Chapter 10: Hounded

Disclaimer: I don't own TM and all affiliates

-Kousuke-

-Day 15, 14th December, Night-

"…!"

Once again, I jolted out of the futon with a start and instantly, I felt a short jab of pain course through my whole body.

"Goshujin, you're awake!"

I looked up to see the face of my Servant, worried but nevertheless completely fine.

"Tamamo…we made it out?"

"Yes, we did, thanks to Rider."

"Rider? She was there?!"

It turned out that after I finished Berserker and Saber left, I fell unconscious. Caster was about to carry my body out of the forest (in which I am reminded that even a Caster with a low Strength ranking is much stronger than an average human) when suddenly Rider appeared to lend a hand.

After the three of us reached the road, Tamamo stopped a driver and hypnotized him to drive us back to Shirou's house, calling Shirou and Ilya on the way back to confirm our safety.

"…I was unconscious all the way back up till now?"

"Yes, but don't worry, Kousuke! I took the absolute best care of you!"

I rubbed my temples.

"But…I don't know why…I sort of remember everything now…but there's something still missing…!"

As that memory hit me with the force of a meteor, I blanched and looked straight at Tamamo.

"I…tried to kill you…"

At those words, Caster immediately approached me and flung her arms around my neck.

"No, Kousuke, it wasn't you! It was the oni inside you!"

I shook my head and pushed her away so that I could look her in the face.
"Tamamo…I know that's not it. It's not entirely his fault. I too, am partially to blame for having to fight him so much inside of me and ended up losing control."

"But-"

"No, Tamamo. But don't worry…I won't let this go on any longer. Soon…I'll have to have a talk with him."

At those words, I got up and changed into the clothes Tamamo had folded and left aside for me.

"Caster, cast aside your doubts, your worries and your fears. I am Yagami Kousuke, 13th head of the Yagami family of magus, samurai, shinobi and mixed bloods; and I swear upon my name that I will be the only one to have ultimate control over myself!"

"Kousuke…yes…you're right…you are and will always be my Master and the man I have decided to pledge my life to. As long as I am by your side, I will protect you from anything and everything…including yourself."

I smiled.

'Well then…it's time to go. We have a war to finish!"

"Aaaaaaaah wait goshujin-sama! I forgooot something!"

"Ugeh!"

At Caster's shout, I who was about to step over the threshold of the room paused abruptly and literally tripped and fell over nothing, the sound of which brought someone running.

"Kousuke, you're up?!"

"Ah, Rin…yes, I am. Tama-, Caster, what is it?"

"Earlier, Ilya told us important information about the Grail and since you couldn't be present, I went and listened to everything, so now I have to pass it on to you."

"Ok, how?"

"Like this~chu~"

As Caster planted a kiss on my forehead, the memories and information from Ilya's words at the dining table flooded my mind.

"Under Ryuudouji…I can't believe it. It's been under us for the past two weeks and we never noticed."

"Well actually, I've always felt something was off since the past week, and lately we haven't been there, so…yeah."

I got up.

"So, you're leaving for the temple at midnight. I understand. I guess Caster and I should get going soon."

"Soon? For what?"

I looked at Rin.

"We too have preparations to make. And don't worry, we won't go ahead without you. In fact, Caster and I already have plans. We won't be going down with you."

At that, the two of them looked at me.

"You won't?"

"We won't?"

I nodded.

"Yes. We have to stay on guard for any anomalies above ground, but if you are in dire need of our help, you can contact us with Caster's beads."

"Since when did you plan this, goshujin-sama?"

"Since just now."

The two girls fell silent and looked at me with confused eyes.

"I just have a feeling…that we might need someone up top."

Rin sighed.

"Ok…I understand, we won't interfere. But let me tell you this, Yagami. If any damn thing gets past you and attacks us or the city, I'm gonna give you hell when I get back."

I smiled and turned to leave.

"Of course, Tohsaka."

XXX

-Day 16, 15th December, shortly after midnight, Ryuudouji-

Halfway up the temple stairs I sat, deep in thought. Surprisingly, when Tamamo and I arrived at the temple, nothing attacked us, but the presence of horrid mana was everywhere, and it was especially thick around the lake. The entrance to the caverns where the Greater Grail lies was just a few metres to my right, having let Shirou, Rin and Rider pass through a few minutes ago. By any standards, it was a beautiful night despite the probable destruction of the world. A waning gibbous moon hung in the night sky as the leaves of the forest shook in the wind.

"Heh…looks like it's now my turn to become the guardian of this gate eh…Kojirou…"

"Goshujin-sama?"

I heard footsteps approach as Tamamo's voice drifted down towards me.

"Tamamo…is it ready?"

"Yes…here."

Handing me a sakazuki, Tamamo knelt gracefully and poured me sake from a gourd. I took a whiff and smiled.

"I'm amazed, Tamamo. You've produced such an amazing sake in only five days."

""You're praising me too much, Kousuke~"

Most people with strong oni blood usually need some way of controlling it. In my family, we do this by supplementing our diet with blood packs. The stronger the oni, the more frequently we have to take them. But that only serves to suppress the oni. There is in fact a substance that can actually tame, pacify and even let us control our oni blood.

That substance is sake.

