Wow. I can't believe it's almost over.
Review responses:
Matthias Drake the White Raven: O.o I won't say a word... scary laugh frightens me...
Naoko Kensaku: *glowing with pride* Thank you so much! O.o How did you know?! I really, REALLY want to be an author, and write original fiction! So... that means a lot to me. Thanks.
Darkfire180: But I rule suspense. ^_~ You think that's good? It's nothing compared to the final twist...
Disclaimer: Taki now owns himself, so I own nothing. T_T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Instrumental
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My mind slowly surfaced from a haze of half-remembered dreams and unnamed horrors. I felt that I was lying on a cold stone floor, but didn't open my eyes to discover my surroundings. That would have taken too much effort. I simply lay there, facedown on the floor.
~This is the second time I've been knocked unconscious in as many days,~ I thought grimly.
~When I wake up, somebody's going to pay.~
After lying on the floor for some time, clearing my head, I thought I had recovered the strength enough to stand.
I tried to get up, slipped on a stone, and fell flat on my face.
Or not.
A chuckle alerted me to the fact that there were others near. I tensed, and with a massive effort, rose to a half-kneeling crouch.
Two men lounged by the base of what might have been an altar to some obscene pagan god. Cold, cruel amusement was in their eyes, and the laughter coming from their throats had an unpleasant quality to it - like they would murder babies without a second thought. And enjoy it.
Memory flooded back as I gazed on them. The three boys, finding me playing my flute, going to Koenma, the bar, the capture-
My eyes narrowed as I regarded them with pure hatred, and my fingers tightened unconsciously on my flute. A moment's thought was spared to surprise at the fact that it had been left with me.
"It's no good trying to run," Chiris informed me. "The effects of that gas will last for another four hours."
~Fine. It's not like I have anywhere to run to,~ I thought to myself. ~But... why am I not in chains? Or tied up? Wouldn't that have been easier than gassing me?~
As if reading my thoughts, Goron grinned. "You're not supposed to be hurt," he rumbled. "Yet."
I spared him a glance of contempt. Why was it that the stupid ones were always the villains?
Chiris elbowed Goron in the ribs forcefully. Apparently, he had as much tolerance for his partner's stupidity as I did.
Goron winced and rubbed the spot, as Chiris turned to address me once again. "It would be stupid to harm you at the moment," he said, casually. "We had a devil of a time finding you. At first, we thought you were dead, like the rest of them." He winced at a memory only he and his partner could sense. "The master... was displeased with us for that." His eyes darted to the statue for a moment, then back again.
This drew my gaze to the monument for the first time, and I stiffened.
The carven monstrosity was a hideous amalgamation of beasts. A patch of scales there, feathers here, slimy, porous skin elsewhere. Horns and tails poked out at odd places. Yet despite all this, it seemed that all the patchworked parts were carefully chosen for power, and woven together in a pattern that promised death for anyone foolish enough to challenge it. But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was that the statue was alive.
I could see the actual bits of skin overlaying the stone where it was becoming real, and I could sense a sentient mind behind the sculpted mask. The mind was dormant, as it had been for a long time, but it was there. And it was hungry.
Chiris was speaking again. I tore my thoughts away from the statue and listened.
"Imagine our joy when we found you were alive. But then you kept moving around. Why couldn't you stay in one place, dammit?" he demanded angrily, his face twisted into a scowl. "For every day you weren't found, he punished us more!"
His ugly face slid into a sadistic grin once again. "So when he's through with you... then WE'LL have our fun. THEN you'll die slowly. And..." He licked his lips. "Painfully."
If his speech was meant to inspire fear in me, it didn't work. It was just one more thing to add to my hatred and their growing list of crimes.
I wished I could say something clever and heroic - about how their plan would never work, or a threat, or some witty insult about their intelligence. But the man in front of me had effectively eliminated any possibility of doing that. All I could do was glare.
~Wait a sec! Kurama said something about me using telepathy, triggered by the music I play. That's how I can use the music as my voice.~ I eyed the statue warily. ~I can't risk playing music in front of that thing - I don't know what tune might wake it up. But maybe - maybe I can use my telepathy without my music!~
~That's assuming I'll leave you two alive,~ I shot back. ~I was thinking more of worms than murderers.~
Chiris stepped back, a look of surprise on his face, but Goron's eyes darkened with rage. He stepped forward, bringing up a meaty arm to hit me with. "Why, you little..."
