meager smile.

"Higurashi!"

The girls looked up at the voice and were greeted with a friendly grin from the boy standing before them.

"H-Houjou-kun!" Kagome was more than a little surprised to see him there.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "You're not coming down with anything again, are you?"

Kagome waned at the remark. "No, I'm all right Houjou-kun."

Houjou glanced at the unfamiliar face at the table. "Oh, you're…"

"This is Sango-chan, Houjou-kun," Kagome introduced. "She's a friend of mine."

"Oh, nice to meet you!" Houjou brightened.

Sango nodded. "Nice to meet you too."

"Are you here eating lunch by yourself?" Ayumi questioned Houjou curiously.

When Houjou answered yes, Yuka came up with a brilliant idea. "Well, that's not right. Kagome, why don't you go and eat with Houjou?"

"Eh?" Kagome donned a clueless look.

"You can keep him company." Yuka exchanged glances with Eri and Ayumi. "Right?" Catching on, the two girls agreed with Yuka's proposal.

"But, it wouldn't be fair to Sango-chan," Kagome countered, aiming to squeeze past this problem.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of Sango-san for you. You don't mind, right?" Yuka looked at Sango.

"Er…" Sango attempted to confirm with Kagome whether this was a good idea or not. Clearly though, this didn't seem to be something Kagome was too thrilled about going through with.

Compromising the situation, Kagome suggested, "Actually Houjou-kun, why don't you just sit with us?"

"Is that really okay?" Houjou said.

"Yeah, the more the merrier." Kagome gently nudged Sango closer to the window so that Houjou could sit. Still, in her mind Kagome wearily thought, 'This is going to be more complicated than I hoped it would be…'

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

After having eaten, Inuyasha was even more reluctant to spend anymore time with Kouga. That was just fine for the wolf youkai though. He wandered around the village with Hakkaku and Ginta, the villagers acting not very concerned about them since having discussions with Kaede and the others. Eventually however, Kouga got bored and sought out a tree to sit up in tiredly.

Hakkaku looked up at their leader lazing on one of the tree branches. "Kouga, is this really okay?"

"Yeah, don't you want to look for Naraku?" Ginta added.

Kouga huffed. "This is troubling. I don't want to say it, but staying here waiting for Kagome might be a waste of time."

"Oi, Yasee Ookami!"

Kouga nonchalantly gazed down at an irritated Inuyasha.

"Get down from that tree!" the hanyou yelled up at him.

"Oh? Why's that?" Koura replied with a blasé attitude.

"I don't have to tell you why, just get down from there!"

Kouga sat up so that his legs hung over the branch he was on. "Really? I don't see your mark on it."

Inuyasha growled and pointed at something on the tree trunk. "Here!"

Jumping down with ease, Kouga landed next to Inuyasha to see what he was pointing at. "Hm? That dent in the trunk?"

"That's the mark to show this tree is mine," Inuyasha said sternly.

"What, did you make that with your katana or something?" Kouga watched Inuyasha for a sign of frustration, but instead saw Inuyasha looking back at him with focused eyes and determined somberness. He turned and said, "Hmph. Fine then. You can have your tree." Kouga stalked off with Hakkaku and Ginta trailing behind him.

Inuyasha gazed up at Goshinboku and sighed. 'Isn't it enough that he chases after Kagome?'

- - - Present - - -

The room was dim. Lights were flashing, various noises raging, and there were so many people being kept here. Sweating hands, dilated eyes, the clang of metal, and shouts of despair; what was this place? Then Sango herself was forced onto one of those machines and told what instructions to follow. Unfamiliar writing flashed on the screen and Sango felt a slap on her back.

"Way to go! You cleared it!" Yuka grinned at her, her screen also flashing the word 'Cleared!'

Eri leaned on the safety bar. "See, it's not too hard to play DDR."

"Have you really never been to an arcade before?" Ayumi asked. "Maybe it's because your family's strict?"

"Yeah, you do go to a private school after all," Eri added.

Kagome was standing off to the side with Houjou. 'Sango-chan, thanks for putting up with all of this,' she sighed.

"Higurashi," Houjou called, "do you want to play something?"

"Oh, sure." Kagome followed Houjou to one of the nearby games with their unused tokens.

When Kagome's friends saw them go off, the girls pulled Sango off the DDR machine and began to haul her away.

"Wait, where are we going?" Sango turned to each of the girls fervently.

"To leave those two alone," Eri replied furtively.

"We know Kagome has that other guy she likes," Yuka said, "but she needs to know that there a guys who don't have to act tough to be likable."

