Ch. 96- Urn Grubs


Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi


'It looks like we made it just in time,' thought Inuyasha as he stared down at Miroku, who panted quietly in an attempt to hide his relief. Truthfully, the monk was never happier to see the half-demon than he was at that moment. At first, he thought that maybe he had imagined him...but no, here he was, standing at the edge of the crater with his sword against his shoulder.

'He never ceases to amaze me...' thought Miroku while Inuyasha growled.

"Miroku, you idiot," he snarled. "I ought to-"

"Miroku!"

Before he could go into his rant, Inuyasha was suddenly pushed aside by Kagome and Shippo, who ran to Miroku's side.

"K...Kagome...Shippo..." Miroku whispered.

"Why did you leave so suddenly?!" asked Shippo. "And without saying something first!"

"What were you thinking, Miroku?!" Kagome questioned. "Do you have any idea how badly you worried us?!"

Kirara and Sango, after mowing down several demons, landed on the ground near the pit.

"Miroku, are you all right?!" Sango asked.

"You...you're all here," said Miroku. "You were actually worried for me?"

'And...did Sango just call me by name...?!'

"Of course, we were worried!" Kagome answered. "We're your friends, Miroku! I thought you knew that by now!"

Miroku's eyes went wide. All this time, he didn't realize just how much he meant to the others...and yet, they were all here, worried for his safety. Even Inuyasha, who usually seemed distant and hardy, came looking for him.

"Inuyasha, don't just sit there, staring!" Kagome called. "Say something!"

"As if!" Inuyasha spat. "You know I don't say that kinda mushy stuff!" He then looked away, grumbling under his breath. "Besides, you guys pretty much said it for me..."

"Who dares trespass onto my sacred temple?!"

Inuyasha turned to see Mushin, carrying a giant string of sutra beads over his left shoulder and another horde of demons behind him. As for Miroku, he gasped as he tried to get to his feet, but alas, his strength waned, forcing Hachi to try and help him.

"I won't tolerate such outrage!" Mushin shouted. "I'll exorcize you, dog demon!"

"So...you must be the one called Mushin," said Inuyasha as he held the Tetsusaiga over his shoulders. "Go on and try it if you can!"

"W-wait!" Miroku cried, causing Inuyasha to glance back at him. "Inuyasha, please...whatever you do, I beg of you, don't kill him!"

"Heheheh..." Mushin chuckled. "That's right. You'd be wise not to kill me. After all, I'm the one who raised Miroku after his father died."

Inuyasha growled in his throat, clutching the hilt of his sword. "Damn...fine then! I'll go easy on you this time, you old monk!"

On that, he lunged for Mushin, who smirked at him with a bit of a glint in his eye.

"I am most grateful!" the old monk exclaimed as he tossed the giant rosary at Inuyasha, who swung the Tetsusaiga in an attempt to cut through them. Instead, the beads ended up wrapping themselves around the blade, rendering back to its dormant form!

"Oh, no!" Kagome cried.

"The Tetsusaiga's been returned to normal!" Shippo added.

"Allow me to repay you!" Mushin shouted before he coiled the beads around Inuyasha's body, causing him to cry out in pain as he felt a powerful shock, then collapsed on the ground.

"He's down!" shouted one of the demons. "Hurry and kill him before he gets up again!"

Soon, about half the horde already came flying at Inuyasha, who growled as he glared up at them before raising his hand, his knuckles popping as he flexed them.

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!"

Any demons were soon rent to ribbons by the half-demon's mighty claws. Even without the use of the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha was still a force to be reckoned with. There was no way he was going to go down that easily.

"My, my," Mushin mused as he sipped some sake from his jug. "You're certainly a strong one...to be able to fight so hard while being bound by my rosary." He then put his hands together. "However...that won't last very long."

Suddenly, Inuyasha gagged and screamed in pain again as the beads tightened around him, holy energy surging into his body. Nearby, Miroku could only seethe in frustration. His friend needed his help, but here he was, lying here, weak and exhausted. If he could just figure out what it was that was possessing the monk who raised him, maybe that would give them an advantage!

"Inuyasha, no!" Kagome cried in horror before she glared at Mushin. "Stop it! Let him go!"

"You're next, girl..." Mushin hissed...causing whatever was inside to slither out of his mouth, once again.

"What the...?!" Kagome whispered in shock. "What's that?! In the monk's mouth?!"

"It can't be...urn grubs!"

"Huh?" Kagome muttered before she looked down at her right shoulder and saw Myoga sitting there. "Myoga, it's you!"

"The monk's soul is being possessed by those demons!" Myoga cried. "It's the only explanation for his odd behavior!"

"Is there a way for him to be saved?!" Miroku asked, hastily. There had to be a way to save Mushin...otherwise the small wound on the Wind Tunnel wouldn't be mended, and Miroku didn't even want to think about what would happen if it was left alone for too long.

"There must be a charmer nearby," said Myoga. "He's the one who commands the grubs. If you can take the urn from him and point it toward the monk! The grubs should release his body and return to the pot!"

"Got it," Kagome said before she jumped out of the crater. "Let's go, Myoga!"

"What?!" Myoga questioned. "Why me, too?!"

