Author's Introduction:

Surprise! Was no one expecting to see me again so soon? *smiles winningly* I admit it's a bit of a fun surprise for me, too.

I promised to try to update a little faster once we got closer to the end, and I can only hope I've done that promise honor with this next chapter, my favorite. As I mentioned last time, this part of the story, "Cry Havoc", while not the end of the tale, was actually the first chapter I wrote when I began drafting this story in 2007. Naturally, it's been through a lot of changes between then and now, but the same basic elements that were there that summer are all still here. I apologize, I don't mean to go on—it's just that I couldn't even tell you what it means to me to finally see it here, and know that this story, which is so special to me, is almost told.

Almost. *smiles.* I still remember that day, that desk, that notebook in 2007. And now, here we are. As King would say, thanks to you, Constant Reader—always thanks to you.

Cross My Heart, and Hope To Die

a Ronin Warriors fanfiction by Firestar9mm

Chapter Seven: Cry Havoc

Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war.

(Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)

Mia woke up, which was a pleasant surprise all on its own. Slowly, she became aware of her arms and legs. Unfortunately, that was by realizing they were tied to the chair she was sitting in.

"It's about time," Kaori Satou said, walking leisurely around the chair and carelessly tossing aside her weapon—Ryo's baseball bat, which rattled to the floor and rolled into a corner of the room. "I thought maybe I'd hit you too hard."

"Why did you hit me at all?" Mia spat, despite the pain that lanced through her head as she replied. She remembered bringing the baseball bat into the shower for protection, for all the good it had done her. She resolved not to admit to the boys the embarrassing fact that she'd been taken down with her own weapon.

Kaori arched a thin brow, and Mia hated her briefly for looking so calm and put-together, even now. Her hair was tied behind her in a neat tail of darkness, no ridges or tangles in it; her jeans were pressed and her black sweater looked as soft as the leather boots she was wearing. Her voice was chocolate-smooth as she said, "Is there a better way to force you to help me?"

"Not by giving me brain damage," Mia snarled. "Although, I guess I should be happy your inugami didn't just tear me into dollrags."

Kaori's eyes deadened to the flat black of moonless midnight, and her face stilled as she said, "Please understand. I never meant for it to go this far. But I need you, Mia. The inugami's getting stronger, and it's getting hungrier. If it comes here after me, it's not going to pass up a meal that's already been trussed up for it."

Instinctively, Mia struggled at her bonds, but Kaori knew her way around knots. They weren't budging. The ropes around her bare ankles were digging into her skin above her tennis shoes, and her thighs were beginning to ache from keeping them together beneath her denim skirt, even if modesty seemed ridiculous at a time like this. She hadn't had a chance to put her sweater on before she'd gotten blitzed, and her short-sleeved shirt didn't protect her arms from the ropes that were biting into them. She cursed herself for a fool and an idiot—she knew exactly how long Kaori had been in the cabin, and how she'd gotten in—the door, the "pet door" Ryo had carved into the cabin's own door was more than big enough for a person to squeeze through, especially a slim person like Kaori.

"Where's White Blaze?" Mia asked. "What have you done with him?"

"Who?" Kaori asked, looking genuinely puzzled. "Mia, I can hardly keep track of the cast of thousands you run around with."

Mia quieted. If Kaori truly didn't know there was a large Himalayan tiger prowling the grounds, so much the better. She hoped her furry friend wasn't hurt.

But if Kaori was right and the inugami was going to follow her here...

"I can save you," Kaori said, a note of eagerness creeping into her voice, as if she were reading her captive's mind. "I can stop it. All you have to do is tell me how to send the demon back to the spirit realm. Hiro must have told you something." Those dark dead eyes were glazed over with desperate hope.

"Why would he have told me anything?" Mia asked, still rocking against the ropes in a futile effort to loosen them. "I barely knew him! You're his research assistant, didn't he tell you anything?" Her mind flashed back to the terrifying moment of clarity she'd experienced before passing out from pain and shock. "You went to Hiro's office to look for information, didn't you? You answered the phone when I called. You pretended to be Eiko Imamura."

Kaori gave Mia a withering look, as though she were dealing with a slow learner at school. "Mia, you assumed I was Eiko Imamura. I just didn't bother to correct you."

Mia was ready to call bullshit on that. "You disguised your voice and let me think Eiko had spent the day crying as she went through Hiro's things."

"Oh, that wasn't a lie," Kaori said idly. "She was going through Hiro's things when I got there, and she was crying pretty hard." The girl's lovely face stilled. "But she's not sad anymore."

Mia's throat constricted. Kaori didn't have to explain any further to get the message across—Eiko hadn't answered the phone when Mia had called. And Eiko wasn't sad anymore, because Eiko was dead. "How could you?" she asked, remembering Eiko's limpid, tortured eyes as she spoke of the empty house that Hiro had made their home, the scrawled heart in Hiro's notebook as he wrote himself a reminder that he was meeting his beloved. "How could you hurt the Imamuras? They were good people. They were your friends. What did Hiro and Eiko ever do to you?"

Kaori's eyes blazed with frightening, instantaneous rage. "She shouldn't have been so mean to me," she hissed. "She shouldn't have told me to go away—she should have just told me what I wanted to know. She kept saying she didn't know anything about how to send the demon away, but I know she did and she wouldn't tell me, just like I know you do and you won't tell me. You're—all—so—mean." She punctuated each word with a stamp of her foot, but instead of looking like a silly, petulant child, she looked downright scary and unstable. It felt like the ropes were constricting even tighter around Mia, and she willed herself not to let her imagination run away with her.

Trying to swallow her fear and ignore the feeling that she was staring her own death in the face, Mia asked the biggest question as gently as she could. "Kaori, why are you doing this?"

Instead of answering, Kaori curled up on the floor, tucking her legs beneath her and staring into a middle distance. She was trembling slightly, and Mia saw a tear course down her cheek.

"It's not fair," the girl murmured. "It's just not fair."

The weirdness had just gone off the end of Mia's meter. What I wouldn't give to be trading witty repartee with Cale right now, she thought whimsically. Aloud, she said, "I'd try to comfort you if you hadn't hit me over the head and tied me up to be demon chow."

Kaori turned a tearstained face towards her captive. "It was so bad at home," she whispered. "Every day, the yelling and the screaming. The name calling and all the bruises."

A puzzle piece fell into place in Mia's mind. Her fiancé was an acquired taste, Eiko Imamura had said. Which, Mia realized, was a nice way of saying that Eiko had suspected that Kaori had been getting abused, probably for years.

"Hiro…" Kaori smiled wanly, lost in memory. "He would tell me the most fantastic stories about the legends he studied. Princesses who made wishes and samurai knights who saved the day, and the goodbeasts who came to help them. Warriors and magic and heroes. It was so nice to…dream."

Mia relaxed a fraction. As long as Kaori could be induced to talk, she wouldn't be thinking about murder, and maybe she'd reveal something that could get them out of this mess. "When did the dream get bad?" she asked.

Fresh tears welled up in Kaori's eyes. "My fiancé found the necklace that Hiro gave me. He called me a slut. He said I couldn't work with Hiro anymore, and then he hit me. He hit me again…and again…and again." Kaori's voice grew hard as she relived the night she'd decided she wasn't going to take it anymore.

A horrible possibility occurred to Mia. Her fiancé was an acquired taste. Was, not is. They'd never identified the demon's first victim, a man who had been so terribly disfigured by the attack that he was unrecognizable, a man whom no one had reported missing.

"You made a wish," Mia told Kaori. "You asked a magic beast to help you with your problem."

Kaori smiled through her tears. "I got it out of Hiro's books," she said, as though she were telling a secret. "It was so easy. The ingredients were a little hard to find, but once I did I knew exactly how to call it. Oh, Mia, when you feel it…when you feel magic…"

Mia remembered the weight of the Jewel of Life on her chest, the welcome heft of the Staff of the Ancients in her hand. She remembered her grandfather's voice telling her the poem she loved so, over and over again. Magic—Sage's arms around her, the steady hammer of his heartbeat. Ryo's impossibly kind eyes, Cye's sweet smile, Kento's fierce hug, Rowen's quick wit. Yes, she knew magic, knew it well.

Seeing the faces of her beloved Ronin in her mind, Mia felt her own eyes fill with warmth. Not like this, she thought helplessly. Not now. There's so much left to do. Someone has to look after White Blaze while Ryo's in school, and there's so many memories left to make with my boys. I want to have them over for dinner parties and snowball fights and swimming in the lake. I want to go to their graduations, their birthday parties, their weddings. And Sage…oh, Sage, I hate myself for being such a coward. You were right—we shouldn't have wasted so much time...

Blinking back hot tears, Mia resolved that if she was going to die tonight, she was going to do it with honor and an attitude. She was going to make her boys proud of her, and she was going to make Kaori feel like she was in the worst crime novel ever written.

"You called up a demon," she said flatly. "You stole the Imamuras' dog and you killed it to create an inugami, a beast that would exact your vengeance for you."

"I asked for help," Kaori protested hotly, anger sparking in her black-marble eyes. "No one would help me. The police didn't do anything. Even Hiro just wanted to wait for things to get better, and they weren't ever going to. I had to stop it. Once and for all."

"But you weren't like the princesses in the legends," Mia said. "And the beast you called wasn't a good beast. It was a really, really bad one."

Mia wished Rowen were here to help her put all their theories into context. It all seemed so elementary now. Only one person could have shaped a spell like the one that had created the demon's earthly dress—called up a monster who used every single weapon it had in its arsenal, desperate to scratch and kill; a monster who could change size, looking small and harmless one minute and large and deadly the next. Kaori's emotion had bled into her spell, calling forth a demon that fit her perfectly, and she'd used it as a remote-control murder weapon. She had killed the Imamuras to cover up the fact that she'd killed her fiance, and Mia and the Ronin were about to become collateral damage.

"I didn't mean to," Kaori murmured.

Mia treated her opponent to a laugh like broken glass. "You didn't mean to! How could you think your rage and hatred could call forth anything but a filthy, vile monster!" Seeing Kaori flinch, Mia pressed on. "And once your grisly revenge was over, you didn't know how to get rid of it, did you?"

"It wouldn't stop," Kaori cried, rising to her feet. "It just wanted more and more. It was always so hungry and it wouldn't stop."

Pieces of the truth were turning and fitting in place in Mia's brain like a bizarre game of mental Tetris. Kaori must have told Hiro what she'd done right before he'd died. No wonder he'd looked so completely disheveled when he'd shown up on campus and asked Mia for more time to prepare. He'd been losing sleep over his horror at the truth about the woman he'd thought was his friend and the knowledge that his beloved research had helped her to accomplish her terrible aims. Poor bastard was lucky that he hadn't had to live with the guilt very long.

