Hey there everybody! Hope you're looking forward to the chapter! Franco Marcel if you're reading this, to answer your question. Her name is Kuya, and I'm not just saying that because I messed up and keep going with the A instead of the O. Besides, Kuya is cuter anyway in my opinion. Now then, without further ado, let's get into the chapter!
Asuka trailed behind Kuya as they left the fight. Kuya herself covered in blood and Asuka still holding onto Yuji to keep her passed out friend safe in case the yoma decided to turn around and attack them both. She also doing it just to take in the complete massacre she'd seen just a little while ago. Closing her eyes to it, Asuka could see it again so vividly…
-000-
Kuya wasted no time slaughtering the red cloaks that stood before her. It was...a bloodbath to put it lightly. Asuka had fought Orochi before, and she remembered the numerous Hebijo shinobi that were killed by it...or her rather. She crushed one's arm, slit another person's throat, ran her hand directly through another enemy's head, tore one in half. It was all so terrifying. This Orochi, was different from the one Asuka had faced. Her movements, while brutal, were skilled, graceful almost at times. This wasn't the monster she fought before. Or rather, it was, but not in the same way.
The air became thick with the smell of blood and the screams of the red cloaks echoed all over, however, so high on the rooftops were they, no one could hear them cry for help.
It was horrifying how quickly a single yoma could turn the tides of a battle. Asuka went from feeling afraid of her enemies to pitying them as Kuya literally tore them apart. In the span of just a few minutes, the entire group that had chasing her and Yuji had been cut down to just a single person who trembled as Kuya literally towered over them.
"I am feeling merciful." Kuya said in a sadistic tone "You will live. You will tell those you serve to never attempt to harm my master or his...friend again. Am I understood?"
The figure only nodded rapidly in response, still too afraid to even move.
"Good. Now run. Run and remember what you saw. Remember what will happen to those that oppose my master."
The figure stumbled to their feet, fleeing the roof as quickly as he could, leaving Kuya bathed in blood and viscera, which she casually tossed off of her body, until none was left, flicking the last bit of it away.
"Now then…" She said her voice taking on a more calm tone. "We must go, my master is exhausted...and so are you. To his home, I know the way."
-000-
Opening her eyes again, Asuka and Kuya landed on another rooftop, stumbling a bit. It was going to take a bit to get back Yuji's house and then her own, she hadn't realized just how far into the city she'd run, and with the situation now under control, she was starting to feel a lot more tired too. Kuya took notice of this and sighed.
"Stop. We rest." she commanded
"Um...sorry I-"
"Save your words little shinobi. You fought with valor to protect my little master, and as such I will not fault you for needing to rest. You are human after all."
"Um...thank you?" Asuka said, setting Yuji down while making sure he was okay, this was all so surreal to her. Here was a yoma she'd killed not even all that long ago, one she'd thought was a enemy to all of humanity...casually sitting across from her...naked at that, and just lightly stroking the hair of one of her allies as he laid passed out.
"So um...Orochi-"
"Kuya." She interrupted "My name is Kuya."
"R-right, um, so Kuya, why are you...here? How is Yuji able to call upon you?"
"Simple questions. I always keep an eye on my master...mostly. Privacy when bathing and all that, and I saw that he was in trouble. I swore to serve him and I will. As to your other question. I was unmistakably dead. A soul simply wondering in the abyss and felt my master call to me. It was oddly familiar, and so I reacted, doing my best to reach him. Something about him is so very familiar...his very being…"
"His being?"
"Yes...his core...his soul...so familiar and yet...so strangely different. It's a warm feeling...but we are getting off-topic. I realized that by feeding off his power I could reform myself. It took some time and in fact, this is a pale imitation of my true power, but...well...if I must be honest…" Kuya trailed off, now a small, yet warm, smile on her face "At this size I can well...dote on my master more efficiently, I did not realize that stroking ones head could be so comforting."
"You want to...dote on him? F-forget that, why didn't you appear sooner?"
"Against that other shinobi...Yumi was it? To be honest, you both seemed to have it well in hand so I saw no need. Even the assailants who attacked you, you dealt with it well, it was only when things took a turn for the worst that I knew to step in."
"Well...thanks for that. Wow, I never thought I'd thank a yoma for saving my life."
"So long as you will continue to aid my master, then I have no reason to not help you. However that brings to mind the next matter to discuss."
"That being…?"
"The matter of...me. If you truly consider yourself my master's friend...then I would like that you made no mention of me."
"But why? This is-"
"Think girl!" Kuya suddenly shouted "You know as well as I do that a yoma aiding a human? That would cause heads to spin and I am certain your shinobi leaders would seek to do untoward things to my master."
