InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sight Unseen ❯ Hit Me With Your Best Shot ( Chapter 23 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: SylverAngel 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.24.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.24.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed
Sight Unseen
Chapter 23: Hit Me With Your Best Shot
"Kirara, land down there, by Inuyasha," Miroku instructed the cat youkai.
"Kikyou and Naraku? What's going on? What are they doing?" Kagome's mind whirled with the possibilities. "What about Inuyasha and Maruku?"
Miroku answered the girl's questions calmly as they landed. "The windwalker is... standing back, hidden by a few of the trees. Inuyasha is here. Kikyou and Naraku appear to be fighting."
Hopefully, Naraku's senses were focused on Kikyou, enough that they could possibly have the advantage of a surprise attack, Miroku thought. He moved slightly in front of Kagome, seeing Sango joining him in shielding the blind girl out of the corner of his eye.
Kikyou's soul-stealing demons were absent, the monk noted. That meant, not only was she weakened by injuries, but also by the loss of the energy that kept her from returning to the land of the dead. How were they kept away?
Eyes narrowing at the sensation, Miroku recognized a tiny shift in the demon energy. Something was off.
Inuyasha gave no indication that he knew they were there. His golden eyes were locked on the figures before him.
Kikyou's quiver was empty of arrows, the bow clutched in her hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. The cuts on her arms and legs continued to bleed as she stood, swaying back and forth.
Naraku's evil chuckle echoed in the quiet.
Inuyasha's eyes widened as the undead woman suddenly fell to her hands and knees, too weak to keep upright. The hanyou took an instinctive step forward, one arm thrown out as if to stop her from falling. "Kikyou!" he yelled, unknowingly holding his breath as he waited for some sign that she was not going to collapse further.
Another deep chuckle rang out. "So nice of you to join us, Inuyasha. And the rest of you as well."
So much for Naraku's not noticing their presence, Miroku thought as he moved into a defensive stance, staff held locked in front of him. "Kagome, stay behind us."
"Okay." The girl nodded, swallowing hard. It was bad enough facing Naraku under normal circumstances. But now, she would be of no help to the others. All she could do was stand out of the way with Shippo, who was gripping her hand tightly from his place at her side.
Inuyasha's muscles seemed to suddenly unfreeze as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga, the sword transforming as he swung it angrily forward. "What have you done to her, you bastard!" he bellowed, Tetsusaiga aimed straight at Naraku's back.
"Nothing she does not deserve," the baboon pelt-clad demon called over his shoulder. He turned back to Kikyou, raising one hand and sending a large sphere of miasma towards the fallen priestess.
"No!" Inuyasha yelled, running towards Kikyou, intending to grab her and leap out of the way.
Miroku's violet eyes suddenly snapped wide as the shift in the demon energy finally revealed what it was hiding. "Inuyasha! Stop! It's not Kikyou! It's just an illusion!"
His warning came too late. The image of Kikyou kneeling on the ground faded before the hanyou's eyes. Inuyasha turned just in time to be thrown back by the force of the miasma ball. He landed on the ground hard, skidding to a halt very close to the cliff's edge.
He didn't move.
Tetsusaiga landed in the dirt, detransforming once it hit the ground.
"Inuyasha!" Shippo cried, letting go of Kagome's hand and running between Sango and Miroku.
"Shippo, stop," the monk ordered, grabbing the kitsune's arm to stop his headlong flight.
"We have to get to Inuyasha!"
"It will not do any good," Miroku grimly chided. "Inuyasha is strong. It would take a lore more than that to kill him."
"Inu... yasha?" Kagome murmured belatedly. "Sango, what happened to Inuyasha?"
"Kagome--"
"It may take more than a bit of my miasma to finish off a hanyou like Inuyasha, but that will be sufficient to take care of you humans!"
"Run, Kagome!" Sango yelled, reaching behind her to grab the other girl's hand as Naraku flung an even larger ball of dark energy at them. She was surprised at finding the air where Kagome's fingers had been seconds before empty, forgetting her own impulse to flee.
"Sango!" Miroku called, a second later slamming into her to knock her away from the path of the evil energy. They fell to the ground, the miasma skimming past their feet.
The monk leaped to his feet, standing protectively in front of Sango as he fixed his gaze on Naraku. "Are you all right?" he called to the demon exterminator behind him.
