Tune 2: Exploration
Asuka sat in a fetal position on her bed looking up at the night sky through her window. Her mind was on that Oni guy, who saved her twice, the second time it was her and her friends.
"Oni, huh?" thought Asuka.
Back home her mother and grandparents would tell her stories regarding old Japanese folklore, insisting that she should learn the history because creatures, like the ones that attacked them earlier, are also part of the Shinobi world. Plus, only a Shinobi can defeat those creatures.
It sounded crazy to her but today and last night had changed that point of view. Now that she thinks about it, maybe telling her those stories weren't so bad, after all. Of course, every time in the beginning her mother and grandfather would start off with a super long boring narration that would drive her insane. Then, it ends off with the hero or heroine who either saves people in the end, or dies for their people by slaying the monster in the end.
Asuka yawned deciding it was time for her to go to sleep. It was already midnight and she defiantly needs her eight hours of sleep before starting school. Plus, knowing her friends, they'll obviously start telling Kiriya-sensei about the Oni and those creatures they faced. What were they called again?
Bakeneko...?
She drifted off to sleep.
(Hanzo Academy)
After the girls were saved by the Oni, Ikaruga had taken it upon herself to alert Kiriya right after the battle was over. Understanding the situation, the older man had made some calls and thankfully, a few Shinobi stationed in police authorities and media alike were already on the move. They had taken care of everything, including finding some of the civilians who witnessed the creatures and potentially anyone else who might have seen the girls and that Oni person fight.
Luckily, they had ways of making those people forget about the events and assured the safety of the Shinobi world. And lastly, the Shinobi on clean up duty were able to manipulate the media so that no one would hear of the incident to further assure their secrets are protected.
However, things began to get complicated when the higher up started to demand a thorough report from Kiriya seeing that his students are the ones who partook in the event. At first, Kiriya wanted to ask what they had witnessed the day before explaining in detail, but decided against it letting his students have time to rest and mentally prepare themselves.
So after properly greeting his students, with them doing the same, all of them had sat down in the classroom as they just finished telling him about their event from yesterday. All of them had spoken at the same time, which irked him a little and told them to speak one at a time. But of course, one of them would add something extra or just share side comments.
"Oni?" pondered Kiriya.
"Indeed." Ikaruga nodded. "Those creatures had called that person an Oni."
"And I think he called them Bakenekos, right?" Asuka asked. "I think I heard him say that."
"Oh yeah, I heard that too." Katsuragi placed a hand underneath her chin, thinking about something.
Kiriya was deep in thought right now. There was just something about this story that doesn't feel right. He knows for a fact his students aren't lying, that much he could tell but…
"Kiriya-sensei…" Hibari's voice broke him out of thought. He glances at his pink haired student who looks at him with a wondering look.
"What is it, Hibari?" he asked.
"What exactly is an Oni?" she asked.
"I'm wondering that, too." Yagyuu spoke. "Because the one who saved us wasn't anything at all from the old folklore our parents would tell us."
Kiriya honestly had no idea what to say. He was taken aback by this question simply because he doesn't know how to respond to it. Plus, if what they saw wasn't anything like the ones from those old textbook drawings, then he doesn't have an answer at all. However, he can't risk his students knowing this because he takes pride as an instructor.
"Well, uh, let's see. From how you girls described him…I mean, is that really what you-" Ikaruga cut him off.
"I'm sorry to cut you off, Kiriya-sensei. But we know what we witnessed." Yagyuu spoke next.
"A purple bodysuit almost like second skin, red gloves, silver bands on his wrist, forearms, and ankles; a helmet with horns and a golden face ornament too." Katsuragi jumped in net.
"Oh…! And don't forget those red markings too." Asuka nodded.
"His weapons were a pair of drum sticks with red crystals that allows him to shoot flames." Asuka continued. "Also, his techniques were almost that of a Shinobi, but yet somehow…different."
"Yeah, I'll say." Katsuragi crossed her arms. "Claws coming out of his gloves, shooting fire out of his drumsticks, and has a hologram drum set too." She listed.
"Do you know any of this, Kiriya-sensei?" Ikaruga asked.
