chapter twenty
the shugendo scroll

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WHAT HAPPENED at the Animal Clinic was a bit of a blur for Odessa Stone. She woke up in her room, not knowing how she got there in the slightest—which kind of scared her, if she were being honest. The last thing she had remembered was Deaton injecting something into Stiles, or the nogitsune, before she passed out. Whatever the nogitsune did to her did a number on her.

The feeling of his hands on her still felt fresh even when she opened her eyes to her bedroom ceiling. It was the first thing she recollected. Her back against the wall with him pressed against her, feeling his breath every time he spoke to her. Odessa knew it wasn't Stiles in that moment, but seeing his face and hearing his voice, it was something she wouldn't be able to shake for a while.

While Odessa, and the rest of the pack, were still trying to wrap their heads around what happened that night, Stiles had been returned home after being evaluated by Deaton, who said the poison was being effective. Stiles was now himself, but they didn't know for how long.

A few days had passed, and everything was sort of at a standstill. That was until Scott got a call from Sheriff Stilinski, telling him that Stiles had decided to admit himself into the one place no one saw coming, Eichen House. Odessa had never been to the mental hospital, and she didn't want to anytime soon. The two werewolves didn't hesitate to try and convince their friend that admitting himself into a mental hospital was something he shouldn't do.

Odessa almost didn't wait for Scott to park his bike before she jumped off, seeing the Sheriff and Stiles at the gate, "really, Stiles?"

"Why didn't you tell us," Scott asked incredulously as he jogged up next to the blonde.

"Because we wanted to avoid something like this."

"It's only 72 hours," Stiles tried to reassure his friends.

Scott sighed, their attempts at easing the two werewolves not working, "this is the same place where Barrow came from. The guy who had a tumor inside him filled with flies," he turned to the Sheriff to stress, "you don't know everything yet."

"I know enough," the man countered, "nogitsunes, kitsunes, oni, or whatever they're called."

"Wow, that's actually all surprisingly correct."

"Guys, I saw an MRI that looked exactly like my wife's. And it terrifies me," the Ember of the group looked over to Stiles, who looked down at his Father's statement. She wanted nothing more than to take him far away from Eichen, and this town and protect him from anything that would harm him. Too bad in this situation, the thing that could harm him, was himself, "I'm headed down to L.A. tomorrow to talk to a specialist."

"Then why are you putting him in here?"

"He's not," the hazel eyed boy shook his head at his best friend, "it was my decision."

Scott saw he was on the losing front of the argument and tried to convince them again, "Stiles, I can't help you if you're in here."

"And I can't hurt you," Stiles then looked to the blonde in front of him, who had been silent for the better part of the conversation, "either of you."

Breaking her silence, Odessa sighed, "Stiles, you know that wasn't you."

The Alpha next to her nodded, "Deaton's got some ideas. Argent's calling people. We're gonna find something. And if we can't..."

"If you can't... if you can't then you have to do something for me, okay," Stiles leaned closer to his friend and muttered, "make sure I never get out."

Looking troubled at his son's plan, Stilinski motioned for the two of them to move inside, the two werewolves watching helplessly. They couldn't imagine leaving Stiles in there forever. Odessa leaned her head on Scott's shoulder as she watched Stiles look back to them for a moment, before walking inside the building. They needed to figure out a way to help him, and soon.

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"Did you have any trouble with Ikeda?"

Odessa glanced between her two friends from her place in the middle of Scott and Allison as they listened to Deaton's conversation with Argent. The man was currently using his one phone call to talk to them while he and Derek are still in lock up for a crime they didn't commit.

"Only minor," the Doctor answered, leaning into the phone that was on speaker for everyone to hear, "the white wolf was exactly where you said it would be. But we have two problems now. First, the lichen is not a cure," Deaton was referring to the poison he injected into Stiles at the Clinic, "it'll wear off in a matter of days."

Argent held the pay phone tightly to his ear as he responded, "but while it does work, the oni won't go after Stiles, right?"

"I hope. Eichen House has an unusual history," Deaton recalled internally, sparing the three teens a cautious glance, not wanting to alarm them with the circumstances their friend was facing, "it might not be all that safe for the oni there as well."

"What's the second problem?"

"I checked with your contacts in Japan. The yakuza boss you saw killed by the oni never found the scroll."

That caught the teen's attention as the Alpha asked, "what scroll?"

"A Shugendo Scroll," Deaton answered, "the Shugendo were the ascetic mystics of Japan."

"The scroll had information on how to exorcize a nogitsune," Argent added from the other line.

Odessa's expression hardened with a new sense of determination, "so we need to find that scroll."

"Exactly. And I did get the name of a man who last purchased it," Deaton talked into the phone speaker for Argent to hear specifically, "Kincaid."

