InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ When the Truth Rings ❯ Lesson Taught ( Chapter 4 )

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

AN: Wow. I am insanely sorry for the extremely long wait. It won't happen again. The busy few weeks I had to endure is over now, so I am free to update more regularly. I will post Chapter Five later on today, so look out for it! And no, I am NOT holding out for reviews before I update (I hate it when authors do that!). But please review if you can, and enjoy the chapter below!

By nightfall, the travelers were still trekking through the forest, becoming increasingly tired of seeing trees everywhere they looked. "I think we should stop here," Kagome sighed, wishing they had happened upon a village to spend the night in.

As if she had read the miko's mind, Sango asked, "Is there a village nearby? I could really use a nice cozy room to sleep in tonight."

Shrugging, Inuyasha wordlessly leapt into a tree. Normally, it would have been to settle against the trunk and drift to sleep, but not this time. Leaping to the vegetation's tallest branches, he looked around for any signs of other people. At first, he didn't see anything, but upon scanning the area a bit more carefully, he spotted light. "I see a village!" he called down, and promptly lowered himself to the ground only to meet suprised faces. "What?"

"I... I just can't believe you actually found a place for us to go," Miroku replied, arching an eyebrow. "Any reason why you want us to sleep in a town tonight?"

"No," Inuyasha snapped at him, already irritated by Miroku's ever-present analysis. "If you'd rather stay here..."

"Let's go," Kagome cut him off, picking up her bag that she let fall to the ground. "I want a nice hot bath, hot food, and somewhere warm to sleep. So let's move it!"


"Oh, you poor weary travelers! Of course you can stay the night!" the heavy-set woman exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I will begin to prepare your rooms right now! Oh, you all remind me of my own children. I have two sons and a daughter, you know..."

Raising her hand and interrupting sheepishly, Kagome asked, "Is there a hot spring nearby?"

Quickly forgetting all about her story, the woman nodded. "Yes there is. It is just on the outside of the town. I will escort you there; it is easy getting lost." Turning her rounded face to Inuyasha and Miroku, she inquired, "Is there anything you two would like? There is a place for entertainment and drink if you are interested."

Already knowing Miroku's answer, Inuyasha started to decline her offer when he cut off again. "Of course we are interested!" Miroku said hurriedly, grabbing the sleeve of Inuyasha's haori. "And don't worry about us, we'll find it ourselves. Happy bathing!" Then he dragged the hanyou outside.

"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha demanded, pulling his arm from Miroku's grasp. "I don't want to go!"

Raising an eyebrow at his defiant companion, the monk replied, "We need to talk. And obviously we can't in front of Kagome and Sango." However the quiet that followed told him that Inuyasha wasn't quite 'on board'. "We have to talk about what happened earlier today."

Finally, he got a response. "Oh."

Starting down the winding path leading into the heart of the town, Miroku rolled his eyes at Inuyasha's density. 'No wonder he's always making Kagome mad,' he thought. 'Sometimes even the simplest things just fly over his head.'

After a few minutes of silent walking, the men reached their destination: a tavern that radiated light, yelling, and laughter. Smiling, Miroku was looking forward to going inside; cringing, Inuyasha didn't like the smell of the strong alcohol, burnt rice, and aroused humans. He wanted nothing to do with anything within that place, but he surely wasn't going to leave Miroku alone in there. Sango would kill him if something happened to the idiot.

"Is this the only place that we can talk at?" Inuyasha grimaced as they paused at the tavern's entrance.

"There's nothing wrong in talking here."

"There's plenty wrong."

"Like what?"

"Everything."

Pushing the door open, Miroku gestured for him to follow. "It's not that bad. C'mon."


"Alright ladies! Here's the hot spring!" the woman announced, leading Kagome and Sango to its edge. "When you are finished, just call for me. My name's Irumi. I will come and lead you back, okay? Enjoy!" Then she half waddled, half walked away.

"Wow, I thought she'd never stop talking!" Kagome giggled to Sango, dropping her towel into the grass just beyond the water.

"Yeah, I know," Sango replied, doing the same. "I know she's trying to be friendly, but giving our ears a moment's rest would be nice too."