In truth, Kiriya really had no idea what any of this means. Sure, supernatural creatures exist especially in the world of Shinobi but…this is something beyond his knowledge. He knows both himself and his students are wasting time with this idle chatter of theirs.
"I'm sorry girls, but I don't." Kiriya told them making the girls sigh. They were hoping he would know something, since he's the teacher and all. It looks like he doesn't. "I'll be sure to report this to the higher ups. Right now, we have lessons to cover up. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sensei." they nodded.
"Good, so let's begin."
(Woods)
Hotaka woke up feeling energized. Stepping out of his hut he pulls out a large bag full of fruits he gathered. Clapping his hands together he gave a prayer of thanks, then starts to chow down, literally eating all of them, one bite after the other. He grabs a large leaf filled with water and drank from it.
(With Kiriya)
Kiriya sat in his office trying to go over some paper work he's been behind on. It was a real pain in the neck to do, but that's what you get for taking on an educator role. Well, still better than being out on the field no matter how much that was back in his days. It was PE time for the girls, so he left them alone with training exercises he left for them. It should be enough time for him to sort out some thoughts about these Bakeneko creatures his students faced. Especially about this Oni who saved them.
Kiriya went over some paper work again, signing over some things before getting back to his thoughts.
"What kind of creature, especially an Oni would save a human? Or a Shinobi more less." pondered Kiriya. "It looks like I'll have to keep an eye on the girls for their own sake. Also, I'll be able to see what they saw. Until then, I can't report anything."
(Gymnasium)
The girls were honing their skills in the gymnasium following the exercises that Kiriya had left for them. They did hand-to-hand combat, threw shurikens and kunais around, avoiding some traps that were hidden here for some reason, and finally some other stuff too.
Right now, all of them are just sitting around discussing what they're going to do after school.
"Hey, you guys wanna go to the arcade after school? I heard there's a new game over there and I want to try it out, so I can beat everyone!" Katsuragi challenged.
"Sure, why not." Yagyuu shrugged.
"Hibari wants to play a game of whack a mole, earn lots of tickets so she can earn that giant teddy bear as the prize!" Hibari cheered. There was giant bear she wanted and is only a few hundred tickets away.
"I want to try that dancing stage again! It was really fun!" Asuka laughed.
Katsuragi grinned seeing her chance. "Oh why yes, it was fun…" She quickly snuck up behind Asuka once again sexually harassing her by groping her sizeable chest. "Seeing you and your tits move around when dancing it gets me all excited~!"
"Gyahhh! Katsu-nee, stop it!" Asuka cried.
Yagyuu sighed at this and glanced over at Ikaruga, who seemed to be in deep thought. She looked over at Hibari who was just telling Katsuragi to stop molesting their friend. Then, she went over to the swordswoman. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Yagyuu-san?" Ikaruga realized, now out of thought.
"Were you thinking about what we talked about earlier with Kiriya-sensei?"
"Yes, and it worries me." Ikaruga said. "I know we don't know anything about this, and there isn't a reason to get ourselves to get too worked up, but…"
"You're right. We shouldn't be worrying about this…" Yagyuu began. "There's no use trying to know something that doesn't want to present itself to us."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ikaruga agreed.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Katsuragi called out. "The fun's over here!"
"Right, sorry about that, we'll be over there." replied Ikaruga.
Ikaruga and Yagyuu went over to their friends having a good time before Kiriya suddenly came into the room.
"So…did everyone complete the training I left out for them?" he asked, arms crossed.
The girls nervously scratched their head letting out a small laughter.
(Deep in the forest)
The Man and Woman were dressed in kimonos as they glared at Asakusa.
"Damn that Oni, getting in our way! How dare he!?" the man growled in the woman's voice.
"He destroyed my precious kitties, while they were out playing. He must pay along with those girls, too!" the woman growled but in the man's voice.
"Don't worry." the man said. "I can assure you, that we'll get our revenge against those pests! It's all in a matter of time, and knowing how to find it."
"Agreed." the woman said before they disappeared inside a mist that suddenly came out of nowhere.
(Unknown room)
Inside a dark room the sound of typing could be heard. The computer screen's light provided very little as it only revealed a silhouette.
