Main Plot 1

lnuYasha No Ai: Along came a spider. Intent eyes remained focused as
InuYasha like every other time had simply chosen to rush into the situation
without thinking. Brawn's over brains was his motto and it hadn't killed him
yet. The rather
lnuYasha No Ai: large spider-yokai was seemingly on its last leg, literally.
The fight hadn't been an easy one at that. During the fight he had received
a rather deep cut on on his chest, wasn't his fault the annoying thing had
eight legs to his
lnuYasha No Ai: one sword. Both hands now clutched the Tessaiga tightly.
One arm crossed his body as the other one was held down and away. His hands
held the weapon in a fashion that would make it aero-dynamic as he started
his sprint towards
lnuYasha No Ai: the yokai. Oh there would be no fancy tricks needed in
killing the almost immobilized yokai now. Power legs launched the Hanyou
into the air over the spider as his arms lifted the tessaiga straight over
his head. "Die! You!
lnuYasha No Ai: Stupid! Bug!" Each word had a hint of emphasis on it as he
came fell in a downward dissent directly over the yokai. As he came merely
inches from the spider those powerful arms of his thrust downward and cut
right through the
lnuYasha No Ai: annoying bastard. Another piece of his jewel saved!

Miroku No Ai: Well, it seemed that the blood had rushed to InuYasha's head
once again. Instead of taking a moment to evaluate his target and look for
the tactical way to attack, he had just barged in and came out worse for the
wear. As for the
Miroku No Ai: larger spider demon, it was nothing more than an over sized
annoyance. The others had been doing their share of the fighting, of course,
but it's hard to shine in the light of glory when a maniac is slashing his
sword around wildly.
Miroku No Ai: There'd almost be a look of exasperation on his focused and,
should I add, rather handsome face. Watching InuYasha really could be
difficult sometimes. " Kagome-sama! " One hand cupped around his mouth would
aid his voice to the
Miroku No Ai: young miko on the other side of the fight. She was, after all,
the one they needed to wait for before they fully ended this. " Can you see
the shard? " Once he'd finished his request, he'd drop that free left hand
back to his side.
Miroku No Ai: Clutched tightly in his cursed right hand was that sacred
staff passed down through his family line. There was certainly no need to
unleash his own powers, at least not yet. Wouldn't want to do anything
reckless that could
Miroku No Ai: cause the loss of or damage to the shard they were seeking all
afternoon, now did they? Perhaps he'd express his concern to InuYasha later,
in a bit of a forceful way so it'd make it through that thick skull.

Higurashi No Ai: How...very like him. At this rate, they'd be playing
clean-up crew right after demon slayers. Then again...her job right now was
fairly simple...Perking at the sound of the monk's voice, she looked in his
direction, giving a nod
Higurashi No Ai: that meant she'd heard loud and clear. That vague look on
her face became concentrated as she looked at the battered remains of the
main body. The creature was already beginning to quiver, eager to rebuild
itself. That meant there
Higurashi No Ai: definitely wasn't much time...ah! Her right hand pointed
into the bowels of the creature, crying, "There! It's stuck in there!" Oh,
sure, it was definitely deep inside the monster...but she wouldn't be in
charge of getting it out,
Higurashi No Ai: now would she? No, but heck no. The girl had dirtied her
fair share of school uniforms, and wasn't about to stain this one. Instead,
she kept her distance, fingers at the ready in case an arrow required
notching on her bow. No need
Higurashi No Ai: to worry about her aim...she'd been practicing, after all.

