That Night At the Inn

Dread

"The twins are dead." Kanna told Naraku emotionless.

"The monk and demon slayer?" he asked, his face calm.

"Separated." Kanna almost whispered.

Naraku's face broke out into a cold smile. "Perfect. Your new brother has finished maturing by now. Send him after Kagome." Naraku would go give the instructions himself normally, but he didn't want to get near his newest incarnation. He wasn't afraid of it. Just as he did with Kanna and Kagura, he held his heart in his hands.

But this incarnation was just so...unpleasant. Better to let the unfeeling Kanna deal with him.

XXXXXXXX

"So this happens every month?" Kouga asked as he and InuYasha sat around a fire InuYasha had built up purely from habit.

"Every month." InuYasha nodded.

"Wow." Kouga shook his head. "I can't imagine."

InuYasha nodded, his black hair swaying a bit as he did so.

With all that was going on, he had completely forgotten about the new moon and the time of complete vulnerability he would have to endure because of it.

Luckily, Kouga already knew about the night and didn't mind slowing down and preparing a safe place for InuYasha to lay low until sunrise.

He couldn't wait to get back to Kagome. Every moment he was away, he only wanted to see her more.

And that need to be around her only grew stronger as his humanity became more prominent and he had to deal with the force of emotions he normally didn't have to deal with.

Not that he minded. The sweet, warm glow of affection he felt for Kagome was only pleasant. It was the worry that she wasn't around that intensified to almost a painful degree.

But it was far better to lay low when he was human. He wasn't too worried. He would be back with her soon. Until then, he comforted himself with the knowledge that she was safe on her side of the well.

XXXXXXXX

It was the new moon.

Kagome scanned the dark sky with worry. 'dark' of course being a relative term. The vast expanse of stars that glowed in a magnificent array of colors was hardly 'dark'.

But that wasn't the point.

It was the new moon and InuYasha was out there somewhere. She hadn't spent a moonless night without him since they met. Being away from him now, not knowing what had happened to him or why it was taking him so long to get back to her made her nervous.

After the sun had set and she noticed that the moon wasn't rising, she became determined to stay up and wait for Sesshomaru. He hadn't been back all day so she was sure he would be coming back soon.

Laying asleep, her head resting on Kagome's lap, was Rin. Kagome was keeping her hands busy braiding flowers from the meadow into her hair.

Kagome's hair already had a few, badly braided strands with flowers; Rin's handiwork. The little girl had fallen asleep while Kagome braided her hair in turn.

Kagome didn't really mind. Despite the moon not being out tonight, Kagome could see fine enough. Her eyes were used to pitch black of the past. Besides, braiding could just as easily be done by feel alone.

As she was working in the last flower on the last braid on Rin's head, she heard the soft padding of footsteps on soil coming from her right.

Kagome turned her head and saw the familiar silhouette of Sesshomaru walking towards her.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked softly. Whether it was to prevent the noise from waking Rin or just because the night was so still it seemed to soften everything in it, Kagome wasn't sure.

"I was waiting for you." Kagome told him. "I wanted to talk to you about going back to InuYasha."

No expression came across the demon lord's face to indicate his emotions on that, but he didn't respond so Kagome was sure that, whatever it was he was feeling, it wasn't favorable to her.

"I know you don't like him." she continued, not looking away she tied off Rin's last braid. "But I really feel like I should be with him."

The movement of her hands drew Sesshomaru's gaze down to Rin's prone form.

Kagome followed them and smiled a bit. "I appreciate what you're doing for me, it's...nice." She could almost feel the disapproval of being called nice radiating from his direction. But I really think it would be best for me to stay with InuYasha."

"Wake up Rin." Sesshomaru ordered suddenly.

"But she just fell asleep." Kagome protested. "Why?"

"Something is coming." he said simply, without any emphasis.

"What?" Kagome cried softly.

Sesshomaru ignored her and walked, instead, over to a spot nearer to Ah-Uhn's sleeping figure. "Jaken. Wake up." The demon lord punctuated the command with a swift kick that sent the little green imp rolling for a few feet.

"Wait, you're serious." Kagome stood, cradling Rin to her chest. Still being so young, the movement didn't awake the girl. She merely adjusted her body to fit the new position and kept sleeping.

"M-my lord." Jaken stood up, looking slightly dizzy from being awakened in such a way but not all that surprised.

"Something is coming." he repeated to the tiny demon as Ah-Uhn roused itself, curious about the noise. "Woman. Come here."

Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she walked over to Sesshomaru.

Rin moaned a bit, starting to awake because no one was bothering to lower their voices anymore.

"Get on Ah-Uhn." Sesshomaru ordered her.

Feeling very exposed and helpless without her arrows, and without InuYasha, Kagome didn't protest as she did just that.

"W-what?" Rin yawned as Kagome situated the two of them on the great dragon's back. It wasn't until she got herself and Rin secured that Ah-Uhn stood and walked to Sesshomaru's side.

"What is coming, my lord?" Jaken asked but received no reply.

