Thanks for reading this far! I'm so glad you're enjoying my story! I'll try to keep updating as regularly as possible, but my computer has been a little on the fritz lately. I got it check out today, so it shouldn't be problem now. Also, wanted to apologize in advance for how ridiculous this chapter becomes. : )
The demons were drawing closer; snarling, bloodlust in their sneering eyes. Yukio blasted one into dust just before it's razor teeth clamped down onto his arm, smattering his face with demon residue.
"Aaeeii!" he turned to see a dog-like demon swipe it's claws at Izumo. Her foxes leaped to her aide, destroying the beast as Izumo fell to her knees, clutching her side.
"Izumo!" Shima cried, hurrying to her side. Another monster appeared over them, thick drool spilling onto the exwires, plastering Shima's pink hair to his pale face. Yukio cursed and unloaded a clip into the demon, which promptly exploded. But it was just the latest in a long procession.
"Moriyama!" Konekomaru shouted nervously, slowly backing up. They had been pressed into a small circle, back to back. In another minutes they would be done for.
Shiemi was speaking to Nii-chan, lifting the greenman up towards the nearest tree, but so far nothing had happened.
Another demon attacked Yukio, and he fired off another round - only to have his ammo run out. Cursing, he fumbled to reload his gun, perilously dodging the monster's attacks while keeping a anxious eye on the others. This was it. Seeking the aide of the kodama had been a long shot, but he had held out hope. But it hadn't worked - this was the end. He had gotten himself and everyone else killed.
The demon swiped its claws and knocked Yukio to the ground, knocking the breath from his lungs. He rolled onto his back and looked up at the thing, and something gave inside him. Some rage he always kept in check, the darkness he always denied inside him.
With a roar, he clutched both hands around the empty gun and clubbed the demon across the face. It's bottom jaw ripped free and flew into the forest, spraying him with thick black fluid as the demon scrambled backwards. Yukio stumbled to his feet, breathing hard, and reloaded his clips. He had to calm down...it was like that time with Saburota...
"Yuki-chan!" Shiemi's voice called out, sounding strangely far away. He spun around only to see everyone had vanished. In the next second, something was wrapping around his middle, squeezing the air from his chest. He struggled, but whatever it was had pinned his arms to his sides.
"It's okay, Okumura-san!"
He heard Konekomaru, but he couldn't see him anywhere. Instead, he was being lifted into the air, away from the demons and into the trees. When he was a disconcertingly long distance from the ground, the thing squeezing him around his waist jerked him into the trees and dropped him into the charred branches. Gasping, he blinked up to see what had attacked him - and was surprised to see a tree branch uncurl and stiffen back to its original place on the tree.
"You were right, Yuki! The tree spirits are helping us!" Shiemi called, waving from a nearby tree. He looked around, and the other exwires waved back from various treetops.
"Izumo-san! Are you alright?" he called.
"I'll be fine," she called back a little weakly. She needed medical attention soon, but they didn't have time to stop and administer it.
"We'll get you patched up as soon as we can. Shiemi-san, can the kodama take us to the mountain?"
Shiemi whispered something to Nii, who squeaked a little then fell silent. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the trees began to bend and bow as if by a strong wind.
"Whoa!" Shima cried, struggling to stay on his branch - but the tree bucked him off - only for another tree to catch him up and pass him to the next tree.
Yukio was passed into the same tree as Shiemi, who was crying. Surprised, Yukio didn't know what to say for a moment.
"The kodoma said they would help us, but they're hurt. They're using the last of their power to help us...some of them might even die. Yuki...we have to stop Iha-naga."
Yukio nodded firmly, then took her hand, "Don't worry, Shiemi. We'll stop her. And save Rin. Now come on."
She wiped her tears and nodded back, stepping out on the branch, which tossed them up in the air. She cried out a little in surprise, and Yukio couldn't help but clench his muscles in fear. But in the next second another tree caught them, passing them along.
Never in his life had Yukio ever expected to crowd surf on top of the trees of Aokigahara, but he had seen a lot of things he had never expected. He should stop being so surprised. At first he was afraid someone would get injured, landing wrong or getting slapped by a tree limb, but the kodama were careful. Another thing he had never expected - demons helping exorcists.
I'm going to become an exorcist, as Satan's son.
Rin's words suddenly flashed through his mind. Yeah, he had definitely seen a lot of things he never expected.
Demons occasionally tried to attack them, but the trees were too quick and snatched them away before they were in any real danger. A few times Yukio saw the trees beating or squeezing demons down below. Perhaps his guess had been correct - these demons' ties with the forest were so strong they were resistant to Iha-naga's heart fragment. Or perhaps the fragment just wasn't that strong. Either way, it gave him hope - if these demons could resist her mind control, maybe Rin could break free as well.
"Uh, Okumura-san? How are we going to get up the mountain?"
Konekomaru's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Sure enough, the looming figure of Fujisan was approaching rapidly. Even if the kodama had helped them cross the forest in record time, he doubted they could do much to help them ascend the mountain's stony slopes. Not all the way to the peak, anyway.
He could feel the shift in gravity as the kodama began lifting them up the slope of the mountain, still coated generously in forest. This wouldn't last forever, though. And the horizon was beginning to lighten.
"What is it Nii-chan?" Shiemi shouted, trying to hear the greenman's squeaks through the rushing wind.
"Even if we get to the top of the mountain, we'll freeze! Even in summer it's frigid up there!" Izumo shouted.
"We're going to die after all, aren't we?" Shima whined, fat tears streaming from his eyes.
"Guys! I think Nii-chan has an idea!" Shiemi called, "Don't worry, the kodama are going to -"
Her instructions were cut short when the trees suddenly stopped moving, causing everyone to lurch to a stop, clinging to branches to keep from crashing into the hard ground below. Just above them, the tree line ran out, the top of the mountain looming at them through the cold air.
Suddenly the trees slung backwards, bending so far Yukio was surprised they didn't snap in half.
"What are they doing?" Izumo shrieked, clinging to the trunk and glancing warily about.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Konekomaru said, almost too quiet for Yukio to hear.
"It's okay! They're going to throw us to the top!"
"What!?" Shima shouted.
The trees snapped forward, flinging the young exorcists into the air like pebbles. Yukio clapped a hand over his mouth as he tumbled head over heels through the air, the mountain spinning beneath him, just a blur. He vaguely heard the others screaming, the frigid air swirling all around them.
He had thought by the careful way the kodama had handled them that the tree spirits had a fundamental grasp of human fragility, but apparently he had severely underestimated their concern for the exorcists. He felt the air shift as he began descending towards the mountain, towards his death. What a ridiculous way to die.
Below, he could see three human shapes, dark against the ground. Could it be Rin and Yukio? Not that they could do anything to stop his or the others' imminent demise.
"Nii!" he turned his head to see the little baby greenman hovering by his ear. It smiled, then sped towards the ground. He quickly lost sight of him, the tiny green speck lost against the landscape. Suddenly, a burst of green exploded beneath him. He couldn't see what it was, but green vines snaked around, weaving in and out of each other, piling up towards Yukio.
In the second before he crashed into it, he saw it was some sort of net. Squeezing his eyes shut, he crashed into the make-shift vine net and hoped it was enough to save them.