Disclaimer: See first chapter.

ANs:
1. Sorry about that – Hiruka is 17 and Izumi is 15.
2. To Sesshy-fan: It will be about Sesshoumaru, Kagome and Rin eventually. However, I prefer to have everyone involved in the story rather than just the central characters, so there may be some very mild InuKag in the beginning as well as some MirSan sprinkled throughout.
3. This chapter is shorter than the others and contains only a minute amount of Sesshoumaru unfortunately *pouts* It's necessary for the plot to continue, though. And anyone who likes MirSan should get some enjoyment out of this one, as well.

Purity: Chapter Four

In the flickering firelight, Kagome studied Hiruka and Izumi in turn, trying to untangle her thoughts. For as long as she could remember talking had helped to resolve the unclear ramblings that sometimes occurred to her- and it was this that prompted her to break the thoughtful silence that pervaded the small hut.

"So, Hiruka, where are your parents?" Kagome inquired politely, aware that this could be an uncomfortable topic for the girls. After all, if their parents were alive, surely they would be here?

Hiruka's face remained open and unguarded, though her eyes fell and she bit her lip as though trying to gather her thoughts. "They died when we were little. Grandpa raised us," Here she sent an affectionate glance in the old man's direction. "We haven't missed out on much; he's been wonderful. Haven't you gramps?"

"Huh? Oh. Just doing my duty, 'sides you two weren't exactly difficult children," Grandpa smiled dotingly at Hiruka

Kagome's heart clenched painfully as thoughts of her own grandfather sprung to mind. She worried about him every now and then - he was getting awfully old and she didn't want to miss out on the time she had left with him. Not that she'd had much choice in the matter over the past few years. Maybe next time we're in Edo I can head home for a few days. Spend some time with Gramps and Mom and Souta. Not like I have any classes or friends back there to devote any time to. That was still a bitter note with her; the past had stolen her future. Shaking off her abrupt melancholy, Kagome sent a sympathetic look to Hiruka and Izumi. Poor girls; losing both their parents. The miko suppressed the urge to press for more information on their deaths. Not my business.

Dinner was quiet that night, with everyone lost in their own thoughts. Shippou sat close by Kagome, intensely aware of the heavy atmosphere but not entirely sure why everyone was so silent.

After their meal the girls' grandfather stood and collected everyone's bowls, shuffling off to pile them near the door, ready to be washed in the morning.

"I'm afraid we don't have bedding available for everyone, so some of you will have to sleep on the floor," He apologised.

Inuyasha stood and stretched, yawning while he did so. "I'll sleep outside; I prefer it anyway."

Kagome flashed the hanyou an appreciative smile; it was true he didn't mind sleeping outside, but he generally preferred to be with the group. Inuyasha ignored her smile, though his back did straighten as he walked out, waving a nonchalant hand in goodnight.

Kagome turned back to the old man. "I have a sleeping bag, so Sango and Miroku can take the last tatami." The miko sent her friends a cheeky grin and began to unpack her bag.

Sango glared at Kagome fiercely, apparently trying to incinerate the girl through the raw power of her gaze. The miko shrugged innocently.

Kagome chanced a look at Miroku and – at his deviously thoughtful expression - felt a brief stab of guilt as she imagined of the sheer amount of groping she had just condemned Sango to. It faded quickly though; after all, it was currently her greatest goal in life to get the two to admit their feelings for one another.

"I'm gonna go to sleep now. 'Night guys," With one final smirk over her shoulder Kagome tugged Shipou into her arms and snuggled down in her sleeping bag.

Sango sighed heavily and moved over a little further on the mat she and Miroku were sharing. The girls' grandpa had given them a suspicious look when Kagome pulled her little stunt, but had evidently been too grateful for their help earlier to inquire about their marital status. As though Kagome's attitude didn't give it away, anyway.