"That's…" Asuka began, before her words fell to silence. It...actually was extremely possible that such a thing would happen. A person who could summon a yoma as their shinobi animal? That would catch the attention of anyone, even the Good Shinobi Council she was sure...and then she was reminded of what Homura said to her…
"All it takes is one bad apple to ruin the rest."
Asuka very much wanted to believe that the Shinobi Council wouldn't do something so awful, subject Yuji to interrogations or worse, torture. But she still remembered all too vividly how she and her friends were ordered to kill Kagura and Naraku. How easily they made that choice and sent it down to them wasn't doing them any favors the more she thought about it. It took several moments of hesitation before Asuka spoke again.
"Okay...I'll do it...I...I won't tell anyone you're a yoma." Asuka said
"Good." Kuya said "Now then, if we're done talking let us continue on our way."
With a nod, Asuka moved to pick Yuji back up, only to stop when the young man began to stir.
"Ugh...what the…?" He muttered as he eyes fluttered open "What's going on-A-Asuka!"
He quickly sat up looking around in alarm before settling on Asuka, wincing as he breathed a sigh of release.
"Oh man, Asuka you're okay! We got away! But uh...why are we on a roof? And who are you?!" he exclaimed turning towards Kuya.
"Hello Little Master, it is good to see yo-"
"OH GOD WHY ARE YOU NAKED?! ASUKA I'M NOT LOOKING!"
He quickly covered his eyes as Kuya sighed "This will...take some time...Asuka, if you would?"
"Sure…"
Asuka proceeded to explain what had occurred after he passed out, from splitting off to Yumi, being chased down by the red cloaks, Asuka being seconds away from death only to be saved by Kuya at the last moment. They were now en route to Yuji's home to drop him off so that everyone could rest and recover from the ordeal.
"So...Kuya is a yoma?" Yuji asked looking at the 8 foot tall woman.
Kuya for her part fidgeted nervously "Y-yes Little Master, I...I did wish to frighten you. I knew you were a shinobi and the...discourse our sides have is not to be taken lightly. I originally intended to reveal myself to you when my power was at sufficient level. I...understand if this is to your disliking and-"
"This is awesome!" Yuji exclaimed
"It is?" Asuka and Kuya said in unison while looking at each other in disbelief.
"Yeah! I mean, Kuya, you aren't gonna hurt my friends right?"
"I have no intention of that Little Master. So long as Asuka does not tell the others of my existence, I see no need to attack them."
"And you can help me out in fights and stuff right?"
"I would love to, though perhaps I will simply use an arm to or leg, I do not wish for any to see me."
"So yeah, that's cool! See, there's this awesome video game series where the protagonist is able to recruit a whole bunch of different demons and have them fight with him, it's kinda like that!"
"Er...veedee-o-gay-ems? What is that?" Kuya asked confused "You said many things I do not comprehend Little Master."
"We can talk about it later...let's head home for now."
"As you wish Little Master, allow me." Kuya said lifting Yuji up in a princess carry.
"U-uh, Kuya...what are you doing?"
"I am carrying you Little Master. You may have regained consciousness, but I can tell you are still exhausted. Asuka, cover our flank will you?"
"No problem, let's go." Asuka nodded
"W-wait, come on Kuya, you can't do this while Asuka is here, it's embarrassing!" Yuji whined "If anything, I should be carrying you or Asuka or something!"
The girls rolled their eyes at Yuji's protests and left the area, hopping rooftops and keeping to the shadows as much as possible. It took another hour of travel, but eventually the group were able to reach Yuji's home. Landing outside the front door, Kuya quickly disappeared into the portal she'd appeared from earlier, leaving Asuka to support him.
"Well, it took some time, but I'm glad we got to walk home together Asuka." Yuji joked
"How can you joke after something like that?" Asuka sighed
"Hey, one of us has to...well anyway, Mom should should home, so I'll be okay from here."
Pressing the doorbell, Yuji had barely any time to react before the door flew open and Minako had threw it open glaring at the two of them.
"Where were you Yuji?!"
"M-mom?! What's wrong, I was just out with Asuka when-"
"And you don't call me?! Look, I don't mind you going on a date but you've got to let me know!"
"D-date?! Mom, no that's not what happened!"
"Yuji, it's nighttime, and you're coming home with a girl, how does this look to you?"
"T-that isn't what's going on!" Asuka said with a blush "Look at us, we're all roughed up and you think that's what happened?"
Minako looked over the two more closely and realized that Asuka was right. The two of them had cuts and some small bruises all over and Yuji in particular looked worse than Asuka did. Not saying a word, Minako pulled the two inside, grabbing her first aid kit and rushing over to the two of them.