Agreeing, the miko wriggled from her clothes and followed the older girl into the steaming water. As they eased into the healing liquid, nothing could be heard between the two females as they appreciated the silence they were previously denied. Sinking into the water until it was up to her neck, Kagome finally spoke. "I wonder what the guys are doing right now."

Letting her eyes close while her tense muscles relaxed under the heat, Sango only shrugged. "Who knows? As long as they don't come spying on us, I don't care where they go."

Eying her friend suspiciously, Kagome asked carefully, "don't you remember Irumi saying there's a place for drinks and entertainment that they can go to?"

Not opening her eyes, Sango nodded. "Mmmmhmmm."

"You realize there's women down there, right?"

"....yep."

"And you don't care that Miroku is down there right now among willing women and alcohol?"

Opening one eye and quirking an eyebrow with a slight smile, Sango replied, "So is Inuyasha."

Kagome froze as that simple fact dawned on her. Miroku had taken Inuyasha with him when he left. And by now, they must have found the tavern ... with the alcohol ... and women. That was enough for her. Grabbing her towel and Sango's arm next, she announced, "We need to get them now!"

"Wait, Kagome! We can go after we bathe."

"No, we need to go now. Irumi!"


Sitting next to Miroku in front of a tray with many cups full of sake, Inuyasha sighed. 'I don't want to be here,' he thought. 'I could name of a lot of other places I'd rather be than here.' Cutting his eyes to Miroku, it was obvious the human was not interested in talking, he only wanted what was at the bottom of his cup. Growing irritated, he noticed that neither of them had spoken one word about the incident earlier, and the hanyou was ready to let the monk know what would happen if he touched Sango again. Looking over at him again, he was not surprised at what he saw.

Wide-eyed and giddy, a tipsy Miroku watched in awe at the dancing women before him, moving their hips in front of his face, provocatively, of course. "Beautiful," he murmured, reaching out a hand to rest upon one of the dancer's hips. "Beautiful indeed."

Growling at his annoyance, Inuyasha shot out a hand and ripped Miroku's from the woman's body. "I thought you said that we had to talk."

"Oh yeah," he said, shutting his eyes tightly, trying to remember. Opening them again, he sat up straight and started to compose himself. "Now I remember."

Inuyasha thought fast as he moved the tray when Miroku tried to quickly snatch a cup from it. "Go."

"Right... alright. I was planning to ask you why you were so mad at me earlier. What did I do?"

"I want you to keep your hands off of Sango," Inuyasha replied, not paying attention as Miroku hastily grabbed a cup of sake off of the tray behind him. "Obviously she doesn't like it."

Gulping the liquid down, he coughed a bit, then told him, "You see, I mean no harm by it. I mean, I have a lot of (hiccup) respect for Sango. She's a beautiful woman (hiccup), but she doesn't see that. Any man would be (hiccup) lucky to have her. I just want her to (hiccup) understand that she's very desirable. That's all (hiccup) I'm trying to do."

Believing only part of his response, Inuyasha's anger began to rise. "That and you want to know what a beautiful woman's body feels like, and not some servant schoolgirl's who looks like a boar!"

Very surprised by the hanyou's statement, Miroku threw his hands up in defense. "Wow. That was pretty harsh. And uncalled for."

Inuyasha didn't care, and he didn't stop there. Rising to his feet, he snarled, "yeah, coming from a man that would rather violate a woman who deserves better than she's been given over being a so-called monk who knows how to keep his hands to himself!"

Miroku's eyes showed surprise and wonder at his companion's anger as he gazed up at him. Looking down at the 'holy man', Inuyasha wanted to ring his neck then and there. He was angry that Sango had to deal with a man like him. What did she do to stuck with this guy? She needs and deserves someone who can be there for her, to protect her, and make her understand that no other woman could take her place. And this sad excuse for a human male could not give her that, that's for damn sure.

"Inuyasha, please sit down. We haven't finished talking. It's important," Miroku said, almost pleadingly.

Shutting his eyes and inhaling deeply, he sat. Never opening them, Inuyasha didn't wait for Miroku to start again. Calmer than he expected himself to sound, he asked, "Haven't you ever desired something you know you could never have?"

Miroku stared at Inuyasha's closed eyelids for a second in suspicious confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever wanted something that you couldn't have?"

