Trinity Blood Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadows of Time ❯ Chapter 10

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: The Shadows of Time
Author: Ryukotsusei
Fandom: Inuyasha and Trinity Blood
Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Violence, torture, character deaths, language, lemons, spoilers for the entire series just to be safe, and the possibility of out of character characterizations. Read at your own risk.

Pairings: Tres Iqus x Kagome Higurashi x Abel Nightroad

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Trinity Blood. The series belong to Rumiko Takahashi, and the late Sunao Yoshido. I make no money off of this fan fiction.

Special thanks to KogasHentaiLuver for taking the time to beta this chapter. And thank you to everyone who has chosen to review thus far.

Author's Note: For those wondering, yes that was a cameo appearance by Yusuke. I'm afraid that I couldn't help myself, it was just too tempting to pass up.

Also, a question was posed as to whether Hiei, Yusuke and Kurama would have been able to survive Armageddon. I would have to believe that it was possible, especially considering how likely it would be that the three of them would have been living in the Makai at that time. Since it's an alternate dimension of sorts, what happens in the human world would not necessarily affect them in the demon world. Whether they'd have an interest in getting involved in the Ningenkai's troubles at that point however, would definitely be up for debate.

Chapter Ten

Almost two weeks had passed since Inuyasha and Father Tres had returned to Kagome's time. Since then, they'd gained quite a bit of ground, covering a considerable distant with each day that passed. Rumors of Naraku had even surfaced, causing the group to push ever harder in an attempt to find him; however, it seemed like nature was attempting to conspire against them.

For the past hour or so, small tremors had wracked the land and it made them all uneasy since their travels had taken them up onto the narrow mountain trails. More than once, small rock showers had pelted them and Kagome had nearly been flattened by a boulder that had come loose during one of the small earthquakes. It had only been Inuyasha's quick reflexes which had knocked her out of the way, but that had been more than enough to stop the group from traveling any further into the mountains.

“Shit, brace yourselves,” Inuyasha warned, his keen hearing immediately picking up on the sound of the fault line shifting yet again. Before he could make a grab to shelter Kagome from any falling debris, Father Tres had moved in and pulled her up against his chest.

What began as a dull hum quickly became a quiet roar and debris began falling all around them. Shippo took sanctuary with Inuyasha while Sango and Miroku braced themselves against the cliff wall they were all trapped against. Whispered prayers were lost to the sound of Mother Nature exerting her control over the surrounding area, as all they could do was cling to the side and pray it would be over soon.

Inuyasha knew that these were merely the tremors that signaled that the worst was still to come. “We've gotta get off this mountain now,” he ordered and contemplated the quickest way to get down. “Sango, we need Kirara to carry the others down before another one hits.” He could carry Kagome and Shippo easily enough if necessary, but the others just weren't possible. Unfortunately, Kagome was also one of the ones that needed to get down first which meant for now; he was going to have to send her off without him.

“Kagome, you, and Tres go first, I'll take Shippo. Sango can grab Miroku and Abel on the second trip,” he said, making the decision just as another tremor hit. There wasn't any time to argue about who went on what trip and while he knew that Shippo would prefer to stay with Kagome, Kirara would already be pushing her limit at carrying the three adults.

Kagome knew better than to argue with him so instead she nodded and tried to make her way over to the fire cat. Only the fact that Tres had a firm grip on her arm kept her from losing her precarious balance. Once she reached the fire cat's side she still needed his assistance in getting up on Kirara's back. Anxiously she wrapped her arms around Sango's waist and held on as tightly as she could without causing her friend discomfort. Meanwhile, Tres somehow managed to climb on behind her and within seconds they were in the air and heading back towards the base of the mountain.

Now that they were in the air they could see just how violent the earthquake was even if it might be considered a small one at best. Treetops lashed about violently, rocks fell, and beneath them a lake's water surged up onto the banks. 'I hope the others will be all right until Sango gets back to them.' The view she had from above only drove the point home about how much danger their friends were still in while they remained on the mountain.

Sensing her Mistresses distress, Kirara flew as fast as she possibly could, approaching the ground at near breakneck speeds. The location wasn't particularly important just as long as there wasn't the chance for falling debris and ended up setting them down in a gully. As soon as her feet touched ground she came to a stop, anxiously waiting for two of her passengers to dismount.

“Just wait here for us,” Sango instructed the smaller girl and then allowed the fire cat to take to the air again. However, she regretted the decision almost immediately when the major earthquake Inuyasha had been worried about chose to strike. “Kirara, go back,” she shouted when she looked back to see that both Kagome and Father Tres couldn't stand any longer. The sound of several large cracks filled the air just as the fire cat altered her course and suddenly Sango was filled with the sense of impending disaster.

Weakly, Kagome attempted to push herself to her hands and knees when the shaking became even more violent and the musty scent of earth filled the air. “Father Tres,” she shrieked, when she realized just what was about to happen and she crawled over to him as best as she could, knowing that theyhad to get out of the depression now. However, there was no chance of escape when the ground cracked and split beneath them, revealing the concealed cavern that lay below.

Quickly Tres lunged towards the girl and grabbed a hold of her even though he knew that neither one of them could stop themselves from falling. Kagome's scream of fear filled the air when the ground gave way completely and the most he could do was attempt to absorb as much of the impact as he could. The ground rushed up to greet him violently and when his back slammed into the rocky surface it knocked the wind out of him, stunning him in the process.

Although she was sore from the impact, Kagome knew that Tres had taken the worst of it and their ordeal wasn't over just yet. “Come on, we've got to get up,” she shouted, grabbing hold of his coat and attempting to haul him to his feet as the first of the mudslide began. With increasing speed, it began to pour over the broken edge above. “Please, Tres,” she begged even though she knew he'd probably hit his head rather hard when she'd landed on him.

It was the fear in her voice that reached him and with a groan he rolled over, pushing himself to his feet. For now, he ignored the searing pain in his leg and the sharp throbbing in the back of his head, choosing instead to concentrate on getting the miko away from the immediate danger. “We need to move away from the entrance,” he said, ignoring the pain he felt when taking a deep breath in order to speak. That pain alone told him it was likely that he'd broken some ribs in the fall as well.

Immediately, Kagome took his hand and began to lead him deeper into the cavern. “This way,” she said while trying to peer into the darkness. The sound of running water told her that they'd fallen into an underground river and since the chamber wasn't flooded, there had to be another way out besides the way they'd come in. A quick glance thrown over her shoulder proved that the mudslide was doing much to fill that same hole and within moments it would be gone along with what little light they had.

“We should... be far enough for now,” Tres said and slowed so that he could take stock of his own injuries. Carefully, he leaned against the wall and just rested for a moment, trying to get his bearings back. Surely the others had witnessed just what had happened and it wouldn't be long before they managed to dig them out. Of course that was assuming that the area was stable enough to work in; otherwise, there was a good chance they'd be attempting to walk out of the cavern instead.

“How bad is it?” Kagome asked when the redhead moved until he was sitting on the ground. Slowly, she knelt in front of him and attempted to peer through the darkness, but was dismayed to find that there was no way for her to see for herself because the light was virtually nonexistent.

“Troublesome, but not life threatening,” he replied and gently probed his ribs. The pain was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before and he was forced to bite back a groan. 'Broken ribs confirmed movement will be problematic until they heal.' As much as he hated to admit it, until he'd recovered there was a good chance that the Crusnik would be forced to take over his duties. Even worse still, he'd be the one to hold back the search for Naraku. The thought was not a particularly pleasant one and again he was cursing his human body.

“Just a moment,” Kagome replied and shrugged off the small shoulder pack she'd been carrying. Now more than ever she was grateful that she'd taken to carrying the damned thing wherever she went, it was going to come in handy. Fumbling through the dark, she pulled open the zipper and felt around for the pen light she'd thrown inside. “Ah ha, there it is.” she said and pulled it out. The small light filled the air, causing her to frown when she saw the blood seeping from a cut on his head, “That looks bad, we should take care of that so it doesn't get any worse.”

Tres ignored the comment and took the light from her so he could get a look at her condition. When nothing became immediately apparent he nodded in satisfaction, “Good, you are uninjured.” In his opinion, his injuries were secondary compared to the ones that she might have acquired in the fall and he knew the others would feel the same way.

“Yeah, except for a couple of skinned knees, nothing to worry about. Where all are you hurt?” she asked, leaving the light to him so both of her hands were free. Quickly she removed the first aid kit and began digging around for the alcohol pads. It was rather surprising to see just how complete the pack was compared to how it had been when she'd returned home for the last time. The only thing she could figure was that her mother had thought that she'd be returning to the past one day and had prepared for that eventuality. The thought brought tears to her eyes and she attempted to blink them away before Tres could notice them.

“Damage sustained: one minor head wound, two broken ribs without internal injuries and one gash on the right thigh,” he replied automatically, concentrating on answering her question rather than dwelling on how long it was going to take to recover.

“That good huh?” Kagome replied with a sigh and ripped the paper wrapping open, “I need you to hold the light on the cut on your head and don't move. This is going to sting a bit.” Once the light was in position she began to dab at the cut, cleaning the blood and dirt from it the best that she could. Fortunately, it didn't appear to be too deep, it just looked worse than it was because of how freely head wounds tended to bleed.

To her surprise though, Tres didn't even flinch in spite of how much she knew it had to sting. Vaguely she remembered the time she had sliced her head open as a child, she'd bawled like a baby and swore that her mother wasn't touching her with alcohol ever again. 'I guess he's a lot stronger than I was or I was just a big baby. Maybe both.' Now that the wound was cleaned she tossed the used alcohol pad back into the bag, not particularly wanting to leave it on the ground and pulled out the small bottle of skin glue. “Same drill okay, this might sting a bit.”

Father Tres nearly rolled his eyes at the warning; his head already ached so a bit of an added sting in treating it wasn't likely to make much of a difference at all. But instead he humored her, knowing that she was most likely talking in an attempt to distract herself from their current situation. It was decidedly odd though, having his skin glued back into place was a technique he never would have considered using.

“There, that's done. I guess you should take your coat off so I can get a look at your ribs and leg,” she said quietly, hoping that the man wasn't going to have to strip completely. 'He said it was on his thigh though which means we can't push the pants up that far. I just don't want him moving around too much, it might aggravate his ribs.'