I stared up at him boldly, with a look of contempt in my eyes and a superior expression. I wasn't afraid of getting beaten, especially not by this idiot.
Chiris, however, put an arm out to stop him. He regarded me with amusement as his partner growled. "Well, well, the mouse has teeth. Save your anger, Goron," he advised, glancing at the muscle-bound man. When he turned back to me, he wore an expression of sadistic pleasure, oozing malevolence from every pore.
"That can wait until after the Summoning is complete."
~I'm not summoning any demons,~ I declared firmly.
He chuckled softly - the same chuckle I had heard when his hands were crushing my throat. "Oh, I don't think you have a choice."
The two men backed away from me, one on either side of the altar. Goron's ugly countenance was now wearing an expression identical to his partner's. I began to feel a bit uneasy. Both of them seemed to know what was going to happen next... and I had a feeling that anything they liked would not be very pleasant...
A noise caught my attention. I jerked my head up - or tried to, at least. The gas was still slowing my movements.
I forgot all about the gas when I saw what was happening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurama came to his senses slowly. His eyelids fluttered, then opened.
Yusuke and Kuwabara were still lying where they had fallen. Hiei was slightly off to one side, his katana lying next to him. There was no sign of Taki.
Kurama got up slowly, cursing his stiff muscles. He noticed that he was back in his human form - and also that the stiffness was not the kind you get from lying down in the middle of a street.
~The poison gas,~ he realized. ~It has done more damage than I thought.~
Knowing the cause, he brought his hand up to his hair, in which he stored particularly useful plants. Unless ordered otherwise, they grew as tiny seedlings attached to his scalp. Now he told one to let go and drop into his hand.
Kurama put the plant in the dirt beside him and exerted a bit of his youki. It quickly grew into a six-foot high bush with dark, ripe berries. He picked one and placed it in his mouth. The taste was bitter and unpleasant, but he could move normally again.
Kurama picked three more of the berries, thanked the plant, and shrank it to a seedling once again. His companions were soon awakened by the berries' bitter taste.
"Yechh!" Yusuke exclaimed, spitting onto the ground beside him. "What the hell was that, Kurama?"
"Yeah, it tasted like a rotten coffee bean," added Kuwabara.
Hiei shot him a scathing glance. "I don't even want to know how you knew that," he said.
Kurama ignored the comments. "The berry was a medicine to counteract the effects of the gas," he explained. "Where is the boy?"
"Beats me," Yusuke shrugged. "I just blacked out."
Hiei stiffened, remembering suddenly. "He was taken."
"By who?"
"Two men. A black-haired and a blond. They knocked me out before I could kill them."
~Chiris and Goron,~ Kurama thought, his eyes wide with alarm. He stood quickly. "I know of their hideout. They will be at Caer Fallis. Follow me! Hurry!"
The four boys raced to the temple, each of them hoping grimly that it wasn't too late...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I stood frozen as the horror unfolded in front of my eyes. The statue was shifting, the patches of reality changing shape as I watched. The actual stone didn't move, but its spirit did. Worst of all, I sensed that hungry mind come awake.
And all its attention was focused on me.
Then I felt a song come into my head with the force of a sledgehammer. ~Play this,~ the power demanded. ~Play this! Wake me!~
I cried out, putting my hands to my head and slumping to my knees. ~Stop... it hurts... It hurts! Get out! GET OUT!!~
~PLAY!!!~ it roared, and I screamed, a wordless cry of pain.
The two demons watched my writhings greedily, as if it were some sort of show to which they had front-row seats. Every now and then they'd laugh.
"You can't resist it," taunted Chiris. "If you do, you only get more pain. Of course, you might still die, if you're not strong enough to play it. If you fight it." He grinned. "The girl did."
"It killed her from the inside out."
My eyes snapped open.
~Killed her from the inside out... killed her from... killed her... killed her... killed...~
The words bounced around in my head as the temple was enveloped in a sudden stillness. The silence was broken by a small, quavering whisper. "N-no..."
"SHIRAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
Belatedly, I realized that it was my own voice screaming the name. I was on my feet, tears streaming down my cheeks, my fists clenched tight with my flute in my right hand. Then the tears stopped, and my eyes narrowed in rage.
Sometime during this, the four boys I had befriended rushed in, and were stopped with awe.
