Chapter 10: Life and Death

"Kiyoko!"

Issun's cry resounded in the hollow cave. The first time I've ever heard him say her real name. Unable to do anything, unable to help her, he stood motionless, frozen with shock.

"Insolent girl!" Kagetatsu hissed. With one swift motion, he flung her body clear across the cave. She hit the wall with a horrible crunching sound before landing. She went limp, ceasing to move.

I glared at the shadow dragon, fury overtaking me. Now it was more than the matter of eliminating evil; now it was a matter of vengeance.

I let loose with a long howl—a call to battle. "For Kiyoko!" I had said. Now the real battle begins.

Our attacks became fiercer and faster, but it was still no good. The Shadow Dragon was truly just that—a pure shadow, completely untouchable and virtually undefeatable.

The breath was suddenly knocked out of me as his tail lashed out and hit me in my side, sending me flying into the wall. I couldn't move for several moments afterward, stunned from the blow.

Issun made his attack only to be thwarted once more by the shadow's intangibility. Kagetatsu slammed his paw down on him, nearly crushing him. Waka came in, attacking the dragon with his two swords, distracting the beast. Kagetatsu's attention diverted, Issun was able to escape.

Waka chuckled, a smug smile on his face. "You're welcome."

"I didn't need your help," Issun sniped. "I could've gotten out of that myself!"

"Sure you could have."

"Is this really the time to be fighting each other?" I barked, interrupting them. I sighed, exasperated. It was like dealing with two children!

After that, I cleared my head and took the time to re-assess the situation. Only then did I realize that this was a no-win situation. Our attacks were utterly useless, and Kiyoko needed to be tended to as soon as possible.

"Guys! We have to get out of here!" I told the others.

"What? Why?" Issun asked, oblivious as ever.

"Kiyoko needs help. And we can't even touch Kagetatsu anyway!"

He seemed to catch on. "Okay. You distract that shadow guy; I got Kiki."

"No, I got her." Before he could open his mouth to protest, I quickly added, "I'm faster—it just makes sense."

"But—" I gave him a silencing glare. "All right, fine. Just . . . make sure she stays safe."

I smiled at him, at the same time putting Kiyoko on my back. "Don't worry. She's safe in my hands—er, paws."

He relaxed a little. "'Kay. See ya back at the village!"

"Yeah." And with that, I hastily made my escape.

Kagetatsu's enraged roar could be heard all across Nippon. "Run all you want, wolf!" he bellowed. "But you can't escape from the shadows!"

o~*~o

My paws barely touched the ground as I flew over the earth, pushing myself even faster, racing against time to save Kiyoko's life. Kiyoko, still half-conscious, managed to keep a decent grip around my neck, preventing her from falling off.

I made a beeline for the nearby Mermaid Spring. I tossed in a Mermaid Coin and leapt in all within the same heartbeat; I couldn't afford to waste any time.

I shot through Shinshu Field like an arrow, rushing down the path to Kamiki Village. As soon as I arrived, all the villagers crowded around me, surrounding me with their commotion. The first voice I heard was Nushi—of course he would be concerned about his little sister.

"What . . . What happened to her?" he asked. I stood there without saying a word; it wasn't like I would be able to answer him, even if I wanted to—he can't hear me. The clamoring of the villagers broke through the silence.

"By the gods! What happened?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Someone get her some help!"

"Did you do this to her, mutt?" I shook my head no. There was no way that I would ever be responsible for such a thing.

I ran over to Kushi, whom had come out to investigate. She gasped when she saw Kiyoko's condition.

"My word!" was all she could say.

"Please, you have to help her," I pleaded. I knew she couldn't hear me, but my eyes conveyed my message clearly. She nodded.

"Bring her into the house for me, would you, Snowy?" I couldn't believe she still called me that. She really hasn't changed a bit.

At that moment, Issun and Waka came running into the village. Well, Issun ran—Waka did that weird magically-appearing thing.

"What'd I miss?" Issun asked breathlessly.

"How did you get here so fast? The Mermaid Spring?" I asked stupidly, knowing the answer already.

"No, I ran all the way here. Of course I used the Mermaid Spring! The prophet pulled that dumb magic trick of his."

"I'm right here, you know," Waka interjected.

"Yeah, I know, and I don't care."

"Boys!" I cut in. "Seriously? Can't you two pay attention for more than a minute without starting an argument?" I sighed; there was no point in telling them anything. "As I was saying, Kushi is now treating Kiyoko's wounds. I think she'll be fine."

