A/N: Thank you to my betas ALF and lotus faerie, who saved this chapter's life back when I wrote it.

Enjoy!

xoxoxox

Chapter XXIX: Wind

xoxoxox

The wind told him she was coming.

He could smell her on it, a scent similar to the herbal balm she was fond of making with mint and sweetgrass. It was usually soothing to him, but not today. Ryuunomei pressed a hand to his forehead and sat up from his position draped across his private porch. His white robe fell back into place with nary a twitch, being woven of very fine material. It was a perfect early autumn afternoon, but the wind was cold.

He had a fair idea what she wanted.

What frightened him was that he was very close to giving it to her.

Over his long life, Ryuunomei had made a point of not caring about people any more than was necessary to keep them out of his hair. He ruled his kingdom fairly so there would be no irritating revolts, made examples of people when necessary, and in all truth treated politics much like a board game.

However, it was not true that he did not love. When he found things worthy of it, he gave more of himself than most people would. He disguised this generosity by asking the world of those he chose to love, but love them he did. Few realized or understood this. His brother was one of them, his beloved younger protege whom he had taught and shaped and stepped on in the attempt to make a fine demon lord of him.

Ryuunomei knew in his heart that he had failed somewhere down the line, for his brother was in many ways crueler and harder than even himself. There was no pity in him, nor forgiveness. Though very charismatic, he lacked the consideration for lives that would make him a truly great leader.

Though the people were not quite observant enough or wordly enough to see the full picture, Ryuunomei had been a great leader for millenia. They had enjoyed peace for the most part, and wars only when they grew too restless to be productive and when it was beneficial for the country. The East was fruitful and flourishing, and it was his doing.

The woman now flying towards with him the wind threatened to undo all of that.

Every great ruler has a downfall, and Ryuunomei was wise enough to recognize that his was her. More than anyone else, she had driven him to cruelty and sadism in an effort to counteract the changes she wrought in him. The more he felt like giving in to her unspoken wishes, the more he had forced himself to deny her and hurt her. The more he felt like loving her gently, the more he forced himself to torment her.

For years and years he'd done this, and now he was tired.

He was weary to the bone of fighting himself over her, weary of rationalizing his actions, weary of not being happy. She wanted to love him, and he thought he was finally tired enough to let her.

She would ask for peace when she got here, he knew. She would try and convince him to give up the battle with his enemy and withdraw his forces.

If he agreed, his people would hate him but he would feel worthy of her love at long last. If he refused, his kingdom would remain strong despite losing many soldiers, but she would finally give up on him and he would lose her forever.

It should not have been worth the trade. It should not.

He got to his feet and went to gate to greet her, still undecided.

Oh weeping heavens, but I'm tired. I'm so, so tired.

xxxxx

It was the colour of the walls in the room he took her to that convinced her she'd made the right decision.

They were periwinkle blue, stained with painstaking care by a master. The colour was calm and warm and peaceful, totally unlike what anyone else would have expected of it. The wall belonged to a dictator-- should it not have been stark white and unadorned?

No one but Izayoi knew of Ryuunomei's secret passion for colour. He hid it carefully, seeing it as a feminine weakness that he could never reveal to his subjects. It was one of the reasons she loved him, among many others. She ran her fingers over the pale blue walls and smiled sadly.

Ryuunomei followed her into the room and swiftly slid the shoji shut behind them. His eyes were tumultous with confusion and hope... and not a little anger. "You dare," he whispered ferociously. "You dare to come here with that filth in your belly!"

Izayoi held a protective hand over her swelling stomach and smiled. "I'm sorry about bringing him here, but I couldn't really help it. I hope you understand."

He sneered at her attempt at humour. "Explain yourself. You have one minute."

Izayoi let her hands fall to rest loosely at her sides, with the palms open and facing forwards. "I came because I believe you are wise enough to listen to me, and flexible enough in your pride to let yourself be convinced."

Ryuunomei pushed his radiant violet hair off his forehead in a gesture of frustration. His white silken robe hung off his thin shoulders and seemed to drag him towards the floor. He had lost weight since Inutaisho had rescued her from the tear-sodden earth before her father's grave. There were enormous blueish bags beneath his blood-shot eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked tiredly.

