FicWad

Please see Chapter One for full disclaimers, warnings, and summaries.

Notes: This has steered completely clear of what I'd originally planned for this. I never thought to bring in another character from the series. I'm really trying hard to keep everyone in character, and I know that Gogandantess speaks very properly so I tried to reflect that in his speech.

/Kotaro's POV/

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Enemy of my Enemy - Chapter 07

As I fell into darkness I let my ninja training take over and I managed to land on my feet just as the door snapped shut behind us. At least we wouldn't have to worry about the genma that had chased us to this place because I was really in no shape to fight. I slumped to my knees, wrapping my free arm around myself. The pain I'd experienced earlier from slamming into the wall was intensifying and I was having trouble focusing my vision. It was going to be difficult to heal if we had to keep running from demons. I was dimly aware of Magoichi crouching behind me and I let myself lean back against his chest, relaxing into his embrace. I hated being so dependent on someone else, but it seemed that I had little choice. His soothing words helped calm my nerves and it was a while before I was able to see clearly again.

After what felt like forever my eyes focused in the dim and I could see that we were in a tunnel. The torches that lined the walls showed that the passage stretched out before us and turned off some distance ahead. A ladder was mounted onto the solid rock behind us and led up to the trap door we'd fallen through. At least we'd be able to defend against whatever came out at us next. Or at least, Magoichi would. I took a deep breath, forcing the pain to the back of my mind so that I could worry about other things. "Magoichi?" At least I didn't sound as awful as I felt.

"Kotaro, are you feeling alright?" his voice was calm but I could tell he was hiding his worry from his voice.

I nodded a bit but did not move from my place against his chest. It was reassuring to have his strong arms around me, holding me and keeping me from hurting myself.

"Well, I guess we're not going back up there," he said with a chuckle before his voice became serious again. "Did you hurt yourself?"

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against his shoulder. "No, ninjas always land on their feet."

"I thought that was cats," he said, sighing heavily into my ear. "We should get out of here. I don't know how sturdy that door is. We don't want to be here when the genma come looking for us."

He must have taken my silence for refusal to move because he tightened his grip around me and stood, taking me with him. I set my feet on the ground the moment I could. I may have been tired and felt awful but I wouldn't let myself be carried. Not while I was still conscious. I tried to take a step forward but felt suddenly dizzy and let him hold me for a bit longer. "I'm fine," I said, after a long moment.

"Yeah, whatever you say, Kotaro," he said, bending down to grab my armour and pack. He tied the bag to my waist and draped the armour over my shoulders, being careful of my injuries. It added some warmth to my chilled body and I was grateful for that little thing as we started along the tunnel. I tried to tell him that I could walk on my own, but he ignored my protests, never moving his hand from my waist and I was glad that he knew better than to listen.

We had just started along the passage when we found a trap in the floor. It had already been tripped and now a pit full of sharp stakes blocked our way, the only problem remaining being the distance between us and the opposite side. Magoichi might have been able to jump it, if not without some difficulty. I would have had no problem jumping across that short distance if I had been feeling better. As I was, any attempt to jump would end up with me meeting those sharp stakes close up. God, I hated being injured.

In this situation any selfless hero would have told Magoichi to go on without him. They would have stayed behind and waited for the genma to come and fight them to the death while Magoichi pressed onward to help Jubei. Unfortunately, I'm not a selfless hero. There was no way that I'd let the gunman away from me. I still had too much to live for to be left behind in that place.

"Any ideas?" he asked after we'd been standing there for a few minutes.

"I'm thinking," I said. There wasn't anything in the ceiling or walls that I could attach any rope to. There was nothing to be used to build a bridge. If I'd been feeling better this wouldn't have been a problem, but I was having trouble focusing. I closed my eyes, trying to remember the training that my master had taught me. There was that whole lesson about surviving while wounded, but I'd never thought that I'd need to know it.

I stared across the space, wondering what the hell I was going to do when a figure caught my eye. He was across the pit and walking towards us with his cape flowing behind him and a large sword in his hand. "Well, well, well. It appears that I've found some worthy opponents," he boomed towards us, stopping just at the edge of the opening. "Here I thought that I'd have to track down Jubei to have a little fun too." I snapped my head to look at Magoichi and winced as my neck hurt from the movement.