But no ordinary sake will do. Normally drinking any sake is fine, but drinking cheap or normal sake when the oni blood is agitated will result in it becoming increasingly agitated. Therefore, only sake of the higher and highest grade and quality can sate the lust of the oni.

However, KOUSUKE was definitely much stronger than any other, so there probably would be no other way to satisfy him short of the sake of the gods.

Which is what I have attempted and might have succeeded in doing.

Right after returning to the temple from Shirou's house, I asked Tamamo if she had any sake bugs on her. Sake bugs, or shuchuu are minor youkai, companions of the oni created by a crystallization of their technology that is able to turn small amounts of water into sake in a night. However, the sake created from them has a complex and somewhat-unrefined taste. Therefore, I have asked for Tamamo to put full use to her Item Construction skill as well as her own knowledge to produce the best sake she could ever create. Thus, with three sake bugs formed from her own power and a few special ingredients, the sake had to ferment for five days and five nights for it to reach its full flavor.

Taking a sip from the sakazuki, I tasted the liquid before swallowing it, feeling it as it flowed through my throat.

"Tamamo. Without a doubt, this is the best sake I have ever tasted. No, this gourd of sake may currently be the best sake in existence right now."

"Go~shu~jin~sa~maaa~!"

Ignoring Tamamo's delighted squeals, I sighed and closed my eyes as I mentally prepared myself for the ordeal that was to come.

It was time for us to talk.

XXX

When I opened my eyes again, the world had changed in its entirety. I was now in the compound of a large traditional Japanese home. Most of the building was on the right and back side of the compound while the left was dominated by a garden including a large koi pond complete with a small bridge. On the other side of the pond was a large sakura tree, its branches heavy with pink cherry blossoms overhanging the pond, their petals being slightly blown off by the gentle breeze.

Yes. This was my inner world. It wasn't much, but it is also where he made his home. I had only ventured here three times before. The first was in a dream when I was four. That time, I had only caught a slight glimpse of him. The second was when I was ten, and when my oni powers went slightly out of control. That was the first time I had met him face to face and had spoken. This was my third time here, as well as my first time coming here of my own volition.

"Yo. It's been a while."

Standing on the bridge, looking right at me was KOUSUKE. He looked and was dressed exactly like me, except that his hair and iris were scarlet, his sclera was black and he had two small blackish-red horns protruding from his hair, near the top of his forehead. Also, he spoke in Kansai dialect while I spoke normally.

"Looks like ya brought the good stuff eh. Well, let's have a drink then."

I followed him and we sat on the porch of the main bedroom, overlooking the pond. Now and then, a koi would leap out of the water and elegantly dive back in, spreading ripples across the calm mirror-like surface of the water. Pouring both of us a drink from the gourd I carried in my arms upon my arrival, we both drank at the same time.

"Ooh, now this is definitely what I've been wanting all these years. That fox o' yers sure makes a mean drink."

"Thanks."

Short silence.

"So…it's about to end. The grand finale of that war you're having."

"It'll all end tonight."

"So, what did'cha come here for? It definitely wasn't just to chat and have a drink, right."

"Well…first off…is there anything else I can call you?"

"Huh?"

"Calling you KOUSUKE just feels…weird. I don't consider you as the same entity as me."

"Well neither do I. As for other names…Benisuke will do."

"Benisuke…I see."

"So, whaddaya want from me."

"Borrow me your power, Benisuke. Just this one night, in exchange for this sake, lend me your power without me entering Crimson Red Vermillion."

Benisuke fell silent, gazing into his sakazuki at his own reflection.

"…Benisuke."

"You do know what will happen if I give you my power as a human, right."

"…"

Yes…I did. A normal human body cannot withstand the power of an oni under normal circumstances. My muscles would tear, my bones would break, and my organs would rupture. Overuse would lead to death.

"Are you that adverse to transforming into an oni?"

"Yes!" I replied as my hands shook a bit. "Every single time I had an Inversion Impulse, someone I care about would get hurt, and that's only because I have to stop you from taking control of my body!"

It seemed so odd then. For once, our roles were reversed. I was the one in anger, and he was completely calm.

"Even…Even if it's just a bit. I want just enough to protect Tamamo. Shirou, Rin, everyone. Don't you get it, if we don't stop Angra Mainyu here, not even you will have a world left to exist in!"

Benisuke just downed his sake and poured more for himself while I suddenly deflated as I felt my rage leave me.

"Can't…can't the two of us just live in peace?"

"Live in peace, huh…if only it were that easy…I thirst ta see the world outside with my own eyes. As long as I'm here…the only way I can do it is by takin over yer body."

"Benisuke…"

"But, you're right. If we fail here, I won't even have a world to be in anymore. So I'll help. I'll give ya as much power as ya can take, got it?"

With a grin, he turned to me and held out his fist.

"Let's knock the stuffing out of those fuckers."

"…Yeah."

We drank again. Suddenly, something came to mind and I decided to ask.

"Hey, Benisuke."

"What?"

"I don't know if you would know, but…you wouldn't happen to know who was the oni the third head married? You know, the one if not for her you wouldn't be here?"

"Hmm? Well…I don't really remember or know, but I think she was the smallest of the Four Devas of the Mountain, and…hmm…"

Suddenly, Benisuke's face changed sharply as he looked at something in the distance.
"…Looks like our meeting is gonna hafta be cut short, Kousuke."

