Dark Mission

~*~*~*~*~

“Crap… Kes,” Tanji pounded a fist in frustration against the wall they’d come around the corner to. “We’re in deep shit.”

Kesu panted for breath and looked behind them, keenly hearing the mass of Youkai they’d been running from. He glanced back at Tanji, his little fingers seeking along the wall for some kind of purchase, scanning up the wall for an opening, or at least a weakness he could blast through. You’d think with as old as these ruins were that there would be a weak spot in the wall.

“We’re underground, remember, we went downstairs,” Kesu caught Tanji’s thoughts over their open link.

“K’so… there’s gotta be a way outta here… we didna lead these shits away from the girls ta jus get cornered,” Tanji snarled at the wall, sheathing his sword and looking for handholds with both hands.

Kesu slipped his bo into the hold upon his back and joined Tanji at the wall. There were far too many Youkai behind them to stand and fight, climbing was their only option. Tanji tugged him to the corner with him.

“It’s easier over here,” Tanji’s fingers dug into the wall at his corner and lifted himself up.

Kesu nibbled at his lip, seeking for those holds that Tanji had found so easily, watching as his little friend scaled the vertical stone over his head. He glanced back over his shoulder again, frightened, and forced himself to find something to cling to. The kitsune was certainly not as strong as his little friend, and heavier.

“Ya with me Kes?” Tanji grunted, doing his best to not send too much debris down Kesu’s way. Kesu made a short noise of affirmation, but weakly. Tanji looked down in worry, seeing the kitsune strain, sweat beading on his forehead. “C’mon Youko, you can handle this, no prob,” Tanji smirked, ascending a little more.

Kesu struggled hard, arms shaking, forcing himself to even dare a look downward. Hopefully he and Tanji had vanished in the darkness and the Youkai wouldn’t follow at all, or at the very least have as much trouble as he was having with the climb. Suddenly he felt a gripping upon his arm, dragging him into a little alcove off to one side, Tanji’s other hand clapping over his mouth to muffle his surprised yelp. It was a tight fit, but a seriously thankful rest.

“See why training is important?” Tanji snickered softly in the dark.

Kesu sneered at the slight glimmer of red upon the boy’s face, his eyes illuminating the darkness just slightly. “You weigh less.”

“Worried ‘bout Kino,” Tanji sighed, rolling his shoulders back to pop at least several vertebrae.

“Ty and Lane are with her. We should worry about ourselves, the Youkai know we’re here now, we gotta get out and back to the forest at least.”

“Jus keep climbin,” Tanji took a deep breath and started moving out of the niche.

Kesu slumped at the thought, his muscles were still burning, his lungs begging for more rest, but he had to listen to his own advice, returning to the chore of climbing. The wall beneath his fingers didn’t feel quite stable, almost like it was crumbling here and there. Who knew how many centuries those walls had gone untouched. Tanji was cursing, sending debris down his way that he had to duck, nearly losing his meager grip.

“Mebbe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Tanji whimpered, straining to find the handhold he’d lost without crumbling the wall further. “Gods… Kesu…”

“Tanji!”

The wall gave, collapsing beneath the both of them. Tanji felt himself falling, listening to Kesu’s frightened voice as it faded away. He hit something really solid… really hard. It knocked the wind out of him, his vision blurring as his head spun from the good hit it had taken.

Tanji moaned, in a horrible amount of pain that registered even with him, but struggled to his feet. He was still in Youkai territory… still in danger. He scrabbled about in the rubble, searching for where Kesu might have gone. There was nothing, literally, just a great gaping hole that led to nothing but pitch blackness. If he even tried to climb back down…

Tanji dimmed the red light of his eyes, turning his head… hearing the approach of someone. More than one someone, a great deal more, and they all smelled like trouble. If he wanted to live he’d have to get moving, and fast. He threw himself against the nearest wall, feeling about until he found a passage. Only then did he light his eyes once more, and it helped just the slightest bit. The corridor was too small and dark and twisting for him to use unnatural speed, but he could move pretty quick anyway. He drew his sword and held it out behind him as he ran, doing his best not to slam his shoulders into corners cut too close.

Suddenly he skidded to a stop, panting and darting glances around. The corridor he’d been running down had Youkai heading his way in front of him… and he was still being closed in from behind. He moved down the corridor much slower, checking the walls more thoroughly for an escape.

There! He darted forward into the side passage, not even relaxing yet. He’d relax when he was out of there totally, and to hell with the pain he was feeling, that could wait too. His vision was hazy enough without the darkness, head spinning, making it hard to concentrate. Tanji’s shoulder slammed against another wall, making him whimper. He bit his lip to keep quiet, slowing his pace a little. He had to keep going… the Youkai were catching up to him.

Tanji heard the movement, keenly recognizing in an instant the sound of a blade whistling through the air. He spun and blocked a shot that more than likely would have taken off his head. Both his arms trembled with the blow, shocked into fierce pain. Ooh, definitely a head-parting shot.

He stumbled backward, back pressing against a wall. His head was spinning as he bent and avoided another powerful blow, chunks of the wall raining down on him as he scrambled past his attacker. He couldn’t fight… not like this. He was losing strength fast, couldn’t block shots like that or he’d break his arms. Running was about his only option at this point, and that was getting really difficult.

Tanji squeaked and ducked, skidding and slipping onto his knees, hearing a blade go over his head. Damn he really needed to pay more attention to where he was going. He scrambled forward, dodging more swings. The darkness didn’t bother him too much, not the natural darkness of the ruins, just that haze that was clouding his mind. It was trying to get him killed. He had to get out of this mess, find Kino and the others… Kesu. Gods, he’d just left him back there…

Tears leapt into his eyes as he struck another wall, sword clattering to the stone floor as he gripped the shoulder momentarily. He forced himself to keep going, pick up his sword with his left hand and keep running. The whole place was permeated by the scent of Youkai… he couldn’t tell anymore what was stronger, closer.

The dizziness was winning, quickly stealing his senses. Tanji could barely move with any sort of speed now and still he repeatedly injured himself against the cold stones. He sheathed his sword before he dared drop it anymore, afraid he’d lose it when he passed out… and he knew he was going to pass out… even before his knees hit the ground.

~*~*~*~*~

Sakon was dying…

Kesu forced the body to breathe, feeling its ki slipping away as blood flowed from seemingly a hundred wounds. There was only so much the kitsune’s energy could do, the ningen body was broken and bleeding, possibly beyond repair.

No, he had to live, Kesu couldn’t make it through the Gate alone. And the Gate was so far away…

Sakon hang on… breathe… breathe…

The human soul, dim enough for the past eighteen years, dimmed even further. Not even a real soul, just a vague lifeforce, the true destined soul for this body had barely known living within the womb before being called back. Kesu fought hard, gathering power from the surroundings to keep that lifeforce alive.

