Chapter Sixty

Straight Panic

Part 3 of 3

 

 

"I'll deal with them," Nekohiko whispered. "Nothing else I want but to pay them back."

Yakabe's arm snapped against his chest, blocking his way. "No. Keep your head clear. We need reinforcements."

"We do not! They're not even Binders--"

The Dark Sisters used some strange by-products of Binding -- the talismans and the amulets and the hidden magics of outside of Spirit activity that most Binders would never care for. Simply because such magics were weaker and not very versatile and would naturally corrupt its users into Spiritual exhaustion. But the Dark Sisters didn't care about all that. They experienced no downsides to their Binding and thus could tap into whichever magic this world held.

For example, that one Dark Sister who had horrified him so much when he was a child was a warrior trained in martial arts which complemented her weaker form of magic.

But by now, Nekohiko wouldn't as useless against her. He had trained and he had honed his fighting techniques for years.

He was not a tearful, scared child anymore. 

Nekohiko alone should be fine dealing with a few random Dark Sisters, let alone with Yakabe by his side.

And yet...

"Never underestimate the opponent." Yakabe already flicked his fingers to send a Wind Whisper to Kazuragi.

But then, a trace of bafflement colored his face paler. Rushing, he repeated the same gesture, and once again.

Swift and smooth, his hands then flipped to assemble a Nagare danger alarm spell, but nothing happened either.

"...Lord Yakabe?"

Even without needing to be explained, Nekohiko also gestured a few signs to call for help with his Nagare spells -- yet nothing came out of it.

He gaped, stunned, at his hands which couldn't grasp or reach any of the Nagare spells no matter how he tried.

"Jump!" Yakabe snapped. He grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved both of them off the bridge and into the lake water. The dash into it took all breath out of Nekohiko.

The black, chilly water with the blurs of spooked fish suddenly reminded him of a deep dark well into which he had once been dragged. Only back then, beside him was Abihiko.

Now -- only Yakabe. He should have felt much safer with the Lord of the Sky beside him, yet he didn't. Part of him only felt safe when Abihiko was near, regardless of their power levels or prowess.

The lake was deep enough that they had plunged full-height inside. In the filtered darkness lit up only by the splashes of performance lights in the sky, Yakabe's pale face amidst his floating long hair had such a grim look. He gazed upward to the surface of the lake, frenzied thoughts evident in his glazed eyes.

He was still clenching Nekohiko's wrist in his fingers. He yanked him closer, then cast one of the simple Towa spells that changed one's swimming speed to those of a fish or a water Spirit.

Now the two of them had a chance to escape the encirclement. Sinuously like the mer-Spirits, Yakabe pulled Nekohiko to slice through the water alongside him as they hurried to get away.

The Nagare powers do not work, his voice Bound into Nekohiko's ears. I am not as proficient with the other House techniques, but I can cast at least some. You?

Stricken, Nekohiko gawked at him. He couldn't comprehend.

The Nagare powers didn't work?

Why?

How?!

That was the only Binding technique he had ever had a grasp on apart from the basic Imperial Fusion! But... how would one even fight or escape with Fusion?! Fusion was more of a passive skillset, needing time and focus to create things, not to use them in battles!

If his Nagare spells couldn't work, was he essentially... useless now?

In the distance under the black water, silvery explosions of bubbles surged up when several bodies plunged into the lake.

Dark Sisters? 

Of course not. Only the ghouls they'd sent after the escapees. But the ghouls were good enough because they would do anything their puppet-masters wanted them to. They would not tire, would not drown, would not get distracted from their task unless given an order. And with so many of them coming from all the sides, it became clear very fast:

Nekohiko and Yakabe had to fight them under the water to have even the flimsiest chance of escape.

Not even thinking about fighting to defeat the enemy. No. Only fighting to break through their tightening circle -- nothing more.

But... how?!

The only way the Nagare powers would fail is if there are several Nagare casters in the area who block all our attempts to reach Nagare Spirits! Yakabe told Nekohiko through the Binding link in the water.

Nekohiko barely understood what he said.

He had heard that the specific Lord's powers could be blocked. Either the Legendary Spirit of that Lord refused to connect with the Binder. Or the Lord himself could deny some user his techniques... Or sometimes -- if a big enough group of powerful Binders made an array within which they would block anyone's use of that one technique.

