Chapter Sixteen

Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to the creators of Inuyasha!

Thank you to: Hina714, frustratedfox, FearofFalling, JumbledThoughts, Huggies90, Tiggs1990, Kagz419, Tori Melfaro, LoveSakura3, sendou3aichi, RubyGemGreen, yorrusorra, princesstiti for your wonderful reviews! I always love to hear from you guys!

To those I couldn't private message:

Tori Melfaro: Thank you again for your supportive words! I am so happy to hear you are continuing to find this story enjoyable to read! It truly means a lot to hear from you once more and hear how happy you are with the direction this fanfic is taking. I look forward to hearing from you again soon!

LoveSakura3: Thank you so much for your review and your support! I love hearing that you're enjoying Yua as a character, and I hope you continue to enjoy how the story develops in following chapters! Look forward to hearing from you in the future!


A week had passed since the events with Kikyo's resurrection, and Inuyasha, Shippo and I were back on the road to find more jewel shards. When we had returned to the village we had immediately went to the Bone Eater's Well, where Kagome was able to successfully pass through back to her time. She made a promise to never fall into the well again, and I couldn't help laughing while making my own promise to visit soon if I could. Things were almost back to normal.

Almost.

Inuyasha was still prone to getting caught up in his thoughts, no doubt trying to figure out just what had happened after Kikyo had revealed that someone had tricked her. When I had asked Mayumi on her thoughts about it, about who this Naraku man was she had thought of before, she had remained radio silent.

In fact, she had been quiet the entire week since, and it was starting to worry me.

Inuyasha was even asking about Mayumi, wondering at times if she was talking to me, but he had yet to open up to me about what he was thinking about when he grew quiet. If he would talk to me maybe then Mayumi might respond with some answers, but I wasn't about to push it. This was for more selfish reasons than I cared to admit.

'What if Inuyasha found a way to bring Mayumi back? Would he gladly trade me for her?' I ask myself, not for the first time, as I stare down into the reflection of the small stream I was kneeling by. I reached down, cupping my hands to gather some water, before bringing it to my lips to sip. 'Why wouldn't he? She's the love of his life, after all.' I think, glancing towards him as he stood with his back towards me, staring up at the sky. Shippo comes walking over to me, looking up with his big blue eyes.

"It's still you, Yua, right?" He asks innocently, and I give him a patient smile. Shippo had been far more affected by the switch than I could have foreseen, and had taken to asking multiple times a day if whether or not I was still me.

"It's me." I confirm with a nod. "Mayumi hasn't made a peep since…" I trail off, unable to stop myself from glancing towards Inuyasha once more. I can see one of his ears tilted back slightly, knowing he was listening.

"Good. I like you much better!" Shippo grins, getting on his tippy toes to press his nose against my chin. For some reason that made me feel much lighter, the depressing feeling from before edging away. At least I knew Shippo wouldn't wish me away. I run my fingers through his hair, before he turns to get a drink himself.

"We should get a move on. The nearest village is still a couple days out." Inuyasha calls to us, finally turning to face Shippo and I once more. I give a reluctant sigh, my sore feet having enjoyed the slight respite. Standing, Shippo moves with me, walking back towards Inuyasha.

"I could really use a hot bath." I can't help grumbling, grabbing onto the pack and slinging it over my shoulders. They were tense from the weight, though it had gotten better from the slight break. Inuyasha visibly rolls his eyes.

"I can smell a hot spring not too far from here. We can camp there tonight." He offers, and I can't help grinning at the thought, suddenly finding myself more energized.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?! Let's get a move on!" I agree happily, already imagining what it was going to feel like to soak in that warm water.

"Women." Inuyasha scoffs from behind as I carry on, before coming to fall into step next to Shippo and I.

True to his word near nightfall we happen upon a hot spring in the middle of a forest, large rocks outlining it as if it had been man-made. I almost squeal in excitement seeing the steam wafting up from the water. No sooner had Inuyasha found a place to sit, his back facing the spring, I was stripped down and in the water.

"This is heaven!" I exclaim as I sink down to my neck, tilting my head back slightly in relief. All the muscles in my body had relaxed once submerged in the warm water, and I closed my eyes. It wasn't too long, however, before I was snapping them back open as a splash was heard. Opening them wide I see Shippo resurface, looking entirely pleased with himself as he paddles over to me. I catch him, leaning back against the rock near me.

"Well hello, so you decided to join me?" I ask smiling. Shippo nods, before gently breaking free and swimming back over to the other side once more.

"Come on, Inuyasha! The water is fine!" Shippo calls to him, and I blanch slightly.

