Chapter Three: Some Time Apart
Sorry it took so long…I had almost the whole chapter written, and then I lost the flash drive that I have literally everything on. And since I last backed up my flash drive on my computer in January…I lost a lot. So again, sorry, but on top of school, there was really nothing I could do about it.
Oh well. This way, at least, I might be able to write an even better chapter!
And a question for readers! In the Japanese version, how do the main characters address Kaede? Kaede-sama? Kaede-obaa-san? Baba (in Inuyasha's case, I guess)? If you know, please tell me!
Japanese Word of the Day: kyuukei – a break or a rest
-- -- --
Feudal Era, Late MayInuyasha liked tangible things. He liked demons because he could see them, fight them, defeat them. He liked feeling the wind rush past his face when he ran quickly enough for the world around him to blur into indistinct patches of color and sound. He liked that warm smell that was a unique combination of his and his friends' personal scents.
What he didn't like was nameless danger lurking in the shadows. He didn't like empty gestures. He didn't like problems that couldn't be confronted and overcome with pure will. And, above all, he didn't like words.
Well, sure, he used words, but what good were words when it was so easy to speak falsely or to hear the wrong thing?
Action. Solid things that definitely existed in the mortal world. Things that had real meaning. Only those, in his mind, mattered.
That was why Inuyasha normally liked walls and barriers. They could be frustrating as hell, yeah. But every wall has a weak spot. Every barrier has a flaw that can be hammered at until it shatters. Even perfect barriers can be broken as long as the invader is strong enough.
But not this wall.
With an angry huff, the half-demon batted a leafy branch out of his face. He was comfortably sprawled out on a tree limb high above the ground, his back supported by the thick trunk, one foot carelessly dangling in the air. He hugged Tessaiga to his chest to prevent it from catching on the many smaller twigs surrounding him. The moon glittered on the leaves' smooth surfaces, gilding them with silver and scattering scraps of light over his red-clothed form.
This is fucking stupid, he thought with a scowl, feeling confusion and irritation battling for supremacy in his mind. How could this be possible? How was it possible to try to think about something…and have your mind meet some kind of wall that simply wouldn't let you? And how would it be possible to take a sword to that kind of wall?
Tightening his arms around Tessaiga, he stared off into the night sky visible between dark sprays of leaves. He had never really noticed the wall. Not until tonight. Before, whenever his mind had balked at looking beyond the wall, he'd shrugged it off. Most of the time, he didn't really want to think about what lay on the other side anyways.
But for some reason, tonight he had noticed. And rather than being secretly relieved, he had gotten pissed off.
Maybe this business with the wall had been different tonight because…well, just about everything else that had happened that day had been different already; why not add one more thing to the list?
When had all the strangeness started? That morning? Maybe. For once, Kagome had actually forgotten herself enough to drag Kikyou's name into an argument. Most of the time, the two of them simply danced around the issue (his ears flattened at the idea of calling Kikyou an "issue"). But today, Kagome had sunken in with both teeth and refused to let go until she was close to tears.
Stupid thing to do, too, he thought, shifting uncomfortably on the tree branch. The moon, having reached its peak and now beginning its descent into the great waters in the distance, seemed to stare disapprovingly at him. We both know it only upsets her when we talk about Kikyou. Why did she have to bring her up at all, especially when we were already so pissed off?
And later that day had come Hanako's warning. Hanako's…prophecy.
Inuyasha shuddered, then automatically looked around with self-conscious golden eyes. Another that he didn't like: the spirit world. When he had looked into Hanako's eyes and seen the gods gazing back at him, looking deep into abandoned corners of his soul that even he hadn't known existed, he had almost panicked. Gods—true gods—could not be killed. They couldn't be argued with. Before the gods, mortals like him were powerless, and he hated being powerless. And then, when stupid Sango had put out the idea that maybe he was the chosen one that Hanako had been talking about…
It's a stupid idea. For fuck's sake, I'm just a half-demon! The gods didn't bother protecting me when I was an orphaned little brat. As if they'd suddenly start caring enough to make me their savior, he mused bitterly, feeling the last word flare with a scornful burst of light as he thought it.
And, just when he'd thought the day couldn't get any stranger, one of Kikyou's soul stealers had shown up. Not that he hadn't been expecting it. Kikyou would have been able to figure out that he had been involved in Naraku's disappearance and would have tracked him here. Not only had she done that; she said she had also sensed a disturbance in the space that existed between the mortal and spirit worlds. That, he assumed, meant that she had somehow sensed Hanako's strange behavior as well.
