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Itty Bitty Pretty Six
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Already his heart rate was accelerating and his mind replayed the last day's events on a short loop. With his conscious mind he delineated all the terrible side effects of that curse and the potential ramifications of a human undergoing the same. Each time he tried to remind himself that his friends were more than capable of defending themselves, that they were much stronger than the average human, all those negatives would pop back up as though taunting him that his friends were suffering because he was weak.
"What do you mean they're missing?" Inuyasha managed to hiss angrily as he easily pushed Kagome out of the way to storm towards the well, "They probably got hit with whatever I did except they're human. Who knows what'll happen to them?"
"No, you can't go back! I am more than…" Kagome began heatedly before she trailed off at the look of pure rage that the hanyou was giving her.
"You are not going anywhere," he growled in a low menacing voice. Despite herself, Kagome felt a shiver run down her spine before she saw the fear and vulnerability behind his eyes. Touched by his concern – if not slightly miffed by his way of expressing it – Kagome sighed and gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm more worried that we'll cross over and whatever spell that girl put you under will start sapping your youkai again. I've never seen you take so long to recover."
"I don't want you going by yourself," Inuyasha sighed heavily - grimacing at the reminder of the danger his friends were in - as he huffed and set his jaw, "So either I go with you or you don't go."
"Would it kill you to back down for once?" Kagome sighed wearily as she plopped down on her bed, "Seriously."
"You know, it just might," Inuyasha snickered before sighing himself and shaking his head, "We have to go back. You know we do. I can't just…if something…"
"Kaede said the girl wanted us to go to the mountains," Kagome began calmly, "Why don't we give it a trial run? We'll hop into the well and come out the other side. If you shrink, we come back and find another way to save them. If you don't, we charge in guns blazing."
"Guns blazing?" Inuyasha asked bemusedly before rolling his eyes, "What does that even mean?"
"It means we charge ahead and take her out," Kagome snickered, "Sorry. I thought you'd know what a gun was."
"I know what a gun is," Inuyasha clipped, "That phrase was just stupid."
Choosing to ignore him, Kagome sighed as she moved to grab her backpack, "We better get going then. Let's go."
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"Miroku, do you think she's referring to Kikyo?" Sango whispered anxiously as she leaned against the thick leather interior, "I feel bad for her yet - at the same time - desperation makes people dangerous."
Nodding sagely, Miroku played idly with the beads that sealed the black hole in his hand, "Perhaps that boy's words will make her realize that we are willing to help despite everything that she's done. Whomever she's aligned herself with, it does appear that she can be reasoned with so long as a solution can be found for her family."
"It's so sad," Sango sighed as she furrowed her brow, "It makes me wonder about Inuyasha's path. A lifetime of not being able to trust anyone, to be hunted, to never feel comfortable asking for help. This girl is younger than he is and yet already so bitter. I never thought it that way but it would explain his more, um, brutish behavior."
"I am surprised he has grown to trust us despite how we treated him at first," Miroku sighed as he ran a solitary finger down his covered palm, "Indeed, I tried to kill him as did you - although you at least had a good reason. I was merely trying to gather jewel shards and made it abundantly clear I placed no value on his life."
"Wait, what?" Sango asked incredulously, "What did you do?"
"Well, I tried to suck him into the wind tunnel," Miroku began softly - regret evident in his tone, "But I didn't as Lady Kagome threw herself in its path to protect him. I made it clear I would never harm a human but...but even a half-demon's life was not valued as highly."
"Well, you obviously changed your mind about him," Sango soothed before furrowing her brow, "He forgave you just as he forgave me. Despite everything he has done, he truly is a good man...just as I believe this girl's heart is in the right place."
"Indeed," Miroku agreed on both points before reaching into his robes and producing a sutra, "Now Sango, dearest, I am going to try something - only on you. If it works, it will be your task to reason with her. You are a much more capable fighter than I am. Hopefully this won't..."
Before he could finish, the bag was suddenly turned upside down and the three occupants suddenly found themselves in a dead fall towards the cold, hard ground.