Don't Be Afraid Of the Dark

Chapter 25

Bane heard some fierce growling, so abrupt that everyone was looking for it and he thought he might get attacked...until Ryujin started rubbing his very angry stomach.

"I'm hungry..." He said as he swung a bite at Bane who snapped "hey, watch where you're biting, baka!"

"You smell like a human for some reason, what do ya expect me to do about it?" He snapped and Bane scowled "Go find a human then..."

"I'm a very hungry Binge Eater, gaki-dono, don't be a smartass with me" he shrugged but kept his hunger-filled eye on him.

Yang clenched his fist as Ryujin's eye turned to him "Find you food elsewhere"

"Feeling lucky, punk?" He asked with a grin that was become sadistic "I'm going to skin you alive if you even think of raising a hand to me"

"Don't fight in my library!" J'onn stomped his foot hard enough that everyone thought his leg was broken "Are you willing to take your job back as Ghoul Lord, Master Kurosaki?"

"Master Kurosaki?" Yang asks as J'onn clarified "Yes, he was the Ghoul Lord before myself and his son"

"Hn" Bane groaned "I'm starting to hate where this is going..." He looked to see Ryuken leaving the group but when he saw him, he gestured for him to come with him.

"Tell me this isn't normal for old leaders to just 'pop up' out of nowhere..." Bane asked as Scar remained silent narrowing his eyes slightly "be careful...Kami's allies are still out and about" he said "I called you to ask something...you need a job if you have any intention of staying in the city, wanna be a Hunter?"

"Yes...what's a hunter?" Bane agreed without knowing what he was agreeing to "something tells me, I won't like it"

"How do you think the city gets fed, yet no human knows of the city itself...and you know what we Ghouls eat" Scar asks with no intention of clarifying their source of food as Bane shrugs "That's where my proposition comes in, if you survive the Trial, to join the Hunters, you don't need to agree right away but just think about it"

Bane nods, remembering his first time on the Binge Eaters' side of the city and knew well that Binge Eaters instinctively made better Hunters "What about...?" He looked away and Scar grabbed his shoulder as they found Ryujin narrow his eyes at Bane with a low predatory growl as he rubbed his gut "I'm in charge so you needn't worry...they even look at you wrong and I'll make a nice, fancy necklace for them...out of their knocked out teeth, I'll be your shadow if the need calls for it"

J'onn had finished explaining what Kami had done to Ryujin, from illegally bringing Bane into the city and playing mind games for his own sick pleasure with him, Yang and others even in the city to harbouring traitors from other countries, which explained why the other Ghoul Lords were assembled in Japan.

"This part, I think I need to tell you about privately...if that's okay" J'onn said to Ryujin, who looked at the others calmly "Can you leave us alone for a moment?"

Tsume and the Ghouls eventually shuffled out as Kami stayed, more content on the couch he was still on since Ryujin stepped on his face earlier...something he had no qualms doing another fifty times or so.

'Anata wa 'shutsu' no dono bubun o rikai shimasen ka?!' (What part of 'get out' do you not comprehend?!) Ryujin snapped in his very noticeably different dialect from his son's as he whirled around and saw Kami making himself even more at home, testing his already short fuse "Get Out!"

Outside, the others were ready to go their separate ways when Bane noticed the door open, Ryujin swearing and J'onn looking like he was going to scream at him as Kami is tossed out like Yang was but flipped to his feet before landing on his ass despite having to resist falling to his knees from the seal draining him at a fast rate, though he doubted this one would kill him.

He lunged at the door but his father was not ready to punish him yet as he almost had a boot sandwich as the door was slammed.

Kami buried his hands in his pockets and walked past everyone, stunned at what they saw, without a word or glance but stopped when Yang and Bane grabbed the same wrist.

"Kami..." Yang said as Kami was visibly shaking but not looking at or speaking to his former student as Bane asked "What happened in there?" Kami simply pulled his arm from Yang but Bane hung on...after a fist to the face, he left as soon as he was freed.

Kami liked other to hear his voice, meaning he wasn't the solitary type of person but right now, he didn't feel like being around anyone as he made his way to Ghoul Mountain, a large mountain where he could effectively see the whole city and be alone, no one knew of this place as it was one of the few places he and Yang spent time together when they were tired of the city life.

His eyes were on J'onn's library as Ryujin came out look up at the mountain straight at Kami and smiled before entering the library.

'Did he just...' Kami asked himself before scowling at him and was about to give him the finger when a small rock screamed past his left ear as his eyes widened to see Ryujin's mouth move even though he knew he wasn't hearing him 'don't even think about it' then goes back into the library.