Izayoi felt a surge of relief. He was willing to listen. That was half the battle won. "I had a vision," she said matter-of-factly, meeting his wild green eyes with all the serenity she could muster. She had decided long ago that the best approach was to simply tell him what she'd seen, without embellishment. He would make his own decision no matter what she said, and would look more favourably on her viewpoint if she didn't try to sell it to him.

"I saw the battle between you and Inutaisho," she began with her head held high though the fear she felt dragged it towards the ground. "You fought for many hours, and then you lost. Inutaisho tore you to bleeding shreds and you begged him for death. While you begged, your brother caught him unawares and slew him. You died of your wounds in the mud, with no dignity. Your brother came after me in vengeance and tore me apart. My child he ripped from my belly and cut to pieces before my eyes. Then, at last... I died."

All the while she spoke, Izayoi never broke her unblinking gaze with Ryuunomei. Every word she said came arrowing from the truth and struck powerfully home. She could see the effect in his face-- he grew steadily paler and began to tremble as she went along.

"I died in the rain with my blood soaking into the mud, weeping and crying out the names of those I loved. Inutaisho, of course... and you. The last word on my lips was your name."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Ryuunomei in a bare whisper, face resembling raw rice. "What purpose do you have here? Why have you come?"

Izayoi walked up to him, so terrified that she could hardly even feel it anymore. With steady hands, she reached up and touched his face. "I don't want Inutaisho to die." She felt him stiffen, but continued relentlessly nevertheless. "I don't want my son to die. I don't want any of those warriors to die... and I don't want you to die."

"Do you mean that?" Ryuunomei asked raggedly. "You really don't wish I was gone forever, and unable to plague your life ever again? You truly do not desire my death?"

"No." She looked at the periwinkle walls and felt tears flood her eyes. "I have never wished for that."

Ryuunomei made a sound that was halfway between a moan and a cry, a frustrated strangled sound that told her just how conflicted he felt. His fingers tangled in his hair and tightened so hard it seemed he would rip it all out by its very roots. "I can't back down now!" he cried. "If I call off the battle now, there will be a revolt!"

Izayoi took a deep breath. "If I asked, would you want to change your mind?" she asked carefully. Everything hinged on his answer to that question. She prayed devoutly.

Ryuunomei paced back and forth across the small room for nearly a quarter of an hour, face contorted with indecision.

She merely waited and gazed at the walls, taking what comfort she could from their bright and childish shade. She saw a younger Ryuunomei in their shadows, a dragon prince untainted by expectation or judgement. She saw brilliant white teeth bared in a mischievous smile, and a gleeful romp through the austere corridors of the palace. Izayoi saw the truth of him, and prayed that he saw it too.

It was a slice of forever, her waiting and him pacing. Patience was all she had.

"If I say yes, will you force me to act on it?" he asked at last, his very bones bent and contracted into the center of his body. He looked like a pinched and tormented wraith from old folk fables, so pale that she was sure if she looked close enough she could look right through his sagging skin.

"No," she answered truthfully. "I will not 'force' you to do anything. Whatever you finally choose to do will be by your own choice, dictated by your own conscience."

Ryuunomei clutched his chest, digging his fingers into the white silk until it seemed he would puncture his flesh with his ragged claws. "Yes," he said with an air of tragic finality. "If you asked me-- and I had a choice-- I would put aside my feud... at least for the length of your life and that of your son's. However, I don't have a choice. If I am to keep my kingdom unified, I have to give them the war I promised them."

Izayoi suddenly found that despite her joy at his words, she could not tear her gaze from the flowing patterns of the wall's colour. She stared into the ripples of colour and felt a familiar lilac-misted trance come over her. A moment later, it was over, but it was already far too late.

"No!" she cried, heartsick but helpless to do anything to stop what she had seen. Izayoi threw herself across the expanse of air between them, and felt the impact with her very soul. She kissed him frantically and caressed his bewildered face, trying to memorize the angles of his bones and the precise shade of his green eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

The door exploded.

Ryuukossei has his brother's eyes was the first and only thing Izayoi could think of when the dust cleared.

"So, you would rather let your lifelong enemy be... rather than take action and eradicate him, would you?" Ryuukossei gritted furiously. His braids snapped around his head like living serpents and his eyes glowed with the force of his anger.

"This is my business," Ryuunomei snapped. "You have no business here. Please leave."

