For All Debts Public and Private

by chapa3

Nine years have passed since Yomi won the second Makai tournament, the demon king now pressing his claim for all of demon world. Meanwhile, Team Urameshi, now fully grown adults, lead more or less normal lives. That is, until a mysterious human psychic drags Team Urameshi into a conflict, spanning four separate countries, from which none of the four will ever be the same again.

11. Pest Control

I require a painkiller. Now. Argh, have I fallen asleep during the flight? I feel my shoulder touched and rubbed, I hear Japanese "Kurama, Kurama, we landed." "Where?" I ask. Oh, of course. Bucharest. Asato shakes his head in disapproval and asks "Do you normally live like this?" Eh, I unbuckle my seatbelt and answer "I manage." "You drank three shots of vodka, a shot of bourbon, and a glass of sangria, and that was just on the Moscow to Bucharest flight. Your human and/or Makai liver must be waving the white flag," Asato Kido replies, less amused then disapproving. I answer "Well, you consumed airline trout, so I wonder which of us has caused more grievous injury to our internal organs." I may have blurred the flight in drunken silent stupor, but I fondly recall Kido making sallies to the nearby latrine, as I imagined his body fluids escaping from two opposite orifices.

Kido speaks "Welcome to Romania, Kurama. Here's a pen, our passports, and the slips for immigration…I can't write English that well. Or Romanian at all." Customs slips, Kido. And I once could speak the latter as fluently as I currently speak the former. Regardless, I pull my tray down and set the two passports and two slips on it. Hmm…to test my rusted Romanian while enduring a God awful hangover or not…I will default to familiar English. Name, birth date, address…passport origin…passport number. Almost done…done. I turn to Kido and ask "Now Kido, have you come in contact with any livestock in the past two weeks?"

Customs was painless, despite my lingering headache and Kido's occasional flatulence. For once, my liquid diet has shielded me from violent sickness. The currency exchange also passed seamlessly, and Kido insisted on a stop to search for a Japanese to Romanian dictionary. As we predictably failed to find any, Kido is now somewhat concerned of becoming lost and, and I repeat without embellishment, 'kidnapped by gangsters and having my kidneys harvested'. Kido, I assure you, this is not a seedy, lawless island in the far reaches of Southeast Asia.

Currently, we are standing at the departure entrance to Bucharest's Henri Coandă airport, watching crowds of Eastern Europeans, a few men and women of Turkish or Caucasus Mountain descent, on occasion an East or South Asian or a Western European. Sedans and hatchbacks with this logo spelled 'Dacia', Saabs, German vehicles, the occasional American or Japanese. The exercise keeps my mind occupied…I…I understand time is of the essence, but I am absolutely useless as of now.

I pray that this Spirit Detective of Romania, this Viorica Onicescu, has uncovered new information in the time between her notification that Mirko Karapandža entered her domain and now. I have…two cities in which Mirko most likely took Zinaida to, but both are large communities with populations nearing or surpassing 50,000. While much less densely populated then Saitama, I likely cannot find Mirko unless he wills himself to be found, and there is no promise that Zinaida will be where Mirko will be, or even if she is still…no. I know this monster too well. She will not die unless I am witness to it…that…bastard.

I do not even know if Yusuke's, Keiko's and Kaito's plane landed, or if it crashed, as Yomi once threatened my human parents. Or Hiei's and Kuwabara's, and plane. Mirko would gladly raze them to the ground just cause me further grief, and Elder Toguro would relish the opportunity if available to eliminate a potential threat. No, Mithradata, from all I have gathered, he would not permit Mirko to steal his 'battle' with the Son of Raizin. And Shirō Toguro lacks the resources to destroy a commercial airliner mid-flight without advanced knowledge of what flight they would take.

I remember Koenma and myself briefly speaking during the flight, before I drank myself into a stupor. That Viorica Onicescu is preparing a safehouse for Kido and myself. Wait, pardon, has Koenma even provided her with our arrival time? Are we standing here for no reason? I speak "Kido, my apologies, I am unsure if Koenma notified her of our arrival time. Her being Viorica. Allow me to contact Koenma." Kido glares at me incredulously and asks "So how long were you planning on having us wait?" "I said, my apologies. Forgive me, I…I have not been well as of late," I muster out as a pathetic excuse. Kido simply grimaces and speaks "Forget it. Just…wait, is that woman waving at us? That sign she's holding up."

I turn around and spot her, by the farthest away overhead awning shaped as a half circle. A dark colored sedan is parked right beside her. I can vaguely identify her as European, of somewhat pale skin. She is adorned in a knitted brown and beige sweater, a dark grey jacket, and blue jeans. And the sign she is holding is of a red fox.

I grasp the handle of my luggage case, Kido follows suit. I speak "It appears Koenma notified Viorica of our arrival time after all. Permit me to make the introductions." As we continue onward, Kido asks "I thought we were here to save your girlfriend, not find you a…" "Kido," I coldly interject "do not finish that statement." And that ended that.

Approaching her, more of her appearance is revealed. Dark brown hair flowing to the shoulders, full, high cheeks, a rounded jaw, slightly large eyes with blue irises, somewhat bushy eyebrows. She appears devoid of any cosmetics. A few inches below my height. I now regret not inquiring Koenma for a dossier, but I only recently reached my epiphany that there was no assurance she would arrive. I speak in English "You first." "Shuichi Kurama Minamino?" she replies in Romanian-accented English.

After a pause of me gauging the creases on her face, examining for potential 'tells', I speak "Present. Neva Todorova?" A classmate from my collegiate education in America. From Bulgaria. The stranger creases her bushy right eyebrow and replies "N…no…it is Viorica. Viorica Onicescu." I sigh, in mild relief, and reply "Just a precaution. A pleasure to meet you, Koenma did not tell us that you will be here to collect us. In fact, we were standing for nigh an hour until I recalled the very same. How fortunate to be proven wrong." Viorica replies "Indeed. Information on the internet suggested the flight was to arrive 100 minutes later, I thought I was erring on the side of caution by arriving now. Regardless, we would have rendezvoused at the safe house in Giurgiu."

I nod and reply "Indeed. So, shall we?" Viorica steps to the trunk of her Saab sedan, opens and raises it, and states "Go on."

I lift my luggage case and gently tuck in into the left side of the empty trunk, as Kido does the same, albeit not quite gently. At the very least we avoid spending a fare.

