Ken Yukimura wasn't having the best of days. Of course, even if he was a teacher, did he like coming to school? Maybe. maybe not. But right now, it didn't matter. He was busy preparing for his next lesson, writing on the board from his books when he noticed a fly land close on his desk. He looked at it for a minute before he dropped a book on it.
"Coming in on a Saturday. That's dedication."
Ken looked up and saw Jewel, entering the classroom. She didn't look much different, but her wild red curls and dark circles were quite pronounced
"Where's she hiding them?" Jewel spared him a look
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." Ken straightened
"Her little knives." she said, pushing a book down from the shelf, followed by next "Daggers." she looked at him again "I know what they are." and she pulled a random book and flipped through it "Physical representation of her tails. However the hell that works." and she dropped it too and then walked towards him
"Maybe you'd like to do some reading on it." Ken said "I can direct you to the section on Japanese myth in the library."
Jewel stopped and chuckled "No. No, I'd like to talk to you." and then she slowly resumed walking towards him, drumming her fingers across the desks "The older the tail, the stronger the oni. Am I right? I know there's one left. I know it's the strongest." and she stopped in front of his desk
"Unfortunately, I don't know what you're referring to."
"You'll talk." she sighed and removed the book Ken had earlier dropped. The fly flew up and entered ken's mouth. Ken clutched his throat, coughing and choking as he fell on his knee. Jewel watched him with a sadistic grin as ken continued to chock
"They always talk."
"This looks just like me. This has to be my grandmother." Kira said, looking at the photo and flipped it. The writing behind it said it was taken in 1943
"You remember I told you about Malia?" Scott asked "She's the last one who saw Jewel at Eichen House. This picture and this." Scott pointed at the sword Allison was holding
"They found it with a body buried in a wall." Allison said "The same backwards five that the oni put on you was on the wall."
"It sounds like it all goes back to your family. Your grandmother, your mom." Scott said. Suddenly Kira's phone buzzed and she checked
"What is it?" Stiles asked, biting his nails
"My dad."
The four dashed into the school, straightaway making their way to the History class. There they found Noshiko holding a chocking and coughing Ken
"Kira, did you bring it?" Noshiko demanded. Kira rushed to her parents and handed a small bottle to her mother
"You going to tell me what it is?"
"Reishi." Noshiko answered, putting a piece of mushroom into Ken's mouth, which he seemed to swallow
"You're not seriously giving Dad magic mushrooms?"
Ken coughed bad into a napkin and when he removed it, it was filled with blood and a dead fly
"Okay. that's gross" Stiles gagged a little, turning away
"Are you okay?" Noshiko asked, helping him up
"Jewel did this?" Allison softly asked
"She wanted the last kaiken. I've kept this near me ever since your friend disappeared." Noshiko said, showing them a dagger
"Mom, you need to talk to us, about everything."
Noshiko gave the four a confused look. the three shared a look, and then Scott showed Noshiko one of the photos Jewel had found
"Where did you get this?" Noshiko asked, taking it
"Is it Grandma?" Kira asked
"No. It's me."
"Okay, if that's you, then you'd have to be like 90 years old." Scott said, doing a mental calculation
"Closer to 900." Noshiko answered
"Okay, sure. Why not?" Kira said, a little overwhelmed and turned to Ken "Dad, how old are you?"
"43. But I've been told I look mid- 30 s." Ken gave them a weak smile
"if it makes you feel better, Jewel is almost 30" Stiles inputted
"What?" Kira meekly asked
"She's 26. not that it matters" Allison muttered
Noshiko's gaze settled on the sword Allison was holding. when Allison noticed that, she extended the sword to Noshiko, who took it and walked to the middle of Ken's desk and unsheathed it. To their surprise, the sword was found out to be broken. Noshiko tilted the sheath and piece of the sword fell down, clatering on the wooden desk
"The blade was shattered the last time it was used." Noshiko said
"When was that?" Kira asked
"1943" Noshiko answered "Against a nogitsune."
"All this, it's all happened before, hasn't it?" Scott asked
"Yes." Noshiko answered
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Ken added
"Where did it come from?" Kira asked
"It was an internment camp during World War II. In Oak Creek. Not too far from here." Noshiko said, making the four to exchange glances
"Hold on. You told me and Isaac that there was no internment camp at Oak Creek." Allison frowned
"Your family has a certain history of violence. I didn't know if you could be trusted." Ken grimly answered, making Allison roll her eyes "There was a camp, yes. But all the records were erased."
