AN- Thanks for all the reviews! I can't tell you how great it felt to hear that you like this first attempt! I will probably write individual notes to reviewers starting from the next chapter. I will try to update frequently.
Well, here's Chapter 2!
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The next morning, rain had come bucketing down, though there had been no sign of storm clouds in the evening. The group was rather dissuaded by the muddy road, but Inuyasha, as usual, insisted that they keep on moving. Kagome walked under one of her little umbrellas, wheeling her bike along beside her with Shippou perched on her shoulder. Inuyasha walked ahead, head bare to the falling rain. Sango and Miroku trailed behind Kagome, both wearing their flat hats to keep their heads dry. Kirara lay curled around Sango's neck.
Miroku glanced at Sango occasionally, noting the way her feet seemed to drag at each step, and the way she constantly chewed her lower lip as though in deep thought. Whatever she was thinking about didn't seem to make her happy, if the way she repeatedly shook her head was any indication. She muttered under her breath, her voice too low for Miroku to make out what she was saying. He couldn't tell if the mutters were angry or confused.
Shifting his staff from one hand to another, he gently tapped her on the head with it. Sango looked up in surprise, the water trickling onto her uplifted face. Miroku smiled and asked 'What's wrong Sango? You seem rather preoccupied today.'
Sango looked down quickly. 'It's nothing.' She replied quietly, and walked ahead.
Miroku frowned in puzzlement. 'Nothing'? He didn't believe that, she hadn't quite met his eyes when she had said it. And was it just his imagination, or had she looked at Inuyasha before answering?
After about half an hour, Kagome wheeled her bike ahead so that she was level with Inuyasha. Pointing to her left, she stated 'There's a jewel shard nearby. I think its coming closer.'
Inuyasha lifted his head and sniffed in the direction she had pointed in, though how he hoped to make out any scent in this rain Miroku didn't understand. 'Is it that wolf cub?' he asked.
Kagome shook her head. 'No. I don't think so. I think there's only one shard with this demon, or whatever it is. It's moving quickly though.'
Inuyasha gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes never leaving the stand of trees that bordered the road in the direction the shard was coming from. He gestured with his other hand for Kagome to fall back to Sango and Miroku. Kagome did so, still peering at the trees.
Suddenly, a huge man shaped, scale covered figure leapt out of the trees, straight onto the road in front of Inuyasha. A single eye peered from its forehead, long silver claws tipped each finger of both hands, and it had what looked like living snakes growing out of its head. It reached towards Kagome, saying 'Give me the jewel shards!'
Tetusaiga struck before the giant's hand was halfway to the girl. It hacked the hand clean off, leaving the demon roaring in pain. 'I don't think so.' Inuyasha smirked.
Before he had much time to gloat however, the demon lashed back with its other hand. Leaping nimbly out of the way, Inuyasha slashed at demon's foot, drawing the monster's black blood. He jumped again as the hand slashed back towards him, landing in his original place in front of the demon.
Sango ran forward and flung the Hiraikotsu as hard as she could. The giant boomerang whizzed through the demon's usable arm, before bending its path back to her. Snatching it out of the air, she paused before hurling once more to ask Kagome 'Where is the shard?'
Kagome paused in fitting an arrow to her bow. 'In its forehead, above the eye.' She replied. She aimed the arrow carefully at the spot, and then gasped, dropping the bow from suddenly numb hands. 'Inuyasha!'
The hanyou had heard Kagome's answer to Sango's question, and had jumped up immediately, to strike at the demon's forehead. Before Tetusaiga could even touch the monster's scaly skin, one of the thick snakes wriggled downwards and wound itself around Inuyasha's uplifted hands. He dangled in the snake's grasp, and kick and thrash about as he might, he couldn't get free.
"Damn it!" he shouted. The snake swung Inuyasha closer to the demon's gaping mouth. Its fetid breath washed over him as he was pulled closer and closer to those sharp blood encrusted fangs. Closer, closer, closer…
Hiraikotsu struck again. Inuyasha fell with a gasp to the ground, his wrists still bound by a still wriggling length of a now severed snake. Inuyasha had just brought his wrists down to face-level, when Miroku hurried over to him.
"If you were thinking of biting that off, I'd say you were a complete idiot." The monk said calmly, as he banged the scaly 'rope' with his staff.
"If you thought that I would even consider that an option, you're a complete idiot." Inuyasha retorted, though in truth he had considered it.
Miroku grinned, but said nothing. Gripping Inuyasha's arms, he hauled him to his feet. "Do you think you could still use the Wind scar all lashed up like that?" he asked.
"Sure. It's only my wrists after all." Inuyasha shrugged, turning to face the demon again.
Meanwhile, Sango, Kirara and Kagome together had managed to bang the monster up pretty well. It was bleeding freely in many places, but whenever Sango's boomerang, Kirara's fangs or Kagome's Sacred Arrows killed a snake, another grew back to take its place. And try as she might, Kagome couldn't manage to get an arrow near the jewel shard. Every time one came close, a snake would slither down the demon's forehead and block it.
Inuyasha ran to stand in front of the demon once more, with the others behind him. He noted the point where the winds collided, raised the sword and yelled, "Now die!"
The demon could only gape stupidly in surprise and horror before it was torn apart.
As soon as it disappeared, Kagome ran forward and picked up the single jewel fragment, purifying it instantly. Inuyasha lowered his arms and glared at her back before asking "Hey! Any help in getting this darn rope off?"
"Let me take care of that Inuyasha."
Miroku looked in surprise at Sango as she pulled her katana from her belt and walked quickly over to the hanyou. Raising it slowly, she paused before bringing it down again, severing the scaly length of reptile.
Pulling the remnant off his wrists, Inuyasha looked gratefully at her, but said nothing. He sheathed the Tetusaiga, and turned from her to look at Kagome, who was now walking back to them. "Got it?"
Kagome opened her fist to show the sparkling fragment resting on her palm.
"Good." Walking ahead, Inuyasha looked back to the others. "Do you guys want to stand around in this rain all day or what?"
Shaking herself, Kagome picked up her umbrella, righted her fallen bike and wheeled it quickly after the hanyou. Shippou bounded up to her shoulder again. Kirara, now transformed into her normal tiny state, jumped into Sango's arms. Settling the neko on her shoulder, Sango picked up the Hiraikotsu and looked briefly at Miroku before walking on.
Miroku leaned on his staff a while, watching the group move ahead. Sango's steps didn't seem to drag that much anymore, nor did she shake her head so often. What had happened? Had it simply been frustration that she had now let out on the demon? Probably not. Sango would have let out her frustration by yelling at him, he thought. Not that he had touched her mind, he had been paying a great deal of attention to NOT doing that; getting hit on the head with the Hiraikotsu was not exactly encouraging. What could it be then? Would she tell him? Maybe if he first put her in a good mood, and then asked her about it…
"Hey Miroku! Ever planning to show some effort and walk?"
Grinning, Miroku started after a glaring Inuyasha. Whatever it was, he would find out. Sango wouldn't be able to hide things from him for long.
Please forgive me for the pathetic fight scene. I don't know how you other writers do it, but I CANNOT write fight scenes. Conversations and descriptions…they're more my thing.
As you may have figured out from this chapter, there is going to be A LOT of Miroku in this story. Why? Cause I ADORE Miroku. He's my FAVORITE male character. I don't think most Inu-San fics contain enough of him. Which is why I'm planning on giving him a major role. Oh yeah, when I said 'She would have let out her frustration by yelling at him', the 'him' I'm referring to is Miroku, not the demon.
Review!