Kagome sniffed the air as a breeze suddenly brought a foul stench into the clearing. "What is that?"

"A demon." Sesshomaru said. "It also carries Naraku's scent."

Kagome felt her blood chill at that simple, unemphasized statement. "Naraku? But how...? How much do you think he knows?"

"In situations such as these," Jaken spoke up looking unexpectedly serious, "it is best to assume the worst and react as if he knows all."

"Even..." Kagome reached one hand to her belly, uneasy.

"Especially." Jaken nodded.

"Stay out of my way." Sesshomaru told her coldly which Kagome imagined was the Sesshomaru version of saying 'stay out of danger'. Still, why did the guy insist on being so rude?

"My lord?" Rin spoke up softly, her sleep fogged brain having trouble keeping up with everything that was suddenly happening. She didn't look scared, exactly, but she did look worried.

Sesshomaru didn't respond to her but turned his attention to upwind, where the scent was wafting from.

And it was getting stronger and more rancid.

XXXXXXXXX

"Thank you, Kaede." Sango took the cup of tea the elder woman offered with a smile. Her hands were bandaged with numbing herbs stuffed into them. Though she had only had her hands in the mystical fire for a moment, the burns were still quite severe. Still, she couldn't have let the magical blaze destroy her Hiraikotsu.

"Are you alright?" Kaede asked again. The burns had been quite painful.

Sango nodded. "As long as you can feel the burns, they aren't too bad." she quoted her own father. "It's when they stop burning that you have a problem."

Kaede nodded to the wisdom of this. "Why are you alone? Where are the others?"

Sango shrugged sadly, setting the tea down. Though it had cooled for a while, the cup was still a bit too hot for her scorched skin. "I'm not sure. I lost Miroku, I haven't heard from Kagome or InuYasha in while which I hope is a good thing. I feel like we're being separated so we can be picked off one at a time at Naraku's leisure."

Shippo, sitting beside Kaede, looked unhappy at that. "But aren't Kagome and InuYasha on the other side of the well."

"I sure hope so." Sango tried to smile at the kit but it didn't come out quite as hopeful as she intended. "I need to leave first thing in the morning. So I can try to find Miroku."

Kaede nodded as if she expected this. "Very well. But I'll make you something to help you sleep tonight so your arms can have time to heal."

"Thanks again." Sango smiled, more genuinely this time, at the elder woman. She was always there when they needed her. It was help that was precious and irreplaceable. Sango would have to remember to give her a proper thanks and maybe even a gift of some sorts when this was over.

"I smell something." Shippo announced bringing Sango from her thoughts.

"Is it a demon?" she asked him.

"Uh-uh." Shippo shook his head. "It smells...familiar though."

"What-"

Sango was cut off by the sound of the bamboo screen being opened.

Everyone turned to see who was there.

XXXXXXXX

"Sir! Over here!" the young man called out as he ran to the shoreline of the lake.

As he ran, the light from his torch fell upon the prone figure of a man, washed up on the ground. He was tangled in the reeds and weeds of the waters edge.

"It's a holy man!" the man called out as he knelt at Miroku's side.

Miroku's teeth were gritted against the pain that wracked his body. He had none of the future medicine that Lady Kagome always kept handy and, he admitted now, it was a medicine he had come to depend on.

Was this it then? Was he doomed to die now?

The sound of more footsteps running and the light of more torches was suddenly all around him.

"Monk, what's wrong?" he heard someone ask but he couldn't bring the words to answer.

Whatever Naraku had done to the poison in those poisonous insects, it amplified the pain it caused him to heights he hadn't experienced before.

"He's gripping his arm." Someone called out.

"Let me examine it, good monk." the closest voice said.

"No!" Miroku shouted before he could touch him. "Leave my arm be! Don't touch it."

"Has he been possessed?" someone else asked.

"He's injured." the village headman announced. "We'll take him back to the village and treat him there. You four, go fetch something to carry the monk on."

"Yes, sir." four voices echoed before Miroku heard the sound of footsteps running away.

"What happened to you?" the headman asked, his voice calm and unafraid.

"Poison." Miroku forced out. "Insect...poison."

"Insect poison?" the headman repeated, he sounded a bit surprised. "You're certain?"

"Demon insect." Miroku nodded as the lightning hot pain shot up through his arm. What would happen when it reached his heart?

"Sir, will this do?" someone called out.

"Perfectly." the headman nodded once in approval. "Monk, don't worry. We'll take you back to the village and treat you there. Let us take of you."

Miroku tried to protest, to order then to leave him there.

Both his grandfather and his father had died from the cursed tunnel in their hands. It overwhelmed the power of the seal then sucked them in and collapsed causing a crater deeper than he was tall.

Miroku had no idea what would happen were he to die of anything other than the tunnel. He didn't know if the tunnel would cause a crater again when he did or if it would die with him. If the former, he would sooner die out here away from anyone he could hurt by taking with him.

But the words just couldn't battle their way out his throat past the pain.

And, feeling helpless and full of dread, Miroku felt them maneuver his body onto a solid length of wood then carry him back to their village.

Too more people.