Although he wasn't about to say it, Tres was more than a little irritated by what was happening. Not because Kagome was attempting to take care of him, but because she was being forced to in the first place. Not for the first time he was wishing his body wasn't so susceptible to becoming injured; however, there was nothing to be done about it now. Methodically, he began working at the buckles holding his shoulder guards in place and shrugged them off before applying his fingers to the clasps that held the trench coat closed. Within moments, he'd taken it off, but before he could begin unbuttoning the plain, white shirt, Kagome had beaten him to it.

“You shouldn't move too much,” she offered as an explanation, but she didn't bother to pause to make sure it was okay. However, if he wanted to put up a fight about it, she was fully prepared to press the issue if need be. 'It's not like I'm doing this for a cheap thrill or anything. Groping an injured person isn't my idea of fun anyway.' Yet as soon as the thin material slid from his shoulders she was forced to remember what had happened that day in the hut. 'Get a grip, Kagome, he's probably forgotten all about that by now anyway.'

“You are flushed again,” Tres stated, proving her thought of a few moments ago wrong, “Are you sure you are uninjured?” Slowly he brought his hand up to her face, checking for himself that she wasn't going into shock or something.

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Kagome protested weakly and turned towards the small pack, hoping that the shadows would conceal her blush. 'Okay so maybe he hasn't forgotten about that after all.' A large role of adhesive tape found its way into her hand and she began pulling several strips off of it. “Just relax for me; we need to immobilize the area as much as we can without restricting your breathing. Shine that light down on the area would you?” she asked and frowned when she saw the bruise that was spreading, leaving no doubt as to which ribs were causing the problems.

Gently she placed the tape directly over the affected area, being as careful as she could when applying enough pressure to secure the bandage in place. Five more strips were to follow, starting at the sternum and wrapping all the way around to his spine. Fortunately he didn't have to move much; the exception being when she needed to reach around him and then it was as little as possible. Now, the only problem that remained was the gash in his leg and a quick look revealed what she'd suspected before. “The pants are going to need to come off, I can't really see how bad it is with them on,” Kagome replied, hoping that he didn't take the statement the wrong way.

It was curious how she was trying to keep a serious facade while her face continued to heat up, but Tres passed it off as a strange habit. Really, the girl had quite a few of them so one more wasn't particularly unusual. The thought crossed his mind that it could be due to modesty issues, but then she hadn't seemed to be too uncomfortable when she'd been naked in the tank. Nor had she thrown him from the room when Sister Esther ordered Shippo out. Either way, it really didn't matter in the long run. Although it was difficult, he managed to unbutton the pants and then slide them down over his hips, despite the fact that he was sitting down. There was no point in removing the boots he wore since he wasn't stripping them completely off.

Seeing that he was wearing boxers was a bit of a relief and some of the blush faded from Kagome's cheeks. Seeing that he wasn't particularly concerned with her seeing him in a semi clothed state also brought a small measure of comfort. Yet, that relief quickly changed to one of concern when she saw just how deep the wound was along with how much blood had poured from the ragged incision. 'It's a wonder he hasn't passed out on me.' While an artery hadn't been nicked, it wasn't something to just brush off either. Unfortunately, she'd never stitched a wound shut and that's exactly what he needed, just wrapping it wasn't an option and they couldn't even think of moving him otherwise. Yet these were far from the ideal circumstances to consider doing such a thing, but the fact of the matter was, they were out of options.

“Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick,” she moaned when she realized just what she would need to do. Sewing a ripped garment was one thing, but her guardian's leg?

“Kagome?” Tres queried and stared into her pale face. He'd seen that the wound was fairly deep and would need tending to, but she seemed to have suddenly lost her confidence in her ability to treat it. When she looked at him, he nodded to her, “Go ahead and do it.”

“Alright,” Kagome replied and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, “just... hold the light steady alright? I've got to clean it out good otherwise it'll get infected.” This time the alcohol pads weren't going to be anywhere near enough and she reached into the pack in order to remove the small bottle of iodine that had been stashed away in there. With shaky hands, she unscrewed the top and then poured a small amount into the wound. When Tres hissed in pain she looked up worriedly, but he didn't give any indication that she should stop. “I'm sorry,” she whispered and continued to wash the wound out, trying to make sure she got it as clean as she possibly could. To half ass this now could easily cost him his leg, if not his life, to infection later.

“Don't be, it has to be done,” Tres said after a moment. Once the initial sting had passed, the discomfort wasn't any worse than it had been previously. The miko; however, looked as if she were about to pass out at any moment.

“Take deep breaths and don't think too hard on what you're about to do,” he advised and nodded in approval when she calmed down, even if it was only slightly.

“You know, healing abilities would be nice right about now,” Kagome said softly, trying to disguise the bitterness she was feeling at not being able to use her holy powers to their maximum potential. Unfortunately, complaining wasn't going to change anything either and the battery wasn't going to last forever either. Quickly, she pulled out the curved needle and the sterile thread that would be used for sutures. It took a few tries, but eventually she was able to thread the damned thing and tie a knot in the end.

“Are you ready?” she asked since she didn't want to just jab him with something sharp and not give him fair warning that it was coming.

Since she was looking directly at him, Tres merely nodded and braced himself for what was to follow. Curiously, he watched her move the needle down to his leg and look for the area to start in.

“Down here,” he advised, moving her hand to the proper position. While he'd never offered anyone medical attention, he had detailed files of the human anatomy and they covered the best ways to heal someone should one of his team mates need it.

“Here goes nothing,” Kagome muttered and pierced the skin as quickly as she could. As expected, the priest winced, but to his credit he didn't complain and he didn't push her away as she'd expected. Instead, he remained as still as possible, allowing her to work as best as she could. Carefully, she pulled the skin back into its proper position and made sure that there were no gaping holes before she tied each knot. It seemed to take forever, but eventually the wound was closed and with the exception of a few spots that continued to ooze, the bleeding had finally stopped. With a sigh of relief, Kagome put the needle away and grabbed another roll of gauze to carefully wrap around his leg. “Tell me if it's too tight alright?”

However, there was no need to say it and Tres could tell she had extensive experience with wrapping wounds, even if this had been her first time at stitching one. Somehow it didn't surprise him though, the group as a whole tended to be rather reckless; therefore, they would be more prone to injuries. Kagome, being the type of person she was, would take it upon herself to treat them as best as she could.

“The wrapping is fine,” he said and when she moved away he shifted his body just enough that he could slide his pants back into place.

“Here, let me help you with that. You shouldn't be moving that much,” Kagome said, pushing his hands out of the way and working on his belts. The raised eyebrow he gave her went ignored and once his pants were securely in place, she moved to the shirt that had been removed earlier.

“How long do you think it will take them to get us out?” she asked, needing to break the silence while she worked on the row of buttons in the dim light.

“Unknown at this time if they'll be able to as the surrounding area will be highly unstable, and there is a chance of a further cave in with the aftershocks that will follow,” Tres replied, his gaze going to the area they'd dropped down from. No trace remained of the entrance now and something told him that the instability of the area would prevent them from digging them out. With that factor, there was no way the hanyou could blast them out either, the resulting cave in would likely crush them.

That answer was not particularly reassuring, but at least it was an honest one. “I guess that means we'll need to find another way out then and hope that Inuyasha realizes what it is that we're doing,” she said at last. If she thought there was any chance that he'd hear her she'd try yelling up to him. However, there looked to be nearly forty feet of solid mud in between them and where Inuyasha was probably cursing up a storm. The added danger was that the man might try to blast his way through using the Tetsusaiga which could end up killing them in the process. Digging them out without it was highly unlikely and they couldn't risk the chance of remaining in one spot because of it.

“There should be an exit, we'll just need to follow the river to its end,” Tres said after a moment. The brief look he'd gotten of it before the light had been taken away gave the river the impression of being fairly deep, at least at this particular point. With luck they'd be able to get out of the cavern even if it meant having to swim at some point to get under any low lying rocks.

The statement had Kagome looking at him skeptically, “Are you even going to be able to walk is the question. If you strain your leg too much you'll tear the stitches out, and as much as I'd like to, there's no way in hell I can carry you.”

The very idea would have been laughable if the situation hadn't been so serious. The most she could do was offer him some support if he needed someone to lean on, but that was about it.

Father Tres nodded and finished buckling his trench coat with the miko's help. “Positive,” he said and pushed himself up with the aid of the wall at his back and Kagome in front of him. The pain was intense, but bearable. So long as they stopped often before the muscle gave signs of being stressed too much he'd be fine.

“We should start moving,” he said at last and then made sure that his weapons were securely in place.

“Let me just finish packing this stuff up,” she replied and hastily shoved the first aid kit back in the pack. The idea of moving was sounding better and better since the temperature felt to be hovering right around fifty degrees and she was not dressed for the cooler temperatures. Tres on the other hand had that heavy coat, but even if he were to offer it to her she wouldn't consider taking it. Being injured meant he was more susceptible to shock and she didn't want to compound the problem if she could avoid it. Moving at this point was the quickest way to keep herself warm.

Fortunately; however, if they were to be underground for any real length of time, she had the thermal blanket which had come with the first aid kit. But that was only to be used as a last resort because she had absolutely no intention of spending more than a few hours below ground. So long as Tres was able and willing to walk, she wasn't about to stop.

Before they'd gotten very far though, the faint rumbling she'd come to despise began again and Kagome pressed up against the wall, praying that the ceiling wasn't about to come down and bury them under several tons of rock.

Immediately, Tres moved to cover her, despite the pain that he was in as the pebbles rained down from above. It wasn't much, but he was able to shield her from most of it, even if he himself was worried about just how stable the cave was.

“It'll pass soon,” he told her over the sounds of the Earth moving and silently prayed that it was true.

A shudder wracked her body, but Kagome nodded anyway knowing that he was correct. These things never lasted long, a few seconds at most, but it could easily seem like the longest moments in your life. Eventually, the tremors died down and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Come on,” she said, stepping away from the shelter that he'd provided, “We should hurry. I don't want to stick around to see if our luck holds.”

It was tempting to ask her whether or not she considered this to be good luck, but Tres figured that since they were both still alive there had to be something going for them. Stalagmites rose up from the ground at varying intervals and he knew that had either of them landed even six inches over to one side they could have easily been impaled on the rocky structure.

For several minutes they walked in relative silence, the only sounds being their footsteps and the water rushing nearby. Kagome kept her pace relatively easy so as not to push Tres into over exerting himself which made for easy conversations, if only they had something to talk about. The silence stretching out between them was near deafening and it was making it all too clear that they really had nothing to speak about. But still, something, anything would be better than trudging through the darkness with a near silent shadow.

