Disclaimer: If I owned them, I certainly wouldn't be putting this up on ff.net.
Warnings: um…are there ever any warnings in here?
A/N: Wee! A chapter! It took me forever to type this one up…I kept making all these typos and ugh! Twas annoying.
Chapter Thirteen: In Which There is a Really Neat Battle
Kino's glance flitted nervously from one demon warrior to the next. They appeared absolutely unmovable, unbeatable. Denice, at his side, scowled at them, her wings opening and her hands on her katanas. The Ronins/Troopers and Warlords/Masho instinctively drew a tighter circle around the five working the ceremony. Kino wished they would hurry it up. He strained his sensitive ears, but even he couldn't detect an increase in the staff's soft hum.
Kino sighed. He knew it would come to this. In his heart he knew, as did his father. A fight against Tobraea was inevitable. In a way, Kino was glad that he was the one helping Denice and her small band of warriors. He was one of his clan's most powerful magic-users. None of them were especially gifted in war-magic, but Kino supposed that he had a better chance than any of his people. Magic flowed through the blood of the Diruthicher. It gave each of them special gifts, as natural as breathing. Some like Kyla, were Strengtheners. Some, like Lord Shi, could control weather. Kino himself was an Illusionist. But only those of royal blood also possessed the gift of Kitai-owari; hope's end. Kino's thoughts kept returning to it. Would he risk using it to protect the rest of them? he shook his head in self doubt. He didn't know. And Tobraea would force him to make this decisions sooner than he wished; there he stood glaring at them.(1)
"Well, it appears that you have managed to defeat yourselves for me. With your pathetic attempt to give life to your 'hero', you give me time to kill you one by one!" Tobraea's deep voice gave way to an eerie cackling that made Denice shiver.
Trying to appear unaffected, she gestured to Kino and stepped forward. "Tobraea, do you honestly think we would attempt this without help from old allies?"
"Allies? You have none! Unless you are referring to that useless, alley-cat excuse for a fighter!" Tobraea screamed, enraged.(2)
"You may have defeated my village," Kino spat, "but my people will have their revenge!"
At his words, Tobraea and his demon warriors were suddenly aware that they were surrounded by nearly twenty more fighters. All had cat ears like Kino's. Their eyes glowed with furiously brilliant light.
The Ronins, Troopers, Warlords, and Masho gazed with amazement at them. Denice shared a secret smile with Kino. His magic was working.
"So. Do you still think we will be so easily defeated?" Denice taunted.
Tobraea stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds until an animal-like bellow fell from his foaming mouth.
"Attack!" he screamed. "I will rule!"
As the two sides came together, weapons flying, Kino backed away. He ordered his illusions to run forward into the fight. Concentrating his hardest, he gave them swords that felt solid and lightning-quick maneuvers. No matter how many times they were hit, no blood was drawn. But neither was the enemy wounded. Kino glanced at the glowing magical artifacts. The staffs had begun to vibrate in the Kayuras' hands and their noise grew slightly louder. But they needed more time.
Sage stared in awe at the cat-eared warriors. One blocked a deadly swipe that would have cut Rowen in two had he not done so. But somehow, no matter how fast they could avoid the demons' blows or strike back, they couldn't gain the advantage. Neither side had been seriously wounded as of yet. As his no-datchi managed to pierce a Yokeuchi's armor, Sage smiled a satisfied grin. Now why couldn't these mysteriously agile warriors of Kinos do the same?
Cye had also noticed this peculiarity. He and Shin stood back to back, each battling an enormous Mizuchaki. They were getting nowhere. Tobraea, over to Cye's right, fight a Kento/Shu duo, even seemed distressed. The cat-eared warriors constantly jumped from one combat to the next, never really defeating anyone, but definitely getting in the demons' way.
Just on the outside of their fringe stood Kino. His eyes were closed and his head was bowed. Cale shook his head in disgust. He knew the "magician" feared for his life, but he had thought him brave enough to actually take part in the battle. Especially when his kinsmen were fighting. Maybe that was why they were actins so strange. Denice had said that they weren't great fighters; maybe they didn't know how. At least they weren't cowering in the Kino.
As if in response to Cale's mental criticism, Kino suddenly stood up and charged towards Tobraea. Denice, seeing him out of the corner of her eye, lunged after him.
"No! Kino, come back!"
He didn't even hear her. His sole purpose was bent on his mission. Tobraea swung his jitte hard into Shu, knocking both him and Kento to the ground. Then he turned swiftly to face this new attack.
Just short of being inside Tobraea's sword ranged, Kino stopped and stood staring in front of him.
Tobraea stared back until his left eyebrow started twitching and his face contorted with laughter.
"So your first and only bout of courage could only take you this far? Kneel so I can put an end to your misery!"
