Redirection
Chapter Three:
Refused
"I don't think it's a question of where you are, but when you are." —Miroku
It was an odd feeling he woke up to. His body felt cold and he was uncomfortably lying down on his stomach on a hard surface. He barely registered the small headache and other aches that he felt across his body, more focused on the way his cheek was pressed against something cool. There was a pounding in his back and he distantly realized it was his pulse hammering against his skin. It was only when a sharp pain suddenly sprouted from his back that Kuwabara was forced into full consciousness.
He sprang to his knees and tried to jump to his feet, but pain he had hardly felt before bombarded him and kept him at his knees. He heard a small, feminine "eek" as his movement caused a person besides him to fall backward onto her rear. He hardly saw the girl from the corner of his eye, as she was blurry and spots dominated his vision. He closed his eyes and held his hands over his forehead as though that could suppress the massive ache.
Gentle hands attempted to move his arms away and he yielded to the touch. They tentatively laid his hands in his lap, and then one of the hands came to lie on his forehead, the other placed on top of the first. Light pressure was applied before a soothing feeling spread through his head, chasing away the ache. Although he knew many people who could heal, only one person felt like that, so tender, so kindly…
His heart began pounding wildly and his breath came quick. Had it all been some delusion? Some wild, nightmarish dream? Please, let it have been a dream.
Kuwabara opened his eyes as the hands removed themselves, but he grabbed one of them before it could get far. He tightened his grip almost painfully around it as he slowly raised his gaze to the person beside him… only to be disappointed.
A young girl he did not recognize knelt next to him, watching Kuwabara sympathetically. He quickly let go of his grip on her so instead he could spin around and take in his unusual surroundings with wide-eyes. One small room made up the entire house he was in. …Was it just him, or was he in some kind of hut?
"The angel's awake."
The gruff voice came from beside the door, where a demon sat. He reminded him of someone, though at the same time they were undeniably different. Besides that, the demon's clothing was odd, some kind of all-red material covering most of him. Sharp amber eyes watched him in an unfriendly stare, intensified by the fact that his white ears became flattened against his head when Kuwabara looked at him.
"What're you—who…? Why? And where am I?" Kuwabara sputtered out quickly, his body turning and moving just as fast as his eyes were.
"Besides 'when' and 'how', you've got all the questions covered," the girl teased, then informed him more seriously, "you took a nasty fall."
As he tried to stand once more, the young girl put a hand to his shoulder to still him, but before she could do anything more, her own hand suddenly went to her forehead. She swayed backward, though managed to keep her balance.
The demon snorted indifferently, but the concern in his eyes betrayed him. "Don't exhaust yourself on him. You're still just learning to heal."
"I'm okay," she muttered. "Just a bit dizzy."
Another snort from the demon showed his disbelief.
Finally realizing exactly what the demon said before, Kuwabara asked in bewilderment, "angel?" He directed his question toward the demon with the strange ears, but the youkai only let out a small, annoyed sound before crossing his arms and looking away.
The girl answered for him, trying her best to be helpful. "Well you did fall from the sky." She tapped her chin with her index finger thoughtful before jutting the finger out in the air as though she had thought of something brilliant. "A fallen angel then."
He felt his cheeks warm and he looked away from the girl, but it was once again another in his thoughts. He studied the floor instead as he felt pangs of lost, loneliness… and most of all, overbearing guilt. A great somberness coiled itself around him, dulling the atmosphere in the room.
A jolt of surprised filled him as a face came into his view. The girl had bent down, tilting her head to the side so that she could peer into his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.
His feelings must have been mirrored on his face and he tried his best to lock them away. However, once he thought of her, it led him to darker places and it was not long before he remembered something else with dread.
"That demon… and the others…! Are you in league with the demon?"
No, but then why would the girl be helping him? He could not be so sure about the demon in the room, but if he was with the girl he might be okay…
She shook her head at his nearly unintelligible words. "You're talking crazy. Unless you mean Inuyasha."