"F-fine," she stuttered out, taking in deep breaths. The wind had been knocked out of her at their impact with the hard earth.
Sango looked around as she pushed herself to her feet, movement to her left catching her eye.
Maruku was setting Kagome down. Shippo's arms were wrapped tightly around the windwalker's leg. Maruku had grabbed the little fox demon by the shirt as he picked Kagome up and jumped to safety.
"I see you have a new friend with you," Naraku observed, a wicked smirk kicking up one side of his mouth. "Not that he will be of much help."
Just as many times before, the demon changed, dark tentacles growing from beneath his white pelt.
Two of the far-reaching limbs raced towards Miroku and Sango, another two towards Maruku, Kagome, and Shippo.
Maruku sprang into the air, Kagome and Shippo clasped tightly in his arms. He landed several feet away, only to leap once again to avoid the tentacles.
Sango was on her feet and running seconds before one of the appendages caught hold of her leg. The length of the robe she wore over her catsuit hindered her speed, though she managed to turn around and throw Hiraikotsu. The bone boomerang sliced through the tentacle following her and returned to her hand.
She had little time to catch her breath before another tentacle was stretching towards her across the ground.
Miroku alternated between swatting the appendage he fought and scrambling away from it. He'd managed to dodge its attempts to grab hold of him three times. His luck ran out with the next swipe. It had him by the ankle and upside-down, whipping him around hard enough that he dropped his staff.
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango cried, flinging the weapon at the tentacle gripping Miroku while zigzagging away from the one chasing her.
The monk landed unceremoniously on the ground as he was suddenly freed. He flipped backwards, gaining his feet and running towards where his staff lay on the ground.
The tip of another of Naraku's tentacles tripped Miroku, sending him sliding past the metal rod on his side. He reached out as he skidded by, grabbing the staff and whipping it around to slash at the offending appendage before it could close around his ankle.
He looked around wildly as he pushed to his feet, ready to flee once more. He caught sight of Sango, the distance between the demon exterminator and the nearest tentacle lessening every second.
Though he knew he'd never make it, Miroku took off after the limb, hoping by same chance he could hack it apart before it could reach Sango.
He was caught from the side by another tentacle and lifted high off the ground. The limb slammed him into the ground, the impact loosening the grip he held on his staff so that the rod slipped from his fingers.
"Sango!" the monk cried weakly as the demon exterminator was about to be caught. She managed to slice through the tentacle that had followed her with her bone boomerang, but another appendage was waiting when that one failed.
Hiraikotsu was knocked against the ground as Sango was dragged along, both legs held immobile by the tentacle. The jarring sensation followed the nerves up her arm, causing her to drop the boomerang and effectively disarming her.
'Damn it, Inuyasha, wake up!' Miroku silently yelled, having seen the still-unconscious hanyou from his place in the air. Just as he and Sango were trapped, the hanyou was caught by the waist and being dragged across the ground. Maruku, with Kagome and Shippo, was faring much better, though he was exhausting his energy, alternating between flying and leaping across the ground.
The tentacles began wrapping themselves further around the three prisoners, rolling them in towards Naraku.
"Your friends are in need of my help," Maruku murmured to Kagome, leaping swiftly into a tree. He deposited the girl and kitsune on the wide branch he stood upon, leaning Kagome against the thick trunk.
He drew several arrows from the quiver at his hip and quickly notched them in the bow he pulled off his shoulder. The arrows were soon whooshing through the air and cutting through the tentacle holding Sango, another set following to release Miroku. The windwalker was unable to see Inuyasha, who was trapped on the other side of Naraku.
The monk and demon exterminator struggled to free themselves from the pieces of Naraku's limbs still wrapped around them.
Sango had better luck, managing to reach into her robe and grab the thin blade hidden in her sleeve. She was free and running towards Miroku when another tentacle seized her by the arm.
Several more arrows whizzed by, severing the appendage and the one that had caught hold of Miroku just as he began to run.
~I am running out of arrows. Can you shoot?~
"W-what?" Kagome stuttered, reaching down to tightly clutch the large branch beneath her. Had she heard the voice with her ears, or... with her mind?
