InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Guilty Hero ❯ Department Store Therapy ( Chapter 28 )

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In this chapter: Good news, bad news time.

Guilty Hero

Chapter 27: Department Store Therapy

“Ah… That's much better.” Kagome emerged from the bathroom dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweater, carrying the pajamas that she had worn for the past two days in her arms; upon waking up that morning, she realized that she had not had a shower since she had gotten sick, so she had quickly gone about to rectify the situation. Now that she was clean, she was feeling much better, with only a slight sniffle and a nagging cough to give any hint that she had been ill.

Stopping by the bedroom to deposit her clothes in her overnight bag and to pull out her comb, she wandered down the hallway and into the kitchen, pausing to check on her sleeping patient. He was still sleeping soundly on the kitchen table, looking much more at ease with the pillow under his head. She smiled a little at the sound of his soft snores and carefully pulled the blanket up further before leaving him be.

After going out onto the landing to pick up the newspaper, she brought it back inside to the kitchen table and spread it open, glancing at the headlines while she went about making a cup of tea. Then, once the drink was prepared, she sat down and started to read, slowly bringing the comb through her damp locks.

For a few minutes, things were quite peaceful, the only sounds being Inu-Yasha's heavy breathing and the slight rustling of the newspaper as Kagome turned the page. However, after a while Kagome noticed that Inu-Yasha's breathing wasn't quite so deep and he was starting to shift in his sleep, two signs that meant consciousness was on the way. With a light sigh, she stood and went over to the coffee maker, starting the daily process of fixing his morning beverage. She had hardly been working for a minute when a rough voice spoke up and broke the quiet, making her start in surprise.

“You shouldn't be drinkin' coffee when you're sick,” came Inu-Yasha's reprimanding voice, thick with sleep. “It messes up the medicine.”

Giving herself a moment to recover from her surprise by pouring the rest of the water into the back of the maker and pushing the button to turn it on, Kagome turned around to smile at him; she had to hold back laughter, for his expression was rather amusing. He was trying hard to glare sternly at her, but with his tousled hair and puffy red eyes, the effect was lost.

“It's not for me, it's for you,” she replied, going back to the table to sit down while the coffee brewed. “Besides, I haven't taken my medicine yet today.”

He blinked sleepily at her, then slowly started to stand. “I'll get it for you…” he mumbled, but was stopped when Kagome put her hand over his.

“Don't worry about it,” she said gently. “I wanted to eat some breakfast before I took anymore medicine. I haven't eaten in two days, you know.”

He still didn't sit down right away, blearily studying her as she spoke. “… I can make breakfast…” he finally offered once he processed her words. “You go lie down on the couch and I'll make somethin'…”

Holding back a chuckle, she tugged lightly on the sleeve of his T-shirt and he sat back down with a thump, looking a little surprised. “That's very sweet of you, Inu-Yasha, but I'm feeling much better today. See? I even got up and got dressed.” She sat back so he could see her sweater, which he stared blankly at for a moment before nodding slowly. “So don't worry about anything. You've done your part, and now it's time for me to take care of you.” She stood and went over to a cabinet to pull out a glass and fill it with water.

“Take care of… oh.” As he started to puzzle out her last comment, his eyes came to rest on the half-empty whiskey bottle sitting a few inches away on the table, and realization clicked in his gaze. Glancing down at the table, he finally noticed the pillow sitting directly in front of him, and he slowly reached behind himself and pulled out the blanket that had long since fallen off his shoulders.

Handing him the water, Kagome saw his expression darken, chasing away the haziness of sleep from his features. “Hey…” she said softly, gaining his attention from the glare he was giving his bedding. “Don't worry about it. You did the best you could, and I'm very touched by that. Look how much better I'm feeling today, see? You did an excellent job taking care of me, and I don't think you should be beating yourself up over last night.”

He frowned, clearly not pleased with the situation. “…But—“

“Uh-uh,” she quickly interrupted, effectively cutting him off. “It's over. You did a wonderful job taking care of me, and now that I'm back on my feet, we can pick up where we left off. End of discussion.” Despite her brusque tone, she smiled encouragingly at him, and he sighed, knowing this was a fight he had been doomed to lose from the start.

“Whatever…” he finally muttered, grasping the glass of water and drinking it dry. He still didn't agree with her, for he felt that he had failed by caving in to his desire to drink the night before, but it would be no use arguing with her. She could be as stubborn as himself when it came to arguments.

