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Chapter Six - Weakness And Protection

"What are you all talking about?!" Tomoyo shouted deliriously, "Me?! Defeating a freaky, deranged monster with no weapons and just my bare hands?! Are you delusional?! If I had done it I would definitely know!"

"And I'm telling you," Koga rebuked, "That I know what I saw!"

"And what exactly was that?!"

"You held up your arms in front of your face and right when the Kiyohime tried to attack, red light shot out of your hands!"

"You're lying!"

They stared at each other heatedly, scowling ferociously with him growling quietly in the back of this throat.

Ginta stepped in and tried to reason with them. "G—Guys?" he stammered, "Why don't we all try and calm down and—"

Tomoyo interrupted him, "The whole time I've been here you've acted like I'm some stupid little pest, but now you're saying I can make explosions shoot out of my hands?! Are you a damn idiot?!"

"Don't call me an idiot! You're a damn bitch!"

Angry tears threatened to spill from her eyes and she clenched her fists.

"I'm weak!" she screamed, "I've never been strong in my entire life and I never will be! I...!"

And that was the last straw for Tomoyo. She burst into tears and sunk to her knees, covering her face with her hands. Koga blinked rapidly, surprised at her unexpected development. Ginta and Hakkaku mumbled something under their breaths that sounded awfully disrespectful to Koga, and Tomoyo continued crying.

"I just wanna go home and see my family again," she sobbed, and then realised her humiliating situation

What am I doing? Crying like a baby when someone just had his stomach sliced open and is probably going to bleed to death? Pull yourself together, girl.

She wiped away her tears away and staggered to her feet, breathing deeply.

It's time to show them how strong you really are.

She knelt beside Hakkaku and pulled the firestone from around her neck, then held it just above his wound. As she did, she chanted rhythmically.

"Oh, God of Flames, come to me and lend me your power. Ancestors, heal the one who has been fatally wounded by those who walk the path of darkness... Release!"

The stone turned blood red and light burst out of it like flames, filling the cave. Koga and the others were perfect she'd back by the intense power and they stared at her, stunned. Her eyes became hollow pits of black and her hair whipped about frantically violently in the winds that were being generated.

"What's happening?!" Koga yelled over the chaos.

Ginta and Hakkaku's faces were slapped with shock and terror.

Slowly, the light dispersed and Tomoyo's hair floated back down to her shoulders. Her eyes returned to their normal and the magic stone slowly hovered back down to her hands. She wound it around her neck again and tucked it into her shirt.

"What... happened?" Ginta began but was interrupted by a shocked groan.

"What the hell!" Hakkaku shouted and reached down to touch his stomach...

There was no wound.

No cut. Nothing. The injury was completely gone. There wasn't even a scar left to mar his tanned flesh.

"How the hell did ya do that?" Koga demanded and stalked towards Tomoyo.

But Hakkaku leapt to his feet, pushed Koga out of the way, and wrapped Tomoyo in a tight embrace. "Thank you!" he beamed, "Thank you for saving me."

"Your welcome," she smiled as he released her.

At least someone has manners.

"Ahem," Koga coughed, crossing his arms. "In exchange for saving my friend's life, I have decided not to eat you."

"Gee, thanks," she mumbled under her breath. How awfully kind and generous of him.

"And," he added, "Since it's already dark you may as well stay the night. There's tons of things roaming about out there that would love to gobble you down as a snack."

Moving to walk out of the cave, she feigned thought. "Ummm... Sorry, but I really want to go home now. But thanks. For the offer..." She began making her way out but was stopped by a hand around her wrist.

"I insist," he pressed.

He seemed oddly insistent on the matter.

He's obviously used to getting his own way. But who in their right mind would willingly sleep in a wet and stinky cave?

"Yeah!" Ginta and Hakkaku screamed in unison and ran to crush her in a bear hug.

"You can have my bed!" Ginta offered, but Hakkaku yelled, "No! Mine!"

"Umm," she wriggled in their grasps, "I really need to get back."

She tried to shift out of the hug but failed miserably. Sighing, she let them play tug of war over her for a while before ending up sleeping in between them in a bundle of furs. Their limbs were sprawled out and around her and the cave was filled with loud snores. They remind her of a pair of puppies rather than wolves.

Her eyes wandered in the dark in search for Koga, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Just go to sleep, she willed herself. Then maybe when you wake up, the dream will finally be over.

As fell unconscious, she thought of the happy times she'd had with her family. Her parents, her siblings, her grandfather... Back before it all went so wrong. Were those times over? Was there only sadness left? She felt tears building in the backs of her eyes before she fell into deep, vivid dreams.

"Come on, Mommy! Let's go!"

A little girl with hair the colour of fire darted out of a small house that was situated beside the ocean. She was barefoot and her stripy sundress whirled as she did. She wore a huge straw hat on top of her head, that kept falling down over her eyes.

"Let's go play on the beach!" she yelled giddily.

"One minute, honey!" her mother called from upstairs.

The little girl stared down the winding slope that led to the beach and jumped up and down. Seagulls screamed high in the air and a warm breeze tickled the parts of her skin that were exposed to the elements.

"Mommy, hurry!"

She was growing inpatient, so she leaned down and picked up some pebbles to try and entertain herself. Throwing them as far as she could down the path, her eyes sparkled as they came to rest on the vast stretch of blue on the horizon.

"So beautiful," she grinned, and readjusted her hat.

Finally, her mother came out the door and stood beside her. She had the same ember-kissed hair as her and brown eyes, and she too was wearing a colourful sundress.

They held hands and strolled down the sandy path to the beach. The sun was harsh and the little girl had to pull the hat farther down her face to avoid its blinding rays. After a while, she let go of her mother's hand and ran down the path. The wind tore through her hair and sent it billowing back like a flame. She held her hat in place as she ran, but didn't notice the giant rock in her way that tripped her up.

She fell face-first in the dust and yelped. Her hat went flying down the path and she groaned as she sat up. Her mother didn't come running, in fact she was gone.

"Mommy?"

She got up and looked behind her. There wasn't another person in sight.

"Mommy?" she called again in fright, "Where are you?"

As she turned to look down the path, her eyes widened at the sight of a large wolf standing at the bottom.

Her hat was at its feet and she shivered. It's fur was tawny brown and its eyes were like sapphires. It stared at her, seemingly waiting, and she felt a wave of fear spilling into her chest and filling her with an overwhelming sense of loneliness.