"Uh, Shippo…men and women don't-"

"Alright, fine, just give me a minute!" Inuyasha's voice calls out, and I can't help a small squeak in surprise.

Say what?!

"What are you talking about, Yua? My Mommy and Daddy bathed and swam together all the time. We used to have so much fun together!" Shippo answers my unfinished statement from before as he grins innocently, and I can't stop the racing of my heart as I can hear Inuyasha's clothes rustling while he clearly undresses.

"It's a little different when it's Mommies and Daddies, sweetheart." I try to explain, before my breath catches in my throat as Inuyasha comes around the tree bare chested. I don't have time to take in more than his chest and solid stomach, before I force my eyes away, blush hot on my cheeks. I can hear the splash of him getting in, waiting a few seconds more to know it's safe, before shyly looking towards him. He's relaxing on the other side, a respectful distance away, his back arched against a rock with his head tilted back and eyes closed in bliss.

'The water is a little murky, so if I can't see anything below it, he can't either, right?' I think to myself, trying to calm down.

"Would you quit drooling, you're making me uncomfortable." Inuyasha smirks, not even opening his eyes as he says that. I'm hit with the last time he had said that to me all those months ago. This time, however, it was less malicious and more playful. Fighting down my blush was a losing battle at this point as I look pointedly down at the water. I hear the water shift, Shippo moving to play in the shallow area with some monkeys that were were bathing there too. "You act like you've never done this before." Inuyasha suddenly speaks up more seriously, and I look to him with wide green eyes.

"Because I haven't." I answer honestly, swallowing thickly. He regards me now with slight surprise.

"Don't people bathe together where you're from?" He asks lightly, sitting up from against the rock as his arms gently float around him through the water.

"Not as often as during this time, and men and woman don't typically bathe together unless they're…together." I try to explain.

"That's typically the same here." He shrugs.

'SO WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!' I can't help screaming to myself.

"So you never had someone back during your time?" I look at him slightly surprised. What was with this conversation? He'd never asked these kind of questions before.

"No." I shake my head, tucking some of my wet hair behind my ear.

"Why not?" He asks, looking genuinely confused. "You're old enough to be married." My mouth drops in shock, and I have to remember that things are very different during this time.

"In my time marriage doesn't usually happen till much later in life. Women are sometimes in their late twenties, or older, before they get married." I explain.

"So you never had a man take interest?" He asks, and the bluntness of the question actually makes me wince.

"Uh, no." I answer, shaking my head, feeling so incredibly awkward.

"Why not?" He asks that same question again, and I'm hit by how toddler-like he sounded in that moment. I swallow thickly once more, wondering how I was going to explain this one.

"I-I think it's a mixture of a lot of things." I begin, unsure. The truth was I had some idea why, but at the same time no idea. "I guess the men that I talk to back in my time don't find me attractive? I also haven't exactly been focusing too much on that part of my life. I had a lot of other things going on."

"Like your parents dying?" Shippo pipes up from the shallow end, and I frown.

"Yeah, something like that." 'Also the fact that my Dad was an abusive asshole. So much so that I just wanted to focus on getting out.' I add inwardly, frowning. Inuyasha makes a noncommittal noise, before leaning back against the rock once more and relaxing again. I watch him as he closes his eyes, before sighing softly as I wade over towards where my bag was on the side.

Well, I may as well get down to business if he wasn't about to leave.

I grab the shampoo first, using my arm to cover my breasts as I have to stand up to grab it. The water luckily still reached over my hips, covering my lower half. Glancing towards Inuyasha from over my shoulder, I see his eyes still closed, relaxing.

Why would he try to peek anyways?

Lowering myself back down into the water, I turn to face Shippo, wanting to keep an eye on the boy as he played. On my knees the water reached just below my boobs, allowing my hair to stay out of the water for the most part so I could wash it. Dumping some shampoo in my hand, I reach up after placing the bottle on a nearby rock, and massage it into my scalp, lathering it.

"What's that?!" Shippo asks in excitement, splashing over to me. I laugh slightly, before taking the bottle and squeezing more into my hand.

"I'll show you." I grin, taking it and lathering it into Shippo's hair as well. The boy nearly hums in contentment as I massage his scalp, eyes closed. After we play with each other's lathered hair for a moment, I cup water in my hand, gently rinsing his hair out. He grins when it's all done, before returning to play. I lean to the side, my back still facing Inuyasha, as I lower my head down to rinse my own hair out. Once done I flip it back over my shoulder, listening to it slapping wetly against my back. Without thinking I turn slightly, before freezing as I see amber eyes watching my every move intently.

