YES, I'M STILL ALIVE!!! Incredibly sorry for the huge wait, guys – I guess I've lost all my old readers by now. If you're still out there somewhere, I do have a good reason for the writing slump. My computer died in a big way, and it's been ages since I could retrieve this file. Now it's up and running, here I am once more. Hope the chapter was worth the wait….

Disclaimer: Alas, I still don't own this thing! Anybody who says I do is lying through their teeth…

Under Control

Chapter 10: Outmatched

Miroku was not having fun.

Most definitely not.

Gulping desperately for some air, he rolled to the side just in time to avoid a powerful downswing from Sango. She somehow adjusted her stance so that the force of the swing turned her around to pretty much face in the direction he had gone, immediately coming after him like a predator to her prey. Sometime during the beginning of the fight, that emotionless façade had cracked, leaving a feral snarl on her face that astounded him. He could see it in her eyes – she hated him, really hated him. The feeling shook him to his very core.

It was pretty obvious that the person in front of him could no longer really be called 'Sango'. The Sango he knew would never have pressed an attack like that, would never have let such hate direct her moves in battle. It was a kind of rule she had – leave emotion out of things, because it clouded your judgement. That rule had clearly been thrown out the window, as Kagome was so fond of saying. And if his Sango was lost to them, as he feared she was, then it was his responsibility to put an end to this.

But that would only happen if he could win this fight. And it was painfully clear that he was losing hands down.

He jumped back to avoid that viciously lunging sword, only to be knocked flat on his back when she hooked a foot behind his knees and swiped his feet out from under him. Before she could press her sudden advantage he scrambled backwards in a mad effort to get beyond her reach. 'I have to distract her somehow, I have to break that concentration!'

Well, he did want to find out anyway… "What did I do to you?" She stopped in mid-stride, her sword held high above her head. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of a suitably furious reply. Miroku used the break to dart a few metres further away from her and then waited. What she said was not exactly what he was expecting. "You are a murderer, houshi. You can't tell me you've forgotten what you did." He struggled to fall into a defensive stance, even as his mind tried frantically to understand what was going on. A murderer? Well, next question…

"Who?" Come on, more than one word, you idiot… "Who do you think I killed?"

She practically spat the words at him. "My family! You and your friends slaughtered them all right in front of me!" Mmm…that explained a bit. As he stopped to think about what she had said, she resumed her attack. Her swings held more force than ever. 'Maybe talking about that wasn't such a good idea…' More talk like that would get him skewered. Still, he had to try. He blocked the blows with his shakujou as best he could, though it was clear that the well-traveled staff was beginning to show signs of cracking. At one point, when they were practically nose-to-nose above crossed 'swords', he gasped out, "That is your brother on the ground over there! He's very much alive –" when last he had checked – "I didn't do a thing to him!" Puffing, she glanced over to the crumpled form of the boy. Hope died in him when she turned back to face him angrily. "That scum is not my brother, houshi!" Ouch. He was glad Kohaku was out cold…hearing that would have hit him hard. "He helped to kill them all, you sick bastard!"

That set him back a little. She had forgotten who her brother was? His body was on autopilot as he fought, mechanically blocking her moves as he tried to wrap his mind around what she had said. If she had forgotten who Kohaku was, then who exactly did she remember? "What about Kagome-sama and Inuyasha? Are you going to fight them too?" She didn't once let her guard down.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" she snarled. Well, he had his answer. In that moment she appeared to grow tired of the questioning and decided to take things into her own hands. "Listen, houshi, you killed my family, and now you're here to kill my master as well. I couldn't stop you before, but I'm not going to let you harm Lord Naraku!" With that cry, she launched herself at him in a wild attack that drove him backwards with the sheer force of it. It didn't help matters that his heart was breaking from those words. She had just proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she had turned over to the enemy. She was fighting on behalf of Naraku as though her life depended on it…she was unreachable.

Just as he was about to make a move, a voice from the side distracted him. "Miroku!" What now?

Inuyasha and Kagome stared at the sight that greeted them when they finally reached Naraku's castle. They could just make out the tiny figures that were Sango and Miroku, fighting in a deadly dance that never seemed to cease. Even from this distance it was clear that Sango had the upper hand. Resolutely tearing her eyes away from her friend, she looked at the area around them. They had spotted Miroku, but where were Kohaku and Shippo? Beside her, Inuyasha stiffened. Following his gaze, she settled on the dark blur that was resting on the ground. "Kohaku!" She clapped one hand over her mouth in consternation. It wasn't really a good idea to yell out so close to an enemy – it would give away their position. However, her accidental shout produced a very welcome result. "Kagome!" Before she knew it, she was knocked to the ground by a fast moving kitsune. Shippo was clinging to her desperately, nuzzling her cheek as though he was making sure that she was actually there.

