Disclaimer: Nope.
Alright, for those just tuning in, last chapter was pretty heavy stuff. Not only did it introduce one of Satoshi's strongest servants, Akumu Ryoushi, and showcase his current HQ, it also revealed that the infamous Sephiroth is back to kick in some heads. Fun times ahead indeed.
Chapter 9 ends the first leg of the journey of Yoh and the gang, but why are the Spirit Detectives following them? Who is the new player in this game that speaks very much like Kenshin Himura? And what other twists are going to take place because of Satoshi's coup d'état?
Chapter 9: The Sunrise of a New Path: Heir to the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu
Kyoto Train Station
She was in a meadow, a calm place for a calm day. Nothing in the air spoke to any sort of treachery or chaos, and clouds meandered lazily across the skies of morning. A bird whistled its merry tune and let the north wind carry it far into the yonder blue. No signs of ill weather marred this perfect day, and the sun shined upon the whole situation.
However, for her, the situation was far from a listless holiday. In fact, she was on edge and extremely nervous. In all honesty, she was not sure how it would end; what she was about to do went against everything she had ever been taught and everything she had ever believed in, and if she did go through with the plan her purpose in life would cease to be.
But then again, her purpose in life was not what she wanted…not in the least.
Ever since she was little, Kikyo's profession had made her nothing less than miserable. Secluded from the rest of the world, she had been forced to bear a weight upon her shoulders so great that she could barely stand beneath it, one that nobody would share with her…not that they would be allowed to anyway.
It hurt, every day and every night that she thought about it enough, and up until recently she had not been able to share that pain with anyone. Not a whisper of her torment left the small room where she cried each night, and no one would ever understand that pain. At least, that is what she thought until he came into her life.
Kikyo's heart began to race as she fingered the item that had become the center of her life, the purpose of her being. Amazingly, it wasn't even that impressive to look at, just a small, pink jewel about the size of a marble, attached to a necklace which had been in her possession for years.
No one could possibly begin to imagine the horrors this jewel had caused. Because of one little crystal, the blood of thousands had been spilled, lives immeasurable had been ruined, and whole villages were razed to the ground. There was no telling what sort of evil the jewel had seen, and thinking about it made the miko sick to her stomach.
It was time to end it. Both the Shikon no Tama, and her obligation to protect the jewel.
For whatever reason, a chill ran the length of Kikyo's arm as she thought about this. It was not in any sense her normal sensation of evil, but rather appeared to be a sort of omen in her mind. She could not exactly pinpoint why or how, but something in her mind was apparently foreseeing a horrific event soon to come, though what it was eluded her.
A silent whisper blew through the grass on the plain. Malice quietly bode its time as the breeze held sway, keeping its presence unknown as it readied to strike.
Of course, distracted as she was, Kikyo did not notice any of this happening. All she could notice was that for whatever reason, rain clouds had started to appear not far from where she stood, and due to this the wind became slightly colder than usual.
What happened next was a blur even in later years when she knew what had really happened. All Kikyo was certain about was that a horrible ripping pain, like the tearing of claws, raked across her back as a silent killer struck her to the ground for his own twisted reasons.
She had been so stupid. In any other place, at any other time, under any other circumstances, Kikyo would have detected the presence of the assailant with the greatest of ease. But she had gotten distracted and complacent, which would now cost the miko her life.
But though the loss of blood was causing her to become disoriented, the maiden of the shrine could see and hear everything around her…including the Shikon Jewel only a few feet away from her.
Struggling desperately as she reached for her inanimate charge, the priestess poured every ounce of will power she could muster into one single command, which she repeated over and over again in her weakening mind.
Get the Jewel, get the Jewel, get the Jewel…
Her eyes were beginning to glaze as she slowly, painfully stretched her arm out towards the Shikon no Tama, and the item was nearly within her grasp. All she would have to do is wrap her hand around it, and it would be safe…
But that, like so many other things, was not going to happen.
A clawed hand, human yet bestial at once and dripping with blood, wrapped around the ancient jewel, dashing all hopes of Kikyo preventing anyone from using the power for wickedness. Whoever had done this now had a power unequaled in this world, and from what she could tell that power was not going to be used for good. But then, was it ever?
However, the worst was yet to come. For as painful as the attack was, the identity of the person who had inflicted it would be worse still.
Her vision was beginning to grow dark as a cloud passed overhead, but her hearing was as of that point unaffected, hence her ability to hear the words that would resound in her mind and soul for the next fifty years.
