Well, here's chapter two! Hope you all enjoy:D and for you're entertainment, I'm getting Miroku to dot he disclaimer!
Miroku: They like me that much, huh? (Smirks)
Me: uh... sure..
Miroku: In that case, you don't own me! and I am free to go and meet all my reviewers!
Me: Hey, those are my reviews! Stay away!
Miroku: Aw, come on! I put up with the torure you make me go through and I can't even go meet them!
Me: NO!
Sango turned over and stretched out her arms first, then her legs. Opening her eyes and waiting for them to get used to the light, she turned over to look at Kagome, who was sleeping next to her. She was still asleep. First one up again, huh?
The fire had burnt out during the night and all that remained were a pile of ashes. Sango picked up a nearby stick and poked at them while she pondered what was on her mind.
Miroku seemed so scared last night. But what Sango couldn't figure out was why. And it would be even harder to try and get him to tell her straight away. As Sango thought how best to approach doing so, her thoughts were interrupted.
"Morning Sango." Kagome said from her right. She looked over at her companion and saw her nudge Shippo awake so she could get up.
"5 more minutes..." the little Kitsune muttered, still half asleep. Sango stifled a small laugh.
"Sleep well?" Kagome finally asked once she sat up.
"Alright I guess." Sango replied.
"Were you worried?"
"About what?" Sango asked, pretending for some reason that she didn't have a clue as to what Kagome was talking about. Kagome looked at her.
"You know, about last night... what happened to Miroku?" Sango looked to were Miroku had been on guard last night and sighed.
"Yes, a bit." she replied slowly, biting her lip slightly. Kagome looked over to the tree also.
"Speaking of which, where is he?" Kagome asked suddenly. Both girls looked around camp and then back at each other. Miroku was nowhere in sight.
"Now where'd he get to?" Sango asked, rising from where she was sitting.
"Inuyasha isn't here either." Kagome pointed out, looking up at the tree he had previously been in.
"But that's not too unusual." Sango told her.
"What'd I miss..." Shippo asked from the ground, finally coming to. Sango and Kagome stared down at him as he slowly sat up.
"Hey, you're up." Kagome said to him. Shippo smiled.
"Hey you guys, we have to get moving!" said a familiar voice coming from behind them. It seemed Inuyasha had returned.
"Why the rush?" Kagome asked him.
"Something's not right around here..." he replied, looking around camp. He grabbed Kagome's backpack and set off the direction opposite of which they came from.
"Hey, get back here with that! It's not even packed yet!" Kagome said, raising her voice. But Inuyasha pretended not to hear her and kept walking. "Get back here!" Kagome said again. But by now he was out of sight, covered by the dense trees.
"SIT!"
There was a fairly large thump nearby and an even larger groan. Kagome and Sango went to where Inuyasha had fallen.
"What was that for?" yelled an angry Inuyasha. Kagome glared at him.
"I told you we're not ready to leave yet! Miroku isn't even with us! We can't leave without him."
"So go and find him!" Inuyasha said, slowly rising from the indented ground.
"Well, I would if you would give me the chance!" Kagome shot back. Sango sighed. Their argument was growing very loud. She decided to head back and look for the monk herself. Besides, she was a bit worried about him still.
Sango found that once she had returned back to the clearing, she could still here their argument, which had now changed courses and was focused on why Kagome's backpack had so much stuff in the first place. All this noise was bound to wake Shippo soon, who had fallen back asleep soon after Inuyasha returned.
Sango paced the campsite one time around, wondering what to do. The argument was bound to last at least a few more minutes, if not longer. She could surely search and find Miroku by then. Quietly, as to not have Shippo wake back up and follow her, Sango wandered over to the tree and looked down. Miroku's shoes had left scuff marks in the soft earth. They looked panicked. Sango noticed they headed out of the clearing and into deeper woods. Holding her breath slightly, she followed them.
"I should head back..." Miroku told himself. He was currently sitting on the edge of a small hot spring he had found, his robes rolled up and feet dunked in. He found the water quite soothing. "They should be up by now." Miroku looked up to the sun, half submerged in a gray cloud and well over the horizon.
"Miroku hadn't been able to get any sleep last night, mostly out of fear. He lost track of time while he was sitting against the tree and passed it while watching Sango sleep peacefully. It calmed him down.
After awhile, his hand had started to hurt again, but only in short bursts of stinging. Afraid he would wake someone if it got any worse, he had left for a short while, only until it stopped. That was when he had found the spring. The pain still hadn't gone away, even now.
Miroku pulled his legs out and pulled them under him, as to bring himself to be sitting on his knees. He dunked his left hand in and splashed some water on his face and forehead and looked up. How would he keep this from the others... and should he.
Unrolling his robes, he was interrupted by a rustle in the bushes. He turned an eye, but didn't move from his position.
"Have you been watching me this whole time?" he asked, still not moving. He focused his sight back on the water in front of him.
"Of course not," Sango said, stepping out into view. "I just got here."
