XXVII
Mortem Desursum
Kouga does not see what it is that strikes him – fang or talon, wing or sharp, dark youki. His eyes are on Ginta and on Hakkaku beside him, and it is in this instant of his distraction, his relief, that he is struck. One moment, his claws are reaching out in front of him, dark with foul blood; the next, he is falling, falling backwards with a red gash of fire ripped across his thigh.
Blood spurts and falls in raining droplets to the ground, and a grunt of pain and surprise passes Kouga's lips. He hears Ginta cry out in horror, but almost at once he feels itching and burning overtake the fire of his wound, and turns in mid-air so that he can see the one who wounded him. It is a female who assails him, gray-skinned, guiltless, her features twisted in fury. She wields a longnaginata and her blade gleams blue with reflected sky and red with reflected blood. Kouga senses danger in her, but fear is overtaking her already.
The slash of her blade should have ripped his leg open to the bone; instead, what she inflicted on him looks like little more than a careless cut – and even as she watches, it begins to close, the skin reaching across the wound, building a bridge of flesh. Kouga sees it too, and smiles.
He is youkai, wolf and Alpha, and he has always been among the strong. He has always regenerated with a smoothness that was to be envied by those with less power, less talent, but this is something new, a swiftness of response that surprises even him. He knows it is because of the shards of the shikon no tama; he had not expected that they would have such an effect, but he is pleased to discover that this is so.
Kouga falls to the ground but lands on his feet, looking up at the female who descends, her weapon poised to slay him, a terrible shriek coming from her lips. The sound hurts Kouga worse than the slash of her weapon, and he winces and then glares up at his opponent and sends a flare of youki to attack.
Too slow -
He knows it even before she dodges, and is moving. It is more than just running-speed that the shikon no tama is adding to his self – speed of motion, speed of reaction, speed of perception, speed of decision – all have increased. He faces his foe in midair and senses other attacks coming toward him – the leader twins moving in his direction and the few remaining harpies spread in a crescent shape that would hit him first.
Too slow.
This time, the thought brings a grin with it. It is time to show them power – time to show them why he, Kouga, is the youngest Alpha of wolves that has ever been. Why he is the Ookami prince – the leader among leaders, the strongest of the strong.
As he did when he left on his way to the village, Kouga steps. Bare earth – raw mountainside – air. It doesn't matter. Like that lizard which is capable of running on the surface of the water, he makes his way up, so fast that his feet gain purchase on nothing and send him upward to nowhere.
He attacks from above, like the falcon might the starling, and in doing so he takes his foes completely by surprise. They are the ones who ambush from the air, who dive and take what they wish, a price in blood and torment. This is not something for which they are prepared – not at all.
The first blows of his claws, Kouga directs at the female who wounded him. He slashes upward and inward, reaches for vital organs, tears them free from visceral flesh. The scream the harpy makes pours now like syrup into his ears, thick, sweet – luscious. His grin grows wider, gains gleam – presence – darkness -
He leaps upward again, from the harpy's torn and falling body, and with his second attack clears the skies of all his foes but one. Kouga's claws skitter away from the feathers of the leader twins; the great gaping maw of grinning bird's flesh shudders under the blow, but he cannot cut it, cannot penetrate the defense built from the same power he himself carries.
A/N: So late, so late, to this very important date...with a bunch of waiting readers! Eek! Daily updates are harder than I thought, the world doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me. Of course, being awake for two days and then sleeping for a day does make the world more of a pain that usual...still! I protest! Ahem. Now let's see...one more chapter is forthcoming this evening, worry not...since this is technically the chapter of July 1. Ah...oh! And this chapter's title, "Mortem Desursum", translates to "death from above". Much thanks to all ye reviewers; onward we go!
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