Yagami Kazuma glanced up, he could sense the blood-thirsty presence that had appeared at edge of his conscious. Without meaning to, the edges of his lips lifts upward and soon, he was smirking malevolently.
When he had dealt with the youma that resided within the wealthy old man's house, a young woman stepped out of the shadows to face him. Her hair was as red as the rubies she wore on her neck, her eyes were a piercing shade of amber. Matched with her deathly white skin and gothic black dress, she looked exactly like a vampire come to life.
Wordlessly, she fell into step beside him, the wind playfully tugging on the strands of her hair, all the while ignoring the blonde-haired man, Yuuki Shinji, who was shouting profanities at the indifferent male beside her.
Silently, she squeezed his hand once, noting that his tense shoulders slumped slightly at the touch of her hand. When she began to pull away, he held on resolutely, not saying a word about the way a smile lingered on her lips and how his heart lightened, even if it was just for a brief moment.
0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0
Yuuki Shinji pressed his forehead on the tatami mat, waiting for his punishment after repeating the events that had transpired during the afternoon he had been sent to exorcize the youma in an art collector's house. Kannagi Jugo hummed softly, carefully going through what Shinji had said and finally expressed his feelings on the matter with an enigmatic response that was neither agitated nor calm.
"Is that so. Is Kazuma doing well, I wonder who was that girl? "
He glanced at his first cousin, Kannagi Genma, Kazuma's father who sported an impassive expression. When Genma kept silent, Jugo turned to address the shaking man kneeling in front of him.
"Yuuki Shinji. Your incompetence is a disgrace to the Kannagi name. From this day on, restrain yourself and do not neglect in your training. "
"Y-yes Sir. I extend my apologies, Sousho, Gemna-sama."
"Raise your head. You do not have to be so deferent. "
At that moment, the sliding door slide open to reveal a young girl dressed in Seiryo Academy's uniform, her pink hair reached her waist. She was Kannagi Ayano, the next head of the Kannagi family. The young boy beside her was Kannagi Ren, Genma's youngest son and Kazuma's brother.
"Otou-sama."
She trailed of when she caught sight of Genma kneeling at the side. After Jugo explained everything to his daughter and Ren, alll those in the room were quiet for a few minutes until the silence was broken by Ayano.
"Fuujutsushi, Kazuma-san is? What about the young woman, Otou-sama, is she competent? "
Jugo nodded affirmative, pondering about the unknown woman. He had a strange feeling that the woman was not to be underestimated, blood-red hair, a trait most ke-jutsushi shared. He had heard rumours about a blood-arts user, the last in the world, possibly a contractor as well, suddenly popping up into existence and slaying droves of youma near Europe with a powerful fuu-jutushi, possibly a contractor as well at her side. He didn't think that two powerful people with different personalities could work together but it seemed that he was proven wrong.
"Although there were rumours about them before, I didn't think- it seems to be true. "
Ayano's curiosity was running rampant. The last ke-jutsushi recorded died ten years ago in a long and bloody war with a chi-jutsushi clan located in Kyoto.
"You mean to tell me that my cousin, Kannagi Kazuma-san, who left the house four years ago changed his name to Yagami Kazuma and is now travelling with a young woman who might possibly be a ke-jutsushi. I can't believe it, for a mainstream Kannagi to become a fuu-jutsuhi and for him to travel with the last ke-jutsushi remaining in the world. "
Jugo continued easily, dismissing Ayano's rant with a wave of his hand. "I pity the child. If he were not born in the Kannagi head family, he would have nothing to be ashamed of. "
0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0
The wind blew those words to the young man standing on the rooftop with his hands in his pockets and a young woman sitting beside him, the skirt of her dress splayed around her, a scythe in her hands. Kazuma's face was unreadable in the city lights that illuminated his face.
"Let's go, Reika. "
Reika stood up, brushing the dust of her skirt casually. She pressed a kiss to the side of his neck, engulfing him in a tender hug. She didn't need to say anything, understanding the inner turmoil that was running through his brain. Kazuma was so caught up with the sadness and anger roiling in his mind he almost missed her words. He would never forgive himself if he did.
"I love you, Kazuma Yagami, I will never, ever stop loving you. Through rain, fire and war, don't ever doubt my love for you. "
"I-I love you too. "
He breathed, staring at her, captivated by the kaleidoscope of emotions in her amber-coloured eyes. At that moment, he knew, that she understood the pain of betrayal, the agony of knowing that your father would favour your brother because he could do something that you couldn't.
"Let's go. " She repeated, tugging on his hand lightly.
0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0
Kazuma woke up with a start, the image of his father's disappointed and disgusted face was seared into his mind. Reika had already sat up from the space beside him, sleep forgotten as she stared at him in worry. Wrapping her arms around his trembling form, Reika felt Kazuma pull her closer towards his lean form. Reika pulled away, waiting for him to voice his thoughts. Kazuma hesitated, staring at the closed curtain, looking deep in thought.
