There's a LOT to unpack here, so bear with me. Also, it will be a bit more male-centric than usual.
WARNING: Depiction of suicide.
The Men that Must Die, Part 3 - Sunday Morning, Blood is Falling
The morning of that bloody Sunday started darker than usual and just as cold as that night. Small hail fell and covered the streets, walkways and buildings with a thin cover of snow. The few passers-by breathed out their misty clouds, and were packed from head to toe in cold-weather garments.
As he frantically ran down the streets of Tokyo, Nephrite shivered of cold and fear. He knew he ran away from his duty with Dis Pater, and most likely he failed in his mission to kill Makoto's lover. Lost at what to do, he managed to reach the only place on Earth he knew he could go to: The Osa-P jewelry store, upon which Naru Osaka lived with her mother. He remembered well the day she came clean to her, in yet another attempt to deceive her for his own ends, only to end up smitten by her tenderness and honesty. How exactly could she help, even he didn't know. At that point, all he wanted was some comfort.
"Naru..."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot let you see her," a somewhat-nasally male voice startled him. It was Gurio Umino, standing right beside the entrance to the shop.
"You are Naru's current lover," Nephrite recognized him, then tried to conjure up an excuse. "Listen, my name is Masato Sanjoin, I am an... An old acquaintance of Naru, and-"
"You are not Masato Sanjoin. You are Nephrite," he calmly interrupted while keeping his gaze to the Heavenly King's eyes, which widened in shock.
"Huh!? How do you know... My real name."
"You cannot lie to a Fate Seer," he answered. "I also know of your story with Naru. That's exactly why I can't let you see her."
"Why the hell not!?" the Heavenly King barked out. "I'm not going to take her from you, or anything like that."
"That's not why," Umino told him without losing his nerve. "It's because she still suffers your death... And you are bound to die again soon. Can you imagine the pain she would go through to see you part once more? She's still traumatized from your first death. She has night shivers, and nightmares involving electric vines, impalation and green blood. She can no longer enjoy desserts because of the promise you inadvertently broke..."
The information only made Nephrite wince and groan in nervousness, and become even more shaky. "Enough of this nonsense!" He then pointed his glowing palm toward Umino. "Let me see Naru, or else..."
Umino simply shook his head. "I will not die here. In fact, not a single drop of my blood will be shed here. You are still reigned by moral and ethical standards, and they do not let you hurt innocent people beyond what is strictly necessary. Like you tried with Miyage Shinozaki a few hours ago."
"And what if I judge it necessary to blow your head off?"
"You won't. You will make Naru suffer forever this way, and you know it. Now please, put down the tough man façade. It's quite a sad spectacle."
"Ah, son of a..." Nephrite sighed and lowered his hand. The youngster had a point, and his bravery in facing him armed only with rhetoric was something he had to recognize. "Fine, I give in. Then what do you suppose I should do?"
"Come with me," the young man told him. "Let us go to my house. We can discuss this rationally, the way it is supposed to be. I can guarantee you I'm the sole hope for your plan to go ahead."
(xx)
The two walked silently to Umino's apartment, empty for that weekend. Nephrite sat on the edge of the living room's sofa, careful to not let his dirty and soaked back touch the back of the seat.
"What exactly can you do to help me?" the taller man asked.
"I am a Fate Seer, I told you already. I saw what happened, and I can see possible things that may happen. I know the reason you tried to kill Shinozaki, and why your companions aim to kill the men the Sailor Guardians have chosen as worthy of their love and trust. They are necessary to close the gap between the Hades and the Universe, am I right?"
Nephrite nodded in confirmation, impressed with what he knew up to that point.
"I also know that outright telling this to the Guardians will put it all to waste, which is why I haven't said a thing either. Their deaths cause surges of emotion that trigger their Eternal powers, which are the only way they could have a chance at truly eliminating the unholy demons. To think their suffering is necessary to save the Universe... But either way, as you must know already, Shinozaki is dead. The evil servant Fréamund decapitated him in front of the Guardians, including Sailor Jupiter."
The last information caught Nephrite by surprise. "So... The surge of power went ahead, I presume?"
"Indeed," Umino answered. "And just so you know, his body has been recovered, head and all, by a group of fishermen just outside Tokyo Bay, so it won't be long before Makoto and his family can retrieve him and wait for the return of his soul to his body. The bad news is that, since you didn't deliver the fatal blow, this means Shinozaki's soul has not gone to the Styx, where Zoisite and Urawa already wait. You'll have to search for him in the Underworld manually."