"…Something's coming."

Benisuke got up.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, but you should get going. I'm countin' on ya, Kousuke."

I smiled.

"Yeah. Make sure you back me up, or we're not gonna be able to have a drink like this again."

And the world faded to white.

XXX

I awoke with a start as I felt the presence of an enemy-

"From the lake?!"

"Hurry, goshujin-sama!"

"Alright!"

-Ryuudouji Front-

We didn't have to go all the way to the lake. As we reached the front of the temple, we saw a figure burst out from the lake and speedily make its way towards us. I had a split second to draw Yattsugami before I was assaulted by numerous speedy strikes from the front.

"Kousuke!"

But I held on. Through a combination of Reinforcement kanji on my clothes, my Mystic Eyes of Reinforcement, Tamamo's full body Reinforcement as well as Benisuke's power coursing through me I managed to deflect the blows from my attacker.

"Renkūdan!"

My opponent dodged as Tamamo shot a massive sphere of compressed air that exploded as it hit the forest wall. Also, the wind generated by the spell blew away the thin shroud of shadowy mist in the surrounding area, giving us a clear view of the battlefield, and the enemy.

"You! You're supposed to be dead!"

He smiled a cocky grin at us.

"Well then, too bad I'm not eh!"

The figure who stood in front of us was none other than Lancer. But he was…different. His blue armor was now as black as shadow, and was lined with red in stark contrast. Now, there was an even more feral, hungry look in his eyes as compared to before.

"You were killed by Zouken's Assassin and consumed by the Shadow. I know that the Shadow…or Sakura can take control and alter Servants like Saber, but that's only when they are devoured alive. You were dead when you were swallowed, right."

"Well yeah, that skull bastard actually tore out and ate my heart in front of me. But can you imagine my luck. I was devoured, but for some reason wasn't completely assimilated yet. I was waiting for god knows how long when suddenly, believe it or not, I found my heart! And here I am!"

"I guess that means that Assassin has been finally killed, Kousuke."

"The past does not matter now. All that matters is we will stop you from getting past us to where Shirou and the others are, Lancer!"

"Hah? I have no interest in that," he said nonchalantly while picking his ear.

"…huh?"

A moment of bewilderment nearly cost me my life as Lancer suddenly dashed at me with the intent to kill. Japanese steel met Irish steel as my katana and his spear clashed in a flurry of strikes. Seconds after the exchange of blows, our weapons met in a deadlock as we faced each other.

"In fact, I doubt that anyone even knows, or cares that I'm brought back to life! Right here, right now, all I care about is catching up on all the fighting I've been missing, so prepare yourself, Master of Caster! I've about to give you the beating of your life!"

Despite the direness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile as I felt my oni blood bubble and boil.

"Bring it on, Cú Chulainn!"

XXX

Oblivious to the events occurring deep below the earth, the two warriors clashed furiously, sending the ringing sound of steel on steel throughout the vicinity while the fox maiden cast mystics upon them, strengthening one and weakening the other.

"Jidou Rensha: Shishousou!"

At the words of her spell, a pair of glowing orbs formed beneath Tamamo's palms and flew towards Lancer on their own accord, where they began rapidly shooting amethyst shards at him.

"Oi, you're getting annoying, Caster! Just let me have a one-on-one fight with-"

"Yagami-ryu Kenjustu: Gekkazakuro!"

At the moment Lancer's attention was drawn by Caster's attack, Kousuke immediately followed up with his own move. With a quick leap into the air, he drew his katana and brought it down onto Lancer, who shifted gears and brought his spear up to block it while dodging backwards to avoid the shards. However, as Kousuke landed, he followed up his first slash with another slash upwards, causing Lancer to dodge into the path of the shards. Despite that, the damage was minimal due to Lancer's Magic Resistance.

"Sorry Lancer, but we're not fighting just for the sake of it."

As he spoke, Lancer dashed at Kousuke and engaged him in a wild frenzy, forcing him to go on the defensive again.
"We're fighting to win, no matter what it takes, and we'll use every trick in the book if it means defeating you! Yagami-ryu Kenjustu: Midarezakura!"

In a sudden incredible burst of speed after muttering the technique's name, Kousuke dashed past Lancer and with deft movements, sliced with his katana to leave a trail of sword slashes in his wake, as if he was slicing through scattered cherry blossoms fluttering through the wind.

"!"

All that happened in a split second, and although Lancer was not able to evade the attack, he was able to immediately retaliate and thrust his spear at Kousuke, which met its mark.

"Kh-!"

It was literally one-for-one. While blood oozed from the numerous cuts all over Lancer, Kousuke bled somewhat profusely from the stab wound in the back of his left shoulder. As it was, the battle continued. Sparks flew as Kousuke's body reflexively swung Yattsugami to meet Lancer's spear, which was being repeatedly thrust at him faster than a normal human could see.

"Tch, I need some distance. Kazaguruma!"

With a sudden backwards leap, Kousuke let off an almost instantaneous upwards slice at the same time, causing the pursuing Lancer to back up for a split second, and when he did, Kousuke muttered a three-count aria, scattered a dozen ofuda on the ground and raised his left hand.

"Hadō: Daichi Tenyō!"