I know he couldn't see anything, in fact he still can't, but Inuyasha was watching nonetheless with an intense look in his eyes. His face was set, almost hard looking, and his eyes were darkened. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was pissed with me, but I knew I hadn't done anything to tick him off. His gaze was lower than my eyes, having obviously been staring at my back, but when his eyes finally raise up to mine they lock on and don't falter. He's not embarrassed at being caught looking, he's not ashamed, in fact his lips even quirk up into a small coy smirk. I feel a heat race through me at that, my breath catching in my throat as my green eyes widen. Slowly he stands, the water lower at his hips and showing off his toned body from his strong shoulders right to the v in his hips. He begins to wade towards me slowly, and at that point I can't take it anymore and I turn sharply, raising my arms to cross over my chest protectively, still kneeling hip deep in the water. I feel the water shift as he kneels down behind me, looking towards Shippo to see him thankfully distracted by the monkeys once more.

'What the hell is he doing?!' I freak out, staring down at the water with wide eyes. He shifts, and I can feel the difference between the heat from the water, and the heat from his body.

His very naked body.

Inuyasha's breath fans over my ear as he leans in, and I'm still too shocked to do anything in that moment. He takes full advantage of it, apparently, as his clawed finger gently tucks my wet hair back from the ear he was closest to.

"You missed a spot." He whispers hotly.

What?

My confusion is instantly answered when suddenly I feel his hand on the top of my head, dunking me under the water. I sputter as I come back to the surface, hearing Inuyasha behind me as he splashed around to get away from me. The shock from his joke quickly wears off, and I growl in annoyance.

I'll show him how to dunk.

"DOWN BOY!"

With a garbled yell Inuyasha disappears below the water, popping back up coughing seconds afterwards.

"Are you trying to DROWN me?!"

Well..the moment, whatever it had been, is over.


I walked slightly ahead of Inuyasha with Shippo, carrying on a light conversation with the boy. Him mentioning his parents last night had opened the door to talking more about their times together, and it was sweet to see the large smile on his face as he regaled me with all the good memories.

'I wish I had those kinds of memories of my parents.' I think to myself, before shaking it off. There was no point in hanging on to that, and I wasn't about to dampen Shippo's mood by acting all depressed.

All of a sudden the very ground begins to shake.

We had been walking along a narrow trail that ran along the cliff-side, so my immediate thought was a rock slide. Looking up as Shippo jumps into my arms, I'm shocked to see what first looks like a boulder with a face rushing towards us from above.

"I'm coming for you!" The thing growls, and I manage to jump up far enough ahead as it takes out Inuyasha instead. I gasp, letting Shippo down from my arms then and racing towards the edge. I can hear Inuyasha crying out as he's dragged down along the side of the mountain towards the forest below.

"Inuyasha-!" I gasp as suddenly a hand grabs at the back of my kimono and jerks me towards them.

"I would like to have a word with you." It's a smooth male voice, and as I jerk out of his grip and turn to face him, I'm slightly shocked to see it's a very handsome monk.

'Where the hell did he come from?' I think to myself, frowning.

"Can't it wait? My friend just got bulldozed over by a talking, weird looking, rock!" I exclaim in disbelief, gesturing towards the cliffside.

"Fear not, my lady, for I only have good intentions. I'm just a simple monk." The man replies smoothly, before reaching for me again. I lift an eyebrow, slapping his hand away. "We must get you to safety!"

"I'm fine right here." I reply dryly, smacking his hand away again when it reaches for me once more. "And keep your hands to yourself."

"All I want is the jewel shard, young maiden. Nothing else." He insists, and I just barely refrain from rolling my eyes.

"Alright, here, let me get it for you." As I am pretending to dig into my pocket in my kimono, the monk's eyes light up.

"Really?"

"No." I deadpan, pulling my hand out. The monk actually looks cross now.

"I didn't want to have to resort to this…" He sighs while taking a few steps back, retrieving a spell scroll and holding it between his index and middle fingers near his lips. He murmurs a prayer before throwing it at me. Waving my hand in front of me, my aura burns the spell scroll on contact. I lift an eyebrow at the monk, and he looks even more put out.

"I don't like to resort to violence, especially when it involves a woman." He warns, brandishing his staff then.

"Bring it." I reply simply, taking my stance.

Something very solid rams into me from behind, sending me flying towards the monk. He catches me against his chest, and I can't help standing there momentarily stunned, before turning sharply to see what had ran into me.

