She may have seemed like Wonderwoman before, but Koichira's seriously outmatched when it comes to beating creatures immune to fire: firerats, cute hanyou wearing firerat coats . . .

These fearsome firerats are inspired by passing mention in the show/books. What is a firerat supposed to look like, anyway?

Chapter 7: Firerat

"Headman! Headman!" screamed the man on night watch. "Something's coming!"

The headman had been about to sit down to dinner with Takayuki for the second night in a row when the shout came. The old man was surprisingly fast on his feet, the monk realized; Takayuki was unable to catch up with the older man before he reached the lookout post.

"What are you hollering about, boy?" the headman asked gruffly.

"Over there, sir, beyond the first line of trees. Every few seconds, we see a yellow burst-- just like fire, sir."

Takayuki's heart leapt. Had Koichira returned? He was answered a moment later when a cluster of trees disappeared in a ball of flame and a monster walked through the bonfire.

"By the Gods!" the watchman breathed. "What is that?"

The headman stroked his beard thoughtfully. "That, my son, is a firerat. Rouse the village, quickly. We'll need every man here to drive it back." He added in a sour undertone, "If that's even possible."

The rat changed his pace from a lumbering walk to a earthshaking gallop, straight toward the village. There was a tightly-controlled panic in the village. The women gathered all of the children, many of whom cried at being so rudely awakened, and ran for the river. Young boys and girls helped the elderly to flee. The men and older boys grabbed hunting weapons or tools from their trade. Carrying their bows, shovels and axes, they ranged themselves in front of their houses, a pitiful single line of defense against the fiery monster.

The firerat slowed as it neared the village, swinging its head back and forth to sniff, as if it was searching for something. It continued to advance, more cautiously now, still sniffing. As it approached the village men close enough for them to smell its foul breath, one of the young men panicked. Screaming, he ran forward and thrust his spear into the monster's side. The shaft broke, leaving him standing with only a long, broken stick. The head turned slowly to examine the pestering human. With desperation's wild strength, the young man plunged the broken end of the shaft deep into the snout.

A firerat is most vulnerable around the eye, then the snout, then the ears or underbelly. The rest of it is covered with wiry hair as strong as steel, so they are not often injured.

The rat roared. It reared up on its hind legs and pawed frantically at the spear shaft embedded just behind its nose, but it was buried too deeply to be knocked loose. The young man who had wounded it tried to run too late. A rope-like tail as thick around as a man's leg knocked him flying. Then the monster opened its mouth and belched flame. The men closed ranks, trying to protect the ones who had been badly burned, but they knew their attempts were hopeless. Grinning, the monster opened its mouth again.

There was a single scream of fear before the fireball enveloped the entire group of men. When the flames died down, the monster saw that a woman was shielding them within expanding orbs of fire.

Most firerats are slow to understand new threats and adapt to them. Koichira had used surprise successfully both times she fought them. She was counting on it to work now; otherwise she was leaping straight into death's jaws with a four-inch switchblade in her left hand. She landed on the rat's bottom jaw just behind the row of teeth, grabbed hold of its nostrils with her right hand and vaulted herself up and over its upper jaw to land between its eyes.

The rat shook its head hard, trying to dislodge the pest, but she grabbed a handful of its hair and held on, bouncing comically from the left side of the rat's head to its right. Unfortunately, this firerat was older and more clever than any Koichira had fought. It rolled over, threatening to crush the fire demon. She let go at the last moment, flinging herself wide, and found herself wading in one of the rice paddies. Koichira jumped to avoid the rat's whip-like tail, but the suctioning mud slowed her down so much that she was hit in the chest.

Koichira landed in more muddy water, and had to struggle to keep her head above the water while catching her breath. Her ribs hadn't even healed yet from the she-bear's beating.

The firerat was exceptionally fast and agile for its size. In two seconds he was sinking his hand-length teeth into her upper arm. Koichira tried to scream but choked on the filthy water. The monster prepared to shake her until her right arm ripped off, but Koichira, in a desperate move, twisted herself parallel to the water and landed a kick in the firerat's left eye socket. When the creature opened its mouth to roar, Koichira pulled herself free and took two steps before tripping over the rice plants and sinking into the mud. The rat belched a fireball at her from two feet away.

The monster knew that sometimes creatures could still fight when they were badly burned, but it also knew that nothing survived a direct hit from his fireball. Still, just to be cautious, it turned its head to see his scorched opponent with his uninjured eye. The last thing it saw was the moon glinting off a four-inch switch blade.

The fireball had succeeded in instantly drying the patch of mud around her into clay hard enough for Koichira to jump from. She struck with all of the force of her leap, driving the small knife through the demon's eye and deep into its brain. Her left arm was coated in blood and bits of flesh up past the elbow. The dead firerat collapsed on its side, pinning Koichira beneath it, several inches below the water's surface.

One of the uninjured young men took charge, urging his comrades to save their rescuer. "On the count of three, everyone lift. One, two, HEAVE!" he called out in a strong baritone. While the others struggled to lift the monster's huge head, he pulled Koichira out from beneath it and dragged her out of the rice field to dry ground.

The victorious fire demon sputtered and coughed up water. She managed a weak grin for her rescuer, muttering, "Thought I was a goner that time."

He laughed heartily, "So did all of us, Koichira-joshi, before you came along. I'm Tsuruoka Itsuko." The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. "I'm Yota's older brother. I was in the fields when it happened, but everyone says you healed his leg."

"Takayuki healed him. I just broke the leg."

Itsuko shrugged indifferently. "Both of you helped him run again. I wanted to thank you, but I heard you'd left. Why did you come back?"

"Um . . ."

Someone was shouting near the men who had been burned. No one had ever heard the monk raise his voice before. They parted immediately to let him pass. "Koichira? Where are you?"

Itsuko called, "Here, Houshi-sama. She's fine."

The monk ran, his muddy yellow robes flapping behind. He stared at her, horrified, clearly disagreeing with Itsuko's diagnosis. "Koichira? You're bleeding all over the place! These puncture wounds are filthy, and your right shoulder is dislocated . . ."

The fire demon grinned slightly. "I'm glad to see you too, Takayuki-sama . . ." The monk continued scolding, but it evened out to a gentle buzz as Koichira sank into unconsciousness.