InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Leiko ❯ The Power of Friendship ( Chapter 20 )

Chapter Twenty

The Power of Friendship

 

Leiko watched as Satourou flew off with Keiyo in his grasp. Hot tears of anger ran down her cheeks. She slammed her fist into the ground, regretting it as she did so. Her body was so weak from holding three souls inside of her for so long. Leiko let her tears fall to the charred ground. She had caused her sister's illness and possibly her death and now she was going to lose Keiyo.

"Lei..." Yamainu whispered. "We'll get her back."

"Yeah," Satzuka chimed in. "She's a tough kid. I mean, it's not like she's going to die because of you."

Yamainu shot the young priestess an icy glare.

"Satzuka, shut up." Kari growled.

"What'd I say?!"

Sasuke shook his head. "Sometimes Satzuka it's best not to say anything at all." he said.

Shadow sat back on his haunches and examined the hanyou. She was crying. He had a feeling that her tears weren't only for the loss of the little cougar demon. Shadow looked a Garou, but the other wolf only looked at his mistress.

"I...have...to find her." Leiko said, trying to rise to her feet.

Her legs gave way beneath her and she fell forward. Yamainu move quickly and caught her. He held her close to him for a few moments before he lifted her into his arms. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. The others looked at the hanyou and youkai but none uttered a word.

"Shadow and Garou, you guys'll have a hard time doing it, but you have to sniff out Keiyo." Yamainu ordered.

Shadow cocked his head to the side as if to ask 'Are you serious?' Kari gave Shadow a quick glare and the massive wolf complied. The two wolves shot off in the direction that Satourou had flown. Yamainu hefted Leiko up and led the way behind the wolves. Satzuka and Kari smiled slightly at one another. They knew that when Leiko and Yamainu's souls had been entwined in one body that something had happened. Sasuke followed closely behind Leiko and Yamainu.

As the sun sank into the west, Shadow howled. The others caught up to him and stood looking at him. Garou trotted up to his weakened mistress and licked her hand lovingly. She offered him a ghost of a smile.

"Well?" Kari asked.

"I smell her." Shadow said.

"How can you be so sure?" Satzuka asked.

Shadow growled lowly in his throat. Leiko inhaled deeply.

"I...smell...her too." she said.

Shadow gave a snort of satisfaction.

"We can't do anything in the dark..." Sasuke said.

"No, we have to find her now!" Leiko said forcfully .

Yamainu bent his face closer to hers and kissed her forehead. "We will, Lei." he said softly. "We will."

Kari and Shadow looked at one another. Both shrugged. They turned to the roaring waterfall before them. There was a cave not too far up. Shadow nodded to indicate that it was where he detected Keiyo's scent. Sasuke and Kari unsheathed their katanas, preparing for battle.

 

***

 

Keiyo heard the sound of Shadow's howl pierce the night's thick silence. She shot up and looked out of the yawning mouth of the cave. Darkness had settled down now. Satourou moved where he lay. Keiyo could tell from the shuffling noises that he was awake and alert. She bit her bottom lip. Her friends would fight him and there would be blood shed. If she knew Yamainu as well as she thought she did, Keiyo knew he would kill the man who'd harmed Leiko.

She rose to her feet and stared in Satourou's direction. He was silhouetted against the dark wall of the cave. She felt his fingers wrap around her arm as he lifted her off of the ground. Keiyo looked outside. The moon was nearly full. It would be full on the next night. There was enough light to battle by. Keiyo swallowed hard as Satourou leapt out of the cave and shot out into the night air.

Below them, her friends waited. Keiyo could see Yamainu holding Leiko's limp body in his arms. She looked dead to Keiyo. Satourou landed some feet away from the group. He released his hold on Keiyo and she ran to her friends. Leiko turned her head enough to look at the little cougar demon.

"You're alive..." she said.

Keiyo nodded. "Leiko, he's not as bad as you guys all think." she said.

"How can you say that after he hurt Leiko?!" Kari demanded.

Sasuke nodded agreement. "He deserves to die." the samurai said. "He nearly killed us, Keiyo."

"I know, but..."

"No buts." Garou growled. "He nearly killed my mistress. That means he must die!"

Keiyo ran in front of Satourou and blocked their path. "It wasn't his fault." she said. "He's only trying to help his friend."

"Bah!" Shadow spat. "I say we rip his throat out."

Before anyone could attack, a dark form leapt from a nearby tree and tackled Garou. The two of them rolled for a ways before the form leapt out of reach of the wolf's bite. The creature lifted its face to the nearly full moon. It was the handsome face of a wolf youkai.

"Moriku." Satourou breathed.

"Hello old friend." the youkai growled.

Keiyo stared up at him. She looked back at her friends and then at Satourou. His words repeated in her head. "I know that if I can free my friend from the clutches of the wolf youkai's soul that my own soul, the Soul of the Jewel, will return to its rightful place without question." She closed her eyes and pulled her spear out.

"Hey, you mangy wolf!" she shouted as she leapt into the air.

Moriku looked over at her and her spear point sliced into his face. The wolf youkai let out a howl. Satourou saw Keiyo glance at him as she landed behind the wolf youkai. He knew that she was helping him. Satourou launched himself at his friend and slammed his taloned hand into his friend's chest. Moriku looked up at Satourou and smiled. He grabbed hold of his wrist. With a growl, Moriku flung Satourou away from him. Keiyo ran up behind him and embedded her spear into him. She felt it stop when it met his breast bone.

Sasuke sheathed his katana and glanced at Kari. The elemental hanyou sheathed her weapon as well. Garou and Shadow sat down on their hanches. The four of them knew that this was something that the cougar demon would have to do on her own. They also knew that was how she wanted it to be.

Moriku staggered a few paces forward then fell face-first onto the ground. Satourou looked over at his friend. His eyes filled with tears as he saw Moriku close his eyes and heave one final breath. His soul rose from his body and floated away into the night. Keiyo smiled at the falcon youkai and pulled her spear from the corpse of his friend.

Satourou smiled. "As I promised, Lady Keiyo, I will retire now." he said.

A pink light surrounded him and then a cluster of bright sparks began to rise from his body. They gathered together and shot at the Shikon Jewel. Leiko closed her eyes as they filled the Jewel with their light. When the hanyou looked back down at it, she saw that the light was brighter.

"Now that is true friendship." Kari said.

"What do you mean?" Satzuka asked.

Sasuke sighed. "Satourou wouldn't let his Soul go until his friend was put to rest. As soon as his friend died peacfully, he let himself die. It's terrible when a soul holds itself back from the afterlife."

"Keeping himself alive by giving himself to a Soul of the Jewel, Satourou felt that he was paying his friend back for doing that for him." Keiyo said. "That is the power of friendship. Doing something for someone else even if it hurts you in the process."

Leiko smiled. "One more Soul added. Two more and it's done with." she whispered to the Jewel.

"What was that?" Kari asked.

"Nothing." Leiko said.

Shadow huffed. "Can we go to sleep now?" he asked.

"Yes." Kari said.

The others began to walk back into the shadows of the forest. Keiyo hung back for a while.

Keiyo looked at the body of Satourou. "Rest easy." she said.