Hair of the Dog

Disclaimer: Dammit… I'm running out of these things. I don't own it, got it?


Hair of the Dog: Expression for alcohol drunk in the morning, in order to rid oneself of the previous night's hangover. Repetitiveness.

Also a killer song by Nazareth.


All right, I actually wrote this before the prologue, so they'll be posted at the same time. This chapter is very much about what has happened since the defeat of Naraku. Please enjoy!


Chapter 1: Back In the Past

Fahwump!

The over-stuffed yellow book bag landed heavily on the grass as it was thrown out of the aging well. It was soon followed by a girl, hoisting herself over the well's edge. She sat there for a moment, surveying the landscape around her. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve, before hoisting her book bag over her shoulder and taking off through a small path that wound it's way through the forest.

It had been three months since her and her compatriots had finally succeeded in achieving their ultimate goal, the defeat of Naraku. His downfall, however, had come as a result of once more shattering the recently completed Shikon no Tama, thereby weakening him. Kagome, however, was not too disappointed by this. She was just happy for an excuse to come back to the feudal era, something she knew would have to end soon. Dabbling in time was dangerous, and she had done so much of that to begin with. But as long as the Shikon no Tama remained incomplete she could justify her return.

She had, however, managed to convince Inuyasha to give her the three months in her time, in order to study at least decently for her High School entry exams. But those months were over, now she was returning, and as much as she complained about it, she had missed the Sengoku Jidai.

She exited the forest and stood on the hill, looking down upon the village. A shiver ran down her spine, usually a bad omen. But at this time she was just happy to be back, so she repressed it, and made her way into the town.

However, when she reached it, her uneasy feeling came back. Yes, something was definitely wrong. There was nobody. The roads, usually filled with gossiping women and children's laughter were empty, the fields were void of any men going about there farming, and weeds now sprouted untended, crippling what few crops still survived.

"What… happened here?" she wondered allowed.

A sound from one of the huts to left alerted her, and she crept her way to the home. She approached the door slowly, trying to keep any noise to a minimum. Tentatively, she pushed aside the cloth…

"SKREE!"

In a flash of movement, something slammed into her stomach. She stumbled backward, trying to keep her footing, but her heavy book bag yanked her to the ground. She looked up to see a group of demons hovering over her, hunger evident in their eyes. Panicking, she reached for her bow, only to find that it and her arrows had been knocked far behind her when she fell. One demon launched itself at her, but she kicked it in the face with her heel and started scooting backward, trying desperately to reach her weapon. The demons, however, realized this, and closed in on her, surrounding her and restricting her movement.

Oh please, Kagome pleaded in her head to any deity that would listen, please don't let me die now!

Something must have heard her, because just then there was the metallic schwing of a sword blade, and two of the demons fell to the ground, writhing even after death. There were more attacks, and more of the demons fell. During this charge, she managed to catch a glimpse of her saviors, and was surprised to see them dressed in typical taiji-ya battle garb. The last of the demons fell, and Kagome attempted to identify the two taiji-ya's now standing in front of her, their face masks covering the better part of their features. The pink armor and giant boomerang attached to the back of one of them, gave her away as Sango, but the other one was more difficult. His hair was shoulder length and slightly messy, and in his right hand he carried a menacing-looking trident. His armor was a dark purple.

"Is that the last of them, Houshi-sama?" Sango asked, reaching up to remove her metal face mask.

Houshi-sama? Kagome pondered, so he must be...

"I do wish you would stop calling me that, my dear Sango ," Miroku responded, removing his own mask.

No wonder I couldn't recognize him! Kagome thought, I've never seen him in anything but his monk robes, or with his hair down!

"Sorry Miroku," Sango blushed at her mistake, "Old habits die hard I suppose."

"Well, I guess I can't hold that against you," Miroku responded. His hand twitched.

They looked towards Kagome. She laughed nervously, "Hi guys…"


Kagome thanked a now traditionally-dressed Sango as her bowl was filled with a thick soup. Miroku and Sango had taken her to the Taiji-ya village, now looking as Kagome imagined it must have before the inhabitants were slain.

"Sorry," Sango apologized, "I'm not much of a cook, but it's a skill I feel that I should learn."

Kagome nodded, smiling at her friend. "So the old village was attacked by demons?" she asked.

"Yes," Sango answered as she filled Miroku's bowl. "Thankfully we managed to get everyone out of there and moved them here."

"Thanks," Miroku smiled at Sango, before turning to Kagome. "Every since Naraku's downfall the demons have become much more… tenacious. His power is gone and they're much more confident. Kaede's was not the first village to be attacked that way, many others have fallen, and with many more casualties. Thankfully, I was able to sense the oncoming horde in time to evacuate this one."

Sango sat down too, wrinkling her nose as she scrutinized the smell of her own soup, took a small sip, and set it aside. "Word is many local lords are uniting to create a gigantic army in order to fight the demons. Its seems we're on the verge of a war." She paused. "Either way, Miroku and I have already made ourselves known as taiji-ya mercenaries, and we've gotten plenty of generous offers for us to join in the battles."

"I see…" Kagome frowned. "So Miroku, why'd you give up your monk-hood anyway?"

