by Ironraven
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama.
Sorry folks, this one is very short. As in, it spans less than a half hour. But will take much longer to read. Why? Because fights are hard to describe. The only way is to do a John Woo marathon. :)
Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Sango and the others had decided that it was time for Kiyoshi to part company. Not only with them, but with his head.
---
"Master! Master Miroku, come quick!"
The silence of the forest broken, Miroku instinctively flinched, sending the fish that was nearly between his hands swimming off in another direction. Sighing sadly as he watched his dinner hide, Miroku straightened up. "What is it now, Hachi?"
"It's Kiyoshi; he's attacking the others!"
"WHAT?!
---
Falling towards the black-clad hunter, Inuyasha brought Tessaiga down with all of his considerable strength, only to feel the shock as his blade was blocked. The strike, meant to split Kiyoshi in half, just knocked him back. But it did shatter the blade of his no-dachi, the Kataidenko. Grinning evilly, the hanyou advanced on the rouge taijya before him. "Having fun yet?"
Dropping the remains of his blade, Kiyoshi's hand slipped into his haori. "Not as much as I'll have tonight, hanyou." Flicking his hand, the hunter sent something small and black towards his white-haired opponent. Used to the small daggers and shuriken that many warriors carried, Inuyasha snapped his blade down to block the missile.
The black spheroid burst as it met the blade, scattering a foul smelling black dust through the air. A mix of herbs and ink powder, it was something meant to block the sense of smell of many youkai, and with enough force to leave them dazed. The involuntary inhalation of surprise was all that was needed. Coughing and choking, Inuyasha stumbled back, giving Kiyoshi an opening.
The hunter's left hand found the hilt of his wakazashi at his side. Drawing underhanded, he slammed the pommel into Inuyasha's throat, the impact trigger choking spasms as the hanyou fought to breath in the ink stink. Reversing the blade in his hand, Kiyoshi crashed the butt down hard onto the dog boy's temple with a crack, splitting the skin and sending Inuyasha to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Inuyasha!" Distracted by his fall, Kagome looked away from the tanuki youkai that had been facing Sango. With the opening, the burned demon hurled his kama at the miko, who had just enough warning to duck. She felt the sickle pass at the level her ears had been at moments before, and a sharp thunk, as the blade lodged in the shaft of her bow, rendering it useless.
"Don't loose your head, pretty." Taunting, mocking them both, Kaban faced Sango and Kagome. He slashed at the huntress with his dagger, only to have her block the thrusts with the bulk of Hairikitsu.
Watching the hanyou fall, Shippou gasped, and rushed the evil taijya. People only fall like that if they are dead! "Inuyasha!"
Turning to face the cry of his would be attacker, Kiyoshi's blade arced out, intent on relieving Shippou of his head. Seeing the glittering blade, Shippou squealed and leaped as high as he could to avoid the exterminator's cut. "Worry about yourself, boy!"
Kirara loped up, slamming her mass into Kiyoshi from behind, pinning him face down and sending his sword flying. He lashed his foot out at her hind ankle, snarling in anger. The firecat shifted to avoid the kick, allowing the black clad man to turn under her, kicking hard up into her belly. Scrabbling out from under the beast, Kiyoshi stood before her, his slender throwing knife in his hand, eyes ablaze.
Sango slashed at the scarred demon before her with Hairikitsu, growing frustrated with each dodge made by the tanuki. He leapt over her swing, landing on the bone blade, leaping again. The force of his jump sent the boomerang to the ground, and pushed Sango off balance. Seeing her mistress in danger, Kirara abandoned her fight with Kiyoshi, springing over his head and hitting Kaban dead on in midair. The two snarling demons landed close to Kagome. Reversing his blade, Kaban stabbed it into Kirara's foot, while her claws raked his upper arm. Howling in pain, the feline pulled back.
"Kagome, RUN! You have what they want!" Sango reached her feet, dragging her massive weapon up with her. As she watched her friend follow the advice, a strong hand wrapped around her wrist from behind, yanking her back.
