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Hinako suddenly stopped moving. She should have been relieved to see Kira again, but she wasn’t. She sensed that Kira wasn’t herself at the moment.
Kira wore a black robe and there were bandages around her limbs and her neck. More bandages were tied into her hair. She looked at Koushi coldly. There was no recognition in her eyes.
“Why come out here?” the Guardian God who had been Hinako’s doctor asked. “Are you going to cause trouble?” Mizore had bitten his hand. He tucked it into his sleeve.
Without a sound, the tall gate behind Kira opened. The square space beyond looked like a poor imitation of another reality. Koushi and Hinako were right in front of her, but Kira didn’t approach them or say their names. She lifted one bandaged hand over her heart.
“This girl is angry,” the girl who was not Kira said. She sounded certain and determined.
Hinako was so confused. None of this made sense.
Koushi was confused, himself. It was clear that something was very wrong with Kira. He considered the asafuyou poisoning that Kira had suffered recently. Could she still be having hallucinations? Or was she really the vessel of the Millennium Comet?
Hinako’s quiet sobbing made Koushi lower his gaze. Hinako had tried to stand up to the Guardian God who’d fought Mizore. She stiffened, her shoulders trembling. Her body was rigid and her head was bowed as she cried.
Koushi held Hinako by the shoulders, steadying her. She seemed like she might collapse at any moment.
Kira faced them, dressed in her bandages. Her face was deathly pale. She wasn’t looking at Koushi or Hinako, but at something far beyond them. She didn’t, or perhaps couldn’t, look them in the eye. Her dark dress was the color of the soil that Kunugi was using to bury the dead. It was the same color as his mother’s grave dirt.
“Are you a vessel?” Koushi asked.
His question passed right through Kira. Her hair blew in the wind.
“Yes,” the Guardian God said. “Five cuts were made to the girl’s soul, to help bind them together. This is the work of the Earth Clan.”
Kira tilted her head. “She’s angry. So angry she can’t stay still. Please, return me to my original body. It hurts so much, and if this continues, this girl will not survive.”
She looked and sounded like Kira, but she wasn’t Kira. This was the Millennium Comet. She had vanished while guiding Koushi and Touko through one of the city’s underground passageways. Hibari had warned them that the Guardian Gods would attempt this, and now the Millennium Comet was speaking from inside Kira’s body.
Koushi held the feverish and trembling Hinako in his arms. He took a step back from the Millennium Comet. Mizore stood completely still; not even her tail twitched.
“You are not stuck as you are,” the Guardian God said. “You could return to your original form, if you cooperated with the Earth Clan. Why not do that, and quickly? There is no one who can prevent you from doing whatever you choose.”
The Millennium Comet frowned severely. There was deep sorrow in her eyes. “Choose? I already chose, when I left my orbit and came here. I chose to never return to the sky, even if it meant I would decay and die here alone.”
Koushi had come to the shrine to deliver Akira’s petition and to get Kira back. But there was no way to get Kira back. Not while the Millennium Comet was possessing her.
The Guardian Gods want to make her their next ruler, Koushi remembered. But why did Kira have to be caught up in the Guardian Gods’ scheming? She should be resting at her family’s estate after her ordeal.
Hinako looked between Koushi and Kira with tears in her eyes.
“Hinako, you’ll be okay,” Koushi said quietly. “It’s just a fever. I’ll get you some of your normal medicine, and then you’ll be fine. You can go to sleep in a little while, all right?”
Hinako nodded with difficulty. Some of her muscles were spasming. Koushi tightened his hug briefly. Hinako leaned heavily against his shoulder. She glared at the Guardian God.
The Guardian God appeared calm and collected. His bitten hand was concealed inside his robes. Koushi could hand Hinako over to him, and then her fever would almost certainly go away. But he wouldn’t do that, not again, not ever. Even if his sister couldn’t be saved, he’d never allow the Guardian Gods to touch her again.
Kira’s dark dress reminded him of graves and death and dying. He was terrified that he might have to bury Hinako soon.
“That child is ill,” the Millennium Comet said. “If she does not receive aid, she will die.” She tilted her head as she peered at Hinako. The bandages wrapped around her hair, neck, wrists, and ankles hung and swayed like chains binding a prisoner. “We have to call for help… Or is there still no one who can help, even now? Just like when the stars died…” Her face was anxious, her eyes empty. The Millennium Comet had looked much the same way when she was walking alongside Koushi in the underground passage.
“That vessel is not stable,” the Guardian God said. “If you wander too far from the shrine, your host could die.”
“Silence.” Hibari dropped down from the roof of the shrine. She landed just in front of the open gate. She was dressed in white ceremonial robes.
Koushi thought that Hibari was occupied with spying on Yuoshichi’s activities in the city. He hadn’t expected to see her at the shrine.
“Oh? You can move around already?” the Guardian God who had posed as Hinako’s doctor asked. “Last I checked, it seemed like you were having quite a hard time with the humans who started the rebellion. Shouldn’t you still be inside the shrine?”
Hibari clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I commanded you to silence. You are more wounded than I am. You know that blood is not permitted in the presence of Princess Tayura. Don’t even think about going back into the shrine until that wound is healed.”
The other Guardian God’s expression darkened. He glared at Hibari from behind his black-rimmed glasses. “You failed,” he said. “That’s why you’re here. You let rebels enter the shrine. While you were busy chasing that Okibi factory owner’s subordinates, the shrine nearly fell to our enemies. The man himself infiltrated this place. Tell me, what will the punishment be for the Wind Clan?”
