Some Unimportant Place

"Not so fast, Professor Squid!" Arachnoman yelled. He stood up high with his fists against his hips and his elbows spread out.

"Arachnoman!" Professor Squid raised the six robotic arms attached to his egg-shaped head. "You have been a thorn in my side for long enough!"

Arachnoman leapt at his nemesis with his fists raised. "Well this thorn is gonna take you down!"

Griggs watched the television show eagerly as the hero and villain clashed.

Sheckley finished up his can of beer and tossed it onto the carpet. "Griggs, can you change the channel?"

"I want to watch this fight first." Griggs said, taking another bite of his big-mac.

"Arachnoman is the good guy and Professor Squid is the bad guy. That's all you need to know." Sheckley explained blandly, "Good guys always win in kid-shows."

"That doesn't mean it can't be entertaining." A knock was heard at the door. "I'll get it!" He sprung up and moved towards the door.

Sheckley bitterly looked at where his legs were cut off months ago. "Not like I could anyways…" He eyed the TV remote on Griggs' side of the couch and grabbed it.

Griggs opened the door. "Hellllloooooo, who is- AHH!" He shut the door in Akuha's face immediately.

Akuha just blankly stared at the door before calmly knocking on it again.

"Please, go away! If Moka's been kidnapped again, it wasn't us!"

"Calm down. I just want to talk."

"No way, chika. This door is staying shut!"

"Do you honestly think a wooden door will keep me out?"

Griggs remained silent for a moment. "Alright, alright." He opened the door for her. "Look, we haven't done anything bad since you beat us up. We don't want any trouble."

"That all depends on you." Akuha came in through the door. She noticed that Griggs was significantly bigger and less muscular. "Uh… it looks like you've put on a few pounds." Griggs shut the door and walked further into the house. Akuha followed him.

"Hey Griggs," Sheckley yelled from the TV room, "was that a girl at the door?"

Griggs came up behind the couch. "Uhm…" he murmured nervously, "as a matter of fact, it was." Akuha came in the doorway behind him.

Sheckley changed the channel once more and turned his head. "Wha!" He made a low gasp. "Black D? What do you want with us?"

"I just need answers."

"Answers? After you killed our boss, we haven't done a thing but watch TV and eat junk food. What kind of answers could we give you?"

"It's about Alistair."

Sheckley's nervous look faded to a gloomy one. "Oh… Al."

"You two are the only associates he had. Who else could I ask about him?"

"How about Gyokuro Shuzen?"

Akuha flinched. "Excuse me?"

The intro for Fib-busters began on the television. "Let's take this to the dining room." Sheckley struggled to get into the wheelchair next to him.

XXX

Griggs pushed Sheckley's wheelchair up to the kitchen table. Akuha got herself seated at the other side. This place smelt like a McDonalds. Rappers, chip bags, and empty beer cans lay everywhere.

"Erm…" Griggs still seemed uneasy with Akuha nearby. "I'm gonna finish my big-mac in the TV room." He walked off quickly. "I still got an appetite."

"Griggs," Sheckley said over his shoulder, "you're gonna keep that appetite until ten minutes after you die." He rolled his eyes and looked across the table.

Akuha cleared her throat. "You said Gyokuro knew Alistair. Did the three of you once work for Fairy Tale?"

"No, not really. It was more of a co-op for just one mission."

"What mission?"

"Umm…" Sheckley scratched his chin. "I think it was five months ago… or something like that. We found some American SSE soldiers at a beach in South Korea, so we decided to take them out. We were getting ready when Al detected a bunch of yōkai a few miles off."

"A Fairy-Tale subdivision?"

"No, it was your mom." Sheckley said sarcastically.

Akuha's stare darkened. Her mother was a touchy subject.

"There was a whole airship full of them Fairy Tale guys. We came up and talked to them for a bit, and apparently they were after the SSE troops too, so they let us join in." Sheckley looked down at the table as if recalling a bad memory.

