Chapter 10: Touou

Kagami scratches his head, stumped. He's tried everything he could think of from setting up barriers to physically pulling the inugami, but still, Kise remains stuck to that one spot.

"I've told you, Kagamicchi," Kise says ruefully. "It's impossible for me to disobey Aominecchi's order."

"No way, there's gotta be a way to fix this," Kagami insists, pulling at his arm.

"There you two are," Kuroko's voice comes as he appears from the trees with the other two. "What are you doing, Kagami-kun?"

Grip slipping from the inugami's arm, he tumbles back. "We ran into that guy," he explains from the ground, "Aomine."

Midorima's eyes widen as he looks over the two. "You tried to take him on yourself? But you don't look too injured."

Kagami sighs and sits up. "We're fine. He took off before we could do anything. The only problem now is that Kise's stuck."

"Stuck?"

"Aominecchi ordered me to stay," Kise explains.

It's only when the words causes Kuroko to stop mid-step that he realizes how much deeper its meaning runs. "I'm sorry to hear that, Kise-kun," Kuroko says quietly.

Ears flattening, Kise smiles weakly. "Don't say that, Kurokocchi, or I'll really get the wrong idea. Aominecchi's never ordered me to do anything before, so it has to be the darkness…right?"

"You can ask him that when we find him," Midorima interrupts. "First, we have to figure out how to get you moving again."

"Shin-chan, you really don't know how to read the atmosphere, do you?" Takao teases.

Midorima waves him off, face reddening. "We don't have time for this, Takao."

"Midorima-kun's right, we need to fix this," Kuroko says. "The only way I can think of is to cut off the command by having someone else order you to do the opposite, but that would require you to take on a new master and that in itself is a high risk."

Kise immediately shakes his head. "I don't want to another master. Even though Aominecchi doesn't want to be mine anymore."

"What are you talking about, Kise-kun?"

"I overheard him and Momocchi talking once," Kise mutters. "It was—"

"Wait, I got it!" Kagami suddenly exclaims, jumping to his feet. "I think I can fix this."

Kuroko stares at him. "Kagami-kun, you, too, have a lot to learn about reading the atmosphere."

He blinks and looks around, obviously to the mood he had just ruined. "What? You got me thinking when you said 'cut off the command', and now I've figured it out. I'm pretty sure it'll work. It's something Alex taught me as part of my training. I'm a little out of practice, but if I do it right, I'll be able to see the energies and connections of all things; so if the command's there, I should be able to do something about it too. I'll need to meditate for a while to focus myself though."

Kise asks, "You won't cut off the connection though, will you?"

"No, I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out when I get to it," Kagami reassures him.

The youkai exchange glances and nod. "It's worth a try."

"Should I set up a barrier or something in case?" he asks.

"No, we'll guard you while you do what you need to," Kuroko tells him.

He stares incredulously at the other and rubs the back of his neck. "No, but Kise's stuck, so maybe I should make one after all…"

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko starts, his voice perfectly serious, "could it be that you don't trust Midorima-kun's fighting abilities?"

"This is clearly about you!" Midorima snaps.

"I mean, it's just that Midorima's a long-range attacker and you're a no-range attacker, so if anything gets too close it'd be bad," he tries, though getting out without any backlash seems well impossible now after his careless words.

"Like Aomine-kun?" Kuroko asks.

Kagami shrugs. "Yeah, exactly like Aomine."

"If he wanted to come, no barrier would be able to keep him out for very long. Besides, there's a very good chance that we'll have to face him later today one way or another. Even you must understand that you'll need every last bit of energy you have against him if you want us to stand a chance. Anyway, Midorima-kun isn't so bad. He knows how to swing a sword and everything."

Midorima scowls, flustered. "Why does this keep coming back around to me?"

"I get it. I'll leave it to you guys then." He sits himself next to Kise and focuses his mind, trying to remember the steps Alex taught him and Tatsuya all those years ago.

"Close your eyes and focus. Don't let your thoughts stray. Concentrate on your senses and feel the world around you take shape in your mind. Without opening your eyes, look around. Can you see me? Can you see each other? Living things are easiest to pick up but the hardest to focus on because we're so dynamic.

"Are you getting it? Good. I want you two to practice this until you can see the whole room like this. And then we'll test it by playing hiding and seek! If you fall asleep, you can expect to be punished! And in the meantime, I think I'll go take a nap."

