By now, Miroku knew better than to let impatience get the better of him. He knew, also, that he should take full advantage of this opportunity to rest and recover while Inuyasha sought Toutousai's advice.

None of that helped him at all.

Without any immediate goal to fix his thoughts on, it seemed that he could not contain them. Fear, relief, worry, anguish—they all assailed him at once. If not for his training as a monk, they might have overwhelmed him.

Amidst the swirling chaos of his thoughts, it was Sango that caught his attention. While Kagome and Shippou fretted over what might become of Inuyasha on his new quest, Sango was calm and focused and silent. Her movements were methodical, practice and practical, as she tended to her arsenal. Worry and fear would not consume her; she would be ready for the next fight.

There was something reassuring in that.

And it set him to thinking about a conversation they'd had not-so-long-ago, rather than the trauma of the poison cocoon and all that had followed. She'd told him she wasn't sure what she could bring to their team, all but admitting her insecurity and vulnerability. He wondered if she was thinking about that now, too, and if she had any idea just how much he had come to rely on her. She had her flaws and her moments of weakness, of course, but when he needed her to be strong… she had never yet failed him.

He must have dozed off after that, because the next thing he remembered was a welter of terrifying images and then — Sango's face, lit by what little moonlight filtered through the trees to their campsite.

"Houshi-sama," she said.

Blearily, struggling to remember where he was and what was happening, he realized that she was repeating herself. That she'd shaken him awake. His gaze flicked wildly over the campsite, seeking the source of the danger that had set his heard to pounding and filled his mind with fear. But all was quiet. Kagome and Shippou were sound asleep. And Sango…

Her hands were still on his shoulders.

As if she had realized it at the same moment he had, she released him and shifted back. Putting a safe, if somewhat disappointing, distance between them. He could have done with a woman's comfort about now.

"I thought," she said, hesitating, "that you were having a nightmare. You… you wouldn't wake up."

He didn't want to talk about the dream, nor about the events that had inspired it, so he deflected. "You should be sleeping."

She didn't say anything in response, but the look she gave him was eloquent: so should you.

But she left it at that and didn't press further, retreating instead to where Kirara was waiting for her to come back to bed. Miroku watched as Sango snuggled back against the cat, who had remained in her larger form. He watched the great red eyes, keeping vigilant watch lest some danger should catch them unawares. He actually felt a little better knowing she was on guard. And, eventually, sleep swept over him again.

A sound roused him in the early hours of the morning: someone was coming down the road. And they were being noisy enough about it that the group had time to get out of bed and have the camp in some semblance of order before they arrived.

To Miroku's surprise, it wasn't Inuyasha, but Toutousai, riding on his ox — the source of most of the noise.

"Toutousai, it's you," Kagome greeted once the swordsmith had reached their camp and dismounted beside the remains of their fire.

"Were you expecting someone else?" the old man asked. He seemed to be asking the question seriously.

Kagome took the bait. "Inuyasha…"

Toutousai settled himself beside the fire as if he belonged there. "Ah, yes, Inuyasha. He came to see me, you know, asking questions about that sword of his. Always that sword with him."

Miroku looked over at Sango while Kagome continued trying to pry useful information out of Toutousai. Sango only shrugged. It seemed she accepted that Toutousai would tell them what he wanted to tell them in his own time, and any attempt to rush him was most likely futile. Based on prior experience, Miroku was inclined to agree.

"Well, where did he go after he met with you?" Kagome pressed. "Why isn't he with you now?"

"Oh, that." Toutousai said it with an air of complete nonchalance. "Inuyasha has gone in search of the dragon Ryuukossei."

"He's done what?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha had just nearly been killed by a single youkai bandit. Now he was searching for a dragon all alone? "Why?"

"He has gone to look for Ryuukossei," Toutousai reiterated. "As for why… he's done it to make the sword stronger, of course."

Sango frowned, puzzling through the implications. "So that means there was a way to make the sword lighter, after all."

"Not lighter," Toutousai cut in. "Stronger. Fool doesn't realize he's the one that needs to become stronger. But slaying the dragon will probably help with that, too."

"Why didn't you tell him about that earlier?" Kagome asked.

"That," Toutousai told her, in a matter-of-fact tone that brooked no argument, "would have been too easy."

Kagome frowned, obviously unhappy with his reasoning. Miroku might not have completely agreed with his methods, but he did see where the swordsmith was coming from. Inuyasha was as stubborn and hard-headed as they came, but when it came to training he had never showed any amount of patience. He was so accustomed to being stronger than any opponent that he also had no desire to work to to become stronger.

Unfortunately, this meant the only real way to bring him around to the possibility was to let him struggle until he came to terms with the truth, as Toutousai had done. It was painful to watch, but Miroku could see no way around it.

"If it were too easy, he wouldn't bother to master it," Toutousai added.

Kagome stood firm in her opposition. "Inuyasha is really suffering," she pointed out.

It always amazed Miroku a little bit, the way gentle, unassuming Kagome would suddenly become fierce if she felt Inuyasha needed defending.

"There's another thing to consider," Miroku added. "Even though they were bandits, Inuyasha did kill human beings."

