Draco: THAT TITLE. NOBODY HERE KNOWS WHAT THAT TITLE MEANS. I HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT. DAMN.

Anyways, that title is a reference to my deviantART work. 'Holy darkness' and 'demon light' are what seperates the good necrans (Riku, Terra) from the bad necrans (Ansem, Xehanort) and the bad haeans (DiZ) from the good haeans (Kairi, Ven). I'm still working on the specifics, but how it basically works is that the white shadows of holy darkness are as close to light as shadow can get. Likewise, the black haea of demon light is as close to shadow as light can get. Roxas tends to use them both when he's not ripping off Ventus' wingblades. Yes, he rips off Ventus' wingblades a couple times.

BUUUUTthere is almost no holy darkness by that definition featured as of yet. That's just a fancy title. I'm only saying that now so that (A) I'm not asked questions about the title and (B) I'm not asked questions about the terms when I start using them.

THERE. LENGTHY AUTHOR'S COMMENT. JUSTIFIED. That's actually more explanation than I've ever given on deviantART.

Characters, weapons, origins © Square Enix and Disney. Monsters, setting, and encyclopedia © Akihisa Ikeda.

Chapter 25: Holy Darkness

Sora opened his eyes.

He was in an area he did not recognize. Slowly, his gaze shifted from left to right without moving his head. He was in a small room with medical supplies surrounding him. It was also very stark white - the kind of room that would make a ninja freak out. He tried to move and felt like he was lifting a brick. With his pinky.

"Ugh... where am I...?"

As he managed to get to a sitting position, he realized this must be the Yokai infirmary. He raised a hand to his face. Why did it feel like muscles. Who took his skin off. He glanced at himself and found himself shouting.

"And what the hell am I wearing?"

Sora was wrapped in a bodysuit of what he could have sworn was muscle tissue - necrous black that faded to bloodred over the hands, and a bloodred pattern scarred over the torso. Three belts wove around his waist, holding a split kilt of some shadowy black fibre. His feet were covered in brown leather, with steel soles at least an inch thick. The choker was still locked around his neck, the rosario crown dangling from it, but that didn't change the fact that there didn't seem to be a seam.

"Soraaa!"

The keyslinger spun in time for Xion to slam into him with a flying hug. There was a moment of recovery before Sora returned the hug with a tight squeeze, prompting Xion to pull away. "You're awake!" she exclaimed. "When you put your crown back on the chain you passed out like Fenrir ran into the Monster Tree! I thought the clawslinger had sucked you out of there!"

"Passed out?" Sora murmured. "What the hell happened? I remember Kairi took off the rosario when Larxene split into two, but... Van's memories are all a blur. I just remember... flowers." He winced.

Xion narrowed her gaze. "What's wrong?"

"I can't feel my ass."

The snowgirl laughed as Sora squirmed in his suit. "I don't think there's any seams on this thing. Where the hell did this come from? It feels like something a demon would dress up in for Halloween. I think this is muscle tissue. You get a bondage fantasy or something?"

There was a crash. Sora looked in five different directions before he realized Xion had run into the headboard end of an empty bed and knocked over an I.V. stand. Her face was so fiery red she probably would have melted if she wasn't part yoko.

"Don't. Ever. Say. That. Again." Xion's breath was heavy. "Oh, Shiva, I don't even know."

Sora nodded. "Understood," he insisted. A heavy sigh passed through his lips. "Tell me what happened."

+x+x+x+

"WHAT?!"

Sora was starting to wish he had opted to be the guy who knew nothing. "Kairi... Kairi's a ghoul!?"

Xion nodded. "It was just... horrific," she murmured. "Kairi was all wrapped in bloody marks - across her arms and up her neck and face. And you looked like something borne of Pandaemonium. All black-hair and gold eyes and... I think your ears were sharpened to points."

The Keyslinger reached for his ears, making sure they weren't sharpened to points. "So this... getup was his idea then?"

"Yeah," Xion replied.

There was quiet for a long while. "Where's Kairi?"

"She is with me."

Xion and Sora both spun to see a figure in a brown robe standing in the corner of the room. The shadows were still cast over his face, as though there was nothing within the fabric but an empty void.

Sora got to his feet, his Keyblade flaring into his hand. "Who... who are you?"

The snowgirl set a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Sora," she murmured, not taking her eyes off the robed figure. "This is the creep who turned Kairi back to normal."

"If you wish to see her, come with me. There is something you must know."

+x+x+x+

The man in the robe led Sora and Xion through the infirmary halls without a word. Most of the lights were out, which left a kind of 'haunted medical' effect, and Sora's new clothes didn't help matters.

"Where's Roxas and Naminé?" he asked. "And Riku?"

"Recovering," Xion replied. "Rokusasu's condition isn't too serious, but going into his ultimate battle form always drains him. He's going to take a while to recover. Naminé's in a sort of mild, constant pain - she said using magic through her chain too early caused a bit of arcane damage. Riku's mostly in shock - seeing Kairi attack him like that was horrifying." She was quiet a moment. "I'm sorry, this probably doesn't mean anything to you."

Sora shook his head. "No, no... I think I know what you're talking about." As Xion spoke, the haze over his memories started to clear. "That wrap around Naminé's arm... the chain... was that-?"

"Hers and Rokusasu's secret project," Xion confirmed, a smile on her face. "She needed a new spell channel - using her sketchbook takes too long and leaves her too vulnerable. That hoodie she was wearing? She needed twenty-four hours for it to heal and didn't want us to find out about it. Using it too early kind of... she called it 'magic poisoning', but I think it's more like a twisted kind of acupuncture."

"And Roxas looking like something out of a shounen manga," Sora prompted. "How long have you guys been hiding that from us?"

Xion rolled her eyes. "You think he can just do that whenever he want's? Rokusasu's not some kind of uniformed pretty-boy. Using his ultimate battle form takes a lot of energy and always leaves him drained. He's not going to be able to even use his foxfire form for another six days."

