From the Ashes - Chapter 1 - celestialshimmer (2024)

Chapter Text

Kira took a shaky breath . "I'm ready," she said. Her mother squeezed her hand.

Satomi nodded. "Good."

~~~

"It's good to meet you, Kira," said Satomi Ito with a small smile, "in better circ*mstances than before."

Kira smiled back politely in response, trying not to remember the previous perilous circ*mstances, and everything that had happened afterwards as well. She fiddled with her hands in her lap.

To her relief, her mother soon emerged from the kitchen. "Will you pour, Kira?" Noshiko asked as she laid down the tray. Grateful to do something other than sit in awkwardness, Kira picked up the teapot and filled a cup for Satomi. A more genuine smile then spread across her face as she realized her mother had made barley tea, one of Kira's favorites of the traditional Japanese teas that Noshiko often made.

"Thank you," Satomi said as she accepted the teacup. "And for having me over at last, Noshiko."

Kira's mother raised an eyebrow slightly. "I gladly would have extended an invitation earlier, if I had known you were still in Beacon Hills. How could I have known?"

Inwardly groaning, Kira silently begged her mother to realize that she was making things even more awkward than they had been before. She knew how complicated things were with her life experience as a kitsune, particularly with Satomi, but she couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Noshiko must have noticed Kira's expression, because then she cleared her throat and sat down. "But that's not what you said you wanted to talk about, Satomi. You're interested in Kira's growth as a kitsune?"

Satomi nodded, a trace of eagerness becoming visible in her eyes. "Yes. Hearing about her progress - just seeing her, even. You don't know what it's like for a werewolf to get to see such a young kitsune - a joy, really."

Kira's eyes widened, failing her attempt to hide her surprise. What ever happened to wolves and foxes not getting along? What made her age so significant?

"Satomi has studied more about us than any other werewolf, and obviously more than any human," Noshiko said in a low voice. "But always older ones."

Although Satomi could clearly hear every word, she maintained a polite and placid demeanor. Her gaze still flitted to Kira, though - or not exactly. She appeared to be looking at something over Kira's shoulder.

Suddenly, Kira remembered how easily werewolves could see her foxfire. "When will I be able to hide it?" she asked quietly, sure that Satomi knew what she meant and fairly confident that her mother could as well.

"There are far more important things to learn first, Kira," said Noshiko. "You won't be in any danger if the foxfire shows, don't worry."

Satomi nodded in agreement. "Anyone who would see it and cause you harm would likely realize you were a kitsune anyway from your skill with a sword. And anyway," she said with another twinkle in her eye, "it is of course much harder to hide now than it was last time I saw you."

No sooner had Kira's brow furrowed in confusion at Satomi's words that her mother spoke up. "She means your tails, Kira."

"Tail, singular. I can see it well," Satomi said with genuine appreciation audible in her voice. "You earned it in Mexico, yes?"

Kira stilled as she was reminded of La Iglesia for the second time, but nodded. "I forgot that I didn't have it last time we met," she said with full honesty.

"It truly feels like a part of you that's always been there," said Noshiko with a smile.

"That will help you command the oni, when your mother finds a way to teach you without using up a tail to summon one," said Satomi with a smile.

The reminder of La Iglesia was nothing compared to Satomi's words. Kira froze, and her cup slipped from her fingers. At the sound of it shattering and the splash of hot tea, she took a sharp breath and tried to clean up the mess, hoping that somehow Satomi wouldn't notice how strangely the mention of the oni affected her.

"One of Kira's friends was killed by the oni last year," Noshiko said quietly. While Kira cringed inwardly at the words, she felt some relief that her mother was explaining it.

One of Satomi's hands flew to cover her mouth. "Oh… the one who was possessed?"

Kira looked up in surprise that Satomi seemed to have heard a little about what had happened. However, before she could find the words to correct her, Noshiko shook her head. "No, they were able to find a way to expel the nogitsune and trap it. Kira's friend… Kira's friend was fully human, and innocent. She was helping stop the nogitsune. But it took control of the oni, and when she found a way to kill one of them…" Her voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat.

Before Noshiko could continue, Satomi's head tilted to the side. "And they killed her? She's dead?"

"Of course," Noshiko said, surprise now stronger in her voice than sadness. "Even a werewolf can be killed by the oni's sword; you know that, Satomi."

"I know that, but couldn't you or Kira help?" Satomi asked in a confused tone. "Even if you weren't there…"

"We both were," Kira said, finally finding the strength to speak. "And there was nothing to do to help, no matter how much I wanted to stop her from... from dying."

"Nothing to do…" Satomi looked back and forth between the two of them. "Noshiko, do you mean to tell me you have lived all these centuries, commanding oni, and you don't know how to heal the wounds they cause? Though I suppose you never would have had cause to before…"

"What?" Kira asked, feeling like her heart was in physical pain. "We - I could have stopped it? I could have saved her?"

Noshiko looked more stunned than Kira could ever remember, but Satomi now looked hesitant. "I can't be sure - that is to say, I don't want to get your hopes up -"

"Get my hopes up?" exclaimed Kira. "Hearing that maybe I could have done something to help and I didn't? That it's too late now, but-"

Satomi interrupted her. "It may not be too late!" She then took a deep breath, having shocked both of the Yukimuras into utter silence. "I can say with certainty that you could have saved her then, and because of all of the factors, there is a chance that you still can now."

Kira froze. "What?" she asked, barely a whisper.

"Satomi, if you mean some sort of dark necromancy…" Noshiko trailed off. "I have never heard of this."

"No, not like that," Satomi said. "Again, I'm not sure… but I have certainty that Kira will be able to heal her physical body. You have the power to heal nearly any wound inflicted to yourself, and the fact that your friend was killed by the oni, which you are able to control - you may struggle some because of how young you are, but now that you have your tail I have faith that it is doable. To bring her spirit back would be much more difficult, but definitely not impossible."

Kira couldn't summon another word. Luckily, her mother then spoke what was on her mind. "How do we do it, then?"

Satomi leaned forward, her gaze serious. "First, we'll need her body."

