Mami felt like her head was about to explode. Not only her head, but her chest as well. In a way it felt like she was being electrocuted, but at the same time it wasn’t exactly that. Tomomi was holding her and yet she felt distant, like the blonde could only have a faint perception of her touch. That was a whole new level of pain, scorching through her brain like a knife ablaze and leaving her completely defenseless. She could barely move, the feeling of pain increasing with every tiny little movement she made.
She had thought having an Oni close to her was sickening and painful, but she had never even imagined what would be like to have more than one. It didn’t help that many of those horrible feelings kept hammering into her chest, the grief and the sorrow, the anger, the sense of injustice, everything those people in the city were feeling. Those were still ringing aloud in her ears, slowly driving her mad. It was unbearable. For a moment she even wished the Oni would just get her and suck those feelings away.
But she couldn’t think like that. Thinking like that was the same as accepting to die in their hands.
A bit of her sense of reality came back when she felt a strong impact, but the sounds and sensations from her surroundings were still vague and she didn’t want to open her eyes. It felt like things would only get worse if she opened her eyes.
Haruna cursed and fought to keep control of the vehicle meanwhile, as they had just gotten hit by one of the pitch-black creatures chasing the truck, trying to throw them off the road. She drove as fast as the truck let her, trying not to think about how screwed up things seemed to be in the back seat. She needed to keep her eyes on the road and to come up with some kind of plan and she had to do it fast, and watching Mami like that wasn’t helping.
As they dashed through the road and approached Mount Kurama, Haruna remembered they should stay away from the path to Kurama-dera, because many people would probably be going there as well. She was almost forgetting about that important detail before.
When realizing that the same Oni who hit them before - the bulkier one that reminded her of a huge tiger - was about to jump the truck again, Haruna turned the wheel roughly and they broke into the forest, leaving the deserted road behind. Her eyes met Rina’s for a second, and that was the most dreadful expression that Haruna saw on her face. As the truck bumped while she tried not to hit any of the trees around, Rina clutched Akai against her chest.
Tomomi held Mami so tight that she was digging her nails on the blonde’s back, but she wasn’t really conscious of that. That was the most scared she had ever been. She could see the forest path ahead of them and the group of Oni right behind them, and she wanted to cry not only out of fear but because that reminded her of the nightmares. The only difference was that there was still some daylight passing through the treetops. Whatever happened for the most part of her nightmares, they would always end in a dark forest. They would always end with her using the last bits of strength in her body to take Mami away from them, to run and save her no matter the cost. But she always failed. The nightmares would end with Mami’s screams every single time, with a darkness that she couldn’t see through, with Haruna and Rina nowhere to be seen and bright red eyes staring into her soul.
Because of those nightmares she hated the day when Sojobou told her she could be an itako. She would prefer if he never said anything. If she really had talent for that, if her dreams really meant more than she always thought they did, then that meant she could’ve been seeing the end of their struggles this whole time. She didn’t want to believe it because it wasn’t fair, but at the same time she couldn’t drive away that feeling. No matter what they did in real life, her nightmares would always have the same ending and now that felt scarier than ever.
- We need to stop, Haruna. - Tomoko said with urgency, and that woke up Tomomi from the verge of crying - We’re already deep enough into the forest, no one’s gonna be here.
- She’s right, they already hit us once. - Rina completed, and she sounded a bit hoarse - It’s more dangerous for us to stay into the truck than to go out and fight. If they flip us around and we hit a tree or something in this speed, we’re dead.
Haruna didn’t say a word that moment. She just nodded and then took a deep breath, preparing to maneuver the truck in the way she was imagining.
- Mami, you need to keep yourself together. - Rina now said nervously to the blonde, looking back at the three girls in the back seat - I can’t imagine how you’re feeling now, but we can’t have you like this.
Tomomi reacted by keeping her tight hold on Mami and shooting an ugly look at the kitsune. That took Rina by surprise; Tomomi never stared at her that way before.
