Chapter Twenty Six

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

Thank you to: Huggies90, Hina714, JumbledThoughts, Tiggs1990, PouringRain-BlazingStorm, Kagz419, loserbopeep, .Passion2016, Wondla Master, MarshWolffe, FearOfFalling, ukitakeitalialover041757 for your awesome reviews! I truly appreciate each and every one I recieve from you guys!


A week later Miroku had been able to barter off the earnings from our most recent adventure for some much needed supplies. Our newest addition, Sango, continued to show impressive capabilities time and again against demons that would cross our path, sensing the jewel fragment that I carried. All of them had been low demons, too cocky for their own good, and Sango had dealt with each of them easily. Her actions were clearly earning Inuyasha's respect, which I personally knew wasn't easily done.

"Is everyone done?" I ask lightly, gathering up empty bowls as Shippo, Inuyasha, Sango, and Kirara lounged around the campfire. With our group growing so large in size, we had started a routine of sharing chores. Tonight had been Miroku's turn to cook, and my turn to wash the dishes. I turn towards the log that Miroku had been leaning against, pausing in surprise as I see the monk has disappeared, leaving his empty bowl behind. 'Weird.' I frown as I pick it up. 'Maybe he's going to the bathroom?' I think, trying to brush off the uneasy feeling in my stomach at his disappearance. The usually happy-go-lucky monk had been rather solemn and contemplative the past couple of days, hardly speaking during the day and sitting on his own at night.

'He hasn't even been trying to hit on Sango.' I think worriedly, the perverted monk having foregone his daily advances on the attractive Demon Slayer. 'Even Sango seems concerned.' I sigh softly, stepping over the log and heading to the nearby stream to wash the bowls out. When I get there I'm shocked to see Miroku sitting on the bank with his back to me. As I come closer I see that his gaze is focused on his right hand, my eyes widening slightly in realization. 'His hand, the Wind Tunnel…I couldn't even begin to understand the anxiety he must feel knowing that some day it may envelop him like it had his Father and Grandfather.'

"Good evening, Yua." Miroku's smooth voice calls out as he lowers his hand to rest on his knee, not bothering to turn to face me. I hesitate, before stepping forward and kneeling down beside him, setting the bowls on the bank near the stream.

"Hey." I greet softly in return, frowning as I look towards his expressionless face. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"I'm not alone now, am I?" Miroku replies, his tone is gentle and suggesting that I wasn't intruding. In fact, he almost sounded grateful for my presence. "For the amount of time we've traveled together, you and I have rarely spoken alone." He comments lightly, as if realizing this for the first time.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." I admit as I pull my knees to my chest, hugging them to my comfortably. "You've seemed rather preoccupied the past couple of days." I point out gently, and he sighs as he looks over towards me with his kind blue eyes.

"I suppose I have a lot on my mind." He replies, lifting his Wind Tunnel hand up between us both. "This has been weighing on me heavily as of late."

"Why is that?" I ask softly, tilting my head. I mean, I knew the obvious reasons, but on our journey thus far he had rarely brought up his fate since meeting us.

"I'm am getting closer and closer to the age my Father was lost to his own Wind Tunnel." Miroku admits, his gaze moving from his hand towards me. "The prospect of being able to defeat Naraku before my Wind Tunnel takes me as well is starting to seem progressively dismal." He admits with a troubled frown. I frown as well, reaching out and placing my hand on his shoulder.

"We've got your back, Miroku, you know that right?' I ask him gently. He gives me a sad smile. "We're more than just a group, we're your friends."

"I'm afraid that despite your efforts, my fate will still be the same." He states evenly, before smiling a little more happily. Even I could tell it was forced. "Knowing that you all have my back is indeed comforting, however." An uncomfortable silence takes over for a few moments.

"We're going to defeat Naraku." I state firmly then, the fake smile dropping from Miroku's face into a far more seriously expression. "We're going to do it before you fall victim to your Wind Tunnel. You're going to get the chance to live a full, normal life." I insist, Miroku looking at me now with conflicting emotions. It was clear he wanted to truly believe that, but he didn't want to fall into the trap of false hope. "And who knows, maybe that future will involve a certain Demon Slayer we both know?" I add slyly, watching as an adorable blush appears on the bridge of his nose.

"What makes you say that?" He questions nervously, and I laugh as I lean forward now on my knee to start washing the bowls.

"The fact that you're not checking out my ass right now, and you haven't since Sango arrived." I state simply.

I'm met with silence.


The next morning we come upon a village with a major rat problem.

And when I say major, I mean major.

Sango took to the task without hesitation, putting us all to work on certain jobs. Inuyasha's nose easily located the demon hiding away in a hut near the center of the small village, so while he, Shippo, Kirara and Miroku stood at one entrance, Sango and I went around to the other side of the building to flush the demon out through the back entrance. Sango put together some sort of incense to burn, and I used a fan to push the smoke into the building.

