Note: Now we get to another chapter that I was just longing to write. It took a while for me to get my muse back, but with luck, she's back for good! Things are starting to come to a head here, so hang on for the ride!

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The Black and Awful Chaos of the Night

Chapter Seven - Not Even Death

Shichiroji and Shino could only stare aghast at the sight of Kyuzo in Nasami's body, forcing Kambei to submit physically to him before killing him. Kambei's howls of anguish echoed in their ears, and Shichiroji closed his eyes and turned his head away, unwilling to watch what could only be called desecration.

"NO!" Shino screamed in horror, moving to pull Kyuzo off Kambei, but Shichiroji lunged forward and hauled her back.

"Don't! We're forbidden to interfere, remember?"

Shino whirled around, tears of helpless rage streaming down her face. "I can't just stand here any longer!" she wept. "Not when he's dishonoring sensei like that... and I know how much sensei loved Kambei-sama... she would never have wanted this to happen!"

"I know," Shichiroji said heavily, looking up at the hill and shuddering at the twisted look on Kyuzo's face. "But face it, Shino, even as wounded as they both are, either one of them could still kill us."

That didn't matter to Shino, who tore free of Shichiroji's grasp and sprinted up the hill.

"SHINO, STOP!" Shichiroji shouted, but the peasant girl was beyond hearing him, and she snatched up one of Kyuzo's swords, wanting only to end her sensei's suffering.

"STOP IT!" she screamed, swinging the katana with all of her might directly at Kyuzo's neck, but faster than she would have thought possible, Kyuzo sat upright and shifted the tanto from its position at Kambei's neck to block her strike. The clang of blade meeting blade echoed all the way down the village, and Shino gasped aloud as the shock of the strike resonated up her arms, but she didn't let go of the sword.

He said nothing, but only stared at Shino as she leaned all of her weight against the blade, trying to force Kyuzo off Kambei. To her credit, Shino never looked away, but met him stare for stare, forcing herself not to see Nasami, but Kyuzo.

"Please," she begged, even as her arms began to tremble from the effort of bearing down on the sword. "Please stop this, Kyuzo-sama! You don't have to do this!"

"S-Shino," Kambei gasped, "d-don't... he'll k-kill you-"

Kyuzo didn't say a word, nor did he lower the weapon he was using to hold Shino back. Even as strong as Shino was, and as weakened as Nasami's body was after all its exertions, Kyuzo was still the stronger of the two by force of will alone.

"Please, great samurai!" she cried again. "I'm begging you! Please stop!"

Slowly, he rose to his feet, and used his own weight to force Shino backward, then down to her knees.

"Don't interfere," he hissed, disarming her with a twist of the tanto and sending the katana spinning out of her grasp.

"SHINO!" Shichiroji yelled, moving forward with his naginata extended to protect the farm girl. "DON'T MOVE!"

Shino couldn't have moved if she'd tried, the initial reckless rush of courage that had driven her forward disappating at the emptiness of her sensei's... no, of Kyuzo's eyes.

"I'm sorry, sensei," she whispered brokenly. She momentarily thought of closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to see her death coming, but she couldn't dishonor her sensei's training. Instead, she forced herself to keep them open, to not look away as Kyuzo prepared to end her life. "I tried... but there's no one left to help."

Kyuzo opened his mouth to speak, but a voice cut across his.

"That is not true."

He turned around, and his eyes went wide, as did Shino's and Shichiroji's.

Another samurai was standing beside Kambei as he lay broken and bleeding on the ground.

"Enough, Kyuzo-san," the samurai said, his voice low and raspy. He moved to stand between Kyuzo and Kambei, his eyes going back and forth between Kyuzo and Shino. "You have defeated Shimada Kambei. You have kept your word as a samurai. Do not dishonor that samurai spirit by continuing on this path."

"Kuroshin-sama," Shichiroji whispered, recognizing the ghost.

---

Kyuzo's eyes momentarily flared at the mention of the samurai's name. It couldn't be...

His eyes went to the two swords in the samurai's obi, and then back to his face.

It was. This was the samurai that Nasami had loved years ago, and had lost in the Great War. The one who Kyuzo had reminded Nasami so much of that it had been almost physically painful for her to be around him.

He could understand why - the quiet air of confidence, the same graceful movements and swordsmanship, the focused expression that bespoke of great intelligence and intuition... yes, although their physical resemblance was minimal, the similarities between them were still uncanny.

"I haven't defeated him yet," Kyuzo said quietly, shifting his eyes to the samurai who lay at Kuroshin's feet. "Shimada Kambei still lives."

"You would kill him as he is now? Defenseless, broken, a shell of a man?" Kuroshin shook his head. "No."

"You can't stop me."

---

The ghost turned his back on Kyuzo and knelt beside Kambei, looking down at the other samurai.

"I thank you... Kuroshin-san... for your efforts," Kambei wheezed. "But... I do not think... you can help me now."

"Do not think, Kambei-san," Kuroshin said chidingly. "Thinking is for before a battle, and after it. Not during."

Kambei choked out a laugh, doing his best to ignore the pain that wracked every inch of his body. "Very well. I would welcome... your help."

Nodding, the ghostly samurai rested his hand on Kambei's chest, directly over his heart.

"Tell Nasami-san... I do this for her. A gift that I could never give her in life."

Kambei's eyes widened at the mention of Nasami's name, but before he could ask Kuroshin what he meant, a sudden icy shock surged through Kambei's body, and he screamed aloud as Kuroshin vanished. For an instant, his mind felt as though it were being swamped, filled with images and memories and knowledge that were not his own. This was not the sweet communion that he and Nasami occasionally shared - this was as though another personality had suddenly manifested inside of his own.