With Bane, he was ready to go home but his caution was too obvious.

"I think I'll head home now." Bane said as Scar decided to accompany him, in case he was attacked by the Binge Eaters who still see him as easy prey.

The others went back to Yamamoto's house and he knew something was wrong and bothering everyone.

Yang evaded Yamamoto before he could be asked what happened and was still annoyed as he went to Tsujin.

"What happened to him?" Yamamoto asks not even glancing at Yang "and where's Bane and Scar, weren't they with you?"

"He got thrown out of the library by Ryujin-sama and insulted on top of that" Tsujin answered "that's before he nearly beat Kami to death for not obeying the order to leave and even he was thrown out and Scar took Bane to his home on the Bingies side of the city. Someone's got a serious superiority complex..." He kept his hands balled to a fist before taking a seat "Where're your kids, the humans?"

Yamamoto ignored him and went to Yang and dragged him into another room.

"Don't do that" he complained but Yamamoto silenced him "Hush up, stop acting like a spoiled gaki"

Tsujin sighed, worried about Bane as much as everyone's mental health as he noticed Tsume watching him "Is it normal for you to watch my every move?" He knew she was watching without seeing her and replied staring at her "Something's bothering you...it's Bane's trial but that's no all"

He was right as she said, thinking of The One and how it had once possessed Kami before being forced out and just how powerful it was "Do you think it's...dead?" She asked as he widened his eyes slightly enough that she didn't notice "The One?" He shrugged "It may be trapped in that crystal due to the power of two Kurosaki's but I'm doubtful...speaking of Kurosaki, I don't trust Ryujin any more than Kami...like father, like son" Tsume nodded but didn't know if she agreed "I just don't like how he looks at Bane like a piece of meat but pretends I don't exist"

"Must be because you're a mutant...you don't smell human, even to me" Tsujin answered "He must not have figured that out yet too, but when he does, you'd wish he hadn't."

Back with Ryujin and J'onn, he began explaining what Kami had done and why Bane clearly is cautious of him since hearing he was Kami's father.

"Did you make my son's hair so white and bleached looking?" Ryujin asks, as he sat on a couch across from J'onn who sweat dropped "He seems to have overused Amaterasu, I've never touched his hair in my life" he chuckled before noticing Ryujin wasn't once he heard the name of the only Fire Spell that he despised, because he created it and apparently not for what he thinks Kami has been using it to do for years "Amaterasu?"

"About Bane..." J'onn continues as Ryujin stopped him "I hope I haven't made an error in making you my successor and the brat, as much of a smart-ass he thinks he is, isn't having his body sold to older folks..."

J'onn stopped and suddenly looked at his old mentor "wait, you knew?"

"I've had enough of a whiff of him to know enough that he's been selling his body to someone older than him" he answered as J'onn bursts his bubble while choosing his words very carefully "He isn't a prostitute, Kami...has been abusing him and Miss Tsume, trying to force her to marry him." J'onn braced himself, although Ryujin was short-tempered, he wasn't an unfair fighter or stupid though fighting him wasn't his problem...his reaction and what he plans to do afterwards is as he gripped the armrest on his chair in hopes of containing his anger "He what?!" He exploded with small sparks of blue flame bursting from his body as the whole room's temperature rose without any sign stopping "So that's why he was so cautious of me...so quiet suddenly, Kami raped him and his mother, I'll neuter that fucker...that'll teach him to stay away from other people's property"

"That is only the tip of the iceberg" J'onn said "He's very power hungry and obsessed with protecting his kind by the only way he sees how...eradicating humanity altogether along with any Ghoul that gets in his way or opposes him and the boy's father, Kami's former student, he's made Bane believe that his father has been abusing him all along, even though he wasn't in the city yet thus causing a rift between the two as Yang is torn between saving his master and protecting the only other family he has."

"I see..." Ryujin said getting up to leave "Is that all, I don't want to have to do what I'm about to do twice, datte..."

J'onn shrugged "Beware, there are traitors from other countries hiding in the city" he said as Ryujin cracked his neck and leaves with "Then they're the ones who should beware."

Once outside, Ryujin pulled out a mask, it was blank but once he put it on with a sigh, it was evident that it was the mask of the Golden Lion...with real gold before he walked to the mountain where Kami was. With Bane, Scar had accompanied him home not only for his safety but to have him ask J'onn to help him make his own mask, more so to contain that impetuously evil Dark Bane side of himself.