"Uh, Sango?! I think we might need your help over here!" Miroku called out after the smoke began to billow out to their side. I frown in confusion, Sango looking towards me equally confused.

"Will you be okay over her by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go and see what's up." I nod easily, continuing to fan the incense into the home. Suddenly a loud screech from the demonic rat is heard from the other side, followed by the screams of the villagers. Tensing, Sango stands and rushes around the hut, her large boomerang at the ready as she rounds the corner out of sight. A few tense moments pass, before Shippo comes bounding back around with a big smile on his face.

"Sango is so awesome! She knocked the big rat out like it was nothing!" Shippo exclaims as he jumps into my waiting arms, turning to look at the incense with a wrinkled nose of disgust. "Oh, and Inuyasha has fainted…again."

I can't help laughter, to the point of tears, at the poor half dog demon's expense.


Miroku had somehow wandered off by the time I had come around the building with Shippo, but Sango and I worked together with Kirara's help to bring Inuyasha to the village's only tavern. As we followed Kirara with Inuyasha groaning sickly and hung across her back, I couldn't stop thinking about how amusing the entire scene looked. With Shippo's ever-present smirk, I knew Inuyasha wasn't going to be able to live this down any time soon.

Sango and I worked together to drag him into the room we were given to stay in for the night. While Sango went and changed, I took some pity on the groaning half demon, rubbing his back gently to try and ease his queasiness.

"So where did Miroku go?" I ask curiously after a few moments, looking towards Shippo.

"He followed some woman." Shippo answered easily with a shrug of his shoulders, before taking a bite from his rice dumpling.

"Seriously? When we were slaying the demon?" Sango asks in disbelief as she reentered the room in her civilian clothing, kneeling down beside me.

"She was really beautiful." Shippo states, as if that should explain everything. The sad part was that it did. "He probably gave her the line about needing her to give him his first born child, whatever that means." He continues on, innocence thankfully still in place. I sigh heavily, shaking my head as Sango looks rather offended beside me.

"What?! Have his child?!" She demands, a flush on her cheeks. I frown curiously at her reaction, before having to bite back a sly smirk of my own.

'It appears someone might be a little jealous.' Mayumi quips, giggling. I silently agree with her, before turning my attention back towards Inuyasha as I continue to gently rub his back in circles. I gaze down at him, eyes softening. Then again, I definitely couldn't say I was any better when it came to my jealousy over him.

It was hours later, well after sunset, when Miroku returned hardly looking pleased. Inuyasha had finally recovered enough to sit upright and partake in some food, and so Miroku sat down silently next to him.

Clearly he had seen the frigid expression on our favorite Demon Slayer's face.

Even as the food arrived for his supper, he continued acting oblivious to Sango's narrow eyed stare. Finally, Miroku leans over towards Inuyasha as he looks to Sango suspiciously, whispering in his ear. In all honesty it was easy to hear since we were all only feet away from each other.

"Is it just me, Inuyasha, or is Sango looking at me quite coldly right now?" He murmurs, Sango twitching irritably next to me. To her credit, she doesn't react otherwise. Inuyasha, however, looks unimpressed to be dragged into it.

"Maybe it's for all the womanizing you do." Inuyasha answers simply, shocking the monk as he draws back from him. "What do you expect, Miroku?" He goes on after seeing the shock on the monk's face. "You're a lecherous creep!" Miroku has the gull to scoff in disbelief.

"You've misunderstood!" Miroku turns to Sango. "You may not believe what I'm going to tell you-"

"You're right about that." Sango snaps back, effectively cutting him off. "Spare us the lies." She adds irritably. Unfortunately it looked like the monk's bad habits were catching up to him now.

"You could at least give me a chance to explain myself!" Miroku insists, acting offended. Even I have to glare at him now. He wasn't the victim here! Sango was obviously bothered by him pursuing other women, but he was obviously too dense to see it.

'To be honest, though, I'm surprised Sango is bothered at all. She just met the guy.' I can't help thinking, before glancing towards Inuyasha across the room. 'Then again, who am I to judge instant attraction?' I can't help a small blush as I look down at my bowl of soup, thinking about my first thoughts when I had laid eyes on Inuyasha pinned to the Sacred Tree.

It was late by the time Sango, Shippo, Kirara and I all went to bed on the other side of the divider set up in the room. Shippo was snuggled between us, while Kirara curled up in the blanket at Sango's feet. I look at the young woman sleeping facing me, before closing my own eyes finally.

'Don't worry, Sango. I have a feeling the universe will give you a win.' I can't help thinking, before falling asleep.