Once the glass of water was empty and his headache had receded a bit as he hydrated himself, he carefully got to his feet and screwed the cap back on the whiskey bottle, carrying it over to his self-designated liquor cabinet. Pulling open the door, he was greeted by the sight of three more bottles, and he realized he must have decided to restock when he had gone to the convenience store the night prior. He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh in relief; he had felt very unsettled ever since the gala knowing there was a lack of his drink in the apartment, but he never wanted Kagome to know how much that irked him. Still, he was angry with himself for being relieved in the first place, and with a sullen growl he set the opened bottle with the others and slammed the cabinet shut.

Kagome quickly looked up from the mug of steaming hot coffee she had been pouring, looking a bit startled. “Inu-Yasha? Are you all right?”

“Hmph.” He went back to the table and flopped down in his chair, unable to keep a scowl from marring his features. However, when Kagome came over with his cup of coffee and a concerned look on her face, he sighed and tried to change the subject. “Are you really feeling better?” he asked, his tone softer than she had expected.

Grinning in an effort to cheer him up, she said brightly, “Well, under your watchful eye, I think it would be hard for me not to feel better! You really did to an excellent job; I couldn't have asked for a better caretaker.”

He grunted in disbelief. “You could've asked for one that isn't a drunk,” he mumbled, nudging the empty tumbler still on the table with his finger.

All the joy she had tried to exude for him seemed to dissipate at his comment, and she silently sank down on the chair next to him, her brow pinched with worry. “Inu-Yasha… You can't keep beating yourself up over this,” she said quietly, fiddling with a corner of the newspaper. “You took care of me as best you could. You did all you could. The fact that you were unable to make it the entire time without drinking is of no matter.”

“It does so matter,” he snarled back, his claws scraping against the table top. “This is just like I said before, Kagome! How can I take care of you when I'm drunk? Hell, even when I'm sober, all I'm thinkin' about is where my next drink is coming from, so how can I take care of you if that's all I'm worried about?”

She looked up his red eyes, which were glaring holes into his coffee mug. “That wasn't all you were worried about, though,” she replied. “You were concerned about me. I could tell.”

He sighed deeply, never denying the comment. “The point is, I need to quit, Kagome. But I still can't figure out why you won't help me. I asked Miroku, and he said I should focus on figuring out what `the right reason' is, but…” He moaned and rested his head in his hands, clearly frustrated. “…I have no idea.”

Kagome remained silent, sitting back in her chair and studying the demon closely. They sat, utterly quiet for several moments, until Inu-Yasha finally grew uncomfortable under her gaze and snarled, “What?!”

A smile broke her features as she crossed her arms, looking quite pleased with herself. “Well, I can't help you quit drinking yet, Inu-Yasha. But I don't see why I can't help you figure out the right reason to quit drinking. So clear your schedule tonight, because we're going out.”

“Clear my… what the hell do you mean, `we're going out'?” Inu-Yasha looked slightly alarmed at her expression, but she simply laughed in response.

“Drink your coffee before it gets cold, and leave the worrying to me. You'll see what I mean this evening.”

He stared in disbelief as she picked up the tumbler and took it over to the sink to wash it out, humming merrily now that she had come up with a plan. “…But I do worry…”

oOoOoOoOoOo

“This is supposed to help me?” Inu-Yasha growled, peering out the window of Kagome's car as she pulled into a parking space by the curb. “A department store?”

Yawning one final time, for she had opted to take a nap before the departed on their nighttime adventure, she smiled brightly at him from behind a thick, ivory scarf. “Yes it is. Now come along, let's not lollygag in the car, we have shopping to do!”

“Shopping?” he repeated incredulously, climbing out of the car only so he could continue to argue with his nurse, who he was beginning to think had gone insane. “How the hell—“ He abruptly stopped speaking when she put a fuzzy mitten to his lips.

Giving him a stern look that was betrayed by the excitement in her eyes, which were to Inu-Yasha's relief the same vibrant blue he had come to like, she said, “You need to stop being so grouchy all the time. We are here tonight to enjoy ourselves and have fun. All right?”

He nodded, silent behind the mitten until she finally removed it. Then he said weakly, “…A department store? Surely you know by now that a department store is not my idea of fun…”

Grasping his hand, she dragged him into the store, undeterred by his lack of joy. “I have no idea what your idea of fun is, since you seem determined not to have it,” she replied cheerfully, letting out a sigh of relief once they were inside the heated building. The December air outside was particularly cold and vicious and, despite her mild protests she had put up when Inu-Yasha made her wear three layers of clothing underneath her coat since she was just getting over being sick, she had been glad to have them, and the warmth of the store was even more welcome.