Allison's eyes widened with recognition, "he was with Katashi," she spoke loud enough for her Father to hear from the other line, "he's the guy who met with Isaac to buy the gun."

"Sounds like Katashi wanted the scroll for himself."

"But Stilinski already told me nothing like it was found among his things," Argent countered, "and a paranoid like Katashi would keep it close. Probably on him at all times."

"What does the Shugendo Scroll look like?"

At Allison's question, Deaton got up from his seat with a thoughtful expression. He opened one of the draws behind him and took out a scroll of his own, presenting it to the teens, "something like this."

Odessa and Scott glanced at each other when watching Allison take the scroll, almost as if she knew exactly what it was, "do these come in different sizes," the brunette asked.

"Any size."

"Then I think I know where it might be."

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The plan was simple. Or so that was what Odessa was telling herself. While she was trying to stay optimistic, her friends... not so much.

"This is a really bad plan," Scott spoke bluntly to his friends around the room at the Argent apartment. The Alpha, the twins and the Ember all went over to meet Allison and Lydia to discuss how they were going to get the Shugendo Scroll. The plan was to essentially rob an armored car to get the scroll from Kincaid.

"It's not that bad."

Aiden circled Lydia with his arms crossed as he countered her statement, "it's not that good."

"None of us knows the route they're going to take," Lydia started explaining the plan again, "if Allison can get one of her Dad's GPS trackers on the armored car, then we can follow it."

Allison nodded along, then pointed to a bridge on the map, "so when it gets here—"

"We attack them," Ethan almost scoffed from his seat.

The Banshee turned to face him, pushing down her annoyance the best she could, "no. Your bikes will be in the middle of the road, looking like you guys got into an accident. And when the driver gets out to help..."

"We attack him?"

"No," Lydia and Allison spoke together, almost defeatedly, missing their blonde friend trying to keep in a chuckle, before the former explained, "you'll distract him and Scott will break open the back door."

The boy in question looked around to everyone, "I hope."

"What am I," Odessa questioned rhetorically with narrowed eyes, "chopped liver? I'll help."

Lydia blinked excessively at the pair before turning to Aiden, "and you will get Katashi's finger."

"It's not his actual finger, is it?"

"You are so out of our league."

Ignoring the jab that came his way, Aiden turned to the Alpha in the room, "why aren't we just going to Stilinski for help?"

"Because if he gets caught, then it's the Sheriff tampering with federal evidence."

"That," Odessa nodded along, "and he's currently in L.A."

"Guys, this is going to work," Allison exclaimed, eyes moving to everyone in the room, trying to get her point across, "we can do this. We're losing Stiles. My Dad's in jail for murder. We need to do this."

Odessa couldn't help but shrug from her place beside Scott when no one gave her a response, "nothing we haven't done before," she glanced around at the skeptical faces before simply stating, "for Stiles."

Gradually, her friends echoed her statement. Whether it was a good plan or not, helping their friend and everyone else affected by the nogistune's actions was top priority.

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Odessa stayed behind Allison as the girl looked through her crossbow aiming glass. They stayed squatted in between two parked squad cars, eyeing the vehicle in front of them. The vehicle they were eventually gonna steal from.

Seeing the coast was clear, Allison turned to Kira, "you're up."

The Yukimura nodded before running up to the armored car to set the tracking device. Kira coming along was a last minute decision when she came to the McCall residence wanting to help. It didn't take much convincing for Scott to let her come along with them. She successfully planted the tracker on the bottom of the truck, only to hear the door open from nearby. Glancing worriedly at her friends, Kira hid behind one of the wheels of the truck, hoping that whoever was there wouldn't see her.

Seeing it was Deputy Parrish, gun in hand and out of his holster, Scott jerked in his spot, almost wanting to help Kira on instinct, "we have to do something."

Before either girl could respond, the double doors of the van bursted open to reveal a man, who instantly grabbed Parrish and smashed his head against the van floor, knocking him to the ground.

Odessa watched shocked along with her friends, "who the hell is that?"

"Kincaid."

They decided to take matters into their own hands and confront the man directly. Coming up to the van, the three watched as Kincaid admired the finger in his hand.

"We need that finger."

Odessa stood tall next to Scott as he announced their presence. It was clear from the moment the man looked at them, Kincaid didn't take them seriously.

Kincaid eyed the crossbow in Allison's that was pointed toward him, "why should I give it to you?"

"There's a briefcase in there with $150,000 in it," Allison offered without answering his question, getting straight to the point.

"The scroll inside this prosthetic finger is worth three million."

The McCall shifted his stance, ready for anything, "give me the finger," the air stilled as the tension was forgotten at his statement. Even Odessa was giving him an unimpressed glance, "you know what I mean."