A muscle twitched in Koushi’s jaw. Had Yuoshichi managed to reach the Guardian Gods in their own shrine? He must have approached from beneath the cliff.
“I sense the presence of the Water Clan’s abominations inside the shrine,” Hibari said. “Why are they there? Throw them out immediately. I will erase them from this world without leaving a single drop of blood or fragment of bone behind. The time for experimentation is over.”
Hibari drew closer to the Millennium Comet, but the Millennium Comet didn’t react. Her expression remained vacant and empty. The arguments and petty squabbles of the Guardian Gods couldn’t reach her.
“Stop toying with humans,” Hibari said to the Guardian God from the Water Clan. “Haven’t you done enough of that already? The only thing we needed to carry over from the ancient world was the human spontaneous combustion pathogen.”
Kira’s hair slipped over her shoulders as the Millennium Comet turned her back to them. Her hair fluttered even though there was no wind.
Hinako was burning up. Cold sweat beaded along Koushi’s hairline. He looked toward the gate leading into the shrine, which was still wide open. There was a path and a courtyard that were covered in white sand. Beyond the courtyard was the entrance to the shrine itself, bordered by huge red pillars. If Koushi entered the shrine now, he could deliver Akira’s petition.
But what about the Millennium Comet? She was right in front of him now, and the Fire Hunter who slew her would become the King of the Fire Hunters. Koushi couldn’t imagine that the other Guardian Gods would let her be killed. Not now, not when they were planning to use her to replace Princess Tayura.
Beyond the gate, stretching straight through the courtyard, there was a flight of stone stairs painted red. A bamboo blind hung at the top of the staircase.
What could they be hiding behind that? Koushi wondered. He strained his eyes. The open area beyond the gate was preternaturally silent and still. It was like the battle hadn’t touched this place at all. He knew that there was something important beyond that bamboo blind.
“Sister, there is no more time,” Hibari said. “Please return to Princess Tayura. I do not want you to simply obey the will of the Guardian Gods. Please. I want you to be free. Whatever you choose, I will not let anyone interfere.”
Hibari approached and knelt at the feet of the Millennium Comet.
The Millennium Comet frowned in confusion. Then she shook her head. “The Earth Clan is preparing to place me on Princess Tayura’s throne,” she said. “They wish to give me an order that cannot be rewritten.”
Hibari pressed her lips tightly together and said nothing.
“This girl was made into a vessel against her will,” the Millennium Comet said. “These other children have nothing to do with this. Send them all back to the city. I cannot decide what to do until they are safe.” Her expression was childlike and innocent, somewhat like Hinako’s.
“Sister, please set aside your feelings for the humans,” Hibari said. “You and Princess Tayura have suffered more than anyone else for everyone’s sake. I want to save you. The humans deserve no pity. There are some among them who seek to hunt you.”
A chill ran down Koushi’s spine at Hibari’s words.
Sensing Koushi’s unease, Mizore turned her snout toward him.
Koushi gulped. He’d feel a lot better if Roroku were here along with his dog.
Roroku had been friends with Akira’s brother before the Guardian Gods had killed him. Koushi hoped that Roroku wasn’t dead now. It was possible that he’d reached the shrine ahead of Koushi and that the Guardian Gods had killed him just like they’d killed Akira’s brother.
Koushi faced Hibari. “This dog has a Fire Hunter,” he said, gesturing to Mizore. “Where is he?”
Hibari smiled slightly in amusement. Her long, soft hair slid over her shoulder. “Why would I tell you?”
Mizore stood at Koushi’s side, gazing intently across the sandy courtyard and up at the red stairs. Mizore wetted her tongue with her nose. A scar under one eye flashed in the low light. She pressed her nose to Hinako gently, and then looked up at Koushi, her eyes wide and pleading.
The Millennium Comet grimaced in pain. She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, her blank and vacant expression had been replaced by one of pure frustration. The last time Koushi had seen that same look on Kira’s face, she’d been begging him to tell her his secrets.
“The children are not involved in any of this,” the Millennium Comet gritted out. “They must be safe.” Her voice shook so much that it was difficult to understand her.
Koushi felt himself being shoved backward by some invisible force. He lost his grip on Hinako and stumbled. Hibari was blown back by the same force and skidded to a shuddering halt near the open gate. She fell, tumbling through the gate.
Hibari coughed from the impact of the landing. Before she could stand up, Hinako pounced on her. She shoved Hibari so that she was fully inside the gate and then straddled her hips.
Hinako’s reckless movements lacked precision, but they were fast. Hibari had no time to fight back. Hinako raised her fist above Hibari’s undefended head and prepared to strike. “You’re a bully! You shouldn’t be so mean to your sister or my brother!” she shouted.
Hinako’s fist never touched Hibari’s face. The Guardian God who had pretended to be her doctor sped behind her and grabbed her arm. His blue ceremonial robes fluttered in the breeze. He carried a syringe in his injured hand.
“Please remain still,” the Guardian God said calmly.
Koushi’s vision whited out with rage. He ran to Hinako. He forgot about his lightning fuel bottle in his mad haste and bent to retrieve a jagged stone from the ground. He tried to remember how Roroku had stabbed Wonne through the neck. He mimicked that movement as he ran at the Guardian God.
