What had once been lush farmland grew first sickly and then barren as they approached the mountains. Everything had seemed ordinary as Miroku and the others had first approached the town, but heading away from it—toward the mountains—was a different story. In this direction the decay was obvious. Something was undeniably amiss.
InuYasha continued to grumble his displeasure as they left the town behind, even in the face of this clear evidence that the land and its people were suffering. Miroku had been tempted to agree with him that this might not be the best possible use of their time—he had no problem helping people, but any further delay in hunting down Naraku was a serious problem—but he'd realized immediately that Sango was right. Only something truly evil and truly powerful could create an effect such as this. And if not Naraku, it was likely to be something else in possession of at least one jewel shard.
The sensation of intense evil only grew stronger as they left farmland behind and made their way into the mountains. As the land turned rocky and began to creep steadily upward, it seemed to permeate every nook and cranny, seeping along the path like water flowing down a slope. It set Miroku on edge, a nagging feeling of unease he simply couldn't dispel.
For others in the group, however, the effects were worse.
From behind, Sango asked, "Kirara, are you sure?"
Miroku noted with some alarm just how pale and unsteady the slayer looked. She was clearly struggling, but had not uttered a word of complaint. Had they not given her enough time to recover from her injuries, after all? Or was it just the overwhelming evil aura of this place?
Kirara gave a rumble that must have signaled assent. She had transformed from her small form into her larger one, flames rising around her feet and twin tails lashing. Now she bumped her head against Sango's hip in apparent invitation. Miroku guessed that Kirara, too, could sense that Sango was in no shape to make this climb. She was offering a ride.
InuYasha, who had kept walking and now found himself some distance ahead of the rest of the group, turned back to scowl at them. "What's the hold up?"
"Just wait a minute, will you?" Kagome asked. She turned to Sango. "We'll both ride," she suggested, with a sweet smile that nonetheless brooked no argument. "My feet could use a break from all this walking, too!"
Despite InuYasha's impatience, they were soon on their way again. Miroku glanced back now and then, just to keep an eye on the girls—certainly not to admire the way Kagome's exposed legs straddled Kirara's shoulders—but for the most part followed InuYasha as swiftly as the terrain would allow.
Up and up and up they went, the path occasionally wandering but always heading toward a tall mountain bathed in a hazy mist. It was this mountain, Miroku thought, that must be the source of the evil aura. And, as they continued, their path took them straight to it and up the side.
"We've been climbing forever!" Shippou announced, pouting from where he'd draped himself dramatically over Sango's weapon. "Are we ever going to get there?"
Miroku found his youthful impatience entertaining. They were seeking the source of great evil, not a prosperous town on a festival day, yet he was just as eager. He held onto the levity as a defense against the oppressive atmosphere.
"We've gotta be almost there," InuYasha told him. "The land's been totally barren for a long time now."
Which meant, of course, that the concentration of evil had grown so potent that nothing mortal could survive for long. Miroku, beginning to feel it now himself, looked back toward the girls and saw his fears confirmed: Sango hunched, more than sat, astride Kirara. She was fighting valiantly, but looked as if she might pass out at any moment.
Happily—or unhappily, considering what they sought—they soon arrived at their destination.
Miroku was not sure what he had expected, but it was not the well-constructed mine-shaft they had come to. And yet he could not deny that the evil was at its most intense here. He could almost feel the air move as it escaped through the shaft and down toward the village far below, the mountain's fetid breath that killed whatever it touched.
That the others could obviously feel it too left no doubt that this was the place. The only question now was how to proceed. Every fiber of Miroku's being screamed at him not to go into the shaft at any cost. They had promised to help the townspeople, but if they backed out now and avoided that town in the future, perhaps it would simply be assumed that they had died…
Then again, there might be a jewel shard to be had. Naraku might be skulking about.
"Say, Kagome…" he began.
He was too late. InuYasha was already saying, "Kagome, you stay put."
"What? Why?"
Her courage was admirable, almost.
"The entrance is too narrow. A big group won't be effective in there," InuYasha explained. That this seemed logical and even reasonable was undermined by the eager way he cracked his knuckles and moved his body as if preparing for battle.
"I see," Miroku said. "There is wisdom in what you say. Accordingly, I shall stay here and guard Kagome-sama." He insinuated himself alongside Kagome as if he had been there all along, resting his hands on her shoulders in an innocently protective gesture: she would be in good hands with him.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kagome asked, displeasure evident. But what really struck him was the force of Sango's disapproving stare. One look, caught sidelong, was all it took to communicate that this is not the time or the place for your foolishness, houshi-sama.
"You are coming with me," InuYasha bit out in outraged, clipped tones, punctuating each word.
Miroku sighed, but knew better than to protest too much. If InuYasha wanted him to go into the mine, it would be far less painful to just go along with it. And if there were jewel shards to be had, he would have to go in sooner or later, anyway.
With one last sigh, and a longing look back toward Sango and Kagome, Miroku followed InuYasha into the dark.
"InuYasha — wait!" Kagome cried, and for a moment Miroku dared to hope he might be saved from whatever lurked within this evil hole.
Alas, such was not to be. Kagome rushed forward to press a strange, cylindrical device into InuYasha's hand. It was the work of a few seconds to demonstrate how it operated: at the push of a button it emitted a bright, steady beam of light. It would be their only source of light in the darkness to come.
And then Kagome was retreating, taking up her position beside Sango once more. Worry was written all over her face.
Miroku couldn't help but agree with her. Whatever he and InuYasha were heading into, it couldn't be good.
Only a few steps into the tunnel and he felt as if he'd walked into a stone wall. The evil sensation became so overwhelming that even breathing was a struggle. InuYasha seemed barely affected beside him, but it took all of Miroku's strength and training to fight down the nausea, push back against the claustrophobic evil that closed in from every side, and steady his breathing enough to keep going. How could InuYasha be so unbothered by such a powerful force?
It hit him then: InuYasha's youkai blood must be protecting him. Too bad he had no such protection himself.
He pushed on, following as best he could in the dark narrowness of the tunnel. At least there was only the one path, with no branches, so he wouldn't get lost. Not that InuYasha would ever let him hear the end of it if he fell too far behind.
He might have resolved to keep up, but the reality of the situation was that he couldn't. The forces at work here were simply too strong, even for a trained monk. What had first emerged as a sense of creeping, and then overwhelming, unease now began to manifest in other ways as well. His eyes watered, his throat constricted, and his gut roiled, determined to spew up everything he'd eaten that morning.
He sagged against the tunnel wall with an involuntary groan, and hoped InuYasha would at least have the decency to drag him out of this hell before it killed him.
"What's your problem, monk?" InuYasha demanded.
"Shut up," Miroku managed. He didn't know why he had ever expected anything like empathy from the hanyou. But just now, as his belly threatened to rebel all over again, the lack of it was quite frustrating.
"You're really pathetic if this is getting to you already," InuYasha continued helpfully. "You know that?"
Miroku gamely attempted a few more steps. Nope.
There was nothing to be done about it: whether InuYasha liked it or not, he was going to be sick.