They say that my aura became physical, cold flames of blue-green fire. They say that my flute lengthened and twisted, becoming a musical sword that sang as it cut through the air. They say that I no longer looked human, but like an avenging angel. Or a god.
I wouldn't know. The only thing I was aware of then was that I had a sword in my hand, and the s.o.b.s that killed Shira were right in front of me.
"You bastards," I spat. "You'll pay for what you did!"
I launched myself at them, heedless of the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about swordplay. Luckily, both of them had stunned and frightened looks on their faces, and were slow in scrabbling for their weapons. I slew Goron in three quick strokes.
As I turned to do away with the second vermin, I met a blade with my own. Chiris had recovered his senses and was coming at me with his sword.
He had an advantage over me in that he knew what he was doing, but I was fueled by pure grief and rage. He thrust; I blocked. He slashed; I parried. Every little movement pushed him further back until his back touched the wall.
Chiris attempted to step backward and his eyes widened as he realized there was nowhere else to go. His movements became desperate, sloppy. He was fighting for his life and he knew it.
The deadly dance ended when he foolishly slashed upward, leaving his right side wide open. I ran my sword through his stomach, coldly satisfied by the sight of the dark stain spreading on his shirt.
"Now die," I hissed.
"You... fool!" he choked, his fingers clutching the slash as if somehow hoping to hold it together. Bright red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. "If... we die... then..."
His sentence was never to be completed, as his eyes rolled up in his head and he slid to the ground. But the cold feeling of dread trickling down my neck told me that I was about to find out what he had been trying to say.
Someone gasped, and I whirled to see a mist rising from the body of Goron. It made a sound as it rose, and I realized that these were the notes of the song I had been ordered to play. More mist was rising from Chiris' body. It joined with the other mist, and, hovering in front of the altar, fluted out the piece of music that would wake the demon.
I stared at it with a nasty, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Now I understood.
The piece of music did wake the demon, but it required a talented musician to play it, one that could withstand the power. However, the ancient demon who had been sealed here had inserted another rule. The sacrifice of its two slaves - for that was what they had been - would also awaken it, with the power unleashed from their death. Unwilling to commit suicide, the demons had searched for a musician to play the music. They had found Shira.
But she hadn't worked out well, resisting to the last. And they had believed that the entire family was dead. Until I had come along. And, stupidly, walked right into their hands.
And now the demon was being resurrected.
The mist finished its ominous serenade and dissipated. For a moment, I hoped it hadn't worked. Then the ground started shaking.
To my left, a pillar collapsed; behind me, I heard sounds that meant my friends were getting out of the way. I wasn't paying any particular attention, for the statue had started to move.
Large pieces of stone flaked off, revealing skin and scales of poisonous shades. A terrible roar shook the temple still further, as the beast regained use of its lungs.
My mind whirled as I watched the event, trying to find a way out. I couldn't let this beast walk the earth again! But how to stop it? How-?
Suddenly, with an undeniable conviction, I knew exactly what to do. So suddenly that I expected an otherworldly hand in it.
My sword shrank back to a flute in my hands, and I moved in front of the altar. Heedless of the huge ceiling stones crashing down around me, I put my trusty flute to my lips and began to play.
~With music unleashed,
Now with music return.
Seal this demon inside
with a key none may learn.
You shall not pass -
this place is your tomb.
Sleep now, die now,
and bring not others' doom.~
Gradually, the roaring subsided. The patches of skin shrank into mist, and then into nothing. The monster had taken me at my word - it was dying. Then there was nothing left but a crumbling stone statue.
I stood there as the emotions and anger that had fueled me drained away, leaving numbness in their place. My hands went limp as the flute dropped from them and rolled away, coming to a stop in the nearby rubble. My knees gave way, and I slumped, to be caught by a pair of warm arms. I only found out later that they were Kurama's. I leaned on the person's chest and wept.
"She's dead," I sobbed into the encircling arms. "Shira's dead... she's dead..."
And as I cried my heart out for the loss of a sister I had been searching for for over two years, nature mirrored my grief. The heavens broke, and a light rain swept over the ruins of my life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And the victory has been gained...
but, I ask you, at what cost?
When does a victory become a loss?"
- The Definition of a Pyrrhic Victory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*whistles* Deeply moving stuff.
I've got one more chapter - well, half-chapter - for you guys. Until then, simply review. And if you've got any questions for Taki, he says he'd be glad to answer them.