"What the hell happened? Were these from...yoma?" Minako asked with a hint of worry
"No, not Yoma, were ambushed by a girl named Yumi...and then on top of that we got ambushed again by a bunch of people in red cloaks." Yuji said, wincing as Minako applied some ointment to one of his cuts.
"Red cloaks…?" Minako muttered "Did they have any affiliation?"
"None that I could see." Asuka said while addressing her own wounds "They just...showed up. Attacked all three of us, we had to work together with Yumi, but it was getting to dicey, we managed to cut a path and try to escape, but they followed...I um, I managed to fight them off well enough."
She didn't like lying to the woman, but Asuka knew it was necessary to keep Kuya happy.
"That's good Asuka, thanks for looking out for my son."
"It's nothing really. I have no idea who those red cloaked guys were though. Now that I think on it more...I think they weren't trying to kill us, but instead capture us."
This caused Minako to nearly drop the bandage she'd been applying to Yuji's waist "You don't say?"
"Yeah, they were doing pincer maneuvers, trying to cut off our escape and if they didn't go for any kill moves while pursuing us, just things that would cripple us and keep us from running away."
"Interesting. Well, whatever the case it's over now. You're okay and you're safe, that's all that matters here."
"Yeah...I'm gonna head home myself, I need sleep." Asuka said with a yawn
"Really? You could stay over again, I don't mind."
"I appreciate the other Ms. Egawa but my family will be worried too, I want to let them know I'm okay."
"Good point. But as for you Yuji? You're taking the day off tomorrow."
"Eh? No school?"
"Yuji, you just went through a lot in a single night...just take it easy for me? Okay? I'll get in contact with Kiriya-sensei and let him know why you aren't in tomorrow."
"Thanks Mom...I'm gonna go take a shower and then head to sleep, that okay?"
"That's just fine dear, you head on home Asuka."
"Right, I'll text you later okay Yuji?"
"Yeah, see you Asuka."
With a nod at each other, the female ninja left, heading home and thankfully having no issues on the way there. She'd have to make sure to inform her grandfather about what had happened. She figured that he had an idea on just who those people in the red cloaks were. The more she thought about them, the more she felt an extreme sense of unease. For now though, she simply wanted to get home and rest.
-000-
The next morning came, with Yuji receiving a text from Kiriya-sensei. How the man had gotten his number? He didn't know, but according to him, all of his class were excused from lessons for the day. This struck him as odd, but he just chalked it up to luck on his part. Kiriya-sensei probably had some urgent business to attend to?
About an hour later he'd been proven wrong as he'd get a text from Asuka, asking for him to meet up with the rest of the group at Asuka's parent's sushi shop. Deciding it had to be related to why there was no class today, Yuji, despite some pain in doing so, got up, got dressed and let his mom know he was going to meet up with his fellow classmates, which she begrudgingly allowed. That said, he had to be home before dark, she didn't want him getting ambushed so suddenly again, and while he was mostly fine, she could tell he still wasn't at 100%.
Agreeing to those terms, Yuji left and headed to the sushi shop, where upon arrival, he saw all of his friend sitting around a table. All of them had some bandages on a part of their body. Asuka had one on her ankle, Ikaruga had one on her leg, Katsuragi's was on her head, and Yagyuu's on her arm. The only one who didn't have any was Hibari who was looking concerned at everyone else, Yuji included as he took his seat.
"So...we all know why we're here right?" Ikaruga started
"I don't." Yuji said with a raised hand, "Why are we all here?"
"Asuka you didn't tell him?" Katsuragi said with a raised eyebrow
"Teehee, sorry, I just sent him a text to meet up here so we could share information." She replied
"Well, that's okay. Basically Yuji, as it turns out, we were all ambushed yesterday after leaving school and once we were alone."
At this Yuji raised an eyebrow in shock "Well, that explains the wounds, you all okay?"
"We'll live." Yagyuu said calmly, "For now let's speak of our attackers. Katsuragi, you start."
"Sure. I got attacked by some girl named Yozakura. I didn't really get to say much to her before the fighting started. She's tough though, she's got some gauntlets like mine and she clocked me pretty good. Managed to get my own few hits in though, and before long she retreated."
"I'll go next." Ikaruga said "I fought against someone named Murakumo, she wore a mask, so I couldn't see her face, she had a spear and a cleaver and well...she really had it out for me, claiming I ruined her life. I have no idea what she meant, but I managed to fight her off. But she's no slouch, she's got wolves and one of them bit me good." Ikaruga said rubbing her side and wincing a little.
"I fought a girl named Shiki." Yagyuu said casually "She was odd. A good fighter, but odd nonetheless. She fought with a strange double-bladed scythe, wouldn't stop talking, called me…Yaggy…and before long she left after we'd come to a stalemate. Well, I say that, but she said she had a nail appointment or something. I didn't really care, I was just glad she was gone. At the very least, I sent her limping away rather than walking."
