"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."
With Sango's instructions running through his head and blood still running down his face, Miroku boldly stepped back up to face Zanshin, determined to keep fighting, any way he could. Zanshin merely smiled as he watched the battered Monk return to face him, with the Saimyosho swarm still buzzing above him. By the gods, did Miroku hate that smile. That infuriating display of contempt and domination, as if his opponents were completely beneath him. Miroku wasn't sure which enraged him more. The arrogant boastfulness or the fact that Zanshin kept proving he was more then capable of backing it up.
"Keep at it, you ungodly abomination!" Miroku thought to himself. "One way or another, I'm going to knock that contemptable little grin right off your face!"
But there was no more time to think of such things. As soon as the gap was closed between the two of them, Zanshin sprung into action, attacking with a powerful swinging right hook. However, the move took just a bit too much time to pull off, enabling Miroku to duck under it and counter with a hard body blow. The battered Monk immediately followed up with two more shots, a left hand jab and a hard right hook that slammed into Zanshin's face, knocking him back several steps.
"I got him! I actually got him!" Thought Miroku jubilantly.
"Going for a knockout blow already?" The Monk asked in a taunting manner that seemed remarkably similar to Zanshin's earlier boasts. "I'm afraid you won't be able to end this that easily."
Zanshin showed no sign of pain or frustration as he recovered and stormed back into battle. "Well I suppose you're a bit more formidable then you appear," he sarcastically replied. "Keep landing such effective strikes like that and after a while I might actually feel them!"
As much as he hated to admit it, Miroku knew Zanshin was right. This was never going to work. There was simply no way he could defeat the mighty demon in a straight up fist-fight. He needed something to turn the tide in his favor. Perhaps he could hold him off long enough for Kirara to return, but there was no way to know how long that would be, or even if it would occur at all. What he needed was a weapon. One of the many that lay scattered along the ground. Miroku had no training on how to use any of them, but they were still his last hope for a decisive strike. One that would allow him to bring his own special assets into play.
As Zanshin closed to within striking distance, Miroku decided to make a gamble. In a surprising display of aggression, Miroku surged forward with a flurry of blows to Zanshin's face and body, catching the demon off guard. Nothing Miroku threw at him was strong enough to knock him down, but it kept him on the defensive and started to make him back up, allowing Miroku to get closer to his ultimate goal: Sango's Hiraikotsu lying on the ground nearby. As soon as it was within reach, Miroku slammed both fists in Zanshin's torso and then drilled him in the face with a hard straight punch, sending him staggering away.
Miroku now had the distance he needed to make a grab for the Hiraikotsu, but just as he started to lift it, Zanshin stormed back and wrenched it out of Miroku's hand by slamming his foot down on the other end. Then he kicked the massive weapon away.
"No chance Monk!" Zanshin shouted as he subsequently kicked Miroku in the chest, grabbed him by the hair with one hand, and then decked him in the head with the other, instantly knocking him to the moss-covered ground
Once again, Miroku tried to fight through the effects and recover, but it was becoming far more difficult. His vision was getting blurry and the pain was getting increasingly hard to ignore. In addition to the long attrition of battle, the fury of his recent attack had left him physically drained, with a face so covered with sweat and blood it felt like he had just stepped out of a river.
And yet somehow, Miroku found the strength to press on, in large part driven by the thought that his own death would mean Sango's as well. But as he weakly pulled himself, there was no longer any real plan floating around his mind. It was a complete blank, due in no small part to the constant pounding it had taken from Zanshin's fists. Miroku simply trudged forward to continue, determined to keep going and praying for a miracle.
As the two combatants closed the distance between each other, it was Zanshin who made the first move, lashing out with a swift kick aimed at Miroku's crippled ribs. Against all odds, Miroku managed to sidestep it and went back on the offensive, landing a pair of well placed shots to Zanshin's head. But the third punch in his combination turned out to be his last. As Miroku tried to slam his fist into Zanshin's side, the demon grabbed him by the arm and pinned it against his own body. Then he raked Miroku across the face with a backfisted blow and knocked him away with a massive kick to his sternum.
Once again, Miroku found himself sprawled and starting up at the sky, and now it seemed he was on his last legs. He felt completely drained and it was taking a massive effort just to stay conscious. But as he weakly sat up, Miroku noticed something. For the first time, Zanshin was showing a little fatigue. Rather then stand tall and taunt Miroku as he had done in the past, Zanshin actually paused to wipe the sweat and blood off his own face, then shook his head a bit before moving forward. It seemed like only a few seconds of discomfort, but to the devastated and exhuasuted Miroku, it was still a boost of morale.
"Felt it that time, didn't you?" Miroku thought happily. "Maybe I can make a difference after all"
However, the brief moment of satisfaction quickly faded in the face of reality. "I must admit, your tenacity in this battle is impressive," Zanshin conceded as he stormed over to the fallen Monk, this time not waiting for him to get up under his own power. "But courage in the face of hopeless odds doesn't change anything. The day is mine."
