Boom. More story.
In Time
II
The rest of the day passed without incident. Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and Shippo all chatted about random things as they tried to pass the time, while Inuyasha commanded them from the front. He mostly didn't talk except to tell them to speed it up or complain about the bathroom breaks the others frequently indulged in throughout the day.
To say Inuyasha was always grumpy was a bit of an understatement. About a month ago, he had run off into the woods without a single word. The others had decided against following when they spotted one of Kikyo's shinidamachu floating lazily in the same direction. They began to worry however, when the hanyou didn't come back for two days. Just when they were about to go searching for him, Inuyasha reappeared through the trees taking up his position at the front and said, "Time to leave." He never said anything about his absence or what happened to cause him to be gone that long, and the others decided not to bother him about it. They thought it best to just leave it alone. But ever since his unusual side trip, he had been more irritable and brash than usual.
Kagome had thought long and hard about it and the only conclusion she could come up with was that something rough must have happened between Inuyasha and Kikyo. Usually, whenever they ran into the zombie-like priestess, Inuyasha actually got a mood-boost. He would still be brash, but he would typically act more felicitously towards his companions.
His demeanor as of late was contrary to the norm that had been established in the past. Though he was no less rude than normal, he seemed a bit irritated about something. As if a bad dream was constantly gnawing on the back of his conscience.
Kagome snapped out of her musings as they neared a fork in the road. The road they had been following since leaving Edo had been taking them west. Now the split would force them to go either north or south. She looked into the distance in both directions to weigh their options.
Tall ominous mountains surrounded by a dark forest loomed ahead to their right. The snowcapped peaks were hidden from view by black storm clouds that swirled and clashed menacingly in mock battle as dangerous flashes of lightning exploded against the rocky cliffs below.
To their left, the trees became scattered to make way for endless fields and rice paddies. Sunlight glistened off of the water in the fields and birds pecked at frogs and small fish that had made their home in the farmer's crop.
Obviously, her first choice would have been the serene picture to her left. But as Kagome looked on at the nightmarish painting of nature to her right, she had a foreboding sense that north would be their destination. She vaguely heard her companions discussing their route when she felt a familiar pulse coming from the mountains.
She frowned slightly. 'That's a jewel shard alright. But something doesn't feel right about those mountains.' Another flash of lightning erupted from the black cumulonimbus perched atop the mountain range. It crashed into a rock face causing a huge wave of boulders and debris to tumble perilously down the mountainside. The young miko narrowed her clear blue eyes. 'We'll have to be extra cautious and on guard. Something ancient and dangerous dwells there, and I get the feeling it's not in the mood for pleasant conversation.' Though her miko skills were slightly lacking she could still feel an old power residing in the dark recesses of the mountains. It caused a chill to run up her spine, and she shivered involuntarily.
Sango noticed her friend staring intently in the opposite direction of the one the group had just decided to traverse. Walking over to her, the demon slayer put her hand on Kagome's shoulder. The younger girl jumped, surprised by the soft touch after being in such a pensive state. "Kagome? What's wrong? You ok?"
Kagome blinked and shook her head. "Sorry Sango, I was just thinking."
"Oh, ok well let's head out, so we can get in some more distance before stopping for the night." Sango turned away to head south with the others when Kagome stopped them.
"No wait!"
"What now woman?" Inuyasha slouched and turned around to level a bored albeit slightly annoyed look at Kagome.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh get over yourself Inuyasha. I said wait because I think we need to go that way instead." She pointed north at the stormy mountains.
The rest of the group looked north and then back at Kagome, and then north again. Shippo looked scared, Miroku appeared thoughtful and Sango had a mixed look of surprise and confusion. Inuyasha stared at Kagome as if she had just sprouted wings, a curly tail and a pig snout.
"What? Hey I don't want to go that way either but unfortunately for us, there's a jewel shard in there somewhere." Kagome huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was under the impression you wanted to find jewel shards Inuyasha, but if you don't want to go in the spooky mountains because you're scared, that's fine with me. We'll just let Naraku have that one then?"
The hanyou growled in irritation. "I'm not scared of some stupid ole mountains, wench. You didn't tell me there was a jewel shard in there, so I thought I'd be nice an' take the scenic route! Don't go gettin' bitchy at me when you're the one who didn't speak up."
Deciding that bickering with him wasn't really worth her time, Kagome turned on her heel and began walking up the northern path. Sango followed with her little fire cat Kirara perched on her shoulder.
Inuyasha fumed. "Hey don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you, ya bitch!" He made to move towards her when Miroku's hand appeared on the half demon's arm, causing him to turn on the monk. "Miroku, I'm kinda in the middle of something, what is it?"
"I would advise against angering her Inuyasha. She is clearly done with the conversation, and I assume you don't want your face to become reacquainted with Mother Earth, am I correct?" Miroku kept his hand on Inuyasha's arm, giving it a slight squeeze in warning, as his amethyst eyes pleaded with his friend to drop it.
"Feh, whatever. If she wants to play the silent game then fine. See if I care." He shrugged off Miroku's hand and trudged up the path behind the others.
Miroku shook his head and smiled. 'I suppose he'll never learn.' He took up his normal position beside the beautiful demon slayer, mischievously eyeing her backside. 'I suppose I never will either.' He chuckled to himself as his hand snuck up behind Sango. 'I suppose it's like the saying goes though; ignorance is bliss.' And as his hand found the firm bottom it had been questing for, he smiled dreamily as he awaited the punishment that he knew was forthcoming.
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