We enter the rear of the sedan, Kido seated to my right, the old vinyl material creasing against my back. The interior exudes this slightly bizarre odor of pine, cigarette smoke, and black pepper. I ignore the smell and speak "Directly to the safe house, my thanks." Viorica adjusts her rear view mirror and speaks "Was the flight pleasant?" Kido smirks and replies "Ask me, this guy here spent the whole time passed out." "One way to endure it, I personally hate flying," Viorica replies. There is this soulless lack of emotion in her voice, making her tone difficult to discern.

I ask "Koenma did inform you of our destination?" "Of course. 541 Strada Gării, above a casino. Room 205." Viorica states. I pause, yawn as to gauge her reaction, and then ask "Bucharest, correct?" "Giurgiu," she correctly answers. A turn of the ignition key, and the sedan leaves the airport sidewalk, approaching a two way intersection. From the radio, the car is serenaded by classical symphonic music.

"I think I know this one…Khachaturian, correct?" I ask. Viorica nods, waiting for a truck to hurry past. The pathway clear, she turns left and down toward the city of Bucharest, alight in the dark, slightly starry midnight. She speaks "Yes, but which one?" Frowning, I speak "I…am unsure. My educated guess is…Spartacus." "You guess correctly," she replies, with the same emotionless tone. I find my companion Kido to be inclining in his seat, his eyes closed, content to drift to dreams, solemn or otherwise.

"So, Koenma originally specified that you were simply warned of an incoming threat in your vicinity. Now I find you collecting us from the airport. What caused the variation?" I inquire, coming to the meat of the matter. Viorica calmly replies "The source lies with myself. I already detected energy readings of abnormally high levels two days prior. I immediately sought to speak with Koenma, he obliged my request yesterday, though only spoke of an incoming threat and a fluid situation, and to prepare a safehouse in Giurgiu. I'm afraid the accommodations are rather poor, a result of the lack of notice." An oil tanker truck merges into our lane, prompting Viorica to shift one lane to the left. She continues "This morning, while you probably begun your flight, I detected a spike in D and C Class demon activity in the Bucharest metropolis. The threats were summarily dealt with, and I requested a second audience with Koenma. He then spoke of two of his Japanese-based agents approaching my territory, in pursuit of an…A-Class to S-Class human psychic, carrying a human hostage in tow, and possibly flanked by more than a dozen demons at his disposal. Naturally, I inquired of the identity of these agents, their flight, and if they are relevant to the safehouse in Giurgiu. He remained silent on the identity of the hostage…but mentioned that she is of personal importance to one of the two agents, I wager yourself given your manic state."

Kido, who apparently has not drifted to sleep, suddenly blurts out "You making requests from Big Man Junior? Reminds me of a familiar Spirit Detective friend we have." Viorica blankly replies "You must be referring to Yusuke Urameshi…yes, well, I would vainly imagine myself to be rather more behaved. Regardless, I am of the sort to pluck weeds before they break through the top soil, Koenma stated himself that he respects my approach to these dilemmas." "Yes, I see," I reply, eying her warily. It is one to be polite and professional, and another to be this emotionless, it is unnerving.

After a pause and a few intersections, I speak "Were these energy readings concentrated here in Bucharest? I am afraid I cannot sense significant energy levels, human or demon." Viorica nods and replies "Our targets depressed their energy levels…either that or inexplicably they were eliminated, I cannot claim for the latter. Perhaps my exercise this morning stirred some panic amongst them. As for where they were concentrated, I predominately sensed the source as here, in Bucharest. A few scant readings in the direction of Giurgiu and the Bulgarian border. I am in contact with Nikolai Letchkov. As of this morning, he has not reported anything of note."

"The Bulgarian Spirit Detective?" I ask. Viorica replies "Indeed. To the east in Moldova, their agent is Grigore Barbu. North in Ukraine, the Fedorchuk brothers serve around Kiev and Natalia Goltsova by Kharkov. West toward Hungary and Serbia, Ferenc Babits and Milan Petrovic hold dominion. None have reported anything of note concerning the human psychic named Mirko." She pauses, and then asks "Yusuke Urameshi is not the only detective of Japan, correct?" "Correct. There are six in total," I reply. Kido glares and says "Six? Damn, I thought Yusuke was the only one." I reply "No, that would make for far too much ground to cover. Each of the four islands have at least one. Kim Kyung-hee in Kyushu, Mizuto Tanahashi in Hokkaido, our Yusuke, a Goro Fujita, and a Yuki Matsui, in Honshu, and…I embarrassingly forgot the name of the agent in Shikoku."

Kido smirks in amusement as Viorica slightly increases the volume on the radio dial.

"I felt that," Kido speaks out, as Viorica nods in agreement and sighs. A demonic presence detected as we entered the Bucharest city proper. Viorica speaks "To the southwest, toward Lacul Morii. It is nearby, at least ten energy signatures. Sub-B-class, certainly." "You think they're with Mirko?" Kido asks. Viorica smiles artificially and replies "I would prefer so. I am diligent in pest control, so to speak." "I see," I reply. I have this inkling that Viorica despises me. An anti-demon extremist perhaps? Our fallout aside, perhaps not having Hiei with me is for the best.

Having turned right around what Viorica referred to as the Arcul de Triumf, or Arc of Triumph, a granite version of its French sibling, we drive through a series of yellow and bluish painted apartment buildings of the eight floor variety. "The energy signatures are heavily concentrated ahead," Viorica states. "Yes, hopefully we can draw valuable conclusions," I reply. "Indeed," Viorica replies. I find her quite tedious to analyze. "Valuable conclusions he says, can you all talk like normal people?' Kido interjects.

We continue along 'Strada Turda', the road turning into a highway overpass. A flick of the turn signal and Viorica ferries us off the street and down a ramp, passing an open lawn with a red flower bed on the left and the parking lot for a tall, square building on the right, a few flagpoles in front, one of them being the Romanian flag, the other being the Greek flag. The Greek embassy perhaps? "They are in the railyard," Viorica emotionlessly announces "Either there or just by it. Next to no civilians, poor lighting. Yes, would do nicely."