Nephrite lowered his head, putting his forearms over his shins. "So, does that mean... I still have to die, but I cannot do it by Sailor Jupiter's hands. Without King Ellerick... I mean, without Shinozaki, going to the Styx will be moot."
"Problem is, you can't simply ask anybody to slay you," Umino resumed while handing Nephrite a glass of water. "Lucifer knows of your mission, and agreed to send your souls to Dis Pater and Fréamund so he could get rid of your repeated attempts to fend off with him and his Legionnaires. But there is another way to bypass the Fallen Angel's judgment. Can I really tell you?"
"Of course!" the Heavenly King affirmed just as he had downed the entire glass of water. "Spit it out already, this talk just makes me grow weary."
Umino took a deep breath. "Suicidal people go straight to their allotted punishment in the Hades without Lucifer's judgment. In other words... You'll have to kill yourself."
(xx)
Inspector Toshio Wagaki had on his hands the carpet of files on the activities of the Sailor Guardians, which he often read and re-read to confirm his own bias against them. After seeing his colleague Naitou Kakusareta in direct combat with four of the heroines, decapitating a teenage boy, then leaving to some kind of makeshift headquarters, he had a sudden realization that everything he knew was wrong and twisted. The files, the reports, the attacks, the victims out of play, and the sight of Naitou being able to go at it toe-to-toe with Sailor Moon and her companions, and willing to commit bloody murder of an innocent civilian - all while wearing some kind of cloak that he only ever saw cultists of some order wearing - it all started to make sense to him.
All Naitou was trying to do was to gaslight him into serving him and whatever cause he had to combat the Sailor Guardians. His own suspicions had been confirmed the night before, and he barely slept in anticipation. Perhaps the fate of the city, or the entire World, could be changed if he could prove Naitou is at least partly responsible for the city's hellish woes.
"And where are you going in such a hurry, may I ask?" Chief Superintendent Natsuna Sakurada queried him as he got out of his office in a rush.
"To that I will answer with another question... Where is Naitou?"
The Chief rolled her eyes. "I told you already, he's been deployed to another vicinity."
"Fancy that," the man replied with a tint of irony. "Let me tell you, I saw Naitou duking it out with the Sailor Guardians. That alone doesn't make him a criminal, but I suspect he has a hand in the release of creatures running roughshod through the city, so I will-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!" Chief Sakurada interrupted. "Those accusations are very heavy, Inspector Wagaki. Baseless accusations are passable for heavy prosecution, and-"
"You want proofs," the Inspector interrupted this time. "That's the point I wanted to reach. I will bring you some proofs, right now!" In a hurry, he went back to his office, picked up some items and then left, locking the door as fast as he could.
"Where the hell are you going?"
"Off to save the world," he answered while putting on his brown bomber jacket instead of his police button shirt.
"If you don't come back this very second, I will suspend you without pay!" the Chief threatened at the entrance.
"I don't mind, it will be worth it!" Saying this, he revved up his motorcycle and sped up down the street. He didn't even put on a helmet due to his eagerness in getting out of that overwhelming workplace.
All the Chief Superintendent could do was stay behind, huffing and beating her high heels on the floor in her discontent. Yet another setback in an increasingly stressful job.
(xx)
"Come in," Umino welcomed two expected guests - None other than Jadeite and Kunzite.
"You two... How did you manage to find my whereabouts?" Nephrite asked nervously.
"How else? We followed your aura," Jadeite simply answered.
"Nephrite, did you kill Jupiter's lover?" asked Kunzite in a grave tone. A short period of silence came.
"You tell them, or I tell them?" Umino asked the tall Heavenly King.
"I tell them," Nephrite promptly answered. He took a deep breath before confessing. "Shinozaki is dead, yes... But not by my hand." Both Jadeite and Kunzite facepalmed and sighed in disapproval upon hearing this.
"Well, this puts a severe dent in the plan, you know that," Kunzite chastised his brother-in-arms.
"But who killed him, then?" asked Jadeite.
"Who else but Fréamund," Nephrite answered. "For some reason, he came by just as I was combatting him and Sailor Jupiter. The other Guardians appeared, and... Let's just say I had a momentary lapse of affection that made me flinch."
