Necromancer -Part 4- Netherworld
Gunter looked outside the window of the hotel suite, taking in the view of the landscape. It was startlingly beautiful view, in the distance were lights from a fair-ground, while closer to the foreground there was a shrine, Yuri explained it was a Shinto temple, the gateway to holy grounds.
Yuri rubbed his head trying to fight off both the fatigue and looming headache.
"We should head out to search now." Yuri mentioned while Ken nodded.
"Yes. It seems to be coming from that direction." Ken added as he pointed to the fairgrounds, just outside of the Shinto shrine. "That makes a little more sense; if this person is affiliated with a religious sect he might have more access to certain types of information."
"And that same kind of focus," Yuri stretched his back, hoping the change in posture would somehow help, okay, so that was just grasping at straws but he was willing to try anything by this point! That train was loud. "Let's go, the sooner we get to the bottom of this the better."
Gwendel turned to look at the maoh, "Are you really going to go, in that condition?" He seemed a bit incredulous which only furthered Yuri's frustration.
"I didn't get dressed like this to wait in a hotel room." He groaned, "Though I wish I could hide instead of walk around dressed like… this." He shook his head, "No. No we're going, so let's go. We'll go out in three teams like Murata said."
Conrad looked up and down Yuri's form. "Yuri, are you certain you wouldn't like to rest for just a few more minutes?"
Yuri's eyes locked down on the ground, before he looked back up. "I just get the feeling that I can't wait that long, Conrad. We'll take it easy, okay? I promise, but we still have to go."
"Alright, Yuri, if you promise."
Yuri smiled at Conrad, in reassurance. With that, the others' words of protest dropped away. After all, how could they challenge it when Conrad was with him, that man would do everything in his power to protect the maoh.
-)(--)(-
The three sets divided upon the fairground and Shinto shrine. Gunter and Gwendel decided to investigate the holy shrine, maybe ask some of the priests for information on the subject. Ken had shrugged and decided sending the foreigners would probably get the 'tall tales' out of them, which chances are, would house the most truth.
Wolfram and he decided to head West upon the fairgrounds, which coincided with a lot of the rides and food-booths, Conrad and Yuri would thus go Eastward, which went with the shops and game-booths.
"Oi, Shibuya! Make sure Conrad wins you something nice!" Ken mentioned before splitting off. Yuri groaned.
"Murata, we're supposed to be investigating!" Yuri complained, Conrad merely smiled down at Yuri, his eyes squinted closed, the typical, dashing Conrad smile.
"If we play along, it will allow us to search easier, and make us appear less suspicious, Yuri. Besides, wouldn't it be more fun that way? We could make it into a date."
Yuri blushed, and the smitten Conrad did his best to try to stop the shameless amounts of come-on lines at that.
"D… Date? Really… we could…?" Yuri shook his head, "but we're on Earth and we're both guys."
Conrad merely held that confident smile that told Yuri he could make anything work. Such as, in this instance, the fact that Yuri looked like a completely gorgeous woman, that they'd be in the clear, of course, he knew better than explaining how he could be just that confident.
"O…okay then, sure." Yuri smiled, "Well then, we should walk around and see if we spot anything suspicious."
-)(--)(-
Sighing, Yuri looked around, they had been walking for a good three hours with nothing. Not one lead, not one tingle, he didn't get it. Murata had been so sure that this necromancer would be here!
"Yuri, are you hungry?" Conrad mentioned, smiling softly at Yuri. It was cute to see how he could be so strangely serious, though Conrad had managed to keep the mood less caustic with some of the booth-games, Yuri had convinced Conrad to win Gwendel one of the cutesy styled plastic banks, Conrad upped the ante by winning Yuri a baseball cap for the Boston Red Socks by pitching baseballs at milk-jars.
The black-haired youth looked up at Conrad, he seemed drained. "Yeah… I am a bit, do you want to grab something over there?" Yuri pointed to a place across the way, it had a pull to it, maybe the cozy atmosphere, but whatever it was, the two headed toward it.
Upon entering, the two were seated in the empty place, a menu sat before them. "Why hello, and welcome to my establishment!"
