Nanashi gasped at the sudden jolt of wakefulness washing over her. She sat bolt upright in her bed, half tangled up in her blankets.
"My angel," she heard a voice exclaim off to her left side. She look over to see Jiro sitting by her bed side, the book he had had in his hands dropped to the floor, forgotten. He leaned forward towards her, making her draw back. "You've been asleep for three days."
She looked at him, surprised. "Three days," she murmured. "What... what's... what's happened in three days? Where is everyone?" A moment of realization washed over her. "Where's my father?"
"They're all..." Jiro started, but did not finish.
"They're all what?" Nanashi said, turning to face Jiro. She twisted her way out of the blankets to sit with her legs dangling off the bed.
"They're all... at the fighting pits..." he admitted truthfully.
"The fighting pits?" Nanashi asked, mind racing. "Why?" Jiro frowned to himself. Whatever it was, it was not something he wanted to share. "Tell me," she pressed. She leaned forward, lay a firm, insistent hand on his knee.
Jiro pulled his knee away. "Hiei's execution," he admitted sullenly. She gaped at him, wide eyed. "Sakyo's idea. One more fight so to speak. Well actually, fifty of them." She gasped, hardly comprehending the number against Hiei. "Man versus a zoo, it's being billed as. He's to fight against fifty beasts. If he manages to survive, he is free to walk away with his life."
"Demon animals or regular animals?" Nanashi asked, assuming the correct answer.
"Demon animals," Jiro said. "Doxies, were-bears, wyverns, giant spider, a sphinx, and the like are on the list."
Nanashi said to herself, "even he can't defeat so many."
She rose up, pausing as she stood as her head rushed. She recalled she had been asleep for days. She doubted she was fed much more than broth and herbs while she had slept. Determinedly, she walked towards the windows of her rooms anyway. She opened the widest one up. There was enough room for her to jump out of it and then fly off to where the fighting pits were. They were in sight of the castle grounds. She could see them off in the distance.
"My angel, where are you going?" Jiro stood up, following after her.
"To save Hiei," she answered without turning around.
Jiro came behind, grabbing her forearm, trying to turn her around. "My angel, no. The king said if awoke before the fight, that you were to stay here. I cannot let you leave." In nonverbal answer, she shook his hand out of his grip and shoved him back away from her. She had not meant to shove him so hard, but he fell to the floor underneath them. She turned back to the window, bringing herself to stand on its ledge. "My angel, no," Jiro called after her. "My angel, if you go, our engagement is off!" Nanashi turned around, looking back at him shock at his bold words. "You heard me. You've been two half breeds already, I can stomach that fact. And now you want to go after one and rescue him?"
Nanashi stared down at him, almost wanting to pity him. She took the ring he had given her off of her ring, tossing down to the ground at him. Then she jumped from the wind and flew off.
She flew towards the fighting pits, leaving the castle grounds for the first time since she arrived in the castle. They were farther away than she expected. It tired her out a bit more than she liked to reach them. She circled the fighting pits, seeing far down below the sight of a figure in black fighting with a bear like creature. Hiei. He was holding his own against it. About a dozen other dead demon animal carcasses lay in the fighting pit near them. Nanashi sought out instead to find King Hayate. She convinced him once, begging, to get him to save Hiei. She could do it again, bargain however hard she must.
King Hayate sat in a private booth towards the front of the fighting pits, giving the three of them and their three kings guards a front row seat to the match. Nanashi flew down and landed right in front of the king, blocking his view.
"Angel!" King Hayate exclaimed at the sight of her. "You're not supposed to be here!" He looked shocked, but also sullen and like he had not had a good night's rest in a while. The queen did not look much better.
Nanashi stared down at him ruefully. "Free him," she demanded, pointing her finger in the direction of the fighting pits behind her.
"Angel-" King Hayate began.
"Now!" she demanded louder.
King Hayate rose up on his feet, standing over her in his impressive stature. "I can't. I've tried," he explained.
"Liar," she accused.
King Hayate snarled down at her. "I tried. A king who angers the rich and powerful might not be king for long. The best deal I could make was if he survived against fifty demonic beasts, he could walk free. He's on number twelve."
"You saved him once before when I asked you to," she pointed out. "Save him again, and I'll do whatever you want," she bargained desperately.
King Hayate frowned sorrowfully down at her. "Not this time, my angel. He may yet survive." She frowned, annoyed that that deal would not work this time. He looked down at her left hand curiously. "Where's your engagement ring from Jiro?" he rushed out.