The nuzzling stopped rather abruptly when Shippo found himself dangling in mid-air, one clawed hand wrapped firmly around his tail. "Ow! Hey, you big mutt, lemme go!"

"Settle down, you dumb pup, you're going to hurt Kagome!" Inuyasha barked at him. Kagome glared at him half-heartedly – after all, it had hurt a little. He just smirked back at her, daring her to fight him on this. The look of surprise on his face was priceless when she just sighed and laid a hand on his arm. "Inuyasha, put him down please." Taken aback, he did so. She lifted her hand to stroke him gently on the cheek in thanks, then turned away to face Shippo. She missed the blush that threatened to leave him with a permanently red face. Shippo, however, caught a glimpse of the somewhat goofy expression on his face. "Um…what happened with you guys?" He grinned at the sudden attempt that the two of them made to act 'normal'. "Ahh , never mind. What are we going to do? The guys left me here to wait, but I can't tell what's going on!"

"Sango and Miroku are fighting each other near the castle gates, and something happened to Kohaku – I guess Sango did that as well." Kagome's face was miserable at having to say those words. "Naraku isn't anywhere nearby, so I guess he's still inside." As the girl tried to explain things to the kitsune, Inuyasha's mind raced madly to work out what they were going to do. He finally settled on a plan, of sorts. "Kagome, we have to go." Startled, the girl looked up at him. Part of him wanted to grin at the confused look on her face, but the other part of him was yelling at him to just hurry up already! Shaking himself slightly, he decided to make himself a bit clearer. "Shippo, you've got to stay here." The reaction was immediate.

"No!"

"Listen, brat – "

"No! I can help! I don't wanna stay here anymore! It's boring, and I don't know what's happening." Inuyasha sighed and laid one heavy hand on the cub's head, effectively trapping him in one spot. Of course he was well aware that the kitsune could be useful, but this time there was nothing he could really do. "You are staying here, end of discussion!" Shippo's answer to that was a glare that would have sliced him to ribbons if that were possible. "Like it or not, this is what's going to happen – I'm going to get Kohaku and bring him up here. You will look after him while Kagome and I go and look for Naraku. Got it? I can't carry you around while I'm fighting, and I'll be moving too fast for you to keep up on your own. Understand?" Shippo scowled, thinking about what the hanyou had said. Finally he sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fine." Of course, his consent hadn't really been needed. As soon as Inuyasha had finished telling them what he was going to do, he had bounded away in the direction of the fighting. Kagome was the only person left to hear him agree to the idea.

Inuyasha slowed down slightly as he came closer to the two combatants, sizing up the possibilities before him. His first job was to grab the boy and get him out of here, but how? As he was puzzling this out, Sango launched an attack on Miroku that pressed the houshi further and further away from the inert Kohaku. 'Perfect.' Wasting no time, he raced onto the battleground and scooped the kid up into his arms. 'Sheesh, he doesn't weigh much…' Shifting his burden into a more comfortable position, he called out to his beleaguered friend. "Miroku!" Both Miroku and Sango snapped their heads around to look at the source of the interruption. Miroku looked annoyed (and more than a little tired), whereas Sango looked…well, livid. "You!" she snarled at him, forgetting all about Miroku in her rage. The hanyou backed up slightly, a little confused. He thought about asking what her problem was, then dismissed those same thoughts. "Ahh, no time for this!" he growled. He moved towards her, then stopped when she fell face down onto the ground. 'Huh?'

"I guess she wants to kill you, too," Miroku stated tiredly. He leant heavily on his shakujou, his lungs heaving as he caught his breath. "She forgot all about me when you appeared like that. Silly, really…left herself wide open." He shook his head sadly, then lifted his eyes to meet Inuyasha's. "So, what are you going to do? She'll be awake soon – I didn't hit her that hard." There was a vaguely guilty look in his eyes as he said it – they both knew he could have hit much harder than he had. In a rare moment of compassion, Inuyasha decided to let it slide. "Kagome and I are going after Naraku once the kid here is safe. Keep Sango busy until we get back – the last thing we need is both of them fighting us at once!" He was interrupted as Sango began to stir, moaning. One quick grin and he was off in a flash of red and silver. Miroku fought the insane urge to laugh as he turned to face his beautiful opponent once more. 'Keep her busy, he says? Oh sure, no problem…'

Inuyasha brushed off Kagome's concerned inquiries when he returned to the small group, laying the boy down next to Shippo before turning to face them. "He'll be fine, he just has to wake up first. Come on, Kagome, we have to find Naraku." So saying, he reached out one clawed hand to drag her onto his back.

