Title: Idiot Beloved Ch. 25: Raising Ki
Author: JaganshiKenshin
Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor, and Beyond
Rating: T
Summary: The Serpent has more than one trick up his sleeve, as
Hiei and friends are about to discover.
Author's Note: We're closing in on the climax---I am grateful to every one who's taken the time to comment on my story. Please review!
Idiot Beloved Ch 25: Raising Ki
by
Kenshin
Arizona, late afternoon, a veil of red dust hanging in the white-
baked desert air.
Helen Spencer stood staring out the French doors, holding a mug
of coffee that had long since gone cold.
The view---that useless, weed-stubbled corral---reminded her
unhappily of the day poor little Shayla met up with the rampaging
black bull.
Two boys appeared in the doorway leading to the hall, glancing
uncertainly at one another before sidling up to their mother.
Kenny and Trace were supposed to be doing homework, but Helen
didn't have the heart to scold her sons back into their room.
The tick of claws on flagstone announced Ginger's arrival.
"Catch her," Trace urged his older brother; the shaggy little
mutt made a half-hearted dodge as Kenny grabbed her collar, then
with an apologetic wag of her stumpy tail, settled at his feet.
"No more running off for you," Kenny told her.
Helen drew a breath like a dry sob.
And then, Robert, coming in after the dog, relieved Helen of her
cold coffee. The worried family huddled together, facing
the landscape of desert and jagged mountains beyond.
"Ronni," Helen whispered. "Baby. Where are you?"
Trace announced, "Betcha Hiei knows."
Robert Spencer angled his head to peer down at his younger son.
"Now why would you think a thing like that?"
Shrugging, Trace said, "I just do."
Pressed against Helen's feet, Ginger thumped her tail and whined.
0-0-0-0-0
Shayla Kidd struggled against the snake. Suspended above the
ground, she felt its cold dry scales scrape her exposed arms; its
acrid reptile stench clogged her nostrils. The snake's head,
heavy and doglike as an anaconda's, was on a level with her own,
its cold, wicked eyes alight with an inhuman glitter as they
regarded her without either passion or mercy.
Anaconda, she thought. Constrictor.
"Fool of a girl." White Sands Serpent laughed at her, his arms
folded in lazy repose. "You've proven yourself to be like all
the others: an unworthy opponent. Oh, how dreary a life this is,
never to encounter a peer, much less a superior! Take pity on
me in my loneliness. But still, you mustn't allow my pain and
grief to worry you. Lemons into lemonade, you know. For
example, I find I can still make use of you, weak though you
are."
What a comfort, she thought, straining both arms against the
enfolding coils.
Whether by sheer luck or instinct, Shayla had filled her lungs
with air an eyeblink before the snake wrapped around her. Each
loop of its body was as thick as her thigh, and could easily
crush her to liquid.
Snakes of that size were immensely powerful. Constrictors,
however, killed their prey not by crushing, but by suffocation,
the coils tightening with each release of the victim's breath,
the poor struggling animal unable to draw another, until it died
of oxygen deprivation.
But these coils weren't constricting her. Not yet. They
were---what?
They were holding her still, while White Sands Serpent remained
immobile, his lips parted, his face rapt with joy.
She could still breathe, and yet she was weakening. Why?
The answer came in a rush: she was weakening, but the coils were
not suffocating her. This snake was feeding off her life force.
With the sickening feel of hot liquid being siphoned to the
surface of her skin, her ki, spirit aura, or whatever the boys
called it, was slowly, inexorably, leaving her body.
But Shayla Kidd was not alone.
Inside her---she could feel it now---lived another, smaller spark
of life, helpless, dependent upon her, its cry of pain faint but
audible as the greedy reptile tugged at its fragile ki.
It was true. Everything Hiei had told her was true. There was a
little hanyou! And if she did not do something fast to protect
it, its small life would be siphoned into the snake.
She had not sensed its presence before because the little one had
been so happy---warm, safe, content in its shelter. And now,
because of her foolishness, her inability to believe, it knew
pain and fear.
She went zero at the bone. Hiei! Oh, dear God. I'm so sorry.
Heedless now of saving herself, Shayla Kidd flung her own life
energy at the ravenous snake.
