LXXVI
Lex Talionis
Outside the mountains, the snow is a vanishing cover no thicker than a single quilt. Patches of green appear here and there, drawing the eye with their promise. It's the season for plum blossoms, and Kagome amuses herself looking for them as she races across the countryside at Kouga's side. Shippou sits balanced on her shoulder, at first amazed at her speed, equal to the Alpha's – and then curious as to how she gained such power. Kagome only smiles and shakes her head, not wanting to give him ideas.
It's a curious problem, which she knows she'll have to deal with eventually, but as much as she feels for Shippou, Kagome isn't yet sure that she can trust him. It isn't that he's yōkai, though that's part of it – folklore and fifteen hundred years of culture have filled her with ideas about Kitsune. He's a trickster, and brave, but he's so tiny, and she doesn't want to tempt him with the possibility of wishes that might only work for her. She doesn't want to draw his attention to powers that aren't to be shared, especially when her fingers are still marked by his teeth.
Though it isn't likely, it's possible that even when he has his revenge, Shippou will continue seeking the shards. The more he knows of their power, of how simple it seems to be to access it, the more likely it is that he'll continue desiring something that's not meant to be his. It worries her that he was so capable of planning a theft like he did; that as young as he is, his instinct is for revenge and destruction, to take what he can and use it for himself. He didn't succeed, but that wasn't for lack of trying, or even because his plan was particularly terrible. If he was older or stronger, he might have succeeded, considering how far he got.
She isn't certain if that makes the whole thing better, or worse.
"Kagome, we're close! The valley you can see ahead, between the hill and the mountain, that's Raimei Valley. That's where they live!" Chipper, but tense, Shippou's voice sounds next to her ear, and Kagome slows reflexively, reaching out a hand to tug at Kouga's when he makes to keep charging forward.
"Stop, stop! We shouldn't just rush in there like this."
"Why not?" Kouga stares at her, surprised.
"Yeah, why not?"
Kagome prods Shippou in the side, aware that he knows the echo is unnecessary. "Shush, you. You've done your part. Kouga, I can't draw my bow at a full run, and it's not strung because we are running, so let's stop and see if we can figure out where they are before we go racing in like idiots."
Kouga blinks at her, then shrugs. "Makes sense. But don't take too long, the longer we wait trying to find them, the more chance there is for them to find us."
With one deep breath after another, Kagome calms herself, using the now-familiar ritual of stringing her bow to focus. As Miroku taught her, and instinct recommends, she sinks into half a trance, feeling out tendrils of power, auras and their insinuations. "I don't think that will be a problem. They're not far. Almost too close, but not right on top of us yet. They're above us, but not on wings, and they have….two…four…five shards of the shikon no tama between them. But I thought…" Her fingers pause, and then she lets the bowstring snap into place before she continues, testing the draw with two fingers. "I thought there were two brothers. Why are the shards in three places? Not just like you've done, Kouga, putting them around your body. I mean in different…beings."
Apparently uncertain, Kouga shakes his head, clenching and unclenching the fingers of his right hand. "I don't know. I know of only two, Hiten and Manten. Hiten is the elder, and also the more powerful. Far more dangerous, from what I've heard, but that isn't really much. They like lightning attacks, shape their youki into them – that's why they're Thunder Brothers. The shorter one is Manten; the taller one is Hiten. They like violence, destruction, and beautiful females, but that's all I know." He shrugs. "Anyway, I've got three shards of my own and you, Kagome. If you can see where they are, let me know as soon as you-"
"Shh. They're here. Overhead!" The breath is shocked out of her as Kouga snatches her around the waist and darts to one side. There's a flicker, sky to ground, and then a great, blue crackling bolt of electricity strikes the ground where they were standing a moment before. The thunder comes a moment after, loud enough that Kouga winces, and Kagome's hands dart up to cover her ears reflexively, almost dropping her bow.
Despite those things, she hears Shippou's scream clearly. "Murderers! Give me back my father! Give him back!"
In the instant of quiet that follows, when everything is still, Kouga steps forward, looking up in search of their opponents. "Hiten! Manten! You have some things that don't belong to you."