With only seconds to decide the next course of action, Miroku was about reach for the seal on his wind tunnel, hoping he could suck up Zanshin before the Saimyosho inflicted his own doom. But then, with his peripheral vision, Miroku saw sunlight glinting off a piece of metal lying in a patch of weeds just a few feet away from his right arm. It was effectively covered by the ground vegitation, and if not for that for the exact angle he happened to be looking at it, it would have been completely concealed.
"My Miracle."
At that exact moment, Zanshin knelt down next to Miroku, wrapped his hand around the monk's throat, and slammed the back of his head in the hard ground.
"Time to finish this, Monk. Let's see if your neck is as resilient as your spine!"
But Zanshin never got a chance to find out. Before he even started to apply pressure, Miroku grabbed the piece of metal lying in the weeds and swung up into Zanshin's skull. Zanshin barely had time to recognize it as one of the pistols he had discarded at the start of the battle before it made decimating contact with the side of his head, immediately sending him crashing along the ground.
The stunned demon quickly snapped up, but only to find himself facing an enraged and re-invigorated Miroku, who was screaming like a maniac and continuing to rain down blows with the pistol's wooden grip. Another shot nailed Zanshin straight in the face, smashing what remained of his nose. Then an upward swing caught him under the jaw and knocked him onto his back. Again, Zanshin rose back up, but this time he only managed to get to his knees before facing another bombardment of pistol-butt strikes.
Miroku was going all-out now, swinging the pistol into his foe wildly with everything he had. There was no technique or skill involved. Just pure animal instinct as he continued to wail on away on the battered demon, striking him over and over with a vicious cycle of blows to the head and shoulders. After a dozen hits, the powerful barrage finally came to end when Miroku connected with a strike so hard it broke the wooden stock over Zanshin's skull, leaving nothing left of the firearm but it's thin metal barrel. But the damage had been done, and now, for the first time, it seemed that it was Miroku who was in control.
Without missing a beat, Miroku tossed the gun barrel aside and transitioned his assault to his own hands, immediately pulling Zanshin into a standing position and drilling him in the face and with a massive right hand punch. Earlier in the fight, he never would have had the opportunity to land such a lengthy attack, but now Zanshin seemed groggy and sluggish, and Miroku was determined to take advantage of it, following up with a two-fisted hammer blow that sent Zanshin staggering face-first to the earth. This time he didn't stand up. He didn't even move
Miroku stood over Zanshin's prone body for a few seconds as the adrenaline started to drain from his body and his natural sense returned. Against all odds, he had taken down the mighty demon, but what now? Knowing he had to make a decisive strike while the initiative was still on his side, Miroku was about to go retrieve another weapon from the ground when a thought occured to him.
"My Wind Tunnel! I can use it safely from this distance while he's down! The Saimyosho are above us! There is nothing they can do while Zanshin is lying on the ground!"
Standing trumphant over his fallen adversary, a great feeling of superiority rushed through Miroku's head. Out of all the things he had ever done in battle, none had ever felt so satisfying. Zanshin lay helpless at his feet and was about to pay for every ounce of agony and pain he had put Miroku and his fiance through this entire journey.
"Demon!" Miroku shouted as he reached for the seal on his right hand. "Prepare to face the fury of the voi-"
His voice was instantly interrupted as Zanshin sprang off the ground with super-human agility, lunging into Miroku and knocking him down with a shoulder tackle before he could untangle the beads around his glove. With Miroku still struggling to take in what happened, Zanshin grabbed him by the left arm, pulled him into a standing position, and then twisted it behind his back.
"Sorry, but I prefer to keep that little hole of yours sealed up," he said calmly. Then with swift movement, Zanshin snapped Miroku's arm like twig, causing him to bellow out a blood curling scream that echoed far and wide throughout empty woodlands.
"You thought your puny human strength was enough to keep me down?" Zanshin shouted angrily as he crippled Miroku's mobility with a powerful kick to his knee and then slammed his fist into the Monk's decimated rib cage. "Nobody defeats the great Zanshin! Not Sango, not you. NOBODY!"
Zanshin emphasized his final point by lifting Miroku off the ground the launching him into the air, sending him hurling backward until his spine connected with a tree trunk and he plunged face-first into the ground. Then he stormed over to the location, determined to finish this battle once and for all. With his left arm no longer usable and his vision rapidly fading, Miroku put his right hand to his face and desperately attempted to pull the seal off the wind tunnel with his teeth. But the maneuver too complex and Zanshin was far too fast, quickly putting end to his action by stomping his foot down on Miroku's hand, causing to briefly bellow in pain before Zanshin silenced him with a swift kick to the face, knocking the devastated monk over onto his back.
