Encounter 2: "Makai a Theif?! The Shooting Stars Gather!"
Deep in the confines of the Underworld, there lay a castle of corroded nature. It held mossed covered walls, with cracks that criss-crossed into each other which led into larger holes in the walls. The windows were small and narrow, which allowed little light enter its confines. The top of the castle was built upon towers which were covered in a purplish veil, allowing no one to enter. The front of the castle was decorated in ghastly designs of horrific scenes. A little ways from the castle however, there stood the purple figue with a mask.
"That meddlesome brat, he'll pay for ruining my mission... but what will Himiko-sama say?" He shook his head. "Oh my, She won't be pleased at all." At that moment, a giant voice boomed outward from the castle.
"Pol you have returned. Why is it that you come back without any human energy for me? Or do you wish to displease me?" The female voice thundered as dark-tinted lightning rained down and covered the figure named Pol.
"AHHH... NO HIMIKO-SAMA! OOOOF COUSEEE NOT!" The lightning stopped. A cruel laugh filled the air. A man, covered in thick, metallic armor stepped out of the castle. He doned the clothing of a great shogun and he also wore a mask. His was horrid black with red tints around the eyes. He smiled.
"What possible excuse could you have?" He taunted. Circling Pol with a sword-drawn, he asked calmly, "Himiko-sama, what should I do with this insubordinate lesser oni?" He glared at Pol, with the blood lust pouring out and practically thickening the air. But the voice said after some time,
"No. He must pay, but I still have some use for him." She appeared in a ghostly form, barely visible in front of them. She turned her translucent white hair and managed to glance at Pol, who began to cower and beg for forgiveness.
"You must believe me Himiko-sama! It was a human with powers like Orion! Please don't punish me! I beg you!"
"SILENCE!" She hissed and the entire Underworld seemed to tremble. She walked around carefully, as if in thought. She finally said, as she was standing on the edge of a cliff, "You say this human has powers like Orion?" She smirked. "Then I will have to crush this new fledgling and any hope Orion had of saving that pitiful excuse for a world." Pol rushed upwards and slide onto his knees near her.
"Oh please please, let me redeem myself Himiko-sama. I will surely get revenge on him." The warrior-like figure laughed.
"Yes, like you handled yourself during your first hurdle with him." Pol shrank back on the ground.
"Inari-sama, you are a great warrior, but you cannot pass through the rock yet. Let me find a way to do so." The grim figure laughed and placed her hand on Pol.
"Pol. I will spare you, but you must take this to the human realm for me." She materialized a small oval object with no crevices or indents. Pol took it in his hands and examined it. He opened his eyes wide.
"Himiko-sama, is this..." She laughed, a little more highly this time.
"Of course. This IS a war Pol. A weapon like this is common." She disappeared. "Remember, do not fail me again." The clad figure of Inari walked back towards the castle. He turned his back and said,
"Take my Seishin Tsune. They will be able to trace the scent of the human. And help you anyway." He whistled, and dozens of large dark fox-like demons appeared. They were ravenous, crimson eyes like their master, and were totally black with silver tails. Pol bowed extremely low, almost to the point of becoming part of the ground.
"Oh thank you Inari-sama. They will be most helpful indeed." Inari disappeared inside of the castle, leaving Pol surronded by the fox-like demons. He began smiling insanely and took a look at the surface. "Oh yes, this precious gift of Himiko-sama will be useful indeed." He and the demons disappeared in a flash of purplish light and zoomed outwards, through the crack.
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Back in Chiba, the repairs from the strongest strom were underway, and somehow, Makai got stuck with clean-up in the museum. He stayed in a corner, leaning on a broom, instead of cleaning. He was day-dreaming of his new powers and the awesome fights he will be in.
"Yeah... I can't wait for the Underworld to attack again..." A few feet away, behind a statue materialized Pol, this time alone. He laughed softly.
"You'll get your wish cheeky little filth." He placed the oval structure in an exhibit, which disappeared immediately. He quickly hid, and soon enough the rest of the volunteers came back. Shrieks of bewilderment fell in the room.
"Where did it go?!"
"The statue of Ho-Masubi!"
"It was just here!"
"Maybe he saw something!" someone said as the entire crowd's attention came upon Makai. He dropped the broom and put his hands up.
"I-I didn't see anything!" He said quickly and in a panic. The guards came upon the scene soon after and asked what was going on.
"That kid must've stolen the statue!"
"It's true!"
