Author's Note: Double update! =D
Song for Chapter:
Demons - Avenged Sevenfold, Diamonds in the Rough
Chapter Nine: Attack
Kotone had been feeling rather ill, what with being in the air for this long. The only comfort had been the wind that twisted around her, keeping the female calm and steady in their journey. She had been sure to help Kuronue out as best as she could, twirling her element to allow his wings the greatest speed.
So far, they were getting along rather well.
The bat demon was witty, though he had a sense of humor that bordered between obscene and morbid. It was one of many things they had realized they had in common, thus conversation had flowed so easily it would seem as if the pair were long-time friends to any onlookers. Luckily, considering they were airborne and traveled by night- Kuronue's eyes were far superior to hers in the dark-, none were around to comment on their quick alliance.
Her wounds still ached internally, despite being allowed to repair for the last two days. Time had passed by rather swiftly and the two had only stopped to rest once. The short-lived slumber had helped considerably, but until then she was forced to be carried through the air by the ex-thief. Her youki was nearly to full strength and there was no doubt in her mind that she would not have felt so weak if it was not due to the physical and emotional strain the encounter with the undead had created on her.
She only hoped she was ready to perform the next enchantment when they reached their destination. Kuronue would not be able to do it alone, no matter what he said. His body was still unlike his previous form and she was much stronger than he when in peak condition. If anything, his presence would only keep her from dying this time around.
"Kuronue, do you see that small break in the trees just up ahead?" she whispered, allowing the wind to pull the words back to his long ears, nearly identical to hers. They had been communicating in such tones, trying to keep from being spotted.
"I'm guessing that I should land there?"
She nodded and he dramatically swooped through the trees, as if falling headlong from the sky. Kotone growled in frustration as he tightened his hold and ceased the free-fall just moments from injuring the two.
"You really like to get a rouse out of me, don't you?"
"You're more fun when you're angry," he retorted, the grin on his face now filed to memory by this point. It had been the main thing he wore during their journey, unless it turned to a serious frown. Otherwise, he really did not seem to fluctuate in his moods.
He set her gently on the ground and the woman stretched her aching limbs blissfully. After being in the air, cramped up in long arms, being on her own feet was delightful. Her inner wounds felt better, yet she could still feel the slight discomfort under her flesh.
"Who's this guy?" Kuronue had crouched in front of a tombstone, crudely made but filled with more mystical ki than he had thought possible. "Feels like every hair on my body is standing on end."
"It's a phenomenon," she explained, a hazy look in her eyes. "The lightning storms of Makai often find their way here. It tends to strike the stone and causes an electrical current."
'Because of what he was...'
"Creepy," grunted the bat demon. "I bet we're resurrecting this guy then."
"Obviously, or we would not have stopped."
"Smartass."
The two rolled their eyes at one another, a playful glare shot between them. Once upon a time, over a century ago, Kotone had not been able to trust someone so easily. Even if their lives were tied to hers the way Kuronue's was, she would have either killed them or kept them at a length. It unnerved and comforted her to have someone she could keep close in these times, one that she would not be devastated to lose. Of course, she would be upset, but not to the degree of Avaron, Hiei, Yuji, or Jin dying.
"Takes one to know one," she childishly added, huffing.
Snap...!
Nearly unheard by the two, a twig broke in the distance. Two sets of long ears twitched, hard stares shooting in the same direction of the noise. Silence immediately followed and Kuronue caught Kotone's attention.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered heatedly.
She nodded, dipping into a low crouch and gently throwing the wind out around them. She was searching for-
"KURONUE! DUCK!"
The bat easily avoided a kunai aimed at his head, a few hairs fluttering to the ground in the process. The growl that erupted from his throat was deserved and a manic emotion shown in indigo eyes.
"AMBUSH!"
The moment he snarled, enemies from all sides tore from the trees, the bushes. Hesitation was not given as they launched themselves against the duo, causing the honorable gravesite to become coated in blood of all colors.
The wind whipped around the two, giving both of them the advantage. Kuronue's wings were stretched wide and he used his lift into the air to slaughter the first to come within distance of his chained scythe.
He slashed and disemboweled the first demon attacker with nothing more than the flick of his wrist. The second was able to breech his personal perimeter and nearly sliced him open, but a swift punch through the creature's neck was enough to sprawl him motionless in the dirt.
Before Kuronue could process the third demon, it had leapt on his back and gashed his arm with razor-sharp claws. The bat apparition hissed in pain, but his scythe was thrown over his shoulder and right into the moron's forehead.
Meanwhile, Kotone had sprung from her crouch and had used her claws to rip out the esophagus of her first prey. Using the organ to her advantage on the next left the second demon dead in seconds, the throat of the first tied tightly around his own neck.
The third was done in by her katana- a present from Hiei decades ago that she now cherished more than she should- and her back was immediately pressed to Kuronue's.
"Second wave is coming," she grunted, the wind alerting her to the locations of another group surrounding them. "I'll enjoy killing them."
"Just stay alive, princess."
"You too, batty."
