A/N: I can't believe its been like 3 years already and I'm not really sure where the heck the time went, but it feels good to be back! A huge shout out to all the reviewers and followers for sticking with me so far and following my wacky pacing :)

Inuyasha sneezed violently and covered his nose with the back of his sleeve as his eyes watered from the heavy layers of dust coating every surface of the filthy dungeon. The walls were blackened with soot from a poorly kept fireplace, and the red coals glowed in the grey chamber, offering warmth and a silver of light.

"Hey frog legs, you done yet?" Inuyasha called out to the toad demon who had disappeared under a small pile of scrap metal, composed mostly of rusted bits of copper and broken down weapons mangled together. Only Jaken's little hat was visible, poking up and moving frantically within the pile as he scrounged his heap of garbage for something of importance, muttering under his breath ever so often.

"Has anyone ever told you that patience is a virtue, this is a delicate process!" The muffled voice fired back, and then his green head finally popped up. "Aha! There you are my precious." Jaken pulled two misshapen chunks of silver from the pile, and scuttled off to a anvil propped up on a bench, and placed his treasure delicately on the smooth surface. He carefully pulled on an iron mask over his face, and fired up a small torch, as he made quick work of welding the two pieces together.

The so called delicate process was a mystery to Inuyasha as his eyes wandered, and he took in the toad demons dwellings with renewed disgust. He eyed the decorative glass vials that held various substances that looked strange and off putting. There were shelves of glass jars, containing unusual specimen preserved in amber liquid, his eyes darted away from a single eye floating in amber, and pulled another face as he caught sight of a wall of human masks, the creepy faces frozen in permanent terror and looked disturbingly real.

Inuyasha scoffed to himself, as he leaned against a suit of armor mounted on a polished hardware base. It wobbled dangerously, and he drew away quickly, and tried his best to steady it with one hand.

"Watch it buster! You're upsetting the balance of my workspace, I don't want you touching anything!" Jaken looked up from what he was doing, to reproach the clumsy half demon. He snatched his welded masterpiece up with iron tongs and scuttled off to another workbench, hopping up on the wooden surface, and proceeded to dip the tongs into a basin of liquid that bubbled and hissed.

"It smells like horse shit down here." Inuyasha complained, his skin was crawling, and he shoved his hands in his sleeves so as not to touch anything else.

"Hmph. You know nothing about the world of magic, everything in my collection is older than you are, by at least a century. That suit of armor over there? Why that armor belonged to the greatest general who walked the earth rivaling your honorable father." Jaken's eyes glazed over and Inuyasha thought he was going to throw up.

"More like a filthy junk yard. I could actually care less about your creepy memorabilia. I'm on a tight schedule, so can we just hurry it up already?"

Jaken chose to ignore him, his attention focused intently on whatever was in the basin.

"I don't think you're ready for this," The toad demon stroked his chin "Now behold!" With a dramatic flair, he thrust a solid hunk of silver under Inuyasha's nose.

"What exactly am I looking at?" Inuyasha tilted his head, it just look a another piece of silver to him.

"I wouldn't expect a crude, unsophisticated buffoon like you to understand the of art of magic." Jaken huffed, trying to hide his hurt pride.

"Feh. Did you want a round of applause or something? I couldn't care less, just get on with it, dammit."

Jaken sighed as he pulled on a pair of gold rimmed spectacles.

"Phase 1 is complete. This amulet has been crafted with goblin wrought silver, I wouldn't expect a simpleton like you to know how incredibly rare that is." Jaken sniffed haughtily as he carefully roped a black leather strap through the small hole that he made.

"We'll try this one first." Jaken said, handing over the necklace as Inuyasha gingerly placed it around his neck.

The first thing that Inuyasha noticed was that his neck began to itch immediately. When he looked down, green scales began growing rapidly, covering his skin.

"Bah! Are you trying to turn me into a lizard" Inuyasha panicked, as he yanked the amulet off.

"Oh rats! I thought that was it for sure." Jaken frowned, and the toad demon made a few notes. "Although I will say, the scales are an improvement." The toad demon smirked.

"Ha, very funny." Inuyasha said without humor.

Jaken placed the amulet in a clear liquid this time, but he paused as he remembered something.

"Almost forgot," The toad demon leapt up from the table. Inuyasha froze as Jaken landed nimbly on his shoulder and yanked a silver strand of hair out of his head.

