Hi! Sorry for the long wait, this year is going way too fast! Each time I'm done with something, something else pops O_o
So I've just finished Chapter VI (well written most of it today too...) and done a rapid read through of chapter V and VI, corrected some of Tsukiko's end stat in chapter III and IV...
There's probably quite a few errors since I've just finsihed writing these chapters but you've waited quite a while so here they are!
Like always, I'll probably be doing a few more read through at a later date, and correcting what has been pointed out too!
Thanks for reading my stories:-)
Chapter V. The Forgotten Shrine
Catching up with the missed school-work from Mahoutokoro hadn't been too hard – and after a few evenings of tutoring, when Friday night came again, the Spirit Detective was blissfully free. No boring homework to do, no hunting patrol for the weekend – not that he would really have minded...
Just as he was contemplating dropping by to an arcade, or go exploring the magical market once more – he had promised to show Kurama around after all – he heard the doorbell ring, and his mother greet enthusiastically the newcomer, as well as a familiar mix of youki and reiki unfurl in the flat.
"Souta told me you were all caught up with schoolwork!" he groaned at the reminder as she explained why she was there after having spent a few moments catching up with his mother "So I though I'd stop by to explain a bit to you about Chaos Game!"
"Finally!" he perked up – while the thing was damn useful, he still didn't know how and why the hell he'd ended up with it in the first place
"Do you know how reincarnation works?"
"According to the teachers at Mahoutokoro, all souls, if not tainted, are taken out of the Mortal Realm after death, and they can chosen either to stay in Death's lands, or come back to life." he nearly recited – he had after all spent the last few evenings going over schoolwork with Souta and Kuwabara "Souls that chose to get reincarnated get their memories of their past life erased, and they can then end up anywhere and when."
Tsukiko nodded, rather impressed by how much he'd already memorized of the HSMC – the teenager probably didn't even realized that for once in his life he was actually farther ahead than his classmates, seeing as he was getting help from Souta, who was in his third year rather than first one like him.
"Young souls get reincarnated in short-life species, like animals or regular humans, while older souls become longer-lived species, from magicals to youkai and spirits." he had been, like many, surprised to realize that all the powerful daiyoukai he knew had probably been humans in previous lives, just like any of the humans he knew could eventually become a youkai in a next life
"That's about it. So of course yo realize the problem with Reikai?"
"King Enma cannot be the true Death with how he's separating Makai and Ningenkai." Yuusuke affirmed – that was rather evident "Still, he must be something powerful?" he asked rather than stated – because no weakling could have hijacked Death's purview like this, but at the same time he didn't know enough about the afterlife to guess what had happened
"He is a Holy Servant, just like you." she said, amused at his shocked expression at the affirmation "But one from the Immortal Realm rather than the Mortal one."
"Oh, so he's just working for Death but pretending to be him." a frown "Is he stupid? That cannot possibly end well."
"Stupidity sadly isn't exclusive to the Mortal Realms." Tsukiko confirmed
"So... while this is interesting, I really don't see what's the link with me? Or Chaos Game?"
"The link is that while Death knew what was going on, he couldn't directly interfere, because Enma was at least intelligent in that when he set the barrier that created Reikai and Makai, he anchored the two realms to Japan."
"To the Mortal Realms." Yuusuke realized "Immortals can't interfere with mortals, right? That's why I'm a Spirit Detective!"
"That's the gist of it." Tsukiko nodded "But you died under the eyes of Souta, who called me. And with that Death knew where the missing souls were, and Fate acted."
"So you've been tasked with putting things right?"
She laughed at the leap in logic – not that she didn't understand where he was coming from.
"Not exactly. I was just given the opportunity to interact with someone who's destiny already was to meddle with the future of Reikai and Makai..."
Yuusuke wasn't the brightest in the block – but even he could guess what her pointed look meant...
"Me?!"
His voice was a mix of stunned and unbelieving.
"You." she nodded "You are touched by Fate."
"You make me sound like... some kind of hero!" he protested "I'm a thug! A delinquent! A bad boy!The kind of kid people try to get away from!"
"Well that's because most people are prejudiced idiots." Tsukiko answered easily "While Fate tries to find the person who'll have the best chance of pushing things in the right direction."
He still looked like he had some difficulties believing her, so she let the matter rest, knowing he would take some time coming to terms with this.
"Of course, it could have been the end of it. With our first meeting, I had enough to find Reikai, and so even if we never met again I could have ensured the soul traffic got back to normal." she pointed out "And I will ensure that on my side, I also decided I found out I rather like you." an amused smile "So I decided to hang around to see how your part in this goes..."
"And..."
"And since Chaos Game was created as a tool for me and the heroes I assist, when you started to walk the road Fate chose for you, and I was still around, you became a main player."
"Wait... the road Fate chose?"
"She only put an event on your path, in this case, the death and rebirth that made you into a Spirit Detective. From there, she only have guesses about what will happen, free will is very important after all." Tsukiko reassured him "You could have completely ignored me, not befriended Souta and never gone to Mahoutokoro, you could have even chosen to kill not only Goki but also Hiei and Kurama..."
Yuusuke nodded, reassured on that point – he didn't like the idea of his actions already being predetermined. So he went back to the other point he'd noted "And... helping heroes?"
"Before this life, I remember living three times as a human." she explained "I was one of Fate's chosen in my first life, and I stumbled through my destiny with next to no help from the people that could have prepared me." she said, a bit of resentment still present when remembering how little Dumbledore had done
The man may have been well-meaning, he didn't do her any favor by not preparing her for the wizarding world, or the war against Voldemort...
"And when I died after that, I was given the choice."
"To give others the help you didn't have." he realized – and Tsukiko was rather impressed with how quickly he understood, probably the fastest of all the heroes she'd explained this before
A smile "Exactly. I've been reborn three times since then, and helped three other heroes, and I never regretted the choice, because I've had the chance to discover new friends and families each time."
"Don't you miss them?"
"I do." she confirmed "But I'd rather miss them than never having known them." she affirmed, before going back to the heart of the matter "Chaos Game is the tool I was given to help."
"Oh. That's because Fate chose me that I'm a main player, right?"
"Because she chose you, and you accepted your part in this by accepting coming back to life despite knowing you'd be entangled in Reikai's affairs." Tsukiko confirmed, before informing him "I was rather surprised to encounter you, after all, I have already helped one of Fate's Chosen complete her destiny this time around."
"So it was a case of wrong place wrong time, eh?"
"Rather right place, right time." Tsukiko corrected "I hadn't expected to find another of Fate's Chosen, but like I said I like you. And your mother needed to get out of the mundane world." on that point he could only agree, the change had been radical, and very positive – Atsuko had needed to find a new aim in life, and that wasn't something that he could see happening in the mundane world "And I am rather thankful to have met you."
