Chapter 14: A Two-Faced Demon

"What the hell happened!?" Kazuma found himself looking at the lake, which looked more like a growing tempest of the sea. Nolan was holding his shoulder that appeared to be badly bruised, next to a growling "stone" Chimera.

Ayano had her Enraiha out, but her shirt was torn in various places, showing off her own cuts and screaps. She also held what he guessed was the ring in her other hand, in a tight grasp near her chest.

"Just-wait…that thing…it'll come out of the water again." Nolan said with wide blue eyes, panting.

"Ayano!" Kazuma called over.

"What are you doing here?" She looked off put, as she diverted her eyes from the lake.

"Two empty bedrooms and a stack of maps tossed over? I made the connection." Kazuma shook his head.

"I didn't knock those over…" She sighed. "It doesn't matter…"

"So what is it?"

"You're not going to lecture me?"

"No, not with a – a monster? Or is it demon?" He eyed a place in the lake where the water looked as if it was evaporating and rippling to waves. Trees were broken down all around them. It looked like chaos.

"I thought it might just have been Mizuko's spirit…but it's not." Ayano's voice lowered.

"When we got here nothing happened at first. That's when Ayano took out the ring and looked at it…after that the water rippled but that thing- it's not just a ghost is it? It looked like some demon-mermaid thing with two faces!" Nolan walked over. Ayano looked peeved that he seemed to blame it on her actions suddenly.

"A Nickar–demon probably… that makes sense now. But they don't have two faces really… I have the feeling it's feeding off of Mizuko's spirit's angry energy. It's been over 50 years since a blood sacrifice. But it did get to engulf her whole body and now her spirit, so its gonna be powerful. Why did you take the ring out in the first place?" Kazuma looked to Ayano as they nervously eyed the waters. There was tension stewing in the air.

"I couldn't help it. It made me sad to think of her-" Ayano looked down at it. Nolan noticed she didn't seem mad at all that Kazuma had joined their party as he had planned.

"Why didn't you give it the ring?" Kazuma asked, as the water started to turn into tidal waves.

"She…in a really creepy voice kept calling her a ring thief…and something called 'Baita'?" Nolan explained, eyeing the water again, distracted.

Kazuma coughed. "A whore?"

Suddenly an extremely dark looking demon came out of the water, with a fish-like tail with black spikes that towards it's end merged with the water. It was larger than them. Its hands had claws; its body was demonic looking. It's didn't have two heads exactly but seemed to have two faces. Half of the head was a gruesome pale green with black eyes, and dark entangled blue hair. But its second half had empty white eyes that glowed red with anger, and a black hair in it's most traditional long styling.

"So Mizuko's spirit think's you're the girl that took Kenshin away from her…and that demon is probably fueling her to think so. You have the ring…" Kazuma stood slightly in front of her.

"What do you want me to do?! Throw it at it?" Ayano asked angered.

"No. We need to find a way to separate them. If we kill the demon…" Kazuma trailed on. "

"…she'll stay an angry spirit forever, even if she is destroyed. She'll never know that Azumi's grandfather felt responsible all these years." Aynao said. "That's not what her grandfather wanted."

"Ring-thief. Sacrificeeeeee…" It chanted the words as it loomed up and threw itself down at them as a wave of the lake followed the dark energy in exploding speed.

"It wants a sacrifice…" Kazuma used his wind to gear the water off its path at them. But instead the demon hit "her" tail into the ground causing them to dart apart in different directions as the ground became dusted under the power of the force.

Kazuma looked to Ayano. Ayano was about the age of the next Ikari generation . Not the same blood-line, no, but she was 'pure.'

Nolan tried to use Capric, who blew fire at the thing in a leaping jump of claws and teeth. However it was shit with such a dark force of power from the Demon that it dissipated nearly at once. Nolan was defenseless. He had really been much too weak in his abilities against this strong of a demon. He'd have died if Kazuma hadn't used his wind powers to restrain the second dark power he was struck with as he slumped over against a fallen tree. The creature now looked for another person to eliminate.

Ayano called out the creature. "Hey you! I know you're in there Mizuko! I'm not the girl who took…uhm… Mr. Kaneigi from you, but if you want that ring back you'll have to face me!"

"What are you doing?" Kazuma asked, blocking another attack.

"Direct approach… Maybe I can convince her to not be so angry? Cut off the supply to that demon."

"You know if that doesn't work we might have to just kill the thing..." Kazuma was prepared to do what needed to be done if it came down to it. He'd call upon the powers of the wind deity if he had to the moment that thing got too out of control.

