The day dawned bright and clear, a welcome sight and a good sign as far as Miroku was concerned. He and his companions had been through quite enough darkness lately, and he was ready to put that behind them and move on in their quest. They still had plenty of Shikon jewel shards to find, and Naraku was still lurking out there somewhere, waiting to strike, but Miroku did not allow himself to dwell on those things. He had too many other things to appreciate today.
Like the fact that he was still alive at all. And that he had been reunited with all of his companions in spite of his attempts to leave them. And even though he had managed to thoroughly anger both of the women, they were all still with him this morning.
Not even Sango's half-hearted glower over breakfast could dampen his mood. He understood why she was angry, and although he considered himself blameless, he had already decided that he would let her cool off before pushing his luck. Although, if he found himself gifted with the proper opportunity, he thought he might not be able to resist.
At Inuyasha's insistence, they were on the road again as soon as breakfast was finished. The hanyou led the way, with Sango and Kagome following a long a little way behind, chatting amongst themselves. Since he did not much feel like talking just yet, Miroku took up the rear. If not for the painful sensation of the wounded kazaana as it slowly healed, he might have thought it was any ordinary day.
The sun was high in the sky before they encountered anyone else on the road. Miroku had been perfectly happy to pass the day without incident, since it seemed like lately they had run into one problem after another, so when he caught sight of the figure up ahead on the road he hoped that it was simply another traveler. But it only took a few moments of watching to realize that something wasn't right. The way the man was walking, it almost looked like he was seriously injured.
Inuyasha stopped walking and sniffed the air. As Miroku came up behind Sango and Kagome, he saw what Inuyasha had smelled: the man was covered in blood.
"That man," Kagome murmured in horror as the figure staggered ever closer. "What's going on?"
Seeing the other travelers at last, or perhaps just hearing Kagome speak, the man hurried toward them. "Help me," he managed to say before collapsing to the ground practically at Kagome's feet.
At close range, Miroku could see that the man was indeed grievously injured. His clothes were soaked with blood, particularly down the back, as if he had been stabbed there. It was a miracle the man had made it this far, when Miroku knew the next village was quite a way down the road yet. While his companions looked on, he knelt and searched vainly for any sign of life; there was none. "He's stopped breathing," he told the others.
"Not just him," Inuyasha said quietly, sniffing at the air again. "I smell blood. A lot of it. Probably a lot of people."
Hurt or dead? He did not say.
"Then we have to help!" Kagome said, even as Inuyasha had already taken off down the road. Not wanting to be left behind, she clambered onto her bicycle and started after him.
Miroku paused to say a few words for the dead man, and was a bit surprised to see that Sango had waited for him. He wondered what she might be thinking, but did not dwell on it. There would be time for that later. "Come on. We don't want to be left behind."