But only the most powerful users of that technique could do that.

Which meant exactly what Yakabe had said: only many prominent Nagare Binders could make an array big enough and strong enough to cut off any usage of Nagare inside it.

And who could be stronger than the Lord of the Skies himself like Yakabe was?

Nobody!

Nekohiko wanted to ask but Yakabe was too busy fighting. Himself, Nekohiko scarcely escaped being snatched by all the ghouls coming onto them.

Yakabe sent a flurry of Towa, Hira, Utsuro, Hisome spells to call for help, but all of them were bound to fail, Nekohiko knew. Yakabe's use of them wasn't so good that he could do anything other than a small signal of light and noise into the nightly sky above the lake.

Yet the light performance high in the skies and the loud, roaring music of the Parade play would negate any attempts to catch anyone's attention.

On the contrary, Yakabe's attacking spells were weak but at least efficient. He snapped his hands, sending wavelike Towa spells inside the lake to push back the ghouls. Alas, he had no access to the advanced techniques of the other Lords, otherwise this fight would be over in a flash.

Nekohiko fled just behind him while Yakabe disposed of the oncoming ghouls as best he could. 

And there were just so many...

A chaotic, incomprehensible skirmish in the turbulent waters. The whole lake was frothing with bodies diving into it.

Peasants, priests, shopkeepers, tourists, even some girls from the Parade earlier -- all had turned into dazed, mindless ghouls puppeted by the Dark Sisters.

Nekohiko lunged when another rigid hand lashed at his throat to grab him. One small maneuver -- and Nekohiko seized the attacker's arm. He kicked them backward, the arm breaking in his grip from the force.

The ghoul hardly reacted.

They were nasty, and nastily fast. Flashy, colorful robes and long hair waved in the water as the ghoul assault constricted around him and Yakabe. No matter how swiftly Nekohiko and Yakabe swam, and no matter how good Yakabe was at keeping them away -- the ghouls were just too many.

Down! Yakabe ordered, and Nekohiko followed his lead to the bottom of the lake.

Once touching the silt with his feet, Yakabe smashed his fist into the ground. It was just a minor Hira spell, but one used so creatively --

The silt rose in a fuming cloud that filled the entirely of the water in the lake. A thick, opaque cloud of sand. Seeing anything past one's nose became impossible.

The ghouls would lose them here and keep fighting other ghouls, groping blindly in the roiling waters.

Luckily, Nekohiko held on to Yakabe tightly, and the two of them didn't lose each other in the sand cloud. With only the propelling Towa water spell, Yakabe clutched Nekohiko to himself and pushed both of them up -- and out of the water.

In a powerful tide, they sprang to the mossy bank. Nekohiko's feet slipped but he steadied himself, awash with panic.

Where were they?

Which part of the orchard?!

The lake had an elongated, twisty shape and several channels branching out of the main body. Shaken, wet, cold in the early Spring air, Nekohiko swung his head left and right to see where exactly they had ended up. 

Only the dark silhouettes of the trees and the incessant noise and garish explosions of the light performance above came to his sight.

Yakabe was busy launching an endless sequence of spells to snake through the trees and find help wherever. Though the light show was distracting, someone was bound to take note of Yakabe's casting.

And someone did. From beyond the trees, a cloaked, hooded figure saw Yakabe and Nekohiko stumble up the slope of the bank. Under this person's feet loomed the edge of the blocking array for Nagare powers.

The person flinched, then turned around, screaming:

"They're here! Nao! Nao -- kill him!"

Yakabe's head whipped in the man's direction. His jaw set hard and stiff. Yet his hands cast just as smoothly as ever.

"Hello, second uncle," Yakabe told him right before he flung an arrow of Hira fire at him. "Are there many other Nagare family members around?"

Nagare family members? Oh wow.

Now the Nagare family members aided Usurper in assassination attempts at Nekohiko, apparently. Just... great.

Nekohiko panted, watching the man bitterly.

The man had no choice but to use his own Binding to dispel Yakabe's attack on him. A very obvious aura imprint of a full-blooded Nagare Binder flashed in the air. If this was some bizarre crime scene, this person had just left his personal footprint right in the center of it.

This person didn't have much to lose now, did he?

