Well, the major revisions are through, so here comes chapter 2
again! And yes, I know all about the different spellings of the great
god's name. Technically, according to the Kojiki and the Nihongi, the name
should be "Susa-no-wo". I just think that the spelling "Susano-oh" lends
itself to proper pronunciation (and I just think it looks better... argue
it off the list, please). Anyway, on with the show! and, all C&C and MST's
are GREATLY appreciated! 

Hidden Fires chapter 2


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	Momiji dipped the soft cloth into the basin of ice water and
gently wrung out most of the water.  Kusanagi's fever was dangerously
high, and none of the medications that Matsudaira had given him had been
able to lower it any.  She was sponging him down with the cold water in a
last-ditch effort to lower the fever.

	She dipped the end of the rag back into the basin and let the
water drip onto his bare chest. The teen watched the droplets roll over
his orange skin, tracing the contour of every muscle; she wiped them away
just before the water could soak into the bandages that wrapped his torso.
Momiji then grabbed another bit of cloth, soaked it in the icy water, and
gently draped it over his forehead.  He shuddered and moaned softly from
the depths of his coma; the teen's heart lit up with hope. "Kusanagi? Can
you hear me?"

	There was no answer; Momiji sighed and returned to her task.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	*~* The next four years of Kusanagi's life was spent in training
underground. The morning of his transformation was but a dim memory in his
mind; every waking moment was spent in endless training. Katas, obstacle
courses, sparring with his master, all were commonplace. His five-year-old
mind was continually infused with blind knowledge of  survival tactics and
information on modern weaponry and technology. At night, or what passed as
night in that underground world, his mind would reel with memories of the
past. There was no time for childhood pleasures in this solitary world.

	Kusanagi was in training to master the use of his arm blades when
he first rebelled against his Aragami masters. The child's mind was
blurred from lack of sleep; he barely managed to dodge a flying tentacle
before crashing into a craggy stalactite. *Get up and try it again,*
Yamata-no-Orochi hissed, it's huge head wavering in front of the boy.

	He began to cry softly; his child's body was battered and bruised
and near the point of exhaustion. "No!" he sobbed. "I don't wanna!"

	*What??* Orochi's eyes narrowed in anger. *You will do as I say,
little toy;  now get up and fight me!*

	"Go to hell!" Kusanagi shouted back through his tears. "I'm not
gonna do it!"

	*You little bastard....* The Aragami's eyes flashed bright red;
suddenly, every mitama on the boy's body began pulsating in an eerie blue
light. Daggers of pain shot up his arms and legs; the three mitamas on his
chest seemed to sear through his flesh down to the bone. He screamed in
agony as wave after wave of spasms ripped through him. The mitamas on his
hands blazed into light; twin blades split his forearms and snapped into
place. After an eternity, the pain began to fade away and his shrieks died
down into helpless sobs.

	*Good.* The monster appraised the child, grasping one arm in a
slick tentacle and prodding at the sword that jutted out. *Remember this
well, and always be prepared to attack with your weapons. Now go and
gather your strength for the next exercise.*

	Kusanagi struggled to his feet, retracting the blades into his
forearms. He wiped away his tears and began to trudge away when his master
stopped him.

	*Kusanagi?* The child turned; one thick tentacle lashed out and
backhanded the five-year-old, knocking him across the cavern. *NEVER even
think of disobeying me again, boy," Orochi snarled as the child picked
himself back up. He stared up at it, one side of his face swollen to twice
its normal size, then turned and fled the cavern.*~*


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	"Momiji?" The teen glanced up from her tender ministrations to see
Kunikida standing in the doorway. "It's almost midnight; why don't you let
me drive you home so you can get some sleep?"

	She dropped the washcloth into the basin. "What? But- but I can't
just leave him like this! I promised Mrs. Matsudaira that I'd watch over
him! Besides," and she fought back the tears, "I can't go... something
might happen to him...."