Sango No Ai: Damn. What had she missed?. Sango had finally came back to the
group just after the fighting had stooped. She was getting the villagers to
safety. She would blink as she come up behind the Monk Her arms crossed over
her chest as
Sango No Ai: she looked at the damage. Seems InuYasha went off the deep
end again in slaying this demon spider. That never failed to amaze her.
Looking to the Miko, she smirked. Kagome could be such a girl, but she never
said anything to
Sango No Ai: insault her. She was a very good friend. Moving closer, she
would extend a hand and place it on Miroku's shoulder. - "Everything alright
here? The villagers are safe. Was there a shard in the demon?"

lnuYasha No Ai: Dinner and a Jewel. Sensitive ears caught the monks request
to have the jewel shard located. It was about damn time that dead weight
they called Kagome actually did something. It's about time. He scowled as
he turned to look to
lnuYasha No Ai: see where she had pointed. His head then turned to glance
into the general area of where she said the said jewel was to be located.
Eyes narrowed and a snarl came out as the yokai was taking this precious time
to try and reform
lnuYasha No Ai: its body. No sense in letting this wound goes to waste. On
the contrary, fingers adjusted and spread out in an even bent fashion. That
claw of his was now primed to do some serious damage. That same hand ripped
across his chest
lnuYasha No Ai: and gathered traces of blood on his claws. Before lashing
his arm out and yelling, "Hijin Kesso!" Or the popular phrase Blades of Blood.
Multiple shuriken like strikes were sent towards the back end of the
creature, mainly its
lnuYasha No Ai: lower intestine, ripping it shreds. Well what do you know,
out came flying that piece of jewel shard. Noting wear it landed and turned
around and scowled at the trio. You three sure were a lot of help! Just
standing there!

Miroku No Ai: That presence would earn a smile from the taller houshi, a
slight turn of his head to flash it towards the taijiya. It seemed she was
even being put out of her normal job by InuYasha's restless behavior. Perhaps
it was just that it
Miroku No Ai: had been a while since their last stroke of luck with these
shards. Ah, but what was that! Those villages the young Taijiya had assisted
to safety! Some of them had gathered a little ways back from the fight to
observe. The group
Miroku No Ai: were, after all, defending their village and farmlands. Within
that group? Why, what luck! A group of beautiful young village women standing
behind the man he assumed was the headman of the village. This certainly
changed things
Miroku No Ai: now. While that grin flashed even wider, complete with a
rather dashing sparkle to those dark blue eyes; he'd await his opportunity
for the hanyou to finish the dirty work. There was no need to complain in not
joining in, after all,
Miroku No Ai: when there were others willing to do the manual labor. Waiting
until InuYasha was just out of the immediate range of his Kazaana, he'd
switch that staff into a position where it was supported by his armpit. He'd
need both hands for
Miroku No Ai: this task. Grasping the prayer beads sealing the cursed hole
shut, he'd pull them loose to allow the wind to flow freely. It would only
last a few moments, even if that was just long enough to really make an
impression on those
Miroku No Ai: villagers. He was, after all, just pulling in the remains of
the body while InuYasha grasped the shard. If he happened to feel a little
pull from the kazaana, well...there was no harm in that. A little stumble
never hurt anyone.
Miroku No Ai: Just as soon as the last piece of the yokai had been secured
away into the black hole within his right hand, he'd immediately pull those
prayer beads tight again. They normally would just bury the carcass of the
youkai with a sutra
Miroku No Ai: or two for good measure, but since when was he one to loose an
opportunity to make his own impression? Besides, InuYasha's temper had been
rough for the entire group for a few days now. He needed a chance to cool
off. Besides, based
Miroku No Ai: on the cries of joy from the villagers, they'd done enough to
earn a warm place to stay for the night, complete with a meal!

Higurashi No Ai: Funny how that mutt wouldn't even HAVE his precious shard
had it not been for the 'dead weight's' ability to see them. The way he
rampaged through that carcass made it look like he was having
fun...disgusting..Glimpsing that annoyed
Higurashi No Ai: look and less-than-grateful remark, she produced her own
look of annoyance, beginning a retort.."...If it weren't for me, you wouldn't
even know where to l--" Of course, the girl's voice was drowned out
immediately as Miroku
Higurashi No Ai: unleashed his portable black hole with tornado sucking
action. Instead of calling to him louder, she bit her bottom lip and settled
for a brow narrow. Boy, he was in a nasty mood lately. He knew darn well that
no one was going to get
Higurashi No Ai: in the way when he was flailing his weapon so wildly. And
since when had he gone back to being sloppy? In his many battles one might
assume the half-demon had achieved at least some sort of finesse to his
fighting style, but it
Higurashi No Ai: seemed hack-and-slash was as good as it would ever get.
Hmph...wanting to get the last word for once, she spat under her breath.
"Baka."