"Not everything we want, Sango-love." Kiyoshi's toes slammed into the back of her knee, staggering her, while he twisted her wrist, forcing her to drop Hairikitsu. Twisting her arm painfully behind her back, he tangled the fingers of his knife hand in her hair, yanking her head back. The hunter's lips found hers, kissing her roughly, savagely, while his tongue stabbed into her mouth. Outraged, she tried to bite at the offending pink flesh, but he'd been expecting it. With a chuckle, Kiyoshi twisted her arm again, much harder. A scream rang from her lips as he twisted her arm brutally, dislocating her shoulder. With a final kick to her tailbone, he flung Sango face down to the ground.
Kaban chased after Kagome, grabbing her arm. In desperation, the young miko wrapped herself in energy, pulsing it out at her attacker. "Owww! Bitch, I'm gonna..."
"I am not your bitch!" Facing him, fists curled in anger, Kagome tried to stare down the much larger demon as she gathered more energy. Her attack was checked by a small, red and blue ball wrapping itself around the tanuki's head. Shippou bit down as hard as he could, digging his teeth into the soft flesh of Kaban's unburned ear.
Reaching up, he grabbed the child by his jacket and jerked him off. Kaban threw the boy at Kagome, sending them both to the ground. Reaching up, he felt blood pouring from his. "You little bastard, I'm going to eat you alive!"
Her stride off from the wound in her foot, Kirara crashed against Kiyoshi, sending him sprawling again. This time, she waited for him to get up before batting at him, sending him flying. Her claws tore at the fabric of his haori and shitagi, but the snake youkai hide of his armour protected Kiyoshi from disembowelment. Rolling as he landed, Kiyoshi found himself near Kagome.
Stomping at Kagome's ankle from where he lay, Kiyoshi smiled coldly as her joint bent. She fell hard, gasping in pain as her lower leg felt as if it had been lit on fire. An elbow to her belly took any fight out of her for the moment. Kiyoshi grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, pulling her up with him. Holding Kagome close to him, her back to his chest, he trapped her arm by her sides as she fought for air.
Sango rose painfully to her feet, drawing her short sword underhanded with her weak arm. She hadn't been in this much pain since she had nearly died at her possessed brother's hands. "Let her go, Kiyoshi, and I'll let you live."
"You let me live once before, and look what happened. You are too soft, Sango. No wonder your weakling father led our village to destruction." Laughing cruelly, he jerked the captive in his arms, forcing Kagome to put weight on her throbbing ankle. His hand ran over the Jewel, closing around it, and yanked it free from around her neck. "Kaban! Take this, and meet me where we agreed!"
Catching the tossed necklace in his free hand, Kaban backed past his boss, dagger in hand. "Yes, Master. Are you bring the pretty with you?" An ugly, loathsome giggle escaped the beast's lips at the hunter's nod. Taking his long, flying form, the tanuki raced off.
Snarling angrily, Kirara took to the air, running after him. As she had gone over him, Shippou had grabbed one of her tails and pulled himself onto her. Glancing from her friend to the retreating Jewel, Sango was trapped between two choices, both of them ones she had to take.
"Go with them Sango, please, the Jewel is the important part of this!"
"Silence, wench." Taking Kagome's chin in his right hand, twisting it leftward, Kiyoshi's left hand settled onto the back of her head, pushing down and to the right. "Sango-love, I wouldn't do that. Stay here, or your pretty little friend will be punished."
"Please, Sango, go, don't arhhhh!" A kick to her throbbing ankle silenced any noble thoughts from Kagome's lips. Stepping back a step, he dragged her with him.
---
"Kitsune-bi!" Riding on Kirara, Shippou blasted at the other demon for a third time. Each time, the fire scored tanuki avoided each of the blue bundles of flame. Kirara dropped, her target already off balance from his evasive maneuver, knocking Kaban from the sky.
Taking his bipedal form, Kaban snatched his dagger from its sheath, and hurled it at the diving form of Kirara. The long, steel blade bit into her shoulder, sinking deep. With a howl of pain, she tumbled from the sky.