"Don't tell me you hesitated to hurt the Princess of Jupiter," Jadeite chastised. Ashamed to answer, Nephrite simply lowered his head.
"This I will have to say," Umino interjected. "Sailor Moon mentioned my girlfriend Naru to him. He once had an... Encounter with her, back when you and the Dark Kingdom were acting. He grew fond of her in spite of having used her for his own evil plans."
"Ah, an emotional crutch of sorts," Kunzite said, holding himself from scoffing at the idea. "Well, at least you didn't awaken Jupiter's affective memories."
"I was as much of a lech and a belligerent ne'er-do-well I could, just as planned," Nephrite justified himself. "But indeed, Naru..."
"Doesn't matter," Jadeite interrupted curtly. "What are you going to do?"
"What else? I will cut my veins and search for my assigned Royal Consort in the Underworld on my own. This way, I can bypass the Lord of Light."
Jadeite and Kunzite simply looked at each other. "Well then, go ahead," the white-haired man told him.
Umino returned from the kitchen with a Santoku knife, which he handed to the auburn-haired man. Without more than a short puff of pain, he first cut down his left wrist, and then both sides of his neck. Blood started to gush in large quantities, staining his clothes, the sofa and the floor beneath him, but that to him was not enough: He also stabbed through his inner thighs to accelerate the blood loss process.
"In normal circumstances, this would be an insult, but... See you in Hell, my friend," Jadeite told him with a sardonic smile on his face.
"In case you meet with Zoisite before I do, tell him I love him, and that soon we shall meet again," Kunzite told him.
To all of that, Nephrite simply nodded.
"It will be better if you two leave," Umino advised the other two men. "Fréamund is coming, and if he finds you here, he will hold you as traitors and execute you here in the act. It will be better if you hold this charade for a while longer, at least while you don't kill your respective targets. I will hold him off."
Both surviving Kings agreed, then teleported away. Umino went to his room and took off his thick glasses from the drawer next to his bed, putting them on for his plan. "This will work."
Right away, Fréamund broke into the apartment, and the first thing he saw was a pale and dying Nephrite, sitting by the window that observed the inner courtyard of the apartment block.
"Craven cad! What in all hells have you done?" the cloaked man exclaimed enraged.
He simply smiled as he felt his body grow cold from the blood loss, and his feelings hazing out. "Ma wae niki," was the last thing he spoke as he stared into Fréamund's eyes, even if covered by the cloak, and with one swollen due to Shinozaki's punches the night before.
"I shall win..." the servant bitterly translated Nephrite's final phrase, spoken in his mother tongue. "Gods-damned savage. Dis Pater will not like it one bit... I better report to him, pronto. But first..."
Umino pretended to shiver and cower in fear in the corner of his room beside his insect collection and his desk. The cloaked man appeared, dagger in hand, perfectly willing to butcher the apartment's owner.
"Did you help him?"
"Please, don't kill me!" Umino spoke with a frightened, more nasal voice. "He came here... Already bloodied. I didn't know what to do, I just... Oh God..."
Fréamund twitched his eye at such a sorry sight. For all he cared, this was just an unremarkable boy that didn't know better. "You carrion maggot... I'm better off not sullying my hands with your blood and your filth."
Once he went away, he took off his glasses, put them back in the drawer and went back to the living room. No trace of Nephrite's body, not even of the blood he was gushing in large quantities. Since he knew what was going to happen, he didn't worry about cleaning. He did, however, write in a fridge Post-It a reminder to purchase a new lock for his front door before his parents came back from their business trip in Shanghai.
"In other circumstances, this really would freak me out," the young man commented, then yawned. It was almost eight o'clock by then, and slumber was rearing on him, after getting up earlier than usual to do what he had foreseen he needed to do to guarantee the best possible timeline. With danger momentarily dealt with, he went to the kitchen and prepared himself a cup of joe in the coffeemaker.
(xx)
Inspector Toshio Wagaki managed to reach the abandoned house where he had seen Naitou Kakusareta carrying his strange deeds. Willing to gather proofs of his activities, and possible liaison with the paranormal invasions in the city, he snuck into the hovel and readied a small disposable camera he bought just for the occasion.
Upon a small center table in the living room, he saw a Holy Bible, written in blood, and a few codexes written in languages Toshio had no idea how to read, or even certainty those existed up to that point. Strange inscriptions all across the rooms, none of which had any other furniture, save for a large chest full of clothes. He checked every single room of that house, minus one - What was supposed to be a pantry, beyond the wooden door in the dining room.