Then again, I have been known to be wrong.

"You say he left before dawn?" Inuyasha interrogates the inn keeper as Sango and I stand behind him, frowning with concern.

"Yes, the monk said that he was going on a journey." The inn keeper confirmed with a nod as he stoked the fire in his wood-burning stove. "He asked me to wish you all well." He added, and though his tone didn't say it, the words themselves felt ominous.

"It's like he's saying goodbye." I frown deeply as I look towards Inuyasha.

"That stupid Miroku! Always running off and doing things on his own." Inuyasha scoffs, and his response hardly phases me. He was worried, though, that much I could tell after getting to know him so well over these past months.

"Do you think you could follow his trail?" Sango asks, a tinge of worry on her own voice as well. Inuyasha rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms.

"I'm not some sort of hound, you know!" He frowns at her, but he stiffens when he sees her look of disappointment and worry. I could see the cogs working in his brain, his eyes softening, before he lets out a large groan of frustration.

"Get me his bedding." He grumbles lowly, shoulders slumped. Sango perks up, turning around with Shippo on her heels and rushing back to our room to do as he says. I, meanwhile, come to his side as the inn keeper turns away, placing my hand on his shoulder and leaning up on my tippy toes to press my lips to his cheek. When I pull away he's looking down at me with wide amber eyes and a soft blush on the bridge of his nose. "What the hell was that for?" He mutters sheepishly, rubbing his hand over his cheek on the spot I had kissed lightly. I smile softly, stepping back to give him room while shrugging my shoulders.

His suspicious gaze doesn't leave me even as Sango brings him Miroku's blanket to sniff.


"I wonder why Miroku left us like that?" I frown deeply in worry as we unfortunately found ourselves back at the tavern after a failed attempt by Inuyasha to find Miroku's trail. We had concluded that he had no doubt called on his friend Hachi to take him wherever it was he was going. If it really was as far away as it sounded, flying would definitely have been much faster than walking.

'Too bad we all couldn't fit on the back of Kirara.' I think to myself, eyeing the little cat demon that was currently playing with Shippo. It was adorable the way the two had taken to one and other. 'I wouldn't wish that on her, though.'

"Maybe it was because of you both acting so cold to him." Shippo points out as he plays with Kirara. I look towards him, chewing on my lower lip as I saw the hurt on his little face. He was just as upset as the rest of us that Miroku left without so much as a goodbye. It was only natural as a kid to want to blame someone to try and make sense of why our friend had seemingly abandoned us. Sango looks from Shippo towards me, guilt clear on her face. I frown, shaking my head firmly at her. This was not her fault, and she shouldn't feel like it was either.

"Nobody has hurt his feelings, Shippo. Miroku isn't exactly sensitive." Inuyasha cuts in as he re-enters the room, frowning as he looks towards Sango, having watched her face drop at the little boy's accusation.

"Master Inuyasha!" An all too familiar voice of our resident flea suddenly sounded from his Master's left should as he leapt onto it.

"Oh look, you're back." Inuyasha greets dryly looking down at the flea, completely unimpressed. Myoga had taken off early yesterday before we confronted the demonic rat. Obviously it was to be expected at this point.

Didn't make it any less humorous when he came crawling back, however.

"Actually, I returned last night!" Myoga insists. "When I returned I noticed the monk was acting strangely." I straighten up from where I'm leaning on the veranda railing, turning to look at the flea with keen interest. Maybe he had even seen which direction Miroku went off in?

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked, looking confused as to what the flea's point was.

"He kept staring at his right hand, the one with the Wind Tunnel, and he seemed very deep in thought. He didn't say what was bothering him." Myoga replies, sounding just as concerned as the rest of us at Miroku's sudden disappearance. I frown as I walk over, glancing from the flea towards Inuyasha.

"The other night he was doing the same thing." I begin, Inuyasha's amber eyes snapping up towards me curiously now. "I went to the stream to wash the dishes, and he was sitting there alone, just staring at his left hand."

"What did he say?" Sango presses, her voice carrying more urgency than I was sure she intended.

"He was thinking about the Wind Tunnel swallowing him up before we get a chance to defeat Naraku." I feel my stomach dropping, pressing my hand to it as realization hit me.

Was he truly closer to that fate than any of us had realized?

"We need to go and find him." Sango frowns as she looks towards us with determination, tension clear throughout her body. I glance towards her, before looking back towards Inuyasha.

"I don't know how you expect me to find him?" Inuyasha states as he crosses his arms, not arguing, but not agreeing either. "We already tried to find his trail with his scent, but that was a bust."

"You don't think something has happened to him, do you?" Myoga asks in worry as well, turning to look at Sango and I.

"Something must have happened for him to leave like that." I reply logically, things seemingly starting to add up.

