Chapter Fourteen

Just when death was sure to claim her, there came a joyous sound. The sound of the rush of wind when the breath of life returned. After a fit of coughs, Sango's chest rose and fell of its own accord as the demon's mouth parted from hers. Miroku couldn't believe what he was seeing, but he was grateful nonetheless.

Sango's eyes fluttered open and met his as he scooted as close as he could. He was on her opposite side as her demon savior turned her attention to the wound on her neck. It still oozed blood, but not as much as it had before. Luckily the bastard that had attacked her hadn't punctured a major artery. So long as the wound itself didn't get infected, Miroku knew she was likely to live.

Twice that day he had thought Sango was either about to die or already dead. Twice she had been snatched from the jaws of death. Now he gently took her by the shoulder with his one good arm and pulled her toward him, holding her head to his chest.

"Sango…" he said, staring off into nothingness, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. His heart continued to pound in his ears. "I don't believe it. I thought you were dead."

"I thought the same, Miroku," she mumbled into his robes, tears bleeding into the soft fabric.

"I should heal the wound," the vixen said. Miroku nodded and carefully lay Sango back down so that the stranger could attend to her. Where had Shippo found this marvelous creature? Who was she? Why was she helping mere mortals, a full-fledged fox demon like herself?

He thought she must be an angel; she was the one who had delivered life back to his precious Sango. These were questions that could come later, of course; right now there were more important issues to deal with. His first thought was of Sango. He had to be certain she was comfortable before he headed off to find the Kagome and InuYasha. Nothing was more important than Sango…

"The toxin's purpose was not to kill, but to paralyze," the vixen announced suddenly, rubbing some sort of ointment into the wound on Sango's neck. "That demon you slew must have injected a fairly large dose into her bloodstream."

Miroku narrowed his eyes, turning his head slightly in thought. He'd been clumsy, and it had nearly caused Sango her life. What right did he have now to hold any claim to Sango's heart? The others were right… he was no more than an idiot for behaving the way he did all the time. He looked back to the strange vixen. "I have to go. Take care of them, will you?"

The demon glared up at him, but offered a nod. When he started to leave, he heard Sango's voice once more. "Miroku?"

He was by Sango's side in an instant. "Yes, Sango?" He wanted to take her in his arms, but the pain in his left arm had returned full force. He cringed, cradling his arm to his body.

Her voice was hollow… weak. "You can't fight like that, Miroku. InuYasha and Kagome… they can take care of themselves."

"I can't let them face that bastard alone," Miroku said, looking away.

"They aren't alone," Sango murmured. "They have each other." He frowned. She reached up and placed her fingers lightly to his cheek. "Right now, Shippo and I need you. Whatever else happens, don't you trust InuYasha and Kagome? After all we've been through together, don't you believe in them?"

Miroku eyed her, and then let a small smile shine through the darkness of his expression. He closed his eyes, turning slightly away from her. "Why Sango, I'm surprised at you."

She blinked, obviously surprised at his reaction. "What?"

"Don't you trust in me? After all we've been through together, don't you believe in me?"

"Miroku, I don't know what…"

He smiled. "I'm no fool, Sango. I know you're just trying to keep me from Naraku's clutches. But after all we've been through together… and I mean all of us—InuYasha, Kagome, Shippo, you, me, Kirara—haven't you learned by now that Naraku will never stop tormenting us until we find a way to put an end to him? We have to stop Naraku, no matter the cost. Even if that cost is my life, I intend to see it through, Sango. Because if I weren't willing to sacrifice myself in pursuit of our goal…" He opened his eyes, shifting his gaze to her. His smile was earnest, proud. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "… how could I ever look into the eyes of the woman I love? How could I ever meet your gaze without first proudly defying that evil which threatens not only my own life, but hers as well? Naraku must be destroyed, or everything we've stood for after all this time is for naught."

Tears had filled her eyes, threatening to pour from her like a gentle, early-morning rain. "Oh, Miroku…" She looked away. "You are a fool."

"Yes, I am," he said gently. "A fool in love."

Sango blinked, but her hesitation was only momentary. She fixed him with an iron glare. "You can't fight in your condition. Not alone."

"Perhaps not… but I have to try."

The vixen cleared her throat. Both monk and demon-slayer looked her way. "If you two are quite done," she said in a cold voice, "I believe I have a suitable compromise."