"They covered it up." Noshiko said
"When I was a grad student, my passion project," ken said, pulling an old diary from one of his drawers "actually more like an obsession, was trying to dig up the truth on Oak Creek. It's how I met your mother, Kira." he gave Kira and her mother a soft smile
"So, where did the nogitsune come from?" Kira asked
"Isn't it obvious yet?" Noshiko asked
"It came from you" Stiles said as everyone looked at him "You called that thing"
"Yes, I did" noshiko sighed as everyone looked at her.
Scott suddenly gripped Allison's fist, stopping her from doing anything stupid. He looked at her. On the surface she seemed calm and collected but her heartbeat revealed how angry she was on the inside.
no one spoke. In the silence, Noshiko started rearranging the sword pieces
"Kira, I need your help on this. There isn't much time." Noshiko said "And this is something that needs to be done in the daylight."
"Not until you tell us everything." Kira huffed, arms crossed
"Tell them, Noshiko. Tell them what they need to know." Ken said making Noshiko sigh and then look between Kira and Scott
"Wolves and foxes tend not to get along. Not just in fables and stories."
"But allies, however unlikely," he looked at Allison "should be welcomed. Especially in times of war." he looked back at his wife, who gave him a surprised look
Parrish checked the high voltage taser and then looked at Chris
" Sorry, but I can't let you walk out with this. It's way above the legal voltage limit."
"I only use it for hunting." Chris answered
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure you could use it to jump-start a 747 ." Parrish said
"This property belongs to me and the charges were dropped." Chris argued "Although, I'm not exactly sure who's responsible for that." he spared a look to Derek, who looked back at him
"I am."
The two turned to look at Sheriff who entered
"I'll take care of this, Parrish." he said, holding the taser from Parrish
"Sheriff, I'm not kidding." Parrish argued "This thing's a few watts from being a lightsaber."
"I said I'll take care of it." Sheriff said and took the taser and then turned to the other two "Come with me"
He led them to his office and locked the door behind them
"The interrogation at the Beacon County went well, but I detoured to LA to talk to a specialist for Stiles' MRI. He told me the thing that every doctor says when he's trying to avoid a lawsuit. "We can't say for sure." And then I spoke with Melissa." he removed a manila folder and took out two MRI scans from it "These are brain scans. My wife's and Stiles'. I knew they were similar. But those are the same. Exactly the same."
"And I'm guessing this isn't possible?" Derek asked
"Not even remotely." Sheriff answered
"Not that it isn't important, Sheriff, but it would have mattered more if it was Stiles who was possessed." Chris said, keeping the scans back on the table "but it's Jewel."
"I know" Sheriff said "but does Jewel know that Stiles' dementia is all just a trick?"
Chris and Derek exchanged a look
"When I was in the Army, an officer told me, "If you want to defeat your enemy, you don't take away their courage. You take away their hope."" Sheriff added and then looked at them both "Either of you don't look like the men who give up hope easily."
"But Jewel might." Derek said "When Scott came to see me the other day, he told me that Jewel remembered everything she did while being possessed. She technically witnessed herself doing everything but couldn't stop herself"
"Jewel has a 'People-saving' thing. But making her hurt people close to her, he's making her feel that she's not safe to be around." Chris looked up at Sheriff "Like she's the monster"
Apparently when you are locked in a cell next to your daughter's boyfriend, a huge conversation follows about each and everything regarding the said daugter.
"And if it is using this as some sort of psychological trick, then this isn't just a fight for her body. It's also a fight for her mind. Right?" Sheriff asked and took a deep breath "You know, she's left people severely injured. And others severely dead."
"That's why I need the your help, Sheriff." Chris looked at him
"I'm running as much of interference as I can. I'm trying my best to keep Jewel's name out of everything but even I cannot stop a federal investigation without putting my own job in trouble" Sheriff sighed
"I appreciate it, Sheriff" Chris nodded
"Now we just a need a plan to trap her" Derek looked between the two older men
"Okay, stop." Kira interrupted as Noshiko told them about her previous love story with a US army medic named Rhys "Just stop. We don't want to hear your Casablanca story. We wanna know how to save Jewel."
"I'm trying to tell you." Noshiko snapped
"You're trying to stall." Allison snapped "When the sun goes down, the oni are gonna come after her again, aren't they?"