Once inside, he saw the most unnerving scene up to that point: a rotten lamb carcass hung on the wall directly ahead of him, surrounded by lit candles of all colors that emitted stomach-wringing scents, and what seemed like a red pentagram with strange inscriptions at his feet. Toshio cautiously approached the carcass, but as soon as he stepped into the center of the pentagram, the room became suddenly encroached with a crimson glow, with the lamb's skill emitting some kind of spell.
Toshio stared right at the skull, completely paralyzed. His eyes exploded inside his sockets, the rest of his feelings clouded out completely, and his body fell in a single thump. Afterwards, the terror-striking glow of the room increased in bright and ignited the pentagram, whose blood outline mixed itself with the running blood of the dead policeman. More blood flew from the lamb carcass towards the center of the room, and in a single flash, all three inserted themselves into his corpse.
The dead man then got up, his eyeballs intact and with no signal of any bruisings anywhere else in his body. He checked his hands, looked around his surroundings, smelled something strange in his body, took a few deep breathes, and then yelled: "FRÉAMUND!"
(xx)
The quest took the equivalent to earthly days to them, but Astar, Adamas and Bast eventually managed to reach a large forest of withered trees that moaned and wept. The cormoraxes, disgusting-looking birds with large protruding beaks that seemed to cover their faces, fed on their branches, making them writhe in agony. Said branches grew again after a few minutes, only to prolong their pain through the actions of the avian demons.
The sight wasn't particularly worrying - What did concern the Cat Goddess and the masked warrior was that Astar looked shocked and despondent for a good portion of their trek. Bast had been responsible to refresh his memories on what he truly intended to do prior to his botched rebirth... As well as why.
"Astar doesn't seem to be accepting well his role," Adamas commented to Bast as they made their way through the Suicide Valley.
"He has to," Bast replied in a concerned tone. "Though I do understand the information overload must be taking its toll on his mind."
"So, there he is."
A large, white and withered trunk, where the terror-striking birds hung from its branches but did not take chunks off it, denoted the place where Morpheus laid dormant among the people that took their own lives.
"Lord Morpheus," Astar spoke for the first time in a long time. "I was told you could still help me out, even in the state you are. I am... Grammaton, the last Angel."
"I have heard of your exploits, dear Angel... Perhaps I could help you out. Do tell me what afflicts you, and how I can be of your aid."
"I have... An important liaison with the Sailor Guardians. I had reincarnated as a normal human being in my attempt to contact them and prepare them for the battle against Lucifer, but... Things went beyond my reach even before I could reach the Universe. I had lost my memories upon my rebirth, and only recovered them in part after I woke up as an incubus once more. But as it turns out, only through the death of my physical body could I give out my intended help. It seems it won't be enough. I wish for you to join forces with me to transport my soul to the Dreaming, let me speak to the current Warden of Dreams, and be able to communicate with my... With the future Neo Queen Serenity, and her personal guard. They must defend the Universe with all their might, while the Heavenly Kings and the future Royal Consorts close the gap between the Universe and the Hades."
"Thank you for revealing me your plans, fool of an Angel," the tree spoke in a sinister and mocking tone that coldened the touch of Astar, Adamas and Bast at the same time.
"Wait... That's not Morpheus!" Adamas screamed. It instead morphed into some kind of female demon, with long waves of fiery-red hair and purple lips that opened a proud grin, wearing a tiara of dark stones on her brow, and a look of pure wickedness.
"The Legionnaire of Vanity!" Bast screamed out.
"Lucifer will be pleased to hear of this, Astar," the demon spoke. "As for you, traitors... Oblivion awaits! Arise, selfish self-killers!"
The trees of the people that took their own lives took humanoid shapes, and the cormoraxes that fed on them glided toward the three would-be heroes of the Underworld. Astar himself was paralyzed at the sight of the woman - She knew of her before, and not as one of the Legionnaires that ruled upon the Hades alongside the Fallen Angel.
"Bast, take Astar to a safe place! I'll hold them off," affirmed Adamas as he got his blade ready for battle.
"Stay safe, Adamas," Astar wished for his defender as the Cat Goddess dragged him to whatever place could there be beyond the wraiths' reach.