She was stalling, and knew it. Her action could only stave off
the inevitable. White Sands Serpent would suck the life from
both of them, and the baby, with its smaller, weaker life force,
would die first.
But maybe someone would hear, and take revenge.
Shayla snatched at every scrap of knowledge Genkai had crammed
into her about spirit auras, gathered that knowledge, and
integrated her own life force into a makeshift shield. She
envisioned a blue dome, crackling with the force of her own ki, a
dome much like the one Hiei could summon. She made it expand in
her mind, push away the feeding snake, fend off White Sands
Serpent. Her ears pounded with the effort.
The Serpent laughed. "How cooperative of you," he chuckled, and
she felt him gorging on her ki through the medium of the white
snake, tugging greedily on muscle and tendon. "So you have
decided to become a good girl at the end, in spite of yourself.
A pity you won't live to enjoy the fruits of your virtue."
The edges of her vision curtained to black. A whirl of white
sparks fizzed against her eyes. She was losing consciousness.
And a rush of wind raked her face. Her blood, roaring like a
river in her ears, signalled a last rallying cry of body and soul
before the ultimate dark. Her head flopped back, came to rest on
a thick coil of snake; her eyes opened.
Blue sky.
She wondered why there was a speck marring the cloudless
perfection of azure, a speck of dark, descending, unless Death
itself came in the guise of a falling bird, wings outstretched,
come to lead her to Judgment.
Not Death. Death did not have that starburst flash of white in
his hair.
Hiei!
He came whistling down like a bomb, the sun turning his katana to
a lance of flame. A knot that had nothing to do with the choking
snake welled in her throat. But she was so weak she could not
even cry out to him.
Landing full-force next to the Serpent, Hiei slashed the
imprisoning snake close to the body of the enemy. It shattered,
released her. She dropped gasping to the ground, sprawled
anyhow; in the same instant Hiei spun, thrusting the katana back
and up and through the Serpent's left thigh.
There came a gout, not of blood, but of yellow ichor that smoked
on the grass.
Staggering, White Sands Serpent clapped a hand to his wounded
leg.
"Hiei," she choked out.
In coming after the Serpent, Shayla had set herself to be cold
and hard and desolate---a necessary condition of her self-
sacrifice. Now, with Hiei's arrival, warmth reclaimed her.
Whirling, he grasped her forearm; for a flicker, their gaze met.
Her heart leapt in response. Unlike the time when she'd tackled
the bulls alone, he did not waste breath on recriminations.
"Stick the dismount," he whispered, then lifted her and flung her
back toward the trees.
Flipping in mid-air, Shayla managed a hard four-point landing;
the impact rattled her bones, hurt her hands and knees. The loss
of so much spirit energy made her dizzy and sick.
She managed to raise her head to see Hiei, standing between her
and the Serpent, the way he had stood between her and El
Chupacabra.
The breeze plucked at his white shirt. "Your opponent is me,"
Hiei said, calm as ice.
"So." White Sands Serpent bared his teeth. "The little lapdog
has decided against better judgment to return."
"That's right." The muscles bunched in Hiei's arms. "I owe you
payback."
"Oh? But I fear not. You see, I have more in reserve: Coil of
Healing Light!" White Sands Serpent sent out another snake-hair,
not at Hiei but directed toward his own body. Its pink maw gaped
as it wrapped itself around his slashed thigh and clamped onto
the wound.
A steam of sulphur-stinking light rose from the contact between
snake and leg, and then the Serpent reached down and snapped off
the snake-head. It shattered to powder that the breeze sifted
away; the rest melted smoking into the grass.
"Good as new," The Serpent laughed.
"You're self-sealing. Nice trick." Hiei whirled the katana
overhead in one hand, a battle stance Shayla had never before
seen, not shielded, not crouched, but fiercely upright, blade
spinning so fast it became a whetstone of fire.
She never saw Hiei move; suddenly he was ten feet to the left of
The Serpent, his beautiful frame stretched in follow-through.
Another gout of yellow ichor burst forth; this time from The
Serpent's arm.
The air blurred; Hiei was once again between her and the Serpent
before the enemy's blood could burn the ground. For an instant
she saw two of Hiei.
