Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be writing this. (In other words, I don't own it.)
It's funny when you write a chapter down, only to change the direction of it as you type it out longer. The dialogue of the characters is rather important in this chapter. :grins: I just love writing from Miroku's POV.
Blusorami: :blinks: You sounded confused about the last chapter… was it about the dream paragraph? Although I really appreciate the encouragement.
Ninalee-chan: You liked my action sequence:looks slightly embarrassed: Well, I'm happy to know that you find it decent. Of course she wouldn't allow him, he's her closest companion! Cliffhanger:goes to reopen chapter 10 to remember how it ended and frowns: That's… not really a cliffhanger. Action isn't my strong point, angst definitely is, but yeah, I learned that fluffy angst was my strong point a long time ago, around chapter 3. I also love typing out sentimental conversations between Miroku and Sango. But hey, you figured that out a long time ago, didn't you?
YoukaiTajiyaSango: It makes me feel good to know that people like this story. I'm not evil :shifty eyes: … just manipulative. Hey, I can't help it if I love tormenting the characters!
Buddym: Actually, I don't usually lack inspiration to write… I lack inspiration to type. Well, the Driver's Ed course has been delayed until the summer :is happy about that, but in its previous place lies the not so wonderful option of studying for exams. I was going to post this during the last week of May, but I'm halfway through Chapter 15, so I thought, "Why not?". Besides, I love to receive reviews for this story. And no, I wasn't offended by your comment. I like the encouragement.
There's just one thing I don't understand. You guys keep saying that there was a good cliffhanger at the end of last chapter… :looks confused: That wasn't really meant to be a cliffhanger, unless you were referring to Sango's "dream" in italics near the end. :shrugs: You guys have me so confused, and this is my story. Oh well.
On with the chapter!
I felt Sango's body tense up on my back, her head lowered behind my shoulder, but I couldn't offer her any reassurance for Hachi's words simply because of where her legs and body were. Well, if I wanted to change her mood and make her forget about everything for the moment, I could always try to rub her behind by shifting my hand just a bit further up…
And get smacked and yelled at later for being the inconsiderate lecher that I am.
Well, I try to be considerate, at least when it comes to Sango. Not that she would believe it, but I do know when it's seriously not a good time to piss her off, and this was one of them. Besides, I would be taking advantage of her physical vulnerability, and I knew she would never forgive me for that. The most I could do at the moment was take control of the discussion, which I did.
"Hachi, could we please discuss this after we get to Mushin-sama's? Sango needs to rest and I know I could use a good rest," I added.
The tanuki nodded, scurrying back to Mushin-sama's. I followed him in silence, although my concern for Sango's reaction to his words increased as the silence drew between the three of us. "Are you alright?" I asked her. I had gotten to know her well enough that I didn't always have to look at her to know what she was feeling, and in our current situation, I would have had to crane my neck to be able to see her. She was quiet for a moment, then she spoke in a low voice.
"I suppose I don't really need to tell you that I'm not," she said. "You know, I didn't think things could get any worse from this point onwards. But when Hachi came…" She trailed off and I knew what she was thinking.
"Don't start panicking for nothing," I told her, easily keeping within distance of Hachi, but at the same time, making sure I stayed far enough behind that he couldn't hear our conversation.
"Panicking for nothing?" She raised her voice a bit more, and I felt her chin leave my shoulder. "Houshi-sama - Miroku, every time we visited Mushin-sama in the past, it was regarding your Kazaana. And every time he joked around about you having only three days left to live, I wanted to punch him. Your Kazaana is not considered an irrelevant issue, Miroku."
"I know, Sango. Believe me, I know that more than anyone."
"Then why do you act like it's not?"
"I'm not, I just don't like to let that matter concern me until it's time." Damn it. This was turning into an argument too quickly. I had never argued with Sango like this before, and I really didn't want to now.
She didn't say anything, but I heard her swallow back tears and I apologized. "Sango, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so…"
"Let's just get to Mushin-sama's for now," she said quietly, lying her head back against my neck. I couldn't tell if she was angry or not, but I would have to wait until later to speak with her.
It took us about another half an hour until we got to Mushin's. The walk wasn't all that long, but to me, it seemed to take forever. I was starting to get more than just a little tired, and judging by the silence and the weight of her body pressing into my back, I thought Sango had fallen asleep.
