A/N: I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
Hello, sorry I've been gone for a long time. It has been exhausting at work and real life so I feel behind on ff. Sorry~! But I'm back.
Second to last chapter, big battle ahead. No proof reading coz no time for that. Love you~!
Title: The Priestess and the Grump.
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Humour, Romance
Alternative Universe: Fantasy, Pathfinder
He woke up to the feeling of sudden chill when something warm leaves your side; blinking the sleep away many times, he tried to focus, but he already knew he'd find her by her corner praying per usual, wrapped in that otherworldly light. Apparently, her god sent his well wishes as well as his powers for all three times he watched her pray, that faint but clear light always enveloping her.
He watched for a long time, just lying there. Her concentration never failed, nor did her lips, muttering praises and blessings. Her commitment was something to behold...and so was her tattoo. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed before, but the dragon had travelled to her face and neck, basking into the divine with her, uncaring of the attention it received.
Slowly, he rose. He remembered he had to be ready at the same time as her as well as they had Shishio to fight today. The sooner they left the better, he should not delay, despite its appeal. So, he dutifully donned his armour and wrapped himself in the rest of his gear; by the time she was done, he was battle-ready.
She said nothing upon seeing him, simply disappeared behind the screen and traded her kimono for her underarmour; once she emerged, he was already holding her chest piece. A smile rose to her lips as she allowed him to help her into it. Well, it was a fact that with another helping, full plate was faster to put on; but instead of leaving earlier, as they should, they both just stood there, in front of one another.
The memory of intimacy was still fresh in their minds; the warmth on their skin lingered. And for the very first time in her life, her own hand itched for contact. Without giving it much more thought, she interlaced their fingers.
"Be careful out there, today," she almost whispered, eyes closing; that's when she felt his lips on her forehead.
"That's my line," he complained and his free hand found her face.
This once, his kiss was different: deep, strong, demanding. She responded in kind, but he simply kissed her with all he had. Yet it was shorter than she would have liked, than he would have wanted, because there still was a battle to be fought. They broke apart, still standing in the exact same spot, only breathless and numb; their foreheads touched.
Without warning, she clasped a golden bracelet around one of his wrists. Then, she took a ring out of her pocket, a simple, platinum one, identical to the one she was wearing and presented it to him. After she muttered an incantation, with a nod, she urged him to wear that, too.
"What do these do?"
"Help me heal without touching you, amongst other things...but only if you stay close to me." Her smile was wide and soft. "So, don't leave my side."
A self-depreciating chuckle later, he shook his head. "You keep stealing my lines, today." She smiled wider, inclined her head in recognition and made to leave. "Give me another moment..." He stopped her, catching both of her hands with his. "Just a moment."
For a minute, maybe two – maybe three – they simply stood there. He was enjoying her presence; the fact they were both there, aware and ready to head into danger willingly, all so they could serve their Empress and their own ideals; that they were compatible; that, should this go well and both come back safe, maybe what they wanted would be granted to them.
That they were in this together.
Taking a deep breath, he let go.
They emerged from the tent but this once they were not alone: the entire body of the captains, their officers and the ronins' officers were waiting for them, fully geared. Everyone had a different sort of expression on their faces, but they were all determined: either to win, make a name for themselves, or come back alive.
"Took you long enough," Okita finally broke the silence, his trademark cheer bringing life to the moment "for a second there, we wondered."
That did it; now everyone was sniggering or exhibiting some other variation of amusement, nervousness dispelled by one simple comment from the short man. The bulk of their anxiety disappeared, though not completely, and that gave way to Kondou's order to "head out" in a much better mood than they had ever hoped.
"Still, you took too long," Okita kept complaining, well up on his horse by now, "what were you doing?"
"It takes her half an hour to pray and then another twenty minutes to get dressed; if anything, we came out early," Saitou informed, eyebrows high and attitude mighty.
Himura's smirk was involuntary. "Then maybe you are insinuating you helped get her in the armour? Out of it yesterday night, too?"
Shut up, Saitou's glare warned.
Make me, Kenshin's smirk signaled and to everyone's enjoyment but Saitou's, the banter continued well after the halfway point of their march, despite Enishi's protests.
But, once the mountain that served as Shishio's headquarters came into full view, everyone fell silent. Their eyes focused on the impressive size—it was big, for Minkaian standards. And so up north too, it was crazy. Suddenly, their plan to bring it down felt crazier and less thought out than they ever feared. Despite the clear signs of recent use, they could tell no one came in or out from the entrances, supported by wooden pillars and actual gates at some places, by the lack of any fresh trail. Also, no one was around to be seen out in the open, or the surrounding hills, as their hawk informed them.
"This mountain...is huge..." Kondou noted, with faltering confidence.
She only nodded, as she dismounted.
"Will you really be able to bring it down?" Souzou echoed the leader's doubt.
Instead of answering, she simply took her staff with her as she walked in front of and away from them. It seemed like she was using it more as a measuring stick than anything else, and when she completed fifty strikes, she stopped, deeming the distance satisfactory.
"Hold the horses gentlemen," she warned, shouting to be heard "and someone please grab my Tom's reigns, too. This will scare them."
She stood with her legs apart and her back straight; they could only see, not hear her from this distance but that much was enough: her hands moved wildly, staff dancing along, as if a dancer's show of skill for her majesty; the motions were fluid, grand and deliberate, garnering attention. Although nearly as practiced as any of her other spells, it was still a sight to behold.
And then, she struck the staff on the ground before her!
...the result was immediate. The deafening yet muted smash of her staff unsettled all of the horses; at the point of impact, they noticed a fissure appeared on the ground, one that started extending to unbelievable lengths, reaching all the way to the mountain. Before long, the first shake came at the ground beneath their feet! All riders had to put up quite a fight to keep their horses in place, neighing and kicking as they were.