A man in an indigo and grey striped kimono answered, his hair was a dark brown, probably dyed from what Yuri could see, his eyes were sharp and black.
"Such a handsome set of men gracing my small little shop, I'm sure you'll draw the women crowd. So, what may I get for you?"
Yuri blushed at being called handsome, after all, the entire time he had been wandering about he had been called anywhere from cute girl to sexy mama to classic-Japanese beauty, but not once had he been called male.
Conrad eyed the man, he didn't like his tone, and not because he was a possessive fiancé, no, that wasn't his style to be stifling. No, what he didn't like was that knowing tone, the same kind of condescendence that Ken was known for.
"Ah, what's the house special?" Yuri mentioned, handing back the menu.
"Coffees and baked goods are the game, I just brewed up my special blend of espresso, and I have some fresh pumpkin cake and banana bread. If you prefer teas, I can make up a pot of oolong or green."
"Ah, don't trouble yourself with that, espresso should be alright." Yuri mentioned, regretting that he'd have to have something as strong as that, not like he'd ever admit it to Conrad, it made him look like such a child, or woman.
"I'll bring it right out, then." He smiled, walking back into the kitchen. After a few moments he returned with the assorted tray, including a container of sugar and a pouring-pot.
Conrad eyed it suspiciously, espresso wasn't typically brewed that way. The man poured the glasses and sat them in front of the two, Conrad gave Yuri a look that told him to wait until he tasted it, Yuri gave him a strange look back as if not getting why Conrad was so suspicious, but allowed it.
After tasting it, he only noticed the strength of the brew, but no funny additives. He gave Yuri an apologetic look for keeping him from the food, but Yuri merely smiled sweetly back, then started to lace his drink with as much of the sugary powder he could slip in without looking like he was planning to chew the drink. That equated to three tablespoons. Yuri took a sip, his face scrunched up but he tried to play it cool all the same.
For his part, the man behind the counter brought out a canister of milk like it was second nature for the fluid. Yuri decided he'd just put in a splash and hope Conrad didn't think too poorly of him for it. Not like he would, but still. Conrad merely smiled at Yuri, assuring him.
He just couldn't get past how cute Yuri was at times.
The man began to clean the shop. "So, how much do we owe you…?" Yuri asked, now much more comfortable with food in his stomach.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I was about to close when you came in, the brew would have gone to waste."
"…But what about the cakes?" Yuri asked.
"Consider it nothing. Just seeing such two strapping men made it worth-while." He smiled, leaning on his hand as he scrubbed the counter.
Yuri felt a bit uneasy, he never felt at ease with people just hurling compliments at him, even with Conrad he wondered when the man would wake up from his dream and realize things for what they were.
"Ah, well, if you insist…" Yuri scratched the back of his head, "Thank you very much."
"No, thank you for your patronage," the owner mentioned before seeing them to the door, he locked it behind them.
"Well, what now?" Yuri asked Conrad, smiling at him, "Do you want to go on some rides? Well, that might have been backwards… but, have you ever been on a Ferris-wheel or a rollercoaster?"
Conrad shook his head, "No, but that sounds fun, shall we?"
Yuri smiled, "Yeah! Let's go on the Ferris-wheel first, the lines get longer at night for it. Because of the view when everything is lit up…" Yuri explained, Conrad went with him, measuring Yuri.
Inside the café, the owner glanced at the canister, "…He took that much? He won't be standing for long." He put away the glasses before leaving, himself.
-)(--)(-
Ken glared at nowhere in particular as he contemplated. "It doesn't make sense, with three groups we should have run across him by now." He leaned back in his chair, Wolfram gave him a curious look.
"Ulrich said it was here though, didn't she?"
Ken's eyes widened, realization dawning on him, "It's not one person! It's a collective effort!" He flopped forward, hand slamming on the table as he threw himself to his feet. "That's why it felt vaguely familiar here and there but there was nothing solid…" His face contorted with a sort of disappointment that he only thought of it then.
"We should find the others then." Wolfram added as the two took to their feet.