Then they coalesced, and Hiei stood, sword up, pale ichor
dripping from its point to sear the grass.
"Nice job," said White Sands Serpent, stanching the flow with
another snake, casually snapping off its head when it had done
its job. "But what else would I expect from such an expert
assassin as yourself? You didn't gain your sterling reputation
in Makai for helping little old ladies cross the street---you
gained it for your sneak attacks on stronger foes."
Hiei said nothing, but stood at guard.
Slowly, The Serpent cranked his head around to look at Shayla.
The white eyes danced with yellow-blue fires. "Did you know, dear
girl, that this one slaughtered his companions, the very souls
who took him up from the dirt into which he tumbled and raised
him out of the goodness of their hearts? And do you know he did
this before he even reached the age of---"
"Big deal," she answered, though her voice shook. "In America we
shoot five people before breakfast just to warm up."
The Serpent hesitated, then nodded. "It's good to see you still
have some fight left in you. I would hardly want a worn-out husk
as my prize."
Another blurring of air. Hiei reappeared on the Serpent's right
side, fresh ichor dripping off his sword.
White Sands Serpent put one hand to his right thigh, stumbled,
hissed. Then he laughed. "Please, Sir. May I have another?"
"If you insist," Hiei said, complying, then returning so fast she
could not track his movement.
The Serpent shook his head, directing two of the snake-hairs to
the wounds on both legs.
Hiei stood between Shayla and Serpent, his stance watchful, ready
for combat. His very appearance flooded her with hope, and a
good healthy dose of anger. If there was something she could do
to help finish this reptile!
"I see you're not much against a true fighter," she rasped.
"Attacking women is more your speed."
"If you call yourself a woman," said the Serpent.
"Bide a bit," she replied. "When the sun goes down and you are
frozen where you stand, I'll finish you off with a rock. Your
skin will make a nice handbag."
"You seem to have such a limited perspective on the powers of the
Serpent." He gave a thin cut of a smile. "But then I expect a
feeble mind such as yours thinks only in terms of concretes."
"No, she got it," said Hiei. "She got it. Snakes cannot
control their body temperature. You don't manufacture your own
energy. That's it, isn't it? Whether it's from the sun or some
other source---that is your weakness."
"If it comes to that, then you and I share at least one trait,
little fire demon." The Serpent narrowed his eyes at Hiei. "You
eat food to live, I eat souls. There's no real difference."
"Comparing souls and food?" Hiei lifted a lip. "You might want
to brush up on your philosophy."
"Perhaps you might care to brush up on yours," said The Serpent.
"If we're counting souls, then how many have you sent to the
tender mercies of Koenma in your chequered career?" His
expression softened. "Oh, but I forget---you've reformed."
"Talk is cheap," said Hiei, flicking in low. But even Shayla
could see him move this time, and the Serpent sent one of his
snake-hairs flying out to deflect the blow.
"At least your previous attacks had the virtue of surprise," said
the Serpent. "This one..." He shrugged. "I've seen it four
times now. How commonplace. And here I was hoping for some
variety, some fun."
Ignoring Hiei now, The Serpent turned a caustic glare onto
Shayla. "And as for you, little Jezebel, fallen Daughter of Eve.
Did I imply that you are common? Oh, my, no. Far from it, You
are in fact unique. Yours is the ki-print that feeds me. Yours
and that of the other one, who is almost used up."
"Ronni," she whispered, still on hands and knees. "You---"
"Oh, yes." The Serpent slitted his eyes. "You and that wasted
slag-heap are of a kind. It wasn't merely your wild and indecent
ways that drew you two together. It was your energy signature.
So rare, delicate, and so very sustaining! In that regard you
are one in a million. Why do you suppose that animal-demon you
call El Chupacabra attacked you in the desert?" He flicked a
contemptuous glance at Hiei. "Merely so this undersized coward
could show off his muscles? No. It wanted to feed on you,
too---but in a different way altogether."
Advancing, Hiei whirled his sword again. "Too bad you won't get
the chance for another snack."
The Serpent ignored Hiei to concentrate on Shayla. "Did you
know, girl with no saint's name, that your demon lover has less
experience than you? Of course, now that we come to think of it,
everyone has less experience than you. Still. Doesn't that
amuse? Tainted bride, virgin groom."
