With one pendant down, the group only had to search for the remaining three, which were in the swamp, the ocean, and the canyon. With Link being the bearer of the first pendant, the group returned to Clock town for a peaceful night's rest at the Stock Pot Inn.

The next morning, Kagome helped Anju with her many reservations. Most of the time, Kagome took part in showing the guests their rooms, while Anju waited for the rest. Some customers were very kind, while others thought they were well above the others because of their flashy clothes or lack of. The day was proving quite busy for the innkeepers, and they needed all the help they could get.

While Kagome scurried from one person to another, Miroku offered his help to Kafei in the kitchen. He helped prepare the food intended for the approaching festival. Kafei welcomed the help, and during the long hours of chopping and baking, the two conversed in light conversation.

Shippo disappeared a while ago to play with some of the neighboring kids, and Sango thought it might be best if she also gave the Anju some help. Even though Anju explained she didn't have to, Sango insisted. For half the morning, she took time to straighten and clean the rooms. The beds were made with care and the floors were clear of dirt, and the windows were clean.

However, Inuyasha thought it was best to just let his friends do whatever while he explored the town and its many inhabitants. Mostly, he wanted to test more of his new sword that the Great Fairy had given him. Though it was light and durable, Inuyasha thought perhaps it had some magic to it, like his old sword. Of course, he'd have to find a place to practice with no one getting hurt.

Inuyasha decided he would just look around town before he went off to practice. Of course, he wasn't planning on stopping in front of a Swordsman's school. "Now this is what I'm talking about!" Not even thinking, he walked right inside, where an enormous room greeted him.

Inside sat a little man with a brown mustache and what appeared to be his brown hair that fell all around him, or it was some kind of headpiece. Whichever it was, it hid his eyes from view. This old man wore a sleeveless orange shirt which was unbuttoned, revealing his hairy chest for the world to see. As for his pants, they were blue.

"Welcome to my school!" The man yelled from across the room. "Please come closer so I may see my new student!"

As he approached the man who sat Indian style on a small mat, Inuyasha couldn't take his eyes off the huge gong that sat beside him. 'What the heck is that?' When he stood in front of the man, Inuyasha wondered where all the other students were, not that he cared.

"Now then, will you be taking the novice course or the expert course?" He asked, and of course we all know Inuyasha.

"Expert, of course! Bring it on!"

Surprised at his boastfulness, the old man shook his head. "You're new here. Sorry, but I will not be fighting you. In fact, you will fight no one."

"What?"

"You will attack simple logs, but you must reach them before the minute is up," the old man explained. "Now then, it seems easy enough, if you're fast."

Grinning, Inuyasha pulled out his new sword, the shined with its mystifying blue light. "Of course I'm fast! This will be nothing!" He was already itching to show off his bad ass skills.

Delighted that he may actually have a remarkable and talented student, the man slapped his knee. "Good, the course is ten rupees!"

Pulling a small bag from his pocket, Inuyasha pulled out a couple of rupees. "Uh, how do I know which is what here?" When Link wasn't looking, Inuyasha took the bag right from under his nose. Besides, what was a kid doing with so much money in the first place?

"Two blue rupees together equal ten."

Handing them over, Inuyasha positioned himself in the center of the room, his sword at the ready. This would be nothing, though he was a little saddened he wouldn't be fighting against anyone. But this was to hone his skills. Maybe he'd figure out what his new sword could do.

"You have one minute before your time runs out. Begin!"

A single log rose from the ground in front of him, and with his speed, he hacked at it. Two more appeared behind him, and just like the first, attacked it harshly. Just as he was feeling cocky, five more appeared and, of course, he wasted no time splitting them in two. Two flew, hitting the farthest walls opposite from one another. Heck, one even soared over the teacher's head, narrowingly missing him.

"Finish!" The old man pounded the gong with a stick repeatedly.

Smiling from ear to ear, Inuyasha marched himself right up to the teacher. "How was that? Told you I was fast!"

Quiet at first, the man scrutinized the half demon from head to toe. "You are quick, but you lack the skills for combat! You'll get nowhere, just swinging your sword like a madman!"

To say Inuyasha was flabbergasted was an understatement, in fact, he was appalled. "What the hell do you mean? I destroyed everyone on one of those stupid logs. You saw it with your own eyes!"

"Yes, but the cuts were not neat. Do you see that?" he pointed to a fallen log with slinters poking out from it and part of it hacked away. "Why, it's just like hacking off your enemy's arm or leg, but that does not mean they will fall so easily. Sorry, but you have failed. I recommend you take a novice course."

Annoyed, Inuyasha turned and marched himself toward the door. There was no way he'd listen to some stupid human. What did he know, anyway? Heck, he never saw the battles he fought in against Sesshomaru, Kouga or ever Naraku. He would take his training elsewhere.

