Well, here we go again.  I'm having so much fun with this!  Yep!  Fun.  I'm one of those people who enjoys it when my favorite characters are tortured greatly either physically or mentally, but I pout and complain if they die.  My friends can back me up with this.  They think I'm strange, especially when I sometimes refer to things as happy little stories, when, in reality, they're as angsty as heck. (yes, heck.  I don't like to swear, but I know that in this story I will have to cause Inuyasha does in the anime.)

Well, that was a mouthful.  I gotta come up with some more fate and destiny stuff.  I know some more I could say, but I try to relate it to the chapter…I gotta think about this.

Onward!

Disclaimer: See last chapter.  I still have money!…but don't sue me, cause I own nothing!

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*When dealing with destiny, you sometimes have to look to your past.  But it's the past, right?  It's done; you can't change it, so we should forget about it, right?  Wrong.  Without a past, you'll have no future.  The past helps create the future, since the choices you made will constantly affect you and what you do in your life.  But it's all fated, right?  Everything will happen this way whether you chose one thing or another?  Sometimes, but not always.  Everything affects you.  Sometimes you have to face your past to proceed with your life.  It's not easy, but it has to be done.  Otherwise, how will you move forward to your own destiny?  You can't change the past, but you can make a better future by learning from it.*

It was getting dark out and the sun had just disappeared beyond the horizon.  The stars were shining in the sky like small gems.  It was truly beautiful.  The group of six sat on the large hill that led into the forest and down into the village.  They were only a little ways in the forest, a campfire already burning.  Inuyasha was standing farther away from everyone else, keeping an eye out for danger.  Kagome and Sango were sitting near Kagome's first aid kit, which was already open, the contents spread out around them.  They were working hard to patch up the cuts and bruises all over Miroku.  He sat quietly, his eyes closed, leaning against a tree.  He decided to just let them do their work without complaining.  Unlike Inuyasha, he wasn't too proud to admit he needed help right now.

They had managed to pull him away after the crowd left him.  He was cut down his left arm and had a huge gash down his chest.  His right ankle was sprained and had recently been tightly wrapped up in bandages by the girls.  They had finished almost every injury and were now working on his head.  He had been smashed into a few things, causing a bruise to form on one side and a huge gash to appear on the other.  After cleaning the cut, they applied the bandages.  Once tied tightly, they sighed and sat back.  His robes were slightly torn and dirty, but he didn't seem to mind.  Not to mention there were huge rips in them from when he had been cut.  Miroku just sighed and opened his eyes.  Inuyasha then turned around and walked over to him.

"All right Miroku," said Inuyasha.  "I want an explanation.  You're usually the one who gets us in places, not thrown out."  Miroku laughed slightly at that statement, since it was basically true.

"Houshi-sama," started Sango.  "You mentioned something about three years ago…that you…"  Miroku sighed again.

"It's all true.  I did destroy this town three years ago with my Kazaana."

"Why?" asked Kagome.

"I was tricked by someone."

"By who?" asked Shippo.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" suggested Kagome.

"Fine.  Three years ago, I was walking through this forest, looking for a village to stay at.  On my way, I came across a young girl.  She was wearing a cloak to disguise herself.  She told me that the town up ahead had been taken over by youkai.  She told me I wouldn't be able to tell, since they took the forms of humans.  She said she was the last survivor of the village.  I left her there and continued towards the village.  When I got to the entrance, it was silent.  No one was out of their houses.  So I…"  He paused for a second, thinking about what he wanted to say.  He then gave a sad smile and shook his head.  "I was such a fool," he whispered quietly to himself.  "I opened the Kazaana, believing what the girl said, and I sucked up the houses, people and all."

"Couldn't you tell that there wasn't any youki?" asked Inuyasha.  There was a slight tone of amusement in his voice.  Miroku was usually the first to sense youki.

"That's just the thing," said Miroku.  "I did sense youki.  That's why I used the Kazaana.  Some people came out of their houses.  The way they looked at me…their terrified expressions."  He paused once again, trying to rid his mind of the memories.  "Eventually, the youki disappeared.  I closed the Kazaana and looked at what I had done.  Half the village was gone and the other half had been destroyed.  Houses had collapsed and people were standing around, terrified.  It was then that I realized I had been tricked.  I killed so many people.  I…"  He just hung his head, finding the ground highly interesting.  No one said anything for a while.  "That's why it's alright," said Miroku.  "I don't care what they do to me.  I deserve it."

"Miroku-sama, it's not your fault," said Kagome.  "You couldn't have known."

"If I had paid more attention, I would have been able to prevent it.  What made it worse was that girl.  She was standing on the hill, this very hill, laughing at me.  I still remember the sound of her voice.  I can't stand it."

"Was she a youkai?" asked Inuyasha, seeming uninterested, but still taking part.

"No.  Not that I know of.  I didn't sense any youki coming from her."

"This girl…what did she look like?" asked Sango.

"She had blood red hair that hung over half of her face.  I could only see one of her eyes.  It was a dark gray color."

"What happened afterwards?" asked Shippo, finally getting into the conversation.

"I left the village.  For a while, I tried to find the girl who tricked me, but as you can see, I never found her."  They were silent for a while.  Inuyasha finally jumped into one of the tall trees, taking up a branch.

"Hey, Miroku," he said.  Miroku glanced up at him, as if saying 'what'?  "You better be ready to leave tomorrow."

"Inuyasha!" shouted Kagome.

"What?!"

"Miroku-sama is injured badly and all you can think of is how soon we can leave!"

"So?!"

