DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: This author has no financial or non-financial relation nor do they possess any right to "Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale" franchise. Full ownership of all characters is the sole intellectual property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 8

The Cursed Ink of the Hell-Painter

If there was something to be said about Miroku, it was that he was a damn good scam artist. These past few months had been filled with stays at inns, lots of free food and many cash advance payments for work that didn't even need to be done. Tonight, for example, each of them had their own room, had been fed a very rich supper and all they had to do was make sure nothing attacked the fortress while the lord's daughter gave birth. Supposedly, there'd been a few sporadic attacks by both bandits and demons recently – enough for the lord to immediately believe there was, in fact, an ominous presence cursing them. Kagome wanted to care that all of this was a giant scam but given the rain, freezing cold and general misery that would've awaited them had they camped outside, she honestly had no complaints.

Inuyasha had though but that was only because the others had insisted he stay in his room, by himself, for propriety sake to which he had said 'screw that' and plopped down in Kagome's room refusing to budge. Normally he had no issue with keeping his distance from Kagome in foreign villages as being discovered and her getting hurt as a result wasn't a risk he wanted to take but for whatever reason, he didn't care today.

"You really need to go back to your room. It's getting late," Kagome hummed as she turned another page of her textbook.

"I'm fine here," Inuyasha huffed as he leaned up against the wall with his sword across his lap. While Miroku was usually full of shit and there typically wasn't an ominous presence to be felt, this place felt different. It felt familiar.

And Inuyasha hated anything that felt familiar anymore. Made him nervous and think he'd done something wrong. Something that had set them all down the same path as before and Kagome was the only thing that helped him stay sane.

"You going to tell me why you're upset at being here?" Kagome asked casually as she turned another page and continued reading, "Or are you just going to sit there in sullen silence?"

Smirking, Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he effortlessly got to his feet and moved to sit beside her – one hand absently stroking her thigh as he mulled over his answer.

"Just feel like I've been here before," he replied quietly, "Can't place it though."

"And it has nothing to do with the new moon tomorrow?" Kagome hummed and Inuyasha blushed.

"That too," he admitted, "But you and I can leave and go somewhere else for that if the bitch hasn't popped by then."

"Can you smell if she's close?" Kagome asked curiously and Inuyasha sighed.

"It'll probably be tomorrow night," he admitted wearily, "Unless something changes between now and then."

"Well, most likely nothing will attack, and we can just stay in here," she offered and Inuyasha sighed before pulling her into his lap and holding her close.

"I'd agree with you, but I know…I know something happened here," he mumbled, "Maybe…maybe Miroku remembers."

"Do you want me to go ask?" Kagome hummed as she leaned back into him and Inuyasha shook his head as his arms tightened around her waist.

"No, not right now. We can ask in the morning," Inuyasha mumbled as he rested his chin atop her shoulder and glanced down at her textbook, "What're you studying anyway?"

"Biology," Kagome murmured as she tilted her head so their cheeks touched, "The study of the human body more or less."

"Anything in there about demons?" he asked curiously, and Kagome shook her head.

"There aren't demons in my time," she hummed before making a face, "Well, except the soul piper was there so maybe they just all stay hidden and I just don't know."

"Wonder if I'm still around," he mumbled tiredly as he felt his muscles relax from the warmth and scent from her proximity, "You know, if we win this time."

"You'd be old," Kagome teased and Inuyasha shrugged.

"S'long as I'm with you s'fine," he mumbled as his eyelids began to droop as the arms around her waist dropped slightly.

"Is that possible? For me to live that long?"

It had recently become a concern of hers that she would outlive him. Why it only recently bothered her she wasn't sure but better late than never. Especially given how he'd already lost her once and from the sounds of things, fell to pieces over it. Was still falling to pieces even though he had been given a second chance. The ever-present anxiety he had over potentially losing her again was almost tangible.

