Miroku held his staff tightly. Holding Sango’s shoulder, he held her and him tightly to Kirara’s back. The youkai cat raced thru the sky like a bird with wings. Her front paws taking the beat of the flight while her back paws propelled them forward with more speed.

Shippo clung on Miroku’s robe; the small fox seem to be in the mood to join them on this youkai hunt. Keade had said before they had arrived at the village a youkai was spotted not far from where Keade’s village was, and rumored to have a Shikon no Tama shard. But without Kagome, they were only going on a hunch.

“Sango, do we really know if there is a Shikon no Tama shard?” Miroku asked.

“I wouldn’t know.” Sango sighed, “But even still, I hope fighting will get us all back in the…mood.”

Miroku sighed. Despite the both of them trying to help, Sesshomaru had really gotten through to InuYasha before they could. Miroku thought about it, Sesshomaru had always despised InuYasha due to his human blood, and yet…at every chance the daiyoukai had an attempt to kill InuYasha, he never took it.

Even InuYasha, even though Miroku wasn’t at InuYasha’s otou’s grave when he fought Sesshomaru over the Tessaiga, he did cut Sesshomaru’s arm off, but did InuYasha still hold back? The way Kagome had described it; InuYasha had a clear shot to the daiyoukai’s neck.

Miroku shook his head, and looked down at Shippo. The young kitsune was shaking from head to toe. He wanted to fight, but he was still a child, Miroku hoped he may just observe as they started to approach the youki.

“We’re here.” Sango said, as she positioned her Hiraikotsu over her shoulder. Miroku took his focus off Shippo and turned his head forward, a small village lay ahead.

Kirara landed and all three got off. Kirara transformed back to her smaller form and hopped on to Sango’s shoulder.

“I hear you have a youkai problem?” Miroku asked an elder woman who was out sweeping in front over her hut.

“Yes, why I do houshi-sama.” the woman bowed.

“We have come to defeat it.” Sango said as she stepped forward. The village suddenly became alive, parents streamed out and men held pitch forks. Miroku noticed most of the men had battle marks, from what, Miroku did not know.

“A youkai taijiya has come!” one man shouted.

“Finally!” another said.

“Wait…” Miroku held up his hands. “I do need to know, do any of you know if the youkai has possession of a Shikon no Tama shard?”

“Why does it matter houshi?” Sango hissed. “We still have to help these people.”

“I know Sango, but I would rather know beforehand.” Miroku responded to her concern.

“I wouldn’t know.” One man said.

“It takes our children!” A woman cried and held her little boy to her tightly.

“Alright, alight.” Miroku held up his hands. “I can assure all of you, you will be sleeping better tonight.”

Suddenly the villager’s faces all turned to horror, Miroku sighed as the youki came up behind him. Sango looked down and said nothing.

“There’s another youkai behind you!” A man screamed.

“Don’t worry,” Sango said, giving the ‘youkai’ behind her a glance. “He’s with us; he’s going to help exterminate the youkai that is bothering you.”

“Are…you…sure?” The elder woman asked, “It looks like it’s going to eat you any second!”

Miroku heard and irritated growl come from behind him. Miroku turned to see InuYasha’s red eyes glaring at the villagers. Both of his wings folded nicely behind him, his red fire rat hakama on, and a ratty old grey kimono with two holes in the back to suit his wings. InuYasha had not been willing to put the top of his fire rat on just yet.  

“InuYasha, they don’t know.” Miroku sighed. “Just ignore them and concentrate on the task ahead.” InuYasha only snorted in response, and took a glance into the sky. He took one faithful jump and snapped his wings out darting ahead to the woods that the youkai seemed to live in.

“That’s our cue. Come one houshi.” Sango said as she moved forward between the shocked villagers. As Miroku started thru them a man gave him an angry look.

“That youkai is no better then the one that terrorizes our village.”

Miroku felt something snap in him, never had he felt the anger, the loss of self control like this before. He glared at the man and got right into his face.

“As I should point out that youkai is actually a hanyou! He was possessed forced to rape the women he loves and almost forced to kill his onii! Is there any more you want to tell me, that I don’t know!?”

