Insanity

"Kakasama!" Kana exclaimed, taking a step towards her burning mother. "Kanachan, no! She's gone! The flames overtook her to quickly." Sora yelled, grabbing Kana around the waist, holding her off the ground. Kana waved her hand towards the inferno while still being held by the man, effectivly dousing the flames. All that remained was the charred skeleton of an eight tailed fox. "She must of tranformed in an attempt to save herself, I'm sorry Kanachan. I know she wasn't a mother to you, but I know you still didn't want her to die." Sora whispered. "Sora put me down, and get out of here. Now." Kana demanded in a calm voice. "Kanachan what...?" Sora asked, hugging the woman tighter to him. "Now Sora! If you don't leave this instant I can't assure your saftey. Go now!" Kana yelled, turning towards Sora, eyes full of green flames. Sora let go of the woman, backing up, "Hai Kanachan, shinu koto wa nai. Daisama ga anata o matte imasu, watashi mo sa remasu." (Okay Kana, don't die. Dai is waiting for you, and I will be too.)
"You neko bitch! How dare you! Who do you think you are?!" Akio roared from where he had fallen to the ground. The pale haired man reached down grabbing the shaft of the arrow, snapping it off, pulling it out of his leg with a cry of pain. Akio stood, heavily favoring his wounded limb. "God complex? I'm the closest thing to a God you will ever meet girl!" He shouted, orange eyes begining to glow like suns. "No, I am. You are a pathetic worm compared to me, feeding off of others left overs. You have nothing if others don't use their gifts around you, and you can't comprehend the power Koda and I posses. All you can do it heighten peoples emotions. Go ahead, heighten my emotions, heighten Koda's, you'll just die sooner." Kana said walking towards the two, grass dying under her feet with every step as she absorbed it's very life force, adding it's energy to her own. "Feel free to pray to your God, because judgment is upon you my dear husband. You were already on your knees, why don't you return to them? You can pray to Koda if you don't want to pray to me, though I think the answer will be the same." Kana smirked.

"Who do I think I am? That's a good question. I think my answer shall be simple enough. Your demise." She smirked, black iris shadowing the usual gentle gold of her eyes at the thought. Reaching back for another arrow, she kept it calmly fixated on Aiko. "Go about six hundred meters into the forest. You can't miss the horse." She called over her shoulder to Sora who was still stood there. Fixing her attention back onto Aiko, she stepped to the side, allowing Kana a better shot at him. "Either way Aiko, I don't care if I die. You want to kill me? Then be all means be my guest. But I'll sure as hell make sure Kana forces you to join me."

Aiko looked between the two women, eyes narrowing as he tried to formulate a plan. "Hai Kodasan. Take care of Kanachan." Sora bowed, anguish plain on his face about having to leave Kana. He knew he would only be a hinderance to the women, but the fact that he had to leave them killed something inside. He had just met Koda, but if either of them fell in battle...he would never forgive himself. With a final glance Sora ran for the forest, leaving the women to fight the evil that was Aiko.
A wicked smile inched it's way across Aiko's face. "You're my demise eh? I think you have that backwards neko." He said, amused. Aiko looked at Kana, grinning outright. Kana paused in her approach, narrowing her eyes at the man, trying to figure out what he was thinking. She may hate the man, but she knew he was an excelent stratigest. "I have to thank you my darling wife, for giving me the tools to defeat this woman." Aiko laughed, eyes glowing an intense orange. Kana's eyes went wide as she realised what he was about to do, "Aiko no!" She shouted, but it was to late. The man moved lightning fast, grabbing Koda around the waist, clutching her to him, using her as a shield against his bride while simultaniously begining to drain the neko's very life force from her. "You really are an amazing being Kana, I chose well when I decided on you as my bride." He said, proud of himself. Aiko leaned forward, whispering in Koda's ear, "Be honored, your life will give me the strength to overpower my little wife. In essence, it will be you who will bring the leader of the kitsune to her knees, and make her bow to me."

Koda chuckled lightly as the energy was sucked from her veins. Knees weakening, her form sagging as she no longer had the means to support herself.
"You...underestimate me." She panted, the effort of talking making her breathless. "There is...something you....should know. A neko is...never unarmed." She hissed, drawing the short blade that lay atop of her belt, plunging it behind her, stabbing the supple flesh of Aiko's flesh. "Try...defeating her without...extra energy." She smiled, raising the blood stained knife to her own throat, pressing it until blood flowed freely from the horizontal wound. Struggling to breathe, Koda collapsed to the ground, a smile spreading on her lips as her eyes fell shut.

