It wasn't the real Naraku. Of course it wasn't the real Naraku. He wasn't fool enough to risk himself like that, no matter how much simpler it would have made matters for Miroku.

Yet Miroku had to admit he was disappointed. In spite of himself, he always carried a kernel of hope in his heart that this time it would be the real one, that this time he might free himself of his curse. His training as a monk should have better prepared him for dealing with such futile hopes, and the inevitable disappointment that ensued, yet it struck at his very heart every time. And this encounter was no exception.

While he hesitated, the first thing Sango did was move to put herself between him and their enemies. Not directly, as if she anticipated that he might want to make use of his sacred sutra scrolls, but enough in front of and before him that she could hope to intercept any attack that might be aimed his way.

Though Miroku typically preferred to fight alone, even in the pulse-pounding heat of imminent battle he was aware that Sango was an excellent partner. She could of course not match Inuyasha's inhuman strength, but the slayers' emphasis on strength in numbers and working together had trained her to be keenly aware of what the rest of her allies were doing in any given fight and to adjust her own approach accordingly. That Inuyasha could not seem to see—or cooperate with—this was his loss.

For his part, Miroku could see plenty of potential uses for a fighter as responsive as Sango. Granted, most of them would primarily serve to make his life much easier and safer, but he was willing to accept that.

In fact, she was already doing just that even as he took a step backward and raised his staff to ward off any oncoming attacks. She hurled the hiraikotsu at the puppet Naraku, throwing with such precision that the massive boomerang hit its target and took off the ends of several tentacles, before returning without ever striking the walls or floor. She caught it on the return with an easy grace that belied how much effort it must take to throw and retrieve a weapon of that size. Unlike Inuyasha, she paused then to take stock of her attack's effect on their enemy.

It wasn't enough. The tentacles were already shifting, their deadly tips re-forming. She would need to hit the puppet directly in its weak point to disable it, and even Miroku had no idea what its weak point might be.

"Houshi-sama, can you use your scrolls to weaken it?" she asked.

He meant to answer, but was faced with a swarm of swooping saimyoushou. It was all he could do to beat them away with his staff, and then some of the tentacles lashed toward him. He skipped awkwardly out of the way and was relieved to see the hiraikotsu come crashing down to sever those tentacles just before they could reach him. Just like the others had before, the severed ends crumbled into dust when they were separated from the main body of the puppet.

"If I can get an opening," he grunted.

More saimyoushou loomed near, unpleasantly large stingers coming entirely too close to him. This all would have been so much easier without the wasps. The kazaana would have made short work of the puppet, but he wasn't willing to risk taking in so much poison from the wasps. He'd felt the effects of their poison before and had no desire to experience it again.

He looked to Sango, hoping she was having better luck than he was, but it was useless. She had her hands full keeping the puppet's tentacles in line. She brought the hiraikotsu down again and again, severing writhing limbs where she could pin them down and fending them off where she couldn't. One of the tentacles tried to sneak past her guard to come at her from behind, but she saw it coming and leaped back out of the way.

Lightning-fast, a second tentacle darted toward her, its tip a deadly sharp weapon waiting to spear her. She twisted in midair and somehow managed to avoid being impaled, but landed awkwardly, stumbling backward directly into Miroku's path. It was an obvious attempt to force them into close quarters where they would hinder each other; regardless, Sango recovered quickly.

Miroku steadied her with a light touch to the shoulder; she didn't need his help, necessarily, but the gesture also served to let her know where he was without needing to divert attention away from the enemy in front of her. She followed through almost immediately, beating back the tentacles with the hiraikotsu, using it almost like a battering ram as she pushed her way back toward the puppet.

Although Sango was making progress against the puppet, the saimyoushou were still a problem. There were so many of them that it seemed there were more every time Sango managed to eliminate even a few of their number. Even as skilled as she was, she could hardly keep up with them and the puppet all at once, and there was only so much Miroku could do to help.

All it would take was one mistake… but Sango didn't make a mistake. None of the puppet's ploys got past her to strike at him from an unprotected side, and she thwarted the saimyoushou as best she could, too. With a weapon as large as the hiraikotsu, she could take out several of the insects in a single swing. Miroku strove to prevent any stray saimyoushou or tentacles from slipping through her guard, all while keeping an eye out for any opening the puppet might present.

But Naraku, it seemed had thought of everything. The puppet wasn't giving them any openings. It was actually pushing them back the way they had come, with the continual risk of being encircled by saimyoushou and hemmed in with nowhere to go.

"Houshi-sama, I'm going to make an opening," Sango said suddenly, a dangerous distraction that saw a stinger get far too close to him before he could fend off the saimyoushou. "When I do, you hit it with one of your scrolls."

"Right," he said, with confidence he didn't entirely feel.

The hiraikotsu carved a desperate path through writhing tentacles and swarming insects. Miroku followed it up an instant later with a sacred sutra scroll, which hit the puppet full in the face and adhered there, crackling faintly as the holy energy contained within it did battle with the evil energy contained in the puppet.

Sango, who had crouched low so as not to be in the way for his throw, surged forward, drawing her sword as she went. With the sutra scroll at work, her slashes did real damage to the puppet, hacking off limbs and ultimately removing its head.

With an uncanny intelligence, as if they recognized that the game was over, the remaining saimyoushou began to flit away. In just a few moments, Sango stood victorious over the crumbling remains of Naraku's puppet, and the hell wasps had all disappeared.

"That's that, then," she said, deep breaths and adrenaline putting a tremor in her voice. It almost sounded like she had thought they might not win that fight.

Then again, he'd come close to thinking that same thing.

He gave them both a few more breaths to enjoy their victory and recover from the fight, but he knew they couldn't afford any more delay. Naraku had wanted to keep them busy here, and that spelled trouble for their friends outside.

"Let's go, Sango," he said. "We've been delayed here long enough."

But hopefully not long enough for Naraku to achieve his aim.