8
"Michael, slow down," Sakaki demanded over the coms. His motorcycle's single headlight guided him towards the STN-J office where Michael was apparently going crazy.
"It was a demon, I tell ya'," Michael insisted. "A real demon."
"Did you fall asleep on your keyboard again?" Dojima asked. She was heading for the office too, trying to keep her red sports car on the road between yawns.
"It wasn't a dream. I saw it. It was a demon, just like in the fairy tales."
"You got us all out of bed for a fairy tale?" Karasuma cut in. She was going in the same direction as the others, her cell phone in one hand and her steering wheel in the other.
"A walking talking fairy tale," Michael said. "And they took the shard too."
"They? I thought there was only one demon," Sakaki said.
Karasuma had had enough. "Michael, if you don't start making sense in the next ten seconds, I'm turning this car around and going back to bed."
"Ok, I was lying in bed and I heard Robin and Amon leave. And I was just dozing off when there was this awful noise upstairs in the office. I ran up there and there they were. This demon with long white hair and a red robe. He had the weirdest looking ears I've ever seen. And there was a human girl with him wearing a school uniform. And as soon as they saw me, she jumped on his back and he jumped out the window. And the window was all smashed in like it was imploded or something. And then I noticed the shard was gone."
"And you're sure you weren't dreaming?" Amon asked from his car a few blocks away.
"I wasn't dreaming. Just wait till you see this window. Miss Robin, you believe me, don't you?"
"I believe you, Michael," Robin said, ignoring Amon's disapproving look.
"You shouldn't encourage him," he said quietly.
"But Amon, he's never done this before."
"So you think he's telling the truth?"
"He believes it."
A shadow passed over the car's windshield, making Robin and Amon look up. The street lights were blocked for only a moment. A flash of shape and color was all they saw.
"That was a red robe," Amon said. Robin was thrown forward against her seat belt as he hit the breaks and spun the steering wheel around on the empty street.
"I told you I wasn't dreaming," Michael said triumphantly.
The running figure wasn't far ahead when Amon stepped on the gas again.
"We're in pursuit, going south," he told the others over the coms.
"Gimme a second to turn around. I'll back you up," Sakaki volunteered.
"I'll be there too," Karasuma said. "Yurika?"
"Alright, fine," Dojima conceded. "Stupid peer pressure."
The needle in Amon's speedometer was just passing fifty as he and Robin came up beside the demon. It was just as Michael said. The long white hair, the ears, the human girl riding on his back.
"He's so fast," Robin commented.
"Is the girl still with him?" Michael asked.
"Yes," Robin answered, her eyes locked on the sight outside the car window. "But it's the girl wearing the red robe."
"It was dark, ok."
9
"We've got company," Inuyasha said.
"Is it them?" Kagome asked. She was looking over the car as it got closer. The fire-starter was looking back at her and she was suddenly glad she was wearing Inuyasha's coat.
"Of course it's them."
"What do you want to do?"
"Let's give 'em a run for their money."
10
Robin's eyes widened as the girl in the red robe pulled something out of her pocket and held it out for her to see. The passing street lights made it flash like a star. The demon stepped up his pace and pulled ahead, forcing the girl to grip his shoulders harder.
"Michael was right, they have the shard," Robin said.
"They stole our alien," Dojima said in mock anger.
"If that thing really makes witches stronger, then we can't let them take it." Karasuma said over the coms.
Amon pushed the gas pedal all the way down to the floor but the demon stayed half a block in front of them. The roar of another motor signaled Sakaki's arrival. He guided his bike up on the right side of Amon's car.
"They must be doing eighty," he said in amazement.
"Karasuma, what's your position?" Amon asked, not taking his eyes off his quarry.
"I'm coming up the next block over," she answered. "I'll try to get ahead of them and cut them off."
"I should do that. My car's faster than yours," Dojima said. "I'm on a cross street, coming your way."
"Did Miss Dojima just volunteer for something?" Michael teased.
"We'll take her temperature when we get back." Sakaki joined in on the joke, yelling over the singing tires on the concrete.
"Ha ha, very funny, you guys," Dojima sniffed.
"Whoever does it has to be going at least eighty-five to catch up to them," Amon said, taking note of his own speedometer. The needle was trembling at eighty.
"No problem," Dojima said.
Robin looked past Amon to make sure Sakaki was keeping pace. The speed was making his bike swerve slightly, but he was still in it. The demon and his companion were still in sight, but Robin was beginning to doubt that they could be caught by human means. Looking at Amon, she could tell that this was not the time to voice her thoughts. His jaw was tight and his eyes narrow. It wasn't the demon he was concerned about, she was sure. It was the shard he was after. That was the key to their mission, their one chance at a happy ending.
Robin's mind snapped back to the hunt with the squeal of tires. Dojima's car flew out of a side street two blocks ahead and skidded to a stop, blocking one side of the road. Karasuma's car did the same on the other side.
"We've got 'em now," Sakaki said triumphantly.
"Don't be too sure," Amon warned him.
The demon didn't even slow down as he approached the cars. In fact, he seemed to run faster. In a flash, he launched himself into the air, companion and all. They sailed over the cars and hit the ground running on the other side. For the second time that night, Amon slammed on his breaks. His car stopped short of the two other cars in the road. Sakaki did the same and his bike almost slid out from under him.
"What now, fearless leader?" Dojima asked dryly.
"We go after them," Amon snarled. "Robin, put your glasses on." He meant business now.
11
Kagome glanced over her shoulder at the cars receding behind her.
"You think they'll give up?" she asked.
"Not a chance," Inuyasha said. "We'll have some more fun with 'em before they're done."
As if on cue, the three cars and the motorbike turned and followed them, faster than ever.
12
Robin's knuckles were white on her armrest as Amon pushed his car as far as it would go. The speedometer needle was holding at just over ninety. The demon and his companion would soon be in striking range.
"Roll the window down and get ready," Amon told Robin.
She did as she was told and adjusted her glasses on her nose. Inwardly, she wondered if this was a wise move. If the shard was destroyed this time, then their mission would be a failure. But what choice did they have now? They had to take the chance.
"Do it now." Amon's voice was as commanding as ever.
She braced her hands against the seat and the door and stuck her head out the window. She focused her energy, aiming carefully at the moving target. The fire flashed in her eyes and then burst into reality. It completely engulfed the demon and his companion as they fled up the street. The inferno moved with them for a moment before swirling away into nothing. But nothing had changed. The demon was still running ahead of them. And the human girl was still on his back. The red robe wasn't even scorched. Robin sat back down in the passenger seat, stunned.
"I think I swallowed a bug," she said, turning her wide eyes to Amon.
He didn't look back at her but his expression was so sour it made Robin draw back slightly. She drew back a little more when he reached into his coat and pulled out his gun.
"Amon," she said questioningly.
Again, he didn't respond. Instead, he rolled his window down and leaned out to get a clear shot. He fired off two rounds at the demon. But the creature dodged aside.
13
Kagome couldn't believe her ears.
"Are they shooting at us?" She asked, turning to look over her shoulder. Inuyasha's speed had saved her again.
"They think they can take us out with those weapons?" Inuyasha sneered.
"That's it, let's lose 'em," Kagome said.
"It's about time," he said. "That guy gives me the creeps." With that, he took a few warm-up jumps and then soared up onto a nearby rooftop. A few more jumps saw them safely away and heading back to Kagome's home at Higurashi shrine.