Little One by Ravyn

Chapter Fifteen

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The battlefield was hot. Dirt hung in the air along with half-completed spells and the heavy stench of blood. It wouldn't take long for the bodies to begin to decay in this heat and Misao shoved her fingers into her bangs to try to push them away from her eyes. She needed to see if she was going to figure out what was going on. There had been a jarring, a sense of unease since Kenshin had started to fight the demon wearing a man's skin and she was uneasy.

There were no ghosts.

It was unnatural. Carefully slithering her way through the clumps of dead bodies and horses, she scanned the ground with narrowed eyes. Between death magic, battle magic and the small pockets of energy that remained from half-finished spells it was easy for ghosts to linger on the field, continuing the battle that the living echoed. No battlefield was ever this warm because the spirit energy kept it somewhat cooler in places. Normally she had to work to tell the difference between flesh and bone and magic based bodies, but as she looked around she was having a difficult time finding any sign of ghosts.

Because there were none.

That worried her. Biting her lip, she scanned the area one more time. Nothing. Damn. She needed to talk to Kaoru and she needed to talk to her now. She needed to know if this was normal, if any of the ground they were standing on was blessed and if so what exactly that meant in terms of what the temple could do. Clutching a handful of poison tipped darts between her fingers she took off towards the medical tens. She was careful to keep low to the ground and out of immediate view but she was slowed by a few scuffles and few of those priests calling in things that should remain on the other side of the barrier.
She would have to deal with them once she reported to Tokio.

The medical tents were crowded and thick with its own kind of heat. The healers were working as fast as they could but they were only dealing with the worst of the injuries. Kaoru was supposed to stick to the main tent, but she may have gotten side tracked somewhere were they needed more hands. Moving carefully through all the tents it wasn't until she reached the last one that her stomach dropped to her ankles.

She wasn't here.

Bouncing on the balls of her heels, she took a deep breath before turning to scan the tents one more time. When nothing turned up she stalked up to an aide and demanded to know where the Kaoru was.

"Her Majesty has been working in the main tent."

"I know that! She isn't there now!" She worked to keep her tone somewhat normal but she was starting to feel the cold in her gut that said something bad was fixing to happen. She felt Aoshi brush her gently and latched onto his calm.

The aide frowned. "But she requested to stay in that tent for easy access…"

"Are you looking for her majesty?" The voice was young and a little boy popped up. He was dressed in the pale gray of apprentice robes that were too big and he was missing both front teeth.

"Yes."

"Two men came and fetched her from the main tent and they left about half a candle mark." He tilted his head. "She looked worried and they brought her sword."

Misao froze. "Do you know what those men looked like?

"One of them had a very interesting scar, lady." He grinned and traced a finger down his cheek. "I think I would like one of those!"

Kagerou and Katsu. Those idiots! Kenshin was going to explode when he found out. What the hell did Kaoru think she was doing? She didn't even bother to say goodbye, just sprinted out the tent and desperately searched. It was probably too late. But she had to try. If Kaoru went and got herself killed then she would take Kenshin with her and everything would be lost. Reaching out with her gift she found the closest messenger.

"Beshimi!"

X

The clang of steel against steel threatened to deafen her. She didn't try to overpower the man attacking her, instead she ducked and twisted under his defense as quickly as she could, jamming a short knife Katsu had handed her into the man's thigh. He screamed and then her sword was in his gut and she was lunging away.

This was becoming difficult. Her hands stung with the impact of the blow she had dealt and sweat ran down her back and sides. The path that Katsu and Kagerou had chosen had forced them to cut through a smaller skirmish. It was exhausting. Her body was already weary from the work in the hospital and now she was going to face her cousins.

She hoped that she made it.

"This is not going well." She hissed.

"It's going fine," Katsu growled, fingering some black him his palm. "They will forget about us in a moment and then we're going to stick you in that damn tunnel."

"We're is it?"

Kagerou pointed to a small clump of bushes. "It's there. You should be able to see it in just a moment."

"You're sure this is going to work?"

Katsu patted her on the shoulder. "It has to."

"We need to move now." Kagerou whispered. "Move quickly and we should avoid being seen."

