"The End to the Feudal Fairy Tale"

Chapter 6

Author's Notes: Wow, two chapters in a week. I've really wanted to update a lot and I felt that the last chapter didn't really go very well without this one to help it be more interesting. Hope you like it! grins Thanks to all of you who have decided to read. Please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, though I would like to. All I own is my fan art. All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The story is mine though, so please respect it.

"Hi mom. I hate to skip breakfast, but I'm really late!" Dashing out the door, the black haired youth disappeared as quickly as she'd entered.

"She's still going to be late." Souta laughed as the egg fell from the ceiling and landed on his grandfather's head.

"What's so funny?" He asked from beneath the dripping egg yolk.

"That was Kagome's egg."

Mrs. Higurashi stifled a giggle.

vvvvvvvvvv

"It's really late," said Miroku, "we should give these horses a rest."

"Houshi-sama?"

"We've been running since almost dawn, and those horses are not even close in strength to wolves. Besides, we need to eat." Kouga slowed to a fast walk.

Sango stared at Miroku with begging eyes. "I want to keep going. What if they-"

"They're fine." He returned. "It's Inuyasha and Kagome."

Kouga lifted Shippo off of his shoulders and set him on the ground, apparently he'd been asleep for several hours now. "Besides, that mutt face has to take good care of my woman. They've made it there by now for sure."

"Alright." Sango breathed.

Miroku surveyed their surroundings. This part of the forest was thick with trees, there was actually very little sky visible. The grass was soft and tall. Stepping down from the horse's back, Miroku saw the sad expression still present on Sango's face. He looked away, leading the creature to a tree to which he loosely tied the reigns. He watched as Sango did the same.

"Sango?"

She just stared at the ground.

"Sango?" Miroku walked closer. "We've been on horseback all day. We haven't eaten at all, nor have we stretched our legs."

"Houshi-sama?" she looked up.

"Here." He reached into his robes and procured a small container with writing on it. Holding it out to her, he explained, "It's some ninja food I saved from the last time we ate with Kagome." He chuckled. "Actually, Shippo stole it so that Inuyasha wouldn't eat all of the ramen, but-"

"Thank you," Sango placed her hand on the cup, "but I'm really not hungry." She faked a smile.

"Hmm." Miroku stuffed the cup noodles back into his robes. "Well, if you're not hungry, would you at least walk with me for a little while?"

"Houshi-sama?" the false smile dissipated.

"Kouga?"

"Huh? What?" he turned.

"We're going to go for a walk. Keep an eye on Shippo okay?"

"How did I get to be the babysitter?" Kouga put his hands on his hips and stared menacingly at the sleeping Shippo.
"Because you are the strongest one here. Inuyasha usually protects him but-"

"So what are you two waiting for? Daylight? Get going! I'll have no problem guarding the kid."

"Alright, we're going." replied Miroku.

vvvvvvvvvv

Before she could say anything, Sango found herself pulled into the woods by Miroku's hand. Her mind whirled. First she ran into Kohaku, then she almost lost Kagome, now her treasured pet was near death and there was nothing that she could do about it. What else could possibly happen?

"Sango?"

She continued to stare, dazed.

"Sango?" he shook her lightly. Reality came crashing back. Sango reached up and absently rubbed her temple. Miroku was holding her as though he thought she'd fall. She felt like it.

"Houshi-sama?"

"Ah." He breathed. "I am glad to see that you're alright." His grip loosened. "Can you stand now?"

"Y-yes." She blushed. Resolving not to collapse, Sango steeled herself and stood upright.

"I was worried there for a moment."

"I'm okay. Really. Just worried about Kirara."

"She'll be fine." He sat cross-legged, pushing the high grass down around him. "Inuyasha and Kagome won't let anything bad happen to her." Miroku patted the ground next to him. "Will you join me for a moment?"

Reluctant to comply so easily, but fearing that her legs may not work if she got worked up again, Sango moved to sit beside Miroku.

