"MIROKU GET DOWN!" Sango screamed as she saw the pistols emerging from Zanshin's clothing. If there ever was a time when she found herself grateful for the lifetime of training and experience that had honed her combat instincts, this was it. Sango detected Zanshin's move the exact moment he had reached into his shirt, and by the time she shouted her warning to Miroku, she was already in the process of evading. Well before Zanshin pulled his triggers, Sango dove out of the way with a sideways roll across the ground, causing his shot to miss by a wide margin, and finished it by snapping back up on her feet.
For Miroku, things didn't work out quite as well. Lacking Sango's combat reflexes and her lithe athleticism, he was a bit slower to react and his technique was not nearly as graceful. Miroku simply dove forward, hurling himself face-first into the dirt as the musket ball whizzed over his head, missing by mere inches.
Sango and Miroku had avoided Zanshin's opening barrage, but the initiative was still on his side. Zanshin immediately discarded his empty guns, picked a large 2-foot stone off the ground, and hurled it at Miroku as if it were nothing but a mere pebble.
Miroku, who was still pulling himself off the ground and wiping the dirt out of his eyes when Zanshin made his throw, found himself unable to avoid it. All he could do was lighten the impact by getting his arms under it as it slammed into his chest, completely knocking the wind out of him. With a rough "OOOF!", Miroku sank to his knees and fell over on his side, coughing uncontrolably and gasping for air.
Sensing victory, Zanshin quickly charged at the fallen Miroku, hoping to finish him off. But before he was even halfway there, he was intercepted by a hard-charging infuriated Sango, who rushed between them and tripped Zanshin up with a sliding foot sweep. He recovered almost instantly, but Sango was a little quicker in getting back up. As Zanshin rose from the ground, Sango grabbed him by the shoulders with both hands and drove her knee into his sternum. Then she followed through with a left hand body punch and a powerful right hand uppercut, knocking Zanshin away and giving her the opportunity she needed to pull the Hiraikotsu off her back.
"I'll bury you, Zanshin!" Sango shouted as she subsequently drilled him in the head with an inward swing. The devastating blow from the oversized boomerang tore a good chuck of flesh from his skull, knocked Zanshin off his feet, and sent him rolling across the ground for several yards before coming to a halt, bleeding profusely from his newly opened wound.
As Zanshin slowly staggered back up to a standing position, Sango went for a killing strike. Taking a single step forward, Sango threw the Hiraikotsu at him with all her might.
"Got him now!" Sango thought to herself as the giant boomerang left her hands. "There's no way he can dodge this."
Sango's assessment was accurate. Her close proximity to Zanshin and the impact of her previous attack prevented any attempt at evasion. But the results turned out to be quite different then what Sango expected. Zanshin didn't dodge the Hiraikotsu, and it didn't hit him either.
He caught it.
Sango's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide with awe as Zanshin hauled in the mighty boomerang with a perfect catch. In all her years of experience fighting demons, Sango had never seen anything like this. Zanshin, who had no training or experience whatsoever with the large, ungainly weapon, had just handled it as though it had belonged to him all along.
"Surprised, Sango?" Zanshin asked gloatingly. Despite the steady stream of blood still pouring from the side of his head and running down his body, Zanshin seemed more confident then ever. "When will you learn that I'm the one in control here? I told you before, your weapons are mine to use as I see fit."
"No! This can't be happening!" Sango still could hardly believe the turn of events. It had taken her countless hours of practice, and quite a few minor injuries, to master catching the Hiraikotsu. It was supposed to be the ultimate demon slaying tool, and the notion that a demon could master it so effortlessly seemed inconceivable.
"Well, shall we continue?" Zanshin taunted her as he held the Hiraikotsu in front of him. "Or do you need more time to stare?"
Sango's attitude quickly transitioned from surprise to pure rage. Screaming in fury, Sango responded to his challenge by drawing her sword and charging back into battle at full speed, raising it above her and swinging it down upon him as soon as she got close.
Almost effortlessly, Zanshin blocked her downward strike by thrusting the Hiraikotsu up with both hands. Then he countered with a hard kick to her chest, causing Sango to double over and drop her sword.
"You're finished." Zanshin stated calmly. Then he smashed the giant boomerang into Sango's face. The impact was massive, instantly knocking Sango to the earth. She tumbled across the ground for several feet before finally halting in a patch of tall grass. There she lay motionless, face-down on the ground with blood rapidly soaking up the grass blades around her head.
Zanshin roared with laughter as he casually strolled over to Sango's prone body, still brandishing the Hiraikotsu, which was now stained with Sango's blood in addition to his own.
