They were almost at Kaede's village when it happened.
The group had been eating their dinner when Inuyasha and Miroku suddenly put down their chopsticks. Both boys looked apprehensive, and cast concerned glances at the girls.
"What is it?" Sango asked, before her back snapped into an unusually stiff posture and her eyes widened. "Oh…"
"What?" Kagome asked, looking from one member of the group to another.
"A great number of demons are headed our way." Miroku told her grimly, using his staff to pull himself upright. He looked to Shippo and Kilala. "Protect Kagome and Sango for us."
"Miroku, you're wounded too." Sango quietly pointed out.
The monk merely gave her an eloquent glance before helping her over to the firecat.
Kagome gasped. "I sense a jewel shard!"
"Shit." Inuyasha muttered. You'd think that just once we'd be able to catch a break…
A frightened Shippo increased his height and helped the girls onto Kilala, who had transformed. Since they had taken off the litter, this was proving to be a difficult, painful, and dangerously time- consuming exercise.
Inuyasha and Miroku, meanwhile, were striding toward the demon army.
Kagura was at its head, with a smaller figure next to her…
Inuyasha growled. Every time Kohaku showed up, it seemed like Sango wound up getting seriously hurt. As badly as she was wounded now, an altercation with her brother would kill her.
Miroku's shoulders acquired a resentful rigidity, but he was grateful that Kanna, at least, was not there. Although I wonder why Naraku didn't send her… perhaps he thought this would be enough.
I fear that he was right.
Kohaku raised an arm; the instant it started down again, the demons rushed forward.
Inuyasha ran to meet them with an eager cry, while Miroku occupied himself with Kagura. The poisonous insects that had arrived behind the demon army prevented him from using his wind tunnel, so the monk was mostly limited to dodging her attacks.
"Come now, monk. Surely not even you are foolish enough to believe that you can hold out against me for long?" Kagura taunted him, sending a Dance of Blades attack at him. "Give up now and die in peace. I'll even make it quick."
Miroku could not allow himself the distraction of a reply; moving as much as was necessary to avoid Kagura's attacks was tearing open his gashes again, and it was taking all his concentration just to keep moving, not to mention anticipating her next attack.
Inuyasha was keeping the demons at bay, but their numbers prevented him from doing any more than that. He knew this was all part of Naraku's love of the game; with the numbers there, they could have easily surrounded the little group and beset them on all sides.
Naraku's way was to wear them down little by little. As soon as Inuyasha began making alarming enough headway, the demons would move in.
It all made his blood boil. The Tetsusaiga seemed to agree.
A cry to his left distracted him.
Kagura had caught Miroku in a Dance of Blades volley, and the monk was being tossed back and cut up at the same time.
Inuyasha ran, knowing anyway that he'd never make it.
A sacred arrow struck the ground in front of the monk, effectively dispelling Kagura's present attack and thwarting the follow- up.
"Kagome! Don't get involved!" Inuyasha yelled, a slight thread of panic tingeing his voice.
Kagura smiled, always a bad sign; however, it was not she who stepped forward.
Kohaku raised his weapon with a terrifyingly blank expression.
"Kohaku, no! Don't hurt Kagome!" Sango cried, throwing herself in front of her friend and raising Hiraikotsu as a shield.
Kohaku sent the weapon flying at her again and again, and although the demon exterminator managed to block him every time, Inuyasha could see her wearing down.
"Pay attention." Kagura ordered, tossing her Blades at him.
Inuyasha took shelter behind the Tetsusaiga. Sango and Kagome…
"Foxfire!" he heard Shippo cry.
Oh shit. We're doomed for sure if Shippo's joining in…
But Miroku fought his way through the demons to Kagura and, despite the insects hovering directly behind him, opened his wind tunnel.
Kagura was caught off guard but recovered quickly; she removed the feather from her hair and flew up before Inuyasha could get to her.
Miroku immediately covered the wind tunnel, but the damage had been done; a few more minutes and he'd be worthless.
And if this battle drags on long enough, Inuyasha thought worriedly, he'll be out of time altogether.
I won't let that happen.