"I'm sure he's fine." Inuyasha replies firmly, taking on that stereotypical male mentality. "Besides, the jewel shards are more important right now. Even if his Wind Tunnel is close to swallowing him up, it won't help him any to delay Naraku's defeat even further." Even I have to admit that Inuyasha has somewhat of a point.

'I suppose in his mind if Miroku didn't ask for help, he doesn't need it. Something feels so wrong about this though.' I can't help worrying.


Later that afternoon we found ourselves back on the trail once more, Inuyasha taking the lead. It was silent, none of us feeling the need to try and fill the air with smalltalk.

Not when we were all contemplating what might have befallen our friend.

Sango especially seemed to be taking it hard, her head ducked and shoulders slumped in obvious sadness over the monk's departure. I made sure not to bring attention to it, but I could see Inuyasha glancing over his shoulder every now and then at the Slayer. Though he would never openly admit to it, it was obvious he was worried as well.

"What's that?" Sango asks suddenly, causing us all to stop and listen intently. My eyes widen as I hear it also.

"It's a buzzing sound." I murmur softly in confusion, frowning. Shippo jumps up onto my shoulder from where he had been walking next to Kirara.

"I don't like sounds of that!" Shippo states nervously as he shifts in close to the side of my head. I reach up, rubbing my hand along his back as I feel the poor boy trembling. Inuyasha, meanwhile, had taken a protective stance in front of us, the sound of his nail flicking Tessaiga loose from the grip of the sheath echoed around us. I tense further, hearing the low growling noise coming from deep in his chest as his amber eyes looked around, focused. All in one smooth move he draws his sword and cuts down a nearby tree, revealing exactly what we had been hearing.

"It's one of Naraku's poisonous insects." Sango points out, grabbing her weapon from her back. "Hiraikotsu!" She shouts, sending her boomerang flying for the wasp. It misses at first, but swivels back around to take off one of the demonic insect's wings. She catches her weapon, leaning back to launch it once more. "This time it's dead." She promises, about to swing forward.

"Wait!" Inuyasha command stops her short as she looks to him in slight surprise. "If he is using them to spy on us, something must be happening with Miroku." I turn sharply towards Inuyasha at that. "Let's follow it!" He sheaths Tessaiga quickly, before bounding off in the direction the insect was limping away. I share a troubled look with Sango, before Kirara transforms next to us. Without hesitation Sango jumps on, grabbing Shippo from my shoulder and placing him in front of her as I hop onto Kirara's back behind her.

"Let's go, Kirara!" Sango encouraged, the cat demon letting out a roar before easily catching up with Inuyasha.

'Hold on, Miroku, we're on our way!' I think with worry.


"This insect is our only lead, so don't lose it okay?" Inuyasha states as he looks towards Shippo and I, all three of us hiding behind separate trees. Naraku's poisonous wasp was still hovering above us hours later, the sun having long set below the horizon. Inuyasha currently had his back pressed against a tree just ahead, turning towards us momentarily as he gazes at me with determination. Suddenly Shippo lets out a nervous sound from my shoulder, pointing upwards towards the sky.

"More poisonous bugs!" He exclaims in hushed fear, Inuyasha turning sharply to look around the tree he was currently hid behind. As I look up my mouth drops in shock seeing exactly what Shippo was talking about.

"Ahhh! Help me!" Hachi pleads in his transfigured form from the sky, clearly being hounded and stung by the various wasps surrounding him. The hovered over him like a buzzing cloud, his tubular form swirling in the air to try and evade them. He suddenly dives towards us, crashing into the canopy of trees not too far away. Inuyasha leads, racing towards where the badger demon had landed, and we're met with his normal form laying on the ground and littered with stings.

"Poor guy." I can't help saying softly, frowning deeply, before snapping my gaze up to see the insects closing in still. I reach up with both of my hands, palms facing the dozens of bugs and forcing my energy outward. A wall of my energy crashes into the first wave, disintegrating them on contact and dissuading the others from pursuing Hachi any further. Inuyasha stays at the ready, just incase the insects came back, as I rush forward and gently place my hands on Hachi's back.

"W-what are you doing?" Hachi asks nervously, clearly disoriented from the poison of the wasps's stings.

"Lay still, I'm healing you." I tell him calmly, focusing my energy to help draw out the poison and heal the clear the sting marks. Hachi soon lets out a sigh of relief, sitting up and rubbing at his furry head as he regards us with wide and panicked eyes.

"It's Miroku! You've got to come quick!"

Hachi took no time transforming back into his log like form, all of us climbing on as he set a course for where Miroku was hiding.

"What's going on with Miroku, Hachi?" I can't help asking as soon as we take off, biting at my bottom lip with worry. 'Miroku must really be in danger if Hachi was obviously coming to get us.'

