Chapter 1:
Grim Reunion
The feeling of moisture roused the young man from his restless sleep. Blinking tired eyes, he slowly looked around in confusion for several seconds before realizing where he was. 'That's right. I stayed with her last night.'
Throwing back the covers, he was greeted with the rank smell of sweat. 'The nightmares must have been good last night,' he thought, noting how saturated the bedding was. Standing slowly, he stretched out the full of his six-and-a-half foot body.
He moved toward the bathroom, knowing one of her servants would be by to change the bedding and air out the mattress. Stopping a moment, he looked into the mirror. Eyes far older than his eighteen years stared back at him. His hand strayed up to touch the fiery stubble on his chin. An ironic smile touched his lips as he looked briefly at his wiry frame. 'Something about how your roads can leave reminders of themselves. I guess I have more stories to tell than an old greybeard.' Pushing that thought aside, he grabbed his razor.
He emerged twenty minutes later, shaven and refreshed, noting that the bedding had been removed and clothing laid out for him. 'Must be in one of her moods,' noting that everything was black. Dressing quickly he moved downstairs and toward the entrance, stepping into his boots as he did so. Looking to a faded coat hanging near the door, he broke into a grin. 'All I need is a wide brimmed hat now. Although she'd probably kill me, thinking I was Herrmann.' Shaking his head at the thought of the demon lord, he reached for the weapon he took from the magic world over eight years ago. Forty-two inches of steel hidden in blackened sheath, a hypnotic pattern of inlaid platinum lines crossed and re-crossed moving toward a leather bound hilt. A perfectly spherical stone sat on the pommel, flashing red with its own inner fire. Buckling the blade to his waist, he glanced at his watch. 'Nearly 12:30. The gathering is at five.' Leaving the cabin, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, noting that several were missing. Sighing in resignation, he vowed to reduce the wages of a certain perverted ermine.
For a day without classes, the local Starbooks was nearly empty. Kazumi Asakura glanced around at the other occupants before moving to the counter and placing an order.
"Kazumi." She turned to look at the girl who entered with her. Red eyes framed by a wealth of bluish white hair stared back at her.
She let a smile brush her lips, "Yes Sayo?"
"Over there." Kazumi's gaze followed the path of her finger. A back table was partially concealed by shadow. It took her a moment to notice the two figures sitting there that drew Sayo's notice. Her smile widened as the grabbed her drink and moved towards them.
"Haven't seen you two in a while."
Two pairs of eyes stared at her. One, belonging to the blonde, said "Hello Kazumi, Sayo. Have a seat."
Kazumi took the seat next to her while Sayo sat next to the one with the strange facial marks. "I thought you two were sent to help the North American government track down and destroy some kind of undead shadow."
"Direct as ever Kazumi. Down in Florida they had a rash of murders. While the bodies themselves bore terrible wounds, what set off warning bells was that none of the bodies cast a shadow. No matter what light or angle, nothing. The North American government sent in a couple of mage teams to deal with the thing. Only one survived and his mind was hopelessly shattered by his experience. He kept raving about the shadow consuming itself. The decided to put out a request for anyone versed in Shadow magery, and Zazie and I were asked to check it out."
"Wait a minute. The last report that we got on the incident claimed that there were no survivors Takane."
"That's correct. Before we arrived, the creature struck, breaking into a heavily secured mental ward." Her dark eyes grew cold and hard. "We think it feed on him, although that seemed to be an afterthought. There wasn't a single inch of his room that wasn't covered in blood or worse. It turned that poor bastard into a warning to stay away."
Kazumi's expression mirrored Takane's. "I hope you killed that thing."
"Containment was never an option, even before this attack. It took nearly a week to track down its usual hunting grounds, and a few days before we managed to run into it. Unfortunately my powers are a manifestation of my own shadow so I didn't fare to well against it. I managed to get a few spells off, but my minions and shadow familiar were one big buffet for it. Zazie was the one who managed to kill it."