-)(--)(-
Yuri watched the fairground from atop the wheel, Conrad took in the view as well as Yuri, it warmed his heart to see Yuri acting more like his normal self. He was glad his head wasn't bothering him as much as it had been before.
Upon looking back over at Conrad, Yuri realized how dreamy-eyed he must have seemed, he blushed, then looked back to the park. "See that rollercoaster over there? The Eight-Headed Dragon, I bet you'd love that one."
"Of course, Yuri." Conrad continued to watch Yuri, "How is your head doing?"
Yuri groaned, "I really wish you wouldn't remind me about it." He let out an exacerbated sigh, "It isn't as bad as it was earlier, but it is a lot quieter just you… and me…" He came close to Conrad, running a hand up Conrad's wrist then arm.
Conrad captured Yuri's hand, drawing him in for a kiss. Yuri blushed before letting Conrad deepen it. As the wheel moved again, they decided to pull back, now nearing the ground. "So, let's hit the rollercoaster now!"
Conrad smiled softly as he followed Yuri to the next line.
Once the ride had started, Yuri realized how stupid this was to do to himself. One, Conrad wouldn't scream, he was insane to even think he'd outwardly react. Two, he would which would either make him seem childish, needy, or pathetic to Conrad, and for three the extra kick to the head, was just that. The extra kick to the head, all this spinning was killing his head and making him feel umpteen times worse.
In fact, by the time they had gotten off, Yuri felt horrible. He swaggered from the ride, "Yuri!" Conrad put a hand on Yuri's back as he rubbed small concentric circles to sooth him, his other hand on Yuri's arm.
Yuri held his mouth and lurched over. He felt really faint and he was sure this had nothing to do with the ride so much as his headache. "I… I'm going to the bathroom! Don't follow me, I'll be back in ten minutes, tops!" Yuri mentioned as he pushed past Conrad.
Conrad looked at him in confusion, "Yuri…"
He let his hand drop to the side, he turned his attention to the bathroom then sighed. He decided giving Yuri a few moments would be alright, it gave himself a moment to let his stomach catch up with gravity and stop turning somersaults.
Yuri reached the restroom and bee-lined to the sink and mirror, splashing himself with cool water.
"Excuse me, little miss, you're in the men's room." One teenager mentioned, another whistled at the sight.
Yuri turned to give them a dark look, he pushed his voice to the lowest it would go to quip, "Who are you calling a girl?"
It would have sounded much more threatening if his eyes hadn't rolled up on him, let alone had his feet kept him upright. No, karma seemed to cherish him in the ways it liked to do horribly mean things to him, though, because karma was far too amused to let Yuri crash to the ground unconscious.
As one of the teenagers ran from the water closet, another approached, mentioning to his friend, "Take those stupid pigtails out. We can't have the maoh looking like that in front of everyone, now can we?"
Ken and Wolfram spotted Conrad standing beside the rollercoaster waiting, "Conrad!"
"Conrad!"
Conrad looked at the two racing toward him, "Conrad! There you are! Where's Yuri?" Wolfram asked, Ken leaned forward to catch his breath as he panted.
"We figured it out. The reason we aren't finding anyone is because it isn't any one person, it's a group!" Ken breathed out.
The brunette's eyes widened, "A group?"
"Yes. I just contacted Gunter, he found a record about object manipulation, too. I think we're dealing with Earth Mazoku. Mazoku who possess maryoki and are using that along with their practices."
"But why…?" Conrad asked he glanced at the time, "Something isn't right. Yuri should have been back by now. Excuse me."
Conrad brushed past the pair to move toward the restroom, the restroom that had a small crowd forming around it. "Excuse me, excuse me…" Conrad mentioned as he pressed through.
"You can't go in there." One man stated, refusing to be pushed past.
"I'm looking for someone." Conrad added, "I'm not trying to use it."
"Yeah, it doesn't matter. The paramedics have to pack up before anyone can go back in."
"Paramedics?" Conrad's eyes shot wide, concern laced in the chocolate browns, if anything had happened to Yuri he'd…
"Some kid collapsed."
"What?!" Conrad tried to smooth his voice over, "What happened?"
