Chapter 1: Sucked In

Dark eyes, cold and focused, locked on their target.

"SANGO!" Miroku's shakujou lashed out at the demons around him, whirring and lashing and striking with a mind of its own, as the monk vehemently fought his way over toward Sango.

The slayer's eyes narrowed in concentration as she leaped up, impossibly high, and brought down her weapon on the baboon-cloaked demon. "Hiraikotsu!" Almost immediately, she recoiled from the choking cloud of miasma that escaped the gash in the demon's shoulder. She landed, coughing, just as the monk appeared at her side.

"Sango, are you alright?" he asked her urgently.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, gripping the handle on her weapon more tightly as another fit of coughing wracked her body with deep shudders. Unconvinced, pulled her behind him, shielding her. Without hesitation, he faced the demon and removed the prayer beads that sealed off his right hand.

"Wind Tunnel!"

The demon's cloak was ripped away, and dark seaweed hair rippled around him, pulled by the suction of wind. Naraku's smirk was malevolent. "Fool," he spat as poisonous insects flew past him and were sucked into the current of wind, "You'll die from the poison before I am defeated."

"Miroku!" Sango gripped the upper part of the monk's upraised arm from behind. "Stop! You'll die!"

"Get back, Sango," Miroku begged, the strain in his voice indicating the effects of the poison. Naraku leaped high into the air, momentarily escaping the flow of wind, and Sango aimed her Hiraikotsu at him. Writhing tentacles surged out to intercept it, curling itself around the weapon and neatly snapping it.

Crimson eyes, hungry with bloodlust, locked on their target.

Naraku's tentacles stretched, aimed at the monk, and Miroku thought it foolish that the demon would try to attack him directly, whether he was weakened or not. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mass of demons swoop down behind him, launching themselves at the nearly-defenseless Sango.

In a sudden moment of clarity, Miroku closed his fist and whirled around to wrap his arms around Sango. She had her sword out and was half-turned to face the looming demons. Her eyes widened at his embrace, and he urgently murmured a sacred chant in her ear.

At first Sango thought that she was holding her breath, then realized that she couldn't breathe. She was absolutely paralyzed, but not from fear; the monk's sacred spell bound her. Sounds slowly faded away to silence, and even Miroku's touch on her skin faded. She still retained her vision, however, and as Miroku pulled away, his lips moved, forming the words that she would never hear him say.

Reluctantly, he pulled away. The spell that rendered Sango's body immovable was an ancient one that he'd discovered long ago but never attempted. It was a barrier cast on a human being, used by only the highest of monks, that shielded a single person from any attack, while at the same time freezing their entire body so they could neither move nor breathe. Sango would die unless the spell was lifted, and the spell wouldn't be lifted until he perished. Judging from the poison coursing through his body, the demons attacking in his direction, and Naraku's tentacles aimed at his body, the spell wouldn't last long.

The first of the demons launched itself at Sango, and was repelled, slamming into an invisible wall that purified it instantly. Many more demons suffered the same fate, and relief rolled off Miroku in waves. It worked. Sango was safe.

The fingernails on the monk's hand dug deeply into the flesh of his palm, sending droplets of blood rolling down. A greater suction pulled at his hands as the sides of his Kazaana widened. Simultaneously, Naraku's tentacle pierced his back, carving a hole all the way through to his chest. Uncurling his fingers, a veritable vortex spiraled around him. It engulfed the demons in a range that was three times farther than usual. Naraku was pulled in as well, who hadn't anticipated the monk's sacrifice. The hole widened, unstoppable now, and a sudden calm overtook Miroku before he perished.

Ironically, he'd taken his vengeance on Naraku by using the demon's own curse against him, in the end. He'd managed to protect Sango as well, and accomplishing both at the same time was more than he could have asked.

His only regret was that she'd be left alone. The barrier had shielded her from even the Kazaana's amplified suction, but he knew it wouldn't shield her from a broken heart. Her wide-eyed gaze was the last thing he saw before he, too, was pulled in.

Violet eyes that held an apology and a promise locked on their beloved, then were engulfed within the spiraling void.