As he called out the name of the spell, large chunks of the stone floor and earth beneath it suddenly broke free of the ground beneath Lancer and flew into the air, causing him to lose his balance, even for the shortest of periods.

"Caster, now!"

"Alright, Shishi Heikō!"

"Wha-Ghargh!"

In a flash, Tamamo shot a white ball from her fist, which immediately unfolded into the gaping maw of a lion and continued to speed towards Lancer. As Lancer was too focused on Kousuke, the large chunks of ground flying upwards from under him and the crystal shards still shooting at him, the lightning-fast sealing spell caught him off guard, slamming into him and pinning him on the wall. Freed from Lancer's relentless attacks, Kousuke dashed back to Caster's side to attack.

"Gojū Majin:-"

As the words of the high-level spell was cast, five glowing magic circles appeared in a tower formation above Lancer, who was trying to force his way out from behind the lion's head. Already, he had broken out his left arm from the seal, an amazing feat for the seal itself is not just solid but also reinforced with Tamamo's mana.

"Yagami-ryu Kenjustu: Hatou Rindou!"

"-Matenrou!"

However, Lancer did not manage to break out on time, for Tamamo's spell had finished charging and a massive beam of prana, fired from the first circle and amplified by the bottom four descended upon Lancer, decimating both the seal and the wall it was attached to while with a blinding flash of his katana and a bit of od, Kousuke drew his katana in a quick slash to release a shockwave which sped towards Lancer. Both attacks culminated upon Lancer and as the beam faded, the area was obscured with dust from the rubble.

"…did we get him?" gulped Tamamo.

There was no indication at all. But at that moment, an instinctual warning, honed by years of kendo flashed through Kousuke's mind and he dashed right into dust. With a stroke of his sword, he cut through the air, causing Lancer to burst out of the dust cloud to the left.

"I know your Noble Phantasm, Lancer. The Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death, Gáe Bolg. If it causes instant death just by saying its name…then I just won't give you time say it!"

Despite the fact that Lancer was visibly injured, his rabid smile grew even wider as the blood-red mana surrounding his spear faded away.
"Excellent…this is excellent! Very well, we'll just see how good you're at at stopping my spear, Kousuke!"

XXX

"Urgh!"

"Kousuke! Get away! Rikugoku Raikōha!"

Kousuke, bleeding from a puncture wound to the right side of his body, fell back as Tamamo moved in front of him as Lancer dashed forward. With her spell cast, six orbs of electricity forming the points of a hexagon formed in front of her and fired six streams of condensed lightning simultaneously, four of them hitting Lancer squarely causing him to fall back.

"Kousuke, are you alright?"

"Yeah, this is- nothing."

After minutes of fighting, the battle had clearly taken a toll on both fighters. While the combined efforts of both Servant and Master had managed to prevent Lancer from activating his Noble Phantasm, it was not without fail. Kousuke was still a human, and despite all his empowerments, the Heroic Spirit had still managed to surpass his guard and inflict some wounds on him. Lancer himself however had also taken a significant amount of damage, bleeding from multiple successfully inflicted slash wounds and his body charred and injured from Caster's bombardment. With a sharp intake of breath, Lancer spoke.

"Heh…you're not too bad yourself. And now I'm also pretty sure that you ain't a full human, am I right?"

"Yup, you got me there."

"So lad, when do I get to see what you're hiding inside? And I'm pretty curious about the lassie's Noble Phantasm as well."

"You are? So am I. Hah…I've only seen one of them myself."
"Goshuujin-sama, hold on!"

"I'm ok Caster, just stick on some band-aids and I'm good to go."

Kousuke gave a snort at his own words, and looked at Lancer as he gave a menacing grin as he backed up.

"Well then…if you're not going to show it to me…then I'm gonna have to force it out of you!"

Suddenly, Lancer accelerated in a massive burst of speed and leaped, straight into the air, a distance so ridiculous that Kousuke could only gape.
"Shit, Caster, he's charging something, we need to-"

"izumo ni kami ari"

Without him noticing, Caster's body had started to overflow with prana as her voice suddenly changed completely, becoming more serious than Kousuke had ever heard before.

"shinbi ni tashikani tama ni ibuki o

sanga suiten ni amaterasu

kokoni jizai ni shite misogi no akashi

na o tamamo no shizu ishi

shinpo uka no kagami ni nari"

In the air, Lancer's body glowed a bloody red as he focused all of his magical energy into his spear. Meanwhile, unlimited waves of prana surged forth from Tamamo's body, engulfing the entire area in a violet glow as her mirror spun around her. Seemingly from nowhere, countless ofuda were summoned and levitated around her in a circle and as she chanted, a number of glowing torii materialized, charging both Tamamo and her mirror with energy. In a massive flash of azure light, Kousuke blinked and when he reopened his eyes, he looked at his Servant like he had never seen her before.

"Tama…mo?"

Tamamo's hair was now free of their bindings, and it had grown much longer, ribbons of it swaying gracefully around her. Upon her head rested a gold ornament, shaped similarly to a lotus flower. Three golden ornaments on each side of her head, took the shape of butterflies, with a short string of gold beads interspaced with simple flowers hanging from them which ended in a bell. Her clothing had changed as well. As compared to her previous state of dress where her kimono left her legs bare and her arms having separated sleeves, her kimono now covered everything up to the middle of her chest including her hands and she wore a gold choker on her neck. In her right hand she held a bunch of susuki grass and behind her, her nine tails swayed slightly, glowing gold from the amount of mana being absorbed into her.

