Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

-1-

As many days and nights passed, an endless march of living things wandered, trekked, and in the cases of those inhuman, scurried across the countryside unaware that the eyes were upon them.

All sorts of colorful and curious manner of beast were sprawled across these upthrusts of islands created by Izanagi and her husband since time immemorial. They have existed through the end of time and would continue to exist even afterwards as the cycles of death and rebirth cascaded upon each other.

But this was old news to the Rasetsu. He had lived for so long that the very conception of the passing of time as one straight unbreakable line, For him time had no beginning, middle or end.

Loneliness crept upon him as human beings went from seed to dust in what seemed like less than a few minutes. Beautiful blossoming girls turned to withered old woman, the backs of young hearty samurai become bent and crooked, grand castles inlaid with gold leaf came crashing down while broad towers of iron reached above the clouds, children lose their innocence and their limbs…

Where was he now?

Suddenly aware of what and who he was, the Rasetsu would not have the time to enjoy his newfound freedom as one of his avatars retook possession of his body, sending the creature back to its limbo.

What a truly odd sight this must have been to the band of Yokai and humans who came across him, unaware of how their tales would infect each other and end in tragedy, justice, and cruel irony.

Chapter Text

-2-

Sometimes, Kagome sometimes forgot how brutal the feudal era can be.

It was a truly odd juxtaposition between the problems she faced in her times and when she went back here. With the exception of just about every rumbling invasion by Inuyasha, the only thing she appeared to worry about was the constant, endless mental beatings she received from attempting to win her endless struggle with Algebra.

Guh, half the time she would be happy to take fighting monsters in exchange for no more tests!

Despite the fact that they were hunting the epitome of evil, that she and her band of six were currently in a chase to find the Shikon Jewel shards before Naraku could, it was somehow too easy for Kagome Higurashi to move past that and focus on practically living here.

Perhaps it was the fact that she genuinely felt like she was helping people and saving their lives, maybe it was that her boring life had finally became interesting but Kagome…

Well, she couldn't describe it really. A more apt description would be that she actually felt more at home here than the place where she was born. Oddly enough despite having been a normal, average teenage girl previously, somehow the young Miko felt like she had changed, like she had become a completely different person that is now disconnected from real life.

Speaking of which…

A frigid breeze accentuated the gloomy overcast sky as her skinny her soft legs shuddered with goosebumps prickling her from ankle to thigh. Why did she choose to wear her sailor fuku on today of all days? And far away from the closest inn or village to boot!

“Hey Kagome… Your not getting c-c-c-c-cold are you?” Shippo said with his paws in his armpits as he wrapped his bushy tail around his frame as he sat on her bike basket.

Seeing that the kitt was genuinely worried, Kagome gaze him a reassuring glance that didn't convince him in the slightest.

Inuyasha, who was leading the group, huffed to himself, convinced but unimpressed.

Chapter Text

-3-

Meanwhile, Sango and Miroku were following behind, as Kiara slowly tread on the top of the stoney uneven ground with expert precision. The soil had been salted, so the hard despoiled topsoil stung the cats paws as they passed the burnt remnants of crops.

Both of her riders were in different stages of rest. Sango who had been exhausted beyond belief over the travesties she had seen in the past couple of days as they continued the search for Naraku, was resting against Miroku’s back both for comfort and the fact that he couldn’t grope her if she was behind him.

Miroku meanwhile was beyond content. That was one of the benefits of being a virtuous man sworn to the path of Gautama. Sometimes he could be so lucky.

For as he watched Kagome’s skirt swing up in the wind, revealing white underwear that he sincerely wished was not the norm in her time, all the troubles of his journey melted away in the wind. Sure, his band had seen a lot of atrocities as they made their way to this unknown part of Japan. Some of them still struck with him now and made him sincerely wish that he didn’t have to follow a oath of overall pacifism.

But sometimes you just had to enjoy the little things in order to clear your mind of all stress and anger.

Over this entire journey, Kagome’s skirt had failed to reveal it’s hidden secrets. No matter how much she fell, tripped, and jumped, that stubborn piece of turquoise fabric always succeeded in protected her immodest chastity.

Until now.

Oh the Buddha most have smiled upon him this day!

He was so engrossed in that wonderful sight that he hadn't noticed Sango awakening from her slumber.

And once she saw Miroku's line of sight...

Miroku felt a sharp tug on his right earlobe, emitting a squeal of fear.

Chapter Text

-4-

"Miroku..." Sango hissed behind him as the eponymous monk grimaced in abject misery. When his wandering eyes still failed to drift away, Sango growled and tugged harder.

"MIROKU!" That scream along with the high pitched yelp got the rest of their friends attention.

Kagome winced, but knowing of his licentious behavior felt little sympathy for the monk, choosing to glare at him as well before continuing to walk forwards. Shippo sighed, haven awakened from his nap with a jolt only to shake his head. "Not you two again..." He nodded off again in less then a second

Sango was furious. "Some chaste monk you are! I can't even close a eye without having to stop you from being a complete lech!"