Ryuukossei sneered and drew the wicked-looking sword at his hip. "I think not. I've seen the way you've weakened in the past few years, and I know it's because of this woman. You're pathetic, nii-sama. You're not fit to rule, and you haven't been for some time now. I am not the only one to have noticed-- I now act on behalf of the warriors who fight for you. If it were only myself, I would have let you live. They, however, demand your blood and my takeover."

Izayoi fell into a the far corner and sobbed, pressing her face and fingers and body and soul into the shade of blue that was his real self. Ryuukossei hardly even seemed to see her.

Strength! Someone, please, lend me strength to save him! she begged, but there was no strength forthcoming within her. It was fate that determined he should die here, and no matter how she pleaded and strove, it would not change.

At the very end, he had chosen rightly... and so he would be rewarded a death that spared him the sight of all he loved dying before his eyes.

"Why can't you accept the wisdom of the future I see?" Ryuunomei asked with his hands opened in front of him in a gesture of peace. "Blood is not needed to ensure happiness. Can't you just..."

"No, I can not," Ryuukotususei interrupted angrily. "The East needs a leader who isn't divided in his loyalty, who will not hesitate to conquer. That leader, as you've shown me beyond a shadow of a doubt now, is not you. I am capable of the job, and as your heir I will take good care of this land once you are dead. Your subjects will not allow anything else, so just give up now."

Izayoi picked herself up, still sobbing wildly, and dashed across the floor to stand between Ryuunomei and his murderous brother with her arms flung wide. Her eyes narrowed to slits and power swirled around her like an invisible mist. "Touch him and die," she gasped, only half aware of how dangerous her actions were.

"Iza-chan!" Ryuunomei cried. "Get out of the way, idiot woman! He'll kill you! Think of your child, you fool."

He was right, she realized. A choice between a man she loved and her child was no choice at all, for the man could try to protect himself while her child would have no chance. However, it still tore her apart to step aside and let what would be, be.

Ryuunomei heaved a sigh of relief once she was out of the way. "If you want to challenge my authority, you must do it honestly. I declare a duel. The winner will rule, and the loser will be stripped of power and banished, if he should survive."

"Accepted," Ryuukossei said tersely with a sick smile. "Lead the way, nii-sama."

XxxxxX

A space had been cleared for them in the central courtyard, a bare circle of earth. The expectation of blood lay heavy over the gathered spectators. Izayoi had a place of honour at the edge of the space, but she was sworn not to enter it until the duel was done.

The chill autumn wind hissed through the tiles of the rooftops, carrying a message of coming snow in its clean bite. It was a blade wind, and sang with the swords of the combatants within it.

Izayoi's ragged black banner of hair blew in it like a death flag. She knew what was coming but was helpless to stop it. So she memorized the motions of Ryuunomei's sword and the slant of his summer-green eyes. It was autumn and the leaves were turning colour. Summer-green no longer had a place. Izayoi silently swore to remember the exact shade of those eyes come dead of winter.

There was green and violet fire mixed in with the flashing of their swords– demon lords would not restrain themselves to a battle of pure steel. Magic had to have a place in battle, or what was the point of having it? Izayoi understood how they thought, but it still hurt to see flesh singed and blackened by the harsh touch of supernatural flames.

She clasped her hands before her so tightly she could feel the small bones in her fingers grind together.

Ryuunomei ducked a heavy swing of Ryuukossei's sword and lashed out nimbly with his thinner blade. A line of red appeared across Ryuukossei's upper thigh, and the younger dragon hissed furiously. His eyes had turned virulently green and strong black triangular marks crept across his forehead from his hairline and up his cheeks from his chin.

In a flash, Izayoi understood what was about to happen. "Run!" she cried, whirling about in a flurry of forest-green silk and pushing the soldiers directly behind her as hard as she could. "He's going to transform. Run!"

The soldiers got the hint immediately, their eyes widening. They turned tail and bolted. Izayoi raced after them a little more slowly, disadvantaged by her human blood.

Behind them, the air exploded into an invisible wave that knocked the fleeing figures over. A flood of dust churned over their heads before the battle wind caught it and lifted it high into the sky.

Izayoi knew from memory what she would see when she picked herself up and turned around, but the impact was not lessened at all by expectation. The brothers loomed over her and soldiers, massive violent serpents with blazing green eyes and iron horns sweeping back off their foreheads. Ryuunomei was slimmer and sleeker, but the spikes stabbing from the back of his skull belied any notion of weakness. Ryuukossei was bulkier but slower.