"I know, but I need to try." Ayano put her sword in front of her ready. "Go get Ren. We need all three of us…"

"Baita! Ring-Thief! Sacrificeeeeeeee." The sounds weren't even real. To hear a demon or a ghost speak was more like an eerie whisper in the air.

Kazuma looked to her. If he let her do this, he might regret leaving. It could be a ruse to get him away from her. She was all for being independent. But could he handle the blame if her plan backfired? She was right, however. Ren could use the golden flame to help purify the demon. Shit. He'd go quickly…

"Bring Nolan back to the temple with you." She said as she ran, moving away from the forest path to some rock escarpment bordering the scattered broken trees.

"He'll be fine." He said, passing a quick glance over the passed out blonde haired American and left as quickly as he could, back into the air. He had his reasons for keeping the kid there.

Ayano used her flame to stop the attacks although she kept getting she pushed backwards. The anger this girl felt was emense. Being betrayed. She probably doesn't know how back Azumi's grandfather hurt in that he blamed himself his whole life. She had to find away to tell her the truth, even if they had to torch her in the end with that demon… she couldn't leave it in unrest.

Kazuma felt Ren's silence beside him. They knew it was going to be a hard fight and neither one was sure how it would end.

He knew he couldn't be long gone from Ayano. Ren, would have to make sure the American cargo didn't get anymore beaten up…and in the end could help them get rid of that Nickar.

If Ayano was successful, as soon as Mizuko stopped being angry and left the demon's possession, that demon would need a sacrifice to keep the power to control the lake. Otherwise it's power would lessen, and that would make it too easy too destroy. Meaning Ayano was at risk. If she wasn't a target for blood already she surely would be the moment Mizuko's spirit found solace.

They approached the lake. He could hear Ayano. Her words surprised him the closer they got.

"Don't you get it?! You can fight me all you want but in the end you're going to have to realize-I mean I know you have at least half a brain or something-"

He heard what sounded like another tree falling. The clouds were looming overhead. Even as the moon fell and the sun grew it all seemed to go grey. It was going to storm soon.

"…ugh-ah… Kenshin, he didn't mean for you to jump alone that day! He blamed himself every day. And if you think I'm the girl he switched for, well your way off! He died fifty years ago, and his wife passed too so…I'm way to young! Hah!"

Ayano could smell a rotten scent every time her sword got close to the tail of the demon. Burning fish, with the smell of a must of water that challenged every flame she threw at it.

"Look I get it." She pressed her weight into her Enraiha, against the force of the Nickar's demonic power. "It hurts to be betrayed. You probably thought he would go down with you, and I think he intended to… I know he wanted to save you too…but he couldn't-and-" She skidded back against the force hitting the fallen tree. "UGH."

She took a breath in after it was knocked out of her. Her bruises were going to be huge on her back now. She might be bleeding.

"Don't be so stupid to think you're the only one who suffered! He spent fifty years after haunted by the fact that he couldn't save you! Wouldn't that be enough?" She threw a slash at the monster. She felt a drop of rain on her nose. The demon seemed to hiss back at her in some indistinguishable sound. Ren found Nolan and dragged him off to the side.

"Even though he found another woman to love, how do you think she felt knowing his mind was always concerned with that guilt of your death? She-she-suffers too…" Ayano's eyes glazed. Suddenly she felt the weight of all of the bruises, and everything else that had happened this week fall back onto her.

She yelled her words against a strong tidal wave of water, spiraling at her. The demon in the center. It was coming for her, and fast.

"You can't blame him…do you want him to haunt this world too because of the torment he had to live with knowing you couldn't forgive him!?" She yelled, her words escaping her mouth before she could filter them, moving over the sounds of the rush of water.

She expected to feel the deep sting of the razor waters, when she noticed Kazuma had stopped some of the impact with his wind powers, taking the brunt of it in front of him. He wasn't using his full power yet. She knew he'd intended too to make sure Mizuko could be free first if they could do it. She wondered how long he'd been around to hear her words.

She moved her next gaze straight upon the demon, into the eye of Mizuko's tormented spirit.

"He never got rid of the ring! He kept that promise as best as he could! He never gave it to anyone else! If you really loved him you should be happy he moved on!" She lunged forward and with a brightly reddened flame she pushed towards it and pressed the ring into the forehead of the red-eyed side of the two faced demon.

At that moment a crack of lighting somehow managed to hit the water.

The same moment Kazuma tried to keep Ayano from the outstretched arm of the rabid Nickar.

The same moment that wind couldn't stop them from being blown apart from each other as a burst of energy formed.

Nothing else but blood curdling sound of the two–faced demon could be heard.