Update (June 2020): Chapter edited and lengthened, including a light scene revision!
Chapter 17: Enter Miroku, the Cursed but Amorous Monk
About three days have passed since the ogress witch Urasue used her necromancy magic to resurrect the young priestess Kikyō, an event that would not only revive the angst between the latter and her former half-demon companion, but also force a certain girl from the future to finally unveil a part of her own past, regarding a special trait which would place her on the border between earthly and unearthly...
Zooming in on the redhead now, we watch as she kneels by a small spring to gather a handful of water to drink. We notice that today, she dons a simple outfit consisting of a pair of blue skinny jeans, an ochre crop tee and her combat boots. Shippō - who was sitting beside her near the dirt path running by this little cliff wall - had been observing her moments closely this last while, still feeling a touch worried for the girl's physical condition.
"...Coraline, are you sure that you're back to normal already?"
Swallowing down the H20, she smiles gently at the little fox demon and replies,
"Yes, Shippō, for the dozenth time, I feel perfectly fine...To think, though, it hasn' been long since that grave-robbin' hag managed ta suck one of the souls out of m' body...But I'm back to my old self now...or rather, my soul is in tact, along with th' one half of Kikyō's..."
The girl couldn't help but steal a glance at her fellow teen with her sky/cerulean irises as her mind drifts to another subject related to her conversation.
I wish I could say the same fo' Inuyasha...but ever since his confrontation with Kikyō, he's been constantly lost in 'is own thoughts.
...Though who's t' say I wouldn't be the same way if I were in his place?
Panning a couple feet away from the two gingers on a more grassy patch of the rocky woodland area the group stopped at, we see Inuyasha looking upward at the blue skies with a sad and dare we say, conflicted frown on his face.
...I just don't know anymore.
So I gather all of the shards of the Shikon-no-Tama to become a full-fledged demon...and then what?
Even if I do fully become a demon, will that make me stronger inside?
...Can I ever truly forget Kikyō?
As he continues to stare into space, Coraline and Shippō stalk his way, casting concerned expressions towards their friend.
"Look at him. I've never seen him act this way before."
"Aye. Can't say I have eith'a..."
With that, the fox demon decides to try and snap the half-dog demon out of it.
"(Leap) Take, that!"
He lightly thwacks the top of Inuyasha's head, leaping back into Coraline's arms just as the older male turns around.
"Bad move..."
He swipes the child up by his tail and asks with irritation in his tone,
"What'd you do that for, shrimp?"
"To knock some sense into you! We're suppose to be looking for the jewel shards!"
"Get off my back. Even a guy like me needs some time to think every once in a while."
"Yeah, that's what's worrying me."
"Worry about this!"
Inuyasha then proceeds to chase Shippō around Coraline in a circle.
"Come back here, ya little pipsqueak!"
"Try and make me!"
They run around the girl a few times before moving their squabble away close to the short treeline. She smiles faintly in amusement at their childish behaviour, before shifting into a frown as her mind focuses on more serious affairs.
It seems the Shikon-no-Tama's been bringing nothing bu' pain and misery...
Kikyō claims Inuyasha betrayed her, but he says it's the oth'r way around.
Her eyes narrow, sensing a murkiness in these dual narratives.
There's no way two different stories from th' same day can be possible. There's a third, true point of view to this tragedy...and I'm gonna figure ou' what i'tis, even if it takes every bit of me brain power t' do it!
...
...
At the same time those three were beginning a new trek in their journey, another traveler pauses at a fork in the road miles ahead cutting through a more open field of green. Getting a closer look, we see they're a young male of about five foot six, his complexion a fair beige in contrast to his short, thick black hair styled into a small rat tail. His eyes are Prussian blue, matching one of the base shades of his Buddhist monk attire, the other being Japanese violet. On his feet are a pair of waraji sandals, and on his arms were tekko, the right one having rosary beads wrapped around it...
He sets his shakujō staff upward on the ground, and allows it to drop downward to the direction that fate had in store for him.
"Hm, so, I should go right..."
"Have you heard about the new woman working at the rest-house up ahead?"
The young monk turns his head slightly behind him, spotting two other male travelers approaching.
"They say her beautiful eyes and pale complexion are nonparallel and that she's, unattached."
The one man's companion laughs a bit and says,
"I could use a bite to eat..."
"Just what I was thinkin'."
They continue down the left fork in the road...and one nudge of a foot redirects the shakujō their way.
"Divine intervention..."
...Surely they couldn't have been meaning this woman!
