By the time evening came around, Sango was so sore from her training session she could once more barely move without pain. She knew better than to think she had undone all her healing of the past few days with only a few careful throws of the hiraikotsu, but she was forced to consider the possibility that, in her enthusiasm, she may have overdone it. Thankfully, based on the information Toutousai had given Inuyasha, she had at least one more night before the sword would be repaired. She should be well on her way to feeling normal again by then.
She helped Kagome prepare dinner for the group in spite of the ache, more because she knew she would be more sore if she didn't keep moving than out of any real desire to cook.
"So how was your day?" Kagome asked after they had been working in companionable quiet for a while.
Sango wasn't sure how to take that, so she opted for a safe response. "It is very peaceful here."
"You took the hiraikotsu with you. Does that mean you're feeling better?"
She sounded so hopeful that Sango did not want to disappoint her. "Yes. The bruises are going to take ages to fade, but I can use my weapon again."
"I'm glad! I was really worried that you might be seriously hurt after all."
"I may have overdone things a bit today," Sango admitted, "but I'll be fine. There's no need to worry."
"You could always take Miroku up on his offer for a massage!"
Sango felt her face heat immediately. She had really hoped everyone would just forget that comment. Somewhere between indignation and embarrassment, she insisted, "And let that womanizer get his hands on me? No way!"
Kagome giggled, then sobered abruptly as a new idea occurred to her. "Wait, does that mean there is someone you'd get a massage from?"
"Well, there were those in my village who were not the greatest fighters, but they knew the human body and they were very good at healing," she explained. "I think… I think my brother might have gone down that path, if he'd been given a choice. But yes, from one of those people, I would have accepted the offer. Because it would have helped, instead of just being an excuse to feel me up."
She had started out melancholy, made somber by the memories of all who had been lost, but by the end she was scowling, which soon had Kagome in another fit of giggles. "He's not very subtle, is he?"
"Try 'not at all'," Sango suggested. Thankfully, there was no sign that the monk had overheard. She was glad he did not have Inuyasha's keen sense of hearing, or at least was willing to let them have some fun at his expense once in a while.
Still, after dinner she found herself sitting in silence, annoyed by her own traitorous thoughts. With her muscles so sore from her exertions earlier, the idea of a massage would actually have been tempting… if she could be sure the monk wouldn't take it completely the wrong way. She could never be sure how serious he was when he made comments like that, and did not wish to risk giving the wrong impression. Especially not with someone like Miroku, who despite his proclamations of innocent intentions would inevitably take things too far.
There was so much she missed from her old life, and so many ways she wished her new companions were more like the old. Sure, they had proven more or less trustworthy since she joined up with them, but she had only known them a very short time. There had been little time to build trust and rapport when they were constantly on the road and fighting for their lives.
One day, perhaps, she would again know the kind of camaraderie she had shared with the other slayers. Her slowly budding friendships with Miroku and Kagome were a start, but they were only that: a start.