"You asked Hiro for help," Mia said, nodding. "It took you a while, but you finally admitted what you'd done."

"He yelled at me," Kaori shrieked, her slender hands clenched into fists. "He'd never yelled at me before. He said I'd done a terrible thing. He wouldn't translate any other spells for me. I told him I only wanted to send the demon back, but he said I'd done enough damage already. He was going to call the police. I had to…I just had to…"

Remembering Hiro's pitiful body lying at the foot of the stairs, Mia settled back as far as the ropes would allow. "You pushed Hiro down the stairs."

"I didn't mean to kill him," Kaori said softly, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I was mad at him but he was my friend and I didn't mean to hurt him."

She's crazy, Mia realized, heart thudding sickly in her chest. She imagined Hiro at the landing, turning his back because he'd never thought his friend might hurt him; thought of Eiko sitting at her husband's desk, thinking she was safe in his favorite place, surrounded by the legends he loved so well. They'd been so trusting; they expected people to act nobly because they themselves were noble, and now they were dead.

What a terrible waste, Mia thought, not for the first time. Kaori lied to them, the worst kind of lie—she said she was their friend. She fooled me too—she fooled everyone. I thought she was just a kicked puppy, but the bitch has teeth. She tricked her way in here, just like she tricked Hiro, just like she tricked Eiko, and now she's going to kill me too..

"Even you wouldn't help me," Kaori accused, her voice smoothing out again despite the tears still wet on her face. "You're a woman, I thought you might understand, but I could tell you and that snob of a boyfriend of yours wouldn't take my side."

The insult to Sage made Mia bristle. Automatically, her tongue tensed to say He's not my boyfriend, but it seemed such a small thing to quibble over given the circumstances, and even in this ridiculous nightmare situation, it gave her an oddball sense of satisfaction that Kaori thought Sage was hers. Her chest tightened at the thought that she might never see him or the other boys again.

Don't think about that, she coached herself. Don't think about that now. Keep her talking and work on those ropes. If it doesn't work, you're no worse off.

"And you were such a tramp," Kaori continued snootily, "with all those boys around. I couldn't get to you till tonight."

Mia didn't like that "get to" part. They were back on the subject of killing her, and that wasn't good.

"You were with a different boy every day." Kaori's slim brows dipped over her dark eyes; her voice held the warm edge of jealousy. "They didn't leave you alone for one second, always fussing over you and taking you places. Who are they, anyway? What are they?"

Mia felt fierce. "They're the stuff that legends are made of. You won't find them in any books, but they're the greatest heroes who ever lived."

Kaori's smile was unsettling. "If that were true, they'd be here to save you from the demon."

Mia's heart knocked dully against her breastbone, but she refused to allow the fear into her voice. "Just you wait," she challenged. "They won't let me die."

Once they were out of the city, no one was worried about attracting police attention, and Sage soon had the pedal of the Jeep to the floor. He breathed a quick prayer of thanks that they'd taken Mia's Jeep and not Kento's CJ-6—the CJ couldn't go over fifty-five without the entire car feeling like it would shake apart, and every second was going to count tonight.

"Sage, are you sure?" Ryo asked for what felt like the tenth time as the Jeep rattled over the dirt roads leading to the cabin. "I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, I just want to be sure."

"I'm telling you it's the research assistant," Sage insisted. "She's wearing a rune around her neck that matches something in Hiro's notes. He gave it to her. But when Mia and I talked to her, she acted like she had no idea what was going on. She said the rune was supposed to symbolize good luck, but that's not true—it's a shield rune. If she was as involved with Hiro's research as everyone says she was, she'd know exactly what the rune is, which means she lied to Mia and me about what it meant." The Warrior of Halo slammed the side of his fist on the steering wheel in frustration. "I should have figured it out. There was something cagey about her—she kept trying to brush Mia off and wouldn't talk to us. Mia said that Hiro was obviously upset the week before he died, but the assistant told us he was fine. The rune around her neck is a spell of protection, and we've agreed the Imamuras are dead because they were perceived as a threat. If it turns out this woman was behind the whole thing and Hiro was trying to stop her, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised."

"What's her name?" Kento asked, something pricking at his memory—the nameplates on the doors in the library basement.

Sage gripped the steering wheel and cursed himself for being more wrapped up in his own hurt feelings the day before instead of paying attention to the woman Mia had been questioning at the funeral. "Ah…Kaori. Kaori something-or-other."

"If she was working down in that dungeon with all those books, right down the hall from Hiro's office, she has to know more than she was letting on," Kento said, suddenly realizing who "Satou, K." was. "I think Sage might be right. Why lie about the necklace unless she didn't want people asking questions? And how could she say she didn't know Hiro was upset all week if she'd worked so close to him? She's hiding something."

"That's what I thought, too," Sage said. "At the time, though, Eiko Imamura seemed like the better lead, and I admit I didn't pay much attention to Kaori."

"You can't prove any of this," Cye said reluctantly; he had a feeling his friends were right, but someone had to play devil's advocate.

"No," Sage admitted. "I can't, but I need you guys to trust me. I just know…because I know…because I know."

Rowen smiled slightly. "Res ipsa loquitor," he agreed, his accent fading behind his perfect pronunciation of the Latin, then resurfacing as he continued, "I heah ya, man. I gotta feelin' we're on th' right track."

"It's about friggin' time we're on the right track," Ryo said fiercely. "Can't you go any faster, Sage?"

"Don't you think I'm trying?" Sage said, navigating around a ditch. "Now, if we were in my car—"

The Warrior of Halo never got to finish the sentence—a dark shape leaped into the road, landing mere feet from the CJ and directly in its path, two flickers of red visible like brake lights from hell. Trying to ignore the surprised shouts of his friends, Sage cut the wheel sharply to the left, and the Jeep lurched nauseatingly, but the animal wasn't about to be faked out. It hunkered down and swiped a massive claw at the Jeep, slicing through the right front tire and part of the grill. The vehicle, burdened with the weight of too many passengers, pitched to the side and overbalanced for one long second before gravity carried it off the road and down into the brush. Clad only in subarmor, the Ronin wore no helmets, a mistake Sage was hoping they'd live to regret. He was dimly aware that his friends were yelling his name, but a sudden strike of his head against the steering wheel took precedence until darkness blotted out all thought.

As she watched tensely, Kaori suddenly stopped her aimless pacing of the room. Stilling, she turned her head towards the window, but Mia was horrified to see that the flat black of her eyes had spread, blotting the whites out entirely.

Before she could begin to really panic, Kaori sucked in a breath, resuming her frenetic half-circling of Mia's chair. "Someone's coming," she said. "There's a car approaching out on the road." She made a sharp gesture with one hand, two fingers extended; the classic signal for go, quickly. It was so focused that Mia was tempted to look behind her to see who the gesture was intended for, but she knew the room was empty.

"Right now?" Mia asked, searching the other woman's eyes for some kind of clue, but the dark pools had shrunk again, leaving only the usual insanity in Kaori's gaze. Mia half-wondered if she'd imagined what she'd just seen, but she knew better than that. "How do you know that?"

Kaori looked disappointed. "You're not as smart as I thought, Mia. It's my inugami. It serves me. It reports to me."

"The third eye," Mia realized. "The eye in its forehead, a window between the world and its brain. You see what it sees and you know what it knows. That's how it always showed up where we were. You've been spying on us the entire time."

"Correct." Kaori's expression shifted back to slightly more impressed, which was good—boring or disappointing her would be tantamount to a death sentence. "That big guy, he laughed at us, but we stopped him laughing when we sent you and the other boy sailing out of the water. You were all so frightened." She smiled, like a little girl who'd played a trick and gotten away with it.

Mia gritted her teeth at the memory of Cye's hand in hers, spasming, clutching tight with pain and fear. "I knew it. I knew you were telling the demon what to do. Only a human could be so malicious. The inugami is a killer by nature, but you—you're evil."

"Evil?" Kaori's face twisted in a sudden mask of rage. "I'm the victim here."

"I really just have trouble believing that when I'm the one tied to the chair," Mia sighed.

"You can solve that problem at any time," Kaori said. "Mia, I promise I would let you go free if only you would tell me how to subdue the demon."

Rolling ocean-colored eyes at her captor, Mia snorted. "I don't know how to get rid of it. The legend I read said that the inugami haunted the woman who called it for. Ev. Er," she enunciated, so that there might be no mistake. "None of the books had anything about getting rid of the damn thing, so short of killing it, I'm all out of ideas."

"Somehow, I don't believe you," Kaori said silkily.

"And somehow, I don't care," Mia shot back. She was beginning to hope the legends about inugami turning on their masters was true, because there was no question Kaori deserved a short touch of the demon.

Kaori settled back on her heels, tapping a finger whimsically against her lips with one hand and cupping her bent elbow with the other. "You really don't know, do you?"

"If I'm lying I'm dying," Mia said without thinking, then immediately regretted the words.

Kaori's eyes were solemn dark. "I'm afraid so," she said. "It's getting closer."

Sage dreamt of snow falling.

The snow fell like chips of bone around him, and before him the body of Hiro Imamura lay trapped in a massive spiderweb, head flopping over to side, one sentence hissing from its ruined mouth: "Only the girl's left to save."

Somewhere in the darkness the memory-voice of the warlord Cale echoed the statement. "Halo! Only the girl's left to save!"

Whirling, Sage turned to search, trying to escape the sharp swirling snow, which stung his cheek and bit at his exposed skin, but there were only heavy shadows and gale winds and the voice taunting him.

"Halo! Her blood will spill! Show yourself or she dies!"

Sage's teeth grit. "I won't let her! I won't let her die."

He could hear the roar of the waterfall in the dark, and he turned eagerly towards the sound, seeing her shining behind the curtain of water, but before he could reach her, the water rippled and heaved and the inugami breached its depths, acid foaming from its mouth to mingle with the spray of the falls.

His sword was made of bones and when he swung it they crumbled in the jaws of the beast. Its spittle burned his hands, ate his armor away, scorched everything it touched even as the ice climbed the waterfall and trapped her inside.

Before he could roar his rage, the Ancient appeared before him, shining with holy light. "Sage of Halo, why do you sleep? Your brothers await your aid. Your warriormaid has braved peril for you. Rise and repay their faith. Do not let them down."

And with that, the monk gave Halo a sharp rap on the knuckles with his staff.

Sage came awake with a start, looking down at his smarting hand—the rearview mirror of Mia's Jeep had come off the windshield and struck him. He reached to brush the snow from his hair and realized it wasn't snow, but broken glass that stung his face. Indeed, the spiderweb from his dream stretched out before his eyes across the cracked windshield, somehow menacing even in its emptiness. There was something wrong with the landscape—the trees were all on their sides, and the stars were practically beneath him.

