His left eyebrow twitched as he noticed the scent hadn't gone away. He stopped in his tracks, and turned to yell over his shoulder, only to find that the monk had caught up with him, and was now in front of him.
"Why are you following me Miroku?" Inu-Yasha asked, irritation not bothering to make itself hidden in his voice.
"I'm not following you," he responded, "I'm merely headed into town for the tourney."
Inu-Yasha blinked, and then growled.
"You think you can win that?" he asked, pointedly staring at the monk's rather lanky form.
"I'm positive I could. The prize money would do me good even if I won third place, much less first, which I could attain easily."
"I'm sure," Inu-Yasha remarked dryly, "but I fear there's something you didn't calculate into your little plan."
"Oh," Miroku asked, "and what might that be?"
Inu-Yasha's chest puffed out with pride, and in a typical egotistical male fashion, he let his fast smash against his chest, in a way that vaguely reminded Miroku of a primate.
"I'll be in the contest!"
"Ah, and will this alter my standings much then?"
"It damn well should. I'm the best fighter around here," he responded proudly.
Miroku grinned and said, "Well I've got a secret weapon or two up my sleeve. Not even one with youkai blood such as yourself could withstand it."
Inu-Yasha's eyes rolled, and he didn't even bother to respond that he could easily withstand anything that he had to throw at him, but he could sense that this monk was very powerful. And...just in case...he didn't want to test it unless he absolutely needed to.
"So," Miroku started, "why is it you wish to fight in the tourney?"
Inu-Yasha snorted, "Whaddya think? To be famous and wealthy, just like every other idiot out there. Why are you fighting? A man of the lord should be out there spreading words of peace, not kicking ass."
"Oh, but I do spread words of peace, just not when I'm broke. I need money to see a kisai to deal with a curse placed upon my family."
Inu-Yasha nodded, and grinned when he saw the city view against the horizon. He estimated that in roughly a few hours they'd reach it.
"The castle looks very lovely in the sunset." Miroku remarked against the sound of his shakoujou's bangles in the wind.
"Hmph," Inu-Yasha said, "it looks like it does always. A headquarters for killing and prejudice."
"They speak of three princesses in that castle. The first one refuses to be married, unless it's to a warrior. The second one's face has never been shown to the public. The day she was born, she was declared too beautiful for our mortal eyes to view. And the third one-"
"-is a small rotten brat who likes cinnamon and is marrying a ruthless warrior who turns into a puppy whenever she says so."
Miroku blinked at Inu-Yasha's interruption, making a mental note to question the hanyou's sanity when they reached the city.
If they reached the city.
"Inu-Yasha, it appears we have company."
A small group of bandits, their numbers no greater than eight or ten had surrounded the pair as they'd been walking. The leader of them advanced on Inu-Yasha, while his henchman surrounded Miroku. He gave a toothless smile, and slapped a broken bottle against his palm threateningly.
Inu-Yasha wasted no time in kicking some ass. His body lurched forward to the ringleader, and landed a punch square in his face, packing enough force to knock the burly man down and out cold.
Seeing their leader so easily defeated, the rest of the lot dispersed quickly, all within the time that it took Miroku to blink.
"Aw man! I was looking forward to a good fight too!" Inu-Yasha whined, poking the unconscious body with his foot.
"You're the kinda guy that fights a lot just because you can, aren't you?" Miroku asked.
"Hey, it's fun."
Miroku merely shook his head. He got the feeling that trouble followed this guy around, and despite his usual practice of 'leave-it-alone-and-kick-its-ass-when-it-comes-near-me-', he couldn't help but think that hanging around might be fun. He decided not to let the sulking hanyou know this, because Miroku also got the impression he didn't take to having company too well.
"Well, to each their own I guess," he finally answered.
"Yeah well, it's MY own!" Inu-Yasha said.
Miroku's eyebrow quirked, and he chuckled, "You're very socially inept Inu-Yasha."
"Thanks! Is that a good thing?" Inu-Yasha asked, having no idea what the word inept meant.
"Well, for you, I think it works." Miroku slapped his hand against Inu-Yasha's back and continued towards the city gates.
