The Puzzle

" You...broke it." A voice whispered in the camp, the figure blinking at the object in question. The other figure huffed up.

" I did not! It broke itself." The voice was quite adamant about the fact that he didn't break whatever was broken. The female voice, however, was absolutely positive that the other figure broke what was broken. These people, we're Miroku and Kagome.

" Miroku, she's going to kill you for this!" Kagome exclaimed, picking up the object, which is still unclear to be seen. Miroku shook his head.

" But I didn't do it. I just went to pick it up, and before I could touch it, it fell apart." Miroku declared, crossing his arms. Kagome looked at the object apprehensively.

" Well, it looks like it was some sort of puzzle... I guess you need to put it back together, since it was you who broke it..." Kagome trailed off, stuffing the remnants of the 'puzzle' in Miroku's hands. He blinked at the puzzle. The pieces were quite complicated, and slightly curved, with many different colours on them. He looked up pleadingly at Kagome.

" This seems really complicated, will you help me put it together?" Miroku asked, sitting on the grass. The morning light was peeking over the horizon, morning dew covering the grass. Kagome sighed and sat down.

" Alright. Here, sort these pieces out. Anything that looks like it would fit, put in different piles." Kagome said, starting to route through the pieces.

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One Hour Later

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" ARGH!" Kagome snarled, throwing a piece of the puzzle down. It was much more complicated then before. They had gotten a corner of the orb-shaped puzzle, and the rest was increasingly difficult. Miroku was even twitching, considering they had tried every piece and still nothing seemed to fit.

" Why did Sango have to be carrying around such a complicated little trinket... And why aren't they back yet? I'm sure killing a hive of demons shouldn't have taken this long..." Miroku muttered, managing to click in another piece. Kagome stretched on the grass, staring at the pieces.

" Who knows. She carries around a lot of weird things. Especially in her sleeves. She pulled out a little hand axe once, a bit odd if you ask me. Here, maybe this one fits in that little edge there..." Kagome said, placing in another piece. " Great, only 44 left."

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Another Hour Later

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" Hey, it's taking shape... Weird designs." Kagome stated, placing in another piece. The pile of shatter pieces was waning significantly, and the pieces were considerably easier to place together. The designs were familiar, consisting of many different colours, mainly black, magenta, red, and blue symbols. Also, there was a beginning of a gold design on the middle area. Miroku looked around after he placed another piece, and suddenly became panicked.

" Kagome, there isn't any more pieces!" He exclaimed, searching the grass around him. Kagome gasped, and also began searching through the grass. Of course, this was just the opportune time for Sango and Inuyasha to come over the hill, covered in demon blood.

" What are you guys doing? Funny time to be digging for bugs..." Sango asked, observing Miroku and Kagome. They both kneeled to her feet, blabbering apologies. Of course, they were impossible to understand.

" Guys, slow down. What happened?" Sango asked, pulling them to their feet. Kagome looked down at her feet.

" Well, Miroku went to move your puzzle thing and it broke, so then we tried to put it back together, and now we're missing pieces... We're sorry." Kagome explained, pointing to the near complete orb puzzle. Sango laid her eyes on it, and burst into laughter. Kagome and Miroku looked at her strangely.

" What?" They asked in unison, a little unnerved by the sudden outburst of laughter. Sango wiped the tears from her eyes.

" You guys are really a pair, aren't you? It is a puzzle, but I have the remaining pieces. It's a music box, I'll show you..." Sango knelt beside the little orb, and began inserting little tiny pieces through the hole. She then placed the remaining pieces over it, finishing the orb. It was the slayer's symbol on the colours that resembled her uniform.

" This is the complete puzzle. Each family gets one, and each member has a certain amount of pieces. It's a prized treasure, really." Sango explained, pressing something near the symbol. A few clicks were heard, and the orb glowed slightly, producing a beautiful song from it's depths. They all listened in wonder at the orb work it's magic. The song ended, and Miroku sat back .

" That was simply beautiful." He said quietly, leaning on a tree. Kagome struck her starry eye pose.

" A 500 year old music box, and I got to hear it!" Inuyasha simply smirked, and sat down on a rock. Sango tucked the orb away into her sleeve. Miroku blinked.

" You're right, she does keep things up her sleeve..." Sango blinked.

" Huh?"

" Oh, nothing..." Miroku nearly snickered, and Kagome simply smiled.

" Oh yeah, and Miroku broke it in the first place."

" I did not! It broke itself..." Sango simply laughed at the accusations, petting Kirara.

Actually, I broke it in the first place and set it up like that... But, they don't have to know that... Sango thought, smiling to herself.

End