The others were caught up in a whirlwind of fighting, and they were losing. They couldn't hope to win the upper hand against these demons while also fighting the poisonous effects of the heart fragment's miasma. Logan had to move fast.

He had survived a fuckin' nuclear blast. He could survive this.

He charged towards Rin, who predictably blasted him with a wave of fire. The kid had talent, sure - but he was nowhere near as good as Yukio with sword technique. Logan feinted to the left but kept charging - he would heal, and he didn't have time to play cat and mouse. The blue flames blasted past him, but a few licked his arm, burning the skin away nearly instantaneously. He howled and dodged again, but kept moving forward, trying to shake the wound off. It wasn't too deep, but it hurt like hell.

Rin once again swiped his blade towards Logan - who rolled just as the flames washed above him. He felt their heat on his back - he was pretty sure his back had gotten scorched, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

Besides, the pain would be gone soon.

He kept telling himself that, at least. He glanced down at his arm, then did a double take. He wasn't healing. In fact, the wound seemed to be growing worse.

"Did you think your pitiful human mutation would save you from the flames of Satan, Wolverine?" Iha-naga sneered, safely standing behind Rin, who once again charged at Logan.

Shit.

Logan dove for cover this time, wincing as his scorched back made contact with the stony ground. More demons were swarming up the mountain slope - and already his friends were falling. The chick with purple hair was lying on the ground, the pink-haired dude standing protectively over her as the monsters closed in. Logan's eyes flashed around, but he couldn't find Yukio in the melee.

He didn't have time to keep searching - Rin was attacking again. The kid was relentless. It was only his lack of skill that was saving Logan at all. And even then, Logan only escaped by a hair-breadth, this time suffering a direct blast to the shoulder.

"Damn it!" he screamed, crumpling to the ground. The wound was like some dark parasite inside him, devouring his energy, his spirit, his determination. The physical pain was almost secondary to the despair Logan was suddenly feeling.

"Finish him off already!" Iha-naga snarled. Rin slowly walked up to Logan, flames dancing across his shoulder, mingling with his hair, shining in his eyes.

"Kid...don't do this...remember...we're not animals."

Rin paused.

Logan felt a flicker of hope, "You don't want people to fear you, right? You want their trust? Then you gotta fight for it."

Rin flicked his tail, and for a moment Logan thought he saw a familiar spark in the kid's eyes. Then it was gone.

He rolled out of the way as Rin slashed downwards, cracking the rock where Logan had been lying. Something was different in his movements, though. He seemed slower, more relunctant.

"Rin! You're in there somewhere! You have to fight against this!"

Jerkily, Rin moved to swipe his sword again, but two reports rang out - the bullets whizzed past Logan and buried themselves in Rin's abdomen. His fiery attack faltered, giving Logan the opportunity to get to his feet. Blood was soaking through the kids shirt, forming a small puddle beneath him.

"Get the fragment, Logan!"

At least Okumura was still alive - Logan tried to spot him amongst the demons and fighting, but either the kid was moving too fast or he was buried in monsters.

Right - he needed to focus. Grab the fragment, and then Iha-naga would lose control over Rin. Hopefully.

It was getting more difficult to move - he wasn't bleeding out, but the burns - especially the deep one in his shoulder - they felt as if the life were seeping out of him.

He saw Rin hop to a boulder to his left, a horrifying blue halo enveloping him. At least that damned fire seemed to keep the other demons away. Iha-naga was standing just to Rin's right, a little behind - he needed to force Rin away from her.

He rolled backwards to avoid the stream of fire sent in his direction. Now he was a little closer to the goddess, but Rin quickly leapt to the side, blocking Logan once again. Prepared for this, Logan quickly changed directions and dove behind the boulder where the kid had been standing a moment earlier. To get a clear shot at him now, Rin would have to move around the boulder, and away from Iha-naga. There was a faint whoosh, and Logan felt the intense heat pass above him, singing the top of his head. Rin landed with a thump directly in front of Logan, sword already poised to strike. With a howl like a wild beast, Logan leapt upwards and flipped over the boulder just in time to avoid the attack. Blue flames blasted the boulder, snaking around to scorch the ground to his left and right. A few wrapped around the boulder and bit Logan's arms and legs, cutting past his clothes like butter and sinking into his skin.

But he finally had his opening - Iha-naga was unprotected, standing right in front of Logan. He had a few seconds.

He charged, watching the goddess' face as she realized Logan was indeed attacking her. Her craggy face was suddenly lit by blue, and Logan knew Rin was behind him, unleashing another bout of flames. And this time, there was no dodging. It was a race - Logan had to reach the fragment before the flames reached him.

His claws sank into Iha-naga's chest, wounds and muscles screaming, his other hand darting towards the fragment. Even he, who was apparently immune to its powerful miasma, could feel the dark energy emanating from this shard of a god's heart. He wrapped his fingers around it, and it felt at the same time like nothing and like intense cold. Iha-naga screamed in fury, raising a hand to shove Logan off her. All this happened in the blink of an eye.

In the next second, the flames engulfed them both.