Mushin was on the front porch, and I waved at him, motioning for him to stay silent as I approached. "I'll just settle Sango down inside and I'll be right out to speak with you, Mushin-sama." He nodded, and of course he had a jug of sake in his hand, which he lifted to his lips and began drinking it.
I carefully set her down on a tatami mat, not wanting to wake her when she was finally getting some much needed rest, but then she opened her eyes, not looking the least bit sleepy. I could also tell that by the expression on her face that she was determined to make me see reason about why we were here.
"Miroku… what Hachi said," she began. I didn't give her a chance to continue as I went to get a cloth, water and some bandages.
"Don't worry about what he said." I returned back to her, but she had shifted away, staring at the wall across from us.
"Give me a reason not to," she shot back. I felt my temper flare up as I momentarily forgot about the bandages.
"You don't understand! You don't have the Kazaana, so you don't know what it feels like to know that any moment of any day you could suddenly die, without warning! You haven't lived with this - this hellhole in your hand for most of your life. You have a future!"
As soon as I finished saying it, or rather, shouting it, I felt bad. The frustration that built up in me from her lack of determination to solve things about Tsuyuki and her physical capabilities died down quickly. She didn't turn around and face me, nor did she say anything. She just sat there, staring ahead, and making me wonder what she was thinking. Did she think I blamed her for the Kazaana?
"Sango… I… I'm sorry…"
She still didn't turn around to face me, instead choosing to use words instead of her actions. "No, I don't. Maybe I don't know what it's like to have the Kazaana and knowing it could kill me. But I'm just as scared as you are about it. You mean more to me than you think you do, and now that we're going to live together, I wonder if something will happen that will take you away from me. I don't want that to happen."
"That's not going to happen," I said, trying to sound firm, but deep down inside wondering if something terrible was going to happen to either of us.
"How do you know?" she said, anger starting to colour her tone. When I opened my mouth to contradict her negativity, she continued on, finally turning her face to look at mine. "No! Don't even go there! Things are not going to be alright! You can't keep pretending that everything will be resolved in the end, Houshi! You know as well as I do that things won't just be fixed with a battle, or with ofudas and Hiraikotsu! Damn it Miroku, why can't you act like a regular human being with feelings, instead of being so calm and collected about everything!"
Angry tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, although she didn't wipe them away. I didn't answer her, taking off the old bandages and being as gentle as possible when washing the bruised skin, and applying the new ones. As soon as I finished, she shifted herself into a more comfortable position. I was about to sit behind her so she could relax, but she stopped me.
"I don't want to offend you Houshi-sama, but I just want to be alone for a bit." Despite her attempt at a lighter tone of voice, I could tell that she was still angry with me about the Kazaana. Not only that, I could tell because she had used my title rather than my name. Which, by the way, hurt quite a bit, but I supposed that after she had time to recollect her thoughts, we would get over this very slight argument.
"Alright. If you need anything… "
"I'll be okay."
And that was that.
I went out to talk with Mushin, noticing that the jug was now three quarters empty. Shaking my head, I sat down next to him. "You couldn't wait till after we got here, could you? Then I could talk to you for once and not the sake that's filling your brain."
"Well, you're talking to me now, aren't you?" Mushin replied, calmly taking another sip of the wine. Although he was already partially drunk, he could still have a half decent conversation with me. Whether or not he remembered talking about any particular subject later was a different story.
I sighed. "Alright. What is it you wanted to talk to me about? Hachi says it was the Kazaana."
"You know that you only have a certain amount of time to live. I suggest that you use it to finish hunting down Naraku," Mushin told me, setting the jug down. I didn't answer, gazing down at the covered palm of my hand that held the Kazaana. His voice softened.
"I noticed that it is only you and Sango-san this time," he said.
I felt my cheeks darken slightly and I looked away, uncomfortable with the change of topic.
"You care about her, don't you? I can tell," he added, smiling faintly. That old monk may not have been much more than a drunk, but he was still observant.
"Mushin-sama, what does she have to do with anything? What were you going to tell me regarding Kazaana?" I said forcefully, turning back to give him my serious expression.
"Just that you should be careful when you use it," he said smoothly, sitting back down. The important air in his words was gone now, and he was just a man pouring sake down his throat again.
I watched him, slightly amused. "Is that all you ever do nowadays?"