"Inuyasha, if you don't behave, I'll say 'it'."  Inuyasha fell silent.  "That's better."

******

It was really late at night now.  Kagome and Shippo were sleeping quietly in Kagome's sleeping bag.  Inuyasha was in a tree, on a branch that hung above Kagome.  About a tree away was where Miroku was.  He was propped up against the trunk of the huge tree.  His eyes were closed, but he was far from being asleep.  His mind was racing with different thoughts.  Little did he know he wasn't the only one still awake.

"Houshi-sama?" asked Sango.  Miroku opened his eyes and looked over to her.  She was sitting up, the blankets resting on her lap.  "Doushita no?" she asked quietly.

"Nandemo."

"Onegai, Houshi-sama.  I know something's wrong.  Tell me."

"I was just thinking; that's all."

"About what?"

"About what happened here…about what I did…about the people I killed."  He hung his head, his eyes expressing great pain.

"Houshi-sama…It wasn't your…"

"Don't tell me it wasn't my fault, because it was!"  He said it a little louder than he had meant to, but not loud enough to wake the others.  Sango was a little shocked at his sudden outburst.  Miroku's expression soon softened.  "Gomen ne, Sango.  I didn't mean to yell like that.  I know you're just trying to make me feel better."

"It's alright.  I understand."  They both sat in silence for a while, just staring at the stars.  "Houshi-sama?"

"Nani?"

"Maybe this was meant to happen to you.  Maybe you were supposed to come back here to do something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know.  Just something."  Miroku just smiled.  She was trying so hard to cheer him up.

"Sango?  Arigatou."

"You're welcome."  Sango lied back down and pulled her blankets up to her chin.  "Now go to sleep, Houshi-sama.  You need to rest."

"Hai.  Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

******

Morning seemed to come all too quickly.  The sun peaked over the opposite horizon, painting the sky a light lavender color, with a few pinks and yellows mixed in.  It was truly beautiful, but not many noticed it.  Sango was the first one to wake up.  She sat up and stretched her arms up over her head.  She then rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  After yawning once, she began to look around.  Kagome was still asleep and so was Inuyasha.  Sango smiled slightly and then looked to where Miroku had been last night.  He wasn't there now.  Sango stood up and walked over to the tree, hoping that his lack of presence was just from the blurriness of her own eyes.  She rubbed them again, but he still didn't appear.

"Houshi-sama?" she asked the forest.  She glanced around, looking for him, but found nothing.  "Houshi-sama!" she called out louder.  She began to look around.  "Where are you?"  Kagome then sat up and rubbed her own eyes.  Shippo also awoke from the sudden movement of Kagome.

"Sango-chan?" asked Kagome, noticing the way her friend was frantically searching for something.  "What's going on?"

"Houshi-sama is gone," she answered.

"Miroku is gone?!" asked Shippo in a worried voice.  "But he's still injured!"

"Feh, that bouzu," said Inuyasha from his tree branch.  "He's always going off on his own."

"He's starting to act more like a certain somebody I know," said Kagome as she glared at Inuyasha.  Inuyasha just gave her a confused look.

"We have to find him," said Sango.  Kagome nodded and then stood up.

"Okay, but where could he have gone?" asked Kagome.  "He wouldn't have gone back to that village, so where could he be?"  Inuyasha jumped down from the tree and walked out into the clearing of the hill.  He looked around, but saw nothing suspicious.  He was soon joined by the others.  Inuyasha sniffed the air.  His expression then hardened as he looked out at the forest on the hill to his right.  It was also covered in trees.  The village seemed well protected by the hills that surrounded it on all sides, yet it was also a perfect target for youkai.  And that's exactly what he smelled.  Youkai.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome, noticing the look on his face.

"Youkai," he said.

"Where?"

"Over there, in that forest."  The hill overlooked the forest to the right.  They could see the tops of the trees.  They began to sway.  Suddenly, the trees began to bend greatly and most snapped in half.  Others were swaying from a strong wind, yet it wasn't windy outside.

"I think we found Miroku," said Inuyasha.  They all began to run down the hill and towards the right, heading right back into the forest, and going towards the wind.  It suddenly stopped.  The trees stopped moving and the wind stopped howling.  Inuyasha stopped running, as did the others.

"What's going on?" asked Sango.

"The wind stopped," noted Kagome.

"Meaning?"

"Miroku closed the Kazaana…but I…I still smell youkai," said Inuyasha.  The forest was then filled by Miroku's pained cry and the sound of a tree falling.

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Well now, wasn't that fun…didn't I say that last time…and didn't I come to the conclusion that it wasn't all that fun, in fact, it was quite angsty?

Anyway, how have your guys' days been?  Our team won the hockey game!  Now they play again on Friday.  It was so fun today, since I stayed in school instead of going to the game.  There were, like, 30 kids in C lunch.  It was hilarious!

I've seen up to episode 61!  Yay!

I'm thinking of starting another Inuyasha fic, but I'm not sure if I should.

Anyway, I'll write more soon.  Aren't cliffhangers fun?  Oh yeah, this is IMPORTANT!  Since I update irregularly, like most people, I'd be happy to email people as to when I update.  Just leave your guys email addresses and tell me you want me to tell you.  Okay?

Doushita no-what's wrong?

Nandemo-nothing

Onegai-please

Gomen ne-I'm sorry

Arigatou-Thank you

Hai-yes

If I got any wrong, then please tell me, since I'm not exactly sure on the spelling.  I didn't repeat the ones I used in the last chapter, cause I didn't think I would need to.  Anyway, that's all for now.

Audi^.^ (I use this word to say goodbye, okay?  It's just more fun!)