Author's Notes: I apologize for the confusion regarding Sango - I thought I'd explained in 'Heart of Darkness' but I didn't. This fic takes the IY series up to the point where they meet Miroku - after that it's a 'timeline-what-timeline' or a TWT. That means I've adjusted how things happened. For this fic, they never met Sango - or if they did, she never joined them. The episodes I refer to (flashbacks, characters' thoughts) don't necessitate Sango being a character (things would have happened that way whether she joined them or not), so I've left her out. This fic takes place too early in the series for her to function as a romantic rival for Miroku (he didn't admit to liking her romantically for another 20 or so episodes), so she'd just be another incidental character. I'm already looking at some 30 characters in 'Heart of Darkness' - I don't need another incidental character.

Setting: This part takes place during Parts 2-4 of 'Heart of Darkness'. The story here (of the IY characters) will be taken up in Part 5 of 'Heart of Darkness'. So, if you're not happy with the ending, that's probably because it's really the prologue of a longer story - it merges into the other fic after this part.

Category: Anime, Yaoi, Inuyasha, TWT, prequel to 'Heart of Darkness'

Pairings: InuyashaxMiroku

Warnings: action, violence, shonen ai, minor angst

Author: Arigatomina

Email: arigatoumina-hotmail . com

Website / Complete Archive: www . geocities . com / arigatomina

Exigency

Part 3

The attack had come swiftly, far too swift for such large cumbersome demons. They appeared to have come out of nowhere, quiet in their approach but blatant in their target.

Miroku and Shippou had barely enough time to be startled before the lumbering group passed them by, one pausing to attack while the others aimed for a not too distant spot. The swarm of wasps shadowing the demons told that they were going for one of two things - Inuyasha, or the shards. And since they'd left Inuyasha back in the camp, the demons had to be headed for the well.

There wasn't time to wonder if they could possibly get through it. Even if they couldn't, they might easily meet Kagome on her return and ambush her without so much as a weapon on hand.

The outcome of the fight was decided from the start. Whatever the creatures were, they were definitely not natural. Miroku had never seen their like, and he was certain they were some hybrid of Naraku's making. The blatant lack of intelligence spoke as much.

They barely paid him any attention, even after he'd disposed of half their number in the most direct way possible. But as easy as it was to suck the ignorant hulks into the air void, those ever-present wasps were joining them in drones, slowing down his pursuit.

He barely caught the last one as it was leaning over the well, four of those claw-tipped arms gripping the edge as if it planned to tip head-first into the hole.

Miroku set his feet and opened the void, bracing his right wrist with his left hand.

The demon rippled, its smooth back strange in the pull of that irresistible wind, and it turned to look back at him. Those clawed hands were gripping the well, holding it in place against the current while its long oddly blade-like tail whipped in the air behind it. Ignorant or not, it was certainly strong.

Miroku did his best to ignore the swarm currently diving into the void as he stepped closer to it. And dizziness struck him just as one of those tightly gripped hands was jerked free, the demon flailing now.

Where was Shippou?

The demon was sending odd sounds at him, low breaths stolen by the wind tunnel.

If it was holding so well against him, it could possibly have shards in its body. And Miroku couldn't kill it without sucking it up the same as he had the others - he knew he didn't stand a chance against that fast tail. But if it had shards and he absorbed the demon into the void...

They'd never get that shard back, would never complete the stone, and what would happen then?

A buzzing flew past his head, close enough to brush his ear, and Miroku glared as the insect angled its way into the open void.

He took another slow step toward the struggling demon. If it was a choice between losing a shard and letting it go into Kagome's time, he wouldn't hesitate to kill it. Shippou would have to find Inuyasha fast, or they could forget about ever restoring the shikon no tama.

Claws scraped on the edge of the well, digging grooves before sliding free.

The demon twisted as it was sucked toward that blurred dark hole and Miroku twisted his left wrist around the beads, ready to close the void the moment the monster was gone.

Two feet from him, the demon jerked, something brushing his open palm in a way that nearly made him close his hand on instinct. The demon had stopped moving.