"All I did was send us to the shadow realm," a musical voice cut in. "The enemy became more dangerous because of this; however, I was able to use far more of my power there. I did manage to find out what the thing was though. It is known as a Shadavarin. Not much is know about them except that they are extremely rare. I imagine that the library club with be put to work finding out any information on the creature so we don't get caught flat-footed again."
"What kind of disguise could such a creature have?" Sayo interjected for the first time.
"It was able to draw enough power from its prey to cloak itself as a human." The musical voice paused a moment, "you would not believe what prey it chose."
"Oh?" Kazumi said, noting that Takane's face had gone completely still.
"It was hunting a circuit of about six different strip clubs. That's what took so long to track down. We got lucky enough to find him early." A slow flush started to creep up Takane's face. "We went undercover at one of the clubs that hadn't been hit in a while."
"Zazie," Takane ground out, her face growing noticeably hotter.
"All it took was one time on stage, and he took the bait. As she said, her minions looked like a buffet."
"Enough!"
Zazie got a wicked gleam in her eyes. "The best part was just before we left. The owner of the club offered her a lot of money to stay on. Even I was impressed. She made a name for herself doing things I thought were impossible with a Cloak of Shadows."
Kazumi stared in shock at the blonde, who sat with face flaming, and started to laugh. Sayo joined in a moment later.
"I will get you for this Zazie."
Ako Izumi was definitely feeling unwell. A combination of a late night concert and far too much partying afterward left her in a sour mood. She sat in a small café with the members of her band, trying to decide if it was worth it to remain conscious or not.
"I told you that you were drinking to much last night Ako," a husky voice said.
Ako brushed her disheveled lavender hair from her face and blinked bloodshot eyes at the woman who spoke. Had she felt better she would have glared at the woman, but as it was, she could barely focus on her face, only on the bluish black mop on top of her head.
"Leave me alone Madoka. My head already feels like one of your drums after a show." Instantly she regretted speaking.
Madoka looked ready to snap. A restraining hand was placed on her arm. She looked over at a purple haired woman who shook her head slightly. She placed a steaming cup in front of Ako.
"Drink this. It should help."
Ako stared at the cup for a while before starting to sip the hot liquid. She fought to keep from gagging at its bitter taste. It took several minutes for her to finish the drink. Another was placed in front of her. Grimacing, she drank the second one down as well. 'What kind of hangover remedy is this,' she wondered as some of the pain started to recede and her mind began to clear. "Thank you Misa. Sorry for snapping at you Madoka." She said to her friends after several minutes. A thought struck her then, "Where is Sakurako?"
"She wandered away while we were trying to cure your hangover." Misa said.
"HEY GUYS!" A powerful voice cut across any further conversation. Ako immediately started shuddering when the sound hit her. "Guess who I found."
Two women approached the table. The one with reddish-orange hair was Sakurako, Ako's missing band mate. The other had dark red hair and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks.
"Natsumi! How have you been?" Madoka exclaimed.
"Hello Madoka, Misa, Ako." She said, pulling over an unused chair to join them. "I've been very busy with work lately, although I am taking a month or so off right now. How's the band doing?"
"Very good. With Misa's guitar work, Sakurako's vocals, and Ako on the bass, we are one of the better known indie bands in the area. I've heard that you are considering a move from stage to film Natsumi."
"That is part of why I am taking time off from work right now. I have starred in several plays and musicals, yet I am wondering if I should try for the big screen. I wanted to take some time to think it over before making any decisions."
"We know exactly what you mean Natsumi." Ako said.
Kotaro Inugami was finally starting to feel better about the day. Having spent a sleepless night had made him rather short tempered. He had just finished a three way fight that had started as an impromptu training session with both Ku Fei and Kaede Nagase. Kotaro had always been one to prefer action. Looking at his opponents he noticed that they were breathing deeply; neither of them being ones to hold beck during training. None of them were skilled in magic, however, their individual fighting power and experience with chi made them deadly opponents.