Pausing, he solemnly answered. "All the time." 'Sango...'

Inuyasha finally opened his eyes and continued. "So what do you do about it?"

"...you fight for it. If it is something that means that much to you, then the only limits you have are the ones you set in front of yourself," Miroku said. But the look the hanyou was giving him made him uncomfortable. "What?"

"What was amazingly wise for someone in your state."

The monk waved his comment off. "Pssh. This drink is nothing. I'm still coherent. I'm waiting for them to bring out the stronger stuff."

They shared a laugh as the tension between them started to chip away, only to be interrupted by the tavern door being thrown open and an angry Kagome stood in the doorway. All the music halted, and everyone stared at the furious miko. Searching through the surprised faces, it wasn't hard for her to find the silver-haired hanyou. "Inuyasha! Miroku! We're leaving!" she yelled across the room at them, her ire adding an edge to her voice.

Standing, Inuyasha asked, "Is there trouble?"

"There's gonna be!"

"Kagome, calm down," Sango voiced, appearing behind her friend, who was still in the doorway. Stepping past her, she addressed the startled people. "Please, continue having a good time. We were just leaving."

After a moment of silence, the music started again, and the dancers continued to shake their bodies for the tipsy men. That included Miroku, who seemed oblivious to the oncoming situation as he was hypnotized by the dancer in front of him.

Inuyasha wasn't understanding what was happening either as he just stood there, So Kagome decided to tell him. "I don't think it is a good idea for you guys to be hanging out around places like this!" she said, approaching him with crossed arms.

Still Inuyasha said nothing as she went on, explaining what kind of women come to such places, and what activities take place in the back rooms. She never seemed to stop with her scolding, until finally, his ears were saved. "Kagome," Sango cut in, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we should just go. I don't like it in here anymore than you do."
Giving her a quick nod, Kagome spun on her heels and started for the door. Sango turned to look at Inuyasha, and he gave her a silent thanks. Winking at him, she headed for the door too, until...

"Sangooooooooooo!" a slurred voice rang out. Whirling around at the sound of her name, she saw a stumbling Miroku, who was trying his best to make it to her without falling. He would've gotten there fine if he hadn't lost his balance and fallen into her, knocking her to the ground. Landing on top of her with a wide grin on his face, he whispered into her ear. "I found you!"

"Miroku! Get off of me!" Sango yelled at him, trying to push him away. But unfortunately for her, he weighed more than she did, so her attempts to push him off were futile. 'When he gets off of me...' she thought maliciously. 'He is going to pay with his life!'

"Sangooo," he cooed, leaning down closer to her face. "Why don't you give me a little kiss? Isn't this what you wanted?"

Blushing madly in anger and embarrassment, Sango tried to squirm away, until his whole body was yanked from her altogether. Looking up in surprise and relief, she saw her 'attacker' being held up by his robes in the sharp claws of Inuyasha.

Not being able to speak, she managed only to gasp as she saw him fling Miroku across the room and crash into a table of sake cups and rice bowls.

"Inuyasha!" she heard Kagome yell, but he didn't respond. He only stalked over to the dazed man and gathered him to his feet, this time by the front of his robes.

"What did I tell you?" he growled, beyond angry. He saw Miroku's face change from confusion to utter fear, and he could smell that he had this man completely terrified.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called again. "Let him go!"

He still didn't answer her, he wanted to take care of Miroku first. Tightening his hold on the cluster of cloth weaving in between his fingers, he balled his other hand into a fist and raised to the side of his face. Flashing his fangs as he saw Miroku's violet eyes widen with fear, he let his punch fly, connecting with his target in his right eye, sending him flying again.

He wanted to go after his prey once more, but a soft hand placed on his arm made him stop. He shifted his eyes to meet with Sango's pleading face. "Stop," she said quietly, and Inuyasha suddenly noticed it was dead silent in the tavern once again. He acquiesced to her, and watched her leave with Kagome.

'I was doing it for you, Sango,' he thought to himself as he retrieved the unconscious monk and followed them outside. 'Why can't you see that?'

AN: I hoped you enjoyed that chapter. And like I said in the top note, I will have Chapter 5 up today as well. Maybe that will make up a little bit for the really long wait. Please review!