Miroku's eyes widened and he tensed his right hand, sudden fear bolting through him. If he had closed his hand then his fingers, along with the rest of him, would have been sucked into the void.

But the demon wasn't being sucked in. It was...anchored.

His eyes dropped to that sinewy blade of a tail. It was buried in the ground, the rest of the demon's body hovering just outside of the void.

Torn between moving closer to finish the monster off, possibly losing shards in the process, and holding his place, Miroku didn't know what to do.

A small part of his mind was nervously reminding him that he hadn't seen a wasp since that last one flew past his ear. How many had he taken in? And what would happen if he passed out in the middle of this standoff?

The demon was swiping at him, too dumb to realize that its large arms couldn't touch him with that forceful wind sucking it toward the void. Its body twisted from side to side, three arms on one side swiping, then the other three. And it was pulling itself free with each attempt, inches of that tail sliding out as bits of earth were sucked up into the tunnel.

Miroku glared and held his place. Either it would kill itself trying to hit him, or Inuyasha would show to finish it off.

All he had to do was hold it.

Hot pain sliced his right arm and Miroku barely caught sight of a glinting, sharp yet fluid appendage before he was tilting to his left.

He jerked the beads closed on instinct, shoving himself away from the ground the moment he landed. That blade of a tail buried itself inches from his face but he was already rolling away.

It had come up from under the ground.

He knew it hadn't been that long when the demon first anchored itself. The tail had grown in length, absolute proof that the demon did have at least one shard. But there wasn't time to think about that.

Rising in a low crouch, Miroku turned his sights on the demon. And he cursed when he saw it headed for the well again.

His left hand moved to open the void just as something large blurred in the corner of his eye. Claws closed over his shoulders, sheer weight throwing him back as a wide gaping maw of teeth ducked toward him.

How many were there?!

His left hand jerked the beads free and he shoved his right hand up, feeling smooth skin against his open fingers.

He'd never attempted to absorb something so close, but he wasn't strong enough to push it away. He was outweighed without any leverage. It leaned down even as he pushed his arm up.

The demon seemed to implode, its chest disappearing into the void, and the sickening feel of that skin sliding past his open hand made his stomach churn. But those claws were still holding his shoulders, pulling them forward as its upper arms disappeared.

His right arm was shaking from the strain, his elbow bending and bringing the back of his hand far too close to his face. More of those arms were sucked in and Miroku turned his face away, moving his left arm over his head so it was braced against the back of his right hand.

The pressure was terrifying. The demon's grip refused to break free, its body stretched out over the tunnel, and the backlash of his shaking hand against his head told him this was what it would feel like when he died. This is what it would feel like to be absorbed into himself.

And then it was over. The claws pulled free, following the rest of the demon's body into the void and leaving him with only open air above him.

Miroku didn't register that. Some part of him had locked down. If he hadn't heard something over the wind howling so close to his ear, he might have passed out altogether.

His dazed mind responded to the oddly insistent sound and he opened his eyes, blearily making out something in the shadows across from him.

Shippou, crouching half behind a tree and yelling at him.

Miroku snapped out of his semi-doze, closing the void with wide eyes. His left arm shook when he started to push himself up and he rolled onto his side instead, getting his legs beneath him so he could rise in an unsteady crouch.

The fox kit ran to him, wide, oddly bright eyes staring out of a very pale face.

"What happened?" asked Miroku, his voice faint.

"It went in the well," Shippou moaned, his little hands clenched. "I didn't think it could! How could it?! I couldn't when I had the shards! But it did. And Kagome doesn't have her arrows - she doesn't have anything. And I couldn't find Inuyasha and now - now..."

Bright damp eyes stared up at him and Miroku let out a shaky breath, leaning back. "You couldn't find him...?"

"I looked," Shippou said quickly, his voice small. "I really did, but it smelled so bad I don't know which way he went. There was so much blood and I thought maybe he was coming here so I came back. And I saw the demon drop in the well - but I couldn't stop it! It went through - I looked, but it wasn't in there anymore. Do you..."

His voice trailed off and he swallowed a lump in his throat.