"You little pest!" Inuyasha swiped at empty air, as the toad demon darted back, out of harms way.

"Relax, I just needed some of your DNA." Jaken said simply, as he added the long silver hair to the basin of clear liquid, and it began to bubble, as a yellow cloud of smoke billowed around the workbench. That quelled Inuyasha's annoyance, as he perked up with curiosity.

The toad demon held out the amulet again, and Inuyasha placed it over his silver mane. Nothing happened for several moments.

"Hey, I think this one is alright." Inuyasha started slowly, but he spoke too soon. Heat erupted on the base of his neck, and he cursed as he grabbed at his neckline.

"Shit, that's hot! Are you trying to kill me?" He finally pulled the thing off and threw it to the ground.

"Stop, what are you doing!" Jaken rushed to retrieve the amulet and cradled it to his chest.

"It's trial and error, magic is as delicate as a flower."

"One more shot. After that, I'm done." Inuyasha leveled the toad demon with an icy glare.

Jaken rushed to one of his shelves, and pulled out a red vial. When Jaken popped open the cork, Inuyasha cringed at the smell.

"Jeeze, you really save the good stuff for last. Whose piss did you collect this time." Inuyasha said, half jokingly.

"Bats." Jaken beamed as the half demon lords expression fell. "Bat urine to be exact, its a helluva job to collect, but it has many magical properties." The toad demon answered with too much enthusiasm.

"Why am I not surprised?"

As he spoke, the basin began to bubble as Jaken began pouring the putrid smelling substance inside, an a clear, fog like smoke curled up to the ceiling.

"There it is, I've done it!" Jaken exclaimed in excitement.

"I hope you're right, for my sake." Inuyasha said warily, as the toad demon hopped on his shoulder, and placed the amulet carefully over his silver head.

"I must be a genius, how outstanding!" Jaken teared up and dabbed at his eyes.

Inuyasha inspected his hands in disbelief, his claws receded and became blunt nails. He tugged at his hair, that had darkened and faded to black. Jaken touched his cheek, and opened his mouth where his fangs had shrunken down, into ordinary human canines.

"Get your slimy hands off of me!" He shoved the toad away. Even his voice had lost its edge and he couldn't believe that the toad demon had actually done it.

"It worked?"Inuyasha said, still in mild shock as a sinking feeling wormed its way inside his gut. Inuyasha suddenly felt vulnerable and naked under Jaken's look of appraisal. He flicked the toad demon from his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Of course it worked!"Jaken said in indignation. "Well, how do you feel?"

"Okay I guess." Inuyasha tried to reach for the words. He could still pick apart the layers of sound, his nose was still keen and he could smell the pungent mix of orders. He felt like his ordinary self. "I still have all my senses. I don't feel any different."

"Its a transformation amulet, not a nullification spell" Jaken huffed, as if Inuyasha was supposed to know all this stuff off the bat. "Come now, take it off, it still needs some work."

"How long is it good for?"

"As long as you keep it on, you should be fine. But I can't be 100 percent certain. I still need to run some tests."

Inuyasha thought back to something that Sesshomaru had said. He mulled it over, before voicing his thoughts.

"Why do I have to wait until my most vulnerable time to infiltrate this so called enemy? I mean, it works just fine right now."

"Magic is tricky. Wearing the amulet for long periods is not recommended, especially because the type of silver used can cause harmful side effects to demons. The weaker you are, the less likely the harsher side effects will rear their head."

"Tch. So the asshole knew about all of this and I guess I'm the guinea pig." Inuyasha frowned, but he also knew that he really didn't have a choice.

"Right then..I need you to finish up this science experiment by tonight."

"Tonight?" The toad demon spluttered, " That's impossible. I need at least a full day of experimentation. We'll have to see how it effects your energy levels, and track any side effects before you head into enemy territory." Jaken rattled on.

"I don't have that kind of time. so I'll just have to take the risk. I'm stopping by first thing in the morning." Inuyasha said, leaving no room for argument.

Miroku awoke early in the morning from a dreamless sleep. He couldn't relax and a wave of cold dread kept him in a heightened state of anxiety.

He tried to soothe himself by pulling out his map and spreading it on his lap, studying the broken terrain, as his expression tightened. If he took the ruby eye wind demon's warning into consideration, he was supposed to report back to his lord in a couple days from now. His fist tightened, crumbling the piece of paper as his frustrated sigh came out as a hiss.