As Sage's dizzy brain tried to piece together the nightmare elements, a groan to his left solved the puzzle for him.

Idiot! There was an accident!

Kento stirred, strings of dark blood drying on his temple. "Heyyyy, baby…wanna know why they call me Hardrock?"

"Kento," Sage said, voice rusty. "Wake up, Ken."

"Oh, terrific," Rowen said from the backseat. "Now I'm upside down."

Kento blinked, glanced around, and then treated Sage to a smile, albeit a weak one. "Dude, you drive like a spaz!"

"Kento, I am going to kill you over and over again," Sage rumbled, trying to mask his relief that his friends were alive and simultaneously trying not to panic about the friend they were trying to rescue. How long had they been unconscious? Was it already too late?

"My leg hurts," Cye complained softly, shifting his weight in the backseat. "Are we there yet?"

"Did something happen?" Ryo asked, rubbing a swollen eye. "Sage?"

Sage blinked, trying to force the night in front of him to resolve itself into manageable shapes. "There was…there was something in the road. Wasn't there?"

"I saw the eyes," Cye wheezed, leaning over and bracing his hands on his knees. "It was the demon."

"No way," Kento barked. "It was big. Way too big to be the demon."

"I saw the eyes, too," Ryo said. "Cye's right."

"Mia said maybe it could change size," Rowen agreed. "Ya didn't see th' size o' that paw, Kento. It wuz th' demon, all right."

"We just don't know enough about this thing," Cye sighed. "If we had more time."

"We are out of time," Sage growled, shifting his weight and searching for the window lever. "Mia needs us. Now."

"We can't stay here," Cye agreed. "Can we get out through the windows?"

"Yeah. Be glad this ain't a Cadillac," Rowen laughed. "Sage an' Kento c'n roll th' front ones down an' get out."

"Back windshield's broken," Ryo reported. "I'm going out that way."

After a few desperate minutes, the five Ronin trench-crawled their way out of the mangled Jeep. "Does Mia's insurance cover acts of demon?" Cye chuckled as they circled around to assess the damage. The right front tire was shredded beyond repair and the grill was punctured in several places. Bits and pieces of the chassis were visible in a crooked path leading back up to the road, and the boys followed the trail of automotive breadcrumbs back to regain their original position on the road.

"Whatta we do now?" Rowen asked. "We don't even know where th' thing is."

Ryo glanced out over the woods. "We advance," he decided. "Form a skirmish line. Fifty or sixty feet or so. That way it can't get past without us engaging it."

"Are you crazy?" Cye asked. "We're not penning this thing in. It'll run right over us!"

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Kento purred. "I'm so ready for this thing."

"I'm going through," Sage agreed darkly. "There's no other way."

Cye turned to Rowen, who shrugged. "I wish we could come up wit' somethin' betta, but Sage is right. We're outta time. Whateva we do, we gotta do it now."

"You know, sometimes I really hate hanging out with you guys," Cye said, but he chuckled and flipped his armor orb from finger to finger like sleight-of-hand, just as ready as the rest of them. "Let's do this."

"Right." Ryo nodded, hand steady on his own orb. "Armor of Wildfire!..."

Deep in the woods, a four-footed creature was snarling with rage, paws tearing the dirt as he galloped through the trees towards a light in the distance. His prey had eluded him, but he wouldn't be as easy to fool a second time, and once he got his claws in it, he'd make sure it wouldn't get up to make mischief again. These were his woods; this was his night, and he ruled here. The prey was furtive, sneaky, like a weasel, slipping in and out of places it didn't belong like an oily shadow, and it infuriated him.

He'd stop it, he vowed, baring canines and stepping one paw into the clearing where the light shone like a torch in the dark. It had tricked him once—but not again.

Now it was his turn to play a trick.

When five Ronin were fully armored, weapons drawn, there was nothing left to do but spread out and cover the ground between the road and the cabin.

"Whatever happened to the no-splitting-up rule?" Kento asked.

"It's not smart to stay all in one place and get stomped," Cye pointed out. "Mia needs our help, and whether one or five get to her, someone has to get to her. What good would we do her if we all get annihilated in one shot?"

A chittering sound from behind them caused Kento to tense mid-stride. "What was that?"

"Just some woodland critter," Ryo said, beckoning to his friend. "Come on, Ken."

But the otherworldly sound struck a nerve in the Warrior of Hardrock, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Dude. I know that noise."

"It's a katydid or somethin'," Rowen said, smiling. "It's creepy. though, I'll give ya that. Don't they just sound like they're laughin'?"

Laughing...

The noise sounded again, louder this time. Kento turned abruptly, inching back towards the place where the Jeep had gone off the road. "Don't move," he said out of the corner of his mouth, spine freezing into a column of icy wariness. "Nobody move."

The other four ignored the order, but only moved as far as to look in the direction he was moving, and as their gazes settled on the twisted wreck of the Jeep, something small scampered over the warped metal and came to a stop on the dented rear fender, red eyes glowing maliciously in the dark. One tail flicked to curl around its flank. Then another. A third red light blazed into bright, horrific light above its eyes.

"It can't be," Ryo began.

"It is." Kento hefted his naginata.

"It can't be!" Ryo insisted, raising his katana and pivoting his feet in preparation for a frontal assault. In a bold voice, he issued his challenge to the tiny animal. "Sure you want to stay that small, ugly? This'll be no contest!"

The beast answered with that maddening chittery sound, and Rowen was right—It sounded very much like laughter. Scornful laughter.

"Wait," Cye said, hauling on Wildfire's arm. "It's a trap. It wants to hold us here—"

Sage glanced reflexively towards the dark woods. "He's right. It pins us here and she dies, Ryo—what's your move?"

Ryo grit his teeth. "Anyone else wanna be leader?" he joked, his voice thin. "Sorry, Sage. We've got a chance to stop it, right here, right now. Go on ahead, I got this."

"All o'ya go," Rowen agreed. "I'll stick wit Ryo."

"Why did we ever make that no-splitting-up rule?" Cye chuckled as he turned to follow Kento and Sage.

"We'll catch you up," Ryo called after his friends.

"Fine, but hurry," Cye answered. "I have a feeling the worst is still out there!"

"You should have gone with them," Ryo told Rowen, katana spread wide at his sides, ready to be swung up as soon as the monster charged.

Strata only grinned. "Ya need me, Wildfire. Got an idea, an' we'll catch th' guys up in a flash." Swiftly, the blue-haired Ronin nocked an arrow to his bow, feet spread to anchor him just behind where Ryo stood. "Speakin' o'flashes...gotta light?"

Ryo glanced back to the tiny monster sitting atop the Jeep. As Rowen drew his bow, it hunkered down, a horrible hissing sound coming from jaws that were foaming with spittle, and even from the distance Ryo could see the noxious fluid carving smoking rivulets into the metal.

Suddenly realizing what Rowen intended to do, he nodded at his friend. "Good thinking, man. Hold her steady and then say when!" Swinging his swords up just beyond where the arrowhead strained on the bowstring, the Warrior of Wildfire concentrated until a point of superheated light sparked where the points of his katana touched. Across the impromptu battlefield, the inugami seemed to have also caught on to the plan; it huddled around the remains of the Jeep's fender, fur puffing up in a way that was almost feline rather than canine. Ryo chanced a quick look at it and realized it wasn't just a puffing of fur; Mia had been right. It was getting bigger in preparation to take the hit.

"Hope this works," Rowen muttered, drawing his bow back a fraction of an inch more as the ball of light caged at the tip of Ryo's katana flared and burst into crackling flame. "Okay, light me!"

Just as Strata released the arrow, Ryo drew his swords apart, releasing the energy he'd been building between them, and the result was that a flaming arrow arced across the road like a comet, leaving trailing sparks in its wake. At the last second, the monster leapt from its perch with a squeal, scampering out of the line of fire, and the arrow struck the Jeep with all the force of the magic that had created it, knocking the two-tone truck off-balance and spitting a jet of flame into the air.

As the Ronin recovered from their combined effort, the now-pony-sized inugami stepped one widening paw onto the road, the flaming wreckage behind it painting it in hellish shades of orange and yellow.

Ryo raised his katana, ready to charge, but Rowen caught something both Wildfire and the demon had missed—the sudden, sharp scent of gasoline from the Jeep they'd set alight.

"Hit th' dirt!" Strata bellowed as he hauled his leader down off the road into the woods. Yanking the other boy past tree after tree, Rowen ran full tilt until he felt they'd gotten a safe enough distance from the road and shoved Ryo down into a hollow beneath a cedar, jumping in after him. Neither had time or inclination to look back and see if the inugami had followed them, and a second later the sound of the Jeep exploding rocked the forest.

When they heard the explosion, all three of the other Ronin halted their advance, whirling to see what the hell had happened. The nightmarish glow beyond the trees told the story, and this time there were no arguments as Cye pointed to himself with a jerky movement of his thumb. Clapping Sage on the back with his free hand, he said, "Go!" and that was the extent of the debate.

It didn't take Torrent long to double back to the road once more, and sure enough, the blackened shell of Mia's Jeep was visible in the center of a giant ball of fire on the side of the road. Cye knew he couldn't allow the fire to spread; they had enough to worry about without the threat of flames, smoke and falling trees to contend with.

The Warrior of Torrent allowed himself a grim smile. One more problem, he decided, and they'd be out of solutions.

Here, at least, though, there was something he could do. Spinning his trident gracefully, the Warrior of Torrent concentrated, feeling as though water were filling all his senses, cooling him even as he stood so close to the intense heat of the burning vehicle. His mind was on balance—on how water rushed to level, how all things could be equal when perfect balance was achieved. As Mia had excitedly explained, the force of will, the knowledge in his hands and the magic that ran through him created all that he needed to douse the flames—the massive cooling energy of Torrent's water, the force of his desire to right what was wrong with this night.

When the Jeep was now a dripping, twisted hunk of metal sitting in a smoking crater at the side of the road, Cye lowered his trident and felt more useful than he'd felt all week. Tilting his face to the stars, he breathed in deeply, and remembered again that for better or worse, he was Torrent, would always be Torrent—destined to straddle the line between both worlds, the land and the sea, the magic and the mundane, the sleeping and waking, because balance was necessary. Balance was vital, and it was a lesson he needed to learn as well as teach.

Smiling exhaustedly, he turned towards the woods, feeling better than he'd felt in a long time, despite the still-looming threat of the inugami.

Jogging to catch up with his fellow Ronin, an unnerving thought broke his calm for a tenth of a second—where was the inugami, anyway?