"If I can get sent back in time, don't see why not," he hummed dismissively before clearing his throat and shaking his head to clear the drowsiness away, "Anyway, so biology is the study of humans?"

"Yes and no. Its the structure of all things. Like…like things called cells and stuff. How bodies are built," Kagome tried lamely as she shifted her hips into a more comfortable position before sighing heavily, "We need to go to bed soon though. It's getting late."

"Are you…are you saying you want me to go?" Inuyasha asked quietly as his heart sank, "I just…I wanted some time alone with…"

"No. No it's not that at all," Kagome reassured him as she leaned her head back to kiss his cheek, "If you want you can stay here. I doubt anyone will come looking for you."

Breathing in relief, Inuyasha squeezed her lightly and buried his nose in her neck.

"And I know you haven't been sleeping as much since Miroku joined us, so I want to make sure you actually, ya know, sleep," Kagome added knowingly as she lightly stroked his arm and leaned back into his embrace, "Want to tell me why you've been having trouble?"

Inuyasha blushed but didn't answer. Honestly, now that everyone was together, the pressure to make sure they all survived made it hard to relax at all. It seemed like with every step forward there was about a hundred steps back. Somehow with very little effort on their part the jewel was almost complete. Equally bizarre, there hadn't been any sign of Naraku which had Inuyasha constantly on edge. Every sudden noise sent him into a panic that, once again, Naraku would appear out of seemingly nowhere and kill them all. If he was still around, that is, which was an issue all and to itself. The only reason any of them thought Naraku fully capable of controlling it. No Kagura. No Kanna. No dozen or so other incarnations that caused problems. There were no rumors even…

It didn't make sense. None of it did. With each passing day, Inuyasha felt like he was slowly slipping into madness and the only thing anchoring him in sanity was Kagome. Today had been especially trying too. A loud explosion nearly had him turning full demon when his survival instinct rushed to the forefront and nearly overpowered him. If Kagome hadn't been the stupid bitch she was and cupped his face in her hands, who knew what would've happened?

And what could've been the end of everything turned out to be just some stupid ogres bickering amongst themselves. They didn't even notice, much less care, about the people who came to investigate. Didn't care they almost caused someone to turn and kill everyone he cared about…

"Just a lot going on," Inuyasha sighed as he straightened up and cricked his neck while Kagome set down her textbook and made to get up.

"Well, it is getting late," Kagome sighed and Inuyasha hummed as he began shrugging off the top of his fire rat then flopped his back with a soft smile, "Go change and come back here."

Kagome rolled her eyes as she deposited her textbook into her backpack and rifled through the ten-ton monstrosity for her pajamas. Maybe it was a little risky letting him stay but Inuyasha needed some time to relax. Nearly everything made Inuyasha nervous anymore and he was so high strung it was a miracle he hadn't had a stroke yet. As it was, he was getting headaches – which she tried to alleviate whenever she got a chance. Letting him rest his head in her lap while she massaged his temple and scalp. Anyone who didn't know him would assume the scowl and narrowed eyes was just his usual expression, but it was the occasional wince when the others were talking and the hand that came up to press against the soft spots on his forehead when he thought no one was looking that gave him away. Kagome was sure not sleeping was making those stress headaches worse and he did always seem to sleep more soundly by her side.

Finished and changed, she came back and Inuyasha sighed in relief when she nudged his head up and began messaging the base on his neck and in turn, his claws reached up to gently trail up and down her arm with the lightest of pressure. It never ceased to amaze him how she just knew things. Knew how to calm him. How to comfort him. How to help him relax. To sleep. To breathe. Like now…with each gentle knead he felt his consciousness ebb and the tension in his muscles melt away.

"I'm gunna fall asleep if you keep doing that," he mumbled as his head lolled to rest his cheek on her thigh.

"That's the point," she cooed. Fingertips still gently caressing her arm, Inuyasha nodded before sighing contentedly when her fingers moved to squeeze his shoulders before fanning out onto his chest. Quiet moments like this had been rare lately. Just him and her doing nothing important. By themselves. It was nice.