The speaker was one whom Kikyo had heard before; in fact, she had heard his voice many times in the past. But never once in those instances was it so full of venom and malice as it was now. She dared not believe what she was hearing, but she could not deny it either.
"I have no desire to become human, but I will take the jewel nonetheless."
Though it hurt like a thousand needles to do so, Kikyo craned her head skywards. She had to see if it was truly him, for if it was…
Looking upon his face, once warm and accommodating golden eyes glaring down at her with nothing but the utmost contempt as he gripped the jewel securely, the miko felt her heart crack in two. She had been right, again, but as had been the case a million times over she wished with all her heart that just once she could be wrong.
Inuyasha…why…? What happened to the love we shared, the time we spent together? Why would you be willing to throw it all away for such a thing as the Shikon no Tama…?
But she didn't need him to answer that question. His eyes told her everything she needed to know.
I meant nothing to you, did I?
And with that thought deep-set in her mind and spirit, the miko felt the loss of blood take its toll. She did not have much longer for this world, and there were many things she needed to do…
Inuyasha, why did you betray me? Inuyasha…
"WHY!"
Deep, soulful eyes ripped open again as the sunlight poured throughout the cabin in which their keeper lay dormant, or where she had lay dormant at least. Her own screams had broken that tender slumber, which was perhaps the best thing possible given the sleep's nature.
A dream…it was only a dream…
She knew that it wasn't just a dream, and she had known it for years. However, the problem wasn't accepting the reality; no, she had done that many times in the past. The real trial was denying the fantasy, letting the old dream, the good dream, die as she herself had. Once she could do that, her torment perhaps would end and she could live the life she had always wanted. After all, hadn't that been the entire point?
But alas, the nightmare, ever present, persisted, and so would Kikyo's own nightmare continue on until she could let go. And for the time being, that was not going to happen.
A sigh of both relief and exhaustion passed Kikyo's lips as she stretched herself out of the seat; eight hours on a cramped and unsanitary train were not exactly comfortable hours, even in the land of nod. To make matters worse, a small screw that had not been stripped had dug into her back for a good half hour before she had been able to cover it with a bit of stuffing from the chair and fall back asleep again.
Still, at least they had arrived in one piece; Satoshi's soldiers, in the past anyway, had not been adverse to sneak attacks, so luck had been on her side this time. Either that or the lunatic was biding his time again…
But with nothing to go on yet, they would simply have to wait and see.
Looking around her general area, the miko could see that the other had made it through the trip as well. Morty, curled up into a little ball, was snoring peacefully, while Anna's sleep was quiet and serene, though the pinched, bitter look on her face was still there. And as for Yoh…he was messily slouched over three seats with his face in one of them, snoring loud enough to muffle the noise of street construction. It was amazing he didn't wake up anyone else onboard with this tremendous symphony.
But apparently, he would not be needed to wake them up, nor would Kikyo for that matter.
"Hey! Get off the train, you bums! This here's the end of the line, Kyoto Train Station, and I'll lose my job if you damn hobos don't beat it! Don't think I won't beat your asses; I once smacked the shit outta this one guy for calling me his uncle! Up! Up! Up!"
The antagonist, a portly train station foreman who appeared to be more than a little tipsy, apparently did not take kindly to people sleeping on one of "his" trains, and as such had started banging on the door with a nightstick he had found. Whether he was aware that this beating was doing more damage to the train than Yoh's party was anyone's guess at that point, but it was certainly aggravating in any case; the impact sent ugly shuddering noises coursing along the length of the car, and even Kikyo had to cover her ears as the noise escalated.
Luckily, the racket woke up others on board…others who were far less tolerant of being disturbed from a much-needed sleep and had very nasty habits of beating the living hell out of those that did.
Kikyo barely even saw the cerulean bead separate itself from Anna's weapon of choice and shoot directly through the window. In fact, the only solid evidence that the event had happened was a marble-sized hole in the window and a loud shriek of pain from the foreman, who had started to run away like a coward.
She had once heard conflict brings out the true light of a person, and this was a prime example.
"That ought to teach the bastard some manners."
With a strong one-handed motion, Anna wheeled herself towards the point where Kikyo was standing, eyes slightly bloodshot from the events of the previous day but clear as those of an eagle's. Aside from looking excruciatingly annoyed at the man who had bothered her sleep she looked very much at peace.
"Indeed. I doubt we'll be seeing him again. But in any case, we really should be going."
"Sounds good to me. But first…"
Now, Anna had lived with Yoh for many years, and happened to know most of his habits due to this. As such, she knew that it would take nothing short of a cannon roar to wake him from his sleep, or something even more violent. And luckily, she had just the solution in mind.