Sango No Ai: Seems Kagome knew exactly what the slayer was thinking. She
would look over to her and then to InuYasha. Sango shot him an Icy glare
before turning away and walking off. His comment wasn't needed, she was
doing what needed to be
Sango No Ai: done. It was at the request of her friends that she took care
of the villagers. She couldn't understand what the Hanyou's problem was, be
he had been very cocky with all of them. Sango said nothing as she walked
away, arms
Sango No Ai: crossed over her chest still. Right now it would be best if
she were left alone, but even Sango knew that wouldn't happen. She knew
Kagome would look for her as would Miroku. - "Baka Hanyou... " Her fists
clenched tightly as
Sango No Ai: she placed her arms at her sides. InuYasha's actions were
going to get on or off of them killed if he didn't use care on his ways of
slaying demons..

lnuYasha No Ai: That spider got him good. It hadn't been long after Miroku
had unleashed that wind tunnel, that he felt the effects of the fight. That
spider had hit him pretty damn good in the chest and the bleeding proved it.
No matter he was
lnuYasha No Ai: fine, this little flesh wound didn't hurt. Of course even
if it did, its not like he would willingly rest. Dirty yellow eyes caught
the glimpse of Kagome, which seemingly conveyed the end of her sentence.
Alright so maybe he had
lnuYasha No Ai: become just a little excited. Besides it had been over a
week since their last encounter with a jewel shard. The Hanyous eyes then
focused on the tainted jewel. A few steps to the left was all it took before
he bent over to pick
lnuYasha No Ai: the shard up. A few drips of blood fell from his chest as
he moved a bit tenderly upon rising. Damn scratch. He muttered, before
turning and brining the jewel shard, clutched tightly in his hand, over to
Kagome. Upon arrival he
lnuYasha No Ai: stopped in front of her and cocked his head before opening
his hand and presenting the shard to her. Here.

Miroku No Ai: A final glance to the feuding two would be given just to
ensure that the jewel shard was collected. It was strange seeing InuYasha
approach such a tainted shard and handle it so carelessly, but it was going
into the safe hands of
Miroku No Ai: Kagome, who would no doubt purify it immediately. So, with
that done, he'd retake that staff by his right hand and turn to meet the
rushing villagers. It was only proper, after all, to greet them and converse
with them as they came
Miroku No Ai: thank the group for their efforts. If they happened to offer
that place to sleep and free food, why...how could he decline! Just as soon
as the headman had started with his 'Thanks,' the young houshi would offer a
low bow. " Iie. "
Miroku No Ai: There was that stunningly concerned and focused look crossing
his face again. He could even amaze himself with how innocent and sincere he
could appear when he wished to. " It was merely the right thing to do as we
passed
Miroku No Ai: through. " He hadn't made the mistake to cut off the old man
when he would offer their reward this time. No, not when the prize for all
that hard work was standing in front of them. Besides, it had been a while
since they'd had a
Miroku No Ai: nice place to stay out of the woods and elements. 'Surely you
will honor us with your presence tonight! It's the least you could do!' Was
he hearing things? No, that was their key! Inwardly, he was already aware
that InuYasha's
Miroku No Ai: restlessness wasn't going to be an issue. All they had to do
was tempt Kagome with a bath...and the hanyou was handled. " Yes. Of course.
" He'd answered for the whole group again. Who could blame him? Kagome and
InuYasha were
Miroku No Ai: squabbling, and the villagers usually had issues with
confronting the ragged hanyou, and Sango, the only other trust-worthy one by
appearance was already walking off. Well, that left the duty to him! With
another low bow, he'd turn
Miroku No Ai: to the others, finally bringing his attention back on them.
Now that this was settled...