Yet, how could it be that they experienced the first shake and the after-shake at the same time? As they glanced up for a second, trying to make sure there weren't any other changes happening while the horses generated all around too much noise to hear through, they saw something incredible: the imposing mountain right in front of their eyes, shook and trembled a thousand times more violently than them! Smoke and dust came from wherever there was an opening, huge splits and cracks visible on its surface already, as the top threatened to crumble.
Everyone kept staring awestruck, while Tokio, on the other hand, was performing more spells; one, two, three—she stopped at five, while still running back to her horse. By the time the seismic vibrations had stopped, she had rejoined them, already on her horse. Whatever spell she'd cast seemed to invigorate them, while at the same time, the golden bracelets flashed a pure white light, before going back to normal.
"I thought you said you didn't keep earthquakes in your band, Tokio-chan," Okita tried to tease, but it just came out amazed.
"Of course I don't; I cause them."
"Tokio-san," Kondou started, too struck to say anything complicated "you should brag more often."
"I've never met anyone who can do that," Aoshi affirmed "and I've met some crazily strong people in my life."
"This isn't something I enjoy doing; too much blood."
It was no exaggeration to call it a devastation upon the land:
The mountain was no more; whatever surrounded it, was crushed by the falling debris. One could only imagine the horrors done to those trapped underneath the ruble inside what's left of the mountain. Thankfully, they were too far away to hear any of the screams that were undoubtedly released during the calamity, even if she did mutter a quick prayer for those who died in vain.
But she did exactly as she promised and whence the landslide was finally over, only one third of the mountain remained standing.
"Do it," Kenshin was heard then, voice rasp "if I die, do it."
"As you wish," Tokio assured, though it took her a moment to realise what he was talking about. "Though I do hope, I won't have to."
"You and me both."
Hijikata clicked his tongue. "What are you two going on about?"
"Arrangements," they both answered at the same time. All the while, none had looked away from what used to be the mountain. Good thing they didn't, too. Before they knew it, people started appearing half a mile away, in flashes; once they weren't, then they were!
"It's the wizard's doing," Souzou almost spat "she's saving as many as she can."
"Some don't need her—what the hell is that thing?"
Sano didn't need to draw attention to it, everyone's eyes had already taken the image in; they counted one...two, three of these crimson giants appearing before them, eyes smoldering. There was actual smoke coming out of their skin in curls while small horns served as hair on their heads.
"These are fire genies called efreeti," Tokio informed "vulnerable to cold. They can turn invisible and have some magic of their own; beware. They aren't as strong as you'd expect though, so don't be too scared."
She'd spared but a fleeting look at the creatures; the true interest lay elsewhere, namely at the man with the bandages that appeared first, yet did nothing to close the distance.
For some reason, Shishio waited. That didn't sit too well with her.
Wisely, none moved, neither them nor the enemy; and as Hanahomura brought the last ones out, the last band of seven, making it fourteen in total, plus the three fire genies, a deafening crack split the silence! All eyes fell at the only entrance and exit not blocked by the falling debris and they had the privilege to watch as people! Actual people came out, slow but certain, and three by three spilled out of the mountain.
All were speechless. His army was caved in. She killed them. How can they walk out, no matter how clumsily, and still draw breath?
And then she finally put two and two together. "She's not a blood mage; she's a necromancer."
Every man's eyes slid to Tokio, concerned or disbelieving.
"These men are undead, much like the Samsaran I fought two days ago." She tried not to sound too annoyed, simply informational, but it didn't work; her spite at undead creatures and those who raised them seeped in her words, corroding her mood. "Change of plans: Okita, Souzou and Harada, you go after the necromancer; Nagakura and Sano, you go after the efreeti; Hijikata-sama and Kondou-sama will lead our army against the undead army while Himura-san, Shinomori-san, Shi-chan, Hajime and I are going after Shishio and his group."
They all nodded.
"If doable, don't kill any of the living before the necromancer is dead," she gave some final advice "but other than that, go wild."
"No need to tell us twice," Okita winked as he prepared his horse for the sprint he was about to order it in.
"Be mindful of traps, though I think my earthquake revealed the most. May Qi Zhong and Shizuru be with us."
"To war!"
Kondou's battle cry was heard far and wide; Shinsengumi and ronin alike roared after him and they all charged together at the enemy.
Something similar must have happened on the enemy side, too as, suddenly, all but Shishio and Hanahomura, were mobilised. So, they were playing hard to get. That was fair; they were the challengers, they turned up in their home and destroyed it. Might as well ride out to kill them.
Rows upon rows of zombies still ran, as fast as zombies could move anyway, and crushed upon their own men. The efreeti descended upon them, too...though, not all headed for the army or Kondou and Hijikata, no; one of them, the biggest, strongest looking flew straight for the charging party that had easily bypassed the undead army.
She saw it coming; she thought for a second before her hands moved swiftly and cast another spell on herself. She kept riding with the rest of the group until the distance she calculated the efreeti would finally reach them; then, she jumped off her horse and halted the entire group.
"Keep riding," she urged as startled eyes turned to her "I'll catch up in a second."
They did as she asked; she was the only one left standing there, her horse galloping with the rest. The fire genie recognised her challenge and rose to meet her; he spared only a passing attack for the men riding past him, but it was powerful enough to hit Kenshin square in the chest. He cried out in pain, but thankfully it wasn't powerful enough to knock him off his horse. Then it reached her the next second and its falchion hit her right on the shoulder—where it vibrated and was shrugged off.
She smirked at his anger. "Sorry, but no wishes from you; have a nice trip back to the astral plane."
Her mace had the chance to descend upon him only twice: fire spurted from his body like blood, two huge gushes on his chest as it writhed and thrashed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. She only glanced at Hanahomura to see her swear for a second; then, bracing herself, she took a crouching position. One, two three—she vaulted! Running as fast as she could, magic speed carrying her feet, she reached the men on the horses in just six seconds! She whistled and Tom, her trusted steed, circled back around to get her; without losing her speed, she jumped once more, and it was so high, she found herself on the saddle without much effort.
"What in the name of the Inheritor did you just do?" Souzou asked her shocked.
