Author's note: I do apologize for missing the last two updates…if there's actually anyone to apologize to, heh. I'm really not happy with how these chapters are turning out, so constructive criticism is especially helpful here. I'm really fumbling in the dark with this story, so any illumination would be greatly appreciated! And without further ado, here is your (long-awaited?) chapter.

Chapter 16: Firestorm

Hina watched in horror as the soldier's sword slid through Hyoujin's chest.

The guard laughed as he tugged his sword back out, watching with glee as the earth-mover's blood stained his element.

He didn't have long to savor his victory, however.

Shizuku, with a cry of rage, threw herself across the distance that separated them and sank her claws into his heart.

She tossed his body aside, looking far more feral than Hina had ever seen her, and stood guard over Hyoujin, taking out several demons who thought they smelled an opportunity.

Kirin carefully laid his dead friend's body down and stood.

When he turned towards the rest of them, Hina got a look at his eyes.

What she saw shook her to the core.

If she'd thought they looked fiery before, she been wrong. They were utterly red, pupilless and flickering with rage.

"No more," he muttered.

Then, louder: "No more."

Then he took a step forward and raised his arms.

"NO! MORE!"

Fire leapt from his hands, rushing and swirling and eager for the kill.

It rushed around the nearby trees, engulfing them in flame and joining them to his desperate energy.

Their remaining opponents dropped their weapons and ran for their lives—and some of them even succeeded.

But Kirin didn't stop.

He strode after them, eyes glowing red, filled with an expression of unadulterated hatred.

Behind him, the burning forest surrounded his companions.

Shizuku knelt down by Hyoujin, touching his shoulder with a trembling hand.

He twitched and gave feeble moan.

Shizuku buried her face in his shoulder, shaking.

Hina started. He was alive…?

If he still lived, perhaps there was something she could do.

However, before she could think about that, she had to consider the fact that the forest was on fire around them.

A burning branch broke off above Hina's head, which she blocked with her ice. Their other two companions seemed to be able to protect themselves, but Hyoujin—and for that matter, Shizuku—weren't in any shape to deal with this.

They had to leave.

They had to get out, now.

"Kirin!" she cried in desperation.

He was following the fleeing guards, still flinging fire after them in a murderous rage.

For a moment, she thought he was too far into the madness of revenge…but then he paused and turned back.

His face was still full of rage and hate and pain, but his eyes were normal again.

And when they took in the scene behind him, they widened in horror.

The forest around them was blackened and smoldering, where it wasn't still actively on fire. The flames had jumped from tree to tree and were now threatening to cut off their escape.

Kirin looked back towards Soukan's body, and then to Hyoujin.

Clenching his fists and mouthing something Hina couldn't catch, he turned away from his dead friend and back to those who were still living.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," he said tonelessly.

The man with the white eyes came up to Hyoujin, and he and Shizuku picked him up, managing to hold him between them. He was unconscious, but he still groaned when they touched him.

Shizuku had stopped crying, focusing on the task in from of her, but her hands still shook.

Kirin took the lead, fighting fire with fire, shooting dangerous branches out of the way and absorbing open flames into himself.

Moving as quickly as they could, they crossed the border again, and then found a small stream and found the first suitable campsite on the other side of it.

Shizuku and Zougeiro laid Hyoujin down on the small flat area they'd found, and Kirin started another fire—this one carefully contained within a circle of rocks.

Hina knelt down by Hyoujin's side again. Now that they were out of danger, she might be able to help him.

She had never used her healing powers on anyone else, but there was little choice.

Closing her eyes, she focused on getting a clear picture of what was wrong.

It took an effort to wrap her mind around the image provided by someone else's energy, and it wasn't anywhere as clear as what she could get from her own body.

Still, it was enough to make her blood run colder than usual.

It was bad.

With for more of an effort than it would take for herself, she made the torn flesh knit back together, trying desperately to keep Hyoujin from bleeding out as he lay.

But that that wasn't the worst of it.

Even if she could manage to stop all the bleeding …

Hyoujin's youki, normally a cheerful yellow, was stained with an ugly purplish-green. She wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but she knew it wasn't good. Poison, maybe?

Poison…that stirred a memory, which was only intensified when she looked up and saw the fox sitting across from her.

Foxfire.

Koyu's words came back to her.

Yeah, he can do that. He calls it 'foxfire'. He can do it to people too…

"Kirin," she called.

He looked up, having been buried in his own thoughts.

"Something's wrong. It might be poison. Can you…?"

Kirin's eyes were blank, but after a moment, he roused himself and came over.

"You'd better move back," he said, expressionlessly.

When she did, he raised a hand, and a swirling yellow something began to churn around Hyoujin's prone form.

Shizuku watch anxiously, while Hina's brow furrowed.

True, the purpleness was fading from his aura, but the ugly, putrid green wasn't moving.

This wasn't good.

She had no idea how to do anything to help that—didn't even know what it meant—and if Kirin's foxfire didn't help…

Kirin lowered his hand.

"You'll be all right now," whispered Shizuku.

Hina didn't say anything, but the fox happened to glance up. When she saw her face, Shizuku paled.

"He…got rid of the poison, didn't he?"

"Yes…"

"Yes…but?"

When Hina didn't immediately answer, Shizuku's lips tightened.

"What is it." It wasn't a question.

"I don't know. If it's not poison, it might be a biological agent."

"Will he be all right?"

Hina hesitated.

"I don't know."

Strictly speaking, that was true.

"Tell me."

Hina closed her eyes, seeing again what she'd felt in his aura.

"He's lost a lot of blood, and his energy is considerably weakened."

"And?"

"And…whatever was on the sword is weakening him further."

Shizuku's eyes begged an answer that she dreaded.

"I'm…I'm not sure if he'll make it through the night."

Shizuku looked stunned, and then her eyes filled with tears. She turned away from Hina, hunching instead over Hyoujin's pale form, and started crying.

Helpless, Hina stood there, hearing her weep.

Then she turned and walked away from camp, desperate to get away from the terrible grief her words had just caused.

As Hina walked away from the camp, Shizuku's quiet sobs rang in her ears.

Hina shook her head. This shouldn't be happening. This wasn't right. She suddenly found that the exact nature of Shizuku and Hyoujin's relationship didn't matter anymore. It was apparent now that each was the most important thing in the world to the other, and that was what mattered.

She had had a most important person, once…

Suddenly, guilt reared up and joined its companions worry and sorrow. All three danced around her, blending into each other in a sickening whirl.

She had left her best friend…Shizuku was about to lose her important person…Hyoujin was dying!

A strangled sob escaped her, joined by a sensation she had never felt before.

Her eyes…were wet.

As the wheel of thoughts in her head kept turning from guilt to sorrow and back again, the sensation grew, until she couldn't hold it in any more.

A single tear escaped her eye and fell to the ground with a soft clink.

Hina opened her eyes and stared at it.

As she stared, her expression turned from one of utter shock, to one of surprised contemplation, and finally settled on one that might actually have been hope.

Maybe…

Maybe she hadn't done everything she could do yet.