Disclaimer which applies to all chapters: Put it this way; if Inuyasha belonged to me, the pairing of Inuyasha/Sango wouldn't be an alternate pairing. So, no, Inuyasha does not belong to me.

WARNING: Spoilers for second movie are ahead! You have been warned!

----------

Night had fallen, and the group of shard hunters quickly settled down for the night. It was dangerous to travel after nightfall, they knew. And, besides that, they were all pretty warn out from their encounter with Kaguya.

"Ah... it feels so good to rest!" Kagome said happily, as she stretched out on her sleeping bag, "Too bad there's not a hot spring nearby though... ne, Sango-chan?"

The young miko's only response was silence, however. Sitting up again, she looked around, "Sango-chan? Where'd she go?"

"She went off in that direction." Shippou piped in as he sat, eating a lollypop that Kagome had given him earlier, "She said she needed to think some things over."

"Kohaku-kun..." Kagome whispered sadly, "Maybe I should go talk to her."

"I think the best thing for her, would be to just let her have some time to herself." Miroku said quietly, though anyone could tell he wanted to talk to her as well.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and began walking in the direction that Shippou had pointed out, "Keh. These woods are filled with demons. She's going to get herself killed if she stays out by herself."

"Inuyasha, Sango-chan can take care of herself." Kagome said, "She's an exterminator, remember?"

Inuyasha just snorted and continued on his way, "Of course I remember!" He called back, just before disappearing into the dark forest.

He didn't have to travel long before he found Sango, sitting in a small clearing, just staring up into the sky. Continuing towards her, he spoke, "Oi, Sango, what are you doing out here?" He asked, though he already knew the answer to that one.

The taijiya was silent for a moment, before shaking her head and replying, "Nothing. Just thinking."

Inuyasha stopped beside her, then sat down and laid back, closing his eyes, "These woods are filled with demons, you know. You're really stupid for coming out here alone, especially when you're not even paying attention to what's going on around you."

"I know." Sango said quietly, not even looking at him.

Her response, however small, caused him to sit up and look at her curiously. He had expected her to get upset and yell at him for calling her stupid. He frowned slightly, now was not the time for her to get depressed again. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he had the chance to, Sango spoke again.

"You know... I wonder..." And she trailed off, once again falling silent.

Above, a few clouds floated in front of the moon, casting the area around them in darkness. Inuyasha could smell moisture in the air; it would be raining the next day. But, at the moment, that didn't matter. He was more concerned about what Sango had started to say.

"You wonder..." He prodded after a moment of silence, curious to know what she was going to say.

The taijiya shook her head slightly. At the time, she had nearly forgotten it was Inuyasha who was there. Usually, it was Miroku or Kagome to come talk to her, and with them, she could talk freely. Not that she couldn't talk freely with Inuyasha, but Inuyasha, she knew, was one who tended to avoid subjects that dealt with how someone felt. Though, hearing him urge her to go on, she decided to just continue on, "I wonder... what Kohaku's doing now. Now that he's back with Naraku again..."

"Probably what he did before Naraku faked his death." He replied, "But don't worry, Sango, we will get him back. And, like Miroku said, Kohaku did call you 'ane-ue', so there's still hope." He glanced to the slayer, before turning his attention to the sky. Usually he wouldn't have said anything. Had it been Miroku or Kagome, or even Shippou in Sango's place, he would've just let someone else talk to them. But with Sango, he felt a sort of connection with her. He knew what she was going through more than any of the others. And she, in turn, knew what he was going through with Kikyou.

Sango nodded and managed to smile a little, "I know... Thank you."

After that, both warriors were quiet for a while. This time, it was Sango to break the silence. Something had been on her mind the whole day. Something, that she didn't even know why she was thinking about it. "Inuyasha?" She asked quietly, turning to look at him.

Inuyasha turned to her, raising an eyebrow in the process; a silent way of asking 'what?'.

And, at the same moment, the clouds drifted passed the moon, giving the surrounding area its ghostly, moonlight glow back. The moonlight reflected off of Inuyasha's golden eyes, making them glow much like a normal cat's eyes would.

'Beautiful...' Sango thought, smiling slightly as she looked at the hanyou. She blinked, then shook her head slightly, surprised by her own thoughts. This was Inuyasha. Inuyasha was in love with Kagome. Or Kikyou. Or... one of them. The moonlight was playing tricks on her, she thought, trying to make up any excuse for her previous thought. She shook her head again and stood up, intending to return to the campsite before she ended up embarrassing herself, "Nothing. Forget it, Inuyasha."

