Chapter 11
This is it….! Her mind panicked….This is the end…! Destiny has finally found us! Completely helpless, Arashi did all that she could do…she started to pray to every kami she could think of to save them. But if that was too much to ask, then she prayed that they would at least save Sorata.
As she prayed she kept her gaze on the young monk who had gotten to his feet and was endlessly scanning the sky, searching for Seishirou. The swirling cherry blossoms danced in the air, bringing a very surreal feel to the atmosphere, almost as if they had wandered into a dream; although the situation was anything but.
As the foreboding laughter continued, Sorata's patience began to wear thin. His fear for Arashi's safety and his insatiable hatred for the dragons of earth who had done this to her were eating away at his last vestiges of sanity. And yet, these emotions were all encompassed by an overwhelming rage. Rage that stemmed from the thought…If destiny has called upon me to sacrifice my life for Arashi…only to let her die moments after I do…then would that mean that my inevitable sacrifice is all in vain!?! Is destiny REALLY THAT CRUEL!?!
"STOP HIDING COWARD AND SHOW YOUR FACE!!!" Sorata bellowed at the top of his lungs. It was Seishirou who was responsible for the shikigami now killing Arashi, He was sure of THAT, and he would make him pay dearly for what he had done.
The laughter soon subsided and the shining sea of cherry blossoms disappeared with it. The silence was deafening; almost worse than the evil laughter had been. Arashi desperately tried once again to push herself to her hands and knees, trying to get up, but the best she could do was support herself on her elbows. There's nothing I can do! She thought hopelessly. The necklace won't come off and in a few moments it won't matter anymore.
She watched Sorata, his stance telling her he was ready to fight. She could see the muscles of his strong arms coiled tight like a spring, just waiting for his target to show himself. But where is he??? She worried as she felt her thoughts start to slip out of her control, muddled and unfocused. It's funny… I can't really feel the pain anymore. It's more like a dull ache. As if…as if my whole body is starting to go…numb. Fear suddenly gripped her. She flexed her hand, trying to stimulate any sort of sensation but was horrified to find that no matter what she did, she couldn't feel it!
Completely terrified that she would breathe her last breath before telling Sorata how she really felt, Arashi desperately cried his name.
Sorata whirled around to face her, eyes wide with both fear and concern. He'd never heard such desperation in her voice before…it scared the hell out of him. "What is it Arashi!? Are you ok!?!"
Arashi shook her head, ignoring the constant pounding in her temples. "..I.."
Before she could finish, she was interrupted by the appearance of several men in black business suits, black sunglasses and black ties. They were encircled by them, with no hopes of escape…at least… not for Arashi. Sorata nearly snarl with anger as his hands instantly became ablaze with massive swirls of powerful electricity.
Coming out of the midst of the shikigami masses, Seishirou walked calmly toward them, stopping just a few feet away. His paper spell servants backed up a step or two, widening the circle around Sorata and Arashi, just waiting for their master's command.
With a sly smirk on his face Seishirou shook his head as if completely amused by the whole situation. "My my my. What a mess you two have gotten yourselves into. It's quite obvious that you've both run out of time and my little experiment is over."
Sorata's seething glare turned to one of frustrated confusion. "What do you mean experiment?" He spat out angrily.
Seishirou couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh my dear boy, you dragons of heaven are all so hopelessly naive. How any of you could hope to save the human race is beyond even me. Everything that has happened to you and that girl over the past week was all a test that Yuto-san and I concocted."
Sorata's temper was beginning to rise but he desperately fought to control it. He HAD to know the truth about why they had done this. Trying to keep his anger in check, Sorata pressed for more answers. "What sort of test!?"
"It's quite simple really," Seishirou stated calmly, as though teaching a small child. "It is my belief that what people call 'love' is merely a delusion that the human race has fooled themselves with throughout history. At best, it is a type of affection for another individual….at worst, it is a tool mankind has used to bring about the worst kinds of atrocities. The idea that there is such a thing as 'true love' is just that!…An idea and nothing more... "
Sorata looked surprised. What a horrible thought! That love was nothing more than a fabrication of the human mind. No. It wasn't true. His feelings for Arashi were proof of that…
"If that's what you believe then I don't just despise you….I pity you." He growled.