The Nagare uncle quickly assembled a destructive Nagare blast in his hands, aiming for--

Oddly, not at Nekohiko. The man was aiming strictly at Yakabe...

Nekohiko ducked to the side, rolling over his back through the bushes. Swift, snappy, Yakabe sliced down several closest plum tree trunks. His hits would never reach his opponent with how weakened he was -- but he could reuse his hiding maneuver from earlier.

The cut-down trees crashed into each other, the massive canopies obstructing the view to Yakabe and Nekohiko -- leaving the attacking Nagare man blindsided.

Nekohiko used the basic Imperial fusion to mold his feet with the ground so that his footsteps were soundless. Then he dashed past the falling trees and toward the man. He had to undo the Nagare restricting array and free his and Yakabe's Binding!

The man jolted when Nekohiko jumped at him from the side. Nekohiko slammed his boot under the man's knees, displacing him -- but the man already cast a repelling strike right at Nekohiko's chest.

Alas -- too late.

Yakabe flew at him from the above, wet hair and clothes flapping. Even without the Nagare powers, he was the image of a stormy god. Instead of reaching for the array to break it, he lay his palm on the Second Nagare uncle's head.

He cast a strange, unfamiliar spell Nekohiko had never seen. Yet just by what the spell did, he knew which House it belonged to.

Utsuro.

A sickening crack got to Nekohiko's ears.

The Second Nagare uncle spasmed. Then, from under Yakabe's hand the man slowly slid down to his knees. The man's head was cracked in half like a wooden doll's would by an ax.

The Splitting spell.

Nekohiko's heaves hastened as he slowly dragged himself to his feet. Gods, but he was shaking so hard, his teeth couldn't meet.

He watched, mesmerized, as Yakabe gave their surroundings a matter-of-fact look. The last of the trees he'd cut only now collapsed to the ground, sending waves of woodchip and leaves at Nekohiko's face.

"Shouldn't we lift the array?" Nekohiko asked.

Yakabe turned, wary. "It's broken now that its caster is dead," he replied, lifting his hand to his eyes to try and cast the simplest of Nagare spells.

Yet still -- nothing.

Confusion flickered on Yakabe's face as he rolled the fallen man off the array with his foot. "Wait--" he said. "Why is it still in effect?"

Instantly, he directed an Utsuro Splitting spell at the array, but the array shifted right under his aim. When Yakabe tried to step over it so that it wouldn't trap him inside any longer -- it shifted to keep him and Nekohiko within its boundary.

Somebody was still controlling this spell.

To exhibit such control of a spell that's already been cast -- its Binder had to still be alive. Still be able to manipulate his magic that fed into the array.

With creeping horror, Nekohiko saw the Second Uncle's body -- with his head split in half and his brain matter slowly leaking through the gash -- began moving again.

 

---

***

 

"Dark Sisters!" Nekohiko cried.

Yakabe jumped out of the way of the Second Nagare uncle's clawing hand. Though a raised ghoul, the Second Nagare uncle was fast and unlike the other ghouls that still flailed in the sand-roiled lake, this man -- was a Binder.

And he could Bind almost as well as he'd done when alive.

He flung a live lightning bolt at Yakabe, which Yakabe dodged only barely. And another one -- and a slashing gust of cold wind that sucked all breathable air out of the area Yakabe was in. Like before, the man was solely set on getting to Yakabe and paid no attention to Nekohiko.

Nekohiko used that.

He ripped the wide sash off his waist and swung it at the ghoul, catching his disfigured head in it like inside a sack. One tiny Fusion spell, and the sash melted into the man's skin, cutting off his vision. At least for now. If the man couldn't aim, he wouldn't attack, yes?

They had enough time to run away!

Yakabe threw a small repelling spell at the Second uncle, and blinded, the ghoul tripped down amidst the fallen tree trunks. But just as Yakabe rushed to him to Split off his limbs so he couldn't move --

Nekohiko gasped.

A staggering pain exploded through his right ankle. A cold, ruthless touch -- and a sickening noise of a metal sinking in deeper.

A knife. Someone had stabbed Nekohiko in the leg with a knife.

Nekohiko turned to meet his attacker, but a merciless blow smashed into his face hard from the side.

He flew to the ground, coughing blood up in agony. And not just the agony. His vision blurred and a terrible weakness swept through him from the cut in his leg and higher.