"Where do you think we'll live? After all of this I mean," Kagome asked quietly as her fingers began trailing back up his neck and Inuyasha blushed faintly.

"Together you mean?" he asked as his blush deepened, "I…I haven't really thought about it."

"The meadow by the well is big enough. And I mean, if we're done collecting jewel shards by the end of the year I might as well drop out of school. You know, just stay here full time," she opined thoughtfully and Inuyasha felt a little sick. Just because Naraku wasn't a big player this time didn't mean he wasn't out there. Waiting for the right moment to swoop in and get the jewel. Maybe that was his plan. Wait for it to be completed and then kill everyone. Probably would wait until the most painful moment to do it.

"It's getting late," Inuyasha mumbled as he pushed himself up to a sitting position and cleared his throat, "And I know you'll be useless tomorrow until you get some rest."

Sighing, Kagome scooted closer before wrapping her arms around his chest and giving him a light awkward squeeze.

"What're you doing?" Inuyasha laughed softly as he glanced over his shoulder, "Stop it."

Kagome only squeezed harder and tried to use her body weight to get him to topple over. Which in hindsight was an impossible task. Sure, there were occasions that he let her do things, but he was a hundred times stronger than her and if he didn't want to be moved, there was no way someone like her could do it.

And the bemused twinkle in his eye made it clear he was doing his subtle best to remain stationary – biting his lips to keep the shit-eating grin in check and watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"Just. Lay. Down," Kagome huffed as she readjusted her hold and pulled harder. For the hell of it, he relaxed and let her move him slightly before locking his muscles back into place.

"Let. Me. Comfort. You," she chided playfully as she got her legs into it and Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her feeble attempts.

"I'm starting to think you don't know what that word means," he snickered before suddenly complying and flopping back to knock the wind right out of her. It's true what they say. It's all fun and game until someone gets hurt. As Kagome gasped painfully for air, Inuyasha absolutely panicked as his improving mood quickly took a nosedive.

"Shit," he breathed as he effortlessly flipped onto all fours and cradled her rasping form, "Are you okay? I didn't…"

"S'fine," she coughed as she gave him a bemused strained smile, "You…need…to…loose…some…weight…though…"

Inuyasha immediately dropped her with a scoff.

"You sayin' I'm fat?" he clipped back in mock offense and Kagome grinned despite still panting rather heavily.

"You…do…eat…a lot of…ramen," she rasped playfully, "It's catching up…up to you."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror as he glanced down at himself.

"You serious?"

"Of course…" Kagome had to pause to clear her throat, "Of course not."

Poking his stomach experimentally, he frowned slightly before glaring up at her.

"That wasn't funny," he hissed as he raised a single brow and Kagome had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"Was a little," she hummed with wry amusement, "But ramen isn't good for you. Has too much salt. Gives you high blood pressure."

Inuyasha smirked and rolled his eyes, "Don't know what that means but it won't stop me from eating it."

"Why does…" Kagome coughed lightly as some residual hoarseness crept into her tone, "Why does that not surprise me?"

Inuyasha snickered before using one hand to force her back onto her back.

"You talk too much, you know that?" he laughed softly – stretching out next to her and settling on his stomach, "Just be quiet and go to bed."

"I'm in…" Kagome began before Inuyasha moved his hand to cover her mouth earning a surprised falsely indignant look.

"I meant sleep and you know…," he teased before releasing her like it burned when he tongue suddenly ran up his palm, "Ew! Why would you do that?!"

"You asked for it," she giggled as he repeatedly tried to wipe his moist palm on his top and gave her a perturbed look.

"I'm going to lay down now," he began slowly as he did just that, "But don't you lick me again. That was nasty."

"Says the guy who can stick his hand up a demon's nose," Kagome teased and Inuyasha sighed heavily before wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her closer.