Sakon opened his emerald green eyes, seeing as much as he had with them closed for a moment. Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a cavern. Yes, that made sense… the ruins, deep underground where they’d been on a mission to explore the rumors of the newest Youkai gatherings and plottings.

Stay awake… you have to stay awake…

Sakon argued meekly, blinking slowly and trying desperately to listen. There was a sticky warmth trickling across his forehead. His back was bowed unnaturally, legs bent back to one side, at least one broken for certain. There was so much pain. His arm was probably broken as well, shoulder pulsing with pain. He felt so cold, so tired… he wanted to just slip back into sleep, that deep warm sleep…

Sakon, think about kaasan…

Kaasan… mother… Saya. Beautiful, smiling Saya. She struggled so hard, worked so much to support her children.

Yes, Akemi… Akiko… Akaila… your sisters…

Sisters, pretty little girls, three of them now. All fathered by a jerk that Saya loved too dearly to realize he would never be around for them. Still she returned to him again and again, and was rejected each time once he was finished with her.

Sakon tried moving his arm, crying out with pain, scolding himself immediately. In these dark caverns there was no telling what Youkai might be near to hear. If he was found then he would surely die, swiftly.

“So what if I die?” Sakon rasped, coughing, too quiet to be heard, but the ears he was speaking to weren’t tangible either.

You can’t die… Sakon… I need you…

“I’m not a real person… I wasn’t even meant to be male… to be born…”

You are real because I made you real. You would have died. I kept you alive even when the soul departed… because I need you… Sakon… I need you…

“I should have been a girl…” a fever was setting in, probably from infected wounds.

You wouldn’t have lived… you and Saya both would have died… Sakon she was only fifteen when you were born… she and you were supposed to die…

“Then I matter to no one.”

You matter to her, to your sisters. Because you lived, Saya lived… she changed… she’s trying to change and better herself… because you lived there are now three more beautiful little girls in Ningenkai…

“Just let me sleep.”

Sakon no… it’s not your time…

“How do you know anything?”

Trust me… Sakon you have years left… years…

”I want to rest now,” the voice was growing softer, the breathing weaker.

Kesu searched desperately for Tanji’s presence, a trail of him to link onto, but there was nothing. He broadcast an urgent mental call with all his strength, finding nothing. He sought for anyone, anyone at all… nothing. Where had they all gone?

You have to hang on… someone will find you… you just have to hang on a little bit longer…

”No one… there is no one… sleep now…”

Sakon NO!

“You don’t need me… possess another…”

I can’t… I’m too weak…

… if you die…

…then so will I.

A little smirk played over Sakon’s lips, “Good.”

Sakon…

… Sakon no…

… hang on…

… please…

… gods no…

… Sakon…

… NO!…

Like an arrow Kesu threw himself into one last desperate attempt to reach someone, anyone, using all of his energy in one darkness-piercing shaft of thought.

DEUS!!

~*~*~*~*~

“Ty… Tyger?” the soft voice pulled the Jujin into reality, the pale sight of Lane gracing her vision as she opened her eyes.

“Where… where am I?” Ty tried hard to shake off the daze, trying to remember what had happened. She’d been on the trail of Lane, looking for him with Kino…

“We’re some place we don’t wish to be,” Lane looked about nervously as he helped her sit up. “Are you injured?”

“Understatement of the year, icicle… we better get moving or we’re screwed. Just got knocked on the head, serious migraine… but I’ll live. C’mon, we gotta scat,” Ty grabbed her head as she stood up, just a little too fast, but recovered quickly. She grabbed his wrist and tugged him to his feet, dashing in the direction opposite to the sounds of approaching creatures.

Lane was dragging her down, but she barely noticed it, gripping his wrist and forcing him along at her pace. If they didn’t get out of there they were dead. Suddenly Lane’s hand slipped away from her grasp, making her stop. She turned to look, watching Lane practically collapse against a wall, entire body curled up on itself. Ty grabbed his shoulders, in too much of a rush to be gentle, forcing him to stand straight. The koorime nearly screamed with pain.

“Gods… Lane… you’re bleeding,” Ty released him slightly, burying her fingers in his hair as he curled against her shoulder – a semi-holding gesture. She glanced around nervously, “Shit… can’t stay here…”

“Just go…” Lane gasped, shaking and sweating. Gods… sweating… Koorime normally did not sweat… ever. He was in bad shape, and they were right out in the open.

“No way I’m leaving you here… went through all that damn trouble to find you, icicle. This is prolly gonna hurt,” Ty draped his arms around her shoulders and picked him up, “Can’t believe I’m doing this,” she growled in frustration, shifted him to make sure she had a solid grip, and took off running.

Lane was eerily quiet except for rasping, hitching breaths, curled against her and barely holding on. It didn’t matter, she could carry him without a problem. Tyger’s keen eyes found a source of light, natural light, and chased it. She tried to take it easy with Lane… he felt so warm against her, and that was completely unnatural for him. The light seemed to be getting closer, and they were definitely moving in an upwards direction. Good thing, Ty was getting a little out of breath… just a little.

“You still with me snowboy?” she slowed down a little bit, “Lane?”

The Jujin came to a dead halt, nudging the still form in her arms. Lane’s head lulled back in a totally abnormal way, sending a chill all through her. Ty dropped to her knees, laying him down. She leaned close, listening for a heartbeat.

There wasn’t one.

“Gods… Lane!” Ty nearly screamed, not caring who heard. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, getting no movements from him except those she caused herself.

Tyger froze, gasping for breath, her heart racing. Her wide purple eyes just stared at him, his lips tinged even more blue with his blood, trickling down his cheek. His hair was loose and fanned out beneath him. The koorime looked so peaceful, so much deeper than sleep…

“NO!” Tyger threw herself into moving, slamming a fist down against his chest, probably far too hard. She heard bones crack. “Lane… dammit! Breathe!” she roared.

She hesitated slightly, wiping the blood from his lips as she parted them. She had no idea what she was doing, sure, seen it in a movie or two hundred, but this was totally different. This was real. Ty pressed her lips against his and forced a breath into him, watching his chest rise with that breath… but then was still again.

“Lane you selfish bastard! You’re spose to listen to me! You have to listen to me!”

Tyger barely noticed the tears in her eyes, didn’t care. She pushed at his chest, not quite as hard as the vicious punch she’d given him, trying desperately to make his lungs work on their own. She tried another breath into his lifeless mouth, then another.

“Lane… you can’t let those fuckers win,” she pulled back barely from his lips and sobbed, “They took your home… they took advantage of you… you can’t give up now… Laney… please… listen to me… breathe,” Ty begged, caressing his still face with one hand, the other massaging his chest to force his lungs to move.

