"I do not think you truly understand the issue, houshi-sama. it is too close to the new moon, do you wish to risk not only our lives but also his? and for what? a couple of sacks of rice?!" The young Taijiya spoke softly as they walked side by side down the river bank.
Miroku thought for a bit before coming to a stop. It was a risky move forcing their hanyou friend out of his comfort zone on the one night he had the hardest time protecting himself. Still, the offer the samurai had was too tempting to really pass up. If it were merely a smaller yōkai like a centipede or maybe even a kitsune, both him and Sango would have no issues going ahead. However, that was not the case. Inu yōkai were known for their ferocity, which was apparent with Inuyasha, and skilled, which was also the case with his half-brother.
"you can't seriously ask him to leave the village!?" Sango looked at Miroku, fear laced her voice, worry covered her expressions. As annoying as Inuyasha was, he was still their friend, as well as their strongest weapon when it came to both fighting AND tracking demons. Surely he would not risk losing Inuyasha's life, nor the threat they would face without him, would he?
"now, my dear, we need to take in consideration of how much he and his lord are willing to give up for this. As well as the life of those who are in the domain who are being attacked. Mind you, if it were a price of rice for such a task, I would not hesitate to decline the offer. but we could life cozy for a little bit. still, we have a full night of him being his normal self. if it should come to it where we do not make it before the new moon, then we will take preparations to protect us and him." his words were gentle, soft and thoughtful. sango hated how his smooth speech could so easily sway her.
The silence crept in, as the conversation stopped. Both knew the weight of risk on both ends, either way, lives, Innocent lives were at risk. Finally, after a few tense moments in the silence, Sango finally sighed in defeated. She shrugged her shoulders "Fine, Miroku". The sudden use of his name sent chills down his spine. a bad omen for sure.
As they made their way back to the small hut, Sango turned on her heel to face Miroku, her expression was cold and hard, her voice filled with warning and a hint of venom woven within.
"if anything happens to him Miroku, it will be on your head. And it won't just be Kagome you will have to face." with that, she turned back around, little by little sped up her pace till she was a good five or six big strides ahead of him. She hoped her words would haunt him, to at least make him remember that there is more to lose than to gain.
Kagome was still outside with Matsudaira, her hands holding the opposite elbow, the look of worry on her face. The gruff brute next to her, however, seemed more annoyed and itching to start on the journey back.
Sango was the first to make it back of the two. Her eyes met kagome's, then a slight shake of her head, and an annoyed grunt. Kagome sighed and looked away. Miroku at this pointed finally made it back to the group could feel the tension between the girls and himself.
"we shall leave tonight" Miroku spoke loud, so his friend would hear him in the hut. He looked at his female companions, it was clear on their faces that they were not happy with this decision. Sighing heavily, he looked back at Matsudaira. "about how long on foot will it take to arrive?"
"heh, you may want to bring some horses" Matsudaira spoke with an arrogant grin on his face. Still annoyed with not only having to resort to asking for assistance but also having to escort this band of demon slayers back to his lord. He would take pleasure with making the trip an uncomfortable one.
"we have a Nekomata" Sango spoke, her voice bitter. She eyed the samurai, watching his body shift into an even more aggravated position. Just before he was able to reply with a question of his own, Sango continued. "she will make travel a bit faster for some of us, at least." this time her focus went to Miroku who now shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Kagome smiled at Sango's words.
"However, my dear Houshi-sama, you may want to ask for borrow a horse." she made sure to emphasize on "dear".
Kagome moved past Sango and entered the hut, it didn't take long for the Taijiya to follow. Matsudaira looked at the monk before letting out a gruff laugh.
"OI seems like you have a long way to go in the art of mastering women. Letting them walk all over you will only create a defiant wife." he laughed again. Miroku sighed deeply once more, then bowed low to the samurai.
"excuse me, I...i have to see if any of the farmers are willing to allow me to use one of their steeds." with that, he turned and left the samurai on his own.
Inside Sango looked at Inuyasha apologetically. She could almost feel the anger seething off of him. His hands were in fists, though hiding in his sleeves, it was still easy to make them out. His jaw was tight, teeth clenched, the fact he was avoiding all eye contact was a sign of warning in itself.
"Sango, myself and you will be on Kirara, it should keep you out of the reach of most, and hopefully, we can make it there in one piece, if it comes time" Kagome spoke softly, knowing that any little thing would set him off. She distracted herself with making sure she had everything packed up and ready for the trip. Mentally noting and tallying things as well as pulling things out to see how much was left.
Inuyasha kept his gaze to some unseen thing out the small window, making a small snorting sound to show he was listing to her, but didn't care. He could taste the blood in his mouth from his teeth sinking into the skin of his tongue. Even he had to admit, he was taking this way better than he would normally have. Though that was partly due to the reaction he was undergoing with it being so close. He knew that this was going to be one of the longest trips he would ever have to deal with.
Sighing, Inuyasha shut his eyes, hoping to get a few moments rest before they set off. He was not ready for this, he could already feel his anxiety kicking up. Images of what could happen flashed in his mind. Opening his eyes, he met sango's worried gaze.
