Happy Holidays everyone! Here's my present to all; I know it's a short chapter, but I am hoping to finish the next one soon. Maybe before New Years. Who's to say. With that, onto the story!

Kuranosuke's cries for Miroku's death spur the soldiers into action. Sango stands back to back with Miroku, both of them holding their own against the human soldiers. Miroku sweeps his staff through a line of men, none of their blades connecting with their target as he dodges around the flailing swords. Sango's body screams for her to take it easy, yet her adrenaline has her ignoring the pain as she thrusts the hilt of her sword painfully against the exposed lower back of a nearby soldier. She knocks the sword from his hand and uses the flat of it to knock him unconscious. Only one thought flows through her mind. Only one thing keeps her on her feet. She cannot let Kuranosuke win. She won't go back to him. Not again. Side by side with Miroku, she fights, her determination shimmering in her fierce eyes. She chokes a soldier, using his momentum to kick another man to the ground. She doesn't want to kill any more men, and yet some of these soldiers aren't giving her much of a choice. They fight to kill; Sango and Miroku fight to live.

The soldiers keep coming for the couple; they are forced to follow orders, and they follow them well. They manage to separate Miroku from the slayer, surrounding him instantly. His staff spawns misery for a few of those soldiers, but his concern isn't for himself. It is for Sango. He can tell her body is weakening. She takes cheap shots to knock as many men out with little effort. Sweat clings to her skin, her hands tremble on the hilt of her sword, swinging the flat of her blade into as many soldiers as she can. Were they not in a life-or-death situation, Miroku would be proud of her humanity.

With his attention on Sango, Miroku misses a soldier coming up behind him, bashing his knees in with a sickening sound. Miroku drops like a rock, his hands clenched tightly to his staff, whirling it over his head as the soldier goes in for the finishing blow. Miroku's staff catches the man in the neck, startling him enough that another strike knocks the soldier out. It isn't until a third man hits Miroku square in the back that he loses grip on his staff and he leans forward on his hands, grimacing in pain.

Sango sees Miroku on the ground, and a shrill cry slips from her lips. She tries to shove her way through soldiers, slicing them down when they get in her way. Suddenly, a blade is upon her, digging into her throat as she is dragged back against a hard body in an immaculate white coat. Kuranosuke puts a knife to her throat, yanking her away from Miroku by her hair. His eyes are wild with insanity, and yet his grip is solid, and tense with rage.

"Let her go!" Miroku shouts, jumping to his feet swiftly. The soldiers all point their swords at Miroku as Kuranosuke presses the blade into Sango's skin and Miroku freezes. The sight of her crimson blood leaking down her pale throat has Miroku in a panic. His rage hollers for him to kill the man, and yet his pragmatic mind tells him to stand still. He can't lose her. Not again.

"If you move, she dies. Do you understand me?"

"You won't get away with this," Sango rasps, but the cold metal dagger tells her otherwise. Tears fill her eyes and her body sags with exhaustion as fear consumes her. Not fear for herself, though. For Miroku. There's no way Kuranosuke will let him live.

"Kill him," Kuranosuke spits, Sango screams, and the men go in for the kill. With a ferocious roar, Miroku releases a barrier, hurling the soldiers across the clearing. In the span of five seconds, Miroku gains the upper hand, yet when he spins to face Kuranosuke and Sango, they are gone. Just gone. The forest around them is empty, and all that is left in Sango's place is her sword. A range of emotions sweep through Miroku, and he drops to his knees, howling in pain as they ravage his body. He lost her. Again.

"Miroku!" Kagome's sweet, concerned, cry fills his ears, but he doesn't reply. His hands clench tightly to fists before he slams them to the ground, beating the dirt over and over again even as his knuckles bleed, "Miroku, stop! What happened?" Kagome grabs his hands, holding his arms as she looks in his distraught violet eyes. Miroku can barely meet her gaze, and yet what she saw is enough. She knows what happened. Her eyes follow his to Kilala's small, broken, form and she cries out, running to the demon cat. Kilala mews lightly, letting Kagome know she's all right even if she is wounded. Kagome picks her up, stroking her fur delicately as Shippo hops on the priestess' shoulder to assess his feline friend.

"Which direction did they go?" Inuyasha growls from behind Miroku. All the monk can do is shrug. Inuyasha wanders the clearing, avoiding dead or unconscious soldiers looking for the spot of Sango's blood he knows is there. He can smell the copper tinge of her blood and the salty bitterness of her tears. There's also the obsessively acrid sweat that Kuranosuke reeks of.

"This way…" Inuyasha calls out as Miroku jumps to his feet, urgency and rage fueling the fires within him. Kagome hops on Inuyasha's back with Kilala and Shippo while Miroku follows on their heels, each step filling him with newfound determination. He will save Sango no matter what.

...

Lord Sesshomaru's head lifts to the sky, his elegant eyes narrowing to slits. The wind blows the scent of burnt fur, blood, and tears to his sensitive nose, yet it is the subject matter that bothers him.

"Kohaku…" his deep voice follows the wind and quickly draws the attention of his young companion, "You need to get to the lord's castle," Kohaku's eyes spark with fear before narrowing with determination. His young jaw ticks as he clenches his teeth, leaping off the adjacent cliff, and sliding down boulders and branches with a ferocity that Sesshomaru has never seen. There is only one thing on Kohaku's mind. Only one thought that consumes his every being.

"I'm going to kill that man…"

Again, Happy Holidays! I will see you all next week!