Higurashi No Ai: The red fluid was fairly noticeable as it drained from his
injury, but for she held no look of concern. After all, he didn't need them.
They were just lackeys following apparently, and making him look good as the
self-proclaimed
Higurashi No Ai: leader. Instead, she plucked the broken piece from his
hand, not pausing to watch as the dirty aura it emitted vanished to be
replaced by a clean one. Kagome had seen it enough and was no longer
impressed with her natural talent. Or
Higurashi No Ai: perhaps it was simply the doggies mood that was setting
her off? Whatever the case, their bickering was over for now, as she'd
already uncorked that small bottle to place the shikon shard inside. Heading
toward the gathering
Higurashi No Ai: villagers, she was not too steamed to notice that he was
already putting on his charming display of generosity, Of COURSE it was the
right thing to do, but that was also ignoring the fact that they'd also
picked up another piece of
Higurashi No Ai: the powerful orb besides. And on top of that, she heard
offers of a place to stay...which usually meant a place to soak! Immediately,
the irritation fled from the girl's face as she brightened. Maybe this
wouldn't turn out to be so
Higurashi No Ai: bad after all! Hm...and where had her Tajiya friend gone..?
Brown hues blinked until they caught sight of a familiar boomerang
structure. "..Sango-chan!"

Sango No Ai: Hearing the cheerful voice of Kagome, Sango had stopped and
turned around. She showed no expression as she stayed where she was. The
young slayer had seen enough in her life to know that demons never made
their journey any easier
Sango No Ai: when finding the shard of the Shikon jewel. She inhaled
deeply and would wait until the Miko came closer. She had heard the talk
among the villagers and their praise of happiness at the Spider's demise. She
couldn't help feel
Sango No Ai: sick in the pit of her stomach at the sight of it. Her
memories just replayed in her mind and she just grasp the fact she was alone.
No family and No home. Giving a sigh, she could only wonder what the girl
had to say. "Did you
Sango No Ai: need something, Kagome-chan?" She asked . There was no sound
of cheer in her voice as she spoke.

lnuYasha No Ai: InuYasha had undoubtedly calmed down himself, but it
appeared that everyone else had not. Just great, those sensitive ears had
caught the monks conversation and sadly the group would probably end up
staying in this village for a
lnuYasha No Ai: day or two now. Just what they needed to do, waste time
while Naraku was on the loose with jewel shards. A scowl escaped once more
as Kagome had already walked off. To many sets of eyes were locked upon the
Hanyou and it was
lnuYasha No Ai: beginning to bug him. Just what the hell were they staring
at!? Hadn't they ever seen a yokai before!? Even if he wasn't a yokai he
could still kick any one of their asses, wounded or not. Instead of causing
an uproar like he
lnuYasha No Ai: would have in the past, a little obediance had actually been
instilled in him. Whatever. He mumbled, staring at the crowd before turning
and walking off to a quiet secluded area. He would not be content until
finally taking
lnuYasha No Ai: refuge in a tree and checking himself over. That damn
spider, how the hell did it hit him anyway? InuYasha once again scowled
before leaning his back against the trees base, while gracefully balancing
his body along the rather
lnuYasha No Ai: thick branch. This is such a waste of time..

Miroku No Ai: There was that voice of dissent that he had expected to hear
of. Luckily, it seemed Kagme had already jumped on the chance at a hot bath
and would not be hounding his reputation tonight. " Inuyasha! It would be
insulting to turn
Miroku No Ai: down such a gracious offer! " Okay, so maybe it didn't look so
good with the two or three women from the village that had lagged behind to
lead him, or them rather, them to the Headman's house for a feast in their
honor. They
Miroku No Ai: really should do this more often. Noting that he instead chose
to go off to sulk, he'd give one final call before allowing himself to be
fully distracted and led off towards their awaiting dinner. " You really
should allow that
Miroku No Ai: wound to be treated, you know! " If nothing else, it would
stir worry in Kagome over whether or not he was really okay. Knowing
InuYasha, he'd be back to himself by morning, though. If he showed any sign
of being any less, there was
Miroku No Ai: always the flawless Plan B. That is, get Kagome to use the
trigger word and knock him out long enough for them to treat him. It hadn't
failed them yet, after all! A quick glance to the side would bring Kagome and
Sango into view.
Miroku No Ai: Good news. Those two seemed preoccupied and would likely be
doing their usual bath routine. There seemed to be no reason to turn down
their dinner invitation. The others had never done so before, even if
InuYasha did banter on like
Miroku No Ai: a small child the whole time.

