Chapter 96
Genji awoke late in the night, feeling Yume's head on his chest. He smiled and patted her muzzle softly. He was happy to see her safe and sound. He raised his head to see everyone else in the hut sleeping in their straw beds. Genji could also see some sleeping villagers wrapped in bandages, covering their wounds.
Genji carefully lifted Yume's head off him and got up. He looked over his own bandages. He noticed his chin, the bridge of his nose, and his forehead were wrapped tightly. Genji walked out of the hut with a smirk.
Now I'm a Hollywood mummy monster, or a Tatara Ba leper...
He walked to the village courtyard and looked around. He could only hear the deep howl of the valley winds above him. No one was to be seen outside the huts. The nesting ravens were fast asleep on their eggs, their heads tucked under one wing. The elk were asleep in their stalls...
...well, except for one.
Moma huffed and pounded his hoof on the wooden barring that kept him in his stall. Genji walked over to the elk, seeing the concern in the creature's peaceful face.
**Hi, Moma. How are you?**
Genji patted the top of Moma's head, and the elk blew a contented sigh out his nose. Moma lowered his head for a minute, and Genji saw the purple blood stain on one horn. He ran his fingers over the stain before the elk brought his head back up. Moma gave the faint impression of a smile on his face.
Genji smiled back, and scratched Moma's chin.
**Thanks, my friend.**
With a few last pats on the elk's head, Genji walked away and headed for the village entrance to go out.
Demon kodama.....there's only one place I can think of where demon kodama would come from.....
.....a demon tree!
/|\
Suzaku made a routine flight over the forest. He preferred looking down at the forest at night. He could see the colors better than he could during the day. His eyes were deteriorating with age, and what colors he could see were starting to dim or become wrong. The trees were turning black, the day lit sky was becoming yellow with brown clouds, and the skin of his priests looked light blue in the sunlight.
I must be getting too old to be looking at the world. Now I understand what my father warned me about many years ago. He said the senses become less reliable with age, and you must sacrifice privacy for sight and hearing.
He warbled sadly, a raven version of a sigh.
"My quiet time alone is what I treasure most."
A light below him caught his attention. It was a bright light, as though a whole clearing was lit up. Suzaku settled himself on a giant tree for a closer look. He could see lantern lighting up the clearing around the Nago tree.
In the bright candle light of the paper lanterns, the raven could see someone standing in front of the tree.
He recognized the man's long, blond hair.
"Genji-san?"
/|\
Alone in the clearing, Genji had lit the lanterns hanging around the clearing so that he could see well. He stood in front of the peaceful looking tree, staring angrily.
**You did that, didn't you? Earlier today, with your kodama?! You produced tree children to supply my demon with energy! All would have gone well if you didn't step in! I would have been cured! I would have been going home!**
Tears started to well in his eyes as he continued.
**You don't know what this monster inside me can do! He's a murderer, a demon, a pervert, and a.....**
Before he could continue, his heart lurched and squirmed in his chest. He fell to his knees as he took a scroll out of his item pouch. Genji immediately slammed it against his chest, and the convulsions stopped. Genji stood back up and glowered.
**Yes, I am a Mononoke. Therefore, yes, I forgive crimes of the past. But your crimes, committed over and over again for thousands of years, end here and now! The Emishi offer your peace and kindness, yet you continue to punish them for no reason. You were a God, Nago! Gods do not punish those who do not deserve it!**
Genji dug his feet into the ground as he remembered watching his own hands snap Marcus's windpipe. His aura powered up, outshining all the lanterns.
**It's your turn to be punished! DIE!**
Genji charged for the tree with his hands held before him. He slammed himself into the tree, pushing hard. The tree didn't move, so Genji pushed harder, straining his muscles and ki. His aura flared, and the ground began to shake. Some of the roots were pulled from the ground, and they wrapped tightly around his ankles. Genji winced in pain, but kept pushing.
The tree was pushed further and further out of the ground. From under the roots, fleshy tentacles of a demon wrapped around Genji's waist and legs, fighting the boy back. More captured his chest as he kept pushing. He felt the pain burn into the depths of his body, and his mouth stretched open in silent scream but he continued to push.
He took a step foreword, trying to muster the strength to tear down the tree. The scars on his arms gave his muscles more bulk and power, helping to push the tree over further. Ignoring his pain for only a moment, he grinned at his progress and chuckled in his mind.
Heh, heh, heh......die, demon, die!
Then, he heard loud cawing above him, watching in distressed horror. At this late at night, it had to be Suzaku.
"Genji-san! What are you doing?! Stop it! You'll kill yourself and bring doom to us all! GENJI-SAN! STOP!"
Genji refused to listen as the tendrils wrapped around his neck. He flared his ki even more until his aura lit up the whole forest.
**HYAAAAAAAAAAAA!**
With one more step to boost his strength, the tree was completely uprooted, and fell to its side with a loud crash. More tendrils shot from the hole of the tree, as the trunk began to melt into tar.
Genji powered up as high as he could, and his ki vaporized the tendrils around him, freeing him from their burning bonds. He launched straight up into the air and hovered at thirty feet up. He cupped his hands to his sides and powered up a ki blast.
**Time to finish you off, you bastard! KAMEHAMEHA!**
He flung his hands at the hole, and the energy wave blew the area away. The whole sky lit up as the clearing was destroyed. After the sky dimmed back down to night, Genji could see the crater he made that destroyed the tree down to its inner cavity.
Nago no Kami was finally completely destroyed.
Genji smiled as his ki dropped in exhaustion.
**Now, no one will have to suffer anymore......**
Then, he blacked out on loss of energy, and fell. Before he could hit the ground, Suzaku caught him in his talons and began to fly off for the village.
"Genji-san.....what have you done?......What have you done?......"