Poison on the blade?

Damn it.

A lashing strike of water from the lake zoomed at Nekohiko's hidden attacker. Yakabe and his Towa spells! Yakabe drew another water whip and another to push the person who had assaulted Nekohiko.

But then -- from the shadows beneath the trees, another figure launched herself at Yakabe. Her knife flashed in the darkness, lit by the colorful lights blazing in the skies. Yakabe had to dodge her -- and in the split second he did that, Nekohiko was caught.

It was the woman, the one who had cut his leg. A Dark Sister. Nekohiko couldn't see her face, but he felt her cold, menacing aura of death and wrongness all Dark Sisters emanated.

She jerked Nekohiko to her chest by the hair and slowly drew her knife out of his ankle.

Pain burst under his eyelids in sparks.

"Aaaaaaaarghhg!"

He tried to move away, but the nausea and weakness from the poison rendered him dazed, numb. Motionless.

Another swoosh of a water lance sliced the air beside Nekohiko's face -- aiming at the Dark Sister behind him. But the woman was careful. She ducked and shifted to keep Nekohiko covering her from the front.

Yakabe's blurry figure was barely holding up against the second Dark Sister's assault. More than that -- the Nagare uncle was already dispelling the sash Bound to his face and getting to his feet again. From the lake -- several strings of wading footsteps came, too. The ghouls. They were finally coming out of the water to aid their mistresses.

But Yakabe kept fighting. Lunging, flipping backward, flinging less and less impressive spells at his opponent as his exhaustion from using techniques so alien to him settled in.

The Dark Sister who fought him kicked a knife out in the air at him -- which Yakabe couldn't dodge. The red cut bloomed across his pale clothing on his shoulder, and he growled in pain. Nekohiko could swear the knife was coated in the same weakening poison his had been.

Yakabe's legs gave out. He steadied himself against one of the trees, watching the approaching Dark Sister with burning eyes. His hands rose to cast another attacking spell.

The woman behind Nekohiko pressed her knife dirty with his blood against his windpipe.

"No!" Yakabe spat, coughing.

"Stop... fighting," the woman said in a rough accent. "Then he is safe--"

Even before she finished, a rough chunk of tree bark hissed through the air at the Dark Sister's face. She made a move to avoid -- but Yakabe was already here, kicking at her side to push her away from Nekohiko. Yakabe roared, ramming forward to grab the woman's head like he'd done to the Nagare uncle previously.

He was still fast, despite the poison. All of his Binding strengths went into this one motion, and the rapidly-blackening veins that burst across his pale face around his eyes showed just how severe his Binding exhaustion was.

A terrible crackle sounded beside Nekohiko's ear as the Dark Sister's skull split under Yakabe's Utsuro spell.

The woman's knife left Nekohiko's throat -- but the relief he felt was only momentary.

From the back, the second Dark Sister plunged her knife into Yakabe's throat and whipped it out in a bloody arc.

No, no.

No.

Please wait...

It's not that bad, Nekohiko thought, tilting forward as he fell. We are Binders. We can mend wounds like these in moments...

That's what Binding had been made for.

Literally Binding things together. Recover. Heal. Create. Fix.

And true -- Yakabe's hand already twitched toward his own throat. The Imperial Fusion spell could heal this no problem! As long as he was fast enough before he lost consciousness. And if Yakabe couldn't -- Nekohiko would! Together, they will be able to--

The woman stabbed her knife at Nekohiko's face next. But before she could -- Yakabe wasted the last glimpses of his consciousness to deflect that strike with a spell.

Not an Imperial Fusion spell to heal himself.

But one to repel the knife that went for Nekohiko.

The blade keened as it disappeared into the trees, and the Dark Sister halted in amusement. Yakabe couldn't even dispose of her. Only of her knife.

She was still alive and well and standing. But he had already sagged to the ground, his eyes glazed and darkening.

Blood oozed out of his torn throat steadily -- no pulse to give it rhythm, no breath to make it bubble up with escaping air. Cold. Drowsy.

He was dead before his face thumped on the ground.

...

Lord Yakabe?

Nekohiko lurched to creep to him, but dizziness overcame him and he bumped into a tree trunk instead. He could hardly see where he was going. How had Yakabe managed to move even with the poison slowing him down? He must have Bound the poison itself to other parts of his body...

