Sorry for the delay~ I really... I have so many excuses, but I won't bore you with them. Instead- any fans of The Lonely Island (band) out there? Because I was rereading Black Sun, Silver Moon recently, and every time Laz said something it reminded me of the song "Threw it on the Ground." Because in the song he keeps saying "I'M AN ADULT!" And... Yeah. Oh Laz.

Anyway, this is a very Agi-oriented chapter. She needs more screen time, methinks. I'll italicize her "talking." You know how the author does the little Agi chatter that's always adorkable? I plan to include that here.

Shikimi stared blankly at Taki, seeming a bit uncertain, but he said simply, "This building has been on fire for over an hour. It won't be long now."

His blue eyes glistening with tears, the nightling asked, "What are you saying? Come on, snap out of it! Let's just go home... Don't tell me it's too late, Sensei, I know it's not. I know you're still in there, just like you were when the demon within me was in control. You have to try! don't you want to go home and see Agi and Laz and my brothers and sisters?"

"They're irrelevant. You, nightling... You must die." Shikimi responded bluntly.

Taki shook his head, "That's not you, Sensei, stop this!" Taki pleaded as the man stepped closer, forcing him further back toward the flames. Deciding he really couldn't run in this situation, he reached up to grab Shikimi by the shoulders, but soon found himself pinned to the ground by a fallen support beam. "Aagh!" He winced in pain, trying to wriggle his way out.

"Well, I suppose I'll be taking my leave now." The silver haired man stated, stepping onto the crooked beam that, conveniently enough, was still nailed to the roof on one end. Of course, this only served to crush Taki even more.

"Sensei..." He coughed, grabbing the man's ankle, "Please, stop this... I know you don't really want me dead, you wouldn't keep me around if that were the case... It's that boy from earlier that's gotten to you, think, Shikimi, what reason do you have to kill me?"

"You're a nightling." Shikimi stated, "I need no further reason. You disgust us."

Unable to hold on any longer as the carbon monoxide was beginning to make him dizzy, Taki let go of the man's ankle and lie there nearly lifeless. He couldn't give up... They'd come so far. Shikimi was in there somewhere. Why hadn't he shaken him off and bolted if he weren't hesitating? "Is that really what you think, Sensei? Is that what you really think after all we've been through, after I saved your life, your humanity, risking my own life for yours, you really want to kill me because I'm a nightling?"

He seemed to consider this for a moment before snapping, "No, stop trying to confuse me! Just die already!"

"I won't die unless and until you return to yourself, Sensei!" Taki shouted back, suddenly grabbing the beam defiantly, seeming to have his willpower back. "Do you remember what I said when you made me promise to kill you?" When Shikimi didn't respond, Taki answered for him, "I said that I'd kill you, and then myself. Remember? I won't let you go down without me! Especially not because of some damn kid!"

"Taki... I do remember..." Shikimi murmured. At that moment, the beam the former priest had been standing on snapped, leaving them without an escape, but at least Taki was able to push it off of himself.

His eyes locked on the ground, Shikimi said softly, "I'm... Sorry Taki, I don't know what got into me... I-"

"In case you haven't noticed, we're trapped in a burning building. If you're back to yourself, come up with a way to get us outta this!" Though Taki was happy to have his old Shikimi back, even he knew that this was no time for apologies.

The man was silent for a moment, thinking, before asking, "Taki, does anyone know you're here?"

"Just that stupid mutt. I told Laz I was going to the cemetery to look for you, and she made me bring Agi. Agi led me here." Taki replied, "It doesn't look like any exits are accessible... And nobody's going to call for help because people so rarely come out this way."

"But Agi's here. Taki, get on my shoulders." Shikimi instructed. The boy stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. "Hurry!" He hissed, crouching down to make it easier. "You have to tell Agi to go get Laz and your mom. She'll listen to you." The priest explained as Taki stepped onto the other's shoulders. Shikimi stood up, and naturally, they wobbled a bit, but eventually they were straightened out.

