Man this was difficult, mostly because the resurrection plays out way different. Vajra's not Asura after all, so he would have a different approach.
If you like this chapter, please say so. I'm really anxious about how it is because of the trouble it gave me.
Asura found he could only stare in shear terror as the bag shuddered and shook. Madness was pouring from it in waves, becoming so thick and heavy in the air that he was starting to wonder if it could suffocate him. This wasn't real, this couldn't be real! Vajra wasn't supposed to... wasn't supposed to...oh no no no no! He had to...he had to...he couldn't stop shaking, frozen in place by fear.
"Dammit!" Kid shouted, bringing both of his weapons up to fire multiple rounds at the bag. "Go to hell!" But as the smoke cleared, there was nothing. Not even a scratch could be seen on the bag, unless one counted the numerous, crisscrossing scars all across it's surface. Hundreds of symbols and circles connecting to each other in intricate patterns.
A reflection in the metal of the guns caught Kid's eye then, and he whipped around to see Asura, frozen on the spot. His face was twisted into one of horror, red eyes wide while he chewed down his finger nails until he bled. The younger Reaper felt a wave of panic wash over him, but it felt...off. It didn't feel like his own fear, but like the Madness. And it was coming from...from Asura?
That wasn't good! None of this was! Vajra wasn't supposed to revive. They were supposed to stop that and then get Asura back to Shinigami safely! He wasn't supposed to be here anyway, but that was the plan once Kid knew who the older boy was. But Asura had to leave now, so he called out to him. "Asura!" The boy's head snapped up to meet Kid's eyes and he faltered for a moment. He hadn't actually gotten a good look at the boy before, but now he could see something eerily familiar in his pale features. But he shook his head quickly and said, "Asura get out of here! Before he revives completely!"
That seemed to be all he needed to hear then and he nodded once before turning on his heel to flee from the temple. Kid raised his weapons again, but before he could fire, Free said, "It's no use. Kishin has revived."
Just then the bag began to stretch, an imprint of a face appearing on it. The frog witch took a few steps back, her breathing speeding up and her eyes wide. "I-it's... It's coming out..." The bag had stretched out more now, the arms clawing at the floor for some sort of support.
Kid's hands were shaking hard now, that voice from his earlier hallucinations repeating in his head. "Aren't you happy? We'll see each other again soon..." Kid could only stare now, his arms falling to his sides as the Kishin clawed his way free. "T-the bag...is transforming..."
"Relax my friend..."
Soon enough, the figure was out. A human figure, bald headed and covered in intricate symbols carved into the skin, was knelt in place of the bag. It slowly pushed itself up to stand, stumbling slightly as it readjusted to using it's body.
"Don't be scared..."
The Kishin's height alone was intimidating, and Kid could only guess at how tall this person was. But to add to that- instead of being even slightly emaciated like one would expect after eight hundred years trapped in a bag- it was obviously built like Free, the werewolf. All broad shoulders and muscular, the runes added an eerie effect as they glowed a powdery blue and lavender color.
"I will protect you..."
Was he hallucinating? Hearing that voice...the Kishin fell to one knee while rubbing at it's eye, seemingly unaware of the witch Eruka in front of him. Once his eyes slowly opened , he sat quietly for a moment. Then a twisted grin spread across his face, showing off the sharp teeth that made Kid think of his own friend Soul's. Eruka screamed, crawling backwards towards Free and the Kishin followed the movement with his head.
Some of the runes on his body glowed brighter then, and from nowhere appeared clothes on his body. A red tunic covered his chest and a brown leather studded vest was cinched tightly, but not uncomfortably so, over it. Loosely fitted black pants covered his legs, held up by a thin, braided leather belt with a dagger sheathed on his left hip. There was a worn brown cloak that only reached part of the way down his back. It was meant for travel in warmer places and made from finer fabric, Kid would guess, and obviously well loved. Once the Kishin was standing again, Kid noted that he had no shoes.
"Asura..." The figure mumbled, and it took Kid a second to realize that the voice wasn't in his head this time. The boy could only stare as the Kishin called out again. "Asura! Where are you!? I know you're here, I can sense you! Come out!" Then, after a brief look about, he spoke much quieter. "Asura! Come on my friend! It's alright, I'm sorry for shouting! I won't do it again if you come out now!"