- Come on, stop over protecting her! - Tomoko said angrily and grabbed on Mami’s shoulders, pulling her away from a now frantic Tomomi - Why did I waste my time training you idiots if she’s going to curl into a frightened little ball right now?!
- It’s not just fear, you don’t understand! - Tomomi shouted back, watching Tomoko force Mami onto the seat and try to separate her hands from her head. It was clearly a difficult thing to accomplish, Mami was clawing her own skull and Tomoko wasn’t having much success in making her stop.
- Of course I know it’s not that simple! - Tomoko growled in her deeper voice and moved her face until there was just an inch of distance between her and Mami - But you can’t afford to do this right now, do you hear me blondie? I don’t care if you’re scared, I don’t care if you’re in pain, I don’t care if you feel sick, I don’t care about the voices you hear. I do care if you’re going to get us all killed because you can’t keep control of your own mind. Now stop calling them or I’m gonna end you myself.
- What the hell are you saying?! - Tomomi squeaked indignantly, and in that same moment Haruna decided to turn the truck around and sink her foot on the brakes, making everyone in the backseat fly to the same side and end as a mess of arms and legs trying to keep their balance.
- Now, go! - Haruna yelled and jumped out of the truck, quickly followed by Rina who passed her the katana. The sound of clanking chains followed them out.
Both Tomomi and Tomoko managed to drag Mami out of the truck to the opposite side from where Haruna and Rina went to, just in time before one of the Oni landed on top of it, its weight molding down the metallic structure as if it were just a thin piece of aluminum it jumped on. This one was huge and bulky like the one they saw back in the city and that hit the truck before, but was even bigger and had only one very long and pointy horn in its head and one big eye in between its long pointy ears. The mere sight of the Oni froze Tomomi on her spot. The other three occasions when she met Oni were now running in her mind.
When realizing the thing was about to attack them, Tomoko quickly turned into the huge nekomata the girls were now used to seeing and charged at the Oni first, tackling it away from the truck and the two girls.
For a second Tomomi was still frozen, but then she recovered when she looked down at Mami kneeled on the ground still holding her head. She had to start the song right away, that was their only chance. She wished she could help Mami some other way, but right now that was the only possible way.
The brunette pulled the ryuuteki out from her jacket and took a quick inhale before bringing it up to her lips. The fact that the truck was right in front of her and she couldn’t see much of what was happening on the other side made her extremely nervous; she could only hear the shouts and roars and the sounds of what were probably trees being hit. She could only see the black figures dashing, that was the only view she had through the windows of Haruna’s truck. She wanted to move and see what was happening, but at the same time she didn’t want to take a single step away from Mami.
The moment she started playing the known melody, she heard a louder roar that chilled everything in her body again. Tomomi was shaking, but she had to keep her concentration. In a moment Rina appeared again with her yellow eyes full of worry, dashing around the truck and letting out a small sigh of relief when seeing both of them fine.
- You just play Tomomi, you’re doing great. I’ll be keeping an eye on you two. - she said hurriedly - That was Tomoko’s job, but I think it’s better this way. For now let’s stay behind the truck, maybe it takes a while for them to understand where the music is coming from.
Saying that, Rina moved towards Mami and crouched in front of her, taking a good look at the mess the blonde turned into. She clenched her fists for a moment and then grabbed on Mami’s hands, trying to make her respond in any way, trying to make her stop clawing on her own head like Tomoko tried.
- Listen Mami, they’re six now. - she said, her voice a bit higher than it usually was. Tomomi almost messed up the notes with that information, her eyes widening and her heart beating painfully faster. Now she could understand what Tomoko was talking about a minute ago - You have to calm down, I know I’m asking too much, but if you don’t stop summoning them we’re all going to die, are you hearing me?
A loud shout of “nice Tomo!” made Tomomi’s heart jump again, but this time in a good way. That was Haruna’s voice, and it could mean only one thing: the song was having some effect. She felt a small surge of hope, but it only lasted until she looked down at Rina and Mami again.