"So, what were you saying earlier about the princesses?" Inu-Yasha asked.
"Oh, well, I don't really know much about them. I'm not from around here, ya know? I just remember what people have told me. The "Covered Princess" is my favorite though. I want to see what she looks like. Like, is she really that pretty, or is she just so ugly that they don't want anyone to know about it? That would be a shame." Miroku shook his head and sighed dramatically.
Inu-Yasha shrugged, "Well, I've only seen two of 'em. The middle one is supposedly really haughty. She's never left the castle walls. The youngest one is careless. You saw her earlier, remember?"
"Oh yes, the girl you called Rin-hime? I thought you were joking. Why would a princess be out of the palace, unattended?"
Inu-Yasha snorted, "She does it all the time. This time Myouga-jiji was sent out with her, but I'm sure castle guards weren't too far away. Their smell is always in the forest, but it did seem fresher. But, to the point, Rin isn't really known for her appreciation of the castle's rules, if you know what I mean."
Miroku nodded, "A little rebel?"
"Exactly," Inu-Yasha responded.
"And the oldest one?"
Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes, "She's a stuck up bitch. Thinks she's above even her father. Her mother isn't the queen of our land, but rather, she is the daughter of Kaede-sama, the first queen. She died tragically, and the princess went into mourning for almost two years. Then my-er, the new queen, came to the thrown, and the princess refused to accept her rule, because the queen had given birth to a son who was not of noble blood. Eventually she came around, apparently, but she won't marry herself unless he's a great warrior of a prince."
Miroku nodded, "She reminds me of a princess from my land. She wouldn't marry unless the man managed to find four golden sheep. And when he did, she ate them, and made clothes out of their wool, and insisted that they'd never existed in the first place. And each time he'd find more sheep, she'd eat them, and make clothes from the wool, and hide them in her lady-in-waiting's room. Eventually, she grew so fat that she had to have all the clothes re-sewn to fit her, and the wool was so shiny that it blinded the poor man. Lucky him, I say."
Inu-Yasha's eyes bugged out a little at Miroku's story.
"You gotta be making that up."
"No no! It's all true, I swear. Oh, and then there was this other princess who married a frog-"
"Why are you following me Miroku?" Inu-Yasha asked, irritation not bothering to make itself hidden in his voice.
"I'm not following you," he responded, "I'm merely headed into town for the tourney."
Inu-Yasha blinked, and then growled.
"You think you can win that?" he asked, pointedly staring at the monk's rather lanky form.
"I'm positive I could. The prize money would do me good even if I won third place, much less first, which I could attain easily."
"I'm sure," Inu-Yasha remarked dryly, "but I fear there's something you didn't calculate into your little plan."
"Oh," Miroku asked, "and what might that be?"
Inu-Yasha's chest puffed out with pride, and in a typical egotistical male fashion, he let his fast smash against his chest, in a way that vaguely reminded Miroku of a primate.
"I'll be in the contest!"
"Ah, and will this alter my standings much then?"
"It damn well should. I'm the best fighter around here," he responded proudly.
Miroku grinned and said, "Well I've got a secret weapon or two up my sleeve. Not even one with youkai blood such as yourself could withstand it."
Inu-Yasha's eyes rolled, and he didn't even bother to respond that he could easily withstand anything that he had to throw at him, but he could sense that this monk was very powerful. And...just in case...he didn't want to test it unless he absolutely needed to.
"So," Miroku started, "why is it you wish to fight in the tourney?"
Inu-Yasha snorted, "Whaddya think? To be famous and wealthy, just like every other idiot out there. Why are you fighting? A man of the lord should be out there spreading words of peace, not kicking ass."
"Oh, but I do spread words of peace, just not when I'm broke. I need money to see a kisai to deal with a curse placed upon my family."
Inu-Yasha nodded, and grinned when he saw the city view against the horizon. He estimated that in roughly a few hours they'd reach it.
"The castle looks very lovely in the sunset." Miroku remarked against the sound of his shakoujou's bangles in the wind.
"Hmph," Inu-Yasha said, "it looks like it does always. A headquarters for killing and prejudice."