"He tried to stop me from leaving the castle, said he would call off the engagement if I did. I threw it at him," she explained briefly.
King Hayate snarled, growling under his breath. "Why would he... He did it out of emotion, not logic. Your engagement is not off quite yet."
Nanashi stared up at him curiously. "Save Hiei and I'll agree to call it back on," she bargained once more. That one had to work.
King Hayate shook his head. "He has to survive against-"
"I'll marry anyone you want!" she interrupted the king. "I'll marry any elf you want!"
King Hayate growled, shaking his head. "My angel-"
Nanashi interrupted him again, "I have a message for you from the Great Hawk Spirit." He stopped talking, staring down at her in awe. "She came to me in my sleep. She told me how to get myself back awake. She gave me a message for you." She pointed back towards Hiei's direction. "Save him and I will give you the message."
He growled louder at her, outright annoyed with her. "Tell me and I'll save him," he demanded. She shook her head resolutely. "Nanashi," he said her name as a warning.
"He just has to survive, that was the deal?" Nanashi asked coldly. King Hayate nodded down at her. "If he survives, you get your message," she preempted. Without another word, she turned her back on the king and flew into the fighting pit, even as the prince, the king, and the queen called after her.
Nanashi flew towards Hiei and the were-bear he was still fighting with. The were-bear was charging at him, even though he had his sword drawn. He had his eyes only on the were-bear heading straight for him. Summoning up the wind serpent as an ax, shouting as she brought down, severing its head from body before it could even realize she was there.
Hiei stared up at her in disbelief as she landed in front of him. "You fool! What are you doing here?!"
"Rescuing you," she replied. She reached forward, grabbing his arm in attempt to pick him up and fly him out of the fighting pits.
He yanked his arm back out of her grip. "Be reasonable! The king struck a deal. Fifty demonic beasts and I'll walk away. Both of us walk away with our lives."
She looked him over. He had a few scrapes and bruises here and there and looked flushed, and only after fighting twelve, now thirteen beasts. Thirty-seven more were going to be terribly difficult for him in the long haul. She shook her head. "You be reasonable." She closed the distance between them. "You either come with me now or I stay and fight with you. You're not going to simply sacrifice yourself for me like that."
"Get out of here. You have more to live for than that. You've got your wedding to Jiro to live for. He'll keep you safe with his influence and title. He'll give you a full and happy life," he growled at her. She held up her left hand, showing her lack of a ring on that finger anymore. "You are a fool..." he said, but this time with a glint in his eye.
She closed the gap between them, grabbing him by his scarf, and kissing him. She gasped as he slipped his tongue into her mouth immediately, deepening the kiss. Then, unexpectedly, he pulled away from her, shoving her behind him. He threw his sword straight forward, catching the behemoth of a mountain troll that was wandering towards them in the face with it. His sword went under the troll's nose came out the back of its skull. It fell back down to the ground, dead. Hiei ran over to it in a huff, retrieving his sword from it, giving it a shake to get the blood and brain matter from the blade.
An announcement then echoed over the fighting pits. "Anyone along with the fighter in the pits takes their own life into their hands. If they die, it's their own fault." The voice was Sakyo's. Nanashi felt the desire to leave Hiei long enough to go hunt Sakyo down and kill him.
She resisted the temptation when she saw the next two animals released after them. Two kappas came towards them, looking out of place so far from water. Nanashi brought her wind serpent back out as an ax, standing posed and ready. Hiei stood next to her, whispering to her, "when they are closer bow deeply, but don't take your eyes off of them. See the dent full of water on their heads?" She nodded. "If the water empties, they are rendered powerless. Bowing could get that to happen."
They closed the distance between them and the kappas, Nanashi following Hiei's lead, bowing deeply, but not taking her eyes off of either kappa. Both of them were foolish enough to bow right back. The water emptied right out of both of the tops of their heads. Nanashi had hardly realized Hiei moved next when the two kappas laid dead before them.
"Fifteen down, thirty-five to go," she commented. She felt pretty sure the next thirty-five, or even the next one were not going to be as easy.
"Nanashi!" She heard someone in the crowd out her name. She turned towards the sound of it, seeing none other than her long lost cousin, Yusuke, shoving his way through the crowd to reach the edge of the stands. He leaned over the rails, shouting, "Nanashi! What the hell are you doing here!?"
"Yusuke!" she shouted back up at him in disbelief. "What are you doing here?!" she right back up at him.
"Well, I made it to the capital, got injured, well, died-" he started explaining.
"What?!" she gasped.