"I-I-I... Sango I swear I just trying to work up the nerve to warn her about her imodesty!"

Lessoning her pull, Sango gave him a skeptical look, her face stern and unforgiving. "Really." There was no hint of belief in her tone of voice. "That's the best excuse you can come up with? Like I'd fall for tha- Hey! What are you..."

Gently grabbing both of her hands and pulling them intimately to his chest, Miroku gazed into her eyes as she flushed red, something he couldn't help but admit was a huge oddity in the windswept desolation before them. This would have to take all the intrinsic charm and intelligence he had within to placate Sango's fears and prevent the noose slowly wrapping itself around his neck from strangling him.

"My dear Sango..." Miroku whispered romantically, before sticking his index finger in the air and changing to a matter of factly tone. "I would never stare at Kagome because I prefer the gentle slopes of your ass alone. Besides her era's choice of underwear is much too conservative. A Fundoshi will be my choice any day of the week."

Unfortunately for Miroku, as Sango gazed downward, gritting her teeth with a vein throbbing inside her forehead the monk was unable to realize that he had the charm of a shark and the intelligence of a flea.

Chapter Text

-5-

After the wallop upside his head, Miroku wouldn't awaken until nightfall. While most of his unconsciousness was spent in a black delirium, a few minutes before he regained his senses, the monk felt a warm body cradling him.

"Oh, Sango, I see that you've have finally given in and crept into my bed..." Chuckling, he reached around her waist and-

"OI! WATCH WHERE WHERE YOUR PUTTING YOUR HANDS YOU LECHER!" A clawed, bare foot booted him in the face sending him flying at least thirty feet in the air, but luckily he landed on a small grassy hill. Disorientated and groggy, he picked himself up with his hands and stood up, only to nearly trip and tumble down the other side, falling in the muck. Luckily, these pass few month's with Sango had made his head as hard as steel so he definitely wasn't suffering from brain damage.

Clutching the browning scratches on his face and rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes despite the mud stinging Miroku's cornea's greatly. Despite the obfuscation, Miroku's head jerked up with a jolt as the realization of who he just groped made the bile rush up to his throat.

"Inu... Inuyasha?" Blurry, the concussion combined with the mud and fire pit in front of him made his vision create afterimages of the Hanyo, with the shimmering scarlet robes billowing in the wind standing a great contrast from the differing many-fold hues of dark and bright coalescing into fully form shapes.

Shaking his head, Miroku could feel the curdling curl in his lips before seeing, with his friend emitting a trademark grunt. "Who else Monk? You seriously think Sango would be cuddling up with you? Hell as if I had a choice..." Inuyasha murmured, walking towards a tree.

Suddenly afraid, Miroku felt a shiver trace through his spine. "Inu-Yasha... Y-Y-You wouldn't happen to have seen Sango by any chance.

With a typical 'keh!', Inuyasha shook his head with the semblance of a amused smile shadowing what little of his face was facing the monk. Then he climbed up the tree with a few hops being all the half-demon needed to reach the top, incidentally also far away from what Miroku sensed would be

Rubbing his forehead, Miroku rested his left cheek on his palm. The fact that he was still breathing meant that Inuyasha was unaware of what exactly was the cause of Sango hitting him. Sighing, he lowered his head. Inuyasha had a beautiful, kindhearted exhibitionist who loved him and he was much too stupid to realize what he had.

It just wasn't fair! He was a virtuous man who proudly followed all eight paths, what could he have done in a previous to be surrounded but unable to fulfill his-

Oh right, his lust. Sango must have hit him really that he could forget that,

Slightly woken up, Miroku chuckled as Inuyasha turned his back to him and faced away, glancing at him in his peripherals with a annoyed glance.

Miroku gave up and instead decided to take a stroll in order to get a grasp on his surroundings. Unlike where they previously camped, the tents were aside a small lake and they were facing a series of hills with there only being a tall overipened plum blossom tree to serve as a watchtower.

At first, Miroku wondered if the rest of his band had taken leave of their wits until he thought about it more. Instead of being ambushed in a forest or a village where there was plenty of places for bandits, Ronin, Yokai, and worse to take them by surprise in, the windswept hills gave any would be raiders the exact opposite.

In turn, the tree served as a vantage point for Inuyasha and while the monk had many complaints about the Hanyo, his extraordinarily heightened senses was not one of them. Any fool who dared tried to molest them would suffer greatly.

Though she feared not as much as poor Kagome had suffered throughout this trek.

Just then, the women came back. Sango, her hair unbound and flowing brutally in the wind was carrying firewood while Kagome had a mess of squirrels that Sango no doubt skinned. Even though he couldn't see it the monk knew he was, not for the first time, about to stare death right in its two beautiful faces. Turning around shakily, Miroku greeted them with a genial smile.

"Hello ladies!" Miroku said, giving them a wave with his free hand. Both of them stared at the holy man with revulsion.

Uh oh.

