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Everyone hit the water very fast, Hebu leading them around the giant fish and straight through the lake to a giant blue stone cavern.
He pointed to the jade tower.
"Kumohime resides in there. She said that she sensed Lord Kurama's anger from the other cavern, and seeked to protect whoever he was angry at, which appears to be you too. She has said that you may stay here for as long as you like, safe from his wrath." Hebu said, bowing to them.
Sokanon nodded, "Yea, the only thing is that Kurama will probably be even more mad that we left." Sokanon turned to Hisoka, "Do you think that you can make it to the tower?"
Hebu shook his head.
"Kumohime will not allow Kurama to enter this place." he said, almost proudly.
Hisoka looked at the jade tower suspiciously. She had thought Kurama was the most powerful in the lake.
"No! You cannot go to Jade Tower! No one is allowed inside!" Hebu said, frantically.
Sokanon jumped a bit. "Ok, sorry, didn't know." Sokanon looked up toward the tower. She thought, 'What could she be hiding?' She said, "How the hell does she keep Kurama out?"
Hebu smiled, a look of pure adoration for the Lady of this cavern.
"Kumohime has woven many powerful spells around our city, to protect us from Kurama. We all once lived in his cavern, however he began killing people, such were his mood swings. So we escaped to here and Kumohime found us, showing us this cavern and protecting us."
"I see." Sokanon looked around the cavern. "It is a very beautiful cavern."
Hebu looked up suddenly, and smiled.
"Sorry, Kumohime calls me, I must leave you now. You are welcome to explore."
Sokanon watched him walk away and then turned to Hisoka, "Let's explore the cavern for a little while." Sokanon and Hisoka started to walk around the cavern. Sokanon was in awe of the beauty of the stone and the way it was carved. She decided to turn into a fox and use her heightened senses to explore. After a while Sokanon and Hisoka sat against a side of the cavern and rested. Sokanon curled up into a ball and put her tail across her face and fell asleep.
Hisoka's now long, spidery like hair, was blown by a soft breeze and Hisoka jerked awake. All her senses tingled and her hair seemed to stand on end.
"Sokanon..." she murmured, gently pushing her friend awake.
"Something is coming..." she said, and for one of the first times, fear sounded clearly in her voice.
Sokanon stood on all fours. 'What do you think it is?' She sniffed at the air.
"Something... really terrible... It feels... So cruel and evil!" Hisoka's tiny child form, hanging down like a spider from her eight legs of hair, trembled and suddenly she cracked. She could feel this evil, whatever it was, in every fibre of her being. It clouded her senses until all she could see was the black of it. She made a tiny terrified noise, before she morphed, into a being that looked like black smoke, and disappeared down into the dark end of a tunnel connected to the cavern.
Towards them walked a tiny child.
Sokanon said,'Where are u going?' When she smelled the child she snarled a bit. 'Who are you?'
The tiny girl was pale, with clear white eyes, and long white hair. She could only be about 6, and wore nothing. Her eery white skin seemed to glow in the darkness. She looked at Sokanon, with a rather blank expression on her face, like she wasn't really there.
"Fox Queen... You've returned..." she said, her voice high and fluting.
"She thought the Evil One had already taken you from this world."
'Say what...?' Sokanon transformed back into a woman. "What are you talking about? Who is this Evil One?"
"Fox Queen? Are you playing with her? You are making her worried." the little girl's voice trembled, as though who ever was playing the flute music of her voice's fingers shivered.
"The Evil One, the despicable Lord Kurama. Fox Queen, you were our hope, to destroy him. Still the people of this cavern wait for freedom."
"No, i'm not playing with you, I was just momentarily confused." She walked a bit closer to the girl. "What do i need to do to free the people of the cavern?"
The girl looked at Sokanon for a moment.
"What must you do? Kill this Evil One of course."
Sokanon sighed, "But...He's the last of my kind. If i kill him, I will be the last full blood kitsune. I know that he needs to be taken care of, but..." She trailed off.
The white girl snapped backwards, suddenly her eyes were completely black.
"Not kill the Evil One?! Fox Queen, do not betray us!"
"No, that's not what i'm saying. It's just that I've been cut off from my past my entire life so this is all so confusing. I finally meet one of my own kind and the last one too. Now after one day, I have to kill him. I mean, I had hoped that I would be able to learn more about the kitsune past before I killed him. Now, I will never know. This is so much to take in..." She fell to her knees and clutched her head in her hands.
She sighed and looked up at the girl. Her demon side came out. "Who am I kidding, Let's kill him." She stood up and transformed into a fox. Her fox form looked different than usual. She now had black streaks down her back, her eyes were red, and her canines grew longer.
Hisoka was shivering, in the shape of a white wolf, far in the tunnel, when suddenly her pride got the better of her. How could she run? If she was indeed Sokanon's servant, how could she leave her master to face something that evil.
She shot back as fast as she could, freezing though when she saw what Sokanon had transformed into. The little white girl however seemed very pleased, reaching her hands out and wrapping them around Sokanon's neck.
"The Fox Queen is back, she is so happy! She is so happy!" the little girl obviously talked about herself in thrid person.
'I hope that you can hold your breath for a while kid.' Sokanon streaked toward the water and jumped in. She headed for the other cavern.
"Sokanon!" screamed Hisoka, plunging into the water to try and catch up.
What in the world was going on? Sokanon smelt as evil as that little girl... No, even more evil!
What was she doing?
Sokanon went into Kurama's cavern. The girl got off of her and Sokanon shook the water from her fur. She turned back into a woman. She still looked a lot like she did before except that her eyes were still red and her hair had black streaks and stood out from her usual color. She started walking toward Kurama's palace.
Hisoka panted as she jumped out of the water, still trying to catch up with Sokanon. But her recent wound slowed her, the bandages did nothing to stop the blood that again flowed, and her exhaustion and lack of blood was obvious in her pale face.
"Wait!" she said, but her voice was a whisper, and she could only just see Sokanon in the distance. She stumbled forward.