She blinked, hearing a distinct heartbeat, horribly weak but familiar. Just one… dammit. No wait… another. He was trying, but still not breathing.

“C’mon baby… c’mon Lane… you can do it,” she pushed a little harder at his chest. He’d been gone too long already. “Laney, you have to listen to me, you have to… remember? You’re the… and I’m the… you have to listen.”

Ty felt her cheeks burning with tears as she forced another breath into him, his chest heaving with a sudden, sharp intake. She pulled back, looking hopeful, watching his parted lips. His chest rose again, on their own a second time. Her keen ears listened to his heart stutter once, then twice, then onto a regular rhythm. Lane’s eyes flew open with a third painful breath, a touch of color returning to his pale skin as his heart returned to circulating what little blood there was left in him.

Tyger’s head snapped around, blinking at the darkness. Shit, Youkai fast approaching, she couldn’t tell how many, didn’t really want to find out either. “Sorry about this, but we gotta run,” Ty winced as she lifted him up again, knowing the terrible amount of pain it caused.

“Ty,” he rasped, too weak for anymore. His arms barely encircled her neck, but it was something, and it kept her going.

The Jujin sought out the source of light once more, listening carefully to Lane’s heartbeat just to be certain it wouldn’t fade again. He was whispering something vaguely as she tripped out into the full light of late evening, hit by the familiar stench of Makai’s open air. She snarled at it and took a cursive glance to find where the hell that forest was. Kesu had said the Youkai wouldn’t enter the forest, they’d be safe there and could rest.

“Nai shey… dein… arainti teshnei,” Lane gasped, breathlessly.

Ty looked down at him, chewing on her lip. He was trying so hard to stay awake. She had no idea what he was saying, didn’t even sound familiar. Was probably nothing, she figured, going back to looking for the forest. Ah, there it was. She took off running again.

“Ty… dein… ailain tenesei, te ila… teshin… ailain Ty.”

Tyger bulleted across the rocky expanse, racing for the forest. Whispered koorime ramblings were unsettling to say the least. “Lane… stoppit, ya freaking me out,” she warned with a gentle growl, glancing back over her shoulder. It was getting dark fast. She darted into the forest, running, leaping over underbrush for a good while longer.

Lane yelped some strangled cry as a certain leap jostled him more than the others, Ty so distracted by it that she nearly stumbled, nearly. She slowed herself to a stop, seeking out a suitable place to rest.

She was panting slightly as she laid him down, being as gentle as she could with that frail and bleeding body. Ty looked him over as she caught her breath, fisting her hands, angry and worried and even more angry at being worried. His eyes were almost closed, held open by sheer willpower, his lips parted as he fought for what pained breaths he could force his lungs into taking. Trembling and sweating, he felt so warm to her touch.

Lane forced his eyes open a little more, focusing on Ty, those icy orbs wide and shimmering. Ty leaned forward and brushed strands of hair out of his face as she thought what she could do to help him. Discouragingly, there wasn’t much. The shirt of the tunic he was wearing was in tatters, and she wasn’t wearing a helluva lot. She took what she could from his shirt and lifted him just enough to tie the fabric around his slender middle. It was soaked all too quickly with blood beneath the gentle press of her hand. Lane tensed and whimpered.

“Sorry icicle, gotta stop this from bleeding,” Ty chewed on her lip.

“I… know,” he winced, coughing when he tried to breathe too deeply.

Tyger kept her hand on the wound, shifting a little to cradle his shoulders, holding him slightly upright against her. “C’mon Lane… you’re a healer… gotta be something around here useful,” she glanced around at the foreign plants.

Lane tried to look as well, but vaguely shook his head, “Can’t… think.”

“Lane… Lane stay awake,” Ty growled, shaking him as gently as she could, making him open his eyes.

His eyes slitted open, foreign and whispered words tumbling from his lips. At least with the coming of night the Makai air was taking on a chill. The koorime felt so hot against her. Her body heat probably wasn’t helping, but he had to sit up a little bit or he’d drown in his own blood. She had to marvel at just how much blood a body did actually hold… and release. But there wasn’t anything she could do but sit and listen, making sure his heart kept beating. So Tyger resigned to staying awake, just listening, all night.

~*~*~*~*~

Tanji gasped, eyes snapping open to a blinding glare of light that made him flinch and close them again. Secure arms held him tightly from behind, a very familiar heat seeping into him, a gentle voice brushing against his ears.

“Shhh, Tanji… lay back.”

Tanji obeyed and slitted his eyes open once more, moaning in pain as his vision focused on Kino. She was trying to heal him, or at least his major wounds, concentrating and taking it slowly. He laid still until she relaxed, having done the best she could.

“I don’t know how you got out of that mess… but you’re in bad shape Tanji…”

“Kes…” Tanji coughed, wincing and immediately giving up the attempt at sitting up.

Kino shook her head slowly, “We searched, but there was a massive structural collapse deep within the catacombs of those ruins… and they’re overrun with Youkai. It’s not safe.”

“We?”

“Myself and Tyger… we had to go back in to find Lane as well. We were separated by more collapses and it was just too dangerous for me to search further. I hope… I barely got out myself… found you… thank Reikai I found you…” a tear slipped from her amber eye, trailing a river of light down her dirty cheek.

Tanji wanted to reach up and touch her face, wipe away that tear, but he couldn’t move. He blinked at the canopy of trees above them, the gnarled and twisted branches. It was just starting to get dark. Makai was a very dangerous place at night, the kitsune forest better than most, but still not safe, especially the condition he was in, and Kino not much better by the looks of her. She’d probably used a lot of power to carry him this far, and then healing his major wounds on top of that.

“Lay still, Tanji,” Kino warned at his second attempt at moving.

He nodded, still was a very good idea. “What the hell went wrong? We’ve done missions like this before…”

“It was… almost like they knew we were coming,” Kino blinked, gazing forward and seeing nothing, shuddering at that thought. As far as she knew, Yotaka had sent them without telling anyone else… on information from a source she wouldn’t say. Had someone purposefully gotten that rumor to Yotaka to set this up? “We were lucky to get out.”

“But did we all get out?” Tanji asked softly, closing his eyes. He’d abandoned Kesu.

“You didn’t abandon him, Tanji,” Kino soothed, having gotten the thought through their mental link, “you had to get yourself out… just like I had to get out.”

There was pain in her voice, she was having the same doubts that he was. If only she’d kept on searching for Ty, if only she hadn’t been so selfish, taken a bit of a risk with her life…

“We can’t change the choices we made,” Tanji whispered, forcing his arm to move, to find her hand and grasp it with as much strength as he could. “All we can do is pray that they’re all okay.”