"You think you could get through? You're human so..."

"Even if I could, it wouldn't do Kagome any good," Miroku admitted. "I think-"

He wavered for a moment before rising, his stance unsteady at best.

"I think it has a shard," he said. "I might be able to kill it, but even if I did, we'd lose that shard forever."

"But Kagome..."

"Let's see if we can find Inuyasha." Miroku gave a weak smile, not quite reassuring but the best he could manage. "If we can't, I'll try the well. Chances are I won't be able to get through anyway and once I'm in the well, I don't think I'll be able to get out again. I really doubt I could climb out on my own now."

The human looked like the slightest push would knock him over, and Shippou blinked suddenly, his gaze moving around the field.

"Where's your staff?"

"I dropped it," Miroku smirked, "and don't ask me where."

He shook his head slightly, turning to make slow progress toward the camp. "I think it was over there somewhere, maybe. I can look for it after we save Kagome, ne?"

The kit gave him a bright, almost desperate smile, nodding vigorously. "I'm sure she'll be all right."

"She's stubborn," Shippou said, mostly to reassure himself. "I bet she comes right back here with it following her - that's what she should do. But...Inuyasha's not here. If she comes back and he's not here, then-"

"Then it'll save me a trip into that well and I'll kill the demon here," Miroku reminded him. "Do you think Inuyasha was hurt? You said there was blood."

"It wasn't his," Shippou frowned. "At least, not what I saw. It was green, not red."

He glanced behind them, in the direction of the well. "There were pieces, too. Like those demons we saw - I think there were a whole bunch of them."

"Naraku really went all out this time," said Miroku, "making so many. But Inuyasha should have been able to take on a handful. They weren't very intelligent."

Frowning down at the kit, Miroku shook his head clear. "Unless another of them had a shard, or was smarter than the ones I faced."

Shippou frowned, shrugging a little. "I don't know. It smelled really bad, though. Smells like that knock him out, you know? Because of his nose and all. I thought maybe he got knocked out when he was done, but I didn't see him."

They had neared the camp, and Miroku's face twisted as he caught a hint of the smell Shippou was talking about. He hadn't cut any of the demons he'd fought, but he imagined this was what their blood would smell like.

A few steps onto the path and he knew why the smell was so strong. That thick greenish black blood was splattered all over the ground, chunks of demon flesh lying here and there. Definitely Inuyasha's work.

It was as they were passing a rather large pile of the pieces that a glint caught his eye.

Miroku jerked back, half expecting it to be one of those blade-like tails from yet another demon. The sharp movement sent his head reeling and he fell, jarring his arm and bringing sickly hot pain throbbing over him. But his sight remained steady enough to realize it wasn't a tail he'd seen, half buried in that sticky pile of body parts.

It was something much worse.

"Oh, no...not now..."

"Are you okay?" Shippou asked, his eyes wide.

Now that he was close, he noticed the damp tears in Miroku's black robe, and the pale grayish tint to his face. "You're sick, aren't you."

The thought made his eyes burn and he swallowed another lump in his throat. If Miroku passed out now, and he couldn't find Inuyasha, then what would happen to Kagome?

"What do I do...?"

"I'll be fine," Miroku whispered, his eyes wide. "We still have some of the antidote in the shed. But if that's what I think it is, then we have more things to worry about than me."

The fox turned to follow his gaze, running over to the pile and the glint. Miroku leaned forward, catching his breath as he waited. A moment later he heard a frightened cry and knew it was just what he'd feared.

Shippou struggled to pull the sword free but couldn't do more than lift the hilt out of the mess of green-coated flesh.

"Does this mean he's crazy?" asked Shippou, his voice breaking as he turned to stare at Miroku in rising horror. "Will he attack us if we find him...? We can't knock him out of it without Kagome!"

"I could bind him," said Miroku. "But not like this."

"Bind him?" Shippou hurried back over, not quit shivering at how pale Miroku was.

"Wards," Miroku nodded. "They wouldn't hold him for long, but they would be enough to knock him out. I can't, though, not now."