"Fox Queen! Fox Queen! You will kill the Evil One and the Cavern will be free again!" chanted the little girl in her strange voice.
Sokanon stopped at the scent of blood. She turned and saw Hisoka. Her demon side faltered. Her features returned to normal. Then she sensed Kurama. She saw a streak headed for Hisoka. SHe faught back her demon half and ran toward Hisoka. She beat the streak and got in between Hisoka and Kurama. She felt a blade go through her stomach. She pulled out her kantana and stabbed him through his heart. "I told you...pant... that you...pant... would not...pant... hurt her again." Kurama fell to the ground and Sokanon pulled the blade out of her stomach. She turned to the girl. "There...pant...He's dead." She turned to Hisoka and used most of her energy to heal Hisoka's wound and then she fell to the ground. Kurama tumbled to the ground, and Hisoka lay still. All the sounds in the lake suddenly became quiet, and it seemed as though the only creatures in the entire lake were Sokanon and the little girl, the dying Hisoka and the dead Kurama. The little girl was the only one standing.
A cruel smile twisted on her lips, as Hisoka stumbled to her feet.
"You- get back." Hisoka commanded, though blood escaped out of her mouth with every word she said.
"She will not be told to do anything, she does whatever she wants. Be glad shifter, your master has killed Kurama, and with him the entire lake. The illusion he held here is gone."
Hisoka clenched her teeth, rage in her eyes.
"I knew it wasn't real, but she believed it! I knew this lake had been empty since the kitsunes died, that was part of the legend, that the hunters set fire to the lake and killed all the creatures inside. But Sokanon believed the illusion! If you hadn't interfered she might have been happy here!"
"Would have been happy? She? Or you?"
Hisoka flinched.
"Was it because of the other shifter, the one who served Kurama all those years? Were you enchanted by the lake's memories of the people who used to live here? You weren't trying to make her happy, you wanted to be happy."
Hisoka flinched, then looked at the fallen Sokanon.
"Whatever the truth, she is not happy any more. She killed the man who kept all the illusions going, and he has near killed her. I don't know if I can save her." she said, defeatedly, falling to her knees next to Sokanon.
"Because of you! Everything is gone because of you!" Hisoka screamed, but the little girl had already disappeared.
Sokanon was struggling. Her demon side was trying to take over again and she was weakened because of her wound. She was able to hold her ground against her demon side and opened her eyes. "Hisoka..." A little blood dripped from the side of her mouth. "Your friend may...pant... still be alive. Just because Kurama is dead, doesn't mean that he is." Sokanon struggled to sit up. She grabbed her stomach. She was in a lot of pain, but she wasn't going to show it. She was able to get to her knees. "Don't speak." she said, choking back tears, whilst trying to bandage the wound with strips of her shirt.
"It was just an illusion Sokanon, this whole place was just in Kurama's imagination. All the people we saw we are ghosts." her voice caught, and she bit back the flood of tears threatening to overflow.
Sokanon panted, "You really think...pant... that Kurama... would be here alone? He wouldn't...pant... have let his servent die." She crawled over to Kurama's body and put her hand on it. "Just as I thought...Kurama put your friend into a deep sleep... which he only woke up from...pant... when Kurama ordered him too. I can feel another life...pant... and it's not Kurama. Sokanon focused a bit of energy and Kurama's top started to glow. It transformed into a man. He was floating and then his eyes opened. "Told ya...pant...so." She released him from her energy and fell to her side. Then she rolled over onto her back.
Hisoka was barely even listening, she was instead completely focused on trying to help Sokanon. Tears were flowing out, her ears were ringing so she could barely hear a thing. And then she looked over, and he was there. She caught her breath, that person...
"Hehhhhhhhhh..." she panted, and then turned back to Sokanon.
"I don't know how to save her." she sobbed.
"How?" she asked him, but he was silent, as though he was still sleepy from his long slumber.
Sokanon could feel the wound start to heal. Being a demon had it's perks. You healed fast. Her demon side was still trying to take over. "Hisoka, I'll be ok...pant... being a demon helps in these situations. She looked over at the man. "Hikaru...You are released from Kurama." Hikaru seemed to snap out of his dazed and ran over to Hisoka.
Sokanon sighed and focused on fighting off her demon side.
Hisoka just looked at Sokanon. Since when did her friend become this powerful?
No time to ponder it though, immeadiately the two shifters began working. Hikaru took charge, weaving spells upon spells, Hisoka supplying all her energy to the task.
After hours of exhausting work, it seemed as though Sokanon would be fine, but they had put her in a restraint, just in case the demon side she had exhibited when she killed Kurama were to come out again.
It was then that Hisoka really turned and took in the fact the Hikaru wasn't dead, he wasn't a ghost of the past. He was real, physical and tangible in front of her. It seemed as though he was at the same point.
They took hesitant steps towards each others, before falling into a tight embrace. Thinking each other dead, and finding out that they were both alive and together had swept away their modesty and restraints. They sat together, silent yet happy, waiting for Sokanon to wake.
Sokanon had always been in a constant struggle with her demon side, but she knew that right now it was winning. Her body trembled. She started to trash. Her eyes shot open. One second they would turn red and the next she would take over again. After a few minutes, Sokanon finally won. She felt a pain in her stomach from the thrashing. "Damn... that's going to hurt for a while."
Both shifters were at her side in an instant, giving her a drink of water and washing the blood off her face. They didn't however unlock the restraints.
Sokanon chuckled, "Good call with the restraints. Keep them on me until i fully heal. Its harder to keep control when i am hurt." She looked at the shifters, "Thanks. Oh, and Hisoka, you try to get some rest too. Don't forget we still have to go after your father. " She smiled and drifted off to sleep
Hisoka smiled uncomfortably, sharing a secret look with Hikaru.
When Sokanon was asleep they began to speak quietly.
"Do you think she will ever fully heal?" murmured Hikaru.
"I don't know, but it is never easy to keep demon blood under control after you let it out once. I'm not sure what is going to happen."