Carefully, she scanned the path up ahead, illuminating the area with the pen light. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough to highlight some of the colors around them.

“You know, at one time I thought it would be fun to go exploring caves,” she said with a hint of amusement, “In fact, it was something I considered doing once the quest was over since it was such a change from the normal hiking we've been doing.”

“This is your first time underground?” Tres queried, enjoying the fact that she was at least attempting to make conversation. He'd been wondering what would be a good topic to bring up since she seemed to be rather uncomfortable and had kept throwing him questioning looks.

“Well no, not really,” Kagome started, her brow furrowing with thought, “we've been in caves before when hunting Naraku, but it was different. We weren't really taking the time to enjoy the scenery while we were walking. For the most part, we were worried about when he was going to pop out of nowhere.” Well, there was the added problem with Bankotsu at the time and that had been a rather large distraction as well.

“This wasn't quite how I imagined myself doing it though,” Kagome mused, “but then things rarely ever go as planned for me. I can't say I'm exactly happy with how we got down here, but it is rather nice if you ignore the obvious complications. I'm sorry I landed on you though, it's becoming a habit isn't it?”

The question had Tres' lips quirking in amusement, “Positive; however, there is no need to apologize, I positioned myself so you would not land on the ground.” In the faint light he could see that she appeared to be rather surprised by the statement, which was rather strange. Father Nightroad or Inuyasha would have done the same thing, Miroku too most likely, although the monk would have used the opportunity to feel the other woman up. Speaking of which... “What is with Miroku's predilection for examining your posterior anyway?”

“Oh that?” Kagome asked with a sigh, “Call it a curse if you will, one he claims he can't control, but we all know better. The man's too perverted for his own good and one of these days Sango is going to give him permanent brain damage for it.” Truthfully, they'd all been hoping that the monk's tendency for groping other women would have ceased by now, but it seemed like nothing more than a fanciful dream. The man was as bad as ever about it and more than once the sound of a harsh slap filled the air when he'd over stepped his bounds. Of course, the first time he'd done it in Father Nightroad's presence had been amusing; she'd never seen the priest turn such an interesting shade of red before.

For a moment, Tres said nothing and merely thought on that for a few moments. In the short time he'd been there, he'd seen the monk apply the action towards two females and those were the ones in the group. Kagome didn't really take offense to it and merely suggested that unless he wanted the exterminator upset with him, he'd control his roving hand. However, when he applied the same move to Sango, generally she responded with violence, if someone else was there to witness it. However, if she believed they were alone she seemed to be... far more receptive to his advances. It was rather confusing to watch the mixed signals the woman was giving off.

“So, it is a sign of affection from him?” he asked after coming to the only conclusion he could. It seemed to be irrational for him to do it otherwise and since it was mainly directed towards Sango, it would make sense.

To this Kagome laughed in amusement, “I suppose you could call it that. It's his way of showing how much he appreciates the female form.” That was one way to put it anyway and she was glad that for now he'd cut back on just how many female forms he was appreciative of. Otherwise, the monk would have been dead a long time ago and it would have had nothing to do with the wind tunnel that had cursed him at one point.

Tres merely nodded in understanding then. If it was a customary way of showing a person's interest or affection then it made sense. Maybe not so much in the fact that Miroku touched Kagome in such ways, but that wasn't for him to question really. He could see why it was directed at the two women however, each was rather attractive, both in appearance and in personality. In their brief travels, they'd met quite a few of the villagers and even he had to concede that Kagome and Sango stood apart from them. A lot of it was in the way they carried themselves, their confidence, but it was definitely a noticeable difference and he couldn't fault the monk in his choices.

The particular line of thought; however, brought his mind back to the conversation that he'd had with Inuyasha the one night. Neither of them had spoken of it again, although he did find it slightly strange that when Kagome had questioned the hanyou on if they'd gotten along well, the man had shrugged and said well enough. No mention was made of their talk at all, even if the other male had arched an eyebrow in his direction and told him not to take too long in making up his mind.

So he'd spent the last couple of weeks watching her, attempting to find out what it was about the miko that he seemed to like. Unfortunately, even though they traveled together, there wasn't much time to talk. At least not the sort of meaningful conversation that would help him decide what he needed to know. He wasn't exactly the best at conversing in the first place and as for speaking about something he didn't even understand himself, he wasn't too keen about bringing it up in front of the others.

But now that they were alone, he wasn't exactly sure about what he wanted to say. So for now he continued watching her while they walked, analyzing her mannerisms for any indications of discomfort. Of course, their current situation wasn't quite helping things either and he could see that something was bothering her. For the life of him though he couldn't determine whether it was because of the circumstances they'd fallen in or because she was alone with him, without the others anywhere nearby.

Kagome bit her lip and examined the man walking next to her carefully. He'd never seemed to be one for talking, but he was more silent than ever and she'd noticed the frequent glances he kept giving her. “Are you doing alright? We can stop if you need to,” Kagome suggested carefully, not wanting her words to offend him. Had it been Inuyasha walking next to her he would most likely start arguing that he was fine even if he was on death's door, but Tres seemed to be a bit more levelheaded than that. Or at least she hoped so anyway.

“Negative,” Father Tres replied with a shake of his head and then decided to prompt her into continuing the discussion about her friends. It would give him more of a chance to get to know her and distract him from the throbbing pain in his leg. “At the Vatican you spoke of many friends you'd met in this time period. Do you expect any encounters with the rest of them?”

“Well,” Kagome began and tapped her fingers against her chin, “It's hard to say really. Some are more likely than others I suppose; it all depends on where the hunt takes us I guess. I'd say that it's possible we'll run into Lord Sesshoumaru, but if that happens I'd advise staying out of the way.” She'd spoken with Shippo enough times after her death to know that while the demon lord no longer harbored such hatred against his brother, he'd never totally accepted him either.

“Explain, any information that would pertain to future situations would be helpful,” Tres said, casting a sidelong glance at the miko. The way she'd said it led him to believe that an encounter with the demon would possibly lead to conflict which could be counterproductive to their mission.

Kagome paused for a moment and turned to face him, “Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are half brothers who have never really gotten along. I think a lot of the time they meet, Sesshoumaru couldn't be bothered to deal with him, but when Inuyasha baits him he's not going to back down from a challenge either. Their fights can get pretty heated and while I don't think that he's out to kill him, Sesshoumaru has no problem with injuring him either.” That was a bit of an understatement and she couldn't suppress the shudder that came with remembering how the demon lord had shoved his hand through the hanyou's chest.

“Understood, does this personal vendetta extend to the rest of the group?” Tres asked calmly, filing the information for later use. So long as it was just directed towards the hanyou he wouldn't interfere unless the fighting turned into something serious.

“Hmm, not particularly. Sesshoumaru tends to ignore the rest of us as long as we don't interfere. There were a couple of times I thought I was done for though, but that was my fault I guess. I should have stayed out of it like Inuyasha had told me to,” Kagome replied with a shrug of her shoulders and kicked at a loose rock. 'It seemed like a good idea at the time, I should have known that he didn't need me to get involved after the time in his father's tomb.'

“I see,” Tres said, his voice devoid of emotion. That sentence told him all that he needed to know. Sesshoumaru was to be considered a potential threat and to be watched carefully should they encounter him. Beyond that, it became even more apparent that Kagome was all too adept at getting herself in trouble.

“But there's got to be something nice about the guy since he saved a little girl named Rin. None of us ever quite managed to figure that one out, and after talking to Shippo it became apparent that the topic of conversation was off limits. Come on, let's keep walking unless you'd rather rest some more,” Kagome said and gave him a questioning look. It wasn't exactly surprising when he began moving again, albeit at a slow, but steady pace. Clearly he was in pain, but not willing to stop for long either.

“So Sesshoumaru is the one who took charge of raising Shippo after you returned to your own time?” Tres asked casually, while walking beside the girl. Something drastic had to have changed in order to make Shippo the demon that he'd met back at the Vatican. The child that kept Kagome company now was far too open and unassuming to have developed into the demon he'd become without serious interference.

Kagome shook her head, “Are you kidding? There's no way Sesshoumaru would have put up with raising him. After I left, he remained with the group so if you're wondering what happened to him, I'd say it was mainly Inuyasha's influence, at least until his death. After that, Shippo went off on his own and I guess it was quite a few years later that he actually formed any sort of partnership with Sesshoumaru.” Really, the very idea of the demon lord putting up with any of the kit's antics was beyond the realms of possible. It was unbelievable enough that he was raising a little girl and for once, Kagome pitied the man. 'He's going to have a hell of a time when she hits puberty and boys start looking interesting. Then again, maybe it's the boys I should be afraid for. One wrong move towards that girl and Sesshoumaru would turn them into a pile of goo.'

“Who is Myouga?” Tres asked quietly, switching topics abruptly. He'd heard all that he needed to hear about Inuyasha's half brother and now he was more interested in finding out about the others. It had only been a few days ago that the hanyou had commented on 'Myouga's mysterious absence' and how he was due to show up any time now, especially since it was becoming common knowledge that they were still hunting Naraku in spite of the belief that he was dead.

“Myouga?” Kagome asked, blinking in surprise, “He's a flea demon who occasionally pops up, usually to warn of trouble, but sometimes he's just looking for a free meal.”

“I see, Inuyasha has predicted that he will make an appearance soon,” Tres commented absently while his mind busied itself trying to imagine what the hell a flea demon would look like in the first place. The image that came to mind was anything but pretty and he hoped the image was wrong.

Kagome shrugged in response, “I guess it's possible, he does have the habit of showing up at some of the oddest times. Most likely, though, he's with Totousai right now, unless of course the sword smith has gotten himself into trouble. Myouga is a bit of a coward.” That of course was putting it a bit mildly, but if Tres ever got a chance to meet him, he'd see that for himself rather quickly.

From there, Tres listened to her launch into a discussion of just who the sword smith was and how they had met. Somehow it hadn't surprised him to learn that the Tetsusaiga had broken once, but the reactions that she recounted to him did. Believing something to be infallible was foolish whether it was made of steel or not. Everything had its breaking point without exception. Both the humans and vampires of his own time had learned that lesson well, along with the one stating that no living creature was immortal. Even the Crusnik he'd worked with so closely had perished once and if it hadn't been for Caterina's idea to infuse him with Lilith's nanomachines, he'd still be down a partner. 'How many people's lives has she saved in some way?' So lost in thought was he that when Kagome touched his arm in concern he stared down at her in surprise. 'By the same token, how is Kagome any different? So many lives are counting on them both and they'd each give their lives to the cause.'

