Chapter Fourteen

Rikuou had heard of the Daidarabotchi when he was in school. He hadn't thought that it was real, but the giant dark face that stared down at them was very real. As had the mountains that formed around them, destroying the village and Ship of the Moon and closing them in.

It was an earth demon powerful enough to help hide Tsukiko, and he was more powerful than Kokuyo and Hisui. But Kei—she commanded it. She commanded a demon that could change landscapes like moving stones on a go board. She was the real threat…but the Daidarabotchi was the one who could cause the most damage to them.

"Hmmmm…" The Daidarabotchi hummed, and leaned backwards away from them. The voice was low and gutteral, but thunderous. Hearing the Daidarabotchi make a soundwas one of the most surreal experiences of Rikuou's life.

"Daidarabotchi!" Kei called out in a singsong voice. Hearing his sister's murderer use such a tone filled Rikuou with rage. "These are the bad people who stole Kazahaya away from me! Kill them!"

"Kei, NO!" Kazahaya screamed.

The Daidarabotchi raised his right hand and brought it down upon one of the mountains it had created. It cracked and suddenly there was a landslide. A landslide of ROCKS coming down upon them!

"SHIT!" Kokuyo shouted. He grabbed Hisui and Rikuou squeezed Kazahaya's hand as he scooped down to pick up Tsukiko. He slid an arm under her shoulder-blades, but he stiffened as he was overwhelmed by a numbing, painful sensation. Tsukiko, she…she was still warm.

"Rikuou!" Hisui screamed. Rikuou looked up, but shouted when he felt a painful blast of energy from behind. He fell forward onto Tsukiko's body, but as he scrambled back into a seated position he was seized by the arm and suddenly found himself airborne. He looked up and saw Kokuyo flying with his battered wings, his expression grim. He held Hisui by one arm and Rikuou by the other. Rikuou looked down and saw that he was holding Tsukiko.

It took him only a second to realize that he was no longer holding onto Kazahaya. "Kazahaya!"

"He's alive!" Kokuyo shouted as he swept towards the ground. "That girl won't let anything bad happen to him!"

Rikuou frantically looked towards the ground, and he saw that the area where they had been standing was now covered with large rocks and boulders. He also saw that Kei had Kazahaya by the arm. "LET HIM GO!" he shouted.

The Daidarabotchi slapped a giant hand against the ground, and the earth trembled. Jagged rock suddenly shot skywards towards them, and Kokuyo dived to the side to avoid being impaled. He had to dive again when another set of jagged rocks stabbed towards them. The third nearly stabbed Rikuou in the leg, and he almost dropped Tsukiko.

"KEI, STOP!" Kazahaya screamed over and over again below them. "DON'T HURT THEM, PLEASE!"

"I'm not trying to hurt them, Kazahaya!" Rikuou heard Kei respond to him. "I'm trying to kill them!"

Kazahaya let out a anguished scream, and it tore Rikuou apart on the inside. He looked down towards Kazahaya, and his eyes widened when he saw Kazahaya swing his fist back and sock his twin sister in the face!

"DAIDARABOTCHI-DONO!" Kazahaya shouted. He couldn't reach the earth demon because of the wall of rocks created by the massive landslide. "Daidarabotchi-dono, my name is Kudo Kazahaya! I'm a Kudo just like Kei! I have the blood of a Karasu-Tengu in my body like Kei! PLEASE!" he waved his arms frantically. "As one earth demon to another—please don't kill the people I love!"

The Daidarabotchi stared at Kazahaya. His face was blank so Rikuou didn't know if the Daidarabotchi was stunned or annoyed by Kazahaya's pleas. Kokuyo started to sweep towards the ground when Kei scrambled to her feet, tears streaming down her cheeks as she nursed her injured cheek. "Daidarabotchi, KILL THEM!" she shrieked.

The Daidarabotchi raised his arm as they touched down upon the rocks. Not knowing what else to do, Rikuou focused upon the Daidarabotchi's hand with all his might. He screamed as he strained with all his might. Please…!

A loud 'crunch' filled the air, and the Daidarabotchi's giant face twisted in pain. The earth demon opened his massive mouth and let out a terrible roar as he clutched his hurt hand to his chest. The world around them shook violently, and in the distance trees toppled over in the forest from his cry.