"Yuji and I fought a girl named Yumi." Asuka said "She...really had it out for me. She was even going to allow Yuji to walk away from the fight. She was able to take me and Yuji on pretty well, we almost had her beat, but then these weirdos in red cloaks showed up and we had to work with her to hold them off, we were way too tired by that point though, so Yuji cut a way through them and we escaped after."
Asuka's eyes twitched at that explanation and Yuji knew why: The girl clearly wasn't all too happy that she had to lie to her friends, but letting them know about Kuya wasn't a good idea. Who knows how they'd react to that.
"Red cloaked guys, any idea who they were?" Katsuragi asked "I didn't run into any while fighting that Yozakura girl."
"Neither did I." Ikaruga said as she closed her eyes in thought "Are you sure they weren't with this Yumi girl?"
"Not a chance." Yuji said "They were attacking her just as much as they attacked us and they weren't pulling any kind of punches at all. But enough about that for now, what about you Hibari? You got ambushed too right? You must have done well against whoever it was, you don't even have a scratch on you."
At this Hibari looked a little uncomfortable as she looked at Yagyuu several times before speaking.
"W-well um...I sort of didn't fight her at all." Hibari stated
"You didn't? How? Did you just...suddenly get along or something?" Katsuragi said with a raised eyebrow "If so, I gotta give you credit for your people skills. Then again, you are super cute!"
"U-um...no, it wasn't that." Hibari said with a blush at the praise "Well I...the girl I was fighting called herself Minori, she was going to fight me, but before things could really get under way I used my...Kagan on her."
The table was completely silent as everyone except Yuji gave one another surprised looks, with Yagyuu moving to put a hand on Hibari's shoulder.
"Hibari...it's okay."
"But I-!"
"It. Is. Okay."
"Sorry to interrupt, but what's a kagan?" Yuji asked, raising his hand again.
"To make a long story short, Hibari can manipulate people's minds." Asuka said curtly "We'll explain in detail later, Hibari-chan, go on."
"Okay, well…I was a bit weirded out, so I just ask her some questions, nothing too crazy, I just wanted to know who she was and why she attacked me so suddenly. It took a bit of...forcing, but I was able to learn what her goal was. Basically, she said that her leader Yumi was going to challenge us to a Shinobi Battle Royale, and that she'd formally declare the challenge to Asuka."
The group all turned to Asuka and Yuji with Asuka shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry, but things never got that far, when those red cloaked people showed up we had to work together, and we had Yumi break off from us to try and split them up."
"Guess we'd best be on our guard, we're probably gonna run into them again." Yagyuu said "It doesn't look like the challenge was formally issued, so they may try again."
Everyone nodded in agreement at the conclusion. It only made sense after all, Yumi didn't issue the challenge and she'd probably let the others from her squad know prompting another ambush.
"Anything else Hibari? Come on, there's gotta be more!" Katsuragi said rubbing her chin, there's gotta be some reason they're targeting us."
"Oh right! So...I asked what school she was from and she said Gessen Girl's Academy, at first I thought it was an evil shinobi school, but, and this is the part that made it all weird, it's actually a good shinboi school!"
That brought about another pause among the students. A fellow good shinobi school targeting them? There had to be something more to cause that. These were supposed to be allies in Yuji's fight against evil and yet they had targeted the Hanzo shinobi almost as if they were the bad guys.
"Anything else?" Yuji asked
"Yeah. I did a bit more prodding at her and Minori said that we were going to 'pay for working alongside evil shinobi as well as for the disrespect Hanzo-sama showed towards their grandfather Kurokage.'"
"What the...what did grandpa do now?!" Asuka sighed "I hope he wasn't perving on them...but it doesn't matter for now, I'll grill him for information later. I think for now we should keep our guards up. Let's just all head home for now and enjoy the day off. Rest up for the battles ahead?"
"Agreed." Ikaruga said with a nod "Let's just relax for now and tend to whatever personal affairs we have."
Nods of agreement all around. The group decided to head home for the day, with Yagyuu deciding to accompany Hibari. Asuka stayed at the shop, wanting to catch her grandfather and see if she could learn anything from him.
Leaving the shop, Yuji sighed, things were getting more and more complicated, now shinobi that were meant to be on his side were fighting him? What was next? A god descending to try and kill him?
'Little Master, if I may have a moment?' Kuya's voice said echoing in his mind
"Kuya...you can speak into my mind?" Yuji whispered, taking a quick look around to make sure that no one was giving him looks. Just to be sure though he took out his cellphone and put it to his ear, to make it look like he was on the phone.
'Indeed I can. My power has come back just enough to allow me to do this. That aside, I wanted to request something. An experiment I wish to try.'
