Fading Cinders

Chapter 10

Mokou was glaring at Kaguya, her arm still out in front of me. I felt a sense of deja vu seeing this.

"Mokou, can we end this stalemate already? You and I both know we should just start killing each other." Kaguya laughed. Mokou slowly walked back to me, and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Yuki, can you get up those stairs with your leg?" She whispered to me, still staring at Kaguya.

"Y-yeah, I think so."

"Good, get to the shrine as fast as you can." Mokou stepped away from me, and leapt at Kaguya. "KAGUYA!" She screamed as she flew, igniting her arms. The woman in front of us smiled, meeting Mokou mid air. I waited until Mokou pulled her out of the way of the stairs, then started to go up them as fast as I could. I looked over my shoulder as I ran, and the sight made me realize I never actually saw Mokou fight before. Her skin was burning and healing over and over, as she had ignited nearly all of her body. She was throwing herself at Kaguya with reckless abandon, making full use of her immortal body. I paused on the stairs watching this. I knew I should get to the shrine, but something about their battle drew me in. Watching the several vibrant colors of Kaguya's magic blended with the burning orange of Mokou's flames hypnotized me. The beauty of the visuals were contrasted with the violence they used against each other. Mokou had grabbed Kaguya by the leg and exploded her own arm, sending Kaguya tumbling down to the ground. Kaguya attempted to stand, but realized she was now missing a leg. Mokou, now one armed, continued her attack, weaving in and out of Kaguya's defense. Kaguya was nearly cornered when she shot at the ground, covering both of their surroundings with dust.

My legs started to move before I realized what I was doing, I had started to go back down the stairs, right to that terrifying battle. I know Mokou told me to go, but I can't just leave her. I was... worried. Worried that everything that's happened had taken its toll on her. Mokou kept on blowing herself up to try and get Kaguya, who would move out of the way of a disabling blow. I felt like Kaguya knew Mokou would just keep doing this, she still held that same smirk. All Kaguya would have to do is wait until Mokou wears herself down. I felt my legs go faster, the pain shooting through me with every step barely registered. I had to stop Mokou from doing that to herself. I was nearly down the stairs when I noticed Mokou start to slow down. Kaguya was heavily wounded, but Mokou was struggling to stand. She had lost both of her arms, and was only relying on shooting fire out of her legs. Kaguya fired a torrent of magic, blinding Mokou. Using it as cover, Kaguya swooped in to pin Mokou on the ground, readying her palm over Mokou's head for one last blow.

"Well, Mokou! Looks like I won this round. Ufufu... Now, I need you to take a nice nap. I'll bring you back to Eientei, don't worry..." Mokou struggled to get loose. I took a deep breath and screamed as loud as I could.

"MOKOU!!!" I was panting, out of breath from running and screaming. Kaguya turned to me.

"Oh, right, you." she smiled. "You'll make a nice present to Eir- AH!" Her hand had gotten burnt, Mokou had lit her torso on fire to get Kaguya off. "Mokou, you-" Kaguya couldn't finish that sentence. In an instant Mokou had leapt up and bit into Kaguya's throat. Blood trickled down her neck, straight into Mokou's mouth. Kaguya tried to speak but could only gurgle. I had never seen such a furious glare from Mokou before. A faint glow started to come from Mokou's head. I realized what she was doing. I could only watch as Mokou exploded both her own head and that of Kaguya's. I fell to my knees as I watched the headless bodies of both Mokou and Kaguya slump to the ground. I felt bile rise in my throat. I puked right there. I got up and slowly made my way over to the two.

"...Mokou?" I spoke, knowing I couldn't receive an answer. "You'll... come back to me... right?" I crouched down, and touched her. She was still warm. I mindlessly stared at her for a while until I saw one of her missing arms start to heal. A faint smile crept across my face. "Heh... don't scare me like that..." I know she said she does this a lot, but... it's not something I could just believe. I looked over at Kaguya, who was also starting to heal. I had to get away from her. I struggled to pick up Mokou, doing all I could to ignore my injury. I lifted her on my back and started to climb the long, seemingly endless stairs, straight up to Hakurei Shrine.

              "Hello?! Is the shrine maiden here?!" I had finally reached the top of the stairs, and began to shout. I waited, but no one responded to me. "...empty?" That's all I could whisper out. Empty. No light, no maiden, nothing. I slowly began to walk over to the shrine, Mokou's blood was flowing down my back. I sat her down on the walkway next to an entrance. Mokou's arms had already come back, but her head had just started to regenerate. I slowly turned my head to look around the dark shrine, but nothing stood out. I just decided to lay down next to Mokou, and stare at the stars. I wondered why I was even at this shrine. Miss Keine said that I would be safe here, but... I glance at Mokou. ...what happened to MIss Keine? I hadn't thought about it until now. The village too... It all seems so far away from up here. All that's at this shrine is a gentle breeze and the sound of wind chimes. Gazing at the stars and the creeping moon pushed all of these thoughts aside. My eyes became heavy, and sleep took me.