Miroku could scarcely believe what had just happened. Goshinki was dead, against all the odds. Miroku and his friends were all still alive and in one piece.
Maybe it was because everything more or less hurt after the hit he'd taken from Goshinki, or maybe it was because of the way Sango had slumped against him in relief when she realized the danger had passed, but Miroku suddenly found himself perfectly content to stay right where he was. This was a time for, if not celebration, then at least for appreciating the fact that they were still alive. And not only were they all still alive, their enemy was slain, and Sango even seemed to have forgiven him for whatever had irritated her so much yesterday. Considering just how dire the situation had seemed only moments ago, things were finally starting to look up.
He might have been perfectly willing to stay where he was for a long time—preferably until everything stopped hurting—but Sango had other ideas. She climbed to her feet, albeit much less gracefully than normal, after only a few moments.
Feeling somewhat abandoned and forlorn, Miroku considered his chances of successfully exaggerating the extent of his injuries and decided against it. They were alive now almost by pure chance. Better not to push his luck.
So he fought through the dizziness and the ache in his head, and somehow managed to get to his feet without falling over. Even Sango seemed to realize what a close thing it was, because she offered a hand to help him up and set the other against his arm as if to steady him. He doubted she would actually have been able to help had he fallen, but he appreciated the thought.
While he and Sango were thus occupied, he could see that the orphaned children had worked up the courage to approach Inuyasha and Kagome.
"Children," Sango murmured. "What will they do now?"
"I don't know." Miroku wished he had a good answer for that. They couldn't take the children with them, at least not far, and that assumed the children would want to leave in the first place. Yet they could not simply leave them here, either, in a ruined village with no one to look after them and no food or shelter. It was like a weight crushing down on him, this reminder of all that remained to be done even after their enemy was slain.
If Naraku would just face them, without hiding behind so damned many monsters and schemes, none of this would have happened. These people would still be alive and have homes. He would not be injured, nor would Inuyasha and Sango. Instead they wasted their time and their lives fighting against these seemingly innumerable incarnations while their real enemy hid just beyond their reach. Goshinki, at least, they had defeated. But Kagura and Kanna were still out there. Was Goshinki the last, or were there more lying in wait?
He struggled to calm himself, recognizing that this line of thinking would ultimately do him no good and also that the strain of the last several days was getting to him. Conveniently, a distraction arrived almost exactly as he was considering how to proceed.
Something large dropped out of the sky, crashing to earth perilously close to Inuyasha and Kagome. Whatever it was, it landed with a tremendous sound amid a rising cloud of dust.
Sango startled, shifting as if to take a defensive stance only to fold over in pain. Ordinarily Miroku would have easily been able to accommodate her, but not today. Today he nearly toppled over the moment she leaned against him. He planted his staff firmly into the ground and through sheer willpower managed to keep both of them upright, though Shippou nearly did him in by clambering up to his shoulder for a better view. "Isn't that Toutousai's bull?"
"Just the bull?" Sango asked.
At first glance, it seemed so. But the bull turned out not to be as alone as it appeared. Myouga the flea was riding on its head. Sneaky little fellow.
"Myouga-sama, did you run away to Toutousai's place?" Miroku asked.
"What sort of greeting is that?" the flea demanded.
Inuyasha's voice was dry. "You did, didn't you."
"That doesn't matter!" Myouga insisted. "What matters is something's happened to the Tessaiga, hasn't it?"
Miroku glanced at Sango, trying to gauge what she made of this pronouncement. What did it mean that Myouga had sensed the sword's fate from a distance? There had to be something else going on here, some other significance of the day's events that they had missed. He couldn't be sure, but Miroku wondered if it might have something to do with the change Inuyasha had undergone after breaking the sword. As if without the sword, the hanyou could shift more fully toward becoming a full youkai.
Was such a thing even possible? Was the Tessaiga somehow more than merely a weapon?
The questions certainly had interesting implications, but this was neither the time nor the place for pondering such things. Right now they needed to seize the chance they had been given and get out of here before Naraku or his offspring could find them again. They weren't likely to get a better chance to escape and lie low for a while so they could recover from their injuries.
"Don't just stand there! Gather all the pieces!" Myouga ordered. He was apparently not about to let them leave this place without every piece of the Tessaiga in hand. "The sword must be repaired, and quickly!"
While Kagome and Shippou helped Inuyasha gather the shattered pieces of the Tessaiga, Miroku approached the flea. "What will we do about the children, Myouga?"
It was hard to tell because he was so tiny, but the flea's expression looked like one of consternation. "What children, Houshi-sama?"
He nodded in their direction. "Two children survived the destruction of the town. We can't simply abandon them here."
"But time is of the essence!" Myouga protested. "We must get the sword to Toutousai for repairs before it is too late!"
"Are there no human settlements between here and wherever Toutousai is?" Sango asked.
The flea considered. "I suppose we could find somewhere safe to leave them," he decided. "But we can't delay!"
Miroku considered arguing further. They should see to the dead, too, but Myouga clearly felt there was clearly no time for that, and Miroku wasn't sure how they would manage to dig graves or clean the village up. A few prayers for the souls of the deceased would have to suffice.