Hey there everyone got nothing to say honestly aside from enjoy chapter 18
Also thanks goes out to Killroy122496 for his help with the chapter
We never know what tommorow will bring
Chapter 18 Relics of the Past
Akeno knew that the two that attacked her were taking her somewhere but right now she was onboard the Tsukuba again as it sailed the red seas with a purple sky that is until she found the ship she was looking for anchored near a small island.
Fukushui was standing on the small beach looking out towards the distant horizon he didn´t react in the slightest when Akeno walked up to him and stood right next to him without a word.
"You found a part of your past again haven´t you?" Fukushui softly asked without turning his head towards her.
Akeno had to sigh at that before she answered "Yes my cousin Anastasia Solis Numen contacted me and wished for us to meet". She replied as Fukushui nodded in response.
"Then you also know what it is that the two of you need to do before you leave again correct?" Fukushui asked his eyes burning with worry but also determination.
Akeno nodded as she looked at Fukushui "The both of us knew ever since we last meet what we would have to do once we meet again but then I was left thinking that she died a few weeks before we went on that fateful trip" Akeno spoke the last part with a few tears falling from her eyes that started glaring out at the distant horizon.
Fukushui nodded at that and Akeno started walking back to her ship "Remember to return to the place you found your ships at once you are done" Fukushui added as Akeno boarded her ship again and sailed away leaving Fukushui and his ship to disappear in the white fog once more.
Anastasia was happy to know that her cousin Akeno had arrived but what she was not happy about was how her maid Sakuya and her butler Bruce had greeted her as the two of them had arrived at the mansion on top of the mountain with the unconscious Akeno being carried by Bruce while Sakuya was carrying a simple green bag pack and duffel bag.
Bruce left Akeno in one of the guest rooms on a bed and once Sakuya placed the duffel and bag pack in the same room Anastasia told them to leave her alone with Akeno.
Anastasia sat down on the bed Akeno was lying on and looked at her cousin of course she noticed just how much she had changed over the five and a half years they had not seen each other.
She was a lot fitter and stronger judging by the toned muscles Akeno had but even that was nothing compared to the hair that once had been a simple orange brown was now replaced by long ruby red hair that went just about halfway down her back.
Of course Anastasia knew what the reason behind the hair changing colors was as Akeno was wearing a military style combat outfit and in the duffel bag Anastasia found an AK together with a shotgun and two pistols as well as a tactical magazine rig holding ammo for all of them.
Anastasia also took a look at the ship Akeno had arrived with seeing this kind of ship once more filled her with a longing to return to the sea herself but she knew better than that as long as that Uncle and older brother of hers were alive she could not risk her own safety.
"Even if we complete the Seraph pact now it will still take you and the others a lot longer to find a way to get rid of both of them" Anastasia whispered as she headed back inside and grabbed a snack and something to drink from the kitchen before she returned to the room Akeno was resting in.
Anastasia spent the rest of the day simply reading a few books she got from her own room while she waited for her cousin to wake up again from the nerve and muscle stunning technique Bruce had used on Akeno to knock her out.
Anastasia must have nodded off at some point as she found herself lying on the carpet of the room with a simple blanket covering her but as her vision cleared up she found the bed empty and someone humming an unfamiliar tune behind her while something made out of metal was moved around as well.
Anastasia turned around slowly but she relaxed as she found her cousin Akeno sitting on the ground while working on her rifle while the shotgun was strapped to the bag pack and the pistols were back in their holsters that were around Akenos thighs and partly hidden by her skirt.
"Seems you woke up Anna" Akeno suddenly spoke up without even turning her head around before she placed the parts of her rifle on the ground before her and turned around to look at Anastasia with a small smile on her face.
Anastasia had to smile at that as well before the both of them hugged each other of course as she was hugging her cousin Anastasia noticed two things one Akeno was wearing some sort of black red leather collar around her neck and two she had some kind of heart shaped mark on her chest but for now she didn´t care about those.