"WAKE UP!"
It was about this time that Morty, much more adept at waking then his compatriot, happened to rouse from his slumber and began lifting himself up off the seat, still groggy from the early start that morning. However, by good fortune he was about to get a very strong wakeup call. More specifically, it was a slender yet well-toned arm that he recognized as Anna's zipping past him and directly towards Yoh, palm splayed in what could only be the Slap of Death position.
He could tell it was going to hurt before it even connected, and he also knew exactly how Yoh would react when it did.
"YEOOWWCCH!"
In only an instant following the slap, Yoh was standing at attention, hand at forehead in the American Military style in such a way as to conceal the bruise she had left from the attack. To say the least, he was scared, but not in the same way as he had been after the battle with Satoshi. It was more like the sort of fright one would get when your wife is angry at you, not truly fearful for one's life but still just a bit spooked.
"About damn time."
Having woken her rather moronic fiancee, Anna decided to turn towards the window which she had damaged, watching with a certain pensiveness as the sun continued on its way across the sapphire heavens. A lot was going through her mind at that point, and as such she could offer little to Yoh in the way of berating him; even as she had slapped her future husband, her thoughts had been everywhere and on everything but tormenting him. Even disregarding the fact that she had lost two of her limbs, Anna still had many things to deal with, such as how they were going to actually battle the lunatic who had crippled her so.
It was the Shaman Fights that had done this, she realized, and with that understanding she was able to see why Yoh had attempted to have them done away with now that Zeke was destroyed. As long as there was a chance for someone to become Shaman King, there would always be bloodshed and torment as thousands of greed-fueled madmen rushed for the title. Until the end of the powers that commenced the fights, death would forever remain prevalent in the world of shaman.
It was a hideous reality that Anna accepted…and Yoh tried to ignore.
"Hey Kikyo, what time is it? My watch was on the arm that got severed."
At this, Kikyo quietly looked at her own watch, a pocketwatch made out of silver she had been given as a present about 35 years ago from the father of the friend she was meeting. It was an ornate device, inscribed with beautiful images of angels and songbirds set against a rising sun, and at the time she had found it hilarious that he would give such a thing to her.
Amazingly, the watch still kept perfect time, and as she had suspected it was about 12:30 in the afternoon. This was fortunate, as her friend was supposed to meet her around this time and place. Relaying this to Anna, Kikyo returned the watch to its original position in the folds of her miko uniform, being very careful to keep it secure; it was one of her prized possessions due to the nature of how she had received it.
In her own mind, she could not help but wonder if he would remember her after all this time. It had been five years since they had last seen each other, and though her face had not changed, she imagined that the times had made up for that. Relationships often took strange turns as years passed, a fact she had learned quite harshly some time ago.
Yoh, watching the two tormented spiritualists, could not for the life of him discern any of the emotions they were having; he could tell right off the bat that Kikyo wasn't one to wear her heart upon her sleeve, and Anna had a better poker face than anyone he knew. In any case, it probably wasn't his place to pry into the matter, and he likely would have gotten into more trouble for attempting to. Besides, he himself had his own inner conflicts at that point, and he doubted he could handle those of his friends and loved ones at this point.
In all seriousness, Yoh had little to no recollection of what had happened to him after his invocation of the Double Medium; apart from some scattered memories of the attack itself and some sort of booming in his voice, the entire incident had basically fallen out of memory. It was as if he had become an entirely different person in those few seconds, and from what he had seen this separate entity frightened him.
It was like I had no control over my power, like it was manifesting itself as a living thing that was beyond my control. I could even hear it talking to me…and it sounded almost exactly like Zeke.
Yoh could not begin to comprehend the magnitude of what he was dealing with, and every time he tried to something blocked his access to that part of his mind, almost like a safeguard against whatever it was that had happened. Why this was in place was anyone's guess, but he could guess at the reason: if he discovered what he had become, and how it happened, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't happen again. In fact, there was a very strong chance that it would happen if he rediscovered the darkness.
But one thing he knew for certain was this: if he was to defeat Satoshi and whoever was working for him - he knew this had to be the case, for even Zeke had his own personal team of shaman at hand - he would have to learn to control the darkness which had possessed him, for only then could he realize his full power.
Whoa. That's pretty deep right there.
Indeed, this was the first truly philosophical thought that Yoh had spun together in a long, long while; of course, since his mind rarely ever wandered in that direction, this was not tremendously shocking, but still something to be pondered over for later. After all, thought Yoh, he had often been forced to confront himself in Zeke, so perhaps it was time to face himself in the mirror.