Parked by the curbside, a white stone wall separating us from a field of trees, we stand by the trunk of Viorica's vehicle, our destination across the intersection. An alleyway positioned between a grey three floor row of townhouses on the left and a cluster of the trees on the right, one of the trees twice the height of the rest, I can view the silhouette of a few sedans parked in front of a garage. Viorica apparently noticed the direction I casted my attention, and says "There may be a fence or two that must be scaled, but otherwise the railroad is easily accessible. I cannot determine if the apparitions left traps in our path. We will know soon enough. Now, if I may have your attention."

She unfastens the clamps on a black metallic briefcase and reveals to us an assortment of knives and daggers arranged in neatly ordered sleeves. "Is that legal here?" Kido inquires. Viorica dryly replies "Carrying over fifteen bladed weapons in the trunk of one's car? If you are curious, I believe the box beside that telephone pole is a pay phone. The number to dial the police is 112." "Point taken."

I shake my head slightly and speak "I am well equipped as it is, but thank you." "Very well. Mr. Kido?" Viorica asks. Kido selects a curved knife…it appears to be a modern folding karambit with a solid polymer handle. "This works, thanks," Kido replies. "A karambit, how unorthodox of you," I dryly state. Viorica, without hesitation, selects a stiletto knife with a pearl, marble handle. She closes the briefcase, refastens the clamps, and then shuts the trunk, stating "Very well, we go then, yes?" "Yeah," Kido replies, as I nod in agreement. I was hoping for more time until our next encounter, Mirko of House Karapandža, for I have an artifact to acquire. But if we must meet today, then very well, I will grind your soul to ash.

There, by the garage, a lizard demon in white pants, a white shirt, and a beige, flower patterned vest, bluish skin tone I believe. Viorica whispers "Do not stare at it, pretend we do not know it is there." Yes, I understand, make the apparition believe we are like the rest of the human populace. Viorica suddenly alters to speaking Romanian "Nu, meu zborul spre Grecia pleacă la prânz." Her…something to Greece leaves at noon. She continues "Bineînțeles! Voi angaja un taxi." She coughs and adds "Este o mașină de închiriere. Nu pot lăsa mașina la aeroport." We are within a few meters of the demon, walking just to the right of it as Viorica takes the lead. Her stiletto knife is clenched in her left hand, the blade concealed behind her back. The apparition stares at us, frozen, eyes tracing us, myself refusing to make eye contact. I only hope that Kido does the same. I reply "Desigur, înțeleg (Of course, I understand)."

As she takes the step that brings her exactly to the right of the apparition, Viorica adds "Scuză-Mă" and, using her left hand, slashes across the apparition's left ribs, and then buries the stiletto into the back of the apparition's neck, who now realizes he's been played the fool. "Mi a fene…te kibaszott kurva…" the apparition mutters, crumbling to his knees, before falling to his back, green blood oozing on the ground. "That was Magyar. Hungarian," Viorica speaks. "What does that mean?" Kido asks, as we walk past the dead apparition and approach the chain-link fence past the garage. Viorica blankly replies "For now, it means that the demon spoke Hungarian."

I draw my rose and Viorica sternly speaks "No, you use any demonic energy and every apparition within 100 miles of the Danube will turn in attention. We enter silently, isolate, and eliminate any sentries." "And how will we know which demon to leave alive for questions?" Kido intelligently asks. Viorica simply reaches into her right pocket and draws a plastic Ziploc bag filled with this coarse gray gravel…and sandwiched between the seal of the Ziploc is a thin, long strand of rope.

Viorica turns to Kido and myself and requests "Lift me to the garage." We provide her the requested boost, and the Romanian spirit detective wedges the pouch into the barbed wire at the top. She extends the thin strand of rope and nudges toward the edge of the garage. I nod in understanding and the two of lead her down to the ground. She then retrieves a set of matches, and I come to a possible conclusion. "Is this thermite?" I inquire. "It is indeed, well guessed," she replies, striking a match alight. Viorica sets the tip of the rope aflame and retreats a few steps, speaking "Thermite burns at two and a half thousand degrees Celsius. That is enough to boil away silver." "Wait, did she just say 'boil'?" Kido anxiously replies and retreats a few more steps behind Viorica. I retreat as well and declare "I experimented with thermite before. It might alert a few sentries, as it is essentially a maelstrom of sparks."

The fuse shortens as the three of us ready our weapons. Kido inquires "So we can't use our energy cause it can spook the apparitions but giving them a firework show is okay?" "If you have a tool that can saw through chain-link fence, I suggest you say so now," Viorica dryly replies "with luck, it will only draw a few curious eyes that may be summarily blinded." "So you worked with thermite before? Chemistry class?" Kido inquires to me I assume. I reply "Yes and no. Demon world is composed of the same elements as human world. And thermite is a sound choice to bypass an un-pickable lock."

The fuse is burning through…very close, the thermite shall ignite brilliantly. I only hope that this breaching tactic will not bring the entire encampment down upon us. Viorica estimates it will only attract a minor response, we will see…the thermite about to ignite.

Wait…what is that…that energy level…not Mirko…it is powerful…high B class at the least… "TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!" "What the fuck, did you hear that? Did I?" Kido frantically asks…it was in…it was in English, and Japanese, and Russian, and every language I knew all at once, a violently loud bellow that spawned in the crevices of my skull. I feel the dark vibrations of something not of this world…"KIDO! VIORICA! RUN! WE MIGHT BE IN A PSYCHIC'S TERRITORY!"

Walls! Walls rising from the ground! I feel the ground below our feet evaporating away, air beneath my feet, falling, quickly landing on a black and white checkered marble floor, it…it is suddenly bright…the walls are white marble pillars with arches of blinding light between them, under an etched beige arched roof adorned with…these bizarre characters…etched dots and dashes of Morse code forming the visages of chess pieces and playing card faces…spades, knights, knaves, kings, diamonds…a joker eating a heart, dots and dashes displaying the flowing etched blood drops while we stand in a French chateau styled hallway. "Oh…my fucking…God…what the hell man?" Kido mutters in shock, as Viorica casually dusts herself off and rises to her feet.

"TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!"

She sighs and speaks "I considered the identity of this apparition encampment leader…one of my guesses proved correct. Talterc." Pronounced as 'tal-terk'. "Who the hell is Talterc?" Kido inquires, and I can gather that he is in great distress. Viorica proceeds a few steps forward, as if to test the ground, and then answers "A quest-class mostly humanoid demon, though her arms and legs appear mechanical according to legend, as brass steam-powered pistons of sorts, her feet shaped as those of a bird. First sighted in human world roughly around the time of the Hunnic invasions of Europe." "My oh my, she is older than myself," I reply in surprise.