¤.¤.¤
That, Yuusuke hadn't expected. Tsukiko smiled, and for the first time, explained a bit more about the subject she and her pack only ever alluded to "Kagome-chan was the first Chosen I was sent to help." she informed him "I knew her from birth, and when the time came, she stumbled back through time, and I followed her." a smile "In the Sengoku Jidai, she became the Shikon no Miko, and I gathered my pack."
Yuusuke eyes widened – even he had heard about the girl, a legend among holy servant, the last of the famous miko who'd marked History before the creation of the District...
Souta's sister.
"She chose to stay in the past, with most of my pack, and they promised to meet me in time..."
"Except... the Shikon no Miko is just a legend nowadays."
A sigh "She, and the rest of my pack were taken by the Great Disappearance that occurred not long after most of the preternatural had hidden behind barriers... And that event stayed a mystery ever since it occurred, and until I met you."
He thought about it, knowing she was letting him figure it out – and once he began to put things together, it became rather evident "The Great Disappearance, that was the barriers between Reikai, Makai and Ningenkai going up, right?"
"Exactly." a smile "I broke into Reikai the very day you died," she explained "but they weren't there."
"Which means they're in Makai." he winced "This... isn't going to be easy, right?"
"It isn't," she confirmed "there aren't a lot of portal to Makai in Ningenkai, and most of them are simple rift only letting through the weakest youkai." she explained – he vaguely remembered Botan having said something similar
All of the youkai of the District were too powerful to slip though those rifts, he realized – and forcing through would be dangerous, all students were told to be careful with wards and barriers as soon as they started learning about them after all.
Best case scenario – the brute attempt only was dangerous for the one trying to force his way, harming and potentially killing him. Worst case scenario, the barrier could fail completely, releasing all the energy it contained – and in the case of a barrier holding a whole alternate world, that meant potentially destroying that world, not to mention creating a rather impressive explosion in Ningenkai, one probably big enough to destroy at least the whole city...
"You know I'll help, right?"
She smiled – that was probably the softest smile he'd seen on her face, the delinquent reflected.
"I didn't doubt it," she confirmed "but we're not there yet." her smile became more wild and familiar "After all, KoEnma still has a rebellion to plan."
"That's right," he remembered the collar around Botan's neck "not all the people in Reikai agree with the moron who's opposing Death."
"They don't." Tsukiko confirmed, before informing him amused "The fact that they're going to be busy in Reikai means you'll probably have quite a bit of work in Ningenkai!"
He groaned – more for show than anything else, after all, if all his missions went along the lines of his first one, this should mean he'd get into interesting fights and gain good experience after all. The teenager just hoped all of his jobs wouldn't involve as much drama – between the dying Shiori, with her son ready to sacrifice his life to save her, and Keiko's kidnapping, he'd had more than enough drama for a good while...
After that, the talk had gotten more technical Tsukiko going over what he'd already found by himself about the Interface, and pointing out what he'd missed, like the Wardrobe System – with a name like that, he hadn't even given it a second look, completely missing the fact that it was the best way to have a change of fighting clothes equipped with just a word.
She also asked about his Tail perk – he hadn't chosen the one available just yet, having wondered if the name didn't meant he'd grow a tail, just like canine youkai had. Not that he really minded, but he didn't know how to do the glamour just yet, and explaining to people why he suddenly had a fluffy appendage had seemed like a big headache.
Reassured that the Tail System just was a way of measuring power until the level 300, they'd gone over the perks available to him – and while Touched by Death did tempt him, it was on In All Things Balance that he eventually settled, unlocked both Light and Shadow manipulation, convinced by Tsukiko's demonstration of her Blood and Fire manipulation.
Of course, he'd been warned that he wouldn't just suddenly be able to bend the elements to his will – there was meditation involved, hours of it, and while he despised meditation, since he was already forced to go through more than he'd like daily at Mahoutokoro, at least it would be even more useful.
She had also informed Yuusuke of the fact that as a main player he could now create a permanent hunting party, something that would allow both Souta and Kuwabara to be permanently linked to Chaos Game. A permanent party also had the advantage of unlocking new team bonus as the hunters fought together, and could eventually be upgraded into a pack for better bonus.
"Even though we're not youkai?"
"Even though." Tsukiko nodded "Since I'm the first player, the game used terms more relatable for me, I guess..." she shrugged "My pack was created through Chaos Game, but we became a true pack in all the youkai meaning of the term, but it won't necessarily be so with you, it all depend of how your relation with your hunting partners evolve."
Well – no point to worry about things that weren't there just yet, Yuusuke had decided he'd see were things led to, resolving to create a permanent party as soon as he met up with the other two boys.
She'd also encouraged him to take advantage of the Game more than he had – the Arena System had a list of Bosses to affront that came from her own numerous life, and would be updated when he encountered powerful opponents, the Challenges were more dangerous but very rewarding, and there were Dungeons to be found around town to practice team fighting and unlock one time bonus, and gather some loot that would be useful to both outfit himself and even gain money for whatever he wanted.
At the realization that he could already both fight, and earn money while doing it, he was sold on the idea.
¤.¤.¤
The next day, Yuusuke met up with both Souta and Kuwabara, and after an animated debate, Kismet's Hunting Party was created – the name suggested by Souta after Yuusuke had explained, still a bit ambivalent about it, that it was apparently thanks to Fate and Chaos that he'd gained the ability...
Of course, Yuusuke still maintained that Urameshi's Awesome Team would be best, but the threat of more school-work helped him restrain himself, and Kazuma's proposal of Team Urameshi's a Wimp was also quickly vetoed.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the trio settled into their Team, cleaning all the Dungeons they found, as well as going through the rather long list of Boss to learn teamwork.
They also shadowed Tsukiko's pack a second time, then her fiancé's one when she was away – and Yuusuke had no problem believing the kitsune had been a hit-man after seeing his ruthless and efficient way of fighting.
During their downtime, the trio had made good on Yuusuke's promise of helping Kurama get comfortable with the magical District – and the few outings eventually led up to the three becoming rather friendly with the red-haired teenager.
While he was rather discreet about his past, he did tell them a bit more about Makai. He had also been rather impressed with Mahoutokoro, even if he didn't intend to attend just yet. the Youkai Primary Study Circle was open to full-blood and half-blood – hanyou – like him alike, something that surprised him as hanyou had been looked down upon before the barrier went up, but it was also adapted to their long life-spawn, and as such lasted a decade, and was traditionally attended as a full-time boarder...
The youko's mother had just regained her health, he had no intention of leaving her for so long just yet even if he could have obtained a derogation to go home during the week-end on the ground that his mother, as a human, was short lived...
They'd also learned that since he had broken into Reikai, KoEnma hadn't been able to avoid to dish out at least a token punishment – as such, he was the official helper for the Spirit Detective. Between learning that, and the fact that they got along rather well with him, they decided to train a bit with him, first at Mahoutokoro – and eventually, as a part of Kismet's Hunting Party.
