Author's Note: The ending of this story will be much more poignant if you have a basic grasp on the Japanese language, but no more is necessary than what you hear in all anime. However, I do follow-up with hinted translations, so it can be understood by everyone. Fight sequence was inspired by the Hiro Yuki song "Exit", and the title comes from the lyrics (no infringement of copyrights is intended). As always, many thanks to my beta-readers Sybil Rowan and WingedPanther73.
Disclaimer: Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho: Tou and all its characters remain property of © Majin Production Committee, Shuho Imai, Shinji Ishihira, AIC Spirits, and many other talented people. All rights reserved. All original characters and events remain property of the fan fiction author and should not be used without permission. No infringement is intended by this not-for-profit fan story.
Back to My Soul
The cold. That was the first thing she noticed when Marie Claire left the void of the alternate plane and lightly touched down into the physical world. It was terribly cold here, as if no warmth had penetrated the place for many years, maybe even an eternity. She shivered against the dry chill in the air, clutching Mephisto tighter against her chest. The black cat wriggled unhappily, but said nothing in protest.
It wasn't just the temperature that left this little world as ice; there was a lonely, isolated aura floating through the stillness like a shadow, a desperate plea still begging to be heard. It was sad, and almost frightening. She wondered, not for the first time, why she had been brought to this desolate place. And silently she cursed Kodzunu the culprit.
Damn him. Why does he have to be such a bother to Yagyuu-sama? That's why she was here, after all. Lord Munetaka Yagyuu had asked her to keep an eye on the arrogant young man, and even though she was greatly flattered he placed all his trust in her, Marie Claire had often wished to stay with Yagyuu instead. The older gentleman always went his own way, leaving her behind, and it upset the girl sometimes. But she also wanted to please him, to show him her loyalty and devotion – even if it meant hanging around Tendou Kodzunu.
So irritating! She sighed dramatically, pursing her lips into a pout.
She could always find Kodzunu lounging in his own realm, his dimension of candles, gazing pools, and spirits. But not today. No, today he had gone off on his own, without so much as a word. It angered her, the way he blatantly disobeyed their lord. So she had traced the path he took, breaking into the space where he had slipped through the planes, and ended up … here.
Where did I get dragged to this time? Finally she looked about the building into which she had entered, uninvited. It was a grand, traditional home, and definitely the residence of someone wealthy. But it didn't feel lived in, despite the full furnishings. Even though the day outside was bright, and the late morning sunshine was seeping through the windows in dust-laden rays, it was still dark within. Curious, Claire took a few tentative steps further into the common room, wondering why the place seemed abandoned. What she discovered next made her jump in shock.
There were old blood stains everywhere – masses crusted on the tatami mats, staining the walls and shoji screens in spray patterns, and black, hard rivulets tracing tiny rivers across the floorboards. Wide-eyed, Marie Claire followed the direction of the aged flow.
She soon found the multitude of chalk outlines, faded with time but still apparent. Most of them were in the main living quarters, but as she turned her gaze around the rooms, she saw several of the victims had tried to flee, with no hope. It had been a large family, and apparently they had all been slaughtered. The residence had been a crime scene, and judging by the yellow police tape still dangling and the 'No Trespassing' signs, it was unresolved. Mephisto growled low in the back of his throat as if appalled; yet its animal tone held some interest as well.
"I wonder, Mephisto," she said, barely above a whisper, "what happened here?"
Marie Claire couldn't stop staring at the stains; she was captivated by what had once been a great deal of bloodshed. It was like being inside a mystery novel, the carnage fascinating to learn about in the aftermath. Shaking free of her morbid fixation, she continued on through the house, though this time with a little more caution. She found herself in the inner-most hallway, where the porch doors had been mauled and left opened. Gazing outside into the courtyard gardens, she could see ferns, boxwoods, and a dead tree peony – and the marker for the site where yet another body had fallen.
She was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Her voice came with a childlike whine when she spoke. "Where is Kodzunu?" She rested her chin atop the cat's soft head, seeking his reassurance. "Did I get the place wrong?"
Mephisto made a gentle mewling sound, and then started to flail his limbs against her restraining arms. Marie Claire set the cat down, the bell on his collar tinkling. She followed when he darted off, bounding agilely over the outlines as if the bodies still laid there. He skidded to a halt in the foyer, padding down to the front entrance. With a definite meow, Mephisto began digging at the door.
