A few days after
Issei and Shirone had been wandering around for a while after leaving the village. During this time, Issei took note of Shirone's change in attitude. She seemed much more irritable and frustrated especially at night.
She would also outright ignore him sometimes.
He began to wonder if it was some sort of cycle Nekoshou went through during certain times. She was technically a cat by some standard. There had to be something like that.
While exploring, they came to a large modern city. Shirone was surprised to see one as this was her first time seeing a modern human settlement. Issei on the other hand was indifferent to it.
"A city, it might be best to just skip it." He said with a hand on his chin. Shirone on the other hand, had different ideas.
"We are going." Shirone said walking toward the city. Issei tilted his head and shrugged. He didn't care as long as she didn't take too long.
What ever to get her out this sour mood.
A few hours later
"So...where are the beds." Shirone looked around the tall skyscrapers. Issei was walking behind her with his arms crossed. As the two walked, everyone's first thought was these two were weird since one had ears and a tail while the other wore something a cosplayer would wear.
"You mean a hotel. How are you going to even pay for a room." Issei asked her.
"Just show me." She stopped and turned to face him with an expectant look. Issei's eye twitched in anger at her attitude.
"How, I don't even know where we are." Issei tired to reason. Getting angry at her would do nothing.
"Figure it out." Shirone said and resumed walking. A visible vein popped on Issei's face. She's been acting a bossy ever since they came here and he didn't know why. He just wants this little journey to be over with already.
They found a hotel and went inside. Shirone took lead and went to the counter. Behind the counter was a woman with brown hair and eyes. She gave a curious glance over the two.
"Yes, would you like to rent a room." The woman smiled and asked, but she really hoped they didn't stay. It didn't take a master to see her true colors.
"Yes. One room" Shirone said.
"Yes, that will be...eh?" The woman sudden felt a bit dizzy. She didn't feel sick but she felt her body spinning but she knew she was still standing still. She looked to the girl and saw her making strange gestures with her hands.
When Shirone was done, the woman eyes glazed over for a split second before they went back to their usual shine. She held her hand to her head feeing nausea.
"Are you alright." Shirone asked the woman. The woman shook her head and smiled. Her smile seemed a bit more genuine than before.
"Sorry about that, little sick from yesterday, your room is 203." She handed them a key and the two left.
"Was that...senjutsu?" Issei asked surprised. It was as if the woman knew who they were. He also didn't know she could cast spells like that since he only ever saw use the fire ball spell.
"Illusion magic." Was all she said and nothing else. It seemed more like something else than just plain illusion magic though.
The two found their room and Shirone eyes lit up like lights. The room came with 2 king size beds, 2 mini fridges along with a cooler, 2 flat screen TVs and a balcony. It also had potted plants and paining to give the room some vibrancy.
"Damn, this looks pretty nice." Issei commented. He stayed in one hotel before but it was nowhere near as nice as this. Shirone dashed to the mini fridge and observed all the treats and snacks.
"Well you have fun. I'll just head to bed then." Issei said and fell onto the bed. He didn't care what she did as long she was in a more agreeable mood the next day.
Shirone on the other hand, was like a child at a new candy shop. There were so many things she hand to seen before. She now had a bed and free food.
She was in heaven.
Elsewhere
The blonde girl and bulky man made their into the city, looking around. The girl held a device in her hand that glowed red.
"She's definitely here. It will take a while to find her since the device is damaged." The girl said.
"Is that so." The man said and the two resumed walking.
At Night
Issei woke up before the day could end. It was feint, but he sensed someone powerful near them. He rose up from his bed and looked over to Shirone. She had wrappers around her on the floor but was sleeping peacefully. He was surprised she didn't sense it first.
Issei got out of bed and left the room. He went down to the lobby and saw the woman napping at the desk. He wondered if the spell had worn off or not.
He was waking at a brisk pace when the energy suddenly vanished. He stopped in his tracks as he looked around. How could such a high power vanish in an instance? Maybe someone took it out before he could find out who it was.
Regardless it wasn't a problem to him so he began to return back to the hotel. He however, felt that someone was watching him. Was it that strong energy from before?
"Nah, can't be." He said to himself. He was being way too paranoid now. He quickly turned and shot a crimson orb at the ground. He Drew his sword and swung away the smoke to reveal nothing. His eyes widen as he saw something small and round the corner quickly.
He narrowed his eyes and gave chase after it. People who were going for an evening jog were surprised as they heard a loud crash and saw smoke a person dash away. Issei didn't let this bother him as he kept after the small animal, which was a small fox.
