"We should be ready to head out soon," said Sango as she and Miroku finished packing their supplies. It was early in the morning and she was eager to get underway. "I hope you're prepared for a long day, did you sleep well?"

"After your wonderful tale of death, torture, and human sacrifice, how could I not?" Miroku asked sarcastically as he finished securing a pack to the waiting full-size Kirara. "You know Sango, if we do ever defeat Naraku and you get to bear my children, I'd prefer you would come up with some less traumatic bed time stories."

Sango laughed in response. "Well that's the life of a Taijiya for you. I'm afraid the majority of my demon hunts didn't end with hugs and kisses."

Miroku was glad to see Sango in good spirits this morning, particularly after what she had went through the night before. Apparently sharing the dark event with him had eased her burden, at least to the point where she could talk about it with him and sill maintain a sense of humor. "So what's the first step? Once we get to Tazumi, how do you plan to start the investigation? I know it was the closest town to the sites of the plant Youkai attacks, but that's not much of a lead to go on. Zanshin could be anywhere by now."

"Zanshin can't be too far from where we found the plant demon," Sango explained. "He needs to be in close proximity to his creations in order to control them. And he's got to have a place that he uses as a laboratory. He can't just whip demons up out of nothing. We never found out his exact methods. But the process was complex and mulit-layered, requiring special ingredients and equipment. That's the key. If we can destroy his lab, we can end his ability to create more demons, at least temporarily. Long enough for us to track him down unhindered by any more of them."

"But surely he isn't foolish enough to have his lab in the town. There's a whole giant forest around the town and countless miles on unsettled land. We wouldn't know where to even begin looking."

"We'll have a talk with Natsumi, the inn keeper. She owns several stores in town, but her inn is one of the largest establishments in Tazumi, and she was the one who originally hired us to slay the plant youkai, since some of the caravans it attacked were bringing delivering shipments of supplies she was going to receive. I'm hoping she can tell us about the surrounding area and give us the exact location of where the attacks took place. Hopefully there will be something near the attack sites that could be a potential lab for Zanshin. I know it's not much to go on, but it's the best we can do at the moment."

"What a splendid idea!" Exclaimed Miroku. "Naturally I should be the one to question this fine woman. Getting the information we need will be difficult, but I promise I will do what it takes to succeed, even if it takes until nightfall." Miroku paused for a moment as more thoughts flooded in. "Of course if it does take that long, we can simply spend the night at the inn. And seeing as we'll want to conserve our travel funds, it would be best if you and I were to a share a room-"

All the humor and good nature Sango had been displaying that morning quickly vanished. "Miroku, let's get a few things straight. If you want to come with me on this expedition, I'm going to have to set a few ground rules. First of all, this is still my demon hunt. I know Zanshin and his methods better then anyone else alive. You want to tag along? Then you have to follow my lead without question."

"Not a problem, Sango." Miroku replied calmly while extending his hand to her back. "You know I've always found your authority most seductive..."

"And keep your damn perversion in check!" She replied while slapping his hand away. "This isn't a pleasure trip. We're going after one of the most ferocious and resilient killers you'll ever find. I simply can't overstate how tough this fight will be. No matter what we do to him, Zanshin will be nearly insurmountable as long as he draws breath, and in order to beat him, that's the type of warrior that we'll have to be."

Miroku did his best to regain composure. "Very well. You will my have total commitment from to the task at hand. I promise I will not be distracted by your wonderful beauty, your amazing figure, or the the way your slayer's uniform perfectly shows off the curves of your-"

"Oh I can tell I'm teamed up with a real professional on this adventure," Sango cut in while rolling her eyes and mounting Kirara. "Now come on. If you're done rambling, we've got a demon to track down."

Within a few hours, Kirara touched down at the outskirts of Tazumi, where her riders dismounted, greatful that the begining of their journey had at least started in a peaceful manner. They quickly made their way through the bustling trading town to Natsumi's Inn. Sango had been alone when she received the mission from Natsumi to hunt the giant plant Youkia, while Inuyasha and the others had been shopping in the marketplace, so Miroku was not quite sure what to expect of the establishment or its owner. However, his eyes widened when they came upon the Inn. Sango had not been exaggerating when she said the Inn was one of the largest establishments in the city. Five stories high and full of amenities, it was one of the most magnificent hotels Miroku had ever seen in his years of traveling.