	Kunikida sighed. He knew that she would just fall asleep; what
purpose would letting her wear herself out serve? Watching her, though, he
knew that she would never sleep at home, either; she would just keep
herself awake worrying over Kusanagi's condition. "All right, then," the
older man conceded, "but you have to promise to try to get some sleep.
Making yourself sick won't help him any."

	"Thank you, Mr. Kunikida," she whispered, forcing a faint smile.
The head of the TAC nodded and stepped outside the infirmary, shutting the
door behind him.

	"How is she?" Matsudaira asked. The office was now empty except
for the two of them. "I sent the rest of the team home; there was nothing
else they could do here." Her face was drawn, although she kept her
professional demeanor intact. 

	"She begged to stay here with him." He stripped off his overcoat
and plunked himself down at a computer terminal. "I'm going to stay here
and get some paperwork done. You need to go home yourself, Matsudaira."

	She shook her head. "I've got some cultures developing in my lab
that I want to test some medications on. And, Mr. Kunikida.... I told
Momiji about Kusanagi's chances for recovery."

	"She seems to be taking it well enough, I suppose, though I wish
you had waited to tell her." He shuffled a set of papers and filed them
away in a folder on his desk. "I just hope that you're wrong about
Kusanagi."

	"So do I, Mr. Kunikida. So do I."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	Murakumo stepped back to admire his next victim. The king cobra
hissed at the Aragami from behind its prison in the zoo; it bared its
fangs and struck at him viciously. He laughed and grasped the serpent's
head in his fist. A blue light glowed along the snake's body as it began
to grow....


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	The fax machine began buzzing and shooting out papers at the same
time that the phone began to ring. Kunikida looked up blearily and picked
up the phone. "TAC, Kunikida speaking.... What?!? We're on our way!" He
shot up out of his seat and grabbed his overcoat. "Matsudaira!" He shook
the scientist awake roughly. "There's an Aragami loose outside Tokyo! Go
get Momiji; I'll page the others!"

	Matsudaira nodded, clearing the sleep-induced fog from her mind,
and burst into the infirmary. Momiji had fallen asleep at Kusanagi's
bedside. The teenaged princess's head rested on his uninjured shoulder;
one arm was flung over his chest in a sleepy embrace. The remnants of
tears streaked the man's orange skin. "Momiji! Momiji, wake up!" the older
woman barked, shaking the girl.

	She bolted awake. "Huh? Wha- what's going on? Is Kusanagi all
right?!?"

	"It's not that; an Aragami has been sighted just outside of Tokyo!
Hurry up!"

	Momiji nodded grimly and, taking in one last look at the comatose
man beside her, jumped up and reached for her jacket. She paused for a
moment. Spying Kusanagi's tattered red trenchcoat hanging on the inside of
the infirmary door, she grabbed it and slipped it on. "I'll be right
back.... Hang on, Kusanagi," she whispered as she shut the door.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	Momiji huddled in the corner of the van as the TAC raced towards
the site, drawing comfort from the oversized trenchcoat she was wearing.
It had the slightest odor of freshly-mown grass, underlined with a trace
of sweat. The ragged edges of the sleeves were stained with his foreign
blood. She waited silently, brooding, until the mitama on her chest began
to glow slightly. "It's coming," she breathed. 

	"What?" Takeuchi exclaimed. "Is it close?"

	"It's coming towards us.... Mr. Kunikida, stop the van! Stop!"

	As the van skidded to a halt outside of a dense forest, the trees
began to rustle and bend. A colossal serpent slithered out of the area,
hissing maniacally. Gold-tinged venom oozed from its eight foot long
fangs; its scales shimmered in the beginning sunrise. The hood around the
king cobra's head was ringed with vicious spikes that continued down the
sides of its body to end in an immense spike on the tip of its tail. The
ground around it was littered with trashed jeeps from the Self-Defense
Force and with not a few fresh corpses. Koume leaped out of the van and
immediately fired upon it with her bazooka; the charge did little more
than knock a few of its scales off. "Damn, that thing's tough!" she
shouted.

