Hello my faithful slaves. I mean fans. Sorry.

Anywho, I haven't updated this in a while because I started another AU fic called Hanyou.EXE. So check that out. After this my updates'll prolly be divided between this and that.

Anywho, Got some quick responces for you, then you can read the chapter.

Tanwen-Whitefire: Thanks for the compliments. Hehe, merry (very late) xmas.

Gossa: Yeah, I thought about having them kiss, but decided against it. It would have messed up the pensive mood.

Ozymandius Jones: Gah! Havn't E-mailed you in forever! (cries) Sorry, I'm a horrible friend. ANywho, thanks for the comments.

Houshi Paradox: Hehe, welcome to ! We're a happy band of brothers. Actually mostly sisters. I think I'm actually the only guy to write IY fanfiction. Like, EVER!

Cara the Mord Sith: Yeah, I had to make him admit it somehow, and IY would never just come out and admit that he loved her, so I decided to make it an accident.

Rayame325: Well, no, eternal damnation tends not to make for a touching reunion. I dun wan Inu to go to hell with Kikyo, so he's not gonna.

Valese: Throws hands up in the air Yay! Another review from Valese! Thankies for the compliments.

Everyone Else Who Reviewed: Thanks for the comments! I love you all! Hugs

Anywho, if you have any questions, feel free to E-Mail me!

And on with the little fic:

Given her profession, it was rather ironic that Death had such a very weak constitution. Zombies were, if anything, one of her least favorite of the undead entities. Vampires were okay. Well, at least they groomed, and they looked decent enough for the most part. Liches weren't that bad. They at least had some class, after all, and at least had the sense to put themselves back together after they were resurrected. Zombies, however, were just plain nasty, no matter what they were made out of…

The necromancer had done her work, and now the vale was filled with the croaking cries of the slaughtered birds. The nauseating stench hung in the air like a freshly won battlefield. Death leaned against one of the rock faces of the cliff, and stretched her head back, trying to clear it.

She leaned forward again, head not swimming so much anymore, and started making her way through the rotting corpses. This had turned out to just be a waste of time. She was looking for a soul thief, not a necromancer. A mere zombie maker wasn't even her field. That was for humans to mess with, not her.

"Wind girl is stupid, yes?"

Death stopped, and turned around, crossing her arms. More people?

Two women had appeared in front of the necromancer, arms crossed. Death raised one eyebrow, and crossed her arms. They looked Chinese, but their souls were odd. They smelled all wrong, as if they weren't quite human souls, but not quite anything else either.

The necromancer lifted up the large fan to cover all of her face but her blood red eyes. "Whatever do you mean? I fulfilled my end of the bargain."

The blue haired woman spat on the ground. "Wind girl knows nothing." She cursed. The one with purple hair nodded. "Out master has no use for dead beasts." She pointed out. "Without the living souls, these birds are useless."

Death raised an eyebrow. That was certainly more like what she was looking for.

The necromancer shook her head, and chuckled. "I did my work." She said. "It isn't my fault if you two were late. It was your job to get the souls, and I got the bodies afterward. Just because you were too dense to make it on time doesn't mean that I should miss out."

The blue haired one reached forward and grabbed the necromancer by the neck, holding her up. "Listen, witch." The purple haired one mused. "You are here because your master wants to be friends with my master. That means that we need to get along. And that means that we call the shots, okay?"

The necromancer spread her fan, and snapped in around the blue haired woman's arm with a crunch. "My orders come from Naraku, and he says that if your master can't keep up, then I can leave you in the dust."

The purple haired one crossed her arms. "I certainly hope that you will give us the same expectation, then."

The bloody eyed woman chuckled. "If we didn't think that Menomaru was capable of that, then we wouldn't be interested in him, would we?" With a smooth motion, the flung the blue haired woman's hand from her throat, and sent a whirl of air around her. "If you please, I need to be going. Better luck next time." With a flick of her wrist, the birds all began rising into the air, shedding crimson stained feathers as they rose. The necromancer covered her face with her fan demurely again, and disappeared in a gust of wind.

Death smiled just a bit, and nodded her head. Menomaru… that was definitely a name that meant something to her. His presence would certainly explain enough. Now she had a target… all that was left was to take it out.

"So, why are we doing this again?" Sango asked, staring across the tiny little lifeboat at Miroku.