Danger flickers at the edge of Kouga's awareness, a hard wire of adrenaline sharpening his senses in a way he hasn't felt in ages. That bolt had come almost too fast to be dodged. Only the fact that Kagome had warned him what direction to expect the attack from had saved all three of them. That the attack came without announcement or taunts merely reinforces that these aren't the kind of enemy that he's used to. Still, he's come for a reason, and though he doesn't have his pack behind him, he has faith in his own strength. In Kagome's strength, and the way she stands with him, back to back against the danger.
Slowly, a barrier flares in the air around them, a dome of radiance that cuts the ambient ozone with sweeter air. Kouga looks back at her out of the corner of his eye. "How many will it take?"
"Like that one? Maybe three. Stronger? Who knows." But a glint brighter than the lightning is in her eyes, and his pride in her focus is immense. "It'll at least be a warning. That's all you need, right?"
Her trust defies him to be equal to it, and Kouga will never allow himself to fail her. "That's all I need."
A malicious, simpering voice interrupts. "Aren't they cute, brother? But I want the woman, and the wolf's pelt for my collection."
"Don't get hasty, Manten, she doesn't look like anything special. As for the pelt, let's see how clean the kill is, and check it for fleas first."
Kouga only has time to narrow his eyes before his attention is drawn behind him. A ball of fire sits on Kagome's shoulder, the wavering brilliance pulsing in Shippou's hands, throbbing in time with his fury. It flies away from him at high speed, aimed toward the sound of their still-invisible foes, hiding in the cloud cover. It's impressive, for a kit, but it's not enough to do anything to such an enemy, and the Thunder Brothers prove it with the easy way they deflect the burst back down at them, laughing.
It dissipates harmlessly against Kagome's shield, and Kouga squeezes her hand, glaring at the clouds. "Ten seconds, Kagome. The sky will be clear, and you'll have a clear shot." He gives himself a moment to take in her nod, how firm it is, and spares a glance for Shippou. "You too, kit. Give it all you've got." One. He spins away from them, so quickly that they blur into indistinct muddles of color. He gives himself three steps to gather the whirlwind, another half dozen to intensify it – and then he's off, racing across the battlefield and back again, dragging the clouds from the sky. Two. Lightning crackles at the borders of the cyclone he's created, but Kouga is the eye of the storm, controlling the currents of the wind with his footsteps, the angle of his body, the pulse of his yōki, the direction of his race across the valley floor.
Three. He hears a shout of irritation and a second voice echoing it with a curse as he exposes their opponents, dares a glance upward away from the path in front of him and smirks to himself. Four. The sky is a sheet of blue without borders, the glare of the spring sun brightening the new grass underfoot. Five. Kouga gives himself one second of stillness for the whirlwind to disperse, chooses his prey then rockets back across the valley.
Six. Kagome's arrow is on the string, tracking their foes, ready to be let loose, only the target undecided. The kit is brewing fire between his palms, but before either of them can attack, Kouga's kick strikes Manten in the back of the neck. Seven. Quick as a thought, his other leg rises, smashes across the side of Manten's face and jerks his head around so hard it's a miracle it isn't ripped right off.
Eight. One more blow, the full weight of his heel against the thin, wavering trio of hairs sprouting from the wide, bald head, and Kouga bears Manten down to the ground. Nine. Hiten stares at him, rage cresting in his eyes, but before the wave can break, Kouga uses the momentum of his impact to push himself up, soaring across the distance between them in an instant.
Ten. A blast of yōki erupts from Kouga's open palm, and Hiten manages to dodge, but the follow-up fist catches him in the solar plexus, forces the air out of his lungs and drives him back across the sky. The wheels of fire at his heels spark and wail in protest, but there's no stopping Kouga's attack when he's had time to build up speed like this. Grinning smugly, Kouga lets gravity reassert its control over his body, dropping to the ground at Kagome's side as she lets her arrow fly.