Inuyasha? Was that the name of the demon that had done something to him? What had he done anyway? The last thing he remembered was the barrier blasting open… no, there was something after that as well…
…"wish granted"…?
There were so many questions and before he could even begin to ask more, he made the mistake of moving. He winced as pain shot through his back; it was unusually tender, he discovered.
In a rather motherly way, the young girl grabbed both his shoulders and forced him to lie back down on his stomach. She explained as she did it, saying, "You had a lot of shards of glass in you. Especially in your back that got lodged deeper when you fell."
Once he was lying peacefully on his stomach, Kuwabara saw her pick up a pair of tweezers. She clicked the two ends together twice, more out of habit than to actually test them out.
"Now don't move or I'll have to make you stay still."
The way she gave the warning had implications of a threat that he did not want to experience. He was inexplicably threatened by the small, yet forceful girl and decided caution was the best approach.
"This may hurt."
And hurt it did. Tweezers were not the ideal equipment to use in this situation, especially since, like she had said, the glass was deep within the skin. He, however, gritted his teeth and bore it as she searched through his wounds for the foreign invaders in his body. Though Kuwabara did have to admit, he had yelled at certain points and flailed about a bit. Hey, he was only human.
She sat on top of his legs after he moved the first time, murmuring how it would have been easier if he stayed unconscious. He instantly protested the compromising position, but the girl did not seem to care. Nevertheless, he stopped all his kicking; not because he did not feel the need to, but rather, he did not want to take the chance of hurting her.
What seemed like an eternity of pain later, she got off him and informed him that all that was left was to bandage him up. He thanked her profusely as she wrapped his wounds, to which she gave a pure smile. A small pang ran through him.
"I'm Kagome Higurashi, by the way," she told him as she tied the last of his bandages. She handed him his shirt, which was lying a few feet away and then gestured to her demon companion. "That's Inuyasha."
A disgruntled noise from Inuyasha was his only sign that he had heard his name given. From the sound of it, he was not pleased.
He took in a deep breath, ready for his grand introduction—but felt that he did not have enough energy to do it. "I'm Kazuma Kuwabara."
A man appeared in the doorway then, pushing away some kind of fabric that served as a door while he peered inside. Unlike Kagome who wore clothes that he could recognize, this boy had odd clothing just as Inuyasha did. On top of that, he held some kind of staff in one hand and on his shoulder sat a small boy. Moments later though, he realized it was not a boy at all when he suddenly hopped down to the floor, revealing a small fox tail.
The small fox demon crossed his arms as he inspected Kuwabara. "So, you're awake now!" He turned to Kagome. "Did ya find out why he came tumbling down from—"
He was interrupted by the man at the door, who said, "Sango is back and she's brought a friend." He moved his arm higher as he kept the "door" open and another strange young girl ducked under it and into the room. Then a second later, someone followed her in and…
"Urameshi!"
Although he looked a little worse for wear—his clothes were torn in places and blood coated his front—there was no mistaking his identity. Who else had those sharp eyes and that punk, don't-mess-with-me attitude?
He could tell Yusuke was just as surprised as he was from how his eyebrows shot slightly upward. Then his friend put his head in one hand before dragging the hand down across his face.
"Damn," Yusuke said. "This rules out my whole 'this is a dream' theory. When I start dreaming about you, it's a nightmare."
He was joking, of course, but Kuwabara felt a twinge of annoyance, that was to be expected. He opened his mouth to retort, but the new girl spoke first.
She looked from one stranger to the next, a delicate eyebrow raised. "You two know each other?"
Yusuke did not look at Kuwabara or her as he spoke, his gaze instead off to the side. "Unfortunately."
Kuwabara studied him carefully. He was glancing around the room out of habit, taking in his surroundings and any possible threats. His gaze lingered the longest on Inuyasha and Kuwabara did not fail to notice that when Yusuke finally stopped his observation, he stood in a way that allowed him to keep an eye on the dog-eared demon.