The monk gave no sign of pain beyond a grimace, and he continued fighting, using his staff and the ofuda. (A/N: I THINK that's what it was. I'm not entirely sure.)
Inuyasha fought his way through to the other boy, and just in time, it appeared; Miroku was beginning to break out in a sweat, and his movements were slowing.
"Dammit, Miroku, you idiot!" Inuyasha shouted, digging in his heels in front of the beleaguered monk.
"Inu- yasha." the other managed weakly. "The girls need your help. Go."
"You'll die if I leave you, and I already told you, I don't care whether you die or not, but you're not doing it while I'm around, got that?" Inuyasha yelled back, made even more irritated because he knew that what he'd just said didn't entirely make sense.
Miroku, recognizing the futility of trying to argue with the half- demon, stepped up to fight beside him instead. However, the poison progressing through his system soon drove him back.
"Miroku!"
*
Sango heard Inuyasha's screaming at the monk and knew what was happening without having to look. "Kagome."
"Yes, I know."
"We have to help them somehow."
"Of course." the other girl agreed easily.
"Foxfire!" Shippo jumped into the air again, flinging the blue flames at a demon. It knocked it back a few steps; the demon merely came right back.
Kilala bit it in half.
"Kilala, Shippo, we need for you to do something." Sango said, an idea forming.
"Sure." Shippo squeaked. I can do this, I can do this, I have to be brave…
"Shippo, can you hold them off long enough for Kagome and me to mount Kilala?"
"I'll try." he replied doubtfully, watching Kilala rip apart another demon who ventured too close.
"Kagome, help me up." Sango requested. As the younger girl did so, Kohaku flung his weapon again, but Shippo knocked it aside with his foxfire and Kilala killed a demon who thought to take advantage of the distraction. "Shippo, as soon as Kagome gets up here, turn into that- bubble thing- and get away from here." Sango told him.
"All right." the fox demon child agreed nervously.
Sango reached down to help Kagome clamber up, and the girl was halfway there when she fell backwards with a cry and Kilala roared in pain.
They'd forgotten about Kagura.
Sango dove halfway off the firecat and bodily dragged Kagome aboard; Sango could feel her own wounds reopening, but she was more worried about the fresh gashes on Kagome.
*
Oh, no! That sounded like Kagome! With a fresh burst of energy, Inuyasha sliced through enough demons to see the girls.
Sango dragged Kagome on Kilala; Kagome was bloody and motionless.
Forgetting all about Miroku, Inuyasha let loose a bellow of rage and cleaved through demons left, right and center, heading toward the girls.
He was forced back by a most unexpected- and unwelcome- tornado of a wolf.
Giving his own battle cry, Kouga leapt right into the middle of the battle and sliced a path through Naraku's demon army on his way to "his woman." Shunting Sango aside (and, Inuyasha noted furiously, very nearly causing her to lose her seat on Kilala) he snatched Kagome up and ran off with her.
Inuyasha didn't even notice the remainder of the demons retreating, or Kohaku catching a ride on one of them; all his attention was focused on the wolf demon and where he was going.
*
Kagome groaned, then cried out. She'd never felt so horrible in her life. Is this what it feels like for Inuyasha every time he's wounded…?
Speaking of Inuyasha, there was his voice… poor boy, he sounded so terribly anxious… And… oh, no. Kouga's voice too.
As always, the two voices of Kouga and Inuyasha were rapidly rising in argument. Well. That wouldn't do.
Kagome groaned louder, and the bickering instantly ceased. "Kagome? Kagome, come on, open your eyes." Inuyasha pleaded.
He sounds so worried.
"C'mon, Kagome…" Kouga urged.
With massive effort, and two failures, her great brown eyes finally opened. "Inu- yasha."
Kouga looked stricken, but covered it almost immediately.
"I'm here." Inuyasha assured her, squeezing the hand he'd snatched up.
A/N: I know that was incomplete, but I'm going to flatter myself and call it a cliffhanger and go ahead and post it, instead of giving it a real ending and making you wait longer. Yes, it's all for you. ^_~ Cookies to: LivEvil and StarFlare.