"How's he doing?"

Sango had barely stepped out of the hut before Kagome pounced with her question. They had agreed to avoid crowding the monk while he recovered, which usually meant that Sango and Shippou tended to Miroku while Kagome soothed Inuyasha's impatient temper from a safe distance. It also meant that Kagome was eager for reports on the monk's progress.

Feeling unaccountably flustered by the question, Sango wasn't sure what to tell her. It had been easier to figure out what to say when she was annoyed that he had grabbed her. Now…

"He's perked up a lot!" Shippou assured her, oblivious to Sango's hesitation. "At this rate he'll be back to his old self in no time!"

"That mean we can head out tonight?" Inuyasha barked from his spot on a nearby tree branch.

Kagome scowled. "We should at least let him rest here one more night to be sure," she protested.

Inuyasha heaved an exasperated sigh, but did not complain any further. He simply turned away from them and seemed ready to ignore them for the rest of the night. It left Sango frowning, too, but at least he wasn't making a fuss.

After everything that had happened recently, with the castle and Kohaku and Kagura, it had seemed to Sango that the tension between Inuyasha and Kagome had finally eased. Tonight she got the sense that this had been a temporary reprieve, and the old strain was beginning to reemerge.

"Shippou, can you keep an eye on things here?" she asked quietly, knowing Inuyasha was likely to object if he overheard her plan, or the conversation that was likely to follow. "I think Kagome and I should take a walk."

"A walk?"

"She could probably use a break from Inuyasha, don't you think?" she kept her tone determinedly cheerful, and Shippou was quick to both agree and oblige. He'd been worried about Kagome, too.

Soon enough, the two girls were wending their way down the path that curved loosely away from the hut and off into the surrounding forest. They strolled slowly, stopping fairly frequently so Kagome could look for healing herbs or other useful plants. As they got further and further away from the others, Kagome slowly began to relax, the tension visibly easing from her shoulders, and Sango knew she had made the right decision.

Wandering among the trees made for a pleasant break after the last few days. Sango finally felt like she could breathe easy, and she hoped Kagome would soon feel the same way.

They chatted idly as they went, avoiding serious topics for a long time as if by mutual agreement. They'd had more than enough of all that lately. But eventually Kagome was ready to open up.

She knelt among some plants, idly picking some herbs. When she stood up again, she asked, "Do you think I was wrong to come back?"

"Of course not," Sango replied. "We all wanted you to come back, even Inuyasha."

Kagome did not respond right away. She seemed gloomy and sad all over again, reminding Sango painfully of the way she had seemed on that day, not so long ago, when she bid them farewell as if for the last time.

"I…" she began finally, but cut herself off. After a pause, she started again. "If I hadn't come back…"

She was obviously struggling to work through her thoughts. Fortunately, Sango had plenty of time to wait while she sorted herself out.

Finally, she did. "Naraku was only able to pull off this trap because I came back," she murmured. "If I hadn't been there…"

Sango hadn't stopped to wonder about that, herself. She and Miroku had originally planned to undertake the journey to Naraku's castle on their own. How might things have gone if they had come without their friends? Skirting past the most painful memories, she still had to conclude that both she and Miroku would most likely have died. They would have been no match for the trap Naraku had laid.

"I'm alive because you were there," Sango told her, voice quiet as she tried to calm herself. Thinking about her brother—and how close she had come to killing him—caused a powerful and frightening physical reaction, a desperate and desolate fear that crept out to haunt her even now, days after the fact. If Kagome had not been there to tell Inuyasha that Kohaku betrayed his orders, and might yet be saved… If she and Inuyasha hadn't been there to help get Miroku to safety and see him through the saimyoushou's poison…

"Sango…"

"So please, don't think it was a mistake to come back just because Inuyasha's being a jerk."

She had meant it to be comforting, but Kagome looked even more upset at the mention of Inuyasha's name.

"It's not just that," she confessed. "There was something else that happened during that last fight. I don't know if Inuyasha wants me to be here anymore."

"What makes you say that?" Sango asked, although she wasn't completely surprised to hear that. Kagome had been behaving very strangely that time she returned in secret to bring supplies and say good-bye, slipping away before Inuyasha might see her there. Sango had assumed that something prompted the strange behavior, but she'd known better than to ask Inuyasha what it might be.

