When Night Falls

Disclaimer: I'll own Inuyasha the day I get out of the houseand get some color to my pale-ass skin. (AKA Never)

Whooeee! This here's one of my longest chapters, but it took me the shortest to right of any of them. I was on a roll! My writer's block finally wore off, and I'm here bringin' ya chapter 9! But first... reviews!

ninalee-chan: Ah, yes, bye bye robes. Spur of the moment desicion actually, but I loved writing it. It's just odd, 'cause ya really never see Miroku without his robes y'know? Inuyasha is so quick to ditch his shirt, but Miroku... maybe he's hidin' a beer-belly? Nah.

AngelofMusic516: Yes, yes, I know that feeling. 'Tis no fun.

Veglma: Gee,they should hire you to be the end of episode narrator person. Y'know, the one who asks all the questions, just in case we were to stupid to ask ourselves the same ones? Yeah, that dude. I love 'im.

Moonyme: With what was left of his energy Kaze created a Tornado, and Sango was trying to hold on to Miroku, but couldn't. You musta been skippin' around a bit if you missed it, but it's okay, I do it too. Yes, I do have a thing for disgusting...

Medlii: Ah thanks so much. I liked him too. He was fun to write. But there's still three siblings to go, and they all have quite... erm... odd personalities.

Thanks for all the great reviews! Here is! 3...2...1...

Chapter 9:To Never Cry Again

The first thing that became apparent to Miroku was heat. Intense heat, bearing down strong on him. The second was fact that he seemed to be laying in something wet that was creating an uncomfortable glove cradling his back. And the third thing was light. For the first time for what seemed liked months he was surrounded by light. Groaning he hoisted himself to his feet. His pants stuck uncomfortably to the back of his legs. Wiping his sweat-drenched bangs out of his eyes, he squinted until his vision became clear again. He seemed to be in some sort of desert, a vast barren strip of land. The ground was dry and cracked as far as he could see, and no signs of life were visible. Looking up towards the sky, he was surprised to see it still covered in thick dark clouds. But on one side, which he could only assume to be north, the clouds cast a blood red glow over the land. He ran his hand through his hair, inhaling a deep breath as he fully took in the extent of what he was seeing. One hand resting on his side brought him back to awareness of the odd moisture, and he looked again towards the ground.

"Shit…"

There, not two feet away from where he was standing, lay Inuyasha, crumpled in a heap. Blood was seeping from his mangled body, and had created a large puddle on the ground. Miroku knew it was an injury no ordinary human could survive, but he had little doubt Inuyasha could pull through it. Still, the wounds needed to be bandaged to prevent death of blood loss, something he was sure not even the great Inuyasha could recover from. His robes, having been discarded against Kaze, were not present, though that is what he would usually use. Opening the fire rat shirt Inuyasha wore, he tore off Inuyasha's white undershirt, which he promptly ripped to shreds and wrapped around Inuyasha's wounds. All the while thanking Buddha he had not suffered the same fate, he hoisted Inuyasha over his shoulder and headed off towards the ominous red glow.

"Kagome, wake up! Please wake up!"

The raven-haired Miko slowly opened her eyes to see the face of a very distressed young fox youkai hanging over her.

"You're okay!" wailed Shippo, flinging himself onto her and hugging her tightly.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine! Ow… that hurts!" groaned Kagome, wishing desperately she had a Jaws-of-Life present with which to removing the sobbing ball of fluff who was currently cutting off blood flow to her brain. Sitting up and taking a look around she absorbed her environment. She seemed to be lying on a river bed, the moist, muddy ground having cushioned her fall. Surrounding her was a rather deep forest full of trees, the only opening to the sky following the river.

"Where's Inuyasha and the others?" she questioned.

"I don't know…" whined Shippo, "I woke up and you were on the other side of the river, but I couldn't find anyone else!"

Sighing as she looked up towards the sky, she noted that there was a red glow coming from on direction.

Pointing towards the red horizon she spoke, "We'd best head that way. That's where the others would go… if they're alive."

