Chapter 4: Kaijou

"Kurokocchi?" the voice asks.

Kuroko takes a step forward. "Kise-kun, we're here to help you. Are you alright?"

Faintly, he can make out golden eyes watching them from the vortex of the darkness.

"…help…me?"

Those eyes turn to him questioningly.

"This is Kagami-kun, he's an onmyouji—"

Something shifts in the air. "An onmyouji? Why? Did he send you?"

"He?" Kuroko asks. "I don't know who you're talking about. We're here to help."

"Don't lie to me! There's only one reason why you'd bring an onmyouji here! And I refuse! I don't want to go yet!" The figure leaps back and out of instinct, Kagami pulls Kuroko closer to him and drawing a barrier around them.

Worried for his friend, Kuroko tries to pull away. "Wait, Kagami-kun, what are you doing? Kise-kun wouldn't…"

"Stop struggling and stay close to me. Haven't you noticed yet?" Kagami says, tightening his grip on the other's arm. "All this darkness is coming from him. He's the source."

Kuroko doesn't tear his eyes away from his friend. "But, how's that possible?"

"I don't know. We can figure that out later, for now, we have to stop him from moving…" he trails off when the darkness spreads around them, unveiling the figure in the middle. He can feel his blood run cold at the sight of the youkai. "Oi, Kuroko, you never told me your friend was a d-d-d—"

His stuttering seems to snap Kuroko from his trance. "A dog? Did I never mention that Kise-kun was an inugami?"

"No, you didn't! I'd definitely remember if you did, and I definitely wouldn't have come up here if you did! All you had to say about him was his crying face," he protests, the fear making him both bold and weak in the knees at the same time.

"It must've slipped my mind," Kuroko says. "I didn't know you were afraid of dogs, Kagami-kun. Kise-kun's normally very friendly."

Kagami furrows his brows and turns to look at the large, monstrous dog with its glowing golden eyes. From his experience and childhood trauma, raised hackles, flattened ears, and bared teeth weren't the signs of a friendly dog. "Why don't you try telling me that again when he's not looking all angry and emitting darkness from his body?"

"I can't go yet. I won't. I'm still strong. I can still be useful," Kise mutters, his breathing ragged. He shakes his head and lets out a snarl as though fighting with itself. "I won't be thrown away like this," he lunges towards them, "not when I can still fight!"

"Kagami-kun, don't move," Kuroko orders and vanishes.

"Wait, what—" A moment later, he's surrounded by a screen of smoke.

"There are other youkai over by the main shrine. It's the one with the caved roof to your left," Kuroko's voice says. "I'll make sure Kise-kun doesn't get to you."

"Kurokocchi, don't get in my way!" the inugami growls. "I don't want to fight you, but I won't let anyone stop me, even if it's you!"

Running towards the fallen shrine as instructed, Kagami tries to come up with a way to stop Kise without exorcising him.

"Kise-kun, please stop! We're not here to fight you," Kuroko tries.

The inugami stops for a moment, his ears raised. "I can hear you, onmyouji. Not even Kurokocchi's misdirection can help you now."

Kagami comes to halt and puts up a shield just in time to fend against the attack. Pushed back by the force of the impact, he watches his shield crumble away, leaving nothing between him and the inugami. Kise lunges forward and he jumps back and dodges to the right, pulling his staff out.

Smoke surrounds him again. "Don't move, Kagami-kun. This is the only way I can direct Kise-kun's attacks away. He doesn't seem to be able to transform into his other forms, but this one's just as dangerous. I don't think there's anything we can do about the other youkai in the shrine for now. Kise-kun doesn't seem to want us going near them."

He nods and digs through the talismans he had prepared for today, hoping for a plan to come to him. For a moment, he considers putting up barriers, but then he remembers how the inugami destroyed his shield earlier. Pausing at the wards, he looks around at the thick layer of smoke all around him.

"Kurokocchi, you can't hide him forever," Kise says, pacing, his claws scratching against the inlaid stones. "Your fuel will run out soon enough."

Kagami looks down at the torch on the ground, completely alit. "Kuroko, can you cover this whole place in smoke?" he asks quickly, dodging to the side to avoid another attack.

From the smoke, two large blue eyes appear, giving him a start. "I could, but I would need more fuel to do it. Please don't burn down the shrine."

