A/N: Wow, two updates in such short time frame! Go me! Anyway, I'm just going to tell you guys that this particular chapter isn't all that romantic, as it's the usual "come to an understanding" chapter that pretty much every yaoi chapter fic need to have. There is some romance though, at the beginning, so you guys won't totally be out of it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi is the owner of Inuyasha, not me. If I did things would be VERY different.

Inuyasha and Miroku: Warriors, Friends, Lovers

Chapter 2: Telling the Others

After about an hour of nearly incessant smooching, Inuyasha and Miroku broke apart, panting.

"Wow," Miroku said breathily, "I think I'm going to like this relationship."

"Me too," Inuyasha said while admiring his lover's flushed face.

"As much as I enjoy doing this, we should be getting back to the group. We wouldn't want them to be worried," the monk reminded his lover.

"I guess you're right."

On that note, the pair started a peaceful walk back to their friends, hands clasped together the whole way.

In the middle of their walk, a thought popped into Miroku's head.

"Hey, Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"A thought just occurred to me. What are we going to do if the others find out about our newly formed relationship?"

"They're not going to find out. We'll tell them."

The robe-clad man was shocked to say the least. He had always thought the hanyou to be the secretive type. It had taken forever just to get him to admit what happens to him on the night of the new moon, so for him to want to be so open about a subject as sensitive as this was surprising.

Before they knew it, their leisurely walk back had ended. Upon seeing the group, however, Inuyasha did not let go of his tight hold on Miroku's hand. Shippo could smell their mingled scents on both of them and gave them a look of confusion. This look did not go unnoticed by the pair.

"Hey, Inuyasha, what took so long?" Kagome questioned while staring at the clasped hands.

"Look, I'm just gonna put it out there that if any of you have a problem with what I'm about to say you can talk to me about it personally," Inuyasha said rather harshly, considering they didn't even have a chance to respond to a statement that hadn't been said yet.

"We promise we won't," Sango assured him. "Now what is it you have to say? It's obviously important."

"I'm sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings, but you were all gonna find out sooner or later and I'd rather it be sooner."

"Out with it already, Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, getting impatient.

'Interesting choice of words,' Miroku thought to himself.

"I'm in love with Miroku," the hanyou stated plainly.

Shocked expressions were on the faces of the reincarnated priestess, the demon slayer, and the little kitsune.

"Does he love you back?" the demon slayer asked sadly.

Inuyasha looked at the stalled expression on his lover's face. He didn't want to speak for him because it was not his right to. If Miroku truly loved him, he would answer. Sure enough, the stalled expression turned complacent and Miroku answered with a simple "Yes." Tears started to form at the brim of Sango's eyes.

"Sango? What's the matter?" Shippo asked innocently.

"It's nothing, Shippo," the demon slayer lied. "I'm- I'm going to take a stroll. Excuse me."

"Poor Sango…." Kagome commented.

Miroku sat down and sighed. "It wasn't supposed to go like this," he said.

Inuyasha sat down next to him. "She would have found out sooner or later. This was bound to happen at one point or another," he said, rubbing the monk's back.

"I know… Actually, I'm surprised you're taking this as well as you are, Kagome," the monk commented.

"Well, I am a little sad that things turned out this way, but I think that if you truly care for someone you'll be happy that they found someone they can spend the rest of their life with, even if it's not you. Besides, at least it's not Kikyo," she added with a wink.

"You are very wise for a girl you age," Miroku commented, which earned him a genuine, warm-hearted smile.

----Scene Change----

Sango sat ion a flat rock by the river, trying to organize her thoughts and feeling so she could think clearly. Surprisingly, she found herself having a solo conversation with an interesting blade of grass that stuck out of the ground, towering over its brethren.

"I don't know why I am acting like this. I mean, I know I should be happy for him, but something in my heart just doesn't want to accept the fact that he's in love with another man. All this time I had thought he was a womanizer! I even thought –" Sango cut herself off, but finished the thought in her head- 'that he may have been in love with me.'

Tears fell from the demon slayer's eyes as she silently cried over the loss of her love to another. One of her tears hit the longest blade of grass and it glowed an evil golden color. The crying woman sensed the evil presence and looked up. The grass started to swirl around; the residue that it carried blinded her eyes and dried up the wetness on her cheeks.

"What's going on?! Who are you?!" she demanded.

"I am a nature being who goes by the name Likaro. I control this forest and all that is within it," the demon answered.

"You don't seem like a good demon to me."

"I never said I was. Now give me the jewel shards I know you and your group possess!" (A/N: Don't ask me how he knows, he just does).

"Not a chance," Sango said as she gripped her Hiraikotsu. She threw the giant boomerang at the demon, but because he was made of grass it went right through him without doing any damage.

"Damn!" the demon slayer shouted in frustration.

Likaro retaliated, possessing three trees with magic and sending them to attack the boomerang-baring woman. The trees slammed their branches down in an attempt to squash her, but she dodged and swung her Hiraikotsu around with such force that the trees split in half horizontally, coming to the ground with a loud thud.

----Scene Change----

Inuyasha's ears pricked up at the noise caused by the demon slayer.

"Did anybody hear that?" he asked.

"Yes, I think Sango may be in trouble," Miroku replied with a grave tone.

"We have to go help her!" Kagome said

"Let's go!" Inuyasha shouted, leading the rest of the group, including Shippo and Kirara, who transformed into her demon form, to their friend's aid.

----Scene Change----

Sango was in a really bad place right now and she knew it. Her weapons weren't working, even the bladed ones, because the demon somehow knew when her attacks were coming. This knowledge is why she had a huge gash in her arm that was bleeding profusely. She had tried throwing her sickle, but the monster caught it in vines he commanded to sprout up from the ground and flung it back at her unexpectedly. She was really regretting separating from the group about now.

"Sango!"

The demon slayer looked to her right and saw her friends running up to her, weapons in hand.

"Ah, I sense the jewel shards even more now," Likaro said. "Oh, they're coming from you girl dressed in strange clothing."

Inuyasha stood in front of the jewel shard carrier. "I have to give you credit. You managed to keep Sango at bay. But there's no way in hell you'll be handle all of us. Kagome, go tend to Sango's wounds. We'll handle this."

"Right," the girl from the future replied.

Inuyasha used his windscar and obliterated the grass demon, who despite how he tried with his vines, could not deflect or block Inuyasha's attack.

"How's she doing,?" the hanyou asked, sheathing his blade.

"She'll be fine now that the bleeding has stopped," Kagome said as she finished wrapping Sango's arm with gauze.

There was still a sad look on the "patient's" face, which didn't go unnoticed by her comrades. Miroku felt he needed to have a word with Sango alone. He looked at the others, who nodded in understanding before walking away.

"Sango…." Miroku started.

"No, wait, let me speak first," the heartbroken woman said, putting her fingers lightly on his lips. He was dumbfounded, but ready to listen.

"I know it's not you fault that you fell for Inuyasha. One can't control who they fall in love with. I think the reason I was so upset was because I had thought that maybe, just maybe, you had feelings for me."

Miroku gave her a sympathetic expression, knowing full well the feeling she held for him.

"But you know what? I'll get over this eventually. Right now, I'm just going to try to be happy for you guys," Sango said with the best smile she could muster.

"Thank you Sango. You have no idea how much that means to me."

The two smiled and shared a hug, not as lovers, but as best friends.

A/N: Sorry if this chapter seemed a little rushed. I wanted to post it today, so quite a bit of editing was done. I hope you enjoyed it anyway. R&R plz! Ja ne!