None of that had really come as a surprise. That was simply how Kikyou was. Somehow, she always knew what was going on. Somehow, she was always one step ahead of him. He had come to expect that.
But when he had gone to meet her, his gut churning uncomfortably with guilt as always, things had not quite gone normally. Sure, they had discussed Naraku, offering each other whatever information they had. As usual, Kikyou had reminded him in that subtle yet painfully blunt way of hers of the promise he had made to follow her into hell once Naraku was dead.
But something extra had happened this time. Something that had never happened before. Something they had come so close to doing so many times…
He felt his cheeks flush with a shamed, guilty heat, and he briskly launched himself out of the tree, bursting through a layer of leaves into the moonlit night and landing assuredly on his feet. That thing that had happened with Kikyou…"that" was probably why the wall had suddenly started bothering him tonight. After the two of them had finally parted company that night, the atmosphere between them charged with even more tension than usual, his mind had fallen into a storm of angry self-reprieves and guilty retorts:
What do you think you're doing? Have you forgotten that there are two women you're supposed to be looking out for? Even if you aren't much of a thinker, when dealing with this you can't just rush in and do whatever the hell you feel like doing at the moment! You have to actually consider your actions, or else you end up doing things like this! Ever consider you might have ended up hurting someone tonight because you were being a stupid ass?
And up popped the wall. Somehow, he'd found himself thinking, Why the hell does it matter if I just do what I want? Almost immediately, some long-forgotten, sentimental part of his mind that was apparently horrified that he would dare to think such a thing angrily reprimanded him, Because I'm responsible! I owe her…I owe them both! And one of them will end up hurt.
But why should you care if one ends up hurt? a voice seemed to whisper to him. Only one really matters to you…
Inuyasha had wanted to somehow retort to that voice, but he found his mind wandering in circles. After all, didn't the voice have a point? He could only choose one, so only one really mattered…
He shook his head as he tucked the Tessaiga back into the waist of his hakama. He had a strong, but somehow indefinable feeling that those thoughts were just wrong…but, in that case, what was right?
That, he was sure, was what lay behind the wall, but some reason he simply couldn't get himself past it. He had the strangest feeling that something big would happen if he crossed it. There would be some huge, unfathomable change in his life if he broke through…and it probably wouldn't be a good one.
"This is stupid," Inuyasha told himself, locating the distant human-and-fire scent characteristic of any village. He set off at a run towards the village, muttering curses under his breath. Why did he deserve all of this trouble anyways? Sure, he'd been one hell of an asshole in this life…but his only crime had been his lack of trust in Kikyou those many years ago.
'Only?' a sarcastic voice in his mind scoffed. That lack of trust ended up killing her! After claiming that you loved her, after hearing her pledge her life to you, you still were so stupid and distrustful that you didn't even stop to think when Naraku disguised himself as her! 'Your only crime?' Don't make me laugh!
Inuyasha gritted his teeth and forced himself to run faster, faster, faster, so fast that the roar of the wind rushing past him drowned out that nasty, confident voice. I know that, he replied angrily. I may be one hell of an idiot, but I know. It was my lack of faith that ended up killing Kikyou. It was all my fault that she died. It's my fault that things ended up all screwed up this way.
He was starting to lose his breath, yet he kept running at a breakneck speed, sensing and dodging obstacles more by instinct rather than by sight. Inuyasha could feel his thoughts settle into that timeworn cycle that wound endlessly between guilt and hope, between yearning for the past and hopes for the future, between the two women that both built up his world and tore his mind to pieces.
Kagome and Kikyou. There shouldn't have been any choice. He ought to have chosen Kikyou without a second thought. He loved her, curse it! Didn't that mean he would automatically choose her above all other things?
But life could never be that fucking easy, could it? No, it couldn't. Fate simply had to toss a girl at him who didn't know how to take care of herself and whose need for protection he simply couldn't make himself ignore, not even for Kikyou's sake. And of course she simply had to be the selfless type who kept saying that it was his own choice to make, that he should go to Kikyou, even though they both knew that she would become some bloodthirsty demon's meal the second he turned his back on her.