~This way of speaking is much quicker. I apologize for the intrusion. Can you shoot a bow?~
The mental voice was similar to Maruku's speaking tone. "Y-yes, I... I can, but not--"
~I am running out of arrows. We need one that will end this for good. You are a priestess, and we are in need of your magic. I can help you aim.~
The windwalker did not stop to question how she could fire a bow with her blindness, she vaguely noted. "I can try," she murmured hesitatingly.
~We will not miss.~ Maruku was obviously assured of their success.
She heard the twang of his bow, and then a clipped, "Hang tight," as she was again swept up and away. The slight sensation of falling no longer startled her, though she still grasped the windwalker's arm firmly.
~I will land, and we will finish this.~
"Okay."
It felt like Maruku crashed into the branch they rested on seconds later, though he quickly set Kagome and Shippo on the branch.
The winged demon pulled an arrow from his quiver and pressed both it and the bow into Kagome's hands. He moved behind her, helping her set the arrow against the string so she could pull it back. He held her arms steady and shifting her slightly to the side.
~When I tell you to fire, let the arrow fly.~
Kagome nodded, pulling the arrow back just a little more.
~He is coming closer. Be ready.~ Maruku winced at the power he could feel flowing through Kagome. The purifying magic burned his hands, but he was determined to hold on until the last possible moment.
Naraku lumbered closer, three tentacles racing towards the tree his remaining prey used as a hiding place.
Maruku let go of Kagome's arms, unable to stand the strength of her magic. ~Do not move!~ he mentally called to Kagome. ~Hold steady!~ He looked up as he scooted backwards on the tree branch, eyes focusing on the demon before them.
A moment later, Naraku was within range. ~Now, Lady Kagome!~
Kagome said a quick prayer and released the arrow.
The twang of the string echoed loudly in her ears, followed by the swishing sound of the airborne weapon flying through the air.
Maruku turned his head to the side as the arrowhead began to glow as it neared Naraku. Its impact with the demon exploded into brilliant white light.
Miroku and Sango were flung away from Naraku, landing closer to the treeline, almost beneath the tree the others were crouched in.
The light began to clear, revealing Naraku, who was still standing.
The demon laughed loudly. "Your magic is not enough, girl."
"Maybe not, but my sword is!"
The fierce growl was followed by Naraku's being torn in half from bottom to top.
The demon dissolved into dust, the particles blowing away.
"Damn it, it was another puppet!" Inuyasha yelled, hacking the small wooden oval that lay on the ground where Naraku stood in two.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried from her place in the tree. Forgetting where she was, she tried to push herself to her feet. Her hand slipped, and she fell sideways off the branch.
"You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?" a gruff voice bellowed in her ear as strong arms wrapped themselves around her and brought her safely to the ground.
"Inuyasha! You're all right!" Kagome flung her own arms around the hanyou, oblivious to the anger in his tone.
"Of course I'm all right, but you just nearly killed yourself by jumping out of that tree!"
The girl only held onto him tighter.
"You are an excellent markswoman, Lady Kagome," Maruku called as he jumped, Shippo in his arms, to the ground.
Kagome murmured her thanks as Inuyasha set her on her feet.
"This looks as good a place as any to make camp," Miroku muttered as he strode up to the others, Sango following the monk while rubbing her shoulder.
"I agree wholeheartedly," the demon exterminator murmured, eyes scanning the former battlefield in search of Hiraikotsu. She spotted the boomerang fifty feet away and moved slowly to collect it.
Miroku watched her move away, then turned to head for the treeline, almost deliberately in the opposite direction. "I'll start looking for firewood."
"Camp! We don't have time to make camp! We still have hours of daylight left!" Inuyasha protested.
"Even demons like you and myself need rest after a battle such as the one we just fought," Maruku scolded, frowning as he stretched some of the kinks out of his wings.
"Not that Inuyasha was that busy. He already got his nap," Shippo muttered.
"Why you--!" the hanyou cried, leaping past Kagome towards the kitsune.
"Help!"
'At least some things stay normal,' Kagome thought, a small smile on her face as she listened to Shippo's squeals and Inuyasha's growls.
Sango turned to watch the chase when she was about halfway to Hiraikotsu. She rolled her eyes and was about to continue on when a glint to the side drew her gaze to the dirt beneath her feet. Miroku's staff lay on the ground, where he'd dropped it earlier.
