Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I almost thought that no one liked this story much any more… I was highly reluctant to post it...

This chapter doesn't have all that much to do in terms of the main plot, it's more like a conflict that has been brushed over a few times in the earlier chapters. I'm assuming by now that you can tell that I prefer to focus on the relationship between Sango and Miroku instead of loading my chapters with action stuff that I can't really write all that well. I love describing character emotions, just not the scenery unless it's essential to the mood for that particular chapter. And yes, I am an angst freak.

I added in some extra things at the last minute, and took out some things, so I'm hoping that this chapter will still be a smoothly written one.

Blusorami: To tell you the truth, Inuyasha and Kagome are along the lines of, "Okay, there's a demon inside of her?". I wanted Miroku to figure it out sooner, along with the "evidence" when he saw her actually kill Reichi. As for the items, they actually aren't that important, and although Sango and Miroku will find out some more information in this chapter, you won't really get more detail about the whole demon thing for a while yet. Yes, there's a sequel. Keep checking my bio for progress information.

Ninalee-chan: There are reasons for every problem I have created in this story. At least, I think there are. I still haven't quite figured out a way to end it properly… (just so you know, all your comments/questions were answered in the e-mail)

YoukaiTaijiyaSango: Thanks for the comments!

For those out there that read the previous few chapters and haven't reviewed, please do so at the end of this chapter. I could use the motivation to type…

I followed Sango out of the hut, then grabbed her wrist and forcefully turned her to face me. I didn't mean to sound angry, but after what Kaede had told us, the look on Sango's face had made me wonder just how long she had known this for. It was hard to mask my annoyance and hurt this time, and she knew it. "When were you planning on telling me, Sango?"

She looked away, yanking her wrist out of my grasp, anger filling her eyes and voice.

"How was I supposed to tell you? It told me it would kill you if I told you, if I ever showed any sign that it was controlling me!"

"Don't you trust me?" I tried pleading.

"Miroku…" She sighed, finally meeting my gaze. Some of the anger had dissipated. "It has nothing to do with trust."

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have prevented Kirishi-san and Reichi-kun's deaths a long time ago."

Her gaze hardened at my words. "I didn't really know it had been inside of me until after Kirishi-san's death. It took control over my body, and it… it threatened me - oh, Miroku… I've already told you what happened."

"Not the direct facts," I said, and immediately regretted saying them as tears pooled in her brown eyes.

"Oh, so now you want to know the details of what Kirishi-san looked like when she died?" she said angrily. "You want to know what it feels like to be controlled, to know that something evil is forcing you to do something against your will? You want to know what it feels like to take a life!" Her voice raised in volume.

"You know, maybe I should!" I shot back, starting to feel my patience wear out. "Then maybe I can understand why the hell you yell at me when I'm only concerned about you! Maybe it would also be nice to hear an explanation of why, every time I try to comfort or assure you, you shoot my words back at me, and you refuse to be optimistic about anything! You never used to be like this, Sango. You might have been frustrated in tears about Kohaku, but you never gave up. All of a sudden, you started acting like… like… I don't know! You just -" I tried to calm myself down. The last thing the both of us needed was to get into an argument, and based on the impending pressure and tension it was causing us lately, our relationship could possibly be damaged. "- you haven't been yourself lately, Sango."

She turned around, still worked up over what I had said, and I could hear her sniffling a bit. When she spoke, she tried to sound angry, but I could detect the sorrow and guilt behind the anger. "I know. I don't mean to shut you out like that. I just… if you get too close…" She didn't continue, wiping her cheeks with her sleeve. I moved forward to embrace her. She moved away, out of the range of my grasp, and this time, I truly did feel like I was being shut out. "You… you don't understand -"

I interrupted her, now trying to calm her down. I wasn't sure exactly what she was getting at even as she was trying to explain why she had been even more emotional as usual. I just knew that I needed to get her to calm down, to get a grasp back on things at hand for now. That was enough to think about as it was, I didn't want to put more stress on our relationship. "Sango, I didn't mean what I said. I don't want to make you go through that again, and just to let you know, I would have believed you. I trust you more than anyone, and even then I knew something was going on." Why did she deliberately avoid my questions like that? Couldn't she see that I was trying to help her get through this? If I had to help her get through this, I needed some answers, and I could tell that she wasn't so eager on giving them to me.

