Chapter 4
If she touched one more man, he would use his wind tunnel on all of them, including Inu Yasha who was taking entirely too much time questioning the few men left in the village that wasn't surrounding her. Miroku clenched his hands around his staff as he watched Sango smile up into the face of another man, while she lightly ran her hands down the guy's chest and stomach. He snapped his eyes back to Inu Yasha who had an old man by the collar and was dangling him a few feet in the air. He briefly caught Kagome's eye and was surprised by the intense look she was giving him.
Kagome watched Miroku, to anyone else he would have appeared controlled, content even. But Kagome had been his friend for quite some time now, and she noticed the little things. Like the white knuckled grip he had on his staff and the muscle that jumped in his jaw whenever Sango laughed at some guy's jokes. This was bothering him greatly and there was nothing she could do for him. At least not until they got Sango back the way she used to be.
Kagome's eyes slid back to Sango who was at that moment disappearing behind a crowd of men. Kagome sighed, whose turn was it this time. All of them with the exception of Inu Yasha had taken turns rescuing Sango from herself. Whenever she got out of their line of sight or asked her favorite question, which she was asking now, one of them jumped to the rescue. Kagome turned back to Miroku who was making his way over to the crowd.
'I guess it was his turn.' Kagome thought absently as she tried to hurry Inu Yasha along with his interrogation.
"I may not have long to live, me and my companions are on a very dangerous journey, so . . ." Sango took the man closest to her by the hands. She brought his hands up to chest level with her two hands and closed her eyes to symbolize that he would be doing her a great favor. "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my first."
Miroku heard the inquiry but wasn't the least bit surprised. Sango had asked at least half of the village's most eligible men that same question. Miroku growled, much like Inu Yasha did when he was irritated. Just because he had heard her ask the question a dozen times, didn't mean that he was any less pissed off when the words left her lips.
"Sango!!" He was trying to keep control of his voice but it wasn't working very well and her name came out louder than it should have.
"Miroku-kun, you must meet my friend. This is . . . um . . ." Sango struggled to remember the man's name.
"It doesn't matter." Miroku said his face stony.
Sango smiled, misinterpreting his statement she reached for the guy's hand so that he could lead the way to where ever it was that they needed to go so that he could fulfill his favor.
Before their hands could touch Miroku stepped between them. He grabbed Sango's arm and dragged her away. Throwing a curt "excuse us" over his shoulder to the now gapping man.
He pulled her over to their small group.
"All right Sango, every-time one of us pulls you over here you find your way back there." He nodded his head toward the crowd of men. She turn to see where he was pointing and upon witnessing the scrumptious male crowd she moved toward them unconsciously. Miroku jerked on her hand harder this time, physically dragging her back to reality.
He lifted his other hand and pointed a finger in her face. "Don't go anywhere, don't move, don't even think of moving!!" He stared into her face for a while to make sure that she understood and then he let her hands go. Just that quick his hands were captured by hers. Sango closed her eyes.
"Miroku I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my first." Miroku stared at Sango incredulously. An extremely perplexed expression on his face. He stared at her a little longer then he pulled his hands away abruptly. Looking around for a second then spotting what he was looking for he grabbed Sango's hands just a abruptly as he had pulled his away. He closed his eyes in gratitude.
"Sango I would be honored, and would you in turn bear my children?"
"MIROKU!!!!" Three disgusted voices and a feline growl interrupted the scene, even as Sango was nodding her head solemnly.
"You're a disgusting man Miroku." Inu Yasha said his hands hidden in his sleeves in one of his favorite stances.
"I am merely rescuing Sango from a fate worse than death." Miroku stated reasonably.
Kagome raised her eyebrows at Miroku's dramatics, "A fate worse than death?"
"Dying inexperienced, of course." Miroku said, his tone matter-of-fact.
"I thought a fate worse than death meant rape." Shippo was all innocence.
"And what do you know about that?" Kagome asked staring at Shippo in surprise. "Never mind I don't want to know." This was said quickly, when Shippo was all too ready to explain the source of his knowledge.