It was Inuyasha, and he looked pissed.

"Get your hands off of her, monk!" He shouts angrily, pulling out Tessaiga.

You were the one that shoved me into him in the first place!

"Gladly." The monk replies easily, lifting his hands from me and moving away. "I meant no ill will towards your woman."

"She ain't my woman!" Inuyasha gripes. The monk blinks in surprise, before a sly grin comes on his face.

"Well perhaps she'd like to join me, then? It's been a long time since I've had the company of a woman." He asks, tilting his head slightly in question. I can feel the blush burning on my face.

"Fuck off!" Inuyasha shouts, lifting Tessaiga I threat. The monk laughs then, holding both hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright. I shall be on my way. I'm sorry for the inconvenience I have caused you." He replies, turning towards some sort of badger demon as he climbs over the cliffside. The badger looks towards Inuyasha nervously, before looking towards the monk. "Let's head on out, my friend." The monk waits for the badger to transform into the creature it was before, it's body I could now see fully was log shaped. He climbs ontop, before the creature lifts from the ground and floats away.

"What a creep." Inuyasha snarls from behind me, and I turn to see him sheathing Tessaiga. Lifting an eyebrow at him, I place my hands on my hips.

"Actually, he's been the most polite out of all the beings that have tried to take the jewel shards." I argue, Inuyasha looking a little taken-aback.

"So what? You're saying you actually liked that guy?!" He demands, pointing towards the quickly disappearing speck in the sky.

"No, I'm just saying he was nice!" I frown, moving my hands from my hips to crossing them against my chest. "Besides, what are you worried about? I'm not your woman, remember?" I bite out before I can stop myself. I can see a slight reddish tint on Inuyasha's face as he crosses his own arms as well.

"Where are the jewel shards?" He demands instead of addressing my statement, Shippo coming up to stand between the both of us now. I sigh, reaching for the string that carried the jewel shard like a necklace around my neck.

Uh oh.

"I guess he was a really smooth talker, huh?" Shippo pipes up smoothly seeing the look of dread on my face.

Inuyasha promptly looses it.


Moments later found Shippo and I clinging to Inuyasha's back as he leaps down the road in the direction that the monk and his companion had floated off to.

"Lousy thief! I'll find him yet! He could not have gotten too far! I'll hunt the fraud down!" Inuyasha shouts out as we pass through a crowd of stunned villagers.

'I actually am going to feel sorry for this guy if we catch him.' I think to myself, gripping on tightly to the material of Inuyasha's kimono. As we come into the center of the village Inuyasha demands we get off of him, Shippo and I both sliding down from his back smoothly. Instantly the half demon is on the ground, his nose close to it as he starts to try and sniff out the trail.

Well…this was new.

"I totally see the dog demon thing now." I mutter lowly to Shippo, freezing when I see Inuyasha's one ear twitch in my direction. I doubt he heard exactly what I said, though, since he didn't bother to react.

"Where did that miserable thief go?" Inuyasha growls lowly as he crawls along the ground, some of the villagers starting to gather and watch. Most were with bewilderment, but some actually looked angry.

'What the hell is their problem?' I frown, glaring right back at one of the mad villagers. He faltered, before thankfully moving on his way. Inuyasha continues to crawl through he village, before the trail apparently leaves the main road and heads down a side street with no traffic.

"He's here, I can smell him!" Inuyasha exclaims as he dodges around the alleyway, checking under a bin and through the doorway of some sort of establishment. I lift an eyebrow as he gets right back down on the ground to sniff some more.
Looking ahead, I see a doorway with a distinct symbol on it. Suddenly someone from the inside pulled the covering aside, revealing a traditionally dressed geisha.

Well, that certainly seemed as good a place as any for the womaizing monk to hide.

'And I know I'm not exactly a looker, but even that girl makes me look half decent.' I can't help thinking vainly as the said geisha stumbled drunkenly down the street. "Uh, do you think that might be a good place to look?" I question Inuyasha, pointing towards the doorway. He perks his head up, before jumping to his feet and grabbing both Shippo and I, towing us behind him through the door. Inuyasha's nose leads us through a set of sliding doors to what looks to be an outside sitting area, the monk currently looking incredibly discontented as he sat between two decidedly unattractive geisha. More were putting on a show for him, but they had stopped dancing the moment we burst through the door.

Inuyasha still had a grip on my hand, even as he started to shout at the monk, but instead of looking intimidated, the monk actually looked relieved. Relieved and staring straight at me.