She put a hand to her head, and I slowly wrapped my arms around her shoulders, although she didn't move into my embrace, directly against me. "I know. But just because I don't tell you something does not mean that I don't trust you." She removed her hand revealing the type of expression she wore whenever she felt sad, emotionally worn out, or lost. I pulled her closer so she would lean against me, and this time, she didn't resist, her arms going against my shoulders. "I do trust you, Miroku. I just… I don't know." Her voice lowered as she buried her head into my chest, her voice muffling a bit. "I… I'm sorry. I'm just - I'm just scared."

Sango was scared. I'd seen her scared before in death situations, whenever she reluctantly fought against Kohaku only by defending herself for fear that she'd unintentionally hurt him, or whenever I was close to death after sacrificing my health by sucking in the poison of the Saimyoushou. I have never heard her admit her fear openly before, and I opened my mouth to say something, but she continued to speak.

"I'm scared that the demon will try and make me hurt you or the others. I don't want anyone else to get injured, especially… especially you."

I let go of her, giving her a small but reassuring smile. "That won't happen," I told her.

She lifted her gaze to meet mine, her eyes filled with fear. "How do you know?" she asked, sounding worried. I tightened my hold on her, trying to comfort her with my warmth as much as possible, and leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her lips. Surprise flickered in her eyes, but just for a moment before she closed her eyes, content with being so close to me.

"Because I'm not going to let it," I said softly, leaning my head against hers so that I could feel the silkiness of her hair against my cheek.

She rested her chin on my shoulder, and as she spoke, the breath from her words lightly brushed across my neck. "I'm glad you're that determined, Miroku," she said, her voice just audible. "Because I don't know if I can be."

"You are. You just need to have confidence that things will be okay, and they can work out."

She laughed faintly, although it lacked real enthusiasm. "I think you're better at doing that."

I didn't argue, but on the inside, I disagreed. Sango had never given up before, and she allowed weakness to consume her inside, so even though she had perfected the wall that prevented others from seeing her sorrow and anger, that wall was the same one that prevented others from seeing who she really was. It prevented others from seeing just how vulnerable she was under all that pain, anger, regret, and sadness.

As for me… I was just starting to break down that wall.

But at least I was getting there.

I withdrew from her as she took a moment to regain her bearings. "We should head out now." The sooner we got to Mount Hikoshira, the better. "Wait out here for a moment, I'm just going to get our things." She nodded, her gaze thoughtful as she looked past me into the distance, and I could tell that her mind was already planning possible outcomes.

I entered the hut and grabbed Sango's Hiraikotsu, somehow managing to get it onto my back. It was so heavy. I wondered how my partner could carry it all the time, let alone use it in battle. I collected my shakujou, but before heading out, I stopped at the flap, looking at Kaede.

"You said that the items we needed were at the top of Mount Hikoshira. What are the items? Will there be any 'luring into traps' along the way?" I asked. She cast a glance to the door, then looked back at me.

"Just some purple powder called Sokori that will help the chant to work correctly and a herb by the name of Riaki."

"Is that all?"

She hesitated. "Yes… however, the conditions in which Sango is to battle the demon are rather restricted."

"Tell me about them," I said, glancing at the flap.

"I'm sorry, I can't. She may overhear us, and if I was to tell either of you what the conditions are now, it would alter your concentration about everything." She softened her anxiety-filled expression when she saw the intensity and concern in my eyes and gave me a half-hearted smile. "Please trust me, Houshi-sama. I will tell you everything when you return… and it is best to keep her mind off of things as much as possible until that point."

I nodded. "We shouldn't be gone long."

"I expect you won't be due to circumstances. There is a bird youkai, but it should be easy to defeat. It's near the very top of the mountain," she said.

"Alright. Thanks for the warning, Kaede." We exchanged a brief look of understanding.


Sango came in, wondering what was taking me so long. Inuyasha, who had been talking to Kagome-sama about recent events, leapt up.

"So, Sango, why didn't you tell us sooner?" he demanded roughly, striding over to her and looking at her directly in the face. She seemed to be a bit startled by his rude manner towards her, as she hadn't done anything, but I supposed his question explained the reason for his mood. "You should've told us a demon was trying to control you. We wasted a lot of time trying to figure what was going on, and you knew all along! What's the matter? Was this another conflict that you felt you needed to be in solitude to deal with, eh?"

