Chapter 13: The Lecherous Monk Returns

"All of this happened last night?" Megumi asked with astonishment.

"Yup," Sanosuke answered. The doctor surveyed the damage with wide eyes. Truthfully, it wasn't as bad as it had been before. Inuyasha and Shippo had cleared away the demolished trees and other debris. She had only arrived a little more than an hour ago and had spent much of the time examining the still asleep Yahiko.

"Did you do anything to help?" She asked with narrowed eyes. Sanosuke crossed his arms and gave a 'feh'.

"Figures," she said.

"Don't you start harping on me now Wench!"

"Well someone needs to!" Megumi retorted. Sanosuke was starting to give a smart reply when Shippo snuck up behind him. The kitsune winked at Megumi as he held up the soapy water that he had just stolen from Kenshin. Splash.

"YOU STUPID FOX!" A drenched and indignant Sanosuke yelled.

"Kaoru's right baka, you really are a bum," Shippo replied. Sanosuke planted a fist in his face. The kitsune kicked him back.

Kenshin flashed an amused smile as they began to chase each other around the house. He looked down at the pile of dirty and half clean laundry.

"It would appear that this one will need more water, that he will," Kenshin mused to himself. Unfortunately, he still had to get the tub back from Shippo. The kitsune was currently using it as a shield against Sanosuke.

"I swear, those two are such juveniles," Kaoru muttered from the doorway. She had just come outside after checking on Yahiko. Inuyasha gave a grunt of agreement from his perch up on the roof as young Sango nodded her head. She and Namu were currently sweeping the deck clean for Kaoru.

Inuyasha watched in amusement as Kenshin vainly attempted to retrieve the washtub from Shippo. But instead of giving it back to Kenshin, Shippo used it to whack Sano again. Kenshin visibly sighed as he stuck out a foot. A distracted kitsune tripped over it as Sano jumped at him. Kenshin grabbed the washtub and quickly ran back to his laundry while the other two lay in a confused heap.

"GET OFF ME BAKA!" Shippo yelled.

"GET YOUR FOOT OUT OF MY FACE FOX!"

A pair of flying stones beamed both of them in the head. They looked up to see a grinning Inuyasha standing over them. The hanyou playfully tossed a few more stones in his hand.

"Are you two going to shut up now?" he asked. The other two gave a 'feh' as they stood up and brushed themselves off. Inuyasha smirked as he jumped back up to his perch on the roof. Sanosuke and Shippo looked at each other.

"You want some sake?" Sano asked.

"Sure."

Megumi and Kaoru just shook their heads. The two women sat in silence on the wooden steps until Kaoru finally looked over at the older woman.

"Megumi…when do you think Yahiko will wake up?" Megumi pursed her lips in thought as she turned her head to stare at the house.

"I don't know, there's nothing physically wrong with him. Sir Ken healed whatever injuries he had with that sword. But as far as spiritually, well….I can't answer that. I'm no priestess."

"I'll say!" Sano quipped. He and Shippo had gone into the house for the sake and had arrived back just in time to hear the 'priestess' remark.

"Shup up!" Megumi yelled. He and Shippo grinned as they walked off with the rice wine. The doctor scowled after them.

"I swear, that man just loves to irritate the hell out of me!" Megumi complained.

"He loves to irritate everyone," Kaoru reminded her.

"True," the doctor replied. They both giggled in amusement.

"Feh, women…." Inuyasha muttered up on the roof.

………………………………………………………………….

Yahiko gave a groan as he opened his eyes. He felt slightly disorientated as he looked around him. He saw a flurry of green and heard a clunk as Jaken dropped his staff. The little youkai ran outside waving his hands.

"He's awake! The boy's awake!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks as they stared at Jaken. Then they all jostled to get in the house at once. Kenshin made it in first.

"Yahiko," Kenshin said with a welcoming smile. The boy grinned back.

"What happ…" he started to say, but then stopped. Kenshin gave him a concerned look.

"Yahiko?"

"I thought I heard someone else talking."

"Someone else?"

"Yeah, he sounded surprised."

"He?" Megumi asked. Yahiko looked up to see everyone trying to crowd in. Kenshin reached out a hand as he helped the boy sit up. Yahiko rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around for his bokken. He saw it lying next to him and reached out for it. As his hand touched it, he jerked back in surprise as he heard the voice again, only this time with greater clarity.

"…being stuck in a sword has got to be the most humiliating thing that…oh wait, no there's been more humiliating things that have happened to me. Being tied to a tree by those villagers was pretty…"

Yahiko dropped the sword. He stared at it for a moment before reaching a finger out to touch it again.

"…besides, Inuyasha has done far more embarrassing things to himself, take being stuck to a giant boulder by a trio of monkey sprites, but then again he's never trapped himself in a sword before…THE FATES ARE AGAINST ME TODAY!"

"Uh, Yahiko? Why are you staring at your bokken?" Kaoru asked. Yahiko ignored her as he addressed the wooden sword.

"Uh…excuse me?" Yahiko said to it.

"…the indignity of it is just overwhelming…"

"Hey," Yahiko said.

"Uhh…Yahiko?" Kenshin asked.

"Maybe he hit his head a little too hard," Sano said.

"…it must have been the blast from the Tenseiga, there's no other explanation…"

"HEY GUY IN THE SWORD, I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Yahiko yelled at it. The rambling in the sword paused and went silent,

"I think Yahiko's cracked," Sano muttered out loud.

"No I'm not!" Yahiko yelled. "There's a guy talking in my sword! He said he's trapped in there and that the Tenseiga did it to him!"