To Kousuke's eyes, as she was right now, she was the most beautiful being that he had ever laid eyes on.

Of course all this occurred in an immensely short period of time, and above them, Lancer had finished charging and then- he struck.

"The Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death: Gáe Bolg!"

Arching his back, he hurled Gáe Bolg towards the ground with all his might. Rather than dispatching his foe with absolute accuracy, its focus as a technique was simply to just destroy the whole area along with his enemies in a carpet bombing fashion, causing massive destruction. Due to being hurled with all his energy, it cannot be dodged or blocked under normal circumstances.

However, the circumstances were far from normal.

"Suiten Nikkou Amaterasu Yanoshisu Ishi: Yata no Kagami!"

Tamamo-no-Mae's Noble Phantasm, the Eightfold Blessings of Amaterasu on the Weight Stone under the Sunlit Watery Heavens, a sacred regalia among sacred regalia, which was enshrined at Izumo after being brought from heaven by Takehinateru no Mikoto, which possibly later came to be known as the Yata no Kagami, the divine repository of Amaterasu. The energy drawn in allows her to use her abilities without the need to expend any magical energy for a limited time. It should be a divine treasure of the land of the dead that can even bring the deceased back to life, but as a Servant, Tamamo is unable to tap into that much power.

But, as she was summoned in her homeland, using the right catalyst and by a competent and compatible Master, she had gained some extra powers. By using her Noble Phantasm, she had been ascended to her true form while she still existed on the mortal plane, and is also able to tap into a new arsenal of spells, unusable without the activation of her Noble Phantasm and far stronger than her regular spells.

At her words, her mirror, suddenly expanded many times its regular size, acted as a shield, which was prudent for Gáe Bolg, travelling at Mach 2, slammed squarely into the centre of the mirror, caused a massive shockwave of crimson mana to burst outwards, tearing up the stone tiles and earth from the ground as any nearby structures were completely decimated by the sheer force of the strike.

"I won't lose to you, Hound of Chulainn! I, Tamamo-no-Mae, facet of Amaterasu, will take your strongest attack dead on and repel it!" she all but yelled to the heavens.

Despite being behind Tamamo, Kousuke still winced from the force of the ongoing clash. The Yata no Kagami, a sacred mirror that is part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, represents 'wisdom' or 'honesty'. In Japanese mythology, this mirror was one of the items used to lure Amaterasu out from a cave, and were later passed down to Amaterasu's grandson, Ninigi-no-Mikoto when he went to pacify Japan. In Tamamo's hands, she boasts that it is her ultimate defensive Noble Phantasm which is said to repel any attack.

If this battle were to be held in Ireland, Gáe Bolg would have been able to penetrate the mirror, albeit with much difficulty. However, in her homeland, Tamamo was drawing on a near infinite supply of mana from nature to supplement her already monstrous mana supply, while Lancer, although supported in some manner by Angra Mainyu, would still be unable to overcome the amount of mana taken from the world itself.

In a few seconds that seemed like eternity, there was a massive flash of crimson light and the sound of glass breaking as Gáe Bolg deflected off Yata no Kagami, spinning through the air and embedding itself deep into the ground as its owner still remained in the air. Even so, Tamamo did not suffer no loss, for there now was a long vertical crack running down her mirror. But that was a sufficient price to pay for subverting Lancer's strongest attack, for now-

"It's time for retaliation!"

Casting away the grass she held in her right hand, Tamamo spread open her palm where a fluctuating string of azure mana manifested itself. As she concentrated, the string arched to form a circle and three glowing magatama formed on the string.

"Amaterasu no Kubiwa: Yasakani no Magatama!"

Yasakani no Magatama, another of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was the other item that was hung on a sakaki tree to lure Amaterasu out of the Amano-Iwato. Here however, Tamamo is simply borrowing the power from its legend to materialize it as a destructive spell used to annihilate her enemies. As she flung the magatama at Lancer, the spell grew it size from the size of a necklace to the size of Lancer himself, colliding with him in the air in a massive explosion of azure light of such force that if it was any closer to the ground, Ryuudouji would have been blown apart.

But she was not done yet. From the information given by Lancer's stats, Tamamo knew that Lancer had the Protection from Arrows skill, and thus her projectile spell would not have done full damage, and therefore, raising both arms to the heavens, she cried out the name of her next spell that would surely defeat him.

"Ame no Ohabari: Totsuka no Tsurugi!"

At those words, a giant sword of deep orange mana burst forth from her arms, extending far into the sky. It had the general shape of a tsurugi, but its edges flickered like a flame. Borrowing the power of the numerous legends of the sword, among which were the sword used by Izanagi to kill his son, Kagutsuchi and the sword of Susanoo, used to slay Yamata no Orochi; Tamamo swung her arms downwards, slamming the sword downwards into Lancer. The point of connection between the sword and Lancer was further down the blade, and as the sword smashed him into the temple grounds, the rest of the sword which extended far beyond that carved a massive gouge into the forested hillside, shaking the earth as it faded away.

Finally, after being shocked speechless by Tamamo's display of power, Kousuke spoke up.

"Is he…defeated?"