Koushi had no idea if a sharp rock could cause any harm to a Guardian God at all. Still, he had to try. He couldn’t let this Guardian God hurt Hinako anymore. His line of sight narrowed solely to the Guardian God’s neck and spine as he barreled forward.
“Mizore!” Roroku called out sharply.
Koushi raised his arm, but before he could stab down, Mizore slammed into his side and pulled him down. Koushi lost his balance. His glasses almost fell off. His shoulder and head struck one side of the gate, which was studded with iron rivets. He was too confused and shocked to feel any pain.
A golden sickle arced at the Guardian God. The sickle was all Koushi could see from this angle. The Guardian God screamed and moved away from Hinako, Koushi and his attacker.
Hinako’s body slumped to the ground. She lay there like a discarded bandage. Hibari sat up and moved backward on all fours.
Roroku had reached the shrine via the same old road that Mizore had found. He carried his Fire Hunter sickle in his non-dominant hand. He approached Koushi, his straw sandals whispering over the ground.
“You’re a kid,” Roroku said. “Don’t kill anyone.”
Koushi tried to stand up, but couldn’t quite manage it. His knees wouldn’t support his weight. The ground felt uneven. He crawled to Hinako, who was on the other side of the gate. His blood pounded in his ears.
The scent of Roroku’s blood filled the air. His mangled right hand was bleeding again. Koushi didn’t see the dagger that Roroku had used in the forest anywhere. That explained why Roroku was using his sickle. Fresh wounds marked his body: proof of more battles that he’d fought on his way to the shrine. Death clung to him like a shroud. His presence here promised more death to follow.
Most of Roroku’s attention was on the Guardian God that he was fighting.
Mizore had tackled the Guardian God. He was on the ground facing up. He’d struck his head after Mizore had pinned him.
Koushi’s eyes wouldn’t focus. He kept crawling, trying to reach Hinako. He got to the other side of the gate and collapsed, taking deep breaths. Goosebumps rose on his arms. This side of the gate had a forbidding aura. The Guardian Gods hadn’t invited him here. He felt like his presence was being rejected by some strange magic, but no one and nothing appeared to force him to go back to the other side of the gate.
Koushi stumbled to his feet with effort and lifted Hinako. She was still breathing and still feverish. Her limbs twitched when he picked her up.
Hibari glared at Hinako and Koushi with promised violence in her eyes. Koushi met her gaze, and she looked away as if she were ashamed.
Cradling Hinako, Koushi looked for Roroku again.
Roroku stood over the other Guardian God with his sickle in hand. The sickle had sliced through the Guardian God’s neck. Sickles were designed to kill Fire Fiends. The precise cuts created by the weapon made it easier to harvest fire fuel and lightning fuel from Fire Fiend corpses.
The decapitated Guardian God was motionless aside from his severed right hand. That hand was moving. Even though it was cut off—removed from the Guardian God’s body just like his head—the hand didn’t bleed. Pure water gushed from the place where blood would be on a human. The water held the hand upright with sinuous, snake-like movements. The hand still gripped the Guardian God’s syringe.
Before Roroku could block or dodge, the Guardian God’s hand jumped at him. The syringe stabbed into Roroku’s chest.
Hinako’s breaths were ragged and painful. Koushi covered her eyes so that she wouldn’t see what was happening. She sobbed into his shoulder.
The Millennium Comet hadn’t moved. She stood outside the gate, observing the battle. If she had anything to say, she didn’t say it.
Roroku frowned down at the decapitated Guardian God. Decapitation killed most things he’d fought before. The Guardian God’s black-rimmed glasses had fallen off and were broken. The Guardian God stared up at Roroku, gurgling blood.
“Oh my, it seems you were not a suitable vessel after all,” the Guardian God said. “How unfortunate.” His voice was louder and more resonant now that his throat had been slit. He spoke in his usual confident tone, as if he were Roroku’s doctor.
The Guardian God’s detached hand fell away from Roroku’s chest and the syringe. It vanished without a trace.
Blood flowed freely from the Guardian God’s neck.
Roroku collapsed to one knee and gasped. He ripped the syringe out of himself with a grimace. The discarded syringe skittered away like a thin piece of scrap metal.
Koushi’s heart beat louder. He felt like he’d been stabbed with the syringe himself, he was in so much pain.
Sweat poured down Roroku’s face. The veins in his forehead and arms took on a solid blue hue and bulged.
“Damn it. I hate dealing with people who won’t die even if you kill them. I’d much rather fight a horde of Fire Fiends.” Roroku muttered obscenities under his breath, then turned his attention to the shrine. His eyes fixed on the bamboo blind at the top of the red stairs.
Hibari stood up and dusted herself off. Hinako’s tackle had done some damage. All of Hibari’s movements were stiff and awkward.
“Sister, please go back. Go to Princess Tayura,” Hibari said.
The Millennium Comet said nothing. Her eyes were on the dead Guardian God. Her chin trembled slightly.
“Please don’t move,” Koushi called out to Roroku. “You need to rest.”
Roroku smiled a little. “No can do, kid. We lost time fighting the Spiders who were left on the old road. Is that the young lady who’s being used as a vessel?” he asked.
“It is,” Koushi said. He didn’t understand how Roroku could be so calm. There had to be some way of purging the contents of the syringe from Roroku’s veins, right? Or was it already too late? What would happen to Roroku now? The Guardian God had said that he wasn’t a suitable vessel.
