All characters © Rumiko Takahashi.
Bold = speech/italic= thoughts
It seemed like mere moments of sweet slumber before a gruff voice awoke the group. "alright ye all had a bit of rest. Now let's move it. I wish to be home before the next nightfall." Matsudaira snarled. The aged samurai had little patients with the young. He had lived a rather faster-paced life with much combat and little rest.
shippo groaned loudly in protest before getting up, Inuyasha, on the other hand, was more willing to move then the fox kit. Shippo hopped on to the horse Miroku was borrowing, while the monk, whom also seemed ready to beat the samurai, took his time staggering over to the beast with a yawn.
Kagome was already on Inuyasha's back before he could get ready, nearly topple over from the sudden weight added to his back. "geez, wench!" he snarled at his raven-haired companion who merely smiled apologetically.
Sango mounted her beloved feline companion, securing Hiraikotsu with her one hand, and clutching the main of Kirara with the other. making sure she was set comfortably, sango looked back at kagome and Inuyasha, then to Miroku and shippo, mentally counting to make sure everyone was accounted for.
"Ye ready now?" the gruff samurai groaned clearly itching to leave the area as fast as they can. "The sun is getting close to setting, we wasted a good day on yer sleep." he added equally annoyed.
the group nodded in agreement that they were, in fact, ready to take their leave. Kirara let a low meow which spooked the two horses a bit.
Inuyasha's anxiety was starting to hit a new high. he could feel every muscle ache, every bone strain. Looking towards the sun, noting how quickly it seemed to be sinking, and how the band seemed to be walking fast and going nowhere, he finally decided it was enough.
"Hey old man, how much longer till we reach the village?" he snorted, kagome tightened her grip on his haori, finally taking a note of the current sun position as well.
"would have been there by sunset, but ye'all had to take a rest" he yelled back coldly with a not so subtle hint of annoyance.
Kagome could hear the slightest curse under Inuyasha's breath, when he yelled back, kagome nearly jumped. "I asked 'HOW much longer', idiot."
Matsudaira jerked the reins of his horse suddenly, causing the beast to whine in protest as it came to a halt and spun around to face the cocky half-breed. hatred seethed off the aged samurai, the fire in his eyes was hard to conceal.
"Listen hear you disgusting half-blooded freak, if you and your 'comrades' were as skilled as the stories claimed, we wouldn't have had to stop so you could all 'rest'!" he snarled back, his right hand slipping to the hilt of one of the two swords that road at either side at the hip.
Miroku, shippo, and sango halted their movement shooting a panicked look at kagome and Inuyasha, the smell of tension was thick in the air. kagome bit her lip, feeling his arms let her legs lose, she knew this was going to end badly.
as soon as kagome was off, Inuyasha strode up to the horse, yanking at the halter so its head would come down, Matsudaira lose some balance. "No, YOU listen, you piece of shit, I asked a simple question that needed an equally simple answer. if you have a problem with me, that's fine, but you keep them out of it." the horse whimpered in discomfort from how its head was being held, stomping a hoofed foot in irritation.
before Matsudaira was even able to counter the assault, or take out a sword, kagome's frantic words made the claim to the air. "W-WHAT IS THAT?!" she shrieked.
down the path just across a small name made bridge was a figure in a white kimono with long black hair covering their face. its movements were jerky and sluggish. slowly making their way to the group. an uneasy feeling hit the band watching with such force, nearly all had the strong urge to run.
"lovely..." Matsudaira snarled, taking his attention from the hanyou next to him. "State your business" he snarled at the figure. his hand never leaving the hilt of the sword. Inuyasha followed his movements and placed his hand on tetsusaiga, sniffing the cold hair.
Miroku grabbing his Sutras as he dropped down from the saddle of the horse, sango gripped her weapon tightly and kirara's side to move her closer to the unarmed miko.
The figure did not speak, nor did it show any movement to indicate it could even understand them. its dawdling speed seemed to lessen, the closer it got, however, the more detailed was noted. its unkempt hair that seemed soaked at first now showed more of an unnatural stiffness to them.