Aiko cried out in pain as Koda's blade punctured his gut, clutching on to the woman tighter, trying to drain her lifeforce faster, but this time to save himself. His eyes went wide as he watched the woman slash her own throat, and he quickly let go of her, lest he suck her death into himself. "Foolish girl, sacrificing herself to give her friend an advantage." He said in disgust, holding his hands to his wound.
"Koda." Kana breathed out, watching the woman become a martyr. She took a few steps forward, kneeling beside her fallen friend. Kana gently stroaked a finger down Koda's cheek, bending over to kiss her forehead. "Thank you Koda. For everything. You'll get your justice...now."
Aiko grabbed Kana by the upper arm, jerking her to her feet. "Let's go Kana." Kana turned, glaring at the man. "Aiko, you do realise you are about to die, don't you? Koda didn't die just to give me an advantage...she died so that I could kill you and avenge her. Avenge me."
"Pretty speach my dear, but you and I both know you wont do it. You don't have the constitution to do it." He smirked, pulling roughly on her arm. "I don't have the constitution? You killed my mother, you harmed the man I love, your family abused Koda in horrible ways, and caused her to sacrifice herself, and what you did to me...you're going to die. So pray my husband, and pray quick." Kana growled, eyes filling with green flames, her one tail multiplying into nine to fan out behind her. "Anata wa akuma no youna kyuubi no te de shinu shiyou to shite imasu. Anata no kitsune no megami." (You're about to die at the hands of the demon kyuubi. Your kitsune goddess.)
Kana whirled on her husband, shoving her hand into the wound Koda had made, jerking up until she held the mans heart in her hand. Aiko just stood there, still as a statue, mouth gaping open. Kana gave the life giving muscle a light squeeze, watching the blood flow from his mouth. "Watashi no ai o mite, watashi wa saishuuteki ni anata no kokoro o motte imasu." (Look my love, I finally have your heart.) Kana reached up on tip toe, kissing Aiko's lips stained with dark heart blood. "Soshite kon, sore wa watashidesu." (And now it's mine.) She stated sternly, tearing the muscle out of the man's chest. She held the still twitching organ infront of her husbands eyes as he fell to his knees. She glanced at the heart with a wicked grin, and it burst into flames, quickly turning to ash, blowing away on the wind.
She kneeled infront of her dying husband, "Sayonara watashi no amai oji wa, jigoku de sanshou shite kudasai." (Goodbye my sweet prince, see you in hell) and with that, the last signs of life faded from his eyes.
Kana turned to Koda's peacefull looking corpse. "I did it. Because of you, I was able to do it. Thank you so much watashi no yujin." (My friend) She whispered. "I'm going to leave you here for just a moment. I'm going to find Sora and the horse, then I will bring you back to your friends. I will take you home."

(Wrote this while on sleeping pills, so I hope it makes sense lol)

Koda coughed lightly, throat in agony as the deep cut worked further into her throat.
Must do things like that less often. She reminded herself as a fresh wad of blood fell from her lip, splattering on the ground in front of her. Pushing herself onto all fours, she crawled over to Aiko, tearing his tattered shirt from his form. Wrapping it around her neck, the stem of blood slowed, soaking the cloth slowly. Glancing at the body the shirt once belonged to she was pleased to see the look of absolute horror that was forever etched into his face.
"You never believed me did you..." She smiled, holding the back of her head to stop the gash becoming any deeper. Stumbling to her feet, she trudged towards the forest, unsure of how long it would take to walk back to the camp, if she even made it that far.

As soon as Kana reached the trees she stripped out of her yukata, quickly folding it and her obi sash, setting it on the stone. She closed her eyes, feeling her body transform into the form of a large nine tailed fox. She could more faster this way, and her sense of smell was heightened, making it easier to track down Sora. She lifted her nose up, scenting the wind, then took off running. It didn't take her long to find the man and horse, of course they were heading back to the Michiko compound, which helped.

"Kanachan?" Sora asked, eyes wide, as the giant fox slid to a halt in front of him. 'Who else would it be? How many other blood red kyuubi's do you know?' Kana replied in Sora's mind. Kitsune could communicate mind to mind while in fox form, but only with others of their kind. "Well...none. The only other kyuubi I've ever met is your Obaasan. Sorry. I'm just suprised to see you in this form, I've only seen you in fox form once before this." He paused, eyes going wide again. "Wait, if you're here it must mean you defeated Aiko! I always knew you could do it Kanachan! Where's Kodasan?" Sora asked, craning his neck to look farther behind the woman. Kana shook her head, 'She's dead Sorakun. She sacraficed herself so I could kill Aiko. We need to go back and get her body. It's the very least we can do to repay her, return her body to her friends.'

