Underwater Savior

Chapter 13: Despair of a Kami, Death of a Sorcerer

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

Violent down near the end of the chapter, regarding a bit of vampirism and a brutal beating. The beating itself is more inferred, not exactly blow-by-blow.

Edited for spelling errors I missed. Bad Rain, bad!

Kohakunushi had been flying all night, searching for the dog demon. He was still extremely angry that his barrier had been breached. He was even more pissed that somehow he had tricked one of the adults to bring something of his inside the house. Didn't they realize not to trust a giant dog that they don't recognize? Especially if he gave you a piece of paper with writing on it.

He couldn't find a trace of the dog. He wasn't surprised, he had wasted time comforting the child, but he couldn't bring himself to just leave her there like that. He saw something slighlty suspicious in one of the yards, but there wasn't enough time left to investigate. He headed for a nearby meadow to land, and took back his human form there.

He collapsed on a rock to think, not noticing truly where he was. His hair flowed around his head in waves, the currents of wind, river, and sea still surrounding him in his pain and stress. He had no idea what was happening to him. Once, he would have placed the well-being of his river before the well-being of the humans who surrounded him. Lately though, it seemed that the humans were in more need of him than the river. The strange thing was, HE was the river. So did that mean that others needed him more than he needed himself? It was such a confusing thought, and it made his head hurt. Out of nowhere, he suddenly realized that although he had sealed Chihiro's house, he had forgotten to include the grounds.

A sleepy hiss brought him back to himself as something wound its way up his leg.

"Aniki? What's wrong? Is she ok?"

A little green jewel could be seen laying on his knee. The only thing that marred the illusion of a large emerald were the black eyes and darting lightning tongue. The winding sensation had been Maiden Snake checking on him. The kinship between the two halves of the serpentine family was such that any strong emotion could be sensed by a member of the other half if they were close enough. The rock which was serving as his seat must be the one she was now living under. Maybe she would eventually evolve into a dragon after all if she felt him from down there.

"Everything is wrong, but yes, she is ok."

"Is there anything I can do? I might still be young, and only know a little magic, but I want to help somehow."

The dragon-man and snake stared at each other for a time, the only sign of restlessness being the never ceasing movements of the imitation waves upon his head.

"Perhaps there is a way. How would you like to have a nice, new home in a little house garden, near a little girl who would probably leave you tasty tidbits if you asked?"

"You want someone that you can trust to keep an eye on her."

A dip of the head was her answer from him. Even in this form, she gained more from his body language than his words. 'Typical dragon who doesn't want to share his worries.'

"I'll be glad to go. He hasn't shown up here for a while."

"Try not to let her see you. She knows too much of our world already. Her life is before her, she deserves a chance to live it in her own world." 'She deserves a chance to live at all. What would he do to her?'

Green swam through green unseen and was gone. Maiden Snake left her home without a word, fully prepared to never to see it again. Kohakunushi slowly stood after he was gone. Setting one foot before the other, they beat out a sad song of a river flowing towards a sea it was not sure it would ever see. Even after he killed the demon, assuming that one as young as he was capable of doing so, he would lose a vast part of his river. If he didn't die of power depletion, then he would surely become one of the Unknowns and Unremembered. Who would be there for the others, especially Chihiro, then.

He knew that he would lose the battle for his river, but there may be something he could yet do to protect the family he had adopted as his own. Taking a break and waiting for the mononoke to come back out of hiding, he headed for his home to collect the supplies for the spell.

He was determined that even in death, he would remain somehow for his precious treasure.

Chihiro woke with the dawn, which was strange for her. Something had pulled at her dreams, tugging them away from her. She had seen a plug being lowered into a pool, from which a river flowed. The flow of the river slowed, and machinery was sucking up what was in the riverbed. Leading the men doing this was a large form that was so familiar to her, but she couldn't see his face. It was strange, and she didn't understand it. It scared her though, almost as much as the monster that was in her room last night.

She had always scoffed when other kids told her about monsters under their beds or in their closets. But now, she wasn't so sure that it couldn't happen. She had been the only child in the community to never have dreams about bedroom monsters. However, it wasn't a dream, as she could clearly remember Kohaku rocking her, and two onigiri sat on a plate by the bed waiting for her. She could even fuzzily remember what he had hovered above her window.

