This is an episodic retelling of Inuyasha based on the concept of Miroku discovering Inuyasha, not Kagome. Each chapter is based on an episode (or a movie) and will more or less follow the plot structure of the anime. However, characters will change pretty significantly over time due to the different circumstances I put them through, and a different dynamic that evolves from that. IMPORTANT: This is going to be Inuyasha/Miroku, queer lovers extraordinaire.

There are significant changes made throughout this retelling, the largest of which is erasing Kagome's character entirely. While Sango, Shippo, and Kirara are still a major part of the story, a lot of the focus is going to be on Inuyasha and Miroku's journey together (though Sango and Kirara's roles are arguably expanded as well). In plots concentrating on the relationship between just two characters, expect the players to be shuffled around a bit in terms of who's doing what. It won't always be InuMir-centric, as I like to explore Sango's relationships with the boys because it's wholesome. Lastly, I've changed Inuyasha's necklace from the whole "sit boy" routine, because it's a lazy McGuffin by the writers and I'm not a huge fan of domestic abuse, for comedic purposes or otherwise. A significant portion of the dialogue is lifted from a mix of English dub and subs. Inuyasha will swear a little more than in the show, but it won't be excessive. This is representative of more adult themes to be explored throughout the series, particularly how shoving a bunch of teenagers, a kid, and a cat around the country in a life-or-death mission affects their mental health. There will be some sex in later chapters, but I will let you know in the notes at the beginning when that happens.

Any trigger warnings from the show may be carried on to the corresponding chapters, with a heightened focus on the experience and aftereffects of trauma, but all the sexual assault will be lessened. If it can't be avoided, there will be explicit warnings at the start of each relevant chapter. If you have any suggestions on what you want to see in this ridiculously long series, please let me know in the comments! Enjoy!


The air was warm with spring, the dappled afternoon light filtered through the forest canopy, and Miroku felt hopeful. This may finally be the village where the Shikon Jewel disappeared, the first sighting of Naraku. It had been a long time since he had even heard mention of the demon, and he was anxious to find some new information. Surely, the people here would have to know something – at least more than the sparse sightings from other villages. Then again, he wondered if anyone would even remember Naraku. It had been fifty years, after all.

He cast the doubt from his mind and focused on the beautiful forest path. It was a pleasant day – the sun was shining, birds were chirping in the glen…and the bones of a humungous demon lay scattered across the ground. Interesting. Miroku knelt down beside them, running a finger along a vertebra. This demon must have been formidable. He was glad that he hadn't had to fight it. He cast his mind outward, scanning the area for any more youkai that might be nearby. No youkai, but…something. Something not too far away. Miroku hummed, straightening. He didn't particularly want to battle anything today, but if he rid the village nearby of a demon pestering them, they might be more willing to give him what he wanted. There was no harm in looking, he decided. He reached into his robes, checking to make sure his sutras were close at hand, and started towards that strange presence.

Deeper into the forest, a tree stood taller than the others around it, reaching high into the sky. The strange aura came from that direction, drawing him closer. As he approached, Miroku could make out a patch of red amongst the green. A young man was pinned against the trunk of the tree, an arrow sticking from his shoulder and broad, ancient vines tangled around him, encasing his chest. They grew over his left shoulder and seemingly around the arrow. He must have been sealed there for years, if not longer. The man's white hair caught Miroku's eye. That certainly didn't look like a human colour – and were those dog ears on his head? Huh.

Miroku crept forward, keeping his senses open in case of an attack. He stepped carefully along the old vines, nervously brushing the beads of his mala. He peered at the face of the young man – demon? – who appeared to be asleep. Very cautiously, Miroku reached out and poked the man's shoulder. No response. He peered closer. The dog ears were the same colour as the hair, and no human ears were anywhere to be found. But he lacked the facial markings usually found in youkai, be they dog or wolf or whatever this creature was. His nails were half-way between claws and human nails. Maybe his nose was a little more pointed than a regular mortal's, but honestly, this demon looked alarmingly human. Could this be a hanyou? He'd never seen one before.