Review responses:
Matthias Drake the White Raven: O.o I won't say a word... scary laugh frightens me...
Naoko Kensaku: *glowing with pride* Thank you so much! O.o How did you know?! I really, REALLY want to be an author, and write original fiction! So... that means a lot to me. Thanks.
Darkfire180: But I rule suspense. ^_~ You think that's good? It's nothing compared to the final twist...
Disclaimer: Taki now owns himself, so I own nothing. T_T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Instrumental
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My mind slowly surfaced from a haze of half-remembered dreams and unnamed horrors. I felt that I was lying on a cold stone floor, but didn't open my eyes to discover my surroundings. That would have taken too much effort. I simply lay there, facedown on the floor.
~This is the second time I've been knocked unconscious in as many days,~ I thought grimly.
~When I wake up, somebody's going to pay.~
After lying on the floor for some time, clearing my head, I thought I had recovered the strength enough to stand.
I tried to get up, slipped on a stone, and fell flat on my face.
Or not.
A chuckle alerted me to the fact that there were others near. I tensed, and with a massive effort, rose to a half-kneeling crouch.
Two men lounged by the base of what might have been an altar to some obscene pagan god. Cold, cruel amusement was in their eyes, and the laughter coming from their throats had an unpleasant quality to it - like they would murder babies without a second thought. And enjoy it.
Memory flooded back as I gazed on them. The three boys, finding me playing my flute, going to Koenma, the bar, the capture-
My eyes narrowed as I regarded them with pure hatred, and my fingers tightened unconsciously on my flute. A moment's thought was spared to surprise at the fact that it had been left with me.
"It's no good trying to run," Chiris informed me. "The effects of that gas will last for another four hours."
~Fine. It's not like I have anywhere to run to,~ I thought to myself. ~But... why am I not in chains? Or tied up? Wouldn't that have been easier than gassing me?~
As if reading my thoughts, Goron grinned. "You're not supposed to be hurt," he rumbled. "Yet."
I spared him a glance of contempt. Why was it that the stupid ones were always the villains?
Chiris elbowed Goron in the ribs forcefully. Apparently, he had as much tolerance for his partner's stupidity as I did.
Goron winced and rubbed the spot, as Chiris turned to address me once again. "It would be stupid to harm you at the moment," he said, casually. "We had a devil of a time finding you. At first, we thought you were dead, like the rest of them." He winced at a memory only he and his partner could sense. "The master... was displeased with us for that." His eyes darted to the statue for a moment, then back again.
This drew my gaze to the monument for the first time, and I stiffened.
The carven monstrosity was a hideous amalgamation of beasts. A patch of scales there, feathers here, slimy, porous skin elsewhere. Horns and tails poked out at odd places. Yet despite all this, it seemed that all the patchworked parts were carefully chosen for power, and woven together in a pattern that promised death for anyone foolish enough to challenge it. But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was that the statue was alive.
I could see the actual bits of skin overlaying the stone where it was becoming real, and I could sense a sentient mind behind the sculpted mask. The mind was dormant, as it had been for a long time, but it was there. And it was hungry.
Chiris was speaking again. I tore my thoughts away from the statue and listened.
"Imagine our joy when we found you were alive. But then you kept moving around. Why couldn't you stay in one place, dammit?" he demanded angrily, his face twisted into a scowl. "For every day you weren't found, he punished us more!"
His ugly face slid into a sadistic grin once again. "So when he's through with you... then WE'LL have our fun. THEN you'll die slowly. And..." He licked his lips. "Painfully."
If his speech was meant to inspire fear in me, it didn't work. It was just one more thing to add to my hatred and their growing list of crimes.
I wished I could say something clever and heroic - about how their plan would never work, or a threat, or some witty insult about their intelligence. But the man in front of me had effectively eliminated any possibility of doing that. All I could do was glare.
~Wait a sec! Kurama said something about me using telepathy, triggered by the music I play. That's how I can use the music as my voice.~ I eyed the statue warily. ~I can't risk playing music in front of that thing - I don't know what tune might wake it up. But maybe - maybe I can use my telepathy without my music!~
~That's assuming I'll leave you two alive,~ I shot back. ~I was thinking more of worms than murderers.~
Chiris stepped back, a look of surprise on his face, but Goron's eyes darkened with rage. He stepped forward, bringing up a meaty arm to hit me with. "Why, you little..."