A slightly puzzled expression crossed the demon exterminator's face as she looked back over her shoulder to where the monk was gathering sticks along the edge of the trees. He hadn't come to retrieve the staff himself. Of course it was not likely to go anywhere on its own, so looking for it could wait until after he gathered firewood. But then again, if he waited too long, the sun would set. The staff would be much harder to find in the darkness.
Maybe Miroku expected it to grow legs and walk back to him?
With a snort of laughter at her own thoughts, Sango bent and picked up the monk's staff, the rings jingling as she angled it over her shoulder.
Several minutes later, the demon exterminator approached Miroku hesitantly. She shouldn't have been nervous over such a silly thing as returning the staff, but she was. She stood and watched him from several feet away, biting her lip.
Mentally squaring her shoulders, Sango closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'This really isn't that hard! Just give him back the staff!' she scolded herself.
"Are you all right, Sango?"
She nearly jumped at Miroku's question, her eyes flying open.
"I-- I'm fine. I just... came to return this to you. I found it on my way to get Hiraikotsu," she rushed out, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt. She held the staff out for the monk to take, giving it a slight shake when he cocked his head to the side as if he didn't understand her statement.
Miroku's eyes fell to the object in her hand. He stared at it for a minute, then looked back up at her. "Thank you, Sango. As you can see, my arms are full." He nodded towards the firewood in his arms. "So if you would not mind holding it for just another moment?"
"I... No." Sango could feel a slight flush spreading across her cheeks. In her haste to just give the staff back, she had forgotten the wood the monk carried. Luckily, Miroku had turned away before he could see the pink tinge to her skin. Or so she thought.
He was back before the heat had gone down. "Thank you for finding my staff for me, Sango," Miroku told her with a small bow.
She raised one brow, fully expecting some additional remark to fall from his lips as he straightened and held out his hand.
There was no sign of any mocking behavior when she handed the staff back.
In fact, the monk didn't say another word as he turned away and headed back towards where Maruku was working on getting a fire started.
Sango's eyes followed him as he walked away.
'No comment?' she thought. Not that she missed his quips.
Maybe he was just tired out from the battle. It really wasn't such a remarkable thing for him not to try to twist any situation into something inappropriate.
So why was she noticing it now?
Chapter 23: Hit Me With Your Best Shot
"Kirara, land down there, by Inuyasha," Miroku instructed the cat youkai.
"Kikyou and Naraku? What's going on? What are they doing?" Kagome's mind whirled with the possibilities. "What about Inuyasha and Maruku?"
Miroku answered the girl's questions calmly as they landed. "The windwalker is... standing back, hidden by a few of the trees. Inuyasha is here. Kikyou and Naraku appear to be fighting."
Hopefully, Naraku's senses were focused on Kikyou, enough that they could possibly have the advantage of a surprise attack, Miroku thought. He moved slightly in front of Kagome, seeing Sango joining him in shielding the blind girl out of the corner of his eye.
Kikyou's soul-stealing demons were absent, the monk noted. That meant, not only was she weakened by injuries, but also by the loss of the energy that kept her from returning to the land of the dead. How were they kept away?
Eyes narrowing at the sensation, Miroku recognized a tiny shift in the demon energy. Something was off.
Inuyasha gave no indication that he knew they were there. His golden eyes were locked on the figures before him.
Kikyou's quiver was empty of arrows, the bow clutched in her hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. The cuts on her arms and legs continued to bleed as she stood, swaying back and forth.
Naraku's evil chuckle echoed in the quiet.
Inuyasha's eyes widened as the undead woman suddenly fell to her hands and knees, too weak to keep upright. The hanyou took an instinctive step forward, one arm thrown out as if to stop her from falling. "Kikyou!" he yelled, unknowingly holding his breath as he waited for some sign that she was not going to collapse further.
Another deep chuckle rang out. "So nice of you to join us, Inuyasha. And the rest of you as well."
So much for Naraku's not noticing their presence, Miroku thought as he moved into a defensive stance, staff held locked in front of him. "Kagome, stay behind us."
"Okay." The girl nodded, swallowing hard. It was bad enough facing Naraku under normal circumstances. But now, she would be of no help to the others. All she could do was stand out of the way with Shippo, who was gripping her hand tightly from his place at her side.