"You should leave, you're still weak, if she breaks through the restraints-"
"Hikaru, she is my friend, she is my master. Don't even joke about me leaving her."
Sokanon was in a dreamless sleep. She felt the demon trying to break through, but she knew that she was strong enough to keep at bay for the time being.
Time passed slowly and uncomfortably. Days passed in the silent cave. Hisoka and Hikaru buried Kurama's body in the cave where he had lived, and each took turns looking for wood for their fire, and catching fish to eat.
On the third night, and white child appeared again.
"Give the fox to me." it demanded, and both Hikaru and Hisoka staunchly refused.
"I want the fox, for she will grow to be powerful."
"Well you cannot have her!" Hisoka had shouted. The child had left, saying she would come back when Sokanon woke.
Hisoka and Hikaru returned to their quiet vigil over Sokanon's body.
Sokanon could tell that her demon side had given up for the moment and she felt herself waking up. She groaned and opened her eyes. There was only a small throb in her stomach from the wound, which was almost gone. 'How long have I been out I wonder?'
Hisoka was by her side in an instant, looking at her with worried eyes.
"Are you ok? Are you... You?"
"Yea, I'm ok. And yes, I'm me. My demon side gave up for now. So, how long have I been out?"
"Four days." she said.
"We've got some fish cooking if you're hungry."
"Four days? Damn, that's a lot longer than I thought. Sure, i'll take a fish." She tried to sit up, but was stopped. She was still in the restraints. "Oh yea, forgot about these."
Hisoka smiled.
"I'm glad you are awake."
She paused, looking slightly uncomfortable about the restraints. She was silent, looking over to Hikaru for a moment, who also seemed uncomfortable.
"How- How do we know it's you..."
"Because, no matter how many times the demon has taken over in the past, my features always changed and it never did get the voice right. Besides, my demon side would crave blood, not fish. You don't have to take off the restraints if you don't feel comfortable."
Hisoka blushed, taking off the restraints quickly. Hikaru however still didn't appear to trust Sokanon, and he drew away from the fire to the edge of the cave.
Sokanon rubbed her wrists and sat up. She didn't move from her spot. "You guys eat first." She crossed her legs and started to meditate.
"I don't really feel like eating." Hisoka murmured, handing Sokanon a bowl of food. There was a tension in the air, like it hummed with some emotion.
Sokanon opened her eyes, "What happened while I was out?" She picked up the bowl and picked at it a bit. "All I remember was that I felt something evil appear. I know it wasn't the demon. Then it suddenly disappeared."
Hisoka sighed, and she seemed to relax. The whole area relaxed it felt, and Hisoka simply slipped back into her old companionship with Sokanon.
"Nothing really, the white girl came back. Apparently she wants you. But apart from that nothing really." she paused.
"Hikaru and I have been talking, he was not originally Kurama's servant. He was bound to a different kitsune, who lives in the snowfields near the top of the earth. We were thinking... Maybe we could go there, and try and find others like you."
The bowl dropped out of Sokanon's hands and shattered. "What!? There are other Kitsunes? I thought Kurama was the last. Wait, what do you mean, the girl wants me?" Hisoka grinned.
"Well, we can't be sure if they are still there, but at one point there was a clan of kitsunes there. I can't make promises, but we thought it was worth trying." she paused and shrugged.
"I don't know, she just said she would-"
"Come back when you woke." the girls voice was as unpleasant as ever.
Sokanon stood up. She growled, "And what do you want? If you want me to come with you, you can forget it. I have a promise to keep."
The girl smiled, shrugging.
"You should come with me, I can give you more than these two slaves can."
"I don't care what you can give me. Now you better scram before I decide to kill you." She growled again, showing her canines, which had grown a bit.
The white girl remained unmoving, but there was a quick flash of fear in her eyes. It seemed Sokanon had the power to kill her.
"You are misunderstanding. I can help you get what you want, I can help you kill the Demon Hunters."
"So? I can kill them just as easy. Like I said, scram, before I change my mind."
The girl scowled.
"If you do not come with me right now you will regret it. If you refuse me I will destroy everything you touch, starting with them."
Sokanon got really mad and transformed into a fox, 'You leave them out of this. If you so much as touch them, I will hunt you down and kill you in the most painful way I can think of.' She got in front of Hisoka and Hikaru and growled at the girl, 'Why do you need me so bad?'
The girl wouldn't back down, and a dark mist surrounded her.
"Do you think I'm scared of you? I am Phoenix, eternally reborn. Even if you kill me I won't die!" she cried.
"That is not for you to know!"
Sokanon flinched back. She mind linked with Hisoka, 'You guys need to get the hell out of here. I'll hold her off if she attacks you.'
Hisoka shook her head.
"I'm not going to leave you again, last time I left you with her something bad happened." she said, bravely.
Hikaru just nodded, it was enough to convey his meaning.
"You ingrates! GIVE ME THE FOX!"
'I don't care, I don't want anything to happen to either of you. Get out of here. I'm mad enough already. If either of you gets hurt, I won't be able to control the demon and...I may loose myself. Once you get out, the easier it will be for me to control the demon. If I don't come in a couple of hours, I want you to live a good life and give your dad a good beating for me.'
"No! I'm not going to listen to your excuses! I am your friend, and you can't just get rid of me that easily!"
Sokanon gave up. 'Fine, just don't get hurt.' She turned to the girl, 'If I come with you, what happens to them?'
The girl smiled.
"I will give them this entire forest, so they can live and be happy, raise a family, whatever." she said, her voice enticing.
"Don't even think about it Sokanon!" cried Hisoka.
'what choice do I have? I can't kill her. I won't let her hurt you, and if we try to run, who knows what she will do.'
"You idiot! I don't care if I die! All I want is you!" Hisoka shouted.
The white girl smiled and suddenly, moving to quickly for any of them to see she had stabbed Hisoka straight through the middle.
"Funny... That's what I was trying to say." she said with an avil smile.
Almost in slow motion Hisoka fell, and Hikaru ran to her, only to be stabbed as well. All was silent.