"Oh ho ho. You three keep getting better and better." Kotaro turned at this to look at the two people who were observing this training fight. The speaker was a tall over-developed woman with brown hair.
Kotaro threw her a rakish grin. "Of course we do Chizu-ne." Chizuru Naba. Though not related by blood with her, Kotaro treated her as an older sister, along with Natsumi Murakami. He thought back to when they had first found him, over eight years ago, badly beaten and in canine form. They took him in and helped raise him, Chizuru especially helping him to control the battle lust that still coursed through his veins. It didn't help that Kotaro was slightly afraid of her. She was well known as having an unbreakable will, and a terrible temper when roused.
He looked at the other woman and his eyes softened a bit. A few inches shorter than his six foot frame, Mei Sakura stood watching him, idly twisting a lock of her red hair. Kotaro gave her a real smile as she moved towards him and took his hand.
"Good fight." She said, happy that his mood had improved, yet sad that she had made him suffer in the first place. "I'm sorry Kotaro."
He could pick up the regret in her voice and his arms closed about her shoulders. "It's nothing." He had held her all night while she was troubled with nightmares. "A bit of lost sleep won't hurt me." He tried to remember exactly when this woman had become important to him. He could remember helping her hone her physical fighting abilities, helping to mold her into a very power mage in her own right, but he couldn't seem to remember when he started to care for her. He could remember the moment they became bonded with the pactio, and again the day when Mei asked him to become her permanent partner, but not his feelings. While it did trouble him a little, he shrugged it out of his mind, being far more concerned with practical problems.
Chizuru wandered over to Kaede and Ku Fei.
"You raise good boy Chizuru. With challenge like him, no wonder you good teacher." Ku said. Chizuru hid a grimace at her words. She knew Ku was smarter than that, but she always seemed to talk with her broken vocabulary.
"When are you going to drop that vile dialect of yours Ku? I know you can speak normally, I've heard you do it. Are you trying to claim some kind of trademark for yourself?"
Ku's face split into a huge grin. "I unique. Speech let everyone know who I am."
Ku broke into laughter as Chizuru shook her head. She glanced over at Kaede who laughed at them for a moment, then returned to look at Kotaro and Mei, her eyes seeming to lose focus as her thoughts drifted away from the present.
Chizuru saw the look but didn't mention it. 'Only a few hours left until the gathering. No wonder she is spacing out.'
With no classes at the academy, three women were borrowing one the offices used for teacher meetings. It was a strange sight, even for the academy. Two of them had what looked to be books opened, though anyone would be hard pressed to identify them as such. Both books had what looked to be holographic screens coming off of them, and a tremendous amount of data seemed to be flashing on the screens.
The shorter of the two, a hard looking woman with blue hair said, "This is the worst part of our travels. The database on the magic net is barely adequate when it comes to Earth, let alone the magic realm. Our updates barely dent the holes in their data."
A black haired woman looked up from a sketch pad, "Not everything can be fun and excitement Yue. Besides, these uploads are our payment for relative autonomy from the magic council."
A tall purple haired woman looked up from her book. "Haruna is right Yue. Even we cannot oppose the magic council. So we send them enough information to get them to leave us alone." Her voice was quiet when she spoke, yet there was a faint undertone of steel.
Nodoka thought about their purpose with the magic council. They were explorers, as much of the magic world was still a mystery even to its inhabitants. More importantly, they updated the council's repository of magical knowledge. As one of the most successful groups, the council gave them an extremely generous amount of leeway with their activities.
She was interrupted from her musings when the door opened. All three looked to see a very athletic pair approach them.
"Shouldn't you be doing this in the library," the shorter of the two asked.
"No Yuna, the entire library is in an uproar right now. All members of the library expedition club are pouring over all the books to find some kind of information. Probably has something to do with the academy's mage teams."
"I never thought you'd be the type to not get involved with the library Nodoka." The taller woman said.
