CHAPTER THREE

x.

"Sango?"

Sango heard Miroku before she saw him. She paused in polishing her boomerang with a wax-covered cloth, and glanced back at the monk coming toward her. He was smiling confidently, in a way that Sango hadn't seem him do before. The edge of his robe was stained by mud, and his hair was ruffled by wind, but he looked happy.

Strange, Sango thought. After three days surrounded by men, I expected him to look a bit less satisfied. She sighed. Maybe he met some girls on the road.

She took a final swipe over the surface of her boomerang, then straightened up. She had agreed with Kaede when the old priestess had advised Miroku to go on this retreat. Kaede had said calmly that Miroku might benefit from a little spiritual purification. Sango had agreed with her, as had Inuyasha. She had tried not to notice how hurt Miroku looked when she had agreed with Kaede.

Although, Sango had to admit the past few days had been a little boring. Inuyasha spent much of his time grumping in Kagome's absence, so he wasn't very good company. Without Miroku, things seemed... dull. Her life had been full of excitement and action since she had turned eleven, and her father had brought her along on one of the extermination trips. Staying in a village, tending to her weapons and helping Kaede clean seemed a little... well... tedious.

It didn't hurt his spirits to be away from me, she thought, a little disgruntled.

"Sango, close your eyes," Miroku said, still smiling.

"Close my eyes?" Sango asked, forgetting her irritation.

His smile widened. "Yes, close them. I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Sango repeated. She crossed her arms sternly. "You're not going to grope me, are you?"

Miroku laughed, fumbling inside his sleeve. "No no, no no no. Just do as I say -- I promise you'll like it."

Sango closed her eyes.

"Hold out your hands."

Sango obeyed, and felt something small and cold being dropped into her fingers. She opened her eyes, and gasped. Miroku's gift was a small, intricate golden necklace set with a little pale stone. Sango had never seen anything like it in her village, but she knew from experience with princesses and noblewomen that it was incredibly valuable.

"M-Miroku," she stammered. "W-where.... how... did you..."

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you were wondering," Miroku quickly said. "On the contrary, I found it in the woods. I'm not sure how it got there, but I thought to myself that it would be a perfect..."

Sango felt a small stab of guilt. She had been wondering that -- but then again, she thought, who could blame me? Miroku was a wandering monk, without home or much money. What little he had was their group's, with Miroku taking care of food and lodgings every now and then, and gathering rewards for demons she or Inuyasha killed. But he had no way of getting his hands on a necklace like this -- except by stealing it, or by pure luck.

"Th-thank you," she stammered. "I-I don't know what to say."

Miroku smiled again, and stepped closer. "Just knowing that you like it is enough," he said smoothly, putting a hand on her shoulder. As his hand started to slip down, Sango was looping the necklace around her throat -- until...

"Demon! A demon!"

Miroku's un-monklike thoughts fled as he heard one of the villagers shouting. "Sango, come on!" he shouted, sweeping past the demon-slayer. With the necklace already around her slender throat, Sango ran after him, with her boomerang raised over her head. In a tiny corner of her mind, she couldn't help thinking, Another perfect moment lost!

x.

"Outta my way!" Inuyasha bellowed, shrugging past the frightened villagers. They parted for him, with mothers clutching their children and farmers brandishing rusted scythes. Kagome ran just behind him, clutching her backpack like a shield. Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga and held it in front of him, ready to cut down anything that charged.

Then Kagome gasped. She had expected a monster, but this was... an eight-legged horse?

The horse whinnied shrilly, kicking up the ground with its eight hooves. It moved fluidly, like a spider, always with at least four feet on the ground. And its scarlet eyes glared around suspiciously at the villagers.

On its back was a demon -- one of the relatively human-looking ones. He had a tight, stern face with a hawk-like nose, and a faint reddish tint to his skin. Kagome could see that he had pointed ears, a tall black hat, and what looked like blunted claws on his fingers, although with reins in his hands, it was hard to tell. He was dressed with a richness that took Kagome's breath away -- his clothes were pale and richly embroidered, a bit like Sesshomaru's.

"Tell me who the hell you are!" Inuyasha snarled.

The demon dismounted smoothly. Then he bowed deeply, to gasps from the villagers. He was bowing to.... Inuyasha? "Lord Inuyasha, I presume," the demon said in a smooth, deep voice. "I have been searching for a long while to locate you. You are the very image of your noble father, even as... high-spirited," he added, glancing at Tetsusaiga.

"I'll say it again, nicely," Inuyasha said tensely. "Who the hell are you? And what do you want with me?"

"It's about the marriage-"

"You got the wrong guy, pal." Inuyasha stuck Tetsusaiga in the ground and leaned on it. "'Cause I ain't married."

The demon's narrow eyes grew narrower. "I misspoke, my lord. Rather, it is about your betrothal to Princess Rakura."

TO BE CONTINUED