Apparently, the blue-eyed monk's tastes in the opposite sex differed from his elders, the lady of the rest house being-ahem, a little heavier built than most. Nevertheless, he gladly accepts some nourishment from the woman in the yellow/orange kimono.
"Your sweets are ready."
He gestures a praying symbol, then takes the tray while replying a touch awkwardly,
"Uh, thanks."
Should've stuck to the right...
"Just between us, I understand the daughter of the lord in this region has acquired the spirit of a demon, and has taken to her bed."
"He'll require the aid of a skilled priest, then."
That caught the monk's attention...and after another round of walking, he would reach the lavish home of the said lord...
"Are you certain this monk is virtuous and trustworthy?"
The lord's vassal replies,
"If one is to believe his claims, then aye, my lord."
With that in mind, the member of high-class allows the young practitioner of Buddhism entry...
"Monk, you must drive out the evil spirits possessing my child or you will receive nothing."
Glancing around the room, the young man with the rat tail couldn't help but comment with a light smirk,
"My, living in opulence in such turbulent times as these. Surely your vassals must resent your wealth."
"Impudence!"
Despite the insult, the lord does not turn the monk away, and leads him to his daughter's chambers...
"Princess, a monk has come to offer his blessing."
Laying atop a futon in front of an elaborate statue was a young lady wearing a dark pink robe with a golden yellow pattern...
"Pardon me. Allow me to see her."
Upon a closer inspection, the young man notices something about the princess's facial appearance.
"Her face is terribly swollen..."
The lord irritably replies,
"It is always so! Are you certain that you're truly a monk?"
"...Hm?"
The monk then turns his head towards the statue, feeling something spectral coming from within...
"Tell me about that statue."
"I received it from a impervious nobleman. They say that it is a blessed idol."
He stands up and wanders over to the large idol for a closer examination.
"Hmm..."
I sense a presence...but I certainly wouldn't call it blessed.
After a minute or two, the monk turns to the lord and says,
"I am prepared to begin. Leave the princess here with me and take everyone on the residence grounds outside the gates."
"Huh?"
"And milord, mark my words: no matter how alarming the sounds may appear, you must not peer inside."
The lord widens his eyes at such stern instructions, before nodding seriously...
"Now then, I shall commence the exorcism."
...Once the nobleman made himself scarce, the monk turns to address what he senses within the idol.
"Very well. Come out at once and surrender peacefully and I shall show you mercy!"
He points his shakujō at the idol...prompting whatever is possessing it to rattle from within. The face then morphs into a more demonic facade, with flames flickering at the sides! The monk is not fazed, however, and merely smirks while muttering,
"I should've known you wouldn't give in that easily..."
The source of the change in the statue emerges, revealed to be a demon in the guise of a creature from the Mustelidae family!
"A weasel demon, how befitting!"
The demon charges at the monk, but he easily jumps away...and upon landing, he notices a glitter coming from the entity's forehead.
"Hm? That glow...A shard of the Shikon-no-Tama!"
The demon hisses before charging at the human again...but not only does he jump away from the attack, he also whirls around to land a blow on its head with his staff.
"Haah!"
(Whack)
Outside the main building of the mansion, the lord and his vassals continue to abide by the monk's instructions, and could hear the battle taking place.
"The beast sounds fearsome indeed..."
"It certainly does!"
One of the older vassals asks the head of the mansion,
"Maybe we should take a look inside, my lord."
"No, we'll wait. He said that we must wait outside until he gives us the word. Besides, I want to make sure that the demon is long gone..."
...The noises suddenly become more subdued and less chaotic, prompting another vassal to question the nature of this monk's intentions.
"Sounds less like an exorcism and more like the mansion is being pillaged!"
"I still say we should wait."
...
After some time, all was right again within the mansion as the sun began dropping from the sky. The lord is seen speaking with his daughter, while also examining the dead animal free from its demonic power.
"So, this weasel was the culprit. (Turn) And you say this creature turned into a demon and possessed you?"
"Yes."
"And what of that young monk?"
The princess blushes and holds her face as she answers,
"He gave me no name, but left with my heart."
Suddenly, one of the lord's vassals comes rushing into the room.
"My lord! I regret I have terrible news to bring you!"
What was the said terrible news?...Well, as it turns out, the monk had left with waaaay more than just the princess's heart...
"All of your valuables have been stolen,"
"Including three of the finest horses!"
...The lord collapses to his knees, and mutters in shock while staring at the newly empty room,
"I've been had!"
Catching up with the monk, he's already far enough down the path leading away from the lord's home to escape scrutiny, riding front in a large wagon filled to the brim with treasures and drawn by the three mares he also took.