The intelligent youkai had been rather impressed by Chaos Game, and had soon learned to take advantage of it.
As busy as they were – not to mention how busy the real hunters were – Kurama hadn't yet encountered Tsukiko in the District, something Souta was looking rather forward to, given that the red-head didn't know just yet who and what precisely she was...
The team had finally deemed themselves ready to take on a Challenge that Souta was looking forward to – the one that would give him a familiar.
"Talking about that..." the priest-in-training wondered "Why isn't your familiar growing at all?"
"Pu?" Yuusuke pocked the bird that indeed didn't seem to have grown at all physically – of course, level wise it was another story "Tsukiko explained to me that it's because his growth was influence by my death, so it's not a regular familiar." he informed them "Apparently he's accumulated too much spiritual energy when I was taking care of him as an egg, because I didn't have a body, so he must catch up in level, then he'll a growth spur and finally be useful more useful than a fancy hat..."
The little bird thrilled a protest at the affirmation – but wasn't very convincing as he had indeed taken to to nest into the boy's hair ever since Yuusuke had started bringing him along everywhere so that he could level up faster on the Moon hime's advice...
"I can't believe you hatched something as cool as a thunderbird..." Souta commented, eyeing the little bird with lingering awe – the magical beast was rather rare after all, and could grow very powerful
"I wonder what you'll get." Kazuma retorted "At least your familiar should grow up faster than Pu, it's just like Yuusuke to gave a partner just as lazy as him!"
That commented earned him a slap in the head from said partner – the bird was still small, but he was a magical breed able to create storms and tornadoes when adult, so even as young as he was, a wind gust strong enough to make the unsuspecting stumble was well within his abilities.
"Well, only one way to know." Yuusuke shrugged, calling the Arena System up, and going to the Challenge Tab immediately
[Challenge level 75! Until Death do part us...
Goal: rescue the illegal trade's victims (0/?)
Reward: +25XP per rescue, +1 wizarding jewelry piece to be chosen upon completion, Souta unlocks a familiar upon completion]
With the Challenge's activation, the world had faded in to black around them – and the place that came back into focus was very different from the one they'd just left...
"Gah! Way too hot!" Yuusuke was the first to complain
With a though, he called the Wardrobe System, ditching his jacked immediately and looking for useful equipment that were more weather appropriate – because they had just gone from the dry cold of a winter day to a moist, warm climate that couldn't be Japanese, and it was suddenly night time.
"I'd say we're somewhere in the Rainforest." Kurama commented as he looked around, not looking uncomfortable at all despite the fact that he was wearing both a haori and hakama – the youkai had been rather happy to realize that the District did favor more traditional clothing that the mundane world, and had immediately adopted their clothing habit, using modern clothing only when on the mundane side of things...
"And there's a group of dark wizards nearby." Souta added, reiki spreading around him "Not corrupted just yet, but well on their way."
"Well," Yuusuke turned in the right direction – the Makai Boots surprisingly silent on the jungle's ground "let's get to it then, they have to be the target."
"I can feel may be a dozen of them," Souta informed him, as they followed suit
Within a few minutes, they were approaching a clearing – where indeed a few men were milling about, some of them watching a group of cages, a couple playing cards by the fire, and some sleeping in a nearby magical tent.
"Animal smugglers." Kazuma was the one to realize first with a sneer – remembering how attached to the little cat he'd rescued he was, Yuusuke wasn't surprised to see his thuggish friend blood-lust emerge "Let's waste them."
"Let's." he agreed easily, his eyes gazing the gaunt shadows in the cells with distaste
"Remember," Souta warned them "they're wizards..."
"Avoid the light show, especially if it's green, and useless in a real fight or without their wand." Yuusuke nodded
"Well, that's more Europeans wizards... From what I know the specialty around here is Magizoology and Herbology. And Magical Fauna and Flora are dangerous." Souta emphasized
"Alright then." Yuusuke nodded "Kazuma and I will go first, you'll stab them in the back while they're focused on us!"
"That we will." Kurama confirmed with a feral smile, reminding all of his youkai origins
With that, the two delinquent entered the fray, and chaos ensued.
¤.¤.¤
The smugglers hadn't expected to be attacked, but they were more than ready to defend themselves – and if, just like Yuusuke had said, most wizards were useless without their wand, coming near enough to steal the tool was proving difficult as the jungle itself seemed to rebel against them.
Specialty on botany indeed!
Both boys were spending more time dodging the dangerous plants coming at them than attacking – but just like planned, all attention was on them, so the wizards were taken by surprise when the first of them was knocked out by a reiki enhanced bo in the back of the head, and another was suddenly finding himself entangled in the very branches of the tree that he'd made attack Yuusuke the moment before...
Because experts in Botany they may be – Kurama was with them, and a place like the Rainforest was just the kind of playground the youko could play with, his wood-manipulation a very dangerous ability that made the very nature around him answer to his will, further enhanced by the Forest Flame he hadn't even known he was using before Chaos Game, making them grow or wither to his will.
Half an hour after the start of the Challenge, the four teenager were sealing the group of dark wizard in a reiki powered ward that would prevent them from escaping, and they were turning their attention to the cages.
"Found the keys!" Kazuma announced, as he got out of the magical ten "There's also quite a collection of potion ingredients, and some magical artifacts... I really don't see why they gather the things if they don't use them!"
"To sell them to collectors." Souta explained "Because the Fae have retired themselves from the wizarding world, European wizards have nearly forgotten why those items were made in the first place, and they now rely entirely on their wand, whereas they used to arm themselves with numerous enchanted items..."
"Stupid." Yuusuke grumbled "Well, let's see to the animals first, we'll rob those idiots blind after."
The other three nodded their agreement, and they each took a key, going to the numerous cages of all size...
"Well, now I wish I'd hit the fuckers harder." Yuusuke announced as he unlocked the first cage, a thestral looking warily at them, too thin to be healthy and badly healed cuts on his coat
[Goal update (1/?): +25XP]
"Same." Kurama confirmed – without any surprise, as there was an actual youko in the cage he'd opened; a young, three-tailed one, but a youko nonetheless
[Goal update (2/?): +25XP]
"What can we do?" Kazuma asked tightly while trying to reassure a wary pack of brightly colored birds
[Goal update (7/?): 5*25XP]
"Well, if we're in the Rainforest, we mustn't be too far from Castelobruxo." Souta mused as he observed the pack of mooncalves huddled in a corner of the fourth cage
[Goal update (15/?): 8*25XP]
"That's the local school of magic, right?" Kazuma remembered first
"Exactly. They should know how to contact the local enforcement." the ordinary kind boy had a rather ferocious smile for a human as he added "Wizards around here are very harsh with people that mistreat animals..."
The other three's smiles were just as full of teeth as Souta's – and the boy wasted no time sending a shikigami.
"Well, let's explore while we wait."
