Inuyasha was not in a good mood. As far as Miroku was concerned, it was generally understandable. But that irritation was also misplaced. Kagome was doing her best, especially considering the ordeal she had so recently survived. There was no real reason to be this irate with her when she was only trying to help.

And yet here they were.

"I thought you could sense the damn things!" Inuyasha snapped.

They were currently on their way out of a small town after a second false lead on a jewel shard. To be fair, Inuyasha had handled the first false lead, back at the cave in the forest, with a great deal more understanding and patience than Miroku would ever have expected. But the hanyou was rapidly running out of his short supply of both patience and compassion. It wasn't like Kagome to make mistakes like this where the jewel was concerned. She had never let him down before when it came to his desire to obtain the jewel shards, so he was beginning to lash out. Miroku could trace the entire thought process, but that didn't mean he liked it. Especially when the result was this.

"I can!" Kagome protested, sounding near tears. "It's just all screwed up right now."

The look Sango was giving Inuyasha was murderous, but the hanyou seemed oblivious to everything but Kagome and the absent jewel shard. Probably the imminent tears were only making things worse, but that wouldn't necessarily matter to Sango. Before she could start something they would all regret, Miroku slipped over to where she was walking and intervened.

"At least it's a lovely day," he began, and Sango promptly turned that furious look on him. He held up his hands, attempting to convey that he meant no harm.

"Can you believe what he's been saying to Kagome?" she hissed quietly. At least she had enough sense not to try to draw Inuyasha's attention, though she was upset enough to stop walking. "Did he just forget the whole thing with the curse?"

Miroku halted as well. "Probably."

Sango sighed, the fire of her anger settling to a less explosive level. "There's no reason to be so cruel to her. She's doing the best she can."

"I think this may just be Inuyasha's way of showing that he's worried about her."

Sango's frown deepened into such a fierce scowl that he had to suppress a chuckle. She was usually so subdued that it was a treat to see her so animated, especially when her ire was directed at someone other than him. "That makes no sense!"

"It's obvious that she is still recovering," Miroku went on. When he resumed walking, she fell in beside him. "After a close call like that, it's only natural for him to worry." He paused, adding, "And neither of them has said a word about what happened back at Kaede's while we were chasing after Tsubaki. There may be more going on here than we know."

Sango was silent for a while after that, thinking about what he had suggested. At least she was neither frowning nor scowling anymore, nor seething at Inuyasha in a misplaced attempt to defend Kagome. She meant well, he knew, but didn't see the way her defensive anger might just get in the way.

Up ahead their two friends were already relaxing, moving past the argument and on to a happier conversation. Those two had always enjoyed being on the road together; they might not see it, and they might bicker accordingly, but it had become obvious to Miroku a long time ago. Eventually, he had a feeling, they would see it, too.

At last, Sango muttered, "He still shouldn't treat her so harshly."

"Maybe not, but it looks like she's forgiven him already," he pointed out.

Sango sighed and shook her head. "I don't know how she does it."

"She is quite patient with him, isn't she?"

Whatever Sango thought of this observation, she kept it to herself. Even though the incident with Tsubaki was now a couple of days behind them, Sango still seemed a bit out of sorts. Something about all this was bothering her, and he had a feeling it wasn't just the potential delay in finding more jewel shards.

Well, he decided, no time like the present to find out what it might be. They didn't have anything else to do as they walked. So he asked, "Is something wrong?"

Sango frowned. "I'm just worried, that's all," she told him. "That was a really close call with Tsubaki. It's obvious Kagome hasn't fully recovered… but he's pushing her as hard as ever."

This wasn't entirely unexpected. It had happened so recently, even Miroku was still a little shaken by how close they had come to losing Kagome. If there was anything in the world that he hated, it was curses. After living with his own deadly curse for so long, the last thing he wanted was for any of his friends to face a similar fate.

To be honest, he was worried, too, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't what was eating at Sango. There was something else. He didn't think he had just imagined it.

The look on her face then reminded him of their conversation that last night at Kaede's. Was she still upset that they had both been unable to help with the curse? It seemed the most likely thing. Too bad he had no advice to offer there, just shared understanding. And since Sango was steadfastly avoiding the topic, he couldn't even provide her with a friendly ear.

His inability to comfort her bothered him almost more than his inability to save Kagome from the curse. At least that had been a result of powerful magic that no ordinary person could hope to overcome. This was just him being stymied by a woman who didn't respond to his usual approaches. Had Sango been any other woman, except maybe Kagome, he would have offered a more physical form of comfort. Intimacy, he was well aware, could bring its own kind of strength. But whenever he so much as touched Sango, she reacted very badly. And as much as he might want to comfort her, he did not want to face her wrath.

So he let it go, and let her direct their conversation from there. If she wanted to avoid the topic of what was bothering her, then they wouldn't talk about it. The strategy paid off. Eventually, as it became clear that Inuyasha had calmed down, the tension started to ease out of her.

It cheered him to see her in a better mood. This was his favorite way to travel: in the company of a pretty girl who also happened to be in a good mood. Especially when that girl was Sango. It helped him forget, for a while at least, everything that was at stake and the dire urgency of his quest. And after facing Tsubaki, he needed that escape, even if it was only temporary.

Maybe, he thought, Sango just needed a distraction for a while, too. He suppressed a grin at the thought of how, if their situation were not so dire, he and Sango might pass an afternoon. That thought, and the cascade of intriguing ideas that ensued, was more than enough to keep his mind happily occupied for the rest of the otherwise-boring afternoon trek.