"A demon Worm Charmer has taken over the body of his old friend, Mushin. The demon is under the influence of Naraku, and has called forth hundreds of demons to the Temple to kill Miroku!" Hachi exclaims, my eyes widening in surprise hearing him. Inuyasha looks over his shoulder towards me, frowning in worry as well, before looking forward once more to speak to Hachi.

"What about his Wind Tunnel? He could easily swallow those demons up with it!" Inuyasha states, sounding concerned.

"Miroku can't use it right now! He has nicks in it from a praying mantis demon he sucked into his Wind Tunnel. He's afraid if he uses it, that his Wind Tunnel will expand beyond control and pull him in as well as anyone around him!"

'That's why he left!' I think, hands clenching tightly into fists. 'So he wouldn't take us with him if his Wind Tunnel got out of control.' I look over my shoulder now towards Sango and saw the look of determination on her own face. Turning back to face forward once more, I shake my head. 'That foolish monk! He should have said something! We could have all worked together to help him!'

"Is there anything we can do to stop Miroku's Wind Tunnel from ripping any further?" Sango asks, her voice carrying the same determination as her body language.

"Mushin, if we can extract the Worm Charmer, can sew the nicks together to prevent Miroku's Wind Tunnel from spreading further." Hachi states, and I feel relief flood through me. We just had to get Miroku through this evening and save his old friend.

I mean, out of all the things our group has had to accomplish, that doesn't seem unreasonable.

"There is Mushin's temple!" Hachi exclaims just as the demons suddenly appeared, hovering over the temple grounds. My mouth dropped slightly at the seer volume of them, countless demons speeding in our direction.

'I just had to jinx it…' I think dryly, Inuyasha shifting to stand on Hachi as he draws Tessaiga.

"Head straight through them!" He calls down to the nervous badger demon below. Surprisingly Hachi does as he says. I grab onto my bow, swinging it around and notching an arrow from my position still straddling Hachi's form. As Inuyasha cuts through the first wave, I send my arrow streaking into the second, disintegrating the demons on contact with my aura as it explodes around my arrow.

"Kirara!" Sango calls, leaping off of Hachi as her companion transforms into her larger counterpart, charging at the next wave of demons and taking out dozens of them with her boomerang.

"I ain't going to waste my time!" Inuyasha proclaims as he cuts through more in front of me, and I send another arrow sailing past him to cut through the dense group behind once again. Up ahead I can see demons gathering around what looked to be a crater, and I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly who was sitting in the bottom.

"Inuyasha! Look!" I shout, watching as he turns sharply to see where I was pointing. He frowns, twisting his upper half of his body towards me with his eyes still on the crater, his arm extended outwards in a silent command. Not needing to be told, I get up, running forward into the crook of his arm and gripping onto the front of his kimono tightly as his arm wraps securely around my waist. He jumps down off of Hachi, ensuring that we both land softly on the grass before he races forward with Tessaiga still drawn, slicing through the demons that looked about to pounce. He makes quick and easy work of them as I rush forward to look down in the crater, relief flooding me as I see I was right.

"Miroku!" I shout, the monk suddenly opening his eyes and looking up at Inuyasha and I in shock. I frown, seeing him sitting there cross-legged and leaning against what was clearly a grave marker.

"So, this is where you've been hiding." Inuyasha states, sounding a little cocky as he rests Tessaiga on his shoulder. "And you've gotten yourself in trouble, again." I can't help rolling my eyes and shaking my head at that.

Poor Miroku was never going to live this down.

Said monk, however, was still in a stunned silence as he gazes up towards us, and Inuyasha seems rather irritated that he wasn't responding. "You could at least thank me for saving your sorry butt!"

"MIROKU!" Shippo cries out from behind Inuyasha, leaping up onto his head and using him as leverage to jump down into the crater. I slide down after Shippo, the young boy leaping into Miroku's lap as he still sat cross-legged against the grave marker. "Why did you leave us without saying anything?!" The little fox demon demands tearfully, and I'm inwardly enjoying watching Miroku look insanely guilty as he glances down at the little boy.

'Good, serves him right to feel like shit for pulling this stunt.' I think to myself, sighing heavily. 'Although I get why he did leave.'

"Have you been injured, Miroku?!" Sango calls as she lands with Kirara at the edge of the crater, Miroku's eyes shifting from Inuyasha, to Shippo, then me, and then Sango and Kirara. His eyes fill with an emotion I can't quite read, and he still remained quiet.

"You are injured." I frown deeply, seeing the deep wound on his shoulder as I kneel down beside him. Reaching out I hover my hand over the wound, focusing my energy into healing it. As I do he looks to me, and finally I can place the emotion in his eyes.