But the worst part of it all was that although he knew that he should resent Kagome for making life so difficult for him, he simply couldn't resent her, because her mere presence somehow made the world seem a little simpler. A little brighter. A little cleaner. Just…a better place to be.
That effect of hers certainly wasn't tangible, but it was one of the few intangible things in his life that he actually liked.
Obeying some internal signal, Inuyasha came to a halt, panting and wiping a bead of nervous sweat from his temple. He looked around and blinked in surprise. Somehow, incredibly, his run had brought him directly to the front gate of the headman's manor. He breathed in deeply, sifting out his friends' scents from the smells of smoke and sweat and hay. Something inside him seemed to uncoil and relax, yet at the same time he felt strangely jumpy. Quietly, he leaped over the wall wrapping around the house and landed in a crouch next to the small pond in the headman's gardens.
"But what the hell can I do?" he whispered as he straightened, suddenly feeling weak and hating himself for it.
He could hear the breathing of every person in the house now. Everyone was peacefully asleep. Everyone but one person, whose breathing was quiet but irregular and shallow. Inuyasha had a pretty good feeling that he knew the identity of that one person, laying awake through the silent night, alone with only her own thoughts for company.
Whatever I do, I end up hurting someone, he thought in frustration, stepping onto the porch and sliding open the paper door. He heard Kagome's breath catch with surprise, then settle into a falsely even rhythm that didn't fool him and that she knew wouldn't fool him. But he didn't acknowledge it. He never confronted her about staying up for him and didn't ever plan on doing so, because that choice would lead to decisions he doubted he'd ever be prepared to make. She knew that, too.
He walked silently to the room the headman had given their small traveling band, locating a corner to occupy for the remainder of the night. A screen had been set up in the middle of the room, behind which Sango and Shippou slept while Kagome tried desperately to feign unconsciousness. Miroku, slouched over in sleep in the opposite corner, snorted awake and opened one eye. The monk's clear violet eye studied him in that vaguely disapproving way that Miroku could call up when he was upset but didn't want to cause a fuss. Then, the eye closed again, and he fell back asleep.
Inuyasha was torn between resentment toward the monk and gratitude that the man was still alert enough to notice intruders in the night. He settled for baring his teeth at Miroku's dimly lit form before settling himself into his corner. That's the problem with people, he decided as he hugged the Tessaiga to his chest. They always expect you to do the "right" thing. Well, how the fuck are you supposed to the "right" thing when all of your options are wrong?
-- -- --
"We are about to die," Saki whispered, her hand clenching nervously in her husband's sleeve. He could feel her shaking as she scooted into a corner of the room and dragged him along with her. "Husband, we are about to die."
Chitose was about to agree with her when his pride as village headman reasserted itself. Instead, he scoffed and shook off her trembling hand. "Do not say such foolish things, wife," he told her airily, coming to his feet and nodding at the paper screen door. "You must not allow yourself to be frightened into senselessness by some mere, strange noises—"
"Strange things have been happening ever since they arrived," she hissed at him, still scooting toward the corner of the room furthest from the door. "Hanako-dono's odd behavior, those strange lights that appeared last evening, that noise of running feet that the villagers heard late, late in the night—"
"Do not be so narrow-minded as to blame newcomers for these strange events," he said firmly, hoping his words did not convey his own lack of faith in their visitors. "It is hardly fair to attribute to them what may be sheer coincidence."
Saki glared at him, about to make a retort. In that instant, the couple suddenly heard an enraged, incoherent roar that sounded something like, "Oooooooo-iiiiii-aaaaAAAAAAA!" Instead of replying, she shrieked and covered her head, collapsing into a quivering heap on the floor. "Husband, husband, do you not see, we are about to be destroyed by that group of savage killers that you invited into our home!"
Chitose had already begun to say, "Shame on you for speaking so rudely of our honored guests," when he heard an unmistakably furious and somehow feminine voice shriek, "You are DEAD, do you understand me? DEAD!" The words froze on his tongue and his face turned slowly toward the door. When the loud crashing sound of a heavy object shattering what sounded oddly like a screen door (and part of the wall as well) reverberated through the air, he squeaked involuntarily and dropped to the floor.
"I think we truly are about to die, wife," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and quaking like a child.
-- -- --
"My deepest, humblest, most heartfelt apologies," Sango apologized, half-shouting to cover her embarrassment as she bowed to the frazzled-looking headman. Hiraikotsu lay on the ground several feet away, next to an unconscious Miroku. Behind her, the remains of the screen door (and part of the wall as well) lay scattered over the once orderly garden.
