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Japanese Volcabulary:

taijiya: slayer

hanyou: half demon

inuhanyou: half dog demon

Hai: yes

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Episode 23: Questions Answered

In the Inn, the others had sat in silence ever since their taijiya companion had left to check up on the female monk, oblivious to all that had happened in that span of time. At the moment, a certain boy of the future was deep in thought.

Said boy glanced once more at the female hanyou leaning against the wall who was lost in her thoughts as well.

Inuyasha found himself mentally sighing. 'Ever since I found out how I felt, I can't get that kiss I gave her out of my mind.'

'Yeah,' the figure sighed, a grin on his face. 'We've definitely got to do that again.'

Inuyasha sighed as well. That was the reason the kiss was stuck on his mind. He really wanted to do it again, just... a little closer to her lips.....

'Ah-ha!' the figure cried out, or as Inuyasha had come to dub him, 'the pervert.' 'So you're finally seeing things my way!'

The pervert rubbed his hands together with a michevious grin across his face. 'Maybe now I can get you to see the benefits of that....'

Inuyasha felt his face grow hot at the thoughts that comment brought up. 'Shut up! I don't think like you do, you dirty pervert.'

The pervert scowled. 'Fine. Then, I won't help you figure out a way to kiss her again.'

Inuyasha paused at that, struggling between taking the pervert's help (he had after all been Sesshoumaru's soul once and had been there when Sesshoumaru and Kagome were together.) and getting the kiss or not taking the help and having no means for getting the kiss at all.

He didn't have a chance to figure out his answer when Kirara spoke, bringing him from his thoughts.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha blinked and looked down at the young cat demon who was looking up at him from her spot beside him.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"When do you think Sango and Miroku are coming back? They've been gone for AGES," Kirara said, drawing out the word 'ages.'

"Beats me," Inuyasha shrugged. He looked at the doorway. "But they have been gone a while, haven't they?"

He turned his head to the female inuhanyou. "What do you think, Kagome?"

Kagome blinked as she came out of wherever her thoughts had been drifting and turned to look at him. "Hm? What was that?"

"Kirara and I were talking about how Miroku and Sango haven't come back yet," Inuyasha said. "So I was asking what you thought about that."

Kagome furrowed her brow. "I guess they have been gone for a while."

"Maybe we should go look for them," Kirara said. She hopped up. "Come on, let's go!"

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea," Inuyasha replied, standing up.

Kagome sighed, getting up as well. "I'll come, too."

"Come on!" Kirara said, rushing out of the room. "I smell Sango and Miroku's scent this way!"

Inuyasha walked after the cat demon with Kagome not far behind. They hadn't been walking for long when they heard Kirara cry out in surprise. Inuyasha rushed towards the sound, Kagome on his heels. As they rounded the corner, they spied Kirara standing still.

"Kirara, what's-" Inuyasha cut off as he looked up to see a limp Sango and a stranger on the floor.

He walked over, brows furrowed, and knelt beside the female monk.

Kirara snapped out of it and came up beside him. "Is she alive?"

Inuyasha felt for a pulse and was rewarded when he got it.

"Yeah," he replied," I think she's just unconcious."

"Told you it was just another villager," Kagome motioned to the man on the floor. "Looks like she knocked him a hard one if the bruise on his cheek means anything."

"But what happened to Sango?" Inuyasha said. "Why's she unconcious?"

Kagome furrowed her brows but didn't answer.

"Inuyasha?" said Kirara, now standing by the villager. "There's something weird about this guy. His skin is really pale."

Inuyasha turned towards the villager and noticed that the villager did look unusually pale.

Kagome knelt down and reached out to touch him but her hand snapped back as soon as she did.

"He's stone-cold," she murmured," but he's not dead because I can hear a pulse."

"What?" Inuyasha said, reaching out to touch the man as well but, just like Kagome, he recoiled soon after at the frigidness of his skin.

Inuyasha lifted up one of the man's eyelids and his eyes widened. The man's orbs were glazed over and emotionless. He released it, letting the man's eye close.

"It's weird," Inuyasha said. "He's alive but he feels too cold to be alive. It's almost as if... I don't know. It's almost like he's..." He thought back to the man's eyes, glazed over and emotionless. "....lost his soul...."

"Lost his soul?" Kirara murmered when her eyes suddenly widened. "Hey Inuyasha!"

"What?" said boy asked.

"I just remembered something!" Kirara replied. "When your soul was taken by Hisoka, this is exactly how you were! You were alive but you were so cold and your eyes were just like this guy's!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened before turning towards the man again. "So you mean... he really did lose his soul?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes at the body. "I don't like this. Sango's out cold, this guy's soul has been taken, and I can smell Miroku's scent and another scent I don't know leading away from here."

"Miroku was here?" Inuyasha said. 'What's going on? Miroku was here but someone else was too. Who was the other person?' He turned his gaze to Sango. 'And why wouldn't Miroku have helped Sango? Something happened here but what?'