The monk shrugged. "Morgan told me that the sun would be setting soon, so he wanted us to go ahead to set up a camp on the beach while he got the ship ready to be anchored for a while."

"Okay," Sango pulled on the oars hard, propelling their little craft hard across the water. "But why us? Why not you and Kohaku, or something?"

Miroku knew at least one of the answers to that. Morgan had joked about throwing him and Sango in a boat together, but he hadn't actually expected the pirate to make good on the threat. The monk wisely decided to refrain from mentioning that one, however. "Well, if you think about it, he probably needed Kohaku to stay behind. Morgan's been showing him everything there is to know about that boat, so I wouldn't be surprised if the boy would actually be a help."

Sango's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure I like how much time Kohaku is spending with that pirate." She muttered. "You would think they were best friends the way they're acting towards each other."

Miroku nodded. "They do seem to be getting close, but certainly there are worse people for the boy to take after." The monk shrank down just a bit as Sango leveled him a dangerous glare. In retrospect, that hadn't been the wisest thing to say, particularly given the little incident earlier that morning. "Of course, there could be much better, too." He added meekly.

Sango snorted, and threw herself into rowing the boat. The sound of the oars churning the heavy water echoed over the waters with the regularity of a pendulum. A thought finally poked at Miroku's mind, and his lips moved before he could stop them. "Well, he might have sent you because of what you did to him earlier." The monk knew that he had made a mistake the moment he said it.

One of the oars came up, and smacked him hard across the head, knocking him to the side. "Sorry, Houshi-Sama, I didn't hear you."

Miroku rubbed his ringing head, wincing painfully. "Quite alright, lady Sango." He muttered. He quickly decided that he wasn't going to speak again for just a little while. He leaned back in the boat and began rubbing his temples trying to clear his head.

The playful slap of the water against the hull of the tiny craft and the steady sounds of the oars dipping into the water cleared his mind, and he slowly began to plot. Sesshoumaru was after InuYasha, which meant that they needed to find the hanyou as fast as possible. Now, knowing InuYasha, him and Kagome were either looking for jewel shards, or back at Kaede's village. Knowing Kagome, however, her and InuYasha were probably out looking for them. So, their best bet was probably to head strait for the village. So the only problem was getting there before Sesshoumaru…

"Miroku?" Sango asked, between oar strokes. "Do you think that Sesshoumaru's after InuYasha?"

"I'm fairly sure he is." Miroku stated, crossing his arms. "Morgan seems to think so, anyway."

"We should find InuYasha as fast as we can then."

Miroku nodded. "Now that I think about it, maybe that is the reason we are the ones being sent." Sango looked up, cocking her head. "Think about it," Miroku pointed out. "If we are the ones to set up camp, then we won't be leaving, with Kohaku still on board."

Sango stopped rowing for just a moment, and eyed him suspiciously. "I wouldn't leave, but what's stopping you?"

Miroku raised one eyebrow, and put on a charming smile. "Milady Sango, surely you don't think I would leave you, do you?"

Sango half choked, and looked up at him blushing. "Well…" She sputtered, at a loss for words. She turned away, trying to think of something to say.

Slightly satisfied with himself, Miroku rubbed his chin. Maybe Morgan did have something to this lifeboat plan. Miroku grinned inwardly. Now that the mood was set, maybe he could help things along. He slowly reached forward.

Sango turned around again, having regained her composure just a little again… only to see Miroku reaching out towards a more sensitive area of her anatomy. She blinked at the monk just a bit, then looked over the side of the boat. It was getting shallower, and they were only about thirty feet off from the coast. "I think we're close enough to the beach that someone should drag us in, Houshi-Sama." She remarked coldly.
Warning lights started going off in Miroku's head just before Sango's foot contacted firmly with his face. He pitched backwards, his arms flailing wildly. With a splash, Miroku disappeared under the surf for just a moment, before breaching the water like a whale, spewing mist everywhere.

Sango grinned at him, and crossed her arms. "Well, I was going to do it myself, but since you're already wet, you can drag us to shore.

Miroku shrugged while treading water, and beamed back at her. "But milady Sango…" He gasped. "The water is still just a little too deep for me to touch, and my robes are so heavy." He reached one hand up and grabbed the edge of the boat.