"Sleep, my precious pearl. Nothing will harm you now. I seal your home against the monsters. Hear the dragon lullaby with your mind. Feel the embrace of my waves."

Hearing the spell he had chanted while he sealed her home and ensured her rest had sent her deep into slumber. Indeed, the security of his river had even wrapped itself about her sleeping form and soul, energetically speaking.

Unable to reenter the realm of sleep, she ate the simple breakfast the spirit had left for her. Afterwards, she pulled on some warm clothing over her pajamas. She was going to go out in the garden for a while, having already figured out how to unlock the new locks on the doors. Perhaps the scent of the flowers would help her calm down. She had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Maybe later today she could talk Grandpa into taking her to see the Sacred Spring. She wanted to see where the waters emerged from the purifying mountain.

At the Mahou residence, Chisen was preparing himself for work, having already had his breakfast of rice. He stood in the bathroom, straightening his tie and slicking back his hair. Greasiness and griminess oozed out of each pore, although he was physically perfectly kept. Little did he know that he was perfecting his death suit instead of just his work persona.

The front door was knocked open, creating a loud bang that was unheard by Chisen. The wards around his home were little better than nothing, the seals having peeled away long ago. His father had mysteriously passed away before his training in the dark arts were complete, and so he had very few defenses. This was all to Greed's advantage.

Greed padded through the door, shedding as much as he could over everything. Before long, balls of the white substance stuck to everything. It was a low blow, but then again, his life had consisted of low blows for what seemed an eternity now. Patiently, he lay down on the couch and waited for his victim to emerge.

The human toddled out of the bathroom, humming a tune to himself that drove the dog crazy with irritation. Having his eyes closed at first, for a while he missed the mess the awaited him. Not for long though, as a great gob of the fearsome fibersped towards his unsuspecting nasal passage. Exhaling quickly, Chisen's eyes opened and surveyed the damage.

"Took you long enough to come out, 'master'. Getting pretty?"

"You! How did you get in here?"

The old dog stretched and yawned.

"Passed through your barrier. Even a pup could put up a better one than that."

"Begone. Get out of my home."

"Listen, pup. I was here way beyond your grandfather even. I was here when this community was barely started. I am tired of being ordered around by someone weaker than I. It ends today, pup."

Chisen's eyes widened, the only expression showing through the thick mask of fear. Briefly, he wondered what had happened to break his hold on the demon. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a vial of holy water from some Shrine. Ebay had been kind enough to provide him the needed link to obtain this. Uncapping it, he flung a stream toward the impure creature.

The water didn't even phase the oncoming demon. Instead, it only seemed to make him stronger, and a chilling cackle issued from the animal's throat.

"Even the most holy object can became tainted when too long in the possession of an evil being. Surely you have something better than that."

A packet of salt came at the malicious being next, followed by one of ash. Neither had any effect.

"No powers from within, pup? Have you gone so far down the dark path that your gifts have been taken or bound? Pity. I was hoping for more of a challenge."

The Blood Wizard was now backed against a wall, staring at the demon he thought he had once controlled. The more he thought about it however, the more he realized he had never controlled him. The beast had just played along, biding his time.

"Before I take your life, there is something I want to show you."

The sorcerer could only watch, overrun with terror as mist surrounded the dog, then faded away to leave the form of a man. Though the skin was pale as the moon, and the coarse clothing a stained white, he could recognize this man. The snow-white hair gleamed even in the dawn's filtered white, flowing around him as if the replace the coat he had once worn. Bloodthirsty golden eyes glared at him, twin daggers ready to fire through his very soul. How many generations had the servant hidden this ability was a question he would never be able to give voice.

A feral smile slashed across the demon's face, revealing gleaming ivory fangs. Although much had changed, the teeth had not. An iron fist slammed into Chisen's side, causing his side to explode in fire. Pain wracked the human's body, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Enjoy your pain. It will be the last thing you will feel in this world or the next."

The creature tucked into the whipped being before him, relishing repaying the abuse that he had suffered for so long. Betrayal was repaid by betrayal, unto the last generation of the house of Mahou, the wheel of karma spinning uncaring. Hours later, the wizard expired, feeling the teeth of his former slave opening the passage to his life blood, and being suckled until he was dry. The demon then went to rest within his jizo in the yard. The corpse would lay where it fell until late in the night, when he had been missed at work and a worried boss had asked the police to look for him. The death was never satisfactorily explained.

Aniki - big brother