However, the main lobby of the Inn was mostly deserted, perhaps due to the early morning hours. That and the recent attacks by the plant youkai, which had disrupted local businesses a great deal. Since Inuyasha and his team had defeated it deep in the woodlands and had not reported back to the town since then, it was possible no one knew it was dead. But much to Miroku's delight, the owner of the establishment was every bit as impressive as the building itself. She was significantly older then him, most likely in her late 30's, but was strikingly beautiful all the same, and Miroku had never considered age a factor so long as attractiveness was maintained.

Natsumi was behind the counter in the main lobby and greeted them as they approached. "Ah Sango. I'm glad to see you're back. When you never returned from hunting in the woods, I feared the worst."

"A well founded fear, considering what we went through," Sango bitterly replied. "But I have good news, the youkai is dead. We left it a rotting corpse among the trees. I'm afraid I don't have any proof of this though, so you'll just have to take my word for it."

"Wonderful!" Natsumi cried out in jubilation. "Do not worry Sango, you and your companions have built up quite a reputation in the area, especially your mighty hanyou. Your word, and the fact that there have been no more attacks over the last few days is all the evidence I need. I'll be sure to spread the word to the other business owners in the area, and as promised here as the full amount of your bounty".

With that, Natsumi pulled a box of money out from under the counter and opened it for Sango to inspect. Sango was surprised at first, but then remember she had taken the job on grounds that her full payment would not be received until it was done. The fury of their battle, events afterwards, and focus on finding Zanshin had caused to forget the issue of reward money altogether.

"You have our deepest gratitude, miss Natsumi," Miroku cut in while Sango was collecting the reward money. "But that's not why we're here. It's possible another demon may have been involved in the attacks and we are conducting a follow-up investigation. We have important questions for you and any information you could provide would be most helpful."

Natsumi looked surprised to hear this. "Another demon? I didn't hear of more than one, but if there is anything I can do to help, I will."

"Very well. First of all, would you consider bearing my chil-ah!" Miroku's question was put an abrupt halt as Sango twisted his ear back, forcing him to follow her several yards away to a corner of the lobby for a private conversation.

"Miroku! What the hell was that?"

"Um...force of habit?"

"Force of habit?"

"You see Sango, when you've been asking lovely ladies that question as long as I have, it sort of becomes a reflex-"

"Oh? Well so does this!" Sango countered while slapping him across the face, giving him a hand imprint in a nearly identical spot as the last one. Miroku had to give her credit. Her aim was getting almost supernaturally precise.

With that, Sango marched him back to the hotel counter where a bewildered Natsumi was waiting. "Is everything alright? That can't have been normal."

"You have no idea how much I wish it wasn't," replied Sango in a depressed tone. "Anyway as my colleague was saying, we need all the information we can get. I was hoping you could mark a map with the exact location of the attack sites. Also I need you to tell me everything you can about the woodlands around them. Most importantly, we need to know if there are any large structures or caves close to them. Any place a demon could use as a lair."

"I'm afraid that's asking for a lot of me," Natsumi replied. "I can give you attack sites, but it will take some time to get ahold of a proper map. As for everything else, I don't know woodlands well enough to be of much help. My business takes up just about all my time, so I don't get out of town much."

"That's a serious problem." Miroku pointed out. "The demon we're looking for could be anywhere in the wilderness. Without some idea of where to start looking, we have a very small chance of success. Furthermore, we are rather pressed for time in this endeavor."

Natsumi thought for a moment. "I think I might still be able to help. I know most of the local business owners in the area and quite a few survivors of the youkai attacks. Some of them are bound to have much more detailed knowledge of the surrounding area then I do. Just give me and my employees the rest of the day to talk with them. By nightfall I'll have your map ready and hopefully some vital clues on where to start your search. You can stay in one of my finest rooms until then, free of charge."

"I don't know," said Sango. "That's a lot more time here then I was hoping to spend. We really need to get underway-"

"Without proper information, where would we begin?" Asked Miroku. "Sango, this would clearly be worth the wait. One more day of rest couldn't hurt too much, now could it?"

Sango nodded and gave in. "Very well. Thank you for hospitality, Natsumi. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated."

"Think nothing of it Sango. I lost a lot of business due to the youkai attacks. If another one was involved, I want it dead as much as anyone. Just be patient and I'll get you the information you need. In the mean time, the two of you can relax and enjoy the many perks of my fine establishment."

"We most certainly will...in separate rooms," Sango replied while turning back to face Miroku with a killing look. It was a look Miroku had become very familiar with in their travels together. The expression that Miroku knew meant he had better keep quiet and not protest if he valued his life.

