Chapter Eleven- Counter Strike

Yomi frowned as he sipped his tea. His hired gun failed to kill Kurama and the human woman had died in the attempt. He would need to plan the next attempt carefully. Perhaps invite him over to talk of a truce and poison his drink. It will have to be a fast-acting poison and have no scent. It is the only way to beat him.

He heard a knock, the door slide open, and Youda's voice saying, "Lord Yomi, an assassin and bounty hunter requests an audience with you."

"Assassin and bounty hunter, you say? Show him in."

"It is a she, milord."

"Ah, show her in then."

"Yes, milord."

He heard Youda scurry away and then the sound of light footsteps as well as the smell of ground and fox. Hmm, a fox demon. Intriguing.

"Lord Yomi," said a light voice that nonetheless spoke of a no-nonsense attitude and someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill.

"Welcome. Please sit." He gestured and heard her move to sit across from him.

"My name is Kokokuro. I have heard that you seek the death of Yoko Kurama."

"I do."

"I would be willing to do that…for the right price."

"You are certain you could kill him?"

"Have you heard of the Elderhorns?"

"I have. They are extremely powerful and nearly impossible to kill."

"I have achieved that feat and the horns of my prey hang on the wall of my sitting room. Quite the conversation piece."

Yomi's eyebrows rose. She killed an Elderhorn. Hmm, yes. I sense strong energy from her. It is quite controlled, almost difficult to detect. Such control is necessary for her professions. "That is impressive Kokokuro. You just may be who I have been requiring to eliminate my old friend."

"If I may ask, milord, why do you want him dead?"

"I am offended by the fact that he would deny his demon identity and live as a weak human. It is an insult to strong demons such as ourselves."

"I quite agree, milord. I believe I may have a way to trap him before coming up behind him and killing him."

"Do you?"

"Yes, I believe so. May I demonstrate on you, milord?" Shiori saw vines creeping into the room, but kept her gaze on Yomi's face and praying that he sense nothing amiss or consider her proposal as unnecessary.

"If I do, would you care for any input I may have concerning flaws I may spot?"

"I would value your input, milord."

"Very well. Proceed."

Shiori summoned her power. The ground beneath Yomi's seat shook and cracked as dirt spilled up from the crack and enclosed Yomi's body tightly up to the base of his throat. Yomi tried to wiggle his fingers to find that he couldn't and sensed that his energy had been suppressed which definitely convinced him that she could kill Yoko. "Very impressive, my dear. Now, release me and we can discuss your…" Yomi trailed off as he felt something slither around his throat and began to squeeze, cutting off his air. He attempted to summon his energy, but it would not respond any more than it did before, which was nothing.

He sensed movement and then the tip of something sharp was at his throat. "Kokokuro?" he gasped.

"No," came her voice. "My name is Shiori…Minamino. Cho made me a fox like him but Yoko killed him. Kurama was going to spare you until you sent that demon to threaten my life in order to kill him. Clearly, you didn't know I had become a demon."

"Mother had suggested your death before your last attempt," came Yoko's calm voice behind Yomi. "That attempt changed my mind. I would have preferred you to leave me alone for the rest of my human life, but you clearly disagree. Now that I know why you have tried to kill me, I can terminate your life without hesitation. Farewell, old friend." The vines tightened around Yomi's throat while Yoko drove a sharp dagger through Yomi's skull.

Shiori broke the dirt shell and Yoko pulled back the vines. Yomi's body thudded forward, his upper part lying across the table. Shiori looked at the body. "Is he really dead?"

"No one can survive a dagger in the skull," Yoko said. "Not even a powerful demon like Yomi."

"Will we have trouble leaving with Yomi dead and me being the last one to see him alive?"

"No. You raised a good amount of dirt to trap him and I can use plants to create a tunnel for us to crawl through and you can open a hole once we are safely out of his territory."

Shiori nodded as they jumped into the hole, got onto their hands and knees, and crawled through a tunnel being created by thick large stalks Yoko created and controlled. "I can't believe how easy that was," she commented.

"The story we created and the way you delivered it did the majority of the work as did the plant life I put in the dirt to suppress his energy. I was concerned that he would sense my presence, my vines, or refuse to be your practice target."

"I was worried about that, too."

Yoko smiled as he looked back at Shiori. "It is difficult to believe that you have learned much about your power and being a demon in almost a week. Most impressive."

"Perhaps I was meant to be a demon," she said. "I'm comfortable like this and have come to like it."

"Perhaps you were. It is nice to hear that you are comfortable this way." He faced forward again and continued to carve out an escape route.

Hours later, a mound of dirt was heaved up and out to the sides to create a hole. Two fox demons climbed out, dusted themselves off, and then jumped into the portal Yoko created. They traveled to Human World and exited the portal as Shiori and Kurama.

Shiori sensed the energy of weak demons in the woods behind her and when she looked back, she saw dark shadows flee deeper into the trees. She follower her son inside, certain that those demons would not bother her or her family. Human and demon nature share the instinct of self-preservation and those living in the forest will stay away from us in order to remain alive. I will also fight any assassins that seek to kill Kurama or me. Eventually, they'll stop coming and we'll be able to live in peace.

"So, this demon won't try to kill you?" Kazuya asked at dinner.

"That is correct," Kurama answered. "He will not bother either of us anymore. We made him see reason." He didn't say that Yomi was dead as that may horrify the humans.

"So, we're safe now?" Kokoda asked.

"We are," Shiori lied, knowing that the demons in their woods may choose to attack, but also knew that she and Kurama were strong enough to keep them in line or eliminate them. The majority of them will stay in line. Like I noted before, self-preservation is in both human and demon nature.

The End