She'd never tell that she was in love.

She knows she shouldn't be. After all, he's arrogant and rash, more animal than man half of the time, but despite - or perhaps it's because of - the nature of those faults, his good points are made all the more obvious. He's brave and confident, extremely loyal - to both his tribe, and to the woman he loves. That itself is strange since the Yourouzoku aren't particularly known to have a fondness for humans (disregarding their fondness for eating humans), but that's also a testament to the loyalty he holds for her.

It's also the reason she'd never admit her feelings. It isn't shame or fear that keeps her silent, but the simple fact that he's already completely and utterly enamored with someone else: Kagome, one of her dearest friends.

She can't hold that against him - she knows far too well that you can't help who you fall in love with - just as she can't hold it against Kagome, since you can't help who falls in love with you. Even so, whenever the wolf prince comes blowing into the area, offering the schoolgirl his most charming smiles and ignoring everyone else (save Inuyasha, whom he trades insults with), she can't help the bubbling of jealousy that rises within her.

Usually it's easy enough to ignore, since he's usually gone within a few minutes of his arrival, once he's satisfied that "his woman" is safe and unharmed.

It isn't quite as easy when he comes to them on the night of the new moon.

Inuyasha's even more put off by his arrival than usual, for obvious reasons, but Kouga ignores the hanyou's biting comments and simply plants himself by Kagome's side.

"Someone's gotta look after my woman tonight," the wolf says, giving the girl a charming smile (and she positively hates herself for bristling when she sees her friend blush in response).

Everyone is on edge after that - the new moon has always been a cause of tension and unease due to the temporary transformation the already temperamental hanyou undergoes, but Kouga's presence only makes everything worse. Not that Kouga himself seems too worried about that - he's perfectly happy sitting next to Kagome (and she's never seen him smile brighter than he does when the futuristic miko lets him hold her hand), and even Kagome seems oddly content.

When it's time to sleep, at least for everyone except Inuyasha, she sets herself up and alternates between watching Inuyasha glance impatiently at the sky, and watching Kouga and Kagome speak quietly to one another. It's only when the schoolgirl starts drifting off to sleep herself - leaning against Kouga's shoulder, no less - that she finally turns away and lays down herself.

Jealousy is such a horrible, finicky thing.

By the time morning comes, her mood has only soured. She can get by on little sleep, so it's not the lack of sleep that bothers her - it's the reason she couldn't sleep well. It wasn't because of Inuyasha - she's far too used to the nervous fidgeting and angry mumbles that fill the night whenever there's a new moon. Rather, it was because of Kouga and Kagome - they didn't speak once Kagome had drifted off, but the content smile on the wolf's face as he held the girl (because at some point during the night, he had turned to lean back against a tree and Kagome had curled against his chest) speak volumes as far as she is concerned.

She watches, irritated, as Kagome gives him an almost shy looking smile once she wakes up and eases away from him. As the others awaken as well, Shippou sleepily asks about breakfast, but when Kagome turns back to Kouga, she instead asks if he'll stay with them for a while (something she's taken to asking him every time he comes around nowadays). Kouga smiles (why, why does he always smile for her?) but shakes his head, saying he's got to get back to Ginta and Hakkaku, and that it's too dangerous for him to stay with her right now. He promises to come back soon, to check on her and to just see her, and for once, it's Kagome who initiates a parting hug as she wraps her arms around him.

As he prepares to dash off again, he throws one more glance back to everyone. She's almost eager for him to go (almost being the keyword), but then his sapphire gaze lands on her, and her heart starts pounding when he pauses. He raises an eyebrow as though he's seeing her for the first time, and she wants to be - would be - offended (they've fought and traveled together during the rare occasion that he decides to stick with them for a bit, so it's not like they've never met, even if they don't usually interact), but then he gives her an easy sort of grin, and that brief burst of anger vanishes.

"You're pretty cute, aren't you?" he says, and then he's gone, vanishing into a whirlwind of dirt, leaves, and pebbles.

She isn't naïve enough to read too much into the comment. She knows that his heart belongs to Kagome, and that the comment was probably only a result of him being in a good mood from having spent the night close to her, but... that knowledge isn't enough to keep the warmth from her chest, nor is it enough to keep her mood from brightening considerably.

"Kirara?"

Sango's voice brings her out of her thoughts, and the fire-cat looks up, tilting her head curiously.

"Why do you look so happy?" her mistress wonders, as she crouches down to scratch her ears.

Kirara merely mews her response and leans eagerly into the woman's touch.

As for why she was so happy, well, that's something she'd never tell.

AN: I honestly have no idea where this came from, but I hope it was still enjoyable.