I do not own any of the characters in this story. The only character I do is Anna. As much as I would love to own Miroku…Sigh I don't.

Chapter 5-Next Stop, the Village

Anna and Naraku had been walking through the seemingly never-ending forest for awhile, with no words exchanged between them. Anna, a normally talkative youkai, did not find the journey pleasant.

"So, where are we headed again?" Anna asked, flicking mini fireballs at random bugs that crossed her path.

"My castle," Naraku replied, looking at a fried dragonfly tumbled to the ground.

"And who are your two minions again?" Anna chose a bigger target, releasing a fireball at a mouse, who squeaked then keeled over.

"Kagura and Kanna." Naraku ignored the sound of a bee being BBQed.

"And why do you want me again?" Anna asked, flicking fireballs towards unseen targets in the bushes.

"Because you hate the Inu-tachi as much as I do!"

"Inu-tachi? You mean the group that the monk and demon slayer belong to?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I don't hate the, I just felt like terrorizing random people, and maybe gaining a few more jewel shards."

"Hmmm."

The forest ended and Naraku and Anna found themselves looking down at a peaceful village.

"This village," Naraku gestured, "has a jewel shard in it's midst. Tell me, do you mind a detour?"

Anna smiled evilly and flames erupted into her palms. "Anytime Naraku. Anytime." She said, launching a fireballs at the nearest hut.

After finishing the noodles, Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara headed towards the next village.

Shippo sat on Miroku's shoulder as they made their way though the dense forest. "How much longer until we get there?"

Miroku sighed as he looked through the trees. "Not too far I presume." His staff jingled as he walked. "Just beyond these…" Stepping beyond the bushes, the houshi-sama saw not a peaceful village, but a burnt one.

Kagome, Kirara, and Inuyasha walked over to Miroku. Kagome gasped as she saw the villagers.

Some were huddled in a corner, and others were sprawled on the ground covered in blood.

Kagome ran with her medical kit in her hand and Shippo on Kirara next to her. She knelt down beside the huddled villagers. "What happened?"

The nearest man spoke up, "There was a demon. She had ears, and a tail. Fire came from her hands, and she burned the village down." She spotted Inuyasha and moved away slightly.

"I won't hurt you, human." Inuyasha crossed his arms and shut his eyes. "Let Kagome help you so we can get out of here."

As Kagome started to unpack her medical kit, Miroku knelt in front of the man. "You said it was a demoness with ears and a tail? May I ask what colour?"

The man nodded as Kagome put bandages on his head. "Yes, and she had black ears and a black tail."

Miroku nodded and walked over to Inuyasha. "That is the demon me and Sango fought earlier. And if she is still traveling, that means Sango might be in trouble."

Hearing Sango's name being said, Kirara walked over to Inuyasha and Miroku. She looked towards Miroku with sad, red eyes.

"We won't let anything happen to Sango, especially me." Miroku petted Kirara with his free hand. "But we should rest here tonight before we start our journey."

"Feh. Fine I'll stay here tonight, but at sunrise we leave to fight this demoness." Inuyasha sat down with his legs crossed.

Miroku helped Kagome finished bandaging, after be got Inuyasha to dig some graves for the dead. It took him awhile but he finally 'knocked' some sense into him.

Houshi-sama prayed for the deceased as Inuyasha and Kagome built a fire.

Kagome looked into the dancing flames as she petted Kirara. "Now I'm really worrying about Sango. I hope she's alright."

"Sango will be just fine. She's a demon-slayer and can take care of herself." But when Inuyasha saw how worried Kagome was, he changed his tone. "We'll find her, don't worry about it."

Kagome rested her head on his shoulder as she let out a sigh. "Thank you, Inuyasha." With that, she lightly closed her eyes.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome in shock, and then put his arm around her so she wouldn't get cold. "You're welcome, Kagome." He rested his head on hers and stared into the fire.

Shippo and Kirara were supposedly asleep, but had seen and heard the whole thing.

Miroku had just come back from praying when he saw Kagome and Inuyasha. Looking at the starry sky he sighed. "Sango…"

On the other side of the forest, Sango was looking at the same star Miroku was. "Miroku…" Looking at the fire she made, she let an exhausted sigh escape her lips. "I will reach the village tomorrow." With that she lies down and shut her eyes for sleep.

That morning, Sango got up, slung her Hiraikotsu over her shoulder and headed off into the forest without eating any food. But the thing was she didn't have any. 'When I get to the village,' she thought, 'I will ask for some food and be on my way. Leaving the people in peace.'