Kino continued to stared at him, unmoving. Slowly his arms spread out alongside of him. Tobraea watched unmoving, unable to stop him.
"You killed many of my people," Kino spoke, his voice thick. "You destroyed my village. Now you will get what you deserve. You know I have great power."
Denice watched in sick fascination. Every instinct was screaming at her to protect him, but she couldn't move.
"I am no coward," Kino continued. "Not like you. I know what you fear most."
Tobraea continued to stare.
Kino felt himself entering his mind and searching it. He saw Tobraea's fears: defeat, banishment to the Outlands, the displeasure of his Master. Deeper, deeper he looked, until he found it.
Kino smiled. So simple a fear, and yet an incredible weakness. Tobraea was afraid of drowning.(3)
"Very well," Kino said slowly. "Let there be water!"
Tobraea stared in horror. He could hear a distant rumbling. It was getting closer and closer. That sorcerous(4) , alley-cat stood in front of him with his eyes closed again. Tobraea was about to drive his jitte through the miserable creature's chest when thunder boomed over him. He looked around anxiously at his demon warriors to see them still engaged in combat.
"You fools! Can't you hear it?" he cried to them.
The rumbling got closer. It sounded like a mighty river, a powerful ocean. Tobraea had just started to run away from Kino when the wave broke on him. Foam swirled around him and heavy rain fell down. Rapids pulled him under as he fought his way to the surface. But he was sinking. He could not keep his head above water. He swallowed more and more. He could feel the saltiness of it burning down his throat. He had no more air left! He opened his mouth to scream in panic and fear. Finally, he let himself go….
The fighting still continued, only now with the absence of Kino's cat-warriors. They were there, and then they were gone. The Ronins and Warlords battled harder. Their only hope was the slowly increasing clanking of the staffs and the silent, concentrating faces of their friends behind them.
"Denice!" Rowen called, blocking a savage blow.
"Yeah?" Denice was engaged in her own furious combat with a Tsukishimo.
"What's going on with Tobraea?"
Denice glanced quickly over at the demon leader's kneeling form.(5) He lay shivering, his hands tightly clasped together ever time a soft gasp broke from his mouth. She smiled grimly, having seen this condition before in many of Kino's victims.
"That's Kino's doing," she said. At Rowen's incredulous look, she grinned after ducking under another of her opponent's swings. "Kino can find out what people are most afraid of and create that illusion so only they can see it. It won't really kill him, but as long as Tobraea thinks it's real it'll buy us some time."
"And we could use some of that."
Denice grunted affirmatively.
Tobraea was floating. Floating through nothingness. He was dead, finished, destroyed. The Dynasty's defenders had won. He let himself float, awaiting the anger of his master against him for his failure. But still, a small part of his mind screamed at him that he still had a chance. He didn't know how that was possible since the cat-eared magic user had called water to drown him. But wait. Something triggered in his brain. When they fought the magic users' village, this one was not there. But the others, though they had great power, their magic was not directed towards harming their enemies. It was not offensive. Not one of the villagers could create fire or water or any other attack against them. So what, was this Kino somehow special, or….
The ground around the jewels and armor orbs began to shake. The rings on the staff started to spin and clang together. The battling warriors stopped to watch in anticipation for what would come.
As if just noticing the absence of their leader's command, the demon warriors stood still and silent. The armor-less Warlords prepared to receive their orbs again as the Ryos would change to their red armors. Everyone waited.
Tobraea struggled in his mind. Part of him said that this was real, he was dying. Part of him said no, it an illusion; he was on solid, dry ground. He could still win the Dynasty for his own. For a moment, the sides drew equal. Then the greed, the anger, the hatred in him burst open. It was a trick! He would not be deceived, he would conquer! Forcing himself to trust that the ground was safe under him, he tried to stand. Still grasping his jitte, he fought to find balance. He opened his eyes. He could see! There was no ocean of deadly water around him. Smirking, he caught sight of Kino and lunged. Payback time.
The clanging noise continued intensely. Ryo looked at his Japanese twin. Was it time? The other Ryou gestured towards the Kayuras and Amanda. They were all deep in concentration. Ryou mouthed back, Not yet. Ryo shrugged. It would have to be soon.
Kino's startled gasp came too late. By the time Denice turned around, he was already pitched forward and clutching his gut. Tobraea smiled at her.
Now what? his smile silently said to her.
"Now you will die!" she screamed at him as she attacked.