"Oh, goddess," Izayoi gasped, eyes enormous.

The splintered remains of the castle shifted under their scaly bellies. Izayoi felt bright tears sting her eyes for the people who had not escaped before the transformation, and made another vow silently to herself.

He will pay for this. This was not necessary.

Realizing suddenly that she was still easily within battle range of the now much-larger brothers, she turned and ran as fast as she could to the edge of the forest near the castle. When she arrived, she was terribly winded and her back ached abominably, but she felt reasonably assured that the effects of the battle would not reach her there.

She could still see quite clearly. The wind cleared away any dust as fast as the fighters could churn it up, so her view of the battle was not impeded in the slightest.

The tall yellow grass between her and the battle was flattened nearly to the ground with the force of the wild wind. She found it hard to stand her ground and her hair pulled her head sideways until her neck ached from holding it straight, but she could not allow herself to turn aside.

I must witness. Izayoi half-wished the battle would go on forever. The battle's end would mean death for someone, red blood drizzling out into the grass and thirsty earth.

No sooner had she thought it then the battle ended. Ryuukossei ducked his brother's half-hearted and weary swing, then returned the blow with all his strength. Ryuunomei was too tired to dodge, not being accustomed to battle. The edge of the blade gashed deeply across his chest, slipping between his massive ribs to cut into his soft innards.

Izayoi screamed, eyes widen open and fixed on the sight of Ryuunomei slowly toppling. She screamed until her throat tore itself ragged and her lungs ached, but could not move a muscle. The wind screamed with her, howling through the trees and slender grasses. It sounded almost sentient, as though it was overjoyed at the slaking of its bloodlust.

Izayoi out-screamed the wind.

"You next!" rasped the deep voice of the victor high above her.

She looked up to see Ryuukossei's great serpent belly looming over her, but could feel no fear over her horror.

"This is your fault," Ryuukossei raged. "I would never have had to kill him if you hadn't weakened him so much!" Massive tears trailed down his craggy face. "Your fault! Die, you whore!"

Ryuukossei's vast mouth descended down towards her. His teeth were as long as she was tall and glistened with saliva. They were so white they nearly blinded her to the dark cavern beyond them– something she was obscurely grateful for.

There was no escape. No matter how fast she ran, he was simply too large. He would catch her before she took two steps. Izayoi stared up into the black tunnel and wondered if she would really die this time. Her eyes were frozen open.

Inutaisho, you can beat me up for this all you want when you come join me in the afterlife, she thought wryly. Hold the door open for me, will you, Mai?

Izayoi felt the demon woman's bright silver presence moments before Ryuukossei's teeth reached her, and her eyes widened.

Do not give up yet. Be ready.

"Wha..." Izayoi started to say before a heavy comet impacted her chest and she was yanked off her feet into the air. The air burst from her lungs and for a moment the agony was too much to accept. She felt unconsciousness waver at the edges of her vision.

"Don't pass out," Ryuunomei's ragged voice said into her ear. "Please stay awake and hold on."

"You're dead," she murmured muzzily, but she managed to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist so that his legs would be free. His arms circled her tightly under her arms.

"Not yet," he muttered under his breath, "but very close. I'm going to take you back to your lover. Anything you can do to keep me moving until then would be much appreciated.

The full impact of the situation finally hit Izayoi as her head cleared. "Stop!" she cried, "you'll make your wounds worse! Set down so I can treat you!"

"Sorry, Iza-chan," he said wryly. "This is nothing you can fix. I'm dying at last. All I want is to keep going until I can get you to safety. Can you try and stanch the bleeding just for a little while?"

Hot tears poured from Izayoi's eyes. "Stop," she begged. "You might be wrong. Let me see."

"Shut up and do what you can!" he snapped, straining to go a little faster. The battle wind blew at their backs, speeding their passage through the air.

Sobbing, Izayoi called her power and tried her best to block the severed blood vessels with energy. It did not work very well since she'd had no training in healing arts, but it worked well enough to keep him in the air.

When she'd done everything she could, she pressed her face into the side of his neck and shook with grief. "I hadn't even asked yet," she said through her tears.

"You wanted to ask," he said quietly, "and that was enough for me. You were right all along, Iza-chan... Izayoi. I am too fond of blood by half. There will be consequences for me after I fall through the veil."