Maybe nothing would happen. The Guardian God had been dying. He’d had every reason to lie to Koushi and Roroku.
If Roroku was worried about his own well-being, he showed no sign of it. “So this is the Millennium Comet. In that case, we’ve got to lead Akira here.”
Hinako coughed in Koushi’s arms. She was barely conscious.
Mizore faced her Fire Hunter, awaiting more orders.
The Millennium Comet stood beyond them all, near the gate. The slain Guardian God hadn’t moved an inch since his hand had vanished. Hibari glared at Roroku and the others, but didn’t attack.
Koushi’s bottle of lightning fuel was still in his bag.
“Did you read Akira’s petition?” Roroku asked. His voice came out rough and hoarse. It sounded like there was something wrong with his lungs.
“No,” Koushi said.
Roroku grinned. “She’s utterly insane, and the dumbest woman I’ve ever met. But I suppose I made a promise. Time to deliver this damn thing.” His whole body tensed in anticipation. “Listen, kid. Get your sister and your adopted sister home safe.” He nodded sharply at Koushi, and then took off running through the shrine’s open gate.
Hibari moved to block Roroku’s charge. Mizore leaped at her to slow her down.
Roroku’s footprints disturbed the clean white sand around the shrine. He was almost to the red staircase.
Koushi set Hinako down. She propped herself up on her hands. She’d lost her sickle when Kunugi had lifted her up without warning. She was too weak to fight now, anyway. She summoned what strength she had left and yelled, “Mizore, go!” She pointed to the place where she’d tackled Hibari before.
Hinako wasn’t Mizore’s master, but the dog still obeyed her. Mizore rammed into Hibari’s side and then retreated, turning sharply. Her feet kicked up sand as she sprinted after Roroku.
Hibari grimaced and emptied out a pocket sleeve. Four paper dolls landed around Roroku in a rough semicircle, carried by a gust of air. The moment they touched the ground, they sprang to life and grew into Hibari’s spies. The spies attacked Roroku.
Hibari tried to move—to retreat—but Koushi caught her wrist and pulled. He wondered what Kira thought of this series of strange and violent confrontations. He couldn’t ask her, though. She was still possessed.
Mizore sank her teeth into the leg of one of Hibari’s spies. When they manifested, they could bleed just like humans and Guardian Gods did. The other spies moved to avoid the spray of blood from Mizore’s attack, kicking up sand and dirt with their tall wooden clogs. They focused their full attention on the dog.
Hibari sneered at Koushi, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing. “Do you really want to die today?”
Koushi didn’t reply.
Roroku was injured and fighting with his off-hand, but he was committed and experienced. His sickle sliced through Hibari’s spies with ease. In moments, they were all paper dolls again.
Then Roroku was at the bottom step of the staircase. He raced up the stairs and used his sickle to slice through the hanging bamboo screen. An empty, dimly lit space spread out beyond the screen. This was the shrine’s main hall. The walls and furniture were constructed from dark, glossy wood. There was a raised dais in the middle of the space where a wooden throne sat.
Hibari gasped. The Millennium Comet’s eyes widened.
A young girl sat on the throne. She wore red ceremonial robes and was so pale that her veins were clearly visible through her skin. She didn’t seem surprised to see Roroku. She was alone; there were no guards, attendants or other Guardian Gods in sight.
“Are you the one?” Roroku asked. His tone was surprisingly kind. He might use the same tone if he were speaking to a child that had gotten lost in the city.
The girl’s clothes were too heavy and ornate for her slight form. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking down at the Fire Hunter. There was little light in the main hall; only one small lantern had been left burning on the dais. The darkness behind the girl appeared ready to swallow her whole.
Hibari pulled her wrist free of Koushi’s grip and stepped away from him. She stared at the red-robed girl.
The girl nodded at Roroku’s question. One of her hair ornaments glinted in the light of the lantern. Her anxious expression and fidgety mannerisms reminded Koushi of how Touko behaved.
The girl lifted her head, exposing her slender neck like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
Roroku tucked his sickle into its scabbard and removed the jar that he’d used to carry Akira’s petition from a side pocket. He popped the jar open and offered the letter to the girl.
Time stood still.
The white sand between the gate and the shrine rippled like water.
A deep, resonant voice echoed from underground. “The gate is not undefended, yet a tainted human was permitted to come this far.” The sand swirled and rose up, taking shape. A slightly stooped old man emerged from the sand cloud. He shook his head in disapproval. He was in ceremonial robes, like most of the Guardian Gods that Koushi had seen. His were leaf-colored and looked like they had some wear and tear. He wore a black lacquered hat on his head.
Mizore growled at the Guardian God of the Earth Clan who had abducted Kira. This Guardian God had pretended to be Professor Kohachi, Kira’s tutor—and Koushi’s.
The Earth Clan Guardian God sent clods of dirt and stone Mizore’s way. Mizore dodged most of them, but not all of them. She yelped in pain and curled up, tucking in her head and tail.
The Millennium Comet watched everything: a silent witness. Her unsettling gaze sent a chill up Koushi’s spine.
“Koushi! How very interesting to see you here,” the Earth Clan Guardian God said jovially. “You always were a talented scholar, and it seems you’ve got more than your fair share of luck, too.” His aged face creased as he smiled.
