The unicorn was trapped. The pure maiden had served her purpose well, but now she was casting a wind spell to shield the unicorn.
"Such a nuisance," muttered Azusa. But it was simple enough for him to disrupt her magic.
"No!" she wailed. "Don't do this!"
He barely heard her, instead listening to the distraught whisper at his side. "Help me, Brother... It hurts..."
"Don't worry, Tsukasa. I won't let this stop me from saving you."
The unicorn shook its head as the form of Azusa's younger brother staggered closer to it. In spite of the situation it was in, it remained calm. That is no human, came its clear voice in his mind. Alive or dead.
"Shut up," growled Azusa. "I will take your horn no matter how you try to stop me."
My horn... Is that what you want?
"No! If you take its horn, the unicorn will die! I won't let you kill it!" The girl pulled something out of her pocket and held it out toward Tsukasa. She murmured, "Star spirit, please reveal the true form of this shadow!" Though Azusa didn't recognize it, it was a star fragment that she clutched, which now started shining brightly.
Azusa lunged for her, ripped the stone from her hand... but the glow from it did not dim. A wave of light spread outward, washing over Tsukasa.
A scream echoed, not of pain but of fury. "Filthy humans," hissed the revealed Nue. "You will pay, you will suffer... We will slay the unicorn and regain our power. We will take back what is ours!"
Azusa staggered back. Evil... This thing was evil. He could feel its hatred now, feel how it despised him. Something like this couldn't be his brother. "Tsukasa... where are you?"
The Nue ignored him, slithering toward the unicorn, which raised another barrier within the one Azusa had made.
"Foul creature, where is my brother?!" cried Azusa. "Leave the unicorn alone; I won't have its blood on my hands for no reason!"
"Your brother is dead," snickered the Nue. "You can never bring him back. All this time we have deceived you so that you would make us stronger, so that you would bring us the unicorn. Feeble human, we are not your slave... Rather, you belong to us."
"No," Azusa said through gritted teeth. "I don't. If you lied to me, then you are my enemy."
The Nue cackled, changing its course towards Azusa instead of the imprisoned unicorn. "If you will not serve us, you shall die as well."
The unicorn spoke again. Thus is the fate of all who call on the dark powers... Though they believe they are in control, in time they will be consumed.
Azusa traced a character in the air, shouting, "En!" A column of flame engulfed the Nue, but then flickered away into nothing. "Tch, I gave you too much power..."
Only light can repel creatures of the dark. Use light magic.
At the unicorn's words, the Nue chuckled again.
Azusa felt a pang of despair. "There is... no light magic in Hinomoto."
The unicorn gave an exasperated whinny, then pointed its horn toward the Nue. A thin beam of light shot through the air, and the Nue flinched away with an angry screech.
Come to me, human, called the unicorn.
Azusa obeyed without thought, barely avoiding the Nue as it reached for him. He passed through his own barrier, meant to trap the unicorn, then through the unicorn's barrier... Agony shot through his whole body and he fell to the ground.
Alone, we will both die, the unicorn said as it bent over him, and Azusa tried to focus on its words. You cannot defeat it, and while your barrier stands neither can I.
Azusa felt like lightning was running through his veins, but he managed to gasp out, "The ofuda I used are in the trees... I can't reach them."
The reason he couldn't was obvious as the Nue threw itself against the barrier repeatedly.
If I break the barrier, I will not have much power left. But if you are willing, we can make a pact. Share your power with me, and I will defend both of us.
It sounded good, but Azusa couldn't concentrate. "Why... does it hurt... so much?" He could hardly even breathe.
Though you could pass through because you no longer intended to harm me, your soul could not bear the touch of my barrier. Its pure energy burns all that is corrupted. Fear not, the medallion you wear has protected you from the worst of it. It will not take long for you to recover. Now... will you do as I have asked?
Tsukasa had given that necklace to Azusa before he died... No doubt it still held some remnant of the younger brother's untainted love. Tsukasa, who would never return. Azusa finally accepted this, and he knew what his brother would want... what his brother had always wanted. Nothing more or less than Azusa's happiness. It was time to move forward.