"Outside?" Joining her cat, Marie Claire bent down to scoop him up before sliding open the door.
A gust of frigid air and broken police tape greeted her with a slap in the face, and Mephisto sneezed as if offended. Stepping out into the pale light, she couldn't help but to give a youthful smile when her feet sank into snow. She kicked at it joyfully with one booted toe, but then the memory slammed her with an unwelcomed grief, and the glee swiftly grayed. She frowned, thinking back to when she had escaped Rosenkreuz, dragging chains through a blizzard.
"Never again," she announced quietly, turning her nose up to the snow with an immature sniff of disdain. "Humph."
Claire lifted her face to the winds coming down off the mountain. She could sense this estate was high up by the altitude pressing down on them and the deep coldness. Haphazardly she began walking, listening to the crunch of her footfalls on the gravel driveway, and the brush of the old snow churning in her wake. The winds made a hollow whistle, and there was the crisp sound of frozen tree branches fighting against the assaulting air. Otherwise, it was silent and pristine in the naturally eternal winter.
Somehow she found herself off the main drive and onto a beaten path. With her eyes and cheeks stinging from the chill, the tip of her nose frozen, she didn't pay it any heed; she simply kept walking. Mephisto seemed to think Kodzunu was here, somewhere, and she would find him. She was already planning on what to say to give him an earful on Lord Yagyuu's behalf, but the script in her head vanished when the pathway brought her to the foot of a staircase carved into the side of the mountain.
She tilted her head to follow the steep rise with her eyes, a sound of marveling query escaping her lips. Mephisto squirmed with a sense of urgency, so she put one foot on the bottom stair and began the ascent. It was a little less than a three-person width, and the frosty, earthen stairs were dangerously slick. The mountains crushed inwards at random intervals, making for a tight slip of manmade trek. Marie Claire thought it was a stupid place to build stairs. There'd better be something amazing at the top.
It was a journey indeed, and for a while all she knew was the clopping sound of her steps. But as she began to tire and slow, she felt the eerie sensation of being watched. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose as she stiffened, arching a brow at the other presence. Mephisto spastically spun his head to the left, and, trusting his instincts, Claire turned to look.
She saw a haze of burnt-orange smoke dissipating, and knew instantly what had been there; one of the demonic masks of the Kidou-shuu that acted as spy and messenger.
"Ah, so he is here," she said darkly. Mephisto meowed angrily in agreement.
Without another thought, Claire started up the stairs once more, her disgruntled temper giving her a burst of new energy. Finally reaching the top, the young girl halted, and actually fell back a step, stunned. Nestled into the crook of the mountains there waited a single building, with only one doorway and no windows. She knew it wasn't a shrine; it was a stronghold. Pondering the Edo-style architecture, she stared at the structure that seemed to be reaching high to the heavens. When her eyes met the earth once more, she at last found her counter-part.
Tendou Kodzunu was kneeling before the building, his head bowed so that even the shock of his crazy hair was hidden from her. All she saw was the tribal-like symbol of the Kodzunu clan on the back of his robe glowering at her. She opened her mouth to scold him, but just as soon snapped it shut when she realized she didn't exactly know what he was doing. Suddenly the scent of burning incense reached her, and she understood.
Marie Claire hadn't noticed before, but there was a small, ritual offering table in front of the young man, who was knelt in prayer.
At first she felt a pang of awkwardness, contemplating if she should leave before Kodzunu noticed her standing there foolishly. But her desire to do right by Lord Yagyuu came on harder, and she decided to stand her ground with conviction. There was another part of her that was immensely intrigued. The two teenagers were hardly friends, and neither had ever shared any personal details. She didn't admit that she cared, but she was curious.
"Stop following me."
At the abrupt sound of his voice, Claire couldn't hold back the wave of annoyance that washed over her. As much as she didn't want to be disrespectful, she couldn't tolerate his haughty tone, especially when it sounded like he was trying to order her around.
She made a wicked, crooning sound, shaking her head at him. "Well, that's a thing to say after you just disappear. I'm tired of this hide-and-seek, Kodzunu. You shouldn't play games on Yagyuu-sama, not when there's work to be done." Mephisto rumbled in the back of his throat to enunciate her words.
"Heh!"
Her brows furrowed warningly, and her mouth stretched into a firm line; Marie Claire felt a quarrel coming on. When he didn't speak again, she started towards him. Even from a distance, she noticed him flinch slightly. She suspiciously watched Kodzunu's shoulders as he moved his arms, and when his right arm quickly rose up to sweep across his face, she gawked.