They all ignored Shippo's disappointed look. Though Kagome couldn't ignore the looks of disappointment on both Sango's and Miroku's faces.
Maybe . . .
"We're wasting time, that old man said he saw the youkai heading in that direction." Inu Yasha pointed west. "And I'd rather not have to fight her on my brother's land."
"How long has it been since she traveled through here?" The question was asked by Miroku and Kagome was glad to see he had his mind focused on the business at hand again. That is . . . until Sango giggled and Kagome noticed that only one of Miroku's hands could not be seen.
Kagome sighed, it had to be done.
::SMACK:: The pop of hand against cheek was heard throughout the village, turning several heads in the direction of the small group of travelers.
"Kagome, what was that for?" Miroku asked calmly the left side of his face red with the force of the slap.
"That was what Sango would have done, and since she isn't in her right frame of mind, I felt that I should fill in for her." Kagome was rubbing the sting from her hands.
***********************
The old man with whom Inu Yasha had been harassing ducked behind the corner of one of the nearby houses. He quickly peeked around the bend to see if the half-breed had seen his mysterious escape. As it became apparent that the hanyou was completely unaware of what was going on, besides the internal problems of the small group, the man let down his guard. His shape changing into that of a beautiful woman.
She smiled wickedly and pulled a small purple bottle out of her low cut kimono. She chuckled softly, luck was on her side it would seem. If Inu Yasha had been a full blooded youkai the potion in this precious little bottle wouldn't have fooled him for very long. As it was his senses were too weak to smell through the potion and see her as the true youkai that she was.
Her plan had worked out perfectly. She might be too weak to take the little youkai exterminator, but she knew someone who wasn't. She had no doubt that he would be unable to resist this girl - Sango. By the time they reached his vicinity the girl would be so ready for a man her need would radiate from her. Her scent would prove irresistible to any Youkai especially a youkai who relied heavily on his sense of smell.
The female youkai's chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. He would be so disgusted when he realized what he had done, he would either leave her somewhere or kill her. If he decided to leave the girl, then she could pick her up and bring her to the brothel where she belonged. If he decided to kill the pathetic human girl, she would simply whisk her away before he had the chance. He wasn't very likely to follow, since the youkai exterminator wasn't worth his time. Either way she would accomplish her goal.
As well as get her own personal revenge on the dog youkai that had rejected her long ago.
**********************
They had been walking for a long time now and had already entered the domain of Sesshoumaru. They were all nervous, not even wishing to speak in a loud voice for fear of being noticed. Kagome noticed that her friend, Sango was becoming increasingly restless, and Kagome had a feeling it had nothing to do with the fact that they were entering the western lands. Something else was deeply troubling Sango. Kagome's womanly intuition and her new miko awareness were screaming at her that something bad was about to happen. But what could they do? This is where the man said he'd seen the youkai travel, and they had to find her soon or Sango would remain this way.
While Miroku might like that concept - Kagome shot a glare at his back - she had to think about what was best for Sango. Plus, as she was now, Sango was no help to the group. Kagome sighed as Sango once again shifted nearly dislodging a sleeping Shippo. Shippo, Kagome, and Sango were all riding Kirara's back. Kagome had made sure she had been next to Sango all day so that Miroku couldn't take advantage of her. She just wondered what she would do tonight. Miroku had the second watch and she wasn't sure she trusted him not to take advantage of poor Sango. Kagome shook her head, poor Sango, right. If something happened between the two of them it would probably be Sango doing the instigating.
If Miroku had been less of a lech himself then Sango would probably have resorted to raping him. Something told Kagome that Sango had come close to doing just that the last time both she and Inu Yasha had been stupid enough to leave them alone. So what was she going to do. She couldn't very well stay up all night watching over them. It had been a trying day and already she felt exhausted. She also, in all good conscience, couldn't ask Inu Yasha to stay up all night either. Speaking of Inu Yasha . . .
Kagome looked past Miroku, way past Miroku. Inu Yasha had been walking way ahead of them all day. She was getting a little annoyed with it. All she knew, is that he better not be thinking of Kikyo. He usually stayed away from the rest of them when Kikyo was on his mind, so Kagome did not think she was overreacting with this assumption. She would confront him when they bedded down for the evening. Kagome looked at the sky, she could see the moon, in less than an hour it would be too dark to continue their journey.