He tensed too and looked out at the demon that had appeared there. "Who are you?" he demanded, loosening his grip on me as he reached for his gun.

"I'm glad you asked!" the demon declared, leaping across the pit with little effort. He glided through the air, his white hair never moving out of place as he landed a few feet from us. "I am Gogandantess, the greatest swordsman of all demons!" He spoke with such arrogance, but judging from his appearance he probably deserved that claim. Most of him was a ghostly shade of white, except for some odd, red colourings around his jaw and neck. His armour was impressive and I sensed some odd power coming from it. There was no way that Magoichi and I could survive a battle with him, at least not while I was this badly wounded.

"Sounds like you like to talk big," Magoichi said, taking me back a step. "What do you want?"

"You are Magoichi Saiga, Captain of the Saiga gun team, are you not? I've heard that you like to believe that the gun is mightier than the sword," he said this with a flourish of his own impressive weapon. He brought the blade vertical to his eyes, seeming to look over the detail of the metal before swinging it out to point towards us, "I'm here to prove you wrong!"

Magoichi snorted and took another step back, putting us with our backs against the passage wall. "Do you really think you can beat me?" he asked, leaning me against the rock before turning back to the demon. "Lets find out!"

"Magoichi, no!" I called once I realized what he intended to do. I felt so useless leaning against the wall, just watching as he stepped out and pointed his gun at the demon. "Don't fight him! I have a bad feeling..."

"Don't worry, Kotaro," he said, turning back to wink at me. "I've got a reputation to uphold."

"As do I," the demon said with a chuckle, pausing to give a show of thought. "Perhaps we could make this more interesting. Let's up the stakes, shall we?"

"What did you have in mind?" Magoichi was all ready for a fight and it was obvious that all of this talk irritated him when he was ready to go.

"You are following Jubei," the demon said matter-of-factly. "He has already left for the sacred place of the Oni. There is no way that you will get there in time. If you win," he said, pointing his sword at the gunman. "I will take you two there."

"And if I lose?" It was obvious that Magoichi didn't like the looks of where this was going and neither did I.

"If I win," Gogandantess said with a laugh. "When I win, I get him," he pointed his sword at me and my blood turned cold. If Jubei had already left, then this could be our only chance to get to him, but if Magoichi lost... I shuddered at the thought of what horrors the demon would have in store for me.

"No deal!" Magoichi growled. "We'll find out own way to the Oni place, we-"

"Magoichi!" It was difficult keeping my voice firm, but I had to. "If he's telling the truth, then this may be our only chance. I couldn't even figure out how to cross over this pit. How do you think we'd get to the sacred place of the Oni?" I took a deep breath, finding it difficult to keep my focus again. "Even if you lose, you will still be alive to find a way there." I didn't mention the part about how he wouldn't have to worry about me anymore, either. If I'd been healthy then we wouldn't even be in this situation to begin with.

"Such a selfless act," the demon said with a bow, casting a toothy grin towards Magoichi. "Sacrificing himself for his friend? I will enjoy him after this!"

"Shut up," the gunman growled at the demon. "First; I'm not going to lose to you, and second; I don't bet with other people's lives. Kotaro, we'll find another way-"

"Magoichi," I said calmly. "There is no other way. Not if we want to get there in time to meet up with Jubei." I looked at him and in his eyes I could see that he knew this already. "Either way don't worry about me. Just fight him, okay?"

He nodded and I could see he was angry. I was angry too, but I doubted that his reasons were the same as mine. I was angry at myself. Jubei had been right. I'd let myself get distracted and been hurt because of it, and now Magoichi had to fight this guy because of my stupid mistake. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, but I couldn't bring the words to my mouth. I could only watch him as he smiled at me before turning away and that look told me everything I needed to know. He knew. We were both sorry for the stupid situation.