Seeing the Earth Clan Guardian God made Koushi squirm. He’d trusted Professor Kohachi. So had Kira. But Professor Kohachi had betrayed them. Kira was possessed by the Millennium Comet. If the Millennium Comet became the next ruler of the Guardian Gods, it was likely that Kira would die.
If only Kira had never met this Guardian God…
“Humans are not permitted to approach Princess Tayura,” the Earth Clan Guardian God said. His voice was heavy with age and authority.
Koushi gulped. The girl on the throne was Princess Tayura, the ruler of all the Guardian Gods. She was responsible for maintaining the barriers within the cities and the villages. Those barriers kept Fire Fiends out. Her efforts kept the world from plunging into true despair and darkness.
She looked so young. She was almost as small as Hinako.
Mizore staggered to her feet, swaying unsteadily on her long legs.
Roroku wasn’t very stable on his feet, either. Whatever medicine or poison had been in that syringe was starting to affect him in obvious ways. His sickle fell out of his hand as he struggled to move the few inches between him and Princess Tayura. He needed to deliver Akira’s letter. He was so close, but he couldn’t move a muscle.
“Hurry,” Roroku said through gritted teeth. “Run. Now!”
This wasn’t a command to Mizore or Koushi. He was staring straight at Princess Tayura.
Princess Tayura’s eyes widened.
Koushi had no time to wonder what Roroku was doing.
More white sand swirled upwards into the air. Black earth erupted from beneath the sand like a fresh wound on fair skin. The earth rose up like a snake or a dragon and shifted toward Roroku.
Roroku didn’t run. He faced down the huge amount of compacted earth headed his way and didn’t waver.
Koushi was about to run to him when he heard Kira’s voice calling out.
The Millennium Comet stepped through the gate onto the white sand. “No!” she cried. “Don’t go over there. If you go, I will be compelled to follow, and then I will be trapped. I cannot… I will not permit Kira to become the next ruler of the Guardian Gods. You must not go.”
Koushi grabbed the Millennium Comet’s shoulders. Her dress was made of good fabric; he was a little ashamed of himself for dirtying it. His hands were shaking. Her hair flowed over them.
Hinako was crouched on the ground, unable to move. If anyone made a mistake now, death would follow.
No, Koushi thought. No more. No one else can die.
He looked away from the Millennium Comet and Princess Tayura and Roroku. He looked at Hibari, who was sulking.
Mizore barked. The living earth rose up around Roroku’s feet and started dragging him down the stairs. If it succeeded in getting him off the staircase, the earth would bury him alive. Koushi could feel the earth shifting underfoot even at a distance. The scent of churning topsoil filled the air.
Roroku fought off the earth as best he could, but he was exhausted. This was a battle of attrition, and Roroku was fighting it after winning a hundred different battles. Slowly but surely, the earth was wearing him down.
Princess Tayura rose from her throne. She lifted her skirts and descended from the dais. She hurried down the stairs to Roroku.
Roroku had a bottle of lightning fuel in his hand—an empty one, the one he’d used to carry Akira’s letter. Princess Tayura caught up with him and touched the bottle.
The animate earth collapsed like so much dust. The force pulling Roroku underground ceased. Roroku was buried to the waist, but he was alive. He took huge, gasping breaths as he struggled to free himself.
Princess Tayura knelt beside Roroku. She took the bottle from his hand and pressed it to the ground. The packed soil entrapping him loosened, allowing Roroku to escape it easily. The bottle vanished underground with a pop.
“Was that really necessary?” the Earth Clan Guardian God asked. His lips pressed together in a thin line. Koushi had never seen him look so displeased before.
Princess Tayura raised her head to speak. Before she could say anything, there was an intense flash of light.
Koushi knew what it was immediately. He’d seen it too many times.
That flash was a lightning fuel explosion.
In that instant, the heavens split open. The piercing light carried all the power of a thunder strike.
Lightning struck the roof of the shrine.
The roof tried to absorb the blast, but failed. Tiles scattered in all directions. Fragments of the destroyed roof fell all around them. Koushi felt like he was watching the disaster in slow motion.
Pieces of the shrine fell into the front courtyard, crashing into the red pillars and sending sand up in a cloud of white dust.
Koushi pulled the Millennium Comet down and gathered Hinako to him, trying to shield them both from falling rubble. The Millennium Comet let herself be led, but otherwise remained motionless.
No rubble or flying debris harmed Koushi, his sister or the Millennium Comet. Koushi could hear the terrible sounds of destruction, but none of it touched him. His ears were ringing—the explosion had been terrifyingly loud—but he was otherwise unhurt.
The first thing he heard when his hearing came back was the distant barking of dogs left behind in the industrial area.
The Millennium Comet extricated herself from Koushi’s hold and stood up, smooth as glass. Despite the dust and dirt all around her, her dress and bandages were clean. She stood up straight, presenting her face to the sky. There were no storm clouds overhead. Only that one flash of lightning had struck the shrine.
The sky was dark and clouded. The moon and stars weren’t visible. All of the debris from the broken roof had fallen near the gate. Splintered wood disturbed the sand. Jagged ceramic scratched the metal of the gates.
“Is anyone hurt?” the Millennium Comet asked. She kept her gaze on the sky.
Hibari’s face twisted in pain.
“What was that?” Roroku asked. “I didn’t think that any of the cannons were still working.” He was stretched out on the ground. He used his elbows to help him sit up. Neither he nor Mizore had been struck by any of the rubble falling from the broken roof.