"Kagome!" Miroku cried as he attempted to reach out and grab her, only to wince in pain as he looked at his right hand. "Dammit...!"

"GRAAAH!" Inuyasha roared as he kept slashing his claws at the demons, tearing them apart whenever they got close. However, he panted heavily as his body wavered a bit, showing his fatigue. The fact that the beads were still wrapped around his body wasn't helping matters.

'Just hang on, Inuyasha!' thought Kagome. 'Just hold tight!'

"Kagome!" Sango called as she and Kirara joined her side, the latter holding a demon's head in her mouth. "I've cleared the skies of most of the demons, but they still keep coming! What's Inuyasha doing?!"

"The monk put a rosary on him and it's sapping his strength!" Kagome answered. "The monk's been possessed by urn grubs, so we need to find the charmer and get the pot from him!"

"I understand!" Sango nodded. "Let's look together!"

"Thank goodness you came, Sango!" Myoga exclaimed as he hopped on her shoulder.

"...Are you saying you don't feel safe with me?" Kagome asked, incredulously. "That's cold, you know!"

Meanwhile, inside the temple, the urn grub charmer sat hidden within one of the storage rooms, muttering something inside the urn that he was holding...but then, all of a sudden, the room was suddenly filled with a cloud of smoke, causing him to cry out in shock as he covered his mouth. As the demon looked up, he gasped as he barely managed to dodge an arrow that was flying at him.

"There he is!" shouted Sango, wearing his metal mask while Kagome wore a cloth mask over her mouth, reaching into her quiver to pull out another arrow.

Sensing that he had been caught, the charmer turned and fled.

"It'll be more trouble if he's running around the temple!" Sango shouted. "Let's go, Kagome!"

"Right!" Kagome nodded before she followed after the slayer.

XXX

Back outside, Inuyasha panted as he found himself on his knees, the shredded bodies of demons lying at his feet.

"Dammit...!" he cursed. "These beads...are sapping my strength...!"

"Well, it seems you've weakened quite a bit, now," Mushin said as he stumbled away from the temple porch, chuckling menacingly. As for Miroku, he grunted as he tried to pull himself out of the crater, but he still groaned as he collapsed on the ground, his body heavy and his breathing ragged.

"This is bad!" Shippo cried. "Inuyasha's not gonna last much longer!"

"If only I could just...pick myself up...!" Miroku groaned.

"It's over," Mushin said as he put his hands together, once again. "This time, the beads will tighten on you so much, your head will pop off!"

Inuyasha glared at the monk...then, to Mushin's surprise, he actually managed to spring up to his feet and lunge for him, again!

"Don't count on it, monk!" he yelled before he caught Mushin's throat in his hand, causing him to gag. "Gotcha!"

"Urrgh...guh...!" Mushin croaked as he struggled to get away, but even then, Inuyasha's grasp was very tight.

"I've held back on you only because Miroku asked me to," Inuyasha growled, "but now, I'm gonna snap your neck in two!"

"Go ahead and kill me if it pleases you!" Mushin taunted. "Just know that if you kill me, there will be no one to heal the wound on the monk's Wind Tunnel!"

Inuyasha gasped silently before he glanced back at Miroku, who panted heavily as he tried to stand, only to collapse on the ground, once again. In his shock, the half-demon ended up releasing his hold on the old monk...who smirked, malevolently.

"Fool," he said before putting his hands together in prayer, again, causing the rosary to squeeze on Inuyasha again. The half-demon screamed in agony as the spiritual power was sent coursing through him, his demonic energy being sapped right out of him until he finally collapsed on his knees.

"Oh, no! Inuyasha!" Shippo cried out while Miroku gasped in horror.

"Heheheheh..." Mushin laughed as he stood over Inuyasha. "It's over...all of you are going to die, here."

At that moment, there was this flash of ominous light...and not long after, even more demons suddenly appeared from the darkness, all of them screeching and roaring as they charged at the temple!

"AAAH!" Shippo shrieked.

"NOT MORE DEMONS!" yelled Hachi. "WHAT DO WE DO?!"

At the back of the temple, Kagome and Sango, who were busy trying to find the urn grub charmer, also noticed the latest horde of demons.

"Damn! Not again!" Sango cursed.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.

"Oh, crap...!" Inuyasha cursed as he stared at the demons.

"What a shame," said Mushin. "You've no strength left to defeat such a vast army."

Miroku growled in frustration and desperation. Enough was enough. There was no way he was going to go out like this!

Gaining a sudden adrenaline rush, Miroku stood up on his feet...and pulled at the beads that sealed his right hand.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled as he noticed this. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Miroku?! Don't even think about it!"

"Miroku!" Kagome cried from the porch.

"Don't tell me...!" Sango whispered in horror.

"Miroku, no! Don't!" Shippo shouted.

"Wait! No, Master Miroku!" cried Hachi. "If you unseal the Wind Tunnel, now, your wound will make it bigger!"

"I...don't...CARE!" Miroku yelled as he pulled the beads away. "WIND TUNNEL!"

"MIROKU, NO!" Inuyasha shouted...just as the Wind Tunnel opened up, sucking in the horde of demons...and on Miroku's right hand, the tiny cut suddenly split, dripping with blood.


Sorry I took so long with this one.

Review, please!