So it's been decided. Tamahome will go with Miaka to find Chichiri and the others, and I will head up to Mt. Black and retrieve the shinzaho. I wouldn't have it any other way; after all, I already told Tamahome that I wouldn't come between him and Miaka, and I won't have him treat me differently now that he knows my feelings towards her.

"Be careful, will ya?" Miaka, caring as always, asks me. I know what she means; she doesn't want me to go on alone.

"I'll be fine, I'll be fine!" I say glibly, waving off her query as I spur on my horse for the ride up the mountain. I don't know what she could be worried about. You could practically see Mt. Black from where we stood.

I ride on until the going becomes too steep for my horse to continue, then dismount and begin to trudge through the knee-deep snow on foot. Now that I'm closer, I see that it is a fair ways up, and the snow isn't easy to wade through; if I were an ordinary man I might not be able to do it so easily. But then again I am not an ordinary man.

My thoughts settle on Miaka as I climb, and a smile comes to my face, as has happened recently whenever I think of her. I imagine that Kourin would be like her if she were alive. Maybe that's why I care so much for Miaka, love her so...I hadn't given it much thought until now, but it almost seems to be the case.

Now I look up and looming not far ahead is a large door set in the mountain wall, almost hiding behind an even larger boulder that has been placed in front of it. This is it, huh? Where the shinzaho is. I've finally arrived. It won't be long now before we have the shinzaho and Miaka can call Suzaku, I think. I eye the boulder; it's easily twice my height, and almost that in width. It's a good thing I did come here, after all. No one else would ever be able to move this, even combined in efforts. I step up to the boulder and press my hands against it tentatively, to guage how much strength I should put into moving it.

Then I feel it; my stomach clenches uneasily, my heartrate quickens, and a burst of adrenalin shoots through my veins. Danger is near. Very near. I resist the urge to turn suddenly, fighting to remain calm as I glance slowly over my shoulder, and my worst fears are confirmed.

Not 20 feet away from me stands the Animal, that Seiryuu Seishi we encountered earlier. I had hoped we'd seen the last of him, at least for a while, after I scared him off with Chiriko's flare. Now I'm alone and I don't even have a weapon to defend myself with.

The Animal snarls and swears at me. "I found you! You piece of s---. As your reward for guiding me to the shinzaho, I'll kill and devour you. After you, the other seishi, and espicially Miko." Not if I can help it, he won't. The thought of Miaka and the others being harmed makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I can feel my chi increasing. I let it happen, will it to happen; I know I'm going to need it.

"Don't be so cock-sure," I say, glaring at him. "I won't let you, Animal, touch Miaka or any of the others!" My bracelets expand and glow, giving me added strength should I need it. I get into a fighting stance, prepared to kill, and stare the Animal down. "I'll beat you! Come on!"

In a blur of body and snow, the Animal charges up the mountain toward me and almost before I can put my arms up to shield myself I feel myself being pushed backward through the snow and my back slams against the base of the mountain. It doesn't hurt too badly, and I don't think I'm injured, but I'm jarred and taken by surprise. What strength! I think. When comparing our strength...his seems to rival my own.

I take a powerful swing at him but before I can connect he leaps away, landing gracefully (dare I use that word?) on his feet, unscathed. I curse in my mind. He's agile, too! He comes at me again, this time striking blows. He hits my face and my head snaps to one side. I try to dodge, but he punches me again in the stomach and I slam into the mountain wall once more, my cloak flying from my body. I feel the sting of that blow, and I'm starting to bleed too. He's fast, I think. I can't keep up with him. He's like...a wild wolf! It might be wiser for me to get out of this now, get away somehow, and lead him away from Miaka and the others. My mind races in time with my heart, searching for an opening into which I can escape.

I realize that I'll have to distract the beast if I'm going to get out of this battle okay. While there's still some distance between us I quickly grab my cloak and without wasting a second I throw it over the Animal's head. Just as quickly I leap into the air, over his head, aiming for the ground behind him and planning to run like hell before he knows where I've gone. I twist my body mid-air into a flip so that I'll still be able to see him once I land.

Suddenly a searing, excruciating pain rips into my lung. I stop moving. The world stops moving. I try to gasp but the intake of air causes so much pain that I almost pass out. Another breath makes me cough, and when I do I'm horrified to see blood, my blood, come out of my mouth. What just happened? Ahead of me I only see sky. I turn my head and although I do know exactly what has happened it's alarming to see claws dotting the skin where my ribcage should be. Oh gods. Is it really that bad? Am I...am I going to die? What do I do now? For a moment I am tempted to stay here, to accept whatever will come now; but in a flood of memories Miaka's name, her face runs through my mind and I know I have work to do.

