"I keep looking for something I can't get

Broken hearts lie all around me, and I

Don't see an easy way to get out of this

I've lost and found

It's my final mistake"

(I Just) Died In Your Arms by Hidden Citizens

Why did Ken have to be right?

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

One of the most famous quotes just had to make our lives miserable.

Scott, Stiles, Isaac, and I all climbed into Stiles' Jeep while Agent McCall went to take Meredith to the Sheriff's Station. While I wondered what Scott and his dad had talked about since they seemed a tad frustrated with each other, at least Agent Douchebag wasn't questioning why we had him dealing with the escaped mental patient while we went to go find Lydia and probably confront an evil fox spirit.

Shortly after Stiles pulled out onto the road, Scott had told Allison the news while I told Kira and Boyd, both of us receiving confirmation from them that they would be joining us, though Kira's response included how she believed her mother was already on her way there. I didn't receive anything from Riichi though, while Scott didn't get anything from Derek. I hoped they were okay.

Kira's news only made the George Santayana quote echoing in my mind worse. It wasn't simply us aiding in the conflict and repetition of history, but Noshiko was on her way to fight the nogitsune at Oak Creek again. Instead of a werewolf, now she had Oni. And a vendetta. And little to no kitsune powers.

I had a bad feeling about her chances as well as our own.

Since the Oni had been called off the other night, I had briefly hoped that perhaps Noshiko might have seen our point of view on the matter, as unlikely as it seemed, but now it is obvious that she had another agenda when she recalled them. Whether it was to get us to lower ours guards or hoping we would fail and come over to her side or even something completely different, it didn't seem to matter anymore. To get to the nogitsune and find Lydia, we were going to have to go through Noshiko.

But that wasn't the only pressing matter. Stiles continued to get worse by the minute. At the moment, it made me glad I'm a kitsune with no enhanced sense of smell because the only thing that could be happening to him was an untimely death.

As the sun set behind the horizon and Stiles drove us toward Oak Creek, the vehicle was rife with tension. Isaac and Scott knew the same thing I did. My pulse raced as I fiddled with my chain in the backseat next to Isaac.

Stiles glanced over at Scott in the passenger seat and asked, "Hey, you okay?"

Scott picked his head up, pulled from his thoughts. "Yeah. Yeah, you don't have to worry about me." The silent inclusion of 'we're worried about you' couldn't have been more obvious.

"Alright, I'm gonna say it," Isaac cut in, completely lacking tact or care. He leaned forward in the seat. "You look like you're dying." Scott looked at Isaac appalled, and I was right there with him. We could always count on Isaac to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. And he kept going. "You're pale, thin, and you look like you're getting worse."

Stiles didn't seem surprised at Isaac's words, but I still muttered out a disappointed, "Izzy."

Isaac exaggeratedly shrugged. "Someone has to say it. We're all sitting here thinking it." Okay, but he doesn't need to hear it. "When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?"

Probably, but I kept that to myself. We all knew it, but unlike Isaac, I figured I probably shouldn't say it. Saying it could only make things worse, and that's the last thing we needed. We needed to stay focused. We needed Stiles to stay focused.

Scott voiced another concern. "What happens if he gets hurt?"

"What do you mean, like if he dies, do I die?" Stiles asked, but he kept his exhausted eyes on the road. "I don't care, just so long as no one else dies because of me. I remember everything I did, Scott. I remember pushing that sword into you. I remember twisting it."

My grip tightened on my chain as that night repeated in my memories. Everything from the shadow melting in my hand to my arm twisting behind my back to watching Scott bleed with a sword in his gut to my head slamming against the wall. It was already a terrible night, but it felt worse knowing Stiles remembered it all. That he had seen it all through his own eyes powerless to stop it as something controlled his body.

It may have been hell for Scott and me, but we could heal. We could separate that from Stiles. He couldn't. To him, he was doing it. To him, he was responsible.