He looked at me, offended. "It's only my third jug, boy!"
I got up, shaking my head. "I'm going to go for a walk and meditate at that waterfall. You know, that place where I used to go all the time before I started travelling? I'll be back in a short while. Tell Sango not to worry if she asks where I am."
Not long after I left, Sango came out. She was able to walk, but it tired her out quickly, and the pain still ached throughout her leg.
"Mushin-sama," she said quietly, putting her hands in her lap and leaning against the side of the porch to rest for a moment.
He sat there, the jug now empty. "You're Miroku's companion, aren't you?"
A light blush rose in her cheeks and she stammered out an answer. While she enjoyed having a more intimate relationship with me, she wasn't quite as comfortable letting others notice it. "We - we do travel together, but really… we - we -"
He looked over at her, a knowing smile on his face. "But you care about him, perhaps beyond that of friendship?" he suggested. When she looked away, not ready to openly admit it, he silently confirmed his own answer, although he let her think up a response.
"I…" Even though we had confessed our feelings for each other, she was still shy about our relationship, let alone letting others know. She sighed, feeling the tension build back up in her body from his question. "I do…'
"Then I guess I should tell you the truth," he said after a pause, casually looking away from her to look into the distance as she switched her gaze to him. It was not the words that caught her attention, but the tone of his voice and the rare intensity of seriousness that it held, which was something Mushin rarely ever showed.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You know all about the Kazaana," Mushin began, watching her carefully. "You know that the insect poison can be ucked in and that it can kill him if he takes too much of it in. You also know that it gets a little wider each year."
She nodded, fear creeping up her spine, making the panic inside of her increase steadily as he spoke.
"I'm afraid to have to tell you this, but Miroku only has a year at most to live before his Kazaana destroys him," he said quietly.
"What." She turned around, grabbing the collar of his shirt, her fear freezing her entire body clouding her mind. "He only has a year to live? You're joking, right? As always? It's just a joke, right!"
He wearily shook his head, her frantic hold on his shirt not seeming to have any effect on him at all. He seemed so calm about it that it was almost like he could have been talking about anyone else that passed by the monastery. "He doesn't know. It is your choice whether or not tell him, but he will not have enough time to defeat Naraku." Mushin stood up, patting her shoulder. "Spend as much time with him as possible."
She had sat back down again, trying to calm herself, the serene way he announced Miroku's fate and told her that she would have to be the one to tell him made her thoughts seem disorientated in disbelief for a moment. She shook her head, a wave of dizziness threatening to overwhelm her at the possibility of a future without the monk. It took all she had to keep her voice steady with suppressed emotion. "You expect me to tell someone that I love that he doesn't even have a year to live and that the one goal he wanted to badly to claim will never be within his reach. No," she whispered, abruptly standing up and blocking him. A surge of anger passed through her. "I can't do that. You - you're his foster father, you have to tell him."
"You're afraid to be without him," Mushin simply stated, ignoring the anger in her voice. "But you have to be the one to tell him, because… " He sighed, the first hints of sadness she was able to detect filling his voice. "… because you're the closest to him."
A tear spilled down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away, her hand shaking. "I can't tell him. He - he's been wanting to do this since before - since before he joined us. It was his only goal, and now that… " She took a deep breath, momentarily burying her pain deep down so she wouldn't come apart in front of Mushin like this. "Now that I know he won't be able to make it… how can I tell him? The only hope he had about his Kazaana will fade away, and… I don't want to see that happen."
"He has no choice but to accept it." He brushed past her and went into the temple. She stood there for a moment, internally debating on whether or not she could face Miroku after what Mushin had just told her, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep going like this. Now that she knew… she wouldn't be able to hide it. I would know if something was wrong.
She sat back down again, putting her head in her hands. In truth, she didn't want to think about anything that had happened recently over the past few days. First they always had to be on the lookout for demons or any other surprises that Naraku would occasionally send after them, or the demons that just happened to be around the villages they passed by, then Tsuyuki decided to take possession of her body, so she had to constantly keep her muscles tensed in case it wanted to control her. Now… now she had just learned of Miroku's true fate and getting rid of Tsuyuki didn't seem so urgent. It actually was, for fear of the safety of the rest of the group and whatever other innocents it was planning to kill, but for her future…
She would help the others defeat Naraku without Miroku. Then she would have to take out the shard in Kohaku's back, allowing Kagome to complete the jewel. Then, seeing as her brother would be buried in the ground and that Kagome would most likely have to stay in her own time once their mission was complete, she would die. She would take her own life and join her family and partner in the afterlife. There was nothing else to do if she remained.