"Thank goodness! You're truly a sight for sore eyes!" The monk exclaims as he stands, rushing right past Inuyasha towards me. He grabs onto both of my hands in his own, holding them between us. Flushing, I am too stunned to really react.

"I'll give you sore eyes!" Inuyasha shouts, moving to swipe at the monk. The monk ducks, Inuyasha's claws just barely missing me as man jogs backwards across the room from us.

"You again. I should have known." The monk replies calmly, a cocky smirk on his handsome face.

"Yeah, you should have. Funny, it's just what I was thinking, but I guess not all of us are blessed with good looks and brains." Inuyasha snaps sarcastically, and I can't help blinking in surprise. He almost sounded…jealous? "Don't suppose you'd be interested in handing over that jewel fragment that you stole from us?" He raises his claws once more, cracking his knuckles. It sends the geisha's into a whimpering frenzy around us.

"A gem such as this does not belong in the hands of a demon." The man replies smoothly, pulling the fragment attached to the necklace out from under his kimono. Inuyasha's face hardens even more.

"We'll see about that!" Inuyasha shouts angrily, before launching himself across the room. The geisha all scream as he does, the monk leaping backwards into the garden beyond to dodge Inuyasha's attack. He swiftly runs from the building, Inuyasha hot on his tail.

"Wow, Inuyasha really didn't like that monk touching you, did he?" Shippo comments lightly, his tone innocent. I blush while refraining from answering the kid as I quickly move to follow, jumping down off of the deck to the garden below with Shippo close behind. We follow them back out onto the street behind the one we had just been on, back towards the main road that took us out of town. Shippo and I fight through the crowds that had been gathering, the monk and Inuyasha facing each off with one and other towards the edge of town.

"I don't know who you are, but you aren't no monk!" Inuyasha proclaims as he draws Tessaiga, resting it on his shoulder.

"I go my Miroku, and yes, I am a monk, tasked to aid the common man." We finally had a name for the handsome devil!

"Beware! The monk is about to slay a demon!" One villager cries out, followed by the fearful screams of women and men alike.

"Working to aid the common man." Inuyasha scoffs. "You're nothing but a common, sleazy robber!" He points to him in threat. "Now give us back the shard of the Shikon Jewel! We went to a lot of trouble to get it, and we are not going to lose it now!"

"Touching speech." Miroku replies sarcastically.

"Uh…no, it actually was." I mutter, a little shocked that Inuyasha had included Shippo and I and our hard work gathering the shards. Inuyasha groans, hunching over slightly and looking over his shoulder with annoyance towards us.

Oh, clearly he hadn't wanted us to hear that…

"I know you went to great pains to collect this jewel fragment." Miroku continues, pulling the fragment from under his robe at his neck, showing us it. "But trust me, it's in better hands with me, Inuyasha." I blink in shock. He knew Inuyasha's name?

"So you knew who I was all along."

"Not at all." He replies simply, causing Inuyasha to actually falter. "I believe it was that female companion of yours that called you by name. Or perhaps that young fox." He hums in thought, Inuyasha's looking more furious by the minute.

"He has such a fragile ego." Shippo sighs, crossing his little arms as he stands next to me, shaking his head. I snort back a laugh at that, Inuyasha sending us both a glare of warning over his shoulder.

"Enough talking! Let me at ya!" Inuyasha shouts loudly, before raising Tessaiga up and charging the monk with a yell. Surprising Miroku seemed to be able to deflect shot after shot, his staff holding up against Tessaiga. It was impressive to say the least.

"You're strong, but not strong enough!" Miroku comments as he calmly parries each attack Inuyasha makes. All of a sudden the monk steps on a pile of firewood, the small logs rolling under his feet. With wide eyes he falls backwards, losing his balance, and Inuyasha takes the opportunity to disarm him of his staff. It whirls in high in the hair, before landing top down in the ground a few feet away. Holding Tessaiga between himself and the monk, Inuyasha gazes down at him cockily

"I'll have that jewel shard back from you now. Unless you'd rather die that is." Inuyasha states confidently, Miroku sitting on the ground before him. He suddenly back flips away, surprisingly agile, before racing further out of the village.

"As you wish!" Inuyasha calls after him, sealing his fate. Shippo and I follow without a word as Inuyasha trails him.

"Villagers, take heed! Distance yourself from this place! I warn you! Get as far away as possible!" Miroku calls over his shoulder as he runs, and I can't help the confusion I feel as I glance curiously to Shippo. He shrugs his shoulder as well while we run after them, clearly as confused as me.

