Inuyasha paced back and forth in front of the cave they were currently staying in, definitely anything but worried. "Well? What's the hold up?! Let's get moving!" he snapped as Kagome emerged. He was almost happy to see her without her usual annoyingly sunny smile.

"We think Myouga got out any poison, but Miroku's still in no condition to travel. You're just going to have to wait." She tossed her head in annoyance, turning to walk away. Her air of knowing better than him was definitely still in place. "And just remember, it's because of you that he got hurt in the first place."

It was partly true. A group of what were apparently humans riding scorpion beasts had attacked him, completely ignoring the others. The monk wouldn't have been stung if he hadn't come to Inuyasha's aid. But any guilt he felt was completely erased by Kagome's comment.

"Because of me! He's the one who ran out there like an idiot when I had it under control!"

He knew what was coming before she even said it. "Sit boy!" And suddenly he was sprawled face down on the ground. "Now Sango and I are going to get something to eat. You stay here and watch Miroku. Inuyasha..." He'd noticed that she had this irritating habit when she was nervous of chewing on her lip when she spoke, making it difficult to understand her. "Be careful. I've got a weird feeling about those scorpion riders. I don't think we've seen the last of them."

He growled slightly in aggravation as the girls and Kilala left, tempted for a moment to leave Miroku alone just because Kagome had told him not to, but even he could see that it wasn't a good idea to get his jewel detector angry at him. He marched into the cave, throwing himself down next to the invalid, and hoped a demon would attack so he'd have an excuse to slaughter something.

Miroku's eyes fluttered as he woke. He stared up at Inuyasha, noticing through the fever-haze that the hanyou's ears were twitching almost worriedly. Girls seemed to like those ears. He shakily reached up and tugged gently at them, idly thinking that he should get himself some demon ears, before drifting back into restless dreaming.

His white-haired companion blinked down at him. Had the monk woken up just to tug on his ears? Ignoring Miroku's bizarre behavior, he turned his attention to the fox demon cleaning the wound on the injured man's neck. "What kind of stinger leaves a mark like that?" he wondered out loud, kicking Shippo aside so he could get a better look at the vivid red burn in the shape of a tribal scorpion. It seemed almost to pulse with dark energy. The monk whimpered slightly, sounding pained, and the half-demon was almost tempted to try to comfort him.

Shaking off any worry he may have felt and replacing it with general annoyance, Inuyasha returned to his spot outside, resting against a boulder. "If he's got himself cursed there'll be more of a delay. I should just let something eat him. And Shippo too." He knew he wouldn't, but it was fun to think it. He did want Miroku to get better; the pervert was entertaining, and useful in a fight. On the other hand, the half-demon was pretty sure that he wouldn't care if Shippo died. While he was on the topic, Myouga could die because he was annoying. He wanted Kagome around for her jewel detecting abilities...

His thoughts continued in this fashion until well into the evening. The girls hadn't returned yet. The hanyou barely noticed; knowing Kagome they were probably at the mall in her time, or keeping away in order to worry him so he'd be her little pet when she returned. The girl had real problems prioritizing, and she was so damn needy! Distracted by idle thoughts of strangling her upon her return, he didn't notice the pale silvery mist flowing across the ground toward him. It wrapped around him, caressing him gently, whispering softly into his ear, and sending him into a deep dreamless sleep. The mist continued forward, crawling into the shadow of the cave, until all that could be seen in the darkness was a pair of ivory fangs.