"I am so sorry," she told the grass at her feet, too embarrassed to look their host in the eye. "I foolishly lost control of my temper, and I damaged your home in my thoughtlessness!"
The headman sounded oddly relieved as he reassured her, "All is forgiven, honored traveler. There is always a slight risk in offering your home to strangers, and you are clearly remorseful. Let us not allow this matter to sour our goodwill."
Sango slowly straightened out of her bow, still unable to make herself look the headman in the eye. "Yes…thank you for your graciousness." Stupid houshi-sama, she thought vindictively, furtively casting a glance in his prone body's direction. To think that he had the nerve to wake me up by taking me by the—
Her arms involuntarily rose to cross protectively over her chest. The warmth in her cheeks resurged. "We will repair the damage we've caused, however long it takes," she assured the headman, mentally vowing to make sure that the perverted monk got all the heavy work. Maybe if she tired him out enough he wouldn't have the energy to harass her for the rest of the day.
"No, no, absolutely not!" This time, the headman's voice was strangely anxious. "I…I cannot allow my guests to take on the work of servants! Leave it to me to fix this. You may continue on your journey free of guilt! I will even ask my servants to help you prepare!"
Sango raised her head, her shame fading in the face of suspicious curiosity. Was he perhaps…a bit too eager?
He smiled brightly at her, his hands fidgeting nervously with the fabric of his sleeves. "Are there any supplies you require? Would you like me to recommend you a comfortable inn to stay in this evening? Would you like me to provide you with food of any sort?" He stopped for a moment and blinked. His face paled. "I meant, of course, would you like some of our crops or perhaps a bit of our animals' meat? Would that be all right? How about we give you a brace of chickens? Two? Three?"
Sango held out her hands to stop him. "We…it would be nice to have a basket or two of some vegetables, I suppose. And we would be quite grateful if you could spare a bit of meat. Enough for an evening meal."
"Of course!" He gave a quick, too-deep bow, and scrambled away, calling out orders. "Saki! Wife, have the servants prepare our honored guests enough food to feed a demon lord"—he cast a nervous glance over his shoulder and quickly corrected himself—"to feed an emperor and all of his court!"
The demon slayer watched him leave, still frantically calling upon his servants to make preparations that she certainly hadn't asked him to make. She sighed. "What a mess." She bent down and picked up a small pebble from the grass. Standing up again, she tossed it up and down a few times before winding up and throwing. It hit Miroku precisely in the middle of his forehead, leaving a small red mark. "I know you're awake, houshi-sama," she called to him when he didn't flinch. "Get your perverted self off the ground and wait for the headman to bring our food. Do not con him out of anything else, make sure you pay him, and don't even think of coming close enough to me that I will be able to touch you with Hiraikotsu."
Having given him his orders, Sango marched away, picking up Hiraikotsu as she went, and walked back into the now door-less and partially wall-less room. Kagome and Shippou, eating their breakfast on one side of the room, looked up as she walked in. Inuyasha, sitting sullenly in a corner, flicked his ears in her direction. "That was humiliating," she told Kagome, walking over to the younger girl and sinking to the floor next to her. "To think that I damaged the home of a person kind enough to offer us shelter for the night—"
"Blame Miroku," Shippou said flatly, shoving a large chunk of rice in his mouth. Little white chunks spewed out of his mouth as he attempted to continue, "He's the pervert who got you into that mess."
"Shippou-chan, speaking with your mouth full is bad manners," Kagome said automatically, poking listlessly at her own bowl of rice.
Sango's mouth twisted angrily. Predictably, Inuyasha had taken off the moment Kikyou's soul stealer appeared last night. And he hadn't come back until long after she had fallen asleep. Judging by the shadows under Kagome's eyes, the girl had been laying awake all night, waiting for his return.
This isn't fair! she fumed, pushing Hiraikotsu away from her and picking up a bowl for herself. How can Inuyasha treat her like this? Why does she take it without fighting?
But in the back of her stubborn, at the moment anti-male mind, she knew it wasn't that simple. Inuyasha was having trouble leaving Kikyou, which was hurting Kagome, but who was Sango to say that he should stay with Kagome and hurt Kikyou instead?
'What a mess,' indeed, she thought. Life seems so much simpler when you're battling just to keep yours. I would almost welcome a demon attack at this point.
