Outside the window, stood the boy with the ball from earlier. He was sitting cross-legged under the branches of the peach tree, looking up at the trunk. He smiled as a gentle breeze ruffled his hair.
At Sango's exclamation, he looked over and met her gaze serenely, half smiling. He moved to stand on the other side of the tree, glowing like the almost full moon in the sky.
Miroku moved to stand behind Sango to look out over her head. "That boy… he's no human's ghost. At least, not completely…" he said softly, puzzled.
Sango was watching the boy with a rapt expression. "He looks like Kohaku…" she whispered.
Unnoticed behind her, Miroku dropped to his knees. ~ Thou art a houshi? ~ the feather soft voice asked in his head. ~ Why dost thou cometh here? ~ she asked with obvious distress in her voice. ~ She will kill you if you stay! ~
Miroku was snapped out of it by Sango shaking his shoulder. "Houshi-sama!" she said. "The boy stepped into the tree and disappeared. What did you hear?"
"The voice is innocent. She is who we need to discover," Miroku was breathing hard, trying to steady his hands. Sango was still holding his shoulders.
"We still have five days," she told him encouragingly. "We'll defeat this curse."