All of a sudden a windstorm comes out of nowhere, but unlike a normal windstorm it seemed like all the air was being sucked into a single place. Shippo leaps onto my shoulder, holding on tight as I come to the edge of the village, bracing myself against the side of a building that was still standing. My eyes widen as I see the source of the wind tunnel.

Miroku!

The monk had his hand extended outwards, palm facing Inuyasha as everything not strong enough to withstand the wind got sucked into what looked like a black hole in the center of his hand!

"This is insane!" I exclaim over the wind towards Shippo, watching as Inuyasha digs Tessaiga into the ground to try and brace himself. My heart leaps into my throat when I see Tessaiga shifting, slowly being dragged towards the monk's hand.

"We have to get away from here while we still can!" Shippo calls over the wind, and I frown, shaking my head.

"No, we need to help Inuyasha!" I exclaim, before grabbing him off of my shoulder and placing him down beside me on the ground behind the building. "You'll be safe here, Shippo!"

"Wait! Yua!" Shippo protests, but I'm already gone. Planting my feet I move as steadily as I can, doing my best to lean back against the suction from his hand as all manner of debris races by me. Tapping into my energy I focus on the space between Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Surrender while you can! If you get sucked in you'll never come out alive!" Miroku shouts to Inuyasha in warning.

'Maybe if I can create a barrier between them it will stop Inuyasha from being sucked in.' I think, raising my own hands up then. Concentrating, even as my feet got dragged along closer and closer, I see my aura appear between the both of them. Inuyasha looks around bewildered as the wind stops, before seeing me as his frown deepens.

"Yua! What the hell do you think you are doing?! You won't be able to keep this up for long!" Inuyasha shouts as I stand my ground now, not moving any further. Miroku looks curious, even as he continues to try and use his hand, his eyes moving towards me now and widening.

"Miroku! Inuyasha and I mean no harm! We're working together to collect the jewel shards so they don't fall into the wrong hands!" I frown deeply, feeling my aura starting to flicker. I didn't have much longer to try and convince him of a peaceful solution. "After hearing you warn the villagers, I seriously doubt you're one of those wrong hands, Miroku, but we can't let you take them regardless. Please, just give them back."

"I need them!" Miroku responds, shaking his head, and I can feel my energy starting to let go. The wind begins to whip around us once more, before my barrier shatters altogether and I go flying towards Miroku.

"YUA!" Inuyasha shouts out desperately, and I try to reach for his clawed hand as he holds onto Tessaiga with the other. Our fingers miss, just by an inch, and I go sailing by him. "NO!"

Suddenly the wind comes to a stop, but there is too much momentum and my body gets thrown into the monk's. We both go sailing, landing hard on the ground a few feet away with me on top of him. I blush in embarrassment, quickly scrambling off of him to kneel at his side, Miroku still apparently unconscious.

"Yua!" Inuyasha's voice booms as he comes running up to us, kneeling down near me. "Hey, are you okay?" He grips my chin gently in his fingers, turning my stunned gaze from the monk to him. His amber eyes are filled with concern, while I'm sure my own still showed my shock at being alive. "You're insane, you know that?!" He shouts then, letting go of my chin. I roll my eyes, huffing slightly

'He hadn't wanted to hurt me.' I think to myself in amazement as I nod slowly to Inuyasha, before looking back down at Miroku. 'Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all?' My gaze wanders to his powerful hand, seeing the prayer beads now wrapped around it. "Those prayer beads must be what controls his hand." I observe, glancing towards Inuyasha. "What was that?"

"I don't know. He called it his 'Wind Tunnel'." Inuyasha responds, leaning against Tessaiga as he crouches, the sword planted in the ground once more. "I've never seen anything like it."

"If he really was a bad guy he would have unleashed his Wind Tunnel in the middle of the village, the innocent bystanders be damned. Do you think we can trust him?" I ask, before reaching for the necklace and removing it from his neck.

Suddenly I feel something rubbing at my ass.

It didn't take me long to figure out what it was, and blushing brightly I take my open hand and smack him hard on the face as a knee jerk reaction. Miroku groans in pain as I scramble away, a bewildered Inuyasha wrapping his arm around me protectively without question.

"Keep you hands to yourself, buddy!" I shout from Inuyasha's arms, glaring at him. 'I can't believe I actually vouched for this guy!' Catching onto what happened, Inuyasha's look of confusion quickly turns into one of rage as he glares at Miroku.

"You just blew your last chance, monk!" Inuyasha growls low in his chest as he brandishes Tessaiga, and I feel that same tingling sensation from earlier take over at the possession I could hear in his voice. "Wow, Inuyasha really didn't like that monk touching you, did he?" Shippo's statement from earlier rings through my head. Why did it feel good to know Inuyasha didn't want other men to touch me?