Rolling his eyes, he dismisses the idea from his head and looks around for something else to set on fire. He perks up when he suddenly remembers the bonfire pit that every Great Shrine is supposed to have. It sounds like a good place to start; now all he has to do is figure out where it is and how to light it. Casting a spell might give his plan away and the wind caused by the swirling darkness is enough to smother any smaller flame.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kagami notices the torch again and grins. Bending down and picking up the blazing piece of wood, he dashes off to one side, out of the smoke.

Golden eyes immediately hone in on him and the inugami charges forward. With a talisman ready in one hand, he looks around for the bonfire pit. Catching a glimpse of it in front of the main shrine, Kagami throws the torch at it with all his might just as Kise shatters his shield again. The two of them both get blown back by the impact and it leaves his arm muscles searing with pain from the strain.

Kuroko immediately shields him again, his eyes hovering.

Holding his breath, Kagami waits to see if his gamble paid off.

"Unexpectedly, you have really good aim, Kagami-kun," Kuroko tells him.

He grins as he watches the smoke thicken around him. Holding up his wards, he gestures for Kuroko to protect them. The pair of eyes bob slightly. Kagami takes it as a nod and puts one on stone lamp behind him. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he readies his next one and makes a run for it.

Behind him, Kise's form suddenly appears only to be swallowed by the smoke.

"Where are you going, onmyouji!?"

Kagami swallows hard, trying his best not to think about the monstrous dog chasing him. It's like all his worst nightmares come true. He sets another ward without stopping and continues his lap around the shrine. Twice, he gets caught by Kise. By the second time, his left arm's gone numb and refuses to listen anymore.

Up ahead, he sees the gate he had started at and exhales in relief.

Setting one last ward in place, he stops and activates them with a quick spell. He watches as a barrier gets constructed, trapping the darkness within. Kise lets out a snarl and throws himself at the barrier walls. "I won't go! I won't!"

He frowns when he sees cracks beginning to form from the barrage of attacks, despite it being one of the strongest barriers in his arsenal already. Fortifying the barrier with a spell to buy more time, he takes a deep breath to steady himself and asks, "Ready, Kuroko?"

"Kise-kun will be alright, won't he?" Kuroko asks, still spread out around the shrine, protecting the talismans.

"This is our best shot at helping him," he says, not wanting to make any promises. "I'll purify the darkness and its source. If he hasn't been completely taken over by it, then the two should separate and only the bad stuff should be destroyed. I feel like I can't stress the world 'should' enough here though."

Kuroko hesitates for a moment. "Let's do this. I trust your judgment, Kagami-kun. And I believe in Kise-kun."

Kagami nods and begins his incantation.

The inugami redoubles his efforts, ramming into the walls containing him, creating more cracks in the barrier. But before he can break through, as the spell progresses, Kise begins writhing. Eventually, he stops attacking and curls up on the ground, ears flattened, and claws digging into the ground from pain.

"Why?" the inugami whimpers. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"It'll be over soon. You're going to be fine, Kise-kun," Kuroko tries to reassure the other.

"But, why? Why do I have to go? Why did he send me away? I wanted to stay by his side. I want to see him. Everyone always leaves me. I don't understand. Did I do something bad? I'm good enough, aren't I? I'm strong, aren't I? It's not fair. I can be good. Just let me show you. Please, don't make me go away."

"I think the darkness is talking through him," Kuroko tells Kagami. "Kise-kun, is this what you've been carrying inside you all this time?"

"I want to live. I just want to live…but if I'm going to die, I want it to be by his hands and his voice."

Kagami continues his spell. There's a dim glow as the inugami shifts into his human form.

"…master? It hurts, master. I'm scared. Why did you create me? I don't want to live and die on your whim. I didn't ask for this. I'm good enough. I'm good enough, so let me live." On his side, Kise curls up tighter, his features tight with pain. "It hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. Everyone is leaving. Why? Why? I…I…"

"Kise-kun!" Kuroko shouts, appearing by the inugami's side. "No one's leaving you! You're more than good enough, so come back to us!"

Finishing the incantation, a large gust of wind blows past him. Kagami shields his eyes from the flying debris and when he opens them again, he finds the shrine clear of both smoke and darkness. In the middle of his barrier, he finds Kuroko kneeling by an unfamiliar blonde's side. The stranger would've looked mostly human if not for his dog-like ears and tail.