"It wasn't you," Scott tried to reassure.

"Yeah, but I remember it," Stiles said. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "You guys got to promise me, you can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

Despite Scott's half-hearted nod in agreement, I knew neither of us could completely agree. Isaac, sure, maybe, probably. He had that self-preservation instinct, the fight or flight instilled into him from years of abuse. If it came down to it, he would either run or he would kill, especially if it was him against the nogitsune, or someone like me, Scott, Allison, or Boyd in trouble. But he didn't feel that protective drive with Stiles, Lydia, or Kira. But Scott and I know that about Isaac, so we could plan around it.

But if I'm facing something wearing Stiles' face and have to kill it knowing that there was a possibility Stiles might die along with it, I wasn't one hundred percent sure I could do that. A few months ago, sure. But I know I'm not the same person I was a few months ago. I'm stronger now. I have more friends now. I have a pack and a family and a reason to get involved, something to fight for.

One reoccurring thing about kitsune in many stories was the importance of loyalty and their role as faithful guardians. Like a mother protecting her child, a dog protecting its owner, or a wolf protecting its pack.

My things to fight for and protect included Stiles, the inquisitive albeit annoying human that didn't treat me like a freak when he learned what I could do. It also included Lydia, as rude as she could be before she had been forced into the fray of the supernatural world. Both were in danger that night and in different ways. And we had to protect them.

Then I thought back on what I had initially told Scott when I recognized what we were up against.

I promise you, I would want the Oni to kill me before my body would be used to hurt others. And I'm willing to bet the host will agree once they find out it's them.

Stiles knows it is him. And he's willing to die to take it down. Who are we to go against his wishes?

We pulled up outside of the abandoned camp of Oak Creek right after Kira, Boyd, and Allison, all of us jumping out of the vehicles to meet up at the iron front gate that stood open. The iron had rusted over the years, but it still stood tall and covered in vines.

If Kira was right, the open gate meant Noshiko had already arrived.

From what I could see outside of the internment camp, much of the buildings were in a state of disrepair, lost to the ages. Dead leaves riddled the area. Vines and other flora grew in cracks in the pavement. I didn't want to know the despair and death imprinted in the area that Lydia could sense or that the wolves might be able to smell. I never thought I'd stand at an internment camp that once held my own people, both Japanese-American and kitsune alike.

Relocation camp my ass.

We stood in a circle, facing one another as we silently prepared to enter the abandoned space. Since my pulse raced in anticipation and the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention, I could imagine the others were filled with the same nervous and desperate energy. None of us were prepared to enter the site of a massacre to potentially, or rather hopefully, face down against the nogitsune and find our friend. But we had to.

Kira looked up at me from the other side of Isaac, holding her mother's old katana, and I gave her a nod of reassurance. As nervous as I may be, I had experience in this, in life-or-death situations, in dealing with the supernatural. She did not. She was brand new and had no training, and if she was right, then one potential person she'd be facing was her own mother. Coming into her powers and into her own as an individual was one thing but making a move against her family was another.

Boyd stood on Kira's other side, tall and firm, jaw set. I didn't need to worry about her, I knew. Not with Boyd right there. He had already died once, his heart and lungs pierced by Derek's claws, so I could imagine he'd be willing to do so again for a good cause, like saving the people he cared about. Making friends and having a purpose was part of the reason he had accepted the bite in the first place.

Allison had her quiver on her back and bow in her hand. Her look of resolve was enough to help put my own mind at ease. The trained hunter and a human. And if something went wrong, she would have both Isaac and Scott running to her aid. Isaac, who stood there with his hands in his pockets, seemed like he was trying to downplay his anxiety at the situation, while Scott put on a hopeful, strong front, ready to go in and save the day.

Which left Stiles standing on the other side of me. Sickly pale and frail, like he could hardly stand or stay awake, but his jitters kept him going. Same old anxious Stiles, ready to jump into the mess of things to help Lydia despite the fact that anyone could die, including him.