"What? But –" Sango looked back at Kagome, busy shooting down coloured orbs with Houjou. 'Kagome-chan… help.'

- - -

"Where did they go?" Kagome looked around outside the arcade with Houjou, not spotting any of her friends within eyeshot. 'No… I have to find Sango-chan.' Kagome frowned. 'Honestly, I never knew those three could be so dangerous!'

"Higurashi?"

"Oh, Houjou-kun!" Kagome was reminded of the boy still with her. "I'm sorry, I haven't been paying attention."

"No, it's okay. Finding your friend is more important, right?"

Kagome realized that she might have been acting rudely towards Houjou. She despondently said, "It's just that I'm worried something will happen to her because she's unfamiliar with the area; even though she's with the others."

Houjou smiled. "I understand. There'll be other times when we can do something together, right?"

"Um… yeah." Kagome wasn't sure if her answer was a lie or not. "I'm really sorry to leave you like this."

"What are you saying?" Houjou raised an amused eyebrow. "I want to help you."

"Eh? Houjou-kun, that's okay. I don't want to put you out more than I've done already."

Houjou shook his head. "I want to help you Higurashi. Besides, it'll be better with two people looking, right?"

Kagome smiled. "Thank you, Houjou-kun."

- - -

The girls had brought Sango to a local shopping district with many people bustling about and looking at the various things that were on sale. Never before had Sango seen such things as what was on display, and Kagome's friends seemed to be enjoying themselves picking up anything that seemed remotely interesting. That didn't stop them from commencing their interrogation however.

"So how violent is Kagome-chan's boyfriend?"

'Not this again,' Sango mentally griped. "Er… when you say boyfriend… do you mean as in a couple?"

For a moment the girls stared at Sango. Yuka retorted, "Of course! What else would we mean?"

"So is it true?" Eri pushed. "What's he really like?"

Sango sighed. Did she really need to get into this? She felt it wasn't really for her to say anything about Kagome's relationship with Inuyasha, but neither did it seem that Kagome's friends would stop pestering her about it unless she said something. "Well… I guess it's true that he can be insensitive at times…" She started off awkwardly, but she voiced what she felt was true. "But he really does care about Kagome-chan." Her voice was soft. "I've seen it."

Kagome's friends looked amazed by Sango's opinion. Eri made a repentive grin. "Guess he's not so bad after all."

Ayumi said, "I feel kind of bad for leaving Kagome with Houjou."

They stood there with disposed guilt and realization in the middle of the crowd, a strange silence between the girls.

Yuka looked up at Sango. "So, what about your boyfriend?"

Sango blinked. "Eh?"

"Oh, yeah," Eri said, the mood beginning to lift. "Aren't you seeing that perverted guy?"

"Perv…" A mental image of Miroku flashed before Sango. Horrified, Sango exclaimed, "Kagome-chan said something about that?"

Eri put her hands on her hips. "Not frankly, but we could put two and two together."

"Isn't it hard being with a guy like that?" Ayumi asked Sango.

"Does he hit on other girls?" Eri interjected.

"How far have you two gone?" Yuka probed.

Sango cringed at the questions being asked directly of her own supposed love life. 'Kagome-chan, what exactly did you say to these friends of yours?'

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

"I've had enough of you, Yasee Ookami!"

"Oh yeah? Well same here, Inukkoro!"

"Would you two please settle down?" Miroku was beginning to get weary from being the peacekeeper as of late. "A village isn't the best place for a fight right now."

"Heh, a fight actually sounds like a good way to blow off some steam." Inuyasha reached for Tessaiga.

"You're going to fight me with your katana?" Kouga pointed at the katana by his side. "See this? Have you ever seen me draw it for a battle?"

"Keh. You probably wouldn't be able to handle one of those anyway," Inuyasha scoffed.

"I don't need a katana like some people. My fists and legs are all I need to fight."

Inuyasha made an annoyed sound before sheathing Tessaiga. "You think so, eh? Well I've fought with my fists before, so come and see what I can do!"

Kouga charged with a punch at the ready. Inuyasha dodged and threw a fist of his own. Soon there was a flurry of fists and kicks developing between the two, their friends watching from a distance.

"This is trouble," Hakkaku said to the others.

Ginta groaned. "Just watching them is making me tired."

Shippo shook his head. "They're both fools."

Hakkaku watched as Kouga flew into the air, ready to kick Inuyasha. "Should we stop them?"

"That wouldn't be an easy thing to do," Ginta thought out loud.

Miroku stepped forward as Inuyasha prepared himself for Kouga's onslaught. The monk took a deep breath. "Osuwari!"

