AN: I know I shouldn't be starting a new story, but the next chapter of 'Once the Dust Settles' is being difficult... very difficult indeed. And, this idea has been with me for a long time now, so I just have to start it. Blame the evil plot bunnies!!
Plot Bunny: -hops up, looking cute and innocent-
Raven's Firefly: Awwww... look at the cute little--
Plot Bunny: -steals carrot and hops away snickering-
Raven's Firefly: -chases after plot bunny- Give me back my carrot!!
AN: Okay, sorry . Anyways... yes, evil plot bunnies won't leave me alone. Thus, this story is born. That's enough from me now, so enjoy!
Disclaimer which applies to all chapters: The anime/manga Inuyasha does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.
"Go!!" Kagome yelled, releasing the arrow and letting it fly towards its target.
Said target, was a large, vine-covered demon that had, somehow, managed to get two jewel shards in its possession. As the arrow came near, several vines shot out and wrapped around limbs of nearby trees. Using the trees for its advantage, the demon pulled itself into the air as Kagome's arrow pierced through the air, close to the ground where it had been.
"It's fast!" The miko said in surprise, lowering her bow as she looked at the demon. Very few had ever managed to dodge her arrows... "This would be easier if Inuyasha was here." She said quietly, looking up into the sky for a moment.
"It can't be helped." Sango said, preparing to strike at the demon herself, "We have to keep this demon away from him." She finished, throwing hiraikotsu towards the demon.
It was the night of the new moon, so they couldn't count on Inuyasha right yet. Normally, it wouldn't take much to kill the demon, since it appeared to be rather weak. But getting close enough to remove the jewel shards first, was proving to be difficult. While most demons use the shards to increase their strength, this one had, apparently, used it to increase its speed. Which made it hard to make a direct hit.
The demon moved out of the boomerang's path, as easily as it had moved out of the way of the arrow. And, once hiraikotsu was out of its way, it turned to look towards the small group, "Shikon no Tama shards... give them to me!"
"Stay away from Kagome, you over-grown weed!" Shippou shouted, bravely running in front of Kagome, since it was the miko who was carrying the shards. "Take this! Tsubushi Goma!!" He continued, flinging his top towards the demon.
The vine-demon, however, wasn't impressed by the kitsune's act, and the toy top was simply knocked to the side before it even had a chance to hit. After all, his attacks were only illusions, and he was still considered to be a child...
Shippou blinked, then 'eeped', and scurried behind Miroku, "I-I'll let you guys handle this, Miroku."
Sango's eyes narrowed as she looked closely at the demon. If they couldn't hit it directly, they'd have to stop its movements. So, with that thought in mind, she dropped hiraikotsu and hopped onto Kirara's back, "Go, Kirara! Get above it."
Obediently, the fire-cat leapt into the air towards the vine-covered demon. She flew directly above the demon, but had to keep moving to avoid being stabbed through by one of its arm-like extensions.
"Just a little longer, Kirara." Sango said, trying to reassure her feline companion. As quickly as she could, the taijiya removed a couple of her poison-gas bombs and lifted her mask to cover her nose and mouth. "Kagome-chan, Houshi-sama, stand back!" She warned. And, once sure that they wouldn't be affected by the gas, she threw the bombs to the ground, both behind and in front of the demon.
As the gas was released, covering both the demon and the area immediately surrounding it, Sango smiled, satisfied, and patted the side of Kirara's neck, "Good girl, Kirara. Now, let's get out of he-- ere!"
Without warning, vines shot up from the smoke, and wrapped around Sango's arm and ankle, "You won't live after that stunt, exterminator!" The demon stated, pulling Sango and Kirara down towards it.
"Damn it..." Sango muttered, pushing herself off of Kirara so she wouldn't drag her down with her, "Kirara, go help Kagome-chan and Houshi-sama!"
The fire-cat made a small, growl-like noise, as though trying to decide if she wanted to leave her mistress or not.
"I'll be fine, but you have to help them protect Inuyasha!" Sango demanded, pulling against the restraints, seeing if she could break them on her own.
"Just who needs protecting?"
Sango's head snapped to the side immediately, and she was met with the sight of a black haired, violet eyed human wearing a fire-rat coat, "Inuyasha? What are you doing?!" She asked, knowing full well that the sun wasn't going to rise for another few minutes.
Inuyasha snorted, turning his attention to the vine-demon, "Keh. I was going to ask you the same thing, Sango. It looks like you need me to protect you, more than I need you to protect me."
The taijiya pursed her lips together, and frowned at the human-hanyou. Though, given her current position, saying something else wasn't going to get her very far. With an aggravated sigh, Sango flicked her wrist, releasing the blade concealed beneath her armor. As the blade exposed itself, it cut through the vine binding her wrist, and it didn't take long for her to free herself completely. Once free, she marched right up to Inuyasha, put her hands on his shoulders, and began pushing him back in the direction of the shack they had been staying in for the night, "You're going to get yourself killed if you're not careful! What if this demon had been a detachment of Naraku? Not all of his detachments are going to be as trusting as Kagura!"
"Trusting and Kagura in the same sentence?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he planted his feet firmly on the ground, not allowing himself to be pushed back any further.
"You know what I mean!" She replied, irritated. Okay, so trusting really wasn't the word she was looking for, but Kagura did know the night Inuyasha turned human, and she hadn't told Naraku when she had the chance... But, really, how could Inuyasha be so passive at such a critical time? Sure, the sun was going to rise in only a few minutes, but still... "We can't afford to make any--"
"Inuyasha! Sango-chan! Look out!!"