Miroku frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Just give me your arm, monk."

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"Kagome…"

InuYasha was still clutching the girl's lifeless body to his own when he collapsed to his knees. Mere moments ago, the blood that had soaked his firerat garb had been all his own; now Kagome's had joined it, gushing relentlessly from the gaping hole in her abdomen… the gaping how he himself had told into her. The very thought threatened to rip all sanity from his world.

Tears filled the half-demon's eyes. He could only sit and hold her as he stared through the blurry haze at the serenity in her lifeless face. How strange she could look so pleasant in the waning moments of life. He knew that even if he could somehow stop her bleeding, Kagome was already well past saving. Her spirit had already slipped from her body.

"Oh Kagome… I'm so sorry," he murmured, his face buried in her soft hair. "This is all my fault. I never should have left. I should have stayed with you."

A familiar voice came to him. His head snapped up at the sound. Naraku. "Such a pity it should end like this," the thing said. No longer a half-demon, InuYasha knew. It had somehow split itself with Onigumo's heart. Naraku was now a full-fledged demon. Still, the writhing mass was like nothing InuYasha had ever seen. "Nevertheless, you will not have to mourn for long. Your time, much like that of the wench, is over in this life. You will join her in the world of the dead shortly."

InuYasha's claws flexed as the furry surged through him. "You first, bastard!" he shouted as he flung himself toward his nemesis. He swiped out with his claws, only to strike empty air. He spun about wildly, snarling with furry.

"So we meet again, half-breed."

InuYasha fixed his glare to the powerfully-built figure behind him. He blinked, wondering how it could be at all possible. It was the tiger demon from before. The beast stood now in its human form, red eyes flaming as it glared across the cavern at him. InuYasha flexed his claws.

"You bastards are going to pay for what you've done," InuYasha growled. "Each and every one of you filthy demons are gonna die for what you've done to Kagome!" He bolted forward, claws flexing.

From the corner of his eye, InuYasha saw a glowing stream of white sliding through the air gracefully, looping over Kagome's body, and then dipping down.

Kikyo's soul collectors! What the hell did they think they were doing?

"Iron-reaver Soul-stealer!" InuYasha growled, swiping mercilessly at the tiger demon.

There was a great flash of light as the half-demon's powerful claws ripped through the tiger's flesh, shredding the thing in that instant as if it were no more than a piece of paper. Standing over the spot where the tiger had been, InuYasha lowered to a knee, tears suddenly consuming him. He thought immediately of Kagome, and how it was a meaningless endeavor. All this time he had been fighting for the wrong purposes. What truly mattered was that Kagome believed in him, and had always believed in him. Now Kagome was dead.

He shifted his gaze to the soul collector, now glowing with the purity and intensity that was Kagome's soul, as it slid down the tunnel and out of sight. That bitch!

"Kikyo, how dare you!" InuYasha growled. "She never did anything to you!"

He fell to his knees and bellowed in incoherent furry.

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"InuYasha's bitch is dead."

Kagura switched her turned slightly to face Hakudoshi, her scowl deepening, but he didn't meet her gaze. The wind sorceress flipped her open her fan and looked away. Her eyes fell to the glowing, white snake floating through the air, far below, moving like wisps of smoke into the cover of shadows. The smirk in the brat's voice reeked of arrogance, not unlike Naraku's own pompous tone. Kagura closed her eyes when he spoke again.

"The mutt did it himself, you know. Put his claws straight through her belly. I imagine he shattered her spine when his fist came through the other side. Bitch never knew what hit her."

Unlikely, Kagura thought. She may only be human, but she knows InuYasha like no one in this entire, miserable existence. She probably let him do it.

Hakudoshi chuckled. "Do you suppose she did? Well, that I suppose is possible. Humans are terribly sentimental." His smirk grew. "Must have chilled her to the bone, knowing she was about to be ripped apart by the half-breed she loved so dearly."

"You're a twisted little bastard."

"Why, thank you, Kagura." He turned and started off into the shadows. "Come. We have things to do. Naraku will finish InuYasha. The monk and demon-slayer must be dealt with."

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Kikyo turned suddenly as her eyes widened. The moment before, when the soul collector had arrived, the feeling of dread had already sunk in. It was a sensation she hadn't felt since she'd been awakened. The reason came as soon as this new soul was delivered. This soul, of course, was different. This soul was key to reviving her spirit.