Turning his attention to the arrow sticking from the man's shoulder, Miroku felt the undeniable pull of great spiritual energy. Whoever had sealed this hanyou here must have been very powerful. Thinking back to all he knew about the nearby village, Miroku thought he could place a name to this creature, but he wasn't sure.

"You there! What're you up to?"

Miroku spun around at the angry voice. He'd let his guard slip. A handful of men surrounded him, aiming at him with arrows and spears. They didn't appear to be thrilled with his presence in the forest.

"Get away from there!" one of the men shouted, pulling back the string of his bow.

"Wait!" Miroku shouted, putting up his hands in surrender, but it was too late. A volley of arrows flew at him, and he had to bat one away with his staff to keep it from hitting him or the hanyou. Apparently, this was a suspicious move. The men's eyes widened before they ran towards him, some notching fresh arrows.

"I'm not an enemy!" he pleaded, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Please, listen to me. I'm a monk and I mean you no harm!"

The men slowed, eyeing him warily. "What is your business here?" one of them called out.

"I am trying to find the village where the Shikon Jewel disappeared," he said slowly, calmly. "I only want to talk to some of the elders there, to try and understand what happened fifty years ago."

The men exchanged uneasy glances but thankfully lowered their weapons. Miroku climbed down from the vines, keeping his eyes fixed on them.

"You'll follow to the village, monk."

And he did, casting a final look over his shoulder at the hanyou trapped there. Not his concern. The men kept in close formation around him as he followed them through the forest, their weapons continually at the ready. He wondered at their response to seeing him, if they treated all newcomers this way, or if he was just lucky. As they entered the village, he heard suspicious murmurs from the villagers around him. Was he a token of war? It was the middle of rice-planting season – they couldn't afford a battle. One of the women thought he was handsome. Her husband apparently wasn't fond of that assessment. Miroku kept his chin up against the dozens of eyes boring into him. He had never been to this village before, so they had no reason to distrust or revile him.

A voice broke through the gathering crowd. "Make way for the High Priestess Kaede!"

Miroku came to a stop as the men around him parted, revealing an old miko with an eyepatch, a bow, and a sour expression. He bowed politely and waited for her to make the first move. She walked up to him and looked him over, obviously suspicious.

"What brings ye here, monk?" she asked in a low, clipped voice. "What were ye doing in the Forest of Inuyasha?"

Ah, so he was right about the hanyou.

"My name is Miroku," he replied evenly. "I sought out your village to learn more about the history of the Shikon no Tama."

This created a ripple in the crowd, and the priestess's glare intensified. "And what business have ye with the Jewel?"

"I can explain everything, but it's rather a long story." He smiled pleasantly. "Perhaps we could sit down to discuss it?"

After all, he'd been walking for five days without rest, and sleeping in the forest each night. He could use a break, and this was a good a place as any to try and scrounge up some food. The man who had questioned him earlier leaned in to Kaede, whispered something in her ear.

"Who would invade such a poor village as ours?" she snapped back at him. "We can barely feed ourselves and have nothing of value."

As she turned her gaze to him once again, Miroku put on his most winning smile, with just a hint of desperation. The miko's face softened a tad and she grumbled something under her breath before waving him over. "Come with me, monk. We might as well be comfortable."

They entered into a small hut, where Kaede shooed away the rest of the villagers. The hut was simple, not the usual residence of a High Priestess, but Miroku supposed that this village wasn't as prosperous as others. A large black cauldron filled with bone broth bubbled from the heat of a low fire in the irori. A pile of potatoes, yams, and other root vegetables sat on the ground beside it. To Miroku's surprise, Kaede sat down opposite him and held out a small knife. She seemed unimpressed at his confused expression.

"Ye can chop vegetables, can ye not, monk? Or are you completely useless?"

Miroku smiled despite himself and took the knife. "I like to think not."

"So," she said conversationally, peeling a yam with veracious speed. "Why do ye not begin by explaining why a demonic curse emanates from your body?"