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Miroku trudged slowly through the woods back towards the village, feeling a bit numb at everything that occurred. Narakuna had threatened to kill his sister if he did not do as she said, so now he had to obey her or he would have to suffer through his sister's death once more. He didn't think he could handle it a second time.

'But... she didn't really die, did she?' Miroku thought back to his earlier conversation with the evil demoness who had destroyed his and his companions' lives.

-----Flashback-----

"So you understand what I want you to do?" Narakuna asked.

Miroku took a deep breath. He really didn't want to do what she told him but his sister's life was at stake. "Hai."

The demoness smirked. "Good. Remember. . . ."

She ran her claws along Kanna's throat making the young girl shudder fearfully. ". . . your sister's life lies in my hands."

Miroku gritted his teeth at his sister's fear but nodded. "Yes, I understand. . . " He looked up determined. ". . . But I would like some questions answered."

Narakuna raised a brow, amusedly. "You are not in a position to be asking anything, taijiya."

"I understand that," the said taijiya replied," but if I am to do as you ask, I believe I can ask to have a little light shed on certain occurrences."

"Such as?" the demoness questioned.

"Well, for one thing," Miroku said, glancing at Kanna," I would like to know how it is possible that my sister has been brought back from death or that she is able to see when she has not had that ability, even since her birth."

Narakuna smirked. "I was wondering when you would ask me about that." She glanced down at the young girl in her grasp before returning her gaze to Miroku. "You really want to know?"

The taijiya nodded, determinedly. "Hai."

Narakuna's smirk grew wider. "The truth is. . . . " Her mahogahny orbs flashed sinisterly. "...she never died."

Miroku's eyes widened. "What? But that's impossible! I saw her die with my own eyes!"

The demoness tsked. "Are you so sure about that?"

Miroku hesitated, violet orbs swirling with confusion.

Narakuna smirked once more. "I guess you could say she did die in a way, but not truly. After you left, I returned to that little village of yours and found something very intereasting. . . . I found the body of the little girl I killed but will you believe it, I managed to capture her soul before it left her body."

"How could you manage to capture a soul?" Miroku said, puzzled.

"With this," Narakuna replied, looking down at Kanna. "Show him the mirror."

Kanna lifted the mirror unquestioningly, but glanced up at the demoness nervously.

Miroku glanced at the small circular mirror held in his sister's grasp. "A mirror?..."

"Not just any mirror, a soul sucking mirror," the demoness said

Miroku's eyes widened as his mind flashed back to the white orb that left the man's body and how it slipped into the mirror. "So that man. . . you had Kanna. . . "

Narakuna smirked. "Correct, but not just him."

Miroku glared angrily at the evil demoness, seeing the horrified look on his sister's face as she came to the same realization as him, regret and pain flickering in her violet depths.

"You evil conniving monster...." Miroku hissed, clenching his fists.

"Insulting me are we?" Narakuna said. "Do you really think that's such a good thing to do to the one who could easily kill your little sister right here and now?"

Miroku clenched his jaw but replied," So you sucked her soul into the mirror. How is she alive if you did that?"

"Simple," Narakuna answered. "I embedded a jewel shard in her forehead to heal her wounds, restarting her heart as well, and then replaced the soul."

"So her sight..." Miroku glanced at Kanna. "Did the jewel shard...."

"Hai," the demoness nodded, smirking. "The jewel shard also gave her sight. Unexpected really but no more than an advantage on my part."

Miroku frowned. "So a jewel shard... It's all because of a jewel shard...."

"Yes," said Narakuna," Now your questions have been answered. Go do as I told you or...." She flexed her claws threateningly over Kanna's throat.

Miroku closed his eyes, no longer able to look at his sister who still stood horrified but looking as if she hadn't heard anymore of their conversation, not even noticing when Narakuna had flexed her claws over her neck. The taijiya then turned around and, although everything was crying at him not to leave his little sister in such a state, he walked away from the clearing, each step heavy, as a numbness washed over him, knowing what he had to do.

-----End Flashback------

'Kanna, I'm so sorry,' Miroku thought. 'Maybe if I had buried you body, your soul would have left before Narakuna could do this to you. You're alive but that could just as easily change.' Miroku felt anger bubble up but the numbness blocked it out. 'How could I have been so foolish? I was so intent on revenge, I didn't even bother to bury my own sister.... What kind of older brother am I? I wasn't even there to protect her in the first place as I promised....' A wry smile tugged at his lips. 'Well at least she won't have to worry about me forgetting her....'

As he continued to trudge on, he thought once more on what he had to do.

He closed his eyes, grimacing. 'I can only hope that they will forgive me for what I'm going to have to do...'

And with that, he entered the village.

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Sango slipped out of unconciousness to someone shaking her and saying her name, along with her head pounding.

"Sango! Sango, c'mon wake up!"