"If I find your staff, could you?"

The fox was so hopeful looking that Miroku almost told him yes, just to give him something to do.

"I don't have the energy to use even the weakest ward right now," he said, his expression regretful but honest.

Shippou paled, his wide eyes starting to shimmer again. "Then...what do we do...? What about Kagome?"

Miroku didn't know what to say, not to that almost tearful gaze. Shippou had latched onto Kagome the way any child would to someone as caring as her. She was, for all that she was human, his family now.

Just being separated from her for a few days filled the kit with loneliness. Miroku couldn't bring himself to tell Shippou that he didn't see any way they could help Kagome. He didn't see anything they could possibly do...nothing...that would...help...

The monk pitched back and Shippou jumped, catching hold of his left arm. "Miroku!"

Those eyes were closed and he choked, a little sound escaping his throat. "Don't sleep now," he pleaded. "Please? Miroku! Wake up?!"

The little fox's face wavered when he opened his eyes, and Miroku held his breath. If he didn't get back to the antidote, he'd die. There was no chance of helping anyone if that happened, and he wouldn't waste all of their efforts by dying now. He just had to stay awake and keep moving. That was much easier said than done.

Shippou let out a sigh of relief, moving back so Miroku could lean over his legs. The human's shaky breaths sounded strained, but at least he was still awake.

"Want me to shift into a cloud? You can ride that way. Or I can go get the antidote for you and we can-"

Miroku wavered again and Shippou grabbed his arm, blinking hot eyes. Even if they went back to the shed, that wouldn't help Kagome. The antidote wouldn't stop Miroku from being unconscious for at least a day.

"We...we can't do anything," he whispered, sniffling. "Can we."

"I don't think so..."

A loud sound made them both turn, Miroku forcing his eyes to focus on the shadow in the woods behind them. Had it gotten darker suddenly?

A sharp tail glinted in the shade of the trees, Shippou's hands tightening on his arm. "Not another one..."

Dull dark blue eyes turned to him, and Shippou bristled as panic tried to take him over.

"Can you use the air void?" he asked, his voice quiet just in case the demon was intelligent.

"Only..."

Miroku took a deep breath, blinking dazedly at the monster's outline. "Only if I have to. We don't have anything, so maybe it won't attack."

He didn't believe for a second that the demon would just pass them by, but it was just standing there. The others had clearly been after Inuyasha and the well. They'd only come after him when he'd interfered, and neither he nor Shippou was interfering right now.

The demon took another step toward them, one of its clumsy arms knocking down a small tree in its way.

Shippou's gaze was drawn back when Miroku pulled away, using his left arm to brace himself as if he couldn't sit up any longer. Shippou felt his throat close and he shivered as the demon moved closer to them.

With a halfhearted growl, he brought up a blaze of yellow-orange foxfire right in front of the monster. He wasn't nearly old enough for real fox fire, but the illusion had been enough to frighten off other demons. This one hesitated, its form hazy through that bright glow.

Moving behind Miroku, Shippou pushed him upright again, keeping an eye on the demon on the other side of that blaze. The moment he shifted forms, he'd have to drop the illusion, so they'd need to move fast.

Something shot through the fire, directly for Shippou. The fox kit jumped back just in time for long claws to snap shut right where he'd been. A moment later the rest of the demon followed, moving through that mock blaze as if it wasn't there. Its target darted back, wide-eyed but nimble, avoiding that serpentine tail.

To his credit, Shippou was fast and small and he didn't mind drawing the demon away from Miroku. But that tail was nearly as fast as him, and the sticky blood coating the ground from Inuyasha's battle made him slip and scramble as he dodged.

Miroku watched the demons with dazed eyes. He should have helped, but he couldn't catch his breath. His right arm refused to lift when he told it to, and without his left to brace himself he knew he'd fall. Once he fell, he wouldn't be getting back up.

A tree crashed down, sliced clean through as Shippou tried to hide from that tail, and something dropped in front of Miroku.

For a long, blurry, moment he was sure the two were connected. Then he realized it wasn't a thing that had landed in front of him. It was a demon with blazing red eyes.