Kaoru really hoped he was right. She was going to need to save all her energy for what she was facing down in the underground temple. Taking a deep breath she sprinted across the ground and flung herself into the low bushes. Her knees scrapped against metal and rock and she bit her lip to keep from yelping as the metal covering began to move under her knees. Scrambling backwards, she stepped onto solid ground just sank into the ground, leaving a long line of steps that disappeared into darkness.

"Good luck." Katsu whispered, suddenly at her shoulder. His voice echoed down the steps and she swallowed.

She was returning the temple. This was such a terrible idea. Taking a deep, steadying breath she tilted her head.

"Keep an eye on Kenshin and don't forget to warn Tokio."

Kagerou nodded. "It will be done."

Taking another deep breath, she started down the stairs. Halfway down, the grating sound of the cover sliding into place had her clutching the handrail as she was left in complete darkness

X

The battlefield had melted into a blur of shattered steel and blood hours ago. The muscles in his shoulders and back burned from exertion. Not for the first time did Kenshin appreciate the soft leather vest that he wore instead of the heavy iron chains as he ducked under another lightening fast blow and retaliated with his own. Magic curled through his veins, pulling off of the sweat and blood and residue shattered steel left behind and converting it into his own power.

The demon in front of him was fast, his sword lashing out in hard, fast strokes that Kenshin blocked. It was a dance they had been moving to for hours.

Twist. Slash. Duck. Roll and slash again.

There wasn't time or power for specialized attacks. There was only steel against steel and the surging, flattening power rushing into his blade to counteract the power he could feel building in the man in front of him.

Skidding to a halt he pulled in deep breaths. Soujiro was at his side a heartbeat later as they waited to see what the demon would do next. The demon in front of them laughed and disappeared back into the crowd of soldiers fighting around them now that he was no longer being chased. It had been less than half a day since whatever binds had held the demon in check had been snapped. Whatever sanity Akira had been holding onto – whatever chance they had of ending this quickly – had disappeared with his screams and he and Soujiro were having some difficulty corralling the demon away from the gore of the battlefield.

No matter how fast his magic burned the residue of battle into power, the demon was turning the blood and death into his own strength just as quickly. Neither was able to find an upper hand, but where the demon could drive Akira's body into nothing before giving up Kenshin was bound by the rules of his own body.

"I believe this may be more difficult than we originally anticipated." Aoshi said as he appeared. There was a cut high on his temple and a bandage wrapped around his left arm, but he had little difficulty dispatching an enemy soldier as he joined them. "The longer this battle continues the more difficult it will be to keep him from slaughtering."

Soujiro had lost his smile and sweat ran a steady line from his temple to his jaw. "Yes."
Kenshin studied the battle in front of his with narrowed eyes. "If we can break the bonds holding him to the host body we may have a chance."

"The difficulty with that is that we are still unsure of the demons name." Aoshi said flatly. "Tokio and Yumi are having no luck in their scrying."

"Have we located either of the Yukishiros?"

"No," Aoshi said. "Wherever they are hiding, they have gone deep."

"Find them." Kenshin ground out. "They are the key to this."

"Yes."

Kenshin nodded. He closed his eyes for a moment, making sure the wall between the bond was still firmly in place before throwing himself back into the battle. They could not let Akira unchecked for long.

Soujiro studied Aoshi for a moment.

"There is something else?"

"Kaoru is missing."

Soujiro tilted his head. "That will cause problems. The bond between them is closed. Who is looking for her?"

"Beshimi had gone to alert the others." Aoshi nodded his head towards the tents. "The mages are doing all they can. Keep an eye on him. If she has gotten herself into trouble we will know about it soon enough."

"Let us hope it is not the kind of trouble he will be feeling even with the bond closed." Soujiro said he too disappeared back into the crowd.

X

"Anything?"

Tokio slammed her hands down onto her worktable, her lips pressed into a thin line. She took several, calming breathes before shaking her head. "Nothing. Not an absolute thing, which means he must have done the binding somewhere else."

Yumi sighed and shoved a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Yes and we don't have the time or the resources to hunt down the location to find a blood trail."

Tokio rubbed her eyes. "So we have to try a different angle. Without knowing the name of the demon it's going to be difficult to contain him even with the shields we have at our disposal."
"I am afraid the demon is going to be the least of your worries."

