"Ain't this a little redundant?" Inuyasha asked, dodging another of Sango's blows. He'd joined Kohaku on his trip back to the slayer village, offering to fix up a few roofs while he was there.

That had been three months ago.

Sango had been attempting to rebuild the village herself, having come to an understanding with Miroku that they weren't suited for each other, even after being willing to die for each other during their fight against Naraku. Miroku had agreed, the two of them both sporting sad but accepting smiles when she'd left.

It was part of the reason Inuyasha was here in the first place. He wasn't trying to play matchmaker—he knew better than to interfere with his friends' romantic affairs—but even if Miroku had been fine with ending things, who knew how Sango was handling it?

She hadn't been as open about it as the monk, but that had always been Sango's way—something she'd either picked up from or taught to Kagome. Everyone else's problems came first, leaving their own hearts to be stomped on while they were taking care of other people.

And now, three months later, he'd somehow been roped into not only training with her but without Tessaiga.

"I can still sense ya," he groused. Sango had blindfolded him, claiming it was part of a slayer's basic training, but being a hanyou gave him an advantage: his senses were already better than a human's.

He thought he heard Sango laugh. "You're still relying on them too much, though."

"Says you—" He grunted as she landed a blow to his side, his claws meeting nothing but air.

"Yeah, says me." She blocked his next succession of attacks, ducking again before kicking the back of his knee and almost sending him flying, Inuyasha catching himself at the last minute.

"And here I thought you were getting better," she taunted.

He growled, tempted to pull the blindfold off but knowing she'd count it as an automatic loss. "I don't wanna hurt you."

"You haven't touched me yet." Her tone was smug. "But if you're getting tired—" Inuyasha spun around, hands and feet slicing through the air, keeping her on the defence as he moved her to the edge of the circle they'd been training in. He swiped for her face, then went for her feet, still missing her but knowing he'd at least left her unbalanced.

"I don't need to touch ya to win," he said, crossing his arms. "And it's going to take more than a few taunts to—" She yanked on his beads, and something soft brushed across his lips, Inuyasha's entire body freezing before his feet were kicked out from under him.

Sputtering, he tore his blindfold off, staring up at her. Sango's hands were on her hips, a blush on her face that wasn't just from the exertion of their training. "You've still got a lot to learn," she chastised him softly. "You have to be prepared for anything." The longer he stared at her, mouth agape, the worse her blush got. She finally spun around, face scarlet as her hands clenched into tight fists.

She got halfway to her hut before Inuyasha found his tongue, scrambling after her, managing to grab onto her wrist before she disappeared inside. Both were breathing heavily, Sango refusing to look at him, Inuyasha refusing to let go—to let it go. "Do you train everyone that way?"

"What if I do?"

"Damn it, Sango, I ain't fuckin' around—"

"And I am?"

He growled, then spun her around, boxing her in with both hands on the wall of her hut. "Look at me when ya tell me that!"

Sango took a deep breath, finally meeting his gaze. "I'm not fucking around." Inuyasha lowered his head, the retaliation harder than hers. It was awkward at first, both timid and fighting for dominance at the same time. But when Sango's arms slid around his neck, his growl was much lower, and they were both left gasping.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should've said something first—"

"Don't fuckin' apologize, or I'll kick your ass," he said.

Sango's mouth slowly pulled back into a smirk. "You've yet to do that."

"Don't push yer luck, wench." She chuckled softly, and he ran a hand through his hair. "Guess I'll be stickin' around for a little while longer."

Her smirk shifted to a smile, her arms tightening around his neck. "I was kind of hoping you would."

"Keh, next time, just ask." She kissed him instead, but he couldn't really find any reason to complain.