"Settle down, will you? Let me explain things." Miroku holds his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

A stomach rumbling directly from behind Inuyasha breaks the tense silence.

Looking over his shoulder I see Shippo looking sheepish as his hands clutch at his stomach.

"Maybe we could get some food first?" Shippo asks bashfully, and I can't help laughing slightly as I nod.


Before leaving the village we had all worked together to try and fix as much as we could for the villagers, but even still they were visibly grateful to see the four of us leave. We made it a good distance away, before setting up camp for the night and cooking some dinner. Shippo sat up in a nearby tree as the sun began to fade, whilst Inuyasha and I sat across the small fire from Miroku.

"I too am in search of the shards of the Shikon Jewel." Miroku began as we settled in for the night. "My purpose is to find and eliminate a demon, a terrible demon that goes by the name of Naraku." I freeze hearing the name, mouth dropping open slightly in shock.

'Mayumi?' I reach out tentatively.

'I'm listening.' She responds for the first time in a week, her voice strained.

"It was the same demon that left me with this cursed hole in my right hand." Miroku continues on seriously, looking down at said hand.

"What sort of demon is Naraku?" I can't help asking, and I can tell that even though his eyes are closed, Inuyasha is paying close attention as well.

"I know little of him except that he is very wicked." Miroku responds, looking from his hand back towards Inuyasha and I. "He is thought to devour people. According to Father, my Grandfather battled Naraku long ago, in his youth. It as over fifty years ago." My eyes widen at that, glancing towards Inuyasha as his own snap open. "Their battle went on for years, and each time Naraku would appear before my Father in a different human form."

'He's a shapeshifter?' I ask Mayumi, but she has once again gone silent. I frown in annoyance.

"They say that the last time he appeared before my Grandfather, he took the form of a beautiful woman." Miroku continues. "My Grandfather had great spiritual powers, but unfortunately as fate would have it…"

"He was a pervert." I mutter sarcastically, not quite so stunned when I turned out to be right.

"Very good intuition, Yua!" Miroku replies, as if genuinely surprised I could have guessed it. Not that he apparently didn't follow in his Father's footsteps at all… "Naraku pierced my Grandfather's right hand with his sacred religious seals, and managed to escape." Miroku raises his hand up once more, looking at it solemnly. "Each year the hole in my hand gets bigger, and the wind ever more powerful. Unless I can defeat Naraku, I myself will eventually be devoured by the hole."

I blink in surprise, having honestly not seen that coming. "Do you have any idea how long you have?" I can't help asking in concern.

"It's hard to say, it mostly depends on how often I use it." Miroku responds with a frown. "I've come to terms with the fact that this may very well be my fate. In the meantime I must continue to try and stop Naraku. The Shikon Jewel vanished fifty years ago, and now it's fragments are scattered over the land. Knowing Naraku, he's certain to attempt to gather the fragments to grow in his malicious power. I'm sure of it." He states confidently with a troubled frown. "I know because Naraku came close to getting the jewel fifty years ago. The priestess that should have been protecting it was slain soon after his attempt." I frown, glancing towards Inuyasha, but he hardly seems to flinch.

I know better by now, however.

To me, all the pieces were lining up together, further confirming Mayumi's thoughts from a week ago. Kikyo had been tricked by Naraku, and it had snowballed into her killing Mayumi, and Inuyasha seeking his revenge.

"I was the one that killed the priestess." Inuyasha surprisingly speaks up, his voice gruff. "After she killed someone I cared for."

"We recently found out that the priestess was most likely tricked, no doubt by this Naraku." I frown deeply, filling in the rest. "You see, I'm a reincarnation of Inuyasha's lover, Mayumi." Miroku looks surprised, but not as dubious as I thought he would have been.

"Your power you used before…it makes sense now. I had never seen such power come from a normal priestess." Miroku murmurs thoughtfully. "There were tales of a precious possession of Naraku's that had went missing sixty years ago. Most often think it's jewels, or some sacred and powerful tool. Some, however, believed it to be a woman of incomprehensible powers. A woman that was meant to be his mate."

Hold the fucking front door!

"What?!" I gasp, Inuyasha looking just as shocked as me now as he stood. "Are you saying that Mayumi was the thing that escaped? The prized possession?" I ask in shock, before quickly reaching out to her.

Nothing.

"Well?!" Inuyasha demanded, eyes narrowing at me. I frown as I look back up at him and shake my head.