The two girls sat back down with Akeno picking up the parts of her rifle again and started to reassemble it while Anastasia was just watching until Akeno had the rifle back together and reloaded it once without the magazine before she pulled the trigger getting a low pitched "Click" from the gun before she put the magazine in and turned the safety on.
"Akeno I know it has been a while and I´m sorry for how my Maid and Butler treated you when you arrived" Anastasia spoke but Akeno just waved her off.
"No harm done Anna reminds me of my Special Forces combat instructor when she first arrived to be honest" Akeno replied with a small grin on her face before the two of them talked about how they spent the last five years they had not seen each other until it was time for dinner.
During dinner Akeno was introduced to the combat maid Sakuya as well as the butler Bruce and the guard Artak who also was responsible for training Anastasia and apparently some sort of big brother figure judging by the way he kept teasing Anastasia all the time throughout dinner.
Of course after dinner the two girls decided to leave the others alone and after Akeno got her two bags with her guns from the guest room Anastasia showed her to her own room where they continued to talk about the time they had been apart and before the two of them knew it they had both fallen asleep on the comfy but pretty large bed.
The night went past peacefully until the sky slowly turned orange on the horizon again of course Artak was the one who decided to wake up the two girls what he didn´t expect though was both of them lying in the same bed with Anastasia actually cuddling with Akeno.
Artak couldn´t pass this up and snapped several pictures with his phone to embarrass Anastasia later with before he closed the door to the room again as he didn´t want to wake the two girls up as of yet.
It was over two hours later before either Akeno or Anastasia started to wake up as Akeno had another training session with Asuramaru in their shared realm but it was Anastasia who was the first of the two to actually get up from the comfy bed to get a shower.
Akeno woke up by the sound of the shower turning on but she simply stayed in bed that is until Anastasia walked out of the bathroom fully dressed "Get up you lazy butt since we got something to do before I can let you leave her you know" Anastasia half yelled and Akeno decided right there it was to much of a hassle to argue this early in the morning.
So Akeno took a shower as well and got dressed in a simple black red T-shirt with matching sport shorts under a black red skirt and her black combat boots before she put on her two leg holsters with her pistols but left her bag pack with the two larger guns in Anastasias room and the two of them left the room to go grab a bite to eat for breakfast.
Breakfast was eaten in almost complete silence with only Akeno and Anastasia sitting at the table with the Maid Sakuya cleaning something in the next room over but even with their stomachs now full it didn´t make what they had to do any easier as Anastasia showed Akeno to an old underground cave that had two tall obsidian black stone towers in the middle that stood to either side of a large circle with various old Japanese symbols.
Both of the stone towers had three black chains that had shackles at their ends lying in the middle of the strange circle with the symbols the entire thing looked like some sort of ancient ritual ground.
And that was exactly what it was as Akeno stood on ones side of the circle with Anastasia standing on the other end with the two stone pillars creating a gate between the two of them.
Anastasia took a deep breath of the cold air of the cave the air that left her lungs transforming into white fog that dissipated immediately "We both know what I have to do but do you know what it is you have to do Akeno?" Anastasia asked drawing her blade from its snow white scabbard.
Akeno took a moment to look at Anastasias blade it was a Katana with a curved red dragon blade and midnight black hilt "I know what it is you have to do as for my part I have to resist for as long as I can" Akeno replied drawing both of her own blades the abyss black blade with the red edge and Asuramarus blade the blood edge with its sinister neon green edge.
No words were needed anymore as the two of them began a vicious blade battle with neither of the two of them giving the other even one second to rest exploiting every error either one of them made.
Akeno may have the advantage at first with two blades against Anastasia who was only using one but before long Anastasia had managed to disarm Akeno of one of her blades that was now lying in the small river that surrounded the two stone towers as well as the symbol on the ground.
Akeno had to admit Anastasia was not someone you could be lax with in a fight as her left arm was slightly bleeding from several shallow cuts Anastasia had landed slowly weakening her grip on her blade bit by bit until Anastasia was able to rip it out of her hand.
