Tomoe struggled against the Widow's hold, his eyes never leaving the stinger. Drops of venom splattered drown, burning holes clean through his robes.
From afar Kurama had a full view of the fox's plight. Making a snap decision the Tengu settled the half demon he carried down on the grass.
"Just go." Keriel said understanding. "I'm not dead yet. But the fox will be if you don't get there in time."
Kurama didn't hesitate. Beating his powerful wings he closed the distance that separated him from Tomoe in the time it took Keriel to take a deep, steadying breath.
Grabbing the familiar by the clawed hand, the Tengu tugged with all the strength he possessed. Freed, Tomoe crashed into Kurama's arms with a grunt as the crow lifted him off the ground. The spider, thwarted, roared her displeasure.
"What do you think you doing? Put me down at once!"
"It that the thanks I get? You owe me your life, fox!" Kurama hissed and waited for a biting reply that never came.
Looking down he saw the that the familiar's pale face was whiter than usual, Tomoe's lavender eyes wide as he cradled an arm. Blood was beginning to blossom against the pale blue of his Haori.
"The bitch got you?" Tengu asked.
"It's a scratch…" Tomoe answered through clenched teeth. "I'll be fine."
"Good. You can't die owing me one."
"Will you shut up and put me down."
"Fine! But are you going to clean up this mess or what?"
The fox growled in reply and Kurama released him. Tomoe fell neatly to his feet, one hand still clasping his injured arm.
The cut burned ferociously, but Tomoe was surprised to find that it was his pride that stung the most. It had been a very long time since any creature, mortal or yokai, had succeeded in wounding him. The fox sneered his displeasure. Raising his uninjured, arm he unsheathed his claws and rushed at the monster, intent on decapitating it once and for all.
Nanami watched as the white blur, which was Tomoe, collided against the black mound that was the Cage Spinner. The strength of impact sent spider tumbling backwards in the direction of the shrine. Tomoe pursued it relentlessly, slashing and hacking as he went. Tumbling end over end, the spider thrashed attempting to fend off the attacks. One powerful limb finally connected, slamming Tomoe into a wall.
The yokai's body slid to the ground. Nanami heart skipped a beat, fearing the Widow had succeeded in doing serious damage to her beloved. She moved forward on her branch and nearly fell out of the tree.
Was Tomoe … crying?
Calling out to him, Nanami gasped and lifted an arm to shield her face. Fox fire exploded around Tomoe. The light of his power illuminated the immediate surroundings, covering everything in a deep blue hue. When Nananmi's vision cleared of the residual afterglow she did fall out of the tree.
Tomoe wasn't crying he was laughing. Standing upright, unbridled demonic energy had taken hold of him. The fox looked more beautiful and more terrible than Nanami had ever seen. The aura that radiated off his body made his white hair, which was now fell well beyond his waist, stream about him. His fangs and claws were more pronounced than ever. His skin, no longer milky white, shimmered with blue fox fire.
Awestruck Nanami forgot about the pain caused by her fall.
"Good." A small voice said behind her. It was Keriel. "It's about time you came down out of that tree. What hell are you doing up there, perched on branch like some ridiculous bird?"
"Hey!" Kurama yelled from high atop the tree. "I heard that."
Keriel ignored him.
"I don't know... What am I doing?" Nanami asked, mostly addressing herself. The blush of shame rushed to color her cheeks.
How could she sit and cower whilst Tomoe faced this monster on his own? This was her shrine. She was the Land God. It was her responsibility to put an end to this chaos once and for all.
"I don't know what you've been doing but I have a pretty good idea of what it is you should be doing." The half demon said and pressed something into Nanami's hands.
Nanami looked down and saw, to her delight, peach pills, an ink brush and two white talismans.
"I'm sorry." Keriel muttered. "Those were the only ones I managed to get before the roof came down."
Nanami threw her arms around the little old lady hugging her ferociously. Without being asked the half demon had brought her exactly what she needed. Nanami now knew what she was going to do and how she was going to do it.
"Thank you." She whispered and kissed Keriel on the papery cheek. "Stay here okay?"
Keriel nodded and Nanami ran.
Tucking the peach pills into her faded Kimono, she began to scour the ground looking the for a glint of broken mirror. She spotted one. A single fat shard was blinking at her, right beneath the Black Widow's writhing abdomen.
"Tomoe!" Nanami yelled, instantly realizing her mistake as the Black Widow became aware the Land God was very close by. "Keep her distracted!"
"Distracted? An entirely unnecessary command. What the hell- Nanami what are you doing?"
The Widow moved to attack the girl, turning on Tomoe.
"Giving me your back was a mistake!" Tomoe growled. He jumped, moving with blinding speed he reached up and seized the throbbing sting in his hands. He twisted it mercilessly, tearing it from the Black Widow's belly. It came loose in his hands trailing a squishy poison sack and sinewy internal organs. Tome dropped it in disgust.
"You're repulsive." Tomoe hissed, deep voice saturated with hate. The Black widows body was oozing, the ground smoking where the secretions fell. Tomoe moved aside, not wanting to be caught in the stream of the deadly juices.
The arachnid convulsed with pain and Nanami made her move. Running forward she snatched up the piece of the broken mirror. Her hand closed protectively around the shard as a Black Widow slammed into her left side and sent her sprawling. Tomoe engaged the monster once more, grabbing two legs and dragging the Widow away from the girl. On her knees, Nanami opened a shaking hand. Her palm had been sliced open, the shard was sticky with blood.
In a stroke of inspiration she withdrew the ink brush, swirled the bristled end in her own blood, then stenciled the characters for repair and healing onto the white talisman. She said a prayer and glued this onto the jagged piece of glass.
There was blaze of light and shards flew in from all directions, cutting deep strips into the Black widow, as they sailed past. They clustered around the shard Nanami held and, in a blaze of gold the color of the Land God's divine power, the shards combined and the mirror reformed.
With cry of satisfaction Nanami withdrew her second talisman, wet the brush and painted her commands. She placed the paper on the mirror's surface and rose to her feet eyes ablaze with triumph.
"You like cages so much! Let's see how you like this!"
She tossed the mirror. It sailed out of her hands like Frisbee coming to land neatly under the black widow's belly. Tomoe was had a chance to read the talisman stuck to the reflective surface. Still glistening, the red color of the characters contrasting starkly against the white of the paper, were the words: Unbreakable, Eternal Prison.
The mirror glowed and with a loud sucking noise began to pull the spider in.
"Noooo!" The Black Widow yelled as she realized what was happening. "You can't do thisss… I want..."
But whatever the spider wanted she never managed to say. The mirror swallowed the arachnid whole. The last of the Black Widow to disappear were her legs, these buckled as the prison drew them inwards.
The snapping noise of legs breaking was music to Nanami's ears.
Then the Cage Spinner was gone. The mirror quivered once then lay still, smoking slightly in the midday sun.
