I say: Finals are coming up in just a week or a few days (depending on when you're reading this) so that means. . . .yes! No updates for at least 2 weeks till the 5th of October! Woohoo!

On another cheerful note, that means my holidays are coming up soon so expect my site to be up by the end of October. On top of that, I'm pretty confident that my HP/YnM fic will be out by then as well. That fic will be more of a treat to YnM lovers, rather than catering solely to HP-fans. So yeah, the Shinigami are having the starring roles. Well, including Harry and Voldie as well of course. ^^

Warning: the Killing blow. Literally.

Review replies:

                                                                             **************

                                                                                 Chapter 29

                                                     Parents are not supposed to bury their children

                                                                             **************

Kyo held himself in a ready stance, body relaxed yet ready to burst into sudden motion. The sword seemed to be held loosely, almost casually, as though he couldn't be bothered with it until you looked again. The grip, though light, was positioned in such a way that an instant reaction could have it ready to attack or defend.

He did neither though. Yet. Instead, he watched with hooded eyes as the one he called 'daughter' danced again and again. Each pattern completed brought more of the wards down and more of those demons rippled into view. Behind him, he could hear the restless, agitated murmurs from the Shinigami and nothing but poised anticipation from Army of Heaven. The Shinigami were wondering at his seeming reluctance to act. Each second he did nothing allowed more of those monsters through until by dint of sheer numbers alone, they would be overwhelmed. His friends though, kept their silence. They knew him. Thus, they respected his decision to do nothing as yet. But Takashi knew him better. He alone knew exactly why, even as the front ranks of the Army of Makai surged again and again with the influx of new numbers, he still did nothing.

Acting from a signal none but him saw, a sudden snap of his wrist and the sword was held upright, blade pointing up to the clear night above. His stance was still relaxed even though he stood at the very perimeters of the huge construct designed to bring Hell onto Earth. Even those standing at a distance could not help but wince as their eyeteeth tingled from the ripples of magic that wafted from the blood-red pentagram. Kyo appeared perfectly at ease though.

His words rang clear through the air, cutting through the rising howl and shrieks of the demons assembled. They pierced the very nadir of the night, each line an instrument to bend magic to his will and intent.

"I call upon the Air that breathed life

From the dawn of time to the dust of the end of all

Hear my words and heed my pleading

Destroy."

Aki stumbled in the middle of her dance. For the first time since the whole debacle began, a look of annoyance actually crossed her face. But with determination almost admirable, she went on dancing.

And Kyo went on chanting. This time, the sword was brought to rest in the crook of his left elbow.

"And from the Water of the Seven Seas of Creation

From a single drop to the flood that will end Life

Hear my words and heed my pleading

Drown."

There was no mistaking this time that Aki's 'performance' was getting shoddier. Her steps faltered and more than once she nearly stumbled, only to catch herself from falling to the ground. But like father, like daughter. She went on. The number of demons that came through swelled again.

Kyo pointed his sword to his right.

"From the forges of Heaven will the Fire leap

As the ash fly and the Phoenix lives

Hear my words and heed my pleading

Burn."

His sword he now pointed blade first to the damp ground.

"As the Earth breathes and dreams of the Beginning

Awaken the giant and fear the might

Hear my words and heed my pleading

Rupture."

There was a finality to his last incantation that had the Shinigami standing farthest from him craning their necks to see what would happen next. None were disappointed. With a crack that was more felt that heard, the pentagram literally burned, flashing an even brighter light that had Aki shrieking in surprise. As the last of the afterimages faded, everyone could see that her construct was slowly dying until only sullen embers glowed.

The Shinigami cheered as one. Until they noticed that the number of demons that managed to come through before the barriers had shut again was roughly their number. The cheering died a ragged death and once again, tense anticipation curdled the air.

As though the ground that burned sullenly beneath his feet was only a mere inconvenience, Kyo strode calmly into the middle of the construct until he was face to face with Aki.

Standing there, silent in the middle of their armies, they seemed a figure incongruously ill-matched. Kyo in his jeans and shirt looked the part of a simple boy, if not for the wickedly gleaming blade he still held. Aki, clad in her pristine shikifuku was a young priestess that was the very picture of piety and innocence. Until she snapped her fingers and from nothing, a katana of pure darkness materialized in her hand.

The smirk she gave was full of malicious intent, despite the fact that her pentagram had been easily dispelled by Kyo. She brought the dark sword up in a mock salute. Her words could clearly be heard by everyone.

"Let's see whether you've got the guts to kill your own flesh-and-blood, shall we?" Aki grinned.