"We are here."

The robe's words caused the conversation to come to a stop. They were standing at a door that read Authorized Personnel only. The robed figure raised his hand towards the door, causing it to creak open without so much as a touch. Slowly, Sora and Xion followed him inside.

Kairi was there - but she was bound in chains that seemed to shine with a necrous white energy. Her body was suspended above the ground, just away from the wall, and her eyes were closed limply, like she was trapped in stasis. As Sora got closer, he realized that the links of the chain were solid - each was marked with a cross over its length.

He narrowed his gaze. "What are...?"

"Holy chains. These bonds are the only thing stopping her from succumbing to ghouldom."

Xion narrowed her gaze. "Something's not right," she muttered, stepping towards them. "Can't you just... I don't know, lock the seal? It shouldn't be imprisonment like this. This should be a solid containment."

"This seal is fragile at best. To reduce the number of chains binding the demon within would compromise the binding arcana. We have no other choice but to keep her like this."

Sora gave a weak sigh. Kairi... what have I done to you.

"In addition, there is quite a more... sensitive matter to discuss."

Both students turned at their escort's observation. "What kind of 'sensitive matter'?" Sora prompted. "If it's about Marluxia, I can swear on my life that it was self defense. And don't even try and tell me that Kairi's behind in class, I know that's Minotaur dung."

The robe shook his head.

"I have found sources that claim this girl... is human."

Sora and Xion both pulled back in shock and exchanged horrified glances.

Xion recovered first. "Oh, come on," she mused. "I thought this place was guarded. You don't mean to tell me that cloak who drives the bus let a human in here, do you? He doesn't look like the traitorous type."

"She appears to have arrived by freak accident. Her parents appear to have received information on this school through an anonymous source. We have reasons to believe that she was sent to find something here."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying there is something to find here?" he questioned. "Doubt the students are going to like the sound of this."

"This is a school for monsters. Clearly she believed we were going to be hiding that fact from the students until graduation."

The Keyslinger blew at his hair. "Some information," he prompted. "What kind of source that wanted her to 'find something' would have said that? Leon said it on day one - Welcome to a school for monsters."

He and Xion both knew full well that they were dancing on harp strings. This man in the robe could clearly know enough to pick up a lie. The best they could hope for was to deter this robe's appearance that there was anything not Yokai about Kairi. They had done so well to cover it up - how had he figured it out?

Unless...

"Who was trying to twist you around?" Xion asked. "These 'sources' of yours. Who tried to tell you Kairi's human?"

"That is none of your concern. Any human who finds these grounds must be put to death."

Sora stood up. "Kairi is not human," he snapped. "There is no reason to harm her, let alone kill her. This..." He searched around for the right word before settling for "imprisonment with these holy chains can be excused on grounds of necessity, but an attempt on her life is inexcusable."

Xion was shocked at how easily the words left Sora's lips. The clawslinger's bodysuit didn't help matters. The robe seemed likewise shocked.

"If all you have is a rattle of words, from some mystery source that you don't have the balls to tell us the name of, then there are zero grounds for Kairi's execution. You would be foolish to think otherwise." The Keyslinger stood straight. "If that's all, then we will take our leave. I will be coming back. If Kairi is unharmed when I return, I will react accordingly. If Kairi is so much as scratched, I will react accordingly."

With a flare of light, his silver Keyblade was in his hand, the silver and gold contrasting brilliantly against the jet-black and bloodred muscle tissue that wrapped his body.

"And if Kairi is missing, I will react accordingly."

His sea-blue eyes flickered bloodred for but an instant.

Then his weapon vanished, and he pushed past the robe with a rough shouldering, Xion following him.

"How did you do that?" Xion whispered once she was certain they were out of earshot. "How did you Kairi wasn't human so... easily?"

Sora turned to face her, his gaze solemn.

"Because she isn't. Not anymore."

+x+x+x+

"How's Kairi?"

Xion had found Roxas still in his room of the infirmary. Nervously, she sat down on the edge of his bed. "They've kept her in an empty room marked 'Authorized Personnel only'. It looks like it's magically sealed. Kairi's still out, though."

Roxas nodded. "And the chain?"

The snowgirl winced. "They've bound her like a prisoner. She's not conscious. She's not even touching the ground. And there's no lock on the seal."

An angry scoff passed through Roxas' lips. "Damnation."

"Also," Xion added, "there's another... more serious problem." She glanced around. "Someone told them that Kairi's human. Sora managed to deter him for now, but I don't know how long we can keep it up."

Roxas' eyes widened. "What...? Who?"

"He wouldn't say. She's in trouble, Roxas. If we leave Kairi here, I don't know how long things are going to last."

The yoko fell silent for a moment. "Slasher Kishi," he muttered.

Xion turned to him. "You think...?"

"He's the only one at this school who still believes Kairi's not a vampire," Roxas muttered. "Find Slasher and get him to tell you what he knows. If it's not him, we're in serious trouble - let Sora know what's going on, then come back here."

"You got it."

+x+x+x+

Slasher was a fighter, but Zexion often got the up on him - what with the spellbook and the dragon wingblade where his arm should be. Still, even Slasher had to admit he found himself very impressed when Zexion managed to force him against the wall, with five dragon wingblades where arms should be raised to his neck.

The sage was trying to struggle against him when the door flew open. Focused on the battle as he was - and kind of struggling to breath with that much sharp around him - he hadn't noticed anyone coming, so Zexion only pulled the blades away and let him fall to the ground as all six images turned to see Xion standing there, hands wrapped in claws.

"Here for a rematch, are you?" Zexion mused. A sigh passed through his lips. "I'm sorry, but I don't have tim-"

Xion crossed her arms before her and bowed her head. A deadly frosted force ripped up around her, causing Slasher to yelp and wrap himself in his robe; when things were still, he poked his head out to see every image of Zexion wrapped in ice. Xion forced five of them out the door and forcibly pulled the ice off the face of the sixth, drawing a yelp of pain.