The cold night air hit Sango's exposed arm and leg and she shivered. No way I'm moving closer to the houshi, though! Damn fur hog! She silently cursed Kagome's interfering and resigned herself to an uncomfortable night avoiding Miroku's wandering hands. Not that he'd attempted anything yet, but that just made the taijiya more on edge. He must be waiting until I've become complacent so he can gain better access. That thought prompted Sango to inch even further away from the monk, until she was lying half on the floor. A deep sigh came from her right and she could feel Miroku moving about. She braced herself to smack him harder than he'd ever been smacked before. Until she felt the furs they were sleeping under being shifted over her shoulders and his arms sliding around her, pulling her bodily back onto the mat before letting go. "I'm not going to do anything to you, Sango. I promise, for tonight, no groping, no rubbing, no fondling of any kind. Good night, Sango." Miroku murmured before rolling away and giving her back her self-imposed space.

Sango lay stunned for a moment before the memory of his arms around her interrupted her non-thoughts. A slow smile spread its way over her face and the taijiya pulled the furs closer around her, letting herself imagine that their weighty warmth was Miroku holding her. She gradually drifted off to sleep with a gentle happiness softening her often battle-hard features.

Morning came swiftly, the sun peeking around the heavy waterproofed door-curtain and sending long fingers of warm golden light creeping across the floor. Kagome stirred first for once, yawning, stretching and gently extracting herself from Shippou's grasp with the absolute minimum amount of noise possible. As soon as she had freed herself from the confines of her sleeping bag, the miko glanced around until her eyes settled on Sango and Miroku. A delighted grin split her face and she was holding her stomach, trying to repress the laughter that bubbled up as she sneak-sprinted from the hut.

Sango shifted slightly, trying to move her still-closed eyes out of the lone bar of sunlight that stretched over her face. While doing so she gradually became aware of the delicious warmth that cocooned her small frame. What?

Cracking her eyes reluctantly the taijiya came to a startling realization; she was lying half across her perverted monk companion. Somehow in the night one of her legs had thrown itself across his, her head had made its way onto his chest and his arm around her shoulders. Breathing very shallowly, Sango began to inch away from Miroku, retracting her leg while trying to sneak out from under his arm at the same time. She happened to glance at his face in the middle of her attempted escape and noted his enormous grin. Jumping away from him, Sango glared at the now fully awake monk.

"Why did you just lie there? Why not open your eyes so I didn't have to go through that whole embarrassing 'sneaking away' routine?" Sango snapped, eyes narrowed.

Miroku shifted a little and rolled onto his side, propping his head on hand. "What? And make you pull away even quicker? I was busy, anyway." He grinned unrepentantly.

Sango eyed him warily. "Busy doing what?"

"Savouring the moment. It's not every day that I get to wake up beside a beautiful woman, you know."

The taijiya recoiled a little, torn between being flattered and hurt. A beautiful woman? Not me in particular. Sango shook her head, angry with herself. I know the houshi's a lecherous womanizer! Why do I let myself feel these stupid, pointless emotions when I know he's never going to change?

Sango stood abruptly and fled the small hut, relieved when the cool morning air hit her face, helping to cleanse all traces of emotion from her expression. One thought resonated through her head. Get over it.

Miroku frowned and stood quickly, running through that little exchange in his mind, frantically trying to find where he had gone wrong. He quickly gave up and sprinted after her.

"Sango! Sango, wait! I'm sorry," Miroku called, huffing as he slowed and planted himself in the taijiya's path.

Sango's face was hard and emotionless as she looked up at the monk's confused face, but her eyes had softened. He has no idea why I'm upset. "It's okay Miroku. You don't need to apologise. It's not that sort of issue."

Miroku became, if possible, even more confused at that. "What do you mean, 'not that sort of issue'? If I can't even apologise for whatever it is, what am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing! Miroku, you can't fix this and… It's not even a big deal, so just forget it, okay? I'm fine, you're fine… Everything's fine!" Sango marched past the bewildered monk, a little ashamed for having been so short with him.