"Eh, died-ish. Took on a job fighting off some of these beasties, as well as some like your friend there, but just now got to retire after a few adventures," he rambled over to her, much to her disbelief. "It's a long story. You see-"
Nanashi missed the rest of the story as she heard a screech behind her. Four harpies, a head shorter than Hiei, came flying into the arena with them. They beat their wings in time, creating a fierce wind and dust storm together in arena. The dust got into Nanashi's eyes, stinging and making it difficult to see. She wanted to fly up and get them, but when she had half unfurled her wings, the wild wind they were creating made her slide back on the ground, even as she tried to dig her heels into the ground.
Just after that, a bright blue blast shot through the air, taking out all four harpies in one shot, stilling the air around the arena abruptly. "Hey, I was talking!" Yusuke shouted at the harpies as they fell to the ground.
"Urameshi, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" a ginger haired young man came shoving his way through the crowd to stand next to Yusuke.
"That's the cousin I told you about. I think I ought to keep her from dying so soon after our reunion," Yusuke explained right before he jumped into the arena with Nanashi. "When did you get wings? Wait, are you the rumored angel that rescued the prince on a hunting trip?" Nanashi smiled, nodding over at him. She went to open her mouth to say something clever, but Yusuke was yelling again. "Kuwabara, what do you think you're doing?" he called over to the ginger who had jumped into the arena after him.
"I not letting you be the one who rescues these two love birds. I'm the champion of love here, not you!" Kuwabara responded. "I can help protect them just as much as I do my sweet love, Yukina!" He turned back up to the crowd, waving in a mad excitement. A bewildered, teal haired woman waved back at him. She looked short to Nanashi, about as short as Hiei.
"Yukina," Hiei whispered the name behind Nanashi. She looked back at him questioningly, but he merely shook his head back at her.
"Hey, look alive!" A shout came from the crowd. Nanashi whipped her head around, recognizing Yasha's voice. Nanashi saw both Yasha and Kurama leaning over the railing on the other side of them.
Nanashi whipped her head back around, seeing a pack of six dire wolves had been released in with them. Then looked both hungrier and meaner than the ones Nanashi had dealt with when she rescued the prince.
"Yasha, let's go," Nanashi heard Kurama shout, right before jumping into the fighting pit himself.
"Do we have to?" Yasha asked following right behind Kurama and stumbling his way towards the lot of them. "One dire wolf, one person," he added, pointing out the obvious.
Nanashi stood ready with the others. When the dire wolves got close enough, she picked one out, running towards it. She swung her ax at it, but it dodge around it and charged at her chest, teeth bared. It knocked her down paws planted firmly on her chest. She brought her hands up, holding its snapping jaws away from her face. Her wind serpent coiled up around its neck, strangling it. She kicked it off of her, bringing herself crouching before it, even as her wind serpent stayed tight around its neck.
A grunt came from behind her, followed by an electric orange sword coming plunging down through her wolf's scowl.
Nanashi looked up, seeing Kuwabara standing over her. He held his hand outstretched before her. She took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Thanks," she huffed.
"You're welcome. Nanashi, right?" Kuwabara answered her. She nodded. "Alright, fifteen more to go," he cheered.
Nanashi looked at him, frowning. "Twenty-five, you idiot," Yusuke corrected.
Nanashi looked over the others. Kurama was nursing a bit mark on his side, with Yasha standing by his side. Hiei flicked the blood off his sword, panting.
None of the six of them had time to dwell on the correct number how ever, facing the sight of ten more demonic animals coming out to face them next: a bansee, a large three headed dog, a chimera, a manticore, a minotaur, an ogre, a sphinx, a thunderbird, a wraith, and hobgoblin. Nanashi felt unsure now how the six of them could manage against ten beasts at once.
The thunderbird flew up into the air channeling a sudden thunderstorm over all of them. The sudden rain shower, thundering, and lightning made it so much worse in Nanashi's mind. She gave Hiei a quick glance before leaping up into the air, flying up through the sudden downpour towards the thunderbird. The rain made it difficult for her to see and to fly.
'Set me loose,' the wind serpent directed her. She did as bid, hoping it was a good idea. Lightning cracked across the sky at her, making her flinch. 'This sounds like a bad idea, but I'm going to need you to get me struck by lightning.'
"What?!" she exclaimed, stopping mid-flight.
'It was something Kaze used to do as a way to super charge me before a fight. We used to do it with the lightning serpent before it and its owner passed away,' the wind serpent explained forlornly.
Nanashi saw a flash of a vision of the angel Kaze standing with another angel who looked similar to him. The wind serpent was bit by the lightning serpent held by the other angel. The electricity shocked through the wind serpent, making it grow and transform into a seven foot, winged dragon.
