The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. There were a few shared glanced between Inuyasha and Sango, but other than that, the two didn't talk much. And, when he wasn't doing anything else, Inuyasha would occasionally send a growl in Miroku's direction.
Shippou was oblivious to what was going on. Kagome still believed something was going on that she didn't know about. And it was driving her crazy. The school girl had tried talking to Miroku to see why Inuyasha seemed so mad at him, but the monk wouldn't say much. He would just smile and say, "Inuyasha's only being Inuyasha, Kagome-sama. Do not worry." But that only made her worry more...
Sighing, Kagome turned back to Shippou, who was playing with Kirara at the moment. Inuyasha was sitting in a tree, just watching everyone. Miroku seemed to be meditating nearby. And Sango was cleaning her hiraikotsu.
While everyone was doing their own thing, the forest suddenly grew eerily quiet. Kirara looked up, her fur bristling a bit.
"Houshi-sama." Sango said quietly, her eyes turning to look at the monk.
Miroku nodded, already knowing what Sango knew. He stood up and looked into the darkening forest.
Kagome looked over to Sango, "What is it?"
"Demons." Inuyasha said simply, jumping down from the tree, "They're coming..."
Then, as if confirming everything, a bunch of demons came into view.
Inuyasha smirked, "Heh. Things have been too quiet lately. I was getting rusty. Sankon Tetsusou!" He called, slicing through on of the demons.
"Kitsune bi!" Shippou said, hitting some of the demons with the blue flames.
Since the young kitsune's attacks were more like tricks, than actual attacks, Kagome prepared to fire an arrow at the demons. Once Shippou's fox-fire distracted them, she released the arrow. The arrow was engulfed in purple light as it flew through the air, before hitting the demon targets.
Sango stood, and prepared to throw her hiraikotsu. But before she could, a buzzing caught her attention. Without hesitation, the taijiya spun around and swung her boomerang-like weapon, slicing through a saimyoushou. "Saimyoushou?!" She gasped, surprised about seeing the poison insect. Then, hearing more buzzing, she looked up to see another of the poison insects looking at her. It stayed there for a few seconds, before flying off. "Naraku..." Sango murmured, narrowing her eyes. Then, looking over her shoulder she called, "Kirara!"
The fire-cat looked up from her fighting, then ran towards her mistress. As she passed Sango, the slayer jumped onto her back. And without needing instructions, Kirara took off after the saimyoushou.
But that wasn't before Inuyasha saw, "Sango?" He looked over at Miroku, Kagome, and Shippou. They could take care of these lesser demons. So, the hanyou ran after Sango and Kirara, "Sango, matte!!"
"Eh...Inuyasha! Where are you going?!" Kagome called after him. But Inuyasha was already gone.
Miroku glanced over at the young miko, "Leave him be, Kagome-sama. He'll be all right."
Kagome frowned, but nodded slightly, before turning back to the demons and shooting another arrow.
*Meanwhile*
"Matte, Sango!" Inuyasha shouted, jumping and grabbing a hold of the taijiya's arm.
Sango looked at him for a few seconds, before turning back to Kirara, "Down, Kirara."
As Kirara landed on the ground again, Sango slid off and jerked her arm away from Inuyasha, "I have to go, Inuyasha!"
"You can't go! Not, alone. This is obviously a trap set up by Naraku!" The hanyou replied.
"I know that." Sango said simply, "But what other choice do I have? I have to do this alone. For Kohaku...For my father...For my village. You can't understand, but this is something I must do."
"I do understand, Sango. And you're not the only one who wants to kill Naraku to avenge someone else." Inuyasha retorted, "Besides, last time you fought against him alone, you nearly got yourself killed! I don't...I don't want to see that happen again."
The taijiya looked down slightly, "I won't get killed, Inuyasha. Back then, I didn't know anything about Naraku. But now...I know what he's like. I know more about his tricks, and the way he fights. I promise you, nothing will happen to me."
Inuyasha shook his head, "That's not good enough! You can't say that you will or won't be killed! I'm not letting you go alone. If you're going, then I'm going."
"I'm not going to ask you to understand why I need to do this...But there is one thing I need to ask of you..." She stepped closer to the hanyou and looked up at him, "Inuyasha...please don't hate me." And as soon as she had said those words, she threw one of the poison gas bombs on the ground.
Because he hadn't been expecting it, Inuyasha was unable to get out of the gas' reach in time to grab her again. He jumped back, covering his nose and mouth, but by that time Sango was already gone. "Sango...Damn it!!" He then turned and ran back towards the others.
*Back with Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou*
"Kazaana!" Miroku yelled, as the few remaining demons were sucked into the air-rip on his hand.
"Ha! Well done, Miroku-sama!" Kagome said happily, as he wrapped the prayer beads around his hand once more, sealing his curse. "Now...where'd Sango-chan and Inuyasha go?"
"Sango's gone."
The three others turned to look at the hanyou as he returned. "What do you mean gone?" Kagome asked worriedly.
Inuyasha rubbed his nose, trying to rid his senses of the gas' smell, "Just what I said! I went after her when she ran away. I had her...then she threw one of her poison gas bombs. Her scent was covered up. But if we go in the direction that she went, I should be able to pick it up again. So are you coming or what?"
Kagome and Miroku looked at each other, then nodded and turned to Inuyasha, waiting for him to tell them which way to go.
Shippou, on the other hand, was a bit more vocal in his response, "Of course we're coming, you baka! Let's go!"
The hanyou decided to let Shippou's comment slide this time. He had more important things to tend to than the young kitsune, "Come on then!"
~*~
AN: Uh-oh...Sango went off alone... What will happen next? Stay tuned to find out ^-^ Also, 'matte' means 'wait' or 'stop.