With a heavy sigh of defeat, Inu-Yasha helped her remove her coat, hat, scarf, and mittens, depositing them in the bottom of their cart once Kagome retrieved one. “…Do we have anything specific we're looking for?” he asked grudgingly, and Kagome grinned , pleased to see he wasn't going to argue with her anymore.

“Yes,” she replied, going over to study the map of erected in the middle of the entryway. “We're looking for the bedding area. All right, to the back corner!”

Inu-Yasha trudged along behind her, slowly pushing the cart. Much as he hated to admit it, he almost enjoyed being here. As much as he had enjoyed caring for her while she was sick, not that he would ever tell her that, it was good to see her so lively again, and he was relieved to see her back on her feet. So, keeping that in mind, he decided it wouldn't be so bad to put up with being out of the apartment for awhile.

As the minutes ticked by, not as slowly as he had expected them to, he followed Kagome slowly around the store, stopping every two feet along the way to the bedding section so she could pick up every cute knick-knack sitting on every end cap of every aisle they passed. She would cry out, grab something off the shelf, hold it out to him, and he would nod in disinterest while she chattered away about it, oblivious to his lack of excitement, until at last she returned it to its spot on the shelf and they could move on to the next aisle, where something else could grab her attention.

At last they made it to the bedding area, where Inu-Yasha suddenly found himself challenged. Not only did Kagome pick up almost every pillow, blanket, or bedding set in the aisles, but she now was asking him his opinion, and he had to quickly think up answers other than, “Whatever,” or, “I don't care.”

“Look, Kagome…” he grunted after almost fifteen minutes of this. “What exactly are you looking for? I can't keep this up all night long…”

“Sorry…” she said, pulling her hand away from yet another pillow she was going to lift off the shelf. “I want to buy a whole new bed set. New sheets, new blankets, new pillows… All of it. And I just want to make sure I'm getting the right thing. That's where you come in. I need a second pair of eyes.”

Rubbing his eyes, which were already itchy from tiredness from staring off into space for so long, he said slowly, “All right then, here's what you're gonna do. You are going to pick out your three favorite sets, while I go sit in that armchair—“ he waved off to the right where an overstuffed chair in the furniture section had been calling to him for the past several minutes, “—and then you bring them back to me and I'll tell you which one I like best, how does that sound?” Her bright smile told him all he needed to know, so he went over to the chair and sank down in relief while she disappeared down an aisle.

She took so long that he had slowly started to doze off, for it was almost midnight, but that was when she popped out of an aisle and walked toward him, carrying three comforter sets in her arms. Blinking rapidly, he sat up and stared expectantly at her as she dropped the three packages in front of him.

“All right,” she began, holding up the first set and displaying it like a girl on a game show. “We have set number one, a double-sided red and black number. Stark, dark, beautiful. Next…” She set down the first set and picked up the next one. “We have set number two, a delightful blend of browns, creating a neutral environment that will go with anything. And finally…”

Inu-Yasha was doing his best to hold back a grin at her silly display, but he could tell from the tugging at his lips that he was unsuccessful. Kagome smiled back at him, clearly pleased to finally shake him out of his slump.

“Finally, we have this dark-brown and deep red striped display. Lovely colors, and if I may say, damn comfortable to lay on as well.” Setting it back down on the floor so he could observe all three at once, she asked, “So, what do you think? One, two, or three?”

With a sigh, he leaned forward and peered closely at all of them before honestly answering, “Three. Definitely.”

Her smile growing ever broader, she nodded dropped the red and brown set into the cart. “Three it is. I'll just put these other two back and get the rest of the blankets and sheets to match it, and we can move on.”

Inu-Yasha, deciding he had sat around long enough, made to join her, and soon their cart was full with all the accessories to go with the set. “Jeez…” he said as Kagome stuck one last blanket on top of the pile before they headed to another section. “What the hell do you need all this stuff for? Don't you have pillows and stuff at your house?”

“I do,” Kagome replied, gently tugging the cart in the direction she wanted to go. “But this isn't for me, it's for you. I hope you don't mind that I didn't let you pick it out on your own, but I figured you wouldn't have a clue of where to begin.”

“I—what, wait, it's for me?” The cart abruptly stopped and Kagome was jerked back from her tight grip on the side of it.

