"Can you run steadier, Naruko?!" Kagome asked as she rode on Naruko's back.
"Look, you wanna get to them faster or should we have a nice walk to save your man?" Naruko retorted.
Kagome was about to retort until she noticed the people lying about the village. And the strands of hair wrapped around them.
"Both of you stay back!" Kaede yelled as she rushed from her hut before she tripped over.
She had a wound on her left shoulder. Before Kagome could say anything Naruko jumped back, easily avoiding slashes from three sides. Three of the village women, who were hoisted up like puppets, had tried to cut them down with knives. All around them, the villagers started to swarm around the two girls as if possessed. They weren't struggling and their faces lacked signs of consciousness.
"Naruko, are you seeing this?" Naruko gave an annoyed tch at Kagome's question.
"Yeah, that bitch is using some kind of spell on these people." The dog girl growled.
"Not just that, she's using her hair." Kagome said as she pointed towards the sky
"What, I don't see—"
"Down!" Kagome quickly yelled as she jumped off Naruko's back and onto the ground.
This made the dog girl eat dirt but it also saved Naruko from being bound by the hair and getting caught on the tree. The poor tree wasn't as lucky, as it fell to pieces not a moment after.
"You bitch, what was that for!" Naruko yelled indignantly.
"I just saved your life! If I hadn't done that, you would look like the tree right now!" Kagome yelled as she stomped her foot. "You need to pay attention!"
"Hey, I don't need some boy crazy wench telling me how to fight!" Naruko yelled back.
"Boy crazy—how dare you!?" the schoolgirl screamed as furious.
All the onlookers looked at the scene with awkward silence, including a bleeding out Kaede. Hell, even the comatose seemed to look at the scene with confusion. Speaking of said onlookers, there was one that caused the mess they were in, sitting on a branch. She looked at peace, playing with hair on her fingers like a spider making her web, and keeping her eyes on someone.
"So these are the girls you want to be with?" Yura asked skeptically as she watched on from a far-off tree with Haruto's hair cocoon on the side.
"Yep." He said simply.
"The half-demon and human currently arguing during a battle?"
"Yep."
"Don't you have standards?" She sighed out as she manipulated the puppets to attack Naruko again only for Kagome to Osuwari her out of the way again. A loud "You bitch!" could be heard for miles.
"I don't think that's a question you get to ask." Haruto swore he felt the cocoon getting tighter.
"You're so lucky I want you alive." She said as she ran a finger across the cocoon in a manner that left him greatly uncomfortable.
He tried to struggle to get free, unsure of what he'd do, but damn sure he'd try to punch her face in once he could fight. Despite his strong physique, it was as if he was tied by steel wire, and it was starting to burn. Despite the harsh heat on his skin, he persevered and tried to glare back, only amusing the hair controlling witch. She enjoyed seeing him in her control, helpless.
Meanwhile, the girls weren't having much luck on their side, "Dammit, what the Hell!?" Naruko growled as she readied her claws, but had a problem.
"Don't harm them, Naruko!" Kaede shouted, "They're still alive and themselves, but something's using them as marionettes of evil!"
Kagome felt a lightbulb turn on in her head, "You mean the hair?"
"What?" Kaede was surprised, This girl's eyes are sharp as a hawk's, but the only one strong enough to fight out of them is Naruko and she's blind to them.
"What the Hell do we do about it?" Naruko was getting impatient, flexing her claws in desperate need to cut something.
Yura smiled as she sat on her branch and started to make a cobweb with her hair, smirking as she saw the girls as the flies to be caught in it. With a simple flick of her fingers, the villagers went flying at the two girls, brandishing their weapons. Kagome ducked under a swing and ran away, while Naruko expertly dodged them and ground her teeth, knowing she'd never let off easy if she harmed the people.
However, as that went on, Kagome saw something that scared her, "Wait Naruko, jump back!"
"Shut up!" the dog girl didn't listen, and it cost her.
A smile crept on Yura's lips, "Gotcha." Pulling her hands apart made her living marionettes pull away, while the hairs that acted as puppet strings coiled around Naruko's torso.
Kagome and Haruto heard and saw the white haired half-demon cry in pain, yet her kimono managed to keep her pale skin from being cut. She struggled to breathe as Yura sneered.
"D-Damn bitch…" Naruko gasped.
"She's strong, but won't last long." Yura said and started to pull harder.
And Haruto had enough, "Fuck it!" he clenched his jaw as he felt his skin peeling from his wrist and felt his muscles and bones strain from what he was doing.
Pulling out a move he saw in a movie, the insanely brave boy managed to pull out his right arm with large cuts on his wrist that was bleeding him dry. Without thinking–not like he had done so when seeing the girl in danger—he splatted his own blood on the woman's eyes. It worked! Yura let out a yelp and released the hair, freeing Naruko who panted for breath after hitting the floor.
While it was a small victory, it was also short-lived, "Ugh! Now you're pissing me off!" Yura shouted and used her short sword to smack Haruto in the head with the handle, then grab his head to hold the blade on his neck, "You're making this harder than it needs to be. Your beautiful golden hair will be mine one way or another and I have plenty of ways to get your cooperation—"
Her words were interrupted by him spitting on her face without fear, "Do your worst." He said with his teeth bared.