Inuyasha's muscles seemed to suddenly unfreeze as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga, the sword transforming as he swung it angrily forward. "What have you done to her, you bastard!" he bellowed, Tetsusaiga aimed straight at Naraku's back.
"Nothing she does not deserve," the baboon pelt-clad demon called over his shoulder. He turned back to Kikyou, raising one hand and sending a large sphere of miasma towards the fallen priestess.
"No!" Inuyasha yelled, running towards Kikyou, intending to grab her and leap out of the way.
Miroku's violet eyes suddenly snapped wide as the shift in the demon energy finally revealed what it was hiding. "Inuyasha! Stop! It's not Kikyou! It's just an illusion!"
His warning came too late. The image of Kikyou kneeling on the ground faded before the hanyou's eyes. Inuyasha turned just in time to be thrown back by the force of the miasma ball. He landed on the ground hard, skidding to a halt very close to the cliff's edge.
He didn't move.
Tetsusaiga landed in the dirt, detransforming once it hit the ground.
"Inuyasha!" Shippo cried, letting go of Kagome's hand and running between Sango and Miroku.
"Shippo, stop," the monk ordered, grabbing the kitsune's arm to stop his headlong flight.
"We have to get to Inuyasha!"
"It will not do any good," Miroku grimly chided. "Inuyasha is strong. It would take a lore more than that to kill him."
"Inu... yasha?" Kagome murmured belatedly. "Sango, what happened to Inuyasha?"
"Kagome--"
"It may take more than a bit of my miasma to finish off a hanyou like Inuyasha, but that will be sufficient to take care of you humans!"
"Run, Kagome!" Sango yelled, reaching behind her to grab the other girl's hand as Naraku flung an even larger ball of dark energy at them. She was surprised at finding the air where Kagome's fingers had been seconds before empty, forgetting her own impulse to flee.
"Sango!" Miroku called, a second later slamming into her to knock her away from the path of the evil energy. They fell to the ground, the miasma skimming past their feet.
The monk leaped to his feet, standing protectively in front of Sango as he fixed his gaze on Naraku. "Are you all right?" he called to the demon exterminator behind him.
"F-fine," she stuttered out, taking in deep breaths. The wind had been knocked out of her at their impact with the hard earth.
Sango looked around as she pushed herself to her feet, movement to her left catching her eye.
Maruku was setting Kagome down. Shippo's arms were wrapped tightly around the windwalker's leg. Maruku had grabbed the little fox demon by the shirt as he picked Kagome up and jumped to safety.
"I see you have a new friend with you," Naraku observed, a wicked smirk kicking up one side of his mouth. "Not that he will be of much help."
Just as many times before, the demon changed, dark tentacles growing from beneath his white pelt.
Two of the far-reaching limbs raced towards Miroku and Sango, another two towards Maruku, Kagome, and Shippo.
Maruku sprang into the air, Kagome and Shippo clasped tightly in his arms. He landed several feet away, only to leap once again to avoid the tentacles.
Sango was on her feet and running seconds before one of the appendages caught hold of her leg. The length of the robe she wore over her catsuit hindered her speed, though she managed to turn around and throw Hiraikotsu. The bone boomerang sliced through the tentacle following her and returned to her hand.
She had little time to catch her breath before another tentacle was stretching towards her across the ground.
Miroku alternated between swatting the appendage he fought and scrambling away from it. He'd managed to dodge its attempts to grab hold of him three times. His luck ran out with the next swipe. It had him by the ankle and upside-down, whipping him around hard enough that he dropped his staff.
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango cried, flinging the weapon at the tentacle gripping Miroku while zigzagging away from the one chasing her.
The monk landed unceremoniously on the ground as he was suddenly freed. He flipped backwards, gaining his feet and running towards where his staff lay on the ground.
The tip of another of Naraku's tentacles tripped Miroku, sending him sliding past the metal rod on his side. He reached out as he skidded by, grabbing the staff and whipping it around to slash at the offending appendage before it could close around his ankle.
He looked around wildly as he pushed to his feet, ready to flee once more. He caught sight of Sango, the distance between the demon exterminator and the nearest tentacle lessening every second.
Though he knew he'd never make it, Miroku took off after the limb, hoping by same chance he could hack it apart before it could reach Sango.
