Disclaimer: I do not own Toukiden or its characters.
Author's Notes: This is a little experiment I'm doing on a game I really love and that has so much potential for a sequel story.
Since a lot of terms used here can be a bit "alien" to anyone not familiar with Toukiden, I will leave a few notes on the bottom part explaining those. Anyway, if you are reading this, I hope you like this story and that you came to enjoy Toukiden as much as I do.
The third captain of Mahoroba Village's forces is a man capable of many things and miraculous actions, as per witnesses' accounts. But one of the things he is terrible at is taking a free time, sit a day or two away from his responsibilities, yet he finds himself in a situation where taking a rest is the only thing he can do, leaving the poor man almost crazy with boredom. Being a man of extraordinary talent and incredible strength, people tend to forget that he still is but a mere human, and like everyone else; he is vulnerable to catching a cold.
For the past day and night, the captain has been burning with intense fever, making his body weak and sluggish. For insistence of his comrades, he is laying on his bed waiting for the damned sickness to give away.
Even from his bed, the Slayer captain could hear a few energetic footsteps approaching his humble little house.
"Captain, captain!" A little girl barged inside the house, dragging a little boy with her. "Are you still feeling ill?" She asked with a worried expression.
The third captain of Mahoroba, a hero even among his Slayer comrades. He is a man of lean build, tall stature, and fair pale skin. His light-grey eyes carry a light on them that make his gaze special and impressive even when his is expression is down because of his sickness. To make his figure even more singular, he has a very long silky red hair, tied on a ponytail. Normally he would be using his black heavy breastplate with silver straps on the center, together with his black heavy leather leggings, and black steel gloves. However, in light of his high fever, he is stuck on a bed on his light-blue nightclothes.
The said captain raised his head, taking a sitting stance on his bed. "Hey Ayane-chan" He replied with a faint smile. "Sorry, but I'm still sick. You will have to ask another Slayer to help you." Even without much option, he still felt a bit guilty for turning the little girl down.
"B-but, I really wanted to see the snow." The girl said saddened and dejected.
"Ayane, we shouldn't impose on the captain." Said the boy scolding her, but he himself cannot hide the disappointment in his eyes.
"Don't say it like that Daichi-kun!" Ayane protested stomping on the floor. "You want to see it just as much as I want to." She waved her hands on the air while sticking her tongue out.
"Why I'm seeing two brats in here?" A woman with long brown hair entered the house. She didn't spare even a moment to start giving the two kids judging glares.
"Ahhh! We will see you later captain!" Yelled a scared Daichi, the boy grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged her out to the street.
"You scared them." The captain said with a short smirk.
"Good, that means that they are smart." The woman shot a glare at him too, but quickly her expression softened and her lips parted in a simple smile.
This woman is the respected Professor, the doctor of Mahoroba Village. She is a woman of short stature, fair skin, and slim body; which tends to make people make a wrong judgment of her real age. She is always wearing her long white coat on top of whatever set of clothes she fancies on the day, like today where she is using a simple traditional blue shirt with green shorts and her casual pair of leather shoes with open seam at the length of her toes. A giant black ribbon tied to her long hair and a mole under the left eye, are the most noticeable traits about her.
"Kurane you should try to be friendlier to others." Said the captain with a serious face. "That's why everyone is still afraid of you."
The woman cracked the fingers of her right hand, giving a cold stare to the man. "How many times I have to tell you to not call me by that name outside my house?"
The red-haired man gave her a puppy look and lay back on his bed. "Then let me stay at your place. I'm so sick here, look." He let out a fake cough, eying her from the side. "Poor me."
A low and long sigh escaped the Professor's lips; she stared at the captain with a deadpan look on her face. "Jin, we already talked about this." She said with a surprisingly calm and sweet voice. "If you stay at my house, then people will start to get the wrong idea."
"Wrong idea?" He said back, a bit of disappointment carrying on his voice. "It's wrong for them to find out about us or it is wrong to exist something between us in the first place?"
"Jin…" She felt a bit guilty after his response. Kurane would never think that her relationship with him is a mistake, but at the same time to come out about it to everyone else, is not something that she desires either.
"Oh, Professor! So you are here." A little Machina doll entered the house. "Hey there Captain, feeling better?"
Jin eyed his little friend and smiled. "A bit better Tokitsugu, thanks for asking."
Tokitsugu eyed the couple for a few seconds and quickly picked on the strange mood going on between them. "Should I return later?" He asked a bit unsure.
"No need for that." The Professor jumped in, turning away from Jin. "Seeing as you came looking for me, that means that everything is ready?"