I wanted to go up there and strike him across the face for saying something in such a harsh way, for automatically placing accusations on her even when he didn't really understand the issue she was going through, but the aura I felt radiating from Sango was enough to warn any of the rest of us not to interrupt. She was glaring at him, and for a moment I thought I saw fire in her eyes.

"I had my reasons," she said, her voice sounding so cold and hard that even Inuyasha appeared surprised. "I can make my own decisions, and I don't need anybody to help me, especially if I can handle it myself."

The hanyou made a rude noise. "Right. You wanted to handle what by yourself? Did you even know what type of demon it was? Did you even care that yourfucking pride could have gotten us all killed?"

"I…" She seemed to be trying to put down a reason to justify for her actions, an excuse for why she had hidden this for so long from us that Inuyasha would accept, but after a moment, she gave up, looking down. "I know."

"Yet you still hid this from us, you idiot. You know we would have helped you, to remove this - this burden from you, but you refused. Just like all the time, you insist on being alone! You - you're so -"

Sango looked back up, and for the first time that I could remember, I noticed that Kagome and Inuyasha saw fear in her eyes. "That's because -" She swallowed and turned around, her back facing us. She didn't finish, but I knew what she was implying. Tsuyuki's threat had taken a strong hold on her.

"Alright Inuyasha, that's enough. You've given her more than enough hell about what she's done, so now you can leave her alone. Got that?"

Suddenly the room went quiet. For a moment, I wondered if I had said something wrong, and I looked at Sango. She stared back at me, a stunned expression on her face. "Sango, what did I say?" She just stood there, looking at me. I went over to her and she took a step away from me. "Sango?"

Kagome-sama and Inuyasha were watching us. Actually, Inuyasha was watching us, but Kagome-sama was the one who was carefully observing anything that could be classified as more than just friendship.

Her voice was even more quiet than usual. "Do you - do you really think I did it?"

"No!" I exclaimed, putting an arm around her. She looked down at the floor, shifting away from me. "Sango, I didn't mean it that way. Just let me -"

"I know you didn't. But… I'd still like to be alone for a few minutes."

Kagome-sama looked at her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

The taijiya gave her a faint smile. "I will be. Just give me a moment."

The rest of us left the room. I gathered some bags to put the items in, and Kagome-sama questioned me about Sango. "Maybe you should comfort her, Miroku-sama."

"No." I shook my head, placing my shakujou near the door and packing a bag of supplies. "She needs to be alone for a few minutes, probably to rethink things over."

"There isn't anything going on in your relationship, is there?" she asked suspiciously, giving me a knowing smile. "You seem to be getting awfully close to her without getting slapped."

I laughed weakly. "Ah well, there's a time for groping, and a time for… for non-groping," I added quickly, the more serious look coming back onto my face.

"Right, bouzou. The day you don't grope her is the day I decide to turn human by the Shikon jewel."

Kagome-sama sighed. "Inuyasha, you don't have to comment on everything."

"Well it's the truth," he said, sounding as harsh about it as he usually was. I didn't wait to hear Kagome-sama's comeback which quickly got both of them into a slight argument about being sensitive to others as I went back into the room to see if Sango was ready.

"We should get going," I told her, then turned to face Inuyasha, hardening my expression. "Next time, before you jump to conclusions about her, you should actually understand why she did what she did. She did it for a reason," I added coolly, turning and heading out. Sango took the Hiraikotsu off of my back, and I silently thanked her with a small smile, relieved from the weight.


It was a bit of a walk. It took us about an hour to reach the base of Mount Hikoshira. When I asked Sango why she didn't just ask Kirara to transform, she casually told me that she wanted to use this 'adventure' as part of an excuse to spent more time with me. I didn't tell her, but I felt so happy hearing that from her. The rare mood didn't last long when Sango turned to me as we were walking and asked, "Did she tell you what we needed to get?"

"Yeah." I didn't look at her, but I could tell she was watching me.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked after a pause. I glanced at her, making sure my voice didn't sound harsh.

"I should be asking you that question. If it was important, I would have told you," I replied. She stopped and stared at the ground, the sadness returning in her features. She did that often enough during our travels after meeting Kohaku that I had come to recognize it as hurt.

Quietly she spoke. "I may not have told you about the demon and what it made me do, but I only wanted to protect you. I care about you, Miroku. I didn't want you to get hurt, please understand that." I understood, but that didn't mean I had to like the reason why. She had wanted to tell me but couldn't, fearing the demon would find a weakness and use it against her as a threat to us. Also, it wasn't right to use her actions as a excuse for my feelings.

