Chapter 24: Catch Me When I Fall
Miaka slowly opened her eyes, fully expecting to find herself in the afterlife. What she found instead was that she was floating a few feet off the debris-littered ground, enclosed in a glowing blue sphere of energy.
Her eyes flew open completely, and she realised that she wasn't alone inside the protective bubble. Nakago was beside her, his eyes closed in concentration…
…and amazingly, the blue kokoro symbol she had not seen for so long was shining on his forehead.
How? Seiryuu was sealed!
His ice blue eyes opened to look down at her astonished face, but his expression was grim. Tenkou was still around, and Nakago could sense the evil deity lurking nearby. "You should start summoning Suzaku," he prompted her tonelessly, pointing out what should have been obvious to her.
Before she could reply, the air seemed to shimmer, and Tenkou reappeared in a swirl of violet light. The twisted smile that had been on his face was absent. The malevolent entity looked almost angry at the fact that they were not dead yet.
"An unexpected surprise," the silver-haired deity said, "But no matter. You will not stand in my way!" Tenkou raised his hands, and a dark ball of energy began forming over his head, crackling as it swirled like a black storm cloud complete with lightning.
To protect…everyone…I need to protect…Miaka squeezed her eyes shut. Breaking out of the chi binding spell earlier had taken a lot out of her. She was so tired…
Nakago's face was a study of cold impassivity as he too called forth his power. This is it. We either win, or it all ends here. A large glowing ball of chi appeared in his hand.
Tenkou released all the built-up energy at them, and they were pitched backwards with the force of the impact. Fortunately, he had managed to deflect most of it with his chi-field, and he immediately retaliated with his own attack. He could only hope that the Suzaku no Miko was well enough to summon the god…he knew that her efforts to break out of his alter-ego's chi had drained her almost to the point of exhaustion.
He side-stepped one of the black lightning bolts from Tenkou as it sizzled past him, singeing his sleeve. Grabbing the Suzaku no Miko's limp arm, he hauled her behind a huge boulder which had crashed down from the ceiling during the cave-in.
Damn. She's almost unconscious. It did not bode well for them. It was highly unlikely that she would be able to summon Suzaku in her present condition.
Nakago stepped out around the rock to shoot another round of chi-blasts at Tenkou. It didn't seem to faze the evil deity and Nakago found himself having to dodge more balls of deadly energy. The blasts slammed against the boulder, and the rock began to crumble. At the present rate, it wouldn't hold up to the assault much longer.
They were quickly running out of options. He lashed out with his formidable telekinetic power, aiming for Tenkou's throat, but his silver-haired opponent merely smiled and raised a long-nailed hand like a shield, somehow managing to negate the power.
Nani? The blonde shogun didn't see the bolt of dark energy heading straight towards him until it was too late. By then, it was impossible to move out of the way. Instinctively, he raised both his forearms in a defensive stance to block it, quickly erecting a chi-field at the same time. Muscles tensed, he braced himself just as the shockwave hit his system.
The power of the blast threw him back a few feet, his boots kicking up sand and dust as he skidded backwards; but the move probably saved his life. The bolt had been aimed at his chest, and would most likely have killed him if it had been allowed to hit its target. As it was, the pain from his cracked ribs had already slowed him down considerably.
Before he could congratulate himself for having survived the deadly attack, Tenkou suddenly dematerialised. Nakago whirled around, looking for the evil deity, even as laughter seemed to erupt from every corner of the cavern. The disembodied sound echoed off the rock walls, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact location of its source. Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him, and spun quickly on his heel to confront his silver-haired opponent…
…just in time to catch an unbelievably powerful backhand to the face, sending him flying across the cavern. He slammed into the pedestal which had held the amulet; crashing into it hard enough to shatter the marble, and collapsed on the ground amidst the needle-like shards. Every bone in his body felt as if it was broken, splintered by the force with which he had hit the marble column.
He could taste the blood in his mouth, and knew that he had sustained some serious internal injuries. Through the pain clouding his thoughts, he vaguely registered Tenkou leisurely strolling towards him. A gloating smile was slowly spreading over the malevolent deity's face as he stood over Nakago.
Abruptly, a new burst of searing agony exploded in his chest. It was so intense that Nakago barely managed to bite back a scream of pain.
"What made you think that you could ever stand against me, you pathetic fool?" Tenkou mercilessly ground the heel of his boot into Nakago's chest, crushing the already broken ribs. It would not take much for one of the splintered bone fragments to pierce his heart…
There was the sickening crunch of bone giving way.
"YAMERO!!" Miaka staggered past the evil deity, shoving him aside heedless of the danger, and threw herself over her blonde companion's body, trying to prevent Tenkou from hurting Nakago any further. "Please stop! Onegai…" she begged hoarsely, her voice catching in her throat.
Nakago felt something wet sliding over his cheek through the haze of pain, and it took him a moment to realise that the Suzaku no Miko was crying. She was sobbing as if her heart was broken; her tears dripping off her chin to fall on his face. She whispered his name, pleading with him to hang on… begging him not to die. He blinked, surprised and puzzled by her reaction. No one had ever shed tears for him before…
No one had ever bothered.
For me…? She is crying…for me…
"How touching," Tenkou sneered disdainfully, "I would never have guessed that you used to be enemies. Didn't he try to kill you and your seishi?"
The evil entity looked thoughtful for a moment, as if making up his mind about something. "Your capacity for forgiveness and your tenacity impresses me, Suzaku no Miko…worthy of one I would choose for my consort." He grinned evilly, his voice filled with repressed mirth, "I'll even make sure Nakago here remains alive long enough to witness our union."
Miaka rose to her feet, turning around to face her silver-haired enemy. "You bastard," she said slowly and clearly, even though she was trembling with rage. There was something deadly in her tone, something which promised vengeance. Her delicate nails dug painfully into the soft skin of her palms as she clenched her fists.
"Now, that's no way to talk to your future husband…I think I'll have to teach you some manners," Tenkou made a swift gesture with his hand, "Don't worry, my dear, you won't be hurt. I wouldn't dream of marring your beauty, so…" he paused, pale eyebrows lifting in amusement as he continued condescendingly, "…he will bear all your punishment for you."
The dread which had been simmering inside her turned into full-blown horror, as she looked behind her and saw what Tenkou had done.
Hanging suspended off the ground, with brightly glowing bands of violet energy holding him firmly in place, was Nakago…stretched out like an exhibit in a museum and bound to a huge granite cross.