~~~

Chris Argent took a deep breath as he laid down his daughter's lifeless body. He positioned her on the bed as Satomi directed, and his eyes were full of pain as he drew back and stood straight.

It would have felt cruel to unearth her body like this, desecrate her grave, in any other situation. However, Kira had hope that Satomi was right, and this would work.

Her hand shook as she stroked back Allison's hair from her face. This was the first time Kira was seeing Allison since that night of her death. She knew it had been especially hard for Allison's closer friends, to not have any closure like that, but her father had chosen to have a funeral for her in France rather than Beacon Hills. Kira hadn't understood, but her mother had said that when he had lost nearly all of his family, it would make sense to want to return to where his extended family still was to mourn his daughter. Now, it actually made things much easier in many ways. Exhuming Allison's body had been more readily possible than it would have been in a place like Beacon Hills. And, Kira dared to hope, it would make things easier if this worked and she came back to life, as they could tell everyone that Allison had gone to France with her father. After all, Kira was fairly sure that most people who couldn't be told about the supernatural or didn't already know hadn't dared to ask Scott or any of the others what had actually happened to Allison. The rumors that she died could be dismissed as mere rumors, and she could be just another mysterious disappearance in Beacon Hills - except she would return.

She would have to return. Shehadto.

Kira closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them. They had cut open Allison's burial clothes around the waist to expose the wound that had killed her, and while it was an ugly sight, Kira knew it was necessary. She placed her hand over the stab wound in Allison's abdomen, shivering from how horribly cold and pale she was.

"All right, Kira," Satomi said as she and Noshiko took their places behind her. "Begin."

Closing her eyes again, this time tightly, Kira let her power course through her. Sparks flew from her fingers, and there was a crackling sound in the air.Concentrate, she could remember Satomi saying. Kira focused on the puckered edges of Allison's wound, willing it to close. She drew on the energy of her foxfire, of the tail she had and all of the ones she would eventually have. She commanded the oni who did not yet exist but one day obey her, and forced the poison from their swords out of Allison's body.

When Kira opened her eyes, she knew they were glowing golden. She looked down, and her heart leapt as she saw the dead greying tissue actually knitting back together before her very eyes. A larger cascade of sparks jumped from her hand, and then she moved it away to see that Allison's skin was almost completely smooth, with only a thin scar to indicate what had been there moments before.