"I hope you don't mind me asking this but what's the whole point of Ghouls wearing masks?" Bane asked as Scar rubbed his chin "Why'd you ask, you want one?" He said with a straight face as they walked and Bane got a good look of how gloomy his neighborhood looks even during the day as the various masks he seen until now came to mind "Well, J'onn was no match for Kami when they fought until he put on that Dragon mask and wiped the floor with him...same for that shady Arc guy wiping the floor with Kami before he unveiled his Demon mask"

Scar thought for a moment "I see your point, but that isn't how the masks fully work...they heightening the wearer's senses and magic greatly, protect them from harm depending on your own will and hides your identity from enemies...humans know you're a Ghoul by your mask though so it's a risk during hunts where you have to go undercover and pose as a human" they finally arrive at Bane's house and took a rest.

"So it's a power up and a game changer?" Bane asks as Scar replies 'Sore wa, orokana gēmude wa naku, anata o tsukare ya anata o korosu koto naku, anata jishin no chikara o hikidashimasu' (It isn't a game, silly and draws out your own power without tiring you out or killing you)

That made Bane stop looking out the window to Scar on the couch looking back at him with a grin 'Watashi o koroshimasu ka?' (Killing me?) He asks as Scar nods.

Suddenly there was a bang at the door but neither of them moved.

"Were you expecting any company?" Scar asks as Bane shook his head and snapped "Go away..."

"Open the fuckin' door NOW, gaki, it's Ryujin!" The visitor snapped, sounding pretty miffed as Bane opened the door to indeed see Ryujin with his mask on, he had Kami choked by a rusty chain and a bloody eye and dragged him inside, dropping him on the floor.

"Now, do you have something important to say to these two, son?" Ryujin lets go of one end of the chain so he could speak but he didn't as Ryujin pulled out his sword "Son?" He grunted as he allowed Kami to speak but he won't.

"I think I should let the young man rape you and see how you like it" he began slowly pushing it into his side as he bit his tongue to not scream out "I...apologize" but a swift kick to the ribs sent shivers up and down Scar's and Bane's spines "Humbly and for everything, or I'll rape you myself!" He snarled, making Bane's skin quivered

'Watashi wa kenkyo ni, watashi ga yatta subete no tame ni shazai shimasu!' (I humbly apologize for everything I've done!) Kami said before muttering weakly "please...stop this"

"We still have places to go before your real punishment even begins, so no, you disgrace" Ryujin growled before looking at Bane "Sorry if I interrupted you, Bane-san, but I needed to rectify my clan's little embarrassment personally, I'll see you after your trial" he decided to drag Kami out of Bane's house.

Bane and Ryuken followed him outside to see that they'd drawn a crowd of every single Binge Eater in the city, all more surprised that they'll ever be for quite some time.

"Um..." Bane said before all eyes fell on him "wow, that's a loooot of Binge Eaters."

"Well, if it isn't the famous Bane Asakura in person" Bane looked directly above him to see the Ghoul looking down on him from the roof.

"Uh, do I know you?" He asks as Scar clarified the identity of the grey haired Ghoul dressed like a typical street gangster as he extended his hand to shake replying "No, but we all wouldn't be standing here if we haven't heard of you and what you did...to Kurosaki-san"

"What did I do exactly?" Bane was confused and cautious but also a bit pissed with Ryujin for letting every Binge Eater in the city know exactly where he lived and jumped as a large hand grabbed his shoulder, he turned to see a large Ghoul, covered in bandages and no longer able to speak as he grunted and nodded at Bane.

"What the hell literally happened to him?!" Scar gasped, as many of the large Ghoul's injuries were fresh and the other Ghoul answered for him "I'm Shunsui, by the way, and Ogin here is one of Kami's victims...he gets beaten unconscious daily if he dares go over to the other side of the city but his family lives over there and as you can see, he rarely ever gets angry and is very kind...something that can get you killed on this side of the city, as you learned" he looked at Bane "Kami tortured him so badly and destroyed his voice box so he may never speak of what happened to him, of course, he's healing but he has to learn to speak all over again"

"Bane..." Ogin gave a low growl as Shunsui clarified "see, as for me, I sell talismans, Magic Tomes, you name it as long as you can pay for it. No IOU's." He said handing Bane a pair of Advanced Tomes, Fire and Wind and revealing his merchandise in his jacket "consider that a 'welcome to the neighborhood' gift but don't touch anything else unless you got the yen upfront."

Scar put his arm in Bane's way "Go away, peddler" his eyes narrowed as Shunsui shrank back "You'll see me around...and don't always be in such a hurry to have visitors or you're as good as dead here"

"Now you tell me..." Bane muttered.

