A/N:
Hello it's me (yes, I changed my username, why? because I felt like a change)
We are approaching the end here. (After this only three chapters to go)
Trigger warning: This chapter includes a mention (not a descriptive scene) of a suicide. Scene will be marked for those wishing to skip it.
Chapter 25. An Act of Courage
It only took a second for the chains to wrap around bottom half, coiling around her like a vicious serpent. The glow that emanated from the thick chains began to heat her body. With a single tug, Aya fell onto the ground, wincing at the sudden gulf of pain that rushed through her legs.
She tried to wriggle out of its hold, ignoring the burn that the chains were causing her. Her hands reached for the coiled chains, trying to remove them with force.
"It's foolish to fight me princess. This is your doom!" Daisuke stated as he kept tugging the chains forcefully, only to drag her towards the center of the ruined temple.
Aya struggled to grab a hold of something — anything, her fingers trying to fit into the small cracks between the stones. What was she doing? Why was she panicking? She was a mizu youkai, she was not going let this dragon destroy everything. She glanced over to where her parents were. Her mother was cradling her barely alive father in her arms, trying to remain out of sight and out of reach from the dragon. For Twenty years Hayao suffered under Daisuke's claws. For twenty years they believed him to be dead. For twenty years her mother mourned her loving husband, believing to have been robbed of her happiness. For twenty years, Aya grew up without a father all because of a dragon youkai and his inability to let go — to admit defeat.
Aya felt her youki began to flare, its blue glow enveloping around her like a protective shield. The sacred chains no longer burned, causing Daisuke to stop dragging her. As she unraveled herself quickly out of the hold, she reached over to her legs and unsheathed the short tantō blade from its hidden place. She pounced. Daisuke glanced over his shoulder only to dodge Aya's frontal attack. He pushed her back with the strength in his claws, causing Aya to go crashing against the stony wall on the other side of the temple. She growled, pulling herself up on her feet and she readied the blade in her hands, staring down her opponent.
"Fight me you coward!" Aya challenged.
"Learn your place! You're nothing more than a sacrifice. Your parents shall witness your death!" Daisuke growled.
He infused the chains with the sacred energy once more threw them towards Aya. She dodged the throw with ease, deflecting it just enough to get out of the way and she pursued forth. He threw the chains once more, as if he was merely toying with her, not taking her assault seriously. She jumped up high, using her youkai speed to match his strength as her short blade made contact with his face, effectively slicing across his entire left cheek and lips. She jumped back, keeping a safe distance from him as he snarled, the blood from his facial wound trickling down onto the stone ground.
"The bargain was that my mother goes free," Aya retorted as she kept the short
blade steady in her right hand.
"Oh, I never planned on releasing your mother. I will end your family here tonight. The mother, the father, and the daughter. A fitting sacrifice to the gods to reverse time. Tsukuyomi will grant me my desire!" Daisuke grinned, as he felt his victory near as the chains wrapped around its target once more.
Aya growled as she dropped the blade onto the ground and she began to struggle out of it once more, only this time the burn of the iron intensified, as if it was freshly pulled out of the fire.
"You're insane! You're putting far too much faith in folk tales and old gods. They will not hear you. No matter what you do, you will lose. I won't let you harm my parents!" Aya replied, as she managed to free her hand.
She took a deep breath, letting the panic wash away as she concentrated on her body's movements. For a moment it felt like she was not even in control of her own body — as if that freed hand was not even her own hand. It felt like her own body, and yet it wasn't. It frightened her.
With her free hand, she grabbed a hold of the chains, tugging them hard as she channeled her youki into it. The glow of the chain vanished, letting the chains fall to the ground immediately.
"You think you can stop me? I have waited for this moment for too long to fail," Daisuke growled.
He walked up the steps to the altar and pushed a hidden lever to the side. The ground began to shake as an obelisk of sort emerged from the stony floor. Aya watched as the obelisk went high above the would-be-if-it-were-there-ceiling. The dragon youkai smirked and made his way over it. He kneeled down before it, as if he were offering a prayer. A glow began to emanate from the tip of the obelisk towards the night sky, surrounding the moon with its light.
"WHY MY FAMILY!? WHY ME?!" Aya demanded angrily.
Daisuke stood up and turned to face her, glaring at her as his eyes turned a demonic red.
"This is all your fault! You spread your legs for my sister's fiance! You're the reason Sora's youki was sealed and why she died mere days after you conveniently disappeared! My father's rage and need to have revenge fueled all his battles against your family! Blood for blood! Your father killed mine! Your family butchered my mother and my intended! All because you started this … cycle of hatred. And now, you will end it!" Daisuke replied.