"Stupid woman, as if that could –!" The glow of the hama no ya comes out of nowhere, lighting when the arrow is already in flight. Snarling, Hiten knocks it away, but even so little contact is enough for him to regret it. Raw burns stand out on his palm, glistening for a moment with energy that seeks to take root in his flesh and dissolve it to nothing. "A miko?" Something flickers in his eyes, his expression – not quite fear, but moving in that direction. "Looks like you've got better taste then I thought, Manten!"
Silence answers him, louder than words. Slowly, higher in the sky than before, black clouds are gathering over Hiten's head. "Hey little brother, what are you playing at? No slacking off, lazy bastard, if you weren't family I'd have killed you already!" His breath, his deep swallow, is audible. "Manten? Come on, now –"
Thick as the threatening smell of rain, the burning tingle of ozone on the tip of his tongue, Kouga tastes the silence and shakes his head, almost pitying his enemy. He gives Kagome a warning glance, and steps forward alone to prod the lifeless lump that was Manten with his foot. "Are you that stupid, Hiten? He's dead, and you're next."
A vicious sneer contorts the surviving Thunder Brother's face, twisting his features into something colder and more reptilian than his dead sibling's. "You – who are you?" The clouds overhead are tainted with yōki, not just black but boiling indigo. Lightning crackles on Hiten's skin, in his hair, at the tip of his weapon. "Who the hell are you?"
Proud, unrepentant, the Wolf lifts his head. "Kouga."
"The Alpha of Echigo." Somehow, that terrible sneer intensifies. "But that doesn't tell me what you're doing here on my land, killing my brother!" Hiten screams his rage, and the storm breaks with the sound, unleashing a deluge and fist sized hailstones, while the lightning strikes around them, blinding and unrestrained. A half dozen bolts impact Kagome's barrier, crashing against it with a furious sound. Kouga watches it out of the corner of one wary eye, unwilling to leave her unprotected if it falls even as he dodges himself. The electricity in the air is drawn to the metal in his armor. He curses himself for not thinking of that before he'd chosen to wear it, but it's too late now.
One after another, the blue-violet bolts come down, shattering the earth wherever they hit. Through the thunder and hail and the sound of rock breaking, he still hears Kagome scream behind him, sees the liquid wavering of her barrier growing paler as her concentration fails. Damn it. A little at a time, the circumference of the glittering dome is shrinking, succumbing to the elemental barrage.
Hiten's shadow moves in the near distance, silhouetted against the thunderous sky. "That you would dare… To my beloved little brother…" There's a flash, and Kouga takes a full step backwards at the sight it reveals. "I will never, ever forgive you." One of Hiten's hands digs deep in his brother's chest. With the other, he scoops a pair of shikon shards from Manten's forehead. Without pausing, he tosses the glittering pieces down his throat, then rips his other hand free of his brother's body, and lifts Manten's motionless heart to his mouth. Long canines sink deep into the flesh, and Kouga makes a moue of distaste.
"So you're that kind of guy, huh? But I guess you don't value other people's kin the same as your own, do you?" A red light wakes in Hiten's eyes, and the wheels on his feet spark violently, but he doesn't move. "Killed any Kitsune lately? Did you stop to think about his kid? I came for Shippou's sake, not just the shards that belong to my woman. I told you, you have things that don't belong to you. I'm taking them back."
Slowly, arrogance in every movement, Hiten swallows the last of his brother's heart and wipes a hand across his mouth, then bends over Manten's corpse one last time. When he stands again, it's with a fox skin tied across his chest, wrapped right around his body. "No, Wolf, you won't be taking anything else from me."
As he speaks, the lightning strikes again, but this time it comes surging from the point of his lance in a screaming cerulean bolt. It's too fast, too unexpected, coming during that last word. By the time Kouga plants his foot, it's already too late. All he can do is try to dodge, make the blast less likely to be fatal – and even as he's thinking that, beginning to move, he stumbles into stillness. Barrier or no barrier, Kagome is behind him. Behind him. The arc of Hiten's power is enormous, inescapable – how can he leave her to face it alone?
He meets the lightning head on.
A/N:This chapter's title, Lex Talionis, means the law of retaliation! I shall now…scramble for the hills and hide in the cliff I just built there. WOO! Next time: The One Who Walks Away…and a message from beyond the grave!
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