When the man got no response again, he huffed and glanced around once more. Suddenly, Black Star appeared behind him, shouting, "Prepare to die creep!" Energy crackled in the boy's palm and he added, "Black Star Big Wave!" The attack threw the Kishin off balance but did little else to it. Instead, pain shot through the ninja, making the boy gasp. In the time it took for Black Star to recover from the backlash, Vajra turned to face him. The hood obscured his face, making it difficult to see what the man thought.
"...ah, I wonder...yes! Surely my friend is afraid of you and so will not come out of where he's hidden! With an attack like that, I am not surprised. It packs quite a punch." A sharp tooth smile spread across his face as he leaned forward. "Then I suppose I will have to be rid of you, little bug. Let me show you how to truly utilize your wavelength." Without anymore of a warning the man slammed his hand into the boy's stomach sending him flying backwards and skidding across the ground right past Kid.
"...oh, he's unconscious..." He looked back to Eruka, jerking his thumb in the direction Black Star went flying and asked, "Was that a little too much?" The witch only shook her head frantically and scrambled back, behind Free, for some form of protection.
Kid's head turned to follow Black Star's body as he flew past him, and the boy shouted, "Black Star!" But quickly turned back to the fight when he heard foot steps come his way. "Dammit!" He growled, lifting Liz and Patty up and firing off round after round. The bullets had very little effect, if any, and Vajra was soon standing tall over him. With no warning the man lashed out, grabbing the younger Reaper by the throat. Kid was lifted off of his feet and dropped his weapons to claw at the hand slowly cutting off his air.
"And what do we have here? A little Reaper? That's adorable!" The Kishin said, bringing Kid closer to his face. "I was going to kill you, but I think maybe you can come back with me and my Asura! Once I find him of course. I bet he'd like the company when I'm gone and he's going to need someone to help him once I'm done with him."
With an angry growl, the boy thrashed about, landing a kick in Vajra's stomach. The man didn't even flinch, but it still felt good to hit him. "Don't touch him! Damn Kishin I swear if you do-"
One minute to the next, Kid suddenly found himself slumped forward against the base of the statue. His head spun and throbbed painfully, something warm and wet dripping down the back of his neck. When he tried to take a deep breath, he had to choke back a sob. It was when blood bubbled up from the back of his throat, spilling out from his mouth and leaving a disgusting, metallic taste, that he realized he must have ruptured something inside.
Vajra knelt before him then, setting one hand on the boy's head gently. "You were saying?" Kid didn't answer him, he couldn't. It hurt enough to breathe already, talking would surely be worse. The man only grinned at that. "That's what I thought. Now how about we go find my friend, hmm?" He reached out to take the young Reaper, who flinched away, but something hit his hand and made him reel back.
He stood quickly and spun around, coming face to face with the silver barrel of a pistol. Glancing over the weapon, he met the burning blue eyes of it's wielder. "Don't you ever touch my Meister again!" She yelled.
Patty cheered, "Yeah! Yeah! Let's kick his bitch ass Sis!"
Liz nodded once, before having to roll away from the small blade that suddenly came her way. With some distance between them, she fired a round at his chest, only to have to dive out of the way again. This continued a few more times before one hit came too close and the sisters switched positions, Liz turning into a pistol while Patty caught her. The barrel lined up with the man's head, and Patty fired. "BANG~!" She sang out while the man toppled over.
The elder sister sighed, "I guess we got lucky, I don't think he realized that both of us were weapons." The fight wasn't over yet though, as Vajra was up in a flash. Faster than either girl could see, he vanished only to appear behind the two. His transformed hand was pulled back, the tip of the blade glowing with a bright blue-purple light. "PATTY MOVE!" Liz screamed, and the girl jumped back. At the same time, a chain wrapped around the man's arm, pulling it back.
A laser shot from the weapon's blade, tearing through everything in its path, not even leaving ashes behind. The temple rocked and shuddered from the shear force of the resulting explosion and debris rained down from the ceiling. A frightening creaking noise filled the air and farther towards the entrance a pillar collapsed. The three weapon girls all stared after it, color drained from the faces of Liz and Tsubaki while Patty looked on in awe.
Vajra took advantage of their surprise then, unwrapping the chain on his arm and flinging Tsubaki into her friends. All three were sent tumbling into a pillar across the room. Patty kept a tight grip on her sister the whole time and brought the weapon up again, shouting, "You'll pay for that mother fucker!" She fired a round at Vajra, but again the man appeared unscathed. He raised the blade of his transformed hand again and the glow returned, ready to fire at any given moment.