Viorica continues with slight pause "Her first recorded deeds were that of a chieftain and advisor in the service of Attila the Hun. Following the defeat at Orleans, she accepted a significant bribe to facilitate Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian's poisoning of Attila. Later burrowed her way through Attila's crypt to loot as much as she could carry, before turning to demon world. She resurfaced in roughly 1010 to steal the Sword of Attila, which was known to be quite valuable, and our intelligence suggests she successfully replaced it with a replica and bartered it for wealth in demon world. Resurfaced a third instance in the backdrop of European-Ottoman wars of the late 1700s, and then disappeared from view. At that point, reentry to demon world for an apparition of her strength would be a…complex affair, so she was thought to exist in hiding since. Talterc figures high on my list of priority targets, in fact."

"Anything else we should know?" I inquire, my rose whip at the ready. If she is too powerful to pass through the crevices of the barrier, then holding back my energy is suicide. "That Spirit World placed a bounty on her head since 1788, after Karánsebes. Paradise to all that fall in their attempts to slay her, regardless of past sins, and a boon of choice for those that succeed in the endeavor. I was visited by four of such 'Holy Warrior' crusaders in my time as Spirit Detective." "And what happened to those four?" Kido inquires. Viorica arcs back her arms, generates a rapier of energy in her right hand, ala Kuwabara, and answers "Three came to King Yama's doorstep as spirits, confirming her continued existence, their last known location being somewhere within the city. The last one, a South African who appeared last winter, he has fallen off the face of this world and the next."

"Oh what the hell man, what the actual hell?!" Kido yells in panic. "This is the hell, Asato Kido, and I am prepared to dance in it," Viorica replies, and I can faintly see what probably passes for a genuine smile on her face. Her energy rapier taps against the marble floor as she yells "Talterc! Ai douăzeci de minute pentru a trăi! Încercați să le facă merită!"

"TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!" Talterc shrills from the far drawn distance of the endless marble hallway, and the marble columns are tipping over! Hm…the columns behind us are detaching from the roof and…slamming against the marble floor like sticks against a drum…more columns following this violent sequence…"RUN!"

*CRASH* *CRASH* *CRASH*

A column slams toward Kido! "Rose whip!" A few slashes and the column crumples around us…"VIORICA!" She slashes through a column with ease as we run across the hallway, passing into a section without columns, only various obscure Daliesque war paintings…and two wooden knights, one in all black, the other in all white, on opposite colored steeds, leap from the etched ceiling armed with a buckler and a lance! "What the hell is this Kurama?!" Kido yells, clearly out of his element. I am unsure if they are even affected by his shadow psychic powers. I answer "Quest-class demons can generate items out of thin air! I faced one before at the Dark Tournament, his specialty was explosives!"

"And what the hell is Talterc's specialty?! Chess?!" Kido yells in response. Viorica laughs artificially and replies "She is known as 'The Tarot Queen'. Her specialty is icons."

"ICONS?!"

"TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

As Kido bickers with both Viorica and Talterc, I square my stance and ready my rose whip, grasping near the end of the whip so that I can accurately wield a meter of vine. The knights charge. "I have this under control!" I yell, the black knight on the left happens to left handed, the threat from its lance existing along the center of the hallway. I allow them to gallop toward me…close…close…"Kurama you said you have it under control!" Kido whines.

I sidestep widely to the left as Viorica and Kido do the same, and…yes! A well timed vertically slash shortened both knights' lances to wooden knobs. The two knights discard their lances and dismount, turning to us, drawing wooden bastard swords from wooden sheaths, the swords sharpened at the edges to a razor-thin quality.

"How the hell we're supposed to kill them?!" Kido exclaims, grasping at his karambit and likely wondering what to do with it. "With precision, Mr. Kido. With surgical precision…now!" Viorica steps to the opposite wall and taps her spirit rapier against the floor, as if to mock the knights. The knights, without a sound, charge with their shields raised, the black knight targeting either myself or Kido. I speak "Kido, see if your abilities work on these figures."

"What?! What…how am I supposed to do that?!"

The knight charges, shield first, I lash against the shield, diagonally splitting it in half. Kido quivers with his karambit as…"KIDO WATCH OUT!"

Kido barely dodged as the knight threw the jagged remains of its shield at him. It raises the sword upward for a downward slash, I wrap my rose whip around the wooden right wrist…and yank the sword wielding hand to the ground. The knight soundlessly turns to me…and Kido steps to the knights left, on its shadow.

Yes…yes…damn this, the knight jerked its head to Kido! And grasps his neck with its left wooden gauntlet wearing arm, I vertically bisect the figure before it could cause permanent injury. I turn around and Viorica has half-decapitated her knight, the wooden cuirass adorned with deep puncture holes. "Shall we learn what other tricks Talterc has in store for us?" Viorica asks with just slight amusement.

We press onward, a tapering against the walls sounds out, lights dim and shine the ornery gleam of sterile gray, a plume of dust in the distance, growing, larger and larger, the tapering louder and…the ground shakes once again, and, knights, wooden knights, a charge of lances, not lances, laminated bows, Hunnic headwear, oh dear "Kido, Viorica, behind my person, on my lead, we will charge toward them." "Charge?! What the hell Kurama?!" Kido whines in confusion and likely terror. Viorica interjects "It will be a clumsy affair for the horsemen to rearrange and return the charge once we brush through this wave, yes, it may do." "I have other plans, I assure," replying I, steeling myself for this delicate maneuver.

My rose whip fully elongated, I proceed to twirl it, the windmill effect six meters in diameter, the arrows loose, and crash against the vortex of my whip. Closer, almost, "NOW!" I aim my whip toward the overhead chandelier, yes, it latched on! "Grab my legs!" I yell, yanking at the rose whip to pull me over the charging wooden Huns. We clear the cavalry charge, arrows sailing harmless underfoot, and are now at gravity's mercy, falling quickly, Viorica and Kido let go just in time to establish a proper landing…and I follow suit. The hallway spans long and far…the horsemen will turn in due time..."RUN!" And we do just so.