He started and almost sliced off the end of his thumb. "Huh?"

"I assume that your tekkou and mala are not simply decoration." She gestured at the sheath of cloth on his right forearm and the prayer beads wrapped around it. "And there is a hint of youki surrounding you. Tell me now, or be gone from this village."

Miroku swallowed the unease that rose at this intrusion. He had hoped to at least postpone this part of the conversation. "You are correct in that I have been cursed by a demon. Almost fifty years ago, he cursed my grandfather and all of his descendants. I am seeking to destroy him, but I know little about him. That is why I came to your village. I believe this demon may have once sought the Shikon Jewel, and I want to know what he had planned."

The old miko hummed as she sliced some onions. "That may very well be the case. Many a demon attempted to steal the power of the Shikon Jewel when my sister Kikyo was its guardian." She glanced at Miroku, suspicion still lurking in her eye. "What was this demon's name?"

"Naraku."

Despite his efforts, the hatred bled into Miroku's voice, and Kaede nodded in acceptance. "Forgive my intrusion, and the mistrust ye have received from the people here. I see ye mean us no harm. In these troubled times of war, no stranger may be welcomed among us without deep distrust. Our young ones have become rash, and though I tell them we've no business with wars, they refuse to listen and only give me more to worry about."

She took the pile of sliced vegetables and dropped them into the stew, along with a few handfuls of rice. "What do ye know of the Shikon Jewel?"

"Not much," he admitted. "Only rumours of its power. I heard that it disappeared around fifty years ago, right after the death of the priestess who protected it."

"Yes, you would have heard that." Kaede stood stiffly. "Follow me."

She moved swiftly for such an old woman. Miroku followed her through the village and up a winding set of stone steps to a small, unassuming shrine. To his surprise, in the middle of the floor, simple wooden steps led downwards to what appeared to be a storeroom below. At Kaede's gesture, Miroku began down the steps, pausing to help her as she followed. Two of the walls were simply packed dirt, while before them a wooden door lay absolutely covered with dozens of different sutras. The faint glow of a spiritual barrier shone around the door.

"My sister Kikyo guarded the Sacred Jewel for several years, until she was slain by one who sought the Jewel's power," Kaede explained in hushed, reverential tone. "As her dying act, she sealed the Jewel away, so that no one, demon or human, may ever use its power again."

"She must have been very powerful," Miroku said, eyeing the barrier. "To have a seal this strong so many years later."

"Aye," Kaede nodded gravely. "Her spiritual powers were without equal. That is why the Jewel must be kept from those who would abuse it." She turned to him, her eye boring into his. "This Naraku you seek was only one of dozens, perhaps hundreds. I cannot say what he may have planned, but the Jewel grants the heart's most sinister desires. Your demon could have used its power for any number of evil deeds."

With that, she turned and started climbing the stairs back to the shrine. Miroku followed her, a plan forming in his mind. "Would you happen to have records of the Sacred Jewel? Anything that I could learn?"

Kaede looked thoughtful. "I suppose there might be something. Allow me to check."

She led him back through the village to another hut, where a few measly scrolls lay in a basket. Miroku settled down to read nonetheless, and a villager called for Kaede outside. She eyed Miroku thoughtfully. "I trust you can find your way back to my hut when you are finished?"

Miroku nodded absently. "Indeed. Thank you for your help, Kaede-sama."

With just the right amount of honey in his voice, the old miko left with a smile. Miroku turned back to the scroll, eyes flowing over the village records. As Kaede's footsteps faded away, he carefully tucked the scrolls back into place and crept out the door. After making sure the coast was clear, he walked swiftly through the huts, just slow enough to avoid suspicion. Once out of sight of most of the houses, he ran for the shrine, using the cover of the darkening evening light. The lower level of the shrine held deep spiritual energy swirling within it, more than he would be able to counteract in normal circumstances, but he knew what he was doing. He started with the sutras he was most familiar with, the ones that blocked the Jewel's presence from being detected. They were easy to remove, requiring only a tinge of spiritual power to peel them from the door. He worked through the sutras methodically, breaking some with his staff and, when that didn't work, held the discarded sutras up to the oil lamp in the shrine and used them to burn the others. Soon only a few of the strongest and most intricate sutras remained. These were the real challenge.