Nekohiko should try do that.

He should... get to Yakabe and Fuse the gash in his throat back together...

A boot stepped on his hand, crushing his fingers underneath.

Another boot pushed at the side of his face to have him look up. Nekohiko's eyes rolled in his skull as waves of vertigo crested over him. The hordes of ghouls dripping with sand and water behind the Dark Sister stood motionlessly as though waiting. The Nagare uncle, too.

With a single flick of her fingers, all the ghouls she had raised dropped to the ground, limp. The Dark Sister leaned on the foot that pressed onto Nekohiko's face and at last he saw her up close.

No wonder the way she moved fighting with Yakabe had seemed so familiar to him. She was a martial arts expert unlike the other Dark Sisters Nekohiko had seen. She was... better than most at what she did.

Last time, she had fought on par with Suminoe and hadn't been defeated. This time... she had disposed of Yakabe... and of Nekohiko, it seemed.

The same exact woman.

Her face, ethereally pale with deep-set dark eyes and wide, thin mouth whose edges seemed constantly turned down as though she was displeased. Nekohiko knew this face. He had dreamed of it for the first few weeks after she had killed his royal retainers.

Not just the Dark Sister -- the only one that mattered to him. His own killer, as it turned out...

Tears escaped his eyes, crawling to his ears as he gazed at her impassive face, utterly defeated.

Her eyes took him in, then Yakabe to the side. Gently, she reached her slender fingers to Yakabe's forehead and poked him right between his eyes as though marking him. Only after doing that, she looked pleased enough to leave Yakabe's body alone.

Her boot gave Nekohiko a stronger push, but then suddenly lifted off him. The woman scanned the surface of the lake and the skies upon which the light performance danced. Her moves showed no urgency and no concern.

Then she turned away.

She walked back into the trees from which she'd come.

"Nao!" someone's voice called from the side. Nekohiko hadn't even noticed another Dark Sister had come over here to back up her friend some time ago. He was too shocked to even make sense of what he was seeing.

The second woman nodded at Nekohiko impatiently and burst out in an incomprehensible mumble of speech in a foreign tongue. Her tone was questioning and demanding at the same time.

But the Dark Sister named Nao didn't regard her. Only a few words came out of her mouth -- frigid, uncanny-sounding. And that was it. The other Dark Sister shut up as though ordered and the two stalked away -- barely a rustle of the leaves and the grass in their wake.

Nekohiko was afraid to breathe.

He... hadn't been killed?

The woman who had always seemed to have been sent to assassinate him -- didn't?

But why then? What was this entire scheme for?!

What reason--

His insides clenched when he realized.

The Second Nagare uncle hadn't yelled "kill them!" when he had called Nao here. He had yelled -- "kill him!"

Whom?

Yakabe.

This scheme hadn't been one to assassinate Nekohiko. It had always been aimed at Yakabe. They were all just waiting for the moment he'd be distracted, or weakened, or unable to defend himself because he had to defend Nekohiko.

Sipping air in stiff bouts, Nekohiko turned to Yakabe, belatedly remembering he wanted to heal him... to revive him...

His hands were slick with blood as he slowly turned Yakabe to peer at the throat wound. No big deal. He could fix him, no? He still could... make it all right.

The Imperial Fusion spell was so easy to make, his nausea and the poison inside him didn't even hinder it. His healing was subpar, but it should work well enough for a temporary Binding. Yes?

As long as someone more powerful -- like Yakabe himself -- could fix it, this was more than enough.

"Lord... Yakabe," Nekohiko slurred, shaking the man's shoulder. Yakabe looked terrible with his eyes wide-open and staring and his throat covered in crusted blood, but he was healed.

"They're gone. We're safe," Nekohiko whispered.

He threw scared little glances to the sides when another explosion of loud music came from the Shrine. He was jumpy and shaken. He needed to find the way back to the people... back to Abihiko and Lord--

Oh, Lord Kazuragi, Nekohiko suppressed a sob.

If Lord Kazuragi knew what had happened here just now...

It could not have been a long time before the sound of someone's footsteps broke the silence of the orchard.

"Neko!"

Abihiko's voice was like a cracking whip -- brash and painful. Nekohiko flinched toward him and saw...

