A/N: Thanks for the reviews, you guys! I'm grateful!
ZackkBum: don't worry. Sango's my fav charrie and I wouldn't THINK of killing her off.
AddictedtoInuyasha: Thanks!
purplepeopleeater: well, here's the next chapter!
For replying, I shall now present you with: the next chapter!
Disclaimer: This goes for the rest of the fanfic: I DON'T OWN INUYASHA
Chapter Two
Back at the Campsite
When Inuyasha and Sango had returned to the campsite, they saw that Miroku, Shippou and Kirara were still awake. "Sango! We were so worried!" Shippou leapt up from where he was sitting beside Miroku, raced towards the youkai taijiya and skidded to a halt at her feet.
For a second, Inuyasha wondered whether Sango heard the kitsune or not, but he received the shock of his life when Sango smiled slightly and replied, "Well, you didn't have to worry." The hanyou just stared dumbly as Sango slowly removed Hiraikotsu from her back and put it back against the elm tree. Miroku looked up. "Inuyasha, are you okay?"
The hanyou blinked, shook his head and sat down, growling to the houshi as he did. "Of course I'm fine, you damn houshi!" Kagome, who had been tidying up what she called a 'sleeping bag', turned and stared at Inuyasha. "Mou, Inuyasha! You don't have to be so mean to Miroku-sama. He's just concerned." But the miko's words were lost on him. Inuyasha merely 'keh-ed' and laid down on the ground, although he was still watching Sango out of the corner of his eye.
There didn't appear to be anything wrong with the taijiya. She talked normally with Kagome, reacted normally to Miroku and looked as if there wasn't anything wrong. But Inuyasha wasn't convinced; he could still remember what happened at the stream with Sango's near-committed suicide. He didn't exactly understand why she would've done something so stupid but he supposed that he was right: that she was trying to kill herself because of the trouble she thought she had inflicted upon her friends.
Taking a deep breath, he told himself to get a grip. It was probably just nothing, although he couldn't exactly make himself believe that. "Inuyasha? Inuyasha?" Kagome stared at the hanyou curiously. She had been calling at him for two minutes already and he hadn't responded at all, not a flick of an ear, not a twitch of an eye...Sango noticed as well and she leaned closer to her friend, whispering something into the futuristic miko's ear. Kagome frowned and mouthed 'are you sure'. Sango shrugged. Miroku, who was watching them, blinked curiously, but he soon found out what the female taijiya had suggested.
"Inuyasha....OSUWARI!!!"
"BWAH?!"
Inuyasha fell face-down into the ground. Looking up sharply, he glared at Kagome, who was staring innocently back. "What did you do that for?!" he demanded.
Kagome shrugged and Inuyasha fought down the temptation to walk over and give her a good bop on the head. He knew that if he did that, he would receive not only a bop on the head from either Kagome or Miroku or Sango, but he would also get another osuwari. That wasn't good. "You were spacing out and when I tried to talk to you, you wouldn't listen." Inuyasha gave a small grumble and Kagome added, "What were you thinking about?"
The silver-haired hanyou glanced at the taijiya who was seated beside Kagome. She looked normal, no emptiness or anything. But there was a strange emotion and steeliness in her eyes that made Inuyasha wonder. Swiftly, he shook the thoughts away when he noticed the testy gleam in Kagome's eyes. "Nothing. Just how-" he was about to say, 'how stupid you are' when he decided that if he said that, Kagome would just 'osuwari' him again. "-annoying Naraku is." he finished lamely. Kagome raised an eyebrow and Miroku broke in. "Kagome-sama, if you are willing to, may you say what you wanted to say before now?"
Kagome shot the houshi a relieved look and replied, "I can sense Shikon no Kakera nearby."
(tiny A/N: I WAS plannning on making this chapter end but I figured, 'naw, too short'. So now, all the chapters will actually be two chapters combined unless I figure it's better to make it seperate. Back to the story!)
"Oi! Kagome! Are you sure it's this way?" Inuyasha growled to Kagome, who was riding on his back as they raced to the southern area of the forest they were in. "I'm positive." the miko replied, grabbing onto his shoulders to keep from slipping. Shippou was perched on Kirara's head as the neko, with Sango (in her taijiya outfit) and Miroku riding upon her back (Kirara's, that is), followed Inuyasha, keeping a human child-length behind.
A while later, they arrived at this humungous cave, emanating unusual and sickly scents. "Oh, gross!" Shippou commented, covering his nose with a tiny paw. "That's so sick!" Sango slowly put on her gas mask and swung Hiraikotsu securely over her back since she had been holding it down low when riding on Kirara. "I'm the only one here with a gas mask and with it, I won't be able to smell the stench. I'll perform the extermination alone and retreive the Shikon no kakera when I kill the youkai."
Inuyasha coughed slightly as he accidentaly breathed in a lungful of the stench. "Excuse me? You THINK you can handle that thing by yourself? It's got a shikon no kakera!" he paused slightly when Sango turned to stare at him, and he saw the steeliness enter her eyes again. When she spoke, her voice was dangerous and it carried a veiled threat. "Do you think I can't handle it?"
Inuyasha paused and regarded the taijiya closely. "It's just that- what if that thing just happens to be tougher than you? What if-"
"Before we met, I defeated a youkai with a shikon no kakera as well, Inuyasha. I won't be defeated by a youkai with just one shard."
Inuyasha looked as if he was about to rant on when Sango shoved him aside and walked into the cave, immune to the stink. Kirara blinked at Inuyasha, then followed her mistress unobtrusively. The hanyou looked as if he was about to follow her when he paused, 'keh-ed' and sat down. Kagome and Miroku exchanged a look before sitting down as well.
A/N: yes yes. Very bad ending but there was nothing else to do. I worked on this chapter for two days and I got a new review. I will choose not to answer most of the review except to say 'thanks for the compliment'. Ja