"My boots are enchanted," she cut the explanation short as she settled on her horse "that's not what you should be focusing on. She is." Her chin jutted out to Hanahomura. "Awfully calm isn't she? No matter how many allies there are around her, we just defeated her genie like it was nothing. She should be a more upset than that."
"We'll get her," Okita tried to pacify her.
"I have no doubt in my mind; I am simply worried what else she might be hiding. There's an awful lot of—no!"
As if sensing the oncoming hit, she jumped off her horse once more; instead of crashing on the ground, as they feared, she actually walked on air and grabbed Nagakura, throwing him off of his horse, too and they rolled on the ground, a good five metres away from them.
Shocked, everyone stopped and watched as something invisible stroke at the cleric a huge imprint of fire in a lean but long shape appearing on her armour for a second and her face for good. All variations of her name spoken in shock and worry left the men's lips, who saw fit to dismount themselves and head towards the scene. But Tokio's eyes only grew wider and she couldn't nod and shout them away enough before she jumped back up to her feet, standing protectively in front of her comrade.
As fast as she could, faster than normal, she cast another spell, directed to the great nothing in front of her...slowly, but oh so swiftly at the same time, the invisibility covering the offending creature shed, like a cloak slipping off someone's shoulders.
She needn't telling them to stay away twice; her spell revealed a terrible form underneath. A creature as large as the efreeti, but too, too terrible to ever be compared to that almost innocent looking by comparison. It had wings, black and leathery, sprouting from its back; two horns, sharp and bloodied on either side of his head; its claws were bigger than his fingers while the fangs on his face completed the hellish image. It was...evil perfected: its breath was fire's smoke, its skin burning coals.
And in his hands, a flaming, long whip on the left, while a huge, red-bladed longsword on the other.
Kenshin physically restrained Enishi without a second thought, as Souzou seemed to be doing the same to Sano, both hotheaded teens ready to jump into action, damned be the consequences.
"Shin-san, stand; he won't attack you. Then, go back to the others as far away from him as you can."
"I can't leave you alone to-!"
"Shin-san, I won't repeat myself."
She took a small step and found herself in reach of the demon in front of her.
Without a second thought, she swung her mace around one, two, three...four, five times! All but one hit their target. The demon roared in pain as blood spilled from his wounds, red so dark, almost black. Yet, each and every time she hit him, something, as if resisting her power from his core, rose from his skin, trying to infect her. It took some of its damage away while coiling around her. She resisted and suppressed it in the aftermath of every single hit.
"What may I call you, balor?"
"The Unforgiving One, human."
He actually answered, voice cruel and unrelenting. Despite speaking through clenched teeth, he still sounded imposing. There was something otherworldly but familiar about his pitch, as if they had never heard it before and yet, they knew it. It sounded like...the cracking of a wildfire, the screams of the innocent caught in it, the laughter of those causing it. They shuddered, still waiting for Nagakura to make the trip from there to them.
As if her nod of recognition was the cue, the demon raised his whip; everyone held their breaths. It came down at her once, twice, thrice—it grabbed her. The whip coiled around her hands and feet effortlessly, grappling her; the fire left another bold brand on her skin.
But the demon was not done. True to his name, he used his other hand to stab and slash at her. The first blow went through her like she was a pin cushion! Just as Nagakura was about to reach them, he had to stop and stare, mouth hanging wide open.
"DAMN IT!" Okita all but shot forward, too but he knew, if he was going to be any help stepping in, Tokio wouldn't have sent Nagakura away.
Then something unbelievable happened: the sword's second attack wandered a little too close to her neck; for one split second they all thought they saw the balor severing her head completely...then her armour shone magically and what they thought they saw dissolved right in front of their eyes as Tokio stayed entangled in the creature's whip, head still very much on her shoulders.
Saitou had almost had a real, actual heart attack and the only thing that held him back from lunging at the demon was the quick resolution of what they just saw. He didn't fail to catch a glimpse of the necromancer clicking her tongue, disappointed this didn't work or Shishio's suddenly very amped expression.
She withstood another savage attack but never failed to smirk in his general direction. "You may call me Tokio."
His laugh was arrogant and chilling; her counterattack was immediate. She did the impossible once more and attacked more times than she was capable; not all of her attacks connected with the beast, but those who did, were enough to cut its laugh short. Before long, the monster swayed, an abundance of blood escaping its previous and new wounds as an agonising roar escaped him. Yet, his roar of excruciating pain filled him with renewed vigour; that defiling, black, swirling energy seemed to heal some of his pain again. Yes, he was hurt, severely so, but not as much as he should have been. But now his laughter was gone and his expression had turned serious.
The Unforgiving One was snarling, lips revealing sharp fangs. "Today," he drawled, raising his sword "is the day you die, priestess. I doubt your armour can keep you head on your shoulders for much longer."
That was it. The fine line in his head was finally crossed and Saitou's feet carried him into action. He had no memory of unsheathing his sword, charging at the enemy and striking...only the sensation of failing. Whatever that demon was made of, it felt too close to hacking away a block of solid gold—almost impenetrable. His strike did nothing other than anger the beast.
Tokio's scream of "stay away" and her desperate "NO!" came in quick succession as the Unforgiving One, annoyed and vengeful did not ignore the new contender. A roar accompanying its malice, he slashed at Saitou four times! And the Unforgiving One did not miss. Instantly, blood gushed out of Saitou's brand new chest wounds; the searing pain came a fraction of a moment later and Saitou could barely breathe.
Then, still angered although a little appeased by his success, he turned his whip to the priestess who had not yet managed to escape his hold. He tried to hit her again, but, be it she was somewhat entangled in the tongues of the terrible instrument, or be it the fact she was slithery and quick, she avoided all of his efforts.