Sango turned suddenly at the sound of Kagome's fear-ridden voice. The demon had used the advantage of having Sango's back to it, to advance towards her and Inuyasha. Spinning around to face the demon, the taijiya made a move to draw her katana, hoping to fight it off while Inuyasha could get out of the way. Before she could, however, the demon was in front of the two, and before she knew what was happening, Sango found herself being shoved violently to the side by Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha!!" Kagome yelled, seeing the human-hanyou's actions had put him immediate danger. She didn't want to see Sango hurt, but she knew that Inuyasha was even more vulnerable than Sango was...
Sango cursed silently to herself and pushed herself up quickly, but it wasn't quick enough to help Inuyasha. She got to her feet and turned, just in time to see the demon come down on Inuyasha, swallowing him whole.
The taijiya stood, stunned, for a moment, before shaking it off and narrowing her eyes in a show of determination, "Kagome-chan!" She called, looking over to Kagome and Miroku, who looked about as shocked as she had been, "Kagome-chan, your arrow! Shoot the demon!"
Kagome shook her head, her eyes wide with shock and fear, "I-I can't! Not with Inuyasha--"
"If you want to save him, shoot the area between the two jewel shards!" Sango interrupted, jumping back slightly as she threw two more gas-bombs on the ground, hoping to disorientate the demon so Kagome would be able to hit it, "Hurry!"
The futuristic miko shakily readied an arrow, and slowly drew it back as far as the bow would allow, "Sango-chan, I don't think I--"
"Do it!!" Sango yelled, surprising herself along with her other companions. Now was not the time for being indecisive; every second counted, and they had to act quickly.
Kagome looked to the demon and closed her eyes for a few seconds, "Please hit!" And, as she opened her eyes again, she released the arrow.
Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the arrow pierced through the air; becoming engulfed in a pinkish purple light as it neared the demon. And, remarkably enough, and just as they had all hoped, the arrow hit the area between the two jewel shards the demon had. As it hit, the two shards were forced out of the demons body. Once the shards were expelled, the demon hissed and gurgled before dissolving into nothing, leaving nothing behind.
Nothing, except for a human-shaped, goo-covered glob on the ground where it once stood.
Almost immediately, Sango ran forward, dropping to her knees next to the mess as she began to try and wipe away some of the strange substance, hoping to find Inuyasha alive. Behind her, she could hear Kagome's struggles against Miroku, as the monk restrained her; keeping her back in case the worst had happened. But, that didn't concern the taijiya. She was more concerned with seeing if Inuyasha was okay...
Luckily, though, she didn't have to wait much longer because the oddly shaped lump began moving, then coughing slightly.
"Inuyasha?" Sango asked hopefully, moving back slightly as Inuyasha, still covered in the slime-like substance struggled to stand up.
"One word of this to anyone... and I'll rip your throats out." Inuyasha muttered, coughing again, before slowly trudging his way towards the nearby river, "I have to wash this shit off..."
Once he was gone, the others let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness..." Kagome sighed, smiling slightly. Glad knowing that Inuyasha would be fine, she turned her attention to Sango. "Sango-chan, are you okay?" She asked, walking over to her friend.
Sango nodded slowly, "Hai... I'm fine, Kagome-chan." She replied, brushing some of the strange substance off of her hands. Once Inuyasha was done at the river, she'd have to go there herself.
"Good!" Kagome said cheerfully. Then, almost hesitantly, she added, "Ano... and, thank you for telling me what to do. I just panicked when I saw that thing eat Inuyasha."
The taijiya smiled slightly, looking at the miko, "No problem. We all get that way sometimes, especially if something happens to someone we care about. You don't have to worry about it."
Kagome nodded and smiled as well. But, before she had time to respond, a yell that sounded, surprisingly enough, like it came from Inuyasha cut through the air. Both girls quickly turned and looked anxiously towards the river.
"Wait here, it might be dangerous." Miroku said to the others, before getting up and hurrying towards the river.
Shippou jumped up into Kagome's arms and nuzzled against her, looking worriedly after the monk, "Kagome, it's after sunrise now, do you think Inuyasha really might be in trouble?"
Kagome shook her head slowly, hugging the kitsune close as she tried to sooth both his and her own fear away, "I don't know, Shippou-chan... Inuyasha's not caught off guard easily..."
Only a moment later, Miroku stumbled back into the camping area; his face slightly paled.
"Miroku-sama, what happened? Is Inuyasha okay?" Kagome asked worriedly, glancing to Miroku before looking towards the river again. Seeing Miroku look like that was rare...
Miroku managed to nod, though he was still visible shaken, "Inuyasha's fine, but he-- he's still... he..."
Fortunately, before they wasted half of the morning waiting for Miroku to finally tell what was wrong, Inuyasha returned himself; his body tense, his hands flexing and un-flexing at his sides. And, he looked like he was either about to kill someone, or break down and cry; a very strange expression to see on his face.
"He's..." Miroku once again failed to say what he wanted to, though by now everyone had figured it out...
"...Human." Sango said, finishing Miroku's statement, her eyes wide with surprise.
AN: Okay, be honest now. How many saw coming? Huh? Huh? Okay, the title have given it away a little, but not really. Oh well. Here's hoping that this story turns out nice!
Oh! And, for those curious few, the monster of the chapter was supposed to be similar to the hair-monster that we saw in episodes 83 and 84. Only... this one was made up of vines, and not hair. But, as in size and all that, it was designed after that one n.n