"I see my course is too much for you," the man's voice reached Inuyasha's ears, effectively halting him the moment his hand touched the knob of the door. "And here I thought I had such a talented student; I guess I was wrong."

Inuyasha took his hand from the knob and turned with fueled anger. "What was that?" He laughed at the absurdity. "Nothing's too much for me! I'll take that course!"

Delighted by the change of mind, the old man stretched out his hand. "One rupee then."

After a moment of trying to figure out which rupee was which, he handed the bag to the old man. After taking one green rupee from the sack, Inuyasha stood waiting at the center of the room with his sword unsheathed. When the old man failed to say anything, Inuyasha growled. "Well?"

With a disappointed sigh, he shook his head. "Your stance is all wrong, and put your sword away. You will not need it just yet."

This annoyed Inuyasha further. "What for?"

"Put it away or get out!" He bellowed, causing his student's ears to pin back.

Putting the sword away, Inuyasha stood waiting. From underneath the floor, a log rose in front of Inuyasha, hiding the master from view.

"I shall teach you the basics of unarmed combat. You need to keep your eyes on the log as if it were your sworn enemy. Visualize your enemy getting ready to attack you."

The log suddenly transformed into Naraku, and Inuyasha stood with feet apart. He laughed at the half demon. "What's wrong Inuyasha? Come at me or should I come at you first?" Naraku's sadistic voice taunted the half demon.

"Now, what do you do when you're unarmed?"

Already knowing the answer, Inuyasha explained. "Use your fists!"

"Wrong! You dodge!"

"You can also use your fists!" he argued back, but that only made the older man angry.

"Don't sass talk me!" Coughing, he continued his teaching. "So I want you to first do a back flip while keeping watch on your enemy. Get to it!"

Rolling his eyes at the simplest of moves, Inuyasha did a backflip and landed three feet from the log. 'That was easy! Can't he make this harder?'

"Now do a sideways jump, while still watching your enemy!"

While he did so, he felt like such a fool. Inuyasha already knew this stuff, why was he putting up with all this in the first place? Oh yeah, because he wasn't weak. He'd show him.

"Good! Good! Now do a roll attack at your enemy!"

Scrunching his face in confusion, Inuyasha just stared at the man from behind the log. "Roll attack? What the hell is that?"

"Don't question me! Start rolling!"

Just like his teacher said, Inuyasha distanced himself from the log and ran at it. The moment he came within five feet, he fell forward and rolled until he hit the log. After impact, he laid sprawled on the ground with small little Kagome's began dancing around his vision.

'If I actually tried that with Naraku, I'd just receive odd looks from everyone.' Grunting from the impact, Inuyasha rubbed his head. 'Damn that hurts!'

"You can do better than that!"

Standing up, Inuyasha fisted his hands. "Hey! Cut me some slack! I just rolled like you wanted me to!"

"It can't be helped. We'll move on. Now then, since you understand some of the unarmed dodges and attacks, you may now draw your weapon," he explained, watching as his student unsheathed his sword. "First, do a horizontal strike at the log!"

Inuyasha swung his sword sideways toward the log, effectively slicing it in half with a nice and neat cut. There were no small pieces left behind, and he felt proud.

"Good! Now do a vertical cut!"

Delighted that this proved much easier, Inuyasha jumped and aimed for the middle of the log as he envisioned himself cutting Naraku in half. 'Take that you son of a b****!' With Naraku's cry echoing in his mind, he watched with satisfaction as the wood fell to the floor in half. "How's that?"

"Wrong! No jumping! Do it again!"

"What? You never said anything about—"

"Are you whining?"

Keeping himself from attacking him instead of the log, Inuyasha raised his sword above his head, and with rage boiling in his veins, he sliced the log in half. "That better?"

"Much! Now thrust!"

After much practicing, he finally completed his novice training.

"Well done! Do not forget what I have taught you and do not neglect your daily practice!"

"Is that it?" he asked.

Nodding in reply, the old man bowed to the student. "You did well. Are you ready to try the expert course again, or would you like more training?"

Without so much as giving it a second thought, Inuyasha handed the man two blue rupees. "Like hell. I know enough already! Bring it on!"

After receiving the money, the man started up the logs and watched as his student ran at each of the logs. One by one, he was thoroughly impressed by the half demon. At first he thought this man to be only a novice, but in fact, he held some skill that might even rival his own. Much happier with the results, and no logs flying over his head, he hit the gong. "Finish! You have passed! Congratulations!"

Before Inuyasha could boast and before the old man could reward Inuyasha, a sudden wave of blue energy swirled around the blade itself, much to their astonishment. The blade shined much brighter as the blue energy wrapped around the half demon's grasp. Just as it appeared, the energy suddenly retracted inside the blade, but the writing remained.