With little to no noise pollution in the land surrounding the cabin, sound traveled far and fast. They heard the explosion in the distance, like the threat of thunder. Mia was pleased to see that Kaori jumped; it was nice to know she didn't know everything that was going on.

"What was that?" Kaori said, almost to herself, glancing towards the window.

"Strike three, other team gets a chance to steal," Mia said, a faint flicker of hope stirring in her heart. But even if it was the guys—what had that sound really been? Were they all right?

"I'll take a look," Kaori murmured. "Sit tight," she added cruelly, smiling at Mia, and then the door shut.

Biting her tongue on a remark about "stupid bitches", Mia set back to work on trying to loosen her bonds. Heaven helps those who help themselves, she reminded herself. She couldn't just sit here and depend on the guys to ride to the rescue. For all she knew, they needed her help.

Kaori hadn't been screwing around when she'd tied the ropes. She'd anchored each of Mia's hands to the chair's slat separately, then tied her wrists together. Mia shifted her shoulders, trying to stretch the ropes so that she could slide her fingers through, but it seemed impossible and she was running out of time—

And then something licked her hand.

Mia's heart seized, nerves standing on end with fear of the demon, but after a second she recognized the familiar kiss—she'd been living with it for months, had felt that kiss on her face and hands when she'd placed bowls of water on the floor or kept company on long evening walks. A scratch of the ears and an affectionate ruffle of fur would earn her that kiss goodnight.

Flexing her hand, she felt prickly whiskers, soft muzzle, cold wet nose. She knew this face, and it was all she could do to stop herself from sobbing in relief. White Blaze!

The broad tongue lapped across her palm once, reassuringly, and then the scratchy whiskers tickled her wrist and she could feel hot breath, the sharp nip of teeth as he tried to gnaw through her bonds. After what seemed like a small eternity, the ropes on one hand frayed a bit, one strand and then another unraveling. Carefully, painfully, the rope scraping her wrist, Mia was able to work one hand free. "Good, White Blaze," she encouraged. "You're doing great!"

Even as she celebrated, footsteps outside cut her victory short; Kaori was on her way back.

"Go," she hissed to White Blaze, hoping the tiger understood. "We're only going to get one shot at this. Let's wait for a good one. You did great."

A press of a nose to her arm, then he was gone as silently as he'd come. Literally a second later, Kaori returned. "If that's really your friends out there, they're in trouble. Something is on fire at the edge of the wood."

Fire, Mia thought. Ryo?

"Like any big predator, the inugami is attracted to heat and movement," Kaori continued. "It'll zero in on them like a homing pigeon. On the bright side, you get to live a little while longer."'

Mia steeled herself. She had one free hand and the element of surprise and it wasn't going to get any better than that. It wasn't much, but anything was better than just sitting there waiting to die. She had to get out of here and get to the guys—so she was going to have to say something that would make Kaori want to take her head off.

"You know, Eiko said such nice things about you," Mia said. "She said you were sweet and that she felt sorry for you, that you were taking Hiro's death almost as hard as she was. Hiro took you into his confidence. He trusted you with his research, the thing he loved so much. And look at you now, Kaori, just look. You're not the sweet girl Eiko Imamura felt sorry for. You're not the noble partner Hiro thought he could trust. You never were." Mia stared coldly at her adversary, brows meeting over her hurricane eyes; her voice dripped acid as she fired her volley. "It's a good thing you killed them before they found out what you really are."

Kaori reared back as if she'd been stung, eyes showing white all around. Then she screamed, a sound of pure rage and pain, and threw herself at the chair. Mia barely had enough time to bring her free hand up between them before her enemy was on her. Luckily, Kaori fought like a girl, all nails and open-handed slaps. Mia felt a scratch sting her cheek, and then she was able to get her hand around Kaori's slender neck. She found the hollow of the other girl's throat with her thumb and pressed, wrapping her fingers around in as good of a stranglehold as she could get. Kaori gasped and set her nails into Mia's forearm, shredding the skin until she drew blood. The pain surprised Mia into letting go, and Kaori's palm connected solidly with the side of her face. Stars blinked against the backs of Mia's eyelids for a second.

Kaori backed off, breathing hard. "Clever little witch," she murmured, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. "Very tricky, Mia. Your boyfriend was right. You are smart." Drawing herself up to her usual stateliness, she smiled. "Too little, too late, though."

Mia felt herself start to panic. She only had one free hand, and even though Kaori was no fighter, she had the advantage of full mobility. She'd outlast Mia.

What would Ryo do? Mia thought wildly.

And suddenly, she knew exactly what Ryo would do, but she'd have to let Kaori get close. Thinking quickly, she spat blood at the other girl. "You fight like a wimp," she hissed. "You're an embarrassment to women. You give girls a bad name! No wonder you had to get a demon to do all the fighting for you!"

It worked. Kaori's eyes caught fire and she advanced again, a snarl bubbling from her thin lips. "That's what you think, princess. The demon likes its food surprised and running…" Here the mad spellslinger smiled wickedly. "…but it loves a meal that's tied up and bleeding!"

Like a magician producing a rabbit from nowhere, Kaori brought something around from behind her back—one of the kitchen knives from the rack on the countertop. It was nothing fancy, a simple black handle with a steel blade, but Mia had become very familiar with those knives this week; she knew how sharp it was. Now Kaori pressed the flat of the blade against her captive's cheek. "Human anatomy classes are so interesting," she said. "Can you believe that you can look up how to cut someone's organs out? Where the major arteries are? It's like a road map."

Mia shuddered involuntarily. Come on, you bitch, a little closer. Just a little closer. Stay calm, Mia. Let her come to you.

Kaori's eyes lit up as if someone had touched a match to them, and Mia knew that her diseased brain had come up with something truly horrible.

"I know," she purred. "This will be just perfect." And she raised the blade again.

Panic sparked across Mia's synapses, and she forced herself to think of anything but her impending death. Torch of Spirit, sought through five, drinking strength from immortal fire…

"I could do your wrist, but that'd be boring." Kaori waggled the knife towards Mia's free hand. "And you'd probably pass out or something. No fun."

Darkest prison sheds the light, Mia thought, eyes locked on the gleaming blade.

"I could do your ankle, or your thigh, but you'd probably die from that, and then what's the point?" Kaori took a playful swipe towards Mia's feet, and giggled as Mia flinched uncontrollably. "So I'll give it a real treat."

Churning beneath a swirl of salt, Mia thought wildly, fighting not to scream as Kaori circled closer, like a shark. Burning within a throne of rock, floating amongst the eyes of the ages…

"Unmoored in the stream of the sky," she whispered aloud as Kaori pressed the blade against her heart.

Kaori smiled. "It's always the same," she said. "Even the bravest of them eventually break down. They beg. They scream. They cry."

Mia was horrified as she saw all the deaths Kaori had witnessed—or caused—flicker across the other girl's face.

"Or they whisper, like you," Kaori continued. "And what does that mean, Mia Koji? That you went to your death whispering?"

As always, thinking of the poem that had brought her boys to her gave Mia courage. "You are closer to death than I."

"We'll see," Kaori sang. "When it comes."

The blade flashed out like a bad dream. Desperately, Mia twisted as far as the loosened ropes would allow, tilting the chair as much as she could, but it wasn't enough and the knife bit at her blouse, tearing fabric and sliding sharply down her side, opening the skin from rib cage to hip.

The wound felt cold for a split second before it was warmed by the spill of blood, and the entire room swung like a pendulum. Mia blinked to straighten it. Kaori danced backwards, grinning proudly.

Still shocked that the girl hadn't killed her, Mia raised her free hand to her side and brought it back wet with blood. "You suck at this," she said in mild disbelief.

But Kaori only looked prouder. "It can smell your blood, you know," she said softly. "It'll follow that scent anywhere. And when it comes, it'll come for your heart. This knife will feel like nothing compared to its teeth when it bites, and you'll beg it to take your heart and just make everything stop. Now…" Kaori's dark eyes sparkled with delight at her own cleverness. "…still want to tell me you don't know how to stop it?"

"Cross my heart," Mia promised, fighting a wave of sudden lightheadedness to meet her adversary's gaze with a steely glare of her own. "I hope you die."

Kaori blinked, head tilting as she considered the redhead. "I can't tell if you're just stupid, or incredibly...brave." And then she leaned in very close, as if she wanted to kiss her captive, and through the haze of pain and fear Mia saw her chance. Drawing her head back, she used all the leverage she could muster to smash her skull against Kaori's.

She'd seen Ryo pull this move before, on Dynasty soldiers, dark warlords, soccer balls, but she had never imagined it would hurt so much to headbutt something. Still, it sounded like Kaori was hurt even worse—she gave a little gasping scream and fell ungracefully to the floor, sitting in her own surprise. When she looked up, Mia saw that her top lip was swollen from smashing against her teeth. Blood dripped from her nose to mingle with the blood that was seeping from her mouth.

"You bitch," Kaori screamed. "I'll take your heart myself!" Gripping the knife, she screamed and raised her arms over her head.

Leaving her completely open to an attack from the side—and White Blaze was happy to oblige. With a snarl, he pounced, bringing his colossal weight down on the mad spellcaster. The knife flew from Kaori's hand and spun away, and a heavy, dull thud announced her head meeting the hardwood floor. She twitched once, groaned, and moved no more.

The only sound was Mia's ragged breathing as she stared at her fallen foe.

White Blaze came bounding back with the knife in his teeth. Pressing it into Mia's free hand, he butted his head against her knee reassuringly.

"You did it!" Mia cheered, finally letting the tears spill from her eyes as she sliced through the bonds around her other hand and her ankles. Before even rubbing life back into the abused limbs, she threw herself on the tiger, hugging tight, petting frantically, the knife fallen forgotten from her fingers. "You were wonderful. You're my hero, White Blaze."

The laugh-growl sounded in her ears, and the tiger craned his neck, tongue lapping at her face.

"I love you too," Mia promised breathlessly. "I love you, too."

Girl and animal glanced at the fallen Kaori. Mia noticed the barely perceptible rise and fall of her chest. "She's not dead," Mia whispered, as if speaking too loudly would wake Kaori up. Quickly, she grabbed the bloody knife and raised it high, ready to spit Kaori through the chest like a butterfly mounted with a pin.

She was going to kill you, a fierce voice in her brain hissed. She laughed when she thought your friends were hurt. She killed the Imamuras. She wants you dead, wants all of you dead. She won't stop. Do the world a favor and spike the bitch. If anyone deserved it!...

Letting her hands drop to her sides, Mia let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "I can't," she panted. "I can't."

