(Sorry the huge delay, I've had a lot going on right now. Life problems and computer problems have kept me back, but finally I got this out.)
His head was pounding like crazy when he started to regain consciousness. It was a deep, sort of drum like sound that repeated over and over. He realized that he was lying down somewhere, and he felt a warm wet sensation on his forehead. He opened his eyes to see Kagome kneeling over him, holding a sponge on his forehead.
"Sento! You're awake!" She exclaimed happily.
"Yeah, but I'm not feeling all that great." He mumbled. The drum like sound finally left his mind, leaving him some room to think.
"I'm just glad you finally woke up, we were worried for a second."
Sento thought about the situation for the moment, "Wait, what happened?"
"After you ran off we went looking for you. Inuyasha found you by the river with that Montsumo guy and the slayer."
Montsumo I remember now, he's alive! "Inuyasha saved me?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, the two nearly got him but he pull through in the end!" Inuyasha saved me, I can believe it. Even after the fight we had he still went looking for me...
A few minutes later Sento asked Kagome the question that had been on his mind for a long time, and the thing that started the whole mess. "Kagome, do you think I'm weak?" He asked quietly.
"What? Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea?" She took the sponge off his forehead and gave him a confused look.
"When me and Inuyasha were fighting, you said not to pick on the weak..."
"Oh don't get worried about that! Inuyasha's a half demon, you're only human! Anyway you're one of the strongest human's I know! Remember when you beat up that demon that tried to eat us?"
"Yeah." He smiled. A wave of relief washed over him thanks to her answer, she didn't think he was weak. He still had a chance with her.
"Is the idiot finally up?" An all too familiar voice asked.
"Hello Inuyasha." Sento said to him. He looked up to see the half demon standing in the entrance of the hut.
"All I get is a hello for saving you're sorry ass? Those two would have killed you; they even did a number on me." He said, motioning to his shoulder wounds.
"Actually, I believe I had a large part to play in this." Myoga spoke from Inuyasha's shoulder. "I did suck the poison from your body, and I led the others to your position."
"Yeah I guess I gotta thank you there buddy, but you're still a coward!" He brushed him off his shoulder.
"I have to go check on the others; you should get some rest in the meantime." Kagome stood and left the hut, leaving Inuyasha and Sento alone.
Sento sat up, "You know Inuyasha," he smiled at him, "I would have beaten you in that fight if Kagome hadn't interrupted it."
"Oh get real, a human like you? Please..." He turned and left the tent, Sento continued to smile at him as he left. Thank you Inuyasha.
The next night Sango and Kagome had gone out to the hot springs to relax, leaving the men alone.
"You healed up enough to travel Miroku?" Inuyasha asked him.
"Not quite, it will take at least another day." He replied, the half demon groaned.
Sento stood up and stretched his arms, "Well, I think I'm gonna go for a walk." He began to exit the hut.
"You mean peep on Kagome? If you go anywhere near that hot springs I'll really make you bedridden!" Inuyasha stopped him.
"I wouldn't dream of it..."
He pushed aside some pushes to try and get a better view. He looked down to see Sango and Kagome in the hot springs below. He smiled as he continued to watch them.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his should and nearly jumped off the cliff he was on. He looked over to see Miroku, his arm still bandaged. "I must say, you did pick a nice spot. Although I'd say the area over there would be nicer, you would probably get a much better view."
Sento just gave him an odd look and looked back down. "You really scared me there; I thought you were Inu-"
He was suddenly yanked upwards by the back of his shirt; Inuyasha gave him a disgusted look. "I knew you'd try something like this, you're as bad as Miroku..."
There was a sudden movement below, "Did you hear something?" Kagome aksed.
"Probably just Miroku!"Sango threw a large rock up at the cliff they were standing on. It flew past both Miroku and Sento, and hit Inuyasha square in the face.
"Aw, damit!" He quickly dropped Sento.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, instantly recognizing his voice. "Trying to peep on us? You perv!" She too threw a rock at him.
He screamed in pain then yelled down, "It wasn't me, I swear! It was Sento and Miroku, I was just-ah!"
Both Miroku and Sento sneaked off while Inuyasha desperately tried to prove himself innocent. "That was close." Sento sighed. He heard another yell from behind.
"Indeed, they nearly caught us. But I suppose that's enough peeping for one day, I'm going to bed."
"Alright, I think I'll actually go take a walk, its nice tonight." The two waved each other off and went their separate ways. Miroku to the village and Sento towards the small forest.
The nearly full moon glistened above him, illuminating the ground and giving him some light to see. It truly was a beautiful night, with the sky filled up with endless amounts of stars. He almost didn't realize where he was going until he ended up deep in the forest.
Suddenly he heard the cracking of twig s nearby and he reached for his sword. However he cursed when he realized he left it back at the village. All he could do was watch, as whatever this thing was circled him.
"Hello there, Sento." A voice spoke from the darkness.
"Who's there?" He asked back, he looked for a figure but found nothing but black.
"That does not matter, all that matters is my message. You're from the Renzin tribe to the north, correct?"
"Yes..." He replied slowly.
"Well, it would be best if you went and checked on them. The enemy recently circled them and could use all the help they can get."
Sento thought for a moment before asking, "Who are you?"once more.
"Let's just say, a friend." And for one instant, Sento caught sight of something in the darkness. A single image, a white baboon's mask. It was quickly gone, and had him wondering if it was even there at all.
As he walked back through the silent night he wondered about his little encounter. "Who was that? It's not like I was ever that close with anybody back at the village." He also thought about the mask, but after a few minutes of walking he disregarded it and thought it must have been his imagination.
"What? Who said this?" Inuyasha asked, as soon as he entered the hut he told all of them about his encounter.
"I have no clue, I didn't see him."
"Do you think it could be a trap?" Miroku asked.
"Probably, it's best if we just forget about it." Inuyasha said.
"We can't! Those are Sento's people, if we have a chance to help them we should!" Kagome urged.
"It's just a waste of time! We should be hunting jewel shards!"
"Insensitive, stupid jerk!"
"Stop!" Sento shouted, they both stopped talking. "I decided to abandon my past and leave it be when I met you guys, but maybe I should go. I need to end this, leave it behind for good after this. It would mean a lot to me if we could go."
There was a moment of silence which Inuyuasha soon broke. "Fine, I guess we could go. Who knows, we may even find a jewel shard on the way!"
"But what about Miroku? He can't travel." Kagome asked.
"It's okay, by noon tomorrow I'll probably been well enough." Miroku reassured her.
"It's settled then, we leave for my village tomorrow!"
Sleep did not come easy for Sento, all night the terrible beating continued. The rhythmic drums continued to beat over and over again. He couldn't tell what was wrong with him, maybe Montsumo just hit him a little too hard on the head. Anyway sleep eventually came, he didn't dream that night.
In the morning the sun rose as usual. They all bustled about getting their things ready, Miroku still lay asleep. Not until noon did he wake up, and they finally left the village. They said their goodbyes to Kaede and went on their way.
Elsewhere.
"You fled rather fast." Naraku said.
"Of course I did! He was about to use the Wind Scar on me, it nearly killed me last time!" Montsumo roared.
"But now you have the jewel shards, you shouldn't be afraid of him."
"I'm not afraid of him; I just don't want to get ripped to shreds!"
"Well, we can fix that. Another jewel shard should do the trick..."