A/N: Lemon warning. You've been informed, so no whining.

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."

William Shakespeare - MacBeth

Riko wasn't the kind of woman who scared easily. She'd survived crushing poverty, an abusive spouse, ogres, and a war, but never had she felt as frightened as she did now. Tatsuo had attacked both her and Isamu when they'd left her hut earlier today, and now she was deep in the forest that bordered the mountain village, tied to a thick tree trunk.

She shuddered slightly as she gazed across the dancing flames at her captor. He was on the ground, scratching out some sort of strange symbols in the dirt and his eyes…his eyes were obsidian and glowed like polished stones in the fire light. As if sensing her scrutiny Tatsuo looked up, licked his puffy lips, and leered at her before returning to his task.

He'd yet to say anything to her and for some reason it made her even more afraid than if he'd been chattering her ear off. A silent Tatsuo was an anomaly.

The forest itself was unusually quiet that night. The night sounds she'd come to associate with the mountain were absent and everything seemed cloaked in oppressive darkness, more oppressive than the time of day dictated.

Uneasy, cold, scared, hunger, and now desperately aware that she needed to pee, she shifted against the trunk and winced. The ropes were tight, biting into her flesh, and she'd inadvertently given herself friction burns.

Gathering her courage she called out.

"Hey Tatsuo you bastard, unless you want it to get really messy over here you need to let me go long enough to relieve myself."

Her captor paused and slowly lifted those soulless eyes, pinning her to the tree. She suddenly had the feeling that it might have been a bad idea to draw his attention. She blinked and in the half second it took for her eyes to close and open he was across the campsite, invading her personal space. She flinched and steeled herself when he grinned maliciously.

"We've been neglecting you, little lamb, how rude of us."

Riko swallowed her gasp but her eyes went wide. His voice…what had happened to his voice. It echoed…like there were multiple beings speaking all at once, instead of just one man.

"Tatsuo," she breathed. His bloodless lips pulled into a smile.

"No…at least, not anymore." He ran one finger over her pale cheek and she recoiled.

"Beautiful…for a human."

"W-What are you?"

"You may call us…legion, for we are many. We have been waiting for the human to use the amulet and now we will do as our master bids. We will call out to our brothers and sisters of this land and we will feast on the souls of the taijiya's people. Our master will grow strong. He will reclaim his proper place."

Riko pushed herself up against the trunk, trying to get as far away from this thing that wore Tatsuo's face as she could. Now that he was so close she could feel the choking black aura and she could smell his stink.

What she didn't know; couldn't know, was that the sulfuric stench that wafted from the possessed man was the cloying smell of brimstone.

"W-Who is this master and why; why would he do this?"

Legion glowed with pleasure. "He is and was and will come. He crawled from the primordial ooze at the dawn of time. He is everyone and no one. He is Evil. He exists, intangible; formless. He will have shape, we will give him form. He will collect the scattered pieces of his essence, and he will rule this world and the next."

"I don't understand."

Legion didn't answer; he pushed away from the trunk and returned to his task beyond the flames.

"The hunter's moon approaches. When the moon is full and glows blood red and the time of the hunt is upon us; we will feast on the souls of the villagers. It will be glorious," he said, and bent to the earth once more.

Riko felt fear crush her soul and she started struggling against her bonds. She needed to get out of here and warn the others. She paused and took a breath, forcing herself to calm down and think. She wiggled her fingers, testing the give of the ropes and found none. Frustrated, she tried to twist her body to try and create some space, but again she was unable to pull the knots lax.

It looked like she was stuck there until that thing untied her. Riko turned towards her captor and noticed that whatever he'd been drawing in the dirt was now complete. He stood in the middle of the symbols, facing away from her and he was chanting in a language she'd never heard.

She felt her skin prickle with goose bumps. The air that swirled around had grown dangerously chilled and the wind was starting to pick up.

Riko started to struggle in earnest when she saw the earth inside Tatsuo's circle start to pulse and glow.

She almost jumped right out of her skin when someone touched her arm. She whipped her head around and almost passed out from the relief that flooded through her.