"I don't have time to bother with you," she snapped. "Where is Slasher Kishi?"

Slasher knew nothing would come of trying to hide, so he grabbed his staff from the ground and used it to support himself as he called, "Slasher Kishi is in here."

The ice rewrapped around Zexion's head as Xion booted him out the door with the other five. The door flew closed as Xion grabbed him mid-recovery, lifting him off the ground.

"Some creep in a brown robe with access to enough holy energy to force back the demon within a ghoul knows that Kairi is human. Talk."

Slasher's eyes were wide. "I can't even cast your basic Pearl! Who at this school can channel that much holy power?"

"Some creep in a brown robe who knows that Kairi is human. Did. You. Tell. Him."

"Absolutely not!" he shouted.

Xion glared. "The Jenova brothers and Larxene believe that Kairi is a vampire after the show in the dungeon. Who else could have told them?"

"Chikai is the first real, fair challenge I've had since I learned how to fight!" Slasher protested. "The last time I tried to set up a fight through someone else Kadaj Jenova ripped me off the battle! If I told anyone in this school that a human was on grounds they would kill her without hesitation. I swear on my life, I had nothing to do with this!"

The snowgirl was quiet for a long moment; then she let Slasher fall. The sage dusted off his robes and raised his gaze to Xion as she started out.

"Is there some way I can help?"

Xion came to an abrupt stop and whirled around. "Wait, you're offering to help?"

"I'd prefer to not fight a Kyonshi, thanks," Slasher insisted. "Where's Kairi now? Did you manage to change Mr. Robe Guy's mind?"

"Maybe for a while," Xion admitted. "Sora looking like a demon on Samhain helped. I doubt he's going to be fooled for long, though."

Slasher tapped his staff against the ground in thought. "I have some friends in the human world who might be able to help," he prompted. "They should be able to arrange a trip to Yokai Academy. Should I bring them in?"

Kairi nodded. "Tell them to arrive and lay low. We might need to move Kairi at a moment's notice. Things are going to be delicate - I hope you know what you're doing."

"Deilcate?" Slasher asked. "How...?"

"You think that ghoul was just some rumor going around?"

Slasher's eyes widened, and he only watched as Xion pulled the door open and forced her way through the frozen Zexion images; then he pulled himself together and reached into his pocket, drawing out a cell phone.

+x+x+x+

As Xion neared Sora's room in the freshman dorms, she heard was sounded like an angry growl. It only got louder as she neared the room, and when the grabbed the doorknob, she found the door unlocked.

In a hurry, she pulled the door open.

Sora was tearing at the clawslinger's bodysuit. His left arm was trying to pull it off around his right shoulder. His right arm was grabbing as the muscle tissue around his left ribs. He was also dangling upside down, his feet having been caught and tangled in what appeared to be a series of black chains across the roof of his dorm room.

The Keyslinger came to an abrupt stop, as though he had just realized the door had been opened. His thrashing had provided some momentum; slowly, his body was turned towards the door, causing him and Xion to catch sight of each other's faces. Xion looked like she had been worried; Sora's face was lit up in embarrassment.

"Um... hi," he prompted, letting his hands fall - which, due to his position, meant he looked like he was surrendering.

"Hi," Xion murmured. "Um...?"

"Van apparently has a thing for Marvel wardrobes," Sora stated. "This thing is tight and one-piece and I still can't feel my ass." He grabbed at the collar of the suit and pulled, only to end up turning again. "How did he even get this thing on?"

Xion thought back to the previous day's battle. "He wrapped himself in a sphere of darkness. When he came out, he was wearing... that. I don't even know." She sighed. "Want some help with that thing?"

Sora nodded as he turned back to face her again. "Yeah, actually, that would be appreciated." As Xion stepped forward, he raised a hand before him. "Wait, you're not gonna pull an MJ kiss on me, are you?"

A nervous laugh passed through Xion's lips. "Nah," she insisted, then joked, "with my luck you'd end up falling out of the chains and I'd be kissing your shoes."

The Keyslinger looked up to his feet. "Nope," he mused, "those are most decidedly not going anywhere." He raised - or rather, lowered - his gaze to Xion and hooked his hands behind his head. "Go on, try me."

"Wait, seriously?" Xion was incredulous.

Sora could tell he was making the snow fairy uncomfortable. "You know what, never mind," he assured her. "Just help me get out of this thing. I'm gonna need a sharp edge."

Ice wrapped itself around Xion's hands to form claws as she stepped forward. "Are you sure you don't want to save that?" she prompted, turning Sora around. "It looks kind of badass."

"In which case I most certainly am not badass," he insisted. "Just cut me out of this thing, alright? It's not too thick, so don't dig too deep or- ah!" He gave a grunt as Xion's claw lightly pierced the skin of his back.

"Sorry!" Xion insisted, pulling her claws away and letting them evaporate. The wound on Sora's back quick-froze as she reached towards it, carefully slipping her fingers into the cut she had left in the bodysuit before forming her claws again; this time, it was a more delicate edge, dividing into two smooth supports that slid across Sora's back as she ran the blade down his spin and then up his neck until it slipped out the collar, leaving a clean cut down the back.

Sora shivered as the edge crossed his neck and Xion pulled it away. "That's... really cold," he murmured.

Xion nodded. "There's a cut across the back, so you should be able to take it off and still keep it intact in case the clawslinger wants it again." She watched as Sora pulled himself up and started to untangle his feet from the chains. "Where did those come from?" she asked.

"I think Van set them up during that study session," he replied. "With the candles and the creepy black velvet over my books? Probably just a little something to mess with the lighting. I thought I could use them to pry the suit off, but I just ended up getting my feet st-woah!"