He assumed that not many had attempted to break into the room before. The rumour of the Jewel's disappearance and the sutras blocking anyone from sensing it had likely done more to secure it than the protective barrier. Those more powerful than himself would have been able to break through the toughest of the seals directly. Instead, Miroku pulled at the mala around his wrist and braced himself. Dirt from the walls flew into the void of the wind tunnel, followed by the creaking of wood as the floor began to break apart. Miroku watched carefully as the powerful vortex grew, cautious of letting anyone hear the whistling wind. Eventually, the wood of the door cracked, and the barrier was broken. Miroku tore apart the last of the sutras and stepped inside.

The Shikon Jewel glowed brightly on its stand, the pull of its power like nothing Miroku had ever experienced before. It was even greater than he had ever imagined, a seemingly endless source of pulsating energy. He didn't dare linger, but quickly plucked the Jewel from its stand and stuffed it into his robes. In a heartbeat, he was back up the stairs and walking nonchalantly back to Kaede's hut. He summoned the slightest barrier around himself, hopefully enough to keep the old miko from sensing the Jewel. He planned to thank her for her help and get out of there as soon as possible. If he was careful, he could escape entirely undetected. Instead, a rumbling came from the distance. A cloud of dust and smoke rose into the air, accompanied by the sounds of splintering wood and breaking rafters. Bells sounded around the village along with people shouting in alarm. Kaede stepped outside her hut just a few paces away, gaze darting from him to the bits of debris flying into the air.

"What is going on?" the old miko asked.

"It's a monster!" The answering cry came from deep within the village, just as the body of a demon slid into view. As they watched, the gigantic centipede crushed another hut then swung around, a horse clasped in her jaws. Villagers fired at her with flaming arrows but it had little effect.

"Get the children to safety!" Kaede shouted at a passing man. "Evacuate the village!"

The demon swung towards them, dropping the horse at their feet. Her jaw distended unnaturally in her human-like face, exposing a row of razer-sharp teeth. Miroku stepped closer to Kaede, ready to protect her if the demon decided to strike.

"Give me the Sacred Jewel!" the demon demanded, her eyes falling squarely on the two of them.

Kaede's head snapped around to Miroku, eye widening in disbelief. Well, so much for that plan. He didn't have time to say anything as the demon lunged for them. Miroku pushed Kaede to the side, swinging his staff at the demon as he did so. The head of his staff connected with one of the demon's six human-like arms, severing it from her body. Miroku landed with a thud and rolled to his feet, only to see the demon swinging back around. He dove on top of Kaede and raised his staff, summoning a quick barrier. The spiritual force glowed much brighter than usual, and the demon bounced off it like a fly. Miroku gasped. He hadn't even used the Shikon Jewel yet, but its mere presence had strengthened his spiritual powers.

However, it offered no protection from the seething glare of Kaede. "She said Sacred Jewel, monk. What-"

Miroku was saved from answering by the demon spinning, casting off the arrows loosed by the villagers. She twisted towards the men, bowling them over with ease. Miroku watched one man being flung through the air and his heart sank. He had to do something! Two of the men ran to their side, fear in their voices. "Spears and arrows – nothing works!"

"I can help!" Miroku said, silently praying that they would listen. He raised his right hand at Kaede and pointed at it. "I can fight this demon."

Kaede opened her mouth but Miroku didn't wait for her response. He took off through the rows of huts, calling over his shoulder "Don't come after me! I'm going to suck in the demon, but none of you can be nearby!"

Miroku ran, out of the village and back in the direction he'd come earlier that day. He crossed into the flooded rice fields, along the raised dirt path between the paddies, feeling the youkai gaining on him. He spun around, drawing on his newfound strength from the Jewel and blasted her back with a wave of spiritual energy, buying himself a little more time. Beyond her, though, Kaede and the villagers were riding towards him on horseback. They were drawing close much too quickly.