Before the horde could reach Adamas, however, a tall man in military clothes sporting long locks of auburn hair appeared to his side.
"Halt!" Adamas yelled while pointing the blade towards the newcomer. "You don't seem hostile. Who are you, may I ask?"
"Nephrite," he quickly answered while drawing a sword of his own.
"Heavenly King, I presume," Adamas kept on while thrusting at a gliding cormorax.
"Indeed. My fame comes before me, it seems." Another phrase, another slash.
"I am Dem... Adamas." He almost gave away his real name. "Terrible time to arrive here."
"Yes, I can see that. Let's strike a deal, I help you with these wraiths and you help me search for a man's soul. What do you say?"
"Of course" Adamas immediately answered. "Now, let's get it on!"
(xx)
"Is everything ready?" Dr. Saeko Mizuno asked her assistant it the MRI room, prior to inserting the comatose body of Ryo Urawa into the resonance chamber. It's been a week and a half since he's been in this state, with no signals of physiological needs, other than breathing and cleaning. With the helpers' confirmation, she turned on the resonance machine, transporting Ryo's body to its chamber. Ten minutes passed, and the minutious search through the young man's body did not seem to reveal anything out of order.
"Nothing seems to indicate any problems, ma'am," the male assistant told her. "All brain and organ functions are stable. Heartbeat and oxygen intake are at a constant rate. No strange formations and traumas have been found in any place of his body whatsoever."
"The hemogram and endocrinological tests also don't indicate any irregularity," the female intern revealed while handing her a clipboard with some sheets. "The patient doesn't suffer from malnourishment, dehydration, or any other chemical disturbance. It's like he's self-sufficient while in his coma."
Dr. Saeko put her left hand on her chin and gave out a small sigh. "For all intents and purposes, he's perfectly healthy. This is so strange... I have never heard of such a case before. Comatose patients normally need constant care to keep their organisms nourished and functional, but Ryo... It's like he's trapped in slumber."
"How should we proceed?" The male assistant asked.
"Take him out and let me handle the rest," Dr. Saeko simply requested. "And do not disclose to anybody about these proceedings. We don't want to cause an uproar in the medical community."
(xx)
Yuuichirou's Dreamscape
A child sporting a bowl haircut knocked hard on the front door of a large mansion in the middle of the night during a blizzard, while wearing ill-fit clothes for that kind of weather.
"Dad! DAD! Let me in! Please, let me in..."
Nobody came. Little Yuuichirou shivered of pure cold as he called for his father. He beat on the door as strong as he could, and he screamed as hard as he could, but the knocks and the yells were powerless. All he could do after a while was to turn around and walk into the unknown. All the surroundings of his family's manor were covered in complete darkness, and the more he walked away from his home, the less he saw, other than more snow-covered pathways.
"I don't wanna be alone," the boy muttered as he started to cry.
"Stop crying, you little faggot!" He heard a man's voice speak out with rage and violence. "You'll never be a man if you keep crying at anything!"
"I should have never agreed to let you in," a scornful woman's voice spelled out. "You're just a waste of space and resources."
"You're not my brother. You're just a squirt of dad's spunk in a prostitute's womb." This time, it was spoken by a younger woman. "You're just a bastard. Know your place."
These words burned through his flesh like a scourge. All the kid could do was to crouch, cover his head under his arms, and close his eyes. "Help me... Somebody HELP ME!"
When he opened his eyes, he saw the help he cried out for: It was a beautiful girl of excellent proportions, whose body emitted an inviting and cozy glow of red. Her hair was raven-black with slight purple touches, and her eyes had a pale shine like a pair of amethysts. She approached the child, crouched to be at his level, and embraced him.
"Don't worry," she calmly spoke. "I am here to give you the heat and the love you need."
Little Yuuichirou was so moved when he retributed the hug, he even shed some tears that fell on the woman's arms. "Thank you, miss..."
"Now... What is your name, darling?" The woman asked.
"It's Yuuichirou," the boy answered.
"Yuuichirou... A cute name for a cute boy. Yuuichirou..."
He felt the peace he had sought from the voices that haunted him. He felt the coziness and warmth he needed to survive in such a harsh climate. He no longer felt fear of the judgment of his family and peers. He felt good and welcomed, and at that moment, that's all he wanted.