"I can't see anything in this smoke," Taki complained, trying to fan some of it out of his face.

"You don't have to see her, she's a dog, she has sensitive hearing. Just yell so she can hear you over the fire, if she's still there." Shikimi instructed, "And hurry, I can't hold you forever."

"Agi! Agi!" Taki called, "Agi, bring Laz and my mom here! Hurry!"

Agi tilted her head. Brother? I hear you... Why can't I see you? She stepped closer to the fire and lost some whiskers in the process. Owowow hot! Hot!

"Go bring Laz and my mother here, Agi!" He repeated, in case she'd missed it.

Brother gave me a command? Anything, brother, anything for you! The dog happily bounded toward the house, retracing Taki's scent.

Shikimi and Taki both fell to the ground, coughing as ash flew up around them. "Stay low," Shikimi instructed, "Lay on your stomach and put your hands over your head, like this," Shikimi demonstrated, and Taki soon joined him, not questioning the point in this. "Try to avoid moving, there isn't much oxygen- the fire uses it all up. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep." Taki blinked. How had Shikimi known he was getting sleepy? It didn't matter. The other knew far more on pretty much every subject, so he knew better than to question.

Following Agi now

It wan't easy to keep running for so long, and of course, she was going a roundabout way, as she and Taki had stopped at the cemetery but eventually she made it home. She wasn't particularly surprised to see Laz outside, pacing. She'd seemed nervous before they left, too. Sister! Sister! Brother and Sensei are in trouble! She tried to warn, but of course it just came out as barking.

"Shh, Agi, you're going to wake the kids... Hmm? Where are Taki and Shikimi?" Laz knelt down and noticed the singed fur and whiskers the undead puppy now sported. "Oh God, there's a fire?"

Yes, yes, I have to tell Mother! Agi charged past Laz into the church and began sniffing around for Taki's mother. Thankfully, Laz was way ahead of the dog. The girl made her way to the woman's room, where she was humming her youngest child to sleep.

"Umm, Juhas-san?" Laz called nervously, "Taki and Shikimi got into a little trouble... It looks like there's fire involved, but I don't know the details... The dog found me." She added, pointing to the puppy at her feet.

The mother's face paled, "A fire? Oh, but I can't leave the children alone."

"Well bring them with, then!" Laz suggested, exasperated, "Agi wouldn't have come home without Taki if there wasn't something really scaring her about the situation. And her whiskers are singed, see?" She held the puppy up to show this. "We have to hurry! Besides, if they come, we can carry more buckets of water. I don't know how big the fire is..."

The woman thought for a moment. She didn't think it was particularly safe to bring the children along, but she couldn't leave them, either... And she couldn't just ignore the fact that Taki and Shikimi were in danger, either, after all they'd done for her and her children. "Very well..." She went from room to room waking the children and telling them all to put their shoes on while Laz passed out buckets and told the kids to go fill them. Of course, the two youngest would have to be carried, but the rest could help at least a little bit. Thankfully, Shikimi had become a bit paranoid about fires after the what had happened to his village and fiancee, so he kept several spare buckets in a storeroom, along with a few boxes of things he'd managed to save from the flames. Among them were one of the orphans' teddy bears, the ribbon he had given Amaria, and his old Bible and rosary, from when he was able to use his voice as a weapon to slay the ressurected. Laz had stumbled upon this room several months prior when she was trying to hide from Grey. She didn't dare question why Shikimi kept all this charred crap and the reason for all of the buckets, though she understood some of it now.

Several agonizing minutes later, the sleepy children were all assembled, struggling to hold buckets full of water. "Alright, Agi, lead the way. Where are Taki and Sensei? The graveyard, right?"

