Chapter 5: The Third Hour- Don't You Know My Face?

Miroku the monk batted off a couple of pesky demons, who decided to make a quick meal out of him. Well, they chose the worst possible person for their next victim that was certain. At first, he hadn't wanted to resort to extreme measures, but the demons kept coming and coming, and eventually he decided to scare them off.

"Wind Tunnel!" he bellowed, removing the pray beads and cloth that covered the hole in his palm. A black void, made up of complete emptiness, was sucking up everything in its path into his hand. The demons squealed, trying to get away, but the wind was too strong, and they eventually were swallowed by the black hole. Then at the very last moment, he covered his palm and moved out of the way, watching with an amused gleam in his eye as the few remaining creatures toppled over into a pile.

Unfortunately, one stray demon had managed to remain conscious, and the minute the monk turned around to pick up his staff, it attacked, latching onto Miroku's back.

Kagome and Shippo chose this moment to peer around the hedge at what was happening. The girl blinked, noticing a young man wearing dark purple robes, and his short black hair held back in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He was trying to dislodge a demon from his back; one that seemed set on turning the man into his next meal.

Without thinking, Kagome picked up a large rock at her feet, took careful aim, and hurled it at the demons head. There was a loud, sickening crushing sound, as the rock bounced off its head, effectively hurting the creature enough for the man to dislodge it from its back. After staggering around for a moment, the demon plopped atop of the rest of his unconscious buddies. The man then looked around him, trying to figure out where the rock had come and spotted the two hiding in the bushes.

With a charming smile, Miroku half ran to the young woman who'd just rescued him. "Why, thank you, my dear lady," he said, grasping her hand in both his own. Kagome flushed a little, ignoring Shippo's groan from beside her. "I am honored to have been saved by such a beautiful woman as yourself. My name is Miroku, and I am but a simple monk. Anything you ask, you shall receive. But may I ask you one humble question?"

This was Shippo's cue to interrupt. "Shut up, Miroku."

"Ahh, Shippy. How nice it is to see you again."

"It's Shippo," he muttered, turning away; but not before sending a warning glance in Miroku's direction. Kagome, for her part, was incredibly confused.

"Uh, so, I take it that you two know each other?"

Grin back in place, Miroku turned back to Kagome, and grasped her hands again. The girl sweat dropped, tugging at her hands to remove them, but to no avail.

"May I know the name of the brave maiden who rescued me?" he asked with an expression of pure innocence on his face.

"Uh… Kagome…"

"Lady Kagome," here Miroku's face turned completely serious. Kagome could feel the back of her neck heat up. "Would you do me the honor of bearing my child?"

Kagome felt a hand caress her from behind at Miroku's request, but before she could respond (or punch him down so hard that he would have to reach up to tie his sandals) Miroku was conked on the head by a furious half-demon who suddenly appeared behind them.

"Yo, Miroku," he said in a cold voice

"Your majesty…" croaked the monk from the ground, where he nursed a large bump on his head. "…A pleasure as always…"

Kagome, however, was not as pleased to see Inuyasha. "You jerk!" she yelled, startling all three males. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. This probably wasn't going to be good. "You nearly got me and Shippo killed! We could have been eaten, or… or…"

"Well, obviously, you weren't," drawled the Demon King, tucking his arms in the sleeves of his fire-rat robe. His expression of pure not-caring only drove Kagome's temper on further. Starting to predict a very large explosion in the near future, Shippo and Miroku backed away.

You could almost see the flames coming from Kagome's eyes. Even the dense Inuyasha noticed that he was in danger of a terrible beating, and began to wish he hadn't said that last comment.

Just as she opened her mouth to call Inuyasha some words that would make any mother wash her mouth out with soap, Inuyasha jumped into action, covering her mouth with his hand. Kagome glared daggers at him, her yelling muffled by his hand. Eventually however, she calmed down, and he removed it.

Shippo looked up from where he was hiding. "Is it over?"

Ignoring him, Inuyasha thrust his closed hand in Kagome's direction, indicating that he had something to give her. Curiosity overriding all other emotions, Kagome accepted what he handed to her, feeling something like cool glass being dropped into her palm. When she opened her palm and looked down, Kagome was shocked to see none other than the jewel that he had offered her before she ended up in this place. The same jewel that Inuyasha had offered in exchange for her brother the first time she met him.

Confusion clearly written in her face, Kagome narrowed her eyes and looked at him. "But... I thought..."

"It's not a gift, you stupid girl."

Bristling at his arrogant attitude, Kagome exclaimed, "What if I don't want it, your highness? You haven't been very friendly to me since I got here. How do I know that this isn't just another trap?"

Inuyasha just snarled and raised his hand as if he was about to slap her. Kagome took a few steps back, expecting him to hit her. But it never came.

Shippo and Miroku had both stepped forward to stop Inuyasha, obviously thinking that he was going to hit her too, but suddenly froze. The air around them had grown cold, the wind stopped blowing… and it was like all the sound had disappeared.