“Are you sure you're all right? If you need to rest we can,” she said quietly, her tone one of concern. She didn't know if it was the pain distracting him or not, but he kept spacing out leaving her to wonder if they were making a mistake in walking so much. Unfortunately, their choices were rather limited since they had virtually no supplies. Food was something they didn't have at all and even though there was a river running parallel to the path they were walking, she wasn't entirely certain about drinking out of it. While there might not be harmful bacteria in it, that didn't mean that it couldn't have high levels of minerals that could make them just as sick.

“That will not be necessary,” Tres replied to reassure her and continued their walk. Up ahead a thin ray of light peeked through the ceiling; however, the amount indicated how unlikely it was to be a hole of any great size. Perhaps, though, if they were lucky enough, that area might be rather loose soil due to the roots of trees and they could enlarge it enough for at least one of them to slip through.

Seeing the man's gaze fixate on a point ahead of them, Kagome followed in the same direction and her eyes widened considerably. However, her thoughts weren't going the same direction that the priest's was. One of her fears was that the path was taking them deeper below ground since they'd been starting to travel on a downhill slope. The light showing from above told her that for now at least, they were remaining somewhat close to the surface.

“How long have we been walking do you think?” She asked when they finally reached the spot that gave them a narrow glimpse of the world above. The ceiling was relatively low in this part of the cave and the side of the wall was covered with tree roots that had grown through the cracks.

“Forty two minutes and twenty three seconds,” Tres responded instantly and then arched an eyebrow when the miko started laughing, “What have you found amusing?”

“I wasn't expecting such a... precise answer,” Kagome replied with a giggle and then looked at the wall again, “I wonder...” Quickly she shut off the pen light in order to conserve the battery. There were a couple more in the pack, but that was simply no reason to squander their remaining energy source.

When the miko began pulling herself up the side of the wall using the tree's roots for support, Tres shook his head, “Such action is ill advised. The rock structure has deteriorated with the growth of the trees and it has become further unstable with the earthquake.” So help him if she fell this time he doubted he'd be able to move fast enough to catch her, nor was he in any condition to do so anyway. Merely speaking was painful which was one reason why he'd been content to let her do most of the talking, although he wasn't about to let on how badly it hurt.

“I'm not going up too far,” she replied and concentrated on the next handhold that would allow her to pull herself closer to the ceiling. It was obvious that the crack wasn't large enough to slip through, but perhaps the others were nearby and would hear her. “Inuyasha?” she called and then winced when her voice echoed through the cavern rather loudly, “Sorry about that.”

The next time she called for the hanyou she kept her voice in more moderate tones and listed carefully for any sign that he'd heard her, in spite of the echo that reverberated back to her. However, her hope dwindled rather quickly when there was no answer from above. Surely if he was anywhere nearby he would have heard her and come running. “Well, it was worth a shot,” she said rather glumly and began making her way back to the ground.

“Once we get above ground it shouldn't be long before Inuyasha locates our position,” Tres said, knowing full well that the breeze would carry their scent straight towards the hanyou, provided the wind direction didn't shift and there wasn't very many obstacles between them that would redirect the scent.

“You're probably right,” Kagome replied and brushed her hands off against her jeans, ridding them of the dirt they'd acquired, “I guess we should keep walking then.”

Yet, Tres had other ideas for the moment, “Negative. Remove the blanket from your pack; we will rest here for now.” Watching her climb the rock wall had given him a close look at her in the light, and he could see that the temperature was beginning to effect her, despite the fact that they were walking. While the difference was minimal, it was slightly warmer here due to the influence of the light, making this particular spot suitable for taking a break. The added benefit was that if Inuyasha and the others happened by the area, there was a chance that they would hear them.

Secretly, Kagome was relieved for the chance to warm up and eagerly set the small pack aside to pull the blanket out of it. While thin, it would be enough to at least make it so her fingers weren't so damned cold. Of course, it wouldn't do much to warm her face up and it wasn't too long ago that her lips had lost all feeling. 'I don't even want to think about what weird color they might be right now. I probably look like some sort of undead freak from a movie.'

It was difficult to maneuver into a sitting position, but somehow Tres managed with a minimum of pain. All things considered, he thought he was doing rather well, most likely due to the quick first aid work Kagome had given him. It probably wouldn't be long before his leg bandage would need to be changed; however, he'd give her a chance to warm up before mentioning it. All the walking had likely aggravated the bleeding in spite of the wound being stitched shut.

Once the blanket was securely wrapped around her body, Kagome moved to sit next to the man, “How are you holding up?” Now that she was up close and personal she could see the strain lines on his face. “I know it's not much, but if you want I'm sure there's some aspirin in the kit,” she offered helpfully. The idea of taking the pills without water was enough to make her grimace in distaste; however, it was likely to be better than nothing.

Although the offer of pain relief, however fleeting, was tempting, Tres had to decline. He knew that aspirin was often used as a blood thinner and right now he couldn't afford to take the chance, especially if there was any possibility of his wound reopening. Wordlessly, he shook his head and then rested it back against the wall. While the position wasn't exactly comfortable, it took some of the strain off of his leg and he was grateful for that respite.

“You know, in some ways you remind me of Inuyasha,” Kagome said quietly and wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself.

The statement had his eyes widening in surprise and disbelief. “What would prompt you to come to that conclusion?” he asked, unsure of what would make her say such a thing. While he didn't know whom he could be compared to in the group, Inuyasha wasn't one of his first choices.

The tone of his voice had Kagome laughing in amusement, “Oh don't sound like that. It's not a bad thing really, unless you happen to dislike stubbornness. I'm just saying that I could ask you ten different times if you were all right or needed anything and each time you'd say the same damned thing. That's exactly what Inuyasha would do, except he would have told me to quit being such a mother hen and get over it already.” In fact, she could picture the hanyou doing that if he were here and seeing how worried she was for the redhead sitting next to her.

“You should have seen it the first time he got stabbed. I didn't know about how fast demons healed at the time so as soon as I got back with a first aid kit I told him to take his haori off. Needless to say that didn't go over too well,” Kagome said with a smile, remembering that day as if it had only happened yesterday.

“Who won the confrontation?” Tres asked curiously, somewhat mollified that she wasn't comparing him to the hanyou in anything more than stoicism. He knew all too well that showing weakness, in any time period, was asking for trouble and here below ground was no exception. With a cavern this large there was every possibility that they would encounter something while walking through it. Now, whether it ended up being a bear or something more dangerous like a demon, he wasn't going to speculate.

“I did, sort of,” Kagome replied with amusement, “When he wouldn't come down out of the tree I sorta... pulled him out of it.” Okay, so she'd actually sat him, but that sounded so uncaring now that she thought back on it. Whatever the method she'd used, at least it had gotten him out of the tree. “Anyway after I got him down, I told him to take it off. Of course he refused, so I ended up having to sit on him to keep him from leaving. Unfortunately, Kaede walked by with some of the children from the village just as I was pulling his haori off.” Oh yes, she still remembered the mortification that came with that little incident. Both her and Inuyasha had received a stern lecture later that afternoon that if they wanted to engage in such illicit activities to not do it where the children were prone to walk by. Eventually, they'd managed to straighten the misunderstanding out, but that didn't stop the children from snickering each time they saw them again.

The mental visual she'd given him had Tres snorting in amusement. Somehow he could see her doing just that and the hanyou's indignation at being manhandled in such a fashion. Something told him, though, if he'd attempted the same thing when they'd first entered the cavern he would have gotten the same treatment. In that instance, it was just best to let her have her way and avoid the confrontation that would come with telling her no.

“And he was fine, just like he'd said which left me looking like an idiot. How was I to know that the big, bad half demon could heal himself overnight? Tch, it'd be nice if we could do that, I wouldn't have had to spent the two weeks hobbling around after running around in that rock demon's stomach,” Kagome said in annoyance. That had been particularly trying since she hadn't wanted to appear weak in front of the others, but it hadn't been like she'd had much of a choice.

“Speaking of your injuries, how's your leg doing? Does the bandage need changing?” she asked, peering intently at the leg in question. Without waiting for an answer, she leaned forward and started peeling the frayed edges of his pants apart to look at the bandage below. As far as she could see, the gauze was still clean with no hint of blood seeping through, but she figured that he would know better than she did.

“Negative,” he replied wearily, although he wasn't altogether certain that was true either. But to ask her to take a better look involved moving and when he'd tensed his leg, preparing to shift, he'd been forced to realize how stiff the muscle had become.

The exhaustion in the redhead's voice had Kagome eying him in sympathy. “Maybe you should try to rest for a bit, maybe get a little sleep. I know we need to get out of here, but a few minutes won't hurt,” she said quietly. Once they found the others, she was likely to catch hell, however, at this point; she was willing to risk it.

Tres shook his head, as tired as he was he couldn't afford to rest, “Negative. You are unarmed and the perimeter is not secure.” Beyond that, he was supposed to be the one guarding her, not the other way around.

“I don't think being above ground would be any more secure than this. At least this way if something comes by there's only one way it can come from. The mudslides blocked the other way remember?” Kagome pointed out helpfully. There was no way he could refute that statement. “As far as me being unarmed, I'll stay awake while you sleep and if I hear anything I'll wake you up,” she added quietly. The thought crossed her mind about using one of his guns if he was that concerned, but something told her that he'd rule out that idea immediately.

When he looked about to protest again Kagome scowled at him. “Look Mister, don't argue with me. You need rest if you're going to be good for walking later so don't look at me like that.” While he'd seen a glimpse of her stubborn side, he hadn't seen the full force of it and if he argued too loudly, she had other ways of making him see her way. Just as she'd done with Inuyasha in the past, she'd show Tres now if need be. Her expression softened slightly and she touched his arm lightly, “Look, I'm just worried about you okay? Humor me for a little while, we can start walking again when you're up to it and who knows, the others might pass over us. If they, do we'll get out of here even faster, but we won't know they're around if we're not near an air shaft.”

It was only because she had a point concerning the others that he finally acquiesced to her wishes and nodded. Besides, he was rather tired and a rest would do him some good even if he had no intention of truly sleeping. Reluctantly, he leaned back against the rock wall again and attempted to get comfortable. With a sigh, he allowed his eyes to close and the last thing he saw was Kagome watching over him with concern, bringing forth an unnamed emotion to make itself at home in his chest.