"Isamu, InuYasha," she whispered, her gaze going from one man to the other.

The ronin placed a finger to his lips, indicating that she needed to remain silent, and pulled a dagger from his belt. Deftly he worked the razor sharp blade under the ropes and sawed through the bounds. After a few moments she was free.

Quietly and swiftly Isamu grabbed her arm to pull her away, but she stayed them.

"Wait. We need to stop him. I don't know what he's doing but he told me he's going to destroy the village."

The ronin's face turned mutinous and he pulled her close enough to hiss in her ear.

"No! We have you now and getting you to safety is our priority."

A warm tingle went through her at his words and the feeling behind them but she was shaking her head 'no.' He gave her a fierce look.

"Dammit Riko, don't do this. Come now." She glared at him and his expression softened.

"Please," he begged.

She parted her lips to reply, but InuYasha's low growl interrupted them. They turned to him. He was tense and staring and if he'd truly been a dog, his hair would be standing on end and his hackles would be up. As it was, the barest hit of fang flashed when his lips curled.

"We shouldn't stay. I don't like this. It feels wrong."

Isamu looked from Riko to InuYasha and cursed. He looked back towards Tatsuo. The ground was glowing so brightly now that it was blinding and a rumble had started deep within the earth. Riko and Isamu both stumbled, but InuYasha kept his balance.

Making a split second decision the ronin grabbed Riko's arm and pulled her way. She protested and tried to pull free but he simply held her tighter. InuYasha gripped his sword tightly and backed away swiftly, never taking his eyes off of Tatsuo. He didn't turn until the other man was well out of sight.

Riko was trying to go back. "No, you don't understand! He said he was going to destroy the village! We have to find out what he's doing."

Isamu wrapped his arms around her and whispered fiercely in her ear.

"It won't matter what we find out if we're dead. I will not let you get hurt. I will not let you die, even if I have to force you to protect yourself."

She stilled in his arms and looked at him, shock and something indefinable in her eyes. InuYasha growled again, louder this time, and they turned. He pointed to the horizon.

"Look."

The stopped fighting each other and followed his hand.

"Sweet Kami," Isamu croaked.

On the horizon the moon had been blacked out by the hundreds upon hundreds of demons surging towards the light that rose through the trees.

Shaken, he said. "Let's get out of here."

InuYasha nodded, knowing that retreat was the better option and this time Riko did not protest when Isamu urged her away.

The needed to get back to the village but the hanyou couldn't help but glance over his shoulder one last time.

They were about to be in for one hell of a fight.

Miroku and Manabu were still deep in conversation when Sango left them to take advantage of the natural hot springs near the temple. She sank low into the water, watching as it lapped gently at her breasts, and let her mind review all they'd learned from the monk.

She was kin to Midoriko, the thought was almost too much to comprehend. She sighed and tried to relax and let the hot water sooth her, but she was much too tense. Miroku's playful and flirtations mood had vanished once they'd gotten deeper into conversation with the old man and he'd even tried to forbid her to walk off on her own when she'd told them that she was going to the hot springs.

She had told him in no uncertain terms that she was not some weak willed damsel that needed constant supervision, nor was she a child. She was a warrior, born of a warrior clan, and she could take care of herself.

They'd had a fight and she could still feel her anger licking at her belly. She knew that what Manabu had said about those other women had spooked him but really, after all this time, he should know better.

One of the reason's she'd fallen so hard for the hentai monk was because he always treated her as his equal. When they fought side by side he trusted her prowess and ability to hold her own against even the most powerful foe and she'd always loved that about him.

If he thought just because she'd shared her body with him that he'd be able to be dictatorial now, well he'd better re-think that ridiculous notion.

She blinked and groaned when her mind latched on to the one part of that thought that she didn't want to think about right now.

She'd made love with Miroku. Thinking about it turned the anger to heat and made her breasts tingle. Kami, she was an idiot. He was going to leave and now it was going to be that much harder to watch him walk away. She slumped deeper into the water.

