This fic has minor, deliberately vague spoilers for volume 10. (yes it is part 4, part 3/Minamoto still in-process. this is being updated to correct typos, add Japanese-word definitions at the end, and make a couple of minor re-wordings.)

Overpowered IV

"Go play," Kantarou said.

Haruka sped off like a dog released from a leash.

This was their third visit to this particular valley, and Haruka loved it. A small, un-tilled meadow provided the perfect take-off point for the tengu's long wings, and a ridge upwind protected the valley's strong thermals that built throughout the day, carrying him up with little effort at all.

High above, a standing-wave from the ridge kicked in. He could ride up a thousand feet in a minute, soaring, yet completely still over a spot on the ground. Or, floating further downwind, he could catch a column of descending air to heave him earthward, and spin him in its turbulence. A cloud cap often formed at the top of the invisible wave, shaped like a saucer, that he could shoot through and enjoy for its chill and the sharp wind-shear at its edge.

And below, the forested sides of the valley were virtually untouched, save for a dirt road winding up then over the ridge, connecting farm-villages nestled in the flats—a scene that might have existed even in the distant era of his own youth. The trees stood tall behind the ridge, but crawled wind-pruned and gnarled near the top of the upwind slope.

Kantarou said he had first noticed the valley several years before, because of the crows and hawks that seemed to be perpetually suspended there, riding the ridge-wave. He thought then to bring Haruka here someday, if he ever succeeded in finding the tengu.

So when Haruka mentioned he wanted a place to fly unseen and recover his strength in flight after Minamoto's torture, Kantarou brought him here. Now Haruka enjoined the birds in games of tag and chase, purely for the sake of enjoying flight, while Kantarou lingered in the meadow, watching him fly, or at times, reading a book.

Haruka splayed his small feathers, increasing the drag on his wings, and the wind drove coolly down to his skin. He dove into the harsh turbulence of a rotor, beyond what the crows would dare, and felt a slight pinch in the recently-healed wound on his chest as the air stretched his wings. For a brief time he would match his master in having a scar there. But unlike Kantarou's, his own would eventually fade.

He looked down to see if his master had noticed his aerobatics, (and would never admit he would have been gratified if Kantarou had been clapping or showing other signs of approval) but was surprised to find Kantarou nowhere in evidence.

It was then he noticed a group of people walking up the road.

One of them appeared to be a prisoner of the others.

And the prisoner appeared to be an oni.

This can't be good…

He immediately reverted to human form, curled himself as small as he could, and fell, hoping that to distant, human eyes, he should appear no larger than a hawk diving for prey.

Wind that would have blinded a falling human was no problem for a tengu's eyes; he scanned the forest as he fell, working outward from the position of the bound oni, and his search was soon rewarded by a flash of white moving among the trees. Kantarou's hurried progress and occasional flashes of darker colors behind suggested he was being chased.

The forest is too dense there to swing down and pick him up.

Haruka had almost reached the ground when he abruptly stretched himself, body, wings, and all, arcing with amazing speed just above the treetops, and then flaring his wings back, flapping hard enough to feel his scar again, perching himself neatly near the top of an ancient camphor. From there, he could see the road, the oni with its guards, and the occasional flash of white that was Kantarou, struggling up the hill.

He moved inward on the tree limb, so that he was well concealed along the trunk, among its branches. From a distance only a human who knew exactly where to look would recognize him for anything other than a dead spire of wood.

He looked more closely at those approaching on the way, but none were familiar.

Then Kantarou emerged from the forest onto the road, a short distance uphill from the approaching oni. He was stumbling, clearly worn out from his climb through the brush, and began following the route down-hill.

Go the other way, you idiot, he thought, as Kantarou wandered toward the oni. Then he saw Kantarou pause—undoubtedly sensing its evil presence..

Dive in from behind, he thought. I could take out the oni and those guards before they meet up…

He was about to take wing, when Sakata emerged from the wood behind Kantarou, barring Kantarou's escape in the uphill direction.