It was hard for Kagome to tell the exact moment that Tres fell asleep since his breathing never really deepened, and she knew that he fought true sleep for the longest time. In response, she tried to move as little as possible so that she didn't disturb him. Secretly, though, she was rather worried since they hadn't heard any signs of the others. They'd been in this particular spot for a while and there hadn't been any sign of them yet. The only thing she was thankful for was that they'd been trapped down here fairly early in the morning which meant that there would be plenty of daylight so Inuyasha and the others could search.

However, the small ray of light from above offered some comfort and she wasn't adverse in taking it where she could get it. A gentle sigh escaped her lips and she turned to look at her companion. Somehow, in spite of it all, he'd been reasonable company which had done much to calm her own nerves and it seemed like he'd gone out of his way to distract her from the situation, even if he hadn't spoken all that much. 'He's doing far better than I even would, I just wish there was something I could do for him. Even now the pain doesn't leave his face, just how bad is it? Somehow I don't think he'd tell me even if he were dying of internal injuries. He'd just keep going until he dropped.'

That just made it that much more important that she looked after him since he wouldn't do it himself. Ever so slowly, she scooted closer to him and draped the blanket she'd been holding over them both. Fortunately, it was large enough to cover them adequately without her having to climb in his lap. To do so would put unneeded pressure on his ribs and would wake him up, something she sought to avoid if at all possible. However, aside from the brief shifting, he didn't even seem to notice what she'd done.

The added body heat that her companion was giving off did much to ward off the chill that had been seeping into her body from sitting on the cold, stone floor. In spite of her vow to stay awake however, she found herself drifting off to sleep and more than once she jerked herself awake. It was strange since she hadn't been tired before and it took a moment for her to realize just what was happening. The smallest of smiles crossed her face when she felt the overall feeling of contentedness radiating through the bond. It was a rather strange feeling, but one she wasn't going to take offense at. Eventually, though, she lost the battle to remain awake and her head found a comfortable position resting on his shoulder.

Sometime later Tres awoke to the feel of someone warm pressing into his side with a contented sigh. For a moment he didn't move, choosing instead to stare at the miko with a slightly surprised expression. The last thing he was expecting was to find her snuggling against him, but he made no move to push her away. Tentatively, he draped his arm over her, being careful not to jar her in the process and just sat there, savoring the new sensation. While he wasn't exactly a stranger to physical contact, this was something more and he found himself enjoying it.

And since he had no desire to disturb her, Tres took full advantage of the opportunity she'd given him. Having her in his arms just felt right for some reason, even if the circumstances were less than optimal. Carefully, he shifted to bring her closer to him, but stopped when she made a sleepy noise of protest and asked him not to leave. Leave? Hell, he wasn't going anywhere at that particular moment.

Yet, their quiet time together wasn't meant to last and the sound of something sliding along the rocks had Tres peering through the darkness. The sound was faint over the sound of the water, but he was certain that he'd heard it even if he couldn't identify the source just yet. “Kagome,” he whispered and shook her gently to get her to wake up. The last thing he wanted to do was attempt to defend them from such a vulnerable position.

“What's going on?” Kagome mumbled and tried to get her bearings. The first thing that she noticed was that she wasn't in the same position that she'd fallen asleep in and, at first, assumed that he was waking her up to tell her to move. “I'm sorry, I didn't...” she trailed off when she saw that he wasn't paying any attention to her what so ever. Instead he was staring off to their left and his hand was hovering dangerously close to his gun. “Is it the others?” she asked and tried to see into the darkness herself, but her vision just wasn't suited for seeing in the dark.

“Negative,” he replied shortly and nudged her to get moving. Although it was difficult to conceal the pain he was in, he managed to get to his feet and draw his second weapon. He was pleased to note that Kagome positioned herself behind him so that she would be out of the line of fire and as the seconds passed, he became more and more convinced that was exactly what was going to happen. The sounds were becoming louder and more frequent, leading him to believe that whatever was approaching was doing it en mass.

It was the faintest glint of light that drew Kagome's attention onto one of the creatures and a shudder wracked her body. “My God they're ugly,” she whispered as she studied what she could make out of their features. Clearly they were demons, some sort of reptile as best as she could figure. Their faces were elongated into snouts and they had unblinking yellow eyes. As best as she could tell, the only thing that remotely resembled a human was the fact that they stood upright on two legs. Even their limbs were elongated with bony fingers ending in wickedly curved claws.

The laser sighting on the gun landed squarely in the middle of the first beast's forehead and he waited for the demon to come just a little bit closer. Just ahead the tunnel narrowed and where it was standing it would be entirely too easy for it to duck behind the wall. No, he wanted a clear shot and he was willing to wait for it. For now he was content to stand there, although the miko was probably wondering what he was waiting on. Even now he could feel her hands fisting in the material of his jacket.

'What's he waiting for?' Kagome thought while trying to remain as still as possible. She didn't want to take a chance in distracting him. It also seemed to be the trigger for the demons to rush towards them and the first round of gun fire had her shielding her ears from the noise. It seemed to have no effect on the demons though, confirming her thoughts that they were snakes which brought in an additional fear. Don't let them get close enough to bite,” she called out to her guardian, “they're probably poisonous.”

The warning was appreciated, but unnecessary because he had absolutely no intention of allowing them to get that close. The sounds filling the cavern were deafening and for a moment he considered silencing his weapons. However, he knew that the noise was also likely to attract the others above ground. That also provided another benefit although it was one he hadn't thought of. When the miko had released him in favor of shielding her ears, it left them with absolutely no physical contact what so ever. Even in this light, he could see the purification energy encasing the bullets he fired and it was with great satisfaction that he watched two demons explode in a shower of ash.

“It's working,” Kagome gasped out in surprise when he took out another pair and then a third soon followed. The fact stunned her since she wasn't actively concentrating on the channel. Instead, she felt the need to protect surging through the bond and the steady pull that he was exerting on her energy. 'If I can feel this, Father Nightroad might be able to as well!' That would certainly account for the surge of worry that pulsed through her very core and somehow she was certain that particular emotion wasn't coming from Tres. All she could feel from him was the grim determination to do whatever was necessary to keep them both alive.

Several of the beasts were melting back into the shadows and it wasn't long before Tres could no longer target them with any accuracy. Rather than waste the ammunition he stopped and waited, knowing that sooner or later they'd make a try for them again. The idea that they'd retreated for good was foolish since he could hear their faint movements again, even if they were indecisive.

“They seem to have given up for the moment,” Kagome whispered and allowed herself to relax for a few precious seconds. Despite the fact that none of them had managed to get close, it still shook her to the core that they were essentially trapped with a swarm of demons and there was no way for them to escape without fighting through them.

“Stay alert,”Tres warned her and took a step backwards, taking her with him. The hope was to lure the demons out by feigning a retreat; however, it didn't appear that they were going to take the bait. It left him to wonder just how long they were going to have to wait. 'It's probable they've realized that at least one of us is injured and they're maximizing their chances of success waiting until our strength gives out. However, I will not allow that to happen.'

Small pebbles rained down from above and within moments she heard voices. “Inuyasha? Is that you?” she called up, hoping that the others had finally found them. 'It would make sense if it was; I think the noise down here was enough to wake the damned dead. Why didn't I think of that before?'

“Kagome?”

The faint voice had her ready to cheer although for the moment she refrained. Even Tres looked to be relieved although he hadn't taken his eyes off of the area the snake demons had come from, not that she blamed him really. “Inuyasha, we're down here. Can you find us a way out?”

Above ground Inuyasha was scanning the surrounding area carefully, looking for any type of cave or opening that might indicate a way to get down to them. At first he'd been all set to blast his way down with the Tetsusaiga, but Abel had cautioned him against doing such a thing. They had no idea how unstable the tunnel was that they were in. “I don't see anything nearby, Kagome, what sort of tunnel are you in anyway?” he asked, frustrated with the situation. He had no idea whether or not they were just in an expanded sink hole or perhaps an empty lava tube from one of the island's volcanoes.

“It's an underground river! Look around and see if there's a water source nearby, it'll probably be the same one,” she advised, knowing that if there was water anywhere nearby Inuyasha would be the one to find it. “And try to hurry,” she added, “we've got company down here and they aren't exactly friendly you know!”

Before the hanyou had a chance to answer; however, the snake demons launched another wave of attacks. Kagome watched as Tres eliminated two of them quickly, wasting no time in taking them out. With her attention so focused on what he was doing, she never noticed the snake demon that had submerged himself in the river and moved far enough upstream that by the time it had pulled itself onto the bank, it was behind them. Kagome sensed the demonic presence behind them and turned just in time to avoid the outstretched claws that had meant to rip through her throat. “Tres look out!” she shouted, warning the redhead of the added danger that they were in.

Cursing beneath his breath, Tres spun around to take the demon out and fired. However, he hadn't had time to nail a perfect aim so it was no surprise when the beast darted out of the way. The miko had also hit the ground, trying to make herself as small of a target as possible, but her cry of pain surprised him. He knew that he hadn't hit her so the only other possibility was that the demon had been responsible. 'I have to end this fast before the others take advantage of the situation.'

“Dammit!” Inuyasha cursed when he heard Kagome cry out and leapt into a nearby tree. If nothing else, the increased height would give him the added advantage of being able to see further. They had to get down there to find out what the hell was going on. What he hadn't counted on was seeing Abel in his Crusnik form. The man looked positively demonic and the way his eyes were tinged with red it seemed he was only seconds from going into a blood rage. 'Fuck, he's going to lose it fast. We've got to find them!'

However, the Gods seemed to be on their side and in the distance he could see the reflective glint of water. “Over there!” he yelled and took off at a sprint for the river with Abel hard on his heels. 'Sango and Miroku will have to keep up as best as they can. We can't afford to wait for them.'

As for Father Nightroad, he was fighting a losing battle just to remain in control of his own emotions. Deep within his soul, the bond shared between them pulsed, enhancing the pain and fear that Kagome was experiencing, as well as the deep rooted anger that had taken over his partner. It was rare that he came so close to losing control and, when it did, it almost always came with disastrous results; however, this was one instance that he was ready to kill and deal with the consequences of his actions later. The scenery blurred by as he ran, easily keeping pace with the hanyou, but their paths didn't run parallel for long. Instead, there was a pull on his soul and using that knowledge along with the direction that the river was leading, he detoured to the right trusting in his instincts to guide him where he needed to be.