It was at that moment that I had decided to come back. I had cleared my mind of all frustration, impatience and even a bit of anger, ready to try and talk to Sango about when we should be heading back. I stopped when I saw her sitting there. She was as still as she usually was when she was feeling upset, her hair covering her face, and a bottle of sake was standing a few inches away. Mushin had obviously talked to her.
"Sango."
She didn't reply. I went over sat down next to her, trying to see her expression, but she didn't look up. Gently I reached out and touched her shoulder, and she reluctantly looked back at me. A few stray strands of hair remained over her expression, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"Sango, what's wrong? What did he say to you?" I put an arm around her waist and she turned to face me, pain and anguish in her gaze.
"He told me about the Kazaana," she said, her voice wavering with held back emotion. "I really didn't want to tell you this, but I have to, since it's inevitable. You have - you have a year at most to live."
"A year?" I repeated. "Are you sure he wasn't joking?"
She looked back down, wiping her eyes. A sniffle escaped her and I held her tighter against me.
"It'll be okay. We'll defeat Naraku and I'll get rid of this Kazaana," I said, trying to console her.
"No." The word was barely a whisper.
"Yes, we will."
"We don't have enough time. We won't be able to defeat him in time, Miroku." Her voice broke and she wiped her eyes again, trying to hold back the flood of emotion. "When you die… I'll die with you."
"Sango." I forced her to look up at me. "Don't say that."
She looked upset, her voice still trembling and barely audible. "If you can't be with me, then let me die with you. Please, Houshi-sama… Miroku."
"I could never allow that to happen," I said softly, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it. She grasped mine, her expression starting to look thoughtful despite the emotional pain of hearing my fate. I did not like what she was saying. She wanted to give up if I left her, and I didn't want her to do such a thing. "Sango, you still have much to live for. You have your whole life ahead of you." I tugged my hand from hers and cupped her cheek.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke, her voice breaking as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Not - not without you," she finally managed to say, then buried her face in my shoulder. Her body shook even as she tried to hold back the tears.
"Sango… " I didn't know what to say to that. I knew that if she ever died and I didn't that I would be most likely be saying the same things as she was. I didn't want to consider a future without her by my side. I wanted to wake up every morning and know she was there, even if the first thing I got from her was a stinging slap across my cheek rather than a good morning kiss. I wanted to have the chance to marry her, and tell her that things were going to be alright. I wanted to see her smile and laugh again, like she used to in the past before her brother was possessed and her village destroyed. I just didn't want her to give up on everything because I wouldn't be there, even though I understood how difficult everything seemed when you didn't have someone to tell you that things would work out okay.
But all I could do was hold her and hope that it would give her the comfort she so desperately wanted at the moment. She wrapped her arms around me and as the flow of tears decreased, she pressed her head in the spot between my head and shoulder, gradually becoming calm. After a short while, I heard her breathing steady itself, and her desperate hold on me turned into a much more relaxed hold. I did not want to ruin this moment but I had to ask her something.
"What about Kohaku?"
She inhaled the scent of my robes, I guess wanting to reassure herself that I wasn't going anywhere, and sat back as I gently wiped the tearstains from her face. "What about him?" she asked, looking down and fiddling with the hem of her kimono. For the first time since meeting her, I noted how her voice did not become filled with sadness and anger at the mention of her brother's name.
I put a finger under her chin and raised her gaze to meet mine. "You said you wanted to give up if I died. What about Kohaku? Doesn't he need you?"
"He does, but…" She sighed, moving her hand up to touch the side of my face. "… but he can't be with me. He can't live without the shards, and if he were to survive… if there was a way to keep providing him with life, he would be overtaken with guilt and shame, even though…" She lowered her voice, her expression taking on a slightly wistful one. "… even though it wasn't his fault. He would still be suffering, and I don't know if I could help him through that."
"The rest of us could help him," I reminded her. "You know all I… all I want is…" I don't know why, but I was afraid to say it. I don't want to let her know just how much her happiness meant to me. It meant more to me than destroying the Kazaana, but if I were to truly provide her with a happy future, then I had no choice. I wanted to get her brother back to her, with all of his memories intact and not burdened with guilt that he shouldn't be carrying, but that task remained to be seen.