A nod, they went to the tent. Just like the orange-head had said, there were numerous artifacts, most of them valuable but not particularly useful for them – that is until said teenager hit his foot in an angle of the room they were in, cursing first in pain, then surprise as he'd apparently hit a secret lever...
The new room held several more smaller animals, from a peculiar bowtruckle...
"I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be red?" Kurama had commented, gaining an angry chirping sound from the wood creature
to a swarm of angry fairies and even a tired looking ocamy encased in a glass vivarium...
[Goal update (20/?): 5*25XP]
But what really caught their attention was the man shackled against a wall...
"Those bastards!"
It was difficult to say which of the boy had talked, as all four looked furious – but it was Souta who approached the first, reiki already engulfing his hands.
"Don't!" the man stopped him, voice raw and low – he had clearly been tortured
But what caught the team's attention, were the eyes.
"Vampire." Yuusuke realized "Starved vampire." he added – the red gleaming eyes were making the fact rather evident
"Indeed." he chuckled weakly "So if you wish to stay alive, don't come nearer."
"What's the policy on vampire around here?" Kazuma asked with a wince – he knew that not all parts of the world were as open-minded as Japan, and sometimes in very bizarre ways like Hong Kong where vampires where easily tolerated while werewolves on the contrary were despised
"Not good." Souta winced
"From what I've heard from my captors we're in the Rainforest, right?" the vampire asked – at the nod from Yuusuke he stated "Then I'll be put down as soon as they set their eyes on me."
"Yeah, not happening." Yuusuke contradicted "We haven't wasted that band of low-life only to get you killed."
"The other option would be to let me go, and I quite frankly won't be able to prevent myself to kill you." the vampire pointed out honestly
"I'm impressed you're even coherent." Souta had to admit
"We've got to get you out of here without getting us killed..." Yuusuke mused, looking around "Say, you wouldn't die if we were to collapse the tent, right?"
"The inner space don't collapse when the tent is moved." the vampire nodded
"Well then, I guess we're taking it. Anyone knows how to fold a wizarding tent?"
"They're spell activated."
"Er. No good then, we're aren't wizards." the thug sighed
"I could use a sutra." Souta mused "I've never done one set to stun instead of disintegrate, but I know the principle. After that we'd just have to hide him long enough for the people from Castelobruxo to get the animals and the smuggler..."
"And how do we take him back home? Somehow I doubt he'll fit in my Inventory!"
"We call for Tsuki-chan." Souta after a moment of silent reflection "I've no other idea..." a sigh "It would have been different if we weren't at the other side of the world, but apart from a Challenge teleportation, I don't know of any other way to travel so far back and forth."
Yuusuke, Kazuma and Kurama shared a glance – their friend was right, there weren't a lot of abilities that let people travel as fast as Tsukiko's unpleasant trip through the darkness... But calling for help meant that the Challenge would probably be forfeited, and Challenges couldn't be taken twice.
They all knew how much the boy had been looking forward to gain a familiar...
"I don't need a familiar at the cost of someone else's life." the youngest Higurashi answered their unvoiced thoughts, not unkindly – after all, he knew they were simply concerned for him
They nodded, and the boy acceded the Communication Tab, mentally typing a message – as she wasn't a part of their Hunting Pack, there was no vocal chat accessible between them, something they hadn't realized was lacking up until now...
A few moments went by – and the shadows stirred, making the vampire's head snap to a point behind them.
"You put your pride to the side to call for help," the newcomer commented in a warm voice "That's something a lot of older hunters don't know how to do, I am proud of you."
Kurama's eyes widened – because right now, they were in the Rainforest, one of the most magically charged area left in the mundane world, and as such Tsukiko really didn't need to keep her glamour, nor her aura up.
¤.¤.¤
"You called Death itself to save me?" the vampire whispered incredulously
She eyed him, amused "I'm not Death," she contradicted lightly "a vampire, of all people, should realize this."
"Yet so similar." he whispered, reverently
The four hunters-in-training shared wondering look – but most importantly, Kurama was still stunned "I thought the fact that the heiress of the House of Moon was an alpha's alpha, and a miko, was a legend! Just like Shikon no Miko!"
"That's my sister." Souta contradicted
"And my pack-mate." Tsukiko added, mirth in her eyes – as far as reaction went, she was rather entertained by the stunned look the youko was harboring
"You really should be a kitsune, rather than an ookami..." Yuusuke sighed "Anyway, did Souta explain the situation to you?"
"One vampire to go, one." she confirmed with a wink
The next moment, sounds were heard from the outside, and Tsukiko was striding toward the vampire, the chains dropping from his limbs with a pulse of power, and darkness took them both, just as the wizards sent from Castelobruxo arrived.
[Goal update (21/21): +25XP]
Just like Souta had said – it was clear the law wouldn't be in favor of the smuggler, far from it, and they were very thankful for the team's intervention, as they had been looking for this group of traffickers for a while.
It took nearly an hour before the wizards were out of questions, and the four teenagers free to go home...
"Which should happen when the Challenge conclude, one way or another." Souta whispered as they headed back deeper in the jungle, under the wizard's intrigued gazes and well-wishes
He must have been right – for as soon as they were out of sight, the world faded to black, and they reappeared in Yuusuke's room.
[Challenge Complete!
You've rescued all of the smuggler's victims
Reward: +1 wizarding jewelry piece to be chosen, Souta unlocks a familiar]
[Hidden Challenge Complete! What is right...
you've found a way to save the last victim of the smuggler's from his fate in the Rainforest
Reward: 100XP, +1 soul-bound token]
[Wizarding Jewelry
- Runespoor Fang Necklace (rare, level 75): +3 Strength, +25 Poison damage every second for 5 second
- Wampus Claws Wrislet (rare, level 75): +3 Agility, +25 Blood Drain
- Thunderbird Hair Feather (rare, level 75): +3 Intelligence, +25 Lightning damage
- Thesthral Hair Woven Armwrist (rare, level 75): +3 Wisdom, +25 Darkness damage
Available: 1]
[Level up! Yuusuke is now level 79!
+7SP, +2CP]
[Level up! Kazuma is now level 72!
+11SP, +4CP, +1PP]
[Level up! Souta is now level 81!
+6SP, +2CP, +1PP]
[Level up! Kurama is now level 117!
+4SP, +2CP]
Yuusuke eyed the rewards – he didn't have a use just yet for the soul-bound token, but Tsukiko had explained what it was to him. As for the jewelry, the choice was easily made – since he'd gained the Makai Boots, and enhanced them with the Rapacious Orb Aura, it only made sense to take the Wampus Claws Wrislet, doubling his Blood Drain ability.
He had hesitated with the Theshral Armwrist just for a moment, the Darkness damages interesting to him given his elemental manipulations – but he wasn't at a level yet where he could use those manipulation in a fight, so he settled on the item that would be useful immediately since they weren't leveling-items.