His feet came untangled very suddenly, causing him to fall in a two-seventy degree flip and knock Xion to the floor. When he opened his eyes, he found his nose several inches from Xion's and his eyes reflected in hers.

"Woah!"

The two of them pulled away suddenly. Sora ran into the floor. Xion ran into the wall.

Sora gave an irritable growl as he got to his feet. "Sorry about that," he murmured, his face red. He reached for his back and managed to grab the seam Xion had opened in the back of his suit. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," Xion insisted, her face just as red. Her blush deepened when Sora pulled the suit apart and ended up struggling with the sleeves - the clawslinger seemed to have restructured the Keyslinger's clothes to form that suit, because Sora was most decidedly not wearing a shirt under that thing - and Xion found her gaze locked onto his ripped six-pack as he managed to slowly fight his arms out of the sleeves.

Sora noticed her staring and gave a smart grin. "Like what you see?" he prompted.

"What?" Xion realized she had been staring at him, and somehow her face managed to light up more. Sora had seen flames not that red.

He tried to step forward and found the suit snapping back into place, unrolling along his arms. "Okay, this thing does not want to come off," he muttered. "I'm sorry, Xion, but I'm going to need a little more help than a quick cut along the back. Keeping this thing intact is not going to work."

"Why don't you just wear that thing around normally?" Xion asked. "You know, like, under your usual clothes?"

"I think it has something to do with the fact that this is muscle tissue," Sora reminded her. "I feel like a mass murderer. Or something borne of Pandaemonium. Some kind of horrific demon."

A monstrous silence descended on them as the implications of that observation sunk in.

Sora sighed, slumping onto the bed. "I am a horrible person," he murmured. "I deserve to wear this."

Xion stepped towards him. "You are not a horrible person," Xion insisted. "Look, just hold still, I'll trim that off and-"

"Look, that's not important," Sora prompted. "How did the talk with Roxas go?"

"He had me go interrogate Slasher," Xion replied. "He figured that the little warrior was the only one who could have told that creep in the brown robe about Kairi - but Slasher swore on his life that it wasn't him. He actually offered us backup in case we needed to get Kairi out of here."

"Why on earth would he do that?" Sora asked.

"He likes the way Kairi fights," Xion told him. "A real, fair challenge, he called her."

Sora sighed. "What now?"

Xion turned away. "I'm gonna go talk to Rokusasu again," she replied. "You want to come with?"

"Might as well," Sora replied. He stepped towards his closet. "If you've got a seam along there, I'm going to want to put on something over this after all."

The snow fairy stopped him. "It's not there," she murmured.

"What?" The Keyslinger turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"The seam," Xion replied. "It's not there. It's like the fibres... healed themselves."

Sora scrambled at his back. The seam was missing - not a trace it had been there. "Okay, this suit is now decidedly creeping me out," he muttered. "Van's gonna answer about this. Come on, let's go. We need to talk to Roxas so Slasher's reinforcements know what they're doing when they get here. Bahamut, that sounds weird coming out of my mouth."

+x+x+x+

Xion led Sora back to the infirmary. They made their way to the room Kairi was in and found her inside and unharmed. The weird robe wasn't there, but that was a good thing. They then went to Roxas' room.

The yoko seemed surprised to see Sora - or rather, Sora's clothes. "What's with the clawslinger's getup?" he asked.

Sora growled. "I can't get it off. I'll have to get it trimmed off. Look, not the point."

Xion stepped forward. "It wasn't Slasher," she insisted. "He actually offered to help us. He's bringing in backup. He wants Kairi alive for a fair fight," she added at Roxas' expression.

Roxas sighed. "Alright. We're in trouble. Someone at this school knows Kairi is human not counting Slasher. We don't have time to figure out who spilled the beans on us. Kairi's binds are too fragile without a proper lock on the seal, so we can't count on her to defend her status."

Sora ran his fingers over the sleeve of his suit. "I've got a bike," he stated. "I can get through the tunnel's magic - if we need to, I can take Kairi and go."

"Not on your own, you can't," Roxas insisted. "How many can it take?"

"Maybe three max?" Sora prompted. "I can take Riku or Naminé with me if I have to."

Roxas rapped his fingers against his bed. "We'll talk about that when we need to," he insisted. "Be ready to leave at a moment's notice, though. Sora, check on Riku, check on Naminé... and do something about that outfit, you look like you got wrapped up in a symbiote."

"I'm gonna go check on the others," Sora muttered, stepping out of the room.

The yoko stopped Xion from doing the same. "Shi-oh," he prompted, "I want you to do me a favour," he insisted. "If I can't recover in time to get on that freak of a motorcycle, I want you to go with Sora, alright?"

Xion was surprised. "What? I thought-"

"I don't want Sora taking off without someone who knows how to deal with holy chains," Roxas insisted. "The only options we have are me and you. If I'm stuck on this bed, I want you to go with him. Promise me."

The snowgirl gave a heavy sigh. "Right. I'll go with him."

Roxas stopped her from leaving.

"Promise?"

Xion caught his gaze, the icy aquamarine in her eyes locking against the ocean sapphire in his.

"Promise."

Then she turned away, taking off, and Roxas sighed weakly, lying his head against the pillow and closing his eyes.

+x+x+x+

Slasher tapped his foot against the ground, arms crossed irritably as he waited for the bus to arrive. He had changed out of his sage garments, opting for his white-within-black freelancer outfit. He had a wooden katana on his back, as well as a chakram dangling from his belt and two small knives at his waist. He still had bandages on his right arm, but the wrap wasn't so critical this time.

The sound of an incoming vehicle caused him to raise his gaze to see the Yokai bus coming in. Three familiar figures were inside, and as Slasher watched they got out of their seats and stepped out. One of them was a figure in jet-black clothes with smooth jet-black hair and ebony eyes. His jet-black stare caught Slasher's attention immediately. The second was a figure in a blue jacket with a red scarf, with spiky red hair. The third was a girl in a white gi with a black belt wrapped around her waist, a headband holding down her pale blond hair. As they set their bags on the ground, the bus driver pulled a U-turn and took off again.

