Author's Note: Part 3 of the serial. The prompt was 'longing'.
"Sango."
She stiffened and relaxed; all within the space of a heartbeat. With the movement came a sharp mental rebuke for letting herself be lulled into half-slumber. "What?"
All she could see of Inuyasha was the dim outline of limbs reclining against the trunk and the occasional animal-like glint of his eyes when the firelight caught it. It was both reassuring and disturbing; knowing he was always there, always watching.
The hanyou was precisely that: not completely human nor youkai, but somewhere dangerously in between.
"Go get some rest."
The slayer blinked, her brain struggling to make sense of the words. "What? But you – "
He grunted. "I'll take the watch. Now sleep."
"No." Stubbornly, she tightened her fingers around Hiraikotsu's strap. "When was the last time you slept?"
"I'm not tired, wench," Inuyasha hissed. "You, on the other hand, are a weak human woman who most probably is."
She bit back an angry retort. The last thing she wanted was to waste precious energy squabbling with him. "If you say so," she growled.
The next morning dawned pale and grey. The little family set off at its usual pace, punctuated with the occasional argument and the not-so-occasional quarrel between Inuyasha and either Kagome or Shippou.
Sango was in a foul mood; the minor disagreement with Inuyasha the night before, coupled with a few attempts by Miroku to feel her up all morning had not improved it.
Even though the day was uneventful, there were no positive news; no sign of Naraku, any of the jewel shards... or Kohaku.
Sango was exhausted and had been longing for a hot bath and rest – though she did not say it. She was too emotionally drained as it was. The slayer shut off her mind, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other...
Inuyasha stopped abruptly in the middle of the road and walked into the grass.
"Inuyasha?" asked Miroku.
"We're stopping here for the night," he threw over his shoulder. "I'm going to hunt."
Sango looked up. "I'll go with you."
Gold eyes bored into hers. "You stay here." In a streak of red, he was gone, bounding through the trees.
Kagome came up from behind. "It's not like Inuyasha to be this rude to you, Sango-chan... did anything happen recently?"
"N – no..." She fought to conceal the blush that threatened to colour her cheeks. Had he noticed her staring at him? Or worse: had he figured out what lay behind that stare?