A terrible growling sound carried over the next ridge. A wolf? But as he and Inuyasha came over the rise, Miroku saw two thrashing, thick-furred tails; the growling was coming from Kirara as she tore a mouthful of feathers free from a gigantic wing. Sango stood nearby, looking shaken and chagrined.

"Sango!" he hailed, if only to give her a little warning that they had arrived before —

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded.

Sango turned to face them fully with what might have been a wince. "I'm sorry… Kouga got away with her. I couldn't follow because I ran into some interference." She nodded toward the corpse at her feet.

Upon seeing the feathers, Miroku had assumed it was some large mountain bird that Kirara had killed. He looked more closely now and realized that this was no ordinary bird. "What are these?" he asked.

"No idea," Sango said. "I've never seen anything like them."

He noticed now that her face was still sheened with sweat and slightly flushed, and her expression was deeply troubled. It was clear she was taking her failure to rescue Kagome hard.

"They're aggressive and incredibly fast and agile for their size," she went on, speaking softly as Inuyasha investigated the corpse. "And there are a lot of them. We'll need to be prepared in case we encounter them again."

Inuyasha prodded the dead bird with a foot. "So where'd the rest of 'em go?"

"They took off once I killed this one. I guess they don't like their prey to fight back."

Or, like the wolves, they had gone for reinforcements, but Miroku kept that thought to himself.

"If the rest of 'em ran off, what were you waiting for?" Inuyasha demanded. "Those wolves still have Kagome!" He took off without bothering to see the impact his words had on Sango, sniffing for any sign of Kagome or the wolves that had kidnapped her.

Sango watched him go, her expression somewhere between hurt and frustration.

Since she was unlikely to get any comfort from Inuyasha, Miroku stepped in. "Sango, you can't blame yourself for what happened."

He could imagine what she might be thinking: if she had a weapon that could slay one hundred youkai with a single swing, reaching Kagome in time would have been no problem. But she had only her knowledge of youkai, her wits, and her human strength to work with. Compared to the Tessaiga it didn't sound like much, but Miroku rather thought her bravery and determination were admirable. There weren't many humans who could encounter one of those bird youkai and live to tell the tale.

"I don't…" She shook her head, as if that might chase away unpleasant thoughts. "Come on, monk. He'll leave us behind."

Never mind that with Kirara's assistance they would catch up quickly. They mounted with minimal fuss—the process was already becoming familiar, almost easy.

"We'll find her," he promised, and could only watch as Sango visibly tensed in front of him. So much for words of encouragement. He couldn't give her physical space, not if they wanted to keep up with their irate hanyou friend, but he could at least shut up. For a while, that was exactly what he did. The three of them followed along, silent, in Inuyasha's wake, giving him time to pick up any trail that might have been left.

After a while something wailed mournfully off to their left, the sobbing sound eerily like a human child's cry. As they continued, he heard another and another. More youkai? Or something else? At this speed, there was no way to tell.

"Wait a minute, Inuyasha," he called.

"What?" the hanyou demanded. His voice clearly conveyed his impatience, but he did stop running.

Ever more amenable, Sango indicated to Kirara that she should land. All Miroku had to do was dismount and follow the sound. It wasn't a youkai making that strange wailing sound. It was a clump of brightly colored mushrooms, growing out of a mossy log. How odd.

"Do you think this might be a signal from Shippou?" he mused, turning to find Sango directly behind him. She must have been peering over his shoulder.

"Now that you mention it, he disappeared at the same time Kagome did. Do you think they're together?"

More and more of the mushrooms were popping up along the path ahead, adding their cries to the growing din.

"There are more over that way," Sango pointed out. "They're growing in a very strange pattern if they weren't planted deliberately. I would guess that someone left them here so they would be found."

"All right." Inuyasha seemed satisfied. "The kid left us a trail. Let's not waste it."

Miroku pulled himself onto Kirara's back behind Sango once again, and they were off. Inuyasha had already started down the mushroom-lined trail, and was disappearing into the brush ahead of them. He wouldn't be happy if they got too far behind… but Miroku had forgotten how much easier it was for Kirara to catch up to someone with Inuyasha's inhuman speed than it was for a mortal human. In moments they were flying abreast of the hanyou, looking ahead once more for signs of their missing companions.

At this speed, they were sure to catch up soon… at least as long as they didn't run into any more of those bird youkai.