Kantarou dimly heard Haruka's voice through the mist that was creeping over his senses. The pain was smothering him like a never-ending wave of dark water. He struggled to stay conscious just a little bit longer, but the pain stabbed again into in his chest with savage claws; it was every bit as bad as the night he had received the injury in the first place. What if…this is...an idea tried to force its way to the front of his mind as he tried to hold on to his mind just a little longer, but his last thought remained unfinished as the approaching blackness finally swallowed him. Haruka felt Kantarou suddenly go limp in his arms, and began to feel panicked. His fury faded a little as he started to seriously fear for the other man's safety. There had to be a way out somewhere-he just had to get the exorcist away from here. This reaction was definitely not normal, and he wasn't about to let his infuriating master stay and explore this place anymore, regardless of how much the so-called household needed his help. This was starting to seem more like a trap-he had no way of knowing Kantarou had been wondering something similar earlier that day. If he had, this would probably never have gotten this far. He had never seen Kantarou react like this to a spirit or even with a powerful ogre or youkai. What would happen if his irritating little master died? Thinking about it made his memories and emotions both surge up into his mind all at once in a tidal wave of fury, hate, red, desire, and blood, with Kantarou entangled within all of it. Shit…shit…shit! Haruka's claws suddenly extended and his sable eyes grew even darker as his pupils dilated and contracted, trying to control the flood of emotions. The last time this had happened he had almost killed the exorcist. This wasn't the time to let them take over, not while Kantarou was helpless in his grasp. The claws twitched, tearing the sleeve of the exorcist's robes and revealing a stripe of pale skin. The tengu closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, trying not to lose himself. If he lost control of himself now, there would be no way to save his master. He wasn't sure he could handle it if the exorcist died. Whether it was for good or bad, the irritating man had wormed his way into the tengu's core of existence. There was no life as Haruka without Kantarou, even if the contract wasn't broken.
He held the exorcist closer against his chest and, taking a last look at the stone wall where the corridor entrance had been, turned and started walking further down the sloping stone hallway. He cursed continuously under his breath as he went, stumbling on the rough stone flagstones of the floor. The man in his arms was still warm, but his being unmoving like this made him a dead weight that slowed Haruka down. He looked down at Kantarou to see the young exorcist still unconscious, his normally pale skin gray with pain and lightly sheened with sweat. He did note with small relief that he was at least breathing, but it was rough and too strained. He could also feel Kantarou's heart beating wildly and too fast against his own chest while he walked onwards. A growing desperation was rising in Haruka to just get his master out of the cursed place before his body gave out. He picked up his pace, trying to ignore the solid wooden doors that studded the hallway. They could be ways out, but they could also be holding back whatever was affecting Kantarou so badly. He couldn't risk it just yet-he would put the other man down somewhere and come back if he had to.
Ibaragi sighed with content as she watched the drama unfolding within the corridor from her mirror. It was always pleasant when events ran according to plan. It had been a stroke of genius on her master's part to have her locate the ogre that had given Kantarou Ichinomiya his scar, still sealed within the stone pillar. Even she hadn't anticipated the effect her own power and the lingering miasma of the sealed ogre would have on the exorcist-it was gratifying to see how sensitive he was. The best part, to her mind, was that he had no memories of what had actually happened when he had received the scar. The truth was always better-didn't people say that the truth could set you free? She would be doing the exorcist a favor by showing him what had actually happened so long ago. He would even get a chance to redress his past by exorcising again the youkai responsible for it all. A humanitarian gesture really, with the added benefit of using his spiritual power for their other plans. All in all, it seemed like a promising evening of entertainment for her and her master. And now it was close to the time to collect her prize away from the hovering tengu. She had planned this so carefully-it was going to be much more amusing this time around for her to trap the ogre-eating creature and then destroy his master in front of his eyes. If the exorcist wouldn't release the tengu from his contract, as stubborn as he was, then driving the tengu into enough of a rage could still possibly bring out his true power. It was only fair that the irritating young man help them with it, since he had refused them so many times before. This time his spiritual energy could be put to good use-nothing would go to waste. Ah, Kantarou Ichinomiya…she did look forward to seeing him in person again. A glance in the mirror showed they were close enough for her to reach quickly. It was time to go to work.