The demon hunter's eyes widened. "Houshi…" She hissed threateningly. "Don't you dare? Kirara's in here."

"Sorry, lady Sango. I can't hear you." Miroku pulled down, until he was level with the side of the boat, and levered himself up.

"Houshi!" Sango shrieked in panic as she, along with the rest of the boat, tipped over with a tremendous splash.

She emerged from the water, hair plastered to her head, growling softly. Miroku swam over, and beamed at her. "My apologies lady Sango. I didn't know the boat was that unstable." He said, with a wane smile.

A low growl emerged from deep in her throat, and grabbed the soaked front of the monks robe. "Milady Sango…" He started.

Splash.

Sango held him under for what seemed to be a satisfactory amount of time before letting him go and looking up. Kirara floated about a foot above the waves, eyes narrowed slightly. "Any chance of getting a ride to shore?" She asked.

The Fire Cat raised her nose primly, and began trotting towards the shoreline.

Sango sighed, and kicked off the surfacing Miroku, beginning to swim towards shore.

"Sango, wait." The monk whined after her. "My robes are heavy…"

"You can swim, can't you?" Sango called back, not turning around.

With a little pout, Miroku began to flounder his way towards the shoreline as well.

By the time Miroku walked, dripping wet, up the sandy beach, Sango was attempting to gather some driftwood into a pile, and light it up. She glanced over at the still soaking Kirara, and sighed. "You know, this would be a lot easier if you would just come over here and light this for me."

The fire cat glanced at her, and then curled up in a little ball and went to sleep. Sango sighed, and went back to trying to get the fire started. She had always been bad at using flints. It probably came from a life of just using Kirara as a little lighter with feet. A quick crack of the two stones got nothing but a few tiny sparks that went out before they even reached the fuel. It probably didn't help that she was still rather damp.

Miroku made his way up to the makeshift fire pit, making wet, drippy slapping noises with every step. With a heavy sigh, he shook himself, and sat down on the sand.

The demon slayer simply ignored him, continuing to crack the stones together with silent precision, not even growling when she continued to meet little to no success.

"Perhaps you would like to let me try, Sango?" Miroku asked after watching her for a moment.

Sango glared at him over her shoulder, and struck the flints together again, this time getting only one piddly little spark. "And what would a monk know of starting fires?" She demanded, just a little offended. If she wasn't going to be able to start this fire, no one would.

Miroku only smiled at her, and crossed his arms. "You seem to forget that I traveled alone for quite a while in my pilgrimage before I stumbled across InuYasha and Kagome, Lady Sango." He said patiently.

Sango scowled, knowing that he was right. "I can manage just fine." She said finally.

The monk shrugged, and rose to his feet. "Very well," He commented, "I shall go and make sure there are no hostile beings nearby."

Then Miroku did something that Sango definitely did not expect. The man reached down to the hem of his robe, and with a smooth, quick jerk, pulled his robe off. The demon slayer had seen many things in her life, but she couldn't help but gape like a drowning fish. The monk was now garbed some sort of simple, dark colored karate gi. He stretched lithely, revealing the light frame that was eternally hidden under the heavy robes. Sango's eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to even be wearing anything under all those heavy blankets. That thought, of course, only served to make her blush. Quickly, she scooted around back towards the fire, and began to strike the flints together as hard and fast as she could.

It was only when he was heading out into the woods surrounding the beach that she allowed herself to look back up, and stare at him as he left. Once he disappeared, she turned back to the wood, and began striking the flint as furiously as he could.

What was his problem? Why was it that he could always make her heart flutter wildly in her chest just by the slightest smiled. Why was it that he could always catch her off guard? She yelled as a mismatched strike of the stones crushed her thumb. She dropped the rocks, and stuck the stinging digit into her mouth, sucking gently.

Kirara gave an amused snort, and glanced at the demon slayer with a hint of self satisfaction.

Sango glared at her. "This wouldn't be happening if you would just light the fire for me." She grumbled.

Kirara blinked at her, looked right and left, a sly look on her feline face. The fire cat leaned forward and grinned in the most human expression Sango had ever seen her make. 'You should let him help you, you know.'

Sango whipped around, stumbling though the fire pit as she scrambled backwards. She gaped at the fire cat just a moment, pointing like an idiot. "Did you just talk?" She stuttered.