The Kayuras could barely hold onto the vibrating staffs. Amanda, in between them, frowned slightly as she concentrated all her energy into reviving the Anubis's. Soon she began to see memories of him from the nearby Warlords. She saw him fighting and laughing. His defiance to Talpa, and his final moments before death. Slowly, she began to see the memories through his eyes. Now they were taking two forms. One spoke in Japanese, and the other in English. She could almost see him; two people in one. Suddenly, more than anything else, she wanted them to exist. She willed them to life. The armor orbs faded and then disappeared altogether. The blood red of the jewels began to shine. The staffs' rings no longer clanked. It was now a steady ring, like a bell's echoing chimes. The Ryos, without even a look, simultaneously changed into their red armors. Amanda surrounded herself with a bright light. In that moment, two holes appeared in the air above the Jewels. They began to take the shape of humans. Slowly, the onlookers could make out the features of the armored and obviously strong men. Their eyes blinked and their mouths moved, forming the words of an unrecognizable chant.(6)
In a last attempt to stick her katana down his slimy throat, Denice was blocked and flung to the ground. She slowly looked toward her friends for help. Tobraea followed her gaze to the glowing rebirth of Anubis and Shuten. With a sickening crush, he stopped on her already battered weapon.
Denice knew she would die. And what was worse: she had failed to protect Kino. The ceremony's onlookers were too hypnotized by the Anubis' dazzling entry into this world to hear her. Amanda was too concentrated on giving her life force to them to feel her twin's distress. Kino was dying, might already be dead. She had failed. Tobraea pointed his jitte down at her.
Kino stirred. He had no strength left. Not for illusions; not for fighting. He saw Denice with Tobraea towering above her. Once his betrothed, he had never really gotten to know her; he wondered if anyone really did. He was too wake to save her. He had nothing left. Nothing except…his Kitai-owari. His gift; hopes end. And this indeed was the end of hope, if there ever was one. He sighed. So be it.
Expecting to feel the thrust of Tobraea's jitte, Denice was surprised to feel the gentle kiss of raindrops. Opening her eyes, she saw that it was not drops of rain that fell, but fire. It was not hot, but rather cool. looking around, the world seemed to be full of falling sparks like fireflies.
Tobraea shrieked in horror. Denice turned to see why. Floating, at least twenty feet tall above Kino's body, stood a lion. Its golden mane shown bright as the sun. Its roar deafened her and stirred the last of her hope. It pounced with a powerful spring of its hindquarters. Mouth open, it devoured Tobraea in one bit. The wind and firedrops blew around it, as it turned to smoke and settled back to the ground.
Kino's hoarse gasp of joy filled the silence that followed. "The guardian! I have seen the ancient guardian of my people! It protects us…still."
As Kino slipped into darkness, he told himself that it was over, even as he felt the hands of the Healer cradle his head.
A/N: Wee, that was fun. Ignore any typos please, I typed this up first thing in the morning…before I even fully woke up. But wasn't the chapter fun? *huggles it* Oh, yes, and this is a bit disjointed, isn't it? Runs kinda like a suspenseful movie, ne? ^^
Oh, and one extra little note: I only have the next chapter typed up, and then there's a chapter and epilogue after that…. And, unfortunately, the sequel is very unfinished, I'm only about three quarters of the way through chapter seven right now. Looking at where we are in the story…I think we might have a few more chapters left to go. So, until we're done the sequel, I won't have a title for it, and I won't be able to put it up…. We'll try to get it done as soon as possible, though. And, if chapter fifteen's up late, blame it on my mad procrastinating skills. ^^;
(1) *sticks tongue out at B-c* Mine's still longer!
(2) Somebody needs to get this guy some anger management classes.
(3) Yes, I know you're probably wondering why he's afraid of drowning. Look at it this way. He used to be a spirit, so he didn't have to breath or anything. Now he's got a physical form. And if that stops working? Bye bye, Tobraea!
(4) Why in hell doesn't this appear in my spell check? *pouts*
(5) Or, as Bailey-chan put it: "at the demon leader's (What's the word that means laying down) form." I filled in a word. No, kneeling does not mean laying down in my dictionary.
(6) 204 words. Damn it! She beat me! *pouts*
Thanks to:
Duh- Forgive my bad sense of humor, but I had to put that. And, no I haven't seen him….
WildfireDreams- Well, somebody is in love.
AnimegirlH- What fun is a fic without a cliffhanger? How else do you expect me to keep people wanting to read it?
MerryPenDragon- Ooh. New person. I can't say I've ever seen the crossover that you're talking about…but then, I was in the HP fandom a couple years ago, SO…. Anyway. Before I forget. =þ The Masho are so much better. Except nobody's better than Rowen. Oh, and a little note: I don't use my spellchecker. Reason being that it puts so many things as wrong (your name, jitte, Ryou, things like that), and it drives me up the wall because I'm too lazy to hit the "Add" button.
Harry2- YES! DIE, NARRATOR, DIE! … *coughs* Um, yeah. I…don't have any ointment for my knees, I'm afraid. And I also don't know where to get some. And I also don't have any money. Hence my problem. ^^;