"What I want you are not prepared to give," he said without blinking as he stared back at her.
"Do you ever say what you mean?"
Again her questions were met with silence.
Suzume growled in frustration. "Just leave me alone. You're ruining my good mood."
Noaki turned away from her, staring out at the forest, arms crossed over his chest, making it clear without words that he was not going to leave her alone. Wind blew through the trees, accentuating the silence. She wanted to test the limits of her power, but without knowing what she could do yet she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of an audience. Albeit a blank and emotionless audience.
"I don't need a bodyguard."
He did not respond.
"As you can see I can control my fire now. I don't need you here."
"That is not what I am here to provide."
"Then tell me why are you here?"
"Kazue found comfort in control. Things she could master brought her peace - I suspect you are much the same."
"One problem: I am not Kazue."
"No, but she is inside you."
Suzume stared at him for a moment before turning back around. She scowled at the back of his head. What is that supposed to mean?
"I know everyone expects me to be just like Kazue. But I can choose my own path."
"You must choose it first."
"I am. Isn't that what I just said?" She growled in frustration. Why did everyone have to be so cryptic, everything had to be a lesson to learn or something. She'd made her choice. She was going to get stronger. Finally she was getting a hold of these powers, so couldn't he just be happy for her? Suzume sighed, her fun was spoiled for now and she'd lost interest in practice.
Suzume got to her feet. "Lets head back then."
Noaki followed her lead without comment. She followed the same scorched trail she had made into the forest. Noaki was right, she hadn't exactly hidden herself. The walk, which had seemed to take no time at all on the way, seemed to take an eternity on the way out.
All that surrounded her were trees in all directions. Her palms itched to burn more, despite her protests otherwise. And she took her frustration out on a nearby rock which she kicked. It skittered across the forest floor before careening into some bushes. The bush shook after she hit it, scaring some forest creature. When the bushes starting rustling, Suzume leapt backwards and into Noaki's arms.
Just minutes before she been telling him she didn't need his protection but now all of a sudden she was clinging to him like a frightened child. Suzume flushed with embarrassment before quickly recovering.
"It's probably a fluffy bunny," Suzume laughed.
Noaki was holding on to the hilt of his sword. The wind whistled through the trees, but other than that there was no sound. A prickling sensation tingled at the back of her neck.
"That is not an animal," Noaki said, pushing Suzume behind him.
In the corner of her eye, something slithered just out of sight between trees. He was right, it definitely was not a bunny rabbit. The flames leapt to her hands, an invitation to prove to the swordsman exactly what choice she had made.
Come and get me then!
The creature burst out from behind a nearby tree and barreled towards them. Its serpentine body twisted around tree trunks, and its hundreds of legs clacked together. Suzume's initial bravery shriveled at seeing her opponent.
Despite her own internal doubts, the blaze of fire she had come to recognize as her laden powers churned in her gut, a small inferno building in her defense. The creature lunged towards them and Noaki blocked it with his sword. But the creature had a long dagger like stinger on its back end and while Noaki's swords were preoccupied it brought it down, impaling Noaki's shoulder.
He stumbled backwards, some sort of poison had come from the creature's stinger and it was eating away at the fabric of his hoari. Noaki stumbled and fell face forward onto the ground before the yokai turned back on her, its clacking manacles dripping with an ominous thick green liquid. Damn it, what do I do? As the creature inched closer Suzume threw up her arms to shield her face. Its large pincers snapped at her, but before it could clamp down, a shimmering red barrier pushed it back. It reared back, its black head bobbing back and forth, large antennas twitched near the barrier without touching it. Now lets just hope this barrier holds until I can figure out a way to kill this thing.
Her built in defenses, though convenient, gave her little confidence. It was easy to talk a big game when an enemy wasn't around. The barrier encompassed both her and Noaki. She knelt down beside him trying to shake him awake, but he frozen in place. Whatever poison the centipede used had left him immobile. It was up to her to save them both. She hoped.
Using its long body, the centipede surrounded her. Flames danced along her skin. The combination of her volatile powers and imminent danger turned her into living fire. If she did not get this under control, she would burn away all her energy and then the barrier would fail. Suzume took a few calming breaths, focusing all her energy into creating a ball of flame in her hands. But try as she might, the flames would not do as she ordered them. Now is not the time. Focus. You can do this.
The centipede launched itself against the barrier and it flickered beneath the attack. Suzume looked around, desperate for any kind of solution. Her staff was useless against something this big without fire. She knelt down besides Noaki, shaking him.
"Come on, I need you to wake up."
When she touched him she was struck with an electric feeling, akin to what she had felt when she had fought Hisato with Makato. It didn't knock her off her feet but an idea came into her head. She looked at Noaki, whose blank stare was directed toward a rock on which one of the centipede's back feet rested. Either Noaki was trying to tell her something or she was losing her mind. Because a song rang inside her head, one she'd never heard before but she knew all the words too regardless. I need something to channel my power into before the song leaves me. There was no time to question it.