Focus momentarily slipping thanks to the memory, Kagami takes a deep breath and centers himself. Taking in the sounds and movement around him, when he opens his eyes again, he sees colourful swirls and blurry shapes. Next to him, he sees a flurry of gold, and off to the side, he can see brilliant green and dark amber next to a smoky haze of grey.

"I'm so out of practice. At least it looks like everyone's mostly here," he mutters to himself, looking around for clues.

Suddenly, a flicker catches his eye. He looks back over at Kise's form and focuses harder. As he does, the faint flickering solidifies further until he can make out what appears to be a black thread attached to Kise. He walks over and takes a closer look.

Instead of the black thread, he finds himself looking at a string of blue entwined with darkness. It seems to wrap itself around Kise's feet, keeping him rooted to the ground. "This must be it then."

Without his talismans he touches the thread gingerly and watches the darkness suddenly stop flowing at his fingertips, leaving a spider silk-thin thread of blue behind. As though sensing his intention, a swirl of yellow wraps itself around his arm, protective of the link but hesitant to attack him.

"It's okay. I know what I need to do," he says out loud despite knowing that he won't be heard. "Trust me on this."

Slowly, his arm is released. Wasting no time, Kagami seals off the flow of the darkness by wrapping his own magic down a short length of the thread.

The flurry of gold becomes brighter instantly, it's so bright he can't help but draw back to the real world.

When he opens his eyes again, Kise's in his face with angry tears in his eyes. "Kagamicchi, you said you wouldn't cut it off."

"I didn't," he immediately protests, avoiding the looks he was getting from the others. "I swear I didn't! All I did was cut off the darkness in the link, that's probably why you started feeling worse as we got further in. The connection's still there, it's just a little weak right now. Once you get Aomine back to normal, the link will do the same and you'll probably be stuck again."

The anger fades as quickly as it came and Kise's shoulders sag. "You promise?"

"Yeah, or I can always undo it after, okay?" Kagami promises, trying to placate the other.

Now merely pouting, the inugami nods. "It feels like it's been cut off."

As he finishes speaking, not too far away, a large power seems to erupt out of nowhere.

"It seems like Aomine-kun felt it too," Kuroko says.

"Wait, you mean…"

"Aominecchi's not trying to hide his powers anymore," Kise says. "At least we know we were on the right track."

Kagami gapes. "All that is coming from him?"

"Are you having doubts?" Kuroko asks.

"So many," he mutters. "I don't even know where to start. At least Kise's not stuck anymore. Should we get going? As much as I'm dreading this, in terms of preparation, this is as good as it's gonna get, isn't it?"

Kuroko gives him a pat on the arm. "Try to have more confidence in us, Kagami-kun."

"I have about as much confidence in our success as you do," he mutters.

"As me?" the other asks, blinking. He clears his throat and averts his eyes. "Yes, well, it might be safer to go into this blindly optimistic like Kise-kun."

"Kurokocchi, you're so mean!"

As they get closer, the pressure in the air continues growing. Like sweltering heat, the power Aomine emits feels heavy and oppressive to the point where every step is a challenge. Nearing the shrine, they stop for a moment to hide their belongings away and to prep for the battle.

The silence is only broken when Kagami asks, "How many people do you think we'll face?"

"The two strongest will be Aomine and Momoi," Midorima says. "And like with the other shrines, there'll probably be a couple of others who were originally in charge of the place—so maybe up to six opponents."

"And what's this Momoi supposed to be?"

"Momoi-san is a yuki-onna," Kuroko explains. "I can probably keep her distracted though."

Midorima nods. "That'll work. Takao and I can take on the others."

"Shin-chan and I are used to fighting together, so we can definitely take on a couple of tengu or whatever else they have over there," Takao adds.

"And I'll keep Aominecchi busy," Kise says, going through the things Kasamatsu had packed for him. He pulls out a second sword and ties it around his waist.

"Are you gonna be alright with going against Aomine?" Kagami asks.

Kise gives him a reassuring smile. "Of course! I feel way better now that you did whatever you did back there. It's like I can barely feel the darkness anymore. And look, I even have my serious sword out! Aominecchi had it made just for me, you know?"