"You want my magic..." A half-smile crossed Azusa's face. "I would willingly give it, but... corrupted as I am, won't it hurt you as much as I hurt now?"
It is likely. However, death at the hands of that evil creature would be far worse, the unicorn assured him. It stepped closer, standing within his reach.
Though still trembling from his contact with the barrier, Azusa carefully wrapped his hand around one of the slender white forelegs. Touching it felt, to him, like touching molten metal through a thick layer of cloth... He could not keep it up for long. "If my magic can help, then take it," whispered Azusa.
He shared his power as the unicorn had asked, and when at last he pulled away, the unicorn shuddered. Our powers do not wish to join together... They war within me. I must do this quickly.
It seemed like mere moments later that both barriers were gone, his and the unicorn's, and the Nue was destroyed. The girl was nowhere to be seen, having fled sometime earlier. She would most likely fetch Prefect Klaus, since he was the one who had put her up to spying on Azusa. But Azusa was willing to accept whatever punishment was in store for him for his attempted crime.
The unicorn returned to his side and then collapsed. I... cannot bear this... I must take another form, it gasped.
"Another form?" Azusa asked in surprise while he struggled to sit up.
One that does not fear corruption... As soon as it spoke, the unicorn started to shine brilliantly.
Azusa had to cover his eyes until the light died down. When he could see again, the unicorn had taken an unclothed human form, plainly revealing itself to be a female. Azusa looked away and quickly removed his cloak. On further contemplation, he shrugged out of his jacket too. "Here..."
Though she took the garments without protest, the unicorn-girl made confused noises over them and Azusa had no choice but to give her his somewhat bashful assistance in covering herself. The jacket, short on him, wasn't a whole lot longer on her, so his cloak was put to use as a make-shift skirt. But she seemed satisfied with her improvised outfit.
"That's right... Humans always wear these things, don't they?" she said softly, fidgeting with the sleeves, which were a bit longer than her arms. "They are called... clothes?"
"Right. And I'm called Azusa. What should I call you?"
"A name... Leah. I am Leah." Then she held something out to him.
He took it reflexively and almost dropped it. "This is... your horn?" Unlike her human body, touching the horn still gave him an itchy feeling.
"For our pact. You gave me your power, so I must give something in return. In this human form, I will not die without my horn, so I may give it to you."
Azusa tried to give it back to her. "I didn't ask for anything."
But she would not take it. "That is all the more reason that you should have something. If you think what you have given me is not worth it, I will stay with you in the human world and you can teach me your ways."
"You want to learn about humans?"
"Yes. Unicorns accuse humans of never learning, of always making the same mistakes again and again. We call you foolish, and so you are. But if we refuse to learn about you or try to understand you, are we not also foolish?"
"But I only lent you my power. Even if I agree to let you borrow it again should the need arise..." Azusa held the horn gingerly, shifting it in his hands. Its thicker end was smooth, unbroken, as if it had never been part of a unicorn, with delicate ridges that swirled in a graceful spiral up to the point. It resembled the wands used by wizards in Gedonelune. "This still seems far too great a gift for me."
"It would be, if it could indeed grant all that you desired from it, or if you were still deceived. But alas, even my horn cannot reverse death," Leah said sadly. "And I believe you have accepted this truth. In time, you will atone for the wrong you have done."
"Is that even possible?"
Leah stared at him intensely, her eyes a startling red beneath her long, flowing mane of silver. "The horn causes you some discomfort even now, but it does not burn you. This is not on account of your medallion. It means you have not fallen too far to be rescued. You cannot change the past, but you do not have to repeat it in the future. Will you leave your old path? Will you follow a new one?"
Azusa slowly closed the fingers of one hand around the horn, ignoring the tingling sensation it gave him, and held the other hand out to Leah. "I don't think I can keep myself on the path of goodness on my own. Will you come with me?"
"I cannot guarantee I'll always know what you should do..."
"So we'll learn together."
Leah nodded, putting her hand in his. "Then I will walk beside you, Azusa."