Miroku cautiously peered through the bushes, and still on his knees, he mentioned with his hand for Sango to come closer as well. They had followed after Inuyasha… discreetly, of course, not just barging in through the forest as the half demon had done.
The demon slayer wasn't happy with the scene that came to her eyes: Inuyasha was completely cocooned, though you could occasionally hear a grunt of protest, trying to free himself. Looking around, she saw no evidence of Kagome. A trap. Quite clever, she pondered, as it had caused Inuyasha to run without thinking, making himself much to easy to entrap.
"I can't use my Wind Tunnel. Inuyasha is much too close; I might suck him up too," Miroku spoke under his breath.
"Then I'll use Hiraikotsu. It'll catch the spider off-guard," she whispered back.
"Uhh, are you sure it doesn't know we're here?" Shippou asked pitifully, jumping off Sango's shoulder to stand by Kirara.
She stood up, and held the Hiraikotsu to her side vertically, as she watched for a moment or two. Maybe the weapon could hit the spider and at the same time, free Inuyasha from the spider's grasp. Pulling it over her head, she twisted it around and threw it with experienced force towards the spider.
Unfortunately, the spider seemed to have noticed their presence at the last moment, and with an angry hiss, pulled out of the way. Ah, but it had moved a little too late, as the Hiraikotsu had caught one of its eight legs, pulling it from the spider. It screeched in pain, its purple fangs drawing open, shrieking, "The slayer tried to kill the spider? Bad, bad choice!"
It shot a string towards Sango, and she jumped out of the way. At this moment, Miroku had abandoned his hiding spot, and he ran in front of the spider, lifting his right arm up to face the large demon. Pulling off the beads quicker then a heart beat, the Wind Tunnel opened and began to pull it in.
Shrieking in protest, its eight eyes began to go wild, unsure of what it could do. It shot another web string to the trees, trying to keep it self stable, but the Tunnel was powerful. Finally, it jumped and grabbed Inuyasha's cocoon, and threw it to Miroku. It would have to suck up Inuyasha too, if he was to pull in the spider.
Of course, Miroku immediately closed his Tunnel, and the cocoon flew towards him, throwing him off his feet. He hit the ground hard, and he groaned, sitting up slightly. Looking around, he noticed that the spider was gone. Sighing in relief, he forced himself on his feet, and made his way to Inuyasha.
Sango rushed over as well -Shippou and Kirara jumped out of hiding too- and they stopped before Inuyasha's cocoon. The demon slayer touched the surface, and she pulled back her hand once she heard hissing, and peered at it; her hand was burnt. Lifting her Hiraikotsu, she dropped it down on the cocoon, breaking it open.
Inuyasha opened his angry amber eyes, and hopped out of the torn cocoon, his eyes flashing. How could he have gotten caught? He glanced up to the sky, and his heart began to beat faster- morning was soon, much too soon. He had to find Kikyo and Kagome now! He turned to face the others, and he snapped at them, "Look, this is taking too long. We're gonna split up, we'll find them faster this way."
Miroku nodded, "I agree. Let's go!" he motioned to Sango and the others.
Kirara grew to her large form, and Sango jumped on, Shippou tightly grasping her shoulders. The slayer looked back at Inuyasha, concern in her eyes. Somehow, she just didn't think they would find them both alive. Morning was just too near for comfort. The cat ran after the monk, and Inuyasha soon disappeared from her view.
Inuyasha pulled out the Tetsusaiga, and he ran forwards, swiftly cutting down trees as he did so. He continued on madly, still blindly cutting down anything that was in his path. He neither would lose Kikyo nor Kagome! He would make sure of it. He stopped eventually, and he dropped down to his knees, panting. He would protect them both. Growling, Tetsusaiga transformed back into its rusty sword form and he sheathed the fang.
Last time that the spider had made its appearance, they had found Sango close by. He must be near then, if the spider had tried to catch him. Sniffing at the air, he tried to see if he could catch a wisp of either of the women, but no such luck was bestowed upon him.
Looking to the sky again, he saw that dawn was to break soon; he could see rays of light already peeking in through the mountains at the east. No!
At this moment, several of Kikyo's soul collectors had floated in through the canopy, their long slithery bodies swiftly moving towards a certain direction. Inuyasha's eyebrows rose in surprise, but then he began to run after them: they would know, after all, where Kikyo was. What about Kagome? He hoped with all his heart that she too would be there.
The forest seemed to get darker as he went on, the echoes of his footsteps resounding off the trees in an eerily sort of manner. Finally, the Collectors seemed to have led him to a sort of clearing… His pace quickened, and he ran past the collectors- he could see two semi-transparent cocoons hanging in the middle.
"KAGOME!" his heart began to pound, and at that moment, the sun rose above the moment, striking the forest with light, "No!"
He jumped into the air, and outstretched his claws, screaming, "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" as he attacked both of the cocoons, ripping the women free. Pouncing to collect Kagome in his arms, he turned around to face Kikyo. The half demon rushed over to her side, and he put Kagome down by the older priestess.
The Soul Collectors gathered around Kikyo's form, each lowering down to drop a soul. Soon enough, Kikyo's grey looking face brightened, and she began to stir. Her eyes snapped opened, and she stared at Inuyasha, who was staring at Kagome.
Inuyasha glanced up to Kikyo, and saw her rising, but at looking down on Kagome, she was not stirring. He reached down to collect her in his arms, and he shivered at the touch of her flesh. She was so cold… she wasn't breathing. It couldn't be true, he just wouldn't believe it. He brought her closer to his chest, and he closed his eyes, whispering, "Wake up, Kagome. C'mon, wake up…"
"The girl's dead, Inuyasha," Kikyo said coldly, watching them, "Her body has been sucked dry of her soul. She's no more then fodder for the spider now."
"NO!" the half demon growled, still not dropping his eyes off Kagome, "You woke up, didn't you? Kagome will wake up soon."
The dead priestess laughed callously, at the pitiful sight, "You forget, Inuyasha. More then one soul keeps me alive; my Soul Collectors brought me souls to revive me, but nothing will bring back Kagome's soul."
"No…" he protested weakly, the truth finally drawing out to him. Kagome gone… it just wasn't right. He hugged her tightly, his eyes shut firmly. He had promised to protect her, and she trusted him with her life, and now… she was gone… No. He just wouldn't accept that. Standing up, he held Kagome in his arms, and he stared down hard at Kikyo, "I'll get it back then. I'll kill the damn spider and do whatever it takes to get it back."
Kikyo shook her head, "It won't work, Inuyasha. Just let her be, and let us embrace Hell together."
"No, Kikyo," Inuyasha growled at her, and pushing off with his legs, he soon left the dead priestess alone.
The older woman stared at the rapidly disappearing red back of the hanyou. Her eyes narrowed, and she stood up, her Soul Collectors beginning to wrap themselves around her. She then murmured to herself, "Your time to make a choice will come, Inuyasha. And you will choose me," she vowed darkly.
TO BE CONTIUNED