Hi all! I apologize that this chapter is a week late. I had a super busy week and got a bit sidetracked. I'm back now with Chapter 6, though!

Thank you so much, to all of you who reviewed! To reviewer Stella I hope my story does somewhat resemble "Spindle's End." It ought to, considering that both stories are based on the same fairy-tale of Sleeping Beauty. I'm doing my best, however, to make sure that this story is it's own creation and not unduly like Spindle's End, or any other Sleeping Beauty adaptation. Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha & friends. I also don't own Inuyasha & enemies. I also don't own Inuyasha & passing acquaintances. I also don't own...

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Chapter 7: Surprise Attack

Miroku allowed Kagome to drag him out of the room, but as soon as they were out of Inuyasha's sight, he surged ahead. "What's the hurry?" Kagome asked, surprised to find herself being dragged now.

"If we hurry, Inuyasha might not follow us," explained the monk. "He's a great guy, but if he comes along he's sure to ruin all the fun."

Kagome nodded, imagining having to haul around a sulking Inuyasha. Miroku smiled, imagining something totally different. He continued to lead Kagome at a brisk pace until they were out of the house and several streets away.

"I think we're safe now," he told her cheerfully. "Now, we didn't get to introduce ourselves properly before. My name is Miroku. I am Inuyasha's companion and advisor." He gave Kagome a bow.

Kagome returned the bow, smiling. "My name is Kagome. I'm a priestess in training," she told him.

"Ah, a priestess in training," Miroku mused. He'd wondered how Inuyasha had convinced a priestess to travel with anyone of demon blood. Perhaps the fact that she was still in training explained it. He'd think on it more later. Right now....he grabbed both of Kagome's hands. "Lady Kagome, would you do me the honor..."

"Oh, it's perfect!" Kagome interrupted him, nearly squealing with delight. Miroku found himself nearly jerked off his feet as Kagome hurried towards a nearby merchant stall, pulling him along. She released his hand upon entering the stall, and Miroku gingerly rotated his shoulder and arm, feeling the abused muscles twinge. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked him, holding up a length of cloth. Miroku forced himself to smile and nod, and keep his thoughts to himself.

The shopkeeper soon noticed Kagome, and the two began haggling over a price for the cloth. Miroku sidled up behind Kagome, and started to reach out, but then his arm gave a particularly painful twinge, and he retracted it. He was about to make another attempt when something Kagome was saying grabbed his attention.

"You can charge it to Prince Inuyasha. He staying at the Matsuno residence tonight."

"Prince Inuyasha? The Prince Inuyasha?" questioned the merchant.

"That's right!" Kagome answered brightly. "He's on a quest to gather sacred jewel shards, and I'm going to be helping him."

"Oh I see," said the merchant. "I'll just wrap this up for you."

"Thank you!"

Miroku grabbed Kagome's arm and pulled her out of the stall. "What do you think you are doing, telling him that Inuyasha is here?" he hissed at her. "He doesn't want people to know who he is!"

"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that." Kagome said with a hint of gleeful malice. "But he's the one who dragged me away without letting me gather any supplies or money to buy them with, so he's just going to have to deal with me telling his name to a few people. Footing the bill is the least he can do." Kagome ended with a firm nod of the head.

The shopkeeper emerged from his stall, and Kagome moved to gather up the paper-wrapped package he carried. Watching her, Miroku shuddered. Inuyasha's name would be all over town within the hour. He wondered how many pieces Inuyasha would tear him into.

Miroku spent a few moments more in this vein of thought, then suddenly shrugged and turned philosophical. If he was going to die so soon, he might as well enjoy his last few moments! He sauntered after Kagome, staying far enough back that he could enjoy watching as she walked.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Kagome grinned to herself in triumph. Miroku hadn't put up nearly as much resistance as she'd thought he would to her method of revenge on Inuyasha. It was sure to get him in trouble with the Prince, but he was blithely ignoring the fact, following her around with a small smile on his face. Maybe he was in shock? Kagome turned around to look at him, but he didn't seem to be displaying any signs of it. He saw her looking and gave her a little wave. She turned back around and frowned a bit. No, he didn't seem to be in shock, but still, it would explain his odd behavior. He'd been following around behind her since the first stall, instead of keeping pace like a person would normally do. Every time she slowed down so he could catch up, he slowed too. It was definitely puzzling behavior, and Kagome didn't know what to make of it.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Miroku was fully enjoying himself. Sweet innocent Kagome didn't seem to understand at all what he was doing. It was rare that Miroku found himself with such a delicious opportunity. Usually women caught onto him right away. He and Kagome made their way down the long row of stalls that composed the market street, and were now close to the edge of town. As Kagome headed towards the last booth, Miroku shifted the various packages he was carrying to leave one hand free. It was time to go in for the kill, he decided. She'd never know what hit her. He smiled in anticipation.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Kagome moved around the booth in a systematic manner, looking at all the wares set out for display. She moved to the outside of the booth to examine some of the fine cloths hung on the outside wall, Miroku following along behind her as usual. Kagome could sense the open forest behind her, and she reflected that it was nice to be here on the edge of town, where it was less busy and more like the life she knew. She smiled and bent over to admire the beautiful trim woven into one of the fabrics hung on the wall.

