CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
x.
Miroku's head ached as he sat back against a tree. Breaking a hole in that barrier had taken its toll on him, and despite his longing to follow Sango and the others, he knew he couldn't. He would just have to hope that they were all all right. Especially Sango....
He didn't doubt Sango's fighting skills -- she had been trained all her life to fight, kill, and outmaneuver creatures that few humans could even hope to wound. But it would have made him feel better if he could have stayed by her side. That way, if anything went wrong, he would be able to help...
Then he froze. A shadow had passed over him.
For a moment the monk stayed motionless. Then he crept out of the tree's shadow and looked up at the sky. Against the darkening sky, he could see the silhouette of a beautiful woman, staring through the barrier. And she was riding on a feather.
Kagura.
Miroku pulled the beads from his hand; at the same moment, Kagura's scarlet eyes looked down at him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she called down. With a loud buzzing sound, several wasps flew up behind her.
Miroku grimaced and wound the beads around his wrist again. He was tempted to suck away the demon woman, even knowing that it was risking death to take in any of Naraku's wasps. But he didn't want to -- not yet. "Kagura!" he shouted. "Tell me what you're doing here! Is this one of Naraku's traps?"
"Of a sort," the wind sorceress said disdainfully. "But you have no need for concern. For the moment." She smiled slightly as the feather drifted away.
"What are you doing here?!" Miroku repeated.
"I'm here merely as an observer," Kagura said coyly, flicking her fan out at the barrier. "I'm here to watch the show."
Then she waved the fan, sending a gust of wind curling under her feather. It soared away, over the trees and beyond the barrier's reach. Her lips curled into a smile as she watched him. You shouldn't worry about your friends, she thought. You should be more worried about yourself. Once Inuyasha is dead, I doubt Naraku will want you alive much longer either.
"Kagura!" Miroku shouted, running toward the barrier. Then he stopped, frustrated, and cursed under his breath. He couldn't follow her. All he could do was cling to the hope that Inuyasha, Sango and Kagome were all right....
With a grimace, the monk stuck his hand into his robe. He had a few spell scrolls left -- maybe he could break open the barrier again. It was worth a try. Even with Kagura lurking nearby, his wind tunnel might be needed to fight Naku...
x.
Kagome was too terrified to move. Naku was just looking down at her, with that creepy thin smile on his face. His eyes moved down to Inuyasha. The half-demon was still and pale, with blood soaking the ghastly wound in his stomach. His face didn't even twitch at the sound of Naku's voice.
"I see he's bled almost to death," Naku said coldly.
"Get out of here!"
"And if I don't?" Naku crossed his arms. "Stay out of my way, girl."
"S-stay away from him!" Kagome called.
Naku's smile widened at that, as if she had made an unusually funny joke. Then he drew a long, slender sword. The blade glowed faintly as he took a step towards the wounded half-demon. "I was hoping to hear him beg for death," he said. "But I'll just have to deal with him right away. This assignment has already taken far longer than I thought it would. And I'm in a hurry to deal with my next assignments."
Desperately, Kagome clutched Tetsusaiga and lunged at Naku, head-butting him in the stomach. Startled, the assassin staggered back, pushing the girl away. Kagome landed in a heap, with the sword falling from her hand. Suddenly Naku kicked her in the shoulder, then pinned her arm down with one of his feet. "If I hadn't been told to bring you in unharmed," he said through gritted teeth.
"Don't hurt him!" Kagome cried. She wriggled wildly as Naku turned back to Inuyasha's prone form, and raised his sword. "Please, don't hurt him! Don't!"
Naku's sword paused in mid-air, as if the assassin were thinking about the young man he was about to kill. Kagome tried to tear herself away from Naku, try to get between Inuyasha and the assassin, but she couldn't move. The half-demon still lay as if dead, not hearing Kagome's cries. The sun glinted on the blade, just before it swung down toward Inuyasha's exposed throat.
And more blood spilled over the ground.
TO BE CONTINUED