Kagome was starting to wonder if Inu Yasha intended on any of them sleeping tonight when he stopped walking and approached them. He didn't get very close and when he finally opened his mouth to tell them what was wrong he shocked them all.
"Kagome, there is a pond around that bend. Why don't you and Sango take a bath. There is a hot springs next to it. Do not take a bath in the hot spring, the pond is cool." Inu Yasha spoke softly.
Kagome was the most surprised of them all. Her constant baths were the source of many arguments between them. And here he was suggesting she take one, and in cold water no less. What was the significance of her bathing in the pond?
She didn't argue, he wouldn't tell her in front of the others. When she had finished gathering her things for a bath she approached him. Sango had already gone for the water, she seemed more eager than she had ever been to take this particular bath.
Kagome could see that Inu Yasha was in one of his impatient moods and decided to ask the most important question first. "Why did you insist that Sango and I take a bath in the pond instead of the hot springs."
Inu Yasha stared at her for a long time trying to gauge how much he should tell her. He settled with just stating blandly, "She needs cooling off."
At first Kagome was about to question him further, but then his meaning sunk in.
"Oh . . . Would that have anything to do with you walking so far ahead of us?"
He didn't answer, but Kagome had a feeling that whatever it was that made Inu Yasha aware that Sango needed to cool off was directly responsible for his distance.
"We need to find the snake youkai fast. Sango is a danger to all of us in her present state. And it won't be too long until my brother finds us . . ."
He let the rest hang in the air and Kagome's eyes grew round with fear for her friend.
"It's funny, I haven't been able to pick up that snake youkai's scent anywhere. That old man told me that she had left only hours before we did. Her scent should be stronger than it is."
Kagome nodded, she started to ask another question but suddenly Inu Yasha jumped in the air. He landed a few feet in the direction of the pond. Right in front of Miroku, who had taken advantage of their distraction to do a look sight seeing.
"I was about to . . ."
"Spare me any of your excuses monk. You're to stay AWAY from Sango until she's better, is that understood?" Inu Yasha snarled.
"I had thought we were friends Inu Yasha, but we can not sustained a lasting friendship if there is no trust between us." Miroku said with an air of wounded pride.
"Feh . . . don't give me that." He turned to Kagome. "Hurry up Kagome, and take your bow and arrows. We need to be on our guard tonight. All of us." He gave Miroku a hard look.
Kagome nodded, grabbed her weapons and trotted to the pond. Where, thankfully, Sango had chosen the pond to bath. Kagome was tempted to go over to the hot springs but decided that it wouldn't be fair to Sango.
It was an eventful night in which nobody but Shippo and Kirara got any sleep. Sango was too frustrated to sleep. Miroku was waiting impatiently for Kagome and Inu Yasha to sleep . Kagome didn't trust either Miroku or Sango so she decided to stay up to keep watch over both of them. Inu Yasha could feel the presence of several youkai hovering around waiting for him to go to let down his guard and decided to stay up with his hand on his sword for quick access. It was a long night and tempers were very short come morning.
*********************
Sesshoumaru rolled Rin's small body away from his. He didn't know why the strange little human insisted on sleeping next to him, it was beyond annoying, he didn't know why he allowed it. He stood up from his bedding, it was time to parole his lands. His sixth sense told him there were many youkai about and he wondered what could have forced them to show him such disrespect. Was it an invasion? Was someone trying to take his lands? It didn't matter, they would see their error soon enough.
Sesshoumaru slid into his armor and turned toward the door. He almost welcomed this distraction, he had become idle. He glanced once more at Rin who shivered from his missing warmth. 'Foolish human' he thought as he pulled the excess covers over her small body. He would make sure Jaken saw to his duty regarding her before he left.
Sesshoumaru stood on a tall tree staring into his woods. The youkai surrounding him could be dealt with later. He had caught a scent that interested him greatly.
'Inu Yasha . . .'