She couldn't lie to herself, it had been her choice, and in all honesty she didn't regret her decision to taste heaven with him. She blushed, and boy had it been heavenly. He knew just how to touch her to set her nerve endings ablaze and when he…with his tongue…sweet Kami; she needed to stop before she became so aroused she wouldn't know what to do with herself.

Sango was so lost in her heated memories that she didn't realize that she wasn't alone any longer until she heard the splash. Her eyes shot up and she immediately squealed and crossed her arms over her private places underneath the crystal clear water.

Miroku's indigo eyes were black with desire and he smirked at her.

"Dammit, you lecherous houshi, what are you doing here?" She hissed.

"Taking a bath," he said, innocently. Her eyes narrowed and then she blushed bright red. He was standing before her in all his glory and she couldn't help but notice that he was already…excited. Damn that man, he had absolutely no shame.

He smiled knowingly when he saw the direction of her gaze and she turned away, mortified.

She sensed, rather than saw, him move and a moment later he was behind her, resting her back against his nicely muscled chest. She sucked in a breath when he pushed her unbound hair aside and whispered in her ear.

"See something you like, taijiya?"

"Pervert," she growled, but it lacked her usual censor. He responded by gently nipping the back of her neck, she felt the contact like a bolt of lighting down her spine and she rubbed her thighs together. Her breasts weren't the only place tingling now.

"You know," he said, conversationally. "There was a reason I always tried to take a peek at you while you were bathing. The thought of you in my arms, wet and deliciously naked, was another of my most cherished fantasies, and now to have the reality…well, let us say that the reality is beyond compare."

Sango felt his words like a verbal caress and her nipples puckered. He'd yet to do more than simply fold his hands over her taut stomach and rain butterfly kisses against the sensitive skin of her neck, but she already felt as if she were burning up.

Her resistance gone she snuggled back against him, bringing their bodies into closer contact, and she was gratified to hear him moan when the curves of her ass brushed his sex. Feeling mischievous, she wiggled her hips again, and felt it slide between the grooves of her cheeks. He made some sort of low, needy sound that thrilled her in a very feminine, very sexual way.

"Vixen," he murmured and trailed kisses from her pulse point, up her neck, catching the shell of her ear between his lips, and sucking lightly; she gasped. His hands on her abdomen were caressing the pale skin with light circles, going up her rib cage and down again, but never straying towards her now aching breasts.

Sango rested her hands over his and moved her backside again, this time involuntarily. He growled.

"M-Miroku," she breathed. She turned her head blindly towards him and he caught her soft lips in a deep, luxurious kiss. His tongue parted her folds and coaxed hers to follow, to come and play. She responded with all the passion in her nature and the kiss became a dual of sorts.

Kami, this man can kiss. She thought hazily as her tongue swirled around his. His hands slipped up her ribcage again and this time he didn't stopped until he'd cupped her breast. Sango shivered. She still had her hands resting on top of his and it was incredibly erotic to feel the strong joints under her fingers contract as he gently kneaded her flesh.

She moaned low in her throat and Miroku started moving his un-cursed hand downward towards the junction of her thighs. She arched against him when his fingers slipped between her folds and started a slow, steady rhythm against her clit.

He was still kissing her. Sango keened into his mouth and panted as his hand created wicked sensations throughout her body. The longer he tormented her, the closer she came to that precipice where light and sound converged and she became a senseless puddle of awareness and feeling. She was about to go over when he suddenly stopped. She whimpered and he chuckled against her lips.

"Not yet, my beautiful Sango."

"Miroku," she whined and then flushed in embarrassment. She never whined; it was so…weak. He chuckled again and turned her in his arms so she was straddling his hips. He bent his dark head and took one of her nipples in his mouth. She gasped, arched her back, and pressed the supple flesh deeper into his hot orifice.

Her hands, in the meantime started running over his chest, along his shoulders, and over his back. She started rocking her hips, grinding her core against his waiting erection. Miroku hissed and then groaned.

"Gods taijiya, the things you do to me."