"Yeah, well, you licked that hand so who's the one with a problem?" he quipped back as he somewhat firmly arranged her into a comfortable spooning position, "Now shut up and let me hold you."

"Such a gentleman," Kagome mumbled as she did some arranging herself and Inuyasha snorted.

"That's why you love me."

It was early the next morning that the reason why this stupid fortress seemed familiar crashed down. Literally. One second, it was a beautiful morning. A casual patrol of the perimeter after breakfast at the request of the lord. Initially pleasant. Laughter and joking. A lovely start to the day.

And then a dark cloud appeared on the horizon and that beautiful moment went to shit.

"How did we kill this guy again?" Inuyasha snapped angrily as he slid to a stop and looked to Miroku, "Did we kill this guy?"

"I don't believe so," Miroku called back and the half-demon cursed before unleashing the wind scar at the seemingly endless strange demons, "This encounter was much earlier, was it not? Shortly after we initially met?"

"I hate this," Inuyasha mumbled before slamming down his weapon again and wiping out around hundred of the irksome demons which immediately busted and even more foul smelling ink raining down. Motivation did wonders though and despite the desire to pass out from the stench, Inuyasha was actually doing a relatively good job pushing the falling sensation to the back of his mind. It was actually rather impressive but Shippo too seemed to be doing a good job even if the kit looked a little green around the gills. All the humans though seemed to be doing just great.

Humans. Getting to enjoy muted senses. Lucky bastards.

"The ink destroyed him if memory serves," Miroku offered after a moment, "Shortly after the first attack."

"But they've said it's been happening for months now," Inuyasha snapped in frustration before dodging another horde that was quickly sucked into the wind tunnel, "And that sometimes it humans!"

"Another painter then perhaps. A new victim," Miroku opined before his head whipped towards a soft cry of pain. As the slayer groaned and got back to her feet, Inuyasha felt a stab of sympathy as the monk continued watching Sango - obviously torn. The last thing Sango would want was for him to come to her rescue. Miroku had tried a few times before and she'd only gotten upset with him. She was different now. More confident. Didn't doubt herself for a moment.

And the monk was afraid. Afraid that Sango had settled for him the last go around. That she had never loved him the way he had loved her. So the poor letch had been bending himself into a pretzel trying to be someone he believed this happier, confident version of Sango wanted. A true gentleman. No groping. No perverted comments. Trying to be polite and chivalrous. Complimenting her whenever he could.

Which wasn't going well...

It seemed to make her like him less somehow.

"She's fine Miroku," Inuyasha comforted awkwardly as the monk let out a shuddering breath, "You need to focus. We need to find the idiot who has that ink well."

"Yes, yes of course," the monk muttered as he reluctantly turned his gaze away and shook his head to clear it, "Kagome should have sensed the shard by now. Strange it..."

"I sense a jewel shard! Over there!" Kagome called out suddenly - earning two amused male glances.

"Right on cue," Miroku laughed softly and Inuyasha hummed in agreement before calling back, "Don't just say 'over there'! Point..."

A split second later Inuyasha realized what an extremely unfortunate moment it had been to have his mouth open. There had no way to avoid the putrid black waterfall that rained down onto his head, into his throat, his nose, his ears. No way to prepare himself for the way the ink tore at his insides like it was trying to wring him dry. No way to scream as it flooded his lungs, his mouth.

And then it rushed back out in one fell swoop forcing up a torrent of vomit that wouldn't stop.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed as she rushed towards his violently ill form - his entire body shaking as everything he had in him spilled out onto the damp ground beneath him. Blood accompanied the bile. Every inner piece of him that had been filled ripped to shreds. When the violent episode finally waned, watery amber eyes shakily met her gaze for just a moment before the light behind them went out and he collapsed onto his side - moaning softly as his consciousness ebbed and flowed.

"As he said, point," Miroku breathed as he covered his own nose to escape the putrid stench emanating from the pile of vomit Inuyasha had fallen into. As Kagome slipped and staggered over the oily puddles to get the half-demon out of his own mess, Miroku suddenly remembered what ended this madness. Just in the time for the slayer to start heading their way.