"Oof! Okay, okay, we're going. Take care of Kohaku, Shippo!" Kagome's voice dwindled as the couple moved further away. Shippo sighed and looked at the sleeping boy. 'Man, this is boring…' He poked Kohaku's side tentatively – no reaction. The kitsune flopped onto the ground and rested his chin in his hands. "So, having fun? Yeah, me too…"

Kagome gripped Inuyasha's shoulders tightly as they raced towards the castle looming ahead of them. "Inuyasha, do think those two will be okay on their own?"

"Of course! Shippo's a youaki, they'll be fine."

"He is just a small youkai, Inuyasha, and this is Naraku's castle. Who knows what's hiding around here?" Inuyasha merely sighed and picked up his pace. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up.

"Look, just concentrate on finding Naraku, like the little miko you are, and let them handle themselves. We have more important things to do than worry about a pair of kids!" He let out a surprised grunt as Kagome's hand cuffed him across the back of the head. Thankfully, in his opinion, she didn't say anything more. He felt her stiffen when they passed Sango and Miroku, still battling it out by the gate. Her desire to call out to them was practically tangible – he was very proud of her when she kept her mouth closed and her eyes facing forwards. Then, before they knew it, they were through the gate.

"Inuyasha, let me down." He just growled at her and refused to let her off. "Inuyasha!"

"What?"

"Let me down!" Kagome's mind was racing. To find Naraku, she had to use her miko abilities – and those abilities were dangerous for youkai. Of course, he wouldn't pay any attention to the danger, would he? No, he would be too proud to admit any kind of weakness. What a typical male…she'd just have to show him, then. Wincing, she let a little of her power leak out from behind the barrier she was using to rein it in. The effect was immediate. "Whoa!" She tumbled to the ground as Inuyasha darted away from her, his eyes wide in shock.

"What the hell was that?!" She fought the impulse to giggle – he was looking at her almost as though she had grown a second head when he wasn't looking. "That was the power I have to use while I'm in here, Inuyasha. You can't carry me around, it'll hurt you too much! You have to be able to fight, not lie down to recover!" She crossed her arms and frowned at him, daring him to pick her up again. To her relief, he just snorted and looked down at the ground. "Fine. Let's go." Together they moved off to search the darkened rooms of the fortress. Kagome couldn't help but notice that Inuyasha kept quite a respectful distance. Every so often he would drift closer to her, then jump like someone had stuck a pin in him. She would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious.

Naraku stood by the window, watching the drama below him unfold. The houshi was putting up quite a fight, but he was obviously no match for his staunch defender. Sooner or later the battle would end, and that annoying brat Miroku would be out of his way. And about time, too. He frowned as something tickled the edge of his consciousness. 'A probe?' Momentarily distracted, he ignored the fight going on and tried to pinpoint the intruder. 'Ah, the young miko girl. She and the pup are here. Of course.' The girl felt stronger than he had expected. He waved a hand in the air, dismissing the concern. He was stronger than all of them. Let them come.

He had a plan.

He smiled as he 'felt' his two impromptu guests discover his hiding place. Surprisingly, he didn't turn around to face them. He heard Inuyasha's cry of rage, but made no move to defend himself. The pup couldn't hurt him – his more immediate concern was the miko standing beside him.

Inuyasha couldn't understand it. Why was the creep just standing there? "You coward, Naraku, turn around and fight!" he roared. He was embarrassed beyond words when he suddenly found himself thrust up against the wall. Putting a cautious hand out in front of him, to 'test the waters' so to speak, he was shocked to feel a very solid barrier blocking his way. It was miko energy – Kagome had shut him out! "Why that little…"

Kagome grimaced, determinedly ignoring her ranting partner a few steps away. In his position she would be furious too – but there was something not right here. Naraku was just waiting, it seemed…waiting for what? She pondered this as she brought her full powers to bear. It reminded her almost of a television show she had once seen. The villain of the show had let the good guys get the first shot off, to make them think they had won. In the program the good guys had fallen for it and let their guard down. Needless to say, the villain had wiped the ground with them after that. What if that was what Naraku was planning now? 'Well,' she thought, 'I'll just have to make the first shot a really good one.' Taking a deep breath, she lifted her bow and arrow and took careful aim.

Naraku smirked. 'It's the last shot that you'll ever land on me…'

Inuyasha was powerless to do anything but watch in horror.

As Kagome's strength peaked beyond what she had ever felt before, she let the arrow fly. A blinding light filled the dank room, blocking all the occupants from view.

On the ground below, Miroku suddenly found himself wrongfooted in the middle of the battle. Helpless to stop himself, he fell to the floor and landed on his back. As he groggily opened his eyes he was greeted by the sight of his beloved Sango staring down at him. She lifted her sword above his head…Miroku simply closed his eyes and waited for the blow to fall…

Eek! Yes, I know, evil cliffhanger. I won't make you wait 3 months for the next one, I promise! Next chapter should be the last, I think. Please, please *begging pitifully* review and let me know what you think?

Next Chapter: Salvation.