"Yes ma'am, just finished packing things up." Tokitsugu did a quick ironic salutation. To which the Professor responded by slapping his hat downwards.
"Are you guys going somewhere?" Jin asked a bit worried. His eyes wandered from Kurane to Tokitsugu, waiting for an answer.
"My dear master has chosen to make a suicide trip towards the depths of the planet." Tokitsugu said in a joke, which again earned him a slap from his boss.
"We are going to study and gather a few Machina cores." She quickly noticed the look that her secret lover was giving her, with a quick spin she turned around to look at him. "Don't worry; we will be away for just a day."
"Tokitsugu-san, you take care of our good Professor, okay?" Jin eyed his Machina friend, giving him a serious stare.
Tokitsugu nodded. "You can leave it to me." He then tilted his head and looked to the woman at his side. "But if she keeps slapping me, I will leave her there alone." With no surprise, another quickly slapped soon sounded on his straw hat.
"You get proper rest and get better soon." Kurane said with a soft smile. "Mahoroba needs its hero." Without much else to say, the Professor left the house with Tokitsugu following her.
"Stay safe, Kurane." Jin whispered under his breath. Feeling a bit dizzy from his fever, the captain laid his head down and simply let his tiredness carry him to a deep sleep that he needs so much.
Jin stirred on his bed, his body still burning with high fever. He groaned in pain as he slowly wiggled in between his sheets. Feeling like the sleep was fading away from him; he opened his eyes, just to see a blond woman kneeled in front of his bed, staring away at his form.
"W-what, Aaaah!" The captain threw his hands upwards in shock, in the action he almost jumped out of his bed. "Gwen! By the heavens, you almost scared me to death."
"My sincere apologies, Captain." Gwen gave a quick bow of her head. "Benezuki-Sama asked me to see how you're faring."
Gwen is a foreigner Slayer, and that much is visible on her strange clothes and behavior. She wears silver breastplate on top of a bright white shirt with a small leather belt hanging on the height of her waist, on her shoulders lay a set of shoulder pieces of the same silver metal, which holds her red cape. He also wears a red and green mini skirt with a chess-like pattern, finally, she also uses long black legging socks and a pair of leather boots.
Jin eyed the girl with a strange look; he then scratched his head and sighed. "I appreciate the thought, but is a bit freaky to wake up and see someone watching me sleep."
Gwen at first only tilted her head to the side and stared at her captain with a confused expression, then she got a sudden realization, making her face turn bright red. "I-I didn't mean to disturb you." She said looking at the floor; her voice came out so loud that almost sounded like a shout. "Is just so rare to see you with a peaceful expression, I got a bit carried away."
"Hey, you…" Jin glared at her, now annoyed for a completely different reason. "I'm not grumpy."
"I didn't mean that." Gwen corrected herself, getting even more embarrassed. "Is just that the only times I got to see you so close, is on the field." She said, now looking at him. "And while fighting you always carry yourself with seriousness and dignity."
"Know what?" Jin sat on his bed, crossing his arms in front of his knees. "I will start to shot a few smiles at you every now and then." He grinned and gave her an eye smile. "Just like this."
His silly comment made the blond woman laugh, losing her embarrassment. "That would not be good." Gwen said with a smile of herself. "People will just think that you went mad."
"That and a certain samurai would want to stick his sword on my neck, right?" The captain threw a dirty leer to her, making the woman blush again.
"He is not like that." Gwen said looking down, but a warm smile on her lips. "He is so sweet and caring, that he would probably smile back to you."
"Lucky you then." Jin joked again. "Well, as you can see I'm feeling way better today. Go tell our gentle leader that she should not concern herself with me."
"But that would not be possible." A third voice sounded from outside. Soon after a beautiful woman walked in, carrying a gentle smile on her lips. "You're not only our third captain but also my precious friend."
"Oh, my Lady." Gwen said with a respectful bow.
"Benizuki-Sama." Jin said with a little bow. "What brings you to my humble house?" He asked more in a joke than a serious question.
Benizuki, the fearless leader of Mahoroba Village, once known as one of the Five Heroes; is an extremely gentle and caring woman and a powerful Slayer. Her skills are only outmatched by her looks, at times she looks more like a goddess than a normal person. After a few events on her life, she now is not wearing her usual blue combat outfit; instead, she is wearing a long light red dress, the fabric of her dress is soft and wide, making easy and comfortable for her to walk around with her belly as big as it is right now. She still is keeping her long and silky brown hair loose, but having a few new ribbons making themselves present on it.
