The fire she claimed

The fire has been burning for three days. Hayato could smell it before he saw it. Scorched earth, old ash, the bitter taste of something unnatural in the air. The mountain ahead seems to shimmer with the heat wrapping around it despite the cool autumn air. "This isn't ordinary flames," he mutters. Yukari stands beside him on the ridge, her tails swaying slowly behind her as she stares down the valley. Below, blackened trees jut from the ground, like skeletal fingers reaching for them. The remains of a village is scattered between them, collapsed roofs, melted glass and long, dark streaks where something had been dragged through the rubble.

"No," she says softly. "It's hungry." Hayato glances at her. "You've seen it before." She doesn't look away from the devastation. "Not this one, but I know the kind." Kasha. Corpse bearers, flame runners. Yōkai that feeds on death and burns with stolen foxfire, their bodies sustained by the resentment of the dead they carried away. They're always dangerous, but this one would be catastrophic, holding a power it can't contain or control. A Kitsune's tail. 

"We shouldn't approach it directly," Hayato says. "The terrain favours it." "And if we don't?" He follows her gaze. At the far end of the valley, a line of refugees moves slowly along the road. Exhausted and injured humans, guided by a handful of temple guards. Even from the distance they can see how close the fire creeps behind them, crawling over the ground like a living thing. "They won't outrun it," he says. Yukari steps forward and he grabs her wrist. "Don't." She turns towards him, her expression calm and without fear. Something flickers in her eyes, anticipation, hunger. "Those flames come from my power," she says. "It's calling to me." "And it will burn you alive," he snaps. "You have four tails, not nine." She leans closer, lowering her voice. "Then stay close. Protect me." The words slip into him like something unknown settling into his bones. He releases her wrist and they descend into the valley together. 

The heat intensifies with every step, licking at Hayato's wards until the papers curl and singe. Flames crawl across the ground, splitting and reforming as if searching for something. Yukari moves through it without hesitation, her bare feet skimming over the ash and scorched stone. Her tails sway behind her, the fur singing at the tips before restoring themselves in a light glow. hayato notices, but doesn't comment. 

The Kasha reveals itself with laughter. It bursts from the fire, its body elongated and skeletal, limbs twisting unnaturally. Foxfire burns along its spine. Blue-white flames illuminating the corpses chained to its back like grotesque trophies. At its core, nestled where its heart should've been, something burns brighter. Yukari's tail. The Kasha screeches in delight when it sees her. "Oh," it croons, its voice echoing like dozens of stolen souls. "The fox came to reclaim her fire." Hayato draws his sword, talismans already igniting around him. "Get behind me!" Yukari doesn't. She steps forward, her eyes locked on the burning shape imbedded in the Kasha's chest. "You're going to give it back." The Kasha laughs. "Why would I? It makes me glorious." 

The Kasha circles slowly, flames slithering across the ground in wide rings, each pass closer than the last. The heat becomes oppressive, thick and choking, burning with rot and resentment. Ash drifts through the air like black snow. Chains rattle as the corpses on the Kasha's back shift, jaws hanging open in silent screams frozen in time on their faces. "Do you feel it?" the Kasha purrs, voice splitting and echoing as if every corpse speaks at once. "Your fire remembers you." Yukari swallows. The tug in her chest pulls hard enough to make her stagger. She digs her toes into the earth, nails sinking into the soil. Hayato notices, he shifts subtly , placing himself a little closer. 

The Kasha moves with impossible speed, its body folding and elongating as it bursts forward in a blur of flames. Hayato reacts instinctively, slamming a ward into the ground just as flames rise in a column.  The impact hurls him backwards. He hits hard, his ribs screaming as the barrier shatters under the force. Heat tears across hit armour, through layers of protection. he rolls, barely avoiding a claw that leaves behind a trench where his head was a moment ago. Yukari screams his name. The sound cuts through the chaos as she runs. The Kasha laughs and pivots, fire exploding outward like a fan meant to incinerate her. Hayato forced himself upright, blood in his mouth. He hurls a sealing charm blindly. It strikes the fire instead. For a moment the fire warps and bends, just enough for Yukari to slip under it. The skin of her arms blister from the heat. She doesn't stop, she leaps. The Kasha rears its back, chains whipping behind it as it tries to swat her from the air. One corpse breaks free, falling onto the ground and bursting into flames on impact. Yukari twists in the air, claws extending. She knows it's useless without her power, but the momentum launches her onto the Kasha's back. She hits hard. Heat seeps into her, flames licking across her skin, sinking into her muscles. The Kasha shrieks, not in pain, but in outrage. "Mine!" it roars, bucking violently. Yukari clings on, fingers digging deeper, blood sizzling as it hits the flames. Her vision swims, spots of white exploding behind her eyes, but she feels the pull. Her tail is there. She can feel it.

Hayato moves forward. Ignoring the pain ripping through his body, he sprints, weaving through debris and fire. He flings talismans in rapid succesion, each one hitting the Kasha's limbs. The yōkai falters, just enough for Yukari to crawl forward, teeth clenched so hard her jaw aches. The Kasha twists again, slamming its back into a burning structure, trying to crush her. Wood splinters and stone crumbles. Yukari was thrown clear, catching herself at the last second. Her fingers lock around one of the corpse chains as it whips past. The metal burns her hands but she holds on as the Kasha lunges forward. Below her, foxfire surges like a storm. She lets go, falling into the inferno. Hayato screams her name only once before the explosion erupts. The ground detonates as Yukari hits, fire bursting in violent shockwaves that knocks Hayato off his feet again. 

For a terrifying moment there was nothing but flames. Then the fire collapses inward. Hayato forces himself to look. Yukari kneels in the centre of the fire, flames curling toward her. Her hands are buried inside the Kasha's chest, curling around something that burns bright. Her tail. The Kasha thrashes wildly, but the fire no longer obeys it. Foxfire bursts through its body like ribbons, flowing into Yukari. She screams. Light bursts outwards, blinding and searing. Hayato shields his eyes as the foxfire bends around her in curls of blue and white. When the light fades, her fifth tail burns brightly behind her. The Kasha collapses. 

Hayato doesn't waste a moment. He lunges, his blade whipping through the air, tearing through the Kasha's chest with sigils burning into its collapsing form. The Kasha shrieks one last time before disintegrating into ask and smoke. The corpses falling lifelessly. Silence falls, broken by Yukari's ragged breathing. She sways, fire still clinging to her skin as she tries to stand, her eyes glowing faintly. Hayato moves fast, catching her just before she falls. She burns hot in his hands. Too hot. For a moment, just a breath, he thinks she might turn on him. Instead she leans into his grip, exhaustion setting in. "I told you," she whispers weakly. "It was mine." He doesn't answer. He was too busy thinking about how close he came to losing her. Her gaze ligers on him, a shared understanding passes between them. It would only get worse from here.

His arms tighten around her for a moment as he looks at the destruction around them. He reminds himself of how much worse she could do, and if she does, he would have to be the one to stop her. He shouldn't trust her, shouldn't hold her like this, but as he looks at her exhausted face, more of his doubt dissipates.