Leave to fight another day

The door to Airi's room slid open. "Leave," she said firmly, her back still facing the door. But the intruder did not obey. At the sound of another approaching step, she sat up and glared menacingly at Ken.

But to her surprise, the intruder was Monk Genzo, causing her to hesitate; which she would later come to regret.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," she stated, assuming that the lack of smile on his face, meant that he knew what she had almost done. But the monk didn't reply. Instead he took out his prayer beads. "What are you…"

Without warning, he raised them above his head and whipped them around her like a lasso. The beads pressed into her skin, gluing her arms to her sides, as he held the other end taut. Airi's mouth hung open, unable to comprehend why he was suddenly so aggressive. But her look of confusion quickly faded, once she noticed his lifeless eyes and tainted aura. She narrowed her eyes at him, her anger fueled by disgust and her vanishing lack of faith in humanity. Monk Genzo's cold stare remained unresponsive.

"What do you want from me?" Airi spat.

The monk answered with a hard yank on the beads, slamming her face down onto the bedding.

If there was ever a time to panic, this was it. The monk only seemed to have two emotions, numbness and rage. And as much as she tried to wiggle an arm free, the beads wouldn't loosen. Had she really misjudged his strength? Monk Genzo began to recite an incantation made up of strange words that she didn't recognize. She didn't know what was about to happen, but she was pretty damn sure that she wasn't going to like it. She tightened her stomach muscles and rounded her back to lift her head and shoulders off the bedding. And just as she did, a bright light surged toward her.

The wave of blinding light traveled along the beads and then engulfed her entire body with an overwhelming electric pulse. As the shock ravaged her body, she gritted her teeth and held back her agony. Her heart felt like someone was ripping it out of her chest and her lungs were on fire. The excruciating pain ripped through her, tearing apart every nerve in her body. And after a few seconds, which to her felt like minutes, she collapsed onto the bedding and cried out. Her screams muffled by the same bedding that she had found comfort in earlier.

Then, almost as soon as it had begun, the wave of energy ceased. Nothing in all her life had ever been as unbearable as that striking light. The monk walked over to her limp body and dug his foot into her side and kicked her onto her back. Her vision was blurry, but the monk's disappointed scowl was a clear sign that this torture would continue.

"She is stronger than Naraku thought," whispered Kanna, before forcing the monk to attack again.

Kagura didn't voice her thoughts to her tattletale sister:
If the girl was strong maybe I can use her to defeat Naraku. Well, if Kanna doesn't kill her first.

"Reveal yourself!" the monk yelled, sending another shock wave through the beads. Airi tried to hold in her screams, but it was impossible. Even though she could withstand a great deal of physical pain, her soul had never been so vandalized. The only thing she desired were the 5 second pauses, when Monk Genzo stopped to examine her. She didn't even know what kind of result he was looking for. But whatever it was, she wasn't providing it and over and over he repeatedly zapped her. Each time, wishing that she would just die already.

This is definitely a punishment straight from hell she thought and wondered just how much more of this she could take. Her soul felt like it desperately wanted to escape her body and her vision faded in and out with the monk's faint chanting and her own screams echoing in her ears.

But her shrieks were not a pleasant sound to everyone. Kagura had retreated to the garden, to damper that awful noise. "Why can't he just kill people without the theatrics?" she complained. Granted she had taken pleasure in Inuyasha's and Koga's pain, but her patience for slow deaths seemed to be dwindling with her growing contempt as Naraku's servant. "Well, if I'm going to find out how to use her to my advantage, I better keep her alive a bit longer," Kagura reasoned. And with a gentle and inconspicuous roll of her wrist, she guided Airi's screams through the garden to Ken's ears.

The young boy immediately sprung to life when he recognized Airi's screams. From the edge of the shrine garden, he could faintly make out the bright pure light of the monk's power and in his mind he feared the worst. It wasn't uncommon for demons to come and seek revenge, after learning about the death of one of their own. Ken raced through the yard, burst through the back door and sprinted to Airi's room. However, his expectations of finding Airi under attack from a vicious demon came crashing down. It was worse, much worse. He stood there speechless and outraged by what he saw.

Airi's body shook violently on the floor, her shrills ringing in his ears. The monk's lack of compassion and heinous spiritual attacks the cause of her suffering. He didn't know what to do. How could all this happen within a matter of minutes, he asked himself. But there was one thing he knew for sure. Seeing Airi intentionally attacked by his mentor, stirred something up inside him. He'd prefer to go to hell than to watch this happen.

Ken ran at Monk Genzo and shoved him to the side, knocking him off his feet. His unsteady fingers pulled at the beads to release her, but the monk still had a firm grip on them and sent another force of energy through them. "Stop it! Why are you doing this?" Ken cried.

The attack immediately ceased at Ken's protest, but the look of repugnance on the monk's face seemed even more dangerous. He had never seen the monk like this.

"Do you not see, you stupid boy!? We were careless and let a demonic whore slip into our quarters! I will not have it!" Monk Genzo roared, sending another attack through the beads.