He suddenly stood, lifting them out of the water and Sango instinctively wrapped her long legs around his waist. She started kissing his neck and then suddenly bit down lightly on the pulse point. Miroku staggered, but kept his balance.

She smiled, a wholly pleased female smile and dropped a kiss on his jutting chin.

"You must really, really want me bad," she whispered. He growled and managed to get them to the bank, but instead of lowering her down on her back, he sat down so that she was still on top.

She gazed at him in confusion.

"Miroku?" He leaned up and whispered hotly in her ear.

"I want you to ride me Sango. I want to see you take me deep inside your body and take your pleasure from mine."

She blushed scarlet and gazed at him with suddenly shy eyes. It had been fun teasing him a little earlier, but now she was once again reminded that it was Miroku who had the experience in this area, not her, and she was suddenly afraid that she wouldn't be good enough to satisfy him.

"M-Miroku I d-don't know…what if I'm n-no good at it?"

Miroku lightly ran his hands up and down her bare arms in a comforting gesture.

"You'll be fine, my Sango. Anything you do to me is guaranteed to bring me pleasure. Trust me when I say I have no doubt that both of us will enjoy this immensely."

Still unsure, but finding that she was excited about the chance to take control of their coupling, she gently eased him down on his back. He complied happily, resting his hands lightly on her hips. Sango lifted herself up a little and looked down where his straining member stood at attention between their bodies. Gently she took him in hand causing him to moan and guided him to her entrance.

When she felt the tip penetrate she closed her eyes, moved her hand, and sat down very slowly. She moaned deep in her throat. It felt different this way, fuller and she bit her lip as she took him in to the hilt. She opened her eyes and meet Miroku's, who was looking at her a bit dazed.

Instinctively she rocked her hips and gasped at the jolt that fired her loins. She did it again and again, until she found herself bracing herself with her feet wrapped around his shins and using her powerful thighs to pull herself up and down.

Miroku's cries of encouragement and ecstasy spurred her on and soon she was bouncing up and down on him at a steady pace.

"K-Kami," she whispered and moaned when he hit a particularly sensitive spot inside her. She tried the same motion again and this time the moan became a scream. Miroku, unable to be idle when she was above him riding him like a wonton sex goddess, grabbed her hips and started lifting his own to meet her.

"Ahhh Ahh Ahh," she yelled and he felt her inner muscles ripple over his engorged flesh.

"Sango!" He yelled and came hard. She was still riding him and her orgasm was still pulsing around his now softening member. Slowly, they came down from their high and Sango collapsed against him, keeping him inside her.

She couldn't believe how weak she felt. Her thighs were quivering like they did on those days when she spent hours practicing with Hiraikotsu and she felt boneless. Miroku wiped her wet hair away from her brow and kissed her forehead, and then her nose, and finally he brushed a soft, feather light kiss over her full lips.

"Beautiful," he whispered and she sighed. She shut her eyes tightly and felt her heart clench. Kami, how am I going to let him go? She thought and felt tears prick. She choked them back.

Miroku was moving and she lifted her head reluctantly. He smiled softly and ran his un-cursed hand down her cheek.

"Come on, let's get cleaned off. We need to get back to the temple. It's almost dark." She nodded and pushed her weight off him gingerly. She watched him stand and felt the crushing sensation in her chest again.

She didn't say anything. She simply got back into the spring with him, finished bathing, dressed, and headed back to the temple, all the while wondering how badly her heart was going to break when he was gone.

She kept wondering until the reached the temple and Miroku bid her goodnight at the door to the room she was going to sleep in. She wondered until in a blazing moment of clarity she realized that the damage was already done. Her broken heart was inevitable.

What mattered now was how she spent the time in between. Before she could think about it, she grabbed Miroku and kissed him hard and desperate. He was shocked for a moment but soon responded, allowing her to lead him into her room.

"Sango?"

She shook her head. "Sorry houshi, but if you think you are going to let me sleep alone you've got another thing coming."

He smiled, slow and sensual, kissed her, and murmured.

"I would hate to disappoint you, my love."