Glancing around he noticed that Kurama had taken the Runespoor Necklace, and Kazuma the Thunderbird Feather – as for Souta, ha visibly hadn't bothered making his choice just yet, completely focused on the egg that had appeared and softly landed in his hands when the Challenge had been – to their surprise – completed...
"So?"
"It should hatch within the month," Souta announced happily, not taking his eyes off the emerald shell
"So fast?"
"You already knew you familiar and you were strange." Souta laughed "And apparently it's already been attuned to my reiki during our hunts..."
"Huh. Strange..." Yuusuke shrugged "Then again I guess a game made by the god of Chaos has to be unexpected..."
Once coming down from the excitation of having succeeded their mission, the team was soon wondering about the vampire they'd rescued – another message, and Tsukiko had explained that she was hanging around with Lucian Ardelan, the vampire, whom she'd taken to the blood bank, then a healer, and was now showing around.
It was only a few days later that they met up again.
Lucian expressed his thanks to the team that had gone out of it's way to save him, explaining that he had been captured while going through one of those phase of deep sleep vampires could go through when badly injured, or simply bored.
In his case, the vampire had been injured, and hadn't been ready to be woken up at all when the smugglers had found him, which explained why he'd been captured so easily. Since then they'd kept him starved and cut from his abilities by the enchanted chains that bound him – now that he was free again, Lucian found himself several decades out of sync with the world, and from what he'd heard about the situation in Europa right now he had no desire of going there right now.
Sure, the end of the latest dark lord had been suppose to bring forward a new era of tolerance – but the truth of the matter was that the wizards were resistant to change, and the situation not much better for magical species right now than it had been a few decades ago.
Not to mention, the vampire seemed to feel an impressive amount of respect for Tsukiko, he had after all mistaken her for Death at first sight!
All in all, Lucian Ardelan was staying in the District, having only dropped by his old residency to acquire funding before starting to make a new life for him in Japan.
"With all that's going on here between the Districts, the talks about the mafia and that situation brewing with Reikai and Makai," the vampire pointed "I feel like I wont be bored for at least a few decades."
After that affirmation, they hadn't been too surprised by his decision – it was after all a weakness of vampires that youkai weren't affected with, but knew well enough.
Because the species did originally come from humans, as long-lived as they now were, vampires – born or made – still suffered from the difficulty to cope with a long life young souls had. And bored vampires could sometimes fall into all kind of madness trying to alleviate themselves from the monotony of their existence – there had even been cases of vampires provoking human wars just to be entertained...
By the time school holidays came around, the vampire had become a familiar face in the crowd, and was in the process of opening his own shop in the magical market – not that he needed it financially speaking, but a shop was a good way to meet new people and keep oneself entertained...
That was when Botan had taken Yuusuke to KoEnma once more.
[New Life Quest! Undercover Work...
Goal: go to Master Genkai's Disciple Trials
Reward: 50XP per goal, upon completion]
This time, Yuusuke hadn't bothered trying to keep the new mission to himself, instead, he directly called for a meeting of Team Kismet and Tsukiko to explain all he knew about the latest task Reikai had set him up with.
¤.¤.¤
"A well-known and respected reiki user is looking for a disciple, and using a tournament to find one. Bur apparently there's a youkai that has been going around killing all reiki user he could get his hands on, and stealing and adapting their technique to youki..."
"Uh... You're talking about Master Genkai, right?" Kazuma asked, before explaining, at the surprise and confirmation clear in his fellow thug eye's "My sister has realized my reiki abilities had improved, so she's been pushing me to get training..." a shrug "Master Genkai's name came up in the conversation I guess I'll be going..."
"Your sister knows about your aptitudes?"
"Reiki is a family gift." the large boy reminded them with a shrug "Sis's always been better at it than me... Well until I took Mahoutokoro's courses, by now I should be as good as her."
"And she managed to stay under the radar of both the District and Reikai?" Souta asked "That's rather impressive..."
"We've always be taught not to flaunt our abilities, but not to get out of our way to hide them either."
"Because when people realize you're hiding something they get suspicious." Tsukiko nodded "Since you didn't have that much reiki to start with, your family isn't picked up by the District's radars, and since you're discreet enough, Reikai don't realize either you're there..."
The next day, Yuusuke, Kazuma and Souta were all climbing the long forest stairs toward a small shrine lost in the woods...
"Well, it's not as grueling as the stairs to your shrine, but it's still was way too tiring." Yuusuke comented as the trio stopped at the entrance of the shrine outer wall, where a signboard announced the tournament they'd came to compete in
"There's a lot of people around," Souta answered, taking the complain about the Sunset Shrine's long set of stairs in stride – that was usual banter between them by this point after all "this master Genkai must be really famous, I hadn't realized there were that much reiki users out of the District..."
"Most of these people didn't have enough reiki to be scouted by the District when younger, but they still managed to train themselves really well." Tsukiko's voice announced on the vocal chat – this time, they'd linked hunting parties for the mission, and as such could use the vocal chat with her too
And clearly, judging from what she was saying – even if they didn't feel her, she was nearby, and close enough to be able to keep an eye on the contestants...
"And it looks like Reikai was right in putting you on the job," Kurama, who was with the ookami hime, added "I can't pinpoint it, but there's a faint feel of youki spreading around... The guy is really good, he's managed to suppress it enough to hide among reiki users!"
A large gong echoed, and the people quieted down, as master Genkai finally made her appearance.
"That shorty's the master?" Yuusuke mumble
"Observe her..." Souta whispered back
The delinquent complied – and his eyes widened comically when he realized that the small, wizened old woman was of a higher level than any member of their hunting party...
Spreading his senses in a way he wasn't used to yet, he quickly felt the familiar feel of his two fellow holy servant's reiki, the mass of unknown reiki signatures, weaker for most, than even the students of Mahoutokoro's, yet honed enough to be dangerous none-the-less...
And dwarfing all of them, kept calm yet clearly permeating through the shrine, the mistress of the place's reiki, strong and potent, yet able to snuff any of them in the beat of a heart if she so decided.
Tsukiko had been right to warn them – the people here may not have the well of reiki District holy servants had, they still were all skilled people in their own right.
Suddenly, this tournament was becoming more interesting...
"So..." the old woman's clear gaze swept across the mass of people in he courtyard, her reiki calmly assessing any and all present "Let's start by whittling down this word a bit, eh." a smirk "The first test will be..."
The crowd grew more agitated, some people getting ready for a fight, other letting the stress get the better of them...
"Drawing lot."
[Goal complete! +50XP
Goal update: got through the First Trial]
And with that affirmation all the tension was replaced by surprise, disappointment, and even frustration from some contestant. The Kismet trio shared a glance, but were more used at looking underneath the underneath.
Given how strong the woman was, and what information they'd gained from Botan, they rather doubted the test was as random as people thought.
It was Kazuma who realized what was going on after a few of the contestants had started to draw lots – most of them getting thrown out without any further ado, a few gaining the precious red lots.