Issun then laughed that perverted laugh of his, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. I was curious for a moment, and then I figured out the reason. In order for her wounds to be treated, Kiyoko's top would have to be removed. Even as I was thinking this through, Issun was already creeping towards Kushi's house. I grabbed him by the ridiculous cape he liked to wear, stopping him in his tracks.

"Issun, no!" I scolded him.

"I just wanted to—"

"Girls only."

"You're no fun," he griped, again pouting like a child.

I stepped into the house, giving Issun one final warning glare before doing so. I looked at Kushi with curious eyes. "How is she?"

"She's doing fine. She's resting right now."

I walked to the back room where Kiyoko was. She was sleeping peacefully, with no signs of her being in pain. But . . . it was still disconcerting to see her like this. She just looked so . . . so frail and weak; I wished I could help her—but I couldn't. Even though I was a goddess—a goddess!—that was one of the things that was out of my power.

"Hey, Ammy!" The unexpected voice from behind made me jump. The voice—undoubtedly Issun's—now laughed. "Oops, did I scare ya, furball?" I shushed him. "What?"

"You're going to wake Kiyoko if you don't keep that big mouth of yours shut!" I made a point of keeping my own voice low.

"Right. Sorry. So, how is Kiki?"

"She seems to be okay for the moment."

"That's good." I thought I detected a hint of disappointment in his tone. Oh, that's right. He must have snuck in here hoping to catch a peek of Kiyoko's body, the little perv! But he came too late; she was already back in her clothes. He looked over at her sleeping form somewhat wistfully. I knew what he wanted to do, and I wasn't about to let that happen.

"No, Issun!" I growled. "I think it's about time for you to leave. Now."

"But I—"

"Now," I repeated, my eyes narrowing. He stayed where he was. "Or would you rather I make you leave?" Still he stayed put. "All right, you asked for it!" I dragged him out by the end of his cape, nearly strangling him in the process. "And stay out!" I then made a mental note to check on Kiyoko tomorrow, alone.

o~*~o

The next day, Kiyoko was recovering, in terms of both her injuries and her personality. At the moment, Kushi was trying to change the bandages on Kiyoko's wounds, but Kiyoko was being difficult. She refused to lend Kushi her arm, which had been broken in the fight.

"Kiyoko," Kushi sighed, "could you please cooperate for a little bit?"

"Do what your mother says," I chimed in. "She's trying to help you here."

Reluctantly, Kiyoko stretched out her arm.

"Okay, honey, this won't hurt a bit . . ." She gingerly took Kiyoko's arm, carefully extending it to its full length. Kiyoko winced.

"Ow ow ow!" she complained. "That kind of hurt!"

"Sorry, sweetie. Just hang on a little longer, and it'll all be over." She finished re-wrapping the arm. "There you go. All better!"

"Thanks, Mom. Alright, I'm off!" She tried to get up; Kushi forced her back down. "Ack!"

"I'm sorry, but you're not going anywhere like that!"

Kiyoko groaned. "I'm fine, Mom!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am!"

Kushi sighed. "You're impossible!" She sighed again and muttered to herself, "Just like her father . . ."

"Well," I said, "I might know someone whom she'll actually listen to . . ."

o~*~o

Issun

Ammy came running up to me. "Issun! I need your help over at Kushi's house!"

I glared at her. "Oh, I though you didn't want me over there." I hadn't forgotten about yesterday.

She scoffed. "You're still whining over that?"

"I ain't whining!"

"Really? You could have fooled me!"

I didn't feel like starting a fight with Ammy, so I gave in. "What is it?"

"It's Kiyoko—she won't listen to any of us. We need someone to tell her to behave—someone she will listen to."

"And you think I'm that someone?"

"If she won't listen to you, she won't listen to anybody."

". . . Alright, let's go."

Back at Kushi's place, I saw that what Ammy said was true—Kiki was giving them all kinds of trouble. Kushi and Ammy were trying to restrain her as she tried to get up when she shouldn't. Looks like it was up to me to put a stop to this.

"Kiki! You better cut this out!"

She paused to look at me. "Issun?" Then she registered my words. "Why should I?"

"Ya really shouldn't be up when you're like this, Kiki!"

She started whining, a rare frown on her face. "But Issun, I'm gonna go stir-crazy, being cooped up like this!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but not today; you need to get some more rest."