He looked up. Maybe he was just trying to make her feel comfortable. After all, they'd been alone and she was so dazed. Come to think of it, Sango couldn't believe that he hadn't tried to grab her bottom while she was thinking. A sudden worry crept over her. "Houshi-sama?"

"Hmm?" he kept his gaze skyward.

"While I was-" she swallowed, "standing there, you didn't try anything did you?"

"No."
That was the last thing she'd expected. She'd thought he'd try to cover it up, or laugh nervously, or maybe make some sort of perverted move now to compensate, or-"

SMACK!

"Can't blame me for trying now can you?" he rubbed the burning red mark on his cheek.

Sango rushed to her feet. "You pervert! How could you?" She turned to stomp away.

A hand grasped hers lightly.

"I'm sorry."

That was the first time she remembered him apologizing for one of his gropes. To say the least, she was speechless.

He continued, "I couldn't help myself. But-" Miroku tugged gently at her hand. "If you'll just stay and talk, I promise I won't try anything else tonight."

A bold 'no!' begged to be issued from her lips; she wanted to play it safe and just walk away. He's just a pervert, he'll only cross his fingers and break his promise later. Emotions warred in her head, but before she could reason, she found herself saying, "Okay."

Sango blinked. Why did she agree? Angry at her own lack of will, she twisted it around in her head so that she blamed him. "Well, we're talking aren't we? What did you have to say?" she replied hotly. Her gaze was cold enough to freeze a volcano.

Miroku visibly shivered. He was obviously afraid for his very soul.

vvvvvvvvvv

Kagome sighed. She'd been home one whole day and was already wishing she could leave. Catching up on schoolwork was never fun, but this time she'd been given six make-up tests on top of the usual assignments that she found on her desk. Her day at school hadn't been much better. She let her head fall against the desk. Kagome's grandfather had told her friends that she'd been out with the plague. Eri and Yuka thought that one off her arms had fallen off in the interim and Hojo brought her lotion that was supposed to help with rotting flesh. She blanched. At least it smelled relatively good. To top off the day, she'd been late for school and come to think of it, she'd missed breakfast too.

The pen fell against the paper and she groaned. "I've got to eat something or my head's gonna explode." She said to no one in particular. "History will have to wait." Closing the thick, dusty book, she sneezed. "Wow. Didn't think it'd been that long." Kagome reached for a tissue and then trotted down the stairs to raid the cupboards.

"Kagome-chan?" her mother looked away from the sink. "Is everything alright?"

"Just fine mama, same as always." She put on a grin.

"I know that fake smile anywhere, Kagome-chan." She returned the smile, "When you're ready to talk about it, I'll be here."

A genuine smile graced her lips. "Thanks mama."

Kagome grabbed a can of juice and a bag of baby carrots from the refrigerator and sat down at the table. As she crunched through the carrots, Kagome started thinking out loud. "I really can't protect myself in this shape. Then again, he's always protecting me anyway, even when I'm not hurt."

"You're hurt?" panic laced her mother's voice. "Where? How? When?"

"Whoa! It's just my shoulder and it's nothing serious. I'm okay!" She waved her arms just to be safe.

"You're sure?"

"Yup! I'll be just fine." Kagome crunched another carrot noisily.

"What happened?" Her mother sat down with a large mug of tea. It was clear to Kagome that she wasn't going to get out of an explanation this time.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story-"

"Dad's tending the shrine and Souta went out with some friends for a while." Mrs. Higurashi picked up the mug and sipped. She leaned back with a knowing expression that only a mother could master. "I've got time."

Another carrot disappeared into Kagome's mouth. "Well, it started when-"

vvvvvvvvvv

Stretching as she woke, Sango greeted the new day. She felt a lot better than she had in quite some time. To think, it was thanks to the perverted monk. He'd actually sat and had a nice conversation with her. No groping, no stupid jokes, he was actually calm and collected. Miroku had even promised that he'd search for a way to release Kohaku from Naraku's control. He'd even suggested going as far as using the Shikon jewel to restore her brother's life. Sango had cried. She tried not to, but it was inevitable. As stressed as she'd been, there was little chance of controlling her emotions.

