Chapter 9: Sacrifice

Waka halted us at the mouth of the mysterious cave. We looked at him questioningly.

"What is it, Waka?" I asked.

"I sense an evil presence in that cave . . . It is stronger than that of a regular demon." Now brought to my attention, I too, could sense it—the smell of evil hanging in the air.

"I see . . . We need to wait and rest up. We should camp here for the night."

"Why not now?" Kiyoko demanded.

"It's been a long day, Kiki," Issun sighed. "We all need some rest, especially you, after all you've been through!"

"Nonsense! I'm fine! I could take on a . . . lot more . . . de—oh, I feel dizzy." She swayed, fatigue catching up to her. Before she could fall, Waka caught her. She smiled sheepishly. "I-I guess I could use a little rest."

o~*~o

Kiyoko stared lazily at the campfire, her violet eyes thoughtful. "Hmm . . . What if . . . ?" she muttered to herself.

"What are you thinking about, Kiyoko?" I asked her, curious.

"Huh? Oh, I was just wondering about the Lucky Mallet."

"The Lucky Mallet . . . ? What about it?"

"Well, I was wondering that if it can make things small, can it make things big, as well . . ." I saw where this was going. She wanted to see if the mallet could possibly make the bug-sized Issun human-sized.

"It's worth a shot." By now, the Poncle in question was beginning to get suspicious about our whispered conversation. Before he could say anything, I summoned the Lucky Mallet and Kiyoko grabbed it, bringing the mallet down on him. We held our breath, waiting to see if it worked.

To all of our surprise, it did, in fact, work. We were left at a loss for words. I looked up at Issun, now the size of any average human. Able to see Issun's face again, Kiyoko blushed, though she tried to hide it.

He looked her right in the eyes, smiling, and said, "Hey, Kiki. It's nice to see eye-to-eye with you again." Kiyoko couldn't find the words to say, completely flustered. She turned away, breaking eye contact.

"Y-Yeah," she stammered. "It is nice." Then she yawned loudly. "It's getting late. I think I'll turn in for the night." And she did just that, laying herself down on the ground and going to sleep.

Later that night, when he thought everyone was asleep, Issun got up and whipped out his paper and brush. Little did he know that I was not yet asleep. He separated the brush from the hilt of his sword, Denkomaru, dipped his brush in ink, and began to paint.

My curiosity peaked, and I sneaked behind him, hoping to catch a peek over his shoulder. Luckily, he was too absorbed in his work to notice my presence, allowing me to take a good look.

It was a painting of Kiyoko, and a very good one at that. Next to it was one of those "love umbrellas"* with her name and his written under it. It all made sense then. He didn't want anyone to know what he was doing because it made his feelings obvious, laid out on paper for all to see.

"Issun, you little sneak!" I said, causing him to jump nearly ten feet.

"Ahh! I didn't do it!" he cried out in surprise. Then, after taking a moment to recover, said, "Oh, it's just you, Ammy. You almost gave me a heart attack there, furball!"

I smirked at him. "The game is up, Issun. Admit it—you have feelings for Kiyoko, don't you?"

"What? O-Of course not! We're—We're just friends, th-that's all!" That only confirmed my suspicions further. He was stammering, and his face had turned red.

"Uh-huh. I saw that painting of yours. I repeat, the game is over. Just admit it."

"Wh-what painting?" he made a rather pathetic attempt to hide it. "There ain't no painting here!"

I sighed, exasperated. "I just said that I already saw it. Admit it already!"

"I-I don't know what you're talkin' about!" So childish, I thought. He was practically pouting, for crying out loud.

"Issun." I made my tone firm and persuasive. "No one else is even listening—they're all asleep. This can be between you and me. I just want you to admit it out loud so that you can admit it to yourself."

He was silent for a while, thinking about what I said. Then, with a sigh, mumbled, "Fine; I admit it. I have feelings for Kiki."

I couldn't help myself; I just had to tease him some more. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

He gave me a glare before saying, louder this time, "I have feelings for Kiki! There! Ya happy now?"

I chuckled. "Ecstatic."

"You're somethin' else, furball," he grumbled as he put up his materials and laid down to go to sleep.

"Nighty-night, lovebug."

"Shut up!" Finally satisfied, I laid my head down and went to sleep.

o~*~o

Kiyoko

I stare at the shadow before me. This is no ordinary shadow, but a living, breathing one. Looking into its blood-red eyes, an unfamiliar emotion rises up in me—fear. Its crimson eyes burn red-hot, looking right through me, burning me from the inside out.

"You, my dear, shall be the first," its terrible voice hisses.

"The first . . . ? What do you mean by that?" I ask, my voice trembling.