Rina managed to pull Mami’s hands away from her head, she was now holding them down forcefully, but the blonde didn’t seem to be feeling even slightly better. Her face was wet by tears and she still had her eyes tight shut, and there were veins showing on her temples right next to some ugly bleeding marks she left there with her fingernails. She was shaking and there was a hint of green on the tone of her skin now, like someone heavily sick. Tomomi closed her eyes. If she kept seeing Mami like that, she could mess things up.
The next shout that came was much less tranquilizing, as Haruna’s voice now screamed “SEVEN” in a tone of desperation that Tomomi never heard from her before. That forced the brunette to open her eyes once more, a wave of panic now clashing against her again.
What Tomomi heard next was a low and angered growl, but this time it was surprisingly coming from Rina.
- Control yourself! - the kitsune shouted at Mami, bringing the blonde’s hands up close to her chest - Look at me, open your eyes! Think about everything you’ve been through, now it’s time to break free, not to die!
With that Mami finally opened her eyes, but it seemed to be something difficult to do. It didn’t look like she was really paying attention or seeing anything though; it looked like she couldn’t focus her eyes on anything.
- We need you to calm down. - Rina continued, now in a slightly calmer tone - Think about this whole time we’ve been to your house, think about the nice things. You told me Tomomi wants to take you to Osaka and show you all those places, please think about that. Think about all the things you can do when this ends. I know this is hard, but you need to think about the good things instead of the pain or we’re doomed. The pain of those people isn’t yours and it doesn’t have to be right now, please.
For the first time Mami looked like she was actually seeing Rina. Following that change in the blonde’s stare, the kitsune released her hands.
Tomomi suddenly felt a chill run over her spine and turned around instantly while never interrupting the song she played, staring at the never ending forest that continued behind them. Rina looked up at her in worry and they surveyed the place with their eyes, but even Rina’s didn’t see a thing. Tomomi was positive she felt something, but there wasn’t anything other than trees there.
Mami stood up slowly with Rina’s help, but only a second after that another Oni jumped on top of the truck, exactly where the previous one had landed before. This time it was a slender one with multiple small horns, long and creepy arms that ended in sharp-clawed hands and an amazing set of small red eyes that the girls counted to five in that split second between it seeing them and realizing that Tomomi was the one producing the song. Then it fixed its soul-tearing stare onto the brunette.
No one died yet, so the song must’ve been really working. There weren’t screams from Haruna other than the ones she usually let out when trying to hit things, and those sounds Tomomi knew. She could also hear Tomoko growling loudly.
The Oni must be really mad at that point if they were really being affected that much, and they had to be affected because Tomomi remembered their speed very clearly. That Oni chasing her when she first met Mami moved sort of like a missile.
Tomomi took a step back, unable to look away from those multiple red irises full of sheer violence. It knew she was the one doing that to all of them, all its eyes moved to the ryuuteki for one long second. Just like they knew it would happen, she had just become the primary target. The creature opened its mouth, which previously Tomomi couldn’t even see that existed, and revealed uncountable sharp teeth in the most chilling sinister smile she had ever seen. She didn’t even know those things could smile like that.
- Oi, I’m the one you want, you asshole! - Mami shouted at the Oni right when it was obviously about to move, successfully gaining its attention. Rina moved in front of her, cursing mentally that Mami had spent so much time with Haruna.
But that caused the Oni to waste a precious second wondering which one of the girls it should go for first. Rina took advantage of that second and called for Tomoko while taking a rough chain that had been wrapped around her waist, attached to her belt. Tomomi instantly recognized that as the type of chain that Haruna used to bind spirits.
She didn’t have any time to think about it though, as the nekomata came instantly when Rina called her, throwing the Oni off the truck in a charge like a bull, launching the creature to the empty space between Rina and Tomomi. In that second Tomomi froze on the inside and almost stopped playing, but the Oni had no time to do anything to her because Rina laced it by the neck with the chain, barely escaping a blind attack from those long claws in the process. The pitch-black creature moved again though, standing up once again and dragging Rina along with itself as she refused to let go of the chain and kept trying to restrain it in any small way possible.