And then there was me. Sometimes I wondered what I was even doing there with them, like imposter syndrome setting in. But it was by design. A kitsune facing off against a nogitsune. Light fighting off the dark. Destructive force against destructive force.

My eyes settled on Scott, and for a moment, the tension in my joints lifted.

"We've done this before, guys," Scott said, starting off his encouraging speech. "A couple of weeks ago we were standing around just like this, and we saved Malia, remember? That was a total stranger. This is Lydia."

"I'm here to save my best friend," Allison said.

"I came to save mine," Scott said, looking at Stiles.

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework," Isaac added. I stomped on his foot. "Ow! Okay, sorry."

To save the moment from his idiocy, I said, "We can do this." Scott met my eyes, the corner of his mouth pulling up as he nodded.

We could do this. I could do this. I had to do this.

We then turned and entered the dark, foreboding, abandoned camp, ready for anything despite the horror movie feel of the situation and setting. Stiles and Scott broke off in one direction to go search the grounds for Lydia while Kira, Boyd, Isaac, Allison, and I went in the other direction, forging ahead to find Noshiko standing in the plaza with two Oni on either side of her.

She had been waiting for us.

"Kira, turn around and go home," Noshiko ordered, unperturbed with her hands in her pockets as she took a few steps toward us. "Take your friends with you."

Allison and I readied our weapons, eyeing the Oni for any sudden movements.

"I can't," Kira said. "When I looked at the game, I realized who I was actually playing. You."

I let the kunai hang low as Allison pulled back an arrow, aiming at Noshiko. "Call them off," Allison ordered.

Noshiko extracted her hands from her pockets. "You think you can take him alive? You think you can save him?"

"We can try," I argued. "We can always try."

Noshiko slowly shook her head in disagreement. "I tried something like that seventy years ago. Your friend is gone."

"Are you sure?" Kira asked, stepping toward her mom. "Or if Stiles doesn't have to die, maybe Rhys didn't have to die either." Damn, Kira, bringing the heat.

Responding to their handler's hostility, the Oni readied their ninjatō.

Noshiko smirked at her daughter. "I see I'm no longer the fox now, Kira. You are. But the nogitsune is still my demon to bury."

The Oni disappeared in puffs of shadowy smoke. They were just. . . gone.

"Where'd they go?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at Noshiko.

"They've found him," she answered simply. "There is nothing you can do for him n—"

Her jaw dropped open as she cut herself off. It almost seemed like she felt pain. Then she lifted her hand, opening her fist to reveal a dying firefly that proceeded to melt into a shadow.

"Mom?" Kira said, worried.

"What is that?" Isaac asked, staring at Noshiko's outstretched, empty hand.

"The Oni," I realized, recognizing the same thing that happened when I had taken a firefly out of an Oni. "What happened to the Oni?"

"There's been a change in ownership," a familiar voice said behind us. We whipped around to see Stiles, no, Void standing there flanked by four Oni. He grinned at us, outstretching his arms. "Now they belong to me."

Four Oni. One had been killed by me, and if Noshiko had only one kaiken left, that meant Void had killed the other missing Oni. But since Noshiko didn't seem to be pulling out her last kaiken to have one last Oni at her disposal, that meant Void had already taken it and used it. That must have been how he was able to control the Noshiko's Oni, by using her last remaining tail to control them instead of summoning the ninth one. And it only got worse. It left her powerless.

The nogitsune had killed three Oni. Three. And now, the remaining four were all in service to him.

Stiles needed at least one wolf to help him find Lydia in such a large place that none of us had ever been to. I didn't know where Derek, Riichi, Ethan, and Aiden were. My mom would never join a fight that would likely lead to her demise. According to Allison, her dad should be on his way. Noah and Agent McCall were human law enforcement officers; they had no training in handling the supernatural. Noshiko was powerless, no more useful than a well-trained human, and didn't seem to have a weapon on her anyway. Kira, with no real training, could only rely on instinct to help her survive against demons.

