A 'counterpunch' is a punch that is thrown in response to a strike from the opponent. It often follows a parry.
This drabble is 400 words.
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Counterpunch
He was going to die. He had suspected it when Naraku had drained him of his demonic energy, leaving only embers to sustain him, but he had seen his death when Kagome walked through the door. He had spent too many of his own early years vying for power not to realize what game Naraku played. Sesshoumaru was not a fatalist, but he was logical about these things.
He was normally logical, he amended. It had not been logic that had spent that last wisp of energy on breaking his chains and fighting his guards when he had sensed Kagome's fear. Instinct alone propelled him to return to her side. To save her and battle for her. But where his heart was willing, the well of his ability had run dry.
Now, Naraku squeezed the life out of Kagome, and Sesshoumaru couldn't even get to his feet.
His skin prickled, as if he'd stepped out into the clouds of an electrical storm, and he lifted his head. Kagome, her toes dangling three inches above the concrete, began to glow.
Next to him, Byakuya took a step forward. "What the…"
A pink, blinding light swelled from Kagome and burst over them. Sesshoumaru felt the searing heat of purification wash over his flesh, like a thousand lit cinders from a fire landing on him at once.
When the flash subsided, Naraku sat several feet away, his arm's skin peeling off and raw with the burn of miko energy. Kagome, crumpled but breathing, still radiated a corona of pink light. For a long second, no one moved.
"What are you waiting for? Grab her!" snarled Naraku, making no move to do it himself.
Byakuya backpedaled, his hands up. "But she's a miko. Make Renkotsu do it. He's human."
The man eyed her warily. "No."
"Fools." Naraku got to his feet, his hands curling at his sides as he glared down at Kagome. "She's untrained. Weak."
Kagome pushed herself halfway up from the cold floor. "Strong enough to burn you," she said, her voice hoarse. She sounded as wrung out as Sesshoumaru felt.
Naraku scowled. "I don't need to touch you to kill you, Detective." He snapped the unburnt fingers on his other hand.
Kagura emerged from a shadowed corner. Behind her walked a vacant-eyed, ghostly girl, robed in white with flowers in her hair. In her hands, she held a small, round mirror.