She announced into the tense silence, "The headman has made it clear, albeit very politely, that he wishes for us to leave as soon as possible. He is preparing for us 'enough food for a demon lord' and anything else that he believes will save his village from our bloodlust or whatever it may be. When he offered me 'food of any sort,' he obviously thought that we were about to demand the flesh of their seven most beautiful children. Or something similarly monstrous."
Shippou let out a short chuckle, and Kagome puffed out a small burst of air that could almost pass for a weak laugh. Inuyasha snorted and remarked to the hilt of his sword, "So much for good will."
"He wants to protect his village and himself. It's only natural in times like this," she replied to her rice bowl, refusing to look him in the eye. There was a good chance that, if she did, Inuyasha would end up with a few painful bruises in some sensitive places.
"And it proves most useful as well."
Sango stiffened as Miroku's voice floated through the massive gap in the wall Hiraikotsu had created. She still kept her eyes on her food. "What did he give us?"
"Five chickens, three baskets of vegetables, two coils of strong rope, a basket full of fine cloth and sewing material, a basket of travel clothing, a jar of burn salve—"
"By the gods!" Sango exclaimed, nearly dropping her rice bowl. "That is far too much! How could you possibly accept so much, houshi-sama? We must return at least half! Honestly, you'd think—"
She finally actually looked at Miroku and almost choked when she tried to stifle a laugh. The monk had an amusingly childish pout on his face. "This staff has been blessed with enough spells to slay low-rank demons with a mere touch," he said mournfully. "I polish it regularly and have treasured it for years. Now look at it."
Miroku's precious monk staff, a pole with one end shod in bronze and a jingling bronze ornament on the other end, was slung over his shoulders, bending slightly under the weight of six filled straw baskets and five dead chickens, strung to each other by the neck. The monk looked so heartbroken by the degradation of his precious possession that Sango could already feel her anger toward him softening.
No! Sango, you go too easy on him! It's because you fall for his little charms that he gets away with so much! She cleared her throat and said bluntly, "You deserve it. Anyways, houshi-sama, we really must return some of that. We don't need it all, and every little bit counts when a small village like this is storing supplies for the winter."
"I am well aware of that, Sango," he said, his voice even and reasonable now that Sango had made it clear that she would waste no pity on him. Even the "poor me" expression in his eyes had been replaced by a matter-of-fact resignation. "However, the headman became even more agitated when I told him that I couldn't accept it all. The poor man began babbling about sacrificing a whole cow to us—"
"His kind make me sick," Inuyasha interrupted, not making eye contact with anyone in particular. "They're so desperate to save their own skins from us 'bloodthirsty demons' or whatever they think we are that they'll do anything. Push a little harder and they'd probably offer a tender young maiden to us next."
Sango turned to Miroku just in time to see a hopeful sparkle in his amethyst eyes. "No," she said flatly, cutting him off before his mouth even opened. "Houshi-sama, are you sure you cannot return these supplies to him?"
He nodded and sighed. "I am afraid if we do, the whole village will likely spend years in terror, waiting for us to fall upon them in revenge for providing inadequate hospitality. Or something like that," he added tiredly.
"Well, what the hell do you expect to do with all that crap, then?" Inuyasha snapped, jerking his chin at the many supplies Miroku carried. "It's a fucking waste to just toss them the minute we start thinking they're too heavy."
Miroku casually suggested, "Perhaps we could take them to Kaede-sama."
The atmosphere in the hut instantly tensed. Kaede, Kikyou's younger sister but now elderly due to the fifty years between Kikyou's death and resurrection, lived in the village next to the well that led back to Kagome's time. As innocent as Miroku's suggestion seemed, they all knew that he was subtly proposing that Kagome should go home for a time.
Sango's eyes went to Kagome first. The young woman didn't look up; she kept poking at her rice as if she hadn't been listening to the conversation at all. But the tense set of her shoulders was enough to tell Sango that she had heard, at the very least, Miroku's words.
Next, she looked to Inuyasha. He was scowling openly at Miroku, who merely raised his eyebrows at the half-demon. Sango knew that look in his eyes. It was a look he used when he was upset but for some reason unable or unwilling to say so. She knew that this time, he couldn't say he was upset because it would be embarrassing for Kagome. But even though the monk remained silent, she knew that he was as angry with Inuyasha as she was.