"I don't know more than that. They already took the kid to the first-aid station, though."
"And where is that?" Conrad asked, he was doing his damndest to keep from throwing the man to the wall and interrogate him further.
The man seemed confused at the other's zealous responses, he pointed toward the left, past the rides, across a small water-feature. "It's near the shrine."
Conrad let out a breath, "…Thank you."
"Yeah, no problem." Once he was sure Conrad was out of earshot he muttered, "Weird foreigner."
-)(--)(-
Yuri woke up, holding his head, he felt sick. A hand pressed a container to his.
"Here, drink this. You passed out, this should make you feel better."
Looking at the drink with foreign eyes, Yuri decided to take a sip, he winced, whatever that was tasted awful. So bad in fact, he had to vomit and did so, repeatedly.
"Good, good. I can't believe it, you're really impressive. That much could have taken down a bull." The man mentioned, Yuri's eyes finally focused in on it, they widened as he realized who he was seeing.
"You- you're the guy from the café!"
"Guilty." The man smirked.
Yuri collapsed backward, he felt too tired to particularly fight what was going on, though he thought poorly of having the lack of options. "So who are you? A kidnapper? A fan-boy? What?"
"I like to think of myself as a Mazoku, Heika."
Yuri's eyes went wide. "What …did you just say?"
He glanced around, seeing a small group form, as it filled in the numbers were becoming quite sizable. Yuri touched his head, it felt like it was buzzing, and not his headache. No, the energy in the room was buzzing.
"You're the necromancer… necromancers… what the…" He sat straight up; suddenly the thought of fighting his way out was becoming more and more appealing.
The man smiled, "Please rest, Heika. While we're sorry for resorting to such cheap tricks, we needed to get in touch with you."
His eyes narrowed. "You mentioned wanting my powers, I don't plan on helping you for any schemes… Now who's your ring leader?" His eyes looked fierce.
A teenager approached Yuri, "This is the Maoh? Is this really?"
Yuri blinked, he really was starting to wish he had just stayed home.
"He is. You can feel his power, can't you? Well, we should explain our plight to…"
"You should explain your ACTIONS!" Yuri demanded, "Why did you think coming to my kingdom to kill anyone would be acceptable, and then why you thought I'd do you a favor for it… You have a lot to answer for!"
"…Well obviously, we were stopping soldiers from killing our own kind."
Yuri's eyes widened. "…You're Mazoku?"
A collective group of five or so nodded, "Yes. We're Earth Mazoku. More specifically, we're Earth Mazoku who have maryoki, most of us have latent forms of telepathy, but a few of us have a very strong connection. Though none of us have elemental contracts, we've studied the ancient dark arts including necromancy."
"Yeah, that's how you controlled the kohi, because they're skeletons… but the mahjong tiles?"
"It gave us focal points. An ambition and a center, it makes channeling that much easier, especially with so many working as one."
Yuri touched his head, it made sense but didn't… "Why did you do it? Why would you kill someone…" Yuri mentioned, sadder now than before.
"Heika, we need your power." A new member of the group of five spoke. He seemed like the leader of the group.
Yuri glared at him, "And what exactly do you think you need it for?!" He spat vehemently, none too pleased about being used.
As the man was formulating his response, the doors to the shrine were thrust open, exposing five distinctly battle-ready auras.
Yuri spotted Conrad first then glared back at the man before him.
"We need your power to take us back to Shin Makoku."
Black eyes went wide, confused. He glanced around, the place had to be full of a thousand people! "…And just why… do you need that?"
"As he's said, we are Mazoku with maryoki, as such, we are not seen as normal here. We're feared, we're hated, and we do not belong. We want to go back to our homeland where we belong."
"So you think that killing people would make me want to let you loose onto my people?" Yuri shook his head in disbelief, "Or that you'd somehow be normal amongst them? Let me tell you something, even in Shin Makoku people are afraid of those who possess maryoki!"
"We want to form a village within your sovereignty so that we have somewhere we can call home." He mentioned. "Please, allow us to go home. We've asked Bob to consider, and he said it would only be something Shin Makoku's maoh could allow."