Yumi turned around, a spell sparking off her fingers. Tokio reached out with her hand, shaking her head. "This one is Kaoru's."

Kagerou bent at his waste. "I apologize for the interruption, but I was sent here as an urgent messenger from Her Majesty."

Tokio waved him in. "What is it?"

"The Yukishiros have gone underground into the temples. It is our belief that they will attempt to activate the defense spells."

"Spells?" Yumi questioned, her eyes narrowing. "Your people do not believe in magic."
"Yes. This is true, but our ancestors did war with those who had mage kind among them. This trap was built for the purpose of stripping everyone within a particular distance of their magic and then turning it against them, destroying anyone who it affects. The stronger the mages in the area the worse the attacks."

Tokio closed her eyes and rubbed her nose. "Is there anyway to stop it?"

"Her Majesty is working on that as we speak."

Before either woman could respond the tent flaps were flung open and Misao burst into the room. "Kaoru is miss… Kagerou." Her voice was sudden ice. "Where the hell is Kaoru?"

"Dealing with a problem she could not avoid." Quickly he outlined what was going on and the young girl paled.

"There aren't any ghosts."

"What?" Tokio questioned.

"The ghosts. They aren't sticking around or they are being pulled into something for full. I wanted to ask Kaoru if this field was holy or if there was a temple underneath it…"

"There is."

Misao pulled out a small paper that held a fast sketch of the field. Walking over she smoothed it out over the table. "This is where the ghosts should be and these are the areas that aren't even showing up to my senses."

"The temple entrance is here."

"Akira is keeping to this part of the battlefield. So this is where Kenshin, Aoshi and Soujiro are as well. The mercenaries seem to be congregating here."

"Yes…" Tokio murmured. "Do you see the pattern Yumi?"

"I do. What do you have in mind?"

Tokio was silent for a long time and then she turned to Misao. "I need you to go collect all the mages you can. All of them. Send them here. Then tell His Majesty what is occurring with his wife. If she is fighting the Yukishiros she will need his support."

"Support?" Kagerou asked mildly.

"Our Lord bound their souls together in the deepest bind our people have. He should be able to lend her some assistance in the battle with her cousins."

Misao nodded. "What are you going to do?"

Tokio's mouth was grim. "Finish this."

X

This had to have been one of her stupidest ideas ever. Wrapping her sweaty fingers around her pommel, she studied the scene before her and desperately wished she had thought to steal one of Katsu's bombs or brought a mage along. This was a little out of her range of understanding and Kenshin was still closed off from her.

The air in the room felt thick. It hurt a little to breathe in and while the heavy stench of blood had faded it still clung to the back of her throat. Tomoe was standing on a dais, her formal robes catching the light oddly.

Kaoru really hoped there wasn't a barrier there, because killing Enishi wasn't a possibility. Having sparred with Kenshin, she understood speed in a way she hadn't previously, but Enishi's style was foreign to her and he was stronger. He had the added benefit of being well rested and uninjured, and from the way his eyes were catch the slowly forming sparks in the air Kaoru was certain that he was feeding power off of whatever Tomoe was doing.

Still, her options where limited. There was no way short of an explosion to collapse the room on her cousins and Kenshin was facing a demon unchained by his human's soul. Chances of either of them surviving this were slim but she was going to give it her best. Taking a deep breath she unsheathed her sword.
The sound of steel ringing against the metal of her sheath drew the attention of her cousins and Kaoru set her feet.

"We were wondering when you were going to join us." Enishi said with a smile as he unfolded his legs and stood, eyes gleaming. "It appears we underestimated the willingness of the priests and now require another sacrifice."

Kaoru compressed her lips. "No."

Tomoe folded her hands into the sleeves of her robe. "Do you really think you can stop us? Your precious king is falling, Kaoru. He won't stand much longer against Akira."
Kaoru's heart clenched in her chest but she shook her head. "When he dies I will know it. Until then, I will fight."

Enishi's lips curled back. "So you are bound to him. I'm going to enjoy taking you apart piece by piece, cousin, if just to imagine what Himura will feel as you bleed out."
"You can still stop this." Kaoru said quietly. "It doesn't have to end like this."