Frowning a little at the sudden stop, she looked up to see Inu-Yasha staring at her, a mixture of worry and anger on his face. “Um, yes, it's for you,” she said, a little hesitant at his expression. “Believe me, you will not regret this. A new comforter set is just the thing you need. Every time you go to bed, you'll be so nice and warm with—“

“Absolutely not,” he growled, interrupting her. “We are putting this all back. I am not getting any of this.”

“Oh, don't worry about it,” Kagome replied airily, waving a hand. “This one is on me. Think of it as an early Christmas present.”

“It's not the money I'm worried about,” he doggedly insisted. “I'm just not getting this. Period.”

Crossing her arms, she gave him a look that effectively chastised him. “Look. All the blankets and sheets you have a your apartment are thin, threadbare, stained, and full of holes. It's a wonder you haven't caught your death of cold under such conditions in this weather. As your nurse, I will not allow such a thing to continue on any longer. I am getting you these blankets. Period.”

A furious snarl pulling at his lip, he suddenly released his grip on the cart and turned away, his hands fisting at his sides. For a few moments, Kagome was certain that he was about to leave the store, but eventually he turned around, his temper under control once again. “You push…” he muttered softly, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

Nodding, Kagome stepped up and grasped the cart handle, deciding it would be best not to talk about it anymore until it was time to pay for it all. He was reacting very strangely to her display of kindness, but she had been expecting such a reaction from him, and was simply biding her time until it was proper to talk about his anger.

“Come on…” she said quietly. “Let's go look at clothes.” With a grim nod, he followed after her, any trace of his good mood gone.

It took them only a couple minutes to find the clothes section, and once they did, Kagome slowly spoke up, “…Let's head to the men's area.” Inu-Yasha immediately tensed next to her, but his jaw seemed to be locked shut, for he refused to speak. Robotically, he followed her over to the racks of men's clothes and stood perfectly still as she held up shirt after shirt to his chest, trying in vain to ask his opinion but receiving nothing in reply.

Finally, after seven minutes of what apparently was absolute torture, judging by Inu-Yasha's expression, Kagome surveyed the pile of clothes that had amassed on top of the bedding already in the cart. “Okay… Three pairs of jeans, five plain t-shirts, two pairs of dress slacks, and three dress shirts. A whole new wardrobe, and all on sale.” She tried to smile up at him, hoping to ease his obvious discomfort. “What do you think? Do you like all of them?”

Honestly, she hadn't been expecting an answer, judging from the silent treatment he had been giving her, so it came as a complete surprise when he suddenly burst out, “No!!”

Starting at his furious tone, she took a step back, very confused. “U-um, okay, which ones don't you like? We can find new ones—“

“No, no, no!! We are not doing this, Kagome!” he growled, tossing the shirts that she had asked him to hold on the ground. “We are not buying any of this stuff! It's wasteful and frivolous! Who the hell said I needed any of it?! Who the hell said I wanted any of it?! Well let me tell you something--I don't want it, I don't need it, I don't—“ He stopped suddenly, his expression working furiously.

Kagome stared levelly at him, realizing what was going on. “You don't what?” she asked softly, even though she already knew the answer.

He stared wild-eyed at her, his body stiff and tense, a muscle throbbing in his temple. He was enraged, but knew that he couldn't take it out on her. Abruptly turning on his heel, he choked out, “I need a smoke,” and stormed outside, leaving Kagome standing alone with a pile of clothes at her feet.

Silence seemed to ring in her ears until a sales associate hesitantly approached her, looking a little anxious. “…Ma'am?” she asked. “Is everything all right?”

Shaking her head and sighing, Kagome bent down and picked up the wad of clothes. “No, miss, but I'm working on it.” Handing off the clothes, she smiled apologetically. “I'm sorry about the mess, but I need to go check on him. Do you mind taking these? We'll be back in for the cart in a few minutes, don't worry.” Then she quickly grabbed her coat and walked off, the baffled associate looking after her as though she were insane, following after such an angry demon.

It was easy enough to Kagome to find Inu-Yasha, for he hadn't gone far; he was seated on a bench just outside of the store, slumped over with a cigarette clenched between his teeth. He twitched slightly and turned his head away when she gingerly sat down next to him, but remained silent.

Kagome kept quiet for a moment as well, still adjusting her hat and mittens. As she slowly wrapped her scarf around her neck, she watched as a car drove past every so often, its headlights shining brightly against the dark of night.