Seishirou's smile faltered for but a moment. "You say that because you don't believe me, but the fact is that you have failed the test and have therefore proven me to be correct."
"What do you mean by THAT!?" Sorata yelled in anger.
"Do you think you love that girl lying there?" Seishirou shot back.
"YES!" Sorata stated clearly without a second's hesitation. "It is my destiny to die protecting her; the woman I love."
Seishirou's smile widened. "How interesting….Either your destiny has changed or your injured comrade there is not the woman you truly love."
"How DARE you say that!?!" Sorata shouted in rage, the electricity in his hands blazing with intensity.
"I say it because she is about to die before your eyes and there is nothing that you can do about it. That necklace can only be removed by an onmyouji and since I'm the only one here, and I have no intentions of removing it, she WILL die…
…So your love is either false or your destiny is nothing but a lie."
Sorata suddenly felt sick. It isn't true… IT CAN'T BE TRUE!!! His mind frantically thought. The very foundations of his beliefs were beginning to crumble and just when he needed them the most. He felt lost, and there was no one who could help him….except….
Sorata turned from Seishirou to look at Arashi. She laid as still as death on the ground about a foot away from him, her arms shaking from the exertion of simply lifting her head and shoulders up on the cold ground.
Arashi had watched Sorata throughout the whole horrible discussion, her heart going out to him as she watched his face look more lost than she had ever seen it. And as he turned to her, his eyes desperately searched hers for answers. And as he gazed at her a sudden look of reassurance passed over his face and he turned back to Seishirou.
"There is no way in heaven or earth that my love for Arashi is false. I KNOW that my love for her is TRUE! I knew it from the first moment I saw her, that she WAS AND IS MY DESTINY!!! Every time I look at her, my heart only reaffirms it. She is my missing half, my BEST half. She makes me whole and without her I would be forever lost. I need her more than I need my next breathe. She is everything to me…and when the time comes, I will give my very life to keep her safe…" Sorata boldly declared with absolute confidence and pure conviction.
"A beautiful speech boy…but beautiful words pale in comparison to the stone cold facts. It's your so called 'love' that has brought Arashi to death's door."
Sorata's eyes widened in horror. "What do you mean?!..." He all but whispered.
"Yuto-san knew you had a "special interest" in this girl. In fact, He bet that you would be able to prove my thoughts on love to be false. So I created the cursed shikigami just for her. We left it on the window ledge to her room in a small box with a note, telling her that the 'necklace' was a gift from her "Secret Admirer"…"
Sorata's heart seemed to drop to the pit of his stomach, making him feel nauseous at where this was going.
"As you might guess…the young lady there thought that the "Secret Admirer" must be YOU! So she wore it, and the moment she touched it…your 'love' for her, sentenced her to death."
Sorata dropped to his knees as if he'd just been stabbed through the heart. "No!" he moaned in emotional agony. "Please no..."
"That's right my young friend. That means that this is ALL YOUR FAULT!" Seishirou stated harshly, taking great pleasure in watching Sorata succumb to overwhelming feelings of guilt.
Arashi couldn't believe the confession that Seishirou had just made. So that was what had happened! Both she and Sorata had been used as some sort of sick entertainment for Seishirou and Yuto's pleasure. HOW DARE THEY!?! Her mind cried in outrage. She watched in utter distress as Sorata was brought to his knees with the guilt of the lies Seishirou was feeding him.
At the sight of Sorata holding his head in his hands, consumed with remorse for what had taken place, her anger raged so fiercely within her that it gave her the strength she needed to get to her hands and knees. Slowly and oh so painfully she started to crawl to Sorata's side.