Using the distraction to her advantage, Kira jumped off the roof of the van and landed on Kincaid, who didn't seem fazed at the sudden weight that was set upon him. With a simple grab of her arm, he flipped her off of him, sending her to the ground.

Kincaid flashed his cold glowing blue eyes, baring his fangs, "I guess negotiations are over."

Hearing his threat paired with a roar, Allison didn't hesitate to shoot an arrow into his arm, which he took out with ease. Kira took that opportunity to swing at the man, only to have his hand wrapped around her neck. She groaned at the tightness of his grip before she was thrown to the ground.

Tapping into as much of her werewolf side as possible, Odessa charged at him bluntly, not making any sound, making her attack more of a surprise. She used her claws to swipe at the man, and got two successful swipes in before Kincaid caught her arm, twisting it behind her back. The Ember Wolf struggled in his grip before he kicked her back, sending her to the floor.

After watching that, and Kincaid hitting Allison in the face with his claws, Scott growled at the man before swiping at his face, being successful in doing so like Odessa was. After swiping again and adding a punch to the stomach, he realized none of his hits were fazing Kincaid. The Alpha only blinked before his arms were grabbed and brought down to his sides forcefully before Kincaid head butted the boy, sending him stumbling back. Scott tried to charge again, only to be sent to the floor breathlessly after more punches and kicks to the stomach.

Kincaid crouched down to the boy, almost mocking him, "you have the eyes of an Alpha. But where's the strength?"

"Up here."

Ethan and Aiden jumped down from the railing on the second floor, surprising Kincaid where he stood. As they fought, Odessa got up from the floor, meeting Allison and Lydia by the brick wall. After making sure Allison was okay due to the blow to her head, Odessa placed herself in front of her friends in a way of shielding them from future hits. Once Kincaid was almost down for the count, the rest of the group surrounded the man on the ground, stopping the twins from finishing him off.

"You want him to come after us," Ethan asked incredulously.

Aiden nodded along with his brother, "Scott, we've seen guys like this. Trust us. He's dangerous."

"So are we," the McCall shrugged, looking down at the weakened man, "and he looks smart enough to remember that," he reached into Kincaid's coat pocket and grabbed the prosthetic finger, shaking the small scroll into his palm. Glancing around hopefully at his pack, he strongly reminded, "we're here to save a life. Not end one."

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The Shugendo Scroll was a new found hope for the McCall pack. They felt like they were one step closer to ending the nogtisune's reign for good and saving Stiles. But at what cost? After taking it to Deaton, he informed Scott that one way to expel the nogitsune was to change the body of the host. Odessa could only guess that meant turning Stiles into a werewolf, whether he wanted to or not. The whole idea made the blonde sick to her stomach. She couldn't imagine Stiles as a werewolf, the one thing she liked the most was his humanity in a world of the supernatural. It made him who he was. Thinking of that being taken away from him disheartened her. But the thought of losing him forever to an evil fox spirit was a greater loss than anything.

After saying one final goodnight to Scott, the Stone closed her door for the night and got ready for bed, not knowing a nightmare would come once she shut her eyes...

The cold concrete floor was the only thing she could feel under her shaking body. She knew not 'cooperating' in class would get her punished. She also knew of the harsh treatment other students would get—but it was nothing like what she was experiencing.

It was just Odessa's luck to piss off the instructor most known to not be afraid to give her student's a quick smack to the face when they wouldn't do what she wanted.

"Get up," the blonde flinched at the booming voice of her instructor from above her, "get up!"

Slowly and unstable on her feet, Odessa got up from the floor only to be sent back to the ground with a quick smack to the face. She gasped as their foot came in contact horridly with her stomach, trying to catch her breath. Overwhelmed with pain, she barely noticed her instructor coming closer to her. Her instructor grabbed a handful of her blonde hair, lifting her head up from the floor.

"You are pathetic," her instructor spat in her face. They let go of her hair and started to shoot without warning, "get up and fight!"

Odessa, exhausted and scared, only sobbed out a faint, "please..."

"Fight back! Fight back!"

"Please," Odessa muttered in her sleep, tears silently streaming down her face at the torment her mind was putting her through. The blonde writhed in her bed, trying to shield herself, "no... stop, please..."

While in her dream state, she failed to detect a figure looking down at her, satisfied with what he had done. With a smirk, Stiles brought his hand down to her cheek and stroked it, almost affectionately.

"So beautiful," he whispered, brushing hair away from her sweat covered forehead.

Unaffected by her torment, Stiles left her room and the McCall residence all together. It was only when he was gone completely did Odessa Stone sit up with a gasp from her nightmare, having no idea of the evil that lurked in front of her only a few moments ago.

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ooooooooh shit