White Blaze, who had waited patiently for the outcome he'd known would happen, pushed his head against Mia's thigh to show his support. His friend was not a killer; defending herself and the Ronin was one thing, but she was not the sort to perform a coup de grace on someone who was unconscious and helpless.

Mia jammed the bloody knife through her belt, scrubbing at her face with her hands. White Blaze nuzzled against her shoulder, reminding her that they shouldn't stay here. This place was no good.

"I want the guys," she said thinly, looking into the tiger's big brown eyes. "Can you help me find them?"

White Blaze's muzzle stretched into that strange, serene smile, and he pushed his broad shoulder against her side, assisting her to her feet.

"Let's go," Mia said softly, retrieving her sweater and pushing her arms through the sleeves, trying to ignore the way the room rocked like a ship at sea. The dizziness followed her out into the night.

Ryo was cursing himself for twenty different kinds of an idiot. Some leader. They'd been getting their asses kicked and their names taken by this thing the whole time, and he couldn't seem to do anything right. It had been folly to pool all of their resources into one shoestring plan, and he'd been a moron to leave Mia alone without posting even one sentry. Now they'd been blindsided and they were scattered in terrain that was unfamiliar to most of them. The demon could hunt them down and pick them off one by one with less effort than it would take to crush the grass beneath its paws.

"Mia ain't gonna like what we did to 'er car," Rowen chuckled, tugging on a blue forelock. Then he sobered at the sight of his friend's worried face. "Sorry, Ryo, man. I won't joke no more."

"No," the Ronin of Wildfire said softly. The others were probably just as upset as he was, and if it was going to make Rowen feel better to make wisecracks, he wasn't about to take that away from his friend. "It's okay. You go ahead."

Rowen cast a glance around the wood, and then he practically lit up the glade with the grin that crossed his face. Elbowing Ryo in his armored side with a clank, he said, "'Ay, Ryo. What did one moth say t'tha otha moth?"

Ryo blinked. "I don't know. What?"

Rowen pointed at a dim glow, far into the trees. "Don't go towards th' light!"

Happily, Ryo punched the Ronin of Strata in the shoulder. "Trust you, Ro. Let's go."

Sage and Kento moved as quickly as they dared through the dark wood. Sage held his no-dachi in front of them, gathering the moonlight to it.

"Hey, Rudolph, wanna turn down your nose?" Kento said, squinting. "You're broadcasting our location to the entire hillside."

"Do you want to see where we're going, or would you rather collide with a tree?" Sage answered, looking around, face haloed in the light from his sword. "I have no idea how far we are from the cabin. Damn it."

Stepping closer to Sage, Kento put a hand on the Halo's sword arm, gently lowering it. "Trust me, man. Put the light out for a second."

Reluctantly, Sage sheathed his sword and darkness swelled over them. At the far edge of the night, a light gleamed warm and yellow.

"Bingo. Cabin window. That way," Kento said.

Sage had to smile at his friend in the dark, even if the other boy couldn't see it. "Good thinking."

"Yeah, well, every so often I do something brilliant," Kento laughed. "Let's go."

Something rumbled like distant thunder beyond them, and a shadow blocked the light they were traveling towards, draining the moonbeams away like a black hole. Three hellish lights replaced the warm light of the cabin window, burning red through the heavy night. The evil third eye flickered while the lower set of eyes scanned the woods like demonic radar.

"Shit," Kento whispered. "It's here. Do you think it sees us?"

"I don't know. But if we try to pass, it definitely will."

Kento chuckled softly, nervously. "So, Plan Guy, any ideas?"

"If we don't run for it now, we're probably dead," Sage answered flatly. The red eyes flared slightly brighter and the dim light glinted off sharp fangs; the beast had spotted them. "And, now it's too late." He unsheathed his no-dachi once more, no longer worried about giving away their position, the blade gleaming even in the stingy light. "If I go down tonight, I'm taking this thing with me."

But the Warrior of Hardrock had other plans. He stopped his friend's advance with one gauntleted arm. "Nah. Go on ahead, Sage. I got your back."

"What?" Sage exclaimed. "Have you lost your mind? No way I'm leaving you alone with that thing. It'll have your guts for garters."

"Mia is in danger," Kento pressed, remembering the embrace he'd accidentally interrupted earlier in the day—it seemed so long ago—knowing that the lovely redhead was Sage's Achilles heel, and that an appeal to her safety might work where nothing else would. "You have to save her, Sage. She's waiting for you. I'll hold things down here. 'Sides—" Hardrock flashed a bloodthirsty grin. "—I owe this fuzzball for tryin' to fricassee my friends!"

Sage's expression was torn, knowing that if he tried to chase two rabbits he'd likely end up with neither. "Kento, I can't let you do this."

"I'll be fine," Kento insisted. "You and Mia saved my bacon back on that mountain, pal, I'm just returning the favor. She needs you, Sage," he added, jabbing that big red panic button one last time.

The look in Sage's eyes told Kento he'd won, but the Halo cast one last apprehensive glance towards the evil red eyes burning steadily between them and the cabin.

"Save her, Sage," Kento repeated.

The blond touched the hilt of his no-dachi to his forehead in a quick salute. "Luck, Kento. Try not to get killed."

As soon as the no-dachi's light had faded into the trees, Kento of Hardrock allowed his face to split in a grin. Death be damned. He was never happier than when he was riding into battle. His heart beat an excited tattoo as he raised his weapon and issued his challenge.

"Hey, you oversized dust bunny! Yeah, you! You might have had me dangling from a telephone pole last time, but we're on solid ground now, and that's my turf! You're finished!"

The beast's eyes flared bloody red, and its muzzle opened in a roar, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Trees creaked and groaned as the massive demon forced its way through towards the lone Ronin.

Kento brandished his weapon to meet the charge. "Haaaaaardroooooock! S'death on the wind! Iron Rock Crusherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Mia stumbled for what seemed like the thousandth time. White Blaze leaned against her side, keeping her upright. She'd been eager to put as much distance between herself and the cabin as possible, but somewhere along the way it had begun to feel like she was wading through wet cement. "M'okay," Mia assured the tiger even as she staggered. "M'just…a little tired…s'all."

The forest seemed to move around her, the branches of the trees scratching at her thin sweater like claws. Stopping briefly, Mia fumbled with the button that held it closed. Pushing the sleeves down her arms seemed to take ages. It fluttered to the ground like a wounded ghost. "S'better. I can walk better now…" she murmured, continuing on her way.

But she couldn't walk better. Every root and rock seemed hungry for her feet; the tall grass scratched at her legs, and every step pumped more blood from the wound on her side. Even with White Blaze's help she was having trouble keeping upright.

Eventually, she slid to rest against a cedar tree, despite the tiger's snuffling and pulling at the hem of her torn shirt. "Just need to…rest a moment…White Blaze."

The tiger nuzzled the girl fearfully as her eyes slid slowly closed.

Kento of Hardrock was a born warrior. He was very used to being the biggest kid on the block, and he'd won as many battles through the power of intimidation as he had being simply bigger and stronger than a lot of his opponents.

And like all true warriors, Hardrock was ready to fight to the bitter, bloody end, no matter how obvious it had become that he was simply outclassed.

In the beginning, the fight had tilted heavily in Kento's favor—he was faster than the now elephant-sized inugami, and quickly scored half a dozen superficial hits, the demon's mottled fur darkening in places with blood. It was when he attempted to hamstring the beast that the tide turned. The monster's tails suddenly lashed to frightening, eerily agile life, one wrapping around the naginata and ripping it from Kento's hands while the other knocked the warrior aside. Down came Hardrock, every bone in his body bouncing as his dizzy brain marveled at the solidity of the fur-encased bones that made up the beast's tail. A distant part of him realized it made sense—everything about the demon was bigger now, thicker, and the silly fluffballs that had waved like flags at him when the monster had been nothing more than an ugly squirrel perched on a electrical wire could now hit him with all the force of a quarterstaff.

Never one to go gentle into a good night, Kento rolled to his belly and attempted to trench-crawl towards his lost weapon, but the inugami, swinging its considerable bulk around, clamped its massive jaws onto Hardrock's gauntlet, lifting him off the ground with a jolt. Gritting his teeth, Kento's shoulder strained as gravity tried to pull him back down, but he refused to yell. If dying here gave Sage even one more minute to get to Mia, gave the other boys even one more year with her and with their families, he knew he'd have done them honor this night. He felt the jaws start to crush through his gauntlet, the corrosive saliva starting its burning kiss.

Something sparkled at the corner of his vision, and there was a swishing hiss as the light whistled dangerously close before the beast's eye exploded in a gout of blood and thicker things. Bellowing, it released Kento, and he tumbled to the ground. Scuttling out of range as fast as he could, he saw what had saved him—the middle prong of a trident was sticking out of the demon's ruined eye socket, still cracking with mystical energy, its other prongs scoring deep furrows into the howling monster's face.

"I thought I'd give you a hand, since that thing was eating yours!" a voice called, and Kento grinned in relief as he saw his rescuer leap from the low limb of a tree, winking and rushing over to haul him to his feet.

"Cye! Boy, am I glad to see you, buddy!"

Circling the inugami, which was now pawing at its face in an effort to remove the trident, Kento retrieved his naginata. "Give me one good shot," he called to Cye, "and then you're in." Making sure to stay on the beast's now-blind side, Kento jammed the naginata between its ribs and it yelped, trying to cringe away. Cye took the opportunity to leap up and pull his trident free—and watched in horror as the weapon came away easily, the holes in the demon's face hissing and expanding to expose bloody bone.

"Bloody hell," Torrent wheezed as he aligned himself with Kento on the monster's blind side. "Even its blood is corrosive."

"Too bad it doesn't eat it from the inside out!" Kento said. "We'll have to get Mia to explain that part to us later."

"Let's hope Mia's able to explain it to us later," Cye said, readying his trident for the beast's next advance. "Let's hope we're all around for that!"

The inugami shook its head wildly, very much like a dog; blood and saliva slopped from its jaws and hissed as it puddled on the grass. Its one working eye fixed on the two Ronin and the evil third eye flared into bright life above as it stepped one massive paw towards them.

A high-pitched shriek split the night, drawing the attention of both the boys and the monster. Swinging its bleeding head around, the inugami pawed the ground uncertainly, then gave the Ronin a hateful look before turning and lumbering off through the trees, crushing the grass and twigs beneath its paws as it followed the sound, its long strides taking it away rather quickly despite its injuries. As it left, it raised its head and howled, the sound mingling with the girl's piercing screams.

"…what the hell?" Cye asked, blinking.

"Come on," Kento said, motioning to his friend that they should tail the beast.

Ryo and Rowen were almost to the cabin when Wildfire held up one gauntleted hand for silence. "Hear that?"