"You can to retrieve me?" Miroku turned to face her, still sitting. "We are leaving now, are we not?"
"Um, yes. Yes, we are leaving."
"Very well." Miroku pushed off with one foot and stood up, reaching for his staff which lay against a nearby boulder. Sango noticed he made a grab for it with, first, his right hand, then switched it to his left at the last minute. She didn't mention anything though.
"You look tired." Sango mentioned as they headed back to camp. "Didn't you get any sleep?"
"Of course, there's no need to worry." Miroku lied. "Just not as much as I wished to."
"Not as much as you wished to?" Sango said, more to herself than Miroku. "What kept you up then?"
"It was nothing, I was just in the mood for a drink. And I came upon that spring back there. No need to worry." he reassured her. Sango didn't completely buy it.
"Were you tired then?"
"Not especially." Miroku said, stretching his arms out and stifling a small yawn. "But now I regret staying there."
"When did you-"
"Ah, Shippo, how are you?" Miroku said, walking back to the clearing. Shippo looked up from eating a piece of candy he had stole from Kagome and hid in his pocket. He tired hiding again behind his back. "Don't worry, I won't tell." Miroku whispered, putting a finger to his lips. Sango frowned, realizing Miroku had probably done that on purpose. As if he was avoiding talking about the previous night's events. Sango worried.
"Oh, Miroku, you're back!" Kagome said, returning to the clearing. Inuyasha sulked behind her, muttering.
"Hurry up, we have to get a move on!" Inuyasha complained. Kagome rolled her eyes and shoved a few items in the backpack, not even bothering to answer him.
"What's the matter? Fall out of the tree this morning?" Miroku asked him with a smirk.
"Shut up, monk!" was all he got in return. "You almost done?"
"Yes, are you happy now?" Kagome shot back.
"Ecstatic..." Inuyasha mumbled sarcastically. Kagome ignored it.
Kagome and Inuyasha left the clearing moments later in a huff, not speaking.
"You two coming?" Shippo asked, who was about to follow with Kirara. He stopped when he saw Sango and Miroku hadn't made and motion to follow along too.
"We'll catch up in a minute." Sango replied, her eyes not straying from Miroku when she answered. Shippo looked over at Kirara, who mewed back, and shrugged his shoulders before the two ran off. Sango slowly moved closer to Miroku.
It hurts more now... Miroku thought to himself, his cursed hand gripped in his left one. He closed his eyes in thought.
Sango put a hand on his shoulder and he jumped instantly out of his small trance.
"Lady Sango, you startled me!" he said, quickly lowering his hand down to his side. Miroku took a step back and once again rested on the tree from the previous night.
"The others have left, are you coming?" she asked softly. Miroku managed a small smile, but Sango could tell it was strained.
"Yes, I'll be right there." he said, towards the ground. "You go catch up, I'll be right there."
"I can wait for you." Sango moved beside him and Miroku stepped over a pace to make room.
"Why the hurry to leave?" he asked her.
"I think Inuyasha said there was something that didn't feel right around here, or so I heard." Miroku's expression darkened a bit, and Sango noticed.
"Something on your mind Miroku?" she asked. Miroku immediately pasted a fake smile over the frown and waved his hand in apology.
"Nothing's wrong! But we had better catch up. Wouldn't want to lose half the group, would we?" Miroku started off, headed after Kagome and Inuyasha.
"I suppose not..." Sango's words left her mouth slowly as Miroku disappeared from her sight. Sango prepared to follow, leaving the tree slowly. She looked back down at the scuff marks made by Miroku the previous night. Something caught her eye, something she hadn't seen before. She bent down for a closer look.
Very faintly, only in one place, was a spot. It glistened in the sun and flashed dark red and green at her. She dabbed at it with her finger as she realized...
"Blood..." she said slowly. But only a very small spot.
"Lady Sango! Come quick!" Miroku called from the trees ahead of her. It sounded urgent. Or was he only joking around? Still, she got up and ran off towards the voice, storing the spot of blood in the back of her mind.
"What's going on?" she asked when she arrived on the road. The rest of the group were standing and Kagome was talking to a young girl.
"Of course we can help you." Kagome smiled as she said this. Inuyasha frowned.
"We don't have time to go helping people! She can find help in some other place!" The girl was near tears by now and Kagome was glaring daggers at Inuyasha. "I mean it!"
"Inuyasha, SIT!" Kagome yelled. Inuyasha was pulled to the ground. The young girl smiled, clearly amused. The simplest things would amuse young children.
"What's wrong?" Sango asked Miroku as Inuyasha struggled to sit up.
"The girl says there is a demon in her home. We found her very frantic and near tears moments before you got here." Miroku explained. Sango nodded her head.
"Come on Inuyasha, it won't take long!" Kagome pleaded. Inuyasha turned away.
"We have better things to do! We don't need to help her and I'm not going!" Inuyasha started walking off in the opposite direction.
"Jerk..." Kagome muttered under her breath. She turned to the child. "We'll help you out. Are you coming?" she asked Miroku, Sango and Shippo.