"All those that had the right lot are among the strongest spiritually speaking." he noted
Yuusuke's eyes widened, and when the next fighter's hand disappeared in the jar where the lots were hidden, focused on it...
"There's some kind of reaction." Souta realized, then taping into his own knowledge "There are several ways to test power levels," he mused "but the most usual is to have youki or houshi made testing paper, grown from special trees." he eyed the red paper slip "This looks like a simpler version of this."
"Exactly." Tsukiko agreed from the voice chat "The normal version will change color according to your type and power level. This version seems to simply turn red when a certain power level is met. Not a bad way to clean the lower level grunts away and surprise the contestants at the same time..." she mused
Yuusuke agreed mentally – the lot drawing had indeed put the contestants on their toes, most wondering what the renowned master would find next...
[Goal complete! +50XP
Goal update: got through the Second Trial
Hidden bonus goal complete! +100XP
you've understood the First Trial aim's]
The diminutive reiki expert was about to announce the next trial when two large, hulking man ambled toward her, both clearly furious at having been evicted from the contest without having the chance to even demonstrate their skills.
Of course, given that good martial artists the two maybe, they certainty weren't good reiki users, they hadn't realized the test's aim, like most people around. Yuusuke barely managed to repress his laugh when he saw the two try to intimidate the old master – were they really that stupid, Coming to seek the teaching of someone then thinking them already strong enough to threaten the same person...
Master Genkai's eyed the two tall men with undisguised disdain, and with a single, sharp yell, sent the two of them stumbling back.
"Wow, enhancing your voice with reiki isn't easy." Souta pointed out admiringly
Around them, most people were just as awed – as for Genkai, she just seemed annoyed at the gawking and hurried the group toward the temple, and in an old room that would help the second trial.
"This... Is an arcade room." Yuusuke laughed "I'm feeling right at home!"
"Ah, but those aren't simple arcade stations." Souta contradicted lightly, just as amused as the delinquent
"Yeah, even I can feel the reiki." the spirit detective nodded, not surprised "Even if I can't pinpoint what it's doing..." he admitted with a shrug – he knew well by now that he was the worst at feeling finicky things like wards, spells or sutras aims
"I'd say..." Kazuma mused, focusing on the three types of machine present "This one," he pointed at the rock-paper-scissor machine "Tests either your luck or your good instincts." pointing toward the punching game "This one if nearly the same as the normal version, except it measure your spiritual straight rather than physical." the turning toward the karaoke "And this one seems the continuation of the first trial, by measuring your reiki points..." he completed
"Exactly."
The bleached-haired teen nearly jumped out of his skin, not having felt the small woman approach, focused as he was on deciphering the reiki spells woven in each game.
The small woman, that was now eyeing the three teens with well-hidden interest – she had hoped, but not really expected, anyone to see through the intent of not only the first, but even the second of her trials.
And it was the most unexpected trio, two of them clearly looking like thugs whereas the third on the contrary seemed right at home in the shrine, like only shrine-raised children could be, yet the three of them a clear unit, the way they moved around each other a testament to the trust they shared, and the fact they were used to fight together...
"It's just like the brat said," she said a bit louder, going once more over the three tests aims "The passing grade for the rock-paper-scissor machine is 10 wins out of 15, for the punching game, you'll have to score 120 in at least one of 3 tries and for the karaoke, a 70 percent success is a win! You'll need two passing grade to get to the third trial!"
The trio shared challenging glances, and were soon heading toward the first machine.
Kazuma's victory was overwhelming, the bleach-haired thug boasting 14 wins out of 15 while Souta managed an honorable 10 wins and Yuusuke lucked out with only 7 wins.
Of course, the scores were vastly different on the the second test, Yuusuke being this time the clear winner, with a score of 194 that made everyone made a double take at the thug, and surprisingly, Souta beating Kazuma with 170 point to his 158.
"The results are scaled based on both physical and spiritual strength." Kurama was the one to point out on the vocal chat "While Kazuma is strong in both, Souta clearly outstrip the two of you his spiritual strength for now."
The trio shared glances at the mystery's explanation – it made sense, and meant that paradoxically Yuusuke's win over the two other was mainly due to his overwhelming physical superiority.
As for the third test, the three of them tied with a 100 percent score on the karaoke machine, clearly not meant to measure reiki pools as large as theirs – which wasn't too surprising given that all people presents weren't from the District.
[Goal complete! +50XP
Goal update: got through the Third Trial
Hidden bonus goal complete! +100XP
you've understood the Second Trial aim's before Genkai explained it]
With the second trial done, another twenty contestants were dropped, and the diminutive reiki master let the group further on the Shrine's grounds...
And suddenly, the trio felt as if they'd gone through a ward, and the rather usual feeling of sanctity all shrine manned by competent holy servant shared was replaced by something far more volatile...
¤.¤.¤
"Youki." Yuusuke was the first of the trio of holy servant to realize, eyeing the forest with open curiosity I don't feel I've ever felt so much youki in one place even in the District." he realized with some surprise – ha had after all been in the House of Moon itself a few time, and the old household was of course suffused in the remnant of generations of daiyoukai
"That's because this is wild youki." Tsukiko explained over the voice chat
Sensing the trio didn't understand what she meant, she explained further "Most of the youki you can feel around in the District is someone's youki, and since all daiyoukai and hanyou undergo strict training from a young age, as long as we don't relax all control on ourselves, our youki tend to have a tempered feeling, like a well-honed blade if you will."
"On the contrary,"she continued "Corrupted beings have wild youki, but it's also so tainted that the taint is what people tend to focus on. And finally, wild youki like here is common in place where not only youkai live, but even the flora is of youkai origin. Those place are seldom in Ningenkai, most of them taken away during the Great Disappearance with their inhabitants, the rest of them infused by youki far too potent for humans to even approach them, like the Nikko area."
"So this..."
"Is one of the very few remaining youkai forest in Ningenkai." Tsukiko confirmed "One which was thought lost by the District when the Shrine protecting it failed to have a new holy servant to take over it's ward..."
"Oh my..." Souta's eyes widened "This is a Forgotten Shrine then!"
Yuusuke and Kazuma shared identical blank look at the affirmation, and Souta, realizing this, explained "Forgotten Shrines are shrine where no holy servants are left to take care of the wards. To avoid the area they protect to be discovered by mundane humans, a fail-safe was put into place that change the wards from simple discretion scheme that let's only people in the known realize anything is present to much stringent secrecy wards meant to hide the place until a new holy servant can be dispatched."
"Clearly the secrecy ward is faulty, we're all seeing the damn forest!" protested Yuusuke
"Because you've been granted permission by the shrine's guardian." Tsukiko explained "This shrine must have been forgotten when it went dormant, something that happens from time to time because of the secrecy wards, and Genkai, while not a member of the District, is powerful enough that she must have managed to awaken and harness part of the wards of the shrine again, regaining access to the forest."