Later that night, Miroku was in his third floor room working on a new batch of enchanted sutras. There had been no word from Natsumi yet, and Miroku felt this would be the most efficient use of his time until then. Besides, the events of the day had left him in a bitter mood, and he felt he needed to do something to keep himself occupied.

This was the first time he had gotten to spend any significant amount of time alone with Sango and completely disconnected from Inuyasha's group in months, and he had been hoping to take full advantage of it. All the events that had happened since then, their battle with Manomaru, their near death experience in Mount Hakurei, and most notably her acceptance of his proposal after he had freed her from demon control, surely they should cause her to accept his advances far more freely, at least now that they were away from the group. But she had been rejecting him as stubbornly as ever.

"It's this demon hunt," Miroku thought as he wrote he infused the paper with his holy incantation . "She's so focused on it that she fears any personal activity between us would be an unacceptable distraction. How infuriating. The one thing that gets me alone with her is the same thing that keeps us apart."

But this was hardly an acceptable explanation for him. Sure he had come to help her complete the hunt and come back alive, but didn't he have the right to enjoy some quality time with her when the opportunity presented itself? After all, in response to her leaving him in the dead of night, he had instantly dropped all his personal affairs, came up with a brilliant solution to the issues in Kaede's village, and persued her relentlessly until he caught up, all for her sake. Wasn't that enough to prove his commitment and earn something in return?

"Apparently not," he thought in disgust, while moving on to another sutra incantation. Then something occurred to him. "Great Buddha! The opportunity still exists! Once we defeat Zanshin, we'll still be together on our own. That will be the moment I've been waiting for. Completing this full quest together and resolving this significant experience in her life will be just the thing I need. That will set the, oh what was it Kagome called it...atmosphere!"

Miroku's imagination started running wild as he considered possible outcomes. "What if I were the one to strike the killing blow against Zanshin? Oh that would be even better. Me defeating the one who caused her so much trouble and grief for so long..."Miroku pictured the events playing out: Both of them in the heat of battle, suddenly a strike from Zanshin knocked Sango off her feet. As Zanshin closed in to finish her off, Miroku was there, blocking his strike with his staff and planting a burning sutra in his skull, and then sucking him up with the wind tunnel. "Now that would create the perfect setting."

With that setting his mind at ease, Miroku threw himself back to his work, determined to create the most powerful weapons he could to complete the task at hand.

A few minutes later, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. He was hoping it was Sango, but only half disappointed to see Natsumi instead. "Greetings, I've found some vital information about the area and possible locations for Zanshin's hideout. You must follow me to my meeting room on the fifth floor. We have quite a lot to talk about."

"Excellent! This is wonderful news." Since pondering the outcome of their quest, Miroku had become as eager to complete it as Sango, and was looking forward to getting underway. "Let me go get Sango and we will head up there at once."

"She's already there. Her room is on the second floor and I informed her on the way up. Now come, we wouldn't want to keep her waiting."

"Now that's odd." Thought Miroku. "Why didn't Sango simply come here to let me know while Natsumi went to the room? Guess she must still be mad about my behavior this morning. Natsumi is right. I certainly should not be the one to hold things up!"

"Well far be if from me to refuse the offer from a beautiful woman," said Miroku. "Lead on."

"Oh you flatter me, Monk. Come now, I think you'll be most pleased with what I have to reveal."

Miroku quickly gathered his sutras he had been working on and followed her out the door, but as he went, he couldn't help feeling something about the sitaution just didn't seem right.

Miroku's suspicions were confirmed as soon as he walked into the large room. Sango wasn't there, but several other people were, and they did not look like Inn employees. They were all well built and dressed in unusual clothing. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Natsumi said Zanshin! How did she know about him? We never mentioned his name!" Silently cursing himself for not realizing the discrepancy earlier, Miroku desperately tried to think of a way out.

"I see Sango isn't here yet. I had better go see what's keeping her," said Miroku, doing his best to maintain a calm and normal demeanor.

"Oh I'm sure she'll be right up. Now please, take a seat at the table and let me explain what I've found."

"Tempting, but Sango should be here for all of it," Miroku replied. "Just wait and here and I'll be right back."

With that, Miroku turned back to the door, but was suddenly intercepted by Natsumi, who stepped in front of him and drew a wheel lock pistol from her Kimono. "You're not going anywhere, Monk," she said as she aimed the pistol at his head. "Do you know what this is?"