The horseman turn and make chase, yes, yes, this might just work! I shout "When they close in, latch onto my legs!" "WHAT?! WHY?!" Kido shouts in confusion. I spot more chandeliers over yonder, listen to the horsemen's increasingly vibrant steps, not this chandelier…this one. My rose whip fastens securely and I shout "NOW!" Kido and Viorica pincer my legs and we find ourselves levitating once again. The horsemen just below us, I order "Jump upon them!" "You serious?!" Kido yells, though he lets go just the same. Viorica leaps off without protest and I do the same…Kido missed his landing, Viorica did not. "Shall we remove their heads?!" she shouts, her eyes betraying flashes of discomfort. I use my rose whip to latch onto the head of the other horseman that Kido failed to mount, and shout "Send them to the walls!" "Very well!" Viorica shouts in annoyed understanding, as I steer my Hunnic horseman to the wall on the right. Her horseman is sent directly to the leftward wall…both walls crack, the floor fissures, and…a guttural scream sounds out, raising the hairs on my neck in shudder.

Gravity shifts, the wall we crashed into becomes the crumbling floor beneath our feet, and a dark abyss awaits below. I hear Kido yell in panic as I wonder if there is a landing in store for us…argh…we thud on a wooden floor as dim lighting somehow finds a way to blind us amongst the abyss. Hmm…the illusion appears shattered, we are in a dusty office room, in the railyard perhaps? I rise to my knees, the first to do so of the three of us, I hear chanting. In Latin. I turn to my left…interesting.

Sitting cross-legged on a desk and with his hands clasped in prayer, a large calendar behind him, the calendar nailed to the wall, a dark-skinned African man reveals himself as the source of the chanting. He is wearing leather shoes, olive green khakis, a white collared dress shirt, and a dark brown leather jacket. Sweat beads down from his long, wiry beard. His creased forehead shines against the dim light, his hair tightly coiled on top and thin on the sides. I can barely spot a golden crucifix necklace shining upon his chest.

His eyes open, and he speaks "It appears we are back to the land of the living. I must thank you." He speaks in a heavily accented English, I am assuming an accent of one of the Bantu languages. "Oh Buddha what was that?!" Kido shouts out in Japanese, realizing where he is now. Viorica rises to her feet and speaks "I believe you are the South African that arrived to hunt Talterc. You disappeared slightly more than four months ago." The African man climbs off the desk, planting his feet on the floor. He reaches behind for a shortened rod…the gleam of grey metal, it is a steel flanged mace. Inspecting the mace, the man replies "Four months, is that right? It felt like either four minutes or four centuries, difficult to tell which. You were tracking me, you say? I heard you speak of Talterc." Viorica replies "We are hunting her as well. No, that is technically a lie. We are hunting other threats, and Talterc, whom I already regard as a high value target, appeared in our path. You are Thabang, yes?" "Thabang, Thabang Nyembe. Do you also serve our king in heaven Lord Jesus Christ?" King?

I reply "That…yes that is correct." Thabang turns to me, pausing, studying…frowning. "The stench of you…" He is rather short, perhaps a centimeter or two taller than Hiei. Thin too, the mace appearing rather comically large in his hand. "Two points, if I may. First, yes, there is demonic energy flowing through me, though I can assure that I too have been…'blessed'…by 'Christ' in a mission most holy, as a means of penance for my nature…and my sins." I sigh briefly, and continue "The second point, if I may, is that even if you still deem myself as a threat to the prosperity of man and the kingdom of Christ, that any and all weapons you may wield against my person will be as effective as a fly's bite upon a statue." I see the crusader lower his mace, just enough to make apparent that he acknowledges the futility of his distrust.

Panting and also drenched in sweat, Kido asks Thabang "Were you also in that hallway with the knights and horse archers?" Thabang ponders for a spell, and answers "There were a few sequences involving them, I mostly stayed levitating above, roughly after I lost hope of finding a means to escape. How did you escape? Did you see me?" "I don't believe we saw you. We sent Taltrec's icons into a wall, seemed to have caused the hallucination to cease. Perhaps a case of iron striking iron?" I answer, glaring out of the glass window of the door on the right.

"Wait…wait…no no this isn't right!" Kido yells "you guys feeling that? It's a lot of them, did we send up a flare or something?" I am sensing them too. I speak "Mostly D and C class, perhaps one a touch stronger and one a borderline A class, I am assuming to be Talterc. Where were they all this time? They are concentrated too…" Wait, of course! "Kido, Viorica, Thabang! There is a gateway to Demon World here!" "A gateway?" Thabang inquires, appears he is not quite versed in all matters of Spirit World and Demon World. I turn to him and say "I will explain later! For now, we have a leak to plug!" I lead, rushing toward the door and opening it, finding myself facing eight lines of mostly empty indoor railroad tracks and a distant concrete wall, flickering light bulbs swaying overhead. The energy readings emanate from that distant wall, and they are growing nearer by the moment. "I see it too, shit, guess we doing this?" Kido asks, readying his karambit. I unfurl my rose whip, Viorica wields a stiletto knife in her left hand and an energy rapier in her right. Thabang grasps the mace upside down and falls to his knees in prayer, in a language I do not recognize. "Guess we are."

The wall rumbles, the gravel below us shakes, the doors of the one train in station clatter. So does Kido's and Thabang's teeth. Thabang climbs to his feet and raises his mace in the air, loudly shouting "May we fight with valor and may our faith in the Lord Almighty propel us to victory!" More rumbling. Five seconds pass. "Yeah, what he says. Yeah," Kido adds, his dread clear to discern. More rumbling. Viorica taps her right foot to the rhythm of the tremors "I count more than 15, no…20…25…" I count at least 40, two of the demons powerful enough to level the city. This is preposterous. Breaches this large do not normally occur!

Fissures in the wall, the lights flickering intensely, a bulb shatters, rubble seeping from the wall, now bricks.

"TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!"

The wall comes apart, and the flood pours through. Lizard, stag, fire demons, humanoid-looking demons, a few ogres, all variety of them present. I cannot visually spot Talterc. Thabang charges forward, and I follow. Five demons quickly surround him as he flails with his mace, knocking two to the ground. I swipe with my rose whip, striking a demon attempting stab Thabang in the spine, the demon now bisected length-wise, her innards spilling to the ground. I glance to my left and spot Viorica and Kido engaging a dozen of them, three already bleeding on the ground dead or dying. Kido steps on the shadow of a rather short ogre, climbs on his back, and…cuts open the ogre's neck, well done.