Higurashi No Ai: Heading in her direction, Kagome paused. Something was
amiss here...and it wasn't the brooding hanyou, or the entrancing antics of
the monk. There seemed to be a chill in the air, or perhaps it was the vague
stare of the other girl.
Higurashi No Ai: Kagome's appearance had altered again, this time appearing
concerned and fretful. As for what she'd wanted to say...didn't seem of much
importance now that she picked up on the uneasy vibes. It was a bit
unnerving, to be honest..
Higurashi No Ai: "...Sango-chan..Is something wrong?" No use beating around
the bush. I mean, the girl could see into the flesh of demons for shards, but
she hadn't developed the ability to see into minds for thoughts. That was
something that only
Higurashi No Ai: words could express. Or, actions, but with lack of them,
that wasn't much help. Instead, she could only hope the girl wouldn't be
closed to her...they were the ones in the group that actually communicated,
after all, weren't they?

Sango No Ai: She turned away that quickly. Sango didn't give an answer.
"...I need to go.." That was all she said and began to walk off. Out of the
corner of her eye, she had saw the woman and Miroku. That just made it worse.
She didn't want
Sango No Ai: the others to know this was bothering her, but eventually it
would come down to saying something. She would find a place to sit and just
mull over her thoughts. She knew that Kagome had sensed something was amiss
with the
Sango No Ai: Taijiya. Yes, she they talked, but in some sense, she was
hoping to talk with another who had lost family. But, he was busy with the
women.. After a while, she would head back to find the others. Sango felt no
better since that
Sango No Ai: ever short conversation with Kagome. Upon meeting them, she
sat down and just kept to herself. Her Hiraikotsu lay on the floor beside her
and her hands were folded and placed in her lap..

lnuYasha No Ai: Tree hugger. InuYasha stared at the monk with a rather
annoyed expression. The god damn free loader was conning his way to good
grace again. The comments were brushed off as he decided that he was not
hungry. Though maybe a
lnuYasha No Ai: little. Dirty yellow eyes scanned the area for anyone else
whom might have wanted to test him next. At least the people had stopped
starring at him. That head of his would lean back against the tree as he let
his body begin to
lnuYasha No Ai: nurse that wound of his. Besides, he didn't need for it to
be treated, it would be healed by morning and they could leave bright and
early. He was a half demon, so it was natural that he healed rather quickly.
In all fairness at
lnuYasha No Ai: the very least he knew he would not get away with the blood
ridden clothes. That claw like hand again, reached to his chest and felt
once again. There was still plenty of blood and the bleeding had atleast
began to clot itself a
lnuYasha No Ai: little. The one thing that really irritated him right now
about this entire mess was the fact that spider had actually struck him. In
a business like this it would be damn good to develope a short term memory,
dwelling over past
lnuYasha No Ai: battles was not going to help him in future battles. Soon
after InuYasha allowed his hand to rest in his lap before leaning his head
back against the tree base and closing his eyes.