"He was the only one here!" A female voice then shouted over them,
"WAIT! If it was him, then where could he have put it?" She tried to plead, but in a strong voice. "I mean, he never left the building! I don't think he did it." But they ignored her. Soon after, a male's voice, somewhere close in age to Makai also called out,
"Yeah, where's your proof?!" He called out. Makai looked up and was met with a girl in a bright yellow dress, with shawls hanging down and a young man with a silver T and obsidian shorts. He answered,
"Chikyuu-san, Inazuma-san!" His classmates from the high-school, who he never conversed with, were sticking up for him. But they didn't listen.
"Unless you can prove it otherwise, he's the guilty party here." They took Makai in hand-cuffs, with very minimal difficulty. The young man called out after them,
"Don't worry Kagi-san, we'll make sure your innocent!" But they were long gone while he said this. The girl nodded and said,
"Yuu, we need to find out exactly what happened to the statue. So... let's start at the scene of the crime!" She dragged him along by the shoulder.
"H-heh! Kuri-chan, your going to break my arm off!" She pulled harder.
"Then walk faster!" She spat back. Before long, they arrived back at the site of the statue. They looked far and wide, but could not find a trace of it. Nor could they find any trace of anything being moved. Kuri folded her arms, trying hard to think of a solution.
"This is weird. There is no trace of the statue being hauled off." Yuu scratched his head.
"Maybe someone used a crane?" She slapped him in the head.
"Baka. We would've seen a large crane inside the museum!" But she stopped quickly. "SEEN. That's it!"
She walked over to the place which held the statue, but was hurled back by some invisible barrier. Yuu rushed over to her, panting.
"K-Kuri-chan... are you okay?" She got up and glanced at it. Then back at Yuu.
"It's like a wall... we should tell someone about this... maybe its like the freak rainstorm we had only yesterday." Yuu nodded and together, they ran to the exit.
Appearing in front however, was Pol. He wore a sick smile and simply took them in. He started slowly,
"Humans. You never know when to give up do you?" The foxes appeared in a wisp of darkness and purple smoke. The growled and grunted, their teeth sharper and more luminous than the moon. "Get them Seishin Tsune! They mustn't alert them of the Red one's innocence!" Unfortunately, Kuri overheard him.
"Red one? Makai-san?" She didn't know what it meant, but at the next moment, the foxes jumped and held her down.
"YUU!" She screamed under them, trying to get at her flesh. He jumped on top of them, beating them back with his fists and kicking them away from her. He picked her up, hoisting her with his arms.
"Gotta get outta here." He looked for a way out, but was surronded by the foxes, who were extremely mad about his interference. A booming voice said into his head however,
"Spirit of great determination, a solution will present itself always in an unconventional way."
He didn't know what it meant, but noticed a window just above them. He hopped ontop of their heads and jumped out of the nearest window. Pol screamed in defiance.
"AFTER THEM YOU PACK OF SCAVANGERS!" The foxes growled, but obeyed and soon hurled themselves out of the same exit.
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Yuu managed to run far enough to be in safe distance. He put Kuri down and took deep breaths. He clutched his chest, revealing an uncomfortably high heart rate. It kept pounding for a minute until he finally was able to move normally. Kuri glanced up at him.
"Arigatou Yuu." He smiled back at her.
"It's no problem Kuri-chan." But then he got serious as he said, "But now we definately know Makai-san didn't do it." She nodded quietly.
"But what were those... things?" She couldn't come up with a better word. He shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine." They stared into space for a long time, wondering what to do. However, soon after, everything, the distant cars, the smoking stacks of the factories, and even the seas gulls of the port went quiet. They both looked around and noticed an orb of glowing light. It surronded a small fire-fly. Kuri slide on the wall, and walked to it. Yuu, not noticing, was also mesmerized and walked forward. The fire-fly disappeared, revealing another stairwell of light. Yuu and Kuri snapped out of it and looked first at each other, then the stairs.
"Is it safe then?" Yuu asked, a tone of worry in his voice. Kuri nodded.
"Yes. I think so. At least, that's what I think." Yuu, with a look of resolve said,
"Okay! Then we'll go straight to the top!" Kuri looked at him in amazement.
"Are you sure Yuu?" He nodded quickly.
"Of course. Let's go!" She smiled and ran after him.