Sokanon was enraged, 'NO, DAMN YOU!' She lost most of her control. The black streak and red eyes came back. She ran at the girl, first intending to kill her, but she knew that she had to get the shapeshifters out of the cavern. She held back and managed to knock the girl to the ground for a minute. She knew she had to act fast. Sokanon was able to gain control again and her eyes turned back to normal, but the black streak was still there. She ran over to the shapeshifters and got them both on her back. She plunged into the lake and got them to the surface. She put them down next to a tree and ran back to the lake, waiting for the girl. She transformed back into a woman. Her usually blue hair now had black streaks. She pulled out her kantana and waited.
Hisoka and Hikaru were still above the lake, they didn't move. The girl stood, looking angrier than ever when she saw Sokanon.
"You..." her voice shook with anger.
"I will not forgive you for this." she said, disappearing into white smoke.
Above the water Hisoka and Hikaru woke, gasping for breath.
Sokanon quickly sheathed her kantana and ran over to Hisoka and Hikaru. "You guys need medical attention fast."
A strange white mist surrounded the two wounded shapeshifters, and for a brief moment they were both hidden from Sokanon's view. When the white mist disappeared, what was left was not what had been there before.
Two identical, rather sullen looking children, obviously twins.
"What the hell? What just happened?"
The boy looked at Sokanon silently but the girl stared at her with a look of something like disdain.
"Who are you?" she asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
My name is Sokanon. Who are you?"
The little girl swallowed, obviously she was frightened, but hiding it well for such a young person.
"My name is Tokiko, and he is Takamura. Where have you brought us?"
The boy was watching Sokanon intently, and while he had not yet spoken, he seemed to be the less frightened of the pair.
"What do you mean where have I brought you? I didn't do a thing. I was going to help my friends and then they disappeared into some kind of mist. Then you appeared. It must have been that girl. Damn her."
"Don't tell lies!" she said, her voice quavering a little.
"You think just 'cause we're kids you can tell us stories? We come from the Souh Clan, and we aren't silly. Lucid will be looking for us, you are going to get in big trouble!" she cried, but her brother tugged on her sleeve gently and she swallowed, calming a little.
"Huh, I'm not lying. I mean, why would I want to kidnap a couple of kids? I have enough problems to deal with. I'm not holding you here against your will in any way. You can leave if you wish, but... I wouldn't if I were you. We're in theTamagama Mountains and it crawling with demons."
The girl's eyes widened, but she was quick to reply.
"You think we are scared of demons? I told you already, we are from the Souh clan! We hunt demons!"
Sokanon slightly flinched. She repeated, "Well, you can leave if you want. I sure as hell am not going to protect you." She turned and started walking into the woods.
Suddenly a small silver throwing dagger lodged itself in the tree, next to her head. The boy was standing, another gleaming in his hand.
"You're a demon, aren't you?" he asked, he seemed much more like an adult than a child, his voice was that of a child's but it was like steel.
"Maybe I am, Maybe I'm not. I am a ninja." She pulled the dagger out of the tree and threw it so that it landed in front of the boys feet. She kept walking.
"Don't leave us." the boy said, his voice even.
The girl looked at him in shock.
"What are you doing?" she whispered urgently. The boy just looked at Sokanon walking away.
"Please don't leave us.'
Sokanon stopped. She turned and smirked, "I thought you were demon hunters. I heard that demon hunters can handle anything. Why do you need a ninja to protect you?"
"She's right Takamura, we don't need her-"
Takamura looked at Sokanon with eyes unlike any she had ever encountered.
"We do not know where we are, we won't be able to find our way out if you leave." he said, his voice was soft and truthful.
"If you leave us here, we will die."
"Fine, I'll get you out of the mountains. I can't garantee anything past that, but, it's better than you dying out here where hostile demons would destroy your bodies." She motioned for the kids to follow her. "Hurry up, I don't have all day."
The girl was whispering furiously at the boy, but he simply took her arm and followed Sokanon. She fell silent with a hopeless look on her face, while he simply kept his eyes on Sokanon.
"We won't need you the whole way! Lucid will be coming for us!" Tokiko said, but she already sounded tired.
"Good, cause I have my own business after we get out of here. Oh, and don't forget. Stay quiet if you value your life. Some demons have really good hearing."
It wasn't long before the little girl started to pant, they were walking quite quickly and her short legs were making it hard. The boy was still making no sound, but his lips were pushed together as though he was concentrating on just walking.
Sokanon heard the panting. She turned her head back. "Is something wrong? Do you need a break?"
The little girl was trailing behind, but Takamura had her hand in his as they walked, pulling her along. She saw Sokanon, and heard her question, but was too out of breath the answer. Takamura seemed in slightly better shape, but he was just concentrating on walking without stumbling.
Sokanon slowed to a stop. She started to say, "We'll take a short..." Then she sensed something. "Stay back by a tree. Something is coming." She pulled out her kantana and waited. A giant centapede suddenly burst through the forest. Sokanon shot at the demon and jumped on it's back. It was thrashing, but she was able to climb to the head and kill it. She jumped off. "I think we'll get out of here quicker if both of you get on my back and I travel through the trees."
Takamura pulled Tokiko behind a tree, where she limply lay against him, completely exhausted. As soon as Sokanon had finished talking, the edge of a sword rested against her neck.
"Where are the children?" a male voice asked her, obviously the person holding the sword.
He moved round to face her, never removing the sword from close to her neck.
"Over by that tree. You must be Lucid." She sheathed her kantana.
He looked at her warily for a moment, before sheathing his own sword. He took a step towards the tree.
"Children?" he called, and Takamura raced out from behind the tree.
'Lucid! Tokiko has had another attack!" he cried, obviously panicky.
Sokanon watched, wondering, 'Why didn't he tell me about this. We could have gone a bit slower.'
Lucid raced around the tree, appearing a second later holding the little girl, unconscious, in his arms. It was at that moment, a large snake-like demon appeared.
"Lucid Atray! This time, I'll have your head!" it hissed loudly. Lucid jumped back, grabbing Takamura by the waist as he did. He seemed to have forgotten about Sokanon, intent on protecting the children.