Unable to help his friend, Shippou pulled his top from inside his vest. He cast it at the enemy below him, sending the now massive, spinning weight toward Kaban. Leaping out of the way, Kaban landed on his forearms, rolling forward, to land on his feet. "Boy, do you think your little toys can stop me?"
Dropping to the ground a few paces from the older and more skilled warrior, Shippou took up the defensive stance Inuyasha had shown him. Eyes flashing between fear and hate, his voice was harsh and foreign to his own ear,"Someone has to!"
With a cold laugh, Kaban stepped forward, sweeping his foot from the ground with a lazy, but powerful kick aimed at the kitsune's side. Feeling the world slow strangely, Shippou remembered what Inuyasha has said about kicking. He locked his knee. Catching the tanuki's shin in his side, Shippou hung from it, riding his opponent's leg. When he was close enough, his small foot lashed out, striking the patella of the supporting leg, knocking it free. Unable to hold any weight, combined with Shippou's weight pulling at the swinging leg, Kaban's knee tore itself apart, spilling both demons to the ground.
"You little runt, I'm gonna..."
"KITSUNI-BI!!" Feeling his rage-filled ki being channeled through his hand, Shippou thrust at the face of the fallen enemy. Any threat died on Kaban's lips, turning into an awful, wordless shriek as the tanuki's head was shroud in blue flames as the small hand crashed into his nose. Clutching his face, Kaban writhed on the ground, rolling, trying to extinguish the flames, screaming in wordless agony as the air was filled with reek of burning hair and flesh.
Fighting a rising mass of bile in his throat, Shippou grabbed the Shikon no Tami, and stuffed it in his vest. Running to where he thought he had seen Kirara fall, he found her, bleeding from two deep wounds, curled in a ball in her smaller form. She moaned as he picked her up in his arms. "Shhh... We need to get Kaede. We need help."
Running as fast as he could, Shippou blocked out his ears to the howls of the being behind him. Breaking through the forest, he found himself on the edge of one of the village's rice patties. People saw him, running, clothes dirty and torn from battle, tears streaming, as he dashed towards Kaede's hut. "KAEDE!! HELP!!!"
Stepping from her hut, Kaede took in the scene before her. Taking Kirara into her arms, she quickly checked over the firecat. Seeing that the wounds were already closing, she breathed a sigh of relief. With the bleeding stopped, there really wasn't much that could be done at the moment. "Who did this?"
"Kaban, he took the Jewel and we followed him and I took it back but Kirara got hurt and Kiyoshi has Kagome and is threatening to kill her and..."
Standing quickly, Kaede took up the bow and quiver already by her doorway. Looking at the gathering villagers, she picked one. "Yea there, gather the men! The old well will need to be defended! It may look like a man, but thy enemy will fight as a demon!" Turning back to her young friend, Kaede snapped at the boy. "Show me where, Shippou!
---
Miroku knelt next to the whimpering ball of singed and burned matter. "Kaban, why did you attack my friends?"
Raising his head, the skinny tanuki looked around. What he saw made Hachi's stomach churn. What hair remained had been burned away, along with most of both ears, while his breath bubbled in his throat. Kaban's eyes were greyish-white orbs, looking about wildly, unseeingly. "Houshi-sama? Please, please help me."
Blistered fingers clutched at Miroku's legs. "Tell me, why did you do it?"
"The Shikon no Tama. Please, it was his idea, Kiyoshi made me do it."
Studying the pitiful form before him, Miroku's jaw was set as he jerked his leg away. "Where is it, where is the Jewel?"
"Please, show mercy, Houshi-saaaahhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Fingers slapping at burned cheeks, Miroku was not in the mood to show mercy. In a panicked, pained voice, Kaban answered the question. "The kid has it! The brat, the kitsune, he took the Jewel. I gave it to him, and he burned me. He blinded me, and left me to die, after I gave him the Shikon no Tama! Please, show mercy. Buddha said we were to be merciful."
"Where?"