But something felt a little off to Saitou; the pain was a lot, but...it wasn't unbearable. It was nothing like it should have been. He looked at himself and yes, there was a lot of blood but, for such a huge sword and for such raw strength this demon in front of them seemed to posses, with all due respect, he had been hurt worse. What was that all about? His eyes turned to his hand then and saw a faint light disappearing; the same hand the ring she gave him was on. He looked up to see the cleric immediately. Without the Unforgiving One ever connecting more attacks, new slashes appeared on her skin.
His chin almost fell; the demon seemed to realise it at the same time, equally perplexed he hadn't caused as much damage as he wanted. Whatever those rings were they absorbed the hurt and the pain, transferred it to her. He almost ripped it off, but she saw; she knew what he was about to do and a "don't you dare" was heard loud and clear.
He hesitated.
That was all she needed. Without further ado, she started hacking away on the beast, almost as if her ferocity took the better of her, and went straight for the kill. Her eyes were focused on one thing and one thing alone: liberating herself from its grasp and getting rid of an important enemy...before he launched another attack because, she was definite, he would aim for Hajime because the Unforgiving One was not a simpleton—he saw. He would act on it. But where she could actually avoid or null his attacks, Saitou couldn't. And there was always the fear of being beheaded, much like she almost was, for, after all, everything the balor touches, becomes imbued with that ability.
And she wanted Hajime alive and well for all intents and purposes.
So she bashed and bashed and didn't stop, not even when she knew she fell him; not even when the Unforgiving One wailed and his knees gave out; even when his whip released her. She only stopped when she watched its skin buzz and shake with that unmistakable, imminent explosion.
They were caught in the balor's death throes.
"What the hell did you-?"
"Everyone, run away!"
She all but tackled him in her effort to sprint for it. Yet despite their labor, she heard it coming, felt the vibrations. One, two, three seconds was all it took. The ground shook, the air was polluted with sulfur; the explosion was huge and covered everything in unholy fire, flames devouring them and everyone within thirty metres worth the distance. Most managed to avoid the biggest burnt of the damage, but not them. And whatever damage he received half of it transferred to her and it hurt—skin burning without being burnt, ashes and smoke gathering in her lungs.
For a moment there was nothing but pain.
The next, heal, she whispered...and both people felt their injuries lessen and dull. It was his wrist that shone this once, the bracelet, and he finally realised exactly what these were and what they did. He felt such intense anger he almost shook.
"I don't need to be protected," he bit out, as he pushed off the ground.
"The Unforgiving One begs to differ," she jabbed.
"I'm taking these off."
"You do and I swear I'll shift you to another plane of existence!" The look he gave her was enough to cause her to chuckle but lest he got any ideas she was actually not going to do well on her threat, she added "yes, I can do that; in more ways than one. Now move."
Her eyes slid to their men; she was happy to see one of the two efreeti was gone while the second seemed to suffer enough to entertain the thought of leaving, too but it still remained. And with ii, so did the possibility of...shaking her head, praying it didn't happen, she continued running to their horses.
After a long beat of nothing happening, other than them getting closer to their targets, she felt vibrations coursing through her body; the ground wasn't shaking at all, none other than her could feel it, because when she looked around no one had that same expression of foreboding, but something was wrong. Something big was about to hit them. As focused on Shishio as she was, she never failed to look around her and what she saw she didn't mind: their army was winning and their adversaries had finally moved: all but the evil couple were almost within reach and swords unsheathed naturally. One of them was flying, a bony, malnourished man, while the rest sported more conventional means of attack, such as scythes and katana. The one called Soujirou, in fact, had already taken a stance.
"Begging your pardon, Tokio-chan, but I'm concentrating on this one for a moment," Okita warned as he jumped off his horse, to match the young boy's stance. None seemed to mind his delay, as the rest kept galloping, to meet the rest of the opponents.
"All of you, fight whoever you like, but make sure to stay focused."
None spoke to contradict it, so they must have agreed and that gave her ample time to think. There's still something I don't fully grasp and it's driving me insane... what was causing the bad feeling? Something a little ways away, something...permanent? She did her best to concentrate, hoping to detect the magic that unsettled her.
Saitou and Himura only needed to glance at one another to communicate how they needed to keep the attacks at bay, so she could do whatever she needed to – which pissed both people off but what could they do – and each took a side—Saitou all but hacked at the flying enemy, while Kenshin effortlessly slashed at a deceptively blind man, who dared enter their range.
"I see it now; I know what we must destroy! Hajime, you come with me; you, too, Himura-san, if you're able. The rest of you, keep fighting but don't get too close to Shishio without us."
She found the source of the foul magic that shook her to her core; she located its point of origin. It wasn't at the mountain or anywhere near the big players; it was carefully put somewhere far away from the fray, so it could not be easily reached and it would take whoever found it longer to reach. But horses were horses and they rode fast; there were no troops positioned there to keep it safe, too something that put her on edge but other than that made the trip reaching it shorter than expected. Before they went too close, though, she stopped them and dismounted.
"Keep your eyes closed; I want to try something."
She noticed there was a painted circle on the ground, a hundred feet away from her, runes and lines intertwined; somewhere close there, up on the bark of a bear tree, the only one in the immediate vicinity, there was a separate rune engraved on it.
Ah, there it was: a symbol of death. Thankfully, she had the suspicion long before she reached it and was able to look at it without triggering its effect. And it was easy enough to undo, simply dispelling the magic did the trick.
Once it was gone, and no other symbols were anywhere to be seen, she told the men to open their eyes and follow her close to the circle. And yet, the closer they went, the more little things they noticed that made their skins crawl: severed heads, skulls and rotting limbs and organs of all kind were left all over the circle. The smell was almost nauseating, but the three of them managed not to hurl.
She had them stand behind her then, as she pulled out a vial of holy water in one hand and a pouch with what appeared to be silver dust in the other. She started spraying and sprinkling in turns then, all over the circle, as she chanted her prayers. The more she spoke, the more intense the sizzling was from the ground as well as the rotting human parts on the ground. Even the skulls seemed to melt from the contact with the holy water but instead of leaving a pool of...something behind, they simply evaporated.