"Yuuichirou..." she kept repeating his name in such a lovely manner, like a soothing mantra to the child's ears. She then started rocking him back and forth, while calling his name more times. "Yuuichirou? Yuuichirou!?"
(xx)
"YUUICHIROU!" Fengari called and shook him out on the adjacent seat of a plane. When he woke up, the long-haired man ended up slapping Fengari's face with the back of his left hand. "Aw, son of a bitch," he muttered.
Suddenly, Yuuichirou's expression got serious. "What... Did you just call me..."
Fengari was stunned at the long-haired man. He had never seen him with such a serious, irritated face. "Uh, I..."
"You can call me anything, Chiba... But not that!"
"Okay, okay... Sorry, Yuuichirou. I didn't know..."
"Uh, I guess I should have explained this earlier," Yuuichirou lowered his voice as he returned to his usual calm expression. "I should also apologize, I guess..."
"It's okay, don't worry. Now listen, the plane has just landed and I just wanted to wake you up. Come on, we must go."
Both got up and silently picked up their luggage in the upper compartment. As they left the airplane for customs, Fengari spoke once more: "Just let me ask you, why don't you like being called that?"
After pondering for a few moments, Yuuichirou sighed briefly and gave out his response: "Because I am a son of a bitch."
(xx)
Inspector Naitou Kakusareta went back to the makeshift base of Dis Pater in the Adachi prefecture, his purple cloak carefully folded in his arms. For all he cared, nobody knew he was Fréamund, a student of dark arts under the tutelage of the Morning Star Retinue, responsible for unleashing Dis Pater upon the world - And as such, directly responsible for the wave of attacks across the central parts of Tokyo that his workplace is unsuccessfully trying to investigate.
But to his astonishment, once he entered, he saw his workmate Toshio Wagaki standing by the mirror in the living room.
"Fréamund, what is the meaning of this!?" he spoke.
Naitou let his cloak fall to the floor, mortified. "T-T-Toshio!?"
"Toshio? Is that the name of this man?" he interrupted. Naitou had no idea how to answer. "I am Dis Pater, and for some reason, I awoke in the body of this man who is very obviously not Adonis."
"Oh... I see," Naitou was finally able to snap out of his shock. "Hear, that is the body of my colleague at the Police Department, Toshio Wagaki. I don't believe it... Did he sneak into your room?"
"It seems he was snooping around," the now-human Dis Pater answered while calming himself down. "He even brought this... Camera, I believe, possibly to take compromising pictures of this place. But what concerns me is, how in all hells am I supposed to recover my real human counterpart?"
Naitou couldn't answer. He knew well about soul summoning and insertion, like the ones he and Dis Pater performed to revive the Heavenly Kings, but soul transmutation was a dark art he had never attempted, due to the increased risks.
"I'll think of something, Dis Pater. This I guarantee you."
"So be it. At the immediate moment, what worries me the most... Is that this body is soiled, at both ends. I require new undergarments, and something to stave out this stench. I am also hungry, and in severe need of sleep. I completely forgot humans have these physical needs that must be tended to regularly..."
"Just... One minute," Naitou told him. "I will arrange something to clean yourself. There are some extra clothes over at the adjacent room, I'm sure there is a pair of cardigans and some underwear in there. A belt, too, in case it is too big. Now excuse me." He left in wide steps for the nearest convenience store he could find in the neighborhood.
In the meantime, Dis Pater stepped out to the backyard of the derelict house, his steps hindered due to the wet filth stuck between his new body's buttocks. "This is demeaning," he commented to himself. "The first smell I feel just had to be of excrement. I do hope it is not an omen." He then pointed his right index finger at a rusted bicycle body, making it float for a few seconds before dropping it. As he finished, he held his wrist and winced, noticing his finger was crimson red from blood pressure. "Hmmm... This causes me pain. But this body will suffice for now."
Soon after, Naitou returned with some goods. "Here, I brought toilet paper. I suggest you take a shower in the bathroom as well, and for that I bought shampoo, a soap bar and some after-bath lotion."
Dis Pater nodded, then took the roll of toilet paper in his servant's hand, taking a few sheets to clean his intimate parts. Naitou looked away when he took of his pants, cleaned himself, then left for the clothes chest.
"I just practiced a few of my latent powers," the villain spoke as he changed his dirty clothes. "As expected, they are weak, but they are still there. With a bit more practice and proper recovery of this body, I will join you in facing the Sailor Guardians and their allies. The rest can be dealt with by the Heavenly Kings, while Lucifer and the rest don't come."