"I'm forbidden of doing much these days since I'm a couple of months in." She slowly caressed her right hand on her belly, a tender smile on her lips. "And now you are stuck on a bed, so we can spend some time together. We help each other keep the boredom away."
"I can agree to that." Jin replied with a smile.
"Help! Please, someone, help!" A distressed voice cut the nice atmosphere away, making the three of them jump startled.
With a quick spin, Benizuki opened the door and walked outside. "What is going on?" She looked around, quickly noticing a small boy running from the gates towards the center of the Village.
"Somebody, please!" The boy called out again, large tears flowing down from his eyes.
"Daichi-kun?" Benizuki called out to the boy, who after noticing her began to run towards the pregnant woman.
"Benizuki-sama, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Daichi said, starting sob.
The gentle village leader pulled the boy to a motherly embrace, running her hand on his hair. "Daichi-Kun, calm down. Just explain what happened."
"Is Ayane-chan." Daichi pulled himself away from her, looking desperately to her eyes. "We went outside looking, and then an Oni appeared out of nowhere… I ran, I ran as fast as I could, But Ayane-chan couldn't escape with me."
"And why were you two outside of the barrier?!" Jin said in an irritated voice. He walked out to the street, carrying on his trusted sword and shield, but still wearing a normal civilian clothed outfit.
Daichi got startled at the man's words. He slowly turned his sight to him, ashamed look in his eyes. "Ayane-chan said that she wanted to find some herbs." The boy said in a low voice. "That would make you feel better."
The captain felt a bit guilty for yelling at the kid, they were just thinking about him. Jin walked towards Benizuki and Daichi, putting his right hand on top of the boy's head. "Where is she?" He asked with a calm voice.
"We didn't walk very far away." Explained the boy. "We went as far as the mine's entrance, then a large monster came running from inside."
"Don't worry about it kid, I will bring her back." Jin said with a confident grin, making the boy smile back to him.
"You are in no condition to go out on the field." Benizuki said loudly, her glare almost making the captain shake on his boots.
"That can be true, but look around us." Jin replied with the same tone. "There is no other Slayer besides Gwen in town. We can't possible sent her out there by herself."
"Worry not about me, captain." Gwen said with confidence. "Even if is a big Oni, I can just save the girl and ran for it."
"Not an option!" Jin yelled back, making the blond woman jump startled. "I may still be feeling a slight fever, but I'm fine now. You have to trust me, Benizuki."
The brown-haired woman kept staring at her captain, debating on her mind what the right thing to do is. "Like always." She responded with a smile.
"Beowulf, Arthur, Yamato!" Jin called out loudly for the name of his Mitamas. After a moment with his eyes closed, he stepped forward properly equipping his weapons on his hands. "Let's go, Gwen."
"Right after you, captain." The blond said, running after the red-haired man.
In no much than a few seconds, the two Slayers vanished away from beyond the Mahoroba's gates, leaving a startled and confused crowd behind them.
"Is Ayane-chan going to be fine?" Daichi asked with tears on his eyes.
"Let's pray that she will, let's pray." Benizuki said with a short smile, her worries now escalating from a missing child to her exhausted and ill captain on the field.
Not long after crossing the bridge from Mahoroba, the two Slayers arrived at the spot described by Daichi. A few imps are jumping around on the ground closer to the cliff, keeping their distance from the noises and gushes of air coming from the path forward.
Gwen quickly noticed the big shadowy figure rampaging up ahead, but to her surprise, Jin appears unaware of the creature's presence, instead, he is holding his head low while running at full speed. "Captain, look!" She called out to him, pointing with one hand.
The red-haired man followed her finger and finally noticed the rather big Oni slashing crazily onto a group of stones, the creature howling and roaring in burning anger. "A Skyshredder?" Jin said surprised. "How an Oni like that got so close to Mahoroba?"
A Skyshredder, the imposing monster in front of them, is a large Oni resembling a lion with blue fur and pink skin. This strange Oni is a powered version of a Windshredder that transformed into this fearsome state after consuming a considerable amount of souls.
"Where is Ayane-chan?" Gwen eyed to all sides, desperation getting to her.
"Focus Gwen." Jin scolded her with a harsh voice. "A Skyshredder is a predatory monster. He is not the kind to slash away on a stone formation for fun."
Gwen's eyes widened with the realization. "So, Ayane-chan is somewhere between those stones?"
"I will push the cat away, cover me." Jin jumped forward, wielding his sword in front of him. "Beowulf!"