"They speak of three princesses in that castle. The first one refuses to be married, unless it's to a warrior. The second one's face has never been shown to the public. The day she was born, she was declared too beautiful for our mortal eyes to view. And the third one-"
"-is a small rotten brat who likes cinnamon and is marrying a ruthless warrior who turns into a puppy whenever she says so."
Miroku blinked at Inu-Yasha's interruption, making a mental note to question the hanyou's sanity when they reached the city.
If they reached the city.
"Inu-Yasha, it appears we have company."
A small group of bandits, their numbers no greater than eight or ten had surrounded the pair as they'd been walking. The leader of them advanced on Inu-Yasha, while his henchman surrounded Miroku. He gave a toothless smile, and slapped a broken bottle against his palm threateningly.
Inu-Yasha wasted no time in kicking some ass. His body lurched forward to the ringleader, and landed a punch square in his face, packing enough force to knock the burly man down and out cold.
Seeing their leader so easily defeated, the rest of the lot dispersed quickly, all within the time that it took Miroku to blink.
"Aw man! I was looking forward to a good fight too!" Inu-Yasha whined, poking the unconscious body with his foot.
"You're the kinda guy that fights a lot just because you can, aren't you?" Miroku asked.
"Hey, it's fun."
Miroku merely shook his head. He got the feeling that trouble followed this guy around, and despite his usual practice of 'leave-it-alone-and-kick-its-ass-when-it-comes-near-me-', he couldn't help but think that hanging around might be fun. He decided not to let the sulking hanyou know this, because Miroku also got the impression he didn't take to having company too well.
"Well, to each their own I guess," he finally answered.
"Yeah well, it's MY own!" Inu-Yasha said.
Miroku's eyebrow quirked, and he chuckled, "You're very socially inept Inu-Yasha."
"Thanks! Is that a good thing?" Inu-Yasha asked, having no idea what the word inept meant.
"Well, for you, I think it works." Miroku slapped his hand against Inu-Yasha's back and continued towards the city gates.
"So, what were you saying earlier about the princesses?" Inu-Yasha asked.
"Oh, well, I don't really know much about them. I'm not from around here, ya know? I just remember what people have told me. The "Covered Princess" is my favorite though. I want to see what she looks like. Like, is she really that pretty, or is she just so ugly that they don't want anyone to know about it? That would be a shame." Miroku shook his head and sighed dramatically.
Inu-Yasha shrugged, "Well, I've only seen two of 'em. The middle one is supposedly really haughty. She's never left the castle walls. The youngest one is careless. You saw her earlier, remember?"
"Oh yes, the girl you called Rin-hime? I thought you were joking. Why would a princess be out of the palace, unattended?"
Inu-Yasha snorted, "She does it all the time. This time Myouga-jiji was sent out with her, but I'm sure castle guards weren't too far away. Their smell is always in the forest, but it did seem fresher. But, to the point, Rin isn't really known for her appreciation of the castle's rules, if you know what I mean."
Miroku nodded, "A little rebel?"
"Exactly," Inu-Yasha responded.
"And the oldest one?"
Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes, "She's a stuck up bitch. Thinks she's above even her father. Her mother isn't the queen of our land, but rather, she is the daughter of Kaede-sama, the first queen. She died tragically, and the princess went into mourning for almost two years. Then my-er, the new queen, came to the thrown, and the princess refused to accept her rule, because the queen had given birth to a son who was not of noble blood. Eventually she came around, apparently, but she won't marry herself unless he's a great warrior of a prince."
Miroku nodded, "She reminds me of a princess from my land. She wouldn't marry unless the man managed to find four golden sheep. And when he did, she ate them, and made clothes out of their wool, and insisted that they'd never existed in the first place. And each time he'd find more sheep, she'd eat them, and make clothes from the wool, and hide them in her lady-in-waiting's room. Eventually, she grew so fat that she had to have all the clothes re-sewn to fit her, and the wool was so shiny that it blinded the poor man. Lucky him, I say."
Inu-Yasha's eyes bugged out a little at Miroku's story.
"You gotta be making that up."
"No no! It's all true, I swear. Oh, and then there was this other princess who married a frog-"