"Then what happened?"

"Those humans… they had cooler gear than anything I've seen in movies. All fifteen of them were wearing some kind of power armor with gadgets and weapons all over it." Sheckley paused and made a grim face. "They completely destroyed us out there. Even the subdivision leader was killed off like he was nothing."

"It was the 6th subdivision wasn't it?"

"Huh?"

"I remember that the entire 6th subdivision was wiped out not long ago; Gairen Yuki and all 300 of his men." Akuha shuddered at the thought of them being slaughtered by only 15 humans. "There were many S-rank yōkai in that group. You still got those humans right?"

Sheckley shook his head. "We couldn't even bring down one. They just mowed us down like a boss until Al was the last one standing."

"He was the only capable fighter."

"Yeah, and that really impressed the airship's crew that watched. We were asked to join Fairy Tale immediately when they saw what he could do." Sheckley took a cookie from a jar on the table and took a bite. "He declined and didn't tell them why."

"But he told you and Griggs?"

Sheckley nodded as he chewed. "He said he read their minds with advanced energy detection and discovered what they were planning. Instead of joining them he wanted to stop them."

"Alistair knew?" Akuha nearly shouted.

"Yup."

"What is it? What's Fairy Tale up to?"

Sheckley shrugged. "No idea."

Akuha's enthusiasm vanished. "But didn't Alistair tell you?"

"He did. We weren't listening."

Akuha buried her face into her palms. "Dammit."

"Hey, I'm trying to help you as best I can." Sheckley nibbled on another cookie. "If it makes you feel any better, I do remember a little bit."

"Tell me everything you know."

"You already know that the pink haired girl is the center of all this. Fairy Tale needs something called a…" Sheckley thought to himself. "Sinko… Shisno…"

"Shinso."

"Bingo!" Sheckley said, he pointed his finger at her eagerly.

"But Moka isn't a Shinso vampire." Akuha remembered Tsukune's horrific transformation during the school fire. That was the power of a Shinso vampire, radiating from the blood that Moka had given him. "Or rather she wasn't."

"There was actually one other thing they needed."

"Please tell me you remember it…"

"I do." Sheckley nodded. "Sorta."

"What do you mean 'sorta'?"

"Well, the leaders of Fairy Tale didn't exactly know either. They needed a way to break Moka's seal without the risk of killing her, so they looked around for ways to solve that problem."

Akuha had an idea of how complex Moka's seal was; even the strongest magic wouldn't put a dent in it. Normally, Fairy Tale would've already set up a measure for this well in advance, but seeing that they didn't meant they probably discovered Moka's Shinso blood only recently.

"For the next few months, we just murdered every seal expert Fairy Tale came to. We also destroyed every seal-breaking artifact they went after." Sheckley reached into the cookie jar and stuffed three cookies into his mouth at once.

Akuha patently waited for him to chew his food. "No more cookies. What happened next?"

Sheckley gulped the cookies down. "Eventually, we decided that we couldn't keep doing this stuff forever, so we planned to totally erase Moka's Shinso blood instead."

"Kill her?"

"Na, Al was afraid someone would just use her blood samples. After we kidnapped her, we were gonna bring her to a machine to suck out her Shinso blood, then maybe we would dump it into a vat of acid or something." Sheckley made a goaded stare. "But you killed Al before we got that far."

Akuha took a moment to take everything in. "I guess I'm up to speed then."

"Yeah, and Fairy Tale probably has their seal-cracker by now."

"Not yet they don't." Akuha pulled out a slip of paper. "About a week from now, some of Fairy Tale's subdivision leaders are attending a party hosted by an old client of mine. They're in good relations because of some jobs I did for him." She passed the paper across the table. "He owns the world's largest firm on magical seals."

Sheckley took the paper and unfolded it. It was an invitation to a wealthy man's party. "How'd you get this?"