Reaching out, he ruffles the inugami's hair. "As long as you're sure."

"I'm sure. Kagamicchi, since you're the only one who can trap them and turn them back to normal, you just wait for openings to jump in, okay?"

Kuroko turns to him and adds, "It's for the best that you're not caught up in a single fight. The longer the battle goes on for, the less likely we are to win. Please don't hesitate to cut things short, Kagami-kun."

He rubs the back of his neck and frowns. "I know that. I'm just worried about you guys, that's all. And you, why are you taking on the yuki-onna by yourself?"

"Because I'm the one who stands the best chance against her," Kuroko answers confidently.

"It's true," Kise cuts in. "He's Momocchi's greatest weakness, isn't he the coolest?"

"I'm not even going to pretend I understand," he mutters, wondering if this was simply the unconditional love aspect of dogs he's heard so much about.

Midorima huffs. "Humans sure are interesting. Why are you worrying about others when you're the most fragile one here?"

Kagami furrows his brows, confused. "Isn't it normal to care about your friends?"

Takao starts laughing. "If you keep talking like that, Shin-chan will get too embarrassed to fight properly!"

"Shut up, Takao!"

Kise grins and pulls him into a hug. "We care about you too, Kagamicchi!"

"We're counting on you to help us win this battle," Kuroko says with a hint of a smile, holding up his fist.

He nods and returns the gesture. "Just leave it to me."

When they emerge from the forest, they find themselves in front of a long set of stairs leading to Touou Shrine. And at the top, there's a flame alit in front of the shrine, barely visible through the thick, swirling miasma. "Isn't that the bonfire? Why's it already lit up?" he asks.

"They keep the fire going at all times here. Because the terrain here's so hard to navigate, it's supposed to be a beacon to travellers," Kise explains. "Of course, with the way the shrine's positioned, you can really only see it from certain angles—or if you go in by air."

Kagami shoots him a look and arches his brow.

With a shrug, Kise tells him, "I lived here for a while before Kaijou."

There's a sudden shift in the atmosphere.

Looking up, he finds Aomine standing at the top, watching him. Instead of being swallowed by the miasma like Kise had been, his powers seem to push it aside, clearing the area around him and revealing faint tendrils of darkness emitting from him.

He swallows hard when their eyes meet.

"Kagami-kun, look out!"

The next thing he knows, Aomine is in front of him, his sword raised and ready to strike.

A blur of yellow flashes before his eyes, followed by the distinct sound of metal clashing. His eyes widen when he sees Kise there, having parried the blow. "Are you alright, Kagamicchi?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see the others spreading out to take on the other youkai. Smoke quickly spreads around them as Kuroko performs his misdirection to keep the fights separate.

Unfazed by the smoke, Aomine scowls, his eyes glowing blue. "Do you really think this trick will work on me? Get out of the way, Kise."

"No."

"Ryouta, move!"

Kise raises his sword. "Sorry, Aominecchi, but your opponent is me."

Hidden by the smoke, Kagami looks around and calls out, "Hey, Kuroko, can you hear me?"

Large blue eyes appear. "I can hear you just fine, Kagami-kun. You could've died just now, you know?"

"Yeah, I owe Kise big time. Sorry for worrying you," he replies. "But more importantly, take me to where you are. I'll help you out."

"You're not going to fight with the others?"

He shakes his head. "I will, but we'll have a better chance against them if your attention isn't divided."

"Understood."

A path opens up before him, leading him to a small clearing where he finds Kuroko facing a beautiful woman. "Huh, I didn't know you could be in both forms at once."

"It takes a lot of concentration," Kuroko admits quietly. "Please take care not to hurt Momoi-san."

The woman wastes no time, sending a blast of snow at them.

Kagami immediately shivers and conjures up a wall of fire between them.

"Dodge to the right," Kuroko instructs.

He does as he's told only to watch as a large icicle fly through the flames. His heartrate speeds up as he faces yet another near death experience—one was far more than enough never mind two. "You never told me she was more dangerous than Aomine! At least with him, you know when you're gonna die!" he complains, dispelling the fire to conserve his energy.

The enenra shrugs. "That may be true, but like me, it wouldn't make sense for Momoi-san to engage in hand-to-hand combat when her powers can keep her safe from a distance."

