Sango held Kirara back, letting Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou take the lead. It seemed she preferred not to get involved with Inuyasha's bad mood unless she had no other choice; Miroku was glad someone else in the group was exhibiting some sense for once. He had accepted Inuyasha's flaws when he joined the group, but that didn't mean he wanted to be standing at close range when Inuyasha was riled up about something. And Inuyasha was definitely riled up now. He'd sulked and complained during the brief delay that had given Sango time to don her armor, and he'd been snippy with Kagome about being too slow on the hunt. It seemed the presence of wolves nearby had his hackles up, much like any ordinary dog.
But beyond the hanyou's temper, there was something else. Miroku couldn't identify yet what it was, but something about this place, this situation seemed… off. Nothing appeared obviously out of the ordinary as they raced past. No enemies had showed themselves so far, even though they had to be here somewhere. The wolves' leader was fast, but as far as Miroku could tell the underlings were like ordinary wolves.
It was confounding, until he remembered he was riding with someone who might have an idea about what they were heading into. He'd become entirely too accustomed to Inuyasha's blind charges, he decided.
To Sango, he said, "This whole place feels very strange."
"You think so too, Houshi-sama?"
He kept a wary eye out, but still saw no sign of anything untoward. "I don't think it's just the wolves."
"Another youkai, then?" Sango kept her gaze focused on the path ahead, all business.
"It can't hurt to be prepared."
"Mm."
There were wolves lingering on the path up ahead. They waited, conspicuous, even as Inuyasha drew dangerously close, only moving just before he came into striking range. Even then, they only proceeded as quickly as Inuyasha could follow. It almost felt like they were trying to draw him—and by extension, his companions—into a trap.
More wolves came racing down the mountain. Snarling and gnashing their teeth, they mobbed Inuyasha and the others, forcing them nearer and nearer to the sheer drop beside the path. It was uncomfortably similar to a strategy Miroku himself had once used in an effort to acquire Kagome's jewel shards.
Kirara leaped ahead in a sudden burst of speed, breaking free of the trap, but more wolves were already flowing down the mountainside to intercept her and the humans she carried. There was nowhere to go. Even if she attempted to fly higher, the wolves were coming at them from above. All they would have to do was jump.
And then it was too late for that anyway: the wolves were on them.
Kirara fought back with saber-teeth and claws, savaging several wolves for their efforts. Sango freed the hiraikotsu, nearly hitting Miroku in the process, and laid about them with the massive weapon, doing her best to discourage the rest of the wolves from following their kin. But the numbers were against them. There were so many wolves that the ones in the front were pushed relentlessly onward, whether they wanted to continue or not.
Miroku slipped off Kirara's back to give Sango more room to maneuver, and to give himself some breathing room. If this got too much worse, he was prepared to risk using the kazaana to put an end to the onslaught.
He beat a pair of wolves aside with his staff; the enterprising beasts had sought to sneak around Kirara from behind. As the wolves tumbled down the defile, he risked a glance up the path to see how their friends were faring, and realized with horror that Inuyasha and the others had disappeared.
And then Kagome screamed.
Without warning, Kouga shot up onto the path from below, Kagome slung awkwardly over his shoulder. The wolves must have pushed Inuyasha over the edge so Kouga could grab his real target: Kagome.
Sango didn't hesitate. Kirara launched into the air, leaving Miroku to fend for himself against the wolves, and took off at top speed after Kagome.
Without the risk to Sango and Kirara, Miroku was more than happy to use the kazaana to clean up the rest of the wolves, but there was no threat. They were already dispersing. He supposed that there was no reason for them to stick around and risk their necks against Inuyasha now that their mission was complete.
There was nothing to be done now but wait… and deal with Inuyasha's temper whenever he made it back up the mountain.