Chapter 25: The Last Stand
The chi bands holding him were slowly tightening…and Nakago heard, rather than felt the bones in his wrists snapping under the pressure exerted by Tenkou's chi. However, luckily for him, the nerves in his body were already so overwhelmed with pain that he barely felt the additional injury…for that, he was vaguely thankful.
"STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!" Miaka shrieked, hearing the horrible crunching sound of bones being crushed. She had never seen the man who had once been her deadliest, most resourceful enemy so helpless…so utterly pale and devoid of colour. His blonde hair hung in thin grimy strands over his face, and his silver-blue eyes were dull with pain.
And blood…He was covered with so much blood. It was everywhere, oozing out of numerous deep lacerations and dripping to splatter on the floor.
Her heart twisted at the sight of him. A friend was being hurt, because of her…
…might possibly die, because of her…
Tenkou looked at her with feigned surprise, "Aren't you glad he's taking your place? If I were you, I'd take this as a sign of how devoted a friend he is, and how anxious he is to spare you pain," the humour in his voice did nothing to mask the cruelty behind the words.
That did it. Miaka was overtaken by the feeling of hatred so intense that it flared around her slender body in an aura somewhere between blood-red and black. It pushed her over and beyond the brink of reason. Without even stopping to think, she leapt at the evil deity, her teeth bared with savage ferocity, fingers curled like talons; set to kill him with her bare hands if she had to…
Unfortunately, he had anticipated such an attack from her, and calmly swatted her aside. The force of the blow was enough to send her reeling, and she crashed into a nearby boulder, knocking her head hard against the rock.
She slumped to the floor, unconscious.
The blonde shogun watched, unable to lift even a finger to do anything. Tenkou turned back to him, "You should have chosen someone less wilful to protect, Nakago. Now you'll have to suffer for her mistakes," the deity said with mock sympathy, lips twisted into a malicious smile.
Nakago jerked involuntarily as a jolt of white-hot energy ripped through his body, causing every single nerve-ending to burn and his muscles to spasm uncontrollably. It felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Despite the terrible abuse he was being subjected to, he remained stubbornly silent, refusing to give Tenkou the satisfaction of hearing him in pain.
Even so, he could not prevent the harsh hiss of agony that somehow managed to escape from between tightly clenched teeth.
His vision was already starting to swim, the images blurring. Blessed darkness was swiftly closing in on him, enveloping him in its thick, velvet embrace. Won't be long now…he actually regretted that he was going to die without the Suzaku no Miko completing her mission.
I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…
The Suzaku no Miko, Soi, his own mother…it didn't really matter who. He had failed all of them.
Everything went black as his last conscious thought faded away.
"Nakago-sama…wake up…" a familiar voice whispered, as gentle fingers stroked over his cheek lovingly.
He opened his eyes, and was met with the sight of a woman with long, red hair framing her beautiful heart-shaped face. They were in a garden, surrounded by white cherry blossom trees. The ground itself was thickly carpeted with the fragrant white flower petals.
"Soi?" He hadn't realised how much he had truly missed her. The person in front of him was Soi…yet, not her. Nakago tried to figure out what exactly was different about her, and it took him several seconds to pinpoint it. This was the girl she had been before destiny had made her into Seiryuu shichi seishi… before he himself had stolen away her innocence and turned her into a warrior like him. This woman's name was Haku Kaen, not Soi.
I must be dead, to be able to see her again like this.
He opened his mouth to ask her something, but she softly placed a finger against his lips, silencing him. She shook her head, her expressive magenta eyes filling with tears as she said gently, "No, Nakago-sama, you are…just visiting…" she trailed off uncertainly, looking to the person next to her for assistance.
Just visiting? Strange…he could have sworn that there had not been anyone beside Soi a moment ago. The woman who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere had long golden blonde hair, done up in a simple braid and blue eyes…just like his.