"Now then, to find a place to pawn these off..."
...
Eventually, the crescent moon would shine through the forests of Sengoku Edo, and after finding a reasonably-sized town to trade in, the monk would then stop to relax in a hot spring...
"Hm, how disappointing. An entire cart-load of spoils, and they only fetch but a small price..."
He then holds up the piece of the fabled jewel known by most souls who hear its name he managed to acquire from the weasel demon.
"Even so, this shard of the Shikon-no-Tama may be worth my while..."
Suddenly, a familiar female voice breaks out none too far away from him.
"Oh wow, this hot spring is fantastic..."
"Hm?"
The monk turns around and peeks from behind the boulder he was laying against, spotting none other than Coraline, bare-skinned and moving to sit in the water!
A girl!...She wears a shard of the Shikon-no-Tama, and their-I mean, it's huge!
"Don't get any bright ideas of peekin' at me, got it?"
He ducks behind the boulder...before relaxing when he realizes her gaze is directed at someone else, namely, Inuyasha.
"Tch, don't flatter yourself. I got no interest in lookin'."
"Humph, I see...Whatever."
The redhead wades over to sit by another boulder, around the time the other teen of this trio sees Shippō removing his clothes.
"Hey, why are you getting undressed?"
"Give ya one guess!"
But before the fox demon could even reach the water, Inuyasha stops him by the tail.
"Oh no ya don't!"
Shippō is oblivious to why he was stopped, and asks with an innocent smile,
"Oh, sorry. Did you wanna come?"
"Huh?"
"Hey, come to think of it, why do you and Coraline seem to spend so much time together, and yet you never seem to bathe at the same time? Think of all the fun things that you could do if there's two of you."
"Listen, kid..."
"Mom, dad and I always took baths together, and we always had such a great time..."
Now aware of the younger male's innocence on the subject, Inuyasha says calmly with a slight blush on his face,
"Maybe I'll explain it to you when you're a bit bigger..."
Shippō looks his way intently and comments,
"I guess this means you haven't gotten very far with Coraline, right?"
Inuyasha becomes startled by such an accusation...just as the younger male adds with a turn and his arms folded,
"I dunno what that means, and no one seems willing to answer...I wonder why?"
Now thoroughly annoyed, the half-demon grabs the boy's face from behind him, and stretches his cheeks while yelling irritably,
"I'll tell ya why, in about fifty years when you're old enough to understand it!"
"It was just a question! What did I say?!"
As the boys continue to quarrel, Coraline leans her back against a boulder with a sigh and submerges more of her body into the water.
Tch, why should I le' Inuyasha's comment bother me?
It's not like I give beauty that much though' anyway.
"...Hm? (Turn) Eyaaah!"
The half-demon hears the girl yelp, and rushes to her aid.
"What's wrong?!"
...But when he got to her, it turns out the trouble was just a small group of brown-furred macaques.
"Huh? Just'a bunch of monkeys..."
He turns to address the girl with a disappointed frown.
"Did'ja really yell 'cause of-Guh!"
Inuyasha then remembers too late how...under-dressed Coraline was, and hastily turns away with a red face around the same time her face colours with embarrassment.
Oh god, he saw me-!
Leaving the two to their awkwardness, we refocus on the monk as emerges from the bubbly water and finishes redressing.
She's with another man...Hm, too bad.
I hate having to resort to violence...
A little while later, he's seen speaking with a burly tanuki regarding his new plan. Getting a closer look at the latter, we see he has brown fur, beady black irises matching the mask of fur around his eyes, and is dressed in an off-white haori with red stripes on the sleeves and collar, a pair of mint green hakama and a purple hifu vest with an unidentified emblem decorating the front in six areas. The racoon dog demon is currently rubbing his head after being bonked by the shakujō.
"Agh! Allow me to explain; I'm only asking for a guarantee!"
"I told you that you'll be compensated."
"...Hauh, yes."
Time Skip
Come the next day, Inuyasha, Coraline and Shippō would be on the move again, their path taking them along the side of a mountain...However, the teenagers were having a hard time looking eachother in the eye after their poorly-timed encounter in the hot springs...
"Come on, you can't seriously still be embarrassed by las' night..."
The redhead tries to get the silverette's attention again with an attempt of humor when she gets no response.
"Really, thinkin' abou' it, this is only the secon' time you saw me naked."
"Yeah, and if I remember right, that first time was when you called me a Peepin' Tom after you used those damn beads on me!"
