Stand By Me

48

Inside the Yukimura household, Stiles was handed a cup of tea. "Here, it'll calm you."

He looked up. "What is it?"

"Tea."

"What? Like magic tea?"

"No, chamomile tea. Drink it. Alyssa, would you like some tea?"

Peyton nodded slowly and was handed a cup of tea. Mr. Yukimura walked in the room. "He's not safe here."

Mrs. Yukimura looked up at her husband. "He's not safe anywhere."

"But Allison killed one of them," Kira said. "Doesn't that mean something? She killed an Oni."

"Is that even possible?" Mr. Yukimura questioned.

"I'm not sure how," his wife stated. "But she did it. She killed one of them."

"Yeah, and then they killed her," Stiles retorted. "Allison's dead. Now I guess the only good thing is it looks like I'm dying, too."

Peyton swallowed heavily and blinked back tears.

Mrs. Yukimura gave them a small smile. "He made a powerful move by splitting the two of you."

"So what's our move?" Kira questioned curiously.

"At this point, you need a divine move," Kira's dad said.

Peyton frowned. "What's a divine move?"

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. What's that?"

"In the game of Go, it's what we call a truly inspired, or out-of-the-box move," Kira's mom informed. "The Nogitsune has had a sente, until this point. What you need is a divine move in order to turn the game around."

Kira smiled slightly. "Okay, so is anyone feeling divinely inspired?" She looked at her mom. "Mom, you said you trapped it in a glass jar, right?"

"It wasn't the jar that trapped it. It was where I buried it," Kira's mom admitted.

"The Nemeton," Stiles realized.

Mrs. Yukimura nodded. "A place I don't know too much about."

"Who does?" Kira questioned.

Stiles glanced at Peyton. "Deaton. Deaton does."

Peyton felt around for the coffee table and slowly placed down her cup of tea. Stiles made sure it didn't fall.

"We need to get to Deaton's," Peyton said. "Kira, can you drive us?"

Kira nodded and grabbed a set of keys.

They got into Kira's car and she turned on the ignition. Peyton sat in the back next to Stiles and he rested his head on her shoulder as she held his freezing hand.

"How are you doing this?" Stiles asked.

Peyton frowned. "Do what?"

"Staying strong when I'm dying?"

"Because if I let myself take a moment of vulnerability, I fear I'm gonna cry and never stop. Stiles, you're handling this amazingly well."

He sighed. "It doesn't feel like it."

"You are. Trust me. I'm proud of you for that."

Kira turned to them. "Sorry to interrupt your moment, but we're here."

They got out of the car and with Peyton and Kira supporting Stiles, they walked into the clinic.

Scott was supporting Lydia as he asked, "What's wrong?"