'Thwip' A large blue tiger demon swipes at me, growling and yelling in a language that I believe is Turkish. I duck under another swing, grab her arm over my head, and slam it against my right shoulder. The satisfying crack suggests that her elbow is now shattered. "Amini sikerim!" the tiger demon shouts. I grasp her by the back collar of her burgundy tunic, plant my right foot behind her right leg, trip her right leg, and throw her to the ground, the demon landing just a foot from a concrete column dividing the tracks. She turns onto her stomach and grasps onto the column with her one remaining functioning arm, rising to her knees. I quickly coil my right arm under her neck, grasp her chin, place my left hand behind her head. Another demon jumps on my back, cutting at my ribs. I tighten my grasp and twist. Straining for a brief effort, I hear the classic crunching snap of a broken neck, and her arms cease to flail about.

My right hand then shoots down and catches the other demon's wrist, blue and a scaly texture. A dirk in hand, stained in my blood. It will take far more than that to end me. I reach my left hand behind my back, grasp onto some fabric of the demon's clothes, and hip toss the fiend over my shoulder. "Nyald ki a seggem!" the demon, a humanoid demon with fish scale skin, yells out. He lunges with the dirk, I parry with the back of my left wrist, grab the back of his head, and slam my right knee into his skull, sending the demon off his feet and through the doors of the one subway train parked in the station.

Thabang's mace slams against the stomach of a male stag demon, causing the demon to fall back and land against the same nearby column, ahead and to my left. The demon prepares to stab Thabang with a long dagger. Thabang steps back, avoids the stab, and slams the mace onto the demon's right hand, shattering bone and sending the dagger to the floor. The holy warrior bounty hunter immediately swipes the mace across the stag's jaw, detaching the jaw and sending teeth into the air. The demon falls back first to the column, as Thabang arcs the mace back, and then whips it into the stag's skull, shattering bone and antlers, sending blood spraying, and causing deep fissures in the concrete column.

"Scratch one more!" I here Kido yell. "Fuck, my knee!" he cries in pain. Thabang and myself stand shoulder to shoulder and meet the charge of four…make it six demons. Left hook to one, followed by punch to the throat, and the demon falls on his back. Another swings an axe at my face, missing by roughly a couple centimeters. Kick to his right kneecap, the knee caves inward, the demon yells in agony and falls to the ground. Third demon in my view attacks with talons. I transform my rose whip into a green kriegsmesser sword, parry the first strike, parry the 2nd, drawing blood. The demon recoils, and I spring forward, my hands pressed against the blunt end of my sword, driving the blade width-wise into the neck. I take a step back, still grasping the messer sword, as blue blood surges out of the fiends neck, and decapitate the demon with one strike. A kick to the torso, and the body falls quickly to the ground. I spot Thabang repeatedly slamming his mace into the head of his freshest kill. Turning to the demon with the shattered kneecap, I grab the fiend by his thick, long hair, lift the head, and slice open his throat.

The clash and cries of battle, the stench of blood in the air, my vision briefly flashes to the nightly assault in Targoviste, so many centuries ago. Slitting Turkish throats in their war tents, setting fires, horses baying and frightened to stampede. A female humanoid demon with two horns on her head charges with a trident. I sidestep, grab the body of the weapon with my left hand, and side kick her in the chest, sending the demon through railroad tracks. A furious blitzkrieg through the Ottoman encampments, cries for water and succor, janissaries beheaded, the fire whipped into a dancing frenzy, swallowing more and more of the camp. A group of the fiends rushing toward Kido, now bleeding from his legs, and panting in exhausting, his hands soaked in all colors of blood. I toss the trident and impale one of the beasts in the groin, causing his compatriots to trip over and fall to the ground.

Cries and curses in Turkish, Romanian, Albanian, Bulgarian, I run my sword through a short janissary adorned in a jeweled belt. Indulging in some quick looting, I hear the cries of female camp followers. I glance to the side and see them gangraped by our fellow warriors. The horned demon slowly rises to her feet, I stalk my target. I receive an elbow to the chest and a slash across the face, drawing slight blood. She must have kept a hatchet in reserve, or found one after I knocked her to the ground. Two Yaya infantrymen armed with three pronged spears charge at me while I remove the jeweled belt. A flaming arrow strikes the Ottoman on the right in the shoulder. The spearman on the left thrusts, misses so widely that I move behind him and garrote the Turk with my fresh loot. I prepare for the demon's strike, seeing out the corner of my left eye…Kido tackles her to the ground, wrestles with the fiend's hatchet, stabs her right arm repeatedly with his karambit, the fiend grabbing and tearing at Kido's hair with her free left hand. Kido pulls out his knife and, just as the horned demon prepares to swing the hatchet at Kido's neck, Kido lowers his head and buries his karambit into the side of the demon's neck. The spearman gasps, dropping his spear as I pull him to the ground, choking out what life remains of him. Kido digs the karambit around the neck, the horned demon moaning in pain and swinging the hatchet once again, slightly cutting Kido's rump. He winces in pain and pulls the karambit out, slicing open her neck and causing orange blood to quickly pour out.

Kido nods at me, panting, turning onto his back. We spot Viorica dispatching the two makai engaging her. I flick blood off of my rose messer sword, hearing a whistling noise. Looking up, two scaly humanoid makai drop from the ceiling with falchions. "KIDO LOOK ABOVE!" I shout, blocking one of the strikes, the other dodged by Kido who barely arcs his body away. The demon presses on, stronger then the ones I dispatched so far. Block one down swing, block swing to my left, pivot on my right foot, wide sidestep with my right, twist my legs and slice…and the demon's right arm is barely hanging by tendrils, while her chest now sports a deep gash just below her breasts, purple blood leaking out the arm and the chest. I plunge my sword into her chest, pull out and knock her face first to the ground with a left hook. I spot Kido, already having him immobilized by stepping on the demon's shadow, slicing open the makai's Achilles tendon, sending the demon falling back first onto Kido. Returning back to my dying prey, I bury my sword in her back, twist once, and pull out. I look back to see Kido having already cut open his quarry's throat with the karambit.

Kido shoves the body aside, his face covered in purple blood, causing him to rub blood out of his eyes. He turns to me, wincing, and…pointing at me? "Fuck! Behind you!" Some metallic creature grasps the back of my jacket's collar. I feel air under my feet and find myself careening through the collapsed doors of the empty train.

