Okay, I bet you're all just dying to know what the evil plan is, right? Well, you'll have to be patient. I'm not telling.

Otulia: Neither Kinkatia, nor I, is Rumiko Takahashi.

Courage Returning

One week with virtually no demons to fight, no jewel shards detected, and nothing to do. Unless you were Kagome or Sango, that is. The taijiya had been busy training her miko friend in the art of self-defense, starting with the simplest thing of all; pressure points.

"You learn quickly, Kagome," Sango said with a smile. "But let's see if you can put it to use."

Kagome blinked, confused. "How?"

Sango's smile turned into a smirk as she lifted her voice and called, "Miroku, could you come here please?"

Kagome caught on to her plan and grinned when she heard the monk reply, "Coming, Sango dearest!"

Boy was he in for a surprise.

The sun set on a small group making slow progress in setting up camp. Two of the group members, a young man in purple robes, and a hanyou clad in red, were slumped against trees, unable to move. The hanyou was complaining loudly, having regained the use of his mouth, but the monk was silent, watching as the two girls got everything in order. An air of triumph followed them as they moved around, further irritating the hanyou.

A young kitsune looked from the girls to the guys, and trotted over to the monk curiously. "Hey, Miroku," he said, "what happened to you and InuYasha?"

"Lady Kagome was practicing a new skill of hers," he replied with a sigh, accompanied by a string of curses from InuYasha.

Kikyo watched them from a distance, emotions conflicting inside her. But she pushed them away, concentrating on the puzzle that lay before her. She needed to know what had caused InuYasha's sudden loyalty to her reincarnation, for it could prove to be an import factor down the road ahead. It could be nothing at all, or it could be something serious. However, things within the group seemed to have returned to normal. But still, there was something about the whole situation that bothered her...
She approached her master carefully, sensing his weariness and seeing the flash in his glowing eyes that warned of the danger she was in. "You called for me?"

Those crimson eyes turned on her, gleeful. "I have another task for you," he told her levelly. His attention flicked to a shadow in the corner, and someone stepped out of the shadows into the open, silver eyes glistening with some untold thought that sent chills up her spine.

"You will take Akemiro and find InuYasha. You are to keep the monk and demon slayer occupied while he takes care of InuYasha and the miko."

She nodded, and backed out of the room, her brother following.

Okay, hit me, it's super-short. But I had to end it here! Really! Consider this a filler chapter, and I promise that the next chapter will be both longer, but much, much better. And I'll upload it tomorrow afternoon, I promise!