Ken was stunned. "Purification only hurts demons," Ken muttered flabbergasted.
The young boy stopped struggling to free her and looked on in horror, his mind racing:
A demon. Is she really a demon? Why? It doesn't make sense.

His newly found bravery was suddenly morphing into fear and disbelief and he remained frozen from shock.

Somewhere in a safe place, Naraku watched the sacred jewel grow darker. Oh, how he loved it's tainted dark color. If only he could fill the whole world with that energy. "Soon her demon blood will have to take over," he smiled.

Back at the shinto, Airi began to regain consciousness. She arched her back in an attempt to sit up, but her head was still spinning. She fell back down to the floor with the prayer beads still weighing her soul down and rendering her powerless. Regardless of Monk Genzo's own dwindling energy, he blasted her again. To Ken's ears her screams were a horrid sound. It reminded him of his mother and the abuse she put up with.

Ken's mind played back the memory of Airi fighting alongside him:
If she was a demon wouldn't she have used her powers?
His eyes focused on the fading bruises on her face:
No demon healed that slowly.

Airi's eyes were closed, but that didn't stop her tears from falling. Ken remembered the promise he made her. The promise to protect her… from anything. And he stuck by his word. With Ken's renewed resolve, he wrenched at the prayer beads roughly, but he couldn't pry them off.

"Your efforts are futile! This wretched witch will be purified!" the monk shouted, sending another spiritual wave of energy through the beads.

"NO! STOP THIS!" yelled Ken.

This time Airi passed out. Panic ran through Ken now at the seriousness of the situation. For if she was a demon, she wouldn't last much longer under his spiritual power.

"Please, please don't do this," he begged, looking at the monk desperately. At last, Ken saw the lack of compassion and humanity reflected in the monk's eyes. A clear sign that Monk Genzo was possessed. They had a special protocol for such events, but he would free Airi first.

Without wasting anymore time, he picked up one of the axes and swung it down on the prayer beads, but they didn't break. That didn't leave him much choice, but to attack the monk. He took the ax and aimed for the monk. But Ken only feigned the attack to disorient him, which worked. The monk stumbled backwards and lost his grip on the prayer beads. Ken took that moment of chance to rip the beads off of her and throw them across the room. Meanwhile, the Monk was already trying to get to his feet again.

"Airi! Airi! Wake up!" Ken shook her firmly by the shoulders, but there was no response. He closed his eyes and raised his hand, "Kami please forgive me." He closed his eyes and slapped Airi hard across the face.

The young girl became unconsciously aware of a familiar kind of pain and willed herself to come to. Her breathing was erratic, but without the beads, her body wasn't heavy anymore.

"You have to get out of here!" a frantic Ken shouted in her face. He shoved and pushed her towards the doorway and she tripped over her own feet as he did. She lost her balance and fell back to the floor. "We don't have time for this! GET YOURSELF TOGETHER!" he shouted at her.

Ken ran at the weakened and sweaty monk again and knocked him down. He grabbed her axes, hooked his arm under hers and hoisted her to her feet. He ran to the back door, pulling her with him. She stumbled out the back door first and she turned around surprised to not see him following her. "Go! I'll be alright! I'll handle this!"

"Wait, wha..?"

He stood fixed in the doorway, matching her height now. "Take these and don't come back!" Ken said, thrusting the axes into her chest.

She grabbed the handles, but Ken didn't let go yet. He leaned in close to her face. Out of fear of tumbling backwards, Airi didn't back away. "Please be safe, I can't come with you," he pleaded.

"Ken...thank you," she said sincerely and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Ken released her and Airi disappeared into the darkness, stumbling like a drunk person as she ran, but always pushing forward. She made it past the bathing pond and was heading deeper into the woods, when she became aware of a certain familiar aura. She stopped short, feeling eyes on her. This was the same person that saved her the other day, but wouldn't show themselves. She didn't believe it to be just a mere coincidence that that same person was lingering nearby again. She was being followed.

Airi turned her head to see a womanly figure standing behind a tree. The woman, shrouded by shadow, turned her head towards her. Red eyes glared at her, sending a chill down her spine, but the female demon didn't speak.

"What is it you want from me? Why did you save me the other day?" Airi demanded.

"I don't want anything to do with you, actually. I'm just a puppet in this game, but you better watch your back, because he'll come after you again," Kagura warned.

"Huh, he? Who are you talking about?"

"Instead of asking questions, you should be thanking me. Or escaping. Whichever you prefer," Kagura shrugged.

"I'm not thanking you," Airi said plainly, "And I don't know why you're following me, but I'll kill you the next time I see you."

"Well, you're not stupid, I'll give you that. But as much fun as this chat has been... it would be best if you run along, before I get orders to restrain you," Kagura suggested.

Knowing that she was too weak to win a fight, Airi reluctantly turned her back on the woman and fled into the forest.

Kagura didn't know what hidden powers Airi had, but if Naraku was interested in her, then she would be too.