"Oh, were those tears?" Her childlike teasing held some awe, but mostly taunting.
He whipped around with an angrily insulted growl, the white spikes of his hair lashing, and he gave her a dagger-like glare. Kodzunu's storm-colored eyes shone wetly, like broken glass, causing Claire to smirk. She'd been right. After a moment more of challenging gazes, Kodzunu turned away, then rose to his feet, head held high with dented pride.
"So," he started briskly, brushing everything prior aside with no more care, "what do you want?"
Marie Claire couldn't help but to look past him, at the offering table. It held a bowl of apples with their tops neatly scalped, a platter of rice cakes, and a vintage bottle of sake, a cup of which had been poured. The incense had almost burned out, ashes scattered by the wind. Kodzunu had also laid one of his hatchets at the corner of the table, and she deliberated the meaning behind it.
Maintaining her smirk, she finally replied with a shrug, "I'm just wondering what you're doing here?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Whose passing is this anniversary commemorating? Who was so important that you would run off like that?"
His eyes flicked in her general direction, but he didn't answer, even though he was so obviously found out. He simply stared at the table in a far-off manner, tightly holding the purple talon pendant he wore.
"You're impossible!" she huffed with a self-indulgent stomp of a foot. She turned nastily away. "Let's go then. I'm cold."
As she expected, he ignored her, but it still made Marie Claire crabby; she sighed an explosive breath. A long silence followed, full of uncertainty and lonesomeness from the older boy. The winds drifted through the corridor between the mountain peaks, bringing with it the damp scent of stone and a tearful, wailing cry. From that sorrowful lament, Kodzunu mumbled a name.
"Manabu."
"Huh?" There was an odd note to the way he delivered the name. It was final, troubled, and vaguely suspicious. Was he lying? Trying to sway her questioning? "So was he someone murdered in that house down there?"
Kodzunu looked at her as if she had just said something extremely ridiculous, and Claire felt heat rise to her face. With it, she felt the blood pressure pounding against the back of her eyeballs, and the constricting throb from her sinuses. It was the familiar sensation of her arcane abilities trying to break free from her human form; it happened whenever she got mad, and she didn't mind the rise of her powers. How could she, when she didn't even notice them beyond her ire? Mephisto stretched his head up to whiff at her chin warily to calm her.
She ground her teeth as if centering herself, and demanded, "What?"
There was an odd rage about Kodzunu, too. He licked his lips, looking as if he wanted to spit. Instead, his eyes fixed towards the edge of the cliff, towards the direction the estate laid. "Those pigs don't deserve a thing from me." Spurred by his sudden wrath, the five leaders of the Kidou-shuu appeared around him, devilish looking masks hovering there almost protectively.
Without thinking, Marie Claire took a fighting stance. "Don't set those ugly things on me, Kodzunu."
He chuckled thickly, bitterly. "Or what? You'll tattle on me?"
"Watch it." She felt her eyes bulge with her anger. "You owe Yagyuu-sama just as much as I do. You shouldn't make us mad."
He gave her a slanted, evil grin, and she wondered if he were purposefully trying to provoke her. But when Kodzunu spoke next, his voice was delicate, as if he'd been wounded. "I owe him nothing. We use each other as we please. That's all."
"You mean you do as you please," she grumbled in vexation.
"You don't know anything about me." The amusement was gone, and he appeared as demonic as his Kidou-shuu. "Go on home, foolish little girl. Go to your master. You're testing my patience."
She had had enough! The irritated spark became a full out flame of rage. Marie Claire was unaware her eyes had lost all their blue color, pupils swelling and filling her irises with a red shade. But Kodzunu saw it, and he suddenly thumbed off the strap holding his second hatchet inside the sheath at his hip, which only exacerbated the situation when Claire caught his small movement.
With a decisive grunt, the young girl focused her energy on the space before Kodzunu, which erupted into a hot, searing light. Fire smashed the ground where he'd been standing, but the young man leaped out of her line of sight in time. Marie Claire felt the burning, ripping feeling of the bolts in her body unscrewing, felt the oozing wetness on her face. But right now she didn't care – all she wanted was to land at least one hit on the egotistical bastard!
With an amused grin, Kodzunu unsheathed his hatchet and threw it. Marie Claire noted the angle, and knew it would arc away from her, so she stayed her ground. Mephisto hissed.
