Kai stepped back, his sword arcing up in a flash to catch the crackling blast of energy. It slammed into the flat edge of his blade in a flurry of sparks, and as he stepped sideways, deflecting it harmlessly, Shotaattacked.
Fire sprang from hiskusarigamaand shot through the air like a white-hot comet. Kai’s other hand came up, a scrap of paper init.
The paper flared like the sun, the symbols on it exploding with light as a nearly translucent shield of energy appeared just as the fireball would have hit him. Fire washed over the shield, but it didn’t matter. Shota was already chargingin.
The chain of hiskusarigamawhipped through the air, and as Kai brought his sword up to block it, the chain wrapped around the sword. Shota tugged on the weapon, and as Kai stumbled forward, Raiden launched another volley of electricity athim.
As Kai tried to react, releasing his sword and going for more paper magic, the lightning bolt slammed into his chest, lifting him from his feet and flinging him backward. He crashed into the dais, right next to my mother, in a flash of light and sound that shook theroom.
“No! My mom is too close!” My heart leapt into mythroat.
“Get her,” Shota said, his voice icily calm as he watched Kai lay there, his robessmoking.
“Yeah, we’ll keep you safe,” Raiden promised as my mother shook her head, the fog clearing from hereyes.
“W-what’s happening?” she asked in a trembling voice as she lookedaround.
“Mom!” I sprinted across the room to her, desperate to get to her before Kai recovered or the boys decided to fling around more elemental power. Either could result in her getting hurt by proximity, and I couldn’t let thathappen.
“Aika?” my mom asked, eyes flitting toward me as I pulled her frail body into myarms.
“Mom, I’m so glad you’re okay!” My voice cracked, and relief rushed through me as I pulled her away from Kai, trying my best to shield her and hug her at the sametime.
“Aika, you shouldn’t have come,” she said, her voice full of worry. Her body sagged against mine, and I was alarmed at how cold her skin was. “Kai is not going to let you go now that he is here. Heneeds—”
“Be silent,” Kai snarled, his voice laced with pain and anger. Gasping, I twisted around to see him staggering to his feet. “Did you think that was enough to kill me?” A small smile flitted across his lips. “You’re both so much weaker than before, and you couldn’t stop methen.”
“Trust me, Kai. If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead,” Raiden snarled. Katsu’s red aura flared out all around him, making him look even more deadly. “I was just trying to knock some sense intoyou.”
“Then you are more foolish than I thought possible, Haruki.” Darkness swirled around the wound in Kai’s chest as he spoke, and my mouth dropped in horror as I realized the darkness was healing him. “Amaterasu’s curse has ensured I will never die. There is no way for you to defeat me, even with that impressive weapon of yours. Despite how much help you have.” A twisted smile filled his face as his eyes flicked toShota.
“Dammit, will you all stop fighting already!” I cried as Kai took a step forward, all traces of damagegone.
“No,” Kai replied, his eyes twisted with darkness and hatred as they settled back on me. “Know that I do this for you. For us. Once they are gone, you’ll seethat.”
He leapt forward, charging across the distance in a flash of concentrated darkness. His fist leapt like a striking serpent, smashing into the underside of Shota’s chin, and as he staggered backward, hiskusarigamaslipped from hishand.
Kai snatched it from the air as he pivoted, blocking Raiden’s sword strike with the chain. Then, before the lightning shaman could recover, Kai twisted the chain, binding up the sword and ripping it from Raiden’sgrip.
As the weapon clattered uselessly to the ground, Kai slammed his knee into Raiden’s gut, doubling him over. Breath exploded from Raiden’s lips in a cry of pain right before Kai grabbed him by the hair and flung him into the still-recoveringShota.
Both men went down in a heap, crashing to the ground like a pair of broken mannequins as Kai calmly scooped up his fallen sword. Darkness rippled off him in waves as he turned to faceme.
“I know it seems harsh, Fumiko, but once they are gone, you’ll realize the truth.” He turned back to them and raised his sword, rage and anger flashing in his darkeyes.
There is no point in trying to reason with him,thekyuubigrowled in my head.Let me out, and we shall finish this the old-fashionedway.
She was right. If I didn’t stop Kai, he’d kill them, and if the only way to do that was with brute force, then so be it. Gently, I pushed my mother aside and summoned thekyuubifrom my body. The fire fox appeared in a flash of sapphire flame, towering over us all in her true form, causing Kai to stop mid-step.
“What are you doing?” he asked, turning to look at me, brows drawn inconfusion.
“Attack Kai!” I orderedher.
“Wait—”
Thekyuubicut off the rest of his words with a surge of flame that hit him like a nuclear blast. Flame swirled around him, engulfing him in an inferno that melted the stones beneath his feet… only that was all itdid.
Smoky darkness burst out of his hands as the flames raged around him, wrapping him in a protective layer of…something. He stood there, fire seething all around him as the darkness pouring from him exploded outward in a rage of wind and chaos, snuffing out the fire and leaving Kai standing there completelyunharmed.