Sokanon sighed. She pulled out her kantana. She called, "Get the kids out of here. I'll take care of the demon." She got in between the demon and Lucid.
Lucid looked at her for a moment, before jumping out of the way of another attack.
"It's after me. Take the children, I'll meet up with you again soon." he said, throwing the children over to her.
"Be good for the lady children!" he called.
"Lucid!" cried Takamura, hanging on to Tokiko as they landed neatly in Sokanon's arms.
Lucid drew a large Claymore, covered in characters for demon hunting.
Sokanon had seen the kids coming and quickly sheathed her kantana. She caught them gracefully and turned. She jumped into the trees. She made sure to break a few limbs so that Lucid could follow.
Lucid face the giant snake calmly.
"I've told you before Himura, you should give up now."
"Never, I won't stop until I take your life!"
Lucid jumped forward, and before it had begun it was over. Lucid turned, the woman had left a clear trail to follow. Now that the immeadiate danger was gone he wondered what in the world had happened. One second he had been watching the children have their lessons, the next they had disappeared.
"I wonder if that woman knows." he murmured.
Sokanon didn't stop until they were out of the mountains. She jumped out of the trees and landed in a clearing. She placed the boy down. She went and leaned on a tree, panting.
Takamura held his sister carefully, looking at her with worry shining in his eyes.
"Please be alright..." he murmured.
"Just wait, Lucid will be back soon."
Sokanon walked over. "If you let me, I know about medicines and things that will help."
Takamura looked up at her for a second, before the child leapt at her, wrapping her in a tight hug. He buried his face in her stomach and it was obvious the little boy was crying.
"You're a demon right? Demons can fix anything, they have magic don't they? I'll give you anything, my soul if you want it, just fix her!" he cried.
"Well, I can't fix everything, but with a mixture of my medic skills and a bit of energy, I think that I can help." She went over to the nearby river and tore off a bit of her shirt. She got it wet and went back over to the kids. She put the cloth on the girl's forehead. Then she gathered energy into her hand and put it over the girl's head. She sent the energy into the girl's body.
Takamura was watching, his hands clasped together to stop them shaking. Suddenly, before Sokanon could go any further, a navy streak flashed over, a kick with more power than a train smashed into her, and the little girl in a second was removed from any where near her.
Lucid stood, the two children behind him, his sword ready. There was a dark aura about him, and the shadow of fox ears on his head and a tail. Suddenly it was all clear, he was in fact a kitsune, but one who lived with the demon hunters, he was the guardian of the two heirs of the Clan, he was perfect at hiding his blood.
"What do you think you are doing?" he growled.
Takamura grabbed his arm.
"I asked her to! She was trying to help-"
"You asked her to?! You are a fool Takamura!" he snapped, shaking the little boy off his arm.
"She could have done anything to Tokiko-chan, and you wouldn't have tried to stop her?" he asked harshly, turning away from the suddenly very quiet boy.
"I'm going to ask you again, what did you do to her? I swear if you harmed her..."
Sokanon stood up. "I was trying to help her. I may be a kitsune, or in your words a demon, but that doesn't mean that I am out to destroy humans. I ment only to help her."
He looked at her, his eyes unforgiving.
"Yes, you are a demon. Demon blood... It has to be removed from this world!" he paused for a moment.
Sokanon said, "You should be one to talk." She transformed into a fox and ran off.
"Stay here!" he said, taking off after Sokanon.
Takamura sat down shakily next to the waking Tokiko.
"I won't let you get away!"
Sokanon was running toward a familier place. She went into one of her secret places. This one was sealed from people she didn't want in it. She turned back into a woman and pulled out her kantana, preparing for a fight, should it come to one.
The seal blew open, in a huge explosion of kitsune magic. And, in the dissipating smoke, stood Lucid, katana in hand.
"I want to know how you got here. You should have been dead, all the kitsunes are dead."
Sokanon held up her kantana, prepared for an attack. "I don't know how I survived. I thought that i was the last one until i found out about Kurama and now i know about you. I know nothing of my past till the age of five."
He paused, taking a deep breath.
"Kurama... Oh, the illusionist. Yes... I lost him when he escaped into the lake. I thought he was the last."
He looked at her for a moment.
"Forgive me, I have been unfair. I must explain why I must kill you, attacking you for no reason is not fair. Many years ago I fell in love with a human, though she was married to the head of the Demon Hunting Clan Suoh. She bore children, my children, the two you saw back there, though she could not tell her husband they were the product of a demon or she would have been killed. She had to severe all ties with me. I could not stand it, so I disguised myself as a human, and joined the demon hunting clan. I became her personal guard. However, I was discovered. Not by the demon hunters, but by another demon, one in the shape of a white girl. She told me that I must do as she told me, or she would harm those that I loved. I, foolishly, refused her and fought her. I thought I had won, for she died, but she returned and killed the one I loved and placed a curse of Tokiko. She has told me that if I do not destroy the kitsunes, the she will kill both Tokiko and Takamura. I do not know why she wishes this, but I will do it. I am sorry, but for Tokiko I must kill you. There is no other way."
Sokanon snarled at the mention of the white girl and her eyes flashed red for a second. "Damn that girl. She wants every kitsune dead." She readied her kantana. "I don't want to fight you to the death, but I will if I must. I'm sorry about your love Lucid, but I have to find my friends. Then I am going to tear that girl to shreads for taking them." She looked up at Lucid and waited for him to make a move.
Lucid paused.
"You know of her? I am truly sorry if you have had the misfortune to meet her, she is the foulest kind of demon." he sighed, looking at his sword as though weighing up what he should do.
"But what of you? What has she done to you to make your heart hate her so?" he asked, putting off having to fight her.
"First, she made me give into my more demonic side, Which i usually have great control over. Then she had me kill Kurama, which caused me to get badly wounded. Then she stabbed my friends and took them away. I don't know where they are or if they are even ok."
He held a great sympathy in his eyes.