Their banter ceased as the next wave approached from the underbrush, coming from all directions and in a greater number than the first. Her mind did not process anything but Kuronue's presence at her back and the blood that dripped from her blade.
The murderous rampage was over before it really began and the duo stood in the center of the carnage, bathed in the blood of their foes. Only one was left alive, and Kotone's katana was to his neck in an instant. Her legs straddled his bleeding form and she growled so loudly the demon shuddered beneath her.
"Who sent you?" she roared, her voice enough to make the trees quiver. Kotone felt Kuronue's form just above hers, scythe swirling in the air and creating an eerie noise.
"Bitch," the captive hissed, spitting in her face.
Before Kotone could slice her katana through his jugular, a large foot pressed against the blade and Kuronue crouched lower. "It would be wise you answered her, wretch, and refrain from doing that again."
The man gulped at the menacing pair, a rivulet of blood seeping from the blade slowly cutting into his flesh. "Never!"
"His loyalty is irritating," Kuronue grumbled and glanced at the woman. "Should we kill him?"
Her eyes strayed from his and met a familiar marking on the captive's collar. She ripped it off and glared at the insignia. "He's one of Mukuro's. That ugly bitch knew I would come to this grave eventually and had her men waiting to ambush me alone."
The bat apparition smirked triumphantly, "But she never realized I would be with you, did she?"
"She probably assumed I would be distraught over my banishment and alone, thus rendering me weaker. Foolish whore."
"Shut your dirty mouth, traitor!" The demon made a move to struggle and Kotone sneered up at her companion.
"We need him alive for the ritual, but I really can't stand his voice any longer."
He nodded in consent, "You got it, Kotone."
His scythe came closer to the demon's face and a hand was shoved into his mouth. Kuronue avoided gnashing teeth and pulled the reptile's tongue out as far as he could. With a satisfying shink, his tongue was rendered from his mouth and blood the color of twilight spurted from the wound. The demon tried to scream, but blood muffled the noise and caused it to sound more like a sputtering mess.
"Tie him up while I prepare things," she mumbled tiredly and relinquished her hold on the idiot beneath her.
Kuronue took over the hacking body and wrapped the chain of his scythe around the creature, making sure it would cut into his flesh and was unable to be untied. The blade was nailed into the tree just behind the gravestone and easily visible, angled in a way that it just barely cut into the demon's neck without suffocating him or allowing the creature to move.
The bat took enough time to notice that bodies had been cleared from the dirt in front of the grave, leaving it clean and waiting. Kotone held a small bag in her hands, an object that was almost significant between her fingers. She rolled the item between the tips of her claws and hesitated not a moment longer before slamming it into the stained ground.
"Was that a seed?" Kuronue moved beside her and the woman deposited the bag back into her loose pockets. "You said Kurama has no idea what you're doing, yet you have his seeds?"
"Just because I have them does not mean he knows what I am doing with them. I asked for them, he handed them to me. That was it. He trusts me enough to know that, should I do something stupid, I'll be doing the right thing," explained the redhead. Her eyes trailed to his arm and then narrowed. "You're injured and it does not look pleasant."
He shrugged, "It'll heal."
"Not if you're helping me with this. I'm not a healer but I have that ointment the fox gave me," she mumbled and reached into her bag. Her fingers dipped into the thick ooze and she moved forward.
Kuronue surrendered his arm willingly to the determined wind demoness, scoffing at her worry. He knew she was right, but he sure as hell was not going to let her know it.
"There," Kotone said after the wounds closed up. "I'm sure you know what it does. Now, how about we get things underway? I doubt it will take as long now that there's two of us."
The bat demon took up the appropriate position on the ground, legs crossed together and hands in a prayer position with the fingers slightly intertwined. If he did not dwarf her in height, they would seem to be lifelike statues in mirroring positions, seated where their knees almost touched the other.
"Focus," she reminded him. "Ready?"
"As ever."
A mumbled chant began, voices becoming ethereal.
~:.:{We've All Made Bad Decisions, We've All Tried Dishing Out The Blame}:.:~
"Mom is going to be so pissed," Izume whispered heatedly, cutting through the darkness. Despite her worries, they trudged on without hesitation.
"Yes, well think of what Koume and Tadao are going to go through," Yuji reminded her gently. "They'll be there for the brunt of the anger."
"They won't let them follow us," continued Avaron. "I know the twins well enough to figure they would rather chain up everyone than put them in harm's way."
Just yesterday, Jin Kaze Tsukai had crash landed at Genkai's dojo, more dramatic than his usual entrance. With Touya tagging along with the Windmaster, the two gathered enough provisions and said swift goodbyes. They stayed no more than a few hours at best before darting off into the woods. There was no doubt that Jin was going to hunt for Kotone, no matter if he died trying.
"We don't have time to deliberate!" Shoichi waved his hands irritably and motioned to the cave ahead of him. "Demon's Door..."
"Fitting, huh?" Izume gently nudged her younger brother. "Well, after you, hothead."
"Spoiled bitch."