"I thought I had put it all behind me, but-"
Kazuma started to say but cut himself off abruptly, on his feet in seconds. Reika stood up, stealthily, her scythe already in her hand, and in a defensive crouch. Reika's eyes never left the window, sensing the malevolent, imbalanced, wrong presence watching them. Reika looked around suspiciously even if there wasn't anything they could see, sense.
After moments of tense silence, Reika's tense shoulders relaxed marginally and Ketsuryū, dissolved, though her posture remained coiled and poised, ready to strike. Kazuma closed the curtains roughly and pulled her into their bed, falling into a restless sleep.
0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0
"Kazuma, come on. This is payback for ruining my clothes."
Reika stated firmly, trying, and failing to ignore the small kisses Kazuma placed on her back in an attempt to distract her. Tugging on a pair of lace leggings, Reika pushed Kazuma away from her firmly and clipped on priceless ruby earrings set in white gold.
Opening the door, Reika glided out of their penthouse closely followed by a grumbling and disgruntled Kazuma who detested shopping with all of his heart. Once they were both in the lift, Kazuma whispered in her ear.
"I have an inkling that a fuu-jutsushi was the one tailing us. Be careful. "
Reika nodded once, her brow furrowing in concentration. To confirm Kazuma's suspicions, she expanded her ki search for their tracker's ki. Every user had different ki's. Fuu-jutsushi's were sharp and cool, the en-jutsushi's were hot and fiery, the chi-jutsushi were unyielding and steady and the sui-jutsushi's were rippling and calm.
Cloaking her blood-thirsty ki tightly, Reika expanded her senses to search for the cool sharpness of wind, simultaneously blocking out Kazuma's massive energy levels, she grinned in satisfaction when she moved against their tracker's unique, cloaked, ki.
'But it wasn't the one I sensed this morning. '
Taking her grin as confirmation that he was right, Kazuma moved to sling his arm around her waist, Kazuma pondered at his bad luck. Their second day in Japan and they already gained enemies.
0~0~0~0~0~0
Glancing up sharply, Kazuma's eyes shifted to the left where their tracker was perching on a sale sign. Reika felt her brow furrow, their tracker trailed them the whole day while they were shopping, but she still couldn't map out who disturbed them that morning at the hotel. Their tracker's ki was less intense, and their mysterious disturber's energy levels were vastly different compared to the tracker's ki.
Tightening his arm around her waist, Kazuma steered them towards a construction site when soon enough, they were cornered by two males. Frowning at their enraged expressions, Kazuma nudged Reika behind him protectively.
"Kazuma, you son of a bitch, how dare you kill my brother Shinji. "
"It's been a while, Kazuma. "
The calmer one, frowned, anger shifting behind his countenance when Kazuma's face remained indifferent. Reika hummed softly under her breath, Shinji, Shinji- ah the other exorcist, an en-jutsushi from the art collector's house. A Kannagi. Reika felt her brow crinkle in distaste.
"You know why we're here, right?"
"Nope. Not a clue. "
"Last night, three Kannagi spellcasters were murdered. "
"Really, so?"
"The killer was a fuu-jutsus-"
"It wasn't him. End of story. "
Reika cut him off, partially irritated that the Kannagi family sent such pathetic spellcasters to subdue them, did they really think that she and Kazuma were that weak?, and that she wasn't getting her precious sleep. The calmer man, Ogami Takeya shot her a surprised look, while the other, Yuuki Shingo, sneered at her.
"Keep your mouth shut, you pathetic whore."
Reika stiffened, rage roaring in her ears, demanding for her to kill the pathetic man, but before she could summon her scythe and chop the insulting en-jutsushi into bloody pieces, Kazuma had already blasted a deadly slice of howling wind towards that bastard. It would have severed his arm from his shoulders had he not move away in time. Blood gushed out of the wound, though it was serious, Yuuki Shingo's life was not in danger.
Kazuma snarled in fury. "Don't you dare call Reika a whore, you pathetic weakling. "
Incensed, that he was wounded, Yuuki fumed.
"I'm no longer a member of that family. If the Sousho wants to talk, he can come and look for me himself. Tell him I said that. "
Deciding to somewhat vent her frustration on their tracker, Reika sent a blade of condensed blood lethal enough to cut through steel towards the crane their traker was perching on. A man in his late twenties leapt up and landed on the ground on his knees.
"As I thought. The Fuuga clan were the ones trailing us."
"This is the last warning, Kazuma. Do as we ask. "
Ogami stated camly even as Yuuki prepared to throw a ball of fire at Kazuma. Reika snorted slightly, as if he flames would burn through semi-visible blood shield she had erected. The shield was powered enough to withstand attacks from a branch family member.
Kazuma smirked. "Take a hike. "
Yuuki's ki rippled angrily. "Die!"