Miroku held her while she cried, until the sobbing stopped. Then, he'd simply helped her to stand and return to camp. Sango shook her head in disbelief. Maybe it had been a dream, a really beautiful dream. Still, she glanced over to Miroku's sleeping form, he was very handsome while he slept.

The object of her affections suddenly seemed troubled. "Houshi-sama?" She slid cautiously closer. "Are you alright?" His brows seemed squished together, like he was in pain somehow. Another step closer, "Houshi-sama-" her eyes widened. She threw her hand over her mouth as quickly as she could to stifle a laugh. It seemed that Shippo had turned in his sleep and was holding Miroku's hair in a death grip.

"Hey. Time to wake-" Kouga stopped mid-sentence. Sango blinked and Kouga actually fell on the ground laughing. She was now absolutely certain as to what he was looking at. Miroku woke first.

"Ow." He reached back to rub his head. A sleeping fox cub tumbled down his back to the ground.

"Sorry." Sango couldn't contain her laughter any longer. "I just didn't have the heart to wake you two."

"Well I do. We need to get moving if we're gonna make it to the village before nightfall." Kouga rolled to his feet. "C'mon you lazy bastards!" he yelled to Ginta and Hakkaku who popped up out of nowhere.

"Y-yes sir!" They almost saluted before running to Kouga's side.

Sango gathered her gear and climbed up onto the horse's back. Still rubbing his head, Miroku followed suit and mounted up. Moving towards Sango he reached into his robes to again pull out the cup noodles. "Here."

"But I'm not-" Sango's stomach voiced a loud protest.

"It would appear that you are hungry. Here." He pushed the cup forward again.

"But how am I supposed to cook it while we travel?"

Miroku produced a canteen from the horse's saddle. "Use this."

"But what about-" she looked confused.

"Shippo?" The youth leapt from Miroku's shoulder to her own and smiled widely.

"Leave the heat to me! I'll cook it with my fox fire."

"Thank you Shippo, Houshi-sama."

Shippo kept talking, "Miroku promised me his share of Kagome's pocky next time if I helped!" he stated proudly.

"Oh?" She smiled. That was really sweet of him; it was bribery, but still very sweet.

"Are you two gonna chitchat all day or are we gonna get moving?" With that Kouga ran ahead, wind sweeping up behind him.

"I guess we should get going." Sango said.

"Waaaaaaaaiiiiit for us!" Ginta and Hakkaku yelled.

They all ran to keep up with the speeding wolf demon.

vvvvvvvvvv

Kagura bowed low. She knew that he would be mad, but as long as she was still captive, it didn't matter how mad he was. Kohaku kneeled to her right and Kanna stood holding the baby beside the man she despised more than any other being, Naraku.

"Kagura."

She kept her head down and remained silent.

"Kagura, you have failed me again. Face me." He commanded.

Silence was her response. She wanted so badly to just float away, like the wind. Her heart suddenly stopped in her chest. Kagura clenched her fist and held it against her chest, gasping for breath. Falling forward, she noticed that Naraku held her heart in his hand and was squeezing all the while wearing a sadistic smile.

"Na-ra-kuuu-" she tried.

He released his grip. "See to it that you remember that next time." A swift move of his hand and her heart was once again safely stowed away. Pacing away from his servants, he began, "Now, there are four shards that remain." His dark hair swayed with the breeze. "One lies with the miko and her half-breed protector." Naraku turned his attention back to Kagura. "We seem to have a problem getting that shard. But-" He reached out a tentacle and lifted Kohaku's chin. "One rests with Kohaku here. Now, there are two more, and they happen to be in the same place. Kagura?"

"The wolf demon, Kouga." She replied blandly.

"My, but you knew just what I was going to say. Do you know what I intend to do then?" he taunted.

"No." she spat.

"Can you not see the simple plan?" Naraku smirked. "We will attack the wolf tribe directly, kill their leader, and take his shards. It's almost too easy."

"What of Inuyasha?" Kagura glared.