Abihiko in his searing-red robes rushing to him, and beside Abihiko -- Kazuragi in his dark colors. A concerned expression clouded Kazuragi's features as he neared. With one annoyed gesture, he got rid of the Nagare-blocking array in the clearing, then directed his sight to the terrible massacre of ghoul bodies littering the bank of the lake behind Nekohiko.

Nekohiko wanted to tell him everything... to apologize, but Abihiko already crushed him to himself.

Abihiko's breaths puffed hotly into Nekohiko's face. "Are you two all right?! What the hell happened here!"

In confusion, Nekohiko blinked at him, then at Kazuragi. Did these two not notice the state Yakabe was in? Were they not aware?

But then, behind him, a sudden motion rustled. Clothes, just as sodden-wet as Nekohiko's. And underneath them, the recognizable, disturbing crackle as only the ghouls raised by the Dark Sisters possessed.

"We are fine," Yakabe's soft, yet eerily toneless voice said. "Why wouldn't we be fine."

Nekohiko gulped, growing colder and stiffer as he turned his head to where Yakabe was sitting up.

"This aura imprint," Kazuragi swore after having taken the whiff of his own family member's Binding in the area. "Was that... my Second Uncle? Damn it. Backstabbing traitors!" He nodded at Yakabe, suddenly scared. "They didn't injure you, did they? You look horrible."

A hard, rigid hand landed on Nekohiko's shoulder from the back. Yakabe smiled.

"No, no. That would be Ne-ko-hi-ko, mmm." His hand shifted to clutch the back of Nekohiko's neck instead, hard and chilly as ice. "He killed me, you see. The little wretch."

Both Kazuragi and Abihiko froze.

Yakabe's fingers dug deep into Nekohiko's neck and creaked with every tiny motion. "Lover," Yakabe called Kazuragi in the same lifeless voice. "Lover, avenge me."

 

---

***

 

"Yakabe," Kazuragi laughed, though his laughter sounded off. "What are you talking about?"

But then he knelt before Yakabe and Nekohiko and, so close up, Yakabe's distorted aura must have hit him. Out of all the people in the world, Kazuragi had to know the imprint of Yakabe's Binding aura best.

Nekohiko also felt the sizzling-hot powers of Nagare Binding coming back to his senses after Kazuragi had dispelled the array. Yakabe's Sky Lord powers also flowed back to him, only they met the warped, mutilated Spirit of their owner instead of his usual one.

And if Nekohiko could sense it, so could Kazuragi.

Yet Kazuragi waved it off without even noticing. His hands lay on Yakabe's shoulders, squeezing. "Now, what is going on?" he asked, shaky. "Don't kid with me like this."

"Let him go," Abihiko grumbled at Yakabe, trying to pry Yakabe's leaden fingers off Nekohiko's neck. "Stop it -- you're hurting him!"

"Should I not hurt my own murderer? Should I forgive him? Should I forget?" Yakabe's melodious voice asked.

When Kazuragi pressed Yakabe against his own chest, the sickening crackle Yakabe's body did, stilled everyone in place.

Now, it would be impossible not to see... not to comprehend what had happened to Yakabe! The sounds were those of dead things, dead and raised.

Abihiko lurched, pulling Nekohiko away from Yakabe. "Gods," he gasped, looking at the two Lords in horror. "He's a ghoul!"

From the deadly grip on his neck, Nekohiko's breaths strained. He began choking for air. Desperate to help, Abihiko leaned over to bite Yakabe's fingers off to make him release Nekohiko --

-- and all this while, Kazuragi hadn't moved at all. His eyes froze over his lover's face. A deepening shine trembled in them like tears that refused to come out. "What are you talking about?" he told Yakabe tenderly. With his trembling hand, he swept a strand of Yakabe's wet hair out of his eyes to his ear. "Come on, don't be like this."

"Are you insane?! Don't talk to him!" Abihiko roared. "He's dead--!"

Kazuragi flared up, watching at Abihiko in such aimless fury, it was as though he didn't recognize who Abihiko was. Suddenly, Kazuragi's gaze shifted to Nekohiko.

"Is that true? What he said?" Kazuragi asked. "You killed him? Nod -- blink -- anything! Now!"

Nekohiko's sight turned faint because of Yakabe's pressure on his throat. He wanted to shake his head in negation, wanted to tell Kazuragi the truth about what had happened. But when his memory flicked back to Yakabe's death, he realized...