Minamoto's people. Kantarou does not want me to face him again…

Or maybe, he smirked, to de-face him again…

Kantarou had been very angry at him for what Onikui had done to Minamoto's face—and what he did to Watanabe sent the little man into a rage.

"You cannot go about maiming proper beings," he told Haruka the next morning, at breakfast. "Do you want to become a criminal with the police after you? Or after me? I am responsible for you after all!"

"Mm, yes, mauled by your pet tengu is a very credible charge against you," he replied, sipping his miso soup, which at that moment was all he could comfortably eat. "Would that be enforced by police or by animal control?"

Youko's eyes nearly popped out of her head when he said it; her ears certainly did. Frankly he wondered himself where he got the nerve to speak to his master that way, but he'd been feeling quite different since Kantarou's victory and the brief minutes that Onikui's memories and power had been unleashed.

"Agh," Kantarou growled, raising his fists to the side of his head in exasperation, then, "Ow!" as in doing so, he struck himself in the stitches. "We're just fortunate they are officially blaming their injuries on the gas explosion," Kantarou said.

"Raiko knows when to shut up," Haruka replied, sending Kantarou off on a long, noisy rant about how he too knew when to shut up—incidentally illustrating that he really did not—which fact amused Haruka but which the tengu knew better than to point out.

The party with the oni now caught up to Kantarou, and Haruka saw his master walking slowly backward, trying to keep a distance from the group closing on him, undoubtedly regaling his assailants with some barrage of wit that he hoped might talk him out of the situation.

At least Raiko won't kill him, so long as they're trying to get at me.

Then Raiko himself emerged from the wood.

Don't trust your underlings today, hm?

And then, unexpectedly, another figure stepped onto the road behind Raiko, and Haruka's heart lurched as he realized his master was in mortal danger.

Mai!

Suzukuin Mai had no interest in Haruka, and her only interest in Kantarou was to see him dead. Haruka had little doubt that whatever scheme Raiko might have in mind, Mai intended only to kill Kantarou.

And Haruka was particularly weak against Mai's onmyoudou spells.

I am strong to that oni, and Kantarou is weak. Kantarou is strong to Mai, and I am weak. Can I take out that oni to free up Kantarou's powers before Mai strikes me with her spells?

He saw Kantarou struck to the ground and roll, evading a kick from one of Raiko's—or was it Mai's—henchmen. A small white flash in Kantarou's hand must have been an ofuda, and he knew Kantarou was under magical assault as well.

He can handle that. But these thugs…look at that, he's pathetic…

From this distance he would not be able to hear if Kantarou called out. But now, with greater access to his native abilities…

He secured himself amidst the branches, and tried to remain calm as the men grabbed Kantarou and dragged him to his knees…

They each have their defenses, hard to overcome, he thought, each mind noxious in its own way. And which of Mai or Raiko is truly in control here? Whose order would those men heed?

If I fail in the attempt, they'll kill me…

If Kantarou had even the most basic of fighting skills I wouldn't need to do this.

He saw Kantarou double over as he was punched in the stomach, and made his decision.

I should be able to do it, with so many distractions going on…but Kantarou's so damn strong…he thought, sending his awareness along the spirit plane.

Now he could perceive the focused spears of energy that made up Raiko and Mai's attacks, and it angered him that the two of them were ganging up on Kantarou.

To approach he must be soft, yet strong, his energy fluid so that those barbs would pass through without harming him.

Yet he must be relentless, and sudden, and forceful; if he were able to overcome Kantarou at all he would need to subdue him decisively and immediately, yet do no harm.

And then, hope that Kantarou recognized him as a friend. Otherwise it would be a very short and useless visit.

So damn strong…

He imagined himself as a flood, rising around Kantarou, powerful, yet soft, an irresistible force that could overwhelm without immediately killing.

He was startled by an instant of weakness; Kantarou's concentration had faltered. He was in!