Hiei's laugh sounded above the shriek of his whirling katana.
"You say that as though I should be ashamed."
White Sands Serpent flashed him a smile. "I'm getting to you,
little demon. Be patient."
"Patience is not my virtue."
"True. I cannot find any virtue about you at all."
"Quit throwing stones for now." Hiei's shoulders rippled.
"You're the one in a glass house."
"I have as much right to live as both of you," countered the
Serpent. "I suppose you've never known what it's like to have to
crouch in darkness and hope for someone to come to you. I
suppose you've never known a moment of loneliness. Oh, wait."
He paused, regarding each of them in turn. "What could I
possibly be thinking? Who am I addressing but the cast-off
Kourime and the girl whose parents loved the bottle more than
they loved her?"
Shayla closed her eyes a moment.
"You're old, Serpent," Hiei said. "And tired. This poor weak
Daughter of Eve stands in authority over you."
"Weak?" The Serpent laughed. His hair lifted, fanning about his
form like a twisted halo. "Yes. Attack the weak link. Sound
strategy. I would have expected even such a basic mind as yours
could grasp that concept. But you misunderstood one crucial
detail, little demon."
Hiei lifted a lip. "I understand killing you."
"And you, little girl." The Serpent spread his arms, whole
again, no sign of any of the injuries Hiei had dealt him. "When
it comes down to it you really are a stupid woman, as this one
calls you. Did you honestly believe you were the weak link?
You're simply bait for the one who is. And once that one is
gone, I can collect my reward at leisure."
Hiei raised his katana. The Serpent gave a sibilant laugh.
"Unwanted Kourime. Making calf-eyes at a girl until your
strength is that of a newborn. The weak link isn't the girl.
The weak link is you."
The tip of Hiei's sword dipped. His eyes widened.
The Serpent gave Hiei a pitying glance. "Why do you think you
fought alone, all your years in Makai? Lived alone? Forming
only temporary alliances, dissolved once each theft or
assassination was completed?"
Silence.
"The answer is simple. No one wanted to fight by your side."
Shayla could see Hiei wince; it hurt her as well.
"They all saw through your facade of the swaggering assassin,"
continued The Serpent. "The great demon Hiei? Hardly. Even
common Makai thieves could see down to the weak and sniveling
heart within."
Hiei did not move a muscle.
He's lying, Shayla shouted: Don't listen! But her words never
reached the air. She struggled to rise, to get her legs under
her so she could draw breath, but the snake had drained far too
much of her ki.
Get up, she told herself. My ribs hurt. Why? Hiei didn't toss
me that hard. Get up now.
All you have to do is push off with your hands. Simple. What's
stopping you?
She glanced down at her hands, flat on the grass. Whose hands
were those? Not hers, surely. The hands of an old woman,
spotted with age, veins writhing along their wrinkled backs like
thick blue worms.
No, she thought. Focus elsewhere. Do something. Fight.
She felt the tree trunk at her back and, using it for leverage,
inched sweating and panting to her feet.
To see a moment of perfect stillness: Hiei, facing White Sands
Serpent. Serpent, gloating over his latest victim.
Then Hiei, sliding his feet apart, twisting his torso to reach
for the blade, bending at the knees in preparation for another
attack.
The Serpent's hair whirled like a rippling white sea. Hiei leapt
straight overhead, sword slashing down. Two snake-hairs soared,
caught Hiei mid-air, slammed him to the ground so hard Shayla
heard the breath whistle from his lungs.
Hiei struggled to free himself. And above her, the leaves gave a
gentle sigh.
"Rose Whip Lash!"
Kurama had arrived. From the branches, his Rose Whip sang its
bloodthirsty tune, licking into the snakes, shattering them to a
thousand icy crystals.
The kitsune landed lightly beside the fire demon, gave Hiei a
sidelong grin.
"What took you so long?" Hiei grinned in return.
"The cab driver had a bit of trouble with my directions," replied
Kurama.
"Ah." White Sands Serpent flicked a glance from Kurama to Hiei.
