Night fell and morning seemed to come too quickly. By mid-afternoon, the small group had set out for the village that supposedly held a fragment of the Shikon Jewel. Kagome was fine; her ankle was a little sore, but nothing unbearable.
The miko, along with Sango and Shippou, rode atop Kirara as the fire-cat flew ahead of Inuyasha and Miroku.
And, really, they could've already been at the village... if Inuyasha and Sango hadn't started another argument. It had started simply enough; Sango had suggested that her and Kagome go ahead of Inuyasha and Miroku, since Kagome could sense the jewel shards, and from the air, they'd be able to spot any dangers that could lie ahead. Inuyasha, however, had said he didn't want her going ahead because it could be putting her in danger. Everything else said was about the same as the argument that had occurred the previous day; Inuyasha was too protective. Sango needed to depend on others more. And everything like that. It had finally come to an end with Sango declaring, "I'm going ahead and that's it!" And with Inuyasha replying with, "Fine!" Maybe it wasn't the most original of come-backs, but Inuyasha hadn't been in the mood to argue. That, and Kagome had pointed out that if they didn't get going, Naraku would get the jewel shard before them.
Once they had split up, Miroku had tried to converse with Inuyasha, but the hanyou growled dangerously at the monk; a clear sign that he was not in the mood for talk.
Ahead of the two guys, Kagome wasn't having any better luck with Sango. The miko had tried to convince her friend that Inuyasha's intentions were good, but the taijiya wasn't up for much conversation on that subject.
Thankfully enough, however, they soon arrived at their destination; Sango, Kagome, and Shippou, along with Kirara, arrived first as was planned. Miroku and Inuyasha arrived a few minutes later.
The village was a mess, though. Huts were torn down, and debris lay everywhere. The group feared that Naraku had, in fact, beat them to it, but upon talking with the villagers, they discovered that it had been a bear-demon that ransacked their village, and taken the fragment. So, they left the village, traveling in the direction that the villagers had said they saw the demon go.
It wasn't long before Kagome began to sense the presence of a jewel shard, and a few moments later, they saw the demon ahead. Now, bears were already a decent size, but this one was twice that, due to the power of the jewel shard it carried.
Inuyasha growled slightly as he drew Tetsusaiga, "You guys stay back here, this won't take long." He said, as he ran forward, towards the bear.
"Be careful!" Kagome warned, "That demon already has two shards! One on each of its front legs!"
"What?!" Inuyasha asked, surprised, as he looked towards the miko, "How in the hell did it get a hold of two shards?"
"Why are you asking me?" Kagome questioned. Then, with a gasp, she quickly added, "Inuyasha, look out!"
The hanyou's attention quickly snapped back to the bear-demon, but it was too late; a huge paw hit him, sending him into a tree.
He hit the tree, and a sickening crack filled the air. Though no one could tell if the crack came from the tree, or Inuyasha himself.
"Inuyasha!!" Sango yelled. Arguments or not, she still cared deeply for the hanyou. Without a second thought, she lifted hiraikotsu up, and flung it towards the demon.
The large, boomerang-type weapon sliced cleanly thorough the air then, because the bear was standing on its hind legs, cut through its right, front leg.
The demon roared in pain, but it wasn't long before the arm had reattached itself to the body, since there was a jewel shard in said arm. And, before hiraikotsu could make a full turn and return to Sango's hand, the demon hit it with its other arm, sending it to the ground a distance away from the taijiya.
"Damn it..." The taijiya whispered as she followed her weapons movements with her eyes. Though, as soon as it had hit the ground, she turned back to the demon and, jumping off of Kirara, began to run towards it, drawing her katana.
"D-don't!" Inuyasha said shakily, through clenched teeth as he tried to stand up. "It's... too dangerous!" He continued, winching.
Before he could say anything else, or readjust his hold on Tetsusaiga, the bear-demon turned on him again. The huge paw came down on him a second time, but this time, it didn't let up. The bear continued to press his paw down, right on Inuyasha's chest; every ounce of the massive beast intent on crushing the hanyou beneath it.
Inuyasha grabbed the bear-demons paw in his clawed hands, trying his best to push the monster off of him; but to no avail. The more he struggled, the harder the demon pressed onto him, until finally... Inuyasha stopped moving.
Sango, who had been momentarily paralyzed due to her surprise and fear at the sudden scene, suddenly snapped back to action. "Inuyasha!!" She screamed, her voice filled with fear and slight anger. Forgetting what the hanyou had said to her a moment earlier, she ran forward and, at the same time, threw her chain towards the bear-demon. The chain wrapped around the bear's arm, and Sango jerked back as hard as she could on the end that she still held.
The bear gave a half-growl, half-roar and turned towards Sango.
Seeing the demon leave Inuyasha, the taijiya looked over to the fallen hanyou, hoping to see him get up, or at least move.
But she quickly realized how big of a mistake it had been to let herself get distracted. This was obvious because the bear-demon suddenly pulled back on the chain end that was wrapped around his leg. Because Sango still held the other end, and because she had been momentarily distracted, she was caught off guard, and the sudden jerk on the chain pulled her forward and to the ground.
The taijiya quickly rolled back onto her back, ready to get to her feet once more. But, it was too late. The demon was already only a few feet from her; back on all four of its legs. Before she could get up, the bear had a paw on her leg; its claws digging in and puncturing through the armor that protected her shins. She didn't even had time to think about the pain, before the bear was pulling her closer and closer. It raised it's other front leg, prepared to make the final blow...
"Oi, bakemono."
The bear-demon stopped, lowering its paw to the ground again, as it looked over its shoulder.
Sango too, peered around the demon.
Inuyasha stood, at the same spot where he had only moments ago seemed lifeless; his head bent slightly, so that his bangs covered his eyes. He slowly lifted a hand, flexing his claws and cracking his knuckles as he gave an eerie chuckle.
As he lifted his head, Sango couldn't help but gasp at the sight a little ways away, 'Inuyasha... no...'
Inuyasha laughed again, his lips curling back into a mocking smile as his red eyes narrowed slightly, "You want to have some fun?"
AN: Yes! Its demon-mode Inuyasha! I can't help it; I love him in that form. Why? I don't know.
Oh! And, in case you're wondering, yes, Sango does have a chain. I can only remember seeing her use it twice, as of this moment, but its there.