"Inuyasha..."

Shippou spotted him a moment after Miroku did, darting toward them. "Inuyasha! Kagome's in trouble and-"

That tail twisted at him and he ducked to the side, staring frantically at the hanyou. Inuyasha still had his back to him, not so much as glancing around. "Inuyasha!"

The fox kit ran toward them again, and Miroku's mouth opened to warn him just as Inuyasha whipped around. The hanyou growled, a low, almost taunting sound.

The large demon that had been chasing Shippou abruptly changed its target, that tail aiming for Inuyasha instead. A moment later green blood showered the ground, a growling red-eyed demon standing in the midst of more dismembered pieces.

"Inu-"

Shippou's words died in his throat, his eyes widening when the demon turned. He sent a frantic look at Miroku, easing a bit closer to the monk.

There was no mistaking the blood red eyes, or those overly sharp teeth. The sickly evil grin was worse, though.

Shippou whimpered in misery. "Inuyasha, snap out of it! A demon went after Kagome! It went in the well. You have to help her..."

Would he kill them both?

Miroku kept quiet, doing his best to just stay conscious. If Inuyasha killed them, he'd never forgive himself. And Kagome. If anything happened to her it would be the realization of all of Inuyasha's fears. Even if he didn't get her blood on his hands, he'd blame himself.

An angry growl sounded seconds before the hanyou moved.

Shippou let out a sharp cry and jumped away, barely avoiding one green-stained claw as Inuyasha landed in front of him.

"Stop it!" Shippou yelled, half begging. "Snap out of it!"

Miroku hadn't moved, and Shippou flinched when the demon turned, those claws aiming for the monk's chest. "Inuyasha!"

Miroku closed his eyes, fully expecting those claws to go right through him. But they closed over the front of his robes, jerking him forward so that he found himself blinking right into the demon's bright eyes. That dark grin was nearly enough to make him stop breathing altogether.

He heard something small run towards them, following the red eyes that turned to glare down at the fox.

"You..." Shippou's eyes widened, his ears flying back as he stared up at Inuyasha.

The smell was wrong. The feeling was wrong. Inuyasha didn't feel like a hanyou, and he smelled like...like the sort of demon Shippou knew very well to stay far, far, away from.

"You can't," he whispered, his shoulders hunching as he fought his need to back away. "Kagome needs you and...and Miroku's your friend..."

"Friend?"

The word came out as some sort of growling laugh, a tone that sent shivers over both Miroku and Shippou, though for very different reasons.

Shippou backed away, putting more space between him and the hanyou. Inuyasha had drawn Miroku closer and he didn't need to ask why, the smell told him everything.

"You'll kill him," Shippou said, his voice smaller than he'd intended.

He wanted to yell, but knew better than to risk turning Inuyasha's focus entirely on him. "He's sick. He's just a human. Look. He can barely stay awake. And he's poisoned. You don't want a-"

A dangerous growl cut through his words and Shippou ducked his head, instinctively making himself a smaller target.

"He's mine," Inuyasha spat, his free hand curling so the fox could see the claws. "Interfere and die."

Miroku hadn't really followed Shippou's quiet words, but that growl caught his attention, as did the curled, blood-stained claws.

He turned his head to cast a dazed look behind him, seeking out the kit. Shippou's tail and hair was bristled strangely, but his expression was one of fear more than anything. The little fox met his gaze and gave him a look full of helpless regret. Then he turned and darted away, disappearing into the forest.

Stunned, and more than a little dazed, Miroku stared after him.

Had Shippou abandoned him?

It just didn't make sense for the kit to give up so quickly, especially when Kagome was still in danger. And that look he'd given him...

A growl brought his attention back around to the demon himself, and Miroku swallowed roughly. Those blood colored eyes were so near now that he couldn't help but look at them. And all he could think was that he'd never been this close to a grinning demon with teeth that sharp.

"Afraid?"

The voice was familiar, yet foreign at the same time. Miroku just stared, more taken with the way that grin didn't falter as Inuyasha spoke. He wasn't. He was in pain, exhausted, possibly in shock, but fear didn't really fit.