Ibaragi put her mirror down on a raised part of the platform so she that could still look into it, and raised both of her arms over her head in a gesture of summoning. Enormous black twisted vines, studded with fang-like thorns erupted through the solid stone slab floors to coil in front of her, waiting like faithful pets-and then she sent them forth in a single violent gesture. They shot through the stone of the manor as if they were water, seeking her prey for her and feeling where they were from her connected senses as she examined her mirror. They twisted and roiled as they raced closer and closer towards the unknowing tengu and the unconscious exorcist.
Something is coming…..ripples in the blackness he was held down in stirred his awareness, and he felt another awareness approaching him. It was close to the source of the pain in his scar. Kantarou stirred slightly back towards waking as he felt a dark power surging closer towards him-towards them. It felt like a second heartbeat. I have…to…to warn Haruka….wake up, damn it…..Wake up! He tried to force himself to wake up through the pain, and finally succeeded in slowly opening his eyes. It was like swimming up from the bottom of a deep pool, and he felt like closing them again just from the effort. His chest still felt as if he was being torn apart, but he noticed that he was able to breathe if he tried. Haruka jumped when Kantarou took a gasping breath and coughed weakly, and then almost dropped him when he saw that he was awake. The young exorcist's eyes were open, but they were focused clearly on him now. Although he was still in pain, he took another strained breath and gripped Haruka's jacket tightly.
"Ha….ru…ka….Haru..ka," he coughed, "something…is…coming. Whatever it is….it is..coming fast." He closed his eyes, exhausted from the effort of speaking. His hands still held Haruka's jacket tightly.
Haruka didn't even have time to feel relieved his master was awake before realizing what Kantarou was saying. He cursed feelingly out loud this time, and broke into a run. He just hoped to find a place to make a stand that wasn't completely open on all sides-he couldn't fight with Kantarou in his arms like this. He needed somewhere safe or at least a little sheltered to keep his master so he could try to get them out of there. Haruka wished bitterly he had acted on the foreboding he had felt earlier-although it wouldn't have helped any even if he had known Kantarou had felt the same way. The exorcist was nothing if not stubborn when it came to his ideals about youkai. Neither of them had expected tonight might finally be the day his ideals cost him his life. Haruka reminded himself never to say things like that out loud to Kantarou again-it seemed too much like a curse right now. The corridor still sloped downwards, but now curved as they ran. It seemed like they were spiraling down deeper into the bowels of the manor that had captured them. Haruka had retracted his wings and was running as fast as he could, his keen eyes searching for a place to make a stand. A crumbling niche against the wall across from another heavy wooden door caught his attention, and he raced for it with Kantarou squeezed in his arms. The exorcist's eyes were still closed, but he was tracking the presence as it moved closer, much faster than they were going. His fingers tightened briefly in Haruka's coat and then let go. There wasn't any more time.
"Haruka…put me down..we can't run any farther," he whispered. Kantarou felt them stop moving, but he didn't see the tengu stare at his face with an unreadable expression, before pulling him tightly into a rough embrace. "Wha…," and his lips were stopped by Haruka's pressing against his own suddenly. Just as quickly, the warmth of the other man's body was gone and Haruka had carefully set him down inside the limited shelter of the little niche. Kantarou didn't even know if he had imagined the tengu's actions or not. He found himself wishing that he hadn't though-if everything ended tonight, it would be nice to know that someone had cared about him at least a little. He just hadn't expected it might be Haruka-especially not after witnessing the return of his memories. They both still expected the tengu to eventually snap under the strain of his memories and take Kantarou's life with him. It seemed like a perfectly good way of going to the exorcist, by the hands of something he created and loved. It was much better than being alone. Although at this point neither of them had expected Haruka's feelings towards Kantarou to turn so confused and tangled in with his past memories and emotions. The sudden throb of power as the dark presence moved even closer resonated in the exorcist's chest and broke his train of thought, and he groaned as the pain stabbed harder with the proximity. His eyes suddenly opened wide as he realized where the presence was coming from-it wasn't approaching from the corridor. Shit!
"Haru-!" he tried to cry out a warning just as the wall of the niche exploded outwards into seeking tentacles of vines and his breath was choked off.