I stared up at him boldly, with a look of contempt in my eyes and a superior expression. I wasn't afraid of getting beaten, especially not by this idiot.
Chiris, however, put an arm out to stop him. He regarded me with amusement as his partner growled. "Well, well, the mouse has teeth. Save your anger, Goron," he advised, glancing at the muscle-bound man. When he turned back to me, he wore an expression of sadistic pleasure, oozing malevolence from every pore.
"That can wait until after the Summoning is complete."
~I'm not summoning any demons,~ I declared firmly.
He chuckled softly - the same chuckle I had heard when his hands were crushing my throat. "Oh, I don't think you have a choice."
The two men backed away from me, one on either side of the altar. Goron's ugly countenance was now wearing an expression identical to his partner's. I began to feel a bit uneasy. Both of them seemed to know what was going to happen next... and I had a feeling that anything they liked would not be very pleasant...
A noise caught my attention. I jerked my head up - or tried to, at least. The gas was still slowing my movements.
I forgot all about the gas when I saw what was happening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurama came to his senses slowly. His eyelids fluttered, then opened.
Yusuke and Kuwabara were still lying where they had fallen. Hiei was slightly off to one side, his katana lying next to him. There was no sign of Taki.
Kurama got up slowly, cursing his stiff muscles. He noticed that he was back in his human form - and also that the stiffness was not the kind you get from lying down in the middle of a street.
~The poison gas,~ he realized. ~It has done more damage than I thought.~
Knowing the cause, he brought his hand up to his hair, in which he stored particularly useful plants. Unless ordered otherwise, they grew as tiny seedlings attached to his scalp. Now he told one to let go and drop into his hand.
Kurama put the plant in the dirt beside him and exerted a bit of his youki. It quickly grew into a six-foot high bush with dark, ripe berries. He picked one and placed it in his mouth. The taste was bitter and unpleasant, but he could move normally again.
Kurama picked three more of the berries, thanked the plant, and shrank it to a seedling once again. His companions were soon awakened by the berries' bitter taste.
"Yechh!" Yusuke exclaimed, spitting onto the ground beside him. "What the hell was that, Kurama?"
"Yeah, it tasted like a rotten coffee bean," added Kuwabara.
Hiei shot him a scathing glance. "I don't even want to know how you knew that," he said.
Kurama ignored the comments. "The berry was a medicine to counteract the effects of the gas," he explained. "Where is the boy?"
"Beats me," Yusuke shrugged. "I just blacked out."
Hiei stiffened, remembering suddenly. "He was taken."
"By who?"
"Two men. A black-haired and a blond. They knocked me out before I could kill them."
~Chiris and Goron,~ Kurama thought, his eyes wide with alarm. He stood quickly. "I know of their hideout. They will be at Caer Fallis. Follow me! Hurry!"
The four boys raced to the temple, each of them hoping grimly that it wasn't too late...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I stood frozen as the horror unfolded in front of my eyes. The statue was shifting, the patches of reality changing shape as I watched. The actual stone didn't move, but its spirit did. Worst of all, I sensed that hungry mind come awake.
And all its attention was focused on me.
Then I felt a song come into my head with the force of a sledgehammer. ~Play this,~ the power demanded. ~Play this! Wake me!~
I cried out, putting my hands to my head and slumping to my knees. ~Stop... it hurts... It hurts! Get out! GET OUT!!~
~PLAY!!!~ it roared, and I screamed, a wordless cry of pain.
The two demons watched my writhings greedily, as if it were some sort of show to which they had front-row seats. Every now and then they'd laugh.
"You can't resist it," taunted Chiris. "If you do, you only get more pain. Of course, you might still die, if you're not strong enough to play it. If you fight it." He grinned. "The girl did."
"It killed her from the inside out."
My eyes snapped open.
~Killed her from the inside out... killed her from... killed her... killed her... killed...~
The words bounced around in my head as the temple was enveloped in a sudden stillness. The silence was broken by a small, quavering whisper. "N-no..."
"SHIRAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
Belatedly, I realized that it was my own voice screaming the name. I was on my feet, tears streaming down my cheeks, my fists clenched tight with my flute in my right hand. Then the tears stopped, and my eyes narrowed in rage.
Sometime during this, the four boys I had befriended rushed in, and were stopped with awe.