The two kitsune somberly headed back towards their home to retrieve the Neko's corpse. Sora was on the verge of tears, mentally beating himself up for being so weak, for having to flee and leaving the two women to fight on their own. Kana had the man grab her clothes at the edge of the tree line, she still being in fox form. It wasn't long after that Kana picked up a familiar scent, coming from the wrong direction. She quickly pivoted, running towards the source of the scent. "Kanachan what are you doing? You're going the wrong way!" Sora yelled. 'I can smell Koda! It's not possible, but she's this way!' Kana responded, still running.

What Kana saw stopped her dead in her tracks. Koda was a short distance in front of her, stumbiling and looking all the world like a walking corpse. The front of her was covered in drying blood, cloth tied around her neck. Kana started trotting towards the other woman, transforming back into her original form. She unconciously wrapped one of her tails around her chest, another around her waist. "Kanachan! Please put your clothes on! It's not fitting for a woman of your status to walk around in the nude!" Sora shouted, closeing his eyes momentarily. Kana ignored the man, walking towards Koda. When Kana didn't respond Sora opened his eyes, jaw dropping at the sight of the blood covered woman in front of them, all thoughts of trying to get Kana to dress lost from his mind. "Koda?" Kana called softly, not entirelly sure of what she was seeing.

Koda stopped in her tracks, struggling to catch her already fluctuating breath. "Hey Kana." She smiled, removing her hand from the back of her head and resting her back against a nearby tree. She glanced the female over, eyes narrowing in confusion. "Kana...Why are you naked?"

The question made Kana hesitate, as if she just now realised she was nude, dispite Sora's earlier complaints about her state of undress. "Oh, that. Well you see I transformed into Kyuubi form in order to travel faster so I could find Sorakun so we could go and retrieve your corpse..." She paused, staring at the woman, "Speaking of which...why aren't you a corpse anymore?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "Don't get me wrong, I much prefer you this way...alive...but I saw you die Koda! You slit your own throat to allow me the oppertunity to kill Aiko!." She exclaimed, clearly getting aggitated by her confusion. Kana didn't like being confused. Sora tapped her shoulder, holding out her yukata, obi, and sandels. "Oh, arigato Sorakun." Kana said with a bow, taking the cloth. "Nai mondai." The man mumbled, still openly gapeing at the ligt haired Neko.

"Makes sense I guess..." She murmured, feeling her vocal cords strain under the pressure of talking. "It's hard to explain...I can't grow old either...when my brother died I just...stopped." She rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to find and adequate way to explain what she meant. "The shock got into my system. So even if I appear to die and my heart stops beating. I can still get up and carry on. It may hurt like hell, but he couldn't feel my life force so it was okay in the end." She explained, trying to wrap her own mind around what she was trying to say.

"I knew you didn't age but..." Kana trailed off, slipping on her shoes. She put on her yukata, tying the sash. She felt more naked putting her clothes back on then standing there with just her tails covering her. "You could of mentioned that you can't die to me. You didn't think that was important?" She said, voice getting heated. Sora placed his hand on the womans shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Kanachan ochitsuite, watashi wa kanojo ga sore niyotte nani o imi suru monode wa nakatta to kakushin shite imasu." (Kana calm down, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it.) He said in a soothing voice. Kana took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Souda ne, gomen ne." She said, glancing at the boy. "Gomen Koda, it's been a very long, emotional day for me. Do you need any help tending to your wounds? It's the least I could do for what you did for me." Kana apologised, bowing to the woman.

"I-I'm sorry for not mentioning it before. I used to get persecuted a lot if I told anyone so I learned to become silent about it. I guess I didn't think..." Koda stuttered, gently pressing on the top of her head to stem the flow of blood with the pressure. "I'm fine. It'll heal on it's own in a few hours. It's already started, it's kinda weird feeling your skin grow back. But it only does it if the injury would kill me. If I get cuts and scrapes they stay. Weird huh?"