"As for that, Dis Pater, I forgot to report... Ayawatha is dead. He not only refused to put up a fight, but I also found him at some craven child's apartment, having committed suicide by cutting off his vital arteries and veins. He betrayed the cause deliberately, and I'm afraid the others followed suit, including the late Aeneas."
"Well, may his soul find eternal damnation in the depths of Hell once more," Dis Pater spoke like Nephrite's betrayal and death was no big deal.
The dark servant found his lack of interest strange. "He hindered the plan, didn't he?. Are you not worried that your trust was broken?"
"Not in the least bit," he simply answered. "Plans change and adapt to any setback and roadblock there may appear. Either way, the time for Hell to intervene is at hand, and the summoning of the Heavenly Kings back to the Universe was mostly a palliative measure to avoid them meddling in the Underworld and our grand scheme of things, remember? Them retaining their affective memories and moral codes was to be expected, and so were any eventual double-crossings. Now please, make haste and search for the other two Heavenly Kings. Let me test their loyalty. If it sends them to their doom back in the Underworld, so be it. The Devil will take care of them."
"At once, Dis Pater," Naitou said and promptly left once more. Only when he left the house's front door did the dark servant remember he forgot to mention the Heavenly Kings were indirectly making the Sailor Guardians stronger through their selected targets. At that point, he did not risk turning back and explaining that detail. He had another problem he felt was more serious: Dis Pater's own caprices. Something tells me Dis Pater is not thinking this through.
(xx)
Fengari waited for Yuuichirou outside a public bathroom near Amishiro Park, becoming increasingly nervous at the time he took there to alleviate himself.
"What took you so long?" Fengari asked impatiently once he came out. "Were you spanking it to take off the pressure or something?"
"I was just reflecting about all we spoke about, is all," the long-haired man justified himself. "Besides, I never spank it, just so you know. It makes me lazy and weak. But anyway, do you guarantee this will all go as you said it would?"
"Absolutely," Fengari immediately answered. "I wouldn't have risked going all the way to Switzerland for no important reason. So, are you ready now?"
"Just one more minute," Yuuichirou told him, and Fengari let out a concerned look and a groan, beating his arms on his sides. "Now I need to make... A phone call."
"To whom, may I ask?"
"No, you may not."
Fengari said no more as Yuuichirou went to a public phone to make his call. Five minutes that felt like an eternity passed, and when the young man came back, he seemed shaken with visible moisture in his eyes.
"Are you ready now?" Fengari asked him, no longer hiding his discontent in his stalling.
Yuuichirou sniffed and wiped his eyes with his fingers. "Yes... Don't mind me, I just... Said goodbye to someone important."
The young hero felt somewhat bad at being upset over his delays. "Very well then. To Hikawa Shrine, post-haste!"
(xx)
For all people knew, Toshio Wagaki was very much alive. Nobody knew, however, it was no longer his soul inside his body - It was the hellspawn Dis Pater that now controlled all of its functions. And he felt something satisfactory to be out in that grey winter morning wearing flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt, taking deep breathes and breathing out condensed air, feeling his lips shrink and break in the cold. He felt good for the first time in literal millennia, and having seen he retained his powers even in a more subdued manner, he also felt confident for the first time in literal millennia as well.
"How does one say in this day and age when things are working the way one wants it?" he asked himself aloud, catching a bit of attention from his neighbors. "Ah, yes! Things are looking up!" And up he looked for good measure.
"Dis Pater..." Jadeite appeared along with Fréamund and recognized the tall man wearing ill-fit clothes. "Fréamund summoned me to your presence, citing you need me. What is it that you wish?"
"A good morning for you, Akumetsu," the man warmly greeted. "Indeed, I have called for you. In light of what Ayawatha has done... I want to make sure you are still in for this part of our scheme."
Following Umino's advice, the blond Heavenly King deduced that, by that time, Dis Pater may start having suspicions as to his allegiance, so it was better for him to play it safe and go along the villain's whims.
"Kneel," Dis Pater ordered, and Jadeite obeyed. "Do you swear complete obedience to me and to the Lord of Light?"
"Yes," Jadeite answered.
"Do you agree to do as ordered without a shred of doubt and questioning?"
"Yes," the Heavenly King agreed once more, hiding his impatience the best he could.