"It doesn't interest me at the moment. Only a handful of Mahora's teams' journey out of this realm, so most research is done for here. We have very little to do with this one anymore. Besides, we'll get the information later."
"Oh Akira," Haruna interjected. "Are you two ever going to leave this place and travel? Your abilities would be a benefit to any team out there. I understand that you two are among the sports legends of the academy, but does that mean that you have to stay here teaching and coaching?"
They were walking through one of the World Tree Plazas. One, a raven haired swordswoman, turned to her companion. "I told you last night to get some sleep Kono-chan. You have been pushing yourself to hard lately."
Her dark haired companion gave her a tired smile. "I just have too much work to do Set-chan; especially at this time of the year. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Setsuna knew the immense duties that lay on the shoulders of her young Magister Magi. She thought back to what Herrmann said years ago about Konoka's power. Setsuna was filled with pride knowing that Konoka had far exceeded that estimation. Her healing powers were unequaled anywhere; she had delved deeply into the protective arts, and researched holy magic to complement her abilities.
In spite of her protests, Setsuna had insisted that she take this walk. Konoka had to admit that she was feeling a little better, and a bit more focused because of this. Secretly she was thrilled that her Ministra was so concerned for her.
They noticed two people staring over at them. Konoka smiled when she recognized one of the support mage teams.
"Misora, Cocone." She called, moving over to join the pair. Konoka had always thought these two were a strange pair. Cocone was a small woman with dead, expressionless eyes. Misora was rather average with an athletic bearing, although her eyes were extremely intense. Konoka always had trouble meeting that gaze for long.
Setsuna felt the inner shudder that Konoka suppressed. She tried to equate the memory of the girl she went to school with to the woman standing before her. She failed. However, she did understand Misora's expression, that look of twisted self loathing and hatred. She had never told Konoka, but she had seen that look often. Her colorless eyes often held that look when staring back at her from the mirror.
Evangeline kept a tight rein on her irritation. Seated behind a large desk, she looked at the three seated before her. Careful to allow no trace of her mood to show she spoke. "Chisame, I've read the report from Takane, how is the search of the library going?"
Piercing eyes met hers. "We haven't had much luck in finding any information. According to Zazie, the Shadavarin are extremely rare. We may have access to most of the information in this world; however, we may still come up empty on this. I've sent a request for information to some of my contacts in Mesembria. Between us we may be able to find some solid information, and not just rumors and legend."
"Very well," Eva gave a small sigh of vexation. "You are in charge of both security and our combat mage teams. I want them to have any information that can be found." She paused a moment as a green haired woman set a cup of tea in front of her and the others. Taking a sip she noted, "It's very good. Thank you Chachamaru."
"You're welcome Mistress." Eva had more and more trouble remembering that she was a robotic life form. Over the years she had a number of upgrades that had turned her appearance into one indistinguishable from a human, not counting the ears that she still preferred to wear. Some upgrades were a little more bizarre, including the ability to function as a human woman.
Breaking that train of thought, she looked at the one with glasses. "You have been working on new upgrades for Chachamaru correct? What are you planning this time Satomi?"
"These upgrades are not for Chachamaru. I don't think that they will correctly interface with her AI programming."
"Then what are you attempting?"
"I am trying to design a new type of robot. We have obtained a bit of technology from Cyrenica that I am still trying to analyze. Unfortunately it is very advanced and my department is not having a lot of success."
"Holding out on me, huh?" The third woman stated, raising an eyebrow.
"Stop it Ayaka. I just want updates today. The new year starts in just over a week. We'll deal with financial concerns and what your company will be allowed to place on the market then."
"As you wish Eva. There are a few other matters that will have to be discussed at that time as well." Ayaka flashed her a deceptively sweet smile. Changing the subject she asked, "How is everyone doing?"
"There are a lot of problems that keep creeping up. Between Nodoka's group causing all manner of trouble in the various realms, getting requests to send people to eliminate threats in other nations, and the 'Elder' interfering in everything that goes on around here everything is fine. Except, of course, for the mental and emotional scars that everyone carries. You were with us in Kyoto when the walls between the realms were shattered."