"Stay back!" he shouted, though they didn't appear to be listening. "Your lives are in danger if you come too close!"

They didn't stop. He supposed that he couldn't exactly blame them – all trust between them was gone – but it certainly complicated matters. He ran towards the forest, knowing the horses couldn't follow him as easily through the dense trees. Once he was through, he would find the open glen from before and open the wind tunnel there. He had no desire to suck in a couple of trees along with the demon. And maybe, just maybe, he'd be far enough away that he could avoid getting torn to shreds by the angry villagers afterwards. He just had to keep on running.

xXx

Light pierced the pervasive darkness of Inuyasha's mind. A power, an oh-so-familiar aura was drawing closer. His hand twitched, claws at the ready. Long-dormant muscles shifted and groaned as he woke. A deep breath filled his lungs, saturated with the scent of promise and prey. He drew his hand up, his fingers curling at the thought of what they would catch. The Sacred Jewel, coming his way at last. He reached for the arrow embedded in his chest. He gasped at the pulse of spiritual energy that came from it as his hand connected, sending a pulse of pain up his arm. Damn!

xXx

"The Jewel – give it to me!" a voice called from right behind him.

The centipede was too close, not giving him time to stop and open the wind tunnel. Miroku could hear the shouts from the villagers behind him, still a ways away but gaining quickly. He turned and stumbled up a grassy ledge to a higher path, knowing at least the horses couldn't follow. Just as he reached the top, the demon struck, sending him flying into the forest. He rolled to a stop, jumping to his feet with his staff at the ready.

"Hey, you!"

He spun around. The amber eyes of the hanyou were staring at him, a barely concealed hunger in their depths. Miroku sighed. This was not what he needed right now. He had no idea how the hanyou had miraculously woken, but the arrow was still in place, the vines still curled around the suspended body, so Miroku decided that this threat was low on the list. He turned back to where the demon had struck, but she was suspiciously absent.

"What's a priest like you doing with the Sacred Jewel?" the hanyou's voice asked snarkily from behind him.

Miroku ground his teeth. "I'm a little busy at the moment. I'd appreciate it if you could let me concentrate."

"Why? You can't stick up to a little demon?" the voice taunted.

Frustrated, Mioku turned to the hanyou again. "Look, I've got a lot going on right now. Can you please-"

The hanyou tensed, eyes darting up. "She's here."

The demon dropped down from the branches above and Miroku ducked, batting at her with his staff, but she was unaffected. She reached for him, grabbing at his robes. Miroku reached inside himself in turn, grasping at the intangible power emanating from the Jewel. He concentrated it all into the head of his staff, which he brought down hard on her face. She shrieked and drew back, her demonic aura flaring, only for a harpoon to lodge itself in her flank, followed by another and another.

"Good!" one of the men shouted, holding fast to the rope connected to one of the harpoons as more and more of the villagers poured into the forest. "Now, pull!"

Miroku stepped back as the men began to drag the centipede from the tree. The long, insect portion of her body had wound its way deep into the branches, but she seemed stunned by the blast of spiritual power and was barely resisting. Miroku glanced between her and the preoccupied villagers. He turned to leave, but one of them shouted out "Stop, thief!"

"Hah!" the hanyou laughed. "Figures."

Miroku sighed and turned back to the villagers to try and talk his way out of this. The snapping of ropes caught him off guard, and he barely took a step away as the demon dove for him. Her arms grasped his body, trying to lift him into the air, so Miroku reached for the closest thing to him. His hand wrapped itself into the hanyou's red robes, and he hoped that whatever seal that dead priestess had put in place would be strong enough to keep all three of them in place.

"Let go of me, you filthy human!" the hanyou snarled viciously.

Miroku glared back at him, his other hand clutching his staff. "I don't exactly have a lot of options, here!"

"Priestess Kaede!" one of the men called out as more horses rode up to the group. Ooh, no. "Inuyasha has revived!"