"Hai!' They both scaled the large staircase, eventually leaving the earth and headed towards a star. They pressed on and on, never wavering. They soon reached the place in question. A golden and white room, fit for a palace, decorated in diamond and opals. On the throne was rubies and gold and sat a figure of majestic proportions. He got up as he saw them. They gaped at his wonder. He waved his hand.
"Carrier of the Black Soul, Yuu Chikyuu and Carrier of the Yellow Soul, Kuri Inazuma." He began ina large voice. "You will be guardians for the planet earth. Along with the Carrier of the Phoneix, Makai Kagi." Kuri gasped.
"So that's what that scrawny creature thing meant." The figure nodded.
"What you saw was an Oni. They are powerful compared to humans, but not as much so as other demons." He stopped. "Those foxes are Seishin Tsune. They are corrupted spirits who used to do good." Kuri and Yuu stood dumbstruck. He moved on, "My name is Orion. I am the Earth's Guardian in all respects. However I cannot leave this place for long. So I have chosen a select few humans from your planet to protect it." He snapped his fingers. Two strange devices appeared on their wrists. "When the time comes, you will know what to do." Everything faded into white as he said,
"Remember Carrier of the Black Soul, kesshin is your claim. Shoujiki is reserved for you, Carrier of the Yellow Soul."
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Both of them reappeared in the alley where they left. Everything seemed to speed back up, until it was normal. It was Yuu who spoke first.
"What was that?" He was hushed by Kuri, who got up. A ways up, they heard several beats of panting. Upon looking, they saw that the foxes were staring down at them. In front of the alley appeared Pol, holding his hand out and laughing.
"Your both doomed! Himiko-sama always comes up with the best plans!" He was so pleased with himself, that he didn't notice Kuri and Yuu looking at their wrists. They did a double take.
"Aren't these?" Kuri said in a whisper. Yuu make a sound of agreement. They both were filled with a distant voice in their minds. They peered at each other then nodded. They addressed Pol.
"You framed Makai-san, that is cowardly and unjust!" They both flicked their wrists and held them up.
"Shinwa Damashi! (Mythic Soul!): Star Shine!" Black and yellow lights shined out and blinded everything in it's path. They emerged, with similar outfits like Makai, although their stars were different and they had respective colors on them. Yuu sported a magical fox, who was bond to the earth. Kuri had an enormous thunder-covered dog-like being. They struk stances and spoke again.
"Illuminating the farthest regions!" Kuri was surronded by lightning. "YajuYellow!"
"Keeping the darkness in check!" As Yuu spoke, a small earthquake rumbled the ground. "YajuBlack!" Pol looked stunned.
"There's MORE of you?" He looked like he was about to have a seizure. He pointed to the foxes. "GET THEM!!!!!!!!!!" The foxes didn't need a second command. Like wildfire, they jumped and were ontop of them. Kuri jumped and ran and ran and jumped. Her speed was like that of lightning, the foxes couldn't keep up. She jumped to Pol, and shouted out,
"Lightning Clawer!" Her fist turned into a claw, filled with pure energy. She brought it down on Pol, destroying the oval object. Pol staggered backwards.
"NNNNOOOO!" He cried out. "My precious! Himiko-sama's gift!" He turned to Kuri. "I'll be back you brats!" He disappeared, leaving the foxes alone. Yuu was taking care of them however.
"Take this, Shockwave Kicker!" He jumped high into the air, and slammed down, creating a shockwave that blasted them all back. Kuri looked back at Yuu, who nodded.
"We should go back to the museum!" They demorphed as the foxes evaported. They didn't have to go that far. There was yells of shock of wonder as everyone filled into the museum. Even the guards holding Makai came to look. The pride of the town, the Ho-Masubi statue, was sitting exactly where it was supposed to be. Guards bowed and apologeized to Makai. He turned around bewildered until Kuri and Yuu ran up to him. Makai saw the Changers on their wrists and gaped at them. Kuri laughed.
"Yep. We're guardians to Ma ka i-kun." She smiled. Yuu put an arm around him.
"And you owe us big time. I think a lunch or two would be good." Makai stood there until,
"EH?! Inazuma-san, Chikyuu-san what exactly-?" But they stopped him.
"It's a long story. And call me Kuri-chan." She blinked. Yuu nodded.
"Call me Yuu-senpai." Makai looked in disbelief.
"Your in the same year!" Yuu smiled. But then he said,
"Baka. I'm older." Makai stood transfixed.
"WHAT?!"
Both Kuri and Yuu laughed and Makai was still speechless.
TO BE CONTINUED...