Rikuou let out the breath he was holding. It worked?! but he didn't feel reassured. He laid Tsukiko down and dropped to his knees to help Kazahaya up onto the rocks as Kokuyo took flight, screaming something akin to a battlecry as black energy formed between his hands.

The Daidarabotchi however was now enraged, and swatted at Kokuyo with his uninjured hand. He made contact, and the demon of Hell was sent flying. "KOKUYO!" Hisui shrieked.

"YES!" Kei screamed behind them. "KILL THEM ALL!"

"Kei, please stop this!" Kazahaya screamed.

"They must die," Kei rasped. "They stole you from me, Kazahaya! You are no longer mine! So I will KILL everyone that you love so that you only love me!"

The Daidarabotchi picked up a large boulder in his hand, roughly the length of a passenger plane, and threw it straight at them. There was no way they could dodge it. Not knowing what else to do, Rikuou screamed and put as much force behind his scream as he could. To his shock and relief, the large boulder erupted in cracks and exploded into smaller but yet still large rocks. The pieces flew in every direction, but they were small enough to dodge. "Kazahaya, DUCK!" Rikuou shouted, grabbing Hisui and Tsukiko and scrambling off the rocks.

The Daidarabotchi was still yelling and started crawling towards them, slamming his injured hand and uninjured hand into the ground with his pursuit. Each time he slammed his hand into the rocks and ground he buried his arm up to his elbow, leaving a massive and seemingly bottomless chasm in his wake.

Rikuou didn't know how they were going to get out of this. They were alone on an isolated mountain with a earth demon that could change landscapes at will, and he was at the command of a murderous girl. The Daidarabotchi was bearing down upon them, and when it slammed its left hand into the ground again, it was just meters away. The boulders created from the landslide trembled and cascaded into the chasm it created, leaving the open ground before them.

"Where is Kokuyo?" Hisui wondered aloud, looking around them frantically. He raised his hands. "Daidarabotchi! I am an Archangel of Heaven! I am not your enemy! WE are not your enemies!"

The Daidarabotchi reached out his hand towards Hisui, but Rikuou knew that it was with malicious intent and not in peace. But before he could react, Kazahaya pushed Hisui out of the way. "STOP THIS!" he shrieked.

The Daidarabotchi was still reaching towards Kazahaya. Rikuou set Tsukiko down again and grabbed Kazahaya, dragging him away. "Leave us alone!" he shouted.

"DAIDARABOTCHI!" Kei shouted, hurrying towards them. "THAT IS KAZAHAYA! IF YOU HURT HIM, I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!"

The Daidarabotchi's brow twitched, and his hand went still. His giant face was still blank, but…but his large eyes. Rikuou thought he saw rage in his gaze.

"Good!" Kei snapped, coming to a stop. "Now kill Himura Rikuou this instant!"

"NO!" Kazahaya shouted.

The Daidarabotchi swung his arm back high. Hisui threw himself between Kazahaya and Rikuou and pushed them away. "You'll hurt these boys over my dead body!" he shouted, grunting with pain.

"That's the point!" Kei said, laughing. "You're all going to—"

The Daidarabotchi swung his arm back down, slamming his hand into the ground so hard that he buried his arm up to his shoulder. The world shook, and the ground gave way as though it had turned to liquid and spilled into the chasm. It rapidly expanded towards them, but they were grabbed from behind and dove out the way. Rikuou looked over his shoulders and saw Kokuyo. "I'm grounded!" the demon of Hell grunted. "But I can catch a little air!"

"Daidarabotchi!" Kei shrieked. Rikuou looked back towards them and he saw that though they got away from the expanding chasm, Kei did not. He watched as the ground opened beneath Kei's feet, and he watched the girl's mouth and eyes go wide as she fell into the chasm screaming.

"KEI!" Kazahaya shrieked. He pulled away from the group and scrambled towards the chasm as the Daidarabotchi withdrew his arm from the ground. Rikuou pulled away and ran after Kazahaya. "Kazahaya, WAIT!"

"KEI! KEIIIIIIIII!" Kazahaya continued shrieking. He ran around the perimeter of the hole that the Daidarabotchi had created, disregarding the earth demon as he fell to his knees on the side where Kei had fallen. As Rikuou approached, he saw Kazahaya sit there stunned on his knees. Then he saw Kazahaya throw himself onto his belly and stretch his arm into the chasm. Rikuou dropped to his knees beside Kazahaya and looked down.