I summon up my courage, grit my teeth and heave myself off of that beast, that *bastard*'s arm. The pain is beyond what I could have imagined, but I use the pain to fuel my rage and in a burst of strength I take that bastard's head in my hands and squeeze until I know he will never move again. I let go, disgusted, and he falls to the ground.

"Don't underestimate Nuriko-sama," I hiss at the corpse through clenched teeth, panting from my exertions. I turn away and begin to walk, not sure where I'm heading. My legs give out and I fall to my knees. The reality of my situation is becoming clearer. I'm losing blood fast; I've placed my hand protectively over the wound and still blood seeps through my fingers at an uncontrollable rate. I already feel so much weaker. Unless the others get here soon I know I'm not going to live. And somehow, I feel they're not going to make it in time.

I made a mistake. From now on, I won't be able to think about Miaka. I almost laugh at the irony of it all, although I'm so terribly sad now. Such a price to pay for protecting the ones I love!

I come back to the here and now, and remember the boulder I am supposed to move. Injured or not, I'm still the only one who can do it, and I can't fail the others in this respect. I can't fail Miaka. I force myself to my feet and wearily drag myself to the large rock, placing my hands on either side. I gather what chi I can, concentrating on the task. The boulder doesn't move. Please give me power, I pray to Suzaku, knowing that this is my, our, last chance. Strength that I know is not my own comes to me, and I heave the boulder aside with a cry.

Suddenly I am bathed in light, a light that does not belong to the sun, but something else heavenly. I look up, directly into it, but it isn't blinding; rather, it's warm, welcoming. And I see the most welcome sight I can imagine. Could it be that my beloved imouto is smiling at me, here, now?

"Kourin," I murmer softly, not wanting to spoil the moment, "how long have you been there?"

My attention is swayed by voices, off in the distance...voices I should recognize, but I'm not quite sure who they belong to now. They're calling my name, but I'm too weak to answer. I'm here...I'm here....

I don't know what happened after that. I must have lost consciousness. When I come to, my mind has cleared somewhat. My vision focuses and I find that I'm looking up at Miaka. She's holding my head in her lap and crying, trying to staunch the flow of my life's blood. It's not working; my wounds are simply too severe. She's saying that that animal was too much for me to take on alone. I know it, but it's too late for that now. Still, I hate to see her so upset. I can see Tamahome to the other side of me, trying to start a signal fire with two stones. When he finally succeeds, he takes me from Miaka and she kneels by my head while she weeps.

I put a smile on my face so that Miaka won't worry so much about me. "Don't cry," I say. "It isn't bad enough to kill me. I can't leave you." I wish I could believe my own words.
Miaka's breaking my heart with her tears. "Damn, you cry easily," I berate her, reaching up to wipe her away her tears. "You're...such a glutton, clumsy, stupid and reckless." At that she smiles slightly. "Nuriko," she whispers, and I can't face her any more. I turn away. "I have to watch over you," I murmer, more to myself than to her, begging Suzaku not to let me die.

"Nuriko, try not to talk," Tamahome interjects. "Don't move until Mitsukake gets here."
Still, there are things I have to say to Miaka that I may never have the opportunity to say again. I turn my head back to look at her. "But there's something special about you. So...so don't lose. No matter what." Don't let my death discourage you from what you have to do, I add in my head.

Miaka seems comforted by what I've said, and she gets up to go find the others. I close my eyes. I'm terribly relieved that she's turned away. I've been hanging on for her. I'm beyond pain, beyond thinking now. I can feel my imouto's arms around me, pulling me to her -- away from Miaka and this world. And I'm ready to go. I say a silent prayer thanking Suzaku for giving me the opportunity to be a Suzaku no ShichiSeishi, to meet and serve Suzaku no Miko and the other Seishi; then I leave my body and enter the embrace of heaven.

Back to my Nuriko Shrine.

All characters belong not to me (oh, I wish!) but to Watase Yuu, Flower Comics, Bandai, and other really awesome folks. I just played around with them and tried to get into their heads ;-_-. Please, don't sue me. I haven't got a penny to my name.
Story © 1998 Meri.