Gratefulness.

"You really didn't think we'd come for you, did you?" I murmur to him softly with realization, his wound successfully healed. "Remember what I told you?" I demand, frowning as I look down at his right hand. I reach down for the still covered hand, gently taking it into my own and turning it palm up against my lap. "We've got your back." I continue on, reaching then for the prayer beads. Shippo immediately leaps away and straight up into Inuyasha's arms, Sango gasping above us as she jumps off of Kirara to stand at the edge of the crater and see.

"W-what are you doing, Yua?!" Miroku panics, his left hand coming to grab the one I had been using to remove the prayer beads. I look up into his eyes then, not letting them go as he looks at me with wide eyed shock.

"Trust me, Miroku." I murmur gently, before resuming removing the beads. I focus my energy, much like I had when we had first met, to create a barrier that cut off the power of his Wind Tunnel as the purple material of his glove fell away.

"Yua…" Inuyasha's low voice growls now from directly behind me, having slid down into the crater when he had seen what I intended to do. I can still tell, even without having to look at him, that he was ready to pull me away at a moment's notice.

'You've gotten so much stronger since the last time your powers went up against his Wind Tunnel.' Mayumi murmurs softly to me, clearly impressed. I relax at her praise, trusting her enough that she would stop me if she felt I couldn't handle it. However, she was right. Before I had only just been able to stop his Wind Tunnel for a mere few minutes, and had nearly drained all my energy to do so. Though it still drained me greatly to do this, I had enough energy left to do one last thing.

"After everything we have all gone through together we are more than just friends now, Miroku." I murmur as I look down at the gaping black hole in his hand, and the clear cuts surrounding it. I place my hand directly over his own, palm to palm, and allow my healing energy to pulse through. Miroku gasps, clearly able to feel it himself as he gazes from his hand towards me with wide eyes. "We're family." I finish, gently removing my hand to show him his healed Wind Tunnel.

"Yua…" Miroku trails off, wonder in his voice as he looks down at his hand in disbelief, flexing it slightly, before laying it back down in my lap. I gently replace the purple material over his Wind Tunnel, along with wrapping his prayer beads around his wrist and hand. He raises his hand between the both of us, looking from it to me once more. "Thank you…all of you." He adds, looking around at everyone surrounding him.

Before he's suddenly hunched over in pain, rubbing the back of his head with a pathetic whine. I huff, my hand still poised in the air from smacking him.

"So smarten up next time and say something!" I shout irritably at him. "We could have avoided all of this!" Miroku's shoulders slump in defeat, before he raises his head with a sheepish grin.

"Noted." He states simply, before moving to stand, offering me his hand to help me up as well. I take it with a grateful smile, letting him help me up onto my wobbly legs. I had used the rest of my energy to heal Miroku's shoulder and hand, so now I was virtually useless. Watching as Sango slid down into the crater as well, gazing at him warmly as he gazed back at her, I knew it was well worth the energy spent.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" Inuyasha's voice drifts softly into my ear as he stands directly behind me, his strong chest pressed to my back. I turn my head to give him an exhausted smile, shrugging my shoulders sheepishly.

I mean, I did know, but it never hurt to be told that, did it?

"Who goes there?!" A voice suddenly calls out from above the crater. Miroku stiffens instantly, grabbing onto Sango and pushing her behind him as he moves to stand protectively in front of her.

"It's Mushin." Miroku states solemnly. "Only he's been-"

"Taken over my a Worm Charmer. We know." Sango states impatiently as she pats his shoulder, before stepping back out from behind him as she instead takes a position beside the monk. Inuyasha wraps his arm around my middle and leaps up from the crater, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara following right behind.

"I shall punish anyone who disturbs the peace of my temple!" The possessed Mushin states calmly as he sees all of us emerge.

"Are you the monk called Mushin?" Inuyasha asks, Tessaiga still resting on his strong shoulder as he gently drops his arm from my waist. "Interesting." He quips, holding out Tessaiga in threat now. "You're brave for taking me on if you can!" He adds cockily, and I can't help frowning as I look towards him.

"Remember, the monk is a friend of Miroku's and he's possessed." I state quietly to him in reminder. The only sign he acknowledged me was the twitching of his ears.

"Don't kill him." Miroku agrees as he stands on Inuyasha's opposite side, hands clenched tightly into fists. Mushin laughs coldly.

"That's a very good boy, Miroku. I raised you well, didn't I?" Mushin states sarcastically.

'Mushin is more than just a friend to Miroku.' I realize with a frown. 'He really is family to him.' Looking down at my hands then, I wince as I try to pull any power forward. 'If only I had enough left to purify the monk. We could easily expel the Worm Charmer without hurting the old man.' I clench my hand tightly into fists with frustration.