"I see reinforcements have arrived. However, I fear it's a bit
too early to celebrate."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Kurama matched The Serpent with an
elegant insolence. "You never know who might be arriving with
balloons and party cake."
"Fire at the Core of Ice!" Flinging out his arms, The Serpent
sent two thick snake-heads hurtling toward Kurama and Hiei, their
fanged maws gleaming pink.
And then the underbrush erupted: Yuusuke, landing with a solid
thump behind White Sands Serpent, who twisted his head to keep
the dark-haired youth in sight.
"Hey, Uncle, hold still!"
The Serpent lifted his lip. "You little---"
"Shotgun!" Yuusuke's energy blast drove upward, cutting off the
snakes in mid-strike, showering The Serpent with icy sparks.
"Spirit Sword!" Charging out from the trees, Kuwabara wielded a
golden sword ablaze with his ki, powerful arms slashing Reiki-
Ken at White Sands Serpent as though the enemy was nothing more
worrisome than underbrush.
A breathless cheer was the best Shayla could muster.
"Come now---you'll have to do better than that!" Recovering his
equilibrium, The Serpent called another attack, conjuring snakes
that wrapped around Kuwabara's Spirit Sword. Cold energy met
heat energy in a flare of battling ki until both fizzled out.
The combatants paused, taking one another's measure. At the
center, The Serpent. Behind him, Yuusuke. To his right, Kurama.
To his left, Kuwabara. Standing between Serpent and Shayla, Hiei.
"Well." The Serpent adjusted the lapels of his black suit. "I
see the cavalry's arrived just in time to save the runt of the
litter." But for the first time since Shayla had seen him, he
was breathing hard, looking less than pristine.
"Why don't you lie down and take a nap, Uncle?" advised Yuusuke.
"I'd hate to shoot an old guy in his sleep but I'm sure that with
enough therapy I'll get over it."
"Yes." Kurama gave a polite little smile. "We both owe you for
taking some damage yesterday."
"Me, too," growled Kuwabara. "And I always pay my debt."
"Whereas this little one took no damage at all." White Sand
Serpent nodded in Hiei's direction. "Hardly seems fair to the
rest of you, does it?"
"Don't worry, White-Eyes," said Hiei. "This time I'll give you a
sporting chance."
"Good," said the Serpent, smiling. "Then let me show you
something. Up until now, I've just been toying with all of you."
The boys exchanged uneasy glances. Shayla's belly gave a slow
twist.
"That's right," White Sands Serpent continued. "Toying is the
word. Benevolent soul that I am, I had no intention of harming
anyone. However, you've forced my hand, managed to irritate me
at last with your ill-mannered, inconsiderate, guttersnipe brand
of harrassment. Very well. Let us see how you will deal with
this."
White Sands Serpent flung out both hands, crying: "Storm of
Mortal Peril!"
Snake-strands writhed together, hissing like steam engines,
giving off a crackle of violet-hued energy. They shot from The
Serpent's head, meeting each boy in turn. One wrapped around
Kurama's legs, yanked him from his feet; others simultaneously
bowled over Kuwabara and Yuusuke. Yet another flashed along the
ground to wind around Hiei and lift him high, only to smash him
down again.
Shayla gave a weak cry of dismay.
"And now, little fire demon," purred The Serpent, "I do believe
you've taken some damage at last."
Glaring at the Serpent, Hiei burst free of the imprisoning snake,
his arms scored with cuts. The others also freed themselves,
then fanned out. Laboring for breath, Yuusuke and Kuwabara now
stood shoulder to shoulder at the Serpent's back, while Hiei and
Kurama stood at right and left flank, all in battle stance.
"He bleeds," Hiei informed them, gasping. "Yellow."
"Good to know," called Yuusuke, pointing his Rei Gun. Kurama
readied his Whip; Kuwabara his Sword. But all of them now
appeared to have taken damage, wobbly, unsteady on their legs.
The Serpent gave them a low, hissing laugh, taunting them. "Oh,
but this is too wonderful---I see none of you quite gets it as
yet, not even the so-called fox-boy. Come, Kurama, where are
your brains?"
"You're the one who's gonna get it," threatened Kuwabara, while
Kurama remained silent and Yuusuke tried to catch his breath.