"Is this the best you maggots can throw at me?" He shouted at both his opponents in a tone mixed with bluster and contempt. "And to think I thought this might take a little effort!"
Suddenly, Zanshin heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. He quickly turned around to face the oncoming opponent, but not fast enough. Before he could move the Hiraikotsu into a defensive position, Zanshin found himself on the receiving end of a powerful staff blow from Miroku, who had recovered and was now charging at Zanshin like a vicious predator. The impact from Miroku's staff knocked the Hiraikotsu out of his hands and laid him flat on his back. Zanshin snapped right back up, but Miroku continued to wail away on him, raining down blow after blow.
"HANDS!-OFF!-SANGO!" Miroku shouted in rage, emphasizing each word with a staff strike. His first had the blunt end crashing into his rib cage. The second slashed Zanshin across the face and tore off the front portion of his nose. His final blow nailed Zanshin in the left side of his head, once again knocking him off his feet.
With Zanshin now on the ground, Miroku gripped the staff near the bladed tip with both hands and attempted to drive it into his brain. But just before it reached him, Zanshin's hands sprang up and gabbed ahold of Miroku's wrists. After a brief struggle, Zanshin overwhelmed him with his superior demon strength, rising to his feet, shoving Miroku away, and making him stumble off-balance for a good distance before tripping over a tree root and falling down. The whole incident didn't hurt Miroku much, but it gave Zanshin the time he needed to recover and robbed Miroku of his momentum. By the time Miroku got up, he was facing a well prepared Zanshin with his fists raised in a perfect combat stance, battered and bloody, but still looking ready to pick right up where they left off.
"So Miroku, did my thrashing of your slayer whore get your blood boiling? Good! I was hoping to get a decent fight out of you."
It took an enormous amount of restraint for Miroku to resist charging right back at Zanshin, swinging wildly. But suddenly he remembered what Sango had told him before the battle.
"I've got to stay focused and in control. Going all out on him will just get us both killed."
"Well you're about to get more then you bargained for." Miroku replied calmly. "I'm going to pay you back for every drop of her blood you've spilled. Now come on!"
Zanshin responded to Miroku's challenge by rushing right at him, attempting to deck him with a running punch. But Miroku was too quick. He swiftly evaded the blow and slammed his staff into Zanshin's knee, causing him to buckle. Taking full advantage of his new opportunity, Miroku slashed Zanshin across his shoulder, and then nailed him in the side of his face, sending him reeling backwards into a large tree.
Once again, Miroku tried to finish him off from there by driving the bladed end of his staff into Zanshin's skull, but this attempt turned out to be even worse then the last one. Zanshin quickly ducked under the strike as it sailed into the tree trunk and countered with a hard blow to Miroku's already injured ribs. As Miroku staggered backward, Zanshin cracked him under the jaw with his knee and then knocked him to the ground with a vicious heymaker punch.
"You really thought you could handle me, didn't you, little Monk?" Zanshin asked as Miroku shook off the effects of his most recent beating. "Without that wind tunnel of yours, you're nothing. Just a worthless little boy with a sharpened stick. Now get on your feet!"
Seething with rage, Miroku planted his staff in the ground and used it to slowly pull himself up. Even his hatred of Naraku could not match his fury against Zanshin at the moment. Zanshin had decimated his beloved Sango. Miroku had promised he would protect her, and Zanshin had made him fail in a matter of minutes. And now he was continuing to talk down to him like he was nobody, a mere weakling not worthy of his time. Miroku's dedication to keeping his anger under control was growing more difficult with every passing second.
"I can't let Sango down." Miroku thought as he finished getting up and rushed back into the fight. "It's all up to me now."
But this time, he failed to land a single blow. As soon as he swung his staff at Zanshin, the powerful demon parried by grabbing ahold of the shaft. With a rapid twisting motion he instantly yanked it clean out of Miroku's hands. It happened so fast that Miroku barely had time to comprehend what happened before Zandhin thrust the blunt end of the staff into his chest and then swiped him across the face with it, toppling the weary monk to the ground with his own weapon.
The pain in Miroku's ribs was now excruciating, but he forced himself to ignore it. Recovering as quickly as possible, he sat up to see Zanshin towering over him, brandishing Miroku's staff as if it were his own.
"Looks like this won't be helping you anymore," said Zanshin as he walked over to the large tree that Miroku had knocked him into earlier. "But what now? I've already beaten both of you maggots at your own game. Let's see if you can beat me at mine!
With that, Zanshin swung the staff into the giant tree trunk, causing an impact so powerful that it broke the thin metal weapon in half. One half fell to the ground next to the tree, while Zanshin casually tossed the other half in his hand away.