Kagome looked around her in a panic. "Miroku, Shippo? What's going on?" she asked her friends; only to see that they had frozen in place. Staring at them was like watching a movie and then suddenly pushing the pause button; and then seeing all the characters on the screen frozen in place. She went over to them in panic and touched Miroku's shoulder. He felt as if he were a statue.

Furious, she turned her anger back onto Inuyasha. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" she screamed at him as loudly as she could.

Inuyasha had to flatten his ears over his head to try to block out her shriek. "THEY'RE FINE!" he yelled back. He put his hands back into his sleeves before starting to walk away. "I froze time for a moment."

"Why did you freeze time?!" Kagome shrieked at him.

"Because…" snapped Inuyasha, "I didn't want them to hear what I have to say."

"Hear what? I don't care what you have to say!" snapped Kagome as she turned back on him and towards her friends. She bent down to Shippo's level and tried to touch him, to see if there was anything that she could do to bring him back. But as she stretched out her hand, Inuyasha quickly tug on her outstretched wrist and pulled her up. She tried to break away from his grasp, pulling and tugging as hard as she could, but to no avail.

Just when she was about to slap him, Inuyasha spun her around towards him, smashing her soft chest against his hard one and stared into her eyes with a strange look on his face.

Startled, Kagome looked up into his face and could feel her face beginning to burn. As he held her in an embrace, their faces were only a few inches apart (close enough to kiss!). Her breathing came out in short and harsh breathes, and her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that it felt as if she couldn't breathe.

The way that he was looking at her… it was a look that she couldn't describe… she couldn't move if her life depending on it. His eyes trapped her… paralyzed her. Those eyes… those beautiful golden orbs… she knew that she had seen those somewhere before…?

"Don't you know my face?" he asked in a quiet voice that took her a moment to recognize as his. "Try to remember."

She never once heard him speak so sadly… or gently… or…

Inuyasha then let go of her, and she took a few steps back from him.

"I don't care what you do with it, as long as you keep it with you. Understand?" he said to her. But this time, he spoke in his harsh and rude voice that she knew anywhere.

Kagome was stunned and couldn't seem to be able to move from her spot… she could only nod dumbly. Smug expression back in place, Inuyasha once again disappeared. Leaving Kagome, to wait for her heart to return to its normal pace.

As soon as he left, the air had grown warm again, she could feel wind starting to blow gently, and all the sounds had returned.

"Listen here Inu…?" said Miroku's voice. He stopped in midsentence, looking around him. "Inuyasha?"

Shippo also looked around when he realized that the half-demon had disappeared. "Where did he go?" he asked confused.

What the hell just happened? What did he mean? Of course she knew his face. She had met him just a few hours ago… didn't she? Her heart was still pounding.

Kagome seemed to be the one who was frozen, this time. She was still paralyzed by Inuyasha's eyes… two beautiful eyes and she couldn't seem to move … wait beautiful? Did she just think that his eyes were beautiful? What's wrong with her? She only met the rude half-demon a few hours ago for crying out loud! Not only that… but he kidnapped her brother, almost had her killed, and if she fails to get Sota back in time then she'll be trapped here with him forever!

Kagome shook her head and put the jewel in her pocket.

"Don't know why he wants me to hold onto the jewel," she muttered, almost forgetting about the presence of her other two companions. Finally feeling their eyes on her, she spun around and hissed, "What?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" said Miroku looking scared.

With a sigh, Kagome rubbed her eyes, and turned in the direction she and Shippo where going. "Is this the right way?" she asked in a much kinder tone than the one she used a second ago.

"Ah, Kagome," the monk interrupted, scratching the back of his neck, a nervous expression on his face.

"Yes, Miroku? And no, I won't bear your children."

He chuckled. "Actually, I was going to ask if I could join you in your quest to get to the Demon King's castle? I do know my way around here, after all these years of wandering."

Kagome smiled, and gestured for him to join Shippo and herself. All three of them began to walk then, making their way to the castle, and what lay beyond.

After awhile of walking, Kagome sucked up the courage to ask Miroku something that she had been wondering about since she first laid eyes on him.

"So Miroku… how did you get that whole in your hand?"

Miroku shifted uncomfortable for a second before answering, "Well you see, Kagome, that's a very long story. It goes like this…When Inuyasha's father was still alive, an evil demon by the name of Naraku reined havoc upon the Spirit World. Murder and trickery was second nature to him. And even the mightiest of demons cowered at his feet.

Many priests, and warriors set out to slay him, but Naraku was able to absorb the powers of other demons and was able to grow stronger each time. Until finally, there was only one person who was powerful enough to stand a chance of defeating Naraku; and that was Inuyasha's father. He along with my grandfather, and a strong Demon Slayer went to fight him.