Miroku No Ai: Things had seemed to be going along so well! Why in the world
did it have to take a turn for the worse? It certainly wasn't the poor
lighting of the night air around them. No, those young women had all too
quickly been called from
Miroku No Ai: his side. What was worse? They weren't the ones serving the
Headman's house. No, instead, he'd been seated only to be confronted by the
most dried up youkai he'd ever seen. Er, well, it was just an old woman. The
Headman's wife, it
Miroku No Ai: seemed, was rather a bit...friendly with strangers in her old
age. Too friendly. He'd had to excuse himself quickly from that mess and into
the recesses of the room they'd been allotted for the night. At least they
were being
Miroku No Ai: provided that shelter...and it seemed the Headman and his wife
had taken their argument back to their own quarters. Sitting up against one
of those thin walls, the candle light of the room flickering gently in the
slight breeze,
Miroku No Ai: those dark eyes would be closed. With a cup of tea in his
hands, he almost looked peaceful. Almost, except for that occassional shiver
as the memory of the old woman trying to fondle him forced its way through
his mind again.
Miroku No Ai: " Ah-ah! Left alone to bear the burden... " What burden one
would ask? Being in the spotlight when there were only old and ugly
individuals around. What a disappointing night. He only had two choices now.
Barge in on the women and
Miroku No Ai: their conversation, risking being struck by both, or go and
socialize with InuYasha. With a rather disgruntled look on his face, those
eyes now opening just slightly, he'd consider both to be failures. With the
immediate re-entering
Miroku No Ai: of the Taijiya, however, his mood would improven slightly. At
least the scenery in this home had become much, much better.

Higurashi No Ai: A frown surfaced as she watched Sango walk off. Doesn't
seem like nothing... It was now blatantly obvious that her friend wasn't
feeling her best, but apparently didn't seem too apt to discuss it, either.
Well...some things were
Higurashi No Ai: better off left alone. If her mood continued, however,
Kagome was certain to do something about it. Turning back to the waning
crowd, she'd spot a sight that wasn't out of the ordinary in a village like
this; their very own
Higurashi No Ai: lecherous monk surrounded by pretty women and the
occasional old bag. That could've warranted the slayer's mood more than
anything...but normally she'd stroll over and drag him off by the ear. The
problem must go deeper then..hm.
Higurashi No Ai: She almost found it difficult to remove her look of
distaste, and turned her attention elsewhere. The dog was...in a tree. If
only he knew how silly that sounded. Shaking her head free of the minor
inconveniences, she decided
Higurashi No Ai: it would be simply brilliant to take up the village on
there offer of a nice, hot bath. The problem was finding it.

Sango No Ai: One would think. But, this time it had nothing to do with the
Monk.. Okay maybe it did a little. But she would glange up at him and then
shoot him a pretty nasty glare. Well, he did deserve it. Sango then looked
away. He seemed at
Sango No Ai: peace as he sipped at his tea. What. he wasn't getting drunk
tonight? Oh Surprise, surprise.. Sango had remained quiet the whole time
she was alone with Miroku. That was something new. Normally she spoke to him.
But, after
Sango No Ai: seeing him with a few girls, she just ignored him. Getting up
from her stop, she would walk past him and shut the door loudly. Everything
was weighing on her mind and she just couldn't relax. There had to be a way
to just get past
Sango No Ai: that rough part on her life. A way to hear that still wounded.

lnuYasha No Ai: What a drag. Head remained firmly planted against the tree
as the silent Hanyou rested. He was in a state where he was almost asleep,
but still alert in his senses, as he usually was. Several minutes had passed
and nothing had
lnuYasha No Ai: disturbed him. A few minutes longer and it would all
change. A familiar scent came into the area and before even opening his
eyes, he had already made it out to be Kagome. Of course this would prompt
him to open his eyes and gaze
lnuYasha No Ai: over to the girl. That hard look of his had actually
softened up upon eyes making contact with the girls figure. It seemed that
she had other things on her mind, not to mention it was a surprise that she
had not forced treatment
lnuYasha No Ai: on his injuries by now. It was a miracle to say the least,
was she actually beginning to listen to him when he said his body heals much
faster than that of a humans body? A new leaf turned over for this girl
indeed. Just how long
lnuYasha No Ai: would that actually last? That head of his once again
collasped into tree, before long closing his eyes once again.