Curiosity, was it?

Haruka knew he could never have overcome Kantarou without such vicious distractions, but even so it took one of the human's innate weaknesses—or was it a strength?—to finally grant him access.

Haruka hastily drowned his master as deep as he dared, pouring as much of his energy into that effort as he could, and he felt Kantarou struggling, flailing in a sudden panic, grasping at any approach to defend himself. That defense, when it came, would be harsh and forceful, and unless Kantarou realized the possessor was Haruka trying to help, would undoubtedly heave the tengu's awareness back into his own body with enough force to knock him cold.

An ordinary human would already have lost consciousness from this strong an attack, leaving Haruka to rule his or her body as he wished; but Kantarou still fought. And, with Mai present, Haruka didn't want to lose Kantarou's considerable faculties against her Onmyoudou spells.

Who?

Calm down, calm down…

The struggling stopped, and he wondered if he had, in fact, knocked his master out, but then felt, or heard, an echo of his own thinking…

Calm down, calm down…

This won't kill me, but that might…

And he felt Kantarou strengthen his defense against Mai and Minamoto's barbs.

He trusts…in a sudden rush of warm affection Haruka nearly lost his grip on his master, then held him lightly as he dared.

Human vision is so poor, he thought. And this scar—I thought he was being overly dramatic about it, but it really is painful.

Fortunately, if Kantarou had no martial arts skills, neither did his assailants. They were merely larger and more numerous than Haruka's master. If Haruka wasn't allowed to go about "maiming proper beings", as Kantarou had put it, it was at least a simple matter to send them all toppling onto each other.

He ignored the pain spiking through Kantarou's chest as he rolled backward toward the oni—having to roll twice because Kantarou was so short. He resented the discomfort, and, in the flush of his innate power, strongly felt his natural instinct to eat the beast. But Kantarou gently nudged him from hurting the guard and reminded him that in this human body he'd have to untie the oni's bonds rather than slicing them with a claw.

Noisy distraction! He pushed Kantarou away again, and evaded the oni's claws before it fled.

It was tempting, so tempting, while Kantarou was subdued, to try to see into his mind, to learn things that might serve Haruka later in dealing with his master, or delve into his master's true feelings.

But then Haruka's own personal secrets might be revealed to Kantarou. It was more important they both survived.

"What?" Raiko's eyes were round with surprise.

Raiko blinked, then burst into laughter. Mai glanced at him in annoyance.

"Waa! The 'great' Ichinomiya Kantarou is possessed!"

"What?"

"Pay attention, girl. Ichinomiya-sensei has no fighting skills. Let us see how…"

"Ah, Mai…this man is no good, no good for you. You can do better. He enjoys being cruel, and he will become cruel to you if you stay with him." Kantarou said, for Haruka had left him free to utter any spells that might be required against Mai.

"I hate you, Ichinomiya Kantarou!" she spat.

It was clear that Raiko had studied iaijitsu, but equally clear to Haruka that he had not mastered the art. So it was a simple matter to intercept the draw of his sword and take the weapon from him.

It doesn't require strength after all, does it? Kantarou remarked. Haruka thought his master was rather cheeky for someone in the grip of a possession.

Longer arms would help. I am not short! Cooperate…

He was becoming confused as to whose thoughts were whose.

"Onikui…?" Minamoto looked up at Kantarou with sudden, abject terror.

Yes you vain, sadistic asshole! He thought quietly. Come? Don't Come? Make up your mind...

The pain of the ogre's presence had abated when it fled; now Haruka remembered the pain of Minamoto's cursed sword playing across his sternum, of having two fangs pulled. Marring Minamoto's cheek was hardly enough revenge, and though Kantarou had no claws, he now held a sword…

It is enough. Let's get away. Tell him…

He felt Kantarou, without conscious effort, casting a spell to stifle other magic. Haruka willingly flowed his own power behind its framework. The effect was staggering—and Kantarou hardly seemed to notice the level of power they were exerting.

