Author's Note: Ah, death threats via reviews. How entertaining I found them. Well, at least no one actually carried out the horrible things they said that they'd do. At least not yet… Anyway, please bear with me. This chapter may seem a bit rushed because I was trying to get things in. The end of this fanfic is coming up fast (could even be next chapter. I think it might.) But I promise you a sequel! So, how bout we try to hit review 200 this chapter? Can you do it? I don't think you can! Prove it! Besides, no reviews; I won't finish. Enjoy!
Disclaimer:
I want a Miroku, all shiny and new
And an InuYasha to own
Alas, I don't, and neither do you
But perhaps the great author will loan?
Wretched
Chapter 12: The Blood Note
InuYasha was stunned numb. Even when he heard Miroku's rage, he could only look up at the monk. Miroku leapt on top of the hanyou, and tried vainly to strangle him. InuYasha reacted out of instinct, pushing the monk's hands away. The two rolled in a tangled mess of limbs and silver hair on the wood floor of the hut, while the women watched, astonished. Only Kagome had sense enough to do something.
"I'll kill you!" Miroku yelled with rage as he stumbled up to his feet. InuYasha lay there on his back, staring up at the monk; unable to form words.
Kagome saw her chance. Just as Miroku held up his staff to impale InuYasha through the chest, she leapt in between them.
"No!" She choked out, holding her arms out in a plead for the monk to stop, "You can't, Miroku! You can't!" She was close to tears. He could see them welling at the base of her eyes. InuYasha remained on the floor, senseless.
Miroku's eyes glinted with something that Kagome couldn't quite place. They burned with what seemed like a mix of insane rage and sorrow. She could tell that he didn't want to do this, but he was beyond actual reason. Without putting down his staff, he muttered, "Of course I can. Now get out of the way, Kagome."
Kagome was frightened. Miroku was bent on this murder, and InuYasha was powerless to stop it.
"Miroku, stop." Came a soft, even voice from the corner. The monk turned to face Sango. She was the only one who had the power to call him to reason. Kagome only hoped that she didn't wish death on the hanyou, too.
"It couldn't have been InuYasha. Look at him, Miroku. Just look at him," She stared straight into the monk's eyes, retrieving his mind back to the real world. Miroku obeyed, turning. Kagome stepped out of the way, confident that things would be all right.
Miroku and InuYasha exchanged glances for a moment, before the monk let out a choked sort of laugh. The hanyou's ears perked up at this sound, and he cocked his head to the side, staring at the monk as if he were insane.
"Of course it wasn't InuYasha," Miroku stated as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, "He isn't the only thing with dog demon in him, after all."
A loud whoosh of air escaped from InuYasha's mouth, as he allowed his tensed muscles to relax. He stood up, shakily, and Kagome moved over to help him.
"I'll go outside," He said, finally gaining his legs underneath him, and walking out the door. Obviously he was still too shocked for many words at the moment.
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Nikomi. Baby Nikomi. That was what Sango had chosen to name the child. She sat in the shade of a large tree, cradling the tiny creature in her arms. The day ended up a blistering one, with the sun burning down from the sky. The forest proved to be the only way to escape the heat. The exterminator gazed at the small face of her child. Her eyes moved from the tiny, pink ears at the top of her head, down to her wide, amber eyes.
"She has your nose," A voice came from above. Sango looked up to find InuYasha sitting in the crook of the large tree. Thick, waxy leaves and branches framed his outline. The sunlight seemed to be flowing down into his hair, giving it a funny glow. She smiled as she looked up at him, and then turned her attention back to the child.
"Do you think?" She asked, putting her finger on the child's nose. Little Nikomi moved her head a bit, and laughed at this new game. She brought her pudgy hands up to grip her mother's finger tightly.
InuYasha looked down, smiling at the little whelp. "Yeah, she does," He answered the exterminator's question, jumping down from the treetop.
Sango smiled, "She learns quick." She said, holding the child's hand as she placed her other finger on little Nikomi's nose. The baby hanyou giggled once more, and turned her head to the side, making the finger move away.
InuYasha stayed a moment, watching the game amusedly. He then stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go see what Kagome is up to," He said with a sigh, and then walked off down the path.
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"Nikomi! Nikomi, come here!" Sango called. She and the hanyou child had been walking through the forest down a path. A cool breeze was blowing that day, and the exterminator could hear the rustle of the leaves as they pushed against the wind. Wisps of her hair that had pulled themselves loose from her pony tail, were now flying about her face, caught in the alluring dance of the wind. It had only been a few months, yet the child was already walking, and walking fast for that matter.
In fact, the supposed to be infant, looked like a toddler now. She walked quite well, and she was growing fast. Nikomi's hair was now a bush of silver atop her head, with a group of black strands on one side, looking like a stripe. Her ears had grown fur, and they were as soft as velvet.
"Where have you gone now, child?" The exterminator muttered to herself as she quickened her pace to see around the next bend. She was wearing her casual outfit today, with her pink kimono and green apron. Rarely did she have a reason to put on her exterminator outfit anymore. With a sigh, she continued at a brisk walk. She loved Nikomi, but sometimes the child was a burden. She could not longer do the things that she had once reveled in, such as swinging her great boomerang about with her hands as easily as the wind now moved the loose dirt.
But of course Miroku would not have that. He was intent on keeping his two beloveds safe and sound, and if that meant putting off the jewel shards, then so be it. Sango smiled a bit as she recalled the monk in the past few months. He had taken her child as if it were his own, and had helped her to care for it with the passion that any father might have. She wondered what he was doing at the moment. Kaede had asked Kagome and him to stay and help her to gather herbs for the village.
The sound of shrill crying could be heard from further down the path, and the mother ran with amazing speed towards her endangered child.
"Nikomi! Honey, are you…" Sango cut her sentence short, for there was no child there. A piece of paper lay on the ground instead, and dust that had been stirred by something was settling around the area.
Tears stinging the backs of her eyes, the exterminator ran to the paper, gently picking it up. The words were written in blood. She guessed it to be youkai blood of some sort, which was still wet.
'I've taken the whelp. The disgrace will not live to see another sunrise.'
With an outraged and forlorn cry, Sango dropped the note to the ground. It fluttered downwards like a feather, and gently landed on the dirt. The exterminator dropped to her knees, holding her head in her hands; she began to weep.
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Kagome felt tears well up in her eyes. One fell downwards along her cheek, and then dropped off her chin onto the wooden floor of the hut. "Nikomi's gone?" She asked.
"Yes, she is…" Sango choked out in between shivers and gasps. She was sitting on the floor of the hut, Miroku next to her with his arms wrapped securely around her middle. He looked up towards InuYasha, who stood in the corner.
"Can you tell?" The monk asked, watching the hanyou intently.
InuYasha sniffed the paper again, just to be sure. He knew exactly who had taken the child, and it wasn't going to be easy to get her back alive.
Extra Author's Note: The father will be revealed next chapter, I promise! Although I believe that most of you will be more surprised than you thought… Well, you know the drill, go review!
