Sacrifices

News had traveled to them of another group of oni outside the kekkais attacking travelers and a nearby village. Fai was already shrugging on his armor to head out. The blonde had healed well enough over the past few weeks. He still had some fading bruises on his chest and scratches, but nothing that a few more weeks wouldn't take care of. His eye was better as well, even though he couldn't see quite as well out of it anymore. The blonde had been glad he hadn't lost it as his eyes were the source of his magic.

Whether Fai liked it or not, Kurogane would be heading out to fight alongside him this time. The young lord was already prepared to battle to protect the people. This time he was going so that way he knew he wouldn't have to wait for the outcomes.

"Is Kuro-tan ready?" Fai asked once he was outside and saw Kurogane tightening a bag onto his horse's saddle.

Making sure that his katana was properly tucked, Kurogane proceeded to mount his horse and simply nodded.

"Then we should hurry," Fai said with a smile as he got on his own horse.

Kurogane's father stayed behind, leaving them to take charge of things as they would have to learn on their own someday. He and his wife bid the group farewell and stayed outside until they couldn't hear the sounds of horses anymore.

xXx

The situation was dire as several buildings were caught on fire. Yet so far, Kurogane, Fai, and the others had been able to control the oni from causing further damages to the area. Panting heavily, Kurogane stood with his katana in a defensive pose at the ready for more onslaughts.

The oni they had found were large. They towered over the trees and tried swinging at them with their large claws. The horses had been frightened off into the woods long before from their piercing cries.

Fai struck one oni in the eye with a well-aimed arrow. It bellowed in the darkness as flames from the buildings flickered against its scales. Kurogane then took that opportunity to strike down the oni that was distracted. Screeching in pain the oni fell down and sent a small quake on the ground. Unfortunately there were still some more oni to take care of before they all could truly call it a night.

Fai's magic illuminated the sky as all of them were fighting the last of the oni. The blonde refused to let them destroy any more of the village or to let anyone else hurt. He wouldn't make mistakes like he had last time. But this oni proved to be very vicious. Its hide was really thick compared to most that the men had encountered before. It would take too many arrows, too many blows before its defense could even weaken.

Kurogane ignored any pain he was feeling from burns and scrapes as he continued to fight. The creature shrieked and focused its many eyes on Kurogane before it whipped its tail around to strike at Kurogane. Fortunately Kurogane rolled out of the way and narrowly, just narrowly missed its tail's lethal spikes. But in doing so, he realized that he left Fai unguarded in its wake.

Furrows were dug into the dirt from the oni's failed strike. It growled and tried grabbing Kurogane and thrashing its tail to hit the ninja.

The young lord was still on the ground so he heaved his exhausted body to roll and dodge once again. But unfortunately its tail was lethally fast, slashing through his side and thus leaving gashes. By the gods, it fucking hurt and he was relieved when more arrows were flung onto the oni to distract it. His cheek was starting to burn, and he didn't know why. All he knew was that this was not going well.

When Fai had seen Kurogane hit he began running towards him, pelting the oni with arrows as he went. When he had eventually run out he summoned a spell in the air. The flames from the nearby houses sprang up and over, taking the shape of large birds as they struck the oni. Its wail rung through the night air as its skin sizzled.

"Is it done for?" one of the soldiers asked, gasping for some air. It looked like the oni had been done for after Fai's magic attack sent all of the flames at it. They could hear it screech in pain as its hide was scorching.

"Don't get close, it can still attack," Fai informed the soldier, thinking the oni was lashing out at anything now as it writhed on the ground nearby. The soldier heeded Fai's words and stepped away from the oni that was still moving violently. Its cries began to die down and it finally collapsed on the ground. The ground shook as the behemoth fell and slowly Fai approached it. They had to make sure it was dead after all. "Watch its head and claws. Tend to the injured and the dead as well."

The many eyes of the freakish oni were beginning to droop and one by one an eyelid would close permanently. Its jaws were quivering while its talons were curling inwards. Fai circled around it, staying away from its fangs and claws. His lungs burned from running around, but he had to check on Kurogane. The evening was suddenly quiet. Everyone silently counted the time ticking by before deciding if the oni was finally slain.

Kurogane was still rasping, one hand pressing to his deep wounds. And yet, it didn't feel as bad as he thought it would be. Fai ran over to him and dropped next to him. He yelled over his shoulder for a medical kit when he had seen blood staining his friend's fingers. "Kuro-san?"

Kurogane tried to speak, but he realized that even just opening his mouth sent a whole new wave of pain. He winced and caught a movement in the corner of his eye. Fai looked at the other in concern as he tried finding something to stop the blood flow.

"F-"

But a roar suddenly ripped out into the night air.

The blonde looked up, eyes widened. He had thought they had finally killed the last oni.

"I thought we finished it!" one of the soldiers yelled in dismay. Several of them resumed their weapons again.

To Kurogane's horror, Fai was still in the oni's primary view…and the bloody idiot was running after it again. Fai felt exhausted, but he gathered up his magic to cast another spell to make sure the oni died. He couldn't afford to let it live. But to everyone's shock, Fai's magic was no longer doing anything to subdue the oni. It seemed he was too weak from exhaustion. The flames he summoned barely singed the hard scales of the beast. He jumped over a hole in the ground and tried to see if there was a weapon lying around he could use.

But his bow was gone, and besides, he recalled that he ran out of arrows. A sword then, surely someone had dropped one. The oni watched the blonde and reached out with a long arm to grab him.

"Look out, sir!" one of the men yelled.

Fai looked up to see glinting claws aimed straight for him and for the first time he could remember, he was frozen in place.