Does he have limits? Haruka could not help but feel a little proud of his master.

"Find a new hobby."

"Ichinomiya?" Minamoto murmured doubtfully.

They still needed to neutralize Minamoto for Kantarou to get away. Haruka understood Kantarou's intent, and acted upon it. Minamoto was not in his usual military uniform, but his clothes were of western style. Before his eyes had time to widen in fear of the blade, Haruka guided Kantarou's hands to slice the sword neatly through Minamoto's belt, just beside the buckle.

Mai shrieked.

And before anyone could give more reaction, Haruka followed Kantarou's impish thought to pull the waist of Minamoto's scored trousers down to the man's knees, incidentally scratching the man with his own belt-buckle.

Good blade, though cursed…he's not hurt.

The guards were down in pain, Minamoto was tangled in his own garments, the oni had fled, and Mai was certainly no warrior—besides which, her attention was momentarily distracted by staring at Minamoto's unceremoniously exposed privates.

So together they heaved the sword into the jungle, then sprinted down the road. Haruka quietly began to withdraw his power.

When Kantarou could no longer run, he looked back at his enemies, now far behind him, gathering their wounded and their dignity. Movement in the brush below the road must be Mai, looking for Minamoto's heirloom sword.

Kantarou collapsed. His heart was hammering in his chest. The world spun. Haruka had the unsettling impression of Kantarou's continued presence as he regarded his master from the top of a tree, far from the road, as if for an instant the tengu was the one possessed. Both of him—both of them—were fevered, breathless, hearts pounding from over-exertion.

Then Haruka was alone in his own body, and shaking, and nauseated. He gripped the tree. The sky stopped spinning; he vomited and clambered to a wobbling stand.

Minamoto had started jogging down the road in Kantarou's direction, one hand holding up his scored pants. Kantarou stumbled away unsteadily.

We need to leave. Now.

Haruka dove into the air, and with a rougher impact than he intended, Haruka snatched Kantarou off the road and carried him a bit unsteadily into the sky.

They landed, hard, in the field by their car, which fortunately their attackers had not thought ahead to guard in case Kantarou escaped them.

Kantarou laid flat on his back on the ground, panting and gripping the grass as if he thought he was going to fall off. Haruka stumbled to his hands and knees and vomited again as he struggled to catch his breath.

After a few minutes he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Why me?" Kantarou asked.

"The others were too expendable to Mai and Raiko," Haruka gasped. "And I didn't want either of those two to observe my thinking."

"I was planning to be angry, but I think I understand."

Haruka retched again. His claws were extended, and he realized in this position his hair reached almost to the ground; his form must have been slipping. Kantarou knelt beside him, annoyingly petting his head, and looking at him intently with worried eyes. He could feel Kantarou's aura resting thickly around them both, like a blanket..

"Annoying..." he said, though he secretly wanted to wrap himself in that blanket and stay there.

His master started petting his wing-shoulder instead. Haruka folded his wings out of sight, and retched again.

Kantarou's hand landed a third time, firmly on his back, and Haruka's stomach settled almost immediately, his nausea replaced by extreme fatigue. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw the edge of an ofuda peeking between his back and his master's hand.

"Sleep in the car," Kantarou murmured. "I'll protect you. Minamoto won't leave without his sword, but we need to go before they find it and come down."

Kantarou guided him a little unsteadily to the car. Haruka slept, worrying of nothing more than Kantarou's driving, confident that together they could overpower whatever enemies might come.

oni = an ogre. (Haruka's alternate name 'Onikui' means 'ogre-devourer')

tengu = a winged goblin (more like a winged elf in disposition)

ofuda = those little slips of paper with arcane symbols that Kantarou uses to enact spells

iaijitsu = a defensive martial art by which a the act of drawing a sword is also simultaneously either a block or a first-strike counter-attack. The modern practice is called iaido. It is an ancillary skill to the more widely known kendo.