After a night spent fruitlessly debating what they ought to do next—with Inuyasha firmly on the side of taking the initiative for a straightforward attack against Naraku and his offspring and the others in favor of a more cautious approach—morning couldn't come soon enough for Miroku. He understood Inuyasha's impatience, but even with the Tessaiga restored, they had no way of knowing what Naraku might have in store for them. And Miroku was certain that Naraku would have some nasty traps waiting for them as soon as they left Toutousai's mountain sanctuary. These days spent repairing the sword might have given their group a temporary respite, but those same days had also given Naraku time to stir up trouble.

And that left Miroku feeling more than a little uncomfortable. Seeking a little of yesterday's relatively carefree calm, he was soon on his way out of camp. And this time he took pity and let Shippou come with him.

"I wish you had come back for me last time," the kitsune said from his spot on Miroku's shoulder. "I had to stay at camp and listen to Inuyasha and Kagome fight!"

Miroku nodded sagely. "My actions were indeed thoughtless, my friend."

"But you're taking me with you this time, so I forgive you!"

He chuckled. Sometimes Shippou's simple desires in life were just what he needed to hear about.

"Are we going to try to find Sango?" the kitsune went on.

"I thought we might," he admitted. "If we don't warn her, she might wander back to camp and get stuck with Inuyasha and Kagome the same way you did."

He knew he wasn't being fair to their companions, but it was better for Shippou to think that was the reason. He really didn't want to give the kid the wrong idea by appearing too interested in Sango all of a sudden, even if the reason was just that she was much better company than an idle and increasingly impatient Inuyasha.

It wasn't long before they found her. There really were not that many places to go in this part of the mountains without encountering trails that were hard going. It was not entirely inaccessible, but it was close. And the paths leading deeper into the mountains toward Toutousai's abode were even worse. In this case, that was all to the good. Had the terrain been more accommodating, there was no telling where Sango might have wandered off to.

She had dressed in her armor today and taken the hiraikotsu with her when she left camp. The armor alone had been enough to pique Miroku's curiosity. The hiraikotsu had only added to his desire to see what she was up to, and so when Shippou asked about leaving camp for a while the answer had been an obvious yes. Everything seemed to be working in his favor today and he intended to make the most of it.

As it turned out, Sango hadn't just brought the hiraikotsu with her to carry it around. She was training with it. That must have been why she came out here without inviting anyone along. She wanted to see if she could wield her weapon again, or if she was still in too much pain to manage it, and she had wanted some privacy in which to do it.

From the look of things, she could manage it just fine.

And he was perfectly happy to watch. He so seldom got a chance to watch her fight without being in the middle of a battle, himself, and that armor of hers truly was a gift from the Buddha. Formfitting and sleek, it hid everything and nothing at the same time, and left nothing of her strength or skill to the imagination.

For a while he held back, as much to watch as to avoid intruding. Even Shippou was quiet. After everything that had happened lately, it was nice to see one of their group doing something they enjoyed.

Sango had no target, but that did not appear to be a problem as she worked her way through a strenuous series of throws and catches that would have impressed Miroku on an ordinary day. That she was completing these exercises while only just recovered from a relatively serious injury only made them the more impressive.

When she finally stopped her cheeks were flushed and her face was shiny with sweat from her efforts, but she was smiling. And with good reason: she had just proved to herself that she was well and truly on the mend.

She caught sight of Miroku and Shippou a moment later and waved them over. He felt an uncharacteristic hesitance, almost as if he had walked in on her after a tryst with a lover, rather than practicing with her weapon. He couldn't say why he felt so certain he was intruding; it certainly was a new experience for him, when he generally had no problem whatsoever slipping into any situation and turning it to his advantage.

But Sango had invited them into her private moment, so he went along with it.

"Sango!" Shippou chirped when they were close enough to speak. "I'm glad we found you!"

She looked mildly confused. "Oh?"

"We came to warn you," Miroku explained in his best conspiratorial tone of voice. "We've left Inuyasha and Kagome back at camp, so don't head back that way unless you're prepared to walk into the middle of something unspeakable."

Much to his surprise, her response was to ask, "You really think Inuyasha will let something distract him while he's waiting for his sword to be repaired?"

Benevolently ignoring Shippou's snickering, Miroku considered the question. "You may be right."

"I haven't been a part of this group as long as either of you," Sango pointed out, her eyes sparkling with humor that gave the lie to her bored and matter-of-fact tone, "but even I know him better than that."

"Then you know he's going to be even grumpier than yesterday," Shippou quipped. "There's still today and tomorrow before his sword will be fixed!" He paused, realizing what Miroku had suspected all along. "That's why you brought your hiraikotsu out here, isn't it?"

"Yes. If we're going to be back on the road soon, I need to be able to use my weapon." She sounded so deeply weary that Miroku worried all over again that her injuries were more severe than she had previously let on. "No need to look so worried, you two. I don't plan to spend all day training… I just needed to know that I can defend everyone if I have to."

"And what have you discovered?" Miroku asked.

"It won't be fun, but I can do it if I need to." Her words said it wouldn't be fun, but her voice told a different story. She was obviously happy to use her weapon once again, even if she hadn't fully healed yet, so Miroku decided to simply be happy for her and hope it would not come to that.

He and Shippou left her to her training, wandering through the area with no real objective in mind. For a while Shippou ran ahead, looking for anything interesting that might be found in the tall grass or among the rocks, but the two ended up finding an overlook with a scenic view and a nice place to sit. They settled down there, and Miroku could not keep from smiling at Shippou's repeated observations of how nice and quiet the place was. He knew that before long, Shippou would start to miss Kagome and would want to go back to their campsite.

When she finished her work with the hiraikotsu, Sango came over and joined them. She might not be fully recovered yet, but she looked refreshed in a way she had not for a long time.

For once, Miroku felt content just where he was—no compulsion to wander in search of his enemy, no pressure to find the woman that would bear his child. It was so peaceful here that he could almost forget the curse that had dominated so much of his life, and which limited the potential duration of that life. With Sango and Shippou conversing softly off to one side, far away from the bickering of the other members of their group, for a few seconds he could close his eyes and pretend everything was right with the world.