Once her efforts were over, the lines and runes on the ground had almost disappeared; energy was shaking the ground and, as if light and shadow fought for dominance, there were two types of smoke swirling one within the other. The second her eyes opened and her hands fell to her sides again, a blinding light shone! After a moment they could see normally again, only to notice how the ground looked...healthier somehow. T reverted back to its normal state, before the necromancer tainted it with her unnatural magic. The runes were faded, nothing more than a child's painting. Tokio seemed pleased.
"What happened exactly?"
"This is the place the ritual to turn whoever died into an undead took place; I consecrated it, rendering it useless." The two men looked at one another impressed. "Now she needs to do it all over again...but she won't be able to, it takes hours." She smiled. "That's one less thing to worry about but we must make haste still. Let us go."
But what they witnessed once they turned back to the battlefield, was far more terrible than anything they could have ever imagined: the final efreeti had just gone back to its plane, but not before granting the one thing Tokio feared most: a wish; a wish of the most terrible kind. Slowly, tortuously, they watched as time turned backwards, not for everyone, not even for a lot of people: only one thing, in fact, a certain place. The place where the balor had taken its last breath.
Her heart stopped beating for a second and then went into overdrive; all of her efforts undone, everyone looked on in horror as the Unforgiving One came back into existence with nothing but the now gone efreeti's will.
"Oh no...!"
Where they once were, now the army had advanced, as they gained ground; and where she once defeated the monster it was now brought back, smack dab in the troops, right next to Hijikata-sama.
"It is time," she grimly stated then, "though I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this. Please, go help," she spoke to the wind, as they all prepared to go gallop back to the balor through the ensuing chaos "and don't reveal yourselves unless the conditions we spoke of are met."
Whoever she was speaking to seemed to leave her side immediately, as a sudden gust of wind hit their faces.
"What was that all about?"
"You didn't think only the enemy had made provisions for powerful allies, did you?"
"What are theythen? Why do I put up with them?" Saitou pointed to Kenshin, who was not amused at all, with his chin.
She rolled her eyes. "Supernatural powerful allies; better? Now stop talking, or you might bite off a tongue and hurry!"
Just then, Hijikata was hit; a terrible gush across his entire body made him drop his sword. His head hang and the only thing that kept him upright on his horse was the fact he had forethought and tied himself on the saddle.
Saitou felt his anger swell to unfathomable heights as he watched it all unfold before him; but he needed more time to get there, he needed to go faster, the world needed to be put on hold so he could make it and stab the bastard right in the heart...!
Kondou, the one closest to this entire mess, rode out to meet the balor's sword. He withstood the first slash like a true hero, but the second...it made him unrecognizable. He was beyond help, mangled flesh and raw skin—almost to the bone.
"Good Shizuru," Kenshin breathed, trying his hardest not to lose morale.
"Don t despair!" Tokio's cry was heard far and wide; those not in the immediate reach of the balor snapped to her. "That's exactly what Shishio wants, don't give into your fear! Besides, did you really think I would leave you like that? Have faith!"
Six more bodies hit the ground before the bulk of the men managed to ran as far away from the reborn demon as they could.
"Ah, the cleric who fell me the first time," the Unforgiving One easily spotted her "how fitting you ride back to me," and now was only focused on her. "So I can properly kill you this time!"
"I am a servant of the Master of Medicine, the Great all-encompassing Healer! Your unholy flames won't reach my allies a second time, hellspawn!"
His laugh was booming. "What about all the dead bodies lining the ground as we speak, priestess?"
"I see no dead bodies other than the zombies your mistress so carelessly created, Unforgiving One."
So focused they all were on the conversation right in front of them, none noticed how the fallen, bleeding, wounded soldiers had started healing; their wounds were either completely gone or, in Hijikata and Kondou's cases, nearly as severe as they were. Their consciousness seemed to have returned also, and all moaned or tried to move, to stand.
"If you do not wish to rejoin the dead and have your soul scattered a thousand times once more, I suggest you leave this place right now, while you still have the chance!" Tokio bellowed, mace menacing in her hand. "But if I reach you again, your life is forfeit."
The balor wasn't paying any attention to her though, he was focused on one thing and one thing only: the currents of the wind not twenty feet away from him that took the shape of something otherworldly...and divine.
"So, this is how you brought your comrades back from the dead—with the help of a solar."
He almost spat the word but just as he said it, at the exact spot the very fabric of reality seemed to bend, a figure of something incredible appeared: just as large as the balor, and just as imposing, only this one had no leathery wings of nightmare, but pure white-gold feathery wings in not one, not two, but three sets. It wore golden, glittering armor from top to bottom, while topaz eyes shone out of its helmet. It held a greatsword in its hand and a huge, golden bow on his back.
The lip had curled on the Unforgiving One's mouth, looking at the being with disgust. "What's your name, angel servant?"
The solar chuckled, quite deprecatingly, but even so, it sounded soothing, calming... "My name is too pure for the likes of you to hear; now disappear, before we both come for you."
That was all the ego boost anyone needed; even while scrambling to get out of reach of the balor and make sure to stay safely away and simply hack away at all the zombies, their morale was reestablished; now they too had someone out of this plane on their side, one that looked just as powerful and threatening as the Unforgiving One. But his voice was reassuring, deep yet soft, like a whisper of well-wishes, like a hum of encouragement. It seeped inside their hearts and made them feel certain.
It made them feel supported.
"I take your threats lightly, angel. There's nothing you can do more terrible than what I—uh..."
The angel let go of his sword which, curiously, remained floating next to him, as he drew the bow; before the balor could finish his sentence, an arrow hit him square in the chest. Followed by a second; and a third; the fourth, not only found its target but hit the demon right in the eye socket!
But these arrows seemed to deal far more damage than anyone would have ever thought. As if sacred to the touch, they infected and corroded the demon from within; where the red, brim-stone like skin was, light tainted it, making it glow.
The pain was too potent for the balor, who cried out, clawing at his own skin. "You will pay for this, angelings!"