Elsewhere, Ryujin dragged Kami into a dark alleyway in the city...Kami really hated him but was bound and gagged tightly enough that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Now, I have a question for you...how many letters are there in my name?" Ryujin asks, removing the gag from Kami's mouth and pulling his shirt off 'Roku moji, nazedesu ka?' (Six letters, why?) He wouldn't dare test what Ryujin would do to him if he raised his voice to him in the mood he's in.

Ryujin was delighted he asked why as he smiled evilly and raised two fingers of his gloved hand "Well, I'm your father, yet you do not know my name...let me jog your memory so you will never forget it" an unnecessarily long burst of blue and orange hot fire burst from above his fingertips like a welder's flame or a laser scalpel but four times as hot as either of them as he placed the gag back into Kami's mouth "I don't want you breaking out your teeth now as I teach you the very lesson I was forced to watch your mother endure at the hands of others before her death with your birth days away" he pinned Kami to the wet ground of the alley, the water made things worse rather than better as he wasn't sure it was water to begin with and proceeded to burn his name into his flesh numerous times, his healing slowed by the seal as no one heard his muffled screams.

After many hours, far too many for Kami's taste a flare was seen in the sky by every Ghoul in the city signalling the beginning of the Trial to decide the fates of Bane and Kami.

"Kami...this place is no longer your home" J'onn muttered as he planned to make Kami pay for this and more with blood if any further harm came to Bane because of him as he watched the flare burn out though his usually exuberant, energetic and sadistic personality was replaced with a calm, cold and indifferent one by the nonexistent smile and rage in his eyes. He looked detached and very very murderous.

"Bane...Kami, I'm sorry" Yang gave his silent remorseful apology as he hadn't even bothered to look up at the flare, on his way to Tsume and the others at the Library.

"Is he coming?" Yamamoto asked Tsujin who just came from upstairs nodding "He said he needed his time but he's coming."

"I can only imagine what he must be going through..." Tsume said as Yang said "he better get his ass down here before I come up there and-" he noticed J'onn suddenly appearing before him and choking him "before you come up there and what?" He threatened as Tsume grabbed his shoulder "we have no time for this, let's go."

J'onn simply dropped Yang and walked away as Yang massaged his throat "I think he blames me and himself for this for some reason..." He couldn't take his eyes of the Cajun.

The GEC men also tagged along, Nobu determined to see the look on his tormentor's hopefully tortured face.

At the center of the city, Bane, escorted by Scar and Kami, literally dragged by his father, who he learned happened to be the head of the Kurosaki Clan, were left standing before a growing crowd.

The Ghoul Lords, except J'onn, were already there as everyone gathered around, standing and waiting for what was a first for them as much as the Ghoul Lords.

J'onn joined his colleagues without a glance at Bane or Kami.

Kami began glaring at his former master, who to even his surprise, paid no attention to him.

Bane then turned to Kami with a few glares of his own, most of the burns he endured were hidden by his shirt but Bane managed to barely notice a letter N at the nape of his neck and tried to move Kami's shirt to see more.

Kami looked at him, however and moved away enough that couldn't reach it "Don't touch me..." The grown man was shaking like a leaf, still in obvious pain but wasn't daring anyone to test his well-known aggressive nature.

There were a few faces in the crown Kami couldn't see as well, Azazel, wearing a hood both from the searing sunlight and to be among the Ghouls without them noticing.

Ryuken was there with Yang, Tsujin, Yamamoto, Tsume and the Humans wearing special hoods that made their scents similar to the Ghouls around them. A larger crowd of Ghouls came, some Ryuken could notice and were separated from the one's already there, the trial has even caught the Binge Eaters' attention as, although Kami himself was a Binge Eater, they were treated the worse by Kami's rule as Ghoul Lord out of resentment why their side of the city looked like ruins with barely any homes worth living in. They'd benefit the most with Kami gone though they preferred to kill him for what he's done to them, hoping J'onn wouldn't make the same mistake as his student before him.

The traitors were worse off than Kami, in chains, except Chad who Briarios managed to 'persuade' that if he was to remain in Japan as he wanted, he'd have to become friends with Bane and pray they don't meet like this ever again as he stood in the crowd close to where Yang and co. were and couldn't look away from the Mexican Ghoul Lord's eyes as Ghouls around him all either wanted the two to suffer of to be set free.

"That is enough, we all know why we're here" Tsu Chen said preferring a little quiet for a change.

"Why are those Binge Eaters over here?" A man dared to ask as Ryujin replied "They are here because they need to be, or would you prefer we go over to their side of the playing field?" That silenced the majority as many of the Binge Eaters smiled at it.