Kagome, she now knew, was dead.

The soul collector had taken what was left of the girl from the future and delivered the prize to its master, and suddenly, as the lost soul flooded Kikyo's being and came alive within her, it happened. Humanity flooded back into the dead girl's existence. A resounding wave of shame slammed through her, heart thundering in her chest. She staggered, nearly falling, only to sink to her knees the moment she'd caught herself. Slender fingers came up to wipe her cheek, where she found a trail of tears. She was crying. Sobbing, she realized. Her shoulders trembled; it had been ages since she'd heard herself cry. The sound frightened her. The very act of crying was immobilizing.

"What have I done?" she sobbed. "Oh, InuYasha…"

She clenched two fistfuls of her hakama and let out a moan of despair.

"What have I done?"

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"What on Earth happened here?" Miroku mumbled as he peered down the mass of chaos below. His fist tightened as he considered the disastrous consequences InuYasha must have faced when the black widow had forced him into her snare, amidst a mass of demons trapped in her gastly web. Bits and pieces of demon corpses were strewn all about, especially along the trail of debris where InuYasha's Tetsusaiga had scarred the earth. "You were here, weren't you, Kirara? And Shippo along with that demon vixen. InuYasha must have freed you when he unleashed the Wind Scar. I wonder… was it the black widow demon he was trying to strike down?"

Of course it was. At least, it seemed a reasonable theory. Why else would InuYasha risk freeing so many demons unless he was actually trying to defeat a formidable foe? Miroku gripped his fist tighter as Kirara continued on past the grisly sight. He wondered how far the fire-cat had taken Kagome when she came this way the first time. From this height he could see no signs of his friend from the future, but Kirara seemed intent only on the path ahead, and the mysterious mountain Miroku had never before seen, the location from where Naraku's foul aura emanated. InuYasha would have headed that way, and Kagome would not be that far behind.

Miroku had to catch up to them. He only hoped he wasn't too far behind. He clutched his staff tightly in one fist as he forced himself to focus on the defeat of Naraku, and not on his own personal dilemmas. There would be plenty of time to worry about the others later…

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"Excuse me… but you never told us your name," Sango said softly, rubbing the spot of her neck where the thing had bit her. The pain was gone, though it was a little stiff. It seemed nothing less than a miracle that her fingers graced warm, smooth flesh, rather than a jagged and bloody wound. They had been so lucky this beautiful vixen had come to their aid… Sango in particular.

She was standing now, testing each and every inch of her body to be certain it was prepared to fight. She couldn't believe that every ounce of pain she had been forced to endure—those terrible injuries that had threatened her very existence—had been so effortlessly cleansed from her body, and now she could move quite nimbly if need be, without so much as a limp.

"I am Zuri," the vixen replied as she adjusted the twin sais at her belt and rose to her feet, brushing the earth from the skirt of her kimono. She turned her gaze to sango and then down to Shippo before facing the northwest and the mountain that awaited them. "I am an assassin, sent by my aunt to locate and dispatch Naraku, the half-breed bastard responsible for tearing my tribe apart."

Shippo frowned. "Your aunt?"

"Yes, little one. She is Queen Keiko of the fox demon tribe, and my sensei."

The young fox demon's eyes dropped to study the tips of his toes. "Keiko…"

Sango knelt beside Shippo, placing a hand on the young fox's shoulder. The little guy seemed deep in thought as he stared at his feet. Zuri stood with an impassive expression, watching the northwest, before lowering to take her staff.

"I am going after Naraku," she announced. "If you wish to join me, you best dry your eyes and focus on the task ahead. If not, so be it."

Sango watched as the assassin strode away. She swallowed, and then considered the boy with a thoughtful expression. "Shippo… what is it you're thinking?"

"Sango, I…" Shippo turned his wide-eyed, misty gaze up to Sango. The demon-slayer frowned at the tears welling in the little kit's eyes. He clenched them shut before drawing a deep breath and shaking his emotions away. "I think that fox is my cousin."

"What?" Sango blinked down at him in surprise. "Shippo, what makes you think that?"

"Because…" The little guy peered up to the demon-slayer, biting his lower lip. "Because Keiko's my ma's name."