There was an epic battle that cost the late Demon King his life. After battling with Naraku for seven days and seven nights, Naraku mysteriously disappeared. No one knew anything about where he was, or what happened to him. But he wasn't dead, he made sure of that.

For before he left, Naraku placed a curse on my grandfather and my family; as well as a curse on the Demon Slayer's family. Naraku created a black void that would suck up everything in its path, including my grandfather. He and my father were both swallowed by the terrible nothing in their own hands. One day, I myself, will also be swallowed by this cursed hand unless I managed to kill Naraku."

"So unless Naraku is defeated, then it's going to kill you?" said Kagome worriedly.

"Yes," answered Miroku. "And I'm prepared to accept that, if it's truly to be my fate… but until then… I must continue on my quest to find and eliminate Naraku." The three of them were left in an uncomfortable silence after that.

"So you and Inuyasha are friends because your grandfather and his father were allies?" Kagome asked, breaking the silence. She tilted her head sideways, and eyed Miroku with a newfound respect. That was, until, she felt an unwelcome hand land on her behind.

"Yes, Lady Kagome I guess you can call us friends."

Miroku grinned as he rubbed the red handprint that suddenly appeared on his cheek. Shippo snickered, and Kagome simply fumed.

"Pervert…" she muttered stalking ahead, her hands clenched into fists by her side.

"Hey, Kagome! Wait!"

The girl turned at the sound of Shippo's voice, her line of vision following his pointed hand to another pair of doors. However, this time, these doors didn't have guards, only a pair of doorknockers. One knocker had its large ring through its ear, and the other held the ring in its mouth.

The one with the ring in its mouth looked like a cross between a shark and a seal, with a lack of hair. Underneath the doorknocker there was an engraved name: Manten.

The second doorknocker had the one with the ring in its ears. Underneath, the name Hiten was engraved. While Manten looks like a monster, Hiten appeared to be a handsome human.

"Well," said Miroku, studying the knockers carefully. "Which of these two characters should we choose?"

"It's very rude to stare!" snapped a voice.

Kagome blinked, startled. It was the knocker with the ring through both its ears that had spoken. "Oh," she said, slightly flustered. "Sorry, we were just wondering which door to choose."

"Sno gd tlking tm, hs dfsa ded," said another voice.

The attention of the girl, fox demon, and monk shifted to the other doorknocker, obviously having difficulty talking with a ring in his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" chastised the first knocker that was called Hiten.

"I'm nt tlkng wth my mth fll!"

"I can't understand you… hold on!" Kagome said, pulling out the ring from his mouth with a yank. The knocker groaned in relief, opening and closing his mouth to stretch the steel muscles.

"Oh my," he said. "It feels so good to get that thing out."

"So what were you saying?" asked Miroku politely.

"I said it's no good talking to him," the knocker said, gesturing with his chin to the other knocker, which slurred his last word. "He's deaf as the dead."

The other knocker snorted. "Mumbler! I can't understand a word you say when you're mumbling. You sure aren't the most wonderful conversational companion."

"Well, you can talk! But all you do is moan!"

"No good. Still can't hear you."

"Where do these doors lead?" Kagome cut in, getting a little annoyed. She was expecting it to be a little bit like the last doors, and that she had to guess an annoying riddle.

"Search me. We're just the knockers. We wouldn't know," said Manten

"Oh..." Kagome was, quite obviously, a little disappointed. This made it harder. Noticing her drop in spirit, Miroku took over the questioning.

"Well, how do you get through?"

"Knock and we shall open!" cried Hiten dramatically.

Shippo was currently staring at the other knocker, Manten. Shippo stuck his face up close to it, and starting poking at it until finally, the knocker had enough. "Do you mind?"

Evidently, Shippo didn't, as he continued to poke him.

"Shippo?" said Kagome as she picked up the ring and tried to give it back to the knocker. "Please stop."

"No! I don't want that thing back in my mouth!" said Manten, eyeing Kagome and the ring she held in her hand warily.

"Come on, I wanta knock!" she said annoyed.

"Mm-mm," was all that the knocker was able to say without opening its mouth. The girl sighed in frustration.

Then she got an idea. She reached out a hand, plugged his nose and held it, watching as the knocker squirmed uncomfortably, and waited.

Finally, it gave, opening its mouth to take a deep breath, and receiving a mouth full of ring from a triumphant Kagome.

"Sorry about that," Miroku apologized for Kagome, as she scooped up Shippo and knocked on the door.

It swung open, revealing a long stone hallway like before in the Oubliette. Shippo hopped off her shoulder, sniffing at the air a little suspiciously. Unconcerned, Kagome and Miroku walked ahead, down the slightly tilted pathway, and opened a door at the end of the hall. Only to be assaulted by an awful feeling. For a moment, Kagome thought that she was going to be overrun with fear.

"Oh man... what is this?"

Shippo reappeared beside them, paw over nose, small face grim. "The Forest of Sorrow..." he said quietly. "The worst place in all the Spirit World… it's where your worst fears come to life."