"At once." The prideful Mitama responded. "Pierce the earth, with the might of my sword."
Jin's black sword got infused with a bright blue light, carrying on its blade the power of the mighty hero Beowulf. The captain jumped high from the ground, with a quick swing of his right hand, the Demon-hand flew at a fast speed towards the large Oni. The transparent glowing green hand grabbed the monster by its tail, making the red-haired Slayer fly in an instant to the Oni.
"Get out of my sight, stupid cat!" As his body passed at high speed by the Skyshredder, Jin swung his sword with full strength, severing the monster's tail.
An ear-piercing screech escaped the monster's mouth, its sharp teeth gritting in anger. The Skyshredder jumped away from the stones, quickly turning to chase after the red-haired Slayer.
"Gwen go look for her." Jin yelled from the other side of the clearing. "I- I will keep this thing occupied." He said in between his jumps and flips, dodging masterfully the Oni's slashes.
With no hesitation, the blond Slayer quickly dashed towards the stones and as she approached them, she noticed a little hole, large enough to fit a small person. "Ayane-chan can you hear me?" Gwen called out for the little girl.
"Gwen-san?" The girl peaked her head out of the hole, her eyes wide with fear and large tears rolling down on her cheeks. "GWEN-SAN!" Ayane jumped out of the hole, running to the blond woman.
"You're safe now, we will take you back to-" Gwen froze up in place, as her eyes got a glimpse of the giant golden lion Oni rushing back to them. In a reflex action, she pulled the little girl close to her, embracing Ayane with both arms, waiting for the inevitable impact.
A ghostly green demon hand grasped a tree nearby the girls and in a moment notice; the third captain flew in, landing between the monster and its prey. "Arthur, please lend me your power."
"Let the oath between us be a bulwark of light." Arthur responded with his stoic voice. "Explode on my shield and be gone!"
A dome of golden light engulfed the area around Jin, putting him and the two girls under its protection. The Skyshredder slashed in reckless abandon, jamming its blade-like claws on the pure light of Arthur's protection. However, the power of the beast paled in comparison of the legendary hero's power and in a little burst of golden bits, the Lion was expelled away, hitting its large back on the side of the big mountain.
"Gwen, take Ayane-chan back to the village." Jin said to his comrade, he only spared a quick glance to them; he cannot afford to take his eyes away from the monster.
"I will not leave you here." Responded Gwen, his voice coming as more defiant as she wanted.
"This is an order!" The captain yelled, his aggravated voice making the woman and the little girl jump. "Lister Gwen, I know you only mean to help. But we can't afford to fight an Oni like that with an innocent girl at our side."
"Captain…" Gwen eyed him with a conflicted look; she then looked down to Ayane. The little girl is terrified, her little hands are trembling with fear and her eyes are scanning everything around them. "Understood." She nodded and grabbed hold of the girl. Before the large Oni could regain its footing again, the blond Slayer began to run away, running as fast as her legs could, towards Mahoroba.
"Captain!" Yelled Ayane still on Gwen's arms.
Jin let out a sigh of relief after seeing Gwen carrying Ayane back to safety. His body getting heavier and heavier by the moment, the captain rested his sword on the grassy ground and tried to take long breaths to recover his energy.
"What now, Aibō?" The voice of Yamato Takeru sounded on Jin's head. The legendary prince watched as his comrade stood still in place, large drops of sweat dripping from his chin. "Aibō! Get a hold of yourself."
"Sorry Yamato, I just spaced out for a moment." Jin said with a short smile.
"Think you can handle that guy?" Yamato again noticed the increasing fatigue taking its toll on Jin's body.
"On a normal day? I could slay him with just one hand easily." The captain blinked three times, his vision getting hazy and blurred. "I think I have one more on me."
"Then, let me help you on that." Yamato voice sounded clearer this time, then a transparent clone of Jin appeared in front of the Slayer. "One strike is all that we need."
Jin stood up on his feet again, holding his sword and shield high in front of him. "Tatsumaki no Kazaguruma, then?" He looked to his shadow clone, which only nodded back to him. "Let's end that thing." From the end of his black shield, a sharp blade appeared, transforming it into a metal claw attached to his left arm.
The Skyshredder jumped out of the ground, glaring furiously to the Slayer. After a maddening roar, the beast began to charge at the speed of the wing onto the red-haired man. In less than two seconds, the large Oni reached its target and with a full swing of its left claw, tried to cleave Jin in half.