"So Monk, it looks like you've got nothing left." Zanshin continued as Miroku rose to a knee. "Ready to give up, or do you really intend to defeat me unarmed?"
Zanshin's last statement seemed to provide Miroku with a jolt of energy. He quickly finished standing up and raised his fists in a combat stance. "You're damn right I will!" He shot back. "I'll never let you kill Sango. I'll keep this up as long as it takes!"
Miroku rushed at Zanshin and attacked with a hard right hand punch, but it never came close. Zanshin easily caught Miroku's fist in his own hand and twisted it back, causing Miroku to cry out in pain as his hand was pushed back against his wrist.
"Such chivalrous nonsense," said Zanshin disdainfully. Then he kicked Miroku in the face as hard as he could
The impact drove into him with great force, feeling nearly as bad as the stone blow earlier. Miroku practically flew backwards and collapsed hard into a patch of thorny bushes, the thorns ripping through his robe and adding to his considerable pain. Zanshin resumed laughing as Miroku desperately stumbled out of the briar patch and fell to his knees, desperately trying to catch his breath. His robes were torn, his face was heavily bruised, and a steady stream of blood was now running out of his nose, quickly soaking the collar of his robe.
"Face it Miroku, it's over!" Zanshin proclaimed with a triumphant look on his face and tone in his voice. "There isn't the slightest chance you can overcome my prowess. You might as well just lay down and die right now!"
Enraged, Miroku pulled shrugged off lingering pain and prepared to continue. But even in his infuriated state, there was no way to ignore the severe pain that racked his body, nor the grim odds he was facing. Miroku was stronger then the average human and had been in a fair share of brawls throughout his life, but he knew full well he had nowhere near the level of strength, training, or experience to handle a trained and hardened killer like Zanshin with his bare hands. The demon had decades, perhaps even centuries of combat experience and training on his side, not to mention his demonic strength and endurance. Even if Zanshin just stood still and let him wail away unhindered, Miroku knew he'd probably pass out from exhaustion before inflicting critical injuries.
What he needed was a weapon or his Wind Tunnel, but the odds of getting them didn't look good either. The swarm of Zanshin's upgraded Saimyosho wasps still hovered close by, roughly two dozen feet above them, and had been following them in whatever direction their fight happened to take them. Miroku still had his specially crafted sutra, but knowing how easily Zanshin could dodge one measly paper slip, Miroku knew he had to wait for the right moment to have any chance of using it with success. The ground was now littered with weapons, but all of them were closer to Zanshin then Miroku. If anything, it was fortunate that Zanshin hadn't tried to go for them, as he would be the more likely out of the two to successfully retrieve one. Perhaps Zanshin had decided it would be more satisfying to kill him without the aid of wood or steel.
Beaten, weary, and with blood from his nose still running over his mouth and dripping onto the ground, Miroku stood up and took a quick glance back at Sango. The downed slayer was still laying face-down in the tall grass, and the area around her body was now thoroughly mixed with red. How had it come to this, Miroku wondered. They had started out three strong, but in a matter of minutes, he was all that remained to face Zanshin, with nothing but his body, a single sutra, and a wind tunnel he couldn't use. Still, the sight of Sango filled him with fury, as well as a determination to fight on, any way he could.
"Pull yourself together Miroku!" He thought to himself as he turned back to face Zanshin. "You came along specifically to protect Sango and all this time you've been trying to prove yourself. Well here's your fucking chance! You really want to show her you've got the commitment she's been demanding? Then get back in there and fight with everything you've got. You've to keep this going, no matter what it takes."
Zanshin smiled as he watched Miroku turn back to face him, the look of pain and misery now replaced with an expression of anger and resolve. "Well it seems you're ready to continue. Good! I've been looking forward to this ever since you sent me plunging out of my own laboratory. What you did to me back there earned you a special place in hell, and it's time you went to claim it."
Miroku simply ignored him as the two warriors closed in on each other. Despite everything that had happened so far, and the beating he gone through, Miroku remained focused and in control, refusing to let anger or fear take over. And just before he was close enough to resume fighting, a sudden thought entered his mind. Something Sango had told him back at the start of the hunt. It had been less then a week since then, but after all they had been through, it seemed almost like another lifetime. Still, there was one thing he remembered from Sango the whole way through:
"This isn't a pleasure trip. We're going after one of the most ferocious and resilient killers you'll ever find. I simply can't overstate how tough this fight will be. No matter what we do to him, Zanshin will be nearly insurmountable as long as he draws breath, and in order to beat him, that's the type of warrior that we'll have to be."