In a way, it had been him who was responsible for Yakabe's death.

And that he couldn't answer Kazuragi's question.

Not honestly, at least.

Nekohiko's tears cast down his cheek as he shut his eyes in guilt and pain. But he still saw the way Kazuragi's face darkened at his lack of a reply.

"Enough!" Abihiko cried, the Hira spell of incineration flashing right next to Nekohiko's face.

But it didn't harm Nekohiko. Not even an inch of his skin. All it burned off were Yakabe's fingers strangling Nekohiko's throat. Then Abihiko's fist smashed apart the skeletal husk of Yakabe's charred hand. Free at last, Nekohiko almost fell forward, but Abihiko caught him.

All around them, the air suddenly charged up with the surge of immense power.

The sheer destructive force of it sent a jolt of panic up Nekohiko's spine. That was... The Lord of the Skies, powering up.

Not just the half of him as Kazuragi's powers had seemed before. Now, his powers came back to him fully.

Yakabe was dead, after all. His half of the Lord of the Sky couldn't reach him. They had to return back to Kazuragi, didn't they?

And Kazuragi used that.

"Abihiko!" Nekohiko croaked when the blinding flash of electricity swallowed the entire clearing in the matter of seconds.

But the other boy was prepared. He'd drawn the Hira shield just in time to protect himself and Nekohiko under it.

"What the fuck!" Abihiko rasped, stricken.

From the impact of the Nagare power against the Hira shield, both boys tumbled backward, pressed down onto the ground which was melting all around them under the spell shield. Kazuragi's lightnings raged just inches away, searing everything in their path.

"He's gone mad!" Abihiko threw a helpless look at Nekohiko. With his leg cut open and his weakness robbing him of all movement, Nekohiko wouldn't be able to run. "Neko... Why... all this?"

Kazuragi's strike subsided -- but not for long.

This was only a recharging notice of the Lord's full power. Without thinking, Abihiko lunged over Nekohiko as though to cover him with his body if his Hira shield wouldn't be sufficient. Only...

No. He'd released his Hira shield entirely, Nekohiko saw. Abihiko had dropped his protective Hira spell to cast another in its stead -- and while he did that, he protected Nekohiko with his body in case his new spell didn't work.

It was an easy spell. It was a Hira calling spell. Abihiko slammed his palm to the ground that had cracked and melted up in heat after Kazuragi's lightning strike. The flesh of Abihiko's hand bubbled up and smoked from the touch, but he didn't pay it attention.

He send the calling spell directly into the ground.

"Ward Father -- save us!" he cried.

A terrible howl came from somewhere close. Not a human cry but an animal's, yet Nekohiko knew it came from Kazuragi.

A animal's cry of fury and frustration and utter insanity. Another sear of Kazuragi's lightning storm hissed, charging up for destruction, and Nekohiko couldn't do anything other than stare at Abihiko's dear face close beside.

He would die for me, Nekohiko thought, wouldn't he?

Without a single doubt...

Just like... Kazuragi would -- for Yakabe.

Abihiko still wasn't done casting his spell when the lightning rage reached them. Through force, through agony of his numb, unwieldy limbs, Nekohiko forced his hands to Bind a Nagare shield around the two of them.

Gods, how it hurt to cast under the influence of the poison! He felt his veins hardening inside him, draining his own bodily juices to force his casting.

But if Abihiko could throw his life away for is sake, so could he.

Kazuragi's lightnings dug into Nekohiko's shield, further sapping all his powers from him.

"Neko! Don't!" Abihiko yelled, and rolled the two of them to the side. "We're saved!"

Ah...

What?

How...

Nekohiko hadn't noticed when Kazuragi's storm had been deflected. The ground under their bodies quaked, splitting, and from it, came the tide of pure magma-red -- both hot yet safe for the boys' touch. Like an impenetrable wall, the magma fountain curled around them, shutting all of Kazuragi's rage away.

In the shimmering heat over the cracked earth, stood the tall, powerful figure of Lord Hira Okinaga -- a black silhouette against the glowing red. Half-turned to Abihiko, Okinaga nodded.

"Get out of here, both of you. I'll manage him," the man cut and marched on through the magma wall and toward Kazuragi.

