Arrankor: Yeah, I wish I could play a better Miroku. I'm not nearly as skilled as I'd like to be in his role.

[[I do not own InuYasha, I'm pretty sure Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha. I am borrowing InuYasha, bending him to my will, and I'll return him when I'm done. :P Maybe with most of the pieces!]]

As if the unexpected appearance of the monk wasn't troubling enough, the presence of InuYasha only compounded it's effects. Sango kept her distance from the both of them almost equally, as if she were finding the perfect middle between them regardless of their movements. "Eh, there's no sense in talking about such things- it's in the past." Said Sango, evasively avoiding yet another subject with Miroku. He had visited before, and even though Sango truly wasn't open to giving their marriage much of a try, she usually accepted their roles as husband and wife to a certain degree, touch and affection were permitted though rarely returned in particular, let alone initiated- now though she was avoiding it like the plague.

This didn't go unnoticed to the monk or to InuYasha, the half demon in particular may not be very sharp to subtle cues, but Sango was anything but subtle when she was rattled. "Hey Miroku, I was just thinking- you said you visited the slayer's village to find us right? Doesn't that mean they would've told you we were at the blossom shrine?" Asked InuYasha curiously.

This didn't escape Sango's attention as she seemed to be giving Miroku a suspicious glance now in place of her lack of attention from before.

"Us? I figured you and Sango had met up there." Noted Miroku as he looked over at Sango.

Sango quickly withdrew her glance and found her eyes entirely preoccupied with the scene ahead of them, the simple dirt road without an interesting sight as far as the eye could see. "Ah.. No, InuYasha has been at the Slayer's village for some time now, we just, uh, met up with Kagome there by chance is all!" She lied.

"He has? But didn't you say that you were hoping to bring him back to train your recruits?" Asked Miroku, barraging away at the lies as they came.

"Well, I'm going to train them tomorrow, I suppose that's what she meant. She asked me to train them tomorrow, but Kagome was expecting me to come home I guess, so she got mad when I said I was going back to the slayer's village. So looks like I'm homeless again for now." Said InuYasha with a shrug. He was really poor at lying, but at this point, he had long since lost track of what was truth and a lie, making him a good deal better.

"Say, InuYasha, would you mind taking the kids on ahead? I'd like to discuss something with Sango in private." Said Miroku as he looked seriously at InuYasha.

"Eh, well I suppose-" He began before recieving a deathly glare from the slayer between them, as if threatening his very existance should he agree.

"Thank you, InuYasha- we'll catch up soon." Said Miroku as he caught Sango by surprise during her unguarded glaring at InuYasha, catching her wrist to stop her from continuing.

InuYasha lingered for a moment as if trying to think of a way to amend his mistake, but Sango sighed after a moment. "I'll.. catch up in a minute.. Go on ahead, InuYasha.." She said, clearly trying to steel herself for the upcoming conversation.

InuYasha lingered for another moment before realizing that there was little he could do.. short of knocking Miroku over the head and taking the others and fleeing.. well, Sango might disapprove of that method, so reluctantly he went on ahead, jogging slightly to catch up with the kids up ahead.

Miroku watched him leave, catching him repeatedly looking back at the two. Even once he seemed to resign himself to being unable to act, the kids grasping onto him when he went to walk among them caused a twinge in Miroku's expression.

"What is it, Miroku? It's rather rude to send InuYasha off like that, he's my guest- I can't just pawn off my kids on him." Said Sango, staying strong to her annoyed persona, to mask the discomfort the situation was causing her.

"He'll be fine, they have known him since they were born, minus a seperation or two of course, he's practically a second father to them." Said Miroku, causing Sango to lose her mask quickly as she mouthed a couple responses but failed to create a coherant response in time.

"I don't blame you, Sango. I hadn't really given it any consideration at the time, but I could understand that if Kagome and I hadn't been around, that you two would likely have been a lot closer than you appeared to be at the time. You are both alike in some ways after all, unlike in others, but perhaps more compatible than you and I were originally, and definitely more so than InuYasha and Kagome were." Said Miroku with a sigh. "I did not stop you here to berate you or yell, I do understand, but there's a couple things you should understand as well. I have not given up, nor will I give up, on working out our marriage." He said simply. "And secondly, I know that InuYasha may be appealing, especially given the fact that the very reasons you were dissatisfied with me, are qualities that InuYasha doesn't even seem capable of- given how many times he went after Kagome, and waited for her hopelessly, and devoted himself entirely to Kikyo, even in the case of his own life. However, life has a way of wearing on people, especially when it never comes with a break. InuYasha is very loyal, but loyalty is easy to forget in the moment, look at him and Kagome- he left her without a word, she told me that she had wondered if something had happened to him until she got the rosary from Kaede that he'd left for her. Everyone needs to escape, and when escape is not possible, humans will make it a possibility, even if it's of the more permenant kind of escape. Half humans as well it seems. InuYasha may be ideal to you, to what you want now, but he will change too, and the further you get involved, the sooner it will become. Responsibility has a way of doing that to you, and we both know InuYasha is hardly responsible enough to be a husband to you, or a father to our children..." Said Miroku.

