CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The Thunder Trial
We had reached the top of Himiko's palace. The tip of the giant statue of flames, -the mark of Himiko's line, the Yamatai- was hidden in black clouds; it felt as if I stretched onto my hind legs, I could touch the storm cloud ceiling above us. Lightning flashed in the dark sky above, and I slunk across the platform, being very wary. Out of the clouds appeared creatures in the whirlpool above, storm-spirits. Their blue skin paired with yellow bolts and white hair, monstrous forms hissing and howling just out of reach. My white pelt stood out against the black sky like a flash of lightning itself. A purple-orange image flickered in the corner of my eye, I turned around quickly, my fur on edge. "Who's there?" I called out. Then another light appeared above me, it was fire, purple fire. More flames appeared, and they began to circle ten feet in the air above us, then out of the darkness, something came stalking out of the shadows on the ground. "Hello, pretty deity!"
It was a fox, but larger than any fox I'd ever seen, with an all-white ruff and a single red eye. "I heard rumors that a divine being was roaming the earth once again, and now here you are. You have traveled far to get to my realm, young god. Why don't we talk?"
"Who are you?" I asked, hackles raised. "You know me." The she-fox said, starting to circle me. "Your mother must have told you about Me!" The vixen said in her low growl , putting a paw to her chest. I flattened my ears, she had a horribly evil auric energy pulsing out of her. I searched my mind for a fox, and only one came to mind, but... 'No. That's impossible… It couldn't be?…'
"Maybe this will help." She said, looking up at the purple flames. Suddenly the circling, floating fire came towards her, and I counted them as they passed me. One, two, three, four… There were NINE, suddenly I knew who this fox had to be. "You're- you're Ninetails!" I gasped.
"How can this be?" Both Hiraku and I asked at the same time as I took a step back. "The fox rods granted me -and my power- immortality!" The fox smiled. Her voice was deep, and rich, and beautiful, not as overpowering as my mother had described. "Even after my death, after my master was defeated, my true kitsune spirit survived for all this time!" I noticed that she was slightly see-through, and that she glowed with the purplish light. She was a ghost, but yet… More than a ghost, nearly a living being. How could that be? "Now, let's talk." She said, taking thundering steps towards me across the metal roof. "What about?" My hackles raised. "I know who you are and what you've done. I know that you killed the old head priestess Rao and Queen Himiko just for the sake of power." I growled. "Oh, poor misguided god…" She chided. "Just because power doesn't come from you doesn't mean it's evil. Look at me, I could be attempting to destroy you, but I'm not." That did give me pause. From all the tales I'd heard, Ninetails was a merciless beast, but also a trickster. "I have changed, and I am looking for acceptance…" She promised. "I realize my wrongs, and I repent." The fox said full-heartedly. "I have been trying to piece this fallen city back together." She whimpered, and my solidarity wavered. What if she really meant it? Shadows twisted up from the ground, waving near my ears and whispering. Trying to find their way into my mind. They coaxed at me, murmuring gently for me to let them in. "Trust her… Trust us. Look how she's changed. Look at her power. Trust us..."
"Akime!" Hiraku said sharply, drawing me mostly out of my daze, and I shook my head. He stood in front of me as a little orange beacon amid the pulling shadows that clouded my vision. I focused on him, using his light to help draw back my own thoughts out of the darkness. She was trying to use dark magic to bend me to her will. "I'm really not all that bad," Ninetails said, smiling toothily. The insistent whispers made my head buzz and made me feel discombobulated, but I still had enough strength to fight them. "Y…You're lying." I said, staggering slightly. "What did you say?" She said, suddenly in a defensive position, her face losing its innocent smile. "YOU'RE LYING!" I said louder to be heard over the thunder, my mind clearing with a snap as the shadows fled. "You've murdered countless innocents in your quest for power, and I can tell you haven't had a change of heart!"
Ninetails snarled, one red eye glinting with fury. "Stupid false god!" She said, lunging at me, I jumped over her back and she missed. She tried to turn but the rain-soaked surface made her skid, and her back half slammed into the tall flames behind us with a loud clang. "Do you think you can stand against me, you naive pup? I will dispose of you!" She shrieked, picking herself up from the crash. "What's with this sudden bad attitude Foxy?" Hiraku asked, bouncing on my head, rain pouring down around him and thunder echoed in the distance.
"You're right!" The one-eyed fox suddenly smiled again. "I was lying, I am a power-hungry old witch! I knew not how much you knew of me, so I had to try my previous plan. I was going to use you for your power, yes, but this way is much better than that! Much better, pretty deity! I still have a score to settle with your mother, Amaterasu! And now-" She said, bending low and her tail thrashing. "When I kill you, her pain will be great! An intolerable pain: the death of a child!"
"You sure you want to take us on, Hairball?" Hiraku said, taunting her. "It won't be the first time a demon's underestimated us." Ninetails snarled again. The gleaming, purple fox-fire came together and dived down into her body enveloping her body in purple light, and changed her. We could see her dark shadowy figure transform. She sprouted eight more tails and all the fox tails were hooded, like mother had said, but her fur remained orange and she wore no mask. She stretched and roared, then a green poison spewed from her tails, making me jump back to avoid the acidic puddles. "Prepare yourself for your final battle!" She said, her voice deeper and darker, crouching down deeper, readying her sword and roaring. I bent down into a fighting stance and howled a challenge back to her. Then the battle began.
(AN- Ooooohhhhhh, a fight between Akime and Ninetails! The next chapter will only be the fight and a little after, and for those of whom were wondering, she's so angry because she was only pretending the whole time. And we all know she's good at that, tricking her to gain her trust, like she did to Ammy in the game, except more hasty this time. And yes, in this story Ninetails is a girl. My reasoning: Even though they are shown to have a deep voice and be known as a 'Demon Lord', Issun calls her a 'fox-headed wench' even after taking her true form. And Issun is much better at judging genders than say… Susano, who calls Ammy his 'brother'. The handbook itself once describes Ninetails as female… As well as a 'King'. So actually, she could be interpreted as either gender, even moreso than Ammy, but I personally view her as female, and that's what she is in this. You can skip over "vixen" and change the other pronouns in your head if you'd like. XD It doesn't really have much relevance to the story.)