Just then, Tokio found herself within his reach. Crazed, in agony, he slashed and hit at her unrelenting. Once more, something terrible almost happened; once more, Tokio's armour shone and her head stayed right where it was supposed to be.
"Why won't you just die, light's slut!?"
She spit the blood, sporting two new red, raw burn marks from the whip. "Because your darkness doesn't scare me, hellspawn!"
With a jump, she found herself right in front of the demon. Without losing a beat, she started beating him with her mace; even if the demon managed to avoid some of the hits, those who hit, they hit hard. To add insult to injury, her mace found the arrow and pushed it even deeper sending him in a bigger rage.
"I will make you watch as I kill each and every one of these puny humans first and only then will I finally—ugh, kill you, with my own two ha...nds..."
"You are nothing without your weapons, demon," the solar goaded "and as long as I am here, you shan't kill one more human."
The arrows found their target; the balor moaned. Its fury carried him through another bout, but only its whip penetrated the cleric's armour, who was taking all the pain in quite the stride, for all the damage dealt—in fact, Saitou and Kenshin kept staring, not quite processing how she could withstand and cause so much damage with such a tiny frame, muscles be damned.
And she certainly didn't take anything lying down: the more attacks she received, it was as if the more energy she stored inside her, unleashing a ferocious counter attack. Blood, blood and more blood came out of the balor, until...once more, it swayed. Once more, it fell on the ground and its skin started buzzing.
"Run!"
She commanded everyone and all, as fast as they could, ran in the opposite direction, his previous explosion still fresh in their minds. Those who didn't make it out in time, started burning. They tried to roll on the ground, but seeing the hell fire didn't seem to mind the zombies, they kept gnawing and clawing and slashing at them, making it almost impossible.
"Cleric, deal with this..." the solar pointed at the men, voice sympathetic but without empathy.
"I know my duties; I will."
And, like she'd always do after a difficult battle, she brought her hands together while closing her eyes just for a second; the next, that healing warm wave gushed out of her and enveloped everyone. The zombies instinctively moved out of its way as much as she could, but that alone gave her an idea. Without a second's hesitation, she did exactly the same, only in reverse! First she closed her eyes to summon her energy and only after opening them again did she bring her hands together...and let all of her energy flow outwards!
But the energy the felt was staggering and raw; nothing about it felt comforting like the rest of the times; it was righteous, powerful and oppressing. And it brought the zombies down to their knees...some were slain, falling where they stood; other withstood the damage, yet still received plenty of it.
"They are weakened," Tokio informed, still on her horse, "they can be dealt with easier now. Also, the ritual that turned people into undead has been disrupted, they can no longer turn. Kill to your heart's content. That being said, we have things to do."
She turned to look at the two men who were still following her around – both with a very awe-stricken look on their face – and when she noted they had no objection, she gave the command to her horse and rode out again.
Only this once, she was pleased to notice, Shishio was no longer lounging around with a smirk on his face. This once...he stood. And as he did, he went right for his sword.
"Finally, he makes him move."
Kenshin's voice betrayed a lot of what he was feeling at that moment: relief this battle would be over soon; anxiety the strongest opponent decided to enter the fray; some worry, over the fact they still hadn't seen any of his abilities; but most definitely, a decisiveness above all. He would face this man and hopefully, he'd come out a winner.
The more Shishio approached, the clearer things got, for Tokio. He was wearing on armour to speak of; he had a bigger katana than normal and he was infamous for his bouts of rage leading to disaster, death and tragedy. This led to one conclusion and one conclusion only: he was a barbarian. And if he was as powerful as the rumours made him out to be, they'd have a huge issue.
"I can't stress enough how important it is to have him come to us," she said after a moment's pause "and not to get separated. He might be less dangerous than the balor as a whole, but he is far more powerful, in terms of strength."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, I could easily live through all of the balor's attacks, but With Shishio...I'm not entirely sure that will be the case. And I don't really believe he'll miss his target."
Everyone but Okita, as she took a quick look around, had finished with their personal battles and headed to help them, or him. "Having multiple targets is a good thing, let them come," she advised both men, who were about to discourage them. "I don't think Shishio is stupid enough to do it, but maybe even he'll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers."
The wait was excruciating.
The bastard was taking his sweet time getting there, sword almost dragging behind him. The necromancer, they noticed, had all but disappeared from sight but Tokio had the sneaking suspicion she wouldn't stray too far from her protector. She moved her hands swiftly and then again, but slower; in the three whole minutes Shishio gave them at their disposal, she managed to perform enough spells to feel secure for the upcoming fight.
"Know that the solar refuses to hurt a human being, no matter how corrupt and has only decided to fight demons, devils and other abominations; he will gladly heal all of us, but that's as far as his involvement extends."
Saitou's eyes became smaller. "Did you make a deal with him in order to help?"
"Precisely," she affirmed, hand gripping her mace tighter.
But then, as if she thought better of it, she did something unheard of: she put the shield at its place on her back, as if she didn't need it anymore. Then, she proceeded to take her katana, the one she had used on the Jabberwock, and offered it to Saitou. After that, she grabbed the mace with both of her hands and waited.
"Tokio, what are you-?"
"He's gonna land the hits anyway," she admitted, "what I must do is focus on how to do more damage myself—as well as my allies." She gave him a look. "So, take it. It's a good sword." After a moment of silence and understanding, she spoke again. "Also, no matter what, make sure the necromancer is out of reach when we bring him down, otherwise it was all for nothing."
"But she's nowhere to be seen!" Nagakura all but spat in their general direction, just as he reached them.
"That's why I just cast a certain spell; it purges all invisibility. She simply needs to be within reach of the spell. She's smart, so she won't risk entering said reach if not absolutely necessary, but we just need to wait till then. She'll be easy to dispatch if we manage to get close."
"If;" Nagakura snubbed again "she's very slippery."
"Here he comes," Saitou said instead and caused everyone to fall silent "be prepared."