"Gomen. What you said makes sense. I never thought of that. I know how judgmental people can be, and I was raised around people who expected me to be this way. I can't imagine...gomen." Kana bowed again, then started walking towards the other girl.
Sora narrowed his eyes, inspecting the wound on Koda from a distance. "Actually it makes perfect sense. When we, or at least the Kitsune with higher tail numbers, and my family, are harmed, the more life threatening wounds heal faster then the smaller injuries." The man bit his thumb, thinking. "Watashi no kazoku wa, sore wa wareware ga hogo sa rete iru nodesu, tokubetsudesu. Kanachan, anata ga hon'yaku dekimasu ka? Watashi ni wa kyōtsū no tango ga dono yō ni suru no ka wakaranai." Sora said turning to the red haired Kistune. Kana nodded at the man, then turned to Koda. "What Sora said was is his family is special, that's why they were the guardians of my family. He didn't know how to translate it into common tongue. Dispite their lack of tails, their healing abilities were at the level of a kyuubi. My level. Add to that their incredible ability with weapons, and they were the perfect protectors. The Senshi clan is amazing. The fact that my clan dismissed them so easily is disturbing." Kana explained, shaking her head.
"You never dismissed us Kanachan. You were always kind to my family and I, even at the wrath of your obaasan and kakasama. Arigatogozaimasu. Watashi wa tekisetsu ni shite iru to iu koto ga dekita koto wa nai." (Thank you. I was never able to properly say that to you.) Sora said, dropping to his knees, head to the ground, bowing to the woman.
"Sorakun, by the gods, stand up!" Kana said in an embrassed tone. "Gomen Kanachan." Sora said, standing up, blushing. "Are you sure you wont let us look at your wounds? I have herbs for pain if you would allow me to give you them. It would be the very least I could do for you freeing Kanasama from that monster." Sora asked, turning to Koda again.

"Freeing her? I didn't." Koda smiled lightly. "She freed herself. I didn't kill Aiko, she did. I never freed her." Koda traced her fingers around her neck lightly, wincing as she touched an exposed nerve. "The offer is kind, but I'll have to refuse. Looking at it will be unpleasant for both of you. Besides a little pain might help me become a real man!" She teased.

"I assure you, the sight of your wound will not bother me. I tended many wounds throughout the years, I have also dealt with many corpses, but I will obey your wishes." Sora bowed. "Do you want to return to my fudosan? (estate) It will be a safe place to rest and recouperate for you, and it's really not far from here. Besides I have some corpses to burn." Kana suggested, voice going dark thinking of her husbands body lying on her lawn, sullying her land. Kana's eyes went wide, remembering something. "My 'baachan! I wonder what happened to her after she fled?"

"No, I have to go back and tell Damian I'm okay. Though you can go back if you want. I'll be okay, I can walk the rest of the way and I know you want to clean up your new place." Gently feeling her way over a tree stump with her feet, she tightened the cloth around her neck. "I don't know...I was passed out. I never saw..."

Kana looked torn. Her imoto was waiting for her with Damian, waiting to see if she was alive, but her home...the corpses...her 'baachan...
"Kanachan, you go with Kodasan. Make sure she makes it there safely. She says she is alright, but I'm worried about her. Daisama must be worried about you as well. I will take care of everything at your home. You did the hard part, the very least I can do is take care of the mess. I will find out what happened to your O'baasan as well. The beautiful horse knows the way back, no?" Sora offered, gripping Kana's shoulder.
Relief flooded Kana's face, "Arigato Sorakun. You're too good to me. I'll make sure Koda makes it there safely, and I'll tell Daichan you're coming." Kana smiled, hugging to boy fiercly. Sora's face turned as red as Kana's hair at the embrace, face embarassed as he saw Koda look at them. He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around the woman pressed against him. "I would do anything to see you smile, to put you at ease, make life easier for you Kanachan." He whispered, plucking up the courage to kiss the woman on the top of the head.
Kana pulled back enough to look up at the kitsune, staring into his dark eyes. She placed her hands one either side of his face, going on point to lightly kiss Sora. Sora's breath caught in his throat, then he kissed the woman back. Kana pulled away, smiling gently at the man. She bowed to Sora. "Arigato Sorakun, for everything you've ever done for me. I can't thank you enough. Now hurry so I can see you again." She grinned, then turned to Koda. "Shall we go? I'm sure Sora will meet back up with us before we're even halfway there, then you can ride the rest of the way. We'll take it slow my friend."

(Sorry, I couldn't remember the horses name *sadness*)

"Thanks." She whispered, reaching out to clutch Kana's arm for support. Watching Sora disappear through the trees, she stopped walking, turning to face Kana. "You really love him don't you?" She murmured, releasing her arm. "I wish I had a looking glass so I could show you how you looked right now. You look prettier than usual, he really makes you smile huh?" She grinned, starting to walk again.