Kuwabara, however, was more concerned with what Urameshi had said and how he'd said it. Was the irritation in his response because he was joking around still? Or was he still angry about the entire business with the demon? He couldn't blame him if it was the latter, but…
"Where'd he come from?" Kagome asked the other girl and Kuwabara felt himself resurfacing from his thoughts. He watched as Kagome got to her feet and curiously took in Urameshi's presence. Amusement ran through him as she observed Yusuke the way someone would examine a stray dog or cat.
Kuwabara felt eyes on him and turned, only to see the other girl doing the same as she observed him. She was dressed as oddly as the other two, though what he immediately noticed about her were the weapons at her side. He sensed no hostility from her though.
The girl ducked her head down as she swung the strap on her shoulder up and over her head, letting the large boomerang weapon rest against the wall of the hut. She sat down not too far from it before gazing at Kagome.
"I could ask you the same question," she replied.
Kagome pointed upward. "The sky." A mischievous grin appeared on her face. "He landed on top of Inuyasha. It kept him from getting too hurt, though."
Both the other man and the girl turned their attention to the demon by the door, who grumbled something unintelligible. The amusement on the girl's face was clear, but she did not smile or laugh, probably for the demon's sake. The small fox, on the other hand, did nothing to contain his laughter and poked fun at the demon.
"That's our Inuyasha; always thinking of others," the man said as he finally stepped away from the entrance. He took a spot on the floor beside the girl, leaving Kagome and Yusuke the only standing people in the room.
"What about him, Sango?" Kagome inquired.
The girl, Sango, nodded toward Yusuke. "I think it was the same for him."
While the information was not new to Kuwabara who had only awoken a few minutes ago, surprisingly it was brand new information to Yusuke.
"What? You didn't say anything 'bout that before!"
"I wasn't sure," she responded. "I saw something descending and then land in the forest… And then there you were, caught in that tree."
Kuwabara laughed. "Caught in a tree? Heh, nice, Urameshi. Real graceful."
Yusuke sent him a look as he crossed his arms over his chest. There must have been wounds there since there was still fresh blood on his shirt, but if it hurt when he came in contact with any scrapes, he didn't show it.
"You're one to talk. You landed on someone."
They began to verbally fight in what could have been described as a childish manner, spitting out minor insults until Kagome went and stood between the two. With her hands on her hips, she asked, "am I going to have to put you two in separate corners?"
She had been facing Yusuke, but she turned to glance at the sitting Kuwabara halfway through her question. Neither answered her and did not meet her gaze either.
"And you." Kagome whirled around to face Yusuke and advanced on him. His crossed arms tightened as she did, but met her intense gaze with his own. Kuwabara was somewhat impressed. The girl possessed such a strong, fierce aura at that moment, he might have taken a step away unconsciously had it been him she was closing in on.
She stopped in front of his friend, well within his personal space. Without warning, her hand darted forward and then yanked back just as quickly. Kuwabara did not know what it was she had done, but Yusuke reacted.
He knocked her hand away. "Hey, stop that!"
Kagome held up the same hand again and Kuwabara noticed a pair of tweezers in them. Ah, it seemed Yusuke was about to get the same treatment Kuwabara had received when he had regained consciousness.
"Don't be a baby," Kagome chided, which Yusuke clearly did not appreciate. "You have shards of glass in you and, unless you want them to stay there, I need to get them out."
She took a step forward and he matched it by taking one back. Kagome frowned in response. "Fine, we'll just have to do this the hard way."
Speaking for the first time since Yusuke had arrived, the demon, Inuyasha, muttered, "you're in for it now…" The fox child nodded in agreement.
She leaned in as she brought the tweezers close to him, but he held onto her shoulders to keep her an arms-length away. She lifted her other arm to try and brush one his arms away, but his grip was too strong. In a surprising move, she kicked him hard and skillfully enough in the leg that he momentarily was balanced on only one foot. Kagome took that time to push down on his shoulders and it was enough for Yusuke to lose his balance. He fell to the floor and Kagome tumbled down with him.
