"I can see the village!" Kagome announced from further down the road. "We're almost there!"
Indeed, the village was just beside the road. It wasn't particularly large as villages went, but it was well-kept and the people looked prosperous and happy. Several of them waved and shouted greetings to the newcomers.
Had he been traveling alone, Miroku likely would have stopped here for a while. He could see several good-looking women among the villagers out on the street, which meant he could almost certainly find pleasant ways to pass some time here. Alas, Inuyasha was in no mood for further delays, so Miroku would have to forgo his usual entertainments… and his search for a woman to bear his child.
Suppressing a sigh for missed opportunities, he turned and prepared to depart with the rest of the group. With no sign of a Shikon shard, there was no point in tarrying here, and he didn't want to listen to Inuyasha complain about that after already being coerced into helping a stranger. There would be other villages, and other pretty girls, later on.
At least it appeared that Inuyasha's good deed would not go without compensation.
"I'll give you my most treasured possession," the boy promised, after his grandfather had been safely deposited on the ground at the edge of the village, and pressed something into the hanyou's clawed hand.
While Kagome bid a cheerful farewell to their temporary companions, it was Inuyasha's 'reward' that kept the rest of the group occupied.
"What did you get?" Miroku asked. It wasn't often that they were paid for their services, much less their kindness, and he was curious as to what sort of treasures this country boy might have to offer.
Inuyasha scowled and wordlessly held his prize up for inspection. It was delicate and fine, and seemed ready to drift away on the next breeze.
"It's a shed snake-skin," Sango observed.
"You're so lucky, Inuyasha!" Shippou said with a pout. He actually sounded disappointed.
"Feh," Inuyasha huffed. "Take it, then."
Shippou's face lit up and he accepted the snake skin with obvious delight. Just watching him was enough to convince Miroku that helping the two strangers had been worth the minor effort, no matter what Inuyasha might say.
They were on their way again in short order, following the road away from the town and toward whatever jewel shards might lie in the distance. For a while, everything was peaceful. Inuyasha even gave them a break before starting in on the lectures about wasting time again. Unfortunately, he was incapable of biting his tongue for too long.
"What a waste of time," the hanyou groused. "And it's not like we've got time to spare helping people like this in the first place!"
"All we did was walk with them," Kagome pointed out, the very voice of reason, "and we were going this way, anyway."
"He always gets sullen after doing something nice for someone else," Miroku observed pointedly.
"Bah!" Inuyasha objected. "You say that like we knew where they were going."
Sango spoke up next. "We did know where they were going: to the next village down the road, only the old man had fallen and hurt his leg."
Inuyasha's face twisted into a scowl, but they never found out what he had to say about that particular revelation. A moment later, something else had caught his attention. His ears twitched and he jerked around suddenly, sniffing the air in the direction of the village they had so recently departed.
Concerned, Kagome began, "Inuyasha…"
"I smell human blood," he told her. His voice was somber now, all trace of irritation vanished. "Lots of it. And smoke and fire, too."
There could be no mistake: the village was under attack.