Kana blushed, bowing her head to hide her face behind blood colored locks. "Sora has always been so kind to me. He's never, ever judged me, or treated me different. I mean, just look at how he calls me Kanachan instead of Kanasama. He even calls my imoto Daisama. Sora is an amazing person." She finally looked up at Koda, taking her arm to help her over the uneven ground. "I do love Sora. I have since we were small. But being from the different classes that we were...we knew we didn't have a chance. But now..." Kana smiled. "Is there anyone you care about like that? Your relationship with Damian seems different then mine and Sora's, but that could be for other reasons. You confuse me Koda." Kana laughed. "If talking hurts, you don't have to speak."

"If I'm being truthful, yes I care for him a great deal. But I can't start anything." She sighed. "We did for a while a few years back, but he couldn't handle the amount of danger I was constantly in and I didn't want to put him at risk. It got worse as I joined the other crusaders and well...I don't want to lose anyone else that's close to me. So I can't let myself become attached to people. It'll always end bad." She turned away, tapping the drying blood soaked cloth around her neck. "I need to change this...could you...look away for a second? I just don't like showing wounds."

"Koda do you understand what you just said? You could possibly live forever and you are going to remain alone? You will never find any joy in this life if you don't take a chance. Everybody dies eventually, the trick is to enjoy it, and the people you care for, while you can." Kana said, pausing in her step. "Trust me on this one, it's a subject I know intimatly." She added seriously. "Damian is a fool. Feelings don't just disapear. He may think distancing himself from you because you do dangerous things will make it hurt less if something happens to you, but he'll discover it just hurts more. To not of taken the oppertunity to love someone while you had it..." She shook her head. "You're a fool too Koda. I'm sorry to be so forward, but it's the truth." She continued. "You deserve happiness Koda, and you need to stop fearing it. Stop fearing letting people in. Horrible things happen to good people, and they're going to happen weather you're in their lives or not, so you all might as well enjoy what time you have." Kana smiled gently.
She nodded at Koda's request, turning her back on the other woman. "Of course, but if you need help please let me know, I don't want you hurting yourself more. Your wound really wont bother me, but I understand you not wanting anyone to see it. I was the same way with my wounds after Aiko nearly killed me. Of course I didn't have a choice. I wasn't able to move, much less tend to them on my own." Kana said in an amused tone. "Let me know when you're done, or if you need help." She added, staring at the sky.

Pulling the makeshift bandage off around her neck, she tossed it to the ground, grabbing her shirt sleeve and tearing it off. "A fool most likely, fearful most definitely." She mumbled knotting the ebony cloth around her neck, stemming the almost non existent flow of blood left. Folding her arms across her chest, she turned to look at Kana. "Tell me. Could you watch Sora die because of something you did? Maybe I am being foolish but I care to much to watch him suffer for my mistakes. I've already watched my brother go that way." Wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. "Horrible things may happen to good people but worse things happen when people stick around me. So please...just...stop."

"I did watch Sora die because of something I did. In more ways then one...but in the way you're talking about, Aiko did it, well technically Aiko was the cause of both." She paused for a moment. "I mean, he beat his "precious" wife to within an inch of her life, what do you think he did when he found out that his betrothed was sneaking off to see another man? Especially someone as low cast as Sora?" Kana asked sternly, crossing her arms across her stomach. "I wasn't cheating on Aiko. Sora and I were just spending time together, he's my best friend, and the only person I could talk freely to. Kakasama told Aiko she had seen us sneak off together, and Aiko acted like you would expect. He killed Sora. Luckly I was there, and so was his mother. Together we were able to bring him back, but it cost his mother her life. She was a healer, and gave her only son all of her life force, and some of mine, to start his heart again, to make him breath. After, my O'baachan forbid Aiko from touching Sora ever again. He feared my 'baachan, so he agreed...but he took his anger out on me. Which also was expected."
Kana reached up, gently wipeing the tears Koda missed away with her thumbs. "I didn't mean to make you cry Kodachan, I just wanted you to realise you deserve to be happy. There is always a risk, especially with people like us, people who don't live normal lives. Gomen Kodachan. I'll drop it." She said softly. "So how is your neck doing? Is it healing like it should be?" She asked, attempting to change the subject like promised.

"Then you know why I can't take that risk. I won't be able to bring him back." She whispered, her fists balling at her sides. "I'm not denying myself happiness Kana. I'm denying myself the burden of guilt." She ran her fingers over the cotton. "It's fine. A bit slower than usual. I think it might scar, but it should be okay."

"You should let Sora look at it when he returns, if it's healed enough that you don't feel uncomfortable. He's not as skilled as his mother, but he might be able to do something so that it doesn't scar...or at least not as bad. It would be horrible to have to walk around for the rest of your life with a mark like that. Not to mention I would feel absolutly horrible. You recieved that scar helping me." Kana said, bowing her head to hide her face behind her hair.