Slasher sighed. "Subtle, Tatakai."

"Hey, Kishi, this is my formal wear," the gi girl protested. "You thought I was gonna come clad in battle wear to a new trip?"

The guy in the jacket turned to him. "It's the same wear!"

"How many times I gotta tell you, Koibito. I'm a karateka. Formal wear is white. Battle wear is black."

The dude in black snapped to battle position. "Heads up. We've got very dark company."

Everyone took their offensive stances, digging into their bags, but Slasher only glanced over his shoulder and sighed, raising a hand to stop his allies from rushing to arms. "Don't freak, guys," he insisted, "it's just Kingdom." On second glance, he added, "Although I am going to have to ask where you got that."

Sora, who had still yet to change out of the clawslinger's muscle tissue, was just back from checking up on Riku and Naminé. He growled irritably as he stepped up to Slasher's gang. "So, this your backup, then?" he asked. "Nice team. When did parties of four get so common?"

Slasher sighed. "Introductions," he insisted. "Let's start with our martial artist."

The girl stepped up and held out a hand. "I'm Keru Tatakai," she introduced. Sora accepted the hand and resisted the urge to wince as she caught it in a death grip. "Don't get on my bad side."

"Understood."

"This," Slasher added, beckoning to the guy in the jacket, "is Shijin Koibito, our little musical murderer."

"I've heard all the jokes already," Shijin insisted before Sora could speak, "so don't even start."

Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Finally," Slasher prompted, "we have Hito Taberu. Expect Kurai to scream."

Hito turned to him. "Kurai's here?"

"Not important," Sora insisted, making a mental note to ask Riku about it later. "Look, I'm glad you guys are here so early. You're going to need to set up positions. I want specialties and ranges. What can you do, how close do you need to be."

Everyone was rather surpised at how fast Sora had said that. Keru spoke up first. "I'm a heavy hit," she replied. "I've one-shot'ed huge monstrels I can't even begin to describe. But I need to get in close to do it."

"I'm not a fighter," Shijin answered. "I can give these guys a power boost and I'm a good distraction, but you can't trust me to do any proper fighting. I'm a bit of a healer, but not mid-battle - my restoration takes time."

"I can do range," Hito stated, "but not for long. If I'm going to fight, I gotta move in after one or two hits. Four tops."

Slasher sighed. "I can't change on the fly," he admitted. "If you're going to have me fight, you gotta tell me up front if you want blades or arcana."

Sora thought a moment. "Blades," he said finally. "Alright, guys, you're gonna have to lay low and stake out until we need to move. There's a whackton of gravestone setups littered around the school and dorms, so finding low cover shouldn't be a problem. The forest is a hell of a maze and not that far from the main area. We've got the school building - it's got a fenced-off open roof to hide out there, and there's some inter-floor passages to hide in if you have to."

"I'll take the roof," Hito prompted. "Is it open to students?"

"Normally, yes," Sora admitted, "but I can do something about that if I have to."

Keru thought for a moment. "Show me these gravestones," she prompted. "I'm thinking an underground hiding area."

"Forest," Shijin insisted. "Called it."

No one argued.

Slasher sighed. "Then inside the school is mine," he sighed. "I've got classes to attend, so I guess that's for the best."

Sora nodded. "Alright. Shijin, easiest stakeout at the forest is by the sophomore dorms down that way." He pointed straight at the dorms in question. "Slasher, show Hito to the school roof and I'll pop by with a lock. Keru, come with me. Best choice of gravestones is by the freshman dorms."

Before he could turn away, Slasher called to him. "Kingdom, you're gonna need this."

The Keyslinger turned in time to snatch a small figure out of the air - a smartphone, fresh-out-of-the-box new. "What's this for?" he asked, raising his gaze.

Shijin sighed irritably. "I needed to grab one and all they had were Rugbys," he replied.

"You need a way to contact us," Hito pointed out. "All our numbers are plugged in there already. If you've got a situation you need us to check out, send someone a text with 'R'. That's all you need. When you need us to move out, just shoot us all 'A' and we'll know what to do."

Keru scrambled through her pockets and drew out two smartphones - one of the same model as in Sora's hand, one with the Apple logo inscribed on the back. "Here," she prompted, tossing him the second Rugby, "if you've got someone watching the sensitives, give them that one and relay the instructions."

Sora glanced at it for a while before raising his gaze and nodding. "Thanks. Alright, grab your bags and let's get all of you into position."

+x+x+x+

"Roxas."

The yoko looked up to see Sora at the door again. He had a pair of identical smartphones in his hand, and as the Keyslinger stepped forward he seemed to be looking through the info. "Where'd you get the phones?" Roxas asked, hiding his right arm under the sheets.

"Slasher's backup arrived and they decided to throw us a bit of tech," Sora replied. "Here, this one's yours. Familiarize yourself with it. Shijin Koibito is in the forest. Keru Tatakai's around the freshman dorms, and Hito Taberu took the roof. Slasher's in his ninja getup; he's going to be in the school at all times. I'm under 'Yokai client'. They want one-letter texts if they're needed - 'R' if we need them to check something out, to whoever is closest, 'A' when they need to get moving, to everyone."

He handed Roxas the spare Rugby. The yoko glanced at it before turning back to Sora. "How's Kairi?"

"On my way to check up on her now," Sora replied. "Look, I need you to do me a favour. I'll be here daily at least, but I can't be watching her room all the time. I need you to keep an eye out, make sure that freak in the robe isn't up to anything. If he starts acting suspicious or messing with those cross-chains, you go all foxfire on his ass, let me know, and shoot Slasher's gang an A."

"I can't use my foxfire mode," Roxas stated. "I still need to recover."

"Then match up the blaze and blow his top off, kitsune," Sora snapped, "I'm not picky. Just keep Kairi safe or it's on you."

