Miroku was still mulling over missed opportunities when Sango returned. She was in fine form, apparently fully recovered from her earlier injury. He was relieved to see it, even if he was disappointed that she'd turned down his offer to help her get dressed in her armor.
Inuyasha looked over, too, as she emerged from the undergrowth. What he thought of her precautionary measure, he did not say. At least he seemed to finally be coming out of his daze.
"Do you think there's danger, Sango?" Kagome asked.
"I don't know, but I'd rather be ready just in case."
"Fine," Inuyasha said. "Then let's get moving. Where'd that mangy wolf go? The stench is so strong…" He trailed off, then realized he had another means of tracking his quarry. "Kagome, which way did the jewel shard go?"
She hesitated. "Do you think it's a good idea to follow Kouga right now?"
"His shard's the closest one we know about, and if we take it he won't have any more reasons to bug us," the hanyou pointed out.
"He's also the least of our worries," Sango countered.
"And what do you suggest?"
"I believe she is suggesting that we seek out the real threat here: Naraku," Miroku supplied. This earned him a dirty look from Inuyasha, which he duly ignored. "We can collect any shards Kouga has acquired at another time."
"Oh yeah? You think he'll just hand 'em over if we ask?"
Miroku smiled innocently. "If Kagome does the asking, yes. And in the meantime, any shards he collects will not be in the hands of the enemy."
Inuyasha did not like this line of reasoning; it was clear that he wanted to protest, but could think of no reason that the others would agree to. Sulking, he seemed to accept the inevitable, at least for now. Miroku was sure he would start harping about Kouga again at the first opportunity, but for now he allowed the group to start down the road again.
They did not make it far, however, before something else drew the hanyou's attention. He stopped suddenly, bristling. "That's Naraku's scent!"
Almost before Miroku had time to react, the hanyou was racing down the path toward the source of the scent. A glance back showed Sango already pulling Kagome and Shippou onto Kirara's back with her; relieved that he did not have to worry about keeping everyone together, Miroku took off after Inuyasha. "Wait!" he shouted. "Don't go running off ahead like that!"
"Shut up!" Inuyasha snarled back.
"You can still barely lift the Tessaiga! How are you going to fight Naraku on your own?" At this rate, Inuyasha would not only reach Naraku alone, but Miroku would be too winded to be much help once he finally got there.
None of that seemed to deter Inuyasha, who plunged headlong into the thick underbrush and was gone. Miroku swore and veered in the direction where Inuyasha had vanished, but lacking the hanyou's keen sense of smell he had little hope of tracking him much further. From behind he heard Sango call, "Do you see them?"
He didn't see anything except leaves and branches, but he did hear shouting in the distance. One voice was definitely Inuyasha's. The other most likely belonged to Kouga. Yet Inuyasha had smelled Naraku's scent. "They're this way somewhere!" he called back to Sango as he plunged deeper into the forest.
Cursing as overgrown plants impeded him, Miroku's mind raced ahead. If Inuyasha smelled Naraku ahead, did that mean he was making another attempt to kill off Kouga's entire tribe? It wasn't beyond imagining, though Miroku couldn't figure out why Naraku would make such a move now. Perhaps Kouga had simply encountered Naraku by chance and insisted upon a fight.
Yet as Miroku came clear of the underbrush and got a good look at what was going on, there was no sign at all of Kouga. Inuyasha was indeed involved in a fight, but Miroku had no idea who the opponent was… only the sinking feeling that they had just stumbled upon the next of Naraku's offspring.