Battered, bloody, and beside himself with rage, Zanshin towered over the fallen Monk, who appeared to be conscious, but only by the narrowest margin. His eyes were closed and his blood-covered face was twitching in pain and mumbling incoherently.
"It is done." Zanshin thought to himself. "Like all my enemies, they have fallen before my might.
Pondering his next course of action, Zanshin was highly tempted to come up with an impromptu method of torturing Miroku to death. After everything the Monk had done to him, Zanshin could think of a no more deserving fate. But no. That was needless. There was no legitimate reason to prolong the conflict any longer. There were more important things to deal with that should not be put off for the sake of petty revenge.
"Perhaps that will be Sango's fate", Zanshin happily considered as he bent down and grabbed Miroku by the throat with his left hand. This time there was no response. No surprise resistance. It seemed the end really was at hand."That is, if the bitch is still alive.."
With a great pull of his demon-enhanced strength, Zanshin lifted Miroku's limp body off the ground and held him up by the neck at face-level. Then he started tightening his grip, planning to strangle him to death. Miroku reacted with low choking sounds, but still offered no resistance. Though he had rejected the idea of a drawn-out revenge scheme, Zanshin couldn't help but take some pleasure during what appeared to be his rival's final moments.
"So this is the end, Miroku. Is there any life left in that ravaged little body of yours? I hope so. I want you to look me in the eyes as I-,"
"YOU ARE DAMNED!"
Zanshin's final taunt was quickly cut off by Miroku's defiant shout as he suddenly sprang to life, reached into his robe with his one good arm, pulled out his sole enchanted sutra, and slapped it onto Zanshin's left arm just below the wrist. The entire sequence occurred so fast that it took Zanshin completely by surprise, with no clue how to respond.
"What's this?" Zanshin asked as he looked down at the sutra sticking on his left arm, the arm that was still holding Miroku up by the neck. "Is that pape-AAARRRGGGHHHH!"
Zanshin's puzzlement instantly transitioned into pure terror as the sutra's effects kicked in, causing him to drop Miroku and then plunge to the ground himself, where he started rolling around and screaming in agony. Never in all his centuries of existance had he ever felt such pain. It was as if the outside of his body with being repeatedly stabbed by a thousand daggers, while his insides were being burned alive. Desperately, he clawed at the sutra with his right hand, attempting to pull it off. But it was no use. It was completely fused into his skin and could not be removed by conventional means.
Meanwhile, Miroku had managed to weakly pull himself into a sitting position by bracing his back up against a tree. With all his injuries, there was little he could do besides watch the event unfold, but this was perfectly satisfactory. Despite the massive beating and multiple broken bones he had endured up to now, Miroku felt ecstatic. He had done it. Against all odds, under the most incapacitated condition, he had ensured the death of Zanshin was only a matter of time. There was no way even Zanshin's great strength would be able to remove the sutra before it was too late. The ancient crafting technique he had used to make it was simply insurmountable. Any one he attached it too would suffer the most agonizing and painful death imaginable. This was why Miroku had been reluctant to ever use it, even against demon enemies. But for one such as Zanshin, he could think of no more fitting a fate.
"No one defeats the great Zanshin?" Miroku mockingly shouted at the fallen demon, who was still writhing on the ground. "You're about to expire at the hands of a helpless cripple! Now take that to your grave!"
Even if Zanshin wanted to respond, he had no way of doing so, as the effects of the sutra had already taken a horrific toll. He had lost feeling in the entire left side of his body, and he had to fight hard to keep from losing consciousness. At this point, it was quite tempting to simply let got and allow himself to black out and free himself from the overwhelming torture. But Zanshin stubbornly refused to give in.
"I won't let them beat me. Not now! Not at my moment of triumph. There has to be a way!"
And then he saw it. The most unlikely thing Zanshin would ever expect to serve as his aid: Sango's sword. It was on the ground on top of a nearby rock cluster, right in the same spot where the slayer had dropped it, only a dozen or so yards away. In his crippled and pain-filled condition, getting to it seemed nearly insurmountable, but Zanshin was to determined to reach the destination, now matter what he had to endure.
Slowly and miserably, Zanshin began pulling himself along the ground, pressing forward with only his right arm and right leg able to propel him. Every movement increased the severe pain he was feeling exponentially, but somehow, he found a way to perservere. As he closed in within a few meters, he actually managed a weak smile as a thought enters his mind.
"The weapon of my most hated enemy will be my salvation! It appears the gods have quite a sense of humor..."
By this time, Miroku had seen it too and realized what Zanshin was attempting to do, but it made no difference. With a broken arm, multiple broken ribs, an injured knee, and a devastated body, Miroku was left completely immobile and could do nothing but hope the effects of his sutra would eliminate Zanshin before it was too late.