"Your sister's gone, Allison." Ken sighed
"I don't think you know that for sure." Scott replied "You brought the oni. Can you call them off?"
"It's not Jewel's fault." Kira added
"Jewel may be your best friend." Noshiko looked at Stiles and Scott "She might be your sister." she looked at Allison "But she is nogitsune now. She is void."
"Can you call them off?" Scott demanded
"When you hear the rest of the story, you won't want me to." Noshiko replied
"Rhys and I found ways to see each other." Noshiko continued "Sometimes at the barracks. Sometimes in the bunkers where they parked military vehicles. He was being transferred to North Africa in a few weeks. I was teaching him some French." she sighed "We watched Merrick and Hayes talking with the camp doctor. They were whispering, talking quickly."
"Noshiko." Ken exclaimed
Noshiko looked down and realized hat she accidently started cutting herself with a sword piece
"Mom, what are you doing?" Kira grabbed Noshiko's hand, but Noshiko just smiled and took the handkershief from Ken and wiped her hand. then she showed her cutless palm to others, which only had a little blood smudged
"How did you do that?" Kira asked
"It's one of our talents. Something you'll learn, Kira." Noshiko smiled "You should've noticed by now that you never get sick. Ever. You'll never experience something as simple as a common cold. Something as bad as the flu. Or something like Pneumonia." she looked down, still wiping her hands "Everyone in the camp started getting infected by it. Even Rinko. When I talked to Rhys, he said that thy ran out of M&B. May and Baker Pharmaceuticals. It's sulfadiazine." She looked back at Kira "I had seen those boxes. but Rhys told me that they only received one. But I remembered seeing three." she sighed
"Rhys checked his log. But we already knew what was happening. Dr. Liston was using Merrick and Hayes to sell medicine on the black market." Noshiko said "When a young boy, Michio, lost his life, it created a spark within us refugees. I encouraged Rinko and others to speak against this. to issue a formal complaint to the administration. But I realized late the mistake I had made by speaking too soon. I wasn't helping anyone. I was inciting a riot." Noshiko sighed "The people surrounded the doctor's car one day, demanding for him to be let out. Rhys tried to intervene but couldn't do much. I yelled for them to stop. But so many people were sick. And so many were dying. I'd never seen anger like that. It was a living,breathing thing." she sighed "And then Merrick came out aiming his gun at others, backing them up. But when Satomi came over, he attacked her as well. And then I saw it. her eyes flaring gold and teeth snarling. Now I knew why Satomi was always trying to keep quiet. Why she got migraines once a month,and why she was alway sat the game of Go. It kept her calm."
"She was bitten." Scott noted
"Bitten werewolves have a harder time suppressing their anger. One unexpected flare-up and they could lose all control."
"Actually, we beg to differ" Stiles piped in, looking at Scott for a minute. Noshiko frowned at him for the interruption but then continued
"Satomi lost her control. She took the bottle bomb Michio's father had made and flung it." Noshiko took a deep breath and sniffed "It hit Rhys. Burned him alive right in front of me"
Noshiko stopped for a brief moment but no one felt like asking her to continue
"The gunfire nearly killed me." she resumed, putting the pieces of the sword together like a jigsaw puzzle "I don't know how many bullets made their way into my body, but I fought every one of them. It left my body so weak,my heartbeat so slow it appeared as though I was dead. But even then I was still better off than Rhys." She sniffed again "His screams could be heard throughout Eichen House, echoing through every room, every hallway. He died in agony. The doctor, it seems, had also sold the morphine. Merrick and Hayes were given the task of getting rid of all the bodies,both American and Japanese-American. They were transferring Dr. Liston out as well, stationing him somewhere else." she paused, turned around and looked outside the window, eyes tearing up
"They were covering it doctor, Merrick, Hayes,and all of the others. They were gonna get away. By chance, I guess, Rhys' body had been put next to mine. I wanted the soldiers and the administration of the camp to be punished for their crime. But I knew the clock was ticking. I was going to lose my chance. They were going to burn me with the others. I couldn't fight back with my body weakened and still healing. I could barely move. I was going to die. With time slipping through my fingers,I knew I was making a terrible decision. But I could not die knowing they would get I called out to our ancestors for kitsune-tsuki. Possession by a fox a powerful Nogitsune, one that feeds off chaos, strife and pain, to take control of my weakened body, imbue it with power and use it as a weapon." she turned around the faced the four teenagers
"But calling on a trickster spirit is a dangerous thing. They can have a very dark sense of humor. Because while the Nogitsune did come to possess someone, it wasn't me. It was Rhys"
"What happened?" Scott asked
"My body was beginning to heal. And I managed to pull myself up from the ground. But it was too late." Noshiko sighed
"What did it do?" Allison asked, barely a whisper
"It brought chaos, strife and more pain than you can imagine." Noshiko replied "I had to find him.I had to stop him." Noshiko paused
Stile slowly raised his hand and everyone looked at him
"It's gonna be dark in a couple of hours" he pointed as everyone looked outside the window at the sky
Noshiko sighed "Coup de foudre. Those were his last words to me" she said, "The literal translation is "a bolt of lightning." In French, it can also mean "love at first sight."" she said, finishing putting the pieces of sword together "But a bolt of lightning happens to be exactly what we need right now."