Sorata turned at the sound of Arashi stifling a cry of pain and was appalled to see her dragging her broken body towards him. "ARASHI!!!" He cried as he launched himself towards her, refusing to watch her crawl a moment longer.
Reaching her in seconds, he pulled her into his arms. Arashi's eyes brimmed with tears at the look she saw in his eyes. A look that spoke volumes of the grief and guilt and regret that now plagued his every thought. "I'm so sorry Arashi! So sorry for everything!" He wept as a tear suddenly streaked down his cheek.
She gasped painfully at the depth and intensity of his anguish but despite her every desire to wipe the tear away, she didn't have the strength to even lift her hand. She shook her head violently, "DON'T…BELIEVE IT…SORA..TA! …HE…IS WRONG!" she panted heavily, her strength nearly gone.
Sorata could only stare at her, his desperate desire to hope she was right was overshadowed by the painful truth that Seishirou had spoken. He didn't know what to believe now.
Arashi could still see the doubt in his eyes. I HAVE to get through to him! Before it's too late! Forcing her body to obey, she finally brought a shaky hand up to softly caress his tear away. Sorata's eyes widened at the touch.
"…I….BELIEVE…YOU! ....DON'T…GIVE UP…ON ME!" she gasped fervently.
Sorata caught her hand in his as it started to fall from his cheek. Her words filled him with a small ray of hope, but it was all he needed. Squeezing her delicate hand gently in reassurance, he gave her a very faint smile and nodded in understanding.
At that moment, Seishirou motioned his shikigami's to move in. Sorata sprang into action and immediately both he and Arashi were enclosed by a massive orb of white lighting. The shikigami foolish enough to try and enter the orb were instantly burned beyond recognition.
"Give up this foolishness monk. Why prolong the inevitable? Death has found you…and I must say that you've chosen the most convenient place for this battle to be fought. All they need to do is dig your graves." Seishirou laughed as though it was some big joke.
Sorata paid no attention to him, all his focus was trained on the countless shikigami assailing them. Unable to hold the electrical field they were enclosed in for long, Sorata started to pick off the shikigami in large groups with large blasts of lightening flung hard and fast from his hands.
While all this was happening Arashi searched her memories and skills for ANYTHING that could help them in their situation. The numbness returned once again and somehow…she knew that her time was up. The cursed shikigami hanging from her neck was about to take the very last fraction of her strength. She was about to die….and then it hit her...
Arashi's eyes widened in shock! I KNOW WHAT TO DO!!! Her mind screamed. She just prayed she'd have the power left in her to do it. With all her might she fought to get back onto her hands and knees. Once she was there, she pressed the palm of her right hand flat on the cool ground, and closing her eyes in total focus, she forced her body to produce the sacred sword of Ise.
The sword's tip shot into the earth as it grew from her hand, forcing her body to follow the length of the sword up until Arashi was in a kneeling position, her body hanging over the sword as she clutched it to her chest like a lifeline. It was the only thing holding her upright.
Wrapping her arms around the sword tightly, her right hand gripped the red stone in the pommel of the deadly katana, and she offered a silent prayer that this would work. With that done, Arashi began to utter a spell so powerful that both the sword and her body started to glow, the light growing brighter and brighter in intensity as her chanting became louder and faster.
With a powerful streak of lightening, Sorata dispatched another group of shikigami, and turned back to return to Arashi when he felt a strange aura suddenly fill the air around him. He turned in time to see Arashi in a prayer pose, leaning heavily against her sword, reciting words in a language that was completely foreign to him. No more than a moment later he had to shield his eyes as both Arashi's sword and body became swathed in a light so brilliant it took his breath away.
Seishirou grimaced as he too shielded his eyes from the radiance that Arashi was bathed in.
Arashi could feel herself fading, her words starting to slow, the pain in her chest making it difficult to speak the words she HAD to say. All of a sudden she became aware of the bitter coppery taste of blood in her mouth as she struggled to finish her spell. FINISH IT!!! Her heart cried as she literally teetered on the brink of life and death. With her last breath, Arashi uttered the last word of her mantra and suddenly…everything went dark.