Akuha found it in her pocket when she awoke three days after the riot. "It came from a contact I have within Fairy Tale."

"You have a spy working for you?"

"Not exactly, but she's given me my only lead."

"Sounds like you're already good-to-go." Sheckley slid the paper back. "Whataya' still talking to me for?"

Akuha accepted the paper and stuffed it in her pocket. "Thanks for the info I guess." She stood up and started to walk off. It was high time she'd left anyways.

"Be careful. We're not 'good guys' in a kid-show."

"Labels like 'good' or 'evil' are too definite for reality." Akuha left the room.

Sheckley just sat there as his guest left the house. "Man," he resumed stuffing himself with cookies, "that girl seems a lot less bitchy than I remember."

XXX

Akuha walked along the sidewalk outside the house she just visited, staring at the ground as she thought to herself. She understood how Alistair fit into this, but what about Talia or Tsukune? If they already knew Tsukune had Shinso blood, they wouldn't have tried to kidnap Moka too. The power of a Shinso can belong only to one person of that bloodline; they couldn't both have it. Perhaps Gyokuro was just being thorough?

"You're done?" Yukari said, leaning her back against a tree.

Akuha looked up and stopped in front of her. "I got all I needed."

Yukari brought up her wand. "Hey Ruby," she said to it like a microphone, "Ruby. Are you there?"

"Oh, you're ready to come back?" Ruby's voice resonated from the wand. "Okay, just a moment please."

Yukari's wand flashed and a purple aura of light engulfed them. The light slowly faded, revealing the charred Yōkai Academy entrance courtyard.

"So," Ruby said from her folding chair, "was your visit productive?"

Akuha nearly fell over. Teleporting always made her feel woozy. "It wasn't a waste of time." She noticed Ruby was having a hard time standing up, so she grabbed her wrist and helped her up. "You shouldn't be walking around in this condition."

"I know," Ruby said, using her wand as a walking stick, "I'm headed back to the dorms now."

Akuha began towards the dead-tree forest. "Yukari, can you go with her please?"

Yukari raised a brow at the word 'please'. "Uh, ok. I was headed there anyways." The witches walked the other way.

XXX

The Woods

Akuha continued walking while pondering as she had been. "The party…" Akuha mumbled, "It can't be a trap. She would've just finished me off when she had the chance." Her head was completely in the clouds, brainstorming every possibility based off what she knew. "Gah!" she yelped as someone grabbed her from behind.

"You're late!" Tsukune teased, "You said there was a penalty for being late!" He began a tickle her wildly on the hips.

"Argh! St- stop it!" Akuha laughed rather girlishly for how serious she usually was. "Not this again! Tsu-" She laughed, and even squealed too uncontrollably to speak.

"Aha!" said a third voice, "An adorable couple if I ever saw one."

Tsukune stopped his tickle-attack. "Couple?" Both he and Akuha froze.

Approaching them was a boy with a long braided ponytail, wearing an old-fashion Chinese outfit. "Good day to you two." He put a hand to his chest and grinned. "I am Fan Fan Wong, and I've been searching high and low for the both of you."

Akuha noted his last name. "Wong?" Her expression darkened. It was quite possible she was looking at a direct descendant of Touhou Fuhai himself, the creator of the Jigen-Tou.

"I have come to make a proposition." Fan Fan said coolly, "Not long ago, operatives of an evil organization attacked this academy." He folded his arms behind his back. "I can see from all the damage that was done that they were exceptionally powerful."

"Uh…" Tsukune considered mentioning that the Capricorns didn't start the fire, but they were quite fearsome nonetheless.

"But as powerful as they were, you defeated them!" Fan Fan noted Akuha's red eyes and Tsukune's holy lock. "Seeing how you're both vampires, I can see why." He took Akuha's hand and dropped to one knee. "Therefore, I would like you to join my family!"

Akuha looked befuddled. "Ex…cuse me?"