Hearing that word Inuyasha tensed, not paying attention when Kouga's foot came crashing down on his head. Kouga hopped back, pleased with the sight of Inuyasha's face implanted in the ground.

Shippo observed as Inuyasha's body didn't move from its spot. "Ah – is it over?"

Miroku sighed. 'I hope things are going better for Kagome-sama and Sango.'

- - - Present - - -

She was lost. Utterly, utterly lost. With so many people crowding the area it was easy to get caught in the flow and separated. Now Sango was wandering the streets which were now thankfully clearer, searching for where Kagome's friends had gone off to. Surely they must have noticed she was no longer with them? "Where are they? Hm?" Up head Sango spotted someone being pushed into an alleyway by questionable company.

"How lucky for us to come across such cute girls."

"Stay away!" Yuka shouted, the three of them huddled together in the middle of five high school boys.

Ignoring her protest, four of the boys grabbed Eri and Ayumi, holding them back as the male in front of Yuka gripped the front of her shirt.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Everyone looked back at the alley's entrance when they heard the voice.

"Sango-san!" Yuka tried to pull out of the hold she was in.

"Oh, look. We have another one." The boy with Yuka threw her back so one of the others caught her. He walked towards Sango. "Why don't you come over here?"

Sango scowled. "Preying on other people – you're the worst kind of criminal."

"Ke – What was that?" He reached out to grab her. Sango seized his hand and twisted his wrist around, kicking him in the face to toss him against the wall.

Seeing this, one of the others tore away from the group and lunged at Sango, throwing forward a punch. It was wild, and Sango easily side-stepped past it, capturing his wrist and smashing the base of her palm into his temple.

The other three came at her at once. She jumped on the side of the ally's wall and to the next until she was high enough to land on two of the guys' faces when they looked up at her. She swung her foot backward to whack one of them in the head, leaping off the face of the other and turning to kick him in the back of the head as well. When she landed on the ground Sango swept her leg under the last offender's feet, knocking him to the cement. By the time he opened his eyes from the shock, Sango was standing above him with a foot ready to come down on his throat. "Leave," she said curtly.

The guy under her foot scooted away and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Darn you! This is way too much trouble." He got up and left with the others, scurrying around the corner pathetically.

Sango watched them go, releasing a breath of pent-up air as soon as they were gone.

"Sango-san, you saved us!"

Sango turned and saw the three girls filling her view, admiration and gratefulness spread across their faces.

"That was amazing!" Eri squealed.

"That was marital arts, right?" Ayumi avidly inquired. "What kind of training do you have?"

"Er…" Sango took a step back. Not another round of questioning?

"So that's why you were fighting Kagome's boyfriend, right?" Yuka stated. "You thought he was no good and you wanted to protect her!"

"Eh?" The older girl had no idea where she got that idea from.

"Well," Yuka concluded, "with you by Kagome's side we won't have to worry much about him."

Sango sighed. 'Kagome-chan, you sure have some interesting friends…'

- - -

"Thanks for helping me Houjou-kun." Kagome stood at the base of the steps to her family's temple, having been unsuccessful in her search.

Houjou shrugged his shoulders. "No problem Higurashi. Tell me when you find her, okay?"

Kagome nodded and waved goodbye to Houjou. As she traipsed up the steps, she wondered drearily to herself how she was going to explain to her family what happened. "I'm home!" she called as soon as she was through the door.

"Welcome back!" answered a voice that made Kagome jerk.

She ran into the kitchen to find Sango helping her mother prepare dinner by chopping some vegetables. "Sango-chan?" Kagome exclaimed wide-eyed. "How did you make it back here?"

"Your friends walked me," the taiji-ya said simply.

Kagome was about to ask what had happened when the telephone began to ring. Her mother asked if she could pick it up, so reluctantly she put aside her inquires for now and went to the hallway to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Kagome! Good, you're home!"

"Yuka-chan?"

"I just wanted to say on behalf of the three of us how sorry we are about leaving you and Houjou behind. But you know, you letting Sango-san spend time with us was really great." Yuka went on to mention, "She helped us out of a pinch we got into with these troublesome guys."

At this news Kagome faltered. "She did?"

"Yeah, she beat them up and then they ran off. It was really amazing! She said that her father taught her everything she knows."

"Sango-chan said that?"

"Yeah, why? Has she never mentioned that to you before?"

"No, it's just… never mind."

"Well anyway, we should do it again the next time she's around. Is that okay?"

"Yeah… sure." Kagome gently placed the receiver back its dock after saying her goodbyes to Yuka. She paced back to the kitchen and saw Souta talking to Sango.