"Is that him? Did it work?" he asks tentatively.

Kuroko turns to him, eyes bright. "I think you did it, Kagami-kun. I think you saved Kise-kun. And look, Kaijou Shrine's cleared up."

Exhausted and relieved, Kagami plops onto the ground and lets out a loud sigh. "I can't believe we survived that. Why can't all the guardians just be like you? I can't feel my arms anymore."

"Kise!?" a voice suddenly emerges from the main shrine. "Hey, you bastards, what'd you do to our shrine's dog!?"

The two of them turn to see tengu flying towards them, ready to attack. Too exhausted to fight back Kagami waves at Kuroko and mutters, "I'm not dealing with the angry owners."

"That's alright. I can take care of this," Kuroko says, getting up to stop the youkai. "Kise-kun's fine. He's still breathing. He should wake up in a little while."

The head tengu frowns. "You know Kise?"

"Yes, we're friends. My name is Kuroko. I'm from the Seirin Shrine. That's Kagami-kun, an onmyouji."

"Oh," the tengu says, "could you be 'Kurokocchi'? Kise never shuts up about you."

Kuroko nods. "Most likely. That sounds very like him."

"I'm Kasamatsu. This is my mountain," the tengu introduces himself. "The two heading over this way are Moriyama and Hayakawa."

"Can you tell us what happened, Kasamatsu-san? Why did Kaijou suddenly fall?" Kuroko asks.

Kasamatsu rubs the back of his neck and shakes his head. "It's most likely because of that," he says, pointing to the main shrine. "That shrine houses the remains of a great priest who once lived here. We were completely fine until a storm caused the roof to cave in. The barrier he erected must've been damaged and broken because of that."

"The shrine still seems to have kept you safe from the darkness though," Kagami points out.

"Powel rike that doesn't simpry disappeal aftel death!" Hayakawa shouts. "Especiarry not gleat men rike him!"

"No one can understand what you're saying when you speak so fast, you idiot!" Kasamatsu scolds, knocking the other tengu upside the head.

Hayakawa rubs his head ruefully and apologizes, "Solly, I'm just excited to be flee aftel being stuck in thele fol so rong!"

"Moriyama, do something about him!"

There's a shrug. "Not really feeling the motivation to when it's two guys involved," Moriyama says nonchalantly. Instead he turns to Kuroko and asks, "Say, never mind them, are there cute girls in Seirin?"

"Why don't you go there and never come back!?" Kasamatsu shouts. Finally snapping and shoving the two away, he points at the shrine. "If you two have time to fool around, then you can start on the repairs until Kise wakes up!"

Kagami and Kuroko exchange glances with one another as the tengu squawk and squabble among themselves. Eventually, Kasamatsu gets the upper hand the chases the other two away.

"Kaijou Shrine seems like a very lively place," Kuroko says.

Rolling his eyes, Kasamatsu heaves the sigh of one who has had to endure much suffering. "Sorry about them. We've been cooped up in that place since this whole thing started. Kise wouldn't let us out."

"That explains why he was trying to keep us away from there," Kuroko notes. "He was probably trying to protect you even while he was possessed by the darkness."

"I guess that means either Kise managed to fight the darkness off to some extent, or that it doesn't have full control over the more powerful youkai," Kagami says. "I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

Kuroko blinks. "Why would it be a bad thing?"

"Because it means they get to keep their intelligence," he explains. "Remember how Kise waited until he could pinpoint my location to attack? None of the other youkai we faced would've been able to even think that far. It just makes our job that much harder."

"That's true. You have a good point, but I'm still glad to know that it was still Kise-kun inside."

"So what are you doing so far from Seirin?" Kasamatsu asks. "Surely, you didn't just come for a visit. Wait, are you on an epic journey to purge the land of evil?"

Kagami makes a face at that. "Is that a code for something, or is that just a phrase everyone learns here?"

Before his question could be answered, there's a groan and they all look down to see Kise stirring. Golden eyes flutter open and the inugami sits up, cradling his head. "Everything hurts…" Then, suddenly, his eyes widen and he sits up. "Senpai!? Kurokocchi!? Is everyone alright?"