She resumed walking. A tense silence filled the air between us. I tried to take her hand by way of a silent apology, but she shifted it out of reach by walking a bit further from me. "Sango, are you mad at me?"

She didn't glance back at me. "No. I just wish you would trust me more." She sighed wearily and stopped walking again, looking down at the ground. "You know, sometimes I feel like I have to prove myself to you. Every time something comes up, you question me about it, wondering why I never told you. It's not because I don't trust you, Miroku. I trust you more than anyone else. It's just that I couldn't tell you… because… " Her voice trailed off, her bangs obscuring her eyes as her tone took on a softer quality. She didn't say why; I knew. I had seen a trace of the youkai's hatred and menace just after she removed her blade from the boy's body. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I knew that now was not the time. She would come to me and let me know if she wanted to comforted. Right now, she needed her space. I had to respect that.

"You've asked me this question a few times. I want to know your answer, Miroku," she said. "Do you trust me?"

I nodded without hesitation. She looked up at me, faint tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Then why do you always seem to make my actions seem wrong?" she wanted to know.

"I don't mean to… I just wondered why you did what you did. That's all," I said calmly , trying not to get her so worked up. "But you explained it to me. You don't have to prove anything to me. I'm sorry for making you feel that way."

She blinked her tears back and I caught up to her, taking her hand in mine. "I was never angry with you, Miroku," she said, and we started walking again.

It didn't take us much longer to reach the base of the mountain. It was much bigger than the one we had fought the invisible youkai at, and the path looked a bit more steep.

"Why do I have this feeling that there is more to this trip than just getting the required items?" Sango commented as we observed our destination.

"Because there will be a demon to fight, then we can get the items?" I suggested.

Sango raised her eyebrows, managing a half suspicious, half surprised look. "Is that what you didn't want to tell me?" she said. "What, did you think a demon fight would have scared me from doing something like this?"

"No…" After an awkward moment of silence, we went up the steep path. We didn't get too far before Sango stopped, her body tensing. "What is it?"

Her eyes narrowed as she sent a suspicious glance in every direction. "I have this feeling we're being watched." Her hand settled on the strap of Hiraikotsu.

I looked around, not feeling any strange auras. "Kaede said that the demon would be at the top. Besides, I can't sense anything strange."

Sango didn't move from her spot, and I went back over to her. "I think you're just a bit worked up from what happened the past few days. Maybe you're just overreacting. There's nothing else here... Why would there be anything by a mountain except for birds?"

She glanced at me, then continued to look around, her hand tightening on Hiraikotsu. "I'm not overreacting about anything, Miroku. I've been trained to sense demons and strange auras, just as you have been, and I'm telling you that I can sense something. It's not very close, but I still feel like we're being watched… and I can't shake it off."

I moved her hand from the strap that attached the boomerang to her back and put my other hand on her shoulder. "Sango, I know you have been trained, but listen to me: I don't sense anything. Nothing at all. There's nothing up here except for us and the youkai that we'll probably have to fight."

She squeezed my hand, and she seemed to relax for a brief moment, smiling faintly at me. "You don't believe me, do you?" She let go of me as I resumed our walk up the smooth path, a hint of mirth in her voice. "What if something bad happens? Then will you believe me?"

"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll be with you," I called back over my shoulder. She still hadn't moved, that faint smile still on her face. Her hand moved back up onto the strap of Hiraikotsu.

Then I heard it. The shifting of rocks. The low rumble of rock being forced against rock as they were pushed along the ground.

It happened so fast that by the time I turned around, all I saw was a huge cloud of dust. A small avalanche had come speeding down, knocking the taijiya right off the side before I even had a chance to react. It had come down at such a speed that it would have been enough to seriously injure her, or even kill her.

"Sango!"

The words "Sokori" and "Riaki" are just random words I thought up. If they actually do have any meanings… well, they're not that relevant to the plot.

This chapter really is pointless in reference to the plot, but I really wanted to write down about Miroku's frustration about not understanding why Sango won't just tell him why she did what she did, and Sango's conflicting emotions between letting him know that she trust him more than any other, but still having to hide it just because she's afraid of what Tsuyuki can do. The argument was really the only thing I had planned to write about. I tried to expand the chapter as much as possible. By the way, you can blame the PoF for my newest obsession about lengths :winks: … I'm sorry about the cliffy. But it does keep readers coming back for more… doesn't it?