Tomoe laughed; the sound like bells over frozen water. "I have no wish to stop anything, cousin. Even now, Akira is destroying your people. The demon will feed on his soul and his being until there is nothing left but a shell. Then we will strike and there will be nothing left of your pathetic king and his pathetic followers."

Kaoru held her sword up, her mind working fast at an attempt to figure out exactly how she was going to manage this. Enishi was pacing forward, his own sword drawn. They needed her to bleed out. Understanding why there were grates in the floor, she carefully moved away from him and the grates. They needed her blood. Fine. It would give her the time she needed to figure out how to stop them.

Tomoe was clearly at the center of the spell, and if was remembering those long conversations she had overheard clearly, then it was Tomoe she was going to have to deal with. She wasn't certain that anything but right out killing her cousin would slow her down; she had to try.

Enishi moved fast.

The only reason she missed his first strike was because she was so much shorter than him and because Kenshin had used that move against her before. The second slash left her fingers feeling numb and sparks shot off his blade. He jammed his hilt up against hers and slammed her back into the wall hard enough that her spine felt jarred.

"Someone took care to give you a sword that rejects magic. Too bad it won't do you any good."

Kaoru drove her foot into Enishi's knee and flung herself to the side, gripping her hilt with both hands to steady her grip. "I think it suits me just fine."

"I need to start the spell." Tomoe said firmly.

Enishi gave a little half bow and his entire body blurred. Kaoru reacted on instinct alone and slammed her sword out to parry the flicker that might have been his sword. Steel crashed into steel as she caught his blade with her own, redirecting the strike, but the long edge of his blade grazed her shoulder and she set her teeth to keep from crying out, instead she shifted her weight and let the strike find the wall.

Lunging back several steps she panted. There was just no way she was going to keep being so damn lucky. He moved too fast. She was running out of options and how her left shoulder was injured. Rolling it she winced, as the muscles were slow to react.

"Thank you."

"Of course," Enishi said, flicking his blade so the blood sprayed towards Tomoe.

The middle of the room gave her more room to dodge but it left her over the grates and Enishi pressed her defenses. Her shoulder wasn't moving right so now she had to rely on defense instead of any hopes she had at striking back. Dropping in a crouch to avoid the strike aimed at her neck she could only bring her blade up in some sort of hope to block his next strike when something quiet firmly took over and she found her muscles shoving away from him and into a roll that drove her damaged shoulder into the floor.

Gasping, she used the momentum of the roll to spin and she spun around to block Enishi's attack, using her foot against the wall to give her enough strength to shove back against his blade and him.

Heat flared through her veins and this time it was her blade shooting sparks as she managed to throw Enishi back, breathing heavily.

Enishi's eyes narrowed. "So, Himura is still alive."

Kaoru could only gasp for air as heat and strength poured through her blood. Kenshin had removed the block between their bond. Displeasure, frustration and a great, swelling anger coursed through their bond. Clearly, he was not pleased. Licking her lips, she shoved back at him with her own determination and what she hoped was a clear warning to keep himself alive. The idiot was going to get himself killed if he was splitting his concentration between her and the battlefield. Her own anger gave her strength and not for the first time was Kaoru torn between relief that they could not communicate verbally yet and frustration. She needed a plan and two minds in this situation had the possibility of being better than one but he needed to concentrate on keeping himself alive!

The sudden heavy, rolling press of power almost sent her to her knees and she staggered forward. Tomoe made a sound of concentration and this time her knees hit the ground painfully. Her fingers clutched one of the slick, heavy grates as she tried to catch her bearings.

"Enishi."

Pain tore through her side. A boot caught her firmly in the ribs and she skidded across the bars on the floor. Dropping her sword, she curled her fingers against the bleeding and looked up to see Enishi walking back towards Tomoe.

"Will you need more?"

Tomoe closed her eyes and lifted her chin, her fingers moving in a complex pattern that began to glow. The corners of her lips lifted and her pattern began to wide. The heavy thickness in the air began to build and push against the walls. Something began to pull at her and it was becoming difficult to feel Kenshin.

She was bleeding too fast. Something Tomoe was doing was accelerating the process and she squeezed her eyes shut in the hopes to clear some of the growing spots behind her eyes.

"I have what I need." Tomoe said, her voice echoing strangely. "Her death will complete the casting."