"Hey! We were still wary of eachoth'a then!...Besides, it's no' like I was stupid enough to use the S-word in the ho' spring. Even I know that would'a ended badly..."
Inuyasha scoffs and turns back in front of himself again, though we see a very light blush dusting his cheeks regarding the conversation subject. Sighing, Coraline turns to the fox demon sitting on her shoulder and asks,
"You know I'm no' that cruel, righ'?"
"Of course not!...If anything, I'm amazed you didn't sock 'im in the gut or something..."
As the redheads continue to chat, we pan higher the mountain as the monk and tanuki spy downward at the three.
"So it's the fellow in red you want me to attack?"
"Right. Meanwhile, I shall make off with the girl."
"I still don't get it. Why go through all this trouble when you can just use that powerful right hand of yours and have the jewel shard in a matter of seconds?"
The human sends a chastising look to the demon.
"Don't be a fool. Surely you know better than that. (Grim smirk) If I were to use this hand, everyone in the vicinity would die."
"How could I have forgotten?"
The tanuki then pulls a leaf out of his pocket as he nervously adds,
"I hope you remember who your friends are if this should somehow get out of control..."
The monk places a hand on his shoulder and says reassuringly,
"You can count on it, my friend."
With that, the racoon dog demon leaps off the cliff, and starts rolling down the rock while shifting his form...The three travelers lower down stop when they heard a rumbling sound, and look up, only they see a monstrous boulder with a menacing face barreling towards them!
"Rrrr, I will come for you!"
"Whoa!"
Coraline manages to jump away while the boulder slams into the boys, forcing them down the mountainside!
"Crap! Inuyasha, Shippō!"
...She suddenly feels someone grab her upper arm, and turns to see the monk!
"What the hell?! Where'd you come from?...Wait a sec, do you have something t' do with this?!"
"Fear not, young lady."
The young male with Prussian blue eyes begins pulling the girl away from the area, and adds with a gentle smile,
"You have no reason to doubt my intentions. I am but a simple monk. A monk who, desired a jewel shard and got a young woman in the process."
"Oi! Speaking on behalf of all women, we're no' objects fo' men to possess!"
The Buddhist practitioner just keeps dragging the redhead along, around the time Inuyasha manages to stop the 'boulder' in its tracks...He then notices Coraline being taken away by the monk.
"Coraline! Who's the guy?...And where is he taking her to?"
Noting the glare the redhead was giving the stranger, the half-demon decides enough was enough.
"Don't take this, (punch) personally!"
He then unsheathes Tessaiga:
"But I got better things to do!"
Seeing that Inuyasha was serious, the tanuki immediately shifts back to his normal form, cowering while exclaiming,
"Please don't kill me; I'm but an innocent badger!"
The monk pauses his retreat when he sees his companion was in trouble.
Pulling the girl behind him, he then unwraps the beads around his right hand.
"Your friend is a violent one..."
Back below, the silverette interrogates the (reluctantly) opposing demon.
"Explain yourself! Why did you attack me?!"
...But before he could get any form of an answer...
(Whoooooooooooosh...)
Inuyasha is suddenly relinquished of his dog fang katana, courtesy of a vacuum of wind which also pulls him over to crash into the side of the cliff! Coraline cries out his name with worry, then reaches to pull out her combat knife and point it threateningly at the monk.
"Release me, now!"
The monk's eyes widen at the sight of the weapon, but remains calm and lets her arm go.
"Gladly..."
As the teenage girl runs down to assist her friends, the young man with the rat tail looks down at the jewel shard necklace now in his hand.
"Seeing as I now have what I desire."
With that, he began rushing down the path and away from the area...
Meanwhile, Coraline's first stop in her slide would be Inuyasha.
"You alright, man?"
She helps to lift him out of the rubble, and they pick up Shippō further down before all three climb back up to the main path, then sit down on the road to discuss recent events...
"That, creep! Who the heck was that guy anyway?!"
Coraline puts a finger under her chin in thought.
"I remember him mentionin' being a monk...but the power in his righ' hand, I can't seem t' explain at all."
Inuyasha is just as perplexed:
Yeah. I've never seen such a strong storm come out from nowhere before.
It was like the wind in his hand was pulling everything into its path...
"Oh, damn!"
The female with red hair then darts up and casts a glare down the road.
"That monk took off with th' jewel shard 'round my neck! That slippery bastard!"
"WHAT?!"
"We need t' pursue 'im now before 'e gets too far ahead!"
"...Dammit, as if you almost getting kidnapped wasn't bad enough, now this?"
