Chapter Eleven: Second Sword Fight

"Now, Miroku, you will not be able to use your wind tunnel for three days," an old, gray-haired woman told Miroku as she slowly wrapped up his hand. She was wrinkled; a patch covered her right eye.

"Yes, Kaede." Miroku squinted his eyes; his hand felt like a thousand knives were plunging into it. Kaede got up and limped out. As soon as she left, Sango entered. Her black hair swayed from side to side. Kilala, her faithful two-tailed cat, bounced in behind her. Miroku gripped his hand and slowly sat down on a mat that had been laid down for him.

"You injured your hand again," Sango commented as she sat beside him. She watched Kilala climb in Miroku's lap and curl up. A smile swept across her face as she folded her avocado-colored dress while listening to the sweet sound of her purring cat.

"It's not as bad as last time," he said while stroking Kilala's soft fur. "You look worried, Sango."

"I'm confused. This man that you ran into, he seems nice, but I don't trust him. Why did he agree to help us look for the shards?"

"Someone else fell down the well before he did; he is looking for them and wants us to help."

"Are you sure he has no alternate motives or if he is even telling the truth?"

"As of right now, I believe him. When my wind tunnel was injured, he took our some type of weapon and aimed it at our attacker. If Inuyasha had not used his Tetsusiga, I believe that he would have killed the demon or died trying." At that moment, a flustered Inuyasha barged in and sat in between Sango and Miroku. They both tried to stifle their laughter but could not.

"What!" Inuyasha barked as he crossed his arms.

"Did you and Kagome get in another fight?" Sango asked through soft laughter.

"No."

"Then what is it?" Miroku tried to question as sympathetically as possible.

"Why should I tell you, monk?" Inuyasha growled as he got up and stormed out.

"I wonder what is wrong with him if it is not Kagome," Sango thought aloud.

"We may soon find out." Miroku looked at the door where Inuyasha had just exited and watched as Jack Sparrow walked through, gripping his gut. His head was slightly tilted back and uncontrollable laughter projected out of his mouth. "Inuyasha's a bit of a stick, isn't he?" Jack asked through his bursts of laughter.

"You have no idea," Miroku and Sango stated in unison. Silence filled the room for all of five seconds. Then, like a group of kids around a campfire, all three of them burst into laughter.

"I'm glad my humiliation is entertaining to you all," Inuyasha bellowed from outside.

Through fits of laughter, Sango looked up at Jack and questioned, "What is he talking about?"

"I beat him in another sword fight, love." With wide eyes, Sango glanced over at Miroku. No demon had ever been able to beat Inuyasha; she even doubted that she would be able to.

"Did he use the Tetsusiga?" Sango asked, still with a puzzled look on her face.

"He used my rapier, and I used my cutlass, love. The man doesn't know how to block, parry, or use correct footwork. He knows none of the basic swords, nor how to use them correctly."

"I do not doubt that without the Tetsusiga, his strength falters. Inuyasha has no doubt told you about the origin of his sword. The demonic power that is in the sword allows him to attack and destroy without much skill involved," Miroku stated mater-of-factly.

"The bloody cur is fast, though, kept me on my feet the whole time, mate."

"I would like to learn how to fight with your type of sword. My boomerang is disabled in many battles, and I do not want to leave my safety in the hands of men; they are not to be trusted." Sango tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, love, if men are not to be trusted, then how can you trust me to teach you?" Jack's mouth formed into his very charming smirk as he meandered his way out. Miroku started to giggle and stopped suddenly when Sango looked right at him with a sour expression. He took that to mean, "You better stop laughing or I will kick your butt into Kagome's time!"