Kyo said nothing. Nor did he returned her salute. With a speed that bordered on the supernatural, he swung his sword in a blinding arc. Aki moved just as fast. Her sword flicked in unseen light and their swords met in a screeching clash. Caught crossguard, father and daughter stared wordlessly into each other's faces.

Nobody was really sure who said the next word. It was a sibilant hiss.

"Die."

And with the clashing of weaving blades, the howling of demons and the piercing war cry of the angels, the War to end all Wars began.

________________________________________________________________________

Watari was not really a Shinigami built for full-scale fighting. His long, blond hair which Tatsumi was fond of braiding during the weekends ("Tell anyone that I do this and I will never speak to you again!") tend to get in his way, flying into his face and obscuring his vision. There is also the fact that he had never, nor been inclined to train in any form of martial arts. Though at least, that was offset with the skills he acquired through years of tinkering in the lab. Knowing that a potion was going to blow up in his face within seconds had given him the skill of rolling out of harm's way. Let's not mention also that his one magical talent is giving life to his drawings. If, say, his drawing skills were to par with that of the inestimable Yoshitaka Amano, that would be just peachy. But since he couldn't draw to save his life, that certain skill was rather useless in war.

And in war he is. The Shinigami were placed in the front lines of the Army and had gotten the full brunt of the first assault. The only reason they survived the clash was the fact that as Shinigami, they were nearly immortal. Nearly. As Watari had leapt into the air to avoid a sweeping clawed hand, he saw a Shinigami fall down, never to rise again. His head had been cut off with a powerful strike. Watari felt almost guilty then for feeling relieved that it was none of his friends nor Tatsumi that received the only sort of blow capable of killing a Shinigami.

Watari was not considered the genius of JuuOhCho for nothing. Taking in mind that his other skills would not help him in battle, Watari had turned to his other talents. That is, science and robotics. As he landed again, this time on ground now soaked with blood and gore, Watari ignored his urge to throw up. Instead he reached into his coat pockets. As a demon sighted his golden hair and let out an ear-piercing howl, Watari flung his hand out. Small, bright glints flew through the air and smacked into the reptilian demon's face.

The demon paused, hesitant and patted its snout reassuringly. Satisfied that nothing was wrong, it let out a howl again and charged towards Watari. But even before it had taken another step, it halted in mid-stride. This time, confusion and pain crossed its twisted features. The howl it let out this time didn't even have a hint of bloodlust. It was a howl of pain and terror. Scrabbling at its face with clawed hands, the demon fell to its knees, yowling and shrieking away. Watari grinned at his success and a second later, a dark figure stepped up behind the demon. With the swing of a sword, the demon's misery was cut short as its head flew off in a fountain of black blood.

The wielder of the sword, Tatsumi, threw Watari a harried smile. "Are you alright?" he managed to call out before another attacking demon engaged him.

Watari answered back, barely dodging the swinging sword of an angel and the scythe of a nasty looking demon. "I'm fine! You better be as well!"

Tatsumi took a second to shot him a look that plainly said, 'of course I'm okay. It's you that I'm worried about'. That look though, was replaced by alarm as he took in something beyond Watari's field of vision. "Watari! From your left!"

Trusting his explosion-avoiding instincts, Watari tucked himself into a roll. His instinct was proved correct as not a millisecond later, a huge foot stamped down on the space he had previously occupied. Watari crouched, panting with exertion and adrenalin. The demon was huge. Fully 8 feet tall, a dim look of intelligence brightened its sickly-yellow eyes. Seeing its victim unharmed, a long tongue flicked out and licked its salivating chops hungrily.

Watari grinned back in reply. "Chibi-Toms!" he cried out. "Attack!"

Tatsumi also managed to wince at the name. Chibi-Toms? He wondered. Couldn't he have come up with something. . .classier? But that was Watari's style alright.

And Chibi-Toms were definitely Watari's handiwork. That same, bright glints of. . .something that had felled the earlier demon flew again and attacked the new demon with the same enthusiasm shown earlier. This demon too, shrieked with pain as it tried valiantly to claw off its face.

To put it simply, Chibi-Toms were nanorobots. Encased in the metallic shells that were vaguely spiderlike with membranous wings, the nanorobots were the results of an ingenious use of science and magic. Watari had breathed life into his drawings of the little monsters and fused them together with the A.I he had designed. Their purpose and objectives were simple. Kill all demons.

Watching his handiwork proudly, Watari had time to pray that everyone, including his little monsters, would come out alright.