The chilled wind picked up, creeping through the lands with its icy touch. Miroku had finished fitting the steed with its saddle and such. He looked up to see the trio finally emerge from the huT. Inuyasha barely giving the monk a look. Miroku knew he was in for a long fight when they would return, or worse, when he and Inuyasha were alone, away from the comfort of kagome and sango. an eerie sense tickled at the monk's neck, a glacial wind, a phantom to anyone else but himself, ran down his spine. stealing a brief glance towards his half-demon comrade, the look he received was one whom could only be described as that from a cold-blooded beast. The look of foreseen death, like that of a predator letting his prey know that its time will come. he could feel his steed next to him, sensing the danger within the group. Miroku swallowed hard, grabbed the horn of the saddle and heaved himself up, nearly white-knuckling the reins. Saying a silent prayer, Miroku finally did what the horse wished, and kicked its sides. The beast took off in full flight matching the speed of Matsudaira's own horse.
Sango was on Kirara first, throwing a glance back to see a very annoyed Inuyasha with a sneer on his face, and the lovely young miko, kagome, on his back overlooking his shoulder. She felt so much guilt about going on this trip.
"This never gets old!" Kagome breathed while letting her arms out to feel the wind between her fingers. She took a nice deep breath in, inhaling the cool, clean air. The smell of the autumn night was one she loved. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the wind roam through her silky raven hair. "I wish I could stay up here forever" she exhaled, the smile never leaving her face. Inuyasha merely snorted.
"aye, I know what you mean Kagome-chan, this time of year was always my favorite." sango giggled. Not daring to turn her head at risk of losing Miroku or Matsudaira.
Miroku took a moment to glance back at the trailering trio, the girls seemed to be in deep conversation, giggling, laughing and maybe...was that a snort from sango? his heart swelled at the adorable thought. that is until his eyes met the golden orbs. once again that haunting feeling swept over him. Inuyasha looked nearly void of all emotions, whatever was being spoken to him by the girls, he seemed to completely ignore it. his jaw was tight, a snarl and his ears were pinned back to his skull as he made eye contact with the monk, and just in the matter of a heartbeat, the look of a predator came out.
snapping his head forward, now shaking and sweating enough for the tiny fox kit sitting in front of the monk. "Whats your problem?" Shippo said, looking up over his shoulder at the monk who merely shrugged, not daring to move his eyes anyway else but forward.
"Miroku, why couldn't I have been able to ride with kagome and sango?" the small kit asked.
"I'm sorry shippo, but I need you to help me keep an eye out for any demons." he quickly responded, the lie was obvious but something about the tone of it was enough for shippo to switch topics. "how much further?" the kit yelled out the older samurai.
"aye? Oh, not too much further. We need to go through this mountain pass then over a river." Matsudaira responded absently. The sounds of the hooves hitting the hard earth under them made it hard for the monk to hear the full response. "You may want to yell up to your friends. This pass has been known to house bands and ronins. Would be nice to have a bit of backup ya'know?" Matsudaira yelled back a bit more loudly.
"bandits you say?" Miroku seemed to perk up at that. "Inuyasha, bandits roam these areas, maybe you will get a chance to work off that built up anger, eh old friend?"
"anger? why would he be so angry Miroku?" sango cut into the conversation, her voice heavy with sarcasm. giving Inuyasha and kagome a glance, to be met with a somewhat pleased grin on the hanyou's face.
the sun had already raised, shadows danced across the forest floor. Kirara growled in exhaustion, as did both steeds. Kagome was the first to speak.
"I think we should stop and rest a bit?" The young miko yelled up to the samurai. who merely spit at the idea of resting.
"fine..but if we get jumped, I don't want to hear shit about it" he snarled bitterly. the group made their way to a steam and a well-hidden learning to relax in. Matsudaira dragged his horse to the stream while muttering insults and other nonsense and left the group on their own.
Miroku sat next to Inuyasha who was leaning against a tree. "I may possibly have to bid my chances of having sango bare my children, goodbye." he joked.
"oh?" Inuyasha said, low, barely giving the monk a glance. "I could have sworn with how hard and how many times sango hit you, that you were considered infertile now." He bitterly replied.
the good monk sat there, stunned with not only the words but how cold they came out. "I...ah...I'm going to see if I can get us something to eat" Miroku sighed, standing up and fallowing the path Matsudaira had taken.
Sango took this moment, while kagome and shippo were busy getting snacks, to speak with her comrades. "You alright?" she spoke softly. Inuyasha merely nodded, not once opening his eyes, as if he were taking a quick nap. "I would be better if I wasn't out here." finally opening his eyes to looked at the taijiya.
"I understand, I had tried to talk him out of it, ya know." she murmured, look at kagome and shippo who seemed to be falling asleep.
"I truly hope both you and him know that as soon as we get back, I will beat his ass into the ground." Inuyasha sighed, it was clear he was tired, very tired. Though his years of having to stay up all night to make sure he survived had trained him how to deal with the lack of sleep while human.
Sango looked at him before shoving him to the ground. Before he could protest and wake up everyone else. she smiled sweetly at him, like and older sister trying to play a mother role. "Sleep, stressing yourself out won't make this easier. the better rested you are, hopefully, the quicker we can get back home" the end of her words, he could tell she was wishing more to make herself feel better. Finally sighing, he realized she would probably beat him up if he didn't listen to her.
He slowly got up, meeting sango's gaze for a moment then turned and walked towards kagome and Kirara. Sitting down he leaned against the miko gently so as not to wake her. Then feel into a sound sleep.
Sango couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of their relationship. It seemed like the kind she would adore to have, but at the way Miroku was going, was not going to happen anytime soon.
Matsudaira paced, not to thrilled with the short rest. He eyed Inuyasha, then the females then looked back at Miroku. "can we get moving? I'm tired of waiting. It's not safe here." he snarled. Crossing his arms over his chest. His horse scraped at the earth behind him, grazing alongside miroku's.