By the time they finally stopped flying, Sango was grateful for the break. The sun had set a long time ago now, just after they delivered the two children orphaned by Goshinki's attack to a new village where they would hopefully be safe. They had then flown through the dark for what seemed like hours until Myouga indicated that they should land in this secluded mountain valley. By now she ached all over and was so tired she could hardly see straight. In fact, she had nearly fallen asleep once already, and only the monk's quick instincts had kept her from falling off Kirara's back. That was more than enough embarrassment for one day.

The moment Kirara landed, she climbed down and sank to the ground right where she was. Let the others figure out what to do next; she would be perfectly happy sleeping right here tonight without even the comfort of a fire.

Miroku let her be and went to join Kagome and Inuyasha, who were discussing their next move with Myouga.

"Humans cannot enter the mountains where Toutousai dwells," the flea was saying, his tiny voice hardly carrying to where Sango sat. "Inuyasha will need to go on alone from here, but the bull will lead him."

Sango wondered drowsily why Myouga did not plan to accompany Inuyasha, but it wasn't until after he was gone and Miroku and Kagome had set up camp that she found out the reason. She must have dozed off in between, because she had no memory of setting up camp. Yet it seemed she only blinked and suddenly found a fire burning nearby, and the smell of cooked food hanging in the air. Chagrined, she realized that not only had she not helped set up camp or prepare dinner, she had been using Kirara as a pillow.

"Sorry," she murmured, but Kirara simply bumped her head against Sango's shoulder and gave a good-natured rumble. The nekomata was usually happy to snuggle up with Sango at night, but it was only polite to ask first. Cheered by her furry friend's affectionate behavior, Sango asked, "Shall we join the others?"

Kirara gave another rumble that might have been agreement before shrinking down to her kitten-sized form. She graciously allowed Sango to pick her up and carry her over to where the others were gathered around the fire, and settled in Sango's lap as soon as she sat down. Sango ran a hand through her fur, scritching gently just where she knew Kirara liked.

Miroku smiled warmly in welcome, but quickly turned his attention back to the flea sitting on Kagome's shoulder. As if he'd merely been waiting for Sango to wake up, he started with the question she most wanted to ask, herself. "Myouga, why did you not go with Inuyasha to see Toutousai?" he asked.

The flea was silent for so long Sango thought he might not answer. Finally: "I needed to ask you all something without being overheard. When the Tessaiga broke, Inuyasha… transformed, did he not?"

"Yes," Kagome told him. "Does that mean the two are connected?"

"Indeed." Myouga's voice was very somber as he went on, "As you know, the sword was a gift from Inuyasha's father, meant to protect his body from enemies that would try to harm him. But the sword had another purpose as well: to seal Inuyasha's youkai blood."

"Seal his blood?" the monk took the word's right out of Sango's mouth. Myouga couldn't possibly mean what she thought meant, could he?

"When the sword is intact, its power prevents Inuyasha from becoming a full youkai, just as it provides him a means to protect himself from enemies. But if the sword were to be broken, Inuyasha would have no way to defend himself… so when the sword breaks, so does the seal, and Inuyasha can become a full youkai."

It made sense. An awful kind of sense, but sense nonetheless. Intense or obsessive desire could cause anyone to turn into a youkai, given the right conditions. Folktales and local legends were full of such tales. And being half youkai already, it wouldn't take much to tip someone like Inuyasha over that edge. Merely an intense desire to stay alive might do it.

"However," Myouga said, "There remains one mystery. Once his youkai blood awakened and Inuyasha killed his enemy, it should not have been possible for him to go back to the way he was before. The process is not reversible, even if the sword is repaired. Yet… Inuyasha appeared much the same as always by the time I reached you."

"So the question now is whether Inuyasha has somehow returned to normal, or if he will continue to become a full youkai," Miroku said.

Kagome sounded stricken. "You mean he might become a full youkai forever?"

The implications of such a transformation were dire, but for Kagome they must have been heart-breaking as well. The person she cared for was Inuyasha the half-youkai. If he became a full youkai, would anything remain of the man she cared so much about? Sango felt a pang of sympathy for the other girl. This must be an incredibly painful and frightening situation for her—she might be about to lose someone she cared deeply for. Indeed, she might have already lost him.

They all might have already lost him.

"If it's possible he could become a full youkai and that even repairing the sword won't halt the process, then what can we do?" Miroku asked.

"There's nothing to do but wait and see," Myouga confirmed. His words didn't rule out all hope, but the tone of his voice was anything but hopeful.

Kagome murmured an apology and carefully moved the flea from her shoulder to the tip of Shippou's tail. Without another word, she got up and walked off into the dark.

Shippou looked over at Sango from his place on Miroku's lap. "Should we go after her?"

"I think she just needs a little space," Sango told him, trying to sound reassuring when she felt anything but. "Inuyasha could come back at any moment, so she won't go too far." She didn't want to bring up the possibility that their enemies might find them even here, but the look on Miroku's face as he met her gaze told her he was thinking along the same lines.

They would keep watch tonight, just in case.