"Thanks for breaking it down for me, Kuroko," he mutters dryly, "but that really doesn't help us in any way, now, does it? I can't block flying pieces of ice."

Momoi frowns and sends more icicles towards them.

Kuroko fades into the smoke once again while he knocks them away with his staff, surprised at how easily he was able to deflect the attack.

"It's as I expected: she's hesitating," he hears Kuroko's voice by his ear.

He takes the opportunity to attack, but a strong gust of wind blows the talisman away easily. "Well, that didn't work. So what exactly did Kise mean when he said you were her greatest weakness? Can you stop her without hurting her?" Kagami asks, brows furrowed as he tries to think of a plan.

"No, I'm a very impractical weakness, I'm afraid," Kuroko tells him.

"I wish you'd make sense."

"And I wish you'd focus on the fight," he hears Kuroko saying.

Suddenly, a small icicle flies past him, grazing his cheek on the way. He looks over at Momoi to find Kuroko there, pulling her arm back.

The woman winces, looking at the enenra as if seeing him for the first time. "…Tetsu-kun?"

"Yes, it's me, Momoi-san," Kuroko replies.

"I don't want to fight, Tetsu-kun," she says quietly.

"I don't want you to fight either, Momoi-san. Please try to resist it," Kuroko calls out. "Kagami-kun is human; he's here to help us. Kise-kun and Midorima-kun are here too."

Momoi shakes her head. "Ki-chan too? He can't be here." She cradles her head. "Tetsu-kun, I can't stop it. Dai-chan is…" she trails off, suddenly slumping against him.

Kuroko looks up to find them surrounded by a ring of fire. "Kagami-kun?"

Kagami grins, feeling quite pleased with himself. He puts out the fire with the sweep of a hand and wipes the sweat off his brow. "I didn't know if it'd work, but it did. You said no hurting her, right?"

Picking her up, he places her against a tree. "Good thinking, Kagami-kun. Please put a barrier around her. I'll go help Midorima-kun and Takao-kun."

He nods. "I'll be right there."

When Kagami gets to Midorima, he finds the entire area covered in a thick layer of smoke. As he walks, the smoke clears out of his way to avoid suffocating him. "Where are the tengu?" he asks.

"I'm taking care of them," Midorima says, suddenly appearing out of the smoke with his bow drawn.

Perched on his shoulder, Takao's eyes glow for a moment. "A little to the left, Shin-chan. A little more…release."

The arrow goes flying through the smoke and he can hear a yelp, "I'm so sorry!"

"Takao-kun seems to have no trouble seeing through the smoke. They've got one of the tengu pinned to a tree," Kuroko's voice tells him. "This is working out better than I expected."

Midorima glances over. "Never mind us. Go help Kise."

Kagami hesitates for a moment

"Go! Or those idiots do something they'll both regret!" Midorima shouts.

Nodding, he turns around and starts running. "Kuroko, do you know where they are?"

"No, they're out of my reach. I'll take you to where I saw them last," Kuroko tells him.

Without any sense of direction in the smoke, he continues running until it suddenly clears up and is replaces by darkness once more. Immediately, he can feel Aomine's unrestrained power in the distance, rivalled only by Kise's. Taking off towards the forest, he pushes through branches and bushes until he finally sees a flash of yellow and blue flying towards the ground.

The impact kicks up a storm of dirt and plants and sends him skidding back.

When it clears again, he sees Aomine with his sword pointed at Kise's throat. "Still weak."

Kise bares his teeth, ears folded back and eyes filled with determination. "Then finish it."

"It's not like I wanted to be your master anyway," Aomine says coldly.

"If that's the case then release me already, Aominecchi" Kise challenges.

At this, Aomine hesitates.

"I said release me!"

Grip tightening on his sword, Aomine raises it slowly. "…Ryouta, I…"

A/N: I decided to give Momoi control over snow and ice because she should totally be a gentle badass. It took a while but here it is! Thanks for waiting!

Yuki-onna: Some legends say the Yuki-onna, being associated with winter and snowstorms, is the spirit of someone who perished in the snow. She is at the same time beautiful and serene, yet ruthless in killing unsuspecting many stories, Yuki-onna appears to travelers trapped in snowstorms, and uses her icy breath to leave them as frost-coated corpses. Other legends say she leads them astray so they simply die of exposure. (wiki)