The captain jumped over the monster's claw, his long hair graciously gliding a few inches from its blue fur. With a full spin of his body, Jin went sliding through the Skyshredder's full body slashing both of his weapons on the monster like a windmill's blades. Black blood and chunks of corrupted flesh flying away, dirtying the clear green grass beneath them.
A loud cry of anguish sounded on the clearing; The Skyshredder revealing its true body, the dark essence of the Oni coming out, after the outer shell of corrupted flesh got destroyed.
"Begone, fiend!" Yamato's voice came from Jin's clone. The slip image of the Slayer flew in, imitating the same attack that he just did. This time sparks of black and purple energy began to fly to the air, more screeches of pain coming from the large Oni.
In a desperate last action, before its death. The Skyshredder, thrashed wildly on the ground, throwing its claws to all sides. In one of these unpredictable attacks, one of the shredder's claws grazed on Jin's chest, tearing his shirt out and leaving shallow blood mark on his skin. Then in an explosion of light, the large Oni ceased to exist, leaving behind a large pool of miasma.
Jin fell on his back, his fever getting even worse.
"Aibō!" Yamato called out to him, the clone rushed to the Slayer's side. "Can you hear me?"
"I can…" Jin said in a low voice. "Yamato, please help me purify that miasma pool." He raised one hand towards his clone.
"Just get support on my shoulders." Yamato replied; even in the almost transparent appearance of the clone is possible to see a smirk on his lips. He grabbed the captain's hand and pulled him out of the grass.
With the help of his most trusted Mitama, Jin began to purify the Oni's miasma, killing that monster for good. Took no more than a few moments to the large and dark pool of purple miasma to disappear, and with it, all the traces of the Skyshredder.
"Wait, what is that?" Yamato noticed a new wave of energy appearing where once the miasma was.
A concentrated hole of miasma exploded in front of them, shooting dark lightning to the sides and pouring even more miasma on the area.
"A Miasma Hole!" With his mouth agape, Jin stared horrified at the evil energy. "So this is how an Oni that large appeared close to the village."
"We need to close it." Yamato said with an energetic voice. "Can you do it?"
"I have to." Jin responded with a grim expression on his face. The pain on his body is getting so severe, that even keeping his eyes open is taking everything on him. "Let's pray that I won't pass out, while… doing… it." The fever finally brought the Slayer down, and as his consciousness faded away, so did his clone and his support. With no support to hold him up, the red-haired captain began to fall down, his head going straight down to the miasma hole.
"AIBŌ!" Yamato could only watch in horror, as the dark portal swallowed his partner. However, before Jin could completely disappear inside the miasma hole, his entire body poured a bright blue light, immediately purging the miasma hole away, but making the unconscious Slayer vanish to nowhere.
A few minutes after Jin closed the miasma hole, Gwen finally returned to the place, holding her sword and shield ready to help her captain. However, as the blond Slayer couldn't find the hated Oni or her red-haired friend.
"Where is he?" She scanned the grass after any clues to what happened in here. Then a little trace of blood caught her attention. Kneeling down on the dirtied ground, she followed the trail closely, until she found a very familiar shirt ripped apart and full of blood, both red and purple. "No… He couldn't be…" Gwen picked up the piece of cloth, her eyes tearing up at the sight. "Captain, where are you?"
Surrounded by darkness and without any reaction of his body, Jin waked up in the middle of a black lake. He tried to move his hands and his feet, but his body is trapped inside an invisible cage.
"A single maggot crawled blindly inside my realm." An eerie voice sounded from within the darkness.
Startled and confused, Jin scanned his surrounding searching for the source of this strange voice. Glancing right and left, but nothing else came into view, making the Slayer start to panic and begin to breathe heavily.
"Ah, I see… The Traveler." Four pairs of red glowing eyes appeared in front of the Slayer, the size of the glowing sharp orbs are immense, even one of those eyes are big enough to fit three of the man inside of them. "I have observed your actions, your… meddling. However, nigh is the time for retribution, your sins shall not go unpunished."
"Who- What are you?" Jin asked in a loud, defiant voice. The Slayer glared fiercely to the fiery red eyes, not waving in front of the mysterious force.
"I'm your doom, I'm your salvation. My name lies forgotten, but my essence floods your world." In a wave of raging fire, the red eyes vanished inside the darkness, the eerie voice still sounding in the dark. "Rejoice your ignorance while you can, soon my name shall be spoken again and at that moment your world will be mine."
Soon the darkness faded, a single ray of light banishing the void away from Jin's consciousness. His souls pulled back from the miasma and brought back to his body.
"Aibō… Jin… Wake up!" Yamato's voice echoed inside Jin's head.