"That's interesting." spoke a male voice. "It looks like he made it." A smirk formed onto his lips. "Guess it's about time to let all our boys have themselves a little fun."
The male figure chuckled before his door was suddenly kicked down, causing him to comically scream in surprise. He looks at his door with the light beaming inside the room but not by much. There, four robbed figures stood by the door frame.
Their faces could not be seen due to their hoods. It was hard to tell them apart at first since they each wore black robes. However, it became quite easy to discern them as he noticed strands of hair sticking out of their hoods.
"Hey, Caretaker, you in here?" asked the first robbed male with dark green hair locks.
"Seriously, don't you have any manners?" the second robbed male with raven hair locks sighed. "You have to knock on the door, not kick it down, you blubbering fool."
"Hey! Who you callin' blubbery? I ain't fat!" yelled the green haired robed male.
"He doesn't mean your weight, you dummy." the third robbed male with locks of dark blue hair spoke.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"You know exactly what it means…"
"Why don't I teach ya how to respect one of your big brothers!" yelled the green haired robbed male, raising his fist up.
"Fight, fight, fight…!" the fourth black robbed male, with locks of silver hair, encouraged as he sparkled at the fact of a potential fight breaking loose.
The two were at each other's faces as they began to leak out a bit of Ki.
"Hey, you little brats!" yelled the 'caretaker' who glared at them. "Don't forget that I'm still here! And how many times have I told you not to fight in this room? You should only do that outside! Also, you boys better fix my damn door!"
"Jeez, there's no need to yell." said the green haired robbed male, putting both hands behind his head. "And besides, I did knock…until I got bored of waiting and decided to open the door the fun way. Besides, we'll get it fixed in no time."
"Why must we help fix it? You're the one who kicked it down instead of knocking like you were supposed to." the raven haired robbed male sighed. "Honestly, knock next time…"
"Alright, alright, I'll knock next time."
The 'caretaker' spoke, "And you better do it how I showed you? Before you ask, it doesn't mean punching…!"
The four looked at each other, obviously some confusion hidden beneath their hoods, causing the Caretaker to sigh.
"Seriously, you boys…" Saving himself of an unwanted headache, he decided to change the topic knowing exactly why they came to him. "Putting that aside for now, you came to ask about your brother...correct…?"
They nodded in response.
"Well, don't worry, I already know what's going on with him." the 'caretaker' said, grinning.
"Is he okay?" asked the rave haired robbed male.
"Yeah, do you know what he's doing?" asked the green haired robbed male.
"Well…" the 'caretaker' was about to respond until something on the computer started acting up. "Huh?" The four boys went over to see what was going on.
"What's wrong?" asked the raven haired robbed male.
He smirked and looked at the robbed males. "Well it looks like you boys are going on a field trip!" He laughed. "Get your things ready because I have a feeling this is going to be very interesting. Oh, and send one of your shikigami over here." He pointed his finger on the screen showing a map of some location. "But first…you boys better fix that door right now!"
And with that, all of them ran away except the green haired robbed male since he was thrown back by his brethren, because he's the one who actually kicked down the door after all.
"You traitors!" he yelled.
"Start fixing my damn door, you hear me!"
"Achoo!" Hotaka sneezed. "Is somebody talking about me?" He wiped the bottom of his nose with his finger. "Oh well…"
(Asauksa)
In the rural parks of Asakusa, a security guard was doing his daily hour patrols. It was something that he does from time to time or would most likely get called in for. Well as long as the job pays well, then he can't complain. The security guard had wondered aimlessly around the park feeling pretty bored. Man, this job can be a pain in the ass at times. Then before he knew it, he heard someone crying.
"Hello?" he called out only to hear more crying. He went to go check it out and saw a woman, who was dressed in a kimono on the ground. "Hey lady, are you okay?"
"Please, someone help me." she continued to weep. "I've spared my ankle and cannot stand."
"Oh, uh…hold on! I'll help you!" the security made his over to the woman and gently picked her up, grabbing her underneath the shoulders gently. The woman hopped on one foot and glanced at the security guard, who blushed because she was pretty, really pretty!