While the Moon Hime and young priest had been explaining their theories, Genkai herself had explained in simpler terms what the forest was to those presents – quite a few of them choosing to leave, all of them visibly spooked by the forest's aura.
"Wimps." muttered Yuusuke, Kuwabara nodding along his agreement as the three of them entered the under-bushes
"Don't forget none of them are from the District." Souta reminded "Even if they had a bit of spiritual powers, they still had that weakness toward youki most mundane humans have developed."
"Yep, wimps, just like I said." Yuusuke nodded firmly at the explanation, absentmindedly side-stepping a venomous plant
Most of the youkai present in the forest were beast youkai – but beast or not, the forest had once been part of the district, and as such even the beast recognized the familiar beads marking them, most of them opting to get out of their way once they saw them.
More surprising was the nearly human looking, if quite young bat youkai hidden in the middle of the forest.
"You... You're from the District, aren't you?"
The trio shared surprised glances at the hopeful tone of the brat that the second before had seemed ready to attack them
"Yes?" Souta agreed
"Can you take me there?"
There was no mistaking the hope this time.
"Well, I don't see why we couldn't..." Souta mused "But why do you need us for that?"
"The wards don't let us get out of the forest!" he explained, frustration clear in his eyes "Before, there used to be a portal between the forest and the District, but it's the first thing that failed when we lost our last houshi!" he explained "And since all of us are beast youkai, we didn't have the damn beads!" a sigh "We hoped the shrine going active meant we'd be able to go around once more, but even if young Genkai isn't bad for a human, she's no District member."
"You've been stuck here ever since the shrine's been forgotten?" Souta realized, eyes wide "Long enough to gain a humanoid form?"
This affirmation made the delinquent duo realize why their fellow team-member was so surprised – it took centuries for a beast youkai to gain enough power to be able to gain a more human appearance, the ability to go from beast to human appearance being the hail-mark of daiyoukai...
"It's been nearly 150 years." the bat nodded
"We'll help."Souta pledged – they had no reason not to after all, on the contrary, regaining a youkai forest would be a boon to the District
"Thanks!"
New youkai in tow, they finished going through the forest easily, meeting a surprised Genkai a hour later.
"You've... beaten the Bat Master?"
"Bat master?"
A shrug from the youkai "The humans that get lost in the forest from time to time call me like that...But my real name's Shuuya!"
"So, you didn't fight?"
"You never said we had to." Souta pointed out
"And why is... Shuuya with you then?"
"We're taking him to see a common friend." Yuusuke was the first to improvise – now really wasn't the time to go in the details of the District's existence with the old woman, when they could all sense the other contestants approaching
While clearly dubious regarding the answer, the reiki master seemed to come to as similar conclusion "We'll talk about this later." she nodded before turning with the next contestant emerging from the forest
[Goal complete! +50XP
Goal update: got through the Fourth Trial
Hidden bonus goal complete! +100XP
meet with the forest inhabitant and agreed to help them]
"Well," Genkai commented a while later, "I hadn't expected to need a fourth task!"
The nine remaining contestant face-faulted at the affirmation, then the old woman shrugged "Oh well, let's have a tournament!"
"We don't have an even number of contestants!" on of the other protested
"We'll draw lots." Genkai shrugged "Luck is a kind of talent too after all."
Following the old woman, they were soon back in the shrine, Shuuya in tow.
"This," Genkai announced as she opened the door of one of the shrine's building "is where we'll have the fights."
"It's pitch black!" noted Yuusuke, surprised "I guess our eyes will be useless here..."
"Precisely." Genkai nodded "The only rule in this round is to defeat your opponent and get out of the arena." she looked at the small group of contestants remaining "Come to think of it, I don't even know your names."
With that, each was soon introducing themselves, the trio observing each and every of their opponent attentively – after all, they hadn't come simply for the fun of participating in this contest...
They had a killer to find.
"It's rather evident now that the numbers have dwindled, isn't it?" Souta noted
"Still, what do we do?" Yuusuke sighed "As much as I'd like to just jump the idiot, I doubt the old bat would appreciate us wrecking her contest."
"Yeah. And I really don't want to get on her bad side." Kazuma added, remembering how she'd K. the two tall martial artists
"Only one thing to do then..." Souta commented with an amused smile, having already guessed it would come to this
"Go through this contest, and beat him in it!"
"We'll see who's lucky enough to land against him first!" Kazuma nodded enthusiastically
[Hidden bonus goal complete! +100XP
You've guessed the killer's identity]
"Don't get too cocky."
The trio startled when they realized the voice wasn't over the voice chat – but just behind them...
"Tsuki-chan! Why are you here?" Souta was the first to ask, surprised
Indeed – Both Tsukiko and Kurama had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, more probably from the hime's otherworldly Flames, both hidden under their human appearance...
"Well I'm here to evaluate your performance, of course." she smiled sweetly "Master Genkai was kind enough to authorize me to watch the first three Trials and stay hidden, but I don't really need to stay hidden to watch a tournament do I?"
The trio turned toward the old woman, that indeed wasn't surprised at the sudden apparition "Well of course, I would want to watch over my pupil too were they to compete for an apprenticeship."
With that, Tsukiko was turning toward Shuuya, introducing herself to the young bat in a low voice – and the beast youkai may have already been stuck in his forest by the time she was born, he was knowledgeable enough to recognize the name of the House of Moon...
Stopping the bat that was trying to bow, and nearly stumbling in his wings while doing so, she was soon talking in a kind, low voice with the youkai, while seemingly no giving much attention to the on-going fight.
Meanwhile, the first two contestants had entered the arena, and one had gone out, without much surprise from Team Kismet nor Tsukiko.
Souta stretched out, and headed toward the arena, where he would be fighting Musashi, a one-eyed demon exterminator.
"Last chance to withdraw, kid." the rough looking man warned "This will be a fight to the death."
"I don't need to kill my opponent to defeat them." Souta contradicted lightly "But don't worry I understand that not everyone is able to control their abilities well enough to do precisely what they want." he added with an angelic smile
"He... just told him his usage of killing blows was a proof of weakness, didn't he?" Yuusuke checked with Kurama
Eyes filled with mirth , the youko confirmed "That he did. He's acting just like a fox, I'm so proud of him!"
"That's more Tsuki-chan's influence than yours." the spirit detective reminded his team-mate, earning a pout from him
In the dark, the demon exterminator, visibly incensed by Souta's dig, announced "You may have a good sixth sense, boy, you'll find it useless against me ! I'm trained to suppress my aura!"
True enough, the man's aura was dimmed – but for Souta, that had been regularly training against youkai for years, and fighting side by side with them, that only meant that he had to use his other senses.
And no matter how skilled he was, the man sounded like an elephant in a corridor compared to any of his usual opponent.
Musashi clearly didn't expect his attack to be evaded, but surprise and annoyance were soon pushed aside "No matter," light was suddenly visible in the darkness, powerful reiki centered around a bokken.