Although she knew that Satomi said this was only the beginning of the ritual, and the hardest part was yet to come, Kira couldn't help but flick her gaze to Allison's face, hoping to see her brown eyes open, full of life.

"Good, Kira," Noshiko said softly. "Now she will be ready when you have brought her spirit back."

Kira nodded, her throat feeling dry. She swallowed but felt no less nervous. While Satomi had been right that this wasn't dangerous in the way that Noshiko had feared, there was still a risk now to Kira. In order to bring Allison back, she would have to enter Bardo.

~~~

"Sothen it is dangerous, Satomi," Noshiko said, her voice sharp. "Kira, go into Bardo to bring back her friend? The entire reason the Nogitsune was unleashed was because another of her friends was a partial sacrifice to save another person who was dying! It opened his mind to the nogitsune, and he easily could have died! Anything could happen to Kira…"

"Kira is a kitsune," Satomi said calmly. "She should be safe in Bardo from any nogitsune. A human could not survive many things that she can."

"It is still dangerous! There are other spirits that could harm her, other risks that-" Noshiko tried to protest.

"Mom, I'll do it," Kira interrupted. "I'll do it. Anything to save Allison. To bring her back."

Both of the women turned to her, Noshiko's eyes full of fear and Satomi's of approval. "We will be able to help you, Kira. Both of us. Our power can add to yours, and we will do everything to protect you once you enter Bardo."

"And anchor you to bring you back safely," murmured Noshiko.

"Will this be like what Scott and Stiles and Allison did?" Kira asked, reminded by her mother's mention of an anchor. "This sounds a lot like it, and it looks like you think it's the same since you mentioned Stiles."

Noshiko shook her head. "Given all of what I've heard about that ritual, from both you and Dr. Deaton, it sounds different from what Satomi has described so far. There are similarities, perhaps, but as she had mentioned, you are a kitsune, as am I. That gives us an advantage that not even a true alpha could have."

Satomi nodded in agreement. "Noshiko is right. Not to mention, while I don't know the specifics of the other situation, you will be bringing back somebody who is already dead. That… that makes what you will have to do very different indeed."

Kira swallowed. "More dangerous," she stated rather than asked. She would go through with this no matter what, and from Satomi's expression, she seemed to see that.

Satomi smiled slightly and laid her hand on Kira's shoulder. "But we will do everything possible to protect you."

~~~

Kira could still feel the power of her mother and Satomi coursing through her as she took another breath, but that was about all she knew in that moment. She couldn't place where she was as she turned around, taking in her surroundings. It looked like a forest, but it was as if everything was shrouded in mist. Trees blurred together and nothing stayed still. Kira wondered if she would be able to see her own clearly if she held it out in front of her face.

That doesn't matter, Kira told herself harshly.As long as you can find Allison.

Allison… Allison…The thought echoed around her almost audibly, and she felt like she was inside the guitar her dad liked to sometimes play, the strings plucked and everything was vibrating in her core.

Suddenly, the vague silhouettes of trees melted away in the distance, and Kira reached out a hand to steady herself in case the world spun too much.

Her palm met cold tile, and she looked up in shock to see a wall right in front of her. She turned around slowly again to see herself… in a public bathroom?

Kira barely had a moment to think about howweirdthis all was when she heard voices. Young, high voices.

"So he just transferred to some school in Long Island! Can you believe that?"

Her jaw dropping, Kira realized that she was back in New York City. There was no way she was in her old school there, right? Why would she have come here of all places?

The people outside the stall she was in kept talking. "That's nothing compared to what I heard about that new French girl! Do you know she's leaving againalready? Someone said she got held back, and so they're taking her to some special needs school instead."

There was stifled laughter, and then the first voice replied "Or maybe she is just so humiliated about getting held back that she had to go somewhere where nobody would know! I mean, who'd want to be known asthatgirl?"

Then came the sound of a tap running, which made it hard for Kira to hear the next few words. "Whatever, I'm just glad she's gone! Eighth grade will be so cool without Argent being weird in gym class!"

"Ineveryclass!" was the last thing Kira heard before a door slammed, and then everything was silent.