Anastasia actually tried the same tactic with Akenos other blade but that made it all the more easier for Akeno to land several strikes on Anastasia with her own blade, they both exchanged several more blows that caused nothing more than a few close calls on Akenos body before they both backed away from each other.
"You are definitely strong Akeno but it is time I ended this so I can continue with what I have to do" Anastasias voice was very calm even if her breathing was a bit uneven at the moment.
Before Akeno even knew what was happening Anastasia seemed to disappear and even though Akeno was able to block several of Anastasias strikes she was never able to retaliate as Anastasia seemed to disappear after each attack she made.
It was only five minutes later before Akeno dropped to one knee as she used Blood edge to not collapse to the ground completely as her body sported numerous new bleeding cuts with most of her outfit cut to pieces "Never knew you played this dirty Anna" hissed Akeno in pain as she glared towards the stone circle where Anastasia was standing as if nothing had happened.
Instead of responding to that Anastasia raised her blade again and before Akeno could even blink Anastasia was behind her swinging her blade in a downward ark to strike at her back.
Akeno barely turned to the side to get her own blade in the way but the force Anastasia had put into the strike was enough to throw Akeno all the way to the middle of the stone circle where she landed with a resounding crash as her blade was torn out of her hand as it was flung into the air until it fell again embedding itself blade first into the stone right between Akeno and Anastasia.
Akeno barely had the strength left to turn her head upwards only to see Anastasia approaching her slowly "You fought well but you have much to learn once more after I´m done with this" whispered Anastasia before she sheathed her Katana and drew a different blade from a dark brown scabbard with diamonds encrusted from top to bottom.
It was a Khopesh Sickle sword with a blood red and midnight black hilt and silver blade but before Akeno could even try and say a word Anastasia pulled her to her feet and dragged her to the middle of the circle before securing the black shackles around her wrists, ankles and thighs before she took a step away.
Akeno noticed as something seemed to come to life in the cave as the chains were slowly pulled taut until Akeno was no longer standing on the ground as she was hovering about half a meter above it.
Anastasia had a strange look in her eyes as she approached Akeno again but without a word Anastasia stabbed the sickle swords blade right into Akenos chest.
Anastasia did not let go of the blade until she saw the life drain out of Akenos eyes only then did she remove the blade placing it on the ground as the chains lifted Akenos bleeding body even higher as the circle and its symbols started glowing under Anastasias feet.
Anastasia took a very deep breath as she closed her eyes with her hands resting on the bloodied blade before she started to speak in a clear voice
"Let Ashes and Blood flow. Have Bone and Life be burned"
"Your Duty has yet to End Servant of Owari. You shall rise to my call once more"
"Under the contract established by old I hereby pledge to you"
"Be the embodiment of my Wrath on earth. Tear the skies above asunder with my anger as your Wings"
"Until I allow you to rest once more you are to Serve as the Blade that Destroy my Enemies"
"SO I command of you"
Anastasia took a very deep breath again as the entire cave was lighting up with black and red symbols and pictures.
"Rise to my Call Seraph of Asura!" Anastasia yelled as the entire cave started shacking violently before everything in the cave was completely engulfed in darkness.
Akeno was not sure how much time had passed but when she opened her eyes again she found herself in the air above a city that was nothing more than ruins now "You have gained a power that only you will be able to wield" the voice of an old man spoke before another slightly higher voice added "But with this power comes a duty. A duty to judge if this world is truly worth existing" before Akeno found the person that just spoke to her she noticed that she was falling.
But right as she was about to hit the ground everything fell into darkness once more before Akeno found herself back in the cave but what was different was the fact that she wasn´t dead and that she could feel a very old but very familiar power running through her entire body again similar to liquid fire if she had to describe it.
But what was a bit annoying was the fact that the shackles from before were still on her body even if she was lying on the ground right now "Welcome back sleepyhead" someone mumbled to Akenos right.