Coraline moves to board Inuyasha's back, and says to him,
"If it ligh'ns the mood a bit, I did threaten him with my comba' knife..."
"...Seriously?"
"Mhm."
The fox demon hops onto his fellow redhead's left shoulder, and comments with slight nervousness,
"Gee, remind me to never get on your bad side, Coraline."
...
...
After a bit, the chasers reach a small town, ignoring the crowd of villagers watching Inuyasha bound down the path fast, hell-bent on finding the monk.
"Lousy thief! He couldn't have gotten too far! I'll hunt the fraud down!"
Once they reach the center of the populace, the half-dog demon began to try and zero in on the thieving male's scent...
"Why the slow-down, Inuyasha? You didn' lose his scent, did you?"
"No I didn't. There's just alot of smells to sift through, alright?"
Coraline looks around the area and nods,
"Right, of course...though if I may be frank, I don' think we should linger in one spo' for too long a time..."
Shippō stutters in agreement.
"I-I'm with Coraline. These people don't look too friendly..."
Ignoring their worries, Inuyasha keeps looking while mumbling,
"Where'd that thief go?"
The teenage girl would then pick up on the conversation between two village men suspicious of the trio's presence.
"What is he, some matter of beast?"
She glares a little at the one man and replies,
"There's no need to be so rude, sir."
He ignores Coraline's reply and says to his companion,
"The young man and the boy are odd enough, but look at the strange girl."
"Is she also a demon?"
"Hey! Who're you calling a demon?!"
Inuyasha sneers her way and asks sarcastically,
"See how it feels?"
...A cold expression erupts on the young woman's face as she retorts,
"Not like this is th' first time, so yes, I do know how it feels."
"Huh?"
The teenage boy then remembers what Coraline has so far revealed regarding how she was treated when she was young, and widens his eyes in realization...She just sighs and softens her expression before saying somewhat quietly,
"Never mind. Let's jus' keep looking."
Nodding slightly, the half-demon returns to sniffing the ground, trying to hone in on the thieving monk...After wandering down the main path a little further, the girl of the trio couldn't help but comment,
"I hate to sound skeptical, but it's possible the monk may have already passed through here..."
But Inuyasha insisted that they were closer than believed.
"He couldn't have gott'n that far ahead. His scent trail's still fresh."
"Fair enough, bu' why would he remain if he knows we're still pursuing him?"
(...Ba-bump)
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Coraline feels a familiar beat of energy, and looks towards a house with a cloth door...
"Hang on a second..."
Using her mysterious power, her eyes cloud over with that icy blue energy, allowing her to zero in on one particular human aura.
"Uh! The monk's aura!...I can see it in there!"
Inuyasha gets up and looks at her with curious confusion.
"How can you tell it's him?"
"Easy: while his aura is human, I also sense a peculiar concentration of energy lingerin' in his right hand...which I'm certain it's the one responsible fo' that vacuum of wind in the mountain pass..."
Zooming within the quaint little building, it being an ochaya (or tea house in English), we find the monk sitting on a tatami mat having a cup of sake and some sweets in the company of several maiko geisha playing shamisen and performing rather spirited forms of the buyō art.
"Would anyone like to dance~?"
Unfortunately for the young man with the rat tail, their appearances weren't quite to his tastes, having more-pardon the phrasing, shapely faces and bodies...He sighs before mumbling in a disappointed tone,
"So much for their claims of having beautiful geisha...I probably would've had a better time if I had gone drinking with the badger..."
Before he could complain to himself further, the sheer-framed door slams open by a certain half-demon's hand.
"Gotcha!"
"Busted, jewel thief!"
The monk looks up in surprise at Inuyasha, Coraline and Shippō.
"I'm so glad you're here!"
He then walks up to the girl with dark auburn hair in the ochre crop tee, grasping her hand with a relieved smile.
"It's too good to be true. You're a real sight for sore eyes."
A sarcastic smile curves onto her lips, quickly deciphering what the young monk meant.
"Oh, sore eyes, is it?"
What a shallow man...
Inuyasha then cracks his knuckles before saying,
"I'll give you sore eyes!"
The monk swiftly dodges his claws, and backs up to the other side of the room while the maikos all cower with fear.
"You again? I should have figured as much."
"Yeah, you should have. Funny, that's just what I was thinking, but I guess not all of us were blessed with good looks and brains. Don't suppose you'd be interested in handing over that jewel shard you stole from us?"
Practically holding out said gem piece as a taunt, the young man with Prussian blue irises replies,
"A gem such as this does not belong in the hands of a demon."
