After a cursory glance to make sure no one was watching, Inuyasha flopped unceremoniously to the ground and stretched luxuriously. Although the sun was climbing high into the mid-morning sky the grass was still cool and slick with dew, and he welcomed the clean, fresh scent as it washed over his senses. There were no trees on hillside he had claimed, so the vibrantly blue sky filled his vision. Inuyasha let his eyes drift shut and listened to the birds singing in the nearby woods. Though he would have denied it had anyone mentioned it to him, he was smiling.
It wasn't often that he indulged himself like this. Somewhere deep in his being he had often wished, without quite acknowledging it to himself, that he could fill his life with little more than his present activity. He loved the forests, and the wilds in general, and could not help but rue his inability to fully appreciate them of late because of the recent chaos in his life.
Of course I had fifty years to do nothing but appreciate the forest, he thought to himself bitterly, his smile dissolving.
His chest throbbed dully as old memories chased away the pleasant diversion of lounging in the sun. Although he carried with him no scar, the wound from Kikyo's arrow never seemed to have fully healed. Perhaps the remnants of her spell still burned within him, or perhaps he simply remembered the pain of that arrow too well to ever fully be free of it. Whatever the reason, from time to time he could still feel the arrow's bite as sharply as he felt it when first it pierced his breast.
His mood ruined, Inuyasha sat up and sourly looked around. He could smell rain clouds somewhere in the distance. Heaving a sigh, he decided it would be best to gather up the others and try to cover some ground before they were overtaken by the approaching storm.
*****
They had been able to stay ahead of the dark clouds all afternoon, thanks in no small part to Inuyasha's belligerent motivation, but the storm finally caught up with them as evening approached. Although the rain was pounding intensely and unseasonably cold, they had been able to press on for the better part of an hour before it became obvious that the worst was yet to come. The decision was made to pitch camp for the night, but this in and of itself was not an end to their ordeal. They had not been prepared for such inclement weather, and it was nearly an hour before Inuyasha and Miroku had finished building a makeshift lean-to against the side of an old oak tree.
Huddled uncomfortably close under their tiny, leaking shelter, the five travelers were just as cold and only slightly less wet as they would have been in the open air. The lean-to was not particularly sturdy, and faced with the storm's buffeting winds it threatened to collapse. Saying that he would rather be uncomfortable all night than try to build another of the damned things, Inuyasha sat opposite from his companions, bracing the lean-to with his back while they rested against the tree. Before Miroku could be harangued into doing his share of the work, the monk fell into a deep and thoroughly unconvincing sleep.
Kagome's clothes were much lighter than her companions' and, having found herself soaked through to the skin within the first fifteen minutes, she was now cocooned with Shippo in Inuyasha's cloak. For his part, Inuyasha more than made up for his altruism by bitterly complaining about everything from the cramped accommodations to Miroku's need of a bath.
Sango had a front row seat for all of this, for she had fled to the far side of Kagome to put some distance between herself and Miroku's roaming hands. Through years of training the monk had somehow developed the ability to grope in his sleep. Apparently, however, this skill was developed enough to detect Inuyasha's venomous gaze before Kagome could fall victim to Miroku's lechery. The monk's hand retreated meekly back to his own lap.
While that crisis had been averted, Sango now found herself faced with a new dilemma. Yet again, her neck was far too stiff and uncooperative to let her drift off. No one else was awake, so there was no hope of conversation to pass the time. For a long time she simply sat there with her knees drawn up to her chest watching Kagome and Shippo sleep. This obviously couldn't hold her attention forever, and after what seemed like a very long while she simply stared at the ground. Listening to storm and the water dripping through the shelter was almost hypnotic, and even if it didn't put her to sleep it at least put her in a relaxing daze. Sango let out a small sigh. It was beginning to look as if she'd have learn to live with insomnia.
"Jeeze, don't you ever sleep?"
Sango almost jumped out of her skin. Apparently Inuyasha hadn't been asleep after all.
"You're one to talk" Sango said, surprised to find herself smiling.
A trickle of rainwater found its way through a gap in the lean-to and ran down Inuyasha's bare chest. A barely imperceptible shiver rippled through him. Sango looked away for a moment, embarrassed that she had been watching him closely enough to notice it.
"I think I have a better excuse than you tonight." Inuyasha said, gesturing at the burden resting against his back. His tone wasn't quite as caustic as Sango was used to.
She smiled more openly this time, nodding.
"I suppose you do."
Inuyasha chuckled to himself in his usual vaguely snide way, then folded his arms against his chest. Another small gap appeared in the shelter, and beads of water began racing down his shoulders. Steeling himself more against the irritation than the cold itself, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. His white hair, unnaturally pristine, spilled over his face. A remnant of his demon lineage, Inuyasha's was a purer white than any human's, and even in the darkness it seemed to almost shine. Sango idly wondered how it would feel to run her hands through that hair.
Where did that come from?
Sango felt herself flush. She looked away from him again, back to where Kagome lay sleeping with Shippo. Kagome, who loved Inuyasha. Kagome, whom Inuyasha loved. It seemed that for those two it was only a matter of time, as if their love was written in the stars themselves. Sango was ashamed of herself for even entertaining the thought.
The thought of what?
Sango didn't let herself answer the question. It was just his hair, after all. Just curiosity, curiosity and nothing more. After all, she had to think about something if she was going to just sit here all night with no sleep. Why not Inuyasha's hair?
Because you wouldn't be embarrassed if you were just thinking about his hair.
That unbidden thought echoed through her brain like a shout. There was no way, no possible she was entertaining any thoughts of that nature about Inuyasha. She let her gaze roam over him, her eyes drinking in every detail. It was just that he was so unique. The hair, the ears, those eyes the color of amber in the sunlight. Just a unique combination. Visually entertaining. She was just letting herself notice it in the last few days. Their conversation at the lake had convinced her that he wasn't quite the shallow jerk she'd thought, so now she could see him more clearly for what he really was. And if he happened to be sort of handsome, what was the harm in admitting that?
He's handsome now?
That was another thought she didn't realize was there until it had bubbled to the surface. Sango shook her head as furiously as she dared in the cramped darkness. She was just tired and her mind was playing games, that was all. That's all there was to it.
"Sango?"
Inuyasha's voice was soft, a gentle whisper that Sango had never heard before. She look up, startled, and fell into his warm amber eyes. He was looking at her differently than usual, and Sango thought she saw confusion in his face.
"Were you staring at me just now?"
Her fists clenched in her kimono and she looked at the ground. Even though her hair had fallen over her face, she was sure he could see her blushing in the darkness. Her heart was pounding and she didn't know why. It was a simple question, but a thousand answers raced through her mind as inexplicable panic washed over her. She could crazily feel her heart pounding in her throat, and was terrified almost to the point of tears as she heard herself answer.
"Yes."
It was only the tiniest of whispers that snuck past her lips into night air, but to Sango it seemed far too loud.