"Your sister attacked me! She killed me! I was lucky that I was revived by Seshōmaru's sword! If anyone started this, it was your sister! How DARE you blame me for your family's demise?! Look what you've done to mine! My father… who you've kept under lock and chain for over two decades! My mother… who you've kidnapped and treated like she was nothing more but a speck of dirt under your feet! My grandfather … who you've slaughtered because he was trying to help bring the Higurashi family to safety! You're nothing more than a murderer!" Aya growled and she charged towards him once again.
"Your death is everything!" Daisuke growled and he blocked her attack.
The dragon was furious. His green youki flared vividly, forming his hands into tight glowing fists. Then as Aya once again pounced, thrusting her short blade forward, aiming for his shoulder. Daisuke with ease deflected the blade, causing the blade to fall out of Aya's hand. He grabbed a hold of her wrist, twisting it harshly, breaking it in the process. Aya screamed in pain, only for Daisuke to let go of her wrist and return his hand in the form of a fist, coming in contact with Aya's face. His youki was overpowering hers with ease, losing himself in his bloodlust as he delivered a blow after a blow to her, leaving no part of her body unscathed. He threw her bleeding beaten body on the ground. Aya, barely conscious struggled to stand up her breathing shallow, her own blood spilling from her lips.
"It's time," Daisuke said as he watched her slowly attempting to crawl away.
Aya opened her eyes, her vision hazy as she barely made out the shapes of her crying mother still cradling her dying father.
"Run Aya! Run! Forget us! You must live!"
A demonic roar traveled through the ruined temple, causing the stony remains to shake with the vibrations. The cold wind picked up, dancing wildly through the open area.
There in the center landed a tall silver-haired youkai lord. His demonic magenta stripes that decorated his cheeks, eyelids, and exposed arms darkened and thickened. His once golden hues were replaced by bleeding red. His gaze did not shift away from the dragon youkai as he stepped forward.
"Filthy dog!" Daisuke snarled, his claws glowing red as he prepared to pounce.
"Back away from my mate!" Sesshōmaru growled, his red eyes glaring wildly.
Daisuke smirked as he readied his claws, staring down the nearly-unhinged inu daiyoukai.
"Time to put you down dog!" Daisuke growled.
He extended his hand and let his youki spread. His chains appears once more and he attacked. The pair of male youkai began to dance, their powers clashing together, causing the ground shake with each thud. Daisuke began to channel his sacred powers into the chains.
—-
They were losing. Aya managed to crawl towards the center of the temple, collecting her tantō in her left hand since her right hand was broken. Her body was not listening to her anymore. There was The blood slipping down her chin, constant metallic taste on her tongue. Her vision remained hazy, watching barely recognizing the shape of her Mate,s body wrapped in chains, roaring to escape his opponent's hold. She felt she was not going make it. It hurt to breathe. She could not fight anymore.
There was something she could do. She would not allow Daisuke to sacrifice her. She shifted her eyes towards a hazy shape in the far corner. Hher mother held her father, tears slipping down her cheeks, completely petrified in fear as they watched the two youkai battle each other.
Her eyes fell onto the youkai lord, burning in sacred chains as they dig deeper and deeper into his skin. Daisuke would purify him piece by piece.
"I love you," Aya mouthed as her eyes penetrated his golden hues.
*Start*
She lifted the tantō blade. Dread settled in the pit of his stomach and began to expand rapidly. His golden hues flashed red once more as he watched her plunge the tantō blade into her stomach.
*End*
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
The blood curdling scream came from the older woman — she gently set down her husband and she slowly moved towards her daughter's body. Aya laid motionless on the cold ground, her eyes vacant, completely devoid of life. Nanami dropped on her knees next to her, her shaky hands bringing her child to her as she sobbed. Within Sesshōmaru was complete mayhem. His beast ripped through its cage as he began to shift — ignoring the burn as the chains expanded with his increasing height.
"No! You bitch! You ruined my plan!" Daisuke growled.
He pulled away from Sesshōmaru, releasing him from the purifying chains — moving towards Aya, still mad and intending to completing the ritual. The proud inu daiyoukai's eyes bled as his eyes fell onto the pool of blood surrounding his mate. This was his fault. He failed to protect her. He failed to stop this hunt. How could this dragon offspring manage to outwit them all this time? He surrendered into the darkness, demanding blood for the loss of his mate. He was lost to himself, with only his father's last words to him echoing in the back of his mind. Do you have someone to protect?
A/N: It's not the end. I like happy endings, so no need to panic here. =)