Without answering, Caster's body glowed as her outfit and hair returned to their original appearance, the golden glow fading away from her tails which remained. The surrounding ofuda and torii vanished as well, leaving a violet Oriental magic circle on the ground, probably so that Caster could call it up again immediately assuming the worst case scenario.

"…Be careful, Master."

With bated breath, both Master and Servant stayed alert as the smoke cleared. However, the first thing that reached their senses was not sight, but a sound. Caster gulped while Kousuke looked slightly mortified as the smoke cleared, resulting in a gruesome sight to accompany the sound.

"What…is happening to him?" questioned Kousuke.

As he was struck by two of Tamamo's strongest spells, Lancer was battered, bruised, broken and bloody. But still he stood. A guttural growl escaped his fanged mouth as his body began to transform. His muscle mass swelled to almost triple as the sounds of bones cracking and flesh tearing could be heard, the self-inflicted damage caused by Lancer's transformation into a disproportionate figure. His damaged right eye simply fell out of its socket and laid upon his cheek, hanging on by just a ligament; while his left eye was sucked so deep into his head that a crane couldn't even be able to peck it out. His cheeks peeled back from his jaws till his gullet was visible, his lower jaw stuck the upper a lion-killing blow, and fiery flakes as large as a ram's fleece reached his mouth from his throat.

The terrifying transformation undergone by Cú Chulainn was none other than his famous 'warp spasm' or 'ríastrad', as described in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, in which after transforming he made a bloody assault on the Connacht camp, avenging the slaughtered youth corps of Ulster who came to his aid. If Cú Chulainn was summoned as a Berserker, then his ríastrad would have been his Mad Enhancement. Although the skill is unusable by him as a Lancer, his corruption by Angra Mainyu has enabled him the use of this skill.

Finally, the transformation ground to the halt. Slowly, Lancer's right eye (which was somehow still functional) turned to look at Kousuke and Tamamo. Then, without even bothering to pick up his lance, the ground beneath Lancer cracked as he made a devastatingly fast charge, even faster than before he transformed and rammed straight into Kousuke.

"Guhark!"

"GOSHUJIN-SAMA!"

A fountain of blood burst from Kousuke's mouth as the insane Lancer carried him a bit further before shoving him forward with the force from his entire body, causing Kousuke to smash straight through an ornamental boulder in Ryuudouji's side garden and then crashing into another boulder.

"No…Kousuke…Kousuke! Answer me!"

Tamamo was in a state as she received no answer from her Master, both physically and mentally. But, as the dust began to clear, she heard a voice.

"Geez, stop shouting will ya? I can hear ya loud and clear."

As Tamamo froze at the familiar yet slightly unfamiliar voice, a figure burst out of the dust at a blinding speed, ramming straight into Lancer and sending him flying clear across the temple courtyard.

"No…impossible…you're…you're-!"

Scarlet eyes rested upon Tamamo as Kousuke…or his body gave her a menacing grin.

"Yo, I don't think we've met yet. The name's Benisuke, nice to meet'cha."

XXX

Tamamo couldn't tear her eyes away from him. Instead of her Master, there now stood an oni before her, appearing exactly as he did within Kousuke's inner world.

"You…what did you do to Kousuke! I can't get any connection from him at all!"

"Tch, relax, kitsune! We've already had an agreement. I'm lendin' him my powers for tonight, since if he kicks the bucket, I'm a goner as well."

"How can I believe you!"

"Tamamo, Benisuke isn't lying."

"Kousuke!"

"The split second before Lancer charged me, Benisuke switched places with me so both me and my body are fine."

"Fine my ass, that fucker hits just like an oni!"

As Tamamo concentrated, she noticed that she could still feel a connection to her Master, but it was faint, like as though it was blocked by a firewall.

"Oi kitsune, look sharp. He's comin back fer more."

Feeling disgruntled at being addressed simply as 'kitsune', Tamamo readied herself but at the same time, shot Benisuke a dirty look.

"I have a name you know. Do you want me to just keep calling you oni as well."

"I don't mind, but it's Benisuke. Looks like we're gonna have fun tonight, Tamamo-chan."

Right as he said those words, there was an unintelligible yell as Lancer jumped through the air, Gáe Bolg once more in hand and made a beeline for Benisuke, who just grinned and caught Lancer's arm in a grip that could easily crush a girder. It seemed ridiculous that Lancer with his massive bulk was being stopped by person much smaller than him.

"Here-we-gooo!"

Suddenly letting go of Lancer, Benisuke sidestepped as Lancer stumbled. Following through with his motion, he hit Lancer with a massive roundhouse kick, sending him flying. But Lancer's riastrad was not for show. Landing nimbly on his feet, Lancer charged once more, this time swinging and thrusting his lance at Benisuke with enough force for just one strike to tear a massive hole in a truck. Using nothing but his bare hands, Benisuke blocked and deflected the majority of the hits, but one got through his guard and met its mark, leaving a gouge across his torso as he was pushed back a short distance, his feet pressed against the stone floor with such force to leave a trail.

"Benisuke, stop him for me!"

"Alright!"

As told to by Tamamo, Benisuke recovered and dashed around to grab Lancer from behind, who immediately attempted to throw him off.

"Now Tama!"

"Seikō Bakuretsuzan!"