"Yamato?!" The red-haired captain asked confused. He slowly opened his eyes, waking up to a strange forest filled with purple and green trees. "Where are we?" Scratching his inching arm, Jin sits up, eying the strange place around him.
"I can't say, but you should prepare yourself." The Mitama warrior warned his voice carrying a lot of seriousness to it. "A group of people is watching you."
His comrade's words startled the Slayer, he quietly scanned the tree and brushes closest to him. Took little time for him to confirm that someone is indeed watching him from the shadows, but the observers are not good in hiding their presence, as some of them keep steeping on dried twigs scattered on the ground.
Before anything else, Jin closed his eyes and felt his breathing, his chest expanded and retracted slowly. Without much explanation, his body is now completely fine, with the fever now gone and the tiredness that was hunting him the past days disappearing with the sickness. 'This is odd… but, I will not complain.' He slowly opened his eyes, feeling ever so glad for not be sick anymore. "You know if you want to spy on someone, try to make less noise." With a casual motion, Jin stood up on his feet, keeping himself in an open non-defensive form.
"He noticed us?!" A shocked voice came from one of the brushes.
"That is your fault, idiot." Another voice sounded from behind a tree. "Even a deaf could hear you stupid foot stomping on those twigs."
Four figures jumped from behind the shadows, landing in front of the red-haired man. As their feet reached the grassy ground, all of them poised themselves for battle, aiming their weapons towards the unknown man.
"State your name, and what you're doing here." The first one to talk is a young man with short spiky brown-hair; he is the tallest of the bunch and has sharp looking eyes. He wears a set of traditional clothes, a dark blue shirt with a dark-black long-sleeved undershirt beneath it; the lower part of his clothes consist of a pair of grey battle leather leggings with a few silver plates and dark blue boots. On his hands, he carries a large glaive, with a black long shaft and sharp long blade on the tip.
"Is he a refugee?" Said a young woman, a pitying look on her eyes. "Look, he is shirtless and is even bleeding." This girl has black silky hair, tied in a timid ponytail that goes as long as her shoulder. While she has a small body, her curvatures are fairly large and pairing with her smooth skin and pretty face makes her a very beautiful woman. She wears a red battle dress, with a large blue sash tied on her waist. A pair of long legging socks covers her legs, going from her hard leather boots all the way up to her dress' length. On her hands, she carries a long black spear with golden details carved on the shaft.
"Use your eyes for once, Kasumi." A second young man said with a harsh voice, scolding the girl for her naivety. "Look at his hands." This man has a long silky dark brown hair that he keeps loose, letting it simply glides down on his back. He uses a very peculiar set of armor; Dark black chest plate, that appears bruised and damaged by time, under this heavy armor he has a green undershirt. His pants are made of yellow-gold cloth, that somewhat looks loose on his legs, and finally, his bots are made of simple leather with red cords on the middle part. He carries a large familiar Rifle on his hands.
"Jun is right." The last one of the young warriors spoken up. "I never saw a shield like that… is amazing." A young man, with an easy-going demeanor, looks to the stranger with eager eyes. He has short spiky black hair with a large blue scarf wrapped on his forehead. He wears a long sleeved black and blue shirt, with thin metal plates on his arms. His longs pants have the same pattern and color of his shirt; and his shoes are dark grey, made of soft cloth with hard leather lines. A large Katana lies on the sheath tied on his waist with a red cord.
"I will not ask again." The man with the glaive stepped forward, his weapon inching ever so close to Jin's body.
"I mean you no harm if that is what you mean." Jin let out a soft smile and then with impressive speed, he swung his weapon in an arc, pushing the glaive away, startling the glaive-wielder.
"Oh, why didn't you said it sooner?" The young man with the rifle aimed at the slayer. "You take us for fools?"
"Look here kid, if I wanted to kill you. You would be dead." Jin lowered his sword, but still keeping his shield up. "All of you are full of openings."
"Jun, calm down." The young woman said with a worried voice. "Let's hear him first."
"She is right, Jun." The easygoing katana-wielder said. "And I kind of believe the guy when he says that he could kill us."
"Tsk, you're just a scared-cat, Shirou." Jun lowered his weapon, an annoyed expression on his face.
"Even if you say that we still have our reasons to distrust you." The spiked-haired man said with a stoic voice. He put his glaive back on his back and slowly walked towards Jin. "My name is Hotaru; could you please tell us yours?"
The sudden change of behavior of the young man brought a smile to the captain's lips. "My name is Jin, an honor to meet you all."