Kei was still alive. Kei was hanging onto a rock embedded into the side of the chasm three meters below them. Her injured hand hung limp at her side. She was staring up at them with a blank expression. Below her was nothing but darkness; a bottomless pit.

"Kei…Kei!" Kazahaya shouted, straining with all his might towards her. But she was too far away for him to reach her.

Rikuou heard Kokuyo and Hisui come up behind them and he looked over his shoulder. "C…Can you fly down?" he asked Kokuyo. Once the question left his mouth he was left stunned. He almost couldn't believe that he was asking Kokuyo to save the person who murdered his sister.

But…But…Kei is Kazahaya's sister!

Kokuyo looked into the chasm as Hisui knelt down on Kazahaya's other side. He shook his head. "If I go down there…I won't be able to fly back up," he said grimly. "Not while my wings are in the condition that they are."

Rikuou knew that Hisui was also in no shape to fly. He looked up at the Daidarabotchi. "OI!" he shouted. "Can you help her?!"

The Daidarabotchi responded by turning around to reach for another boulder. "Damn!" Kokuyo shouted, and he raced towards the earth demon.

"I-I have to help him," Hisui whispered, looking at the boys. "Kazahaya-kun—"

"Just go!" Kazahaya grunted. "Stop Daidarabotchi-dono before he does more damage!"

Hisui scrambled to his feet and hurried after Kokuyo. Kazahaya's upper body was now dipped into the chasm, and Rikuou grabbed the back hem of his pants to stop him from falling into. "K…Kei!" he grunted. "Please…Please hold on!"

Rikuou stared between the twins, and he looked back in the direction where Tsukiko's body was laying on the ground. His heart was in his throat. Something…a part of him didn't want to save Kei. She had tried to kill him, and did kill Tsukiko, and was responsible for completely destroying Rikuou's life.

But…But she was Kazahaya's sister. Even after every horrible thing she had done, and all the people she had killed…he couldn't completely hate her. He couldn't hate her, because Kazahaya couldn't hate her. They had shared the same womb, and their powers mirrored each other. And Kazahaya loved her.

He loves her. He cannot help BUT love her because she is his family. I cannot let her slip away and die.

Rikuou swallowed hard and looked away from his sister. He leaned down and spoke into Kazahaya's ear. "I'm going to lower you down by your ankles. Grab Kei with both hands and I'll pull you both up."

Kazahaya quickly looked up at him. "Rikuou…?"

"I know," Rikuou responded, answering what was unspoken. What didn't need to be said. "We'll…deal with that later. First, let's get your sister out of there."

Tears filled Kazahaya's eyes and spilled down his cheeks. Before Rikuou could react he leaned up and kissed Rikuou on the mouth. Rikuou was stunned to suddenly receive a kiss from Kazahaya like this, and their lips held for a long moment before he pulled away. "Thank you," he whispered.

Rikuou smiled back and looked into the chasm at Kei. "Did you catch all that?" he called down to her. "Kazahaya will be right there."

Kei stared up at them, her blank face suddenly changing. Varying emotions crossed her face so quickly that Rikuou could not define them. She didn't say a word to them as she looked between the two boys.

Then…Kei's eyes fell upon Kazahaya, and held his gaze for a long moment. Then, she smiled. It was a serene smile that reached her eyes, almost of joy. For a fraction of a second, Rikuou felt relieved.

Then Kei let go.

Kazahaya screamed—a horrfying, anguished shrieking scream—and he almost dove into the chasm like he was about to dive into a pool. Rikuou caught him just in time and held him tight as Kei began to free-fall. Kei didn't scream again. She didn't make any sound. Her face was unchanging from her smile as the darkness swallowed her. There was no sound of impact. Just the whoosh of empty air.

Kazahaya continued screaming, clawing at the ground so frantically that he broke his fingernails. The screams eventually broke off into wheezing wailing as the realization began to settle in. Rikuou continued hanging on to the other boy as he struggled in his arms, his stomach churning and his eyes burning.

In just a short span of time, they both lost their only family.

Kazahaya gritted his teeth, and Rikuou could hear another wail building in his throat. But at that moment a giant hand closed around them, trapping them in a fist.