Sango found herself questioning things she hadn't even considered before during that lecture. She had opened her mouth repeatedly to argue, to defend her half demon companion, to attack Miroku even, but the monk just never seemed to give her a chance to speak. By time he had finished, she held too much doubt to even raise an argument against his points.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again, InuYasha is a friend to us both- I'm sure you don't want to lose a friend simply over a moment's whim and some unrealistic expectation when you should know well enough that he won't be able to give you what you are expecting." He said.

Sango's head lowered, as her thoughts coursed through her brain, causing a pressure in her head, as she felt a headache coming on she spoke up. "We.. should start going.. otherwise we won't.. catch up before home..." She said, having to string her words together between distractions. Sango began moving forward without consent but Miroku didn't need to say anymore clearly.

"Very well.." He relinquished, though in truth he had little reason to keep her any longer.

'Stupid monk doesn't know what he's talking about.. InuYasha is nothing like him. I know he can be irresponsible, but he cares about the kids, and about me too! Well.. I suppose he cares about me... Wha? What does that matter?! It's not even the point! It's not like we're planning on getting married or anything, he's just living with me! I mean, it's crazy.. what expectations would I have of him? So long as he takes good care of the kids, and keeps me company too, he's already doing more than Miroku could manage! Even just as a friend, InuYasha's a better husband to me than him!' She said, running through her thoughts as they walked.

"Now wait just a minute!" She finally exclaimed. "First of all, InuYasha is just babysitting for me, alright?! You are crazier than I thought if you think I'm involved with InuYasha!"

"Uh, Sango-" Started Miroku with a surprise as he tried to make her understand.

Sango wouldn't have it though, she continued just as he had done to her. "No, you said your piece, and I'm not buying it! It doesn't matter if InuYasha cares about me or not, cause I'm not interested! Not in him, you, or anyone!" She exclaimed again.

"Yes, but Sango-" He was interrupted again.

"If you stopped by the slayer's village, then you probably heard the rumors, hell you might've even saw us dancing or when we kissed, but it didn't mean a thing! InuYasha is doing me a favor by staying with the kids, while I try to make sure our lives are properly taken care of- it's only right that I'm nice to him! Hell, all you did was show up for a couple hours and expected the same things!" She said, letting loose all of her frustration towards the situation at the monk, though the frustration had little truly to do with him- sure he had caused it, but mostly what bothered her was the fact that she still couldn't argue his words, only his beliefs.

'Hmph!' A sound came from in front of them. "Expected, huh? Feh!" InuYasha turned away from them and began walking forward again. InuYasha didn't comment on anything about her many comments, that only made it worse as Sango finally realized what Miroku had been trying to say. '..InuYasha is right there.. was.. right there..' She thought as she finally turned to see him walking ahead, the kids still following him along. She knew he'd go back to the Slayer's village, he wouldn't leave the kids like that, but that didn't mean he'd stay in the village.. why should he?

"Uh, InuYasha..!" Sango called out as she prepared to jog after him, intent on apologizing, wanting to explain that it had sounded different than she had meant it but she soon slowed, and found herself merely walking after him, Miroku matching her pace.

"Sorry, Sango- I tried to warn you.." He said with a sigh, trying to be comforting even, as his hand moved to wrap around the other's shoulder.

Sango glared at him out of the corner of her eyes. "I suggest you say goodbye before we reach the village, because if you're in sight when I get to my Hiraikotsu, you may be haunting me in death instead of life." She warned with absolution.

He found himself a step or two away from her in a moent, walking with a safe zone between them now. "There's no need for violence, y'know? It was really an honest misunderstanding after all." He said, trying to smooth things over.

"...Yeah.. things really do need to come to an understanding..." She said, losing the anger in her voice rather quickly as she allowed her thoughts to roam, she refused to focus on what she couldn't control- InuYasha's presence included that, but there were some things regarding the half demon that did need to be cleared up. His leaving Kagome, while not her business directly, was among them- after all, how could she truly settle her feelings without knowing the story?