"I came to this academy to find strong individuals." Fan Fan said, "I asked around, and it's clear from what the students say that you two are the strongest!"

Tsukune scratched his head. "That's flattering, but…" His training, Moka, and Fairy Tale all came to mind. "I think we'll have to turn down your proposal."

Fan Fan released Akuha's hand and stood up. "Oh don't worry!" he sung, "It makes absolutely no difference that you're legally married. The mafia will welcome you all the same!"

Akuha looked almost traumatized. "Listen, we're not-"

"You don't need to explain!" Fan Fan said in bliss, "It's only natural that a man and a woman of similar age and strength should forge an invincible partnership! Vampires keep to themselves after all."

Akuha and Tsukune just stared at him like he was from another planet.

"Fortunately, a couple so powerful yet compassionate would be all the more-"

"We're not interested." Akuha declared.

Fan Fan didn't seem to hear her. "Ah… I can feel it now." He looked towards the sun in the sky. "The warmth of the bonds forged between-"

Akuha nudged Tsukune's shoulder. "Let's just split." she said as Fan Fan continued to ramble, "Anything we say sails right over him."

"-and so I can see beyond any reasonable doubt, that the Wong family…" Fan Fan finally noticed that Akuha and Tsukune were gone. "Huh? Wait!" He looked around frantically. "Where'd you go?"

XXX

Grassy Plain

After sharing a few short laughs, Tsukune went right back to training to make up for lost time. Like yesterday he had to do more weird exercises to improve his physique, but by now he had actually grown accustomed to it… at least enough to stop complaining.

"Sorry about giving him the wrong idea." Tsukune said. With a massive bolder on his back, and less sizable rocks strapped to his arms and legs, he repeatedly made arm motions as he walked to help loosen up his joints. It felt agonizing, yet somehow he could still manage a smile. "This training has just been wearing me out so much, so I wanted to loosen up."

Akuha blushed a little. "I don't mind, Tsuk." She sat down onto the grass and opened a book. "Hah, 'a couple'." she chuckled under her breath. "What a weird kid." She heard a fallen twig snap at the far side of the field. "Hmm?" Akuha shot up and turned.

Ginei stepped into the open field. "Hey, killer." he said with a hand raised.

"Oh," Akuha made a casual smile, "hey Ginei."

Ginei made a puzzled look. It seemed like Akuha was gradually getting nicer as time went on. "I see you're in a good mood." He made a short glance over his shoulder. "Anyways, someone wanted me to help find you." Someone came up next to him. "He told me it was urgent."

Any traces of Akuha's 'good mood' faded instantly when she saw who it was. "Oh… great…"

"Most impressive." Fan Fan said as he observed the field, "You've got your own training grounds to keep your skills sharp. As expected of the couple I want!"

Akuha trembled in annoyance. "You… brought… him here?"

Ginei shrugged. "Hey, how was I supposed to know that you don't like him?" He turned and went back the way he came. "He's your problem now. See ya."

Akuha slid a hand down her face, but noticed that Tsukune had stopped to watch. "Keep going, Tsuk. It's not like we haven't been sidetracked enough today."

"Yes sensei!" Tsukune said strongly. He went back to his exercise.

"Aha…" Fan Fan began to approach Akuha, "and a dominatrix if I ever saw one."

Akuha began to rattle in anger, looking like she was about to explode. "Listen," she said in a polite manner, "we're on a tight schedule with his training, so…" she paused, as if wondering what to say next, "go away!" she yelled unpleasantly.

Fan Fan raised his hands defensively. "Hey, hey, hey. I wouldn't think to disrupt something like that. He's honing his skills to get stronger." He stepped back and dropped his arms. "You on the other hand don't seem to be busy."

Akuha just looked at him blankly. Three months ago, she'd just kill anyone that annoyed her this much, but that wouldn't sit well with Mikogami or the friends she had made here. She had to put up with it.