Koushi looked to the gate, which was still wide open. He knew that the cannon on the roof of the factory he’d passed was still in working order. The crewmen that he’d asked hadn’t known everything about the cannons, but it was possible that Yuoshichi’s servants or workers would be able to access that cannon without too much trouble. The police presence he’d seen also made more sense this way. Yuoshichi had probably called in the police to protect the cannon.
But for a lightning fuel strike to happen here, there would have to be lightning fuel buried underground somewhere nearby. No one would be audacious enough to bury bottles of lightning fuel inside the shrine itself.
But if there was no lightning fuel buried here, why was the roof destroyed? Koushi knew that Yuoshichi had lightning fuel with him. If Yuoshichi had gotten inside the shrine, then it was possible that he’d orchestrated that attack. That chain of events made sense to Koushi, aside from one thing.
Humans weren’t allowed inside the shrine. Roroku had been stopped inside the main hall. Even if Yuoshichi had gotten in some other way, the Guardian Gods would mobilize to eject him.
How did this happen? Koushi thought.
The sliced bamboo blind fell down and clattered down the stairs as a tall man pitched forward. The red-robed girl was at the bottom of the stairs. The man launched himself at her like a projectile.
Princess Tayura convulsed violently when she was struck.
Another man appeared from within the main hall and set upon the Earth Clan Guardian God, who was lingering near the stairs. Koushi didn’t know what was happening. The second man was bleeding heavily all over the Earth Clan Guardian God. They collapsed in a dull red heap.
“Fools!” Hibari spat. She sent out three new spies to deal with the attackers.
But the attackers were all bleeding, so Hibari’s spies were easily dealt with. The attackers bled on the spies, deliberately taking wounds so that the spies would turn back into paper dolls.
The Earth Clan Guardian God collapsed on the stairs in a puddle of blood.
The first attacker came close enough for Koushi to identify. This was Yuoshichi, and the other attackers were his servants.
A bleeding servant jumped on the Earth Clan Guardian God and held him down. The Earth Clan Guardian God couldn’t use his powers in the presence of so much blood. He squirmed out of the servant’s hold and slid unceremoniously down the stairs.
“How?” Hibari asked. “Did he swallow lightning fuel or something?” She clenched her teeth.
Koushi blanched, but the question was a good one. The servants were bleeding all over. They could have hidden the lightning fuel within themselves so that it wouldn’t be detected until it was too late.
The bleeding servant was both a desperate attacker and Yuoshichi’s defender. As long as they were bleeding, the Guardian Gods wouldn’t be able to use their powers. The servant who had pinned the Earth Clan Guardian God passed out from blood loss and had a seizure at the top of the stairs.
Yuoshichi dragged Princess Tayura into the sandy courtyard and shoved her away from him. She doubled over on the disrupted earth and coughed. She had a knife in her back.
Time slowed to a crawl.
Princess Tayura fell and did not rise. She didn’t move. Her elaborate hairpin slipped off her head and fell onto rich topsoil.
This was the end of Akira’s mission to the shrine. Princess Tayura had died before Roroku, Koushi or Akira herself could deliver her petition.
“At last. At last, it’s done,” Yuoshichi said in a resonant voice full of glee. He walked toward Koushi.
Koushi thought that Yuoshichi’s skin had burned away at first, because he was so red. But that was an optical illusion. His blood had dried on the surface of his skin, forming a thin, veined crust that looked like burned flesh.
“One more. There is only one more thing I must do, and then the Guardian Gods will be completely powerless,” Yuoshichi said. He stepped over Princess Tayura like she wasn’t even there. Her eyes were wide open in death.
Behind Yuoshichi, his seizing servant stopped convulsing. The servant was still breathing. His cheeks were sunken in and his eyes bulged so much that they looked like they would fall out of his head.
Hibari took rattling breaths. She was shaking with terror.
Yuoshichi’s eyes burned with the flame of madness. He cast a scornful laugh at Roroku, who was crawling away from him. He lifted his face and looked at the gate, right where Kira was standing.
“Are you in there?” Yuoshichi asked. His mustache twitched. He stood up straight, tall and powerful. His insanity gave him overwhelming strength.
“Father,” the Millennium Comet said faintly.
It seemed like Yuoshichi hadn’t seen Koushi yet. His full attention was on the Millennium Comet, who was currently inhabiting his daughter’s body.
Yuoshichi’s mouth twisted in a bitter frown. “It doesn’t matter what tricks you try or what form you take,” Yuoshichi said. “I’ve won. You can’t stop me now.”
As Yuoshichi surged forward to attack the Millennium Comet, Roroku reached out and grabbed Yuoshichi’s ankle. Yuoshichi fell, but he managed to kick Roroku in the gut with one foot. When he was down, he stomped on what was left of Roroku’s right arm before staggering to his feet.
Roroku screamed in agony.
Mizore attacked Yuoshichi next, but Yuoshichi paid the dog no mind, even when she bit his arm and latched on, refusing to let go.
Yuoshichi approached the Millennium Comet again, dragging a hostile Mizore along with him. There was desperation in the dog’s eyes.
“Sister, run!” Hibari called out. She had a blank sheet of blessed paper in her hand.
The Millennium Comet remained still and silent. She stared at Yuoshichi.
Hinako tried to stand.
Koushi pressed down firmly on her shoulder. “Stop. You can’t move yet, okay?” he whispered.