Just as quickly as the unearthly light had appeared, it vanished leaving nothing but Arashi and her sword left behind. Sorata's heart froze as he saw Arashi's eyes open wide in shock and then close forever as her body slipped unceremoniously from the sword and fall lifelessly to the ground.
In that moment, time seemed to stand still for Sorata Arisugawa as it suddenly became impossible to breathe. Unable to accept the sight that lay before him, he raced to reach Arashi's motionless form. A few feet seemed like hundreds of miles as he finally reached her side. Kneeling over her prone form, Sorata's heart ached with each beat as all signs of life were gone from Arashi's body. He brought a desperate and shaky hand to her neck, his fingers desperately searching for a pulse……he found none.
No No No No NoNoNoNoNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! His head and heart wailed in complete agony as he continued his hopeless search for life in his beautiful shrine maiden. Tears filled his eyes as his motions became more frantic. "Arashi!?! ARASHI!?!!" He cried to her hysterically, begging her to open her eyes. With no response from the priestess, Sorata once again made a desperate grab at the cursed necklace clinging to her neck, still glowing a fiery red. Once again, the moment he touched it, the shikigami shocked him violently, sending him flying backwards. Swearing in fury, he swiftly crawled back to Arashi's side, trying once again to find signs of life.
Cruel and mocking laughter rang throughout the air as Seishirou watched the tragic scene unfold. Sorata's movements slowed as the laughter started to register in his mind and gradually he turned to look back at his tormentor. Eyes full of unrestricted and unconditional hatred took in the face of a laughing Seishirou. In that moment, something snapped inside Sorata and with animal like ferocity, Sorata roared in pain, grief and outrage as he lunged at Seishirou, unleashing an attack so violent, that it took even the Sakurazukamori by complete surprise.
In fact, it was all Seishirou could do to stay alive as Sorata's powers became so wildly out of control that the clear night sky itself produced all encompassing black storm clouds that shot extreme bolts of lightening in a thousand different directions. Deafening cracks of thunder caused the very earth to shake as Sorata fought Seishirou like a madman, his mind completely consumed with irrevocable grief for his immeasurable loss. Nothing mattered anymore… except avenging Arashi's death.
As the lighting and thunder continued to increase, Seishirou started to realize that he had truly underestimated the extent of this young monk's powers….and the strength of the 'feelings' he had for his fallen comrade. With surprise, he was beginning to fear that he would die too as his coat was struck by a brutal shaft of lighting.
"SORATAAAA!!!!" a voice suddenly roared, just barely loud enough to hear over the earsplitting claps of thunder.
"SORATA STOP!!!" another voice cried and Seishirou suddenly smiled as he saw the faces of all the other seals, finally coming to crash their little party.
Sorata, still too caught up in his anguish to hear anything around him, continued to blindly lash out at Seishirou with all the strength and power within him.
"He can't hear us!" Kamui yelled to the other seals over the horrible noise, dodging a stray streak of lightening in the process.
All of the seals were now there; Karen, Seichiro, Kamui, Yuzuriha and Subaru. All had been out searching for Sorata and Arashi when the gohodoji had made contact with them, guiding them to this horrific scene that now played out before them.
Swiftly, Subaru lept into the air, flinging his own shikigami at the Sakurazukamori. As Seishirou changed tactics to fight off Subaru's attack, Subaru grabbed Sorata by the shoulder.
The young monk whirled around to face Subaru and the onmyouji couldn't help but gasp as he looked into the eyes of his comrade. His eyes were wild with rage, but the pain and suffering he saw in their hazel depths was a mirror reflection of the pain he felt when he had lost both a dear friend and his sister.
"SORATA!" Subaru screamed as he shook the monk's shoulder. "SORATA IT'S ME! SUBARU! DO YOU RECOGNIZE ME!?!"