________________________________________________________________________

Tsuzuki and Hisoka were in their own little island of calm. Literally.

Any demon unfortunate enough to come within a ten-foot radius of the couple had two choices. Either get blown to bitty pieces by the purple-eyed Shinigami or get run through by the blond boy. Neither was a desirable option. But then, demons, lower-class, were not known for their intelligence. Their only directive from their far more smarter generals who had wisely chosen to send out their battalions first was simple. Kill all those not of their kind. Since the only ones not of their kind that they could see were angels and Shinigami, that was easy. What is not easy however, is carrying out that certain directive. Especially when you can't even get close to the ones you're supposed to be killing.

The taller Shinigami appeared easy enough to be circumvented. All the demons need to do was get out of the way of the flung ofudas. Easier said than done. Each paper talisman found its mark with deadly accuracy. But if that Shinigami was a right bother to kill, his partner, the blond, was infuriating. Each demon that came close would, without any reason, stop dead on its feet and just stare off into space. That lag of crucial seconds was enough for the boy to run his sharp katana through scaly hide and the befuddled demon would be dead before it hit the ground.

Hisoka smiled grimly as the other demons began to get nervous, edging away from him and Tsuzuki. But there was nowhere to run. Surrounded on all sides with the raging battle, the demons would cast uneasy looks at the waiting Shinigami and, true to their limited braincells, would charge forwards again. As one demon crossed that certain mark only he saw, Hisoka used his honed talent of empathy to good use. Summoning an invisible ball of pure peace, the barest narrowing of his eyes had that lethal ball zooming straight into the unsuspecting demon's face. The thing stopped in its tracks, eyes wide with incomprehension. For really, what demon knew the feeling of peace? And in the instant confusion seized their attention, Hisoka made good use of his katana as well.

His back was firm against Tsuzuki's, the steady chanting from his partner a comforting counter point to his own soundless fighting. During a lull in the battle, as the demons gathered aside to lick their wounds, Tsuzuki said over his shoulder, "How are you holding up?"

Hisoka chanced a quick look at Tsuzuki. His partner smiled reassuringly back. "I'm doing okay," he replied, keeping a wary eye out in case an ambush was coming. "It's a bit disconcerting though, to do this, stop, fight and do it again."

Tsuzuki nodded understandingly. Gathering enough emotion to be used as a weapon took time. Precious seconds that could prove fatal. He himself was in a rather precarious position. His ofudas would run out soon. Though he had a good enough skill with the blade, he much preferred his ofudas or his Shikigamis to it. But calling Suzaku or Byakko was not an option. The barriers prevented his friends from entering and helping him. Looking around though, Tsuzuki was struck with inspiration.

Not taking his eyes off the slowly advancing demons, Tsuzuki quickly muttered his just-conceived plan to Hisoka. His green eyes widened with surprise and thoughtfulness. The plan was sound and he quickly agreed. In a move that further confused the demons, Hisoka sat down abruptly on the damp ground and to all appearances, decided to do some meditation. His partner though, took up the apparent slack. Taking the boy's katana, he stood protectively over Hisoka, stance wide and ready.

The demons hesitated. What new form of witchery was this? But their orders must be followed. The lead demon howled a defiance and sprang forwards, claws extended. But not even five feet away from the waiting blade, the demon fell in mid-lunge to the ground, eyes wide and confused. Taking his chance, Tsuzuki disposed off the demon with a clean strike.

And on and on it went. Each demon that crossed that invisible line, from no matter what side, would ultimately fall, afflicted with something unidentifiable and the katana-wielding Shinigami would efficiently kill each fallen demon.

From behind him, Hisoka murmured, though his eyes were still closed. "How's it working out?"

Tsuzuki grinned. "It's doing great. Can you still keep it up?"

Hisoka nodded, despite Tsuzuki being unable to see the gesture. "No problem."

'It' was actually the wall of perfect peace and contentment he had erected around the two of them. Anyone crossing it would inevitably fall victim to it, lost in the conjured emotion and leaving themselves vulnerable to the drenched blade.

"The next wave's coming," Tsuzuki warned.

Hisoka grinned a truly barbaric grin. Let them come. If he can't do anything for his friends' suffering, then by Enma, he was going to inflict some of his own!

________________________________________________________________________

//"Hey dad?"

"Hmm?" Kyo didn't look up from the paper he was reading in the soft light of falling evening. This was his favourite spot in the house, the porch encircling the living room and extending to the master bedroom. Privacy was afforded with the 6 feet high wall and tall conifers. But gentle winds still blew through, especially delightful in spring when it came scented with the fragrance of blooming sakuras. Aki, still clad in her uniform plopped down next to him, lying on her stomach and propping her chin on his knee.