"Of course Lady Kagome." Miroku said. Sango nodded and Shippo jumped up on Kagome's shoulders. The young girl smiled.
"Is this your home?" Kagome asked when the girl stopped walking. She nodded her head.
"And you say you saw a demon?" Miroku pondered, rubbing his chin in thought. "It can't be very large as it is a small house. It shouldn't be too much of a threat."
"What's that?" Sango asked, turning to look on the side of the house. She saw a small, dark figure escape though the window and into the tree nearby. "That was it!"
The gang wandered over to the tree and looked up as a slight hissing sound escaped the higher branches.
"That must be the demon then?"
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, turning around to face the dog-eared hanyou. "I thought you weren't gonna come?"
"Yeah, but knowing you, you'd probably get into all sorts of trouble." Kagome frowned upon hearing this.
Inuyasha pulled the Tetsusaiga from it's sheath and chopped at the tree, sending a fair amount of branches and leaves flying to the ground, as well as the demon.
"Scrawny little thing." Inuyasha commented when it rose from the ground.
"I'll take it from here." Miroku said, stepping in front of Inuyasha. Inuyasha frowned, but let him pass without a word.
"Wind Tunnel!" Miroku cried while pulling the blue beads from around his wrist and thrusting his hand forward. As soon as he did so, a searing pain shot up his arm and threatened to make him collapse. Miroku did his best to not show it, but he knew he looked very strained. And the demon didn't even reach his waist height-wise. Sango saw a drop of the same liquid she saw back at their campsite fall to the ground. Then another one.
"There..." Miroku said, falling to the ground, his staff skidding out of reach. He clumsily replaced the cover and the beads, pulling them taunt around his wrist in hopes to ease the pain. He was breathing heavily and sweating. Why did that small task take so much out of him and send him in so much pain.
"Miroku, are you" Sango started, crouching down next to Miroku. He put a hand up to silence her.
"I'll be fine, just a bit tired." he said, stretching to retrieve his staff from where it had fallen. Sango got to it first.
"You're not alright." she said, handing the staff to the monk. She sent her hand on the ground, landing it next to the blood drops. "Let me see your hand." She made a grab for his wrist, but Miroku pulled away and rose to the standing position. He also made sure his foot ground the blood drops well into the dirt beneath his feet before taking a step. Sango stood up after him.
"I'll be fine, I'm just tired." Miroku stated, griping his staff in his right hand, even though it hurt terribly.
"Are we ready yet?" Inuyasha asked. He was getting impatient.
"Why are you in such a rush?" Kagome asked, watching Miroku as he slowly made his way over to the rest of the group. It worried her.
"That feeling is back. I wanna get well away from here." he mumbled as he headed down the road. The others followed. If Inuyasha wanted to leave, there was really no stopping him. The girl thanked them for ridding her house of the demon and they took their leave.
Awhile on when the sun was high up in the sky, Kagome insisted that they stop and eat, persuading Inuyasha with a cup of Ramen. He gave in instantly and they all sat down near a small creek they had come across.
"Miroku, aren't you hungry?" Kagome asked when the monk took no food.
"I'm not really that hungry right now." Miroku said, setting down his staff against the tree and then sitting down himself.
"You really should eat, you seem weak." Sango commented, sitting down next to him on his right. Miroku made eye contact and noticed she seamed a bit worried.
"I'll be fine." he reassured her. His stomach growled slightly, but he really didn't feel like eating anything at the moment. He didn't even feel like moving. He looked over to Sango and noticed how close she was. In his hand's reach, in fact. Yet he even passed up the urge to grope her, afraid it would bring more pain to his hand. It felt stiffer to him.
Sango noticed he wasn't reaching for her either.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"I'm fine..." Miroku looked at the water. Straining himself, he rose to his feet and moved closer to the water, dunking his feet in.
Sango watched him move, then watched his staff fall to the ground, as his robes had brushed past it when he stood up. Miroku took no notice.
Sango picked it up and set it back. As soon as she did, she felt a warm liquid trickle down her fingers. The same she had seen at the campsite. Only this time, there wasn't just a few drops. There was a huge smear of it across her hand and, she noticed, on his staff too. He had been holding the staff with is cursed hand!
"Let me see your hand." Sango said, moving over to the monk and grabbing it before he could pull it away. She turned it so his palm faced the sky in her own hands and stared down. The same blood liquid she had seen on the staff was oozing out of the cover he kept over the void. Only in one spot.
"When were you planning on telling us this?" she asked, fingering the place that was leaking the liquid.
"Ow!" Miroku pulled his hand away as a searing pain shot up from his hand.
"You're not okay, are you?"
"I'm fine, it's nothing." Miroku said, turning away from Sango. A few more drops escaped from his palm and landed on his robes.
Well, that's chapter two! Please Review as it would be much appriciated!
Miroku: Why do you have to put me in so much pain!
Me: Deal with it!
Chapter three is coming soon, so hang tight!