Kaoru reached for her sword and took several hitching breaths; neither cousin was paying much attention to her and that was fine. Curling bloody fingers against the hilt of her sword, she lifted it unsteadily. She could feel a faint, shuddering echo of Kenshin but the thicker the air became the harder it was to reach for him. She had nothing to draw on and Enishi was bowing to his sister.

Her sword deflected magic. She really hoped that meant that it dealt with barriers. Taking one deep, even breath she lurched to her feet and flung her sword forward with what strength she had left.

Enishi's strangled shout was faint in her ears as her sword caught Tomoe in the soft flesh of her stomach. It sank almost to the hilt and her cousin staggered backwards, her eyes wide and surprised as she stared down at her. The blade must have had some magic to it after all, because she didn't have the strength to inflict that much damage. Kaoru dropped to her knees and the air around her began to compress, pushing her shoulders and head forward as she struggled to rise to her feet.

"You killed her."

Kaoru managed to lift her eyes to look at her cousin. Enishi was holding Tomoe close, his hand on her breastbone as her breathing rattled in and out of her chest. She was whispering something to Enishi, and blood flicked her lips. When he lifted his eyes the black of his pupils had eaten away the blue and the pressure in the air felt like weights.

"You. Killed. Her."

Electricity sizzled along her skin, crackling and sparking painfully.

"You killed her."

Enishi's voice was more a scream than an actual voice and Kaoru couldn't move. Something was burning through the air like lightening and Kaoru closed her eyes, exhaustion and the weight of the uncontrolled spell holding her down.

Heat so hot she was amazed her clothing didn't start smoking shot through her veins so fast her head spun. Dizzily she found herself jerked to her feet as Kenshin broke through whatever had been blocking his presence from her mind and he shoved his magic and determination through her veins. Her knees wobbled and it suddenly felt like he was right behind her, hands locked behind her elbows as he held her up. Forcing her eyes to the dais, she jerked in surprised at the way the magic appeared to be pooling around Enishi. He was completely ignoring her, cradling Tomoe's limp body against his chest, seemingly not noticing the way blood seeping into his clothes. His face was contorted into an expression Kaoru had never seen before and she realized he was finishing the spell.

Whatever sanity Enishi had was gone now.

"Don't worry my sweet." Enishi crooned, rocking Tomoe's limp body in his arms. "I will never let them touch you again."

Get out. Get out. Get out.

It hummed through her veins almost like words and she staggered backwards almost blindly. Those invisible hands jerked her upright as she went to fall. For a moment she hovered there, too exhausted to move, held up only by the force of will of the man she shared her bond with.

Kenshin. If she fell here he would fall to. Her hand clutching her side in an attempt to slow the way she could feel blood oozing between her fingers, she staggered down the dark corridors. But this time with Kenshin behind her eyes she could see, little flickers of magic that were slowly condensing into flares were lighting the way and she knew this tunnel.

She fell twice, her knees cracking painfully against the floor as blood loss made her vision swim. Not even the rolling thunder in her ears and the steady, solid presence of her husband could keep her on her feet. Forehead pressed against the floor she panted until she found her bearings and pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the way the air pulled at her, attempting to yank her back towards the howls she could feel building in the center of the temple.

It was like moving against the tide and by the time she reached the entrance she had to lock her blood slicked hands around the banister as she dragged herself up to the uncovered entrance. The first breath of fresh, clean air made her stomach roll and her head spin and her vision was swimming once she staggered into hot daylight.
She heard a shout. She had forgotten that the entrance she had taken was hidden to anyone not sworn into the service of the temple. She hovered there for a moment, bleeding and exhausted, her vision swimming. As her knees gave out and her vision darkened she thought she heard someone shouting her name.

The sound of someone saying her name over and over brought her semi-awake. Opening her eyes she found herself staring up at a familiar jaw. Beyond the way she could feel hands pressing against her body and the tight, stern grip Kenshin seemed to be holding his emotions with, there was a strange silence. As if everyone was waiting for something. The air was hot and humid but there was no noise. The ground seemed to be moving under her heavy form and she sighed. She sunk back into the welcoming darkness just as fire and light rolled across the back of her eyelids and swallowed everything.

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