'Healing Miroku's wounds was more important, more pressing.' Mayumi states, sensing my disappointment in myself. 'Have faith in Inuyasha and your friends. They'll figure this out.' She wisely advises.

"Who cares if you raised him?" Inuyasha states coldly. "You're drinking days are over!" He shouts at the red nosed monk as Mushin stumbles forward to meet him in an attack. He throws out the large prayer beads that had been hanging over his frame off his shoulder, hooking them straight around Tessaiga. Inuyasha comes to a halt, all of us watching in shock as the aura from the prayer beads charges the air around Tessaiga, and even causes it to reverse in it's transformation. I watch, horrified, as the beads then shifted from around Tessaiga to wrapping around Inuyasha. My aura sparks uselessly at my finger tips, unable to grasp onto any real energy at all, despite my desperation to. Demons, hundreds of them, appear before Inuyasha and charge at him. He manages to wiggle an arm loose, slicing the demons into pieces with his claws.

"My, my. Aren't we lively?" Mushin comments sarcastically as he holds up his hand in front of him with his index and middle fingers pressed together and facing upwards. His hand begins to glow, more of his energy transferring into the beads trapping Inuyasha and causing him to scream out in pain.

"Inuyasha!" I can't help shouting in horror, my heart racing as he falls to the ground. I move to run to him, not caring that there was nothing I could really do without my powers. I had to try!

"Stay back, Yua!" Inuyasha shouts out, his voice commanding and causing me to stop in my tracks. "Don't come any closer!"

"I have you bound in my sutra, my special magic, so I'm surprised you can still move." Mushin states coldly as what looks to be some sort of ghost like worm emerges from his mouth.

'That must be the worms controlling him!' I frown deeply, before Myoga jumps on my shoulder.

"Demon Worm!" He gasps nervously, all but confirming my thought just now.

"You won't last long, I promise you." Mushin adds lowly, more demons appearing and surrounding him as Inuyasha struggles to stand. I look sharply towards the others.

"We have to do something!" I urge them, Sango and Miroku having both been watching in shock.

"The Worm Charmer must be somewhere nearby! We need to find him and take the pot away and place it near the monk!" Myoga explains. "The Demon Worm will then leave him and return to the pot!" Whilst Myoga is explaining this, Inuyasha has struggled to his feet and cut through the next wave of demons that Mushin sent his way.

"Let's go, Myoga." I state with determination, turning away from the others and rushing towards the temple. 'If I was a Worm Charmer, I'd want to be able to see everything happening. My bet is he is in there somewhere.'

"Why me?" Myoga whines, and soon I hear Kirara and Sango coming up to catch up to me.

"Yua! Look up there!" Shippo suddenly shouts out from where he is standing back at the crater next to Miroku. I frown, turning to look at the little boy, before following where his finger was pointing to the roof of the temple, eyes widening at what I saw.

'Hm, that was suspiciously easy.' I think to myself dryly, the red eyed Worm Charmer crouching in clear view. He looked like a little old man, with large ears and markings on either side of his forehead. My eyes lock onto the pot in his hands, his lips near the opening as he clearly breathed into it.

"That's the Charmer there! No mistake!" Myoga insists from my shoulder. I grab my bow and arrow, knowing it would only act normally without my powers. I take him, wincing as I missed the Worm Charmer and he leaps from the rooftop out of sight.

"I'll get him!" Sango insists, before charging in the direction the Charmer had gone. I frown, glancing over my shoulder and seeing Inuyasha kneeling exhausted and surrounded by demon remains. Looking towards Miroku, he nods at me from where he stands by Inuyasha, urging me to follow Sango and silently promising me he'd look out for Inuyasha as best he could. Swallowing thickly I turn, racing after Sango towards where the Worm Charmer had fled. I just caught up with Sango, however, before a blinding light erupted from where Inuyasha and Miroku had been facing off against Mushin. Turning sharply we both look towards Inuyasha with wide eyes, seeing him holding a glowing Tessaiga with equal shock.

"The Tessaiga…" I murmur in shock, recognizing the feeling of energy pulsing from the blade. That same energy had washed over me when Sesshomaru had unleashed it upon us all during our last encounter. Suddenly I can hear the pattering of fast feet against the clay shingles of the roof behind us, Sango turning sharply at the sound as well.

"Not so fast!" Sango shouts, throwing the boomerang at the Worm Charmer as he leaps into the air. Her weapon slices straight through the demon, my eyes widening as I see the pot falling from the sky. It was too far away for me to be able to catch!

"I got it!" Shippo's voice shouts out as he scrambles across the field. I grin widely as the little fox boy indeed catches the pot, having to skid onto his knees on the ground to do so.