Inuyasha made a quick glance at the sun's current location. Snarling, he decided to charge the being. "We don't have time for this!" unsheathing an active tetsusaiga, its blade sung as Inuyasha swung it at the monochromatic creature who merely avoid it easily by jumping up.
the group behind, quick to respond ready their weapons. Matsudaira followed the half-breed, changing at it with the full steed's speed. both swords out, slicing through the air, only to cleanly cut through nothing but the wind. powering right through the being as if it were nothing more than an illusion. his horse let loose and agonized screech as the figure's hair suddenly burrowed into the beast's hindquarters bringing it and the samurai down.
"It's a damned Harionago!" he yelled back to the rest of the group.
"Out here? That's impossible." Miroku murmured mostly to himself. the chanting into his Sutras, their power showing as they glowed a fierce blue. Throwing them as if they were knives, one managed to hit the demon in the leg. She let out a bellowing scream that caused not only Kirara and shippo to crumpled down in pain, but also Inuyasha.
Kagome shot arrow after sacred arrow at it, only managing to rip the ghastly white kimono. Recovering from the burns created by the Sutras. the demon showed its face, skin paler than the moon, with bright red thin lips and eyes hollowed out. she would have been considered stunning if not for the grotesque snarl that claimed her features.
"Disgusting wench!" she hissed at kagome, thick long strands of her hair hurried towards the miko, blocked by a mighty boned weapon. "Her hair...it has barbs at the ends of her hair!" sango yelled back, hacking off the strands that had threated kagome.
Inuyasha came up from behind the demon, his sword digging hard into the soil mere inches from hitting its mark. as if the world momentarily went into slow motion, he watched in horror as his hair had darkened, and nails dulled. giving the demon a wide-eyed look. his heart sank when she smiled back, sending three strands of barbed tresses into his stomach, and another through his shoulder. with fluid movement, wiping him up, then back down onto the bridge, forcing the weak wooden platform to snap from the sudden weight and velocity. tetsusaiga losing its demonic energy shifted back into a dormant state, falling to the ground next to the broken bridge.
"INUYASHA!" kagome and Miroku yelled, rushing to try and recover their fallen comrade. Sango swung tetsusaiga hard at the monster, Miroku shot forward with more chants.
Kagome peered over the shattered bridge into the stream at the figure in red, with black hair, barely moving "INUYASHA!" kagome yelled down. she reached down, trying desperately to reach his hand. something caught his attention from behind before yelling at her to move. Instinctively, kagome swayed her body to the right.
Barbs nearly missing kagome's check shot past her. the sound of sick sucking noise assaulted her ears. slowly she looked over to see Miroku's horse down with barbs being ripped out of hits chest. the beast screamed in agony, kicking at the ground trying desperately to get up, to run away.
the demon cackled "silly creatures, you no longer have a way to leave. looks like you will be my play things for tonight." her voice was sickly sweet. the older samurai ran up behind the demon,m slicing into her thick locks. hacking off a few strands, she jumped up hissing at the human. sending more barbs into his armor.
finally managing to grab her hand, Inuyasha hoisted himself up with her aid, his amethyst colored eyes met hers, both had waves of panic pulsating within them, both showed how exhausted one another was. "we need to end this" he breathed watching the fight. Kagome without many words, grabbed her bow and reached for an arrow closest to her and fired off another shot. Saving shippo from being impaired.
Inuyasha ran past kagome, as the demon shot more barbs at him, he ducked behind a tree then made it to his mark by sango. before she could react, he ripped out her katana that was snug at her hip and whipped it at the demon, hitting her in the stomach. once more the creature lets out a bellow that stunned Kirara and shippo.
sango let lose another strong thrust of her weapon, while the weapon managed to hit its mark, the demon also hit her's. two strong, thick strands broke off from their master, finding a nice cozy home in the shoulder and chest of the taijiya . the force was enough to knock the slayer back a few paces.
as the mighty weapon made its rounds back to its 'master' Miroku finally took the golden chance to open his wind-tunnel. the beast snarled, digging the tendrils into the ground, trying to halt her descent into the depths within the unknown void. kagome shot another arrow at the back of the demon, hitting it clean in the middle part of her back, severing her spine. losing control over her lower half, the barbs ripped from the hair, still, she tried to fight the end. her nails clawed in the ground as her back end was being sucked in.