Miroku had wormed himself into an impossible situation and now he was playing with fire, operating on time he didn't have.

He didn't know how he was going to get out of the village with the girl, now that the proverbial drums have sounded, and she was being claimed as a god damned reincarnation of a powerful priestess who was supposedly going to save them all. Idiots. Miroku snorted. They would exalt her, turn her into a demigod, and inevitably force his hand into doing something that he didn't want to do. The girl had recovered at an alarming speed, and he wasn't quite sure how he would approach her.

Maybe get rid of the old woman out of the way and the snatch the girl before she draws too much attention to herself? He thought, and at once he felt a stab of guilt at his train of thought. The guilt was a strangely welcomed feeling, it was a reminder that he hadn't become a complete monster. Miroku didn't want to hurt anybody unless it was completely necessary, or if they got in his way. He still had a shred of his old conscious, but he was growing desperate. The monk could feel the abyss stretching beneath him.

The monk pulled the stone from a leather pouch, and watched in fascination as its murky brown depths churned to a dull grey. He didn't give the strange coloring much thought, after all, he had in his possession his most powerful bargaining chip.

Once I bring in the girl alive, he'll be free as well. I'll end this miserable curse, and I'll finally have my revenge. Miroku thought about his oldest friend, kept imprisoned by the same man who had cursed his father. He felt a surge of bitterness and hatred rise and for a moment his head began to pulse. But it was not him, the jewel was pulsing and he heard someone, or something whisper into the darkness of his heart. Miroku could not quite make out the whispers, but he saw himself in his minds eye.

The young monk was standing before the power hungry wretch who had caused him so much suffering, Miroku could feel a sword materializing in his hands and his grip tightened on the hilt as he raised his sword high above his head, and brought it down with sickening force as he beheaded the man. Pleasure coursed through him, as he trembled all over from what he had done and he was not sorry in the slightest. Something was edging him on. More, a distorted voice whispered. And he did not know if it were he speaking, or if it was the blood thirsty desire taking a hold of him.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Miroku snapped out of his daze, and felt something wet on his upper-lip. He gingerly touched his nose. Blood trickled from his left nostril which he hastily wiped away.

"Come in."

The red headed youth from earlier stood in the doorway. He seemed reluctant, and it was clear that he didn't want to be there.

"Porridge." The boy said curtly as he lifted up a pot of something that smelled delicious. "Courtesy of Kaede." The boy muttered under his breath.

"Thank you.." Miroku said. "Shippo, right?" He remembered the old woman saying the boys name, after she stopped the villagers from nearly stoning him to death.

"Yea, that's right."

"I think we got of to a bad start," Miroku smiled, "I'm-"

"I know who you are." Shippo cut him off quickly, and shifted on his feet.

"Miroku." The monk finished introducing himself anyway. "Care to join me?" He gestured at the pot of porridge.

Shippo stiffened, he looked like he rather kick rocks, but then his stomach loudly grumbled and Miroku laughed aloud at the boys embarrassed expression.

Shippo gingerly laid the pot down, and sat as far away from the monk as possible. Miroku flashed a mysterious smile, he knew that the boy had every right to be suspicious.

"I find it strange how cornmeal porridge can bring anybody together." Miroku began in a light, conversational tone. He served the boy first, giving him an extra helping, and prepared his own bowl. Miroku watched as Shippo inhaled the porridge, and he wondered if the young boy was getting enough to eat.

The monk took a moment to enjoy the smell of his own portion. A memory wafted up like steam, as he saw a woman, perhaps his mother, wrapping him in a blanket and nursing him back to health. Miroku didn't have many memories of his mother, she passed away when he was very young.

"What's it like out there?" Shippo suddenly asked out of the blue. With his belly full, he was less on guard and watched the monk with the open curiosity of a child.

"You mean beyond the walls?" Miroku asked. "I never wanted to be a travelling monk, I was supposed to take up after my father and dedicate my life to being a holy-man. But fate intervened. For better or for worse, I still can't say. But it's rough out there, every bad thing that you can imagine lies behind those walls. There really is no such thing as a safe place." He took a bite of his porridge and savored the well seasoned dish. "What brought that up?"

"My ma and pa were guardians of the temple here..I don't remember much, but one day they went out beyond the walls and they never came back. It was Lady Kaede who took me in. I'm not too good at the temple stuff, so I help out where I can." He lowered his head. "I've been behind these walls for my whole life. When I get big and strong, I want to go out and experience the outside world for myself."