"An experiment?" Yuji said with a curious tone "Er, okay, shoot. What's on your mind?"
'There is a yoma not too far from here. In hiding if I had to guess. I would like for us to find it.'
"A yoma?!" Yuji whispered loudly "K-Kuya, I think we should get the others on board, it could be dangerous and-"
'No. Little Master, please trust me. There can be no one else. Only you and I. Fear not, I will aid you if things do not go as planned. So please, will you acquiesce to this humble servant's request?'
There was a long pause as Yuji warred within in his mind. He really wasn't in the mood to dive headfirst into danger, but...Kuya wouldn't steer him wrong, he was sure of it and she'd already pulled his ass out of the fire once already.
"Alright Kuya...which way do we go?"
A girlish laugh echoed in Yuji's head before Kuya spoke 'My thanks Little Master...now then…'
-000-
Yumi had woken up a little past noon. She and her sisters had all returned from their bouts with the Hanzo shinobi the previous day, tired beyond belief. All of them had various wounds save for Minori, but something was off about the girl. Minori was usually bright, cheerful, and full of energy. But when she came home she'd seemed fearful, almost like she'd seen some sort of horror. They had all agreed to to go to bed for the night and discuss things in the morning. Well, the morning had come and gone and Yumi had slept straight through it. Annoying, but not unexpected. She quickly got up, took a shower and, made sure she was properly presentable before convening with the others in the common area of the Gessen Elite's base. Sitting around the table, the girls were all in a state of contemplation, well except for Minori, the poor girl looked as if she hadn't gotten any sleep at all.
"They're tough." Yozakura said with a sigh "The Hanzo girls are as strong as expected."
"Indeed they are. Ikaruga was more than a match for me." Murakumo said "I'm sorry Yumi, we couldn't defend grandfather's honor."
"Nonsense." Yumi said raising a hand "I was caught off guard too. In fact, in hindsight, I was in over my head. As it turns out, Hanzo has at most seven elites within their ranks. That said, one seems to be away, so for now we'll operate on the basis of there being six of them."
"There was another one?" Shiki asks "Who was it?"
"A boy named Yuji Egawa...it is bold of him to use his actual name in the shinobi world, that aside, he wasn't a bad fighter...if a bit on the perverted side. The looks he sent my way…were less than pleasing."
"He try anythin'?" Yozakura asked, her voice taking on a rougher tone
"No...he claimed to be 'looking respectfully'."
"Better than getting grabby." Shiki said "A guy at the mall tried that a few weeks back and it's seriously creepy. Um...what about you Minnow? You look spooked, what happened?"
The small girl let out a squeak after being addressed, which drew concerned looks from the others.
"Minori...are you okay? Did something happen, that Hibari girl didn't hurt you did she?" Yozakura asked in a soft voice. "It's okay, you can tell us what happened. We're here for you."
Minori looked around at the table before speaking "It's...Minori tried to fight it but...that girl. That girrl, Hibari, she did something...made me talk. Whatever she asked for I just...I just told her." she young girl said while shaking. "It was like a sweet voice in my head just whispering to me, telling me to do what she said."
"What'd you tell her?" Murakumo asked
"I...nothing too important I guess. She just asked who we were, what school we went to and why we attacked them. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't. Before I could do anything she just looked at me with those eyes and when she was done asking me questions, she sent me back home. It was as if Minori was watching her own body from inside her mind. I couldn't do anything till I got back here. It was...scary."
"What the hell…" Shiki muttered "So she just...looked at you and you lost all control?"
"Yeah...but I mean, at least she didn't hurt me? I thought she'd be like, super bad, but after the questions she just told me to go home and I did."
"Be that as it may, we'll have to be extra careful with the Hanzo Elites. They're not to be taken lightly and we'll have to be sure to be ready next time." Yumi said definitively "We can handle them I know, we can!"
"Well I mean, they're gonna be coming after us next right? You issued that Shinobi Battle Royale after all right?" Shiki said
Yumi was silent…
"Yumi-chin...you...did tell them right?"
Yumi was still silent…
"Wow were they that tough?" Yozakura asked "It's not like you to forget something so important."
"T-there were complications! A bunch of people in red cloaks attacked and I had to work with Asuka and Yuji to escape!"
"Red cloaked people?" Murakumo asked "Do you have any idea who they are? Why they attacked?"
"None, though I believe they were not after me. Yuji managed to cut a path through them, with which we used to escape. Not long after I broke off from them in an attempt to split them up. However, they left me alone and instead continued to pursue the other two."
"Odd. A third party hired to kill them perhaps?"
"Maybe...but even so, It would be wise for everyone to stay on their toes. We don't know who they are or what they're after and they aren't against killing us if they think we're in the way."