"Sango! We need to get the ink well away from him!" Miroku bellowed to Sango who merely looked confused by this instruction.

"From who? From Inuyasha?" she replied loudly and Miroku's eye twitched. That was a fair question honestly. The villain had yet to expose himself after all.

"It's a painter!" Miroku tried to explain, "A man."

"How is that helpful?" the slayer mumbled to herself before steeling herself and coming closer. Surely, the monk wouldn't send her on this stupid mission with such vague instructions unless the location was obvious, right?

"Perhaps the ink well has fallen into the hands of another," Miroku huffed in frustration before looking at the very green half-demon and deciding Sango might need his assistance more if that was indeed the case. This honestly was the first and only familiar scenario since their abrupt return to this time. By now they should've encountered all manner of demons and situations, but it had been relatively smooth sailing. The demons they encountered were weak. There had been no dire turn of events. And more time had passed. They were fast approaching a year now. Only a few more months and he would outlive himself. Something about all of this was very odd. It was almost as if Naraku was not even here. Wasn't influencing events as he once had.

But if he was gone, why did the wind tunnel remain?

"Which way?" Sango huffed in frustration as she came closer before choking on the smell that awaited her. Again, Kagome pointed, and the slayer looked in that direction.

"Well come on then," the slayer huffed as she took off but Miroku hesitated. Inuyasha was still gagging and retching on all fours as the slayer rushed past him – his mind swimming as Kagome tried to get him to his feet. The smell hadn't been this bad last time. Inuyasha was sure of it. It wasn't just human blood and ink this go around. A little bit of vomit escaped him as he gasped for air and struggled to stay conscious.

"You two stay here," the monk ordered firmly before wincing when Inuyasha lost the battle and once again emptied the contents of his stomach while Kagome thankfully pulled those silver locks back just in time. As he retched and spewed, Inuyasha lost a different battle. Tears were now slowly streaming down his cheeks as defeat weighed heavily on his heart. This…this was a problem. A huge problem. For all he knew Naraku was watching. Naraku would know. All it took was something invading his body to bring him to his knees. To give that bastard the opportunity to take everything away from him. To ruin this second chance. This…this was quite possibly the worst thing that could have happened.

Motivation to not give Naraku so much as an inch was enough to kick Inuyasha's time tested ability to act fine into gear even as anxiety through his veins making his already sickly state so much worse.

"I-I'm f-fine," Inuyasha slurred as he pushed himself into a seated position before his head lolled and a slight gag escaped him, "Oh shit..."

So much for pretending he was fine. Even motivation wasn't enough to stop the torrent but thankfully Kagome was able to tug his hair out of the way this time. After what seemed like an eternity, Inuyasha made a sudden hoarse gasp for air before moaning softly and leaning back against Kagome for support oblivious to his puke covered robe which immediately began soaking her uniform.

Panting for breath, Inuyasha mentally checked out - too far gone to focus on anything except avoiding emptying the extremely limited contents he had left.

It shouldn't've surprised the monk, given what he knew, that this wasn't the man they'd fought what seemed like a lifetime ago. The first villain they fought hadn't lasted very long. The inkwell had sucked the poor man dry. Instead, it seemed that a demon, a much heartier breed, had gotten control over the stupid ink well and was using it to attack that particular fortress for reasons unknown.

Or rather, that's what the situation appeared to be at first. The high-pitched screams of how the lord needed to pay for killing her mate and infant that made it clear what the real motivation was. An eye for an eye. Heartbreaking too as the petite and very gaunt looking demoness struggled to retain a modicum of control over what she'd unleashed. A little fox demon by the looks of it too – her coloring very similar to Shippo. She clearly didn't have enough power on her own to unleash destruction on her own.

And the ink well – or more likely the jewel - had no problem taking advantage of her grief.