"I am truly sorry about all of that. However I must-" he was cut of by a scream that echoed through the forest, a child's scream.
"The twins..." he breathed, shooting off into the forest as fast as he could possibly go, back towards him.
Sokanon ran after him to see what had happened. She always had a soft spot for kids. Except for the white girl of course.
And in the clearing was the white girl. She behind her a huge silver scale, and on one side was the children, trussed up and gagged, and on the other was Hisoka and Hikaru, also tied up and gagged.
"This is it, you two are the exact LAST kitsunes in the world." she laughed manically.
"And now, you will have to fight each other, whoever wins gets their two hostages set free. Whoever loses will have their hostages killed. Oh yes, it is a fight to the death!" she laughed.
Lucid's face twisted up with hatred.
Sokanon was relieved that her friends were still ok, but then she was furious. She transformed into a fox and her control on her demon side slipped. "How dare you. I'm going to kill you." Sokanon snarled.
"Not if I kill her first!" Lucid's usually pleasant voice had turned into a terrifying roar, and his fox side took over. A huge, jet black fox, with ice blue eyes and snow white bits on the paws of it's feet, on the tip of it's tail, and on it's snout.
It leapt towards the white girl.
Sokanon followed suit. The girl was going to pay. She streaked toward the girl, her eyes read with rage, her canines bared. Her usually orange fur had turned black and had red streaks going down to her tails. She had actually sprouted another tail. Her ears were black with red tips.
Lucid was first to reach the white girl, batting her over to Sokanon with a paw almost half as big as the girl herself. The girl flew like a ragdoll, landing limply in front of Sokanon.
Sokanon took the girl into her mouth and shook her up a bit. She snarled, her teeth on the girls throat. She then threw the girl back to Lucid, hard.
The white girl screamed, an unearthly bird-like cry, as Lucid smashed her into the ground with his paws, landing his full weight down on her tiny frame.
He began chanting as the girl thrashed about beneath his paws. The tang of kitsune magic tingled in the air.
Help me! I want to banish her forever, but I need your help! Lucid's mind touched Sokanon's, it was vast, huge and so terribly old and filled with power.
Sokanon sent Lucid all of her energy. She didn't know the chant, but she would supply energy.
Lucid's voice grew louder, and the land grew dark and the air almost stung the skin because of the amount of power in the it.
His last words were words that none there except the white girl had ever heard before, but all understood. It was the common language, something that all living beings innately understood, though few spoke it.
"You shall not return to this earth in any form!"
And with that the white girl disappeared.
Sokanon shuddered and her features turned back to normal. Then she turned into a woman. She looked over at Hisoka and Hikaru, glad that they were safe.
Lucid trod softly over to the children, reaching out his nose to nuzzle them. Suddenly Lucid reared up, snarling at the children and Hisoka and Hikaru.
"Damn b***h!" he shouted, pulling the gags away with his teeth to reveal formless dummies.
"Dammit!"
The white girl, even though she was dead was still evil. The children, Hisoka and Hikaru, they weren't here. They never were. And now the white girl, the only one who knew where they were was forever gone.
"DAMN IT!!" Sokanon's hands shot to her head. She snarled and started to tremble. She fell to her knees and a few tears fell from her face.
Lucid tensed, his fur rippled as the muscles beneath it moved. He morphed back into his human form, and he seemed to be able to control himself.
"I must find the children."
Sokanon stood up, "And I have to find my friends." She sniffed the air a bit, but couldn't find a scent. She thought to herself, 'I will find them. Somehow."
Lucid nodded.
"But where should we start?"
Sokanon shook her head, "I don't know. We could head back to the mountains and i could try and get my friend's scent, but I don't know if it will still be there."
"Well, let's start there." he said, shaking his wolf's fur and readying himself to follow her.
"We have to hurry before the trail goes cold."
Sokanon transformed into a fox and streaked back into the mountains. When she got to the area where Hisoka and Hikaru were taken, she started sniffing around.
Lucid followed her, sniffing carefully around. He suddenly straightened up.
"This is their scent, no?"
Sokanon sniffed again, "Yep, it's faint, but its definently them. Sokanon started following the scent.
Lucid followed her as they wove through thhe dense green forest. It was he that ripped any monsters that came to them, sothat Sokanon could track unhindered. Day shifted into night, and night into day again.
Sokanon wasn't giving up. She knew that she was getting tired, but, she didn't want to stop because she might loose the scent. She looked around occationally and saw that they had gone into an area that she wasn't familiar with. The scent started getting slightly stronger with each hour of travel.
Lucid stared at Sokanon.
"How far do you think?"
"At the rate that the scent is growing, I'd estimate maybe less than a day. I have also picked up the twin's scents." Sokanon continued running.
Lucid nodded tersely.
"I'll get something for us to eat, I'll catch up with you in a while." he said, bounding off into the forest. He wasn't going to make a kill near the scent, that would make it harder for Sokanon to concentrate, so he ran quite far before he killed a large deer and began to carry it back towards Sokanon's scent.
Sokanon kept sniffing. She started slowing down until she came to a stop. She knew she had to rest a bit. After a while, she started walking and sniffing.
Lucid appeared, he had already eaten but he left the carcass some way away in order to not mess up the scent.
"Go eat, I'll keep tracking." he said, gently pushing her out of the way and placing his nose low to the ground.
Sokanon nodded and ran toward the scent of the carcass. She ate her fill and ran back. She caught up with Lucid and started tracking again.
Lucid moved out of her way, watching for any dangers in the surrounding forest.
Sokanon sprinted in the direction of the scent. She wanted to reach her friends as soon as possible. They were able to cut out a lot of time by sprinting. After four hours, Sokanon suddenly stopped. 'Got em' She pointed her snout in the direction. They started running again. Sokanon saw a cave in the distance and sped up. She didn't wait for Lucid and darted into the cave. She skidded to a halt. Her friends were leaning on the wall of the cave, tied and gagged. The twins were across from them. Sokanon transformed back into a woman and ran over to the two shapeshifters. She pulled the gags out of their mouths. First she untied Hikaru and then she moved to Hisoka. Once she had the ropes off, she gave Hisoka a big hug. "I thought I might never see you again." A tear streamed down her face.