Stunned, Kira leaned her head back. It just couldn't be possible… and yet, clearly it was. She and Allison had gone to the same school in New York for a period of time? Even if Allison must have been a grade ahead of her at the time, it just felt too strong of a coincidence to be believed.

This is what Bardo does though, isn't it?she thought to herself.It shows you connections that have always been there, that seem absolutely impossible but are real. And it's because it's been a part of your destiny all along.

Kira imagined how Allison, only barely a teenager at this point, must have felt. She wondered when she had become the confident but kind young woman that Kira had been able to meet several years later. She swallowed, yearning to see her again.

After a little while, Kira realized that everything felt very still. Not just silent, but completely still.

No sooner had she lifted her head up and tried to concentrate that things began to shift. Through the strange stillness, one sensation began to stand out, stronger and stronger.

Kira could feel pain, and loneliness, and fear. She searched out that sensation - that spirit. With a jolt, she realized she had succeeded in finding Allison. The Allison who was bullied in middle school, the Allison who was dead and alone and not really here at all. As Kira focused on it, it began to fade.

"No!" she cried. She tried to remember how Satomi had said to call out to a spirit, how to bring it back, once she found it. It was as if everything that had happened since she entered Bardo had wiped her mind - and maybe it had. Even as a kitsune, this state in between life and death was dangerous to her somewhat. She felt frantic as Allison's spirit faded even more.

"Allison, come," she said desperately. "Come with me."

It stopped. Nothing grew stronger, but nothing faded.

"Come with me!" she cried again as she sought out that sensation, that spirit. She had to bring Allison all of the way into Bardo, and then all of the way out. She felt the fox fill her eyes and heard electricity crackle in the air around her. For the second time in this ritual, her power overwhelmed her, and she knew she was making reality physical and spiritual alike bend to her will. It was in a small way, but it was working. It was working.

"Come with me!" she screamed one last time, everything seeming to dissolve around her except for the growing sensation of Allison's spirit and the flame of her own foxfire. She wasn't Lydia, she didn't have the power of a banshee in her scream, but maybe she still had power of her own anyway.

Something seemed to fly towards her. It was intangible, immaterial, ethereal. She swallowed but her throat still felt dry. "Hold on," she whispered.

Then she reached out to grasp onto Satomi, reached inside her to grasp onto her mother, and let go.

Kira could feel herself falling, plunging through nothingness until suddenly it was like a wave was breaking atop her head, and nothing was nothing anymore, as she could now feel everything all around.

She took a gasping breath, and her lungs filled with air as if she had been suffocating. However, as she looked down, her feet were planted in the same spot they had been before she had entered Bardo. Satomi and Noshiko still stood behind her, and the strong current of their power flowing into her began to slow.

With another gasp, Kira looked down to Allison's body, where her father was gently cradling her head. Her heart caught in her throat, she saw that Allison's papery-white skin was regaining a hint of color. Slowly and shaking, Kira stretched her arm out and placed it over the other girl's heart. With a jolt of electricity, she felt it pulse.

"It worked," she said, tears beginning to stream down her face. "It actually worked."

A stunned silence hung in the air for a moment until a sob from Chris Argent broke it. Kira hadn’t seen him cry at all when Allison had died, but now he was shedding tears of joy that she was back.

However, before Kira could summon any other words to say, Satomi brushed past her and felt for Allison's pulse. Instead of an expression of victory and pride, the expression on her face was dismayed and concerned. "It's as I feared," Satomi said grimly. "Her heart isn't strong enough. Her body will not be able to sustain her spirit."

Kira felt her own heart drop. "What?" she asked, voice high and thin. "No, no! Her - her heart's beating! That's it, right?"

"She's alive again," Satomi said with a short nod. "But she won't be for long."

"There must be something we can do," said Noshiko with a note of panic. "Satomi, there must. Kira or I can help now - or even you could perhaps-"

Satomi cut her off. "Ordinarily, I'm sure I could, but… After expending so much energy just now protecting Kira, I'm not sure. I might not have enough power right now to do anything, or I might go out of control if I start to try. We can't risk it."