"There's a guy trapped in your sword?" Inuyasha asked flatly in disbelief. Yahiko ignored the hanyou. The voice had started talking again, but this time it was addressing him.

"Yahiko?"

"How do you know my name?" Yahiko asked it. There was a pause before the voice answered.

"Don't you remember anything that happened?"

"No, not really. It's really hazy," Yahiko said.

"Yahiko, WHY are you talking to your sword?" Kaoru asked worriedly.

"Hmmm…interesting. Well, it may come back to you in time. And…well this is interesting!"

"What's interesting?" Yahiko asked.

"That's it, Yahiko's definitely insane!" Sano exclaimed.

"When you hold me…uh…the sword, I can see through your eyes."

"Really? How…" Yahiko turned to glare at the others. "I AM NOT CRAZY! CAN'T YOU SHUT UP WHEN A GUY'S TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION?"

"He's cracked," Sano whispered.

"NO I'M NOT! THERE'S A GUY IN MY BOKKEN AND HE'S TALKING TO ME!"

"Ummm…Yahiko?" Kenshin asked politely. Yahiko turned a deadly glare on the swordsman. Kenshin raised his hands in defense as he continued. "None of us hear anyone besides you, that we don't." Yahiko's eyes widened as he silently stared at Kenshin.

"Yahiko?" the voice asked. "Tell Kenshin to touch the Tenseiga. He could see me before when he had his hand on it. And tell Shippo to put that sword of his next to me."

Yahiko did as instructed and the others raised their eyebrows. The boy gave Kenshin an adamant stare and the swordsman finally complied. At first he didn't see anything, not at first. After second glance though, he saw a faint glow around Yahiko's bokken.

"This one thinks that Yahiko may be right," Kenshin said.

"Well of course he's right!"

Kenshin's eyes widened. He could hear the voice now that his hand was on the Tenseiga.

"See?" Yahiko said in triumph. "I told you!"

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked.

"He's right, this one just heard the voice as well. It's the voice of the monk I saw during the battle, that it is."

Inuyasha gave a start. Monk? There was a monk in Yahiko's sword? He and Shippo exchanged glances as the kitsune drew his sword. He held the Kadouki out next to Yahiko's wooden bokken. The Kadouki flared a brilliant blue.

"The sword's giving off spiritual energy," Shippo said in surprise.

"Well of course it is, I'm a monk!"

"Did you hear that Shippo?" Kenshin asked. The kitsune shook his head.

"No, did he say something?"

"This is great, not only am I stuck in a wooden sword, but no one can hear me!"

"I can hear you," Yahiko said.

"As can this one," Kenshin agreed.

"Besides you two."

Inuyasha bent down to glare at the sword. Yahiko felt a twinge of uneasiness from the sword as the hanyou sniffed it. Inuyasha gave a smirk as he opened his mouth and settled his fangs on the wooden sword in a bite.

The wooden sword zapped him with spiritual energy and Inuyasha found himself flying across the room. He landed in an undignified crash.

"INUYASHA!" The voice roared indignantly.

Yahiko fell over in laughter as the sword began to rant at the now irate hanyou. Kenshin scratched his head as he looked at the steamed Inuyasha.

"The monk in the sword says that you haven't changed, that he did," Kenshin said.

"Actually he said…" Yahiko began, but Kenshin covered his mouth.

"…of all the…Inuyasha! You idiot!"

"I think you made him mad," Yahiko mumbled through Kenshin's hand. Inuyasha was back again, but this time he kept a fair distance from the wooden bokken. He glared dangerously at it.

"Who the hell are you?" he growled. Shippo bent down as well to closer examine the sword. The voice in the sword sighed.

"Slow as ever I see…"

Yahiko smirked and Inuyasha glared at him.

"What did he say?" he growled.

"He said…" Kenshin quickly covered Yahiko's mouth again. Inuyasha glared at them suspiciously. After a few seconds of this, Yahiko had finally managed to get away from Kenshin when his hand suddenly moved on its own.

"What the…HEY! Stop controlling me!"

"Sorry, I didn't know I could do that!"

"Well don't…!"

"Hmmm…I wonder…"

"You wonder what?" Yahiko asked suspiciously.

"It's been so long since I felt…"

"It's been so long since you felt what?" Yahiko asked. Involuntarily, Yahiko's left hand suddenly shot out and met a soft surface. The boy's face reddened as he realized that his hand was stroking Megumi's butt.

WHAM.

Yahiko went flying across the room, sword in hand.

Everyone gaped at Yahiko as an enraged Megumi began to scream at him.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Yahiko yelled anxiously. "HE WAS CONTROLLING ME!"

Everything suddenly clicked in Inuyasha and Shippo's minds. Yahiko's sword was possessed by a perverted dead monk with strong spiritual powers? That could only mean one person.

"MIROKU!" Inuyasha and Shippo yelled as they lunged at the sword. They were both zapped before they could grab the bokken.

"Oh dear, why is everyone so angry all of a sudden?"

Yahiko glared at the sword for a long, icy moment. Then before Miroku could react, Yahiko began banging the bokken against the floor.

Wham. Wham! WHAM!

"YOU MADE ME GROPE MEGUMI'S BUTT!" Yahiko yelled in outrage. He threw the bokken against the wall and Miroku hit it with a thud. The sword bounced off and lay innocently on the floor.

"Youngsters just have no appreciation these days for the exquisiteness of…"

Yahiko brought his foot down on the sword and began yelling at it again. Shippo and Inuyasha were both now glaring at the sword. Kenshin sighed.

As if things weren't already weird enough, the day had just gotten stranger.

……………………………

Chapter 14: Naraku