"I will only stay for a moment, then continue on." The young Taiji-ya said as she came to the village.

As she stepped more into the village, she saw the burnt huts and the people on the ground. "What happened here? Well, I'll get some food in the next village." With that, she turned down another path and moved on to the next village.

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kirara ran to the spot Sango was just at. "I smell fresh blood, and it doesn't belong to the villagers."

Kirara gave a soft meow as she looked at the ground; Miroku petting her.

"It will be alright Kirara, we'll find her." Houshi-sama let out a depressed sigh. "At least we know that she's alright, but still wounded. Inuyasha…" He turned to face Inuyasha, but the half breed already left to get the sleeping Kagome and Shippo.

As Inuyasha went out of sight, Miroku looked into the forest. "We will find her, Kirara. We…We have to." His head bent towards the ground in sadness.

Inuyasha came back with Kagome and Shippo. "Let's get going, I want to find this demoness and fight her. She must have some jewel shards to give her such power."

Shippo sat on Kagome's shoulder and sighed. "But what about Sango? You did say she was still hurt."

"Yeah but…" When Inuyasha saw the look Kagome gave him he got a little mad. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kagome had her hands on her hip as she spoke, "Inuyasha, we are going to find Sango. You said so yourself that we would go out and look for her. On our way, we'll look for the demoness and the jewel shards."

Inuyasha turned his back to the group and shut his eyes in protest. "She can take care of herself. Just let her be." He waited for an answer but none came.

Turning around, he noticed that everyone had already started to leave. "Hey! Wait for me!" And with that, he ran after the group.

Sango didn't know that the rest of the Inu-tachi was following her at a far distance. "I wonder how everyone is going. I do miss them…"

The young Taiji-ya put her hand to her wounds and saw the blood. "Great, it's reopened. I'd better hurry to the next village so I can get help." She quickened her pace, despite the pain, as she headed towards the next village.

Having her Hiraikotsu made her feel a little better, but deep inside, Sango felt a little scared. "I should get there soon," the Taiji-ya thought out loud. "From there, I'll travel to the village of the demon slayers." With that, Sango headed further into the dense forest.

Within a few hours, an exhausted demon exterminator entered another village. She got some food from a kind villager and he showed her to a well kept abandoned hut.

When she was by herself in the hut, she let out a sigh. "Not too far to go. Maybe in a day or two I'll get there."

A hooded cloak lay folded beside her. She glanced at the cloak as she ate some food. After she finished eating, she put on her magenta and pink kimono. Over top, she wore a green apron. Letting out a sigh, she put the cloak on her lap.

The Inu-tachi walked into the same village Sango was in. Kagome and Shippo sat on Kirara as Miroku and Inuyasha walked.

Inuyasha had his arms crossed as he sniffed the air for Sango's scent, as Kagome had told him to. The hanyou protested but agreed because of a certain bump on his head that was made by Miroku. "She either is here, or was here."

Miroku had a gleam of hope in his eyes once he heard this recent news. "I hope she's still here." He said as they walked past the hut that the villager showed Sango to.

Kirara stopped walking and looked back at the hut. Kagome had jumped off with Shippo still on her shoulder. The two-tailed demon cocked her head at the hut and meowed softly.

Miroku walked over to Kirara and rested a hand on her head. "Kirara, what is it? Do you think Sango's in there?"

His question was soon answered by a large boomerang coming from the hut. The boomerang traveled through the air towards Miroku and Kirara. Both slammed to the ground to they wouldn't get hit.

As they did so a figure in a cloak ran from the hut and headed off deeper into the village. She ran fast deeper into the village.

Slowly looking up, Miroku caught a glimpse of a person leaving the hut. Standing up quickly, he ran after her, hoping to catch up.

"Wait…stop. Please Sango!" Houshi-sama called after her. As he came closer, she ran faster. So Miroku did the first thing that came to his mind, well, actually the second thing.

He quickly ran to catch up with her and when he got close enough, he tackled her to the ground. The young monk breathed heavily as he looked at her. "Sango, please, come back. We never wanted you to leave."

She shook her head as she removed the hood, "I'm sorry." She said as she looked him in the eye.

Right now, Miroku's mouth hung open in surprise and shock. He got off her and sat next to her. "Y-You're not Sango…"

As the girl sat up, she shook her head again. "No, I'm not. I'm sorry again."