Evangeline closed her eyes for a moment. The death toll defied even her immortal imagination. It was estimated that nearly half the population of the planet died during the event or through violence and suicide in its aftermath. Kyoto itself was a twisting mess of mystical energies playing host to the gate to one of the other realms. It was one of the few times in her recent life that she had been surprised. No one had known about the existence of three new realms, or the blanket that covered them and kept them connected in a fairly uncontrolled fashion. Worse yet, what spawned in Kyoto turned out to be the lower realm, Purgatory. Only the dead occupied what was left of that city. Even worse, with that gate, the mystical contracts binding the inhabitants of the realm were rendered obsolete, and they could pass freely into any of the realms.
It wasn't all bad though, as not all the denizens of that realm were creatures of darkness and hate, or creatures of death. Mahora became caught in a nexus so to speak, meaning that while there had always been a very noticeable foreign presence, that presence had expanded from mere nationalities to realm of origin.
Evangeline opened her eyes and pulled her thoughts up short. Glancing at everyone and at the clock on the wall she said, "We need to get going if we are to make the gathering on time."
The Tatsumiya shrine had changed over the past eight years. It was easily three times the size that it used to be. This was mainly due to the fact that after the destruction of Kyoto, this place became the headquarters for both the Kansai and Kanto magic associations. None of that mattered to the group that gathered in the main hall.
Evangeline met everyone's gaze, saying nothing as no words were needed. She noted that one was missing. Despite that, she turned and led the group deeper into the temple. A few minutes later she reached the chamber that was their destination. Pausing momentarily, she noticed the seals that normally adorned this chamber had been removed. Straining her supernatural hearing, she could make out the faint sounds of a man's grief on the other side of the door. Knowing what she would find, she slowly opened the door.
Muted candlelight shone throughout the chamber. She kept her attention away from the young man at the center of the far wall. She looked around at the numerous golden plaques that hung from the walls. 'Far too many names are here.' Class 3-A, Makie Sasaki, Fuka Narutaki, Fumika Narutaki, Mana Tatsumiya, Satsuki Yotsuba; each name read brought a face to her mind. Farther on the wall was a plaque to the teachers; Konoemon Konoe, Toko Kuzunoha, Mitsuru Nijuin, far too many others. Her eyes reached a spot that caused a tightening of her throat and chest, Ala Rubra. Takamichi Takahata, Eishun Konoe, and Albireo Imma had there names engraved on this wall, silent testimony to their individual lives.
Finally she allowed her attention to focus on the black clothed man. She could hear his tortured cries and knew that the resolve of those who accompanied her was failing and that this place would soon be awash in tears. 'I suppose this is the place for it.'
Her head snapped up, trying to determine if she had heard someone speaking. After a moment, she started to withdraw into her own thoughts again when she heard it again. "I know I can't ask for any of your forgiveness. As pitiful and worthless as it sounds all I can say is I'm sorry." Barely recognizable as words, she heard him apologize over and over. She wondered for a moment who he was apologizing to, the memory of those names written here, or one final plaque, placed in the center of the far wall. She noticed his hand upon it, although his fingers were clenched as if in unspeakable torment. She couldn't read the name on this final plaque, not that she needed to. Only one person could ever draw such an open response from this tortured man.
Asuna Kagurazaka.
A/N: couple of things. I was trying to decide how to classify this story and I guess it could be considered an AU continuation. I hope it doesn't come across as a disjointed chapter, as I wrote it over about a week. In case anyone is wondering, I do have a general outline of where this story is going, and I do have reasons for some of what is in here.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It won't be prevalent in the next chapter, or maybe a couple after that, but this story will dive into various mythologies, including some Judeo-Christian ones. If that makes anyone uncomfortable, then this is fair warning to bail out now.
Anyway, as before, constructive reviews are appreciated, flames are ignored. Thank you for your time and enjoy.
Lord Magius