"Storm of Mortal Peril!" The snakes bowled them over again, and
again they regrouped. Team Urameshi tried different
combinations, different formations. Kurama summoned a dance of
slashing Rose Petals; Yuusuke attempted a physical assault,
launched a blinding series of kicks and punches, while Kuwabara
severed snake-hair after snake-hair, and Hiei managed to keep
himself between her and the white whips.
"Come now," chuckled the Serpent. "More of the same? The more
energy you expend, the more I can siphon off."
"Details, details," gasped Yuusuke, getting off another shot that
was deflected by a striking snake.
Snakes boiled from White Sands Serpent's head and knocked Yuusuke
down. Kurama countered with a Rose Whip; The Serpent sizzled it
into a useless curl of charcoal.
"This is becoming tedious." Scowling, White Sands Serpent
clenched both fists. "High time I ended it."
The boys said nothing, all of them breathing hard, but Shayla
wondered---
"Storm of Mortal Peril!" Snake-hairs flicked out, then returned,
almost faster than Shayla could see. The boys glanced at one
another in frustration.
"Dammit," growled Kuwabara. "I'm gettin' tired of this."
The Serpent laughed, as though privy to some joke whose punchline
only he could understand.
"I'll deal with you in a second, Uncle," wheezed Yuusuke, bracing
his hands on his knees to suck oxygen.
"No." Kurama, his voice low and shaking, put out a hand to steady
himself. "No. Something's wrong----"
"What the hell's going on?" Hiei, staggering, glanced from
Kurama to Kuwabara to Yuusuke. "This isn't that tough a battle.
I shouldn't feel---"
"Like there were lead weights tied to my ankles," finished
Yuusuke.
"He's done something to us," gasped Kurama, sinking to his knees.
"Ten points to the fox-boy," crowed the Serpent.
"I can't seem to shake it," muttered Hiei. "But it's different
from the last time we faced this one."
"Now that's the look I want to see," said The Serpent. "The look
of defeat! How I wish I had a camera to record this."
"Record what, you sicko?" wheezed Kuwabara.
The Serpent raised a hand to his mouth, coy. "Each time an
attack of yours meets one of mine, you lose more of your aura."
Of course, thought Shayla. That would explain their poor
showing. But how was that happening? The Serpent couldn't feed
off their ki. He had said it was only her energy signature he
could consume. So where was their energy going?
She strained her eyes at the battle, searching for the key.
There. She could see it now. Hovering above the snakes in a
faint golden cloud, encapsulated within a barrier of crackling
violet, was the boys' stolen aura---a huge mass of it. She
herself was exhausted, and all she was doing was leaning on a
tree. She could only imagine how the boys must feel, fighting
with half their strength gone.
Hiei, by himself, had fared better against the Serpent. He had
the element of surprise, of freshness. But the Serpent had fed
off her ki, had powered up.
Now even Hiei was tiring, judging by the way he held himself,
neither ramrod straight nor crouched to draw weapon but wavering,
hand on knee. Yuusuke tottering, perhaps unable to summon
another Rei Gun, Kurama gasping for breath, Kuwabara's Spirit
Sword fizzzled to the size of a switchblade.
They needed their stolen energy back.
Genkai. The old lady had time to teach Shayla one spell only:
the joke they'd used on Yuusuke. But that casting was also a
spell of release: releasing energy to send Yuusuke leaping into
the air, to shape the energy of the air itself into twelve stars
whirling round Yuusuke's head.
The spell had left her exhausted. Everything has its price.
So if the Serpent had stolen and encapsulated the boys' ki---her
spell had to work on him.
A deadly gamble, but her one choice. With it, the baby might
die. Without it, they all would.
White Sands Serpent had just used her to power up, but she could
return the favor.
Genkai's teachings were steady in her mind, solid and reliable
like the tree at her back, and she could visualize the diminutive
reiki master, scowling at her, barking instruction: "Control
your breathing, girl! See the spell in your mind before you go
blasting it out!"
Clumsy for once in her life, shaking in the knees, Shayla Kidd
began the soft chanting of the spell that would release the
captive ki of Team Urameshi.
The Serpent's hearing was keen. He snapped up his head, turned
to glare at her. Good, she thought, he doesn't like this.
