Disclaimer: Only WISH I owned him...

Who saw the big game? FOUR SECONDS! THE PANTHERS COULD HAVE HELD OUT FOR -- FOUR MORE SECONDS--! *ends superbowl rant before it really gets going* Sorry...you know how people get about their state's team. ;_;

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Maraku was finding himself impressed with their battle skills. The way Naraku spoke of them, he'd thought they'd have been dummies relying on brute force and magic. However, they were intelligent as well as strong, using their minds as well as any powers or weapons or strength they had.

His admiration for them pissed him off.

He wasn't supposed to be in awe of them, he was supposed to be killing them. He found it hard, though, with guilty thoughts sending a sharp stab through his concience every time he snuck a glance at the fallen miko.

Her name was Kagome, was it?

The shrill cry of 'Hirakotsu' signaled another sharp pain as a tentacle was severed. He'd lost four so far. There were several left, but it hurt like hell. Maraku was seething. Naraku had never told him the fight would be this hard, be this painful, or be this exhausting. He wanted to leave.

Sango glared at the horrible beast in front of her. He would die. For her friends, her family, her comrades, her brother. He would die for them. He would die for Kikyou and Inuyasha and Miroku's family, too. He would die for all the pain he'd caused. She caught sight of the Insects from Hell buzzing behind him. She grinned, coming up with an idea.

He heard the bitch's war cry once more and moved directly out of the way, still casting a gaze on Inuyasha. Proud of himself for not getting hurt. But Sango's grin only widened, and both Inuyasha and Maraku took their eyes away from each other just in time to see the insects torn apart by Sango's weapon.

"Miroku! Your kazaana! NOW!" Sango screamed urgently. Miroku nodded, feverently opening his wind tunnel. Maraku screamed, cursing Naraku to the deepest level of Hell for this. He'd promised the wind tunnel would not be a problem. He promised.. In his rage, he threw a tentacle out into the woods. There was a large crack.

With a quick glance at the girl, he was glad.

The moster was gone. It was over. It was finally over, thank kami they were all still alive.

"We did it!" Sango squealed happily. "We killed him, it's finally over.."

"It's not," a hoarse whisper that came from the ground stated determined. "It's not over."

"What!?" Inuyasha snarled. "We killed him!" He'd seen it, Miroku sucking up with his kazaana..

"There are only seven jewel shards. Naraku had so much more. Are you sure it wasn't a puppet?" she asked, forcing herself to sit up. She ached, a dull but pulsing throb echoed throughout her body.

"Only seven? He just hid them somewhere, Kagome-chan," Sango said, still determined. Right?

"No, Sango," Miroku sighed deeply. "It can't be." He opened his palm once more, sucking in stray debris. The kazaana was still there.

"Then what the fuck was that!?" Inuyasha was pissed. Not again, not again, not again. That stupid son of a bitch, he couldn't do this. He needed to kill the bastard. Why did they go through this time and time again? He wouldn't hear of it now, not now..

"There is an explanation I'd been toying with, Master Inuyasha," Myoga squeaked, jumping from Miroku's slumped shoulder to Inuyasha's stiff one. He was standing to his full hight, indignant from such a foul trick. "This was an imposter. He contained several traits that did not belong to Naraku himself. One, was a hesitation to kill the being containing Kagome's and Kikyou's soul. That is why he did not finish her off. The second was, like Kagome said, the lack of jewel shards. And the third was his defeat should not have been this eas--"

"Jewel shards," Kagome said almost too quietly to be heard. Inuyasha, however, with his sensitive hearing, picked it up.

"Jewel shards?" he demanded of the injured priestess. Standing before her, he glared down at her as though she were the one holding them. "Where?" She simply pointed in the direction Maraku had lashed out on.

He stood in front of the forest in the general vicinity that Kagome had pointed. He was shaking with supressed rage. "NARAKU! A hanyou should fight like one, even one so cowardly and dispicable as yourself."

"CLAWS OF BLOOD!" Naraku shrunk back, but felt the lash of Inuyasha's claws anyway from his hidden spot in the forest. Inuyasha grinned, feeling quite superior. Naraku had not been ready for this, and as Inuyasha came tearing through the forest to finish the job, he disappeared.

"DAMMIT!" The cry through the forest was a dead giveaway that he'd gotten away. The steady string of curses as Inuysha trudged through the forest, looking for the villian, solidified the thought.

The group began trudging home. They were hot, exhausted, and all badly damaged. Miroku looked sadly at his wrapped palm, fingering his prayer beads covering it. 'So close, we were so close...' This disappointment only maximized his hatred for Naraku, if this could even be done. They never thought it was until he pulled a horrid new trick.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome began catching up with him, worried. She left Miroku to Sango, who'd caught up with Kirara. Hopping absently onto her back, he continued his staring. Sango could only look back.

"Housi-sama?"

"Hai, Sango?"

"We'll get him someday. I know we will. I'm sorry it wasn't today."

"I know we will, Sango, but I'm fed up with his games."

"I know," she replied, rubbing a hand across his back in a comforting gesture. He smiled, feeling warm inside at her concern.

Looking at her eyes, deep into them, almost searching for something. It scared her. But it was a good feeling, a connecting one. "Thank you Sango." For some reason, she felt her face flush with pleasure at his good naturedness. It did not last long, however. Her eyebrow twitched in irritation. A loud SMACK! had confirmed he had indeed used the situation to his advantage, once again, crossing the line.

"Not when I'm so injured, Sango!"

"If you kept your hand off my rear, it wouldn't be a problem!" she huffed, giving him the cold shoulder.

"What is it Kagome?" Inuyasha growled at the girl, now walking beside him.

"I was..was just worried. I wanted to see if you were okay," she said, slightly hurt. She understood his temper and he was really angry at Naraku, but it still stung to receive the blunt of it while showing concern.

To her surprise, he softened his tone towards her. It was still harsh and angry, but it was clearer he was not angry at HER. "I swear to kami, I'll rip him apart, limb by fucking limb. He's a coward, a deciever, he's the epitome of evil."

"We need to rest. We'll go again, when we're all ready for battle. All of us." She looked up at him meaningful, but he only continued to glare. He felt her gaze, though, and found comfort in it.

"I'm ready now! Next time I see him!" he declared with promise, inside knowing Kagome was right. They only had a little time before the end, and somehow, they all knew it.

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AN: Sorry this was so cruddy. I wanted to drag it out a little more, but I don't really have any ideas. My head is throbbing, and I'm going off of tons of caffeine and two hours of sleep. So I'm going to sleep. Hope you enjoyed. If any of you cares to talk to me on AIM, feel free, the screen name's xsanguinati0n.