Koharu had been quiet and sullen as they returned to the headman's house, but in the end she had allowed his wife to guide her inside. Given her age and the heartbreak she was feeling, Miroku felt it was entirely justified. Leaving her here was the right thing to do, even though it would cause her sorrow.
Still, as he and his companions prepared for their inevitable departure, he was a bit surprised to hear that she was refusing to see them off. It had been so difficult to pry her away from him when they were first reunited… he had rather thought she might try one last time to convince him to stay or take her with him. The headman's wife explained with chagrin how she had promised to show Koharu her new living quarters and then bring her back to verify to Miroku and the others that her needs would be met before they left her here, only to find the girl suddenly obstinate in her refusal to cooperate.
"I'm sorry," the headman's wife told him. "She won't come out again."
Perhaps that was for the best, he decided. And it was a good sign that her new home was a suitable one, if she felt safe enough to stay. Or perhaps she was just angry enough with him that anything seemed preferable to being in his presence.
"I know you said you wouldn't, but why don't you stay just this one night?" the headman asked.
"No," he demurred. "If we stay any longer, it will only make things even more difficult for Koharu."
Outwardly, his actions were all for Koharu's sake. But inwardly, he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. Koharu would be safe and well cared for here. He need not worry about her. And perhaps with time and distance, Kagome and Sango would stop giving him such angry, judgmental looks. Sango, in particular, seemed perturbed by something that had to him seemed harmless.
Of course he'd known that Koharu was a child and far too young for such propositions—and in fact, so far as he was concerned she still was—but she had nevertheless been a sweet child overcome with loneliness and despair, and in her he had recognized a kindred need: hope for the future. Sango and Kagome might not understand, but how could he, of all people, not have at least tried to give her that? Especially when he had assumed that her life would soon get better, and that in the course of time she would forget all about him. It had never occurred to him that they would ever meet again, much less that she would have held onto that promise for so long, or insist so strongly that she fulfill that promise now.
Even though it was already growing dark, they bid their farewells to the headman and his family and set off down the road. It was a well-kept road and the moon was high, giving them plenty of light to see their way. They would be able to move on for a while, and then find somewhere to camp out for the remainder of the night. Somewhere that Koharu could not find them if she got it into her head to sneak out in the middle of the night and go looking for them.
"Houshi-sama, I think it would have been better for you to comfort her tonight instead of just leaving," Sango said. He couldn't tell if she was trying to pick a fight, or if she genuinely thought a night spent with Koharu would have been the better plan. If the advice were earnestly given, and he decided to play along as if it were, there were any number of reasons why it was a bad idea.
"Even if things had gone well," he told her, "if I had given her a child… she would have that reminder for the rest of her life."
"What are you talking about?" Sango stopped in her tracks, outrage obvious. "I said comfort her, not…"
Miroku slowed and then stopped, giving her a chance to collect her thoughts. While Sango struggled to find words that could express her outrage but didn't offend her sensibilities, Inuyasha turned back to add, "Don't bother giving him advice on stuff like this. He's always gonna be a pervert about it."
Kagome and Shippou, too, were giving him dark, judgmental looks.
In the quiet that followed, a shuffling sound made itself heard. People were coming up the road behind them. Some of them carried torches. All of them carried weapons.
"The people from the village?" Kagome murmured. "What could they want?"
She had her answer soon enough. The man who was apparently leading the mob shouted, "Kill them!"
Fearless, the men charged forward, wielding whatever makeshift weapons they had found. Equally fearless, Inuyasha charged right back, laying about him with angry fists that would hopefully discourage further assaults.
"What's with these people?" Kagome asked. "Why would they attack us like this?"
"Don't let them leave the village!" an old man called. Several of the others echoed agreement. It didn't make any sense, unless…
"They're being controlled by something," Sango observed, arriving at the same conclusion that Miroku had just reached.
"No way," Inuyasha snarled. "If there was a youkai back at the village, I'd have smelled it a mile away."
"Nothing else explains their odd behavior," Sango argued. "They were hospitable to us just a few minutes ago. Why change so abruptly?"
Miroku left them to fight it out. He suddenly had a very bad feeling; a quick scan of the gathered mob revealed no sign of Koharu. If the girl hadn't been swept up in the mob, she might be injured—or worse—back at the village.
His worst fears were confirmed an instant later when he heard a horribly familiar buzzing sound. Saimyoushou!
"Miroku-sama!" Kagome called after him, but he was already in motion and had no intention of turning back. His friends would just have to hold their own against the villagers or follow as best they could. "Where are you going?"
He risked one last shout, but after that his attention was squarely focused in front of him. "I have to make sure Koharu is okay!"