"Don't start you two," Yuji warned from beside the female. She shot him a reassuring smile and they made their way into the dark recesses of the damp cave.
~:.:{Convinced Ourselves Of Our Own Actions, My Problem Is I'll Never Change}:.:~
"Something does not feel right," came a musical whisper, no more than a flutter of words on the wind.
"Do you sense something, Hatsu?" Hajime glanced at the fox demoness, eyes narrowed and trying to push his youki out secretly. He needed to know if they were being followed.
"Fucking creepy, this place," growled Daiki, rubbing his hands together and creating a fire across his fingertips. "Something is not right. You feel that damn aura?"
"Quiet." Hatsukichi crouched low, the white ears on the top of her head smoothing flat against her hair while her matching tail flicked ominously. "We have company."
A hoard of demons attacked through the eerie mists littering the rolling plains, snarling viciously and brandishing weapons at the triad. They did not hesitate in throwing themselves into the fray. Souls ripped clean from bodies, fire ignited in a wide circle, and demonic plants sprung from the lush soil, digging into the very bones of their enemies.
Daiki wasted no time in using his katana, the precious metal dancing with flames and searing through flesh and vital organs. Limbs were severed jaggedly from the bodies of his foes, falling in morbid lumps to the soil and only fueling the demonic plant life.
Hajime dodged and weaved, his fingers going straight into the hearts of any that came close enough. When they removed themselves, glimmering souls absorbed into his palms and each one left him feeling more refreshed than anything.
Hatsukichi barely moved from her location, though her perimeter was surrounded by plant life eager to do the ancient fox demon's bidding. The ensnared her attackers and chomped heavily down on any she willed to die.
"Hatsu, look out!" Daiki screamed, fighting his way through the masses to try and reach the angry demoness. A grotesque fire imp had made its way through her defense and had tackled the white fox to the ground, slashing impatiently at her flesh.
She screamed, the attack unexpected and the flesh of her stomach torn. The imp grinned victoriously and his claws continued their onslaught against the female, trying to steal her life away before her plants could get to him.
The brute of the triad threw his hands out, souls tearing from the bodies around him as his mind focused on the imp. His psychic prowess slithered into the imp's head like a snake, twisting and prodding to get him to surrender.
The imp grabbed his head, wailing at the images that flittered through. Pain erupted across his body, all a trick of the mind, and he fell away from the fox demon to writhe upon the ground. It was then Daiki made it through and dug his katana straight through the head of the now still monster.
Silence surrounded the remaining three, all of their foes vanquished, and the men kneeled over the panting fox demoness. She hissed at the nasty wound on her middle, trying in vain to get to an upright position.
"Shit, we need to get you back to the fox clan," Hajime grumbled, rubbing his forehead.
"No, I need to see this Kotone," she panted, tongue lolling unattractively as she tried to cool her burning body down. "In my... hair... is a seed... of a blue... color. S-stick it in my... wound."
The men shared a glance, neither knowing if allowing this journey to continue was in her best interest. A fierce snarl from the demoness gave them the answer they did not want and Daiki dug his hand into the lengthy mane of the female. He felt seeds in the thousands there, wondering idly if Kurama's was the same, before small sprout met his fingers. He yanked it out to see a small blue seed with a matching leaf trying to emerge from it.
"Got it, lady," he mumbled as he gently pushed it into the gaping flesh of her middle.
She closed her eyes and willed some youki into the plant, allowing it to spring to life and wrap a thick bandage of blue vines around her waist. The top of her shirt- which she had changed into for this journey- was left intact, but her middle was an entirely different story.
"It'll heal. I cannot move but it is unwise to stay here," she whispered, the strain from the blood loss evident in her voice. "Someone, carry me and we can continue."
Hajime reluctantly cradled the fox, holding her against his chest and letting the tall female rest there. She weakly smiled at him, eyes fluttering closed and a sigh coming from her pale lips. "I'll be hibernating for a few hours now," she added and was unconscious before they knew it.
"Who were these people?" Hajime mumbled to his friend, worried he would wake the sleeping demoness in his arms. "Daiki, check would you?"
"Yeah, yeah." The fire apparition leaned down towards the nearest body, one that was mostly intact, save their head. His fingers traced the clothing until he came to an insignia on the breast of the demon. "Looks like that stupid fucking asshole Yomi decided to ambush us."
"Or they were trying to sneak around to the back of Yusuke's forces." Hajime's explanation seemed to be the most logical. "We might have just saved dozens of lives."
Daiki grinned maniacally, "Hell yeah we did. Now, let's get the broad to Ko before it's too late. We aren't even close to the appropriate damn portal."
"We must hurry too."
They took off, sprinting across the plains and towards the other side of Makai.
Next in 'Revelation, Defamation':
With war comes death. With death, life is given. Though it may not be purposeful, those that die do so and in turn, protect another from doing the same. Thus, to bring back the undead that sacrificed their souls for another is blasphemous. But she couldn't help herself... Kotone knew they would need him, but she was also selfish. Very selfish...