So where did that leave us? Me, Boyd, Isaac, and Allison as the only ones who were truly able to fight against four Oni and a nogitsune, though Kira could provide some decent support.

The nogitsune had us outnumbered, outclassed, and outmaneuvered.

He had drawn us into a trap.

With only one clear path out: him.

We needed to do something before he captured our stones by taking our liberties.

The Oni melted into the shadows, leaving behind their mechanical growls, and we readied ourselves for a fight once they reappeared to break the group apart. The kunai swung, gaining momentum beside me, ready for a fight. But when the Oni appeared, surrounding us and attacking, they didn't go for me. Each of the Oni attacked my friends, filling the space with the sounds of metal against metal, claws tearing fabric, and grunts of effort and pain. The Oni forced the group apart, drawing everyone away from each other. Away from me.

I had a nauseating feeling why they didn't go for me, despite the swinging threat of my chain and the few shots I took at them. They were ordered not to attack. The Oni were ordered to avoid the one who could kill them. The one who had managed it before in the heat of battle. But that wasn't all. That couldn't have been all.

Turning away from the one-on-one fights, I faced the nogitsune who stood there unfazed.

Someone had to fight the nogitsune, and it couldn't be any of my friends. It had to be me. It had to. Certain kitsune are drawn to each other, you know. . . in more ways than one. Fire and void. Light and dark. Fire burning bright in the night or darkness snuffing out the flame. Only one could remain in a battle between the two. One had to overwhelm the other. One had to defeat the other. One had to win the game.

I locked eyes with Void, and I knew he thought the same.

"Fire lighting up the darkness," he said. "Poetic. Sorry, not poetic. Pathetic."

At the onset of his sadistic smirk using Stiles' face, my eyes burned orange, and I used my foot to hurl the kunai directly at him. He dodged the sailing blade with ease, along with the next throw and the next.

Every time the blade drew close, he dodged, a laugh rippling through the space, filling me with anger.

With a growl, I flipped over a discarded barrel, sending the weighted end down in an arc. Void rolled out of the way, and the weight hit the ground, breaking the pavement in a deafening crack. I lifted my head, looking in Void's direction, and he waved.

I ran forward, swinging the kunai around, only for him to duck, avoiding what would have been a slice across his throat.

"Really going for the kill, huh?" he taunted, continuing to smirk as he straightened his back. "What would Scott think?"

I shivered in anger. "I don't care."

Pulling the chain back, the kunai slid into my hand, and I set it and the chain on fire. Void's smirk turned into a mockingly shocked grin, and my blood pulsed with rage. Throwing the kunai at him, and it imbedded in the wall behind him. Pulling on the chain, I realized it was stuck, and he took advantage of the open stance to get closer, inside the length. The sole of his foot hit my chest as I tried to dodge, but he was faster. And stronger.

As I rolled, the blade was pulled from the wall. Ignoring the shot of pain while settling on my knees, I sent the weight in his direction, only for him to catch it mid-air.

Void tugged on the chain, helping me off the ground, and jerking my body toward him. Snatching the kunai again, I went with the motion and slashed at him, the two of us grappling with the chain. The fire consuming the chain didn't faze him as his skin sizzled and blistered.

With our arms locked, my eyes met his. Stiles' eyes. The same brown I've had staring contests with or glared into when he annoyed me.

Void took the chance to twist the chain hard, breaking my left arm in the process. The bones in my forearm snapped, sending in a rush of heat and pain.

But despite it all, it helped break my hesitation. It wasn't Stiles standing before me. I had to remember that.

Pushing down with my right, I landed a slice along his arm, and he hissed. I kicked in his knee only to be met with an elbow to the stomach and a headbutt to the forehead.