No one else in the room moved; they were far too busy watching the exchange and wondering what the outcome would be. Besides, it was not a dangerous situation since neither was threatening the life of the other.
While Yusuke was trying to figure out what exactly just happened and how such a young girl could get the better of him, Kagome had him on his back as she straddled his waist, her hands holding his wrists.
And Kuwabara had thought his position had been compromising…
"What're you doing!" Yusuke sputtered, heat rushing to his face.
His intentions changed from stopping Kagome from attacking him with the tweezers, to just wanting to get out of their embarrassing positions. He began to lift his arms and once again, Kagome found him far too strong. He would easily get her off at this point and the girl could just not have that.
"Naaa—" Kagome gritted out as she struggled. "Sango, help!"
The other girl was hesitant with a clear "why me?" expression on her face, but moments later, she was beside the two and helping the diligent Kagome. After some struggling, Yusuke and Kagome ended in much the same arrangement, except now Sango was kneeling behind Yusuke and was half-leaning over his head as she held his arms, pinning them to the floor above his head.
Sango looked down into his face from above. "This is for your own good."
Despite her words, he still thrashed around and Sango knew even she could not hold him for long against his will. Even now, she felt him holding back, probably because he was trying not to injure the girls. How had one boy become so strong?
Miroku's rather dramatic sigh was heard even over all the commotion. "I envy you. I would feel lucky to have such fine women draped over me…"
All three mentioned parties blushed, though Kagome was over it the quickest. Sango avoided eye contact with the stranger below her and instead shot Miroku a look. "Stay out of this, monk."
"Just take it like a man," Kuwabara told his friend.
Yusuke gritted his teeth as his body became stricken. "I'll stop struggling if they'd just get off." He bucked his body during the last two words, but the girls held fast.
Kagome exchanged a look with her friend, wondering if the boy would stay true to his word. Obviously deciding, she lifted herself off Yusuke and sat down beside him while watching his cautiously. Sango, however, did not let go.
Yusuke tilted his head back to glance at the girl above him. "You don't trust me."
Sango did not know him well enough to trust him, but she did not say so. She was more concerned about him flailing about when the pain began, but knew he would be offended if she said that. Knowing no answer would please him, she merely let him go and slid backward. She thought she saw him glance at her curiously as he pushed himself up with his arms, but it must have been her imagination because the expression was not there a moment later. Instead there was suspicion there as Kagome advanced on him once more.
Sango was focused on the two of them as Kagome removed the shards, so much so that she felt a shock run through her as arms came from behind and slid around her waist. She became aware of her back pressed up against someone's body just as a murmur reached her ear.
"I wouldn't object to being pinned down by you, Sango…"
A blush crept up her neck and onto the demon slayer's face. She grasped his hands, pulled his arms away, and whirled around in one swift motion to give Miroku a sound slap across the cheek.
"You perverted monk!"
She had the attention of the strangers in the room, but did not care. She quickly stood and moved to the other side of the room, away from groping hands. Miroku gave her a cheeky grin as she glanced his way, one of his hands rubbing the rather large red mark on his face.
Kagome had continued treating Yusuke during the whole outburst while not at all reacting to the two of them. She had seen almost the exact scene far too many times for it to actually get a reaction out of her. In fact, the exchange between monk and slayer had actually been beneficial because during that time Yusuke had been focused on them instead of the pain she was causing, making her job simpler.
It took a few minutes, but then Kagome declared Yusuke was good to go. He had not suffered as many cuts as Kuwabara nor had he had many shards of glass still lodged in him. With the need of just a few small bandages, he was then no longer at the mercy of Kagome.
Yusuke stood and grabbed his shirt that Kagome had commanded he take off once he started cooperating somewhat. While pulling it on, he asked, "so where the hell is this place? Everything's different. And why did we end up here?"