After a moment or two Sorata's eyes, haunted with untold suffering, slowly revealed signs of recognition for his fellow dragon of heaven. Suddenly, without warning, Sorata grabbed Subaru by the shoulders. "SUBARU!!! ARASHI!!! PLEASE!!!! SAVE ARASHI!!!" He begged desperately as the thunder and lightening started to slow.
Unsure of what Sorata meant, Subaru turned his head to search for Seishirou but cursed when he saw that the Sakurazukamori had taken their distraction as a means of escape and had disappeared.
"PLEASE SUBARU!!! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO IT!!!" Sorata supplicated, his voice so distraught that it nearly brought Subaru to tears.
Nodding, Subaru swiftly followed Sorata to where the other seals had already gathered around Arashi's body.
"What happened?!" Subaru asked as he knelt next to the lifeless miko.
"Her neck! A shikigami!" Sorata panted heavily, exhausted from his fight.
Glancing at her neck, Subaru saw the glowing necklace and scowled in anger. This poor girl. He reflected sorrowfully as he outstretched his hands to shape a mudra and closed his eyes while he started to utter an unintelligible counter spell.
All of the seals watched and listened in silence as Subaru worked, a low rumble of thunder casting a mournful feeling over the devastated graveyard. Yuzuriha came to stand next to Sorata, whose complete attention was focused on Arashi and the man who now worked to free her from her bonds.
Her heart went out to him as she tried to offer him comfort by carefully taking one of his hands in hers. Sorata gave no reaction whatsoever as he stood like a sentinel, just waiting and watching. His hands were ice cold and Yuzuriha couldn't stop the tears that sprang to her eyes as the pain he felt was literally flowing from his aura in waves.
Finally, with a few more deeply uttered incantations, the gleaming necklace lost its fiery luster and transformed back into a small paper spell resting gently on Arashi's neck.
Karen immediately snatched the paper spell and burned it to ashes in her hand, flinging the charred remains away from their small group. Sorata collapsed next to Arashi, waiting for her to show ANY signs of life. All of them waited as another rumble of thunder broke the unbearable silence.
After a moment, Subaru reached out and searched Arashi for a pulse. With tremendous sorrow, Subaru turned to look at Sorata. "Im….Im so sorry Sorata-san. I was too late."
Yuzuriha lunged into Karen's arms weeping uncontrollably. Putting her arms around her Karen's eyes also filled with unshed tears as she felt Seichiro place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Sorata sat there stunned as Subaru's words infiltrated his thoughts. In the fraction of a second that it took his mind to register this information, Sorata flung himself over Arashi's body and, tilting her head back, brought his lips to hers and breathed air into her lungs. After a few breaths he sat up and started to rhythmically pump her chest right above her heart.
"She's NOT DEAD!" Sorata yelled angrily as he once again dropped down to force air into her lungs. His mind vaguely registered the taste of blood on her lips as he sat back up and continued compressions.
Subaru and the others watched in shock as Sorata fought to restore Arashi's life. His brow was covered in sweat, his voice firm and commanding as he called out to her, willing her to body to comply. As if sensing the despair of the seven seals, the darkened heavens opened and a light rain began to fall.
Sorata soon felt a warm hand gently touch his wet shoulder, and heard Seichiro's voice. "It's over Sorata…She's gone."
Anger and denial caused Sorata to wrench his shoulder away and stop his compressions. Turning to his friends he bellowed, "She is NOT GONE!!!"
Whipping his head back around to Arashi he raised his hand just a few inches above her heart. "COME ON ARASHI! FIGHT!!!!" He cried and without warning he placed his hand on her chest and forced a charge of electricity into her body, hoping to jumpstart her heart. All of the seals flinched as they watched Arashi's body jerk several inches off the ground before slumping back.
Sorata watched her like a hawk, waiting for a reaction from her. He immediately sought for a pulse…. but found nothing.