"I told you I never shy away from a challenge, priestess," was the first thing that came out of his mouth, once he was close enough to be heard; at the same time, he started swinging his sword, getting ready for his first attack "and I even warned you I'd stab through your heart; yet you still came."
"Your threats don't scare me; I have faced worse but I'm still here, yes?"
"Maybe you had better allies then; these ones aren't worth shit. Allow me to demonstrate."
He took an odd stance, too open for a samurai, too careless; his larger than normal katana had a longer reach, so even from ten feet away, he could make it connect. Kenshin saw the blade descending for him, unforgiving, but despite his best efforts, it still slashed him across the chest.
"Bastard," Saitou breathed as he drew his own katana, an angry smirk on his face "I had promised my commander to be the one to kill the Battousai—what do you think you're doing?"
Before anyone could blink, he had launched himself on their foe; one, two, three clean-cut slashes appeared on Shishio's body, raw and bleeding. The force startled him, forced him to take a step back just to remain standing. The blood spatter on the ground was gruesome...but the deranged man was still smirking.
"Don't go writing me off, just yet," Kenshin was heard as he had just found his bearings again "you'll have your chance to drive a sword through me another day. For this one"
Kenshin deployed that much-heard of speed of his; if Saitou wasn't so used to it, he'd have missed him. A savage attack ensued, hitting Shishio square on the chest. The ground beneath his feet was dug deeper by Shishio's effort to remain in place and not be driven back a single other step.
"This one I will live to see my wife again."
Shishio's laugh was terrible; something destructive came off of him in waves and gave all the worst feeling...his rage was taking over, Tokio would know that anywhere. Too many times had she been struck by a deranged barbarian not to have learned her lesson. As fast as her enchanted boots could carry her, she took that one step needed and circled his flank. She needed to hit him no matter what. She needed to connect.
She raised her mace. "Say your prayers for the last time, Shishio Makoto."
Please, God, let my attacks hit; let them be powerful. Let them be crucial...
She descended upon him with all the might her body encompassed. All five of her attacks, no matter how difficult it might have looked for her to do it, landed. For the first time, his smirk was gone and he almost knelt from the sheer force.
In the aftermath, he was bloodied and disfigured.
His rage peaked; everything was seen as if in slow motion from everyone as they watched him scream and shout! That alone granted him some sort of strength and stamina—they watched as his wounds didn't close but stopped somehow bleeding. His muscles hardened and his face looked wild.
"You will be the first one to fall, priestess!"
He turned the weapon in his hands and directed it...at Saitou. "Don't you dare think I didn't see, you sentimental fool!"
Instead of attacking her outright, he used the bond the balor unveiled to harm her beyond doubt and flesh. Even if Saitou saw it coming, he could do nothing to prevent it—he tried to back away, duck and dodge, but he was too fast, too hard, too powerful. Each and every one of his attacks landed. What's worse, one of them found an extremely vulnerable spot and oh gods, could Saitou feel the burnt of hate and regret.
Despite the initial pain though, all the rest of it was muted. Yes, he was affirmed; when Saitou turned to look, Tokio received half of it, bleeding out of her mouth and through her armour from wounds that were never inflicted upon her and she never would have received if it weren't for him.
With that thought banging inside his skull, his eyes darted to Tokio repeatedly, itching to go to her side, damned be the pain and bile. But he couldn't. He knew he had to prioritize killing this piece of shit.
But where was the necromancer?
"INCOMING!"
That was Okita's voice. He had just incapacitated his opponent and was heading their way, when he saw a goddamn fireball form out of nowhere! It came straight for them, passed right by Shishio and exploded exactly where it would have left only Shishio out of the way.
"I saw where it came from," Nagakura simply stated and his first instinct was to go there; satisfied, he watched Okita follow him there.
The burns had no effects; whatever spell Tokio did before, apparently it prevented them from getting burned. Perfect. Now Saitou was ready to strike.
"You will follow your woman in death today, make no mistake."
"Maybe you will, Shinsengumi."
"None other than you will die today," Kenshin stated and, surprisingly, both Kenshin and Saitou attacked at the same time.
They had him flanked and cornered; one after the other came the slashes at his feet, his hands, his torso...Shishio shook and swayed they missed one or two hits, but most connected. Blood gushed out of everywhere. His cries were something to behold...! And even if he was still clutching at his sword, his head hang.
He must have been at his last, Tokio decided; they must find the necromancer right now, or this was all for nothing. She looked back swiftly; if she moved now, if Shishio was in such bad shape, he only had one attack to spare for her and that would hardly connect. She took less than a second to decide—she broke into a sprint towards Nagakura.
That was when she was finally revealed: Hanahomura, in all of her impressive glory, stood to the side, rummaging through her pouch like a madwoman, only one foot away from Okita...who never realised she was seen, until she had a taste of Okita's cold hard steel. Blood spurted from her mouth and her abdomen, as his katana cut her right open.
"I'm sorry," Okita murmured honestly "I really do hate hurting women."
"YUMI-SAN! No...!"
Soujirou wasn't as incapacitated as Okita thought; at the sight of her falling body, he rose to his feet, albeit clumsily. At the same time, a cry of pain and sorrow was released from Shishio right between the two men and, without warning, hatefully and with all he had, he started wailing on Saitou, blinded by rage.
Kenshin could not shield him; Saitou couldn't avoid it and, sadly, Tokio was right once more: there was no way he wouldn't hit them; they only had to be as lethal as him. But they weren't and now his sword was hitting every part of his body, or at least it felt that way: his ribs, his thighs, his head, his elbows. It was hell; hell on earth. Saitou felt his breath running out, his legs giving in. After a beat, he felt...nothing.
Tokio stopped dead in her tracks; she clutched at her stomach and watched on in horror as Shishio inflicted so much damage on him, even while she shouldered half of it, Saitou...let go of his sword and collapsed on the ground.
And his vital status read dead.
She tried to shout his name, but only blood came out.