Whatever it was, it was cool!

Despite the old man's surprise, Inuyasha turned on his heel, sheathed his sword and raised his hand in goodbye.

The clock ticked to the 12th hour, and the customers started to dwindle as there was only one more vacancy left for that day. Kagome had wagered that there were now twenty new faces staying at the Inn. One customer was left standing in the room; actually, he had been standing there were over an hour waiting for the line to let up.

Happy that this was the last one, Kagome greeted the customer with a hello. "Good afternoon. Do you have a reservation, sir?" Kagome asked with a pencil in hand as she held the book open.

A Goron, with a hat much like a policeman's, stood before her. "Yes. My name is Link-Goro," he replied.

Searching through the lists of reservations, Kagome found the name. "Mr. Link Goro, your room is the Knife Chamber; it's the second room from the right as soon as you go up the stairs. Please enjoy your stay here," she explained before pulling out a silver key. "And this is yours."

Taking the key from her hand, he canted his head and continued on his way. "Thanks, goro."

Closing the book, she returned it in the drawer before walking down the hall toward the lobby where Miroku sat drinking some tea. While she sat down beside him, she couldn't help but wonder about that Goron. 'Hm, Link must be a popular name.'

"Finished already?" Miroku asked as he eyed the tired girl.

Nodding, she leaned back against the sofa. "You can say that again. Are you done with the food?"

"Yes."

The door opened suddenly, revealing a smirking Inuyasha. "Are you guys done yet?" He asked.

"Yeah, why? And where were you? You know it couldn't have hurt you to help!" Kagome didn't even bat an eyelash when she said this. The least he could have done was act like a gentleman and help.

Of course, he saw this coming, but he simply ignored her. "Just training is all," he replied before going to stand next to the two. "Where's Sango and the runt?"

Kagome explained, "Well Shippo went out to play and Sango's—" Before she could finish, she jumped with slight alarm; Miroku did the same, and he nearly dropped his cup of tea.

Inuyasha's face was contorted in pain as he grimaced in agony with wide eyes. "Uhg ah!"

"What are you children still doing here?"

Both Miroku and Kagome turned away from their friend and looked down near his legs to see the little old lady; Anju's grandmother, in front of them in her wheelchair. Her hair was held back in a messy bun, and on her lap she had a red book. A red shawl was wrapped around her shoulders, and to both of them, she appeared asleep, what with her eyes closed.

"Granny?" Kagome was surprised to see her suddenly. "What are you doing here?"

Inuyasha, tempted to flip the entire chair, along with the old lady over, grasped the handle of the wheelchair. With his strength, he lifted the spiked wheel and remove his bruised foot from underneath. He nearly cried at the damage done, and he wanted to know why it was always him. Knowing he couldn't do anything to harm the old lady, because Kagome would sit him a thousand times, he instead glowered at her. When she failed to acknowledge his presence, he growled. "Watch where the hell you're going, old hag!"

Just hearing the vulgar words leave his mouth was enough to upset the little old lady. With her small and wrinkled hands, she reached toward Inuyasha and with speed much faster than the average old lady; she yanked hard on his hair, earning another cry from said half demon.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go!"

Of course granny didn't let go, rather she held on fast. "Now you listen here! Just because I may seem old does not mean I am hard of hearing! Now settle down. Stop whining like a baby, for crying out loud! And such language, I will not allow in this house. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, I hear ya, now let go!" In response, the old lady let go, and he stepped out of her line of fire.

Sweat dropping from the scene, Kagome turned her attention to the old lady. "Granny, I thought you were asleep?"

"Actually, I just woke up. There's something very important I think you youngins ought to be aware of."

Bemused by her words, Miroku noticed the grave and seriousness in her voice. "Whatever do you mean?"

"If you're wise, you'll all leave town while you still can," she informed most sincerely. When she saw the confusion on their faces, she continued on. "Those that have stayed long will suffer terribly." With that she took her leave and the group only could only stare at one another.

"She can't mean the evil, can she?" The priestess asked.

Somewhat perturbed by this, Miroku could only nod. "It seems we are not the only ones aware of what's taking place. I had thought everyone was unaware, but I see I was wrong."

"If you ask me, she's nothing but a senile old hag!" was Inuyasha's reply, though he was rewarded with his face to the wood floor.

With renewed strength, Kagome got on her feet and left the room. Instead of wasting her time and anger on Inuyasha, she would go help Sango. 'He can be so rude!'

Picking himself off the floor, Inuyasha rubbed his sore face. "Damn. What's her problem?" All he did was tell the truth and here she was sitting him. Not only that, but she didn't even interrogate him, rather, she just left. 'What's gotten into her?'