"We'll see about that!"
Inuyasha goes to try and attack the monk again, but he leaps away, hopping down to the outside and taking off from the geisha house...
"Oh no ya don't!"
The half-demon quickly makes chase, the two men running through the streets oblivious to the excited townsfolk.
"Come back and fight like a man!"
"I will not fight a senseless battle!"
"All a matter of opinion!"
The monk looks behind him, and sees Inuyasha barreling down from the air with a transformed Tessaiga at ready!
"Hrrah!"
(Clang)
Luckily for him, the practitioner of Buddhism had developed fast reflexes from all his training, and manages to block the the dog fang katana with his shakujō staff! The half-dog demon is taken aback by the counter.
He blocked the Tessaiga! I knew it; he's no ordinary mortal!
"You'll be punished if that's what you insist!"
The monk pushes Inuyasha back, and the latter lands a few feet away, swinging his sword over his shoulder before commenting,
"I dunno who you are, but you're no ordinary monk."
"I go by the name Miroku, and yes, I am a monk who works to aid the common man."
The winds of tension blow past the two just as Coraline and Shippō finally catch up to them. A villager calls out,
"Beware, villagers! A monk is about to slay the demon!"
Paying the nervous spectators no mind, Inuyasha glares at Miroku and rebukes his statement.
"Work to aid the common man? You're nothing but a sleazy robber! Now give us back our shard of the Shikon-no-Tama! We went through a lot of trouble to get it and we're not going to lose it now!"
The latter smirks and pulls out said shard again while replying,
"Touching speech...I know you went to great pains to collect this gem, but trust me, it's in better hands with me, Inuyasha."
"Teh, so you knew who I was all along."
"Not at all."
The half-demon nearly trips in disbelief, then glares heatedly at the monk as he ponders,
"Now, was it that beautiful companion of yours who called you by name or that young fox?"
Coraline watches from the sidelines, blushing the slightest at Miroku's comment before shaking her head and looking at him with suspicion.
"Maybe his morals aren' completely misplaced, bu' I'm still skeptical about his intent with the Shikon-no-Tama..."
"Yeah, especially since he stole the jewel from under your nose..."
"...I'm just gonna pretend I didn' hear that comment."
Focusing back on the feud, Inuyasha's patience reaches its end.
"Enough talking! Lemme at'chya!"
He then charges at Miroku with Tessaiga, and the two begin to fight again...
Unfortunately for the half-demon, the monk proved to be a well-matched opponent.
He's strong, but not strong enough...
Inuyasha's frustration grows with each clang of the weapons.
Curse him! He blocks every strike!
...But then, Miroku is struck with bad luck and trips over a pile of lumber.
"Ah!"
The opportunity isn't wasted, and the silver-haired male easily knocks the shakujō out of the rat-tailed male's hands!
(...Tok, jingle)
The staff lands in the ground behind Inuyasha, and he points Tessiaga Miroku's way.
"I'll be having that jewel shard back from ya now, unless you'd rather die that is..."
The monk glares at the half-demon...before flipping backwards and turning to run out of the area...
"As you wish!"
Inuyasha pursues him, and Miroku calls back to the crowd of people,
"Villagers, take heed! Distance yourself from this area; it's for your own safety!"
Coraline and Shippō are among the confused by this sudden warning...Meanwhile, the monk leads his opponent to the outskirts of the village, stopping to face him in front of a tree...
"Hah, hah, end of the line! This time, victory is mine!"
Miroku merely smirks, and holds out his right hand at the ready.
Inuyasha becomes puzzled by this show of confidence.
He's holding out his right hand...
"This may come as somewhat of a surprise, but I'm a very sore loser."
The monk then removes the rosary as he hollers out,
"Wind Tunnel!"
And before the half-demon could foresee it, a black hole manifests from Miroku's palm, which proceeds to suck up everything its vacuum wind could get at, including the structures of a horse stable and chicken house!
Thinking quickly, Inuyasha uses Tessaiga to steady himself against the ground.
"Gyrh, it's just like back at the cliff! Where's that wind coming from?!"
He looks forward and locks his vision on the black hole.
"His right hand is drawing it all in!"
"Let's see how long you can withstand me."
The vacuum wind presses on with no signs of wavering strength, and even Tessaiga would begin feeling the pressure as it slowly moves forward through the dirt towards Miroku! The katana's master barely holds his ground, slowing the blade to a stop...
Meanwhile, everyone back in the village began panicking from the sudden shift in the atmosphere, trying to stay as far back as possible from the wind tunnel. Coraline and Shippō were closest to the action, holding on from behind a tree.