The villager backed up, his face printed in shock and confusion, but Miroku wasn’t done. “That is my FRIEND, not a youkai who hunts and feasts on humans! Now don’t tell me that my HANYOU friend is the same as the youkai that terrorizes your village!”

The villagers just stared at him in open mouth response. Some of the women put their children closer to them, but no one challenged Miroku. Miroku took a deep breathe and stalked after Sango. He felt InuYasha would not want him to tell what he had just blurted, but those humans wouldn’t know what happened, none of them would understand. InuYasha should not be judged by how he looked, and it hurt Miroku just to think what InuYasha was going through. InuYasha had been a hybrid, between a youkai and a human, he had no decision on what his parents were, and his parents loved one another. Everyone hated him for what he was; no one cared to know him personally. But Miroku had, he felt for InuYasha, he had no regrets of joining InuYasha to help defeat Naraku.

Miroku felt a sudden chill go through him, if he hadn’t met InuYasha, would he think the same thing? Think that all hanyou’s were abominations? Miroku had a bad gut feeling he would, he had grown and trained to be a houshi, who thought all youkai were evil and need to be rid of this Earth. And if so, he would have attempted to make InuYasha go to peace in Nirvana or maybe sucked him into the kazaana without second thought.

No, InuYasha was his friend, a hanyou, yet a friend. Even now, as full-fledged youkai at the moment, Miroku’s feeling for InuYasha didn’t change. He had been worried when he first heard InuYasha wanted to use the Shikon no Tama to turn youkai. That day when he transformed…Miroku went to Kagome’s side; he hoped he would persuade his friend to stay the way he was.  

Miroku was so in thought he hit something leathery and felt something slam him in the face.

“Shit Miroku will you watch where you’re going!” InuYasha’s voice hissed. Miroku rubbed his cheek to where InuYasha had hit him and shot his brow down.

“Excuse me!” Miroku snapped. “I just defended your integrity, so will you give me some gratitude!”

InuYasha stopped and stared at him, one of his ears flicked. “My integrity?”

“Yes, I don’t want to tell you though, we need to focus on defeating…”

“Already done.” Miroku froze.

“What…?”

“You took to long.” InuYasha gave him a look. He held up the head of the youkai, Miroku almost felt the bile in his stomach come up, as he looked away slowly, not trying to tempt his food from leaving his system so soon.

“Mind…ummm…putting that somewhere else?” Miroku gagged.

“Sorry, mister squirmish, but I’m looking for shards.” InuYasha grumbled. That was when Miroku realized InuYasha was covered in blood, but by the looks of it, the splatter was on him, and not his own wounds.

“Houshi what took so long?” Sango came up behind him.

“I was calming the villagers.” Miroku lied. More like shocking them to a core, Miroku silently cursed himself.

“Found it!” Miroku and Sango turned to InuYasha as he ripped the skull open, much to the dislike of Miroku’s stomach and probably Sango’s, and ripped out the shard from the grey matter.

“Don’t you think he needs a bath?” Shippo asked.

“Definitely.” Sango said. “I don’t have his nose, but I sure can smell this, we better start cleaning this up.”

“Sango?” She turned to him, as the headed to decapitated youkai.

“Yes houshi?”

“The truth…” Miroku looked down. “I lost my temper.”

“You what…?” Sango stared at him in confusion.

“When a villager said InuYasha was the same as this youkai, something in me snapped, I think I scared them all.” Miroku looked down further.

He felt her hand come on his shoulder; he looked up at her smiling face. “You know that is what something Kagome would do. Protect InuYasha like that.”

“What will happen between them now?” Miroku asked her. Sango’s face dropped.

“I…InuYasha needs to get over what was not his fault, I tried to tell him, Kagome loves him. I know women when they see their soul mate; it’s just in her eyes the way she looks at him. He still is in denial.”

“Is that what I’m seeing in your eyes right now my dear Sango?’ Miroku smiled. Sango gave him a cold look.

SLAP! “I only hope not.” Was all she said as turned her back on him. Miroku sighed…so close.

“Are we going to be all day or what?” InuYasha asked, with his bloody arms crossed.

“No InuYasha we’re not.” Miroku answered the impatient hanyou. “But do us all a favor when we get back to Keade’s village.”

“What?” InuYasha scowled.

“Get a bath.”