While Inuyasha got to his feet, Miroku took another sip of his tea. "Inuyasha, is there a reason for that smile you were wearing when you entered the room?" Of course, he wasn't stupid. Something happened while he was gone.

Focusing his attention on the monk, he gave a nod. "Actually, there is. Come with me, I wanna show you something!"

Puzzled, Miroku placed his tea on the table and followed his friend outside. Of course it was strange, seeing as how Inuyasha wanted nothing to do with them half the time and the other, he was always complaining that they had to get a move on. But, rather than whine about not doing their job at finding the rest of the pendants, he was actually relaxed. "What is it?"

Pointing at his sword in his sheath, Inuyasha's smile broadened. "Wanna see something cool?"

A laugh sounded from behind the two unexpectantly, but both males ignored it and continued their conversation.

"What is it?" The monk questioned. "Did you finally figure out how to use it?"

"Not entirely, but something happened. I was over at one of those schools and when I was practicing with it—"

Again there was a laugh, and again the two ignored it. Inuyasha didn't appreciate the interruption, but he ignored it.

Uncertain of what he meant, the monk scrutinized his friend. "What exactly happened?" While he watched his friend unsheathe his sword, the monk's eyes widened. "My, this is something! What does it mean?" he asked as he touched the blade. It was growing.

"Don't ask me. It just started glowing."

Miroku couldn't agree more. "Strange. I'm sure the Great Fairy would know about it. Why don't you go ask her?"

"Why would I do that? I don't need anyone telling me how to use it! You remember up in the mountains, don't you? You were there."

Nodding, Miroku took his hand away from the blade. "How could I forget? You used it like a pro, even though it was your first time."

Snorts of laughter bellowed from behind the two and, with annoyance, Inuyasha turned his sights to the interruptions. "What's so damn funny?"

Two men were seen juggling four blue balls to each other. Both men appeared like twins. They both had the same short brown greasy hair and the same brown mustache. Only distinguishable difference between the two was their different tunics. The man closest to Miroku wore red and the one farthest from the two wore blue. Their white pants were white and brown boots adorned their feet.

The man in blue spoke up. "Oh ho ho ho! What do we have here?"

His twin appeared baffled. "What's that?"

"Those two men there," replied the man in blue.

Startled, the other man glanced at Inuyasha and Miroku. "Oh my, what about those two men there?"

Grinning from ear to ear, the man in blue explained. "I heard a rumor."

Somewhat perplexed by the two men, Miroku watched as his friend glared at the man in blue.

"What rumor?"

"Oh ho ho ho!"

Tempted to wring his neck in order to get answers, Inuyasha sheathed his sword. "Answer me!"

"The rumor about you two," he explained before a gasped from the man in red caught their attention.

"Oh my, you don't mean that rumor?" A laugh escaped him. "Oh ho ho ho!"

Giving Miroku a strange Look, Inuyasha realized he wasn't the only one baffled by the strange words said by those strange men. "What the hell is so funny?"

Knowing that Inuyasha was getting nowhere, Miroku thought it'd be best to figure out just who they were. "Sorry, but who are you two?"

"We're the twin jugglers from the Gormon Troupe! We're practicing for the festival tomorrow night. It happens once in a blue moon," replied the man in red.

"We're entertainers. We must keep people smiling. No matter how grim things get, we must always be optimistic."

Delighted that they were getting somewhere, and knowing that they were going to perform in the act tomorrow night, Miroku introduced themselves to the men.

"We already know about you," replied the man in red, who continued smiling.

"Really?" asked the monk, only to receive a nod from the man in blue.

"Yes. We've heard lots of things about you and your friend. Haven't you heard?"

Shaking his head, Miroku merely scratched his face. "I'm afraid we don't. We just got back last night, so—"

"Oh ho ho ho! Quite busy, were you?"

"Oh brother please!" The man in red laughed. "Stop tormenting them!"

Agreeing with the twin, Inuyasha got right in his face. "Yeah! What the hell is this rumor?" When he failed to receive an answer, he went to grab the man by the scruff of his neck, but Inuyasha suddenly gave a loud cry of pain when something stomped right on his already injured foot. Turning around, he grabbed Miroku the moment he went to brush past him rather quickly and glared. "What the hell, Miroku? First, that old hag runs over my foot and now you? Watch the hell where you're going!"

"My apologies, Inuyasha."

"Sorry ain't good enough!"

Worriedly, Miroku tried to pull himself from Inuyasha's claws, which were digging into his shoulders painfully. "I really think we should wait for interrogations later."

"Oh really, and why not now?"

"Oh ho ho ho!"

"Oh shut up!" Inuyasha turned to glare at the man in blue. "What the hell is so funny—" Inuyasha found the reason for their laughter and possibly the reason for Miroku's behavior. When he looked over Miroku's head, there was the answer to everything. "Shit!"