Another nod from her sisters "Good, I'm am going to train and-"
"No you aren't." Yozakura said resolutely
"And why am I not?" Yumi said with a raised eyebrow
"Well, normally, I wouldn't stop you from training, but then again someone forgot to make the Shinobi Battle Royale official.
Yumi's face quickly turned red in embarrassment. How could she have forgotten that quickly when it was just brought up? She regained her composure, speaking up again "R-right...I am going to train...after I write a formal declaration of battle against Hanzo Academy. Anyone may join me afterwards if they wish."
And with that, Yumi walked out of the room, ready to write her letter, with perhaps a few strong words aimed at Asuka and her grandfather, leaving the rest of the Gessen Elite alone.
"You know, sometimes I forget how much of a dork Yumi can be sometimes." Shiki said with a chuckle
Everyone made sounds of agreement at the statement, since Yumi was out of earshot.
"It's still adorable though." She added, laughing again.
-000-
Miyabi stretched her legs in the Hebijo Clandestine Girl's Academy elite shinobi common room. She was finally in top shape after being out for so long. It was still hard for her to believe that she'd been in a coma for three years and now she was back at Hebijo, almost as if nothing had happened. That couldn't be further from the truth though, a lot had happened while she'd been out. Or so Imu told her. The first being that the former Hebijo Elite, had been defeated by a group of shinobi from Hanzo Academy. When Miyabi heard that after waking up, she was filled with an unbridled rage that Imu had never seen before. However, it got even worse when she learned that one of Hebijo's donors a man named Dogen had secretly constructed a lab where he was experimenting with and summoning Yoma of all things! Needless to say Miyabi was furious at that, not just at Dogen, but at her father for even allowing something like that though he claimed he had no idea what Dogen had been up to. To make matters worse, in the incident with the Hanzo shinobi, Dogen had summoned a yoma that killed numerous Hebijo students. The more Miyabi had heard of Dogen, the more she wanted her first mission being back to be to hunt him down and sever his head from his body. Alas, she would learn that the opportunity to do such a thing had been robbed from her, as Dogen met his end after summoning a mass of yoma in Kyoto. Fitting, she'd say, and if she ever met the people who did, be they good or evil shinobi, she'd be more than willing to offer them heartfelt thanks. With Dogen being dead, her attention was instead turned towards the Hanzo shinobi, they'd have to pay for crossing Hebijo and as for Homura and her group of former elites...the time to hunt them down could wait. They were renegades after all, so they didn't really have much to aid them. Sure they could keep off the grid for some time, but it was only a matter of time until they were found.
"Are you ready Miyabi?" Imu asked walking into the room "There's a bunch of fresh recruits ready."
"Good." Miyabi said turning and walking out of the room with Imu alongside her. "So...is Murasaki on board?"
"Personally? No. But our father was stern, Murasaki will be our third."
"Good. Just uh...I know you two have a bit of a...problem, but just go easy on her okay? Let's ease her into this."
"Yes, of course. I'll...try to be lenient." Imu said with a huff
"That's Imu, it's good to know you've got my back."
That caused Imu's heart to skip a beat. "S-sure...any time." she squeaked out
The two shinobi made their way to the training area, they stood on top of a viewing area, over looking the training area below them. This was a special exercise as anyone that felt they were up for it were allowed to partake in a battle royale of sorts. The last two standing would be allowed to join Miyabi, Imu, and Murasaki as fellow elites within Hebijo. Miyabi was hoping to find at least one person with talent. She very much wanted to get to work on regaining Hebijo's honor, but going with just the three of them wouldn't be wise. Especially since getting Murasaki to come along would be a bit...troublesome. Looking at the group of at least three dozen or so candidates fighting, Miyabi noticed two that stood out to her. One was a girl with brunette hair, tied up in twintails, she was hanging back and while one would think that was her being cautious, it was really because she was picking off targets with a well placed sniper round. A marksmen? That definitely could be useful on the team. Giving them a long range advantage against enemies. Someone to lie in wait, or pick the enemy off from a distance. The second was a girl with blonde hair, she was quite literally dancing around the other combatants. Anyone who got too close to the brunette were met with a face full of bullets that caused them to retreat or get knocked out with ease, all the while the blonde confused them with her dancing moves.
Those two were looking good. They definitely had skills that set them apart from the rest. Miyabi rubbed her chin...yeah, they'd do nicely. "Imu, can you stop the match, I've made my decision. See those two over, the blonde and brunette?" Miyabi said pointing them out "Get me the information on them. I think we've just met our new elite members."
"Understood, I'll get right on it."
With a nod, Miyabi returned to the common room. It was time to plan their next move.
-000-
"So, what's the plan Kuya?" Yuji said as he stood on a rooftop overlooking the city "I have no idea where this yoma is, so I'm counting on you."