"Risk it?" exclaimed Kira. "Satomi, please! We have to-"

"Satomi, are you saying what I think you are?" spoke up Chris Argent. This was the first time he had said anything since they spoke over the phone, the first time he was saying anything at all to them since the ritual had begun that day.

"If she weren't human, I believe she will be able to survive," Satomi said with a piercing gaze fixed on Chris.

Kira heard a sharp intake of breath from her mother behind her. "Turn her into a werewolf, Satomi? Would she even be able to survive the shift in this fragile of a state?"

"It's worth a chance," Satomi said firmly. "It could be her only chance now."

"But you don't think you can…" Kira trailed off. "Scott! We need to get Scott!"

Kira had decided not to tell Scott about this yet, for fear of the chance that it would fail. She didn't know what it would do to Scott to have the hope that Allison could be resurrected, only to have that hope torn away if this didn't work. However, she knew exactly what it could do to him if she told him that they had successfully resurrected her, but she hadn't survived because she was human. She had only recently felt the pain of discovering she could have done something to save Allison but hadn't known to do so. They had to tell Scott now, for even if this didn’t work, the chance that it would was worth it.

She turned towards Chris Argent, wondering what the former hunter would say about the possibility of his daughter being turned into a werewolf. However, he just nodded and pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call him," he said. "I'll tell him to come here as quickly as he can."

"Kira," Satomi said as she turned back towards her. "Place your hands on Allison, and keep doing so until Scott arrives. Your powers will have to be enough to keep her alive until then."

Kira obeyed, fear coiling inside her as she did so.This will have to be enough.

As she felt her power flow into Allison, hoping desperately that some of her strength and ability to survive was as well, a burning sensation grew in her hands. She didn't dare move them, as Satomi had instructed, but concentrated intently. It wasn't like the burn of flame, and it obviously couldn't be anything electric that she was immune to. The pain began to spread up her arms, and she had to bite down on her lip to keep from crying out.

"Mom," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "I think something might be wrong. My arms are really hurting."

Noshiko immediately stepped closer to her, carefully placing a hand on her back between her shoulder blades. "Are you all right, Kira? Are they sore, or throbbing, or… Satomi, do you know what this could be?"

"You might be feeling Allison's pain right now, Kira," Satomi said softly. "Did it start in your hands, where you are touching her?"

Kira nodded, slightly stunned. "You mean - you mean I'm taking away her pain right now?"

Satomi pursed her lips together. "I've never heard of a kitsune taking away pain before, so I'm not sure. You might just be sharing in it, unfortunately, as you are fueling her with your power."

Kira took a deep breath. "It's worth it, then, if it keeps her alive."But oh, Scott, please hurry, she thought desperately.

Not another minute had passed before the door to her house burst open. Kira turned partially, keeping her hands on Allison despite the pain still flooding into her, to see Scott rushing in with his eyes glowing red.

"Scott!" Allison's father called out. "We need your help here! Kira can't do this for much longer."

As Scott hurried over, Kira saw another werewolf behind him. It wasn't Liam, but Kira still felt like she recognized him a little. However, with the pain muddling her mind, she couldn't be sure of who he was.

Chris Argent lifted one of Allison's arms, no longer lifeless but still limp. "Like I said, Scott. You have to turn her, now."

Scott gazed at Kira in shock, their eyes meeting over the ever-weakening Allison. "You can do it," she whispered.

Scott took a deep breath and bit Allison's arm. Once he had done so, Kira felt the pain pulsing through her soar to a new height. It was like it was filling her whole body, and she had to stifle a scream.

"Kira!" cried Noshiko, but then the arc of pain crested. It began to fade away gradually, until Kira sagged forward against her mother in exhaustion, but with a feeling of emptiness now as well.

However, despite the sensation that all of her energy had flowed out of her and all she wanted to do was close her eyes until she felt better, she felt her heart leap as she saw Allison's eyes flicker open.

"D-Dad?" came a weak voice. Her father, still cradling her head, began to weep again.

Kira now would be able to close her eyes, sweet relief at last filling her, and her knees buckled. The last thing she saw before her eyelids shut heavily was Scott's face hovering over hers in concern, and then she fell back into someone's arms.

From the Ashes - Chapter 1 - celestialshimmer (2024)

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