All four of them went silent, staring to the man with a blank expression on their faces.
"Jin?!" Shirou said with an excited voice. "That is so cool."
"You like my name?" Jin raised one eyebrow, feeling a bit curious about Shirou's reaction.
"Well, yeah?" Shirou said this time he is the one surprised by the red-haired one's reaction. "Is the first time I meet someone with the same name as a legend. Right, guys?" For Shirou's dismay, the other two glared unapprovingly to him, with only the girl nodding happily at his remark.
Then a mighty roar echoed throughout the forest, making the four of them jump startled. Large stomping steps sounding closer and closer to them.
"Shit, that thing is coming for us." Jun cursed angrily, his eyes looking to all sides in panic.
"Sorry to impose this, but could you come with us?" Hotaru turned to Jin with a serious expression. "It will be to your safety as well."
Their scared reaction served only to pick Jin's curiosity, what would be so powerful to make all four of them shake in fear, a part of him wanted to stay here and found out about this stomping monster.
"Aibō, you should go with them." Yamato said in Jin's head. "I can imagine what you are thinking right now, but first we should discover where we got tossed to."
With a long sigh, Jin rested his hands to the side and nodded to Hotaru. "I will comply, so lead the way."
For the first time, Hotaru expressed something that resembled a smile. "I'm glad for your understanding." He then turned to look at his friends, his expression returning to its normal stoic way. "Let's move. We can't afford to get caught by the spider."
Their trip inside the dark forest lasted no more than five minutes; Hotaru led the group through the pathless way, running at full speed. After passing the last large purple colored tree, Jin felt an uncomfortable feeling taking over his chest, in front of them a very familiar gate came into view together with a destroyed bridge.
"Hey kid, where are we?" Jin asked the tall glaive-wielder, his eyes staring at Hotaru's back intensely.
"You don't know?" Hotaru asked surprised. "We just passed the Age of Nightmare, now entering Mahoroba Village."
"Haha, you are really lost huh?" Shirou said with a youthful laugh.
'Mahoroba?' Jin eyed the terrible state of the gate, the destroyed bridge in front of him and the collapsed large building blocking the main entrance. 'What happened here?'
"The old monkey is awake; we need to take the detour." Jun clicked his tongue after seeing a dust cloud coming up from the village's center.
"Old monkey?" Jin looked to the young man with long hair. Deep down he already knows what Jun is talking about, but he doesn't want to believe that he is correct on this one.
"Don't worry about, Jin-san." Kasumi smiled sweetly to him. "It won't notice us."
"Jin, I can feel a dark presence inside Mahoroba." Arthur pointed out.
'I see… thank you, Arthur.' Jin frowned, his brain fuming trying to get up to a logical reason for what is happening here.
As Jun suggested, they took a long route around Mahoroba going down the path of the lake and climbing up close to the holy shrine, more exactly right behind an abandoned old house with giant wooden cogs timeworn and stuck in place.
The sight of Kurane's house abandoned, neglected and falling to pieces, almost broke the red-haired captain on the spot. Ignoring the kids around him, Jin silently wandered towards the house.
"What is he doing?" Jun asked annoyed. "Hey you, that is the wrong way."
Ignoring the angry complains of the angry kid, Jin continued walking until he reached the entrance door of the house, he placed one hand on the door side and only stared the empty and ruined interior of the house.
"Hey, Jin-san! The entrance is right here." Shirou called out with his usual happy voice.
"Aibō… They are calling you." Yamato called out his friend, Jin's troubled expression was enough to make even the hero prince fall sadness build up inside of him.
"I heard them." With one last look towards the house he spent so many nights on, Jin turned around and followed the young warriors inside the secret cave below the Holy Shrine.
"Oooii, we are back!" Shirou yelled loudly, the spirited young man began to sprint his eyes upon the spiral stairs.
"There goes the loud-mouthed kid again." Jun sighed grumpily.
"Leave him be, there is no point getting angry with him at this point." Hotaru said in a stoic manner, a neutral expression on his face.
Kasumi let a quiet giggle, enjoying by herself Shirou's stunt and Jun's reaction.
As they crossed the backdoor behind the main hall, the group got a warm welcome from a little curious crowd that was waiting eagerly for them. A group of three little kids charged into Shirou, tackling him on the ground and then jumping on top of him.
"Calm down you three." A motherly and serene voice sounded from within the curious citizens. "Let Shirou-kun get a bit of rest."