"Shippo I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my parents at an early age too." Miroku said earnestly, Shippo gave him a surprised look that the boy quickly concealed. "Do you mind showing me?" The monk continued, his interest piqued.

"The temple you mean? I don't know, it's pretty heavily guarded. Ever since Lady Midoriko has returned, everyone has been acting strange."

"You really believe all that stuff?" Miroku dryly asked.

"Of course I do! My parents even served by her side in the golden era." He said a a great deal of pride, and then with a disapproving look, Shippo continued. "Lady Kaede told me that you're a nonbeliever."

Miroku almost choked on the last spoonful of his meal, as he chuckled without amusement.

"A nonbeliever, huh?" The old woman was not too far from the truth, but Miroku would never admit that aloud. "Once you get out of these walls, you begin to see things. Your eyes open beyond what you think you know and it bumps heads with everything that you've been taught. Beyond these walls, you don't deal with what you think is right, but you deal with reality head on." Miroku said with a shocking amount of bitterness.

He had learned all of this from an early age. The monk knew that prophecies were only for fools and he knew from experience that no one was coming to save him, he had only his two hands and his willpower.

"You're wrong." Shippo answered back in a deathly quite tone. Something the monk said must've upset the boy. He began to collect the bowls and cutlery as quickly as possible. Miroku sighed and ran a hand down his face. Scaring children now? What am I thinking. Miroku silently reprimanded himself

"I'm sorry Shippo, I didn't mean to offend you."

Shippo looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"You didn't." Shippo lied, looking towards the door.

"It's been a long time since I allowed myself to feel hopeful about anything. In a way, I'm a little envious. " Miroku sighed.

Shippo looked down, a struggle broke out on his face, as he grappled with his distrust. He was beginning to see the monk in a new light.

"I can sort of get that." Shippo paused "Come by the stable this afternoon, everyone will be in the fields, and then I can show you the temple."

"I think I'd like that."

The boy gave a tentative smile and scampered off.

Miroku decided that he needed to take some of the edge off as the sun rose to its zenith, and he found himself in a brothel late in the morning. There was a few straggling travelers, some village men he recognized from his first night, who stared him down as he walked in, but for the most part he was left alone. For that he was grateful.

His eyes scanned the small room, taking in the sights around him. The women were either too plain looking or too young, and he managed to feel amused and slightly put off at the same time as he watched a flat chested young girl entertain a balding, middle aged man that could have probably been her grandfather. What's that old geezer doing? Miroku shook his head.

That's when he caught the eye of a young woman who was sitting off to the side near the back of the brothel, and he was surprised that no one had approached her. It was in the violet shine of her hair and in the storm grey of her eyes where he found the soft allure that reminded him of his first love.

Miroku sidled up to her table.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looked up, and she seemed to be looking past him but she smiled and shook her head. He took that as an invitation.

"What's your name?"

"Natsuko." She said simply, unalike the usual chatty types that Miroku was used to. In fact, the woman's crossed legs and bored expression told him that she would rather be anywhere but here.

"Miroku" He introduced himself with a twinkle in his eye "Care to join me for a drink?"

"You know I won't say no." She said this without much joy or enthusiasm and Miroku rose and eyebrow. He wondered about her attitude, but he was not put off and a smile twitched at the corner of his lips.

"I see that you've already got a head start." He nodded at her half empty glass. "I'll have whatever you're having."

Natsuko sighed, but her back stiffened when the matron of the brothel house walked by, and cast a glance at the table. Natsuko flashed her teeth in a mock smile, and she leaned in and touched his arm.

"I'll get that drink for you, be right back, so don't go anywhere." She said with a forced, coy smile.

Natsuko set two thimblefuls of something strong smelling down on the table. "There you go, finest grade of sake on the house." Now that the matron was gone, she leaned away from him as she sat down again and avoided his curious gaze.

"How long have you been here?"

"It'll be my first winter coming up." She looked down at her lap and Miroku sensed the melancholy roll off her, as it touched a nerve of sympathy in him.

"And your family?" Miroku examined her hands, hands that were calloused, but still possessed some semblance of softness. He decided that he liked her hands.

A pained expression flashed across the woman's face, and he almost regretted having asked her.