“Yeah… gotta worry about you. I’m too weak to heal you anymore.”

Tanji nodded, could feel the fever creeping. His body would attack the infection trying to settle into the wounds, trying to call upon all his power in its usually reckless defense. It would take a lot of concentration to keep the jagan and the phoenix under control. Gods, and if anything happened during that he’d be completely helpless… and unable to defend Kino.

“Say a prayer for ourselves as well,” Kino bowed her head and closed her eyes, just holding him tight.

~*~*~*~*~

Lane felt his body shudder, as if he was removed from it. A freezing, but entirely comforting sensation jolted him into reality. He forced his eyes open, seeing a vague and dark shadow through a dim haze.

“Relax,” a familiar throaty voice, entirely Jujin.

Gradually he realized he was laying in a stream, a rather cold one that was chasing away a scalding fever. What was left of his tunic top was still tied around the gaping wound in his stomach. That would scar if he didn’t gather enough power to heal it soon. His pants were not in his immediate range of sensation, but with the daze of the fever he really could have cared less if he was naked or not.

“Starting to look better,” Tyger sounded annoyed, cupping a handful of water to wet his hair, trailing the coolness across his forehead and down his jaw.

“Feel… better,” he rasped, trying not to cough.

Ty cradled his head with one arm, tilting it back slightly as she tipped another handful of water to his mouth. Lane swallowed thankfully, letting his eyes slip shut. His lungs were burning, his entire chest sore. He couldn't recall how he’d been hurt there. Tyger cooled the skin of his face with slow and wet touches, watching as his hair waved and danced in the flow of the stream. It kept her mind off the horrible bruise, there in the center of his chest, where she’d hit him to make him breathe. She didn’t want to remember that.

When he opened his eyes again his vision was a little clearer, not quite as dark. He could see the light of day beyond her and the canopy of trees. Ty leaned down and draped his arms around her shoulders, lifting him from the water and trying to look irritated for effect.

“Can’t stay here long… gotta find red… silver… feather,” Tyger sighed, settling back against the roots of a tree with Lane reclining back against her.

She played with strands of his hair as they dried, listening as his breathing slowly became easier. She could feel him become cooler than the water had made him and his trembling gradually went away with the fever. Ty wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there just listening, but she pulled herself back to reality when she noticed his hair was entirely dry. The Jujin reached for where she’d set his pants before laying him in the stream, slipping him back into the navy silk. He was still really weak, needed just a little more time.

“Lane… do you remember last night?”

The koorime shook his head slightly, “Last I remember… vaguely when I found you, running… then everything went hazy.”

“You were saying some things all night, kept repeating tesh-nay.”

“Teshnei,” Lane softened the second syllable in minor correction, “That is our word for our gods. Delirious from fever… I was probably praying.”

Tyger nodded, that made sense. She tried to remember what else she’d heard, listening all night to make sure he didn’t slip away again, or that no one snuck up on them. “You kept saying… it sounded like I-lain Ty, or I-lain ten… ten-e-say,” she couldn’t quite pronounce it, the sounds just weren’t natural for the speech she was used to.

Lane managed to pull away from her, sitting up rather unsteadily but on his own, blushing badly. “I was feverish,” he whispered a meek excuse.

Tyger ignored his weak attempts at keeping her from touching him, her amethyst eyes demanding as she pulled his jaw to get his eyes to meet hers. He was trembling again, overexerting himself too soon. “What does that mean, Lane?”

“Tenesei is how we refer to Jujin,” he replied, eyes downcast.

“And that I-lain?” she prodded, arm behind him as he wavered slightly.

“Ailain means… pretty… beautiful.”

Pretty Ty, pretty Jujin. Well that wasn’t too bad, a compliment in another language and during a fevered delirium was a compliment nonetheless. The rest of the words she couldn’t remember, and Lane was far too weak to answer anymore questions anyway. With a gentle little tug he fell back against her, laying his head against her shoulder and curling up very slowly.

“Dein… rishan Ty…”

She knew those words, he used them often enough, ‘please’ and ‘forgive me’. Tyger shushed him and pulled his hair back from his shoulder, running it through her fingers. He really didn’t have reason to feel ashamed, compliments she didn’t mind.

“My chest hurts…” his breathing was ragged again.

“You really don’t remember do you?” Ty chewed on her lip. “Lane… you stopped breathing… your heart stopped beating… I had to… I tried something to get you to breathe again. Afraid I broke a few ribs…”

“A few broken ribs… is preferable to not breathing,” he tried at a joke, making her chuckle slightly.

“I agree completely,” Tyger admitted softly.

~*~*~*~*~

Kesu became slowly aware of a weight atop him, not extremely heavy, but it was the most obvious thing for him to notice and center on enough to drag himself from his fever. It took several minutes for him to focus enough to realize it was a blanket. That struck a nerve of curiosity in the kitsune, forcing him to open his eyes and look around.

He didn’t recognize where he was, but it certainly wasn’t where he last remembered being. The room was dark, lit by the barest light of a few candles, the walls made of stone and decorated with things his fever riddled-mind couldn’t conjure the names of, bit which looked vaguely familiar so he didn’t allow himself to get frightened quite yet.

Kesu drug his other senses up from the murky haze of sleep, needing to know just where he was before he could relax, no matter how much pain he was in. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying in a bed beneath that blanket, and secondly, he wasn’t alone in that bed. Painfully, whimpering, he turned his head slightly to the right. There, looking radiant and beautiful in the dim candlelight, laid Amadeus, laying as close to Kesu as he could possibly get without laying on top of him.

The vampire was roused slightly by the sounds of pain, opening his eyes just slightly. His hand moved slowly, as if almost too heavy to lift, brushing silver strands of hair from Kesu’s eyes and grazing touches over his forehead.

“You still have a fever, fox, go back to sleep,” Amadeus spoke slowly, seemingly very tired. It must have been during the day, the vampire weighted down by the need to sleep.

Kesu tried to speak, wanting to ask him how he’d gotten there and where precisely it was, but could only manage the vaguest whimpers. Amadeus’ hand trailed down the side of his face, laying a finger on his lips as he gently hushed him.

“You need more rest, you’ll be better this evening,” Deus leaned close and kissed the corner of Kesu’s mouth, falling back against the pillows and closing his eyes wearily.

“How…” Kesu managed to gasp.

Amadeus’ piercing eyes cracked open once more, “How did I find you?” he asked softly, answered by a weak nod from the kitsune. He reached once more and trailed touches over Kesu’s eyes, forcing him to close them, “You called for me, my fox.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Tanji!” Kino’s voice was tight with fear as she glanced back over her shoulder. The roaring of a strange Makai beast was getting closer.