No need to tell Abihiko twice. The boy grunted, grabbing Nekohiko under the armpits and pulling him up.

"Come on, Neko. Come on! We can do it!"

I killed... Lord Yakabe...

Me being so weak. So pathetic -- caused his death. And now Lord Kazuragi is in such pain...

Why?

All of this -- because of me...

Nothing in him could move or even voice out his utter lack of will to move or run. After so much fear and pain and guilt, his mind couldn't take it anymore.

He sank into oblivion right in Abihiko's arms.

 

---

***

 

Yakabe was there, with him when he rested in the beautiful darkness of his sleep.

A wispy, beautiful Spirit in translucent shades of white, floating just beside Nekohiko as Yakabe's physical form slowly dissipated into ash as though burned with fire.

Yet Yakabe never looked afraid or accusing while he gazed at Nekohiko.

Not like his ghoul, no.

This was the real Yakabe. The true form of him. The kind, the thoughtful, and the understanding.

"I'm so sorry," Nekohiko mumbled, desperate to catch the scattering Spirit in his bloodied hands. "Please don't go! So many people need you! It's all my fault -- but please don't leave the others because of me!"

His sobs raked him. His tears stung, drenching him through. He fell, repeatedly, even in his Spirit form, as he failed to grasp the last glimpses of Yakabe.

Only the barest hint of a touch brushed past Nekohiko's hair like a kiss of a parent to the crown of his head. Like a gentle pat. Like love itself, manifest.

"Not your fault, child," a warm murmur caressed him. "I would have done it again, a hundred times. Like I would for my own children."

Nekohiko lifted his aching eyes.

Yet all he saw was the endless, hollow wasteland of the Spirit world. And not a trace of Yakabe left.

 

---

***

 

He woke up back in their small room in the inn. The pre-dawn darkness filtered through the windows in grey stripes where the last starlight tinted the shadows pale. Outside, came the rustling silence of the somber, unstopping rain. The cheery roar of the light performance had died. And so did Kazuragi's hurricane of rage over the town.

The scents of the air charged with lightning storms and the stink of sulfur from Okinaga's volcanic powers were slowly being swept away by the rain.

Lying hushed and numb in this rainy quiet, Nekohiko wondered if the fight between Kazuragi and Okinaga was over now.

And since how long ago...

The only thing he knew was that he was safe. He was cared for.

Pained, Nekohiko stirred only to realize that his head was on Abihiko's lap. And that, by moving, he would disturb Abihiko from the boy's restless sleep when he looked so worn out that Nekohiko didn't dare to move even slightly.

Abihiko's head hung low, his hair covering most of it. He was sleeping like Nekohiko had just been.

How had they gotten here?

And what had happened since then?

Nekohiko started, alarmed. Had Abihiko treated his wounds in that time?

Yes, he had. One on his leg, the others -- across his neck and face. Yet the clothes on his torso and upper legs were still on as though Abihiko hadn't wanted to accidentally touch any of his private parts while Nekohiko was out cold. There weren't any serious injuries there, so the other boy hadn't deemed it necessary to bother Nekohiko for no reason.

But at this point, Nekohiko realized he wouldn't have cared if Abihiko had looked at him underneath all the clothes. It would have been better if he did, perhaps. Then they wouldn't have any secrets left between them and Nekohiko wouldn't have to explain anything to him about why he had been lying to him, and why for so many years.

They would be able to trust each other. Completely.

Like Kazuragi and Ya...

No.

Stop thinking about it!

Tears spurted out of his eyes the moment he remembered but he pushed through it.

Instead, he reached his hand to softly sweep Abihiko's hair from his eyes toward his ear -- to see the other boy's face better. To see for himself if Abihiko was all right and hadn't been hurt too badly by the raging Lord of the Skies.

Abihiko's cheeks were covered with cuts and bruises. His eyelids moved from his turbulent nightmares, and his brows were furrowed as if in pain. But other than that -- he was unharmed.

He was safe, in Nekohiko's arms.

Forever.

Unlike the two other people...

...who wouldn't be able to hold each other or to care for one another ever again.

This time, he couldn't stop his grief and guilt from crushing him.

It only helped that Abihiko was right there beside him to embrace Nekohiko and console him and help him through the most miserable night Nekohiko had ever known.

But it would hardly be the last one.