"Incredible! Th' monk's hand can produce a black hole?! At this rate, anything loose-foot is gonna ge' drawn in!"
"We better escape here while we can!"
"It's not tha' simple, Shippo: that power needs t' be contained befo' this entire area becomes void of life!"
The older redhead then mutters in thought,
"But how? It's not like the ones in deep space can be corked..."
(Flash)
"Villagers, take heed! Distance yourself from this area; it's for your own safety!"
(Flash)
...Hang on...If he warned the villagers, (looks up) maybe he doesn' have any intent of hurting anyone, least of all humans.
...I have it.
The girl sets the fox demon down near the largest root of the oak.
"Stay here, lad. Don' move until the wind stills."
"Wh-What're you gonna do?"
"...Something completely insane."
Leaving her plan blanketed in mystery, we return to Inuyasha as his resilience is chipped little by little by the power of Miroku's vacuum wind.
"Rrgh, can't, let go...!"
"Surrender while you can! If you get sucked in, you'll never come out alive!"
"Rrr, no chance!"
Forming a determined expression as he's dragged forward at a faster pace, the half-demon adds,
"I'll be too busy hackin' your right hand off to surrender!"
"My hand will pull you in, sword and all!...Huh?"
Suddenly, Miroku looks up...and sees Coraline up in the air, heading on a straight course for his wind tunnel! Inuyasha sees the girl too, his eyes bulging in disbelief.
"Coraline!"
The monk quickly wraps his right hand with the beads again to seal away his wind tunnel, but wasn't fast enough to dodge the redheaded projectile, who crashes into his torso and knocks both of them into the ground.
"Ugh!"
"Aah!"
"Coraline!"
...The dust settles, and we see the young Croft propping herself on her knees and nearly straddling the unconscious Miroku.
"Rrgh, tha' could've gone a bit smoother..."
She looks down at the monk, noticing the rosary wrapped around his right hand and tekko.
So, it's those prayer beads containin' that bl'ck hole...
He stopped attacking willingly, so, his intentions can't be so bad...
Inuyasha then rushes to her and shouts,
"Hah, hah, Coraline, are you crazy?! You could've gotten yourself killed!"
"I wouldn't have done i' if I knew it wouldn' work. With power as strong as this, he could'a killed us a long while back, but chose not to...Perhaps we should here what 'e has to say. Who knows? He could even lend us a hand in our search."
Unbeknownst to the young lady, Miroku had stirred awake, and his right hand...was soon caressing the side of her rear...
"Aaah!"
Coraline jumps away from the perverse contact, and moves into Inuyasha's protective arm.
"Scratch that! Take 'im down, now!"
"You just blew your last chance!"
As the poor girl whimpers in humiliation, the monk holds his palms out defensively.
"Settle down, will you? Just hear me out..."
...
...
Once everyone had calmed down, Miroku began to explain himself and what his intentions were regarding the fabled jewel...
"I too am after the shards of the Shikon-no-Tama. My purpose is to find and eliminate a demon. A terrible demon, that goes by the name of Naraku."
"Naraku, eh? And what is i' about him that makes him so terrible?"
"Well, in my case, it was he who left me with this cursed hole in my right hand."
Coraline narrows her eyes in thought:
"I see...What sort of demon is Naraku?"
"I know very little of him, except that he is wicked and known to, devour people."
"...Nice. Continue."
"According to father, my grandfather battled Naraku long ago, in his youth. It was over fifty years ago. Their battled ensued for several years, and each time Naraku faced my grandfather, he took the form of a different human."
The redhead curses,
"Damn...That would make Naraku a shapeshift'r. I've seen similar examples among other supernat'rals, but this is the first I've heard of a demon that can do i' so successfully."
"They say that the last time Naraku faced my grandfather, he took on the form of a beautiful woman. My grandfather had great spiritual powers, but unfortunately, as fate would have it..."
"Don' tell me: his heart acted as his logic center, righ'?"
"Remarkable intuition!...Naraku pierced my grandfather's right hand with his sacred religious seals, and managed to escape..."
(Flash)
"The abyssal hole I have cursed you with shall be passed on to your children and their children so long as I live. Each generation shall thus be cursed, until no one remains..."
(Flash)
Miroku gazes at his right hand as he says with a heaviness in his voice,
"Each year, the hole in my hand becomes bigger, and the wind evermore powerful. Unless I can defeat Naraku, I too will soon be devoured by the hole."
"In oth'r words, you'll be pulled into oblivion."
