Chapter 28

Sai had been walking down this hall for what felt like an hour. She had no idea how long it had actually been. Her thoughts were racing through what could possibly come next. It was obvious that, whoever this demon was, he had all of them trapped. Akage stirred. Sai sat both him and Nami down against the wall.

"So, you're the first up, eh?" Sai said to him.

"Huh?" He said, getting his bearings, "Sai, how did we get here?"

"We fell, got knocked out and separated, and then you tried to kill Nami and I right after Nami tried to kill me. Geez, Akage don't you remember?" Sai said sarcastically.

"Damn." Akage cursed, "No. I've only got vague images... And a burning sensation in my head."

"That's probably because Nami sent a huge surge of spiritual energy through your forehead to bring you back to us." Sai explained.

"Why would she do that?" Akage asked.

"Well, besides the fact that you were trying to kill us, I don't really think she was herself at the time either." Sai admitted.

"How do you mean?" Akage asked. Sai told him about Nami's own transformation. He looked over in awe at the girl.

"It was pretty crazy. She even had me scared." Sai admitted, "Thought my demon blood was going to be purified just by being in her proximity." Nami laughed weakly.

"Had you going, didn't I?" She joked in a small voice.

"Well look who's back." Sai said happily, "If it isn't our little possessed warrior priestess."

"I wasn't possessed Sai." Nami insisted. Akage suddenly took her into a massive hug.

"I don't care if you were possessed or not." Akage said, "I'm just glad you're okay. I'm so sorry Nami. I know I hurt you. I swear I'll never let it happen again. Please forgive me Nami! Please!"

"A-a-Akage..." Nami stuttered. Tears came to her eyes, "Of course I forgive you!" She cried, sobbing, "You weren't yourself. You don't need to apologize. I love you and you're here with me. That's all I care about!" Akage couldn't make words form in his mouth, so he just hugged Nami tighter. Sai, on the other hand, couldn't have felt more awkward. She was invading on such a personal moment, but it also made her realize something. Kaze was still in danger and there was almost nothing that she could do about it. She hung her head, tears running hot down her cheeks. Nami and Akage turned and both noticed. Nami immediately ran to her side.

"Sai!" Nami said worriedly, "Sai, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Kaze is still under that demon and so is Umi. They're in danger and I can't help them. I feel so useless!" Sai yelled.

"Sai you are not useless." Nami assured her, "You saved me and together we can save both of them. Trust me."

"She's right." Akage agreed, walking over, "We'll get them back." Sai nodded, drying her eyes. She looked down the hall.

"We should probably get going." Nami pointed out.

"True." Akage agreed, "Nami, I can carry you. Sai deserves a rest." Nami nodded and got on Akage's back.

"You ready Sai?" He asked. Sai only nodded. The two took off at a run down the hall, further into the darkness.

They had been going for at least an hour. Nami and Akage had held up the majority of the conversation, but Sai had started talking again as well. Akage created balls of fire to follow him and illuminate the hallway for Nami. Neither he nor Sai needed them, but they made Nami more comfortable.

"Hey Sai." Akage called out.

"Yeah?" Sai answered.

"Can you pick up the scent of the others?" He asked.

"Yeah." She told him, "I've been able to smell them for a long time. Their scent is almost overpowered by the scent of the demon, but it's there and we're getting closer. We'll definitely run into Umi first."

"So the demon is saving Kaze for last?" Nami asked.

"Looks that way." Sai said, "And I'm going to kill him for it." Both Akage and Nami nodded their agreement. Sai sniffed the air again.

"Hey guys." Sai called out, "We're not just dealing with one demon. There are at least two really powerful ones. They might have lesser demons with them, but I don't smell any right now."

"Dammit!" Akage cursed, "This just keeps getting worse doesn't it."

"Yeah." Sai said, "And my guess is that it won't be getting any better anytime soon."

"You're probably right." Akage said nodding.

"We need to hurry." Sai pointed out, "We've been down here for at least a day and we've still got a long way to go." Akage nodded and the two redoubled their pace down the hall.

Kiretsu and Mageru looked at the two half-demons and the human as they ran through an enchanted mirror.

"They're making fast progress." Mageru pointed out.

"Yes." Kiretsu said simply.

"They're very strong, just like we'd hoped. The human girl has even discovered her hidden ability already. Very impressive."

"Hmm." Kiretsu mumbled. Mageru sighed. His brother had been like this ever since the five had set foot on the shrine grounds. A knock came at the door. Mageru went to answer it. At the door was Souta, the keeper of the shrine. Mageru invited him into the room and bid him to sit down. He did and Mageru followed.