Glancing over, Kagami sees for the first time how handsome the inugami is. He quickly recalls a mental image of the beast that attacked him earlier to remind himself that looks can be deceiving when it comes to youkai—because apparently even the most beautiful creatures can turn into angry gigantic dogs.

"Everyone's fine, Kise-kun," Kuroko answers.

Eyes watering, Kise wraps his arms around the enenra and holds him tight. "Thank goodness! I really didn't want to fight you! I was so worried you'd gotten hurt because of me, Kurokocchi!"

Kasamatsu smacks the inugami on the head. "Worry about yourself first, you idiot dog! You were completely possessed and nearly got exorcised!"

Kise looks up. "Kasamatsu-senpai…where are the others? Are they alright? This guy," he says, glancing warily over at Kagami, "he's not here to exorcise me?"

"Would you still be sitting here if I was?" Kagami mutters under his breath.

Ears perking, Kise huffs. "Yes! Kurokocchi totally could've stopped you and beaten you up because he's the best! Am I right, Kurokocchi?"

Instead of answering, Kuroko sighs, "…Kise-kun, this is getting uncomfortable. Can you let me go now?"

"So mean! You're so cold even though we haven't seen each other in so long!"

"Really? It didn't seem that long," Kuroko says, clearly enjoying himself.

Fat tears start rolling down Kise's face. "But I missed you so much…"

Kuroko almost smiles. "Your crying face is still the same as ever, Kise-kun."

Kagami arches a brow at the sudden emergence of Kuroko's sadistic side.

But to be fair, it was a very nice crying face.

"Hey, onmyouji," Kasamatsu starts.

"The name's Kagami. Kagami Taiga," he replies automatically.

"Excuse me. Then, Kagami," the tengu corrects himself, "is it safe for us to leave this barrier?"

He looks around the shrine and nods. "It should be fine if you stay nearby. But the miasma hasn't cleared away anywhere else, so it'd probably be safer if you waited until I fortify the shrine."

"Will the darkness clear up on its own?" Kise asks.

"It should. With the source gone, things should gradually turn back to normal. How did it manage to get inside you anyway?" Kagami asks.

Looking up in thought, Kise shakes his head. "I'm not sure. After the storm, the main shrine's roof caved in. I was going on patrol as usual when I could suddenly feel it." He raises a hand to his heart. "I couldn't do anything about it, and there was this voice—my voice saying everything I didn't want to hear. It made me really angry, but I think it was more towards myself."

Kasamatsu arches a brow. "Hmm? What kind of things did you hear?"

Curling his tail around himself, the inugami tells them, "It was just mostly my own voice saying 'You're not wanted. You're not wanted. You're not wanted,' over and over again."

The two of them exchange looks, remembering the inugami's words from earlier. Kuroko opens his mouth to, no doubt, reassure the other, but Kasamtasu beats him to it. "And you believed it? Of course you're wanted, you idiot. You're the Kaijou Inugami, aren't you?"

Kise's eyes widen. "Is that really what I'm known as, senpai?"

"I think it has a nice ring to it," Kuroko says.

Kagami frowns. "By that, you mean it sounds horrifying."

"Only to you, Kagami-kun."

"The Kaijou Inugami…" Kise's lips curl into a light smile. "I rather like the sound of that, actually."

Later in the day, when he finally feels like he's regained enough energy to set up the barrier for Kaijou Shrine, Kagami heaves himself up and announces, "I'll go set up the wards. Where do you want them?"

Kasamatsu thinks for a moment. "I think I know a good place to start. C'mon, I can take you."

"Kagami-kun, do you want me to come with you?" Kuroko asks.

He shakes his head. "It's alright. You just stay here and catch up with your friend or something."

Left alone with Kise, Kuroko glances over. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has," the inugami agrees. "You're looking well though. I'm glad."

"And you? How are you?"

"Right now? A little sore, a little tired, nothing a little sleep won't fix."

"The Kaijou Inugami, huh? I take it you like it here?"

"Yeah, I like it here a lot! The scenery is beautiful! If you look down there, you can see the ocean! Did you know? I've never seen the ocean before. Everyone's really great here too! Kasamatsu-senpai's always fussing over me and the other two are always up to something. It's fun being here. It's a very…warm place. Out of all the Great Shrines, I'm glad this is the one I got sent to."

A little guiltily, Kuroko lowers his gaze and apologizes, "I'm sorry we left you all alone here, Kise-kun."