"Great job, Shippo!" I call, racing towards the little boy with Sango in tow. I kneel down next to Shippo, gently taking the jug from him as I ruffle his hair. He grins happily at me, before looking in the direction of the now unconscious elderly monk. "Let's go." As I stand Shippo leaps onto my shoulder, all of us slowly gathering around the old man. I hold the pot out, flowing with uncertainty as I waited for something to happen. Relief floods through me when it does, the whispy worm from before migrating from the man's mouth and back into the clay pot where it belonged. Quickly placing the cork back on the pot once the demonic worm was inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. Looking over towards Miroku as he waits tensely to the side, I offer him a small smile. "I think he's going to be okay."

"Good." Miroku relaxes, a smile finally spreading over his tense face. "Please, help me get him into the temple?" He asks then, and Inuyasha nods. Together both the men drag him as carefully as they can inside, the rest of us finally relaxing on the veranda out front. Inuyasha comes to join us shortly after, the sun slowly rising in the sky as we waited patiently for more news. Miroku didn't leave Mushin's side, not once, for hours.

"He's taking so long." Shippo speaks up, being the first to break the calm silence hovering over the five of us. Sango had her eyes closed as she leaned back against the wall, clearly exhausted and worried for Miroku still. Kirara was asleep at her feet, and Inuyasha was sitting in his usual position with his eyes closed to the other side of me.

"Mushin has been through a lot. It might take him a while to wake." I gently remind the impatient boy, but I also couldn't blame him for it. He looked so tired sitting there, leaning back against Sango's hip. Suddenly the door next to us slides open, revealing a fully alert Mushin, and Miroku.

"I suppose I should apologize first off, and thank you secondly." Mushin states, bowing his head with respect towards us. We all stand, bowing back to him in response.

"We're just glad that we could help." I state softly, before frowning as he looks directly at me.

"You. You're the one that repaired Miroku's hand." He correctly identifies, and I blink slightly in shock.

"Y-yes I am." I reply, sounding a little unsure.

"That was very brave of you, but I would not risk such an attempt again should the need arise." Mushin warns gently, clasping his hands behind his back. I hesitate, before asking what has been on my mind since I was able to heal his Wind Tunnel.

"Master Mushin…would I have the power some day to rid Miroku of his Wind Tunnel completely?" I ask softly, everybody looking at me wide eyed. Miroku stiffens next to Mushin, before looking to him with curiosity as well. Mushin sighs, his shoulders slumping slightly and shakes his head. It's like a giant weight settles in my stomach when I see the disappointment in my friend's face.

"Unfortunately I would believe not. Naraku's curse is too powerful, even for the likes of your growing powers." Mushin replies, sounding sure of himself. "Or Mayumi's." My mouth drops as I look towards Miroku with questioning eyes. Had he really told the monk about that? Miroku looks equally as surprised, quickly quelling that thought.

"How do you know?" I ask softly, pressing my hand over my racing heart. Mushin smiles warmly.

"I would recognize that signature anywhere." He responds easily. "I knew Mayumi back when I was but a small boy myself. We met only briefly, but she left a lasting impression." I can feel Mayumi's surprise at that.

'I…I don't remember him…' Mayumi struggles, sounding guilty. I frown deeply at that.

"I don't expect her to recognize me. I was a little boy then, and an old man now." Mushin waves off the obvious guilt he sees projecting through me from Mayumi. The monk turns to Inuyasha. "Come with me, boy." He orders lightly, turning and walking down off of the veranda. Inuyasha throws me a curious look, before following him out of sight.

"Well, this was certainly an interesting adventure." Miroku laughs nervously as he steps up towards us, standing decidedly closer to Sango.

"Indeed." She states dryly in return, crossing her arms. "You had us chasing you half way across the countryside!" Miroku grins at her, shrugging sheepishly. She almost seems to melt under his boyish gaze. "How's the hand?" She asks begrudgingly, to which Miroku smirks slyly. No sooner had she asked that question than she stiffens up, a look of utter indignation on her face. The slap that followed could no doubt be heard miles away, and I can't help a small giggle as Shippo jumps up into my arms.

"Well, his hand is definitely better." The boy states with amusement, watching as Miroku sheepishly steps away from Sango's withering glare.

'Where would our group be without our perverted monk?' I can't help thinking fondly. As Inuyasha steps back onto the veranda moments later with Mushin, I can see the determination in his eyes as he has them trained on Miroku. Though he would never say it, he felt the exact same way.

This was his pack, and he would protect each and every one of us.


Wellll there ya have it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D. Once again, thank you to all that reviewed and left such positive feedback for this story! I love hearing from you guys! Now that my weekend away is over it's back to the usual schedual. Ten reviews before Wednesday and I'll do the typical mid-week update :D.

Until then!

T.O.T.