"Inuyasha's not acting like himself," Sango murmured, keeping her voice low so the hanyou wouldn't hear. It seemed safer if he didn't know she was talking about him. "Since when did he become so understanding?" She had been expecting brash, unkind words, and for him to hurry the group on its way today, but he had done nothing of the sort. The change was as baffling as it was sudden.
"It's probably because it was Kikyou-sama who took the piece of the jewel from Kagome," Miroku responded in kind. Through an unspoken agreement, the two of them, plus Shippou and Kirara, had fallen well behind their companions. It had seemed a good idea to let Inuyasha and Kagome have some space. At least that way they would have a chance to start working things out.
From his place on the monk's shoulder, Shippou mused, "So it was the woman he loves that did the deed, huh?"
"It seems so," Miroku agreed. He must have been nosing around asking questions, to be so sure of himself.
"If Kikyou has Kagome's piece of the jewel, now what?" She couldn't help asking. Although Kagome had accumulated most of the shards that formed her piece of the jewel before Sango joined the group, it still felt like a major loss.
"I imagine Inuyasha will want us to hunt down more shards," Miroku mused. "Since he doesn't seem particularly inclined to go ask Kikyou to give Kagome's back."
As the conversation went on, Sango was surprised to find herself enjoying the company. She had been a little hesitant at first, worried that she might give the wrong impression or that she might have already done so, but that was fading now. It felt good to finally have someone in the group to talk to, the way she had always had among the slayers. She knew better than to let her guard down, at least not completely, but the monk was better than no one. And thus far he had behaved himself, even if she suspected it might only be due to Shippou's watchful presence.
Of course, there was also Kagome… but Kagome had other problems to worry about right now. She was obviously still upset about her loss of the jewel piece. She had been quiet and withdrawn ever since it happened, although she had tried to put a brave face on it when Sango had—as gently as possible—inquired about it. Sango didn't wish to intrude after that, and for now at least the monk seemed happy to provide an alternative.
Overall, the morning was looking to be a pleasant one, if uneventful. It was a nice change, Sango thought. She had a feeling everyone in the group could use some uneventful time to recover from their all-too-recent misadventures. For what seemed like the first time since she joined them, there was no immediate jewel shard in need of retrieval or enemy in need of fighting. Naraku was still out there, and so was the Shikon jewel, but for now they had a little breathing room.
"What's that?" Shippou asked suddenly, pointing skyward.
Sango had no idea what it was, but she could plainly see it was headed on a trajectory that would bring it right into their midst. It seemed she had declared the day uneventful too soon. The object was moving so fast that there was hardly time to react before it reached them. They were lucky Shippou had spied it and given warning before it was too late.
She leaped back just in time, readying the hiraikotsu in case this was some sort of attack, as the object crashed into the road. She was close enough that she could feel the immense heat emanating from the impact site. It was hard to tell through the dust, but it looked like it had struck exactly where Inuyasha and Kagome had been walking.
For several long moments the only indication that their friends had survived was Inuyasha's irritated shout. "Who the hell are you?"
The dust began to settle after that, but Sango did not relax her grip on the hiraikotsu's strap. Both Inuyasha and Kagome were unscathed, probably thanks to Inuyasha's quick reflexes, but they were standing face to face with… Sango wasn't entirely sure what they were face to face with. It looked like an old man riding an ox, only the beast had three eyes and could apparently fly, and the old man had unnaturally bulging eyes and pointed ears. Youkai, she guessed, the both of them.
"My name is Toutousai," the old man said. "Draw your sword, Inuyasha."
A challenge? But why? They no longer had any jewel shards, so it didn't make any sense. Unless Inuyasha knew this old man from somewhere… but in that case it didn't make sense for Toutousai to introduce himself, unless it was for everyone else's benefit. It didn't seem like Inuyasha recognized the old man…
Sango hesitated, unsure if she should intervene. Toutousai didn't really look like a threat, and Inuyasha had not even bothered to draw his sword yet. But with youkai, especially the ones that were powerful enough to appear in human form, she knew it was better not to take chances.
"Fine," Toutousai said, as if it really didn't matter to him. "If you won't draw, I'll come to you."
It happened almost too quickly to follow. The old man took hold of the large mallet he carried and, leaping nimbly from the back of his ox, brought it down on top of Inuyasha. The hanyou obliged him by drawing the Tessaiga in order to block the blow.
Somehow, the old man's mallet pushed the Tessaiga back, creating a terrible sound. Rebounding, Toutousai leapt back a safe distance and considered. "Hmph," he said, seemingly to himself, "the sound still hasn't fully matured."
The sound? Sango wondered. Is he really concerned about the sound the sword makes?
Inuyasha, apparently just as confused as Sango, charged toward the old man, holding Tessaiga at the ready. "Just what are you after, you bastard?" he demanded.
The Tessaiga flashed toward the old man with killing speed. At the last moment, Toutousai pulled a leather strap from inside his shirt and used it to halt the Tessaiga's strike.
Sango could only stare. Beside her, the others were equally speechless. However improbable it seemed, the leather strap had indeed stopped the sword. She had never seen anything like it—and immediately wanted to know more about it. A leather that durable would make for good armor, or any number of other tools for a taiji-ya.
At last Shippou found his voice. "He stopped it with some leather?" he asked.
"Unbelievable," Miroku murmured appreciatively.
Toutousai, on the other hand, seemed more concerned with the condition of the Tessaiga's blade. "It's all chipped," he muttered. "Clearly it's been used roughly."
He wasn't wrong. His sudden appearance and assessment of the Tessaiga just made no sense.
Just when it seemed that Inuyasha would push forward in one last attempt to sever the leather strap that held his sword at bay, a tiny but familiar figure appeared on his shoulder, exclaiming, "Ah, you've arrived, Toutousai!"
"Myouga?" Inuyasha asked, then sighed and relaxed enough for Toutousai's leather strap to go slack. "Well, if you're here, it can't be anything dangerous."
"Put the sword away, Inuyasha," Myouga chided. "Toutousai isn't here to take it from you — he's the one that forged it in the first place."