"That night, when I came back, I sensed something very strange and went looking for Inuyasha… When I found him, Kikyou was there with him," Kagome admitted. It sounded as if the memory alone was enough to break her heart. Her voice usually turned a bit bitter when she spoke of Kikyou, but now she just sounded tired and sad. Like she'd given up, at least a little. "He was holding her. I think he was protecting her from something. He kept saying he was the only one that could protect her from Naraku."

Her voice trembled a little as she spoke, revealing the depth of the emotions she was feeling. She cared for Inuyasha deeply and must feel as if he had betrayed her.

Sango kept quiet. She felt a little contrite, knowing that this had been going on while she and Miroku hatched schemes to get Inuyasha and Kagome to make up. The situation had been far more complicated than she thought at the time; she wondered how much Miroku had known, or guessed, about all this. But that could wait for another time. Right now, Kagome needed a sympathetic ear.

"He may be right about that," she began, hoping Kagome would be willing to hear her out. Kagome was a sweet girl and a kind friend, but she tended to be hot-headed when it came to their hanyou companion. "He's a strong fighter and he's managed to get out of all of Naraku's traps in one piece, at least so far. Who else could manage that?"

She paused, trying to gauge Kagome's response. Unfortunately, the other girl's expression was unreadable. Well, Sango decided, it was too late to back out now. She pressed onward. "But in the end he decided to stay with us. With you. He could have gone off with Kikyou, but he didn't."

Kagome was silent; it was abundantly clear to Sango that her attempt at comfort had failed. Why had she thought this was something she could talk to Kagome about? Sure, she had never struggled like this when trying to comfort her friends back at the village, but she had known those girls her whole life. And also they had never had to deal with anything remotely like this, and so neither had Sango.

She almost felt as if she should have left this to the monk—almost. He could talk anyone into, or through, anything… although his understanding of women seemed to be somewhat lacking. Still, in her imagination he knew exactly what to say and would not have only made things worse the way she was doing.

"It's all so complicated," Kagome said at last. She sighed sadly, and admitted, "Even though I know he still loves Kikyou… whatever happens, I don't want to lose him."

To her surprise, Sango knew exactly what Kagome meant. For a long time she had thought that she would never hold anyone dear again. But when she had thought Miroku might die from Naraku's poison, she had felt a flicker of that old, deep loyalty again. She didn't want to lose him, or Kagome, or any of her other new friends.

"I can't say for sure what Inuyasha will choose to do," Sango told Kagome. "But I think he'd be a fool to choose Kikyou over you."

Kagome looked about ready to burst into tears after hearing that, so Sango resolved not to push any further today. This was all much worse, or at least much more difficult for Kagome, than Sango had realized. She didn't want to make it even worse than she already had.

"Come on," Kagome said, her voice starting off shaky but getting steadier as she went. "Let's keep going for a while."

Sango nodded and let her lead the way. They wandered through the forest for what remained of the afternoon, looking for anything that might make a tasty addition to dinner or might be useful for healing, or for slaying youkai. They even found some small shiny rocks to take back to Shippou.

By the time the sun had dropped low and they had to head back to where the others were waiting, Kagome did seem to have cheered up a bit. Sango was relieved to see that her eyes were bright again and her face didn't look quite so sad. Of course, one afternoon away from her troubles couldn't fix everything, but maybe it would help her hold on long enough to see it through until things got better again.

Even though Kagome didn't seem exactly reluctant to go back, it seemed to Sango that she wasn't all that eager, either. If they had plenty of time, she wouldn't have minded staying here for longer. But if they waited much longer it would be fully dark before they got back, and then they were likely to get an earful from Inuyasha.

"If we don't get back soon, Inuyasha's going to come looking for us." She had hesitated to say it, worried that this might somehow upset Kagome all over again, but her fears were for nothing.

Kagome seemed more amused than upset by the reminder of Inuyasha's protectiveness. "I guess you're right. Let's head back."

They retraced their steps as the forest grew darker around them, but Sango no longer felt the sense of oppressive gloom that had hung over everything earlier.

"You were right before, too," Kagome told her as they emerged onto the road that would lead back to the hut where the others were waiting. "Inuyasha could have gone with Kikyou, but he chose to stay with us. For now, at least." She managed a sad smile. At least it didn't look like she was about to cry anymore. "I'll do my best to just enjoy the time we do have together."

Sango was certain that things would work out in the end. It was just hard for Kagome to see that right now, being in the middle of it all as she was. One day soon, she hoped, Kagome would see it, too.