The first question was open for anyone to answer, but the second he directed at his companion as he plopped down next to him. Kagome was not sure how exactly to answer so instead occupied herself by pulling Shippo onto her lap. Inuyasha was still sulking about helping the strangers in the first place and displayed his stubbornness by remaining quiet all throughout the talk. Sango glanced at Miroku.
"How am I supposed to know where? I didn't plan this! It's not like—" Kuwabara began.
Before he could go on, Miroku interrupted. "I don't think it's a question of where you are, but when you are." The monk glanced at Kagome as he spoke as though seeking the approval and seeing if his assumption was correction.
She gave a small nod in response. Yes, she was sure of it now more than ever. She knew where, or rather when, it was they came from, not only because of their clothes, but because of their manners and attitudes too. The question, and an important one too, was how? And why had they been falling from the sky?
"Whaddya mean?" Yusuke asked.
Sango was the one to answer. "You're in the Feudal Era now."
Their faces must have betrayed their ignorance since Kagome added, "five hundred years in the past."
Shocked was an understatement. Yusuke would have been less surprised if a giant hole suddenly appeared beneath him and swallowed him whole. Surprise, annoyance, anger, dread… all those feelings and more swept through him. How the hell could this have happened?
"Five hundred years? Five hundred years?" Yusuke gave Kuwabara a hard shove. "Nice going, you idiot!"
One of his hands curled into a fist that Kuwabara banged into the floor. "I was trying to stop it from happening! We were just sent too far back!"
Damn, why? Why had that demon sent them back and why five hundred years? Was it a mistake? If he had no intention of helping Kuwabara, it made no sense to send them anywhere at all. It could have been a mistake… maybe he had been trying to help and made a mistake… Or he wanted to get them out of the way.
Yusuke glanced at Kuwabara and saw the obvious agonizing and torment his friend was going through. He gritted his teeth, but let his anger with his friend slid away. For now.
He fell backward to let his back rest against the wall with a clank, letting out a heavy breath. And as Yusuke became slightly less irritated, he suddenly remembered something important. "What about Kurama and Hiei? Did they get sent back too?"
"They had to. They were right there."
"You guys aren't making much sense," Kagome informed them. "But if you're looking for anyone else, I didn't see anyone else falling." She looked around at her friends and most of them shook their heads. No one had seen anyone else descending from the sky; that was something they were unlikely to forget.
"Doesn't sound too good for your friends though," Shippo chipped in.
The two strangers glanced at him and Sango clarified by saying, "if they came here the same way you did, being unconscious in a demon-infested land, their chances are slim."
A sudden sly, partially amused half-smile appeared on Yusuke's face. "They can handle themselves."
Hesitant for the first time, Kagome spoke. "I might know a possible way for you to go back to your time…"
But that was only if the well worked for them. It was choosy enough as it was, only letting Kagome and Inuyasha pass freely through. But since these strangers were from the time the well led to, would it allow them passage?
"There's a… portal back to our time."
She felt the glare and did not need to look to know it came from a certain hanyou. It was obvious he did not like or trust these strangers. Telling them such valuable information as the fact that there was a passage to Kagome's time… He was not pleased.
When Yusuke questioned her when she stated "our time", Shippo gave the boy his best I'm-smarter-than-you look (he'd been practicing). "Well, duh! Look at how funny she's dressed!"
"Hey!" Kagome cried indignantly, glaring down at the kitsune in her lap.
He smiled sheepishly and began petting his own tail out of nervous habit. "Sorry, Kagome. But you do dress funny."
"Anyway," Kuwabara announced as he tried to get back on topic. "We can't leave without finding Kurama first."
"And Hiei," added Yusuke while giving Kuwabara a hard stare.
"…And the shrimp." His voice seemed tight as he spoke. As though sensing the curious and suspicious glances from their hosts, Kuwabara then more lightheartedly said, "But do we have to?"
Kagome bounced to her feet, startling the rest of them, though mostly Shippo, who slid off her lap with a yelp. In the corner of the room leaned a bow that she grabbed. "Alright, what are we waiting for!"
Golden eyes narrowed as Inuyasha, though probably dreading the answer, asked, "what're you up to…?"