“…I know why you're so upset, Inu-Yasha,” she finally began, her voice slightly muffled by her scarf. “But I'm wondering if you know.”

“Hmph. How the hell do you know why I'm mad?” he snapped in reply, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

Kagome paused before answering, holding back an exasperated sigh. “I was with you on the roof at the gala. I haven't forgotten what you said to me. Don't take me for a simpleton, Inu-Yasha.” She fixed him with a piercing stare, which made him shift uncomfortably on the bench.

“You're upset because you don't feel you deserve new bedding, or blankets, or clothes, right? It's so obvious. I wondered for a long time why your apartment was full of such old, threadbare blankets , or why you always wore the same stained t-shirts over and over, or why you put up with sleeping on sheets that were so full of holes. But after you told me your reason for drinking on the roof at the gala, everything made sense. This was just another way to punish yourself for what you did to Kikyo. Am I right?”

Inu-Yasha bowed his head, not daring to look at her. Silence reigned once again as Kagome allowed what she said to sink in. Finally, he spoke up, his voice nowhere near as harsh as it had been earlier. “I never did it intentionally… But every time I went out to get a new pair of shoes, or replace an old shirt… it just didn't feel right, buying such nice things for me, not after what I had done. I just couldn't bring myself to go through with it…”

Kagome sighed softly, relieved to see that he was at least going to talk. Sliding closer to him on the bench, she carefully took hold of his clawed hand in her mitten, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Look, Inu-Yasha, I said I was going to help you figure out the right reason to quit drinking, right?” He nodded slowly in agreement. “Well then, here is what I have to say: you can't live forever with five thin blankets, three stained white t-shirts, and holey sheets. Now, I don't have a problem with buying you all this stuff—in fact, I'm happy to do it. But eventually, you're going to have to deem yourself worthy enough to buy new ones. You have the opportunity to do that right now.” Releasing her grip on his hand, she stood, straightening her coat. “I'm going to go inside. You don't have to make a decision immediately. But when you do, I will be inside, and whatever choice you make I will abide by, all right?”

As she started to walk away, she made her way around the bench so she could whisper in his ear, “But just between you and me, I really hope you decide to at least get some new blankets. Your apartment is freezing and the blankets you have now don't help much. Trust me, I spent two days under them.” She smiled playfully when he looked forlornly over his shoulder to stare at her, and then she turned around and strode back inside, leaving him alone to think.

Once inside the department store, she sighed, slowly beginning to shed the outerwear she had so hurriedly donned in the first place to catch up with the demon. She couldn't help but marvel at how deep in his self-loathing he had gone, to the point where he couldn't even buy necessities for himself. It pained her to see him struggle with such a simple thing, but she knew she couldn't force him to do anything. He had to make the decision on his own, and now all she could do was wait.

Wandering back to the clothes section where she had abruptly left their cart, she took it and started to browse in the women's section, not really interested but knowing that she had to be patient for Inu-Yasha to make his choice.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity later, Kagome slowly turned around to see if there was some shirt hanging on a rack behind her that she might possibly missed and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Inu-Yasha, standing there with an unreadable expression.

Choking back a shout of surprise, she asked slowly, “Well? What do you think?”

For a moment, he remained silent. Then he opened his mouth and said in a shaky voice, “Let's go to the check-out.”

She couldn't contain her joy at those words. “Really?” she asked softly, a smile stretching across her face.

He nodded slowly, swallowing hard. “I figured… If you were willing to get all this for me, then it must be the right thing to do.”

Unable to stop herself, she flung her arms around him, nearly knocking him back when she caught him off-guard. “Oh, Inu-Yasha, you have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that…”

“I think I do…” he grumbled, trying to sound displeased at almost being knocked over, but when she felt herself being wrapped in his warm embrace, she knew he wasn't angry.

After a few seconds, he quickly pulled away from her, his cheeks burning a bright red. “Come on,” he grunted, stepping up and grabbing the cart. “Let's pay for this stuff and go home, it's late.”

“Hey, you should be thanking me for it being so late,” Kagome said in mock-defense, walking beside him with her hands behind her back. “Or would you rather have had your therapy session in front of dozens of customers?”

“Is that what you're calling this? A therapy session? I thought you were a nurse.”

She laughed lightly. “Well, I am, but you need a lot more help than what just a nurse can offer, my friend. I've had to expand my talents to other fields.”

The red going all the way to the tips of his ears, he mumbled, “You're not just a nurse… But I'm glad you're around to help me. Real glad.”

