A/N - AAAAARGH, I forgot to upload anything yesterday! XD; I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY, WORLD! I BEG YOUR FORGIVENESS!1... Ritsu'd

Anyway, this part is one of my personal favorites. 'Cuz Hatori is pwnage. Yeah. >D

Hatori was driving home through the rain, lost in thought. He sighed. It had been three weeks since the loss of Shigure, and things were as bad as ever. Suddenly, the car in front of him slammed on the brakes and Hatori did as well to avoid crashing, his tires squealing.

The driver jumped out of the car and ran in front; Hatori followed, expecting to see some animal that he had crashed into. He was wrong.

"Hey!" the man shouted, crouching on the ground. "I think he's still alive…"

Hatori gasped, feeling as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. "Alive…"

It was Shigure.

Dashing to his friend's side, he examined him with the eye of a doctor. Shigure was unconscious and seemed to be in a lot of pain, but the only injury Hatori could see was his broken leg, presumably from the accident. "He can't be!"

"He is, and he needs treatment." The man looked at Hatori. "Do you know how we could get to the hospital? I don't have a phone…"

"It's all right. I'll get him there. Help me lift him into the car." Hatori hoisted Shigure's limp form into the back seat and proceeded to make a sharp turn, driving as fast toward the hospital as he could manage without sliding off the road. The windshield wipers worked furiously as Hatori forced his way through the windy torrent. His mind was churning: why was Shigure alive? Why was he here? And what was wrong? Hatori knew better than to attribute all of his symptoms to the broken leg. Something strange was going on here, something that even Hatori did not fully understand. He glanced briefly at his friend, who was moaning in pain. Through all the confusion, one thing was clear: he had to get Shigure back to the hospital as soon as possible.

After a while, Shigure began thrashing around in the back seat and his cries became more tormented. Hatori was forced to pull over. He leaned forward, checking the dog's vitals, and desperately trying to solve the problem. "Shigure, it's me! It's going to be okay!"

Hatori stared helplessly at the sheeting rain, and spoke suddenly, not knowing where the words were coming from. "Leave him," he said quietly.

As if seized by a sudden decision, Hatori rose to his full height and shouted into the night. "Leave him! Get away… this I command!" It was as if something was pushing against him, a wave of malevolence tangible against the night air, and he braced himself, shielding his face from the rain with one arm. "Get away from him! Leave our family alone. We do not belong to you!" The invisible force seized him more vehemently than before, and he shuddered violently, crying out and fighting the urge to sink to his knees. "Leave us now, creature of darkness! We will not succumb! In the name of light, leave us… I, the dragon, command you!"

It was over. He had triumphed. The presence left, throwing him against the side of the car. He rested there for a while, panting, his chest heaving as if he had just run a marathon. Shigure was silent and still again, apparently sleeping peacefully. After a while, he climbed into his seat and drove the rest of the distance, so exhausted that he felt that he would collapse.

Near the side of the road where he had parked, flames inexplicably soared to the sky just for a moment, and a bright scarlet bird shot into the sky.