"I'm not gonna give up." Fan Fan said, "Both of you are much too powerful to be out on freelance."

"We're not getting mixed up in someone else's affairs. We have our own problems to deal with."

"Then it'd be in your best interest to make allies. We could help each other."

"Help? You'd just slow us down."

Fan Fan made a stern look, struggling to think of what to say to convince her. "Alright, if that's the way you want it." From out of his sleeve, dozens of old Chinese coins sled onto his right hand. "Fight me! If I win, you'll have to join the Wong family!" A surge of electricity-like energy coursed through them, shaping the coins into the form of a sword and stabbing it through a charm.

Akuha leapt back, not cautiously, but curious as to what Fan Fan would do. "A coin sword? That's a summoning technique."

Fan Fan focused hard, holding the coin sword sideways in front of his chin. "Sure my opponent is a vampire, but I am the successor of the proud Wong family!" A third eye appeared on his forehead, revealing him to be a Yasha. "My ancestors, whom dwell in the shadows… become my sword and destroy my enemy." His third eye and coin sword began to grow brightly. "Come to me phoenix! Scorch all those that stand against me!"

Akuha felt her blood run cold. "Phoenix?" She had seen these legendary creatures before. A fully matured one once leveled an entire mountain before her eyes. If Fan Fan could really command something so powerful, she might actually consider his offer.

"Arise Pyotan, sacred bird of fire!" Fan Fan was engulfed in a brilliant flash of light.

Akuha looked hard, awaiting the creature of legends. "What the…"

Tsukune began to crack up as he watched. "I got to admit, that's not what I expected."

Fan Fan turned his head toward what he had summoned. "Panda?" A huge, fat looking panda sat there, rowdily eating heaps of bamboo. "Dang it…" He rarely got the creature he was aiming for.

Akuha just stared at him, unimpressed.

"Let's try this again!" Fan Fan pulled out another charm and tried the ritual once more. Another flash of light went off and faded. This time it really was a phoenix, but…

"I think I gave you too much credit," Akuha chuckled, "and that's saying something."

A baby phoenix chick with a chubby body and black button-like eyes chirped from the ground. It was barley larger than Akuha's fist and didn't emit any flame.

Fan Fan groaned. "I'll never get them to join if this keeps happening…" Somehow he had summoned the phoenix as a baby chick.

"Yeah, very funny." Akuha said blandly, "Now if you're through wasting our time…" she walked away and turned her attention towards Tsukune.

Fan Fan fell to his knees with his head dropped. "I can't return home in such shame." he whispered to himself, "We need strong allies. We need to win or we'll never achieve our family's goals!"

As if hearing Fan Fan, the baby phoenix bit onto the charm in his sword and pulled it away. "Sounds interesting…" said a deep, booming demonic voice, "I shall grant thy wish."

Akuha took notice as the chick suddenly shined like a second sun. It began to change, shrouding itself with fire and rapidly growing to the size of an airplane. It became a vast, majestic bird that strongly resembled a swan, featuring two long feathery streamers off the back of the head, fiery radiant eyes, a long graceful tail, and thin black legs.

"Holy crap!" Tsukune shouted, "That's a phoenix?"

"Wow," Akuha murmured, "when he gets his summons right, he gets them right."

Fan Fan ran from his phoenix as fast as he could, careful not to get burnt to a crisp. He no longer had the charm that allowed him to command it.

Akuha was taken back at first, but slowly smiled. "On second thought…" she looked over at Tsukune, "Tsuk, get rid of those weights. You're going to do a bit of sparring."

Tsukune gulped. "Against that?" The giant flaming bird certainly looked scary, but he remembered Moka's blood. If Vampires were the strongest of yōkai, wouldn't that mean he could take on a phoenix?

The phoenix made an ear-shattering screech as it flapped its wings and flew into the air. "Rise up and face me!" it said in its booming voice, "Confront the fire that cleanses the world!" It illuminated the entire campus to a far greater extent than the sun had.