She shook her head, ignoring my unfinished statement or assuming that whatever I was trying to say wasn't important. "He wouldn't be happy… no matter how much I would be there for him, to help him recover, he just wouldn't be able to let it go. Even if I did somehow convince him that he shouldn't feel guilty, he just wouldn't be the same person he once was."
I stayed silent, and she leaned back against me as I felt some of tension leave her body. But I knew the topic was far from leaving her mind, although I didn't bring it up again.
We hadn't planned on staying for long, but Sango's leg needed more time to heal, so we ended up staying a few days. We spent the time talking about non-related Naraku things, such as some of our favourite pastimes and stuff like that. Of course, I figured that the topic of the past would bring her mood down, but she seemed to be okay, and if she was sad, she was hiding it well.
"When I was really young, before I started training to become a demon exterminator, I liked going fishing with my father," she said one evening. We were inside the monastery and I was sitting down beside her, my arm around her shoulders although she was not leaning against me.
"Did you have any luck?"
She gave a small laugh. "Not really. But Kirara helped me a bit. She's always been one of my closest companions." Her expression went a bit wistful. "Mother gave her to me when I was only five, shortly before Kohaku was born, and we immediately became close friends."
"I've never heard you talk about your mother before."
"That's because I don't remember much about her," she replied softly. "Kohaku was born when I was about six and half years old. She let me name my brother, then shortly afterwards, her breathing started to get shallower. I yelled for my father to come in because I was scared, and I didn't know what was going on. He went over to her, and she said something to him, and her voice was really quiet. Then this distant look came into her eyes and she didn't respond to anything. I remember running over to her, to ask Father what was wrong and he was bent over her body in grief. Although I thought I might be understanding what was happening and why Mother wasn't moving or anything, I was happy that my brother was alive."
A sad smile appeared on her face and I knew she was replaying the past in her head, before the tragedy of her village had been struck with Naraku. "Kohaku grew up as a happy boy, and we spent lots of time together. He didn't remember Mother at all, and he asked me a lot of questions about her. I couldn't remember her very well either, but I gave him the best answers I could think of, and he seemed content with them. Whenever I asked Father about her, he would get this incredibly sad look on his face, as if his world had just shattered, but he avoided my questions and told me not to talk about her again to him. After a while, maybe a year or so, I stopped thinking about her and started to concentrate on taking care of Kohaku, knowing she would have wanted that."
"You're like that almost all the time, too, Sango," I reminded her. She looked back at me.
"What?"
"You're sad a lot of the time. I mean, it's understandable, but it would be nice to see you smile every now and then."
She managed a small smile, but it didn't linger, and the distant look was back in her eyes. "There hasn't been much to smile about." Although her statement could be said for all of us, the unspoken events of the previous days were well implied in her words and the way she briefly looked away from me. I didn't question them.
Later that night after dinner, she wanted to know if we could snuggle together.
"Sure," I agreed, taking her hand and leading her over to the tatami mat we were going to share. "Sango, why are you asking about something like that?"
She attempted to answer, a blush accompanying her stammer. "It's just that… I… uh…"
An understanding dawned on me as she struggled to get it out. "It's okay. I understand." She didn't say anything regarding our relationship after that, but I knew what she was saying, and I didn't want to fluster her any more. Most of the evening we sat in companionable silence, Sango resting in my lap. I liked the sound of breathing; it assured me that she was nearby, that no harm would come to her while I was there, at least no physical harm, and that she trusted me. I would not trade that for anything else.
Sometime later, when I was sure she was asleep, she spoke up. "Miroku… could you tell me about your childhood?"
I gave a laugh that could be categorized as a dry sounding one, but she ignored it. "I didn't have much time as a child before I had to start worrying about the Kazaana. As soon as my father got sucked into the hole in his hand, I wasn't quite sure what was happening, or why it was happening, but I knew that I could never let it happen to me." I tried to smile, to reassure her that I was alright, that the pain about the death of my father was in the past, but she still looked concerned and I liked the fact that she cared so much about me, although she still didn't know just how much I appreciated her affections towards me. "As you know, the only way that it won't happen to me is if I defeat Naraku in time."