"If he arrives-" Naraku waved miasma away from a shadowed figure behind him. "He will take care of him."

The giant Mouryoumaru lumbered back and forth, his pale skin and eyes a dim shadow in the candlelight. Without warning, he lashed out at Naraku and tore off an arm. Kagura let her eyes go wide. He wasn't under Naraku's control? Naraku didn't flinch. He simply turned to the creature and forced a barrier through half of his body. Mouryoumaru writhed in pain, screaming.

"You are my slave and you will do as I command." Naraku stated. "If not, I will kill you myself."

Mouryoumaru slipped back into the shadows with a groan.

"Now," Naraku's faced Kagura once again. "Kagura, you will lead Mouryoumaru and Kohaku to the wolf tribe. Kill them all. Kohaku-" he shifted. "You will bring me the shards."

"Yes m'lord." Kohaku nodded.

"And, one more thing." Naraku began disappearing in mist. "If Inuyasha and his little friends show up, I want you to get the Tetsusaiga for me. Inuyasha is useless without it."

"Yes m'lord." Said Kohaku.

"Remember that if you fail or betray me," only his head was still visible, "I will know and I will kill you." Naraku vanished.

Kagura bit her lip; she hated when he ordered her around. There was no freedom in her working for such a man. Perhaps there was a way to get Mouryoumaru to destroy Naraku for her. He was volatile, powerful, and under his own will. He had the potential to destroy or be destroyed by Naraku at any moment. She stood boldly.

"Come on you two." She announced. Kohaku stood next to her, but Kanna was nowhere to be found. "Where did she-"

Kohaku pointed to where Mouryoumaru had stood. "She went with him."

"Interesting." Kagura snapped her fan open and shut again into her hand. She started walking to exit the room.

"We've got some time before we have to find the wolf tribe. Let's follow them."

Kohaku nodded in silence.

vvvvvvvvvv

A week passed and all seemed normal in Feudal Japan. Sango and Miroku had arrived to find Kirara in weak, but healing condition. It was a picture perfect reunion as Sango raced to Kirara's side and petted her while she mewed with contentment. Miroku walked the horses to the village chief and donated them. There was no sign of Inuyasha, but with all the happy commotion, no one really noticed.

Said half-demon happened to be in his forest, contemplating a few things. Only Kouga really knew he was there, but without Kagome to make things interesting, he stayed one night and left at dawn. Inuyasha knew that the group would arrive safely, so there was no reason to stay in the village.

All week he'd been worried, and as the sun began to set, his fears were starting to surface. Perched high in a tree near the well, Inuyasha slowly felt the effects of the new moon.

"Dammit." He swore as he waited for the inevitable.

He hated being weak, even more, he hated the way that he felt when human. It was as if, all of the things he tucked away in his mind came tumbling out all at once. There was always the fear of being attacked, but that wasn't nearly as bad as the other fears. He had pushed Kagome away yet again, and this time, she really didn't argue. In fact, as he recalled, she ran. There they were again, those emotions. Inuyasha raised a hand to his face. When he drew it back again, he could clearly see that he was human.

A realization hit him, "Why did Kagome run anyway?" he muttered.

Inuyasha took a quick look around, no one seemed to be around. Dropping out of the tree with a little less grace than he'd intended, he began pacing. Had he pushed her away? Was she healing in her time? It'd been a week and she hadn't tried to come back. Maybe she'd gone away for good. Did she hate him? Inuyasha's ears would have drooped, but being human, he just sighed. What if she's in trouble on her side of the well? "I should go check on her." He crashed a closed fist into his other hand with the resolution. Spinning around to make doubly sure no one saw or heard him, Inuyasha climbed over the edge of the well and felt time slip around him.

vvvvvvvvvv

A/N: I know, I know, no sits for Inuyasha, but he's been good. Anyhow, I'm very sorry to end the chapter here. I promise fluff will follow! I just get carried away with what's going on with all of the characters that I didn't get to the fluff yet. Don't kill the writer! I will update soon! Please R & R!