"Why…thank you, kind sir." she smiled.
"Oh uh, no…it's my pleasure to help someone in need!" he nervously said, scratching the back of his head.
"Why don't you let me repay you." she smirked, leaning closer to the Security guard who nervously laughed and blushed. "…With a kiss." Then, the woman's voice suddenly started to sound like that of a man.
"Eh?" the security guard blinked. Did this woman's voice change and sounded like a man? Let's just make sure. "Umm, what…did you say again?"
"She said…" a new voice came in, but it was a woman's. The security guard turned around to see a man dressed in a brown kimono coming out behind a tree. "If she could repay you with a kiss…"
The security guard wore a shocked look on his face after seeing this man coming out of the tree, and his voice wasn't that of a man's at all! Then, he looked back at the woman who spoke.
"Be a good boy and let me award you." the woman smirked as the security pushed her away. It wasn't a surprise that she was standing perfectly on her own. But what did surprise him is that her eyes glowed and a projection face of a creature appeared too, before going back to normal or something close to it.
The security guard backed away from her and bumped into the man, who grabbed him so he wouldn't escape.
"Now feast, my dear." the man smirked.
"Indeed." the woman came closer to the security guard as her mouth had turned that into a monster's.
Screams of terror could be heard followed by a huff growl afterwards.
It was lunch inside the classroom and the girls heavily sighed. After Kiriya had found them messing around inside the gym, he made them do A LOT more exercises because it was his duty as a teacher. Plus, they were slacking around the whole time too, so that was fair in some degree. They all had to run some laps around the school, balance on logs while holding buckets full of water, and worst of all they were lectured non-stop about something or other.
"Man, Kiriya-sensei went too far on his training this time!" Katsuragi complained, her arms feeling sore.
"If you call that "training" it was more like punishment for slacking off in the gym a little." Asuka noted.
"Hibari doesn't want to do that ever again." Hibari lightly whined, laying down the floor with swirls in her eyes.
"It's alright, Hibari." Yagyuu assured, patting her on the head.
"Indeed. I agree with you all." Ikaruga nodded. "Although, we should've continued training so Kiriya-sensei wouldn't have to make us do all that."
"Ah, forget about it!" Katsuragi waved off. "What's done is done, so let's just forget about it and have our selves some lunch!"
Ikaruga nodded as she poured tea into each cup.
"Alright, let's eat! I brought the ramen!" Katsuragi cheered, pulling out five large bowls of ramen.
"Eh?" blinked Asuka. "But Katsu-nee, I brought the sushi rolls right here!" She pulled a large plate of sushi rolls.
"I brought fried squid." Yaguu said, carrying a plate of squid.
"But Hibari brought candy!" Hibari said taking out candy.
"Oh dear…" Ikaruga said, worried. She knows where this is going to go. "Ladies, please wait, we can make this work somehow!"
It was already too late. Asuka, Katsuragi, Yagyuu, and Hibari started arguing before one of them threw one another's food.
"Wait, stop, we mustn't do this!" Ikaruga yelled trying to stop them.
(Later that night)
Hotaka lied on the ground looking up at the stars. "What a good time to star gaze." He happily sighed. "And dinner smells great, too!" He gazes at the fish he caught earlier cooking in the fire. He was about to get up before seeing something flying up in the sky before it came down.
It was a bird. But unlike the one he carried it was purely made up in flames.
"Shikigami?" he questioned before the Shikigami had formed itself into words. He started to read and smiled, understanding what it meant. "So it looks like…" he gazed down at Asakusa with a grin. "I'm going back there again!"
(The next morning)
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, I'm totally gonna be late!" Asuka cried, running down the street. She was up late last night playing a video game with Katsuragi and Hibari. That was big mistake, despite being really fun. Honestly, she can't believe she's running desperately to school again.
She continues to run until she accidently bumped into someone, causing her to fall on her behind. "I'm sorry about that. Are you okay?" Asuka asked, looking up at the girl.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." she smiled at her and waved off. "Sorry, but I'm in a hurry, so I've gotta go. Later!" She ran off.