He was caught from the side by another tentacle and lifted high off the ground. The limb slammed him into the ground, the impact loosening the grip he held on his staff so that the rod slipped from his fingers.
"Sango!" the monk cried weakly as the demon exterminator was about to be caught. She managed to slice through the tentacle that had followed her with her bone boomerang, but another appendage was waiting when that one failed.
Hiraikotsu was knocked against the ground as Sango was dragged along, both legs held immobile by the tentacle. The jarring sensation followed the nerves up her arm, causing her to drop the boomerang and effectively disarming her.
'Damn it, Inuyasha, wake up!' Miroku silently yelled, having seen the still-unconscious hanyou from his place in the air. Just as he and Sango were trapped, the hanyou was caught by the waist and being dragged across the ground. Maruku, with Kagome and Shippo, was faring much better, though he was exhausting his energy, alternating between flying and leaping across the ground.
The tentacles began wrapping themselves further around the three prisoners, rolling them in towards Naraku.
"Your friends are in need of my help," Maruku murmured to Kagome, leaping swiftly into a tree. He deposited the girl and kitsune on the wide branch he stood upon, leaning Kagome against the thick trunk.
He drew several arrows from the quiver at his hip and quickly notched them in the bow he pulled off his shoulder. The arrows were soon whooshing through the air and cutting through the tentacle holding Sango, another set following to release Miroku. The windwalker was unable to see Inuyasha, who was trapped on the other side of Naraku.
The monk and demon exterminator struggled to free themselves from the pieces of Naraku's limbs still wrapped around them.
Sango had better luck, managing to reach into her robe and grab the thin blade hidden in her sleeve. She was free and running towards Miroku when another tentacle seized her by the arm.
Several more arrows whizzed by, severing the appendage and the one that had caught hold of Miroku just as he began to run.
~I am running out of arrows. Can you shoot?~
"W-what?" Kagome stuttered, reaching down to tightly clutch the large branch beneath her. Had she heard the voice with her ears, or... with her mind?
~This way of speaking is much quicker. I apologize for the intrusion. Can you shoot a bow?~
The mental voice was similar to Maruku's speaking tone. "Y-yes, I... I can, but not--"
~I am running out of arrows. We need one that will end this for good. You are a priestess, and we are in need of your magic. I can help you aim.~
The windwalker did not stop to question how she could fire a bow with her blindness, she vaguely noted. "I can try," she murmured hesitatingly.
~We will not miss.~ Maruku was obviously assured of their success.
She heard the twang of his bow, and then a clipped, "Hang tight," as she was again swept up and away. The slight sensation of falling no longer startled her, though she still grasped the windwalker's arm firmly.
~I will land, and we will finish this.~
"Okay."
It felt like Maruku crashed into the branch they rested on seconds later, though he quickly set Kagome and Shippo on the branch.
The winged demon pulled an arrow from his quiver and pressed both it and the bow into Kagome's hands. He moved behind her, helping her set the arrow against the string so she could pull it back. He held her arms steady and shifting her slightly to the side.
~When I tell you to fire, let the arrow fly.~
Kagome nodded, pulling the arrow back just a little more.
~He is coming closer. Be ready.~ Maruku winced at the power he could feel flowing through Kagome. The purifying magic burned his hands, but he was determined to hold on until the last possible moment.
Naraku lumbered closer, three tentacles racing towards the tree his remaining prey used as a hiding place.
Maruku let go of Kagome's arms, unable to stand the strength of her magic. ~Do not move!~ he mentally called to Kagome. ~Hold steady!~ He looked up as he scooted backwards on the tree branch, eyes focusing on the demon before them.
A moment later, Naraku was within range. ~Now, Lady Kagome!~
Kagome said a quick prayer and released the arrow.
The twang of the string echoed loudly in her ears, followed by the swishing sound of the airborne weapon flying through the air.
Maruku turned his head to the side as the arrowhead began to glow as it neared Naraku. Its impact with the demon exploded into brilliant white light.
Miroku and Sango were flung away from Naraku, landing closer to the treeline, almost beneath the tree the others were crouched in.
The light began to clear, revealing Naraku, who was still standing.
The demon laughed loudly. "Your magic is not enough, girl."
"Maybe not, but my sword is!"
The fierce growl was followed by Naraku's being torn in half from bottom to top.