"'Kaasan…?" he blinked several times, wondering if she was an illusion...a long buried memory from his childhood. He had forgotten how breathtakingly beautiful she had been. It had been far too long…
She smiled, but her face quickly became sober again. Her sky blue eyes searched his own, "Do you care about her?" The question was not something he had expected, coming from his own mother. She had not mentioned any names, but he was certain he knew exactly who she was talking about.
He looked away, not wanting to meet her probing gaze directly, "Does it matter? I failed to honour my promise to Tamahome," he said quietly.
"You judge yourself too harshly. Nevertheless…Do you care about her?" the blonde woman repeated her question, more insistently this time. She was determined to get an answer out of him…Her son, on the other hand, seemed just as determined not to answer. When did he become so stubborn and pigheaded? Getting impatient, she glared at him, her eyes narrowing sternly in an expression of maternal disapproval.
"Yes." The admission came out as a resigned sigh as he closed his eyes wearily. He really did not feel like getting into an argument with his mother… Nakago wondered how his answer would make a difference either way. The Suzaku no Miko was on her way to being consigned to a living hell, and he had been unable to do anything to prevent it.
With all his power, he had been able to do nothing.
To his surprise, he could almost feel his mother's warm, brilliant smile. When she spoke again, it was not in the foreign tongue he had become used to speaking and hearing over the years. Her calm, melodic voice wrapped around his senses, framing words in the lilting, musical language of the Hin people…a language he had almost forgotten.
"Then you must go back…There is someone who still needs you."
His head snapped violently to one side as somebody slapped him. Hard. He slowly opened his eyes, forcing himself to focus on something beyond the intense, mind-numbing pain.
Then you must go back…There is someone who still needs you.
His mother's words echoed in his mind. She would not say such a thing, would not give him false hope, unless…
He was still bound to the cross, and Tenkou was still standing in front of him, "Did you think I would let you die so easily?" Sharp nails had raked across his face when the silver-haired deity had slapped him, leaving long, deep scratches which were bleeding freely.
Nakago's only response was to spit a mouthful of blood on the ground at the evil deity's feet. He noted with smug satisfaction that the combination of blood and spittle had splattered over the other man's immaculate boots.
Ice blue eyes regarded Tenkou with a cold, defiant stare, before bloodied lips slowly lifted in a maddeningly arrogant smirk, "Did you think I was going to let you win so easily?"
Even as the blonde shogun was speaking, the whispered words of the opening lines of an incantation made themselves heard. Nakago almost smiled. About time. The Suzaku no Miko's timing could not have been better. She had probably roused herself by sheer force of will. He could already feel the power of Suzaku's chi swelling, waiting for its miko to call it forth. A fierce red psychic barrier had formed over the Suzaku no Miko, the same one which had once shielded her from him in the tent in Hokkan.
There was a look of panic overtaking Tenkou's features, as he turned his attention away from Nakago and begun launching all the dark energy he possessed against the barrier, hoping to destroy both it and the miko before she could complete the incantation.
She was still lying in a prone position on the ground, but one by one, the amulet and the shinzahos which had spilled out of the bag she had been carrying, started to glow. Even the earring he was wearing had suddenly become warm and his skin tingled at the sensation.
However, halfway through the ritual prayer, even as he watched, the shimmering red chi which had surrounded her began to waver, and Nakago realised that the Suzaku no Miko had reached the limits of her endurance. She had all the will and all the desire to succeed, but her strength was finally giving out…
The protective chi barrier phased out completely under Tenkou's onslaught.
His gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening with grim determination. They were going to win this fight…Once and for all.
No matter what it took.
Summoning every last ounce of chi he had remaining, Nakago added all his power to hers.
Notes:
1) For a brief moment, I allowed Miaka to deviate slightly from her usual squeaky-clean self. Hatred corrupts people, so the colour of her chi became darker, "somewhere between blood-red and black", and more menacing. I think the effects are more pronounced because Suzaku is the god of love, and hate is the other extreme.