Such hopes were eventually dashed as Zanshin finally inched his way along the ground close enough to where he could grip the hilt of the blade. With the last bits of his strength fading, Zanshin barely managed to maneuver himself onto his his knees and position the sword against the edge of his skin where the sutra was attached. Knowing death was merely seconds away, Zanshin took one final breath, pulled the sword slightly back, and with a single swift stroke, he cut the entire enchanted sutra free from his arm, and a huge chunk of his own flesh along with it. Zanshin let out a horrified roar of pain as the accursed incantation was finally removed, and collapsed to the ground.
"No! It can't be!" Miroku thought as he watched the event play out to its conclusion. The sutra was supposed to bring agonizing death to whomever was afflicted with it. Not even the most powerful demon was supposed to be able to resist its effects for this long. Still, as Miroku looked on, one last glimmer of hope remained. Zanshin had not moved at all following the moment where he had severed the sutra from his arm.
"Was this the final act of a dying demon? Did the effects of the sutra kill him just moments before removal?"
The answer came moments later when Zanshin started to stir. Slowly but surely, he shook off the final lingering effects of the sutra's power, rolled onto his knees, and gently pushed himself up. At this point Zanshin looked quite different from the demon Miroku and Sango had faced at the start of the battle. His upper body clothing was in blood covered taters, his face was beaten almost beyond recognition, and blood was now pouring out of the massive wound in his left arm, where the cut was so deep that several inches of bone had been exposed. The aura of arrogance and control that had defined his facial expression was gone, replaced by a combined expression of misery and rage.
Under alternate conditions, it might be something to be proud of, but Miroku knew it was completely meaningless. Zanshin was still alive and ready to fight, while he remained a broken-down wreck. There was nothing left Miroku could do. No more tactics or surprise tricks up his sleeve. The battle really was over, and he knew it. Zanshin was up and slowly walking toward him now, Sango's sword still in his right and and a look of murder in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Sango, I failed us both."
Knowing he only had seconds left to live before the powerful demon reached him, Miroku took a moment to reflect on everything he had been through so far. It certainly had been an amazing journey, one that had brought him and Sango closer together then ever before. And now he had fallen in battle, fighting with every last bit of strength to defend the woman he loved. Altogether, Miroku thought, it wasn't a bad way to go. Certainly more preferable then being devoured by the curse in his own hand. But there was still no getting around what going to happen after he was killed. Zanshin would go for Sango next, and there was no one to stop him. In the end, none of the other positive aspects could keep that terrible thought out of his mind.
However, it would not be there for much longer, as Zanshin had finally reached him. The great demon stood tall over the fallen Monk and slowly raised the sword over his head, preparing to bring it down on Miroku in a final, fatal strike.
"It's over Miroku," said Zanshin, in a calm but victorious demeanor. "You're on a fast-track to hell, and your own wench's sword is going to send you there!"
But just then, Miroku heard a most unexpected sound. Someone, or something was approaching at exceptional speed. Even in his wretched condition, Miroku could still hear the footsteps and feel the vibration along the ground. In fact, he felt as though he could almost sense the determination of whoever or whatever was approaching, though he figured that could just be a side-effect of his recent beating.
However, the oncoming person he sensed was clearly no hallucination, for Zanshin sensed it too. In response, he turned in the direction of the oncoming presence...just in time to hear an ear-piercing battle cry and find himself on the receiving end of a powerful leaping kick that slammed into his face with incredible force. Sango's sword practically flew out of his hand, while the turbo-charged impact sent the shocked demon tumbling over backward.
From his sitting position against the tree, Miroku looked up at his savior and was amazed by what he saw.
"S-S-Sango..?"
It was indeed Sango, though Miroku had never seen her like this before. Her face was covered in a crimson mask, courtesy of a large gash in her forehead from which blood was still flowing freely, though now at a much slower pace, and her Slayer's uniform was considerably soaked as well. But there was no sign of weariness of exhaustion anywhere in her figure. She stood before him in a perfect fighting stance and an expression of determination and anger that was as intimidating as that of any demon Miroku had ever witnessed.
Sango wasn't the only one who appeared to be infuriated. "WHO DARES TO CHEAT ME OF MY VICTORY?" Zanshin angrily bellowed as he recovered from the surprise attack and looked up from the ground to face his newest foe. "HIS LIFE IS MINE FOR THE TAKING. NO ONE SHALL DENY ME!"
"Not today Zanshin!" Sango shot back. "I'm the one you have to deal with! Now stand up and fight!"
Author's Note: Well it's done. My first battle chapter depicted almost exclusively from Miroku's point of view. I don't think the series or manga went that much in depth about Miroku's fighting style other then the Wind Tunnel, so I was hoping to make up for this shortage with this in the last chapter. I hope you think I did him justice.