"Well, that was fun ladies, but I kind of have to kill you now." Shrugging, he added, "No hard feelings though, that's just how it is." Patty growled at the man and fired a few more shots.
"Dammit! Fucking die!"
"Patty! Calm down!" Tsubaki cried, grabbing the girl's arm. Patty just shook her off. "We have to go now! I got Black Star out!"
"What about Kid?! We're not leaving without him!" Liz chimed in. "You go! Get help or something. Maka might be on her way, and Stein too." The trio was silent before Tsubaki nodded and turned to the door.
"I'll be back quickly with Professor Stein then! Stay alive!" Liz nodded and with that said and done, she sprinted as fast as she could towards the door. Rolling under another laser aimed for her head that collided with the temple above the door. More lasers filled the air and she realized he wasn't even aiming for her anymore. The wall began to crumble then, shaking the whole temple and probably the entire city. She could hear more gun shots and Patty's deranged laughter as she vaulted over some rubble and dove through the doorway as the rest of the wall and some of the cavern outside it came down. Too focused on her own escape was she to see the other person slip in.
Inside, Patty and Liz were dodging to the best of their abilities. With each shot fired, more of the temple would crumble around them and Liz at least was sure they had survived so long because of their ability to transform. If any attack came too close, they would just switch positions and fire round after round of bullets that had no effect. They had no choice now though, other than to survive until help arrived. The door was gone, nothing but a pile of ruined stone chunks, and the only way out was at the top of the pile. There was no way they would be able to carry Kid up that way while trying to avoid the Kishin's attacks. It was impossible and they were trapped until help arrived or they died. Liz was praying for the former though, even if the latter was most likely.
Finally though, Vajra had the sisters cornered against a pillar. Both girls shaking and panting, sweat dripping down their faces and making their hair stick to them. With a bright grin and cheery tone that should not belong to someone about to murder another, the Kishin said, "Bye bye ladies~!" A second before the laser fired, a black blur barreled into the man, knocking him off balance. Instead of hitting the girls, the blast hit the pillar above their heads. The stone groaned loudly as it gave away, coming apart in chunks around the girls and the surrounding ceiling too fell in without it's support. Liz wrapped her arms around her sister covering the smaller girl with her body. Dust quickly obscuring their vision, but she swore she had seen something black in front of them.
"Liz! Patty!" Kid called out, scrabbling to get up again only to fall to the ground again. It still hurt badly to move, but he had to get up. His weapons were still alive, he could sense their souls. They could be hurt though, so the shinigami tried again to get up. Liz and Patty had attempted to fight the Kishin for him, digging them out of the rubble was the least he could do. It wouldn't be right if they died now. He only managed to get to his knees before he was stomped back down by the angry Kishin, screaming out at the pressure put on his broken ribs.
"Damn Reapers! You all are such a pain to deal with, never listening and staying out of the way even if it's for your own good." The man ground his foot into the boy's back again and growled. "Now, stay down!" Kid whimpered and clawed at the ground, giving up after a few tries. Pleased with that, Vajra backed off. He glanced back at the pillar where the sisters had been, a proud smile stretching across his face only to fall just as fast. Squinting in the direction of the pillars, he could see a flash of shimmering red through the settling dust. Soon enough the dust had settled to reveal the red, translucent barrier surrounding the two weapons and the one person he was looking for.
Asura's face was scrunched up, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. His shoulders hunched forward a bit and both hands were together as if he were praying. It was taking more effort than he thought to hold up the barrier, but the second he had thrown it up the collar crackled with energy. It burned, the heat unbearable against the raw skin. He had to hold it up though, because surely he would be fine. It had been about an hour, so Shinigami was probably on his way and if he was then Asura wouldn't want to get in trouble for abandoning his brother. He may be terrified of Vajra but his father had sealed the man away, and in such a brutal manner too. What would happen to him if his father got mad at him?
With a furious growl, Vajra shouted, "Asura!" The Reaper's head snapped up, meeting the man's eyes, and he squeaked. The Kishin's hand transformed again, back into a blade, and he pointed it at the younger boy beside him. "Drop that barrier and get over here right now or I swear I will blast this kid into oblivion." Hesitantly he obeyed, the shield flickering a bit before fully falling.