"I.." Natsuko hesitated, and now she really looked like this was the last place where she wanted to be.

"I don't have any family.. My father, brother, and husband all went off when the war started. Once the letters stopped,I just put two and two together. The war forced a lot of girls like me into... this"

"Is everything to your liking, Lord Monk?" They both glanced up at the same time, as the matron hovered behind them. She was a squat, middle aged woman, who was looking at Miroku, half expecting him to voice a complaint.

Instead Miroku flashed the older woman a dazzling smile.

"Natsuko is the loveliest flower that I have ever set my eyes on. I wouldn't be anywhere else right now."

The old matron gave the young monk a calculated look, before she decided to leave the situation alone.

"Thanks." Natsuko offered him small smile. "She hovers like that because she says that my moodiness is hurting her business. She might be right."

They both shared a laugh, and Natsuko found that she could relax in Miroku's presence, she took a delicate sip of her drink and uncrossed her legs.

"Well I don't find you moody at all, I think that you're rather intriguing ." Miroku placed a hand over hers, and she looked away, and blushed. Miroku warmed at her maidenly profile, and wondered why a woman so lovely never remarried.

"Why have you stayed a widow for so long?" Miroku gave voice to his thoughts, and Natsuko's expression hardened as she pulled her hand back.

"It's been hard adjusting." She said softly. "But I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind, I don't mind at all. So how about it? Care to get out of this place, away from prying eyes?"

Natsuko didn't withdraw her hand this time as he helped her to stand, and she led him to the back of the brothel, up several flight of stairs and into her private quarters.

Natsuko froze in the doorway, when she realized that they had a guest, and Miroku followed her line of sight to the futon in the middle of the floor. There was a small child, who appeared to be about three of four, and the boy was curled at the end of the bedding.

"Yuki," Natsuko inhaled sharply as her face flushed in embarrassment. "I told you to wait for me in the back."

"Momma you're back." The boy slowly roused, his voice thick with sleep as he rubbed his eyes.

"I'm really sorry about this, this usually never happens" Natsuko said quickly, and scooped the boy up in her arms, as he tried to pull away in protest.

"No trouble at all." Miroku said, slightly amused and wondered if this would be a good time to extricate himself from the situation.

"You know that you're not supposed to be here, what did I tell you about coming into my room at this time?"

"But I got hungry." The boy whined, and he looked at Miroku with interest now.

"Mama, whose that man standing over there?"

"I'm just one of your mothers friends." Miroku cut in cheerily, he winked at Natsuko, who had the good grace to blush.

"Mama, you sure do have a lot of friends." The boy said innocently enough. Yuki smiled and looked like he wanted to say more when the child began to cough violently. Natsuko cradled him, patting his back and doing her best to soothe him. Her face pinched with worry, and she peeked into the hall, and called another woman's name for help as Yuki's high pitched breathing rasped in his throat.

The woman Natsuko called out to, sauntered in the room, dressed in a scanty robe that barely came up to her thigh. Her heavy perfume made Miroku's eyes water.

"Hanako, thank the gods. Can you please take him to the kitchen and make sure he eats?"

"No trouble at all." Hanako smiled in sympathy, quickly accessing the situation. She took Yuki from his mothers arms, and the boy began to cry earnestly as the scantily dressed woman wheeled him away.

Natsuko pressed a hand to her forehead, a stricken expression plastered on her face.

Miroku felt like a fish out of water and he touched her arm to get her attention.

"Hey..I can leave, if you want me to."

Natsuko panicked and she shook her head.

"Please, if I lose another customer, the matron will throw me out, and I can't afford that."

"I'll stay. but we don't have to, you know, if you don't want to." He said gesturing at the futon.

She gave a small smile of gratitude, and she fully leaned into him. Miroku hesitated, before he slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Thank you." Natsuko murmured into his chest, she pressed her nose into his neck as she lightly fisted the front of his robe. "You want to know something funny? Its been a long time since I've actually wanted a man to touch me." She laughed without humor, before she got quiet again. When Miroku looked down, he saw the first tear squeeze its way from the corner of her eye, and rolled its way down her cheek.

"Can you..can you just hold me for a moment?" She asked timidly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I think I can manage that." Miroku consented, tightening his embrace as she sniffled once, and then let herself go. Natsuko broke down in quiet sobs, her shoulders heaving and all Miroku could do was helplessly look up to the rafters as he held her.