There leaning against one of the two stone towers was Anastasia her eyes bloodshot and tired "Well I better get you out of those so we can get a new set of clothes on you" Anastasia grinned tiredly as Akeno looked down at her own body only to find that she was in only her black and red underwear with pieces of her outfit lying all around her on the ground.
Anastasia removed the shackles from Akenos body before helping her up but she had to assist Akeno with walking as she felt as if her legs were made out of jelly or something similar.
The walk back to the mansion was silent until the two of them walked into Anastasias room and Akeno slumped down on the ground leaning against the side of the bed "That really was something else" mumbled Akeno as she placed her hand on her chest right where Anastasia had stabbed her but there was nothing there anymore aside from the heart shaped mark Sekiro had made with his own blood.
Anastasia had to agree with her cousin on that the moment her blade had pierced Akenos heart was the point she almost screwed it all up if she hadn´t completed the incantation in time Akeno would have run rampant until the power of the Seraph destroyed her entire body.
But that didn´t happen and now Akeno was one of the beings that would help her in the future of course for now the two of them changed to some casual clothes to wear before they both sat down and started inspecting their respective blades as the battle was more than just dangerous.
But despite everything they had done during the battle none of their blades showed any sign of having the slightest damage done to them so they simply cleaned their blades in comfortable silence that is until Sakuya came to the room to remind Anastasia of her training with Artak but with Anastasia gone Akeno didn´t really know what to do.
That is until Sakuya offered to train with her for a bit which Akeno gladly accepted but had the strange feeling she would be regretting this choice very soon if the sinister smile on the Maids face was anything to go by.
At the Training Island with Claire and the others:
Three weeks had gone by that Shirayuri, Mitsuko and Kishiko used to the fullest to train anything Claire or the other men of B-company were able to teach them.
Claire was still waiting on the results of the blood tests she had sent to her old friend in the states but for now she would concentrate on what she had to do right now as the entire training camp was alive with men in simple gray uniforms moving supplies from the supply bunkers onboard the four ships that they had at their disposal.
The aircraft carrier was full to the roof with most of the planes tied down on the flight deck and covered by tarps as they needed one of the hangars to move some of the heavier vehicles such as the tanks and other military vehicles that had been moved from their garages.
Of course it really helped that the carriers only quarters were in the command tower that doubled as a bridge meaning that the entire rest of the ship that was not needed for the engines or the fuel bunkers was available to be used but it also made the ship the most valuable target as well.
They only had three cruisers two Mogami-class light cruisers and one Ibuki-class heavy cruiser to escort the much larger Lexington class the Saratoga aircraft carrier that Shirayuri had brought with her after she first had been able to command her own cruiser.
The loading crews also had another two freighters with them as well as a Tanker that were already full to the roof with even more supplies while the Tanker was actually just there to take most of the fuel reserves that the Island had as only a certain amount could be stored here safely without someone watching over everything.
Claire and Redford had been busy as well with directing the loading crews along with the rest of the ship crews but they would e here for at least another day seeing as they still didn´t load some of the civilian cars onboard the carrier but that would happen tonight meaning they would be able to finally set sail in the morning hours of the next day.
The three girls were still training even with everything else going on around them of course Mitsuko and Kishiko were still worried for their older sister as no matter where Claire and the guys tried to find anything they always came up empty which was really weird as there seemed to be no trail left when it came to Akenos disappearance.
By the time Claire and the other five men of B-company were busy with eating dinner did the three girls even bother to return to the mansion with their clothes a complete mess and their bodies completely exhausted but none of them really cared about that as the three girls got cleaned up before eating dinner with everyone else.
After dinner the three teenage girls went to sleep while Claire and the other five stayed up a bit longer as Claire had something to show them "What exactly are we looking at here Sis?" Marlowe asked as Claire showed them pictures of several burning buildings as well as sinking ships.
"What I´m showing you guys here are pictures taken of known slave rings and their fleets but over the last few weeks someone has been destroying all of it even rescuing the abducted people but leaving none of the slave traders alive" Claire explained as another picture came up this one was pretty dark but there was a massive shape in the water.