They say that my aura became physical, cold flames of blue-green fire. They say that my flute lengthened and twisted, becoming a musical sword that sang as it cut through the air. They say that I no longer looked human, but like an avenging angel. Or a god.
I wouldn't know. The only thing I was aware of then was that I had a sword in my hand, and the s.o.b.s that killed Shira were right in front of me.
"You bastards," I spat. "You'll pay for what you did!"
I launched myself at them, heedless of the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about swordplay. Luckily, both of them had stunned and frightened looks on their faces, and were slow in scrabbling for their weapons. I slew Goron in three quick strokes.
As I turned to do away with the second vermin, I met a blade with my own. Chiris had recovered his senses and was coming at me with his sword.
He had an advantage over me in that he knew what he was doing, but I was fueled by pure grief and rage. He thrust; I blocked. He slashed; I parried. Every little movement pushed him further back until his back touched the wall.
Chiris attempted to step backward and his eyes widened as he realized there was nowhere else to go. His movements became desperate, sloppy. He was fighting for his life and he knew it.
The deadly dance ended when he foolishly slashed upward, leaving his right side wide open. I ran my sword through his stomach, coldly satisfied by the sight of the dark stain spreading on his shirt.
"Now die," I hissed.
"You... fool!" he choked, his fingers clutching the slash as if somehow hoping to hold it together. Bright red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. "If... we die... then..."
His sentence was never to be completed, as his eyes rolled up in his head and he slid to the ground. But the cold feeling of dread trickling down my neck told me that I was about to find out what he had been trying to say.
Someone gasped, and I whirled to see a mist rising from the body of Goron. It made a sound as it rose, and I realized that these were the notes of the song I had been ordered to play. More mist was rising from Chiris' body. It joined with the other mist, and, hovering in front of the altar, fluted out the piece of music that would wake the demon.
I stared at it with a nasty, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Now I understood.
The piece of music did wake the demon, but it required a talented musician to play it, one that could withstand the power. However, the ancient demon who had been sealed here had inserted another rule. The sacrifice of its two slaves - for that was what they had been - would also awaken it, with the power unleashed from their death. Unwilling to commit suicide, the demons had searched for a musician to play the music. They had found Shira.
But she hadn't worked out well, resisting to the last. And they had believed that the entire family was dead. Until I had come along. And, stupidly, walked right into their hands.
And now the demon was being resurrected.
The mist finished its ominous serenade and dissipated. For a moment, I hoped it hadn't worked. Then the ground started shaking.
To my left, a pillar collapsed; behind me, I heard sounds that meant my friends were getting out of the way. I wasn't paying any particular attention, for the statue had started to move.
Large pieces of stone flaked off, revealing skin and scales of poisonous shades. A terrible roar shook the temple still further, as the beast regained use of its lungs.
My mind whirled as I watched the event, trying to find a way out. I couldn't let this beast walk the earth again! But how to stop it? How-?
Suddenly, with an undeniable conviction, I knew exactly what to do. So suddenly that I expected an otherworldly hand in it.
My sword shrank back to a flute in my hands, and I moved in front of the altar. Heedless of the huge ceiling stones crashing down around me, I put my trusty flute to my lips and began to play.
~With music unleashed,
Now with music return.
Seal this demon inside
with a key none may learn.
You shall not pass -
this place is your tomb.
Sleep now, die now,
and bring not others' doom.~
Gradually, the roaring subsided. The patches of skin shrank into mist, and then into nothing. The monster had taken me at my word - it was dying. Then there was nothing left but a crumbling stone statue.
I stood there as the emotions and anger that had fueled me drained away, leaving numbness in their place. My hands went limp as the flute dropped from them and rolled away, coming to a stop in the nearby rubble. My knees gave way, and I slumped, to be caught by a pair of warm arms. I only found out later that they were Kurama's. I leaned on the person's chest and wept.
"She's dead," I sobbed into the encircling arms. "Shira's dead... she's dead..."
And as I cried my heart out for the loss of a sister I had been searching for for over two years, nature mirrored my grief. The heavens broke, and a light rain swept over the ruins of my life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And the victory has been gained...
but, I ask you, at what cost?
When does a victory become a loss?"
- The Definition of a Pyrrhic Victory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*whistles* Deeply moving stuff.
I've got one more chapter - well, half-chapter - for you guys. Until then, simply review. And if you've got any questions for Taki, he says he'd be glad to answer them.