While Sango found herself bombarded by children and questions, Miroku stood back with Shippou and watched.

"Aren't you going to sneak off to go find girls to flirt with?" Shippou asked.

"Not just yet," Miroku answered. "I want to see how this goes."

It was only a partial answer; the rest he kept to himself. The sight of Sango, surrounded by a gaggle of happy and excited children, was so close to an image of the future that he hoped for… he wanted to imprint it upon his mind as a reminder of all he was striving for. Something he could turn to in his darkest moments: a big, happy family, so unlike the one he had known. That was what he was fighting for and one day it would make all the difficulties worth it. He just had to survive long enough to see it.

"You have a really strange look on your face," Shippou commented. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I just don't think I've ever seen Sango look so happy."

Shippou looked back over at Sango, perhaps seeing with fresh eyes. "I think you're right." After a pause, he added, "She's usually so gloomy and sad… I want to see her smile more, too!"

Slowly, the children began to disperse, distracted by other things now that Kirara's two-tailed novelty was wearing off—and they knew where she had come from and who her owner was. That meant it was time for Miroku to be on his way, too, or else Sango wouldn't let him have any fun in town today.

Contrary to what Sango probably believed, he didn't spend the day flirting with the village girls—or doing anything else with them. This wasn't due to a lack of interest, however, but rather a lack of opportunity. All of the most likely girls were either absent or busy, too caught up in the day's work to slip away for his sake.

They each greeted him with a sweetly sincere apology and a reasonable excuse. He really had no cause to complain. And yet being so simply thwarted in his efforts left him in an unpleasant mood.

"Sorry, Miroku," Shippou told him after the last of his leads failed to amount to anything.

"There will be other opportunities," Miroku muttered. He might not like it, but this was probably for the best anyway. His companions did not have a very high opinion of any of his preferred pastimes, and they would most likely assume he was trying to corrupt Shippou. He just couldn't win with them. No matter what he did or said, they refused to understand this particular piece of his predicament.

"What's with the sigh?" Shippou asked.

"Nothing, nothing."

When Miroku and Shippou eventually made their way back to Kaede's hut, they found Inuyasha lurking outside. The way he was crouching just outside the door, his demeanor was almost like that of a guard dog ready to snap at any wayward intruder. It was kind of funny, Miroku thought as Shippou scampered into the hut, the way Inuyasha's behavior became more dog-like whenever he was sufficiently annoyed.

"Don't be so impatient," Miroku chided. "She'll be back soon."

Inuyasha huffed, annoyed.

Miroku chuckled. "That's not going to make her come back any sooner. She must see to her obligations in her world." He paused, then added, "If you want her to return more quickly, you could go and offer your services to her there."

"You can make anything sound dirty," Inuyasha snapped. "You know that?"

He hadn't meant it that way, precisely, but the response was pretty telling in terms of where Inuyasha's mind was. Miroku grinned. "I stand by what I said."

"Oh, just go inside already."

Still plenty amused at his friend's expense, Miroku was happy to do just that.