Do not struggle... he heard inside his head. I will lend you my strength and my skill.

But... why?

Because Nasami is not yet dead... part of her spirit still lives within you. While you still live, there is still a chance to save her.

Then he heard a faint chuckle. Besides... it takes a Dragon to defeat a Dragon.

Hope leapt in Kambei's heart at the notion that the woman he loved still lived, a hope so powerful that he felt as though he could weep. But now was not the time.

Can you defeat him, Kuroshin-san?

We will find out, Kambei-san... together.

---

Kambei opened his eyes and pushed himself to his feet with a supreme effort, ignoring the blood that was pouring from his shoulder.

"Kambei-sama," Shichiroji whispered, staring at his friend. For just a moment, he was afraid that the ghost had taken him over just as Kyuzo had done to Nasami, but Kambei's eyes remained their familiar grey. As the others watched, Kambei reached down and picked up his swords once more.

"Help me, my friends," he whispered, both to the spirit inside of him and to the swords he held. "Help me save her."

From the swords came not the defiant screaming from before, but the clear, pure, ringing chime of the swords responding to the will of their wielder. Through his connection to the swords, he could sense that Mamorimasu somehow knew of the renewed hope that its chosen bearer still survived, while Sememasu seemed to rejoice in the knowledge that the duel would continue. Yes, Kambei thought, they know... and they will help.

Then Kambei closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

"We are in your hands, Kuroshin-san."

Kyuzo snarled when he realized what Kuroshin had done, but it was too late - Kambei now took a stance that showed a far great familiarity with two swords than he had ever displayed before. Hissing in fury, Kyuzo discarded the tanto he held, and snatched up his own swords once more, striking at Kambei with all of his might.

---

Shichiroji took the opportunity to seize Shino and pull her away.

"Shino, listen to me! Run down to the village NOW, and bring Kirara and Komachi here! Both of them, do you understand me?"

Shino's first reaction was to question, but then she remembered how Nasami had drilled it into her head never to question her, so she bit back her instinctive protest, nodded, and dashed down the hill as fast as she could run. Two or three times, she nearly slipped on the grass, but when she reached the path, she ran as though her life depended on it, not caring who got in her way.

Fortunately, she ran into the two girls before she had to run all the way to the Mikumari house, nearly knocking them over in her haste.

"Komachi... Kirara... please, you have to come with me! Now!"

"What? Why?" Kirara was shocked at the wild look in her friend's eyes, the tearstains and the horror that was evident in her face.

"Shichiroji-sama... he said to bring you, both of you right away!"

"But Nasami-sama said not to go near there!" Komachi protested, shaking her head so hard that her bangs flew every which way.

"Please, Komachi," Shino begged. "I know you promised sensei, but you have to do this, you and Kirara both..."

"It's Nasami-sama, isn't it," Kirara said softly, looking up at the hill anxiously. "Something's... something's gone terribly wrong."

Shino nodded, still gasping for breath after her mad dash down to the village. "It's... oh, God, Kirara, it's horrible... please, you have to come!"

She turned and started running back toward the hill, Komachi running behind her, but then she became aware that Kirara wasn't following, and she turned around in the middle of the path. "Kirara-"

"I... I'm not the Mikumari any more, Shino," Kirara said sadly. "There's nothing... nothing I can do." She looked down at her wrist where the dowsing crystal had once rested, but after the battle for Kanna, she had passed the crystal and her responsibilities as water priestess to Komachi. Once, she had been able to do much, but now... now she felt helpless.

Shino opened her mouth to protest, but to her surprise, Komachi got there first.

"I wasn't priestess when I helped you and Grandmother dowse for water, I wasn't priestess when Kiku and the others left to fight, and I still prayed with you! And I want you to pray with me now!" she said firmly, stomping her foot. "We're a water priestess family, it's our job to pray! So we're just going to have to do our job!"

Shino's mouth fell open in astonishment, as did Kirara's, but Komachi just folded her arms and glared at her sister, although the effect was slightly spoiled by the trembling of her lips at standing up to her sister.

For a long time, none of the girls moved. Then Kirara came forward and knelt beside the girl, hugging her tightly. "You're absolutely right, Komachi. Forgive me."

She looked up at Shino, who held out her hand and helped her to her feet again. "Let's go."

---

The battle between Kambei and Kyuzo was still going on when the three girls arrived at the top of the hill. Kirara barely managed to stifle a shriek at the sight, and Komachi went completely pale. Shichiroji turned around at the sound of their footsteps and quickly approached, taking care to keep the girls away from the fight.

"Good, you're here."

"Great samurai, what's going on?" Kirara asked, staring at the two duellists. Both Kambei and Nasami looked like the walking wounded, covered in blood, dirt, and sweat, but they continued to fight as though possessed, ignoring their wounds and focused completely on one another.

Shichiroji sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's complicated, but the long and short of it is, Kyuzo is fighting inside Nasami's body, while Kuroshin, the ghost of the man Nasami loved when she was younger, is fighting within Kambei."

"I'm confused," Komachi said unhappily.

"What did you need from us?" Kirara asked Shichiroji, trying not to watch Nasami and Kambei trying to kill each other.

"I think... and I could be wrong... Nasami is still alive, or at the very least, her soul is still on this plane. If we can find a way to get Kyuzo out of her body, and restore Nasami to her own form, we might still be able to save her."

"And... if we can't?" Kirara wasn't at all certain that she wanted to know the answer.

"Then Nasami-dono will die... and Kambei-sama along with her."

Both Komachi and Kirara gasped in horror, and Shichiroji nodded solemnly. "I need both of you to pray, pray to the water spirits like you never have before. Or we'll lose them both."

To be continued...