"The cherry grove, by the tall locust tree, down at the river!" Somehow feeling the doubting look on his interrogator's face, Kaban's voice took an even more terrified tone. "I'm telling the truth! By the big bend! Cherries, in bloom, by the locust!"
Hachi shrank back as Miroku stood. "Yes, Buddha did teach us to be merciful. Hachi, can you sense the Jewel on him?"
"No, Master."
"Nor can I. Kaban, Buddha also taught us to be truthful. Shippou wouldn't have done this unless you forced him to. But I shall be merciful." Stepping back, Miroku raised his hand and slowly loosened the beads around it.
Hachi turned away, hands on his ears, unable to watch, not wanting to listen. Master, you haven't been like this for years, not since we found the others. A wrapped hand on his shoulder startled him.
"Come on, Hachi. We must help our friends." Stepping into the forest, Miroku pulled his long time companion with him.
"Master, will you show yourself to them?"
"If I must." Walking away, they left the stink of burned meat and a small crater, stripped of grass and soil, behind them. Hachi made sure he left several steps between he and his master, the rotund demon shaking like a candle in a storm, fearing his longtime friend for the first time.
---
Standing at the base of a tall, lone locust tree, sniffing the air, Shippou's eyes lit up. "There, that way!"
Unslinging her bow, Kaede raised her finger to her lips. "Sshhh. We must be quiet from here on. Yea said he had Kagome as a hostage?"
Nodding, Shippou moved closer to Keade as they stepped into the bushes. Before they got too far, Kaede drew and knocked an arrow. "He is deaf on the right side, right?"
"Hai."
---
Miroku pushed into the forest as quietly as he could. Hachi was staying well behind him, his paws shaking in fear. Inside, Houshi-sama was doubting himself. I killed him. I took his life in cold blood. Isn't all life sacred? He wasn't a threat anymore.
All life is sacred. But whose is more sacred to you? You saw the blood going towards the village. Where did it come from, other than Shippou? He hurt Shippou, of course Shippou would fight back. He got everything he deserved.
But he was hurt, he wasn't hurting anyone.
Shippou was fighting, baka! Kaban took the Shikon no Tama. Where was Inuyasha? Where was Kagome? If they were able to fight, Shippou wouldn't have had to do that. Where was Sango? She would have to be unable to fight. They others are dead or dying, and you are worried about an enemy? Who do you care about, Miroku?
He paused, just inside the cover of the bushes, when he saw the battlefield. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sango standing, in her armour, but his heart skipped when saw how her arm was hanging. Inuyasha lay, face down, on the ground, unmoving, with Kagome trapped in Kiyoshi's arms. It was too far to hear anything, but Kagome was limping as she was dragged along. He felt sick, knowing that his friends' danger was in no small part due to his cowardice.
As he started to step forward, he heard a shout of pain. Kagome fell, and Sango struck, her blade laying Kiyoshi's back open. From how he fell, the cut must have touched his spine. As Miroku watched, he was numbed as Sango caught the other hunter and held his dying body in her arms. She does love him. She's mourning him. The pain was such that it started to rob Miroku of his sight. The last thing he saw as he sank to his knees were the blurs of Kaede and Shippou kneeling by Inuyasha.
---
Blood? Kagome? Why are you crying? Opening one eye, he saw that he was laying on the ground, in a pool of blood. The smell filling his nose told him it was his own, as did the throb in his head from where something had hit him. Ink. Kiyoshi threw ink at me, then hit me with the butt of his sword. He wanted me to live as a failure. His voice was a dry rasp as he tried to speak, "Kag.."
"Yea should lie still, Inuyasha, yea have lost a great deal of blood." When Kaede's fingers tenderly probed his skull, he felt as if his temple had been hit with ball of molten lead. Putting his arms under him, he tried to push himself upright. "If yea will not take my advice, yea shall have to suffer with the pain."
On the other side of Inuyasha, a much younger voice, although one that sounded much older than it did when its owner greeted Kagome and him that morning, filled his throbbing ears. "Kiyoshi is dead."
