When Kura, Nekura and Inuyasha returned to the village, Miroku ran up to them. The hanyou only glared at the monk, wondering just what he was up to.
"Why hello Kura," he spoke lovingly, taking her hand in his. Kura only blushed a light shade of rose.
"Just what do you think you're doing monk?" Inuyasha demanded, sending another deathly glare his way.
Miroku grinned. "I'm only being friendly Inuyasha. But I must say, your daughter has grown into a very beautiful young woman…" This comment made Kura's cheeks redden even more and made Inuyasha angrier. He stormed over to the monk, grabbed him by the collar and continued to stare him directly in the eye.
"Don't ever touch her again! Understand monk?"
Miroku simply closed his eyes and shrugged. "Calm down Inuyasha. I was merely complimenting your wonderful daughter, that's all."
"Yah well, don't ever do it again!"
Kura then stepped away from Miroku and calmly approached her father. "Dad, it's all right. I'm not interested in anyone right now. Besides, it's not like he was serious…were you Miroku?" Inuyasha let Miroku down, not so gently, but refused to take his eyes off of him.
Miroku was silent for a moment before he managed to reply. "Of course not. Like I said before, I was simply being polite. After all, she is a lady and ladies deserve the utmost respect." Inuyasha scoffed at this comment.
"Heh, that's a load of lies coming from you monk."
"You think so?" Miroku cocked one of his eyebrows and smirked.
"Actually I do. Let's go Kura," Inuyasha instructed as Kura followed him to their hut. Nekura trailed closely behind, seeing as how Inuyasha had never once called her by name.
Kura looked behind her. "Nekura? Why don't you come up here with us?"
Nekura shook her head. "Nah, I'm fine. After all, your father never did tell me to come along. I just assumed that since he mentioned your name, he meant me as well…"
"Of course he means you too. Don't worry; my dad can sometimes be like that. It's nothing against you, it's just something he has against all strangers," Kura explained simply.
"I see…" Nekura then walked up to her new friend and continued on with their conversation about Inuyasha. Kura still had a lot of convincing to do in order to inform Nekura that her father isn't as bad as he makes himself out to be.
"We're here. Hurry up already!" Inuyasha shouted impatiently.
"Yes father, we're coming, we're coming…" Kura let out an exhausting sigh and then turned back to Nekura with a half smile plastered across her face. "He really can be quite sweet and caring when he wants to be," Kura added with a small chuckle. Nekura couldn't help but laugh a little as well.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind picked up, causing everyone's suspicions to rise. Kura turned around and prepared herself for the worst. Nekura did the same; she pulled out her samurai sword and held it in a battle stance. Inuyasha, on the other hand, jumped in front of both girls with his Tetsusaiga held out in front of him.
"Leave this to me. Kura, lead Nekura back to the hut and remain there until I tell you the coast is clear," Inuyasha instructed.
"But dad…" Kura protested but was cut off in mid-sentence.
"No buts, just go!" the half-demon demanded sharply as both girls did as they were told. Once he made sure that they were safely out of sight, he turned his sights on the forest ahead of him. "Show yourself demon!" Nothing. There was no rustle from the bushes, no swaying of the trees and no demonic, unexpected growling. No sound could be heard for miles and it was starting to make Inuyasha grow weary. He shifted his eyes around sneakily, hoping to come across something completely out of the ordinary.
"Heh, heh, heh…" a voice cackled from behind some trees.
"What? Who's there?" the hanyou spoke fiercely.
The voice, or whatever it was remained hidden in the shadows. "You will find out who I am when the time draws near. For now, why don't you have fun with my playful young wolf pups…" It was obvious that there was sarcasm etched into the apparent male's voice.
"Show me what you've got!" Inuyasha exclaimed, ready to strike at any moment.
"Very well…" With those words, what looked to be about ten wolf demons came out from behind various trees and began to crowd in on the half-demon. Inuyasha took a fighting stance and prepared to run head on into the horde of demons.
"Let's get this started!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he started to literally "slice and dice" everything in his path. The wolves never stood a chance. Before they even had a chance to attack, they were almost instantly split in half and laid to a permanent rest. Their corpses were spread out all around Inuyasha's feet, smelling horrible and waiting to rot.
"That was a little too easy…" Inuyasha muttered under his breath as he prepared himself for something unexpected to happen. Nothing. The area around him was dead quiet…perhaps even too quiet. He carefully placed his sword back into its sheath and turned around in the direction of the village. He noticed Kura and Nekura peeking out of the side of the hut. "It's safe to come out now," he stated assuringly as both girls stepped out into the light of the sun.
"What was that all about?" Kura inquired, walking up to her father. Inuyasha looked down at his daughter whose eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
"I have no idea but whoever sent those demons is after something…I just don't know what…"
"Me neither but I have a sneaking suspicion that they're after us…" Kura responded suggestively, looking over at Nekura who was now approaching her friend.
"It very well could be. Evil can't hide its face forever. Sooner or later, humans, as well as demons, will come looking to kill us. We'll have to be on our guard when that time comes," the young warrior stated matter-of-factly. Both half-demons nodded in response as they all headed back to the hut for some well-deserved rest and ramen, Inuyasha's favourite meal. Of course, seeing as how Kura is his daughter, she had also developed a liking for the well-known, well-loved Japanese noodle dish. As all three sat around a warm, cozy fire with their delicious meal in hand, Sango and Miroku came from around the back of the hut and sat down next to them. They each took a small bowl of ramen and began to eat. The silence around them was so peaceful and harmonizing…but who knows how long that will last?