"She's been like this since Kikyo's resurrection, virtually silent." I reply honestly, and thankfully he seems to see I'm telling the truth.

"So you can communicate with her?" Miroku asks, looking stunned. "Now this is something. It's rare enough to find a reincarnation of someone from the near-past, but to also be able to communicate with the departed soul? That's unheard of." I chew on my lower lip, glancing towards Shippo and Inuyasha, before looking back to Miroku. We wanted more answers, and being honest with him was probably the only way we were going to get them.

"See…here's the thing…"

It took a good hour to explain to Miroku where I was from, how I had gotten here, and how the jewel had ended up shattered into a thousand pieces. By the time I was done, he was looking a little more bewildered than before, glancing towards Inuyasha and Shippo constantly to confirm that I was telling the truth.

"Miroku," Inuyasha frowns then, gaze hard, "you say this Naraku takes on all kinds of different forms, right? What about now? What does he look like now?" Watching how urgent he looked, I could already tell what he was thinking.

He wanted revenge, and I honestly couldn't blame him.

"If I had that information, I would have slain him long ago myself." Miroku answered, and I can't argue with his logic. Obviously he wasn't trying to hide anything from us.

"If we keep looking for the jewel fragments, does that mean we will run into this Naraku demon?" Shippo asks anxiously as he climbs down from the tree, not looking too impressed with the idea. I frown, glancing towards Miroku then.

"It sounds like the more the merrier when it comes to that creep." I glance towards Shippo as he comes to sit on my shoulder, before looking back to the half demon and monk. "We all want the same things, so maybe we should work together?" I ask them, getting mixed responses. Inuyasha doesn't look that impressed, but he also doesn't say no. Clearly his new priorities meant he was willing to play nice with others.

"I'm usually a solitary man." Miroku begins reluctantly. "I prefer to work on my own, then in the company of others."

"Let me know how that goes for you when you're sucked up by your own hand." I reply dryly, and Miroku looks at me with sad appreciation.

"Dear, Yua. Are you troubled by this wretched fate of mine?" He asks softly, and I blink as I feel a wave of awkwardness wash over me. He comes over to me then, grabbing my hands and holding them like he had before between us. "Would you do me this honorable turn? I wish for you to bear me a son." He says seriously, and I am frozen in horror.

Do what now?

"U-Um, unfortunately I'm not in the child-bearing business." I feel my face turning a bright red. "At least not right now."

"If for some unforeseeable reason I should fail to destroy Naraku, I should like my son to carry on the family's mission." Miroku explains, making it all sound rather dignified.

NOT

It gets even worse when he pulls me into his side with his left arm, Shippo having to jump off of my shoulder, and holding my hands to his chest. Just as sudden as he has a hold of me, however, he's ripped away and Inuyasha is standing angrily between us.

"Listen to me you priest! You're only family mission is lechery!" Inuyasha gripes, making sure to stand between us and hide me behind him. I look up at the back of his head in slightly surprise, that tingling warmth spreading through me again.

"I'm a monk, not a priest." Miroku politely corrects, infuriating Inuyasha further.

"Don't ever consider laying a hand on Yua again!" Inuyasha growls lowly, his shoulders hunched slightly as if he was ready to attack. I reach out, placing my hand on his shoulder, and hold in a gasp of shock as I can feel his very body vibrating. Was he really that mad?

"Oh, I beg your pardon!" The monk laughs awkwardly. "I had thought you no more than a companion. Clearly you're in love with Yua."

I start coughing because I choked on my spit.

Meanwhile, over my coughing fit, Inuyasha is backtracking to the best of his ability, looking awfully embarrassed.

"No, no, you've got it all wrong. She's just a jewel detector." Inuyasha waves his hands in front of him, looking extremely nervous. I frown, holding my hand to my chest as my coughing fit finally comes to a stop. Glaring at the back of his head, I flip him off, before turning towards Shippo once more as he looked up at me.

"You really should treat your woman better."

"She ain't my woman!"

"Well then Yua and I shall revisit the possibility of her-"

"NO YOU PERVERT!"

"Let's get things situated for the night." I sigh heavily, turning away from the two men as they continued to argue back and forth.

This was turning into a very interesting group.


As of tonight we reached fourteen reviews for the past chapter! Which means I will be updating tonight AND this weekend once again! You guys are the best! Words can't describe how much I enjoy hearing your feedback! How about this time we work together to see if we can get to fifteen reviews between the next two chapters for me to update sometime during the next week, rather than having to wait till the following weekend? :P

WE CAN DO IT!

T.O.T.