"Why Sango, aren't you looking lovely in the moonlight-"

In less then a second, Sango walked up to him and gritting her teeth in a dangerous smile, she belted him straight in the balls as hard as she could.

Keeled over, grasping his wounded scrotum, Miroku looked to Kagome for rescue. He was about to ask for help when the miko closed her eyes and gave her head a pouty shake to the side.

How mature.

Chapter Text

-6-

No matter which road less traveled or more the group went, there was a someone hanging from a tree dotted around every mile.

Whoever they were in life was near impossible to discern at the best of times. Sometimes they held the ruined garb of priests and monks or had the mon of Hojo, Takeda or any of their branch families emblazoned upon their person. Sometimes they were hanged by there necks or perhaps their arms. Some were still warm and had their bodies barely molested but more were bloated, festering, or falling apart.

What they were in life didn't matter much nor what age or gender they once happened to be. They were all equal in death. Sango's blood boiled. Whatever demons born of human flesh were too dishonorable to be worthy of a clean death.

No amount of preaching about human nature from Miroku could change that.

Ruing the anger held within her heart, Sango reluctantly forced herself to gaze at the body, because she greatly feared the moment when she could no longer feel disgust at the grotesque sight, something her father and mother taught her well.

The corpse was a man grown, around fourteen or sixteen. Anything other then that couldn't be properly told as his blackened body had long withered away to leathery shrunken parchments of skin covering the drying body like a prune.

Apparently it still enough strips of flesh for the crows to peck away. But upon closer inspection, they might have simply been picking at the swollen maggots that had gotten fat out of feasting on the dead flesh that had yet to become completely inedible.

Roiling from the inside, Sango could feel Kagome's trembling frame cling tighter to her body with arms like wet Soba noodles weakly grasping on to her for dear life.

Getting off Kiara, the group looked at each other in silence, too forlorn for woods, with the noise bellowing in the air being the leaves rustling through the wind and the clattering of Shippo's teeth.

Miroku finally spoke. "I'll begin seeing to his last rites. Me and Kagome will suffice when it comes to sending his soul to the afterlife in case his anguish has kept him here."

Kneeling down at Shippo's level, the monk ruffled his hair. "Shippo I'm going to need your in getting firewood."

The Kit looked like a bucket of ice cold water had just drenched him to the bone. W-w-w-what! I'm just a kid! What if there are ghosts o-o-out there..."

Miroku stifled a chuckle and instead settled on a neutral smile. "It's going to be alright Shippo. You won't have to go far. We'll be right here."

Looking to Sango for aid, she happily took the hint. "Y'know Shippo, it would be really brave and manly of you if you complete this important task."

Sniffling the Fox's eyes were watery but suspicious. "Really?"

Kagome gave him a faint smile and that was all it took. Sango hadn't expected Kagome's welcome help. Seeing all this carnage was tough on them all but Kagome seemed to bear the brunt of it.

Miroku sighed. "Sango I'm going to need your help in getting him down." The trunk was smaller then the rest of the tree's in this sea of green, plus it had twisted itself at a acute angle either due to the recent great storm that had caused great flooding within the land, or the susequent drought that followed, leaching off of the rice paddies with cruel ferocity.

"Oh, c'mon!" Inuyasha grumbled, "Do we have to do this every fucking time!"

Both Miroku and Sango glared but refused to respond, knowing that taking the bait would only make him more inexorable. But this must have been one of his especially grouchy days as he decided in that moment to continue. "I mean its not like this is the first corpse we've seen! Why are we even doing this, dead is dead! It's not like we can help them now!"

The pair was used to Inuyasha's grumbling. But for someone else, it was too much.

"H... How can you say that Inuyasha! He was a person! The least we can do is give him a proper burial-"

Inuyasha, rolled his eyes, folding his arms in irritation so that both hands vanished into his sleece. "C'mon Kagome get real You're the one who is always having us stopping to help everyone. How many people you think are dead now cause we... Hungh?" Both his ears and eyes were pricked up in alarm.

In less then a few seconds, Kagome's sniffles had turned into exausted sobbing. Loud it was, echoing in the mossy forest and overgrown village in a way that was unsettling to say the least.

The entire group was horrified. Proud, independent, voracious Kagome looked like a little girl. She could cry a lot but this was something else that stunk of heartbreak and despair at what she has witnessed...

Inuyasha reached out to her with his clawed hands, terrified that she was upset. But as to why he was upset, Inuyasha was confused.

Kagome slapped them away. "I hate you Inuyasha! You have no heart!" Then she ran towards the forest.

Sango followed after her immediately, knowing that she'd have to in case of danger, whether it be any potential monsters or due to her emotional state. "Kago-me!" Inuyasha tried to follow, looking pretty lost. He was always a jerk but this time he had crossed the line. Sango, having enough of his stupidity, glared at him, not too subtley implying what happen if he was to have the balls to follow them.

Inuyasha stood there for a few minutes until finally, with his ears down in distress, he decided to help Miroku get the poor man down.