"A variety of reasons," Miroku responded, and began counting off on his fingers. "I drink, I eat meat, I swear and desired vengeance against Naraku, I don't meditate nearly as much as I should, I've hated men, and been jealous of them at the same time, and, as Sango would put it, my (ahem) questionable habits around women. And I'm an engaged man! So, in the end, I decided that I'd become a demon slayer. I'm still a little untrained, but Sango is an excellent teacher." He smiled at the taiji-ya, who blushed profusely.

"So… you guys aren't married yet?" Kagome asked, which caused Sango to blush even deeper.

"No," Miroku answered again. "We decided that, since we're probably going to war, we should wait until the fighting ends before we wed and start a family."

Kagome laughed and, trying to ease the mood, spoke, "So I guess there won't be babies any time soon, huh?"

The desired effect was not the actual one, however, as Sango instantly hid her face in her hands, her whole body flushed.

Miroku, not helping Sango's embarrassment at all, continued the conversation. "No," he sighed, "I'm afraid Sango has yet to allow me the honor of knowing her in that way…" His face brightened, as if recalling a pleasant memory, "although, sometimes after a tough slaying we will…"

SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWAAAAAACKKKKKKKKK!

Miroku yelped as he was struck over the head with Sango's bowl, which's hot contents now dribbled down his face and onto his clothing.

"I highly doubt Kagome needs to know about THAT!" she growled furiously, adding insult to injury by whacking the back of his head with her spoon.

"I apologize, dearest Sango," Miroku answered half-heartedly, removing the bowl from his head and shoveling the meats and vegetables in his hair back into it. "I got carried away." He plucked a piece of chicken from his robe and examined it briefly before popping it in his mouth.

Taking her anger out on Miroku seemed to have remedied Sango's embarrassment, and she wretched at the action. "I swear Miroku, sometimes you're more disgusting than Inuyasha!"

Miroku shrugged. "There's no point in wasting perfectly good chicken."

"Where is Inuyasha, anyway? Is he here?" Kagome asked, the lack of the hanyou's presence odd to her.

Sango shook her head. "No. Usually he hangs out at Kaede's with Shippou, but he went out with a hunting party of the men yesterday. They went quite far, and won't be back until tomorrow. He dragged Shippou along with, something about teaching him to be a man. Shippou practically died on the spot, he really wanted to be here to see you when you arrived."

"I see," Kagome nodded. It wasn't quite the welcome she had been expecting.

There was a sound of the door flapping sound as another figure darted into the hut, stopping in front of Miroku.

"Ani-ue! Look what I caught!" Kohaku exclaimed, a gigantic fish in his arms.

Miroku smiled. "That's great Kohaku, but how many times do I have to tell you I'm not your brother?"

Kohaku lost no enthusiasm at this. "But you will be soon, right?" He looked expectantly between Miroku and Sango, causing both of them to laugh nervously.

"Of course I will," Miroku finally answered.

If possible, Kohaku's smile grew even wider. "See! I knew it! Now c'mon, you promised you'd go fishing with me!"

Miroku sighed, a smile on his face. He set down his bowl. "All right, let's go."

Kohaku cheered as the headed out the door. After they left, Kagome looked to Sango.

"Well, Kohaku sure seems to be adjusting well," she laughed.

Sango was smiling, her eyes still on the door. "Yes… he had some trouble at first, but Miroku really did take on the role of his older brother, so Kohaku had someone to talk to. They spend a lot of time together, it's almost as though the both of them are living the childhood they never got to experience. Miroku might protest some, but I know he really enjoys it."

"He really seems to look forward to you and Miroku's marriage."

Sango nodded. "He really wants to have a complete family again. He told me he has trouble remembering what it's like…" She then leaned towards Kagome, a coy smile on her face. "And don't tell Miroku this, but I really look forward to it also."

Kagome grinned.


When night came, they all settled down for bed. There were three mats in the room, one shared by Miroku and Sango, one for Kohaku, and one that had been newly rolled out for Kagome. As they all lay down, silence overcame the hut. Kohaku had fallen asleep quickly, having worn himself out during the day. From the other side of the home Kagome heard a whisper.

"You know I love you, right?" It was Miroku's voice as he spoke gently into Sango's ear.

"Mmhmm," Sango responded quietly. They then fell silent.

It was an exchange Kagome had heard many times before, and one, quite frankly, she had never wanted to hear again. The way Miroku asked it was haunting, fatalistic. It was a ritual the two of them had picked up near the end of their campaign against Naraku. Miroku's Kazaana had begun to be increasingly troublesome, and one night, no longer able to contain himself, he had asked her. After that, every night as they would lay down to sleep, Miroku would ask her the same question, and she would give the same, simple answer.

And, to be honest, it creeped Kagome out.

She rolled over on her mat, trying to find a comfortable position. Needless to say, after three months of sleeping on a taken-for-granted wonderfully fluffy bed, it was not hard to imagine she would have trouble going back to the thinly stuffed mats on the floor. Finally she settled for laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She was looking forward to the next day. Inuyasha and Shippou would be back, their whole group would be complete, and another adventure would be on.

And Kagome could use an adventure.

Thinking about their journey ahead comforted Kagome's mind, and sleep soon came to her.


End Chapter 1


I hope you enjoyed that, and whether you did or did not, I would certainly enjoy a review. I will be responding to reviews using the e-mail feature, but if you don't want an e-mail, please state so in your review.

G'Day to all of yas.