'He's a good boy.´ The fire cat murmured. 'You shouldn't slap him so much.' And with that, she curled up and went to sleep.

The girl took a few deep breaths, and shook her head. Since when did Kirara talk? She couldn't have just been imagining things.

"Is something wrong, Sango?" Miroku's voice sounded from behind her. She turned around, breathing hard. The monk cocked his head at her, brushing off the front of his gi. "You seem frightened, yet I sense no evil around."

She eye him for just a moment, then shook her head primly. "Just a little frustrated with the fire." She murmured.

The monk smiled at her gently, and kneeled down, picking up the flints. "Watch carefully." He said softly, and expertly cracked the two stones together. A few little sparks flared down into the nestled tinder. With a few careful ministrations, the flame flared up into a cheery little blaze. The monk leaned back, and brushed off his pale, bare arms. "You are striking your flints together to hard. You need careful control to start a fire."

Sango nodded slowly, watching his deft hands work. She had to admit; those hands did know how to work… she just didn't appreciate that they were normally working on her. "We should… probably find some food." She murmured, sounding slightly dazed.

Miroku glanced at her with those deep, violet eyes of his. "Are you sure that you are okay?" He asked. "You look pale."

Sango nodded slowly, casting a glance at the sleeping fire-cat. "Yeah…" she said finally. "I'm fine."

"Houshi…"

Miroku was not a morning person. It didn't help that this particular time of morning was still as dark as midnight. He grumbled ever so slightly, and rolled over.

"Houshi-Sama, wake up. We need to go."

The monk slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back of a hand. "Sango?" He asked slowly, trying to blink himself awake.

Sango's dark eyes stared back at him, and she tugged lightly on his gi. "Houshi, we're leaving."

"Why are we leaving so early?" The monk muttered, getting slowly to his feet.

Sango rose out of her crouch, and turned around. "I don't want to be around when Sesshoumaru decides that he doesn't like us anymore." She muttered. "Besides, we need to find InuYasha as fast as we can."

Miroku nodded slowly, and grabbed up his now partially dry robes. "Very well then." He muttered. "Are Kohaku and Shippo awake?"

Sango shook her head, and pointed. The boy and the little kitsune were both draped across Kirara's back. The fire cat looked impatient. "We're sneaking out of camp, remember? We want stealth?"

Miroku nodded. "Good point."

Carefully, the pair of them threaded their way through the forest, away from the camp site, Kirara following them carefully. Walking when it was dark like this was like walking through an abyss. No light pierced through the trees, and Miroku could barely see a few feet in front of him. "Sango, do you know where we're headed?"

"For now, we're just heading east." She said back. "We'll try to find out exactly where we are in the morning."

Miroku sighed, and kept walking. "No chance of resting, then?"

"Don't count on it."

"Very well." The monk grumbled.

A tiny little noise from Kirara made the monk and his companion turn towards the fire cat. Shippo was awake, and sniffing the air with odd look on his face.

"Shippo?" Sango asked softly.

The kitsune lifted his nose higher into the air, rising onto his hind feet. "I smell something."

Miroku took a step forward. "What is it Shippo?"

"I smell…" He ginned suddenly, and turned towards them, beaming. "I smell Kagome!"

"What?" Miroku and Sango demanded in unison, forgetting to control their voices.

"Follow me." The kit declared, rolling off Kirara, and taking off through the woods.

With a nod to Sango, Miroku took of after him, with Kirara and the demon slayer close behind. They tore through the trees, rushing around trunk after trunk until they finally came to a fresh camp site.

"This is where the scent is strongest." Shippo declared, looking around to see if his surrogate mother was somewhere hiding. "There's her backpack!" He half shrieked, pointing at a large, yellow lump lying near a still smoking fire pit.

Sango looked around. "If Kagome's stuff is here, where is she?"

Miroku pondered this for just a moment, then pulled some hair out of his face. Wait… his hair wasn't long enough to hang into his face. He grabbed the hair, and glared at it. It was silver. Instantly his eyes traced up the length, up onto the overhanging branch. His eyes widened involuntarily. Kagome's calm, happy, sleeping face was only about three feet away from him, her chin peacefully hooked into InuYasha's strong shoulder. The monk gaped for just a moment, then crossed his arms. "Found them."