There was no way around it: were too many youkai. Miroku had no idea where Naraku had found them all, or how he had convinced so many to risk their lives working for him, but their sheer numbers meant they would eventually be effective. Sango could shear through several at once with the hiraikotsu, but she and Kirara could only take down so many at a time. Without the full use of his sword and its wind scar technique, Inuyasha was similarly limited.

Miroku had no idea what they would do once they were overwhelmed by the numbers. For now he focused only on keeping the area around him clear. He would worry about the rest—and the growing dread that he might be forced to use the kazaana—later.

He pushed back a group of youkai, his staff fairly crackling as his spiritual power clashed with that of the youkai, and took advantage of the breathing room to take stock of the situation.

Kohaku had grabbed Kagome by the hand and was leading her toward the cover of the forest. On its face it was an innocent attempt to find shelter, to help keep her safe and away from the fighting. It hit Miroku like a bolt of lightning.

It couldn't be… could it? Had Naraku's plan been to separate Kagome from the group the entire time? If so, distracting them all by hurting Sango again had certainly been an effective way to go about it.

Miroku took advantage of a lull in the number of youkai coming his way; he stopped fighting and looked around him. Inuyasha was facing off against Kagura again, not gaining any ground but at least keeping her more or less contained. Sango continued to mow down scores of small youkai with the hiraikotsu.

None of those youkai were chasing Kohaku and Kagome. Which meant that Kohaku couldn't really be the target as Kagura had claimed. Which meant… Miroku wasn't sure what, but it couldn't be anything good.

"Inuyasha, don't be deceived!" he shouted.

"What is it?"

"Why didn't Kagura and the youkai go after Kohaku just now?" he asked. "Kagura said their objective was to retrieve his jewel shard. Yet they only pursued him at first. Now they're just keeping us pinned down while he runs off."

It sounded worse and worse as he went on. He hoped he was wrong, or that Sango had not overheard, but if Kohaku was a danger to Kagome they needed to act now.

"So you finally noticed? Well, it's too late anyway," Kagura said. She stopped attacking and fanned herself in an offhanded way, as if nothing of import were going on.

"So you bastards really are using Kohaku to get to Kagome," Inuyasha snarled.

Kagura laughed. "Maybe you should worry about your own lives," she suggested.

Even as she spoke, more youkai came pouring over the trees toward them. In moments they would be pinned down again, unable to go to Kagome's aid, and unable to stop Kohaku from following any orders he had been given.

"Damn," Miroku muttered. There was only one way out of this, and he knew he wasn't going to like it. But he liked the idea of Sango's brother murdering Kagome even less, so he ripped away the prayer beads that bound his curse, and turned the kazaana on the incoming youkai.

He pulled them all in, poisonous hell wasps and all, ignoring Sango and Inuyasha's shouts of alarm. Couldn't they see this was the fastest way to deal with the problem?

"Go after Kohaku and Kagome, damn it!" he shouted when it became obvious that Inuyasha wasn't going anywhere. Finally, the hanyou took the hint and raced off.

"Don't even think about ruining my plans," Kagura cut in, preparing her fan.

"All I have to do is turn, Kagura," Miroku warned. Never mind that the poison and the youki were already doing their work on his body and he could barely stand. "You really want to get sucked up, too?"

"I'll pass, thanks." She pulled a feather from her hair, which grew to such enormous size that she could climb atop it. The feather carried her swiftly into the sky until she vanished from sight.

Miroku cursed. He should have sucked her up while he had the chance.

At least he had managed to get most of the other youkai… but as he wrapped the prayer beads back around his arm to seal the kazaana away, he realized taking in that many youkai and that much poison may have been a critical mistake. The world seemed to spin wildly around him as black spots danced in his vision, and he went down hard.