"For what?" Kira asked
"Exorcising the Nogitsune from Rhys' body shattered the katana. But you can put it back together." Noshiko said
"Why don't you just do it yourself?" Kira asked
"Because I'm not a thunder kitsune." Noshiko mildly snapped then exhaled "Do you trust me?"
"I just found out you're 900 years old. I don't think I'm ever gonna trust you again." Kira answered
"Trust me on this." Noshiko said and placed Kira's hand over the shattered sword. The pieces glowed blue and as if a zap of electricity went though them, then mended themselves back to an original and wholesome sword.
Kira gasped in surprise and shock, pulling her hand back. Scott, Stiles and Allison shared another look and then gaped at Kira.
Noshiko smiled and handed the sword to Kira "Go ahead. It's yours now."
"What if I don't want it?" Kira took a few steps back
"You need it." she said and tossed it to Kira, who grabbed it mid air and spun it around
"You see? It gives you balance." Noshiko smiled "My power is yours now, Kira. If the oni can't stop Jewel, you have to. The same as I did." she looked at Allison, who frowned back at her, and then at Scott "And maybe seek out a wolf to help you."
"You didn't tell us anything." Scott pointed out
"You want to save Jewel? Kill her. That's the only way." Noshiko answered and Scott suddenly felt a spike in Allison's heartbeat
"You agree with this?" Stiles asked Ken incredolously
"Sometimes, history does repeat itself, Stiles."
"Only if you don't learn." Allison said, her teeth gritting
"But sometimes even then, fate conspires against you." Ken said. Suddenly Allison's phone buzzed. She checked it then looked Noshiko and Ken
"If there's one thing my sister firmly believed in, it was that there are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for. Nogitsune is not the scariest thing she has gone through and I know Jewel. She can and will make out of it just fine. if anyone's gonna do anything, it's me and my pack and we are going to save Jewel. And not by killing her" she paused and looked at Noshiko "she's not Rhys. She's much better and stronger than him"
with that, Allison turned her heel and walked out, followed by others
"Kira."
The four stopped and looked at Noshiko, who extended the sword's sheath. Kira grabbed it and walked out with others
"Dad and Derek are out with Sheriff. I need to go home"
Scott nodded "Stiles, Kira and I will try and stop the Oni"
Allison rushed back home asap and then collected everything Chris had asked her to over the text message. A while later, Derek, Chris and Sheriff came and Allison led the, back to the study
"This is everything non-lethal I could find." she said, showing the stuff she had gathered
"Take all of it." Chris nodded
"What's the plan here?" Allison asked
"Our best shot right now is for Derek to try to pick up Jewel's scent at Eichen House. Especially if she went through something stressful there." Chris said
"Should all four of us be going to the same place?" Sheriff asked "Where else has Jewel been showing up?"
"School, the hospital." Allison listed off
"Okay, hold on." Derek interrupted them "We did this already. Stiles disappeared. We started looking for him. Then walked right into a trap at the hospital where he possessed Jewel"
"He's getting us to repeat the same moves." Chris muttered
"So, what do we do? Wait for her to come to us?" Sheriff asked
"We can't. Not if the oni find her when the sun goes down." Derek crossed his arms
"Scott's working on them right now, with Kira and Stiles." Allison said
Sheriff stopped and looked at others "That's the problem. We're all trying to outfox the fox."
Chris took a deep breath and looked at Sheriff and then at Derek "Listen. I'll understand if either of you wants to back out."