Miroku's grasp was slipping, the hanyou was yelling at him, and the demon was demanding the Sacred Jewel. The demon's head seemed to split in two, revealing two rows of ridiculously large teeth, aiming for his neck. Miroku pulled on the power from the Jewel once again and swiped at her with his staff. She shrieked again and released him. He fell to the ground, followed by her remaining five arms. Eugh. The demon swung around again, apparently unfazed by the loss of limb. Dropping his staff, Miroku ripped the beads from around his hand. She careened backwards with a shriek, barely avoiding the first pull of the wind tunnel as she circled around the tree.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. This was no ordinary mortal.

"What the hell is that thing?" he shouted at the strange man before him. "I thought you were supposed to be a human!"

Miroku ignored the hanyou, hurriedly closing his wind tunnel. He couldn't risk drawing in the villagers, not in these cramped conditions. The demon swung around as he wound the mala over his hand and, before Miroku could move, snatched him in her jaws. He felt himself lifted off the ground as her teeth clamped down on him, barely managing to snatch his staff as she dragged him upwards and flung him into the air. She caught him again quickly, this time by the front of his robes. He realized what she was aiming for just as her teeth ripped through his koromo, leaving the Sacred Jewel in her jaws. Miroku shot out a hand as he fell, catching the stub of one of her arms. He swung with his staff once more, hitting her square across the face, and the Jewel flew from her mouth. She jerked away and he lost his grip, slamming into her body a few times on the way to the ground. He landed in front of the hanyou, and a heartbeat later the Jewel bounced down between them.

"Give me the Jewel, quick!" The hanyou's voice was insistent.

Miroku ignored him and reached for the Jewel, but a bitten off cry from his companion gave warning to the demon crashing down around them. She swept up Miroku in her coils and slammed him into the hanyou, crushing them both against the tree.

"I heard some half-demon spawn was after the Jewel," she taunted the hanyou. "It's you, isn't it?"

Inuyasha growled. They always went for his parentage. "Half's all I need to kick your scaly butt! Anything more than that'd be a waste of my time!"

Miroku struggled against the coil of the demon as it wound ever tighter, crushing him against the hanyou. He supposed he was lucky, as a half-demon was a lot comfier than a full tree. But his back was to the centipede, his right arm pinned, and he was helpless. The hanyou was boasting, gearing up to strike again.

Miroku hissed at the hanyou "Can you really fight, or all you all bark and no bite?"

"Huh?" The hanyou looked almost insulted, his large dog ears flicking back in disgust.

"Would you fight this demon if you were free?" Miroku asked, a little more insistently.

The centipede cackled behind them. "What can he do, pinned there like that? Or you, for that matter! You're powerless to stop me."

Inuyasha snarled at the demon, baring his teeth.

Miroku saw the anger in the hanyou's expression. Just maybe…

"Helpless," the centipede chuckled as she leaned down to the Jewel.

"Don't you dare!" Inuyasha shouted, straining against the arrow's spell.

Miroku twisted around just in time to see the Jewel disappear down the demon's throat. Not good. Her arms glowed red and floated back to her body, where they reattached. He heard the villagers shouting, but all his attention was on the demon rearming before him, the demonic aura thickening in the air. With the Sacred Jewel, she could be unstoppable. He had no idea of the limits of the Jewel's power. A shudder ran along her entire body and suddenly she burst from her skin, her vaguely-human torso being replaced with her new demonic form.

"At last, my power is complete!" she cackled wildly, blood red eyes pulsing with light. Energy crackled along her new, thick hide. "I am restored!"

Definitely not good! The demon's body tightened around the tree and Miroku gasped in pain. His ribs ached, he couldn't breathe-

"Hey, can you pull out this arrow?"

Miroku stared up at the hanyou, whose voice was oddly subdued. It seemed almost gentle.

Inuyasha groaned. Stupid humans with those dumb expression on their faces. "Look, can you pull out this arrow or not?"

The now-irritated tone drew Miroku's attention. He looked at the arrow, at the spiritual power it contained. "I don't know."