Miroku did know what he was facing. He had seen a few of them in his recent traveling with Inuyasha, though most had been longer, and large enough to require two hands to hold. Kagome had told him the tubes of metal and wood were known as "firearms", and had recently been brought to Japan through foreign trade, while also claiming they would forever change the nature of warfare in Japan. Miroku had witnessed the effects of such weapons a few times and could easily see why. The "firearm" had proven to be a devastating weapon on the battlefield, enabling a conscripted peasant with only a few weeks of training to kill a samurai wearing armor worth a fortune and who had been training for combat most of his life.

And now he was faced with one, aimed right at his face, so close he could nearly see the metal ball in the barrel. "That I do," he replied. He also noticed several other people in the room were now holding guns as well.

"Then you know all it takes is movement from my finger to put a hole in your skull. So don't even think of trying to use that Wind Tunnel of yours. You'll be dead before the seal is pulled from your hand."

For the first time since entering the room, Miroku showed visible surprise. "You...know about my Wind Tunnel?"

"Indeed. Zanshin told me all about both of you."

"Zanshin? But you said Zanshin was disrupting your business! He was directing a demon to attack your caravans!"

"Quite a clever story, don't you think? Your girl Sango certainly found it plausible. The truth is every single one of those caravans were carrying goods bound for other establishments in town. Zanshin's plant demon attacks were a wonderful way to eliminate the competition around here, in the most literal way. Of course it did lessen the amount of customers at my Inn, but in return for giving him all the information he needed on our trade routes and caravan run times, Zanshin let me keep a share of the supplies he took from the attacks. My basement store room is practically overloaded with those goods. They will fetch me a much higher profit from them then I get from my regular customers."

"I see. And suppose that explains the weapons you and your henchmen are wielding." Miroku was desperately thinking of a way to overcome the situation, but nothing came up. Natsumi was holding the pistol very close to him, perhaps close enough from him to grab if she let her guard down. But that still would leave a whole room full of people with guns drawn on him. He doubted he could get his wind tunnel uncovered before they turned him into a lead mine.

"Very good Monk," said Natsumi. "By our good fortune, the last caravan to fall before you killed the plant youkai was a military shipment, with enough firearms to supply all of the fine mercenaries you see here. They agreed to take to them as payment for the job I hastily arranged this afternoon while you and Sango were enjoying the great amenities of my Inn."

"Job? What job?"

"To bring you to Zanshin. I'd be happy to dispose of you right now, just as the plant youkai I sent you and your companions after was supposed to do, but I'm afraid Zanshin has a new plan. Something about wanting to study the power of your Wind Tunnel for possible use in his creations. I don't know the details, but as long as he keeps up our profitable relationship I'll be happy to oblige. We'll be taking you to our meeting place at the abandoned village several miles into the west side of the forest tommorow afternoon. However, your companion won't be coming along."

With that, Natsumi turned to talk to one of the mercenaries, a slender woman disguised as an Inn maid. "Zanshin doesn't have any need for the girl, so she'll be checking out early. Go send Sango and her puny little demon cat on their way."

"With pleasure," the female mercenary replied, picking up a short sword and a wheel lock pistol off a nearby table and concealing them in her clothing as she headed for the door. "I'll be sure to give her your regards."

"Just try to do it quietly. I've still got a few customers staying for the night and I'd hate to ruin their evening," Natsumi said with a smile. "And one too many gunshots could attract the attention of the town watch if they happen to be passing by." Then she turned to someone else in the room. "It's possible Sango isn't in her room at the moment. I want a few of your men patrolling the hallways in case this doesn't go smoothly. Don't forget this is a demon slayer we're dealing with."

"It is already done, Lady Natsumi," the mercenary commander replied emotionlessly. "You have my word. Sango will never leave this building alive."

"Sango! No! This can't be happening!" Miroku's mind raced as he desperately tried to come up with something. The situation he had walked into was deteriorating so rapidly it almost didn't seem real. But it was. They had laid a simple trap for him and he had stepped right in, and because of it he had quite likely doomed them both. He briefly considered trying to grab Natsumi's pistol while also grabbing her to use as a human shield, hoping that would buy him enough time to get his Wind Tunnel uncovered, but quickly rejected the idea. The mercenaries in the room had no loyalty to their current employer. If necessary, they would shoot through her to get to him.

Whatever chance Miroku might have quickly departed as Natsumi moved several feet away, while keeping her pistol trained on him. "Trying to come up with a bold escape plan, eh Miroku?" Natsumi asked mockingly while sitting down in a chair. "Don't bother, there's no chance. Now you might as well sit down and relax, because tonight your journey ends here."