Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of its characters. I just dream I do. So let's get onto the story.

Chapter 3

High in the tree branches, InuYasha sat with his eyes closed and a scowl on his face. He was so silent and motionless that any wanderer who saw him would have thought he was asleep. However, the occasional growl would have given him away. The dog hanyou finally let out a deep sigh and opened his eyes. He was still furious with Kagome over what she said to him.

'There's no way I'm going back to get her this time. I'd rather die than have to look at her ever again,' he thought. He sighed and tenderly rubbed his cheek that was still red and stinging from Kagome's slap. 'I don't deserve this kind of treatment. No matter what Kagome and I have been through together in the past, I'm not going to lower myself to be her personal puppy she can lead around with a leash.'

At that thought, InuYasha fingered the rosary around his neck. The ornate beads were the only thing that he had left of Kagome, and he was cursed to have to wear them for the rest of his life. With a snort, he let go of the beads of subjugation and glared into space. Eventually, however, he sighed and forced himself to face the truth. He was alone.

"Who needs her?" he spat to himself, "I got along fine without her, and I can do it again."

'But where do I go?' his inner thoughts asked, betraying his statement.

Sudden movement in the bushes below made InuYasha's ears twitch and brought his attention the forest floor below. Planning to stay silent if it was Kagome looking for him, he sniffed the air for a scent, glad he was downwind. However, instead of a single scent, he smelt two.

'Sango… and Kirara?' he thought, blinking as he watch the bushes just below him part and reveal the demon exterminator and feline demon companion.

'Great. Kagome's probably got everyone looking for me,' he thought, keeping silent and hidden in the branches.

He would have gone unnoticed too, if the wind hadn't changed directions. Kirara stopped suddenly, sniffing at the air, and started mewing up at the tree InuYasha was in. InuYasha held his breath, but Kirara still mewed. The dog hanyou started to panic when her mewing grew louder and the cat started to climb the tree. He tried to scat her away, but that only encouraged the little cat. Kirara's antics finally drew Sango's attention to the tree.

"Kirara, what is it?" Sango asked, walking over to the tree. She looked up and blinked to see InuYasha trying to hide out of sight. "InuYasha? What are you doing here?"

InuYasha cursed under his breath. "None of your business, Sango, and you can tell Kagome to give up trying to find me cause I'm not going to apologize! Got that!?" he barked, sitting cross-legged on a branch with his arms folded over his chest. "And if she tries to 'sit' me out of this tree, she's going to need her wolf to protect her from me!"

Sango blinked completely confused by what InuYasha said. "Apologize to Kagome?"

InuYasha caught the confusion in Sango's voice and blinked down at her. "Isn't that why you're here, to look for me?"

Sango shook her head, still confused. "Not at all. I haven't heard about any fights between you and Kagome. In fact, I haven't seen her since before she left for the well."

Inu snorted and leaned back against the tree trunk. "Well, trust me. You'll hear all about it when she comes back."

Sango was silent for a moment. "I'll miss out on that I'm afraid."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" InuYasha asked. He jumped down to the forest floor and stood next to her.

Sango sighed and sat down on an eroded tree root. Kirara jumped into her mistress' lap and nuzzled Sango's hand, purring. "There's no more need for me to be around now that Naraku's dead, and I can't stand to be around Miroku and his philandering ways. So… I'm leaving."

InuYasha kneeled down next to her. "Where do you plan on going? What do you plan on doing now?"

Sango sighed and looked up at the mid-afternoon sky. "I… I've decided on going back to my village."

"The exterminator village?" Inu blinked.

Sango nodded. "I figured Kirara and I could rebuild and try to restore the village."

"Can you do that by yourselves?" Inu asked.

"I have to. No one else will be there to help me," Sango replied. She frowned, thinking of Miroku. "No one will want to." She blinked when InuYasha stood up soundlessly. "InuYasha…"

"I'll go along," he said, shocking Sango.

"Really? I mean, I would appreciate it, but it's at least a week long journey, and it'll take at least a month to rebuild. What'll Kagome do when-"

"I don't care what Kagome does!" InuYasha barked. "She can just run to Koga for help for all I care!"

It was then that Sango eyed the red mark on Inu's cheek. "So there is no way for you to reconcile with her."

"That's what I've been saying, isn't it?" Inu snorted. He sighed and looked down at Sango. "Look, you need someone to help you rebuild your village, and I need somewhere to stay since there's no way I'll ever hear the end of this whole thing back at the village."

"So let's join up together… to give each other what we need," Sango added quickly, extending her hand to InuYasha.

InuYasha blinked at the gesture at first, but then smirked and took it. As they sealed the bargain, both were thinking the same thing. 'A dog hanyou helping a demon exterminator rebuild her village?' It was definitely one of those cosmic jokes of irony.

When they let go, InuYasha turned his back to Sango. "Jump on."

"Huh?" Sango blinked with Kirara on her shoulder.

"It's only a few hours before dusk. We'll make better time if I carry you and let Kirara rest. Then at night, we can have Kirara fly us there while we rest," InuYasha explained. "So jump on."

"Oh, alright," Sango nodded. Carefully, she climbed onto Inu's back and let him support her. She held on tight and blinked, feeling InuYasha flinch. For a few moments, she wandered what had happened but quickly remembered InuYasha's encounter with the thorn bush. "How are your scratches?" she asked, trying to keep from smiling too much.

"Peachy," Inu grumbled. Suddenly, he jumped up into the trees, getting a startled gasp from Sango. Secretly, InuYasha couldn't help but smirk. "Let's go!"