"I think that's a good idea," she said softly. Inuyasha's head whipped toward her at those words, his golden eyes burning with resentment. Then, the half-demon looked at Shippou and Kagome. Kagome didn't seem to notice, but Shippou stared solidly back at Inuyasha.
Finally, Inuyasha snorted and stood, sliding Tessaiga back into his belt. "Since no one seems to have any better ideas."
"Why don't you think of one?" Shippou asked defiantly. He quieted, however, when Kagome gently laid her hand on his head. Apparently, Kagome didn't want things to escalate into a fight.
"I guess it's settled then," Miroku said into the silence, setting his burden on the ground. "However, I am afraid that I will not be able to carry all of these gifts all the way back to Edo myself. Inuyasha, if you would be so kind? And Kirara, may I ask your assistance as well?"
Without being asked, Kagome stood and walked to the yellow backpack she always brought with her to the Feudal Era. She drew out a ball of string—or "twine" as she called it—and a pair of knives she called "scissors." Sango took them from her friend's hands; but when she tried to give Kagome an encouraging smile, the girl merely looked away and began to clean up the room. With a sigh, Sango took two baskets and tied them together by the handles, then did the same for two more. These would be slung over Kirara's back once the cat demon transformed into her large form. She herself took the dead chickens, leaving Miroku and Inuyasha to take the last two baskets.
Moving in this same uncomfortable silence, the five of them—six, including Kirara—prepared for the journey back home. Miroku cheerily thanked the headman for his hospitality, but the traveling companions did not trade any words with each other. Too much had happened the day before.
Maybe it's a good thing that Kagome-chan is going home for a few days, for all of us, Sango reflected. A break might remind us how we ever kept ourselves from killing each other this past year.
We seem to be needing breaks like that more and more often these days.
-- -- --
Modern Era, Late May"Life officially sucks," Kagome grumbled, turning on her mother's laptop. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the understatement of a lifetime."
Kagome had returned to her own time in the late afternoon the day before. She had been immensely relieved to see the well after the most awkwardly silent journey she and her friends had ever shared. Needless to say, she had ridden Kirara, while Inuyasha ended up carrying three baskets of excess supplies instead of one. But there had been no conversation whatsoever. Inuyasha had announced a brief stop for everyone to relieve themselves. Kagome had apologized to Sango for accidentally elbowing her while shifting on Kirara's back. She had halfheartedly returned Shippou's soft goodbye. Otherwise, no words at all.
And I was depressed and pissed on top of all that, she reflected. Pissed at Inuyasha for leaving, pissed at the others for letting him leave, pissed at Kikyou for…well, for existing, really, and pissed at myself for getting pissed at them all. Kagome sighed heavily. After all, it's no one's fault that Inuyasha is still in love.
"Damn it," she whispered, feeling her heart twinge at the thought. "I didn't want to think about this yet."
She swallowed heavily, forcing back a heavy wave of self-pity, and focused on the laptop. "You have a project to finish," she firmly instructed herself. "Worry about your family tree now, and then you can worry about messy relationships. This break will do you good!"
And so Kagome continued her research, somewhat encouraged by the fact that she would not need to deal with her and Inuyasha's problems just yet.
Little did she know that this break would cause far more problems than it would help her solve.
-- -- --
Feudal Era, Early JuneShippou, being a fox demon and thus devious at heart, loved stirring up little conflicts. But he was also clever and generally knew when it would be a good idea to lie low and let the storm blow over.
And he knew that, right now, lying low was a very good idea.
"It's been five days!" Inuyasha snarled into Miroku's face, his hands twitching with the effort of suppressing some very violent gesture. The monk was standing stubbornly in the doorway of Kaede's hut, refusing to let Inuyasha leave. "I don't care what you accuse me of doing to Kagome; five days is way too long! No matter what her pathetic little heart is crying about, it doesn't change the fact that Naraku is somewhere out there, using Shikon shards and his dirty tactics to recover from his injuries! We need to find him now, and Kagome can track his shards!"
Miroku looked calmly back at Inuyasha, who was currently seconds away from pummeling him into complete senselessness. "I am perfectly aware that Naraku needs to be found. Kagome also knows this. She will come back; but she will hardly be of any use if she is still too hurt to even speak to us. Give her time."
"Fuck that!" the half-demon spat. "We need her here, now!"