"This was taken about a day ago I also confirmed with one of my old friends that several large submarines of unknown affiliation have been moving around the world with no one even bothering to stop them" Claire continued as a clear blueprint of a massive submarine was displayed on the screen.
"This is what is known as a Project 941 or Akula type of submarine but you guys probably only heard of it as a soviet Typhoon class of submarine the largest submarine class to ever be built by a nation and also one of the most destructive ones as it is capable of carrying up to twenty SS-N-20 Sturgeon ballistic missiles" Claire explained and over several hours the six of them discussed what they would be able to do against someone who had access to these kinds of weapons.
By the time the sun started rising on the horizon a fleet of three transport ships, one Aircraft carrier and three cruisers was already well on its way towards an old island that had been hidden from the world for nearly two thousand years.
It took them over two weeks to arrive but by then everyone was just thankful no one tried to attack them thanks to Shirayuri getting the convoy a fake designation and travel path that would hold up if a Blue Mermaid patrol radioed them.
Onboard a modern Luxus Yacht:
There was nothing suspicious about the small Luxus ship aside from the fact that the surrounding harbor had various battleships, one cruiser, and two aircraft carriers tied to the piers that were being resupplied at the moment.
But onboard the Luxus yacht were only two people a sixteen years old Japanese-American female with ghost white albino skin, long silver blue hair, and silver blue eyes. She was wearing a black Shinigami mask with a silver hood attached to the kimono, a silver yukata kimono with a white haori over the kimono, a silver obi belt around the waist, golden hakama trousers, and golden brown geta sandals.
The other person onboard was a sixteen year old Caucasian German-American boy with shoulder length brown hair and dark brown eyes. He wears a Stetson cowboy hat atop his head, a brown leather mask covering the lower half of his face, black clothes under a brown leather vest, brown leather gauntlets along with a poncho around his shoulders and various bandoliers that are wrapped around his waist, upper arms, and his hat, holsters are strapped to on his thighs, and black leather cowboy boots.
The girl went by the name Hikari Tsuki and the boy was called by the name Erron Black but before they could even continue to talk a screen mounted on the wall turned on except aside from a terrace with someone sitting on a beach chair there was nothing to see.
The two teenagers got down on one knee with a bowed head before a simple male voice spoke up "Hunter and Shinigami I have a mission for the two of you. There is someone who has become a Seraph I need you to find them and bring them to me" the person simply told them before the screen turned black again.
Back with the convoy:
The three cruisers were the only ships that entered the deeper part of the underground harbor that already had several massive submarines close to the exit of the harbor while the Aircraft carrier and three transport ships docked in the harbor to unload everything they had onboard under the watchful eye of Claire and the rest of B-company.
With their cruisers safely stored in the dry dock Shirayuri, Mitsuko and Kishiko were shown through a lot of clean gray concrete hallways with several steel doors leading to other rooms until they took an elevator that went up until they were in the middle of a heavily guarded building but each of the guards saluted the three as they passed by.
From the building they took a simple Humvee to find a rather small Japanese village where once the jungle had covered everything but they continued to drive until they noticed the distinct sound of a loud engine coming closer to them very fast along with the familiar sound of screaming tires.
A moment later a red metallic cabriole sports car passed them before it suddenly did a one eighty turn and came to a stop before the largest modern mansion of the entire town.
The co-driver door was thrown open and a young man jumped out of the car as if the devil was after his ass but the driver stayed in the car that is until Shirayuri stopped the Humvee right beside the young man.
"Are you alright there?" Shirayuri asked as she got out of the Humvee with Mitsuko and Kishiko.
"Yeah I will be alright only my pride that is in pieces" replied the boy before he got up and dusted off his black German submarine coat.
But before any of the four could say another word the driver of the car came around the front of the sports car "Eat that Ikushuka I told you I could" but that was the moment Akeno saw Mitsuko and Kishiko and they saw her as well.