Feeling the familiar throb of Tessaiga nearby, Inuyasha reached for his sword, sheathing it. "What about his tanuki? And where is Kagome?"
"I'm over here, Inuyasha." The hanyou turned his head, wincing at the painfully bright sunlight. She was dirty, and trembling, and stank of fear, but she was alright. She sat next to the body of Kiyoshi, obviously dead, her back turned to the corpse, while she cradled Sango's head to her shoulder. The huntress was sobbing, and her arm hung useless at her side. He tried to stand, only to stumble against Kaede.
"Surrounded by fools I am. I will help yea, Inuyasha." She took his arm and put it over her shoulders. Despite the gravity of the situation, watching Kaede try to be a crutch for Inuyasha, despite the old woman only being elbow high to him, brought a tiny smile to Kagome's face.
"Feh. I'm not some weak human." Standing unsteadily, wobbling, Inuyasha stumbled towards the young woman's side. The world would not hold still, and the ground next his companions sprang against his knees. Kagome wrapped her free arm around Inuyasha, pulling him to her.
"Inuyasha." Her eyes were filled with tears of pain, and something else. Something much worse.
"Not so loud." The pain in her voice triggered something it had many times before, more powerful than the nauseating pain in his head. The hanyou wrapped his arms around Kagome. Feeling another, shaking body under his arm, Inuyasha snarled silently at their fallen enemy. I am not getting soft, Kiyoshi you asshole, Sango's just in the way. Unconsciously, he rubbed Kagome's back with one hand, and tried to ignore the same motion from the other. "It's ok, it's over."
"Inuyasha, I... I lost the Jewel. I'm sorry." Crying, Kagome buried her head into the junction of Inuyasha's shoulder and neck.
"I got it back, Kagome." She raised her head, finding the young-old eyes of Shippou. His voice sounded distant and hollow, like he was in shock. He held the Shikon no Tama in both hands, a look of revulsion on his young face when he looked down at it. Wordlessly, the kitsune moved behind her, and retied the necklace in place around her neck, before he could give in to it's call. "Don't worry about Kaban, he won't be back."
Slowly returning to the world, Sango struggled, feeling arms around her, and a bleakness within. Even Inuyasha feels pity for me. Looking about, Sango was wrapped in a growing feeling of dread and desperation. "Kirara? Shippou, what happened to Kirara? I need..."
"She will be fine, child. Shippou took her to my hut, she is already healing. She just needs time to mend, and yea need to have this set." Hooking one hand under Sango's good arm, Kaede gently pulled the huntress to her feet. "Come, I will take yea to her. I fear yea will need to be held for me to attend this joint."
Standing unevenly, Inuyasha picked Kagome up in arms. After a few false starts, he started to follow the old miko. The young miko in his arms looked up at him. "Inuyasha, should you try to carry me? And what about Kiyoshi?"
"I'm strong enough to take you back to the village." He looked back, nodding slightly as he saw Shippou struggling silently with the weight of Hairikitsu. Sango will want that. His eyes looked back at Kiyoshi, a foe who could have been a friend. A foe who was as powerful as any they had faced, including Naraku and Sesshomaru, maybe even more so. "Leave him for the ravens for now. I'll take care of him later."
Stumbling along, Inuyasha felt Kagome's eyes on his face. "What? I told you, I'm fine." The hanyou sensed, rather than saw or heard, Shippou beside them.
"Are you sure?"
"Wench, did you get hit on the head? I'm fine for now." I'll pass out when we get home.
---
Author's notes:
When we first met Miroku, he was rather ruthless. Love, survial, revenge, these are all powerful motivators. Too much of any one of these can change you. Given everything else that has happened, I don't think he's playing with a full deck right now. Remember, this all started less than a month after Forge. That has been on his mind.
And Inuyasha, I told you, concussions suck. You are lucky that you have a thick skull and hanyou healing abilities. So, as you can see, Sango did not slay Miroku. At least not directly. Be she now fears that Kiyoshi was the reason why Houshi-sama left. Kiyoshi could have been the man Miroku was.