Inuyasha leaped through the dense forest, the scent of Naraku sparse in the air. Behind him, Miroku ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara stayed behind in the village with Kiade. Inuyasha had had the hugest argument with her about it; saying going after Naraku was too dangerous for Kagome to go along. Sango's body, however, had vanished soon before they left.
Inuyasha sat for a moment, and Miroku stopped running. "The scent…" he said. He sniffed the air a few times. "It's gone. Naraku's scent wandered too far away. We might as well stop for the night. The sun was passing behind the horizon in the west. "You've been running all day, Miroku. You've gotta be tired." And he was. Ever since that morning when they found the hideous scar of Naraku on Sango's shoulder, they had been running about trying to catch a scent. When they had at about mid afternoon, they had run following it.
"Fine." Miroku managed to stammer between breaths. He sat down. He closed his eyes and dozed, regaining some of his strength. He waited until Inuyasha was asleep, and rose. "I'll go, you stay here and get some rest." He whispered. He knew Inuyasha didn't need rest nearly as bad as he did, but he couldn't rest until he knew Sango was safe. He started walking in the direction in which they had been running.
Sango… Sango where are you? Where are you, my dear Sango? I haven't had a chance to tell you how much I care for you… how much I love you… Please come home to me.
Naraku, receiving news from the Sanyosho that Inuyasha had drifted off to sleep and Miroku had wandered on alone, sent a puppet as fast as he could with Kagura to be rid of them. He sat alone, in his protected castle, in the corner of an empty dark room. He looked up suddenly, and his eyes gleamed.
Sorry about the short chapter. The REAL last chapter will be up soon ; it might be tomorrow though. Keep in touch!