He'd done it before, hadn't he?
"Uh, Yoh, we'd better get going. We don't wanna hang around one place for too long."
Morty was right; in addition to the armored lunatic chasing them already, it was very likely that other shaman would have been tipped off by the return of the Destiny Star that the title of Shaman King was back up for grabs, meaning they too would be after the small group in droves.
And so…it was time.
"Hey, Kikyo, who exactly is this friend of yours? I mean, we trust your word, but how about his?"
The priestess did not answer immediately, as her present occupation was trying to pry open the rust-coated door. She had expected that this would happen, but had hoped it would be easy to deal with the problem. This was obviously not the case, and were she not so strictly brought up by the priesthood the odds were she would have started flinging more colorful words at it than she was used to. But after a while the question clicked in her mind, and luckily it was an easy one.
"Well, you can trust him as much as I do… and this is a man who I trusted with my life and soul. Beyond that I could not tell you very much at all; he's someone you'd have to meet for yourself to understand." These words were spoken with a great amount of admiration that bordered on reverence, as if she had been almost infatuated with the man for a great length of time. And if one looked closely enough, the very topic of conversation had caused a thin, almost invisible mist to cover her eyes.
The only one to notice all of this was, unsurprisingly, Anna, and it was both puzzling and unnerving at once. From what she had seen of her, the itako had always painted Kikyo as a rather tragic figure, and indeed this was so most of the time, but there was something about this character that made her doubt that this had been her personality since the beginning. No, something in her walk, her lack of a smile beyond the occasional smirk of defiance, and even in her person as a whole hinted that there was another, happier side to Kikyo that some great tragedy had buried, and for whatever reason, her friend had the effect of drawing it out.
Unfortunately, there would be no way to prove any of this unless they could actually meet the guy…and since the door was putting up a far better fight than expected, that was not likely to happen.
Well, this is weird. Here we are after surviving Zeke and Satoshi, and we get our asses kicked by a beat-up subway car.
Luckily for the circumstances, they were able to keep a lid on their emotions as the struggle continued, but after a while Kikyo's vigor was unable to maintain similar resiliance, and at this she slumped into her chair. They could attempt to break the door down, but since the group was in such close corners that approach would do more harm than good. So as it stood, there was very little else that was available to them.
But within moments, the door became the least of their worries.
It was almost indiscernable, and she could not pinpoint the exact location, but Kikyo could sense a demonic aura outside the door, the exact same one as before. It was so faint that Anna and Yoh could not sense it, but she was absolutely certain this time: there was a demon, likely a powerful one, that was following them.
Reaching out with her mind brought the miko more information than she cared to know, and as the full reality of what she was dealing with dawned on her she snapped back. She recognized the aura; any priestess worth her salt would be able to recognize it.
"Yoh, Anna, get ready."
Kikyo's actions had drawn question from the two before, but when she drew out her arrow and primed it for a shot, it was obvious that this one required a little less digging…for Anna, at least. Within an instant she too was prepared, her 1080 Beads slowly revolving about her good arm in preparation for what she expected to be an intense battle. It had taken her a while, but she too had now detected the aura that was likely going to be breaking into the car in the next few seconds, and though she couldn't say she wasn't scared, she had to admit it did give her a buzz she hadn't had in a while.
Looking towards Yoh and Morty's blank faces brought no surprises to either of the priestesses; Morty was nowhere near skilled enough to sense any such aura, and Yoh had never been too exposed to real demons anyway. So when Morty first piped up, the question he asked was not a tremendously shocking one.
"Uh, Anna, what's going on? Is there something out there?"
"Yeah…a Mazoku."
At this, Yoh did not say much, not knowing for sure what they were talking about, but he soon knew that it was likely not something very pleasant, for a sudden chill in his soul implied that Amidamaru had heard of - and was frightened by - whatever a "Mazoku" was.
"This can't be…I thought that they were forbidden from entering this plane after the Makai Tournament…"
"Doesn't look like this one got the message."
Now, Yoh was not a very bright man in any case, but he knew that he should be at least somewhat scared. After all, Anna and Kikyo were primed for the fight of their life and Amidamaru, without any conceivable reason, was almost trembling. And yet he wasn't scared, not in the least. Hell, he was looking forward to fighting whatever the thing was, be it human or demon; what better way to get back on the horse than with a good old-fashioned bout of demon combat?
"Hey, Amidmaru, you up for another fight?"