"This sword was carved from a 1000 years tree and polished with holy water!" he bragged "It's the perfect weapon for a demon slayer..." an amused smile "But it can be used against other opponents too."
Souta eyed the man, who taking a fast-drawing stance.
"Wow. You really are an idiot." he mumbled, more for himself than the opponent – who still heard him, and rushed to attack
"A picture perfect fast-draw." Tsukiko commented from where they were observing the arena, "But utterly idiotic, just like Souta said."
Indeed – the beautiful attack landed against the reinforced body of Souta's main weapon, a heavy nanigata, the rank of praying bells around the base of the blade tingling with crystal pure clarity.
The bokken broke, making his owner stumble, and Souta had already closed the distance between them, simply slapping a sutra on his brow.
"And done." he sing-sang, twirling nanigata before letting it disappear back in his Inventory
"My turn then!" enthusiastically realized Yuusuke, eyeing the man that had boldly proclaimed himself a killer when they'd introduced each other earlier
"Don't kid yourself in thinking you'll be as lucky as the other brat." warned the killer, a knife dropping in his right hand
"Two things." Yuusuke retorted "First, it wasn't luck from Souta's part, it was skill." a smile "And secondly, I never said I wouldn't kill you."
Kuroda smiled, blood-thirst echoing his own "Good."
With that, they headed into the darkness.
With a thought, his cestus were equipped, the sturdy leather gauntlet even less flimsy than they looked, as they were made from dragon hide, and each had several hidden blades – western wizards may have lost the know-how about enchanted weapons, this certainly wasn't the case in the District, and so he'd dropped by one of the shops a few weeks after his fight with Hiei, having realized back then that he lacked a good weapon – and since he favored his fists, priest formation or not, he'd opted for the cestus.
Not bothering to close his eyes, the delinquent let himself settle in the nearly meditative state he'd learn to attain while train, senses stretching around him, body ready to move.
The man hadn't lied – when he moved, it was silently, and aiming for a vital spot.
But even if he could yet hear the man as well as Souta had with Musashi, this opponent wasn't one used to erase his aura, on the contrary, he was using his Killing Intent, aiming to paralyze him to give the killing blow.
Not an unusual strategy for a killer, but not a very useful one against someone who'd survived the KI of several daiyoukai already.
Dodging under the knife, he struck in the stomach, the reinforced fist heavily bruising the killer, who clearly hadn't expected it, but wasn't down just yet.
"Do you really think you're going to kill me with your fists?" the killer taunted
Once more, he was coming at him, KI flaring.
"Well," Kurama commented that fight's done for."
"Why do you say this?" wondered Souta – while he had all confidence in his team-mate's victory, he knew this wasn't what the youko meant
"That man is a silent-killing specialist. When he missed his first attack, he had already lost." a disdainful sniff "And now he's debasing himself by trying the same failed tactic again."
"Kurama's right." Tsukiko nodded, looking bored "Truly a disgrace."
Souta sweat-dropped at the haughty affirmation – once more reminded that the girl truly was a daiyoukai, and not a human.
Even if not all humans were as peaceful as him, as Yuusuke and Kazuma were both proving right now – one by going toe to toe against a killer, the second for cheerfully egging him on...
Still, both youko and ookami had been right, and by the time Kuroda tried the same attack for the third time, a hidden blade came out of the cestus aimed at the man's middle-part, neatly slashing through his innards.
"You'll live if you get to some healer soon enough." Yuusuke announced to the incapacitated killer "And you should think about changing job, you suck as a killer."
Luckily for the killer, Genkai did have some healing paste that did a rather impressive job at cauterizing his wounds – and well, even if she did charge him through the nose for the medicine, it still kept him alive enough to leave the shrine and find a competent healer...
Meanwhile, Kuwabara had cheerfully stepped toward the arena ready to face Kibano, last of the fighters of the first round.
"You're unlucky, kid." the martial expert announced "after all this is my favorite playground."
Instincts screaming at him, the delinquent jumped out of the way of an attack – but the opposing fighter, instead of being destabilized, merely adjusted his course toward him once more, without a second of hesitation – just as if they weren't fighting in the dark, but in broad daylight...
"You've got a powerful aura," the man commented "but right now it's a disadvantage for you because I can sens you easily in the dark!"
With that, Kazuma could have ended the fight, simply by hidding his aura – that was after all the praying bead's around his left hand's main function – but they had uncovered their aura before entering the temple in order not to arise too many question during the trials...
But the delinquent wasn't interested in an easy victory, not when he'd lucked out had found an interesting opponent!
And so instead he focused his own senses, the fight going from cat and mouse game to an duel between two predators.
His first blow rebounded on the strange helmet the man had equipped to completely occult his normal senses – guessing his blows wouldn't be enough, the bleached houshi in training dodged around the incoming attack, calling a weapon from the Wardrobe System with a thought.
Basic training for Holy Servant may be axed mainly toward bo staff or bow for the miko, those that chose the advanced fighting module were tested on all kind of weapon – and of course they taken the module when they learned there was a school course for fighting!
And if the testing had merely proved to Yuusuke that his best weapon was his fists, Kazuma had found himself a hidden talent for blades. All kind of blades – but in his personal opinion, the bigger, the better.
While walking around with anything bigger than a knife wasn't easy nowadays – Kazuma had the advantage of Chaos Game.
And with Chaos Game, carrying around even a Claymore was easy.
In the instant he'd taken his blade out, Kibano was already rushing toward him – and the thug was thankful for his blade as the fist that came crashing against it was heavy with power, the man having used both spiritual and physical powers to enhance his strike.
If this attack had touched him rather than his sword, it would have hurt badly.
But now, it was his turn – light lit up in the dark, under Genkai's surprised eyes.
"I can't believe the bastard is already able to use his Light Manipulation." mumbled Yuusuke sulkily
The two of them had chose their Tail perk around the same time, but just like he was gifted with the blade, the tall delinquent also seemed to have a natural grasp on the elemental manipulation he'd unlocked...
The large blade was swung, unleashing a wave of energy – and Kibano's helmet fell to the ground, cleanly cut in two, he man surprisingly clumsy now that he couldn't close off his senses.
The next strike wasn't given with the cutting edge of the sword, but put him out of the fight nonetheless.
[Hidden bonus goal complete! 3*100XP
match won (3/3)]
Tsukiko (Age 121/Level 317)
Stat/with specialty/with restriction
Strength 179/179/60
Agility 256/263/88
Endurance 221/226/75
Intelligence 153/165/55
Wisdom 189/194/65
Charisma 146/153/51
Luck 189/201/67
Yuusuke (Age 14/Level 79)
Stat/with specialty
Strength 82/89
Agility 44/49
Endurance 47/47
Intelligence 34/34
Wisdom 59/59
Charisma 19/19
Luck 21/21