Before the fireball could move, Kazuma sent a bolt of highly charged wind towards the Kannagi's and it caused an enormous explosion that knocked both the en-jutsushi off their feet. Ogami struggled to raise his head.
"Wh-what in the world?"
"It's called improvising, little en-jutsushi. Although Kannagi's can protect themselves from the heat of a fire, they can't do so for the brunt of an explosion."
Reika mocked, still feeling marginally pissed off about the insulting slur that was sent towards her. Her eyes widened when she felt the same, imbalanced, slimy, presence that morning at the hotel. Suddenly, a sharp blade of purple tinted wind came rushing up from behind, slicing off parts of a crane and steel structure, instantly crushing the two Kannagi en-jutsushi to death.
"What the hell was that, wind spir-"
Reika interrupted Kazuma swiftly, not wanting him to insult the wind spirits which would definitely come back to bite him in the ass at the worst timing.
"That wasn't the wind spirits, Kazuma. It was the same presence I felt at the hotel this morning. Kazuma, you really shouldn't blame the wind spir-, "
Before Reika could finish her sentence, she sensed another Kannagi, really, how many of them were there? Turning around, Reika summoned her scythe, Ketsuryū, a metal made of condensed blood and the souls of youma she reaped. Reika's eyes narrowed, Ayano. The one who defeated Kazuma with one blow when they were fighting for the inheiritance of Enraiha. Ayano paid no attention to the duo, simply staring at the two Kannagi's. When she looked up, her eyes were burning with blind rage.
"Kazuma. " she stated dazedly.
"Kazuma!"
Ayano sounded like she was extremely angry. She also sounded like she would do something extremely foolish. Within seconds, she ran towards Reika and Kazuma with the intention of injuring the powerful contractor and the ke-jutsushi beside him.
Kazuma dodged the sloppy swings and pulled Reika closer to him by the waist, manipulating the wind, he lifted himself and Reika to a nearby roof. Reika willed Ketsuryū to dissolve. With Ayano's apparent lack of skills with Enraiha, Reika was in as much danger as Kazuma.
"Hold on a second! This is a misunderstanding, I didn't do it! "
"I won't forgive you for this, Kazuma! "
Ayano continued her rant as if Kazuma had never spoken. Shooting fireballs relentlessly at the two, Ayano persisted though the flames dissolved when it came into contact with a rippling red shield that almost seemed alive. Gritting her teeth, Ayano sent a bigger fireball towards the shield and grinned in triumph when the irritating thing finally broke.
Reika started in surprise, so caught up in observing Ayano she forgot that a lowly-powered blood shield would only withstand fire powered from a branch family member, and no matter how weak Ayano was, her fire was powered differently. Jumping down, she landed gracefully on the rough concrete.
Sprinting towards Kazuma, Ayano would have wounded badly him if not for her horrible posture and his fast thinking. Using his palm to push Enraiha away from her grasp, Kazuma grabbed her wrist in the process.
"It's been four years, huh, you've grown up. "
"Don't underestimate me, you bastard! Who do you think I am? "
Enraiha appeared in her hands once again and she swung the blade around wildly. Dodging, Kazuma landed on the ground lightly, right beside the bored ke-jutsushi. Smirking, Reika answered the indigent question smoothly.
"An annoying, hot-headed brat with absolutely no control over her element."
Ayano growled furiously, shooting Reika a venomous glare. Charging towards Reika with reckless abandon, Reika stepped to the side, sighing heavily at the predictably attack pattern. Absently, Reika heard Kazuma's aloof reply.
"I know who you are, the inheritor of Enraiha and the next Sousho of the Kannagi family. "
Ayano hissed in anger and sent a humungous fireball towards the smirking ke-jutsushi which Kazuma expertly doused and sliced in half. Studying her fingernails coolly, they were chipping already? She'd just got them done a week ago. Reika repeated for the second goddamned time, "He didn't do it."
"Do you really expect me to believe you in these circumstances? "came the snappish response.
"Well, it's up to you to decide whether you decide to believe us or not. " Reika said, meticulously building up her ki to replenish for the ones she had expanded.
"Well then who did it? "
"Someone who isn't us. Find out the rest of it by yourself. But you know, if this is how the future head of the family is, the future of the Kannagi clan isn't so bright, is it? "
"I-It's none of your business. You're the last person I want to hear that from. Speaking of which, aren't you embarrassed that a girl was helping you? "
"Not when she's infinitely more powerful than you. Sorry to leave when you're all fired up, but I'll play with you another time, Ayano. "
Kazuma wrapped a toned arm around Reika's waist, steadily building up the air pressure beneath their feet to propel them upwards. In a powerful gust of swirling air, they were heading back to their hotel. Cloaking their presence expertly, Reika was silent for a few seconds.
" Hey Kazuma, this means that we're in a full-out war with the Kannagi's, right? "
"Yeah. It's interesting enough, but I'd hate to be a puppet to something lurking in the shadows. "