He took a step forward, but stopped, glancing back at the sisters and muttering just loud enough for them to hear, "I will distract him. Grab Kid and run once I have his attention." He didn't look back, deciding to just get on with this before the reality of what he was about to do fully sunk in. Facing Vajra he took a step forward, then another and another, focusing on his feet until he felt a hand grip his shoulder tightly. Peeking up he met the man's eyes, hazel in color and so very, deceivingly human that he had almost forgotten the man was now a demon. "V-vajra...I-I, um..." He stopped trying to speak when the man pulled him closer, far gentler than he had been expecting. Asura froze.
"There you are my friend! I missed you so much! It was very lonely being down here you know." He said, speaking in a much softer tone than he used moments ago. One of the man's hands pushed the older Reaper's hood back and ran through his tangled hair. From the corner of his eye he could see Liz, who was creeping closer to his brother, freeze. She must have noticed the similarities between himself and her own Meister, so as subtly as he could, he waved a hand at her to keep moving. "Asura." Vajra said to get his attention again.
"Y-yes?" He stuttered.
For a moment the man didn't respond to him, but it passed and he said, "What are you doing here now Asura? You shouldn't be here." He felt his heart stop for a moment, of course Vajra would ask that! As far as he was concerned Asura was supposed to be locked up in that run down old temple with his stone soldiers.
"O-oh...um, I-I was looking for you!" He blurted out, trying hard not to cringe when his voice cracked. The man huffed.
"That so?"
Asura nodded quickly, he had already dug his grave by coming back here to help his brother after Vajra revived so he figured he should just keep going. "Yes! W-why wouldn't I? It's been eight hundred years Vajra! What was I supposed to do?" He asked, panic creeping into his voice as he realized Vajra wasn't buying it.
They both heard something scrape across the ground, both of their heads snapping to the sound. Liz looked back, her eyes wide in terror at being caught trying to drag Kid away from them with Patty. Vajra's hand transformed yet again, aiming the blade's tip at the girls and his brother.
Thinking fast, Asura grabbed the dagger hanging from Vajra's belt, stabbing it into the man's side and twisting it. It worked, the Kishin flinching and turning his hand back to normal. Liz and her sister rushed to get their Meister out of harm's way, but there was no need to now. Vajra's attention was solely on Asura now, his eye ablaze with rage. There was no time to react before the man tangled a hand in is his hair holding him in place while he pried the blade from the Reaper's hand.
In one smooth motion, that same blade sliced clean through the flesh on his upper arm and catching on bone, leaving a diagonal gash from below the shoulder to just above his elbow. Asura shrieked, tears spilling over and running down his cheeks while he struggled against Vajra. "Ah! N-no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn-" He didn't get to finish begging as the dagger was plunged into his chest again and again, making a horrific squelching sound each time. Vajra stopped only when his legs gave out and he hung limp in the Kishin's arms.
"There, now you're forgiven. Let's go home then, hm?" The Kishin asked, though it was a rhetorical question. Asura knew he didn't have a choice, nor did he stand a fighting chance at the moment. Everything hurt and his head spun, making him dizzy from blood loss. The metallic taste in his mouth made him want to vomit, but he found the most he could do was cough it out when it got too bad.
He felt the man loop an arm around his chest, holding him up while the other pointed towards the ceiling. The blade glowed again and a single beam shot out, blasting through the roof until it erupted from the earth above ground. From the corner of his eye he saw something black unfurl and in one swift motion, Vajra shot into the air. Asura felt a sudden weight pulling on the longer half of his scarf and looked down to see Maka trying to use Soul to slow them down.
It didn't work and soon they were out in the open Vajra's grip slipping up and dropping all three of them. Maka and Soul crashed through an awning into the crates below and Asura hit the ground, rolling too close to the gaping hole that was their escape route for comfort. He tried to get up again, but found himself unable to move. He could only stare up at his old partner. It hurt. It hurt so much. Maybe...maybe he could just close his eyes for a while? He was so tired, so very, very tired...
"Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit!" Soul looked around frantically, holding his unconscious Meister tightly to his chest. The Kishin had appeared to be trapped by whatever had come out of the ground. The strange seals held the man in place for only a moment before the blueish lasers tore them apart. His black wings retracted then, moving like water and disappearing back into his body. That was when Soul realized it was Black Blood, the Kishin used Black Blood like the person Maka had helped down below.
Vajra dropped to the ground, strutting to his old partner. He smiled as he knelt down, sliding one arm around the Reapers shoulders and the other under his knees. Standing slowly to not jar the wounds anymore, he called back his wings and took to the sky again. "Asura!" Soul called out, but there was no response. Panicked, he glanced around the area in case anyone there could help. His red eyes landed on a familiar figure then and he grinned. "Blair!"
