[Inari Standoff]: Fight Together, Die Together

About finished with her tale, Inari stood up and fetched herself a cookie from behind the counter. Osamu's skin was riddled with goosebumps from the brutality of her past. Inari had endured a greater deal of suffering than Osamu could’ve imagined

"So...what of the child? The last one that remained?" Osamu asked.

"I couldn't take care of her. I knew the exorcists would continue to hunt me down, so I dropped her off on the doorstep of the best house I could find. The residents were a married couple, and they took her in, gave her a good life. I went back to the forest after that and laid besides Tenji's corpse for days. I didn't want to leave him. I stayed with him even as he decomposed, until the earth and the insects took him away from me completely.

"I eventually moved on, and I've been on the run ever since. Now you understand why I don't trust humans. Tenji did nothing wrong. He was a good man, a hard worker, and they murdered him."

Inari took a bite out of the oatmeal cookie as she sat atop the counter. "Those are my scars. That's how deep they run."

"I see. I understand now. Do you...do you trust me?" Osamu questioned.

"You've got the same kind of kind spirit Tenji had. You didn't have to stay here and help me, but you did."

"I heard you screaming for help, so I came to your aid. How could I not? God or not, you're a living being and you were suffering. It was the right thing to help you. I'm sure of it."

Inari smiled. "You sound just like him. Eras apart, and yet the same kind of spirit lives on. How about this, mortal. I trust you a decent amount. You have stuck with me until now, and you actively chose to answer my plea for help in the first place."

"You may not like me because I'm human, Inari, but I'm glad we met, and I'm glad I got to hear your story."

Osamu closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted to the very real possibility of dying. "If we live through this, I'll tell you a bit about my scars as well. But if we're in a tight spot, then my words from before still stand. You can take my heart and use it to become powerful again."

"And if we both die?" Inari asked.

Osamu leaned forward, his face hidden behind his wavy, raven hair. "I won't be a human anymore. I won't be a failure anymore, nor a husband, nor a father. You won't be a god, nor a wanted woman. Even if we both die out there, it's all right. We'll both be free of our burdens."

Inari finished her cookie and took a look out of the window. It was already dark out. The runways outside were lit up by hundreds of glittering, orange lights, like fading stars in the night sky.

"It's beautiful. The darkness, I mean." Inari said. "A cold, dark place to grieve and hurt. We can stay as long as we like."

Inari noticed the windsocks fluttering wildly as the wind hold and shook the glass windows in their panels. A storm was coming.

"It's time. Let's get me a change of clothes first. This shirt's got blood all over it. I expect you to hold up your side of the deal after this, mortal."

"Of course." Osamu said. "I don't go back on my word."

Inari sauntered outside, picking up and discarding the many shirts, dresses, and blouses that lied on the floor. She happened across a sleeveless, black dress that caught her eye, adorned with frills and a v-shaped lace section near the bust. She stripped her bloody shirt off her body and tossed it aside, putting on the dress instead.

"Perfect. If we're gonna die, may as well go out in style." Inari said.

Osamu and Inari went outside onto the runway, standing in front of the yellow light of the backlit runway signs. They stood there waiting and watching for their enemies, the wind screaming at them and pulling their hair.

"A storm is coming. We might be fighting under lightning tonight." Inari warned.

"That's fine by me."

"Say, mortal, you wouldn't happen to have any reinforcements to call in, would you?"

"I thought about it, but I haven't been able to call anyone since the airport was locked down. I've been here for two damned days. I should've gotten a bunch of calls from the wives."

(Besides, I'm not sure how that's going to work out considering Taeko, Shinju, and Cyanide are all exorcists themselves.)

"Just wondering if there was an easier way out of this. As always, the answer is no." Inari sighed. "Focus your mind on the fight at hand. Remember, if we lose here, we won't have a chance at getting rid of our curse."

"You're right. I'll stay focused."

Inari climbed on top of the runway sign, sniffing the air and excitedly wagging her tails. She looked back at Osamu with an excited grin. "They're here."

"It's not just White Saint?" Osamu asked.

"No, there's another. They're coming from two different directions though, so I don't think they're together. I don't know who the other exorcist is, but he's not our immediate worry. He's still a ways away. White Saint is here now. Get ready."

All the way on the other end of the runway was White Saint, walking towards Osamu with his staff in hand. The lights on the runway lit up his face as he walked by them and the wind swayed his long, blonde hair to the side.

Inari jumped down from the sign. "Are you ready, mortal?"

Osamu, ready to either win or die, nodded his head. In an instant, Inari possessed his body, and his red eyes and sharp fangs returned. When the pulsating pain in his head wore off, he stood up and walked down the runway, planning to meet Saint somewhere in the middle.

"You know what must be done, right? I don't just plan to win here. If we want to rid ourselves of this curse, we have to eat his heart." Inari said.

"I know." Osamu grunted.

"Oh? I expected more resistance. You looked terrified when you tasted human blood for the first time." Inari tittered.

"I never said I was fine with it. In fact, I find the idea of consuming a human heart atrocious. Still, it's the only way either of us will survive the curse and live another day. Either we win here, or we die here."

Osamu and White Saint, two men with their own convictions, lives, and things to protect, walked towards each other from opposite sides of the runway, both of them knowing that only one of them was going to survive the night. Only one would still be breathing before sunrise. Finally, White Saint and Osamu stood at talking distance from each other as lightning tore through the clouds and lit up the sky like heavenly muzzle flash.

Osamu's raven hair obscured half of his face and one of his eyes, the other eye shining like a blood moon in the darkness. The ends of his open, unbuttoned shirt flapped about in the wind along with his peace sign necklace, exposing the black mark left on his bare chest.

"About time you got here." Osamu growled.

"My apologies for making you wait." White Saint snickered.

White Saint twirled his staff in his hand before slamming it on the tarmac, a blood-red aura enwreathing it from top to bottom. "Now then, be gone, Inari!”