By afternoon on their second day in the mountains, Sango found herself sitting on the hillside not far from camp, staring into the distance. It seemed almost strange, after the events of the last several days, to now find herself in such a peaceful place, without an enemy in sight. Her enemies were still out there, of course, but she could almost convince herself that they could not reach her—or her friends—here.

"Mind if I join you?" It was Miroku that had spoken.

"Go ahead," she told him. The peacefulness of this place was somewhat deceptive. She heard raised voices from back at camp; Inuyasha and Shippou were bickering over something. She couldn't blame him for wanting to get away. "Too noisy?"

He chuckled as he settled himself beside her. "Not yet, but it will be if they keep that up. Kagome is trying to read one of her books."

That even made Sango smile a little. Kagome seldom found time to work on her studies, and did not appreciate Inuyasha distracting her. "How long do you think we have before someone blows up?"

"Or storms off? At least a little while yet." He sounded so pleased with himself that it was her turn to laugh, though she was careful to do it quietly so Inuyasha wouldn't overhear.

It was surprisingly pleasant to just sit there in the sunshine with Kirara beside her, talking with the monk as if they had nothing to worry about. In stark contrast to the peaceful surroundings, she was suddenly gripped by a feeling of intense restlessness. They had so much to worry about, yet here they were. Naraku, the Shikon jewel, her brother… and all she could do was wait.

Ordinarily she would use this time for training, or for replenishing her supplies. Neither of those things was an option right now. None of the materials she needed were at hand in this secluded mountain valley, and even the thought of lifting the hiraikotsu made her want to wince. There had to be something she could do to pass the time, that didn't involve sitting at camp listening to Inuyasha and Kagome bicker.

"I'm going to see what else is in this valley," she said aloud before she had even really settled on the idea. A glance to the side told her the monk was watching her with interest, so she explained, "I think it'll feel better if I move around."

He perked up visibly at that.

Realizing just what sort of activities he was implying, she insisted, "Not like that!"

He didn't press the issue, instead asking, "With your injuries, are you sure you should go off on your own?"

She was actually feeling quite a bit better today than she did yesterday. It hadn't occurred to her that she might still overextend herself. Then again, perhaps he had a different motive for being so attentive. She had, after all, not been intending to go entirely alone. Kirara would go with her, of course. "Does that mean you'd like to come with me?"

"If you don't mind."

"I don't mind." Even as she said it, she was surprised to find that she truly didn't. She knew she ought to be on the alert—experience had taught her that the monk was likely to misbehave as soon as he thought she had recovered from her injuries—but Miroku had been behaving himself lately. And he really wasn't bad company, when he wanted to be. And, she realized, if she and the monk went off together for a while, it would leave Inuyasha and Kagome alone. Maybe the privacy would encourage them to work through the many things that were going on with them lately.

With that in mind, Sango led the way along the first path she found. It meandered up and down among the rises and falls of the terrain, roughly following the mountain stream that ran not far from their campsite. Here the ground was fairly level, though steeper, higher peaks rose in the distance on every side. This part of the mountains formed a truly lovely landscape, like something out of a painting.

"Toutousai chose well when he picked this area to live," she observed.

The monk looked thoughtful. "Yes, I would imagine someone like Toutousai would find the seclusion to his liking."

She had forgotten that Miroku probably preferred locales with more people, particularly more women so he could ask his stupid question. It was damnably easy to see in him only what she wanted to see, and to forget the more annoying aspects of his character. But he didn't seem particularly bitter or bothered that this place was not as much to his liking as it was to hers, so she let it go and focused her attention instead on making her way down the path.

As she had hoped, slowly but surely, her spirits began to lift. Out here, she felt at ease in a way she hadn't back at camp with everyone and their many tensions. It eased the pressure a little bit, to be away from Inuyasha with his complaints and his apparent belief that humans could heal as fast as those with youkai blood, and that swords could be repaired in a matter of minutes rather than hours or days.

Miroku didn't seem to mind that she had to go a little bit slower than she normally would have. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself in a way she had never seen before. He had found a likely looking plant while he waited for her to catch up, with a long, flexible stem and leafy tip, and set about teasing Kirara with it as if she were an ordinary domesticated cat. And for her part, Kirara ate it up, swatting and batting at the makeshift toy as if it were the most enticing prey she had ever encountered.

She had always assumed that everything the monk did was carefully calculated to help him achieve what he desired; right now he seemed anything but calculating. And Kirara looked absolutely ridiculous, cavorting about as if she hadn't a care in the world. It had been a long time since she saw her feline friend behave like this.

Somehow, the scene gave Sango a little hope that one day things would be all right again. She felt warm inside, almost happy, and realized she was glad she had agreed to let Miroku come with her. It was nice to get away for a while with a friend.

It only surprised her a little to realize she'd already come to think of him that way. It hadn't escaped her notice that he looked out for her in small ways that the others often didn't. She knew that Inuyasha and Kagome did care about her, in their own way. But they also had other things to worry about than her small problems. And she didn't really want to bother them if she didn't have to. It was nice to have someone to listen, even if that someone was Miroku.

She would be the first to admit that he had his flaws, womanizing not least among them, but he was also capable of great compassion and bravery when the situation demanded it. Perhaps that was worth forgiving a few of the flaws.

She hadn't had a close friend since her village was destroyed. It might be nice to have one again.