"Dad!" Aki whined when he still refused to put down the paper.

Kyo chuckled softly, proving his intent to bait her all along. Folding the paper neatly, he blinked owlishly at his scowling daughter. "Yes?"

Aki grinned back and flipped over so that her head was resting in his lap. Kyo shifted around, settling himself more comfortably and patted Aki's black hair fondly.

"What do you want now you little imp?"

"Well. . . ." Aki fidgeted, fingers playing nervously with her tie. "You see. . ."

"Out with it," Kyo commanded, amused. The nervous twitching she had inherited from Aya. It was a sure sign that she was about to ask him something that might prove highly uncomfortable. Usually for her.

"You know Hideki right?" Aki asked, peering up at him through her layer of fringe. Kyo frowned, a suspicion growing in his mind.

"Captain of the baseball team and member of track?" he clarified. Aki nodded. "How can I not? The girls in school make it abundantly clear that he's the best thing since onigiri."

Aki scrunched her nose. She knew which girls her dad talked about. They were the same ones that had formed the Kyo-Sensei-Forever Fan Club. And they had wanted her to be an honorary member!

"Anyway," she said, dismissing the girls, "He. . .kinda asked me out for a date." She refused to look into her dad's face, concentrating instead on the slightly frayed ends of her tie. Kyo's sun-browned fingers closed over hers and tugged them gently away from further mauling her innocent tie.

"Does he have insurance?" Kyo asked wryly.

"Dad!"//

"I never thought this day would come, did you dad?" Aki asked casually even as she began a vicious backhanded swing that had Kyo leaping high into the air to avoid it.

Kyo refused to answer her as he had refused to answer any of her goading before. What he concentrated on was keeping clear of the black blade. He met each strike squarely but the effort was sorely testing him. Aki was a natural talent with the blade. He was the one who had trained that talent even, ensuring that she was at least up to district level.

He was not disappointed. Aki used every trick she had ever learned from him and Kyo found himself defending from moves that he had taught. That wouldn't have been much of a problem except for the fact that Aki made sure the moves she used weren't just rehashed but ingeniously modified to confuse him. On top of that, subtle weavings of magic picked at his inner defenses, straining his concentration and leeching dangerously into his strength.

Enma was right. Aki was powerful. Extremely.

But like father like daughter, right?

//"Daddy! Daddy! Look! Look what I got!"

Kyo laughed brightly, picking up little Aki and swinging her around. Her delighted giggles were accompanied by her almost-indignant protest that she was already 7 years old! She's too old to be swung around like this!

"So what have you got?" Kyo asked breathlessly, Aki in his arms and still giggling from the mini tickle-fest earlier.

"Look!" Aki crowed, waving a piece of paper in his face. "I made this in class today. See? That's me, you and Mommy!"

Kyo held the colorful piece of paper like it was the most fragile artwork in the world and gave his daughter a pleading look. "Can I keep this?" giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

Aki giggled again and kissed him on the cheek. "Of course! I made it for you!"//

The ground rocked subtly beneath her feet, courtesy of Kyo, and Aki found herself falling on her knee, her sword pinned down crosswise with Kyo's. He loomed over her, pressing down on her blade even as she strained to twist it out of the bind he held.

Her hair had fallen out of the tie she used. The black strands, as black as his, whipped around her face from the rising wind and she shook her head to clear her sight.

"Are you really going to go through with it?" Aki asked. There was a note of genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Can you really kill me?"

//His sobs were dry wrackings that shuddered his frame. Curled up in Takashi's protective, yet useless embrace, Kyo could repeat only one thing over and over.

"She's my daughter."//

To say that Aki held the advantage was right to some degree. After all, she surely held no qualms over killing her own father. At least, her efforts said so. Kyo now sported multiple cuts and slashes, each regenerating rapidly. Yet the length of time it took for new skin to close over showed the seriousness of his wounds. One particularly bad cut underneath his left arm had his previously fluid grace reduced to a stumbling, shuffling movements, compounded even worse by his broken wrist. As he tried to fight off Aki's increasing slashes, he sought to buy time for his wounds to heal.

A fast, muttered cantrip and a screen of fire erupted in between them, obscuring him from Aki's view. Well, that was what supposed to happen. Thinking that it was safe for him to catch his breath, Kyo let down his guard for a second. And was rudely surprised to find the black blade sliding easily through the screen of fire and just as easily, pierced his skin. Right into his stomach.