Several shining motes of white mana spun around Tamamo before soaring over to surround Lancer. Benisuke immediately shoved Lancer into the ground at the right timing, as the motes slammed into Lancer repeatedly before colliding into him simultaneously, causing a small but strong explosion of mana.

"Atta girl!"

Immediately after, Benisuke ran forward and threw a punch into the explosion, causing Lancer to collide with the ground again, creating yet another small crater on the temple grounds.

"Ugh!"

This time, from his crouched position on the ground, Lancer simply pounced upwards like a wild beast and struck Benisuke hard with his elbow, resulting in a small gout of blood spurting from his mouth. Recovering instantly, Benisuke stood firmly as he punched forward with his fist, shooting of a triad of heat beams which burnt through anything in their wake, successfully burning a clean hole through the massive mass of muscle above Lancer's shoulder.

"Heh."

Lancer paused for a while as he inspected Benisuke like a wild animal inspecting an enemy, his disgustingly warm and fetid breath condensing in the cold December air.

"What's wrong, too scared to move?"

It seemed like despite the ríastrad, Lancer could still respond to provocation for at Benisuke's words, he roared and charged at him while flailing his lance blindly. While Benisuke was able to defend against Lancer's attacks, any hit would still be damaging. Once more, their hands locked in a death-grip as they ended up face-to-face in another stand-off.

"God, yer breath reeks, get some fuckin' breath mints will ya!"

Breaking out of the deadlock, they both resumed beating the absolute shit out of which other without moving one step from their positions. The speed of Benisuke's punches and Lancer's strikes were immense enough to blow away all debris that was surrounding them. Finally, the exchanged ended in way of both their fists colliding with each other's faces accompanied by the sickening sound of bones cracking. The two were blown apart from each other by the force of their punches, landing a distance from each other.

"Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi: Kusanagi!"

"Tamamo?!"

Another spell usable only with Tamamo's Suiten Nikkou Amaterasu Yanoshisu Ishi activated, she calls forth the power of the third Imperial Regalia of Japan, the Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven, Kusanagi. When Susanoo slew the Yamata-no-Orochi, he discovered a sword within the fourth tail of the serpent, which he presented to Amaterasu to settle an old grieviance. Generations later, the Kusanagi was given to the great warrior Yamato Takeru by his aunt in order to protect him in times of peril. Now, in her right hand, Tamamo held an incredibly long, thin sword made of green mana. Even when moved the tiniest bit, it seemed to cause the air around it to vibrate and waver.

"Eaaat this!"

Swinging the incredibly long sword at Lancer, he evaded it by ducking under the diagonal slash. Behind him, every tree within range of the sword was sliced cleanly along the sword's path, resulting in the top halves of the tree to slightly slide down the cut side before falling to the ground.

"I'm not done yet!"

As Tamamo repeatedly attempted to cut Lancer, he nimbly and deftly dodged all her stacks despite his massive bulk.

"Hah!"

With her last stroke, she made a mighty horizontal swing, which was completely avoided by Lancer leaping straight into the air. However, Ryuudouji, which was behind Lancer before he jumped, was cleanly sliced in half. Holding true testament to the blade's powers and sharpness, the temple was cut so cleanly and perfectly that it did not even collapse on itself. It was truly a sword holding the power of wind.

"Tch, get down he…re? Sakura?"

Benisuke was surprised as a few sakura petals fluttered by him, due to the fact that it was winter and there was not a single blooming cherry tree nearby. He turned to see Tamamo with her eyes closed standing in a casting pose, her nine tails swaying as thousands of pink, glowing cherry blossom petals materialized around her, scattering all across the area. Opening her eyes, she said the name of the spell.

"Yoshitsune Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

The spell which draws upon the power of a tale, Yoshitsune Senbonzakura, one of the three most popular and famous in the kabuki repertoire. Originally written for the jōjuri puppet theater by Takeda Izumo II, Miyoshi Shōraku and Namiki Senryū I, it was adapted to kabuki the year after. It relates the tale of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, being pursued by his brother, Minamoto no Yorimoto. Yoshitsune travels with his mistress and loyal retainer Musashibou Benkei in search of three Taira generals who escaped justice at the end of the war, and who he believes may pose a threat to the shogunate. Taking in all the feelings and thoughts of its writers, actors and viewers, they are condensed into the vibrant display of a thousand cherry blossoms used to decimate the enemy.

At her command, a massive swathe of thousands of sakura petals began to rush towards Lancer. Even to Benisuke, the vibrant display of cherry blossoms was stunningly beautiful. Undeterred by Lancer's jump, a simple upwards gesture from Tamamo caused the petals to chase after him even as he ascended as she uttered the last word of the spell.

"Gokei."

Instantly, the sakura petals swirled around Lancer in a spherical formation, leaving no blind spots and no possibility of escape, especially since her target was in the air. Lancer had no chance of escaping the mawscape as the sphere collapsed on itself, obliterating Lancer in a massive pink explosion of mana and causing a shockwave strong enough to blow off most of Ryuudouji's roof tiles.

"…damn, that guy's pretty damn hardy."

Benisuke watched as the bloody mass that was Lancer fell to the ground.

What he was not expecting was for that bloody mass to immediately launch itself at him the instant it touched the ground.

"Are ya fucking kiddin' me?!"

"Move, Benisuke!"

"I can take it!"