	Yaegashi tumbled out of the van with a huge briefcase, followed by
Matsudaira. "Koume, Takeuchi, distract that thing while we get the
bio-reactor ready-" A blue ki blast suddenly slammed into Yaegashi,
slamming him into the side of the van.  "Yaegashi!" She ran to his side.

	"Your bio-weapons are useless against this creature," a voice
taunted the team. Murakumo hovered in the air above them, watching them
contemptuously; he examined the carnage and sneered. "I see that imperfect
soul Kusanagi isn't here with you. Such a shame..."

	"What's *that* supposed to mean?" Momiji shouted. She whipped her
pistol out of one of the trenchcoat's pockets and aimed it directly at the
Aragami. 

	"It means, princess Kushinada," Murakumo stated, "that soon we
will no longer be troubled with that traitor." He laughed as sudden
comprehension dawned onto the TAC. "That parasite I infected him with will
slowly destroy him from the inside. A fitting way for him to die."

	Livid with rage, Momiji charged him, firing blindly through her
tears. "I'll NEVER let him die, you... you jerk! He won't die! I won't let
him!" Two strong arms suddenly pulled her back, restraining her.

	"Momiji, no! He'll kill you too!" Kunikida yelled over the din.
"Don't fire at him!"

	The Aragami laughed again. "I don't have a ceramic field set up
here, Kushinada, or you would be dead by now. Think about what I have
said, humans. Soon, our kingdom, the kingdom of the Aragami, will rule
this world again!" His sneering laugh echoed through the air as both he
and the snake-Aragami vanished.

	The TAC stared after him in confusion. "Why would he leave when he
has us at a disadvantage?" Takeuchi wondered aloud, reluctantly putting
her revolver away. Kunikida turned to the team; behind him, Yaegashi was
struggling to his feet. "Let's get back to the office now before he
changes his mind and decides to come back."

	"Mr. Kunikida, Mrs. Matsudaira, what he said.... it can't be true,
can it?" Momiji begged, tears running down her cheeks. "Please..."

	The two could only stare back at her.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	"I have set it up as you wanted, although I think you are making a
mistake."

	Murakumo leaned back against a tree and watched as Kaede began a
purification ritual for the tiny shrine in the woods. She was dressed in
the traditional robes of a *miko*, or Shinto priestess; the infant god
Susano-oh was swaddled up and laying in a thick clump of grass, his
piercing gaze following every move of the princess Kushinada. "We are here
to follow our lord Susano-oh's wishes, not speculate on the reasoning
behind his wants," she stated simply.

	"Hmmm......" He stepped forward, past Kaede, and touched a spot on
the tatami inside. A fleck of dried green blood came off onto his finger.
"Now I see why you are performing this ritual. It seems that imperfect
soul has been here recently."

	She shrugged. "Remove that tatami and replace it with a fresh one.
I can have no impurities soiling the bed of our lord." She gathered up
several branches from the sacred sakaki tree and waited for him to move
before beginning the ritual.

	Murakumo leaned back up against his tree, incinerating the
blood-stained tatami with an offhand ki blast. "The Aragami cannot wait
forever, princess Kushinada," he snarled under his breath. "And we shall
*not* wait much longer...."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	Momiji was the first to hear the high-pitched strains of an alarm
going off inside the office. She ran for the infirmary and threw open the
door-

	Kusanagi had somehow tumbled to the floor and was caught in a
paroxysm of seizures. The convulsions thrashed his body against the
equipment, knocking over several monitors. Blood had soaked through the
bandages on his torso and was now seeping onto the floor. The teen dashed
to his side, Matsudaira hot on her heels. Just before they could reach
him, his eyes flew open as he let out an inhuman scream of agony. His body
arced in the air, transfixed by the blinding light of his seven mitamas;
suddenly, he gave one final gasp and collapsed to the floor.

	The alarms began blaring as the heart monitor faded down into a
flat line.