But just then, there was a battle cry and something was effectively blocking the claws from getting at Fai. The oni gave a rumbling growl deep in its chest and gurgled, no doubt, from blood filling its throat. It lifted its claws back up and staggered upright so it could attack at full force at least one last time. Fai stood, barely believing what he saw in front of him.

It was Kurogane, back in the fighting arena, as if his side was not bleeding already enough. He lifted his katana again the same moment the last oni's claws strike down. There was a loud crack that shot in the night. His arm, it broke his arm badly, and now it was also bleeding. Yet Kurogane gritted his teeth, completely ignoring the pain, and with one arm he swiveled his katana at the ready. Just one last bloody attack.

"Hama…ryuu-ou-jin!" he mustered, unleashing the Suwa Family's deadliest attack.

Fai's mouth was gaped open in surprise as he watched the sword cut the oni's arm off and created a long slash across its chest, knocking it over. When it hit the ground and gave a last shuddering breath, Fai looked at Kurogane. "Kuro-san!"

Kurogane stood there with his chest heaving for air, his body screaming in he was fighting hard to make sure he absolutely knew for sure that the oni was done with. He had to know that it would not harm the people he cared for, that it wouldn't go after Fai like that again. But now he knew it was over.

And then he collapsed.

Fai screamed when Kurogane fell and was immediately over him, pressing his hand against the ninja's wound while yelling at someone for help. But it was apparent that Fai didn't have to beg for assistance already. A horde of people ran over to where he and the seriously wounded Kurogane were. He was gently removed from Kurogane and Fai had to watch as the other was hurried off towards the village so they could take care of him. Fai shook, terrified at the idea that Kurogane could die because of him.

A gentle hand was laid on Fai's shoulder and brushed away the tears that he didn't even knew were falling down his face. "Don't worry." It turned out it was the village's priestess. "The young lord will live," she reassured with a gentle smile.

Fai nodded and rose. "Thank you." He looked back to her once before going to make sure everyone was alright. Despite wanting to see Kurogane, he couldn't forgo his duties.

"You're the young priest, aren't you?" she asked.

"I am." Fai ached everywhere. He hadn't healed fully from the last fight he had been in and he was sure he had probably broken something this time.

"Then you too, can pray for his recovery," she said, hoping it would lift his spirits a bit. "But for you, you need to rest too. It's been a really long night."

"As second in command of the party, I have to make sure everyone is alright and what casualties we've had and such," he informed her as he began walking towards the village.

"Alright then," the priestess said in understanding. "But please, do take care of yourself. Although I am not exactly familiar with what was going on, I have a feeling the young lord would want the same for you." It was remarkable how she was so composed and calm in the face of calamity.

"Thank you, miko-san." Fai smiled for a moment before he left her.

Many villagers were still standing outside, grimly surveying the damages that several buildings took. Some were huddled together while others ran around doing their best to help the wounded.

There were many discussions going on, and a frequent one was regarding the young lord's condition. Fai did as he said he would, which was getting reports on the battle and making sure there were no other threats from the oni.

One of the villagers came up to him after he was finished. "That was really brave of you all to fight for us out there, young priest. We all thank you from the bottom of our heart."

"It's our duty to protect Suwa and its people," Fai bowed slightly and smiled. "Have you heard anything on our young lord?"

"Oh, I myself was actually wondering if you knew anything about the young lord's status," he asked apologetically. At that same moment, a young girl who should be sleeping but obviously couldn't due to the fiasco was running up to Fai. She was holding some flowers.

"Ah, now what are you doing awake? Surely your parents would scold you," Fai said as he tried to bend down to look at her. "A little girl like you should be in bed."

The young girl either didn't hear his gentle concern or she cast it aside. She held out the flowers to the blonde. "Here, for the young lord," she said.

"Kuro-chan will like getting flowers from a pretty girl," Fai said as he took the small bouquet. "He might be sad though if he knew you had stayed up on his account though."

The girl giggled at Fai's compliment and bowed before running back to her parents. "I didn't know the young priest called the young lord such names," the villager mused.

"It's an old joke from when we were kids," Fai said, strength returning in his voice and he chuckled at the man. "I think I'll go and give him his gift now, if you'll excuse me."

The villager bowed and walked away, still chuckling. Despite the fierce battle and the shock of Kurogane's injuries, the villagers seemed to adapt back pretty well in a short amount of time.

It would be morning soon as he walked by some of the still smoldering skeletons of houses. It's a shame really that they couldn't have come sooner. Some of the villagers had been injured but none had died and he was glad for that little miracle. He looked over towards an inn and saw two of Suwa's ninja standing outside. He passed them with a nod and a smile and made his way to Kurogane.

The young lord was still unconscious. Bandages were wrapped around his torso over where his gashes were. Splints and cloth wrapped around his left arm served as a cast, not to mention that there were also bandages over the arm. The small room they had commandeered was big enough for a table and bed. Sighing, Fai set down the small bunch of wildflowers and sat down facing Kurogane. He cursed the fact that he had never been able to use healing magic.

"Kuro-rinta is an idiot."

If the 'idiot' were awake he would either retort back violently or just smirk and go along with their banter. But he wasn't and Fai knew he probably wouldn't wake up for at least another day or two. He looked over Kurogane, taking in the bandages covering his tanned skin. In a few hours he thought he might go to sleep, but for now he was going to stay and sit with the other.

The two ninjas guarding Kurogane's temporary bedroom silently exchanged grins with each other. Since Toriho would often talk away about the two young men, they both knew how upset Kurogane was when Fai was injured. Now the situation was completely the reverse, and they knew it was saying a lot.