Kagome looked over at him in surprise, nearly laughing at the tomato red color of his face. Her smile growing ever wider, she kept silent, but moved closer to him and took his arm in her own, and together they walked up to the register.

oOoOoOoOoOo

While Kagome was aiding Inu-Yasha with in his inner demons, on the other end of town at the Order's headquarters, Sango was helping Miroku with one of the city's real demons.

“They're good,” she said sternly, having just checked the reinforced steel manacles that bound the pot-bellied ogre to a metal chair in the middle of an empty room. The ogre let out a low groan as the treated metal hissed against its skin, not burning it, but certainly causing a good amount of discomfort.

“Painful, isn't it?” Miroku asked, leaning on his staff in front of the ogre, the very staff that had knocked it out and allowed it to be dragged here in the first place. “We can make it worse if you don't tell us the information we need to know.”

“I-I don't got information…” the ogre ground out, constantly shifting as the manacles sizzled and hissed. “I know nothin'!”

“Oh really? Then how do you explain the fact that all of your companions seemed to know something about this superdemon, and you do not?” Sango asked, stepping into the light and making certain it gleamed brightly off her shining Hiraikotsu hanging off her belt. “Are you just that unimportant?”

Despite the burn of it bonds, the ogre fixed his piggy eyes on her, hatred in its gaze. “I important,” he growled, flexing his fists as though he wished to punch her. “I second in command of tribe!”

“Well then, if you're second in command, you must know the information that the rest of your group knows. Unless you're just a poor leader.” Miroku stared evenly back when the ogre turned its gaze on him, hardly disturbed.

“I know more than rest of tribe!” he snarled, struggling against the manacles. “I good leader! I know information!”

Miroku smirked. “That's what I thought. Then you'll be willing to tell us who was behind the massive outbreak yesterday?”

The ogre abruptly shut its mouth, realizing it had been tricked. He stared blankly at Miroku, not saying a word.

“Ah. Look, Sango, this creature knows the power of silence. Fortunately, I can work with that.” Taking two steps forward so that he was enveloped in the rays from the single light hanging above the ogre's chair. Pulling something out of his pocket, he crouched down in front of the ogre and held up a slip of paper with complicated scribbles of ink. “Do you know what this is?” He received no reply from the ogre, but that was expected. Holding the paper up close to the ogres snout, he went on.

“This is a sutra, imbued with spiritual powers and made specifically for purifying vermin such as yourself. This sutra is so potent, so saturated with holy aura that it's mere touch—“ he brought it dangerously close to the ogre's nose that it couldn't help but flinch away, “—would blast you from existence. Now, if you don't want me to slap this down on your forehead and send you blasting away into oblivion, you will answer my question: who was behind the outbreak yesterday?”

The ogre's eyes were fixed on the sutra, mere centimeters from its nose. Sweat dripped down its face as the seconds ticked on in silence, until at last Miroku stood and brought his hand up, ready to send the paper down onto the ogre's forehead. “Oblivion it is, then!”

“Wait! It was woman! Demon-witch, controls wind! She say big power comes! We join, we get big power! Lots of demons go with!”

“What is this big power the wind-witch spoke of?” Miroku asked, keeping the sutra poised to come down, a fact the ogre was all-too-aware of.

“A demon! A leader, who bring power to all demons in city! We help, we get to have city! That all witch say!” The ogre looked so pathetic and pitiful that Miroku knew it was all the information it had. Fixing the ogre with a glare, he slowly lowered the sutra and stuck it back in his pocket.

“Come on, Sango. We're finished here.” Together they strode out of the room, and it was only once the heavy iron door was bolted shut behind did Miroku slump against the wall, looking relieved to be out of there. “God, I hate doing interrogation…” he said, clearly exhausted.

“But you did good…” Sango said distractedly, thinking hard. “We got information we needed to know. That ogre knew a lot more than the rest of his tribe, that's for certain.”

“But this doesn't bode well, Sango, didn't you realize what he said? `A big power to all the demons in the city'? They get to `have the city'? It seems that history wants to repeat itself. This will be just like the battle with Naraku… Only worse…”

Sango moaned, stepping forward and resting her head on Miroku's shoulder. “I guess it's time to accept the inevitable…” she said, despair evident in her voice. “We really do have another war on our hands.”

Wrapping her in a hug, Miroku rested his chin on her head, finding it difficult to offer her comfort when he was so distraught himself. He said nothing in reply—there was nothing he could say.

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