“Where in the hell are you going?” Inuyasha yelled when the Crusnik veered sharply away from him. However, he didn't wonder for long since the realization of just what Abel was doing came to him. 'Of course! He's using the bond to lead him to her.' As soon as he'd figured that out he altered his own course and followed the taller man. When the priest stopped in front of a cliff that was heavily covered in vegetation, he almost worried that they were going to be forced to take a swim; however, that thought was quickly banished as well.

Irritated by the obstruction, Abel quickly cut through the vegetation to reveal a rather large opening into the side of the cliff. Without waiting to see if the others were following, he rushed down the dark corridor, searching for any sign of Kagome and Tres. He knew that they were going in the right direction, the sound of gun fire echoing up and down the cavern told him that much. However, caution needed to be heeded since he was about to rush headlong into the fight, making himself as much of a target as any of the others. “Tres, status report!” he shouted, his voice raspy with emotion. He could only hope that his friend could hear him over the deafening sounds echoing through the cave.

When no answer came, Inuyasha began to fear the worst. “Kagome,” he shouted, hoping to get some sort of answer from the miko. She couldn't be dead, if she were then Abel would have said something since he would have felt the severing of the bond. The only thing he could assume was that Kagome had been seriously injured and it was taking all of the redhead's concentration to keep the demons from getting to her. “Dammit, we need to get back there!”

Suddenly the sounds of battle died down, but neither of them relaxed an inch. It could be a momentary lull or the enemy could be making a swift retreat, in which instance they'd cut the demons down without remorse.

“Gunslinger, status report now!” Father Nightroad barked again, holding his scythe ready just in case it was necessary in order to cut through those that stood between him and his companions. The sound of heavy footsteps began and steadily came closer.

“Targets eliminated, medical assistance required, Father Nightroad,” Tres replied wearily as soon as the man came into view. Pain seared through his body; however, he wasn't about to relinquish his hold on Kagome in spite of her protests.

“Tres, put me down! I can still walk, you shouldn't be carrying me,” Kagome protested loudly although she didn't struggle in his hold for fear that she might injure him worse than he already was. As gallant as her protector was being at the moment, she was of the firm opinion that he damned sure shouldn't be carrying her at the moment. 'Knowing my luck he'd puncture something with those broken ribs and we are not equipped to handle something like that!' But there was no arguing with him. Not when the snake demon had scored a hit on her with his claws and ripped four deep gashes into her calf. However, that shouldn't have prevented her from walking, even if the redhead thought otherwise. 'What did I expect though? Inuyasha would have been doing the same damned thing, maybe they're more alike than I first thought.'

“Kagome!” Inuyasha yelled and began running towards the pair, determined to find out just how badly she was hurt, but the look of indignation on her face stopped him.

“Don't worry about me, worry about him! He's the one that's hurt,” she huffed. 'Honestly, you probably can't even tell I'm injured since its dark and my pant leg covers the damned cuts anyway. Tres is the one that looks like he's been put through hell!' Before she knew it, Father Nightroad had reached them and was taking her out of Tres' grip. 'Men, I swear I'm going to kick all three of them in the ass as soon as I get put down. I'm not helpless!' However, she did little more than grumble as they did the exchange simply because if the Crusnik was holding onto her it meant that Tres was not.

Inuyasha watched the transfer and nearly rolled his eyes. He could have just as easily taken her and she probably wouldn't be glaring daggers at them right then. 'I swear these two can't see what's right in front of their damned faces. Scratch that, Kagome's worse. She doesn't even know why they're fussing over her.' Yet, he knew there had to be a reason and, while the redhead's blood hung heavier in the air, he could tell that Kagome was bleeding as well.

“How bad is it, Kagome?” he asked, leaning in to get a good look at her. Immediately, his hand went to her leg and pushed the material up so he could get a view of the wound, “This needs cleaning. We should find some place to make camp.”

“I think my entire body could do with a good scrubbing, I didn't expect half a mountain of mud to come down on our heads,” Kagome groused and then looked around, “Where's the others?”

“They'll be here soon I imagine, we kinda... left them behind when we heard you both were in trouble,” Father Nightroad replied and gave Tres a good once over. The man looked like hell and he knew that the miko hadn't asked about the others out of mere curiosity. She wanted Kirara there so the redhead wouldn't have to walk any further. “What are your injuries, Tres?” he asked, figuring he'd rather learn what he was going to be treating now rather than later.

“Minor head trauma, broken ribs and a leg injury, all treated, but the bandages must be changed soon,” he replied curtly and then proceeded to walk past them, leaving the others to follow as they wished. He was tired, dirty, and more than ready to get out of the cavern. Talk could come later, after they'd gotten cleaned up.

For a moment the Crusnik stared at his partner's retreating back and then shook his head, dismissing the irritated answer he'd received. “Do we have any idea how far away a good campsite is?” Father Nightroad asked while allowing his Crusnik form to dissipate. Now that the threat had passed, he saw no reason to maintain it and even if there were, he wouldn't be able to fight so long as his arms were occupied.

“Not too far,” Inuyasha said after a moment's thought, “we should be able to get there within fifteen minutes at a walk.” While they'd been searching for the river, he'd spotted an area that had a thick mist rising from the trees, a sure sign of a hot spring nearby. “There's even a spot that they can use to get washed up.”

“Oh good, I need a hot bath,” Kagome said in response, thrilled with the idea that she could get cleaned sometime shortly.

It only took a few moments for them to catch up to Tres and shortly after they stepped back into the sunlight. Almost as, if on cue, they all saw Kirara approaching quickly with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo on her back. To all involved, that was probably the biggest blessing they could have received at that moment because as soon as the fire cat touched down, Inuyasha took charge.

“Sango, I need you to take Kagome and Tres to a hot spring that's just a few minutes away. It's to the east so you can't miss it,” he said and jerked his head towards Father Nightroad in a clear order to set the girl on Kirara's back.

“Of course, how bad is it?” Sango asked, not in the least perturbed by the order she'd been given. Both of her friends looked like they'd been drug through hell face first and she wasn't about to protest taking them somewhere that they could get cleaned up. The others could walk; it wouldn't take long for them to arrive.

“Bad enough,” Inuyasha replied, seeing no need to give the woman a rundown. She'd find out on her own soon enough, what mattered was getting the two of them to the spring as soon as possible so their injuries could be assessed and treated properly.

Father Nightroad carried Kagome over to the fire cat and gently placed her on the animal's back, making sure that she had her balance before he let go. “Hold on, we don't need you falling any more today,” he said with the slightest of smiles.

“Yeah, once was enough,” Kagome replied and wrapped her arms around Sango's waist just to make sure that she didn't fall. Briefly, she wondered whether or not Tres was going to be able to get on behind her, but the question was soon answered when he mounted with a minimum of difficulty.

“All right, hold on you two,” Sango advised and then urged Kirara to take to the air. Within moments, the others were left behind and they were making their way to the hot springs that Inuyasha had mentioned. It wasn't hard to find since they'd noticed it on the way towards the cave entrance and she was grateful for noting exactly where it was.

Even though there was little fear of them falling, Kagome was beyond grateful when Kirara finally touched down on the ground again and even more so when it happened to be right next to the hot springs. “Thanks for the lift you guys. Walking all the way here would have sucked,” Kagome said and slid from the fire cat's back. As expected, putting weight on her leg hurt like a bitch; however, she wasn't going to ask either of these two to carry her around either.

Sango watched Tres slide off as well and immediately begin heading for the far end of the hot springs, clearly intending on getting into the water whether he had someone to assist him in undressing or not. “I know you want to take a bath now,” Sango said, glancing at the retreating priest before looking back to Kagome, “but I'll need to go back and grab the pack with your clothes and bathing supplies. We kinda dropped them as soon as we heard the gunfire. It shouldn't take long though.”

“That's fine,” Kagome said wearily, “I can soak until then.”

The look of mortification that crossed Sango's face was enough to give Kagome pause until she realized just what it was for. Clearly, the woman wasn't too keen on the idea of her stripping down naked and using the same hot spring that Tres was about to climb into. However, what modesty she had was about to fly out the window with the prospect of getting the mud off of herself so appealingly close.

“I'll be fine, Sango,” Kagome said in hopes of reassuring the other woman. She kept forgetting that Sango was still accustomed to the Kagome that would blush if someone commented on how short her 'kimono' was. That Kagome had grown up a long time ago, even if her friend still hadn't quite realized that fact.

“Are you sure you don't want to wait?” Sango asked uncertainly. While she trusted Father Tres, there were certain lines of decency that should be adhered to. And while she'd noticed the interest the man showed Kagome, it was far from the commitment that should be given in order for bathing together to be considered acceptable.

“I'm positive, I feel like I'm carrying half the dirt in Japan on me right now. Besides, it's not like he's going to jump me. He's a priest after all,” Kagome replied and then, on a moment's, reflection realized that might not have been a convincing addition. After all, Miroku was supposed to be a holy man and his perversion knew no bounds.

“Alright, well I'll hurry and get the pack. Once I get back I'll help you if you need it,” Sango said with a sigh. It was obvious that the miko wasn't going to reconsider her decision, but it wasn't her place to berate the girl on it either. The best that she could do was to hurry and get the pack so she could stand guard. Once the others arrived, she wouldn't put it past Miroku to try spying on the girl.

Eager to get in the water, Kagome waved her off and began hobbling towards the edge of the hot spring. The steam hung heavy in the air, lending the area an additional sense of privacy, allowing her to forget for a moment that she wasn't the only one there. After all, it wasn't like she could see the redhead, for that matter she couldn't even hear him.

Spotting a rather large boulder on the edge of the spring several yards away, she made her way over towards it. Once she was settled against the large rock, she toed her shoes off and set to work on removing her clothing. The shirt came off first, quickly followed by her pants and undergarments. She looked down at the fallen clothing with a forlorn glance and sighed, "I guess there really won't be much hope of saving these."

Cautiously, she advanced towards the water since she was unsure what the footing would be once she got in and, with one bad leg, it increased her chances of falling. To her relief though, her foot encountered nothing but soft sand. However, the water temperature was slightly warmer than she was accustomed to and she hissed with the discomfort when it came into contact with her abused flesh. “Damn that's hot!” she hissed, although, she didn't make any attempt to get out. While it might be slightly uncomfortable, being muddy was worse. 'I'm going to look like a boiled lobster when I get out. Oh well, it's better than being dunked in freezing water.'