Asuka stood up from the ground and dusted herself off. When she dusted off her pocket area, she felt that her wallet was gone! "My wallet!" cried Asuka, looking back at the girl who continued still ran. "Hey wait!" She ran after her.
The girl, who stole Asuka's wallet, looked back at her with a devilish grin. "Ha! Sucker! It's like taking candy from a baby!" She continues to run and looks up ahead to see a boy in front of her who looks lost. And of course, like any other thief, she couldn't ignore this opportunity.
Hotaka curiously looks around the city until the thief passes by him. He blinks at her in confusion before noticing his Disk Animals were gone. "Huh?" he tilted his head. "What was that about?" he curiously wondered before taking out a Rekka and aims it at the thief as she ran. "There!" He throws it at her head, causing her to fall down and pass out.
"Wait! Stop, thief!" Asuka cried. She was already tired even though she's a Shinobi. It was probably a bad idea to stay up late because her energy is really low.
"Aw. Was that it?" Asuka looks up to see a boy standing in front of the thief. He crouched down and pokes her. "That's too bad. I was really expecting more" He spoke, a little disappointed.
"Huh?" blinked Asuka as she ran up to them. She got a good look at boy, who must've stopped the thief.
He appeared to be the same age as her with black spiky hair and reddish brown eyes. He wore a dark purple kimono with red accents, red sash, purple hakama, and tabi boots.
"Hi there!" he brightly smiled up at her.
"H-Hi." she greeted, awkwardly.
"Did you come here to take something?" he asked while collecting his Disk Animals in their disk form and his Rekka.
"Huh?" Asuka noticed the familiar drum stick. "Oh uh, yes…I just came here to get my wallet."
"Wallet?" he titled his head before looking down at the stuff that fell off the thief. He saw a small red pad and picked it up. "You mean this thing?" He held it up to her.
"Oh, that's it!" Asuka immediately snatched her wallet back. "Thank you!"
"Was this guy borrowing something without asking first?" he innocently asked.
"Eh?" Asuka looked at him, what kind of question is that? No, more importantly, did he just confuse the thief's gender? "Of course sheis! I mean, she stole my wallet after all!"
"Is that so…? I guess that's why my disks were taken away earlier, though I was too busy looking at the sights of this place." Asuka sweat dropped.
"Is he serious? Just who is he?"
"Well anyway, it was still a lot of fun! Too bad this person is a thief, though." he laughed.
"A-Anyway, I've got to go, thank you for stopping the thief and getting my wallet back. Oh uh, do you mind if I know your name?" Asuka said.
"It's Hotaka." he smiled.
"Well then Hotaka-kun, my name is Asuka. I wish I can repay you for getting my wallet back, but I'm running late." Asuka turned and began to run to school. "Anyway, thank you…!" she waved.
Hotaka was now alone as he blinks. "Wow, there must be a lot to do here!" he laughed and ran off somewhere else.
In the Hanzo Academy secret ninja classroom, Asuka had arrived and just on time too.
"Asuka-chan, you made it!" smiled Hibari.
"Yeah, no thanks to any of you that is!" she complained while breathing heavily.
"Asuka-san, why are you a minute late?" Ikaruga asked. "The school is not that far from our dorm."
"Sorry, I actually ran into a little trouble."
"Lemme guess, someone stole your wallet again and you tried chasing them down?" Katsuragi deadpanned. This girl is just an easy pick pocket for thieves everywhere.
Asuka replied by nervously laughing and scratching the back of her head.
"Well that's alright, we'll just file a police report later." Yagyuu said.
"Oh no, it's okay. I got my wallet back. See?" she pulled out her wallet showing it to her friends, who looked surprised because there was no way Asuka was able to get back her wallet by herself.
"Alright spill it, who helped ya out?" Katsuragi asked, grinned.
"Oh, it was just some guy." Asuka replied.
"Ah, a guy, eh?" smirked Katsuragi.
"Yeah, he was kinda weird." Asuka said causing them to blink.
"Weird as in how?" asked Yagyuu. In her mind all boys are weird. That included Kiriya-sensei, too.
"Well, when I approached him; he seemed disappointed because he thought they were playing a game that ended early." The girls raised a brow at this. "And when I spoke with him, he thought he was playing a game of keep away before he realized it was a thief who he knocked out."