It tried to shake him off by running into an alley, but Issei had a hunch it would try it and continued the chase. He shot a few more orbs at, but missed it. He sucked his teeth and sheathed his blade.
He perked up as he heard sirens in the distance. He left the scene before the police could find him.
Morning
Shirone has woke up and had been enjoying herself with a second round of snacks. She saw Issei had left but it didn't matter to her since she knew he would eventually pop back up.
As she ate though, she began to feel bored. She had no one around and didn't know what to do for entertainment. She tossed the last snack bar she was nibbling on and walked around the room. She picked up the tv remote and stared at it.
"What is this for?" She said frowning. She dropped it on the ground and gave the room a one over.
There was absolutely nothing to do here. She decided she would just take a walk. Maybe she would even run into Issei.
She made her way to the lobby and saw the same woman behind the counter. The woman glanced to Shirone and gave a confused look at her. She didn't remember Shirone ever checking into a room.
"Go-good morning young miss." The woman waved but Shirone didn't pay her any mind and just left.
"Tch, kids these days." The woman said with a glare.
The city was very lively with people and cars all about. Shirone was getting strange glances but she didn't care. She was bored and wanted something to take her mind off things.
She wandered the city for an hour or so before she found herself at a park. The park had a nature trail that curved around a large lake with a few benches near the trail.
She sat on one of the benches and sat back. It quiet. Very quiet. Even the ducks weren't making a noise or any birds chirping their morning songs. She yawned and looked down to see a black cat at her legs.
The two locked eyes for a while. The black cat then broke the gaze and began rubbing itself on her legs. Shirone smiled and began petting the cat as it purred in delight.
"I wonder if this feels as good as they make it out to be." She thought.
"Sis always said to find a man who can rub you off. Is this what she meant?" While she was in her thoughts, a call from another cat caught her attention.
She looked up to see a smaller white cat meowing at them. The black walks away from her and to the smaller cat. The two nuzzle each other and the black cat turns to her before leaving with white cat.
This scene reminded her of her sister.
"What am I doing..." she asked herself. She held her knees and looked down.
She wants to find her sister and ask her why did she make her life like this. What went wrong. And what is she doing now?
Even after she led him to Sun Wukong, how will she go about finding her sister?
Maybe she should use this chance to run off on her own.
She sighed. Time alone really did make one think about everything that crosses their mind.
"Well you seem troubled." A feminine voice said. Shirone looked up to her right to see someone had sat next to her. It was a girl with golden hair and emerald eyes.
The girl had this radiance to her. Her eyes were almost a similar shade to Issei's but her's had a warmth to it, as if it was inviting someone to her while Issei's were cold and blocked off. Shirone could see the girl had energy she had never seen anyone with before, a gold aura.
This girl wasn't normal. In fact, she could be almost compared to Issei in a way. It was most definitely different but similar in a way.
The girl placed some of her hair behind her ear as she smiled. Shirone felt her heart skip a beat and looked down to hide her embarrassment.
"Sorry to bother you, you just seemed like you bothered." The girl said.
"So you just talk to a random stranger..." Shirone shot at her but the girl's smile didn't even falter for a minute.
"A stranger could be a friend you just haven't talked to yet as I say." She said.
"Hmmmg." Shirone struggled with what to say to that.
"Are you new here? I like your cosplay." The girl said and Shirone gave a confused look.
"Cosplay?" Shirone asked and it was now the girl's turn to give a confused look.
"The...tails and...ears...?" She said and Shirone looked at her tail. She moved it up and began to wiggle it in front of the girl, whose eyes widen in excitement.
"Whoa, i didn't think they made moving ones now." She said in amazement. Shirone pondered if she should tell her if it was real. Maybe it was best to leave her to her thoughts.
"Who are you anyway?"
"My name Asia, can I have your name?"
"Shirone..."
"Whoa, I've never heard of a name like that before. What does it mean?"
"I don't know. Never thought about it."
"Aww that's no fun. What if it means something special?"
"I doubt that."
"Well you never know."
The two chatted like this for a while. Asia was slowly but surely, opening up Shirone to talk more than just simple answers. Shirone even giggled a bit which Asia remarked as cute, much to Shirone's embarrassment. Asia could tell Shirone was a good person, and really wanted to get to know her better. She could tell that Shirone wanted someone to talk to, even if she didn't seem like it or wanted to.
"So, what brings you here?" Asia asked. The two were now side by side, much closer than before.
"I'm here with someone, we are heading west."
"Oh! Like a grand tour?!"
"Yea...something like that."
"I wish I could do that. When I go out, its..." for the first time in the conversation, Asia went quiet. She seemed reluctant to speak any further about the topic. Shirone took noticed and decided not to pry into it.