"Yes, and I am prepared to accept that fate if such is my destiny. In the meantime, I must continue my search of Naraku...The Sacred Jewel of the Four Souls vanished fifty years ago, and now is shattered into many tiny shards. Knowing Naraku, it is certain he is to try and gather the shards in order to strengthen his malicious power. I'm sure of it...I know because Naraku came close once in getting the jewel fifty years ago. In doing so, he slew the priestess protecting it."
Inuyasha snaps his head up with a gasp under his breath.
"You say he killed a priestess?"
"That's right."
He must be the demon who disguised himself as me, and stuck down Kikyō!
It must be him!
The half-demon then hoists the Prussian blue-eyed male up by his robes, asking with an urgent glare,
"Miroku. You say that this Naraku can take on all kinds of forms, right? What about now? What does he look like now?"
The monk glares seriously at Inuyasha and replies,
"Calm down! If I had that information, I would've slain him long ago myself."
He's subsequently released as the young man dressed in red goes into thought, realizing what really happened to he and the priestess fifty years ago.
Naraku laid a trap for me and Kikyō. He made us believe we deceived eachother!
The one who killed Kikyō is still alive, and is after the Shikon-no-Tama fragments.
Inuyasha clenches his fist and grinds his teeth as he silently vows,
I'll hunt down Kikyō's killer, and avenge her death!
Coraline gazes at her fellow teen with concern when she hears the growl, knowing exactly what he's thinking about.
Looks like I was righ' all along. There is a true side to this dual tragedy.
...No doubt about it: Inuyasha has the word vendetta etched into 'is brain now.
She then shifts to a thoughtful look as she pulls out the almost half of the once proud jewel.
"...As long as we keep searchin' fo' the jewel fragments, Naraku will certainly cross paths with us eventually."
"How did you get that back?"
The redhead sends Miroku a crafty smile and says,
"Took it back while you were passed out, smart guy, but that's no' important...I think it will be in all of our best interests t' join forces in findin' the rest of the shards...You don't plan on givin' up, right, Inuyasha?"
"I'm never giving up!"
"And what of you, Miroku?"
Said monk puts a finger under his chin in thought.
"...I've always been a solitary man, preferring to work on my own than in the company of others."
"Fair enough, bu' unless somethin' is done fast, you won't even have your own company to enjoy."
"Dear Coraline, are you troubled by this retched fate of mine?"
She answers a touch awkwardly as her hand is clasped into the young man's own palms,
"Well, as troubled as any other person would be..."
"Then do me this good turn, would you? I wish for you to bear me a son."
...Coraline's eyes bulge out.
"Beg pardon?!"
Inuyasha gains a strange look of mortification on his face, and the redheaded woman asks with a barely-held deadpan,
"An' why on earth should I do that?"
"If for some unforeseeable reason I am unable to destroy Naraku..."
Mioku brings Coraline closer to him.
"Mmh!"
"I shall like my son to carry on my family's mission."
Inuyasha rushes in to separate the two, and places the girl behind him protectively.
"Hands off, priest! Your only family mission is in lechery!"
"I'm a monk, not a priest."
"Don't ever consider laying a hand on Coraline again."
She gazes at the half-demon in surprise for his actions, before smiling and muttering his name in gratitude...
"Oooh, I beg your pardon. I thought you no more than a companion, but apparently, you are in love with Coraline."
Inuyasha breaks out a nervous blush as Miroku rubs the back of his head while adding,
"My, this is awkward..."
The silver-haired teen responds defensively,
"Uh, y-y-y-you got it all wrong; sh-she's just a-a-a, jewel detector!"
Coraline is obviously displeased by such a description, and immediately chews Inuyasha out for it.
"What?! Is tha' seriously all I am to you?!...Oh wait, how could I forget? Your type of woman includes the undead!"
Both men widen their eyes in surprise at such an accusation, while the redhead smirks bitterly before pondering aloud,
"Maybe I should reconsider my alliance. After all, Miroku seems t' have a more pleasant attitude..."
"You wouldn't dare betray me!"
"You can't really blame her. You could treat her more kindly."
"Keh, what do you know?"
As the two men and one young lady continue to argue, Shippō had been watching from atop the branch of a persimmon tree the whole time. He munches on one of the fruits while commenting,
"Well, so much for everyone coming to a peaceful solution. Heh, I never wanna grow up..."
As the sun sets, we pick up on the last leg of the conversation between these uneasy allies.
"Yeah, wha' he says, more gentle!"
"Like this."
"Wah! That's not at'all what I meant!"
"I told you not to touch her!"