"Wait a minute, who the hell confuses stealing with a game of keep away? That just sounds plain weird, not to mention stupid." Katsuragi crossed her arms underneath her chest.
"I know, right?" Asuka nodded.
"Asuka-san, how did this person knock out the thief?" Ikaruga asked. "I mean, from what you're telling us so far, it sounds like this guy is a…airhead. But regardless, he must have some skill."
"I think he threw a stick at the thief. I wasn't able to see the object because the thief's unconscious body was in the way. But…I could've sworn I seen it before. I just can't remember where." Asuka didn't want to give her team false information unless she was sure about it.
"Oh well, I'm sure it doesn't matter anyway." Yagyuu said.
Before anyone could say anything else, Kiriya walked into the room.
Meanwhile back in the city streets, Hotaka found himself in some alley. It was confusing him really, why would people build a dark corner when everything else out there is so bright and pretty? Odd…
"Oh well." He pulls out his Disk Animals and Onsa. He lightly taps the Onsa on the disks until the Disk Animals: Madder Hawk, Azure Wolf, and Green Ape take form. "Alright guys, I just got word that there's a Makamou around here. So I want you to go out there and help me look for it!" The Disk Animals did as they were told and went out into the city streets before turning themselves invisible so they wouldn't be seen. "Good luck!" he waved.
"Hey, you there!" a voice called out. Hotaka turned around only to see a bunch of delinquents wearing black school uniforms, carrying chains and some other weapons too. "Ya lost or something, kid?"
"Huh?" Hotaka tilted his head in confusion.
(Hanzo Academy)
The girls were sitting in front of Kiriya because there was something he wanted to announce to them.
"Okay girls, I know this is sudden. But I'm sending you all out on a mission outside of the school."
"Eh?" all the girls except Katsuragi questioned.
"Finally, alright!" cheered Katusragi. "So what's the mission sensei? Do we get to kick some major ass?"
"No, it's nothing too serious." He said much to her disappointment. Katsuragi thought they were going to assassinate someone or escort some big hit shot company guy or something.
"Then, what is our mission really?" Ikaruga asked.
"There have been reports about the local park being filled with odd noise such as growling, and some other stuff too. Although, no can identify what they are. I believe it's just some pranksters, who are scaring the people away."
"…Pranksters?" Yagyu raised a brow.
"Strange noises?" repeated Asuka.
"G-Growling?" muttered Hibari, scared.
"Wait a minute, sensei. If it's just a bunch of pranksters who are doing this why haven't the police captured them yet? I mean, it sounds like a simple task for everyday cops." Katsuragi said.
"She does have a point, Kiriya-sensei. Why is that?" Ikaruga asked, suspicious.
"To be honest, that part worries me. No one has ever been able to find or capture them. Also, the strange part is that whenever someone enters that particular park they have a strange sense of danger."
"Danger?" the girls repeated. Okay, this doesn't smell like a prankster situation, that's for sure. Is Kiriya putting them through some test or something?
"It's probably nothing." Yagyuu said, standing up. "I mean, if we're just dealing with some pranksters, then it's nothing right? So I don't see why we shouldn't accept."
Ikaruga and Katsuragi narrowed their eyes, seeing what Yagyuu is getting at.
"Alright then, if that's all, we accept." Ikaruga said.
Kiriya nodded.
The girls stepped out of the room.
"What do think this mission is really about?" Ikaruga asked as they were all walking down the city streets.
"I'm not really sure. From how Kiriya-sensei described the mission, it didn't sound anything out of the ordinary." Yagyuu said. "But I do know this, whatever mission we're on failure isn't an option."
"Damn right about that!" Katsuragi raised up her fist. "It doesn't matter if it's a bunch of dumb pranksters! Honestly, I'm hoping we face some big time school delinquents or something big like those monsters!"
"But what would those monsters do here in a city? Or better yet terrorize in a park?" Asuka asked before something came into her head. It was an image of that Oni. "Huh?"
The other girls stopped and looked back at Asuka.
"Asuka-san, what's wrong?" Ikaruga asked.