"But—"

"No buts! You're staying in bed! It's for your own good!"

"Aww!" She didn't complain anymore. She stopped fidgeting, actually doing what I told her to. It was like I was her mother and not Kushi. That's just weird.

"Don't worry, ya won't be stuck in here forever!"

"I hope not!"

I laughed. "I'll see ya later, Kiki!"

She waved bye. "Later!"

o~*~o

True to her nature, Kiki healed fast, and was back on her feet in a few days. And boy, was she ever happy! I had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't get into more trouble.

She didn't really do much, though; mostly she just rested in her favorite spot in the branches of the sacred tree. But I didn't care—I was just glad that she was okay. So I let her do her own thing. It wasn't like she was up to anything much.

That night, I went to see her, but she was nowhere to be found. She must have climbed up to one of the higher branches; she liked to do that. Though I wondered how she could climb with only one good arm . . . Well, she's Kiki, and she's got her ways. It was still nice to sit there and look at the stars.

All of a sudden, I heard a snap followed by a scream. Next thing I knew, I found a startled Kiki in my lap.

"Nice of ya to drop in," I said. She giggled.

"Yeah." We sat there for a while, then she started to talk again. "Issun . . . if you had a . . . girlfriend, would you . . . stop chasing after other ladies?"

This caught me off guard. "W-What was that, Kiki?" I asked, not sure of what I heard.

Blushing, she repeated the question.

"Uh . . . w-well, I-I, um . . ." I had to stop and think about what to say. In my mind, I was thinking, No way! Never gonna happen! But I wanted to make her happy, so I said, "Of course not. I'm not that kind of guy. Besides, all those ladies ain't got nothin' on ya!" I knew she was referring to herself when she said "girlfriend". I ain't that dense!

She smiled that wonderful smile of hers. "Aw, you're so sweet!" Overjoyed, she threw her arms around me.

My face suddenly got hot. I turned away, hoping she didn't notice.

We were sitting in akward silence when Kiki said something else. "Look," she said, pointing at the sky. "It's the Northern Star. Make a wish!"

I followed her gaze to spot a star that shone brighter than all the others—the Northern Star. Kiki closed her eyes to make a wish and I did, too. I wished—feeling like a total sap—that Kiki would stay safe, that nothing would ever happen to her. At least no one but me would ever know.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that Kiki still had hers closed. Then I heard light snoring. The silly girl had fallen asleep, leaving me to wonder what her wish might have been.

o~*~o

Amaterasu

Kiyoko's condition took a heartbreaking turn for the worse. Infection set in, and she became ill, bedridden with a fever. I came in to check on her, and what I saw was not good. Her skin, covered with a sheen of sweat, was pale as my fur was white. Her breathing was ragged, riddled with fits of coughing. She looked like she might die any minute. Concerned for our friend, Waka, Issun and I stayed by her side.

She slept almost the entire time, too weak to do anything else. The one time she spoke, she reached out with her good hand, grasping at nothing. "Issun . . ." she had said, her voice barely a whisper.

That nearly brought the poor guy to tears. He took her outstretched hand, holding it tightly. "I'm here, Kiki," he said, his voice breaking. With what little strength she had, she gave him the smallest of smiles. She then fell back asleep.

At last, after what felt like forever, Kiyoko's fever broke. Upon waking, she had a request for us—to take her to the Guardian tree Konohana.

"Of course—" Issun started, but I cut him off.

"No! You know very well what will happen!"

"I'm sure it won't happen again!"

"How can you be so sure?"

He hesitated. "I . . . I just know, okay?"

"Alright. I guess it's okay." There was no point in arguing, so I agreed.

Issun insisted on carrying her himself to the sacred tree while I followed him. When we got there, I gazed at the sunset. The sun had dyed the sky a bright red color. Blood red, in fact. Beautiful, but it meant nothing good. It was a bad omen symbolizing death. I hoped that no such thing would happen. But no amount of hope could change anything . . .

o~*~o

? ? ?

"Don't think you can escape me, my dear. You will be mine!"

o~*~o

Amaterasu

I came to see how Kiyoko was in the morning. She appeared to be asleep, but something was off. She was too still, too quiet. Coming closer, I then made a tragic discovery.

She wasn't breathing.

I strained my ears, listening for a pulse or any other sign of life, and . . . nothing.

Kiyoko was dead.