"PLEASE NEE-CHAN!!! FOR ME!!" He cried less harshly and more desperately, as he sent another jolt to her heart. Watching Arashi's body jerk harshly again, Karen could bear the scene no longer. Slipping from Yuzuriha's embrace, she walked over to Sorata who bent down again to force air into his beloved's lungs. Kneeling down beside him, with great compassion, Karen reached out her arms to wrap them around Sorata's neck and gently pulled him into an embrace.
Though she felt his body tense at her touch, she was surprised when he started to relax into her grip. She felt his body tremble as she held him and wished she had a coat or cloak to shield his poor body from the rain that now fell freely over them all. She wondered if he trembled from being in the freezing rain without a shirt on, or because of exhaustion…or because he had just lost someone dear to him. Surely it was a combination of all three and she held him tightly.
Sorata had never felt so numb, nor so empty as he allowed Karen to hold him. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He couldn't feel anything. He closed his eyes, still unable to accept the fact that his beautiful Nee-chan…was gone. It can't be true….It just CANT! His heart cried. Oh WHY Arashi?! WHY!?
….And then he felt it. He felt it just as strongly as if she were standing beside him. Her aura…her lifeforce! It was THERE!!! HE COUD FEEL IT!!! Pulling out of Karen's grip Sorata swiftly jumped to his feet and raised both of his hands to feel the air around him. Karen, Kamui, Yuzuriha, Seichiro and Subaru all watched Sorata as though he had lost his mind.
But Sorata knew he wasn't crazy. He could FEEL Arashi's presence surrounding them, he could sense it just as surely as he could feel the rain continue to flow down his shoulders, arms, hands and back. She was HERE!...And then he heard it.
Her voice…her beautiful voice….a voice he longed to hear more than any other sound in all of heaven or earth. Her voice penetrated his heart and pierced him to the very soul. "DON'T GIVE UP ON ME….SORATAAAA…." She called.
"ARASHI!" Sorata cried aloud, but the others seemed unable to feel it or hear it. Her essence is STILL HERE SOMEWHERE! He realized as he immediately started to search for its source. Turning to Arashi's body, Sorata looked up to see that the sword of Ise was still lodged in the ground next to her….It hadn't disappeared! Could it be?....
Daring to hope, Sorata reached out to the katana and, with the utmost respect, touched the sword that was a part of her body and soul…. A part of her body…and soul! The moment his fingers touched the holy weapon everything suddenly came together in amazing clarity!
Wrenching the sword from the ground Sorata took several deep breaths before reaching down to gently pick up Arashi's limp right hand. "Please…" he prayed to all the Buddha's he could think of, "Please… LET THIS WORK!" and with the greatest care, he placed the tip of the sword onto her palm…..
Gasps rang throughout the group as the flesh of Arashi's palm parted to welcome the sword back into it's proper resting place. Once the sword was a part of Arashi once more, Sorata renewed and redoubled his efforts to bring her back. As his lips met hers he felt them tense up. Instantly jerking his head back he watched as her body convulsed and her head wrenched to the side as she started to cough.
"SHE'S ALIVE!!!!" Yuzuriha suddenly cheered and was soon joined by everyone as Arashi continued to cough painfully before slipping into unconsciousness. Sorata's hand flashed to Arashi's neck and checked for a pulse. Sure enough, he found one, faint and thready, but there none the less.
Unable to catch his breath after EVERYTHING that had happened, Sorata could only stare at Arashi's porcelain face, pale and full of pain…but ALIVE. He tenderly reached a shaky hand to brush a few wet strands of hair away from her face as he watched the rain streak down her cheeks. He offered up a prayer of thanks and suddenly felt the world start to spin. Completely consumed by exhaustion and fatigue, Sorata allowed himself to surrender to the darkness as well and collapsed next to his beautiful miko priestess……
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Just a quick shout out to Minagi Soryu and Rei Girl for their VERY HELPFUL reviews and their AWESOME support! THANK YOU! And thanks to EVERYONE who is reading this and hasn't reviewed….yet! *wink wink* hint hint!* And please stay tuned since there will probably be one more chapter after this one! -Miko