Sango opened her eyes to three blurry forms hovering over her. She blinked her eyes a few times until the forms focused to reveal Kirara as the one who had shaken her and Inuyasha and Kagome to be the other two forms.

"Wha-?" the female monk murmered, confused.

She pushed herself up and rubbed her head, wincing when she met with a sticky lump which seemed to be the source of the throbbing she felt.

"What happened?" she said, glancing at the three beside her.

"We should be asking the same thing," Inuyasha replied.

"Yeah!" said Kirara. "We found you here, knocked out on the ground."

"Do you remember what happened?" Kagome asked, brows furrowed.

Sango stopped to try and think but the throbbing hindered her thoughts. She placed a hand to her forehead, groaning. "I'm not sure if I could even remember my own name with this killer headache."

Kirara hopped up and looked at Sango's head. "Your head hurts?"

The female monk nodded, motioning to where she felt the lump. "It feels like I got hit with a club."

Inuyasha looked at the spot she motioned at and winced. "Oh wow. That does seem like a possibility."

Sango winced. "Is it really that bad?"

"Trust me," Kagome replied. "Even from where I'm looking, it's bad."

Sango grimaced. "Great."

"Are you okay now, Sango?" Kirara asked, concerned.

Sango looked down and smiled. "It's not going to kill me." She winced as her head throbbed again. "But it sure does feel like it."

Sango then realized that one person was missing.

"Hey, where's Miroku?" she asked, curiously.

"Ah..." said Inuyasha," Well... that's what we've been trying to figure out."

"Are you sure you don't remember anything?" Kagome asked, before motioning to something. "Maybe like, who that guy is?"

Sango looked at Kagome confused, before turning to look beside. Her eyes widened at the large man laying deathly pale on the floor. Her breath caught as everything rushed back to her. She turned a heated glare towards the man.

"I remember now," she hissed, angrily. "I was going to take a bath when I ran into this guy. He tried flirting with me and when I tried to leave he grabbed me." She smirked. "So I punched him a good one."

"Hah," said Kagome. "I knew you were the one who gave him that bruise."

Sango smirked, again, before her gaze turned back to the man. "But the thing is, he didn't like that very much, especially when I bit his hand." Sango's eyes flared, furiously. "But then the bastard knocked me out!"

Sango growled at the man. "If he wasn't already unconcious, I'd pound my fist into his skull until he was."

Everyone sighed exasperatingly.

"Aren't monks supposed to be peace-loving or something?" Kagome said.

Kirara sighed. "Sango sure is violent."

'You got that right,' Inuyasha thought.

Suddenly, Kagome stiffened.

"Kagome, what is it?" Inuyasha asked, furrowing his brows.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, looking down the hall, ears twitching. "Someone just entered the village."

"What?" said Sango. "Who is it?"

Kagome's nose twitched, sniffing the air. Her brows furrowed as she growled. "There's too many scents around. I can't tell who it is."

Sango pushed herself up in a standing position, pausing to let the throbbing in her head subside before turning towards the others. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out."

Inuyasha lifted a brow, noticing how she had paused. "Are you sure you should be walking? I mean, you got punched in the head by a guy who probably weighs more than all of us put together."

"I'm fine," Sango insisted, already walking down the hallway," but we have to go find out who's entering the village."

"Wait for me!" Kirara called.

Inuyasha and Kagome glanced at each other.

"We might as well," Kagome shrugged.

Inuyasha nodded, as they both went to follow after their two companions. They followed the hallway, turning a few corners until they finally reached the door to the outside. Sango pushed it aside and stepped through, looking around. The others came out behind her.

Sango glanced around, furrowing her brows. "I don't sense any evil auras nearby so they can't be bad. Either that or they're suppressing it."

"Kagome," said Inuyasha, glancing at the female hanyou," Can you catch a scent now?"

Kagome lifted her head slightly, closing her eyes, nose twitching as she took in the scents around her. She mentally sorted through them, trying to pick out the scent that had arrived. Her eyes snapped open as she caught it.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, eyes scanning the dark village.

Kagome turned to him, her eyebrows lifted. "Guys, it's-"

"Miroku!" Kirara said, pointed with a grin.

"Miroku!" Sango cried out.

The taijiya glanced at them, a tired look passing through his eyes, but it disapeared soon after, a smile flitting onto his face as he lifted his hand into a wave. Soon enough, he was surrounded by his companions.

Miroku watched them as they started to ask questions, hoping the smile he forced onto his face didn't look as weary as he felt. His eyes flitted to each one, remembering what he was going to have to do.

'I really wish it didn't have to be this way,' he thought, sadly. 'I really wish that I didn't have to do what I'm going to do.'

His sister's fearful eyes, followed by her horrified face, then to Narakuna's threat, flashed through his mind.

'But I have to,' he thought. 'My sister's life is at stake.'

He glanced around once more, saddened, but hiding it well as a thought ran through his mind.

'Please. . . . forgive me for what i'm going to do. . . . .'