Kise smiles and shakes his head. "Please forget what I said earlier, Kurokocchi. It was probably just trauma from way before. I miss you guys all the time, but I understand why we have to do this. And like I said, the company here is great."

"That's really good to hear," Kuroko says. "If you're ever done with being the Kaijou Inugami, you know we'd take you back in a heartbeat, right?"

"Kurokocchi, I feel so loved right now."

"That wasn't my intention," he reassures the other.

"So mean!"

There's a pause before Kuroko mentions carefully, "You know, he's the one who insisted you come here."

Pausing, instead of commenting, Kise asks, "Have you heard from him at all? From any of them?"

"No. All of their regions have been taken over by darkness. I've had no way of contacting them."

"Then, are you going to go and help them like you helped me?"

Kuroko nods. "That's what I'm hoping to achieve with Kagami-kun's help, yes. The plan is to go to Touou next."

"Can I come with you?"

He turns around and asks, "Are you sure that's a good idea, Kise-kun?"

Kise frowns. "I'm a better fighter than that onmyouji! I'm strong! You know I'd be useful!"

"That's not the problem. There's no questioning your abilities. I'm worried because it'd be especially dangerous for you, that's all."

"That might be true, but I want to see them—to see him. I may understand his reasons, but I want to hear it straight from his mouth," Kise says. "And I want to help them just as much as you do, so please let me come, Kurokocchi."

Seeing the determination in the other's eyes, Kuroko's shoulders sag in both defeat and relief. "I understand, Kise-kun. Please lend us your support."

"So you're going around and looking for your brother?" Kasamatsu asks, stoking the fire. Night has fallen and they've all gathered around the bonfire. "You two must be close if you're willing to do so much just to have Kuroko look for him."

Kagami rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "We are—or, were. To be honest, we didn't exactly leave on the best terms, but I can deal with that when I find him." He thinks back to the way they parts ways—to the hurt and anger in Tatsuya's eyes.

Kise arches a brow. "How do you know for sure that you'll find him?"

"I don't," he answers honestly, "but I can't go back to the capital until I've given it my all and searched every region. If, by the end of it all, he really doesn't want to be found then…I guess I'll just have to accept that. That's what I've decided, anyway."

"Well, your search is going to save a lot of people if you keep this up. By the time you're done, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone knew your name," Kasamatsu says. He steps back and looks at the flames. "That should be enough for you, right, Kuroko?"

Kuroko nods. "Yes. This will do nicely, thank you."

"Be careful," Kagami tells him. "There's still a lot of miasma around. How's the charm holding up? Should I make you another one before you go?"

Pulling out the charm, which looks surprisingly intact and whole, Kuroko shakes his head. "Your charm is holding up very well, Kagami-kun. It will most likely last until I'm finished. If not, I'll come straight back here." He walks up to the bonfire. "I'll be off, then."

Moriyama grins and sidles up to Kagami. "Once everyone knows your name, be a friend and introduce me to some cute girls, okay? Say, what are the girls like in the capital?"

"You'le compretery missing the point of his stoly, Moliyama!" Hayakawa yells. "His passionate sealch for his blothel has got me arr filed up!"

"Nobody understands you! Speak properly! And you! Stop talking about girls! That's not related to our conversation! Go back to your own mountain for that kind of stuff!" Kasamatsu yells back, shoving the two away. "Kise, stop sitting around and help me!"

"But I kind of have a problem right now, senpai," Kise says.

Kasamatsu frowns. "What is it?"

Holding two brushes in his hand, the inugami turns to him with a dead serious look on his face and asks, "Which one do you think I should bring with me? This one's better, but it's also more delicate, so I'd have to be extra careful while travelling with it. This one's sturdy, but it doesn't feel as silky after and I want to look my best, you know?"

"No, I don't know! And I don't care! You're all idiots!" the tengu snaps.

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Kasamatsu's still Kise's senpai because he's older and he's been at the shrine longer. Let's leave off on a brighter note for this chapter, yeah? Enjoy!

Inugami: Japanese folklore describes Inugami as zoomorphic or anthropomorphic, dog-like beings, often similar to werewolves (wiki). (Note: If you're curious about the conjuring of an inugami, wiki provides a very vivid description of the process which also includes animal death.)