"Don't say that Kagome… please…"

How long had it been since he started off? Seconds, minutes… hours? Miroku did not know and, truthfully, he didn't care much. All he was aware of was the extreme fatigue that now coursed through his body. The heat and humidity still pressed in on him from all sides, but he had long since stopped sweating. His body was too dry for that. His mouth yearned for water, what saliva he had left was thick and viscous, creating a rather uncomfortable environment for his tongue, which had plastered itself to the bottom of his mouth. Each step was a more a labor than the next, and it did not help that the body slung over his shoulder grew heavier with each passing second. Finally, with a great grunt, he fell forward, hitting the ground hard. But he did not feel pain, if anything, feeling his body on the ground was more a relief. The urge to sleep was stronger than anything he had known.

Please, he thought, his head swimming in exhaustion, please let me die in my sleep.

But when he closed his eyes, only one thing could appear in his mind. Her. Sango, the best thing to happen to him since… well… his birth (which, honestly, wasn't too welcome in his mind).

"Damn it, Sango," he croaked dryly, "just let me die… please…"

But her face would not depart from his thoughts. And in his thoughts, she was always smiling, always. That's when Miroku found her most beautiful, no, it did not matter what kind of smile it was. Whether it was shy, exuberant, or even bittersweet, whenever the corners of her lips turned up, it absolutely took his breath away. But, unfortunately, this was the side of her that showed through least often. Plagued by a past that was dark and evil, she often remained melancholy, lost in the realm of thought. And yet, she seemed to brighten up at the sight of Miroku, she seemed to… Miroku gasped as a wave of realization washed over him.

I… I make her smile. The thought crashed through his brain like tsunami, revitalizing all his senses, bringing new energy to his body as he pulled himself to his feet. Slinging Inuyasha over his shoulder once more, he trudged his way towards the light, one thought continuously running through his mind. She won't lose anyone else. She'll never have cry again.

It was three hours later that he, with a prayer to Buddha,crashed his head into the water of a river surrounded by forest, regaining his senses and drinking deeply. First he cleaned Inuyasha's wounds, then rolled over on the soft grass of the river bank and, confident he would wake up, closed his eyes as a deep sleep came over him.

Kagome continued her path along the river, hoping desperately that she'd meet up with her friends along the line. She trusted they were okay, at least, that's what her ever-optimistic mind told her. But after what seemed like hours of walking, her optimism began to fade. It was Shippo, however, who restored her hope when he had sniffed the air and exclaimed,

"That smell, it's Kirara!"

"Where?" asked Kagome, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"She's just up the way a bit!" grinned Shippo, racing forward with energy he most certainly should not have had. Rolling her eyes, Kagome ran after him.

Sure enough, they soon spotted a white bundle curled p on the side of the river, which turned out to be the small cat demon. She was unconscious, though, and Sango was nowhere in sight.

"Sango's not here…" sighed Kagome, cradling Kirara in her arms, "I'm getting worried."

"We'll find her!" chirped Shippo, his eyes narrowed in accusation at Kagome.

"What?" questioned Kagome at his expression.

Miroku's eyes slowly opened as he woke up. Standing, he stretched his limbs. They were sore, yes, but it was nothing compared to the immense spasms of pain he had been receiving from them before. He had no way of telling just how long he had slept with the sky covered in clouds, but he could have sworn the red light to the north was just a bit brighter…

"You're awake."

Miroku spun around to find Inuyasha, his face void of expression as he leaned against a tree.

"When'd you get up?" asked Miroku.

"'Bout an hour ago. Tried to wake ya up, but you were out like a rock."

"Hmm…"

"So, where are we?"

"I'm not sure, I think Kaze's little trick backfired though, we ended up farther north, I believe. These trees, some of them only grow pretty far up."

"I see," Inuyasha's eyes narrowed a bit, "and where's Kagome?"

"Not here apparently."

Inuyasha's face contorted in some unknown emotion, but it was soon wiped away and replaced with it's usual sternness. "So, what do we do now?" he asked.

"Well, we can keep moving, and hope we find them, or stay here, and hope they find us. How're your injuries?"

Inuyasha grunted. "Fine."