She winked and stuck her tongue out at him simultaneously, to which he rolled his eyes. Then she spun to face Yusuke and Kuwabara as she held up two of her fingers on her right hand. "We have two more angels to find!"
While Inuyasha muttered something along the lines of, "would you stop calling them angels?", Yusuke stood, shaking his head.
"No."
Kagome dropped her hand and confusion swept over her; her face was covered in it. "Eh? Why?"
Kuwabara followed Yusuke's lead and stood, though he seemed just as lost as the girl. "Urameshi…"
He ignored him. "Thanks for the help, but we can handle this on our own," Yusuke told her.
Kagome lips tugged downward into a frown. "But…"
Inuyasha rose from his Indian style position on the floor and stood in front of Kagome. He met the eyes of the dark-haired stranger, annoyance clear in his amber ones. "Feh, they don't want our help, don't offer. Let 'em go."
She and Sango had helped them, she had healed them, and Kagome even offered their help. And if they had accepted, Inuyasha might have helped, if only for Kagome's sake. But if they were that ungrateful, Inuyasha would not have Kagome plead for them to accept their assistance.
Their eyes were locked and something passed between the two—an understanding of sorts. Then Yusuke gave a slight nod to the demon before exiting the hut without a word. Kuwabara opened his mouth as though to say something, but closed it after a moment. He gave several attempts but seemed to have nothing to say except a heartfelt thank you to Kagome before he followed in the trail of his comrade silently.
Yusuke was quite a distance away by the time Kuwabara left the hut and the orange-haired boy jogged to catch up with his friend. Kuwabara grabbed his arm when he reached him and spun him around.
"What was up with that, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked angrily. "That was rude. They helped us and all. And they know this place better than we do! How do you even expect to find Kurama and Hiei?"
Yusuke tugged his arm away and met his angry gaze. "Look, we involved them enough already. It's our problem, we can't drag 'em into it. They don't know where our friends are so they can't help. And I personal don't wanna have to look after them."
Although Sango seemed as though she could hold her own in a fight and probably the dog-eared one too, he did not want to be responsible for them. He and Kuwabara were strong enough to hold their own without the aid of anyone else.
Kuwabara resolve faltered. "I guess your right…"
Yusuke shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking again. He offered Kuwabara a cocky half-smile. "What do we have to worry about anyway? Except for a few stray demons, they should all be locked up in the Makai, right? We'll be fine on our own."
Kuwabara glanced backward toward the hut and saw with some surprise that Kagome stood by the door with the fox child on her shoulder. He gave a slight, halfhearted wave, but turned to follow Yusuke once more.
It would all be alright. He would just keep telling himself it and maybe one day, it would actually become true.
The night was quiet as it often was in the Feudal Era. Only hushed sounds met their ears. The soft rustling of a sleeping bag; sharp snaps as small animals crept through the woods around them; the trickling of a stream nearby, as well as a few crickets chirping. Crickets…
Bug spray. Darn, Kagome knew she forgot something when she came back! And with all the chaos, she had totally forgotten about it until now. It wasn't too bad when she was sleeping in Kaede's hut or in one of the villages when Miroku used his talents to get them housing at the finest house in the area, but out in the open like she was now… ugh, those annoying biting bugs!
She swatted one near her face away and beside her Shippo stirred in his sleep. She halted her movement instantly as to not disturb the kitsune. They had had a rough day; after all the excitement with the two strangers, Inuyasha had announced that it was time to go hunting for shards of the jewel, surprise, surprise. When Kagome had begun protesting—she had slightly overexerted herself when healing the boy, Kazuma, though she would not admit that to Inuyasha—Inuyasha got angry and said they had wasted enough time when she was back in her own era. So without another complaint, the group had set off and had a rather tiresome day after having to fight a demon that crossed their path.