However, before the Oni could do the inevitable thing and kill any of them without mercy, another scene played like a movie in front of Tomomi’s eyes. She did not understand where Haruna came from at first, all she knew was that her ruthless partner jumped the Oni in a very Tomoko-like manner and landed on its upper back, burying Akai’s blade in the back of the creature’s neck just above the chain. The shining end of the blade went all the way through the Oni’s neck to the other side and Tomoko ran off in that same moment, but none of them paid any attention to her.
The screeching sound was almost deafening from so close, but it only lasted two or three seconds. What spurted out from the Oni’s neck as the katana was thrust and then removed couldn’t be considered blood by normal standards, as it was a purely black and thick substance that looked a lot like petroleum as it touched the ground. The Oni fell with its face on the leaves, unmoving, having Haruna kneeled on its back holding Akai now covered in black.
Rina looked down at Haruna and the shorter brunette’s eyes were filled with such a strong emotion in that moment, maybe a mix of surprise, exhilaration and even a bit of fear. Only in that moment Tomomi’s mind stopped working solely on the ryuuteki and she realized Haruna must’ve climbed on her now severely damaged truck to manage such a feat.
That Oni was dead. Its body and also the thick black blood were starting to evaporate slowly in a thin dark smoke, somewhat different from the thick cloud of black that covered them when they simply disappeared on their own will.
Akai really worked.
But there was no time to feel satisfied about it.
The horrible feeling that they wouldn’t have such an “easy” kill again settled for all of them as the same Oni who hit the moving truck before dashed around the now stationary vehicle, ripping off two trees from its way and almost hitting Tomomi - who ducked just in time - with a long branch from one of them as they flew away and hit the other nearby trees. The brunette ran past Haruna and the dead Oni to where Mami was, shocked at her own ability to keep playing that song amidst that whole crazy scene.
They ran together to the opposite direction as Rina screamed them to. Mami still showed clear signs of pain and weakness, but the previous detachment from reality was now gone and she held on the back of Tomomi’s jacket as they moved away from the new threat, divided between feeling glad that they could kill the Oni and feeling terrified of everything else.
What they saw when they made their way around the truck was Tomoko apparently making the other five Oni a bit confused. Three of them seemed to be purely raging at her and trying to hit her; the other two of them were clearly trying to make their way to the truck, but Tomoko kept dashing in between them as a nekomata, then turning to human and getting their attention before transforming again and striking them to prevent their advance. But it was possible to see that she had been scratched a few times, there was blood on her fur as a nekomata and on her clothes as a human.
It was painfully obvious that she couldn’t keep that up for much longer. It was five against one.
The true terror though, came when one of those raging Oni saw Tomomi and Mami running. It was another bulky one, the biggest one of them all. The same that first jumped on the truck as they were getting out, with its single long horn and single eye. It looked straight at them, first Mami then Tomomi.
Mami felt like she lost the ability to breathe when the creature pointed its horn in their direction.
-continue-
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Yo~ Ok I know I took too long to update. I know that, I'm sorry.
What happened was that I had this serious issue with... lack of inspiration, I guess I can say that. Writer's block doesn't seem like the right thing to describe it, because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this chapter, it just wasn't happening. I could look at the blank page for half an hour, knowing how I wanted the chapter to go, but write nothing. So, yeah, that sucked and I'm sorry it took so long~ Gotta be thankful for the old Zelda and Super Metroid nostalgia time, because I could only start writing this chapter for real two days ago after said nostalgia time lol Don't know why though haha. Just stopped playing, sat down in front of the computer and wrote the hell out of the chapter on a whole playlist of Tommy heavenly6 lol
There are many things going on with this battle in my head, I hope it's not confusing with all the quick events happening one after another :P Anyway I feel happy that I could finally write Haruna being that awesome haha. I've been waiting for this for a long time xD
I'm also glad I decided to keep Tomoko in the story, because I don't know how else this whole thing would work now that I'm finally writing it~
Well, after this whole delay I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! :3