Something brushed his back and Miroku blinked, for the first time in what felt like minutes. For a moment he thought it might have been Shippou, because his mind refused to accept that the fox could have given up so easily. Light scraping pain on the back of his neck and a tug on his hair told him otherwise.

The pain, having his head pulled back and feeling the hot claws against his neck. It broke through his fogged thoughts better than any words could have. The wolf pack. Inuyasha was acting just like they had.

Miroku shivered and was abruptly pulled closer, Inuyasha's face falling to press against his neck. It might have been an embrace if not for the claws digging into his hair. Teeth graced over his neck, then moist heat. Not biting...tasting.

"Inuyasha..."

His voice came out so soft he wasn't sure Inuyasha had heard it. Then the demon pulled lifted his head, the grip on his hair easing just enough so he could see those red eyes. Were they lighter now? Or was his vision failing?

That evil grin was gone, replaced with a sly smile. But the growling tone remained in his voice. "Not afraid?"

"No," Miroku whispered. And he wasn't. He was too tired to be afraid. "Inuyasha, I-"

...can't die like this.

He couldn't finish. It was the sound of his voice, or maybe just the movement of his mouth as he spoke. Inuyasha cut him off with a low growl and a kiss that, despite the circumstances, made the blood rush to his cheeks.

And now he was afraid, afraid of choking, suffocating, of losing touch to the point where he barely made a sound when one of Inuyasha's claws pressed too hard against his cheek.

His eyes closed of their own accord, and he concentrated on breathing as Inuyasha moved to lap that thin line of blood on his cheek. He didn't see the way those red eyes flashed at the taste, the pupils contracting suddenly. He heard Inuyasha hissing something directly into his ear, but the words didn't register. By the time Inuyasha jerked back, an arm thrown up to protect them both from some overhead menace, he'd lost consciousness.

He would have felt validated if he'd stayed awake long enough to see what fell at them, who dropped it, and how instinctively Inuyasha caught it.

- - -

Inuyasha had never been more torn than he was when he left that little shack, sending one last hateful look at the old woman who was taking his place.

She hadn't asked a single question, not when she first kneeled beside Miroku in that clearing and saved his life, after he'd come so close to taking it away. Not when she'd followed him back to the shack, keeping five feet away because Shippou refused to walk any closer to him. Not when he'd been barred from entering the building by a shape-shifting fox, whose eyes Inuyasha couldn't meet. She'd merely looked at him, with that insufferably knowing gaze.

He was torn because he had two obligations. Kagome in danger, possibly dead because of him. And what he'd done, possibly unexplained to Kaede.

If she thought she could protect Miroku now, she was more of a fool than Inuyasha was. He knew what he'd done, and to leave Miroku's side now went against every instinct he had. He'd cut him, marked him. And if he hadn't tasted the poison in his blood, and been given the sword, he would have killed him.

He couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to Kagome, or that young brother of hers, but he was still half demon. His blood demanded he stay by the one he'd marked, to finish what he'd started, or to see to it no one else finished it for him. That wasn't even considering his human half.

He was horrified by the damage he might have done in his demon state, guilt-stricken at the memory of Miroku struggling to breath as they waited for the antidote to kick in, sickened to know that he still wanted him, enamored with a memory of wide dark blue eyes and soft skin, numbed at having betrayed one of the only people who'd ever cared about him, and terrified of what Shippou might say if Miroku woke before he returned.

And then there was Kagome. He knew she was all right. How he knew, he couldn't say, but he knew. She would be surprised to see him, but eventually she would come back. And once she knew, she would despise him. She would never understand, or care, about demon ways. She wanted to make him human. He couldn't expect her to understand.

The only hope he had was that they would pass his behavior off – just Inuyasha being insane because of that evil demon blood he had, just one more reason to push him into acting fully human. He didn't like the idea, but it was better than the alternative. It rode on how much Miroku remembered when he woke, and what Shippou told Kagome once Inuyasha brought her back.

-TBC in 'Heart of Darkness'-