"Miroku, no!" Kaede's voice barely broke through the blood rushing in his ears. "That arrow is all that is keeping Inuyasha from destroying us all!"

"Don't be stupid, you old hag," Inuyasha shouted back, over the sound of the centipede cackling. "At least with me you've got a chance, whereas that thing's going to eat you! Once it absorbs the Jewel, it'll be unstoppable!" Inuyasha's glare switched from the old woman to the human being crushed against him. "And what about you? Are you ready to die, yet?"

No. Even as the world was going fuzzy around the edges, Miroku knew that he didn't want to die. Not here. Not yet. He couldn't see the hanyou – Inuyasha – joining forces with the demon. Even if he was evil, the two of them fighting each other would at least buy him some time. He reached up with his left hand, stopping just for a moment to stare into the intense amber eyes of Inuyasha. Miroku grabbed the arrow and pulled. It burst with a burning hot light and dissolved in his hand. The light enveloped Inuyasha's body, the seal dissolving. Inuyasha's body shuddered as the light disappeared.

Then a heartbeat, a pulse of youki, and Miroku thought that maybe he'd made a mistake. The demonic energy flowing from the hanyou only increased, washing over Miroku in waves. A shudder turned into a laugh, as Inuyasha cackled with his head thrown back. His elongated canines flashed in the light of the villager's torches. Miroku took in the poised claws and crazed look in the hanyou's eyes. Yes, mistakes were made.

The demon shrieked a protest and wrapped her body completely around Miroku and the hanyou, only to be pushed off by a blast of amber light. Miroku fell to the ground, thrown backwards along with various hunks of centipede flesh as the hanyou's claws sliced easily through her body, concentrating his youki in each strike.

Inuyasha pushed himself off the tree, grinning wildly at the feeling of his power returning. He was free! He was on the hunt. He landed on the other side of the demon, muscles straining after so long asleep, claws at the ready.

"Wicked child!" the centipede hissed at him, as the severed half of her body flopped to the ground.

"Nasty old hag!" he retorted easily. She was lunging towards him. He jumped right back at her. "Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"

His claws ripped off her lower jaw and he carried the swing through the rest of her body, shredding muscle and ripping flesh from bone, laughing as he did so. He was alive again! He landed easily as the still-twitching legs of the centipede fell around him. At last!

Miroku dragged himself to his feet, reaching for his fallen staff. Kaede and the other villagers moved up behind him.

"Find the glowing flesh, quickly!" Kaede commanded. "That is where the Jewel will be. It must be removed at once, lest this demon revive once more."

It took Miroku a moment to realize that she was talking to him. Wary of angering her further, he hurried to obey. Amidst the dozens of differently sized centipede chunks, he could just make out a faint pink glow coming from one of them. He was tempted to reach for it himself, but he had a feeling that the villagers wouldn't let him live if he tried to escape again. Instead he stepped back and pointed. Better to try to make amends than further enemies.

Kaede walked over to the designated hunk of twitching flesh and knelt down, rummaging around the centipede's insides until she found it. Miroku tried not to gag. The flesh of the demon instantly evaporated into dust, leaving only bones behind. Huh, they looked exactly like the bones that he'd seen in the glen earlier, just a little ways away. Could this be the same demon?

Kaede turned to face him and Miroku braced himself for what was to come. To his utter astonishment, she held out the Jewel to him. He stared at her incredulously. "You can't be serious."

"Ye were the only one able to break my sister's seals," she replied tersely. "I believe you may be the only one who can protect the Jewel now. Ye will keep it safe until we can discover a way to destroy it."

"Destroy it?" Miroku tried to keep his voice level. "For kami's sake, why?"

"Exactly!" Inuyasha crushed a bone with his foot demonstratively. "Now, I get what you're thinking – humans can't use it, so why bother to keep it? But you don't want to destroy it. No one knows how!" He turned his predatory gaze onto the monk. "If you hand the Jewel over right now, I won't have to start sharpening my claws on you."

Yes, this was definitely not good.