He turned away and took off, leaving Roxas to blow at his hair irritably. As the door closed, he drummed his fingers against his mattress, glancing over the phone.

How the hell am I going to keep a patrol when I'm in recovery mode? he wondered. If I'm up and about too much, I'll never be able to get any healing done. It's not like I can just be everywhere at once.

The thought brought his mental rambling to a halt.

...Can I?

+x+x+x+

Hito woke when the sun did.

Okay, admittedly, it's not exactly easy to tell when the sun wakes at Yokai Academy. The grounds are set at a perpetual still-weather - fall temperatures, permanently overcast. The sun isn't exactly vibrant and noticeable. But if you're sleeping under the open sky, you're going to notice the sun rising behind the shrouding weather.

He got to his feet with a rough creak. Not as a figure of speech; Taberu's loose, comfy clothes had been traded out for armour that was not quite formfitting, not quite bulky, and so dark it put shadows to shame - jet-black build, shadowy golden lining. A necrous white horsehair plume flowed from the back of his helmet, and his eyes glared from within the helmet - rings of ebony that were only a shade off of his pupils.

On his back, contrasting brilliantly with the dark of his armour, was a blade of shining white with a waved inner edge and an icy blue grip. Crossed against that was a much more fittingly dark weapon - a long, arced katana with a golden handle and blood streaked across the blade.

As the day started and students began to approach the academy, a triumphant four-note jingle caused him to turn. His bags were piled next to the bedroll he had lain on the roof. Hito sighed, but a brief smile rose on his face as he reached into his bag and drew out his cell phone.

Message from: Saiai Hono.

Hito Taberu would never admit it. He didn't have to; everyone else in Slasher's party knew about Hito's girlfriend, Saiai. The two had been friends forever, and no one in their right mind would dare come between them. Keru's comment the previous day about one-shot'ing huge monstrels - that was someone who had tried flirting with Saiai. The team supported their relationship - trying to interfere with it was tantamount to suicide.

Hito opened the message.

How's my favourite dark knight? ;)

A light snicker passed through Hito's lips as he pulled the gloves off his armour.

I thought I was your only dark knight?

He sighed, glancing over the academy grounds as students made their way to class, careful to let himself not be seen. He and Saiai had actually had a date planned when Slasher had told them about the mission. Top priority, Kishi had said. Taberu was still trying to figure out what the deal was with this mission - did the freelancer owe Kingdom or something?

His phone went off again. Hito heard a student stop her conversation. "Did you hear that?" Hastily, the swordsman switched his phone to vibe mode before checking his message.

You know what I mean, shadow boy! '-.- Heard you and the team were at Yokai Academy? No goofing off with Tatakai!

Hito grimaced under his helmet. Keru had power like Ifrit and the temper to back it up. He'd had nightmares about 'goofing off' with her. He answered Saiai:

Never! x.x How's things on your end?

Ugh, those Ground Spider guys from Canaan were trying to flirt with me again. I had to use a couple of your Bomb Arms to shut them up. Sorry! :(

No prob. They leaving you alone?

For now. Don't know how long tho. You gonna get me sumthin from Preternatural while you're there?

Soon as I get the chance, girl. Don't squee on me when I get back.

Hito turned the display off as he dragged his bag over to him. Shifting through his bag, he found his wallet and had just pulled it open when his phone went off again, rattling against the roof. He snatched it up and pried his wallet open with one hand before glancing at the screen as the display switched to the message.

A.

The dark knight was confused for a moment until he checked the name.

Yokai Client II.

+x+x+x+

"Hey, up there!"

Shijin was perched high in a tree, at the edge of the forest. This gave him a clear vantage point - if he was told to watch out for something, it would be easy for him to see. He had traded out his simple jacket-and-scarf for a little more elaborate garments - a short blue coat, dark leggings, expert leather shoes, and a bright red ornamental cloth dangling from his left shoulder. He also had a collection of harps hanging from one of the branches nearby; a wavy red one with a face inscribed at the tip, a rounded blue one with a small stand below, and a lyre-design of deep purple. In his hands, strings pulled to the music, was yet another harp; a simple gold harp with a triangular design.

The call caused him to stop playing and glance down. Below was a girl who looked very kunoichi - close garments, headband, and a shuriken tattoo on her left arm, with four spheres around it. She had newmoon hair and sneaky-eager dark blue eyes, and she was twirling a small kunai in hand.

"I don't recognize you," she called. "What's your name?"

Shijin raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you would," he mused. "I don't recognize you either. Then again, I don't recognize most of the people around here." He turned back to his harp and continued playing.

The ninja girl called to him again. "Hey, I asked for your name!"

A sigh passed through his lips. "Koibito," he prompted, and went back to his music.

Several moments passed before the kunoichi below chuckled as though amused. "You know," she prompted, "when someone asks your name, it's polite to ask for theirs back."

"Funny," Shijin mused, "I really don't give half a damn. In case it's not obvious, I'm in the middle of something here. I don't have time to play around with you."

He reached for the strings again - and that was when a kunai shot between his index and middle fingers, pierced the edge of the string, and impaled itself between two of his harps. He glanced down to see the kunoichi twirling a diamond-studded shuriken on one finger hand. "Is that a challenge?" she prompted. "I don't think you want to get in a fight with me. I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

A single haughty laugh passed through Shijin's lips. "A ninja? You? Please. Just please. You look like a thief trying to get a monk's dogi to stay closed. You've got a sharp eye, but that really doesn't mean a thing if you don't have something to back it up."

Yuffie gave a low growl, drawing out a single smoke pellet that she slammed to the ground.

The instrumentalist rolled his eyes as he started to restring his harp. "Hey, spike brain," he called, "you know smoke is for face-to-face on level-"

He was cut off as a massive fuma shuriken appeared in front of him.

One tip was impaled in the trunk of the tree.