'That's not a problem. Yoma that arrive here tend to stick to the alleyways of human cities, stay in the shadows as shinobi are wont to do the same.'
"So they won't come out in broad daylight then?"
'No. Too many eyes and too easy a target. I sense them east of here, let us continue.'
Heeding her words, Yuji leapt from the roof he was currently on and towards another, heading east as Kuya had told him. He kept a lookout on the alleyways below, but so far he couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary. Several times he'd look over the alleyways and stop when he saw movement, only to be disappointed that it was a stray cat(which he couldn't resist petting some) before continuing on.
'Here.' Kuya said suddenly 'In the alleyway below us.'
Looking down, Yuji could see that the alleyway below him was dark, uncharacteristically so, almost as if a void had opened up in that particular spot. It was odd, it was the middle of the day and no one was paying it any mind, walking by the alleyway, too focused on their phones or getting to their destination to notice anything off.
'Hmm, she's hiding, as expected. Go Little Master. Make yourself known.'
Doing as she said, Yuji jumped from the roof and landed directly in the black void. The second he did that, he saw two bright red eyes look back at him, a low growl coming from where the eyes were. The yoma was stalking closer towards him as a means of intimidation.
'Don't back down Little Master. Stride forth...welcome her.'
Yuji did as told and walked towards the red eyes, despite how creepy this entire situation was, he was oddly okay, calm even. He didn't really feel any fear at all. All he had to do was welcome her right?
"Hey there Yoma...it's uh...nice to meet you!" Yuji said kind of just winging it "How about coming out of that darkness so we can talk properly? I won't hurt you."
The red eyes looked back at him...perplexed as the best way to put it as he continued walking towards us.
"You are a strange human…" said the voice of the yoma as the darkness around it faded "Who are you?"
With the darkness gone, Yuji was now able to get a good long look at the yoma in question. She was a woman with brown skin with bandages covering her eyes and breasts. Her hands were actually...snake heads. That was a bit alarming, but the part more interesting was that her entire lower body was that of a snake! This took Yuji aback, but only for a moment, enough for the yoma to speak again.
"Speak human, what is it you want? Why do you speak to me instead of fight?"
That was a good point, what was he here for? Kuya had put him up to this, but she hadn't really been forthcoming with the details.
'Tell her you wish to form an accord.' Kuya instructed
"An accord? Like a deal?" Yuji said out loud
"You want to...make a deal with me?" The snake girl asked with a raised eyebrow
"I...guess?"
'Not going exactly as planned, but she seems open to it, now make her an offer. Power, protection, or something of that nature.'
"Well… I could offer you protection? I mean, if you come with me, you won't need to worry about other shinobi hunting you down."
"And yet you are a shinobi yourself. I've heard of shinobi like you, ones who forcibly bind and summon us...corroding our minds in the process." the snake girl
'She's right to wary. Prove to her that you mean no harm. A sampling of your power will do. Simply hold out your hand, I will help from there.'
Following her words Yuji held out his hand towards her "Here…I'll even offer you a bit of my power for free."
Cautious still, the snake girl extended one of her hands towards Yuji, the snake on it disappearing, transforming into a regular human-like one.
'Now, push your energy out Little Master.'
Focusing, Yuji did as she told him. Thanks to his ninja training, this was surprisingly easier than expected, of course, he could feel Kuya helping him, acting as a gentle push that extended his energy outwards toward the snake girl who took the power into her being.
"This power...so familiar...yet so different. It's quite warm." the snake girl muttered "It feels...nice."
At these words, Kuya appeared, still just as naked as she had been before, with Yuji making a mental note to get her some form of clothing, because he couldn't keep dealing with that every time she made her presence known, the dark portal appearing beside Yuji.
"You are...Orochi?" The snake girl said in shock "But you were-"
"Killed? For a time I suppose I was. But...I am returned, by the power of my Little Master I am reborn and I am no longer Orochi."
"No longer Orochi? What do you mean?"
"I have been given a new name. Kuya. Remember it well. The same could be bestowed to you, should you swear to serve my Little Master."
The snake girl looked at Yuji, silently asking if this were true.
"I don't mind giving you a name." Yuji shrugged "I didn't realize it was such a big deal."
"And if I refuse…?" the snake girl inquires with a raised eyebrow
"That is for my Little Master to decide." Kuya said looking at him
"Uh...I mean we just let you go? I just don't want you attacking people. If joining you isn't good enough, maybe I can sneak you some food or something?"
"You are...a surprisingly nice shinobi." The snake girl said
"Just what kind of shinobi have you met?" Yuji asked incredulously
"The kind that wish to kill me on sight."