Yoh needed not ask the question, for his samurai guardian now stood at his side, prepared for what he always expected to be the final battle. No matter what happened, he would stand by his master to the death, even if it ripped his soul to shreds.
Now all that was left to do was to wait and see what the demon had planned. As it happened, they wouldn't have to wait very long, for instead of a violent fist or a shredding blast of energy, the only thing that came from the other side of the door was a rather nonchalant voice.
"Yo, Kurama, I think they're in here, but the damn door's stuck like a bitch."
It was, to say the least, unexpected that the Mazoku, as a member of the ruling class of demons in Makai, would have such a laid back, lackadaisical voice. He seemed more like a juvenile delinquent rather than a descendant of the ancient demons that had once terrorized Japan, and from what they could tell he did not appear to be faking it.
Yoh could tell immediately, for whatever reason, that this man - or demon - could be trusted.
Within seconds of the first voice's outburst, the group heard another appear in the wake of the soft steps that had brought him there.
"Yes, this could be a problem. Yusuke, if you'll give me a moment…"
The new person that had joined the situation, though he could not be seen, sounded as though he was a man of dignity, grace, and a great amount of intellect, his soft spoken mannerisms brought very much to life in his voice. However, something else was there too, a hardline determination that could and likely would translate into his being a very deadly opponent when backed into the corner.
It did not take Kikyo very long to sense what the second one had in mind, for the sizzle of acid against metal was enough to tell her everything.
"Alright, Yusuke, try it now."
Apparently the attempt had worked, for with only a quick shove from the outside the doors were forced open, or rather to the ground, and the results of this were, to Yoh and the others, rather shocking.
Standing in front of the doorway were not only two people who looked different than expected, but a third person who had been leaning quietly on the train's side. The first, presumably the one named Yusuke, was a fairly tough-looking kid of eighteen with slicked-back black hair, deep brown eyes that belied his unspoken soft side, and a build indicative of many battles. He was dressed in denim jeans, a blue coat, and a loose red shirt which had not been ironed in days. The second man, obviously Kurama, had a far softer look to his face which was augmented by bright red and flowing hair, but his green eyes showcased his inner strength and sensitivity which contrasted drastically with his pink school uniform. As for the unnamed person, he was dressed all in black with the notable exception of his white headband and bandages that drew no attention from the comet-shaped black hair and violent, borderline evil red eyes that showed he was exactly the wrong person to piss off.
No one spoke for the first few seconds, as each group spent this time sizing the other up, carefully scanning their individual auras and looking for any giveaways of power that could spark a fight. Apart from the energies of the Shaman King and the Mazoku named Yusuke, there was nothing that could be really called dangerous enough to incite any serious betrayal of trust. Still, they would have to be wary of each other for the time being; though neither side had any thought of fighting, neither side was stupid enough to blindly follow the other into death.
As expected, it was Yusuke that first spoke.
"Hey, relax, we're not here to kill you guys, if that's what your thinking. "
Yoh was visibly relieved by this comment, though he was aware that if they had been sent to kill them, they would have done so by that point. Still, that did leave a few major gaps in their story that they seemed to have not filled in yet.
"Alright, we sorta figured that much out already, but why are you following us in the first place?"
"Yusuke, I'll answer that question, if you don't mind."
The next voice came from someone who did not fit the category of whoever these mysterious men were. It was delicate, polite, but infused with the strength of a warrior who could not- no, would not- ever surrender. It was a voice that was both soothing and inspiring at the same time.
By good fortune, it was also a voice Kikyo recognized.
"Wait a minute…Keiji?"
She couldn't believe it. After all this time he had not changed a bit, not even his voice.
And apparently, the man had not changed much either. Standing to the side near one of the station benches, the speaker was a man of about five feet and two inches, yet built with the lithe muscularity of a master swordsman. He was dressed in white, loose khakis and a lavendar dress shirt with the top few buttons undone, and a sword hung on his belt. But his face was what attracted the most attention; with warm red eyes, a benevolent expression, and red hair that flowed in a ponytail past his shoulders, he radiated a kindness that seemed not to fit a warrior of his sort. However, the birthmark on his right cheek, bearing the resemblance of a cross-shaped scar, spoke otherwise.
"It's been a long time, Kikyo, that it has."
To Be Continued
Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?
Anyway, chapter 10 will explain what the Spirit Detectives are doing, as well as how Kikyo and Keiji know each other. But who's that on the street? Looks like Sephiroth's not the only Planet alumnus to show up…
And with that I am off. Catch ya next update.