The demon dissolved into dust, the particles blowing away.
"Damn it, it was another puppet!" Inuyasha yelled, hacking the small wooden oval that lay on the ground where Naraku stood in two.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried from her place in the tree. Forgetting where she was, she tried to push herself to her feet. Her hand slipped, and she fell sideways off the branch.
"You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?" a gruff voice bellowed in her ear as strong arms wrapped themselves around her and brought her safely to the ground.
"Inuyasha! You're all right!" Kagome flung her own arms around the hanyou, oblivious to the anger in his tone.
"Of course I'm all right, but you just nearly killed yourself by jumping out of that tree!"
The girl only held onto him tighter.
"You are an excellent markswoman, Lady Kagome," Maruku called as he jumped, Shippo in his arms, to the ground.
Kagome murmured her thanks as Inuyasha set her on her feet.
"This looks as good a place as any to make camp," Miroku muttered as he strode up to the others, Sango following the monk while rubbing her shoulder.
"I agree wholeheartedly," the demon exterminator murmured, eyes scanning the former battlefield in search of Hiraikotsu. She spotted the boomerang fifty feet away and moved slowly to collect it.
Miroku watched her move away, then turned to head for the treeline, almost deliberately in the opposite direction. "I'll start looking for firewood."
"Camp! We don't have time to make camp! We still have hours of daylight left!" Inuyasha protested.
"Even demons like you and myself need rest after a battle such as the one we just fought," Maruku scolded, frowning as he stretched some of the kinks out of his wings.
"Not that Inuyasha was that busy. He already got his nap," Shippo muttered.
"Why you--!" the hanyou cried, leaping past Kagome towards the kitsune.
"Help!"
'At least some things stay normal,' Kagome thought, a small smile on her face as she listened to Shippo's squeals and Inuyasha's growls.
Sango turned to watch the chase when she was about halfway to Hiraikotsu. She rolled her eyes and was about to continue on when a glint to the side drew her gaze to the dirt beneath her feet. Miroku's staff lay on the ground, where he'd dropped it earlier.
A slightly puzzled expression crossed the demon exterminator's face as she looked back over her shoulder to where the monk was gathering sticks along the edge of the trees. He hadn't come to retrieve the staff himself. Of course it was not likely to go anywhere on its own, so looking for it could wait until after he gathered firewood. But then again, if he waited too long, the sun would set. The staff would be much harder to find in the darkness.
Maybe Miroku expected it to grow legs and walk back to him?
With a snort of laughter at her own thoughts, Sango bent and picked up the monk's staff, the rings jingling as she angled it over her shoulder.
Several minutes later, the demon exterminator approached Miroku hesitantly. She shouldn't have been nervous over such a silly thing as returning the staff, but she was. She stood and watched him from several feet away, biting her lip.
Mentally squaring her shoulders, Sango closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'This really isn't that hard! Just give him back the staff!' she scolded herself.
"Are you all right, Sango?"
She nearly jumped at Miroku's question, her eyes flying open.
"I-- I'm fine. I just... came to return this to you. I found it on my way to get Hiraikotsu," she rushed out, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt. She held the staff out for the monk to take, giving it a slight shake when he cocked his head to the side as if he didn't understand her statement.
Miroku's eyes fell to the object in her hand. He stared at it for a minute, then looked back up at her. "Thank you, Sango. As you can see, my arms are full." He nodded towards the firewood in his arms. "So if you would not mind holding it for just another moment?"
"I... No." Sango could feel a slight flush spreading across her cheeks. In her haste to just give the staff back, she had forgotten the wood the monk carried. Luckily, Miroku had turned away before he could see the pink tinge to her skin. Or so she thought.
He was back before the heat had gone down. "Thank you for finding my staff for me, Sango," Miroku told her with a small bow.
She raised one brow, fully expecting some additional remark to fall from his lips as he straightened and held out his hand.
There was no sign of any mocking behavior when she handed the staff back.
In fact, the monk didn't say another word as he turned away and headed back towards where Maruku was working on getting a fire started.
Sango's eyes followed him as he walked away.
'No comment?' she thought. Not that she missed his quips.
Maybe he was just tired out from the battle. It really wasn't such a remarkable thing for him not to try to twist any situation into something inappropriate.
So why was she noticing it now?