She heard Kodzunu tell the weapon: "Tobe."
The hatchet flew, end over end, and continued in a circular path around the girl like a meteor ring around a planet. Claire arched a brow, not realizing her doll-like face was starting to contort. The Kidou-shuu were hovering above her, but they merely watched the battle between those who were supposed to be allies. She waited for his incantation.
"Kika Chinkon kishin."
Even as the violet-light of his power enveloped the hatchet, soon encasing her, Claire couldn't help but to smile at his choice. From the light, sparks began spewing, until flames began lapping at her. The manifested fireball shot inwards towards the girl, who reflected it without concern, even without trying. It absorbed back into the light, which returned to the hatchet.
"You can't fight fire with fire," she said with sinful satisfaction.
"Is that so?"
He didn't appear at all disturbed his spell hadn't worked. Had he known? She felt another shot of crimson anger at the notion that he might be playing with her, enjoying her rage.
Kodzunu held out his hand, and the weapon responded, sailing back like a boomerang. Snapping up the hatchet, Kodzunu followed its motion by spinning gracefully; on the revolve-around, he lowered himself onto his knees, reaching out to take up his second hatchet from the offering table.
"Then how about this!" He slammed both blades into the stone before him; shards sprinkled and light flared. Then he threw out his arms, palms opened to face her. Marie Claire saw the glowing kanji symbols on his skin, but before she could attempt to read the old lettering:
"Yamanokami, Yamatsumi, Yamabiraki myakuhaku."
When he grabbed the handles again, the stone under his blades cracked open with a deafening shatter, the gaping crevice it created shooting towards her in a lightning pattern. She had a thought to fuse the earth, but she couldn't melt stone. So with a yelp, Marie Claire dashed out from under the Kidou-shuu and leaped aside just as the ground caved in and violet radiance crackled up like the tentacles of some creature. Without anticipating or strategizing, she gave a vengeful scream and sent a bolt of white-hot fire in his direction.
He hadn't recovered from his own attack before hers was upon him, and Kodzunu barely had a chance to defend. His hand rose to create a barrier, but her fire punctured it and sent him crashing backwards. Claire sniggered childishly as the offerings beside him went up in flames, the ritual table split in two. Mephisto gave a victorious call.
"Manabu can burn in hell," she declared viscously, her voice not at all girlish.
Pulling himself onto his feet amid the smoke and char, Tendou Kodzunu seemed deflated, his posture slumped. Surprisingly, he dully nodded, as if in agreement to her brazen statement. But then his shoulders began to shake, and Claire realized he was laughing. It was a dry chuckle, soft and quiet, but soon he threw back his head with demented hysterics. She wondered what could possibly be so funny after she desecrated his remembrance prayers. It was … strange.
She knew it wasn't directed towards her, somehow. His laughter was distant, unclear, and incredibly tragic. For the first time, he looked extremely pathetic to her. She wiped bile-like saliva from the corners of her mouth, feeling the pounding behind her eyes vanish; the bolts settled back into her skin. Marie Claire was also defeated now, gaining no glory for having bested Kodzunu. So she just watched him, baffled.
Finally Kodzunu restrained his violent fits, but a large smile stayed on his face. He said, rather breathlessly, "Say –" He heaved in a sobbing mouthful of air before turning to her. "Would you do me a favor?"
Claire's mouth fell wide open. That surely was unexpected, considering. All she could muster was a squeaky, "Huh?"
"Don't stop."
"What do you mean?"
He waved a tattooed hand to the burning table. His eyes sparkled crazily. "Let Manabu burn in hell, and take this fucking place with him." Kodzunu turned squarely about and opened his arm to take in the stronghold behind him, the place that had moments before been solemnly watching him pray.
Agog, Marie Claire stared at the building. She didn't know what it was, who had once lived inside it, or what drew Tendou Kodzunu here, but she knew what he asked. "You want me to burn it down?"
He tipped his chin to his chest in acknowledgement.
"Well –" She hugged the black cat in uncertainty. "I don't know … I don't want Yagyuu-sama to be mad at me." She crumpled at the devastating thought.
"Why would he be mad at you?" Kodzunu's voice showed signs of returning to normal; he sounded smooth and controlled. "Chaos is what we do; it's what he's ordered us to do. Are we not supposed to bring this world to ruins?"
"I know …"
"So let one more place fall into the pits of the Dragon Vein."