“Just a little… bit… there!” Tanji gave the root he’d been clawing at a swift kick, slipping down into the crack he’d made, arms reaching back up to help Kino through. She squeezed and wriggled before practically tumbling down on top of him.

Tanji pulled her back further into the little cavern, the two of them barely able to crawl on their hands and knees through the smallest place. Suddenly it gave way in front of her, Tanji’s strong arms pulling her to stand up, a flare of red from his eyes lighting the place. With that light she could spot a candle in a niche in the wall, lighting it with the slightest concentration. It was a mere hole in the ground, smoothed walls, barely six foot square, with a large alcove in one wall spread with a sleeping pallet.

“One of Kes’ little hideaways,” Tanji pulled her close, letting his eyes fall dim. “Thank Reikai I ‘membered it was here.”

Kino laid her head on his shoulder, trying to get her heart to quit racing. She realized he was shaking and guided him gently toward the alcove to sit him down. Tanji leaned back into the niche, closing his eyes.

“You okay?” she asked softly, caressing his face in her hands, pushing his hair back.

Tanji nodded a little bit, he’d already beaten the infection, the exhausting fever, “Heal up in no time.”

Kino sighed, trying to relax beside him, unsettled by the roars she could still hear outside. “And then what, look for the others or return to the Gate?”

“Gotta find ‘em, yeah… Ty an Lane can’t work the Gate… an Kes…”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Kino soothed, running her thumb across his lips and letting him fall against her shoulder. She didn’t like the feel of the blankets beneath them, they felt old and smelled musty, but at least it wasn’t pure stone. She shifted a little bit, tugging Tanji down to lay his head in her lap. “You need to rest some more.”

“You too…” he sounded pouting and defensive, but he had a point, she’d used way too much energy trying to heal him.

“So they were Shadow Youkai… hiding in those ruins,” she stated it more than asked.

“Yeah… strange. Don’t make sense them hidin there… an then there’s still those occupyin Koorime. Could be a division ‘tween them…” Tanji muttered weakly.

“That could make them easier to fight,” Kino was trying to find a bright spot to the situation, but she really didn’t believe her own words. Tanji’s arms loosely around her waist made her feel better though, and at least they weren’t out in the open anymore, so perhaps they could both relax and heal.

“I’ll be able ta feel anyone comin close… even if I sleep,” Tanji yawned.

Kino closed her eyes and ran her fingers back through his hair, “Sleep then, Tanji,” she sighed and slowly drifted off herself.

~*~*~*~*~

“Nothing looks familiar,” Tyger snarled, lifting herself up into a tree for another look around, scanning over the treetops.

“I agree… and it all looks the same,” Lane leaned against the trunk of the tree, giving the thick underbrush a survey. He looked up, trying to find Tyger, but as dark as she was she blended perfectly up in those branches.

“I swear… if the ruins were thatta way… then the Gate’s gotta be this way,” Ty grumbled, then suddenly dropped down from the tree right in front of him. “Of course it’s too damn cloudy to tell where the freakin sun is. You okay icicle?”

Ty reached out and brushed a strand of hair back from his face, to get a good look at him she excused. His breathing was a little ragged, and he looked paler than normal, except for a blush to his cheeks. His tunic was ruined and his hair was a mess, and she was pretty darn sure hers wasn’t much better, and that was annoying. Even though he nodded that he was fine, she knew better. He was probably in a lot of pain and overheated, but she let him have his pride. Besides, she would have said the same thing if he’d asked her.

“Even if we find the Gate, neither of us can open it,” Lane sighed.

“Yeah but I’m hoping one of the others will figure it’s the best meeting place, and all three of them can open it.”

“Good point,” Lane nodded at her motion for them to continue, following behind her as she cleared a way through the tangled mess of underbrush. “It’s the only thing we really know.”

“Silver prolly knows a whole ton more, but he lived here, the rest of us are just visiting,” Ty slashed at a particularly grabby plant with a snarl.

“Koorime is simple,” Lane sighed, wincing as a branch tangled itself in his pant leg, thorns scratching flesh, “mountain over there, the plains to the north… and then nothing but down,” he laughed softly.

Tyger blinked back at him, thinking maybe the blood loss was making him lightheaded, yeah that had to be it. She growled in frustration and went to his side, claws dispatching the thorny plant that had a hold of him. She knelt there for a moment, motioning him not to get up either, pretending to check the wounds the brambles had made. They were nothing, but it gave him a moment to rest.

“These plants are driving me crazy, annoying things… why does Makai have to have such obnoxious plants?” Ty growled, absently whacking at the thorny bush for the hell of it.

“Obnoxious… poisonous plants,” Lane gasped, reaching for her before he tumbled into a pale heap that she managed to keep from falling too far.

“Shit… you serious?” yeah, as if he would be kidding.

“I’m fighting it… trying… I know what it is… I can handle it,” he was trying to get control of his muscles, knowing she probably did not appreciate holding him. The fever spiked, dissipating after far too long. He supported himself finally, keeping his head bowed and trying to focus on the stony soil beneath his fingers.

Ty pulled back from him a little bit, glancing around, thinking she heard something…

“We need to get out of here,” she turned her head the other way… was it coming from that direction?

Lane nodded, still really shaky, but trying to get up. She grasped his arm and helped him to his feet, almost needing to support him totally to keep him standing. It didn’t matter to her at that moment, she forced him into a run, hopefully in a direction that was away from whatever the hell kind of creature it was that might be hunting them. There wasn’t time for resting, and she’d keep them going even if she had to carry Lane again.

~*~*~*~*~

Kesu was aware of the pain even in sleep, not even the deepest dreams could protect him from that reality. He forced himself awake, too curious about where he was and too worried about his friends to sleep anymore despite the exhaustion. He opened his eyes, trying to take a deep breath and only succeeding in throwing himself into a coughing fit.

“Easy fox… easy… breathe,” Amadeus’ softly accented voice, a touch at his forehead to brush away strands of silver, it comforted Kesu beyond measure.

Kesu found he couldn’t move one arm, but he could the other. Very slowly he wiped away the tears brought on by the coughing, clearing his vision and reaching for Deus, entwining his fingers with the vampire’s.

“Where… are we?” Kesu tried to keep the cough down.

Amadeus slipped his arm beneath Kesu’s head, propping him up a little bit against his chest. “That nice little inn we stayed at the last time we were here in Makai… I forget the name of this city… if you must call it that.”

“Saitennin,” Kesu nodded, that explained why the room looked familiar, “the Bridge Over Blood Inn.”

Amadeus smirked, “It’s rather quaint.”

“How did… you get through the Gate?”

“I told Yotaka to take me through,” Deus answered simply.