"We need to move fast, or it will consume her as well," Miroku bellowed as he rushed forward to try and do just that – Sango shouting back that the demon would probably continue her attack with or without this added power. The monk's showing of mercy made no sense truth be told. This demon…

"I understand your pain and frustration," Miroku tried valiantly to speak some sense into the grieving demon, "I do. To bear such a loss is torture in and of itself but what you wield will kill you. Hand it over."

"And why would I listen to a monk like you? You're here to kill me. They sent you to kill me," the demoness hissed as she backed away and clutched the small bamboo cylinder to her chest, "T-they took everything from me. Everything!"

Miroku subtly cringed – praying that the demon would see reason before it was too late. Honestly, he had no interest in killing her. Hoped that once they got the jewel away, she'd show some remorse and leave of her own accord. If she didn't, that was a different matter and she would need to be slain but…but Inuyasha had confided in him, in the past, that when he touched the jewel it took over. Clouded his reason. Which was obvious by the demonic markings and even the full turn that tended to happen. But his half-demon friend had also admitted that even close proximity to shards sometimes affected him. Made him more irritable without a good reason to be. Made bad thoughts and impulses harder to fight. The same could be happening here and the monk…

The monk had an inkling of what this woman was living with. Of the overwhelming, blinding pain and grief even if he'd only suffered it for a few minutes at most. Such pain multiplied unnaturally? He could hardly imagine.

On top of that, Miroku imagined this wasn't the only individual who'd taken control of the cursed paint. The attacks had gone on for far too long. In the course of trying to find the culprit, the monk imagined many demons – and undoubtedly humans as well - had been wronged by the lord's desperate attempts to keep his pregnant daughter safe. The ink growing stronger and more potent as it stole the life force straight from its wielder…

The priority needed to be destroying that container.

"Put that down and then we'll talk."

"We didn't do anything to them!" the little fox continued to scream, "We didn't…"

The monk cursed softly under his breath when the woman's nostrils flared and her eyes glowed red.

"They need to pay!"

Sango was moving before the fox had the time to open the container once more – one solid kick and the small object went flying. In a last act of desperation, the demoness lunged forward her hand fumbling with the ink cartridge which sensed her presence and made the decision that this new host was no longer useful. One moment the demoness had a feral grin as she rolled to the ground and popped open the lid. The next she was screaming. Devoured alive despite her presumed foes attempts to get to the ink well in time to save her.

For a moment, both the monk and slayer stared – shell-shocked at the gruesome and disturbingly quick end to the encounter. Miroku in particular was horrified – the air stolen straight from his lungs. The painter had been a disgusting man. Someone clearly evil or, at a minimum, pathetically desperate. His motivation had been rejection. A strange man who became obsessed with a woman who had shown him kindness. Who mistook kindness for something more.

This…this was something else entirely. A tragedy of sorts that could perhaps have been avoided if things happened as they did the first time.

"We need to destroy that," the monk murmured as he stared numbly at where the little fox had been moments before, "Or else it will find another host."

Nodding in understanding, Sango approached – casting a nervous glance at the monk as she drew her sword.

"Will it attack me as well?" she asked as she moved closer – her heart breaking behind her eyes. It seemed the world was made of varying shades of grey. That…that had been painful to watch, to hear. This demon had been trying to get her revenge against those who had wronged her. Tried to avenge her husband, her baby. In her grief, she'd resorted to violence. The strangeness of the situation had some disturbing parallels to their own journey. Not that the villagers were anywhere near as evil as this Naraku they sought but this mother wanted revenge and was willing to use violence to achieve that end. Grief had consumed her.

This turn of events struck another chord as well. How many demons had her fellow demon slayers, had she, slain that had been like her? Just a demon whose family had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid the price? A spouse, a parent, who wanted murderers to pay.

"No," Miroku sighed wearily, "I don't believe it will."

Trying to force her dark thoughts to the farthest part of her mind, Sango nodded numbly as she drew her sword.