"We're wasting time, let's be done with this." J'onn grunted to his colleagues as Bartalos nodded in agreement but was silent otherwise.

"Fine...let's begin" Bjorn said sensing everyone was tired of waiting.

Chad raised his hand "I'd like a request first...what will happen to them?" He pointed at his former fellow traitors as Bartalos replied "They will be incarcerated for their crimes in the Crypt...would you like to join them?" His steely eyes looked at the Mexican who cringed slightly at the thought, having been there before "No, I only wanted to know..."

"We've come to a decision..." Ryujin said as J'onn questioned his master "we have?"

"We will not decide Lord Kurosaki's fate, for the first time...Bane Asakura will, he is as much a victim and wouldn't even be a Ghoul if not for Kami" Briarios said causing everyone's jaws to drop.

"He is slowly becoming my least favorite person here..." Yang growled as Tsume stopped him "I'm warning you, if you go up there I'll make you live to regret it" she warned before noticing Chad looking at her and smirking from the corner of his eye.

"She's right, baka" Tsujin added "maybe this is for the best, after all Bane is a victim as much as any of us"

"I'll clock your ass if you go up there" Scar warned "let it play out" as Yang gave up "Fine"

"I will hold nothing against you decision, Bane" J'onn gave some helpful advice as the tension rose for Asakura.

"Banish him as intended, then" Bane said "make sure that no ghoul trusts him again...so he'd have no further potential allies."

The entire city gasped at what he said as Kami's head dropped in shame.

"So, that's it for the trial?" Bane asks as Briarios smirks "yes, but there still lies the question of your punishment which we will decide."

Bane paled at that as Kami was allowed to leave but before he left, he turned to smile at Bane "Even if I am banished, at least I am not in your shoes" he chuckled as he left "We will meet again, Asakura...never forget that."

Kami was gone now as J'onn secretly cast a spell on him to keep track of wherever he may go, returning to his former home to get a few important thing then leaving the city on foot.

Once outside the city, away from prying eyes, Kami was still smiling and inwardly jumping with joy as he was already a distance away from the city in seconds "Enjoy my throne, J'onn Luc...I wished I could stay to see Bane's fate" he was still smiling, why?

Well, Kami was sick of the lack of freedom he got from being a Ghoul Lord...he considered himself free now but if they thought he was through with them, they were very sadly mistaken.

"Foolish Ghoul Lords, sure no Ghoul may trust me again even if they don't know me but there are still my other prey and your enemies...humans, mutants... are a different story." He felt the seal finally fade away

Back in the city, Bane's fate has been decided.

"As for you, Asakura..." Bjorn said "You are to face us in a fight...defeat us and you will remain to live here but lose and...well, might as well join Kurosaki."

"Whew, I thought I was gonna die" Bane said before he realized what he was told "Wait, what?!"

"Tomorrow...you decide your own fate" Briarios said as he looked at Yang in particular "no one will intervene."

"Then we feast" Bjorn said happily.

Bane was freed and everyone eventually left as Bane returned to J'onn's Library.

"So, have you made your decision yet?" Scar asked as Bane nodded "Yes, I'll join the Hunters" as they shook hands.

He noticed Chad was there and watching him "What's he doing here?"

"Reading, señor" he said raising the book he was reading and pointing at the ten other books on the desk beside him "Is there another reason one comes to the Biblioteca? (Library)"

He went over to Bane "I've wanted to meet the famous Bane Asakura since I got here too, Chad." He introduced shaking Bane's hand.

"You need help learning how to read those?" Tsume added as he glared at her with a raised eyebrow "leave me in peace if you want this Biblioteca to remain standing, I still haven't paid you back for trapping me in those shadows" he went back to reading.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do" Bane said as J'onn advised "give your best and nothing less, I won't forgive you if you give us a half-assed fight not worth our time"

Yang opened the chest Bane got from Kami's house and opened it.

Inside was the Advanced Fire tome that Kami learned Amaterasu from as the fire kanji glowed with life and letter rested on it for Yang to pass on the teachings of his master.

A/N - Kami is now banished from the city and stripped of his Ghoul Lord rank but now Bane has been challenged by the Ghoul Lords, how will he win with the odds against him?

Kami was outside the city when he noticed Rin was still alive and following him.

"Rin...return to the city and watch over Bane for me" he said as Rin wanted to refuse and take him back as well as Kami glared and pushed him roughly "Don't follow me, you useless trash heap or I'll kill you" he brought a flame close to Rin's face as he was clearly very afraid of fire, despite being a Ghoul and quickly ran off, back to the city to remain with Bane.