Another was levelled on Shijin's neck.

The next point in that order had Yuffie's hand around it - the kunoichi had her feet flat against the trunk of the next tree.

"Listen up, bard," she snapped. "Don't cross me. I'm a trained ninja outta Wutai. I've hunted and found more treasures than you've got harpstrings. I'm packing enough kunai to make a pincushion out of a slug monster and this isn't even my biggest shuriken. If you get on my bad side, I'm going to send you home in a crystal necklace. Understood?"

A fast-paced tune emerged as though out of nowhere. Yuffie looked around for more foes, but Shijin - struggling to breathe with the fuma point levelled on his neck - only reached into his pocket and drew out his cell phone. "Understood," he told Yuffie, his voice strained.

Yufiie yanked the shuriken out of the tree and arced into a flip, grinding one of the points against the trunk as she slid down. Shijin gave an exhausted breath and checked his phone.

New message from: Yokai Client II.

He opened the message.

A.

+x+x+x+

Keru was currently outside the freshman dorms.

None of the students had seen her.

That was because she was underground outside the freshman dorms.

Something about enclosed spaces made Keru Tatakai very comfortable. The night she had arrived, she had proceeded to dig an underground cave below one of the gravestone setups near the dorm building Kingdom had pointed out. There was no gap for students to fall through; the karateka had tunnelled from beside the freshman dorms to right under the stones - which, she had discovered, were nothing more than props.

Once her little hideout was of a sufficient size, she had laid out her bedroll and switched into her black gi before preparing her gear - which consisted of, on the surface, an armoured fingerless glove of gold on her left hand, an armoured fingerless glove of crimson on her right hand, and a pair of nunchaku strapped to her left arm.

At the moment, Keru was gaming. Luxury items were a no on missions - fortunately, her phone did not qualify as a luxury item, and she had taken the liberty of purchasing several mobile games to keep her busy. She was in the middle of a level when her phone screamed at her. She gave a yelp, hurling her phone across the cave. Through sheer luck, it connected with her bag instead of a wall, and as Keru grabbed it and shut the ringer up, she found that her latest move had misfired - the antagonists were laughing at her. Well, more like snorting.

"Asura damned pigs!" she snapped, shutting the game down and checking the message.

Message from: Yokai Client II

A

+x+x+x+

Slasher was very idle in class that day.

Not to say he wasn't working - or at least, trying. His mind drifted, however; he just couldn't focus on the assignment at hand. Xion's conversation with him - a ghoul, and the man in the robe who could suppress it with a wave of his hand - kept rising to his mind. Xion herself was absent, so he couldn't ask her about it directly.

And someone knew Chikai was human - aside from her friends and himself.

The Jenova brothers? No, they believed her to be vampyric, as Kingdom was.

Kaminari's group? If the Jenovas thought not, then it was doubtful she did.

One of the teachers? Okay, Professor Heartilly isn't that paranoid.

"Slasher Kishi?"

It was like thinking her name had alerted her to his presence. Slasher raised his gaze to the front desk. Rinoa Heartilly was a kind woman with a kind face - smooth black hair with streaks like caramel, deep brown eyes, and always a soft expression. She wore a very complimentary blue outfit, but Slasher knew better than to get on her bad side. Like Leonheart, Professor Heartilly had a weapon strung up over the board - a small, streamlined blade that looked like a throwing weapon - but unlike Leon, she had yet to draw it in battle... yet.

The teacher approached Slasher as he pulled himself out of his reverie. "Are you alright?" she prompted. "You seem... off, today."

"I-I'm fine," Slasher insisted. "Just... had a busy night, last night. I can work through it."

Rinoa glanced over him, suspicious. "Are you sure? It wouldn't be out of hand to take a break for a while, you realize."

Slasher started to shake his head, but just then he felt a faint vibration from his pocket. He was wearing his ninja garments under his shine-and-shadow freelancer clothes, so it was hard to tell, but he knew his phone was going off. "If you insist," he said to Rinoa. He gathered his books and got to his feet, stepping out of the classroom as she returned to her desk.

The moment he was out of the classroom, Slasher skidded his feet against the wall and raced towards the roof. He had loosened a panel of the ceiling where he had gathered his stuff, and now he pried it open and forced it out of the way as he landed on the inter-floor passage.

He slipped the panel back into place and drew out his cell phone.

Message from: Yokai Client II

A.

Slasher snapped into action immediately. He quickly pulled off his freelancer clothes, revealing the deadly near-black crimson of his ninja garb. He grabbed his blades from the floor nearby, hooking the crimson and the katana to his back. He took only a moment to make sure his chakrams were in the folds dangling from his shoulders before taking off through the passage. It didn't take him long until he passed Kingdom's classroom.

Kingdom was already gone.

+x+x+x+

Two minutes earlier

"What's this? You trying to hurt Kairi?"

The man in the brown robe turned away from the door to see Roxas Kaigara standing there, a hand on his chin. His plain black cloak was wavering around him as he stepped forward. "Sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to step away. I'm under strict orders to make sure she's left alone. Sora's going to have my head if she get hurt."

"You are not authorized to be in this area. If memory serves, you should be recovering."

Roxas shook his head. "Yeah, that doesn't work like that," he stated. "I get hurt, yeah, but I heal fast and easy. It's just an energy rest, and that's strictly optional."

"Be that as it may, you are not authorized to be here."

"No," Roxas stated. "See, when you step away from the door, then I can leave."

The man in the robe was quiet for a moment.

Then his left arm flew forward, and a bolt of jet-black darkness flew from it, slamming into Roxas' arm with enough force to tear it off.

The yoko gave a shout of pain as the man stepped away - but it was then that the torn arm hit the ground and shattered, fragmenting like ice. The pieces ignited, blazing across the floor as Roxas turned to the robe again. He raised what was left of his arm forward, and flames emerged from it like dragon's breath, sending his opponent flying backwards. The fire range wasn't that long; it was just that powerful.