If she touched one more man, he would use his wind tunnel on all of them, including Inu Yasha who was taking entirely too much time questioning the few men left in the village that wasn't surrounding her. Miroku clenched his hands around his staff as he watched Sango smile up into the face of another man, while she lightly ran her hands down the guy's chest and stomach. He snapped his eyes back to Inu Yasha who had an old man by the collar and was dangling him a few feet in the air. He briefly caught Kagome's eye and was surprised by the intense look she was giving him.
Kagome watched Miroku, to anyone else he would have appeared controlled, content even. But Kagome had been his friend for quite some time now, and she noticed the little things. Like the white knuckled grip he had on his staff and the muscle that jumped in his jaw whenever Sango laughed at some guy's jokes. This was bothering him greatly and there was nothing she could do for him. At least not until they got Sango back the way she used to be.
Kagome's eyes slid back to Sango who was at that moment disappearing behind a crowd of men. Kagome sighed, whose turn was it this time. All of them with the exception of Inu Yasha had taken turns rescuing Sango from herself. Whenever she got out of their line of sight or asked her favorite question, which she was asking now, one of them jumped to the rescue. Kagome turned back to Miroku who was making his way over to the crowd.
'I guess it was his turn.' Kagome thought absently as she tried to hurry Inu Yasha along with his interrogation.
"I may not have long to live, me and my companions are on a very dangerous journey, so . . ." Sango took the man closest to her by the hands. She brought his hands up to chest level with her two hands and closed her eyes to symbolize that he would be doing her a great favor. "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my first."
Miroku heard the inquiry but wasn't the least bit surprised. Sango had asked at least half of the village's most eligible men that same question. Miroku growled, much like Inu Yasha did when he was irritated. Just because he had heard her ask the question a dozen times, didn't mean that he was any less pissed off when the words left her lips.
"Sango!!" He was trying to keep control of his voice but it wasn't working very well and her name came out louder than it should have.
"Miroku-kun, you must meet my friend. This is . . . um . . ." Sango struggled to remember the man's name.
"It doesn't matter." Miroku said his face stony.
Sango smiled, misinterpreting his statement she reached for the guy's hand so that he could lead the way to where ever it was that they needed to go so that he could fulfill his favor.
Before their hands could touch Miroku stepped between them. He grabbed Sango's arm and dragged her away. Throwing a curt "excuse us" over his shoulder to the now gapping man.
He pulled her over to their small group.
"All right Sango, every-time one of us pulls you over here you find your way back there." He nodded his head toward the crowd of men. She turn to see where he was pointing and upon witnessing the scrumptious male crowd she moved toward them unconsciously. Miroku jerked on her hand harder this time, physically dragging her back to reality.
He lifted his other hand and pointed a finger in her face. "Don't go anywhere, don't move, don't even think of moving!!" He stared into her face for a while to make sure that she understood and then he let her hands go. Just that quick his hands were captured by hers. Sango closed her eyes.
"Miroku I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my first." Miroku stared at Sango incredulously. An extremely perplexed expression on his face. He stared at her a little longer then he pulled his hands away abruptly. Looking around for a second then spotting what he was looking for he grabbed Sango's hands just a abruptly as he had pulled his away. He closed his eyes in gratitude.
"Sango I would be honored, and would you in turn bear my children?"
"MIROKU!!!!" Three disgusted voices and a feline growl interrupted the scene, even as Sango was nodding her head solemnly.
"You're a disgusting man Miroku." Inu Yasha said his hands hidden in his sleeves in one of his favorite stances.
"I am merely rescuing Sango from a fate worse than death." Miroku stated reasonably.
Kagome raised her eyebrows at Miroku's dramatics, "A fate worse than death?"
"Dying inexperienced, of course." Miroku said, his tone matter-of-fact.
"I thought a fate worse than death meant rape." Shippo was all innocence.
"And what do you know about that?" Kagome asked staring at Shippo in surprise. "Never mind I don't want to know." This was said quickly, when Shippo was all too ready to explain the source of his knowledge.