When Mephisto began purring, Marie Claire gazed up to Kodzunu for reassurance. There was a dark countenance about the older boy, but there was still that bit of grief. She remembered how he looked knelt in prayer, how he had been crying – and she suddenly felt bad for making fun of him. Maybe she didn't honestly like Kodzunu, but she could still work with him.
Marie Claire nodded, and set Mephisto on the ground. The cat knowingly backed away, standing beneath the floating Noh-like masks of the Kidou-shuu. Still doubting her decision, yet feeling as if she needed to make amends, the powerful girl walked by the burning table and Kodzunu, who now watched her with a wicked happiness, and moved to stand before the massive doors of the stronghold.
For a time she simply stared at the wooden doors, with their heavy locks and hinges. A part of her wanted to throw them open and see inside, to know what had happened here that made Tendou Kodzunu hate it so much. But then she realized he didn't want her to know, he didn't want to talk about it. And she knew also, had he questioned her regarding her own past hardships, she really wouldn't want to share, either. So we have an understanding? Weird.
She took in a deep breath. She had decided, despite her conflicted thoughts, to let it be and do him this favor, just once. So she focused her mind, centering her thoughts deep within herself, searching for that familiar well of energy inside. It came so naturally when she was enraged, but it had taken quite a bit of practice to use it when at ease; it was a skill she had acquired thanks to Yagyuu's coaching. Almost instantly she touched upon it, and brought it out like unsheathing a weapon.
It came surging from her center, into her head, where it poured forth from her large eyes that had now turned completely red. With a rushing, forceful thought, she slammed the wooden doors with her pyrokinesis. They tore from their hinges brilliantly, and her stream of fire pooled into the building. Claire took a few steps inside, noticing nothing, and recalled the blaze like a back draft. With a determined cry, she hurled it up to engulf the ceiling, where it pounded through the roof. Slate and stone fell around her.
Closing her eyes for a moment to collect the heated energy, she gave off one final burst that shattered the shell of the building like a bomb had gone off. The colossal inferno was a roar of gnashing fires and streaming light; smoke wafted in huge clouds, and steam hissed from the very earth. And for a while, Claire knew nothing but that burning hell.
She crumpled onto her hands and knees, not so much exhausted as she was wary of making a move through the devastation. It began settling, and she heard the distinct crackling of the fires. Her radiant power had fled back into her reserves, and she had a moment of pride at how capable she had proven herself today. She coughed out the rich smell of char, and sat back on her heels.
Then Marie Claire tried to open her eyes.
They ached, and when her eyelids fluttered she actually felt pain. She moaned, remembering how badly they had hurt after she had destroyed the Rosenkreuz Academy. But she couldn't stay here; they had to return to Lord Yagyuu before the outsiders came investigating. So she tried opening her eyes once more, and found everything was washed out in an excruciating haze. She couldn't see!
"My eyes -" Marie Claire gave a soft, pitiable cry, her voice breaking. Even though she knew it would pass in time, that she just needed to recuperate as before, she still felt panicked. Somewhere in the dizzying world outside, she heard Kodzunu laugh with darkness.
"Magnificent work," he said without praise. It was as much of a thank you as she would ever hear from him, not that it mattered to her at present. In her fearful simpering, however, she thought she heard him whisper: "Please don't suffer anymore, Mother."
Then she lost any rational thinking when she heard the snap of his robe and the sound of his sandaled-feet turning away – to leave. He was leaving her!
"Let's go," he ordered.
The alarm came on stronger, and Marie Claire began crying helplessly. She didn't know what to do.
She whined, "Mephisto, my eyes … I can't see." She reached her hands out, but the black cat wasn't anywhere to be found. Rubbing at her eyes, she pushed herself onto her feet, but was too worried to make another move. "I can't see," she said again pleadingly.
Claire held out her hand hopefully. "Kodzunu … kun …?"
She heard Tendou Kodzunu gasp lightly at the affectionate use of his name, which she had never uttered before. She was sure she would never use it again, but right now he was all she had. She was scared and lost, she wanted to go home, and she needed his help, too.
Finally he clucked his tongue in feigned disgust. "Tch, what a bother you are."
She heard his footsteps on the melting snow and wet stone coming closer, so she reached her hand out farther, looking for him. Both openly winced when their hands met, and the girl could only bring herself to grasp the tips of his long fingers awkwardly. Kodzunu's grip was cold, and there was no sympathy in his touch, just like the rest of his being. But Marie Claire still held on tightly for support.
The End.