“She didn’t ask why?”

“I believe my tone was enough to make her think twice about asking any questions,” the vampire slipped his fingers from Kesu’s a moment to remove a few more fallen strands of silver from the kitsune’s face. “You should be resting, not asking questions, fox.”

“The others…” Kesu didn’t get more than an inch off the bed, “Ah!”

“Fox, lay still,” Amadeus held him closer, his tone severe and commanding. “What others?”

“Kino… Tanji… Ty… and Lane,” Kesu coughed, closing his eyes.

“You always get into such trouble when I’m not around, fox,” Deus growled, stroking back Kesu’s hair.

“Have to… stay around me… then,” the kitsune tried a smile despite the pain.

“Silly fox,” Amadeus couldn’t help but lose his irritated tone, that smile of Kesu’s was radiant, even clouded over by pain as it was.

Kesu laid there, taking great measures to keep breathing. Now and then he could feel Deus’ hand on his chest, skin to skin, trying to help him. But always their hands entwined again. Kesu was hanging onto a painfully thin thread of life, and Amadeus knew that all too well. He could hear the kitsune’s heartbeat, irregular, unstable, not hardly strong enough to support the body like it needed to.

He also knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He just laid there, listening, cradling Kesu’s head with one arm, holding his hand, frightened by that thready heartbeat and that rattled breathing. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do. He felt so bloody helpless it was irritating beyond measure.

“Stay awake fox,” Deus urged, giving that elegant hand a squeeze. Kesu could not maintain proper breathing if he was unconscious, not at this point.

“Talk…” Kesu coughed, quietly begging.

Amadeus thought for a moment, then settled back, and began speaking, softly and slowly, “When I came to the temple, I came not looking for what I found. I have spent so long, content in knowing I held lovers in my power, free to leave them as I wished, but commanding them entirely. I never expected… to find someone who could place that sort of hold upon me.”

Deus gazed down at his fox, trying to ignore all the broken bones, the bleeding, trying to find his beautiful fox under all that pain. “From that first night you continue to surprise me, fox. You captured me by letting yourself be caught. I could have had you without your consent, of course… but your magic was in the sacrifice. You made me give you something in return because of that.”

The vampire bent and kissed Kesu’s forehead tenderly, throat just a little tighter with emotion, “So you see, you silly fox… you aren’t going anywhere. You won’t take my gift to you for granted… you won’t leave me alone, will you? You can’t die, fox… you can’t. I don’t care if you say Fate can change, that your path could lead where you didn’t expect, your path is with me.”

~*~*~*~*~

Tyger hit the ground with the resounding crack of bone, all breath involuntarily expelling from her lungs, her head spinning. She tried to raise up onto her arms, hearing the beast coming after her, but she just couldn’t. She was down, damn lucky she wasn’t out, and her head was quickly working toward that end. Dammit she had to get up or she’d be beastie food.

A pale form leapt into her hazy vision, between her and the Makai beast. “Lane…” she coughed, tasting blood, “ya gonna get killed… jus run…”

Lane had found a suitable branch to serve as a weapon, the Makai version of a bamboo stalk actually, a deep purple and wickedly sturdy thing that made an excellent staff. He brought it down across the beast’s forehead, ducking claws and a lunge. He pivoted, slamming the branch hard into the creature’s midsection, making it roar and turn at him instead of going for Ty. The beast was huge, a good eight feet tall when it reared, but kept mostly to its six legs like some sort of canine. Lane was at a loss for the name of it, more concerned about staying alive than identifying the local animals.

He ducked again, pressing himself really close to the ground, but leaping back onto his feet and swinging the branch viciously to land a cracking blow to the back of the beasts neck. Ooh that really pissed it off. The animal’s tail thwacked Lane good and hard in the stomach, sending him skidding into the dirt.

Lane came up quickly, rolling to one side to land another hard hit to a back leg. Damn thing had six, breaking one didn’t do much but slow it down a little. He could taste blood, but he ignored it, ignored the pain in his stomach. He leapt back from another sweeping claw, waiting until the thing tried to grab him in its mouth, jabbing fiercely into its eyes. The beast howled, resonating his eardrums, thrashing about wildly in pain.

Ty watched as Lane continued pummeling the creature, from that point keeping the upper hand in the fight. She just laid there, trying her best to breathe and heal. Damn, the boy really could fight, and he hadn’t even used any of his sparkly ice magic. Ty caught herself snickering at that thought, watching as the big six legged dog thudded to the ground, completely lifeless. The branch Lane had been fighting with clattered to the ground, the boy kneeling beside her.

“Tyger?” he panted, cool fingers brushing back her hair to inspect the gash across her forehead. He touched it, concentrating and sealing the wound.

“Aahhh… ahh,” Ty couldn’t help but wince even as the pain got better.

The koorime’s healing magic spread through her, stretched as far as it would go, healing most of the wounds, lessening the rest to a bearable level of pain. He sat back on his heels, letting her get up on her own, still fighting waves of dizziness. Ty looked at the creature.

“Damn boy… that part of your training?”

Lane followed her gaze over to the beast, then looked back at her and nodded, lips still parted as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Shit icicle,” she reached, wincing a little, but managed to grab the branch he’d used, shoving it into his hands. “Here, keep it handy. I swear the gate isn’t far from here. How’s your stomach?”

Lane fought her meekly, but she looked anyway. Dammit he should have healed himself instead of concentrating on her. The large gash, never quite healed, was aggravated and bleeding again. He pulled away from her and stood up, using the branch to accomplish that, reaching to help her up as well. Ty made her disapproving scowl very evident.

“We gotta get moving… beasties ‘round here like the smell of blood,” the Jujin tugged Lane, skirting around the dead creature.

Ty went slowly, for his sake she excused, and not because she was getting tired or sore. They’d been wandering pretty much the entire day, running into nasty things now and again, but that had by far been the largest and nastiest.

“Damn… here it is… well… at least this looks familiar,” Ty scowled, reaching out to touch something not quite a rock, more like worn and destroyed marble.

“This way,” Lane pointed, forging through the underbrush, nudging away vines to reveal more of the marble columns, all lined up along one side of the old temple ruins. The two of them climbed up through the ruins and out of the tangled and thorny foliage.

Tyger gazed at the Makai Gate, those two seemingly unimportant pillars. On the other side of that damn thing was home, a nice soft bed, something cool to drink, a bath. Ooh that sounded so nice. Why did the damn thing only work for certain people? She plopped down rather unceremoniously and glared at the Gate, yeah, like that would help any.

“Maybe… one of those garage door opener thingies,” Ty squinted one eye shut at the Gate, pretending she had a remote control in her hand.

