Miroku had to think fast. Time was of the essence, and the slightest delay might cost Kagome her life. He was certain now that Tsubaki wasn't just using her to bait Inuyasha, the dark miko meant to kill her as well.
"Is there no way we can break the curse?" Sango asked.
Having not seen what happened to set off this series of events, Miroku could only guess. "Before she collapsed, Kagome said she had been bitten by something when she climbed out of the well." Looking at Tsubaki, where she stood caressing the unearthly snake, it hit him: the snake, the shikigami, was the conduit for the curse.
"It must have been the snake that bit Kagome," he said. "If I kill the snake…" then that should put an end to the spell and free Kagome.
Lest Tsubaki overhear or notice what he was doing, he raced forward, throwing a pair of sutra scrolls as soon as he was within range.
He had not counted on the youkai. It smashed a paw down directly in his path, sending him reeling backward. Duly warned of his intent, Tsubaki brought up a sleeve to block the scrolls, which burned to useless dust upon making contact with her clothing.
"Idiots," she sneered. "You can't break my curse!"
Too late Miroku realized this was only a distraction; the youkai was coming after him again. This time Inuyasha leaped in to pull him out of the way.
"Fools," Tsubaki went on, aiming her barbs at Inuyasha this time. "The more you resist, the more Kagome's suffering will be pointlessly drawn out." She paused to give a wicked smile. "Or shall I send Kagome to the afterlife sooner rather than later?"
Her mocking was interrupted by an arrow. An arrow Kagome had fired.
The look on Tsubaki's face—wide-eyed, angry, shocked—spoke volumes. She had not expected that Kagome would be able to move by this point, much less fight back. She had clearly underestimated her intended victim. "How can you still be moving?!"
"Do you have a weak mind or something?" Kagome demanded. Her arms shook as she did it, but she drew and nocked another arrow.
Tsubaki was not that easily stopped. Composure restored, and utterly assured that her youkai would protect her from interference, she mused, "So you recovered this much in the brief opening when I was distracted by those scrolls? I guess it wasn't a lie that you're Kikyou's reincarnation, after all." She smiled that wicked smile again. "However, if the real Kikyou had fired that arrow, it would have hit me just now, wouldn't it? You're just a pale shadow of the real thing, aren't you?"
Kagome lost her temper at that. "I am Kagome!" She fired the arrow even as anger overtook her. "I am not anybody else!"
Unfortunately, her anger meant that her aim was not what it might have been. The arrow fell short.
"Fool!" Tsubaki hissed. "You're only speeding your own demise!"
She raised her hand, holding up the tainted Shikon no Tama so that her snake-shikigami could drip venom from its fangs on to the jewel. With each drop that fell, Kagome writhed in pain until at last she fell convulsing to the ground.
Tsubaki's youkai seized its chance and lunged for her. Only Inuyasha's quick instincts saved her. Miroku hung back, watching and thinking.
With his sutra scrolls thwarted and no opportunity to use the kazaana, he strove not to let frustration blind him to possibilities. There was a way out of this. He just had to figure out what it was. Indeed, since Tsubaki had an enormous chunk of the Shikon jewel, there might even be a way to come out of this ahead of their enemies rather than barely hanging on.
With the youkai looming so close overhead, Inuyasha did not have room to protect Kagome and use the Tessaiga, so he had resorted to using his claws instead. And those claws!
He was clearly infuriated by what Tsubaki was doing to Kagome; he tore through her youkai and kept right on going. Before Tsubaki could react, he had swiped at her, too. Only he hadn't been aiming for her.
The snake's head fell to the ground, severed neatly by Inuyasha's claws. However, Miroku knew better than to think this would be the end of it, so he made sure to purify the head using his shakujo. That way they could be assured the shikigami would cause no further trouble.
"Give it up, Tsubaki," Inuyasha warned. "Now that the curse is broken…"
"What makes you think the curse is broken?" she asked.
"You bitch, quit being such a sore loser."
From behind them, Sango called, "She's telling the truth. Kagome isn't recovering."
Miroku knew he couldn't risk taking his eyes off Tsubaki to double check, but he trusted Sango implicitly. If she said Kagome wasn't getting better, then Kagome wasn't getting better.
That could only mean that the shikigami wasn't the true conduit for the curse. Something else was going on here. But what?
"She will die," Tsubaki intoned. "And so will all of you."
Upon this pronouncement, an entire horde of youkai erupted from her body. Miroku had time to wonder how she had managed to contain so many within her body, and then he was occupied with keeping them at bay. And he had to destroy them as he did it, lest any stray toward Kagome while she was defenseless.
Youkai sizzled and vanished when he directed his spiritual power toward them, vanquished by his holy powers. Others he struck down by main force, using his staff. Even Sango had joined the fray, evidenced by the hiraikotsu smashing its way through the horde.
With so much going on, it was nearly impossible to concentrate, or to focus on anything in particular. This must be exactly what Tsubaki wanted, but there was no way to avoid it. If he let his attention wander, he was likely to be killed, and so were his friends.
Still, something wasn't right here. Tsubaki hadn't summoned these youkai now just for the fun of it, and certainly not because she thought they would turn the battle in her favor. They must be a cover for something else. But what? What more could she throw at them?
And then he heard it: the slither of a snake in the grass.
He had purified the shikigami's head, of that he was certain. There should not have been anything left…
He was a fool.
An utter fool.
The snake's body had not vanished when the head was purified. The shikigami really was the key to the curse, but the core of the shikigami had never been in the head at all. It was located in the body… which was… There!
Right before his eyes, it formed a new head for itself as it slithered toward its target: Kagome.
Too late, he called, "Inuyasha!"
But Inuyasha had already realized it, too. "These damned youkai were decoys…"
"You're too late," Tsubaki said. Miroku wasn't looking at her, couldn't tear his eyes away from the snake that was too close to Kagome to be stopped, but he could hear the evil grin in Tsubaki's voice. "Bite off the girl's head and bring her Shikon fragments here," she ordered the snake.
Even Inuyasha was too far to reach Kagome in time; even he could not hope to be that fast. Miroku felt his heart constrict in pain. So many times they had managed to make it through, no matter the danger. To fail now…
But Kagome struggled mightily and, pushing herself partially upright, swatted the snake away with her bow at the last moment. Repelled by her power, the snake raced headlong back to its mistress—and struck her in the face. It happened so fast that Miroku could barely track what had happened.
Tsubaki reeled back and then fell to the ground, shrieking. The nearly-whole piece of the Shikon no Tama rolled out of her hand, shining sweetly pink. Kagome's power had purified it when the shikigami struck Tsubaki. It was another impressive victory, and another reminder that Naraku should ignore her power at his own peril.
And he was certain now that Naraku was behind this. For her to have such a large piece of the jewel… it could not be a coincidence. Naraku had sent her to target Kagome.
But there wasn't time to think through all the implications just yet.
Kagome made a terrible coughing, choking sound—and then the Shikon fragments that had fused with her body extruded themselves from her neck. The curse was broken!
Yet there wasn't time to celebrate. Two of the few remaining youkai swooped down, apparently intending to carry Tsubaki to safety.
"Inuyasha, she's escaping!" Miroku called.
Now that Kagome was safe, Inuyasha was done playing Tsubaki's game. He charged toward her, drawing the Tessaiga as he went. The sword's power brought down the small temple she had been using for a base, but he was too late to stop her. The youkai had already spirited her—and the Shikon jewel—away.