A Rose Petal conjured by Kurama landed a blow against the
Serpent's cheek. Spurting ichor sent the Petal into smoking
oblivion.
"Impudent fox," began the Serpent.
"I seem to have scored a hit," gasped Kurama, then sank to one
knee.
Kuwabara's Spirit Sword was a mere flicker, and sweat poured off
him in waves, but he was bellowing defiance. "Stand still, you
hair-hoppin' creep!"
"Hey, White-Eyes, smile for the camera!" Bleeding from a head
wound, Yuusuke was braced as if the next breath would knock him
off his feet. His gun hand trembling, he looked as though his
famed luck had run out.
Hiei fought in grim silence, a defensive pattern now, meant to
shield her, darting away from the smashing snakes, darting back,
sword up, dancing.
The encapsulated golden aura was her target. It was held in
place by means of The Serpent's will. Break his will and---
Now or never. She examined the spell Genkai had taught her, saw
the white words float on a black background. Holding them steady
in her thoughts, she raised her voice, calling out each word,
sending them one by one into the air, careful of the proper
order, summoning every ounce of stagecraft at her command.
Stars and cruel angels, whirling bloody swords.
White Sands Serpent sensed it. "I know what you're doing," he
warned her, his voice thick with promises of pain to come. He
left off his concertrated attacks of the others, simply using the
snakes to casually flick the exhausted boys away from him.
Sprawled on the grass, each boy struggled while The Serpent
pinned her with his icy gaze. "Is this how you managed to get
the boys to crawl to you in high school?" he jeered. "Do you
imagine it will work on me?"
She spared not an atom of energy to reply, nor did she flinch
when the snake-hairs whipped up, over Hiei's head. Hiei made a
leap to intercept them, failed. The snakes flew straight toward
her.
The clearing was foul with the odor of snake---musk, urine,
vomit. Twelve stars, she thought, three for each boy. Break the
capsule. Break his will. Crush his head under your heel.
She gathered her own shredded ki, begged, borrowed, stole
whatever she could from the tree and the grass and the other
living things in the forest, held steady, deliberately keeping
back the force of the spell, letting it build and build in her
until it lifted her hairs and became a burning coal in her heart.
She opened her mouth wide for the sending. The air crackled
blue around her. She thrust out her hands, snapped out the spell
prefix, the code that would release it with her final command:
"Ichi-Ni-San-Yon-Go-Roku!"
And added her own twist, her own silent command: Thy will be
done. In a throat-ripping shout, she unleashed the spell:
"SAAAAAA!"
The force slammed her back into the tree, knocking the breath
from her; she fought to remain conscious, fought to keep her eyes
open.
The aura capsule burst open into a whirl of gold. Twelve stars
emerged, danced for a moment, then descended. Three for each
boy, pouring back their stolen ki.
Renewed, their battle auras blazed like fresh-minted suns; The
Serpent hissed in frustration as Hiei turned to fling her a
fierce grin and went to work with flashing sword.
Yuusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara also closed in on The Serpent, who
spun, not laughing now, but panting, eyes wide with fear, trying
to keep them all in his line of sight: the raven-haired Yuusuke,
tumbling midair to take aim in a two-handed shooting stance;
Kazu-kun's powerful frame extending, sword arm cocked back, one
arm flung out for balance; the graceful kitsune in a whirl of
scarlet hair and slashing thorns; her fire demon, leaping
straight up with the blade singing in his hand.
She could not move a muscle. Pain tugged at her midsection.
Don't waste the spell, she prayed silently, Get him.
Kurama landed a Rose Whip Lash simultaneous with Kuwabara's
Spirit Sword thrust; together they ravaged both the Serpent's
arms. Yellow ichor sprayed the ground to the Serpent's long wail
of pain. From behind, Yuusuke hurled a fiery ball of spirit
power at the enemy's back.
And above it all leapt Hiei, his katana a glare of light,
flinging himself down upon White Sands Serpent like an avenging
angel.
The last thing Shayla Kidd saw was Hiei's arial attack, and a
brilliant flash of white that slowly faded into a long black
corridor with no sound but the rasping red hiss of her lungs.
-30-
(To be continued: Who will live and who will die?)