Praying her barrier would hold as she took a desperate leap, she lurched forward pushing her barrier with her, and letting it extend over the rock. The centipede skittered backwards as red beams of energy shot off the shield any time it made contact with it. The burst of power was enough to deplete her barrier, which flickered and failed. Swearing under her breath, she jumped over the centipede's body and ran toward a nearby tree with a low hanging branch, rock cradled against her chest.
With a death grip on the rock, she tried focusing on on channeling her energy into the stone. She imagined all her flame going into the object, the way Akira had taught her to do with her staff. But redirecting chaotic energy was not that simple when you're being chased by an enormous bug.
She looked over her shoulder to see how close it was and her neck collided with a low hanging branch. Suzume flew backwards before landing flat on her back. Gasping for air, She rolled onto her knees and crawled away from her attacker. The centipede caught up, and dozens of legs pattered over the back her calves. The weight of the giant insect brought her crashing to the ground. Pinned to the ground, the rock trapped beneath her chest, her last hope was to get enough energy into it and somehow direct it at the centipede. Where the centipede touched her, sparks flew and burned its legs, but the creature simply moved a leg out of the way.
With the shifting of the insects legs however, Suzume managed to roll onto her side, where she came face to face with the dripping mandibles of her attacker. The poison dripping from a fang, fell onto her chest, and burned a hole in the fabric of her haori.
Suzume sang, and even though the words were foreign and her voice was hoarse from running into the tree, she kept on singing. Flames danced over her skin and were redirected to her fingers, coalescing into a burning ball of flame that centered around the stone she had managed to hold onto. As the centipede descended she thrust upward, lodging the burning stone into its mouth. It let out a high pitched scream as it reared backwards
and toppled over. Hundreds of spindly legs thrashed about in the air as it attempted and failed to dislodge the stone. The fire spread from its mouth and consumed the creature's entire body. The fire burned bright red, quick and hot and after a few moments all that remained was ash.
Suzume lay where the creature had left her, panting on the ground, massaging her bruised throat. The entire thing had happened in a matter of minutes. Suzume dusted off the ash of the centipede and then crawled over to where Noaki lay.
A voice whispered in her ear. You've done well.
"Kazue?" Suzume whispered, her voice croaky but there was no answer.
19
Footsteps rushed in her direction, but this time they were friendly. To her surprise it wasn't Kaito this time who had led the charge but Tsuki brandishing a sword and a grin. Rin came next, already in her kitsune form, and last followed by Kaito.
"We heard you scream..." Tsuki trailed off upon seeing the blackened remains of the centipede. The stone she had used glowed red hot in the smoldering carcass. He dropped his sword to his side and his smile fell.
Kaito pushed his way to the front, and his eyes scanned the area. "Do you have some sort of death wish?"
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," she spat back.
She was right not to worry about him. He was back to his old self again. Maybe he had even faked his injuries to get back at her for lying about being able to talk to Kazue. Or can I talk to her? Beyond those three words, Suzume had heard nothing else from Kazue. She mentally shook herself. That was crazy because Kazue was gone. Then she remembered both Noaki and Hisato's warning. Kazue's power would consume her if she let it. But I am getting control of this power so it shouldn't be a problem, right?
"What about your arm?" Tsuki nodded towards her. She'd been so focused on survival, she had not realized it when some of the centipede's poison had burned her bicep.
"This is nothing." The last thing she needed was a petty wound to ruin the powerful illusion she was trying to portray. She tried covering it with her hand and winced.
"You call this fine?" Kaito marched over, grabbing her arm and yanking it toward him to inspect it. As he did the fire inside her, which still hadn't quite died away, flared up. Kaito immediately dropped her arm and backed away a step.
"It's nothing," she said, scowling at him.
"And you're a healer now?" He did not reach for her again. Maybe her point was finally getting across. Knowing Kaito though, that likely wasn't the case.
"It could have been worse." Suzume jutted her chin at him and gestured towards the charred remains of her opponent.
"Knowing you, it was probably dumb luck." Kaito crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't even bother to look at the dead yokai.
Suzume prickled at his assumption that she was incapable of taking care of herself. True it hadn't been entirely her own doing. Maybe the only reason she was standing here right now was because Noaki had given her the song she needed to defeat the centipede. And there was the fact that she heard Kazue's voice inside her head again. Which terrified her as well. Not that she was going to tell them that.
"That's what you think! I am getting more powerful all the time."
"You could have fooled me," he said, but it lacked his usual teasing tone. And instead of trying to taunt her into a pointless argument he sounded upset with her. Kaito turned to Rin with snarl. "Bring her back to camp now."
How can he be mad when he's constantly throwing me into dangerous situations? "I killed that yokai by myself for your information," she shouted after his retreating form, but Kaito did not even bother to look back at her.
Glaring at his retreating back, she thought: What's wrong with him?