Argh! I landed with a thud on the demon I previously sent flying through these very same doors. I turn onto my stomach, spotting an ice demon charging across the train floor with a scythe. I rise to one knee and drive my messer sword into her navel, twist, slice through the stomach, sweep her legs, and thrust down into her heart, the scythe clanging against a subway bench.

"MAKE IT STOP!"

I feel the grooves of my skin vibrate. Peering out the train car, my eyes meet her gaze, in a sense. Talterc, adorned in an ancient Greek-styled bronze cuirass and leather pteruges skirt, her copper green skin turning a muddy shade of gold at the knees and elbows. There, steam-releasing and piston-operated arms and legs, almost a rusted brass complexion, squeak as they bend and move. Her legs appear as three long brass toes with a sharp heel toe, akin to that of a chicken. She is wearing a brass conical helmet with fur rims and a nasal guard, and bandages around her eyes.

I watch Kido step on her shadow and grab her right arm just above the brass section, only to receive a scalding blast of steam from her right hand. "Damn this!" I yell. She is immune to Kido's ability? Kido covers his face and screams in pain. Talterc turns to my attention and…leaps into the air? I hear a heavy thud on the roof of the train car. "YOUR TREACHERY WILL BE REWARDED! TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!" What?! This IS his doing! Talterc, another ally of Mirko of House Karapandža!

I hear Talterc stomping her metallic legs on the roof above. Hear the steam in her limbs vent…she is attempting to burn through the roof? The roof softens, liquifies, she crashes through, venting steam everywhere! "REVEAL YOURSELF! TAKE OFF YOUR MASK!" Talterc's venting is aimless…I stumble over the deceased ice demon, slamming my elbow against a handrail, and she rotates to face me. She is genuinely blind! Good, I can use this to my advantage, she can hardly tell where we are, of course! I use my rose messer sword to push her left arm aside, jump off a seat, and swing my sword down on her…argh! Her right arm blasted burning steam onto my chest, scalding my neck. I fall on my back, deflecting attempts by her to grab me as I crawl on my back away from Talterc. A kick to her sternum gives me space and…Thabang appears through the collapsed doors, uppercutting his mace into Talterc's left thigh. I hear metal bend as the demon cries in pain, grasping at air, catching a handrail that keeps her from falling to the ground. I collect myself from the floor and thrust my sword under her pteruges, piercing her groin, one of the few soft points on her body. She yells in agony and falls to the ground. As I remove my messer sword, Thabang leaps into the air with his mace, both hands clutching it, and slams it into Talterc's face, caving it in. He lifts the mace, and slams it down once again, and repeats once more, spraying grey blood. Panting, exhausted, Thabang attempts to climb to his feet, only to fall back down, spent, his face drenched in sweat and demon blood, a fresh cut over his left eye.

I hear moans and screams, but none from our compatriots. Walking toward Thabang, I reach my left hand out. Thabang turns his gaze, still panting, and shakes his head, speaking "I am…fine, thank you…I just need rest." Nodding at Thabang, I exit through the collapsed train doors, and spot Kido still on the ground! Damn it, was he severely injured by Talterc's steam?! I run to Kido, as Viorica euthanizes the dying. Turning Kido over, I find his face red, some parts black, and scalded. I hurriedly reach in my hair for the appropriate seeds. Kido himself stirs, groaning and seething through his teeth, spittle spraying onto his already stained clothing. I push his hands away and tap on his jaw, speaking "Open your mouth." He obliges and I drop a couple of seeds into his mouth, very strong painkillers to settle him down while I properly treat his wounds.

Kido obliges. A few seconds pass, and he calms himself, speaking "Thanks, that's…that's better. That was intense man." I hear Viorica ask, in between cutting open a throat of a dying demon "So, Kido is fine, I take it?" I reply "Yes, he should be." I inspect his left eyeball, now his right. Kido asks "Should be? What does that mean?" "It means you somehow survived 3rd degree burns. Not bad. Here, remain still, lest you desire permanent scarring." I apply a coat of powder on the burns, generously so on the charred spots. "There, do not touch your face for two minutes. You will be fine." Kido exhales and speaks "Thanks Kurama. I don't know how you guys do these things. Never been in a fight like that before, 4 against, what, 40?" I turn to Viorica and speak "Are any of the survivors in condition to speak?" She emotionless answers "No" and turns her attention to a convulsing demon clutching his abdomen.

Thabang slowly walks toward us as Viorica uses the now deceased demon's tunic to wipe blood off her stiletto knife. She speaks "If this is all well and good, I have a residence nearby. We may tend to our wounds and change to clean and untorn clothing." Interjecting "I do have seeds that can assist with removing demon blood, though they would be of little help in repairing damaged clothing." Thabang groans and speaks "I could use a proper shower." I nod in agreement and add "Perhaps we may secure a place to eat afterwards?" Viorica reaches inside her jacket pocket and inspects her cellphone. "It is 22:03. If we move with haste, I know of an excellent restaurant near Kiseleff Park." "What about the breach?" Kido asks. Viorica responds "I already notified the SDF. It is no longer of concern."

Thin branches full of foliage sway over our heads, the beige menu of the restaurant 'Seninătate' in my hands. An oil lamp lit and encased in glass provides a source of light, the flames gently flickering. Hmm, I have not eaten tongue in quite some time. Or perhaps the goulash? I hear music originating from inside the restaurant, the doors themselves opened. Random lighting flickering in the corner of my eye, the restaurant setting aside a section for a disco dance floor. The current song appears to a Romanian pop song, I struggle to understand most of the words.

My woolen jacket now has holes by my right ribs, along with my undershirt. Kido required a complete change in wardrobe, now wearing a beige sweater, a dark brown leather jacket, and dark blue jeans. His face also has bandages covering the spots that blackened, the redness on his face mostly subsiding. Thabang's clothes remain the same, not like they could be replaced, being that he was kept in a type of stasis for several months and all his other possessions have been disposed of. Viorica herself changed into a burgundy sweater, an olive green bomber jacket, and a set of slightly grayer jeans.