And that was where they, as humans, had to draw the line. Toutousai clearly felt somewhat differently, but he was a youkai. The concerns of humans probably didn't matter all that much to him, though he seemed to value their lives more than other youkai did.

"That's why I told him: someone who's okay with killing humans will never be able to wield Tessaiga. He will have to choose what type of person he wants to be, and whether he will be worthy of the sword at all."

"He'll never be worthy of the sword if he's dead," Kagome murmured. "A dragon… how can he hope to defeat a dragon if he can't use the full potential of the Tessaiga?"

"The dragon was sealed long ago by Inuyasha's father," Toutousai explained. "All he needs to do is stab the heart and the dragon should die, and the sword will become stronger."

Even as he said it, it sounded entirely too easy to Miroku. "What's the catch?" he asked.

Toutousai's expression was a mix of innocence and shock, as if Miroku had just maligned him for no reason. "Catch?"

"How can he be so sure that nothing bad will happen?" Sango muttered darkly.

And why, Miroku wondered, had Toutousai not gone along to observe Inuyasha's progress, if it were all so simple? Everything about the situation suggested that Toutousai was not being completely forthcoming. What Miroku could not figure out was why.

Something other than his racing thoughts made Miroku's skin prickle: an extremely powerful evil aura had descended over the land, and quickly. There was no denying that some awful power was afoot that had not been there before, and Miroku had a sinking feeling he knew exactly what it was.

"Didn't you say the dragon was sealed?" he asked Toutousai.

"Yes, I did," the swordsmith agreed. He paused, looking thoughtful. "Oh my, that's no good." He must have sensed the same thing Miroku had.

Even Kagome and Sango noticed it now. "What is that?" Kagome asked, her voice filled with trepidation.

She might have posed it as a question, but they all knew what the most likely cause was.

Without another word spoken, Sango got up and slipped into the trees. For once Miroku didn't feel even the slightest temptation to follow her and try to get a peek as she changed clothes. Whatever was causing that aura, they need to be ready for trouble.

By the time Sango returned, clad in her armor and ready for a fight, Toutousai was in a near-panic. "Something bad is happening," the old man observed. "Very bad."

"We need to find out what the source of that evil aura is," Miroku told him. He suspected that Toutousai would rather have done anything else; he also suspected that the evil aura had something to do with the supposedly-sealed dragon.

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Toutousai asked.

"Is that where you sent Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, gesturing toward the direction where the evil feeling was emanating from. "Is that where Ryuukossei is?"

That Toutousai did not want to answer spoke volumes.

"Let's go," Sango said into the telltale silence. "If it is the dragon, Inuyasha's in trouble. He's going to need our help."

Kirara transformed into her larger form, ready to carry them quickly to Inuyasha, and to help fight if necessary. Unfortunately, even with Kirara's help it would be slow going. She could carry several people at once if needed, but Sango had explained that this took a toll on her and required her to slow down. They certainly couldn't afford a delay now.

"Kagome," Miroku began.

"Toutousai, I'll ride with you," she said sweetly, leaving no room for Toutousai to turn her down. "Miroku and Sango can follow on Kirara."

For his part the swordsmith scowled, in that strange inhuman way of his, but he mounted his ox and let Kagome climb up behind. After waiting just long enough for Miroku and Sango to get into place on Kirara's back, they were off.

Toutousai seemed to know exactly where to go, and to want to get there in a hurry. The ox fairly shot through the air, racing toward the source of the evil aura. Kirara did an admirable job keeping up, although the speed made Miroku feel dizzy.

"This is bad!" Toutousai muttered, over and over as they went.

"A powerful evil aura… does that mean the seal on Ryuukossei has been broken?" Kagome asked.

"I can't think of another reason for it," Toutousai confirmed. Miroku's heart sank as the swordsmith continued, "If that's the case, there is only one way Inuyasha can hope to defeat Ryuukossei: he must strike with the backlash wave."

Kagome gave voice to the question they were all thinking: "Backlash wave? What's that?"

"It is Tessaiga's ultimate attack."

"You say 'ultimate attack'," Miroku wondered aloud, "so that means it's even more powerful than the wind scar attack?"

"The wind scar is more like a beginner attack," Toutousai confirmed. An interesting, if somewhat alarming, revelation about the true power of the sword. If an attack that could slay a hundred youkai with one swing of the sword was only a beginner's attack… Miroku was almost afraid to see the power of this other attack.

Unfortunately, he could not tell what Sango thought of this new development. With her back to him and her attention focused on whatever dangers lay ahead, her thoughts would have to remain hidden for now.

Up ahead, Kagome was not impressed by Toutousai's ambivalence. "But that's… Inuyasha can barely lift the sword most of the time! He can't use the wind scar, so how in the world will he manage to use the backlash wave?"

"Hmm," Toutousai murmured thoughtfully. "I guess it's impossible then."

Miroku wondered if Toutousai had even warned Inuyasha that there was another attack he ought to use against the dragon; knowing Toutousai, probably not. Without that advice, would Inuyasha even realize he had another option? Knowing the danger that Inuyasha must be in, Miroku wished he could encourage Kirara to carry them even faster.