CHAPTER FOUR: WIND DEMON VS ARI

The six of them walked through the countryside. Ari enjoyed the unbroken, natural landscape that seemed to glimmer with an unearthly attraction under the summer sun. She knew she could go back anytime with Kagome, but she had been looking for a place like this, away from the troubles and hectic of the cities of her time. And since she was here, she decided he's enjoy her vacation in Feudal Japan.

She had taken a liking to the group. Sango, Shippou, Kagome, Miroku – despite his...questionable nature – and even Inu-Yasha. Despite the fact that the time was swarming with demons, it was starting to feel more home to the auburn-haired girl than her own time.

Suddenly,  a gush of wind nearly blasted them off their feet, and a large shadow blocked out the sun. As Ari looked up at the sky, she saw a giant feather hanging there above them. A feather???

A female voice laughed. She could see a figure leaping off the feather and landing before them. The feather magically vanished and reversed to a normal-sized feather.

Inu-Yasha growked. "What do you want, Kagura?"

The woman in front of them had short black hair pulled up in a bun, elegant features, and was wearing a kimono with sakura blossoms stiched on it decoratively. What struck ari most about her were her dark crimson eyes. The woman whom Inu-Yasha had called Kagura smiled evilly. "The same as always, Inu-Yasha. Hand over the shards of the Shikon no Tama."

"Or perish...Yah, we know the routine. Honestly, Kagura, can't you think of a new line that's more, uh, threatening?" Kagome told the wind demon. Kagura froze for an instant. "Well, you know, it's in my contract that I have to say that crappy sentence every time I appear. Maybe I should have read the small print in my contract with Naraku." She sighed. "Anyway, you gonna give me those glass pieces, or not?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Not a chance in hell, wench!"

Kagura smiled again and withdrew a fan from her right sleeve. She held it before her face and let it fall open, revealing the beautifully embroidered silk fabric. "All right then."

Ari felt someone shove her forward. "You said last time you could handle a demon. Here's your chance, woman," Inu-Yasha told her. The fire in his eyes told her he'd rather fight the wind demon himself, but her challenge overruled his fighting insticts.

Ari glanced from Kagura to Inu-Yasha, and calculated the odds. She, with her dull metal iaito, against a wind demon who was using a fighting fan. "Don't worry, I've got you back, Lady Ari," Miroku said and smirked. She whirled around when she felt a hand touching her in...inappropriate spots, and smacked her wooden saya over the monk's head repeatedly until he collapsed on the ground. She hit him once more for good measure.

"Hey, you guys done so we can finally fight? I'm not being paid by the hour, you know," Kagura shouted.

Finally, Ari turned around. "All right, all right!" They moved apart from each other, squaring off. Kagura twirled around her fighting fan. The two women stood there like gunmen waiting for the other to draw. The noon sun glared down at them as they stood there, feet shoulder width apart, glaring at each other. It reminded Kagome of a western. The only thing missing was the dramatic music.

For minutes, neither moved. Until Inu-Yasha shouted, "Get at it, women! We don't have all day!"

Kagura sighed and lunged at Ari. She sidestepped and pushed her saya out to gut the other woman. However, Kagura slid out her fan and slashed outward with it. Ari backed off, but Kagura's slash was fast enough to create a windblade that nearly hit Ari. She turned her body to the left. Instead of slicing her in half, the blow only cut off the sleeve of her kimono. Spinning around, Ari sent a death glare at the wind demoness.

Drawing her iaito, she returned the slash, cutting diagonally upwards. The tip of her iaito caught the billowing hem of Kagura's kimono. The fabric wrapped itself around the blade, and the two women broke out into a tug-o'-war.

"Let go of my kimono!" Kagura yelled.

"You let go of my blade!" Ari shouted back.

"You let go first!"

"Nonsense! You leave my sword alone!"

"BITCH! Let go of me!!!" Kagura screamed.

Inu-Yasha and Miroku leaned against a tree, watching them. As they started their screaming match, the hanyou sighed. "Women. Can't fight." The monk nodded in total agreement. "Yes. But don't they look so cute when they try?"

Inu-Yasha growled. "Don't you ever think of anything else, monk?"

Miroku seemed to think about it. "Uh...No."

The half-demon sighed, until a startled yelp flung him awake.

"Ryuujin no Mai!" Kagura yelled desperately, waving her fan at Ari. Windblades shot out and sliced through the kimono. "Replacing this will cost me a fortune – Naraku's so going to deduct that from my pay," she muttered darkly. "Anyhow, I will see you again, and then..."

"You'll finish us off," the others chorused.

"It's not my fault! It's that freaking contract!" With that, Kagura vanished.

Ari straigthened her kimono again. "That was weird," she said.