From only a couple of feet away, Tres watched her advance into the water, her steps small and uncertain. Even from here, he could see the way her legs trembled with the effort and it was tempting to go and help her. However, he wasn't all together certain how she would take the suggestion. Picking her up while clothed was one thing, but naked was quite another. Briefly, he wondered why she'd come all the way over to where he was before he dismissed it as relatively unimportant. It wasn't as though he'd crept up on her while she was getting undressed. After seeing her stumble and hearing the muffled curse she uttered, he finally decided to speak up.

“Do you require assistance?” he asked and kept a careful eye on her just in case she managed to panic and fall in the process.

It was only the fact that she recognized that voice that kept her from freaking out and screaming for help. Instead, she looked around, scanning the area for the priest and was rather surprised to see him up to his waist in water not more than two feet away.

“You know, the polite thing would have been to let me know you were there,” Kagome said peevishly and crossed her arms over her chest before realizing that wasn't going to make a difference. Not when she was only knee deep in water and not wearing anything at all below the waist.

“Does it really make a difference?” Tres asked curiously and to his credit managed to keep his eyes from moving off of her face. There had been one other instance where he'd seen her nude and it hadn't made much of a difference then, so why should it matter now?

Thinking about it for a moment, Kagome realized that he was right. He'd seen her naked before at least once that she could think of and she'd be willing to bet that there had been others. After all, each time she left the camp in order to change or find the little girl's bush he trailed after her, although he generally kept a respectful distance. Inuyasha of course had taken offense to the very idea and protested rather loudly, but then for some reason all objections just seemed to... vanish. It was rather odd to say the least and she wasn't quite sure what to make of his changed behavior.

“I guess not,” she managed to say at last and proceeded deeper into the water to sit down a few inches away from him. “It's not important enough for me to try moving to the other side of the lake and if you get any chivalrous thoughts about moving, I'll make sure you don't.” Of course, she didn't voice just how she planned on doing that one because she didn't know herself, but it seemed to keep him from doing just that.

The corners of his lips quirked upwards in amusement, “It would be amusing to see what method you would employ in order to restrain me.” Oh, he had no doubts that she would attempt something; it was just a question of what it would be. Given his previous experiences with her, and the tales that she, along with the others, had to tell, he could just imagine her thinking she was strong enough to do so.

“Oh shit,” Kagome gasped, casting her gaze skywards and looking around frantically.

Tres immediately tensed and began scanning the area for whatever possible threat it was that she could be sensing. “Report, Kagome,” he ordered and began reaching behind him for one of his guns.

“The world must be ending,” Kagome said and then began to laugh at his irritated expression, “Now I know you're spending too much time around Miroku, you're turning into a pervert. I'm beginning to wonder if it's a prerequisite for holy men and now, I don't think I'm going to be able to look at you or Father Nightroad the same way again.”

“This from the woman who keeps going out of her way to fall on top of me,” Tres retorted and then smirked at the look of indignation that crossed her face.

“Hey! The first time was your fault,” Kagome protested vehemently, “you're the one who kept trying to pick me up! Admit it; you're the one who can't keep your hands off of me, not the other way around.”

“My, my, and here I thought that you were going to need help, Tres,” Father Nightroad said, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably while keeping his eyes carefully averted so that he didn't see anything he wasn't supposed to. Really, it wasn't all that odd that the both of them would choose to wash up at the same time since the spring was so big, but the last thing he'd expected was to find them seated so close to each other. “I guess... this means you have everything under control then, I'll be on my way. Here's some towels and your clothing for when you're finished,” he said and set them down on a rock nearby, “just try not to take too long and be careful of your wounds. Okay?”

Kagome stared up at the silver haired male for several long moments and shook her head. The tone of his voice had let her know exactly what he'd meant by 'be careful of your wounds' and it damned sure wasn't in washing them. The added blush on his face as he waited for a response just confirmed it. Rolling her eyes, she looked over at Tres, “See what I mean? Here I was thinking that there was some sort of requirement for pure thoughts and celibacy, but obviously I was wrong. You're all perverts, including Father Nightroad and somehow I've found myself at the center of it all.”

“I am not a pervert! It's you two that are... are...” Father Nightroad began and trailed off when he realized that he'd turned around to speak to the girl. When realization came to him that he was staring at the faint image of her body that lurked beneath the surface of the water, he yanked his eyes back up to her face and cleared his throat. “I am not a pervert,” he said even though after that indiscretion it felt like he was lying, “And that requirement is rather archaic and was banished shortly after the Great War. There just weren't enough people left to continue forcing God's followers to adhere to it. As such, I'll leave the two of you alone to finish up whatever it is you're planning to do.”

Father Nightroad could see the faint spark of amusement in his partner's eyes and that had him hurrying off before either of them could say anything. However, he wasn't so foolish as to believe that the situation wasn't going to bring added complications. How would Inuyasha react to hearing that the two of them had bathed together? And, no doubt, once Miroku found out about it there would be no end to the not so innocent remarks that could set the flame to any unstable tempers. 'Oh dear lord, what is this going to mean for the rest of us?'

Truthfully, though, he wasn't sure that he wanted to know. Dealing with the others was one thing, but what about his own emotions? To say he felt nothing for the girl would be a complete lie and, for the first time, he was regretting the fact that he'd agreed to strengthen the bond. It hadn't helped matters that he liked her as a person before it had been done and now, the bond was twisting that emotion into something more; something that he wasn't prepared to deal with; especially not when the signs all pointed to the fact that Tres had an interest in her as well. 'Perhaps one even larger than my own. I cannot allow my own feelings to interfere with that.'

But would he be able to prevent it? Now more than ever he wished that he had Caterina here to speak with, for if nothing else, she was always willing to listen and offer advice if she could. Unfortunately though, she wouldn't be born for centuries and the issues he was dealing with now wouldn't wait that long. In the end, he knew that he'd be forced to confront it without her council and this was a problem he couldn't really see discussing with one of the others, despite how tempting it was. 'How troublesome. Forewarning might have been nice; however, I doubt even Miroku knew that this could become a problem.'

While he walked, he allowed his mind to wander down that particular path in an effort to find a way to ignore what he was feeling. It was obvious that he couldn't get rid of it, but if he could channel the affection into something of a brotherly nature, would that eliminate the problems it posed? The problem continued to weigh heavily on his mind, so much so that he hadn't even realized he'd made it back to where he'd left Inuyasha and the others.

“Oi, Abel, you might wanna stop walking unless you plan on traipsing across the forest for the rest of the day,” Inuyasha said, jerking the priest out of his thoughts abruptly. It wasn't hard to guess just what was on the man's mind either. The resignation on the other male's face said it all, without even saying a word.

“Oh, I seemed to have gotten lost in thought. Sorry about that,” Father Nightroad said with a slight laugh of embarrassment. It was just like him to be so caught up in his own thoughts and completely lose track of where he was at the present time.

“Yeah, yeah, did you give them their clothes?” Inuyasha asked, brushing off the other man's apology. There'd been many nights where he'd been caught up in similar thoughts, but it had been him torn between two women and in the end, he'd lost them both. While the situations weren't the same, he could still sympathize to a certain extent. However, that sympathy only went so far and he wasn't going to allow the priest to do something stupid, like walk directly through the camp fire that Miroku had started a few minutes before Abel had arrived.

“Oh, yes, of course I did,” Father Nightroad replied quickly and then looked around the make shift campsite to see if there was anything that he needed to do to help out. However, to his surprise the others had managed to set things up rather rapidly and while it wasn't the best of jobs, it would certainly suffice. Obviously, they had been more worried about getting things ready so that Kagome and his partner could be comfortable while having their wounds treated. Everything else had been left to be tended to later.

Sango leaned back against a nearby tree and crossed her arms. “I'm still not sure why you stopped me from taking the stuff to them. Kagome was expecting me after all,” she said, giving a slightly irritated look at Inuyasha, “It just doesn't make sense. Why are you letting any male near Kagome while she bathes? I would have thought you'd have been the first one to storm down there to keep her away from Tres.”

“You said it yourself, Kagome didn't have a problem with sharing the spring with him so why should I?” Inuyasha asked with a shrug of his shoulders. Perhaps if it had been the same girl that had left them the day they'd made the wish he'd have stepped in. But he had long ago realized that Kagome was more than experienced enough to make her own choices now and it was time the others realized it as well.

“But,” Sango stammered, “It's not proper and she's injured...” Her voice trailed off slowly when she saw the look that the hanyou was directing her way. 'What the hell am I missing here?'

“Oh, give me a break, Sango,” Inuyasha said and then leapt up onto a low tree branch that was directly overhead. Sighing heavily, he peered down at the woman, “You can't possibly think that he's in any condition to take advantage of her and I doubt that she'd object even if he did. Am I the only one here who can see what the hell is going on?”

“On the contrary, Inuyasha. I've been watching the two of them as well and I thought it had been fairly obvious,” Miroku said with a slight grin, “It is a pity that he's so injured; it would have been a good time for them to explore the depths of the bond that is drawing them closer.” Of course, immediately after saying that, he had to duck out of the way from the blow that Sango had aimed at him.

“If it's the bond that's doing this, hasn't it occurred to any of you idiots that it's manipulating their thoughts and feelings? How can you even sit by and watch Kagome get involved with someone who probably wouldn't interest her if it wasn't for something that shouldn't have been done in the first place?” Sango asked angrily, disgusted with the whole idea. Didn't it bother them to know that the girl they'd been friends with for so many years was being taken advantage of by a force beyond their control?

“Don't be stupid. Kagome isn't going to do anything she doesn't want to,” Inuyasha snapped at the exterminator before she could continue on her tirade. He hadn't been in favor of the bond thing in the first place, but it had been Midoriko that had put it in place. Miroku had merely strengthened it and he'd talked to the monk more than once about the dangers that the move had presented. As far as he was concerned, the matter was out of their hands and it would be stupid to continue the discussion any further.

With a sigh, Miroku nodded his head in agreement, “Indeed, Inuyasha is right. The bond is merely a channel for the emotions that are present and it allows them to feel what the other two are feeling on a deeper level than we can sense. You must realize that there are many emotions that can form over time. Hate being one of them. If Kagome or Tres didn't like the other person in the first place, there would be little to no attraction between them. I daresay it would make them both extremely uncomfortable; however, given the strength in which they would experience the emotion.”

“It still doesn't seem right,” Sango protested, “Just because the bond is there doesn't mean that you should ignore what's going on either, Inuyasha. I think if nothing else, you should be more concerned and continue looking over her since she might not be able to do it for herself.”