I receive another scorching glare from the shadow creature. It grins evilly, revealing pitch-black fangs. "The first sacrifice!"

o~*~o

I woke with a start, barely refraining myself from screaming aloud. There was no need to alert the others, as these nightmares had become a normal occurrence to me. But the more and more I thought about it, the stranger it all seemed. First of all, I always had the same dream, as if it was some kind of sign, and the sense of foreboding that accompanied it was hard to ignore.

And even stranger, those feelings only seemed to have intensified ever since we got here. I had a bad feeling about that cave, but I was stupid enough to ignore it. I had made my choice; I was going into that cave, no matter what! Because it was for the sake of my friends . . . and I would never let them down . . .

o~*~o

Amaterasu

Today's the day, I thought as I got up that morning. Today we shall find out what awaits us in that cave. With everyone all rested up, we can finally enter the cave, prepared for whatever's inside.

Inside, the cave was as dark as midnight, lit only by the gentle white light of my coat and Issun's soft green glow. The evil aura, stronger than I could have imagined, bore down on us. I turned around to find myself staring into two menacing red eyes. Startled, I jumped back a few steps. It was hard to see in the darkness, but I could see what appeared to be the silhouette of a dragon. So this is our enemy.

"Hello, wolf," the shadow spoke. "I am Kagetatsu, the Shadow Dragon. Prepare to face your doom!"

"Oh, yeah?" I slid into a crouch, poised to attack. I bared my fangs, a vicious snarl escaping my throat. My muscles tensed, ready to pounce, and—what was that?

I heard something. A gasp. I turned towards the source of the noise.

It had been Kiyoko, frightened by the sight of the creature. She stood shock still, pale as a ghost, as she gazed upon the shadow.

"What's wrong, Kiyoko?" I asked, now focused on her. "You're shaking like a leaf."

"I . . . That's . . . It's . . ." She was too afraid to even speak.

"Out with it, Kiki!" Issun snapped, though I suspected he was just as concerned as I was.

"That's . . . That's—" She paused, taking in a shaky breath. "That . . . thing . . . That's . . . the monster . . . from my nightmare." I recalled the time when she told me about that. Then another thought hit me.

"Wait . . . If that's the 'monster' from your dreams, then that means . . ."

She nodded solemnly. "Yes. That means that I was right all along. Something's going to happen to me, and it's going to happen right here."

"Kiyoko . . ." Sorrow filled my heart at the thought of losing her, even when I hadn't known her that long. But I guess it'd be hard not to like her, she has such a charming personality.

"How sweet," Kagetatsu growled mockingly, crimson eyes narrowing. "But I, for one, am itching for a fight."

Right. I had somehow completely forgotten about our situation here. Instantly, I fell back into fighting position. Everyone else followed suit, all except for Kiyoko.

She still couldn't move, paralyzed by fear. I started to talk to her, give her some words of encouragement, but Issun stepped in and did it for me, giving her his own version of a pep talk.

"C'mon, Kiki! Ya can't wimp out now! Now's not the time to hide or run away! Now's the time to fight." He locked gazes with Kiyoko, his voice becoming softer. "Now, will you fight with me?"

The fear in her eyes faded, replaced by determination. Her smile had already returned when she said, "Yeah. Let's go!"

Issun smiled back. "There's that spirit I like to see!"

Kiyoko turned to face the waiting shadow dragon. "I think we've kept you waiting long enough. Let's rumble!"

And that was the signal to start the fight. I made the first move, lunging at Kagetatsu to attack with Solar Flare. But when I did, I simply passed through him as if he weren't even there. I recovered, landing square on my paws. What is this? It's like he's intangible! I growled in frustration.

"What's the matter, mutt?" he said, laughing at my anger. "Your attacks are useless against me!" I disregarded his words, trying to formulate another strategy. But before I could, Kiyoko charged recklessly at the beast, knowing her attacks wouldn't work.

Like I did, she passed through him. He retaliated by lashing at her with his thick tail. The force of the impact was enough to send her crashing into the wall. I heard her cry out in pain, but still she got up again. The shadow dragon then came at me, slashing at me with his sharp claws. I felt a sharp sting in my side as one of the claws grazed me. I snarled at him, louder this time, more aggravated at him than before. He can hurt us when we can't even touch him! I glared at the shadow. We will defeat you! We will find a way! I shouted at him in my mind.

The next person his attacks were aimed at was Issun. Kiyoko, realizing this, screamed, "No!" She threw herself in front of him, willing to risk her life to protect him.

"A-Are you crazy, Kiki?" Issun demanded. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Still, she smiled. "I know. But if it's to save your life . . . I'd be glad to do it any day."

She took the full brunt of the attack meant for Issun, letting the black claw pierce straight through her.

*love umbrellas: the Japanese equivalent of writing Boy+Girl in a heart. You know, that thing you often draw when you have a crush on someone?