The cat's head shot up and looked at him. She was up and by his side in seconds. "Soul! Oh no, are you two okay?!" The boy nodded frantically.
"Yeah, we're fine! But that guy has our friend Blair!" The albino pointed after Vajra. Blair followed his direction, eyes wide.
"Isn't that Kishin...?" She asked.
Soul nodded, he really didn't know what to do if Blair didn't do something soon. "Yeah, but that boy he has is really important to Shinigami-sama. If you get him back, I can get him to let you into next year's party! And! And I'll buy you the biggest, freshest fish from the store!"
"Make it two fish and I'll do it." The cat said. Soul nodded then.
"Fine! Hurry up! I'll get Maka out of here." The boy agreed, watching the cat jump in joy. While she summoned a pumpkin and took off, he moved Maka to his back so she was riding piggyback style. He turned and began walking quickly towards Shibusen, praying that Blair would be successful. Even from that distance, he could see someone else closing in on the area from the school and was sure it was the Death God himself. Asura would be fine then, he was sure.
Above the city, the magic cat caught up to the Kishin, leaping from her pumpkin and landing a kick to the man's head. "Hand him over Kishin! My reward dinner is at stake!" She grabbed onto the boy's sleeve only to be swatted away with an enraged growl, to which she responded with a hiss. "Ooohhh boy you're gonna get it now. Pumpkin Cannon!" The orange magic gathered in her hand and she flung the smaller pumpkin forward, just past the man's head before setting it off. It knocked him forward, and he threw his arms out to right himself, dropping Asura right to Blair. The cat grunted at his weight landing on her, but recovered quickly enough. "Aww, poor thing. You're so light! Don't worry, Blair'll take care of it!" She said, taking one of his hands and patting it gently.
A larger hand closed over her own then, and her head shot up. Her eyes crossed to try and see the blade pointed right between her eyes, the color gone from her face. With a broad grin, Vajra said, "I don't think so, stupid cat." The blast went off and the woman's body disappeared, leaving behind a purple soul. The man completely ignored it in favor of taking back his old Meister, barely getting a grip on the boy before he was sent flying again. The Kishin crashed into the ground below, coughing out blood as he pushed himself up again.
Holding tight to the Reaper was his father, the man obviously bristling in anger with one gloved hand raised. "Hello there Vajra. It's been quite a while hasn't it? You look the same I see." Shinigami commented, the bitterness underneath his playful tone.
"And you look ridiculous. That voice too, wow you've gotten soft. I can hardly believe it." The man said, waving a hand dismissively.
"Well anyway, I know you just woke up and all but you're going to have to die again." The Reaper shrugged, shifting so that He could hold Asura in one arm. Vajra laughed, tilting his head back as the sound escaped, it was completely wrong and utterly horrific to see his mouth open so wide.
"Too late! I've already established a link out of here!" He announced, his body seemed to come apart as it disappeared. It seemed like an illusion if not for the strange sensation of his soul disappearing to who knew where. "Don't think this means I'm abandoning my cute little Asu~ I will come back for him!" Shinigami held his son tighter to his chest, letting out a feral growl that sent the Kishin into hysterics. And just like that, he was gone.
"..." Shinigami stared for a long time at the place where Vajra had just been before he turned his attention to his son. He immediately regretted not catching the boy before he was literally dragged into this mess. Asura's whole shirt was ruined, full of holes and slash marks and soaked in blood that was probably mostly his. And he was so thin, more so than the Reaper remembered. With a heavy sigh he returned to the DWMA, landing right out front. Sid quickly ran to meet him.
"...Shinigami-sama..." Sid began as he approached, but then his gazed dropped down to the shade's arms and he froze. "Oh...is he...?"
"He will be fine in time, physically at least. Asura was always a resilient boy." He responded before shaking his head. "Right now our priority is to protect the children still underground. There is no doubt that they must have encountered the Kishin. And if Stein is well enough, send him to the infirmary immediately..."
"Yes!"
"Also," the man added, "Contact all 'Death Scythes' and tell them all to meet in Death City." Sid nodded once, rushing off to do as he was told. Shinigami began speaking to himself then, as he headed for the infirmary. "I never would would have thought that the Kishin would resurrect, and on the anniversary of the school meant to prevent them too. I guess we'll be busy from now on...well first things first, we need to get you taken care of. Those wounds...I'm sorry Asura, I should have been there."