Foot met face, and soon he was sleeping.
Kaede, still managing to stay awake despite her injuries, couldn't watch this battle anymore as it was becoming too one-sided.
"Kagome, Naruko, get out of here!" She yelled in a raspy tone.
Naruko growled in frustration. "Hell no! I can take her and her puppets!"
Naruko's arrogance only frustrated the old priestess. "No, you can't! Not here! Regroup somewhere... protect the jewel..." She managed to get out before her consciousness faded.
Kagome decided to heed her words. "Naruko, stop! We must go now! Grab the priestess and hide somewhere!"
Naruko could only scoff at what she saw as weakness. "To hell with that! Not that I care, but don't YOU wanna save your boy toy!?" She growled, dodging hair nets from two sides.
Kagome decided to ignore that last part. "Yes, we WILL save him. We WILL come back. But now is NOT the time." Naruko had to hold back a snarl of frustration. "Now grab Lady Kaede and hide somewhere. I'll head back to the well."
Naruko scoffed. "You really think you can make it?!" She said ducking under a butcher knife.
Kagome nervously nodded. "Maybe. Now go!" She yelled as she made a break for the well. Naruko quickly sprinted towards the downed priestess and made off into the forest.
From far away, Yura scowled. "Now what are these fools up to?" She wondered before shrugging in disinterest. The girl was alone and that jewel shard was as good as hers. She glanced at the unconscious blond and smirked a little defiantly. "You and I are gonna have a real good time after this. But first, that girl with the jewel."
Kagome raced as best she could, cursing herself for not taking a spot in the track team when she could. Her bycicle was good, but she could've used a faster model.
"Ah!" she yelped when hearing a knife cut the air behind her, skipping to avoid it just as it barely missed her back.
Her uniform had a gash, but it was something she'd take over the knife going any inch further. It and the breeze on her back helped her with a rush of adrenaline. Being so close to death was something no girl would want, and for her the idea of dying in such a way was not an option. Gritting her teeth with fear and slight fatigue, she ignored her aching legs and kept racing to the well.
"How cute…" Yura giggled as she observed her.
"Not now!" Kagome gasped, seeing the well a good ten yards from her, "I have to… I can… I must!"
She didn't know what made her do so, but her legs became a blur while the mad woman threw her wakizashi at her. Kagome's yelp stirred Haruto, who gasped when seeing her collapse on the ground, holding her bleeding ankle. And yet, she had some life in her eyes. True, she was scared, but the schoolgirl had the will to live as she inched closer to the well, having been close enough she used it to get up.
With a flick of her wrist, Yura pulled back her short sword with a sneer, "Now that's cuter." She examined the girl's hair, "Your hair isn't as wonderful or beautiful as this boy or that dog girl's, but it should do."
"I'll have you know I take great care of it…" Kagome growled, having some pride in her hair, but also to buy time as she was leaning on the well.
She needed to make a jump, hoping that she could go back home… But Yura was impatient, "Let's see if that's true." She was ready to attack, moving the blade back to throw it… And her hand only launched air, "What!?" she turned to her hand, then back to the blond currently holding the blade with his teeth.
After spitting out the sword, he yelled, "Kagome, run!"
Said girl closed her eyes, but leapt into the well, just as Yura backhanded Haruto hard enough to disorient him before turning to her. She jumped to the well, throwing her sword into it… but hit nothing.
Meanwhile, in the other world.
"KAGOME! KAGOME!" Sota yelled as he and his grandfather looked around the old temple.
They were there for a few hours and still no sign of Haruto or Kagome, but they were not gonna call it quits just yet.
"AAAAAGH!" A familiar voice screamed from the glowing well.
"Kagome!" Both Sota and the old priest screamed in shock.
The teen girl landed on her butt and remained fazed for about a few seconds as her brother and Grandpa rushed to her side before she jumped up and went at a million words per second.
"Oh my god! Grandpa, Sota I'm so glad to see you! Haruto and I went to this weird place where this weird monster attacked us and we met this really mean dog girl pinned on a tree and—OH MY GOD, Haruto was taken by this hair kunoichi monster and we need to save him!" Kagome blasted off before her grandpa placed a hand over her mouth.
"Kagome, calm down! One word at a time." He pleaded, trying to calm her down.
"Kagome said Aniki's in trouble because he was taken by a hair lady!" Sota yelled, Kagome nodding in confirmation.
"What!? How!?" Grandpa asked before he quickly turned to the well and remembered what his father had told him about the temple. "That's right, the whippersnapper! First demonic hands, now crazy hair people, that boy can't catch a break for his generosity."
"Grandpa, I need to go back in there, but I need help. Naruko's down there, but she can't fight off that monster alone."
Grandpa shook his head. "I wouldn't be of much help. I have knowledge of ancient wards and charms, but this is something else entirely and there's no way I'm letting you go back down there again. We need to—" He was cut off by Kagome rushing up to leave. "Wait! Where are you going?!"
"Bows and arrows! I can't just leave him there!" She shouted with fear laced in her voice. "I can't fight like him or Naruko, but I can't stand by and let others get hurt. Especially someone who jumped in just to save me!" The fear was still present in her voice, but it was overshadowed by her determination. Grandpa and Sota's cries for her to wait went unheard as she sprinted back home, not noticing the well glowing again.