Her expression was a mixture of worry about my reflective feelings on the past and what had happened that made me who I was today, and the fear she could not discard because she knew I had a limited time left, and she did not want to think about being alone, even if things did somehow work out and she got her brother back. She wanted me with her, and I wanted to remain with her, but who knew. Who knew if things would be alright, as I had been telling her for days and days ever since Kirishi's death?
"Miroku…" She swallowed and sat up, reaching for my hand, the one with the rosary beads. I moved it out of her reach. I wasn't sure if it was fear of knowing the Kazaana's capabilities, or if it was the fact that her question reminded both of us of myalmost inevitablefate. True, I had accepted that I wasn't going to live for very long and that my direct future relied on defeating the one despicable demon called Naraku, but it was another thing to understand the meaning of death, that it might even be painful and that it separated you from the land of living with a boundary that you could never pass again. I guess I was more scared than I had originally thought I was, another thing that I was becoming more aware of while I was trying to understand my relationship with Sango. Something that I couldn't quite comprehend at first flickered in her eyes, and after a moment I realized that she did understand. Maybe she didn't know or completely understand the fear of having the Kazaana exist in my hand, but she understood the fear of having to accept that death could just be around the corner, and in her own way, she could still offer me comfort. "It's okay."
Her words were barely over a whisper, but I caught the meaning behind them and I hugged her, silently thanking her for what she was trying to do.
"It will be okay."
The next morning, I woke up. I rolled over to give Sango a good morning hug, maybe even a kiss… and she was gone. Her things were still there, so she hadn't left the area. Not that she would have without informing me. I got up and changed, putting on my regular robes and folding the white ones on the mat, as well as tidying up the blankets that I had used during the night. Sango's side of the mat was still slightly warm, meaning that she hadn't left long ago.
I stretched, then headed to the main room where Mushin-sama and I ate. There were some plates left on the table, a few crumbs on them, so I assumed that Sango had already eaten with Mushin-sama before I woke up. Although I was curious as to why she hadn't woken me up so I could accompany her, she probably wanted some time to think, although I wasn't sure where Mushin-sama had gone so early in the morning. I also noticed a jug of sake next to one of the plates, and I shook my head. That monk. He just couldn't live through a day without first having his wine.
The entire building was empty. Well, not completely, but Hachi was asleep, and he wasn't of much importance to me except for the fact that I had grown up around him. I got a plate and ate some breakfast. Then after finishing, I left the empty plate on the table and returned to the room that Sango and I shared. Sitting down, I tried to relax my muscles and empty my mind, but it only made the silence more noticeable.
Then it happened. That odd feeling of fear that something had either happened or was about to happen. I headed out onto the porch. My hearing was on alert, but I wasn't sure if there was anything to listen for. I quickened my pace. "Sango?"
The shadows of trees seemed to darken the area around me, and the feeling of dread kept nagging at the back of my mind. "Sango!" I called. I heard no answer, but instinct told me to head north, and I did. Unfortunately, I wished I hadn't listened to my instinct.
I trusted Sango more than anyone. She was my friend, my closest companion, and partner. Even my wife, if only I could destroy this Kazaana! But like she had said, there was very little time to accomplish that, and if I didn't…
Death was the only option. It wasn't even an option. It was just waiting for me, waiting for my time to come.
Sango knew I trusted her. Well, more than I used to, and I knew her trust in me would eventually strengthen, no matter what happened. We had come to a point where we depended on each other.
"Sango!" I called again, and I burst into a clearing, breathing hard from running. "Sango, what…? Sango…"
The question died in my throat.
I'm evil. Well, you can probably guess what happened. I guess it's a bit more obvious, and if you haven't, then you get to wait another two weeks to find out. If you have… are you going to keep reading? Please? It was quite fun to make up the characters' past. Although I don't really care about exploring Miroku's past much since I'm more fond of Sango's character, I thought it was essential for this chapter.
If you were confused about the conversation regarding Tsuyuki's control over Sango and Miroku's Kazaana, I'll sum it up for you:
1. Although Tsuyuki is a strong spirit, it cannot kill Sango. It can only take over her mind and body, and force her to kill other humans.
2. Miroku can be killed if the group is unable to track down Naraku in under less than a year.
Oh, and regarding the ending… this time will be different.
Posted - May 15th, 2005