Suddenly, Kagome felts something rubbing against her backside. In an instant, Kagome realized what she had failed to understand before, the real reason why Miroku had been following along behind her all day. Furious, she wheeled around, ready to knock the stupid pervert into the next century or worse.

Her blow missed. Mostly because Miroku was not actually behind her, but several feet above. A long green tentacle held him in the air, wrapping around his body and over his mouth so he couldn't scream. Kagome managed to get out a small scream before another nearby tentacle wrapped her up in a similar manner.

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Inuyasha's ears perked at the distant sound of Kagome's scream. It was quite a bit later than Inuyasha had imagined it would be. Usually Miroku was much quicker in trying to take advantage of pretty girls. His smile changed into a frown, though, as the scream was cut short. That was definitely off. Usually once a girl started screaming and yelling at Miroku, they went on for quite awhile. Inuyasha felt a twinge of concern, and decided to go investigate.

He wasn't too worried until he got outside, and noticed the various lengths of green tentacle waving over the rooftops, swinging about everything from a wheelbarrow to a madding flapping chicken, to several humans. Inuyasha squinted his eyes, and sure enough, there were Kagome and Miroku among the bunch being held aloft.

"Just my luck," he grumbled to himself before taking off in the direction of the fight.

Inuyasha arrived at the edge of town, and could finally get a good full view of the attacking creature. It was a large, blobby green demon with what seemed like thousands of tentacles sprouting from the main body. It was surrounded by a ring of villiagers, most of whom were sporting nothing better than a pitchfork by way of defense.

"Everybody move back!" he commanded, drawing Tetsusaiga at the same time. The villagers just stared at him at first, but seemed suitably impressed when they saw the blade transform. They drew back, giving him a clean opening to the monster.

With a cry, Inuyasha rushed forward and leapt towards the thrashing limbs of the beast. One by one he cut down the tentacles holding his friends and the villagers. Other tentacles followed his every move, trying at every turn to wrap him up as neatly as they'd done the others.

He slashed through the limb that had caught Kagome and then rushed to catch her as she was suddenly released. Various tentacles were instantly trained on the spot where he caught her, and he leapt to the side, avoiding the rush of green, suckered flesh. He moved Kagome to an area outside of the fray, and gently set her down.

"Thanks," she told him, nearly breathless. He moved to join the battle again, but she caught his sleeve, holding him back. "It has jewel shards!" she told him.

"Where?!?" he exclaimed eagerly.

"On the main body, right above the mouth!"

"Thanks!" Inuyasha rushed back to the fight, suddenly much more eager and determined. He arrived just in time to save Miroku from a side blow by a tentacle. "Kagome says this one has a jewel shard!" he informed the monk.

"Really?" said Miroku, surprised. He'd had no idea the girl was powerful enough to sense sacred jewel shards. "That's great!"

They fought back to back a moment, fending off tentacles. Then Inuyasha was off again, aiming his attacks at the main body. After a few moments he began growling in frustration. With so many tentacles attacking him, it was nearly impossible to reach the center of the creature. Suddenly a glowing arrow streaked by him and imbedded itself in a nearby tentacle. Another arrow hit an attacking green limb on the other side, and suddenly his way to the main body was clear. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he rushed forward. Within moments the creature was neatly sliced in half.

The green mass lie quivering, various tentacles still twitching about. Inuyasha turned to Kagome and motioned her forward. "Hurry, before it regenerates!" he urged her.

Kagome slung her borrowed bow across her back and moved swiftly towards the half with the creature's mouth. Gingerly avoiding the gaping hole lined with teeth, she reached up and plucked the jewel shard from out of the monster's flesh. The effect was immediate, as the creature turned to dust in seconds, and the wind began blowing it away.

"Whew!" commented Kagome, wiping her brow. "Thank goodness you came," she told Inuyasha, handing him the jewel shard.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Naraku peered intently at the scene unfolding in Kanna's mirror, watching as the demon he'd sent battled with Inuyasha and the villagers. He didn't really expect the creature to win, but he wanted to see how Inuyasha was coming along. After all, if the boy got too strong, he might be a threat to Naraku's plans. He nodded his head as the battle drew to a close. Inuyasha had grown in power since he'd last observed the half-demon, but he was still far from being a true threat. Naraku was turning away when he felt a sudden jolt run through his entire frame. Whirling around, he peered back at the mirror. "The jewel shard, Kanna! Focus on the jewel shard!" The strange white girl complied, and the scene in the mirror drew down to focus on the area where the tainted jewel shard had lain. It was tainted no more, having been picked up by a young priestess. Naraku recalled seeing her shoot some purifying arrows during the battle, but he'd had no idea the girl was so powerful.

As the scene drew in further to focus on the young woman's face, Naraku suddenly began laughing. "Well, well, well, it seems the lost has been found," he gloated. "I wonder if Queen Higurashi knows that her darling little Princess Kikyo is traveling with Inuyasha, and actually hunting jewel shards!"

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Thanks all for reading! I hope you liked it! If you've got a moment, please drop a line and let me know what you think!

Thanks all!

-Silvanon