Miroku grunted from all the effort he was giving it to not lose control of the wind-tunnel. "Please" he begged "hit her again, I can not hold this much longer" he pleaded. without a second, though, Matsudaira rose up, jumping in the air and throwing a blade deep into the forehead of the demon. her nails tore from her fingers as she was finally sucked into the void. those strands she still had control, slit some of the edges of Miroku's hand, Gasping out in pain, Miroku grabbed his beads and trusted them on to his wrist as he sunk down to the ground. Balling his fist up and letting his red knuckles hit the ground, droplets of blood started to form a puddle around his fist. His breathing became labored and rough. Pain shot trough his hand and assaulted every other part of his body.
taking a few moments, trying to calm his breathing down, the monk looked around to survey the damage, as well as to note if everyone was well. his eyes went wide has he saw a figure slouched over and another just behind it. suddenly, his breath was sucked out of him as if he had been sucker punched.
kagome rushed over to sango and noticed the stands still sticking out of sango, what was bound to her was what caused kagome to go in a hysterical fit of screams and sobs.
Matsudaira slowly stood up, grabbing his only sword and checking on his horse. the animal kicked and panted, blood pooled around it. its back legs were torn, muscle ripped and skin completely hacked off. it tried to lift its mighty head, only to drop it down instantly and whimper. Matsudaira cursed under his breath. and drew a smaller dagger from his calf guard. "I'm so sorry old friend" her muttered. taking the blade and shoving it deep within the horse' neck. blood squirted out, but the beast barely moved as the blade ran through muscle and vain. after a few heartbeats, its movements stilled, its breathing ceased. the light faded from the might animal's eyes.
Sango could only watch, as kagome crumpled down before her. sobbing and screaming. she could barely feel her body, her ears seemed to be hollowing out the high pitch of kagome's wails. the only sensation she could notice aside from the warmth of the blood that drained out of her was the heavy weight on her back.
Her already ashen face paled, her eyes widened. "i-inu-yasha?" her breath caught in her throat. Suddenly it hit her, he had been so silent since he ran over and took her sword. he hadn't moved since he hadn't spoken a single word or insult. How could she have been so dense? She tried to drag her free hand to feel behind her, wincing as pain shot through her back. A limp arm, and a knee, that was all she could feel. She grabbed it and tried to hold his hand, Hoping she could at least feel if he was alright.
"inu...please..s-speak" she could feel and hear her soft shaky voice starting to give out. His hand was ice, a slight pulse could be felt, he was alive, barely, but there was still hope. Sudden waves of mental pain hit her. She realized this was like losing Kohaku all over again. Though this time, if she moved to much, she could be the reason he would not wake up again. She would not forgive herself if he died, she would not allow herself peace if he left. "inu...please" she whimpered. Tears burned at her eyes, so close to escaping. "d-don't le-eave me." she could feel her throat tighten. Flashes of her past attacked her, her father's bloody body, broke before her, her comrades screaming in the back as they get ripped apart from a blade.
"oh god, no, no no no" Kagome pleaded, tears spilling over her eyelids. her hand quivering as she tried to gingerly touched his shoulder. Brushing away his hair to see his face, pale and so very exhausted looking. " Inuyasha please, look at me" she whispered to him, begging him to open his eyes, to say anything at all.
"Ka...go.." sango tried to speak, her body heavy and tired from the loss of blood. kagome turned her tear stained face to meet sango's eyes "i...I'm sorr-" she hacked out the words before she lost all sense and control, slipping into darkness.
"SANGO!" Miroku yelled, his frantic and pained voice fading out, kagome's followed as they both tried to keep her away. Eventually, the darkness won.