"Do you think that will work?" she shouted at the wind serpent over the roar of the stormy weather.
'One way to find out,' it hissed confidently.
Nanashi shook her, not sure how else they could manage to get at the thunderbird. She flew closer to it, hovering it around it, trying to get its attention. It noticed her once it got close enough, throwing a lightning bolt straight at her. She dodged it, panicky at she felt the sizzle of the bolt zoom pass her. She flew closer still, the wind serpent egging her on. Another bolt whizzed towards her with an insane crack. The wind serpent jumped out towards it, biting it as the bolt flew passed.
Nanashi shouted in panic, watching the electric surge supercharge the wind serpent while she felt the aftershock of the static. She watched in shock as the wind serpent grew both bigger and longer than she was, growing its own wings and two front claws.
'Climb on my back,' the wind serpent instructed her. 'It will be easier for us to stay tethered together.'
She did as bid once more, surprised at how brilliantly and swiftly the wind serpent, now more like, the wind dragon cut through the sky and the storm like it was not even there. It flew right at the thunderbird.
When the two flying creatures collided, Nanashi felt rocked, needing to cling to the wind dragon for dear life. The wind dragon clawed and scraped at the thunderbird's back, trying to get at its neck. The thunderbird created an even larger storm, lightning bolts flying haphazardly in the sky as the it tried to shake the pair of them lose.
The wind dragon claws dug into the thunderbird's back, making the creature cry out in anguish. The wind dragon then flew away from its back over its head only to round on it again to go for the underbelly.
The thunderbird clawed and shot lightning at them, nearly catching Nanashi in the process, had the wind dragon not done a barrel roll in the sky to protect. Her stomach flipped from the move like an afterthought. She had no time to to relish in that thought however as the thunderbird roared at them, charging at them in return.
The two of them collided, jarring her in the process. It felt like she had been the center of a volatile explosion. She clung to the back of the wind dragon for dear life, feeling the world spin and turn over and over again above her. She squeezed her eyes shut for a few breathtaking moments. When the world came back into focus for her, she was still astride the wind dragon, which was panting and stationary on the ground of the fighting pit. The dead body of the thunderbird lay beneath it under the rays of harsh sunlight. She slid off the right side of it, hand maintaining physical contact with it. She knelt down, vomiting over the damp sand in front of her feet.
"Nanashi, watch out!" Yusuke's voice cut through the dizzy haze in her mind.
She turned her head to look behind her, seeing a black-brown blur charging towards her. The minotaur was charging out her, roaring, horns facing towards her. The wind dragon tried to get in front of her, but the minotaur was too fast for either of them. It caught her in the side and the wing with its horns, goring her in the wing and grazing across her side. She screamed as it picked her up and threw her in the air. Her wind dragon caught her in its jaws, going at the minotaur with its claws.
Hiei was there in an instant, stabbing the minotaur in the gut. "Put her down!" he shouted, aiming his sword at the the wind dragon threateningly.
The wind dragon obeyed him, setting her down and then transforming back into its smaller form, but staying as a dragon.
Nanashi lay on the ground where it put her, trying to sit up, but wincing as pain cut through her left wing and left side. Her hand went to her side, stomach flipping at feeling how wet and sticky it was right there. She heard a snap and a sicken thud behind her before pain shot up through her from her left wing. She let out just a small gasp, when she would have much rather screamed.
"Yasha!" Hiei roared the name right next to her. A haggard looking Yasha was in front of her in an instant. He stared at her and Hiei in wide eyed disbelief.
"What is it?" she choked out. She started looking around, seeing her cousin and his friend still fighting with a few other beasts.
Yasha's bare hands clamped down on her face, making her look only at his worried face.
"Don't look around!" Hiei ordered her. "Only at Yasha." She swallowed, starting to feel woozy. Her eyes rolled for a split second. "Put her to sleep!" Hiei ordered Yasha.
"Asleep she could-" Yasha began protesting.
"Asleep you can get her to your sister. A talented healer is what she needs right now," Hiei insisted. "Minha is the closest one."
Yasha looked conflicted. Nanashi saw behind Yasha that Kurama had taken out the manticore, and was now rushing towards the trio of them. Yasha looked behind himself at Kurama and then turned back to Nanashi. He leaned his head down, whispering in her ear, "sleep until tomorrow morning." His voice cracked when he made the order.
The last thing Nanashi noticed was a falling sensation. Her hand reached out towards Hiei, but never made contact with him.