They all ignored Shippo's disappointed look. Though Kagome couldn't ignore the looks of disappointment on both Sango's and Miroku's faces.
Maybe . . .
"We're wasting time, that old man said he saw the youkai heading in that direction." Inu Yasha pointed west. "And I'd rather not have to fight her on my brother's land."
"How long has it been since she traveled through here?" The question was asked by Miroku and Kagome was glad to see he had his mind focused on the business at hand again. That is . . . until Sango giggled and Kagome noticed that only one of Miroku's hands could not be seen.
Kagome sighed, it had to be done.
::SMACK:: The pop of hand against cheek was heard throughout the village, turning several heads in the direction of the small group of travelers.
"Kagome, what was that for?" Miroku asked calmly the left side of his face red with the force of the slap.
"That was what Sango would have done, and since she isn't in her right frame of mind, I felt that I should fill in for her." Kagome was rubbing the sting from her hands.
***********************
The old man with whom Inu Yasha had been harassing ducked behind the corner of one of the nearby houses. He quickly peeked around the bend to see if the half-breed had seen his mysterious escape. As it became apparent that the hanyou was completely unaware of what was going on, besides the internal problems of the small group, the man let down his guard. His shape changing into that of a beautiful woman.
She smiled wickedly and pulled a small purple bottle out of her low cut kimono. She chuckled softly, luck was on her side it would seem. If Inu Yasha had been a full blooded youkai the potion in this precious little bottle wouldn't have fooled him for very long. As it was his senses were too weak to smell through the potion and see her as the true youkai that she was.
Her plan had worked out perfectly. She might be too weak to take the little youkai exterminator, but she knew someone who wasn't. She had no doubt that he would be unable to resist this girl - Sango. By the time they reached his vicinity the girl would be so ready for a man her need would radiate from her. Her scent would prove irresistible to any Youkai especially a youkai who relied heavily on his sense of smell.
The female youkai's chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. He would be so disgusted when he realized what he had done, he would either leave her somewhere or kill her. If he decided to leave the girl, then she could pick her up and bring her to the brothel where she belonged. If he decided to kill the pathetic human girl, she would simply whisk her away before he had the chance. He wasn't very likely to follow, since the youkai exterminator wasn't worth his time. Either way she would accomplish her goal.
As well as get her own personal revenge on the dog youkai that had rejected her long ago.
**********************
They had been walking for a long time now and had already entered the domain of Sesshoumaru. They were all nervous, not even wishing to speak in a loud voice for fear of being noticed. Kagome noticed that her friend, Sango was becoming increasingly restless, and Kagome had a feeling it had nothing to do with the fact that they were entering the western lands. Something else was deeply troubling Sango. Kagome's womanly intuition and her new miko awareness were screaming at her that something bad was about to happen. But what could they do? This is where the man said he'd seen the youkai travel, and they had to find her soon or Sango would remain this way.
While Miroku might like that concept - Kagome shot a glare at his back - she had to think about what was best for Sango. Plus, as she was now, Sango was no help to the group. Kagome sighed as Sango once again shifted nearly dislodging a sleeping Shippo. Shippo, Kagome, and Sango were all riding Kirara's back. Kagome had made sure she had been next to Sango all day so that Miroku couldn't take advantage of her. She just wondered what she would do tonight. Miroku had the second watch and she wasn't sure she trusted him not to take advantage of poor Sango. Kagome shook her head, poor Sango, right. If something happened between the two of them it would probably be Sango doing the instigating.
If Miroku had been less of a lech himself then Sango would probably have resorted to raping him. Something told Kagome that Sango had come close to doing just that the last time both she and Inu Yasha had been stupid enough to leave them alone. So what was she going to do. She couldn't very well stay up all night watching over them. It had been a trying day and already she felt exhausted. She also, in all good conscience, couldn't ask Inu Yasha to stay up all night either. Speaking of Inu Yasha . . .
Kagome looked past Miroku, way past Miroku. Inu Yasha had been walking way ahead of them all day. She was getting a little annoyed with it. All she knew, is that he better not be thinking of Kikyo. He usually stayed away from the rest of them when Kikyo was on his mind, so Kagome did not think she was overreacting with this assumption. She would confront him when they bedded down for the evening. Kagome looked at the sky, she could see the moon, in less than an hour it would be too dark to continue their journey.