Tsukune quickly dropped the rocks tied to him and stepped forward. "Are you sure about this, Akuha? You haven't taught me any techniques yet."

"You'll never know what you're going to get in a real fight." Akuha said with her arms crossed, "This is probably the best kind of training you can get." She fiddled with the two white hairs that hung near her right eye. "I'll… step in if things get bad."

"Ready to set the world on fire! Hehehe…" The phoenix dive bombed at Tsukune beak-first. A massive explosion of fire and stone erupted as it speared the front of its face into the ground.

Fan Fan watched from a distance, all three of his eyes opened wide. "No way…"

"What?" said the phoenix, "He stopped me!"

Tsukune stood at the center of the crater with both hands on the phoenix's beak. Every blood vein on his body looked like it was going to pop. Just catching the phoenix took everything he had. "This is nothing compared to my weight training!" He punched the phoenix with all his strength.

The phoenix shook off the blow and tried to peck the boy under his beak.

"Woah!" Tsukune barely dodged the attack. Pyotan was fast, but he was still a snail compared to Akuha.

"Hold still!" Pyotan rapidly pecked at the ground like a chicken eating grain, aiming for Tsukune as he evaded every strike.

Tsukune avoided another attack and countered, knocking Pyotan onto his back.

Enraged, Pyotan shot up and got back on his talons. "I will not be bested!" He pointed his beak high into the sky and opened his wingspan out wide. He began to shine again, this time so brightly that it wasn't possible to see.

Tsukune didn't need to see. Even with his eyes closed, the phoenix radiated so much energy that he'd probably sense it miles away without trying. With his eyes still shut, he leapt up as Pyotan blew a jet of fire at the ground below him. "This is where Moka would remind you your place!" He punched Pyotan across the face, sending the phoenix tumbling across the field. The blinding light quickly faded, only for dust and dirt particles to take its place.

Fan Fan stared through the dust clouds in disbelief. His phoenix lay there, beaten and humiliated.

"Sorry…" Pyotan said in a much less threatening tone, "I got cocky. I'll just… go now."

Akuha could tell that Pyotan was considerably weaker than the standard phoenix. Comparatively speaking, he was little older than a hatchling, and would probably need about ten more years before he could challenge a vampire as an equal. Still, even that wasn't a small feat. "Nice job, Tsuk." Akuha patted Tsukune on the shoulder. There was no need to burst his bubble.

Fan Fan came sprinting up to them ecstatically. "That… was… incredible!" he screamed.

"Great…" Tsukune panted, "I think that just made him more determined."

"You beat the legendary bird of fire, and so quickly too!" Fan Fan waved his arms around as he shouted, "You're more powerful than I ever imagined! Fairy Tale won't even know what hit them!"

Akuha and Tsukune each made a somber look. "Fan Fan," Akuha started, "do you even know who I am?"

"Uh…" Fan Fan thought for a moment, "You never gave me your name."

"She is Akuha Shuzen." The voice of a woman was heard from the forest. "A vampire, whom at the age of thirteen, became the Miu family's greatest assassin. Feared and loathed, she gained much infamy in the underground." A woman dressed like a traditional Jiang Shi floated towards them with her arms outstretched. Talismans lined the bottom of her dress and the top of her cap. She had a long black ponytail and facial features similar to Fan Fan's. "Commonly known as the 'Black Devil', am I right?"

"I see you've done your homework." Akuha studied the Jiang Shi, or zombie for simpler terms. "As expected of Touhou Fuhai's direct dicple, Ling Ling Wong."

Fan Fan looked back and forth between his sister and Akuha. "Do you know each other?"

"No." Akuha said, staring Ling Ling down. "We don't." Touhou Fuhai was one of Fairy Tale's strongest enemies. It made that she would learn all she could about him.

"Just one question." Ling Ling said, staring back at her "Why would one of Fairy Tale's strongest members defect?"

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…