She could not deny it. He had been the cause of death for thousands of people, some of them through awful and painful means. He deserved punishment without doubt. Still...

Still, as they flew timelessly through the air, hair twining together and blood trailing them like crimson rain, she wished she could spare him that. He had chosen rightly in the end.

You made the right decision at the very end, my love. Thank you.

XxxxxxX

They flew for perhaps an hour at a speed Izayoi had difficulty comprehending, until at last they reached the mountains.

She took a deep breath and inhaled Inutaisho's youki. Her eyes tightened. He wasn't supposed to be back from the encampment for several days yet. Why is he home so early?

They were still half-an-hour's flight out from the valley, but Inutaisho was flying to meet them.

Izayoi tightened her hold on Ryuunomei and tried desperately to preserve those last moments.

They were over all too soon– the dying dragon prince finally ran himself dry. They fell like autumn leaves, spiraling gracefully down into the waiting branches of the mountain forest. Izayoi shut her eyes, but the impact never came. They landed softly on a carpet of leaves and earth. For an instant, they were suspended weightlessly upright... then Ryuunomei collapsed and they hit the ground in a tangled heap of limbs.

Izayoi struggled her way out from under Ryuunomei's weight and pulled his head onto her lap. "Ryuunomei-sama?" she asked tentatively.

"Still here," he whispered with effort. The entire front of his once-white clothing was now blackish-red with drying blood, streaked here and there with the vibrant red of fresh blood.

Izayoi smoothed the hair off his forehead and struggled to breathe through a throat that seemed set on closing on her. "You foolish, brave man," she murmured. Her sight wavered with new tears.

"Stop crying," he ordered weakly. "I told you, I no longer want to see you cry. I have left that bloodthirsty self far behind."

"Can't help it," she choked, compulsively stroking his face.

"I have amends to make on the other side," he said. "Once I have made them, you may grieve for me. Not before then. How many people died because of that shield I made my brother put up? Thousands, I know. Until I have apologized to each of them and been forgiven, you are not permitted to shed tears for me."

Izayoi shook her head. Her hair fell to curtain about her lap and the dragon's head. "I refuse. I will grieve for you as much as I like. You can't stop me."

Ryuunomei chuckled and raised one hand to stroke the side of her face. His green eyes were gentle and peaceful as she had never seen them before, devoid of fear or insecurity or twistedness. "I always loved you, you know," he told her with a regretful smile. "Sorry I couldn't figure out how to tell you the normal way."

"I forgave you for that long ago," she said honestly, heart torn open with love. "I loved you too, and will keep loving you. I know what's on the other side. Wait for me there, all right?"

Ryuunomei coughed and spattered his chin with blood. "It's a promise," he gasped, "but don't be in any hurry to catch up, all right?"

"Promise," she whispered, and leaned over to kiss his reddened lips.

His last breath sighed out into her, and then he was still. She curled around his head and let herself weep with great racking sobs while his blood cooled on her lips.

XxxxxxX

That was how Inutaisho found her– blood-spattered and tear-reddened, clutching the stiff corpse of his greatest foe.

The raging anger that had been building since Myouga's frantic message (she's gone, my lord, and her trail leads East) sputtered and died in the face of her grief. He was not heartless, and despite her tendency to do stupid things like this, he truly loved his human warrior-princess.

"Izayoi," he said bluntly, unsure of how to proceed. The ravenous worry that had been chewing at his gut eased once he saw that she was relatively unharmed.

But what was she doing? he wondered. She did not really return to him, did she?

"I'm sorry," she blurted without looking up. "I know you must be angry, but she told me this was what I had to do. Even if you chose to turn away, the aggression wouldn't stop unless he made it stop. I had to go, I had to!"

She was clearly incoherent with grief. Though he still could not make sense of his enemy's presence with her, he decided to deal with the living first and with his deep disappointment at not being the one to finally end Ryuunomei's life later.

He pulled off his haori, this one deep purple, and draped it over her shaking form. Carefully he extricated her from the mess that was Ryuunomei's body and scooped her up into his arms.

"I will return for you... old friend," he promised the pale face pillowed on the leaves.

The dragon's blood was already soaking into the earth.

XoxoxoxoxoX

A/N: TT I hate killing off characters.

Thanks for reading!