"So Souta, what did you want?" Mageru asked directly.

"How are they doing?" Souta questioned, "Are they alright?"

"I can't really answer that question." Mageru said flatly.

"My niece is down there dammit! Tell me if they are alright!" Souta demanded. Mageru sighed.

"They're fine." He answered, "Sai has only found the first two, though." Souta smiled.

"That's a lot faster than you were expecting." He pointed out.

"True." Mageru said, "But they've still got a lot left to do." Souta's face darkened.

"So you weren't kidding about the final stage." He said. Mageru nodded.

"I don't think that they need it, but my brother thinks otherwise. It's better to be safe than sorry in any case." He said.

"Hmm..." Souta mumbled. He got up without another word and quietly exited the room. It would be a miracle if they all survived.

Sai and Akage were sprinting down the hall. Sai had caught the smell of blood, Umi's blood, and lots of it.

"You think she's alright?" Nami asked worriedly.

"Yeah." Sai said, "But she won't be for much longer if she loses anymore blood." Nami visibly tensed.

"Don't worry Nami. We'll get to her in time." Akage assured her. Nami didn't respond. That's when Sai saw it. Umi's blood was streaked across the wall. It looked as if she had smeared it across the wall while using it to support herself. Sai wanted to vomit. Akage darkened his fires before Nami saw it. She seemed to understand and didn't ask questions.

They stopped where the blood had pooled. Umi stood in the middle.

"Welcome." She said, smiling wickedly, "I hope you like what I've done with the place. This shade of red is just such a pleasant color." Akage handed Nami to Sai and stepped forward, his feet splashing in the blood.

"Sai, get Nami back." He commanded, "I'll take on Umi."

"Right." Sai said, "Just remember. Knock her out, don't kill her. And do it before she bleeds out. I can save her with my spiritual energy, but only if she's still alive to begin with." Akage nodded his head in reply.

"So, the redhead steps forward to fight me." Umi said, laughing, "This should be fun, half-breed."

"Umi, I'll be sure to make this quick. I promise that that demon won't have you for much longer." Akage told her.

"Give me your best shot." Umi taunted. Akage did. As the last syllable left her tongue, a fire bolt slammed into Umi's chest. It had dual effect. It knocked Umi off of her feet giving Akage the advantage, but Akage also allowed the flame to be hot enough in the right places to cauterize the wound from where she was bleeding so badly. Akage didn't take time to gloat over this. He was moving towards her immediately, but he didn't get to her fast enough. Umi was up faster than any human should have been able to and had two throwing knives drawn. She launched them at Akage. He dodged the first, but the second dug into his right shoulder. With a grunt of pain, he ripped out the blade and threw to the ground. Umi drew her swords and charged at Akage. He let her. Umi lunged forward for an attack, but Akage jumped flipped over top of her. She lost her balance and slipped on the pool of her blood and fell onto her face. Akage was there in a second and had her pinned. Umi didn't take this lying down, however, and wrenched a hand free, grabbed a knife, and jammed it into Akage's leg. He lept off of her and ripped the blade out of his thigh.

"Damn. You're good." Akage said.

"Trained my whole life." She said with a smirk, her eyes glowing red, "Even though that was five hundred years ago, I'm still more than a match for you."

"That's what you think." Akage said. At that moment, two birds of fire erupted from the floor and slammed into Umi. They pinned her to the wall and turned into shackles. Akage walked calmly to her imprisoned body.

"I'll make this quick. Just like I promised." He told her. She spit in his face, her saliva laced with blood. Akage calmly wiped it away and knocked her out cold.

Sai saw Akage finish the battle. Umi fell into Akage's arms as the fiery shackles disappeared. Sai rushed over.

"Alright put her down. Lay her down on her back." She commanded. Akage obeyed and Sai knelt down next to her. She put her hands over the places where Umi had been hurt and began to channel her spiritual energy into them. The wounds, both internal and external, began to heal quickly. It only took a minute or two for Umi to begin to stir. She groaned loudly. Sai stopped the flow, breathing heavily.

"What's going on?" Umi asked, looking around, "Why am I lying in a pool of blood?"

"That's a long story." Sai said weakly, "We'll explain along the way. Can you walk?"

"Yeah. I think so." Umi said, sitting up slowly.

"Alright then. Let's get moving." Sai said helping her off the ground.

"Not so fast." Came the voice again.

"Dammit!" Sai cursed, "Not you again!"

"Relax Saiai." The voice said, "I bring good news."

"Like what?" Sai yelled sarcastically.

"You only have the final stage left to go before you may leave this place and return to your true home." It told them, "Good luck."