Derek didn't move for a minute before he reached and grabbed a taser from the table and bagged it "I wouldn't be the first wolf to run from a fox. and it's Jewel. She'll kick me ass if she found out that I backed off"
Chris shrugged and handed the taser to Allison "Apparently I'm carrying the lightsaber."
Allison nodded, bagging rest of the weapons "Dad, you and Derek hit Eichen House. Sheriff, it's you and me in the hospital. We all meet in the school."
Allison and Sheriff left. Derek was about to move out but stopped when he saw Chris pull out a pair of gun
"Making sure you have a few lethal options just in case?" Derek asked
"I like to prepare for the worst." Chris answered
Hospital
Allison and Sheriff entered the hospital and got into a lift. the door closed and the two stood in silence before Sheriff spoke up
"You know what, I don't know how you guys do it. You're all so strong. You're fearless." he chuckled "Hell, you even manage to keep your grades up."
Allison was silent for a moment before answering "I am failing Econ."
Sheriff sighed "Is that Coach's class?"
Allison nodded
"Well, I'll have a talk with him." he said, earning a chuckle from her. Sheriff then noticed Allison's eyes tearing up. He reached and stopped the elevator and looked at her
"Hey. You okay?" he asked
Allison took a huge wavering breath and spoke, her voice broken
"I'm not... Fearless." she shook her head, tears spilling out, hands trembling "I'm terrified." she sniffed and wiped her tears "I'm always terrified. I... I act like I know what I'm doing, but I don't." she sniffed again "I don't know if Isaac is dying right now. I don't know if I made a mistake with Scott. I don't know what my dad is thinking. I don't know if we should trust Derek." she looked at the sheriff "I don't know if I can save Jewel. I don't know... I don't know anything." she cried.
sheriff reached and grabbed her in a hug, rubbing her back in circles
"You know what's funny? You sound just like a cop."
Allison weakly chuckled and the pulled, wiping her tears again
"Hey. You're gonna be okay." Sheriff said with an encouraging smile and Allison nodded
"Okay."
Suddenly Allison's phone buzzed
"What's that?" Sheriff asked, looking at Allison's phone
"Someone broke into our house. After what happened in the past, Jewel upped the security and she and dad placed some security precautions around the house. Motion sensors. Cameras." Allison explained, opening the live feed of the house. She found all the rooms empty but stopped at one
"Is that her room?" Sheriff asked. Allison zoomed in and they saw jewel, sitting on her bed cross legged, waving at the camera with a smile
By the time everyone made it back to the Argent's house, Jewel was gone. But what got their attention was an open chessboard with all the pieces placed at random spots and sticky notes on many pieces
"What is all this? What are these sticky notes for?" Chris asked, recognizing Jewel's handwriting
"This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about all of you." Sheriff said "He said Jewel gave him the idea"
"Cool, maybe it's a message from Jewel. The real Jewel." Allison suggested
"You think there's any reason my name's on the king?" Derek skeptically asked
"Well, you're heavily guarded." Sheriff answered
"And you are her boyfriend" Allison added
"Though I guess the alarming detail is that you're one move from being in checkmate." Sheriff said as everyone saw that he was on the direct line of attack by the opposition queen
Chris picked up a chess piece fallen on the side with the sticky note saying 'ISAAC' and placed it back
"It's not a message from Jewel. It's a threat from the Nogitsune." Chris said "She's at the loft."
"That's what he's trying to tell us. And he wants us to come there." Sheriff said
"Night's falling." Derek pointed "This couldn't sound any more like a trap."
"I don't think it is." Chris said, looking at the chess pieces again
"I think your opinion might be slightly biased" Sheriff pointed
"What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, unlike Jewel" Chris said
"Meaning what?" Derek asked
"Our enemy is not a killer. It's a trickster. The killing is just a by-product." Chris added
"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that." Derek crossed his arms
"It won't." Chris said "It wants irony. It wants to play a trick. It wants a joke."
"All we need to do is come up with a new punch line." Sheriff said, getting on Chris' train of thoughts
"The sun is setting, Argent. What do you have in mind?" Derek asked
Chris opened the door to the loft and entered. He noticed Jewel, sitting on the couch, relaxed, looking out of the window. Once Chris climbed down the stairs, Jewel looked over her shoulder with a smirk
"Hi, Daddy."