Hinako looked up at him, then nodded. She was terrified.
Yuoshichi finally managed to shake Mizore off. He brandished his bite wound at the Millennium Comet as if it were a medal of valor. Blood splattered everywhere, staining Hibari’s white ceremonial robes.
Hibari stiffened. She had never done combat with a human intent on killing her before.
“Why are you fighting?” the Millennium Comet asked Yuoshichi. “What reason do you have?” The color of her dress concealed any bloodstains. She appeared calm and collected.
Yuoshichi seized the Millennium Comet, pulling her up by the collar of her dress. “I have devoted my entire life to achieving this moment,” he said. In his free hand, he carried a full bottle of lightning fuel.
If the cannons in the city aimed at the shrine now, there would soon be another explosion.
The blood-soaked servant groaned.
Koushi was shocked that the servant was still alive. He reached into his bag with trembling hands and removed his own bottle of lightning fuel. Koushi held his breath. His blood ran cold. Yuoshichi wouldn’t signal the cannons to fire now, would he? Was it even possible to do that from here? Even if it was, if the cannons fired now, Yuoshichi himself would perish in the explosion.
Koushi dashed away from the gate, leaving Hinako behind. His legs seemed to have a mind of their own. He didn’t have to run far. He was almost there.
And then Yuoshichi was in reach.
“Stop! That’s Kira!” Koushi shouted.
Yuoshichi saw Koushi. His lips twisted into a crooked smile. That smile made Koushi even more terrified.
The Millennium Comet continued staring impassively at Yuoshichi.
“You won’t interfere with this,” Yuoshichi said. “I don’t care if I have to end my own bloodline. So be it.” He pulled the Millennium Comet closer, bringing his face to hers.
Yuoshichi did plan to end himself in the last explosion. He wanted to take the Millennium Comet down with him in a blaze of glory. He knew that the Millennium Comet was possessing Kira’s body, and he still didn’t hesitate.
“You’re insane! Let Kira go!” Koushi cried out.
The Millennium Comet showed no reaction to any of these events. Her gaze didn’t move away from Yuoshichi’s face.
Koushi struck Yuoshichi hard in the temple. The only thing he could do now was attack. He’d exhausted all of his other options. Unfortunately, his blow did little damage, and Yuoshichi shrugged it off. He turned his head and spat out saliva mixed with blood.
Yuoshichi rammed his jar full of lightning fuel into Koushi’s face.
Koushi was knocked down to the ground. The taste of blood welled up in his mouth.
“You are no longer needed,” Yuoshichi said.
Before he could shudder at the cruelty of those words, a blow struck Koushi’s chest. Yuoshichi’s foot sank into his stomach.
“Don’t move, boy,” Roroku called out. He’d managed to get to his feet.
Yuoshichi faced Roroku just in time for Roroku to tackle him. The impact caused the Millennium Comet to shake violently. Yuoshichi hadn’t let go of her for even a single moment.
“You… you’re nothing but a mangy stray dog who should have died already!”
Yuoshichi spun around and struck Roroku in the face with his elbow, forcing him to the ground once again.
But Yuoshichi was weakening. Roroku had stabbed him in the side during their collision. He had used the very same dagger that Yuoshichi had used to murder Princess Tayura. Yuoshichi reeled from the injury and nearly fell, but he still didn’t let go of the Millennium Comet.
Roroku smirked from the ground. He was flat on his back. “Too bad we don’t have time for you to repent and realize what you’ve done. But we really don’t have the time. Lucky you.” He clicked his tongue to summon Mizore.
Mizore lunged at Yuoshichi. Before she reached the huge, blood-covered man, she dropped a bottle of lightning fuel that she’d been holding in her mouth. It rolled to Koushi.
Koushi picked up the bottle. It must have come from Yuoshichi’s servant. The man lay at the bottom of the stairs with blood pooling all around him.
Mizore’s fangs sank into Yuoshichi’s jaw. Roaring and howling ferociously, Yuoshichi struggled to shake off Mizore, who bit down and refused to let go. Yuoshichi managed to maintain his grip on the Millennium Comet Even when he was under attack. He side-stepped and slammed Mizore against a gatepost. Mizore whimpered and let go from shock, falling to the ground. She dragged one leg awkwardly behind her when she got up.
Yuoshichi decided to retreat. He walked toward the open gate, dragging the Millennium Comet behind him.
Koushi shouted to Kira as he got up, but it was hard to get words out. His kicked stomach throbbed in pain. It was hard to focus his eyes.
Hinako ran toward Koushi and then past him, following Yuoshichi. That was strange. She shouldn’t be in any condition to run.
Yuoshichi beat Hinako out of the gate, dragging his blood-soaked shoes along for the ride. He passed by the corpse of the Guardian God of the Water Clan and kept walking.
Hibari gasped sharply, then let out an angry yell as she chased after Yuoshichi. Even she wouldn’t be able to catch up with him in time if he decided to murder the Millennium Comet right here and now.
Dogs were barking in the city’s industrial area.
Hibana flowed into Yuoshichi’s path, her tattered red house gown blowing in the wind. One white, bare foot and one shoed foot were planted firmly on the crumbling, slanted ground. Her glossy black hair was loose and long. One side of her face was swollen and dark with bruising, but she was still beautiful. Her wide-open eyes took in Kira, then Yuoshichi.