"No." He said, grabbing her wrist before she could leave, "What were you going to say?"

She turned her head away from him, "Nothing. It was stupid."

"Let me decide if it was stupid or not." He replied, standing up but not releasing his hold on her, "If you were going to ask me something, then ask."

"Just forget it!" She replied, turning to him again, "It's not even worth mentioning."

"It had to be worth mentioning, or you would've have started to say anything." He said, becoming more and more curious by the moment, "I'm staying out here until you tell me what you were going to say!"

"You can't do that!" She said, frustrated. 'Why did I even have to start this?' She asked herself, glaring at the hanyou. Though, as Inuyasha only shrugged and smirked, she gave up and sighed, "Fine! Did you mean what you said earlier?"

The hanyou blinked, trying to think of what she meant, before asking, "What'd I say?"

"If you can't remember, then don't worry about it." She said, hoping she had found a way out of the situation.

But he proved that he wasn't going to let this go so easily, "Sango, I can stay out here all night if I have to. I'm not leaving until I know what you mean. I've said a lot of things today, how am I supposed to know what 'thing' you mean?"

The taijiya closed her eyes for a moment, silently cursing herself, before finally saying, "After we got out of Kaguya's castle. When Houshi-sama tried... you said that you didn't want that to happen." She paused for a few seconds, her eyes on Inuyasha's face, looking at his reaction. Seeing realization dawning on him, she continued, "Did you mean that? Would you have let Kagome-chan kiss you, if you would have had a choice in the matter?"

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, as he realized just what it was she was talking about. He loosened his grip on her wrist, but didn't let go, as he blinked and tried to think of an answer, "Ah... eh... why do... you... want to know?" He asked slowly, his gaze shifting from her face, to the trees, and back again, "Did Kagome put you up to this? If she did--"

"No, Kagome-chan didn't have anything to do with this, Inuyasha." Sango said, interrupting him, "I just want to know."

"Well, why do you want to know?"

"You answer my questions first, then I'll tell you why."

"I don't have to tell you shit! But I have a right to know why you want to know something like that."

"If you don't have to tell me, then I don't have to tell you either!"

Their arguing continued for another few minutes; each warrior proving that they were just as stubborn as the other. But Sango's patience soon grew thin.

"Fine!" She shouted, bringing an end to their arguments, "I want to know because--"

"Sango! Inuyasha! What's all the yelling?" Shippou asked frantically, bursting out of the trees and scurrying to them, "I came to look for you because we were getting worried, and I heard you guys yelling. There aren't any demons nearby, are there?"

"Everything's fine!" Inuyasha half growled, angry about being interrupted just when he was about to find out the reason for Sango's questions, "There aren't any demons nearby, and we're just talking. Go back to the others."

The kitsune looked up at them, his green eyes blinking for a moment. Then a large, mischievous grin spread across his face, "Oh, I get it Inuyasha! You and Sango want to be alone? Alright then." He said, turning to walk back to the others.

Inuyasha immediately turned after him though, "O-oi! That's not what I meant, you brat!"

Shippou looked back and, seeing Inuyasha about to grab him, began running, "Kagome! Inuyasha's being mean to me! I just wanted..." And his voice trailed off, becoming just a low murmur as he arrived back at the campsite.

"Perfect..." Inuyasha muttered, rolling his eyes and starting to jog back towards the campsite. Though, seeing Sango wasn't moving, he stopped and turned back towards her, "Aren't you coming?"

"Of course." She replied, nodding slightly, "I'll be there in a minute." She added, turning to look into the night sky once more.

Inuyasha looked at her for a moment, before turning and disappearing into the tree-line. He was still wanting to know why Sango had asked those questions. And if she thought she was getting off that easily, she was wrong.

Sango waited until she couldn't hear Inuyasha's footsteps anymore, then sighed and looked down. "I want to know... because I think I'm jealous." She said, once he was out of earshot.

Or at least, she thought he was.

----------

An: Dun dun DUN! Did Inuyasha hear her? Or not? You'll have to wait and see.

Yes, I know, I really REALLY don't need to start a new story. But, much like 'Once the Dust Settles', this idea will not leave me alone. It hit me after I saw the second movie, so I had to write. That's... three stories I'm working on currently. Oh boy...