Shippou watched silently from the corner as Inuyasha lifted Miroku up by the front of his robes, shoved him away from the doorway, and streaked off toward the well, all at a speed that even Shippou's demon vision could just barely track. Sango had half-risen to her feet, but in less than an eyeblink, Inuyasha was gone.
Miroku dusted off his robes where he had smacked into the wall and sighed. "I tried."
"Normally I'd blame you for not putting up more of a fight, but then how is it possible to resist an attack you can't see?" Sango sat heavily back down before the fire pit. "Do you think Kagome-chan is ready to see him?"
Miroku ran his fingers through his long bangs, setting them back in order, before seating himself on the opposite side of the fire. "Whether she is ready or not, the two of them will work something out. Either she'll force him back here, or they'll scream themselves hoarse at each other and then make up. Preferably with a kiss, but considering Inuyasha's circumstances and his weak powers of observation, that is highly unlikely."
Sango grinned weakly at the gentle insult. "You're right." She silently contemplated the flames for a few moments before murmuring, "But really, houshi-sama, I don't know how much longer any of us will be able to take this. The three of us sitting here, brewing at Inuyasha for being a complete fool. Inuyasha running back and forth between Kikyou and Kagome-chan. And poor Kagome-chan getting her heart broken and mended over and over again by that idiot. Don't you think something will eventually…break?"
Shippou stiffened in his corner. "Break"…did that mean what he thought meant?
The monk frowned into the fire and answered, "I am afraid…every living creature has its limits. Even a person as kind and forgiving as Kagome-sama may—"
"What do you know, Miroku?" Shippou interrupted, leaping to his feet. "What do you know about what might happen in the future?"
The two adults looked at him in surprise, as if they had forgotten he was there. "What do you mean, Shippou-chan?" Sango asked softly, exchanging a quick glance with Miroku.
"No one knows what will happen in the future! We only know that in the past, Kagome always forgave Inuyasha, no matter what! Why would she stop now?" he pressed, glaring into Miroku's clear violet eyes. He could feel his hands shaking with anger. Why should it stop now? Life had always gone this way before: Inuyasha acted like an idiot, then he felt bad, and Kagome forgave him! Sure, one day Inuyasha would realize that it was Kagome he should be chasing, not Kikyou…but besides that, life would always be the same!
He could tell that Miroku was choosing his words carefully as he answered, "Shippou, I know you have gone through ordeals that have aged you beyond your years. But there are still many things…" He looked at Sango again.
"…there are still many things that are beyond your comprehension," he continued softly. "Just because things have always been one way does not mean they will remain so in the future. Just because a person loves another does not mean that that person does not have limits that should not be crossed. Inuyasha and Kagome are walking an increasingly treacherous path, and I fear that soon, we will be facing some tremendous change in our lives. We can only pray that it will be a change for the better."
Biting his lip, the fox demon looked away. Miroku could be an idiot, but when he became serious, he was the smartest person Shippou knew. Since the fox demon didn't think he had ever seen the monk so serious before, that must mean that Sango was right…but no, she couldn't be right! She just couldn't be!
The gods only knew what would have popped out of his mouth next if a shadow had not suddenly blocked the light coming through the doorway. The three of them all looked up at once, instincts tingling.
Inuyasha had returned and was looming just inside the door, giving them all the most complicated glare Shippou had ever seen his life. He looked around the hut once and then let his piercing golden eyes settle on Miroku. "Monk, you come with me."
"Why?" Miroku asked automatically, even as he began to get to his feet.
"Don't argue!" Inuyasha snapped, turning sharply on his heel and marching toward the well. "You're coming with me now!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming, but why? How come you returned so quickly?" Miroku pressed, grabbing his monk staff and hurrying out of the hut.
"I need you to break a barrier," the half-demon curtly answered. "A barrier of spiritual power that my Tessaiga can't do a damn thing about."
"What kind of barrier?" Sango asked, rising to her feet as well. "What is it blocking?"
"Time," he said shortly, striding away with wide, quick-paced steps that had Miroku jogging to keep up. He moved out of sight so quickly that Shippou wondered if Sango even heard him continue, "Kagome's sealed the well."
(end)
-- -- --
Finally, the real plot begins to reveal itself! Again, I'm sorry it took so long, but at least it's finally done!
…yeah. It's been too long, so I don't remember what I used to ramble about in this section. So I'll shut up. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!