"I knocked them down but it wasn't as good as how you did it," Souta was saying. "I also couldn't pull it back properly."

"Don't worry. At least you're making progress; and since you seem to be good at that, why don't you also make the table?" Sango gave him a teasing smile.

Souta pouted. "That was a trick, wasn't it?" Sango laughed as he went to gather the dishes and utensils.

Kagome leant against the doorway, watching.

- - - Sengoku Jidai - - -

Inuyasha was lying on the rooftop, not wanting to be sleeping in the same quarters as Kouga. It was unbelievable how the wolf youkai just dropped in and trounced around acting as if the area was his. Inuyasha had spent a lot of time around the village in the past. He felt it was his home, not meant to be intruded upon by unwanted guests. He gazed at the moon, shining bright and full, wishing that Kagome would come back soon.

- - - Present - - -

After her shower Kagome walked into her room, toweling off her hair. She saw Sango lying on her bed with her eyes closed, and the younger girl vaguely wondered if she was asleep. Kagome tip-toed to the bed and stood over Sango, softly calling her name. Sango's eyelids rose slowly, blinking at the light.

"So you're still up." Kagome put her damp towel over the back of the chair at her desk.

Sango sat up and touched the back of her fingers to her eyes. "Just barely."

Kagome sat in her chair and spun around to look at Sango. "So how did things go with my friends?"

"It was alright," Sango said off-hand.

"I heard you saved them from a bunch of guys."

Still a bit tired, Sango paused before replying, "Oh, that."

Kagome found it somewhat funny how Sango didn't seem to think much of it. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"I've had to beat people like them before," was all Sango had to say. "But it was interesting going to those places." She looked up at Kagome. "They asked about Inuyasha again you know."

"Eh – really?" Kagome watched Sango carefully. "What… did you tell them?"

"The truth."

"Gh – what do you mean?" No way Sango would mention anything about Inuyasha's true nature, would she?"

Here Sango grew a tad sheepish. She tilted her head. "I just said what I thought he meant to you."

Kagome blinked. '… What does Sango-chan think?'

Sango turned sharply. "So, do you like Houjou-san too?"

"Wha… EH?"

"Because your friends told me they wanted to give you two 'alone time' or something like that."

Kagome looked to the side. "They're just imagining things," she said defensively.

"Hnn?" Sango lowered her eyelids. "So they imagined the stuff you said about Houshi-sama too?"

"Er – what?"

"They called him my boyfriend!" Sango flushed, rising from the bed to stand above Kagome.

The school girl realized just how intimidating Sango could be as she stood in front of her. "I didn't say that! I just –"

"Aah! You did say something!"

"I really don't know what you're talking about." Kagome got up and tried to unsuspectingly head for the door.

"Kagome-chan," Sango said steadfastly. She caught Kagome's wrist and pulled her around, catching her other wrist. Sango pushed Kagome to her bed, holding her down at the wrists while she was positioned above her. "You didn't put up a fight," Sango said, mildly surprised. "Not like last time."

Kagome huffed. "What happened to the Sango-chan that didn't even like me splashing water at her in the onsen?"

Sango's expression changed for a moment, but Kagome couldn't read it. The taiji-ya rolled off to sit on Kagome's bed, Kagome taking the same position. "She's still here. It's just that people have different sides to them, don't they? Like you. Sometimes you're kind and thoughtful, while other times you're explosive and distant."

"Save my bad points for last, why don't you?" Kagome's eyes narrowed.

"Not really. It just makes you more interesting; and different," Sango replied gently.

Her comment took Kagome aback. 'Is she trying to tell me something about Kikyou and I?'

Sango smiled at her. "Well, it's getting late. We should get some sleep."

They pulled the covers back and slipped in; taking the same spots they had the night before. Already exhausted from the excitable day she had, Sango soon fell asleep while Kagome stayed awake. She looked at Sango, thinking about what had happened so far since she came with her to the present.

'Sango-chan, how much of your personal life did you have to tell them? It wasn't painful, was it?' She touched Sango's arm softly, and paused when she saw tears glisten in Sango's eyelashes. Kagome was immediately worried. 'Is she having a bad dream?' She waited a moment; then trailed her hand further along until it was behind Sango's shoulder. Kagome moved her body closer to Sango, closing her eyes as she thought, 'I'm sorry.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Me: This story has been my first time writing Kouga and his friends, something I rather think is a bit of a landmark for me. Was it good?

(sigh) I'm giving everyone a warning now – do not expect an update anytime soon.