"Any recommendations?" Kido asks Viorica. "I highly recommend the mititei or the eggplant salad for an appetizer. The swordfish is quite savory, I recommend as well." "Yeah, after the flight, I don't want to even look at a fish for the next few days." The waiter, an older Eastern European man with silvery hair, speaks in Romanian-accented English "If I may, the goulash comes highly recommended. Served in a bread bowl and with flank steak." Kido looks to Viorica, who slightly shrugs her shoulders. He turns to the waiter and answers "Sure, I'll have the goulash. And a glass of sparkling water." The waiter jots down Kido's order, and then turns to Viorica "And you, madam?" "Salată de vinete şi peşte spadă. Apa regulată va fi bine." The waiter records the order and speaks "Foarte bun." He turns to Thabang and asks "And sir, what can I get you?" Thabang sets his menu on the black wrought iron table and answers "A dozen oysters and ribeye steak marinara. La Fayette VSOP cognac to drink, neat." Pausing for a second, Thabang adds "I want my steak cooked medium-rare." Appears being kept in a stasis for months has left Thabang with an appetite. The waiter turns to my direction and says "And last but not least." I scan the menu one last time, and then ask "Is the herring pickled or smoked?" "It's cured and brined in an in-house solution, served with raw onions and dill, Ukrainian-style." "Very good, I will have one order of the herring, one order of the cow tongue and olive stew, one order of pita bread for the table, and one bottle of Russian Standard vodka, also for the table." I spot Kido and Thabang darting confused glances.

The waiter finishes recording my order, bows slightly, and speaks "Very good, drinks will be brought out shortly." As he departs back inside the restaurant, Kido speaks "I'm not drinking alcohol. After my experiment with the airline fish, my insides need a timeout." I reply "No worries, more for the rest of us." Viorica interjects "I do not drink alcohol." Thabang adds "I could assist you to an extent, but I am afraid most of the bottle is yours." I shrug my shoulders and add "It is no matter, it will be consumed by tomorrow night." Thabang frowns and nods, appearing rather impressed. "Strong liver," he quips.

Lighting her cigarette, Viorica draws once and exhales. Her gaze shifts to me and she motions as if I require the lighter. I wave her off as Kido retrieves a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes from his jacket. Viorica spots this and activates the lighter without speaking a word, resting her cigarette between her lips. Thabang himself retrieves a pack of cigarettes, this green pack with 'Everest' on the box. Viorica nods at Thabang in acknowledgement while lighting Kido's cigarette. "Thanks," Kido speaks after exhaling a small stream of smoke. Viorica leans over the table to light Thabang's, while Kido knocks ash to the ground.

"So," Asato begins "we have no leads. No survivors from the trainyard. Nothing from Spirit World except a thank you and a 'we will let you know when we find something'. Feels like we hit a dead end. You sure you didn't see anything else, Thabang?" Thabang exhales and nods in thanks to Viorica. He then replies "I would have told you already. Time passed strangely in that dimension, stasis, however you call it. If I suddenly recall something, I will let you know immediately." Kido frowns slightly and nods twice. He continues "Must suck to lose months of your life like that. Anyone waiting for you back home?" Thabang immediately shakes his head "Not for several years."

"Was this your first successful bounty?" I inquire. He glares in my eyes for two seconds, and then answers "Third. My first was near Bulawayo. Second was in Aleppo, which rewarded me with my mace." "How did you learn of a bounty on Talterc?" "I research legends, investigate historical records. There are others like me. Sometimes we receive targets from God's angels." "Who provided the bounty for Talterc?" Thabang stares for a few long seconds, draws on his cigarette, exhales to the ground, and answers "Hair blue as the heavens, bronze skin, golden loop earrings…" Shun-Jun? The SDF agent that wounded me? "Yes, I know who that is, thank you," I interrupt. Spirit World is contracting bounties, an interesting development.

I glance to see the waiter enter the patio. To my disappointment, he is delivering the orders for a couple seated four tables away. Exhaling air, I track his movements. He sets the final plate and turns to us, smiling and speaking "One second." Returning my gaze to the three at the table, I speak "Tomorrow, I have business to settle in Targoviste. In the evening. It may bring Mirko of House Karapandža to our vicinity. Thabang, you are not required to come along." Thabang knocks ash off his cigarette into an ashtray and answers "You have my steel. I will aide you in your rescue of the girl." Kido laughs and quips "Can't say no to saving a damsel in distress?" "You lot freed me from that infernal dimension. Consider yourselves owed."

At long last, the waiter arrives with our refreshments. I spot a bucket full of ice with my bottle of vodka wedged in, along with four miniature glass goblets. Setting those four first, the waiter then places the bucket by the oil lamp, reaching to open the bottle. I motion at him and speak "That will not be necessary, we will pour the bottle ourselves." The waiter nods "Alright then", setting the rest of the party's beverages down on the table. The waiter claps his hands together and then points at Thabang, speaking "I will be back with your oysters shortly." "Thank you," Thabang answers, on behalf of all of us. I reach for the bottle and twist off the top. Pouring myself a shot, I motion to the others, whom all wave me off. A new song plays in the restaurant, at a higher volume.

"When I look back upon my life, it's always with a sense of shame, I've always been the one to blame."

Gritting my teeth, I quickly deposit the vodka down my gullet. I rub my jaw, feeling the coarse stubble, as if struck by the bitter taste.

"For everything I long to do, no matter when or where or who, has one thing in common, too."

"Excuse me," I announce, standing from my seat and turning to the restaurant. I pass the waiter entering the patio with a tray of oysters and eggplant salad.

"It's a sin."

I spot the disc jockey on the left, by a table and a few meters away from a somewhat crowded dance floor, reds, yellows, blues, greens, purples flashing by my eyes, a disco globe overhead.

"Everything I ever do. Every place I've ever been. Everywhere I'm going to."

Approaching the disc jockey, a dark haired young man with somewhat pale skin, wearing a sky blue polo shirt and dark blue jeans, I shout "Hello!"

"At school they taught me how to be."

He spots me and yells "What?!"

"So pure in thought and word and deed."

"Can you change the song?!"

"They didn't quite succeed."

"WHAT?!"

"CAN…YOU…CHANGE…THE…SONG?!"

He sticks his right hand out and rubs his fingers, suggesting he desires payment. I reach for my wallet and fish out a 10 lei note. "HERE!" I shout, handing him the bill.

"Everything I've ever done."

"WHAT DO WANT ME TO PLAY?!"

"Everything I ever do."

"ANYTHING!"

"Every place I've ever been."

"WHAT?!"

"Everywhere I'm going to."

"FUCKING ANYTHING!"