"I don't know but…I have this feeling; that we're going to see that guy again." Asuka said, seriously.
"Well if that's what you're feeling, we'll trust your judgment. Honestly, I have to say, I'm not so sure if this is a test or something else."
"Do you guys think Kiriya-sensei is just saying this, so he could investigate what we shared with him?" Hibari asked.
"It seems like it. And I bet he knows what all of us are thinking." Yagyuu said.
"Anyway, let's continue moving. I want to get this settles quickly." Asuka said.
The girls nodded in agreement.
(With Hotaka)
"That was a lot of fun, thanks!" laughed Hotaka as he glanced down at the beaten up thugs. He walked out of the alley and heard the cry of the Madder Hawk as it flew down towards him. "Hey there, you found something?" The Madder Hawk turned into its disk form and landed on Hotaka's hand. He played it on his Onsa and heard an odd noise. "That's it!" He turned the disk back into its animal form. "Thanks! Now go find the others and head back to camp!" He ran down to where the target was at. The Madder Hawk flew into the air.
(With the girls)
Asuka, Ikaruga, Katsuragi, Yagyuu, and Hibari continue to walk towards the park as one of them felt odd wind pass them. And it was Hibari.
"Did you feel that?" she asked.
"No, felt what?" Yagyuu asked.
"Right now, I just felt a small wind."
"Do you know from where?" Ikaruga asked. Even though Hibari isn't all that good in hand-to-hand combat, however her ability to feel certain things and intelligence makes up for it.
"Over there." Hibari pointed.
"Okay, let's go!" Katsuragi cheered.
(Park)
The man and woman glanced through the park's entrance. They could feel the girls along with the Oni coming their way.
"It's almost time." the woman said.
"Yes, let's make sure our guest feel 'welcome'." the man said before they disappeared in smoke.
The girls walked toward the entrance to the park as they stepped inside. So far, so good, there was nothing out of the ordinary. There was nothing but tree grass, a water fountain, and a bird bath.
"I don't get it, the place looks normal enough to me." Katsuragi said.
"Doesn't matter, we have to keep our guard up no matter what." Ikaruga informed, seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, I know it's just so boring is all."
"But you've gotta admit this place is beautiful." Asuka smiled.
"Yeah, I agree!" Hibari nodded.
"But doesn't it bother you; that nobody's around?" Yagyuu pointed out.
"Oh yeah…" Asuka and her friends looked around the park seeing nobody at all. "It is strange."
"That…and how come we didn't see some police tape or something?" Katsuragi asked.
"It's not like we're solving a murder case or anything." Ikaruga replied.
"Eeeppp!" Hibari squealed causing the other girls to look at her.
"Hibari-chan!" Asuka cried.
"What's wrong, Hibari?" Yagyuu said, preparing for a fight.
Hibari had pointed out a police tape on the ground by a tree. All the girls widen their eyes and stood back to back getting ready for whatever comes their way.
"I guess you owe me an apology." Katsuragi smirked referring to Ikaruga, who frowned.
"This isn't the time for the right now." she said.
Asuka kept an out as she spotted two people standing from the other side of the park away from them.
"Everyone, look!" she pointed out to the two figures. They glanced at them before Ikaruga spoke.
"Are the ones who are causing a fuss here?" she asked before they simply walked away.
"Hey, get back here!" Katsuragi yelled.
"Let's go after them!" Yagyuu said before all them went after the two people.
They ran after them until they made their way to the spot, where the two people were standing at earlier.
"Where'd they go?" Hibari asked, scared looking around.
"Don't know…" Ikaruga said. "Let's split up and-"
A noise was heard in the bushes, stopping Ikaruga from finishing her sentence.
Then, an ape-like monster jumped out of the bushes as a fog appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the girls and the monster.
Its body was mostly black with an ape-like, a scarf around its neck colored orange and light blue.
"An ape?" questioned Asuka, pulling out her two Kodachi swords.
"I guess the prankster stuff was real after all, huh?" Katsuragi joked.
The ape-like monster had charged at the girls as they surrounded it.
Yagyuu charged at it with her umbrella, but the ape-like creature had jumped over her and back kicked her.
