It was a good day for traveling: bright and sunny, not too hot or too cool. Better yet, there were no enemies to be seen, and no sign of any jewel shards that might require a fight. Inuyasha might be grouchy as always, but Sango was determined to enjoy the day.

And so, it seemed, was Miroku.

She was relieved to find that the monk was back to his usual self once more after the harrowing experience with the hell wasp poison. For a while there she had feared for his life, but he had bounced back as if nothing had happened.

In her heart of hearts she was bursting with questions to ask him—foremost among them why he had risked so much for her sake and her brother's when the outcome was far from certain—but she shied away from asking any of them. She wanted to know, but she was also afraid of what he might tell her. He had demonstrated many times that he was not always motivated by the most altruistic reasons. She did not want to find out that he had some underhanded reason for wanting to help her and Kohaku.

As always, she preferred the kind and compassionate monk to the sleazy womanizer he sometimes, almost inevitably, became.

Some nagging instinct warned her: she was letting herself get distracted when something else required her attention. It took some effort to figure out what it was. In the distance, someone had shouted. A few moments later they called again. "Hey!"

Sango slowed and came to a stop with the others, her eyes following the road, tracing the sound to its source. A figure was visible there, but its identity was obscured by distance. It soon became apparent, however, that it was a relatively young boy, maybe a few years younger than Kohaku, and he was in a hurry.

The boy came running up to them, waving his arms frantically. "Please help!"

"What's going on?" Kagome asked, ignoring Inuyasha as he scoffed at the idea of helping this random stranger.

"My grandpa fell and hurt his leg," the boy explained as Sango and Miroku came up to join Kagome. "He can't walk on it and we need help getting back to the village."

"We ain't got time for this," Inuyasha reminded them loudly. Sango and the others resolutely ignored him.

"Which way is the village?" Miroku asked mildly.

The boy indicated the direction they were already going. "My grandpa's that way," he explained, pivoting to point away from the road. "The trail back to the road is really rough, and he fell down. We'll never make it back to the village this way." He eyed Inuyasha. "You look really strong. Can't you help us?"

It looked for a moment as if the flattery might work. Inuyasha hesitated, then protested, "We're supposed to be looking for jewel shards!"

"We're going this way anyway," Miroku pointed out. "What's the harm in doing a good deed for some fellow travelers?"

Sango had to agree. "Besides, if there were any jewel shards around, Kagome would have sensed them by now."

"And if you carry the child's grandfather, Kagome will remain free to watch out for jewel shards," Miroku suggested smoothly, as if it were the most natural suggestion in the world.

Inuyasha's expression grew sour. "Why don't you carry the old man, monk?"

"Me?" he asked, with such an air of innocence that Sango had to stifle a giggle. "I would indeed be happy to offer my services, my friend, but I am unfortunately still recovering from being poisoned. I am afraid it will have to be you."

The hanyou made a sound of disgust, but even he could tell when he was beaten. His ears flattened against his head for a moment before returning to their normal, perky position. "You aren't going to let me out of this, are you?"

"It'll be good for you," Kagome said, her voice a frightening combination of cheerfulness and malice that made Sango want to never be on her bad side. "Now come on. If you quit grumbling and get it over with, we can be back on our way sooner."

"Fine. All right, brat, which way to your old man?"

As they set off after the boy, Sango was heartened to see that things had more or less returned to normal among their group. There was still some lingering tension between Inuyasha and Kagome that would need to be resolved at some point, but they were able to get along with each other again like they had in the old days. It gave her hope that they could mend the ruptures in their relationship and find a measure of peace again soon.

She was wondering if they noticed that they were walking together at the front of the group like usual when she suddenly realized that she and the monk had fallen into the same pattern. She hadn't meant to hang back and wait for Miroku to join her; it had simply felt like the natural thing to do.

Somewhere along the line, almost without her noticing it, walking beside Miroku had become comfortable.

She was still pondering that realization when they reached the spot where the boy had left his grandfather. It wasn't that far from where he had found them, really.

The old man was profusely grateful as Inuyasha hoisted him up off the ground and onto his back. Sango thought it was a little early for that—after all, he hadn't spent the journey listening to Inuyasha's inevitable complaining yet—but supposed he would find out sooner or later.

And, Sango thought as she suppressed a sigh, knowing Inuyasha, it would probably be sooner rather than later.