Lucid transformed where the children couldn't see him.
Lucid then raced in to the cave, untying the twins. The twins jumped into his arms, crying loudly and clinging to him.
"Shh, shh, shh..."
"Lucid! We thought you'd left us." they cried, and Lucid comforted them.
Hisoka returned the embrace, smiling wryly.
"Looks like we got ourselves into a bit of trouble. Thanks for coming." she said quietly, rubbing her nose against Sokanon's.
Sokanon smiled, "Like i wouldn't come for you anyway. Come on, let's get out of this cave." Sokanon helped the shape shifters stand and they walked out of the cave. "So, Hisoka, off to kill your father now?"
Hisoka laughed, standing and brushing herself off.
As she was about to say something Lucid appeared with the children.
"I wan't to wish you well, but I plead for you not to try and attack the Demon Hunters. You will surely be killed, and if you harm them, I will be bound to fight against you." he said seriously.
"But, before you make your decision I wish to tell you something. Many years ago, I travelled up Mt Fuji and there I met a mountain Sage. He told me that every hundred years, he grants a wish. This is the year he will grant a wish, I was going to go and use it to resurrect the twins mother, but I think you deserve this chance more than I." he said quietly.
"Whatever you plan to do, be well. May we meet again on friendly terms." he said, and began to walk away, holding the exhausted children in his arms.
Sokanon looked at Hisoka, "Well, what should we do next? Do You want to go to the sage? You could resurrect your clan. I'll leave it to You to decide."
Hisoka shook her head.
"He gave the wish to you, you could resurrect the kitsunes!" she said excitedly.
Sokanon gasped, "Your right. I could." Sokanon nodded and said, "Alright, I say we rest for a day and then we head out for Mt. Fuji." She went over to a tree and sat down. The tiredness that she had been pushing away had finally caught up with her. She sighed in relief. Hisoka and Hikaru were safe and so were Lucid's kids.
Hisoka looked excited, the idea that her friend could have others like her was one that was amazing. She nodded, and laid down in a little ball next to Hikaru, and they both slept soundly.
Sokanon woke early the next day feeling refreshed. She found a river and washed her face. She stared at the black streaks that now took residence in her hair. She liked them. She went back and woke Hisoka and Hikaru. They headed for Mt. Fuji, the journey lasting almost a week. They climbed the mountain until they reached a flat area that had a temple on it. Sokanon stared at the temple.
Hisoka and Hikaru looked at the large temple in awe, it was beautiful. They stared at it for a long time, waiting for Sokanon to move, for they felt a strange aura inside. It reeked of power.
Sokanon walked to the door. She knocked on the large doors. They all heard a loud creak and the door opened slowly. The three companions entered the temple. Sokanon imediantly saw the sage. She motioned for her companions to bow and then bowed herself. The sage saw them and said, "Who enters my temple?" Sokanon looked up. "I, Sokanon, the last of the kitsune clan. My companions are Hisoka, last of the shifting sands clan, and Hikaru, whose clan I do not know." The sage said, "What is the wish that you have come to me to grant?" Sokanon said, "Sage of Mt. Fuji, I come to you in hopes that you will grant me the wish of resurrecting my clan. I would be eternally grateful if you would grant this wish. If you have no desire to, I will leave your temple and never return." She bowed again. The sage went into a thinking position. After a while, he nodded his head, "It is done." He stood and walked near to Sokanon. He touched her forehead and an energy surrounded them both. All around them, energy balls formed and started to turn into kitsunes and human figures, which were just kitsunes transformed. The sage removed his hand from Sokanon's forehead. She stubbled back, panting. "That was a lot of power." She bowed to the sage, "I thank you Sage of Mt. Fuji." She turned and looked around at all the figures that had appeared. They were all asleep. Slowly, the figures started to stir. Sokanon walked toward her friends to watch them wake. The kitsunes started getting up and looking around. One of the giant males approached Sokanon, 'You are brave young kit. You ventured all the way to this mountain, just to resurrect us. We thank you.' He turned to the sage. 'We thank you as well, noble sage.' The sage nodded and sat back down. The rest of the kitsunes started to gather behind the giant male, for he seemed to be the leader. Sokanon said, "My kin, shall we leave and go down the mountain?" The leader nodded. They all left the temple. Sokanon waited and watched as her clan went down the mountain. She was hoping that she would recognize her parents. The three companions followed the clan down the mountain. She saw two kitsunes that looked really familiar. One was a male and the other a female. The male was black and the female was red. The clan continued until they got to a clearing. Then the kitsunes moved to find their families. The lead male approached Sokanon, 'What is your name, kit?' Sokanon said, "My name is Sokanon. May I ask for your name?" The kitsune transformed into his human form.
"My name is Akimitsu. Sokanon, I thank you again for resurrecting us. Your parents should be around here somewhere."He motioned for one of the kitsunes to find them. The kitsune darted through the others. Akimitsu motioned for Sokanon to sit. Then he looked at the shapeshifters. 'You two may sit as well. I can see that you are friends of Sokanon.' The shapeshifters nodded and sat with Sokanon. Sokanon looked at Hisoka, "Thank you for everything."
The strength of the bonds of loyalty Lord Kurama had placed on the both of them forced them to bow in the presence of these mass of kitsunes. They kept their heads down, the magic oath on them allowed them to do nothing less.
"Thank you for you kindness, Lord, but we do not deserve to sit in the same place as our lords. Forgive us, please, we could not disrespect you so." Hisoka said, and Hikaru nodded.
Suddenly, there was a blast of air from above, and Lucid appeared, his face frantic and shocked. He saw the kitsunes around him, and caught his breath in wonder, sighing in deep relief. He saw Akimitsu, and bowed his head softly, his purple hair falling over his face.
"My debt is repaid. I took your lives, and now your lives have been returned to you. It puts my heart at ease." he said, and he sounded so noble and different to when he acted like a Demon Hunter.