Benisuke held his ground, which resulted in a full-on collision between himself and Lancer.

"Geh…hurgh…"

Tamamo was aghast at the sight before her. Having been pushed to his limits, Lancer propelled himself past his maximum power and was able to penetrate Benisuke's solid defence, impaling Gáe Bolg straight through Benisuke's torso. Thankfully, while the warp spasm heightened all of Lancer's physical abilities, it removed his ability to activated the cursed effect of Gáe Bolg, meaning that Benisuke was simply pierced by a normal lance.

"Kou- Benisuke!"

"Ha…ha…Ahahaha!"

With a sudden burst of mirthful laughter, he firmly grasped Lancer's arm with his left hand.

"You can't run anymore, dog."

And with one single move, the oni put his hand through Lancer's chest.

"…what?!"

Only to be completely surprised, for there was no heart present within Lancer. The truth is, even Lancer had no real idea what had caused his resurrection, and had just recounted what he thought had happened. Angra Mainyu simply needed a doll to prevent Caster and her Master from advancing, and thus turned Lancer into its slave.

"Tokiyo Sakisaku Daisakkai: Higanbana Sesshōseki!"

Bringing out the Red Spider Lily Killing Stone for the second time in the war, Tamamo struck the captured Lancer with it, the curse and poison causing Lancer to glow red and flail uncontrollably.

"You're kidding me, he still won't die?!"

Benisuke just smiled.

"I guess that just means there's only one way to end this."

As he said those words, his whole body was set ablaze in his burning aura, causing even Tamamo to jump back reflexively. Using the true power of the oni, the air crackled as all the moisture surrounding the two instantly evaporated, causing massive burns and boils to erupt all over Lancer's grotesque body.

"Burn in hell, motherfucker."

Pulling out his right arm, he swung it upwards, giving Lancer a massive uppercut to the chin. As Lancer flew into the air, an enormous pillar of blazing scarlet aura exploded upwards from Benisuke, breaking through the clouds and completely incinerating Lancer till he was naught but dust.

XXX

Finally, the aura subsided, and it was finally cool enough for Tamamo to approach Benisuke.

"Is he dead."

"Yup. Truly and finally."

"Good."

With its master gone, Gáe Bolg faded from existence, leaving a pair of holes which immediately began to cauterize themselves.

"So, what now, Benisuke. Do I have to fight you in order to regain Kousuke?"

The oni just laughed and petted Tamamo's head.

"Relax, Tama. I'm not here to steal him from ya or anything. I showed up ta' save him. While I'm going to take over him one day, he's still my vessel. Right now, if I stay any longer, his life will be in danger. I've already pushed this human body to its limits today. While I'm confident that you'll be able to heal him, at this rate I'm gonna really shorten his lifespan."

Benisuke took a breath of fresh winter air.

"I'm gonna miss this. While Kousuke's inner world is a pretty nice place ta' stay in, nothing beats the real world."

"…thanks, Benisuke. For rescuing my Master."

"My pleasure. I definitely have too, or I'm gonna lose this body, won't I?"

"And when the time comes where you truly attempt to take over my Master's body, I will fight you to the death in order to save him."

They smiled at each other as Benisuke's horns began shrinking.

"Well, I guess this is it. If you ever need me, just give me a call."

"Not in a thousand years."

With a snort of laughter, Benisuke finally left the real world, and returned the body to its original owner.

Who promptly collapsed to the ground.

"Goshujin-sama!"

"Ah…god that hurts…so much…"

"What hurts, tell me, Kousuke!"

'Everything…"

As Tamamo began healing her Kousuke, she sighed in relief.

"It's alright now. The only thing we can do now is rely on Shirou, Rin and Rider to defeat and save Sakura."

"Yeah…"

Those words may have been spoken too soon, for all of a sudden, an evil presence washed over the whole area.

"Tamamo, be careful!"

"Goshujin-sama!"

Suddenly, with a great splashing sound, a massive Shadow Giant burst forth from the lake, towering over Ryuudouji and the mountain. At the sight of the dark behemoth, all Kousuke could do was sigh.

"Looks like we just can't catch a break."

I finally did it. After such a long, long hiatus, I finally wrote the 10th chapter. This is nomorenamesleft, thank you for reading.

The ending will come in 3 chapters. I will try my best to write the next one as soon as possible, but with life in the way, it might take a long while before I finally get around to writing in.

Also, I have edited certain portions of the first three chapters in order to better explain and introduce Kousuke's brand of magecraft, as well as add a bit more backstory for his family.

On a side note, on February 15th, I finally rolled Tamamo in Fate/Grand Order. I almost cried when I saw the golden Caster card appear and turn around to reveal her. I wasted so much quartz during her first rate-up event that I went into despair for a week.

Once more, thank you for reading, you have no idea how much I appreciate it and I will try my best to finish the next chapter as soon as possible.

Special thanks to spiderrock for including my OC and Tamamo in his fic. I have no idea how he puts out so many chapters in such a short time.

Edit: Updated. Somehow a whole paragraph was missing.

Update: Ugh, I've been away for too long. Rereading the previous chapters, I suddenly felt that some parts were just plain bad, so I rewrote them to the best of my ability. I really, really want to put out the next chapter as soon as I can, despite not even starting it yet. Thank you for bearing with me.