The holy maiden of Mahoroba is a woman of fair pale skin and long silky white hair. Her eyes are orange-red and her face has a very kind and smooth appearance. She wears a long white ceremonial robe with golden leaves sewed along the royal cloth. On her back, she has a long white cape with a purple interior; a ceremonial golden crown leans on the back of her head with a thin golden cord serving as support on her forehead.
"I don't mind, Kaguya-sama." He replied with a huge grin and then began to a merciless barrage of tickles on the kids wrapped around him.
"Kaguya-sama." Hotaru bowed respectfully in front of the holy maiden. "Where is my father?"
"Right here!" A deep masculine voice sounded from behind Kaguya. "Found anything interesting outside?" A man with grizzly features stepped in, a holding a smile on his lips.
This older man has spiky and somewhat long hairs, with his age getting to him the black color of before is now turning into a dark grey tone. A red bandana hangs on his forehead and his eyes are sharp and focused, making his face expression very menacing to anyone that doesn't know him. He wears a dark green vest, with large red cloth-tapes on the inner side; under this vest, he uses a long-sleeved black shirt with tight leggings of the same color. On his feet, he wears hard leather battle sandals with brown protectors extending close to his knees. Lastly, he has a very peculiar necklace in a form of an old red and white fang with the red cord going around his neck.
"Father." Hotaru bowed again, this time with even more respect. "Actually we found someone." The young man's word made everyone freeze in shock, with the civilians eying him with worry, while Kaguya and his father looking at him with curious eyes.
Jin stepped forward, passing the three young ones in front of him. He has an awkward smile on his lips and a worried look on his eyes. "Hey there." He waved on hand in front of him, not sure of how he should act right now.
"Jin-san?!" Kaguya took both hands in front of her mouth, a shock expression on her face. "Is that really you?" The fair lady fell to her knees, a few tears appearing on her eyes.
"Son of a…" The man by her side stepped forward, standing in front of Jin. "Captain?!" He asked unsurely.
"Yeah, it's me. Homura." Jin's smile widened at the sight of his friend. "By the heavens, you look old-" He got ever so surprised when Homura leaned in and pulled him close with both arms, hugging Jin with force.
"You're back, you came back to us." Homura said with a mix of sad and glad reaction.
A few of the older citizens began to cry at the sight of their third captain standing in front of them, while the youngsters stared at the scene completely confused for why their parents are reacting like this.
"Old man Homura, do you know this guy?" Jun asked with a raised eyebrow.
"If I know him?" Homura snorted at the boy's question. "Damn right I do. He is my old friend, the damn best Slayer I ever met and my longtime lost captain." The chief of Mahoroba pulled himself away from Jin and looked to Jun. "Jun, this man is your father."
"What!?" Jun said in disbelief, his eyes going from Homura to Jin and then to Kaguya.
This information got not only Jun but all his friends, in surprise. They all stared in awe to the red-haired man in front of them. After so many legends and tales about the legendary third captain, Jin of the Hundred Demon Corps is standing here, right in front of them. Their little walk on the purple tree set in motion a chain of events that, without a doubt, will change everything on Mahoroba and maybe the whole war against the Oni.
Side notes: I will leave the description of some terms here, exactly like is explained on the game, so starting with:
The Slayers: Warriors who have the ability to fight and defeat Oni. Chosen from birth, they possess immense physical and spiritual strength.
Oni: A being which derives its own life force from devouring human souls. Large Oni are impervious to most weapons and possess infinite regenerative power. to defeat them, it is necessary to cut of their body parts, expose the essence within them, and destroy it through purification.
Mitama: Mitama are the souls of herous from the past that were devoured by the Oni. You can free them by slaying an Oni that has captured them. They will imbue you with power to fight the Oni menace.
Miasma: An Aura of vile, polluted air given off by all Oni, especially their carcasses or severed limps. The Otherworld is so filled with noxious miasma that only Slayers, who posses both the physical and spiritual strength to overcome it, can survive for more than a few minutes. When miasma builds up in a certain area of land, time and space begin to be warped there.
Miasma Hole: A dimensional Knot that emits thick Miasma. Located deep in the Otherworld, they are considered to be one of the reasons for its expansion.
The Otherworld: A land whose time and space have been warped by the arrival of the Oni during the Awakening. This land is under the control of Oni, and is where Slayers do battle with the forces of evil. Past ages have been recreated here through the corruption of time and space. This area is divided into six "Ages" such as the "Age of Peace" and the "Age of Honor".
Demon Hand: A device that gives thoughts physical form, and also the name given to the giant hand that it can be used to create. It was developed by someone who calls themselves "The Professor," and who lives in Mahoroba Village.