Hibana’s hand shot out and gripped Yuoshichi under the chin. “You,” she said. “I thought I’d find you here.” She smiled: one of the perfect, elegant smiles that she’d used vapidly on dinner guests for most of her life.
Koushi was stunned to see Hibana. He thought she’d fallen to her death. He told himself not to panic.
Hinako finally caught up to Yuoshichi and the Millennium Comet. She saw Hibana and froze.
“You must give me flesh,” Hibana said. She hadn’t blinked once since she’d appeared here. She raised her supple arms and spread them as if she were planning to embrace her husband and daughter.
Hinako gasped.
“I’ve become so ugly. You must give me more flesh, or I will not suffice.”
A muscle jumped near Yuoshichi’s jaw. Koushi couldn’t see his expression from this distance.
“Get out of the way,” Yuoshichi said quietly. Blood from the bite wounds that Mizore had inflicted coated his clothes.
Hibana’s eyebrows shifted toward the center of her forehead as she frowned in displeasure. She stepped forward carefully with her bare foot. With a dancer’s grace, she closed the distance between her and Yuoshichi.
Hibana laid her hands on Kira’s. “This is my daughter,” she said. She pulled so quickly and so strongly that Yuoshichi lost his grip on the Millennium Comet. The Millennium Comet stumbled away from Hibana and Yuoshichi.
“What are you trying to do?” Hibana asked. “That’s my daughter. I gave birth to her. She’s mine alone. She will never belong to you.”
“Oi!” Yuoshichi exclaimed.
Hibana wrapped her long fingers around Yuoshichi’s bloody neck and squeezed. She pulled him to her with hideous strength, dragging him backward toward the edge of the cliff. With her face to the sky and her crimson gown fluttering, she completely surrendered herself to gravity.
Yuoshichi and Hibana went over the cliff together.
Koushi felt like he was in danger of falling, himself. Kira’s parents, both of them, were gone. True, they had been cruel and stern at times, but they were still her parents. They had adopted Koushi and Hinako in their time of need—and they’d ensnared both children in their wicked schemes. Yuoshichi had declared war on the Guardian Gods themselves.
And now, Yuoshichi and his wife were no more.
The Millennium Comet was on her knees on the ground. She shook all over.
“Sister!” Hibari called out. She had no intention of harming either Kira or the Millennium Comet.
Koushi got to his feet and headed toward Roroku, who lay face-up on the ground in the courtyard.
Roroku had gone pale from blood loss. His sharp eyes were open and wistful, as if he were imagining the sea. Mizore limped slowly back to him, her tail drooping.
“Hinako and Kira are safe. Mizore too,” Koushi called out.
Roroku didn’t turn to look at him. He was still breathing, but every breath was labored.
“I’ll stop the bleeding. Please bear with it for just a moment,” Koushi said. He retrieved the bottle of lightning fuel and the bottle with Akira’s petition in it. That done, he stored both bottles in his pockets. He removed his bag from over his shoulder and placed it under Roroku’s head as a pillow.
The Earth Clan Guardian God sat at the top of the stairs in a puddle of drying blood. Yuoshichi’s servant wasn’t too far from Roroku. He’d collapsed and wasn’t moving.
Roroku’s mangled arm had suffered new wounds from Yuoshichi. It was bleeding heavily. Koushi removed the shoulder strap from his bag to make a tourniquet for the arm. He desperately tried to remember if he had ever learned anything in the Academy about flushing out poisons from the human body.
“Please hang in there. You’ll be all right.”
Roroku frowned in annoyance. “Don’t bother. This is fine.” His frown turned into a slight smile.
Koushi shook his head adamantly. “This is not fine! You can’t die now! You need to live for the future! The future needs Fire Hunters like you!”
Roroku’s smile widened, perhaps out of exasperation at Koushi’s childish hope.
“If the future’s what you’re worried about, kid, you’ll be there to see it for me. Y’know, I was never cut out to be a Fire Hunter. I only ever wanted to be a fisherman. I was damn good at that.” His chest rose and fell shallowly. His throat twitched. It was hard to tell if he was still breathing.
Mizore rubbed her face against her master’s.
Koushi remembered that Hinako wasn’t with him. He turned around.
Hibari and the Millennium Comet were standing near the cliff. Hibari clung to the Millennium Comet, who looked uncomfortable. The Millennium Comet pulled away from Hibari and went toward the edge of the cliff. Her long hair spread out in the air, even though there was no wind.
Koushi gasped. The Millennium Comet was going to fall! He stood up, forgetting for a second that Roroku desperately needed medical care.
“Father… Mother…” Kira sobbed on her knees at the end of the cliff.
“She’s angry. So angry she can’t stay still.” That was what the Millennium Comet had said about Kira.
Koushi’s hand dropped to Mizore’s fur as he sought comfort. He had to get away from this place. But where could he go? Was anywhere safe? He needed to protect Hinako.
There was no time for Koushi to think.
A flash of lightning brighter than the strike that had shattered the roof of the shrine erased every shadow around Koushi. His sight and hearing whited out. He felt like the inside of his body had been hollowed out.
When the brightness ended, the world plunged into unfathomable darkness.
Kira stood alone where the bolt of lightning had struck. She was unhurt.
Koushi’s back slammed against a hard surface. He couldn’t move. There was a sharp spike of wood in his leg, and it pinned him down. He didn’t feel any pain: not yet. He was still in shock.
Then the light returned, shining brighter and brighter until it covered the whole of Koushi’s world.
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