Miroku turned and watched Sango leave, utterly nonplussed. What was that?

Kagome hummed happily as she filled the water skins the group would need for the day, eager to get moving. I don't care what Inuyasha says, I'm going home for a little while to see grandpa. I mean, it's not like I'm needed at the moment; the jewel is gone and so is Naraku, so he really doesn't have any reason to keep me here. She carefully packed the newly filled hide bottles into her bag and began to stand when Sango wandered over, looking lost and a bit dishevelled.

"Hey Sango, are you okay?" Kagome asked carefully, letting the wide yellow straps of her bag fall from her hands.

Sango nodded silently, her face taut with unhappiness.

"Jeeze, what did Miroku do? I thought… I mean, everything looked fine when I got up this morning."

The taijiya nodded again, swallowing heavily. "Yeah, everything was fine."

"So? What happened?"

Sango reluctantly let Kagome draw the story out of her in bits and pieces, until the miko stood there, frowning at her.

"I know how you feel, Sango, but… I don't think Miroku meant it like that. He seems like a total flake and a lecher sometimes - or all the time - but you have to remember; he's had several opportunities over the last four years to leave the group or to go sleep with some girl or other but he hasn't, has he? He's stayed with us - stayed with you - even when he had the chance to leave. I think maybe you should look at his actions before letting yourself get worked up over his words. And, hey, he called you beautiful didn't he?" Kagome grinned and began to heave her pack onto her back, grateful when Sango jumped to help.

"I guess…" The taijiya frowned. Am I really making something out of nothing?

"Is everyone ready to go?" Inuyasha yelled impatiently over the hum of Izumi, Hiruka and Kagome chattering. The three girls went quiet and Kagome nodded to Inuyasha before returning to her conversation. The girls were unmistakably nervous about leaving their home and the miko was trying to distract them from their uncertainty.

Miroku moved to stand with Inuyasha while Sango hovered between the two groups, finally deciding to drop back and listen to Kagome's continuous monologue.

Hiruka and Izumi broke away from Kagome to say their farewells to their grandfather, the older girl coming back with tears glimmering in her eyes. On impulse, the miko pulled them both into a hug before calling Shippou. The young kitsune bounced over willingly, jumping into Kagome's arms.

Kagome bent close to her kit's ear, "Hiruka and Izumi are sad because they're leaving their grandpa behind, do you mind letting them cuddle you for a while, Shippou?"

Shippou nodded seriously, obviously taking this duty to heart. "Okay."

"Thanks, Shippou." The miko gently passed the youngster over to Hiruka who immediately smiled a little through her sniffling and began tickling him.

Izumi turned dry eyes on Kagome and stepped closer to the miko. "Do you know how long it will take to travel to Edo, Kagome?"

"Uh, I'm not too sure-" Kagome began but Sango interrupted quietly.

"About five days."

Izumi nodded, "Ok, thanks." The girl returned to Hiruka's side and petted Shippou pensively.

Kagome fell into step beside Sango, very aware of the taijiya's dark, thoughtful mood.

"Lord Sesshoumaru? When will Jaken be joining us?" Rin broke the comfortable silence that had persisted for the last hour in their little group. The girl was bored. She loved her Sesshoumaru-sama beyond anything else in the world, but he wasn't exactly the most entertaining person most of the time. Not that Jaken was, either, but at least he could be provoked into conversation. Or berating her at the very least, which would almost be welcome at this point.

Sesshoumaru glanced at his ward wonderingly. He was, honestly, having more than a little difficulty imagining her being capable of purifying an ant, let alone a demon. A mistake, perhaps? No… Hideo is unlikely to make such an error. Still…

"I do not know, for sure, Rin. Perhaps in a few days time."

Rin nodded quietly and returned to her previous activity; counting the scales on Ah-Un's neck. Two hundred and ninety-three…

That's all for now, let me know your thoughts! =D -Savari