She wondered if Yusuke and Kazuma had had a rough day too. She had thought it would be too dangerous for them to be out on their own, though Sango had eased her mind by telling her they were not ordinary humans, or in the very least, Yusuke was not. She had seen Yusuke emit some strange power from his body and defeat a demon easily. That had stopped some of her worrying. At least they could take care of themselves.
Still, she could not stop herself from wondering aloud, "I wonder if those two are alright…"
Inuyasha grunted in response. Although he appeared asleep as he leaned against a nearby tree, sword clutched in his hand, she knew he was not. "Tch, don't waste your breath on those two. Who cares what happens to them?"
"They'll have to come back eventually," Miroku assured her and she relaxed slightly. "They need you to get home, Kagome."
"I guess…"
With a sigh, she shifted onto her side as she pulled the sleeping bag so that it covered her shoulders. Her eyes closed when she yawned and she did not have the strength to open them once more… until she felt an alert sound inside her.
Her eyes shot open and she sat up so quickly, she almost knocked Shippo away. He woke with a start and began to speak, but Inuyasha beat him to it.
"What's wrong?" he questioned urgently.
She jumped to her feet and grabbed her bow. Her head snapped to the side and she met Inuyasha's gaze. "There's something with a shard coming this way. And fast."
Sango had sat up when Kagome did, but now both she and Kirara were on their feet, ready for action. Miroku used his staff to help himself up and although there were dark circles under his eyes, he was entirely alert.
Inuyasha unsheathed his sword and it immediately transformed. A wicked smile played across his lips. "Bring it on."
Kagome could sense the demon coming closer still until all were able to hear and feel the earth shake like thunder beneath them. It was charging straight for the group and it only gained more speed when it spotted them. With malicious intents in mind, the demon's attention turned toward the sword and its wielder instantly.
Without stopping, the demon dashed right at Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked and swung at the demon, but to his amazement, Tetsusaiga only bounced off the demon's skin with a loud clink. The demon then rammed full bodily into Inuyasha and sent his flying backward until he finally slammed into a tree.
The two-headed dragon demon watched Inuyasha as he eased himself back onto his feet. The youkai stood on its hindmost paws while its two lengthy arms draped down from its center, one clenched into a challenging fist. Wings were folded along its scaly back that fluttered slightly as it moved forward, toward Inuyasha.
In one fluid motion, Inuyasha leapt up while grabbing his sword and attacked again. The demon met the attack with one of its thick claws that grabbed the blade. They, too, remained undamaged; an impressive feat.
Kagome had her arrow aimed and released it as the demon pushed Inuyasha's sword away. It met its mark but it was deflected easily off its body, much to Kagome shock, especially when the demon hardly reacted as though it were the smallest of nuisances. Sango tried her luck next with her hiraikotsu, and although it forced a groan out of the demon, it ricocheted off its side. The scales of the demon were just too durable for their attacks to breach its defense.
The dragon's tail flailed out and tripped both Sango and Miroku, sending them to the ground. Kirara ran forward to clamp her teeth down in its side, but had to almost immediately pull away. She would sooner crack her teeth than penetrate the dragon demon's natural armor.
While the demon defended itself against Inuyasha's attacks, it kept only one head focused on him. The other was winding its way around, eyes exploring this way and that. One eye's gaze slid over Kagome and she gasped as she felt the shards around her neck pulse against her skin. Its head turned toward her sharply as another pulse ran through her.
Its lips pulled back to reveal its teeth, glistening as salvia dripped from its mouth. A low hiss met her ears and she slowly began reaching back for an arrow… too late.
Its body was turned and in mid-leap before she could grope for an arrow. Her gaze followed it upward and she shrunk away, squeezing her eyes shut as it shadow engulfed her.
"Wind Scar!"
One eye squeezed open after a long pause and the other quickly followed as Kagome saw the two sizzling halves of the demon plop down to opposite sides of the ground with Inuyasha standing behind it. The demon had been split right in half. Her left hand rose to her chest as she contained her heart from leaping out of her body.
"That was a close one," she muttered to herself. Wild eyes looked accusingly at the hanyou. "Did you have to wait so long!"