Rowen tilted his head to listen, and soon agreed—pounding footsteps and ragged breath could be heard somewhere off to their right.

Ryo opened his mouth to call out Mia's name, but Rowen silenced him with a gesture—shouting would give away their position and they didn't know for certain who was out there. Instead, he pointed to a nearby tree, then crouched down, making himself as scarce as possible.

Nodding, Ryo took a position opposite his friend, leaning against the tree and waiting. It wasn't exactly easy to hide when you were wearing a big, red suit of armor, but it was going to have to do.

Sure enough, Rowen had had the right idea—seconds later, the pounding footsteps carried a woman into their path. Not Mia—a tall, dark-haired woman. Every so often she'd stop and glance around, and it was Ryo's bad fortune that she noticed the light gleaming off his armor. Dark eyes widening in shock, she opened her mouth to scream, or call an alarm—whichever, it didn't matter, because Rowen was out of his hiding place like lightning, blocking her escape route. Seeing Strata in place, Ryo stepped out into the moonlight, effectively boxing the girl in.

"Kaori, I presume," Rowen said, and the girl whirled, turning her body to the side, the better to keep both Ronin in sight. Her face was moon-pale beneath a heavy tail of dark hair, and blood was drying beneath her nose and stained her lips in the stingy light. Her dark eyes were dilated to pure black and she sniffled wrathfully, drawing herself up to her full, stately height as she tried to bluff her way through this surprise.

"I know who I am," the dark girl retorted in a clear voice. "Who are you?"

"We're the guys who are about to take you and your pet demon down," Ryo said, but didn't unsheathe his katana. The demon was nowhere in sight, and the Ronin of Wildfire would never draw down on an unarmed woman.

The girl tensed. "Let me rephrase," she hissed. "What are you?"

"We're askin' th' questions," Rowen said. "Where's Mia? What've ya done wit' her?"

Kaori's pretty face turned positively hateful, tail of dark hair flicking at the air as she whipped her head back and forth between the two Ronin. As they watched in growing horror, she stamped her foot like a petulant child, voice growing shriller and louder as she complained. "That little brat," she mewled. "She hit me. Her big cat knocked me down. She took my knife. I just wanted her to help me and she hurt me. She's so mean—you're—all—so—mean." The last rose to an ear-shattering roar as she stamped her foot once more, as hard as she could. "I wanted her to help me and she ran away."

"So she's still alive," Ryo said, unable to help perking up at the thought. "She's out here somewhere."

Like a movie special-effect, the petulant child disappeared and a malicious smile curled across Kaori's bloody face, teeth stained red in the dim light. "Not for longgggg," she sang. "She's not the only one out here."

"Dat's it," Rowen snarled, nocking an arrow to his bow as a scare tactic. "Put yer hands behind yer head, an' march. We're goin' back t'th' cabin an' retracin' yer steps till we find Mia, unnerstand?"

Kaori laughed, a chilling, bell-like sound. "That's what you think. I'm not going anywhere, but you'd better start running."

"You're doing exactly what we tell you to do," Ryo countered, following Rowen's lead and drawing his katana and feinting menacingly at Kaori.

"Why should I?"

"Because we have weapons, and you don't," Ryo said. "You said yourself, Mia has your knife."

"I don't need a knife," Kaori purred softly, deep eyes staring into Ryo's, the black bleeding outward until her eyes were nothing but dark pools of horror. "All I have to do is…"

And she opened her bloody lips and screamed. Both Ronin were startled; neither was touching her, but still she screamed as though she were being torn limb from limb, the sound carrying over the trees.

Somewhere in the distance, a howl rose in answer.

Sage knelt carefully next to the scrap of pink fabric that he knew all too well. No, he thought, picking it up and examining it, not wanting to believe that it was the sweater he constantly draped over Mia's shoulders when she forgot to put it on before she went out. It was more or less intact, but the dark stains on one side were less comforting.

A growl sounded to Sage's left and he bolted to his feet, sword in hand, dropping gracefully into a hanging guard. "Come out and face me, demon," he hissed. "I fear nothing."

But it was a familiar white shape that bounded up, circling Sage quickly, butting his head against the blond's hip.

"White Blaze," Sage said, relieved. "Boy, am I glad to see you." He knelt to give the tiger a pat. "Did it get you? You okay?" The tiger snuffled, and Sage could see that some of the fur on his chest was matted and dark. "You're hurt?" He stroked through the bloody fur, but found no wound, and a terrible possibility occurred to him as he glanced back to the bloody sweater. "It's not yours."

The tiger butted his head against Sage's shoulder impatiently.

"Where?" Halo asked. "Where is she?"

As soon as he knew he was understood, White Blaze wheeled and took off into the dark of the wood. It was all Sage could do to follow the dim white shape as it led the way, and when they reached their destination he saw a sight that made his blood run cold.

"No," he whispered hoarsely.

Mia lay against a cedar, eyes closed, lashes dark on her skin, which looked ghastly, almost transparent in the pale light. One side of her torn t-shirt was a red ruin.

"No," Sage repeated, kneeling at her side, squinting to find the pulse still beating faintly at the hollow of her throat. Even in the dim light, he could see the slight rise and fall of her breast. She was breathing. She was alive, but for how much longer was anyone's guess. "Open your eyes, Mia. It's Sage. Can you hear me?"

No answer. Carefully, he pulled the unconscious girl to him. Her head lolled bonelessly on his armored shoulder and Sage's heart began a sick thudding in his chest. Years of meditation and focus swirled in his mind and drained away, leaving him unclear and dizzy with fear. This girl had no training in warfare, no magical ability, no weapon save her knowledge and no armor save her courage. She'd slept fitfully on that sofa, crying out in the night from terror-filled dreams; had clung to him at the funeral, trying to hide her tears in his shoulder. Afraid, so afraid, and yet she had insisted on being on the front lines every skirmish, had run ahead boldly in her search for truth, and even as she lay unconscious and bleeding her heart beat and she drew breath, too tough to die.

"I won't let you." The promise again, as fierce in his heart as it had been years before. "I won't let you die."

He touched gentle fingers to the angry cut on her side, wincing as her blood candy-coated his fingers. "No, no, no," he gritted, free hand searching for his no-dachi. The night was so dark, but if he could catch even the faintest sliver of moonlight…

The blade had never let Sage down before. Tonight was no exception. Reflected moonlight twinkled almost merrily over the ragged edges of Mia's wound. If he could just bind it, just long enough to get her help—

His vision blurred and he was suddenly sharing her pain, feeling the running-doe clamor of her heart, a sting as the skin knit together, a sickening head injury flaring into bright agony and then dulling as the Halo's light and the ferocity of his concern for her bound her wounds.

"Mia, wake," he entreated, her injuries beating across his psyche as he tried to pull his consciousness back. "Wake up, Mia! Open your eyes."

She made a soft sound like a dove's cry, stirring against his shoulder, tidepool eyes hazy as they focused on him.

"Oh, Sage," she whispered breathlessly through bloodless lips. "I think that I've been dreaming."

"You've been hurt," he said. "Rest a minute."

"It was a scary dream," she continued, cheek pressing against his shoulder, eyelids drooping. "But you came to wake me. I knew you'd come for me. I told her, I said you'd come…"

Her eyes widened as she remembered who she'd told, and the circumstances of her injuries came flooding back to her. Jumping in his embrace like she'd received an electrical shock, she seized his arm. "Her. It's Kaori, Sage, she—"

"Easy. Easy, now," he soothed. "Don't try to talk. You've lost a lot of blood."

"We'll lose a lot more than that if we don't stop Kaori!" Mia cried. She squirmed in his arms, but hissed in a breath as her hurts made themselves known, falling back against him. "She's crazy, Sage, and the inugami is following her. We've got to get to the others."

Nodding, Sage rose to his feet, one arm beneath her thighs and the other supporting her back. Unprepared for the sudden shift in position, Mia uttered an exclamation and clasped her hands around his neck as he lifted her in a threshold carry. "Sage! What are you doing? Put me down."

He narrowed his eyes at her, as if she'd suggested he throw her down a hole.

"Put me down," Mia repeated, despite her stranglehold on him. What little blood she had left appeared to be rushing to her face in a blush. "You—you don't have to carry me!"

"Stubborn woman," he muttered, making no move to let her go.

"Y-you need your hand free for your sword," Mia added with sudden common sense. "You can't carry me."

"Mia, you're hurt," Sage said, the fear of finding her pale and unmoving still etched in his eyes, concern dueling with the wisdom of her insight. "Can you even walk?"

She brushed her knuckles against his uncovered cheek and smiled. Carefully, he let her down, and she held her hand out to him, her own blood drying on her fingertips. "Help me, and I'll run."

For one long minute he simply looked at her, in awe of her courage once more. Then, nodding, he took her hand, the other clasped around the hilt of his no-dachi, lighting their way.

As Ryo and Rowen watched in horror, a doglike creature the size of an elephant broke through the trees and lumbered into the clearing, a rumbling growl oozing from its jaws. One eye was dark, blood flowing from the empty socket and running down ragged wounds on its face, but the other was slitted and angry, the third one blazing bright, hellish red. Blood matted its fur in half a dozen places, but it seemed to have no trouble advancing on the Ronin.

Smirking, Kaori swept away from the Ronin, eyes sparkling as she beheld her monster. "There you are," she sang, as though greeting a beloved pet. Pointing at Ryo and Rowen, she ordered, "Finish them!"

As though of one mind, Ryo and Rowen split up, and the demon's size hampered its speed—it could not follow two targets at once. Nettled for less than thirty seconds, it committed to following Wildfire as he ran through the brush.

Ryo leapt out of the way of one massive paw as it swiped at him, turning the fall into an awkward shoulder roll. "Bad dog!" he panted, remembering the collar he and Rowen had found in the dumpster. "Why're you helping her for? She's the one who took your freakin' head off!"

"That's right, I did," Kaori proclaimed, hopping up onto a fallen tree trunk to watch the battle unfold. She swept an arm grandly out towards the demon, a round silver disk peeking out of the neckline of her sweater to glitter at the end of its chain. "I am your master. And aren't you hungry, my love?"

Rowen remembered what Sage had said about the necklace and the rune he'd been looking at in the book at the library. Hiro Imamura had given it to her, Sage had said, and it was a shield rune, a spell of protection. If Kaori really had been in trouble at home, Hiro might have thought the pendant could help keep her safe. And if what Mia had said was true and most of the power behind a spell was force of belief, then Hiro's desire to protect his friend from those who would hurt her might have extended beyond his death. Maybe the pendant worked, and it was the only thing keeping Kaori safe from the demon!