"The graveyard? Brother shouldn't play around there at night..." One of the children mumbled with a yawn. Of course this puzzled everyone, but Laz was the most surprised when Agi began running in an entirely different direction. "Agi!" She called, running after the dog. Thankfully, even the children were able to keep up with Agi, as the dog's legs were so stubby. This time, Agi didn't have to take the roundabout route through the graveyard. She could smell the smoke even from the church.

"Isn't this the way we came here?" One of the older, more awake, kids asked.

"Hmm? You're right... We're going toward our old house." Taki's mother replied thoughtfully. It all became clear when, over the next hill, flames lit the night sky. "Our home!" She exclaimed, running a bit faster now.

"Taki! Shikimi!" Laz charged toward the flames, the children and Agi left behind. They knew where they were going, at least. The burning house was enough of a landmark for them.

Taki and Shikimi

"Taki... Taki! I said don't fall asleep!" Shikimi scolded, reaching out to gently shake the other, "I hear something, Taki! Wake up!"

Taki's eyes opened slightly, "'m so tired, Sensei... Just a little..."

"No, Taki! Don't sleep, listen! Don't you hear that?" The priest asked, trying to get the boy's attention.

"Hear what? Let me sleep..." Taki mumbled, closing his eyes.

This time, much more clearly, Shikimi heard a voice he clearly recognized as Laz call "Shikimi! Taki! Are you in there?"

"Laz!" Shikimi choked, "Hurry, Laz, I can't keep Taki up!"

Laz sighed, looking back to Taki's mother, "I can't hear anything over the roar of the flames. I guess we just have to go based on the assumption they're in there and they're alive."

"Everyone put your buckets down and stand back," The worried mother warned. Bucket after bucket, the two women worked to put out as much of the fire as they could, but of course, there simply wasn't enough water. They'd managed to get the front of the house down to embers, but there wasn't enough to go any further. "We need more water..." The elder women commented, stating the obvious.

"No, wait... I think I see something." Laz rubbed her eyes, "Or at least... I feel something..." Removing his jacket to cover his nose and mouth with it, Laz took a decisive step toward the flames. At that moment, Shikimi burst through them, Taki in his arms. Both were on fire, but moving, at least. "Shikimi!" Laz blubbered as the man dropped Taki on the dirt and lie down beside him, rolling to put out the flames as he had learned to do in books. When Taki didn't mimic him, The man sighed and grabbed Laz's jacket, using it to suffocate the flames on Taki's body.

"Thank you, Laz, Juhas-san..." Shikimi said softly, looking to them, "But I'm afraid it might be too late for Taki. I couldn't keep him awake- the ashes and carbon monoxide rendered him unconscious." He sighed and rested his head on Taki's chest, listening for a heartbeat and breathing. "He's still alive, barely."

Sensing that something was wrong, Agi felt obligated to help, and jumped onto Taki's chest, licking his chin. Brother? Why won't you wake up? Did I do a good job? Brother?

Laz blinked away her tears, "What do you mean, barely? He can't die, he's a-"

"Laz. You understand, don't you? He/s not as strong as we'd like to think. Remember what you were taught." Shikimi reminded, not wanting to disturb the woman and her children with the news that their "brother" was half dead already.

The demon slayer considered this for a moment. She'd forgotten... Most Nightlings never even made it to his age. Of course he wasn't as strong as they'd thought. Perhaps his muscles were, but his organs and one muscle, the heart, could easily be an exception to that rule. "Taki... What do we do? Give him mouth to mouth?" She asked, not really understanding much about medicine.

Though he knew it was hardly the time for this, Shikimi couldn't help but chuckle, "No, Laz, that won't help. Just let him rest." He replied, standing up and taking the Nightling (and Agi) in his arms once more. "Let's go home."

Well, not as Agi-centric as I intended, but whatever. By the way, the title of this chapter? Lyrics from the song Hero by Skillet. Don't own Hero/lyrics of it or Skillet... But it's an awesome song, and band, for the most part. I just imagine other people in place of "Jesus/Lord/God" because I'm an atheist :D