"Can't you be at all thankful?" he shot back.
He let Tetsusaiga rest in its hilt after forcing it in with a sharp jab. He was left muttering about annoying women who didn't know when praise was due as he turned his back to her and the others. Big mistake.
Both sides of the demon began shuddering violently and the open, bloodied flesh bubbled and shifted. Kagome yelled for Inuyasha as she fumbled for an arrow. Her hand met with air at first until she finally felt the familiar feeling of feathers. She grasped it and heard Inuyasha swear, all the while watching as the two separate corpses came alive into demons.
She strung the bow with speed that only came with practice and aimed higher than she had before. The arrow whizzed out of her hands and flew toward her target, the rightmost demon's eyes. It would have been the perfect shot. The demon had no knowledge of the arrow's threat, but as Inuyasha attacked from in front, it dodged and moved out of the arrow's unalterable path.
The demon's thick fingers grabbed onto the sword and as Inuyasha was forced into a battle of strengths, the dragon jerked its head down and bit down into the hanyou's shoulder. The sword was forced to drop from his hand and blood gushed down his arm and into the demon's mouth as a harsh, unpleasant sound escaped Inuyasha. With its now free hand, the demon smashed it into Inuyasha and sent him flying, tearing a chunk out of his shoulder in the meantime.
The dragon demon took a step toward where Inuyasha had fallen, but reared its head and body up as blue flames danced in front of his face, attacking him. Not long after Shippo had launched himself at his face and beat against it as Kagome grabbed and gave a hard yank to the demon's tail to keep it distracted.
Though Kagome could hear Sango and the others struggling against the second half of the demon, she could spare no time to glance at them—which was rather unfortunate. A scaly arm came from behind and wound itself around her waist, lifting her off the ground. Surprised, the bow dropped out of her hand, but her recovery was quick and she was flailing about while in its grasp. She only paused once to marvel at the demon as it spread its single wing that stretched itself and lifted the two into the air.
Inuyasha immediately leapt to his feet, though obviously in pain since his left hand gripped his shoulder tightly. His claw tightened its grip and he turned his head sharply.
"Sango! Go—"
"Already ahead of you." The demon slayer's response was curt as she rushed by on Kirara, taking to the air. "You and Miroku handle this one."
Sango kept her body low against Kirara as her neko friend gained more speed. The demon glanced back only once and after seeing its unwelcome follower, it sped forward. Sango gripped Kirara tighter with one hand while the other readied her weapon. With a powerful swing she let her hiraikotsu fly through the air toward the demon, wishing it speed and accuracy.
The demon knocked it away as though it were merely a child's toy, much to the slayer's annoyance. Then abruptly the demon lost its speed; so abruptly, in fact, that Kirara could not slow to match it in time. The demon was upon them without a moment's notice and swiped at Kirara's head.
The blow caused the neko to flip and the surprised Sango slipped off of Kirara with a startled cry. Kirara was tossed aimlessly away and too dazed to do anything about it.
"Sango!" Kagome yelled as her friend spiraled downward into the forest below.
Furious, yet determined, Kagome wriggled one of her arms free of confinement. Her hand shot angrily back and grabbed one of her arrows. The demon paid her no heed.
With both hands, she dug the point into the demon's arm, summoning not only her physically, but also spiritually strength without realizing it. Within all logic, it should not have penetrated the scales, but it did. The point imbedded itself deeply within, going far past the surface.
The demon let out a ferocious roar as a pink light played like fire around the arrow and the skin around it. The dragon started toward the ground and when it was within a few feet, it tossed Kagome to the ground. She tucked her arms and legs close to her and rolled as she hit the grass.
Her arms tingled as they took most of the beating and she quickly tried to get to her feet when she stopped moving, but the demon's tail suddenly walloped into her chest and she was forced flat onto her back.
She raised herself up on her elbows shakily and saw the demon standing above her. A meaty arm lifted and she cringed, waiting to be struck… but the blow never came.