The flames arced into form, and a blazing red ice wrapped over it, crafting a whole new arm on Roxas' hand.

"You oughta be careful," Roxas scolded. "You really could have hurt someone."

He turned to the door and snapped his fingers, causing the lock to melt. The door flew open, revealing Kairi there, suspended just off the ground. The holy chains were wrapped around her like a prisoner - and, as Xion had reported, they were completely uninterrupted.

A heavy sigh passed through Roxas' lips.

Carefully, he reached forward and set his hand against Kairi's skin.

The ghoul's eyes flared open, murderous blood-red, and she thrashed wildly as her suspension fell and her feet connected with the ground. It didn't last long, though - before Roxas could even act to defend himself, Kairi's movement faded, and she fell still again. Careful not to touch the chains themselves, Roxas dragged Kairi out the door and started down the hallway.

"Remain still."

The robe had somehow managed to recover and was now standing in Roxas, his garments completely unsinged The yoko rolled his eyes and raised his hand, sending a bolt of flame towards him - the robe was able to deflect it with a pass of his arm.

"Look," Roxas snapped, "I don't have time for this. Get out of my way before I burn that robe and you with it."

"You believe you can?"

Roxas angled his head from side to side. "Right here, right now, probably not. But I really don't need to."

"And why is that?"

The yoko beckoned behind the robed man. "Because there's a swordsman standing right there with armour dark enough to put you to shame.

The robe turned to see the shadowy armour of Hito Taberu standing there. His katana was in his left hand, and Roxas pulled himself and Kairi out of the way as he lashed it down, sending a wave of shining white darkness tearing through the air.

It hit the robe and sent him flying again.

"I've got this, Kaigara," Hito stated. "The rest of the team's ready to fight. Kishi told me that Kingdom's already off to grab the bike."

Roxas nodded. "Got it. Thanks a ton." Kairi thrashed again, and Roxas started dragging her forward once more as Hito drew his wave-edged blade in his right hand and approached the robe.

+x+x+x+

Slasher had met Keru and Shijin just outside the school building. The three of them took off towards the infirmary, where they found Roxas dragging Kairi outside.

"Where's Sora?" Roxas shouted. "I told him to meet me out here!"

"He's on his way," Shijin stated. "We passed him on the way here. He should be- Holy Flare, is that...?"

His gaze was locked on Kairi, who chose that moment to thrash out again.

Roxas nodded, glancing around. "Where's Shi-oh? I told her to meet me out-"

He was cut off by a wicked crack from within the infirmary building, and everyone turned to see cracks race up the building where the doors were divided. As the cracks faded from view, the doors flew open as Hito skidded to a stop with his blades drawn.

Slasher looked inside and drew his blades in a right hurry. "Sonovabitch."

The robe was stepping forward, not a scar upon him as he approached the party of four. Keru drew her nunchaku and whirled it into her hands as Shijin braced his harp to play, but the robe didn't even waver.

It was then that a whirling blade hit him in the back of the head.

Behind him stood Riku Kurai, his arm down after a throw. As the robe turned to face him, he raised his hand as Soul Eater volted into his hand once again. A moment passed; then Riku rushed forward, lashing out with a whirl of slashes that ended next to Slasher Kishi.

When the robe started walking again, he repeated the attack, finishing further down the hall than he had started.

A revving roar caused everyone to turn to see Sora barrelling forward atop Fenrir, still wrapped in the clawslinger's muscle tissue hell garments, his silver Keyblade in hand. As he neared, he pulled the weapon into a sideways skid, grating his Key against the ground as he neared the group. "Get Kairi on the bike and get on," Sora spat, "we need to go now!"

"Don't touch the holy chains," Roxas warned, lifting Kairi onto the bike by the arms. "Any touch will weaken the seal. In her state, we can't affo-"

He was cut off as a blast of jet-black darkness tore through his head and emerged between his eyes, suspending him in place.

A chain of shadow was tied between the impact point on Roxas' skull and the gap of shadow on the robe's arm. With a menacing force, he drew Roxas towards himself, launching blasts of darkness that tore the arms and tail of his cloak into shreds, shattered his arms and legs like ice, each fragment combusting as it hit the ground, until a single solid blow tore what was left into a menacing explosion.

And the robe only walked through the flames, trampling over what was left of the cloak, intent on reaching the vampire.

Sora swore heavily. This robe had just killed a yoko without even trying. There was literally nothing but a series of flames left. But he didn't have time to waste; Kairi was on Fenrir. he couldn't waste time picking up Riku or Naminé or he would be putting everyone in danger.

"Sora!"

The Keyslinger turned to see Xion charging towards him, a horrified look in her eyes. Sora revved Fenrir, hesitating only long enough for the snow fairy to clamber on before tearing towards the bus stop with a menacing roar.

The robe swore, stepping forward, and Slasher and his team took combative positions.

They were prepared to go down fighting when the flames across the area started gathering towards the robe.

Everyone stepped back as the fragments of fire started piecing themselves together, each flowing into the other as the fallen cloak rose into the air, wrapping itself around what was decidedly becoming a humanoid figure. Slasher exchanged glanced with his allies; then they all took off as the flames froze over with red-hot ice.

Roxas body flooded with colour, and with not on his body but a tattered cloak, he locked his menacing glare on the robe before him.

"You... what are you? Some kind of immortal?"

The yoko laughed. "Okay, yeah, no. Asura is an immortal. Bahamut is an immortal. But me? I'm not."

He raised his hands as flames began to pillar from them.

"Because mortal is enough to deal with you."

Roxas lashed out.

The robe lashed out.

The robe's attack connected first.

Draco: Whew. Long chapter. How long? IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAND! Seriously, this is the longest one of these I've ever done.

No, I don't text like that.

Yes, I have a Samsung Galaxy Rugby.

No, I don't play Angry Birds.

I think that's everything.