Raising his bow, the Ronin of Strata nocked an arrow to it and sighted on the spare expanse of Kaori's neck. He was only going to get one shot at this.

But with his aim, one shot was all he'd need.

The bowstring sang, and one arrow flew straight and true.

Kaori gasped, staggering off the tree trunk, one hand flying to her throat. A thin line of blood dribbled between her fingers as she smirked, raising her hand to reveal a shallow wound on the side of her slender neck. "You missed, warrior."

Rowen's eyes were on the arrow, still quivering, buried in the bark of the ash tree behind Kaori. The necklace gleamed faintly in the moonlight, its chain looped around the shaft. "No, I didn't."

"Nice shootin', Tex!" Ryo said appreciatively, figuring out what Rowen was up to. Turning towards the inugami, he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Yo, furball!"

The demon turned with a bass growl, third eye glowing like molten metal, corrosive saliva dripping from its gaping jaws as it sighted them with its one good eye.

Rowen jerked a gauntleted thumb towards Kaori. "When ya get tired'a takin' orders, she's right 'ere for ya!"

Kaori's eyes dilated in the dim light as the beast advanced—not towards either Ronin, but towards the place where she stood. "Stay back!" she cried, voice faltering in her fear. "I am your master! You obey me!"

The inugami sniffed the air, then sighted down on the terrified girl who had killed it and turned it into a monster. A rumbling growl trickled from its throat.

"No," Kaori shrieked. "No. No!" Whirling, she bolted through the trees, her shrieks giving way to full-throated screaming.

The inugami, no longer bound to obey anyone at all, shook itself, head swinging idly back and forth. Ryo knew instinctively that it would target them again soon enough. "Now!" he roared, and raised his katana, leaping for the closest weak spot—the monster's only good eye. Forcing the sword forward with a terrific thrust, he slid the blade deep and felt a low pop as the beast's eye ruptured. The inugami roared, cringing back and shaking, the hilt of the katana sticking out of the bloody eye socket. Furiously, the demon swung its head this way and that, nostrils flaring as it searched for its prey. This time, however, Ryo danced neatly out of its reach. "What's the matter, deadlamp?" he taunted. "Can't you see me?"

"Damn!" Rowen said, loosing another shaft, which buried itself in the inugami's side. It was already bleeding profusely from several wounds, including the one Kento had sliced above its ribs, but showed no signs of slowing. "Why won't this thing go down?"

"Giving up already, mates?' a voice called, and Cye barreled into the fray, trident a spinning blur in his hand before he raised it over his head. Like a flash, he jammed it down into the beast's hindpaw, driving the prongs through meat and bone to anchor it to the earth. The monster yelped, straining against the weight. "Too slow, popplepaws!" Torrent crowed. "Let's see you jump around now."

"Cye! Way to go," Ryo cheered, his remaining katana still in hand. "Where's Kento?"

"Coming atcha!" Hardrock bellowed, leaping from a tree limb with his naginata raised. With a blood-freezing battle yell, he drove the blade into the inugami's muzzle, through the roof of its mouth and further, sealing its jaws shut. A horrible mewling whine came from the monster as it pawed wildly at its muzzle, trying to get the weapon loose. Hunkering down, it scratched at itself, drawing more of the acid blood as it howled in pain. The Ronin closed in, knowing they weren't in danger anymore—even demons could be distracted by their nostrils filling up with their own blood.

"Damn. It," Kento spat. "This thing is freakin' indestructible. What the hell do we do now?"

"Finish this," Cye said idly, watching the huge beast struggle to breathe. "We've got to kill it."

"How're we s'posda kill it?" Rowen asked. "Our weapons ain't doin' anythin' but annoyin' it!"

"Inferno?" Cye asked, looking hopeful.

"Won't work without Sage." Kento shook his head. "We've got to finish this and find him and Mia."

Ryo watched the inugami as it lay on the forest floor, huge sides puffing in and out like a bellows as it drew labored breath. As he advanced towards it, it growled, not as fiercely as before, but still angrily. Wildfire got the feeling it saw him somehow—the third eye blazed brightly above its hollowed eye sockets, the awful light flickering off the katana hilt still embedded in its face.

As the Ronin of Wildfire stood before the inugami, the monster tried one last time to rise to its feet, a snarl boiling in its massive chest, blood seeping from its many wounds to eat away at the forest floor. Kento's naginata fell from its ruined muzzle, the wound expanding as the acid saliva and burning blood ate away at the demon's own flesh. Ryo was remembering his science classes, dropping pencils and falling asleep and feeling like a screw-up, the information jumbling in his head, naturally occurring substances and biochemical reactions…

Sulfur base, he thought, the acrid scent of the monster's corrosive effluvia stinging his nostrils as he got closer. Sulfur…flammable.

He didn't need the rage of Inferno…he could create his own right here.

The inugami pushed at the ground with shaky paws, rising unsteadily, shifting its weight to its back legs in preparation for one last, vicious strike. As its head jutted forward, deadly jaws gaping to bite the charging warrior, Ryo of Wildfire's voice burst from his chest and throat, a tiger's roar as he leapt atop the demon's bloody muzzle. "Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare up noooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" His remaining katana was a shining blur in his hand just before the blade slid home, through the beast's third eye. The inugami howled, forelegs crumpling beneath it. It tossed its head weakly back and forth, trying to shake off its attacker, but Ryo hung on, the blade anchored deeply in the demon's brain, flames sparking from it to consume the beast from the inside out, fueled by the monster's own corrosive blood.

In her haste to escape the inugami she now believed was after her, Kaori had panicked and begun running towards the light shining through the trees, believing it to be the cabin window. However, when she reached it, she found not a safe haven but another armored warrior with a sword and the woman she thought she'd already taken care of.

"Kaori!" Mia cried, her hand clasped in the gauntleted hand of her knight. One violet eye blazed from within his helmet; the mad spellcaster recognized him as the boy who'd been at Mia's side at the funeral. Her dark eyes bounced from his armor to Mia to the sword that haloed them both in an ethereal glow. It was clear that she was running the odds and had realized she was outgunned.

"Mercy," she whispered, hands outstretched to them, both beseeching and showing them she was unarmed.

Mia blinked incredulously. "Mercy?" she asked, her voice faltering. "Did you show the Imamuras mercy? Would you have shown me mercy?"

Kaori glanced pointedly at the place she had slashed the other woman, but Mia huddled close to Sage, sheltering herself against his side.

"The inugami, Kaori," Sage said urgently. "Where is it?"

Like an audio aid, the pained howl rang through the treetops. Kaori whirled, hair flicking in a bizarre contrast of dark on dark. "What was that?" she gasped.

"The sound of your demon biting the big one," Mia said, letting go of Sage's arm. She wobbled a bit, but her stance was steady enough as she stared her adversary down.

"But that's impossible," Kaori whispered. "Nothing could stop it."

Mia's grin was fierce with pride. "My friends can do anything."

Sage's lips quirked into the barest smile.

Kaori's eyes were shimmering in the starlight, the desperate, helpless gaze of an animal caught once more in the trap from which it had escaped. To her, Mia and the Ronin were just more people who were after her. Without her necklace and the knife she'd wielded so carelessly, she was once again the grieving girl in the cemetery, her eyes impossibly sad.

"It's over, Kaori," Mia continued gently. "The demon is gone and your fiancé is dead. That's as good as revenge gets. After you kill them, there isn't any more."

The spellcaster's tears brimmed over. "I just wanted to stop hurting," she whispered.

"The only people who never hurt are dead," Sage said softly. "I am sorry for your suffering. But you can hardly blame us for standing against you. You meant to kill us if you could."

"I had to do it," Kaori protested weakly. "I'm a human being. I'm important. No one has any right to hurt me."

"Maybe so," Sage said, the light of that impossible wisdom in his winter-cool eyes. "But we are important, too, and no one has a right to hurt us, either. Every creature has a right to fight for its life, or the lives of its loved ones."

Tears spilled in a shining line down Kaori's pale cheek as she looked from Sage to Mia and back again. "I wish…I wish I had friends like you." Whirling, she took off into the dark of the forest before Mia and Sage could stop her.

"Hey, wait!" Mia cried, bolting after the girl.

"Mia! Come back!" Sage grabbed for her, but ended up with a handful of air. Sheathing his no-dachi, he sprinted after the two women, and the darkness fell around them, turning the path ahead into a pit of shadows.

It happened in an instant. One minute Kaori was ahead of them, covering ground like a scared rabbit, and then she was gone, her scream piercing the night and then fading down into the earth.

Mia was in the lead and had only a split second to see what was happening. Sage leapt forward and seized her in his arms, his weight sending them sprawling to the ground. From the low angle, they could see what had stopped Kaori's escape—the well, the old abandoned well that Ryo's father had never bothered to fill in.

Mia shuddered, turning her face away. Sage shielded her eyes with one gauntleted hand as they tried to catch their breath.

"Close one," Mia gasped. "Thanks for catching me."

Despite everything, Sage laughed. "Don't I always?" he said. "I just wish you'd stop running away from me."

Mia smiled up at the Ronin of Halo, reaching up to stroke her knuckles down his cheek. "Never again," she said. "Promise."

Before he could answer her, a voice was heard over the ridge. "Sage! Mia!" It was Ryo.

"Down here," Sage answered, helping Mia to her feet. "We're all right."

Ryo slid down to the bottom of the ridge on the balls of his feet. "Kaori," he asked, glancing around.

Sage shook his head. "No."

"Are you guys okay?" Mia asked.

"Waylahooooooo!" was the answer from over the ridge. Kento jogged down, exhilarated from their battle. "We are the champions, my friends!"

"The demon?" Sage asked.

"Toasted," Ryo said with satisfaction. "It's not going to hurt anybody anymore."

Rowen and Cye made their way down to join the others. "Fire's out," Cye said. "Grass is looking a little worse for wear, though."

"It'll grow back," Ryo said.

Looped around Rowen's gauntlet was the necklace Kaori had worn; he'd taken it with him when he retrieved his arrow. Now he extended his hand to Mia, the medallion catching the moonlight as it swung back and forth. "Hiro really could do magic," the Ronin of Strata said. "In th' end, it wuz his necklace that wuz protectin' Kaori, after all."

"It wasn't magic," Mia said. "It was goodness." Taking the necklace from Rowen, she drew the knife from her belt and looped the chain around its hilt. Walking carefully around the mouth of the well, she tossed both items in. They sparkled briefly in the dim light, and then were lost forever in the dark of the pit. "She can have that back. It's hers, after all, and it's of no use to anyone else."

"Come here," Sage said softly, reaching one hand out for her. "Mia. Come away from there."

Mia obeyed, suddenly hyperaware of every single cut and bruise, adrenaline ebbing from her veins and leaving her empty and exhausted.