Lane quirked an eyebrow, then snickered and settled down beside her, laying the branch on his other side – just in case any more beasties should happen to show up. Ty noticed him looking at the Gate, his expression almost wistful, as if in remembering. Almost a year ago he’d tumbled through this Gate and into the human world.

“Hey… Lane?” Tyger twitched a bit in slight irritation at the fact it took more than a moment for Lane to pay attention to her. “How did you… get through to Ningen?”

The Koorime’s eyes slid back to the Gate, blinking several times before answering, with painful simplicity, “I just… opened it.”

“Just like that? Nobody bothered to ask you how?”

Lane focused on her once more, shaking his head.

Tyger scowled, “You know… only certain people are spose to be able to open that thing. Red and feather trained… like forever to be able to do it… now Kino’s a bitchin little magic bug, that she’d needta -work- at something…”

Lane stood up, making a useless effort to straighten what was left of his clothing. “I was being chased, and I’d heard about the Gates in studies. I thought perhaps I could hide in these ruins,” his hand trailed along a column as he stepped slowly around the relative clearing.

Ty watched him, his expression, those slow movements that obviously shallowly mimicked the memory he was recalling. He had made a weaving path from the front stairway, through the columns that made a sort of hallway toward the seemingly bare wall at the back, only slightly covered as it was by a roof that had long since crumbled. His eyes were filled with an obvious pain, and she was a little bit worried that pain might have something to do with something real and physical rather than just the memory.

“I didn’t know what to do… where to go,” Lane stood in front of the Gate, head bowed, as he had done then. He did not mention to Ty that he had fallen to his knees in this very spot, broken, shamed, weeping openly like he had rarely done so in his entire life. He had prayed to every god he had ever believed in, his blood and his tears a sacrifice, prayed to the spirit of dearest Zelia, in the honorable name of his House, for the sanctity of his people, and allowing himself to be slightly more selfish than that – for the sake of his mother alone. That one prayer had been answered.

One prayer… in nearly seventy-three years.

Faith was a thing of little substance, by definition, and Lane had learned to sustain his on extremely little. Every hope of his was shaky, standing on thin support. And there were times he would even curse all those gods, despite that little bit of proof they actually did listen, excusing that it was perhaps only Zelia’s spirit guiding him one last time. And perhaps it had been. Perhaps gods listened to curses as much as they did prayers.

“How does it work?” Tyger asked curiously. She had no idea why, she’d never asked Kino about it, never cared. Maybe survival… one more big nasty beast and she was ready to get out of Makai quick. Yeah that was it, just survival.

“I heard… a tone… like a humming. It was distant… beyond this Gate, I suppose the Ningen Gate. I… called it towards me, using my power to draw it,” Lane fought for how to put it into words, “then this Gate’s power flowed into that power, and I had to hold them together to make a bridge of sorts.”

“Can you do it again?” Ty stood up.

Lane blinked at her, canting his head, “Why, do you hear something?”

Ty shrugged casually, “No… just curious,” she lied through her teeth and did it well. Damn straight she heard something, but she wasn’t going to admit she was running and he didn’t need any sort of pressure about this, especially not if he was injured.

The koorime nodded and faced the Gate again, closing his eyes once more and listening very carefully for that hum of power. This time he heard not one, but three. He listened with interest for a moment, noticing each one was slightly different, but easily discerning which one was the Ningen Gate. The powers shifted, pulled, and finally coalesced, the Makai Gate blasting open in a whirlwind just as Ty ducked behind Lane. He held the path open easily, guiding the two of them safely back to the Temple.

~*~*~*~*~

“This is impossible,” Kino sighed, reaching for the branch Tanji had so easily flitted to, grasping and reminding herself for the hundredth time not to look down.

Trees, yeah okay for climbing, okay for sitting and reading… not okay for these mid-air monkey-esque acrobatics. Tanji reached back and gripped her forearm, tugging her safely to the next tree, embracing her securely as he took a look around. Kino rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes for a moment.

“Going to kill ourselves.”

“Get cut by those poisonous brambles and we certainly will get killed,” Tanji darted a glance down at the base of the tree.

“I know… with our size and its toxicity level,” she sighed, nuzzling for another moment, catching her breath. “And I realize that you and Kesu have made… a number of trips here, but I have to ask… are you lost?”

“No…” Tanji answered easily, “I know precisely where we are. It’s just a matter of getting where we want to go without waking large nasty beasts or halfling eating plants,” he made a cute little growling noise and gnawed playfully at her shoulder.

Kino slapped at his chest, forcing a scowl, “Don’t get playful fifteen feet off the ground…”

Tanji looked down again, “Seventeen and a half.”

“… in a tree and don’t get technical either,” she finished scolding.

“Sorry angel,” he nuzzled.

“You’re incorrigible,” she pouted, shifting her main support to the tree trunk as Tanji slipped away from her.

“And you’re addictive,” he winked, slipping easily from branch to branch around to the other side of the immensely thick tree. “It’s been awhile, since I could say that I wasn’t addicted,” he sang, plopping down on a branch and eyeing a rather way too distant objective.

“You’re going to upset those man-eating plants,” Kino leaned against the tree trunk, peering around it and wincing as Tanji let himself fall backward, knees hooked over the branch as he reached what he wanted and pulled it.

“C’mon,” he blinked at her, nodding toward the new tree.

“Are you sure this is preferable to poisonous brambles?” Kino crept along the branch, somehow managing to avoid stepping on anything of him that would make him release the joining of branches. She pressed against the new trunk and watched him do a neat little twist and flip to get to her.

Tanji closed his eyes as he slipped up against her, grasping his side. Kino studied his expression, noting the barest tinge of discomfort, which translated into pain for one who knew how to read his guarded expressions. “It’s nothing,” he noticed her worry.

“No more fancy moves,” Kino scolded, gingerly touching the aggravated wounds, but knowing she didn’t have anymore strength to heal him.

“We gotta get to the Gate,” Tanji murmured, wincing at the touch.

“It’s almost dark… you’re exhausted… I’m sore. The trees are safe to stay in,” she glanced upward and spotted a comfortable looking crook of branch-joining – or at least relatively comfortable, better than nothing, and as good as trees got. Her reasoning suggested that was the best place to rest for the night.

They helped one another climb up to that place, Tanji not arguing. He was exhausted. They’d been wandering the kitsune forest all day, running into quite a few nasty surprises. Ah well, they were fairly near the Gate, but Kino was right, they’d never reach it, stopping here was as good a place as any in this forsaken place. It was a small little hollow between branches, but nestled together closely they managed.

“You’re shivering,” Tanji noticed softly, slipping towards sleep, but concerned.

“Yes… spent a great deal of power lately. It’ll come back, don’t worry over it,” she kissed his temple as he burrowed against her neck.