Blood spurted from the gaping wound as well as his mouth. Coughing and choking, Kyo fell to one knee, only managing to stay upright with the help of his katana propping him up. The screen of fire died swiftly as his concentration broke, revealing Aki smiling sweetly before him.

"Daddy, daddy," she admonished him with a fake sincerity. "That was a really stupid move. I could tell where you were. We are connected you know. Father and daughter."

Kyo, even if he did felt inclined to say something, could not. His hand clutched the open wound weakly, trying to make sure his intestines stayed where they were supposed to and waiting for the next blow. He doubted that he could block it, hampered as he was with the debilitating wound.

This is wrong, his mind babbled. This is not supposed to happen. Will she really kill me? Can I really kill her?

Because, as much as he cannot wrap his mind around the idea that his daughter must die, he cannot also wrap his mind around the idea that Aki would be willing to kill him. Oh, there was enough proof that she would do so. Didn't she kill her own mother with no remorse?

But she gave me her first drawing in pre-school, Kyo thought numbly. She was closer to me than with Ayame.

She knows all of my favourite foods.

She knows that I hate neon colors.

She never forgot to celebrate one Father's Day celebration since she was old enough to know it.

She loves me.

I love her.

She loves me.

She loves me.

She loves me.

Aki brought her sword up, ready to fall in a swinging stroke that would easily decapitate him. The one surefire way to kill a Shinigami.

Aki smiled. "Sweet dreams, Daddy."

She really is going to kill me.

He met the downward stroke with the edge of his katana. The clashing of the two swords was an almost melodic ringing of tempered steel. It would have been much more fitting to have a dissonant screech instead. But instead, the ring was almost a paean. He found it ironic in the extreme.

Ignoring his stomach wound which had barely closed and the fact that his wrist was still sore despite the healing bones, Kyo had Aki stumbling back in surprise as he launched a furious attack on her. Blow after blow rained down on her and Aki was unpleasantly surprised to find that despite her skill with the blade and her inherited magic, Kyo was much, much more superior in both.

After all, he had rage, anger and despair to fuel him.

Before, Kyo, though seemingly to have accepted the fact that Aki had to die, had used only the edge of his blade in the fight. The edge could only slice. It was the point, more often than not, that delivered the killing strike. Lacking the conviction that each move is an ending move, his slashes barely wounded her. Despite his confident stance as he broke her pentagram, Kyo didn't really believe that he would kill Aki.

But to see his own daughter standing over him, sword ready to cleave head from body, Kyo had no other choice but to believe. Believe that Aki, his daughter, is willing and ready to kill him.

So this time, as he used the advantage of Aki's confusion and disbelief that his moves was now infused with the intent to kill, Kyo used the point of his blade as well.

It was an anticlimactic moment.

Kind of disappointing really.

Their fight had started off with a big bang. Literally as the pentagram had died with all the due flair and drama of high magic. The resulting sword fight was a display of skill and grace, each showing the moves of the same school of fighting yet at the same time, totally different. Aki had fused each move with the intention to kill. Kyo, merely to hurt or maim.

But as Kyo regained his purpose, his true reason as to why he was in this fight at all, his moves transcended from mere grace, to blinding predatory elegance. Aki then played the part of the hesitant, the unsure. And the ending move came in so subtly, so neatly woven in between the blur of slashes and thrusts, that even Aki herself found it rather hard to believe.

Hard to believe that Kyo's sword pierced directly into her heart.

That it was her blood that stained her white shikifuku in rapidly growing red.

And to add salt to her wounds, almost literally, Kyo's blade was cloaked with the strongest force of the combined elements to negate all ties of the soul to earthly flesh. The power he drenched the blade in ensured that even a Shinigami would die. What hope had a human/Shinigami/demon halfbreed had?

Aki blinked owlishly, staring stupidly from Kyo's pale face and wide eyes to the sword still sticking obscenely through her young body.

She said, with utter surprise and disbelief coloring her tone, "I didn't really think you'd do it."

                                                                           ***************

                                                                             to be continued

                                                                           ***************

 I say again: Talk about a cliffhanger eh  . . . . .*wrings hands nervously*. . . .what do you guys think? Was it okay? I took Literary Eagle's advice and wrote the war scene from different POVs. Did it work? This is my first time writing a large fighting scene and I was seriously stumped for a time, trying to make it flow, especially during Aki's and Kyo's fight.

Was it okay? Oh, tell me!

PS: thanks to all those who gave me advice also on how to do the war. Your advise were a great help! Review ne?