Kagome was starting to wonder if Inu Yasha intended on any of them sleeping tonight when he stopped walking and approached them. He didn't get very close and when he finally opened his mouth to tell them what was wrong he shocked them all.
"Kagome, there is a pond around that bend. Why don't you and Sango take a bath. There is a hot springs next to it. Do not take a bath in the hot spring, the pond is cool." Inu Yasha spoke softly.
Kagome was the most surprised of them all. Her constant baths were the source of many arguments between them. And here he was suggesting she take one, and in cold water no less. What was the significance of her bathing in the pond?
She didn't argue, he wouldn't tell her in front of the others. When she had finished gathering her things for a bath she approached him. Sango had already gone for the water, she seemed more eager than she had ever been to take this particular bath.
Kagome could see that Inu Yasha was in one of his impatient moods and decided to ask the most important question first. "Why did you insist that Sango and I take a bath in the pond instead of the hot springs."
Inu Yasha stared at her for a long time trying to gauge how much he should tell her. He settled with just stating blandly, "She needs cooling off."
At first Kagome was about to question him further, but then his meaning sunk in.
"Oh . . . Would that have anything to do with you walking so far ahead of us?"
He didn't answer, but Kagome had a feeling that whatever it was that made Inu Yasha aware that Sango needed to cool off was directly responsible for his distance.
"We need to find the snake youkai fast. Sango is a danger to all of us in her present state. And it won't be too long until my brother finds us . . ."
He let the rest hang in the air and Kagome's eyes grew round with fear for her friend.
"It's funny, I haven't been able to pick up that snake youkai's scent anywhere. That old man told me that she had left only hours before we did. Her scent should be stronger than it is."
Kagome nodded, she started to ask another question but suddenly Inu Yasha jumped in the air. He landed a few feet in the direction of the pond. Right in front of Miroku, who had taken advantage of their distraction to do a look sight seeing.
"I was about to . . ."
"Spare me any of your excuses monk. You're to stay AWAY from Sango until she's better, is that understood?" Inu Yasha snarled.
"I had thought we were friends Inu Yasha, but we can not sustained a lasting friendship if there is no trust between us." Miroku said with an air of wounded pride.
"Feh . . . don't give me that." He turned to Kagome. "Hurry up Kagome, and take your bow and arrows. We need to be on our guard tonight. All of us." He gave Miroku a hard look.
Kagome nodded, grabbed her weapons and trotted to the pond. Where, thankfully, Sango had chosen the pond to bath. Kagome was tempted to go over to the hot springs but decided that it wouldn't be fair to Sango.
It was an eventful night in which nobody but Shippo and Kirara got any sleep. Sango was too frustrated to sleep. Miroku was waiting impatiently for Kagome and Inu Yasha to sleep . Kagome didn't trust either Miroku or Sango so she decided to stay up to keep watch over both of them. Inu Yasha could feel the presence of several youkai hovering around waiting for him to go to let down his guard and decided to stay up with his hand on his sword for quick access. It was a long night and tempers were very short come morning.
*********************
Sesshoumaru rolled Rin's small body away from his. He didn't know why the strange little human insisted on sleeping next to him, it was beyond annoying, he didn't know why he allowed it. He stood up from his bedding, it was time to parole his lands. His sixth sense told him there were many youkai about and he wondered what could have forced them to show him such disrespect. Was it an invasion? Was someone trying to take his lands? It didn't matter, they would see their error soon enough.
Sesshoumaru slid into his armor and turned toward the door. He almost welcomed this distraction, he had become idle. He glanced once more at Rin who shivered from his missing warmth. 'Foolish human' he thought as he pulled the excess covers over her small body. He would make sure Jaken saw to his duty regarding her before he left.
Sesshoumaru stood on a tall tree staring into his woods. The youkai surrounding him could be dealt with later. He had caught a scent that interested him greatly.
'Inu Yasha . . .'