Miroku was not buying it, but he knew Inuyasha would not be content to just sit around, nor did he particularly want to sit around with only a grumpy hanyou for company. "Well, let's just move a little bit then, not too much at a time."

"Whatever." (Typical Inuyasha. His basic sentence structure consists of only one word.)

Groping for his shakujou, it only now became apparent to Miroku that he did not have it. His mind had been so wrapped up in other things he hadn't even noticed. Cursing himself heavily for losing a priceless family heirloom, he attempted to help a limping Inuyasha, who shoved him away and instead turned to his Tetsusaiga for support.

After about two hours of slow travel it became obvious Inuyasha could no longer continue, and they stopped to rest. Propped himself against a tree and fell promptly asleep, his head lolling back on his shoulder. It was at this time Miroku learned something new. Inuyasha snored. Loud. Real loud. As in louder than a Deep Purple concert loud. Usually he was far away in a tree when he slept, but now he was no more than five feet away from Miroku. Groaning in exasperation, Miroku trudged his way to the river. At least he would be able to get a good bath in. Not even bothering to take off his pants he waded into the cold water. Goosebumps immediately rose across his body when he first submerged, but soon became accustomed to the cold temperature and relaxed. His hair was matted with blood and sweat, and he pulled it out of it's dragon tail revealing it was truly about shoulder length. Dipping his head under he tried his best to clean his hair of everything, and when he felt he had done of fairly good job he surfaced.

Then, looking to the north, he noticed something. A black form was floating downstream. Watching curiously as it approached, he tried to make out what it was. But as it passed him he gasped in horror. It was Sango, floating on her back! Shooting to his feet he chased after her, but the water slowed him immensely. Jumping out of the water he ran along the bank, summoning energy he thought had left him long ago. When he was close enough he jumped in and, grabbing her limp form, dragged her onto the bank.

Her face was deathly pale, her skin wrinkled from being in the water for so long.

"Wake up, Sango!" he shook her shoulders gently.

Her mouth opened slightly and she vomited. Turning her over to prevent her from choking, Miroku patted her back until all of the vile fluid was out of her mouth.

"Houshi-sama?" she groaned weakly.

"Yes, yes, it's me Sango, what is it?"

"S-so cold," she shivered.

"Shit," swore Miroku. Hypothermia was setting in. He didn't have any dry clothes on him. Sango needed to get dry soon or else…

"Miroku!"

Miroku looked up to see Kagome and Shippo running towards him. Sighing with relief, he noted Kagome had her book-bag, meaning she most likely had a change of clothes.

"Kagome, Sango needs your help!" he yelled.

"Oh! What happened?" asked Kagome, her features disguised with worry.

"I found her in the river, she needs dry clothes, quickly."

"Right," nodded Kagome, "thankfully, Shippo found her pack, so she has her normal clothes to change into. By any chance, have you seen Inuyasha?"

"Yes, he's just upstream, sleeping. I'll wait up there while you change her, okay?"

"Right," nodded Kagome.

It was about fifteen minutes later that Kagome led a shivering, sneezing Sango to Miroku and Inuyasha.

"How is she?" asked Miroku.

"Pretty good, she has a flu, though I think."

Inuyasha grunted in annoyance that this would slow them down even more. Miroku hit him. (Note: I would like to let all readers know, no Inuyasha's were severely hurt in the making of this fan-fic. Yeah right, I torture the poor guy!)

Standing up, Miroku placed a hand on Sango's shoulder. "You should probably get some sleep."

"Thank you," she said in a near whisper.

As Sango and Kagome slept, Miroku sat looking out on the river, his mind wrapped in thought.

"Thank Buddha all the demons fled to the south," he muttered to himself, flipping a flat stone so that it skipped across the water, "a fight is the last thing we need."

"Well you better prepare yourself then, dear, cause that's what your just about to get!"

The stone skipped one final time before sinking into the water.

End Chapter 9
Bum...bum...bum! Is Miroku hearing voices? Or is the Inu-taichi's luck just about to run out!

Review and find out on the next exciting chapter of... When Night Falls!