"How noble! I admire your sacrifice."

He takes a two-handed grip on Tetsusaiga. "And so, without further ado..."

" - wait! You can't kill him!"

"Why not?" He shifts his stance. "He told me to."

And Nobunaga lets the princess go, and moves to place himself between Inuyasha and the toad demon.

"Inside this monster, the real lord's heart still beats!"

Kagome is still methodically cutting girls out of eggs. Some of them are already dead, and fall sadly to the floor without reacting. Others cough and look around in fear.

"Run to the village," she tells them, quietly. Everyone can see her doing this, obviously, but she wants to get as many out as possible without attracting more attention than whatever Nobunaga is doing. "The guards won't stop you. Go. Hurry."

Inuyasha points the sword. "Get out of my way or I'll get you out."

The girls who are still alive nod, and hurry for the exit.

"I won't move! The real lord is still alive in there! Even if he weren't a lord, I despise the taking of life, and I can't stand by and watch you kill someone!"

- really? What kind of samurai is he?

"I know it sounds naive, in times like these. Laugh at me if you want. But I won't move."

- And Inuyasha sheaths his sword, steps back, and calmly sits down.

"All right. Then I won't lift a finger. You guys can handle it."

That's - kind of dumb - ?

She could probably tell Inuyasha to go ahead, and he'd probably do it. It's not like they aren't actually capable of moving Nobunaga without killing him.

But for a moment she thinks, unbidden, of Yura, snapping in half in her hands. It was easy. The fight, sure, that was awful, but the killing, which is what it was? She didn't think twice about it.

It would be easy to watch it this time, too, she senses, even if it means ending an innocent human life. And next time it will be even easier, and easier still the next time, even when there isn't any demon at all. It'll just keep getting easier forever, until you pick a point to say - no. Not here. And maybe any point you can pick along the descent will always feel like something only an idiot would do, but -

And thaaaat's when the toad's tongue punches through Nobunaga's shoulder again. (The same shoulder.)

"Heh... heh... heh..."

"Nobunaga!"

Nobunaga gasps and crumples to the floor, bleeding again.

" - Inuyasha!"

Huh? Inuyasha? Why would he do anything? Aren't you pacifist types handling it just fine?

"Princess Tsuyu..." the toad croaks, and shambles forwards.

"Kagome, please - save the princess - "

She can't save the princess by herself!! Not from him!! 

It seems like a very long instant, even though it's really no time at all, not even enough to think. There's only time to feel how easy it would be to tell Inuyasha to kill him, easier even than snapping a comb, as easy as speaking a word, and to know that to say it would be to render Nobunaga's sacrifice pointless.

She decides.

"We're going!" she snaps, grabbing Princess Tsuyu by the wrist, and violently pulls her out into the corridor so they can make a run for it.

Tsuyu will run along with Kagome, sparing only a last glance for Nobunaga as she flees.

And the toad will lumber after them!

Nobunaga may be collapsed on the floor and possibly dying, but he can still grab the toad by one leg and try very hard to give them a few more seconds to get away!

The toad will just backhand him and keep going. It does buy a couple seconds, though.

Kagome is running. This is not a complete plan; she can't just get the princess to safety. There are more girls back there, still in the eggs, and to help them, she's going to need to find some way of stopping the toad.

"Myoga!"