Miroku was quiet as the group headed in search of Inuyasha. His mind was too full for conversation, awash with the many possibilities the next few days would hold.

They finally had a lead, however tenuous, on Naraku's location. If they could find the last place where his castle had been, then there was a chance they could pick up his trail. At the very least it would put him one step closer to tracking down his mortal enemy, and one step closer to freeing himself from the curse of the kazaana.

But revenge wasn't the only thing that had piqued his interest. There was also the matter of undertaking this journey alone with Sango.

He had never seriously considered the possibility of partnering up with a woman other than for the purposes of fathering a child. Yet the more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea seemed. Sango was knowledgeable about youkai, a brave and determined fighter, and definitely easy on the eyes. It wouldn't be so bad to travel with just the two of them… though he supposed it might be rather more distracting than productive, at least for him.

Sango, on the other hand, appeared to think nothing of such an arrangement. To someone like her, accustomed to traveling with the other fighters from her village, it might have been no big deal after all.

He knew their chances for success would be much greater if Inuyasha agreed to go with them, and he also knew there was only a very slim chance that Sango would ever react favorably to a romantic advance, but a part of him would always be sorry to have missed out on a solo mission with her. At least he could always dream.

Shippou went scampering ahead as they neared their destination, his voice making its way back to the others as he called out a greeting to Inuyasha.

In characteristically bad humor, the hanyou responded, "Shut up! I know already."

"I haven't even said anything yet!" Shippou protested.

"You're just going to tell me to go after Kagome."

Both Shippou and Inuyasha fell quiet as Miroku and the others came forward. Inuyasha was sitting exactly where Miroku had thought he would be: among the roots of the god tree, where he had been bound in enchanted sleep until Kagome removed the arrow and caused him to awake. This was a special place for him, and one he always seemed to gravitate toward when he was fighting with Kagome.

"Inuyasha, I thought you'd be here," Miroku began. "We've got news."

He waited while Hachi relayed the story again, watching Inuyasha carefully for a reaction. First consternation, then concern, and finally anger. "Carried away by the saimyoushou, eh?" he asked.

"It seems so. That's why Sango and I are setting off first thing tomorrow to investigate," he said. Even as he spoke he still wasn't sure if he wanted Inuyasha to agree to join them or not.

"What will you do, Inuyasha?" Sango asked. "Will you come with us?"

"Of course I'm going!"

"Even without Kagome?"

Inuyasha sputtered in the face of her question. "What good will it do to wait any longer?" he finally managed to say the words, but his voice betrayed his true feelings. He didn't want to leave her behind, but he would do it if he felt he must. Perhaps all he needed was a little nudge.

"If you're certain of your feelings, you should go tell her before you leave," Miroku suggested.

Sango, catching on, shook her head with a sort of definitive finality. "No reason to be indecisive about it."

"You want us to break up that badly, huh?" Inuyasha demanded, his voice suddenly ragged. The moment he said it, he flushed as red as his fire rat robes.

"So you don't want to break up," Miroku observed. He embodied calm objectivity, as if he would never push a friend into admitting something he was not ready to admit.

Inuyasha's scowl gradually turned into a sad frown. Even his ears seemed to droop.

"There's no way I can ask her to come back," he admitted. He looked downcast, rather like a puppy who had just been kicked; Miroku rather suspected all he need do would be to look at Kagome like that, and he could talk her into anything. Then again, Inuyasha was not known for his way with words.

"You have some time yet," Sango pointed out. "You don't have to act right now, since we aren't leaving until morning. Think about it."

She was far kinder about it than Miroku would have been, but maybe that was a better approach. At least he didn't snap at her as they left him to consider his options, the way he would have snapped at Miroku without a second thought.

When they were almost back to Kaede's and hopefully out of earshot, Shippou asked, "What do you think he's going to do?"

Miroku shrugged. There was no telling just how stubborn Inuyasha could be. "I guess we'll find out in the morning."