"Excellent. Fréamund, accompany him to his loyalty test."
Jadeite rose up, confused as to what was Dis Pater's whim of the day. Fréamund held on to an amulet that permitted him the same teleporting power as the Heavenly King, reaching the desired destiny in little more than a few seconds. The sight was familiar: It was the steps that led to the Hikawa Shrine, the current home of his erstwhile lover.
"I know one of the Sailor Guardians lives here. You will enter that temple and massacre everyone inside."
The order made Jadeite feel uneasy. His personal plan, and that of his brothers-in-arms, was that direct family members were off-limits.
"I... Can't."
"What's that now, Akumetsu?" Fréamund spoke out in a tone of disapproval. "You have just sworn to do whatever it takes for the cause."
"That's not it..." he explained nervously. "It is a sacred place, and once I come close, I feel sick... Look."
Indeed, as soon as he gave one step on the staircase, he started to feel queasy to the point of nearly having a convulsion. It was enough to convince Fréamund that he spoke the truth after all.
"Ah, of course. Silly me." Without saying anything else, Fréamund snapped his finger, and from a nearby sewer mouth, a small Shoggoth appeared. It crept all over Jadeite, who felt his body absorbing its gelatinous composition somehow.
"Shoggoths are not affected by holy items and prayers," the dark servant explained. "Its presence on your organism will void the effect of this place on your body. Now, let's go."
The Heavenly King and the cloaked man walked side by side the steps with no problem whatsoever. Upon passing the torii gate, they saw Grandpa Hino tending to some plants coated in ice.
"I sense an evil aura around you," the old priest spoke without taking his eyes off the ice-covered garden. "Who are you?"
"We do not give our names to the dead," Fréamund affirmed while Jadeite released a gust of wind with a hand wave. It was enough to send the elderly man rolling on the ground. "It's up to you now, Akumetsu," the cloaked men said, satisfied in seeing him apparently carrying the evil deed forward with no complaints, and then jumped away to a nearby cherry tree.
"Evil spirit, begone!" The old priest got up and released an ofuda towards the blond assailant. The talisman clung to his left arm, but had no effect on him. He simply took it off his shirt, crumpled it, and tossed it aside.
Jadeite's eyes emitted an eerie crimson glow. "Your tricks won't work now. Prepare to die."
He then materialized a sword, ready to deliver killing blows left and right. All the old man could do was to run around the temple's grounds in a feeble attempt to escape the unholy assassin's sweeps.
"Leave my father alone!" Toshirou yelled from afar as he tried to rescue Grandpa Hino from Jadeite's clutches. Without saying anything, the Heavenly King cast another gust of wind that pushed the middle-aged man back to a distance.
"What's going on!?" Rei had just finished some chores in her house when he heard a ruckus in the front patio. She gasped when she saw her grandfather and her uncle fallen on the ground, with a familiar figure standing tall before them. "Jadeite!" Her instinct made her reach for her Transformation Pen, but her nervousness made her fumble her actions. At the same time she desperately looked for the item, she approached the three men. At any distance, she would be a sitting duck against someone bent on killing her family members if she didn't transform... But could she risk transforming into Sailor Mars in front of her family? Soon she saw her revived enemy walk towards her grandfather, blade in hand. No...
I'm deeply sorry, Jadeite thought to himself as he approached the fallen elderly man. He closed his eyes and swung his sword down.
The blade hit something hard... But when he opened his eyes, he did not see it stuck on Grandpa Hino's skull, or anywhere near him. It had been stopped by another sword, wielded by a man in a denim jacket, jeans, a black undershirt and sandals, and whose look of determination could be seen and felt even from behind the mane of brown tousled hair that covered his eyes.
"You won't do a single thing against them," he spoke.
Jadeite couldn't help but give out a sly smile - His one true prey arrived in the nick of time.
"Y-Y-Yuuichirou!?" Rei couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had faced away when Jadeite was about to swing at her grandfather, and did not see when he jumped from a nearby tree to save him. "What... What the hell are you doing here?"
"What does it look like?" He answered without turning around to face her. "I'm here to die."
Una vez más te agradezco litakino1987 por todo lo que hemos conversado. Espero que sea de tu agrado!
Next chapter: Yuuichirou's finest hour, and Nephrite seeks for Shinozaki in Hell.
Greetings from The Hospitaller Knight