"Thankyou, Sokanon. You used the wish well." he murmured.
non nodded and then she heard the messanger that Akimitsu had sent. She turned and saw him emerge with the two kitsunes she had seen earlier. Akimitsu said, "Sokanon, there are your parents." Sokanon stood and ran to them. She transformed into a fox in mid-run. They met her half way. Her father nuzzled her neck and her mother rubbed her head against her back. Her father said, 'Oh, Sokanon, I'm so glad to see you again. And look at you, you've grown up so much.' Tears were coming out of all three sets of eyes. Her mother said, 'I'm so glad that you are safe. We hoped that you would survive at continue on the kitsune clan, but you ended up restoring it. We're so proud. Sokanon back up and looked at her parents. She said, 'I always wondered what you looked like.She grinned. 'I'll be back.Sokanon turned back into a woman and walked to Lucid. "Thank you, for giving me the wish. I wish that your lover could have been brought back though."
Lucid shook his head softly.
"No... I deserve no such thing. Many of the foxes you see around you died at my hand, or because of me. I was never going to use the wish to bring her back, how could I when I had killed most of my own clan in order to keep her alive and still failed?" he paused, a self-deprecating smile on his face.
"Instead... Instead, I will apologise, and then I will go to meet her."
Sokanon shook her head, "No, please don't. What you did was in the past. Let's just leave it there. Think about your kids." She stepped closer.
Lucid paused, and looked at her for a moment.
"You say that, but you do not know the extent of what I have done. Did you ever wonder why your parents abandoned you? I will tell you. They were some of the last kitsunes left, and at one point I attacked them and almost killed them. They did not want you to be hurt by me, so they left you behind, knowing that if they kept you with them you would also be killed. The last thing... The last thing they both said was 'Take my life, but please do not harm the child'. For a time, I did intend to kill you as well, but I could not forget their words." he paused and laughed softly.
"Knowing that I was the person who killed your parents, the person who forced you to live a life of hardship an loneliness was too much for me. So I went to my Shifting Sands servant, who despite all the evil I had done still served me faithfully and I did perhaps the worst thing I could have done. I stole her memory from her, and erased all that she had lived for, and then I replaced her memory and abandoned her after putting a spell on her. She was to find you and protect you, even though she would not know why." he paused, gesturing to the bowing Hisoka.
"I killed your parents, I stole from you a happy childhood, and I stole the memory of your best friend even though she was my faithful servant. I am a despicable person, and I deserve nothing but death. So, Sokanon, at least i have done one good thing by giving you that wish. I am content with that."
"That doesn't matter. It's all in the past. You cause my life to be the way it was. I'm fine with that. If it hadn't been like that, I wouldn't be who I am today. What matters now is that the entire clan has been revived. Your not despicable, you were thinking about your kids and their mother."
He shook his head.
"Don't you get it?! I killed these people, do you think I could just go back to living a normal life among the people who are still trying to kill them?" he said tiredly.
Hisoka was shaking, and she fell to her knees, bowing so that her hands and forehead touched the ground.
]"Master... I... I think I remember..." she murmured, and her mind was filled with memories.
It was raining, and it was cold.
"Please, Master, don't do this!"
"Be quiet Yura. You know why I have to do this."
"Master-"
"I said be quiet! Won't you even listen to my commands anymore?!"
"Yes Master, I will always obey you. However..."
"However?"
"I am worried for you Master, you will be hurt by this."
"Yura... Don't worry about it."
"I think... I remember..." she murmured, only to be cut of by Lucid.
"No! Don't remember! I don't want you to remember!" he said loudly, before he turned away. His hands were shaking.
"Sokanon, take good care of Yura for me."
"You don't have to, you have a place with your clan. Your a kitsune. I just got my clan back, I don't want to lose any one of them. Even you."
Suddenly Hisoka spoke.
"Please Sokanon, let him go." she cried desperately.
"If the master wants me to forget, I will forget. If the master wants to live, he may leave. But if the master wants to die... He can do anything, just please don't let the master die!" she cried.
Meanwhile, Hikaru was having a moment of his own. Kurama had also been ressurected because of the wish.
"Master Kurama?" he murmured.
Sokanon shook her head, "Lucid, just think about it. I hope you make the choice that makes you happy." She turned to Hikaru and saw Kurama behind him. She snarled, "You better not get near me or i will rip your head off. And if you harm Hikaru, I will still rip your head off."
"To be quite honest, I believe I should be the one saying that. You were the one who killed me, if we think about it." he said.
"Still the arrogant b*****d." Her eyes flashed red. She motioned to Hisoka and walked back toward her parents.
Hisoka stood, following Sokanon. Lucid watched this for a moment, as though he wanted to say something. His eyes followed Hisoka, until he turned and leapt into the air, disappearing into the trees.
hisoka bowed to Sokanon's parents.
"It is an honor to meet you, your daughter is a very great woman." she said softly.
Sokanon's parents had transformed into their human forms. Sokanon's father nodded, "Thank you for watching out for our daughter." Sokanon sat by her parents. Akimitsu stood and said, "My family, I welcome you all back from the dead. The person we have to thank is the previous last kitsune, Sokanon." Cheers erupted from most of the kitsunes. "We will go home first thing in the morning and then we will celebrate." The kitsunes dipersed and went to spend time with their families. Sokanon and her family sat by a tree and just watched the sunset.
Hisoka smiled, a rare brief moment of brightness on her face.
"It was an honour." she said softly. She went, talking with Hikaru for a long time. He was very happy his master was alive again, of course, as was Hisoka, however they were not sure they wanted to leave each other. For the first time in a long time, the two servants wanted to have their own lives.
Hisoka turned, walking over to Sokanon and her family.
"May I speak with you for a moment Sokanon?" she asked in a quiet voice.
Sokanon nodded and stood. She and Hisoka walked into the forest. "What is it?"
Hisoka looked up at Sokanon, and then smiled widely, jumping over to her and literally glomping her.
"I'm so glad you're happy!" she cried.