Find Your Way

    Hikou turned around to see Chichiri smiling at him, a faint aura surrounding him as he held the shield in place around his friend for a moment before dropping it.
    “Sorry it took us so long, no da.”
    “That’s alright, Houjun,” he replied, turning back to see Arcadia occupied with Tasuki and Kouji.
    “I think I can seal her, no da,” Chichiri said, coming to stand beside him. “It’ll take a few minutes for me to prepare the spell, though.”
    “Work on it,” Hikou growled before charging forward. He had to help the others keep Arcadia from disturbing Chichiri while he gathered the necessary energy to seal her away. He leapt up and slashed his weapon at her, effectively getting her attention as he managed to cut her shoulder. She hissed and took a swipe at him, only catching air. Behind her, Tasuki drew his tessen and rammed it into the small of her back. She cried out and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
    “Weak...human body,” she grumbled, shuddering once before falling still. A dark shadow rose out of the girl’s body and took a feminine shape. She lashed out dark tentacles of energy, one catching Tasuki by the foot and hauling him into the air. The other was aimed for Hikou, but Kouji shoved the mage safely out of the way and was caught around the neck.
    “Kouji!” he cried. He shot a questioning glance to Chichiri who could only shake his head. He needed a little more time. He looked back to see the scarred bandit gasping for breath as she squeezed tighter. Another dark coil had snaked its way around Tasuki’s waist and was beginning to crush him as well. Hikou felt something in him snap and leapt to his feet, his swallow held before him horizontally and he closed his eyes and drew on this new feeling he felt. He held a hand before him and felt a spell forming that he’d never used before.
    “This ends now,” he said, looking up at Arcadia. He pointed his weapon at her and channeled his energy through it with a cry. A burst of water rushed forward, taking the shape of a dragon before crashing through the demon. An inhuman shriek was torn from the demon as it released its two victims and shrank in pain. A red light quickly surrounded it and Chichiri began chanting a spell to seal the demon into the Darkness it had come from.
    “I’ll get you for this, Hikou,” she hissed, two crimson slits turning to look vehemently at the man. “In this world and every other world you exist in, I’ll make you pay for this. (1)” In a flash of white light, the demon had vanish and, with her, the clouds in the sky.
    Hikou sighed and dropped to his knees.
    “Hikou,” Kouji rasped, rubbing as his neck. “You ok?”
    “Yeah…just a little tired…I didn’t know I could do that,” he said, looking up at Chichiri.
    “Maybe because she didn’t want you to know you could, no da,” his friend suggested, also dropping to the ground wearily. “Daijoubu, Tas-chan, no da?”
    “Yeah, ‘cept my ribs fuckin’ hurt. I think a couple of ‘em are broke,” he grumbled. He crawled over to Chichiri and wrapped his arms around him gently.
    “I think we all need to take a break before heading back to the stronghold,” Hikou chuckled lightly. He glanced back as Kouji as wrapped his arms around his shoulders from behind and smiled at him. “And what do you want?”
    “Nuthin’,” he smiled back. He closed his eyes and nosed at the mage’s ear slightly. “I just wanna hold ya like dis fer a bit,” he whispered gently. Hikou closed his eyes as well and leaned back against him. After everything that had happened in the past two day, he was tired and just wanted to sleep for a while.
    Chichiri glanced over at his friend and smiled before standing up. “We can’t sit in the snow all day, no da. We should get back and warm up before we all get sick, no da.”
    “Yes mother,” Tasuki sighed, using the mage’s arm to climb to his feet.
    “We’re comin’,” Kouji grumbled, helping Hikou up. The hike back was considerably quiet. Chichiri nudged Tasuki after they had gotten ahead of Hikou and Kouji and whispered something to him. The bandit’s eyes grew large for a moment and he glanced back over his shoulder and then smiled.
    “Yer right,” he whispered back to Chichiri. “They do look kinda cute together…”

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Two short chapters in one night is like one long chapter in one night, right? Right?
****Yawn***
Mysia sleepy. Write more when awake.

(1) Hence why she’ll be in future stories, no da.