He had to be in another one of his moods. With his ego, he was likely upset over being injured enough where anyone had to step in. And if Rin had told him Suzume had to help, his pride would have been even more bruised by a human's assistance. Suzume scoffed. I am getting stronger. He'll see. They headed back in the direction of the camp. Kaito marched ahead of the rest of them, keeping them at a distance, more than just establishing himself as the leader but more akin to putting a wall between him and the group. He's definitely in a mood. In fact everyone was acting strangely, Rin and Tsuki flanked her on either side, but neither of them were coming very close to her. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Suzume continued to flicker with flames. Unlike when she usually used her powers, the fire had not died away this time. Neither had Noaki woken from the poison and he was slung over Rin's back, his blank, staring eyes watching them as they walked. She wished he would wake up, so she could ask him about what had happened to her.
His blank stare made her uneasy and Suzume had to increase her steps to get out of his line of sight. When she arrived back at their makeshift camp at the temple, she saw Makato was once more tied to the tree. At least he was conscious now.
Even though she knew Kaito was in a foul mood, she couldn't let his slight go, and she let her bitterness take the lead. "Why is Makato tied to the tree?"
"Because he cannot be trusted," Kaito snarled with his back still to her.
"He saved your life. Is that how you're going to repay him?" She threw her arm towards Makato dramatically.
"He also tried to kill me. Would you rather I repay him for that?" he half turned but still would not face her entirely.
Perhaps it was petty to argue over a non-issue but she had hoped now that her powers were starting to develop, Kaito would be happy for her at least. But it seemed no matter what she did. He saw her as inferior. "Do you have some sort of problem with humans?"
Kaito turned and rushed towards her, and suddenly he was very close, glaring into her eyes. "Humans cannot be trusted. If you put any faith in them, they will use it against you."
"I'm human. Are you saying you don't trust me?" She met his narrowed gaze.
"Did I ever say I did?"
His words stung more than she thought they would. Without realizing she had been putting a portion of her trust in Kaito. But she should have known better than to put any trust in him.
"Are you going to tie me to that tree next?" she snapped.
"Maybe I should," he said, his voice pitched low and full of intent. If she kept pushing his boundaries, she had no doubt he would.
Something was different about Kaito, though she couldn't put her finger on what. He isn't blaming me for what happened with Daiki's army is he?
"Don't even think about it," Suzume raised her sparking hand to show him she was serious.
"Now you're going to challenge me?" he said, baring flat human teeth at her.
"What if I am?" Suzume scowled back at him, she was playing with fire, quite literally. Her power was new and dangerous. She shouldn't be tempting fate by angering the dragon. But it just seemed to be their destiny to continuously butt heads.
Kaito leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "Don't get it twisted. You're nothing to me but a means to an end."
Kaito pulled back, holding her gaze for a moment before he turned on his heel and stalked back towards the shrine building. Suzume stared after him, sputtering.
"You don't mean anything to me either!" A hot blush threatened to climb up her neck but Suzume spun towards Makato and said, "We should untie him, he doesn't deserve to be treated like a dog!" She tossed her hair over her shoulder and resisted to look in Kaito's direction and see if he was listening.
She didn't care what he thought. It wasn't as if she really thought he cared about her. Everything he did was a game meant to make her into the fool. Well she didn't have to listen to him.
"Let's see to your wound," Rin said and when she reached for Suzume, the flames flared up in defense and Rin had to jerk her hand away at the last minute to avoid being burned by it.
Rin frowned, looking at Suzume.
Suzume, having no reasonable explanation for why her power was suddenly going haywire decided it was easier to ignore it. "Rin, do you think this is fair?"
Rin loo
ked to Makato and then away, as if it was a crime to just look at him. "It is not my decision."
Suzume growled in frustration. "You can't be serious. This is inhumane."
Suzume looked at Kaito from the corner of her eye. But instead of responding to her, he had disappeared into one of the nearby shrine buildings.
The fire was building now, raising to a crescendo and any moment now she was going to unleash it all and destroy him if she didn't get a hold of it.
"Why do you let him get to you?" Makato asked.
Suzume spun in place, even though she'd almost forgotten he was still tied to the tree. Kaito wasn't watching anymore and her motivation for untying him seemed moot. If she was going to be honest, she didn't trust him either, even if he had saved Kaito's life.
"I don't let him get to me," Suzume scoffed and was preparing to turn away.
"But you're letting your emotions rule your energy. That's dangerous."
Suzume scowled at him. "Are you trying to say you'd know better?"
"I've spent my entire life studying spiritual energy. I think I would know."
Suzume rolled her eyes, pretending his arrogant comment did little to impress her. But she had seen what he was capable of and after what Kaito had said she was more determined than ever to prove to Kaito that she was just as powerful as him, if not more powerful.
"Then maybe you have some idea of how to stop this?" She held up her sparking hands, not really expecting a solution. Akira had tried several different methods to tame Suzume's power and now had worked.
The priest closed his eyes and sang a song under his breath, and the hairs on the back of Suzume's neck raised up on end as power enveloped her like a warm embrace. As his power wrapped around her, she felt the fires that were erupting within her calm for the first time since she'd fought the centipede. Suzume held up her hands, examining them.
"How did you do that?"
"I used my spiritual energy to suppress part of yours," Makato said with a small shrug.
"How is that even possible?"
He looked up at her, a little sheepish "It's an advanced technique, and a bit difficult to explain."
The Dragon Saga Box Set Page 51