The gas mask helped, a little, but the air on the mountain was still barely breathable. Poisonous miasma swirled so thickly that it might have been fog. Sango could hardly breathe even with her protective mask to filter the air, yet her youkai companions seemed unaffected by the evil aura. And so, for that matter, did Kagome.

Alone out of the group, Sango felt nothing but misery. She huddled on the ground with her knees drawn up against her chest, clutching her mask to her face for the small difference it made, and wanted to be anywhere other than where she was. Her throat felt raw even with the mask, and she couldn't suppress a cough from the caustic air.

"Oh, Sango," Kagome said, earnestly sympathetic. "This place is really getting to you, isn't it?"

For a moment the best she could muster was a low groan. She cleared her throat against the uncomfortable raw feeling, and words were more willing to come after that. "What about you, Kagome? You seem… fine."

Kagome seemed not to have noticed the difference until just then. Her eyes went wide. "Me? I'm fine for now, anyway." She placed the emphasis on the now, as if she might find herself in Sango's predicament at any moment, as unlikely as that seemed.

"Me too!" Shippou chimed in. "This place is really creepy, but…"

"I bet it's even worse in there," Kagome murmured. She had hardly looked away from the hole in the mountainside since InuYasha and Miroku disappeared inside. Even now her gaze lingered there. She must be awfully worried about InuYasha and Miroku.

Sango tried her best not to wheeze, and not to let her obvious weakness get to her. If there were dangerous youkai about, it seemed somehow wrong not to help. She was still recovering from the injuries she had sustained at Naraku's castle and had no holy powers to protect her from this evil place, but she was also in no position to provide any help should they come under attack while they waited. If any enemy, much less Naraku, were to come across them now, they could be in real trouble.

"I wonder if InuYasha and Miroku are okay," Kagome went on.

"They just left," Shippou pointed out helpfully. "I'm sure they're fine." But he was watching Sango when he said it, taking stock of her condition. Much like Sango's, their friends' wellbeing was far from certain. They had no idea what might be lurking within the mountain, only that it must be very bad to create such an evil aura.

They waited the afternoon away in tense silence, although it was difficult to tell whether it was night or day this deep in the miasmic fog. Shippou's observation hung over them like a pall: I'm sure they're fine. It almost felt as if they spoke too much, or made too much noise, it would be a bad sign for their friends. With Kagome seemingly lost in thought, Sango had little to do but focus on her physical discomfort and her own worries, which didn't improve the situation at all. She would almost have preferred idle chatter, if only for the distraction.

Kirara, ever pragmatic, returned to her smaller form and curled up beside Sango for a nap. Best to get some rest while she could. If Sango had not been so uncomfortable, she would have been tempted to join her. Yet she had to wonder, if I sleep in this place, will I wake up again?

It seemed better not to risk it.

Besides, it seemed almost certain that InuYasha and Miroku would return at any moment, and she wanted to be ready when they did. By now they had been gone long enough to find whatever evil thing was hidden within that tunnel. Sango could imagine many different scenarios for what they might find in there—all sorts of nasty things, though nothing in her direct experience produced anything remotely like the effects they were experiencing and the townspeople had reported. Even though she couldn't be sure what they might find, she didn't really doubt that InuYasha and Miroku could handle it.

InuYasha had the Tessaiga, after all, the sword that could kill a hundred youkai in a single swing.

She wondered suddenly if he'd taken the monk with him just in case the Tessaiga failed, or if he'd done it to keep the monk's wandering hands away from Kagome. In his bedside stories about the rest of their group, Miroku had certainly implied that there was some sort of underlying romantic tension between their friends. Sango knew better than to believe everything the monk said was the unembellished truth—after all, he claimed Kagome came to them from a distant land by means of a magical well—but InuYasha's actions carried a certain possibility, as did the longing looks Kagome kept sending toward the entrance to the mine.

By now Sango was convinced that there was something going on there, but this was neither the time nor the place to ask embarrassing questions, so she put those questions away for now and resolved to bring them up later.

Later, after they survived this. If they survived this.

"They've been gone a long time," she pointed out, shattering the silence of doubt. She couldn't stand any more waiting and her strength was running out. It was now or never.

When she had imagined this moment, she had gotten to her feet smoothly and headed boldly for the entrance to the mine-shaft. In reality, she was weakened by the oppressive aura of this place and her body refused to cooperate with her. She tried to get up and found she could not, even as she told Kagome and Shippou, "I'm going to go look for them."

Kagome was at her side in an instant. "Sango, no. If you go in there, you'll be overcome!"

Sango had no doubt Kagome was right, but what else was she supposed to do? "We can't just wait here for them forever." She shifted to a more comfortable position, momentarily giving up her hope of rising. "The sun is beginning to set. Soon it's going to be night. And then what?" She paused, not liking what she had to say next. But someone had to say it. "If they haven't come back, it may be because they can't come back."