He turned from me and they faced off against each other. The demon, Gogandantess, took an attack stance that I didn't recognize and struck out with blinding speed. Magoichi barely had time to bring his rifle up to block the blow as metal bit into wood and they were locked together in a test of strength. I could see the gunman's muscles tensing from where I was standing and I wondered at the effort it took to meet the demon in such a way. Gogandantess didn't look like he was trying very hard at all and they broke apart after only a few moments, leaving Magoichi breathing heavily while the demon waved his sword around some more. "I've heard so much about you, Magoichi," he purred as he spun his sword around. "Why haven't you fired your gun yet? Don't tell me that in your heart of hearts you know the sword is better?"

"You'd like to think so," he said with a sneer, dropping down to one knee. "I'm just getting warmed up! Feel my power!" At his words his gun turned red, growing in strength and he aimed it at the demon. "You can tell me I'm better after I blow you apart with this, demon!" He pulled the trigger, sending out constant, powerful blasts from the muzzle of his weapon. The bullets shot out straight at the demon but seemed to deflect off his armour at the last second. The barrage of bullets did not stop even after the gun had returned to normal, but it didn't seem that they had even touched him.

"Oh, you'll have to do better than THAT if you want to prove that your little guns are better than my sword," Gogandantess said while looking lovingly at his blade. He brought the metal to his lips and made a show of kissing it while Magoichi looked at me with an expression of worry.

Whatever power the demon had was preventing him from getting even a scratch. "That's not fair!" I yelled. How could Gogandantess actually think that it would be a fair fight if he was using demon magic against us?

"Actually, it's entirely fair," he laughed, swinging his sword with flourish. "If you were truly better than me then you would have found a way to beat me. I suppose it can't be helped," he shrugged. "The only person I really expected to beat me was Jubei. He's getting so strong. Well," he said, seeming to remember where he was. "It sounds like you're admitting defeat."

"How can I beat you if I can't even hit you?" Magoichi yelled, pointing his gun at Gogandantess and taking a shot. The bullet flew through the air and bounced off the breastplate, landing on the ground.

"It sounds like you're giving up. Don't feel bad," he said, walking towards me. I felt my stomach knot up as I realized what he was doing. "At least you get out of this with your life, and there is still a way to get to the sacred place of the Oni."

"This isn't over! Kotaro!" I watched as Magoichi tried to run towards me, but the demon's hands were on me first. He made no consideration for my wound as he grabbed me and I cried out as he dug his fingers into the wrappings, forcing the wound apart.

"We had a deal, and you lost," he said with finality. He lifted me up and roughly tossed me over his shoulder and I moaned as I felt my skin tear apart under the rough treatment.

The pain was fogging my judgment, but through it I knew that I had to get away. He was going to take me and in all likelihood kill me. Demons had a taste for human flesh and I was probably going to be the main course at a feast in his honour. I tried twisting, but he held me firmly against him and I was too pained to do anything more. I weakly turned my head to look at Magoichi. He was running towards me as I was carried off and I just wanted him to get me out of there. "Magoichi..."

"I'm not finished with you yet!" he yelled, aiming his gun for the back of the demon's head. "Don't take him!"

Gogandantess turned, and I couldn't see what he did, but I heard Magoichi lower his gun, dropping it on the ground. "Nobody likes a sore looser," he said to the gunman. "Kotaro would have died if he'd stayed with you anyways. There should still be a way for you to get to Jubei if you hurry. You've just got to know where to look." He shifted against me and then turned and I saw Magoichi again before I was carried away.

I knew that he'd get to Jubei in time. He'd help take down Nobunaga and I shouldn't worry. I'd told him to take the wager, knowing that whether or not he won or lost it would get us closer to our goal of defeating Nobunaga. "Don't worry about me," I said, as brave as I could. The last human I'd see was Magoichi, with his gunpowder and tobacco smell and rough hands. He'd never hold me down on the ground and kiss me roughly like he'd done before, his bronzed skin pressing against mine as he lapped at my throat. I looked into his eyes for the last time and saw the anger that burned in them. I'd never seen him so angry before in the time that I'd known him. He was always so calm and reserved, but now I saw his true face of battle. It was the last time I would see him and that anger was burned into my soul as Gogandantess carried me away.

~End chapter seven~

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