She needed to be healed for sire, but he needed it much more than her; this wouldn't end like this, she wouldn't allow it. He wasn't allowed to die, not after all the shit he put her through! Her disembodied consciousness looked on and spotted Saitou on the ground. Her movements came naturally and her hands mover on their own. With her heart beating a mile per minute, all she could see, think or focus on was him. And when the spell was finished, her divine light enveloped him tightly. It circled and caressed him, breathing new life into him.
She watched with relief as his vital status changed from dead to dying. She drew a deep, deep breath. "Thank Qi Zhong..."
Shocked more than he ever was in his entire life, Kenshin did the only thing left for him: actually stabbed and slashed at Shishio, making sure he had drawn his last, long breath. The sword finally ran through their enemy cleanly and he too collapsed on the ground.
Yet, not just the one, but two bodies hit the ground at the same time.
Soujirou had bypassed everyone and found himself right behind Tokio; no one noticed as he slipped right past Okita, and behind Nagakura, to stab the cleric at her ribs. Shishio and Tokio fell to the ground at the same time.
There was no dramatic cry of shock, no sobs or tears. They both simply fell. And just as Soujirou exhaled with relief, he had to watch as a divine light enveloped the cleric, an unseen hand stopping her from falling completely. It cradled her, and put her upright again, as consciousness was given back to her. Still, she didn't wake; she was simply left on her knees, even as she was unconscious, she supported herself on her mace.
Before Soujirou could raise his sword a second time, Nagakura gave him the final blow; Okita caught him right before he fell face-first on the ground.
He looked at his only waking comrade; then at the Battousai. "...what just happened?"
No one could answer him; they all kept looking at one another unable to think, nay, wrap their minds around what just transpired, to move or react in any other kind of way. They stood there like that for what felt like an eternity. So long it was, Enishi managed to untangle himself from the remainder of the battle and find them.
"T...Tokio-san? Is, is that Tokio-san?"
"Yes."
Oh boy, even Okita's voice sounded like someone else's, he barely recognised it when it left his lips.
"What happened to her? Is she dead!? Tokio-san!"
Kenshin grabbed him mostly by instinct rather than will, trying to find the words to calm him. "She's not dead, simply hurt. She will get better..."
"LOOK AT HER, SHE LOOKS DEAD! LOOK AT HER WOUNDS, HER COLOUR!"
"Enishi, please, try to—..."
"Has the cleric been slain?" the concerned voice of the solar came behind them, who had just noticed the commotion due to the young man's shouts. But the moment he lay eyes on her, he exhaled in relief. "Thank Qi Zhong, she's simply unconscious. She shall be fine."
With a graceful move, very much like Tokio's, he gathered holy light in his hands and then touched the woman; magically, many of her wounds healed, although not as many as one would have thought. "Ah, of course, she shares the link with the other human," the angel remembered, shaking his head. "Well, they shall both be up and about in a very short time; I shall go tend to the rest of the soldiers; you three should definitely come with me."
"I'm not going anywhere; I want to be here when she fully comes to!"
"Give them some privacy, Enishi," Kenshin scolded him, noticing how they were both already twitching. "Let's go with the solar," he urged, grabbing him by the shoulders, numbness leaving him all at once. Same thing seemed to happen with Okita and Nagakura, too who effortlessly communicated to one another their need to leave.
Slowly, her eyes fluttered open; stiffness and blood were still there, painful reminders of the past hour. As she put all of her efforts in trying to stand, she remembered—Saitou! Her breath caught when she spotted him still lying on the patch of dirt she last saw him at. She immediately prepared a spell and hit herself with it as she stumbled all the way to his side.
"Hajime...!" She knelt next to him. "Hajime, can you hear me...?" He didn't speak; he simply groaned in recognition. "Dear Gods, you are so hurt...but at least, you are alive. And look," her smile was watery but thankful "most of your wounds are already gone."
"So, it only feels like I died..." When she said nothing in response to that, simply caressed his hair, he cracked an eye open for the first time. "Tokio..."
"What?"
"I didn't really die, did I?" She turned her eyes away, serene but obviously trying to avoid the topic. "Did I?" He probed, but he was mystified more than anything.
"...just for a second."
"You brought me back?"
She nodded, relishing the way his voice started sounding more like him, the more he used it. In fact, he barely got to use it, seeing she was squeezing him to her chest as tight as she could, kissing his forehead.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Himura was right..."
"About what?" she asked, but she didn't really care; she was just happy he was fine.
"Said it's dangerous to bring someone you care so much about to the battlefield with you; too dangerous." Ah, there it was; he felt the rocking stop, her hold relented. She put him on her lap again just so she could level a very pointed glare his way.
"Wasn't he? Look at yourself—then look at me."
"Hajime, if it weren't for me—!"
He chuckled "you got this all wrong. I meant if I wasn't here, you'd have never gotten so hurt. I was the one who distracted you. I should have stayed back." The way she stopped talking and proceeded to stare at him, warmed his heart. "I'm sorry you were wounded because of me." Unceremoniously, he put his hand on her cheek and just held her for a long time. "But I am glad you were here to help. We wouldn't have pulled through this without you."
His thumb idly moved on her skin; her hand held his tenderly. "I'm always happy to help."
She dipped her head to kiss him just as he rose; they met halfway. Just as they parted, taste of happy tears and blood mingling, she heard that distinctive sound of someone teleporting. She looked up only to see...her highness, in all of her Empress glory, accompanied by none other than her trusted treasurer Damien Izkrael and, oh dear Qi Zhong, Takagi Kojuuro in the flesh.
After a beat, about ten guards teleported all around them. And there went their privacy.
A/N: That was the last battle and the last big hurdle for me. Really, writing battles DRAINS me. I don't know why...Anywho, I am ALMOST there. Almost. Thank you for your patience so much sweeties. I actually decided on the next AU, too so look forward to it. I ain't saying what it is outright, but expect suits.
Leave a review on your way out, tell me what you thought.
Love, FAI~
