Bon had begun to cough violently while my vision turned blurry.
"Hang in there," I muttered and tightened my hold on his hand. We were both getting weaker, Rin was just beginning to start but I felt as if I'd collapse at any moment.
"Hey are you two alright?!" Rin started but once he saw my back he cringed. His gaze then went behind us to the true form of the Impure King.
Bon's eyes soon followed and all of us stared at it in shock and fear as I heard something like a chuckle.
"SUGURO, KUSHI!"
"KARURA protect us!"
"Understood." Karura's red flames wrapped around me and Bon and protected us from the Impure King's attack, "I managed to drive him away, but this double posture will consume your strength further."
"That's what I'm here for." I said weakly.
Bon looked me in the eyes, "Kushi you've done enough, you'll fall apart at this rate."
I glared at him, "No I won't, now just focus!"
"What did you do?!" Rin asked excitedly.
"It's a piece of the barrier, But it won't last long. Maybe 15 minutes." I said as I examined the barrier. It was a patchwork job, using a piece of the barrier to create a barrier to protect the one making it. It's effective, but it's not very conservative.
"15 minutes?! WHY?!"
"We're reaching our limits Rin." Bon said as he used his head to motion to my back. "I would've never even made it this far without her here, she's using all of her energy to keep me up." he chuckled darkly, "I hope Koneko and Shima made it."
"OF COURSE THEY DID, THEY MADE IT AND SO DID SHIEMI AND IZUMO AND YOUR DAD... They're all fine." Rin said to try and convince Bon. I placed my free hand on Bon's shoulder.
"He's right, if we can make it this far, then they can go farther." Bon nodded to me.
A large blob came out of the Impure King and went straight for Rin. Kuro attacked it and begun to be consumed by the decay. My eyes teared up as Rin yelled for him to stop. "K-kuro..."
"It's the end." my head whipped over to see Bon with his head down. "Rin, grab Kushi and while I still last, run. Help everyone get to a shelter, hurry up, every second is precious." when neither of us moved he added a shout of, "GO!"
Rin smiled after recovering from shock, "Oh what was that? AH, right the Kyoto tower! I wanna climb the Kyoto tower. Show me the way tomorrow! I'm sure Kushi-chan wants to see it too! I heard it's a public bath even though it's a tower! That's so cool! I wonder if everyone else will want to come too!?... That's why I need Kyoto to be safe, I need everybody to be safe.
Let's win and go back home."
"...Why?... Why?... WHY THE KYOTO TOWER ANYWAY!? I'VE NEVER CLIMBED IT, IN FACT I FIND IT EMBARRASSING! KYOTO HAS HEAPS OF OTHER FAMOUS SPOTS TO SEE!"
"But that's the only one I've heard about!"
I couldn't help but giggle at his out burst. And Bon just burst out laughing.
"Eh?"
"It's ok, whatever, I'll support your fake confidence... We are friends after all... I trust both of you." I smiled a bit as I passed the last bit of my energy to Bon. I coughed up a little blood, then passed out on his shoulder.
"Kushi?" Bon let go of the girl's hand and shook her. "She's unconcious."
"She's dried up. She has no more energy to give you, or even enough to move." Karura said.
Bon's face hardened as he pulled her close with his free hand. The barrier around Bon faded and Rin was left there standing in shock.
Damn old man.
Why did you save me?!
Why me, you should've stayed alive, with Kushi!
Why? Why was I saved?!
WHY?!
WHY WAS I-
Rin gripped the hilt of his sword and the sheathe and pulled as hard as he could and, lo and behold, it came out wrapped in blue flames that flickered and burned with no fuel.
It was at this time that his blue flames had reached the eyes of Kirigakure Shura, who had received word from the other two of the Kyoto trio and was coming to help. "Rin..."
Rin growled lowly in his throat as his eyes reflected the very flames that adorned his body and sword. He turned just in time to slice the Impure King himself as he approached the tired pair of Exwires. The Demon burned intensely after a few mere seconds. Yet he was still not dead.
A pile of the decay fell on Bon and Shura found this was the best time to appear. She threw a flaming Kunai knife at the blob and begun to chant. The chant caused the flames to grow and burned the blob. Bon was left unharmed.
"Shura!"
"Leave the kiddies to me, that demon isn't something a normal human being can defeat on their own. We'll be relying on you. Didn't you swear to me? That you'd prove Shirou was right to let you two live? Kushi already has from the look of it. Well? Prove it!"
Rin took in her words and nodded before running off.
"The only thing he's missing is confidence... How is she?"
"She transferred her flames into me, all of them. She has to rest." Shura nodded before pulling out her own sword and slicing away at the attacking decay.
Rin ran and ran, slicing as he went. As he finally approached the Impure King himself, he began to question how he was supposed to kill it, all while still defending himself. He looked up and saw that the barrier began to fade he turned hi head back and saw Bon fall over with Utsukushi still in his grip.
"SUGURO! SHIT!" Rin sliced another bout of attacks away as he tried to find the heart.
Old man... LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!
A large amount of red flames appeared before Rin and showed a phoenix demon just like Karura.
"You're a pain to look at." it said.
"What are you? A demon?"
"Demon, Angel, Acala, all just names given to us by you humans. Who are you to call me like that? A human clad in the holy flames! I'm the burning impurity, Ucchusma, the Impure King has been an enemy of mine for a long time... That sword originally belonged to our master. If you want to defeat the Impure King, I will teach you how to control your flames."
"I don't really understand, but please! Please teach me Ucchusma!"
The demon sighed as he was reduced to a mere flame that was absorbed by Koumaken, "Well this is the only way. Repeat the Sutra and Mantra the I'm going to recite."
"What are you going to do?!"
"We will summon Kashou Zanmai. It will purify this entire mountain."
"Wait, the entire mountain?! But there's lots of innocent people here, Bon and Kushi would never survive even if she was awake!"
"So? Such a trivial thing, all of those people have already been infected by the spores, if even one of them is left then that's a chance that the Impure King may be revived!"
"Wait!"
There's no time, I have to try. I have to defeat the enemy without hurting anyone.
Can I really do it?... Rin looked over at Bon and his sister. She looked so weak and vulnerable, she clung to Bon's chest while tears ran down her face. I have to try!
"Shuri shuri, mamari mari, shushuri. On Kurouda nou un jaku!"
"That's good now continue!"
"Ka shou zan mai!" Rin swung his sword and it propelled a blast of blue flames right into the Impure King.
"Why are you hesitating! Put more power into the flames!"
"If I do..." I'll burn out! The flames, are devouring me!
My power has been suppressed since I was born... And I've had to put up with that. But I've had enough, I am FREE I'm gonna smash everything to PIECES. I AM A BEAST THAT BURNS EVERYTHING INTO OBLIVION.
THAT'S THE REAL ME!