Yuri held his head, "This… isn't something I can just say yes to." After all, there was so much to think about…
Like the sudden presence of a knife to his throat, Yuri blinked daftly. This guy just didn't know when to quit. "I'm sorry, that is not an acceptable answer."
"What do you think you're doing?!" Yuri growled, the hand tightened around the fabric of his kimono at his shoulder, pinning him close. "…You do realize that if you kill me you won't be able to go there, anyways, don't you?"
The man nodded, "Yes. But I also know you'd rather the blade be on you then on your friends. Please forgive me, but I can't allow you to condemn my people, my tribe."
Yuri's eyes narrowed, "This isn't the way to go about getting my consideration. There are a lot of things I have to consider."
"No, there really isn't."
"Of course there is! Do you have any idea how much of a strain it is to suddenly have to feed and house a thousand people, let alone how to even transport you… you have no idea what goes into it and you think just by putting a knife to me you can fix it! Problems aren't fixed with violence!" He knew he was glowing, though he couldn't help but feel passionate about this. "Now try to fix it by thinking and put the knife down!"
The knife dropped, as did the man's head. "Please forgive my impertinence."
Yuri sighed, Conrad finally found his way through the crowd, rushing to Yuri's side, he punched the man across the face. "Conrad!" Yuri grabbed his own head, feeling horrible. "Conrad, stop. You, what's your name? You are the leader of this movement I presume, right?"
The man nodded, "I'm Kiyosuke."
"Kiyosuke… I'm Shibuya Yuri, I can't give you my decision right now. In two days we'll reconvene and I'll give you my answer then."
"But I--"
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. I'm sure you already know where we're staying, saying you have Bob's okay on this all, and I already told you, there are a lot of things that go into this! Now don't question me again."
"…Yes, Heika."
Yuri rubbed his head, "Come on, we're leaving."
Conrad nodded, helping Yuri to his feet, Conrad glared at Kiyosuke. He really did get off light for holding a blade to his fiancé. Too light as far as he was concerned, but he knew better than to press Yuri in moments like this.
-)(--)(-
Yuri slumped back into the bed, feeling exhausted. "Well, Gunter, Gwendel, Conrad, any ideas how we can manage that?"
Ken fixed his glasses, "You realize that even you have limits, right Shibuya?"
Yuri gave Ken a dirty look, "With this much of a headache realizing I'm the maoh is becoming difficult." Yuri's eyes blinked owlishly, "Eh… Gunter you didn't leave the balcony door open, did you?"
Gunter glanced to the door in question, "Of course not…"
And yet, there the door was, wide open.
Conrad drew the kendo blade, "Wolfram." He mentioned, his kid brother taking the prompt as to stand guard near Yuri.
Conrad pushed the curtain open to reveal nothing, instead the door was pushed open with a very, very angry looking Shori and goofy looking Jose in action pose.
"I've always wanted to storm in just like the heroes in my fighting anime!" Jose smiled, looking at Yuri. "Oi, you look a little green."
Yuri's eyes narrowed, "Shori… what are you doing here?"
Shori grabbed Yuri. "Bringing you to a hospital, and call me big-brother. Really Yuu-chan, it's not cute at all, the way you talk to me like that."
Yuri was pulled toward Shori, just to trip, collapsing into Shori's chest with a thump. Conrad reached his hand toward Yuri instinctively, he then dropped it knowing Shori had of course caught Yuri, even if he had man-handled him a bit. Conrad heaved out a sigh, Shori did have the right to want to protect his little brother; he understood it better than most.
"Shibuya, leave the details to us, Conrad why don't you go with him to the hospital?" Ken smiled at the brunette and the three raven-haired gentlemen at the door. "We'll be able to get in touch, and Yuri probably won't need to stay there for three days, so we have plenty of time, right Shibuya?"
Yuri waved his hand, "Alright, alright I get it." He spun his finger in the air, "Woo, round four of being prodded by healer-types. Great."
Conrad smiled at Yuri, glad the teen had his normal airs about him, even if he did seem fatigued for it all.
-TBC.-