"I see. Well it's not I want to either." Shirone shrugged. Before Asia could change the subject, someone called out to her. Shirone also went on alert and quickly hid her ears and tail.
The man was tall and bulky. It wasn't his size that scared her, it was his energy. He was quite powerful and she knew she felt this a few times before.
He was definitely a fallen angel.
"Ah...I'm sorry I have to go now." Asia got up and bowed to Shirone. Shirone waved and Asia took her hand.
"I really enjoyed talking to you... friend..." The way Asia said friend was a bit strange to Shirone. She said it carefully as if not to upset her.
She let go and jogged to the man who left with Asia as soon as she got to him. She wiped her forehead with a sigh of relief.
"I should go back." She said and rushed back to the hotel.
Later
Issei was standing in front of hotel waiting until he saw Shirone walk up.
"Where were you." He asked and she frowned.
"Out. Now time to go. We have trouble."
"What kind of trouble. Is it those crows?"
"Yea, a strong one. Pretty sure you felt it too." She said and he nodded. She then sighed as she knew what he wanted to do.
"You want to chase after him don't you."
"No? We are leaving now right? Let's go before they catch us." She was more surprised than she thought she would be. She didn't think he would actually agree to leave. Guess he was smart when it came to battles he couldn't win.
"I thought you wanted to fight them." She said asked.
"If doesn't matter to me if a few crows go astray."
She nods and the two began leaving the city. As they were leaving though, Shirone felt something nearby. She stopped Issei who looked at her. Her ears were twitching and she looked around.
"What's up?"
"There's some fallen, attacking someone. They aren't human." She said running off. Issei sighed and chased after her.
"She rushing into stuff again." Issei thought as he kept up with her. No point in trying to stop or argue with her, she only gets more pissed.
Shirone and Issei found themselves at a abandoned shelter. It was in the middle of a construction site. The sun was beginning to set which led to less people being around. Issei narrowed his eyes and drew his sword. He stood in-front of Shirone ready for something coming their way.
The front of the building exploded in a yellow glow. A girl was flung into the air and landed in front of the two. From the dust, came 2 fallen angels with light spears and swords ready.
The girl wore tattered miko outfit covered in some dirt and blood. The sleeves were torn off and her sock and shoes were missing. It seemed she was trying to fight off her attackers.
"Tch, I'm tired of this dog chase." One of them said. She was had a more distinct look than the other one. While the other had full armor set with a helm, the woman wore a black one piece with armor pieces on her legs and shoulders.
The two seemed more like a foot solider and a higher ranked officer at best.
"There's someone here." The armored one said.
"Bystanders, doesn't matter." She said and pointed her spear at Issei. She shot a yellow beam at them, but to her surprise, Issei slapped it away. It crashed into a nearby tree making a crater.
Issei was surprised and looked at his hand. He's never been able to hit a beam directly like that before. He gripped his his hand and looked down at the girl.
"Take the girl, I'll take these two on." He told Shirone. She nodded and put the girl over her shoulder. They ran off deeper into the construction site as the armored fallen tried to chase but Issei shot a crimson orb at it, stopping it in its tracks.
"Heh? Your gonna take the both of us on? That first shot was a lucky hit." The woman taunted.
Issei kept a stoic face as he went into his normal stance.
"Well then, let's see if that's the case." He said and dashed toward the woman. He swung down and she blocked it. The force was enough to knock her back to the ground.
The next fallen stabbed at him with his spear, but Issei kicked it away before it could reach him. He grabbed his face and flung him into the sky and released a volley of blast it, cause a huge explosion. Afterword the armored fallen was nowhere to be found.
"That just leaves..." issei stopped her sword before she could swing with his own. In her other hand, she created spear and jabbed his leg. The cut wasn't deep but it was some damage to him.
He jumped off and composed himself.
"I think I've heard of you. Do you even know why your fighting me."
"You have black wings. That's all the reason I need." He said and two went for a second clash.
Elsewhere.
Shirone took the girl to a random building and set her down.
"God your heavy." She said trying to catch her breath.
"That's not very polite." The girl said holding her arm. She frowned as Shirone waved her off.
"Well your good now." She said and began to go but the girl stop her by grabbing her arm.
"Wait. I um...need your help." She said and Shirone deadpanned.
"I don't care." She said and girl was took aback. How could anyone just say that to someone outright who was just attacked.
"Wha- but this concerns all Youkai!" She said and Shirone turned back.
"What do you mean by that." She asked now a bit more alert.
"It was the fallen angels..." the girl trailed off and began to tear up.
"They've taken over the Youkai faction."