My grip on the chain slacked, and Void pulled it from my grasp. Dark spots clouded my eyes, and I missed the fist sailing for my jaw, only registering it when it landed. I hit the ground at Void's feet. With the chain dart out of my hands, the fire dissipated. My breathing was frazzled as I looked up at him, pushing myself up onto my elbows and knees.

Void tilted his head as he lifted the chain.

"I've been wondering why you decided to master the rope dart," Void said. He moved the leg I had injured, twisting it as he spoke. It had healed as quickly as it had broken. "Of all the weapons you could have chosen, you chose this one." The chain links clinked as he wrapped it around his hand. "A katana would be easier to wield, or the lone kunai, or even tessen with how well they would suit your fire." He shook his head. "But no, those all require your opponent to be close, don't they? You need to keep people at a distance, so they don't get burned."

Void lifted his leg, kicking me in the stomach.

I flew back, my back hitting something hard and metal, forcing the air from my lungs. A ragged cough escaped as I tried to breathe, and out spewed blood. It was like the animal clinic all over again. He was too strong in one-on-one combat, especially against someone who couldn't match his power level.

Moving my arms, I tried my best to push myself up, but all I could manage was a whimper. My left arm seemed to only be able to flop.

Void took leisurely steps toward me, staring down in amusement. "Sara, Sara, Sara. . ." He clicked his tongue a few times and spun the kunai with the chain. "Two tails, right? Compared to my nine? Plus the Oni stolen from Noshiko? You must know it's pointless to fight."

His foot connected with my stomach again, but he only hit enough to cause internal damage, not to send me flying again. Another hard cough wracked my body as more blood was forced out, and all I could feel was pain. The metallic taste and smell made the nauseating pain worse. One hand wrapped around the handle of the blade, and he leaned down, grabbing me by my throat with the hand wrapped in my chain, lifting me up to eye level. I couldn't move my legs to stand. I could hardly breathe.

"You're just not strong enough yet," he said, voice light. He ran the tip of the kunai along my jaw and down my neck. "You could have been. We could have had so much fun together. So much potential if you stopped fighting the simple fact that you were born to be a hakaimono. You were born to burn the world down. To burn the world and let the darkness spread. Why do you think we get along so well?"

I tried to speak, but all I could do was let blood drip out. No, I thought. No, you're wrong. You have to be. He shook his head as if answering my thoughts, and he pulled me closer, his lips by my ear.

"With you gone, they'll have no chance of winning, kogitsune," Void murmured, sending a shiver down my spine as my skin crawled. He continued dragging the kunai lower, down my chest, and toward my stomach. "Not with your power joining my own."

He pulled back enough to look into my eyes, his own flashing white, reflecting my brilliant, fiery orange. But the glow of mine flickered, what little power I could still muster trying to heal my injuries. Flames wouldn't sprout from my fingers. I couldn't make myself move. I was completely at his mercy. But the nogitsune had no mercy. He was dark, void.

The sharp metal point stopped above my navel, and Void said, "The darkness always prevails."

Closing my eyes, I prepared myself to feel the sensation of my own blade sinking into my stomach with the last thing I saw being Stiles' face. The face of a friend, twisted and evil. I wasn't prepared to die, bloodied, beaten, and broken by the nogitsune terrorizing my town, knowing I wasn't strong enough to save it, and unable to save the friends I had managed to make as they fought for their own lives.

But as he slowly pushed the blade into me, drawing out as much pain as he could to feed off, the world shook, and he dropped me and the weapon. I landed on my side, gasping for air that rushed back into my lungs. Void didn't seem to notice or care as he stepped back in alarm, turning away from me.

Black dots dancing across my vision, I lifted my head to see an Oni slide his sword into Allison before my vision went dark.

Hakaimono – destroyer

Kogitsune – little fox

And there we go, Allison is dead, but so is another Oni. We're in the home stretch here with only two chapters to go for this story. Hope you like it!