Yes, I got reviews! Thanks to Inu Yasha's-long-lost-twin, Nuklear Firefly, Kaylana, Giggle Girl and some anonymous people for reviewing. Yes, my stories tend to either start out way too slow or way too confusing and everything happens really fast. May I recommend OriginAnonymous' stories? She's written one DBZ fanfic and one Yu Yu Hakusho fanfic so far, and I highly recommend them! So, someone wants to know whats wrong with Miroku? Well, you'll just have to wait a little while. Do I choose to tell you in this chapter? I don't know…maybe…meh heh heh. Right, so I have to put a disclaimer, right? Well, I own Miroku and *ack* okay, I own *ack* stop choking me!! Fine, I don't own Inu Yasha, but when Rumiko Takahashi passes on (no threats, I assure you) guess who gets first dibs?!!
"You can tell how big something is by smelling it?" Kagome asked, a little sarcasm in her voice.
Inu Yasha's ears twitched as he scanned the area with his golden eyes.
"What is it, Inu Yasha?" Sango asked, Picking up her boomerang.
The half demon sniffed the air once more, and his ears went back.
"It's a snake demon."
"A snake demon?!" Shippo repeated in alarm.
A distant rumbling could be heard from the forest. As the sound became louder, birds littered the skies trying to escape the nearing creatures' haste. Trees were thundering to the ground as the snake got ever closer. The pot of ramen spilled its contents over the ground and the five bowls rattled in the dirt.
Inu Yasha drew Tetsusaiga, and the rusty sword immediately transformed into the great fang. Kagome readied her bow and arrow and Miroku grasped the blue beads around his right arm, raising his hand in front of him. Sango stood steady with her favored weapon poised for battle and Kirara on her shoulder. The young fox demon stood behind Kagome's legs, peering out between them, fear showing on his face.
The rumbling continued to grow closer, and when the group expected the demon to pop its ugly head out of the forest, the now deafening noise ceased.
Miroku lowered his hand, but kept his fingers wrapped around the prayer beads.
"How odd," the monk stated.
"Don't let your guard down," Sango said, her boomerang ready to strike.
Inu Yasha stood perfectly still, his silver ears turning. His eyes widened in shock.
"Beneath us!" the half demon yelled.
At that exact moment, the ground underneath the six broke, and the snake demon shot out of the earth. Everyone fell back as the creature rose above them, its eyes red and burning with fury. Kagome caught sight of something glinting on the snakes' head, right in between its eyes.
"Inu Yasha, it has jewel shards, in its head!" the girl called.
"Got it!" the half demon said, and leapt towards the snake.
The hanyou raised the Tetsusaiga, prepared to behead the beast when the demon whipped Inu Yasha with its tail, sending him soaring to land next to Miroku.
"Damn it," the half demon cursed, wiping a trickle of blood from his chin as he stood.
"That damn snake was probably sent by Naraku. A normal snake demon wouldn't be this strong, even at this size."
"I'll use my wing tunnel," Miroku stated.
"Haven't we been through this before? With Naraku come those poisonous insects!"
Inu Yasha and Miroku quickly dodged the swing of an enormous tail as it slammed into the spot they had been standing in.
"Do you have a better idea?" Miroku asked, "You do realize that even if you manage to get past the tail, those teeth will slice you in half!"
The snake reared its head and dove for Miroku, bearing its four-foot-long fangs. The monk quickly blocked the attack with his staff. Sango then chose that opportunity to swing her boomerang at the giant reptile. The snake simply smacked the weapon out of mid-air with its muscular tail. The demon then pressed its fangs into Miroku's staff, pushing the man back a few feet. Inu Yasha brought his sword down on the reptiles' neck, and the snake hissed in pain.
"So, even a big demon like you can let their guard down." Inu Yasha thought smugly.
The snake knew it was about to be overcome by death, but even in its final minute, it knew it had to do something, anything, to harm the monk. That's what Master Naraku had told him to do. Kill the monk…
With every ounce of energy the reptile had left, it forced the staff out of Miroku's hands and sank one razor sharp fang into the man's chest. Then, the demon fell lifelessly to the ground.
Miroku stood in shock, the right tooth of the snake still embedded in his body, blood slowly making its way down the front of the monk, and down his back where the fang had pushed through. The man weakly pulled the tooth from his body, and as he fell, and Sango and the others came running, one thought passed through his mind:
"I sure hope that thing wasn't poisonous…"
So…what did ya'll think? Yes, maybe it is still a bit slow, but I don't want to rush into things. I promise it'll get better. Really, it will. Eventually. Poor, poor Miroku. And you all STILL don't know what was bugging the adorable monk, do you? Well, better stick around if you wanna find out!!! Review people, review!