Okay yeah, that'd do it… Yuji thought
"I...suppose I can join you...but I reserve the right to leave if I feel like it!"
"That's fine with me." Yuji said with a nod
"Very well then. You swear servitude to my...our master yes?" Kuya asked, her hands crossed
"I...I do. I will serve you. Just so long as I no longer need to run." The snake girl said, doing her best to kneel. It was difficult with no knees to speak of, so she instead did a weird sort of lean forward that left little to the imagination as her chest bounced slightly.
"Rise sister. For you will not." Kuya said giving her a hand "For now, we retreat to the dark, it is not safe for us here."
And just like that, Kuya and the snake girl retreated to the black portal, it closing behind them. As for Yuji, it was odd, but he felt himself slightly stronger. For now though, he'd decided to head home, he had to deal with the new friend he'd made...as well as getting them both something to wear, at the very least something to keep them somewhat decent.
-000-
"Thank you for shopping at Paimart Son of Man! Please come back whenever you need to purchase something again!" Kagura said with a wide grin. it was the last sale of her and Naraku's shift and with that done, she and Naraku could now head back to the city that Asuka inhabited. Heading into the staff room, Kagura quickly changed out of her employee uniform and back into her more comfortable shinobi attire. The door to the room opened with a tired looking Naraku greeting her.
"Greetings Naraku! Has your day been well."
"It has been...bearable Kagura-sama." Naraku said with a bow as she began changing. In truth, she was hating the retail life. There were many rude customers, loud children, and worst of all were that some of her coworkers weren't the nicest either. While she was thankful to Hanzo for helping them get this job to settle in and make ends meet, she was getting to the point where she wouldn't mind just being a hobo on the street. The only thing keeping her dealing with the job was looking out for Kagura and making sure she was safe. As was her duty as a servant and most importantly, her friend.
There was just one thing about this job…
Kagura was amazing at it! Naraku did not know how she did it, but somehow Kagura was great at her job. She reeled in customers with her loud callings of 'Son/Daughter of Man' and being...surprisingly forceful in her recommendations. Naraku did not understand it. It had only been a short time since they'd moved to this area and started working and Kagura was still extremely confused at modern day...well everything. She constantly walked in the street during red lights, she completely destroyed at least six televisions because she thought the people were real, and she'd once punched a hole in the wall due to being frightened by the toaster. Really, they were lucky that the person who owned the apartment they stayed in was a former shinobi and as such was more than understanding. That said, things were still rough all considered.
"Now then, I have put in the time for our 'vacation'. We will leave posthaste and begin our investigation!" Kagura said with a triumphant smile
"As you wish Kagura-sama, but...why are we going on vacation? And what are we investigating exactly?" Naraku asked, the green haired woman had not been brought up to speed on the sudden decision and truthfully, she didn't care, just so long as she gets away from her job for a while.
"Ah, forgive me. In my haste, I neglected to explain myself." Kagura said with a sigh "I felt...a yoma. A powerful yoma has entered our world and I feel it is only right that we handle the situation."
At this, Naraku's eyes went wide with alarm, but Kagura waved her hand "Worry not, I will not ingest the orb. But, if we leave this as it is, I feel that we will end up with another situation similar to that of Kyoto."
Naraku winced at that. She'd had a hand in how badly things there got and she considered it her lowest point in life. She'd nearly faced execution for it if Kagura and Hanzo had not stepped in.
"I see.." Naraku said "But...how were you able to convince the manager to let us both go?"
"It was not hard. He is quite aware of our predicament and once I explained to him that a Yoma is prowling about, he was more than willing to let us go. We have as much time as we need to handle business."
"Of course...I should have known." Naraku nodded
"We depart at sunrise tomorrow, on the mystical train beast!"
"Kagura-sama, the train is not a beast." Naraku sighed
"Nonsense, with the noises it makes? Only a monster could make such a noise."
Naraku just sighed again. "Whatever you say Kagura-sama."
It was going to be a long trip...
So the thing with this chapter is that there's a lot of jumping around to different perspectives. I can understand if some dislike it, but I figure it's the only real way to see what the other groups are getting up to. These groups may not all interact immediately, but this is to set up the idea that Yuji's actions send shockwaves all around. Well that as well as those that attacked him. Another little tidbit of info is that Yuji's recruitment of the snake yoma is actually meant to emulate the Shin Megami Tensei series, just with less bullshit such as one of the demons asking for half your cash and then running off with it on a whim. As for Kagura, I don't think the games ever actually deal with the fact that she is literally hundreds of years into the future and is now surrounded by modern technology. That said, I decided to have a bit of fun with her and go with the idea of 'Walmart Kagura'. It's probably one of the funniest things the 4chan community for this game ever came up with and I laugh at it every time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next one.