“I'm not ignoring what's going on. Who the hell do you think it was that told him to shit or get off the pot? He's been looking at her all doe eyed since before I took him back to Kagome's time and he needed a damned kick in the ass to make up his mind. Do you think I'm really going to march down there and tell him to back off now?” Inuyasha asked incredulously. Oh, he could just imagine the miko's reaction then, especially since she seemed to be interested in the redhead as well. He didn't have a death wish and it sure as hell wasn't his business to tell her to stop, he'd screwed up his own life enough without mucking around with hers.

That seemed to shut the woman up for a moment and Inuyasha wasn't about to let the moment of silence go to waste. His expression hardened and he turned to look at Father Nightroad, “And you! Do I need to give you a kick in the ass as well? You're even more annoying than he was. The worst we had to deal with your partner was him following her around like a shadow. You, on the other hand, are going to get yourself and someone else killed if you can't clear your head and figure out what it is you're doing.”

The outburst stunned Father Nightroad, but not for long. “I don't know what you're talking about,” he said and laughed uneasily, trying to brush the hanyou's words off as unimportant. The man couldn't possibly have figured out that he was experiencing feelings towards the miko as well. He'd been far more careful in his appraisal of the girl, hadn't he?

“Don't hand me that crap. You might be able to hide it from the others, but you can't hide it from me and if Kagome weren't so damned oblivious, she'd have noticed by now too. I'm guessing that she's focusing more on your partner since he's not being a chicken shit about it. I want to know what you plan on doing about it,” Inuyasha said firmly, leaving the Crusnik no escape from the question. Kagome was too important for him to allow this guy to half ass things.

The insinuation that he was running away from the problem had Father Nightroad bristling in anger. “I assure you that you are dead wrong in your assumptions. There is nothing for me to do and as such, it would be appreciated if you dropped this line of thought,” he stated coldly, clearly signaling that the conversation was over as far as he was concerned. What he chose to do about the situation was no one's business but his own and while the hanyou meant well, his interference was not appreciated, nor would it be tolerated.

“You'd better be right, priest,” Inuyasha stated flatly, and crossed his arms, “cause if there's one thing I do know, it's that bonds like this just don't go away. You damned sure ain't a demon, but it's not like you're a human either, not by a long shot. If you think it's bad now, just wait until those instincts of yours kick in. One way or another they'll have to be dealt with and either you're going to do it, or I will. I won't let you hurt her.” The threat hung heavily in the air and for the longest moment Inuyasha wondered if it was going to come down to a fight right then. He could see the anger lurking in the other man's eyes and he knew that the priest hadn't taken kindly to his words. But that wasn't his problem, Kagome was. So he didn't really give a damn one way or another of what the priest thought of what he had said as long as it led to a resolution.

Before anyone could do anything more than stare at the hanyou in surprise, Kagome limped into camp with a look of confusion on her face. “What's going on here?” she asked quietly even though she'd heard the tail end of the conversation. It was surprising that Inuyasha hadn't sensed her approach, but she had decided to attribute that to the fact that he was so involved with the conversation at hand.

“Ah, Kagome, you shouldn't be walking unassisted, please sit down,” Father Nightroad instructed her, his voice laced with worry. It took a great effort to keep the irritation he was feeling towards Inuyasha from reaching her, but somehow he managed. He wasn't sure just how much she'd heard; however, he wasn't going to come out and ask her either. If she were willing to feign ignorance, than he would be only too happy to participate in the charade as well.

“I'm fine,” she replied quickly as she moved to sit down in the spot he'd indicated that was next to him.

It wouldn't be long before Tres returned from the spring and she considered it a stroke of luck that she'd even managed to reach camp before him in the first place. It had only been the fact that he'd been in the process of dressing that had allowed her to get out of being carried again and there was little doubt in her mind that he'd be rather irritated that she'd returned to camp without him.

“Where's Tres?” Sango asked curiously and moved to the girl's other side just before giving Father Nightroad a look of warning to back off. After that little pissing contest that she'd witnessed between him and Inuyasha, she wasn't about to leave treating the miko to either of them. 'I sure hope Inuyasha knows what the hell he's doing.'

“He'll be along in just a few minutes,” Kagome said and steeled herself against the pain that she knew was coming. Fortunately, Father Nightroad had been considerate enough to leave her a pair of shorts to wear instead of having to deal with another pair of pants that would invariably chafe against the wound on her leg. As expected, the tentative probing that Sango was doing had her hissing in pain, but, to her credit, she didn't jerk her leg away. Instinctively, her hands fisted and her knuckles turned white as her fingernails dug into her palms. 'Damn, this hurts worse than I had thought it would. It'd be nice if I could heal as fast as a demon would.'

“I'm surprised you were able to come back without him.” Sango muttered beneath her breath and examined the wound closely. To her relief, it wasn't so deep that it needed stitching up; however, much more and the tendons would have been severed.

“Believe me, it wasn't that easy,” Kagome replied dryly just as the redhead in question walked into camp. She ducked her head in order to avoid the irritated look that he threw her direction. There was no way in hell she was going to apologize, or accept the attempts to coddle her. Yes, she knew that a good portion of that stemmed from his vow to be the one to protect her, but sooner or later he was going to have to put his own welfare before hers.

“So how bad is it?” she asked instead, using the question to fill the silence that had descended over the group.

“It'll take a while to heal, but there won't be any permanent damage. You got lucky this time,” Sango replied and began smearing the white cream that she'd pulled out of the first aid kit on the wounds. “It won't stop you from walking at any rate; it'll just be painful for a while.”

“Nothing that a bit of Tylenol won't cure, in other words,” Kagome said, her voice laced with relief. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about Inuyasha or Tres insisting that she needed to be carried around like a damned doll.

Inuyasha snorted, “You might be able to travel, but I don't think he's going to be able to.” A jerk of his head indicated the other injured member of their party. He'd smelled the amount of blood coming from the redhead and he'd seen just how bad the man was limping when he'd made his way into the camp. They'd be stuck here for at least the next week, possibly two unless Kirara agreed to carry the man. As far as Kagome was concerned, he could carry her if need be.

“We'll probably want to find a village to stay at as soon as possible,” Miroku advised before Tres could protest about his condition. “With the two of you injured, it would be unwise to stay on the road. Naraku could attack and we'd be at a severe disadvantage. We can't afford to take the chance.” For all they knew, the demon could be watching them this very moment and biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. 'That would be exactly what I would do if I were in his place after all.'

The idea was a sound one and Inuyasha nodded his approval, “We'll head out in the morning then. The village that Jinenji and his mother reside in is only a few hours away. With luck, he'll have some herbs that'll help the two of you out so we can get back on the road. We can't keep wasting time, Naraku ain't gonna take long to regenerate himself.”

“I take it this Jinenji is a healer of a sort then?” Father Nightroad inquired of the hanyou while helping his partner sit on the sleeping roll that had been spread out upon the ground. In his opinion, it had been fortunate that the man hadn't bothered to put the shirt on and had carried it back with him instead. At least now he didn't have to instruct the redhead to remove it so he could get a good look at his ribs.

“You could say that,” Miroku replied and moved to kneel next to the Crusnik. As far as he could ascertain, there were only two broken ribs even though the bruising made it appear as if his entire side had taken a beating. “Jinenji is very skilled in the ways of healing herbs and medicines; however, I'm unsure just how much use they'll be in this instance.”

“They'll be better than nothing; otherwise, we should head back to Kaede's, cause you know sooner or later the bastard's going to show up. With the two of them hurt, we might as well paint a target on our backs,” Inuyasha said callously and proceeded to ignore the twin looks of annoyance thrown his direction. He didn't see a reason to sugar coat the truth and even if he hadn't seen any of Naraku's spies, he was sure the demon was keeping an eye on their progress somehow. The bastard was like a vulture that would leap at any opportunity at taking a free shot at them. The longer they remained exposed like this, the more danger they'd be in.

“As much as I hate to say it, we might want to consider doing that anyway,” Sango said reluctantly. No matter how good Jinenji's medicines were, he couldn't work miracles and neither Kagome nor Tres had a demon's healing abilities. Besides, it had been a while since they'd returned to the village and with each day that passed, she couldn't help but worry about her brother who had been left in Kaede's care. 'Despite the wish that Kagome made, what if Naraku targets him first since he's an easy target?' More than once she'd thought about bringing him along on the journey, but decided against it. He was still plagued by the thoughts of his time under Naraku's control and to ask him to come along would be forcing him to relieve those memories on a daily basis. No, it was best that he remained behind. It might be difficult for her, but she wanted the best for him and this was it.

“You greatly underestimate my fighting abilities if you think that something such as this will incapacitate me for any great length of time,” Tres responded tersely. The worse part would be his leg which would be healed in a week's time, perhaps a few days more. For that they could find a nearby village and wait the time out. There was no reason to head all the way back to the village, as far as he was concerned, and he was going to be sure everyone knew his thoughts on the matter.

“We'll see if you feel that way when we start out in the morning,” Inuyasha replied, unwilling to make a decision at the moment no matter what the redhead happened to think. Since Tres had never dealt with those types of injuries before, he had no way of being prepared for the hell he'd experience after having the chance to allow his muscles to stiffen up. If the priest could even move without groaning in pain when they were ready to head out in the morning, he was going to be surprised. 'Humans. They always seem to think they know everything.'

When Tres looked ready to argue, Father Nightroad shook his head, “Let it go for now, Tres, he's right. We can't know how either you or Kagome will feel in the morning and there's a good chance that you'll need time to rest. Returning to the village will give us time to restock on supplies as well.”

Carefully, he continued wrapping the gauze around his partner's chest, making sure that it was tight enough to provide support, but not so tight as to restrict his breathing. Whether they liked it or not, the injuries were a serious setback and it looked as if the hunt was going to have to be postponed, even if it was only for a couple of weeks.

In the end, Tres could only acquiesce to the decision that had been made, even if it didn't exactly sit well with him. However, his stand on the matter wavered if only slightly when he looked over at the miko. While he couldn't quite put his finger on it, something was off about the girl and for now, he was at a loss as to what it was. Eventually though, he was forced to give up and pass it off as just the stress of the day's events. In the morning, they'd both show the others they were perfectly able to travel, but until then he would merely bide his time and take the opportunity to relax as best as he could. Morning would come soon enough on its own no matter what he was worried about or not.

End Chapter Ten