"Should we tell?" Cye wondered aloud. "Should we have the well dredged?"

"No." Ryo shook his head after a moment's thought. "I'll have the well filled in. Should have done it a long time ago, really."

"I'm glad you didn't," Sage said, and the others nodded assent.

"No one will disturb her," Ryo continued, mostly for Mia's benefit. "Not ever again."

Mia nodded. "It's better that way. She was all alone. Hiro was her only friend in the whole world, and he's gone. It's a better burial than she'd have gotten. She'll be…safe, finally." She looked around at the faces of her boys—her very best friends. She'd never know how Kaori must have felt, because she had a family. A strange, armored, fiercely devoted family, the best one she could ever want. She was never alone.

"Betrayal," Cye mused. "A crime of passion, a raging beast, and a sudden death. I bet Hiro and Kaori never thought they'd end up becoming one of their own beloved myths."

Arching a brow, Mia said dryly, "I guess they were mythtaken."

Rowen made a choking sound—the kind hysterical laughter makes when you can't hold it back. More giggles followed, the tension easing from the exhausted warriors now that the battle was over.

Suddenly, Mia was laughing too, laughing uncontrollably. Hard, laughing so hard it hurt. And then crying, big hiccupping sobs, the type that only came after days of uncertainty and terror. She buried her face in her hands, whooping in air, pressing the heels of her hands hard against her eyes to grind the tears away.

And then someone was there beside her, gathering her to him, holding her carefully against his armored chest. More hands sought to stroke her hair, clasp comfortingly around her shoulder, circle her wrist. That feeling, that sharp sweet feeling in her heart, it was good to be together…

"It's all right," Sage murmured, rock steady against her, arms strong around her. "Everything's going to be all right."

Oddly enough, the team member who was the most badly hurt was Mia. The boys ignored her protests that she was fine and insisted on taking her to the emergency room, even though the emergency was hours old. Sage ran three red lights on the way to the hospital in Kento's car while the boys pulled civilian clothes on over their subarmor like bizarre reverse striptease artists. While a doctor shone a flashlight in her eyes and checked her for a concussion, the irrepressible Rowen amused the entire waiting room by reading the Ronins' sexual horoscopes out of an old issue of Cosmopolitan.

The doctor took her blood pressure three times, his frown etching deeper lines into his face every single time. Eventually he told her she'd need a transfusion, and glared at her when she was finally set up with the equipment. "Let me guess." He arched a brow, examining the IV. "You cut yourself shaving."

Mia could understand his skeptical exasperation. The wound screamed knife fight, and she'd shown up with a gang of guys—although they'd done their best to scrub what blood and dirt they could from their skin and had dressed like they were on their way to a fire. Ryo was wearing that ridiculous shirt with the words "Milk Ball" written across the front, for crying out loud. "I was slicing a bagel and it got away from me," was all she said.

The doctor frowned at her, checking her readings again. "I suppose he's not going to tell, either?" He nodded at the blond boy sitting beside her.

Mia felt a smile curl her lips. "Nope. He's only in here because he doesn't want to hear his horoscope."

"No," Sage said calmly. "I'm in here for something else."

"What?" Mia asked, and then a wave of dizziness passed over her.

Sage's hand curled around hers and squeezed. "This."

"I'm sorry this is hurting you," the doctor said, his expression growing more disturbed, and he passed a hand over his face, looking suddenly weary.

"Look, Ms. Koji. I don't know you…" The doctor glanced pointedly at Sage. "…Or your friends. But you've lost a lot of blood tonight, whether it was an accident or not. I'm not going to force you to tell me the truth, but to be honest with you I don't know how you're even sitting here."

"But…you said I'm going to be fine," Mia said, puzzled.

The doctor looked at her like he thought she was insane. "Ms. Koji, you are going to be fine. But I'll be damned if I know how it turned out that way."

His meaning hung heavily in the air. Mia exchanged a glance with Sage; he tightened his hold on her hand. The doctor waited for an explanation for a few more seconds, then sighed through his nose when he realized he wasn't going to get one. "I don't think you've got a concussion, Ms. Koji, but it might be a good idea to wake up every hour, just to be safe," he said, checking her readings once more. "Do you have an alarm you can set, or someone who can wake you?"

Sage answered smoothly. "She's got five someones. And one very loyal kitty. We'll take care of her."

"They always do," Mia agreed sweetly.

Instead of looking reassured, the doctor seemed thoroughly exasperated with both of them. "I'll send in a nurse to unhook you from this and write you a prescription for antibiotics to fight secondary infection. Just get it filled at any local pharmacy, okay?"

As soon as he'd left them to do that, Mia laughed. "What's he so worked up about? Trying to scare me like that! It's just a scratch."

Sage's hand tightened fractionally on hers. A casual observer would have missed it, but being a faithful student of Halo's subtleties for years, Mia knew how to decode even the tiniest shift in mood. "What?" she asked softly. "What's wrong?"

Sage's shook his blond head, a clear dismissal. His gaze flickered over her body, but it was not something sensual—his violet eyes were streaked with fear as he struggled with a memory.

Mia turned her own attention to the wound, lifting her free hand to touch the raised line that was already scabbing over. The remembered bite of the blade echoed over her senses and she was flooded with sudden, belated fear of her injury. There'd been so many other things to be afraid about at the time, and she'd been so intent on getting to her boys that she hadn't stopped to wonder just how badly she was hurt, and then everything had gone cold and dark until she'd heard his voice, till he'd brought the light.

The light…

"Sage?" she whispered, the only possible answer suddenly becoming clear to her. "Did you…?"

He interrupted, not with a word, but with an action, lifting their intertwined hands and pressing his lips to her skin, just the warmth of his mouth on the back of her hand, something brief and courtly that made her blush.

She wasn't sure what to say. He'd saved her life before, but somehow, thank you just didn't seem like enough this time, didn't run deep enough for everything that was between them. She wanted to hold him, let him feel that her heart was beating and chase that fear from his eyes. "Oh, Sage."

Lowering her hand but keeping it firmly held in his, Sage murmured, "I told you. I won't lose you."

They didn't speak as the nurse came and unhooked the IV from her arm, bandaging it and telling Mia she was all set in a friendly voice that betrayed that the doctor hadn't shared his suspicions with any of the staff. Eventually, he came back with a prescription sheet. Mia's eyes were still trained on Sage; she made three absent attempts to take the paper until the doctor lost his patience and pressed it into her hand. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope not to see you again, Ms. Koji," he said shortly.

"Mmhm," Mia murmured, letting Sage help her off the hospital cot. He nodded at the doctor. "Thank you for your help," he said, nudging Mia gently.

Prompted into a response, Mia jumped, nodding quickly as she stammered, "Oh, oh yes. Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor gave them a look that plainly said he thought they were both out of their minds, and Sage steered Mia quickly towards the door.

Kento brightened as they walked back into the waiting room. "So, what's the verdict? You okay?" he asked cheerfully.

Mia sighed and plucked at the bandage in the bend of her elbow. "I have to wake up every hour so I don't die while I'm asleep," she sighed. "But other than that, I think I'm doing pretty great."

"You are one tough chick, gorgeous," Kento said appreciatively. "You just won't go down!"

Mia smiled. "Well, don't give me all the credit. I had a little help."

Sage acknowledged the praise with a squeeze of Mia's hand, a swift and private communication meant only for her.

Mia felt flustered. Trying to distract herself, she turned to the Ronin of Strata. "Hey, Ro. What's my horoscope?"

Rowen's twinkling eyes were on her hand in Sage's. "It's lookin' up, I think."

Sage twirled the keys on the index finger of his free hand. "Let's go home," he said, and the others smiled and nodded in agreement.

"So?" Cye asked breezily as soon as they were all in the CJ. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

The others all collapsed into laughter, Kento grabbing Cye in a half-nelson, while Ryo decided on a noogie. Rowen leaned over the passenger-side headrest to join in the poking, and his elbow jabbed Mia in the side, which made it hard to keep her seat on the console. Sage muttered a curse, trying to keep the car straight in their lane, but when Mia glanced at him, he was smiling.

God, but it was nice to have friends.

Author's Notes:

There you have it—my favorite part of the story, finally told. *^_^*

The dogs of war: In Shakespeare's time, "the dogs of war" was a term for soldiers, and to cry "Havoc!" was an instruction to take no prisoners, sort of like yelling "Charge".

Tetris: Mia's reference to Tetris is not anachronistic—Tetris was released in 1984 and made it to the Nintendo Game Boy in 1989. On our PC version, my mother, stars shine bright over her brave bones, held the high score for years under the name "Square*Eyes".

Res ipsa loquitor: Literally, "the thing speaks for itself", this is actually a legal term linked to the common law of negligence, stating that sometimes a broken law or breach of ethics can be inferred from the outcome of something, even without any direct evidence of a defendant's actions—basically, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably safe to assume the obvious.

Strike three, other team gets a chance to steal: This witty barb is also not anachronistic—Family Feud began airing in 1976.

We are the champions: Kento knows the best way to brag—using the lyrics of my beloved Freddie Mercury, who was Made In Heaven himself.

Cosmopolitan: It's not the first time I've referenced Cosmopolitan, a horrible women's magazine I like to refer to as "nympho info", but I should have pointed out earlier that this is also not anachronistic—Cosmo has been brainwashing women into thinking they're overweight and worthless since 1886. Thanks a lot, you jerks.

Some things about inugami: Inugami are absolutely a part of Japanese lore, and you can look them up, but I'll readily admit I took a lot of liberties with the demon's design. For instance, there is nothing in legend that says inugami can change size; I simply added that in because I personally found the demon a lot scarier when it was smaller than I did when it was big. There's also no recorded instances of it having a psychic third eye; that was simply a facet I added it to bind it closer to its master, Kaori Satou. Lastly, there is nothing in any kind of inugami legend that says that it has corrosive effluvia (nor, as Kento pointed out, is it biologically feasible for such a creature to exist without dissolving from the inside out)—as I mentioned in an earlier chapter, I am a very big fan of H.R. Geiger's design for the aliens in Ridley Scott's Alien, and I think it's a very scary aspect to an already frightening creature when, as Rowen put it, even its spit is dangerous. So that's my inugami, the patchwork terror of Cross My Heart—and I hope he was as entertaining to you as he was to me! He was my very own Bruce the Shark, and I'll sure miss him *^_^* Luckily, the best thing about stories is I can always come back and visit him, and I certainly will.

Next chapter: That's right, true believers…there's still one chapter to go! Kaori and the inugami may be gone for good, but our heroes aren't quite done, not yet. There's a few small loose ends to tie up—and one big one, of course. *^_~*