"Take this!" shouted Katsuragi, jumping up the air descending towards the ape creature, rearing a fist back. Once she was close enough, the ape creature had caught her fist and kneed her gut.
"There's another one!?" Hibari exclaimed as she dodged an attack from the first ape creature.
"Is anyone getting a déjà vu here? Or is it just me?" Katsuragi chuckled, trying to land a kick on the second ape creature.
"I don't think this is a good time for jokes right now." Yagyuu said, defending Hibari from the first ape creature.
"…Blood." One of the ape creatures said, getting the girls attention at the word 'blood'.
"Shinobi…must eat, Blood of Shinobi!" the other ape creature said.
"Yagyuu-chan!" Hibari whimpered, hiding behind her friend. She doesn't want to get eaten by these creatures!"
"Oh yeah, if you want eat so badly!" Asuka charged at them with her Kodachis. "Then eat this!" She rapidly swung her swords at the two as they dodged each attack.
Ikaruga and Yagyuu joined in as they began swinging their weapons too. Katsuragi had also jumped in, thinking trying to slice them isn't going to enough, so she added a little kick combo to it.
Hibari was about to jump in too, because she wanted to help but two fireballs passed by her and hit the twp ape creatures.
"Huh?" the girls questioned as they saw both ape creature being pushed back by the fireballs.
The two creatures growled as they said…
"Oni!"
"Oni?" the girls turned to see a silhouette inside the fog.
"Yamabiko, eh?" he said. "Well it's time for the purification."
The girls and two Yamabiko saw the silhouette slowing approaching them, as he tapped his arm with something before purple flames engulfed his body.
"Ha!" he shouted before appearing out of the fog as it was Hibiki ready for action!
Hibiki charged at the two Yamabiko, pulling out his Rekkas as he began to engage them in battle. The two Yamabiko were trying to land a hit on them, but Hibiki easily evaded them. He kicked one on the chest pushing it away before placing his attention on the other one.
"Damn Oni!" the other Yamabiko cried as it charged at Hibiki.
Hibiki used his Rekka to push its fist away and fired a fireball at its back. The Yamabiko had fallen on the ground after being hit with Hibiki's attack, while Hibiki himself pulled out his Kaentsuzumi and attached it on the Yamabiko's back.
It grew large and Hibiki raised his Rekka before announcing…
"Ongeki Da: Ikki Kasei no Kata!"
Hibiki started to play his Kaentsuzumi with the both Rekka as he slowly played faster. The girls and other Yamabiko had simply watched as Hibiki increased his speed, until the Yamabiko had exploded.
"Whoa, he did it!" Asuka said.
The other Yamabiko had gasped at the sight of its comrade being destroyed.
"Bastard!" it yelled charging at Hibiki in blind rage.
Hibiki had simply dodged the Yamabiko and fired another fireball at it.
The Yamabiko knew it couldn't win so instead of fighting head on, it just escaped by running into the fog until it was no more.
"What?" Ikaruga hissed as they ran passed Hibiki to where the Yamabiko was once standing at.
"It's gone." Hibari muttered.
"Grr! Hey, you have a lot of-huh!?" Katsurag turned around to face Hibiki to get some answers out of him, but when she turned he was gone as if he were never there. "Oh great, he's gone too!"
"Oh well, let's forget it and report to Kiriya-sensei." Yagyuu said.
"Just…" Asuka began before the image of Hotaka appeared in her head. "…who is that guy?"
"Yagyuu is right. We have to go back now." Ikaruga said before they walked out of the park.
(Rooftop)
"Interesting…" Kiriya said as he watched the whole thing from a nearby rooftop. "So that is an Oni."
The Yamabiko ran through the forest, injured as it reverted back revealing to be the Douji as he ran for the mountains.
"Damn...!" he cursed. "That Oni interfered again!" He continued to run until his pace had slowed down before leaned against a rock. Suddenly, a large roar was heard…
"GAAHHH!"
"It's okay, don't worry my dear child." He breathed. "Just have patience. I will feed you soon enough." He passes out.
Note: Alright guys, here is the second chapter. Hoped you enjoyed it. Later.