“I’ll keep you warm then,” he held her a little tighter, not letting himself shiver, giving no indication at all to how cold he was himself – chilled to the very core of his being, a chill of unexplainable dread.

~*~*~*~*~

“Rest, fox,” Amadeus scolded for what had to have been the hundredth time in ten minutes.

“Can’t… take too much time… dawn,” Kesu panted, trembling against his lover.

“Left too soon, should have spent another day at that inn. I don’t see your objection to using mental influence on those demons, it gets free lodging.”

“Arkanin… is my friend.”

Deus sighed and held the kitsune close, sitting there beside what Kesu called a path through this forest. It had been a path along the open ground between Saitennin and the edge of the forest, but now Deus just couldn’t see calling it that. Kesu was moving too slowly, despite pushing himself far too hard. He collapsed constantly and all that time he’d spent healing was being pushed to worthless as the effort destroyed what little healing he had accomplished.

Then, even if they made it to that Gate despite Kesu’s difficulties at guiding them or even standing, despite the poor excuse for a path, despite impending sunrise - how the hell was Kesu going to work the thing?

“You know, fox, this would be easier if you might take that small little fox form of yours and let me carry you.”

“Deus… then I…”

“You could watch the path and tell me to turn if I needed, some sort of signal, like nuzzling my hands. Simple, and we could move faster. Plus you could rest.”

“Hai, waga koibito,” Kesu nodded, feeling so terribly weak.

Amadeus held him a little closer, feeling the ripple of power as Kesu gathered it, struggling to get his form to shift, but somehow managing. It took much longer than normal between forms, and left him much more disoriented, but in the end he was a silky-furred silver fox cradled in Deus’ arms. The vampire buried his face into that fur for a moment, then stood and eyed the path again. Kesu nudged Deus’ hand to indicate a slight turn to the right and they continued.

It was well past midnight, Kesu knew that. Even as dazed and full of pain as his mind was he could still read the feel of time. He knew there was no way he could open the Gate himself, even with several more days of rest. No, there was no healing the condition his body was in, not by himself. And he knew Kino and Lane were probably in just as bad a shape as he was, if they were still in Makai at all. Perhaps the other four had already gotten back to Ningenkai, abandoning him. He shuddered at the thought, burrowing deeper into Deus’ secure embrace, directing the vampire slightly to the left.

If he had been left there, could he really blame his friends? If they were in anywhere near the state he was in, they’d need to return to Ningen for proper healing anyway before coming back to search for him. Searching youkai-infested territory when less than healthy was suicidal. If desperate and worried enough, Yotaka would ignore Reikai’s rules and go looking for him herself.

Kesu jerked himself awake as Amadeus’ boots thudded against stony ground. He’d exhausted himself even in that restful cradle, thinking and searching mentally for one of the others, desperate to find someone who could open the Gate before sunrise. Deus was looking worried when he set the fox down and watched him return to human form on the stony terrace leading to the Makai Gate.

Amadeus settled down beside his lover, gathering him against his chest, worrying severely about his breathing. “Need to get you home, get you in a soft bed… perhaps get my brother to make you something for the pain.”

“What pain… hardly,” Kesu winced, eyes squeezing shut, “any pain… at all.”

Deus smiled softly at Kesu’s attempt, for whatever reason he’d been attempting that. It didn’t matter, it was still cute. Maybe he’d just been joking, or maybe he was trying to be strong to impress Deus.

“So… silly fox… how does that thing work?”

“Hmmm?” Kesu pulled himself from the pain-induced haze, blinking up at Deus for a moment before the words registered. “Oh… I called… friends.”

“I hadn’t realized we’d stopped at a phone.”

“Telepathy… koibito,” Kesu giggled wearily, his hand making a bare motion appearing vaguely like a playful slap to Deus’ chest.

Deus smirked, tucking back strands of that pretty metallic silver, “Friends?”

“Kino… Tanji,” Kesu let his eyes slipped closed again.

“Ugh… that unsightly one,” Amadeus glared at the Gate, willing it to work itself so he wouldn’t have to put up with Tanji.

“Preferable to… sunrise in Makai.”

“Well… perhaps,” Deus was reluctant to admit Kesu was right.

“Get back… find out… what… happened…”

Amadeus shushed the kitsune, stroking down that beautiful mass of silver hair to calm him, peering down at him worriedly. Kesu had said that once back at the Temple, that Keeper could heal him enough to remove him from immediate danger, but until then… Kesu was standing on extremely shaky ground. The kitsune started whispering feverishly in a language Deus didn’t even recognize as Japanese.

“Silly fox, how many languages do you know?” he scolded gently.

Kesu giggled almost silently, “Lots, koibito.”

“Well I only speak one, quit it. I hate being left out of conversations.”

“Even when I’m talking to myself?” wide and sparkling green eyes blinked up at him, so beautiful.

Amadeus brushed strands of silver from Kesu’s sweat-sheened forehead, “Especially those, fox… surrounded by you, what better conversation?”

“Ai shiteru, waga koibito,” Kesu sighed, eyes closing and body going completely relaxed. He didn’t have anymore strength, letting himself be totally supported by his companion.

“What were you saying anyway?”

“Praying… to Inari.”

“Ah, that equally silly fox-god of yours.”

“Mmhmm. You know… I was once told the hand of Inari was upon me.”

“Well tell that god to get its hands off you, you’re mine,” Deus smirked.

Kesu, curled there against the vampire’s chest, smiled unseen. That had been precisely what he’d been thinking, he mused as he fell into a feverish half-sleep.

~*~*~*~*~

“Kesu?” Kino trotted up the steps to the Gate’s stony plateau, “and… Amadeus?”

“What are ya doin in Makai?” Tanji blinked at the vampire, coming up just behind her.

Deus bared his fangs at the halfbreed, “I had to rescue something you abandoned,” he nodded toward Kesu, not taking his eyes from the unsightly one.

Tanji stiffened, but Kesu make a meek noise of objection, begging them not to fight. He tried to push himself up from Deus, but failed. Tanji felt a severe pang of guilt, Kesu was practically dead. He had only to imagine if Deus hadn’t showed up, hadn’t found Kesu…

Kino was kneeling beside Deus, gently touching Kesu’s forehead. She knew before even checking that she couldn’t do anything for him. “We need to get him to Yotaka now. Tanji, can you open the Gate?” she worried at her lip, also knowing she didn’t have enough strength for that.

Tanji nodded, stepping toward the tall pillars and taking a deep breath. He really didn’t, but for Kesu, somehow he found the strength. The Maelstrom parted, bridging Ningen to Makai and returning the four of them to Kiro Temple.

~*~*~*~*~

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