Disclaimer: You know how this should go, I don't need to write it…
MmmKay, I have been writing this story in snatches, such as on my breaks at work and between doing things at home, so you might notice little change over areas. Sorry about these, but I can only do so much. Also, if you have any scenes you would like to see incorporated, let me know. Thanks for reviewing if you did, I really wasn't expecting to get any since I refuse to beg for them. (Icebolt140, FoXxdemond, Simpson-Girl twice!, PhantomFlyer, gene-kitty twice!, Hideki LaShae, Schizo, JadeBlueAfterGlow, Inu-Angel, ladykaa28, PerfectReRe twice!, lilblossom82, Idatashii Koinonayami twice!
When the other three awoke, they found Inuyasha sitting in a nearby tree, idly running his rosary beads through his fingers, looking off into the distance. Once he realized the others were awake, he swooped down from the tree and caught up Shippou in his sharp claws. The small bundle of fur tried to scamper away, but decided it would be best to just cringe and hope to survive Inuyasha's beating. However, before the enraged demon could get at the little fox, he was halted.
"What the hell are you beating Shippou for now?!" Sango cried as she shielded him with her body. This action clicked in Inuyasha's brain. *She looks a lot like Kagome when she does that.* Before Inuyasha could make another move, Miroku was in front of him, staring at the demon's chest, exactly where the rosary beads should have been.
"H-h-h-how?" he stuttered, not believing such an event possible. The monk got no response from Inuyasha, though. He just lowered the paw ready to slice Sango and Shippou into little pieces and slumped his shoulders, turning away from the group.
Miroku turned to Sango, who was still clutching Shippou, who was still wide-eyed and trembling with terror. Miroku inclined his head and motioned with his hand for the two to retreat from the campsite. They wandered into the forest, grateful to be spared their lives with Inuyasha always on the warpath.
Once the two had gone a good distance, Miroku approached the brooding hanyou and asked quietly, "What was the cause of your unusual temper this morning?" The monk wisely decided to avoid the issue of the beads at present, hoping that they would come up in conversation without his prompting.
Without turning, and in a low, almost emotionless voice, Inuyasha addressed Miroku's question. "I woke up early and found Shippou asleep on his watch. That is not a very comforting sight." After he stopped, it was apparent that he was not going to continue about anything else, so, with a weary sigh, Miroku took a step closer to the demon.
"And your beads…?"
"What about them, monk?" Inuyasha growled dangerously, slowly rounding on poor Miroku. He closed the distance between them, and, thrusting the beads into the frightened man's hands, growled again, "here they are, go ahead, look at them, take them if you like, they are nothing to me." Miroku gulped and began to go into a cold sweat. He knew the only way they could be removed was by the hand of the one who placed them over the head, or by the death of said person.
Miroku gently took the beads from Inuyasha's hand, turning them over in his palm, trying to decide what to think. *If the cause of the beads being removed was Kagome's death, we are in much deeper trouble than we can handle…She was the last hope Inuyasha harbored. If she is gone, there is nothing left to hold him to his new rational way of thinking. He will destroy us all in a fit of rage!! But then again, some things just happen* Miroku looked uneasily at the demon, silently praying that Kagome somehow managed to sneak into the camp, lift the beads, and sneak back out undetected, but the monk doubted the girl's ability to accomplish such a task.
"Um, Inuyasha, how do you, uh, well, what would your theory be as to the, err, removal of…" the frightened monk didn't even get the chance to finish his question before the half demon whirled to reply.
"She took them off, she is alive, I saw her, this morning, in camp, here, right here!" he rushed out. Miroku just stared, bewildered. He realized just how much Inuyasha missed the girl, even after two years of her being gone. He knew that there was some level of love inside the demon for the bubbly girl. Miroku could hardly fathom how he would handle the situation if it were put upon him and Sango, let alone how love struck Inuyasha dealt with it.
"Can you explain to me exactly what took place this morning?"
Elsewhere in Feudal Japan…
The arrow glowed with an eerie pink aurora. With a dull thwack, it connected with its target. A large water demon dropped out of the air and back into the lake below it, the previously mentioned arrow completely impaling the body.
A woman stood poised on the shore, bow held out at full arm's length. She closed her eyes, feeling for the jewel shard's energy, and then dove into the water to retrieve it.
As soon as the precious fragment had been removed from the body of the vanquished demon, the body dissolved in a gust of tiny bubbles and swirled away in the current.
As soon as she climbed out of the lake, the dripping black clad femme held the shard near the large chunk suspended on a chain around her neck. She could feel in the increase of energy as the two pieces fused together. She looked up from the jewel around her neck and gazed into a brilliant blue sky. "One step closer. Soon Naruku, very soon."